River Games, Somewhere Between The Sandbox and The Railroad

In the eternal debate between Game Masters regarding the ultimate style, there are two major camps; sandboxes and railroads. Either you have an entire world set up and waiting for your players to explore at their own pace, or you have a tightly-plotted story that will run on time to get where you want it to go.

However, anyone who's sat in the big chair long enough knows that it's rare for any game to be entirely one of these things, or entirely the other. Even the most unstructured sandbox is going to have some plots happening apace, and even the most streamlined railroad is going to have layovers and stops for side quests. So what might be more useful is the term river plotting.

We'll get there when we get there!

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What is a River Style Game Master?

The idea behind a river style game was proposed by MerionLial on the RPG subreddit (link to the original post). In short, this setup proposes thinking about games in a different way than we usually do, where they're either all structure or all freedom.

There is room between these extremes, however.

When thinking about a river style game there are certain aspects that are fixed, and certain aspects that are in free flow. A river game has a fixed starting point, which is the source of the game (a beginning event, a starting conflict, or something else that operates as the wellspring of the story). It also has an ocean that it's trying to get to (which represents the eventual end of the game, and what players are all trying to achieve). In between the beginning and the end, though, the river might form lakes (representing downtime arcs), branch off into tributaries (which best represent side quests and additional story hooks), and the river could even change direction dramatically before it gets where it's going (the party ends up working for the campaign's final boss for a time).

This allows us to think of our games not as either a set of railroad tracks we walk straight down, or as a big, sprawling expanse where the players make their own fun. More importantly, though, this operates as a useful middle ground for GMs who find themselves on either of the extremes. If you're more of a sandbox GM, then a river setup allows you to create some fixed points while still keeping the freedom in the middle. If you're a railroad GM, this allows you to focus more on what your players are doing instead of managing the specifics of how they're going to do it. The river moves toward the ocean, and you'll get where you're going sooner or later.

For more GM advice, consider checking out the following supplements!

- 100 Tips and Tricks For Being a Better Game Master: This one is basically what it says on the tin. Whether you're new or experienced, there's going to be at least a few tips in here for you!

- 100 Superstitions For a Fantasy Setting: One of my more popular pieces, this is particularly useful for Game Masters who want to add a little bit of interesting flavor into their worlds.

- A Baker's Dozen of Pieces of Lore: If your setting needs a little extra lore, whether it's to use as a jumping off point for a side quest or just to fill in the background, this supplement has you covered!

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