I wrote a little post about how I put together my latest sandbox. One of the main features of this game (a naval ship campaign) is that the PCs should be returning to the same locations over and over again. I wanted something quick and collaborative to make memorable ports to call at!
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So a loopcrawl, if you will. I suspect there are many GMs whose sandboxes evolve into loopcrawls of this sort. Making it overt is likely to help with settling into the sandbox, with PCs being prodded into travel to one of the other settlements for this reason or that and then returning there when they’re later gadding about in the neighborhood. Or they simply run across a settlement they didn’t know existed, yet there it is welcoming them every time they show up.
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Loopcrawl is a great name for exactly what I’m starting this campaign off with. The group has been given a ship and a circuitous route, and told to bring back x amount of gold to gain the ship and their “freedom."
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This reminds me a ton of some of the work Chris P Wolf is doing with Night Tripper. Trying to make the loop of debt the core of the game. If you are looking for additional inspo it might be worth checking out!
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Oh, good shout out! It’s been awhile since I looked at Night Tripper but that seems like a great source to dig into.
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He’s constantly reworking it, and the most recent version (not sure if it is public yet) is really slick.
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I need to write my next post (just in time economics) before I look at his trading rules because I have a feeling he might have cracked simplistic speculative trading in a satisfying way too 
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Hahaha If memory serves he just adjusted trading too. Though I might be wrong. I need to see if he is on here…
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Shades of Traveller. “Here you have a ship…and a debt to match. Better make those payments….”
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Enjoyed this and also some of your other posts. I’d be interested in seeing the pitch you wrote and/or the result of your players contributions if you’re comfortable sharing!
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I’ve more thoughts on this.
I suspect using a “loopcrawl” structure could help with filling in POI on a map. With each settlement on the loop, PCs can find out about more possible places to poke around in that are generally in hexes near that settlement. They don’t all have to be generated at the same time and can be worked up as desired. Shoot, PCs can learn about POI from other travelers on the roads and be enticed to wander off on side roads and paths to find POI.
The searches for the exact location of POI can also lead to finding yet other POI in a hex. The density of POI in hexes near the loop thus increases over time as more are stumbled upon. Providing the PCs with business of some urgency elsewhere along the loop can keep the PCs active and possessed of a list of places they want to explore once they have time and are nearby, so the players are still driving where they want to go and do by which jobs they accept and which places on the list they found and didn’t get to explore and want to revisit.
The more I consider this, the more I like it. A home base on the loop and then making connections and finding spaces for temporary bases in the other settlements. Lots of possible factions, large or small, among and around all the settlements. A steady trickle of rumors/information about POI keeps the party in action.
And little need to generate sites on the fly with every hex. Greater use out of the hexes visited, as they can be visited multiple times for different POI, helping with prep. No need to worry about hexes that PCs aren’t motivated to visit; they can sit without any added detail permanently if the PCs aren’t enticed into them via rumors/reports of POI.
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All agreement from me! Beyond this Naval loopcrawl, I’ve also had the thought of a caravan loopcrawl in my head for some time. Sort of like UVG, but instead of it being a line from start to finish, you keep trekking around the loop.
You should blog this stuff if you have a blog!
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Hey thanks!!! I’ll put something together as a little blog post asap 
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Great - no rush though!
I don’t know if this is what @eldritchmouse is going for in their game, but I like the idea of a bunch of dungeons scattered round the loop, but the boat moves on a schedule. Perhaps every week.
And there’s a reason to not want the boat to leave without you: could be a hard reason (your hearts have been removed and are on the ship - don’t get too far away) or a softer one (you have regular duties in each port - disciplinary action if you neglect them too long).
But either way there’s an enforced delay between delves - maybe you can manage 2 or 3 runs at the dungeon before you have to move on; maybe just one - and then you don’t see the dungeon again for a couple of months. Plenty of time for restocking, destabilized factions to fall into new states, etc
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Yeah this is all very in line with how I’m running the game! The other vector is that the characters can do work for various factions in the port, and you’ve got plenty of time to work out the ramifications of that and advance the faction game a little before they come back.
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I did. It’s an update to another post on travel.