I don’t like most adventures written for Dungeons & Dragons as they tend to be rather linear.
Having stated that, there are some adventures out there that are more like sandboxes: they have a basic background story and world to them, but they rely on players making choices about where they go and what they do.
They are a series of locations that the PCs can explore at their leisure.
Below are a series of old school & OSR sandbox adventures that I have found quite enjoyable and useful. This includes five official modules, and nine indie adventures.
Official Old School Sandbox Modules / Adventures
Secret of Bone Hill
Danger lurks in the Lendore Isles. Bands of evil creatures prowl the hills overlooking the town of Restenford, seeking unwary victims. Now you have come to this sleepy little village looking for adventure and excitement. You seek to fathom the unexplored reaches of Bone Hill and unlock the mysteries of Restenford.
This is the first of Lenard Lakofka’s “Lendore Isle” trilogy, but it is fairly unique in that it is one of the best sandbox titles to come out of TSR D&D.
It features the town of Restenford, and the nearby wilderness, giving both enough information that any GM could use it as a starting town and local surrounds.
It also features the Ruin of Bone Hill – including a basement and a dungeon – that the PCs can explore.
It’s one of my favourite of the old modules.
Grab a copy of Secret of Bone Hill from DriveThruRPG.
Against the Cult of the Reptile God
Terror by night! The village of Orlane is dying. Once a small and thriving community, Orlane has become a maze of locked doors and frightened faces. Strangers are shunned, trade has withered. Rumors flourish, growing wilder with each retelling. Terrified peasants flee their homes, abandoning their farms with no explanation. Others simply disappear. . .
No one seems to know the cause of the decay — why are there no clues? Who skulks through the twisted shadows of the night? Who or what is behind the doom that has overtaken the village? It will take a brave and skillful band of adventurers to solve the dark riddle of Orlane!
Another low-level adventure that can easily be used for the start of a sandbox campaign. There is a lot going on in this adventure and you could easily expand it further with other factions and nearby locations.
Pick up Against the Cult of the Reptile God from DriveThruRPG
The Keep on the Borderlands
One of the most used modules, this is written as a sandbox and is complete with a fleshed out keep (which could be rife with various factions), a deadly dungeons with factions of its own, plus the wilderness area and another dungeon nearby – both of all could be fleshed out further.
A real classic in every sense of the word.
Grab The Keep on the Borderlands from DriveThruRPG
Dwellers of the Forbidden City
Somewhere in the heart of the steaming jungle lies the answer to the whispered tales – rumors of a magnificent city and foul, horrid rituals! Here a brave party might find riches and wonders – or death! Is your party brave enough to face the terrors of the unknown and find the Forbidden City!?
A nice mid-level module that could easily be used as a sandbox, with several locations to flesh out, including a village, jungle, and dungeon.
Grab Dwellers of the Forbidden City from DriveThruRPG
Night’s Dark Terror
Barely one day’s march from Kelven, the uncharted tracts of the Dymrak forest conceal horrors enough to freeze the blood of civilized folk. Those who have ventured there tell how death comes quick to the unwary – for the woods at night are far worse than any dungeon.
But you are adventurers, veterans of many battles, and the call of the will is strong. Will you answer the call, or are you afraid of the dark terrors of the night?
An adventure for levels 2-4, Night’s Dark Terror gives the GM the tools to create a very successful sandbox campaign. Especially the last part of the adventure which gives GMs a great opportunity to flesh out this campaign themselves.
Grab Night’s Dark Terror from DriveThruRPG
Indie Old School Sandbox Adventures
Adventurer’s Guide to the Yol’Najj Forest
By Zeshio
The Adventurer’s Guide to the Yol’Najj Forest is a system agnostic adventure location for your fantasy table top adventures. Within you’ll find a guidebook that highlights important forest locations, creatures, npcs, and gear in sweet sweet zine format!
Another one I have not played, but this looks very cool. It focuses in on a forest surrounded by mountains, which could be placed anywhere in your own campaign world.
It is designed for any fantasy TTRPG, and starts with a monumentous event: a mountain explodes, showing the forest with crystals that causes chaos and alters the forest forever.
The main zine outlines the world and the event, and there are also two additions: standalone maps of the region, and an additional encounters chart and pages of plot hooks.
Grab a copy of Adventurer’s Guide to the Yol’Najj Forest on Itchio.
The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford
Another low level adventure sandbox, The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford does what it says on the box – includes a black dragon the characters need to kill before it feasts on the whole area.
It includes the details of the inhabitants of Brandonsford, an adventure through the fairy-haunted woods, plus two dungeon locations.
Grab a copy of The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford at DriveThruRPG.
In the Shadow of Tower Silveraxe
There could be several reasons to seek adventure in the Gemthrone Wilderness. It is a region that is the subject of speculation on cold nights in the glow of a tavern hearth. Some may talk of the magnificent treasures that have laid untouched for centuries in dark dungeons, just waiting to be pilfered—which is, almost without fail, followed by another who interjects with the dangers of such notions, were such legends even to be believed.
I haven’t played this one, but the aesthetic alone is worth it’s price of entry. It is designed with Old School Essentials or D&D Basic in mind, but could be easily converted to any D20-system.
It has a total old school feel with “weird and fantastic pulp adventure.” And it promises that not “all encounters are balanced and survival is not a guarantee.” Right up my ally.
The module itself contains a hex trail maps, 9 dungeons, and 5 settlements. One of which is a dwarven town called Karn Buldahr. Any of these could serve as a home base for adventuring PCs. Each settlement also has a list of rumours, hooks, and NPCs.
Get a copy of In the Shadow of Tower Silveraxe from DriveThruRPG.
The Evils of Illmire
Touted as a “classic campaign in your pocket”, The Evils of Illmire contains 19 hexes for your hexcrawling delight (each with separate random encounter tables), 16 on-page dungeons, an easy weather system (but see my easy weather system in the FULL VERSION of Issue 38), almost 100 monsters!, plus much more.
This is designed for OSE and Basic D&D, but can be easily converted to other D20-based systems.
Grab a copy of The Evils of Illmire from DriveThrueRPG.
Midlands Low Magic Sandbox Setting
Written with Low Fantasy Gaming in mind, this source book will allow you to run a sandbox campaign using the above rule set. But you can adapt it to any D20 fantasy ruleset.
It built with the thought that GMs will use the tables included to build out their campaign world as the players explore it. It also comes with 50 “Adventure Frameworks” that can be placed anywhere the GM wishes.
Snag a copy of Midlands Low Magic Sandbox Setting from DriveThruRPG
Rackham Vale: Paintbox Edition
This one sounds awesome! Set in a hidden vale, Rackham Vale features over two-dozen creatures, factions, and 18 locations.
It is designed for Old School Essentials, but can be easily converted to any D20-based system. Drop this easily into your home campaign world and add a touch of magic and mystery to your world.
You can also get the Original Edition, but the Paintbox Edition is an updated version, and includes new artwork, updated design, and 10 pages of brand-new content, including 3 new creatures, 3 dungeons, and 8 unique magic items.
Get a copy of Rackham Vale: Paintbox Edition from DriveThruRPG.
The Ruins of Ordane
The Ruins of Ordane is an OSR one-shot (or sandbox) for characters of levels 6-10. Elements of the adventure hearken back to Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and Call of Cthulhu, but injected with a bit of weird and whimsy, ala Jack Vance.
Get The Ruins of Ordane from DriveThruRPG
The Vanilla Adventure
“Want to play some Vanilla OD&D and have a good time? This thing is it.” TenfootPole
Designed as a stand-alone adventure or to be slotted into a wider world, The Vanilla Adventure is a great introduction to the fun side of old school gaming.
Filled with adventure hooks, it allows players to make the decision on what hooks they want to follow. It’s designed for lower levels, but could easily be a starting point for a wider campaign.
Get a copy of The Vanilla Adventure from DriveThruRPG.
Woodfall
Woodfall is a swamp belonging to a king where witches, thieves and outlaws are squatting. They have built a town on top of the swamp and have resisted several evictions. The town is a hub for black market activity and magical folk.
This is an outlier among these indie sandbox games as it is system-neutral.
It is a micro-setting that can fit nicely into any campaign world, and features a town built on a swamp, surrounded by monstrous factions.
This setting has pulled inspiration from many real-world historical events and has a whimsical politics inserted here and there.
Grab a copy of Woodfall from DriveThruRPG.
Over to You
Have I missed any? Have you played in any of these before? Let me know in the comments below.
While You’re Here…
Since 2021 I have been publishing d12 Monthly, a monthly zine, which has a ton of articles for any edition of Dungeons and Dragons.
Printed copies are available in my store. The PDF is available on DriveThruRPG and you can get both, plus support my work, via my Patreon.
I will also be releasing some more products in the near future.
Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or my contact page any time.
This is a great list of modules, Dwellers of the Forbidden City is in my top 3 module. Whisky not Sandbox the A1-4 series is still my favourite.
The A series is great! And thanks. It took some time to put this list together.