With great power...

Even in sandbox RPs, there always needs to be a motive of some sort, or more relevantly to the central question of this thread, a central plot line that the RPers can base their stories around. As an RPer, how tight to you like to tie your own character in with the bigger picture or central plot? Do you like to be the son of the main bad guy tyrant who's oppressing all your friends, or do you like to be that one old lady who created the potion to keep everyone alive in that one fight against the kid with a stick? As a GM, how much do you like the filthy RPers messing with your precious creation and getting tangled in the web of plot you've created? Do you like them to touch and mould, or do you prefer them to watch, admire, and merely be affected by it?

This is the only site where I've ever dealt with a "sandbox" rp, frankly. Otherwise, I would just call it authoring your own novella, as per my experience.

As it stands, I have had the preference to stick to myself, and work parallel to whatever plot the GM left out in the sun. Honestly, the main plot in a sandbox rp to me looks more like a suggested guideline that people may follow as they have their character maneuver the setting. It's made to give you the freedom to do whatever, so I may as well do it at my leisure. I've no rush to relate directly to the plot.

I like to be involved with the central plot usually, although in most instances I'm happy to work on side plots and then just join into the central plot line when it feels the most natural. As a GM, in sandbox RPs I like to give my players a lot of freedom to develop their own plot lines so long as it doesn't mess with the overarching plan or established lore too much. In more plot-oriented RPs I tend to be a little bit stricter. As a general rule though, I think it's important to try and find a balance that keeps everyone happy.

It depends on the RP. Some RPs it's more fun to be involved with all of the main stuff whereas with others its nice to go off and do your own thing and only really feel the aftereffects of big hits in the main line. And as a GM I think I should allow people to do what they want to an extent. If they want to go off and explore/develop their own storyline on the side then they should, and if they want to be on one of the sides or be one of the causes of big events in the main line then they should. They're doing me the service of being in an rp I've made, I should let them enjoy it as much as possible so long as it doesn't break the game.

I prefer to be involved with the main plot. Otherwise, my character feels irrelevant and might as well not exist. I want my character to become a necessary part of the action - one who you could not simply ignore if I somehow stopped posting and disappeared off the face of the earth. (Which is something I almost never do.) In the past, I haven't done a good job with that, creating timid characters who make it difficult to put myself in the action. This was so boring to me.

Of course, there are also RPs that are sandbox and have a much looser plot. It's all right to be slightly less involved with the so-called main plot, but as long as my character has lots of interactions and relationships with other people, I'm okay with that. Basically, I just want to be relevant in some way, not be forgotten and have my posts scrolled over because I said nothing of value to anyone else.

As a GM, I also prefer that everyone else be involved in the plot in the same way. I don't want people to just experience what I'm typing and follow me like blind sheep. I want to inspire their creativity, for them to write things that shock me just as much as the things I wrote shock them. This is what I define an RP in general as being - a collaborative story. Something we're all in together. After all, I want to be entertained just as much as they do. And it's boring to me to just see people react to the things I create. I prefer interaction far more.

Mmmm... I try and not cause too much lore fuckery. However the more I try and establish my characters story, the farther I tend to stray from the original idea, but generally i'm good and catch myself and get confirmation from the GM saying its okay before I really fuck up. So yeah, I don't like messing with the lore, but it happens occasionally. I don't GM often, but I feel like there would have to be a small level of acceptable lore fuckery.

I usually also don't mess with the lore and prefer to just create a character that doesn't have really anything to do with the lore and stuff. I find that doing this helps to keep things clean and not messy, allowing an easier time for the GM to do their thing and keep things running smoothly.

I find that making things easier for the GM makes everyone happy!

It depends on the RP but I usually create characters that are more sideline-ish than limelight-ish. It gives more areas of growth and personality and it also allows me to create sub-stories of my own free will since my character is pretty small in the grand scale of things.

Of course, there are few notable exceptions.

Meh, I usually try to do both, sticking to the main plot always gives you something to do in case you're stuck, but then sometimes I have ideas and plots that I go off on my own to do. It's a nice mixture.