Alternatives to 'Dungeons'

[ScriptKitty]

Problem is, some players (like myself) approach the game with a "completionist" approach the same way they play videogames. Too big and open an area, and they'll spend all their time searching for items.

In a game I'm currently playing, my character is slowly dragging our Wizard's alignment down because she keeps making him help her loot every corpse they come across and he has no willpower. ^^

[DevinNight]

ROUS's.. I don't think they exist.

Good points above.. ok I don't have anything to add.

[icosahedron]

And then you get the players that completely miss the clues and go wandering off because they didn't pick up that the GM mentioned the words "bass boat" like twelve times in a single description of an area. I swear, sometimes you gotta' hit 'em upside the head with the clues.

LOL. Yeah, I know what you mean, but GMing isn't a passive role - just keep hitting their heads till they get it.

Problem is, some players (like myself) approach the game with a "completionist" approach the same way they play videogames. Too big and open an area, and they'll spend all their time searching for items.

In a game I'm currently playing, my character is slowly dragging our Wizard's alignment down because she keeps making him help her loot every corpse they come across and he has no willpower. ^^

Perhaps your GM needs an alignment shift. When I played Fantasy, I found a few corpse maggots or trapped items tended to dissuade necro-kleptomaniacs.

With Sci-fi, the emphasis isn't so much on items - there's no magic and if you earn the money you can buy items from a trader. Perhaps you need to put the emphasis on a final goal (plot) rather than on collecting things along the way.
I still think that approaching it from a different angle would help. If you can master it, the need for walls goes away.

[jaerdaph]

The catacombs and sewers under the city are a favorite of mine. So are haunted houses.

Ship graveyards are a nice alternative too. And there's nothing cooler than exploring a derelict ship adrift at sea (or in space).