Thinking Redux

So.... I'm contemplating starting a sandbox campaign, because all the cool kids are doing it. Because I know that any gaming group I have is going to be noobs, I'm running with the Rules Companion Edition ruleset for now. I may switch to straight B/X once I get a gander at the B/X Companion project. Are there any significant differences between RC, B/X and BECMI, other than rules caps, and optional rules like Druids and Mystics?

Anyways, other considerations.....
- I plan on using lots of fiddly bits from all over the place, especially looting the spells and magic items from the Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets blog
- I want magic to mysterious again. The spell lists for each level are going to be the "commonly known" spells. Mages are going to jeaously guard the more unique spells, and part of the fun will be finding new knowledge. I plan to do some converting of spells from AD&D, just to have more "forbidden lore"
- after reading the first two anthologies of Glen Cook's THE BLACK COMPANY, I am toying with the idea of all magic-users having true names, like demons et al. If you can find out a mage's true name, you can strip them of all their power. Haven't quite worked out the mechanics for this yet...
- I was debating about allowing mages to do spontaneous casting of any spells they have in the spellbook, instead of memorization, but havne't quite decided yet. I had a cool system worked out for AD&D, where only mages who memorized spells could benefit from additional spells for high INT, but since B/X doesn't have that, I'm not sure yet how I'm going to work that
- I am contemplating renaming clerics as "miracle workers", or maybe "zealots". Haven't figured out how I'm going to explain them in my sandbox yet
- I have a basic Creation Myth for my world, I just have to find where I saved it. It kind of explains all the creatures, great and small... even halflings. 8)I am also toying with some ideas for the races. For instance, darves are obsessed with magic because they cannot use magic at all. The most skilled dwarven craftsman can create weapons of such great quality that they can mimic the weakest of magic weapons (ie. a +1), but they are obsessed with magic because they cannot wield it. Gnomes are either going to be dwarves who end up being able to manipulate magic, but at the cost of being far more slight and fragile than their dwarvish cousins, and therefore outcast, or halfings who have been corrupted by magic. Halflings are so called because they were created half of the divine essence of the Mother, and half of the divine essence of the Father. Elves are all born almost albino, but the longer they stay in the world and use magic, the darker their skin become. Hence, grey elves are about 50/50 corrupted by the world, and dark elves have become almost totally corrupted.
- I plan to use some house ruling to allow mages to use swords. I also plan to use druids, but maybe not as outlined in RC. That's why I need a bunch of extra druid spells, probably from AD&D. I am also contemplating allowing clerics to turn woodland creatures (and eventually, some magical creatures) as a regular cleric turns undead. Still thinking about this one...

So far, that's what I'm thining. Now, if only I could find the motivation to put this onto a page, instead of sitting outside in the sun, drinking imported beer and playing guitar. 8)

Thinking (again)

I just spent an hour typing out a huge post about what I've been thinking about for the sandbox I'm thinking of creating... but I lost it all. So, I'll retype it tomorrow.