Session ZERO.

Why I believe it is so important to always have a session zero.

In my About page, I talk about how long I have been acting in the role of Dungeon Master to Game Master. If you HAVEN’T read it, you should! =).

In short, I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons as an active DM/GM for 11 years.

In that time I have had to learn, adapt, and change the way I did things.

When I had first started I would just jump right into what I had prepared and essentially hoped that the players were ready and would catch on to what I wanted them to do.

This was one of the first things I noticed that needed to be changed.

I ended up having unprepared, unmotivated, unorganized players. They did now know what I was doing, they did not know their own characters well, and they did not seem to want to find out what I was thinking! (weird right? none of my players were mind readers…)

Then I heard about the concept of a session zero. A time to get all your players together, and chat before the game even starts. So I sat down and started a program of what I would do to set this campaign off on the right foot.

At the beginning of each new campaign, I take time specifically to sit and ponder how to improve my session zero. How to really get everyone on the same page. Here is what I came up with after 20 years.

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• Session Zero
  • First things first: Expectations
    • This one is important. I would take a good amount of time explaining exactly what I expected from them as players.
      • be on time to game night. This should go without saying, but it helps to have everyone seated when it is start time.
      • pay attention. Again, you would think this is pretty basic. But sometimes other people’s turns take a while, and if players start playing on their phones, or scrolling facebook on their computer it is hard for them to remember what their character is doing. And slows it all down even more.
      • Know what you are going to do on your turn. Seriously. Don’t start deciding what to do when I say its your turn. Watch the board, imagine what is going on and be prepared to act!
      • Get to know your character. I do not have time to know your character for you, so you need to take the time to understand how your character works and what they can and cannot do.
      • Take assignments seriously that I send you home with. If I ask you to think of something from your backstory and to contact me with questions throughout the week, do it! It will make your game time feel that much better and special if I have time to plan for your specific backstory beforehand.
      • I explain that I have a whole world running in my head. I keep track of cities. governments. peoples. events. evil. good. With a world the size that I make, I simply do not have time to keep track of your characters. This includes but is not limited to:
        • experience (I let each player earn their own amounts of exp)
        • arrows
        • health
        • spell slots
        • items
        • spells
        • rations
        • etc
    • Once I finish going over what I expect from my players, I tell them that with all that I expect from them they have every right to set expectations they have for me. Many do not know right off the bat of what they should expect from me. And that is totally fair, so I generally tell them when they think of something to let me know. But that I do have things they should expect from me. This list includes but is not limited to:
      • I should be ontime AND prepared. There is nothing worse than going to a game night and having to wait for the DM to put together something for us to do that night. It feels boring and uneventful.
      • I should know the MAIN NPCs they talk to well enough to jump from NPC to NPC.
      • I should know what is going on in the area around them well enough to let them roam where they want.
      • I should always be open to what the player wants to do, and not railroad them into my plan
      • I should always look for ways to include the players in building and shaping the world.
    • This lets my players keep me accountable for my portion of the game. And if things start to get bland, or uneventful they feel they have the RIGHT to speak to me about it. It is THEIR game as well after all.
  • Second I talk about my focus in Dungeons and Dragons.
    • I LOVE the story of Dungeons and Dragons. If things make reasonable sense in the fiction of the game, I think we should be able to make it work.
    • I do not feel the rules are as set in stone as others. More like… guidelines.
    • It is my goal to have this campaign be exciting for my players every week. So I want to know the aspects of the game each player enjoys the most. (I will do a post about player types at some point.)
      • If at any point a player tells me they are not excited about the game, I take time through the week to meet up with them and figure out what I can do to help them enjoy it more.
    • Since I am very story-focused, I want to know about your character! I encourage my players to flesh out their character as far as they can. Work with me. You may not know the map or peoples in the world, but I do. And you can know things like, my character was a well-off merchant, in an affluent city when your brother was abducted by an evil group. From that, I can fill in map-specific blanks.
      • There are generally bonuses when players go deep dive into their character’s backstory. Like I can make items, people, and events in the world specific to them. It feels so exciting to have a player-specific part of the story.
    • I expanded the bond system in a way to build your characters and help them build relationships with the players around them.
    • Sex. Yup. I say it. In any fantasy world, just like in our world sex happens. It happened in medieval times, it happens in modern times, and it happens in fantasy realms. If it didn’t happen, most of your characters wouldn’t be here! BUT, just because we can all accept that it happens doesn’t mean I want to hear or see it in the game. I let my players say they are going to go have sex, but I do not want to know anything else.
      • ADDENDUM: I always tailor my game experience to my group. And some groups do not even want or SHOULD not have sex in it. So for those situations I clarify that it will not be part of the campaign. But I do say it. It is good to be clear.
    • I award roleplay very highly. So if you want to level quickly, roleplay. Be your character. Talk like your character. Act like your character. Build relationships with other players and NPCs as your character. And I will give you EXP.
  • Third: We are here to have fun.
    • If there are things in the game that you find to be boring, contact me! I will tailor the game to each of you to keep it fun.
    • If there are things you want me to personally improve on, let me know. Let me know via Discord or text or call or something… LOL, I say that not because I am afraid of being embarrassed in front of the group. That will happen whether I want it to or not… Its because if it isn’t in writing… I will 1000% forget to put it into my planning journals.
    • If there is another player that is bothering you or plays in a way that rubs you the wrong way. Let me know. For this one, ONLY EVER TALK TO ME PRIVATELY. 9 times out of 10 the other player does not intend to play in a way that is obnoxious. But if you talk to me outside the game night, I will contact them and we will work on ways for everyone to get along.
      • You may think this wouldn’t work. I KNOW IT DOES. I have handled a lot of people while being a GM. I have learned strategies to reduce and solve conflict so everyone is happy and still friends at the end of the day. (I will make a post on this, as it is very important).
    • I also take this time to explain the setting.
      • What is the world like?
      • What are the governing forces like?
      • What is the area they are in like?
      • What time of year is it?
      • What is the weather like?
      • Anything you can add now will have a payout later for your players to create their own characters and backstories.
    • I want to have fun, Dungeons and Dragons is FUN. I will do what it takes on my end to ensure the aspects of the game you like are in place every session!
  • Fourth and last: Character creation
    • Once I have created or joined a group I send out a list of restrictions, limitations, and settings for them to start building a character.
      • This will include things like
        • Character level
        • race restrictions
        • class restrictions
        • magic restriction
        • background restrictions
      • Some may think I should never restrict anything. But I do this on purpose. Occasionally I have plot points that have to do with specific classes or races and it would be weird to have a player be part of that. But more importantly, it gets my players out of their comfort zones and forces them to think deeply about what they want to be. I have had players come to me and ask if they can be an exception for one reason or another, and I approve it and tell them portions of the plot that have to do with that and coach them on what to say/do if other players bring it up.
  • Then I end with questions. This is an important time for players. A lot of creative decisions are about to be made. BE AVAILABLE. Help them. It not only builds report but trust.

I have found that going through this list, and other things that may be specific to that group, success. It is important to note that the DM/GM holds a position of authority, and those players look up to you. May even respect you for what you do. As you talk to them from this position of authority and respect they will listen.

Now, don’t go off getting a swollen ego. Respect the title and your players will respect you.

Session zero has made my campaigns feel full. Full of excitement. Full of adventure. Full of engaged players. Full of memories. Memories I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Take control. Set the tone.

The time you take in session zero, will give back exponentially in your campaign.

I hope this helps! May the rolls ever be in your favor!

-GM Braden