Gamemaster Tips #2: Session Zero
By now, most folks have heard of session zero in the context of tabletop roleplaying games. But hey, maybe you haven’t, or you aren’t super clear on what it means or what it’s for. Either way, we’re going to assume, for these purposes, that you’re brand new as a GM, and could use a rundown and some advice. Of Gods and Gamemasters to the rescue! If you aren’t new, maybe there’s still something useful in here.
Ok. Basically, session zero has a few main purposes. It helps everyone involved figure out what to expect from the game, and any boundaries, triggers, or traumas get discussed so no one gets blindsided by them in the game. You talk about whether the game includes horror elements, what sort of elements the players can tolerate, that sort of thing. You can use a formal checklist or just go around the table to find this stuff out. As long as your particular table is ok with a specific type of content, it’s good to go. I won’t yuck your yum. But the whole table has to be ok with whatever level of sexuality, or graphic violence, or whatever the specific topic is, and actual hard limits someone has need to be scrupulously respected. There’s tons of good advice out there for this part.
Another aspect of session zero is picking a setting and making characters. This is where the GM puts forth their plans for the game and what sort of characters would fit into that framework…or the group as a whole comes up with their characters and the setting they want to play in. That’s becoming more and more common. You can also agree on what part of an official or commercially available setting you want to play in, like the Dalelands of the Forgotten Realms, or the borders of the Mournland in Eberron. Whatever setting is chosen by the group, and settled on, the characters should fit into it. They don’t always have to be from that specific region themselves, but there should be a plausible reason why and how they have made their way there, and they should definitely fit any themes or motifs the group has agreed on. If the group has decided to be a selection of mercenaries…being the one selfless paladin unwilling to work for coin makes you as much of a problem as the heartless edgy rogue is in a party of heroes. Fit your group. This doesn’t mean you have to look like you fit, on the surface, just that your goals are in most cases aligned with the rest of the party, or at very least not opposed. Anyway, build a group that can function as a team…it doesn’t have to be balanced, in 5e, or in GURPS, but it should still be functional. Have connections between the various PCs, between them and NPCs, close ties to the setting. Involve them, make it personal. If there are specific opponents, make sure the PCs are suited to facing them, and vice versa. A complicated story about crime and politics in a huge city is going to end very differently than expected if all the PCs are barbarians and druids…Not that that can’t work, but you have to expect different problem solving than the rogues and bards.
You’ll definitely want to agree on table rules and house rules, like what happens when a die is cocked or rolls on the floor. But more important, I think, is managing expectations. If a player expects plot armor and their character gets killed because they didn’t run away when the GM expected it…that’s a failure of communication. If life is going to be cheap, that can be great…if everybody is on board. If the mood and theme are grim and dark it can lead to intense roleplay…or people could get overwhelmed and burnt out if what they wanted was lighter hearted heroism. The few failures I’ve had at the table have all been because somebody’s expectations didn’t line up with the game that got played, so communication is key.
Yeah, so figuring out what people want, what they expect, what content they are ok with, all that goes into choosing setting, then the characters get built, organically into the setting, as part of the setting, with ties to each other and connections to any main plot you want to have the adventures involve. At that point, if you’re reasonably familiar with the setting, the story writes itself, emerging naturally from the PC interaction with the situations you lay before them. And if the players helped you build that setting, it’s even easier. Probably going to talk about what you need in session 1, next time.
