5 Tips to Having the Best Session Zero - Great PC

We look at 5 ways to make sure your session zero is the best it can be from a Player Character's perspective.

0:24 - Find your Player Character
2:35 - Try the Opposite
5:39 - Help Other Players
7:33 - Focus on Party
10:09 - Talk to Players

#GreatGM

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[HowtobeaGreatGM]

0:24 - Find your Player Character
2:35 - Try the Opposite
5:39 - Help Other Players
7:33 - Focus on Party
10:09 - Talk to Players

[wuzzy]

I did a much different type of "session 0" for the campaign I am running.

I pitched the idea of the campaign to my players, telling them that their characters signed up for a guild that just opened up in the small village that they resided in, which they were happy with.
I gave them a few prerequisites that needed to be in their backstory/character. The first being a reason why they joined the guild, a reason for teaming up with other people and a personality that isn't going to be overly antagonistic to the rest of the party. Even though there are 8 PC's, all of them had different motivations for joining the guild, some more different than others, and surprisingly none of which were wanderlust.

I sat down one-on-one with each player as they pitched their character. Together, we would flesh out the backstory to help it fit better within the world, and so I could take their ideas and weave them into the world and narrative. My main job was to ask them "what was the motivation behind your character's actions?" and "how did that affect your character and/or the people around them?". This really helped flesh out the character's backstory, personality, motivations, goals, faith, and points of view on the world around them.

Doing this, I found that all of the Player Characters ended up being very different from each other.

The campaign was a long time in the making (we weren't in a hurry because we had another campaign going at the time). So over the course of about a year, I spent a good 20 hours with each player discussing their backstories. Between all 8 players, there are about 12 pages worth of fairly well-detailed backstories. Our 7th session is this upcoming Monday, and I am really excited to see where the players go with their characters.

[trollartist]

Thanks to you I was able to actually manage a session 0 for a 5 player campaign (my first campaign that ill be running as a DM). It took about an hour and a half or 2 to get everything done but afterwards everyone was so excited to play the campaign i had pitched with the characters we helped each other create that we had an unexpected session .5 as we are calling it. The session between a session zero and session one. A prologue you could call it and I improvised almost the whole thing. Created a few npcs while they created characters and they were really interested in them too and honestly you were the biggest influence on how things got done. I spent like 2 weeks watching your "how to" videos on playing as a GM and when to do certain things and not do othet things and your videos have been a really great help so thank you for what you do and keep it up.

[JakeofallTrades]

Reading the comments from your last few videos and watching this one, I can tell right away that you have been listening to your audience and making sure that they are happy. I for one immediately noticed the classic-style thumbnail, and had to check out this video! Excellent content (as always) and thank you for your dedication! I look forward to your next Game Master video!

[captainmanx]

"I'm a deaf and dumb human fighter with a GREAT BIG FRICKING SWORD!! Hmm? No, I don't know what a murderhobo is."

The Five Things that usually happen:
1. Wait an hour for Steve to show.
2. Wait 20 minutes for Steve to find his character sheet (in his car.)
3. Decide what to put on the pizza that Carol's not "allergic" to.
4. Argue over who paid last.
5. Play scrabble, because Bob forgot his campaign notes.

[gnarthdarkanen]

Great video, Guy!
Only thing I could add is "Talk to your GM"... AND for more than "asking for arbitration". Sure, it's assumed that you've interacted with the GM even just getting invited to the game or showing up with a PC-sheet... BUT too many Players seem to avoid discussions directly with the GM as if he's some "big-boss" rank over the whole table, ONLY to expect him to "magically" have the greatest and most epic ideas for a story based on their characters.
GM's are still Players... They're work is like a Lynchpin, but they're certainly NOT psychic or mind-readers. Talking to the GM can generate ideas for him/her to tweak the campaign with subplots, hooks, and interactions that can draw the party closer together, help build the dynamic, and generate awesome RP moments as the "regular plot" progresses.

Just thought it worth the mention... Other than that, you seem to have everything covered. ;o)

[nickwilliams]

I'd say one thing - for a GM - that's essential to a Session Zero is getting player buy-in for any element of the campaign that restricts their characters' choices.

For example, if you are going to run Tomb of Annihilation, you need to make sure that the players are cool with the idea that they're going to be travelling to the jungles of Chult to stop a sinister curse. If the PCs all need to be working for the same organisation, you need to make sure they're cool with that. If you're running a homebrew campaign of intrigue set in one city, you better make sure the players don't want to explore the entire world.

The advice to players that comes out of this is to decide if you're actually cool with this, to negotiate with the GM if you aren't and _don't lie._ Don't tell the GM in Session Zero that the pitched campaign sounds great, then start trying to derail it as soon as play starts. If your DM has bought ToA, then "Do you want to play D&D?" _means_ "Do you want to play ToA?"

[ahoy]

I often enjoy writing little pieces of flash fiction in different situations, be it unique or mundane, to finalise how my character would act in general. For example, in one D&D campaign I have this very bureaucratic law enforcer who does things very by the books, so I wrote a small tidbit with him encountering a violent Ogre in a town, while he was on a mission for his kingdom. He tried to inform the Ogre about the fact the giant was harming others and attempted to tell him he would be arrested. It wasn't until the Ogre knocked the manacles out of my character's hands that he finally decided to engage the opponent with magic to restrain him. Another piece was simply him walking into a tavern and ordering a drink. It can really help to know how your character acts in niche situations to inspire you to act in other scenarios.

[GoldSabre]

I'm still absolutely loving your new graphic design. Well done!

[natmorse-noland]

It's hard for me to break my Session Zeroes into five discrete bits, but here are some things that usually happen:


1. Decide my character's motivation; why are they there in the first place?
2. Determine what pre-existing relationships my character has with the other party members, if any.
3. Sketch out the basics of what sort of inter-character dynamic we want or expect. (E.g., "Oh, my character doesn't like necromancers due to his backstory, so he's not going to trust your character at all." "That's cool! My necromancer is trying to keep all her activities above-board, so maybe she can earn your character's trust over time.")
4. Inform the GM of any development goals I have for the character in this campaign, so they can plan accordingly. (E.g., "My character starts the campaign with a very antagonistic relationship with this deity, but I'd like that to change over time, and maybe she'll eventually cross-class into cleric for that deity.")
5. Snacks.

[HLRth]

Great topic and video.

When starting my current campaign, I did a session zero email to prospective group, explaining the setting, playable classes, and the peculiarities of my setting. I asked for character concepts/ ideas. The email generated some responses, but little in the way of solid/actionable concepts/ideas. I kept writing / preparing.

Next, I reached out to a specific person, learning their character concept, taking their backstory and building around it/off of it. Since the world/setting was new, this was helpful, rather than bothersome. I then ran a brief session zero (more a session -1) for that player, to introduce them to the setting.

I then reached out to two other players, and repeated the above, adding to the parts of the world/culture they inhabited, and crafting interesting backstories for both (no backstories were forthcoming from them). I ran more involved session zero's (-1) for both for them separately.

The first session (session zero / 1) was when all three of these characters, were brought together in a "hot start". They all learned about each other and about the world during the session.

We played with this group of three for 2-3 sessions, then repeated the above with a 4th character, and then a 5th. The 4th character started in the same way, with an elaborate session zero to get used to his character. The 5th character had time/schedule constraints, was more "brought in" by another player. I wasn't really pleased, but rather than be a controlling "No D!<+", I made it work, with a brief written "session zero", and time during the actual first session with the other new character to connect them, and develop a sense of place and person.

I've come to think of this as a "Soft Open", like when a restaurant does a "Soft Open", not advertising, just opening, serving a more limited menu, to enable the kitchen and staff to get their act together before the actual grand opening. It enabled me to work up slowly, get the sense of my preferred group size (4-5-ish), find my voice as a GM, Find the voice of NPCs, practice shifting back and forth with a split group, practicing the VTT, and just get the kinks out. For a new campaign that is planning on being long standing, I highly recommend the "Soft Open" method for reducing fear/ anxiety/ stress!

We've continued to expand the group (Game Session 13 Ahead); the 6th character's session zero included two of the existing players, helping by playing NPC's. We repeated a previously experienced event from a different perspective, getting the players Meta-knowledge they lacked (but an in-game avenue to access that knowledge later). The players loved helping introduce the new player to the world, and playing new/different NPCs.

The most recent new character was our previous DM. I had a very elaborate session zero planned for him, but he was unable to make it. He did make it to the actual gaming session. Some quick thinking on my part, as well as amnesia (gotta love amnesia, doesn't exist as depicted in movies, etc, but god, it's helpful in games!) and flashbacks, I basically ran his session zero with him as the group looked on, as he "remembered it", with the recollections enabling him to make sense of his "current" in game situation. The players said they enjoyed looking in and seeing it happen. (From a VTT point of view, LOTS of map switching, but everyone was patient!).

All of the players are role-playing more than we ever did in our previous campaign. Having me as GM try and mangle accents, sometimes having them shift and transform as I'm speaking gives everyone comfort that acting skill is not needed as much as an honest portrayal of their character. Taking risks is OK. Laughing with each other is encouraged.

NONE of this would have been done in this way before I started watching the channel. The focus on story, the collaborative emphasis at all stages, the willingness to adapt, the goal of everyone (even me) having fun with the process are all things I thank Guy and the subscribes for helping me learn. I look forward to continued lessons!

[williamoswald]

My top five things I do:
1) make a good character
2) make a character I like
3) make a powerful character
4) regret not thinking of Guy's top five
5) want to play a new character

[TheOnlyToblin]

I've never had a session zero either as a player or as a GM. That kinda ... is bad. I really should do that more. I'm gonna go watch your video on how to do a Session Zero as a GM.

Welp. You don't have one. MAKE ONE!

[narcissusfullofhimselfsius]

this came out at a fantastic time. Not this Saturday but the following one is going to be a session zero for my group. I took notes.

[DelphineTheWorstBladeEver]

My session zero is starting next weekend and I couldn't be more excited

[littleblueclovers]

Also, there’s nothing stopping you from making a gradual change in an aspect of your character to one you prefer.

Off the top of my head I think of Critical Role and how Nott had a British accent early on and Caleb’s German accent was a lot more subtle.
That’s for a show that’s being recorded for thousands of people.

If you’re gradual about it I’m sure you can make a smooth transition. Alternatively you could tell your party and I don’t see why they wouldn’t let you show up with some changes.

[CatHasOpinions]

Our session zero is generally a bit of a mix, where the GM will have one on one interactions with people to understand their character and roleplay that character getting to the meeting point, and while that's happening the rest of us will either finalize our character sheets or help others finalize their character sheets. Once a few of us are in the same spot we'll start interacting in-character, and by the end of the play session we'll usually have a bit of plot-hook and/or have met a significant NPC or two.

[NorthWoodsAmbient]

This is perfect I'm having a session zero tonight to start a West Marches style game using Into the Odd. Figured the rules lite system and setting is perfect for west marches

[seanical]

So one interacting with other players: I kind of have a problem with that with my party (and to a large extent, one player in particular). I joined the group when everyone was level 5, and they started at level 1. Now, being new, I wanted to know who I was traveling with, so over the course of a few sessions, I spoke to each of them and got to know them a bit better. Except one. One of the players wanted to hide things from me, but that’s fine, we just met. Now, we are a level 12, went on multiple adventures, and still I’m denied interactions with this player. Not even just about what this person was before an adventurer, any attempt I make to reach out is rewarded with a barbed response. I legit don’t know how to handle it.

Expanding a bit more to the rest of my party, they don’t know much about me. While I don’t volunteer the info, absolutely no attempts have been made to reach out to me or get to know me, even when I was getting to know them. Should I try to get them to be more interactive, and if so, how can I do it?

[johnvorn]

Thanks Guy! Perfect timing for new campaign start :D