Mastering The Game: Session Zero

 Welcome back to “Mastering The Game” where the rules are only guidelines, unless you say so.

Today, I want to talk about having a “Session Zero” when you start your game? What's a Session Zero? Well, that's kind of pre-game session, before it starts proper, and you sit down and discuss the game, the characters, and all that good stuff. Make sense?

Now, I'm going to be up front and say I don't usually do a session zero, as you might have seen me mention elsewhere. Why? There's a few reasons for that. When I start preparing for a game, I usually make some notes, figure out what kind of game I'm looking to run, be it a pre-made adventure/setting or something totally original, and think about who I want to play. You see, not every player wants to play every game. I know some people who can't handle horror and some who love it to death. That means I think about who I want to play. Once I've figured out what kind of game I'm going to play, and who's going to be in it, I can usually figure out what kinds of characters to expect. Knowing your players is important. After all of that is done, then I sit each player down, talk about the game and what kind of character they want to play, and build their character with them, one on one. I find that this works best.

But what if you don't know your players all that well? That's why some people do a Session Zero. Someone I know will have a meeting with everyone and have the same conversation I do, but in a group setting. He also plays a few different card and board games to see what kind of players they are and how they work together.

 

While I respect this way of doing things, it isn't for me. I prefer to do things on that one on one setting. It really helps me figure out what kind of player they are and what kind of character they want to make. I also think it helps for new or shy players feel comfortable with me and the game. Sometimes, players want to have secrets from the rest of the party, so this allows them to do that without having to worry about someone overhearing it.

One reason I don’t want to do a Session Zero is because, we already have everyone together, and once the characters are done, why don’t we just play? Some people are up for that but some aren’t. They just expected to roll up and make their characters, not ready to play yet. That happened in a game I was in and it went sideways fast. I’ve also had the reverse happen, where I was ready to play but no one else was because they put off making characters until the last minute so I spend hours twirling my thumbs. You really should make sure to communicate exactly what you’re expecting, if you are or aren’t doing a Session Zero.

So, if I don’t do a Session Zero, what do I do instead? I usually pick a canned/pre-made adventure to kick things off. In Deadlands, I’ve used Comin’ Around The Mountain with almost every group I’ve run because it’s a perfect introduction to the world and gives the Marshal and players plenty of room to get adjusted to the game. For D&D and the like, there’s several adventures you can use to introduce everyone. When I played Pathfinder for a couple of games, we started in prison. It gave us a reason to be together and let us get to know each other, without having to start in an inn or tavern. Now, there’s a reason why so many games start in a tavern: it’s a place where lots of different people, but especially adventurers, end up at some point or another. It also gives the DM a lot of NPCs to have running around that can interact with the characters. Just… Don’t try to find a dark corner for your character to brood in. If you’re doing it, for irony or not, your character will die in my game. By falling rocks. Guess the tavern owner needs someone to fix the roof.

What are some alternatives to starting the characters off instead of a tavern? A guild hall, one for adventurers if possible, is a great place to start. Even if the characters aren’t part of the guild, they could be looking for people to do something for them, like transporting or escorting something. There’s also being on the road and seeking shelter from a storm together. That’s a good one if you have veteran players, as they’ll get the introductions done for you. There’s also working on a caravan, which can work for a variety of settings. A train, as I mentioned for Deadlands, also works for urban horror or cyberpunk, as a lot of people take subways in cities. Having characters on vacation can be used in a lot of things, allowing for people from a lot of different places and classes to meet. I was once in a Slasher Flick game that was set on a cruise ship and it was perfect. Think about movies and comics and video games, and don’t be afraid to steal shamelessly, because you don’t have to be completely original, just original enough.

 

One other thing I tend to do, having run a lot of games, is skipping over the character introduction parts with experienced players. They’ve done it quite a few times, and usually have a good sense of their characters, so I don’t need to do it. They’re here to play the game and that means they’ll know to work together (as I tend to weed out terrorists pretty quickly) so I can let them move a little faster. In a Rifts game I was running on Discord, I had them be a group of mercs on their way to Mexico. To gloss over the introductions, I started them when they were arriving, having them know each other from the journey there. Quick and easy. And since they know what they’re doing, they were able to get into character and start playing them in short order. Of course, it was still herding cats, but that’s the job you signed up for when you took the job of being a DM or GM.

Of course, you have to consider the genre and setting of the game you’re playing, as well as the themes you’re using, when kicking things off. If you use a typical “you all meet in a tavern” set-up, it tells players that you’re probably going to be doing a “murder hobo” campaign. The first session, the first REAL session, is the most important for setting the tone of the game and it’s another reason why I don’t do a Session Zero. If you spend time during Session Zero setting up your theme and tone, while trying to herd all of the cats, it might get through to them. If you do what I do, get your rough game concept ready, then work on helping people make their characters fit, you can get right to the good stuff. Momentum is critical in the first few sessions, so having them take time to do all the introductions and all that can slow it down. I do, however, suggest setting aside some time at the start of the first session for introductions and screwing around. As the game continues, I have someone go over what we’ve been up to, and still give them that time to do some smoking and joking. 

So, yeah. There’s my thoughts on Session Zero. I could probably go on more about it but I’m starting to ramble. If you want me to talk more about it, let me know.