🎁📝🎲 End of Month Bonus Post: Session Zero, Revisited: Things You’re Probably Skipping 🎁📝🎲
By Charlie Stayton, Behind the Die
By now, most Dungeon Masters know that Session Zero is more than just “let’s roll stats and pick a species.” It’s a vital tool—an onboarding session, a tone-setter, a contract, and a vibe check all rolled into one.
But even experienced DMs can overlook some of the most powerful elements of this pre-campaign ritual.
In this post, I’m not going to tell you to talk about alignment, safety tools, or scheduling (though yes, you should do those). I want to dig into what you’re probably skipping—the deep cuts that shape campaigns into masterpieces instead of just another fantasy story.
Let’s revisit Session Zero with a sharper lens—and add some high-impact questions and tools to your DM toolkit.
1. Genre Calibration: Are You All Playing the Same Show?
Sure, everyone agreed on “fantasy adventure,” but is this The Witcher or The Princess Bride? Critical Role or Game of Thrones?
Ask your players:
“What genre do you think we’re in? Give me a show, book, or movie that matches your expectation.”
This lets you calibrate not just tone, but pacing and stakes:
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A player expecting grimdark tragedy may not gel with another expecting wacky goblin hijinks.
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Someone picturing Lord of the Rings might get frustrated when another keeps trying to Monty Python the plot.
🛠 DM Tool: Make a mood board or 5-option poll:
“Is this campaign closest to Arcane, Legend of Vox Machina, Dragon Age, Stardew Valley, or The Mummy?”
2. Tone Matching: What Is “Too Far” for This Table?
Tone isn’t just about seriousness—it’s about consistency. Horror? Humor? Political intrigue? There’s room for all—but they need to be in balance.
Ask:
“On a scale of 1–10, how serious do you want this game to be?”
“What’s your tolerance for tone whiplash?”
You’d be surprised how often tone mismatch—not rules confusion—is what derails groups long-term.
🛠 DM Tool: Use movie trailers or scenes as tone benchmarks. “This session will feel like this scene from The Northman.” Or, “More Guardians of the Galaxy than Dune.”
3. Failure Calibration: What Kind of Setbacks Do You Love?
Most DMs talk about success. Let’s talk about failure—on purpose.
Ask your players:
“What kind of failure excites you?”
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Tragic failures? (A lost lover, a doomed city?)
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Comedic failures? (You blew up the tavern again?)
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Heroic setbacks? (Barely holding the line until reinforcements arrive.)
This gives you permission to fail your players beautifully. Not arbitrarily—but in a way that builds story and drama.
🛠 DM Tool: Include a “failure wishlist” on your player survey. You’ll know who wants the drama, who wants the chaos, and who wants to win.
4. Internal Arcs: Who Are They Becoming?
It’s not just about backstory. It’s about trajectory.
Ask:
“How do you want your character to grow—or break?”
“What truth are they going to learn the hard way?”
“What lesson should this campaign teach them?”
This lets you craft scenes and arcs that are tailor-made for their development, and it gives players narrative buy-in beyond “get gold and level up.”
🛠 DM Tool: During Session Zero, pair players for a brief character goal jam:
“Find one emotional conflict you share. Can you be foils? Friends? Former enemies?”
5. Interlocking Character Threads: The Web Before the Weave
Everyone makes their own character. But how do they connect?
We often leave it at “you all met at a tavern.” Let’s go deeper.
Ask:
“What debt does your character owe another PC?”
“Whose secret does your PC already know?”
“Who do they trust—but maybe shouldn’t?”
These links don’t need to be airtight. They just need to be hooks—things you, the DM, can tug on mid-session to spark drama and teamwork.
🛠 DM Tool: Give each player two index cards: one to write a gift they bring to the group, and one to write a weakness they try to hide. Shuffle, reveal, connect.
Bonus: The Contract Conversation (Without the Awkwardness)
A Session Zero is a table contract, but calling it that can feel stiff.
Instead, frame it as:
“What kind of game do we all want to brag about later?”
Follow it with:
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“What makes you feel heroic?”
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“What makes you feel bored?”
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“What makes you feel unsafe, in a bad way?”
You’ll learn more in five minutes of honest table talk than in any printed module.
Final Thought: Start With Clarity, Not Compromise
The best Session Zeros don’t just cover the basics. They create a shared creative vision.
Because your campaign isn’t just your story. It’s a collaboration.
So revisit Session Zero. Ask the weird questions. Dig into tone, tension, failure, growth, and trust.
And watch your next campaign come alive before the dice even hit the table.
What’s your favorite Session Zero question? Share it in the comments—or send me your campaign's genre mood board.
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