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Session Zero
MisterK:
What I did for my last campaign (Shadow World, all players having already played in the same world and timeline with me as a GM)
- lay out the ground rules about the general setting (centered in SW Emer but expect travels), the characters (custom RM, level 20 characters, no technical progression during the campaign), the way they'll work together (kind of cell for a secret organisation, I need at least two characters that are *members* of the organisation, including the cell leader, the others can either be members or "associates").
- let them discuss *together* the kind of character they want to play, both the rough demeanor outline and the technical aspects, and if they want to have bragging rights about a particular point (for instance, one of the players says he wants his character to provide the bulk of support magic - transportation, enhancements...). The GM can veto things if needed.
- take them separately to discuss the details of their character (race and origin, technical aspects)
- then, solo play (then duo play, then trio play) to roleplay major events in the characters' past and introduce a number of points of interest: people, places, items, knowledge.
- then, the four characters meet, and the campaign proper begins.
The pre-campaign (everything until the last part) took me almost one year. The campaign itself took five years to complete, at a rate of about 20 sessions per year (every fortnight or so) [each session was 6 to 8 hours long on average].
This is the kind of investment that is not necessarily worth it for shorter campaigns, and I will probably try to make it shorter next time, but I tend to fare better as a GM when I have spent some time with the players roleplaying part of their character's past - it gives me ideas, it anchors them in the setting and I can foreshadow the events that will be the core of the campaign plot.
Spectre771:
Absolutely yes. It helps build a nice foundation for the campaign. At PC creation, I get interesting background tidbits about the PCs, mini-adventures and (not quite) fluff to add to the history. It gives me a chance to work out a reason why the different PCs are coming together in the first place. I abhor the "...ok, all of you are in a tavern and you meet up..." trope. Even the "You all show up for the posting for mercenaries looking to earn gold..." is no good for me. I was able to have the patrician of the town contact each PC, either in person or via lackeys, to "invite" each PC into a quest. Now each player had a specific reason to be there. One was a spy for the patrician to make sure the party stayed on track, one was blackmailed into doing the quest, one was offered a very nice opportunity to open a casino, another was given the the means to overthrow the head of the thieves guild. By having the session-0, I was able to formulate the 'why is this person being blackmailed? why does this person hate the thieves guild? etc.' portion.
Majyk:
Yup-yup, as said above.
Best question to also ask way ahead of time is what motivates your players, nm their characters, so you can come up with their personalized game balance re: how much of a split between HACK ‘N SLASH vs RP they like.
Spectre771:
--- Quote from: Majyk on June 13, 2022, 04:26:41 PM ---Yup-yup, as said above.
Best question to also ask way ahead of time is what motivates your players, nm their characters, so you can come up with their personalized game balance re: how much of a split between HACK ‘N SLASH vs RP they like.
--- End quote ---
... add to that, intrigue. Most of my RM players are D&D players and it's all "run in, fight, get loot." I have sessions with very little combat and more using other skills on the character sheet (Surveillance, Acting, Public Speaking, Lie Detection, Hide Item, even Architecture!). It keeps them on their toes. The best response I ever had from a players was "Oh God. Why do I get the feeling we just did something very, very bad?"
EltonJ:
Boy, that's awesome.
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