Recently my Dungeons and Dragons group had a “Session Zero” for my upcoming campaign. We set some ground rules for the game (off limits topics, basic play loop, house rules) and started character creation. And with characters come backstories. Backstories that I have to read, approve, and figure out how they fit into the world we are all crafting.

Step1: Compiling Stories

So, of course, the first step in this process is for my players to come up with stories for their characters. But that does not mean I am totally uninvolved. As players begin crafting their stories they sometimes run the drafts past me. And as I read them I give suggestions on how to mold them. On rare occasion I have to tell my players no, but usually I try to use improv rules when making my suggestions. Not a hard no, but a “have you considered…?” or a “What if we tried it like this?”

On the one occasion I needed to squash a player’s story I did try to salvage as much of it as I could. But the player had a case of what I call “main character syndrome”. This is where their story is so big and bombastic, so large and important, that it overshadows everything else. And like the main character in most stories, the entire story becomes about resolving their conflict.

As I said, I tried to salvage important bits and pieces of their idea. Introduce elements of uncertainty so that I could play with a few things behind the scene, but ultimately that idea was scrapped. When they came back with a second idea, I at first balked at the mechanics their story implied, but then shared a similar (but simpler) story I had used in the past and they loved it. And so they still get to be the main character of their story, but not of the story.

Step 2: How do These Fit Together?

The next thing I asked my players to do, once they had their backstories decided, was to establish at least one positive connection with another player character. This way these characters are not complete strangers when they first meet, at least some of them know each other.

My work on this step is seeing how any extra characters from my player’s backstories can fit into the world I have made. Most don’t need an immediate answer but a few are going to be in the main community and so I need to figure out how to integrate them.

Step 3: Figure Out What Threads I Can Pull

Once I have all the backstories (or even just backstory elements that aren’t going to change) I begin figuring out how to weave them into stories. I have been running one shots within the setting and have been dropping hints for at least one (and a half now) character’s backstories. Another character has an easy way to introduce character elements (I just have to decide what they mean).

What I am saying is that Step 3 is where I get to have fun figuring out how to torture my players with the tools they gave me. And how to reward them for making good stories.

Around a month ago Baldur’s Gate 3 got its full release. Before that it had been in “early access” for a few years. With its full release a few things have cropped up around the game. Most of those things are comparisons to the rest of the so called AAA games industry. The main thing being said is that Baldur’s Gate 3 is, or should be, the new standard that AAA games are held to… and a bit of backlash against that idea.

So lets talk about what is being said, and what I think is actually being expected.

What is Being Said

So, as I said the feedback from consumers can more or less be summed up as “Baldur’s Gate 3 should be the new industry standard”. This has garnered some backlash from more established gaming companies. They complain that making a game of the length, complexity, and polish seen in Baldur’s Gate 3 is near impossible. And I can kind of see where they are coming from.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is the type of game that can take 100+ hours for a single play through, with lots and LOTS of potential for re-playability. From character customization, to multiple ways of handling situations, to full on branching story lines. It is obvious a lot of work went into this game. And all that work is a bit of a risk. A game of this length and complexity is easy to get wrong. And so, publicly traded, risk adverse companies can’t/don’t want to take that risk.

What was Actually Meant

Having said all that, there is a disconnect between what is being discussed and what was meant originally. I believe that what was actually meant by “Baldur’s Gate 3 should be the new industry standard” is not its length, complexity, or even polish. What was meant was the state the game launched in. On launch the game worked. Were there bugs? Of course there were bugs, in a game this big they are unavoidable. But they are being addressed at an astoundingly rapid pace. So what was it that was so good about Baldur’s Gate 3?

A few things. First and foremost, assuming your computer could run it, it simply worked. Few if any game breaking or ruining bugs/crashes. No major graphical glitches. A few performance issues in the late game, but those have/are being addressed in patches. This can not be said of all (or even most) AAA games now. SO many come out in terrible states that are borderline unplayable (if not outright unplayable due to things like crashing).

Secondly, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a complete game on release. No on release story DLC. No pay to progress faster mechanics. Not even a cash shop of any kind, not even for cosmetics. Many so called AAA games now a days try and nickle and dime their players via micro transactions (some of which are not so “micro”). I do not care if a company charges for cosmetic items that do not affect gameplay. But I do care if a company holds game play elements hostage behind a pay wall, when I have already purchased the game. The only way Baldur’s Gate 3 does this is an optional “Premium Edition” that includes a few cosmetic items. And it is not pushed or even available in game.

Smoke and Mirrors

But this disconnect between what was meant and what is being discussed is intentional. The games industry is desperately afraid of being called on their BS. They insist that things are the way they are because they need to be. But then Baldur’s Gate 3 comes along and disproves that notion. So the big names in the games industry need to reframe the narrative. Rather than the reasonable things that were meant, they framed the discussion as “unreasonable consumers wanting the sun and moon”. When really we just want finished games that work on launch and not to be charged extra for a good experience.

The Dungeons and Dragons campaign I am in is about to come to a close. 2-4 more weeks of games for this campaign (DM says 1-2 but when do things go as the DM plans?). Then it will be my turn. My campaign should officially begin in less than a month. What do I have left to do?

Session Zero Prep

There are a few last things for me to put together for the session zero that will kick off my stint as DM. First is a questionnaire. The questionnaire will be about what topics the players are comfortable encountering. These will range from slap stick comedy, to romance plots, to much darker topics. I don’t have plans to use most if any of the things going onto the questionnaire, but it is much better to know where the lines are well ahead of time.

The next step of session zero is to help my players make their characters. This step has already begun. Some of my players are throwing character ideas and backstories at me so we can work on them.

Populating the World

I know where my players are going and what they are doing, but I have a sparse few NPCs for them to interact with. I have the main quest giver, his wife, an idea for a pudgy shop keep, and a fun bar keep. But I don’t have much else. So I am going to have to make more characters.

And of course, I am going to have to design some dungeons and other encounters for my players. I have a few early encounters for my players, but I need to flesh out the layout of the actual dungeons.

Presentation

Finally, we come to how we are going to play the game. I have a play mat that can be drawn on… but it takes some work to erase a given map to make a new one. So, I am reconsidering the idea of using Roll20 to run my game. The main problem being getting maps. But that is a relatively easy to solve problem. Even if I have to make the grid maps myself.

As the current Dungeons and Dragons campaign I am playing in draws closer and closer to an end, my campaign draws closer to its beginning. But before that happens, a few weeks may come when we don’t have enough players to progress the story. In those cases, we have generally run one-shot adventures. This works out great as it also gives me some experience as the Dungeon Master. Only one problem, what do I put in the adventure?

Seed Idea

Given the nature of the campaign I want to run I have plenty of ideas I can turn into adventures. One of the big problems is that a lot of those ideas have restrictions that prevent them form easily becoming one-shots. Some of the ideas are character specific (If I have a character that meets X requirement this dungeon will be good) or perhaps the idea will simply take too long to tell a good story for a one-shot. Whatever the case, I have to be specific with the base idea I grow into my one-shot.

Then I remembered an idea I have been throwing around for a while. This idea actually had some of the opposite problems. It didn’t easily fit into a campaign, but a quick “one and done” session? Works great. Honestly, the only reservation I have with using this idea is if I should keep it for a Halloween special. It does have a few creepy parts to it, plus plenty of zombies and such.

I have many thoughts on what I can do for my upcoming Dungeons and Dragon’s campaign, so I figured I would write some of them down. Some of these are almost certainly going to happen. Others?… Who knows?

Almost Certain Ideas

Dragons

I may have mentioned in a previous post that I have created a group of dragons for my campaign. This group considers the island to be too dangerous to be left in mortal hands unsupervised. As such, at least one magic item the party retrieves will be deemed “too dangerous” by the dragons. As a result, one of the dragons is dispatched to retrieve the item. This encounter can play out in one of several ways. Diplomatically, as the dragon does not seek to harm the players they will be willing to trade. Chase, the party may try to flee, and based on what magic items/spells they have this may be an actual option. Fight, if they players are reckless and don’t hear out the dragon they may attack. Whatever they do, they will become aware of this secondary faction and may have gained a new ally or enemy.

Unicorn

One of the dungeons I have in my back pocket was born of two simple ideas. First, I want a relatively low level encounter with a creature that has a lair. For those unfamiliar, some creatures can permeate an area with so much magic as to make it their own. This alters the terrain and adds some potentially nasty effects to deal with. The other idea was as follows: Didn’t Europeans in olden times mistake Rhinos for Unicorns? That might make a fun encounter. So the primary hunt is for an evil Unicorn, with all of the positive traits of a Unicorn flipped to negative. But also in the encounter I want the party to see a shape in the distance, and if they don’t roll well enough mistake it for a unicorn. But it is in fact a couple rhinos charging them at full speed.

Assault

At several points in the campaign I am going to have something attack the adventure’s town. In one case it will be a “Trojan Horse” monster, an outer shell designed only to breach/bypass the walls so those inside the creation can get in the town and wreck stuff. The Player’s objectives will be to mitigate damage and then help deal with any aftermath. But another time, the threat perceived will very much be real. What is the thing? The terrifying Tarrasque? A mighty demon? A horde of chittering abominations? I am uncertain what the party will be facing, but it will certainly be out of their weight class… at least if they faced it alone. But whatever it is, it is attacking an entire town of adventures, so the party will have plenty of back up.

Less Certain Ideas

Now for something completly diffrent

One of my early ideas for a “dungeon” was for the party to be transported to a manor. Complete with guests, servants, and all the amenities expected of such a place. BUT, someone has been murdered, and suddenly the party is in a murder mystery. They must solve the mystery and apprehend the killer if they wish to acquire the magic item at the center of this dungeon. But are these people even real?

Suspicion

Another idea is for the party to enter the dungeon and be forced to go through some portal/teleportation circle/contrived conveyance one at a time. And once they are on the other side, they discover that at least one of them has been replaced with an imposter. The imposter is a perfect replica with all the abilities and memories of the person they replaced. And at first they may not even realize they are the imposter. How will the party find the fake? Will they need to rescue the displaced party member? Is there even a fake in the first place or have they been lied to? I have no idea how I would pull this all off, but I would love to do it.

Back for some more Dungeons and Dragons campaign design talk. This time about how I have crafted what characters I have already, and how I plan to go about making more.

Starting With the Beginning

The first character I created for this setting was a result of a simple question: How do the players know where to go? Giant island, randomly spawning dungeons, unmapped (possibly changing) terrain, they need some kind of guide. This is when pulled from a backstory I had written for a past character of mine. This character had come from a clan that studied magic, believing that no magic had inherent morality. So, this new character had two traits: guides the party and studies all magic regardless of “risks”. Obviously I needed them to be a Wizard. Of elven ancestry because of the clan (more background, don’t worry about it). And I needed him to be in a position of authority. And so I had my first character.

You may be asking “what is this character’s name?” A reasonable question, to which I reply “Does it matter?” Because honestly, does it actually matter what the character’s name is at this point? At some point, sure, he needs a name. But at the point of populating a location the character’s individual names don’t matter that much.

Fleshing things out

So I have a character to drive the main plot forward, what now? First was to develop this character a little with a second character, namely his wife. Where my elven wizard was very intelligent I wanted his “other half” to be very wise. Given the wizard’s family his partner would have to be some flavor of spell caster or magical being. Then I had a character build idea that just fit everything I needed from this character and just slotted that in. And so Wroxi was born.

Wroxi is a Fairy Druid/Monk, this fits all the requirements. Spell caster? Check. Magical being? Check. Wisdom being a prominent stat? Check. Now I may hear some of you saying “Why does she have a name already and not the Wizard?” Quite simply because I played this character in a one-shot and she needed a name. I ended up liking the name and stuck with it.

But from here things get a bit harder.

Everyone Else

While I have a few ideas for other characters I don’t have much in the way of fleshed out characters. Mostly I have roles to fill and the outline of a character to fill some of them. Some of these character ideas include: a bearish barkeep that is almost exactly what he appears to be. A jovial fat man of a merchant that is almost certainly hiding something. A roaming goblin that is just trying to get by. And a group of dragons trying to make sure the adventures don’t unleash anything too dangerous. A few more positions need to be filled, but I don’t even have an outline of what will take that spot: civilian leadership, defense force leadership, other adventuring parties.

So, my campaign has no set “theme” for what the players will be facing. This is a double edged sword. On the one hand I could throw a wyvern at the players one week. Goblin raiders the next week. And wrap up the month with a murder mystery involving creatures from beyond reality. But on the other hand I have no guiding light on what to use. No pre-built encounters, no dungeon layouts, I have to make everything.

Making Everything

So yeah, I have to design every map, every encounter, every twist and turn. That level of freedom is both liberating and terrifying. Because I can make whatever I want, but if it goes poorly I am the only one to blame. It is also terrifying because I have no limits on what I can use, except those I impose on myself.

limits make things better

If I approached each dungeon with truly no limits on what I could use I would never get anything done. Two things come to mind in this regard, the first being “analysis paralysis”. Analysis paralysis is when you have so many choices you could make and spend so much time debating them, that you never actually do any of them. With no limits, the number of possibilities becomes overwhelming. So limits help narrow down those possibilities.

The other saying that comes to mind is this “an artist’s greatest nemesis is a blank canvas”. The meaning is very similar to “analysis paralysis” but slightly more specific. The hardest part of a project is often starting the project, once you get going you pick up momentum, things fall into place. You might hit snags that bring things to a grinding halt, but getting started again won’t be as hard as when the canvas was blank. And limitations can, if constructed correctly, be the first brush strokes on an otherwise blank canvas.

Crafting Limitations

My limitations for a given dungeon can be almost anything. Restrict the setting to a classical castle dungeon, a cave, a forest, or a noble’s mansion. What types of enemies show up in the setting? Goblins? Skeletons? Mimics? All valid options, but I need to pick one as a starting point. Maybe even just a theme. Like illusions, labyrinth, battle gauntlet, or even murder mystery.

don’t have do do it alone

One thing I have been planning basically from the word go, is for my players to have some input on this process. Not in the actual design of the maps and monster placement of course. But in what shows up. My intention is to have them all write down things they want to have show up in dungeons, themes they want to encounter, and some enemy types they want to fight. For example I might get puzzles, gothic horror, and goblins from Player A. Player B might give me traps, survival gauntlet, and fat Dragons. While Player C could give me illusions, nature, and slimes. And I could mix and match them as I saw fit, or even include ideas of my own. The idea is to get a starting point and to give the players a sense of investment.

lyWhat is a Session Zero?

In RPGs a session zero is the first session of a new group/adventure. You might be thinking “but wouldn’t that make it session one?” no, but I can understand why someone might think that. But a session zero does not involve playing your character, and a surprising minimum of rolling dice (if any even get rolled).

In session zero several things are decided upon as a group. First and foremost players create their characters. Now with more experienced players they may already have a fully fleshed out character going into session zero. But even these characters may have some last minute tweaking to fit the setting.

But more importantly the group decides on boundaries. What topics are off limits for the story? Are people fine with Non-Player Characters (NPCs) flirting with them? Are players fine with other player’s characters flirting with them? How gory can the descriptions get? Any off limit topics (typical examples include slavery, rape, racism).

So this is called “Session Zero” because it is when the players all decide how the game  will be played. But what concerns need to be addressed in my game?

My Session Zero

The first concern would normally be covering what topics are taboo/expected in the campaign. And some amount of that will take place, but I am going to be DMing for an established group that has been playing together for… over a year now? As such we have a pretty good idea of our personal limits around such things, but making them black and white would still be helpful.

character creation

Next on the list is finalizing characters. Everyone in my group is fairly experienced in making characters, but I have a few things that make character creation non-vanilla. First and foremost I am starting my group at level 3 rather than level 1. Several reasons for this, first is because most classes don’t unlock the interesting features until level 3. This way the players are starting with some interesting abilities and more power than it takes to clear a basement of giant rats.

Next is some of the available options for my players. Of which I have two restrictions. My first restriction is that they aren’t allowed to use options from the latest set of optional rules: Spelljammer. The reasons are simple. First it is a very fantasy sci-fi setting that doesn’t fit the world I am going for. Secondly is that I have not gotten the chance to read it and so don’t know how to balance for the options within. The other restriction is if a player wants to use an option that has a “legacy” version (usually a race) we need to discuss if they can use the legacy version or need to use the “updated” version.

And finally are the extra goodies I am giving each character from the word go. First is a bonus feat. For those that don’t know feats are special bonus abilities a character cha pick up. For instance a character might be such a good cook that their food actually has healing properties. Or maybe you have a special connection to a place of power that gives you some bonus spells. Or perhaps you are simply telepathic. whatever the specific feat it adds a bit of spice to a character that can help make them the player’s own. And for the final bit of flavor for each character I am allowing them one common magic item each.

World building

The next step is to make the players feel like a part of the world. This comes in two flavors: personal connections and shaping the world. For personal connections I have a simple rule: I want each character to have a positive history with at least one other character. This way we can start off with some friend groups in the party rather than a bunch of strangers. As for shaping the world, this isn’t just my story. If the players want an element to be present on the island I will try to incorporate it. But more importantly, they decide where they came from, whether that be a preexisting setting or a custom made one. This can give me plot hooks to draw upon latter down the line. It also starts the players off with some investment in the world.

house rules

I have a few house rules that I will be informing my players about, how flanking will work for instance. But Wizards of the Coast has been putting out playtest materials with new rules that look interesting. As such I will be discussing with my players about which of these rules we will be integrating into our game.

Your Session Zero

I may have laid out how I will handle session zero for my up coming campaign, but that is far from the only way to handle it. There are as many ways to handle a session zero as there are groups playing table top RPGs, and you will need to find the right fit for your group. But there are three important things all successful session zeros have in common. Get the players ready to play, make sure people will be comfortable at the table, and get the players invested in the game. Succeed in these three things, and the fun should naturally follow.