A session zero is a short meeting before the campaign starts — or the first part of the first session — where everyone at the table agrees on what kind of game you are about to play. It is not about rules lawyering. It is about making sure five people with five different ideas of a fun night end up at the same table.
It takes thirty to sixty minutes and prevents most of the problems that end campaigns early.
Why it matters
Almost every table argument comes from mismatched expectations. One player wants dungeon crawls; another wants court politics. One expects characters to die; another has written a ten-page backstory. A GM plans a horror campaign for a group that wanted something light. None of these people are wrong — they just never talked about it.
Session zero is that talk, done on purpose and early.
What to cover
- Tone and length. Heroic, gritty, scary, funny? A one-shot, a short adventure or a long campaign?
- The mix. How much combat, roleplay and exploration does the table want? Most groups want some of each, in different amounts.
- Safety tools. Lines are things that never appear in the game. Veils are things that can happen, but off-screen. Many tables also use an X-card, which lets anyone skip content without explaining why.
- House rules. Critical hits, potions, leveling by milestones, how death works.
- Table agreements. What happens when someone misses a session, whether players can fight each other, phones at the table, splitting the party.
- Characters. Starting level, how the party knows each other, and any options the GM would rather not use.
- Logistics. Day, time, length and where you play.
Running it well
Keep it relaxed. Let quieter players answer first. Collect lines and veils privately if anyone prefers — a quick message to the GM is enough. Write the answers down and share them; a written agreement is easy to point back to when a new player joins or a question comes up months later.
Many groups also make characters together during session zero, so the party fits together from the start.
A free kit to run yours
Roleplayer’s Session Zero Kit walks your table through every topic above and turns the answers into a one-page agreement you can print, paste into your group chat, or save straight into a new campaign so everyone can read it later. It is free and you don’t need an account to use it.
When you are ready, start the campaign and invite your players, or find players if you still have open seats.