Why Session Zero Is So Important

Session Zero, the pre-game meeting during which the GM meets with players to set the foundation for the upcoming campaign, can be very useful, but not everyone thinks it’s necessary. Personally, I like having one–even when the players are a long-established table who know each other well already.

This is because each campaign is different, and it can be a good idea to touch base on what the expectations are, as well as:

Character Development and Creation

Not every table will need to do character creation during Session Zero. In the case of my table, everyone’s created characters before and knows their way around a character sheet. But we’ll still discuss the type of world in which I’m going to set my first homebrew campaign (sort of a Japan-influenced space setting). I’ve said that they can create whatever they want (even if it’s a character more suited to a high fantasy environment), and I’ll figure out how to make it work, but it’s still helpful for all of us to meet ahead of time to discuss the world and their characters.

Hearing the details of what they’re creating before the first session will also help me as the GM to develop that session. Additionally, if you have new players, Session Zero can be a good opportunity for seasoned players to help them with their character sheet rather than leaving them to figure it out on their own.

Establishing Player and GM Expectations

This is my first time being GM for this particular group. I’ve played with them as a player since I started playing D&D about a year and a half ago, and I’ve been GM for a different table, but no one at this particular table has experienced me in that role. With the change in roles at the table, I think it’s a good idea to meet ahead of time just so we all know what to expect. They may have questions for me about the world I’m creating. I may have table rules that differ slightly from what’s in the book that I want to let them know about.

I know my friends’ preferences pretty well, having played D&D with them for a while now, but that doesn’t mean that everything’s going to be exactly the same from one campaign to another. There could also be things that I’ve missed because they’ve known each other a lot longer than I have. Our Forever GM could have been accommodating preferences and boundaries for years, and I would never know. So, I’ll have a Session Zero as an opportunity for our table to identify and discuss these situations.

Scheduling and Other Logistics

If you’ve got a new table that’s not played together before, then a Session Zero can be an opportunity to get to know each other a bit before you play. It can also be useful for handling logistics, like scheduling. Neither of those things is something I need to do with my table, as it’s a long-established friends group, and we’ll have the same scheduling issues with my campaign as we do with everyone else’s campaigns. But if even one member of the table is new, then it can be helpful to discuss everything from logistics to game situations that people aren’t comfortable with.

A Table Is a Safe Space

A TTRPG table should be a safe space for everyone to feel like they belong. That doesn’t mean that everything has to be sunshine and roses; there’s combat and BBEGs, and there will very likely be darker moments in the story. But some people may have specific triggers that they’re uncomfortable having show up in the campaign. Session Zero is an opportunity for the GM to learn these so that all players can have a good time during the game. It’s better to find out things that might be a problem before the game even starts rather than have a player leave the table because they weren’t having fun anymore.

Do You Actually Need a Session Zero?

Some tables may not need one. I could probably get away without having one for my campaign just because I’ve been playing with these friends for a while now, and I know most of the things that I could find out in a Session Zero already. But I’ll have one anyway because I want to let them know what kind of world I’m creating so they make a more informed decision about their characters and backstories. And I get to know what they’re thinking for those characters so I can use it in my campaign and worldbuilding to build a story designed just for them.