Phase 2: Session Zero Preparation
Session Zero creates the bridge between your vision and your players’ expectations. This phase prepares you to run an effective Session Zero that aligns everyone and generates excitement.
The Session Zero Packet
Create a player-facing document containing everything they need to make informed decisions about characters and commitment.
Information Layering
Your Session Zero packet uses progressive disclosure:
- Starting Scenario (sent first): Immediate situation, where they are, recent events
- World Primer (sent with packet): Deeper context, history, factions, cultures
- Character Guidelines (sent with packet): How to build characters that fit
This layering prevents information overload while ensuring players have what they need when they need it.
Starting Scenario (1-2 pages)
This player-facing document sets the immediate situation and gets players thinking about their characters. Send it a week before Session Zero to generate excitement and give players time to percolate ideas.
Key Elements:
- Where the characters are right now
- Recent events they might have witnessed or participated in
- The immediate opportunity (what brings them together)
- Questions to consider for character creation
Tutorial Example: Starting Scenario
# Starting Scenario: The Ironhold Job
## Where You Are
You've been in Ironhold's Foreign Quarter for two weeks. The Brass Monkey
Tavern has become your unofficial headquarters—it's where outsiders gather,
deals are made, and news flows freely. The dwarven city around you feels
tense, but in the Foreign Quarter, your kind are welcome enough.
## Recent Events
Over the past two weeks, several incidents have made you known in the Foreign
Quarter. You might have been involved in one or more of these:
- **The Market Brawl**: Clan warriors fought in the streets. Some helped
evacuate civilians (including young Dain Brightstone), others looted abandoned
stalls, a few just watched and took notes.
- **The Brass Monkey Incident**: A rigged dice game nearly sparked a riot.
Whether you exposed the cheat, were the cheat, or helped calm things down,
people remember.
- **The Warehouse Job**: Someone tried organizing freelancers for a "simple"
theft from a Goldbeard warehouse. It went badly. Were you the mastermind,
hired muscle, or the one who walked away when it smelled wrong?
Whatever your involvement, you've noticed others who handle themselves well
when things go sideways. The Foreign Quarter is small—competent outsiders
recognize each other.
## The Opportunity
This morning, a well-dressed dwarf delivered messages to each of you:
*"Merchant Guildmaster Thora Brightstone requests your presence at the
Brass Monkey Tavern tonight at sunset. Come prepared for immediate employment.
Discretion required. Payment generous."*
You know Brightstone by reputation—she runs the Merchant Consortium, one of
the few organizations in Ironhold that stays neutral in clan politics. If
she's hiring outsiders, she needs something done that clan dwarves can't or
won't do.
## What to Consider
- What brought you to Ironhold in the first place?
- What skills do you have that dwarven clans might lack?
- Which recent events were you involved in, and how?
- What would make you take a dangerous job in a foreign city?
## Practical Details
**Starting Situation**: Established in Foreign Quarter, known as competent
**Resources**: Standard starting equipment plus 50gp from recent work
**Meeting Point**: The Brass Monkey Tavern, tonight at sunset
The adventure begins when you decide what to do about Brightstone's invitation.
World Primer (2-3 pages)
The World Primer provides deeper context about the setting—information your characters would know or could easily learn. This builds on the Starting Scenario you’ve already read.
Key Elements:
- Brief history (5-6 key events maximum)
- Current situation (2-3 paragraphs)
- Major factions/powers (3-4 with one-line descriptions)
- Common knowledge (what everyone would know)
- Mysteries (what no one knows—yet)
Tutorial Example: Ironhold World Primer
# Welcome to Ironhold
*Last of the Great Dwarven Cities*
## What Everyone Knows
### The City
Ironhold stands alone—the last dwarven city-state to survive the Dragon Wars.
Built into Mount Karathak, it has endured for over 2,000 years through
legendary craftsmanship and five great clan-forges that never cool.
Population: ~500,000 (60% dwarves, 20% humans, 10% halflings, 10% other)
### The Districts You'll Navigate
- **Foreign Quarter**: Where you're staying. Neutral ground, clan law doesn't apply
- **Market District**: Open during daylight, controlled by Goldbeard clan
- **Forge District**: Industrial heart, restricted access, dominated by Fireforge
- **Clan Quarters**: Five separate districts, each with own laws and customs
- **Royal Quarter**: Seat of (empty) power, heavily guarded by all clans
- **Undertown**: The depths where the poor and clanless dwell
### Recent History (Last Century)
- **100 years ago**: The Sealing—deepest mines permanently closed after "incident"
- **75 years ago**: Last undisputed High King dies, Crown passes peacefully
- **50 years ago**: Foreign Quarter opened to boost failing trade
- **20 years ago**: High King Thorek dies in "accidental" tunnel collapse
- **6 months ago**: Hammer Crown vanishes from the Royal Vault
- **3 months ago**: Forges begin producing brittle steel, clan blame begins
### The Five Great Clans
1. **Ironfoot** (Red banners, hammer sigil): Military tradition, controls the army. "Strength is sovereignty."
2. **Goldbeard** (Gold banners, coin sigil): Wealth and trade, owns the markets. "Gold flows like water."
3. **Stonehand** (Grey banners, tower sigil): Ancient builders, maintain infrastructure. "The stone remembers."
4. **Fireforge** (Orange banners, anvil sigil): Master smiths, run the great forges. "From fire, perfection."
5. **Deepguard** (Black banners, key sigil): Mystics and lorekeepers, guard sealed tunnels. "Some doors must not open."
### The Power Brokers
- **The Merchant Consortium**: Thora Brightstone leads the only neutral organization. They hired you.
- **The Craft Guilds**: Technically neutral but members have clan loyalties
- **The Undertown Syndicates**: Crime families that profit from chaos
- **The Temple of the Forge-Father**: Tries to maintain peace, increasingly ignored
### Current Crisis
Without the Hammer Crown, no clan can prove legitimate rule. Each has ancient
claims:
- Ironfoot: "Might makes right, we have the army"
- Goldbeard: "We feed the city, we should lead it"
- Stonehand: "We built it, we know its bones"
- Fireforge: "The forges choose the worthy"
- Deepguard: "The Crown will return to the wise"
The failing forges turned simmering tensions into near-war. The Consortium
maintains fragile neutrality, but their hiring of outsiders (you) shows
desperation.
## What No One Knows (Yet)
- Where is the Hammer Crown?
- Why are the forges failing—sabotage or something worse?
- What really happened in the sealed deeps 100 years ago?
- Which clan (if any) orchestrated the King's death?
- Why hire outsiders for a simple forge diagnostic?
Character Creation Guidelines (1-2 pages)
Connect character options directly to your world while maintaining player agency.
Tutorial Example: Character Guidelines
# Creating Your Character
## Core Concept
You are an outsider with skills Ironhold desperately needs. The Merchants'
Consortium hired you because you have no clan loyalties—you can go places
and ask questions that locals cannot.
## Ancestry Options
**Common in Ironhold**:
- **Humans**: Traders, scholars, mercenaries from surface kingdoms
- **Halflings**: Merchants, spies, entertainers from the Foreign Quarter
- **Dwarves**: Must be clanless (exile, orphan, or foreigner)
**Uncommon but Accepted**:
- **Elves/Half-elves**: Scholars, mages, diplomats (viewed with suspicion)
- **Gnomes**: Inventors, alchemists, jewelers (useful oddities)
**Rare (Needs Strong Concept)**:
- Other ancestries exist but need explanation for why Ironhold tolerates you
## Class Considerations
**Highly Valued**:
- Investigators (Rogues, Rangers, Monks)
- Problem-solvers (Wizards, Artificers)
- Negotiators (Bards, Clerics of trade/knowledge)
**Viewed with Suspicion**:
- Divine casters of non-dwarven gods
- Warlocks (what's your patron's interest?)
- Druids (stone over nature here)
## Starting Bonds
Every character needs:
1. **Why you're in Ironhold**: Trade? Study? Refuge? Opportunity?
2. **What you offer**: Skill that clans lack or won't trust each other with
3. **What you want**: Beyond gold—what drives you?
## Party Connections
During Session Zero, we'll establish deeper connections between PCs. The Starting
Scenario mentioned recent events—now we'll explore how those created relationships:
- **Professional**: "We're both in the information business. Competitors or occasional partners?"
- **Circumstantial**: "We were both at [event]. Did we work together or just notice each other's competence?"
- **Reputational**: "I've heard of you. What did I hear, and is it true?"
- **Transactional**: "You did a job for me / I owe you a favor / We both got burned by the same employer"
We'll create 2-3 connections per character during Session Zero.
Table Expectations (1 page)
Set clear boundaries and logistics before anyone invests time in characters.
Tutorial Example: Expectations Document
# Table Expectations & Logistics
## Game Style
- **Tone**: Political intrigue with action, not pure combat
- **Rating**: PG-13 (violence yes, graphic descriptions no)
- **Lethality**: Moderate (death possible but not arbitrary)
- **Roleplay**: Expected but not required to do voices
## Safety Tools
- **Lines**: [Topics we won't include at all]
- **Veils**: [Topics we'll "fade to black" on]
- **X-Card**: Anyone can tap/say "X" to skip content
- **Check-ins**: Regular temperature checks on comfort
## Scheduling
- **Day/Time**: Saturdays, 2-6 PM
- **Frequency**: Weekly (skip holiday weekends)
- **Attendance**: Life happens, but please give notice
- **Quorum**: Game runs with 3+ players present
## House Rules
- **Inspiration**: Earned for good RP, clever solutions, making others laugh
- **Drinking Potions**: Bonus action for yourself, action for others
- **Death Saves**: Rolled privately to increase tension
- **PvP**: Only with consent from all involved
## What I Provide
- All rules materials needed
- Maps and handouts
- Snacks and water
- Dice if you need them
## What You Bring
- Your character sheet
- Note-taking supplies
- Enthusiasm and patience
- Snacks to share (optional)
Preparing for Player Input
Design systems to capture and integrate player ideas during Session Zero.
Character Integration Forms
Create a simple form for players to fill out during character creation:
Tutorial Example: Integration Form
# Character Quick-Build
**Character Name**: _________________
**Ancestry/Class**: _________________
## Three NPCs from Your Past
1. **Name**: _________ **Relationship**: _________ **Status**: _________
2. **Name**: _________ **Relationship**: _________ **Status**: _________
3. **Name**: _________ **Relationship**: _________ **Status**: _________
## Character Details
**One Goal**: (What are you trying to achieve?)
_________________________________________________
**One Fear**: (What keeps you up at night?)
_________________________________________________
**One Secret**: (Known only to you and DM)
_________________________________________________
**One Connection**: (To another PC—fill out together)
_________________________________________________
## Optional World-Building
**A Place You've Been**: (Location in or around Ironhold)
_________________________________________________
**A Rumor You've Heard**: (May or may not be true)
_________________________________________________
**A Custom or Tradition**: (From your background)
_________________________________________________
Session Zero Agenda
Plan your Session Zero to balance efficiency with relationship building.
Tutorial Example: Session Zero Structure
# Session Zero Agenda (3 hours)
## Welcome & Tone Setting (15 minutes)
- Introductions around the table
- Share excitement about campaign
- Review safety tools
- Set collaborative tone
## World Overview (30 minutes)
- Present world primer (not read aloud!)
- Answer clarifying questions
- Show map of Ironhold
- Explain current crisis
## Character Creation (90 minutes)
- Individual concept discussion (10 min each)
- Mechanical build support
- Fill out integration forms
- Help with rules questions
## Party Formation (30 minutes)
- Establish character connections
- Determine group dynamics
- Create shared backstory element
- Decide on group name (optional)
## Expectations & Logistics (15 minutes)
- Review table expectations
- Confirm schedule
- Exchange contact info
- Set communication channels
## Preview & Questions (15 minutes)
- Tease first adventure
- Address any concerns
- Schedule Session 1
- Group photo (optional)
Phase 2 Artifacts
By Session Zero, prepare:
- Starting Scenario (1-2 pages) - Send 1 week before Session Zero
- Session Zero Packet (5-6 pages total) - Send 3-4 days before
- World Primer (builds on Starting Scenario)
- Character Guidelines
- Table Expectations
- Character Integration Forms - Have ready at Session Zero
- Rules Reference Sheet - Have ready at Session Zero
- Campaign Calendar (if using)
- Name Lists (for improvisation)
Tutorial Example: Quick Rules Reference
# Ironhold Quick Rules
## Skill Checks DCs
- Easy: 10
- Moderate: 15
- Hard: 20
- Nearly Impossible: 25
## Social Standing
- Clan Dwarf: Advantage on Persuasion with same clan
- Clanless: Disadvantage on Persuasion with any clan
- Outsider: Neutral (but watched closely)
## City Districts
- Clan Quarters: Need permission or escort
- Foreign Quarter: Open to all
- Market District: Open daylight hours
- Forge District: Workers and permits only
- Royal Quarter: Invitation only
## Common Knowledge
- Clan colors and symbols (provided)
- Basic dwarvish phrases
- Market day schedules
- Public houses that serve non-dwarves
Time Investment
- World primer writing: 2-3 hours (builds on existing Starting Scenario)
- Character guidelines: 1-2 hours
- Table expectations: 1 hour
- Forms/worksheets: 1-2 hours
- Materials preparation: 1-2 hours
- Total Phase 2: 6-10 hours across a week
Common Pitfalls
“I need to detail everything”
Solution: Players only need enough to make characters. Save deep lore for play.
Example: “I’ve written 47 pages about the economic system of my world, including currency exchange rates between kingdoms.” Cool. Your players need to know: “Gold is gold, most people barter, and the Merchant Consortium controls trade.” Save those exchange rates for when the party inexplicably decides to become fantasy forex traders (which, knowing players, could actually happen).
“My world is too complex”
Solution: Focus on where characters start. Expand outward as needed.
Example: “Players need to understand the Seventeen Years’ War of Succession, the Five Heresies of Saint Balthazar, and the complete genealogy of three royal houses.” No, they need to know: “There’s a city. It has problems. You can help for money.” When the bard inevitably tries to seduce someone important, THEN you can drop that they’re the third cousin of the deposed prince. Until then, it’s just cognitive overload.
“What if players want something I haven’t thought of?”
Solution: Say “Yes, and…” or “Yes, but…” Never just “No.”
Example: Player: “I want to be a ninja in your medieval European setting!” You (internally): “But I don’t have ninjas!” You (externally): “Interesting! Tell me more about this shadow warrior from the Far East who’s traveled to our kingdom. What brought them here?” Boom. Now you have ninjas, they’re rare and exotic, and the player just gave you a plot hook about mysterious Eastern kingdoms. You’re welcome.
Checklist: Ready for Session Zero?
- World primer explains current situation clearly
- Character guidelines connect to campaign premise
- Integration forms ready to capture player input
- Agenda keeps session focused but flexible
- Materials printed/digital access confirmed
- Snacks and drinks planned
Next Step
With your packet prepared, you’re ready for Phase 3: Session Zero Execution, where collaborative magic happens.