The vast majority of us have played an RPG where we felt misplaced, whether it's playing a politically focused character in a survival campaign staying years outcasted or a pirate from a Victorian-era playing in an environment where there’s no ships in the horizon; well, I wonder if you have gone through this, if so, I can inform you that there is something to stop these situations and preventing other possible problems, It’s the session zero.
For those who doesn’t know about it yet, the session zero is a merely chat between GMs and players before the campaign starts, to set the players' expectations in addition to explaining the system rules, the campaign setting and all its singularities such as the house rules, after all, no one wants to play an evil rogue in a campaign full of characters who hate theft, isn't it?
This type of session is nothing more than an agreement, where the master will show what he already has done, like the deities of that pantheon, if there is magic or if a dragonborn is accepted in that society or even exists in that scenario after all, there are several worlds and each of them with their peculiarities and the DMs must let the players know about them since they have the information about the campaign.
The preparation for these situations is a little different from what we usually do in normal sessions, there’s no need for combat grids or even preparing encounters, since in these moments it is advised to have a pleasant conversation with the players and inspire them with ideas and thoughts that could fit into your campaign, but the DM needs a little temperance to not take control of the character, the DM should help giving ideas, it’s up to the player to decide and make the character that way or not.
Another thing to watch out for in your session should be campaign themes and the sub-themes they rely on, such as sexuality, gore, violence, or sensitive topics; we shouldn't make players uncomfortable without, well at least, letting them know what possible topics would be addressed in that scenario.
ZERO TO HERO
What about player preparation? Well, the Dungeon Master has an important role in session zero, the player is the hole reason everything is happening! The player must contribute with his own ideas, after all, he will be connected with the character for a long time, beyond that, creating a character with personality, thoughts and opinions of his own is a lot of work!
In addition to worrying about your character, one of the problems found among most of the players is that of assumption that everyone has goals or interests close to theirs, but each character has their own motivation and ideal, this doesn’t mean that they’re selfish, but they have their own paths. Asking about the expectations of others or about their playstyles can be mutually beneficial including those who had to answer about it, not only the questioner and of course, there's no need to reveal each character's innermost secrets or their past plot twists, this could be better utilized as a narrative tool. Remember the players make the world as much as Dungeon Master does.
At session zero most of the GM's work is on planning while the player's is on the future, understanding the expectations of the campaign and his owns as well, thinking through all the details of who he wants to be in this future campaign. The commitment with the table is hugely important, the DMs spend most of their days working or at least thinking in things to implement in the games, players although don’t need to worry as much, but they must have the same responsibility, so in the session zero make sure to check the schedule since these days there is nothing ending RPG tables earlier than schedule mismatches.
Knowledge and gumption are the keys in this session! The understand of the players and the DM wishes will get them all in good terms and will proportionate good sessions along the journey, just keep in mind that the biggest reason for the game is fun and this joy is greater when shared!
Good rolls and we see you all soon!