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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 7426904" data-attributes="member: 6801286">My advice would be to simply have fun. Not just your players, but you as well. A key element in that regard, is to get everyone on the same page. This is usually what I use a session 0 for. A session 0 to me, is getting all the players together in a room, and discussing how I plan to run the campaign, what they can expect from me, and what I expect from them. This is what I do in a session 0:-Discuss with my players what classes and characters they want to play, and helping them out if they have trouble making up their mind. The DM can be very helpful in making sure the party is balanced. The DM can also help out a lot with rolling up the characters, and explaining to the players how to make their character, and fill out their sheets. Remember that as a DM you are not expected to know 'everything', but you are expected to be best informed about the rules. If you have experienced players, this is also where you discuss what is and is not allowed in your campaign. Are any supplements/classes/spells/races off limits?-Discuss with my players what kind of campaign I intend to run, and in what kind of setting it will take place. Is it going to be a one-off adventure? An adventure module? A long campaign? A sandbox campaign? Will it be heavy on combat, roleplaying, or a bit of both? And what do the players really want to see and do? If the adventure involves a lot of exploration and traveling, do the players even like that sort of stuff? Are the players okay with a campaign that mostly involves a lot of talking, and political backstabbing? Or do they want combat, or a little bit of all those things?-Discuss with my players what subjects will be off-limits. Especially if you plan to run a campaign with adult elements, it helps to set up some basic guidelines. This is also a good opportunity to check with your players if there are any things they may be uncomfortable with. Will there be sex, torture, religious themes? And what happens when those situations occur? Do you 'fade to black' when such scenes happen, or do they not happen at all?-Make appointments with my players when we will be playing, and at what time(s). If you plan to play each week, on sunday, at 14:00, this is the moment to check when everyone is available, and for how long. What happens when someone can't make it? Do you continue playing without them, or skip a week? Will they miss out on experience rewards when this happens, or is there shared 'party exp'? You can also arrange with them how food and drinks will be handled. Is everyone expected to bring some drinks and snacks? And what about game supplies? Does everyone bring their own character sheets and dice? Or do you as a DM keep everyone's character sheets in one place?-Explain to my players how they are expected to play. This is especially important with players who are new to D&D. What can they do? How do they declare actions? When do they roll dice? Do they wait till you ask them to make a roll? Do they have to talk in first person as their characters, or can they also talk from the third person? Do you want them to do voices? What happens if a character dies?-Discuss the general etiquette of the game. Are they allowed to make out-of-character remarks and quote Monty Python endlessly? How strict or relaxed do you want the game to be? Do you want them to play as heroes, who are generally good characters, or are evil deeds allowed? Do you want them to work as a team? Do you want them to do things as a group (don't split the party!), or can they wander off on their own? I do all of these things before I start playing with my players. Getting a lot (if not all) of these details out of the way before your first session, can help a lot with getting everyone on the same page, and prevents anyone from having wrong expectations. If a particular player doesn't work well with the rest of the group, you can often catch this during your session 0.</blockquote>

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