When you find a group of people to play D&D with, you probably want to get started right away. But don’t forget session 0! It’s just as important as creating characters, a world, and a campaign. Think of it as the ultimate prep. After session 0, everyone will be prepared to play an awesome game.

In this post, you’ll learn how to run a successful session 0 for your D&D 5e campaign. I’ll give you tips and tricks and useful topics to discuss with your players. Excited? Cool! Then just keep reading.  

What is session 0?

In session 0, you explain your vision about the campaign to your group. This includes the atmosphere (think grimdark or light-hearted) and any important themes. And don’t forget to ask your players what they’re uncomfortable with! It’s good to know this beforehand, so you can keep it into account.

You should also set ground rules before your campaign starts. This could be as simple as “we’re going to use the flanking rules”, but also “I don’t tolerate harmful slurs at the table”. This way, people will know what they can expect from you and each other. The bottom line: Session 0 should be a place for open communication, where you can set clear boundaries.

Setting the stage

When you’re starting a new campaign, you first need to decide on a system you’re going to play in. For example, will you be playing D&D 5e or maybe Monster of the Week? If your players don’t know the chosen system, session 0 is the perfect time to explain the rules. 

After you’ve established your system, you can give some context about the world your players will be playing in.

Things to consider are:

• Is it a homebrew or an existing world?
• Is there a conflict in the world that your players know of? Think something as huge as a war, or something smaller like a magical bomb that exploded two days ago.
• Are all the races your system uses present in the world?
• Do the players already know each other?
• Is the story linear or non-linear?
• Will it be a dungeon crawler, or more roleplay heavy?

Explain the mood of your campaign

As I mentioned before, it’s important to let your players know what the mood and vibe of your campaign will be. Why? Because it will help your players create fitting characters for your world. 

Roleplay expectations

Roleplay is all about consent. That’s why it’s important to manage expectations during your session 0. Ask your players if they want ‘room’ to roleplay, or if they want to keep the story going. Discuss with your players if you are comfortable with them romancing your NPC and/or monsters. And don’t forget that it’s totally valid if your campaign has little roleplay, if that’s what everyone wants. 

Don’t worry too much about what you see online. Just try to have an open discussion about what you and your players like. Most importantly: try to create a safe space where your players can express themselves.

Character creation

After you’ve discussed what the world and story is about, it’s time for your players to create characters that fit within your campaign. Before you let them ‘run wild’, explain to your players what your expectations and limits are. 

For example, if you want to run a classic high fantasy adventure, you might not want to include the Gunslinger class. Maybe you have a world where dragons don’t exist (PLOT TWIST! THEY WERE THERE THE WHOLE TIME!), so dragonborns aren’t a thing. 

However, I would suggest not limiting your players too much. Weird and unexpected combinations can make for the most amazing parties. 

Homebrew rules

To get everyone on the same page, it’s vital to discuss your homebrew rules and/or interpretations of standard rules. For example: how do you handle a critical hit in combat? Do your players need to double their dice roll, or do they have to roll twice the dice? And do you allow the flanking rule? These things might seem trivial, but discussing them in the heat of a combat encounter can suck the fun out of combat. 

Some rules to consider

These are rules most DMs and players do differently, so they might be worth discussing:

• Generating character stats. Which of the three options do you use? Do you allow your players to choose?
• Leveling up. Will you use milestones or XP?
• Raising HP. Will your players roll, or are you going to use standard increase?
• Alignment. Discuss how you use alignment in your campaign.
• Encumbrance. Is encumbrance going to be a thing?
• Starting gold. Will you give players a starting pack, or can they buy their own equipment?
• Character death and resurrection. Will you follow the core rules, or do you have your own rules for this important moment?

The beast named scheduling

We’ve all had campaigns fizzle out after 3 sessions, because everyone got too busy. That’s why it’s good to talk about scheduling. If you can create a clear schedule with your players, your sessions have a higher chance of actually happening. 

A couple of topics to discuss with your players: 

• How frequently do you want to play? Weekly is awesome, but you might want to start with once or twice a month. I don’t recommend playing less than that, since you’ll spend a lot of time catching up on what happened last session.
• How long do you want your sessions to be? If you play 8 hours, make sure to also schedule time for breaks. And don’t forget to eat and drink! Even if you ‘only’ want to play for a couple of hours, it can still be nice to have some snacks.
• Where will the sessions happen? Will it be in person? Or will you use a virtual tabletop enviroment?
• Will a session be canceled if someone is absent? You can also choose to let the game continue, and have someone else fill in for the absent player. Or maybe that player’s character is at the toilet the entire session. Choose what feels comfortable for the party.

Set yourself up for success!

Don’t wait until something happens that your players didn’t expect. Instead, prepare your party beforehand! Your sessions will run more smoothly. Plus, they might actually happen on a regular basis! And of course, don’t forget to have fun and be as weird as you want. That’s why we play D&D, after all. 

Thank you for reading and I hope this helps you elevate your next D&D campaign!