Rollune
In session zero the group agrees on the game's tone and themes, safety tools, house rules (crits, rolling method, dice apps), logistics, and how the characters know each other. It usually takes an hour or two, and often includes character creation.
1. The pitch
The GM describes the campaign in a few sentences: setting, genre, what the characters will mostly do (dungeon crawls? intrigue? travel?), and the expected length.
2. Tone and content
- How serious or silly should it be?
- How much combat, exploration and roleplay?
- Themes to avoid or handle carefully.
3. Safety tools
Agree on simple tools such as lines and veils (hard limits and fade-to-black topics) and an X-card or verbal "let's skip that." Revisit them any time.
4. House rules
- Ability score method: array, point buy or rolling.
- Critical hits and fumbles.
- Physical dice, dice apps or both.
- Phones at the table: for dice and sheets only?
- Character death and resurrection.
5. Logistics
Schedule, session length, what happens when someone is absent, food, location, online or in person.
6. Characters together
Create characters together, or at least share concepts. Give every character a connection to at least one other: siblings, old debts, a shared patron. Make sure each one has a reason to join the adventure.
Session zero checklist
- ☐ Campaign pitch and expected length
- ☐ Tone, genre and content limits
- ☐ Safety tools agreed
- ☐ House rules noted
- ☐ Schedule and absences
- ☐ Characters created and connected
Tip: create everyone's sheet with the free character sheet creator, then move the heroes into Rollune so everyone rolls with the right modifiers from session one.
