Transcript
Speaker: Good. Good. So good. Good. So very good. Good.
Speaker: Welcome to the Good GM's Podcast. I'm E.E. Morris, and today's episode is Session Zero Dark Thirty. And now, here's Chuck and James.
Speaker: Oh, another day, and we're wearing the same shirts as last week, which is so amazing. I can't believe, what are the odds? only It's clean. It's clean. I washed it. I mean, I've worn it twice since last week. See? We're certainly not doing these back-to-back. Why would we?
Speaker: um Welcome to another great, ah great good, a good, or a goodest episode of ah Good GM's podcast. I am James, and I am joined... No, no, no. you Too late. and i yeah Hi there, gang. I'm Chuckie T. And I'm so glad to be here with James as we talk about something very important.
Speaker: Your session zero. Yes. Session zero. But first, Chuck, why don't you tell us who's sponsoring our episode today? Today, we are sponsored by Red Juice Studios. If you have a podcast and need help getting the needle moving for you, you should go over and help these folks out. Or, more importantly, they can help you out. They have a cool kitty cat on the splash page. You should go see it now.
Speaker: where Where do we find them? Redjuicestudio.com. There go. Awesome. Thanks. ah That was easy. um So, we are back today to talk about Session Zero. Yes. ah what What is that?
Speaker: That is where you sit down and it could be like a social contract of sorts. It's just where you're going to go over if it's a campaign or even even a one-shot, this can be done. um When I run anything at a convention, I have a real quick...
Speaker: like So it's ah it't a blur, but it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a moment zero. It's yeah. Yeah. yeah really is um And you know, and I have learned, cause again, I've been doing this for a couple of days. um But there there was never like, like when I first started there, like this, this concept.
Speaker: yeah Maybe. oh No, it was we're running Dungeons and Dragons. and Let's go. Yeah, let's go. Everybody came with your characters ready? Okay, great. We got three bards. Awesome. yeah Nobody wanted to play bards back then. who am I talking about? Right?
Speaker: But yeah, it's it it is important. And it is it because it just helps solidify what is going to happen at the table and what's not going to happen at the table. Yeah. So yeah, yeah, go ahead. oh whi So, well, yeah, so i'm I'm, I'm, I'm thinking as well, like we talked a little last week about knife theory and we talked about how to incorporat incorporate into your session zero.
Speaker: And, and, and I think, I think even to say, take a step back and say that you have your session zero, but you can have your session negative one as well, which, which happens before session zero in a sense of like that conversation you're having either on the discord or and in the, you know, by email or over the phone or just at your library or wherever it is you've play right chess with your friends. ah i don't know I don't know what kids do nowadays. I know they do this. It's a little heart with your your finger and your thumb.
Speaker: um But other that's the thing they do. um But what I would say is is is is, let's say you're a GM and you want to start a campaign. And it's mostly about campaigns. like I know you said it's for one shots too, but yeah for the most part, i think I think it's really about when you're starting a campaign,
Speaker: getting the buy-in from the player. Yes. so That social contract of what it is you want to do. So do you come to a session zero with with the campaign in mind? Or do you think that it's important to say, well, like I want to play a game and you're my friends. What kind of game do we want to play? Or is that two different kinds of topics?
Speaker: That's two different kind topics. um For me, i've I, well, because I have, I've had it where it's like, oh, hey guys, I just got this cool game. And this is it. So it's the pitch.
Speaker: Right. And then it's. And and the pitch, i think I think that's part of session negative one, right? Like that's the, I send out an email to everybody that I'd like to run this game who's interested, right? like Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And then from there, it's, you know, once you get everyone together and they're sitting down, um ah because i've I've heard it a lot lately and I i used to be of the mind. It's hey, well, like like for Vampire or if we were doing Star Wars or something, it's like, well, make a character show up and, you know, I'll look over it real quick and we'll we'll go from there. know, that sort of thing. But I've recently learned that is incredibly satisfying
Speaker: so To have everyone make the character at the same time. So we're all talking about the characters. We're all talking about other and our relationships, etc., etc. Yeah. Yes. And that's really important. And it can be incredibly satisfying. And it helps players out. And there's there's games that I've been playing lately as well that incorporate that into Session Zero, which I really like. It's the whole... Like with Daggerheart, one of the parts that you make your character, you make everybody makes their character, they talk about their character. And then there's the, okay, here's a list just of of three or four questions. And they're like, who which member of the party ah ah has has knows a secret about you and what is it? Or which person did you give a that ah present to and why was it important to them?
Speaker: Like having those things built into character creation is pretty neat. Like it's not a woman. Yeah, it It's not common, but I think it's definitely something that even if it's not in that game that you're running, why wouldn't it be something you'd want to incorporate? So so let's talk about what a session zero should have, because we're we're this is is this is for the GM's. This is this is an advice episode.
Speaker: So what what sorts of of like let's go through maybe a list of what we talk about and then we'll talk about each point in in in. in more detail or should we start with a point and then talk in detail and keep going?
Speaker: um Like you're talking about character creation. Let's start with that. Okay. Okay. Character character creation. um that That's just going to help. Like what, if you have classes or if you have a type of character that as, as a GM, you know, this is where you would say, no we're not all making murder hobos. Right. that's not what those need We don't need a group of faces.
Speaker: Right? Yeah. Like, well, then let's step back. Let's step back. I think, i think the first thing to talk about is setting the tone and expectations for your game. Yes. Right. Which again could happen in session negative one over email or phone or whatever, but it's, it's the pitch talking about what it is you want to get out of the story as a GM, what kind of story you you're hoping to tell, but then getting that buy-in.
Speaker: Yeah. Everybody needs to agree. You're pirates, so you cannot make someone who's afraid of water. like please don't Please don't. Also, like when it comes to tone, you know it's like, hey, ah you know, I have this story, there's this campaign, and it's it's a little bit more grounded.
Speaker: right It's not really slapstick or anything like that, so I'm trying to stay away from it. um It's more it's more of the boys, less mystery men. or Yes, yeah yes so something like that. just Again, just so everyone has going in you know, they they know that, no, this is this is the mentality that I'm looking for when we sit down for this. And as a GM, you need to be able to collaborate and go, okay, here's the negotiation. Right. That's what we're looking for.
Speaker: we all wanted to play mystery men and you wanted to play the boys. Can't we have some like, yeah, exactly. Right. um and And for me, I found a lot of times that that's usually not an issue, but I've heard other people but and it is an issue. It can become an issue. um You know, um you know, and then I think, I think as well in that, like setting that expectation of like, is it going to be combat heavy? It's going to be intrigue heavy. It's going to be investigation. Is it going to be like a lot of role playing or a lot of dice rolling? Right. Like, I have a great, um it's set for D&D, but I found that it's very useful. It's a PDF I try to keep around for the life of me. I don't have it up right now because I'm a good GM and I know these things. But one of the things on it is, ah because it because it messes people up, it really does, is because it starts off very simple and then it goes to one part is of these three pillars, which is more important to you?
Speaker: Combat, exploration, or role play? So which one of these is more important to you? And once you have all the players gauging that, that helps me say, okay, this is where my headspace was. This is where their headspace is right now. And that's a great, that's a great way to maybe even include a, what do they call that? It's, it's a, it' It's a theory for how we should be voting for elections in a way. It's like, who's your first choice? Who's your second choice? And then who's your what's your third choice and then we give we we rate those accordingly. So, yeah, you could have those three pillars and say, which put them in order. And then you can see that most people wanted combat, but a couple of people really wanted you know intrigue.
Speaker: Right. So, you know, balancing those. That helps me understand, okay, I have the story. Because again, for me, a lot of the stuff that i run is pre-written, and but I still have to adapt it to the player sitting in front of me.
Speaker: so it's okay. Yep. Uh, right. And so I, I found that has become a very useful tool. It's like, let's, let's get, let's see where everybody's sitting right now. Cause it could change. It really could, you know, all of a sudden we're in, we're in session five and for whatever reason, everybody's all about combat, but that's okay. Because already walked in knowing, okay, this is what I can kind of expect. Okay. Got it. Cool. Yeah.
Speaker: Um, you know, uh, then, then once we have sort of that, that buy in that understanding of what the campaign's about, um maybe even a bit of a door, a door lump. So close.
Speaker: A lore dump? A lore dump? A little bit of a lore dump? Maybe. Because, I mean, if you if you're doing a backstory and you're trying create world, like let's say you're doing Star Wars, and obviously we all assume everybody knows Star Wars. You've got there in star wars one or two people that don't want know Star Wars. At what point in the history timeline are we?
Speaker: Exactly. like Has the Death Star been created? Has it been destroyed? Has the the New Republic just started? Has the the yeah second order or whatever? Like, where are we? And then and then also for those couple of players who are like, i like Star Trek, but I've never really watched. I've watched maybe like the first three Star Wars movies.
Speaker: And then you can say, well, OK, this is a since the fall of the Galactic Empire, this is the stuff that's happened. Yes. And just keep it, keep it simple and then let them explore more on their own. Right.
Speaker: Yes, because that's it And if this is also a good spot to say, um okay, ah Deadlands Noir. Okay. um People are like, okay, Deadlands Noir. Okay. 1935. Okay. Okay. I get that. And this is a good spot for you to say, ah if have you seen Cast a Deadly Spell?
Speaker: it would No, here, go, go check this out. This is, this is a great vibe that can help you. and and And again, these are things that maybe some of this stuff I think could be session negative one in the sense that you send out, here's what I'd like to run. Here's my, here's my, here's my reading list or watch. Right. Yeah. But I, but if I'm doing a campaign, ah even, even if it was talked about before, i just reiterate it, you know, one more, one more time. yeah and And then the other one,
Speaker: uh, that I always try to bring in, is the, you know, the, the safety tools, the lines and lines and fails. and And that's something I think should come in. i think that should come in even before the character creation.
Speaker: I think it's fair to bring that in before the character creation. So that people know when they're building their characters, it's like, okay, I, you know, I'm not going to create a character who's a, a spider human because one of the other players has asked that we don't have spiders. No, exactly. Yes, exactly. Yeah. Yes. app Absolutely. um And so what are some of those safety tools? And again, I do want to do an episode. I do have a guest in mind to bring on for an episode about safety tools in particular, but this good like talk about the main ones, right? We've got lines and veils, which is,
Speaker: Well, lines, a subject matter that is just not going to be in the story. Hard line. Yep. Just, it will not be done. Veils is things that will happen screen or maybe mentioned.
Speaker: Yeah, we can we can talk about them as theory or as something that that has happened or has is happening elsewhere. Right. But we're not going to revel in it by any means. No. um And I think that's the biggest key thing for me is like some of the things that I always say when I'm starting a game is let's talk about lines and veils. But understand before we go into that that topic, there's a lot of topics that I will never, ever revel in. I will never revel in child abuse. I will never revel in sexual abuse. I will never revel in animal you know, cruelty is, is, is it possible that something horrific is going to happen in my, in my, in my 1920s game when, ah you know, like with a horse or something possibly, but I'm not going to be doing it because it's fun. Yeah. Yeah. And and I'm not going to go into all one of the things like when I'm at a convention, one of the things that I, I have to keep in mind is that, you know, ah like ah the violence level,
Speaker: You know, i'm I'm not going to go into Stephen King level description of like when you get into combat or somebody falls and they bust their arm. I don't have to. you Like your head can will fill that up. That's part of the story, right? like Like I would say that's part of session zero is where where do we draw that line? Exactly. Exactly. have a player, I have a good good friend, a very good friend of mine who actually is the person I was thinking about bringing on for for this the the safety tools who literally has a thing about skin stuff, like doesn't want to talk about like things and skin, like weird
Speaker: Oh, okay. Yeah. see singles Boils. Yeah. that That's melting, you know? And so I'm not going to bring her into my call of Cthulhu game. Cause I know she's not going to want to play call of Cthulhu because yeah, yeah, no, exactly. lot of gross. scandal One of the times I sat down and I was running for, for call Cthulhu.
Speaker: Um, I was running the haunting where the haunting deals with rats. Um, Right. and And I did. And I did have a player that was like, you you know, that i because i I didn't bring it up in advance.
Speaker: Oh. And when it came up to the scene with the rats, the person froze up. And I was like, Oh, oh, and they didn't say nothing, but you can see it. Exactly. Exactly. i'm tapping the x x If you're listening to this episode, I'm tapping wearing an X-Men t-shirt and I'm tapping the X. But but the person didn't do that.
Speaker: No. But thankfully, I saw it and I was like, okay and i did i did stop and i was like are you okay and they're like i don't i don't i oh i don't know i don't i don't like rats i'm like oh my god i i'm sorry okay since then every time i run the haunting that's one of the things i bring up is like there um there's a bunch of cockroaches you okay with cockroaches there's cockroaches bugs things like that yeah yeah exactly find that alternative or just x day the whole damn thing Quickly, again, mentioning the X card is another way to make sure you put an card on the table. You make sure everyone understand understands that if something happens, if we're, we're and again, i think this is part of the buy-in, right? Like I think part of the buy-in is if you're playing a game of Call of Cthulhu and it's going to be horrific, if you know that in advance, maybe you say, you know what? This game isn't for me, guys. I'm going to sit this one out.
Speaker: ah so that you're not just like, you know, and then you, you walk down the dark, the alleyway, it X, X, I don't like dark, ah dark scares me. ah Great. We'll stop. But if you knew that we were going to be playing a horror game, maybe, maybe you, you see your own fears. Right. We see here. Here's the thing though.
Speaker: Um, ah for For me, i don't i don't buy i don't i I no longer buy that. Especially, again, because it goes to the player that had the phobia of rats. Yeah. And so that's why I bring it in.
Speaker: Yes, we're done. yeah We're done right now. um But there are people... We shouldn't. have that. I'm just saying that maybe if you have a lot of those, don't play a horror game. like Yeah, yeah. Find... Know your table. Go play Wander Home or something. that's a Something. Exactly. not this three right's True, true. No, no, no. Absolutely not. But when when when they are coming here, if they do want to try a horror game, yeah that's why you have that talk. That's why you have these things.
Speaker: That's why the session zero has has become important. Right. Because it helps me, the GM gauge my table and understand what I, need what i need to do so that I can have fun and the players can have fun. Yeah. I want to, I just want to keep it moving because again, I do want to do an episode about these safety tools and there's a lot to talk about, but cool. What about, what about um just the basic rules? Like,
Speaker: I also, there's another episode I want to do, and I know who I want to bring on for that, but that's talking about um accessibility in gaming in the sense of having like, does anyone in this room have light sensitivity, sound sensitivity? Is there anybody here who needs like special consideration? Because I want to run a horror game and I want to have everything done by candlelight and I want to hand out like Call of Cthulhu style handouts that are illegible handwriting and, you know, I want to do all those things and that's great, but If somebody showed up at my house in ah in ah you know in a wheelchair, would i would I move a chair out of the front hallway? Yeah, of There wouldn't be question about it.
Speaker: Exactly. Why would I not make those accommodations for my players as well? That's something actually I heard from Miskatonic University episode that I listened to recently, and it made so much sense to me. would you If your grandmother came over in a wheelchair, wouldn't you move the know the couch so she can get into the living room yes of course you would you wouldn't ask about it but but then but then but then after that then there's the other stuff that's that's about you and the respect for you yes yeah as the person putting in a lot of work not to say the players don't put in a lot of work but come on really like the character the players put in a a lot of work sure the gm puts in a lot of work and so if you're not going to show up
Speaker: Half of the sessions, if every time the wind is blowing, you're like, well, I don't want to drive in this weather. Like have have some consideration for your players and that need for for safety or their life experiences. But also understand that I put a lot of work in all week and I've been looking forward to it. So have the other four players in this game.
Speaker: Let's pick a day to do it. And how many players do ah can can we go go forward without... like with How many times have you heard a campaign dies on scheduling?
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah, because it's a real thing. And you're absolutely right. if it's going to be a campaign, here we go. Also, before you start... And maybe set that expectation, right? If you know it's going to be a campaign that... Like when I ran Mask and Air Lithotap, I didn't say, I'm running Mask and Air Lithotap. It's going to be a couple of months.
Speaker: Like this game should take two years and the way we're playing it, it's going to go longer. But you came forward and you said, i don't know how long it's going to take.
Speaker: Try if you can, to the best of your ability, try to put out a timeline. If I'm running something like like wait for Savage Sessions, if I'm running something on that, ah if I, if I say, Hey, in the month of August,
Speaker: like I'm, you know, for the next three months or something. Set your, this is what we're focusing on. That way the players can come in and they understand like, Oh, okay. This is a four week commitment. Give or take.
Speaker: Okay, cool. You know, it seems that you're doing 120 session fallout campaign. Then let us know that that's the kind of campaign you're running. so Exactly. Like I didn't, you know, I mean, it's like any band I've been in. It's like, Oh, somebody got pregnant. and Now they're getting married and moving to another city. i guess that's,
Speaker: We're done for the band. yu we're not you know yeah But in this case, it's like understanding that you've set this expectation that if you don't make a session, we're going to go ahead. If two people don't make a session, we're going to go ahead. The third person who cancels.
Speaker: personal rule i've always had and i've never had to say it to you guys but it's a rule i've always had is and the reason i've never said it to you guys because you guys are you know you guys respect that i put a lot of work into my campaign is if you have to miss a session message me privately don't put it in the group chat because the second somebody puts it in the group chat somebody else goes wildfire Yeah, it's true. Yes, absolutely. It's true. um yeah You know, and again, that's what the session zero is. The social contract is is to get that that thing going. um
Speaker: you know um You know, and and have that, have it so they understand that it's like, you know, hey, if because for me, i have a rule of thumb is if I have two players, i' the story goes on, shows on, baby, we're doing it. um And I also reiterate that, no, your character just doesn't disappear.
Speaker: I'm not going to do anything stupid to them, but your character becomes an NPC. And if you don't like that, this might not be the table for you. or or Or that's a discussion to have night with the person on the day that they're missing. like Like, hey, I'm not going to be here next session. We ended last session with my character. Like we were all back at the hotel.
Speaker: Perhaps my character is going to go and do some research at the library. And then you say, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. that's so That's what I like the private. I like the private conversation as opposed to the public conversation. Yes, absolutely. Yes, absolutely. If you don't give me that information ahead of time, if you just like an hour beforehand, you're going to show up yeah exactly an hour ahead of time. And all you tell me is, man, I got, um you know, i'm I'm on my phone.
Speaker: It's not conducive for the game. I got no power at the house. I'm not going to make it tonight. If that's all you tell me, then it's like, okay, well, I got my two players. Story's going to go on. Yeah.
Speaker: So as the GM, if, if, if it's left that vague, take the time and energy to say, okay, story's going on. Is there anything you want your character? You want me to try and have your character do as an NPC? Yeah.
Speaker: Right. Or avoid. Or avoid. Yes. um And then i think some of the other things, like different kind of house rules stuff, maybe like the PVP. like Oh, yeah. Is that going to be acceptable? Like some of the things I've heard are like all PVP. Where did I read this? It was like all PVP fails unless the person on the, like if you're trying to do something against, we don't even roll it. It fails unless the person on the receiving end of that says, yeah, let's play it.
Speaker: Let's, let's, let's see what happens, um which is an interesting one. Yeah, i think i think I think that's an episode all by itself. Yeah, what we I don't want to go into too much detail. is it We are at the end. We're up at the end. right I just want to make sure we don't miss anything. What about what about ah what about phones at the table? What about like... Oh, ADHD is a real thing. um And some people need it.
Speaker: I had one player who did coloring games. Yes. She was just tapping her phone, coloring and paint by numbers because it allowed her to focus on the game. Could be. Yes.
Speaker: Yes. Yes. It's a real thing. So i didn't I didn't have to make a rule. That's that's the key word. It's not a distractor. But if you're on your phone and you're playing a mobile game.
Speaker: I'm not your teacher. I don't need to tell you to spit out your gum. like Right. Don't do that. Don't do that. Like, I get it, man. If if you need this, this helps you. you you if You've got familiar obligations. Like your your kid is sick today and you need to be ready to to to leave at a moment's notice. Understood. Understood and fair. it's In general, like I think, hey, we're all adults. Be kind to each other and understand we all have our our our our merits and flaws, as they say in Vampire the Masquerade. But, um you know, but also understand that that we've agreed to do this because we want to do this. And if you ever find that it's burdensome, maybe we have another episode about how to, you know, deal with player loss.
Speaker: right How to deal with with that sort of thing, because that's an important issue. Player retention and player loss. yeah Right, but if if if we're going through the game and not your turn, then have have a little bit of courtesy and pay attention. and Also, as the GM...
Speaker: Don't be afraid to stop. if Like I said, if the person has phone. you have something you want to share with the class? yeah you Seriously. seriously so i i Man, that's you are there. You are the arbitrator of the game.
Speaker: You are the referee of the game. Sorry. a mode moderator Yes, s yeah yes. Games operation director. You are God. There you go. People are going to hate that one. But but but but it's true, though. like Like if the ADHD thing, I get it. You have a fidget spinner. You have that. I understand that those are usually very they're not disruptive.
Speaker: But if you're on your phone, you have that mobile game up and everyone can hear it. Oh, that. Yeah. Come on. No, he can don't. Please don't. Yeah. Because everybody else has some sort of ADHD and that's annoying. like i can Yes. And that'll detract from everything. Just just be considerate. Don't be detracting. yeah I get it.
Speaker: yeah Set your rules, set your set your expectations, like talk about food allergies if you want to have people to bring food or whatever. If it's online, let's talk about let's talk about like, hey, if you're doing it online, let's talk about technology in that way too. Like if you've got a crappy mic and all we hear is your your wife's watching Law & Order really loud in the background, that really is makes it really hard for me to focus what I'm playing as well. yeah So try just remember to push mute.
Speaker: Yeah, it could be as simple as that. It really can. Again, um we're we're just complaining about players right now. We should have a separate channel for that. but But this is what you've got to talk about during session zero. that That way, later on, somebody can't be like, oh, well, we never talked about that.
Speaker: It's like, Yeah, we did. Did I need to record session zero and write it down for you? Come on. Come on. So again, we'll link a couple of safety tools. There's some great checklists to go yeah to to do with players and we'll talk about maybe, maybe, you know, I'll tryll try to find, I'll try to find that PDF and comment on the episode, comment on the episode. Tell us what you do at your session zero. Let us know so or better yet, join our discord and we'll have a conversation about it over there. And the easiest way to join our discord is become a Patreon supporter at a $0 level or don't forget. It's also a $99 level, but you don't get access to discord through that one You don't get any benefits from that one. You just help us lunder money.
Speaker: But at any other level, any other level you get on, even the free level, you can join our discord. There's special channels for people who are in the good, good GMs are better level, which is $5 Canadian, which is like nothing American. Right.
Speaker: That's like a pound English. money um but join us join us on patreon join us on the discord and let's let's talk about it let's make a list what what what did we miss yeah exactly and if you're listening to this and you're enjoying it and you want to hear more help us out leave you know a like a star and if you can give us some fancy word review tell me how right i am right and or me Or both of us. I mean, we didn't disagree much on this. didn't think we disagreed on this episode. But anyway. not really. Thanks for watching. Thanks for listening. And remember, next week is Mike Mason. Mike Mason is going to be on our show. The guy that's in charge of... Oh, he was so much fun to hang out with. He was so fantastic. He was so fun. I liked watching how dark it got over the time like where he was recording because we started at 4 p.m. our time. like It was like when he started recording by the end, he was like the shadow man. It really was. It was phenomenal. It was phenomenal. But thanks for watching. Thanks for listening. Go to patreon.com forward slash good GM's podcast. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.
Speaker: um ah Missing something there. um You know, all of it. We're there. Well, not all of it. Some of it we don't do. but you know, I think we got blue sky. We got blue sky. Like i'm I'm not even on blue sky, but apparently we are on blue sky. So thank you, uh, Reggie studio for setting all that up for us. Yep.
Speaker: Studio.com. That's right. Be good. Be good. Let the good be with you. Um, may the, uh, always, always. Bye.
Speaker: Bye.
Speaker: Thank you for watching. If you like or dislike what you heard, let us know. If you want to suggest an idea for an episode, ask the host a question, or just tell Chuck and James what you really think of them, join our communities at patreon.com forward slash good GM's podcast, or find us on the usual social media platforms.
Speaker: For now, I'm E.E. Morris, and you're all good GMs.
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