A “session 0” represents the gathering of all players before the game itself is started. This first meeting has two core purposes: to allow all players a chance to meet each other before starting a game together, and to ensure all players are on the same page about the type of game that will be played. Beyond those two purposes, the session 0 can also be a great time to make characters for the actual game, as everyone is together and has already scheduled time to do so.
Same Page
Before starting a game that exist mostly in imaginary space, it can be helpful to ensure everyone has the same expectations of what that space looks like. Furthermore, players might expect different behaviors from other players within the game. Use the session 0 to agree upon the themes and behaviors of the game. Some core topics to consider are:
- What is the game’s tone and genre?
- What is the expected GM behavior towards player characters: antagonistic, unbiased, or helpful and guiding
- What are player’s expectations towards character death? Is it likely or even possible? Do players have a choice to reject character death?
- What are off-limit topics that players do not want to occur in-game. Some topics may allow “fade to black” scenes while others topics might be best avoided entirely.
- Player characters teamwork expectations: Should players expect player character conflict within the party between characters?
- Scheduling: How often will sessions occur? Where? And who will manage it?
- What safety tools will the group utilize within the game?
Story Themes
The players need to discuss what kind of story they want to tell. Stories can go over a multitude of genres, but some players may want to focus on specific ones. Only when the players have a general idea of what kind of stories the game will cover will they know what kind of characters they want to play within that story. Some thematic examples include: Survival, Espionage, Political Power Structures, Revolution, Exploration, Investigation, Mercenary for Hire, Horror, and Save-the-World vs Save-the-Cat stakes.
Story themes can overlap, stories can have multiple themes, and many groups may want their games to cover multiple themes. The Doorways adventure address multiple themes across three acts but has an explicit focus on exploration and mystery around a city or town. The stakes are personal, although GMs are encouraged to consider extrapolating the effects of the adventure’s outcome.
World Building
Although Witchgates details some of the events in the world and many of the ways people are adapting to the supernatural, rarely does the game define where things are happening or what is happening locally. Even the introductory adventure module Doorways avoids explicitly describing what locality the adventure resides in.
Players should discuss the types of locations they would like the game to focus on and if they would like to travel across different regions. The GM can then use the setting guide to further enhance these local settings further, combining real-world knowledge of locations with fantastical extrapolation.
When discussing where your game will be located, here are some key points to consider:
- Myths, legends, and folktales in the area
- Figures and Organizations of power in the area, including the government, authority figures, criminal sects, and corporations.
- How might the geography affect the story: Oceans, Deserts, Forests, Rivers, Swamps, Mountains, Snow, Islands, Cliff faces, Fog, Severe Storms, Grass Plains
- Some areas might be more secluded, allowing more region-locked plots or intense survival-based travel, while other areas might act as travel hubs which allow players to see the adaptations of many cultures and hear stories from far off regions.
- Population Level: City, Suburban, Rural, or isolated?
- At all times, but especially when using references and players that you are less familiar with, be careful to avoid disrespecting cultures and their histories and customs. Try to avoid perpetuating stereotypes or generic assumptions.
Character Builds and Party Alignment
Lastly, players should discuss what type of group the party will play as. Will they be a band of lifelong friends, strangers forced together by circumstance, or coworkers bound by work obligations?
Within that party, what type of characters do people want to play or avoid? While witchgates does not have many dedicated roles, players can avoid overshadowing each other in-game by giving space for each character to have unique strengths and weaknesses. Even within a common theme, such as in a group of thieves, many specializations can be found: a spymaster and lookout, an agile escape artist, a tinkerer and explosive expert, and the muscle to brake down barriers when finesse is not an option.