Plan Session 0 like an Evil DM | D&D TRICKS for creating your players DREAM Campaign

Everything I’ve learned from animated villains I’ve put into … making my D&D sessions more fun for my players?
We’ll be talking about (evil and sneaky) tips & tricks to use when you run your Session 0, how to use the things your players talk about to create their dream campaign, and why you probably shouldn’t run your session 0 the way you were thinking.
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Links mentioned in the video:
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• My Pre-campaign Setup Video ::: • Never start a D&D camp...
• Example session 0 follow up questionnaire ::: docs.google.co...
• Mike Shea One Page Campaign Concept ::: • Writing a Single Page ...
• Fate RPG Character Idea ::: fate-srd.com/f...
• Session Zero System by Mythic Grove ::: www.mythicgrov...
• Fiasco RPG ::: bullypulpitgam...
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Thumbnail stock photo credits:
Eyes unsplash.com/p...
Puppet unsplash.com/p...

[@MonarchsFactory]

This is so deeply real to me. It speaks to me on a personal level.

[@pheralanpathfinder4897]

Great ideas for learning more about players whom you haven't spent years sitting around the game table playing and chatting. I like to run a Session Zero where the players create their first villain. This gives the reason for the players to come together and helps avoid that awkward bringing the group together situation. This can be done before character creation. Some players may have one specific character they want to play, or a few to choose from, while others might be inspired by the starting adventure to create a new character.

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

I love that! I think starting with villain creation is a really cool way to get them involved since it has the potential to shape so much of the story and the types of characters they want to play in contrast to them! 😊

[@DawnsonRPGs]

Something I would heavily recommend as a GM of around 3 years. Safety tools! Traffic light systems, consent checklists that go over mature themes that might come up depending on the genre. This stuff is so important for understanding your player’s boundaries and hard limits when it comes to themes they are willing to explore in your games so that everyone knows exactly what to expect and can negotiate around the elements that might make players uncomfortable. This is especially important in a horror campaign like Curse of Strahd or Icewind Dale as well as any Underdark or Abyss themed campaign.

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

Definitely agree! As someone who loves those campaigns I’m a big fan of safety tools, you never know what things might not be enjoyable for players otherwise!😊

[@davidcassell4659]

Telemarketing. Truly the most evil DM. :D

[@icon_o_clast]

We had too much DM - Player misalignment when I ran 5e. I think our session 0 was too informal or unstructured. It became obvious in hindsight. Some Sly flourish Focus On the Characters advice helped me target hooks and rewards that helped most of them to buy into the game, so it didn't fall apart at least. I joined with some co-workers to play Dragon Heist and that worked a lot better just from having a campaign goal we agreed upon ahead of time, despite us making no effort to connect our characters. More recently I've been able to take advantage of the built-in structure of the games I've played. In Candela we already knew we were there to investigate weirdness. In V5 we knew we were going to reference (steal from) Bloodlines a lot and play I'm a Monster! negative character arcs, so we've all been on the same page and have had so much more fun.

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

I absolutely love games where the system bakes this type of stuff in a lot more- it’s definitely helpful especially for people who don’t have as much experience yet! And I also love negative character arcs - V5 is such a blast to play 😂

[@IshbalanNightmare]

So Ive watched several videos of yours tonight, and I'm quite enjoying your content and views towards many of these subjects. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hau4fJ6gmLh3sNE just after the 20 min mark, you mention that you'd show more about Player Portals in a future video, but I feel like I must have missed it somehow or something, because I'm unable to find it and I was really curious about how you went about doing those. I've been looking for other methods to do them, as I feel like the way I used to do doesn't work as well as I've grown as a GM

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

Ahhh thank you for the kind words! 😊 I actually haven't recorded it yet because I'm gearing up for the start of a new campaign soon and I'm altering a few ways I'm doing things and wanted the chance to use them in practice before releasing a video with them. Buuut I might do a live stream or a part 1/2 so I can show how I build one out and then talk about things I’d scrap after instead!

[@deanbartel6343]

Reeeedruuuum.

[@marioevildm7410]

Very good advices, but stop reading my diary witche! 😑 Active Listening to players is a super powers, get in there mind. ask fallow up questions on what they say. Then negotiate and never, never split the difference! Find out the black swan, and you will have a superpower call common-sense. Know yourself, then know your players... You will run 1000's games that will be love and remember decades later. 💜💜🧙‍♂🧙‍♂ This is the true power of a Evil DM Mouhahahahahahahaahah!

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

😂 Tell me about it! Who knew that all of these social skills we were taught were really just for the nefarious purpose of helping players have fun! 😉

[@MarkCherkowski]

Session 0 is a great idea, even if you are just starting a new campaign with your existing group. Before the Session 0 the best way for me to gauge what the players like is to a Google form and the Linear scale type of questions so that you can find out on a scale of say 1-5 how much they like different things. For example: Fantasy Level: 1 Low Fantasy (Gritty and realistic) 5 High Fantasy (Magical and epic).

[@pastverb1]

Yes! Creating a character in a vacuum--we've all done it. You're the hero calling it out. (Pretty sure kraken week put you in my feed, but making sure to leave likes and comments on each video as i watch to help you f̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶ win the algorithm.)

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

Ahhh welcome, Kraken week was a blast! Thank you so much for helping me in Great Algorithmic Wars! 😂

[@pastverb1]

@@StephaniePlaysGames Now I want to run a "few shot" 5e campaign of that name! Maybe overthrowing an artificer/war-forged empire or such.

[@djbslectures]

❤❤

[@CADJewellerySkills]

It seems the Session 0 System Kickstarter is over and all products pulled from their site. Where can I get a copy?

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

Hey! So unfortunately I think Elise is still reworking them since there was an issue with her coauthor- your best bet would probably be to email her.

[@nsideddice]

The Session Zero System by Mythic Grove doesn't appear to be available. Could you do a video on your takeaways from it?

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

I can definitely look into something like that. There was some issues with the co-author, so I know the Elise was reworking things with it to remove his small portion - it might be worth emailing her and asking her when it'll be available again!

[@darktimesatrockymountainhi4046]

Thanks! You are an amazing person and an excellent communicator, with perfect comic timing. I look forward to your content!

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

Thanks for the very kind words! 😊