Session 0: Howdy Doodle¶
Date: October 23, 2021 @ 21:00 CT
Audio: MP3
Notes + Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Introduction
- 00:13 - Recording Sessions
- 01:22 - Trigger Warnings, Boundaries, Safety Cards
- 02:10 - Mike Introduction
- 02:28 - Eddy Introduction
- 02:47 - Anjelica Introduction
- 03:06 - Joel Introduction
- 04:02 - Nate Introduction
- 04:58 - What kind of game? Roleplay heavy.
- 06:00 - Setting Overview + some character tie-in
- 10:02 - Mature topics in-game
- 10:29 - Amount of humor
- 13:42 - Puzzles
- 18:33 - Player-DM secrets + RPing secrets
- 20:22 - Theater of the Mind
- 25:10 - Campaign duration, scheduling, frequency, session length
- 31:18 - Handling absentees, lateness, and when to cancel a session
- 34:42 - Joel's character
- 37:17 - Mike's character
- 37:32 - Nate's character
- 39:30 - Anjelica's character
- 43:00 - When to run session 1
- 43:53 - PVP discussion
- 46:01 - Milestone leveling
- 46:34 - Inspiration points for RPing
- 46:50 - Crunchiness/VSM discussion
- 53:40 - Party composition so far
- 55:10 - Rest System Revised, The Complete Crafter, 3rd party rules
- 57:53 - Mandatory rusty DM notice
- 59:13 - Permanent disfigurement
- 1:02:34 - Proficiency skill check floor
- 1:04:45 - Character bonds, 1-shot opportunities
Session Zero Topics¶
Topics for discussion so far.
- DM Introduction
- Background as a DM
- Okay with screen recordings for recaps/notes/private sharing?
- Trigger warnings, boundaries, and safety cards:
- Talk to DM about topics that are not OK. Open door policy.
- If uncomfortable, use safety cards.
- Feel free to call for a break any time.
- Player Introductions
- Roundtable player introductions.
- What kind of character do you like to play?
- Expectations
- Is the setting okay with everyone?
- What do you want to see in the game?
- A theme or subject explored?
- An environment?
- Three pillars; which one sticks out? Exploration, combat, or roleplay?
- Maturity rating level (R/M, also boundaries above).
- How much humor? Wacky game, serious game, or in between?
- How do you feel about puzzles, riddles, clues, memorization?
- Okay with player-DM secrets?
- Battle maps or theater of the mind?
- Scheduling
- How long should the campaign be? I'm aiming for a long term, multi-adventure campaign.
- How often can you play?
- How long should the session be?
- How many players should be absent before canceling the game?
- If a player can't make it, how do we handle their character?
- Okay with canceling if the DM is absent?
- If you're late, message @everyone in Discord in advance.
- Set a date and time for Session 1.
- House Rules
- No flying races (at least not at level 1).
- PvP: Yay or Nay?
- Milestone leveling or Three Pillars XP?
- Inspiration for roleplay and creative problem solving?
- Crunchiness
- Buying, tracking, and using spell materials.
- Spell VSM in general - opportunity for roleplay or annoying?
- Third-party rules systems?
- Rules lawyering: DM or assigned lawyer?
- How long for a lookup/debate before forcing play?
- Permanent disfigurement or other special damage okay for roleplaying.
- Possibility of death - no cheap death, but death is possible?
- Passive skill = skill check floor? So, an active roll check lower than passive skill = passive skill?
- No critical failures outside of combat?
- Character Kickoff
- Inter-character relationships or bonds?
- Anyone have ideas yet for their build?
- Do you need help or a one-shot for character development before session 1?
- Per-player tie-in to Dauriel Aldarion.
- Ensure character sheets are assigned to everyone.
- Present handouts to players in Roll20.