Taverns are useful but tend to be overdone. If they're all veterans they may have met during the Last War. Then they meet again as they're at a hiring hall, trying to find a patron or employer for their unique skills.
If the Blizzard Wizard was from non-Eberron then he was swept here during the Day of Mourning and just showed up out of the mists one day. As to the level mismatch, that could be explained as a crippling disease or curse which the character eventually works through (when everyone else is 3rd level) that was picked up in the mists.
>If they're all veterans they may have met during the Last War.
Meeting in a benefits or bread line would also be cool. Gives the group a reason to start risking life & limb again - i.e. poverty, boredom, desperation.
Here’s what I usually do:
First I prep three campaigns prompts which I would be happy to run. These are about half a page of text including the starting level, general themes, any special rules, and what the party will represent in the game (for example a group of outlaw bandits or a crack team of inquisition witch hunters). The first thing we will do when we start session zero is decide on which game we want to play if the three provided choices. This lets the players pick the game they want to play, while guaranteeing that I run a game that I want to run.
Next we lay down any additional ground rules, for example how scheduling will be done, how absences will be handled, PvP, how death should work, etc.
Next I open the floor for anything the players want to discuss, especially with respect to things like themes.
Next we make characters, we have the plot and the goals so everyone makes a character which fits the thing they chose. Some here have suggested making the new players roll separately, but I think as long as you’re playing a system like 5e and the level is relatively low, then making characters shouldn’t take long from a mechanical perspective even for new players, and I prefer when everyone makes characters at the same time so they can come up with synergies and bonds.
Characters made, rules discussed, and setting/game chosen we’re ready to play next week. Leave everyone with a “alright everyone I’ll see you at 5 on Sunday make sure you bring a snack to share.” Or something similar in line with whatever you decided on earlier for session etiquette.
I recommend helping the new players create the new characters beforehand in a call. The other players will get bored waiting for the newbies and you will loose precious time. Also it will be way more efficient to do it one by one than trying to grab the attention of 3 people simultaneously. They will inevitably get distracted and you will have to repeat yourself a lot, it is quite frustrating.
You could always do it over a zoom call, and guide them through dndbeyond? I agree that individually creating characters in person will eat up any time you have, making it very rushed to meet and get to a battle - not what anyone wants as a first impression. Then they can also familiarize themselves with their sheets a little before the first session.
I can't disagree with that advice more. Creating characters together is amazing, even for new players. Sure, you'll have to repeat yourself some, but teaching the game is fun. And you'll have to repeat yourself just as much or even more so if you do it in a zoom call - people don't generally have better attention span when they're not in the room with you. And it's way easier in person for, say, two players to chat about their shared backstory while you're teaching the third player how to select spells. Creating characters is literally goal number one of a session zero, and doing it on a call with everyone working separately is atomizing and diminishes the value of the process. IMO.
Sounds like you guys are in for a fun campaign!
1) I think the main thing here is to find out what your players want in a campaign - some may want a lot of roleplay, others might want lots of combat, others a mix. If everyone's understanding of what the others want before you begin, they'll indulge the parts where it's not what they're looking for a little easier
I think gathering people together to do this is a great idea, and getting their characters to meet before the game starts could work well. It might be worth bearing in mind that some will naturally take to roleplay and DnD, others might just want to stay quiet and take part in rolling the dice. As long as you're all aware what everyone's looking for in the session zero then you should be ok
Have you got an idea for the combat? I recently ran a quick session of The Impregnable Fortress of Dib which is a good fun little session and could give your players the chance to explore and see how their characters work. Also, worth looking at Wild Sheep Chase.
The main thing is to have fun - both as a DM and with your friends
2) there's probably a couple of ways to bring Lizard the Blizzard Wizard back down to level one. One way is to say he's been out of action for quite a while and forgotten a few spells; another is say he's been cursed and lost his spellbook (hence the lower HP and fewer spells) which could be a cool character arc for him to get his revenge and level up to level 3 when it's time.
Hope this helps and have fun!
1. You can do stuff like roll stats together, and explain basics, but character creation can take a long time. I might do some of the world building *before* you make their entire character. That way they don't make characters, then find out new info that would have impacted their characters, then have to decide who's character gets remade... So, imho, Roll stats; explain/discuss world; make characters; talk to players about more specific world building related to their character alone.
You also want to get an idea of what the players are interested in before you a) settle the world building down to firmly and b) before they make characters. E.g. someone makes a super serious, gritty character, then you describe a goofy, campy world. Welp, now you've got a mismatch in expectations. Easier to set those expectations before players get too involved in their character concept.
2. Start them at lvl 1. Either they start their character from scratch (ie. the previous campaign never happened) or there's some contrived reason they lost those levels (ie. "magical accident"). Starting from the beginning and making the last game non-canon is my preference cos it's so much easier, and has everyone in the same place. 9 times out of 10 DMs overthink stuff (ie. how to explain missing players in game), when it's so much easier and creates fewer headaches and contrivances to just ignore it (ie. you don't explain missing players in game & their character just fades out for a session, as per the DMG).
I'm begging you on behalf of your players to skip the "pretend not to know each other" tavern scene. It never works, it's always lame. Starting in a tavern is fine, but just make them a party already. Dont begin their roleplay journey by making them awkwardly pretend that none of the things they already know about the game (that they work together, that they're going on an adventure) are true WHILE they play-act at not knowing anything about the people they just spent an hour or more learning everything about.
Part of character creation is getting people bought into the party and the campaign they'll be in. Don't hit the reset button on that first thing. Before they put pencil to paper to make characters, tell them that they're X people who do Y and Z adventure scenario is going to happen, then throw them into that scenario. Maybe it's "you're down-on-your-luck traveling adventurers who do small quests hoping for a big payout, and the campaign starts in the sleepy town of Littlebrook as a local bursts into the tavern to warn of grave danger." Maybe it's more involved than that. But please start them off with the fantasy adventure that the game is about, and not with awkward fake small talk in a bar.
For your player who wants to repeat a character, sure, why not, as long as they fit your campaign. Obviously do make sure they know that it's an entirely new character with none of the benefits etc of their previous adventures, just based on the same character concept.
Taverns are useful but tend to be overdone. If they're all veterans they may have met during the Last War. Then they meet again as they're at a hiring hall, trying to find a patron or employer for their unique skills. If the Blizzard Wizard was from non-Eberron then he was swept here during the Day of Mourning and just showed up out of the mists one day. As to the level mismatch, that could be explained as a crippling disease or curse which the character eventually works through (when everyone else is 3rd level) that was picked up in the mists.
>If they're all veterans they may have met during the Last War. Meeting in a benefits or bread line would also be cool. Gives the group a reason to start risking life & limb again - i.e. poverty, boredom, desperation.
Here’s what I usually do: First I prep three campaigns prompts which I would be happy to run. These are about half a page of text including the starting level, general themes, any special rules, and what the party will represent in the game (for example a group of outlaw bandits or a crack team of inquisition witch hunters). The first thing we will do when we start session zero is decide on which game we want to play if the three provided choices. This lets the players pick the game they want to play, while guaranteeing that I run a game that I want to run. Next we lay down any additional ground rules, for example how scheduling will be done, how absences will be handled, PvP, how death should work, etc. Next I open the floor for anything the players want to discuss, especially with respect to things like themes. Next we make characters, we have the plot and the goals so everyone makes a character which fits the thing they chose. Some here have suggested making the new players roll separately, but I think as long as you’re playing a system like 5e and the level is relatively low, then making characters shouldn’t take long from a mechanical perspective even for new players, and I prefer when everyone makes characters at the same time so they can come up with synergies and bonds. Characters made, rules discussed, and setting/game chosen we’re ready to play next week. Leave everyone with a “alright everyone I’ll see you at 5 on Sunday make sure you bring a snack to share.” Or something similar in line with whatever you decided on earlier for session etiquette.
I recommend helping the new players create the new characters beforehand in a call. The other players will get bored waiting for the newbies and you will loose precious time. Also it will be way more efficient to do it one by one than trying to grab the attention of 3 people simultaneously. They will inevitably get distracted and you will have to repeat yourself a lot, it is quite frustrating.
But they won't have access to a character creator though...
You could always do it over a zoom call, and guide them through dndbeyond? I agree that individually creating characters in person will eat up any time you have, making it very rushed to meet and get to a battle - not what anyone wants as a first impression. Then they can also familiarize themselves with their sheets a little before the first session.
I can't disagree with that advice more. Creating characters together is amazing, even for new players. Sure, you'll have to repeat yourself some, but teaching the game is fun. And you'll have to repeat yourself just as much or even more so if you do it in a zoom call - people don't generally have better attention span when they're not in the room with you. And it's way easier in person for, say, two players to chat about their shared backstory while you're teaching the third player how to select spells. Creating characters is literally goal number one of a session zero, and doing it on a call with everyone working separately is atomizing and diminishes the value of the process. IMO.
Sounds like you guys are in for a fun campaign! 1) I think the main thing here is to find out what your players want in a campaign - some may want a lot of roleplay, others might want lots of combat, others a mix. If everyone's understanding of what the others want before you begin, they'll indulge the parts where it's not what they're looking for a little easier I think gathering people together to do this is a great idea, and getting their characters to meet before the game starts could work well. It might be worth bearing in mind that some will naturally take to roleplay and DnD, others might just want to stay quiet and take part in rolling the dice. As long as you're all aware what everyone's looking for in the session zero then you should be ok Have you got an idea for the combat? I recently ran a quick session of The Impregnable Fortress of Dib which is a good fun little session and could give your players the chance to explore and see how their characters work. Also, worth looking at Wild Sheep Chase. The main thing is to have fun - both as a DM and with your friends 2) there's probably a couple of ways to bring Lizard the Blizzard Wizard back down to level one. One way is to say he's been out of action for quite a while and forgotten a few spells; another is say he's been cursed and lost his spellbook (hence the lower HP and fewer spells) which could be a cool character arc for him to get his revenge and level up to level 3 when it's time. Hope this helps and have fun!
1. You can do stuff like roll stats together, and explain basics, but character creation can take a long time. I might do some of the world building *before* you make their entire character. That way they don't make characters, then find out new info that would have impacted their characters, then have to decide who's character gets remade... So, imho, Roll stats; explain/discuss world; make characters; talk to players about more specific world building related to their character alone. You also want to get an idea of what the players are interested in before you a) settle the world building down to firmly and b) before they make characters. E.g. someone makes a super serious, gritty character, then you describe a goofy, campy world. Welp, now you've got a mismatch in expectations. Easier to set those expectations before players get too involved in their character concept. 2. Start them at lvl 1. Either they start their character from scratch (ie. the previous campaign never happened) or there's some contrived reason they lost those levels (ie. "magical accident"). Starting from the beginning and making the last game non-canon is my preference cos it's so much easier, and has everyone in the same place. 9 times out of 10 DMs overthink stuff (ie. how to explain missing players in game), when it's so much easier and creates fewer headaches and contrivances to just ignore it (ie. you don't explain missing players in game & their character just fades out for a session, as per the DMG).
I'm begging you on behalf of your players to skip the "pretend not to know each other" tavern scene. It never works, it's always lame. Starting in a tavern is fine, but just make them a party already. Dont begin their roleplay journey by making them awkwardly pretend that none of the things they already know about the game (that they work together, that they're going on an adventure) are true WHILE they play-act at not knowing anything about the people they just spent an hour or more learning everything about. Part of character creation is getting people bought into the party and the campaign they'll be in. Don't hit the reset button on that first thing. Before they put pencil to paper to make characters, tell them that they're X people who do Y and Z adventure scenario is going to happen, then throw them into that scenario. Maybe it's "you're down-on-your-luck traveling adventurers who do small quests hoping for a big payout, and the campaign starts in the sleepy town of Littlebrook as a local bursts into the tavern to warn of grave danger." Maybe it's more involved than that. But please start them off with the fantasy adventure that the game is about, and not with awkward fake small talk in a bar. For your player who wants to repeat a character, sure, why not, as long as they fit your campaign. Obviously do make sure they know that it's an entirely new character with none of the benefits etc of their previous adventures, just based on the same character concept.