Session Zero Questions Every Game Master Should Ask

Asking the right questions during Session Zero can transform a procedural meeting into a genuine conversation about how your table wants to play together.

Well-chosen questions can surface assumptions, reveal incompatible expectations before they become problems during play, establish practical boundaries, and give players meaningful input into the campaign.

The questions themselves matter more than following a rigid script.

This guide organizes useful Session Zero questions into practical categories, explains what each can reveal, and shows how to turn the answers into agreements your group can actually use.

Questions About Campaign Tone and Content

These questions help establish the emotional range, subject matter, and general style of the campaign.

What themes or story elements are you interested in exploring?

This open-ended question gives players an opportunity to describe what interests them.

One player might want political intrigue.

Another might be excited about dungeon exploration.

A third might want character-driven drama involving complicated relationships.

Look for patterns without treating every answer as a promise.

If four players are excited about investigation and nobody expresses much interest in tactical dungeon combat, that is useful information when deciding where to focus preparation.

It is equally useful when the answers conflict.

If one player wants grim political tragedy while another expects lighthearted heroic fantasy, that difference deserves discussion before the campaign begins.

What topics or content should we avoid?

This question establishes an opportunity for players to communicate boundaries.

Some players may immediately know what they do not want included. Others may prefer to communicate privately or may discover a boundary later.

Make it clear that:

• Players can communicate privately if they prefer.
• They do not need to explain why something is a boundary.
• Boundaries can be added or changed during the campaign.
• The group should establish what happens if uncomfortable material appears unexpectedly.

Avoid requiring everyone to disclose personal experiences in front of the table.

The useful information is what should or should not appear in play, not why someone requested the boundary.

How much detail do we want when describing violence or other intense content?

Intensity and description are separate from whether a subject exists at all.

Two groups might both be comfortable with fantasy combat but want very different presentations.

One table might enjoy detailed descriptions of sword fights and injuries.

Another might prefer:

"You defeat the bandits. The fight is over."

You can ask similar questions about:

• Horror
• Body horror
• Romance
• Sexual content
• Substance use
• Cruelty
• Interrogation
• Character death
• Other material relevant to the planned campaign

The goal is not to produce an exhaustive list of every possible subject.

Focus on content that is reasonably likely to appear.

What tone are we aiming for?

Avoid making players choose between only "serious" and "funny."

Campaign tone exists on several dimensions.

Ask questions such as:

• How serious should consequences feel?
• How much out-of-character humor fits the table?
• Can the story become dark without becoming hopeless?
• Are heroic victories expected, or can the story become tragic?
• How grounded or fantastical should the world feel?

A campaign can contain serious character drama while the players laugh frequently at the table.

Those things are not mutually exclusive.

Example: A Maritime Campaign

Suppose the campaign follows the crew of a merchant vessel.

Three players imagine fast-moving swashbuckling adventure with pirates, treasure, and dramatic naval battles.

Another player is interested in historically inspired sailing procedures, navigation, logistics, and trade.

That does not automatically make the preferences incompatible.

It does mean the group should decide how much mechanical detail the campaign will devote to sailing and commerce before everyone begins building characters around different assumptions.

Questions About Character Creation

These questions help players build characters that fit the campaign and have reasons to interact with one another.

What character concept are you considering, and what interests you about it?

The second half of this question is especially useful.

Two players might both choose paladins for very different reasons.

One may want to explore difficult moral decisions.

Another may enjoy being a durable frontline combatant who protects the party.

Knowing what attracts the player to the concept can help the GM understand what kinds of situations might engage them.

Do not assume that a class automatically tells you what a player wants from the game.

How does your character know at least one other party member?

Pre-existing relationships can give the party immediate connections.

Possible relationships include:

• Former coworkers
• Siblings
• Childhood friends
• Rivals
• Fellow soldiers
• Former classmates
• Members of the same organization
• Survivors of the same event
• A debtor and creditor
• Mentor and former student

Not every character needs to know everyone.

A few connections can be enough to prevent the opening session from becoming four strangers asking why they should trust one another.

Why is your character willing to work with this group?

This is slightly different from asking how the characters met.

Characters can disagree.

They can distrust one another.

They can even become rivals.

But a campaign built around a party generally works more easily when each character has a reason to remain involved.

If the answer is:

"My character would never work with these people and will leave as soon as possible,"

the concept may need adjustment before Session One.

What does your character want?

Character goals provide useful direction for both players and GMs.

Goals might include:

• Finding a missing family member
• Becoming wealthy
• Restoring a reputation
• Discovering forbidden knowledge
• Protecting a community
• Gaining political influence
• Defeating a particular enemy
• Finding somewhere to belong

Goals do not need to become mandatory GM plotlines.

They provide potential material that can connect the character to the campaign.

What might your character be willing to give up to achieve that goal?

This question can reveal how strongly the character values the goal.

Would they sacrifice:

• Money?
• Reputation?
• Safety?
• Political power?
• A friendship?
• Their principles?
• Their life?

A player does not need to know the final answer during Session Zero.

Even uncertainty can reveal something interesting about the character.

Are there elements of your character's background you want hidden from the other characters?

Be precise about the distinction between character secrets and player secrets.

A player may want every player at the table to know that their character is secretly the heir to a noble house while the other characters remain unaware.

Another player may want the revelation to surprise the players as well.

Either approach can work if the group agrees on how secrets will be handled.

Secrets that create major consequences for other player characters, such as planned betrayal, theft, or PvP conflict, deserve additional discussion. Surprise for the characters does not require surprise or lack of consent for the players.

Questions About Play Style and Expectations

These questions help establish what kinds of play the group finds interesting.

How important is mechanical character optimization to you?

Some players enjoy finding powerful combinations and building characters that perform extremely well mechanically.

Others prioritize concept, characterization, or unusual choices even when those choices are not mechanically optimal.

Neither approach is inherently wrong.

Problems can arise when players expect very different levels of optimization and the campaign's challenges assume one particular style.

Useful follow-up questions include:

• Do you enjoy optimizing as a group?
• Would a large power difference between characters bother you?
• Do you expect encounters to require highly optimized builds?
• Is experimenting with unusual character concepts important to you?

What level of character lethality do we expect?

In games such as Dungeons & Dragons, characters can die under the rules.

The useful Session Zero discussion is about how the group wants that possibility treated.

Ask:

• Should dangerous encounters carry a real possibility of character death?
• Do we expect the GM to communicate unusually dangerous threats clearly?
• How will we handle a character death?
• How quickly can a replacement character join?
• Are resurrection options part of the campaign?
• How do we feel about permanent consequences other than death?

Do not promise outcomes that the game's mechanics or campaign structure cannot reliably support.

Instead, establish the type of risk everyone expects.

What balance of combat, exploration, and social interaction sounds enjoyable?

D&D has traditionally described combat, exploration, and social interaction as three broad pillars of play.

They are useful categories for discussion, but they do not need to become percentages that the GM must satisfy every session.

Rather than asking:

"Do you want 40% combat, 30% exploration, and 30% roleplay?"

try:

• Which of these do you most enjoy?
• Is there one you would be disappointed to rarely see?
• Is there one you prefer in smaller amounts?
• Do you enjoy sessions that focus almost entirely on one type of play?

Also remember that these categories are not exhaustive.

Investigation, puzzles, resource management, domain play, crafting, travel, romance, politics, and other activities may matter independently to your table.

How do you like to participate in scenes?

"How much spotlight do you need?" can be difficult to answer in the abstract.

More concrete questions may work better:

• Do you enjoy extended one-on-one scenes?
• Do you prefer short opportunities to contribute frequently?
• Do you like being directly invited into a scene?
• Are you comfortable initiating scenes yourself?
• Do you enjoy being the party spokesperson?
• Would you rather another player take the lead during negotiations?

Avoid assuming that quieter or more introverted people necessarily want less involvement.

Participation style and personality are not the same thing.

Questions About Table Logistics

Campaigns need practical agreements as much as creative ones.

What schedule can everyone realistically maintain?

Establish:

• Day
• Start time
• Expected session length
• Frequency
• Location or online platform
• Expected arrival time
• How far in advance cancellations should be communicated when possible

Be realistic.

A campaign that everyone can reliably play twice a month is usually easier to maintain than a weekly schedule that repeatedly gets canceled.

What happens when someone cannot attend?

Decide in advance:

• Does the session continue?
• Is there a minimum number of players?
• Who controls the absent character, if anyone?
• Does the character temporarily leave the scene?
• Can another player make mechanical decisions for them?
• How are important character-specific scenes handled?

There is no universally correct policy.

Consistency matters more than choosing a particular one.

How will we communicate between sessions?

Decide where important communication happens.

You might use:

• Discord
• Group text
• Email
• A campaign-management platform
• A private forum
• Another shared channel

Distinguish scheduling communication from optional social conversation.

Also discuss expectations.

Does everyone need to check the campaign chat daily?

Is it acceptable to respond several days later?

Should urgent scheduling questions use a different channel?

Are we comfortable with notes, audio recordings, video recordings, or transcripts?

Recording requires explicit agreement from everyone involved.

Do not assume that because a session takes place online, participants are comfortable being recorded.

Discuss:

• What is being recorded
• Why it is being recorded
• Who can access it
• How long it will be retained
• Whether it can be shared outside the group
• Whether recording can be stopped later

Recording laws also vary by jurisdiction, so groups using audio or video recording should make sure their practices comply with applicable law.

Ordinary GM note-taking is different from recording someone's voice or image, but it is still useful to explain how campaign records will be used if they contain private player information.

What digital tools do we actually want to use?

Discuss tools before making them mandatory.

Potential tools include:

• Virtual tabletops
• Digital character sheets
• Campaign-management software
• Shared documents
• Initiative trackers
• Voice or video platforms
• Mapping tools

Consider:

• Accessibility
• Cost
• Device requirements
• Account requirements
• Technical comfort
• Privacy
• Whether the tool actually solves a problem

A tool should make playing easier, not become another obstacle to participating.

Questions About Game Master Style

Session Zero should not focus exclusively on what players are expected to do.

Players also benefit from understanding how the GM approaches the game.

How much setting information do you want before play?

Some players enjoy lore documents.

Others prefer to discover the world while their characters explore it.

Ask:

• Would a one-page setting summary be useful?
• Do you enjoy reading faction or location information between sessions?
• Would you rather learn most lore in character?
• What information do you need to create your character?

This can prevent the GM from spending hours creating material nobody wants to read.

How should we handle unclear rules?

Explain how rules decisions will work.

For example:

1. Check the rule briefly if it can be found quickly.
2. If the answer is still unclear, the GM makes a temporary ruling.
3. Research the issue after the session.
4. Apply the clarified rule consistently going forward.

Other groups may prefer a different method.

The key is avoiding repeated arguments over the same procedure.

Are we using house rules or homebrew content?

List important changes before players build around assumptions that later prove incorrect.

Examples might include:

• Alternative resting rules
• Different ability-score generation
• Restrictions on character options
• Custom crafting
• Modified critical-hit rules
• New subclasses
• Setting-specific mechanics

Players should know when the game differs materially from the rules they expect.

How would you prefer me to check in if you seem disengaged or unhappy?

Feedback is easier when the method is established before something goes wrong.

Possible answers include:

• Ask privately after the session
• Send a message between games
• Ask during a scheduled group debrief
• Check in briefly during a break
• Let the player initiate the conversation

Different players may prefer different methods.

What makes a session satisfying for you?

Answers might include:

• Solving a difficult tactical encounter
• Discovering a secret
• Making an important decision
• Advancing a character relationship
• Exploring somewhere new
• Achieving a long-term goal
• Making everyone laugh
• Experiencing a dramatic failure
• Simply spending time with friends

Do not treat these answers as performance metrics the GM must hit every week.

They are clues about what participants value.

Questions About Safety Tools and Boundaries

Named safety and support tools can provide structured ways to communicate about content, but no single tool is mandatory for every table.

The important requirement is that everyone knows how to communicate when something needs to stop, change, or be discussed.

What method will we use to communicate content boundaries?

Possible approaches include:

• Lines and Veils
• The X-Card
• Script Change
• Private messages
• Open-door policies
• Pause or break procedures
• Check-ins
• A combination of approaches

If your group uses a named tool, explain how it actually works.

Do not simply announce that the table "uses the X-Card" and assume everyone understands the procedure.

Has anyone used these tools before?

This tells you how much explanation is necessary.

If nobody has used your chosen approach, demonstrate it with a harmless example.

The purpose is to make the procedure familiar enough that players know what to do during actual play.

What should happen if someone needs a break?

Normalize the ability to pause.

A break might be needed because of:

• Fatigue
• A personal phone call
• Physical discomfort
• Emotional discomfort
• Medication
• Food or water
• Bathroom needs
• Sensory overload
• Any other reason

Players should not need to justify ordinary breaks.

Your table might simply establish:

"Anyone can ask for a break. We stop at the next reasonable moment unless the situation needs an immediate pause."

How should we handle interpersonal conflict?

Distinguish character conflict from player conflict.

Characters arguing can be part of the game.

Players becoming genuinely upset with one another is a different issue.

Discuss questions such as:

• Should we pause immediately when a player conflict appears?
• Would the people involved prefer to discuss it privately?
• When should the GM facilitate?
• What happens if the GM is part of the conflict?
• When should the session end rather than trying to resolve everything immediately?

You do not need a detailed dispute-resolution policy.

You do need a shared understanding that out-of-game problems should not be disguised as in-character conflict.

Example: The Maritime Campaign

The maritime group might establish that anyone can simply say "pause" when play needs to stop.

There is no need for a thematic code phrase unless the group genuinely prefers one.

The table agrees that:

• Anyone can pause the game.
• No explanation is required before stopping.
• The group can clarify what needs to change afterward if necessary.
• Players can also message the GM privately.
• Boundaries can be updated between sessions.

Simple procedures are often easier to remember under pressure.

How to Use the Answers

Questions only help when the answers affect how the group plays.

After Session Zero, record the agreements that matter.

Your campaign reference might include:

• Campaign premise and tone
• Group-level content boundaries
• Safety or pause procedures
• Character relationships
• Party expectations
• Major house rules
• Scheduling
• Attendance policy
• Communication channels
• Player-versus-player expectations
• General gameplay interests

Be careful when documenting sensitive information.

If a player privately requests that drowning scenes not appear, the shared document may simply say:

Boundary: Detailed drowning scenes will not appear.

It does not need to say who requested it or why.

The same principle applies to surveys and other private feedback.

Preserve the resulting table agreement rather than unnecessary personal information.

Revisit these agreements periodically.

Preferences can change.

Campaigns can change.

People can discover boundaries they did not know they had before play began.

Adapting Questions for Your Table

These questions are a starting point rather than a script.

For Experienced Players

Skip explanations everyone already understands and focus on what makes this campaign different.

Useful topics may include:

• Campaign structure
• Lethality
• Player authority
• PvP
• Character optimization
• New house rules
• Tone
• Campaign-specific subject matter

Do not assume experience means the group can skip expectations entirely.

Experienced players may have stronger assumptions precisely because they have played many different styles of RPGs.

For New Players

Avoid asking questions that require knowledge they do not yet have.

A first-time player may not know whether they prefer exploration to social interaction.

Try questions such as:

• What made you interested in trying the game?
• Is there something you hope your character gets to do?
• Is there anything about the game that seems confusing?
• Would you rather learn by trying things or have rules explained first?
• Have you played any games or watched any stories that capture the kind of adventure you imagine?

You can revisit more detailed questions after they have actual play experience.

For Ongoing Campaigns

Convert Session Zero questions into check-in questions.

Ask:

• What has been working well?
• What would you like more of?
• What would you like less of?
• Is anything different from what you expected?
• Are any house rules causing problems?
• Does your character still feel satisfying to play?
• Have any boundaries changed?
• Is the current schedule still working?

For One-Shots and Short Campaigns

Prioritize what matters immediately:

• Premise
• Tone
• Character relationships
• Relevant boundaries
• Major rules changes
• Expected duration
• PvP expectations

You generally do not need an extensive discussion of long-term scheduling for a game intended to last one evening.

Common Question Pitfalls to Avoid

Good intentions do not automatically produce good questions.

Avoid Leading Questions

Instead of:

"You do want character death to matter, right?"

ask:

"How do we want to handle character death and campaign lethality?"

The first question suggests there is a correct answer.

The second invites discussion.

Avoid Forcing False Choices

Instead of:

"Do you want roleplay or combat?"

ask:

"What kinds of scenes are you most interested in?"

Players may want both.

They may also be interested in activities that do not fit neatly into either category.

Avoid Unnecessary Hypothetical Extremes

Questions such as:

"Would you be okay if I killed your character five minutes into Session One?"

may create anxiety without clarifying how the campaign will actually work.

Ask about realistic expectations:

"How dangerous should ordinary combat feel?"

"What kinds of warnings should precede unusually dangerous situations?"

Do Not Ask Players to Speak for Everyone

Instead of:

"Do you think the group wants more combat?"

ask each participant what they personally enjoy.

Then discuss the table's shared direction together.

Do Not Ask Questions When the Answer Cannot Affect Anything

If you have already committed to running a political mystery, do not ask:

"What genre should the campaign be?"

Instead explain:

"This campaign is a political mystery. Within that framework, which elements interest you most?"

Session Zero can contain both fixed campaign parameters and collaborative decisions.

Being clear about which is which prevents false expectations.

Do Not Promise to Implement Every Answer

Listening does not mean agreeing to every request.

Suppose one player wants a lighthearted heroic campaign and another wants bleak horror.

Acknowledging both answers does not make them compatible.

The purpose of Session Zero is partly to discover when preferences cannot reasonably coexist.

Sometimes the appropriate outcome is compromise.

Sometimes the campaign premise needs adjustment.

Sometimes a particular campaign simply is not the right fit for every prospective participant.

Knowing that before Session One is useful.

Following Up After Session Zero

The conversation should continue after the campaign begins.

Check In Individually When Useful

Some participants communicate more comfortably in private.

Offer a private route for:

• Content concerns
• Interpersonal issues
• Character problems
• Feedback about the GM
• Questions someone does not want to raise publicly

Do not assume a quiet player has a problem.

Simply make the communication option available.

Revisit Early Assumptions

After several sessions, ask whether the actual campaign resembles what everyone expected.

Questions might include:

• Is the tone what you expected?
• Are we spending time on the parts of the game you enjoy?
• Is the difficulty working?
• Does your character fit the campaign?
• Is anything taking more or less time than expected?

Real play provides information Session Zero cannot.

Keep Feedback Available

Do not make players wait for a formal review meeting to raise a concern.

Boundaries and preferences can change at any point.

A healthy feedback process makes that ordinary rather than exceptional.

When to Ask More Questions

Return to these conversations when circumstances change.

Useful times include:

• Beginning a new story arc with substantially different subject matter
• Adding a new player
• Changing systems or major rules
• Introducing new mechanics
• Shifting the campaign's tone
• Noticing repeated disengagement
• Experiencing recurring table tension
• Returning after a long break
• Whenever someone asks to revisit an agreement

For example, the maritime campaign might begin as coastal trade and swashbuckling adventure before moving into a dangerous open-ocean expedition.

That change may introduce:

• Survival mechanics
• Food and water management
• Isolation
• Ship damage
• Severe weather
• Greater risk of character death

Before the transition, the GM can revisit expectations about survival gameplay, resource tracking, danger, and tone.

Using Tools to Support the Conversation

Tools can make Session Zero communication easier, particularly when people prefer different ways of expressing themselves.

Private Digital Forms

A digital form can give players another way to communicate information they may not want to discuss aloud.

Google Forms and similar services can be configured in ways that reduce identifying information, but do not assume a form is automatically anonymous.

Depending on its settings, a form may collect email addresses, require account sign-in, or otherwise associate responses with participants.

Before calling a survey anonymous:

• Check whether email addresses are collected.
• Check whether sign-in is required.
• Avoid asking for names.
• Explain what information will be retained.
• Tell players who can see the responses.
• Do not share sensitive raw answers with the group.

For a small table, even supposedly aggregated responses can sometimes reveal who answered what.

When dealing with boundaries, share the resulting table agreement rather than unnecessary response data.

Printed Worksheets

Some people process questions more easily in writing than in immediate conversation.

A printed worksheet can give them time to consider:

• Character goals
• Campaign interests
• Boundaries
• Scheduling
• Questions for the GM

Players should still have an opportunity to clarify answers or communicate privately afterward.

The Same Page Tool

The Same Page Tool was created by Chris Chinn and originally published on his Deeper in the Game blog.

It is often misunderstood as a questionnaire that everyone completes independently.

Chinn specifically says not to use it that way.

Instead, the GM or group uses the choices together to establish what kind of game they are actually agreeing to play.

The tool addresses questions such as:

• Are the player characters expected to cooperate?
• What is the GM's role?
• What are players expected to do?
• How important is character survival?
• How strictly are rules followed?
• What kinds of protagonists fit the game?

Its purpose is clarification, not averaging incompatible play styles into a compromise.

TTRPG Safety Toolkit

The TTRPG Safety Toolkit, co-curated by Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk, collects information about numerous safety and support tools created throughout the tabletop community.

It can help groups compare approaches and choose tools that fit their table.

Individual tools retain their own creators and attribution.

Examples include:

• The X-Card by John Stavropoulos
• Script Change by Beau Jágr Sheldon

If you use or publish material based on a particular tool, consult its original creator's guidance and attribution requirements.

Using The Dungeon Trainer

Digital campaign tools can also help preserve the agreements established during Session Zero.

The Dungeon Trainer supports human-run campaigns with campaign organization, shared campaign records, preparation tools, and optional AI assistance.

A GM can preserve useful campaign information such as:

• Campaign premise
• Character relationships
• Important NPCs
• Locations
• Quests
• Events
• House-rule notes
• Other continuity information

Sensitive Session Zero information should still be handled carefully.

Do not store unnecessary personal explanations for boundaries simply because a platform makes note-taking convenient.

Record what the campaign needs to respect.

Avoid recording personal information that the campaign does not need.

The technology should preserve useful agreements without replacing the conversation that created them.

Making Space for Every Voice

The best questions accomplish little if only one or two people answer them.

Use Round-Robin Discussion Selectively

For particularly important questions, you can move around the table and give everyone an opportunity to contribute.

Always allow someone to pass.

Not every question requires an answer from every player.

Notice Participation Without Making Assumptions

If someone has not spoken much, invite rather than pressure them.

For example:

"Alex, is there anything you'd like to add, or are you good with what we've covered?"

This provides an opening without demanding participation.

Manage Interruptions

If players repeatedly speak over one another, redirect the conversation.

For example:

"Let's let Jordan finish, then we'll come back to that."

Simple facilitation can make participation more equitable without turning the conversation into a formal meeting.

Acknowledge Answers Without Promising Everything

Players should know that their answers were heard.

That does not mean every preference can or should become part of the campaign.

A useful response might be:

"It sounds like investigation is something several of you really want, so I'll keep that in mind when preparing."

Or:

"That would take the campaign in a very different direction from the premise I'm planning, so let's talk about whether there's a version that fits."

Listening and setting limits are compatible.

Conclusion

Session Zero questions are useful because they turn assumptions into conversations.

The GM learns what players expect.

Players learn what kind of campaign the GM is offering.

Everyone learns more about how the other people at the table want to play.

The goal is not to complete every question in this guide.

It is to leave Session Zero understanding the things that matter for your particular group:

• What game are we playing?
• What kind of characters belong in it?
• Why will they work together?
• What content belongs at the table?
• What content does not?
• How do we communicate if something needs to change?
• How will the table operate?
• What does everyone need in order to participate?

Those answers may change.

That is why Session Zero should be treated as the beginning of communication rather than the end of it.

Ask useful questions before the campaign.

Pay attention to the answers during play.

Ask again when circumstances change.

A group that can communicate clearly about the game it wants to play has a stronger foundation for building the campaign together.

Sources and Further Reading

Chinn, C. (2010, March 27). The Same Page Tool. Deeper in the Game. https://bankuei.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/the-same-page-tool/

Google. (n.d.). Create your first form in Google Forms. Google Workspace Learning Center. https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9303071

Monte Cook Games. (2019). Consent in gaming. https://www.montecookgames.com/consent-in-gaming/

Shaw, K., & Bryant-Monk, L. (n.d.). TTRPG Safety Toolkit. https://ttrpgsafetytoolkit.com/

Sheldon, B. J. (2023). Script Change RPG Toolbox. Thoughty. https://briebeau.com/thoughty/script-change/

Stavropoulos, J. (n.d.). X-Card.

Wizards of the Coast. (2024). Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons. D&D Beyond. https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024/