Session 0 and other GM advice.

>>50794517

To me, Sessions 0's are usually for pitching a game system to the group and helping players make characters.

For example D&D would be a medieval fantasy game, mainly using d20's.

Another game is Exalted, where you only use d10's and the setting is much more sword & sorcery with demigod player characters.

I'm currently running an Exalted game for my college RPG club. Session 0 was me presenting a PowerPoint on the basics of the setting, the Exalted types (think of them more as theme flavors) and how to create a character.

I'd say get your group acquainted with the rules. And to do that, YOU will have to know the rules very well. Enough to water it down and explain it to a player. Examples of rolling the dice and adding whatever numbers on the sheet (depending on the system) can really speed players understanding the rules.

Knowing the rules and how to create characters is integral to Session 0. If you're playing with your group in person, and if you have more than one rules book, bring both. Players will be going through and reading the steps to make characters, and only passing around one book between 4-5 people can be a nightmare. I'd recommend slapping up the steps on Powerpoint if you only have one book. That way players can see the steps on screen.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

>>50795069
>presenting a PowerPoint on the basics of the setting
dam you have to make a hard sell

I usually just say something like
"what do you want to be"
"and what do you want to do"
then take a average and tell them what we're using

I'd conciser session 0 making characters and getting the basics of what type of stuff you can do when.

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>>50794517
my best bit of advice for a newb DM is think of it like have a race with a toddler.

You have to convince them that you're trying to win, that you're just out of reach, and if they only put their head down they'd catch you.
Then, and this is the trick bit, you have to let them win, without them thinking you did.

also, you will never anticipate what they'll do when.
Seriously, you put a monster in a room and them a sword and 30 seconds later
one's stuck in a window,
another is smashing holes in the wall to look for "the wizard", what wizard? who can say?
and the last is choking on the sword.

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>>50795069
>>50795255
>>50795499

thanks for the advice so far.

im going to be running a cowboy bebop/outlaw star game/campaign. iv got a flyer made up for my FLGS to attract some players which briefly explains what their in for ie "space western anime hijinks". I think the power point is a neat idea to convey more of the system and give them a rundown on the races that they can play and what they do once I have an interested group.

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hopeful bump for more advice.

what do you do when the players decide to pull a Scooby-doo and split the party aside from telling them they probably shouldn't.

>>50796538
Let the consequences speak for themselves.

>>50794517
THe only problem i can think of is dungeon desing, to some extent you've got to plan out spaces in which the pc's traverse, and having these things be flexible could hurt the enjoyment of the campaign.

>>50796740
perhaps but like the DM advice pic says if you have a few set pieces ex want group to fight necromancer, group wants to be king of the pirates, congrats your now fighting gekko Moriah on thriller park" that you can use it doesn't really matter how your players get there

>>50799259

Do they want to go?
Yes: welcome aboard.
No: If you would like to set this character aside and make a new one that does want to join us you are more than welcome to.

>>50794517
One of my top personal rules as a GM is to NEVER reveal anything to the party that you're not willing to see destroyed.

Are you okay with the BBEG possibly being killed halfway into the campaign? Are you okay with a plot important NPC being randomly betrayed and killed? Are you okay with the McGuffin being recovered/destroyed by the party long before you intended it to be? And so on.

If not, don't put X thing in the same room with the players, EVER, even if you're 100% sure the players can't destroy it. Because believe me, they WILL destroy it. They always find a way. And if you act like a cuck about it and go "oh, he had a teleportation ring all along and escapes!" or "well... actually he has a second form!" or some bullshit, the players aren't going to like it because it means no matter how well they succeed, they're going to be railroaded into whatever preplanned story you already had. You can avoid this entirely by only revealing things that you're okay with the players completely annihilating.

Alternatively, it's okay to reveal things you don't want to be killed/destroyed if the system has clear mechanics that allow them to retreat or survive and the players are fully aware of it and won't feel cheated if the ability is used. This is really a system specific thing so I can't give specific advice on how to do this, but it's usually the sort of thing you'll find in a more narrative driven game.