Session zero checklist for online and play-by-post games
A session zero is the conversation before the first scene, where the group agrees on what kind of game this is. For online and play-by-post games, where you can't read the room, it matters even more. Copy this checklist into your game's first post.
The game
- Tone: heroic, gritty, comedic, horror? Mostly combat, mostly intrigue, mostly exploration?
- Setting: a published-style world, homebrew, or "make it up as we go"?
- Rules: 2014 or 2024 rules? Which house rules? Which homebrew is allowed?
- Length: a one-shot, a short arc, or open-ended?
Content and safety
- Lines: topics that won't appear at all.
- Veils: topics that can happen "off screen" but won't be described.
- How anyone can flag discomfort privately and without explaining why (a whisper to the DM works well).
- Rating: is this game for a general audience or mature only?
Rhythm
- How often players post (for example, at least once every 48 hours).
- How often the DM posts.
- What happens to a character when their player goes quiet.
- How to tell the group you'll be away.
Characters
- Starting level, how ability scores are generated, starting gear.
- Allowed classes, subclasses and species (and whether homebrew or original subclasses are in).
- Why the party is together. Agree on one shared reason now and save a week of awkward introductions.
- Each player shares one thing about their character the DM can use as a hook.
Table rules
- How combat works (strict initiative, group initiative or post order).
- Who rolls: players in their own posts, or the DM.
- Player-versus-player conflict: allowed, discussed first, or off the table?
- Where out-of-character chat goes.
Tip: keep the answers somewhere everyone can find them. On Talewrite, the DM can tick the table's house rules and write the tone and premise into the campaign setup, so new players see them when they join.