Session -1

So, the concept of a "Session 0" is well-known. Establishing what kind of setting your players are gonna be working through, helping with character creation, stuff like that. It's a step of the process and of establishing communication between the DM and the players. That's an important thing to do, for multiple reasons.

But last night I did something similar, which I'm deeming a "Session -1." I'm gonna do a proper Session 0 later where I actually talk about the setting they'll be in and help them make characters. So what, then, is a Session -1?

Basically, it's for establishing player and DM expectations. In mine I focused very little on the setting itself, and more on finding out what kind of setting my players wanted to exist in (Loom is large and diverse enough to where I felt like I could accommodate any sort of time period). I mainly did this because I'm playing with (mostly) new people I wanted to make sure they knew what they were getting into. And I think making sure everyone is on the same page about things like how lethal a game they're playing and what sort of adventure they're on is important.

So, I'm gonna post the general questions I asked my players here. If any other DMs see it, I figure it may be useful for them. And even if they don't, having it here will help me refine it later on, probably.

GAMEPLAY EXPECTATIONS

1. How much experience does this group have with tabletop roleplay, and if any, with what systems?
2. What balance of combat, exploration, and roleplay does the group want?
3. What power level would you like your characters to have?
4. How much lethality are you comfortable with?
5. How much homebrew are you comfortable with?
6. What amount of gore is okay, or are there any subjects that should be avoided during gameplay?
7. Would you prefer your actions to have more consequences on your character sheet, or on the game's story?

SETTING EXPECTATIONS

1. How big of a physical area do you want your adventures to cover?
2. What sort of technology level do you want the setting to be at? A real-world frame of reference would be helpful.

STORY EXPECTATIONS

1. What sort of "scope" do you want your adventures to cover? Personal goals, or saving the world?
2. How deep are you planning on going in terms of character backstory?
3. Do you want the personal character arcs of your characters to be integrated into the campaign, or just a natural consequence of their adventuring?
4. What races are you interested in playing or knowing about? (A lot of my races differ heavily from their portrayal in "vanilla" D&D, which is why I ask this)

After my questions were done, I let them ask their own. And, of course, if they needed stuff clarified about any questions I made sure to.

Overall I would say it was pretty helpful. As it turns out, what my players wanted is pretty damn different from what I was planning. And I tend to build things around the whims of my players, so knowing some of them from the get-go helps a lot.

They wound up wanting a world in its early Renaissance era, on the brink of industrialization. They like the idea of starting with a small-scale story and moving into a larger one, both in terms of physical and narrative scope. They want weak characters starting out who scale up into relatively powerful individuals - maybe with some hidden powers, to boot.

That's pretty different from my past experiences, and it's exciting to be pushed in a new direction. I think I'm gonna start doing this with all my groups from now on.