Running a Session Zero for Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen is on the horizon, and with it comes an adventure filled with warfare, apathetic gods, and, of course, dragons. Playing as heroes of Krynn, players will encounter exciting characters, harrowing battles, and deadly foes. However, the adventure explores themes that Dungeon Masters may first want to review with their players. As the DM, you can make adjustments to the story as you see fit so that your players can enjoy the game without becoming uncomfortable.

In this article, we'll review how to run a session zero for your Dragonlance campaign to ensure your group has the best experience possible.

What Is a Session Zero?

A session zero is a designated time for the players and Dungeon Master to meet to discuss aspects of their upcoming campaign. This session allows everyone in the campaign to set proper expectations for the adventure ahead, and address any concerns over material.

What to Expect When Playing a Dragonlance Campaign

The Dragon Queen's armies mobilize

Every player must know what they are getting into when joining a campaign. You don't need to reveal every twist and turn, but outlining the general idea of your campaign, as well as any sensitive topics that may be encountered, allows players to voice concerns over anything they may be uncomfortable with. In Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, players will encounter potentially difficult and emotional situations that involve:

  • War
  • Mass death
  • Having to vacate one's home
  • Violence against civilians
  • A funeral
  • Character death

Because we, as players, are real-life human beings with our own life experiences, it is wise to inform the players of these topics. Then, as a group, you can review what aspects you would like to experience during the campaign by answering a few questions. Examples include:

  • How much combat would you all like to see in this campaign?
  • Would you like to experience it in its normal difficulty, even if it might mean character death?
  • When it comes to roleplaying, do you want to have a serious setting where all players stay in character or a more relaxed environment with casual roleplay?
  • Do we want to only play with content that fits the setting or allow all D&D material?

You may find players have different hopes for the adventure. A session zero allows your group to find ways to adjust the content so that everyone will be happy in and out of your sessions. Without setting expectations or establishing boundaries (which we discuss below), players and the DM may have conflicting expectations for the game, leading to dissatisfaction in play.

Establishing Boundaries With Hard and Soft Limits

A man made of spectral flames reaches for a loved one

In every Dungeons & Dragons campaign, there are difficult aspects that not every player might enjoy. When it comes to Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, the adventure focuses on a world filled with hardship as the people of Krynn face off against the evil Dragon Queen Takhisis. Such dark times mean innocent people have their homes destroyed and must flee for their lives as they watch their peers suffer.

Although this is a work of fiction, many situations in the book can stir up negative emotions in players. This is why one of the most important portions of a session zero is to talk about each player's hard and soft limits:

  • A hard limit is subject matter that should never be included in gameplay.
  • A soft limit is subject matter that the player can tolerate but wishes for it to be mentioned briefly, if at all, as it can evoke negative emotions.

When running a session zero in preparation for Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, a player may state that they have a hard limit with children being harmed in-game, which can allow the DM to ensure this doesn't appear in the sessions in any capacity. Similarly, an example of a soft limit one might bring up is that they would rather animals not be harmed. This information allows the DM to adjust situations that may contain this soft limit so that they are avoided or touched on extremely briefly.

It's important never to dispute or question another player's boundaries but rather accept them. Admitting boundaries is a vulnerable process for any person, and it can cause offense to dismiss or downplay them.

A older dwarf women with hands on her hipsNot every player will feel comfortable telling the group their limits out of fear of judgment. In these situations, you can assist by creating a communication method that allows for anonymity. The process can be as simple as writing on a piece of paper and putting it into a hat, using an online document that the players can access and submit their answers, or opening up an alternative method of communication like text or Discord.

Respecting Limits as the Dungeon Master

If you are new to hard and soft limits, learning how to navigate changing content to support your players can be challenging. A situation might arise where you want to respect a boundary, but an aspect of your story involves something that may come close to the subject. It is okay to inform your player of the situation and ask clarifying questions to understand where the limits are drawn. You never want to assume what does or does not apply.

Using the soft limit in the previous section as an example, the player isn't comfortable hearing about animals being harmed. However, Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen features a land ravaged by the horrors of war. Therefore, in a battle, horses might be strategically targeted to hinder your forces' mobility. In this situation, the Dungeon Master would ask if the player would be okay with this tactic or if that would be too much. If the player is too uncomfortable, the DM may adjust the encounter to remove the cavalry, thereby avoiding a topic that would bring a player negative emotions.

Post Session Discussion

Even though a group can try their hardest to create a safe environment in their session zero, feelings might change as the campaign moves forward. This is completely natural. However, if left unchecked, it may cause conflict if there is not a safe space to communicate these feelings.

To address this, you can have a brief meeting after the session. This can be accomplished by asking each member of the group, even you as the Dungeon Master, what they enjoyed about the session and what they wish they saw more or less of. This will help the group know how everyone is feeling and can adjust as needed if there are any issues.

Discussing Player Character Creation

Draconians set up an ambush on a group of travellers

A session zero also provides the opportunity to discuss character creation. For example, you may be inclined to want a party full of Dragonlance-specific characters, or you may be okay with bringing character options in from elsewhere in the multiverse.

Players can use this session to create their character's backstory and discuss whether their characters are tied together in any way. This could be an ideal time to figure out who wants to follow the path of the Knights of Solamnia or Mages of High Sorcery so that you can prepare the necessary storylines for the campaign. Maybe the group wants to play as a party of all knights or all mages, which will introduce interesting story beats to the adventure!

As the Dungeon Master, you can also use this opportunity to allude to the amount of challenging combat featured in the adventure so that the players can keep that in mind as they build their characters.

Here are some questions from the Dungeon Master's Guide you can ask your players as they create characters. These questions can give you a sense of the party's relationships:

  • Are any of the characters related to each other?
  • What keeps the characters together as a party?
  • What does each character like most about every other member of the adventuring party?

Additionally, you can throw in a few Dragonlance-specific character creation questions to help your players' characters be more intertwined with the setting:

  • How has the Cataclysm affected you?
  • Where do you stand on the War of the Lance?
  • Are you a member of an organization?
  • Who are your kin?

Is Your Party Ready to Face the Dragon Armies?

On top of new character creation options and large-scale battle mechanics, Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen will take your party on an epic adventure defending the land of Krynn. But, before you go off adventuring, it's essential to check in with your group to make sure everyone will have a great experience. Implementing the techniques featured in this article during your session zero will help to ensure that your group has a safe environment to save the world!

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DeAngelo Murillo (That_DeAngelo) is a fourth-generation Mexican-American who helps bring more representation to the geeky community through storytelling, journalism, interviewing creatives, and more on his Twitch channel. In his free time, he enjoys harassing his peers into participating in TTRPG charity events with him and also dies quite often in video games.