For today’s #worldbuildingMonday post, we’re discussing how to set the stage for your world in a pre-session. Many downstream issues can be avoided here with some simple expectation setting exercises.
Get everyone to the table. Your goal in a pre-session should be to play a one-off story – perhaps a prequel – using the system you’ve selected where your players develop chemistry, familiarity, and iron-out any issues.
It’s usually here that the major differences in expectations among the GM & players arise and provide an opportunity to be ameliorated prior to the official start to the campaign. Generate conversations about what your players are looking for, what they want, and what truly expect out of this story. If you, and/or the players, aren’t comfortable being direct, try to design your pre-session in such a way where these types of questions would naturally arise.
Our advice for any/all players & GMs that are sticklers for a specific way of playing/telling stories is to be good listeners and communicators in this pre-session so that you get what you’re looking for but also making sure the rest of the table is in a similar situation as well!
