TTRPGs are vehicles for improvised, collaborative stories. Basically, we’re all just making it up as we go! And the idea of making up a compelling story on the spot can be a little intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be. There are a few basic skills you can practice to feel more comfortable and confident when you’re improvising. And once you feel good about what you’re making up, it’ll be all the easier to focus on making the story the best it can be.

Whether you’re a seasoned GM or someone running their first TTRPG, a Session Zero is the single most effective tool in your GM toolkit to ensure a fun and successful campaign. Simply put, a Session Zero is a game session that occurs before you start actually playing a TTRPG that allows everyone to get on the same page about tone and content, discuss the safety tools that you’ll use during gameplay, and build your characters together. A good session zero is the best way to set a new campaign up for success and is the easiest way to avoid many of the common pitfalls and problems that tables can encounter during a campaign.