Your first night
A first session is a conversation with a few dice. You do not need a finished world, matching miniatures, or every rule memorized. You need a place, a reason the characters are there, and a person willing to describe what happens next.
Who does what
One person is the Dungeon Master, or GM. They describe the room, speak for the people the characters meet, and decide when a roll is needed. Everyone else plays one character and says what that character tries. The GM is not the enemy of the table. They are the one holding the scene together so the players can make choices.
If nobody has done this before, pick the person who is most comfortable talking. They can read this page once before the evening and keep what happens on a turn open beside them.
What to have in the room
- Two to five players, plus the person running the game. Three is a comfortable first table.
- A character for each player: a name, a sentence about what they are good at, and the six ability scores. The player guide explains those scores. The app’s character creator can build a sheet if you want the numbers done for you.
- Dice, or the dice on the campaign screen. A single twenty-sided roll covers almost every uncertain moment on a first night.
- About ninety minutes. Stop while people still want another scene. A short evening that ends cleanly teaches the game better than a long one that collapses into rules questions.
Prepare three things, not a plot
Write one place the characters start, such as a roadside inn or a gate in the rain. Write one problem that is already happening when they arrive: a locked wagon, a missing stablehand, a light in a window that should be dark. Write one secret only you know, so you have an answer when the players look in the unexpected direction.
Do not write the players’ decisions in advance. If your notes say “then they agree to help,” you have written a story they are supposed to sit through. Write the situation. Let them decide whether they help, lie, pay, or leave.
In Roll and Lore Screen, generate a tavern, a rumor or an NPC, then press Save note or Save NPC. The next roll will not delete what you kept. The prep guide goes further if you want a second session later.
How a scene actually sounds
The GM says what the characters can see, hear and smell, and stops. A player says what they do: “I ask the keeper who owns the wagon,” or “I look under the table.” If the answer is obvious, the GM just says what happens. If it could go either way, the GM asks for a roll, names which ability fits, and tells the player the number they are trying to reach, or simply whether the result is enough.
Players do not need the official name of a skill. “I want to notice if he is lying” is a complete turn. The GM can match that to a wisdom check. Teaching the vocabulary can wait until someone asks.
A shape for the ninety minutes
- Ten minutes. Names, one sentence each about the characters, and the agreement that you will look up a rule only if it changes what someone is allowed to try.
- The arrival. Describe the place. Let each player do one small thing: order a drink, greet someone, inspect the door.
- The problem. Make it visible. Someone asks for help, or the characters stumble into it. Offer at least two ways forward.
- One complication. A locked door, a suspicious local, or a roll that makes the easy path noisy. This is enough combat for a first night if a fight happens at all. See running a fight only if blades come out.
- A closing image. They leave with a clue, a new acquaintance, or a reason to come back. Say “we’ll stop there” while the table is still talking.
What to skip
Skip custom worlds with twelve factions. Skip a character for every possible class. Skip arguing about a rule for more than a minute: pick a temporary answer, write it in a note, and check it after the session. The people at the table will remember whether they had a choice. They will not remember whether you applied the perfect penalty for difficult terrain.