GM resource
Session zero for Draw Steel
Set expectations, tone, and table agreements. Session zero for Draw Steel sets the table before the dice matter: agree on tone (tactical heroic-fantasy combat), safety boundaries, and what each player wants from the game.
Checklist
- Talk through tone and boundaries: how hard the table wants to lean into what makes Draw Steel distinct (tactical heroic-fantasy combat).
- Walk the group through the core roll mechanic together so nobody is guessing at the table: Draw Steel resolves actions with power rolls: 2d10 plus a characteristic, read against outcome tiers rather than pass/fail, tier 1 (11 or less), tier 2 (12-16), and tier 3 (17+). Even low tiers usually do something; higher tiers do it better.
- Collect character concepts and connect them to each other before the first scene.
- Agree on logistics (session length, cadence) and which safety tools the table will use.
Common pitfalls
- Skipping the tone talk and hitting a mismatch mid-campaign
- Running session zero as pure character creation with no table agreements
- No shared safety-tool agreement before the first high-intensity scene