GM resource
Session zero for Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
Set expectations, tone, and table agreements. Session zero for Vampire V5 sets the table before the dice matter: agree on tone (modern gothic vampire horror), 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 Vampire V5 distinct (modern gothic vampire horror).
- Walk the group through the core roll mechanic together so nobody is guessing at the table: VTM V5 uses d10 dice pools: roll Attribute + Skill, count successes on 6+, and watch for criticals on 10s. Hunger dice add personal-horror volatility (messy criticals and bestial failures).
- 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