DM’s Journal – Session 0: Campaign Foundations for The Sunless Citadel

Before we ever rolled a die, we sat down for Session 0 to get everyone on the same page. This entry is basically a snapshot of that conversation—how we set expectations, agreed on rules, and figured out what kind of game we actually wanted to play before diving into the Sunless Citadel.

top-down view of a gaming table with notebooks, dice, and character sheets

Campaign Expectations

Our group has a mix of brand-new and experienced D&D players, so one big goal we agreed on was simple but important: finish a full campaign together. Session 0 gave us space to talk openly about tone, playstyle, and table etiquette, so no one walks in with mismatched expectations.

We talked about what kind of story we want to tell, how serious (or silly) the game should be, and what makes the table fun for everyone.

Schedule

  • Sessions are planned for Sunday nights, with times adjustable as needed.
  • Session duration is capped at 3 hours (flexible depending on circumstances).

Attendance Guidelines:

  • 1 Absentee: Session continues; absent characters may be controlled by another player or the DM during combat.
  • 2 Absentees: Session is canceled.

Common reasons for absence: Family gatherings, emergencies.

Party Expectations

Party Dynamics

  • As a group, they will decide whether they're leaning toward heroes, mercenaries, morally gray, or chaotic.

Conflict Guidelines

  • PVP is generally not allowed, unless everyone involved explicitly agrees.

Decision-Making

  • Each session has a rotating spotlight leader. That person helps keep decisions moving for the night. The role rotates every session so everyone gets a turn.

Character Creation Boundaries

  • Allowed Sources: Player’s Handbook (PHB, D&D 5e 2014) and DiceCloud libraries (LoV, TftYP).
  • Starting Level: 1
  • Starting Equipment: Standard
  • Feats: Allowed
  • Multiclassing: Not allowed (yet)
  • Subclass Changes: Allowed only once upon level-up

House Rules

  1. Leveling up: Players cannot roll lower than average health.
  2. Death Saves are rolled in secret.
  3. Initiative can be lowered intentionally before combat, lasting the entire encounter.
  4. Inspiration allows rerolls instead of advantage.
  5. Flanking attackers gain advantage on hit rolls.
  6. Skills/Actions can have critical successes or failures.
  7. Crunchy Crits: Max die roll + die roll on critical hit damage.
  8. Potions can be consumed as a bonus action.
  9. Campaign uses D&D 5e (2014) ruleset.
  10. DM has the final say on ruling disputes.
  11. Rotating Scribe: Each session will have a designated scribe to record notes.

Technology and Tools

Reflection

Session 0 helped us set a solid baseline without locking the campaign into something rigid. By talking through expectations, rules, and tools early on, we avoided future confusion and made space for what really matters, which is telling a cool story together.

With the groundwork laid, the Tales from the Yawnig Portal: The Sunless Citadel is officially ready to open its doors.

This journal is a personal, non-commercial reinterpretation focused on play experience and system design. Dungeons & Dragons, Wizards of the Coast, and all related trademarks are property of Wizards of the Coast.