Preparing for your saga: No Plot Needed, but Session Zero is

Your saga need not have a unifying theme or plot. It is perfectly fine to just get everyone to decide on their characters, and let the story develop organically from there.

It is probably beneficial to arrange a Session Zero, however - a meeting before the campaign actually starts - to make sure that everyone is on the same page about what kind of game is expected, and to help coordinate character generation.

Keep in mind that session zero need not be long. It can be a brief Zoom meeting, bouncing off ideas for characters and the saga. Don't feel like you have to finalize things in it; keep it as long as it's fun for everyone and to sort out the basic details, and then disperse and let each player finalize his own character in his free time.

The Covenant

It's probably wise to establish the bare bones of the covenant. It's especially important to agree on the covenant's general environment (an isolated grove, a manor next to feuding nobles, within a city, or so on), to choose a Hook signifying what kind of over-arching stories you'd be interested in as a group, and perhaps to determine some story-types you don't want to play through.

Deciding on the rough location of the covenant, such as which tribunal it is set in, can also help in solidifying and inspiring characters, though it is usually less important and can be decided later. You may want to check out our Which Tribunal to choose page.

Further details on the covenant are usually **not** needed in advance, and can be improvised or decided in-play. Do not feel pressured to generate the covenant in full detail, if it isn't fun for the troupe. (If it's fun for one player - perhaps he should be in charge of that aspect of the game.)

A possible exception is the covenant's library. We recommend deciding how many Build Points you want it to have, and then dividing that equally betweenn the players (including the SG). This will make sure each magus will have books that are relevant to him in a fair way. Announcing this, and the amount, may influence some choices in character generation, so we advise to do so in Session Zero. More often it will not affect character generation, however, so so it is very much optional.

If you haven't decided on a specific location for your covenant by the end of session zero, do so soon after it. This is important to let the players finalize their characters before the first session, and to set up your descriptions of the locales during it.

Coordinating Characters

Session zero is also a good time for players to coordinate their characters.

You don't want too-similar magi, as this can lead to player frustration when one is less effective and is just less interesting and diverse. It's best if every magus has his own areas of expertise.

For companions, encourage one player's companion to generally accompany another player's magus, such as by being his servant, shield grog, friend, trusted adviser, or so on. This will give the companion's player a good reason to play his companion when the other's magus is in-play.

Some players find creating multiple characters – especially grogs or companions – tedious. That's fine. They may use stock characters (non-magi templates) instead. Do encourage them to participate in troupe play, however – to play companions and grogs in adventures their magus did not join. Having too many wizards join an adventure can become unwieldy; for most stories, one or two magi and a few companions and grogs will make more sense and will be easier to run.

Social Contract

You can also use session zero to establish the "Social Contract" of the game – what is expected, what is unacceptable, and so on.

But a Plot is Fine: A Campaign Frame

Your saga absolutely can have an overarching plot or theme. Maybe you even already have a saga concept. That's great. Pitch it to your players.

The Daggerheart roleplaying game recommends explicitly writing down a "campaign frame" to be presented at session zero. A campaign frame includes:

A pitch, that briefly explains the idea, aimed at sparking interest and imagination. Keep it short, one to three sentences.
Keywords, indicating tone and genre, such as "horror" or "witty".
Touchstones, which are references to books or films that the campaign draws on, such as "The Princess Bride" or "The Wall".
A few Player Principles, and a few SG Principles. These are guidelines on how to play the game, as players or as a SG. Player principles might be things like "Protect Magic", or "Search for the Unknown"; SG principles might be things like "Offer Alternatives to Violence" or "Show the Depravity of the Infernal".
Sometimes, certain locations or pieces of lore are pertinent. Include details that would help players build characters that fit the saga. If you want the saga to include stories set in the Ironwood, for example, then perhaps describe it in a sentence or two. If fighting minions of Radegast will be a theme, perhaps a fre words on its diabolist cult can help players build characters with that in mind.
House rules that apply in the saga. Especially ones that would affect character creation, including expectations of gameplay.
Any questions you might want to discuss with the players about the upcoming campaign. For example, you might want to discuss how gory the game will or won't be, or how deadly. The Sagas chapter in the core rulebook raises some further examples.
And finally, an Inciting Incident that opens the campaign. Tell your players in advance how the first adventure will begin; this will help start the campaign off more smoothly.

Having an overarching plot is fine. But a key principle of GMing is to hold on lightly. This means you should not stick to your original idea if it isn't working, or the saga drifts elsewhere. Treat all the prep work you do for the saga as a springboard and launchpad, not rails that the saga must follow once it gets going.

House Rule Lightly

It is sometimes tempting to house rule extensively, i.e. to change the rules. Try to avoid this urge. Remember the cardinal rule of gaming: we're all here to have fun. For some players, keeping track of house rules feels more like a chore. Others may simply find it hard to keep track. The benefit a house rule brings to the game, needs to be balanced against the mental load and clumsiness it brings to it, as players now have to juggle between your house rules and the official ones.

Only institute a house rule when you are confident it is worth it. Not just for you, but for your players too.

Only institute a house rule when it solves a problem that actually comes up in-game, or you that you expect will.

Realize, too, that some problems in the game can just be handled with a tacit, or implicit, agreement that the game just won't go there. If you don't want players to drive Mythic Europe into the industrial age with their magic – just ask them to avoid these kinds of shenanigans. A lot of this can be accomplished by setting up clear expectations in Session Zero and the Campaign Frame.

Deviating from the rules as a storyguide, is not a house rule. As an old DMing adage says, rules that apply only on your side of the DM screen, don't apply at all. This applies especially to NPC and creature creation. Give them the stats they need to serve the story and make sense to you. Adjust them on the fly if needed. But in the name of all that is holy and unholy, don't try to create NPCs according to the rules for player characters. You don't have enough time or sanity-levels for that.

Irrespective of what the rules of the game are, there is the question of how much you adhere to them. The D&D 5e DMG says, "the rules aren't in charge. You are the DM, and you are in charge of the game". How much do you want to lean into that? Do you want to do what fits the narrative or drama, and throw away the rules? Or do you want to let the dice fall as they may?

A common compromise is to use the "rulings, not rules" policy when it's necessry to maintain the pacing. If doing something by-the-rules takes too long, make a quick ruling ("Just make a Stamina stress roll; you'll succeed on an 8+") and move on with the game. You can retcon later, if you'll need to.

Whatever you decide, be clear about all of this with the other players, in session zero. Clarify how strict the game will be about following the rules, and to what extent you intend to deviate from that.

Saga and Session Planning: The Three Story Method

The novel-writing advice book The Three Story Method emphasizes three layers of story:

Surface Story (Conflict): The visible, external events.
Middle Story (Character): The character's internal and emotional choices, including their relationships, personal growth and character arcs.
Deep Story (Theme): This layer deals with meaning. This could be an abstract idea that the narrative explores, like "justice", or a specific general proposition like "True strength comes from within".

You are not writing a novel. As Vincent Baker said in the Apocalypse World RPG, you should "Play to find out" – find out what happens. Don't prep plots. However, you can use the same principles when preparing for your next session, including the first session.

Theme: Play to Find Out Your Theme

Consider first your theme. In an RPG, it is usually more appropriate to explore a concept, rather than assert a particular proposition. Is it the case that "True strength comes from within"? Play to find out! Present a choice for the player characters - one path where inner resolve is the solution, and another where external power is. Or perhaps present multiple paths, each affirming or denying the idea in several ways.

The theme need not appear at every session. But it should occur often enough to feel germane to the saga as a whole. If you decide to visit it in the upcoming session, create a single choice for the players to explore it with, as above. Hold on lightly – if it doesn't come up in-play, that's fine too. The theme will make it to the game eventually, if you keep designing choices addressing it.

Character Development: Value Choices

Next, consider character arcs. Characters develop when they – or rather, their player – make a choice about a conflict between something they care about, and some other valuable thing or character trait.

In Ars Magica, powerful personality traits, that cannot be easily ignored are represented by Personality Flaws. Things the character cares about, are often represented by Story Flaws (for example, Dependents or Monastic Vows). There are exceptions (e.g. the Vow personality flaw, or the Enemies story flaw), but mostly. Characters often have other things they care about in their background, or develop ones through play such as a familiar, gaining political power, or so on.

To create character development,

pit one thing they value over another, and make them choose between them. Or,
pit one thing they value against their Personality Trait

The latter could develop into a story where they initially fail due to their Personality Trait, but then succeed to get the treasured thing through tenacity, which may alter their Personality Trait.

Always keep multiple choices viable. You are playing to find out what the characters and players will do, not to railroad them.

When preparing a session, try to think of a character development moment for one or two major characters (magi or companions) you think will participate in the story. This doesn't mean these moments will actually come up, but being prepared helps increase the chances that character development will occur.

Surface Level: Wind-up Toys

Finally, consider the surface level. In developing the higher two levels for the session, you probably already have some ideas about things that will be in it – dramatic persona, objects, or fantastic locations. This is the time to develop them.

Don't think about arranging them into a plot. Instead, set each of them up like a wind-up toy: think of them in terms of how they might react to the player characters, in terms of player choice and consequence.

The toy metaphor, due to Matt Mercer, is also good in that the things should be something the players will want to play with.

This is perhaps most obvious for fantastic locations or objects. You usually want

a brief concept,
a distinctive feature ("quirk"),
one reaction it can take or elicit. When PCs prod it in a certain way, how does it react? How does it affect other things around it? Perhaps the lava burns characters that stray from the black path. Perhaps if the Divine painting is hang, an aura of calm spreads over the room. Something.

NPCs are more complex, but the emphasis on their reactions should be kept.

Most NPCs should have:

a name
a general concept, such as "A knowledgeable hedge wizard",
and a quirk (a manner of speech or behavior that can be roleplayed or described by you, to set him apart).

but also consider adding:

a motivation (what he wants),
a plan (how he intends to get it),
an instinct (how he tends to react, e.g. "try to find an easy way out")

A major NPC should also have

depth, such as another motivation.
clues, information that pushes the players to new locales or towards a conclusion
assets, at the NPCs disposal

That's it. Most NPCs do not require more. Don't stat them out. Well, not unless they are intended to see combat or somesuch.

The second batch of points is there to serve as the wind-up toy. The motivation and plan are the major spring-mechanism: if the PCs manage to press the right buttons, appealing to the NPC's motivation or fitting into his plan, then he'll probably give them what they want. The instinct serves both as a rolplaying anchor and as a catch-all mechanism: if things don't go according to his plan, he'll fall back to his instincts.

The final batch of points mostly helps define how the NPC may aid the PCs if they manage to appeal to to his motivations- or how he'll oppose the PCs if they oppose his motivations and plans.

Wield the NPC's motivations, assets, everything about them - to make them a fun and interesting toy to play with.

Enough ?

You should always perpare just enough to improvise your next session. Use what you prepared as tools in a toolbelt, ready to be taken and be used at the table. They are things your mind can go to as you try to improvise, scanning your notes furtively as the players make an unexpected move.

Do not underprepare. Think about what you prepared – the locations, objects, NPCs, character choices, thematic choices. Do they cohere into a solid idea of what to present to your players, and how things will go down in at least two different ways? If not, consider adding more, until they do.

Do not overprepare. Preparation takes time and effort, and you are limited in both. Overpreparation can also get your mind stuck in the tracks you prepared, making it more difficult to improvise as the players take you in other directions. It is also always frustrating when players do that (and they will) and thereby make something your worked long and hard on useless.

Err on the side of overpreparation. Striking the right balance is a matter of experience. In time, you will find what you personally need to prepare, and what is better improvised at the table - and you will also find that you need to prepare less and less. But when in doubt - it's generally better to overprepare. The price you pay is mostly lost time, whereas the price for underpreparation is a game that is more stressful and less fun for you, and less fun for the other players too.