I might be starting up a new game with some rpg noobs and this is a thing I have come across. I get the big picture of what a session 0 is for but would like some insight on how to run it so we can get the most out of it.

It's not really something you "run". It's where you, as a GM, describe to the players what sort of campaign you'll be running, where it will be taking place, what flavour to expect, and so on. Then you talk about what sort of characters each one of them wants to run, their concepts for those characters and how they will or will not fit with what you want to do with your campaign. Then everyone creates their characters accordingly.

Have you bought any of the Beginner box sets?

That would be a good way to introduce them to the game at least so they know what they want to play!

There's a resource on the basics about narrative dice worth looking at which should have a link to in the main resources section that could be emailed or printed out for your players to look at.

CHARGEN and then one of the modular encounters in the sourcebook is good way make your PCs, & intro the system all encapsulated in one session.

So for Session Zero I suggest not actually playing; the purpose is to determine how you're going to play going forward. If you manage to get all that worked out, mission accomplished! This is an excellent question and I'm surprised we as a community haven't written up something like this to guide the curious. This Begging For XP article has a good synopsis though, but it may not suit everyone.

What time and day are you playing?

What happens if people can't make it? If you play without people at what point do you not play?

What is the theme?

What is the tone?

How are we handling food, beverages (can adult libations be included?)

How do we handle bringing someone new into the group?

Those are the kinds of questions to get out of the way. There's been a bit of discussion on this here and while not everyone agrees about the minutiae, for the most there seems to be consensus around those topics. I've most likely left some things out, but I hope that I'm conveying that the purpose is to get some of the things people frequently have problems with solved before any dice are ever rolled. But, since they are new players, I wouldn't get TOO nitty-gritty with them. Maybe figure out the attendance and then present the concepts you have and see what that brings.

It's also 100% totally acceptable to run a group through the Beginner Box so people know what to expect and get to play really fast. I can imagine that new players are going to want to sit down and play first, then when they're hooked for a bigger campaign, hit them up about Session Zero.

So for Session Zero I suggest not actually playing; the purpose is to determine how you're going to play going forward. If you manage to get all that worked out, mission accomplished! This is an excellent question and I'm surprised we as a community haven't written up something like this to guide the curious. This Begging For XP article has a good synopsis though, but it may not suit everyone.

What time and day are you playing?

What happens if people can't make it? If you play without people at what point do you not play?

What is the theme?

What is the tone?

How are we handling food, beverages (can adult libations be included?)

How do we handle bringing someone new into the group?

Those are the kinds of questions to get out of the way. There's been a bit of discussion on this here and while not everyone agrees about the minutiae, for the most there seems to be consensus around those topics. I've most likely left some things out, but I hope that I'm conveying that the purpose is to get some of the things people frequently have problems with solved before any dice are ever rolled. But, since they are new players, I wouldn't get TOO nitty-gritty with them. Maybe figure out the attendance and then present the concepts you have and see what that brings.

It's also 100% totally acceptable to run a group through the Beginner Box so people know what to expect and get to play really fast. I can imagine that new players are going to want to sit down and play first, then when they're hooked for a bigger campaign, hit them up about Session Zero.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Awesome. Thank you!

This is exactly what I was looking for. Awesome. Thank you!

You're very welcome! I'm certain I've forgotten important things but there are some bright and helpful folks around here that can help round out the list. Everyone does it a little differently and there's no right way other than the way that works best for your group.

I've followed the begging for XP session 0 rules twice now, and both went very well. You get a really good idea for what your players WANT to see, and you can craft a campaign accordingly with lots of pre-generated NPCs and set pieces that you've all come up with.

For the first 'play' session, I always run my PCs through the modular encounter "The Corellian Shuffle" from the Suns of Fortune book, with a few changes. First, I start them en media res in a bar fight, using the threat/despair table from the cantina in the environmental set pieces player created supplement (can't find a link, but it should be under the compiled resources thread), and about 4-6 aqualish thugs (core rulebook). From there, a core NPC will give them the corellian shuffle job, obviously rethemed to fit your group however you see fit (different name, cargo, etc, but the same general rules). That typically takes a solid session, and introduces planetary combat, space combat, social checks, and a few other miscellaneous checks. It's fairly linear, but it forces enough dice rolling that it really gets everyone used to how the system works, and the things you are doing are generic enough to fit just about any group with minor reskinning. From there I hop straight into whatever custom campaign I've made for them.

If you've made any house rules or lore changes, be sure to also make those known during your Session 0!

Get to an understanding about players motivations, get the players to form a strong group who won't screw each other over at the first opportunity.