When is the right time to call for a check and when should you let their actions alone determine the outcome? In this article, I discuss my approach to using skill checks as a longtime DM.

The zero session can be a powerful tool in a Game Master’s arsenal—this much I knew before I set out to helm a campaign myself. What I didn’t know is how to use a zero session properly, setting off a series of events that nearly derailed my campaign years later. In this article, I’ll detail how I used my zero sessions, why I used them the way I did, and how that use-case led to trouble down the pike.