Charge for a D&D Session Zero or Character Creation Help

Charge for a D&D session zero or character creation help by listing it as its own priced Creator Service, separate from the campaign or one-shot it precedes: set a flat price and turnaround for a written session-zero packet or a built character sheet, collected upfront before the group's first real session.

FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and applies a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays (pricing).

"Can you help me build my character before we start?" and "Can we do a session zero before everyone shows up?" are requests most DMs already field for free, before the game they actually get paid to run. Treating session-zero prep as its own listed offer — priced and scoped the same way a session is — means the hour is paid for before it is spent, not folded quietly into the first paid game.

Session zero is a documented part of Dungeons & Dragons, not an informal chat: it is covered in chapter 4, "Dungeon Master's Tools," of Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (Wizards of the Coast, released November 17, 2020), per the official digital sourcebook and D&D Beyond's guide to running one (D&D Beyond, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything source and D&D Beyond, "How to Run a Session 0 for Your D&D Game"). D&D Beyond, the official D&D digital toolset run by Wizards of the Coast, also puts a published time range on the work:

"Session 0 can take fifteen minutes or three hours, depending on how many topics you want to cover and how deeply you end up talking about them." — D&D Beyond, "How to Run a Session 0 for Your D&D Game"

A published upper bound of three hours per session zero (D&D Beyond) is what makes the work scopable: three hours at a $25/hour target rate is a $75 listing, which a DM can price and collect upfront instead of absorbing as free setup work.

On FanBell, a fan pays for a listed offer, submits what you need through the order, and you deliver on a set turnaround (how it works).

What's the difference between session zero and the campaign it starts?

Session zero is the standalone planning step before a campaign or one-shot, covering tone, safety limits, house rules, and character concepts; the campaign or one-shot is the game that follows it. Chapter 4 of Tasha's Cauldron of Everything treats session zero as a distinct step of play (D&D Beyond), so pricing session zero separately matches D&D's own structure.

This page covers only the pre-campaign step. Once the table is set and play actually starts, the pricing question shifts to whether you're running a recurring campaign or a single one-shot — a different decision covered in charging for a D&D campaign vs. a one-shot. Keeping session zero and the campaign as separate listings also means a player who only wants build help isn't forced to commit to (or pay for) a full campaign seat to get it.

Should session-zero help be a paid question or a full service?

A single character-build question fits a Paid Private Question, which takes a text question and returns a text or voice reply with no file exchange in either direction. A built character sheet or a written session-zero packet needs a Creator Service instead, because a Creator Service delivers a written note plus up to five files and/or a private link (Creator Services).

FanBell's Paid Private Questions documentation lists only price and reply time as the configurable fields, and states replies are written in a private thread. FanBell's Creator Services documentation states each delivery is a written note plus up to 5 files — video, audio, images, PDF, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, with video and audio up to 20 minutes — and/or a private link for anything larger. Personalized Shoutouts deliver a recorded video rather than a document.

How do you price stand-alone character creation help?

Price stand-alone character creation with a two-step calculation: multiply a target hourly rate by the hours the work honestly takes, then sanity-check the result against what a table already pays for one session. StartPlaying's help center states the average price for games on its marketplace is $15–20 a session (StartPlaying Help Center).

Because StartPlaying's stated $15–20 average is charged per player per session, a four-player table already spends roughly $60–$80 on one paid game — so a two- to three-hour session zero priced at $60–$75 for the whole table sits inside the range that table has already accepted. StartPlaying's help center also documents a floor: the marketplace requires a minimum charge of $5 per session so payments process correctly through Stripe (StartPlaying Help Center).

Then check what you keep. FanBell's 12% platform fee means a $60 listing leaves $52.80 before payment processing, and Stripe's published US standard online card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge applies separately (pricing and Stripe pricing).

The dollar figures in the table below are illustrative examples of a target-hourly-rate calculation, not FanBell rates or guarantees — actual session-zero pricing depends on table size, game system, region, and demand.

FanBell Creator Services let you set the price and pick a turnaround, and you can decline and refund a request that falls outside what you listed. For seat-by-seat math on the game itself rather than the prep, see how much to charge per player for a D&D session.

What should a session-zero or character-help listing include?

A session-zero or character-help listing should settle six things before payment: the input the player supplies, the format, the deliverable, the turnaround, the revision limit, and what the offer excludes. FanBell's Creator Services turnaround menu runs from 24 hours to 14 days, so a DM can pick a delivery window they can hit every time.

• Input: Character concept, class/ancestry preferences, or the questions the player wants covered.
• Format: Written packet or character sheet, versus a live planning conversation that happens off-platform on your own tool.
• Deliverable: A filled character sheet, a written session-zero doc, or a specific answered question.
• Turnaround: A deadline you can reliably hit; FanBell's Creator Services delivery options range from 24 hours to 14 days.
• Revision limit: Whether one round of edits is included or the build is delivered as-is; FanBell Creator Services let you set revisions to 0, 1, or 2.
• Exclusions: State plainly that the offer ends at session zero — the ongoing campaign or one-shot is priced separately.

Does session zero have to happen live on a call?

No — a written session-zero packet or a completed character sheet can be delivered fully asynchronously, with no live call at all. Only a facilitated group discussion is inherently live, and FanBell hosts no calls and no booking calendar: the group conversation happens on your own Discord voice channel, video call, or virtual tabletop while FanBell handles payment.

FanBell's role in a live session zero is the payment plus a private order thread for sending the invite or join link. Most tables already have a venue: Roll20's homepage states it has 15+ million players and supports 1,200+ game systems, so a DM rarely needs a new place to meet — only a reliable way to get paid before the meeting happens.

A written packet is closer to a fixed-effort deliverable, while a live facilitation session is closer to booked time. Both can still be listed as a Creator Service, where the turnaround field is the delivery deadline for the document or the scheduling confirmation, not a booking calendar.

How does selling session zero on your own page compare to a GM marketplace?

A GM marketplace bundles discovery, booking, and payment into one flow and charges a cut for the bundle: StartPlaying's help center states its platform fee is 15% of what a Game Master earns (StartPlaying Help Center). FanBell sells from your own link at a 12% platform fee charged only when a fan pays, with no monthly fee.

"When a player books and pays, StartPlaying automatically deducts 15% before the remainder is paid out to you. You never handle the fee directly." — StartPlaying Help Center, "What Does the 15% Fee Cover?"

A marketplace listing is not a bad choice, because a marketplace brings discovery that a personal bio link does not, and paid GM play now has backing from D&D's own publisher: D&D Beyond's support site states Wizards of the Coast partnered with StartPlaying to give the first 10,000 claimants (limit one per user) a discount on their first online D&D session. The narrower point is about placement: a DM who already sends players to a personal bio link for other offers can put session-zero prep on that same link at a 12% platform fee instead of a marketplace's 15%. Creators comparing the two paths in more depth can read taking D&D bookings without StartPlaying fees.

What else can you sell around session zero and character setup?

Session zero does not have to be the only paid touchpoint before a campaign starts. A Personalized Shoutout welcomes a new player as a recorded video, Tips let a player say thanks after a build, Project Support funds a stated goal such as a VTT subscription, and a Brand Collaboration inbox keeps sponsorship mail separate.

• Personalized Shoutout: A short welcome or hype clip for a new player joining the table, delivered as a recorded video.
• Tips: A way for a player to say thanks after a helpful build session without buying another deliverable.
• Wishlist / Project Support: Funding toward a stated goal, like a VTT subscription or map/token set for the table, shown with a progress bar rather than sold as a product.
• Brand Collaboration Inquiries: A separate inbox if a game-adjacent brand wants to discuss sponsoring a table or campaign.

Keep the session-zero offer itself narrow — bundling several deliverables into one listing makes it harder for a player to know what they are paying for.

How do you get a session-zero or character-help offer live?

Decide first whether most incoming requests are single questions or full builds, then write the scope, price, and turnaround before publishing. FanBell is free to start and applies its 12% platform fee only when a fan pays, and FanBell documents no credential or follower minimum for enabling Paid Private Questions or Creator Services.

If most of your requests are quick rules or build questions, start with a Paid Private Question. If players need a full character sheet or a written session-zero doc, list a Creator Service instead. Pages built for tabletop creators specifically, like tabletop and TTRPG creator offers, walk through how these offers map onto a table's usual asks.

Frequently asked questions

The recurring questions about charging for session zero are how to scope it, how to price it, and what the platform takes. Short answers: scope the listing to a fixed point inside D&D Beyond's published fifteen-minute-to-three-hour range, price it at a target hourly rate times those hours, and expect FanBell's 12% fee only when a fan pays.

Should I price session zero and character creation separately from the campaign?

Yes — session zero and character creation are a bounded, upfront step, while a campaign or one-shot is the ongoing game that follows. Pricing session zero separately means a player who only wants build help isn't forced into (or excluded from) the campaign pricing decision covered in charging for a D&D campaign vs. a one-shot.

How long should a paid session zero take?

D&D Beyond states a session 0 "can take fifteen minutes or three hours, depending on how many topics you want to cover". Scope your listing to a specific point in that range — for example two hours — and price it at your target hourly rate times those hours.

Can FanBell host the live session-zero conversation?

No — FanBell has no booking calendar or live-call feature. The conversation itself happens on your own voice channel, video call, or VTT; FanBell collects payment and gives you a private order thread to send the join link or scheduling details.

What if a player only has one quick character-build question?

Use a Paid Private Question: the fan sends a text question and you reply by text or voice, with only price and reply time configurable and no file exchange in either direction. A full build with a delivered character sheet needs a Creator Service instead.

What does FanBell charge for this?

FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and takes a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays. Stripe's published US standard rate for online card payments, which is separate from FanBell's fee, is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge.

Do I need a large table or following to sell this?

No — FanBell has no follower or table-size minimum. A DM running games for a single small group can list session-zero prep or character help the same way a DM running for a large audience can.

Create your free FanBell page and turn the next "can you help me build my character?" message into a priced offer instead of free prep work.