dimension20official

Aabria: For me (Aabria) S0’s are a time to dial in on stated character arcs and goals. It’s a lot of discussion (as a group but also sometimes 1-on-1) to affirm details and mechanical kits, since I took what we discussed at the character gen meeting and ran with it to lock in the season’s story! It’s also a chance to test run character voices and early table dynamics. That’s more often for the players, but if I can spot a pattern early, I’ll note it here so I can turn up the heat on it in-session!

Schaubach: Great question! Session zeroes are such a mystery for fans and I think it's because we will NEVER share with our fans a session zero no matter how much you ask to see it. Never ever. That's because it's a sacred ceremony performed under a full moon and only on Tuesdays. Very rare. In all seriousness session zero can be very stressful. This is normally the first time the cast sits down together in the same space. It's not only bonding time, it's time for each person to test run their characters and sometimes even decide on their names. It's critical that the cast feel completely comfortable and in order to feel that way they need to know that anything that happens there will never see the light of day. Trust is a huge part of this show and the players must feel completely safe to give their all. So for me, I'm watching all of the players, noting who I think is extra nervous (a little nervous is okay), who needs some extra care and I'm also deciding seating order. For seating order I like to see who will be talking to each other the most and have them sit across from each other so I can give the editors as many opportunities for shot/reverse shot in the edit. I'm also keeping an I on the DM during the session and sensing any worries they might have. Directing this show is like co-hosting a party with the DM so session zero is kind of like the pre-party.

Aabria: I just yell "Stoats" in the parking lot until someone brings me inside to hush me. Then I sprint for the Dome and wait.

Aabria: They’re the perfect mix of INCREDIBLE CUTE NOODLE RATS and invasive, effective predators. They’re known for picking (and winning) fights with animals bigger than them. And they have cute widdle whiskers. <3

They’re also explicitly predators of rabbits & hares, which felt like a fun lil nod to Watership Down.

Aabria: What man dare? I DARE. Approach thou like the rugged be-chipmunked bear.

Aabria: The quick answer is that while I was thinking about the nature of the family’s home warren early in the writing process, I kept thinking about the WORST thing you could burrow in. And obviously that’s a living body. I think parasitism is one of the most disturbing parts of nature to me, so I wanted to inflict that on EVERYONE. Hence, the Ribbon Worm Chipmunks.

I’m just so happy that I got to lean into my most disturbing skill set (see my first appearance on Dirty Laundry) for the map! The emails Rick and I were trading working on that map have CERTAINLY put us on some lists.