The "Social Contract" is an idea that floats around in Tabletop Gaming about what is expected, in a meta sense for players and the GM. It is closely related to campaign planning, but subtly different; where campaign planning deals with designing the specifications of the campaign or adventure and has direct mechanical or narrative consequences on the game, the social contract is everything that happens outside of a game. In a perfect, ideal world, amongst adults, no one should need to nanny, coddle, and reprimand players, but sometimes there are shades of gray, or a misunderstanding of what is and isn't expected, rude, and polite. Today, I look at a list of questions one can ask themselves and the group while preparing or running "session 0," that might help things go smoother down the line.
