start-campaign

name	start-campaign
description	Run a session zero — co-author the campaign's specifics with the three players (factions, PCs, the Hill's nature, opening scene). Cements decisions as canon by writing them to the campaign journal as Session 0. Use exactly once per campaign — at the very beginning, before any real play.
version	0.1.0
author	dobry-ops
license	MIT
metadata	{"hermes":{"tags":["koth-dm","session-zero","onboarding","world-building"],"category":"campaign-management","related_skills":["koth-dm-journal","roll-initiative","dice-check"],"config":{"destructive":false}}}

start-campaign

Drive a session-zero workshop with the three players (Dobry / @bovf, Kris / @papaimpy, Miro / @napcraft). The goal is to convert CAMPAIGN.md's starter draft into binding canon — factions chosen, PCs created, the Hill's specific nature decided, opening scene set — and to lock all of it into the campaign journal as the Session 0 entry.

When to invoke

Only ever once per campaign, when one of these is true:

• ~/.hermes/CAMPAIGN_JOURNAL.md does not exist or contains no Session entries — i.e. no session has been played yet.
• A player explicitly asks: "start the campaign", "session zero", "let's begin", "let's set this up", or equivalent unambiguous setup language.

If the journal already has a Session 1 entry or later, do NOT invoke. Decline and redirect — the campaign has already begun. If the user really wants to reset, that's a manual op (clearing the journal), not this skill's job.

Hard prerequisite

Before stepping the players through this, read ~/.hermes/CAMPAIGN.md in full. You will reference its premise, factions, hard rules, and starter NPCs throughout. Treat its content as the seed — players can refine, but the bones (the Hill, the KotH twist, the three-faction shape, the hard rules) are load-bearing.

Procedure

1. Open with theatre, then drop into ops

A short bombastic premise recap to set tone (2–4 sentences). Mann Co. flavour, the Hill looming, the three factions circling. Then break the fourth wall briefly and say: "Right — before we open scene, I need agreements from each of you. Five questions. Going around."

2. Faction choice (each player, in turn)

For each of the three players, present the three seed factions from CAMPAIGN.md:

• Mann Co. Industrial — extract & monetize the Hill
• The Order of the Standing Hour — study & preserve
• The Wind-Walker Clan — claim & defend

ASK each player: "Which faction calls to you? Pick one of the three, OR pitch a fourth — I'll workshop it with you live." Take their answer. Encourage one-line riffs that personalize the faction (e.g. Mann Co. but specifically the orphaned-blast-tech division; the Order specifically of the lower-archive monks who broke vows). Get table consent on any fourth-faction pitches — does it threaten the KotH dynamic? If yes, re-pitch. If no, accept.

3. PC creation (each player, in turn)

For each player, ask in this order:

1. Name — the character's name (NOT the player's mxid).
2. Concept — one or two sentences. Who are they within their faction? Veteran, defector, foundling, true believer, mercenary?
3. Standout trait — one phrase. The thing that makes them them.
4. Key relationship — one NPC (existing or new) they're tied to. If new, name + one-line who-are-they. Log them for the journal.
5. Open thread — one unresolved hook from before play started. A debt, a missing person, a stolen artifact, a vow. This is the GM's hook into their character's plotline.
6. Stat mods — keep it light. Two attributes: Brawn (physical), Cunning (mental/social). Each ranges from -1 to +3. Players assign +2 to one and +1 to the other; -1 is optional flavour. (For advantage/disadvantage situations or initiative, default DEX-style +0 unless a player argues otherwise.)

Confirm each PC summary aloud before moving on. Players can edit until they're happy.

Once the player has approved their sheet, IMMEDIATELY call character_sheets.create_character with all the agreed fields. Do this in the same turn the player approves — don't batch all three at the end. The PC sheet must exist in state before play begins so future roll for me requests can look it up.

Example call shape:

character_sheets.create_character(
  name="Bovf",
  player="@bovf:matrix.dobryops.com",
  faction="Mann Co. Industrial — orphaned-blast-tech division",
  concept="Veteran blast-tech who outlived three quotas …",
  standout_trait="Always rigs a backup detonator",
  key_relationship="Former second-shift boss, name TBD",
  open_thread="Owes a personal favour to someone in the Order",
  brawn=2,
  cunning=1,
)

If the player wants to revise after creation, call update_character. If they want to scrap and start over, call delete_character then create_character fresh.

4. The Hill — pick its nature

CAMPAIGN.md lists the Hill's summit as holding "a thing of ultimate power — TBD". Present the seed options and ask the table (not individuals) to pick:

• A relic (e.g. a war-engine fragment, a Mann Co. prototype that nobody was supposed to find)
• A throne (a ruler-binding seat — sit and you gain dominion, but)
• A cap-point network (multiple nodes, holding requires holding several)
• An engine of old war (literal Mann Co. doomsday weapon, half-buried)
• Player pitch (table proposes a fifth)

Get table consensus. Brief sensory detail of the chosen option (1–2 sentences) so it lives in everyone's head the same way.

5. Two named NPCs to anchor the world

The starter CAMPAIGN.md has TBD slots for one NPC per faction. ASK the table: "I need three names. One Mann Co. forward-ops manager, one Standing Hour archivist on the Hill, one Wind-Walker clan-second. Suggestions?" Take their suggestions, propose a one-line trait + current status for each. Confirm. These become canon.

6. Opening scene

CAMPAIGN.md has a placeholder opening scene (storm over the Hill, summit just changed hands). Confirm or revise with the table. If they want a different opening, accept their proposal — but cap it: one scene, opens the campaign, ends on a choice point that demands action.

7. Lock canon — invoke koth-dm-journal

When all six steps resolve, invoke koth-dm-journal with a specially-shaped entry titled "Session 0 — Session Zero":

## Session 0 — Session Zero — <YYYY-MM-DD>

**Present**: @bovf, @papaimpy, @napcraft

### Canon decisions

#### Factions chosen
- **@bovf**: <faction + personalization>
- **@papaimpy**: <faction + personalization>
- **@napcraft**: <faction + personalization>

#### Player characters
- **@bovf**: <PC name>, <faction>. Concept: …. Trait: …. Brawn +N, Cunning +N.
- **@papaimpy**: …
- **@napcraft**: …

#### The Hill
The summit holds: <chosen option>. <1-sentence sensory>.

#### Anchor NPCs
- **<name>** (Mann Co.) — forward-ops manager. <trait>. <status>.
- **<name>** (Standing Hour) — archivist on the Hill. <trait>. <status>.
- **<name>** (Wind-Walker) — clan-second. <trait>. <status>.

#### Opening scene (agreed)
<one paragraph>

#### Hard rules (from CAMPAIGN.md, reaffirmed)
- No death without player consent.
- 2d6 + Brawn/Cunning resolves major decisions (10+ clean / 7-9 mixed / 6- complication).
- The Hill cannot be permanently controlled until the climax.

### Open threads (each PC's hook)
- **@bovf**: <thread>
- **@papaimpy**: <thread>
- **@napcraft**: <thread>

### Hill control at session end
Unsettled — opening situation in flux.

8. Hand off

After the journal lands, announce in the room:

"📓 Session 0 logged. Canon is set. When you're ready, we open the scene — say start scene and we'll go."

Then stop. Do not start play in the same message. Session 1's opening is its own moment — let them set the table for it.

Hard rules for this skill

• No dice. Session zero is consent + canon. No initiative, no checks, no rolls. The first roll happens in Session 1.
• One faction per player. Even if two players want the same faction, push them apart — different sub-divisions, rival cells, fractured-from- the-same-order. The three-faction shape is load-bearing for the KotH dynamic.
• Player consent gates canon. If anyone at the table is uncertain about a decision, pause and renegotiate. Better to spend an extra hour in session zero than to retcon in session 5.
• Do not improvise outside the seed. The Hill, the three-faction shape, the KotH twist, and the hard rules are from CAMPAIGN.md and stay. Everything else is for the table to decide.
• You only ever do this once. If the journal already has a Session 1+ entry, refuse and redirect.