Charge for a D&D session zero or character creation help by listing it as its own priced custom request, 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. Custom Work lets you offer clearly scoped commissions and services: you set the price, the scope and the delivery time, and followers submit a brief and pay before you start.
No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate. 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 Brillay, a follower pays upfront for a listed offer, submits what you need through the order, and you deliver within the time you set (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 Paid Questions: the follower sends a text question, and you send back one written reply, privately. A built character sheet or a written session-zero packet needs a custom request instead, because Custom Work delivers a written note plus up to five files and/or a private link (Custom Work).
Brillay's Paid Questions documentation states that you set the price and reply time and send one written reply privately. Brillay's Custom Work 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 Videos deliver a recorded video rather than a document.
| Need | Better-fit format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One quick build question ("does this feat combo work?") | Paid Questions | One text question, answered in writing |
| A full character built from concept to stat block | custom request | Deliverable is a file, not a one-line answer |
| A written session-zero packet for the whole table | custom request | Multi-page document sent to several players |
| A live session-zero conversation with the group | Not sold through Custom Work | Brillay has no calls, booking, or scheduling; sell a written session-zero packet through Custom Work instead. |
| The campaign or one-shot that follows | See campaign vs. one-shot pricing | Separate, ongoing commitment |
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. Brillay's 8% platform fee on paid work (5% on tips and goals) means a $60 listing leaves $55.20 before payment processing, and Stripe's published US standard online card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge applies separately (Stripe pricing).
The dollar figures in the table below are illustrative examples of a target-hourly-rate calculation, not Brillay rates or guarantees — actual session-zero pricing depends on table size, game system, region, and demand.
| Offer | Illustrative price (USD) | How the figure is built | delivery time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Build Question | $20–$35 | One text answer to one rules or character-build question, priced around the value of your expertise rather than at tip level | By the reply time you set |
| Character Build Assist | $20–$50 | Target hourly rate × 1–2 hours to build one PC to level 1 (stat block, background, short backstory) | 24–48h |
| Session Zero Packet | $40–$90 | Target hourly rate × 2–3 hours of writing safety tools, tone, and house rules for the table | 48–72h |
| Comprehensive Session Zero Packet | $60–$150 per table, or $15–30 per seat | Target hourly rate × up to the three-hour upper bound D&D Beyond publishes for a session 0 | 48–96h to write and deliver |
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 state what the player supplies, what you will deliver, the file format, your delivery time, and what is not included. Brillay lets you set a custom request delivery time from 1 hour to 5 days, so choose a deadline you can reliably meet.
- 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.
- Delivery time: Choose a deadline from 1 hour to 5 days that you can reliably meet.
- One delivery: State exactly what the player receives; delivery is one-time.
- 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 on your own time, with no live call. Only a facilitated group discussion is inherently live; Custom Work is for the written deliverable. Use Custom Work for a separately delivered character sheet or written session-zero packet, then run any group conversation through Discord or your VTT.
Use your own Discord, video-call, or VTT tools for the conversation and invitations; Custom Work handles the written deliverable. 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. Use Custom Work for the written packet or completed character sheet; arrange any live session separately on your own call or VTT tool.
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). Brillay sells from your own link at 8% when a follower pays for work and 5% on tips and goals, 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?"
| Dimension | Your own Brillay page | GM marketplace (StartPlaying) |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | No marketplace browse — players arrive from your own bio link | Public listings players search; StartPlaying describes itself as "the largest online platform for players to find games and Game Masters" |
| Booking | No calendar or pre-delivery chat; a player orders one defined custom request and you send one delivery by the time you set | Per-session booking with a documented minimum charge of $5 per session (StartPlaying Help Center) |
| Payment | Followers pay upfront; you can decline a request. | Player books and pays, and the fee is deducted before the GM is paid (StartPlaying Help Center) |
| Live hosting | Not hosted — your own Discord, video call, or VTT | Not hosted — StartPlaying supports "any game system and any virtual tabletop" |
| Platform fee | 8% when a follower pays for work and 5% on tips and goals; no monthly fee | 15% of Game Master earnings (StartPlaying Help Center) |
| Payout timing | Stripe pays you out; timing varies by account | 2–3 business days for most U.S. GMs and 7–11 business days for GMs outside the U.S. (StartPlaying Help Center) |
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 an 8% platform fee on paid work instead of a marketplace's 15%. Whether the marketplace's discovery is worth that difference depends on how many of your players already find you through your own link rather than by searching a listing.
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 Video can welcome a new player, Tips let a player say thanks, Goals can fund a stated table goal, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries keep sponsorship requests separate.
- Personalized Video: 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.
- Goals: 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 delivery time before publishing. Brillay has no monthly fee or follower minimum, charges 8% when a follower pays for work and 5% on tips and goals, lets players order without creating an account, and supports creator payouts in 41 countries.
If most of your requests are quick rules or build questions, start with a Paid Question. If players need a full character sheet or a written session-zero doc, list a custom request 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 Brillay's 8% when a follower pays for work and 5% on tips and goals.
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 Brillay host the live session-zero conversation?
No. Brillay has no booking calendar, live-call feature, or pre-delivery chat. Run and schedule the conversation through your own Discord, video-call, or VTT tools; use Custom Work for a defined deliverable such as a written packet or completed character sheet.
What if a player only has one quick character-build question?
Use Paid Questions: the follower sends one text question, and you reply in writing within the window you set. A full build with a delivered character sheet needs a custom request instead.
What does Brillay charge for this?
Two separate costs apply here: Brillay's own platform fee, already broken out in the pricing figures above, and Stripe's card-processing charge on top of it. Stripe's published US standard rate for online card payments is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge.
Do I need a large table or following to sell this?
No — Brillay 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 Brillay page and turn the next "can you help me build my character?" message into a priced offer instead of free prep work.
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