Establishing the Characters
Establishing the Characters (p.34) 
| The PHB treats character establishment as an individual process — the player works through their character sheet, records their scores, selects languages, notes equipment, and arrives at the table ready to play. |
In Oath-Bound this process is undertaken at Session Zero. The character is not established in isolation. Ability scores, Actor Type, Competency Profile, languages, starting equipment, and background are all determined collaboratively, with the GM present to mediate and the other players present to contribute. The result is a character whose place in the world — and whose relationships to the other characters — is established before play begins rather than discovered awkwardly in the first session.
The PHB’s checklist of things to record before play applies as a practical reference. What changes is that the answers to those questions come from the Session Zero discussion rather than from individual decisions made before the player arrives at the table.