I have been contemplating starting a blog about my life and playing D&D for some time now. Even though I have a lot going on with D&D I just was having a hard time finding something to write about in my first post. Luckily, this past weekend I had the privilege of participating in an event that helped me to break through that first obstacle.
I am a BIG proponent of the idea that D&D is for everyone. There should be no restriction on age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political leaning. D&D should be open to all. Unfortunately, there are many people out there that feel that it is out of their reach or they have anxiety or preconceived notions. I love helping people break through that barrier. That is where this story comes in.
Sunday was Mother's Day and my FLGS (favorite local game shop), Common Ground Game, asked if I would be willing to host a game for moms and their kids. Well, I didn't have to think long about it. I thought it was a great idea and I agreed to help out. So, we had sign ups and got 3 moms to register. Each mom was allowed to bring one "child" with them. I had no real clue what to expect, but I picked a module (one that I premiered back in March called "Secrets of Imaginary Friends") that I thought would give them a mix of social, exploratory, and combat encounters. Before we started I asked each mom/kid pair to introduce themselves and share why they were there.
Mom #1 was there with her pre-teen son. She wanted to find out a little more about the game that her son and his friends played.
Mom #2 was there with her young adult daughter. She had watched a live stream of a game, most likely Critical Role but she wasn't sure, and wanted to try it out. It looked fun.
Mom #3 was there with her young adult son. She had never been interested in playing but her son had told her about the event and she thought it might be a fun way to spend time with her son, doing something he liked to do.
I ran them through the adventure that I pretty much know by heart. I really tried to play up the role play and used lots of fun voices. They asked lots of great questions as we went along and by the end of the 3 hrs they knew exactly when to roll what and what numbers so add when. We were all having a blast. When I was done, I asked them if they all had fun and told them about playing Adventures League at the store and about our plans for a kids D&D Summer Camp.
Before everyone packed up and left, Mom #3 looked at Mom #2 and said, "This was so much fun. Do you think you would come back and play again?" Mom #2 said, "Heck yay!". Mom #3 then told me that she may try to sign up for some AL games in the future. Mom #1 later asked me some questions about the game and seemed like she might be interested in coming back to play again too.
These are the little things that make it all worth it. People that might never know the fun and joy of playing D&D, coming in with open minds and being willing to explore. I would love to have any of these players sit at my table again, but there is something really special about playing with MOM!!! After all, I learned as a teenager playing with...you guessed it...My Mom!!!
Happy Mother's Day to all the D&D Moms out there...May you roll only Crits!!!!
