My Mom Wants to Play D&D

[nyjastul69]

So yeah... I've been a RPGer for 30 years and my mom just expressed an interest in joining our current game. I'm stunned, almost beyond the ability to speak. I'm so excited! I gotta cross it with our group, but if the answer is no, they're fired. :smallwink:

Has anyone else had a similar experience of a close friend/relative who has known you as a gamer but never expressed an interest in gaming, and then BAM, I wanna play? Or, more to a general question; has anyone had a familiar person express an interest in your hobby, whatever it may be?

Dare I kill my mother, even in game? That's like a childhood fantasy.:smallwink:

[Elemental]

On the matter of killing her, you should ask first so you don't annoy her.
Other than that, I wish you good luck.

[Castaras]

I've played roleplaying games with my family if that counts. My dad's an awesome GM. :smallbiggrin:

[nyjastul69]

I've played roleplaying games with my family if that counts. My dad's an awesome GM. :smallbiggrin:

I hope my mom ends up feeling the same way. It's weird. I've been out of school for over two decades and I actually feel like I'm 'gearing up' for a test or something. I haven't been nervy about playing D&D since the first time I took a chance behind the shield. I know I know what I'm doing, but still...

[Manga Shoggoth]

The most awesome games I have played (as DM or player) were the ones my mother and my sister's godmother played in... alongside some of my university friends. They used to think I was strange, then they met Mum...

Admittedly, this was playing Toon rather than D&D (so the question of killing your mother's character didn't really arise, at least not for longer than 5 minutes).

[Traab]

My mother was a strict card game/text twist type gamer ever since we got a computer. I got her hooked on world of warcraft back when tbc first came out. It took her awhile, I literally had to teach her to walk. But once she got the basics down, she really started to get into it. Later on we setup a recruit a friend deal so we each had an account to play with and could team up. It was a blast, we picked complimentary classes so we wouldnt be competing over loot, same for tradeskills, like, I was a miner, she gathered herbs, that sort of thing.

[Dr.Epic]

Don't do it! Haven't you ever seen this? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM7YhMfN0v4&feature=related)

[Scarlet Knight]

Sometimes it's hard to incorporate family in a game. I DM'd for my kids when they were young, with age appropriate plots, and for my friends seperately. The kids eventually wanted to join our game but I had a rule that they had to be 18yo. I figured they were old enough to handle the game then. But when the time finally came I found I could not game the way I normally would. One outcome was dealing with pirates who would capture the players, torture the men & rape the women. I realized that even though the new players were 18-21, one of the party was their mother. I fudged some dice roles and it all worked out. I knew the mother (with whom we had gamed for 20 years) could handle the situation (as long as I was fair) but I realized that no matter how old you are, some bonds don't change and the kids would not deal well with it.

So in summation, can you anticipate problems with your play & your Mom?

[missmvicious]

I played D&D for a brief time with my mom. Though the situation was the reverse(ish) I was relatively new to gaming but she had been an RPGer before I was born. Not that she played much since having kids though. I DMd for her and it was a bit awkward. She was used to DMs that wanted to kill their PCs and searched for traps everywhere. It went so far that she checked a room at a hotel for traps, left for an hour, then came back and checked for traps again. Not that she was even a high enough level anyone cared she was there.
I think if you got a good relationship with your mom it should be potentially quite fun.

[Keld Denar]

I've been running a game for my girlfriend, her parents, and recently added her 9 year old son to the party, for about a year now. Her parents are old school gamers from the 70s. Her son plays a lot of Skyrim and similar games, so he's catching on quick. Dunno if we'll ever add the 6 year old daughter, don't think she has the attention span or interest yet, nor might she ever.

All in all, good time. I've even killed my gf's mom's characters 3 separate times, and her dad's once. And they still make me food to eat while we game, and they haven't poisoned me for it yet! Dunno if I could kill off my gf though. I think she has an unhealthy attachment to her little Star Elf Sorceress...

[Alaris]

Umm... good luck with that. I mean... I haven't played with relatives before... but I couldn't imagine playing D&D with my mom (or running a game for her). It would be awkward at absolute best, and disastrous at worst. But if she likes that style of game (D&D), then hey, you're pretty set.

[Remmirath]

I've never had anyone I knew that well who didn't already roleplay suddenly express an interest in it. That would be kind of cool, I guess. Some acquaintances, but that's it.


One outcome was dealing with pirates who would capture the players, torture the men & rape the women. I realized that even though the new players were 18-21, one of the party was their mother. I fudged some dice roles and it all worked out. I knew the mother (with whom we had gamed for 20 years) could handle the situation (as long as I was fair) but I realized that no matter how old you are, some bonds don't change and the kids would not deal well with it.


Huh. I'd feel more comfortable running such a scenario with my family group than with either of my other groups, because I know they could handle things pretty well and are the best at seperating player knowledge and character knowledge (and player and character, for that matter). Obviously various people's families are pretty different, though. I just found that interesting, being so different from my experience.

My mom is the person who got me into playing D&D in the first place, way back when, and I typically play D&D and MERP with her and my younger brother. I've had significantly less problems of any kind in that group than in any other - especially in terms of kill count. I've no idea the numbers of each others characters who have met their various deaths by one of our hands, but it is quite high. They're still the best DMs I've played with. Some of the best players, too.

As for the hobbies thing, the majority of my hobbies are things that other people in my family are also interested in at least to some extent. Often not as much as I am, but enough to know what I'm talking about at least.

Anyhow, good luck!

[LaughingGnoll]

Go for it! Especially if she's genuinely interested in learning and is ok with learning from you. But if you notice that she's not really putting effort into learning and is trying to make this "quality time" or is bothered by being taught by you, then its not worth it.

I have a similar story with my parents. One day three years ago my mom randomly came into my room while I was on my laptop with some starter decks of Magic: The Gathering cards and asked me if I could show her what was up. It was an awesome experience, and we still play now and then when I visit my family over semester breaks.

[Eldan]

I got my father to play a Druid for a session once. It was on a camping trip, it was raining outside, we were all really bored and didn't know what to do and my brother played anyway, so I improvised a kind of diceless freeform RPG.

Didn't go well. My father didn't like it, he thought it was too open-ended and didn't go anywhere, so we stopped after an hour or so.

[Alaris]

I got my father to play a Druid for a session once. It was on a camping trip, it was raining outside, we were all really bored and didn't know what to do and my brother played anyway, so I improvised a kind of diceless freeform RPG.

Didn't go well. My father didn't like it, he thought it was too open-ended and didn't go anywhere, so we stopped after an hour or so.

Yeah... well, diceless, along with no prep work beforehand generally doesn't make for a good experience. At least, that's what I've learned, from experience.

[Dimonite]

I've had nothing but positive experiences playing RPGs with family members. My family was my first group, and to this day I have never had better sessions of D&D than I did with them 7 years ago. So, from my perspective at least, this sounds like fun!

[Eldan]

Yeah... well, diceless, along with no prep work beforehand generally doesn't make for a good experience. At least, that's what I've learned, from experience.

That wasn't really his problem (though it was one). The real problem was that he just though the game shouldn't take so long.