Gathering the Party: Part 1

The next day you do indeed swing by the game and comic shop and pick up a set of books and a few sets of dice. The dude at the counter was a great help and he even talks to you for nearly an hour on giving you some beginner tips. That night, Friday night, Allison had no plans for you so you were able to stay home and read through the books. You stay up well into the early hours reading and watching some tutorials until you had the basics solidly under your belt. When you woke the next morning you were feeling pretty excited about the whole thing. You knew Sunday would be the best possible day and you decide to try to make it a surprise for your little sister. Now you just needed to find some players.

Your friends were out since...well...you really didn't have any anymore. There was no way Allie would be interested and you knew she would tease you about it just for asking. El had already said her friends couldn't do it which was something of a relief. You already you would stammer like an idiot if you tried to talk to Casey without Elsie there. That only left the family. This didn't bother you though, a family game night sounded pretty damn cool.

As luck would have it Elsie was heading out with Zoey to watch a matinee. Double lucky, Aunt Peg was over having a quick coffee with your Mom when Elsie headed out to catch her bus. You could try to get both your mother and aunt in a single swoop. The moment you were sure El was gone you grab the Player Handbook and some paper and hurry down to the kitchen. You burst into the room interrupting their conversation, though they were both pleased as punch to see you.

Talking faster than you meant to you explain the game, hurry through your campaign pitch, and wait anxiously for their response. Your mother was beaming while your Aunt had a sort of amused grin on her face.

"You sure are excited about it." Your mom says.

"Does the game still have Thac0?" Peg asks with a knowing twinkle in her eye.

"Huh? Ummm...I don't...know what that is."

She chuckles. "It's something from the old days. I used to play back in college. Just for a year or two. It was good fun. You guys will have a great time I'm sure."

"Awww, can't you make it?"

Peg smiles sadly. "I'm sorry my dear. I can't this Sunday. Maybe I'll pop in another time."

You sigh. "I'm not sure there will be more than one time. But...if there is I'll let you know."

Your mother is chipper as can be. "I'll play. I'd love to. We used to do board games when you guys were little. I miss that so much. Sex is fun but the wholesome stuff is nice too." She leans back and laughs. "Remember how competitive Fiona used to get? Remember when she tore the Clue board in half because she was convinced Professor Plum had to be the murderer? Ha ha ha! My hot headed girl. It was always easier just to let her win."

"Well good news. Assuming I can get Fiona to play at all, which I doubt, you won't have to worry about that. You'll all be on the same team. No winners or losers."

This cheers your mother up even more. "Oh! Well isn't that nice. Ohhh, I like that!" She looks at the book and the papers. "Where's the game board and pieces."

You chuckle. "No Mom, it's just played with dice and your imagination. The sky is the limit! You can do anything you want in it, or try at least."

"Oh." She says, obviously not getting it. "That's nice."

You and Peg try to explain a few things but soon give up and decide to plunge straight into building her character. Time was limited and you still had other players to try to wrangle.

Your mother insisted again and again that she just wanted to help the others. Your Aunt suggests a healing cleric and your mother just nods along.

"First thing is to choose a race though."

"Oh, okay. Indianapolis 500!" She quips and both you and your aunt groan at the bad joke.

Flipping through the races your Mom immediately throws you for a loop. "Hmmm, nope, nope, yuck, hey...what's this one? She at least has a little meat on her bones. Half Orc? Why only half?"

You lean in. "It just means only one of your parents was an Orc, the other one wasn't. You like that one?"

"Oh, I see. Yeah, this one is nice." She thinks hard, though you weren't sure why. "Okay then. I guess...ummmmm...what were those bull things from that Narnia movie?"

"Minotaur?" Peg asks.

"Yeah. Okay, I'll be half orc and half minotaur." She giggles. "She'll have cute little horns."

"Um...that's not really what that means..." You start to say. "...that's not in the rules..."

"Oh. I thought...I'd try to use my imagination, like you said. I messed up on the first decision." She lets a huff and her shoulders slump. "Sorry. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I'll be whatever the best one is, I don't mind. I just want everyone to have a good time."

You pause then reach across and take her soft hand. "Actually, that idea sounds amazing. And that was very imaginative Mom, I love it. Yeah, half orc half minotaur, we can work with that. You can get your cute horns, no problem."

She smiles brightly. "Really? It's not in the rules though."

You shrug. "I'll make up some rules."

"Just like that?"

You nod. "Just like that." Tapping your forehead you say. "It all happens up here, the books are just here to help."

"Ha! Neat. Thank you Jesse."

You grin. "You're welcome Mom."

Peg nods with some measure of pride in her eyes. "I think you're going to make a pretty darn good DM kid."

You blush. "I'll try my best. I never did it before."

"You'll do great." Peg rubs your shoulder encouragingly.

With your Aunt's help your mother eventually gets her character built. You make it 6th level, just like Elsie's character, and get her to write up a short backstory. Being able to play the race she wanted really helped her get into the whole process, though she still didn't really get how it all worked. You figured she would pick it up as the game was played. Besides El the rest of you were going to have to learn on the fly.

You didn't get your Aunt but you now had another player. The party was up to two. You knew Mom would be the easiest to convince but still it felt like progress. The ball was now rolling.