Two of these players, whom I will call Aaron and Alice, were at a dance I chaperoned last night.
I highly recommend chaperoning teen dances at a church social hall. Adorable kids everywhere being Very Earnest.
Anyway, Alice is the sort of girl who dances a lot (Irish, tap, ballet, etc.) and plays 5 instruments and sings. She has a prodigious knowledge of folk songs and folk tales, too. I asked her about the game and she said [paraphrase],
"It was wonderful! It was a combination of acting, storytelling, and a puzzle game. I realized my character is like in a movie or a book - she can look like anything and such. But the rules on levels and abilities means that it isn't just daydreaming."
Then I spoke to Aaron. Aaron is an apprentice blacksmith with Southern Blacksmith Association (and almost a journeyman at 18!), makes his own clothes (including shoes and belts) and sells hand-made swords to guys and gals going to DragonCon. He's the sort of kid that when his mom tells him to mow the lawn he uses the scythe he made himself.
He trumped me by first asking me to tell him some of the outrageous adventures I had gone through. So I told him of a game where I had a 7th level magic-user aiding in the defense of a frontier castle with his laser carbine and pearl-handled .45 auto-pistols. He laughed heartily and said [paraphrased],
"That's great! I am so sad I didn't know about this game earlier. There are rules, and a referee, but the strict rules mean you can do anything! I mean, how long has your gme been running? almost 40 years? I can't imagine how much cool stuff there is to see and do!"
They both are eager to play more often and are actively recruiting friends to join them. Alice has read through the PHB and is considering buying a copy for herself - I pointed her to OSRIC for now.
I love hearing this from newbies!
Nice.
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