My mother is an awesome geek, a fan of science fiction and real space exploration and fantasy of multiple descriptions, and to some extent boardgames — but not RPGs. They’re ust not her cup of tea, and that’s fine.
But when I was a pre-teen, and hooked on D&D, and no local group would take me in due to my age? She ran a game for me and a few friends, every Sunday, for about 2 years.
She ran us through scenarios from history, 1001 Nights, a lot of Excalibur myths, and plots from books she was reading at the time. We were 11 and 12, and she exposed us to political campaigns, romantic plotlines, the law of unintended consequences, exploration, mystery, and research games, and only rarely a dungeon crawl. Often, the answer to some vexing in-game puzzle required us to research some real-world bit of logic or history.
When we found another DM, she happily (and I think with relief) turned us over and never looked back. But she still has the “Dungeon Mistress” button I bought her at a Con a few years alter, and though she doesn’t *wear* it, she likes having it.
I grew up in central Oklahoma. I had a lot of friends who were forbidden by their parents from playing D&D. My mother instead ran a game for us, sat and talked with anyone we were playing with so she had an idea what kind of person they were, and encouraged us to have most games at her house (often in her garage) so she knew who I was with, and what I was doing.
So, Happy Mother’s Day, to my first long-term DM!
Thanks, Mom.