Personally, I was in middle school- @10-11 years old- and a lifelong fan of mythology, Sci-fi and fantasy fiction when I first heard of D&D. All I knew was that it was a game that let you play the same kinds of heroes I read about.
Then I saw that a hobbit-looking guy in my grade (whom I didn’t know) was forming a group, with games to be played in the school library. I asked permission to join, got it, and signed up. I bought a couple minis & a PHB, a set of purple dice, and showed up. Over the course of the next few weeks, we played several sessions, with the party ever dwindling as casualties mounted. My human fighter and the human wizard were the last two survivors, nearing the exit...and we encountered a purple worm. After the wizard cast his final magic missile, he was eaten when the DM rolled a 20 for the worm. The final round of combat was just my PC & the worm, each at 4hp or so, with simultaneous initiative. I missed, the worm hit.
TPK.
...but I was hooked. Creating adventures was every bit as much fun as reading them. Even when playing Traveller- the second RPG I learned to play- when I had a PC die in character generation, I enjoyed the story that was told by those (ultimately doomed) die rolls. Sure, it was a short story, but it was a good one.
Demographics: black male of multiracial ancestry. While I know other gamers of color, I’ve only gamed with 3 of them. Roman Catholic. Picked up the game as a member of the Middle Class. Over the past 40 years, I’ve played in 5 cities in 3 states. (Want to know more, ask.)
