It probably is too confusing. I'd recommend the House of Staunton, who have a range of sets from the cheap to the luxurious, and currently have a sale going on that allows you to save 10-20%.
EDIT: Personally I'd reccomend a traditional-style (that is, not with characters or themes) with the high quality pieces, not only because of the quality itself, but because if you want to encourage people to play then a better looking set will be more attractive than a cheap plastic set.
The vast majority of players prefers not to be confused by fancy pieces. The more classical, the better! And good handcrafting and material surely won't hurt.
People that play chess like simple, clearly designed pieces like classic. Artsy sets are for art, not for playing.
Check out Ebay. House of Staunton has auctions regularly and you can get killer deals on wooden sets. If even that is too pricey, then there are several "direct from India" vendors (ChessBazaar is well known and reputable) that do Staunton knockoffs that are also incredible bargains. Not quite the detailed carving and finish of HOS, but very nice for the money. Stay away from "theme" sets unless the set is strictly for display. Chessplayers hate having to figure out which piece is what. Take your time. I'd seriously advise haunting the Ebay listings for a month or so to get a feel for the market. Last year I got a used House of Staunton set for like $45 delivered from an estate sale. There are bargains to be had. Best of luck.
Hey,
I'm new to this forum and am a very fresh chess player. At this point, I like playing with anybody for practice (not such a fan of the online games). I was thinking that I should get a set that I can keep out for guests that would encourage them to play. Should I go for a classic set or something cooler? I found one online that looks interesting, at http://www.jizbee.com/ , but the pawns are cannons and the pieces are characters. Is that too confusing?