NTRPG Con Day 0 Part 2: ...Deep In The Heart Of Texas!

And I am here! The convention hasn't begun in earnest yet, but here's some stuff I encountered...

* If you pack your carry-on so densely that the x-ray machine cannot penetrate it, the friendly TSA folks WILL ask you to unpack it and repack it right there in the airport.

* And if your carry-on IS packed that densely, there's a good chance that one of the suitcase's seams may burst while in the cargo hold.

* The hotel is very nice, but they charge you $10 a day for Internet access. Can't say I'm thrilled about that additional charge. If the El Cheapo places I stay at can offer free in-room Wi Fi, I'm surprised a place this nice charges for it. But that's a minor complaint.

* When I got to the hotel, I saw a LOT of folks in business suits and fancy dresses, all wearing nametags. Wow, North Texas RPG Con is a bit more formal than I originally thought. (Actually the beginning of NTRG Con overlaps with the end of aHP conference.) They had quite a buffet spread laid out for the HP attendees. I was tempted to get in line and help myself to a plate of fried shrimp. "Are these for anybody?"

* After a nap and a shower, I went down the bar and had a Guinness and a cheeseburger. After eating, I ran into the ever-genial Mike Curtis and we whiled away the time discussing our current writing projects. Mike's got his work cut out for him after his DCC RPG "Chained Coffin" module-with-a-spinning-doodad Kickstarter exploded into a "Chained Coffin" boxed-campaign-setting-with-module-and-almanac-and-another-module-and-big-map. I estimate he'll be writing 200 pages an hour for the next month.

*  Since HP Fest had taken over the main concourse, most of the NTRPG attendees were scattered about, making it difficult to really connect. Went back to my room to "regroup" around 8 p.m. with plans to come down later when it had thinned out. Aaaaaand...I dozed off, waking at midnight. Ugh, lack of sleep the previous night (as well as some work-related stuff that had me stressed out) had taken its toll and I just called it a night. So my plans for pick-up games of Drinking Quest and Werewolf (and, yes, Thundarr) kind of was a bust. But here it is, Thursday morning, and I'm ready to start the convention properly. Time to head down for breakfast and to pick up my materials.

Only one picture, and that's just my in-room "test photo" of Base Savage AfterWorld. More to come later today as Day 1 starts. Stay tuned!