NTRPGCon Report

geneweigel · Post by **geneweigel** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:16 am

With the exception of Kask, Kuntz, Sustare, Mentzer, Grohe and Braun, I don't recognize any faces.

Who are all these characters?

T. Foster · Post by **T. Foster** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:28 am

geneweigel wrote:With the exception of Kask, Kuntz, Sustare, Mentzer, Grohe and Braun, I don't recognize any faces.

Who are all these characters?

I also recognized Mike ("Sieg") Stewart and his wife, and there was a guy with "Paul Jaquays" on his shirt in one of the pics who I'm assuming hadn't stolen someone else's shirt. But yeah, some captions would help identify the non-celebs (or, if you prefer, "new age celebs"

).

geneweigel · Post by **geneweigel** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:33 am

Oh yeah, "sieg"! I remember him and his wife from pictures taken long ago. So thats Paul Jaquays?

Post by **Philotomy Jurament** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:30 am

Here are a few names with faces (or profiles, or whatever...). If I left anyone out of the description, please don't be offended -- just throw in your name, too. (quatzl, I'm failing to put your face with your forum name, so help me out.)

This is Allan (grodog) running us through his Castle Greyhawk. I'm the guy in the hat, between grodog and Paul Jaquays. That's Flambeaux in the lower right corner. Mythmere is sitting on the other side of Paul, but got cut out of the picture.

Another shot from the same game. Still no Mythmere...

Aha! Here's Mythmere. That's him with his hand up, in the upper right. He's running Spire of Iron & Crystal, here. We also have a great shot of the back of Dennis Sustare's head (you can see his name on the t-shirt).

Another shot of Mythmere's game (better shot of Dennis, there, too). Wonder what Matt is thinking?

A shot of Tim Kask's Sat. night game (that would be the one where the PCs triumphed, rather than the TPK...). I'm to Kask's left, and grodog to my left.

Another shot of Tim's Sat. night game.

Another shot of Mythmere running his game. He's happy, so I guess he just laid the smack down on somebody. (Hard to see, but note the Swords & Wizardry t-shit.)

Here's a shot of John Hershberger (tacojohn) hanging out over by the table of raffle swag.

This one is RJK's Fri. night game. That's Lance Hawvermale in the striped shirt. Grodog, again, standing out in the tie-dye. I'm on grodog's left, barely visible in the shot.

Here's a better shot of Flambeaux, playing in RJK's Sat. night game. Note the OSRIC t-shirt.

Flambeaux · Post by **Flambeaux** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:54 am

I had lots of inquiries about the OSRIC shirt.

T. Foster · Post by **T. Foster** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:00 pm

With all those games happening in the same room and so close together how difficult was it to hear and be heard? The guys at the foot of Mentzer's table in the bottom 2 pics look like they're as close to Tim Kask at the other table as they are to Frank. I'd have a very hard time running a game (especially for a large number of players) with two or three other games (with equally large numbers of players) being run in the same room, and were I one of the poor players at the foot of the tables I'm sure I'd have no idea what was going on most of the time. Was this all the space the hotel had available?

Jaybird216 · Post by **Jaybird216** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:02 pm

Brad wrote:I like the shirts with the names on the back. Jason Braun asked me to go but I had a prior commitment in Ohio last weekend...sucks.

Don't take this the wrong way, guys, but everyone in the pictures is overweight. Some more than others, but you guys need to work on your health! Start eating better and working out so you can enjoy playing D&D for years to come and produce new products to keep me entertained.

Don't mind Brad, guys. He beats me with a bar of soap in a tube sock if I try to eat at the table when he DM's. It mostly doesn't hurt.

Mostly.

geneweigel · Post by **geneweigel** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:03 pm

Whooh, thats a turnout! Bit of a "K&K live" it seems!

Well, if I ever see any of you in person it'll be less time to mentally register the internet name with the actual person like when I went to LGGC. "Uh...Hey...YOU!"

TRP · Post by **TRP** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:04 pm

I'm always amazed that nobody ever looks anything like I imagine them to look. Must be all these damned avatars.

FWIW, I look exactly like David Carradine, and I bet Foster looks just like Edie Sedgwick, too.

Flambeaux · Post by **Flambeaux** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:05 pm

T. Foster wrote:With all those games happening in the same room and so close together how difficult was it to hear and be heard? The guys at the foot of Mentzer's table in the bottom 2 pics look like they're as close to Tim Kask at the other table as they are to Frank. I'd have a very hard time running a game (especially for a large number of players) with two or three other games (with equally large numbers of players) being run in the same room, and were I one of the poor players at the foot of the tables I'm sure I'd have no idea what was going on most of the time. Was this all the space the hotel had available?

Yes. We maxed out the hotel's game facilities. The room that Mythmere ran his game in was a storage closet off of this main room. Larger venues are been looked to for next year.

It was difficult, but not impossible. It did demand concentration, but it also allowed a little banter among the DMs -- they could trash-talk a bit as we were getting started but once rolling they were very focused and all business, for all that they were clearly enjoying themselves.

It was like the lunchroom in high school or a mall food court: a deafening roar that becomes as white noise if you're focused intently on someone else's specific words and actions.

Post by **Philotomy Jurament** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:09 pm

T. Foster wrote:With all those games happening in the same room and so close together how difficult was it to hear and be heard?

It was damn loud, and if you weren't close to the DM, it could be difficult to hear (and for him to hear you). I was sitting far from Rob during his game, and I had to strain, sometimes (and I know he missed a couple of things I said during the game). After that, I made an effort to sit close to the DM for both my Saturday games (Allan's and Tim Kask's).

I didn't get to play at the round table, which was off in a side-room (jokingly referred to as "the closet). However, I popped in there while he was running his game and it sounded much quieter in there. Everyone seemed to be conversing in relatively normal tones.

Was this all the space the hotel had available?

I believe so. I think we had permission to overflow into the breakfast area of the hotel, but I don't know how that would have gone over, in practice. The breakfast area is open to the main lobby (i.e. it's a room off the main lobby, with no wall/door on that side). I think the con ended up drawing more attention than they originally expected.

I understand that next year the con will be in a different venue, though. They're expecting more people next year.

Jaybird216 · Post by **Jaybird216** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:10 pm

T. Foster wrote:With all those games happening in the same room and so close together how difficult was it to hear and be heard? The guys at the foot of Mentzer's table in the bottom 2 pics look like they're as close to Tim Kask at the other table as they are to Frank. I'd have a very hard time running a game (especially for a large number of players) with two or three other games (with equally large numbers of players) being run in the same room, and were I one of the poor players at the foot of the tables I'm sure I'd have no idea what was going on most of the time. Was this all the space the hotel had available?

The only game I played in was killjoy's Return to Tegel Manor on Saturday morning. It was pretty hard to hear him most of the time, but that was more due to his soft-spoken British accent than the ambient noise. I really had to lean in and concentrate on what he was saying, which is why all of the pics of that game have me hunched way over the table, invading bbarsh's personal space.

In addition to the main room pictured above, there was a small storage room which they pressed into service (with the round table as seen in mythmere's S&W game). The breakfast area was open to us after the 10am cleanup, and I believe the organizers also had a con suite which could have been used for overflow.I believe the Con will be held in a hotel with a bigger common room next year. That's a pity, really, because it was a pretty sweet hotel otherwise.

Overall, it wasn't s bad as it could have been. There wasn't even as much gamer funk as one would have expected in a small room in Texas in June.

Flambeaux · Post by **Flambeaux** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:13 pm

Jaybird216 wrote:Overall, it wasn't s bad as it could have been. There wasn't even as much gamer funk as one would have expected in a small room in Texas in June.

The weather helped, too. Despite the heat it was breezy enough to be pleasant in the shade.

Post by **Philotomy Jurament** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:14 pm

TheRedPriest wrote:I'm always amazed that nobody ever looks anything like I imagine them to look. Must be all these damned avatars.

Heh. My "old man with cigar" avatar used to cause that reaction quite a bit:

So I made a similar photo:

Post by **Philotomy Jurament** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:18 pm

Hey Jason, what part of San Antonio do you and Brad usually game in? My parents live in Selma, so I visit there quite a bit.