Awrighty - now that I've been back from my first NTXRPG Con for a little over a week, I figured I'd offer a few thoughts on the experience.
1. Before I arrived, I had issues with my flight on Southwest (SW). I booked my flight for departure @ 1:10 PM so I could arrive by 3 PM at Love Field to allow plenty of time to get to the hotel, check in, grab my badge, have dinner then be at my first event @ 7 PM. SW pushed the departure time to 3 PM, then on departure day pushed it to 4:10 PM, then 5:27 PM, then back to 4:30 PM. Fortunately, I was able to call the hotel and have them open the room for Jared so he could get settled while I was delayed. I arrived at the hotel @ 6:56 PM, met Jared, then sat down at the game table with about 2 minutes to spare.
2. I played in 8 events for AD&D 1e, Hyperborea, OD&D, Pendragon 1st edition... and one that was advertised as Basic D&D but was misleading. Fun was had in every game except the one that was advertised as Basic D&D.
3. I didn't appreciate the false advertising on the Basic D&D event. I arrived at the table with a copy of the B/X book but the DM used AD&D. None of us had the AD&D PHB with us. Since I was playing a 7th level magic-user, the spell info was necessary. When this was pointed out to him, he was pretty flippant about it. HE had the PHB so that made it OK.
The DM's personality and game style really rubbed me the wrong way. By the halfway point I was thankful to have the opportunity to be the first to die by a fireball so I could leave. This one absolutely qualified as a "dud game" meaning one that thoroughly disappointed. I will avoid ALL future events by the DM in question. PM me if you want his name for planning purposes.
4. The size of the dealer hall was just right. Plenty of room to roam and a sufficient number of vendors that you could spend a few minutes just browsing and stretching the legs or delving into wares as desired.
5. Capping pre-registration badges at 500 was an excellent call. All 500 sold prior to the start date and it was a good number for the size of the hotel and game areas. No canned sardine treatment of participants like Gary Con of recent years. Noise levels in gaming rooms, while noticeable at times, was nowhere near as bothersome as recent Gary Cons which required actual shouting at tables to be heard.
6. Better personal hygiene by attendees of NTXRPG than what I've experienced at other conventions like Dragon Con, Gary Con and Mythic Con. From Wednesday to Sunday I caught only 3 whiffs of gamer funk.
7. Hotel room costs were lower for NTX than at Gary Con at the Grand Geneva.
8. Food and drink at the hotel were overpriced, IMO. A bottle of Dos Equis was $8. A bottle of Guinness was $9. That's like pro sporting event level pricing. Food quality at the hotel was average. I hit 2 of the food trucks while there. The burger I had was average. The ultimo nachos were subpar. The chunked chicken quality was akin to what you'd get in a 6th grade lunch line and the "cheese product" that topped it wasn't queso but the "nacho cheese sauce" you find at Taco Bell. Within 5-6 hours of downing the nachos, I could've solved Germany's recent concerns of a natural gas shortage.
9. Offsite dining I tried included a First Watch about 5 minutes drive from the hotel. Good breakfast as always and very much enjoyed the leisurely pace of food and conversation with Jared and Sam. I hit the Denny's across the street one morning. If you've ever been to one you know what to expect. Nothing great but you won't be hungry.
10. The Hyperborea board room on the 10th floor was really cool - a private room for only Hyperborea events! I played in 2 games. The first one was with Jared, Sam, and Jeff Talanian. I played a Runegraver and had a great time. The second game, in which I played a necromancer, was DMed by Talanian. My 3rd level necromancer was able to overcome the "sorcery resistance" of a demon with a
scare spell which the demon then failed its saving throw to cower it to allow the party muscle to dispatch it.
11. The con has a reputation for problems with AC. I noticed soon after arriving that thermostats were set to 65 F. Since I was dressed for summer heat, I had to put on a jacket and was shivering after 2 hours. Multiple requests went to Mr. Oliver to have the hotel staff adjust the temp and the staff complied. Thermostat was set to 70 F and that was just right for the rest of the con.
12. SW pushed back my flight out of Love Field. I ended up getting home at 12:20 AM on Monday. Since SW was late on both sides of the trip, I'll probably just go with American or Delta into DFW next year.
NTXRPG Con gets a
from Ye Olde Necromancer. The noticeable focus on old school gaming combined with good crowd management made the decision to return for 2025 an easy one.
