Ok, I'm back and have a bit more time so I can more fully express how my heart is filled with love and bliss about my entire GenCon experience. I really can't describe how I'm feeling as anything other than a natural high. Beware because what follows is probably as cheesy as it is heartfelt.
I've already mentioned how cool TB is and friendly PC (and vice versa) is so I won't embarass them or me by going on and on about it. But I will reiterate that Dextra, Hellhound and the Gelflings are some of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. I really think that you can tell a whole lot about people from their kids and I was massively impressed by the Gelflings. There was never a single hint of them being sulky or acting like they were being drug along by their parents on this trip. And when some other kids showed up at the Canadiana Suite, the Gelflings immediately jumped in and invited these other kids to play games with them. You just know immediately that these girls have been raised right by loving people and it speaks volumes about what good folks Dextra and Hellhound are.
I'll sort of piggyback on Fusangite's disclaimer because I know I'm bound to forget to mention somebody but I'll go out on a limb and give my impressions of many of the folks I got the awesome chance to meet at GenCon. And please don't take any of this too seriously (I know you won't because you've met me and know that I'm not to be taken too seriously unless I just rolled a crit against your Nun/Pirate):
Queen D - This girl brims with bubbly fun and I suspect that she never stops smiling. She shatters the stereotype of the pretty girl who likes roleplaying but doesn't really quite get the rules. (And by the way, I intended on giving you that shirt, Queen D. So instead of a gift, I'm going to turn it into bait. Come to one of the NC Game Days and it is yours.
)
Universe - This dude is sharp. He doesn't miss anything and it is no mistake that he took on the role of the Captain in my Sky Galleons game. And he also seems to sport just a hint of smugness that comes from knowing that he has a hot wife who loves to game almost as much as she loves him.
Fusangite - Ok, we all know he's smart because of his posts here. He's also witty as hell and generous to boot. Being invited and made welcome to the hotel room to chat with him, PC, TB and Crothian late on Thursday night was an honor. And I'm pleased to report that that bottle of scotch is no longer a threat to anyone thanks to our combined efforts. Note however that he will on occasion flee from a stripper. But I'm not sure I can blame him because the ones in Indy BITE if you pay them the proper amount of money. I'm lucky I even have a right nipple as I type this.
Truth Seeker - This guy smiles and shakes your hand EVERY time he sees you. I'm not sure I quite know what the word "panache" means but Truth Seeker has a crapload of it. And he knows how to pimp big at a strip club.
Jester47 - He has like a 5' radius of "casual" around him where everybody is forced to make a DC 30 Fort save or "chill". Or maybe that was the beer I was drinking at the time.
He really seems to know where his towell is at.
Buttercup - She is like a ray of sunshine wrapped in a sheath of competence. She's always ready with a smile but she also knows what needs to be done and gets it done. And she's not afraid to wear an edgy t-shirt.
Crothian - I kind of assumed that he would have giant, huge, muscular fingers from typing so much but apparently he's just gifted with some sort of mystical "high post count" superpower. He seems to know just about everything there is to know about the rpg industry and he is totally down on all things GenCon. I really enjoyed sharing lunch with him a couple times and hanging out at the aforementioned gathering on Thursday night.
romp - Every time I turned around I was gaming with this guy. And he's great! He would really get into whatever role he was playing and roll the dice with gusto. You're welcome at my game table any time, dude.
IronWolf - I was really looking forward to meeting him but we only ever seemed to be in the same place at the same time for two minutes. If I can make it back to GenCon next year he's on my list of people to spend more time with.
FickleGM - Kind of the same as with IronWolf. We had the whole "what's up" nod thing going on but never got a chance to talk at length. I hope we both make it back next year and connect more because he seemed like a very nice guy.
Frukathka - I'm going to be honest here and say that I was a little leery of him going to GenCon. The massive amount of posting that he's done here in such a short time made me cautious as to what he'd be like in person. But he was totally nice and I really liked having him in both my games. And he did an absolutely excellent job of dispensing info about the ENnies when we worked the booth together. Good guy.
Der Kluge - I know him from his coming to the NC Game Days but I've never gotten to talk to him as much as I'd have liked. Curtis is just totally laid back and seems like he could talk about anything you want for hours (which is exactly what we did in the hot tub on Saturday night). That's a good thing because I like to talk. A lot.
Boz - I'm totally adding him to the list of "spend more than 30 seconds chatting with this guy next time you jackass" folks. Sorry I didn't get to talk longer at the ENnies but I had to dash upstairs to man the camera.
Psion - Sort of like an older, wiser Crothian (if such a thing is possible). I know you say that you wish the T20 game had gone better but I still had a good time and it was a blast from the past to play Traveller. Plus, I've never actually hit anything I've aimed at when rolling a Natural 1 like I did with my "Improvised Explosive Device".
JediSoth - I didn't get to talk with him too much but everybody I heard mention him said he was a great guy and how generous it was that he was willing to store ENnies stuff at his home. Yer' on the list too.
Ranger Wickett - Holly says "Hi", dude.
Sidereal Knight - First up, your "fanboy moment" didn't require any tolerance from me. You didn't do anything that I hadn't already done in terms of fawning over PC. And thanks for putting up with me calling your character "frenchie" during the Mace Hunter game.
GlassJaw - He kind of reminded me of me except for the Boston accent. He seemed to always be smiling and kind of in awe of what a totally great time he was having.
Pielorinho - I've been hoping to get him into one of my games for years and I netted he and Spider in one lucky swoop. I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the Sky Galleons game and you did the defrocked-Spanish-Nun-Turned-Pirate great justice. And Spider ended the game without a single stick of Detonite left on his character sheet, which was how The Professor was meant to be played. I really hope you guys can make it to more NC Game Days in the future.
Xath - Xath is...how can I put this...HAWT! You don't see girls with this sort of natural beauty every day and she wears it with such unassuming grace that the whole thing just kind of makes you stop and say, "Holy crap! And she's a GAMER too?!" She's really wonderful to talk to but try not to fall in love.
Archon - It is extremely pleasing to me to know that Xath is in the hands of such a great guy. He projects a cone of pure fun at everything in front of him and it is easy to see why Xath loves him.
Ghostwind - I was glad to hear that things worked out for you at the con even though you had to cancel some games you were playing in. But you're still on my list of folks I hope to game with one of these days.
CarlZog - This guy just rocks. I got to game with him a couple times and chat with him for a goodly while at the Canadiana Suite. Carl is good people and I can't decide whether I like drinking beer and shooting the breeze or gaming with him more. GenCon means not having to decide between the two.
Mark CMG - I think "affable" is almost as good a word as "generous" to describe Mark. I've always known him to be so from his support of the Game Days but he's just like that in person. In the final hours of GenCon he handed me a big stack of swag books in exchange for one that I traded him and then proceeded to help us carry the entire contents of the ENnies booth the length of the convention center TWICE. Great guy.
Matchstick - His portrayal of the Chinese butler for the inflappable british gentleman played by Raevynn was among the very best bits of roleplaying I've ever seen in my life. You had me with the flustered and broken speech but getting up and walking around the table to serve us tea and
tripping to point up that you break everything was just brilliant. And I don't think that Eric's grandma would have approved of all my Mace Hunter quips but then again she wasn't sitting at the table (if she had been I think she would have made a great Artimis though, don't you?
).
reveal - Reveal wasn't actually AT GenCon but I wish he had been. I got mistaken for him once and at least a couple other people said (essentially), "You and reveal are so funny." (reveal knows what I mean by this.).
Dave Stebbins - Dave is the person who was exactly like I thought he would be. Everybody else was at least a little different from how I had pictured their look or personality. Dave is Dave. And Dave is cool. Best quote of the Con for me was Dave's "I only hurt the ones I love. And the ones I hate. And the ones I don't know." Friggin' sweet!
Tonya - Tonya is not a board member but if you ever get the chance to meet her, do it. Just don't give her your phone number.
Ethernaut - I didn't know him at all prior to going to the con except that he was pals with CL and wanted in on my Sky Galleons game. But after spending the drive from Charlottesville to Indy with him, I felt like I had a new friend and I hope he feels the same way. Honestly I never thought I could learn so much about how to make my own GMing better from someone else in such a short time. I very much hope he continues to be a presence here at ENWorld. We need guys like him.
Cthulhu's Librarian - Everybody knows this guy is great. That I got a chance to spend so much time driving, living and gaming with him at GenCon contributed heavily to the wicked cool time I had at the event. I can't possibly thank him enough for offering to share the room with me and giving me so much good advice about making my time at GenCon so incredibly great. He is welcome in my home or game any time.
Wow. That took me longer than I thought it would but really I mean every word of it and I didn't mind writing it one little bit. Even after all the huge amounts of driving I've done in the last 30 hours and being tired as I am, I am totally stoked about the time I got to spend with you people. I met nobody from ENWorld that I did not enjoy meeting and if I forgot to list you above it just means that, despite how great I feel, my body is still aching for sleep. I hope you'll forgive me.
As a final note, for those who saw me with it in my possession, the boffer dagger I got for my daughter was a HUGE hit. But then I made a grim discovery...she went friggin' Furry on my while I was gone!
I hope you enjoy the pics...
Yeah, it sucks. And I don't mean that in a its-not-good way, I mean it in a it-totally-sucks-and-needs-totally-revamping way. Having lived in Europe, I know what good public transportation is and Indy don't got it. I am dismayed to hear all the bad reports from that downtown Steak 'n Shake. I go to other ones around town on a semi-regular basis and having never encountered condition like I've heard described here. I would urge everyone who had a bad experience to leave feedback at 
...sorry CL, you have been added to my list of great people...
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