Going to my first RPG convention!

Late next week, I'll be attending my first ever RPG convention. Fear the Con takes place in St. Charles, MO, which is just a short half-hour drive from where I live, so I won't have to deal with any great expense to participate. Fear the Con is the official convention for the Fear the Boot gaming community, and I recommend the podcast and message board. They're full of friendly and polite folk who exhibit a strong sense of community.

I'm not entirely sure what to expect from the con. I think the closest thing to this that I've ever participated in is a Magic: the Gathering pre-release tournament, and I don't have the fondest memories of that experience. I almost slid my car off of the highway on an icy patch on the 2+ hour drive into Detroit from where I attended college. I played on little sleep since I was nervous about how I'd perform, and it seemed like all of the players were pretty cutthroat and business-minded in my matches. A friend who rode to the tournament with me performed pretty well, but beyond that I mostly remember just a string of losses.

Obviously, an RPG convention is a different animal. Our games are cooperative in nature so I don't need to worry about vicious play souring my day. I won't be running any events since I thought I'd find the newness of the experience stimulating enough without adding particular responsibilities on top of it. Also, I'm signed up for a number of RPGs that I've always wanted to try out as a player like Fantasy Craft and Spirit of the Century.

Still, I'm a bit nervous. I have introverted tendencies, and I'll be meeting a lot of new people. I've also filled all but one event slot in my schedule, so I'll be roleplaying for over 10 hours each day, which could get exhausting. Having a one-shot with relative strangers will be a new experience for me too, though I have played over Skype with a few community members who will be in attendance. Still, in a one-shot game, there's not a great deal of time to find my footing with my character, both mechanically and from a roleplaying standpoint.

Anyway, I'll try to make at least one post from the convention itself on Friday or Saturday. Furthermore, after the event is over I'm sure I'll have at least a few more posts in the near future in response to the event. If you've never been to an RPG convention before, I hope my reflections on my first time will be valuable to you. Also, if you've attended an RPG convention before and have any general advice for me, I'd love to read it in the comments section.