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The reason I go to cons out of my immediate area (1 hour drive or so) is to play new content I can't get locally. Knowing that there are unique campaign things like character creation cards, land grants or other roleplaying opportunities not available elsewhere would probably also entice me to travel (as long as they're advertised ahead of time!).

Meeting new people and hanging out with gaming acquaintances is a side benefit. Unless you plan tables with old friends though, you won't really see them except for meals or outside of the convention, so that isn't a primary goal.

I'll go to any con within an hour's drive of my house though regardless of content, though I usually end up judging.

So considering the following are true:
1) No regional limits for playing mods
2) Convention only regionals are available
3) Special rewards available at DDXP, Origins, Gencon

I expect my LFR habits to be:
1) go to local conventions to play new mods
2) play most mods at homegames or regular store game nights
3) only travel to out-of-town WotC sponsored special cons with special access (DDXP, Origins, Gencon).
4) stop going to other out-of-town conventions

LG play has also dropped significantly in my local area. The last few conventions had about two-thirds their normal numbers. That probably means I'll no longer organize RGPA-only conventions unless game play picks up(though I might coordinate stuff in existing non-RPGA cons).

Keith53 wrote:

Since game conventions existed before LG (perhaps different ones), and some Events ran during the life of LG (which featured only globally accessable campaigns, like LD and LF as examples), perhaps the situation is not as dire as you depict. Actually, I am more concerned about the rising cost of gasoline becoming a barrier.

Keith

I would say things were different then, since there was a lot less play at home. I think in the 90s, you couldn't officially run closed home games of RPGA events. The four month lead time on events also made game days more difficult. (That's not to say it didn't happen, like with those players in my part of the country that always were up to date on LC play without attending the conventions and game days I did.)

In the 90s, RPGA-only conventions were still done, but represented a rare opportunity to play, later joined by RPGA-only game days. Today, it is a lot easier to arrange a game, and I fear for any conventions being able to break even in the future.

I don't have a group in the area, so conventions are the only place I can play RPGA. Plus, I have kids, and am a single mom, so the time I used to have to devote to /finding/ a group is considerably more limited now.

In fact, I'm only just now getting back into TT gaming. Girls are old enough not to need constant monitoring. Hopefully with 4.0 and Living Forgotten Realms, maybe I can even start up something in my area. But even so, conventions are quite fun. I'd go even if there /was/ no RPGA there at all. It's just much more fun if there is.