You guys all seem to miss that there is a HUGE amount of discretion given to DMs in AL. They are well within their right to say no to just about whatever they want if they feel like it is contributing negatively to the session.
You guys all seem to miss that there is a HUGE amount of discretion given to DMs in AL. They are well within their right to say no to just about whatever they want if they feel like it is contributing negatively to the session.
I think you're overestimating the amount of discretion given to AL DMs. Here are a few relevant quotes from the ALDMG with my emphasis in bold:
If something seems amiss or inappropriate—either with the paperwork or during the game—discuss it with the player and resolve irregularities. You can disallow something that seems outside the rules or have a player reroll dice. Be professional—make every effort to avoid embarrassing the player or assume wrongdoing.
You’re Empowered. Make decisions about how the group interacts with the adventure; adjust or improvise but maintain the adventure’s spirit. You can’t implement new rules.
It’s okay to make adjustments to the content when you get bogged down in order to promote a play experience that feels complete.
The biggest key here, and my main contention, is that AL DMs can't implement new rules. Finger of death is allowed by the rules, the zombies made with it are permanent by the rules, and this is an AL game, therefore the DM is not "well within their right to say no."
It's a different story if the DM suspects cheating, but they are not supposed to assume wrongdoing. That's why I suggested documenting every zombie and documenting well so that any suspicion can be put to rest.
If you know of other rules sources that give the DM the "right to say no to just about whatever they want if they feel like it is contributing negatively to the session", I'm open to having my mind changed. In particular, I don't follow the facebook rulings (which apparently are official), so there might be some rule which I'm unaware of.
I feel like you are looking at this from the wrong end. Follow the rules and when people in towns start refusing players services, running them out of town, outright attacking them, blaming them for local evil occurrences etc. and finally when the army of paladins comes to vanquish the evil wizard they might rethink their strategy a bit. The PC's are essentially walking around with and utilizing an army of humanoids who have their undying souls forcible tethered to this plane in a desiccated corpse by unholy magics. That type of behavior goes against most peoples morals in "polite society", tends to get noticed and word gets around.
Not to get a little Aq Inc here as well but having an army of zombies sounds like a logistical nightmare and the financial overhead to transport hordes of zombies alone is enough to deter most savvy business' from employing them since it more then offsets the "free labor" component. (I imagine a very very steep overhead fee for transportation costs, cleanup etc.) Also, "gross."
TLDR
Army of zombies protecting your wizard tower? Cool!
Army of zombies walking around the sword coast? Cool!
It's fine for an AL DM to make the player rethink their strategy by having NPCs respond in character. It's not fine to ban that strategy because "I'm the DM", "It slows down play", or other similar reasons.
Now to address the more fun parts of your post. Your undead don't have to follow you through town. They can hide outside town or in a portable hole or in a demiplane or in a hole you've dug with mold earth or any number of creative places. You can even tell them to stay underwater until it's dark and then meet you at some predetermined location.
You bring up a great point that you might start to build a bad reputation and I don't have a lot of ways to deal with that except for perhaps a false identity or something, but nothing immediately comes to mind that could mitigate such a thing after character creation. However, from the PHB, "Most people see necromancers as menacing, or even villainous, due to the close association with death. Not all necromancers are evil, but the forces they manipulate are considered taboo by many societies." And I will also add that this thread is specifically in the context of Adventurers League so unless you're playing a hardcover or you have a regular DM, a bad in-game reputation for your character is unlikely.
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You guys all seem to miss that there is a HUGE amount of discretion given to DMs in AL. They are well within their right to say no to just about whatever they want if they feel like it is contributing negatively to the session.
I think you're overestimating the amount of discretion given to AL DMs. Here are a few relevant quotes from the ALDMG with my emphasis in bold:
The biggest key here, and my main contention, is that AL DMs can't implement new rules. Finger of death is allowed by the rules, the zombies made with it are permanent by the rules, and this is an AL game, therefore the DM is not "well within their right to say no."
It's a different story if the DM suspects cheating, but they are not supposed to assume wrongdoing. That's why I suggested documenting every zombie and documenting well so that any suspicion can be put to rest.
If you know of other rules sources that give the DM the "right to say no to just about whatever they want if they feel like it is contributing negatively to the session", I'm open to having my mind changed. In particular, I don't follow the facebook rulings (which apparently are official), so there might be some rule which I'm unaware of.
I feel like you are looking at this from the wrong end. Follow the rules and when people in towns start refusing players services, running them out of town, outright attacking them, blaming them for local evil occurrences etc. and finally when the army of paladins comes to vanquish the evil wizard they might rethink their strategy a bit. The PC's are essentially walking around with and utilizing an army of humanoids who have their undying souls forcible tethered to this plane in a desiccated corpse by unholy magics. That type of behavior goes against most peoples morals in "polite society", tends to get noticed and word gets around.
Not to get a little Aq Inc here as well but having an army of zombies sounds like a logistical nightmare and the financial overhead to transport hordes of zombies alone is enough to deter most savvy business' from employing them since it more then offsets the "free labor" component. (I imagine a very very steep overhead fee for transportation costs, cleanup etc.) Also, "gross."
TLDR
Army of zombies protecting your wizard tower? Cool!
Army of zombies walking around the sword coast?
Cool!It's fine for an AL DM to make the player rethink their strategy by having NPCs respond in character. It's not fine to ban that strategy because "I'm the DM", "It slows down play", or other similar reasons.
Now to address the more fun parts of your post. Your undead don't have to follow you through town. They can hide outside town or in a portable hole or in a demiplane or in a hole you've dug with mold earth or any number of creative places. You can even tell them to stay underwater until it's dark and then meet you at some predetermined location.
You bring up a great point that you might start to build a bad reputation and I don't have a lot of ways to deal with that except for perhaps a false identity or something, but nothing immediately comes to mind that could mitigate such a thing after character creation. However, from the PHB, "Most people see necromancers as menacing, or even villainous, due to the close association with death. Not all necromancers are evil, but the forces they manipulate are considered taboo by many societies." And I will also add that this thread is specifically in the context of Adventurers League so unless you're playing a hardcover or you have a regular DM, a bad in-game reputation for your character is unlikely.