Hi, I hope someone will bear with me and answer some questions I have regarding AL. Last year in November a group of us started up an AL group. At the time none of us had ever played AL before and there have been quite a few of us that were totally new to either D&D or to 5E. I was one of those that were new to 5E, last I played was 2.5E, so I was mainly focussed on just how to play the game. Since then I have come to realize that we haven't really been following the rules as written. The steering group for our organization is meeting next week and I wanted to get a few answers to some of my questions so that I could present them there. So here goes and again thank you for answering! :D
1. I have read that WotC has season 9 right around the corner. I was wondering how this would affect our play. My group started playing by season 8 rules and we are working on Dungeon of the Mad Mage at the moment. Will we have to implement season 9 rules into our gameplay once it goes live or do we just not deal with that until we go over to adventures that are published with season 9 (I am assuming there are new adventures for every season?)
2. How flexible are the rules for player rewards? According to the DM at the table where I play he believed there was some flexibility in regards to gold and mundane treasure as well as ACP, TC, renown, etc... In regards to treasure and items, we have actually been keeping this and dividing magical items between us, dividing gold equally and selling mundane items for gold. Personally, I believe these are rules that have no flexibility and I blame our ignorance, in this case, being that none of us had played AL before season 8 and with the season 8 rules limiting gold so much we somehow couldn't figure out what was the correct way of dealing with this and reverted back to what many would consider regular game play.
3. Treasure lists, evergreen and the unlockable items list. I understand that items on the evergreen list can be unclocked at any time, right? But the unlockable list, is the meaning here that we have to find the items first in the game and then they become open for anyone to purchase with TP?
4. Other magical items- When playing, will the DM ever have to roll for items off of tables? If so, where are these tables located, Xanathars? As for the items we find this way are they added to the unlockable items list and then anyone can purchase them right? How long will these items be on our tables list?
5. Factions and backgrounds - are we supposed to switch out all of our background features with the faction agent background once we actually join a faction? My group has just joined a faction without doing anything with our backgrounds.
6. As a new player, I haven't really been one to dig after the rules but I recently found out about the ALCC. I do not think my group has been using this. The reason I bring this up is in regards to Troll Skull Manor that we acquire in season 8. Our group wanted to convert this to an inn and we did. But looking back the gold we used to do this should have never been awarded to us. Am I correct in understanding that Volo would have loaned us the gold to get the manor up and running and that this would have been accepted? Also, in regards to running the manor as a business. Should we be spending our downtime days to actually run the business? My group convinced the ghost haunting the manor to basically run the inn for us while we were out adventuring.
7. Earning gold in-game. It seems to me that with the season 8 rules cutting down heavily on earning gold that this affects those playing wizards as well as a few of the other spell casters the most. I can openly admit that I play a wizard and to be honest, I have found gold a difficult subject when it comes to the way my table has been playing. When looking at downtime activities though I see that martial characters are able to try their hand at pit-fighting to earn gold. Is this allowed? In regards to the other downtime activities that are listed in Xanathars I have not found anything that would be helpful for casters and the more squishy classes to earn gold. In AL, is it possible to make your own downtime activities in order to try and earn gold? If not how do wizards ever earn enough gold to add, scribe or cast spells?
Phew... that is it for now. I really hope someone will be kind enough to answer some of these questions. I know we have been doing things wrong but we were all newbies to AL when we started. I am hoping though that I can get some good answers so that I can help steer our tables towards a form of playing that follows the actual rules.
A lot of your treasure/loot questions are somewhat dependent on season, but I can answer this one for you:
5. Factions and backgrounds - are we supposed to switch out all of our background features with the faction agent background once we actually join a faction? My group has just joined a faction without doing anything with our backgrounds.
You do not have to change your background just because you joined a faction in-game. That background is for if you wanted your character to be a member for an organization or faction before they were an adventurer.
Hi, I hope someone will bear with me and answer some questions I have regarding AL. Last year in November a group of us started up an AL group. At the time none of us had ever played AL before and there have been quite a few of us that were totally new to either D&D or to 5E. I was one of those that were new to 5E, last I played was 2.5E, so I was mainly focussed on just how to play the game. Since then I have come to realize that we haven't really been following the rules as written. The steering group for our organization is meeting next week and I wanted to get a few answers to some of my questions so that I could present them there. So here goes and again thank you for answering! :D
1. I have read that WotC has season 9 right around the corner. I was wondering how this would affect our play. My group started playing by season 8 rules and we are working on Dungeon of the Mad Mage at the moment. Will we have to implement season 9 rules into our gameplay once it goes live or do we just not deal with that until we go over to adventures that are published with season 9 (I am assuming there are new adventures for every season?)
2. How flexible are the rules for player rewards? According to the DM at the table where I play he believed there was some flexibility in regards to gold and mundane treasure as well as ACP, TC, renown, etc... In regards to treasure and items, we have actually been keeping this and dividing magical items between us, dividing gold equally and selling mundane items for gold. Personally, I believe these are rules that have no flexibility and I blame our ignorance, in this case, being that none of us had played AL before season 8 and with the season 8 rules limiting gold so much we somehow couldn't figure out what was the correct way of dealing with this and reverted back to what many would consider regular game play.
3. Treasure lists, evergreen and the unlockable items list. I understand that items on the evergreen list can be unclocked at any time, right? But the unlockable list, is the meaning here that we have to find the items first in the game and then they become open for anyone to purchase with TP?
4. Other magical items- When playing, will the DM ever have to roll for items off of tables? If so, where are these tables located, Xanathars? As for the items we find this way are they added to the unlockable items list and then anyone can purchase them right? How long will these items be on our tables list?
5. Factions and backgrounds - are we supposed to switch out all of our background features with the faction agent background once we actually join a faction? My group has just joined a faction without doing anything with our backgrounds.
6. As a new player, I haven't really been one to dig after the rules but I recently found out about the ALCC. I do not think my group has been using this. The reason I bring this up is in regards to Troll Skull Manor that we acquire in season 8. Our group wanted to convert this to an inn and we did. But looking back the gold we used to do this should have never been awarded to us. Am I correct in understanding that Volo would have loaned us the gold to get the manor up and running and that this would have been accepted? Also, in regards to running the manor as a business. Should we be spending our downtime days to actually run the business? My group convinced the ghost haunting the manor to basically run the inn for us while we were out adventuring.
7. Earning gold in-game. It seems to me that with the season 8 rules cutting down heavily on earning gold that this affects those playing wizards as well as a few of the other spell casters the most. I can openly admit that I play a wizard and to be honest, I have found gold a difficult subject when it comes to the way my table has been playing. When looking at downtime activities though I see that martial characters are able to try their hand at pit-fighting to earn gold. Is this allowed? In regards to the other downtime activities that are listed in Xanathars I have not found anything that would be helpful for casters and the more squishy classes to earn gold. In AL, is it possible to make your own downtime activities in order to try and earn gold? If not how do wizards ever earn enough gold to add, scribe or cast spells?
Phew... that is it for now. I really hope someone will be kind enough to answer some of these questions. I know we have been doing things wrong but we were all newbies to AL when we started. I am hoping though that I can get some good answers so that I can help steer our tables towards a form of playing that follows the actual rules.
AL is actually pretty strict on a lot of things because it is designed to create characters that can be played anywhere, with your friends, at a local game store, at a convention or at a game store or group in another city or even country if you happen to be traveling.
As a result, DMs actually have very little control over what can be awarded to characters. Prior to season 8, AL modules list a minimum and maximum XP reward which defines the range the DM could award depending on player actions in the module. Treasure was similarly constrained by what was available and only one person could leave the table with a magic item based on a formula that depended on who had the least magic items. (which appears fair at first but can be easily gamed and circumvented resulting in a surprising amount of upset). However, modules were also never created equal. Tales of the Yawning Portal for example contains White Plume Mountain which is a 5e remake of a popular adventure in earlier editions. This module though awards massive amounts of gold and treasure in comparison to most any other module. You also ran into issues with folks who usually played with groups of 3 receiving twice the treasure and magic items than those who usually played in groups of 6 or 7. The system before season 8 had a lot of flaws from the perspective of shared play with groups of players who might not know each other.
Season 8 limits the DM even more. Awards are either based on the guidelines in season 8 modules in terms of ACP, TCP, downtime and renown or are determined by allocating 1ACP, 1TCP, 2.5 downtime and 0.25 renown for every hour of play where the group is advancing the goals of the module. e.g. if you take an hour break for dinner and socializing you aren't supposed to receive in game rewards for it. The ONLY gold received is for advancing a level. None of the gold or treasure listed in the module is received by the character except that usually the characters can use any mundane items they find for the duration of the adventure.
Magic items found in the adventure are "unlocked" meaning that you can then purchase the item for yourself using treasure check points. Magic items are not handed out at all.
1. Season 9 divides characters into Season 9 characters and Legacy characters. Legacy characters are those that can play season 1-8 content and CCC/season agnostic modules and receive magic item unlocks and story awards. Season 9 characters can receive magic item unlocks from season 9 content and CCC/season agnostic content. All of your character are Legacy characters. As far as I know, the only change that will affect you are the ones they are making to gold distribution. You now split gold found in the module up to a cap instead of receiving a certain amount on leveling up (assuming they don't change the plan again).
2. There is little or no flexibility. Rewards are 1 ACP, 1TCP (for appropriate tier), 2.5 downtime, 1 renown for hour of play. Gold rewarded on level up only level 1-4 75gp level 5 to 10 150gp, level 11 to 16 550gp and level 17-20 5500gp(?) not sure of the last one. Magic items found are unlocked for purchase not received. Characters can use mundane items found in the module until it ends. Gold/treasure has no value except for role play.
3. The evergreen list and the seasonal list are ALREADY unlocked for every player. These can be purchased at any time by expending the required TCP. The season 8 unlock list only applies during season 8 and will go away and be replaced by a season 9 list when it is released. Otherwise, the only other magic items you can purchase are those that you find in the content you are playing. Whatever you find is unlocked with some exceptions for sentient or particularly powerful items that aren't available (these are listed in the AL content catalog available from DMsGuild).
4. I think the content catalog has directions on the DM rolling but in general the DM does not roll. The guidance for the Storm King's Thunder hardcover for example tells the DM to ignore any parts of the module that call for random treasure rolls. The idea behind AL is to create similar play experiences across multiple tables run around the world so random determination of rewards doesn't really fit that idea. However, if there was a randomly determined item, it would be added to the unlocked magic item list for your character like any other magical treasure.
5. Yes. Factions are optional in season 8 (Unless you have a Lawful Evil character in which case they still MUST be in either Lords Alliance or Zhentarim factions) but if you are a member of a faction you still need the Safe Haven feature.
"Step 6: Select a Faction (Optional) Your character can be a member of a faction if they have the Safe Haven background feature (Faction Agent background, Sword Coast Adventurers Guide)."
You have to have the Safe Haven background feature to be a faction member. You can simply swap this in for whatever feature you originally had leaving the rest of the background the same. You don't need to take the Faction Agent background but you do need the Safe Haven feature to be a faction member.
6. The DM has more flexibility with hardcovers than with regular AL modules. The ALCC has some guidance on running WDH which includes receiving a story award for the "loan" from Volo and earning money by running the inn. The DM when we ran it allowed us to use some treasure received during the module to aid with running the inn. We also convinced the ghost to be barkeep and hired a number of other NPCs from the adventure to operate the inn when we were absent. Running this is a balance between being fair and keeping it fun and believable from a role play perspective. Additional gold from running the inn is relatively small and you can lose gold on a poor roll so it is more of a role play/fun element than a money making one (at least in the version I played). So, as long as the DM doesn't hand out tons of gold I don't think there would be any issues.
7. Wizards are probably the most affected by the gold limitations with clerics and the cost of their spell components a close second. I am playing a wizard through WDH and DotMM (currently level 7) and most of the spells I have are the free ones from leveling up (spending gp for the material components needed for those if any) and copying a few other spells, mostly rituals. He currently has something like 10gp while everyone else in the party typically has at least a few hundred. Personally, I think gp is a bit too constrained in season 8 for some classes. (I've traded a few treasure points for gold just to copy a couple essential spells).
On the topic of downtime ... Xanathar options are not available in AL.
From ALPG:
"Downtime and Lifestyle Your character can participate in the downtime activities before, during, or after a session. You can use the downtime activities found in the Player’s Handbook as well as those that follow; other activities are allowed if outlined in other campaign documents:"
The other activities are: Spellcasting Services, Catching Up, Copying Spells, Trading Magic Items, Brewing Potions (XgtE), Scribing Scrolls (XgtE) and that is it. So, no characters can earn gold from downtime activities in AL.
Sorry for the late reply and thank you for the link. I read over the site and it makes sense to me that if you are moving a character from one storyline to the storyline of a different season.
I just want to say thank you for taking the time to explain all of this. I am very grateful. I hope it is okay if I have a few follow up questions?
1. So I am correct in understanding that when the new rules for gold distribution become official that they should be implemented as rules that my table, which plays a season 8 adventure, will use?
3. The seasonal list that is available now. Is it right to say that this list is what we use while playing a season 8 adventure? Or will it mean that this list is traded out no matter which season and storyline you are playing? Hehe... for example, will my character lose the chance to gain the staff of the magi when season 9 is published or will this new list only be for those that are actually playing a season 9 storyline?
Again thank you very much. This has helped me a lot and good luck with your adventures!
I just want to say thank you for taking the time to explain all of this. I am very grateful. I hope it is okay if I have a few follow up questions?
1. So I am correct in understanding that when the new rules for gold distribution become official that they should be implemented as rules that my table, which plays a season 8 adventure, will use?
3. The seasonal list that is available now. Is it right to say that this list is what we use while playing a season 8 adventure? Or will it mean that this list is traded out no matter which season and storyline you are playing? Hehe... for example, will my character lose the chance to gain the staff of the magi when season 9 is published or will this new list only be for those that are actually playing a season 9 storyline?
Again thank you very much. This has helped me a lot and good luck with your adventures!
Quick answers :)
1. As far as I know, when season 9 starts, people will switch to using the new gold distribution rules that drop with season 9 no matter what AL content is being played. Similarly, the season 8 gold, ACP and TCP rules apply to all AL content played at the moment independent of which season it is in. So when I play a season 2 module with a character, they receive the AL rewards specified by the current season rules and not the rules that were prevalent when the module was created.
3. I don't know the answer to this specifically. However, like the other season rules, I think the season 8 unlock list will go away when season 9 starts. I don't think the season unlock list is tied to the season content at all, it is tied to the specific AL season and so I would expect a new season 9 unlock list in September at which point you would no longer be able to obtain items from the Season 8 unlock list. The items on the Evergreen List on the other hand should continue to be available no matter what the AL season. This is just my reading of the current situation based on having a season 8 unlock list along with an evergreen list and comments I have read elsewhere. However, I do not expect items on the season 8 unlock list to be available for purchase for TCP after season 9 drops, I could be wrong :)
If it works as I expect, you won't be able to obtain a Staff of the Magi/Cloak of Invisibility/Slippers of Spider Climbing etc after season 9 starts but I don't have a definitive statement that that will be the case.
I just want to say thank you for taking the time to explain all of this. I am very grateful. I hope it is okay if I have a few follow up questions?
1. So I am correct in understanding that when the new rules for gold distribution become official that they should be implemented as rules that my table, which plays a season 8 adventure, will use?
3. The seasonal list that is available now. Is it right to say that this list is what we use while playing a season 8 adventure? Or will it mean that this list is traded out no matter which season and storyline you are playing? Hehe... for example, will my character lose the chance to gain the staff of the magi when season 9 is published or will this new list only be for those that are actually playing a season 9 storyline?
Again thank you very much. This has helped me a lot and good luck with your adventures!
Quick answers :)
1. As far as I know, when season 9 starts, people will switch to using the new gold distribution rules that drop with season 9 no matter what AL content is being played. Similarly, the season 8 gold, ACP and TCP rules apply to all AL content played at the moment independent of which season it is in. So when I play a season 2 module with a character, they receive the AL rewards specified by the current season rules and not the rules that were prevalent when the module was created.
3. I don't know the answer to this specifically. However, like the other season rules, I think the season 8 unlock list will go away when season 9 starts. I don't think the season unlock list is tied to the season content at all, it is tied to the specific AL season and so I would expect a new season 9 unlock list in September at which point you would no longer be able to obtain items from the Season 8 unlock list.
If it works as I expect, you won't be able to obtain a Staff of the Magi/Cloak of Invisibility/Slippers of Spider Climbing etc after season 9 starts but I don't have a definitive statement that that will be the case.
If you already have one or more items from the Season 8 list, you don't lose access to items you've paid for, right?
I just want to say thank you for taking the time to explain all of this. I am very grateful. I hope it is okay if I have a few follow up questions?
1. So I am correct in understanding that when the new rules for gold distribution become official that they should be implemented as rules that my table, which plays a season 8 adventure, will use?
3. The seasonal list that is available now. Is it right to say that this list is what we use while playing a season 8 adventure? Or will it mean that this list is traded out no matter which season and storyline you are playing? Hehe... for example, will my character lose the chance to gain the staff of the magi when season 9 is published or will this new list only be for those that are actually playing a season 9 storyline?
Again thank you very much. This has helped me a lot and good luck with your adventures!
Quick answers :)
1. As far as I know, when season 9 starts, people will switch to using the new gold distribution rules that drop with season 9 no matter what AL content is being played. Similarly, the season 8 gold, ACP and TCP rules apply to all AL content played at the moment independent of which season it is in. So when I play a season 2 module with a character, they receive the AL rewards specified by the current season rules and not the rules that were prevalent when the module was created.
3. I don't know the answer to this specifically. However, like the other season rules, I think the season 8 unlock list will go away when season 9 starts. I don't think the season unlock list is tied to the season content at all, it is tied to the specific AL season and so I would expect a new season 9 unlock list in September at which point you would no longer be able to obtain items from the Season 8 unlock list.
If it works as I expect, you won't be able to obtain a Staff of the Magi/Cloak of Invisibility/Slippers of Spider Climbing etc after season 9 starts but I don't have a definitive statement that that will be the case.
If you already have one or more items from the Season 8 list, you don't lose access to items you've paid for, right?
Not as I understand it. Your character always keeps everything they have acquired unless the AL administration decides that the items were too unbalancing to allow for AL play. Some examples where they may have done that include items like Dawnbringer, Shield guardian and the control amulet, Deck of Many Things, Hazirawn, Spell Gems, Mithral Splintmail +1, and a few other items that they have banned from play. (The list is in the content catalog).
However, unless the AL admin decides to ban specific items from Season 8 after the fact, which would seem unlikely to me, you will always keep what you have.
all this sounds terrible, why would anyone play AL?
Mostly because folks like playing D&D and AL more or less fits that description.
1) Flexibility: You can reserve a spot but if you can't make it for real life reasons you can just cancel it. You don't have a bunch of friends relying on you showing up and then irritated because you can't make it due to working late or having to drive your kids somewhere.
2) Timing: AL runs at my local game store on Monday/Thursday/Friday/Sunday most weeks with games running from Tier 1 to Tier 4 at various points in time. If I am available I can choose which day and game I want to play.
3) Portability and Advancing to level 20: A lot of home campaigns have trouble scheduling days, some folks can't make it, real life comes up, eventually the campaign might die out due to the DM having real life issues or other commitments or everyone moves away. AL doesn't have this problem. You can play an AL character at ANY AL venue in any city or country. As long as the character is AL legal and the character log is filled out properly, you can play that character in any tier appropriate AL game anywhere. This means that every AL character you create and play has a good chance to reach level 20 and continue to be played at that point, if you really want to do so.
4) You can actually get quite close to the complete D&D experience: If you get a bunch of folks together and play a hardcover then it can be played under AL rules and the experience is very similar to playing in any other home D&D campaign.
Finally, AL is usually fun to play as well. Perhaps not as much fun as a long running game with friends but honestly, I haven't had the time for one of those since high school :)
hmm sounds interesting I like the idea of being able to play consistently. I just don't like too many boundaries.
but some of that won't apply anymore no?
like how can you get to level 20 if you have to roll a new character every season?
also i don't care that much for levels...i do it mostly because its fun and the stories become awesome. i never really had the desire to reach level 20. i think somewhere like 6-10 is the sweet spot.
like how can you get to level 20 if you have to roll a new character every season?
its only the current season where it matters...so if you want to play the upcoming Decent into Avernus this fall at an AL table, you need to reroll. once you're done with Decent, you can move on to whatever they're launching next for the second half of season 9, or forgo that and let him/her start running non season-9 stuff.
my store only has 1 committed table that does current season (in this case, Dungeon of the Mad Mage). everything else is a mix of CCC and ocassional prior-seasons content.
also, the boundaries are more to keep everyone on par than limit game-play....so that you don't have 2 jokers at a table doing mad damage / resisting everything while the rest of the table just sits there not having any impact. That stops players from coming back.
Hi, I hope someone will bear with me and answer some questions I have regarding AL. Last year in November a group of us started up an AL group. At the time none of us had ever played AL before and there have been quite a few of us that were totally new to either D&D or to 5E. I was one of those that were new to 5E, last I played was 2.5E, so I was mainly focussed on just how to play the game. Since then I have come to realize that we haven't really been following the rules as written. The steering group for our organization is meeting next week and I wanted to get a few answers to some of my questions so that I could present them there. So here goes and again thank you for answering! :D
1. I have read that WotC has season 9 right around the corner. I was wondering how this would affect our play. My group started playing by season 8 rules and we are working on Dungeon of the Mad Mage at the moment. Will we have to implement season 9 rules into our gameplay once it goes live or do we just not deal with that until we go over to adventures that are published with season 9 (I am assuming there are new adventures for every season?)
2. How flexible are the rules for player rewards? According to the DM at the table where I play he believed there was some flexibility in regards to gold and mundane treasure as well as ACP, TC, renown, etc... In regards to treasure and items, we have actually been keeping this and dividing magical items between us, dividing gold equally and selling mundane items for gold. Personally, I believe these are rules that have no flexibility and I blame our ignorance, in this case, being that none of us had played AL before season 8 and with the season 8 rules limiting gold so much we somehow couldn't figure out what was the correct way of dealing with this and reverted back to what many would consider regular game play.
3. Treasure lists, evergreen and the unlockable items list. I understand that items on the evergreen list can be unclocked at any time, right? But the unlockable list, is the meaning here that we have to find the items first in the game and then they become open for anyone to purchase with TP?
4. Other magical items- When playing, will the DM ever have to roll for items off of tables? If so, where are these tables located, Xanathars? As for the items we find this way are they added to the unlockable items list and then anyone can purchase them right? How long will these items be on our tables list?
5. Factions and backgrounds - are we supposed to switch out all of our background features with the faction agent background once we actually join a faction? My group has just joined a faction without doing anything with our backgrounds.
6. As a new player, I haven't really been one to dig after the rules but I recently found out about the ALCC. I do not think my group has been using this. The reason I bring this up is in regards to Troll Skull Manor that we acquire in season 8. Our group wanted to convert this to an inn and we did. But looking back the gold we used to do this should have never been awarded to us. Am I correct in understanding that Volo would have loaned us the gold to get the manor up and running and that this would have been accepted? Also, in regards to running the manor as a business. Should we be spending our downtime days to actually run the business? My group convinced the ghost haunting the manor to basically run the inn for us while we were out adventuring.
7. Earning gold in-game. It seems to me that with the season 8 rules cutting down heavily on earning gold that this affects those playing wizards as well as a few of the other spell casters the most. I can openly admit that I play a wizard and to be honest, I have found gold a difficult subject when it comes to the way my table has been playing. When looking at downtime activities though I see that martial characters are able to try their hand at pit-fighting to earn gold. Is this allowed? In regards to the other downtime activities that are listed in Xanathars I have not found anything that would be helpful for casters and the more squishy classes to earn gold. In AL, is it possible to make your own downtime activities in order to try and earn gold? If not how do wizards ever earn enough gold to add, scribe or cast spells?
Phew... that is it for now. I really hope someone will be kind enough to answer some of these questions. I know we have been doing things wrong but we were all newbies to AL when we started. I am hoping though that I can get some good answers so that I can help steer our tables towards a form of playing that follows the actual rules.
A lot of your treasure/loot questions are somewhat dependent on season, but I can answer this one for you:
You do not have to change your background just because you joined a faction in-game. That background is for if you wanted your character to be a member for an organization or faction before they were an adventurer.
Gotcha! That makes a lot of sense.
In regards to the other questions we are playing season 8.
But now that we are in season 8. Can you go back and play earlier AL storylines with rules from those seasons?
I'm not sure if this will answer your questions about seasons, but here is a link to an AL article on the subject.
http://dndadventurersleague.org/introducing-seasonality/
AL is actually pretty strict on a lot of things because it is designed to create characters that can be played anywhere, with your friends, at a local game store, at a convention or at a game store or group in another city or even country if you happen to be traveling.
As a result, DMs actually have very little control over what can be awarded to characters. Prior to season 8, AL modules list a minimum and maximum XP reward which defines the range the DM could award depending on player actions in the module. Treasure was similarly constrained by what was available and only one person could leave the table with a magic item based on a formula that depended on who had the least magic items. (which appears fair at first but can be easily gamed and circumvented resulting in a surprising amount of upset). However, modules were also never created equal. Tales of the Yawning Portal for example contains White Plume Mountain which is a 5e remake of a popular adventure in earlier editions. This module though awards massive amounts of gold and treasure in comparison to most any other module. You also ran into issues with folks who usually played with groups of 3 receiving twice the treasure and magic items than those who usually played in groups of 6 or 7. The system before season 8 had a lot of flaws from the perspective of shared play with groups of players who might not know each other.
Season 8 limits the DM even more. Awards are either based on the guidelines in season 8 modules in terms of ACP, TCP, downtime and renown or are determined by allocating 1ACP, 1TCP, 2.5 downtime and 0.25 renown for every hour of play where the group is advancing the goals of the module. e.g. if you take an hour break for dinner and socializing you aren't supposed to receive in game rewards for it. The ONLY gold received is for advancing a level. None of the gold or treasure listed in the module is received by the character except that usually the characters can use any mundane items they find for the duration of the adventure.
Magic items found in the adventure are "unlocked" meaning that you can then purchase the item for yourself using treasure check points. Magic items are not handed out at all.
1. Season 9 divides characters into Season 9 characters and Legacy characters. Legacy characters are those that can play season 1-8 content and CCC/season agnostic modules and receive magic item unlocks and story awards. Season 9 characters can receive magic item unlocks from season 9 content and CCC/season agnostic content. All of your character are Legacy characters. As far as I know, the only change that will affect you are the ones they are making to gold distribution. You now split gold found in the module up to a cap instead of receiving a certain amount on leveling up (assuming they don't change the plan again).
2. There is little or no flexibility. Rewards are 1 ACP, 1TCP (for appropriate tier), 2.5 downtime, 1 renown for hour of play. Gold rewarded on level up only level 1-4 75gp level 5 to 10 150gp, level 11 to 16 550gp and level 17-20 5500gp(?) not sure of the last one. Magic items found are unlocked for purchase not received. Characters can use mundane items found in the module until it ends. Gold/treasure has no value except for role play.
3. The evergreen list and the seasonal list are ALREADY unlocked for every player. These can be purchased at any time by expending the required TCP. The season 8 unlock list only applies during season 8 and will go away and be replaced by a season 9 list when it is released. Otherwise, the only other magic items you can purchase are those that you find in the content you are playing. Whatever you find is unlocked with some exceptions for sentient or particularly powerful items that aren't available (these are listed in the AL content catalog available from DMsGuild).
4. I think the content catalog has directions on the DM rolling but in general the DM does not roll. The guidance for the Storm King's Thunder hardcover for example tells the DM to ignore any parts of the module that call for random treasure rolls. The idea behind AL is to create similar play experiences across multiple tables run around the world so random determination of rewards doesn't really fit that idea. However, if there was a randomly determined item, it would be added to the unlocked magic item list for your character like any other magical treasure.
5. Yes. Factions are optional in season 8 (Unless you have a Lawful Evil character in which case they still MUST be in either Lords Alliance or Zhentarim factions) but if you are a member of a faction you still need the Safe Haven feature.
"Step 6: Select a Faction (Optional)
Your character can be a member of a faction if they have the Safe Haven background feature (Faction Agent background, Sword Coast Adventurers Guide)."
You have to have the Safe Haven background feature to be a faction member. You can simply swap this in for whatever feature you originally had leaving the rest of the background the same. You don't need to take the Faction Agent background but you do need the Safe Haven feature to be a faction member.
6. The DM has more flexibility with hardcovers than with regular AL modules. The ALCC has some guidance on running WDH which includes receiving a story award for the "loan" from Volo and earning money by running the inn. The DM when we ran it allowed us to use some treasure received during the module to aid with running the inn. We also convinced the ghost to be barkeep and hired a number of other NPCs from the adventure to operate the inn when we were absent. Running this is a balance between being fair and keeping it fun and believable from a role play perspective. Additional gold from running the inn is relatively small and you can lose gold on a poor roll so it is more of a role play/fun element than a money making one (at least in the version I played). So, as long as the DM doesn't hand out tons of gold I don't think there would be any issues.
7. Wizards are probably the most affected by the gold limitations with clerics and the cost of their spell components a close second. I am playing a wizard through WDH and DotMM (currently level 7) and most of the spells I have are the free ones from leveling up (spending gp for the material components needed for those if any) and copying a few other spells, mostly rituals. He currently has something like 10gp while everyone else in the party typically has at least a few hundred. Personally, I think gp is a bit too constrained in season 8 for some classes. (I've traded a few treasure points for gold just to copy a couple essential spells).
On the topic of downtime ... Xanathar options are not available in AL.
From ALPG:
"Downtime and Lifestyle
Your character can participate in the downtime activities before, during, or after a session. You can use the downtime activities found in the Player’s Handbook as well as those that follow; other activities are allowed if outlined in other campaign documents:"
The other activities are: Spellcasting Services, Catching Up, Copying Spells, Trading Magic Items, Brewing Potions (XgtE), Scribing Scrolls (XgtE) and that is it. So, no characters can earn gold from downtime activities in AL.
Hope that helps :) ... long answer :)
AL documents linked below ...
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/208178/DD-Adventurers-League-Players-Pack
Sorry for the late reply and thank you for the link. I read over the site and it makes sense to me that if you are moving a character from one storyline to the storyline of a different season.
I just want to say thank you for taking the time to explain all of this. I am very grateful. I hope it is okay if I have a few follow up questions?
1. So I am correct in understanding that when the new rules for gold distribution become official that they should be implemented as rules that my table, which plays a season 8 adventure, will use?
3. The seasonal list that is available now. Is it right to say that this list is what we use while playing a season 8 adventure? Or will it mean that this list is traded out no matter which season and storyline you are playing? Hehe... for example, will my character lose the chance to gain the staff of the magi when season 9 is published or will this new list only be for those that are actually playing a season 9 storyline?
Again thank you very much. This has helped me a lot and good luck with your adventures!
Quick answers :)
1. As far as I know, when season 9 starts, people will switch to using the new gold distribution rules that drop with season 9 no matter what AL content is being played. Similarly, the season 8 gold, ACP and TCP rules apply to all AL content played at the moment independent of which season it is in. So when I play a season 2 module with a character, they receive the AL rewards specified by the current season rules and not the rules that were prevalent when the module was created.
3. I don't know the answer to this specifically. However, like the other season rules, I think the season 8 unlock list will go away when season 9 starts. I don't think the season unlock list is tied to the season content at all, it is tied to the specific AL season and so I would expect a new season 9 unlock list in September at which point you would no longer be able to obtain items from the Season 8 unlock list. The items on the Evergreen List on the other hand should continue to be available no matter what the AL season. This is just my reading of the current situation based on having a season 8 unlock list along with an evergreen list and comments I have read elsewhere. However, I do not expect items on the season 8 unlock list to be available for purchase for TCP after season 9 drops, I could be wrong :)
If it works as I expect, you won't be able to obtain a Staff of the Magi/Cloak of Invisibility/Slippers of Spider Climbing etc after season 9 starts but I don't have a definitive statement that that will be the case.
If you already have one or more items from the Season 8 list, you don't lose access to items you've paid for, right?
That is how I have interpreted the rules.
Not as I understand it. Your character always keeps everything they have acquired unless the AL administration decides that the items were too unbalancing to allow for AL play. Some examples where they may have done that include items like Dawnbringer, Shield guardian and the control amulet, Deck of Many Things, Hazirawn, Spell Gems, Mithral Splintmail +1, and a few other items that they have banned from play. (The list is in the content catalog).
However, unless the AL admin decides to ban specific items from Season 8 after the fact, which would seem unlikely to me, you will always keep what you have.
i just made a post spelling out the background rules:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/d-d-adventurers-league/43990-the-real-deal-on-backgrounds
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
A rather comprehensive list of free WotC D&D resources
Deck of Decks
all this sounds terrible, why would anyone play AL?
Mostly because folks like playing D&D and AL more or less fits that description.
1) Flexibility: You can reserve a spot but if you can't make it for real life reasons you can just cancel it. You don't have a bunch of friends relying on you showing up and then irritated because you can't make it due to working late or having to drive your kids somewhere.
2) Timing: AL runs at my local game store on Monday/Thursday/Friday/Sunday most weeks with games running from Tier 1 to Tier 4 at various points in time. If I am available I can choose which day and game I want to play.
3) Portability and Advancing to level 20: A lot of home campaigns have trouble scheduling days, some folks can't make it, real life comes up, eventually the campaign might die out due to the DM having real life issues or other commitments or everyone moves away. AL doesn't have this problem. You can play an AL character at ANY AL venue in any city or country. As long as the character is AL legal and the character log is filled out properly, you can play that character in any tier appropriate AL game anywhere. This means that every AL character you create and play has a good chance to reach level 20 and continue to be played at that point, if you really want to do so.
4) You can actually get quite close to the complete D&D experience: If you get a bunch of folks together and play a hardcover then it can be played under AL rules and the experience is very similar to playing in any other home D&D campaign.
Finally, AL is usually fun to play as well. Perhaps not as much fun as a long running game with friends but honestly, I haven't had the time for one of those since high school :)
hmm sounds interesting I like the idea of being able to play consistently. I just don't like too many boundaries.
but some of that won't apply anymore no?
like how can you get to level 20 if you have to roll a new character every season?
also i don't care that much for levels...i do it mostly because its fun and the stories become awesome. i never really had the desire to reach level 20. i think somewhere like 6-10 is the sweet spot.
its only the current season where it matters...so if you want to play the upcoming Decent into Avernus this fall at an AL table, you need to reroll. once you're done with Decent, you can move on to whatever they're launching next for the second half of season 9, or forgo that and let him/her start running non season-9 stuff.
my store only has 1 committed table that does current season (in this case, Dungeon of the Mad Mage). everything else is a mix of CCC and ocassional prior-seasons content.
also, the boundaries are more to keep everyone on par than limit game-play....so that you don't have 2 jokers at a table doing mad damage / resisting everything while the rest of the table just sits there not having any impact. That stops players from coming back.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
A rather comprehensive list of free WotC D&D resources
Deck of Decks
i guess its to get new players acquainted with the game. it's prob not my cup o tea but i can see how its beneficial to some ppl.