Relatively new to AL here and I have a bit of a quandary.
So I have a character who I got to 2nd level. I then played a 2-hour session earning 40 gold and decided to stay at level 2 so that I get the full amount of gold for the level. I just finished a 4 hour adventure, during which the party found a spell book worth 700gp (based on 50g base plus 50g per spell level for each spell), however my character also got bitten and cursed with lycanthropy. I'm attempting to figure out how much gold I should have after the adventure...
For the purposes of this discussion let's assume the character only has the 40 gold earned after reaching level 2.
Option A:
Character only earns gold for the first two hours of play then can't earn any more gold at level 2, After which 50 gold must be paid in order to continue playing the character.
Character has 30 gold and can no longer earn any gold for level 2.
Option B:
Character receives max gold for the adventure but must pay 50 gold in order to continue playing the character. 80 gold - 50 gold, so 30 gold is earned for the adventure.
Character has 70 gold and can still earn 10 more gold in level 2.
Option C:
The party, being in a large city at the time, can sell the spell book for enough money to cure the three characters with lycanthropy and still give all 5 adventures the max 80 gold reward.
Character has 80 gold and can no longer earn any gold for level 2.
Option A is what my inner rules lawyer says is right based on what I'm reading but it seems to be very punishing to a character to have them earn a negative amount of gold from an adventure... It would make a little sense if the 50 gold was spent on equipment or something but to be charged for a service needed to continue playing the character without the ability to regain the lost gold is, to me, creating inequality in a system supposedly designed to keep characters on a level playing field.
1) The maximum gold you can earn/level in tier 1 is 80gp no matter how many hours it takes to play. In this case you received 40gp in level 2 from the previous session so you can only receive 40gp more as a level 2.
2) From the AL PG:
"Death, Disease, and Curses. Dead characters or those subject to a condition or story award that removes them from play (vampirism, lycanthropy, petrification, etc.) can’t begin a new session until they purchase spellcasting services with gold or remove a permanent magic item (excluding common magic items) to return them to life or to remove any conditions or story awards that removed them from play—including those requiring a wish. This temporarily reduces their Magic Item Limit by 1. This reduction persists until the character reaches the next tier of play (or, for 20th-level characters, until they’ve completed two adventures). This option is available even if their Magic Item Limit has been reduced to 0 or they have no magic items."
The characters with lycanthropy can't play another session until cured. Curing lycanthropy requires casting of a remove curse spell.
From the spellcasting services table in the AL DMG:
"Spellcasting Services During a session, characters can receive spellcasting services from an NPC located anywhere that is town-sized or larger but must be able to travel there. Otherwise, they’re available only between sessions."
Remove curse 90 gp
Also from the AL DMG:
"Any treasure with a monetary value (gp, gems, art objects, etc.) mentioned is ignored."
This means that you can copy from the spellbook but you can't sell it because it has no monetary value.
AL DMG:
"Character Disease, Death, and Recovery: Bad things happen to characters; adventuring is a risky job. Diseases, poisons, and other similar effects last until removed, but characters can spend downtime days to receive spellcasting services or to recuperate (see Player’s Handbook). Dead characters or those afflicted with lycanthropy or vampirism can’t start a new session until returned to life or cured. Characters returned to life suffer the effects from the ordeal as normal, but each downtime day spent reduces any penalties to attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks by 1. Bodies are recovered unless otherwise specified in the encounter. If the group can’t return a character to life or cure conditions that remove it from play themselves, the following rules apply: •The Character Pays. Characters can use their gold topay for a spellcasting service that would return themto play. Alternatively, the character can trade a permanent magic item (excluding common magic items) to an NPC that is capable of providing spellcasting services (see below)—who in turn returns them to life and removes any conditions (or in some circumstances, story awards) that removed them from play—including those requiring a wish. This option reduces their Magic Item Limit but is available even if their limit has been reduced to 0 or they have no magic items. •The Group Pays. Other characters can contribute toward the cost for spellcasting services to benefit other characters. They can’t trade magic items for another character to receive these services, though."
3) There are two ways I can see a DM running this.
A) Strict AL:
In a strict AL sense, treasure found in the module has no gp value and is ignored. You can tell the players what they find for flavor purposes but it isn't worth anything. Characters earn up to 20gp/hour in tier 1 to a maximum of 80gp/level. (from a roleplaying perspective this is the net savings the character receives after selling treasure and paying expenses).
Remove curse to cure lycanthropy costs 90gp. This means that after curing lycanthropy at the end of the session the character records a -10gp loss for the session after curing the lycanthropy. If they don't have enough gold they can give up their magic item (and its slot) until it is restored when reaching tier 2 when the character will have 3 magic item slots.
B) However, option A is not much fun and even an AL DM is trying to create an enjoyable and "realistic" role playing experience for the players.
ALDMG
"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."
"Challenge Your Players. Gauge the experience level of your players, as well as what they seem to enjoy in a game and attempt to deliver what they’re after. Everyone should be able to shine. You can adjust the encounter by adding or removing thematically appropriate monsters."
"Keep the Adventure Moving. When the game gets bogged down, provide hints and clues to your players facing puzzles or engaging in combat and roleplay interactions that get frustrating. This gives players “little victories” for making good choices based on clues received. When playing within a given time constraint, such as at a convention, it is important to gauge the pacing of your game. It’s okay to make adjustments to the content when you get bogged down in order to promote a play experience that feels complete."
An AL DM might decide to "adjust" the situation so that an NPC in the city would accept the spell book in exchange for casting remove curse on the three characters who need it (it fits in with the roleplaying and might make sense from an NPC perspective). This type of interaction feels more realistic and promotes a play experience that feels more complete.
Everyone in the group would have to agree to it and the party would likely lose access to the book. The characters could then receive the 40gp additional to reach the maximum of 80gp for level 2->3. This is consistent with the kinds of interaction that are typical of a D&D game.It gives the players the feeling that some of what they find retains value without actually logging any additional income.
The situation is resolved in the single session and the players may be happier that the situation is resolved though a cost was involved (losing the spellbook). Is this strictly AL legal? Possibly and possibly not, it depends on how liberally you interpret the powers of the DM when running an AL module. The DM has a lot of leeway to run any specific module, they are in charge of dice rolls, the DM could say that it wasn't really lycanthropy but it felt like it, the DM could say that in retrospect everyone passed their saves, the DM could have a wandering cleric come by healing the diseased in the city, notices the characters suffering from lycanthropy and decides to heal them free of charge since they are doing the same for others. The DM can introduce NPCs and thematically appropriate monsters. There are several role playing solutions that could possibly be used to remove the lycanthropy during the session without imposing the 90gp cost for spell casting services directly on each character.
Also, if anyone in the party is an Acolyte with the Shelter of the Faithful background feature they can receive a spell for free once/day. Spend three days and the party is healed from lycanthropy at no cost to anyone in the group.
The existence of this specific "loophole" (a method for the party to avoid paying for spell casting services) is one reason why an AL DM might feel justified in role playing the characters way out of lycanthropy in this kind of situation. Why should some characters be penalized for not having a specific background selected? On the other hand, a character with this background wouldn't have to jump through any role playing hoops to get the lycanthropy cured so there are still advantages to having that background feature.
Anyway, the bottom line is that it is up to the DM how they want to run it at that specific table on that day. Basic AL rules without a role playing solution, I think the characters would have -10gp earned for level 2->3 after receiving 80gp for the level and spending 90gp for remove curse. The best case for the characters would be using role playing solutions within the module leading to the curing of the lycanthropy and earning the additional 40gp for a total of 80gp on level 2->3.
P.S. A lot of modules were not written with AL play in mind or were written for seasons with different rules. Some modules have players incurring expenses during play. "Spend 50gp to bribe a guard", "Spend 10gp to buy a bottle of wine for an NPC", "Spend 100gp to cross a toll bridge" ... there are lots of examples where there are costs stated but these were not written with the idea that characters might only receive 80gp/level. In these cases, I find the DM has to make some adjustments. If the players are not receiving all of the gold in the module then they can't be expected to bear the burden of the costs either in terms of the net gold they receive for adventuring each level. It really doesn't make much sense. The DM has a few options, they can reduce such costs to zero which may not make much narrative sense ... I have a toll bridge and you can cross for free. Or the DM can role play it. The characters use "spending money" in the module to pay for expenses in the module - this makes the role playing aspects flow better and prevents the players from incurring costs that would not exist if the module had been written with current season AL rules in mind. Each individual DM will find solutions to make the game flow in a "realistic" fashion and for the players to have fun. The DM won't be handing out potions/magic items or unlimited gold because all of these are strictly regulated between sessions but if a particular module requires the players to pay a 1000gp ransom to play the module, many DMs won't even try to impose that on the player's actual gold.
P.P.S. :) ... in either case, some of this might generate some controversy since one of the goals of AL is to obtain a similar play experience from one table to the next and how a particular DM might choose to deal with this kind of situation could have significant variation.
The DMs in my league probably would have given us a cure at the end of the session. In my league it is also common practice that everyone gets max gp at the end of the session (which usually last 3-3.5 hours) up to level limit.
Relatively new to AL here and I have a bit of a quandary.
So I have a character who I got to 2nd level. I then played a 2-hour session earning 40 gold and decided to stay at level 2 so that I get the full amount of gold for the level. I just finished a 4 hour adventure, during which the party found a spell book worth 700gp (based on 50g base plus 50g per spell level for each spell), however my character also got bitten and cursed with lycanthropy. I'm attempting to figure out how much gold I should have after the adventure...
For the purposes of this discussion let's assume the character only has the 40 gold earned after reaching level 2.
Option A:
Character only earns gold for the first two hours of play then can't earn any more gold at level 2, After which 50 gold must be paid in order to continue playing the character.
Character has 30 gold and can no longer earn any gold for level 2.
Option B:
Character receives max gold for the adventure but must pay 50 gold in order to continue playing the character. 80 gold - 50 gold, so 30 gold is earned for the adventure.
Character has 70 gold and can still earn 10 more gold in level 2.
Option C:
The party, being in a large city at the time, can sell the spell book for enough money to cure the three characters with lycanthropy and still give all 5 adventures the max 80 gold reward.
Character has 80 gold and can no longer earn any gold for level 2.
Option A is what my inner rules lawyer says is right based on what I'm reading but it seems to be very punishing to a character to have them earn a negative amount of gold from an adventure... It would make a little sense if the 50 gold was spent on equipment or something but to be charged for a service needed to continue playing the character without the ability to regain the lost gold is, to me, creating inequality in a system supposedly designed to keep characters on a level playing field.
1) The maximum gold you can earn/level in tier 1 is 80gp no matter how many hours it takes to play. In this case you received 40gp in level 2 from the previous session so you can only receive 40gp more as a level 2.
2) From the AL PG:
"Death, Disease, and Curses. Dead characters or those subject to a condition or story award that removes them from play (vampirism, lycanthropy, petrification, etc.) can’t begin a new session until they purchase spellcasting services with gold or remove a permanent magic item (excluding common magic items) to return them to life or to remove any conditions or story awards that removed them from play—including those requiring a wish. This temporarily reduces their Magic Item Limit by 1. This reduction persists until the character reaches the next tier of play (or, for 20th-level characters, until they’ve completed two adventures). This option is available even if their Magic Item Limit has been reduced to 0 or they have no magic items."
The characters with lycanthropy can't play another session until cured. Curing lycanthropy requires casting of a remove curse spell.
From the spellcasting services table in the AL DMG:
"Spellcasting Services
During a session, characters can receive spellcasting services from an NPC located anywhere that is town-sized or larger but must be able to travel there. Otherwise, they’re available only between sessions."
Remove curse 90 gp
Also from the AL DMG:
"Any treasure with a monetary value (gp, gems, art objects, etc.) mentioned is ignored."
This means that you can copy from the spellbook but you can't sell it because it has no monetary value.
AL DMG:
"Character Disease, Death, and Recovery: Bad things happen to characters; adventuring is a risky job. Diseases, poisons, and other similar effects last until removed, but characters can spend downtime days to receive spellcasting services or to recuperate (see Player’s Handbook). Dead characters or those afflicted with lycanthropy or vampirism can’t start a new session until returned to life or cured. Characters returned to life suffer the effects from the ordeal as normal, but each downtime day spent reduces any penalties to attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks by 1. Bodies are recovered unless otherwise specified in the encounter. If the group can’t return a character to life or cure conditions that remove it from play themselves, the following rules apply:
•The Character Pays. Characters can use their gold topay for a spellcasting service that would return themto play. Alternatively, the character can trade a permanent magic item (excluding common magic items) to an NPC that is capable of providing spellcasting services (see below)—who in turn returns them to life and removes any conditions (or in some circumstances, story awards) that removed them from play—including those requiring a wish. This option reduces their Magic Item Limit but is available even if their limit has been reduced to 0 or they have no magic items.
•The Group Pays. Other characters can contribute toward the cost for spellcasting services to benefit other characters. They can’t trade magic items for another character to receive these services, though."
3) There are two ways I can see a DM running this.
A) Strict AL:
In a strict AL sense, treasure found in the module has no gp value and is ignored. You can tell the players what they find for flavor purposes but it isn't worth anything. Characters earn up to 20gp/hour in tier 1 to a maximum of 80gp/level. (from a roleplaying perspective this is the net savings the character receives after selling treasure and paying expenses).
Remove curse to cure lycanthropy costs 90gp. This means that after curing lycanthropy at the end of the session the character records a -10gp loss for the session after curing the lycanthropy. If they don't have enough gold they can give up their magic item (and its slot) until it is restored when reaching tier 2 when the character will have 3 magic item slots.
B) However, option A is not much fun and even an AL DM is trying to create an enjoyable and "realistic" role playing experience for the players.
ALDMG
"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."
"Challenge Your Players. Gauge the experience level of your players, as well as what they seem to enjoy in a game and attempt to deliver what they’re after. Everyone should be able to shine. You can adjust the encounter by adding or removing thematically appropriate monsters."
"Keep the Adventure Moving. When the game gets bogged down, provide hints and clues to your players facing puzzles or engaging in combat and roleplay interactions that get frustrating. This gives players “little victories” for making good choices based on clues received. When playing within a given time constraint, such as at a convention, it is important to gauge the pacing of your game. It’s okay to make adjustments to the content when you get bogged down in order to promote a play experience that feels complete."
An AL DM might decide to "adjust" the situation so that an NPC in the city would accept the spell book in exchange for casting remove curse on the three characters who need it (it fits in with the roleplaying and might make sense from an NPC perspective). This type of interaction feels more realistic and promotes a play experience that feels more complete.
Everyone in the group would have to agree to it and the party would likely lose access to the book. The characters could then receive the 40gp additional to reach the maximum of 80gp for level 2->3. This is consistent with the kinds of interaction that are typical of a D&D game.It gives the players the feeling that some of what they find retains value without actually logging any additional income.
The situation is resolved in the single session and the players may be happier that the situation is resolved though a cost was involved (losing the spellbook). Is this strictly AL legal? Possibly and possibly not, it depends on how liberally you interpret the powers of the DM when running an AL module. The DM has a lot of leeway to run any specific module, they are in charge of dice rolls, the DM could say that it wasn't really lycanthropy but it felt like it, the DM could say that in retrospect everyone passed their saves, the DM could have a wandering cleric come by healing the diseased in the city, notices the characters suffering from lycanthropy and decides to heal them free of charge since they are doing the same for others. The DM can introduce NPCs and thematically appropriate monsters. There are several role playing solutions that could possibly be used to remove the lycanthropy during the session without imposing the 90gp cost for spell casting services directly on each character.
Also, if anyone in the party is an Acolyte with the Shelter of the Faithful background feature they can receive a spell for free once/day. Spend three days and the party is healed from lycanthropy at no cost to anyone in the group.
The existence of this specific "loophole" (a method for the party to avoid paying for spell casting services) is one reason why an AL DM might feel justified in role playing the characters way out of lycanthropy in this kind of situation. Why should some characters be penalized for not having a specific background selected? On the other hand, a character with this background wouldn't have to jump through any role playing hoops to get the lycanthropy cured so there are still advantages to having that background feature.
Anyway, the bottom line is that it is up to the DM how they want to run it at that specific table on that day. Basic AL rules without a role playing solution, I think the characters would have -10gp earned for level 2->3 after receiving 80gp for the level and spending 90gp for remove curse. The best case for the characters would be using role playing solutions within the module leading to the curing of the lycanthropy and earning the additional 40gp for a total of 80gp on level 2->3.
P.S. A lot of modules were not written with AL play in mind or were written for seasons with different rules. Some modules have players incurring expenses during play. "Spend 50gp to bribe a guard", "Spend 10gp to buy a bottle of wine for an NPC", "Spend 100gp to cross a toll bridge" ... there are lots of examples where there are costs stated but these were not written with the idea that characters might only receive 80gp/level. In these cases, I find the DM has to make some adjustments. If the players are not receiving all of the gold in the module then they can't be expected to bear the burden of the costs either in terms of the net gold they receive for adventuring each level. It really doesn't make much sense. The DM has a few options, they can reduce such costs to zero which may not make much narrative sense ... I have a toll bridge and you can cross for free. Or the DM can role play it. The characters use "spending money" in the module to pay for expenses in the module - this makes the role playing aspects flow better and prevents the players from incurring costs that would not exist if the module had been written with current season AL rules in mind. Each individual DM will find solutions to make the game flow in a "realistic" fashion and for the players to have fun. The DM won't be handing out potions/magic items or unlimited gold because all of these are strictly regulated between sessions but if a particular module requires the players to pay a 1000gp ransom to play the module, many DMs won't even try to impose that on the player's actual gold.
P.P.S. :) ... in either case, some of this might generate some controversy since one of the goals of AL is to obtain a similar play experience from one table to the next and how a particular DM might choose to deal with this kind of situation could have significant variation.
The DMs in my league probably would have given us a cure at the end of the session. In my league it is also common practice that everyone gets max gp at the end of the session (which usually last 3-3.5 hours) up to level limit.
But as far as RAW goes, I think David nailed it.