Here is a list of changes I would like to see in season 10. Most of these are meant to make tracking things easier, improve flavor, permit experimentation with character gearing, and extend the viability of characters who remain at any given tier.
1 - Remove races from the PHB+1 rule, same as backgrounds. This would make non-PHB races more accessible, increasing their frequency and making the setting seem more diverse.
Also consider modifying currently restricted races, such as those with flying speeds, to make them available for play. This might include restricting actual flight until lvl5 (and only while wearing limited armor), but permitting such a character to long jump a distance equal to their land speed and granting them advantage on high jumps at levels 1-4.
2 - Make wording more clear if mundane items purchased between sessions must adhere to PHB+1 rule. Currently, only source covering this is a Twitter thread concerning spiked armor, which suggests that mundane equipment is not meant to be restricted.
3 - Include a chart indicating what character levels are appropriate for each tier, as this is confusing for new players.
4 - Change from a max gold earned limit (based on total level), to a max gold carry limit (based on tier). Whenever a character has less gold than this limit, they should be permitted to keep an amount to return them to this amount. Suggested values:
T1 - 75gp T2 - 150gp T3 - 300gp T4 - 500gp
This should not prevent characters from spending excess gold earned before a session is complete (which should also be made clear) for things such as re-summoning familiars, pursuing module-specific downtime activities, seeking a Remove Curse spell or similar spellcasting services.
This encourages characters to purchase consumables and pitch in for more group purchases instead of becoming stingy and experiencing gold-burnout, which can make them feel like it's necessary to either go up a tier or retire that character from play.
5 - Restrict the number of consumables a character may take into any given session. This would prevent the previous change from max earnings to max carry limit from causing characters to stockpile potions and scrolls which might make certain character roles largely irrelevant (such as a striker/tank build coming in loaded down with potions that make the healer redundant). Suggested limits:
T1 - 4 T2 - 6 T3 - 8 T4 - 10
6 - Permit certain uncommon utility items (specifically non-attunement container and exploration items) to be kept and counted against the character's consumable limit instead of their magic item limit.
This list should include, but not necessarily be limited to: Bag of Holding, Efficient Quiver, Cap of Water Breathing, Driftglobe, and Rope of Climbing.
Broom of Flying should only be permitted if there are clarifications as to it's use concerning stability (for purposes of staying on, being knocked off, and making attacks while mounted).
7 - Expand the types of mundane equipment which can be claimed and kept as treasure within a module to more than just consumables; specifically non-magical armor and weapons that the character may be proficient with. This removes these essential non-magical items from the character's gold limit burden, which may be insufficient for the task with the changes to gold limits suggested above, without altering the point at which they would normally become available. Suggested progression:
T1 - Light armor and weapons T2 - Medium armor and shields T3+ - Heavy armor
8 - Permit characters to "store" up to one additional magic item per tier (1 item at T1, 2 at T2, etc), in addition to their normal magic item limit. Stored magic items may not be used during an adventure, but may be swapped with active magic items between sessions (possibly requiring downtime days). This permits characters to keep a limited number of items they would normally have to pass up for flavor, future use, or trading without unbalancing the current item limits. This would have the largest impact for T1 characters, but may also permit more flexibility in a character's load-out for any given module at higher levels.
9 - Permit characters to trade in a +1 item (weapon, armor, or shield) for a +2 variant of the same at T3, or to obtain a new +1 item at that point, subject to the same restrictions.
This list should also add a Ring of Protection +1 to the available gear options at T3, as this preserves the flavor of the Faction Agent Background Feature without making it a requirement for some builds at higher tiers, improving overall flavor in the setting.
10 - Permit characters to "purchase" more than one item with the renown gold at T2, and grant characters in T3 a similar renown gold benefit in addition to the use of a vehicle with non-combat crew. Being able to have one additional alchemical item (such as a potion or oil) or a number of additional basic items (such as pitons, lamps, etc) at T2 does not significantly disrupt game balance, and T3 characters are the only ones who have no regular access to healing items.
11 - Change from a total accumulated downtime limit (based on total level), to a max usable downtime limit (based on tier). Whenever a character has fewer downtime days available than this limit, they should be permitted to earn more for sessions played. Logic is largely the same as the removal of earnings cap in favor of carry limit, but aside from scribing spells (a pittance), module-specific downtime activities (varies), or "catching up" (significant), these are significantly less useful. Suggested values:
12 - After completing a 4hr module with the temporary magic item limit reduction penalty due to character death, allow characters at the max level of their current tier to sacrifice their max gold, max downtime days, and all consumables accrued up to that point (not including the above listed special utility items) to restore one lost item slot. This should not prevent a character from earning additional gold, downtime days, or claiming new consumables, but should cost them an amount equal to their limits on these resources.
While this is by no means a perfect list, and certain points may well be controversial, I believe this would make tracking gold, magic items, and downtime days much simpler over all, and open up more ways for players to experiment with different character types and play styles.
At T4, with 500gp you can easily purchase a lvl4 spell scroll by yourself, or a lvl5 spell scroll with the aid of one other character (spell scrolls do not exist above lvl5). Also, scribing a scroll only costs 50gp/spell lvl, so you can still scribe a lvl9 spell from a captured spellbook at 450gp without issue. So it might take a couple games to buy and scribe a spell, but there would effectively be no limit, assuming you can find a spellbook for spells above 6th lvl. This permits wizards (currently the most penalized class under the total earnings cap) to continue growing.
The most expensive item you can actually purchase in an AL game is 1000gp (spyglass & water clock, as you could now loot that 1500gp plate armor with these changes), which a party of 2 could easily pitch in for at T4 (or 4 at T3) if they see any real need. More expensive things in AL, such as galleys or castles, typically have no mechanical benefit (and can just be written in as backstory fluff for the character), and are generally unavailable for purchase anyways.
Essentially, instead of having to constantly recalculate how much gold you've earned over your career (step 1), how much of that you could actually have kept (step2), and how much of that you've actually spent over the course of your adventures (which will at some point run out, step 3), all you have to know is how much you have on hand and how much more you can carry. And when you can easily earn back up to this limit, group purchases would become much more attractive for those critical items that might only be able to remain with one character (such as spell scrolls and expensive material components). The amounts listed for each Tier are primarily based on the cost of spell scrolls (which are among the more expensive consumables) for this reason.
Overall, this permits characters to continue playing through content at any given tier until all content is exhausted for that tier instead of having to advance tier or retire the character early because they've run out of gold and can no longer purchase potions or other mundane gear which may have been consumed or broken (crowbars, pitons, lamp oil, etc), as money would be a renewable resource (much like a person's income functions in real life).
P.S.: If you need a rationalization for why a T4 character can carry more than a T1 character, consider that most T1 characters are probably getting paid in mostly copper and silver pieces, T2 in mostly silver and gold, T3 in gold and platinum, and T4 in platinum and promissory notes. Coins (and even gems) have heft, so the type of currency would directly affect how much they can carry.
Also, "excess" gold can be written into story as either being spent on lavish parties or backstory items (the aforementioned castle or galley that provides no mechanical benefit, or church donations for the more reverent).
1) No. Allowing any race/class combination in AL allows for a wider range of optimized builds. Yuan-ti pureblood hexblades and shadow sorcerers for example. There are other combinations that edge out the existing ones if the PHB+1 restriction is removed for races in general. On the other hand, retaining the restriction still allows folks to play a yuan-ti pureblood sorlock if they want to ... it just isn't quite as optimized.
2) Sure. Clarification on rules interpretation for AL would be nice.The admins don't seem very good at that so I won't hold my breath.
3) What? I don't think anyone has an issue understanding Tier 1 = levels 1-4, Tier 2 = levels 5-10, Tier 3 = levels 11-16, Tier 4 = levels 17-20 and since it only takes 30seconds to say that, I don't think it is an issue. We had a brand new AL player show up to a Tier 3 game with a newly created level 11 character. It took 30 seconds to explain you need to level up an AL character from level 1, the different tiers of characters, and then the players at the table all agreed to play a Tier 1 mod so that the new player could get a chance to play.
4) I've replied in other posts why this doesn't work. There are expensive material components for spells among other things that require saving up gold. Having your own diamonds for resurrection in tier 3/4 can make it much easier to get ressed.
5) Since all the potions/scrolls take at least an action to use and don't typically heal up enough except in an emergency - I don't see the point. Stockpiled potions are mostly useful for healing up when a short or long rest isn't available. Consumable item limit is just another limit to track ... "oh you have 2 scrolls so that means you can only have 2 potions". "Oh this module drops 4 spelll scrolls - I guess that means no one can take any unless they drop or sell back their healing potions". More overhead for limited or no gain in my opinion.
6) If you can't carry a large amount of consumables or any significant amount of gold, you don't need a bag of holding anyway. This rule appears to be an attempt to get the convenience of carrying capacity without impacting your magic item limit. Not sure I see the point though you are correct that the current season rules have vastly decreased the number of bags of holding in use.
7) I don't see the point. The only armor that can't be afforded in just a couple of sessions are half plate and full plate. Everything else can typically be afforded in tier or early tier 2. However, if folks can take whatever they like, they will then sell it back for half gold value later. So I guess all the free stuff you loot becomes free gold (which I don't think is the goal either).
8) I like this idea since I agree that items can drop that you would like to have access to later. Keeping an equipped item limit and stored item limit adds a bit of complexity for the newer player but I would like the flexibility. However, it does make it easier to run magic item mules for those that do trading.
9) Having a +1 magic item is to enable all characters to do magic damage against creatures that are magic resistant even if they haven't had a chance to play something that drops a magic weapon. I think better magic weapons should be discovered through play, otherwise everyone just takes the next upgraded magic weapon when they hit the appropriate tier. I did not like the Evergreen +1, +2, +3 magic weapons/shields and +1 armor in season 8. So I would vote no on this one.
10 ) I don't see the point. Do you want to buy 2 healing potions instead of 1? By tier 2 most characters are starting to have a few stockpiled potions. If there are things that characters need in a module they shouldn't be using renown funds to buy it.
Disclaimer: These are all my personal opinions, so you are welcome to disagree, but please be respectful of myself and others. That said, I hope to sum up and respond to concerns brought up in the discussion of my suggestions.
1 - 50/50 split for open race selection. No surprise. But the biggest counter pointed to the Yuanti cantrips and magic resistance. Cantrips are specifically designed to be sub-optimal, and Gnomes already have magic resistance against Wis, Int, and Cha saves and this is not a problem, so I fail to see the issue. The Goblin's Nimble escape (BA disengage or hide) seems more OP to me when combined with any stealth class, such as a basic rogue from the PHB.
Flight, on the other hand is trickier, so I can see holdouts on that issue as a fair opinion.
2 - Rules clarification isn't likely. True, but it should still be mentioned.
3 - People seem to think there is no issue with not having tiers be outlined in the AL rules, as there is always someone at the table to clarify.
But thing is, I am a veteran of D&D but relatively recent to AL, and while I mostly have it memorized by now, it took several months of constantly looking it up online exactly because that info IS NOT in the AL player's guide. Furthermore, not having that info from the get-go made understanding all of the tier gold per level charts, renown benefits, etc really difficult to understand, something which can be quickly solved for other new players by adding a simple chart or modifying one of the existing ones to include this information.
4 - This is controversial, as no one wants to give up gold. but to attempt to clarify and appease some individuals:
I see no reason why you couldn't buy mundane equipment between sessions, as you can currently. Doing so does not require DM intervention or supervision of any kind. If you have the gold, buy it.
Potions of invisibility and supreme healing would admittedly be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain outside of treasure hoards. But as it stands, they can't even be afforded outside of T4, and even then the 5K cost means that you can only purchase a total of 5 over the course of your entire adventuring career, assuming that you saved up exclusively for this purpose (which most people do not).
This also applies to the few spells with components over 5K (components up to 2K can generally be purchased by splitting cost with a party of friendly adventurers, assuming you can show them the benefit). This specifically includes the following: Leomund's Secret Chest (lvl4, 5K gp reusable), Sequester (lvl7, 5K gp consumed), Gate (lvl9, 5K gp reusable), and True Resurrection (lvl9, 25K gp consumed). In fact, it takes all but 4K of your lifetime earnings for a lvl20 character to afford the (consumed) material components for True Resurrection (when a PC could just sacrifice a magic item or have another player cast a 7th lvl Resurrection on a them for 1K instead, split among the party if they deem it to be worth the cost).
Due to this cost, I have never (and doubt that I will ever) see an AL character use one of these spells. Therefore, this is a non-issue currently, and you would not have to keep track of not only how much you've earned (maths), but how much you CAN earn based on you level (more maths), AND how much you've spent (even more maths); you just have to know how much you can carry (based on tier) and what you currently have on hand.
As for the Revivify spell example, there is no reason you could not purchase the spell scroll one session, scribe it by the end of the next, and purchase the components in a thirs session to have on hand, just in case. You would just have to list "components for Revivify" as a gear item on you inventory list and decide if you wanted to take them with you into the module as one of your consumables. Furthermore, once you have used those components (or perhaps just to have an extra set for an emergency) you could purchase more of them in subsequent play sessions, as you will never hit a hard spending cap, which is what the current rule set imposes with the lifetime earnings limit. Yes, it prolongs the prep time, but you can still use this spell and others like it at appropriate tiers.
5 - While you can BUILD any class to perform any role, alchemist fire can make a blaster out of a support build (such as a heal-and-buff focused cleric) and potions of healing can make healers out of a striker (such as a pure damage rogue). Being able to bring up a companion 4+ times in a battle with a potion is a big deal for overall party action economy, and it preserves the spellcasters slots for something other than healing. Also, this is a limit on consumables taken into a module (NOT on how many you can own and leave behind), and serves to limit this abuse which can be a huge aspect in modules that focus on resource drain, of which I find there are quite a few.
6 - While I agree that a Bag of Holding (biggest gripe apparently) will not really increase your gear capacity, it can come in handy if you need to hold on to that locked chest you found until you have time to find the key or bust it open, since your rogue managed to break his picks trying to open it.
Simply put, these items add utility and flavor (driftglobe = source of light, cap of water breathing = aquatic exploration, Rope of Climbing = self-hoisting and self-tying rope, efficient quiver = simple weapon storage [especially javelins and polearms], bag of holding = transport of "oversized" goods), but do not significantly affect most games. Therefore, this option simply reduces the penalty (using a consumable slot instead of a magic item slot) for selecting one of these items.
If I'm being honest, I'd actually add items to this list, such as: Alchemy Jug, Eyes of Minute Seeing, Immovable Rod, Mask of the Beast, and Robe of Useful Items. But better to start small with such a new idea.
7 - Not much pushback here, but to cover my bases: Most weapons, light and medium armors are easily purchasable by T2. With the current system (and hoarding all earned gold) you cannot purchase the best medium or heavy armors until late T2, early T3. This was, according to WotC and AL, intentional.
However, as my system restricts the amount of gold you can carry, you may not be able to purchase these higher-tier items at their intended landmarks, so I have simply added them to the list of treasure you can claim from an adventure of an appropriate tier without spending gold. Also, unless they are inherently magical, they still would not count against your magic item limit, even though they may be an upgrade to your existing equipment.
8 - Most comments are either in favor of this or requesting a complete removal of magic item limits. However, even though I would add a "bank" of items not in use for each character, I still think that item limits are a valid restriction to prevent every character from eventually having every item under the sun.
In addition to balance issues I won't go into here, people in real life rarely have more than a few exceptional items they own or carry with them in daily life, so I see no need to remove this restriction altogether, merely to modify it for more versatility.
9 - Additional/upgraded equipment was largely a bust, and for one rather valid reason: "It's an adventure, go out and find it."
That said, I still think that there should be an option to gain a +1 Ring of Protection at T3, as certain builds simply require it to remain defensive at higher tiers (Moon Druid, unarmored defense Barbarian, pure wizard/sorcerer, etc), and it can be depressing to either be forced to go without (unless you can have someone run the exact module for you) or forced to take the Faction Agent background instead of one more suited to the character concept.
However, by pushing this to T3 and specifically excluding the other specialty rings for each faction, I hope this suggested change will still maintain the flavor and benefit of that background feature. Only implementing this change would tell if this would actually be the case, but I can still suggest it and hope.
10 - Biggest rebuttals: Why more than one healing potion? Don't you have a stockpile?
To the first: When T1 gets a potion for 2d4+2, and T4 gets a potion for 8d4+8, why should T2 be restricted to the same as T1 and why should T3 go completely without a renewable healing option?
Two potions of healing (2d4+2) would permit you to raise a fallen companion twice (using up two actions), but only amounts to 4d4+4 healing. This is equivalent to a single potion of greater healing, but requires one more action to use. This means that, unless a companion has fallen, it is not generally in your interest to use this in battle. But if a friend has taken a dirt nap, being able to bring them up (especially if they are the party healer) can be the difference between survival or a TPK.
To the second: With consumables (such as potions and alchemical items) divided between characters each module, most modules only providing 1-2 each session (divided between 3-7 players), and many of those same modules running on resource depletion mechanics (forcing you to often use those same potions); No, I do not have a stockpile. And I'd rather be able to restore some of my consumables each session with my renown benefits instead of being forced to use my limited gold, as I may have better things to buy with my gold (scrolls, components, etc).
11 - Only real comment was: "imo, downtime is kinda broke and that isn't going to fix it."
In large part, I agree, and this is probably a patch at best. But if we are being honest, aside from "catching up", downtime in AL is essentially pointless, as the most common downtime activity (scribing spells) costs a pittance.
I'd rather see it done away with altogether, but certain activities, such as escaping Barovia in the CoS setting and certain story rewards in other settings, do rely on this mechanic to force players to remain in these settings for a minimum number of game sessions before gaining certain benefits (or lifting restrictions, as is the case with CoS). Not that I'm fond of those mechanics either, but you cannot do away with one without doing away with all of them, which becomes a bigger mess to deal with. So this is my best shot at improving it.
12 - Under the current rules, even if you have given away all of your magic items to be resurrected and have a temp limit of zero, you can still be resurrected so long as at least one party member survives the encounter (running away and recovering what's left of the bodies later still counts). That means that the only way for a character to die permanently is to either be stuck in a module running meat-grinder mode, or to suffer a TPK scenario (no one could even run).
THIS. IS. HUGE.
However, being stuck at any tier (above T1 at least) without any magic items and no hope of recovering them is depressing, not to mention severely sub-optimal in T3-T4. And currently, the only way to remove this penalty is to advance a tier, at which point all lost magic item slots are restored, but without the lost items. As some people build characters for play at specific tiers, forcing them to advance or retire the character and rebuild the concept from scratch can also be depressing.
My suggestion here simply provides an alternate method of restoring lost item slots. While this may begin a cycle of death, magic item loss, slot restoration, and replacing lost treasures, rinse and repeat; this does not prevent character death or permit characters from being resurrected infinitely. This does permit characters to continue adventuring effectively at their tier until they have run out of new content for that character, which is just another way of extending the time a player can spend actually enjoying the game instead of struggling to keep up.
To sum up: I like that many of you seem to have actually been thinking about these suggestions and providing your opinions on them, to whatever effect, in this thread and others. I also hope that these responses have eased some of your concerns, even if you do not ultimately agree with my logic behind them.
If you have any concerns on these suggestions, or possible improvements or additions to them, I would be more than happy to address them.
Here is a list of changes I would like to see in season 10. Most of these are meant to make tracking things easier, improve flavor, permit experimentation with character gearing, and extend the viability of characters who remain at any given tier.
1 - Remove races from the PHB+1 rule, same as backgrounds. This would make non-PHB races more accessible, increasing their frequency and making the setting seem more diverse.
Also consider modifying currently restricted races, such as those with flying speeds, to make them available for play. This might include restricting actual flight until lvl5 (and only while wearing limited armor), but permitting such a character to long jump a distance equal to their land speed and granting them advantage on high jumps at levels 1-4.
2 - Make wording more clear if mundane items purchased between sessions must adhere to PHB+1 rule. Currently, only source covering this is a Twitter thread concerning spiked armor, which suggests that mundane equipment is not meant to be restricted.
3 - Include a chart indicating what character levels are appropriate for each tier, as this is confusing for new players.
4 - Change from a max gold earned limit (based on total level), to a max gold carry limit (based on tier). Whenever a character has less gold than this limit, they should be permitted to keep an amount to return them to this amount. Suggested values:
T1 - 75gp
T2 - 150gp
T3 - 300gp
T4 - 500gp
This should not prevent characters from spending excess gold earned before a session is complete (which should also be made clear) for things such as re-summoning familiars, pursuing module-specific downtime activities, seeking a Remove Curse spell or similar spellcasting services.
This encourages characters to purchase consumables and pitch in for more group purchases instead of becoming stingy and experiencing gold-burnout, which can make them feel like it's necessary to either go up a tier or retire that character from play.
5 - Restrict the number of consumables a character may take into any given session. This would prevent the previous change from max earnings to max carry limit from causing characters to stockpile potions and scrolls which might make certain character roles largely irrelevant (such as a striker/tank build coming in loaded down with potions that make the healer redundant). Suggested limits:
T1 - 4
T2 - 6
T3 - 8
T4 - 10
6 - Permit certain uncommon utility items (specifically non-attunement container and exploration items) to be kept and counted against the character's consumable limit instead of their magic item limit.
This list should include, but not necessarily be limited to: Bag of Holding, Efficient Quiver, Cap of Water Breathing, Driftglobe, and Rope of Climbing.
Broom of Flying should only be permitted if there are clarifications as to it's use concerning stability (for purposes of staying on, being knocked off, and making attacks while mounted).
7 - Expand the types of mundane equipment which can be claimed and kept as treasure within a module to more than just consumables; specifically non-magical armor and weapons that the character may be proficient with. This removes these essential non-magical items from the character's gold limit burden, which may be insufficient for the task with the changes to gold limits suggested above, without altering the point at which they would normally become available. Suggested progression:
T1 - Light armor and weapons
T2 - Medium armor and shields
T3+ - Heavy armor
8 - Permit characters to "store" up to one additional magic item per tier (1 item at T1, 2 at T2, etc), in addition to their normal magic item limit. Stored magic items may not be used during an adventure, but may be swapped with active magic items between sessions (possibly requiring downtime days). This permits characters to keep a limited number of items they would normally have to pass up for flavor, future use, or trading without unbalancing the current item limits. This would have the largest impact for T1 characters, but may also permit more flexibility in a character's load-out for any given module at higher levels.
9 - Permit characters to trade in a +1 item (weapon, armor, or shield) for a +2 variant of the same at T3, or to obtain a new +1 item at that point, subject to the same restrictions.
This list should also add a Ring of Protection +1 to the available gear options at T3, as this preserves the flavor of the Faction Agent Background Feature without making it a requirement for some builds at higher tiers, improving overall flavor in the setting.
10 - Permit characters to "purchase" more than one item with the renown gold at T2, and grant characters in T3 a similar renown gold benefit in addition to the use of a vehicle with non-combat crew. Being able to have one additional alchemical item (such as a potion or oil) or a number of additional basic items (such as pitons, lamps, etc) at T2 does not significantly disrupt game balance, and T3 characters are the only ones who have no regular access to healing items.
11 - Change from a total accumulated downtime limit (based on total level), to a max usable downtime limit (based on tier). Whenever a character has fewer downtime days available than this limit, they should be permitted to earn more for sessions played. Logic is largely the same as the removal of earnings cap in favor of carry limit, but aside from scribing spells (a pittance), module-specific downtime activities (varies), or "catching up" (significant), these are significantly less useful. Suggested values:
T1 - 50days
T2 - 100days
T3 - 200days
T4 - 400days
12 - After completing a 4hr module with the temporary magic item limit reduction penalty due to character death, allow characters at the max level of their current tier to sacrifice their max gold, max downtime days, and all consumables accrued up to that point (not including the above listed special utility items) to restore one lost item slot. This should not prevent a character from earning additional gold, downtime days, or claiming new consumables, but should cost them an amount equal to their limits on these resources.
While this is by no means a perfect list, and certain points may well be controversial, I believe this would make tracking gold, magic items, and downtime days much simpler over all, and open up more ways for players to experiment with different character types and play styles.
Please let me know what you think.
On the proposed gold limits:
At T4, with 500gp you can easily purchase a lvl4 spell scroll by yourself, or a lvl5 spell scroll with the aid of one other character (spell scrolls do not exist above lvl5). Also, scribing a scroll only costs 50gp/spell lvl, so you can still scribe a lvl9 spell from a captured spellbook at 450gp without issue. So it might take a couple games to buy and scribe a spell, but there would effectively be no limit, assuming you can find a spellbook for spells above 6th lvl. This permits wizards (currently the most penalized class under the total earnings cap) to continue growing.
The most expensive item you can actually purchase in an AL game is 1000gp (spyglass & water clock, as you could now loot that 1500gp plate armor with these changes), which a party of 2 could easily pitch in for at T4 (or 4 at T3) if they see any real need. More expensive things in AL, such as galleys or castles, typically have no mechanical benefit (and can just be written in as backstory fluff for the character), and are generally unavailable for purchase anyways.
Essentially, instead of having to constantly recalculate how much gold you've earned over your career (step 1), how much of that you could actually have kept (step2), and how much of that you've actually spent over the course of your adventures (which will at some point run out, step 3), all you have to know is how much you have on hand and how much more you can carry. And when you can easily earn back up to this limit, group purchases would become much more attractive for those critical items that might only be able to remain with one character (such as spell scrolls and expensive material components). The amounts listed for each Tier are primarily based on the cost of spell scrolls (which are among the more expensive consumables) for this reason.
Overall, this permits characters to continue playing through content at any given tier until all content is exhausted for that tier instead of having to advance tier or retire the character early because they've run out of gold and can no longer purchase potions or other mundane gear which may have been consumed or broken (crowbars, pitons, lamp oil, etc), as money would be a renewable resource (much like a person's income functions in real life).
P.S.: If you need a rationalization for why a T4 character can carry more than a T1 character, consider that most T1 characters are probably getting paid in mostly copper and silver pieces, T2 in mostly silver and gold, T3 in gold and platinum, and T4 in platinum and promissory notes. Coins (and even gems) have heft, so the type of currency would directly affect how much they can carry.
Also, "excess" gold can be written into story as either being spent on lavish parties or backstory items (the aforementioned castle or galley that provides no mechanical benefit, or church donations for the more reverent).
Just my opinions on the suggestions :
1) No. Allowing any race/class combination in AL allows for a wider range of optimized builds. Yuan-ti pureblood hexblades and shadow sorcerers for example. There are other combinations that edge out the existing ones if the PHB+1 restriction is removed for races in general. On the other hand, retaining the restriction still allows folks to play a yuan-ti pureblood sorlock if they want to ... it just isn't quite as optimized.
2) Sure. Clarification on rules interpretation for AL would be nice.The admins don't seem very good at that so I won't hold my breath.
3) What? I don't think anyone has an issue understanding Tier 1 = levels 1-4, Tier 2 = levels 5-10, Tier 3 = levels 11-16, Tier 4 = levels 17-20 and since it only takes 30seconds to say that, I don't think it is an issue. We had a brand new AL player show up to a Tier 3 game with a newly created level 11 character. It took 30 seconds to explain you need to level up an AL character from level 1, the different tiers of characters, and then the players at the table all agreed to play a Tier 1 mod so that the new player could get a chance to play.
4) I've replied in other posts why this doesn't work. There are expensive material components for spells among other things that require saving up gold. Having your own diamonds for resurrection in tier 3/4 can make it much easier to get ressed.
5) Since all the potions/scrolls take at least an action to use and don't typically heal up enough except in an emergency - I don't see the point. Stockpiled potions are mostly useful for healing up when a short or long rest isn't available. Consumable item limit is just another limit to track ... "oh you have 2 scrolls so that means you can only have 2 potions". "Oh this module drops 4 spelll scrolls - I guess that means no one can take any unless they drop or sell back their healing potions". More overhead for limited or no gain in my opinion.
6) If you can't carry a large amount of consumables or any significant amount of gold, you don't need a bag of holding anyway. This rule appears to be an attempt to get the convenience of carrying capacity without impacting your magic item limit. Not sure I see the point though you are correct that the current season rules have vastly decreased the number of bags of holding in use.
7) I don't see the point. The only armor that can't be afforded in just a couple of sessions are half plate and full plate. Everything else can typically be afforded in tier or early tier 2. However, if folks can take whatever they like, they will then sell it back for half gold value later. So I guess all the free stuff you loot becomes free gold (which I don't think is the goal either).
8) I like this idea since I agree that items can drop that you would like to have access to later. Keeping an equipped item limit and stored item limit adds a bit of complexity for the newer player but I would like the flexibility. However, it does make it easier to run magic item mules for those that do trading.
9) Having a +1 magic item is to enable all characters to do magic damage against creatures that are magic resistant even if they haven't had a chance to play something that drops a magic weapon. I think better magic weapons should be discovered through play, otherwise everyone just takes the next upgraded magic weapon when they hit the appropriate tier. I did not like the Evergreen +1, +2, +3 magic weapons/shields and +1 armor in season 8. So I would vote no on this one.
10 ) I don't see the point. Do you want to buy 2 healing potions instead of 1? By tier 2 most characters are starting to have a few stockpiled potions. If there are things that characters need in a module they shouldn't be using renown funds to buy it.
Disclaimer: These are all my personal opinions, so you are welcome to disagree, but please be respectful of myself and others. That said, I hope to sum up and respond to concerns brought up in the discussion of my suggestions.
1 - 50/50 split for open race selection. No surprise. But the biggest counter pointed to the Yuanti cantrips and magic resistance. Cantrips are specifically designed to be sub-optimal, and Gnomes already have magic resistance against Wis, Int, and Cha saves and this is not a problem, so I fail to see the issue. The Goblin's Nimble escape (BA disengage or hide) seems more OP to me when combined with any stealth class, such as a basic rogue from the PHB.
Flight, on the other hand is trickier, so I can see holdouts on that issue as a fair opinion.
2 - Rules clarification isn't likely. True, but it should still be mentioned.
3 - People seem to think there is no issue with not having tiers be outlined in the AL rules, as there is always someone at the table to clarify.
But thing is, I am a veteran of D&D but relatively recent to AL, and while I mostly have it memorized by now, it took several months of constantly looking it up online exactly because that info IS NOT in the AL player's guide. Furthermore, not having that info from the get-go made understanding all of the tier gold per level charts, renown benefits, etc really difficult to understand, something which can be quickly solved for other new players by adding a simple chart or modifying one of the existing ones to include this information.
4 - This is controversial, as no one wants to give up gold. but to attempt to clarify and appease some individuals:
I see no reason why you couldn't buy mundane equipment between sessions, as you can currently. Doing so does not require DM intervention or supervision of any kind. If you have the gold, buy it.
Potions of invisibility and supreme healing would admittedly be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain outside of treasure hoards. But as it stands, they can't even be afforded outside of T4, and even then the 5K cost means that you can only purchase a total of 5 over the course of your entire adventuring career, assuming that you saved up exclusively for this purpose (which most people do not).
This also applies to the few spells with components over 5K (components up to 2K can generally be purchased by splitting cost with a party of friendly adventurers, assuming you can show them the benefit). This specifically includes the following: Leomund's Secret Chest (lvl4, 5K gp reusable), Sequester (lvl7, 5K gp consumed), Gate (lvl9, 5K gp reusable), and True Resurrection (lvl9, 25K gp consumed). In fact, it takes all but 4K of your lifetime earnings for a lvl20 character to afford the (consumed) material components for True Resurrection (when a PC could just sacrifice a magic item or have another player cast a 7th lvl Resurrection on a them for 1K instead, split among the party if they deem it to be worth the cost).
Due to this cost, I have never (and doubt that I will ever) see an AL character use one of these spells. Therefore, this is a non-issue currently, and you would not have to keep track of not only how much you've earned (maths), but how much you CAN earn based on you level (more maths), AND how much you've spent (even more maths); you just have to know how much you can carry (based on tier) and what you currently have on hand.
As for the Revivify spell example, there is no reason you could not purchase the spell scroll one session, scribe it by the end of the next, and purchase the components in a thirs session to have on hand, just in case. You would just have to list "components for Revivify" as a gear item on you inventory list and decide if you wanted to take them with you into the module as one of your consumables. Furthermore, once you have used those components (or perhaps just to have an extra set for an emergency) you could purchase more of them in subsequent play sessions, as you will never hit a hard spending cap, which is what the current rule set imposes with the lifetime earnings limit. Yes, it prolongs the prep time, but you can still use this spell and others like it at appropriate tiers.
5 - While you can BUILD any class to perform any role, alchemist fire can make a blaster out of a support build (such as a heal-and-buff focused cleric) and potions of healing can make healers out of a striker (such as a pure damage rogue). Being able to bring up a companion 4+ times in a battle with a potion is a big deal for overall party action economy, and it preserves the spellcasters slots for something other than healing. Also, this is a limit on consumables taken into a module (NOT on how many you can own and leave behind), and serves to limit this abuse which can be a huge aspect in modules that focus on resource drain, of which I find there are quite a few.
6 - While I agree that a Bag of Holding (biggest gripe apparently) will not really increase your gear capacity, it can come in handy if you need to hold on to that locked chest you found until you have time to find the key or bust it open, since your rogue managed to break his picks trying to open it.
Simply put, these items add utility and flavor (driftglobe = source of light, cap of water breathing = aquatic exploration, Rope of Climbing = self-hoisting and self-tying rope, efficient quiver = simple weapon storage [especially javelins and polearms], bag of holding = transport of "oversized" goods), but do not significantly affect most games. Therefore, this option simply reduces the penalty (using a consumable slot instead of a magic item slot) for selecting one of these items.
If I'm being honest, I'd actually add items to this list, such as: Alchemy Jug, Eyes of Minute Seeing, Immovable Rod, Mask of the Beast, and Robe of Useful Items. But better to start small with such a new idea.
7 - Not much pushback here, but to cover my bases: Most weapons, light and medium armors are easily purchasable by T2. With the current system (and hoarding all earned gold) you cannot purchase the best medium or heavy armors until late T2, early T3. This was, according to WotC and AL, intentional.
However, as my system restricts the amount of gold you can carry, you may not be able to purchase these higher-tier items at their intended landmarks, so I have simply added them to the list of treasure you can claim from an adventure of an appropriate tier without spending gold. Also, unless they are inherently magical, they still would not count against your magic item limit, even though they may be an upgrade to your existing equipment.
8 - Most comments are either in favor of this or requesting a complete removal of magic item limits. However, even though I would add a "bank" of items not in use for each character, I still think that item limits are a valid restriction to prevent every character from eventually having every item under the sun.
In addition to balance issues I won't go into here, people in real life rarely have more than a few exceptional items they own or carry with them in daily life, so I see no need to remove this restriction altogether, merely to modify it for more versatility.
9 - Additional/upgraded equipment was largely a bust, and for one rather valid reason: "It's an adventure, go out and find it."
That said, I still think that there should be an option to gain a +1 Ring of Protection at T3, as certain builds simply require it to remain defensive at higher tiers (Moon Druid, unarmored defense Barbarian, pure wizard/sorcerer, etc), and it can be depressing to either be forced to go without (unless you can have someone run the exact module for you) or forced to take the Faction Agent background instead of one more suited to the character concept.
However, by pushing this to T3 and specifically excluding the other specialty rings for each faction, I hope this suggested change will still maintain the flavor and benefit of that background feature. Only implementing this change would tell if this would actually be the case, but I can still suggest it and hope.
10 - Biggest rebuttals: Why more than one healing potion? Don't you have a stockpile?
To the first: When T1 gets a potion for 2d4+2, and T4 gets a potion for 8d4+8, why should T2 be restricted to the same as T1 and why should T3 go completely without a renewable healing option?
Two potions of healing (2d4+2) would permit you to raise a fallen companion twice (using up two actions), but only amounts to 4d4+4 healing. This is equivalent to a single potion of greater healing, but requires one more action to use. This means that, unless a companion has fallen, it is not generally in your interest to use this in battle. But if a friend has taken a dirt nap, being able to bring them up (especially if they are the party healer) can be the difference between survival or a TPK.
To the second: With consumables (such as potions and alchemical items) divided between characters each module, most modules only providing 1-2 each session (divided between 3-7 players), and many of those same modules running on resource depletion mechanics (forcing you to often use those same potions); No, I do not have a stockpile. And I'd rather be able to restore some of my consumables each session with my renown benefits instead of being forced to use my limited gold, as I may have better things to buy with my gold (scrolls, components, etc).
11 - Only real comment was: "imo, downtime is kinda broke and that isn't going to fix it."
In large part, I agree, and this is probably a patch at best. But if we are being honest, aside from "catching up", downtime in AL is essentially pointless, as the most common downtime activity (scribing spells) costs a pittance.
I'd rather see it done away with altogether, but certain activities, such as escaping Barovia in the CoS setting and certain story rewards in other settings, do rely on this mechanic to force players to remain in these settings for a minimum number of game sessions before gaining certain benefits (or lifting restrictions, as is the case with CoS). Not that I'm fond of those mechanics either, but you cannot do away with one without doing away with all of them, which becomes a bigger mess to deal with. So this is my best shot at improving it.
12 - Under the current rules, even if you have given away all of your magic items to be resurrected and have a temp limit of zero, you can still be resurrected so long as at least one party member survives the encounter (running away and recovering what's left of the bodies later still counts). That means that the only way for a character to die permanently is to either be stuck in a module running meat-grinder mode, or to suffer a TPK scenario (no one could even run).
THIS. IS. HUGE.
However, being stuck at any tier (above T1 at least) without any magic items and no hope of recovering them is depressing, not to mention severely sub-optimal in T3-T4. And currently, the only way to remove this penalty is to advance a tier, at which point all lost magic item slots are restored, but without the lost items. As some people build characters for play at specific tiers, forcing them to advance or retire the character and rebuild the concept from scratch can also be depressing.
My suggestion here simply provides an alternate method of restoring lost item slots. While this may begin a cycle of death, magic item loss, slot restoration, and replacing lost treasures, rinse and repeat; this does not prevent character death or permit characters from being resurrected infinitely. This does permit characters to continue adventuring effectively at their tier until they have run out of new content for that character, which is just another way of extending the time a player can spend actually enjoying the game instead of struggling to keep up.
To sum up: I like that many of you seem to have actually been thinking about these suggestions and providing your opinions on them, to whatever effect, in this thread and others. I also hope that these responses have eased some of your concerns, even if you do not ultimately agree with my logic behind them.
If you have any concerns on these suggestions, or possible improvements or additions to them, I would be more than happy to address them.
P.S.: The other thread I mentioned;
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/d-d-adventurers-league/50610-features-youd-like-to-see-in-al-season-10?page=4