Setting humans aside, it looks like all Adventurers League characters have access to these feats starting out with a new character at level 1, am I missing any?
All characters
SkilledandTough.AL PG v 13.0: "If you choose a background that does not grant a feat, you may choose one of the following feats for your character: Skilled or Tough."
Rune Shaper.Official D&D Discord channel: "As of Today, 8/1/23, Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants is a legal source for all D&D Adventurers League (AL) campaigns." Rune Shaper is the Feature of the Rune Carver background but this can be used regardless of a character's background but just replacing the Feature from any other background by using the Customization Options in the PH (which is an allowed rule also in the PG v13.0).
Characters in Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Ravenloft campaigns
Magic Initiate. AL PG v13.0: for Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Ravenloft campaigns "Characters selecting backgrounds without a feat option have an additional choice of a starting feat: Magic Initiate.
Characters in Dragonlance campaigns
Squire of Solamnia.AL PG v13.0: "Characters attached to the Dragonlance campaign may select additional rules options from the following products: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen (DLS)."
Spelljammer character options are allowed for anyone in a Forgotten Realms campaign, but those only provide the magic initiate and tough feats, already included above.
This also sets aside that OneDnD will let all characters select a feat at lvl 1...so what's applicable today.
Those are all applicable today, since they are in an AL rules source or as an official announcement from the AL admins. Additionally, the Spelljammer backgrounds with the feats are AL legal for Forgotten Realms characters, and Dragonlance characters gain access to the backgrounds with feats from that book. Playtest material generally aren't listed as an allowable source for AL, so I wouldn't even bother worrying about the stuff from the revised rules playtest materials. Otherwise, you got it.
Setting humans aside, it looks like all Adventurers League characters have access to these feats starting out with a new character at level 1, am I missing any?
All characters
SkilledandTough.AL PG v 13.0: "If you choose a background that does not grant a feat, you may choose one of the following feats for your character: Skilled or Tough."
Rune Shaper.Official D&D Discord channel: "As of Today, 8/1/23, Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants is a legal source for all D&D Adventurers League (AL) campaigns." Rune Shaper is the Feature of the Rune Carver background but this can be used regardless of a character's background but just replacing the Feature from any other background by using the Customization Options in the PH (which is an allowed rule also in the PG v13.0).
Characters in Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Ravenloft campaigns
Magic Initiate. AL PG v13.0: for Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Ravenloft campaigns "Characters selecting backgrounds without a feat option have an additional choice of a starting feat: Magic Initiate.
Characters in Dragonlance campaigns
Squire of Solamnia.AL PG v13.0: "Characters attached to the Dragonlance campaign may select additional rules options from the following products: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen (DLS)."
Spelljammer character options are allowed for anyone in a Forgotten Realms campaign, but those only provide the magic initiate and tough feats, already included above.
This also sets aside that OneDnD will let all characters select a feat at lvl 1...so what's applicable today.
[edited for Rubahak's response]
Hi! Just curious but could you cite the source for:
"Rune Shaper.Official D&D Discord channel: "As of Today, 8/1/23, Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants is a legal source for all D&D Adventurers League (AL) campaigns." Rune Shaper is the Feature of the Rune Carver background but this can be used regardless of a character's background but just replacing the Feature from any other background by using the Customization Options in the PH (which is an allowed rule also in the PG v13.0)."
If Glory of the Giants is a legal source for AL characters then the Rune Shaper feat would be available to Variant Human or Custom Lineage characters which get to start with a feat of their choice. However, just being an AL legal source for the FR campaign wouldn't allow it to be chosen as a starting feat for all characters unless the ALPG was modified to explicitly state that.
The ALPG says that the starting feat can be Skilled or Tough in all campaigns while some of the others may choose Magic Initiate. None of them allow the starting feat to be any feat from an AL legal source for that campaign since otherwise all of the campaigns could choose any feat from the PHB since it is an AL legal source for those campaigns in the first place ... and that is clearly not the case.
Anyway, just curious what reference you have for Rune Shaper being a starting feat since I couldn't find anything specific on the AL Discord (though I didn't look everywhere - I didn't see anything in AL-Updates or AL-rules-compendium).
P.S. However, I think I see what you are getting at - if someone chooses the Rune Carver background from Glory of the Giants, it comes with a feat, and the ALPG just says that if you choose a background without a feat then you can choose one of the specific listed feats. If Glory of the Giants is AL legal (which is likely) then presumably a character could take the Rune Carver background (in its entirety) for their character and receive the Rune Shaper feat to start with.
However, I don't think you could swap the Rune Shaper feat into any other background since the feat as part of a background is not the "background feature" which are things like criminal contact etc that every background has.
in the D&D discord server, go to the 'Adventurer's League' section and go to 'al-updates'..scroll up to August 1st. They announced it the same time they announced Giants of the Star Forge is legal for AL play.
On Rune Shaper...Rune Shaper is the Feat that is the Rune Carver background Feature. I believe that's how all the backgrounds work that provide Feats...the Feats are all inside the Feature section.
Magic Initiate = 2 cantrips (unlimited casts) and one 1st level spell (cast once per long rest). RAW, you're stuck with your choices forever
Rune Shaper = comprehend languages and one other spell from a list of 13 spells (you can cast each of those 2 spells once per long rest). You can change that 2nd spell with another one from the list each time you level.
I think its a bit of a toss up between the two.
As far as the 'unless the ALPG is modified'. I think discord is an official wotc communication channel and is no less valid than the ALPG itself. That's like saying DDB isn't official, only pdfs and hard covers are.
As far as 'humans can have two feats' logic...i think they can now, can't they? ALPG says you can pick skilled or tough if you choose a background that does not grant a feat. There's no prohibition to humans selecting skilled when they already have a starting feat (and who doesn't want a human with two feet). I don't think adding Rune Carver really gives anything significantly extra....just another option.
Technically, in AL you can rebuild your character whenever you'd have a chance to level, which is basically between sessions in most cases, so you could choose to change out the magic initiate spell as a part of a rebuild (even if that's the only change). The same thing would exist for any feat with choices like that, including Rune Shaper. It's a weird AL distinction.
In AL, it is the feature that matters. You can create your own background, but it's the feature that matters, which can't be modified in any way. All the feats from backgrounds (including the ones from BGG) are a part of the background features, which is what grants them in the first place. Otherwise, you choose one of the floating ones.
Rulings by the admins on the Discord server are official, regardless of whether they make it to a document ever or in the future. Since it was announced by one of the admins (Ma'at), it's an AL legal ruling. There are tons of rulings on the Discord server not listed anywhere else. I know they want to have a better system for AL rulings, perhaps on the DDB site somewhere, but there are hurdles for that.
I have no doubt that it'll be added in the next ALPG update, but the admins have been very slow with updates over the last few years, so they probably wanted to not delay people being able to use them. No one knows when the next update will come. Phandelver is the next FR adventure, and it's at least been alluded to that Planescape is going to be it's own alt campaign that'll probably just be an additional paragraph at the end of the ALPG, so it's all up in the air. They in theory could even wait until the Book of Many Things could update the ALPG, even if unlikely.
The feats granted by race/species (variant human and custom lineage) are separate from the background feat, whether that comes from a background feature or one of the listed ones if the background feature doesn't provide a feat. Those characters can Rune Shaper or Strike the Giants assuming they meet one of the requirements.
just adding as a general comment. i do find it odd that the don't include Grappler along with Skilled and Tough options since Grappler is the only freely available feat to everyone. (it's in the SRD, although not in the Basic Rules).
Setting humans aside, it looks like all Adventurers League characters have access to these feats starting out with a new character at level 1, am I missing any?
All characters
Characters in Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Ravenloft campaigns
Characters in Dragonlance campaigns
Spelljammer character options are allowed for anyone in a Forgotten Realms campaign, but those only provide the magic initiate and tough feats, already included above.
This also sets aside that OneDnD will let all characters select a feat at lvl 1...so what's applicable today.
[edited for Rubahak's response]
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
Those are all applicable today, since they are in an AL rules source or as an official announcement from the AL admins. Additionally, the Spelljammer backgrounds with the feats are AL legal for Forgotten Realms characters, and Dragonlance characters gain access to the backgrounds with feats from that book. Playtest material generally aren't listed as an allowable source for AL, so I wouldn't even bother worrying about the stuff from the revised rules playtest materials. Otherwise, you got it.
thanks!!
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
Hi! Just curious but could you cite the source for:
"Rune Shaper. Official D&D Discord channel: "As of Today, 8/1/23, Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants is a legal source for all D&D Adventurers League (AL) campaigns." Rune Shaper is the Feature of the Rune Carver background but this can be used regardless of a character's background but just replacing the Feature from any other background by using the Customization Options in the PH (which is an allowed rule also in the PG v13.0)."
If Glory of the Giants is a legal source for AL characters then the Rune Shaper feat would be available to Variant Human or Custom Lineage characters which get to start with a feat of their choice. However, just being an AL legal source for the FR campaign wouldn't allow it to be chosen as a starting feat for all characters unless the ALPG was modified to explicitly state that.
The ALPG says that the starting feat can be Skilled or Tough in all campaigns while some of the others may choose Magic Initiate. None of them allow the starting feat to be any feat from an AL legal source for that campaign since otherwise all of the campaigns could choose any feat from the PHB since it is an AL legal source for those campaigns in the first place ... and that is clearly not the case.
Anyway, just curious what reference you have for Rune Shaper being a starting feat since I couldn't find anything specific on the AL Discord (though I didn't look everywhere - I didn't see anything in AL-Updates or AL-rules-compendium).
P.S. However, I think I see what you are getting at - if someone chooses the Rune Carver background from Glory of the Giants, it comes with a feat, and the ALPG just says that if you choose a background without a feat then you can choose one of the specific listed feats. If Glory of the Giants is AL legal (which is likely) then presumably a character could take the Rune Carver background (in its entirety) for their character and receive the Rune Shaper feat to start with.
However, I don't think you could swap the Rune Shaper feat into any other background since the feat as part of a background is not the "background feature" which are things like criminal contact etc that every background has.
in the D&D discord server, go to the 'Adventurer's League' section and go to 'al-updates'..scroll up to August 1st. They announced it the same time they announced Giants of the Star Forge is legal for AL play.
On Rune Shaper...Rune Shaper is the Feat that is the Rune Carver background Feature. I believe that's how all the backgrounds work that provide Feats...the Feats are all inside the Feature section.
I think its a bit of a toss up between the two.
As far as the 'unless the ALPG is modified'. I think discord is an official wotc communication channel and is no less valid than the ALPG itself. That's like saying DDB isn't official, only pdfs and hard covers are.
As far as 'humans can have two feats' logic...i think they can now, can't they? ALPG says you can pick skilled or tough if you choose a background that does not grant a feat. There's no prohibition to humans selecting skilled when they already have a starting feat (and who doesn't want a human with two feet). I don't think adding Rune Carver really gives anything significantly extra....just another option.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
Technically, in AL you can rebuild your character whenever you'd have a chance to level, which is basically between sessions in most cases, so you could choose to change out the magic initiate spell as a part of a rebuild (even if that's the only change). The same thing would exist for any feat with choices like that, including Rune Shaper. It's a weird AL distinction.
In AL, it is the feature that matters. You can create your own background, but it's the feature that matters, which can't be modified in any way. All the feats from backgrounds (including the ones from BGG) are a part of the background features, which is what grants them in the first place. Otherwise, you choose one of the floating ones.
Rulings by the admins on the Discord server are official, regardless of whether they make it to a document ever or in the future. Since it was announced by one of the admins (Ma'at), it's an AL legal ruling. There are tons of rulings on the Discord server not listed anywhere else. I know they want to have a better system for AL rulings, perhaps on the DDB site somewhere, but there are hurdles for that.
I have no doubt that it'll be added in the next ALPG update, but the admins have been very slow with updates over the last few years, so they probably wanted to not delay people being able to use them. No one knows when the next update will come. Phandelver is the next FR adventure, and it's at least been alluded to that Planescape is going to be it's own alt campaign that'll probably just be an additional paragraph at the end of the ALPG, so it's all up in the air. They in theory could even wait until the Book of Many Things could update the ALPG, even if unlikely.
The feats granted by race/species (variant human and custom lineage) are separate from the background feat, whether that comes from a background feature or one of the listed ones if the background feature doesn't provide a feat. Those characters can Rune Shaper or Strike the Giants assuming they meet one of the requirements.
just adding as a general comment. i do find it odd that the don't include Grappler along with Skilled and Tough options since Grappler is the only freely available feat to everyone. (it's in the SRD, although not in the Basic Rules).
Hopefully they'll add that.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks