I have no doubt that there are numerous characters in AL who now satisfy two of the three requirements for reaching Rank 4 in a faction: 11th level, and 25 renown in the faction. The only current limitation on how many Rank 4 characters exist in AL is the number of secret missions released in AL modules, as it's not clear if there actually are three secret missions available for each faction (or any faction).
Eventually, though, this is going to happen, and I'd like to offer a suggestion for the Mentor benefit.
The current season ALDMG has changed how Faction Charity works -- instead of working 'after the adventure' and costing the character all rewards for the adventure, Faction Charity now functions within the adventure by allowing a 'faction patron' to provide the character with a free Raise Dead. Philosophically, this makes sense, but mechanically, it's something of a mess -- how does Seranolla the Whisperer know where every Emerald Enclave member is within the Moonsea at any given time, including those characters who literally joined at the beginning of the adventure in which they died?
Enter mentors. A rank 4 character can designate a number of other rank 1 or rank 2 characters of the same faction controlled by her player as her charges. (This is a change from the current text, which refers to rank 2 and rank 3 characters.) Both the mentor and the charge should note this relationship on their respective character logs. The mentor is then responsible for monitoring the charge while the charge adventures on the faction's behalf -- if the charge, or any other member of the same faction in the party, falls during an adventure, the mentor arrives during the party's next short rest (using resources provided by the faction leader) and ensures that the defeated character receives a Raise Dead, allowing them to continue the adventure as noted in the Faction Charity section of the current ALDMG. If the character refuses the Raise Dead, or if no character of that faction has a Mentor, the character may use traditional Faction Charity after the adventure as described in previous ALPGs.
The change to allowing Rank 1 characters to be charges is simply a realization that Rank 3 characters do not qualify for Faction Charity and thus would gain no benefit from this mechanic. I'd also lean toward having the mentor expend a certain amount of gold when one of his charges requires him to provide Faction Charity -- it's charity for the low-ranked member, not the high-ranked one! -- but I'm not sure how much gold would be a significant but not overwhelming amount to require.
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Pauper
Eventually, though, this is going to happen, and I'd like to offer a suggestion for the Mentor benefit.
The current season ALDMG has changed how Faction Charity works -- instead of working 'after the adventure' and costing the character all rewards for the adventure, Faction Charity now functions within the adventure by allowing a 'faction patron' to provide the character with a free Raise Dead. Philosophically, this makes sense, but mechanically, it's something of a mess -- how does Seranolla the Whisperer know where every Emerald Enclave member is within the Moonsea at any given time, including those characters who literally joined at the beginning of the adventure in which they died?
Enter mentors. A rank 4 character can designate a number of other rank 1 or rank 2 characters of the same faction controlled by her player as her charges. (This is a change from the current text, which refers to rank 2 and rank 3 characters.) Both the mentor and the charge should note this relationship on their respective character logs. The mentor is then responsible for monitoring the charge while the charge adventures on the faction's behalf -- if the charge, or any other member of the same faction in the party, falls during an adventure, the mentor arrives during the party's next short rest (using resources provided by the faction leader) and ensures that the defeated character receives a Raise Dead, allowing them to continue the adventure as noted in the Faction Charity section of the current ALDMG. If the character refuses the Raise Dead, or if no character of that faction has a Mentor, the character may use traditional Faction Charity after the adventure as described in previous ALPGs.
The change to allowing Rank 1 characters to be charges is simply a realization that Rank 3 characters do not qualify for Faction Charity and thus would gain no benefit from this mechanic. I'd also lean toward having the mentor expend a certain amount of gold when one of his charges requires him to provide Faction Charity -- it's charity for the low-ranked member, not the high-ranked one! -- but I'm not sure how much gold would be a significant but not overwhelming amount to require.
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Pauper
