Here's what the D&D Adventurer's League is doing for the Elemental Evil storyline!

As with Tyranny of Dragons, the D&D Adventurer's League Organized Play program will be releasing a number of in-store exclusive adventures launching in March. Here's the schedule, which includes 16 brand new adventurers for D&D 5th Edition. These adventures are all (at least currently) exclusive to the D&D Adventurer's League program in game stores. Most of these premier earlier at conventions, as noted below.

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You can see ratings and comments for the previous season, Tyranny of Dragons, right here on EN World.

[h=4]March 2015[/h]
Available for download March 22nd; available for play April 1st.

DDEX2-1 City of Danger -- On the southern shores of the Moonsea, the residents of Mulmaster have eked out a living where others would likely have given up long ago—in a bleak city where corruption is rampant and the Church of Bane holds sway. In these 5 short, introductory adventures, you will travel the breadth of the City of Danger, meet its people, see its sights, and witness firsthand how the city truly has earned its ominous moniker. For 1st-2nd level characters; includes five 1-hour adventures; by Shawn Merwin. Premiers at ConnCon on March 13th.

DDEX2-2 Embers of Elmwood -- A derelict raft drifts into Mulmaster’s harbor carrying a young woman. Delirious with hunger, the only words she seems able to speak so far have been “ash and fire.” The only other clue to her identity is an ornate tattoo. Is the woman insane, or is something nefarious at play? For 1st-4th level characters; by Daniel Helmick. Premiers at ConnCon on March 13th.

DDEX2-3 The Drowned Tower -- You are approached by someone claiming to be a member of the Brotherhood of the Cloak investigating unusual incidents involving some of his brethren. Discretion is vital, as there is rumored to be a link between the denizens of the Tower of Arcane Might and one of the elemental cults. Can you uncover the truth? For 5th-10th level characters; by Mike Shea. Premiers at Game Storm on March 19th.

DDEX2-4 Mayhem in the Earthspur Mines -- Riddled with veins of precious ore and gem, the Earthspur Mountains to the west have long been a valuable resource for anyone able to mine them. One such mine has gone silent and the only thing more concerning than its long overdue shipment is the fate of the members of the Soldiery sent to discover what has happened to the mine’s workers. Though the mine lay in a region of the Mountains once claimed by a clan of reclusive dwarves, the Ludwakazar clan wouldn’t be so bold as to violate their long-standing peace with Mulmaster. Or would they? For 5th-10th level characters; by Will Doyle. Premiers at Game Storm on March 19th.

DDEX2-5 Flames of Kythorn -- During a summer drought, Mulmaster is threatened by a series of arson attacks. As the populace riots, accusations fly blaming Thayans, residents of the ghettos, rowdy sailors, the refugees from Phlan and dozens of others. Can you solve the mystery before the city burns? For 1st-4th level characters; by John Rossomangno. Premiers at Emerald City ComicCon on March 27th.

[h=4]April 2015[/h]
Available for download April 22nd; available for play May 1st.

DDEX2-6 Breath of the Yellow Rose -- The monks of the Monastery of the Yellow Rose have long cloistered themselves in their home atop the Earthspur Mountains, practicing their strange lifestyle which is rumored to give them longevity. Now, their dietary restrictions and practices of breath control have become the fashion amongst the well-to-do of Mulmaster. But when a few of these lay practitioners start dropping dead from suffocation and starvation, others start to question the validity of the monks’ claims. Is this simply a deadly ignorance, or is there a fell wind blowing through the rich and powerful of Mulmaster? For 1st-4th level characters; by Gregg Marks. Premiers at FanExpo Vancouver on April 3rd.

DDEX2-7 Bounty in the Bog -- The Soldiery has grown weary of dealing with a particularly nettlesome band of miscreants who have holed up in the Flooded Forest to the south. And so, you have been called upon to quell their activities so that trade along the North Road can resume unmolested. However, in so doing, the truth behind their activities reveal that much more than simple banditry is at hand. Will you be able to stop it? For 1st-4th level characters; by Ken Hart. Premiers at Megacon on April 10th.

[h=4]May 2015[/h]
Available for download May 22nd; available for play June 1st.

DDEX2-8 Foulness Beneath Mulmaster -- The sewers beneath Mulmaster have always been dangerous, with countless stories of brigands, murderers, and worse that lurk beneath the streets of the City of Danger. But those stories pale in comparison to a new threat under Mulmaster, one brought to light by a strange and disturbing corpse recently found. It is up to you to learn the terrifying truth of what lurks below. For 1st-4th level characters; by Tim Eagon. Premiers at KublaCon, Gamex, and ConQuesT on May 22nd.

DDEX2-9 Eye of the Tempest -- A storm of unparalleled fury has been ravaging the peaks of the Earthspur Mountains for a tenday, and the Monastery of the Yellow Rose sits in its eye for now. Some monks have fled the monastery to the safety of Mulmaster and beseech you to convince their more obstinate brothers to retreat to the city before the eye of the storm shifts, and the monestary is in terrible danger. Can you brave the elements and convince the monks to escape? Double length adventure for 5th-10th level characters; by Pieter Sleijpen. Premiers at KublaCon, Gamex, and ConQuesT on May 22nd.

DDEX2-10 Unknow Title. For characters of 1st-4th level. Premiers at Phoenix Comicon on May 28th (will also be UK Games Expo the next day).

[h=4]June 2014[/h]
Available for download June 22nd; available for play July 1st.

The names and writers of these three adventures are not yet known. They premier at Origins on June 3rd.

[h=4]July 2014[/h]
Available for download July 22nd; available for play August 1st.

The names and writers of these three adventures are not yet known. Two premier at DexCon on July 1st and the third at San Diego Comicon on July 9th.

[h=4]Convention Exclusive[/h]
One D&D Epic, title unknown, will be at Origins on June 3rd.

[h=4]Confused About Adventurer's League?[/h]
If you're not sure what DDAL is or how it works, check out this interview I did with Teos "Alphastream" Abadia:

[video=youtube;xTDNW8XMIBg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTDNW8XMIBg[/video]
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[CapnZapp]

Hey folks! For those of you who would like to play a D&D Expeditions adventure but don't have a store to host it...

D&D Expeditions are designed for public play. As long as you are playing in a public location, you should be able to get the adventures. So, game clubs, conventions, library games, etc.

Wizards prefer that you partner with a store for this. The store sanctions the event (and provides you with the pdf, and reports the event), but it doesn't have to take place at the store. Any store that runs Magic events should be able to do it quite easily, as it uses the same software to sanction and report the events. (And getting DCI numbers for your players is really easy now, just creating a Wizards forum account will give you a number).

More information here: http://dndadventurersleague.org/get-involved/in-store-or-store-affiliated-play-options/

D&D Encounters is store-only, but - honestly - it's just the first few episodes (typically 3) of the published adventure. It's nice to get a preview of the book, and this season we'll get it before the hardcover comes out, but there's not much more for it. There's nothing exclusive about it.

There is currently no provision for running D&D Expeditions games at home or online (counts as home), but it is legal to play the printed adventures at home or online and count towards AL credits. At present the legal adventures are Lost Mine of Phandelver (Starter Set), Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Rise of Tiamat and Princes of the Apocalypse.

Cheers!

I know you're trying to help, but most people reading this are ordinary DMs with no interest whatsoever to do anything more just to buy, download, print and play an adventure with their friends in the comfort of their own home.

In that context, the above hoops are utterly preposterous. (And I'm saying that in a calm neutral tone. I realize you're just the messenger. I am not angry at you. In fact I'm not angry at all)

I can guess part of the reason WotC doesn't bother selling their adventures is production values. (These adventures are pure text with no paid art or any art whatsoever, except for the occasional handdrawn map or sketch)

But still. Any time a company doesn't seem to realize their stuff is a only one simple google search away, and yet refuses to take our money, well...

I've read your blog Merric, and I wish you the best of luck with your affiliate program.

But it's possible to read your post as if you truly believe the above steps are the only way. Or, for that matter, in any way reasonable.

And that makes for... awkward reading. Thanks.

Now then, let me hope WotC will reconsider in the future.

After all, actually coming up with good (or even half-decent) adventure ideas is the hard part. Designing an attractive product we know WotC can do.

So here's hoping WotC will compile the most well-regarded of their DDE-whatever adventures into market-grade book of adventures and actually sell it.

And while they're at it, update sleeper-classics such as Scourge of Sword Coast, Murder in Baldur's Gate and Legacy in Icewind Dale to final 5e stats too (with sturdier covers!).

 

[Mirtek]

I don't know, from my point of view that SUCKS compared to the wizards site.

Note that Warhorn is an independent site where anyone can put in any convention, game day, game night, etc. they are hosting. It's in no way affiliated with Pathfinder Society

It's even full of D&D Adventurers League: https://warhorn.net/games?utf8=✓&f=adventurers+league&button=

 

[weldon]

Thanks for the quick response. Paizo sounds like they have their act together much more than Wizards, at the moment. And I have to agree, as someone who has played the first two chapters of Dragon Queen, for the Encounters program, its very rough going. A two-hour time slot is not appropriate when the chapters each seem to be more like 3 or 4 hour affairs.

You aren't necessarily supposed to play each chapter in one session. We've played through almost the entire HotDQ adventure at our FLGS. Most of the chapters took a few sessions to complete. Encounters is supposed to be an ongoing campaign. Expeditions is supposed to be adventures that you complete in a single 4 hour session.

 

[MerricB]

You aren't necessarily supposed to play each chapter in one session. We've played through almost the entire HotDQ adventure at our FLGS. Most of the chapters took a few sessions to complete. Encounters is supposed to be an ongoing campaign. Expeditions is supposed to be adventures that you complete in a single 4 hour session.

Correct. The suggested rate was 5-6 sessions for Episode 1, 2-3 sessions for Episode 2 and 8-9 sessions for Episode 3.

My own group went through them a *lot* quicker.

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

Now then, let me hope WotC will reconsider in the future.

I hope they do as well.

The big difference between Wizards and Paizo is that Wizards programs are aimed at promoting your FLGS, while Paizo are aimed at bypassing your FLGS and ordering directly from Paizo.

I have a lot of problems with Wizards' programs, but I'm not quite happy with the idea of it being dumb to get PF from your FLGS; it's much better to subscribe directly through Paizo.

Cheers!

 

[jodyjohnson]

I'd like to see the previous season's Expeditions adventures become eDungeon adventures in the following season plus revisions, errata, and art. Plus additional freelance adventures.

The Expeditions events would be a combination of preview and playtesting.

 

[Nergal Pendragon]

I hope they do as well.

The big difference between Wizards and Paizo is that Wizards programs are aimed at promoting your FLGS, while Paizo are aimed at bypassing your FLGS and ordering directly from Paizo.

I have a lot of problems with Wizards' programs, but I'm not quite happy with the idea of it being dumb to get PF from your FLGS; it's much better to subscribe directly through Paizo.

Cheers!

I can't speak for others, but I do know that, personally, I would frequent my FLGS more if I could buy the Adventures League adventures there. It would also make me more interested in gaming there, since I would be there often enough that simple convenience would make hosting a game there practical. Especially since if I don't have anything prepared, I can just walk over and buy something to run.

 

[MerricB]

I can't speak for others, but I do know that, personally, I would frequent my FLGS more if I could buy the Adventures League adventures there. It would also make me more interested in gaming there, since I would be there often enough that simple convenience would make hosting a game there practical. Especially since if I don't have anything prepared, I can just walk over and buy something to run.

I know what you mean. It would be really nice.

At present, the AL adventures are free, but you can only get them when the store schedules a public play event (at the store or some other public place).

A little history of Wizards' OP programs:

In 3E, they ran the Living Greyhawk campaign. Although there were convention-exclusive adventures, most adventures could be played at home or in public, and were free. The majority of the adventures were regional, which meant that they could only be ordered and played if you live in the right part of the world. (The Perrenland adventures could only be ordered in Australia/New Zealand, for instance). This form is basically what Paizo adopted with the PFS, with two changes: adventures cost money, and there are no regions.

In 4E, they began with the Living Forgotten Realms campaign. Ordering adventures began similarly to Living Greyhawk, except there weren't regions (as I recall), but by the end of the program they were free for anyone to download. Support for LFR seemed rather patchy, and I wasn't participating at the time.

The better supported program was the D&D Encounters program. This was the beginning of their store-based play push: stores would get the adventure for free (and it was a very nicely printed adventure, normally with 1-2 poster maps), but could only run it on Wednesdays. As far as I could see, it was a great way to introduce people to D&D. The problem was that it only really supported levels 1-3, so not really long-term players. You couldn't take your characters into LFR, and that was spottily supported in any case.

During the playtest, they tried something different: DMs had to buy printed adventures (Murder in Baldur's Gate, Legacy of the Crystal Shard) to run them - and people at home could buy them as well. This experiment lasted two adventures. The final two adventures (Scourge of the Sword Coast, Dead in Thay) were pdf-only and could be bought by people at home, but stores gained a code so they could get them for free and distribute them to their DMs.

The current system merges the LFR system with what Encounters became - Encounters is now an excerpt of published adventures (with the excerpt being provided free) and the Expeditions allowing play with the same characters at higher levels. All of that is great, except that people not participating in the program can't get the Expeditions adventures.

Honestly, that wouldn't bother me so much if Dungeon Magazine was currently being published. There's a great big hole when it comes to short adventures...

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

I'd like to see the previous season's Expeditions adventures become eDungeon adventures in the following season plus revisions, errata, and art. Plus additional freelance adventures.

The Expeditions events would be a combination of preview and playtesting.

I hope that's possible. One of the reasons that the Living Greyhawk adventures were never publically released is because the contracts meant that the rights reverted to the authors after the adventure rotated out... and the authors couldn't do anything with them due to the Greyhawk IP embedded in them which Wizards owned!

Hoping for something better than that situation.

Cheers!

 

[weldon]

I know you're trying to help, but most people reading this are ordinary DMs with no interest whatsoever to do anything more just to buy, download, print and play an adventure with their friends in the comfort of their own home.

I'm sure you're trying to help too, but you are looking for info on home play materials in the wrong place. Adventurer's League is 100% dedicated to public play, whether at game stores, hobby stores, schools, libraries, or some other public venue that is open for people to drop in and try out role playing games.

The main reason AL exists is to draw more people into stores and also to draw new players into a game where experienced DMs and players can introduce them to the hobby. Releasing the AL adventures to home play use (immediately) would work against that primary goal.

If you want free access to all those adventures and materials, then the hoop you have to jump through is to support the hobby by offering public play where anyone can come and join your game. If you don't want to be part of expanding the hobby and welcoming in new players, then you can simply wait until some or all of the adventures become available for purchase.