Things that might be helpful to consider including in the CoS players guide

[Scorpienne]

EDIT - I know the answers to these. I'm just saying the FB group asks these questions repeatedly. By making sure they're answered in the Players Guide, we can maybe disseminate the information out a little farther.

I imagine that the Powers That Be are working on the Curse of Strahd players guide. I thought of a few things that you might possibly consider including in it. Currently they're the combined apocrypha of Facebook and EnWorld and Twitter, but it will perhaps answer a few questions if you included things like:




The XP and GP and DTDs that DMs get when running the hardback adventures. Currently this is in the "Expeditions" PDFs that go with the books and it's a devil to find. It's come up on FB a couple of times. Might as well add the DTDs and renown that players get so it's all in one place.

A reminder to look up the appropriate PDFs for D&DAL edits to the hardback books (so we don't have to answer the Wand Of Orcus question repeatedly).

Something about how you can play part of a hardback, but aren't "stuck" in it. (Other than CoS, obvs!)

How to deal with XP/milestones in Death House, and where it fits in the DDAL narrative. (Presumably *after* 4-1 and before 4-2? given XP and the fact it takes place in Barovia.)

How to find AL legal mods and materials in the DMs guild. I know you guys have said it a billionty times... it just makes it MUCH easier on DMs, stores, and conventions where we can point to the rule in the player's guide that says "only materials with the D&DAL logo are legal for D&DAL."

Also a note that adventures go into the DMs guild generally the first of the month AFTER they premiere.

That if you downloaded/ordered mods from season 1-3 you *can* use them, even though you're encouraged to pay for them in the DMs guild. Also a strong mention that people are welcome and encouraged to still play them - they remain league legal.

That adventures from Dragon+ are league legal. (Like Death House? Unless this isn't a thing. I dunno.)

How and where to get a DCI number and what they're used for. This question comes up frequently. People are confused because they think THEY have to log in and record stuff online.

Perhaps a shout-out to the convention map as well as the store finder? http://dndadventurersleague.org/convention-map

That the SCAG rebuild is a thing - if it's still a thing.

I'm sure you're already planning to cover whatever the deal with certs will be.

There have been a few questions on whether or not inspiration is league legal. Of course it is. Maybe something that states everything in the PHB is legal? Or calls out inspiration particularly? May not be worth it because I think the online community pretty much knows it's legal.

What do do with spent wingwear and balloon packs. "They're basically rechargeable under certain circumstances. However if they're spent you can get rid of them." https://twitter.com/DnD_AdvLeague/status/648894123253047296

I know the PG already says that you can only have stuff from your story origin, BUT it might be helpful to state it more strongly or more clearly. Boldface or a callout box maybe? The FB group gets asked "are all the EE spells legal for everyone? What if I trade them with another wizard?" question about twice a week.




I'm not sure what other crazy little questions are running around out there, but I'll keep my eyes open for them.

p

 

[Pauper]

I am not an admin, but these are good points and I thought I'd either amplify or answer some of these as I could:

The XP and GP and DTDs that DMs get when running the hardback adventures. Currently this is in the "Expeditions" PDFs that go with the books and it's a devil to find.

It's also in the current ALPG ("Home Game Rewards"), but it's not always clear what constitutes an 'episode' for a hard-cover module. Even if this had to become an appendix, it would be nice to have an official delineation of where the 'episode breaks' occur.

How to deal with XP/milestones in Death House, and where it fits in the DDAL narrative. (Presumably *after* 4-1 and before 4-2? given XP and the fact it takes place in Barovia.)

As it happens, any character who plays all the way through and survives Death House is ineligible to play in 4-1, because Death House ends with your character at level 3, and 4-1 is only legal for level 1-2 characters (as is the case with all the X-1 modules). An official nod that this is where the continuity puts the mod would be nice, but I think most players will get the idea that Death House and the 4-1 episodes occur roughly in the same time-frame.

How to find AL legal mods and materials in the DMs guild. I know you guys have said it a billionty times... it just makes it MUCH easier on DMs, stores, and conventions where we can point to the rule in the player's guide that says "only materials with the D&DAL logo are legal for D&DAL."

I suspect the DMs Guild is going to spur a lot of changes to the Player's Guide -- the section on Home Play, for example, is in need of drastic revision. Still, I agree that a one-liner regarding the legality of DMs Guild items for AL would be the most valuable change that could be made prior to Season 4.

How and where to get a DCI number and what they're used for. This question comes up frequently.

If anything, I'd like to see this de-emphasized with the new open approach to home-play, since DCI numbers are not needed for that. Something along the lines of, "If you need a DCI number for the game you're participating in, the game organizer should be able to show you how to get one and how to use it." This also points new players at the organizers when it comes to asking questions about the campaign structure and requirements, like how to fill out a log.

Perhaps a shout-out to the convention map as well as the store finder? http://dndadventurersleague.org/convention-map

This would be a good addition to the Links and Resources page.

That the SCAG rebuild is a thing - if it's still a thing.

Since it was always intended that the SCAG rebuild be a limited-time offer, not mentioning it would be the equivalent of saying it's expired. I'm OK with leaving this out of the ALPG.

There have been a few questions on whether or not inspiration is league legal. Of course it is. Maybe something that states everything in the PHB is legal?

On one hand, the Allowed Rules section of the ALPG has always said that everything in the PH is allowed, save for rolling ability scores and HP, plus some alignment restrictions. On the other hand, the 'what you need to run a game' section of the DMs portion of the ALPG only says you need the Basic Rules, not a full PH. This caused some spirited discussion back on the WotC boards when someone asked if that meant a DM could effectively prohibit PH material if nobody at the table actually had a copy of the PH. Even now, with the expanded SRD, this could become an issue -- if someone knows that an Eldritch Knight option exists for fighters, but nobody playing a home game actually owns a PH, does the DM have to allow it knowing that nobody has the official rules for the sub-class?

As long as the ALPG doesn't require anybody to own a PH, I think the option has to be left open to disallow any option that the table has no official rules for, even if that option would otherwise be allowed.

What do do with spent wingwear and balloon packs. "They're basically rechargeable under certain circumstances. However if they're spent you can get rid of them." https://twitter.com/DnD_AdvLeague/status/648894123253047296

That seems weird, because the official AL Organizers FAQ hasn't been updated to change the current expectation -- multiple-use consumable items are treated as permanent items, and count against your total even when fully consumed. http://dndadventurersleague.org/sag...rmanent_magic_items_in_my_magic_item_count.3F


Clarification on this point would be appreciated.

--
Pauper

 

[RCanine]

As long as the ALPG doesn't require anybody to own a PH, I think the option has to be left open to disallow any option that the table has no official rules for, even if that option would otherwise be allowed.

Any rule that requires players to lug a huge, heavy book around to prove they're allowed an option is a bad one.

If no one has access to the official rules, the DM should just wing it. It's not going to hurt anyone.

 

[Byakugan]

When did they change their stance on wingwear? This was a huge point of contention in season 2. They had a number of easy opportunities to fix this, up to the point of GenCon (nightmare) 2015, where they made wingwear illegal to trade to Fai Chen but still said anyone who picked it up was still perma-cursed by it.

 

[kalani]

I have no idea when the stance changed (it certainly wasn't an option in Season 2, or even when I last looked into it part way through Season 3), as I happened to miss that particular update. I only learned of this the other day myself but I can confirm this to be true. Wingwear (and Balloon Packs) can be discarded and removed from your magic item totals....

This is an exception to the rule that permanent magic items remain on your logsheet even if broken/lost/discarded/etc.

 

[skerritthegreen]

When did they change their stance on wingwear? This was a huge point of contention in season 2. They had a number of easy opportunities to fix this, up to the point of GenCon (nightmare) 2015, where they made wingwear illegal to trade to Fai Chen but still said anyone who picked it up was still perma-cursed by it.

We didn't, yet. That comment is from our original intent at the beginning of S3 when we had planned to make wingwear and balloon packs count as permanent items (until you use them up; like the ointment cert) and then they go away. For reasons that are not really important, the change didn't go through. We have requested it again and hopefully it will. Right now, they are still permanent items.

 

[kalani]

Gah....... I hate it when this happens lol. The other day on FB, the issue of Wingwear/Balloon Packs was brought up, and several RCs and at least one Admin (Travis? if I am not mistaken) confirmed that wingwear could be removed from your MI totals upon use as an exception to the normal rule.

Please standby......Technical difficulties occurring in my brain from contradictory facts lol

 

[skerritthegreen]

If I was your DM, I would have no issues if you did that now, the new ALPG should be clear on it in a week or so. I see no difference really. DM call really.

 

[Byakugan]

This is a very good thing. Hopefully it will pave the way for faster patching if it happens again in the future. Flavorful, minor items are way cooler when they don't perma-curse you.

 

[felwred]

I wasn't aware dragon+ had any adventures. And you are certain they would be AL legal if they did?

Fred