D&D 5E Updates on DMG / Magic Item Creation and upcoming player books from D&D Adventurer's League Handbook

[Cybit]

http://media.wizards.com/downloads/dnd/ADVLeague_PlayerGuide_TODv1.pdf

What happens when new player rules options
are released?

New player rules for characters are tied to storyline
seasons. When you create a character, you choose
the story origin for the character, which defines what
rules you can use for the duration of the character’s
career. If you want to use a new rules option from a
book outside your character’s allowed rules, you need
to create a character with a story origin that allows that
rules option.

Hrm...so splatbooks are moved into the upcoming story arcs? So a Cult of the Spider Queen Story Arc (picking an old one at random) would contain relevant character options for the story. Iiiiinteresting. Could the era of straight splatbooks be going away?

Can I craft magic items?

Magic item crafting is part of a rules option presented
in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. It is not allowed, along
with most rules options in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

Welp, found where magic item creation is!

 

[Agamon]

Hrm...so splatbooks are moved into the upcoming story arcs? So a Cult of the Spider Queen Story Arc (picking an old one at random) would contain relevant character options for the story. Iiiiinteresting. Could the era of straight splatbooks be going away?

That's what I been saying. But nobody listen.

Pretty sure Mearls has all but said as much in the past. Or inferred. Or maybe he just thought it and I'm psychic. Something like that.

 

[Thaumaturge]

Good catch [MENTION=66111]Cybit[/MENTION] .

Anyone hear someone else talking?

Thaumaturge.

 

[Wolfskin]

Also, the PG lists the full background list from the PHB. Neat!

 

[Agamon]

Anyone hear someone else talking?

Always. It never stops. You should hear what it asks me to do, silly voices.

 

[Mistwell]

I wonder what Agamon has to say about this?

 

[Thaumaturge]

I wonder what Agamon has to say about this?

Me too. Haven't heard from him lately.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Xodis]

Me too. Haven't heard from him lately.

Thaumaturge.

I usually try to XP him for everything he posts but I just never see anything anymore.

 

[variant]

I want to know if there are plans to have a way for players to access this crunch without having access to the adventure. Hopefully this may mean crunch compilation books in the future. The best books in the 3e era were the Rules Compendium and Spell Compendium. Too bad they were fated to come out at the end of the era.

 

[Wolfskin]

I want to know if there are plans to have a way for players to access this crunch without having access to the adventure.

Perhaps Appendix A of Hoard of the Dragon Queen will be free to download. It will be certainly a free digital download at last for Adventurer League GMs, since I already have it.

I'll have to say many people will be disappointed with the amount of crunch in the Appendix (at least the version of the Appendix in the AL PDF, which I'd wager it's the same as the printed book). It features a list of story-related Bonds for PCs, plus two Optional Background Features that you can swap with your existing background (thus you can be a Dragon Scholar instead of just a Sage or a Cult of the Dragon Infiltrator instead of just a regular Criminal or Soldier)