Which adventures in the DMs guild are AL legal? (please put this in player's guide)

[Scorpienne]

I know, I know, we're all super tired of answering this question all over the planet. I have PNGs in Imgur to explain it to people so I can find 'em easily.

I beg you - O powers that be - please make this super, mega, ultra, crystal clear in the season 4 players guide.

 

[Pauper]

A bit late for Season 4 if it's not in there already, but if it's not clear in Season 4, this is a good reminder for Season 5.

--
Pauper

 

[skerritthegreen]

There are no season 4 adventures posted as of yet. Indeed the last few season 3 adventures haven't gone up yet.

 

[Scorpienne]

A bit late for Season 4 if it's not in there already, but if it's not clear in Season 4, this is a good reminder for Season 5.

Heh. No, it's not for the adventures, it's more for the "But WHYYYY can't I have this feat?!? It was in the DM's Guild?" and "What do you MEAN I can't be a gunslinger? It was in the DM's Guild?"

paige

 

[kalani]

The rule has always been:

If it is not listed as an option for your Story Origin, or you lack campaign documentation (such as an article with the "AL Legal" logo, or an official certificate) - that option is not available for your character.

If an adventure/article does not contain the "Adventurers League" logo or the "AL-Legal" logo, or is not an official hard-cover adventure (Lost Mines, Hoard/Rise, Princes, Abyss, or Strahd) - it too is not available.

Finally, rules from the DMG or DM-Related rules must be specifically called out in the ALPG and/or have the "AL-legal" logo.

Some character options on the DMs Guild may be added to a future Story Origin but only after it had been vetted and approved. I would not expect such an option to become available until the start of Season 5 (or more likely - Season 6) at the earliest, as character options (outside of very minor options like backgrounds in an AL-legal article) must be listed in the ALPG as an "Allowed Rules" source for one (or more) Story Origin(s).

There are no plans to make any adventures on the DMs Guild "AL-Legal" at this time, however we are paying close attention to what gets published - as it is an excellent way to headhunt new authors for future AL-adventures.

 

[Scorpienne]

There are no plans to make any adventures on the DMs Guild "AL-Legal" at this time, however we are paying close attention to what gets published - as it is an excellent way to headhunt new authors for future AL-adventures.

*I* know that, Kalani.

I think *most* people here know that, Kalani.

BUT... the question comes up on the Facebook group about twice a day. Sometimes three times a day.

My request, my plea, is that it's put in the players guide so that, as a convention coordinator, when I get to DragonCon in September, and someone has a 10th level gunslinger because their local store didn't know better, because they don't pay attention to forums, that I can point to something in the PG that makes it really clear why the character isn't going to work.

That's all I'm asking.


Paige

 

[kalani]

There is something in the PG - it's on p3 called "Character Creation". Anyone who reads P3 would learn that only character options listed for a Story Origin are legal..... I can more easily forgive someone for not realizing that the brotherhood of cloaks or Mulmaster Backgrounds were also legal options than I can forgive someone for bringing a gunslinger. Why? Because the former is not listed as legal in any Story Origin, but falls loosely under the ambiguous "official campaign documentation" category. The latter is just wishful thinking with no rules support at all.

As such, I personally see this as laziness as this is spelled out clearly on P3 and I quote:

[h=4]Part 1: Characters[/h]
This section contains information on creating and advancing characters for play in the D&D Adventurers League.
[h=5]Allowed Rules[/h]
Characters originating during the Rage of Demons storyline season can use the following rules for character options:

• D&D Basic Rules (all rules except rolling ability scores and hit points, rolling for starting wealth, some alignment restrictions)
• D&D Player’s Handbook™ (all rules except rolling ability scores and hit points, some alignment restrictions)
• Out of the Abyss™ appendix A
• Monster Manual™ appendix A (beasts only)

Official documentation, such as a D&D Adventurers League certificate, might provide exceptions to the allowed rules. Spells, race, or class features in the allowed rules that specifically reference a creature not
found in the allowed rules in order for them to function properly are also an exception to these rules.

It then goes on to explain how these limitations apply in the subsequent sections on p3 and p4.

 

[Scorpienne]

I agree with you 100% Kalani. Yep, it's right there.

Are you saying that it's a *bad idea* to put something in the players guide that says, clearly,

"The only items in the DMs Guild that are AL legal can be found by clicking the D&DAL filter on the left side of the page, then looking for items with the D&DAL logo."


Paige

 

[Pauper]

Are you saying that it's a *bad idea* to put something in the players guide that says, clearly,

"The only items in the DMs Guild that are AL legal can be found by clicking the D&DAL filter on the left side of the page, then looking for items with the D&DAL logo."

It's only not a bad idea if you think the filter will always correctly filter out non-AL-legal material for sale on the DMs Guild.**

And (based on a conversation in a different thread), I can think of at least one product that doesn't have any AL logos that is legal to use in AL, and I suspect there are others and parts of others that are similar. (Those products deal with personality traits, which since a player can invent them out of whole cloth with DM approval, can also be taken from a third-party product, again with DM approval.)

What you really should do is make sure Skerritt or Warfteiner are invited to Dragon*Con to run interference for you with those players. ; )

--
Pauper

** - I'd like to remind people of the First Rule of Computer Support: If a problem can occur in a computer program, eventually it will occur.

 

[RCanine]

As such, I personally see this as laziness as this is spelled out clearly on P3

I couldn't think of a more lawful neutral post. I refer you to the great Don Norman:

When people fail to follow these bizarre, secret rules, and the machine does the wrong thing, its operators are blamed for not understanding the machine, for not following its rigid specifications. … It is the machine and its design that are at fault. It is the duty of machines and those who design them to understand people. It is not our duty to understand the arbitrary, meaningless dictates of machines.

EDIT: now that doesn't mean Kalani can fix that. Skerrit might not even be able to fix it. BUT WE NEED TO STOP BLAMING PLAYERS. Players aren't in charge of designing a comprehensible rules system or organizing a storefront.