DDAL [DDAL] DM Reward Changes

[abs]

Since the DDAL Organizers ignore anyone not on Facebook, can someone tell me if the following question has been asked and/or answered?

The AL DMG says, “DMs earn advancement and treasure checkpoints at the same rate as players”. Does this mean that DMs don’t get downtime (or renown) now under the new rules?​

 

[jodyjohnson]

Characters get Downtime when the ACP are assigned (5 per 2 advancement checkpoints). I think renown is awarded as well (by Background). It isn't tied to the DM reward directly but when the DM assigns the ACP and TCP.

 

[abs]

Is that supposition? Or is per some admin on Facebook? I can't seem to find anywhere it states, clearly, that downtime, or renown, is awarded under the current printed rules.

 

[SubDude]

Curious as well. Yes, there are other ways a DM can get downtime (Adventure Calls, First Timer, etc.), the departure from last season's including downtime days on "usual rewards" is a little odd. It really needs to be explicitly stated that DM's either DO or DO NOT gain downtime days in the normal course of running a module.

 

[Nutation]

An Admin has said this specifically on FB, but it's also something you can deduce from the text in the ALPG - a character receives downtime and renown as a consequence of receiving ACP.

 

[abs]

It's not necessarily intuitive. The rules for awarding downtime and renown are under the heading of Player Rewards, not character rewards. A good argument can be made against awarding downtime and renown to DMs based on this relatively minor detail. I've run a store with over 15, well peaked before these rule changes, and when you cannot logically deduce the assumed answer based on reasonable assertions, like the DM rewards are separate from players rewards ... you can't actually be expected to to deduce the admin's intentions.

This is made worse by inconsistencies from previous and this season, like downtime being specifically mentioned in the DM Reward section. In my opinion, the admins spend too much time assuming that the entire player base is on the same page with them, which leads to some poor wording and structure decisions.

But, thank you for looking out for us second class citizens that have decided to forego Facebook. It is immensely helpful.

 

[jasper]

Story Points 1 per hour for the hardcover or the hours of modules.
Renown 1 per 4 story points
Downtime 5 per 2 story points
Treasure Point 1 per hour for the hardcover or the hours of modules.

 

[Nutation]

It's not necessarily intuitive.

Oh, I agree it's not intuitive. It did require a clarification post by an Admin, and for all I know a new version of the ALDMG will change things tomorrow. (More likely, they'll put that reference in the ALDMG where it belongs.)
Something that did change in the last few days is that TCP earned by a DM are tierless and only become tiered when assigned to a character. That creates an imbalance when you transfer the rewards you earned running a Tier 1 game to your Tier 3 character (or vice versa), but it's how things are now. And easier bookkeeping.