DDAL Ravenloft: Mist Hunters

[Parmandur]

Yeah, it certainly seems easier to manage. Which is generally the appeal of XP-less systems. But that ease of management comes at the cost of killing what to me is the main draw of organized play - being able to bring a single character to any game in the league, who accumulates levels and treasure acquired across all those different games.

Then again, that appeal has never been enough to make me want to put up with the record keeping of organized play. So, maybe trying a different approach is the best move. Doesn’t really make a difference to me, since I won’t be playing AL either way.

Kind of comin at this from the same angle myself, not having done AL before and unlikely to be attracted to this change. It wouldn't surprise me if WotC is testing to see if people are interested in being able to drop into games without that accumulation metagame.

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

How does that work?

Presumably ya show up and play in order and level up as the adventures progress. But if you miss an adventure and play in the next you're still the right level. And if you go back and play the one you missed, you de-level and treat it like a flashback.
Since AL is booked in advance normally, ya know what level to bring.

 

[Parmandur]

Presumably ya show up and play in order and level up as the adventures progress. But if you miss an adventure and play in the next you're still the right level. And if you go back and play the one you missed, you de-level and treat it like a flashback.
Since AL is booked in advance normally, ya know what level to bring.

Honestly seems like a good simulation of classic pulp literature. Conan is the level he happens to be for that story.

 

[Parmandur]

And to be honest, from what I have heard AL games are...not great...for internal story consistency? At least compared to home games.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

How does that work?

They employ a bunch of 2nd edition vampires to level drain the PCs to the correct level.

 

[NaturalZero]

Honestly seems like a good simulation of classic pulp literature. Conan is the level he happens to be for that story.

Really, it's pretty much how fiction works in general. The protagonist is, or is not, the appropriate power level for whatever they face, since it's all authorial fiat.

There's a lot of math stuff that makes RPGs run, from attack rolls to ability scores, but arbitrary points based on killing stuff for determining which party members are "ahead" of others for... reasons... was never a big draw to me. I don't miss XP.

 

[dave2008]

From the Adventures League:

Ravenloft: Mist Hunters is serial storyline that will lead Adventurers League players on a journey through the mists over the course of 14 adventures, including two interactive Epic adventures. Mysteries unfold around the characters as they explore new lands and interact with their denizens; Mist Hunters places a strong emphasis on social interaction and investigation over combat.

No one seems to have commented on the bolded part. I wonder if this means there will be some more social interaction and investigation rules or guidelines in VRGtR?

 

[jasper]

They employ a bunch of 2nd edition vampires to level drain the PCs to the correct level.

Damn kids. THat AD&D not stinky 2E kid. Now mow my lawn. In the dark. To ticks off the neighbors.

 

[CapnZapp]

Really, it's pretty much how fiction works in general.

In fairness most authors don't even think in terms of levels. That explanation is far more applicable than "authors make sure their heroes are of the right level for the challenge" implied by the earlier statement.

In short, heroes in fiction don't have fluctuating levels. They don't have levels at all.

Cheers

 

[tommybahama]

Well, it's finally here. I got to play in DDRL-01. It's a four hour murder mystery. This was part of the D&D Virtual Play Weekend. It was actually the second in the series. The first was an Epic that I missed.

Like all D&D murder mysteries I've played in, I'd give it 2 stars. Don't throw in red herrings when the play is limited to four hours no matter how clever. And don't give the NPCs all similar sounding names. There was only one combat in four hours of play.

I can't rate the DM without reading the module first, but she was fun and seemed competent enough.

Apparently you are given 200 gold at the start of each adventure to buy equipment that isn't carried over to the next adventure. Magic items are carried over, but the one from the Epic could only be used by one player.

The Tarroka guided character creation is just for flavor. But you can pick a dark gift or randomly roll. I don't know if they use a special table or if it's from VRGtR. There was a table to choose what domain you hailed from. Full rules for character creation will be out in August.

Your level is set at the start of the adventure. So you need to find out in advance what level to set your character at or be able to do it on the fly.

My only gripe was that the games were all scheduled for East Coast times. It would have been nice to have some tailored to those of us on the west coast.