Errata incoming! (Haunted One background)

[Enevhar Aldarion]

It is referenced on page on page 119 on the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide as a race your DM can allow.

But the actual rules for making a character of that race are in the DMG, which is not a part of the allowed rules for any story origin.

 

[kalani]

You can only choose options from an allowed rules source. The rules for aasimar are in the DMG. The fact that they are referenced in SCAG is irrelevant - the character needs to have the DMG as a rules source for their story origin or a special certificate that adds aasimar to your allowed rules

 

[jrothwell]

Yeah, no, you're wrong again. I get that you enjoy being that DM, but AL is explicit that almost all instances of character creation that PHB/other source call out for DM approval must be allowed. All the variant races in the SCAG (besides Winged Tiefling, etc), Feats, etc. call out for DM approval but are mandatory legal in AL.

Because it has been said that any character option (which should be clarified as: race, class, background, skill, language, equipment, etc) in the PHB is legal at all tables. Creatures summoned by a spell are not character options (the spell itself is). Players and/or DMs are limited to the creatures on the allowed creature list (see stickied thread at the top of this forum). This list is the complete list of legal creatures as determined by the FAQ ruling for summoned creatures.

According to Kalani I think Aasimmar then would be allowed. Since according to the SWCAG it is something that calls out for DM approval.

 

[jrothwell]

Should be interesting since the evil necromancer and the player wanting to play the Aassimar may be at the same table.

 

[RulesJD]

According to Kalani I think Aasimmar then would be allowed. Since according to the SWCAG it is something that calls out for DM approval.

Kalani's statement is still correct even as against my statement. Mine is the general rule, kalani gets slightly more specific, and then even more specific is that certain options in particular are banned (Bird people, Winged Teifling, etc).

 

[kalani]

We both said the same thing. I was just being pedantic when I said that the DMG itself (not just a passing reference to it) needs to be part of your story origin.

No existing story origin has this option however (but a future story origin might which is why I said that).

Trust me: there is only one legal way to play aasimar at present - and that is with a GenCon exclusive certificate from last years con.

 

[RCanine]

According to Kalani I think Aasimmar then would be allowed. Since according to the SWCAG it is something that calls out for DM approval.

If you read Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide and You! it makes explicit exceptions for DMG races. Kalani's right, it's just that her rationale was wrong.

 

[kalani]

If you read Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide and You! it makes explicit exceptions for DMG races. Kalani's right, it's just that her rationale was wrong.

The following quote (from the above article) sums up exactly what I was trying to articulate (but apparently failing to)

Races or other options that are mentioned but whose rules are found in another source (i.e. aasimar or genasi) do not become legal without other campaign documentation unless that source is also legal for your character’s story origin.

As I kept saying - aasimar and/or the DMG need to be listed for your story origin, or you need a special certificate (the aforementioned "campaign documentation" mentioned above) in order to use it.

The specific exception mentioned above is not actually a specific exception. It is a restating of a general rule for Story Origins and clarifying that despite the fact SCAG mentions aasimar and genasi, it doesn't add those races to your "Allowed Rules" (primarily due to the fact that the SCAG itself does not contain the rules for such races, and instead refers you to the other rules source - DMG or EEPC in this case).

Put simply - unless one of the following is true - you cannot use a race/class/background/creature/etc with your character:

1) The rules for that class/race/etc are listed in an "Allowed Rules" source for your Story Origin (eg. the EEPC is specifically listed for the Elemental Evil origin).
2) The rules for that option are listed in an article with the "AL Legal" logo (such as the Mulmaster/Hillsfar Backgrounds, or the Brotherhood of Cloaks rules).
3) You have a certificate specifically adding that option (such as the cleric of kelemvor, aasimar or steeder mount certs).
4) The rules option was made available in an official adventure (such as the maze engine effects or the various companion creatures found in Out of the Abyss).
5) The rules option is specifically mentioned in an official FAQ as being available.

 

[skerritthegreen]

Should be interesting since the evil necromancer and the player wanting to play the Aassimar may be at the same table.

Just to clarify, as the person who wrote the rules doc and the expanded article mentioned above, just because something is referenced in a book that is legal, does not mean that rules option is legal for character creation if its actual rules are in a different book. For example, Aassimars, whose rules are in the DMG which is not a player resource, are NOT legal without the special promo certificate. #AL_Admin