Ddal Dungeon Masters Guide v2 PDF
Ddal Dungeon Masters Guide v2 PDF
Ddal Dungeon Masters Guide v2 PDF
Version 2.0
Credits
D&D Organized Play: Christopher Lindsay
D&D Adventurers League Administrators: Robert Adducci, Bill Benham, Claire Hoffman,
Greg Marks, Alan Patrick, Travis Woodall
Effective
August 26, 2016
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other
Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of
Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited
without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast.
©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square,
Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK.
Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only.
What is the D&D Adventurers League?
The D&D Adventurers League is the official organized play system for Dungeons & Dragons. Players can
create characters and participate in any adventure allowed as a part of the D&D Adventurers League. As
characters adventure, players track those characters’ experience, treasure, and other rewards, and can take
those characters through other adventures that will continue their personal story.
Note Cards. Great for writing down initiative, After introducing yourself to the players, ask them to
handing notes to players, and as cheap table provide you with a small amount of relevant
tents. character information. This typically includes (but is
not limited to) the following.
Miniatures and Map Surfaces. If you and your
players enjoy playing a more tactical game of Character name
D&D, you can use these to help depict combats Character race, class, and level
and detailed areas. Character faction
Passive Perception—the most common
Dungeon Master Screen. Helpful to hide the passive ability check
adventure and conceal your notes from the other Anything notable as specified by the adventure
players. Rules for Dungeon Masters The variant (such as backgrounds, traits, flaws, and so on)
rules for “Playing on a Grid” in the D&D Basic
Rules and Player’s Handbook can be used if you Players can play an adventure they previously played
and your players wish. Dungeon Masters should as a Player or Dungeon Master, but not with the
feel free to use the Dungeon Masters Guide to same character (if applicable). Ensure that each
3
Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only.
player has an adventure logsheet for their character
(if not, get one from the organizer). The player will 1. Add up the total levels of all the characters.
fill out the adventure name, session number, date, 2. Divide the total by the number of characters.
and your name and DCI number. In addition, the 3. Round fractions of 0.5 or greater up; round
player also fills in the starting values for XP, gold, fractions of less than 0.5 down. You’ve now
downtime, renown, and number of permanent magic determined the average party level (APL) for the
items. He or she will fill in the other values and write adventure.
notes at the conclusion of the session.
To figure out the party strength for the adventure,
Each player is responsible for maintaining an consult the following table and compare to the
accurate logsheet. If you have time, you can do a intended level for the adventure. Average party
quick scan of a player’s character sheet to ensure strength indicates no recommended adjustments to
that nothing looks out of order. If you see magic the adventure. Each sidebar might or might not offer
items of very high rarities or strange arrays of ability suggestions for certain party strengths. If a particular
scores, you can ask players to provide recommendation is not offered for your group, you
documentation for the irregularities. If they cannot, don’t have to make adjustments. However, a good
feel free to restrict item use or ask them to use a rule of thumb is if it seems too hard or too easy in
standard ability score array. the course of play, you can totally make adjustments
one way or the other in order to present an
Point players to the D&D Adventurers League Players appropriate challenge to your players.
Guide for reference. If players wish to spend
downtime days and it’s the beginning of an Determining Party Strength
Party Composition Party Strength
adventure or episode, they can declare their activity 3–4 characters, APL less than Very weak
and spend the days now, or they can do so at the end 3–4 characters, APL equivalent Weak
of the adventure or episode. Players should select 3–4 characters, APL greater than Average
5 characters, APL less than Weak
their characters’ spells and other daily options prior 5 characters, APL equivalent Average
to the start of the adventure, unless the adventure 5 characters, APL greater than Strong
specifies otherwise. Feel free to reread the adventure 6–7 characters, APL less than Average
6–7 characters, APL equivalent Strong
description to help give players hints about what they
6–7 characters, APL greater than Very strong
might face.
Players that have characters outside the adventure’s
Adjusting the Adventure level range cannot participate in the adventure with
In any D&D Adventurers League adventure, you
those characters. If you’re playing a tier one (levels 1
might see sidebars to help you make adjustments to
– 4) adventure, players with ineligible characters can
the adventure, accommodating smaller or larger
make a new 1st-level character or use a pregenerated
groups, or characters of higher or lower levels than
character.
the optimal party size. Most of the time, this
information is used for combat encounters. While the adventure provides suggestions on how to
adjust an encounter to provide an appropriate
You can also adjust the adventure on the fly, beyond
challenge for your players, they are just that—
the guidelines given in the adventure, or make other
suggestions. You may, at your discretion, make other
changes as you see fit in order to insure your players
adjustments to the encounter by adding or removing
have a good time. For example, if you’re playing with
monsters. While the monsters you add may be
a group of inexperienced players, you might want to
different from those listed in the encounter or the
make the adventure a little easier; for very
sidebar, they should be thematically similar. For
experienced players, you might want to make it
example, if your players are encountering a group of
harder. As such, five categories of party strength
zombies, adding a bunch of pixies doesn’t make
have been created for you to use as a guideline.
much sense. However, adding a zombie or a ghoul
Always feel free to use a different adjustment during
might. Keep in mind that while the characters earn
the adventure if the recommended party strength
XP for these new monsters, the maximum amount of
feels off for the group during play. You can typically
XP they earn for the adventure does not change.
figure out a party’s strength as follows.
4
Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only.
Remember to give them a challenge, but don’t make As characters progress through an adventure, they’ll
the adventure unbeatable. earn treasure in the form of valuables like gold
pieces, jewelry, and art objects, as well as magic
Additional Tips for the Dungeon Master items. In addition, there may be somewhat
As the Dungeon Master, the most important aspect intangible rewards. Since a group’s composition
of your role is facilitating the enjoyment of the game might change from one play session to the next,
for the players. You help guide the narrative and make sure the players update their logsheets before
bring the words on the pages of the adventure to life. leaving the table. Each player is responsible for
The outcome of a fun game session often creates maintaining their own adventure logsheet. At the end
stories that live well beyond the play experience at of the session, each player should record any
the table. Always follow this golden rule when you rewards earned on their logsheet. Some rewards are
DM for a group: Make decisions and adjudications earned only at the end of an episode or adventure.
that enhance the fun of the adventure when possible.
To reinforce this golden rule, keep in mind the Reward Distribution
following. Rewards are distributed at the end of a play session.
Typically, the adventure will have the details on
You Are Empowered. You get to make decisions distributing certain rewards, but the general
about how the group interacts with the NPCs and guidelines for doing so are provided below. You
environment within this adventure. It is okay to make might choose to extend the play time of a given
considerable changes or engage in improvisation, so adventure because you are having fun. For example,
long as you maintain the original spirit of what’s you might take four hours to play a two-hour
written. adventure. However, doing so does not increase the
rewards of the adventure, which are always preset.
Challenge Your Players. Never being challenged
makes for a boring game, and being overwhelmed Experience Points (XP). Award XP as noted at the
makes for a frustrating game. Gauge the experience conclusion of the adventure. If you’re running one of
level of the players (not the characters) with the the adventures published by Wizards of the Coast, it
game, try to feel out (or ask) what they like in a is up to you to calculate XP for your players.
game, and attempt to give each of them the Otherwise, you’ll be provided with a guide on how to
experience they’re after when they play D&D. do that in a standalone D&D Adventurers League
Everyone should have the opportunity to shine. adventure.
Mind the Time. Watch for stalling, since play loses Gold and Mundane Treasure. Coin, art objects, trade
momentum when this happens. At the same time, goods, and other found wealth are converted to a
make sure that the players don’t finish too early; gold piece (gp) value at the conclusion of a session,
provide them with a full play experience. Try to be episode, or adventure, which is then divided by the
aware of running long or short. Adjust the pacing number of characters in the party. Each character
accordingly. should earn an equal share unless otherwise
specified. As a general rule, if an item is part of a
Keep the Adventure Moving. When the game starts
creature’s statistics, it’s not sellable, unless it is
to get bogged down, feel free to provide hints and
described under a separate ‘Treasure’ subheading.
clues to your players so they can attempt to solve
puzzles, engage in combat, and roleplay interactions Consumable Magic Items. Potions, scrolls, and other
without getting too frustrated over a lack of consumable, non-permanent magic items are
information. This gives players “little victories” for divided among the characters at the conclusion of a
figuring out good choices from clues. The Dungeon session, episode, or adventure. Most adventures will
Master’s Guide has more information on the art of contain a small number of consumable items and it
running a D&D game. is up to the players how they are ultimately
distributed. A player notes the item obtained by
recording it on their logsheet. Encourage your
After Each Play Session players to proceed equitably in the distribution of
consumable items. If more than one player would
5
Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only.
like to own a specific consumable item and they characters of certain factions or ranks. If you are
cannot resolve it, the item’s owner is determined playing an adventure published by Wizards of the
randomly by the DM. Coast, there is no system for awarding renown at this
time.
Permanent Magic Items. Permanent magic items are
distributed at the conclusion of a session, episode, Awarding Downtime. At the conclusion of each
or adventure. A player notes the item obtained by episode or adventure, award downtime days to each
recording it on their logsheet. Permanent magic character. Adventures typically award either 5 or 10
items have specific rules for distribution to promote downtime days at the end of the session, unless
equity. Each character’s logsheet contains a column otherwise specified. Characters can spend downtime
to record permanent magic items for ease of days (and as a result, pay lifestyle expenses) before
reference. Follow these steps to determine how to or after the start of an episode or adventure. You do
distribute permanent magic items. not award downtime after each session, unless that
session is the end of an episode or adventure.
1. If all the players at the table agree on one
character taking possession of a permanent Spellcasting Services
magic item, that character gets the item. Within the confines of the play session, any
2. In the event that one or more characters settlement the size of a town or larger can provide
indicate an interest in possessing a permanent spellcasting services. Characters need to be able to
magic item, the character who possesses the travel to the settlement to obtain those services. If
fewest permanent magic items gets the item. spellcasting services are being procured after the
3. If the interested players have the same number adventure has concluded, it is assumed they’re able
of permanent magic items on the characters to make it to an appropriately sized city, town, or
they played during that session, the item’s other settlement to do this.
owner is determined randomly by the DM.
Spell services generally available include healing and
Some permanent magic items have charges or recovery spells, as well as information-gathering
limited use and are destroyed or otherwise rendered spells. Other spell services might be available as
nonmagical when the last charge is consumed. specified in the adventure. The number of spells
Other items have very specific circumstances under available to be cast as a service (while playing the
which they can be recharged. If an item loses all of adventure) is limited to a maximum of three per day
its magic properties when its last charge is total, unless otherwise noted.
consumed (i.e., Keoghtom's ointment, etc.) or
because it can’t be recharged because the criteria are Spellcasting Services
Spell Cost
otherwise unachievable (i.e., wingwear, balloon pack, Cure Wounds (1st Level) 10 gp
etc.) that magic item no longer counts as a Identify 20 gp
permanent magic item for the purposes of Lesser Restoration 40 gp
Prayer of Healing (2nd Level) 40 gp
determining how many permanent magic items a Remove Curse 90 gp
character possesses. Magic items that lose only Speak with Dead 90 gp
some of their function (i.e., luck blade, storm Divination 210 gp
Greater Restoration 450 gp
boomerang, etc.) are still considered to be permanent
Raise Dead 1,250 gp
magic items for this purpose.
Acolyte Background. A character possessing the
Awarding Renown. Many adventures offer a renown
acolyte background requesting spellcasting services
award in the form of renown points for members of
at a temple of their faith can request one spell per
certain factions. Usually, this renown award ranges
day from the Spellcasting Services table for free. The
from 0 to 2 points. Award renown points at the
only cost paid for the spell is the base price for the
conclusion of an episode or adventure. Characters
consumed material component, if any is required.
can earn renown only from their own factions. A
character can join a faction at any time in an Only some faiths are represented by temples large
adventure before renown awards are distributed. enough to provide this benefit. When playing any
Some adventures might offer additional benefits to
6
Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only.
given adventure, the available faiths are determined raise dead spell is paid for by the party at the end
by the season or region in which the adventure is set. of the session. Other characters are under no
obligation to spend their funds to bring back a
Season-Region Deities
1-Phlan Kelemvor
dead party member.
2-Mulmaster Bane, Loviatar, Tymora, Velsharoon
3-Hillsfar Chauntea, Lliira, Tempus Faction Charity. If the character is of level 1 – 4
4-Barovia NONE and a member of a faction, a patron from the
5-Sword Coast*
faction ensures that he or she receives a raise
T1-Parnast Mielikki
T2-Stagwick Chauntea dead spell. The character can continue to play the
T3-Beregost Lathander, Waukeen adventure and receive full rewards, though he or
*Represented by three locations within the region. she has only 1 hit point (unless another member
Character Disease, Death, and Recovery of the party heals the character further). The
Sometimes bad things happen, and characters get character takes a −4 penalty to attack rolls, saving
poisoned, diseased, or die. Since you might not have throws, and ability checks. Every time the
the same characters return from session to session, character finishes a long rest, the penalty is
here are the rules when bad things happen to reduced by 1 until it disappears. Once a character
characters. reaches 5th level, this option is no longer
available.
Disease, Poison, and Other Debilitating Effects. A
character still affected by diseases, poisons, and Create a New 1st-Level Character. If the dead
other similar effects at the conclusion of an character is unwilling or unable to exercise any of
adventure can spend downtime days recuperating the other options, the player creates a new
until such time as he or she resolves the effect to its character. The new character does not have any
conclusion (see the recuperating activity in the D&D items or rewards possessed by the dead
Basic Rules or Player’s Handbook). If a character character.
doesn’t resolve the effect between sessions, that Dungeon Master Rewards
character begins the next session still affected by the D&D Adventurers League adventures award the
debilitating effect. Dungeon Master XP, gold, and downtime days they
Death. A character who dies during the course of the can apply to a character of their own. Use the target
adventure has a few options at the end of the session level of the adventure as your guide when referring to
(or when arriving back in civilization during the the following table.
adventure) assuming no one in the adventuring party Dungeon Master Rewards
has immediate access to a raise dead or revivify spell, Target XP XP
or similar magic. A character subject to a raise dead Adv. Level (2 hr Adv.) (4 hr Adv.)
1 100 100
spell is affected negatively until all long rests have
2 150 150
been completed during an adventure. Alternatively, 3 150 300
each downtime day spent after raise dead reduces the 4 225 425
penalty to attack rolls, saving throws, and ability 5 450 875
6 500 1000
checks by 1, in addition to any other benefits the 7 625 1250
downtime activity might provide. 8 750 1500
9 950 1875
Dead Character Pays for Raise Dead. If the 10 1125 2250
11 1325 2625
character’s body is recoverable (it’s not missing 12 1450 2875
any vital organs and is mostly whole) and the 13 1675 3375
player would like the character to be returned to 14 1875 3750
15 2250 4500
life, the party can take the body back to
16 2500 5000
civilization and use the dead character’s funds to 17 3125 6250
pay for a raise dead spell. 18 3375 6750
19 3750 7500
Character’s Party Pays for Raise Dead. As above, 20 5000 10000
8
Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only.
D&D ADVENTURERS LEAGUE – CODE OF CONDUCT
BE INCLUSIVE, FUN, AND SAFE!
All D&D Adventurers League participants are here to have fun and should feel safe and included at all times.
All participants (players, Dungeon Masters, and organizers) are expected to adhere to the following Code of
Conduct.
Participants must conduct themselves in a manner that is conducive to the enjoyment and safety of
others at the event.
Follow the DMs lead, avoid arguing with the DM or other players over rules.
Avoid excessive cross-talk that is not relevant to the adventure being played
Discourage others from using social media to bully, shame, or intimidate other participants.
Avoid phone conversations at the table. If you must take a call, please excuse yourself from the table
until your call is completed.
Theft and aggressive behavior are grounds for immediate removal from the play area and the
premises.
Aggressive behavior includes threats of or actual physical aggression, using racial, gender, or cultural
slurs against another participant, and otherwise harassing other participants.
WHAT TO DO?
Participants who feel as though they are in an unsafe environment should notify the organizer of the
event immediately.
Participants noticing disruptive behavior should make those responsible for the behavior aware of
their actions.
If a participant feels uncomfortable bringing it to the attention of the disruptive individual, the
participant should notify the Dungeon Master or organizer of the event immediately.
The Dungeon Master has the right to ask a disruptive player to leave the table and speak with the
organizer.
The organizer has the right to remove a disruptive or aggressive player or Dungeon Master from the
play area or premises.