The way I recall it, there was some official publication implying that a PC should not move from 'inside' an Episode to play an Expedition, and then go back into an episode again. (thinking HotDQ or PotA)
Then there was something else clarifying that as a 'suggestion' and not a 'rule'.
Did I remember that right? Has anything else been said about that?
I haven't seen anything... I had to rule on this situation for a player the other night; hopefully, I didn't mess it up. Is there a reason that presented itself to you that it went from a suggestion to a rule?
Coredump00 wrote:
Actually... from the FAQ
How do DMs handle characters who have started D&D Encounters or another multisession adventure and want to play or have played another adventure such as D&D Expeditions in between?
They must permit it, as characters in the D&D Adventurers League are portable, and players are free to play other games with the same character, even in between sessions of a multi-session game. DMs running multi-session adventures award xp, gold, and magic items at the end of each session of multi-part sessions, so there is no record-keeping problem.
Players taking their characters from game to game in this way are permitted to advance in level and earn rewards (experience, gold, magic items, etc.). Because players are permitted to take their characters from game to game, advance, and earn awards, when they return to the multi-session game, DMs cannot penalize them for doing so (such as temporarily suspending or reversing any of the resulting changes to their characters or requiring some in-game explanation for the changes). This rule requires some suspension of disbelief, but promotes the portability of characters and play in the D&D Adventurers League.
abanathie wrote:
The FAQ entry in the ALPG was written by wizards (the whole ALPG is). The admins have clarified that the entry applies only for those DMs who have issues with suspension of disbelief (esp if the character shows up with new gear/levels or full resources).
I personally require players to track their resources separately (with the exception of expendable items such as potions/scrolls)Then, on a long rest they gain all benefits of their expedition adventure (including new items, levels etc)
My source is the FAQ entry at the AL website, not the ALPG. Which supercedes which?
The FAQ - as it is the only one we (the campaign staff) have control over. We are still waiting on corrections (errata) to the ALPG - as it has several copy/paste errors and omissions.
Kalani wrote:
As per the recently created Adventurers League Resources document - the AL FAQ is the authoritive document, and I quote:
Frequently Asked Questions
- The official compilation of all rulings and clarifications specific to Adventurer's League. This document is updated and maintained by the Campaign Staff.Should there be a discrepancy between the FAQ and any other source, the FAQ has priority.
Interestingly enough - while I had nothing to do with the above-linked document, this quote is a direct copy/paste from my AL resources document (link in my sig). It does however, make my document somewhat more official since it was directly referenced when creating the "official" document.
Kalani wrote:
So, if someone is going through an expeditions module and the DM is running it in multiple sessions, a player can move his character to another expeditions module and play through it between sessions of the first one?
And what happens if this happens at level 4 and the character outlevels the original module, becoming level 5? Since they are already in the module and the DM *has* to allow them to continue playing regardless of changes made in the interim, a PC could be level 5 playing through a tier 1 mod?
Portability is nice, but this entry needs to be updated to reflect that a tier change would mean a PC can't continue a module if they out level it. Since this FAQ entry supercedes the entries in the ALPG which state exactly that.
Normally No. The reason for this is simple: Expeditions are intended to be played in a single session. If your store is breaking up Expeditions into two or more sessions, special considerations need to be made for such play style.
Kalani wrote:
Doing another expedition between sessions of an 8-hour module is already an edge case, and actually being level 10 with less than 6k XP to advance to 11 is even edgier. Not saying it couldn't happen, but I get the sense AL staff doesn't spend much time addressing edge case scenarios.
Undrhil wrote:
Actually, it has come to my attention that this issue is covered in the EE_PG.
If my store finishes D&D Encounters early, what do we do? [ALPG p21]
You can fill the remainder of your Wednesday nights for the season by continuing the adventure from where it left off. Someone will need to pick up a copy of the for-sale product, but it’s easy to keep going. The D&D Encounters kit even provides certificates to support play of the entire adventure, including the post-D&D Encounters episodes.- Alternatively, you can schedule D&D Expeditions games on those nights and split the adventures into two sessions of play. If you do this, players must participate in both sessions to obtain the rewards at the end of the adventure (such as renown and downtime).
I think you are misreading p.21. That mentions the rewards at the end of the adventure, which would be things like downtime days. XP and treasure are not rewards at the end of the adventure, but rewards at the end of the session. From what I can tell, currently the only rewards p.21 effects is downtime and reknown.
And it also doesn't seem to address that Expeditions have a Minimum XP as a reward.
This is what the RCs are saying. I was just relaying it. As I said, this came up on FB today.
Kalani wrote:
Kalani wrote:
I don't think WotC pays much attention to the FAQ. That, and we are still waiting on corrections to the EE ALPG (copy/paste errors, and omissions mainly). The errors were found in the first 24hrs of the ALPGs launch, and we were promised corrections several days later.... Which we are still waiting on, and do not expect to see until the Season 3 ALPG is released.
It is hard for the ALPG to be the authoritive document when it contains glaring errors. For example:
The ALPG removed the option to purchase starting gear, requiring all new characters to choose their class/background packages.
- This causes issues for halfling and gnome Fighters, who are forced to take either a longbow, or heavy armor (neither of which are desirable).
- Furthermore, the reason cited for this change was to allow characters to retrain their starting equipment.... This is all fine and good except that the section on retraining was a direct copy/paste of the season 1 document, and was not updated to include the new text. It in fact, specifically states that characters cannot retrain starting equipment (which is an error).
Another example is the fact that Tyranny of Dragons characters are no longer allowed to use hoard of the dragon queen (Appendix A), as this document is not included in the ToD story origin. It is believed to have been ommited in error.
Several other such errors are throughout the document, which directly affect playability.
Kalani wrote:
Pauper wrote:
Besides, for the most part - we use the ALPG as source material when making FAQ rulings. There are only a handful of times we deviate from what's written in the ALPG, and usually due to errors. The FAQ ruling in the back of the ALPG regarding characters jumping between expeditions/encounters has been clarified by the admins as a guideline for those DMs who were having issues, and that it is not a compulsory ruling (DMs are free to ignore it). If a DM is having issues with verisimilitude however, the ruling offers them support to say "no sorry, I do not allow characters to jump between adventures at my table".
So to get back to the issue with splitting expeditions...
Lets say 2-9 is being played over 2 sessions. First session they kill things and achieve objectives, for a total of 2400XP. The second session they kill things and achieve objectives for a total of 2800 XP.
We know that being there for both sessions will still get you 6,000XP.
How much XP is gained by being there for only the first session? For only the second?
Is there any rule support for completely disregarding the Minimum XP level for being there only 1 session?
I dont' have a good answer for this.... just trying to start a discussion.
The only rule that provides any guidance is the FAQ rule in the back of the ALPG which states that players must be present for both sessions in order to gain any rewards that come at the end of an Expedition..... The rule uses Downtime and Renown as examples.
The thing is, in an Expedition, all rewards are intended to be given out at the end of a single 4 or 8hr session. This includes XP, gold, treasure, and magic items. Extrapolating the rule in the ALPG means that players get nothing for playing session 1 or 2 by themselves (which seems harsh to me).
I personally feel that players should gain XP and gold for the parts they participate in (but don't gain the minimum XP unless they complete both parts). That and players being ineligable for the magic item if they only played part 2 (where most magic items occur), or part 1 (in respect to the single adventure where the magic item occurs early in the story). This is not an official rule, but it feels like a compromise between no award and being able to game the system.
Kalani wrote:
Yeah, I think that is reasonable also. But so would 'splitting' the minimum, at least for those that only make 1 session. As normal for me, I am glad to leave it somewhat vague so the DM can adjust for what seems reasonable. But was curious if there was anything official.
Coredump00 wrote:
I would even consider someone eligable for a magic item, but it would have to be a table decision. If you play with the same group every time, but circumstances make you miss half an expeditions mod, and that is the mod that holds something totally made for your PC. And all the other players are cool with it. Why let the rules be mean about it.. 
abanathie wrote:
I would have the player show up yes. However, rather than have them sit out and twiddle their thumbs, I would recruit them to play an allied NPC (assuming there is one), or help out as a secondary DM (playing the monsters for example, or rolling all of their attacks while the DM chooses targets).
Alternatively, I would let them play one of their other characters as an NPC (who gets no XP or treasure for the session), so that the player is not left out. Their main PC would earn full awards for the adventure after which they need to be raised.
Most good DMs won't let a player spend more than a single combat with nothing to do. They will either find a way to bring the character back, let them play an NPC, or some other task to keep them engaged.
If a character dies near the end of an adventure is one thing - but dying in the first half; it would not matter to me if it was a single 4hr session or two 2hr sessions - I would not leave a player out of the action for more than 5-10 minutes (enough time to grab a drink and maybe a snack) before I would find something else for them to do.
Inexperienced DMs may not know such tricks or may not think of them - but an experienced DM has no excuse for leaving a player out of the action for an extended period.
I remember learning such tricks when developing the skills of handling a split-party (I run both groups simultaneously and bounce between them frequently in order to create a sense of urgency, esp if one group gets into trouble)