I have purchased HotDQ, RoT the Players guide and the monster manual. I'd like to run a game at my local store, but I'd want to get aquaited with the adventure and paperwork of running an Adventurers League game. Maybe I am being dense, but I can't figure out how to set this up. I have a DCI number for myself, but I'd need some for a few of my friends I think. I also can't figure out if it needs to be scheduled or what. I saw certain events need to be on wednesdays, and some other rules. Can anyone please help, or point me in the right direction?
There are a number of different options available to you, and there's some terminology to learn. There's also some stuff to download.
Let's start by covering some terms. I'm sure others will comment/clarify on these. 
* Home play. This is you just playing some D&D with your friends. There doesn't have to be any store involvement,
DCI numbers or paperwork. (To work with Adventurers League, you'll need to use the Adventurers Logsheet.)
* Encounters. This is a program that has to be sponsored by stores, who order and schedule events on Wednesdays.
The Encounters program is targeted at beginning players and characters levels 1-4, but anyone may play and enjoy
the games. These generally run in two-hour time slots at the game store, but this is not required. The first three
"episodes" of Horde of the Dragon Queen are available as PDFs to support this program.
* Expeditions. These events must also be sponsored by stores, but may be played on other days. The adventures
are a separate story arc, and they have identifiers such as DDEX-1, DDEX-2, etc. that identify the Expeditions
program. These events typically run in four-hour time slots at stores, but some stores break them up into shorter
time slots if necessary. There are currently only low-level (levels 1-4) adventures available, but higher level ones
will be coming out in November, I think.
* Casual Play. This term refers to AL events you run through a store that are not on Wednesdays (thus not
Encounters). For example, later episodes of Horde of the Dragon Queen or any of The Rise of Tiamat would count
as Casual Play.
Except for Home Play, the events get reported by the store to Wizards of the Coast, who tracks how many players—and how many new players—are participating through the store. Stores get "credit" for this gameplay in their retail relationship with Wizards. For play to be reported by the store, every player (and the DM) must have a DCI* number. Since all this happens through the store, you'll need to work with someone there to interface with Wizards of the Coast.
To make your game specifically according to the Adventurers League framework, you should download the Adventurers League Players Guide, Quick Start Guide, Character Sheet and Adventure Logsheet from this page: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/events/adventurers-league-resources
You'll also want to download the Dungeon Master's D&D Basic Rules v2 (and possibly the Player's D&D Basic Rules v2, though you already have the Player's Handbook). They are available here: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
Now that I've given you plenty to read, let us know if you have more questions. I hope this helps!
*Trivia: DCI stands (or stood) for Duelists Convocation International, created for Magic: The Gathering.
Tyranny of Phlan is the first in the 5-10 tier. It is available for store play on the 1st of December? My Players will likely only be levels 4 by then.
Okay, cool, thanks. I just have one more question...it says somewhere on the AL site that you can use your home game characters at AL games, but any non cert'd items gotten just can't be traded. How does that part work? I would imagine the players would still need the log sheet. I am going to DL and read the dungeon master stuff. Again, thanks much!
Okay. So this is what you can play at home:
Hoard of the Dragon Queen (Hardback version)
Lost mine of P (the starter box set adventure)
The Players guide to Tyranny of Dragons which you need to download lists how you award downtime, exp etc for these adventures.
Certs are basically sent to a store when the store schedules a game for the first time. Ie It schedules Secrets of Sokol Keep which is the 2nd Expeditions scenario. There is a cert'd item in that scenario. The player who is awarded the item gets the cert. THey can then trade this item to another player with a different certed item.
Homeplay magic items.. well you dont get certs. You still get the magic item, but there is no piece of card with the name of the item on it... which means you cannot trade that magical item on that character at all.
Players will always need a log sheet for each and every game they are in. Just keep in mind that one Game might be spread over multiple sessions. Expeditions scenarios only ever take up a single session.
What about convention games? For example, Denver will have Genghis Con in February. How would one run an AL game there?
onceMoreIntoBreech wrote: