New Encounters GM: Questions and Advice - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Angry_Steak Sep 30, 2014 23:13:03	I'm a novice GM that's new to Encounters and public play in general. Our shop doesn't really have an "Older Brother" to teach so I've been playing things by ear. Most of the rules seem pretty straightforward, but I'd like some insight as to how far my freedom as a GM goes. First, it's my understanding that Encounters is designed for casual play. I've seen the regulars, the one-shot and drops, and the folks with wonky schedules. As a result, I wanted to standardize things across the tables (2 right now) so everyone feels like they're getting something. Ex: Ep 1 of HOTDQ is 6 sessions. 100xp per session means that a person only needs to show up to half of the planned sessions to reach the XP cap (300). Then 1 downtime day rewarded per session until the Final Session which rewards whatever's leftover (5, in this case) and the 1 Renown point. Is this acceptable? Is there a flaw my inexperience is missing? Other advice? Second, Consumable Magic Items. I wasn't aware of the logsheet requirement until after I'd given out my first couple Potions of Healing. How does this oversight affect the player? What if the party agrees (and in my case, prefers) to give their potions to a single character? Third, within the Faction portfolios was a Scale of Bahamut. I've only seen one person use this item and the GM running that game marked it VOID with a date of usage. I haven't come across anything describing this process so any insight into this situation is appreciated. Fourth, Brad the Elf Fighter lost his life last session due to an unfortunate ambush. The body was recovered and brought back to Greenest to locate a member of the Lord's Alliance that could get him a Raise Dead spell. The Faction Charity part of the AL document says, "Any character invoking this charity forfeits all XP and rewards from that session, and cannot replay that episode or adventure with that character again." Am I correct in reading that his character is done with this adventure and that he needs to create a new one? Thanks for your time, and I'm open to any other bits of advice offered.
#2 CoreyartustheSecond Oct 01, 2014 0:05:05	1st--Technically, the XP is awarded at the end of each Episode of HotDQ. That means that the players accrue XP during how ever many play sessions it takes to get to the last play session of Episode 1. If they reach 300 before you get there, they're capped. They can't earn any more. But they keep playing, or start a new character and you figure out how to incorporate them into the storyline. HotDQ is written for long-term play, unfortunately, so popping in and out is possible, but it's best to encourage continual play. It's my understanding that if the players don't come back for any of the rest of the sessions, they have XP, but they don't technically get awarded Downtime or Renown until the end of that Episode. In game, that entire Episode is supposed to take place within a couple hours, so there is no opportunity for a Long Rest, and thus no opportunity to level up until the very end. Its sucks as a mechanism, but that's what I've heard has been the norm. 2nd--Just go back and fix the logsheet. If the players at the table agree the items should all go to one player, then that's completely legal. The distribution mechanism is in place to ensure that the magic items are spread around, but if the players agree to it then there's no one to tell you to do it differenty. 3rd--The Tears aren't supposed to be distributed until November, and they are (apparently) a mechanism for the Neverwinter MMORPG. I'm not sure why they're in the folders if they aren't relevant to Adventurer's League, but that's what I've been told. 4th--It would seem you are correct. New Character opportunity. Anyway, this is ALL my own understanding. I'm no official--there may be one on here to answer your questions more concretely, but then again there might not be.
#3 aaaaaaaboss Oct 01, 2014 3:58:37	There are no faction missions in HDQ, whatsoever. It's just minimum renown. There's some mention of the Order of the Gauntlet, and maybe the Harpers? I forget.
#4 Uthrac Oct 01, 2014 4:55:56	CoreyartustheSecond wrote:
#5 piersb Oct 01, 2014 5:23:01	"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)." - p20, D&D Adventurers League Player's Guide would suggest that you shouldn't give Renown and Downtime for HotDQ unless they've participated in all sessions of the episode. But I much prefer doing it the way you suggest.
#6 Uthrac Oct 01, 2014 5:26:47	piersb wrote:
#7 Angry_Steak Oct 01, 2014 6:14:21	3. At the end of the EPISODE ... EVERYONE WHO HAS PLAYED AT LEAST ONE SESSION ... gains downtime and renown, and can level-up if they have enough XP. (Note: Some people pro-rate the downtime days and/or have the player choose one PC for the renown point. There's no real guideline here.) Note that the player does not need to be present at the "last session of the EPISODE." The next time they show up, we assume that their PC was resting while everyone else was adventuring, and they just pick up in the timeline.
#8 Uthrac Oct 01, 2014 6:12:37	Yes, I'd just add it into the last session of the logsheet. Hopefully, an admin will come along and clarify the bolded section. I suspect the emphasis is intended to be on "replay" ... since "adventure" could mean "all of Lost Mines of Phalander," for example.
#9 piersb Oct 02, 2014 8:53:02	@Uthrac - yep, but given the lack of official ruling it's the closest thing we have to one. When something's played as part of Encounters, if you miss a part of an adventure, no downtime or rewards for you. Having said that, I intend to rule the way everyone else is and pro-rate. Even when running Expeditions in two parts on an Encounters night.
(Reply to #9) Pauper	piersb wrote:
(Reply to #2) SteveMND	CoreyartustheSecond wrote:
#12 Uthrac Oct 02, 2014 10:27:49	SteveMND wrote:
#13 Blade2718 Oct 02, 2014 12:09:43	The promotion is fine, the devil is in the details.
#14 piersb Oct 03, 2014 2:39:11	p11 "You do not award downtime after each session, unless that session is the end of an episode or adventure. " Seems fairly clear according to that self-same document that you're not allowed to reward downtime unless the player attends the last session of an episode. So any DM that rewards downtime and renown for players who don't attend the last session is already ignoring clear guidance that has been provided on downtime delivery. And IMHO they are absolutely correct to do so.
(Reply to #12) SteveMND	Uthrac wrote:
#16 Angry_Steak Oct 03, 2014 16:29:08	I made the mistake of overlooking that part (p11) on initial perusal. I've been prioritizing memorization of rules and learning adventure stuff ; ; Given the previous section about not awarding Renown every session, I read it less as a strict rule and more as a rule designed to avoid excessive downtime days/renown awards. Brad finishes all six sessions in my game and receives the same capped awards as a person attending all the sessions in another game. I can see there being a conflict if one of my players were to visit another store that ran RAW, though, despite how clear I attempt to make things for everyone.
#17 aleksandr Oct 07, 2014 12:48:40	I find that I am baffled by all of the rules-lawyering and hand-wringing over a program that is designed for casual play with the goal of introducing players to Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, the coordination between the various parts of Adventurer's League is less than optimal. Encounters should have had brand new content developed for the program, or should have been dropped entirely in favor of a different program. Encounters made sense in 4th Edition where the game favored, well, encounters. 1-2 hour combat sessions with minimal role-playing opportunties or long-term storyline goals. Drop-in, drop-out, whatever, it was easy. Playing through a printed adventure module (Hoard) by breaking it into a bunch of 2 hour sessions over the course of several months with a constantly shifting player-base doesn't make sense. With regards to the Tears of Bahamut not being intended for the Adventurer's League, where is that documented? They are in the player's faction folders which they are supposed to receive at character creation. Why would they be included if they are not intended to be used. Plus, they aren't really all that great, particularly if you've advanced beyond1st or 2nd level. A free 1st level Bless spell might mean the difference between success or failure for a 1st level character, but likely won't mean as much in November when they are 4th level. Finally, why all the angst over downtime days, reknown points, and log sheets? Run the game for your players to have fun and really get into Dungeons and Dragons and don't worry about all of the administrivia (which isn't well codified anyhow). Maybe I don't grow the same level of attachment to a D&D character as others do, so I don't see the big deal with all of this. How many players are going to take their characters to other shops to drop into different Encounters sessions? How many are going to go to a convention and try to run their character in an Epic? From what I can see with regard to downtime days, they aren't really good for much anyhow. You could collect 255 of them (if I recall correctly) to learn a new language. You could spend a year crafting a suit of armor if you have those kinds of skills. Reknown seems the same. There are no secret mission adventures for each faction, so what is the benefit of reknown? Both concepts seem like they were tacked on late in development with very little forethought into how they would work or be used.
#18 Skerrit Oct 07, 2014 14:39:48	Reknown does matter for advancing in your faction (which does provide faction specific benefits, though not all of those have been announced yet). Specials do exist, but do not start until the tier 5-10 adventures start coming.
#19 Angry_Steak Oct 07, 2014 18:31:52	aleksandr wrote:
(Reply to #17) SteveMND	aleksandr wrote:
#21 Cascade.rpga Oct 10, 2014 13:34:11	SteveMND wrote:
(Reply to #21) CoreyartustheSecond	I participate in an OP for a reason. Otherwise I'd do my own thing with a Home Game. DMs as freelancers? Really? I thought this was an OP, not an Association. I love the loose structure of AL, but it feels like the Wild West to me personally at this point. And that doesn't spur me to want to play (or DM) anywhere outside of my local circle. I feel like I can't count on anything being interpreted the same way as we've done in my own locale at my particular store, nor recorded in the same way we've done it. We've all seen examples on various forums and groups of how much variation there is not only in the playing of the mods themselves but in the distribution of their XP and rewards, and the endless variety of rules interpretations... It seems like there may be a disporportionate number of illegal characters out there, through no fault of their players themselves. We've seen it. We've argued about it and debated it here ourselves. I love the empowerment of DMs AL provides. I also lament it on some levels. I'm left with simply running the best game I can, and hoping that my players find their characters playable at other tables, because I've done the best, most informed job I can. At this point, it's very easy to feel part of AL despite the presence of the OP. I don't want to be a freelance DM. I'd prefer to feel like I'm part of something. I've had to resign myself to the fact that I am never ever going to be completely up to snuff and informed on AL parameters because they are so loose and there are so many online venues to get a multitude of different answers. I'm actually expecting, now, that my players might have potential problems going to other tables (though I'm hoping they don't) despite our best intentions, and that other players may come to my table with PCs that will cause my eyebrows to furrow. I'm still going to have fun, at my table, with my players, at my location. But outside of that, I can't tell participants with confidence that their other table experiences will potentially be similar at all, because they're obviously not at this stage. I'm not sure I'd personally want to participate in Epics or Con play outside of my vicinity at this point (even if that were a possibility for me). I'm really really hoping this is really just the natural process of the beginnings of a new OP.

Post/Author/DateTime

Post

Angry_Steak

Sep 30, 2014 23:13:03

I'm a novice GM that's new to Encounters and public play in general. Our shop doesn't really have an "Older Brother" to teach so I've been playing things by ear. Most of the rules seem pretty straightforward, but I'd like some insight as to how far my freedom as a GM goes.

First, it's my understanding that Encounters is designed for casual play. I've seen the regulars, the one-shot and drops, and the folks with wonky schedules. As a result, I wanted to standardize things across the tables (2 right now) so everyone feels like they're getting something.

Ex: Ep 1 of HOTDQ is 6 sessions. 100xp per session means that a person only needs to show up to half of the planned sessions to reach the XP cap (300). Then 1 downtime day rewarded per session until the Final Session which rewards whatever's leftover (5, in this case) and the 1 Renown point.

Is this acceptable? Is there a flaw my inexperience is missing? Other advice?

Second, Consumable Magic Items. I wasn't aware of the logsheet requirement until after I'd given out my first couple Potions of Healing. How does this oversight affect the player? What if the party agrees (and in my case, prefers) to give their potions to a single character?

Third, within the Faction portfolios was a Scale of Bahamut. I've only seen one person use this item and the GM running that game marked it VOID with a date of usage. I haven't come across anything describing this process so any insight into this situation is appreciated.

Fourth, Brad the Elf Fighter lost his life last session due to an unfortunate ambush. The body was recovered and brought back to Greenest to locate a member of the Lord's Alliance that could get him a Raise Dead spell.

The Faction Charity part of the AL document says, "Any character invoking this charity forfeits all XP and rewards from that session, and cannot replay that episode or adventure with that character again." Am I correct in reading that his character is done with this adventure and that he needs to create a new one?

Thanks for your time, and I'm open to any other bits of advice offered.

CoreyartustheSecond

Oct 01, 2014 0:05:05

1st--Technically, the XP is awarded at the end of each Episode of HotDQ. That means that the players accrue XP during how ever many play sessions it takes to get to the last play session of Episode 1. If they reach 300 before you get there, they're capped. They can't earn any more. But they keep playing, or start a new character and you figure out how to incorporate them into the storyline. HotDQ is written for long-term play, unfortunately, so popping in and out is possible, but it's best to encourage continual play. It's my understanding that if the players don't come back for any of the rest of the sessions, they have XP, but they don't technically get awarded Downtime or Renown until the end of that Episode. In game, that entire Episode is supposed to take place within a couple hours, so there is no opportunity for a Long Rest, and thus no opportunity to level up until the very end. Its sucks as a mechanism, but that's what I've heard has been the norm.

2nd--Just go back and fix the logsheet. If the players at the table agree the items should all go to one player, then that's completely legal. The distribution mechanism is in place to ensure that the magic items are spread around, but if the players agree to it then there's no one to tell you to do it differenty.

3rd--The Tears aren't supposed to be distributed until November, and they are (apparently) a mechanism for the Neverwinter MMORPG. I'm not sure why they're in the folders if they aren't relevant to Adventurer's League, but that's what I've been told.

4th--It would seem you are correct. New Character opportunity.

Anyway, this is ALL my own understanding. I'm no official--there may be one on here to answer your questions more concretely, but then again there might not be.

aaaaaaaboss

Oct 01, 2014 3:58:37

There are no faction missions in HDQ, whatsoever. It's just minimum renown. There's some mention of the Order of the Gauntlet, and maybe the Harpers? I forget.

Uthrac

Oct 01, 2014 4:55:56

CoreyartustheSecond wrote:

piersb

Oct 01, 2014 5:23:01

"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)." - p20, D&D Adventurers League Player's Guide

would suggest that you shouldn't give Renown and Downtime for HotDQ unless they've participated in all sessions of the episode. But I much prefer doing it the way you suggest.

Uthrac

Oct 01, 2014 5:26:47

piersb wrote:

Angry_Steak

Oct 01, 2014 6:14:21

3. At the end of the EPISODE ... EVERYONE WHO HAS PLAYED AT LEAST ONE SESSION ... gains downtime and renown, and can level-up if they have enough XP. (Note: Some people pro-rate the downtime days and/or have the player choose one PC for the renown point. There's no real guideline here.) Note that the player does not need to be present at the "last session of the EPISODE." The next time they show up, we assume that their PC was resting while everyone else was adventuring, and they just pick up in the timeline.

Uthrac

Oct 01, 2014 6:12:37

Yes, I'd just add it into the last session of the logsheet.

Hopefully, an admin will come along and clarify the bolded section. I suspect the emphasis is intended to be on "replay" ... since "adventure" could mean "all of Lost Mines of Phalander," for example.

piersb

Oct 02, 2014 8:53:02

@Uthrac - yep, but given the lack of official ruling it's the closest thing we have to one. When something's played as part of Encounters, if you miss a part of an adventure, no downtime or rewards for you.

Having said that, I intend to rule the way everyone else is and pro-rate. Even when running Expeditions in two parts on an Encounters night.

(Reply to #9)

Pauper

piersb wrote:

(Reply to #2)

SteveMND

CoreyartustheSecond wrote:

#12

Uthrac

Oct 02, 2014 10:27:49

SteveMND wrote:

#13

Blade2718

Oct 02, 2014 12:09:43

The promotion is fine, the devil is in the details.

#14

piersb

Oct 03, 2014 2:39:11

p11 "You do not award downtime after each session, unless

that session is the end of an episode or adventure. "

Seems fairly clear according to that self-same document that you're not allowed to reward downtime unless the player attends the last session of an episode.

So any DM that rewards downtime and renown for players who don't attend the last session is already ignoring clear guidance that has been provided on downtime delivery.

And IMHO they are absolutely correct to do so.

(Reply to #12)

SteveMND

Uthrac wrote:

#16

Angry_Steak

Oct 03, 2014 16:29:08

I made the mistake of overlooking that part (p11) on initial perusal. I've been prioritizing memorization of rules and learning adventure stuff ; ;

Given the previous section about not awarding Renown every session, I read it less as a strict rule and more as a rule designed to avoid excessive downtime days/renown awards. Brad finishes all six sessions in my game and receives the same capped awards as a person attending all the sessions in another game.

I can see there being a conflict if one of my players were to visit another store that ran RAW, though, despite how clear I attempt to make things for everyone.

#17

aleksandr

Oct 07, 2014 12:48:40

I find that I am baffled by all of the rules-lawyering and hand-wringing over a program that is designed for casual play with the goal of introducing players to Dungeons and Dragons.

Yes, the coordination between the various parts of Adventurer's League is less than optimal. Encounters should have had brand new content developed for the program, or should have been dropped entirely in favor of a different program. Encounters made sense in 4th Edition where the game favored, well, encounters. 1-2 hour combat sessions with minimal role-playing opportunties or long-term storyline goals. Drop-in, drop-out, whatever, it was easy. Playing through a printed adventure module (Hoard) by breaking it into a bunch of 2 hour sessions over the course of several months with a constantly shifting player-base doesn't make sense.

With regards to the Tears of Bahamut not being intended for the Adventurer's League, where is that documented? They are in the player's faction folders which they are supposed to receive at character creation. Why would they be included if they are not intended to be used. Plus, they aren't really all that great, particularly if you've advanced beyond1st or 2nd level. A free 1st level Bless spell might mean the difference between success or failure for a 1st level character, but likely won't mean as much in November when they are 4th level.

Finally, why all the angst over downtime days, reknown points, and log sheets? Run the game for your players to have fun and really get into Dungeons and Dragons and don't worry about all of the administrivia (which isn't well codified anyhow). Maybe I don't grow the same level of attachment to a D&D character as others do, so I don't see the big deal with all of this. How many players are going to take their characters to other shops to drop into different Encounters sessions? How many are going to go to a convention and try to run their character in an Epic? From what I can see with regard to downtime days, they aren't really good for much anyhow. You could collect 255 of them (if I recall correctly) to learn a new language. You could spend a year crafting a suit of armor if you have those kinds of skills. Reknown seems the same. There are no secret mission adventures for each faction, so what is the benefit of reknown? Both concepts seem like they were tacked on late in development with very little forethought into how they would work or be used.

#18

Skerrit

Oct 07, 2014 14:39:48

Reknown does matter for advancing in your faction (which does provide faction specific benefits, though not all of those have been announced yet). Specials do exist, but do not start until the tier 5-10 adventures start coming.

#19

Angry_Steak

Oct 07, 2014 18:31:52

aleksandr wrote:

(Reply to #17)

SteveMND

aleksandr wrote:

#21

Cascade.rpga

Oct 10, 2014 13:34:11

SteveMND wrote:

(Reply to #21)

CoreyartustheSecond

I participate in an OP for a reason. Otherwise I'd do my own thing with a Home Game. DMs as freelancers? Really? I thought this was an OP, not an Association.

I love the loose structure of AL, but it feels like the Wild West to me personally at this point. And that doesn't spur me to want to play (or DM) anywhere outside of my local circle. I feel like I can't count on anything being interpreted the same way as we've done in my own locale at my particular store, nor recorded in the same way we've done it. We've all seen examples on various forums and groups of how much variation there is not only in the playing of the mods themselves but in the distribution of their XP and rewards, and the endless variety of rules interpretations... It seems like there may be a disporportionate number of illegal characters out there, through no fault of their players themselves. We've seen it. We've argued about it and debated it here ourselves.

I love the empowerment of DMs AL provides. I also lament it on some levels.

I'm left with simply running the best game I can, and hoping that my players find their characters playable at other tables, because I've done the best, most informed job I can. At this point, it's very easy to feel part of AL despite the presence of the OP. I don't want to be a freelance DM. I'd prefer to feel like I'm part of something.

I've had to resign myself to the fact that I am never ever going to be completely up to snuff and informed on AL parameters because they are so loose and there are so many online venues to get a multitude of different answers. I'm actually expecting, now, that my players might have potential problems going to other tables (though I'm hoping they don't) despite our best intentions, and that other players may come to my table with PCs that will cause my eyebrows to furrow. I'm still going to have fun, at my table, with my players, at my location. But outside of that, I can't tell participants with confidence that their other table experiences will potentially be similar at all, because they're obviously not at this stage. I'm not sure I'd personally want to participate in Epics or Con play outside of my vicinity at this point (even if that were a possibility for me).

I'm really really hoping this is really just the natural process of the beginnings of a new OP.