Player’s Guide

Version 6.0

Credits
D&D Organized Play: Christopher Lindsay
D&D Adventurers League Administrators: Robert Adducci, Bill Benham, Claire Hoffman,
Greg Marks, Alan Patrick, Sam Simpson, Travis Woodall

Effective
March 24, 2017

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.

©2017 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 an ongoing official organized play campaign for Dungeons & Dragons®. It
uses the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons rules, and features the Forgotten Realms® setting. You can play
D&D Adventurers League games anywhere. You can create a character and bring that character to any D&D
Adventurers League game. D&D Adventurers League games can be public, in-person play events, but they can
also be played at home or in another private setting of your choosing. Typical venues for these events are
game and hobby stores, conventions, public-accessible game day events, libraries, your home, or anywhere
you gather to play a D&D Adventurers League game.

How to Use This Guide 4. Create a Unique Login ID:

The D&D Adventurers League Player’s Guide is a • Cannot contain special symbols,
comprehensive guide to all the rules used by underscore, or spaces.
players for official games. When there are 5. Create a Password that is:
differences between the rules and guidelines here • At least 7 characters;
and in other sources, the rules here take • At least 1 uppercase and 1 lowercase
precedence for D&D Adventurers League play. letter;
• At least 1 numeral and 1 symbol (!, $, *,
What You Need to Play etc.); and
To participate in D&D Adventurers League games, • Different from your other identifiers
you’ll need the following: (cannot use DCI number, email address,
• The D&D Basic Rules. This PDF document is etc.).
available for free on the Wizards of the Coast 6. Within a few minutes, you will receive an
website. It contains all the basic rules of the account verification email containing an
game, and you can create a character with it. activation link.
Additional options for characters are available 7. Click on the activation link.
in the fifth edition Player’s Handbook, the 8. Login with your Login ID and Password.
Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, the Elemental 9. Provide your new DCI number to the
Evil Player’s Companion, and Volo’s Guide to tournament organizer to register for the
Monsters. event.
• A character sheet. You can use an official
D&D Adventurers League character sheet, or *If you were given a temporary DCI number at an
any other D&D character sheet that suits you. earlier event: Go to Accounts.Wizards.com, click
• A D&D Adventurers League adventure “Activate DCI Number,” and follow Steps 3 to 9.
logsheet. You’ll use this to record each
session of play, keeping track of your Character Creation
experience, treasure, and other notes. To create a character for the D&D Adventurers
• A DCI number (OPTIONAL). This is an League, follow the steps below. All characters
official Wizards of the Coast organized play begin play at 1st level.
number, and only used for tracking play in
core hobby stores. It’s obtainable at public Steps 1 & 2: Choosing a Race and Class
events; ask the organizer for one the first You may use all race and class options presented
time you play. DCI numbers can also be in the Player’s Handbook to build and advance your
acquired online by following the instructions character. For example, if you are playing a human,
provided here. you can use the Variant Human Traits, as
presented on page 31 of the Player’s Handbook.
How to Sign up for a New DCI Number Online* Backgrounds can be from any officially-released
1. Go to Accounts.Wizards.com. Wizards of the Coast or D&D Adventurers League
2. Click on the Create Account button. resource. Unearthed Arcana content isn’t
3. Enter your country/region, date of birth, and considered officially-released for this purpose. In
a valid email address. addition to the Player’s Handbook however, you
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may also choose to use one other resource from Deities
those listed below to build your character. If you do Whether your character is a cleric or not, if they
so, please indicate your chosen additional resource worship a deity, you may choose only from those
on the first ‘Notes’ entry of your character’s deities listed in the Deities of the Forgotten Realms
logsheet. As new player resources become and Nonhuman Deities tables in the Player’s
available, they will be added to this list. This rule is Handbook or any of the deities listed in any of the
referred to as “PHB+1”. resources listed in Step 1& 2, above. Note,
however, if the deity doesn’t include suggested
• Elemental Evil Player’s Companion domains in the resource in which it is found, only
• Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide the Life domain is available.
• Volo’s Guide to Monsters
Starting Lifestyles
Unless your starting lifestyle is explicitly
NOTE: A character race that grants a fly speed at
determined by your chosen background, you can
1st level isn’t allowed for D&D Adventurers League
choose to begin with whatever lifestyle you like.
play. Additionally, options presented in other
Please note this selection on the first ‘Notes’ entry
resources, such as the Death Domain found in the
of your character’s logsheet. You can change your
Dungeon Master's Guide, or content from the
lifestyle (up or down) when you spend downtime
various Unearthed Arcana articles, are not allowed
days for activities.
for play unless you possess specific campaign
documentation that indicates otherwise.
Step 5: Choose Equipment
When you create your D&D Adventurers League
Step 3: Determine Ability Scores character for the current season, take starting
You can generate your character’s ability scores
equipment as determined by your class and
using one of the following methods:
background. You can’t roll for your starting wealth.
• Standard Array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) Trinkets. You begin play with one trinket of your
• Variant: Customizing Ability Scores option on choice from the table in Chapter 5 of the Player’s
page 13 of the Player’s Handbook. Handbook or the Basic Rules, or you can roll
randomly to determine your trinket.
Step 4: Describe Your Character Purchasing Equipment. You can purchase any
Describe your character and choose a background equipment found in the Player’s Handbook.
from the Player’s Handbook, pages 121 – 141, or if
you’ve selected an additional resource as described Step 6 (Optional): Select a Faction
above, you can select a background presented At any time during your character’s adventuring
there. career, you can choose to become a member of a
faction. Joining a faction is completely optional.
Alignment Each faction is distinct, and offers adventurers a
D&D Adventurers League play focuses on creating
chance to earn prestige within its ranks through
a welcoming, fun environment. Though we
the acquisition of renown by completing
recognize that most players can portray characters
adventures and tasks that further that faction’s
who run a wide range of motivations, we’ve
interests. Factions persist from storyline to
decided to restrict alignment choices to keep
storyline, and are woven into the fabric of current
groups from becoming too self-destructive. You
and future narratives in the D&D Adventurers
may not play characters with either the neutral evil
League. Factions each have their own goals, but
or chaotic evil alignments in the D&D Adventurers
aren’t overtly hostile to one another. Faction
League. However, you may play a character with
members might have a dislike of other factions,
the lawful evil alignment, but only if you are a
but they’re civilized enough to keep from being
member of either the Lords’ Alliance or Zhentarim
completely antagonistic. If your characters join a
factions.
faction, the following rules apply.

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 One Faction Only. You can be a member of only Downtime and Lifestyle
one faction at a time. If you ever switch factions or Downtime activities and lifestyle maintenance
decide to become unaffiliated, you lose all benefits occur outside the scope of adventures you play,
and renown associated with your former faction. and can have an impact on how others perceive
The factions don’t appreciate traitors or deserters. your character. If you want your character to
No Undermining Other Characters. Adventurers engage in a downtime activity between episodes or
are brought together by common cause, and adventures, you have several options available to
during an adventure, they’re expected to work you. These options are found on page 187 of the
together to overcome challenges. Though certain Player’s Handbook.
factions might find others distasteful, individuals
will put that aside and become a team when put in Recording Downtime
dangerous situations. In short, play nice with each To record your downtime activity, simply deduct
other when things get deadly. the days from your total on your adventure
logsheet. Make a note of your downtime activity
The Adventure Logsheet and the total number of days used toward it in the
In addition to your character sheet, you need an adventure notes section. For example, if you
adventure logsheet to keep track of your wanted to train to learn the Gnomish language and
character’s rewards from adventure to adventure. you spent 10 days doing so, you’d write Training:
Gold. You begin play with whatever gold pieces Gnomish (10) after the first time you spent
(gp) you received from your background. downtime toward this activity, and deduct 10 days
Downtime. At the end of each adventure, your from your downtime total. If you spend 5 days
character will earn downtime, which you can spend later, you’d write Training: Gnomish (15) in your
on downtime activities. notes section, and deduct 5 more days from your
Renown. You begin play with 0 renown points in downtime total.
your faction. If you do not have a faction, you do
not track renown (just fill all the lines with “0”). Recording Lifestyle Expenses
Magic Items. Record the number of permanent Whenever you engage in a downtime activity, you
magic items your character possesses here; record must pay your lifestyle expenses, as described on
the name of the item in the adventure notes area. pages 157 – 158 in the Player’s Handbook. Simply
You begin with 0 permanent magic items. If you deduct the cost from your gold on your adventure
received a magic item generated randomly by the logsheet. You pay lifestyle expenses only when
Dungeon Master, you must record the name of the downtime is spent. It takes a while to increase your
adventure you received it in, the location where it lifestyle, but it’s easy to reduce it. If you spend one
was found, and the result of the roll that or more downtime days maintaining a lower
determined the item. lifestyle than your current lifestyle, your lifestyle
Adventure Notes/Downtime Activity. Use this changes to that new lifestyle. If you spend 30
space to record notes from the adventure. At a downtime days maintaining a higher lifestyle than
minimum, you should write down any magic items your current lifestyle, your lifestyle changes to that
gained (permanent or consumable). If you’re new lifestyle.
spending downtime, note what activity you’re
engaged in. Downtime: Spellcasting Services
Session #. You only need to track session #s if If you finish an episode or adventure, need a spell
you are playing one of the adventures published by cast, you can spend one downtime day and pay
Wizards of the Coast, such as Curse of Strahd or lifestyle expenses plus the cost of the spell to have
Storm King’s Thunder. Yes, you can most certainly an appropriate spell cast. Alternatively, another
have a D&D Adventurers League legal character party member can provide the service. Both you
through this type of play experience. Each session and the spellcaster in your party spend one
you play is numbered, and any rewards you downtime day to have the spells cast. Anyone in
received for that session are tracked just like the party can pay the cost for consumed material
playing a single session adventure. components for spells such as raise dead. If your
character is raised from the dead during an
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adventure, he or she can continue to play and gain Trading Permanent Magic Items
rewards from that play, but the penalties imposed Characters can trade permanent magic items
by the raise dead spell apply. received in official D&D Adventurers League play
with one another, or even with themselves (i.e.
Downtime: Catching Up between two characters of a single player). A
Sometimes the rest of your party levels up a bit certificate isn’t required to facilitate this trade, but
before you do. Instead of watching them go on if the item bears a certificate, it must either be
higher-level adventures while leaving you at home, traded or destroyed.
you can catch up. When you’re catching up, your If trading with another character playing in the
character is assumed to be going on a small side same game session as you, the trade may be
adventure, such as guarding a caravan or patrolling completed without expending downtime days.
the wilderness. Catching up is a special downtime Otherwise, each participant in a trade must spend
activity only available at 4th, 10th, and 16th level, and 15 downtime days to complete the trade.
is meant only to get your character to the next tier Upon completing the trade, an entry must be
of play. At 4th level, you can spend 20 downtime created on each character's log sheet indicating
days to level up to the start of 5th level. At 10th level, who they traded with (and their DCI number if they
you can spend 100 downtime days to level up to have one), the item traded away, and the item
the start of 11th level. At 16th level you can spend received in exchange. Magic items can't be given
300 downtime days to level up to the start of 17th away to another character; a permanent magic
level. You still pay lifestyle expenses when you item must be received in return.
spend downtime catching up. Furthermore, permanent magic items may only
be traded for permanent magic items of like rarity
Downtime: Copying Spells (i.e. uncommon for uncommon, rare for rare, etc.).
If you wish to copy spells into your spellbook, you If the item’s rarity is in question, the Dungeon
must do so using this downtime activity—even if it Master’s Guide or other official, published D&D
occurs during an adventure. product, is the deciding resource. Magic items
For each downtime day spent copying spells, a without any uses remaining can’t be traded unless
character may spend eight hours copying spells the item retains some magical ability. Similarly,
into their spellbook. Two or more characters items of unique rarity can’t be traded.
participating in the same adventure together at the
same table that choose to perform this downtime Character Rebuilding
activity may allow one another access to their We recognize that many players start out with a
spellbook; effectively “trading” spells between pregenerated character, or might try out a
everyone involved to copy as normal. Both parties character class, race, or other option, and then
to the trade must perform this downtime activity to decide later that it wasn’t the play experience they
trade spells. were looking for. As such, characters in the first
As there may sometimes be a chance of failure tier (levels 1–4) can be rebuilt after any episode or
when copying spells, you must perform this adventure. A player cannot change a character’s
downtime activity in the presence of the table’s name, but can rebuild the character using the rules
DM. as presented in this document.
The character keeps all experience, treasure,
Exchanging Wealth equipment, magic items, downtime, and faction
You can’t give another character gold or mundane renown earned to that point. The character
equipment. However, you can pay for some or all replaces the old starting equipment (along with
the cost of services that help another character, any gold earned from selling it) with the new
such as the cost of a raise dead spell. To donate starting equipment. If a character’s faction is
funds toward services for another character, you changed, that character loses all renown earned
must be in the same party (at the same play table) with the former faction, and starts at 0 with the
unless otherwise specified by the adventure. new faction. Characters that are level 5 or higher
cannot be rebuilt.

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Leveling and Tiers of Play Official Documents
Adventures for the D&D Adventurers League are • D&D Basic Rules
broken into four tiers of play—first tier (levels 1–4), The rules document that contains everything
second tier (levels 5–10), third tier (levels 11–16), you need to get started.
and fourth tier (levels 17–20). Your character’s • D&D Adventurers League Resources
level determines which tier of adventures you can Links to downloadable content for D&D
play with that character. You cannot play Adventurers League play, including adventure
adventures outside your tier. You can level your logsheets and character sheets.
character after completing a long rest, or at the end
of an episode or adventure.
A character who earns enough XP to advance a
level does so at the end of a long rest or at the end
of an episode or an adventure. A character who
earns enough renown to advance a rank in his or
her faction does so at the end of an episode or an
adventure. Note your new level or rank on your
character sheet and in the notes section of your
adventure logsheet.
Hit Points at Higher Levels. Whenever you gain a
level, use the fixed hit point value shown in your
class entry. You cannot roll your hit points.
Advancing Your Character. You can use the
options provided in your “PHB+1” for advancing
your character. This includes multiclassing and
feats in Chapter 6 of the Player's Handbook."

Additional Player Resources

D&D Links
• Official D&D Web Site
• Official D&D Community Web Page
• Wizards Play Network (WPN) Web Site
• Store and Event Locator
• D&D Adventurers League FAQ

D&D Adventurers League Links

• Official Wizards D&D Adventurers League
Announcements
• D&D Adventurers League Organizers Page
• D&D Adventurers League Twitter
• D&D Adventurers League Facebook Group
• D&D Adventurers League G+ Community
• D&D Adventurers League Online Tools
• D&D Adventurers League Wiki
• D&D Adventurers League Convention
Locator

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 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 ALWAYS feel safe and included. 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.

Avoid excessively vulgar, sexual, or overly mature language and themes.

Follow the DMs lead, avoid arguing with the DM or other players over rules.

Let other players speak, avoid talking over others.

Avoid excessive cross-talk that is not relevant to the adventure being played

Allow other players to get attention from the DM.

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.

No tolerance is given for theft or aggressive behavior.

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.

WHERE FRIENDSHIPS ARE FORGED AT THE TABLE!

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