The big day is here: the Season 9 rules have been updated, and are being released ahead of their September 17th effective date.
Highlights of this season’s changes include:
Character Advancement: Your character gains a level upon completing an adventure. In hardcover adventure sessions, your DM will tell you when you’ve gained a level. Otherwise if, after four hours of play (or eight hours at tiers 2 – 4) in a hardcover adventure, your DM doesn’t tell you that you’ve gained a level, you gain a level. If you’d like to continue playing at your current level, you can decline to gain a level, although it has an impact on other rewards that you receive.
Magic Items: In order to maintain portability in this shared-world campaign, whenever the group you’re playing with finds a magic item, your character can
keep it if you wish, though the number of magic items your character can own at a given time is determined by their tier (common, consumable, and story items don’t count against this limit). Instead of gaining a new item, your character can instead replace an item in their possession with a new one—useful in getting rid of obsolete items or those that have been destroyed or have no magic remaining.
Monetary Rewards: Your Dungeon Master awards your character gold during play. In order to maintain character equality in this shared-world campaign, the
maximum amount of gold your character can earn is based on how many hours they’ve played in their current tier.
Renown Item: Seasoned characters gain a +1 weapon, +1 shield, +1 rod of the pact keeper, or a +1 wand of the war mage tied to their background (a Folk Hero might get an old +1 greatsword that belonged to a retired adventurer, a Sage may find a +1 wand of the war mage hidden in a library, etc.). Your character’s Magic Item Limit applies to this item, and the item can’t be sold or traded.
Faction Item: Seasoned faction members gain a magical ring bearing their faction’s insignia. Your character’s Magic Item Limit applies to this item and it can’t be sold or traded. The item gained is determined by their faction but is lost if you leave the faction.
Seasonal Incentives: Characters made specifically to start Season 9 gain access to the following character creation options: Lingering Legacy of Evil, Plane-Touched Wings, and Inherited Malevolence.
Versions 9.0 of the AL Players Guide and AL Dungeon Masters Guide will be available at these links until they go live on the DMs Guild as part of the AL Players Pack.
AL Players Guide v9.0
AL Dungeon Masters Guide v9.0
It’s important to note that Seasonality, as previously discussed, is no longer part of the Season 9 ruleset. Any character of any creation date will earn magic items, gold, and story awards from all available adventures; however characters created for Season 9 will enjoy additional perks during their adventures in Avernus, as noted in the ALPG, under Seasonal Incentives.
We’ll be releasing further information on how to prepare previously-created characters for compliance with the new Magic Item limit, as well as how to convert DM Rewards from ACP and TCP. Watch this space!