Has anyone run Hammer and Anvil?

Do you have any DM tips?

can you actually get through the four combats in four hours along with the social interactions that are to go along with them? all of the combats either seem cool or relevant for the plot so i am not seeing where to cut.

were the players satisfied with the competition segment just being "for eight hours of the twelve hour competition, make a save or get exhaustion. and now here is a fight!!!"

were there obvious questions that the Players asked or directions they wanted to take the game that were not covered in the text that it would be good to think about in advance?

I will not be running it for AL, so i can make any modifications i want. so if you have any completely out of the box advice or suggestions, i will take that too!

thanks in advance !

In the Adventure League rules it says: "Magic items (e.g. Bag of Holding, Well of Many Worlds) may not take characters outside their campaign." How does that work with the robe of stars ability to transport the player into the astral plane? Is it just not allowed?

In the Nevertide Leavings section, a section there says "Other treasures and art objects here amount to a CR 4 random treasure hoard."

Does that mean I should roll in a random treasure table in the DMG? Or do I ignore it as the reward here is not specified? I haven't been able to find any answers in the AL documents so far, but maybe I missed it. So, I'm asking here for help just in case anyone has a clearer answer for this adventure.

You get asked to fill in as a DM (or you volunteer) at your FLGS on short notice.

What T1 and T2 adventures are your go to's that are fun and also easy to prep?

...as a one shot? is it better as the finale to the Frozen Worlds duology? what about the Dreams of the Red Wizards saga, should I run the 19 leading up to DDAL-DRW20? I don't want to spend money on all 20 adventures if only the last one or two make up a complete arc

Basically the title. I've never dm'd a module before, the few times I've dm'd for friends, I made my own small one-shot and anything else I improvised. I also use certain homebrew rules
As I understand it, AL is pretty restrictive on that, to ensure everyone has the same experience so how do you prepare a module while still keeping an open mind?

Hi AL experts. I am making an artificer lvl3 for Ravenloft upcoming adventure at AL. First time playing this class. I see it has intentionally underwhelming innate magical or combat abilities, which I assume is compensated by the ability to create magic items on demand (2024 lvl2 skill: Replicate magic items). But if they count towards AL maximum of magic items, then the class becomes hugely disadvantageous. So the obvious question: does it?

P.S. If it is allowed in AL, the do I assume correctly that these replicas are not sellable, but can be given to others or even my undead companion from reanimator sub-class.

Are there any open online groups that organize AL games? maybe discords?

I was looking at the most recent booking for tabletop Scotland and one of them said D&D AL – AL-01-00 Grand Bazaar of Skalnaedyr – Parts 1 & 3 – Tier 1. I was just wondering what i ment by part 1 and 3 and if it was important or not. I am a new player to adventurers league but not dnd. Also as far as im aware a tier 1 grouo is levels 1-4 on a normal dnd character sheet (following the guidlines) so can i just go to a tier 1 as a level 4 or do i start as level 1? Any help would be appreciated and expect more from me on this subreditt because ill probs have more questions. Thanks in advance.

Do you know of any Adventures League adventures set in Ravenloft for tiers 3 and 4? With the release of the new Ravenloft book, which should soon be authorized on DDAL, I wanted to narrate some high-tier adventures to "celebrate," but the "Absent Hearts" and "Mist Hunters" adventures are only tier 1 and 2. I'm looking at DDAL, but since I don't know what might be fun, I thought I'd ask for recommendations here instead of wasting hours looking at them one by one, since the DMs Guild doesn't have a tier filter.

A lot of the NPCs in the older modules seem weak compared to their 2024 counterparts. Are we allowed to have them use abilities from the 2024 rules, particularly weapon masteries, if they would get them in the 2024 rules?

I'm seeking recommendations for 20-50 modules for new AL DMs.

I'm just an organizer (no good at DMing) but my potential DMs are asking for module recommendations. I have asked here (and elsewhere) before. Thus I have 4-12 recommended modules on my list. But I can't keep giving the same modules to each DM because it creates challenges for the players.

So here I am asking again for starter DM module recommendations.

Thank you all very much.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ravenloft/comments/1tv1o3z/shadows_of_sithicus_adventure/

Looks so cool

Changes of the top of my hat.

Eberron: Forge of the Artificer Class, Shifter, Changeling, and spell only,  

Ravenloft Horrors Within Open except Background options limited to Haunted One, and Investigator.

I haven't double check my numbers on buy scrolls but

Scrolls are double the costs of the PH “Spell Scroll Costs”table, plus component costs. Purchases in a session are allowed at your DM’s discretion.*

Forever DM moving to a new city from the middle of nowhere, looking into trying AL to scratch the player itch. This would be my first dip into AL. I've read the Player's Guide (Version 2026.2) but have a few lingering questions.

1. Are AL characters limited to the official backgrounds in the PHB and newer books (e.g., Acolyte, Sailor, etc.) or can you make a “custom background” according to the layout presented in the PHB (i.e., choose your stats, choose your Origin Feat, choose your skill proficiencies, etc.)?
2. PHB+1 is gone, so does that mean I can create a setting-appropriate character with any combination of relevant player options? For example:
   1. Species: Warforged (Eberron campaign)
   2. Class: Paladin (PHB)
   3. Background: Giant Foundling (Bigby Presents Glory of the Giants)
   4. Subclass: Oath of the Noble Genies (Heroes of Faerun) *The Player's Guide says that this FR subclass is available in Dragonlance, Eberron, and Ravenloft*.
   5. And so on
3. A new character is level 1, playing in Tier 1 games (levels 1 - 4). Does this mean that my level 1 character could be playing alongside level 3 and 4 characters?
4. Does my new, level 1 character have to start at the first part of a multi-part tier 1 adventure, or can it drop in and play any tier-appropriate / level-appropriate session?
5. Can a single character “replay” an adventure, part of an adventure, or one-shot?
6. Do I need to make a different character for each campaign (FR, DL, EB, RV)? I assume yes, but I can also make an unlimited number of characters in each campaign and replay content that way (loops back to question #5).
7. Should I expect to be able to purchase Mundane Items (e.g., non-magical Plate Armor) during any given session?
8. Should I expect to be able to pick up specific magic items during play (e.g., high likelihood or guaranteed Gauntlets of Ogre Power by level 5), or should I cross my fingers and probably hit up a Trading Post with Downtime?
9. Do I need to use Downtime to level up at the end of a session? The “Downtime” section of the Player's Guide lists the option to use 10 DT to gain a level.

I appreciate any answers here. I don't want to treat AL like a home game if/when it's very much not.

Recently posted about getting into Adventures League at a local shop and received some amazing answers from all of you and just wanted to show my appreciation and an update for any interested.

After a bit more research and reflection I decided not to move forward at this time as I do like having a more connected story and group but might try on a trial basis in the future but not at the local store due to some business practices I did not care for. (Went in to buy sealed TCG product and each item I was interested in the manager informed me that the item pricing was wrong and needed to be raised significantly. While I understand doing this for specific cards, changing price based on what some people are selling online multiple times while someone is trying to buy is not someone I really want to give my time or business to)

Today I was at my local card shop and I was offered the possibility of being DM for their just starting Adventure League. As someone who as almost exclusively DM home games for almost 8 years how big of a jump is it do I need to do a lot of research to understand or can most of my knowledge transfer easily enough and still have fun doing it?

Outside of the fact that an AL character has to be RAW/no home brew, what are some builds that seem popular but might not be as fun/interesting in an AL one shot focused setting?

Hey there! First time running an Epic and it's Hecatomb! I'm reading the module and have a question for anyone with experience with these modules/this one in particular about the scale of a central feature. I'll avoid any story specifics, proper nouns, and spoilers as best I can.

The module describes "the Reaper's Claws as large crystalline pylons that have erupted from the ground at various points near Castle Perilous." "Each of the twelve sides of these 100-foot tall structures are 40-feet wide..." It later lists them as "Size Colossal (40ft. x 40ft. x 100ft.)"

Now that's big, but I figure that's a cool backdrop for the encounters, and I might even try to build one to bring to the epic as a cool set piece terrain feature. My worry would just be that it's pretty dang huge, even if I make it a rectangular obelisk of foam/foam core instead of 12 sided.

But on the example battle map, it's literally ten feet in diameter. It's tiny! (it even explicitly marks the map as "one square = 5 feet" and then has the whole thing fit on basically four squares total).

Is this a mistake? An adjustment by WOTC for a more interesting encounter, less dominated by a huge thing that blocks a lot of movement?

Would you recommend I go for the little version or embrace the big scaled one?

[5.5e] Are there any Adventurers League legal items, spells, class/subclass features, etc that boost the amount of gold you get for selling items? I'm playing an Artificer and want to be able to craft legendary items when the time comes so I'm trying to make sure I have the required Gold and Downtime Days ready when I get there, but a lot of ways to make Gold **require** Downtime Days, so I'm trying to math out the best ways to get the most gold for the least amount of Downtime Days spent. However under 5.5e rules by default you sell items for 50% of their value (so Plate armor sells for 750GP) while the cost for crafting an item is *also* 50% of the item's value so you can't just craft an item and flip it for a profit without external factors (and Artificer doesn't decrease the Gold cost to craft an item, just the Downtime Days required. Right now I'm aware of the 2 Bastion options Storehouse and Kundarak Vault which will increase the amount you can sell items for, so looking for anything outside of those.

Heads up to DMS who use the pregens based on the 80s Cartoon. The Niko cleric has a math error on here religion stat. It should be +1 not +3.

I noticed this when printing off a copy for a newby.

The actual adventure states the following 'She reappeared in DDEX3-7' and 'was first encountered in DDEX3-3' and 'played out across the third season of D&D Expeditions'. This really throws me because I've spent my time reading and enjoying the first season of expeditions and the DDEP 4 is a great finale. I have spent no time in seasons 2 or 3 and I really don't want to have to know those, or even worse ruin them as future adventures. So, what's going on here and does anyone have some input on handling this without the burden of reading through those seasons and ruining the ability for players to play them later?

Dare you face the furious might of the Aether Tyrant and save the Eschantrii from the machinations a genie cult

THE TARRASQUE AWAKENS!!!

"The arrogance of men is thinking nature is in our control and not the other way around. Let them fight."

The entirety of the Material Plane - is in peril as the Elder Primordial Guardians awaken, a scheme set in motion by the Cult of the Beasts. The cult seeks to release the final Guardian of Aether, long imprisoned and sleeping within a hidden demiplane. Adventurers and allies of the Eschantrii, a circle of druidic sages, must stop the cult before their nefarious tampering unleashes a force capable of unraveling the natural order.

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/567515/tarrasque-ps-dc-monster-05

Just wondering why these modules aren’t on DMsguild

CCC-BMG-HULB1S Extinction

CCC-BMG-HULB2S Winter’s Feast

CCC-BMG-PHLAN1S Uprising

CCC-BMH-PHLAN2S Damnation

All I can see in the adventure catalogue is that they were “Special/Interactive”