TEXT:  
   
   
   
  Dungeon Master’s Guide 
  Version 9.0 
   
  Inglorious Redemption 
  A Campaign Supporting 
  Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus 
   
   
   
   
   
  Credits 
  D&D Staff-Head Dungeon Master: Chris Lindsay 
  D&D Adventurers League Administrators: Alan Patrick, Amy Lynn Dzura, Travis Woodall, 
  Lysa Penrose, Claire Hoffman, Greg Marks 
   
   
  Effective Date 
  September 16, 2019 
   
   
   
  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 
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  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. 
   
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  Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. 
  2 
  Adventurers League Dungeon Master’s Guide v9.0 
  Part 1. Getting Started 
  This document is a guide to getting started as a Dungeon Master (DM) for the Forgotten Realms campaign managed by 
  the D&D Adventurers League. These rules are supplemented by the Adventurers League FAQ (also found in the 
  Adventurers League DM’s Pack). 
   
  Storyline Seasons 
  Adventurers League play is broken up into storyline 
  seasons, but all sanctioned adventures can be played 
  regardless of their season.  
  D&D Adventurers League Play 
  D&D Adventurers League play can take place practically 
  ANYWHERE--whether at home, a friendly local game 
  and hobby store, a library or school, or even a 
  convention. The possibilities are endless. 
   DMs and players alike participate in Adventurers 
  League play utilizing a variety of adventure content 
  options. These currently include D&D Introductory 
  Adventures, D&D Premiere Play, and playing through the 
  published D&D adventures (called hardcover 
  adventures). Additionally, many convention organizers 
  have created approved D&D Adventurers League 
  adventures called Convention-Created Content 
  adventures (CCC) specifically for their conventions.  
   D&D Introductory Adventures. These adventures 
  accompany new Wizards of the Coast print products and 
  premier at participating friendly local game and hobby 
  stores and are meant to introduce you to new content.  
   D&D Premiere Play. These adventures support 
  Wizards of the Coast storyline product releases. They’re 
  purchased from the Dungeon Masters Guild. Dungeon 
  Masters purchasing Premier Play adventures can run 
  them often as that DM likes. 
  Being a Dungeon Master 
  Being an Adventurers League DM is easy and fun. The 
  adventures can be prepared in a short period of time, 
  and you don’t have to worry about creating all sorts of 
  background material. 
  What You Need to Run a Game 
  In order to run a game as a DM in D&D Adventurers 
  League games, you’ll need the following: 
  • Player’s Handbook or the D&D Basic Rules. The basic 
  rules .pdf document is free on the Wizards of the Coast 
  website and contains all the basic rules of the game. 
  • Adventures. If you’re running games in a public venue 
  on behalf of an event organizer, check with that 
  individual to see what adventures they have available. 
  Otherwise, adventures are available for purchase at 
  your local gaming store (hardcover adventures only) 
  or online at www.dmsguild.com. 
  • Players. Adventures League play is designed for a 
  table of five players but can be adjusted for as few as 
  three to as many as seven players. Tables smaller or 
  larger than those limits not recommended as they 
  promote an extremely suboptimal play experience. 
  Optional Items 
  These things aren’t necessary to run D&D Adventurers 
  League games but might be nice to have. 
   Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG). This book contains 
  valuable advice on preparing and running games. The 
  DMG also contains descriptions of magic items that 
  might be awarded during the course of play, so it is 
  suggested that you bring that information with you to 
  the table if it is not provided in the adventure.  
   Monster Manual (MM). While the statistics for most 
  monsters can be found here, special monsters created 
  specifically for a given season’s published adventure are 
  found in that product. 
   Index Cards. Great for writing down initiative, 
  handing notes to players, and as cheap table tents. 
   Dungeon Master Screen. Helpful to hide the 
  adventure and your notes and schemes from the players. 
   Miniatures and Map Surfaces. If you and your 
  players enjoy playing a more tactical game of D&D, you 
  can use these to help depict combats and detailed areas. 
  Cheating 
  D&D Adventurers League play is meant to be fun and 
  inclusive—not competitive. As the DM, correct cheating 
  players quickly and discreetly (if possible) by resolving 
  the issue and making a fair ruling on what happens. You 
  can review paperwork (character sheets, adventure 
  logsheets, and certificates) at any time. If something 
  seems amiss or inappropriate—either with the 
  paperwork or during the game—discuss it with the 
  player and resolve irregularities. You can disallow 
  something that seems outside the rules or have a player 
  reroll dice. Be professional—make every effort to avoid 
  embarrassing the player or assume wrongdoing. We’re 
  all here to have fun and enjoy the challenge! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. 
  3 
  Adventurers League Dungeon Master’s Guide v9.0 
  Part 2. Running Adventures 
  You can DM one group of players at a time—each player must have their own character within the adventure’s level 
  range. Characters that play hardcover adventure can continue to play it if they advance out of its level range, but if 
  they later play a different hardcover adventure, they can’t return to the first one. 
   
  Playing the Dungeon Master 
  You have the most important role. You provide the 
  narrative and bring the words on the pages of the 
  adventure to life. While telling the story, it is also your 
  responsibility to make everyone feel welcomed at the 
  table creating a fun and fair environment. 
   You’re Empowered. Make decisions about how the 
  group interacts with the adventure; adjust or improvise 
  but maintain the adventure’s spirit. You can’t implement 
  new rules. 
   Challenge Your Players. Gauge the experience level of 
  your players, as well as what they seem to enjoy in a 
  game and attempt to deliver what they’re after. 
  Everyone should be able to shine. You can adjustment 
  the encounter by adding or removing thematically 
  appropriate monsters. 
   Keep the Adventure Moving. When the game gets 
  bogged down, provide hints and clues to your players 
  facing puzzles or engaging in combat and roleplay 
  interactions that get frustrating. This gives players “little 
  victories” for making good choices based on clues 
  received. When playing within a given time constraint, 
  such as at a convention, it is important to gauge the 
  pacing of your game. It’s okay to make adjustments to 
  the content when you get bogged down in order to 
  promote a play experience that feels complete. 
  Character Disease, Death, and Recovery 
  Bad things happen to characters; adventuring is a risky 
  job. Diseases, poisons, and other similar effects last until 
  removed, but characters can spend downtime days to 
  receive spellcasting services or to recuperate (see 
  Player’s Handbook). Dead characters or those afflicted 
  with lycanthropy or vampirism can’t start a new 
  session until returned to life or cured. Characters 
  returned to life suffer the effects from the ordeal as 
  normal, but each downtime day spent reduces any 
  penalties to attack rolls, saving throws, and ability 
  checks by 1. Bodies are recovered unless otherwise 
  specified in the encounter. If the group can’t return a 
  character to life or cure conditions that remove it from 
  play themselves, the following rules apply: 
  • The Character Pays. Characters can use their gold to 
  pay for a spellcasting service that would return them 
  to play. Alternatively, the character can trade a 
  permanent magic item (excluding common magic 
  items) to an NPC that is capable of providing 
  spellcasting services (see below)—who in turn 
  returns them to life and removes any conditions (or in 
  some circumstances, story awards) that removed 
  them from play—including those requiring a wish. 
  This option reduces their Magic Item Limit but is 
  available even if their limit has been reduced to 0 or 
  they have no magic items. 
  • The Group Pays. Other characters can contribute 
  toward the cost for spellcasting services to benefit 
  other characters. They can’t trade magic items for 
  another character to receive these services, though. 
  Spellcasting Services 
  During a session, characters can receive spellcasting 
  services from an NPC located anywhere that is town-
  sized or larger but must be able to travel there. 
  Otherwise, they’re available only between sessions. 
  Magic Item Table 
  Cost 
  Cure wounds 
  10 gp 
  Identify 
  20 gp 
  Lesser restoration 
  40 gp 
  Prayer of healing 
  40 gp 
  Dispel magic 
  90 gp 
  Remove curse 
  90 gp 
  Speak with dead 
  90 gp 
  Divination 
  210 gp 
  Greater Restoration 
  450 gp 
  Raise dead* 
  1,000 gp 
  Resurrection* 
  3,000 gp 
  True resurrection* 
  30,000 gp 
  *Characters can instead receive these services by purchasing spell scrolls. 
   Spellcasting services provided by NPCs are limited to 
  the spells on this list. However, characters can purchase 
  spell scrolls which NPCs can cast for free, but only to 
  benefit the character who purchased the scroll. 
  Season & Region 
  Acolyte-Friendly Temples 
  1: Phlan 
  Kelemvor 
  2: Mulmaster 
  Bane, Loviatar, Tymora, Velsharoon 
  3: Hillsfar 
  Chauntea, Lliira, Tempus 
  4: Barovia 
  None 
  5: Sword Coast 
   
      T1: Parnast 
  Mielikki 
      T2: Stagwick 
  Chauntea 
      T3: Beregost 
  Lathander, Waukeen 
  6: Sword Coast 
   
      T1: Mirabar 
  Dumathoin, Sharindlar, Tymora 
      T2: Neverwinter 
  Oghma, Selûne, Tyr 
      T3: Dagger Falls 
  Lathander, Tyr 
  7: Port Nyanzaru 
  Gond, Savras, Waukeen 
  8: Waterdeep 
  Any non-evil deity 
  9: Baldur’s Gate 
  Gond, Umberlee, Tymora 
   
   Acolyte Background. Characters with the Shelter of 
  the Faithful background feature can request spellcasting 
  services at a temple of their faith. Once per day they can 
  
   
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  4 
  Adventurers League Dungeon Master’s Guide v9.0 
   
  receive one spell from the Spellcasting Services table for 
  free (though they must provide the cost of any material 
  component needed). Only some faiths are represented 
  by temples large enough to provide this benefit. During 
  play, the available faiths are determined by the region in 
  which the adventure is set (shown above). 
  Adventure Rewards 
  Characters gain levels and earn rewards in the form of 
  gold, magic items, and downtime. These rewards are 
  recorded on their Adventure Logsheets—which they 
  must maintain—before leaving the table. Most of these 
  are awarded when you feel it’s appropriate (although 
  magic items can only be awarded if specifically 
  mentioned in the encounter in which they’re found). 
   Advancement. Characters gain a level once they’ve 
  completed an adventure. In hardcover sessions, they 
  advance as you decide (or when directed by the 
  adventure) or after four hours of play (or eight hours at 
  tier 2 – 4), to a maximum of one level per session. 
  Characters advance at the end of a long rest or the 
  session, whichever happens first (though consider the 
  disruption that updating their character may cause). 
   Players can decline advancement if they choose—
  postponing advancement as long as they wish. 
   Magic Items. Characters keep any permanent magic 
  items that their group finds during the session. At the 
  end of the session, each character can keep the items 
  found during the session—to a maximum number of 
  items based on their tier (common items aren’t subject 
  to this limitation). Consumable magic items (potions, 
  scrolls, ammunition, and soul coins) are equitably 
  divided among the characters—resolving disagreements 
  randomly if necessary. If multiple players want a potion 
  that the group has found, for example, roll a die to 
  determine which character keeps the item. 
  Tier 
  Magic Item Limit 
  Tier 
  Magic Item Limit 
  1 
  1 
  3 
  6 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  10 
   
   Mundane Treasure. Mundane equipment under a 
  treasure subheading can’t be sold or traded but can be 
  used until the end of the session, upon which time it’s 
  lost. Any treasure with a monetary value (gp, gems, art 
  objects, etc.) mentioned is ignored. Items without 
  mechanical properties (such as trinkets or other objects 
  without a specified value) are divided equitably among 
  the characters. If more than one player wants the item, a 
  randomly determined character keeps it. 
   Instead, you have discretion to award gold; each hour 
  you can award each character an amount of gold based 
  on their tier (see below). You have a lot of flexibility in 
  how this gold is distributed and what form it takes, 
  though you can the treasure entries as cues to award 
  gold and what form that gold might take. For example, a 
  goblin might carry dirty copper coins, while a wealthy 
  merchant might carry writs redeemable for gold. 
  Alternatively, in a convention setting, you might want to 
  wait and award the cumulative hourly awards at the end 
  in the form of a chest of gold bars from a wealthy 
  merchant. The campaign staff strongly suggests that 
  characters be awarded the maximum amount of gold 
  for their tier per hour. Otherwise, the characters earn a 
  minimum amount for each hour of the session. 
   Once a character receives an amount of gold equal to 
  their GP Limit, they can’t earn more until they have 
  gained a level when the limit resets. 
  Tier 
  Hourly GP Award (Min GP Award) 
  GP Limit/Level 
  1 
  20 gp (10 gp) 
  80 gp 
  2 
  30 gp (15 gp) 
  240 gp 
  3 
  200 gp (100 gp) 
  1,600 gp 
  4 
  750 gp (375 gp) 
  6,000 gp 
   
   Story Awards/Effects/Items. These items or effects—
  designated by the ALCC—are essential to a hardcover 
  adventure’s storyline and are only useable during 
  sessions of the adventure in which they’re awarded. 
  These items don’t count against a characters Magic Item 
  Limit, but only one character can possess a given story 
  item at the same table at the same time. 
  Dungeon Master Rewards 
  As you run adventures, you also earn DM Rewards. For 
  more information see the D&D Adventurers League 
  Dungeon Master Rewards document. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/Adventure League/S09 - Descent - Inglorious Redemption/Dungeon Masters Guide v9.0.pdf