AL legal homebrew monsters?

[Shuruke]

So occasionally one of my DMs and co DM say something that confuses me.

They talk about making things like an enemy with 26 a.c that will be at 31 for most of the fight

Or a elephant that teleport 130 feet every other turn?

And they talk about how its A.L legal

Just confused i guess because I thought al was running modules and etc

[darknite]

No such thing as an AL Legal Homebrew as far as I know. Some DMs might re-skin something that they say is a Wight but is really a Vampire or the like. There are also custom creatures in the various AL modules and hard covers that aren't found in the MM or other allowed books but were okayed for AL. DMs are allowed to modify encounters with legal opponents if they feel it's appropriate, too.

[NaughtyTiger]

AL legal homebrew is an oxymoron... no, it ain't allowed.

that said, with 7 PCs (and too many magic weapons) at a table, i will often pump AC, toHit, and HP a little.

the modules tell your DM how to adjust for strong parties, but they recommend adding more mooks. this isn't a challenge and slows down play, so i also bump for related monsters... 1 zombie ogre instead of 4 more zombies. usually at the player's request.

[Keravath]

In AL you can't make things up. However, DMs have a lot of leeway to adjust encounters to make the game more enjoyable for the players. Note that the key concept is more fun and not more deadly :)

Here is a quote from the ALDMG:

"Playing the Dungeon Master

You have the most important role—facilitating the enjoyment of the game for the players. You provide the narrative and bring the words on these pages to life.

You’re Empowered. Make decisions about how the group interacts with the adventure; adjust or improvise but maintain the adventure’s spirit. This doesn’t allow you to implement new rules, however.

Challenge Your Players. Gauge the experience level of your players, what they like in a game, and attempt to deliver what they’re after. Everyone should be able to shine. You may adjust 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 might get frustrated over a lack of information. This gives players “little victories” for figuring out good choices from clues. Watch for losses in momentum when this happens, but make sure that the players are provided the full play experience."

So an AL DM has a lot of leeway, they can't make stuff up or homebrew monsters. Many will adjust AC/HP to balance an encounter while others will use the recommendations (each module usually has a table with recommended adjustments to encounter difficulty) and add/remove monsters.

[Dalebert]

No such thing as an AL Legal Homebrew as far as I know. Some DMs might re-skin something that they say is a Wight but is really a Vampire or the like.

This is what I imagine they're doing. Some specific changes to legal mobs are allowed. You can increase our decrease HP within the normal range. You can swap out prepared spells. You can reflavor legal mobs so they're mechanically the same but have different fluff. Just a few off the top of my head.

[Theodoxus]

Technically, yes, homebrew isn't AL legal. However, as long as there isn't any reward (xp or treasure) granted by the encounter, you can throw whatever you want at a party.

With the changes to season 8 (which I played once and decided AL wasn't for me anymore), I don't think even this would be ok, unless the DM subtracted the play time at the end of the session...

[Shuruke]

I figured out what it is, they are making Pc leveled npcs using phb+1 rule and throwing them in encounters as bosses.

Teleporting elephant is just tree stride moon druid

[Unoriginal]

I figured out what it is, they are making Pc leveled npcs using phb+1 rule and throwing them in encounters as bosses.

Teleporting elephant is just tree stride moon druid

Oh, ok. Well, the characters might be AL legal if they were PCs, but doing that as a DM wouldn't be allowed in AL.

[Shuruke]

Oh, ok. Well, the characters might be AL legal if they were PCs, but doing that as a DM wouldn't be allowed in AL.

That makes sense xD