What happened to the Adventurers League?

[2D8HP]

I went to https://locator.wizards.com/search looking for an Adventurers League game near me (in San Francisco, California) but (unless I failed to work the “events near me” feature correctly) I just didn’t find any.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1024060730019950697/1192134682037465219/IMG_5378.png

I had hoped in-person games would be back this long after covid lockdown but I haven’t sussed out any yet (I’m specifically looking for in-person games like those that used to happen in stores).

Am I just clicking on the wrong link?

[Atranen]

AL is definitely still active; I'm a part of a group in Southern California. WotC does not do much to actively support it at present (which honestly may be a good thing, as they caused quite a few problems when they were more active). The official site is basically defunct, no one I know uses it. We find members through the discord page associated with our FLGS, and our warhorn page. I would ask around the FLGS in your area to see if any groups are active.

[JLandan]

It's best to check in with individual shops to see what's happening with AL and non-AL games. Also check Discord for AL group servers.

[Psyren]

There are also usually sign-up or drop-in AL games at tabletop/boardgame/geek conventions if you have any close by. (From a brief google, the Bay area has plenty.)

[Monster Manuel]

So, honest question, here.

If the official page is effectively defunct, what is it about the games hosted by the FLGS or Discord meet-ups that makes them "adventurer's league", as opposed to, just, like, regular pick-up games?

I've always struggled to get my head around just what, exactly, the AL was and how it works. There are seasons, with particular modules that make up the season, and a particular set of rules and guidelines/limitations that apply across all players, and special rules around treasure and magic items that allows for some level of consistency across different tables and venues. Right? But how does that all work without a centralized authority managing all of this?

Genuinely looking for insight from people who have been more involved in this whole thing.

[Psyren]

So, honest question, here.

If the official page is effectively defunct, what is it about the games hosted by the FLGS or Discord meet-ups that makes them "adventurer's league", as opposed to, just, like, regular pick-up games?

I've always struggled to get my head around just what, exactly, the AL was and how it works. There are seasons, with particular modules that make up the season, and a particular set of rules and guidelines/limitations that apply across all players, and special rules around treasure and magic items that allows for some level of consistency across different tables and venues. Right? But how does that all work without a centralized authority managing all of this?

Genuinely looking for insight from people who have been more involved in this whole thing.

The D&D Discord (https://discord.com/invite/dnd) is an official site, administered by WotC staff and moderated by officially-appointed volunteers. There is a dedicated Adventurers League channel there where you can get the most current and accurate answers to all your AL questions, including anything either not covered in or that you're unsure of from the DDAL Organizers Guide. (https://media.wizards.com/2021/dnd/downloads/DDAL_Organizers_Guide_v11.0.pdf)

[Yakmala]

Adventurer's League is still active. I live in Sonoma County, north of San Francisco, and there are at least three friendly local game shops within a short driving distance of me that host weekly AL games. I've played in games at all three and still DM at one on a weekly basis. AL is also run at our local game conventions such as KublaCon. Sign-Ups are handled via an online site called Warhorn.

You can also sign up for the monthly D&D Virtual Weekends, which use AL rules. While such games are not free, I've had great experiences with nearly all the DM's I've had through this program.

WotC support for AL has been limited of late. They update guidance documents for new books when they get around it it, publish a limited system of DM rewards and host the previously mentioned Virtual Weekends through their partner at Baldman Games, but I've seen little indication they actually interact with or encourage game shops to host events anymore.

As to what makes an AL game an AL game...

Anyone can sign up and play if there are slots available. This is the biggest positive feature; finding a local game near you and being able to join with little fuss.
Only specific rule books are allowed: PHB, XGtE, TCoE, MMotM, SCaG, Fizban's and Glory are the main ones, plus a few obscure supplements.
95% of the games are Forgotten Realms. You might occasionally find an Eberron or Dragonlance AL game but it is rare.
With rare exceptions, no mixing of universes. If it's a Forgotten Realms game, then only characters made with Forgotten Realms rule books are allowed.
No UA or 3rd party characters or rules allowed.
DM's can only run official WotC approved adventures, as well as any Dungeoncraft player-made adventures and the old Community Created Content (CCC) adventures.
Games are broken down into tiers. Tier 1 = L1-L4, Tier 2 = L5-L10, Tier 3 = L11-L16, Tier 4 = L17-L20

[Atranen]

So, honest question, here.

If the official page is effectively defunct, what is it about the games hosted by the FLGS or Discord meet-ups that makes them "adventurer's league", as opposed to, just, like, regular pick-up games?

I've always struggled to get my head around just what, exactly, the AL was and how it works. There are seasons, with particular modules that make up the season, and a particular set of rules and guidelines/limitations that apply across all players, and special rules around treasure and magic items that allows for some level of consistency across different tables and venues. Right? But how does that all work without a centralized authority managing all of this?

Genuinely looking for insight from people who have been more involved in this whole thing.

Yeah, really the idea is just to have a minimum standard of consistency so you can get into a pick up game with people without arguing about houserules. They've continued to put out some guidance about what kind of treasure/magic items/level ups you should get for playing different mods, so there is still a sort of centralized authority. (Although, as far as I can tell that currently amounts to 1 part time employee, and they're mostly reusing the guidance from back when they supported it more actively).

I've seen people organize pick up games at FLGS with some success, but less than AL. Those tend to be successful when they have an individual, charismatic person running them, and struggle to expand. Because AL has more institutional heft, AL groups become larger and can transition between organizers more easily.

Also, you can bring AL characters to other FLGS and cons, which some people like.