DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE

VERSION 10.0

PLAGUE OF ANCIENTS
A CAMPAIGN SUPPORTING

ICEWIND DALE: RIME OF THE FROSTMAIDEN

Credits
Wizards of the Coast D&D Staff: Brandy Camel, Chris Lindsay, Chris Tulach
D&D Adventurers League Administrators: Ma’at Crook, Amy Lynn Dzura, Claire Hoffman, LaTia Jacquise, Greg Marks,
Alan Patrick, Travis Woodall

Effective Date
November 1, 2020

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PART 1. GETTING STARTED
This document is a guide to getting started as a Dungeon Master (DM) for the Forgotten Realms D&D Adventurers League
campaign featuring ICEWIND DALE: RIME OF THE FROSTMAIDEN. These rules are supplemented by the Seasonal Campaign versions of the
Adventurers League FAQ, the Adventurers League Player’s Guide, and the Adventurers League Content Catalogue.

SHARED WORLD PLAY WHAT YOU NEED TO RUN A GAME

In order to run a game as a DM in D&D Adventurers League
The D&D Adventurers League has four distinct campaigns you games, you’ll need the following:
can play in: The Seasonal Campaign, the Historic Campaign, the D&D Basic Rules. This .pdf document is free on the Wizards
Masters Campaign, and our Eberron Campaign. See the of the Coast website and contains all the basic rules of the
corresponding guides for more information. game. For a more complete experience, we recommend you
use a fifth edition D&D Player’s Handbook.
Seasonal Campaign. This is the current campaign supporting Adventures. Besides their players, the most important thing
the release of Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. This that a DM needs is an adventure to run. For the Seasonal
campaign is called Plague of Ancients. Adventures for this Campaign players can participate in Icewind Dale: Rime of the
campaign will be marked DDAL10-##. Frostmaiden, shorter form adventures (DDAL10-##), Epics
Masters Campaign. This is our campaign for higher level play, (DDEP10-##), and Convention Created Content (CCC) specific
called Dreams of the Red Wizards. Adventures for this to this season.
campaign will be marked DDAL-DRW##. If you’re running games at a public event, check with the
Historic Campaign. This comprises adventures from all event’s organizer to see what adventures they have available.
seasons prior to the Seasonal Campaign. Adventures for this Otherwise, adventures are available for purchase at your local
are marked with DDAL##-##. gaming store (hardcover adventures only) or online at
Eberron Campaign. This is our Oracle of War campaign, and www.dmsguild.com.
information for play in that campaign is outside the scope of Players. Play is designed for a table of five players but is
this document. easily adjusted to as few as three to as many as seven players.
Tables smaller or larger than this might provide a suboptimal
D&D ADVENTURERS LEAGUE PLAY play experience and aren’t recommended.
D&D Adventurers League play can take place practically GROUP COMPOSITION
ANYWHERE—whether at home, online, a friendly local game There’s no general rule that requires members of a group be of a like
and hobby store, a library or school, or even a convention. level. However, the adventure you’re running may have limitations
DMs and players alike participate in Adventurers League that your players must abide by.
play utilizing a variety of adventure content options. These Hardcover Adventures. These adventures usually have a wide level
currently include D&D Introductory Adventures, D&D range that spans multiple tiers (levels 1-10, etc.). As long as a
Premiere Play, and playing through the published D&D character is within the adventure’s level band when they begin the
adventures (called hardcover adventures). Additionally, many adventure, they can continue to play it if they advance outside of it.
convention organizers have created approved D&D Shorter-Form Adventures. These adventures usually coincide with
Adventurers League adventures called Convention-Created the four tiers of play and typically take between 2-8 hours to
Content adventures (CCC) specifically for their conventions. complete. Characters can only play this adventure if they’re within the
D&D Introductory Adventures. These adventures adventure’s level band. Epic adventures (DDEP) usually have multiple
accompany new Wizards of the Coast print products and “tracks” that accommodate multiple tiers; a character must be within
premier at participating friendly local game and hobby stores the tier prescribed by the track to play it.
and are meant to introduce you to new content.
D&D Premiere Play. These adventures support Wizards of OPTIONAL ITEMS
the Coast storyline product releases. They’re purchased from
These things aren’t required but are nice to have:
the Dungeon Masters Guild. Dungeon Masters purchasing
Monster Manual (MM). While the statistics for most
Premier Play adventures can run them as often as they like.
monsters can be found here, special monsters created
specifically for a given season’s published adventure are found
LEAVING THE SEASONAL CAMPAIGN in that product. As a general rule, the adventure will contain
Each character may leave the Seasonal Campaign at any time, the stat block for all monsters featured.
provided they are the appropriate level for another campaign’s Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG). This book contains
adventure. Once a player decides to play an adventure in the Historic
valuable advice on preparing and running games. The DMG
or Masters Campaign, they must conform to the character rules in
also contains descriptions of magic items that might be
that campaign and can no longer have that character return to the
awarded during the course of play, so it is suggested that you
Seasonal Campaign.
bring that information with you to the table if it is not provided
in the adventure.
BEING A DUNGEON MASTER Dungeon Master Screen. Helpful to hide the adventure and
your notes and schemes from the players.
Being an Adventurers League DM is easy and fun. Most of the
Miniatures and Map Surfaces. If you and your players enjoy
adventures can be prepared in a short period of time, and you
playing a more tactical game of D&D, you can use these to help
don’t have to create all sorts of background material.
depict combats and detailed areas.
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Adventurers League Player’s Guide v.10.0
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 a hardcover adventure can continue to play it if they advance out of its level range.

YOU’RE THE DUNGEON MASTER! THE RULES OF THE GAME

Adventurers League play uses fifth edition Dungeons and
You have the most important role. You guide the narrative and Dragons. You can issue rulings to your table when the rules of
bring the words on the pages of the adventure to life. While the game are ambiguous or vague, but you must otherwise
guiding the players, it is also your responsibility to make adhere to the rules as they are provided in the core rulebooks,
everyone feel welcomed at the table creating a fun and fair and can’t change them or make up your own; “house-rules”
environment. Here are some things to keep in mind: aren’t permitted for use. You must always use the most
current incarnation of a rule.
YOU ARE EMPOWERED Further, the options and variant rules listed below are
Make decisions about how the group interacts with the available for your use; others aren’t permitted without specific
adventure; adjust or improvise but maintain the adventure’s campaign documentation:
spirit. The setting, general story, and prominent NPCs of the
adventure should remain largely the same; if an adventure • Variant: Playing on a Grid
introduces other players’ characters to Cassyt, the plucky • Variant: Skills with Different Abilities
acolyte of Kelemvor that resides in Phlan, your players should
as well. Less important details, such as the time of year or the While they aren’t official rules that must be followed, the Sage
weather can be tailored to your group. Advice column, tweets from the D&D Team on Twitter, or even
discussions with other DMs on your favorite social media
platform can provide good insight on how others adjudicated a
CHALLENGE YOUR PLAYERS particular issue. The rules as written in the rulebooks,
Gauge the experience level of your players, as well as what however, always take precedence.
they enjoy in a game and attempt to deliver what they’re after;
everyone should be able to shine. DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES
You can adjust an encounter’s difficulty by adding or
removing thematically appropriate monsters, but can’t create As a general rule, characters can use downtime activities
new monsters or modify them in such a way that potentially between or during sessions. However, if you feel that no
modifies their challenge rating (aside from changing their hit sufficient periods of inactivity exist to justify it, you can
points within the range afforded by their hit dice). disallow a character using a downtime activity during a
Be careful of going too far, however. The intent is to have a session. For example, the journey from Phlan to Waterdeep is
collaborative and challenging story-telling experience; it’s not very long, so it’s reasonable to assume that the characters can
to do everything you can to kill your players’ characters. spend downtime days copying spells or recuperating. But the
Similarly, destroying equipment generally shouldn’t happen trip from one end of Waterdeep to the other is much shorter—
unless an encounter specifically directs you to. In fact, unless there may not be enough time to stop and learn a language. Be
they have conditions detailing their destruction (such as an fair and consistent in exercising this discretion.
ioun stone), permanent magic items can’t be destroyed.
DEATH, DISEASE, AND CURSES
KEEP THE GAME MOVING Adventuring is a risky job, and bad things often happen to
If the game gets bogged down, provide hints and clues to your adventurers. Diseases, poisons, and other similar effects
players facing puzzles or engaging in combat and roleplay persist until they’re removed, but characters can spend
interactions that get frustrating. This gives players “little downtime days and/or gold to receive spellcasting services or
victories” for making good choices based on clues received. to recuperate. Bodies of characters killed during a session are
When playing within a given time constraint, such as at a recoverable unless the adventure specifically states otherwise.
convention, it is important to gauge the pacing of your game. You have the ultimate discretion to determine whether
It’s okay to make adjustments when you get bogged down to sufficient periods of inactivity justify this.
promote a play experience that feels complete. NPC Spellcasting Services. Characters can receive
spellcasting services from an NPC located anywhere that is at
least town-sized (1000 or more residents)or has a specific NPC
RUNNING THE GAME able to cast the spell(s) needed. In addition, the chararacters
must be able to travel there in order to receive services
As the DM, you are charged with not only guiding the story, but during a session. Otherwise, they’re available only between
also fairly adjudicating the game’s rules and rewarding your sessions. Spellcasting services provided by NPCs are limited to
players’ characters for their accomplishments. the spells on this list. Characters can purchase spell scrolls
which can be cast for free, but only upon themselves.

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Spellcasting Service Cost Tier Maximum Rarity Tier Maximum Rarity
Cure wounds 10 gp 1 Uncommon 3 Very rare
Identify 20 gp 2 Rare 4 Legendary
Lesser restoration 40 gp
Prayer of healing 40 gp Mundane Treasure. Mundane equipment found during the
Dispel magic 90 gp session can be used but can’t be sold and is lost at the end of
Remove curse 90 gp the session. Spellbooks and items without mechanical
Speak with dead 90 gp properties (such as trinkets or other objects without a
Divination 210 gp specified value) mentioned in the encounter are divided
Greater Restoration 450 gp equitably among the characters in the same way that
Raise dead2 1,000 gp consumable magic items are awarded.
Resurrection2 3,000 gp Treasure with a specified monetary value (gp, gems, art
True resurrection2 30,000 gp objects, etc.) in the encounter is ignored. Instead, for each
hour of play, you award each character an amount of gold
Shelter of the Faithful Background Feature. Characters based on their tier (see below). You have a lot of flexibility in
with the Shelter of the Faithful background feature can request how this gold is distributed and what form it takes, though you
NPC spellcasting services at a temple dedicated to their chosen can use the treasure entries as cues to award gold and what
deity. While the service of casting the spell is free, the form that gold might take. A goblin, for example, might carry
characters must pay the cost of any material component dirty copper coins, while a wealthy merchant lord might carry
consumed by casting the spell. These characters can’t procure paper writs redeemable for gold. Alternatively, in a public
free services for others; only themselves. During a session, only event setting, you can wait and award the cumulative hourly
specific temples near the adventure’s location (as identified awards at the end of the play session in the form of a chest of
below) can grant this benefit to their faithful acolytes: gold bars. The campaign staff strongly suggests that actively
engaged players be awarded the maximum amount of gold for
Season & Region Acolyte-Friendly Temples each hour. Otherwise, the characters earn a minimum amount
10. Ten-Towns Auril, Lathander, Tempus for each hour of the session. Once a character has obtained an
amount of gold equal to their GP Limit, they can’t earn more
until they advance in level.
CHARACTER REWARDS Tier Hourly GP Award (Min GP Award) GP Limit/Level
You award the players rewards for their accomplishments in 1 20 gp (10 gp) 80 gp
the form of levels, gold, and magic items for their characters, 2 30 gp (15 gp) 240 gp
which they record on their Adventure Logsheets before 3 200 gp (100 gp) 1,600 gp
leaving the table. 4 750 gp (375 gp) 6,000 gp
Advancement. Once the players successfully complete an
adventure, inform them that they’ve gained a level. During play Story Effects/Items. These items or effects— designated by
sessions from hardcover adventures, you can decide whether the Seasonal Adventurers League Content Catalogue —are
they gain a level (though sometimes the adventure will make essential to a hardcover adventure’s storyline and are only
this decision for you). If you don’t, they gain a level after four useable during sessions of the adventure in which they’re
hours of play (or eight hours at tier 2 – 4). A character can gain awarded. These items don’t count against a character’s Magic
no more than one level per session. Characters can always Item Limit, and only one character can have a story item at the
decline to advance, forfeiting the advancement it grants. This table at the same time.
choice is made by the player.
Magic Items. Characters can use and keep any magic item
they find that is specifically mentioned in the encounter in
which it’s found (items that the adventure describes as being
lent to the characters or destroyed can’t be kept). At the end of
the session, each character can keep any of the permanent
magic items found during the session—to a maximum number
of items based on their tier (common items aren’t subject to
this limitation). They divide consumable magic items (potions,
scrolls, and ammunition) equitably among themselves—
resolving disagreements randomly if necessary. For example, if
multiple players want a potion of healing that the group has
found, have them each roll a die and award it to the player that
rolls the highest!
Some adventures direct you to roll on a Magic Item Table in
the DMG to determine what type of magic item is found; these
directions are ignored. Others direct you or the player to
choose the magic item; these items are selected from either the
DMG or the adventure itself. If the adventure is silent on the
rarity of the item, it must be appropriate to the tier of the
character receiving it, as follows:

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Adventurers League Player’s Guide v.10.0