FAQ
The mechanics of The Arena, where each session generally comprises one large battle, seem to diminish the value of characters that benefit more from short rests, such as wizards, certain types of druids, and warlocks. What can be done to address that?
The Arena is a magical place, with the very laws of reality sculpted by the whims of the Master of Conflict. Given this, artificial means of inducing 'instantaneous' short rests can be implemented in The Arena. In a particularly deadly battle, with multiple waves of foes, there may be a magical button, lever, or other means of triggering the effects of a short or long rest, either for the entire party or just for the character that operates the device. Other such devices with other effects - perhaps spell effects, healing, magical transportation, or even a random outcome - can find their way into Arena matches to add a new dimension to the matches.
Which books can I use for character creation, spells, or magic items?
The only books that are strictly necessary to run matches in The Arena are the three core rulebooks: The Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual. If you intend to play a character in multiple different Arena games run by different Arena Masters, it is best to stick to just those three books for building your characters, so they are universally acceptable in any game. For Arena Masters who want to allow more options, the guidelines for D&D Adventurers League play are that players can use 'PHB+1,' meaning they can build their characters using the Player's Handbook plus one other approved supplement, such as Xanathar's Guide to Everything or the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. This is a good policy to prevent any unbalanced characters from cropping up, but each Arena Master is free to allow character creation however he or she sees fit.
How many players can play in The Arena at a time?
There is no official minimum or maximum number of players required to play an Arena match (though a game with zero players would not be much fun). These parameters are set by each individual Arena Master. If playing at a convention or game shop, it is always best to conform to the preferences of the event coordinators or shop proprietors. Arena scenarios with too few characters (one or two) can be very challenging, because all of the necessary skills, spells, or abilities for the player characters to have a good chance for survival may not be present with very few participants. On the other side of the equation, if the table has eight, ten, twelve, or even twenty players trying to get in on the action, it can slow the game to a crawl. It is up to each Arena Master to decide where to place limits and how to prioritize participation.
Are there any rules or guidelines for player conduct?
Play in The Arena conforms to the Adventurers League Code of Conduct, which can be found on page 9 of the Adventurers League Dungeon Master's Guide (a free resource for Adventurers League play). Individual shops and conventions may have additional rules and expectations for anyone using their space. Please consult with shop proprietors and convention organizers for information about their conduct policies.
Is The Arena an Adventurers League setting?
No. The Arena uses a lot of the same rules and guidelines as the Adventurers League, but it is not an official Adventurers League setting, and characters from The Arena are not sanctioned to participate in Adventurers League play. They are completely separate entities, and characters should not be shared between The Arena and any official Adventurers League settings, modules, or adventures.
Assassins seem kind of useless in the Arena. Is that the case?
It is difficult to get surprise on enemies in the Arena, since everyone goes in expecting combat, so the Assassinate and Death Strike abilities are mitigated. An assassin can still gain advantage in the first round of combat by going before an enemy, but the enemy is unlikely to be caught by surprise. That said, the Infiltration Expertise and Impostor abilities can be used during the Arena downtime activities. One way to handle this would be to allow an assassin with Infiltration Expertise to make use of two establishments during downtime instead of just one (provided they pay the 25 gp identity fee to take advantage of that). For the Impostor ability, the assassin could impersonate any other PC and use their shop level at any shop that PC does not visit in that downtime session. The only exception is that impersonation would not work for the Temple.
Some magic items seem inappropriate or useless in the Arena. Is there a list of banned items?
Yes, there is. The most obvious types of items that will not work are items that allow for transport to different planes. In cases where the travel is limited, the effect can be rendered as an item or spell transporting a character or enemy temporarily into a demiplane connected to the Arena. For instance, the Robe of Stars could move someone into an astral pocket from which they can return to the Arena again, but from which they cannot escape the Arena forever. This is also how spells like etherealness, banishment, or blink could be interpreted. For these reasons, items like the Well of Many Worlds, Amulet of the Planes, or Cubic Gate should generally be banished, and players allowed to re-roll if they happen to roll one of them randomly on a visit to the magic shop. The gate functionality of a Candle of Invocation is likewise barred.
Other items are banned for reasons of playability and fun. Two major offenders are the Eversmoking Bottle and Horn of Valhalla, both of which tend to create logistical problems for the players and Arena Master alike, and which risk slowing the game to a crawl as turns take too long to resolve. Likewise, Daern's Instant Fortress is also banned from The Arena. Also for reasons of game balance and playability, the Deck of Many Things should not be given out as an item a player character can get, though it is permissible for players to be able to earn a draw from a Deck of Many Things, should the opportunity arise, and should a player wish to take the risk.
It's not banned, but what's the point of a Crystal Ball in The Arena?
Both the clairvoyance and scry spells can be used to look into The Arena prior to the start of combat, during the precasting phase. A clairvoyance spell targets the space immediately inside the entrance. The scry spell (and, as such, a Crystal Ball) targets either the entrance, the middle, or the far side of The Arena, as interpreted by The Arena Master in the case of nonstandard Arena layouts.
Are there any spells that are banned from The Arena?
Some spells are either useless or antithetical to the point of The Arena, the main point being that there is no escape and that enemies must be contended with one way or another. For this reason, the following spells are not permitted in The Arena:
Spells such as etherealness, plane Shift, or demiplane cannot be used to escape The Arena. The Arena is considered to have its own version of the Ethereal Plane that connects to it but does not lead outside the bounds of a given Arena scenario. Any demiplane created from within The Arena must remain accessible to anyone else in The Arena via a door or other standard entrance. Planeshift can be used to move into or out of demiplane or into or out of The Arena's connected Ethereal Plane. Anyone who uses planar magic in an attempt to hide from enemies and ride out an Arena scenario in safety should expect to face total obliteration at the hands of the Master of Conflict.
Players and The Arena Master should keep in mind the intention of these rulings and refrain from trying to circumvent them. Stalling the game, creating a stalemate, or trying to backdoor an escape should not be the purpose of any spells or abilities from the combatants on either side of the battle.
The Arena is a magical place, with the very laws of reality sculpted by the whims of the Master of Conflict. Given this, artificial means of inducing 'instantaneous' short rests can be implemented in The Arena. In a particularly deadly battle, with multiple waves of foes, there may be a magical button, lever, or other means of triggering the effects of a short or long rest, either for the entire party or just for the character that operates the device. Other such devices with other effects - perhaps spell effects, healing, magical transportation, or even a random outcome - can find their way into Arena matches to add a new dimension to the matches.
Which books can I use for character creation, spells, or magic items?
The only books that are strictly necessary to run matches in The Arena are the three core rulebooks: The Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual. If you intend to play a character in multiple different Arena games run by different Arena Masters, it is best to stick to just those three books for building your characters, so they are universally acceptable in any game. For Arena Masters who want to allow more options, the guidelines for D&D Adventurers League play are that players can use 'PHB+1,' meaning they can build their characters using the Player's Handbook plus one other approved supplement, such as Xanathar's Guide to Everything or the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. This is a good policy to prevent any unbalanced characters from cropping up, but each Arena Master is free to allow character creation however he or she sees fit.
How many players can play in The Arena at a time?
There is no official minimum or maximum number of players required to play an Arena match (though a game with zero players would not be much fun). These parameters are set by each individual Arena Master. If playing at a convention or game shop, it is always best to conform to the preferences of the event coordinators or shop proprietors. Arena scenarios with too few characters (one or two) can be very challenging, because all of the necessary skills, spells, or abilities for the player characters to have a good chance for survival may not be present with very few participants. On the other side of the equation, if the table has eight, ten, twelve, or even twenty players trying to get in on the action, it can slow the game to a crawl. It is up to each Arena Master to decide where to place limits and how to prioritize participation.
Are there any rules or guidelines for player conduct?
Play in The Arena conforms to the Adventurers League Code of Conduct, which can be found on page 9 of the Adventurers League Dungeon Master's Guide (a free resource for Adventurers League play). Individual shops and conventions may have additional rules and expectations for anyone using their space. Please consult with shop proprietors and convention organizers for information about their conduct policies.
Is The Arena an Adventurers League setting?
No. The Arena uses a lot of the same rules and guidelines as the Adventurers League, but it is not an official Adventurers League setting, and characters from The Arena are not sanctioned to participate in Adventurers League play. They are completely separate entities, and characters should not be shared between The Arena and any official Adventurers League settings, modules, or adventures.
Assassins seem kind of useless in the Arena. Is that the case?
It is difficult to get surprise on enemies in the Arena, since everyone goes in expecting combat, so the Assassinate and Death Strike abilities are mitigated. An assassin can still gain advantage in the first round of combat by going before an enemy, but the enemy is unlikely to be caught by surprise. That said, the Infiltration Expertise and Impostor abilities can be used during the Arena downtime activities. One way to handle this would be to allow an assassin with Infiltration Expertise to make use of two establishments during downtime instead of just one (provided they pay the 25 gp identity fee to take advantage of that). For the Impostor ability, the assassin could impersonate any other PC and use their shop level at any shop that PC does not visit in that downtime session. The only exception is that impersonation would not work for the Temple.
Some magic items seem inappropriate or useless in the Arena. Is there a list of banned items?
Yes, there is. The most obvious types of items that will not work are items that allow for transport to different planes. In cases where the travel is limited, the effect can be rendered as an item or spell transporting a character or enemy temporarily into a demiplane connected to the Arena. For instance, the Robe of Stars could move someone into an astral pocket from which they can return to the Arena again, but from which they cannot escape the Arena forever. This is also how spells like etherealness, banishment, or blink could be interpreted. For these reasons, items like the Well of Many Worlds, Amulet of the Planes, or Cubic Gate should generally be banished, and players allowed to re-roll if they happen to roll one of them randomly on a visit to the magic shop. The gate functionality of a Candle of Invocation is likewise barred.
Other items are banned for reasons of playability and fun. Two major offenders are the Eversmoking Bottle and Horn of Valhalla, both of which tend to create logistical problems for the players and Arena Master alike, and which risk slowing the game to a crawl as turns take too long to resolve. Likewise, Daern's Instant Fortress is also banned from The Arena. Also for reasons of game balance and playability, the Deck of Many Things should not be given out as an item a player character can get, though it is permissible for players to be able to earn a draw from a Deck of Many Things, should the opportunity arise, and should a player wish to take the risk.
It's not banned, but what's the point of a Crystal Ball in The Arena?
Both the clairvoyance and scry spells can be used to look into The Arena prior to the start of combat, during the precasting phase. A clairvoyance spell targets the space immediately inside the entrance. The scry spell (and, as such, a Crystal Ball) targets either the entrance, the middle, or the far side of The Arena, as interpreted by The Arena Master in the case of nonstandard Arena layouts.
Are there any spells that are banned from The Arena?
Some spells are either useless or antithetical to the point of The Arena, the main point being that there is no escape and that enemies must be contended with one way or another. For this reason, the following spells are not permitted in The Arena:
- Astral Projection
- Banishment
- Forcecage
- Gate
- Leomund's Tiny Hut
- Word of Recall
Spells such as etherealness, plane Shift, or demiplane cannot be used to escape The Arena. The Arena is considered to have its own version of the Ethereal Plane that connects to it but does not lead outside the bounds of a given Arena scenario. Any demiplane created from within The Arena must remain accessible to anyone else in The Arena via a door or other standard entrance. Planeshift can be used to move into or out of demiplane or into or out of The Arena's connected Ethereal Plane. Anyone who uses planar magic in an attempt to hide from enemies and ride out an Arena scenario in safety should expect to face total obliteration at the hands of the Master of Conflict.
Players and The Arena Master should keep in mind the intention of these rulings and refrain from trying to circumvent them. Stalling the game, creating a stalemate, or trying to backdoor an escape should not be the purpose of any spells or abilities from the combatants on either side of the battle.