What AL Treasure Tier is a trained mount or an exotic pet beast?

Question

We are writing a CCC Convention Adventure for Adventurers League that grants animals as part of the treasure blocks. Adventurers League generally restricts the frequency and commonality of the magic items that are distributed in adventures, but we can find no guidelines for mounts or pets, nor can we find any precedents in 1st-party adventures.

The Tomb of Annihilation campaign season introduces the island of Chult which is populated by dinosaurs that the inhabitants regularly ride and Al’miraj which run wild and are referred in the MM as potential familiars for wizards.

How does one write a CCC Adventure that is AL legal that involves distributing trained mounts or exotic pets, such as Al’miraj, pseudodragons, pegasi, or even more mundane mounts like trained warhorses?

Though these creatures don’t appear to count as permanent magical items, certainly some creature allies could be just as powerful as one.

What are the AL Tier guidelines around awarding or offering creatures for sale as treasure?

We understand that Fai Chen’s Fantastic Faire has had exotic mounts available for trade for magical items. Details of the rarity of items (uncommon, rare etc.) accepted for different classes of pets and mounts would likely suffice as precedent if there are no other guidelines.

Answer 1

No Mounts

Mounts do not have a tier, because they are not magic items and not available as treasure. Things like warhorses (in the Player's Handbook) and dinosaurs (in Tomb of Annihilation) can be purchased by characters with gold, either during a session or between them, but they're not handed out as "treasure".

Special mounts are available via Epics or certificates purchasable from Fai Chen's Fantastic Faire. The availability of these certs is determined by those administrators, limited to a certain number per convention or game day. They don't map to magic item rarities, and are purchased with gold pieces. Once purchased by a character, they are not tradable, sellable, or giftable.

I am affiliated with a CCC writing group that attempted to get a special familiar added to a module. It was rejected by the DDAL administration. Earlier modules were allowed to "get away with" more than recent modules. Starting with Season 7, they have gotten more strict. I would not hold your breath on being allowed to give out mounts in a CCC.

Answer 2

Fai Chen's prices implies certain pets and companions would be Tier 1 appropriate.

Fai Chen’s Fantastical Faire has been reported to sell pet companions for 500 gp to 1000 gp. Those reports state that companions have included a Tressym, a goat, an otter, a crab, and recently at a conference in Montreal, a giant three-toed sloth.

The DMG p. 129 list costs for crafting magical items using downtime with costs based on the item rarity:

• Common: 100 gp.
• Uncommon 500 gp.
• Rare 5,000 gp.
• Very Rare 50,000 gp.
• Legendary 500,000 gp.

XGTE pg. 133 modifies those costs with specific recommendations for scribing scrolls:

\begin{array} \text{Level} & Time & Cost \\ \hline \text{Cantrip} & \text{1 day} & \text{15 gp} \\ 1^\text{st} & \text{1 day} & \text{25 gp} \\ 2^\text{nd} & \text{3 days} & \text{250 gp} \\ 3^\text{rd} & \text{1 workweek} & \text{500 gp <——-} \\ 4^\text{th} & \text{2 workweeks} & \text{2,500 gp} \\ 5^\text{th} & \text{4 workweeks} & \text{5,000 gp} \\ 6^\text{th} & \text{8 workweeks} & \text{15,000 gp} \\ 7^\text{th} & \text{16 workweeks} & \text{25,000 gp} \\ 8^\text{th} & \text{32 workweeks} & \text{50,000 gp} \\ 9^\text{th} & \text{48 workweeks} & \text{250,000 gp} \\ \end{array}

A price of 500 gp to 1000 gp consistently falls into Tier 1. These result suggests pets/companions would be Tier 1 if Fai Chen's prices are assumed as a reasonable estimate of comparative value to other items in the game.

Given all the magical capabilities of a Tressym, a non-magical trained warhorse could likely be assumed to fall into Tier 1 as well.