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Kind of a crazy question, but I was wondering if there were any written rules on the obligation of a character to advance in level?

The reason I'm asking is this: since this summer, I have created and played seven different characters with seven different classes. Five of them have reached tier two and only two are left for tier one (Adventurers League) adventures. Both are level four. However, I would like to be able to complete all tier one AL adventures without having to create even more characters.

So, the question is, do the RAW for 5e (and/or Adventurers League) stipulate that all characters are obligated to advance to tier two based on experience collected?

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The Adventurer's League FAQ states that characters with sufficient experience must advance at the next opportunity.

When do characters advance in level? [...]

Characters with sufficient experience must advance at the next opportunity: the end of an episode of a multi-part adventure such as D&D Encounters or a published adventure, after a D&D Expedition, or after a long rest. The language indicating that a character can advance after a session is incorrect and will be corrected in future editions of the Player's Guide.

(Emphasis and excerpting added to highlight relevant bits.)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ @nitsua60 I guess I'll go ahead and add the last part of that FAQ. \$\endgroup\$
    – Miniman
    Jan 4, 2016 at 1:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ @nitsua60 I'd try their Twitter account. (Well I wouldn't, because I don't use Twitter, but you get what I mean.) \$\endgroup\$
    – Miniman
    Jan 4, 2016 at 1:53
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    \$\begingroup\$ Part of this is to avoid sandbagging. If a player sandbags enough XP they could conceivably skip levels which ruins continuity. \$\endgroup\$
    – Escoce
    Jan 4, 2016 at 14:52
  • \$\begingroup\$ Even if you're just dumping exp on the ground, being able to run through more low-level adventures before being pushed to higher level means that you have more opportunities to improve your gear. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ben Barden
    Nov 27, 2018 at 16:47
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As of Season 9: No.

Per the DDAL rules for Season 9 (the current season at the time of this writing), it's almost entirely within the hands of the players, not the DM. Characters advance at the end of each module (even 1 hour mini-modules) if the player wishes to. When running hardcovers, characters advance after a certain number of hours (8 hours, 4 in Tier 1), again if the player wishes to (though the DM can trigger advancement early in hardcovers).

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