Acquisitions Incorporated

Acquisitions Incorporated refers to both the adventuring mega-corp named Acquisitions Incorporated (Acq Inc), and the series of podcasts, videos, and live games of the same name which document their adventures. The series began after Wizards of the Coast's (WotC) Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) 4th edition (4E) was released in 2008, and was meant to highlight the adventure 'Keep on the Shadowfell' while simultaneously introducing Mike Krahulik to D&D.^[1,2] The sessions were led by Chris Perkins, who worked for WotC to design and edit many of their adventure modules. Penny Arcade decided to record the audio of these games as a podcast, although they initially had no idea if anyone would even find it interesting.^[1] Eventually the games were recorded on video, and finally they became a live production at each of the PAX conventions. Acq Inc games have been played in multiple settings, such as Athas (Dark Sun), Nentir Vale (Points of Light), 'The Galaxy' (Star Wars -Edge of the Empire) and Ravnica (Magic: the Gathering). As D&D transitioned to 5E after season 6 of Acq Inc, the series kept some of the same characters and events from the Nentir Vale storyline while retconning others in order to migrate to the Forgotten Realms. The series now shares the same universe as Dice Camera Action, another D&D show dungeon mastered (DM) by Chris Perkins. It also developed a spinoff show of its own called Acquisitions IncorpoRrated: the C Team, DM'ed by Jerry Holkins. Characters from all three have frequent guest appearances on each others' series.

About the Mega-Corp[]

Acquisitions Incorporated began as an adventuring company founded by Omin Dran roughly twenty years before the start of their first adventure at the ruins of Winterspire.^[3] Omin had initially hired Jim Darkmagic and Binwin Bronzebottom to help him with low-level jobs managing monsters and exploring ruins, with the goal of 'acquiring things' and making money.^[4,5] Their first corporate headquarters was at the inn of a small town named Winterhaven, but subsequently moved to different lands as their adventures took them elsewhere. As the company grew, it hired interns to work at multiple branches across Faerun (in 2019, WotC released an official product allowing players to actually join Acq Inc). Some interns were granted more privileges than others, with Omin even bestowing certain 'teams' of franchisees a share in their own profits (the most well known being the C Team). The coveted 'wild-card license' also enables a single team to make contracts outside their assigned jurisdiction.

The known franchises include:

The "N" Team (Team Naiad) - based out of The Merry Widow, Neverwinter
The "B" Team (Team Bellerophon) - previous HQ in Red Larch
The "C" Team - based out of the Dran & Courtier, Red Larch & the Dessarin Valley

Other employees of note include Aeofel Elhromane (starting season 2), Viari (starting season 7) and Môrgæn (starting at Pax East 2014). Strix was forced to serve Omin due to a contract signed between her family and Asmodeus, but Omin later agreed that in the future he'd just ask her for help instead of summoning her through an infernal ritual. Evelyn Marthain and Bobby Zimmeruski were also later members.

The entire company is lead with an iron fist by Omin Dran toward a single, main goal: recovering his sister Auspicia Dran from the Wandering Crypt. And also making lots and lots of money.

Full Staff List (Past and Present)[]

About the Series[]

The podcasts, videos and PAX performances are all archived on the official Penny Arcade Acq Inc website, as well as on YouTube. The games played live at PAX usually begin with animated recaps of prior games to help familiarize the audience. Synopses of the first three podcast seasons can be found here: Season 1 (2008), Season 2 (2009), and Season 3 (2009), as well as short summaries on the Acq Inc TV Tropes page.

The series took a break in 2010 for a spin-off showcasing the resurrected Dark Sun campaign setting. It did not feature the familiar characters of Acq Inc or Chris Perkins (Jerry served as the DM), while Kris Straub subbed in for the absent Wilnote.

Acq Inc returned with its first live games at Pax West 2010 (Season 4) and 2011 (Season 5). In 2012, there were podcast recordings with Mike Mearls regarding the transition to 5E. The PAX West 2012 game is considered Season 6, after which the party find themselves stranded in the Forgotten Realms. Wil Wheaton is subsequently replaced by Patrick Rothfuss, whose character Viari passed grueling intern tryouts. Season 7 shows the group exploring the Undermountain and rescuing Waterdeep, an event that gets Omin promoted to a Masked Lord of the city. This is actually made canon in the D&D universe via a reference in the novel Death Masks. Season 8 follows the 5E adventure "Tyranny of Dragons" released in 2014, and season 9 follows the "Out of the Abyss" and "Princes of the Apocalypse" modules. In 2016, Season 10 episodes were recorded both at Penny Arcade HQ and at PAX, and titled Acquisitions Incorporated: The Series. Interestingly, the plotline was tied in with the Force Grey: Giant Hunters campaign finale.

Season 11 showed the team fighting through the events of the module 'Tomb of Annihilation', and also introduces the first crossover with Strix and Dice Camera Action. Season 12 shows the team in Waterdeep, before Jeremy Crawford takes over as the series DM and brings them to Ravnica and Avernus before returning to Waterdeep and and then to Icewind Dale.

Penny Arcade artwork and comics:[]

- artwork for the initial podcasts

- Jim Darkmagic (6/15/2009)

- The Vault Of Winter, Part One (12/7/2012)

- Acquisitors, Part One (10/23/2015)

Other media[]

Card Hunter received an official Acquisitions Inc.-themed Expansion Pack in April 2016, containing six custom adventures that you can play through as Omin, Binwin, and Jim.
The makers of Clank! A Deck-Building Adventure announced an expansion for Acquisitions Incorporated.
Following Scott's departure from the show, he developed a new independent franchise starring Binwin called Binwin's Minions. It consisted of a webcomic published by Scott alongside (and crossing over with) both Table Titans and PvP, and, as of PAX South 2017, a hybrid RPG/puzzle video game tying in with the comic.