Acquisitions Incorporated Review (D&D)

Fresh off the heels of PAX Unplugged, today I’ll be taking a look at a sourcebook for D&D 5th Edition that was made in partnership with Penny Arcade, the people behind PAX. That sourcebook is “Acquisitions Incorporated”, and if you have been familiar with D&D and/or Penny Arcade then you probably have a good idea of what this book is about.

For those that aren’t aware, “Acquisitions Incorporated” was the name of the D&D adventuring party started by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik of the webcomic Penny Arcade, along with Scott Kurtz from the webcomic PvP. The crew started their adventures on the official D&D podcast back in 2009, where they were DM’d by the master himself, Chris Perkins (hey did you know I got the chance to interview him?). Since then, the stories and legacy have grown across several mediums, such as comics, animation, and even various streams on Twitch. In fact, one of the highlights of several Pax conventions is the chance to see the crew play another crazy adventure live.

In the lore of Acquisitions Inc (AI), the characters have turned their adventuring party into a franchised business. This is the premise of the D&D sourcebook. It gives players and DMs the tools to create an AI franchise in their local D&D game to expand upon their current adventures. The 224-page book (which retails for $49.99) achieves this through several chapters. First, the book takes the time to establish some backstory for AI in case you aren’t familiar or not up to date on everything, which is good because I am definitely in the latter camp.

Now that you have an idea what you are getting into, the second chapter launches into the new mechanics and rules that you will need to run a “franchise”. Like several other party advancement rules in various games, the business has its own level and advances in a similar way to the characters. At each level, the group gains more abilities and more advantages that can help them out in their adventures. However, with the business getting more notable, there is the opportunity for more entanglements with other forces aka lots of story potential for DMs creating their own stories.

The third chapter introduces new player specific options for characters playing an AI-based game. These options do not offer much in the way of mechanical changes. Instead, these options are more background and roleplaying specific - traits to give players ideas or suggestions on how to play their characters. The book also introduces a new playable race: the Verdan, and a couple of new spells for magic users. After that, the heart of the book contains a 6-part prebuilt adventure called “The Orrery of the Wanderer”. In this adventure, the players seek out pieces to an ancient powerful artifact. The scenarios feature several cameos from people, places, and organizations that players familiar with AI will recognize. The appendices at the end of the book contain all the extra background information that the DM will need: various monster and NPC stats, etc.

First of all, if you know anything about Penny Arcade, then you know that Mike Krahulik’s artwork is amazing, and this book takes advantage of that, being different than but still occasionally having the “standard” artwork that D&D books tend to have. The cover artwork immediately draws you in and the remaining artwork throughout the book weaves together with the lore descriptions to create a vivid picture of this world. If you are like me and appreciate that style of artwork, then you will enjoy this book. However, if that style is off putting to you at all, then be warned because it is layered throughout the book.

When people talk about D&D, one of the chief complaints about the game is that it is very combat heavy. While Wizards of the Coast has tried their best to showcase various scenarios to help drive more creative stories, the core engine of D&D does lean towards more attack focused games. The lore and framework within the AI book are a good compliment to this. The false-seriousness/humor that is presented in the lore lends itself towards people that want a mashup of D&D and “The Office”. Unlike other sourcebooks, with this, you can give your players interesting side stories and interactions in between the main adventures in your campaign. As I’ve found out over time, sometimes those small random bits can be the most memorable to your group. If this seems like a good idea for you, but you are not sure how you can implement these ideas, the provided adventure is a good way of walking you and your players through these ideas.

For long term fans of not only Penny Arcade, but D&D itself, the Acquisitions Incorporated book also offers ways of breathing new life into campaigns. People have been playing D&D 5th edition for 5 years now, and if you’ve come from previous editions its possible you’ve been playing D&D for quite a long time. By this point, it is possible that you or players in your D&D group are tired of the same old tropes and adventures. If you feel as if D&D has gotta “stale”, then I highly suggest you pick up the AI book and see if it is something suitable for your group. Or, if you are new to both of these properties, but want more out of your D&D game than just hacking and slashing monsters, then this book might be for you as well..

Have you gotten this book yet? If so, what did you think about it? If you haven’t gotten it, does the idea of adding these elements interest you at all? Let me know in the comments below.