At Acquisitions Incorporated, you inquire—and we acquire™. For more than a decade, other people have had things you’ve really wanted, and we’ve gone over there to get those things even if they didn’t want us to do that. Typically, they don’t. But we don’t work for them, we work for you™. We’ve acquired it all, but we specialize in staffs, gems, and storied weapons of great lineage. We do apply a reasonable surtax for rods, because rods. It’s been a problem. This is Acq Inc in a nutshell: Defenses negotiable. Merchandise plentiful. Franchises available.
— Omin Dran
Other books detail the many power groups and factions that operate in Faerûn and the Sword Coast (including the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide). But a number of new factions and entrepreneurial enterprises are central to an Acquisitions Incorporated campaign — starting with the group that an Acquisitions Incorporated campaign is actually named after.
¶ Acquisitions Incorporated
Sometimes a group of heroes comes together in a way that changes the paradigm forever. A group so magnificent, so powerful, so larcenous, that adventuring has never been the same since. For years now, that group has been Acquisitions Incorporated.
The brainchild of company founder Ominifis Hereward Dran, Acq Inc has consistently maintained a position at the bleeding edge of adventuring technology, processes, and marketing. The staff of Acquisitions Incorporated, including the company’s highly varied roster of inexpensive interns, engage in all aspects of adventuring. Salvage, infiltration, legally sanctioned life shortening, property redistribution, protection, removing protection, merchandising—Acq Inc does it all.
As Acquisitions Incorporated has grown, so too have the opportunities provided by that organization to neophyte adventurers looking for an advantage in the rough-and-tumble world of professional dungeoneering. From its humble beginnings in the basement of the Silver Unicorn Inn in Fallcrest, Acq Inc has become the only place to intern, boasting franchise opportunities that can propel struggling adventurers into the big leagues.
¶ Dran Enterprises
Dran Enterprises is the biggest rival of Acquisitions Incorporated—and has the strongest possible connection to that august organization. Founded by a false version of Auspicia Dran (Omin Dran sister, claimed by the creature known as the Wandering Crypt), Dran Enterprises has a well-established goal of wanting to take over Acquisitions Incorporated at any cost, even as the organization profits from the endeavors of Acq Inc employees and associates. Dran Enterprises’ strategy for accomplishing this goal is built around providing adventuring services even more ruthlessly and efficiently than Acq Inc. Hostile takeovers, brutal rounds of downsizing, corporate espionage, and highly unethical behavior are just the most obvious of the company’s many tools.
With the death of the false Auspicia, Dran Enterprises was taken over by Omin’s other sister, Portentia Dran, who had operated in the shadows of the organization for some time beforehand. Certain personal secrets no doubt drive Portentia’s single-minded focus for Dran Enterprises, but those have yet to be revealed. (To most people, at least. DMs can check out appendix A for more information.) In the meantime, the organization focuses on besting Acquisitions Incorporated at its own game while growing ever more powerful—and eventually reaching the point where a corporate takeover of Acq Inc can no longer be thwarted.
They say acquisition is a family business, and it’s certainly true for those of my house. I hadn’t seen my sister, Auspicia Dran, for years. Decades, in fact. And then out of nowhere, she returns with fresh branding and despicably evil backing, trying to acquire Acquisitions Incorporated. Being acquired ourselves is definitely not on brand, and I have definitely refused this offer. But I would like to know what the dental plans are like at Dran Enterprises, for a completely separate and unrelated reason.
— Omin Dran
¶ The Noble Knife
The Noble Knife is a somewhat mysterious organization known for its high level of engagement with the cultures and societies within which its members work. Having made such engagements, the loyalists of the Noble Knife are watchful for signs of leaders and power brokers making the first transition to tyranny—at which point, those newly minted tyrants are quickly assassinated for the greater good. The organization doesn’t “take jobs” as such. Rather, its leadership assesses the moral and political landscape of the realm and selects targets thusly.
The Noble Knife is named for its members’ weapon of choice for their trademark deed. Similar to an arrow of slaying, a noble knife is a weapon whose magic is focused on killing a specific individual. The crafting of a noble knife is undertaken by a collective of artisans, and requires a range of exotic materials and components. Additionally, the act of creation takes twenty or more years off the lead artisan’s life. It goes without saying that the Noble Knife is chock full of true believers.
Members of the Noble Knife are said to be able to carve their symbol into surfaces and “pry” reality in such a way that they can hide in it or escape through it. Though that seems pretty suspect if you ask me. They often work in pairs, with an assassin or observer paired with a “tame mimic.” Those mimics can take any object shape, as is normal for their abnormal kind, but are also able to transform into strange dogs that say “woof.” Not that they bark. They say “woof” like a person would. Unless you were a member of the faction, you’d almost never see two teams in the same place at the same time—unless they had been given opposite tasks for some reason. If that’s the case, get out of there quick, because whatever happens next isn’t going to be pleasant.
— Omin Dran
¶ The Silver Sliver
In a world driven by gold, magic, and power, organizations that fly in the face of all three of those things are hard to understand. Doing good and seeking justice is all well and fine. But if there’s no money changing hands, how do you measure the value of the work?
The Silver Sliver exemplifies what goes wrong when good people fail to grasp the complexities of the world. They go around wearing masks, acting all heroically willy-nilly, righting wrongs and defending the weak… for no profit whatsoever! That brand of zealotry is dangerous, because you can’t trust anyone who won’t sometimes do a dishonest day’s work for an honest day’s wage.
I feel like making your company’s name a tongue twister is a bold move in this marketplace. I wouldn’t have done that. I’ve told the Silver Sliver on multiple occasions that I’m available for consulting on things like this. No response, though. The organization is said to be headed up by someone named Glimmr Violente: a woman devoted to not just the cause of justice in the abstract, but the literal application of justice via a scimitar. Her band of true believers do the whole shiny mask thing and don’t charge for their services… which is another thing I wouldn’t do.
— Omin Dran
¶ The Six
Any successful adventuring party makes enemies along the way. Defeated foes, unhappy or jealous allies, disillusioned associates or hirelings—it’s a long list. And a group as storied and reckless as Acquisitions Incorporated was always destined to break more than a few eggs while making their delicious brand of adventuring omelet.
The Six is a group of just such enemies—characters who were left hurt, underappreciated, or even dead in the wake of Acq Inc’s magnificent achievements. Whether the Six are really six, or fewer, or more, remains to be seen. The organization’s primary public goal appears to be revenge in the form of the downfall of Omin Dran and Acquisitions Incorporated, but who or what is truly behind the group—and what other sinister vendettas they might cling to—remains a mystery. Still, there’s a good chance it’s got something to do with destroying the world by unleashing the power of the Far Realm. (Sorry; “Spoilers!")
The Six are a new player on the scene, which, to me, implies inexperience. Do you want to entrust your next acquisition to an agile new team? Actually, don’t answer that. They have some kind of beef with Acquisitions Incorporated. I know that because they hand out pamphlets with my face on them, and there’s one of those circles with the slash through it. Seems bad. Also, there’s something about their logo I don’t like… but I can’t put my finger on it. People are saying they’re weird and gross, and who am I to say otherwise?
— Omin Dran