Acquisitions Incorporated - PAX East 2014 D&D Game

When last we left our heroes, they had defeated one of the most terrible foes the Realms had ever seen, and carved out a little space in the city of Waterdeep that they could call their own. Now a new opportunity... err... adventure beckons! Word has reached the headquarters of Acquisitions Incorporated of some dragon eggs that are in great peril. Join 'DM to the Stars' Chris Perkins, Gabe (Mike Kraulik), Tycho (Jerry Holkins), Scott Kurtz and special guest star Morgan Webb as they guide Jim Darkmagic, Binwin Bronzebottom, Omin Dran and the newest intern Môrgæn through an unscripted Dungeons & Dragons adventure before a live audience.

[@shill194]

Man, Dungeons and Dragons needs to do more of these than what they do for marketing!! This is great for bringing people back to D&D.

[@BaconFrisbee]

I found these as a Pat Rothfuss fan. Never even played D&D, no clue what Penny Arcade is.

[@CrzyLion]

Chris Perkins has never looked this fabulous before. Its like he likes his outfit so much that it gave him hair again and made his smile literally more brilliant.

[@EpicFichti]

"The next time we'll fight them, it'll be from the insides of a robot!" (20mins later) "Damnit, we can't get it up straight again, let's just leave it here"

[@Obstreperous_Octopus]

2:07:07 "You're going to counter spell his counter spell?" "Yeah, we're going to play Magic The Gathering now." Four years later...

[@strayster2]

I had no idea what a D&D game looked like before I started watching these "Aquisitions Inc." videos but I love it. This is hilarious. Looks like a great time.

[@billhenry7213]

You still have no idea. These guys are fools, being coddled by their DM.

[@TreyM1609]

@@billhenry7213 awe is him jealous?

[@valandil7454]

​@@billhenry7213having fun and can't stop laughing

[@TheBrosinInk]

I love that they remembered the "green flame" thing from the past year.

[@KamakazeTaco]

These REALLY need episode numbers to help keep track of the story.

[@zacharoninoodle]

+KamakazeTaco They're labelled by year. Just watch 'em by year. Also remember for these later ones that East comes before Prime

[@pyroclastic1670]

+Zach Noorman also try the podcast they help fill in the blanks

[@quirkthekenku]

This might help! pennyarcade.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_D%26D_Podcasts

[@defeeded0887]

this is actually season 9 not 10.

[@deguello66]

They put the year on them. I have no problem following them....

[@jamalsonicova2509]

I love it when they show the table from above and you see that it is built in a trapeze shape so you can actually see the 2 in the back better from the viewers perspective

[@DNDWizards]

Check out the live D&D game from PAX East for your first taste of the Tyranny of Dragons story line!

[@GlennRittenhouse]

i love them all. the last one with the cheezy sparkly map was hilarious. not the overused, hilarious. but the actual, i laughed so hard i couldnt breathe and tears were streaming down my face hilarious. i wanna play one game with chris perkins as my dm.

[@santoshuante7314]

Never grew up playing D&D but ever since the 2012 D&D live game I have looked forward to these.

[@TerenceH2T]

The podcast isn't out yet right?

[@drmlabs]

Terence van Lange don't think so - if it is let us know please

[@dragoon617]

Terence van Lange yes pls let us know

[@TheZedman5000]

Recognized the Leeroy Jenkins reference as soon as Scott said "Times up, let's do this!" What an amazing reference.

[@TheSacredBlade]

when is it?

[@ChristianRuppelt]

+TheSacredBlade 1:55:05

[@kennethmitchell9159]

Going through the whole series again, been like... 8-9 years since we went through the Podcasts? So awesome... nostalgic as fuck... one day I will see them live lol

[@defeeded0887]

if you do see them live, be prepared to spend about 1k just to see them. that is not including the price to make it down there.

[@durkgordon9141]

God thank these dudes for making a dnd live game I can watch without fucking yawning constantly.

[@TedoMD]

The feels when Jim Darkmagic goes down with doves and cards.

[@Ender424]

OMG Scott's quip at Morgan's death was brutal and hilarious. "You just got X-Plaaayed!" :O

[@jakejarvis1148]

"I'm a recovering Christian" might be one of my new favorite phrases

[@cartoon80s90s]

The second part of the video, starting with the first encounter, was great. Mike was awesome as usual, and great appearance from Morgan. I hope we get the next part soon. I hate cliffhangers.

[@BassZ1890]

***** Because, you know, going to hell to save Al was very goofy.

[@TheCammillinaire]

Dwarven Discussions -- Kelly HIS. NAME. IS. AEOFEL!

[@SamSphinx]

What do we say to the God of Death? GREEN FLAME!

[@eligannon7282]

no you wink at him

[@BlackShadow1991]

It's old, but gold :) I very much enjoy the vibe of the table.

[@fundude365]

Funnily enough Scott and Jerry were both right. Scott had the British pronunciation of Lapis Lazuli whilst Jerry had the American pronunciation.

[@effyontheedge5133]

The boys losing composure with the lady around low-key is funny af. Even Chris kinda flirts at one point.

[@j.d.3597]

Morgan Webb was a pleasant surprised. I can't say I'm a fan of hers but I think I really need to reconsider that because she did a great job. Always good times.

[@asher45s]

she was horrid my cat is a better role player then her.

[@johnwalker5617]

I love morgan web,Shes' pretty cool and i loved her on g4.

[@patandmacmusic]

I love that Green Flame was just catching on

[@xXdroogle13Xx]

This was the first episode I watched so I thought that Chris Perkins had great hair. Then I went back one and watched the one where he had the full head face paint.

[@conanross]

I miss everyone!!! We need continual campaigning going on here! I would pay a monthly subscription fee JUST to see you play all the time.

[@TheFireyMonk]

Never eat while watching these. I think i have peanut butter cereal in my lungs

[@danmfigueroa]

This was one of the bests RPG adventures on the internet of all time.

[@matthewlewis8297]

If you like watching tabletop games I'd also recommend TheDiceStormers (especially their pathfinder games)

[@gerenago5952]

Nerd Poker is pretty great, too, if you're looking for more D&D adventures :D

[@FromRussiaWithLuv007]

'I'm your DM, Jaime Lannister... I mean Chris Perkins'

[@Locane256]

Oh my god - I need MORE OF THESE IN MY LIFE

[@Nitsua1201]

I love that hundreds of D&D players can get together and do their D&D jazz with no hiccups whatsoever, banter included.

[@pixy8054]

So they're saying the dragon couldn't get it up? Has he gone to the apothecary to see if he has ereptile dysfunction?

[@boneheadSkelington]

Pixy well played my friend well played

[@BaconFrisbee]

Rimshot

[@yyzhed]

at 1:20:14 Jerry sings the little "critical fail" tune from the animations in the previous episodes. Never caught that before.

[@OfficialTriple]

Just got all of my D&D 5E stuff today. Hyyyyyppppeeee! Awesome video. Love it!

[@OfficialTriple]

***** Yeah it looks awesome so far, D&D weekend with the bros come saturday!

[@OfficialTriple]

Happy to say, had my first game as DM with my bros last Saturday and it was fucking awesome. The somewhat improv during a campaign makes it extremely bad ass. Totally worth the $200 for all the books.

[@OfficialTriple]

John Beaird Wood Elf Ranger. Bringing the damages at a distance. Although I usually DM but man is it fun.

[@MrTheMighty]

I'd have never thought that we'd live in a world where people would sit and spectate a game of D&D. This is very enjoyable.

[@joeyoung6968]

Chris's costume: Now with hair

[@Canderius]

He had hair before, when he had the Mad Hatter getup.

[@joeyoung6968]

Canderius Huh, whaddaya know, he does have a little Aaron Carter wig under that hat. I stand corrected.

[@introvertgamer6669]

That looked more like Dr Faciliae (princess and the frog)

[@ymirfrostgiant]

I wish they'd make more of these. I'm embarassed at how fun these are to watch.

[@borofreak]

Chris is so evil in this one :D I love it!

[@Arcemise]

I thought Morgan did a fine job. Can't wait to see how the adventure concludes!

[@breoncay]

It's hilarious that a little side tracked man thing completely started a new story XD

[@JayAKway]

Coming back to watch these again years later just to say that AI deserves a prime video animated series too

[@themoderndayminstrel]

I've already watched this twice, but it is time for round three!

[@Eldanoth]

My Master. I learn everytime how to improve my session only watching you

[@hawkwind40]

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are figures from chapter 3 of the Book of Daniel, three Hebrew men thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, when they refuse to bow down to the king's image; the three are preserved from harm and the king sees four men walking in the flames, "the fourth ... like a son of God".[2]

[@NapiurPictures]

I love this soooo much. Watching you guys for 4 years (wish I could see you guys online) and have been waiting for this for the last year, and was sooooo worth it. And although the girl was a good sport, I still wish Will Wheaton would come back next year.

[@danrenaydo3787]

Dagult Neverember? I worked for that guy back when I played Heroes of Neverwinter. He's a total tool. Get him out of Waterdeep as soon as possible and never look back.

[@RandallStevenson]

Morgan Webb!!!!!!!! but why are none of them in costume this time?

[@JiggleWiggleBagel]

Possibly to ease Morgan into their style of D&D? before everything gets hectic.

[@wishinghand]

They probably got sick of it, which is a bummer, especially since it's once or twice a year.

[@Obversechaos]

Chris wore a costume.

[@johnsalvi3870]

They only all wear costumes at PAX prime

[@Mad-Slick]

1:12:30 - One of the best AI moments ever.

[@cerverus753]

Kudos for using KZbin! The team is still going strong. The problem is not that they are aging, the problem is that the fourth member is the weak point. The previous component, like this woman, can't stand up to the test. All of the players&dungeoun master suffer from it, and it shows badly. Need a professional like the other four to restore the greatness that the Acquisitions Inc. Game deserves.

[@FlashakaViolet]

It is so refreshing to have a girl in the party, I'm so happy Morgan's here

[@NathanWubs]

Yes, I really enjoyed this one as well. sadly Veari came back in part 2 :(

[@KronicShade]

***** Why's that so sad? Morgan Webb was still there..

[@NathanWubs]

Kronic Shade Well its obvious is it not. I am not a big van of Veari that is all.

[@KronicShade]

***** My bad, they way you said it in response of the original comment made it sound as if you thought that they replaced Morgan with Patrick.

[@NathanWubs]

Kronic Shade Nah hope that morgan will be joining again next year.

[@Katherine_The_Okay]

"Is my beam still on?" -- and that is where crop circles come from...

[@SamOnMaui]

Love that beautiful mane of hair on Chris' head :p

[@luel.2752]

I really, really enjoyed it like all the time before. Hope it will never end! :)

[@hetero4life]

The subway Jared joke means something a bit different now....

[@airawolf4261]

It really does

[@t.w.worley3588]

I miss Acquisitions Incorporated. :(

[@LeoGJardim]

Morgan was hilarious!

[@ObsidianSaint]

The part where he smacked the skull at the wizard and threw him off balance was DEFINITELY a time for inspiration!

[@loganmarshall5414]

Lmfao Chris Perkins "I'm having fun" lol

[@VbitemeV2]

I want a Jim Darkmagic mini

[@Concord003]

How could it be a surprise round!? They saw the enemies approach and draw weapons! That should have been a regular round!

[@davidjackson5976]

Takes me back to 1980. It makes me want to seek out a local RPG group and... sigh Ok lets just be honest, shall we? D&D defined me back then. I still roleplay a-lot! My 'friends' can't understand my silly antics, neither can I. I just have this need to act out. The one thing I miss most from my past is D&D. It gave me a place to express myself. Thank you for making a very interesting video, and re-sparking my role-playing desire. I dream of an opportunity to rejoin an adventure.

[@JSHADOWM]

This Campaign is SO CLOWNSHOES. ... and i LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT. ... also holy shit. Omin Dran's full name, FINALLY.

[@derickwheatley3941]

Man I miss Binwin

[@PlanarCollapse2]

Damnit, Bhaal isn't hosting this year!

[@Eon2641]

Damn, Chris looks amazing in that getup.

[@jonathanchandler8216]

I love how the smallest character is played by the largest man

[@mjoakes]

D&D is a game of imagination!

[@johnsalvi3870]

What does that have to do with anything? And men can play women and vice versa

[@krowodom5719]

I saw your green flame made it into the new waterdeep dragon heist 😎 🔥

[@4203105]

I never played D&D but from a viewers/listeners perspective, 4th edition combat was waaaaaaaay more interesting.

[@shadecaster615]

i have only played 4th ed and 1 min into the next combat (first encounter for me with the next mode) i was bored senseless and prayed my group never moved to next

[@sherican23]

I've played AD&D and up. 4E is TERRIBLE. But that's my opinion.

[@Boxvoko]

I understand how it seems that way but this is how many people think it's supposed to be. All martial classes doesn't have superpowers and mages can't spam spells forever. Combat in Next is also faster, and since they're playing without a battlemat it's more of cinematic combat rather than tactical. (there are rules to add more tactical depth to combat, but that also extends the duration a fair amount)

[@sherican23]

Agreed, they more or less just use house rules.

[@4203105]

Boxvoko I guess I don't really get that mindset. Fights in 4th edition were still hard. The guys were in quite a few tight spots over their adventures. Granted it always turned out okay (not counting Wil splitting the party), but it could have gone other ways and that is with very nice DMs. So why would you not want the flashy fun battles where everybody can do awesome stuff? As long as it's still challenging that sounds great. I get that it used to be different in the olden days, but people who liked that can still play 3rd edition, can't they? This seems like a big step backwards and I don't mean that in a good way...

[@raphaelcastro1332]

Remember in the first podcast where Chris was like "I'm playing with another group and they've gotten to level 6 in 6 months" and they're only level seven after 3-4 years

[@tazzeightsixfour9721]

Raphael Castro Playing 1ce or 2ce a year slows a party's progression... It makes sense that Perkins runs other parties maybe 1-2 times per MONTH that level faster...

[@masonh145]

That would be because they changed editions halfway through, and they only play about once a year while Chris's other games play once or twice a week

[@themoderndayminstrel]

Anyone know if they are still going to do one at PAX Prime this year? Because two live adventures in one year would be amazing.

[@Saruva_Eduardo]

Probably there'll be the PAX Prime session, this was just and introdutory session (for the new season and the new character); I think they'll invite a new "intern" every year to avoid problems of schedule like happened with Will Wheaton; can't wait to see the rest of this story!!!

[@gaiadonata9868]

1:23:56 "that's gonna stick around" - Chris Perkins, 2014. He saw it coming.

[@AP0LL0edc]

At 1:20:00 is it actually a surprise round if the group sees the attackers draw their weapons before actually being attacked?

[@unagisauce]

I thought the exact same thing...

[@Maestria00]

Chris Perkins sometimes twists the rules so it is more interesting to watch. It is not the first time he does it. Still, it is fun to watch.

[@brucemillis7111]

Sure enough, but they are trying to fit an entertaining adventure into 2 hours, so some rules get squelched and manipulated.

[@Wraithcannon]

Not only that, the bad guys got full attacks instead of single actions during the surprise round. No wonder the party was ground down SO FAST.

[@hooj4808]

Wraithcannon Assuming they are playing rules similar to the last playtest, surprised characters miss their first round of combat. So the bad guys would get a full turn for surprise.

[@AcidbrainwashEffect]

Roll the dice, no need to explain You just cast a Spell, Green Flame!!

[@FfejTball]

"Your puppet looks like a sock. With no hair. Holding a cucumber for some reason."

[@JacobUllrich]

love this so much.

[@pennyarcadeTV]

W00t!

[@adamjohnsonstudio7910]

Yep. Definitely crushing on Morgan Webb.

[@thesarcasticlemon5238]

1:18:26 do these "nine cloaked figures" remind anyone else of the Nasgul form Lord of the Rings?

[@billhenry7213]

Nope And it is Nazgûl

[@joeyb6285]

only when the 2 mounted the Wyverns

[@Elldrak]

I'm replying in a separate comment, to someone else because I don't want to be the dude that tries to reply to an old comment. But the reason Chris is railroading a bit is because absolutely no one at the table really seems to be moving forward. It's just, jokejokejokejokejokejokejokejokejokejokejoke oh there's a story here. But I enjoyed it, I remember watching Morgan back when G4 was awesome, and it was nice to see her here. Just give her a chance guys, idk how long she was set up for this, probably a year as far as I know, but it may be the first real game she does with the guys so she is trying to feel it out. I enjoyed it. :)

[@Boxvoko]

The reason the ending is rushed is because a guy actually came on stage and told them that they're already out of time just after Chris said they've only got 15 minutes left.

[@hawkwind40]

2023 and still a classic episode

[@BenMcFarland]

So, if everyone's masked, how do they prevent meeting-crashers at the Masked Lords of Waterdeep gatherings?

[@kenshin101010]

I imagine they have some kind of seal/ID/pass phrase etc.

[@Icewindling]

Each Masked Lord of Waterdeep's Mask is enchanted to prevent scrying, and they each bear a ring if I recall that bears proof of their identity.

[@tazzeightsixfour9721]

kenshin101010 Secret handshake...

[@stevenfitzgerald2214]

Dragons have 'blindsense' which allows them to detect invisible persons or objects and they're innately magical beings (so via magical means). It would have caught them, no?

[@Angry_Rancor]

I don't know if it's bad that I'm curious but I do want to know what's in the Poop folder.

[@NeithDollhouse]

Omin rattles off 3 biblical names for NPC's...goes right over everyones heads :P

[@HyruleSwordsman94]

I still miss Al...

[@HyruleSwordsman94]

***** There were like 5 games with him. I'm pretty sure would have noticed if his name was Aeofel.

[@tater6789]

The golfing club skeleton head wizard skeet shooting was the best.

[@VMLM3]

what happened to Viari? He was awesome!

[@DenisTrebushnikov]

He begun to drink, and his songs became two diffrent sort -- great ballads and drunken songs, and his drunken part had over him... so Viari became a common drunken storyteller with hangover every hour of his sober life... "I'm the Giant, but I became to drink, and I fell off" -- from the movie "The House made by Swift", filmed by Mark Zakharov, USSR 1982. Viari had the same story.

[@johnsalvi3870]

Comes back next game

[@Zamolxes77]

Acquisitions Inc. that sounds like a Ferengi company.

[@skudzer1985]

That DM's teeth are impossibly white.

[@EdwardHowton]

Denner resin.

[@xconundrum]

HA! sweet eater.

[@travisdicks3773]

skudzer1985 huh. I hadn't noticed till now, but damn...

[@Matthew075]

Except the bottom.... they never spend the money on bottom teeth and it ALWAYS shows.

[@madhatterhimself181]

00:45:08 - Ice Cold..... I LOVE IT! 01:12:36 - Môrgæn really seems to have some heavy insecurities.... All the better though since it gives us scenes like this one.

[@KojinMacJorn]

Is there a reason they don't do the Podcasts anymore?

[@IsaRat89]

I would like to know too :(

[@Ragestatus]

+Kojin MacJorn I believe it is due to numerous projects and scheduling conflicts. You can follow Chris on Twitter, he is very active and comments on Acq Inc occasionally.

[@4D4plus4is4D8]

+Kojin MacJorn Mike and Jerry are developing a card game at PA, and they said in an interview that it hasn't left them any time for D&D. I assume they still intend to play at PAX though.

[@IsaRat89]

Ah ok :) Thanks Jeff;)

[@johnsalvi3870]

Cause videos are cooler

[@theaz4203]

My word, Chris Perkins looks absolutely fabulous with the crown and wig on. Maybe you should wear that to work, Chris! XD

[@Sneckster]

link to podcast channel?

[@arkhamwarden]

www.wizards.com/dnd/podcasts.aspx

[@buck7271]

So why did Jim get instaGibbed from going down to 0? He should've gotten death saving throws. Edit: Ooooh, he also gave the cultists that the party saw approaching an undeserved surprise round and fudged binwin into taking 3 crits. Yeah, it was a scripted kill, now I get it.

[@haerdalis84]

Really enjoyed the podcast. Just a minor quibble towards the end - Morgan is ruleslawyering Chris about her spell without reading what the spell actually does. Hunter's veil, renamed into Pass without trace, doesn't make you invisible - just makes it easier to stealth through. Worked to the advantage of the podcast as they were already running out of time and a full frontal approach would likely have caused a TPK, but yeah - if you're going to preach about the rules, know them first ;)

[@undee5043]

Thx for the clearup, I was wondering about that. I don't have the D&D Next spells, but it seemed odd that a ranger would have access to what basically comes down to Mass Invisibility (formerly a lvl 7 spell) that additionally negates Blindsense or Scent. I already figured she misunderstood what "Track" means mechanically (to follow a trail), but that would still make the spell en par with Mass Invisibility which really made me scratch my head.

[@Ashkinda]

Also, did dragons lose an equivalent to Blindsense in this edition? Blindsense should have enabled the dragon to detect the party without seeing them just due to being nearby, or at least that's how I always took it...

[@TheQwertologist]

"It all hinges on stealth." Said the halfling in the gian, killer robot.

[@KimchiYeo]

i still wonder what happened to will wheaton :O ? still think he should return

[@ROYBGP]

A lot of drama with Scott and the rest of the group. He was just really fucking oppressive. On top of all that, he's a social justice warrior. Nonfucking way he's getting back on.

[@jirotakahashi927]

I am excitement. I see good-looking adventurer form in over the there head. I had enjoy time,thank you.

[@Remoniq]

I think she fits in so well in this group. I found her funny many times.

[@hummerspike]

That girl is still invisible at this table 25 min in. They won't even make eye contact with her.