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Category Archives: Dungeons & Dragons

May 1, 2019 · 8:30 pm

Dungeons & Dragons Sourcebook Launches June 18, 2019

Acquisitions Incorporated

Here’s one for all the gamers: Are you a fan of D&D and do you enjoy the antics of the popular webcomic, Penny Arcade? Okay, the answer is clearly yes and the press release below is for you. If you are not familiar with Acquisitions Incorporated, then learn about a very special 224-page Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook:

Acquisitions Incorporated, the official third-party Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook from Penny Arcade and Wizards of the Coast, brings hilarious fantasy antics straight to players’ homes June 18.

Acquisitions Incorporated is based on the (in)famous D&D campaign popular on Twitch and at PAX events featuring PAX and Penny Arcade’s cofounders, a cast of celebrity guests, and D&D Lead Rules Designer Jeremy Crawford as DM.

Pax West 2018

For the past decade, the renowned retrieval company known as Acquisitions Incorporated has shared their (mis)adventures with hundreds of thousands of attendees at PAX and viewers on Twitch. Dungeon Master Jeremy Crawford (Lead Rules Designer of Dungeons & Dragons) does his best to shepherd the mischief of Penny Arcade and PAX co-founders Jerry Holkins (Omin Dran, Cleric) and Mike Krahulik (Jim Darkmagic, Wizard) as well as a rotating cast of celebrity guests including author Patrick Rothfuss (Viari, Rogue) and gaming icon Morgan Webb (Môrgæn, Ranger).

Now, with the 224-page sourcebook, Dungeon Masters and players alike can experience the uproarious exploits of Acquisitions Incorporated in their own game. New spells, a new race, and introducing character positions mean it’s easier than ever to join the company and take part of this universe. Want to jump in headfirst? The book also includes an adventure module so players can get started right away.

Obviator by Aviv Or

“Being able to give back to the game that I’ve been playing most of my life is incredible,” said Jerry Holkins, co-founder of Penny Arcade. “I can’t wait for players to join my friends and I in Acquisitions Incorporated, not just because it’s a book and a world we’re very proud of, but also because my character gets a cut of their earnings.”

For further information, visit Penny Arcade’s official website or follow Penny Arcade on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

For more information on Acquisitions Incorporated, the D&D sourcebook, please go to the official website.

For more information on Acq Inc, please visit the official website.

A Mechanical Beholder Bonanza by Tyler Jacobson

Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. With over 3.5 million readers, it is the most popular and longest-running gaming webcomic online. Penny Arcade is also responsible for the Child’s Play Charity, the Penny Arcade gaming expos (PAX) in Seattle, Boston, San Antonio, Philadelphia, and Melbourne, multiple video games based on the brand, and multiple online video series.

Review: ‘Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D’

‘Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D’

Creating a biographical work in comics is a very distinct venture. It requires a fine agility as you’re balancing a myriad of facts, more than you will be able to neatly fit into one graphic novel. Any number of factors can add to the complexity, such as the writer figuring what to use if he has personally conducted interviews. David Kushner was one of the last journalists to interview D&D co-creator Gary Gygax prior to his death. He has now teamed up with award-winning illustrator Koren Shadmi on a nonfiction comic book chronicling Gary Gygax’s life and the creation of D&D: RISE OF THE DUNGEON MASTER: GARY GYGAX AND THE CREATION OF D&D, recently published by Nation Books. It is an ambitious undertaking, the first of its kind, and well worth a read.

Dave Arneson, a true dreamer.

Kushner and Shadmi do a wonderful job of laying down a behind-the-scenes narrative to Dungeons & Dragons, a pop culture phenomena that we all know to some degree. You may have never seen yourself as a role-playing game enthusiast, but you can’t help but get caught up in the details and history of a bona fide subculture. This book succeeds in putting a face to what has become known the world over as Dungeons & Dragons. In fact, there are two prominent faces involved here: Gary Gygax, the original guy to tinker with new ideas for role-playing games (instead of always military themes, why not include wizards?); and Dave Arneson, the guy next in line who refined what Gygax set in motion (don’t get lost in the rules and keep it fun!). Gygax was a middle-aged man with a family and Arneson was a young security guard working his way through college.

For the love of the game.

The best moments in the book are once we get to observe Gygax and Arneson just being themselves, warts and all. Gygax turns out to be more motivated towards turning his innovations into a profitable business. Arneson is far more the dreamer, only interested in refining the game. Arneson is so caught up in his own D&D world that he is left out of the burgeoning D&D business venture by Gygax and his associates.

“One day, you catch a break that will change your life.”

Kushner’s script places the story in various first-person points of views. At times, the narrative boxes are quoting Gygax or Arneson or simply become omniscient. While this narrative shift can be disconcerting at times, it’s understandable given the many segments to cover. You have a broad canvas to fill with this person saying this and that other person doing that. And, given the interview source material, there are times that you want to do a flashback scene and other times that you want the person to speak in the present moment. Overall, Kushner and Shadmi do a commendable job of bringing this tale to life. One thing is for sure, you will never look at Dungeons & Dragons the same way again.

RISE OF THE DUNGEON MASTER: GARY GYGAX AND THE CREATION OF D&D, published by Nation Books, is a 144-page black & white trade paperback. For more details, visit Nation Books. You can also purchase the book directly from Amazon right here.