This section details some of the notable NPCs who can play a part in an Acquisitions Incorporated campaign.
Omin Dran
My duty, first and foremost, is to my shareholders. And I am the only shareholder.
Omin Dran spent his formative years in the small waystop of Red Larch, where his mother, Prophetess, ran a popular inn and restaurant. In the brief periods of respite afforded by working the family business, Omin and his sisters, Auspicia and Portentia, were wont to wander the hills and trails around town, dreaming of adventure. But adventure of the wrong kind came calling for the trio one day, when an underground ruin they had often explored—actually a creature called the Wandering Crypt—took Auspicia from the world.
Omin Dran built the organization called Acquisitions Incorporated to facilitate and expand his quest to find his true sister, at least in part. For despite his unprecedented success in establishing the market for franchised adventuring across the Sword Coast and beyond, Omin’s full measure eludes most people. He is known to be a worshiper of Tymora, ruthless in matters of business, feckless in matters of love, and hopeless in games of chance. Omin is also often accused of being one of the Masked Lords of Waterdeep, though this bit of fancy earns little more than a chuckle in response. And even if the rumor were true, Omin would never leverage such a position for greater financial gain and power. Because that would be wrong…
Jim Darkmagic
Have a magical day!
Jim Darkmagic is the scion of a mysterious, multiplanar wizarding family. Jim’s arcane pedigree has long preceded him, incorporating equally healthy amounts of magical training and innate eldritch prowess. However, despite a natural talent that could have allowed him to make a name for himself as a court wizard, or perhaps “that strange old man in the village,” Jim’s original penchant was not for the magic of scroll or spell, but for the stage.
As an entertainer and purveyor of the “Jim Darkmagic Experience,” the legendary mage can often be found in markets and town squares, performing feats of mundane legerdemain. The renown he has earned for these feats is nearly equaled by the reputation that follows him as chief arcanist (and occasional arsonist) for Acquisitions Incorporated. And although his skills as an adventurer and real wizard remain highly sought after, Jim looks forward to a well-earned retirement, at which point he hopes to become a “real wizard”—by which he means a fake wizard—full time.
Viari
I know a story about that…
A product of life on a small-town farm, the rogue known as Viari carries fond memories of those childhood days and his loving family. (Well, except for that thing where his parents insist on thinking of his older brother as the successful one.) But he can be quick to show self-consciousness when talking of where he came from, and he never speaks of the name he bore in that former life.
After quickly rising in the ranks of Acquisitions Incorporated since joining that august team, Viari has come to head what’s known as the organization’s Stabbing Department. A potent threat in both dueling and earnest debate, he demonstrates an equal flair for planning and forethought, mad combat moves (involving leaping off high places whenever possible), and dark vengeance.
Viari’s career as an adventurer was nearly cut short during a battle of which the bards still sing. Unleashing a devastating attack with the aptly named Apocalypse Dagger, the rogue destroyed a giant single-handedly—and lost his arm in the process. Although Viari was made bodily whole again in an equally dramatic magical fashion, some of those closest to him have noticed that those miraculous events weigh on him still, perhaps suggesting consequences that only he foresees.
Môrgæn
If I had wanted to kill, I would have killed.
The ranger Môrgæn is a renowned tracker and hunter, able to pinpoint-target foes at any range, then vanish into the woods with no one the wiser. Her legendary ability with the longbow and the custom arrows she crafts instills fear into the hearts of her many enemies—and more than a few of her coworkers. Famously, she is the only member of Acquisitions Incorporated known to be paid in advance, lest a missed invoice lead to dire repercussions.
A child of the forest, Môrgæn defends the natural world with singular ferocity and an impressive rate of sustained fire. Her core philosophy is that one should shoot first and then ask no questions later. Because what’s the point of asking questions when the person you’ve shot first is already dead? Still, when the situation calls for it, this protector of the woodlands is equally at home on missions of subterfuge and social interaction in the big city, provided her well-known love of ale, wine, and other intoxicants doesn’t get the better of her.
Flabbergast
Not much is known of the mysterious and aloof majordomo of Acquisitions Incorporated Head Office, the mage known as Flabbergast. It’s said that he hails from Neverwinter, and that his wealthy family helped erect and carve the famous Dolphin Bridge in that city. Although he detests physical labor, Flabbergast is a bit of a bridge builder in his own way, always striving to bring people together and flexing his diplomatic muscles. A pacifist bureaucrat, he abhors violence, and rarely puts his magical prowess on display.
One thing that is known (though it’s seldom spoken of) is that Flabbergast once worked for Dran Enterprises, and specifically for Portentia Dran. He carries a certain amount of guilt around being complicit in certain Dran Enterprises' dealings, and helped Acquisitions Incorporated on the side even before taking up an official role with the company. Though Head Office certainly trusts him, others might wonder where his true loyalties lie.
Flabbergast’s familiar, Mister Snibbly, uses the cat stat block.
The “C” Team
The Acquisitions Incorporated “C” Team is an up-and-coming adventuring franchise whose members have proven themselves able to handle the most dire threats—and equally able to fully capitalize on the resultant marketing opportunities. Tales of the group’s adventures are well known across the North and the Sword Coast. But less well known to many is that the “C” team did not come together by mere chance.
Walnut Dankgrass, Rosie Beestinger, Donaar Blit’zen, and K’thriss Drow’b were all hand-selected for membership in Acquisitions Incorporated by founder Omin Dran, based on an experience he’d had as a young man. Upon entering a creature called the Wandering Crypt, Omin saw a vision of the heroes who would deliver his sister from that same creature years hence—and later created the “C” Team as a manifestation of his lifelong goal of seeing Auspicia Dran returned to the world.
The “C” team is headquartered in the small town of Red Larch, residing at the Dran & Courtier inn. The fact that the proprietor of this inn is one Prophetess “Propha” Dran, mother of Omin Dran, is entirely coincidental but a totally excellent strategic and cost-saving move.
Donaar Blit’zen
Everybody cooooool out!
The hulking dragonborn decisionist of the “C” Team, Donaar Blit’zen is an icon of brash confidence and warrior chill. He is known for his furious skill in battle, and for his propensity to fall asleep as soon as a fight is done (as well as countless other inopportune times). More immediately notable is the unique physical trait that all members of his clan bear—a stylish tail that is rare and often considered a deformity among dragonborn.
As with his tail, an odd quirk of heritage makes Donaar’s acid breath more of a signature vomiting, giving rise to a driving paranoia that this regurgitation might damage his teeth. As testaments to his obsession with dental hygiene, Donaar named his greatsword Toothbrush and calls his whip Floss. He carries an actual toothbrush (named Percival) and actual floss at all times.
Those who know Donaar quickly come to recognize that the braggadocio that defines him involves a certain amount of artifice. When the young dragonborn left his clan and family to adventure in foreign climes, he realized that doing so provided the perfect opportunity to reinvent himself for folk who had no idea what he was once like. As such, Donaar has learned that no amount of bravado and compensation is too much—provided he leaves no openings for strangers to call him on it. By the same token, strangers quickly come to realize that reinforcing Donaar’s self-congratulating sense of draconic entitlement makes it remarkably easy to win his favor.
Despite his easily massaged vanity, the dragonborn sometimes shows the occasional streak of selflessness. Most notably, Donaar serves in his off-hours as part-time godfather to a young dragonborn named Chronaar, who had inadvertently imprinted on Donaar as a parental figure while he watched over her while she was in her egg.
K’thriss Drow’b
All things are divided into meat and mouths—but even a mouth is just meat.
The drow warlock K’thriss Drow’b cuts a dashing figure as the worldly representative of the Ur—a ravenous, inscrutable, and largely indifferent elder entity from beyond reality. Tapped into this dark power, the “C” Team’s hoardsperson sees all existence as a puzzle to unlock, and he is obsessed by the essential lack of meaning and purpose in the structures of so-called “reality.” Still, all things considered, he is most often polite and affable. Because after a long adventuring career, he understands that he can’t afford to make more enemies.
Given his blue skin tone, rumors suggest that K’thriss is of mixed heritage, but no one knows for sure. As a young and doubting adherent of Lolth, he stumbled upon fragments of a relic known as the Black Altar, exposing him to their infinite truths and shocking the drow’s hair jet-black. His matching “beard” is actually a slow-growing colony of inert spores that K’thriss believes makes him look distinguished. Possessed of alarming and asymmetric crystalline eyes, he often wears a blindfold to spare others his visage, seeing through the eyes of his familiar while he does.
Tentacles play a big part in K’thriss’s spellcasting, whether wrenching him through the sky when he uses magic to fly, or manifesting in dark, suckered form when he casts spells such as
K’thriss’s familiar, Ligotti, is a semisapient remnant of a tentacle attack, spawned by the warlock’s intercessor patron god. Though entirely alien to the material plane (and often appearing in the form of a staff), Ligotti uses the stat block of a poisonous snake with these changes:
- It has an Intelligence score of 12 (+2).
- It has telepathy out to a range of 30 feet.
Rosie Beestinger
Well, I have this jar of eyeballs…
Weighing in at just under 30 pounds and with a grandmotherly demeanor befitting her advanced age, Rosie Beestinger is easily mistaken for someone on the wrong side of the “aggressor/victim” relationship. But this is a mix-up that few people make more than once. Patient and studious, Rosie has schooled more than one malcontent with what the halfling refers to as “the sauce”—a whirlwind of kicks and punches to one or the other haunches that can inspire even the toughest half-orc to sprint toward anyplace Rosie isn’t. As an increasing number of folk hear the tales of her prowess, the “C” Team cartographer’s fame among her fellow halflings has become nothing short of legendary. Still, this adoration might be augmented by the sheer number of halflings related to Rosie. She has a daunting number of natural and adopted children, many of whom have followed their mother along the adventuring career track.
Rosie’s goals have always been more complex than merely seeking after adventure. She has long sought for ultimate meaning in the stars, and to seek justification for her belief that her bonds to her expansive family are reflected in the endless movements and intricate patterns of the sky. However, the Beestinger clan has a less metaphysical reputation in the eyes of many people, as constantly swirling rumors attempt to connect the family to various and nefarious halfling criminal enterprises. Naturally, Rosie knows nothing about any of that. Sure, her nickname is “Grandmother Night,” but that probably doesn’t mean anything.
Walnut Dankgrass
The war ever rages.
Growing up in an all-female clan of druids, healers, and rangers, Walnut Dankgrass was drawn to the role of protector from her earliest years. Dedicated to Mielikki, the matriarchal clan known as the Enclave Panax Anima defended the unspoiled wild by word and blade (with the latter option more prevalent by far). But when tragedy struck the enclave, Walnut’s clan was destroyed to the last—leaving her with nothing but the all-consuming desire to seek out and destroy those responsible.
As a guardian of the wild, Walnut has long held an antipathy toward civilization and anything urban. However, understanding that civilization was the source of the evil that destroyed her people, she makes the city her home now. She embraces her role as the “C” Team’s documancer, knowing that the city’s power—and its weaknesses—can be fully gleaned only from within.
Walnut distrusts most folk she meets, except for those whose bearing reflects the matriarchal structure she was once part of. No matter what shape her struggles take, she knows instinctively that her beliefs are right and true—and that she will follow those beliefs to the bitter end.
The “B” Team
Though its exploits are not as well known as those of fellow franchisees the “C” Team, the Acquisitions Incorporated “B” Team has a solid reputation for getting things done. Often traveling together in the guise of a musical group, the team is best known for its “whatever, wherever, whenever” mission statement and a predilection for extreme violence. (If you meet any of its members, don’t talk about the vampires. Just don’t.)
Brahma Lutier
Formally a former member of the “B” Team, Brahma Lutier is a gifted cartographer, spy, and troubadour. Tutored in at least the latter of those vocations by Audra Courtier (wife of Propha Dran and co-owner of the Dran & Courtier inn of Red Larch), Brahma’s specialty is a song of domination that is legendarily difficult to resist.
Her retirement is said to be connected to a falling out with husband Oak Truestrike, and Brahma has been operating as a solo agent for some time now. Known for a personality that is murderous and cheery in equal part, she utilizes an instrument of dragonborn design in combat. Known as a war lute, this unique item comes replete with hidden storage and powerful weaponry.
Oak Truestrike
Oak Truestrike is the “B” Team’s decisionist—and, depending on who you talk to, a reincarnated demigod. (It’s a long story.) Those who know him acknowledge his confidence, his arrogance, and his odd ability to engage with others by somehow saying exactly what each listener wants to hear. Whether this is some subtle magical ability or simply grifter’s charm, he makes good use of it either way.
Oak becomes a radically different person with each of his reincarnations, flipping between neutral good and neutral evil. His memories of past lives have been fractured by his many deaths, but he spends each new life accounting for the previous life in a karmic-ledger kind of way. His current incarnation embraces the good side. Mostly. Except for that occasional toxic bitterness. Oh, and the misanthropy. Actually, if you end up hating this guy, it’s probably not your fault.
Pendragon Beestinger
Able arcanist Pendragon Beestinger took over as “B” Team cartographer after Brahma Lutier left the group. In fact, his first assignment was to assist in the team’s attempts to apprehend the wandering bard. An adopted child of the “C” Team’s Rosie Beestinger, Pendragon is his mother’s foil in almost every way—including his goal of wanting to mainstream some of the family’s rumored criminal interests. Pendragon has, in fact, attempted to kill his mother—and been killed himself in the process. Despite his having been resurrected at Rosie’s request, things remain cool between the two.
Pendragon was kicked out of wizarding school as a result of the dark rumors following the Beestinger clan. Now a self-taught mage, he specializes in making use of the dangerous spells and weird trinkets he often comes across in his role as a kind of arcane archaeologist. Seeking out the family feeling that an adventuring group provides keeps him in the “B” Team, even if that unfortunately comes with Oak Truestrike as a kind of father figure.
Phoenix Anvil
The “B” Team hoardsperson, Phoenix Anvil is a servant of Waukeen and a soft-spoken sort. Really soft. Like, he talks so infrequently that even he might not recognize his own voice. Phoenix comes from the streets, where he grew up a fighter until a job sweeping the steps of a small temple of Waukeen showed him a new path. His hunger for coin as an adventurer is thus guided by his knowledge of what it is to do without.
More of an object individual than a people person, Phoenix is obsessively dedicated to the franchise’s assets and accounts. Thankfully, he includes his fellow members among those assets, making him fiercely loyal. However, Oak Truestrike is the only team member he’s ever really warmed to, which doesn’t do either of them any good.
House Dran
As the renowned head of Acquisitions Incorporated and totally not a Masked Lord of Waterdeep, Omin Dran sometimes seems the epitome of the self-made humanoid. But those who know the story of Omin’s rise to power know the importance of his family to that story—and the complicated relationships that continue to bind Acquisitions Incorporated to the women of House Dran.
Auspicia Dran
The youngest sister of Omin Dran, the half-elf Auspicia Dran had her life torn apart as a child when she was seized by a mysterious creature called the Wandering Crypt. Having spent long years in a kind of dark dream within the crypt, she was saved in the end by her brother Omin’s tireless efforts and the valor of his handpicked “C” Team. Now returned safely to the world—and with the false Auspicia of the crypt’s creation slain—she focuses on trying to discover her own identity and to work through the ongoing complications arising from her ordeal.
When Auspicia emerged from the Wandering Crypt, she carried within her a growing level of psionic power. She can’t help but read others' minds, but finds that wearing a diamond earring helps tamp that unwitting ability down. This magic has also left her connected to the crypt in a way she doesn’t understand, even as it grants her occasional memories of others still trapped there and an awareness of faraway places. In combat, she manifests an instinctive knowledge of events before they happen, often making use of this ability to bring a fight to a standstill that encourages parley. But she has only just begun to explore her full precognitive potential.
Portentia Dran
Now the owner and driving force behind Dran Enterprises—perhaps Acquisitions Incorporated’s most notable rival in the adventuring-for-profit-and-power biz—Portentia Dran is more than she appears to be. Quite literally. The person known as Portentia is actually a changeling, who took the place of the real Portentia before her fifth year.
The changeling Portentia can affect a range of disguises, and has spent long years engaged in a mission of manipulating the members of the Dran family. Years ago, it was Portentia who tricked her sister Auspicia into exploring the depths of the Wandering Crypt. And she would have been successful in arranging for Omin to be claimed by that creature as well if he hadn’t fled immediately in search of a weapon to aid his captured sister.
Whether in combat or social encounters, Portentia shifts frequently between different forms and mindsets, only some of which are fully humanoid. She fights to maim, with a cruel combat style that emphasizes surprise and painful instruction. She is willing to affect any appearance or attitude to achieve her goals. But what those goals are—for herself and Dran Enterprises alike—remain a secret known only to her.
Prophetess Dran
The elf matriarch of the Dran clan, Prophetess Dran is a retired paladin of Tymora who now runs the inn known as the Dran & Courtier. Formerly owned by her parents (and once called the Omindran), the inn has been a central feature of the village of Red Larch since before there was a Red Larch.
Prophetess spent long years haunted by the fate of her daughter, Auspicia. She never fully believed Omin’s stories about the strange creature that had seized his sister, then created a false Auspicia in her stead. Having long attempted to simply make her peace with the loss, she was overwhelmed by the real Auspicia’s dramatic and unexpected return to the world. Through all that time and currently, Prophetess has maintained a challenging relationship with her faith.
Though retired from active service to her deity, Prophetess can call on her spells and abilities in times of need, and remains in constant practice with Confessor, her maul. At her core, she believes that the gods help those who help themselves, and that people have a responsibility to their community. A practical sort who prefers to do things on her own, she doesn’t like to fuss with prayer if she doesn’t need to, as if bothering Tymora with trifles might seem rude.
Prophetess Dran uses the priest stat block with the following changes:
- She is lawful good.
- She has Strength 14.
- She wears breastplate (AC 14).
- She has the following attack: Maul. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (
2d6 + 2 ) bludgeoning damage. - She has these racial traits: Prophetess has advantage on saving throws against being
charmed , and magic can’t put her to sleep. She hasdarkvision out to a range of 60 feet. She speaks Common and Elvish.