Acquisitions Incorporated

basement reveals a secret l evel of dungeons hereto-
fore unknown.
Franchise members can decide on what features are
involved in the expansion. including new windows,
doors. and furniture. Adding certain ty pes of space

might also call for extra supporting features. If stor-

age is on an upper noor, a winch might be installed to
lift goods. A cellar could add another exit and an area
for storing wine or alchemical supplies. Or a carriage
headquarters could gain a second cart to become a
wagon train.
All construction is low cost but functional. as in the
following examples.
Expanded Lighthouse. The lighthouse is now taller.
with two additional levels, an upgraded beacon, and a
stronger exterior. A stairway l eads down into a network
of old caverns, including some used as storage space.
and finally onto a small beach with a dock.
E xpanded Tavern. The buildi ng adjacent to the tav-
ern has been bought oul and connected to it, allowing
for more guest chambers, a larger common room, a
larger kitchen. and staff quarters. A large fireplace fills
th e common room with light and warmth. while new
tables and chairs create a welcome environment. Guest
chambers might feature a patio or balcony.

TRANSPORTATION F EATURES

Also at rank 2. every franchise gains some form of mo-

bility, with players and OM working together to deter-

mine how a headquarters facilitates travel (or expands

on its normal travel modes) from one location to an-

other. A ship might gain a magic sail, or could add a bal-

loon to become a battle balloon airship. A hollow statue

could gain the ability to stride across the landscape. A

wizard's tower might teleport from place to place. Or

doors within a tavern could be revealed as a magical

portal connected to various locations in far-flung lands.

The OM has final approval over the method of locomo-

tion, and can put in pl ace any reasonable limitations or

constraints on that movement. Additionally. any method

of movement should have a weakness or drawback

determined by the DM. As a r ule of thumb, a mobile

headquarters can travel a distance of^30 miles per day

(equivalent to a fast travel pace) per franchise rank. This

rate of travel can vary depending on weather, visibility,

availability of maps, or other conditions.

Giant Stone Statue. A 100-foot-tall stone statue has

stairs and rooms carved within its interior. When a

character sits at th e helm located in a room within th e

statue's head. the statue can be directed to walk across

th e land. The statue ignores difficult terrain, usually by

simply crashing through it. However, the navigat0r has a

limited sight line while peering out through the statue' s

large eyes. When th e terrain is cluttered or subject to

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ACQUISITIONS INCORPORATED IS MAGlc!

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS offers a wide range of play styles,

and works with many different types of campaign story.

The Dungeon Master's Guide talks about some of the most

common types of fantasy that can shape a D&D campaign,

including a general sense of campaigns being high magic,

low magic, or the D&D standard in between.

An Acquisitions Incorporated campaign has its own d is-

tinct feel, as talked about in chapter^1 of this book. Part of

that feel comes from the substantial benefits that charac-

ters gain from franchise features and company positions-

mechanical boons, magic items, access to powerful spell

effects, and more. These benefits are gained automatically,

as a general reward for the characters' adventuring suc-

cess driving franchise advancement. So it's important that

everyone is aware how adding those built-in campaign

benefits to the regular magic gained during adventuring

will give the characters a boost in power.

For an Acquisitions Incorporated campaign meant to

feel and play like standard D&D, the DM should consider

creating a low-magic campaign, and letting the benefits

of company positions and franchise features fill in the

magical gaps. A standard campaign played with the rules

in this book should be treated as a high magic campaign,

with the DM and the players understanding that the

difficulty of encounters and other tasks might need to

be ramped up to offer a real challenge to the characters.

Of course, nothing prevents anyone from playing a high

magic campaign with the Acquisitions Incorporated rules.

But DMs and players should all be aware that doing so will

create extremely powerful characters- who will no doubt

attract extremely powerful enemies and threats as a matter

of course.

combat conditions, it can be hard to avoid creatures or

objects smaller than a large building.

Battle Balloon. A hot air balloon is lit by a magic fur-

nace channeling elemental power. A galleon suspended

below th e balloon features a helm th at controls the ship.

The vessel canny virtually anywhere. i gnoring difficult

terrain. but it is at risk from storms and strong winds. If

the balloon takes significant damage, th e ship could be

forced to descend-or might even crash.

(Appendix C features vehicle statistics for a typical

battle balloon. For characters who choose this highly

cove1ed feature for th eir headquarters. the DM can im-

pose limitations on the ship's attacks and make changes

to its statistics.)

S elf.Contained Train. This mobile franchise head-

quarters features a magical-mechanical locomotive that

lays down its own track. Mechanical arms at the front of

the locomotive set down crossbars and rails in front of

the headquarters at ridiculous speed, while arms at the

back of the headquarters pick up the crack as it passes.

The train moves at quarter speed over difficult terrain

(instead of half speed). It can pass over rivers. but can-

not cross lakes or large bodies of water.

Extradimensional Wagon. A seemingly simple wagon

drawn by an old horse channels powerful magic. The

wagon's driver can cause the wagon lo teleport the

distance of a day's journey, targeting a known loca-

tion over the course of one or more extradimensional

jumps. Such teleportation is usually done when no one

CliAPr t R '2 I CROWING YOUR F RANC'lllSI:' I l