Acquisitions Incorporated

to pay its expenses should resull in complications and
story ramifications. Local folk and businesses start to
demand that accounts be cleared. The general public
might begi n to reject the franchise's products and ser-
vices, worried about dealing with dodgy businesspeople.
Complications. A franchise automatically suffers a

complication if the check for this activity was^30 or less.

The DM might also impose a complication even when

a franchise is doing well. The OM can choose a com-

plication or roll on the Running a Franchise Complica-

tions table.

RUNNING A FRANCHISE COMPLICATIONS

d6 Complication

The franchise's sales of products and services have

attracted competition from a rival.*

2 Regardless of its success month to month, the fran·

chise's long-term planning is called into question.

Head Office demands that the characters engage in

either the franchise restructuring activity or the team

building activity.

3 A person who insists they are in no way from Head

Office suggests that the franchise should run the

shady business practice activity. It really feels more

like a demand than a suggestion.

4 Customers are turning away from the franchise. Until

the characters can determine the cause, each subse·

quent check for the running a franchise activity takes

a -5 penalty.*

5 A staff member finds signs of sabotage impacting the

franchise's operations.*

6 Staff members start demanding higher pay and

threaten to go on strike.*

*Might involve a rival

SCRUTINEERI NG

As a member of an Acquisitions Incorporated franchise,

you scoff at those who limit their intelligence-gathering

activities to m ere research or sagery. The scrutineering

activity covers basic research easily enough (finding a

new profitable venlure, learning what pleases Head Of-

fice. amassing lore about a site or monster, and so forth).

But it can also expand across a much broader range of

activities. You might engage (''kidnap'' is such a harsh

word) members of a rival group, learn the secrets of a

stronghold known only to those who built it, assess an

organization's business model to determine its weak-

nesses, or lay rightful claim to any information that

might benefit your franchise in some way.

Resources. The DM determines what resources are

required for any particular scrutineering goal. including

access to specific people or places. Once that access has

been gained. this activity requires at least one workweek

of effort and^100 gp per franchise rank spent on bribes,

materials, and other expenses. Spending more money

increases the chance for successful scrutineering.

Resolution. The character or staff member overseeing

the activity makes an Intelligence check. and can make

use of a skill appropriate to the scru1ineering activi1y

at the DM's discretion. This check gains a +l bonus per

100 gp spent beyond 1he baseline expenses. A character

with the documancer position gains a + l bonus to the

check. A maximum bonus of + 10 can be applied to this

check. The total of the check determines the outcome,

as shown on the Scrutineering table.

SCRUTINEERING

Check Total Outcome

1-5 No effect.

6-10 You learn one piece of lore.

11-20 You learn two pieces of lore.

21+ You learn three pieces of lore.

Each piece of lore you uncover through scrutineering

might cover specific details about a creature or PC,

how to thwart the defenses of a stronghold or office, the

rituals or magic items employed by a mystical order, and

so forth. The OM makes the final decision regarding

what information is revealed by scrutineering.

Complications. Whenever this activity is undertaken,

the DM determines whether a complication is war-

ranted. Even if the information you uncover with scru-

tineering is accurate, additional things you didn't learn

might complicate your understanding. Your attempts

to uncover secret information might also be thwarted

by those intent on keeping those secrets. The DM can

choose a complication or r oll on the Scrutineering Com-

plications table.

SCRUTINEERING COMPLICATIONS

d6 Complication

One of the pieces of information is false and was

planted by a rival.''

2 A source of information decides to join a rival organi·

zation, becoming an asset for them.*

3 A source was a greedy information broker, who de·

cides to also sell information about the franchise or

Head Office to a rival organization.*

4 The target of the information becomes aware of the

franchise's scrutineering efforts, and resents them.*

S Scrutineering attempts attract the attention of of-

ficials, nobles, or another faction or rival who were

previously unaware of the franchise.*

6 The character or staff member leading the activity

comes into contact with a magical effect whose re·

moval might require a side trek adventure.

''Might involve a rival

SHADY B USI NESS PRACTICE

The quickest path to success often runs straight through

the thickets of questionable legality. Franchises that

can overcome the morally dubious aspects of certain

enterprises- and can deal with the risk of being caught

engaging in those enterprises-might wish to consider

such time-honored practices as back-of-the-wagon

discount sales. fly-by-night gambling halls, highway

robbery, racketeering, and pyramid schemes. Shady

business practices can also include corporate espionage

against rivals and other Acq Inc franchises, including

stealing goods or sabotaging commercial efforts.

CllAPTl:.R 2 GRO\\ ING YOUR FRANCHISE