Acquisitions, Inc. Returns

Celebrity D&D game Acquisitions, Inc., has become something of a fixture at PAX Prime. It's back again this year, complete with Chris Perkins as the Dungeon Master, on Friday, August 28, 2015 at 8:30 (Pacific) in the Main Theater at PAX Prime 2015. You'll be able to watch it live via Twitch, but for now - here's the trailer!

[video=youtube;KipPMgbpKzk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KipPMgbpKzk[/video]
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[Iosue]

I greatly admire Critical Role, and certainly recommend it to people who find the AI crew don't take the game seriously enough. But personally, I don't find any podcast or streamed game as interesting as AI. There are just large swaths of boring background, set-up, or role-playing that have all the interest of someone telling you the history of their favorite PC. AI's just got a snappier pace, both the game as a whole (lots of things happen in two hours), and in jokes per minute. Even when there's a string of long role-playing, like say the meeting of the Masked Lords of Waterdeep at PAX East last year, it's leavened with jokes that keep things from slowing down.

Edit: A good example of Chris Perkins' DMing skills is the Robot Chicken game, and accompanying commentary. It's more of straightforward game than the AI games, and the commentary is chock-a-block with good advice.

 

[Nikosandros]

Chris Perkins is a good DM. Wheaton can be funny. It's painfully obvious the other guys aren't very good at role-playing on a stage.

I think that Wheaton hasn't been part of AI games in a while.

Edit: A good example of Chris Perkins' DMing skills is the Robot Chicken game, and accompanying commentary. It's more of straightforward game than the AI games, and the commentary is chock-a-block with good advice.

Agreed. I greatly enjoyed the Robot Chiken game and the commentary. I also loved how the game was introduced to a party made almost all of beginners with no experience playing RPGs.

 

[SkidAce]

I agree. AI is good fun, its stage production/celebrity D&D, not what I would call an actual game with characters that care about consequences. One reason I gravitate more to Critical Role and Titansgrave is that the players have investment in their character, and their approach to D&D is not Gonzo fun ™. I agree that Matt Mercer should be featured more by Wizards as an example of a great DM. Chris is a great DM, just wished I could see him DM an actual campaign to show us more of his DM skills.

Listen to the AI podcasts from before they became stage events. There was a definite campaign and characterization as they learned to play 4e.

I recommend them to people no matter what system they play...because they are funny and real people.

 

[Corpsetaker]

Every time I watch these guys along with Chris Perkins I throw up in my mouth a little.

 

[Inglorin]

Every time I watch these guys along with Chris Perkins I throw up in my mouth a little.

Oh dear. Then you definitely shouldn't watch at ALL. This can't be healthy.

 

[Hussar]

Every time I watch these guys along with Chris Perkins I throw up in my mouth a little.

"Every time"? You threw up in your mouth the first time and then watched it again? Ummm, I think maybe that you might want to change the channel. Perhaps?

If you hate something the first time and the second time, more times will most likely not change your opinion.

Me? I think they're fun and zany. That one they did a while ago where they go into the house and the dwarf on the big pig charges them was freaking hilarious. I didn't like the Undermountain one so much. Although, again, getting eaten by a purple worm while in the outhouse was so worth it.

And I'll second (third) the Robot Chicken episodes. Those were fantastic. Highlighted the system and play very, very well.

I'd love to see Wil Wheaton back on the mikes. His elf was one of the best elves I've ever seen played. Just nailed it.

 

[SkidAce]

Every time I watch these guys along with Chris Perkins I throw up in my mouth a little.

Try just listening like I suggested.

 

[Mirtek]

Uggh. I find Acquisitions, Inc. to be painful to watch. It's not funny. It's not entertaining. It's like bad, dull combination of improv and D&D.

Is there actually D&D in AI? I tried to watch it a couple of times, but it always seemed like improv with the occassional D20 rolled to cover a huge amount of things at once in a very simplified way.

It never seemed to me that they were actually using the D&D rules.

 

[Charles Rampant]

I'm not sure if sticking to the rules would make for a better Acquisitions Inc game - considering that the focus is on a comedic and entertaining version of D&D, played by geek celebs with audience participation. I mean, sure, they could be much more accurate to the rules; but would that make it more fun? I can't see how anyone goes into AI and thinks, "Oh, this very accurate and serious depiction of D&D got the rules wrong for sneak attack. I can't see how they got that wrong". Now, something with a completely different focus - say, 'D&D done by people who know how to act' - might want to be more accurate with the rules.

Thanks to this thread, I've got Critical Role saved on my Youtube. I might give it a try. I watch AI while painting Warhammer stuff, mainly, since I like to have funny and interesting stuff (which doesn't require my eyes) for background. For that purpose, I've found AI to be great. The humour is really funny - though a lot of the jokes are so intensely American, I've got no idea what they mean - and while there is essentially no roleplaying going on, it serves as an amusing version of a beloved hobby. I guess that I think of it like a comedy sketch show that happens to be themed around playing D&D. I've got a game on Thursday, when I'm showing D&D to a bunch of fellow PhD students in my department, and I'm half tempted to show them a clip of it just so that they know 'how D&D games should look'. I probably won't though, since launching straight into a description myself of how the game works will be less jarring.

 

[Zaran]

I would much rather listen to a podcast from Wizards that follows one of their D&D games from 1st to 20th level. The pax shows are funny but don't really portray how a typical game really is. They are too theatrical and accelerated for the audience.