UPDATED: Video – PAX 2012 – Acquisitions Incorporated (D&D Live!)

The full video of this year’s Acquisitions Incorporated live D&D Campaign is finally live! Give it a watch before reading the article below. Please note that this video contains adult language and content, but of course that helps to make it the best two hours of live D&D you can get on the internets! Enjoy!

Of all the events that happen at PAX, the one I look forward to most of all is the chance to watch Jerry Holkins (Penny Arcade), Mike Krahulic (Penny Arcade), Wil Wheaton (Tabletop, The Guild, etc.), and Scott Kurtz (PVP) team up to form Acquisitions Incorporated and play D&D under the always incredible Dungeon Master Chris Perkins (R&D – Wizards of the Coast). This year, the live session was brought to the beautiful Paramount Theater across from the Washington State Convention Center. This theater isn’t just a large, classy-gold-trimmed venue,  it’s also the perfect place for way more PAX attendees to witness the epic journey of Acquisitions Incorporated in person.

Acquisitions Incorporated

Since the performance will be available online to watch at some point (hopefully soon) I won’t be spoiling the campaign itself, but I did want to cover some of the things I thought they did incredibly well this year.

First of all: Holkins, Krahulik, Wheaton, Kurtz and Perkins were incredibly fun to watch and were great at humoring the audience while various attendees shouted out ideas and criticisms. There was a moment in which the audience suggested Wheaton climb up a rather unsavory place to explore, and it was definitely one of the highlights of the night. The fact that Wheaton went along with the audience’s suggestion was really pretty hilarious (especially since it was potentially quite dangerous for his character).

Also, if you have been watching prior Acquisitions Incorporated live campaigns or following the podcast – there are some awesome throwback references to previous episodes in the campaign that you will really enjoy.

Holkins rolls the first critical miss (1) of the game...on his first roll.

Holkins rolls the first critical miss (1) of the game…on his first roll.

Second: the set, though simple – was pretty good. The map/mini setting they choose looked great and this year’s backdrop of a giant demon was a nice touch, too.

Whedon and Perkins share words about the turn the campaign has just taken. Also, Whedon has acquired Chris' pony.

Wheaton and Perkins share words about the turn the campaign has just taken. Also, Wheaton has acquired Chris’ pony.

Third: the Acquisitions Incorporated campaign is still going strong after years of development. Perkins is an amazing DM and he makes me want to work harder to write a really good D&D campaign for my friends back home to play. I actually got the chance to attend the “Ask the DM” panel this weekend in which Perkins and other R&D members (Greg Bisland and a few other awesome folks) from Wizards of the Coast answered audience questions and covered some suggestions for becoming a better dungeon master. Hearing him speak is a great experience because the passion, enthusiasm, and knowledge he brings to the table is phenomenal. If you ever get the chance to hear him speak I highly recommend it.

My only wish is that each year’s live D&D event could be a bit longer, but sadly at the end of 2 hours (plus waiting in line a couple hours before that) I don’t think our bladders could honestly take much more.

Enjoy the following photos from the show and stay tuned because I will embed and link the Youtube videos once they have gone live!