The Rise of Belmont Holdings: A Lawful Evil Success Story
Our DM expected us to fight the Cult of the Dragon. We accidentally founded a multinational corporation instead.
Our group is currently playing Tyranny of Dragons, and our party consists entirely of four evil alignment characters.
Instead of trying to become JUST murderhobos, we decided our characters would be far more dangerous if they were competent, charismatic, and business-minded. Rather than simply serving the Archdevil Bel through violence, we asked ourselves: "What if we spread his influence the same way real corporations spread theirs?"
That one joke snowballed into Belmont Holdings, NLC., a holding company whose long-term objective is to bring capitalism to Faerûn.
The plan isn't to conquer kingdoms overnight. It's to make ourselves indispensable.
Our current subsidiaries include:
🌾 Belshire Farms — "From our hands, to your home." A farming and food company producing everything from fresh produce to baked goods. Everyone loves Belshire. That's the point.
Our Elysian Wheat comes from only the best soils south of here.
🚚 Belair Express — "Oh, we're here. And there. And there." A logistics company making trade faster and more reliable. If you control the roads, you control commerce.
🕯️ Smokey Bell Candles — "Light it. Love it. Believe it." A luxury candle company whose products just happen to serve as subtle offerings to Bel. They're also genuinely high-quality candles.
We're still waiting for our fourth player to decide what industry they'll dominate.
Our long-term business strategy is simple: Build trusted brands. Expand into every major city. Buy out competitors. Influence guilds and merchant councils. Encourage laws that favor Belmont Holdings. Replace the influence of nobles with the influence of commerce.
The funniest part is that every one of these businesses is legitimate. They create jobs, improve infrastructure, and sell quality products. They're also slowly helping an Archdevil build the most successful conglomerate in Faerûn.
Our DM prepared for dragons.
He wasn't prepared for shareholders.
I did use an image generator to produce business logos.