BASS, Ult: Dramatis Personae

Herein I will detail some of the major characters of the game, both player characters and NPCs, and what appears to be their outward motivation.

Blackstone Acquisitions and Security Solutions, Unlimited was formed when the gaming group got together for the first time, though the name went through several permutations. In part, we got the idea for forming an "Adventuring Company" from the Penny Arcade Podcasts, and in part from that the official D&D 4th edition character sheet has a space set aside, next to the character's name, for that very purpose. So we became a company, complete with positional titles and everything.
We started the game at level 4, and the GM, Brian (who will be becoming a player after I take over), decreed that we already knew each other and that we were to work out the details of our backstory and how we became a party as we went. D&D 4th makes this exceptionally easy, because players need not be able to roleplay to effectively play the game, though our group has a tendency toward character-driven plots in which the stats on our character sheets become secondary.
So it came to pass that, since we were placed together before we had a chance to figure out our own motivations for our characters, the Company was a good foundation for our party. We had formed out of collective interests of improving our individual skills as adventurers and collecting gold, gems, magic items and various treasures, hereafter referred to as loot, to further our personal goals.
As we discovered our characters and the hidden motivations therein, some of us developed rich backstories, while others found inspiration in the gameworld itself and actively sought their goals - sometimes to the benefit of the Company, sometimes not.

BASS, Ult is:

Blackstone Jones
Race: Human
Class: Wizard (wands)
Position: CEO
Player: Frank
Blackstone is the Face of the party, and takes his role as CEO very seriously. His only motivation is the concrete foundation of the Company, and making the names associated with it resplendent in granduer. He manages the party's loot and handles the majority of the highbrow interactions (barons, kings, gods, etc.) with the express intention of rewarding the Company, and those who further it.
It is important to note that the Company is named for his first name, rather than his last. what does that say of the hubris of man?

Skargob Dragginkilla ub Noknoggin ub 'Edbasha
Race: Orc
Class: Warlord (inspirational; multiclass cleric)
Position: Humanoid Resources
Player: Me
Skargob is a dichotomy.
On one hand he is a bloodthirsty warrior, as are his kin so stereotyped. Like his mother before him - Noknoggin - and her father before she - 'Edbasha - Skargob has been marked for greatness by the gods themselves. He strives ever to prove himself in the shadow of his mother, the Savager of Ethling, Scourge of Heimat's Vault, and knows that one day, all orckind will sing of him.
However, at the same time, he is a learned scholar, and he knows that if the green-skinned race follows the bloodyminded rut it has carved for itself it will be doomed to be simpleminded nomadic tribes, hated by the other "great" races for their barbarity. They will be hunted down to be killed and enslaved as savages and heathens, and they will be forced to the outside of the progressing world, never to be accepted as equals.
So Skargob seeks to prove once and for all that the orc race is worthy of being one of the greats, that orckind won't surrender to die in obscurity. He hopes to lead the orcs into a new age, a golden age, and has the mark of the gods emblazoned on his green skin to guide him.
Skargob has found a human that accepts him as an equal in Blackstone, and he hopes that the Company will provide a stepping stone to further his ideals. Blackstone has trusted him with the screening new applicants for the Company, and in planning the disposition of Company reasources (mainly, the manpower - or should that be humanoidpower?).

Kaldich
Race: Tiefling
Class: Rogue
Position: Former Master Cartographer
Player: Peter
Kaldich was a wild soul. We hope he still is.
In an early encounter, he unwittingly - or perhaps quite wittingly - released a demon from eternal imprisonment. This demon ultimately turned out to be the One Known as The Lady, Whose Name Shall Never be Spoken Lest She Conquer all that is Good, Queen of the Abyss, Wife of the Chained One - and She took what might be called an... unhealthy interest in the Company.
After the Incident, Kaldich took to increasingly odd behaviour. He was prone to violent behavior in several recorded instances, including one where he melted the bones right out of his opponent in a staring contest, and very nearly assaulting an innocent passerby in a strange location (who was Tobin, the one who would later become our Public Relations Officer), though it should be noted that Kaldich managed to stab himself instead of his intended target.
However, Kaldich was also a conduit of The Lady's power, and this proved useful to the continued existence of the Company on multiple occasions. When we were stranded in an ocean - after a dragon had made it's best attempt to sink our vessel - Blackstone had the presence of mind to contact The Lady via Kaldich's conjunction, and She deigned to bring us ashore - more than a day's rowing on an underground sea. Kaldich's arms were worn out, to say the least.
In the sencond happening, in a battle with 3 green dragons and Tiamat's personal dragonborn Harbinger, we found outselves slightly outclassed. Kaldich summoned the Lady to our aid, but this time She required a price: Kaldich himself was to accompany Her to Her abode in the Abyss (which looked like a pretty fine place, if one didn't count the view). She arrived, with several apparitions of similat caliber, and occupied the Harbinger and the eldest dragon while the Company took on the two other dragons (it should be noted that in this battle Skargob earned the appellation Dragginkilla).
After the hard-won battle, Kaldich accompanied The Lady to Her realm, and as of yet, that has been the last the Company has seen of him.
So far.

Thor-grimm Halflingsbane
Race: Shifter (Longtooth)
Class: Fighter (axe)
Position: Public Relations Assistant
Player: Chris
Thor-grimm is a simple character, whose only wish in life is to travel the world and beat the snot out of things. It is unclear as to whether he inherited the moniker Halflingsbane or if he earned it, though the party has yet to encounter a halfling to find out.
This may sound like a simple charater concept, but Chris plays it to the hilt. He has a gruff demeanor and a mean streak roughly as wide as (presumably) a halfings entrails strech out.

Tobin Briarthorn
Race: Half-Elf
Class: Warlock (fey)
Position: Public Relations
Player: Izzy
Tobin has an interesting history. His mother told him not to play in the woods on dark nights, and boy was she wrong. A Fey enchantress picked him up, made some sweet promises, and gave him crazy powers - all at the petty cost of his immortal soul. What a deal!
The Company found him soon afterward as he wandered back into the material plane, and Blackstone immediately saw his potential he offered on the diplomatic side of things, and failing that, his ability to cause others to go insane. Plus, he shoots magical blasts from his eyes.
Tobin often accompanies Blackstone to important negotiations to help smooth things over, or, failing that, to help blast their way to an exit.

Ebin
Race: Elf
Class: Ranger (archer)
Position: Intern
Player: Cisco
Ebin is a quiet sort who prefers to watch and listen. He was picked up in Hafen as a new recruit the last time the Company was in town, in hopes to further the Company's power to Reach Out and Touch People.

Rapscallious Grayblade
Race: Eladrin
Class: Rogue
Position: Intern (on probation)
Player: Dan
The Company found Rapscallious tied up in a tavern full of demons, and upon the Company's arrival, he managed to free himself and come to the Company's aid. Blackstone offered him a part-time postition as an intern until they won clear of the demon infested quarter of Hafen, and later Rapscallious opted to stay on as a full time employee.
Since then, Blackstone has found Rapscallious's somewhat... slanted Eladrin upbringing to be a bit offensive, and he has given the rogue several warnings for his behavior. Despite this, Rapscallious has proven quite skilled in his area of expertise and has become an invaluable asset to the Company.

Stig, Beloved of Amhorra
Race: Dwarf
Class: Cleric
Position: Intern
Player: Ty
Stig was found alongside Rapscallious in the tavern full of demons, and was offered a part time position as well, and he, too, decided to stick with the Company. His divine powers and stalwart nature have been a great asset to the Company.
He has not spoken much of himself, save for his Goddess, Amhorra, daughter of Moradin, though that is mostly prayers given in battle.