GE was originally founded in 1311 Avard by Nodrom Dwarfendale Fistforger, Malkir Vinaalaalus of Rakore, and Rottgutt Stoneballs, at the small fishing village of Teras, at the mouth of the Galanus River in modern Rakore. Dwarfendale, Malkir, and Rottgutt, a small adventuring band traveling the wilds of the land, came into quite a bit of wealth during their travels. Taking the advice of an immigrant known as Rial Mhenace, the group invested heavily in a ship-refurbishing enterprise, just in time for the annual Chandralian whaling fleets to arrive. Gideon Enterprises has since flourished under the management of Rial Mhenace, and has become one of the largest and most powerful mercantiles in the western world. GE specializes in ship-building and repairs, as well as general mercantile exchanges of rare goods and services throughout the west.

The main offices are located several miles west of Teras – which, thanks to GE, blossomed into a full-time trading city. The main offices are on and in an ancient basalt outcropping known as Thayer's Rock, named so for a fisherman's family that once lived there. Thayer's Rock is where the primary ship-building takes place for GE. It is rumored that many of the plans and experience necessary for good ship-building came with Rial Mhenace from the east, in stolen plans and documents from the Holy City of Karmen – at that time, considered to be the greatest ship-making state in all the world. Since that time, considerable refinements and experiments have gone on with ship-building, and even more-ancient plans discovered in mages' tomes have given Gideon Enterprises a considerable leg up in ship-building. The offices at Thayer's Rock are heavily guarded and quite prized by the nation of Rakore.

Pay for Gideon Enterprises employees is enough to attract applicable sailors and workers: 6sp/wk is the lowest pay grade, followed by 12sp/wk for normal grade pay, 18sp/wk for mid-managers, and 24sp/wk for the managers at each of the facilities, plus percentage options and commissions.

GE also has a special forces unit, dispatched to handle problems both for Rakore, and for the merchant marine fleet's interest. This special forces unit, known by the code name Firestorm is often called upon to investigate and ferret out future bases of operation, problems in ports of call, and situations that no other group would be qualified to deal with. The exact nature and configuration of Firestorm changes from mission to mission, but the name is both widely feared and highly respected. Members of Firestorm are recognizable by a large signet ring that spans an entire finger bone, made of burnished blue-tint steel with an ultra-black, hand-carved, ebonite insignia.

The ships GE originally made were named by category: caravels and carracks were named for gemstones, the larger galleons were named for snakes and serpents, and sloops and brigantines were named for species of trees. The naming conventions still hold for the most part, although several decades of ship-building are slowly exhausting the names.