Precipice Quarter
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This article reflects recent canon updates. |
What is today called the Precipice Quarter was once Absalom's Beldrin's Bluff district, a quaint and quiet neighborhood featuring tea shops, minor governmental buildings, and a few pleasure houses. In 4698 AR, Beldrin's Bluff ceased to exist when a massive earthquake shook the city, shearing off a large chunk of the bluff on which the district stood, sending earth, structures, and citizens plummeting into the sea.12
History
The area grew in prominence when the mysterious Beldrin, a powerful and enigmatic arcanist, built a tri-spired ivory tower atop the majestic rocky cliffs along the Isle of Kortos' southern shore.1 The three spires were known as the Tower of the Broken Shield, Tower of the Candelabra, and Tower of the Horn.3 Wishing to live in the majestic shadow of this architectural wonder, the city's wealthiest nobles, artisans, and merchants flocked to the neighborhood, bringing prosperity and culture to the entire district.1 Eventually the district was known to have a carnival-like atmosphere with many soaring pavillions, penny museums, private zoos, and impressive manor homes.4
In 4698 AR the Isle was hit with a terrible earthquake which sheered off the edge of the cliffs and sent two of Beldrin's towers and several blocks of the district into the sea below;5 only the Tower of the Broken Shield survived mostly intact, while the Tower of the Horn rests at the base of the bluff and is flooded except during especially low tides on full or new moons.36 Countless people died in the event, with some of Absalom's oldest families erased.7 The surviving elite residents of the district, in fear that the rest of the cliff was soon to follow, fled the neighborhood, leaving behind blocks of abandoned buildings and crumbling structures.1 Afterwards, Absalom's Grand Council decided not to revive the district, which led it to quickly become inhabited by criminals, monsters, and other ne'er-do-wells.4
The District today
In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Precipice Quarter became perhaps the poorest, most derelict, and abandoned in the city,12 and became the focus of extensive revitalization efforts by Acting Primarch Wynsal Starborn and Lastwall's refugee Watcher-Lord Ulthun II.48
In part, these revitalization efforts were for the purpose of utilizing the region for the then upcoming Radiant Festival in 4720 AR. Legions of mercenaries, work crews, and spellcasters were hired to clear a wide swath of the haunted quarter and transform it into a suitable fairground, the effort finally achieving significant results late in the summer of 4720 AR. Rumours persist of cost-cutting, budget limitations, and unscrupulous contractors that tarnish these efforts.9
Inhabitants
The district is now only sparsely populated and remains one of the most dangerous parts of Absalom. Rumors of hauntings and magical mishaps left over from Beldrin's research plague the few residents who remain, but these rumors keep eager adventurers and Pathfinders flowing into the neighborhood to explore and brave the very dangers that are now so prevalent in this once-idyllic quarter.1
Places of interest
- Arboretum Arcanis: Once a magical arboretum that housed plants from all over Golarion.102
- Beldrin's Tower: Also called the Tower of the Broken Shield.3 Only one of the wizard's towers still stands, and it hangs precariously over the edge.10
- Grislyfair: Formerly known as Wonderfair, this now haunted and abandoned amusement park was an early attempt to reclaim and reinvigorate the district after the earthquake of 4698 AR ravaged the city.11
- Sanguine Thorn: Once a Milanite tavern and safehouse for liberated slaves that was ruined in the great earthquake.12
- Stinger's Scar: A former pleasure park that is now a seething lair of vermin from all over the city.10
- Titan's Fountain: A fountain that looks as though a giant metal fist is punching its way out of the earth, the Titan's Fountain hides a long-forgotten secret.13
- Tower of the Horn: One of Beldrin's towers lies submerged under all but the lowest of tides at the bluff's base.36
- Tri-Towers Yard, known now as the Drownyard: Formerly a school for Beldrin's Bluff elite children; now a haunted grave leading to ancient catacombs.72
References
The Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild scenarios Echoes of the Overwatched and School of Spirits are set in the Precipice Quarter.
For additional resources, see the Meta page.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Nicolas Logue. (2008). Hangman's Noose, p. 27–28. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-073-5
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Alex Greenshields. (2015). School of Spirits, p. 5–6. Paizo Inc.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 James F. MacKenzie. (2011). Echoes of the Overwatched, p. 9. Paizo Publishing, LLC.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Tanya DePass, James Jacobs, Lyz Liddell, et al. (2019). World Guide, p. 18. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-64078-172-6
- ↑ Erik Mona et al. (2008). Campaign Setting, p. 55. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-112-1
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 James F. MacKenzie. (2011). Echoes of the Overwatched, p. 11. Paizo Publishing, LLC.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tim Connors & Eileen Connors. (2008). Black Waters, p. 3. Paizo Publishing, LLC.
- ↑ John Compton et al. (2019). Character Guide, p. 88. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-64078-193-1
- ↑ Patrick Renie. (2020). Agents of Edgewatch Player's Guide, p. 11. Paizo Inc.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Owen K.C. Stephens. (2008). Guide to Absalom, p. 40. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-141-1
- ↑ Ron Lundeen. (2020). "Assault on Hunting Lodge Seven". Assault on Hunting Lodge Seven, p. 51. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-64078-277-8
- ↑ Leo Glass, Thurston Hillman, Joe Pasini, and Linda Zayas-Palmer. (2018). The Rose Street Revenge, p. 25. Paizo Inc.
- ↑ Mikko Kallio. (2017). Assault on Absalom, p. 23. Paizo Inc.
