Absalom Government
The Founding Laws of Absalom
Absalom’s Founding Laws, etched upon massive stone tablets by the hand of Aroden himself, establish the basic outline of Absalom’s government and the rules governing the behavior of its citizens. The tablets rest in the Grand Vault of Azlanti Keep, where they serve as a symbol of the city’s enduring history and of the fundamental values that have provided a solid foundation for nearly five millennia of continuous government. The Founding Laws perform the following functions.- Establish Absalom’s Grand Council, enumerating the powers of its High and Low chambers, as well as those of the primarch.
- Outline an annual convergence called the Starstone Exultation, where members of the city’s High Council set the agenda for upcoming Grand Council sessions, administer the city’s primary functions (trade, commerce, the harbor, etc.), and orchestrate Absalom’s defense in times of siege.
- Consign Absalom to the monarch of Taldor if no member of the High Council is present for the annual Starstone Exultation.
- Grant all adult natives of the city (defined as those born on the Isle of Kortos, children of those born there, and adults who serve the councils or guard units of Absalom for no less than 10 years) protection from unwilling exile or imprisonment except as punishment upon conviction of a crime.
- Broadly outline Absalom’s judicial system, implementing a citizen’s right to a trial by jury if accused of a crime and establishing a quartet of law lords to oversee the recording of new laws, the administration of the city’s courts, and the assurance of judicial integrity and impartiality.
- Charge the city’s government with maintaining the Isle of Kortos as a haven for mystics, esoteric philosophers, wizards, magicians, and heretics via the establishment of four spell lords to advise the city’s leaders, oversee the city’s institutions of magical instruction, harness magic in defense of the city, and root out and destroy those who would use magic to defeat the city or undermine its commerce or defense.
- Prescribe the spell lords to conduct a mysterious, quarterly ancient Azlanti civic ritual known as the Rite of Four Architects and thought to be fundamental to the city’s protection.
- Grant the High Council the duty to consolidate many city functions under a designated siege lord during times of great danger to the city.
- Establish a nondenominational Chamber of Ecclestials to see to the matters of the faithful in the Ascendant Court, creating the template for the later establishment of district-wide provincial councils.
- Establish and maintain a library that collects all knowledge on the Isle of Kortos and is accessible to all citizens, and preventing all knowledge within from leaving said library without approval from the Grand Council.
- Enumerate several other surprisingly specific and sometimes seemingly intentionally vague dictates on a variety of subjects that puzzle even the most learned law lord and the most wizened cypher masters of the College of Mysteries.
Structure
Absalom’s Founding Laws establish the structure and duties of the Grand Council and the Primarch, but over nearly 5,000 years, a considerable civic bureaucracy has emerged (or, some would say, metastasized) to fill in the gaps that Aroden didn’t foresee. The individuals and organizations detailed below play integral roles in the governance of Absalom and its people.
The Primarch: The primarch chairs the High Council, allowing him to set the agenda of the city’s government. As Protector of Kortos, the primarch is also the titular ruler of all the people and settlements of the greater Starstone Isle. His ceremonial role is equal to that of any head of state, and when a foreign ruler visits Absalom, they tend to view the primarch as their most worthy equal and functional counterpart. On the rare occasion when Absalom has been ruled by a despot, that despot has always sat in the primarch’s throne.
The primarch alone holds the power to convene the months-long sessions of the Grand Council. As a matter of tradition, sessions run regularly throughout the year with breaks for district elections and festivals. The populist demands of the Low Council sometimes run at odds to the practical concerns of the High Council, however, and canny primarchs have been known to delay sessions for months or even years to preserve the status quo or the political upper hand.
The primarch appoints the High Council, which serves as a sort of advisory board in addition to the members’ duties overseeing particular departments of the civic government. Primarchs also have the power to veto any political appointment to the Low Council or any of the district-based provincial councils, but doing so brings substantial political risks that range from public condemnation to assassination, so the tactic is rarely used.
Absalom’s primarchs are themselves elected by the High Council and hold their position for life. Or, as in the case of Lord Gyr of House Gixx, the elusive current primarch, until they simply vanish and an acting primarch must be installed in their place. The current acting primarch, former First Guard Captain Wynsal Starborn, is eager to hand off the responsibility of rulership (and the stink of politics) to a worthy successor, but he hasn’t yet managed to find one he trusts enough to hold the best interests of Absalom’s people in mind. The Grand Council hasn’t yet formally declared Lord Gyr dead but seems poised to do so in an upcoming session, potentially forcing Starborn’s hand to endorse a successor before the people demand that he fill the role on a permanent basis.
Grand Council: By writ of Absalom’s Founding Laws, matters of state are settled by a vote of the Grand Council, which meets in session under the Conclave Dome of the Grand Council Hall, in the Wise Quarter. The entire council votes on common matters (such as when to hold festivals and what to do about a poor fishing season), while Matters of Note (such as electing a new primarch) are voted on solely by members of the High Council. The high seats also vote on whether a given issue is a Matter of Note, allowing them to take control of any issue a majority of them wish to rule on.
A district council can be disbanded as a Matter of Note, and the Grand Council can override any rule of a district council by a common vote. Normally, the Grand Council deals with a few citywide matters and any dealings with foreign powers, leaving local matters to the district councils most familiar with them, but that arrangement is a preference, not a legal necessity.
The Low Council is, by and large, the active ruling body of the city of Absalom. Among their other duties, the 49 members of the Low Council conduct regular votes to establish and enact policy, receive addresses from visiting foreign monarchs, and assign the title of trademaster to prominent merchants. Seats on the Low Council are granted to all district council nomarchs, an additional dignitary of each district chosen by the district nomarch, two representatives each from Escadar and Diobel (appointed by their governments), select grand ambassadors from foreign lands (by ancient decree), and representatives of influential guilds and prominent local religions. Remaining at-large members are selected via annual public elections.
A small order of 60 armed security agents known as the Bailiff Guard keeps order in the Grand Council Hall and occasionally serves as private protection for prominent councilors and dignitaries.
Provincial Councils: For all the power that the Grand Council has over the affairs of the whole city, when most Absalom’s residents talk about “the council,” they usually refer to one of the city’s district-based provincial councils, which handle almost all street-level affairs in the city. Absalom’s provincial councils see to local needs, collect taxes, oversee district watch activity, and generally act as if each district were its own city with its own city council.
The city’s Low Council appoints each district council’s nomarch, and the primarch must approve nominations. As written, the law doesn’t give local residents any say in who heads their council. In practice, the primarch makes sure anyone they approve is at least popular enough to avoid assassination. District nomarchs are guaranteed a seat on the Low Council in addition to appointing one other member of the provincial council, chosen from among prominent citizens residing in the district. Remaining district council seats are filled by annual public elections. Each provincial council has its own name, procedures, and traditions. The Grand Council can overturn any decision made by these local councils, but the day-to-day administration of the city’s districts passes below the Grand Council’s notice in most cases. District council meetings aren’t open to the general public.
Other Government Offices: Absalom’s councilors oversee the administration of the city’s government, but enforcement and execution of their policies are often carried out by sprawling government agencies, some of which have existed for thousands of years. Packed with career bureaucrats and administrators, these commissions consist of agents that represent the majority of government employees in Absalom. While agency heads are appointed by the Grand Council, it’s often more convenient to leave individual functionaries in place, resulting in a certain stagnation and conservatism (to say nothing of sometimes rampant corruption) that breeds resentment among frustrated citizens eager to see old and overly cumbersome traditions thrown down in favor of new and more just reforms.
Among the most influential of these agencies are the Harbormaster’s Grange, which governs the import of goods into the city via the harbor; the Office of Prisons, tasked with housing Absalom’s criminals; the hated Office of Taxation with its army of evaluators and collectors; the Absalom Mint that features so prominently in many of the city’s most scurrilous conspiracy theories; and the city’s Sanitation Commission, an organization so legendarily corrupt that cynics speak its name alongside criminal organizations like the Bloody Barbers or the Warhounders.
Larrett, sometimes called Lord Filth, is Absalom’s infamous Commissioner of Sewers. With sunken eyes, a wrinkled nose, and long, greasy locks tumbling down from an unkempt and receding hairline, the twitchy administrator would look as if he had just crawled out of a septic puddle if he wasn’t always bedecked in the latest and most expensive Ivy District fashions. The smirking villain is perhaps the most caricatured politician in Absalom’s broadsheets, his face a veritable symbol of corruption known all across the city. The commission’s efficiency, as well as Larrett’s alliance with fellow Sanitation Commissioners Venlun Frusk (Streetsweepers) and Pondo Funt (Trashpickers), keep Larrett in power despite the fact that everyone seems to hate him.
The following are the current law lords.
First Law Lord: Scion Lady Neferpatra of House Ahnkamen rules on cases when local courts deadlock on issues of jurisdiction and oversees training of all magistrates in Absalom. She is the only magistrate with the power to judge foreign monarchs visiting the city, should they engage in criminal activity. She also controls the Crier’s Table and trains the spellcasting detectives known as the varlokkur in the letter of the law before handing them off to the third spell lord. Lady Neferpatra is unquestionably one of the most politically powerful figures in city government.
Second Law Lord: Udiska of the Starlit Path is in charge of keeping a tight record of all laws ever passed in the city. Her vast knowledge makes her a living archive of legal history.
Third Law Lord: Diasco Vade’s responsibilities include administering the city’s courts and legal system. He works in concert with the High Council’s Kortos viceroy to oversee the legal affairs of provincial courts in the island’s outlying settlements.
Fourth Law Lord: Lord Guirden of House Gixx is charged with ensuring the integrity of Absalom’s judiciary.
In addition to providing a broad definition of the number and duties of the spell lords, Aroden’s Founding Laws prescribe that the spell lords conduct a mysterious ritual of ancient Azlanti civic magic known as the Rite of Four Architects at the Spring and Fall Equinoxes and the Summer and Winter Solstices. For the ritual, each spell lord dons a mask and ceremonial attire associated with one of four Ancient Azlanti deities, Aroden (god of the destiny of humanity Abadar (god of cities, commerce, and law Amaznen (god of magic and Acavna (goddess of the moon). The mysterious ritual, among the city’s most closely guarded secrets, is said to have been preserved from a lost “secret chapter” of Abadar’s Manual of City Building from before the fall of Azlant and preserved by the esoteric Knights of the Aeon Star. The spell lords—and the whole of the Grand Council—see to conducting this decree of Aroden with a diligence that suggests that failing the ritual’s repetition is at least as dangerous to the city as conducting it is beneficial.
The following are the current spell lords.
First Spell Lord: Garethal Brighteyes serves as personal magician of the Primarch, arcane hand of the High Council, and conclave master of the Circle of Spell Lords.
Second Spell Lord: Lady Darchana of House Madinani is the archdean of the Arcanamirium. As second spell lord, she oversees magical education throughout Absalom.
Third Spell Lord: Utgar of Gyr holds the title of first vigilant of the varlokkur. His primary responsibility as spell lord is to manages the magical defense of the city.
Fourth Spell Lord: Muar Gauthfallow, Keeper of Secrets is in charge of protecting Absalom’s magical secrets and eliminating items, enemies, and philosophies that pose serious magical threats to the city.
The Primarch: The primarch chairs the High Council, allowing him to set the agenda of the city’s government. As Protector of Kortos, the primarch is also the titular ruler of all the people and settlements of the greater Starstone Isle. His ceremonial role is equal to that of any head of state, and when a foreign ruler visits Absalom, they tend to view the primarch as their most worthy equal and functional counterpart. On the rare occasion when Absalom has been ruled by a despot, that despot has always sat in the primarch’s throne.
The primarch alone holds the power to convene the months-long sessions of the Grand Council. As a matter of tradition, sessions run regularly throughout the year with breaks for district elections and festivals. The populist demands of the Low Council sometimes run at odds to the practical concerns of the High Council, however, and canny primarchs have been known to delay sessions for months or even years to preserve the status quo or the political upper hand.
The primarch appoints the High Council, which serves as a sort of advisory board in addition to the members’ duties overseeing particular departments of the civic government. Primarchs also have the power to veto any political appointment to the Low Council or any of the district-based provincial councils, but doing so brings substantial political risks that range from public condemnation to assassination, so the tactic is rarely used.
Absalom’s primarchs are themselves elected by the High Council and hold their position for life. Or, as in the case of Lord Gyr of House Gixx, the elusive current primarch, until they simply vanish and an acting primarch must be installed in their place. The current acting primarch, former First Guard Captain Wynsal Starborn, is eager to hand off the responsibility of rulership (and the stink of politics) to a worthy successor, but he hasn’t yet managed to find one he trusts enough to hold the best interests of Absalom’s people in mind. The Grand Council hasn’t yet formally declared Lord Gyr dead but seems poised to do so in an upcoming session, potentially forcing Starborn’s hand to endorse a successor before the people demand that he fill the role on a permanent basis.
Grand Council: By writ of Absalom’s Founding Laws, matters of state are settled by a vote of the Grand Council, which meets in session under the Conclave Dome of the Grand Council Hall, in the Wise Quarter. The entire council votes on common matters (such as when to hold festivals and what to do about a poor fishing season), while Matters of Note (such as electing a new primarch) are voted on solely by members of the High Council. The high seats also vote on whether a given issue is a Matter of Note, allowing them to take control of any issue a majority of them wish to rule on.
A district council can be disbanded as a Matter of Note, and the Grand Council can override any rule of a district council by a common vote. Normally, the Grand Council deals with a few citywide matters and any dealings with foreign powers, leaving local matters to the district councils most familiar with them, but that arrangement is a preference, not a legal necessity.
The Low Council is, by and large, the active ruling body of the city of Absalom. Among their other duties, the 49 members of the Low Council conduct regular votes to establish and enact policy, receive addresses from visiting foreign monarchs, and assign the title of trademaster to prominent merchants. Seats on the Low Council are granted to all district council nomarchs, an additional dignitary of each district chosen by the district nomarch, two representatives each from Escadar and Diobel (appointed by their governments), select grand ambassadors from foreign lands (by ancient decree), and representatives of influential guilds and prominent local religions. Remaining at-large members are selected via annual public elections.
A small order of 60 armed security agents known as the Bailiff Guard keeps order in the Grand Council Hall and occasionally serves as private protection for prominent councilors and dignitaries.
Provincial Councils: For all the power that the Grand Council has over the affairs of the whole city, when most Absalom’s residents talk about “the council,” they usually refer to one of the city’s district-based provincial councils, which handle almost all street-level affairs in the city. Absalom’s provincial councils see to local needs, collect taxes, oversee district watch activity, and generally act as if each district were its own city with its own city council.
The city’s Low Council appoints each district council’s nomarch, and the primarch must approve nominations. As written, the law doesn’t give local residents any say in who heads their council. In practice, the primarch makes sure anyone they approve is at least popular enough to avoid assassination. District nomarchs are guaranteed a seat on the Low Council in addition to appointing one other member of the provincial council, chosen from among prominent citizens residing in the district. Remaining district council seats are filled by annual public elections. Each provincial council has its own name, procedures, and traditions. The Grand Council can overturn any decision made by these local councils, but the day-to-day administration of the city’s districts passes below the Grand Council’s notice in most cases. District council meetings aren’t open to the general public.
Other Government Offices: Absalom’s councilors oversee the administration of the city’s government, but enforcement and execution of their policies are often carried out by sprawling government agencies, some of which have existed for thousands of years. Packed with career bureaucrats and administrators, these commissions consist of agents that represent the majority of government employees in Absalom. While agency heads are appointed by the Grand Council, it’s often more convenient to leave individual functionaries in place, resulting in a certain stagnation and conservatism (to say nothing of sometimes rampant corruption) that breeds resentment among frustrated citizens eager to see old and overly cumbersome traditions thrown down in favor of new and more just reforms.
Among the most influential of these agencies are the Harbormaster’s Grange, which governs the import of goods into the city via the harbor; the Office of Prisons, tasked with housing Absalom’s criminals; the hated Office of Taxation with its army of evaluators and collectors; the Absalom Mint that features so prominently in many of the city’s most scurrilous conspiracy theories; and the city’s Sanitation Commission, an organization so legendarily corrupt that cynics speak its name alongside criminal organizations like the Bloody Barbers or the Warhounders.
Larrett, sometimes called Lord Filth, is Absalom’s infamous Commissioner of Sewers. With sunken eyes, a wrinkled nose, and long, greasy locks tumbling down from an unkempt and receding hairline, the twitchy administrator would look as if he had just crawled out of a septic puddle if he wasn’t always bedecked in the latest and most expensive Ivy District fashions. The smirking villain is perhaps the most caricatured politician in Absalom’s broadsheets, his face a veritable symbol of corruption known all across the city. The commission’s efficiency, as well as Larrett’s alliance with fellow Sanitation Commissioners Venlun Frusk (Streetsweepers) and Pondo Funt (Trashpickers), keep Larrett in power despite the fact that everyone seems to hate him.
Law Lords
Absalom’s four law lords oversee administration of the city’s sprawling judicial system. Each of the law lords is a judge in their own right, outranking any other magistrate. Unlike Absalom’s other judges, the law lords are entitled to make snap judgments on the spot, doling out justice without the otherwise-required trial by jury. In practice, the law lords seldom exercise this power, which is associated with some of the worst political and legal atrocities in the city’s history, such as the Reborn Rebellion of 1464 AR or the “judicial” execution of the entire High Council during the infamous Conjured Siege of 2450 AR.The following are the current law lords.
First Law Lord: Scion Lady Neferpatra of House Ahnkamen rules on cases when local courts deadlock on issues of jurisdiction and oversees training of all magistrates in Absalom. She is the only magistrate with the power to judge foreign monarchs visiting the city, should they engage in criminal activity. She also controls the Crier’s Table and trains the spellcasting detectives known as the varlokkur in the letter of the law before handing them off to the third spell lord. Lady Neferpatra is unquestionably one of the most politically powerful figures in city government.
Second Law Lord: Udiska of the Starlit Path is in charge of keeping a tight record of all laws ever passed in the city. Her vast knowledge makes her a living archive of legal history.
Third Law Lord: Diasco Vade’s responsibilities include administering the city’s courts and legal system. He works in concert with the High Council’s Kortos viceroy to oversee the legal affairs of provincial courts in the island’s outlying settlements.
Fourth Law Lord: Lord Guirden of House Gixx is charged with ensuring the integrity of Absalom’s judiciary.
Spell Lords
The city’s Circle of Spell Lords advises the primarch and the High Council on matters of eldritch import and govern the use of magic in the city, including orchestrating Absalom’s magical defense, regulating magic academies, and placing limits on experimentation.In addition to providing a broad definition of the number and duties of the spell lords, Aroden’s Founding Laws prescribe that the spell lords conduct a mysterious ritual of ancient Azlanti civic magic known as the Rite of Four Architects at the Spring and Fall Equinoxes and the Summer and Winter Solstices. For the ritual, each spell lord dons a mask and ceremonial attire associated with one of four Ancient Azlanti deities, Aroden (god of the destiny of humanity Abadar (god of cities, commerce, and law Amaznen (god of magic and Acavna (goddess of the moon). The mysterious ritual, among the city’s most closely guarded secrets, is said to have been preserved from a lost “secret chapter” of Abadar’s Manual of City Building from before the fall of Azlant and preserved by the esoteric Knights of the Aeon Star. The spell lords—and the whole of the Grand Council—see to conducting this decree of Aroden with a diligence that suggests that failing the ritual’s repetition is at least as dangerous to the city as conducting it is beneficial.
The following are the current spell lords.
First Spell Lord: Garethal Brighteyes serves as personal magician of the Primarch, arcane hand of the High Council, and conclave master of the Circle of Spell Lords.
Second Spell Lord: Lady Darchana of House Madinani is the archdean of the Arcanamirium. As second spell lord, she oversees magical education throughout Absalom.
Third Spell Lord: Utgar of Gyr holds the title of first vigilant of the varlokkur. His primary responsibility as spell lord is to manages the magical defense of the city.
Fourth Spell Lord: Muar Gauthfallow, Keeper of Secrets is in charge of protecting Absalom’s magical secrets and eliminating items, enemies, and philosophies that pose serious magical threats to the city.
Territories
Numerous factions vie for control over the Starstone Isle. Absalom itself claims the whole of Kortos and Erran as its political domain, but many of the islands’ wilder regions are effectively lawless wilderness. The Kortos Consortium of Diobel (technically a part of Absalom’s regional government) has generally good relations with the rugged Inlanders who dwell in the hills and deep forests of Kortos, as these hardy folk provide much of the labor behind the Consortium’s fur, farming, and lumber trades. Relations with the agents of Absalom proper—often in the form of altercations with the First Guard’s Eagle Garrison patrols—are a cause of some tension with the Inlanders, but the openly hostile threats posed by minotaurs, harpies, and centaurs are often a far more pressing concern.
Military
Unlike the district guards, Absalom’s military protects the city as a whole, along with its outlying territories. These duties are broken down between three branches: the First Guard secures Absalom’s walls and gates against attacks and spies; the Navy secures the waters; and the Starwatch manages internal security beyond individual districts. The First Guard is deployed in force against foes on land, while the Navy defends Absalom from the sea, occasionally striking nearby pirate ports. The Starwatch pursues criminals, fugitives, and foreign agents in the city or fleeing from it (whether by land or sea).
Absalom’s military is large for a city-state, but small for a nation. It has few ranks, although these can be broken down into First, Second, Third, and Fourth within a rank. Ranks are recognized between branches only when jurisdiction overlaps or a formal arrangement is made.
Circumstance determines the shifting boundaries of authority between military branches and the civilian district guards. The First Guard has little power beyond the city walls unless Absalom is besieged or an enemy force discovered, in which case they can deputize all district guards. If the Navy or First Guard overstep their power, it’s the Starwatch’s duty to discipline them. If the Starwatch fails to keep the city stable (or makes things worse, perhaps under orders from corrupt councilors), the First Guard can bar the Starwatch from the city.
The district guards are often deputized to assist the military during sieges, but they otherwise have no authority beyond their districts and aren’t expected to defend the city from outside threats. The Sally Guard and Post Guard are exceptions; since they manage city gates, they’re always responsible for city defense and are trained accordingly.
The Eagle Garrison, based out of the Watchtower in Eastgate, is composed of able scouts who provide vital reconnaissance to the First Guard. In addition to surveying the area around Absalom, the Eagles also maintain outposts in the Immenwood, Kortos Mounts, and other strategically important sites around the Isle of Kortos. They aren’t supposed to act after locating threats, merely report their findings. If they do intervene, they’re rebuked for taking unnecessary risks and potentially sparking intermilitary turf wars. One of the rank and file, Pyl Gillseed, has befriended various centaurs and minotaurs while out in the wild, leading his compatriots to wonder about his intentions. In the meantime, Pyl struggles vainly to convince the First Guard that minotaurs don’t have to be driven off every time they come near a settlement.
In times of siege, the varlokkur essentially act as a minor fourth arm of Absalom’s military under the third spell lord, tasked with defending the city from magical threats and providing magical support to military actions. Varlokkur are assigned platforms to cast large-scale spells on all wall towers as well as Fort Tempest, the Kin Gate, and the Postern. In peacetime, some varlokkur are assigned provisional positions under high-ranking members of the First Guard, Starwatch, and other divisions.
Absalom’s military is large for a city-state, but small for a nation. It has few ranks, although these can be broken down into First, Second, Third, and Fourth within a rank. Ranks are recognized between branches only when jurisdiction overlaps or a formal arrangement is made.
Circumstance determines the shifting boundaries of authority between military branches and the civilian district guards. The First Guard has little power beyond the city walls unless Absalom is besieged or an enemy force discovered, in which case they can deputize all district guards. If the Navy or First Guard overstep their power, it’s the Starwatch’s duty to discipline them. If the Starwatch fails to keep the city stable (or makes things worse, perhaps under orders from corrupt councilors), the First Guard can bar the Starwatch from the city.
The district guards are often deputized to assist the military during sieges, but they otherwise have no authority beyond their districts and aren’t expected to defend the city from outside threats. The Sally Guard and Post Guard are exceptions; since they manage city gates, they’re always responsible for city defense and are trained accordingly.
The Eagle Garrison, based out of the Watchtower in Eastgate, is composed of able scouts who provide vital reconnaissance to the First Guard. In addition to surveying the area around Absalom, the Eagles also maintain outposts in the Immenwood, Kortos Mounts, and other strategically important sites around the Isle of Kortos. They aren’t supposed to act after locating threats, merely report their findings. If they do intervene, they’re rebuked for taking unnecessary risks and potentially sparking intermilitary turf wars. One of the rank and file, Pyl Gillseed, has befriended various centaurs and minotaurs while out in the wild, leading his compatriots to wonder about his intentions. In the meantime, Pyl struggles vainly to convince the First Guard that minotaurs don’t have to be driven off every time they come near a settlement.
In times of siege, the varlokkur essentially act as a minor fourth arm of Absalom’s military under the third spell lord, tasked with defending the city from magical threats and providing magical support to military actions. Varlokkur are assigned platforms to cast large-scale spells on all wall towers as well as Fort Tempest, the Kin Gate, and the Postern. In peacetime, some varlokkur are assigned provisional positions under high-ranking members of the First Guard, Starwatch, and other divisions.
Foreign Relations
Though it claims only three cities, the nation of Absalom exerts powerful pressure on all the countries of the Inner Sea. In addition to being the largest port for ships sailing the Inner Sea, it controls a small fleet of warships, an impressive collection of treaties and mutual support pacts, and lore about dangers of the region that no captain willingly forgoes. While Absalom can’t physically impose embargoes on other cities, the threat of refusing harbor to ships of any nation that aids Absalom’s enemies carries tremendous weight with every country of the Inner Sea that relies on trade.
As the central hub of international trade across the Inner Sea, Absalom’s political interests extend far beyond the shores of the Isle of Kortos. Its strongest historical ties are to Taldor, Qadira, and Osirion; many of the city’s oldest noble families trace their heritages to those nations, and several still maintain allegiances toward their ancient homelands (some displayed more publicly than others). Trade and more recent historical developments brought additional contact with Katapesh and Thuvia, and revolutions established new (or newly aligned) markets in Cheliax and Andoran.
The High Council’s Diplomatic Minister, Ferridan Severus, controls a cadre of envoys and ambassadors embedded in the capital cities of Absalom’s strongest trade and diplomatic partners. The energetic young emissary joined the council following Lord Gyr’s departure. He favors a muscular negotiation stance that seeks to build alliances through support of common values as well as the more pragmatic trade-at-all-costs approach taken by the previous administration. These philosophies have resulted in predictable conflicts with old partners in Cheliax, only partially offset by supportive gestures from Andoran, as well as increased tension with international slavers who previously operated freely in the city’s harbor and markets.
Ever since the Whispering Tyrant led a march on the city and destroyed the nation of Lastwall, many of Absalom’s most urgent diplomatic efforts have focused on spreading word of the resurgent lich lord’s activities on the Isle of Terror, with the goal of building an alliance to prevent the further spread of his undead armies. The Tyrant stood on the threshold of the city in a failed surprise bid for the Starstone only a few months ago, and the wisest strategists of Absalom assume he’ll return one day soon with an undead army at his back. At present, most potential allies are too worried about defending their own lands to consider a greater alliance, but if the time doesn’t come soon, it might be too late, and the diplomatic efforts of Absalom will have been in vain.
As the central hub of international trade across the Inner Sea, Absalom’s political interests extend far beyond the shores of the Isle of Kortos. Its strongest historical ties are to Taldor, Qadira, and Osirion; many of the city’s oldest noble families trace their heritages to those nations, and several still maintain allegiances toward their ancient homelands (some displayed more publicly than others). Trade and more recent historical developments brought additional contact with Katapesh and Thuvia, and revolutions established new (or newly aligned) markets in Cheliax and Andoran.
The High Council’s Diplomatic Minister, Ferridan Severus, controls a cadre of envoys and ambassadors embedded in the capital cities of Absalom’s strongest trade and diplomatic partners. The energetic young emissary joined the council following Lord Gyr’s departure. He favors a muscular negotiation stance that seeks to build alliances through support of common values as well as the more pragmatic trade-at-all-costs approach taken by the previous administration. These philosophies have resulted in predictable conflicts with old partners in Cheliax, only partially offset by supportive gestures from Andoran, as well as increased tension with international slavers who previously operated freely in the city’s harbor and markets.
Ever since the Whispering Tyrant led a march on the city and destroyed the nation of Lastwall, many of Absalom’s most urgent diplomatic efforts have focused on spreading word of the resurgent lich lord’s activities on the Isle of Terror, with the goal of building an alliance to prevent the further spread of his undead armies. The Tyrant stood on the threshold of the city in a failed surprise bid for the Starstone only a few months ago, and the wisest strategists of Absalom assume he’ll return one day soon with an undead army at his back. At present, most potential allies are too worried about defending their own lands to consider a greater alliance, but if the time doesn’t come soon, it might be too late, and the diplomatic efforts of Absalom will have been in vain.
Laws
The Founding Laws broadly define the rights of Absalom’s citizens, outlining a system of trial by jury for those accused of a crime. Under the learned jurisprudence of the four law lords, Absalom’s court and criminal justice system touches every district in the city and, in theory, views every citizen as equal, regardless of social status or political influence. Although a fair measure of corruption exists throughout, justice in Absalom is usually righteous on average, even if you can’t afford to bribe a juror.
Each district has its own court and legal magistrates, who handle crimes committed within the district (usually investigated by the local district watch). These courts’ jurisdiction is obvious when those involved in a crime are from the same district in which the crime took place (or are foreigners, since a foreigner has no right to a home district). However, in cases that involve citizens from multiple districts or a crime that took place in more than one district (such as a running battle, or goods stolen from one district and moved to a storage location in another), the councils of the involved districts must decide which courthouse and magistrates will rule on the case. This decision is normally a minor matter, with preference being to assign victims of crimes their home district courthouse and to give overflow from busier jurisdictions to courthouses with low caseloads, but sometimes politics or personal favors can make the decision more contentious. If a vote of all councilors on all the local councils doesn’t give a clear majority, the question is elevated to the first lady of laws, who also oversees the training of all magistrates in Absalom.
On the rare occasion when a crime is deemed to have been committed against all of Absalom, the four law lords meet as both magistrates and jurors, hearing the case in public under the Conclave Dome of the Grand Council Hall. These events take place in the interregnums between active sessions of the Grand Council and often draw more spectators than even the most important legislative sessions. The Council’s Bailiff Guard is occasionally hard-pressed to keep hordes of gawkers away, and the highest-profile trials of this nature have the atmosphere of Irorium bloodsport, complete with leering, drunken spectators; crude harangues; and even food vendors working the rowdy crowd.
District courthouse trials are naturally much more sedate affairs. Though nominally open to the public, most cases involve matters of such mundanity that their public seats draw more impoverished people looking for a warm place to sit than genuinely interested observers. Absalom’s broadsheet press dutifully dispatches reporters to trawl the courts looking for salacious matters involving sex, scandal, and violence— always topics of great interest to the city’s inhabitants. Breathless, lurid reports of these local trials sometimes bring crowds just as raucous as those under the Conclave Dome.
District Watches: Just as each of Absalom’s districts has its own courthouse with its particular character and biases, so does each have its independent order of city watch officers tasked with policing the district and protecting its citizens. District watches report to their respective district council, and their jurisdiction is limited to the geographic bounds of their district. This limitation naturally results in frustrating bureaucratic conflicts when a crime tracks from one district to another, a fact exploited by Absalom’s canniest criminals.
Each district watch is flavored by the culture and people it’s sworn to protect. Each watch has a distinct name, like the Graycloaks of the Ascendant Court or the Petal District’s Lotus Guard. Officers often accentuate their common uniforms with local colors or symbols, such as the hip-high wader boots of the Muckruckers in the Puddles or the overseas flourishes common to members of the Foreign Quarter’s Sleepless Suns.
The Starwatch: The Starwatch claims to be the original city watch of ancient Absalom, before the town had grown large enough to split off into districts. Today, its jurisdiction covers the whole city, focusing on crimes that touch multiple districts or that directly involve the interests of the Grand Council. They also inspect abuses of power by other guards, assist against sieges, and patrol the Flotsam Graveyard and Absalom’s outskirts communities of Dawnfoot, Shoreline, Copperwood, and Westerhold.
By an ancient pact with the First Guard, the Starwatch houses itself outside the city walls, at the southeast tip of Absalom’s Harbor in Starwatch Keep. Absalom’s long history contains several eras during which the Starwatch became dangerously embroiled in internal conflicts. They can’t enter the city if the First Guard closes the Postern Gate to them, which means that the Starwatch must keep the city’s interest paramount over their own ambition or prepare to siege the city from without, just like its other enemies. For as long as anyone can remember, the Starwatch has been considered in large part worthy of the enormous duty placed upon it by the Founding Laws. An average citizen of Absalom would likely consider a member of the Starwatch more incorruptible and honorable than an officer of their local district watch, a reputation current Starwatch Captain and member of the High Council Asilia of Gyr has worked diligently to improve and maintain.
Agents of the Starwatch wear light armor with a white tabard and blue cape featuring their symbol: a five-pointed star surrounded by a nimbus of brilliant fire.
Varlokkur: The spellcasting judges and ministers known as varlokkur, an ancient Azlanti word roughly meaning “pure of influence,” keep magic from getting out of control within the city and hear any case that has a major magical component. These cases can involve a known spellcaster or revolve around a magic item; such cases might also arise when a local court finds reasonable cause to suspect charms or illusions were used during a crime. Varlokkur answer directly to the third spell lord but are trained by the first lady of laws. As a rule, they turn over all cursed items, insidious magical objects, or forbidden lore to the fourth spell lord for deep storage or destruction.
For most of the year, varlokkur act as magical detectives, both to aid in the investigation of crimes with a magic element and to ensure magic isn’t used to alter the outcome of high-profile trials. They’re sometimes brought in to scour a crime scene with divinations, gathering additional evidence and providing critical leads to district watch or Starwatch investigators. Most of Absalom’s law enforcers appreciate what the varlokkur bring to a case, even if they find the spellcasting detectives occasionally off-putting due to their sometimes confoundingly complex rituals and propensity toward holding their secrets close.
Absalom’s complex legal code outlaws several spells, and casting them is an illegal act. These include spells that do nothing but make a target harder to detect (including spells like misdirection that conceal facts about the true nature of a target, but not spells that conceal thoughts or desires). These spells have been determined to have no legitimate defensive purpose and, in the eye of the law, can only be used to commit crimes. On the other hand, spells which make a target think well of the caster (such as charm person) are seen as better defensive options than those that deal damage and are generally treated in the same way as weapons—legal to use in self-defense or for the general good of the city. (There are exceptions to the legality of charm spells, including love-inducing spells, which are treated as criminal acts if used on unwilling targets.) Under Absalom law, all spells are considered legal until specifically outlawed, though a varlokkur might decide a new or variant spell is “essentially identical” to an already outlawed spell. The legality of specific spells is announced at a special public ceremony called the Spell Fete once a year.
Each district has its own court and legal magistrates, who handle crimes committed within the district (usually investigated by the local district watch). These courts’ jurisdiction is obvious when those involved in a crime are from the same district in which the crime took place (or are foreigners, since a foreigner has no right to a home district). However, in cases that involve citizens from multiple districts or a crime that took place in more than one district (such as a running battle, or goods stolen from one district and moved to a storage location in another), the councils of the involved districts must decide which courthouse and magistrates will rule on the case. This decision is normally a minor matter, with preference being to assign victims of crimes their home district courthouse and to give overflow from busier jurisdictions to courthouses with low caseloads, but sometimes politics or personal favors can make the decision more contentious. If a vote of all councilors on all the local councils doesn’t give a clear majority, the question is elevated to the first lady of laws, who also oversees the training of all magistrates in Absalom.
On the rare occasion when a crime is deemed to have been committed against all of Absalom, the four law lords meet as both magistrates and jurors, hearing the case in public under the Conclave Dome of the Grand Council Hall. These events take place in the interregnums between active sessions of the Grand Council and often draw more spectators than even the most important legislative sessions. The Council’s Bailiff Guard is occasionally hard-pressed to keep hordes of gawkers away, and the highest-profile trials of this nature have the atmosphere of Irorium bloodsport, complete with leering, drunken spectators; crude harangues; and even food vendors working the rowdy crowd.
District courthouse trials are naturally much more sedate affairs. Though nominally open to the public, most cases involve matters of such mundanity that their public seats draw more impoverished people looking for a warm place to sit than genuinely interested observers. Absalom’s broadsheet press dutifully dispatches reporters to trawl the courts looking for salacious matters involving sex, scandal, and violence— always topics of great interest to the city’s inhabitants. Breathless, lurid reports of these local trials sometimes bring crowds just as raucous as those under the Conclave Dome.
District Watches: Just as each of Absalom’s districts has its own courthouse with its particular character and biases, so does each have its independent order of city watch officers tasked with policing the district and protecting its citizens. District watches report to their respective district council, and their jurisdiction is limited to the geographic bounds of their district. This limitation naturally results in frustrating bureaucratic conflicts when a crime tracks from one district to another, a fact exploited by Absalom’s canniest criminals.
Each district watch is flavored by the culture and people it’s sworn to protect. Each watch has a distinct name, like the Graycloaks of the Ascendant Court or the Petal District’s Lotus Guard. Officers often accentuate their common uniforms with local colors or symbols, such as the hip-high wader boots of the Muckruckers in the Puddles or the overseas flourishes common to members of the Foreign Quarter’s Sleepless Suns.
The Starwatch: The Starwatch claims to be the original city watch of ancient Absalom, before the town had grown large enough to split off into districts. Today, its jurisdiction covers the whole city, focusing on crimes that touch multiple districts or that directly involve the interests of the Grand Council. They also inspect abuses of power by other guards, assist against sieges, and patrol the Flotsam Graveyard and Absalom’s outskirts communities of Dawnfoot, Shoreline, Copperwood, and Westerhold.
By an ancient pact with the First Guard, the Starwatch houses itself outside the city walls, at the southeast tip of Absalom’s Harbor in Starwatch Keep. Absalom’s long history contains several eras during which the Starwatch became dangerously embroiled in internal conflicts. They can’t enter the city if the First Guard closes the Postern Gate to them, which means that the Starwatch must keep the city’s interest paramount over their own ambition or prepare to siege the city from without, just like its other enemies. For as long as anyone can remember, the Starwatch has been considered in large part worthy of the enormous duty placed upon it by the Founding Laws. An average citizen of Absalom would likely consider a member of the Starwatch more incorruptible and honorable than an officer of their local district watch, a reputation current Starwatch Captain and member of the High Council Asilia of Gyr has worked diligently to improve and maintain.
Agents of the Starwatch wear light armor with a white tabard and blue cape featuring their symbol: a five-pointed star surrounded by a nimbus of brilliant fire.
Varlokkur: The spellcasting judges and ministers known as varlokkur, an ancient Azlanti word roughly meaning “pure of influence,” keep magic from getting out of control within the city and hear any case that has a major magical component. These cases can involve a known spellcaster or revolve around a magic item; such cases might also arise when a local court finds reasonable cause to suspect charms or illusions were used during a crime. Varlokkur answer directly to the third spell lord but are trained by the first lady of laws. As a rule, they turn over all cursed items, insidious magical objects, or forbidden lore to the fourth spell lord for deep storage or destruction.
For most of the year, varlokkur act as magical detectives, both to aid in the investigation of crimes with a magic element and to ensure magic isn’t used to alter the outcome of high-profile trials. They’re sometimes brought in to scour a crime scene with divinations, gathering additional evidence and providing critical leads to district watch or Starwatch investigators. Most of Absalom’s law enforcers appreciate what the varlokkur bring to a case, even if they find the spellcasting detectives occasionally off-putting due to their sometimes confoundingly complex rituals and propensity toward holding their secrets close.
Absalom’s complex legal code outlaws several spells, and casting them is an illegal act. These include spells that do nothing but make a target harder to detect (including spells like misdirection that conceal facts about the true nature of a target, but not spells that conceal thoughts or desires). These spells have been determined to have no legitimate defensive purpose and, in the eye of the law, can only be used to commit crimes. On the other hand, spells which make a target think well of the caster (such as charm person) are seen as better defensive options than those that deal damage and are generally treated in the same way as weapons—legal to use in self-defense or for the general good of the city. (There are exceptions to the legality of charm spells, including love-inducing spells, which are treated as criminal acts if used on unwilling targets.) Under Absalom law, all spells are considered legal until specifically outlawed, though a varlokkur might decide a new or variant spell is “essentially identical” to an already outlawed spell. The legality of specific spells is announced at a special public ceremony called the Spell Fete once a year.
Ex Prothex, "First Among Equals"
Founding Date
0
Type
Geopolitical, City-state
Capital
Demonym
Absalomian
Leader
Ruling Organization
Leader Title
Founders
Head of State
Government System
Democracy, Parliamentary
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Official Languages
Related Traditions
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Manufactured Items
Notable Members
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