Ivy District
The views in Absalom’s Ivy District—the capital of the arts in the Inner Sea region—cannot be rivaled. Despite its meager footprint, the city’s smallest district is packed full of more people, parks, attractions, and artwork than most visitors could even imagine fitting into one place. Featuring narrow streets lined with ancient trees and flowering ivy, breathtaking architecture, and the finest theaters, performance halls, and artist colonies Absalom has to offer, the Ivy District is proud of its worldwide reputation for innovation, art, and beauty.
Over the last century, as the district’s reputation has blossomed, its demographics have also shifted. Wealthy patrons of the arts and nobles seeking the distinction of living near exquisite galleries and restaurants have been buying land for their expansive manors and private gardens, pushing the district’s artists and students out into ever-shrinking spaces designated for them. Small dorms that once comfortably offered private rooms are now overflowing with residents in need of affordable housing. Performers scrape by primarily on the patronage of the district’s noble elite, and maintaining their favor is paramount to survival.
The district boasts Absalom’s largest population of leshys. Many of the leshys see the whole district as their home, and they assume mundane plant shapes when they sleep in the district’s parks, among the trees lining the streets, or hanging from their favorite buildings. Leshys are sometimes hired by nobles as impermanent, mutable landscaping for their garden parties and outdoor galas, creating living environments that perform for guests.
While the White Grotto is the quarter’s most famous bardic college, it is hardly the only place in the district for artists to develop their skills. A handful of formal schools scatter the Ivy District, and working artists often offer private lessons out of their homes and studios.
Performers in the district frequently compete against each other on the public stage. These competitions are often staged rivalries meant to generate interest in their work, though sincere enmity sometimes exists. Songs and poems that belittle other artists, mass-produced block prints highlighting past blunders, and plays that satirize fellow playwrights’ previous works are all commonplace in these bardic feuds. Many of the district’s beloved celebrities rise to fame and prominence during these lighthearted duels.
With so many theaters, galleries, and other famous attractions, the Ivy District is a popular destination for tourists visiting Absalom, and the district council doesn’t want to do anything to upset this steady stream of revenue. The district watch, the Thistleguard, often turns a blind eye to minor crimes committed in the district, especially when the offenders are foreigners. Instead, the guard spends its time enforcing harsh regulations passed by the council that prohibit performances in the district by artists who aren’t members in the Street Performers and Actors’ Guild; it’s no coincidence that the guild’s leader, Alain Always, is also the council nomarch.
The Brotherhood of Abadar, a sect of champions and clerics from within Abadar’s faithful in the district’s massive cathedral, is often hired as private security by nobles or performance halls that don’t want to rely on the watch to enforce the law. The Brotherhood itself is happy for the work, and members aren’t quiet when it comes to their disapproval of the district’s ineffective watch. The Ivy District is also home to a small handful of street gangs, though most are more interested in creating counter-cultural art than they are in any form of criminality. Illusionist performers create temporary graffiti on the homes of the nobility, and though these pieces always disappear by themselves in short order, it’s not uncommon for wealthier and less open-minded citizens to purchase dispel magic services for an immediate removal.
Leshy street gangs, especially the infamous Brattlebunch, are particularly interested in disrupting Alain Always and the Street Performers and Actors’ Guild, covering playhouses in moss graffiti and hosting performances by non-members on temporary stages that vanish by the time the watch arrives.
Over the last century, as the district’s reputation has blossomed, its demographics have also shifted. Wealthy patrons of the arts and nobles seeking the distinction of living near exquisite galleries and restaurants have been buying land for their expansive manors and private gardens, pushing the district’s artists and students out into ever-shrinking spaces designated for them. Small dorms that once comfortably offered private rooms are now overflowing with residents in need of affordable housing. Performers scrape by primarily on the patronage of the district’s noble elite, and maintaining their favor is paramount to survival.
The district boasts Absalom’s largest population of leshys. Many of the leshys see the whole district as their home, and they assume mundane plant shapes when they sleep in the district’s parks, among the trees lining the streets, or hanging from their favorite buildings. Leshys are sometimes hired by nobles as impermanent, mutable landscaping for their garden parties and outdoor galas, creating living environments that perform for guests.
While the White Grotto is the quarter’s most famous bardic college, it is hardly the only place in the district for artists to develop their skills. A handful of formal schools scatter the Ivy District, and working artists often offer private lessons out of their homes and studios.
Performers in the district frequently compete against each other on the public stage. These competitions are often staged rivalries meant to generate interest in their work, though sincere enmity sometimes exists. Songs and poems that belittle other artists, mass-produced block prints highlighting past blunders, and plays that satirize fellow playwrights’ previous works are all commonplace in these bardic feuds. Many of the district’s beloved celebrities rise to fame and prominence during these lighthearted duels.
With so many theaters, galleries, and other famous attractions, the Ivy District is a popular destination for tourists visiting Absalom, and the district council doesn’t want to do anything to upset this steady stream of revenue. The district watch, the Thistleguard, often turns a blind eye to minor crimes committed in the district, especially when the offenders are foreigners. Instead, the guard spends its time enforcing harsh regulations passed by the council that prohibit performances in the district by artists who aren’t members in the Street Performers and Actors’ Guild; it’s no coincidence that the guild’s leader, Alain Always, is also the council nomarch.
The Brotherhood of Abadar, a sect of champions and clerics from within Abadar’s faithful in the district’s massive cathedral, is often hired as private security by nobles or performance halls that don’t want to rely on the watch to enforce the law. The Brotherhood itself is happy for the work, and members aren’t quiet when it comes to their disapproval of the district’s ineffective watch. The Ivy District is also home to a small handful of street gangs, though most are more interested in creating counter-cultural art than they are in any form of criminality. Illusionist performers create temporary graffiti on the homes of the nobility, and though these pieces always disappear by themselves in short order, it’s not uncommon for wealthier and less open-minded citizens to purchase dispel magic services for an immediate removal.
Leshy street gangs, especially the infamous Brattlebunch, are particularly interested in disrupting Alain Always and the Street Performers and Actors’ Guild, covering playhouses in moss graffiti and hosting performances by non-members on temporary stages that vanish by the time the watch arrives.
Type
District
Location under
Included Locations
- Alyssia’s
- Arbor Ward
- Archerus Manor
- Bloom Cabaret
- Chamber Grove
- Crystal Creations
- Dacilane Manor
- District Courthouse - Ivy District
- Embrey’s Armory
- Flower Street Market
- Golden Serpent
- Gutless Griffon
- House of Healing
- It Sparkles!
- Ivy District Park
- Ivy Playhouse
- Kyonin Embassy
- Northman’s Woodworks Galleria
- Ravounel Consulate
- Shrine of Shelyn
- Starspine Manor
- Sundown Street
- Tempest
- Thistleguard Station
- Vault of Abadar
- Wandering Monster
- White Grotto
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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