Petal District
The Petal District is the wealthiest part of one of the richest cities on Golarion. The aristocrats who dwell on Aroden’s Hill, in the northeastern corner of Absalom, are as far above your typical well-to-do trademaster or border count as those worthies are above beggars squatting in the street. From their Petal District palaces, Absalom’s great and good—or at least its wealthy and powerful—control the fates of thousands. Merchant empires are run from the Petal District, as are ancient noble houses that can count their years back to Aroden’s ascension. To be a Petal District noble, it is said, is perhaps as close to a heavenly existence as is possible on this side of Pharasma’s court.
A few businesses catering to the impossibly wealthy thrive here, but most of the district consists of noble estates speckled along the sides of Aroden’s Hill, typically with courtyards or gardens attached. Broad boulevards connect the estates, paved with sparkling stones and marked with brick-framed medians filled with flower gardens, the source of the district’s name. The most prestigious parts of the Petal District are near the top of Aroden’s Hill, though those who haven’t quite reached those heights often debate whether a manor overlooking the bay is more desirable than one facing the Kortos Mounts. Those who can see both are often unutterably smug about it.
Every palace houses a contest between comfort, display, and security. Comfort comes in many forms, from extravagant meals prepared by the best chefs in the Inner Sea to luxurious parlors with soft cushions and pleasant music. Most of all, comfort comes in the form of the veritable army of servants that staffs each manor. Many of these servants dwell in quarters found in attics or basements in the palaces, while others make their way up and down discreetly obscured tree-lined paths from Eastgate or the town of Copperwood every day. This host of butlers, cleaners, servants, and cooks has its own society and its own code, founded on service and loyalty to their noble masters—and which the wiser aristocrats return. A butler at a well-to-do Petal District palace often lives as well as a prominent merchant in other cities.
Display is perhaps even more important than comfort. Conspicuous consumption is the order of the day, and while the various house scion ladies and lords tend to have better things to do, their junior relatives vie to outdo each other in flights of fancy. Galas and soirees boost ever more bizarre and awe-inspiring entertainment, while packs of masons and carpenters build wonders out of marble and ivory and gold leaf. The effect is sometimes tawdry, often impressive, and always memorable.
Security is the final consideration, for the sorts of people who live in the Petal District have many enemies and many possessions people might like to steal. The Lotus Guard patrols the district with zeal, and stout walls and sharp fences surround nearly every estate. The wisest lords take more subtle measures, as well: magical defenses, captive beasts, private guards, and sinister traps. Some defenses are publicly displayed and admired for their ingenuity and ruthlessness, but every noble palace has at least one hidden surprise designed specifically for the enterprising intruder.
A few businesses catering to the impossibly wealthy thrive here, but most of the district consists of noble estates speckled along the sides of Aroden’s Hill, typically with courtyards or gardens attached. Broad boulevards connect the estates, paved with sparkling stones and marked with brick-framed medians filled with flower gardens, the source of the district’s name. The most prestigious parts of the Petal District are near the top of Aroden’s Hill, though those who haven’t quite reached those heights often debate whether a manor overlooking the bay is more desirable than one facing the Kortos Mounts. Those who can see both are often unutterably smug about it.
Every palace houses a contest between comfort, display, and security. Comfort comes in many forms, from extravagant meals prepared by the best chefs in the Inner Sea to luxurious parlors with soft cushions and pleasant music. Most of all, comfort comes in the form of the veritable army of servants that staffs each manor. Many of these servants dwell in quarters found in attics or basements in the palaces, while others make their way up and down discreetly obscured tree-lined paths from Eastgate or the town of Copperwood every day. This host of butlers, cleaners, servants, and cooks has its own society and its own code, founded on service and loyalty to their noble masters—and which the wiser aristocrats return. A butler at a well-to-do Petal District palace often lives as well as a prominent merchant in other cities.
Display is perhaps even more important than comfort. Conspicuous consumption is the order of the day, and while the various house scion ladies and lords tend to have better things to do, their junior relatives vie to outdo each other in flights of fancy. Galas and soirees boost ever more bizarre and awe-inspiring entertainment, while packs of masons and carpenters build wonders out of marble and ivory and gold leaf. The effect is sometimes tawdry, often impressive, and always memorable.
Security is the final consideration, for the sorts of people who live in the Petal District have many enemies and many possessions people might like to steal. The Lotus Guard patrols the district with zeal, and stout walls and sharp fences surround nearly every estate. The wisest lords take more subtle measures, as well: magical defenses, captive beasts, private guards, and sinister traps. Some defenses are publicly displayed and admired for their ingenuity and ruthlessness, but every noble palace has at least one hidden surprise designed specifically for the enterprising intruder.
Type
District
Location under
Included Locations
- Ahnkamen Estate
- Castle Blakros
- College of Mysteries
- Court of Black Paper
- Crescent Manor
- Damaq Palace
- Erastil Club
- Fiddlemourn Manor
- Hillview Station
- Hothouse
- Lantern Lodge
- Madinani Manor
- Magpie Manor
- Morilla Palace and the Tally Wall
- Palace Ormuz
- Silken Court
- Spiralcross Cemetery
- Statue of Primarch Harvi
- Uiry Manor Museum
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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