White Grotto
Among the most prestigious bardic colleges the Inner Sea region has to offer, Absalom’s White Grotto is comprised of a large manor house built alongside a winding artificial creek, an impressive amphitheater, and numerous sprawling dormitories to house the college’s overflowing students.
The manor house that takes up the bulk of the school’s campus is divided into five conservatories, each dedicated to one of five branches of the school’s curriculum: drum, pipe, script, string, and voice. The Hall of Voice, led by Master of Voice Rosvierre Ibanc, teaches students singing, acting, and all other performances involving the spoken word.
In addition to his role as the Master of Voice, Rosvierre serves as the school’s current grand master, and he is unwavering in his support and care for the Grotto’s students and alumni. In the Hall of Drum, the school’s dwarven Master of Drum Durga Den teaches his students percussion instruments and the basics of cadence, timing, and rhythm. The Master of String, the half-elf Etrenne Rylwynn, teaches stringed instruments and the basics of orchestration. Jaren of House Wycomb, a dashing fencer and the White Grotto’s Master of Pipe, instructs the bardic students in wind instruments. Lastly, in the Hall of Script, the Master of Script Tia Yi Gan teaches composition of music, the written word, and all forms of visual media, from sculpture to painting. Most of the Grotto’s instructors, with the exception of Durga Den, take pleasure in grooming the Inner Sea region’s next generation of great performers, though they have few personal ties and conduct little business outside of the school. The Master of Drum, a perfectionist more concerned with improving his own skill than helping his students, attends to them only when they interrupt him from his practice.
While the college operates independent of any guilds, it does pay significant fees to the Ivy District Council and to several of the district’s larger businesses and playhouses, allowing students to perform freely without fear of political or legal repercussion. Students are identified throughout the district by their uniforms, simple tunics of green for apprentices, blue for journeymen, or black for masters. Upon their graduation, however, students must decide whether to join one of the district’s guilds, and must deal with the normal difficulties of earning a living without the support of the school.
The manor house that takes up the bulk of the school’s campus is divided into five conservatories, each dedicated to one of five branches of the school’s curriculum: drum, pipe, script, string, and voice. The Hall of Voice, led by Master of Voice Rosvierre Ibanc, teaches students singing, acting, and all other performances involving the spoken word.
In addition to his role as the Master of Voice, Rosvierre serves as the school’s current grand master, and he is unwavering in his support and care for the Grotto’s students and alumni. In the Hall of Drum, the school’s dwarven Master of Drum Durga Den teaches his students percussion instruments and the basics of cadence, timing, and rhythm. The Master of String, the half-elf Etrenne Rylwynn, teaches stringed instruments and the basics of orchestration. Jaren of House Wycomb, a dashing fencer and the White Grotto’s Master of Pipe, instructs the bardic students in wind instruments. Lastly, in the Hall of Script, the Master of Script Tia Yi Gan teaches composition of music, the written word, and all forms of visual media, from sculpture to painting. Most of the Grotto’s instructors, with the exception of Durga Den, take pleasure in grooming the Inner Sea region’s next generation of great performers, though they have few personal ties and conduct little business outside of the school. The Master of Drum, a perfectionist more concerned with improving his own skill than helping his students, attends to them only when they interrupt him from his practice.
While the college operates independent of any guilds, it does pay significant fees to the Ivy District Council and to several of the district’s larger businesses and playhouses, allowing students to perform freely without fear of political or legal repercussion. Students are identified throughout the district by their uniforms, simple tunics of green for apprentices, blue for journeymen, or black for masters. Upon their graduation, however, students must decide whether to join one of the district’s guilds, and must deal with the normal difficulties of earning a living without the support of the school.
Type
University / Educational complex
Parent Location
Owner
Owning Organization
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