Absalom is a vast walled metropolis far from Otari, one of the great cities of the known world. It is home to the Grand Bazaar in the Coins district, the Clockwork Cathedral, the Pathfinder Society's Grand Lodge, and the Anathenian Archives (which hold the Threshold of Truth) [S29; S33]. Abbas spent much of his adult life in Absalom after fleeing war elsewhere, and characters Venris and Visigoth hail from the region as well [S34]. Early in the campaign, Absalom appears primarily as a looming threat within the Gauntlight itself: diorama traps, an illusory map in the webbed lair, and a wood-golem sculpture all depict the city several centuries in the past, besieged and in peril — pointing to the dungeon's apparent purpose of razing Absalom [S20]. This ominous motif recurs late in the campaign, when a hall-of-paintings portrait shows Absalom in flames with ghosts rising, captioned "So shall the fools suffer" [S59]. The party physically visited Absalom during sessions 33–35, traveling there from Otari for shopping, library research, prosthetics (Venris's replacement hand), and access to high-level magic items the cash-strapped group largely could not afford [S33; S35]. The city's guarded gates, thieves' underworld, and Hall of Commerce are established during these visits. After returning to Otari, Absalom continues to surface as a source of trouble: the flesh-warped bounty hunters and the Bloody Barbers gang trace back to Absalom's underworld [S48], Sinemi's pursuers originated there [S60], and wanted-poster figures connect to fake guards previously encountered in the city [S38]. As of S60, Absalom remains a living presence in the campaign — a city the party has visited, whose criminal networks have followed them home, and whose destruction the Gauntlight was apparently built to achieve.
1 open hook remain on this record.