ALL OR

GANGS OF ABSALOM
NOTHING
Chapter 1:
Street Justice

Chapter 2:
The House
Always Wins

Chapter 3:
Deadly Games

Games of the
For good or ill, people gravitate toward organizations Goals amass wealth, weaken Absalom’s aquatic defenses Irorium
that make them feel part of something greater than Headquarters decentralized (all underwater)
themselves. Such motivation might lead some to Key Members Katharas (LE male azarketi organizer 9) Gangs of
pursuits like academia, the military, or the Pathfinder Allies sea devil clans and alghollthu armies (suspected) Absalom
Society; for others, circumstance or temperament Enemies Pilots’ Guild, Starwatch, Wave Riders
Adventure
cause them to seek out unscrupulous entities, like Assets stockpiles of weapons, underwater communication Toolbox
thieves’ guilds or gangs. Gangs in particular provide and transportation, connections with undersea societies
a home and sense of belonging to those willing to Membership Requirements must be aquatic, must undergo
dedicate their loyalty and support to the group. Some a branding rite
of Absalom’s most notorious gangs operate in the Accepted Alignments NE (CE, LE)
interest of personal gain or destruction, while others Values acquisition of resources (especially weapons and
might focus more on survival amid difficult social or armor) from landstriders
economic circumstances. The violent and criminal acts Anathema assist landstriders in any fashion
performed by all of these gangs often put them at odds
with Absalom’s law enforcement. Bloodtide’s members prowl the Bay of Kortos, menacing
Gangs differ from large, structured criminal land-bound targets, whom they call “landstriders.”
organizations. Some of Absalom’s thieves’ guilds have This gang of aquatic vandals and thieves often clashes
hundreds of members working in a multi-layered with Absalom’s Wave Riders. Exactly how and where
hierarchy. Thieves’ guilds often operate legitimate Bloodtide began isn’t well-known; records of its
businesses within the law, complete with contracts, activities date at least a century before the death of
licenses, and even formalized pay rates for their Aroden, making it one of Absalom’s oldest gangs.
members. Gangs, on the other hand, rarely bother Bloodtide consists primarily of azarketi, but a sizable
disguising their blatantly illegal actions behind a veneer number of undines also count among its numbers.
of legitimacy. Their activities are often spontaneous, Rumors maintain that Bloodtide’s rarely seen leader,
desperate, and violent—the result of a group of Katharas, might be a puppet of the alghollthu.
individuals whose loyalties lie with each other rather
than to wider society. EYEGOUGERS
The following pages detail some of the most CE SMALL CRIMINAL
notorious gangs in the City at the Center of the World. Non-human toughs who target human victims
You can use this information to facilitate how the Gang Sign Aroden’s holy symbol, covered in blood with its
agents might interact with these gangs. eye gouged out
Scope and Influence local (Ascendant Court, the Coins, and
BLOODTIDE the Foreign Quarter; weak)
NE SMALL CRIMINAL Goals forcibly redistribute Absalom’s wealth and influence
Aquatic thieves assaulting Absalom’s docks for profit and to to its non-human residents
stockpile armaments Headquarters decentralized
Gang Sign shark’s dorsal fin cresting above bloodied water Key Members Hempolton Vates (NE male halfling
Scope and Influence local (the Docks, Flotsam Graveyard, mastermind 5), Irazix Gorethrottle (NE female iruxi thug
the Puddles; moderate) 4), Rax Sharpclaw (CE female gnoll serial killer 3)

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 Allies gnoll slavers, minotaurs Eyegouger dogma teaches that Absalom’s government
Enemies Caydenites, Firebrands, Graycloaks, Iomedaeans has always put humanity first, citing the city’s use of
Assets diverse ancestral backgrounds Aroden’s religious scripture as the foundation for its
Membership Requirements must be non-human and government rather than impartial texts. Members
perform a visible, violent act against humans or property routinely commit highly visible acts of arson,
dedicated to a once-human deity such as Iomedae vandalism, mayhem, and murder against human
Accepted Alignments CE (CN, NE) targets. Their leader, a former Chelaxian slave named
Values topple human institutions and regimes Hempolton Vates, especially despises adherents of
Anathema aid humans or Absalom’s law enforcement human deities, such as Cayden Cailean and Iomedae.
Vates often acts upon this hatred while coordinating
Founded in 4519 ar, the Eyegougers act as a coalition Eyegouger activities from the shadowed alleys of the
for Absalom’s non-human citizens, united by shared Ascendant Court.
frustrations with the human-centric culture in the
City at the Center of the World. Every member of the FAMILY DOGS
Eyegougers has a story, real or imagined, wherein they NE SMALL CRIMINAL
suffered some great injustice perpetrated by humans. Criminals working circumspect protection rackets from a
The gang welcomes any and all non-humans willing taxidermy shop
to take their trauma and sharpen it into a weapon. Gang Sign taxidermy animal wearing collars or manacles
Scope and Influence local (the Coins; weak)
Goals leech money from the people of the Coins
Headquarters the Kennel
Key Members Dras (CE male fetchling rogue 9), Vyara (NE
female human enforcer 6)
Allies the Stitchlip Man
Enemies Sanguine Beasts, Token Guard
Assets terrified local citizens too afraid to quit paying
protection money
Membership Requirements sell an overpriced taxidermy
animal to a local merchant in exchange for protection
provided by the gang
Accepted Alignments NE (CE, LE)
Values secrecy, fear instilled in the people of the Coins
Anathema excuse payments due from protection victims,
expose the Stitchlip Man

The Family Dogs began when its inaugural

members discovered several poorly stuffed
dogs in an abandoned taxidermy workshop
in the Coins. The small band of
thieves then took over both
the site and these grim
mascots. Many members
have actually learned taxidermy by experimenting
in their headquarters, which they call the Kennel,
though they don’t run a legitimate business. These
criminals instead practice their skills on people
who witnessed their crimes or refused to pay them
protection money. The gang’s leader is a fetchling
Rax Sharpclaw named Dras who escaped Shadow Absalom long
ago. Patient and careful, Dras regularly eliminates
anyone who could endanger his organization,
making him virtually untouchable. The Family Dogs
manufactured the grim local legend of the “Stitchlip

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Man,” a creeping monster who skulks into houses or its sympathizers, and smuggled goods are masked
to sew shut the mouths of any who talk to the law. as innocuous-looking building materials in the
Although they invented the tale, the gang’s members shipyard, waiting for shipment on the next vessel to ALL OR
sometimes masquerade as the Stitchlip Man to scare Cheliax. Despite their recent focus on smuggling, the NOTHING
those who fail to pay protection money punctually. Gylou Sisters are somewhat ill-suited for clandestine
The Family Dogs’ biggest rival is the Sanguine Beasts, enterprises. Brutish and violent, they revel in the Chapter 1:
a much more conspicuous gang with overlapping rumors that follow their vandalism and muggings. Street Justice
territory. Many unfortunate business owners in Smuggling just doesn’t strike as much terror.
Chapter 2:
contested neighborhoods have no choice but to pay
protection to both groups. PUDDLEJUMPERS The House
Always Wins
NE SMALL CRIMINAL
GYLOU SISTERS Halfling gang of killers, kidnappers, and slavers Chapter 3:
NE SMALL CRIMINAL MERCANTILE Gang Sign small bloody footprint Deadly Games
Brutal, all-female shipbuilders and toughs Scope and Influence local (the Coins; weak)
Games of the
Gang Sign inverted pentagon over an outstretched Goals rebuild Pardu Pildapush’s personal Irorium
hand and financial successes
Scope and Influence local (Docks; moderate) Headquarters Pildapush Chattel on Misery Gangs of
Goals promote Chelaxian sympathies, Row Absalom
antagonize the gang’s or Cheliax’s enemies Key Members Benkt Slipshod (CE male
Adventure
Headquarters The Devil’s Own Shipyard halfling rogue 7), Pardu Pildapush (NE Toolbox
Key Members Gurd (N female half-orc muscle 4), male human slaver 12), Punstil Everbasher
Velacity Tor (LE female human gang leader 8), (CE female halfling assassin 9)
Zelva (LE female human tough 6) Allies slavers in Fall’s End, beneath Absalom
Allies Lord Archych of House Dureanz, Chelaxian Enemies Absalom government, Firebrands
Embassy Assets loyalty of gang members
Enemies Firebrands, other Docks gangs Membership Requirements must be a former
(particularly the Dockside Dozen) Puddlejumpers Sign halfling slave freed by Pildapush and commit
Assets several lucrative shipbuilding a crime with other Puddlejumpers
contracts, smuggled Chelaxian goods Accepted Alignments NE (CE, LE)
Membership Requirements must be female, Values continuation of Absalom’s slave trade
must swear fealty to Asmodeus and the Gylou Anathema defame or disappoint Pildapush, free slaves
Sisters
Accepted Alignments LE (LN, NE, N) Founded in 4701 ar, the Puddlejumpers zealously
Values Chelaxian prominence, success in shipbuilding carry out the will of Pardu Pildapush, a Vudrani slaver
Anathema disparage Asmodeus, impede the Devil’s Own who owns Pildapush Chattel. Pildapush’s fortunes
Shipyard operations, release people from contracts took a steep decline when Acting Primarch Wynsal
Starborn manumitted all the slaves in Absalom and
At first glance, the Devil’s Own Shipyard appears no declared slavery illegal, but the crafty merchant has
more than an efficient shipbuilding operation owned simply taken his business underground—literally,
by Lord Archych of House Dureanz. Most residents as he maintains ties with slavers in the Darklands.
of the Docks know it as the headquarters of the His business now ostensibly operates to hire paid
Gylou Sisters, an all-female gang with overt loyalties servants, but he does virtually no legitimate business.
to Asmodeus and to Cheliax. These sympathies vary The Puddlejumpers are all halflings that Pildapush
for each member; for example, the brutal Zelva is personally plucked from the shackles of slavery,
a devout worshipper of Asmodeus but feels little granting them unexpected freedom. A freed person’s
loyalty to the ruling House Thrune of Cheliax). world can overwhelm former slaves, and that’s where
However, the gang as a whole has strong ties to Pildapush’s right-hand halfling, Benkt Slipshod,
Cheliax and the surreptitious support of Absalom’s steps in. Benkt quickly swoops into the lives of
Chelaxian Embassy. Most gang members also work each halfling Pildapush frees, convincing them to
at the shipyard, allowing Lord Archych frequent undertake unscrupulous jobs to aid their liberator.
communication with them while publicly disavowing Those who agree to Benkt’s “suggestions” find
their crimes. Many of the shipyard’s war vessels are themselves increasingly pulled into the darker side of
built under contracts to the Chelaxian government Pildapush’s unsavory business.

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 SANGUINE BEASTS Allies Gasporian (bookie at the Crimson Coin gambling
NE SMALL CRIMINAL den), Skinsaw cultists
Violent toughs specializing in extortion Enemies Caydenites, Family Dogs, Sleepless Suns
Gang Sign lion’s silhouette, painted in blood Assets lucrative protection arrangements
Scope and Influence local (the Coins, Foreign Quarter; Membership Requirements must have the might or guile to
weak) act as an enforcer
Goals force locals to pay the gang for protection Accepted Alignments NE (CE, LE, LN)
Headquarters decentralized Values brute strength, Belkzen affiliation
Key Members Groske (NE male human thief 5), Karthok Anathema allow disrespect to go unanswered, refuse a
Daggerborn (LE half-orc gang leader 6), Mezuk (NE male bribe or payoff
half-orc enforcer 3)
The Sanguine Beasts charge merchants in the Coins
and the Foreign Quarter for protection from the gang’s
own destructive vandalism. The half-orc Daggerborn
family runs the racketeering group and prefers, though
doesn’t require, that members have some orc ancestry.
Rumors hint that many Sanguine Beasts are also
devotees of Norgorber, which the gang doesn’t deny.
Merchants who refuse to pay protection money find
their doors marked with animal blood as a warning. If
a shopkeeper still refuses to pay, the Sanguine Beasts
descend upon the marked establishment, trashing
the business and pummeling anyone they find. While
careful to never kill their victims (since the dead can’t
pay), members of the Sanguine Beasts take special joy
in inflicting painful wounds and often maim the faces
of those they’ve attacked. After completing one of
their so-called “ravagings,” the gang members depart,
leaving behind a trail of blood and broken property.
They don’t steal during a ravaging because they
don’t want to give the impression that their fury can
be bought off. Members claim, “You negotiate with
merchants, not with the Sanguine Beasts.”

SILKENHAND
NE SMALL CRIMINAL
Drug dealers who exploit sex workers
Gang Sign hand wrapped in gauzy cloth
Scope and Influence local (Ivy District; weak)
Goals hook citizens on vices supplied by the gang
Headquarters decentralized
Key Members Ammiot the Idle (NE male human gang leader
5), Corella Dalithayne (LE female half-elf drug pusher 3)
Allies desperate theater companies and sex workers
Enemies Brotherhood of Abadar vigilance committee,
Street Performers and Actors’ Guild, Thistleguard
Assets arrangements with several drug dens and brothels
Membership Requirements must provide a roster of
additional clients to make purchases from the Silkenhand
Ammiot the Idle Accepted Alignments NE (CE, N)
Values discretion, connections in Absalom’s theater scene
Anathema partake of the gang’s drug stores, reveal a
client’s identity

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The Silkenhand fronts as an upscale establishment OTHER GANGS
that provides vices to clients who want to maintain In addition to the gangs detailed previously,
anonymity. In truth, this gang of pushers works Absalom has several lesser-known gangs. Even more ALL OR
hard to get people of the Ivy District addicted to sophisticated criminal organizations can be found in NOTHING
shiver and other unsavory drugs. The Silkenhand Absalom: City of Lost Omens.
has made significant inroads in pushing its products Bleach Breakers: The Bleach Breakers are gnome Chapter 1:
to actors and stagehands in the Ivy District as well vagrants devoted to staving off their members’ Street Justice
as to desperate sex workers living in the increasingly inevitable Bleaching with increasingly daring and
Chapter 2:
expensive housing of that neighborhood. reckless crimes.
The House
The gang’s leader, a twice-failed actor known as Dockside Dozen: Founded by 12 orphans from Always Wins
Ammiot the Idle, presents an image of sophistication Andoran looking to start a new life in Absalom,
while staunchly refusing to partake in the products his the increasingly misnamed Dockside Dozen now Chapter 3:
gang sells. He insists on discretion, not out of a sense has nearly a hundred members and controls a large Deadly Games
of propriety, but to ensure that his repeat customers portion of the warehouse district in the Docks.
Games of the
keep their vices a secret from those who might help Golden Torcs: Known for their namesake jewelry, Irorium
them break their addictions. the Golden Torcs are primarily pickpockets and
muggers active in Westgate. To join, a prospective Gangs of
WARHOUNDERS member must steal enough gold from various marks to Absalom
CE SMALL ANARCHIC CRIMINAL forge their own personal torc, which they weld around
Adventure
Anarchists who seek to cause as much trouble as possible the neck as a permanent accessory. Recently, the gang Toolbox
Gang Sign snarling dog with teeth bared has fallen to infighting to determine new leadership
Scope and Influence local (the Puddles and Shoreline; after the arrest and imprisonment of their leader,
moderate) Tyrigrat Tweev.
Goals cause mayhem, rob passersby Hellcats: Founded 2 years ago by a 14-year-old
Headquarters Pyramid of the Dog (ruined siege tower human named Jorne Webberton, the Hellcats have
south of Shoreline) become one of the most notorious new gangs in the
Key Members Nessian (CE human gang leader 5), Marrow Puddles and the Foreign Quarter. Though adolescents
Chomper (N dog mascot) and older children run the group’s operations, the
Allies various anarchist groups Hellcats have a reputation for ferocity and cruelty,
Enemies Muckruckers especially after Jorne personally took the lives of
Assets war dogs, ruined siege castle two Muckruckers. Despite it being an open secret
Membership Requirements while caged with Marrow that Haigen Topkick has it in for Jorne and his gang,
Chomper for 1 minute, evade being bitten without members of the Hellcats proudly wear their gang’s
harming the Warhounder’s mascot orange-and-white bandanas.
Accepted Alignments CE (CN, NE) Red Rings: A criminal gang based mostly in
Values discord for its own sake Eastgate, the Red Rings combine burglary and
Anathema aid Absalom’s law enforcement arson in their endeavors. Having discovered that fire
evokes more terror than theft, the gang extorts “fire
Based just south of Shoreline outside Absalom’s walls, protection payments” from local homeowners, later
the Warhounders rob the people of Shoreline and the robbing those whose security seems lax. Each member
Puddles whenever it strikes their fancy. The gang’s openly wears a fire striker across their hand like brass
toughs do whatever they can to remind disenfranchised knuckles, and they even paint these combination fire-
people that Absalom’s government can’t (or won’t) starting tools and weapons a garish, glossy red.
protect them from danger. Nessian, the gang’s leader, Ruin Rovers: The Ruin Rovers are a gang of young
deeply believes in this brutal reality, having grown lizardfolk whose families moved into the Precipice
up as a pugnacious street urchin before founding the Quarter when the people of Absalom abandoned it
Warhounders a decade ago. Despite his youth, Nessian after the earthquake of 4698 ar. They work to stop
has proven himself to be a cunning tactician and a cruel efforts to rebuild the ruined district they call home,
leader, outright thwarting the Absalom guard at every fearing such renovation will lead to them being shoved
turn. Once, he personally decapitated a Muckrucker out. With the fairground’s restoration mandated for the
named Theirmias in combat and threw the veteran’s Radiant Festival, the Ruin Rovers increasingly rely on
head into a throng of bystanders before running off to more violent and desperate acts to stop construction,
cause more mayhem. escalating from vandalism to murder.

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