Gangs of Absalom

Collection of white-collar criminals. Primarily focused on using the law (when possible) in shady real estate dealings. Suspected masters in creating forgeries. Hasn’t resorted to anything more violent than legal threats. Heavy suspicion of money laundering for other gangs. Notoriously hard to find members.

Gang Sign: None, prefers to avoid drawing suspicion.

Scope and Influence:

Goals: Unknown

Headquarters: Unknown

Key Members: Unknown

Allies: None

Enemies: None known

Assets: Large amount of real estate

Membership Requirements:

Accepted Alignments: Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil

Values: Acquire as much land as possible as cheaply as possible. Acquire Wealth

Anathema: Violence

Current Attitude towards the Party: Unknown

Notes:

The largest of the gangs, this group has members in every district except the Ascendant Court. Every crime is covered by this organization. The main headquarters is suspected to be in the Coins. Assumed to be using legitimate businesses to cover their illegitimate businesses.

Gang Sign: A barber’s pole or straight edge with a drop of blood

Scope and Influence: Nearly all of Absalom. Few can compare in terms of their reach, influence, and violence.

Goals: Through economics, influence, or violence, push out all other gangs.

Headquarters: Somewhere in Coins

Key Members: Twisted Jack

Allies: Most smuggling operations enjoy working with them due to their wide influence and large selection of clientele.

Enemies: Most other gangs hate them but can’t outright attack them. Miogimo has a personal vendetta against them.

Assets: Large selection of various barbershops that serve as safehouses

Membership Requirements: None

Accepted Alignments: Any evil alignment

Values: Acquire assets, destroy competition

Anathema: Allow any other criminal organization power or territory

Current Attitude towards the Party: Hated

Aquatic thieves assaulting Absalom’s docks for profit and to stockpile armaments Gang Sign: shark’s dorsal fin cresting above bloodied water

Scope and Influence: local (the Docks, Flotsam Graveyard and the Puddles, but only moderate)

Goals: amass wealth, weaken Absalom’s aquatic defenses

Headquarters: decentralized (all underwater)

Key Members: Katharas

Allies: sea devil clans and alghollthu armies (suspected)

Enemies: Pilots’ Guild, Starwatch, Wave Riders

Assets: stockpiles of weapons, underwater communication and transportation, connections with undersea societies

Membership Requirements: must be aquatic, must undergo a branding rite

Accepted Alignments: Neutral Evil (Chaotic or Lawful Evil is also accepted)

Values: acquisition of resources (especially weapons and armor) from landstriders

Anathema: assist landstriders in any fashion

Current Attitude towards the Party: Disliked

A large collection of various establishments that cater to the more physical side of life. Brothels, escort services, nightly companionship.

Gang Sign: A red dress or red opera glove

Scope and Influence: All throughout Absalom and a powerful information broker due to “pillow talk.” Can open a lot of doors.

Goals: Maintain safety of the men and women employed by the Crimson Companions. Cleanliness is also a very high priority.

Headquarters: Unknown

Key Members: Unknown

Allies: Unknown

Enemies: Unknown

Assets: Large collection of brothels

Membership Requirements:

Accepted Alignments: All

Values: Cleanliness, protection of the companions

Anathema: Germs, infections, abuse towards companions

Current Attitude towards the Party: Neutral

Noted:

A local gang in the Docks district.

Gang Sign: A Crowbar and a Vial

Scope and Influence: Local docks (small)

Goals: Take control over the docks district. Also chemicals

Headquarters: Unknown

Key Members: Bloody Berleth

Allies: None

Enemies: Washboard Dogs

Assets: Various warehouses in the docks. Also chemicals.

Membership Requirements: Unknown. Probably has to do with chemicals.

Accepted Alignments: Neutral Evil (Lawful and Chaotic also accepted)

Values: Take over the docks

Anathema: Not take over the docks

Current Attitude towards the Party: Disliked

Non-human revolutionary group (possibly funded by external groups) that want to see humans killed or enslaved.

Gang Sign: Aroden’s holy symbol, covered in blood with its eye gouged out

Scope and Influence: local (Ascendant Court, the Coins, and the Foreign Quarter; weak) Goals: forcibly redistribute Absalom’s wealth and influence to its non-human residents

Headquarters: decentralized

Key Members: Hempolton Vates, Irazix Gorethrottle, Rax Sharpclaw

Allies: Slavers, Minotaurs

Enemies: Humans, Graycloaks, Iomedaeans

Assets: Large external support

Membership Requirements: must be non-human and perform a visible, violent act against humans or property dedicated to a once-human deity such as Iomedae or Aroden

Accepted Alignments: CE (CN, NE)

Values: topple human institutions and regimes Anathema

Anathema: aid humans or Absalom’s law enforcement

Current Attitude towards the Party: Hunted

Criminals working circumspect protection rackets using taxidermied animals as a sign of protection

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: Unknown

Key Members: Someone known as “The Stitchlip Man” that silences any witnesses. Permanently.

Allies: Unknown.

Enemies: Sanguine Beasts, Token Guard

Assets: terrified local citizens too afraid to quit paying protection money

Membership Requirements: Unknown

Accepted Alignments: Neutral Evil, (Chaotic and Lawful also accepted)

Values: Secrecy, fear instilled in the people of the Coins

Anathema: Excuse payments due from protection victims

Current Attitude towards the Party: Hated

Brutal, all-female shipbuilders and toughs

Gang Sign: inverted pentagon over an outstretched hand

Scope and Influence: local (Docks; moderate)

Goals: promote Chelaxian sympathies, antagonize the gang’s or Cheliax’s enemies

Headquarters: Unknown

Key: Members Gurd, Velacity Tor, Zelva

Allies: Chelaxian Embassy (assumed)

Enemies Firebrands, other Docks gangs (particularly the Dockside Dozen) Assets several lucrative shipbuilding contracts, smuggled Chelaxian goods Membership Requirements must be female

Accepted Alignments LE (LN, NE, N)

Values: Chelaxian prominence, success in shipbuilding

Anathema: disparage Asmodeus, impede the Devil’s Own Shipyard operations, release people from contracts

Current Attitude towards the Party: Unknown

A local gang of female assassins recognizable by their stylized garrote necklaces. While most members are female cutthroat killers, the gang also employs a few men to serve as accountants, wizards, fixers, etc.

Gang Sign: A silver choker

Scope and Influence: Serves as assassins for hire

Goals: Kill targets, provide services, maintain a sort of neutrality amongst the gangs

Headquarters: Unknown

Key Members: Cass Hamish, Alzuna

Allies: Whoever pays

Enemies: Red Mantis

Assets: Collection of high quality assassins. The girls can pretend to be “escorts” in delicate situations to target high profile individuals

Membership Requirements: Female, decapitate a target. Males can serve in auxiliary roles

Accepted Alignments: Neutral Evil (Any evil alignment, true Neutral somehow)

Values: Efficient, Reliable

Anathema: Miss a target, not fulfill a contract

Current Attitude towards the Party: Neutral (Cass likes you though)

A former member of the police who once saved the life of the primarch. Arrested for taking the law into his own hand after seeing a particularly heinous attack by a vampire against innocent people and sent to the most dangerous jail in the city. He escaped, studied necromancy to turn himself into a Zealborn for the only purpose of killing more violent criminals.

Gang Sign: A mask of half angel, half demon

Scope and Influence: Primarily operating in the docks at the moment

Goals: Rid Absalom of all violent crime. Through violence. Permanently.

Headquarters: Unknown

Key Members: Miogimo

Allies: None

Enemies: Everyone (all gangs, police, politicians, etc).

Assets: Pure fear and violence. Ruthless. Large public support, but most support is not vocalized due to his aggressive methods.

Membership Requirements: Kill a gang member, take their stuff, donate it to a charity or orphanage for the downtrodden.

Accepted Alignments: Chaotic Neutral

Values: Protecting the citizens of Absalom, even at great personal cost to yourself.

Anathema: Allow violent criminals to continue to live

Current Attitude towards the Party: Complicated. Waiting to see if you turn corrupt.

Drug Dealing brother alchemists that focus more on the experimental side of the business. Their goods are considered good quality, but wildly inconsistent due to always coming up with new drugs. Due to constantly making new drugs, their empire is largely “legal” as the law takes a few months to update to include their new concoctions.

Gang Sign: A rainbow-colored distorted beaker

Scope and Influence: Mainly the upper class who want to have a unique experience at one of their high end private parties.

Goals: Create the ultimate high with as few of the negative effects as possible.

Headquarters: Unknown

Key Members: Sharim and Halan Muzullah. The Whisker Brothers (smugglers)

Allies: Unknown

Enemies: Few (largely non-violent and has favors with those in power)

Assets: Large assortment of various chemical reagents. Drugs. Fruit. Surprisingly, one of the largest importers of fruit into Absalom.

Membership Requirements: Must be able to either craft drugs using alchemy or be able to smuggle.

Accepted Alignments: Neutral to Chaotic

Values: Creativity, experimentation, new experiences

Anathema: Growing stale or sticking to traditions

Current Attitude towards the Party: Unknown.

Notes:

Halfling gang of killers, kidnappers, and slavers

Gang Sign: Small bloody footprint

Scope and Influence: Local (the Coins; weak)

Goals: Rebuild Pardu Pildapush’s personal and financial successes

Headquarters: Somewhere in Misery Row

Key Members Benkt Slipshod, Pardu Pildapush, Punstil Everbasher.

Allies: Slavers

Enemies: Absalom government, Firebrands

Assets: loyalty of gang members

Membership Requirements must be a former halfling slave freed by Pildapush and commit a crime with other Puddlejumpers

Accepted Alignments NE (CE, LE)

Values: Continuation of Absalom’s slave trade

Anathema: defame or disappoint Pildapush, free slaves

Current Attitude towards the Party: Hated

Violent toughs specializing in extortion. Rumor has it that the leader is a follower of Norgorber.

Gang Sign: lion’s silhouette, painted in blood

Scope and Influence: local (the Coins, Foreign Quarter; weak)

Goals: force locals to pay the gang for protection

Headquarters: decentralized

Key Members Groske, Karthok Daggerborn, Mezuk

Allies: Skinsaw cultists (suspected, but no skinsaw cultists have operated in Absalom for a few decades)

Enemies: Caydenites, Family Dogs, Sleepless Suns

Assets: lucrative protection arrangements, suspected connection to local gambling dens

Membership: Requirements must have the might or guile to act as an enforcer

Accepted Alignments: NE (CE, LE, LN) Values brute strength, Belkzen affiliation

Anathema: allow disrespect to go unanswered, refuse a bribe or payoff

Current Attitude towards the Party:

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, Corella Dalithayne

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

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

Current Attitude towards the Party: Unknown

Anarchists who seek to cause as much trouble as possible

Gang Sign: snarling dog with teeth bared

Scope and Influence: local (the Puddles and Shoreline; moderate)

Goals: cause mayhem, rob passersby

Headquarters: Pyramid of the Dog (ruined siege tower south of Shoreline)

Key Members: Nessian, Marrow Chomper

Allies: various anarchist groups

Enemies Muckruckers

Assets: War dogs, military level equipment?

Membership Requirements: unknown

Accepted Alignments CE (CN, NE) Values discord for its own sake Anathema aid Absalom’s law enforcement

Current Attitude towards the Party: Hunted

A local gang in the Docks district.

Gang Sign: A barking dog

Scope and Influence: Local docks (small)

Goals: Take control over the docks district

Headquarters: Unknown

Key Members: Maurrisa (suspected)

Allies: None

Enemies: Diobel Sweepers

Assets: Various warehouses in the docks

Membership Requirements: Unknown

Accepted Alignments: Neutral Evil (Lawful and Chaotic also accepted)

Values: Take over the docks

Anathema: Not take over the docks

Current Attitude towards the Party: Disliked