BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Absalom, the City at the Center of the World, has always drawn travelers from distant lands. Yet this year is different, for it is the year of the Radiant Festival, a celebration of epic proportions held every hundred years to commemorate the failed Radiant Siege of Absalom in 1619 ar. Delegations from across the world congregate at Absalom’s fairgrounds to exhibit their nations’ marvels of magic and masonry. A panoply of performers, merchants, and inventors flood into the city to astound tourists with their art and ingenuity. This year’s grand exhibits include incredible gyroscopic towers from Vudra, a Minkaian kami temple called the Dragonfly Pagoda, a moving castle built by Keleshite engineers, and a terrifyingly massive excavation machine called Graveraker. While the failed siege by the Whispering Tyrant a year ago set the festival behind schedule and threatened to undo all the hard work of the Festivals Committee, Tar-Baphon’s defeat has given Absalomians all the more reason to celebrate, and the fair is poised to open to great fanfare even with many of the exhibits only half-completed. Already the city groans under the pressure of thousands of tourists, with locals simultaneously thrilled at the flow of trade and despairing at the overcrowding.
To alleviate the latter, Absalom’s leaders adopted an ambitious plan. The prominent Absalomian architect Blune Bandersworth, with the support of Grand Councilmember and City Planner Olansa Terimor, propositioned the Grand Council and bid for a contract to magically transform the Precipice Quarter—a district all but destroyed in an earthquake 22 years ago—into the heart of the 4720 ar Radiant Festival. The enthusiasm of Acting Primarch Wynsal Starborn, who since taking his station has wanted to resurrect the Precipice Quarter, sealed the deal for the site of this century’s grand fair.
The Radiant Festival has already brought gold and tourists to the city like never before, but with such opportunity comes danger. Unable to completely clear the Precipice Quarter of monstrous threats before the opening-day festivities, festival officials have simply cordoned off some parts of the district. Meanwhile, lawbreakers of all sorts see potential gain in the chaos. As fresh recruits to the unit, the player characters must keep the Radiant Festival’s crowds from getting out of hand, apprehend criminals, and maintain the peace. (See the free Agents of Edgewatch Player’s Guide on paizo.com for backgrounds tying the character to this setting.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:35, Fri 29 Jan 2021.
