Velvet Curtain¶

"Ghelmyon's premier entertainment venue. Generosity and charm open its doors."

The Velvet Curtain is the central pleasure-house and entertainment venue of Ghelmyon's upscale district. Performers, courtesans, musicians, dancers - and behind that public-facing house, a quiet information network that rivals what the Thieves Guild moves through its back-alley channels. The Curtain doesn't pick fights with anyone; it doesn't need to.

At a glance¶


HQ	Velvet Curtain, Ghelmyon (upscale district)
Member tags	courtesan, dancer, performer, madam, velvet
Best class fits	Bard, Rogue (information work), any social-leaning build
Major rivals	None standing - Curtain is studiously neutral
Soft alignment	Treats coin and charm as currency in equal measure

Rank titles¶

Rep	Tier	Title
< -100	Hostile	Banned
-100 to -20	Unfriendly	Unpleasant
-20 to 50	Neutral	Patron
50 to 200	Friendly	Regular
200 to 500	Honored	VIP
500+	Exalted	Honored Guest

The Curtain's title ladder reads like a maître-d's seating chart, because it is. Patron is anyone who walks in; Regular gets their preferred wine waiting; VIP gets the upstairs lounge without asking; Honored Guest gets the suite, the private show, and the staff who remember your name before you give it.

Unlocks¶

Tier	What you get
Friendly	VIP access, private performances
Honored	Owner's suite, exclusive entertainment

Two-tier unlock ladder - the Curtain is a minor faction by the rep system's reckoning and doesn't have the deep training trees of Temple or Town Guard. What it does have is access: at VIP you walk past three doors that don't open for Patrons; at Honored Guest you're treated as effectively staff-adjacent.

Information runs through here

The Curtain isn't tagged as an info-broker faction, but its Regulars hear things. Conversation rep with named NPCs at the Curtain often unlocks rumors no quest-board will surface.

How to gain rep (generic)¶

Tip generously. Direct rep purchase - the most reliable early-game lever. The Curtain is one of the few factions where money alone reliably climbs you.
Patronize the performances. Watching shows, ordering drinks, buying perfumed gifts.
Charm-skill checks pay. A successful charm/flirt with any Curtain-tagged NPC banks small rep.
Bard set work. Bards can perform on the Curtain's stage - per the Bard Training & Practice section. Successful performances net rep + a purse + Performance SP.
Don't break the rules. No fighting, no theft from staff or patrons, no harassment. The house bouncers won't argue twice.

How to lose rep (avoid these)¶

:material-mask: Starting a fight on the premises
Theft from staff, performers, or other patrons
Disrespecting performers (verbal harassment registers)
Welching on a tab or skipping out without paying
Bringing Pale Order business through the front door (the Curtain stays clean of that)

Rivals to watch¶

The Velvet Curtain runs studiously neutral. There are no standing negative tensions in the rep system with the Curtain. It coexists with every other faction - Town Guard officers drink upstairs, Thieves Guild contacts pass envelopes downstairs, Collegium mages come to the salon for the music.

That said: a Curtain Regular who's known to be Pale Order will find drinks coming a little slower and rooms a little colder. The house won't refuse service, but the staff have memories.

When the rep is worth it¶

Strong for Bards. The Curtain's stage is the highest-paying, highest-prestige performance venue in the network. Reach Regular and you can book regular nights; reach VIP and the house promotes your name.

Useful for Rogues working the information game. A VIP Rogue hears half the city's gossip without lifting a coin-purse.

Good for any social-leaning build. The faction has no class restriction - Warriors, Clerics, even Tinkerers can climb the ladder if they keep the rules and tip well.

Skip only if you're playing a strict ascetic. Some Cleric and Monk roleplay leans away from the Curtain; mechanically the rep costs you nothing to ignore.