Books About Sigil

Sigil is a huge city. It is large and interesting enough to form a complete campaign setting all by itself. Sigil's character, nature, politics, and every day happenings are highly influenced by the factions, organized groups of people who share similar philosophies and who seek to push their philosophy as far as possible.

Sigil can be a dangerous place. However, it's not as dangerous as some of the other outer planes. Although grimy, it is generally hospitable for mortals, and any services one can need one can find. What's more, the Lady of Pain, the myserious godlike ruler of the city, keeps out all powers (gods) and powerful arch-fiends. More importanly, however, is the number of portals throughout Sigil. Nowhere else in the multiverse is there such a high density of gates that let you get somewhere else. This makes Sigil a sort of crossroads; people coming from everywhere, and going to everywhere, meet in Sigil.

Books about Sigil

• In the Cage: a Guide to Sigil
• The Factol's Manifesto
• Uncaged: Faces of Sigil

In addition, Sigil is covered significantly in the "Sigil and Beyond" book of the Planescape boxed set. A lot of information about Sigil also appears in the background of sundry adventures, including (but not limited to) Harbinger House and Faction War.

In The Cage: A Guide to Sigil

(TSR #2609, 1995)

A 128-page book with a weath of information about Sigil. After a brief introductory chapter, the book is divided into a different section for each ward. Some general overall information about the ward is given, followed by a large number of sites in that ward. These are usually sites that would be of interest to adventurers. A number of taverns and similar locations are described; several of these in turn have portals to other planes. Several of the locations have interior maps, and many have brief descriptions of important NPCs associated with the location.

This book complements and greatly expands on the Sigil section in "Sigil and Beyond" from the Planescape boxed set. This book is crucial for the GM who plans to have a fair amount her campaign's action within Sigil itself.

The one thing given short shrift in this book is information about faction headquarters. That is covered in much more detail in The Factol's Manifesto.

The Factol's Manifesto

(TSR #2611, 1995)

An excellent 160-page book with all sorts of information about the 15 factions in Sigil. Each chapter opens with a one-page speech or interview with the factol, which serves to illustrate the philosophy of the faction. The factol is described in detail, giving both statistics and history. The history of the faction and its role in Sigil is described and epxanded upon. Several important NPCs in each faction are introduced. There is a description and a map for each of the faction headquarters (where an identifiable headquarters can be identified). Finally, some campaign secrets about each faction are given for GM's to use if they choose in their campaigns.

This book nicely complemets In the Cage, which does relatively little with the factions. Between the two books, you know almost everything you need to know about pre-Faction War Sigil. It is highly recommended for any GM who expects the factions to play any role at all in her campaign. This is generally information that players would not know, however.

Uncaged: Faces of Sigil

(TSR #2624, 1996)

A 128-page book of NPCs. A great resource for GM's running a game with a fair amount of the action set in Sigil. More 40 different characters are described in detail, with each character having typically about 3 pages devoted just to him. The style differs from character to character; some are straightforward descriptions, while others are written "in character" by another NPC from the book. Most of the NPCs in the book have relationships with many of the other NPCs in the book, and the book as a whole presents a delightfully tangled web of plots and plot hooks which GMs can use in their campaigns. The NPCs themselves are all unique and fascinating. There aren't just the expected tieflings, humans, githzerai, elves, bariaur, and dwarves, but also fiends, celestials, and other sorts of creatures that one would certainly expect to find in significant rolls in a city which is the effective hub of the planes.