Planescape

Wards of Sigil

Sigil was divided into six wards. Although the boundary between wards was not clearly marked on the city's streets or maps, it was usually easy to identify a ward based on the general upkeep and packing of the buildings, as well as the type of business conducted there. Counter-clockwise around the ring, the wards of Sigil were the following:[7][45][46][note 2]

1. The Lady's Ward

The richest and most exclusive section of the city, home to the elites of society and of its government.[1][47]

2. Market Ward

The main location for purchasing goods and services. It was famous for offering items from numerous planes and worlds.[48]

3. Guildhall Ward

Usually counted as part of the Market Ward. Home to the traders, craftsmen, artisans, guild members and other members of the middle class.[1][49]

4. Clerk's Ward

An affluent district, home to most of the city's lower-rung bureaucrats and middlemen.[1][50]

5. Hive Ward

The slum and the ghetto, home to the poor, the rogues, and the unwanted dregs of the city.[1][51]

6. Lower Ward

An industrial district, clogged up with the smoke from the foundries and from the portals to the Lower Planes.[1][52]

Factions

A faction is one of 15 philosophical organizations headquartered in Sigil. Each faction believes something different, with the understanding that in the Outer Planes, belief shapes reality. While in Sigil, each faction has taken ownership of a different aspect of the smooth operation of the city's function. The factions engage in a sort of cold war over the beliefs of Cagers, called the kriegstanz.

A "faction" without a headquarters in Sigil is referred to as a Sect.

Outsiders (or "Clueless"), those visiting from the Prime Material plane, are sometimes considered a pseudo-faction (of course, not one with any political sway). Once they've been around and have shaken off their ignorance enough to join a faction, they're no longer considered Clueless.

In modern Sigil, factions seem to be divided into two general classes: Ascendant factions are those larger factions more involved with the operation of the city, while minor factions are those who either more insular or simply don't much care about the politics of it all.

The governing of the city, such as it is, is done at the Hall of Speakers. Each faction -- at least each Ascendant faction -- has representation within the Hall, typically that faction's factol. There the factions can discuss, argue, negotiate, and collectively come up with new laws for Sigil. The laws are then enforced by the Harmonium, Fraternity of Order, and (if applicable) the Mercykillers.

Ascendent Factions

• Athar: The Athar are a faction who do not believe that the gods in the planes are real gods. Powerful? Of course. But not worthy of worship. Factol Terrance instead worships a force he calls the Greater Unknown, and actually receives priestly spells from this mysterious source. 

• Believers of the Source: The Believers of the Source are a faction who believe that everyone is constantly being tested, with all of us progressing to a higher form. If not in this life, then the next. Eventually, everyone and everything will become a god. At that point, the multiverse ends. That cycle of testing and ascension is the purpose of the multiverse. 

• Bleak Cabal: The Bleak Cabal are a faction who believe that the multiverse has no ultimate meaning, it just is. Any meaning has to come from the individual, not from the outside. 

• Doomguard: The Doomguard are a faction who believe the multiverse is falling apart. It's supposed to fall apart. That's the natural order of things. That's entropy. Of course, a lot of deluded berks are trying to stop it, or at least slow it. The Doomguard want to stop them, and perhaps even hasten the course of entropy. 

• Fated: The Fated are a faction who believe "might makes right." Not just in terms of physical strength, but intelligence and cunning as well. If you can take something, then you are the rightful owner. 

• Fraternity of Order: The Fraternity of Order are a faction believe that the multiverse can be defined by a series of rules. And once you know and understand these rules, you can exploit them. 

• Hands of Havoc: The Hands of Havoc are a faction dedicated to change via chaos: they're a controlled burn, razing outdated institutions, leaving room for new growth. 

• Harmonium: The Harmonium are a faction who believe in uniting the multiverse in harmony. Having different opinions from your neighbor means discord, so it's best if everyone thinks the same way. By force, if necessary. 

• Heralds of Dust: The Heralds of Dust (previously Dustmen) are a faction who believe that the whole multiverse is a sort of purgatory: we're all already dead, although most of us don't realize it. Some -- undead like ghosts or liches or vampires -- are more dead than others, but we're all still stuck here until we can embrace True Death.  

• Mercykillers: The Mercykillers are a faction who do believe in the primacy of justice. Justice purges evil and makes them better. Once everyone's been cleansed, the multiverse reaches perfection. 

• Mind's Eye: The Mind's Eye are a faction formed in the wake of the Faction War, from a merging of the Believers of the Source (who believed everyone was on a journey toward godhood) and the Sign of One (who believed that each person was the center of the multiverse), two factions focused on the Self. The Mind's Eye believe they're so connected to the multiverse that they can find themselves only by "finding" the infinite wonder and fulfillment of the planes. Each experience is a stepping stone to personal advancement, even godhood. Or, some whisper, something beyond even that.

• Society of Sensation: The Society of Sensation are a faction who believe that the multiverse only exists through the senses, and thus the only way to understand it is to experience as much of it as possible. 

• Transcendent Order: The Transcendent Order are a faction who believe that the mind just gets in the way. Not that it's useless: the mind simply needs to be brought into harmony with the body. Act without thinking, and you act in harmony with the multiverse. 

Minor Factions

• Free League: The Free League are a faction, although if you ask most Indeps, they'll deny it. The idea that anyone knows the truth and everyone else is wrong? Since when does a smart gambler risk it all on a single throw? 

• Incanterium: The Incanterium are a faction, turned sect, turned faction once again. They believe that wizardly magic is the secret to the multiverse. 

• Ring Givers: The Ring Givers (sometimes with a hyphen, Ring-Givers) are a sect-turned-faction who believe almost the exact opposite of the Fated faction, lust for material things keeps one bound to the multiverse. Give everything away, and you'll be free. 

Organization

All factions are unique, but their hierarchies can be generalized as follows:

• Factols are those in charge of each respective faction.

• Factors are high-ups, those in charge of faction strongholds or seconds-in-command.

• Factotums are the lowest-ranking members who are still committed to the faction full-time.

• Namers are members "in name only." They're the vast majority of faction members, but continue to live their own lives, and may not consider the faction's philosophies beyond being able to make a surface-level argument in a pub.

Common Slang and Other Terms

Addle-cove
An idiot. "Did you hear what that addle-coved wizard wanted us to do?"
Anarchist
Slang for member of Revolutionary League faction.
Anthill
City or town.
Bang around
To hang around somewhere. Between adventures, bashers “bang around the Cage.”
Bar that
“Be quiet,” or "shut up.” Used as a warning.
Barmy
Insane, crazy.
Basher
A neutral reference to a person, usually a thug or fighter.
Berk
A fool or loser, especially one who got himself into a mess when he should have known better.
Birdcage
A cell, prison, or anything that compares to it.
Bleaker
A member of the Bleak Cabal faction.
Bleaknik
A Bleaker who expresses meaningless of world through Beatnik-style art.
Blinds
Something impossible or hopeless. "He'll hit the blinds if he tries lying to the factol."
Blood
An expert or pro in any field, from fighting to poetry. Calling someone a blood is a mark of high respect.
Bob
To cheat someone. Thieves boast they “bobbed a leatherhead on the street.”
Bone-box
One’s mouth. "Stop rattling your bone-box," is telling a berk to lay off the threats or bragging.
Box
A rogue modron that has taken up residence in Sigil.
Brain-box
A berk's head. "Go soak your brain-box" is a common phrase, while "He banged his fool brain-box on it" means a berk finally figured something (obvious) out.
Bub
Booze, wine, or ale - usually cheap and barely drinkable.
Bubber
A drunk, especially if he, she, or it has fallen on hard times.
Burg
Any town smaller than Sigil, in size or in spirit. To Sigil residents, refers to any city other than Sigil.
Cage, the
A common nickname for Sigil, derived from “birdcage,” or how Sigil feels when you can’t access a portal to get out.
Cager
A native or resident of Sigil.
Canny
Smart or talented.
Case
A decent or nice residence.
Chant, the
News, local gossip, the facts, the moods, or anything else about what's happening. "What's the chant?" is a common way of asking the latest news.
Chaosmen
A nickname for the Xaositects faction.
Chiv
A weapon, usually something with a blade.
Ciphers
A nickname for the Transcendent Order faction.
Clueless
Someone from a prime world, at least until they’ve spent some time in the planes. Also an adjective, e.g., “clueless berk.”
Colorpool
Portals on the Astral Plane that give access to the Prime Material and Outer Planes.
Conies
Victims of the cony-catchers.
Cony-catchers
Con-men, tricksters, or thieves looking for someone to peel.
Cross-trade
The business of thieving, or anything else illegal or shady. "A cross-trading scum" is a thief who's probably angered the Mercykillers.
Cutter
A generic complimentary term for a person that suggests resourcefulness or daring.
Dark
Secret information. "Here's the dark of it," is a way to start sharing a secret.
Dead, The
A nickname for the Dustmen faction.
Dead-book
To be dead. “Cross me and I’ll put you in the dead book.”
Deader
Anyone in the dead-book.
Defilers/Defiers
Nickname for members of the Athar faction.
Dusties
Nickname for members of the Dustmen faction.
Factotum
A medium-ranking member of a faction.
Factor
A high-ranking member of a faction.
Factol
The leader of a faction.
Feeding the Wyrm
Executing a prisoner. Taken from a form of execution used by the Mercykillers in Sigil, wherein they feed prisoners to a wyvern called the Wyrm.
Garnish
A bribe.
Gate
Any sort of passage between one plane and another.
Gate-town
One of the sixteen towns on the Outlands that has a gate to one of the sixteen Outer Planes. Each Outer Plane has one corresponding gate-town, and the town often has the same basic appearance, outlook, and attributes as the inhabitants, architecture, and terrain of that plane.
Ghost
A prime who visits the planes via astral spell. Since it involves little physical risk on the prime's part, it's considered cowardly by planars. Also called "cord babies."
Give 'em the laugh
To escape or slip through the clutches of someone. “He tried to give the Mercykillers the laugh, but ended up feeding the wyrm.”
Give the rope
What happens to condemned criminals who don't manage to give the law the laugh.
Go to the Mazes
Planar equivalent to “Go to hell,” referring to the Lady of Pain’s mazes.
Greybeard
A sage or scholar. This term refers to the stereotypical wizened old man but can apply to any learned intellectual.
Great Ring, Great Wheel
The Outer Planes, often depicted in maps and diagrams as a ring. This also refers to their infinite size, another allusion to the endlessness of a ring.
Great Road
A series of permanent gates that connects the Outer Planes.
Gully
A potential victim of a peel, a gullible sod.
Guvners
Nickname for the Fraternity of Order faction or its members.
Hardheads
Nickname for the Harmonium faction or its members.
Heartless
Nickname for the Fated faction or its members.

High-up
A person with power, money and influence. Factols are high-ups.
Hipped
Stranded. "Hipping the rube" means stranding someone by sending them through a one-way portal.
Indeps
Nickname for the Free League faction or its members.
Jink
Money or coin.
Kip
A residence or place to stay. To "call kip" is to make a place a body's home, at least for a while.
Knight of the post, knight of the cross-trade
A professional thief or cheat, or a term used as an insult.
Lann
To tell or inform. See "well-lanned."
Leafless tree
The gallows.
Leatherhead
A dolt or idiot.
Lost
Dead.
Lost, The
Nickname for the Athar faction or its members.
Madmen, The
Nickname for the Bleak Cabal faction or its members.
Mazes, the
The extraplanar mazes to which the Lady of Pain banishes those who threaten Sigil’s independence or insult her.
Mark
To be noted or identified as something. “That berk was marked to be a Guvner.”
Minder
A bodyguard.
Music
A price a cutter usually doesn't want to pay, but has to anyway. “Pay the music, or you’ll never find your way out of here.”
Namer
Low-level faction members who subscribe to the philosophy but do not perform substantial duties for the faction. Term derived from “faction member in name only.”
Nick
To attack, cut, or strike someone, often used in threats. “I nicked him good.”
Out-of-touch
Outside of the Outer Planes.
Out-of-town
On the Outlands (i.e, outside Sigil).
Outsiders
Clueless primes.
Park your ears
To eavesdrop, spy upon, or just simply listen intently. “He parked his ears in the tavern to get the latest chant.”
Path
Means of planar travel that requires physical movement. Includes traveling via the Styx or Oceanus, the World Ash Yggdrasil, or the Infinite Staicase.
Peel
To swindle, con, or trick.
Peery
Suspicious and on one's guard.
Petitioner
The soul of a mortal who has died and reformed on the plane of his alignment and/or deity without memory of its former life. The chant goes that Petitioners seek to become one with their new plane.
Pike it
A useful, all-purpose rude phrase. “Take a short stick and pike it.”
Pike off
To anger someone. "Once he discovers he's been peeled, he's going to be really piked off."
Planar
A being not native to the prime material plane or its echoes.
Planar Conduit
A wormhole-like connection that links two layers of the same plane or two layers of two different planes.
Plane-touched
The offspring of a planar native and a humanoid. Tieflings, aasimar, genasi, and cambions are types of plane-touched.
Planewalker
A term of respect for a cutter who is knowledgeable, experienced and capable of traveling to different planes.
Portal
A doorway to another plane or location. Typically requires a portal key. May be permanent or temporary, two-way or one-way.
Power
A deity or god.
Prime
The Prime Material Plane or a being who originates from there.
Proxy
A direct and powerful servant of a power.
Red Death
Nickname for the Mercykiller faction or its members.
Ride
An adventure, task, or undertaking. “What’s the ride today, boss?”
Rube
A naive or clueless person, though not necessarily a prime.

Sedan Chairs

Comfortable chairs carried by burly individuals (humanoid or otherwise) that act as a citywide taxi service, often found near markets and civic buildings.
Scan
Look, listen, or learn. “Scan this, berk.”
Scragged
Arrested or caught.
Screed
A monotonous tirade, or someone who gives one.
Sensates
Nickname for the Society of Sensation faction or its members.
Signers
Nickname for the Sign of One faction or its members.
Sod
An unfortunate or poor soul. Use it to show sympathy for an unlucky cutter or use it sarcastically for those who get into their own messes. “Sod off, you sodding sod.
Sodding
A derogatory term used to stress magnitude. “A sodding leatherhead.”
Sparkle
Specifically a diamond, but also any gem.
Spellslinger
A wizard.
Spiv
An individual who lives by his wits (rather than having regular employment).
Takers
Nickname for the Athar faction or its members.
Thought Guild
Derogatory term for a faction member, used by those who dislike the factions.

Touts
Touts are local, often unofficial, guides and translators who know the city's dangerous wards.  

Tumble to
To discover, understand or figure out something. “Tumble to the dark of a problem.”
Turn stag
To betray somebody or use treachery. “Turn stag on me and you’ll end up in the dead book.”
Twig
To take a liking to. “The poor sod twigged to a knight of the cross trade.”
Unity of Rings
The outer planar consensus philosophy that everything forms a logical ring or circular pattern.
Vortex
A passage between an environmental extreme on the Prime Material and the corresponding Elemental Plane.
Well-lanned
Connected, in-touch, or otherwise blessed with numerous friends, allies, and informants.
Wigwag
To chat or talk.
Yawn, the
The state of being bored. "This place gives me the yawn."

Backgrounds

Gate Warden

Source: Planescape - Adventures in the Multiverse (Updated to 5.5)

You spent a significant amount of time somewhere influenced by intense planar forces or a portal to another plane of existence, such as one of the gate-towns in the Outlands. You're accustomed to experiences that would leave others reeling in terror or enraptured by otherworldly beauty, and you're as comfortable dealing with Celestials and Fiends as you are with vendors in town (who might be one and the same).

Prerequisite: Planescape Campaign

Ability Scores: Charisma, Constitution, Wisdom

Feat: Scion of the Outer Planes

Skill Proficiencies: Persuasion, Survival

Tool Proficiency: Navigator's Tools 

Equipment: A ring of keys to unknown locks, a blank book, an ink pen or quill, a bottle of black ink, a set of traveler’s clothes, and a pouch containing 100 gp.

Feature: Planar Infusion

Living in a gate-town or similar location steeped you in planar energy. You gain the Scion of the Outer Planes feat. In addition, you know where to find free, modest lodging and food in the community you grew up in.

Building a Gate Warden Character

Those who dwell for an extended time near a permanent portal to another plane absorb the essence radiating from the realm beyond. Those influenced by the same plane share similarities in behavior and even physical appearance.

Suggested Characteristics. The influence of an Outer Plane shapes your perspective. The Gate Warden Personality Traits table suggests traits you might adopt for your character.

Gate Warden Personality Traits

d6

Personality Trait

1. Strange events and otherworldly creatures don’t faze me.

2. I think in terms of exchange; something for something, nothing for nothing.

3. I speak with an unusual cadence.

4. I pepper my speech with borrowed words or curses from planar languages.

5. I’ve seen enough to know that you can’t take anyone at face value, so I scrutinize everyone.

6. I have a superstitious habit I picked up, such as touching iron when I’m nervous or arranging objects in a specific order.

Gate Warden Trinkets. When you make your character, you may roll once on the Gate Warden Trinkets table, instead of on the Trinkets table in the Player's Handbook, for your starting trinket.

Gate Warden Trinkets

d6

Trinket

1. A tiny vial pendant, filled with a drip of honey that glows faintly

2. A small lead ingot with a strange thumbprint pressed into it that whispers when held tightly

3. Two lodestone spheres that chime when they attract each other

4. A smoldering pebble of coal that, while always hot, doesn’t burn skin, fur, scales, or clothing

5. A feather that sheds dim light in a 5-foot radius.

6. A ring made from a chain link that, once donned, won’t come off without pulling painfully hard

Planar Philosopher

You subscribe to a philosophy that seeks to understand the nature of the planes or some hidden truth of the multiverse. You draw strength from your conviction and, perhaps, a network of like-minded thinkers, such as the factions of Sigil (summarized below). In your travels, you explore the depths of your understanding and spread your philosophy wherever you go.

Source: Planescape - Adventures in the Multiverse (Updated for 5.5)

Prerequisite: Planescape Campaign.

Ability Scores: Charisma, Intelligence, Dexterity

Feat: Scion of the Outer Planes

Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, the skill associated with your faction (see the Sigil Faction Affinities table) or one skill of your choice.

Tool Proficiency: Calligrapher's Supplies 

Equipment: A portal key (such as a bag of golden tea leaves or the tooth of a planar beast), a manifesto of your guiding philosophy, a set of common clothes in your faction's style, and a pouch containing 50 gp worth of coins from different worlds and planes.

Sigil Faction Affinities

Faction Skill

Athar Religion

Bleak Cabal Insight

Doomguard Nature

Fated Intimidation

Fraternity of Order History

Hands of Havoc Stealth

Harmonium Perception

Heralds of Dust Medicine

Mercykillers Survival

Mind's Eye Persuasion

Society of Sensation Performance

Transcendent Order Athletics

Factions of Sigil

Twelve Factions have risen to prominence in the City of Doors, though many more exist. Your character might belong to one of these groups or another ideological faction, perhaps one of your own creation.
The primary factions of Sigil adhere to the following philosophies:

Athar. Deities are frauds and merely channel the might of a true, higher power.
Bleak Cabal. There is no greater truth to the multiverse. Each being must discover their own meaning.
Doomguard. Nothing lasts forever. The purpose of everything is to crumble and decay.
Fated. Everyone makes their own fate and is entitled to whatever they can take and hold.
Fraternity of Order. All of existence is governed by laws, and power comes from understanding and exploiting them.
Hands of Havoc. Those who try to impose a single order on the multiverse are doomed to fail.
Harmonium. The multiverse will be perfect only when everything is in harmony, whether it wants to or not.
Heralds of Dust. Everyone is already dead; the entirety of the multiverse is an afterlife. Undeath holds the key to the next stage of existence.
Mercykillers. Cold, relentless justice is absolute, and no one is above it.
Mind's Eye. The multiverse exists to be explored. It shapes us, and we shape it in turn.
Society of Sensation. Sensation is the proof of existence. By experiencing everything, we can understand the multiverse in all its complexity.
Transcendent Order. Thought clouds action. To fall in step with the multiverse, one must act on instinct alone.

Feature: Conviction

You gain the Scion of the Outer Planes feat. In addition, members of your organization provide you free, modest lodging and food at any of their holdings or the homes of other faction members.

Building a Planar Philosopher Character

Some groups of planar philosophers might prefer certain types of characters, but by and large any character who upholds and furthers the beliefs of such a group is welcome within its ranks.

Suggested Characteristics.
Adventurers who dedicate themselves to a particular philosophy regarding the multiverse are welcomed among factions that embrace those beliefs. The Planar Philosopher Personality Traits table suggests various traits you might adopt for your character.

Planar Philosopher Personality Traits

d6

Personality Trait

1. I don't venerate any gods. With time, we can be as powerful as them or greater.

2. Experience is everything, live in the moment.

3. When things crumble, I find meaning in the dust.

4. Life thrives through order; and I seek to maintain that order.

5. When others make plans, the multiverse laughs and so do I.

6. I know what’s right, and no one will stand in my way.

Planar Philosopher Trinkets.
When you make your character, you can roll once on the Planar Philosopher Trinkets table, instead of on the Trinkets table in the Player's Handbook, for your starting trinket.

Planar Philosopher Trinkets

d6

Trinket

1. A locket with a picture of my mentor and an inscription I can’t read

2. A bleached cranium rat skull with colored glass beads in its eye sockets.

3. A torn parchment with half a rebus puzzle painted on it

4. A bracelet of twisted razorvine stems

5. Fragments of a bronze blade covered in verdigris

6. A broken holy symbol of a forgotten god