Sigil
Sigil, also known as the City of Doors and the Cage, is a ring-shaped city that hovers (presumedly) above the infinite Spire in the center of the Outlands. It is ruled over by the Lady of Pain, a frighteningly powerful and mysterious figure capable of controlling the city's portals and preventing deities from entering the city.
The city is said to be the fulcrum point for all of the planes, and as a result whoever can control the city controls the multiverse. This is why the city up until recently has been run by competing factions. Each faction believed that if it controlled Sigil, the Center of All, it would be able to control everything there is. As a result, the Lady of Pain kept the Factions (and many other power brokers in the city) in balance.
Sigil is shaped like a torus, or a tire, curved both longitudinally and latitudinally but open along the inner circle so that the other side of the city is visible in the "sky." It is utterly dependent on the portals for all trade, air, water, and resources. The city is often cramped, though at the Lady's whim streets and buildings will occasionally shift, appear, and disappear. The air is often polluted, and acid rain is a problem in the city again because of the lack of easy air flow. Sigil does not receive any true sunlight, so without special assistance plants are difficult to grow. Razorvine is a notable exception to this rule as it can be found growing at tremendous rates throughout the city. The city is tended to by the dabus, who repair buildings and trim the razorvine.
There is no 'outside' of Sigil and it is sealed against teleportation, planar spells, or any other work-arounds to enter the city including epic magic. It's portals or nothing. While it is said to be atop the Spire (and some claim to see it hovering there on a clear day), there has never been a successful attempt to climb into Sigil from below. In a similar fashion no one - or almost no one - has ever returned from jumping out of the 'side' of Sigil. The side of Sigil appears to lead nowhere, and those foolish souls who jump may fall forever, become erased from existence, or end up in an entirely random plane.
Sigil has no sun or moon; the sky brightens toward noon (known as Peak in Sigil) and darkens until midnight (known as Antipeak), with no apparent source for the lumination.
Demographics
The city's current demographics are around 37% human, 20% planetouched (aasimars, mephlings, neraphim, tieflings, and the like), 10% elves, 10% halflings, 3% dwarves, and 20% other. Bariaurs make up a sizable chunk of the population. Fiends, celestials, modrons, and slaadi are present in the city in large numbers, but few find it pleasant enough to justify staying long. The fiends miss the carnage of the Blood War and the celestials look down on the city's coarseness and grime.
Government
the laws are written or otherwise "discovered" by the Guvners while the Harmounium inflicts the laws and make sure all obey them, bringing people to courts and prisons. while, the Mercykillers run the prison and deal with the punishments of prisoners and criminals. as for taxes, the fated take care of that and most members of sigil hate them for it.
Defences
the fact that sigil is on top a endlessly tall spire makes an attack from the outlands impossible. However the amount of portals make it easy for a infestation like attack. the only real defense is the faction themselves and the lady of pain
Industry & Trade
Sigil is a massive center of planar trade, its markets second only to the City of Brass. Goods and services may flow to the city from any and all other planes, depending on which portals are available to planar merchants. Sigil has no natural resources of its own, though it has a sizable manufacturing economy in the Lower Ward.
Infrastructure
Lower Ward
The Lower Ward is perhaps the most symbolic of the Cage as a whole. It gets its name from the large number of portals to the Lower Planes found there, portals through which a foul, sulfurous stench billows, filling the area. Still, it’s hard to avoid the Lower Ward, since most of the city’s craftsmen live and work there, and the place is full of forges, mills, warehouses, and workshops.
The Lady’s Ward
Going counterclockwise around the ring of Sigil, the next stop is The Lady’s Ward (and yes, the locals can hear you capitalize all three of those words). The Lady of Pain doesn’t actually live here, but rich citizens and most of Sigil’s temples lie within this ward. The Lady’s Ward has power, wealth, and majesty, and knows how to show it off.
Market Ward
In the Market Ward, everything is for sale. The wealth of Sigil may be concentrated in The Lady’s Ward, but it’s spent here, whether on goods, services, information, reputation, or anything else your heart desires. The best place to get it all is the Grand Bazaar, an immense plaza filled with shops, tents, and stalls offering wares from dozens of planes and strange worlds. As the old saying goes, if you can’t find it here, it probably doesn’t (or shouldn’t) exist. Prices can vary wildly, from dirt cheap (for merchants with an unexpected overstock) to many times the normal value (for goods in sudden short supply, due to a faulty portal or a band of planar marauders).
Guildhall Ward
Many visitors can’t tell the difference between the Guildhall Ward and the Market Ward. Even some locals claim that only tradition separates them. Since guilds haven’t played a particularly significant role in Sigil for centuries, one can guess that the name itself owes a lot to tradition. Today, the Guildhall Ward serves as the domain of the middle class of Sigil. Many merchants who hawk their wares in the Market Ward during the day sleep here at night, and many who deal in services (rather than selling finished goods) live and work here as well. The Guildhall Ward also houses many racial neighborhoods, from the transplanted halfling hill of Curly-Foot, to the bariaur neighborhood of Ghundarhavel, to the githyanki community of Git’riban.
Clerk’s Ward
The Clerk’s Ward holds the bureaucracy of Sigil, and most of the faction headquarters are located here. the Clerk’s Ward is also home to one of the flashiest places in the city — the Civic Festhall. Run by the Society of Sensation, the Festhall combines the best aspects of a concert hall, museum, and tavern while simultaneously serving as the centerpiece of an artistic neighborhood that brings travelers from across the multiverse. It’s the best place in Sigil to see or be seen.
The Hive
Many locals claim that the Hive isn’t a ward so much as it’s the lack of a ward. Both the name for the region between the Lower Ward and Clerk’s Ward and for the chaotic, sprawling slum in its center, the Hive crawls with scum and villainy of all stripes. The lowest of the low live in the Hive — those who can’t afford (or don’t dare) to rub elbows with the more fortunate folks. In effect, the Hive is like a miniature version of Sigil itself, with everything that is needed in daily life: taverns and inns aplenty, entertainment, and services from escorts to sellswords. The quality may be questionable, but the prices can’t be beat. The Gatehouse Night Market offers nearly everything one could find in the Grand Bazaar (and a few things one couldn’t), though it’s best not to think too hard about where they came from.
Assets
just about anything and everything can be bought within sigil,
Guilds and Factions
Athar
Also known as "the Defiers" or "the Lost", they deny not only the gods' right to pass judgment over mortals, but their very divinity. They claim that the gods (whom they call "powers") are powerful but have limits and do not deserve worship. Instead, Athar priests channel divine power from what they call the "Great Unknown", or what they believe to be the true divine force behind everything. Their headquarters in Sigil is the Shattered Temple, the former temple of the dead god Aoskar. Following the faction war, and banned from Sigil, they moved their headquarters to the base of the infinite spire where divine magic does not function in protection of the many gods they have offended. The Athar are broadly derived from real-world atheists, agnostics, and Deists.
Believers of the Source
Known as "Godsmen" they believe that each life is a test, and that every person has the potential to become a god. Their headquarters is the Great Foundry, symbolizing their belief that the multiverse constantly forges and refines all beings. Shares many parallels with Hindu, Buddhism, and most sects of Mormonism. However, the ultimate goal is not Nirvana but apotheosis.
Bleak Cabal
"Bleakers" or "Madmen" deny that any belief system has any merit; as they see it, the universe has physical rules, but no metaphysical or philosophical ones, therefore any meaning in life must come from within. Their headquarters is the insane asylum of Sigil, called the Gatehouse. They are derived from real-life existentialists and the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche.
Doomguard
The "Sinkers" believe in the sanctity and inevitability of entropy, particularly the inevitable destruction of all things. The core of their belief is that everything ends. Their headquarters is Sigil's Armory, where they forge weapons as tools of destruction.
Dustmen
Also known as "the Dead", they believe that both life and death are false states of existence, that there is a state of True Death which can only be accomplished by denying one's emotions and physical wants and needs (a conception similar to eternal oblivion, but also conceivably to Nirvana). Their headquarters is the Mortuary, where Sigil's dead are interred or cremated. Their philosophy is closely related to that of Arthur Schopenhauer, along with some shared similarities with Buddhism, Stoicism and acosmism.
Fated
"Takers" or "The Heartless" believe that those with power and ability have the right to own what they control and to take what they can from those who are unable to keep it, and that it is their right to exploit any situation to their advantage, regardless of how it affects anyone else (a position akin to "might makes right"). Their headquarters is the Hall of Records, where they serve as the tax collectors of Sigil. They are derived from real-life Social Darwinists and the philosophies of Max Stirner and Ayn Rand.
Fraternity of Order
These "Guvners" believe that knowledge is power; they learn and exploit both the natural laws of the universe and the laws of society. Their headquarters is the City Court, where they serve as judges and legal advocates. They recall the Sophists of Classical Athens.
Free League
As "Indeps", they reject the other factions and their bureaucratic, hierarchical dogmatism and do not consider themselves a faction at all. For this reason, they don't have a factol or an official headquarters, though Sigil's Great Bazaar serves as an unofficial one. They believe in individual freedom as the highest good and are analogous to libertarians.
Harmonium
"Hardheads" believe that peace and stability can only be established under one rule — theirs. The planar faction known as the Harmonium is actually just a small part of a much larger political entity which rules over the entirety of the Prime Material world of Ortho. In Sigil, they serve as the city's police force, and their headquarters is the City Barracks. They are related to present day authoritarianism, particularly religious evangelicalism and fundamentalism. They take offense to the term "Hardhead".
Mercykillers
"The Red Death" believe in justice and retribution at the expense of all else. Their name does not come from "killing out of mercy," but rather "killing mercy." Their credo that mercy is for the weak, and the merciful should be punished. Their headquarters is Sigil's Prison, where they carry out the sentences of convicted criminals.
Revolutionary League
"Anarchists" who believe that social order and man-made laws are inherently corrupt and must be destroyed—though none of their members can agree on what, if anything, should replace them. Like the Indeps, they have no headquarters and gather in many safe houses and secret meeting places.
Sign of One
"Signers" believe that everyone is the center of their own reality and that reality can be reshaped by the power of imagination. Their headquarters is the Hall of Speakers, which houses Sigil's legislature. Some of them are solipsists, though most are not so extreme.
Society of Sensation
Sensates believe that accumulating experiential knowledge through the senses is the only way to achieve enlightenment. Their headquarters is the Civic Festhall, which features an endless series of entertainments and a library of magically stored experiences. They are reminiscent of ancient Epicurianism (if not hedonism more generally), as well as the more modern empiricism.
Transcendent Order
The Cipher believe that by tapping into the 'cadence' of the planes and acting through pure instinct they can achieve a higher state of being. Their headquarters is the Great Gymnasium, where members can train to improve their bodies and minds. Their philosophy could be considered similar to Taoism and Zen Buddhism.
Xaositects
"Chaosmen" who believe that the only truth is revealed in chaos. The Xaositects have been quite accurately described as being "totally off their rockers, every one of 'em." Their headquarters is the Hive, the most disorganized part of the Sigil ward of the same name. Compare with real life discordianism.
History
It's been surmised that Sigil's origins lie deep in the Age before Ages during the age of the Elder Brethren, before the gods or lords of the elder elements came into being. Others claim that the City of Doors was founded over 10,000 years ago by an exiled duke of Hell, unconsciously created by an insane demigod dreaming of an extradimensional prison, or constructed of left over bits of pieces of the Outer Planes just after the time of creation.
The fiends discovered Sigil early in their history, shortly after the beginning of the Blood War, before they began focusing on the corruption of the Prime Material Plane. Initially they tried to use it to launch invasions of one another's planes, but the Lady of Pain cast them out until they learned the City of Doors was not theirs to control. It is said that early in Sigil's history, before the Crowning of Ra, during the age of the great illithid empire, Sigil was covered in jewels. What happened to these gems is not at all clear.
Currently it is 127th year of Factol Hashkar's reign. Dating in Sigil is generally counted from the beginning of the reign of each ruler of the Fraternity of Order, as they are Sigil's primary historians.
Architecture
In most cities, the architecture depends on three factors: the building materials available, the environment, and the dominant style and personality of the locals. Sigil has none of those things, and its architecture demonstrates that fact amply.
There’s nothing to build with in Sigil. The “ground,” though hard and sturdy, isn’t stone, and it crumbles to dust when excavated. The place has no trees to turn into lumber (the only plant that seems to thrive in Sigil is razorvine). You can’t even dig up sod or mud to build a crude hut. Every piece of material in every building on every street is imported from another plane. No two buildings are made from the same materials or designed the same way.
Sigil doesn’t have much of an environment to shape its architecture, either. It never gets very hot or very cold, it has no monsoons or tornados, and what does pass for weather just tends to make everything look gray and dingy. Thus, since the inhabitants don’t have to worry about their houses surviving the next big storm, they build whatever kind of structures suit their fancy. What’s more, they build wherever they like, with no thought to overall city planning. Finally, Sigil has no dominant style. The look of the city reflects the fact that its residents come from everywhere.
Dwarves build sturdy stone structures next to graceful elven villas. Down the street stands a faithful reproduction of an Abyssal palace, and tucked into a nearby alley is a white marble shrine to Pelor. On top of that, since it’s easier to scavenge than to import, half (or more) of the buildings in Sigil are ramshackle affairs thrown together from the parts of a dozen other constructions. The gorgeous darkwood facade of that tavern probably came from an old elven inn, and its stone fireplace was carried rock by rock from the ruins of a foundry twenty-three blocks away.
Geography
Though at the top of an infinite pillar, the air within Sigil is not infinitely thin as some may otherwise expect. Though slightly thin, enough so that first-time visitors to require time to adjust, and though fairly polluted in some areas of the city, the air in Sigil is perfectly breathable, constantly refreshed by its portals to the plane of Air. Water is provided similarly, with streams, fountains, and aquifers replenished by portals to a variety of water sources of differing levels of quality across the planes; known sources include the River Oceanus, the River Styx, the plane of Water, the Gates of the Moon, Ossa, and Lunia. Despite the ready availability of water, however, concerns about quality and source lead most citizens of Sigil to drink ale, beer, and other more reliable liquids.
Despite the thin air and closed system, Sigil certainly has its own weather system as well, though like much of the city, the mechanism behind it is still unknown. In most of the city, the conditions tend to be fairly temperate, with the sky usually overcast enough to make the far side of the city almost indistinguishable. The Lower Ward is the exception, due to the numerous forges and portals to warmer planes; enough so that leather drapery is quite popular on sedan chairs passing through that ward, both to keep the heat out and to minimize risk from floating ash and embers. Outside the Clerk's and Lady's Wards, the air quality tends to be quite poor, with smog an everpresent risk to health. - consumption is a commonly-seen disorder for those that work outside in the rest of the city. Though the occasional rainstorm does tend to clear the air, it carries its own pollution with it. Rain in Sigil tends to be quite dirty or oily, leaving a thin film on most substances exposed to it. Even more rare, though not unheard of, is snow or sleet, but these tend to be about as unclean. There are no seasons as such in Sigil, and weather tends to be fairly random from day to day.
As in many places in the planes, there is no true sun in Sigil. Instead, the city is lit from some sort of light emanation from the center of the ring, a light whose intensity rises and fades in a 24-hour cycle. Time is kept in Sigil relative to "Peak", the point of brightest light (about the same as noon on a prime world), and "Antipeak", the point of greatest darkness (about the same as midnight). Due to the numerous peoples present within the city, for the sake of convenience (and simpler clocks), hours are not numbered or named in Sigil; rather, all people refer to time until or after peak or antipeak. The 24-hour clocks standing in the higher-class sections of the city reflect this; they're not numbered, but rather shaded from black to white and back. The length of the day and of each period, though slightly varying from day to day (never off by more than 15 minutes in either direction), does so in no discernable pattern or cycle.
Natural Resources
Most resources are imported from outer planes and prime worlds, the only naturally occurring resource seems to be razor vine, the plant equivalent to razor wire
Maps
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Outlands
The plane of outlands is considered the plane of absolute neutrality, within outlands are realms of gods, towns with gates to outer planes, and a few villages and nomadic tribes.
Alternative Name(s)
The cage, the city of doors
Type
Megalopolis
Population
over a million, but two-thirds of those are transitory, staying in Sigil only on the way to somewhere else.
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
Cagers
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Characters in Location
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