The Planes: Sigil
Our next stop in The Planes series is Sigil - a planar metropolis that leads everywhere.
Introduction to the Planes
Feywild, Shadowfell
Astral Plane, Elemental Chaos
What is Sigil
Sigil, also known as the City of Doors or the Cage, is a nexus and planar metropolis. Every plane can be reached through portals from the inside of this torus-shaped plane, and the only way to come or go from Sigil is to use these portals. Sigil, the city, is on the inside of this hollow donut and is separate from everything in the multiverse, but connects everything. Trying to go to the outside of Sigil will bring you to nothing, literal nothing. If you wish to travel to a specific plane, Sigil can get you there… you just have to find the right portal and key.
History
Manual of the Planes, 2008 WotC
Sigil was first introduced in the 2e Planescape Campaign Setting (1994) boxed set and was set to be a natural nexus for the planes. All planes have portals that lead to Sigil, and it's a powerful location because of that. The devils and demons of the Blood War would love to take hold of Sigil for their assaults, but they are unable to stand up to the Lady of Pain, the protector of Sigil.
Sigil remains largely unchanged throughout the editions, though in 2e factions are a very important part of Planescape and Sigil in particular. These factions vie for control and allowed low-level adventures in the multiverse to take place on the streets of Sigil. In 3e and 4e, those factions are destroyed, or at least neutered, by the Lady of Pain who wanted to remove any threats to her power in Sigil. Many factions still exist, though they now operate outside of Sigil and are looking for ways to regain their power with only a select few still residing in Sigil.
An Outsider’s Perspective
Arriving in the city of Sigil, the first thing an adventurer might notice is that this plane is like no other. The streets curve ‘up’ on either side and if you look straight up, you can see the city far above you, so long as there isn’t too much smog in the way or it isn’t raining. Because Sigil resides on the inside of a hollow ring, it can be a bit confusing for first-time adventurers to get their bearings.
The architecture and style of Sigil is all over the place, houses and buildings are so tightly packed together that residents are forced to build on top of one another. Outsiders flood the streets of Sigil and this is one of the few places in the planes were walking down a street and seeing a demon isn’t a cause for alarm. The Lady of Pain ensures that anyone who causes too much trouble is sent away to one of her Mazes or is destroyed with a glance. All creatures are expected to keep the peace, though the Lady of Pain doesn’t intervene for anything less than mass destruction or killings.
In fact, for most adventurers, Sigil is the perfect place to find new jobs, purchase new equipment, and find exotic and rare items that may not be available in more reputable locations. The inhabitants know a lot about the workings, gossip and latest news of what's happening in the multiverse and there is always work to be found somewhere in the city. Though finding someone to trust is a lot harder for the inexperienced.
One problem that many outsiders face when visiting Sigil, especially for those who have never visited before, is that Sigil can be dangerous for the Clueless, outsiders from the Material Plane or even those who have little to no understanding on how things work out in the planes. The first thing any outsider should do is grab a tout, a guide to Sigil, though many may just be interesting in cutting your purse or leading you into an ambush, its important to be aware of your surroundings. Sigil can be dangerous to those who just wander through the twisting streets, unaware of what ward they are in or how to locate a portal they need and make obvious marks for criminals.
A Native’s Perspective
Planescape Campaign Setting Set Box, 1994 TSR Inc.
The original inhabitants of Sigil are the Lady of Pain and the Dabus who work tirelessly to keep Sigil from looking too run down. The rest of those who claim to be natives are the descendants of past people who moved into the Cage. As more people moved into Sigil, they brought along animals, plants, and resources.
Those who live here are greatly outnumbered by the sheer number of travelers and visitors. Most editions agree that the true number of inhabitants is only 50,000 souls, while there are typically just over 200,000 others visiting, traveling through or selling/buying goods at the market. Many who live in Sigil take it as a mark of pride to live in such an important location, and are quick to remind travelers of that fact.
Those who moved into Sigil also brought along with them building supplies. Sigil has no natural resources in it, in fact, if you dig up the white-grit-dirt ground it will fall to dust in your hands. Building a home requires you to bring in everything you need, or just stealing building materials from your neighbors. Furthermore, you need land to build in Sigil, which can be as easy as building on top of your neighbor, or having to demolish other buildings in the city to build your mansion, it all depends on the ward that you want to live in.
Sigil is maintained by the Dabus, a group of silent creatures that remove razorvine, put down fresh cobblestones for roads or even flatten entire blocks of buildings in Sigil so that it can be re-built. The Dabus are in charge of keeping Sigil running, this includes not only that it looks presentable to travelers, but that the sewers and catacombs remain functional and free of razorvine. All inhabitants know not to mess with the Dabus, as they have the protection of the Lady of Pain.
Razorvine
Razorvine is the only plant to grow well in Sigil, though it grows in almost every plane regardless of the environment. Some inhabitants of Sigil swears it grows up to 6 feet every day, and many use it to coat their buildings as a way of protection against thieves. Razorvine is incredibly sharp, and if handled with bare hands or even using cheap leather gloves will slice your hands into ribbons. The Dabus will cut back the razorvine infestations, and then sell the cuttings to those who will burn them in their fire pits as the plant becomes incredibly hard and brittle once cut.
Atmosphere
Sigil is a city enclosed on itself. There is nothing outside of it, so all smog produced from the forges, construction debris, and smoke from torches and lanterns accumulates in the ‘center’ of the plane. Because ‘down’ is always subjective based on where you are in the city, ‘up’ is always towards the center of wherever you are. By looking up, you are looking up to the other side of Sigil, that is if the smog isn’t currently blocking your view.
Some days, the smog is so bad that you can only see a few feet in front of you during the light cycle of Sigil. Other times, it is clear and you can easily see across Sigil to the city blocks high over your head. More frequently than some inhabitants would like, the smog isn’t limiting visibility but rather rain clouds will form in the center between the sides of the city and rain will come down, drenching the whole plane and washing away the grime and soot. Luckily, there are several permanent portals, heavily protected by the Dabus, to the Plane of Air and Plane of Water to help air and take the sewage out of Sigil and keep it hospitable, though many who stay long in Sigil’s worse wards suffer from respiratory problems.
Traits
Sigil is known as the City of Doors and is the only place like it in the multiverse. If you need to get to a plane or specific location, you first travel to Sigil. Though finding the right portal in the city is where things get difficult.
Travel to the Plane
Sigil, thanks to the Lady of Pain, can only be entered via a portal. Adventurers are unable to plane shift or use a gate spell to travel to it, everyone must use a portal that the Lady of Pain has created. These portals can appear anywhere in Sigil, and they all require a key to unlock and use. A lot of well known, and slightly obscure, portals are monitored by the factions, and several keep logs of portals along with information on how to use them. Many adventurers might find themselves having to do jobs for these factions to get access to the logs, or just being able to offer enough gold or magical items for the privilege.
Permanent Portals
These portals are the most well known and are well documented. They are the most straightforward and never change. One end of the portal is always in a specific location in Sigil, and it always leads to its linked plane and never changes. These portals often lead to gate towns or the first layer of a plane. These portals are used for trade and bringing in travelers, resources, food and the like.
Buildings form up around specific portals, like taverns will form up around portals to Arborea for food, or forges will form up around portals to the Plane of Fire. Many like to say that the Lady of Pain has a sense of humor, and they will point to where important portals appear. If a portal is located in the sewers for a Material World, well it goes to show what the Lady of Pain thinks of that world.
In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil, 1995 TSR Inc
Temporary Portals
Temporary Portals last for a very short amount of time before they disappear. These portals may only have a set amount of times they can be used before they disappear or can only be used to go one way, and no one knows when they might appear or what key they might require. Some claim to be able to tell when a new portal might appear, many are found out to be liars while a very select few suddenly disappear. Some claim this is the Lady of Pain destroying them so they can’t use this knowledge, though many others will point towards the Factions who keep logbooks on portals and who are always looking to one-up their rivals.
Shifting Portals
These portals are different from temporary portals in one major way, they are reliable in that they are going to change. They all move in certain patterns, and it is hard work to keep track of their patterns and figure out when they change. Many will change their entrances on Sigil, spending three days in the back alley in the Hive and then spend 3 days in the sewers and then 3 days somewhere else before reforming back in the Hive, all the while its destination never changes.
On the other hand, a portal’s entrance in Sigil may never change from a doorway in the Clerk’s Ward, but its destination changes every night from Arborea to Gehenna to Hestavar to the Abyss and back to Arborea. This creates a lot of tensions for adventurers trying to accomplish a mission in a set time frame, and many have been overrun by demons when the portal they were using shifted.
Traversing the Plane
Traveling across Sigil can be pretty dangerous for an unaware visitor. Many streets have dead alleys off of them, and because everything is built upon each other, it requires a local with a solid understanding of Sigil to guide you around. One can’t simply walk down a street and expect to find signs pointing them in the right direction. Many visitors rely on Touts to guide them through the city, and many range in price and quality.
Because Sigil is the inside of a circle, you can fly through the center of Sigil to the other side of the ring. This gives messengers with wings a big bonus over ones forced to walk as they can avoid bad sections of Sigil easily and quickly get to their destinations without being bothered by thugs or those trying to steal their messages. Another popular, and expensive, use of messengers is to carry an object enchanted with a magic mouth spell and have the trigger be a specific creature so that no one else can hear it except for the intended recipient.
Light Boys
Sigil’s day and night is an ambient light that gets brighter and darker throughout the day. In 24 hours, Sigil will go from pitch black to bright light to pitch black. This is a problem for many as there are no moons or stars to provide ambient lighting during the dark times, so many will hire boys to carry light sources for them. Some of the best Light Boys can provide general information about the city and offer directions for any who are lost, then again they may just bring you down a back alley and rob you.
Defenses of Sigil
Sigil is incredibly well guarded, though it is one of the easiest places to get into. Because of all the portals, creatures can easily get into and out of Sigil. Though no one enters except who the Lady of Pain allows, and she only blocks deities and those she thinks will be causing too much trouble in Sigil, which could mean she’d allow any monsters chasing after a group of adventurers if she thinks the monster isn’t too dangerous.
The true defenses of Sigil is that no one can simply plane shift into or out of Sigil, and must rely on portals to take them where they want to go. Furthermore, deities are not allowed inside of Sigil, though their representatives are more than welcome to come in, and many have set up grandiose temples to their deity of choice.
Vecna’s Entrance
In the adventure Die Vecna Die! (2000) Vecna was able to plane shift into Sigil and it created a huge issue for the Lady of Pain. Because Vecna’s power was waxing when he entered Sigil, he wasn’t originally blocked from entering, but once he was inside his power turned him into a god. This irked the Lady of Pain who couldn’t outright take down Vecna due to the possible destruction of the multiverse. This problem was eventually put down by a group of mysterious adventurers who were able to defeat Vecna and force him out of Sigil without destroying the multiverse.
This event made the Lady of Pain rethink the security measures of Sigil and is a catalyst and reason given why there is such a different cosmology between 2nd edition and 3rd edition. For more information about this event and on Vecna, read our Deep Dive on the History of Vecna.
Locations
Sigil is separated into six distinct wards that represent the different viewpoints and lifestyles of this city.
The Lady’s Ward
Planar Handbook, 2004 WotC
This ward is where the powerful, wealthy and those who wish to be that live. The homes here are large and maybe one of the few places where you can see a garden growing in Sigil. While the Lady of Pain doesn’t live in this ward, the richest of Sigil and most of the temples do reside in the Lady’s Ward and is by far the safest ward… except if you get mixed up into the political intrigue and spies.
The Lower Ward
So named because it has the most portals to the Lower Planes located here. Forges and smithies throughout the ward have portals to the Plane of Fire and Elemental Chaos, and they produce a huge amount of the smog-filled air in Sigil. While this ward is always filled with stench clouds of soot, this is one of the most popular wards due to the number of artisans who live in this ward.
Market Ward
Everything that can be bought or sold can be found in the markets of Sigil, though its chaotic streets can make finding specific shops hard to find. This ward is where all the money of Sigil is eventually spent, from goods and services to spies and information. Prices are always in fluctuation in the Market Ward and wildly depends on what portals are active and which aren’t.
Guildhall Ward
The differences between the Market Ward and Guildhall Ward are difficult to spot, as they are slowly merging. The Market Ward is where most of the shops are located, and the Guildhall is slowly being taken over by middle-class homes and the once-grand guilds are slowly dying out in Sigil. Many who wish to find a community of similar races will create distinct neighborhoods, like elves from Arborea will stick together and not allow elves from the Feywild to live in their neighborhoods.
Clerk’s Ward
This is the location where bureaucracy takes place inside of Sigil, and where laws and order is maintained. The streets in this ward are constantly tidied, statues of important people are cleaned daily and order is always maintained. The streets are patrolled by the self-imposed guards of Sigil, and many illicit organizations and gangs in The Hive hoping to become legitimate will create offices in the Clerk’s Ward.
The Hive
This is the most dangerous of the wards to find yourself walking through at night. This ward, or rather lack of a ward, is what many of the locals think that Sigil is when you distill it down. Gangs, cut-purses and all other kinds can be found in this ward, and the buildings and streets are as chaotic and sprawling as the Clerk’s Ward is ordered. These slums are home to inns, entertainment, services of legal and illegal activities and so much more can be found throughout this ward.
Ooze Portals
The Hive is the only ward home to what is known as ooze portals. These portals are linked directly to the Plane of Ooze and should be avoided as much as possible. Those that fall in are sucked into the Plane of Ooze, and even those who are careful and walk around them might be grabbed by ooze mephits who can only stick their hands and arms through the portal and grab at passersby in an attempt to drag them into the Plane of Ooze.
Factions & People
The residents of Sigil are diverse and from all over the planes, and many important factions have come and gone throughout the history of Sigil. Here are only a select few of the vast numbers of people and factions you can find in the City of Doors.
Lady of Pain
Planescape Campaign Setting Set Box, 1994 TSR Inc.
The Lady of Pain is one of the most mysterious entities in the multiverse. The Lady of Pain isn’t a female nor a human, the Lady of Pain just exists. She has an everlasting and enduring connection to Sigil and is the power of it. She can change the shape and size of Sigil with just a thought and has no specific home in this plane.
She can sometimes be seen gliding down a street ensconced in glittering, keen blades with her Dabus servants. If anyone tries to talk, attacks or even gets in her way, a single look is enough to either destroy them completely or send them to the Mazes.
Some think she is a god or deity, and any who try to worship her quickly regret it as they are sent to a Maze. She talks to no one but relies on the Dabus to give out her messages when she deems it appropriate to do so. She gives no proclamations or edicts, she never offers jobs or acts as a patron. She is just simply there, always protecting Sigil.
The Mazes
The Mazes are endless and, while not impossible, are incredibly difficult to leave. The Lady of Pain creates these mazes as prisons for those who try to defy her or her control over Sigil. There is always an exit inside of a maze, and it may take someone a year to find it or thousands of years. While all Mazes are created by the Lady of Pain, they all exist out in the Border Ethereal far from the influence of Sigil, unless you can find the portal to lead you there.
Alluvius Ruskin
Alluvius takes on the persona of a sweet, old tiefling who runs a profitable shop in the Market Ward known as Tivvum’s Antiquities where she sells information, rare ingredients, and trades for powerful favors. She is a powerful wizard with plans to take over Sigil from the Lady of Pain, but first, she must absorb enough of the magic of Sigil to become strong enough.
Rule-of-Three
Rule-of-Three takes on the appearance of a githzerai sage, though many think he might actually be a demon prince in disguise. He follows a set philosophy that things come in three, and answers questions with three answers and expects payment to be made in sets of three, like three different coins or three gifts that are linked together in some way. Many suspect that Rule-of-Three is planning something big, but no one is sure what that could be as he appears to be nothing more than a wise, old gith.
Uncaged: Faces of Sigil, 1996 TSR Inc
Kylie the Tout
Known as the best tout of Sigil, this tiefling can get you anywhere in the city and is friends with almost anyone important enough to be friends with. While her services don’t come cheap, many inhabitants who have lived in Sigil all their life still rely on her knowledge and use her to guide them through the streets of Sigil as well as the politics.
Dabus
The Dabus are the servants of Sigil and the Lady of Pain. The will of the Lady of Pain drives them to their purpose, and they can be found repairing and cleaning the city. They are silent and mysterious with many claiming that the Dabus reside within the sewers of the city. If they are attacked, the Lady of Pain’s retribution comes quickly and swiftly. Many claim that the Dabus are Sigil made into flesh, though no one knows if that is true or if they are merely an extension of the Lady of Pain’s will.
The Dustmen
The Dustmen are the ones who run the Mortuary of Sigil and collect the dead across the city. As Sigil has no room for graveyards or crypts, the bodies are either incinerated or sent to other planes that have graveyards or are places of death themselves. The Dustmen are often treated with the suspicion that they aren’t what they appear to be, and some suspect that they might even be the revived corpses of the dead of Sigil tasked with collecting more dead bodies. Many fear that they are stock piling dead, reincarnated bodies but no one is quite sure as to why.
Sons of Mercy
What passes as the law and police force of Sigil are the Sons of Mercy. They patrol the city streets, make arrests and try to keep the peace, though many don’t respect them or what little authority they carry. They oversee Sigil's only prison and enforce laws through sheer power and numbers. If you can fight off a patrol that might think you are breaking a law, they will often flee and there is little to no retribution from the citizens of Sigil against you. The Sons of Mercy have replaced the faction of Harmonium who were disbanded when the Lady of Pain decided to rework Sigil.
Knowing the Cant
Here is the dark on all the words that make a berk go barmy. The planes have their own way of rattling their bone-box, and to be a proper cutter ya need to learn the chant. Being able to tell a cross-trading knight to pike it, and knowing what that means is important, or a berk might find themselves in the dead-book.
I debated greatly with myself if I should write this entire post in the same tone as the original planescape setting, but I wanted to make sure this was accessible by all. Hopefully, a blood can forgive me.
Glossary
Barmy Someone who is touched in the head, probably by the impossibleness of the planes
Berk A fool, someone who gets themselves into trouble and should know better
Blood An expert at a specific field of study, also a sign of great respect
Bone-box Refers to the mouth due to the teeth of a creature moving about when they talk
Bub Cheap wine or alcohol; typically tastes horrible
Chant Local gossip, news or any other important information
Cross-trade A practitioner of thievery
Cutter General term to describe someone, though more respectful than calling them a berk
Dark Information that is a secret
Dead-book General term for saying someone will die or is dead
Jink General term for money, typically coins
Kip Anywhere you can sleep, though well-established taverns hate the term as it implies a low status
Leatherhead An idiot or someone thick-headed
Prime Someone who is clueless and from the prime material planes
Pike it An all-purpose phrase as in, "Shut your bone-box and pike it!" or just "Pike it!"
Resources & Further Reading
Planescape Campaign Setting boxed set (2nd edition)
For more information on the philosophies of Sigil.
In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil (2nd edition)
For more information on the locations and factions of Sigil.
Uncaged: Faces of Sigil (2nd edition)
For more information on the people of Sigil.
Planar Handbook (3rd edition)
For more information on Sigil and the wards.
Manual of the Planes (4th edition)
For more information on Sigil in World Axis.
Dungeon Master's Guide 2 (4th edition)
For more information on the locations and people of Sigil.
Dungeon Master's Guide (5th edition)
For a brief synopsis of Sigil in 5th edition.
Like what we are doing here?
Support us on Patreon!
You’ll get early access to deep dives, our Homebrew Hoard, our extras podcast and more!
Follow us on Twitter to keep up to date on everything we talk about!
