social plots for sigil

[deathbymanga]

so, here's my players (Level 11):
a Lawful Evil Paladin of Tyranny who seeks to conquer the throne of Hell (Is now laying the groundwork to change said desire to want to conquer Hades instead as it's a less intimidating target and the throne is currently empty)
a Neutral Evil Wizard who has single-handedly ruined every combat encounter I'm thrown at him so i've mostly stopped worrying about combat with him.
a Neutral Evil (almost True Neutral) Changeling Assassin who absolutely fails at everything (he roles so many 1s it's just funny)
and a True Neutral Marshal who just goes with the flow and helps out his Brother of a Paladin whenever he needs it.

Players have currently gotten a hold of a Gate Key and are using it to head to Sigil to register their personal Pocket Dimension as a Plane of the Afterlife so that their now-dead souls won't be sentenced to eternal torture in the Lower Planes.

I'm not THAT familiar with Sigil or Planescape since I've never really touched AD&D so my experience with it is low, but I'm looking for some kind of small plot hook to throw at the players while they are visiting Sigil. Nothing too crazy, just something nice enough that I can entertain them for a single session or two.

[Kelb_Panthera]

While the residents, architecture, city layout, and what-not may be fantastic, sigil is ultimately a cross-roads city. If you really want to play up the otherness of the place, make heavy use of outsiders from all around the wheel but otherwise it's not much different than planning any other city-based adventure.

The biggest difference is that the players in the city will have -far- greater magical and monetary resources, generally speaking, than their berk counterparts. Oh, and play up the planar cant; the local dialect that, as best I can tell, is thickly cockney english.

[deathbymanga]

While the residents, architecture, city layout, and what-not may be fantastic, sigil is ultimately a cross-roads city. If you really want to play up the otherness of the place, make heavy use of outsiders from all around the wheel but otherwise it's not much different than planning any other city-based adventure.

The biggest difference is that the players in the city will have -far- greater magical and monetary resources, generally speaking, than their berk counterparts. Oh, and play up the planar cant; the local dialect that, as best I can tell, is thickly cockney english.

got any good urban adventure ideas in mind?

also, Planar Cant always was a bit confusing. is there a dialect book i can read?

[Kelb_Panthera]

got any good urban adventure ideas in mind?

also, Planar Cant always was a bit confusing. is there a dialect book i can read?

Urban adventures are all about the power groups in the city; thieves guilds, merchant groups, monstrous insurgents working in the underground (literal or otherwise), rival factions in the local political structure (not so much in sigil, what with the lady and all), churches, and so on. The planar handbook gives you a basic outline of several of the more important groups in sigil.

Pick one or two factions that might come into conflict, then throw the PC's into the middle of it. Alternately, pick a faction that has interests outside the city and is willing to hire mercenaries to act on those interests. One idea that comes quickly to my mind is perhaps a trade organization is growing more and more concerned with increasing mercane presence in the city; the trade city of Union (ELH) trying to extend its influence into the city. The PC's can be introduced to this conflict, pick a side, and roll with it. Money is power, right?

Oh, and you can probably google a planar cant phrase book.

[Gildedragon]

Idea: Starcrossed lovers

The Set Up: Scion of a high ranking family (let's call them Ay) is... off. They are acting erratically, underrested, weak, falling asleep during important functions, etc. Parents suspect that something is amiss (curse? poisoning? something else?) but do not trust most people accessible to them: they might be bought off by someone with their own agenda. They are looking for free agents: that is where the adventurers come in. They are asked to see into the matter and resolve it. Something important involving Ay is coming up (political marriage, religio-magical rite for the family, big bargain, initiation ceremony... etc)

Complication: Ay is in love with someone their family would not approve of (let's call them B'x). B'x is not only lower class, but also a wrong match in terms of race/faction/religion/alignment/gender/etc or anything you can think of. It is a calamity. They have been careful to keep it on the down low from anyone, as it is potentially disastrous politically for Ay's family, and they would scarce spare a thought of having B'x killed. Their late night and secretive meetings explain Ay's exhaustion.
However, in the course of their investigation the PCs discover any of a couple things:
a) there is/are a plot(s) against Ay's family. Possibly by political or social enemies: perhaps even whatever group B'x comes from. Maybe B'x is part of that plot, stringing Ay on to then out them and discredit the family;
b) there is a plot to kill B'x; possibly by someone affiliated with Ay's family, seeking their favor, OR totally unrelated to the starcrossed romance;
c) Ay or B'x are willing to pay the PCs to help them with their romance (B'x may contact the PC's to ask them their help with some matter. B'x may be able to forge them a magical item they desire, or has a contact in the key registration area that might help them expedite the process (Ay might have this contact instead));
d) any one of the plots may be an attempt at destabilizing the political landscape of sigil. B'x might not be very rich or high class, but he is very social and possibly well known among the lower classes: his death might trigger a riot, especially if their romance with Ay is known, and especially especially if it is believed the upper classes ordered the hit.
e) in case of B'x's death Ay is liable to take their own life.
f) in case of Ay's death, Ay's family is liable to take up arms against B'x's faction/race/clan/class/whatever... and definitely against the PCs
g) There may be other suitors for both Ay and B'x that are less bad choices politically, if not as romantic.


Outcome: how things get resolves is pretty open ended, depending on how they interpret Ay's parents' instruction to find out and take care of it, and what actions they take to protect or hinder B'x. They might break Ay and B'x off (finding B'x a better match, setting them (seduction side quest anyone?) up so it seems they cheated, convince them they aren't meant to be), diplomize the parent to accepting B'x; help the couple flee through the planes; they are willing to allow Ay and B'x to live, but B'x is killed regardless; they pin the trouble on the plot against Ay, or one of their high status suitors... etc. But they may gain the ear of powerful individuals/organizations in the Sigil political or geographical landscape, or make their enemy for taking their scion away from them, killing a beloved public figure, making their scion despondent, or not preventing (or even inciting) a riot

[NichG]

Upon filing the paperwork, a Baatorian Guvner (Fraternity of Order) gets wind of the fact that these guys have a personal demiplane and are about to make a large bid on the throne of Hell. He decides that he wants to set himself up as their ally but also doesn't want to commit too much or be too obvious about it in case they fail. So in a suitably tangled scheme, he leaks the information to a Tanar'ri he thinks will be dumb enough to go directly up against the PCs in order to seize the demiplane and as a result get itself killed, and also has some of his allies in Sigil keep a watch out for the PCs and make sure that it plays out that way (jumping in to help combat the Tanar'ri, and to make sure it isn't spared or interrogated). The idea is that the Guvner can support the PCs indirectly through his underlings, but if the bid for Hell goes too badly, he can throw the underlings under the bus as a scapegoat and stay clean himself.

However, the Tanar'ri turns out to not be as predictable as the Guvner thought it was, and rather than attacking the PCs, it tells them that something is up - an action which gets the minions in a state of confusion since they were told to make sure the Tanar'ri doesn't talk, but if they jump in now they'll ruin the chances for an alliance (and they would probably not win, in any event). The Tanar'ri lies a bit about the details, to suggest that unless the PCs intervene with the processing of their own paperwork, there's going to be some annoying clauses added on such that if the PCs ever die, control of the souls directed to that plane will pass to someone else. Since the Tanar'ri doesn't know specifically who is at the center of the plot, he can't direct the PCs more specifically, but he might get them to investigate to protect their own interests at which point presumably they'll have a throwdown with the Baatorian who is behind it all and take him out. The Tanar'ri mostly wants to create a mess in the Fraternity of Order, so he won't put himself in the way of the PCs' interests.

Meanwhile, if the PCs are pretty public about what they're doing or go for help associated with making sure their paperwork isn't tampered with, the Godsmen (Believers of the Source) get interested in the project in a positive way, and want to send along some experts to advise in constructing an afterlife aimed at improving the soul and then reincarnating it, rather than having it absorbed into the substance of the plane as would normally happen. The Doomguard aren't thrilled at about, the Dustmen just want the souls obtain final release and true death but aren't going to take military action to force the issue, and a bunch of upper planar types in general worry and fret that this will change the balance of ethics and morality in the planes. So a nice set-piece as the PCs are leaving would be to have some kind of public debate on the topic, as if 'adventurers trying to register their demiplanes as an afterlife' is just the latest worrying social trend like smoking or teen pregnancy - but with the specific adventurers in question having been largely forgotten about given an excuse for the factions to throw down and philosophize. The PCs could get involved and try to speak their case, or they could just leave and let the locals blabber - up to them.

[BWR]

l to register their personal Pocket Dimension as a Plane of the Afterlife so that their now-dead souls won't be sentenced to eternal torture in the Lower Planes.


How would you do this? Who do you register it to? How do the metaphysics work? Why wouldn't everyone do this?

[Gildedragon]

How would you do this? Who do you register it to? How do the metaphysics work? Why wouldn't everyone do this?

Paperwork might take CENTURIES (literally) and that is considering you greased the right palms. And that is just to get a hearing, where you have to convince certain individuals of the theological viability of your plane (through a perform (religious apologetics) dc 50 check). And then you might be getting somewhere...

Being able to advance that sorta process is an adventure in and of itself...
getting rid of the stray souls that end up there once you've done it is something else entirely

[Kelb_Panthera]

getting rid of the stray souls that end up there once you've done it is something else entirely

That.... will almost certainly result in the party becoming the very epitomy of evil. You can't evict them because of petitioners' planar commitment to the plane of their final rest so you'll have to -destroy- those souls. Destroying souls is..... bad.

[Gildedragon]

That.... will almost certainly result in the party becoming the very epitomy of evil. You can't evict them because of petitioners' planar commitment to the plane of their final rest so you'll have to -destroy- those souls. Destroying souls is..... bad.

Or file for evicting them to another plane. Or get them reborn/revived, or try and transmogrify them into a new outsider species, or turn them into coins for the lower planes, or use them to power magical items... lots of uses
also they are an evil party, so yanno, comes with the territory

[deathbymanga]

now this is what i'm talking about. hmm, ok, so ideas forming from all this. But first, responses


Idea: Starcrossed lovers

The Set Up: Scion of a high ranking family (let's call them Ay) is... off. They are acting erratically, underrested, weak, falling asleep during important functions, etc. Parents suspect that something is amiss (curse? poisoning? something else?) but do not trust most people accessible to them: they might be bought off by someone with their own agenda. They are looking for free agents: that is where the adventurers come in. They are asked to see into the matter and resolve it. Something important involving Ay is coming up (political marriage, religio-magical rite for the family, big bargain, initiation ceremony... etc)

Complication: Ay is in love with someone their family would not approve of (let's call them B'x). B'x is not only lower class, but also a wrong match in terms of race/faction/religion/alignment/gender/etc or anything you can think of. It is a calamity. They have been careful to keep it on the down low from anyone, as it is potentially disastrous politically for Ay's family, and they would scarce spare a thought of having B'x killed. Their late night and secretive meetings explain Ay's exhaustion.
However, in the course of their investigation the PCs discover any of a couple things:
a) there is/are a plot(s) against Ay's family. Possibly by political or social enemies: perhaps even whatever group B'x comes from. Maybe B'x is part of that plot, stringing Ay on to then out them and discredit the family;
b) there is a plot to kill B'x; possibly by someone affiliated with Ay's family, seeking their favor, OR totally unrelated to the starcrossed romance;
c) Ay or B'x are willing to pay the PCs to help them with their romance (B'x may contact the PC's to ask them their help with some matter. B'x may be able to forge them a magical item they desire, or has a contact in the key registration area that might help them expedite the process (Ay might have this contact instead));
d) any one of the plots may be an attempt at destabilizing the political landscape of sigil. B'x might not be very rich or high class, but he is very social and possibly well known among the lower classes: his death might trigger a riot, especially if their romance with Ay is known, and especially especially if it is believed the upper classes ordered the hit.
e) in case of B'x's death Ay is liable to take their own life.
f) in case of Ay's death, Ay's family is liable to take up arms against B'x's faction/race/clan/class/whatever... and definitely against the PCs
g) There may be other suitors for both Ay and B'x that are less bad choices politically, if not as romantic.


Outcome: how things get resolves is pretty open ended, depending on how they interpret Ay's parents' instruction to find out and take care of it, and what actions they take to protect or hinder B'x. They might break Ay and B'x off (finding B'x a better match, setting them (seduction side quest anyone?) up so it seems they cheated, convince them they aren't meant to be), diplomize the parent to accepting B'x; help the couple flee through the planes; they are willing to allow Ay and B'x to live, but B'x is killed regardless; they pin the trouble on the plot against Ay, or one of their high status suitors... etc. But they may gain the ear of powerful individuals/organizations in the Sigil political or geographical landscape, or make their enemy for taking their scion away from them, killing a beloved public figure, making their scion despondent, or not preventing (or even inciting) a riot

This is a nice idea and definitely gave me some ideas on what I can do. 1 idea here was that what if B'x was already dead and became a Sepulchral Thief? and Ay was suffering depression because of her lost love. Then you have him start gunning for revenge against her family for killing him. By the end of the adventure I can even imagine my players grabbing his pseudo-philactery and taking him to their pocket plane as well as a prisoner (it sounds like something they'd do. turn him into their elite spy or something).


Upon filing the paperwork, a Baatorian Guvner (Fraternity of Order) gets wind of the fact that these guys have a personal demiplane and are about to make a large bid on the throne of Hell. He decides that he wants to set himself up as their ally but also doesn't want to commit too much or be too obvious about it in case they fail. So in a suitably tangled scheme, he leaks the information to a Tanar'ri he thinks will be dumb enough to go directly up against the PCs in order to seize the demiplane and as a result get itself killed, and also has some of his allies in Sigil keep a watch out for the PCs and make sure that it plays out that way (jumping in to help combat the Tanar'ri, and to make sure it isn't spared or interrogated). The idea is that the Guvner can support the PCs indirectly through his underlings, but if the bid for Hell goes too badly, he can throw the underlings under the bus as a scapegoat and stay clean himself.

However, the Tanar'ri turns out to not be as predictable as the Guvner thought it was, and rather than attacking the PCs, it tells them that something is up - an action which gets the minions in a state of confusion since they were told to make sure the Tanar'ri doesn't talk, but if they jump in now they'll ruin the chances for an alliance (and they would probably not win, in any event). The Tanar'ri lies a bit about the details, to suggest that unless the PCs intervene with the processing of their own paperwork, there's going to be some annoying clauses added on such that if the PCs ever die, control of the souls directed to that plane will pass to someone else. Since the Tanar'ri doesn't know specifically who is at the center of the plot, he can't direct the PCs more specifically, but he might get them to investigate to protect their own interests at which point presumably they'll have a throwdown with the Baatorian who is behind it all and take him out. The Tanar'ri mostly wants to create a mess in the Fraternity of Order, so he won't put himself in the way of the PCs' interests.

Meanwhile, if the PCs are pretty public about what they're doing or go for help associated with making sure their paperwork isn't tampered with, the Godsmen (Believers of the Source) get interested in the project in a positive way, and want to send along some experts to advise in constructing an afterlife aimed at improving the soul and then reincarnating it, rather than having it absorbed into the substance of the plane as would normally happen. The Doomguard aren't thrilled at about, the Dustmen just want the souls obtain final release and true death but aren't going to take military action to force the issue, and a bunch of upper planar types in general worry and fret that this will change the balance of ethics and morality in the planes. So a nice set-piece as the PCs are leaving would be to have some kind of public debate on the topic, as if 'adventurers trying to register their demiplanes as an afterlife' is just the latest worrying social trend like smoking or teen pregnancy - but with the specific adventurers in question having been largely forgotten about given an excuse for the factions to throw down and philosophize. The PCs could get involved and try to speak their case, or they could just leave and let the locals blabber - up to them.

this plot needs some more work. why would the baarorian want to ally himself with the players if he's just going to stab them in the back anyway? how does the tanar'ran know that someone's planning on taking their plan from them? i really like how this idea ends up, it's just the development that needs work


Paperwork might take CENTURIES (literally) and that is considering you greased the right palms. And that is just to get a hearing, where you have to convince certain individuals of the theological viability of your plane (through a perform (religious apologetics) dc 50 check). And then you might be getting somewhere...

Being able to advance that sorta process is an adventure in and of itself...
getting rid of the stray souls that end up there once you've done it is something else entirely

hmm, this does make me feel that this might end up as a 4-part campaign session alone just to get their plane registered and everything.

[Gildedragon]

Start it with B'x alive(ish)and seeing Ay. That way discovering B'x is dead is a plot twist. And complicates matters.
Heck the PCs killing B'x might trigger their undeath, which has them hired for a new sidequest