How to Properly Run Sigil, City of Doors

[Thaumic]

In a campaign I'm running, the players are soon to go on a 3-day "vacation" to the city of Sigil. I like to think I understand most of the aspects of the city, and have a list of 40+ shops or organizations prepared for the players to encounter. What I'm still having trouble with though, is interpreting how the overarching cosmic conflicts of the D&D multiverse would affect city life. If the Angels and Demons (or any other such enemies) aren't trying to obliterate each other, how to they interact? And what influence does the Lady of Pain have?

If anyone has ever run Sigil before, or has read a rulebook from a previous edition that I haven't, I could use some advice!

[Smitty Wesson]

The Lady of Pain is a way to deus ex machina away anyone who breaks the rules of the city (most of which are some variation of "don't break it"). She has minimal interaction with the day to day of the city.

The conflicts show up in who hates whom, what projects or schemes the power players are up to. Maybe there are clandestine communications among different groups, or meetings and trade deals in Sigil or in agreed upon planar locations accessible through Sigil. Nobody can wage wide scale war in Sigil, but personal fights are doable and people in Sigil can be influencing the battles that happen elsewhere.

Basically, you get to throw people who hate one another into a box where they can't kill each other.

[M Placeholder]

The Lady of Pain is why Sigil exists, and why it is a neutral haven. She is the one that controls all of the portals in and out, and she is the one that keeps divine entities out.

Basically, unless they've challenged the authority of The Lady or actually started worshipping her, the players should have no interaction with her.

Generally, the different factions and planar creatures have to behave themselves, as the Lady can either maze them or end them with just a though if they cause too much trouble. And because The Cage is the center of the multiverse and a place where ideas can be spread, they will behave themselves, because on the planes, belief = power, and one of the best places to spread that belief is from Sigil.

The conflicts between the factions are usually covert and have a lot to do with Hearts and Minds, due to the nature of the planes. And they don't want to risk the ire of The Lady and get sliced and diced. So they make sure they don't push too far.

And its worth remembering that you can get cases in which a demon can work with a being of pure goodness, if their aims juxtapose or if one side is conning the other.

[Corsair14]

You might find this useful. I cant access it from work but here is the page the link is on. http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=18776

[willdaBEAST]

If you haven't played Planescape: Torment I would give it a whirl. It'll give you some great ideas for the various neighborhoods and their feel. I got it for my iPad and it works really well on that platform.

[ATHATH]

If you haven't played Planescape: Torment I would give it a whirl. It'll give you some great ideas for the various neighborhoods and their feel. I got it for my iPad and it works really well on that platform.
This; it's a great game, and it (like the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series) recently received an Enhanced Edition that made it work with modern computers and devices (including, IIRC, mobile ones).

[Man_Over_Game]

In a campaign I'm running, the players are soon to go on a 3-day "vacation" to the city of Sigil. I like to think I understand most of the aspects of the city, and have a list of 40+ shops or organizations prepared for the players to encounter. What I'm still having trouble with though, is interpreting how the overarching cosmic conflicts of the D&D multiverse would affect city life. If the Angels and Demons (or any other such enemies) aren't trying to obliterate each other, how to they interact? And what influence does the Lady of Pain have?

If anyone has ever run Sigil before, or has read a rulebook from a previous edition that I haven't, I could use some advice!

It's important to note that Sigil has conflicts, lots of them, but they just can't be big enough deals to draw attention of the Lady of Pain. Demons will actively try to make deals, Angels will try to find champions. Overall, though, Sigil is not the place for higher beings. Not since the Lady of Pain upped the ante and started murdering gods out of jealousy. She's stupidly powerful; only the most ignorant would ever try to defy her, and most don't acknowledge her existence in the fear of considering it "worship".


If you believe in something in Sigil, it becomes real. If enough people believe something is a god, it will eventually become one. One of the few laws of Sigil is that gods are NOT allowed in Sigil (partially because they have the means of disproportionally changing it, but mostly because the LoP is a drama queen), so if you worship the Lady of Pain, she will also become a god and become exiled out of her own land; to prevent this paradox she'll end you before it's even possibility. This is usually via "mazing", with you being teleported into a maze that locks you in stasis with a bunch of murderous ghosts of those who also tried the same thing you did.

So the Lady of Pain is just a bad myth to most. Plus, her influence and her laws end at the doors to Sigil, and there's a lot of doors in...well, the City of Doors. Likely (hopefully), the players won't even know she exists.

Sigil will remain mostly unchanged, but its populace may change based off of outside events. Refugees are common, as are active travelers from outside lands. If there is a cosmic conflict somewhere else, then expect the survivors of that conflict to make it to Sigil, either to get something or to run from something. Great order of paladins on the rise? Maybe there's a few recruiters in the local bars that are causing a few fights, or maybe people running from the order are settling in a place where the gods of the order can't dominate with the light.

I believe the overall goal of Sigil by the developers was to create a world that couldn't be overly changed by the players, while giving infinite avenues of adventure and growth. Gods don't control Sigil, people do, and the players can influence, or become, those people.

[Baldin]

On the 3.5 forums you have several threads made by Afroakuma. He is very knowledgable on Sigil and the Lady of Pain. If you google/seach for him you will find loads of information on Sigil and the Lady of Pain.

[NinaWu]

This is great as I'm also trying to tie Sigil into an epic campaign. Thanks all :)

[ATHATH]

On the 3.5 forums you have several threads made by Afroakuma. He is very knowledgable on Sigil and the Lady of Pain. If you google/seach for him you will find loads of information on Sigil and the Lady of Pain.
I second looking up the works and threads of Afroakuma- he can answer/research any planes-related question that you can throw at him.

[M Placeholder]

This is usually via "mazing", with you being teleported into a maze that locks you in stasis with a bunch of murderous ghosts of those who also tried the same thing you did.

The Lady doesn't maze those that worship her. Her shadow falls on them and they get flayed until all that's left is a pile of meat.

The mazes are for those that threaten the security of Sigil or challenge her power. When a person is mazed, the streets seem to wrap around themselves as she creates the maze - a demiplane. There is always a way out and always a source of food and water, and the creature in the maze doesn't age, so unless something kills them in the maze, they will be fine.

It's finding the exit that is the hard part, and usually the person in the Maze will go crazy before that happens. There is also the chance that when they do find the exit, the portal will place them many years before or after they were mazed.