Planescape books and material

[Madeiner]

Hi there.

In 2 months time, my current campaign will merge into Planescape as the characters are ready to travel the Planes.

I absolutely love the setting and would like to portray it the best that i can.
However, i have never played nor DM'ed in Planescape, and i am in need of guidance as my knowledge is quite limited.

I'd like if anyone could point me to a list of books (or other readings) on Planescape.
I'd like to read all the material that is available (i assume it's not much -- maybe 10 book total).

I'd especially like something to help me roleplay Sigil & The races well.

I have found out that, for example, Planescape:torment REALLY teached me what (parts of) Sigil are like and how to roleplay Githzerai. The books weren't able to convey the same feeling. I'm not finished with the game yet, but i hear there is a Modron party member and i hope to be able to understand how a modron is properly roleplayed.

I also read the book "Fire and Dust" and found it a great inspiration, much more so than the manuals.

Also, are there any books on the planes? The manual of the planes (which i have read years ago), had like a page or two per plane if i remember well. Definately not much.

Seeing as i have little time (2 months, but not more than 2 hours each day, maybe less) i'd like to know where i should start or which order to take the books. My priorities are understanding Sigil and the Races.

[dsmiles]

I have found out that, for example, Planescape:torment REALLY teached me what (parts of) Sigil are like and how to roleplay Githzerai. The books weren't able to convey the same feeling. I'm not finished with the game yet, but i hear there is a Modron party member and i hope to be able to understand how a modron is properly roleplayed.

To be fair to the poor little modron, I believe he's a renegade modron, so his personality wouldn't be like a normal modron's.

Here's the Planescape wiki page. It should have a pretty good listing of the materials.

[Yora]

Actually, there's a huge pile of stuff about Planescape. I dare say more than exist for Eberron. Problem is, that it's all out of print for over 10 years and I remember several years ago they fetched really high prices second hand.

Probably a matter of time until Eldan shows up and gives an extensive lecture on the subject.

[Ason]

Which edition are you running, by chance? That may impact what books I would recommend, as the setting has evolved over time. Off-hand, I can say that in the third and fourth editions (the only ones with which I have any experience), any books on the planes in general would certainly be helpful. I think Planewalker may also be of some use to you, but I'm not sure what is semi-official on it and what is fan-made, as the setting has been out of official circulation for awhile. There is a whole forum on the Wizards of the Coast website dedicated to the setting as well, which may provide some guidance.

More unrelatedly, the Spelljammer setting may also have some material you could incorporate into your campaign without impacting the Planescape style too much. I can't really speak much to this, however, as I have not yet played a Spelljammer game myself.

[Yora]

Almost all planescape material is 2nd Ed., but all boy sets I've seen seem to be very rules light. You probably would have to reasign classes and levels for some NPCs, but that about is it.

[Eldan]

Actually, there's a huge pile of stuff about Planescape. I dare say more than exist for Eberron. Problem is, that it's all out of print for over 10 years and I remember several years ago they fetched really high prices second hand.

Probably a matter of time until Eldan shows up and gives an extensive lecture on the subject.

*poof*

"Yesh, Mashter?"

Anyway. You have a few options:

a) AD&D 2nd Edition books. This is the good stuff. Gorgeous artwork, fantastic fluff. Ignore that they are for an old edition, there's few rules in them anyway, and half of those can be taken over for third edition. Monster entries are two pages long, and only half a page of that is rules. There are no prestige classes or feats either, so it's mostly just description.
However, it is also the expensive stuff. Very expensive. I've got a book or two off Ebay, and even for the cheaper ones, you may pay sixty, seventy dollars, if anyone is ever willing to sell theirs. The huge boxed sets, with the door-sized poster maps and the two or three books in them? 100-200$ and upwards, sadly. Legal PDFs existed at one point online and were reasonably cheap, but I think they have been pulled down.

b) Third edition. Really, there's not much, and what is there is a pale reflection of a shadow seen through a foggy window.
Manual of the Planes, Planar Handbook, the Fiendish Codices, BoED, BoVD and a few others give the, hmm, geographical aspects of the setting, but there's no life to it, in comparison. No one would have thought of printing recruitment posters in Tyrants of the Nine Hells, or filling BoED with interviews. There are certainly no Sigil Tavern Guidebooks around.

c) Online. Probably your best bet. www.planewalker.com is the official-ish fansite that has permission from WotC to publish Planescape fan-material. The site is, however, pretty horribly organized. Still, their Campaign Setting gives you an overview for third edition, and their articles, if you can find those you seek, are often very interesting. www.mimir.net is also rather useful, especially the ever-growing cant dictionary.

[Madeiner]

Thanks for the replies.

I've only read the Manual of the planes and the like, and i too found them without life.
I'm playing pathfinder, but edition is not that important. I want fluff specifically. I'm not interested in rules or NPC stats.

I can get around the book price. Plus, if there were legal PDFs, i'm sure i can find them even if they got taken down. Is there a list of printed material somewhere?

[Eldan]

Wikipedia's list seems pretty complete.

[Gadora]

If you're willing to consider modules, chapter two of Expedition to the Demonweb Pits deals with Sigil. Being sadly unfamiliar with the setting, I can't say how good the information is, and it is only a single chapter (plus stats for one of its denizens- the dabus- at the end of the book), but it's there, and the book should be easier to find than second edition books.

Again, I don't know how useful this book is in this situation, I simply mention that it is relevant.

[stainboy]

Aside from the boxed set and Torment, I recommend Uncaged: Faces of Sigil. It's a fun read.

[Laura Eternata]

Check out the Planescape Campaign Setting for AD&D. It's $45 used on Amazon as of right now, which is pricey, but worth it in my opinion. Its contents are covered thoroughly here (plus there's a 4-piece DM screen. Huzzah!)

It's probably much cheaper on eBay, come to think of it.

[Eldan]

Wait. The entire Campaign setting box? With the maps? On Amazon? That thing that had the amazingly small print run and goes away for 200$+ on Ebay?

[Laura Eternata]

The same. I didn't realize it was so absurdly expensive on eBay.

[Eldan]

Ah, well. Same page:

"1 new from $239.99"

Used ones are 44.88.

[Laura Eternata]

Yeah. That's what I'd said. Besides, a 'Like New' version is available for only $7 more.