2023 Planescape Sigil and The Outlands!
2023 Planescape Sigil and The Outlands!
The multiverse is everything known and everything beyond. Encompassing worlds planes, life, and death, the multiverse's infinite infinities brim
with wonder, terror, secrets, and—above all—possibility. Every D&D adventure takes place in the multiverse. Beyond the lone worlds of the Material
Plane are countless other realities and the paths and portals that connect every edge of eternity. Those who seek the wonders of the planes take
their first step into the endless possibilities of a Planescape campaign.
What Is Planescape?
Planescape is the D&D multiverse and so much more. Beyond the Great Wheel cosmology (detailed in the Dungeon Master's Guide), Planescape
focuses on reality-bending adventures and aesthetics unbound from those of mortal worlds. Just as other D&D settings highlight certain concepts
but can host any genre of adventure or style of play, the same is true of Planescape. Adventures in Planescape campaigns often focus on the
following themes:
Backstage of Reality. Planescape adventures provide glimpses of the daily lives of unfathomable beings—like gods, angels, and demons—and how
they act (and interact) when mortals aren't their primary concern. The mysteries of life and the afterlife are widely known to these creatures.
Everywhere at Once. Planescape adventures span worlds, planes, and possibilities. Travel between incredible realms is common, especially via
portal-rich locales like Sigil and the Outlands (detailed in this book). Adventurers are likely to see multiple impossible sights every day.
Multiversal Scale. In Planescape adventures, dangers might threaten countless worlds, or the fate of the multiverse might hang in the balance. By
the same token, wonders are commonplace, and true marvels are often wild in the extreme.
No Single Truth. The multiverse makes room for everything, and beliefs manifest as fantastic creatures. Planescape adventures often pit
philosophies against one another and highlight subjective views. Situations might encourage characters to reexamine their beliefs in the face of
plane-spanning philosophies, conflicts, and revelations.
Power and Possibility. The planes are home to beings of phenomenal power, yet the smallest things make a difference. Although adventurers
might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of the multiverse, their choices hold the power to change reality.
Stage of Contradictions. In Planescape adventures, Celestials might be evil, Fiends might be apathetic, and yetis might sell snow cones. What you
do defines you, not what others assume about you.
Everything D&D. Anything from any D&D setting and anything you can imagine might appear in Planescape adventures. Characters might
encounter D&D's greatest characters and monsters in situations where they're not pitted against one another.
You'll see these concepts highlighted throughout this book and its companions. Use these themes as guides and encouragement as you explore
Sigil and the Outlands, and as you develop your own wonderfully wild Planescape adventures.
Mimirs: Guides to the Planes
Mimirs—magical, skull-shaped, fact-collecting devices—will accompany you through this product. These magic items are detailed in
chapter 1 of this book, and they offer details about remarkable realms and candid snippets from residents of the planes. The various
mimir images that appear in these books denote recorded quotes that include widely agreed-upon facts and the personal—though
perhaps inaccurate—opinions of the attributed planar travelers. Use these insights to inform your understanding of the planes or as
quotes to share via mimirs in your game.
Chapter 2 introduces the mind-boggling city of Sigil, the enigmatic Lady of Pain, and various other city inhabitants.
Chapter 3 presents the Outlands, a neutral plane at the center of the Great Wheel, along with details on the gate-towns—communities at the
thresholds to the Outer Planes—and other incredible realms.
Angels, devils, and all manner of planar creatures relax in the Smoldering Corpse Bar in Sigil
✏ Mike Pape
Three Truths
Infinite possibility doesn't mean infinite complexity. The residents of Sigil and planar travelers know the multiverse follows three basic principles.
Reality's vast complexity and the limits of individual perspective might obscure these principles, but those with the time and patience to learn from
the multiverse's cycles eventually realize these truths.
Center of the Multiverse
What's at the center of the multiverse? Nothing—and everything.
The multiverse is an infinite expanse, and nothing can literally be at the center of infinity. Nevertheless, countless worlds, faiths, and narcissists
consider themselves the center of everything. They're correct, in a sense: wherever you stand is the most important place in existence—at least,
for you.
Unity of Rings
Systems, cycles, orbits, planes, lives, even the city of Sigil itself—the multiverse is composed of infinite rings. Whether these are physical or
philosophical rings, the elements of the multiverse have no beginning or end, and if you follow any for long enough, you'll return to where you
started.
Rule of Threes
When things happen, they happen in threes. You might not always be able to perceive or understand how events are related, but somewhere,
sometime, or somehow, every action has two partners. Often this isn't worth worrying about. Other times, nothing matters more.
“"Things happen in threes. Simple enough? It's not logical, but it's almost always true."”
— Ronassic of Sigil, planar scholar
Backgrounds
This section presents two backgrounds for 1st-level characters with strong ties to Sigil, the Outlands, or both: the Gate Warden and the Planar
Philosopher.
If you select either of these backgrounds, you gain the feat specified in its description. If the background you choose doesn't provide a feat, you
gain a bonus feat of your choice from the options below (both described in the Player's Handbook):
Skilled
Tough
Feats
This section introduces feats related to the forces of the planes. These feats are available to you whenever you normally choose a feat, and they
follow the feat rules in the Player's Handbook.
These feats are presented below.
Agent of Order Baleful Scion
Cohort of Chaos Righteous Heritor
Planar Wanderer
In the struggle between chaos and order, two gith warriors battle slaadi on the plane of Limbo
✏ Warren Mahy
Magic
Magic on the planes largely functions as it does in other D&D settings, though some exceptions exist in Sigil (see chapter 2). The following
sections present spells and magic items the DM can provide for planar travelers.
Spells
The Spells table shows which classes can cast the spells in this section and the levels of those spells. The table also notes the school of magic of
each spell.
Spells
Level Spell School Class
2nd Warp sense Divination Sorcerer, warlock, wizard
4th Gate seal Abjuration Sorcerer, warlock, wizard
Magic Items
This section describes magic items likely to be found in Sigil and the Outlands.
Mimir Sensory Stone
Portal Compass
Dabus—floating, silent servants of the Lady of Pain found only in Sigil—protect the City of Doors
✏ Terraform Studios
Where Is Sigil?
Sigil simultaneously exists at the center of the Great Wheel and nowhere. In the middle of the Outlands, an impossibly tall needle of a mountain,
the Spire, rises into the sky. Sigil floats above the apex of the Spire, barely visible from the ground, constructed on the inside of a massive stone
torus. Attempts to ascend to the city by climbing or flight are futile, as are efforts to reach the top of the Spire.
Sigil at a Glance
Once inside the city, a visitor is greeted by a vast urban tangle of bladed buildings in a wild array of architectural styles. Built within a great ring, the
city curves before and behind observers, as if they stood in a bowl or valley, stretching upward and disappearing into an industrial haze. On a clear
day, a creature that looks upward sees the other side of the city, curving far overhead. Visitors can find this reality unsettling. There are no suns,
moons, stars, or other celestial bodies in the sky above Sigil, though city lights twinkle above in the darkest hours.
Sigil is built to the edges of the ring, forming a wall of structures along its border. Anyone who climbs atop this outer wall of buildings can look out
over the edge into an empty sky. Few who cross the edge are ever heard from again. Those who pass over the edge don't end up in the Outlands;
rather, they are flung to random corners of the planes.
Features of Sigil
Sigil has the following features:
Day and Night. Sigil observes a 24-hour day-night cycle. The sky gradually fills with luminescence during the day and fades into deep darkness at
night. This light isn't sunlight. Sigil's brightest and darkest points in time are known as peak and antipeak.
Gravity. Objects are pulled toward whichever section of the city's ground is closest.
Weather. Fog, smog, and drizzle—the most weather variation Sigil sees—gather at ground level and limit visibility to 1d6 × 50 feet on the murkiest
of days. The temperature varies between balmy and chilly year-round and rarely nears extremes.
Alterations to Magic
Planar magic works differently in Sigil. The following magical restrictions apply there:
Banishment. Effects that banish a target from Sigil treat the target as if Sigil were its home plane.
Extradimensional Space. Extradimensional spaces, demiplanes, and pocket dimensions—such as those created by a bag of holding or the rope
trick spell—function within Sigil, but those spaces follow all these restrictions as if they were part of the city.
Planar Travel. Effects that allow interplanar travel, such as astral projection or plane shift, fail if used to try to enter or leave Sigil, with one
exception (see the "Teleportation Circles" section below).
Summoning. Spells, magic items, and effects that summon creatures or objects from other planes, such as a ring of djinni summoning, instead
summon targets from within Sigil if possible or otherwise fail. Effects that summon a specific target from outside Sigil, as with a Leomund's
secret chest spell, fail automatically.
Teleportation. Attempts to teleport into or out of Sigil fail, but such magic functions normally when used to teleport within the city.
Teleportation Circles. Permanent teleportation circles exist within Sigil, but attempts to create new ones fail. Those with permission can use them
to enter the city via the plane shift spell but not to leave.
The unique planar geography of Sigil should create interesting, even if sometimes confounding, twists, but it shouldn't prevent a
character from doing what they do best.
Life in Sigil
Creatures from every corner of the planes live and toil in the City of Doors, bringing fragments of their cultures to the multiversal hub. Over eons,
these cultural tenets have blended and evolved into a unique way of life made possible by the myriad portals that exist at the Lady of Pain's
sufferance.
Inhabitants
Sigil is the backstage of the multiverse. Celestials and Fiends share drinks in genie-owned taverns, agents of evil gods trot through the streets
astride nightmares, and hags stable faerie steeds alongside pegasi and beasts of living stone. As a result of this mingling, fundamentally
incompatible parts of the multiverse come into direct contact. They don't always clash, but when they do, authorities maintain order and stifle
cosmic peril. Only when these eruptions threaten the city on a grand scale does the Lady of Pain intervene.
Humans are the earliest known inhabitants of the City of Doors. Some sages track the existence and spread of humans back to Sigil itself, rather
than to a deity or its creations.
Various factions handle the day-to-day governance of Sigil, enforcement of laws, and maintenance of civic infrastructure. These groups each
follow a philosophy inspired by a cosmic aspect of the multiverse, and they actively recruit visitors and citizens into their ranks.
Gods and godlike figures—including archdevils and demon lords—can't enter Sigil by any means. However, their schemes and influence still find
their way into the city through their agents.
Services
Any and every service is for sale in the Cage. Courier services staffed by mephits, imps, and lantern archons (see Morte's Planar Parade) carry
messages across planar boundaries. Brave exterminators rid buildings of cranium rats, curses, and dangerous afflictions. Clandestine agencies
offer escape from infernal debt collectors or other looming perils by killing their clients, keeping the bodies safe and preserved, and resurrecting
them when trouble has died down, sometimes years or decades later.
Travelers from across the multiverse flood the city, whose establishments cater to a diverse clientele. Taverns and inns are common, their
taprooms shaped by the fantastical folk who own them—angels, githzerai, and a host of friendly monsters who scrape by in the City of Doors. No
matter where a visitor is from, they can find familiar comforts in Sigil.
Getting Around
Knowing where to look for something one needs is made challenging by Sigil's prodigious sprawl. Without the aid of magic or in-depth knowledge
of portals within the city and their destinations, navigating the Cage is a dizzying affair.
Fortunately, two services exist throughout Sigil to help travelers find their way: sedan chairs and touts. Visitors to the Clerks' Ward can also hire
the cabs of Tea Street Transit (see the "Clerks' Ward" section).
Sedan Chairs
Sedan chairs are comfortable chairs carried by burly types, Humanoid or otherwise. Sedan chairs act as a citywide taxi service, lingering near civic
buildings, municipal hubs, and marketplaces.
A typical sedan chair ride costs 1 sp per passenger and can carry two Medium or smaller creatures to a destination in Sigil, but there are some
places they simply won't go—like Undersigil or unsafe parts of the Hive Ward. Heavier chairs that ferry larger customers or groups exist, carried by
brawny creatures such as ogres or umber hulks. These deluxe chairs cost more, a minimum of 1 gp per passenger, and those who carry them
might be willing to travel to dangerous areas of the city for an extra fee.
Touts
Touts are independent local guides and translators who know the ins and outs of Sigil's wards. The best touts know shortcuts through the city to
hidden gems off the beaten paths.
A typical tout charges 2 sp per hour of guidance. More reliable touts vetted by influential clients charge premium prices, starting at 2 gp per hour.
Touts who speak more esoteric languages, who have connections with one or more factions, or who can provide magical assistance can
command upward of 20 gp per hour.
Language
As people and beings from everywhere find their way to Sigil, every conceivable language comes with them. Common is the most frequently
spoken language. The fact that Common-speaking travelers from different worlds can meet in Sigil and understand one another perplexes
linguists and suggests that the language originated in Sigil. Creatures native to Sigil are typically fluent in Common and one other language.
Visitors who need help communicating can always find touts willing to translate for a price. This service extends to the Cant, a complex local
slang heard in some corners of the city.
Citizens of Sigil make their voices heard in the Hall of Speakers, a magnificent public forum in the Clerks' Ward
✏ One Pixel Brush
Local Nuisances
While Sigil's inhabitants potentially pose the greatest threat to those exploring the city, two dangers pervade Sigil: cranium rats and razorvine.
Cranium Rats
Rats thrive on the garbage that gathers in Sigil's alleys and sewers. Common and giant rats are found throughout the Cage, as are variant cranium
rats known as squeakers (further detailed in Morte's Planar Parade). Adapted to the city, squeakers share their psionic abilities with citizens to
create a citywide communication network, though some cranium rat swarms have agendas of their own.
Razorvine
Farming in Sigil is virtually nonexistent due to the scarcity of arable land. Outside of private gardens and the occasional community plot, the only
plant that flourishes in the City of Doors is razorvine, a prickly hazard native to the Lower Planes. This black, creeping ivy has broad, glossy leaves
with razor-sharp stems and thorns. Work crews fight the rapidly growing weed from overrunning the city. Others use razorvine strategically to
deter intruders by letting it grow along estate walls or as carefully cultivated hedges. Rules for razorvine can be found in the Dungeon Master's
Guide.
Portals
Sigil boasts more planar portals than any other location in the multiverse. These innumerable doors link locations in Sigil to destinations on other
planes or elsewhere in the city. Any opening in the City of Doors might be one of these magic gateways. Fundamental to any Planescape
campaign, portals are further detailed in the Dungeon Master's Guide and the sections below.
Portal Basics
Most portals aren't always open. Instead, they open at certain times, when a particular condition is met, in response to a command word or
phrase, or when a traveler is holding a particular object called a portal key. When a creature with a portal's key crosses a portal's threshold, the
portal remains open until the start of that creature's next turn.
Portals are usually invisible when they're inactive (including to detect magic spells), but they can be detected by the true seeing or warp sense
spell (see chapter 1 of this book for a description of the latter). When a portal activates, it typically becomes outlined in light with its destination
visible beyond.
Portal Keys
A portal key can be any sort of object or a particular key created for that portal. Keys often bear some symbolic connection to their destination,
such as a silver sphere for the Astral Plane, a length of chain for Carceri, or a white lily for Elysium. The key functions on either side of a portal, be
it in Sigil or its destination.
Far rarer are portal keys that aren't objects. These can be simple or strange: a type of creature, a memory in the traveler's mind, or a whistled tune.
Portal Quirks
Some portals have strange magical quirks. If you want to dress up a standard portal, roll on the Portal Quirks table or choose from its examples.
Portal Quirks
d6 Portal Quirk
One-Way. The portal functions only one way, either into or out of Sigil. The portal isn't visible or detectable from the exit
1
side.
2 Shifting. One end of the portal moves in a pattern between different locations in Sigil or the destination plane.
Slow. After a creature enters the portal, 2d4 days pass before the creature appears at its destination, during which time
3
the creature is trapped in a stasis and is unaware of the passage of time.
Taxing. The portal's energy is unstable. A creature that passes through the portal must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution
4
saving throw or gain 1 level of exhaustion.
5 Temporary. The portal allows only 1d6 + 6 travelers to pass through in either direction, then vanishes.
6 Tumbling Lock. Every time the portal is opened, it requires a different portal key.
“WARNING: Based on publicly available municipal data, the portal in front of which you are standing leads to a vertical drop of approximately
calibrating... calibrating... two hundred feet. Proceed with caution.”
— A mimir to a planar traveler
Creating a Portal
You can create portals quickly by choosing or rolling on the Planar Portals table. First, decide whether the portal's destination resides in Sigil or on
another plane. Then, roll on the table twice: once to generate a portal anchor—the physical location in Sigil where the portal exists—and again for a
destination and its thematically related portal keys.
Sigil destinations appear in the "Sigil Gazetteer" section later in this chapter. The planes of existence are detailed in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Planar Portals
Destination
d100 Portal Anchor Sigil Other Plane Sample Keys
01-03 Carved wooden arch Bottle and Jug Ysgard Stein, war horn
04-06 Revolving door Face of Gith Limbo Melting ice, red slaad egg
07-09 Shattered window Nowhere Pandemonium Brick from an infirmary, tattered paper fan
10-12 Sewer pipe Infinite Well The Abyss Celestial blood, demon ichor
13-15 Cell door Prison Carceri Broken key, length of chain
16-18 Open grave Dead Nations Hades Faceless mask, scrap of gray cloth
19-21 Trapdoor Grease Pit Gehenna Bloody knife, lava rock
22-24 Furnace door Bank of Abbathor The Nine Hells Pinch of sulfur, signed contract
25-27 Iron gate Armory Acheron Broken blade, medal
28-30 Clock tower face High Courts Mechanus Metal cog, perfectly balanced scales
31-33 Razorvine trellis Great Foundry Arcadia Rune-inscribed ingot, sprig of grapes
34-36 Temple window Heart's Fire Mount Celestia Angel feather, holy water
37-39 Ornate mirror Hall of Speakers Bytopia Garden trowel, pair of twins
40-42 Reflecting pool Gatehouse Elysium Tears of joy, white lily
43-45 Stable gate Flame Pits The Beastlands Animal tooth, fresh wildflower
46-48 Garden arch Civic Festhall Arborea Boisterous laughter, pinprick from a thorn
49-58 Courtyard gate Fortune's Wheel The Outlands Stone from the Spire, spoked wheel
Planar Energy
59-63 Bedroom closet Ethereal Plane Burial shroud, phase spider mandible
Cooperative
64-68 Skylight Shattered Temple Astral Plane Scrap of githyanki armor, silver sphere
69-71 Chimney Great Bazaar Elemental Plane of Air Incense smoke, silken scarf
Destination
d100 Portal Anchor Sigil Other Plane Sample Keys
Elemental Plane of
72-74 Cellar door Tower Sorcerous Granite cube, metal ore
Earth
75-77 Blazing hearth Smoldering Corpse Bar Elemental Plane of Fire Brass brazier, burning coal
Elemental Plane of
78-80 Crumbling well The Ditch Pearl, pure water
Water
81-90 Mausoleum entrance Mortuary Shadowfell Grave dirt, mourner's veil
91-94 Yew wardrobe Parted Veil Feywild Book of limericks, toadstool
95-98 Human-shaped hole Gastrognome Far Realm Alien fossil, bezoar
99-00 Inn room door Ubiquitous Wayfarer Material Plane Childhood toy, map scroll
An orc wizard uses the gate seal spell to close a portal to the howling darkness of Pandemonium in Sigil
✏ Martin Mottet
On rare occasions, the Lady of Pain drifts through the streets, hovering above the ground. Creatures that interfere with her are flayed by her stare
or vanish into nothingness as she turns to face them. Wise travelers give the Lady a wide berth, finding pressing business elsewhere as she
passes by. Some locals claim that the Lady's features occasionally take on a golden or steely sheen. Whether this is in response to threats to her
city or other influences is a mystery.
Residents of Sigil view the Lady of Pain with fearful awe. A distant guardian, she leaves the city's daily governance to the many factions that call it
home. She has no residence, and no temples to her exist within the city.
The Lady's means of protecting Sigil are the dabus, the Mazes, and her complete control over the city's portals.
The eternal Lady of Pain drifts through the City of Doors, extinguishing any who question her will
✏ Martin Mottet
Dabus
Dabus are silent, floating beings who serve the Lady of Pain. Found only in Sigil, dabus communicate through visual rebuses, conjured illusory
images that convey their thoughts.
Dabus maintain Sigil's infrastructure, repairing crumbling buildings, ensuring portals function properly, cutting back rampant razorvine, and
patching city streets. To most citizens of Sigil, dabus are nothing more than cryptic workers, yet these mysterious beings also punish those who
disrupt city life. Whatever opposes the Lady's edicts or the smooth functioning of Sigil, dabus work to correct.
For more details on dabus, see Morte's Planar Parade.
The Mazes
The Mazes are demiplanar cages created by the Lady of Pain. Reserved for would-be power mongers and dissidents who threaten the city on a
grand scale—or foolishly target the Lady herself—the Mazes swallow their prisoners in an instant. The Mazes resemble a dense labyrinth of empty
streets and alleys in Sigil but are devoid of life and repeat endlessly.
No magic allows a creature banished to the Mazes to escape or communicate with the planes beyond. Creatures in the Mazes don't require food,
drink, or sleep and are cursed to an indefinite, isolated existence. An urban legend states the Lady of Pain leaves a single portal in every Maze, but
finding the escape route is all but impossible for the imprisoned, as even if such portals exist, they can't be detected through magical means. The
few who claim to have escaped the Mazes are quickly branded as liars.
Locking the Cage
Sigil's portals operate at the Lady of Pain's will, as do the few permanent teleportation circles hidden among the city's wards. Her influence stops
spells and other features from allowing creatures to enter or leave the city. She even bars gods from stepping foot in the city—a ban she can
extend to anyone at any time. The Lady knows when any creature uses a portal and can block that creature from entering or leaving, but she
reserves this intervention for extreme circumstances.
During times of great strife, notably when Sigil's factions war openly against one another, the Lady can cause all the city's portals to cease
functioning. This grinds the city to a halt; food and drink can't enter the city, sewage and refuse pool in the streets, and corpses stack in the
Mortuary with no hope of being interred. This compels the factions to quickly resolve their conflicts.
Similar to other godlike beings, the Lady of Pain has no stat block. She is beyond the ability of characters to defeat by conventional means.
Factions of Sigil
On the Outer Planes, belief shapes reality. Cosmic concepts such as law and chaos can imbue true believers with newfound power, and when
enough creatures unite under one ideology, their beliefs can remold the planes themselves. In Sigil, this power rests with the factions, like-minded
philosophers guided by cosmic truths about the multiverse and its workings. Their philosophies are often associated with a plane or realm.
Factions control aspects of civic existence in Sigil, governing the day-to-day needs of a thriving metropolis, such as entertainment or law
enforcement. Despite their influence within the city, factions have been erased from the city in the past, and current factions tread carefully to
avoid that fate for themselves. They actively recruit new members from citizenry, travelers, and even the ranks of other factions. In the meantime,
they vie for power in the Cage in a way that doesn't upset Sigil's order or provoke the Lady of Pain.
Factions are led by individuals known as factols. These leaders embody their groups' philosophies and serve different roles depending on their
factions' needs. Factols and their delegates also represent their factions in a council that debates and passes laws in the Hall of Speakers (see
the "Clerks' Ward" section later in this chapter). Most factions also have a physical headquarters in Sigil where they carry out aspects of civic
governance. Within these areas, both geographical and influential, dedicated midranking faction members called factotums act as officers,
furthering the interests of their factions within the city as clerks, squad leaders, and tutors. Factotums also keep an eye out for promising recruits
to their philosophy.
Ascendant Factions
Factions wax and wane, shifting the balance of power in Sigil. The most influential factions are known as ascendant factions, widely recognized
groups that oversee aspects of daily life in the city. Currently Sigil has twelve ascendant factions.
The following sections present these factions, along with notes on their leaders, sites in Sigil that serve as their headquarters (detailed later in this
chapter), planes on which they operate, common members, common nicknames, and their roles in the City of Doors.
Athar
Who Claim the Gods Are Frauds
Factol: Terrance
Epithet: Defiers
The Athar believe that the gods are impostors. For all their might, the so-called deities are merely mortals who have accumulated enough power to
convince the rest of the multiverse otherwise. With enough time, talent, and dedication, anyone could ascend to godhood.
Defiers accept that there might be true deities that oversee everything, but such beings are beyond comprehension. They assert that worshipers of
the gods draw their power from unknowable sources—false gods simply take the credit.
✏ Alix Branwyn
The Athar aren't fools. They let the powers that be call themselves gods, while the faction works subtly to discover the secret behind the curtain of
the multiverse and look on the unknowable.
The Athar are led by Factol Terrance (neutral good, human Athar null; see Morte's Planar Parade). While many Defiers become bitter, Terrance
remains compassionate, pointing wayward souls toward truth like a friendly guide—a guardian and shepherd of priests who fall from their previous
devotions. Terrance reveres an entity known as the Greater Unknown, which he believes is the source of all divine power.
Faction Attire. Defiers wear geometric, starry fabrics that hint at their astral ties. They adorn their outfits with silver chains and broken holy
symbols.
Role in Sigil. The Athar gather in the Shattered Temple, a place once dedicated to Aoskar, a now-dead god of portals. Rather than serve in Sigil's
government, the Athar's self-appointed spy network closely surveils the city's faiths. When a temple pushes a god's influence too strongly, the
Athar either deal with the problem themselves or leak the information to a faction that will, such as the Harmonium. The Athar regard members of
the Mind's Eye as allies.
Bleak Cabal
Who Find No Sense in the Multiverse
Factol: Lhar
Headquarters: Gatehouse
Epithet: Bleakers
To the Bleak Cabal, the quest for cosmic meaning is futile—the multiverse doesn't make sense, and it isn't supposed to. With no greater truth,
individuals must derive their own meaning from the multiverse. This introspection kindles empathy and kindness in many Bleakers, who commit
themselves to easing the suffering of others. Existence is merciless, so the Bleak Cabal must show mercy in its stead.
Bleakers tend to those overcome by the strange realities of the Outer Planes, which exert their influence on travelers who wander past their
boundaries. The Bleak Cabal rehabilitates creatures that have been stricken with planar curses, glimpsed mind-shattering expanses, or ventured
into the howling darkness of Pandemonium.
✏ Alix Branwyn
Factol Lhar (chaotic good, orc gladiator) surveys the citizens of Sigil with growing concern. Lhar works to expand the Bleak Cabal's charitable
influence. Under his direction, the Bleak Cabal has opened community kitchens throughout the city where hungry citizens can get a free hot meal.
However, some factions don't view this expansion as benevolent. Lhar moves carefully, always looking for like-minded individuals to further his
cause.
Faction Attire. Bleakers dress in gloomy, drab color schemes. Frayed clothing and weather-beaten gear are common.
Role in Sigil. The Bleak Cabal's headquarters is the Gatehouse, a fortress of healing and respite in the Hive Ward. Bleakers offer sanctuary to
anyone in need, notably to those afflicted by planar maladies. The Bleak Cabal's philosophy puts them at odds with the Fraternity of Order,
Harmonium, and Mercykillers—if there's no meaning, there can't be order. Conversely, the Doomguard, Hands of Havoc, and Heralds of Dust all find
enough common points with Bleakers to call them allies.
Doomguard
Who Celebrate Destruction and Decay
Factol: Pentar
Headquarters: Armory
The Doomguard understands the purpose of everything is to crumble. Existence inevitably falls into ruin—nothing lasts forever, not even the gods.
Sinkers don't stand in the way of the multiverse's destruction. They see decay and entropy as entirely natural, something to be fostered in its own
time. They don't recklessly hasten destruction or oppose creation. Instead, they see that every act of creation is intrinsically tied to destruction.
Trees must be felled and stone cut to build a house, and the house must eventually burn, rot, or wither away.
The highest-ranking Doomguard members aside from the factol are the doom lords, who each oversee a faction citadel built at the edge of the
Elemental Chaos.
✏ Alix Branwyn
The Doomguard's leader is the fearless Factol Pentar (human Doomguard doom lord; see Morte's Planar Parade), who revels in danger and decay.
Pentar has come to blows with Harmonium patrols on many occasions. She toys with the idea of aligning with the Hands of Havoc, hoping to toss
a spark into the mass of dry razorvine that is Sigil.
Faction Attire. Members of the Doomguard garb themselves in the bones of long-dead creatures and deliberately allow their weapons and gear to
rust. Sinkers display their scars proudly.
Role in Sigil. The Doomguard controls the Armory in Sigil and oversees the production and sale of weapons in the city. Thanks to the quality and
number of armaments required by the factions, the Doomguard holds leverage in many interfactional negotiations. The Doomguard bears a long,
bitter, mutual enmity toward the Harmonium, and the Fraternity of Order rejects the Doomguard's philosophy entirely. Sinkers have strong allies in
both the Bleak Cabal and the Heralds of Dust.
Fated
Who Take All They Can and More
Factol: Duke Rowan Darkwood
Headquarters: Hall of Records
Epithet: Takers
To the Fated, the multiverse belongs to those with the strength to take it. Destiny and the will of the gods are poor excuses used by folk too weak
to go after what they want—everyone makes their own fate. At the same time, nothing's free. It takes work, dedication, and sometimes blood to
seize greatness.
There's no inherent malice in the Fated's philosophy. It takes more than material wealth to provide for one's needs, and not everything worth having
can be taken by force. Respect and happiness, for example, must be earned (or bought). Still, Takers are branded as callous and selfish, if not
outright feared, and they never offer assistance willingly unless it benefits them in some way.
✏ Alix Branwyn
Factol Rowan Darkwood (chaotic neutral, human archmage) holds the reins of the Fated in his tightfisted grip. "Duke" Darkwood, as he's
sometimes known, is a commanding presence whose every step is an implacable stride toward his next prize. With brutal efficiency, he exploits
the financial stranglehold his faction has over Sigil, richly rewarding informants for secrets that might give the Fated leverage over the other
factions.
Faction Attire. Takers dress in ostentatious outfits marked by heavy embroidery. They sport elaborate hairstyles, and each member carries an
hourglass of golden sand—a reminder that time is money.
Role in Sigil. Secure in the Hall of Records, the Fated cement their role as the tax collectors of the Cage. Their ruthless debt collection efforts and
aggressive foreclosures earn them a heaping share of animosity. They have bad blood with the Harmonium, who view the Fated as wrongheaded
and dangerous, and Factol Darkwood and Factol Montgomery of the Society of Sensation are bitter rivals.
Fraternity of Order
Who Discover Laws to Find Truth
Factol: Hashkar
Headquarters: High Courts
Epithet: Guvners
The Fraternity of Order examines existence through the lens of three tenets: laws are representations of power, knowledge is power, and
knowledge of law is the ultimate power. By understanding those laws, individuals can exploit them—or break them under the right circumstances.
✏ Alix Branwyn
According to the Guvners, there are three types of regulations. The lowest of these are Rules, the laws that govern people's behavior. Next come
Laws, such as the laws of nature or the edicts of gods. Ultimate authority descends from Axioms, overarching laws that govern existence and give
gods their immense power. Guvners theorize about Axioms but know few of them. A being who masters all Axioms can rule the multiverse.
Factol Hashkar (lawful neutral, dwarf Fraternity of Order law bender; see Morte's Planar Parade) is the highest authority in Sigil's court system,
though he casts verdicts in only the most important cases. Hashkar is as long winded as he is knowledgeable, and any inquiry sparks an
impromptu lecture. Outside legal matters, the factol splits his time between learning and lecturing. He has mastered at least one Axiom, from
which he derives his magical abilities.
Faction Attire. Guvners wear distinctive tall hats and matching robes. They are often accompanied by small attendants—mephits, imps, and
homunculi who carry their tomes of order.
Role in Sigil. The Fraternity of Order reviews, studies, and adjudicates the laws of Sigil, all the while searching for hidden truths that dictate reality.
Guvners gather detailed records of every portal and key they find in Sigil and pay well for such information. Unsurprisingly, the Guvners are
staunch allies of the Harmonium and Mercykillers and bitterly oppose the Hands of Havoc.
Hands of Havoc
Who Free Society through Chaos
Factol: None
Epithet: Wreakers
The Hands of Havoc are a controlled burn. A collection of radical individualists united under the banner of change, they set fire to outdated and
oppressive institutions, letting the ashes pave the way for something new.
Wreakers vehemently oppose rigid laws, especially those that serve bureaucracies more than they do people. The Hands of Havoc convene in
secret and mobilize as one—a wildfire that burns away crumbling structures and systems alike to create sanctuaries for those in need.
✏ Alix Branwyn
No one individual leads the Hands of Havoc. To confuse enforcers, the mantle of factol is passed between members. Whenever it seems the
faction's leader is on the verge of arrest or death, another nonconformist rises from the ranks to light the path forward.
The Hands of Havoc are champions of freedom and self-expression. Wreaker artists decorate bland buildings and forlorn structures throughout
Sigil with bold murals in avant-garde styles. The passion of their ideology fuels artistic innovation, sparking trends in writing, music, and dance
that spread throughout the city.
Faction Attire. Wreakers prepare for every possibility in their battles against entrenched institutions. Medical supplies and smoking lanterns
dangle from their singed clothing. Members typically hide their identities behind masks, goggles, and scarves.
Role in Sigil. An official role in Sigil is inimical to the faction's philosophy. Instead, Wreakers masquerade as members of other factions, keeping
tabs in case those factions grow too powerful and need dismantlement. The Bleak Cabal and Doomguard work well with the Hands of Havoc in
short bursts.
Harmonium
Who Enforce Peace through Might
Factol: Sarin
Headquarters: Barracks
Epithet: Hardheads
The Harmonium looks at existence and sees only two states: war and peace. Where neighbors share the same views, there's peace—the perfect
state of the multiverse—but disagreements breed conflict and instability. Members of the Harmonium believe their purpose is to unify the
multiverse into peace, no matter the cost.
The Harmonium seeks to eliminate discord by any means necessary. Hardheads use education and enforcement to convert others to their
philosophy, extolling the virtues of peace as they crack down on chaos in all its forms.
✏ Alix Branwyn
Many members are good-natured protectors who protect all citizens, even those who disagree with the faction's philosophy. However, some
among the ranks pursue unity at any cost. Cruel martinets who earn the Hardheads their nickname, they enforce laws ruthlessly, without flexibility
or compassion.
Factol Sarin (lawful neutral, human Harmonium captain; see Morte's Planar Parade) commands the Harmonium. His devotion to his fellows,
particularly new recruits, is renowned, and he takes a personal interest in all members who cross his path. Tough as steel, Sarin is a decisive factol
who promotes honor, dignity, and peace in word and deed.
Faction Attire. Most Hardheads wear the faction's standard-issue armor, a distinctive suit of red plate with bladed pauldrons. Under their helms,
they sport short, no-nonsense hairstyles.
Role in Sigil. In the Barracks, Hardheads train, plan patrol routes, and keep records of every arrest in the Cage. The Harmonium works closely with
the Fraternity of Order and the Mercykillers as Sigil's tripartite of justice, cycling criminals through arrest, trial, and punishment. They staunchly
oppose the Hands of Havoc and others who defy authority.
Heralds of Dust
Who Believe Everyone Is Already Dead
Factol: Skall
Headquarters: Mortuary
Epithet: Dusters
The Heralds of Dust believe the multiverse itself is an afterlife—a shadow of some other existence now gone—and every creature is already dead.
The "life" that beings cling to is simply the first stage of death.
Dusters seek to understand and experience the stages of death, the last of which they hold is True Death: a transcendence to a state of being
beyond the multiverse. In their quest for True Death, the Heralds of Dust slowly set aside the hope and passion that chain a soul to this false life.
✏ Alix Branwyn
The Heralds of Dust have a macabre fascination with Undead. They believe undeath is a precursor to True Death and count many Undead among
their ranks. Skeletons and zombies serve the faction in droves, and sapient Undead—such as ghosts, vampires, and liches—rise to factotums.
Factol Skall (neutral evil lich) is the oldest factol in Sigil. The founder of the Heralds of Dust, Skall has yet to transcend his current existence,
lingering to guide as many souls as possible along the path to True Death. Skall strives to know everything and feel nothing. He makes generous
use of adventurers to gather knowledge or help lay the dead to rest with dignity.
Faction Attire. Dusters dress in grim clothes associated with the work of the dead. An individual member might be mistaken for—or actually be—a
gravedigger, a mortician, or a ghoul in tattered rags.
Role in Sigil. Part morgue, funeral home, and tomb, the Mortuary is the destination for Sigil's dead. There, the Heralds of Dust count the Bleak
Cabal and the Doomguard as allies. Conversely, the Mind's Eye bristles at the Dusters' fatalistic dismissal of life, and the Society of Sensation
viscerally opposes their rejection of passion.
Mercykillers
Who Bring Justice to the Deserving
Factol: Alisohn Nilesia
Headquarters: Prison
Epithet: Jailers
The Mercykillers believe that cold, relentless justice is absolute and that no one is above it. To the Jailers, a perfect multiverse is one purged of
injustice.
Mercykillers earned their name for their ruthlessness. They've killed their own mercy, viewing it as an exploitable weakness. Criminals may beg as
they please, but their sentences are carried out with unshakable fervor.
Jailers don't make laws or pass judgment. Similarly, they don't arrest lawbreakers—that's the Harmonium's job. Mercykillers act only after a verdict
has been made, administering punishment without leniency. Members believe they answer to a higher cosmic law that absolves them of any
wrongdoing during their unabating pursuit of justice.
✏ Alix Branwyn
Factol Alisohn Nilesia (lawful evil, tiefling mage), a young and cunning leader raised in Sigil's penitentiary, was born to head the Mercykillers. She's
a strict warden, using divination magic to track down fugitives and deploy agents to retrieve them. Somehow, she finds time to personally sign off
on every punishment in the Cage. Mercykillers whisper that justice never sleeps, and neither does Nilesia.
Faction Attire. Mercykillers are the picture of vengeance. Manacles rattle against their bladed armor, and masks or hoods obscure their
expressions, ensuring the face of justice is detached from its duty.
Role in Sigil. The Mercykillers headquarter in the Prison, an imposing gray fortress that holds criminals sentenced by the courts of Sigil. Non-
Mercykillers can gain entry under certain circumstances, such as to present evidence that might exonerate an inmate or visit a low-risk prisoner.
Jailers clash with factions that elevate individual freedom, most notably the Hands of Havoc, Mind's Eye, and Society of Sensation.
Mind's Eye
Who Grow to Godhood
Factol: Saladryn
Epithet: Seekers
The Mind's Eye sees experience and exploration as the means of fully realizing one's own potential. By taking in the challenges and wonders of the
multiverse, individuals can leverage their perspectives and insights not only to improve themselves, but also to shape reality as they see fit.
✏ Alix Branwyn
Growth and understanding are the keys to the Mind's Eye philosophy. Members advocate for experiential learning based on observation and
experimentation instead of formal study. Every Seeker practices some craft to shape their experiences into something new and refine themselves
in turn.
The Mind's Eye arose when two former factions, the Believers in the Source and the Sign of One, merged their philosophies together into a formula
by which individuals seek to transcend their potential and attain the power of gods. Even still, Seekers suspect that divinity isn't the ultimate
expression of their core beliefs, but rather a stepping stone to an unknowable state of superior being.
Factol Saladryn (neutral, elf archmage) guides the relatively young faction. She rarely sojourns beyond Sigil anymore, sacrificing her own journey
of personal discovery to lead the Mind's Eye. Saladryn focuses her energy on creation, practicing many crafts she's learned in her centuries of life.
Faction Attire. Members of the Mind's Eye dress in sleek, opalescent robes and ornament their bodies with delicate, metalwork embellishments.
Role in Sigil. In the Great Foundry, the Mind's Eye oversees the creation of tools and parts that most take for granted. The Athar and the Fraternity
of Order both relate to the Seekers, while the Bleak Cabal and Heralds of Dust oppose them.
Society of Sensation
Who Find Truth Only in Experience
Factol: Erin Darkflame Montgomery
Epithet: Sensates
The Society of Sensation perceives the multiverse through experiences—the more varied, the better. By experiencing all there is—every sensation,
emotion, thought, everything—one can learn and understand the entirety of existence.
✏ Alix Branwyn
Sensates live each moment as if it were the only one that ever mattered, drinking it in to know another sliver of reality. Many Sensates, particularly
new members, focus only on experiences that delight the senses, but as Sensates grow, they aim to experience every facet of existence, even the
bad ones. Sweet fragrances and savory bites must be balanced with the sting of failure, the weight of responsibility, and the gnawing ache of grief.
The Society of Sensation pays a price for its lack of inhibition. Outsiders view Sensates as flighty, lascivious, or untrustworthy, always jumping
from one event to the next. For a Sensate, to dwell on one endeavor is to deny the truth of existence.
Factol Erin Darkflame Montgomery (lawful good, human Society of Sensation Muse; see Morte's Planar Parade) guides the society through every
lingering exploration. Factol Montgomery ensures that Sensates maintain a balance of cerebral pursuits, physical experiences, and deliberate
contemplation, knowing the harm that pleasure-seeking alone can cause.
Faction Attire. Sensates garb themselves in flowing, colorful fashions that emphasize their free-spirited natures. Floral elements and glasswork
embellishments are common.
Role in Sigil. The Society of Sensation provides joy and diversion to the people of Sigil, temporarily freeing them from the everyday struggles of the
Cage. Sensates and members of the Mind's Eye find common ground. Factol Montgomery's rivalry with Duke Rowan Darkwood of the Fated
sparks trouble between the two factions.
Transcendent Order
Who Act Unfettered by Thought
Factol: Rhys
The Transcendent Order holds that for a person to attain a higher state of being, they must unify their mind and body until thought and action are
one. Those who act on instinct alone can achieve perfect harmony with the multiverse.
✏ Alix Branwyn
Members of the Transcendent Order rigorously train every aspect of self to align with the cadence of the multiverse. Ciphers are encouraged
toward athletic regiments, but many also pursue artistic endeavors to perfection, becoming dancers, virtuosos, or abstract painters. Whatever
resonates with a Cipher's path, they must practice until the body no longer requires the mind to guide it.
Factol Rhys (neutral, tiefling Transcendent Order conduit; see Morte's Planar Parade) stepped up to take control of the Transcendent Order when
the last factol achieved perfect understanding and vanished right in front of Rhys and other ranking Ciphers. Rhys is an enlightening coach,
providing direction to trainees with choice remarks.
Faction Attire. Athletes and acrobats of all shapes and sizes, Ciphers dress in simple clothing that allows for agility and flexibility.
Role in Sigil. The Transcendent Order headquarters in the Great Gymnasium in the Market Ward. There, the Ciphers train their bodies to attune to
their minds and the multiverse's ebb and flow. The Transcendent Order looks inward for meaning, and thus it tends not to form alliances with other
factions. Its members are generally well liked, and no ascendant faction opposes the Ciphers outright.
Minor Factions
In addition to the ascendant factions, Sigil contains a host of minor factions—up-and-coming philosophies, those that have seen a resurgence of
members, and once-ascendant factions whose ideologies have since entered a period of decline. The following are three examples of minor
factions currently in Sigil.
Free League
Who Prize the Individual Foremost
Factol: None
Epithet: Indeps
The Free League is a loose collection of individuals and remnants of disbanded or fractured factions. Merchants, individualists, and dissociated
citizens, the Indeps eschew factions and other organizations, simply wishing to choose their own paths.
Incanterium
Who Consume Magic and Its Secrets
Factol: Unknown
Epithet: Incantifers
The Incanterium was a faction thought dead when its headquarters, the Tower Sorcerous in the Clerks' Ward, vanished along with all known
Incantifers. Most thought the tower was banished to the Mazes, but it has since returned, rematerializing in the vacant lot where it once stood,
bringing with it the return of the Incantifers. Members of the Incanterium siphon magic from items, spells, and those who wield them to lengthen
their own lifespans. They believe that by absorbing magic and mastering its rules, one can rewrite reality.
Ring Givers
Who Give as Much as They Get
Factol: Jeremo the Natterer
Headquarters: None
Epithet: Bargainers
A direct foil to the selfish Fated, the Ring Givers hold a philosophy of charity and giving as the path to enlightenment. The Bargainers give away all
they have and redistribute the hoards of greedy tycoons to the poor and needy. A common superstition in Sigil holds that any gift to the Ring
Givers comes back to the donor tenfold.
Sigil Gazetteer
The City of Doors is divided into wards that are as varied as their inhabitants, from the polished heights of the bureaucratic Clerks' Ward to the
musty anarchy of Undersigil, the city's forsaken warrens. Each ward contains one or more faction headquarters: grand buildings where Sigil's
philosophers convene and divide the city's functions. Establishments near one of these hubs tend to align with the faction's character. Shops
clustered around the Civic Festhall, for example, cater to the pleasure-seeking tendencies of the Society of Sensation—wine shops, concert halls,
and vendors hawking one-and-done novelties.
The Sigil Wards table outlines each of the wards and the ascendant factions that headquarter within them, as well as six minor factions, which are
marked with an asterisk (*).
Sigil Wards
Ward Prominent Factions
Clerks' Ward Fated, Incanterium,* Society of Sensation
Hive Ward Bleak Cabal, Hands of Havoc, Heralds of Dust
Lady's Ward Doomguard, Fraternity of Order, Harmonium, Mercykillers
Lower Ward Athar, Ring Givers,* Mind's Eye
Market Ward Free League,* Transcendent Order
Coterie of Cakes,* Revolutionary League,* Undivided* (see the "Undersigil" section later in this chapter for
Undersigil
these factions)
The sections that follow present each of the wards in greater detail. They share the following format:
Ward Encounters. A table after the introduction presents interactions that characters might have while adventuring in the ward.
Factions. This section details the factions that are headquartered in the ward and their operations.
Locations. A sampling of the ward's notable sites, including any faction headquarters, are provided here. Locations mentioned in these sections
are designated on the poster map of Sigil.
Megastructures. Most sections also include a map to one of Sigil's megastructures. Often the headquarters of a faction, a megastructure can host
countless adventures. The map provides an overview of some important areas within the location but doesn't represent the megastructure in
totality. To accommodate your adventures, locations can be detailed as needed, and their scales are flexible.
Clerks' Ward
The wheels of bureaucracy turn steadily in the Clerks' Ward, an administrative haven for bookkeepers, scribes, and petty officials. Like oil to a
machine, the Clerks' Ward provides a necessary conformity to Sigil's turbulent streets under the fastidious eyes of the Fated.
The pristine buildings within this affluent ward are well maintained and regularly patrolled by officers of the Harmonium. Residents of the Clerks'
Ward claim it's the safest and most honest ward in Sigil. Conflict usually occurs on paper, and structured forums for debate allow folks to resolve
disagreements without resorting to violence.
Despite its rigidity, the Clerks' Ward is a place of beauty and wonder, due in large part to the presence of the Society of Sensation. For each strict
fact-checker, policy maker, and enforcer in the ward, there is an open-minded artisan, entertainer, or thrill-seeker to match. Locals routinely direct
inquisitive newcomers to the Hall of Information, where visitors can ask questions, hail a sedan chair, or pester a tout for directions.
Incanterium. Long thought to have been banished to the Mazes by the Lady of Pain along with their base of operations, members of the
Incanterium are slowly trickling back into the Cage. Called "mage drinkers" by the few who remember them, the aged Incantifers siphon magic
to sustain their ancient power. Disturbed residents murmur about the Incanterium's newly returned tower (see the "Tower Sorcerous" section).
Rumor has it Duke Rowan Darkwood pays handsomely for information about his reclusive neighbors and their fortress.
Society of Sensation. Sensates pepper Sigil's otherwise drab streets with entertainment, tempting pedestrians with curiosity and excitement. All of
Sigil is a stage to the Society of Sensation, but the greatest attraction is the Civic Festhall. Factol Erin Montgomery weaves masterful
arguments in the Hall of Speakers, where she sways naysayers with one guiding principle: they might not recall what you said, but they always
remember how you made them feel.
Civic Festhall
Map 2.1: Elloweth Theater in the Civic Festhall
✏ Jared Blando
Creativity blossoms in the Civic Festhall, the headquarters of the Society of Sensation. Sensates spared no expense constructing this majestic
building, which reaches nearly one thousand feet in height. Visitors find all manner of sensory delights within: gastronomic masterpieces served
by innovative chefs; halls lined with fragrant, scratch-and-sniff statuaries; and pitch-black deprivation chambers bathed in supernatural silence.
Artistic Amenities. The Civic Festhall boasts a panoply of arts available to the public. Galleries, concert and lecture halls, museums, and exhibits
too eccentric to describe fill the festhall and its satellite buildings. Contests and duels are held at the Northumber, an outdoor amphitheater, while
magical light checkers the stages of its two indoor theaters: the intimate Elloweth Theater and the prodigious Ren Hall. Elloweth Theater is
renowned as Sigil's preeminent venue for high-brow performance art, and performers from across the Great Wheel flock to Elloweth Theater to
take their shot at interplanar fame. Map 2.1 depicts Elloweth Theater and its promenade.
Sensoriums. The most popular offerings in the Civic Festhall are the Sensoriums, semiprivate rooms where creatures can record and relive one
another's sensory experiences through sensory stones (see chapter 1 of this book). For a price of 10 gp, a client can feel the thrill of a researcher's
epiphany, the weight of a widow's grief, or the warm bite of a flaky pastry. Memories and longer, more complex sensations tend to cost more, but
the lure of nostalgia draws repeat customers.
The Society of Sensation pays well for sensations not contained in its extensive collection. Sensates reward adventurers for delivering sensory
stones that contain coveted yet dangerous experiences, such as the thrill of stealing a coin from a sleeping dragon's hoard. Rumors say the
sensates also keep a collection of sensory stones containing unspeakable insights and experiences disruptive to multiversal peace. Sensates
sequester these and other restricted sensations in a demiplanar sanctum accessible only to trusted members.
Intricately carved fountains and crystal pools decorate the grounds leading to the opulent Civic Festhall
✏ Calder Moore
Greengage
Sensates quench their thirst at the Greengage, a humble cider shop across the street from the Civic Festhall that's popular among gnomes,
halflings, and anyone else who can tolerate its four-foot ceilings. To stay in business, the establishment's owner, a chipper sprite named Clea
Appleblossom, updates its menu daily. Clea sends adventurers to gather supplies from the Market Ward or, for especially rare ingredients, the
Outer Planes.
Hall of Information
Located between the Hall of Records and Hall of Speakers, the Hall of Information is a gleaming, blue-domed repository of knowledge that serves
as Sigil's de facto welcome center. Sedan chair drivers, touts, and translators loiter nearby, hollering their services at pedestrians.
Public notices and odd jobs are posted to a board outside the hall. For more information, interested parties can consult a directory of municipal
departments and pay any applicable fee to meet with an officer of the appropriate ministry. Inside, stewards warn visitors against touching the
hall's many polished surfaces, lest they anger Chief Bordon Mok, a no-nonsense, lawful good bariaur wanderer (see Morte's Planar Parade) who
extinguishes misconduct with a crack of her silvered whip.
Hall of Records
Dapper giants stand guard outside the Hall of Records, headquarters of the Fated
✏ Oksana Kerro
Once a thriving college, the Hall of Records was foreclosed on for a slightly overdue debt to the Fated centuries ago. The Fated has since
repurposed the building as its headquarters. The campus consists of six stately towers—originally seven, but the library was sold and walled off—
and a sprawling network of underground archives linked to each of the academy's founding structures.
Records. Inside the guarded complex, members of the Fated conduct all manner of documentation. Clerks file property deeds, issue birth and
death certificates, and maintain extensive financial records, while scriveners meticulously prepare official proclamations for posting.
In theory, anyone in Sigil with proper approval can request a specific document or wade through the hall's dusty stacks, but the process is mired in
bureaucratic entanglements. More often, a bribe can accomplish as much in half the time, and hefty sums can convince a Taker to lose or even
alter a document in the Hall of Records.
Vaults. Valuable tomes are stored in vaults beneath the campus, including The Secret History of Sigil, a detailed account of the Fated's activities
and the secrets its agents have learned. Volumes of this ongoing research project, especially recent ones, fetch a high price with opposing
factions.
Unsurprisingly, the underground compound is heavily defended. Within the campus lies a thrumming portal to Ysgard, a plane where might makes
right and the Takers hoard their spoils. Giants stomp out of the portal to squash intruders in the name of the Fated, causing books and scrolls to
quake in their lumbering wake.
Hall of Speakers
The voices of Sigil ring out within the Hall of Speakers, where everyday complaints plant the seeds of laws. Formerly the headquarters of the
faction known as the Sign of One, the Hall of Speakers is an orrery-like arrangement of rings and domed structures that beckon onlookers to make
themselves heard. Before the hall stands a massive iron statue of a woman heaving a world on her shoulders with power and grace, a Signer
remnant turned local landmark named The Power of One.
Debates. Public hearings take place within the Speaker's Podium, a spacious chamber named after the wooden lecterns that dominate its stage.
Though anyone can spectate, only the Council of Speakers can participate in these debates. Each ascendant faction in Sigil has at least one
speaker: typically the factol and one or two other high-ranking members. However, speakers sometimes delegate their time behind the podium to
an eloquent representative whom they trust to represent the faction's interests. The debates are largely performative affairs—hour-long bouts
where faction representatives embarrass each other and themselves with thinly veiled insults, boasting, and magniloquent rhetoric. The factions
of Sigil are rarely in agreement, and the few proposals voted into law by the Council of Speakers are either inconsequential or quickly overturned in
favor of the status quo.
Trianym. Citizens can voice their opinions freely at the Trianym, a public forum located a block from the Hall of Speakers. The Trianym consists of
three cylindrical platforms with seating for scribes and spectators to witness the exchanges. Locals reward shrewd debaters by tossing coins to
them, reserving fistfuls of garbage for truly awful orators. The Trianym is more than a glorified soapbox—the thoughts that ferment in the Trianym
pave the way for new factions and ways of thinking.
Trusted by the ward's wealthy elite, the cabdrivers of Tea Street Transit are a reliable source of information pertaining to government officials,
esteemed intellectuals, and known criminals.
Tower Sorcerous
The Tower Sorcerous is a spiny spire of unknown material, its surface shifting like a puddle of oil. The structure has no visible doors or windows
save for eight balconies that jut from its twisting frame. Although the tower's surfaces are impenetrable to most, Incantifers step into the tower as
if it were porous, leaving ripples behind them as they enter and emerge.
When the Tower Sorcerous disappeared from Sigil, it left behind an empty lot. The business that went up in its place, Fretter's Fetters and Fritters,
was destroyed when the tower suddenly reappeared. Until recently, most folk believed the Lady of Pain consigned the tower and its inhabitants to
the Mazes. Few know the circumstances of the tower's disappearance and reappearance, or what machinations brew within.
Hive Ward
Neglected by the dabus and the generosity of other wards, the Hive Ward has fallen into disrepair. Its buildings are lopsided hodgepodges of
architectural styles and materials, their floors haphazardly stacked atop one another to conserve space. The crooked high-rises darken cramped
alleys, many of which are dead ends in more ways than one. Many residents of the city avoid the ward when possible, but those willing to risk the
Hive can partake in its seedy establishments and hidden gems.
Crime is commonplace in the Hive. Grifters, cutpurses, and miscreants band together in the moldering streets, preying on the desperate and
downtrodden. Pickpockets masquerade as touts, eager to pilfer coin from stumbling sots and newcomers. Professions not outwardly criminal in
nature are often morally suspect, such as corpse collectors, opportunistic scavengers who scrape out a living by gathering bodies throughout the
ward and delivering them to the Mortuary for meager payouts.
Rain is more frequent in the Hive than elsewhere in Sigil, reflecting the ward's dismal mood. When it falls, gutters ooze sludge into brackish pools
of oil and rainwater, their surfaces disturbed by scurrying cranium rats. Damp rags and swollen planks cover broken windows, blotting what little
light ekes through the ward's perpetual fog.
Of all the wards in Sigil, the Hive Ward has the least oversight. Harmonium patrols are less frequent here, and peacekeepers have been known to
avert their gaze from disreputable establishments. Though crime runs rampant, so do creativity and trade, and opportunities abound for those
ready to seize them. Residents live unhampered by bureaucracy or judgment, free to pursue their deepest passions or indulge their guiltiest
pleasures.
Hands of Havoc. Arson and vandalism are tools of the trade for the Hands of Havoc, a faction of rebels. In other wards, the Wreakers' destructive
activities pave the way for reconstruction and renewal. In the Hive, however, Wreaker activity sometimes compounds the miseries of everyday
life when their fires—vain attempts to garner attention from the movers and shakers of Sigil or burn away detritus within the ward—engulf the
innocent. Rather than maintain a single base of operations, the Hands of Havoc operate out of warehouses strewn throughout the ward, moving
constantly to evade Sigil's enforcers.
Heralds of Dust. The Heralds of Dust are Sigil's undertakers. They conduct funerary rites for creatures from all places, ensuring their souls pass to
the next stage of death undeterred. The bulk of the faction's workforce consists of skeletons, zombies, and other dull-minded Undead whose
bodies were donated to the Mortuary by their owners in life. The Dusters rely on corpse collectors—grim-faced laborers found primarily in the
Hive—to deliver a steady stream of bodies to them for interment.
A portal to a massive pit-fighting arena rests at the back of the Bottle and Jug, disguised as the door to an always-out-of-order lavatory for big and
tall creatures. Gabel, a retired pit fiend judge, guards the entrance, but most entrants respectfully call him "Your Honor." On the other side of the
door lies a bloodstained amphitheater where spectators place bets and combatants test their mettle. The current heavyweight champion is a
bloodthirsty cyclops named Akra.
In addition to the typical variety of cheap swill peddled throughout the Hive, Beatrice keeps a selection of top-shelf liquors in a chilled demiplane
behind the bar for scoundrels with coin to spare:
Beverages available at the Bottle and Jug include the following offerings:
Annam's Blood. Barreled on Ysgard, this crimson mead swirls with scenes of battle. A war cry bellows from the tap when a mug of Annam's Blood
is poured.
Chaos Frog. This distilled spirit constantly shifts in color. Made from a plant harvested on Limbo, each bottle contains a dead slaad tadpole.
Eight Squared. This small-batch, amber hooch comes in a rectangular bottle with a tiny cog for a cap. When placed on a flat surface, the cap
rotates like the gears of Mechanus.
Golden Gout. Imported from the Nine Hells, this spiced whiskey burns all the way down. Imbibers often belch a small flame after taking a shot.
Swamp Water. Bottled locally by a green hag with six teeth and an infectious laugh, this murky, sour gin causes the drinker to break out in a
harmless rash of purple warts that vanish within minutes.
Fell
✏ Claudio Pozas
Fell's Tattoos
Fell, a dabus (see Morte's Planar Parade), runs a tattoo parlor in the Hive. From a distance, he looks like any other of his kind—a lean, purple-
skinned figure in flowing robes, his horns protruding from a voluminous tuft of white hair atop his head. Shunned by the Lady of Pain and
ostracized by his kin for declaring himself a priest of Aoskar, the dead god of portals, Fell now walks on the ground instead of floating above it.
However, some of the dabus's magic remains, evident in the indelible designs he weaves into his visual rebuses.
Fell's Tattoos is a modest, oblong shack down the street from the Smoldering Corpse Bar (detailed below). A pearl lightning bolt above the door
marks the parlor's entrance. Inside, the quiet artist lets his handiwork speak for itself. Fell nods and smiles at his clients, producing wispy images
that hang in the air and adjusting the shapes to their liking. The dabus applies each tattoo with a wave of his hand, wafting the design toward the
client's skin where it grafts itself in vibrant ink.
Magic Tattoos. The dabus's tattoos are tinged with magic. Most effects are minor—a temporary glow or shifting pattern—but some designs
function as spell scrolls that burn away once used, singeing hair, fur, or scales in the process. As a devotee of Aoskar and longtime resident of
Sigil, Fell knows the locations of hundreds of portals throughout the City of Doors and their keys.
At the DM's discretion, Fell can reproduce any of the magic tattoos detailed in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything that are common, uncommon, or
rare. He charges 60 gp for a common one, 600 gp for an uncommon one, and 6,000 gp for a rare one.
Gatehouse
The Bleak Cabal's headquarters is the Gatehouse, a fortress of rehabilitation and renewal. The tiered, ivory sanctuary rests on a hill at the end of
Bedlam Run, a curved road that rises to meet the headquarters above the Hive. Calming fountains cascade over its chalk-white balconies, which
radiate from its central tower. The Gatehouse specializes in treating planar afflictions. Inside, Bleakers tend to those harmed by the planes and by
the creatures that inhabit them.
House of Rehabilitation. Members of the Bleak Cabal find solace in existence by relieving the burdens of others. Bleakers in the Gatehouse restore
creatures warped by demon ichor, research and remove complex curses, and comfort those who have glimpsed otherworldly horrors of sinister
realms.
Althax Darkfleece (bariaur wanderer with an Intelligence of 17; see Morte's Planar Parade), serves as the Gatehouse's resident expert on the
negative effects of planar magic. Hailing from the gate-town of Bedlam (detailed in chapter 3 of this book), Althax is a wise and compassionate
academic who keeps unreasonable hours. To aid her ongoing research, she occasionally hires adventurers to investigate locations suffused with
planar magic—or collect samples from the planes themselves.
Grease Pit
Hungry planar creatures gather in the Grease Pit, a streetfood alley where the flavors of the multiverse collide
✏ Vicki Pangestu
The flavors of the multiverse converge at the Grease Pit, a noisy alley brimming with planar street food. Creatures come from far and wide to
sample its delights or hawk them to hungry customers over the hubbub of the daily crowds.
The Grease Pit offers patrons a taste of the Outer Planes. Deep-fried meat skewers sizzle in bubbling oil taken from the battlefields of Acheron,
marinating in a bath of rage and zeal. Meanwhile spicy dishes rise to infernal heats in devil-owned rotisseries, where sadistic pitmasters boast
literal kicks that sear the taste buds of the uninitiated. Sobbing patrons cool their mouths on heavenly snow cones sold by dessert-loving devas,
then later shred their tongues on face-puckering sour candies topped with caustic, gelatinous ooze. Portions range from bite-sized nibbles to
bottomless portal buffets worthy of a giant's appetite.
Grease Pit Grub. The following are some of the vendors one might encounter in the Grease Pit:
Bog Standard. Prepared by a court of not-so-noble bullywugs, the patties served up at this unfussy shack were described by one Sigil food critic as
"damp—with an unexpected crunch."
Humongous Fungus. Located in an enormous toadstool, this myconid-operated sandwich parlor specializes in fungal creations. Customers rave
about the Mushroom Meld, a spore-topped melt that allows eaters within 30 feet of each other to communicate telepathically for 1 hour.
Make It Snappy. This rolling seafood cart sports a bottomless tank linked to an aquatic demiplane. Buyers who fish their own catch from the
aquarium pay half price for the cooked dish, but at Make It Snappy, the seafood snaps back.
Slim Pickens. Owned by a wake of buzzard-looking aarakocra, this tin-roofed barbecue joint serves up "sustainably sourced" roadkill, scavenged
fresh daily from arid stretches of inhospitable realms.
Sugar and Spice. This candy shop is co-owned by a faerie dragon named Pancake and an imp named Qribbig. Their saccharine concoctions are
sweet enough to rot a lich's teeth.
The Vine. Purveyors of plant-based cuisines cluster in the Vine, a vegetarian oasis nestled in the corner of the grimy spittoon. It's home to the
Gentle Mug, a humble shack where musteval guardinals (see Morte's Planar Parade) offer magical teas and throat-scratching razorvine wraps.
Mortuary
The Mortuary's uninviting halls echo with the moans of the Undead. Skeletons and zombies perform menial tasks, such as cleaning or guard duty,
while more intelligent Undead—such as wights, vampires, and death knights—serve the Heralds of Dust in high-ranking positions under their factol,
the dreaded lich Skall.
Hall of Vigils. As Sigil's mirthless morticians, the Heralds of Dust are afforded the secrets of life and undeath. In the Mortuary's research area
known as the Hall of Vigils, Dusters study deceased wayfarers from across the planes, preparing the corpses in accordance with an ever-widening
archive of funeral rites before sending them through planar portals to distant burial grounds, faraway family crypts, or elemental planes for
storage or cremation.
The funerary process often uncovers a creature's cause of death—and possibly the knowledge of how to kill others like it in the future. Assassins,
poisoners, and hunters regularly attempt to infiltrate the Hall of Vigils in search of these secrets, only to die at the hands of the faction's Undead
guards and be reanimated into their ranks. Map 2.2 depicts the Hall of Vigils.
“"Without passion, a body has no pain. Divest yourself of all passions, and you will achieve the final stage of death."”
— Skall, Factol of the Heralds of Dust
Crematory smoke wafts from the Mortuary's gloomy domes at all hours—evidence of the Dusters' tireless work of processing Sigil's dead
✏ Calder Moore
Parakk Pest
In the Cage, rat catching is a family business. Over the years, Parakk Pest has become a household name in the City of Doors. The tiered shack
stands out from the rest of the ward thanks to the giant rat skull that sits atop its roof. Generations of exterminators follow in the footsteps of its
githzerai founder, Parakk—whose name means both "servant" and "master." They adopt both his name and the duties that come with it. The
githzerai eradicators, individually referred to as Parakks, service every ward in Sigil and are easily identified by their bright-pink skullcaps.
Sigil is a delicate ecosystem, and cranium rats play an important role in it. But while individual cranium rats are mostly harmless, swarms can
rapidly become local menaces. The largest of these is the Us, a hyperintelligent hivemind based in Undersigil (detailed later in this chapter). When
cranium rat populations grow to dangerous sizes, the Parakks step in to cull their numbers. However, some conspiracy theorists claim the
ratcatchers secretly serve the rats, collecting rodents to add to the horde.
Particularly malignant infestations call for outside help. In such cases, Parakk Pest offers as much as 1 gp for a single cranium rat tail and larger
sums to clear out entire swarms.
Sandstone Strip
A sliver of tightly clustered buildings stands between the orderly Clerks' Ward and the chaos of the Hive. Named for its granular, red cobblestone
streets, the Sandstone Strip shelters charlatans and scoundrels who take care of their own, along with anyone else burned by administrative
backlash from Sigil's more powerful residents. When bureaucrats abuse their stations, the ward's rank and file rely on adventurers to even the
scales and ensure Sigil's laws apply to all its citizens, not just those at the bottom.
The Slags
The Slags were just another part of the Hive until a portal to the front lines of the Blood War, the eternal conflict between devils and demons,
opened in the middle of the neighborhood. For weeks, weapons of war tore through the fragile shacks, reducing them to smoldering piles of
rubble, and demons massacred anything with a pulse. Save for a few stragglers, the portal and its invaders are long gone, but their devastation
remains. Scavengers scour the ashen wasteland for infernal supply caches, clashing with enforcers on the lookout for fugitives. Repeated calls for
reconstruction go ignored in the Hall of Speakers.
“"You are all tallow for my flames."”
— Ignus, Hands of Havoc arsonist
Lady's Ward
Distinguished and elegant, the Lady's Ward is home to the city's movers and shakers. The regal edifices of the Lady's Ward epitomize the wealth
and influence of their inhabitants. Intrigue and treachery abound, blanketed behind the sumptuous veils of high society: masked balls, gambling
houses, and private banquets. The Lady of Pain doesn't reside in the ward that bears her name, but power does—the power to influence,
administer, and evade the rule of law.
Despite its luxuries and breathtaking vistas, the Lady's Ward is quieter than other wards, its solemn streets frequented by members of the
Fraternity of Order, the Harmonium, and the Mercykillers. Immovable monuments to order, these factions' imposing headquarters tower over the
city blocks they occupy, surrounded by a smattering of smaller buildings that support their cycle of enforcement, adjudication, and punishment.
Residents of other wards rarely visit the Lady's Ward without official business.
Fortunes are won and lost in the gambling houses of the Lady's Ward, where secret crime lords mingle with judges and off-duty guards. Greased
palms lead to flimsy sentences and sudden pardons; such corruption goes ignored in the upper echelons of Sigil in favor of persecuting petty
crimes elsewhere in the ward.
As if to balance its corruption, the Lady's Ward contains over half of Sigil's temples. Deities from every pantheon find worshipers in the City of
Doors. No temples to the Lady of Pain exist in the ward; to construct one is an offense worthy of banishment to the Mazes.
Fraternity of Order. Consisting of judges, lawyers, and legislators, the Fraternity of Order abides by the letter of the law—and exploits it to further
their interests. Dispassionate and impartial, Guvners run the city courts, ruling on everything from petty disputes in other wards to
groundbreaking cases in the High Courts. They adjudicate, review, and study the rules of Sigil, maintaining order according to the law as they
interpret it.
Harmonium. A faction of rugged peacekeepers, the Harmonium occupies the Barracks and serves as the city watch. Noble do-gooders and
vengeful chastisers alike join their ranks, eager to quash crime. Thousands of crimson-plated Harmonium officers patrol Sigil's wards daily,
vowing to keep their streets clean. However, the Hardheads' uncompromising vision of order sometimes leads to wrongful arrests.
Mercykillers. When the Fraternity of Order deems a citizen guilty of a crime, the Mercykillers carry out the punishment. Citizens give these
emotionless executioners a wide berth, fearful of obstructing justice and becoming the next target. Though most of their work occurs in the
Prison, members of the faction regularly mete out discipline in public for all to see.
Sigil citizens prepare for trial on the steps of the High Courts, where the law is sacred
✏ Robson Michel
Presented here are some noteworthy sites in the Lady's Ward.
Armory
The Doomguard is headquartered in the Armory, a foreboding stronghold at the ward's border with the Lower Ward. Deliberately grown razorvine
creeps along the structure's bladed balconies and lower walls, deterring thieves who seek to steal the weapons within. Heavy metal gates bar its
few windows, and a relief of a menacing horned skull—the faction's symbol—hangs over its main entrance within. Day and night, the Armory's
chimneys belch smoke and flame.
Forge of Doom. A colossal forge dominates the first floor of the Armory, which is open to the public. Mercenaries, mongers, and other curious
buyers gawk at industrious smithies accustomed to the forge's unbearable temperatures. Azers, fire elementals, and chain devils number among
the Armory's blacksmiths, along with dwarves and other Doomguard smiths.
Aslan Ashfang, a lawful neutral efreeti merchant from the City of Brass, emerges from the forge's coals to greet potential buyers. A clever and
convincing salesman, Aslan brokers deals between the Doomguard and interested parties. The dapper efreeti knows every weapon in the Sinker
catalog and its price, from delicate jeweled daggers to massive siege weapons. Items small enough to display—or their replicas if too precious or
dangerous—are showcased in an exhibition hall just inside the Armory.
Doom Lords. Beyond the forge lie four heavily guarded chambers, each containing a portal to a fortress on the edge of one of the Inner Planes.
Within these citadels, the four doom lords—high-ranking faction lieutenants with powers of entropy and destruction—observe the multiverse and
its beauteous decay. From these citadels, members of the Doomguard launch expeditions to hunt or capture destructive monsters across the
multiverse, testing their skills against terrifying creatures and deadly extremes.
Buying Armor and Weapons. The Armory sells every weapon, shield, and armor in the Player's Handbook at normal cost. At the DM's discretion,
the Armory might have other armaments available for sale, such as +1 weapons for 300 gp apiece.
Barracks
Factol Sarin of the Harmonium
✏ Riccardo Moscatello
Hushed streets surround the Barracks, a wide compound of cold granite at the opposite end of the Lady's Ward from the Armory. Stoic and
impenetrable, the lofty fortress houses the rank and file of the Harmonium, Sigil's militant guards and enforcers. Taciturn sentries march along its
spiked, gray-slate roof, gazing over a largely deserted precinct. Life this close to the Hardheads is a double-edged sword. While local businesses—
of which there are few—enjoy on-demand security, their proprietors must be spotless in the eyes of the law or suffer crackdowns from overzealous
disciplinarians in the faction, who enforce Factol Sarin's orders without question.
Entering the Barracks. The Barracks are open to all enthusiastic peacekeepers, though Hardheads stop and interrogate anyone who ventures past
the clasped stone hands over the stronghold's arched entrance. Straitlaced recruiters pressure visitors without a clear faction allegiance to enlist
in the Harmonium and reap its benefits.
Parade Grounds. Composed of four identical sections and the squat towers that join them, the Barracks surround a wide parade ground. The
Harmonium shows its strength within the quad through drills, marches, and other ceremonial displays. Beyond the grounds lie classrooms and
living quarters, along with the faction's archives, which include current and past Harmonium patrol routes, active members and their ranks, and
official arrest records.
Recruiting the Harmonium. With an official writ from Factol Sarin, the factol of an allied faction, or an influential figure in Sigil, one can gain
temporary protection services or extra muscle in the form of a few reliable guards who stubbornly obey every city ordinance.
Fortune's Wheel
Luck abounds at Fortune's Wheel, an extravagant casino and favored hotspot in the Lady's Ward. It's run by Shemeshka (see Morte's Planar
Parade), a vain and ambitious yugoloth crime lord of multiversal renown. Rarely spotted in the common areas of the gambling hall, the arcanaloth
is the picture of wealth, power, and influence, always dressed to the nines and crowned with a spidery razorvine headdress. In Shemeshka's eyes,
the establishment's profits pale in comparison to its true spoils: secrets gleaned by her web of spies, both those employed in the casino and
others enacting her far-reaching schemes.
Dragon Bar. Like moths to a candle, risk takers gravitate to the buzzing marquee of Fortune's Wheel. The polished revolving door of this recently
renovated building opens into the historic Dragon Bar, a modest tavern named for the carved dragon head that watches over it. Beyond this
reception area and its alert bouncers lies the casino proper.
Casino. Games of chance line the luxurious carpeted casino hall, which thrums with a chorus of shuffling cards, rattling dice, and whirring
clockwork slot machines. These games take razorleaf gambling chips, golden tokens that bear a stylized razorvine emblem.
Every evening, performances grace an ornate, curtained stage, but the real star of the casino is its namesake: the fortune's wheel, a three-tiered,
standing roulette wheel where inheritances are squandered and made. Weapons and luck-altering magic are prohibited within the casino, but the
staff enforces the policy only in the most blatant of violations.
Platinum Rooms. Known to few and hidden within the casino are the Platinum Rooms, a collection of demiplanar chambers where interplanar fat
cats wager ancient artifacts, trapped souls, and the fates of entire worlds. Accessible only to bigwigs trusted with special portal keys, the
Platinum Rooms feature a rogue's gallery of some of the multiverse's most dangerous players.
Heart's Fire
Sparkling rays converge on the stained-glass windows of Heart's Fire, a luminous temple devoted to gods of fire, truth, and light. Golden, wavy
blades hover atop the house of worship like flames. Nicknamed the Sun of Sigil, it glows each day at dawn.
Recently, Heart's Fire has become the subject of gossip throughout the Temple District. The temple's former high priest, a deva named Ephemera,
was called away on a divine errand. Before departing, the angel appointed a controversial replacement to guide the fane in their stead: Mihr, a
lawful good horned devil who turned their back on the Nine Hells long ago. Kind and merciful, the new high priest hopes the congregation will see
their redeemed nature, but some of the temple's clergy refuse to accept Mihr as the true high priest.
High Courts
The scales of justice are balanced at the High Courts of Sigil, headquarters of the Fraternity of Order. The courthouse is a dignified edifice hewn
from flawless, white marble with towers that rise from the structure's bladed gables. Granite steps ascend the courthouse's elevated entrance,
above which hangs a triangular pediment. Etched within the architrave is the faction's motto: "Knowledge is power."
Though absolute authority in Sigil belongs to the Lady of Pain, most legal matters are settled in the city's tribunals, often decided by a single,
supposedly impartial magistrate appointed by the Guvners. Punishments are tailored to fit the crime, and advocates are strongly encouraged.
Lawyers and orators, these civil servants include bards, faction agents, and devils with a knack for navigating the subtleties of the law.
While cheap advocates linger on the courthouse steps hoping to find work, their arguments are brittle. Brilliant barristers demand high retainers,
but they're worth every coin when the alternative is a visit from the Mercykillers. One talented attorney is "Sly" Nye (chaotic neutral, tiefling noble),
who claims to have never lost a case. Sly has been known to waive their astronomical fee for adventurers who help gather evidence relevant to
other cases. Of course, the accused are always free to represent themselves.
Courts. The rear tower consists primarily of lesser courts, which resound with procedural bickering and the rapping of gavels. More serious
offenses are prosecuted in the Grand Court, a noble chamber darkened by severe judges and their righteous verdicts. Any of the following three
judges might preside over a trial in the Grand Court:
Dadras, a planetar with a powdered wig and a fiery temper. The angel detests lies.
Factol Hashkar, leader of the Fraternity of Order.
Madam Rule, a scornful pit fiend known for her harsh interjections and screeching metal gavel.
Kolyarut
✏ Matias Tapia
Hall of Concordance. Elsewhere within the High Courts lies the Hall of Concordance, an embassy of law where contracts are forged under the
unblinking eyes of the inevitables, constructs created by the modron deity Primus to bring order to dealings between planar folk. Inside, the
Kolyarut, an engine of absolute order, ratifies contracts on sheets of solid gold, leaving their enforcement to the inexorable maruts (detailed in
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse) and truth-seeking components of itself, also dubbed kolyaruts (see Morte's Planar Parade).
Rule breakers who violate these sacred contracts are tracked down and banished to a teleportation circle in the hall.
Infinite Well
Ominous chants echo in the Infinite Well, a temple to the Abyss and its untold layers. The temple hovers high above the surrounding houses of
worship, floating above a seemingly bottomless pit. Tarnished blades jut from the Infinite Well like metal branches on a blackened tree. Rather
than the blue-green verdigris common throughout the city, blood trickles down the temple's rusted spikes. The temple's interior is a gloomy
sanctuary of stained altars, menacing iron chandeliers, and sputtering black candles.
Because there are infinite layers to the Abyss, there are infinite demon lords among them to be venerated. As a result, the cultists of the temple
are a disorganized mess, and daily sacrifices sourced from among the faithful cause their numbers to dwindle. Intent on improving their
reputation and converting new members to their sinister fold, the fanatics of the Infinite Well don insincere smiles and prove unflinchingly positive
as they evangelize in public.
Prison
Map 2.3: Spire of the Grixitt in the Prison
✏ Jared Blando
A single grim blemish of gray stone and metal rises above Sigil's resplendent courthouses. Headquarters of the Mercykillers, the Prison is a
warning to wrongdoers of the full penalty of law. The Prison's architecture is anathema to hope and light. During the dark and twilight hours,
glaring searchlights affixed to the penitentiary's barbed watchtowers scan the ward below for runaways, but all that escapes its walls are the wails
of the prisoners within.
Cells. Engineered to contain all manner of planar convicts, the Prison's cells vary by block. Fire elementals and arsonists are sealed in frigid cells,
while giants are issued with magic collars that sap their might and reduce them to diminutive statures. Grudges fester in bleak cells, and fights
regularly break out between inmates in mess halls and common areas.
Particularly dangerous criminals never leave their cells, which are suspended in high-security units that hang from the Prison's exterior like
inverted buttresses. Map 2.3 depicts a section of the Prison that houses one such criminal, the infamous portal saboteur known as the Grixitt
(neutral, human spy).
Cellars. Mercykillers torment rebellious inmates in the Cellars, the Prison's dark undercroft. Desperate scratches mar the dungeon's blood-red
chambers, where prisoners are dragged to but sometimes never return. When an inmate proves especially resilient or dangerous, the Mercykillers
banish them to the Hole, a cylindrical cell block of isolated demiplanes suffused with antimagic.
Prison Inmates. Notorious criminals, interplanar outlaws, cosmic warlords, and other threats to the multiverse are incarcerated in the Prison.
Examples of inmates appear in the Prison Inmates table.
Prison Inmates
d12 Inmate
1 A chaotic evil storm giant conquerer who darkened Sigil's skies with storm clouds
2 A disheveled wizard named Gifad (chaotic neutral, human mage) who claims to hail from the future
Koe, a fiery-winged, chaotic neutral deva imprisoned for smuggling weapons forged on Mount Celestia to Fiends on both
3
sides of the Blood War
A clone of Manshoon (lawful evil, human archmage), an infamous masked archwizard from the world of Toril, who
4
insists he has been framed
5 A cuprilach rilmani (see Morte's Planar Parade) that killed a former factol to preserve the Balance
6 A malevolent cosmic force manifesting as a planar incarnate (see Morte's Planar Parade) that feeds on entire realities
7 A nameless, chaotic evil doppelganger who has impersonated every factol in Sigil
8 A supernatural assassin who targets only former mortals
9 A world-destroying Construct (use the kolyarut stat block) whose creator is still at large
A decaton modron (see Morte's Planar Parade) that turned itself in after a pentadrone under its command malfunctioned
10
and abandoned its post
11 A darkweaver guilty of trying to eat a dabus (both stat blocks are in Morte's Planar Parade)
12 A kraken that briefly drowned one of Sigil's wards by using portals to aquatic planes
Wardens. Sigil is a big city, and the wheels of justice turn slowly. Factol Nilesia employs a number of wardens to keep prisoners in check.
Creatures in the Prison might encounter any of the following wardens:
Allarind the Thin, a sadistic adult blue dracolich who died in the Prison long ago.
Buel, a stoic warden archon (see Morte's Planar Parade) who has thwarted countless jailbreaks.
Gazzengar, a calculating, neutral mind flayer who isn't afraid to crack a few skulls to keep inmates in line.
Olmulloz, a pasty shator demodand (see Morte's Planar Parade) accompanied by a pack of rabid hell hounds.
Looming over the Lady's Ward, the Prison is a grim reminder of the consequences of crime in the City of Doors
✏ One Pixel Brush
Lower Ward
Industrial smog and fumes blanket the Lower Ward, a noisy tangle of bellowing forges, magical refineries, and alchemical emissions. Cobblers,
smiths, and smelters gravitate to the ward, along with anyone else with calloused hands or a passion for crafting. Locals are hardworking folk who
can churn ingots from ore, press diamonds from coal, and turn a lump of nothing into something worth buying. Day in and day out, they wade
through the ward's dreary miasma to trade shifts at workshops that never stop.
The Lower Ward is the beating heart of Sigil—an engine of creation that refines raw materials from every corner of the multiverse, transmuting
them through sweat, heat, and magic into the components that allow Sigil to flourish. Over the years, civic fixtures like the Armory and Mortuary,
which used to reside in the ward, have been bitten off by the neighboring Lady's and Hive Wards, respectively. Still, the Lower Ward remains a
necessary industrial powerhouse in the City of Doors.
The Lower Ward gets its name from the proliferation of portals to the Lower Planes. Their insidious influence bleeds into the ward, choking
residents with brimstone, smoke, and sulfuric ash. Statues and roofs erode in a few decades unless protected by magic or alchemical treatment,
and locals often bear scars from exposure to these portals and the deadly realms beyond.
Mind's Eye. The endless heat, smoke, and arcane embers of the Great Foundry shelter the Mind's Eye. The leaders of manufacturing in Sigil, the
Seekers express their desire to reshape the multiverse through their crafts, creating tools and materials that in turn mold the Cage.
Ring Givers. An up-and-coming faction, the Ring Givers are still finding their place in Sigil. Having recently sold their previous headquarters, a
sprawling palace in the affluent Lady's Ward, this philanthropic faction now gathers in the Lower Ward, where it provides charity to industrious
folk in communal spaces, factories, and warehouses.
Home of the Athar, the Shattered Temple stands as a reminder that the power of gods isn't so permanent
✏ Sam Keiser
The Ditch
The Ditch is Sigil's only body of water, a reeking morass where locals cast their refuse. Its corrosive waters lie along the rough border between the
Lower Ward and the Hive, a prime ground for dumping bodies. Creatures cast into the acrid lake wash up on its shore a few hours later completely
unrecognizable, their physical features smoothed over like those of wax dolls held to a flame.
Locals whisper the Ditch is a backwater tributary of the River Styx, but more likely its toxic waters are the result of industrial runoff coupled with
the corruption of the Lower Planes leaking from nearby portals. On rare occasions, a portal to the River Oceanus, a celestial waterway that runs
through the Upper Planes, opens within the Ditch, causing it to run clean, silvery, and sweet. These short-lived occasions are cause for celebration
among the folk of the Lower Ward, who spend the day bathing in the refreshing reservoir.
During the day, the banks of the Ditch are a gathering ground for trading guild workers, who ferry material from the Great Foundry to portals
located within massive sewer pipes along its shores. When night falls, however, even these staunch souls are nowhere to be seen for fear of the
Ditch Beast, a vicious monster that supposedly stalks the area.
Seat of the Rat King. Wererats frequent the Ditch, where they receive the orders from Tattershade, King of the Rats. His territory is arranged
entirely for defense, a tangle of tunnels adjacent to the Ditch that are big enough only for rats and shifting shadows. Tattershade is a shadow
demon that directs his wererat minions through wispy messages scrawled on passage walls. The King of the Rats spends his lonely hours
obsessively counting the treasure the rats sift from the Ditch for him, from priceless baubles to worthless junk. Tattershade lives in fear of
something, but no two stories agree on what. It could be the Master of Bones, a powerful devil, or the Lady herself.
Face of Gith
Patrons drink silently in the Face of Gith, a gloomy tavern frequented by githzerai. A faded, dispassionate githzerai face marks the establishment, a
smooth, oblong building shaped from a slab of adamantine. Although anyone is allowed into the bar, patrons and proprietor alike are skeptical of
outsiders and willing to draw steel to keep their space safe.
The tavern's interior is subdued and dim. There are no rowdy drinking songs, and most conversations take place telepathically or in hushed tones.
In the center of the main room hovers an amorphous blob of primordial chaos that shifts erratically. Taken from the roiling plane of Limbo, the
glob endlessly changes from stone to fire, freezes into a fractalized diamond, melts into swirling clouds that smell strongly of lavender, and so on.
Some psychic regulars exert their mental will over the chaotic glob, shaping it into objects, creatures, or sensory phenomena for the amusement
of other patrons. Rumor has it that the blob can be shaped into a portal to Limbo but that the key constantly changes.
Ezmerath, a chaotic good githzerai uniter (see Morte's Planar Parade), owns and runs the Face of Gith. They have a good relationship with the
Athar and are happy to call in a favor if anyone, especially god worshipers, disrupt their tavern. Ezmerath is also a secret member of the Sha'sal
Khou, a faction of githyanki and githzerai who wish to unite their fractured people.
“"There is no nobler act than creation. Anyone can break something, and many do. It is easy to destroy. But when you choose to turn something
that wasn't into something that is–that is the stuff of gods."”
— Saladryn, Factol of the Mind's Eye
Great Foundry
The Mind's Eye makes many of the tools and metalcrafts used throughout Sigil. The foundry's most talented smiths are magical sculptors who
require neither coal nor flame. They fashion strong yet delicate objects from minimal materials, shaping an ounce of ore into a lightweight yet
trustworthy tool with a wave of their palms.
Gates. The Great Foundry's two wrought-iron main gates are as tall as the neighboring buildings. The intimidating guards minding the gates
embellish their armor with iron spikes and jagged decoration scavenged from the foundry's scraps. Ogres, giants, and reformed devils in the
Mind's Eye, they prevent the tools of creation from falling into the hands of destructive forces. Beyond lies the main yard, a sooty, gravel expanse
heaped with piles of rubble and raw ore.
Mithral Tower. At the center of the Great Foundry is the Mithral Tower, a metalworks that stands over ten stories tall. Huge, iron-barred windows
flood its interior with light, and enormous doors allow wagons full of ore to roll right in. It's unbearably hot, and the din of spouting furnaces and
ringing anvils makes conversation difficult. Fiery-mouthed furnaces the size of barns yawn in every direction, and crucibles large enough to hold a
fire giant brim with molten metal. Map 2.4 depicts one of the forges within the Mithral Tower.
The light of the Great Foundry's forges pierces the industrial smog that suffocates the Lower Ward
✏ Calder Moore
Parted Veil
Nearly every faction in Sigil keeps a secret hoard of knowledge available only to its members. Kesto Brighteyes (chaotic good, gnome Athar null;
see Morte's Planar Parade), does his best to even out that imbalance. Kesto runs the Parted Veil, a bookstore on Forgotten Lane not far from the
Shattered Temple. The shop contains a motley array of texts available for sale: histories, novels, atlases, dictionaries, maps, spellbooks,
biographies, newspapers, and anything else printed or scribed.
A magic mouth spell over the front door of the Parted Veil welcomes visitors with short inspirational messages. Once inside, customers are
greeted by a wondrous sight—the walls, ceilings, and floors are made of books. Shoppers tread across the spines of volumes underfoot as they
peruse titles above and below. With no shelves or clear system of organization, the shop is a labyrinth of knowledge that only Kesto can navigate,
but the shopkeep is always happy to help a customer find what they're after.
Kesto is a venerable gnome with round spectacles and a wiry, unkempt beard. A proud member of the Athar, the open-minded Kesto aims to
empower his customers through knowledge. He is accompanied by the gaunt-faced Sir Cleave, a friendly, lawful good bodak (see Mordenkainen
Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse; replace with a lawful good revenant if you don't have that book). Sir Cleave eagerly assists customers,
regardless of how uncomfortable it makes them.
Spells for Sale. Kesto maintains a vast collection of scrolls and spellbooks. He allows wizards to copy spells from them at the cost listed in the
Spells for Sale table. Spells marked with an asterisk (*) appear in chapter 1 of this book. He can have any of these scribed as a spell scroll for
twice the listed cost for this service.
Shattered Temple
A nameless street leads through a razed district to the Shattered Temple, headquarters of the Athar. Skeletal pillars climb from the rubble to
surround the broken, domed structure on all sides. Once a temple to Aoskar, a now-dead god of portals, the Athar have rebuilt the temple just
enough to serve their needs while leaving the rest in shambles—a solemn reminder that even gods can die.
Within the Shattered Temple, the Athar collect information on the every faith in Sigil to publicly prove their falsity and lessen their influence. In
heavily guarded vaults beneath the temple, Defiers house a staggering arsenal of magic items, weapons, and armor, ready to use if they come into
open conflict with gods or their servants.
Forgotten God. The Shattered Temple was originally called the Great Temple of Doors. It was the heart of worship for Aoskar, whose name has
been all but forgotten in the City of Doors. In life, Aoskar subtly spread his worship through every portal in the Cage. Aoskar foolishly sought to
seize control of Sigil from the Lady of Pain, but now the god and his followers are dead, devastated along with the temple that once bore his
name.
Inside the Shattered Temple, a portal to the Astral Plane has recently reawakened, leading to a gigantic, petrified corpse drifting through the silver
void. Some who know of the deteriorating husk claim it's what remains of Aoskar, while others assert the god lives still.
Luminous Arbor. A remarkable tree grows within the temple's central sanctuary. The tree's bark shines with the luster of bronze and gold, and its
branches are laden with ruby-red fruits. This tree, the Luminous Arbor, gathers the captured magic released when the Athar carry out rites to
destroy magic items created by priests of those they consider false gods. The divine energy concentrates within the tree and its fruit, which are
the source of power for Athar priests of the Greater Unknown, an entity whose power is rumored to be beyond the so-called gods.
Ubiquitous Wayfarer
The Ubiquitous Wayfarer is a reputable three-story tavern whose taproom contains over two dozen portals to other parts of Sigil and beyond. The
tavern sits in the Lower Ward, but some folks believe it's in whatever ward they happen to live in. The Wayfarer is popular among planar explorers
and adventurers who use its portals to get around the city. It offers a quick path across the city if one knows the right portals, though its proprietor,
a gray-haired bartender named Riaen Blackhome (lawful neutral, human veteran), takes exception to people using her place as a shortcut without
stopping for a drink.
Market Ward
Sigil boasts a market so vast it constitutes its own ward. Nestled between the bureaucratic Clerks' Ward and the dignified Lady's Ward, the Market
Ward buzzes with business at all hours. Portals to trade cities across the planes lie scattered throughout its districts and the innumerable
businesses among them.
The Market Ward was once two wards, the other being the Guildhall Ward. However, in a city dominated by ideological factions, trade guilds hold
little sway, and most factions—except for the Free League and Society of Sensation—discourage members from joining guilds, believing such
associations foster splitting loyalties.
The Market Ward is a largely middle-class ward, apart from a small percentage of rich entrepreneurs and magnates. Its most notable residents are
titans of industry: long-lived moguls, merchant royalty, and aged wyrms who hoard the wealth of worlds. Their homes are spotless mansions
dwarfed only by the regal headquarters of planes-spanning franchises and distinguished interplanar institutions.
Like any commercial hub, the Market Ward has its problems. Shopkeeps from every plane compete in its marketplaces, and petty quarrels
between business owners can develop into violent, centuries-long feuds between planar entities. Some vendors stubbornly refuse traditional
currencies, guffawing at the notion that gold, of all things, has any value at all—in the grand scheme of the multiverse, few minerals are as rare as
their worth might suggest. They might accept favors or prefer to barter instead. Pickpockets and thieves flock to the ward in droves, keen to pilfer
the pockets of heedless consumers distracted by eye-catching wares.
Planar travelers store their hoards within the Bank of Abbathor, a worlds-spanning financial institution
✏ Alfven Ato
“"Sure, Sigil's got everything you could ever want–if you can find it! My advice? Hire a tout to do your shopping. Last time I visited the Great Bazaar,
it took me so long to find my way out that my avocados went bad. What a mess."”
— Digny Vots, Market Ward shopper
Transcendent Order. Headquartered in the Great Gymnasium, the Transcendent Order strives for harmony in all things. Members hone their bodies
and minds through rigorous conditioning, and they regularly challenge others in the Market Ward to contests of artistic, athletic, or spiritual
prowess. Because Ciphers tend to avoid making allies or enemies, they regularly offer their balanced perspectives to other factions as neutral
advisors and mediators.
Flame Pits
Creatures of every kind take a soak in the Flame Pits, a planar bathhouse whose pools swirl with bubbling acid, molten lava, and liquid shadow.
Unicorns, bariaurs, and various Fiends get their hooves trimmed in grooming rooms, and galeb duhr sigh as they settle into boiling tubs of mud.
Patrons dry off in front of warm vents tied to windy desert realms or the chilling gales of Pandemonium.
The baths are run by Laril Zazzkos, a githzerai uniter (see Morte's Planar Parade), and her staff of rough-scrubbing mephits. Abrasive as a wiry
brush, the eagle-eyed githzerai spends her days berating patrons who fail to observe the bathhouse's strict "no running" policy or warning those
who get too close to the wrong tubs—an occasionally fatal mistake. At heart, Laril is a rebel. Many of the tubs in her bathhouse have false bottoms
for harboring fugitives or smuggling contraband. At least one of her tubs hides a passage into the depths of Undersigil (detailed later in this
chapter).
Gastrognome
Diners never know what to expect from the Gastrognome, an intimate, upscale eatery that looks like a giant metal olive. Distinguished and
inventive, its proprietor, Celci Nugglebelly (chaotic good, gnome mage), is a worlds-class chef who never cooks the same dish twice. They cater to
adventurous taste buds and deep appetites, challenging expectations about food and the forms it takes. A three-course dinner at the
Gastrognome might consist of a gravity-defying salad cloud, a whispering Shadowfell steak topped with bioluminescent blight, and a deceptively
simple chocolate tart that carries the sweet taste of revenge. The owner frequently hires adventurers to track down rare ingredients to delight and
impress future diners.
Great Bazaar
The chief attraction of the ward is the Great Bazaar, a vast plaza of shops where anything and everything can be found. Boisterous throngs of
shoppers crowd its bustling avenues at all hours, doing business with vendors from every corner of the multiverse.
The Great Bazaar is a cosmopolitan sampling of the planes and the goods they have to offer. Though more scandalous merchandise typically
finds its way to the Gatehouse Night Market (see the "Hive Ward" section), the bazaar has anything a traveler could want, so long as they can find
it in the open market's constant commotion. Scents collide in the winding stalls: warm, right-angled bread loaves prepared fresh by modron
bakers; spotted mushrooms hocked by bullywug grocers; and perfumed holy water sold by winged Celestials. Vibrant produce dangles from the
leafy awnings of living plant stalls, and masterwork armors forged from rare metals bear insignias from blacksmiths on other worlds.
Free League Presence. The Free League congregates in the Great Bazaar. Although the Harmonium patrols the bazaar's busy avenues, it's the
members of the Free League who capture thieves and decide whether to turn them over to justice. With no formal meetinghouse, members of the
free-willed faction hold impromptu assemblies in cramped market tents or unused warehouses.
Shopping in the Bazaar. Characters can purchase any adventuring gear in the Player's Handbook at normal cost in the Great Bazaar, though
shrewd bargainers can secure their purchases for less. The Bazaar Shops table details a few vendors one might encounter in the bazaar.
Bazaar Shops
d8 Vendor
Boastful human hunter (assassin) who sells hides and armors made from creatures she has slain—such as ankheg
1
breastplates, angel-feathered cloaks, and horned gorgon shields
2 Celestial-owned bookstall carrying holy texts, illuminated manuscripts, and divine stationary
Boutique where a darkweaver (see Morte's Planar Parade) with an eye for fashion weaves the latest styles out of pure
3
shadow
4 Food stall catering to creatures of a specific type
Sweltering iron shack where a fire giant blacksmith and his two magmin helpers craft sturdy weapons with harmlessly
5
smoldering pommels
6 Pawn shop that specializes in portal keys
7 Souvenir shop full of chintzy planar trinkets that might all be Tiny mimics
8 Contractor hiring monsters to defend dungeons on other worlds
Great Gymnasium
The Transcendent Order's headquarters is the Great Gymnasium, a temple to body, mind, and spirit, hewed from marble and veined with gold. In
addition to exercise fields and gymnastic equipment, the Great Gymnasium's luxurious halls hold bountiful comforts: lemon-scented baths,
refreshing saunas, and meditation rooms perfumed with rose. The facility is designed to eliminate distractions, promote mindfulness, and
encourage self-improvement.
The Great Gymnasium is a mental and spiritual oasis, a place of peace and safety where occupants can forget their burdens. Visitors must
surrender their weapons before entering the gymnasium, and spellcasting is allowed only in sanctioned areas. Sigil's factions regard the Great
Gymnasium as neutral ground, and numerous treaties have been penned within.
Map 2.5 depicts the Great Gymnasium and its training grounds.
“"Achieve understanding of self. Play music or dance. Paint or fight. Find your own way. And practice. Keep practicing until your body knows what
to do. You've had years to learn the wrong way to do things, and it may take you years to learn the right way. The key is to act."”
— Rhys, factol of the Transcendent Order
With countless competition fields and luxurious spas, the Great Gymnasium promotes self-improvement in body and mind
✏ Calder Moore
Undersigil
Chaos thrives beneath the streets of Sigil. Also known as the Realm Below, the snaking labyrinth of ancient tunnels binds long-standing city
structures to subterranean criminal crossroads, flooded cisterns, and seemingly endless catacombs. Seasoned touts usually know of a few
entrances to the Realm Below and can, for a fee, point eager explorers toward them, but few guides agree to accompany fools on their descent for
cheap.
Monsters and unusual pests plague Undersigil and its inhabitants. Screams of terror echo in its deserted halls, muffled by the leathery wings of
vargouilles—flapping, severed heads spawned from the Abyss—chasing their prey. Cranium rats scurry through the tunnels, telepathically relaying
their findings to their hivemind. Alone, these spies are little more than barking nuisances, but in swarms their combined intelligence is an ever-
present danger. Meanwhile restless souls rise from musty family crypts serve Undead monarchs and contend with the living. Undersigil's forlorn
archways become their next tombs, entangled in gnarled roots of razorvine. The wretched weed assumes their shapes and creeps to the surface
as thorny razorvine blights (see Morte's Planar Parade).
The Lady of Pain pays little attention to what goes down in Undersigil, though nothing in or under the City of Doors is beyond her reach. Dead
factions, banished from the city above, cling to life in the darkness, searching the underground for secrets that could lead to their ascension.
Undersigil Encounters
d6 Encounter
1 A vargouille reflection (see Morte's Planar Parade) sprouts from a nearby corpse.
Putrice, a night hag, cackles as she fishes a wriggling larva (see the Dungeon Master's Guide) from a vent underneath a
2
fiend-owned restaurant.
Two cranium rat squeakers (see Morte's Planar Parade) gnaw on the bones of a skeleton, which reaches out toward the
3
characters for help.
Two dabus (see Morte's Planar Parade) prune back a mass of razorvine that has spread through a barred grate to the
4
busy street above. As they trim its barbed branches, something shudders within.
5 Three sahuagin emerge from a wide pipe. "Polluters!" shouts one of them, addressing the characters.
A warm sponge cake cools on a dusty stone ledge. Its sweet, strawberry aroma wafts through the otherwise dingy
6
passage. A note reading "DO NOT EAT" rests below its porcelain serving dish.
Undersigil Locations
Presented here are some noteworthy sites in Undersigil.
Dead Nations
Bathed in leaden mist, the Dead Nations are an expanse of derelict necropolises and forgotten tombs, their inscriptions worn by decades of
neglect. The treasures of these vacant sepulchers seem ripe for the taking, but here the dead are more organized than they might appear.
A decrepit monarch, the Silent King, presides over the Dead Nations and their undead populace, but his throne is also his prison. The Silent King's
throne bestows a mantle of authority on its occupant, but it demands a grim toll. Only the living can sit on the mirthless, high-backed chair, and
only death can free them from its numbing grip. Ghouls, skeletons, and zombies pledge fealty to the Silent King and enforce his will in the Realm
Below. They are bound to serve their ruler until either he's killed or he wastes into oblivion—leaving his seat available for its next ruler.
Drowned Nations
Sigil's sewers converge on the Drowned Nations, a flooded expanse of rank, lukewarm reservoirs and the swampy tunnels that connect them. An
enormous drain linked to the Elemental Plane of Water rests in the turbid depths. It's perpetually clogged with some amount of planar refuse, but
sewage rarely backs up enough to flood well-to-do wards.
Kuo-toa, troglodytes, and other aquatic folk live in the Drowned Nations, as do land dwellers who navigate the sewers by boat. Denizens of the
Plane of Water don't take kindly to Sigil polluting their home. Grat the Glass-Jawed, a sahuagin baron whose gums are jammed with sharpened
gems, periodically surfaces to skewer Undersigil's residents from the back of his mutated shark, Ripper (a hunter shark with a walking speed of 30
feet). Others, like the aboleth Abadoom, carve out lairs in the pungent meres. Ancient and unknowing, Abadoom harbors some of Sigil's darkest
secrets.
The Loop
Even Undersigil has portals, and the worst of them dump their quarries into the Loop. This region is a graveyard for the lost: a closed, circular
tunnel connected to dozens of one-way, hidden portals scattered throughout Undersigil. At first glance, the Loop appears no different from the
tunnels that pour into it. However, after repeatedly passing the same doom-filled messages scrawled onto its walls, travelers often begin to panic.
The Loop isn't beholden to the laws of time or space. At certain points along its mind-bending circumference, imprisoned creatures might spot
their own backs or torchlight in the distance.
Rarely, through determination or sheer luck, creatures do escape the Loop. However, seconds spent in the Loop might equate to years outside, and
some absconders emerge only to find they've been hurled into the distant past or future. Some members of long-dead factions in Undersigil know
how to navigate the Loop, darting through it in desperate moments to trap threats and leave them to die.
Nowhere
When a faction falls apart or Sigil tolerates it no longer, its members can join the ranks of another faction, abandon the city entirely—or flee to
Nowhere. The huddled welter of ramshackle tenements lies deep in the bowels of Undersigil, a doleful refuge for criminals and stubborn believers
who refuse to renounce their allegiances. Within Nowhere's dark warrens, criminals peddle seedy wares to dwindling factions, some consisting of
just one member. Grungy alleys become impromptu forums as desperate factols hope to rekindle interest in outdated ideologies and poach each
other's members.
Dead factions cling to life in Nowhere, a depressing refuge beneath the streets of Sigil
✏ One Pixel Brush
The following are just a few of the non-ascendant factions headquartered in Nowhere:
The Coterie of Cakes (Cakers) is a destitute band of rosy-cheeked bullies who assert the multiverse is a great, multilayered cake and that baked
goods are its fundamental unit of trade.
The Revolutionary League (Anarchists) were once a popular faction that fell away to disorganization. This mishmash of misfits and outcasts vows
to dismantle society.
The Undivided (Deniers) is a faction composed wholly of creatures native to Sigil. They believe those who pass through planar portals are
destroyed and replaced with clones.
Warrens of Thought
The Warrens of Thought are a maze of dripping catacombs beneath the Hive. They are home to the largest cranium rat collective in Sigil: the Us.
Occasionally called Many-as-One by its multitude of wererat thralls, the hive mind's combined intellect rivals that of a god. If the Us was ever
connected to an elder brain, its psychic link has long been severed. Left to their own devices, the cranium rats have evolved into a neural network
that grows in influence with each passing day. Whenever a citizen relays a message through a cranium rat squeaker (see Morte's Planar Parade)
connected to the Us, the hive mind stores and analyzes that data. Their collective desires are a deeply troubling enigma.
Adventures in Sigil
With Sigil's place at the center of the Outer Planes, any plot or threat from across the multiverse has a chance of finding its way to the City of
Doors. Many inhabitants of the Cage also have planes-spanning ambitions, contributing to countless homegrown opportunities for adventure. Use
this section to generate ideas for adventures stemming from Sigil's unique locations and residents.
“"Living in Sigil, we've probably seen everything... but the beauty and terror of it is that the planes always make more."”
— Erin Montgomery, factol of the Society of Sensation
Adventure Hooks
Use the following table to launch adventures anywhere in Sigil.
Faction Missions
Use the plots on the Faction Missions table to help deepen the characters' ties with any faction in Sigil.
Faction Missions
d6 Mission
1 A factol hires the characters to dig up dirt on a rival faction leader.
2 The characters must infiltrate another faction's headquarters and steal a priceless item.
3 A faction leader hires the characters as bodyguards for an important city event at the Hall of Speakers.
4 Suspicious of their own ranks, a factol hires the characters to root out a spy.
5 A factotum secretly offers the characters a hefty reward to break someone out of the Prison.
After a public spat with another faction leader, a factol goes missing. Their second-in-command hires the characters to
6
investigate.
Sigil Calamities
All manner of multiversal threats might unfold in Sigil. The Sigil Calamities table suggests plots for grand adventures in the City of Doors.
Sigil Calamities
d8 Calamity
1 Sigil begins to shudder daily at peak and antipeak, causing a citywide panic.
Waves of arcane blackouts sweep across Sigil. During these events, magic items have their effects suppressed, spells
2
behave unpredictably, and portals cease to function. The Incanterium is to blame.
Without warning, the Lady of Pain sends two-thirds of Sigil's population to the Mazes. It's up to the characters to figure
3
out why.
4 Reliable portals throughout Sigil begin to malfunction. Chaos ensues as citizens vanish to unknown planes in a mass.
5 A portal to the front lines of the Blood War opens in the Lower Ward, bringing the conflict to the city.
6 Dozens of dead factions unite in Undersigil. They mount an uprising on the surface and attempt to oust several factions.
7 The Lady of Pain locks the Cage without warning, barring anything and anyone from entering or exiting the City of Doors.
The Lady of Pain decrees that Sigil tolerates its factions no longer. They must disband or risk her wrath. Three factols
8
come together and hire the characters to change the Lady's mind.
Encounters in Sigil
The following table present random encounters that might occur anywhere in Sigil. Creatures marked with an asterisk (*) appear in Morte's Planar
Parade, while the rest are described in the Monster Manual. Most creatures are initially indifferent to characters.
Encounters in Sigil
d100 Encounter
01-03 1 noble pedestrian distractedly talking to 1 cranium rat squeaker*
04-07 1d4 dabus*
08-10 1 scout tumbling through a portal from the Material Plane
11-14 1d4 nightmares recklessly pulling a sedan chair
15-17 1d10 bariaur wanderers*
18-22 1d6 Harmonium peacekeepers* on patrol
23-25 1d6 dust mephit messengers
26-28 1d4 razorvine blights*
29-32 1d4 Society of Sensation muses*
33-36 1d6 quadrones
37-39 1d4 cranium rat squeaker swarms*
40-43 1 Herald of Dust remnant* and 1d4 zombies collecting bodies
44-46 1 young copper dragon sightseer
47-49 1 Mind's Eye matter smith* carrying a rare gizmo
50-54 1 night hag street vendor
55-57 1d8 Bleak Cabal void soothers* assisting locals
58-60 1d4 vrocks on a shopping trip
61-63 1d6 equinal guardinals*
64-66 1d6 Transcendent Order instincts* parkouring through the crowd
67-69 1d4 green slaad
70-72 1d4 Fated shakers* collecting taxes
73-74 1 bone devil late for a meeting
75-76 1 mage who's overwhelmed, having just arrived from the Material Plane
77-79 1d4 Mercykiller bloodhounds* tracking a criminal
d100 Encounter
80-81 1d8 githzerai travelers*
82-83 1d4 maelephant* mercenaries
84-85 1d6 Doomguard rot blade* monster hunters
86-87 1 planetar looking for a shop
88-89 1 cuprilach rilmani* spying on a target
90-91 1 Fraternity of Order law bender*
92-93 1d4 cloud giants who've become lost
94-95 1 aboleth in an aquarium sedan chair
96-97 1 kolyarut*
98-99 A famous archmage, like Bigby, Evard, Mordenkainen, or Tasha
00 The Lady of Pain and 2d4 dabus*
This chapter provides information for the Dungeon Master about the extraplanar realms of the Outlands, their inhabitants, and life at the center of
the Great Wheel.
An impossibly tall pillar of rock, the Spire, towers over the vast and varied environments of the Outlands
✏ One Pixel Brush
Cosmic Realignment
Save for the domains of gods, realms in the Outlands are subject to a planar phenomenon known as cosmic realignment. When a location
embodies the nature of one of the Outer Planes too closely, that plane absorbs the location and its inhabitants, restoring balance to the Outlands
and expanding that plane. Some creatures combat cosmic realignment by acting in direct opposition to the linked plane's temperament, while
others gladly welcome this fate or pursue it outright.
Language
Like Sigil, the Outlands are home to speakers of every language, but creatures generally speak Common. Still, certain locations attract those who
favor a particular tongue. For example, residents of towns with high concentrations of devils tend to also speak Infernal, while those in locales
frequented by angels prefer to trumpet their holy praise in Celestial.
Gate-Towns
A ring of sixteen evenly spaced towns, equidistant to the Spire, lies at the edge of the Outlands. Each is constructed around a portal to one of the
Outer Planes, and these gate-towns are dramatically influenced by the realms they border. The towns and their inhabitants vary wildly from each
other, mirroring many of the extreme characteristics of their respective planes of influence. Details on the planes can be found in the Dungeon
Master's Guide.
The following sections present each of the gate-towns in alphabetical order.
Automata
Gate Destination: Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus
Primary Citizens: Modrons
Rulers: Council of Order
Automata is a machine of law and order. The town's geography is as rigid as its bureaucracy, its buildings meticulously maintained and erected
with mathematical precision. The gate-town's right-angled, nearly identical establishments flummox visitors, but the friendly modron residents that
make up the bulk of its population navigate the "intuitive" grid of numbered streets with ease.
Automata obeys a strict hierarchy of law overseen by the Council of Order, a triumvirate of officials representing three fulcrums of society. Every
major decision is subject to the council's scrutiny, but not before running a bureaucratic gauntlet of forms and minor approvals to earn its coveted
final stamp. The Council of Order has the following members:
Aristimus, a lawful neutral githzerai futurist (see Morte's Planar Parade), captains the town guard.
Juliett-314, a cheery but unforgiving octon modron (see Morte's Planar Parade), oversees local commerce and acts as Automata's supreme
auditor.
Serafil, a sanctimonious tiefling priest (lawful good), speaks on behalf of the gate-town's temples.
Beneath Automata's polished streets, citizens escape the rule of law. Criminals, fugitives, and disgruntled townsfolk conduct their business in the
gate-town's vibrant underground, the Inverse, free from the gate-town's endless regulations but not from authority altogether. A fractious trio of
lawful evil decaton modrons (see Morte's Planar Parade), the Council of Anarchy, presides over the Inverse and administers its own twisted brand
of justice.
Gate
An enormous, toothed gear rises out of the center of town, turning slowly. Creatures can enter and exit the portal from either side of the standing
disc, which lies at the end of Modron Way—a wide, spireward-facing road paved with shimmering metal plates. Constructed around the opposite
side of the gate is Concord Terminus, an interplanar train station. To use the portal, a creature must first be cleared for gate travel by an authorized
modron.
“"I've been trying to find a bakery for the past three hours. Every building looks the same, and the street numbers don't help–some of them have
decimals! What a nightmare."”
— Quen Tooday, planar courier
Regional Effects
The region containing Automata's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Mechanus, creating one or more of the following effects in and around
the gate-town:
Mechanical Metronome. The gate ticks as it turns in time with the gears of Mechanus. Repetitive sounds—a bird tweeting, a worker hammering a
nail, or a guard marching down the street—are synchronized to the gate's beat.
Ordered Environment. Buildings, rock formations, and vegetation in Automata are perfectly symmetrical, and the town's climate is always
temperate.
Noteworthy Sites
Automata is divided into regimented blocks arranged by category and function. Rather than scatter businesses throughout the town, council
mandates require that related establishments be grouped within the same block. Rows of near-identical shops confound visitors.
Concord Terminus
This resplendent train station belongs to the Concordant Express, an interplanar train dutifully operated by modrons. The clockwork behemoth
chugs along the planes, leveraging a network of portals—to which the train functions as a key—to deliver its cargo and passengers across the
multiverse on a tight schedule. The train originates in Regulus, the largest realm in Mechanus, and frequently pulls into Concord Terminus via
Automata's gate.
Planar travelers, tickets in hand, hustle to and from the ever-bustling platforms as buzzing modron work crews unload freight cars. A nonaton
modron (see Morte's Planar Parade) called the Timekeeper oversees all operations within Concord Terminus. Backed by a cadre of pentadrone
enforcers, the Timekeeper ensures the train always departs on time and without interruption.
A planar locomotive, the Concordant Express, pulls into Concord Terminus via Automata's gate to Mechanus
✏ Bruce Brenneise
Divine Machine
The Divine Machine is Automata's most popular tavern, owned by a shrewd and fussy businesswoman named Belda Beanfoot (lawful neutral,
halfling commoner). The Machine's comfortable, basic rooms cater to visitors awaiting clearance for gate travel. In addition to lodging, tavern
guests can fuel up at its first-floor coffee shop, the Congruent Café, where monodrone baristas prepare piping-hot beverages at exact
temperatures. Much to the dismay of her employees, which can reliably perform just one task at a time, Belda expects a lot from her workers. The
café has a high staff turnover.
Hall of Order
The Hall of Order is a three-story government building that features three twisting pillars of intricately arranged gears. Inside the maze of courts
and administrative offices, members of the Council of Order authorize stacks of paperwork and rule on escalated matters. Unbeknown to the
council, a farcical court lurks below the seat of government: the Hall of Disorder. Denizens of the Inverse make their pleas in the ramshackle
courthouse before the Council of Anarchy and a raucous jury that revels in each trial. The council judges the accused based on the absurdity of
their defense—the more illogical the argument, the lighter the penalty.
Adventures in Automata
The Automata Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories involving the gate-town.
Automata Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
Fleeing interplanar bounty hunters, a three-horned tiefling named Romerillo (chaotic good, tiefling spy) seeks refuge on
1
one of the Upper Planes. Romerillo asks the characters to sneak them aboard the Concordant Express.
Disguised as Serafil, a shator demodand (see Morte's Planar Parade) assumes the council member's position and has
2
the "impostor" arrested. Serafil's disheveled secretary beseeches the characters for aid.
A chaotic evil quadrone tampers with the street numbers at night, causing widespread gridlock as modrons leave for
3
work each morning. The Council of Order asks the characters to investigate.
A marid fruit vendor is arrested in the Inverse for color-coordinating the produce in their stall. The genie petitions the
4
characters to defend them in the nonsensical courts of the Hall of Discord.
Bedlam
Gate Destination: Windswept Depths of Pandemonium
Primary Citizens: Humanoids
Nestled in a yawning crater wracked by howling winds, Bedlam is a bowl of runaways and insufferable nobodies. Its windswept districts attract
those who don't want to be bothered or found. Outlaws, recluses, and wastrels who squandered their fortunes elsewhere eke out a miserable
existence in the decaying cavity. A typical Bedlam greeting involves spitting at another's feet—presuming the greeter is upwind—followed by a curt
yet creative insult.
An obsidian tower protrudes from the bottom of the gloomy basin, its pinnacle an elongated hand extending skyward. Known as Sablereach, the
tower is rumored to be the petrified arm of a forgotten, dead god. Inside its palm dwells the gatekeeper, Bedlam's distant ruler. Day and night,
shrieking winds erupt from six arched pores at the tower's base—the blastgates—which render conversation impossible in the town's lowest
district. Bedlam's spiteful residents plug their ears and communicate through shouts or irritated, nonverbal gestures.
The bitter winds of Pandemonium erode the gate-town inside and out. Repairs to wind-blasted buildings are constant, and anything not nailed or
tethered down is as good as lost. The gusts gnaw at Bedlam's residents just as they do its structures. The citizens' patience, manners, and joy
dwindle in the wake of the gate-town's ceaseless gales. Nowhere is safe from the winds. Even when the gusts are dampened, their whispers slip
through the cracks and magically encourage townsfolk to commit dark deeds against their neighbors.
Howling winds erupt from Sablereach, an obsidian tower that claws above the miserable bowl that is Bedlam
✏ One Pixel Brush
Gate
Bedlam's blustering gate resides at the base of Sablereach. Six iron blastgates bore through the ebony arm, each spewing a constant jet of bitingly
cold wind that wails as it exits. Those stalwart enough to reach a blastgate can eventually push their way to the gate chamber: a pressurized
obsidian hall adorned with rattling iron hand rings. Entrants must grasp the rings or be sent tumbling backward by the squalls that spew from the
gate. A massive chain, tethered to the floor and held stiff by a thick layer of muddy ice, extends up into the howling portal set within the chamber's
vaulted ceiling.
Power Vacuum
Bedlam was nearly destroyed by its last gatekeeper, a foolish wizard named Tharick Bleakshadow. Driven by reckless curiosity, Tharick sought to
plug the gate with a magical seal and stop its gales. To his surprise, the violent winds merely changed direction, engulfing the mage before
resuming their normal outward flow.
When the winds reversed, they spat out Bedlam's current gatekeeper: Cirrus the Silent, a chaotic neutral cloud giant born in the unforgiving
darkness of Pandemonium. None have heard Cirrus speak. The giant's words are carried on the winds as eerie voices that invade the minds of her
subjects.
Regional Effects
The region containing Bedlam's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Pandemonium, creating one or more of the following effects in and
around the gate-town:
Howling Winds. Rank winds screech from Bedlam's gate at all hours. Creatures within 1,000 feet of the gate have the deafened condition.
Mind-Controlling Murmurs. Bedlam's winds infect townsfolk with a contagious spite. Occasionally, the planar gales dominate longstanding
residents, compelling them to commit evil acts.
Noteworthy Sites
Bedlam is split into three layers. The noisy Gatemouth district rests at the basin's lowest point, while the Bleakheights loom over the basin's lip and
cling to its steep edge. They are separated by Midtown, a sloped district partway up the crater.
A silence spell blankets the interior of the Eye and Dagger, shielding its patrons from the gate-town's belligerent gales. Weary guests occasionally
weep on entering the establishment, awash in the catharsis of its muted comforts. But this silence is a double-edged sword. Thieves, cutthroats,
and other malevolent opportunists skulk the hotel's hushed halls. Returning guests have learned to sleep with one eye open.
Wailing Hollows
The Wailing Hollows are a network of wind-eroded tunnels that originate in the Gatemouth district and extend into Midtown. A haunting whistle
pervades the pitch-black caverns, which mimic the ecosystem of Pandemonium. Although darkweavers (see Morte's Planar Parade) prowl the
Hollows, ambitious miners flock to caves in search of Bedlamite, a highly coveted black ore that fumes with malice.
Witherbeak Observatory
Scholars eager to study Bedlam's winds seek out Witherbeak Observatory, a clifftop outpost located in the Bleakheights. Founded by a
rambunctious inventor named Professor Orbys Bumblewing (chaotic good, gnome mage), the facility is a hub of aeolian research and invention.
Within the domed observatory, Bumblewing and her colleagues aim to harness Pandemonium's chaotic winds for good, but the plane's malicious
gales corrupt her inventions, possessing them like evil spirits. Bumblewing is always looking for willing guinea pigs to test out her contraptions,
which include dubious parachutes and precariously constructed gliders.
Bumblewing's wind-powered inventions have piqued the interest of the Nimbus Knives, a gang of air genasi (see Monsters of the Multiverse) who
ride icy clouds spun from the town's unstable winds. Their leader, Dust Devil (chaotic evil, air genasi bandit captain), derives sick satisfaction from
tormenting citizens in the Bleakheights and using Bumblewing's machines for vandalism, robbery, and violence.
Adventures in Bedlam
The Bedlam Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Bedlam Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
The winds puppeteer the contents of an armory in the Bleakheights. A goblin shopkeep pays the characters to defend
1
their shop's wind chimes from rampaging suits of animated armor.
Each night, a darkweaver (see Morte's Planar Parade) snatches a resident of Midtown and drags them into the Wailing
2
Hollows. Gatekeeper Cirrus calls for the creature's capture or extermination.
Orbys Bumblewing asks the characters to test a dubious new flying machine. During their flight, Nimbus Knife bandits
3
attempt to steal it.
A wave of murder sweeps through Midtown, caused by a malevolent breeze (use the ghost stat block) that possesses
4
the townsfolk.
Curst
Gate Destination: Tarterian Depths of Carceri
Primary Citizens: Exiled Humanoids
Gate
The gate to Carceri stands in a ringed courtyard in the center of town. The ruddy, four-pillared metal arch swirls with carmine sand and tortured
cries. Creatures that step into the reddish squall emerge in Orthys, the torrid first layer of Carceri. Locals believe the gate is a one-way portal
because no one recalls ever witnessing anything crawl out of it. The gate has no guards, as the gate's reputation is enough of a deterrent.
A maelephant in the Wall Watch stands guard outside Curst, ensuring no one escapes the prison town
✏ Vicki Pangestu
Second Exile
Crimes from a previous life are forgotten in Curst, and citizens rarely inquire about one another's pasts. Such information is either volunteered
willingly or loudly proclaimed by officials scouring the town for renegades. However, those who commit crimes within Curst risk a fate called
Second Exile, in which the offender is bound and thrown into the gate, never to return. Second Exile is typically reserved for gruesome or otherwise
unforgivable acts, and the burgomaster alone decides which transgressions warrant the sentence.
Regional Effects
The region containing Curst's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Carceri, creating one or more of the following effects in and around the
gate-town:
Ball and Chain. Creatures in Curst feel as though they're dragging a ball and chain behind themselves and have their speed reduced by 5 feet.
Extradimensional Prison. Creatures can't leave Curst using teleportation or by extradimensional or interplanar means other than the town's gate to
Carceri. Any attempt to do so is wasted.
As an action, the burgomaster can suppress either of these effects for any number of creatures of the burgomaster's choice for 1 hour.
Noteworthy Sites
Curst is separated into six districts by five circular roads. Like ripples in a pond, they radiate from the gate to Carceri, each ring confining the last.
Buildings in Curst are makeshift structures cobbled together from tarnished metal and weathered stone. Light ekes through glass windows,
clouded and spiderwebbed with cracks, illuminating charmless abodes honeycombed with glorified prison cells.
Burgomaster's Estate
The burgomaster's residence is a chamber of horrors dedicated to chastisement and correction. From the outside, the three-story manor looks like
an elaborate, menacing cage. A reddish glow emanates from a pair of slanted windows above its spiked veranda, giving it the impression of a
grimacing face. The estate's heavy doors screech on their hinges, and farastu demodands (see Morte's Planar Parade) creep along its iron-barred
balusters.
Burgomaster Villigus Bazengar delights in spreading malaise and despair. The demodand and his moldy, overlapping hides slithered out of Carceri
to usurp the town from its previous ruler, Tovus Gilaf (lawful evil githzerai zerth), who remains imprisoned somewhere within the fiendish manor.
Villigus aims to divide and immiserate the populace with his cruelty, reeling Curst ever closer to the carceral pit from whence he came.
The Dump
Items lost across the multiverse sometimes find their way to Curst's dump, a sprawling junkyard managed by a crotchety green hag named
Dolores who makes a living off the garbage and keeps it from spilling into the town. Dolores occasionally hires adventurers to clear her yard of
dumpster divers and trespassers.
Roaming packs of rust monsters scavenge the mountains of scrap and refuse for metallic morsels. They've learned to avoid the metalwork
sculptures that decorate the landfill—abstract, corroded statues created by Tudhog the Junk Wyrm, an eccentric adult copper dragon who reeks of
garbage. The dump's artistic guardian, Tudhog fashions three-dimensional pieces from once-magic blades, battle-damaged suits of shimmering
armor, and melted-down manacles and chains.
A cranium rat genius broods within the junk piles. Called the Node, the hairless rat claims to have escaped the Lady of Pain's Mazes—a feat that
bestowed it a brain three times the size of its body and cost the rat its fur. The Node hovers above the ground, held aloft by its own intellect. The
rat swears vengeance against the Lady of Pain, promising untold secrets about Sigil's enigmatic ruler to those who aid it.
Traitor's Gate
Outcasts wet their tongues at the Traitor's Gate, a lamentable roadhouse inn that looks like a giant overturned bucket. It's run by a haggard, grim-
faced man named Tainted Barse (chaotic neutral, human bandit). The tavern sees its share of lowlifes, but rebels, visionaries, and heroic outlaws
also dot the taproom, finding common ground with others seeking to clear their names or drown their sorrows.
Adventures in Curst
The Curst Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Curst Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
1 Dolores (green hag) pays the characters to remove a group of bandits from her junkyard.
A disgraced githzerai uniter (see Morte's Planar Parade) in the Traitor's Gate pays the characters to free Tovus Gilaf from
2
the burgomaster's estate.
A Mercykiller bloodhound (see Morte's Planar Parade) arrives in town, searching for a fugitive who looks exactly like one
3
of the characters.
4 The gate to Carceri briefly ruptures, releasing a host of destructive fomorians on Curst.
Ecstasy
Gate Destination: Blessed Fields of Elysium
Primary Citizens: Guardinals and Humanoids
The rolling hills of Ecstasy, the City of Plinths, rise from a serene stretch of the Outlands. Blanketed in peace and contentment, Ecstasy is a
pastoral gate-town of quiet contemplation and simple pleasures. Hundreds of monoliths, shaped from a variety of materials, dot the idyllic
landscape. Their origins unknown, the plinths are works of art: marble columns adorned with breathtaking sculptures, intricately carved wooden
poles, natural standing stones, and refractive crystal pedestals. Like ghosts drawn to a shrine, petitioners perch atop the towering plinths, inviting
townsfolk to ponder the multiverse's greatest mysteries with them.
Ecstasy's citizens are friendly, munificent folk who espouse benevolence and growth. They are governed by a pair of monarchs, the Lightcaller and
the Nightwhisperer. These supposedly mortal rulers wear masks that reflect their demeanors: a flamboyant, golden disc for the Lightcaller and a
closed, silver helmet for the coolly distant Nightwhisperer. The circadian monarchs swap places at dusk and dawn, and they're never seen
together. They enforce the town's cardinal rule: "Do no evil."
Evil, as it stands, isn't as plain as day and night. Though violence is rare, musing spirits inspire townsfolk to push the boundaries of mortal life,
gleaning vicarious fulfillment from watching residents justify unsavory acts as the path to spiritual enlightenment. Moreover, the gate-town doesn't
eliminate negativity—it merely suppresses it. Ecstasy's cheeriest citizens are walking powder kegs of bitterness, bottling their feelings until they
erupt in unbridled incidents.
Gate
A column of segmented ivory, the Bone Plinth, rises above the center of town. As one approaches the plinth, the fields and their flowers grow more
vibrant, and all is awash with a sense of overwhelming tranquility. At the top of the spine is a fountain of quicksilver: Ecstasy's gate to Elysium.
Creatures that submerge themselves in the reflective pool emerge in Amoria, the plane's innermost layer.
Aura of Tranquility
The gate to Elysium dulls the blades of anger and hostility in its vicinity. At all hours, a pacifying aura radiates from the Bone Plinth in a 300-foot
radius. Any creature that starts its turn in this area is targeted by a calm emotions spell (save DC 15). A creature that succeeds on its saving throw
is immune to the aura for the next 24 hours.
Regional Effects
The region containing Ecstasy's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Elysium, creating one or more of the following effects in and around the
gate-town:
Ambient Benevolence. Residents in Ecstasy are friendly toward visitors that aren't hostile toward them.
Pervasive Tranquility. Creatures in Ecstasy have advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the frightened condition on themselves.
The gates of Solrise Tower open at dawn and close at dusk, while the opposite is true of Moondark Tower
✏ Alfven Ato
Noteworthy Sites
Ecstasy encompasses a scenic countryside of humble farms and rustic cottages scattered with plinths. Orchards blossom along the gate-town's
roads, which branch from the Bone Plinth in the town center. The courts of the Lightcaller and Nightwhisperer face each other opposite the ivory
fountain.
Moondark Tower
The gates of Moondark Tower open as darkness falls. A dull husk of speckled iron during the day, the tower greets the night with twinkling
constellations on its glossy black frame. Out rides the Nightwhisperer, an ancient silver dragon who takes the form of a valorous hero in silvery
plate armor, their mirrored helm glowing like a bright, full moon. Atop their argent unicorn steed, the Nightwhisperer defends Ecstasy from waking
nightmares that seek to corrupt the town in its lightless hours. When danger isn't imminent, the Nightwhisperer hears matters from sleepless
citizens in their nocturnal court.
The Nightwhisperer is never seen in daylight. Just before dawn, they return to Moondark Tower, which shuts down until the next evening.
Philosopher's Court
Citizens vent their frustrations in the Philosopher's Court, an enclosed amphitheater covered in weathered rilmani symbols. Originally founded as a
place of spirited debate, the court was hooded with an enchantment that prevented philosophers, petitioners, and priests from harming one
another, ensuring only ideas clashed under its marble roof. However, the ward fell away when the court's last moderator—Kagorious, the so-called
Philosopher King—vanished without crowning his replacement. Arguments frequently devolve into violent altercations.
“"Was the sky above this realm always so empty, or did the sun and the moon simply tire of their endless cycle and abandon it for a more exciting
existence?"”
— A spirit musing atop a plinth in Ecstasy
Revelhome
Spireward from the Bone Plinth, Revelhome is Ecstasy's most popular tavern. Mortals and petitioners alike enjoy its rich comforts, particularly its
warm, spiced ciders and fruity wines. Thanks to Elysium's influence, vineyards in Ecstasy yield luscious grapes year-round, and apples plucked
from orchards are eternally sweet and crisp. The tavern's veiled proprietor, a lawful neutral medusa named Madame Millani, serves drinks with a
smile, but she's not afraid to silence rowdy patrons, turning them into fine statues for her garden.
Solrise Tower
A glistening pillar flecked with amber mosaics, Solrise Tower shimmers with exaltation. The rooster's crow precedes the arrival of the Lightcaller,
an ancient gold dragon who takes the form of an aureate monarch. The Lightcaller ushers in each new day with cheerful exuberance, spreading
mirth from dawn to dusk. Since more citizens are awake during the day, the Lightcaller spends more time governing in their luminous court than
their nightly counterpart. The Lightcaller typically delegates protection efforts to three solars, powerful angels who affirm the monarch's daily
authority.
The Lightcaller is never seen at nighttime. At dusk, they return to Solrise Tower, which shuts down until the next morning.
Adventures in Ecstasy
The Ecstasy Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Ecstasy Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
A convincing petitioner (chaotic neutral ghost) pretends to be the long-lost relative of a character. The spirit aims to
1
possess the character and live life to the fullest.
The Lightcaller holds a peace banquet in Solrise Tower, inviting powerful devils and demons in hopes of ending the Blood
2
War. A solar requests the characters attend in case things turn ugly.
A green hag poisons Ecstasy's orchards daily at twilight, outside the jurisdiction of either monarch. After a string of
3
illnesses at Revelhome, Madame Millani hires the characters to investigate.
Three evenings have passed since the gates of Moondark Tower last opened. An owl-like avoral guardinal (see Morte's
4
Planar Parade) night merchant asks the party to solve the mystery.
Excelsior
Gate Destination: Seven Heavens of Mount Celestia
Primary Citizens: Celestials and Humanoids
Celestials and mortals live in harmony in Excelsior, the gate-town at the foot of Mount Celestia. Flecks of gold and silver sparkle in its radiant
streets and towers, which climb ever upward to new heights of good and law. Archons, devout worshipers, and paragons of justice convene in
floating citadels atop billowing clouds, and crystal falls of holy water cascade over their wispy edge to blessed fountains below.
Excelsior's divinely appointed high chancellor, Forough (lawful good, human archmage who can cast cleric spells), looks after the gate-town. The
venerable human chancellor is a kind-hearted and patient soul, but beneath her calm exterior pumps the heart of a lion with a thunderous roar. The
favored cleric of a deity of light, the Sunweaver, Forough is the voice of a god and can bring its might to bear. Those who mistake her mercy for
weakness don't do so twice. She stands resolute against evil invaders alongside the Cinderwings, a squadron of angelic defenders who heed her
prayers.
There's a consequence to Excelsior's bliss. Once one has basked in the light of the Seven Heavens, everywhere else seems comparatively worse.
Though archons regularly depart the gate-town on divine errands, Excelsior's privileged mortal residents hesitate to venture past its golden gates,
where a dull existence awaits. However, the gate-town isn't a perfect paradise, and some scoundrels test the watchfulness of goodly gods and
their servants, regardless of how close to them they dwell.
Gate
Excelsior's gate rests in its tallest tower, the Godstrand. A lucent, alabaster pillar dwarfed only by the Spire, the tower is a beacon of virtue
impervious to spell and sword. The Godstrand's pinnacle is obscured by soft, luminous clouds at all hours. Its peak isn't visible from any point in
the Outlands, for the tower protrudes from the base of Mount Celestia.
Only one path ascends to the gate, and the tower's defenses harrow those who seek to corrupt it. Twisting staircases line the Godstrand's interior,
branching and crossing endlessly, and its walls are adorned with intricate mosaics that shift to disorient trespassers. However, Celestials and
those with pure hearts or intentions can hear the heavenly portal ringing out like a distant choir of angels. Seven gleaming steps precede the gate
itself, hovering and flanked by a pair of unflinching warden archons (see Morte's Planar Parade).
Regional Effects
The region containing Excelsior's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Mount Celestia, creating one or more of the following effects in and
around the gate-town:
Beacon of Light. Excelsior's auriferous streets and temples produce a warm, ambient glow, even at night. Evil creatures find the light repulsive.
Euphoric Utopia. Excelsior is perfection incarnate. Fruits are ripe and sweet, fragrant perfumes replace everyday odors, and gentle breezes carry
melodious tunes.
Floating Structures. Clouds as solid as earth drift through the skies above Excelsior. They support various buildings, such as businesses, keeps,
and gaudy mansions. The owners of such structures control the clouds through magical means.
Excelsior's tallest tower, the Godstrand, extends into the sky, orbited by floating structures atop drifting clouds
✏ One Pixel Brush
Noteworthy Sites
Excelsior's flightless residents primarily operate on the surface, while Celestials and other winged folk prefer the cloud-topped comforts of the
Chandelier, the gate-town's aerial district. Winged chariots act as taxis between the two realms, ferrying townsfolk up to sky-dwelling businesses
and hanging gardens.
Chandelier
Like motes of soft flame, gleaming structures orbit the Godstrand at varying heights, held aloft in the palms of feathery clouds by the faith of their
devoted residents. Collectively referred to as the Chandelier, this district mainly consists of picket keeps—strongholds governed by pious
champions of justice and mercy.
Forum
The forum is a hub of good-faith argument. A row of gilded podiums lines the stage of this wide amphitheater, where creatures debate concepts
such as altruism, agency, or the gods and their portfolios. The forum is deliberately located on the surface district rather than the Chandelier—a
reminder that the venue is more for Excelsior's worldly townsfolk and visitors than for Celestials. A hush washes over the crowd whenever an
angel descends on the stage.
Heart's Faith
Once a quaint town at the base of Mount Celestia, Heart's Faith is now Excelsior's surface district. Among its unblemished structures, cheery
citizens bid each other good tidings as they tend verdant orchards and perfect artistic pursuits. High Chancellor Forough conducts her business in
the Godstrand, which rises from the center of the district.
The sheltered townsfolk of Heart's Faith seek to preserve their paradise. Nosy neighbors spy and tattle on visitors and each other, involving
archons as mediators in insignificant squabbles. Some fanatical residents, like the Order of the Iron Lantern, take this protective behavior to
extremes. This militant sect of righteous watchdogs seeks to uproot evil before it rears its ugly head, detaining innocent folk at the first whiff of
suspicion.
Adventures in Excelsior
The Excelsior Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories involving the gate-town.
Excelsior Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
An androsphinx arrives in Excelsior and declares itself the new high chancellor. Forough petitions the characters to help
1
cement her authority.
The empyrean Tygrant receives a prophecy that he can return to Mount Celestia only if he is humbled through defeat. He
2
challenges all of Excelsior, including the characters, to wrestling matches in his tower.
Allowed into the forum on an ancient contract, a silver-tongued pit fiend invites Excelsior's orators to debate the worth of
3
a soul. An angel asks the characters to take the podium.
The faith of a divine champion (gladiator) begins to waver in the Chandelier, causing their cloud keep to shudder. A
4 lantern archon (see Morte's Planar Parade) asks the characters to erase the warrior's doubt before their fortress falls
from the sky.
Faunel
Gate Destination: Wilderness of the Beastlands
Primary Citizens: Awakened Beasts
Ruler: None
The Faunel the Outlands once knew is gone, its roar so mighty that the gate-town was absorbed by the Beastlands. Now the town must start anew,
reestablished by stragglers, newcomers, and sapient animals who were away when their home disappeared. Old Faunel's ancient ruins remain,
rejected by the plane that claimed their wild inhabitants. Lush vegetation sprouts from the cracked foundations of a crumbling, forgotten city.
Grasping vines tug at travelers who stop to admire their vibrant flowers, and toothed plants wait patiently near stagnant drinking pools for their
next meal to arrive. The air in Faunel is rich and humid, and the broad, waxy leaves of foliage along the forest floor glisten with dew.
Beasts are returning to Faunel, but who among them will rise to the top of the food chain? Three factions of awakened Beasts vie for control of the
animal kingdom. The following leaders, all of whom speak Common, guide the packs:
Ebonclaw (lawful neutral saber-toothed tiger with an Intelligence of 12 and a Charisma of 12), a silken-furred feline with a notch on his fangs for
every kill he's made, commands a vicious streak of predators.
Ophelia (lawful good; use the elephant stat block with an Intelligence of 10, a Wisdom of 14, and a Charisma of 14), a sard-hided elephant
matriarch, guides Faunel's herbivores.
Parvaz (neutral; use the giant eagle stat block with an Intelligence of 16 and a Charisma of 14), a brooding albatross with golden tail feathers and
razor-sharp talons, steers a flight of birds in the gate-town's dense, heliotropic canopy.
Faunel attracts its share of non-Beast visitors who seek the fruits of nature. Travelers gather in Camp Greenbriar, a tented outpost where foragers,
explorers, and merchants mingle with awakened wildlife. Meanwhile, a despicable group of hunters, the Vile Hunt, hacks through the jungle in
search of rare animal hides. Led by a gold-toothed poacher, Mick Mangehide (gnoll fang of Yeenoghu), the Vile Hunt whittles away at Faunel's
bickering factions as Mick prepares his trophy wall for their mounted heads.
Gate
Deep in the vine-choked ruins rests Faunel's gate, a tranquil pool at the foot of a stone statue. The pool's waters replicate the effects of an awaken
spell. Beasts that lap from its crystalline waters find their tongues capable of speech, and saplings weaned on the reservoir eventually uproot as
wooden guardians that defend the town. Creatures that submerge themselves in the pond emerge in the untamed wilds of the Beastlands.
A gnoll poacher takes aim at a tapir near Faunel's planar gate, angering the stone colossus Wrath
✏ Adrián Ibarra Lugo
Guardian of Nature
A stone colossus kneels before the pool at the town's center, its weathered visage and mossy limbs reflected in the pool's sparkling ripples. Called
Wrath by the animal kingdoms that came before, the guardian questions all who seek to enter the portal, asking whether they hunt for sport or
sustenance. The titan alone decides who may enter—and who must meet a gruesome end.
Wrath disdains sport hunters and their ilk, vowing never to let them pass. To others, Wrath is a gentle giant, a curious protector who delights in
birdsong and babbling brooks. Not much is known about the guardian's past, but clues etched in the ruins of Faunel suggest that Wrath was once
a mortal being of cloud and mist who wished to live among the Beasts below.
Regional Effects
The region containing Faunel's planar gate is influenced by the magic of the Beastlands, creating one or more of the following effects in and
around the gate-town:
Awakened Beasts. Beasts in Faunel are more intelligent than their worldly counterparts. At the DM's discretion, any given Beast has an Intelligence
of 10 and can speak and understand Common.
Tropical Paradise. Frequent rainfall yields fruit and water in abundance. Wisdom (Survival) checks to forage in Faunel are made with advantage.
Noteworthy Sites
The unbound wilds of Faunel have no districts or roads, save for the worn footpaths that snake between its dilapidated ruins and tropical
overgrowth. The town's bestial residents make their dens near natural landmarks: waterfalls, rock formations, and the gnarled branches of magical
trees.
Camp Greenbriar
A spiked wooden palisade lines the perimeter of Camp Greenbriar, an assembly of tents, thatch-roofed huts, and mud-soaked caravans in the
heart of the wilderness. Positioned in a balmy, spireward clearing, the encampment is a popular stop for explorers and hunters to gather supplies,
trade, and sharpen their blades before trekking through the lightless thickets ahead.
A friendly three-toed sloth, Razak (neutral good; use the black bear stat block), likes to hang around the camp. A remnant of Old Faunel, Razak acts
as a messenger for the gate-town's three splinter kingdoms in hopes of seeing the jungle united again.
“"On average, it takes a sloth thirty days to digest a single leaf."”
— A mimir spouting animal facts
Eagles' Aerie
High in Faunel's golden canopies, a conference of birds convenes. Rickety tree houses and intricate nests, held together with rope and gluey
spittle, make up Eagles' Aerie, a settlement for avian folk and awakened birds.
Hundreds of feet above the forest floor, Eagles' Aerie is removed from much of Faunel's conflict. But in recent months, egg poachers have grown
bolder, scaling the jungle heights in the night. Worse yet, the gate-town of Rigus plunders Faunel for its natural resources, notably its lightweight
timbers that are as strong as steel. As loggers topple sacred trees for their priceless lumber, the treetops' avian residents criticize their leader, the
albatross Parvaz, who merely observes problems from a bird's eye view. The birds of Faunel can't afford to go to war by themselves. Until the
jungle is one again, they must weather the storm.
Razortooth Rock
Ebonclaw and his streak claim Razortooth Rock, a pointed stone overlook that resembles the mighty fangs of the awakened predators who call it
home. Tall, leafy greenery surrounds the stony pillar and its vine-draped trees, making Razortooth Rock an ideal place for snakes and big cats to
ambush their prey.
Adventures in Faunel
The Faunel Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Faunel Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
Mick Mangehide (gnoll fang of Yeenoghu) and his band of gnolls set out to claim the hides of Faunel's three pack
1
leaders.
Commanded by a general in Rigus, a hobgoblin warlord attempts to capture Camp Greenbriar and convert it into a
2
logging camp.
A musteval guardinal (see Morte's Planar Parade) explorer hires the characters to join an expedition to recover a lost
3
treasure from Old Faunel.
An irate roc assails Eagles' Aerie, gobbling up its inhabitants and destroying their nests in search of its egg, which was
4
stolen by the Vile Hunt.
Fortitude
Gate Destination: Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia
Primary Citizens: Celestials and Humanoids
Fortitude is a place of ordered beauty. Identical trees line its polished boulevards in neat rows, and each uniformly trimmed blade of grass in its
public parks glistens with a single drop of morning dew. Fastened to Arcadia, a plane of law and virtue, Fortitude combines the rigidity of
Automata with the puritanical attitudes of Excelsior, creating a pressure chamber of homogeneous moral rectitude.
The gate-town's residents are charitable people who pursue purity to a fault. At first, locals appear perfectly benign—smiling, hospitable folk in
immaculate attire who look after their fold—but their veils of compassion slowly betray their obsessive natures. Townsfolk fixate on flaws, in
themselves and in their surroundings, believing that abnormality is the precursor to evil. They fret over their appearances, chasing impossible
standards of beauty and grace. Wracked by contempt, they smother what makes them truly unique, like gardeners pruning unsightly branches
from their own personalities.
“"Would you look at that. It's time to cut the grass again."”
— Vern Cliptoe, Fortitude gardener
Fortitude is governed by the Spotless Seven, a group of politicians elected once every 289 years, or whenever the Great Modron March passes
through the town. Its members are enduring angels, long-lived dwarves, and immortal public servants who keep their house clean. Although their
terms are long, incumbents typically campaign for reelection between marches, defending their seats from challengers advocating similar
platforms of goodliness and law. Nevertheless, even exemplars of decency have sinister secrets, and the Spotless Seven aren't as clean as their
title suggests.
Four elemental paragons, the Storm Lords, protect Fortitude's gate to Arcadia
✏ Linda Lithen
Gate
An unquenchable green flame burns atop a low, circular ziggurat in one of Fortitude's scenic groves. The step pyramid consists of seven stacked
tiers quartered by staircases that ascend to the gate to Arcadia. Cradled by four curved beams at its summit, the blazing, green portal gently
envelops entrants and ushers them to a plane of peace and order. Evil creatures tend to avoid the flame, suspicious that its warmth can harm the
wicked.
Storm Lords
Four elemental servants of the demigods who control the skies of Arcadia stand vigilant at the bottom of the ziggurat's steps. Each sculpted from
an element in its purest state, the lawful good guardians use stat blocks similar to those of genies: a diamond-skinned dao, a djinni of noble gas, a
glacial marid, and an azure efreeti with a saber wreathed in blue flames. Known as the Storm Lords, the beings refuse entrance to anyone they
believe would spoil the lands beyond.
Regional Effects
The region containing Fortitude's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Arcadia, creating one or more of the following effects in and around the
gate-town:
Living Congruence. Creatures in Fortitude appear more beautiful and symmetrical than their typical counterparts.
Perfect Vitality. Creatures in Fortitude are immune to the poisoned condition and have resistance to poison damage. The effects of diseases are
suppressed.
Noteworthy Sites
Nicknamed "the Egg" by some travelers for its white, oval-shaped town wall, Fortitude is a tirelessly maintained assortment of parks, orchards, and
gardens balanced by pristine buildings and sparkling fountains. Honeycombed into hexagonal blocks, the town has not a hair out of place. The
weather in Fortitude is always pleasant and predictable, pacified by the Storm Lords who defend the town's planar gate.
Beehive Boutique
Part salon and part fashion store, the Beehive Boutique pampers residents with magical makeovers and fine outfits cut from the same cloth. The
boutique is a domed, two-story edifice of blond stone with curtained, amber windows. Inside, buzzing beauticians help each resident's appearance
reflect their inner beauty. Creatures that stumble through the parlor's hexagonal black door a disheveled mess emerge exquisite and graceful.
For a premium rejuvenating experience, patrons can visit the second floor, where the Beehive's proprietor—a mind flayer arcanist (a variant mind
flayer) that uses a disguise self spell to appear as a grinning human cosmetician named Doctor Goodcheer—conducts special cleansing sessions.
With the aid of illithid technology, the good doctor siphons "impurities" from his patients—hatred, malice, and other loathsome emotions—for use
in foul experiments in a hidden laboratory beneath the boutique.
Filigree Park
The fruity fragrances of blooming orchard trees waft through the clement air in Filigree Park, a public sanctuary teeming with metallic wildlife.
Silver stags graze among buzzing brass-winged bees, while chittering copper squirrels sequester acorns for a winter that never comes. Adorable
petitioners of goodly souls, the critters meticulously tend to the park's manicured garden trellises, ensuring every flower is exactly as it should be.
Aspiring members of the Spotless Seven hold forums within the park, inviting constituents to voice their concerns. Vain and corruptible, these
politicians regularly cast doubt on their opponents and hire mercenaries to bring shame to other candidates.
Pavilion of Purity
Opposite the town from Fortitude's gate stands a grand, milk-white arena: the Pavilion of Purity. Several times a week, locals admit their faults
within the radiant stadium, confessing their wrongdoings on a stage for all to see. In addition to townsfolk, the audience always includes a least
one member of the Spotless Seven.
Embedded in the stage are several thin grates. As citizens profess their guilt, darkness sloughs off them like melted shadow and into the drains at
their feet. The crowd then passes judgment, with punishments ranging from light reprimands to exile or worse. Meanwhile, the exuded darkness
festers beneath their feet and escapes into Fortitude as hostile dretches, Oozes, and shadows.
Adventures in Fortitude
The Fortitude Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Fortitude Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
1 A local politician (dwarf noble) pays the characters to dig up dirt on an opponent.
After a series of guilty admissions, black puddings begin to slither from the Pavilion of Purity at night, slaying their
2
confessors one by one. The Spotless Seven hires the party to scrub the black puddings from the town.
One of the Storm Lords falls ill with a supernatural cold, plunging Fortitude into a sudden brutal winter. The remaining
3
three elemental beings ask the characters to enter the gate in search of a cure.
A popular candidate for the Spotless Seven convinces several citizens that to achieve inner harmony, they must indulge
4
themselves in one night of unchecked mayhem.
Glorium
Gate Destination: Heroic Domains of Ysgard
Primary Citizens: Giants and Humanoids
Blaring horns rally Glorium's residents to battle. Warriors are forged in the gate-town, a village of lodges, training fields, and farms arranged along
the fertile slopes of an icy fjord. A colossal, serpentine statue towers over the gate-town, its coils arching along the peaks of a high mountain
range. Glorium's rich, rugged shores are speckled with the blood of a thousand battles, shed by folk who revel in skirmishing and welcome death
when it comes for them.
In Glorium, every resident owns a weapon and knows how to use it. A tight-knit fellowship of hardened warriors, locals revere gods of war and are
distant toward visitors who have yet to prove themselves in combat or through feats of strength.
Glorium's leader is Tyrza Bonebreaker (chaotic good, human gladiator wearing a belt of giant strength [frost giant]), the daughter of the gate-town's
previous ruler, Flatnose Grim. Loyal and tempestuous, she leaps into the fray with a thunderous cry. The one-armed warrior's face and body bear
the scars of countless duels, and the gnarled haft of her trusty battleaxe is said to be a splinter from the World Tree. Off the field, she loves a
strong drink and a good laugh with her comrades.
Invaders from far and wide seek to conquer Glorium. Surtur and Thrym—the mighty patron deities of fire and frost giants, respectively—regularly
send hulking subjects to pillage the wintry camp, darkening its skies with ash and snow. Meanwhile, nomadic groups of mountain bariaurs hold
back the alien armies of Gzemnid, a gaseous beholder god.
“"Glory? Ha! What do any of us know of glory? We're still alive! You seek a reward that can be attained only in death."”
— Tyrza Bonebreaker, mayor of Glorium
Gate
Unlike other gate-towns, Glorium has two planar gates. The first and most obvious is a whirlpool at the mouth of the fjord that connects to Ysgard.
Wide enough to accommodate a frost giant longship, the watery gate reverses its tide twice each day, allowing boats to voyage to the chaotic
plane and back again. Though the swirling portal allows Glorium to trade with settlements on Ysgard, it also makes them vulnerable to that plane's
invaders.
The second gate is a legend deep within the gate-town's snow-capped mountains: a secret entrance to Yggdrasil, the cosmic tree that connects
the Outer Planes. It appears as a mass of knotted, intertwined roots surrounded by softly drifting motes of light. The tangled roots part to form an
arched portal to Ysgard, but with the corresponding portal key, it can take entrants almost anywhere in the multiverse.
Worldroot Circle
Agents of an ancient druidic circle of giants, the Worldroot Circle, tend to Glorium's hidden gate. Believing the sacred plant to be a seedling of
Yggdrasil, they nurture the sapling and use it to commune with members of the circle on other worlds. A treant born from its roots, Yggatha,
defends the gate chamber at all hours. The Worldroot Circle is further detailed in Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants.
Regional Effects
The region containing Glorium's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Ysgard, creating one or more of the following effects in and around the
gate-town:
Destined for Glory. Creatures in Glorium have advantage on death saving throws.
Horns of Battle. Whenever a conflict of any sort starts in Glorium, a horn can be heard within 300 feet of the conflict's origin.
Noteworthy Sites
Compared to its surroundings, Glorium is small and humble, nestled between glacial fjords, lofty mountains, and forested skerries. It boasts no
inns or busy welcome centers, and when there are no battles, daily life is calm and mundane. Common pastimes in Glorium include blacksmithing,
boatbuilding, farming, and training.
House of Glory
The sounds of drums erupt within the House of Glory, a mammoth of a gymnasium where warriors boast, revel, and train. Weapons of past heroes
line its wooden halls: frayed hand wraps, fencing sabers, flagged spears, folding iron fans, and colorful wicker shields mounted beside trophies of
battle. Among them hangs a magic tapestry adorned with a scene of charging warriors. Its image changes after each battle, reflecting any newly
fallen heroes.
A crackling firepit dominates a smoky chamber in another area of the lodge filled with the succulent scent of roasting meats. Magnificent feasts,
given by gods of war to their followers, appear on long wooden tables throughout, imbuing warriors with the strength to fight again.
Sacred Well
A prophetic hag coven lairs in the Sacred Well, a temple of fate at the edge of Glorium. Respected by the townsfolk, the hags greet visitors with
twisted smiles, their eyes always obscured by ominous horned headdresses. For a price, the hags can interpret the grand tapestry of fate on
another's behalf, glimpsing where the threads of destiny begin and end. Occasionally, the hags prophesize catastrophes yet to come, calling on
heroes to rise and shape the future.
Serpent's Rise
Named for the stone serpent that arches over its snowy peaks, the mountains of Serpent's Rise are home to several bariaur communities. Jek
Thanol, a bearded bariaur wanderer (see Morte's Planar Parade) with a jeweled eye patch, leads the largest tribe, which enjoys a tenuous alliance
with Glorium. The bariaurs are sentinels who treat the serpent's coils as bridges between summits and strike down Gzemnid's forces wherever
they pop up.
An absinthine-eyed human child, the so-called Lemming Boy, appears to mountain travelers, offering to guide them through the bluffs. Those who
accept his services are quickly ambushed by Aberrations or left to die in avalanches or pits lined with glassy shards of permafrost. Survivors of
the snickering child claim he's a disguised trickster god.
Adventures in Glorium
The Glorium Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Glorium Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
The town's deceased warriors rise to fight again as ghosts, but their resurgence creates headaches when the spirit of
1
Flatnose Grim expects to be reinstated as the town's ruler.
After an argument with Tyrza, Jek Thanol refuses to shield Glorium from the armies of Gzemnid. With their treaty
2
shattered, a death tyrant attacks the gate-town.
A frost giant jarl learns of the entrance to the World Tree within Serpent's Rise. Rather than attack Glorium, he sets out to
3
find the root and use it to conquer untold worlds.
4 A sea hag in the Sacred Well tells one of the characters they will die at the hand of Gzemnid in five days.
Hopeless
Gate Destination: Gray Wastes of Hades
Primary Citizens: Humanoids
Aptly named, Hopeless is a dreary town with but one entrance: the Screaming Gate, a garish archway of red stone carved in the shape of a howling
face. Crimson streaks of chipping paint run from its wide, empty eyes like pained tears on either side of an elongated mouth. It's the only pop of
color in the somber town, a spiral of weathered gray buildings in a pit under a perpetually overcast sky.
The residents of Hopeless are a gloomy lot—defeated folk with nowhere else to go and no energy to leave. They dress in drab, monotonous
garments devoid of color or fashion, trudging listlessly down the gate-town's single, curling avenue like sewage to a drain. Too despondent to
muster emotion, locals are neither friendly nor spiteful—they simply exist. Not surprisingly, they are easily conquered, as was the case when the
town's current ruler, a mysterious Humanoid called High Cardinal Thingol, entered the Screaming Gate with a pack of beholders poised to enforce
her will. Nicknamed the Maiden of Misery, Thingol floats through Hopeless adorned with an expressionless iron mask and a robe of rattling
chains. The unfeeling tyrant's laws change by the day, but her disdain for color and emotion are constant. This joyless executioner compounds the
sorrow of her subjects.
Some doubt the High Cardinal's claim that she was once a mage of a dying world, while others spurn the notion that she's mortal at all. Still, a
glimmer of hope flickers among the townsfolk, who rebel against the high cardinal and her beholders in small ways while they gather the strength
to put up a real fight.
A beholder interrogates a traveler at the Screaming Gate, the entrance to Hopeless
✏ Zuzanna WuZyk
Gate
The gate-town's only road ends in the center of a pit in a circular courtyard where a bottomless well bubbles with thick, black gunk. Creatures who
enter the squelching reservoir, known as the Wishless Well, arise in Hades covered in the sticky tar, which is said to be the same substance from
which the ageless baernaloths sculpted the first demodand (both creatures are detailed in Morte's Planar Parade).
The gate is prone to overflowing. Oozes, yugoloths, and liquefied demodands gurgle to the surface and pour over its gray stone edge. Notices
around the Wishless Well warn townsfolk against tossing coins into the well, which causes it to spurt a jet of inky sludge.
Regional Effects
The region containing Hopeless's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Hades, creating one or more of the following effects in and around the
gate-town:
Lingering Apathy. The residents of Hopeless are cheerless and indifferent. Charisma (Performance and Persuasion) checks to influence them are
made with disadvantage.
Wasting Pigments. Hopeless leeches the color from its inhabitants. Creatures' skin, scales, and fur fade to gray, and nonmagical clothing and
equipment exhibit ashen tones.
“"Let me guess. You're going to dance? Splendid. Be careful not to slip on the ashes. I've never cared for slapstick comedy."”
— High Cardinal Thingol
Noteworthy Sites
Arranged in a dizzying spiral around a lonely cobblestone avenue, Hopeless is composed of worn, leaden buildings and crooked towers. Visitors
who plod down the main road from the Screaming Gate eventually come to the Wishless Well, passing a host of dull establishments selling even
duller sundries.
Castle of Bone
Said to be the quietest—or least depressing—inn in Hopeless, the Castle of Bone is run by Roric Witherblade (neutral good wight) and his modest
staff of neutral skeletons. A Sensate in life, Roric perished in Hopeless while touring the planes, killed by a beholder's death ray for delighting
townsfolk with his showy outfit and song. In undeath, he continues to rebel, hoping to overthrow the High Cardinal and her entourage of eleven-
eyed tyrants.
On the first floor, Roric's skeleton crew serves unappetizing platters of bland food and chalky mugs of watered-down booze. But beneath the bar
lies a Sensate speakeasy: a vibrant, elegant chamber filled with a cornucopia of pleasures banned in Hopeless. Far from the prying eyes of the
cardinal's beholders, the townsfolk plot their rebellion and partake in rich food and drink. They are careful not to overindulge, however. Strong
emotion causes splotches of color to return to their faces, making them prime targets for the high cardinal's watchful servants.
Gallows
When townsfolk suspected of crimes aren't disintegrated on the spot, High Cardinal Thingol allows the accused a chance at salvation on an
infamous stage called the Gallows. Before their executions, the Maiden of Misery grants criminals the chance to put on the performance of a
lifetime. If their display makes her feel an ounce of emotion, the high cardinal vows to set them free. Thus far, she's never had to honor her word.
The stage is littered with the ashen remains of disintegrated entertainers.
Tomdon Manor
The dead dance in Tomdon Manor, a haunted mansion at the edge of town. The once-elegant three-story villa is in a state of disrepair. Dusty
planks cover its broken windows, and shingles dangle from its slumping roof. The estate once belonged to the Tomdon twins, a pair of failed
entrepreneurs who risked everything to save their dying business, even their souls. When a sudden and grisly accident claimed both of their lives
in one fell swoop, the twins awoke as wraiths. They quickly preyed on their household staff, condemning them to serve the manor beyond death as
specters.
Some nights, the manor comes to life, and music can be heard within. Free from their glum tethers, spirits gather for a supernatural soiree hosted
by the phantom brothers. Will-o'-wisps appear on the balconies, tempting curious townsfolk to venture inside, where the Tomdon twins and their
staff prepare to feed on the misery of their living guests.
Adventures in Hopeless
The Hopeless Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Hopeless Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
The party is caught red-handed after a mean-spirited goblin makeup artist ambushes them with a splash of magic paint.
1
Two beholders demand the characters perform at the Gallows or be disintegrated where they stand.
Commanded by its superiors in Hades, a nycaloth bubbles up through the Wishless Well and begins hunting members of
2
the resistance in Hopeless.
High Cardinal Thingol hires the characters to catch the Jester, a costumed vigilante (mage) in possession of a wand that
3
spreads joy.
A baernaloth (see Morte's Planar Parade) whispers to the characters through the Wishless Well, offering to trade ancient
4
secrets for the Maiden of Misery's true identity.
Plague-Mort
Gate Destination: Infinite Layers of the Abyss
Primary Citizens: Demons and Humanoids
Might and treachery rule in Plague-Mort, an autocratic cesspool teetering on the unhallowed brink of the Abyss. Rotting shacks, crumbling stone
edifices, and derelict streets lie in the shadow of a silvery keep atop a gray hill. An imposing fortress of demonic construction, Blightsteel Keep,
towers over the broken town that encircles it, separated by a bubbling moat of black ichor. From within its walls, an iron-hoofed tyrant, Archlector
Bex (lawful evil bariaur wanderer; see Morte's Planar Parade), lords over Plague-Mort and its despicable townsfolk, even as they plot against him.
Trust has no place here. The citizens of Plague-Mort are a sinister lot, traitors eagerly awaiting the chance to plunge their daggers into each
other's backs. They vie against each other to supplant the archlector, a position prized for its access to demon lords and their dark gifts. The
throne's despotic inheritor is doomed to defend the seat from an unending torrent of assassins and usurpers. Their pattern of betrayal has one
exception. Periodically, the townsfolk band together to combat the demonic hordes birthed from Plague-Mort's festering gate.
Demon ichor—a malodorous reduction of blood, bodily fluids, and viscera left by slain demons—oozes from Plague-Mort's sewers and chokes
local wildlife, transforming fauna into grotesque Fiends that prey on a wretched populace. Disease runs rampant, but those who succumb to
illness or infection don't stay dead for long. Undead are a common nuisance, as pox-ridden corpses regularly return to confront their oppressors.
“"The knife of betrayal is best twisted twice–once in the back and again in the grave. Trust no one, not even the dead."”
— Alorio Nightriddle. archlector's adviser
Gate
Plague-Mort's gate is the Pit, an inky sinkhole that churns within a locked chamber in the archlector's keep. A mangled steel platform extends
directly over the Pit, and walls of thick briars surround its swirling edge. A garrison of armored demons, the Hounds, defends the gate and its keep.
Once human vassals who lived outside the keep, the Fiends swear tenuous fealty to Archlector Bex so long as he furthers the interests of the
Abyss.
The whims of demon lords creep from the dark well to the ears of the archlector, an unwitting puppet who pines for their power. He does their
bidding, and in turn, the Pit whispers the names of mutinous townsfolk and other rising threats. Known dissenters are marched up the platform
and cast into the noxious void. Moments later, the Pit belches up a demon to serve in the ranks of the Hounds.
A grim fortress, Blightsteel Keep, looms over the demon-infested town of Plague-Mort
✏ One Pixel Brush
Demonic Incursions
At any moment, a horde of demons could spill from the Pit and stain Plague-Mort's streets with chaos and bloodshed. Though these recurring
events are largely unpredictable, many believe the demonic incursions are punishment for holiness within the town. Kindness and piety are met
with hostility and horror, and townsfolk overwhelmingly view missionaries of good-aligned deities as ill omens that must be wrangled and pitched
into the Pit.
Regional Effects
The region containing Plague-Mort's planar gate is influenced by the magic of the Abyss, creating one or more of the following effects in and
around the gate-town:
Demon Ichor. Demon ichor pollutes nearby water sources. Local wildlife that come into direct contact with the unholy gunk acquire demonic
attributes, such as multiple heads, leathery wings, or writhing tentacles.
Persistent Pestilence. Residents of Plague-Mort display various symptoms of supernatural illness. Townsfolk have sickly complexions and
commonly cough up flies or wipe ichor from their dribbling noses.
Undead Townsfolk. Dead townsfolk periodically return as skeletons, zombies, and revenants.
Noteworthy Sites
Plague-Mort is a bleak town of cobblestone streets and simple buildings clustered around a colorless hill. Cursed farmlands lie beyond the town.
Blightsteel Keep
The archlector rules from an unyielding steel fortress on a barren hilltop. A moat of demon ichor surrounds the ash-gray hill, polluted by countless
demons who gleefully bathe in the foul sludge. Living gargoyles adorn Blightsteel Keep's metallic eaves, and bloodthirsty demons roam its
luxurious halls in service to Archlector Bex.
Bex's second-in-command is the sniveling Alorio Nightriddle (chaotic evil, human mage). Alorio acts as Bex's distrusted adviser and maintains the
keep and its staff. It's an open secret that Alorio covets the throne, but he isn't above groveling to support his illusion of loyalty.
Plague-Mort isn't the first town founded on the gaping maw of the Abyss, and it won't be the last. In years past, the Pit has expanded suddenly and
without warning, swallowing the town and its inhabitants into one of the plane's infinite layers. Each time, however, Blightsteel Keep remains,
stubborn and eternal.
Outlying Farms
The gate-town's desecrated farmlands lie at the edge of town. Given the gate-town's steady supply of corpses, some macabre farmers fertilize
their crops with the dead. Bountiful harvests sprout from crooked stalks in forlorn farmlands, their red fruits plump, juicy, and delicious. However,
some crops are marked by wrinkled, blood-hued pustules that burst and spoil adjacent harvests if not pruned in time. If allowed to seep into the
soil, the pustules' liquid causes buried corpses to rise as hostile Undead. The cursed blight goads farmers to wade into the stalks and reap what
they sow.
Razed Altar
Believed to have once been a temple to a god of learning, Plague-Mort's abandoned cathedral has become a monument to malice: the Razed Altar.
Vindictive townsfolk gather in its shattered stained-glass halls to plot against the archlector and trade cursed items.
Adventures in Plague-Mort
The Plague-Mort Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories involving the gate-town.
Plague-Mort Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
Disguised as a cleric of a sun god, a deva from Excelsior begins proselytizing among hopeful townsfolk in secret.
1
Archlector Bex commands the characters to capture the missionary and deliver them to the Pit.
A farmer pays the characters to prune a patch of pustules from a field before the harvest is spoiled. Dozens of zombies
2
lurk within the maze of stalks.
Armed with a forked spear, the vindictive Martari Mayhem (lawful evil, tiefling gladiator) plans to storm Blightsteel Keep.
3
At the Razed Altar, she hires the characters to infiltrate the stronghold and report on its defenses.
Alorio Nightriddle (chaotic evil, human mage) invites the characters to a clandestine meeting at A Pinch of Salt, a
4
rundown tavern with a glabrezu proprietor. Alorio wants their help to oust the archlector.
Ribcage
Gate Destination: Nine Hells of Baator
Primary Citizens: Devils and Humanoids
Ribcage is the blackened heart of the Vale of the Spine, a jagged range of barren mountains whose peaks curve inward around a smoldering
valley. Iron walls encircle the fortified town, and two rows of cracked, dry spires of rock curl over its arid sky—the earthen ribs from which the gate-
town derives its name. Ribcage's menacing, arched gates, festooned with wings like those of a bat and forged from infernal steel, allude to the
power of the Lords of the Nine Hells.
Bound to the Nine Hells and its rigid hierarchy of backstabbing Fiends, Ribcage obeys a strict but mobile caste system. Stratified by morality,
residents climb the rungs of society through guile, treachery, and devilish deals to obtain power at any cost. As a result, the town's lowliest
paupers exhibit redeemable qualities, while the nobility are all but soulless—vile individuals who spend their days in decadence until their infernal
pacts come due.
To prevent the gate-town from becoming so evil that it experiences a cosmic realignment, Duchess Zelza Zurkbane (lawful evil succubus) and her
senators have enacted a policy limiting the number of devils in Ribcage. A succubus in a suit and tie, Duchess Zurkbane masquerades as a tiefling
arbiter. Severed unicorn horns support the soles of her clacking obsidian heels, and her briefcase—a subservient mimic—snaps open to reveal a
drooling maw of jagged teeth. Her Excellency rarely shows her true form and keeps her abilities secret, preferring to drain her victims through legal
proceedings and blackmail. Duchess Zurkbane wants nothing more than to plunge Ribcage into the Nine Hells and expects the Lords of the Nine
will reward her for the accomplishment.
Devils rule the brimstone skies above Ribcage, a treacherous town chained to the Nine Hells of Baator
✏ Alfven Ato
Gate
A column of roaring red flame swirls within the Citadel of Cinders, a walled structure in the center of town. Surrounded by silvery ash—said to be
all that remains of those who challenged archdevils and lost—the fiery pillar transports entrants to the desolate wastelands of Avernus, the war-
torn first layer of the Nine Hells. Clever Fiends and mages can change the gate's destination, warping the pillar into an icy mirror that leads to the
glacial layer of Cania or a noxious cloud leading to the rotting bog of Minauros. Only Asmodeus, Archduke of Nessus, can link the pillar to the
lowest layer of the Nine Hells.
In addition to the obsidian walls that surround the citadel, a garrison of devils defends Ribcage's gate. In times of invasion or other wide-scale
conflicts, the duchess can beseech Avernus to deploy infernal armies and weapons of war through the portal.
Regional Effects
The region containing Ribcage's planar gate is influenced by the magic of the Nine Hells, creating one or more of the following effects in and
around the gate-town:
Diabolical Surveillance. Fiendish, yellow eyes peer through windows, pools, and other reflective surfaces to judge citizens of Ribcage. Meanwhile,
the duchess and her senators can listen in on any message and sending spells cast within Ribcage, occasionally intercepting them.
Insatiable Greed. Creatures in or near the gate-town crave power in all its forms, but their accomplishments are never enough. Thirsts for
dominance are never quenched in the desiccated valley, where each victory feels hollower than the last.
Noteworthy Sites
Ribcage consists of five districts clustered around the Citadel of Cinders. Buildings are constructed from iron or hewn from sharp stones, with size
and ornamentation varying by wealth and social status. The town's five senators preside over one district each.
Bleeding Horn
Like molten blood, red-hot lava pours from a stony rib into the taproom of the Bleeding Horn, a devil-owned tavern located in one of Ribcage's
wealthier districts. The duchess and her senators tolerate its proprietor, an ice devil named Sparax who helps dry-tongued locals quench their
thirst with chilled cocktails. The heat from the glowing lava fall behind the bar keeps drink orders coming. Loose-lipped nobles regularly spill
secrets and rumors to Sparax, who always keeps one antenna to the ground.
Citadel of Cinders
A walled, ebony fortress rests on a dusty crag in the center of town. Considered Ribcage's exclusive sixth district, the Citadel of Cinders is the
gate-town's seat of law and corruption. Here, Duchess Zurkbane's senators—an easily manipulated quintet of bloated, self-important sycophants—
help her maintain the illusion of a just government.
An iron statue of Duchess Zurkbane stands in the citadel's courtyard, holding aloft a pair of burning scales. Behind it lies the Court of Cinders, an
ornate house of law where devil magistrates administer justice on behalf of the diabolical courts of the Nine Hells. Their jurisdiction is loosely
defined, however, and creatures that break laws elsewhere in the Outlands sometimes wind up in the Court of Cinders due to fine print in devil-
authored legal codes.
Gymnasium of Steam
Located just outside the town walls, the Gymnasium of Steam provides respite to weary travelers who have business in Ribcage but want to avoid
the duchess and her oligarchs. The resort leverages a network of scalding geysers and terraced volcanic springs to create a paradise of steam
rooms, saunas, and luxurious baths. Nobles schmooze with mercenaries and sellswords in the gymnasium's humid, ruby-tiled chambers, plotting
the demise or demotion of their neighbors. Meanwhile, invisible imps spy on the resort's patrons on behalf of high-ranking devils, gleaning the
visitors' deepest secrets when their guards are lowered.
Adventures in Ribcage
The Ribcage Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Ribcage Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
One of the character's loved ones pledges their soul in an infernal contract. To win it back, the party must argue their
1
case before a pit fiend judge in the Court of Cinders.
Commanded by a fallen angel (lawful evil planetar) who runs a rival tavern, a gaggle of imps begins vandalizing the
2
Bleeding Horn. The ice devil Sparax pays characters to deal with the situation.
Thalamra Vanthampur, a deceased duke of Baldur's Gate, claws her way out of the depths of Avernus and emerges in
3 Ribcage as a death knight. A vengeful conqueror, she calls on the characters to help topple Duchess Zurkbane and her
cronies.
Duchess Zurkbane hires the characters to capture a supposedly dangerous criminal, who turns out to be an innocent
4
commoner who saw Zurkbane's true form.
Rigus
Gate Destination: Infinite Battlefield of Acheron
Primary Citizens: Humanoids
Generals stoke the fires of war in Rigus, a permanent military encampment linked to a plane of battle and bloodshed. Constructed in tiers on a
fortified hill, Rigus is a monument to military strength. Eight octagonal iron walls, menacing and impenetrable, divide the town into seven stacked
rings festooned with banners of war. Advanced siege weapons are anchored to their angular battlements. Soldiers rise at the crack of dawn to the
punctual call of brass horns, filling the gate-town's tented circuits with the drum of marching boots and cadence calls sung by warriors honing
their bodies for an unending war.
Rigus follows a strict military hierarchy in which everyone has a rank. Commoners and green recruits come in as privates, the lowest designation
in the gate-town save for prisoners of war. Their arms tire from saluting their superiors and thankless, menial work. Citizens are expected to
comply with orders from commanding officers, who don't tolerate disobedience lightly. With time and dedication, ambitious cadets can graduate
to respected positions. Accomplished adventurers quickly ascend the ladder, but unproven visitors—called "slates" after the blank, chalk-white
badges they wear within the town—are paid little attention.
The six Crown Generals are the top brass in Rigus. Seasoned tacticians with centuries of battlefield experience between them, they command the
armies of nations. Among them is General Braahg (lawful neutral hobgoblin warlord), a broad-shouldered, gray-haired commander from the world
of Toril. Clad in crimson plate, the general pays homage to the Red Knight, a god of strategy whom he reveres. Deep down, Braahg hates war and
all its destruction. Stern and contemplative, he moves the pawns in his war tent with deliberation, knowing each toppled piece represents
thousands of casualties. The pensive general harbors many secrets, the darkest of which can end entire worlds. Braahg's disdain for the conflict
he oversees is counter to the gate-town's warlike nature and tempers Rigus just enough to keep it in the Outlands.
Within the militaristic, ringed walls of Rigus, soldiers prepare for a war that never ends
✏ Luca Bancone
Gate
The gate to Acheron rests in a spacious hangar deep beneath the tiered hill. In addition to natural underground tunnels, the chamber has two main
entrances. One is a mile-long, wrought-iron staircase located in the gate-town's highest district: the Crown. The other lies in plain sight—a massive,
octagonal elevator that comprises Rigus's penultimate ring. The platform responds only to the Crown Generals, who can lower the district—along
with armies and weapons of war—to the gate chamber.
Nicknamed the Lion's Gate, the portal looks like an enormous feline eye within an arch of bones, a gaseous curtain bisected by a roaring black
stripe.
Regional Effects
The region containing Rigus's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Acheron, creating one or more of the following effects in and around the
gate-town:
Pulling Rank. Creatures in Rigus have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks made to influence a creature of a lower rank. These creatures
have disadvantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks made to influence a creature of a higher rank.
Regimented Populace. Creatures in Rigus are marked with a magical symbol denoting their rank and station. At the DM's discretion, nonsapient
creatures, such as certain Beasts or Plants, might not have a rank.
“"Congratulations, slate! You've been enlisted in regiment 231. Take this mop and report to the second ring for latrine duty. Then, you're headed to
the front lines. Casualties are high, but so are the opportunities for promotion."”
— Koldrel, gate greeter
Noteworthy Sites
Rigus is a fortified hill divided into seven districts, separated by thick iron walls and stratified by height. Tents, military buildings, and training
camps line its ringed districts, overseen by guard towers equipped with siege weapons.
Bunkers
Rigus largely forgoes inns and taverns in favor of its bunkers, an underground complex of barracks and mess halls connected to all but the gate-
town's topmost ring. While there's plenty of room to quarter soldiers above ground, generals find the cramped tunnel conditions foster more
aggressive warriors. Life in the bunkers is mandatory for the gate-town's rank and file, but visitors typically prefer to stay at the Broken Slate, an
enduring surface tavern.
In addition to housing, the bunkers contain the gate-town's armory and vehicle-storage facilities, as well as secluded administrative chambers
where officials negotiate and strategize. Fetchtatter—a contemptible arcanaloth loyal to Bel, a former archdevil—frequents the bunkers. He acts as
an infernal arms broker, selling war machines to the Crown Generals of Rigus.
Crown
While everyday soldiers are buried and honored in the Final Procession (detailed below), the generals of Acheron are entombed in the
mausoleums of the Crown, Rigus's dignified topmost ring. While some Crown Generals are content to enjoy the early retirement that death brings,
others refuse to rest, joining a shadowy cabal of Undead warriors. Reborn as ghosts, liches, and mummy lords, they guide the Crown Generals
from beyond the grave. The most feared and respected among them is the death knight Nagaro, a former paladin from the world of Krynn who
severed her oath in her pursuit of conquest. While the strategies of other Undead generals in her company have grown stale with their desiccation,
General Nagaro remains as sharp and ruthless as ever.
Final Procession
A monument of reflection amid a hungry machine of death, the Final Procession is dedicated to the countless lives sacrificed in conflicts across
the multiverse. The memorial consists of upright sepulchres and tall, granite steles engraved with the names of fallen heroes. History is written by
the victors, however, who don't always respect their enemies, no matter how brave or honorable those foes might have been.
The Final Procession is also a place of ceremony. Generals frequently award medals of bravery to valiant souls, whether living or dead, before an
audience of their comrades at the memorial.
Adventures in Rigus
The Rigus Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Rigus Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
The arcanaloth Fetchtatter pays the characters to steal an infernal war machine from Ribcage so it can be sold to a
1
general in Rigus.
The avatar of an evil deity of war (use the planar incarnate stat block from Morte's Planar Parade) emerges from the
2
Lion's Gate to destroy Rigus.
A mummy lord in the Crown commands General Braahg to implement an outdated strategy. Risking treason, the
3
hobgoblin hires the characters to lay his superior to rest.
The ghost of a fallen warrior asks the party to investigate why their name isn't on the Final Procession. The culprit is a
4
petty Crown General who took credit for the warrior's heroism.
Sylvania
Gate Destination: Olympian Glades of Arborea
Primary Citizens: Fey and Humanoids
Sylvania is a nonstop party, a boisterous glade that thrums with revelry at all hours. Elves and hobgoblins dance together in glittering patches of
magical light, serenaded by singing harpies and the drum of satyr hooves on hollow stumps. Locals treat every visitor like the celebration is just
for them, adorning each guest's head with a flower crown and fashioning them garments in theme with the current festival, which changes by the
day.
“"Hey, everybody, watch this!"”
— Dewie Doubledare (may he rest in peace)
The gate-town's buildings are enchanting structures intertwined with the forest around them. Toadstools sprout from the mossy roofs of squat hill
homes, and tiered, open-air ballrooms soar into the sky on the alabaster branches of wise, old sycamores.
The Seven Spiritors, eidolons of revelry from the plane of Arborea, govern the gate-town. Neither living nor dead, these eternal beings act as
Sylvania's party planners, peacekeepers, and gracious hosts. Virtues of celebration, the Spiritors are manifestations of nostalgia, passion, and
relaxation, among other things. They have no known physical forms, instead preferring to roister along in commandeered vessels, such as willing
party guests, animated statues, or meticulously trimmed topiary hedges.
Mystified by a panoply of delights, partygoers sometimes become prime targets for malevolent forces. Hags and other Fey lure gullible celebrants
to eerie cottages. Other guests become so lost in the celebrations they never leave, stupefied in an unshakable trance of numb ecstasy.
A vampire revels with fey creatures and one of the Seven Spiritors during a nighttime rave in Sylvania
✏ Michele Giorgi
Gate
The gate to Arborea rests in the dense forest that encircles Sylvania. The woods nearest the town are jovial and bright, but farther out, they fill with
darkness, mystery, and even violence. Unlike the portals in most other gate-towns, Sylvania's portal moves through the forest on a whim, opening
in an aged tree hollow one day and a circle of stones the next. The Seven Spiritors always know the gate's current location, but the portal never
stays there for long.
Regional Effects
The region containing Sylvania's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Arborea, creating one or more of the following effects in and around the
gate-town:
Guest of Honor. Everyone in Sylvania knows each other's preferred name. Creatures that have never met recall small tidbits about each other like
old acquaintances. This effect doesn't pierce magical disguises or false identities.
Life of the Party. Music and merriment pervade the town. Flowers and trees bob to the beat, and small birds and sentient teakettles whistle jaunty
tunes.
Natural Remedy. Sylvania wards its guests from the negative effects of overindulgence. Creatures have advantage on saving throws against the
poisoned condition.
Noteworthy Sites
Scent and sound are handy guides in Sylvania, a rustic hodgepodge of architectural styles joined by winding footpaths and noisy parades.
Establishments are caricatures of the splendors within, from the bubbling chimneys of kettle-shaped teahouses to macabre ballrooms in the
boughs of decaying pines.
Goodberry Grove
Celebrations start small in Goodberry Grove. The idyllic thicket of charming shrubs abounds with nourishing berries produced by primal magic
each dawn. Nestled amid the speckled shrubberies and vivid toadstools is Ewrendar, a pixie kingdom ruled by King Ewren III (chaotic neutral pixie),
the Party Pixie. A miniature monarchy, Ewrendar crowns its leader based on how hard they can party in a tournament of unhinged jubilance.
Widow's Henge
Deep in Sylvania's woods, a secluded arrangement of eight ancient menhirs looms over a silent clearing. Worn by time, the standing stones'
inscriptions are inscrutable to wandering partygoers. Some believe the monument was once a cage for the Seven Spiritors or a prison for the ruler
who preceded them. Others claim the monoliths denote a site for druidic rituals to an unknown nature god.
Not long ago, one of the stones collapsed inward, causing the entire forest to shudder. For a moment, the party stopped, its music briefly replaced
by an ominous whisper heard by all. Locals quickly shrugged off the event and resumed the festivities, but since then, strange, sumptuous feasts
have appeared on the toppled stone, covered end to end like a table of pale, calcified rock. Birds and woodland creatures avoid the lifeless site.
Wayward travelers who partake of its temptations are never seen again.
Yearning Timbers
The Yearning Timbers are the perfect party venue, a gaudy event hall carved from an enormous banyan tree that was once an elven temple. The
hall's branches are graceful and pearl white, interlacing into bridges and pointed, symmetrical archways. Magic blankets the tree, allowing the
Seven Spiritors to rearrange it to suit a variety of themes, right down to the weather: springtime garden parties lush with gossip and savory hors
d'oeuvres, romantic balls beneath cascading autumn leaves, and psychedelic raves illuminated by glowing fungi.
To keep each celebration fresh, the Seven Spiritors maintain a constantly evolving list of special guests, renowned and infamous entities from
across the multiverse. Many gods are invited to the Yearning Timbers, but few attend. Particularly polite deities, such as the drow god Eilistraee,
send proxies to express their regrets. Only gods who love a good shindig—like Alobal Lorfiril, elven god of revelry and mirth—regularly accept.
Clout-chasing empyreans routinely appear, eager to gain new followers or quench their foul moods. Party crashers are a common nuisance.
A nocturnal club nicknamed the Afterparty resides beneath the tree's roots. It's a who's who of Undead—liches, vampire lords, and skeletal folk of
all shapes and sizes. Jergal, the apathetic former Lord of the End of Everything, regularly challenges visitors to a game of skull bocce. Legend has
it he's been defeated only once.
Adventures in Sylvania
The Sylvania Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Sylvania Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
A vampire bachelorette invites the characters to a costumed ball at the Yearning Timbers, hoping to enlist their help in
1
choosing her next partner.
A jolly halfling invites the characters to a tea party at their woodland cottage. The halfling is actually a green hag intent
2
on eating her guests.
A blink dog gobbles up King Ewren III. As the kingdom descends into chaos, a pixie messenger asks the characters to
3
help determine the next monarch.
One of the Seven Spiritors (use the ghost stat block) possesses a satyr and involves the characters in a scandal that
4
must be remedied.
Torch
Gate Destination: Bleak Eternity of Gehenna
Primary Citizens: Humanoids and yugoloths
Ruler: The Family
Torch is a den of thieves built on the slopes of three volcanic spires that rise from a blood-red marsh. Formed from hardened molten rock, the
pillars alternate in spewing blazing streams of pyrophoric gas, providing light and heat to the town.
Clustered buildings retreat from the pestilent swamp, climbing each spire to its steep, walled-off heights. Notorious kingpins, brazen embezzlers,
and brooding criminal masterminds look down on petty larcenists from their towering hideouts, but danger still looms even for those at the top.
Without warning, the hollow peaks erupt with sporadic jets of lava and flaming rockslides, or as the locals say, "trouble above, trouble below."
The people of Torch are crooked, greedy, and cruel. Townsfolk eye each other with suspicion as they pass through the sloped alleys, clutching their
purses in one hand and brandishing cautionary blades in the other. Grifters, bullies, and bandits serve as minions for Torch's numerous criminal
syndicates, seedy organizations preoccupied with robbing each other and destroying rival guilds.
The gate-town is controlled by the Family, a tenebrous inner circle of crime bosses who enforce some semblance of honor among the thieves of
Torch. Admission into the Family is by invite only. The full roster of members is shrouded in secrecy, as are the venues for their conclaves. Even
so, some names in Torch carry more weight than others, and locals can't help but speculate about such folk's involvement in the town's hidden
oligarchy.
Day and night, Torch's three volcanic spires belch fire and smoke, giving the gate-town its name
✏ Noor Rahman
Gate
Like a bloodshot eye gazing over the Outlands or a scarlet gemstone begging to be plucked from the sky, the gate to Gehenna floats a hundred
feet above the walled upper slopes of Torch's middle spire, Maygel. The portal is difficult to reach without flight, but some ambitious creatures
attempt the perilous climb to Maygel's highest point, a caustic precipice wracked by acrid fumes that ignite on exposure to the atmosphere. From
there, it's a leap of faith.
Old Goldbelly
A decrepit ancient red dragon, Old Goldbelly, slumbers in the fires of Maygel, his rumbling snores heard within the lambent pillar. An ill-tempered
miser, the cranky wyrm wakes only to add to his hoard. Those who offer payment at his shrine, a gilded bowl near the spire's peak, can petition Old
Goldbelly to ferry them to the gate. However, those who disturb him with paltry sums risk his ire.
Regional Effects
The region containing Torch's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Gehenna, creating one or more of the following effects in and around the
gate-town:
Bottomless Greed. Equipment and lifestyle expenses in Torch are twice their normal cost.
Lure of Avarice. Visible coinage, jewelry, and magic items in Torch entice nearby creatures with faint, unintelligible whispers. The more valuable
the item, the louder the whispers become.
“"There's nothing more valuable than identity. Riches, once stolen, can be recouped, but reputations can be ruined beyond repair. Steal a name, and
you steal everything it owns."”
— The Mirrored Man, leader of the Lookalikes
Noteworthy Sites
Torch is divided among its three volcanic pillars—Dohin, Karal, and Maygel—after which its districts are named. High walls along the top of each
spire separate the rich from the riffraff, and two huge iron bridges connect Maygel to Dohin and Karal. Each district is divided into an upper and
lower subdistrict. The gaudy buildings along the upper slopes are typically constructed from stone or metal, while the moldy piers of Torch's
lowest districts feature glassless windows and rotten, waterlogged planks.
Bank of Abbathor
Headquartered in the city of Sigil, the Bank of Abbathor (detailed in chapter 2) services customers across the planes. Account holders can visit a
branch of the respected financial institution in the Outlands, just spireward of the bridge in Upper Dohin, but they might not like what they see.
The Bank of Abbathor in Torch is a cesspool of white-collar crime. Fraud, money laundering, and forgery run rampant within the once-shining
branch, whose crumbling roof collapsed long ago. Pummeled and melted by fiery rockslides, the statue of Abbathor in the lobby is hardly
recognizable. The bank's original tellers are gone, replaced by profiteers who skim a few coins off every transaction. They don't keep their ill-gotten
gains for long, however. The branch gets robbed at least once a week.
Bloodied Marsh
A sanguine marsh festers at Torch's lowest point. Sickly yugoloths row along its malodorous waters, reveling in the death and disease they bring.
Like a seeping wound, the marsh engulfs the lower city in crimson murk, transforming it into a temporary playground for a slaad colony that dwells
elsewhere in the bog. Residents exposed to the floods often fall ill, stricken with curses and supernatural plague if they aren't dragged away by
croaking Aberrations.
Gang Hideouts
Criminal organizations are plentiful in Torch. Their skeevy hideouts—ruled by monstrous ringleaders and their lieutenants—occupy the town's three
spires.
The following gangs, among others, are headquartered in Torch:
The Lookalikes are a group of shapeshifting identity thieves led by an elusive doppelganger called the Mirrored Man. The group holes up in a wax
museum in Lower Maygel.
The Severed Hands are a procession of grave robbers who collect hands from the corpses they plunder. Tricksters and charlatans, they
masquerade as humble priests, swapping their robes for shovels come nightfall. The group gathers its spoils in a run-down temple in Lower
Dohin.
The Stolen Glance is a society of fences and curators overseen by a callous, chain-smoking medusa named Zephesta. The group deals in precious
art objects from an illegal gallery in Lower Karal.
Adventures in Torch
The Torch Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Torch Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
When a buyer stiffs the Stolen Glance, Zephesta hires the characters to collect the debt and "rough him up a little bit."
1
She fails to mention the buyer is a cloud giant.
A death tyrant claiming to be the deceased founder of the Xanathar's Guild on Toril hires the party to obtain an invitation
2
to the Family on its behalf—or be destroyed.
The Bank of Abbathor hires the characters as security. The very same day, two maelephants (see Morte's Planar Parade)
3
attempt to rob the bank.
Doppelgangers in the Lookalikes gang take on the characters' appearances and go on a crime spree, creating problems
4
for the party at multiple locations.
Tradegate
Gate Destination: Twin Paradises of Bytopia
Primary Citizens: Humanoids
A hub of ethical trade, the gate-town to Bytopia brings a slice of Sigil's sprawling markets to the Outer Planes without the breakneck pace or
cutthroat competition of that multiversal hub. Tradegate is a town of industrious laborers and gentle traders, buzzy plazas and quaint boutiques,
and quiet crafts and wild inventions.
Tradegate's citizens are upright, productive, and optimistic. Dwarves and gnomes abound in the star-shaped town, acting as builders, merchants,
and tinkerers who aren't strangers to the daily grind. Under the guidance of the Five Star Guild—a council of entrepreneurs, innovators, and
representatives from the town mint—Tradegate has risen to a mercantile powerhouse at the center of the Great Wheel.
Coinage from across the multiverse flows through Tradegate. The gate-town simplifies market exchanges by minting its own currency, a magnetic
cobalt coin known as a lodestar. The lodestar has become a standard currency accepted in transactions throughout the Outlands. However, the
currency isn't as stable as its prevalence suggests.
Due to its reputation for economic prosperity, Tradegate has become the target of raids, the worst of which is a recurring group of treasure-hungry
xorn. Periodically, the voracious Elementals surface in the town, destroying buildings and devouring the town's plentiful reserves. Nevertheless,
Tradegate's stouthearted folk remain undeterred, hastily rebuilding demolished businesses.
Tradegate's living portal to Bytopia, the Trade Master, inspects an offering from a pair of prospective travelers
✏ Zuzanna WuZyk
Gate
Visitors struggle to locate the gate to Bytopia, a living portal that appears as a bearded bariaur called the Trade Master. His long, recurved horns
are easy to spot, gilded appendages embellished with dangling coins from across the multiverse. Rumored to be an incarnation of a deity of
commerce or a planar manifestation of trade itself, the Trade Master appears as a bariaur wanderer (see Morte's Planar Parade) who can cast the
gate spell at will, requiring no material components.
Entrants must barter with the Trade Master to enter Bytopia. The many-horned bariaur knows everything an interested traveler owns down to the
last coin, including abstract holdings and objects of sentimental value—memories, keepsakes, and songs. The Trade Master's price is high but fair,
tailored to the individual's wealth. Those who attempt to swindle the Trade Master or threaten their way into Bytopia might be banished to some
remote plane with a stamp of the bariaur's hoof.
Regional Effects
The region containing Tradegate's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Bytopia, creating one or more of the following effects in and around
the gate-town:
Crafty Town. The time and cost required to craft nonmagical objects, such as adventuring equipment, are halved in Tradegate.
Resilient Production. Damaged buildings, roads, and structures in Tradegate are repaired by its populace within 1d10 days.
Noteworthy Sites
Shaped like a star, Tradegate has five triangular districts, separated by industry and arranged around a pentagonal plaza of shops called the
Everything Emporium. Creativity shines in the open-air marketplace, a break from the unfussy designs and gray-stone warehouses that make up
much of the town.
Everything Emporium
Built on a checkered pattern of glittering gold-and-violet tiles, the Everything Emporium is Tradegate's main attraction. The emporium features
extraordinary wares from every corner of the planes, but despite the ever-present crowds, shoppers remain unusually polite. Buyers form orderly
lines around businesses, which range from quaint curiosity shops with niche gnomish appliances to squat dwarven forges with their bellowing
furnaces. No one shoves their way to the front of a queue, and no illegal market awaits contrabandists after sundown. Theft is rare, though guards
are still present in the form of awakened Bytopian trees and lawful Celestials who know a lie when they hear one.
“"Come on down to Forbi's Fixers, located across from Ooze Choose in the Everything Emporium! Apply just one coat of our award-winning Fixin'
Polish, and your armor will be shinier than a modron's backside."”
— Forbi Figglemendle, Tradegate entrepreneur
Manyroads's Maps
The Outlands' most renowned cartographer is Melvin Manyroads, an energetic conjurer (chaotic good, gnome mage) who dwells in a turquoise
tower with a marigold roof. Peppy and loquacious, he roams the planes for weeks at a time, intent on charting every square inch of the multiverse.
He funds his explorations by selling maps to fellow wanderers and adventurers, as well as the occasional tourist.
Melvin's maps aren't always cheap—or accurate, for that matter—but his atlas is brimming at the seams. The hospitable gnome claims to have
mapped hundreds of locations throughout the planes, including many of the gate-towns. Melvin offers discounts on older maps, but some of his
earliest depictions are little more than interesting shapes with crude annotations.
Throughout his travels, Melvin has earned many enemies, having trespassed in the lairs of demon lords and hoodwinked gods to survey their
domains. When he needs to skip town, the slippery cartographer collapses his tower into a magical map tube, slings it on his back, and sets up
shop elsewhere.
Trademill Mint
Unless they plan to barter with locals, visitors should stop at the Trademill Mint, a high-security building where Tradegate produces its currency.
Run by a board of trustees consisting mainly of financially inclined dwarves, the mint is a cobalt fortress where traders can exchange virtually
anything for its worth in lodestars.
The Trademill Mint's most senior board member—a nervous, monocled economist named Erasimus Astralbeard (neutral, dwarf noble)—is the
source of the town's recent troubles. Not long ago, when Tradegate was overflowing with coin, Erasimus secretly opened a portal to the Elemental
Plane of Earth, introducing an aggressive group of xorn to the Outlands in hopes of counterbalancing Tradegate's then-abundant wealth. However,
the xorn's greed proved insatiable, and the Elementals continue to sack the town for all it's worth.
Adventures in Tradegate
The Tradegate Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Tradegate Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
1 While the characters are shopping, several hostile xorn attack the Trademill Mint.
During a demonstration for the characters, a gnome inventor's latest creation (use the iron golem stat block) runs amok,
2
wreaking havoc.
Melvin Manyroads (chaotic good, gnome mage) asks the characters to help map one of the many sites in the Outlands
3
(see the "Other Realms" section later in this chapter).
A local beekeeper wants to sell a special planar honey in the Everything Emporium. To help her get started, the
4
beekeeper asks the characters to capture 1d10 live sunflies (see Morte's Planar Parade).
Xaos
Gate Destination: Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo
Primary Citizens: Githzerai
Ruler: Varies
Chaos reigns supreme in Xaos, a gate-town tethered to the ever-turbulent plane of Limbo, where reality is only as stable as the thoughts that bind
it. Xaos lies in a region of extreme climates and varied terrain—rugged mountains, muddy swamps, balmy coasts, and barren dunes. The town's
fragile structures are hewn from obscure materials anchored to semi-stable foundations, and its roads are tumbling waves of cobblestone that
upend and rearrange themselves without warning. Locals can't even agree on how to pronounce the town's name.
Xaos has no consistent ruler. The town's sovereign fluctuates, chosen at random by a diadem of shifting crystals that appears atop the current
ruler's head. The crystal crown remains throughout a ruler's reign, which can last for months or fizzle before their coronation is done. The laws a
ruler makes are similarly temporary and futile, and criminals rarely serve their full sentences. Because of this, residents tend to live by their own
creeds, carving out some semblance of order from a settlement in eternal flux. Either way, locals humor their leader—be they a beloved monarch
or a despised tyrant—by addressing them as "Your Majesty."
In recent years, Xaos has become a haven for the Sha'sal Khou, a group of githyanki and githzerai who fervently believe in the reunification of the
gith. Considered radicals and outlaws by their fractured people, members of the Sha'sal Khou work secretly in their respective societies, subtly
discouraging violence toward their gith kin while carefully recruiting like-minded individuals. As part of the organization's goals, the Sha'sal Khou
has founded a fortified enclave in Xaos masquerading as a githzerai embassy.
Three modrons prepare to enter the Cube, a mechanical outpost corrupted by the disorder of Xaos
✏ Robson Michel
Gate
The gate to Limbo shifts with the town, changing shape and location at indeterminate intervals. In the morning, it might be the glaring eye of a
cyclopean statue. By night, it could be a freestanding door, humming softly in the middle of a river of sluggish lava. Other times, the gate takes
bizarre forms, such as a dull liquid in an antique chalice that must be sipped to transport creatures, or a sassy, sapient mouth that admits only
those who reveal a titillating secret to it. Regardless of its form, the gate isn't hard to identify; chaos swells around the portal—the eye of a
maelstrom of change.
“"Chaos, much like order, begins in the mind. Refuse its entry into your thoughts, and Xaos is yours to mold."”
— Bruth, Sha'sal Khou diplomat
Regional Effects
The region containing Xaos's planar gate is influenced by the magic of Limbo, creating one or more of the following effects in and around the
gate-town:
Chaotic Combustion. When a creature in Xaos casts a spell that deals acid, cold, fire, or lightning damage, the gate-town attempts to substitute
that damage type for another. Roll a d4 for the new damage type, if any: (1) acid, (2) cold, (3) fire, or (4) lightning. This effect can change only
one damage type per casting of a spell.
Spontaneous Deconstruction. Structures in Xaos dissolve and re-form at random. Glass gymnasiums melt into metallic puddles that give way to
brick taverns with belching smokestacks of poison gas, and so on. These transformations don't harm Xaos's inhabitants.
Noteworthy Sites
Xaos has no defined districts and few steady landmarks. Aside from a handful of local anchors—structures built on stable, neutral-aligned areas
that resist the town's volatile nature—nothing remains for long. Most homes and businesses are owned by githzerai, sculpted from currents of
instability into ordered redoubts: towers of latticed diamond, domed obsidian taverns, and magnesium enclosures that shelter inhabitants from
roiling storms of matter and energy.
The Cube
Recently, a unit of modrons from the far end of the Outlands set out to establish a degree of order in Xaos. The modrons' solution was a lawful
outpost: a polished brass polygon called the Cube. However, the gate-town gradually corrupted the outpost, which collapsed in on its occupants.
Now, the Cube exists in a constant state of flux, an undulating, four-dimensional mass of repeating fractals and micrified contours. Those who
enter the Cube are rarely seen again, and the few creatures that claim to have been inside the structure describe it as a hostile realm of
mathematical impossibilities, a clockwork house of horrors.
Some residents speculate the Cube is alive—a hovering, sapient Construct that feeds on Xaos's disorderly residents. Periodically, Automata
deploys modrons to recover the lost unit, but they are swallowed just the same, absorbed into the belly of a massive, mechanical beast.
Githzerai Embassy
The githzerai embassy is an island of order amid a sea of chaos. The adamantine citadel floats above Xaos, held aloft by collective thought and
focused meditation. A powerful sage named Almera (githzerai futurist; see Morte's Planar Parade) defends, sustains, and reshapes the embassy
with her psionic prowess.
Though it sees its share of legitimate ambassadors, the citadel is a front for the Sha'sal Khou. Normally mortal enemies, githyanki and githzerai
live in harmony within its walls, raising children who are simply called gith. Almera keeps in touch with the organization's covert leader, a powerful
githyanki warlord named Zetch'r'r who has yet to visit the enclave.
The dread Lich-Queen Vlaakith, ruler of the githyanki, has issued a reward for the skulls of githyanki traitors, and she prizes those of the Sha'sal
Khou above all others. As rumors drift through the Astral Sea of an enclave in the Outlands, some githyanki knights have begun poking their silver
swords around Xaos in search of so-called radicals.
Slaadi Nest
The slaadi of Xaos drag their prey to a gooey nest on the edge of town. Cocooned within the bores of a mysterious geometric pillar, their victims
become unwilling incubators for hideous slaad tadpoles that erupt from their hosts at birth.
Adventures in Xaos
The Xaos Adventures table offers suggestions for encounters and stories in the gate-town.
Xaos Adventures
d4 Adventure Hook
1 A team of four quadrones recruits the party on a rescue mission into the Cube.
Lazethon, a githzerai uniter (see Morte's Planar Parade), recruits the characters to defend the embassy from an
2
approaching githyanki warship.
A merciless githyanki knight arrives in Xaos on the back of a young red dragon. He asks the characters to help him sniff
3
out members of the Sha'sal Khou on behalf of Vlaakith the Lich-Queen.
Slaadi flock to their nest in Xaos for a ritual that occurs once every century. Afraid of becoming hosts for slaad tadpoles,
4
townsfolk beseech the characters for aid.
Other Realms
Outside the gate-towns lie walking castles, the lairs of timeless evils, and godly realms ruled by deities who dwell among their worshipers. The
following realms exist in the Outlands.
Caverns of Thought
The spies of Ilsensine report to the Caverns of Thought, a hostile realm of alien tunnels deep beneath the Outlands. Cold and calculating, Ilsensine
is a divine entity revered among illithids. Ilsensine's infinite tentacles pervade the otherworldly caverns, worming their way into untold worlds.
Eaters of knowledge (see Morte's Planar Parade), along with mind flayers and their thralls, protect the hive mind, which intersects with Gzemnid's
Realm (detailed below).
The Great Brain rarely entertains visitors. However, creatures who aspire to slay or supplant gods sometimes find themselves in Ilsensine's
service, hoping to learn a fraction of the coveted secrets the deity has pried from the minds of the multiverse.
Court of Light
The Court of Light is home to Shekinester, the Three-Faced Queen of the Nagas. Ramps and serpentine architecture pervade her deceptively small
realm, a palatial stone nest where Shekinester purifies entrants through magical tests. Coiled around the court is the Loom, a dense tangle of
poisonous brambles with thorns dripping like fangs. Nagas slither to the Court of Light not only to worship the Three-Faced Queen, but also to
share stories around the Arching Flame—a cleansing, eternal fire that remembers the oldest tales in the multiverse.
Dendradis
One of several rilmani (see Morte's Planar Parade) communities, Dendradis is a vertical city of towers and bridges that knits across a fissure in the
Spire. Rilmani number among the few who settle near the Spire, as most avoid the strange ambiance the impossibly tall mountain emanates. For
the rilmani, the Spire is a sacred site—a manifestation of the multiverse in balance. Their metallic structures seal damage to the Spire and usually
last for only a few hundred years before vanishing and leaving behind only smooth stone.
Dendradis is notable not only for its size but also because the slowly growing, lattice-like city works to cover a massive body entombed within the
Spire. The rilmani who settle here know the massive corpse's identity but keep this knowledge secret, leaving outsiders to speculate whether the
corpse is a dead god, a visitor from beyond the multiverse, or something else entirely.
From the secrecy of his hidden tower, the Father of Giants observes his children scattered throughout the multiverse
✏ Martin Mottet
Flowering Hill
Just spireward of Ecstasy lies the Flowering Hill, a kaleidoscopic orchard and the divine realm of Sheela Peryroyl, the halfling god of agriculture.
Vibrant wildflowers sprout behind every step taken in this agrarian community of sturdy fences and mossy hill homes. Halfling farmers live
carefree lives in the Flowering Hill, tending to quaint but fertile plots, far from the hustle and bustle of busier locales and their dangers. Harvests
are plenty, so feasts are a regular occurrence, hosted by the god and open to any nature lover with an empty belly and a tale to tell.
Gzemnid's Realm
Tall, spindly mountains rise and curl above the noxious realm of Gzemnid the Gas Giant, the beholder god of deception, fumes, and fog. The
offspring of the Great Mother—the eldritch matriarch from which all beholders descend—Gzemnid lurks within a deadly network of smooth
tunnels, obscured by toxic clouds and laced with traps and illusions. Beholders prowl the gaseous labyrinth, furthering their god's duplicitous
schemes.
Gzemnid's Realm is connected to the Caverns of Thought. The beholder god enjoys a tenuous alliance with Ilsensine, whose servants and aberrant
thoughts haunt the depths of the subterranean maze.
Hidden Realm
After the decline of giants, Annam the All-Father disowned his children and left Ysgard, swearing never to answer the prayers of giants again until
they restored their ancient kingdom and reclaimed their rightful place as mighty rulers. The All-Father now dwells in the Outlands, his realm hidden
from divination magic and invisible to the naked eye. Though the Hidden Realm's location is unknown, divine oracles believe the Father of Giants
sits in a crystal tower atop an enormous mountain, silently watching over the multiverse and waiting for his children to rouse from their
complacency. Some claim a portal to Annam's fortress lies spireward of the Great Pass.
Labyrinth of Life
Ubtao, Father of Dinosaurs, maintains a divine realm in the Outlands. The Labyrinth of Life is a tangled, meandering jungle where dinosaurs run
rampant, including Ubtao himself, who roams his forest maze as a tyrannosaurus rex.
Mausoleum of Chronepsis
The sands of time trickle in the Mausoleum of Chronepsis, a once-great city from the age of dragons that has long fallen to ruin. Here, surrounded
by hundreds of hourglasses in a vast cavern beneath the dilapidated city resides Chronepsis, the dragon deity of time and fate. Chronepsis
typically manifests as an ancient time dragon (see Morte's Planar Parade), though he sometimes takes the form of a black dragon with iridescent
scales. Each hourglass within the dragon god's realm is said to represent the life of a dragon somewhere in the multiverse.
Chronepsis prefers to be left alone, and he seldom leaves his sanctum. In times of great need, he relies on seasoned adventurers to recover stolen
hourglasses, speed the sands of a troublesome wyrm, or travel back in time to mend a past wrongdoing.
Moradin's Anvil
Hammers ring out in Moradin's Anvil, a dwarven mining city tucked under the icy mountains spireward of Glorium. The realm is divided among
three dwarven deities: Dugmaren Brightmantle, god of invention and discovery; Dumathoin, god of exploration and buried secrets; and Vergadain,
god of luck and wealth.
Impeccable smiths, the dwarves of Moradin's Anvil produce some of the best armor and weapons in the Outlands. They regularly trade with the
people of Ironridge, a small surface settlement nestled in less perilous peaks near Glorium.
The region's best known inhabitants are a trio of fantastically old, fate-weaving witches who go by many names—the Norns, the Graeae, and the
Fates among others. These seers are said to be able to see any creature's past, future, and true purpose with perfect clarity. However, since many
of the realm's residents are aged, reclusive fortune tellers, none know who among them are the actual Norns, if indeed they exist.
River Ma'at
The River Ma'at is a snaking waterway that flows spireward of the gate-towns from Torch to Excelsior. Boathouses float atop its gentle waters, and
gnome-operated paddle steamers chug along the river's length, ferrying travelers between realms for a few lodestars. Stilt houses rise from the
river's flooded banks, marshy expanses widened by countless tributaries and surges from other planes.
The River Ma'at is a delicate aquatic ecosystem molded by the wondrous creatures that inhabit it. Wild unicorns drink from sparkling streams, sea
hags plot in dank river caves, and the river splits into branching sections of rapids near the dens of sleeping hydras.
Semuanya's Bog
The domain of the lizardfolk deity Semuanya is a challenging paradise for hunters and others who embrace the god's philosophies of athleticism,
survival, and self-improvement. Semuanya's followers believe in pushing their limits in the face of the most hostile conditions. Semuanya's realm
reflects this: a vast, densely canopied swamp that is colorful, sweet smelling, and full of lethal natural hazards. Along with the servants of
Semuanya—who eagerly encourage visitors and one another to strive toward ever-greater goals—all manner of giant Beasts and swamp monsters
inhabit the bog. Dangerous plants are also common in the deepest parts of the mire, but among them grow fruits and herbs that can be used to
brew some of the rarest elixirs in the Outlands.
The Spire
The spoke at the center of the Great Wheel, the Spire is an infinitely tall pinnacle of rock that towers above the Outlands. Above its highest point
hovers the city of Sigil, its streets lining the inside of a floating torus.
Pockets of antimagic radiate from the Spire. Though the gate-towns and most realms in the Outlands are beyond its reach, the Spire's intermittent
magic-dampening effect is enough to bring archmages to their knees and reduce gods to mortals. Still, some creatures eke out an existence near
the Spire, and others, such as rilmani, thrive in its shadow, seemingly immune to its nullifying properties.
Thebestys
Outside the gate-towns, Thebestys is one of the largest settlements in the Outlands. Deserts and marshes compete for dominance around the
walled city, situated near the banks of the River Ma'at. Founded by a god of learning, Thebestys draws sages and scholars with the promise of
knowledge, for its library is said to hold the answer to any question one could ask. However, finding answers within the endless repository can
prove futile—some creatures die of old age in between its bookshelves only to continue their hunt as petitioners. More often, planar powers of
knowledge come to Thebestys to throw down with one another in academic debates, hoping to assert a single truth for all of history.
Walking Castles
Outlanders are always on the move, and some like to take their strongholds with them. Whether powered by gnomish invention, bestowed on
worshipers as godly boons, or animated with powerful magic, walking castles cause wildlife and other travelers to scatter as they tromp across
the plane. The mobile fortresses range in size and construction, from sprawling palaces haunted by royal spirits to impregnable aquatic keeps on
the shells of grumpy dragon turtles. Coveted by planar raiders, walking castles are capable of defending themselves from would-be conquerors.
Wonderhome
The gears of innovation turn steadily in Wonderhome, a divine workshop belonging to Gond, a god of craft, smithing, and invention. Populated
almost entirely by sapient Constructs, Wonderhome is a magnet for inventors seeking sparks of creativity, magical contraptions, or solutions to
nagging problems.
Poster Map
Cover
On the Cover: Sigil's enigmatic ruler, the Lady of Pain, looms before the planar metropolis and its curving skyline in this painting by Tyler Jacobson.
✏ Tyler Jacobson
On the Alt-Cover: On this cover, Tony DiTerlizzi depicts the Lady of Pain in her iconic bladed headdress. The expressionless Lady's inner
machinations are unknowable.
✏ Tony DiTerlizzi