r/planescapesetting

I like the factions in Sigil; I think they bring the city to life. I don't like it when factions disappear, collapse, or are exiled, so I'm not a big fan of the Faction War lore. I'm currently researching the factions Sigil has had and need help figuring out if I've missed any important ones or if they're worth remembering. For now, this is the list I have:

- Athar

- Believers of the Source

- Bleak Cabal

- Doomguard

- Dustmen (Renamed Heralds of Dust, but I prefer the old name)

- Fated

- Fraternity of Order

- Free League

- Harmonium

- Mercykillers

- Revolutionary League

- Sign of One

- Society of Sensation

- Transcendent Order

- Xaositects

- Ring Givers

- Incanterium

- Mind's Eye (This is a fusion of Believers of the Source and Sign of One; I'm still not sure whether to keep them together) or separate, for the moment I'm leaning more towards the latter)

- Hands of Havoc (Possible merger between Revolutionary League and Xaositects, or maybe just Xaositects with another name, I'm in the same situation as before)

I started running Turn of Fortune's Wheel without fully reading the book, just the adventure summary and searching the discussion online. However, we're now on our 21st session, and my party's finally stepping into the Mausoleum of Chronepsis.

Here's the context of the party:

- 6 player, but growing until we now have 6-7 main with 2 players joining occasionally

- out of the 7, 4 are worshipping Asmodeus. 1 worship Jergal (this is all happened before they even knew the scenario)

- They've recorded 5 gate towns on the Mimir (i said they can go to any gate town and just need 6-7 gate towns. For every gate town not on the scenario, I write the scenario myself using the SatO and MMP books)

Now, the changes I've implemented:

- The memory loss is more significant. So now and then, they will go through flashback scenes for each of the characters

- I made them all previously, being the agent of Renesnuprah, then investigating the imbalance in the Blood War

- In their previous life, they've made the connection to Shemeshka

- R04M is already encountered in the walking castle. Mimir recalibration is important for R04M memory and also for the final encounter with X10

- Yes, I made the Blood War things stand out more because 4 of them accidentally, without coordinating, worshipping Asmodeus

- Therefore, I make their constant respawning is because Renesnuprah cares for them because they have helped Renee in the past/future/present.

Now my question:

When they're meeting Renesnuprah, any suggestions on what I should do? I want it to be the finale of Act 2. And yes, they're already discovered about their miniature bodies on Shemeshka's place (but have no idea what it means). So probably, it would be better if at the end of tonight's session, they have a chance to steal their real body

(YES, TONIGHT! 🤣🤣 it was supposed to be scheduled for Sunday, but their schedule for tonight suddenly cleared up and ask for this session)

Hello all,

I'm starting up a new campaign this week based in Sigil. The PCs are inheriting a Dead Letter Office in Sigil - an institution founded right after the Great Upheaval. With so many portals closed, packages were unable to get to their destinations and it was the job of the DLO to get parcels to where they needed. The DLO is currently defunct for about 30 years and seen as a relic/joke institution. The PCs were not chosen because they are the best of the best. People want and expect them to fail.

There will always be three parcels for the players to choose from, letting them have some agency on which 'missions' they want to go on. I have the system acting a bit wonky - the backlog of parcels is huge and comes out in a seemingly random order - some parcels might be newer, some might be hundreds of years old and technically 'undeliverable'. The parcels will be anything from simple letters/packages to residents in Sigil, to longer missions - having to investigate where something is meant to go, finding the correct portal/portal key, and trapsing the planes/prime worlds to deliver the packages. There is, of course, more to that - but that's the basis without the overarching mystery and story behind why it all exists.

I've run a Planescape oriented campaign before, but this is the first time putting my players in Sigil. I'm having a lot of fun incorporating NPCs from Uncaged: Faces of Sigil into the story. The vibe is sort of episodic sitcom-ish pulp-noir so far.

I figured I'd post here - anyone get any fun ideas for parcels that have to be investigated and delivered somewhere in Sigil or anywhere else in the D&D mythos? I'm happy to hear suggestions if anyone is feeling creative!

I don't think any of my players read this forum so I'll throw out some examples I have so far for the starter missions:

1. A resident of a bleaker hospice sent a package with his dead wife's dentures so she could 'smile in the afterlife' but the package got lost. PCs will have to investigate records and find where the wife's corpse ended up to return her dentures. This lets me introduce the Hall of Information possibly, the Bleakers, and the Mortuary.
2. The package is old, meant for a rival of a bitter wizard. Upon reading the gift tag on the box to determine who the package is meant for, the command word is triggered and a group of quasits burst out of the box and wreaks havoc in the DLO - a pure fun, combat encounter. Package undeliverable.
3. A lich who repented in life's ashes have made their way into the undeliverable packages.. with a note requesting that his ashes be spread in his homeland on Krynn, in Solamnia. This one is longer and involves PCs finding a portal to Krynn, some travel, and possibly some Knight/Draconian encounters. Should be fun since Krynn tends to not have too many outsiders and some of the players are very unique races. (This is me tying up a loose end from my last campaign that ended prematurely).

Other than that, the Dead Letter Office is in serious disrepair. If the PCs are unable to earn jink to fix it up and bring it up to code, hostile takeovers could be triggered from the various factions who want to own it (and anything powerful potentially inside). Players will balance spending money on repairs (materials are unique, as the building is old, must be sourced along with tradesmen) and equipping themselves. Plus a certain NPC courier who runs the only courier company in Sigil is going to be none-too-happy about a new delivery service popping up and might demand they pay 'protection money'.

Ok so orcs have changed a lot through editions and maybe the change of their culture is impacting their patron ol Gruumsh One-Eye. After securing his own Battle Cube in Acheron his divine realm began to traverse the outer planes. Crashlanding the cube in the Heroic Domains of Ysgard. Ready to fight for honor and glory and no longer damned to a meaningless war, the planar orcs become roving bands, slaying giants and monsters, thwarting or inciting Ragnarok like events for the Aesir. Gruumsh becomes more Odin like and plots a glorious battle with Corellon and the Eladrin.

Any thoughts are appreciated! I'm starting a Planescape campaign and considering ways to make it my own and make it make more sense to me.

In the adventure the Great Modron March, there's a couple paragraphs on the various non-modrons who begin following the March as it goes around the great wheel. I've reproduced them at the end of this post, but some are joining to try to turn Modrons rogue, or learn about them and the march, some just looking for something fun to do, and others still following the first two groups selling them supplies. I'd love to have some sort "random" encounters with the March Followers, if anyone has any suggestions? Mainly thinking about while the march is in the Outlands, and the PCs have a walking castle they are following along in, fyi. Here a few ideas I had so far:

1. A Xaositect "prog Troubadour troupe" that plays music that sounds a bit like a mix of acid folk and King Crimson to "awaken" the modrons.

2. A down-on-his-luck wizard, following along and casting Magic Mansion at exorbitant rates for those sick of roughing it.

3. A Sensate painter, who is practicing by painting the modrons themselves.

4. A Wagon manned by the Heralds of Dust collecting bodies from followers who die along the march. Seen spending a lot of time suspiciously close to...

5. Toddy's Sweet Meatpies, selling fresh meat pies daily despite no obvious source of ingredients.

---------------------------------

"Obviously, something as momentous as the Modron March - especially an unexpected one such as this - draws a lot of attention. As the March travels the Great Ring, folks begin to follow it. Some see it as a pilgrimage to learn a great truth, and some see it as a big moving party. Others trail the March attempting to make a name for themselves by mere association.

Plenty of berks, particularly Xaositects, accompany the March and try to make the modrons turn rogue. They assault the modrons with diatribes on individuality, they attempt to overload their senses (they call it "showing them the beauty of chaos”), and they reason with the automatons and try to trip them up with logic. None of these efforts ever work. Whatever the true dark regarding rogue modrons, one thing definitely seems to be true: No one can make a modron go rogue.

’Course, as the March continues, even more folks follow along - making a little jink by providing the original followers with food and supplies, joining in the “party,” or just coming along because they have nothing better to do."

I'm thinking of playing Planescape: Torment. I know a bit about the theme, and I'm really drawn to the lore, but it can be intentionally ambiguous at times. The original crime of The Nameless One, the one that caused the planes to die and the gods to hate him, the one that condemned him to fight in the Blood War and pushed him to seek immortality to escape that fate, is one of the biggest mysteries. I've read that the game hints at some possibilities, but I'm wondering, what theories do you have on this topic?

This week, I am running a 1-shot face to face game for a few folks who have played D&D, but perhaps not extensively played as many of us here.

I told them it is a nautical scenario (true), but I left out that a vortex will suck their ship into the elemental plane of water (one NPC planned for this).

I am undecided on what to do about spell effects on the plane. What suggestions do folks have, considering that 4 of the 5 players have never played Planescape and I do not want a "gotcha" game.

EDIT: I only need spell effects. The story is done, and good IMO. Survival is not an issue. I just need spell effects.

I'm looking for one-shots—around 4 hours of playtime—that I could run to introduce people to the fantastic setting of Planescape.

Ideally a one-shot for 5.5e, but 5e would be fine too.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance :)