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Sigil lies at the center of the multiverse, and factions seek to grow their power in the city. Though the Lady of Pain ultimately holds dominion over the City of Doors, she permits to a degree these factions to compete with one another for the opportunity to capture the hearts of the masses and to spread their ideologies.
To help you prepare for the release of Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse, here’s a sneak peek at the most influential factions in Sigil. You’ll find downloadable faction recruitment posters you can print and play with, advice on creating your own faction, and learn what happens when a faction falls apart.
Click below to jump in:
Downloadable Handout: 12 Recruitment Posters for Sigil Factions
The city’s 12 most influential factions are known as the ascendant factions. Each is responsible in some way for managing the city, whether that’s laying down the law, crafting needed materials, or spying on troublemakers. But their diversity of ideologies and missions at times put them in opposition to one another, and tensions can escalate into all-out war.
Below, we offer downloadable recruitment posters for these major factions. You can print them out to use as handouts for when your party of adventurers begin to explore Sigil, and when the factions start to take notice of them.
Click a poster below to view its full-size version.
The 12 Ascendant Factions of Sigil
Column one of the below table has the faction name; column two has the faction’s motto; and column three reveals key information on the faction.
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Faction
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Motto
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Key Information
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Athar
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Who Claim the Gods Are Frauds
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Bleak Cabal
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Who Find No Sense in the Multiverse
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Doomguard
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Who Celebrate Destruction and Decay
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Fated
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Who Take All They Can and More
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Fraternity of Order
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Who Discover Laws to Find Truth
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Hands of Havoc
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Who Free Society Through Chaos
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Harmonium
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Who Enforce Peace Through Might
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Heralds of Dust
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Who Believe Everyone Is Already Dead
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Mercykillers
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Who Bring Justice to the Deserving
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Mind’s Eye
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Who Grow to Godhood
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Society of Sensation
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Who Find Truth Only in Experience
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Transcendent Order
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Who Act Unfettered by Thought
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Minor Factions
Not all the factions of Sigil are represented here, only the ascendant factions. You’ll find details on a few minor factions in Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse. Such factions may reflect ideologies gaining traction in Sigil or be former ascendant factions whose numbers have dwindled.
Creating Your Own Faction for Sigil
The ascendant factions are not immutable. Over time, their ideologies may become dated or scandal may chase out members. Should your party of adventurers seek to grow their power in the City of Doors, they may seek to establish a new faction.
To help you create a faction of your own, I put together this bulleted list for you to fill out:
- Name: Every good faction needs a name!
- Core Tenets: What are the driving principles for your faction?
- Motto: Write a phrase that encapsulates the faction’s mission or beliefs.
- Alignment: How far is your faction willing to go to accomplish its goals? What is the general alignment of its members?
- Aligned Plane: Which of the planes of existence have shaped the ideologies of your faction?
- Factol: Who leads your faction, if anyone? What are they like?
- Headquarters: Where do you make your home? This could be a single location in Sigil or multiple.
- Members: What kinds of people does your faction commonly attract?
- Attire: Who doesn’t love a good uniform? How do your members dress for meetings or events?
- Epithet: What are your faction members called? Choose a word that reflects the faction.
- Ally/Rival Faction: Which faction(s) complement yours? Which would like to see it burn?
If your faction will be one of the ascendant factions, you should also decide in what ways it serves the people of Sigil. The Society of Sensation (my favorite) provides the people with a distraction from their everyday lives, whereas the Fraternity of Order deals in law and studies the city’s many portals.
When a Faction Falls Apart
Factions come and go in Sigil. The machinations of a rival faction may destroy your faction or drive it underground. A similar fate awaits a faction that threatens Sigil’s neutrality in the multiverse. Should factions openly wage war with one another, the Lady of Pain will force them to a speedy resolution by temporarily closing the portals into and out of the city.
When a faction falls apart, its members may scatter to other factions or, if they are truly devoted to their cause, choose to meet in Nowhere, found in Undersigil. As the name suggests, Undersigil is the underbelly of the City of Doors. There, forgotten factions host forums in seedy alleyways surrounded by criminals and all manner of odd monsters. Whether their ideologies or numbers will ever allow them to escape Undersigil is another matter.
Prepare for Multiversal Havoc
Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse has everything you need to take your players to Sigil and the Outlands. For Sigil, you’ll have a gazetteer, encounters, maps, and more at your disposal to bring the city to life. When your players are ready, they can strike out on an adventure to rediscover who they are and that uncovers a plot that undermines the very rules of reality!
Michael Galvis (@michaelgalvis) is a tabletop content producer for D&D Beyond. He is a longtime Dungeon Master who enjoys horror films and all things fantasy and sci-fi. When he isn’t in the DM’s seat or rolling dice as his anxious halfling sorcerer, he’s playing League of Legends and Magic: The Gathering with his husband. They live together in Los Angeles with their adorable dog, Quentin.
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