Life in the Cage is a complicated matter. Even the status quo is barely fathomable to outsiders. And for those who live within it? Somehow, it all makes sense. But, what does it mean in the end? What of the factions, the arising guilds, equally escalating tensions, the general struggle? Only time will tell. Should the visions of the Cage’s seers be true, many of those elements in the dark won’t matter anyway. Their influence won’t last, but their damage will be done.
Author’s Note: These are drafts that have languished for a while. Needless to say, maybe I’ll continue to make these. Dunno. I’m back here because some old fans reached out. In the meantime, enjoy a heated rivalry, unusual crimes, a rally from Hell, cults and an homage to In The Mouth of Madness. As always, all of this is through the notes, letters and thoughts of The Cage.
The Cage, Sigil, an ever lively place full of surprises and wonders. Joy can be found amidst struggle and sorrow. Wonders are as common as fears. It is a place of variety, it is the center of the multiverse. For your curiosity, I have obtained letters about fae glamour, angered tree men, a murderous conspiracy and the Hag Countess’ campaign from the Cager side.
[Editor’s Note: Because in the end, would I lead you astray? Certainly not! Read onward, friends.]
Author’s note: The season of holiday stress is over once more. Ah, splendid. Anyway, I felt creative once more. And with that, more little blurbs and bits on the day to day around The Cage and beyond… with the added touch of a known friend Why? Because I will always love Sigil (at least the version less touched by Hasbro and their ilk later in this Year of 2023.)
Other note: this was written before the horrible OGL mess. Fight for OpenD&D and don’t stop.
Ah, here we are again! The Civic Festhall! Some time ago, I was here to deliver my information on the fair folk, after a wondrous trip to Ecstasy. Since then, I have been criticized and lambasted with an incomplete or biased take, especially by the mysterious Narrator. After all, focusing on such matters can deeply upset the fey. And that can cost one an eye *tap*… or even your entire being. Just look at me, I’m a one-eyed cat man now. But, I am not here to defame or bring attention to various characters. Likewise, my own association to a bookshop should not paint any bias either. Let us speak on more joyous occasions, the realms of knowledge. And specifically, let us study more on society and politics of the fey. For you see, they are far more complicated and organized than we could initially fathom.
I speak of the faerie kind that span the many planes. We know to some degree what they are, but how do they operate? What can we learn from their daily directions and general politics? Let us dive a little further into their own planes, as well as their own takes on our fair City of Doors. I shall await all to seat and properly get comfortable. I assure you that once I start my lecture, I shall continue through conclusion.
Author’s Note: The ways of the fey! Why not? I keep coming back to this topic one way or another, so let’s go! At this rate, I may as well be making my own fey content for a new setting. Also, it happens to coincide with the January 2022 RPG Blog Carnival! Should you be interested, please jump on board. Also, if you’re curious about my writing process, let this video explain it for you. Also, accompanying each part is some artwork from DiTerlizzi. This is mostly because I love his style and it’s perfect for this, considering he did artwork for Planescape, Spiderwick, Changeling and more.
More day-to-day life with the Cage. Turbulence looks to be a recent norm, but life finds a way of adapting or addressing such matters. Those who aren’t content with being clueless eventually find their way here, lest they give up or fall. Life ain’t easy, but many have carved a niche out of it. Plenty either just use others or get ahead in some other negative way, but that ain’t the city as a whole. Plenty of bashers take the honest and noble route, even some Hardheads and Guvners really are good at heart. Likewise, Signers and Ciphers can ante up good too. And should one need the aid, new means are emerging. Bleakers have their kitchens, plus some barmies wanna try to help others like them to help keep the Gatehouse from clogging so bad. So, life here. It is what it is.
Author’s Note: I always find myself coming back to this font of inspiration. Sigil has been a favorite of mine. I’ve been musing on making my own planar hub. As a previous picture would tell you, perhaps something with more Grimjack inspiration.
The Cage brings plenty of types, from all walks of life. If they can actually take the time, they drop being Clueless and are one of the regulars… so to speak. Those who complain otherwise are quick to forget that their ancestors were likely Primers. None the less, take a walk around and you’ll see and read plenty. It’s more than enough to tell one where the Chant may lie or where one can get a solid bub glass, maybe a cut of quick jink. So, welcome fair travelers. And welcome to my services as a faithful Tout.
Author’s Note: I wanted to do a quick one-off. Basically, letters, ads and more from Sigil in the style of stuff seen in the books.
Allow me to recant and give you words of caution. Remember, only take jobs that you can verify first. If you don’t, you might find yourself bound, gagged and stuffed in a warehouse in the Lower Ward… And from there? Well, read on and find out. Take it from a personal experience, at least I got some jink from a Sensate interview out of it. But, if you are more streetwise than I, then you will ahead of whatever challenges and traps lurk behind every corner. And yes, this includes the countless wonders of Sigil, the City of Doors.
Warning bashers and berks isn’t the purpose of this little session for today. No! Rather, I’m picking up where I left off from before. I’ve continued to take notes of all sorts of wonderful places and things in the multiverse. As always, revisiting a few places while finding new ones. So, let us find old friends and seek out new ones. Off I go, to places unknown and places barely known.
Author’s Note: As always, I love adding places to Planescape and beyond. One of my creations was actually a series of notes from years ago. If I found it before, something would have been said on it in the past. But, here’s my cobbled together take on developments on top of The Slags, the most infamous part of The Hive Ward! Joining that is a return to some previous concepts that I failed to really flesh out. And as always, a few other ideas are tossed around. Enjoy! As always, reference nods usually get a tag.
Not satisfied the first time, eh? Well, I have things for you. Not all sects made the glorious jump into our Cage. But, far more exist on the planes than you know. Let me tell you of a new list of sects that fill plenty of planes; Olden Glory, Moving Progress, The Burned, Front of Greatness, Glorious Subversion, Positivists, Educatorium and The Guardian Primers. Mind you, the last one is more of a guild. But, technicalities are important! You want details on the inner workings of these people, after all.
So, with a careful glance around and ducking into the right alleyway, please read onward and discover more things to know about the many Factions and Sects that hover around our spheres of influence and beyond. After all, you read the scribed words of a very banned author. And as such, you only place yourself at risk here. Stay safe, friend. And always, and I mean always, watch yourself for onlookers. And with that, do enjoy.
Author’s Note: So, besides the previous faction, only two other concepts here came from games themselves. One of them is just a nod towards a classic work of fandom, while another is based on said classic work. The rest? Additional philosophies through a fantastic and tongue-in-cheek window mostly.
Greetings, reader. There is no Ramon to worry about this time around. He is fine, my cohorts have seen to that. However, his journal is just too valuable to fall into the clutches of some grabby faction or offended primer. By all means, let me contribute! For the purposes of this document, this is an addendum to a magnificent tome that will damn you just by thinking about it. I speak of the most infamous tome in Sigil and maybe beyond, The Factol’s Manifesto! The pages within, adorned with flavour and flare by yours truly, describe the deeper details and dim dark on the factions that populate the Cage! Read no further, lest a basilisk of the mind take you! Once you go in, your mind will never go out.
Good, you’re still with me. Let us speak more of the infamous Factols’ Manifesto! The following pages are but supplements to inform you on some background groups attempting to politic and tinker with the workings of wider society all the same. I sense that you’ll ask a question, “Editor, how do I know you’re from Sigil when you don’t speak in Cant?” Well, my scrutinizing friend, one can choose to take a break from such slang terminology. Doing so can allow even the most oblivious of Primers to comprehend forbidden things that could either save them or… well… see above. So, take heed that all you see before puts your life on the line much like it does my own! With that dire warning, continue and be educated!
Author’s Note: Writing in the style of the Factols’ Manifesto, what fun! I’ve made a number of sects and the like over the years, also playing with other ideas. Plus, here’s a chance to spill the rest of the beans on the Acts of Balance “Faction” I’ve been teasing for a while.
Well met, primers! Oh, I mean, friends. When in Sigil, do as the Cagers do. You’ll have to forgive such tone, being a long time resident, myself. I’ll spare you little in The Cant, the strange dialect of the city. But please, blame me not if a bit of it leaks into my mannerisms and speech. You see, Sigil is a place unlike many others. The anomalous city hovers inside of a ring-like formation that floats just above the peak of the Outlands Spire. While the spire is quiet dangerous, especially to forces of the supernatural; these threats don’t necessarily affect those who make it here. But, these are replaced by a trove of new potential dangers. After all, this is the meeting place of the multiverse. So, let us take our journey into that wondrous center of countless realities. I speak of none other than Sigil, the City of Doors.
It has been far too long since I’ve actively returned home. Too much has happened, including the scrambling of reality itself! Thanks to that strange man in the machine cart, I’m here now though. With any luck, that fading city found its peace too. In the meantime, I’ve found mine. Of course, both dangers and delights line the streets, so one must always stay aware of their surroundings. And if you are from the Prime, do your best to not look too lost. Too many prey on “The Clueless”, whether through scams or more direct means.
Author’s Note: Good old City of Doors! Few things have inspired me more within the realm of D&D than Planescape. That setting has affected me when I tinker with other systems too! And by all means, Sigil is a center of that. So, here are a number of ideas that have come up either through various games or just ideas of my own. And, it was from said games that the Gamma World/Planescape crossover ideas spawned. Also, please pardon the fact that a tropical storm knocked out my power for a few days. My data wouldn’t even let me use my phone to edit things. Time to save up for a generator, right?
Just… do as she says. Fewer people get hurt that way. Also, please don’t bring up Gehenna! Other ‘loths anger her. She won’t say why!
“The multiverse, she is a cruel mistress. For much time, things have looked up for me. But for so long, my luck is rather dreadful. While my poems and records will be the stuff of legends, a break from this figurative and literal hells would be quite nice too! I preferred my luck with just the King of the Cross-Trade in Sigil.” – Ramon DeLeon, Planar Traveling Bard
Of Bards and Bad Places
While I assure you that not all planes are mortifying and deadly, I tend to have rather bad luck. This luck has sunk even lower, finding myself in the dark planes of the fiends. Races of creatures built from pure literal evil, formed into physical manifestations. Only the most noble and just and survive a trek into these wretched places. As I can assure that I’m not, I have my work truly cut out for me.
Let us discuss The Lower Planes of the Great Wheel. This is a place for not just creatures made of evil, but the most equally evil souls that find themselves punished or harvested for the creation of more fiends. The most worthy petitioners even gain the chance to become fiends of their own! To make matters more hostile, each plane has its own challenges within the environments themselves. Acidic air, dueling erupting fissures, grey murk and more await the most intrepid and foolish of explorers.
Now, where do I fit into this? A valid question! An attempted escape from strange realities proved rather flawed. My grasp on the planes is quite good, within my rules of reality. Parallel versions of the Wheel has all sorts of alterations, to say the least. With some level of luck, this is the “true reality”, however escaping the Lower Planes proves to be far harder than expected. Even any portals and keys that should work mysteriously fail. Well, through narrowly dodging fiends and escaping hostile environments, I’ve found my way across the Planes Below. Impossible as it may be, I find myself not too damaged by this. But, a Planeswalker has already seen a lot, no?
Author’s Note: I’ve been feeling a little down, so things have slowed a bit as a result. Plus, I junked a previous post that I couldn’t find myself completing, which slowed things down more. My apologies. Anyway, here is something I have been sitting on for a while. My Look at the Planes have focused too much on Ramon flailing about and finding danger, rather than describing locations and happenings in the planes, with Ramon as your guide. Let me change that. Also, I figure I may as well toss out a reference to the recent adventure. In addition, plenty of references to classic D&D lore, as well as my own mad musings.
Daemons & Deathrays 