The heart of the Outlands, and therefore the self-proclaimed center of the planes, Sigil is known as the City of Doors. Portals leading throughout the cosmos lace every district of the city. Situated atop the spire itself that rises above the surrounding plane, Sigil is a ring floating in space, with the city itself constructed along the inside of the band. It is shaped like an open torus, with the city on the inside.
The city is ruled by the dreaded Lady of Pain, an enigma credited with enormous power - including the ability to bar divine beings from her realm. She is a floating female humanoid with blade like hair. The power level and abilities of the Lady of Pain are unknown, but it is widely assumed that her power equals or exceeds that of the deities themselves.
Bards call Sigil the City of Doors due to its large number of portals, but the locals aren’t that poetic. They just call it the Cage, a name suited to a city that’s tough to get into and tough to leave. Not just physically - though unless you know a little something about portals, even that’s a challenge - but emotionally. After all, what could you ever need that you couldn’t find in Sigil? The place has everything, and then some. It’s a filthy, noisy place, with smoke- choked alleyways and crowded streets, but Sigil is alive in a way that no other city could ever hope to be.
As befits its paradoxical nature, Sigil is in the center of an infinite plane (the Concordant Domain of the Outlands), floating above an infinitely tall spire and built on the inside of a gigantic hollow ring of unknown material. The place has no sun or moon and no real “horizon,” and only naïve visitors wonder aloud about what’s on the other side of the ground.
The only way in or out of the Cage is through its many interplanar portals. Locals claim that you can get anywhere from Sigil if you just know the right portal. While that may be an exaggeration, it isn’t far from the truth.
Sigil is apparently proof against deities. Whether because of the Lady of Pain's desire, Sigil's place atop the Spire, or an agreement among the deities, deities do not enter Sigil. Sigil has a huge number of portals, the sum total of which is unknown even to the inhabitants. There are portals to every known Outer Plane, every Inner Plane, and even gates to alternate Material Planes. Portals also connect Sigil to other locations in the Outlands, usually the portal towns. These portals require command words or command items in order to function.
Sigil is a trader's city. Goods, merchandise, and information come to it from across the planes. There is a brisk trade in information about the planes, in particular in the command words or items required for the operation of particular portals. These portal keys are sought after, and usually travelers within the city are looking for a particular portal or a portal key to allow them to continue on their way.
Sigil is administered by a number of factions, all of which may be politely described as “philosophers with clubs.” These factions break down along the lines of traditional alignments and control different parts of the city and different services therein.
Places in Sigil
| Name | Site Type |
|---|---|
| Civic Festhall | |
| Great Foundry (Planescape) | |
| Great Gymnasium | |
| Shattered Temple | Ruin |
| The Flame Pits | |
| The Greengage | Tavern |
| The Styx Oarsman | Tavern |
| Traban's Forge | Retail |