<div align="center">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/f/f8/Ps-logo.gif)</div><strong>Links</strong><br/>IC Threads: Civic Festhall (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=170217)<br/><br/>Approved Characters: elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=170725 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=170725)<br/><br/>Interest Check Thread: http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=168279.0 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=168279.0)<br/><hr/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">The Premise; Lady of Pain; Sensates, Signers &amp; Sinkers</div><div class="spoiler_body"><span class="bbc_u"><strong>So what is Planescape?</strong></span><br/>Beyond the safe and familiar of the earthly Material Plane, through the silvery veil of the Astral, fantastical worlds await. The heavens of Mount Celestia, holy home of the angels, may lie through one gate; the clockwork of Mechanus, hive of the studious Modron automatons through another; through a third, volcanic Gehenna, eternal battlefield of the fiends' Blood War.<br/><br/>Connecting all of these places and untold more is the city of <strong>Sigil.</strong> Some call it the City of Doors, for there are hidden gateways to all other realms of existence, and a constant traffic of extraplanar creatures passes through this trade nexus. Some call it the Cage, for these gateways often move and close, leaving visitors stranded and at the mercy of fifteen powerful factions all vying for power. But if Sigil is a Cage, then it wasn't built for mere mortals- the Cage, it's said, is prison for the Lady of Pain.<br/><br/><div align="center">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d0/Lady_of_pain_wip_by_chasejc-d4hmvvc.png)</div><br/>The <strong>Lady of Pain</strong> is not a woman and she isn't human- nobody's quite sure what she is. The Lady (as she's called) does not speak and does not govern, though her power is absolute. She doesn't have a house, a palace, or a temple, and she does not tolerate being worshiped, under pain of death. The Lady is absolutely removed from the everyday life of Sigil, and yet none of it would be possible without her. It's the threat of the Lady that keeps the peace, it's the Lady who insulates Sigil from the dangers of the planes, and it's the Lady who ultimately allows Sigil's powers that be to flourish.<br/><br/>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/81/Title_factions.gif)<br/>The <strong>Factions</strong> consist of fifteen major groups commonly known as "philosophers with clubs." Because the planes can be shaped by belief, Sigil's factions aggressively recruit new members to their philosophies, protect their own, and pursue their own agendas both in Sigil and beyond while opposing the goals of rival factions.<br/><br/>It's assumed the PCs will belong to the Society of Sensation. Also described are their closest ally, the Sign of One, and greatest opponent, the Doomguard.<br/><br/>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/a/ac/Title_sensates.gif)<br/><div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/3/36/Symbol_sensates.jpeg)</div>To a Sensate, the multiverse is known by the senses- the only proof of existence. Without sensation, a thing <em>isn't. </em>The only way to know anything for sure is to use the senses. The meaning of the multiverse is elusive until everything has been experienced- all the flavors, colors, scents, and textures of all the worlds.<br/><br/>From their headquarters in Sigil's resplendent Civic Festhall, the Sensates explore the planes and one another, striking out on missions of sensory experience and self-discovery. Those who return alive to tell the tale have their experiences recorded in the Sensoriums, huge complexes where experiences are stored among millions of small stones called <em>recorders, </em> which can then be replayed by anyone seeking the experience stored within. In this way, the Sensates hope to catalog a complete library of sensation, for the purpose of ultimate enlightenment- but in the meantime, the huge 20-story complex of the Public Sensorium is a great attraction and moneymaker.<br/><br/>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/89/Title_signers.gif)<br/><div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/a/ad/Signer.jpg)</div>To a Signer, every person, every individual, is unique. This is the greatest glory of the multiverse- that each creature living (and dead) is different from all others. It's obvious, then, that the multiverse centers around the self.<br/><br/>The world exists because the mind imagines it. Without the self, the multiverse ceases to be. Therefore, each Signer is the most important person in the multiverse. Without at least one Signer to imagine it all, in theory nothing may exist.<br/><br/>The Hall of Speakers is the base of operations for the Signers in Sigil, where congress between factions debate, and disputes are mediated. The Speaker, always a Signer, oversees public sessions, presiding over the debates regarding statutes, decrees, and Sigil law. After sufficient public hearings, the Council retires to chambers to vote the proposals into law- or vote them down. The most mysterious chamber within the Hall of Speakers is the tomb of the faction founder Rilith. This impressive vault bearing an urn carved from a colossal ocean pearl is watched by Signers day and night, all the while pondering their founder. Should their attention lapse for a moment, Rilith might disappear from history. And without its founder present in the mind of at least one Signer, the faction itself might vanish, no longer to exist.<br/><br/>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/a/a6/Title_doomguard.gif)<br/><div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/1/17/Doomguard.jpg)</div>A Sinker revels in the entropy of the multiverse. Things are meant to crumble, and it's the Doomguard's job to keep the meddlers from messing it up too much. What right do mortals have to deny the natural existence of things? Don't get the faction wrong- isn't not like somebody builds a house and they tear it down. That building's part of the whole decay: the stonecutter chips the rock, the logger cuts the tree, and later the termites chew the beams until the whole case comes down on its own. There's a long view to this, and that's what the Doomguard is all about.<br/><br/>Although the Doomguard maintains citadels on each plane where entropy is strongest, their home in Sigil is the Armory, a forge and storehouse of weapons of devastation and mass destruction. The Armory is dedicated to the buying and selling of all types of weapons, small or large, magical or mundane. Guarding these weapons is a powerful, highly intelligent and highly evil demon- because what could be better for the goal of entropy?<br/><br/><em>And the rest...</em><br/>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d4/Map_factions.gif)</div></div><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Sigil, City of Doors</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div align="center">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/2/2d/Ba5e7f85f0dba8ed074aa276f6af0ee4.wix_mp.jpg)<br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><em>Sigil, the City of Doors </em></span></span></div>The City of Doors is an important planar city, hosting perhaps a million sentient creatures, most of them transient. Some have arrived in Sigil by accident, after stepping through unknown portals. Others have come to Sigil to trade, or for information, or as a waypoint from one plane of existence to another. Only a small minority counts Sigil as a permanent home.<br/><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/3/3f/New_Sigil.jpg)</div></td><td>Sigil is a self-contained city in the shape of a torus. Like many places on the planes, it doesn't follow the same rules as the "normal," or Prime Material, world. The city curves across every interior surface of its ring shape, with up and down relative to where a body's standing. There is no sun or sky, but a light that waxes and wanes in cycles of day and night. On a clear day you can look straight up and see the streets of the city above you, but it's rarely clear in Sigil. It's a wet, dirty place, full of noise and brawling, slippery stone and razorvine. When the native poets write about their home, it's not about glowing sunsets or walks through sweet-scented parks. They write about the things that shouldn't be seen in the dark alleys, about the way the shifting streets rumble like a dying beast, or about the decay that cleanses the bones of the city.</td></tr><tr><td><div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/b/b5/Sigil_City_of_Doors_by_Fuflon_by_Deusuum_%28small%29.jpg)</div></td><td>Though you wouldn't know it from the inside, Sigil hovers high atop an Outer Planar structure known as the Spire. Though the Spire is in theory infinite, its end can be perceived, and the barren outer surface of Sigil can be seen there, forever out of reach. The only way into or out of Sigil is through portals- there is no known way to approach it from the outside, since it is always an infinite distance away. Rumors tell of breaches in the bowels of Sigil, deep in the Hive Ward, where one can stand and look down from the infinite Spire. It's said that one who falls from one of these breaches will fall forever through infinity, or else become one with oblivion, erased from memory. But for all its terrifying possibilities, this is far from Sigil's most compelling mystery.<br/><br/>A very detailed map of Sigil and its wards can be found at<br/>http://k005.kiwi6.com/hotlink/1vld01b4zd/sigilmap.png (http://k005.kiwi6.com/hotlink/1vld01b4zd/sigilmap.png)<br/>(Warning, it's huge, 4800x3300, 25 MB in size)</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><em>Factions of Sigil</em></span></span><br/>In addition to the Society of Sensation, the Sign of One, and the Doomguard, Sigil is run by a dozen other major factions. The <strong>Fraternity of Order</strong> run the city courts and enforce its laws. The <strong>Harmonium</strong> serve as the city's police, detaining criminals and preserving social harmony. The <strong>Mercykillers</strong> complement this triad as deliverers of justice, as jailors and executioners. The <strong>Bleak Cabal</strong> are a fatalistic organization dedicated to caring for the city's poor and ill and insane. The <strong>Dustmen</strong> handle the business of the city's dead, running its mortuary and records of death. Other city records are kept by the <strong>Fated,</strong> who collect taxes and balance the city's budgets. The <strong>Believers of the Source</strong> educate the city's public so that they might reach their true potential. The <strong>Transcendent Order,</strong> among the least bureaucratic, run the city's Great Gymnasium and emphasize unity of mind and body. The <strong>Free League</strong> serve as the city's merchant guild. The <strong>Revolutionary League,</strong> the <strong>Xaositects,</strong> and the <strong>Athar</strong> are all rebels in their own right: the Revolutionary League opposes the structure of the city's factions and authority at large; the Xaositects embrace chaos and systematically tear down the established order for new growth; finally, the Athar achieve a balance with all Sigil's hundreds of faiths and thousands of street preachers by opposing all religion equally.<br/><br/><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><em>The Dabus</em></span></span><br/>The dabus are both servants and lords of Sigil. They're unique to the Cage, never found anywhere else in the planes. In other words, the dabus never leave Sigil. This fact, coupled with their tireless work maintaining the infrastructure of the city, leads some to believe they are actually living manifestations of the city.<br/><br/>Most of the time the dabus are found repairing what's broken in Sigil. They keep the sewers and catacombs beneath the streets from crumbling, they cut back the razorvine when it grows too rampant, they patch the cobblestone streets, and they repair the crumbling facades of the city's buildings. To most, the dabus are nothing more than cryptic workmen.<br/><br/>And they are cryptic. Their thoughts literally fill the air when they pass, for the dabus' speech is illusion shaped into pictures- the dabus communicate not by word, but by the complicated structure of the rebus. These are the ultimate in thought-pictures, where symbols are chosen for the sounds made in a language, and the sounds are strung togther to form words. Of course, many languages are spoken in Sigil, and a dabus' illusory thoughts are always suitable for the observer, perhaps not existing at all until a linguistic mind tries to comprehend them.<br/></td><td>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/3/37/Dabus.jpg)</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><em>Sigil's Sexual Revolution</em></span></span><br/>Though Sigil may be called The Cage, for some this melting pot of culture and philosophy is very liberating. As a city under the mercy of a beautiful, terrifying, and amoral woman, as a city with a large transient population, as a city encouraged to expand its horizons by factions such as the Society of Sensation, as a city without gods or religious prejudices, Sigil is a fashionable place to defy sexual norms. In the last decade, lesbianism has become very fashionable thanks to publicly, even competitively homosexual leaders such as Factol Erin Darkflame Montgomery of the Society of Sensation, Factol Darius of the Sign of One, and Factol Rhys of the Transcendent Order.<br/><br/>A second wave of alternative lifestyles has ignited more recently among younger Factols Nilesia of the Mercykillers and Pentar of the Doomguard. The city's thriving red light district sees a frequent business of those looking for a homosexual experience with no strings attached, and the Society of Sensation's Public Sensorium provides an outlet for those simply looking for the raw physical or emotional sensation, without need for human (or nonhuman) involvement.<br/><br/>As of the current year (127 H.R.) it's estimated that more than half of the women in Sigil have had some sort of gay experience. Niche taverns, brothels, and flyers advertising all sorts of goods with sapphic imagery have all tapped into this phenomenon. The undercurrent of sexual experimentation is so pervasive that a counter-culture promoting traditional man-and-wife relations has begun to gain traction. Since Sigil is a questionable place to try to raise a family, the movement has been met with mixed reception.</div></div><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Character Sheets</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/2/2b/Sigilpapers.jpg)</div><div class="codeheader">Code: <a class="codeoperation" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return smfSelectText(this);">[Select]</a></div><pre style="margin: 0; padding: 0;"><code class="bbc_code">[b]Name: [/b] <br/>[b]Gender &amp; Species:[/b] <br/>[b]Physical Description:[/b] <br/>[b]Occupation:[/b] <br/>[b]Faction:[/b] <br/>[b]Place of Residence:[/b] <br/>[b]Place of Birth:[/b] <br/>[b]Date of Birth:[/b] <br/><br/>[b]Alignment:[/b] <br/>[b]Personality:[/b] <br/>[b]History:[/b] <br/>[b]Ons &amp; Offs:[/b] <br/>[b]What was your last contribution to the Sensorium?[/b] <br/>[b]What experience in the Sensorium have you been intimidated, but curious, to try?[/b] <br/>[b]In what three ways would you most aid an adventuring party?[/b] <br/>[b]In what way might you hinder an adventuring party?[/b] <br/></code></pre><br/><strong>Gender &amp; Species:</strong> <br/>Species can be anything commonly found in Dungeons &amp; Dragons, such as human, elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, half-orc, drow, changeling, etc. There are also a host of planar races found in Sigil. Some of the most common are...<br/><em><span class="bbc_u">Aasimar (http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/086/8/c/aasimar_by_targete-d4u36ia.jpg)</span> </em>are descendents of celestial beings from the Upper Planes. Unlike other plane-touched, aasimar are rarely orphaned or abandoned by their nonhuman parent. They generally manifest some beautific celestial quality, such as golden hair, pearl or emerald skin, piercing voice, commanding height, or even dead giveaways such as angelic wings or saintly halo. Although they are descended from celestials, aasimar are not always good and trustworthy- they have the same freedom of choice of any mortal creature.<br/><em><span class="bbc_u">Bariaur, (http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/f/f5/Girls_of_planescape_bambi_by_maelora69-d55o7ph.jpg)</span> </em>centaurlike beings from the Upper Planes, which are a combination of man and ram or woman and ewe. Most hail from the Norse paradise of Ysgard, but the same wanderlust that brings so many bariaur to Sigil has also established populations in the savage Beastlands, the Greek paradise of Arborea, and the fertile fields of Elysium. Among their own kind, they congregate in herds, and build no permanent homes.<br/><em><span class="bbc_u">Eladrin (http://th02.deviantart.net/fs31/PRE/i/2008/204/0/c/Eladrin_female_by_RepeatingArms.jpg)</span> </em>are fey native to the Greek paradise of Arborea, just as devils are associated with Baator and demons with the Abyss. They're wild and free beings who exult in their own existence and live a life of song and celebration. As creatures made from the essence of a good-alsigned plane, eladrin are born with good hearts, but as creatures of chaos and revelry they are also fiercely individualistic.<br/><em><span class="bbc_u">Genasi (http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081120035825/forgottenrealms/images/d/d9/Genasi_-_MoF.jpg)</span> </em>are descendents of some elemental creature, often djinn. The four distinct types of genasi (air, earth, fire, and water) are each associated with a different Inner Plane. Their elemental nature is often evident in signs such as smoldering crimson skin, hair of flowering grass, a constant light wisp of a breeze, or a fine layer of scales always wet to the touch. Genasi are rare creatures, with no culture or kinship of their own, and often alienated from the Inner Planes of their origin due to an inability to survive its hostile climate.<br/><em><span class="bbc_u">Githyanki (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/Monster_gallery/98.jpg)</span> </em>are an offshoot of Githzerai (below), now a warlike people who dwell on the void of the Astral Plane and amass great armies for planar invasion. They are much more gaunt and long of limb than humans, with rough, yellow skin and gleaming black eyes. Dress for a githyanki is often baroque, decorated with feathers, beads, and precious objects. The elite warriors of the githyanki, the gish, harmoniously combine both magic and swordplay and wield silver swords capable of severing an astral projection from its host body.<br/><em><span class="bbc_u">Githzerai (http://images.wikia.com/forgottenrealms/images/9/92/4e_Githzerai.jpg)</span> </em>are an ancient people, sister to Githyanki along a single line that can be traced back to one gith people who were slave to mind flayers. Githzerai are taller and thinner than humans with sharp features, long faces, and eyes of gray or yellow. Severe and serious, the githzerai tend toward somberness in their clothing and personalities. As a people, they have adopted the ever-changing chaos of Limbo as their new home, and utilize extreme discipline and psionic abilities to calm and control the tumult that surrounds them there.<br/><em><span class="bbc_u">Modrons, (http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/6d/Modron_in_sigil.jpg)</span> </em>specifically rogue modrons, are members of a living clockwork race with strictly tasked hierarchy and singular focus on law, stability, and harmonious regulation. Sometimes, something goes wrong, and a modron goes rogue and becomes cut off from the clockwork hierarchy. They find themselves cast out of Mechanus, the heart of law and the only world they have ever known, and plunged into the cold, lonely, and chaotic multiverse. Rogue modrons have the forbidden and reprehensible glimmerings of self-awareness, the only thing that allows them to survive in this new sphere.<br/><em><span class="bbc_u">Tieflings (http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/da/Diterlizzi_tiefling.jpg)</span> </em>are the mutts of the planar children, part human and part <em>something else- </em>a something which is usually assumed to be Lower Planar. That stigma follows all tieflings through their lives. Loners by nature, they make their own paths out of necessity; no tiefling culture exists to aid the outcasts, since no two tieflings are alike. A shadow of knife-edge in their face, a little too much fire in their eyes, a scent of ash in their presence- all these things and more describe a tiefling. No planar would mistake a tiefling for a human, and most primes make the mistake only once.<br/><br/><strong>Occupation:</strong> <br/>What does your character do for money, or what did they do before becoming a Sensate? Was she a humble pastry baker? Was she already a seasoned adventurer, like a paladin or illusionist?<br/><br/><strong>Faction:</strong> <br/>By default this is assumed to be Society of Sensation. If you'd like to hail from one of the other factions as a special case, shoot me a PM!<br/><br/><strong>Place of Residence:</strong> <br/>Describe wherever it is you live in Sigil. Have you moved into the Society of Sensation's dorms? Do you hail from an abbey of Saint Cuthbert in The Lady's Ward? A barracks in the Lower Ward? A run-down slum dwelling in the Hive Ward? A gated community in the Clerk's Ward?An inherited book shop in the Market Ward?<br/><br/><strong>Place of Birth:</strong> <br/>Most who live in Sigil were not born there. If you were originally from a Prime Material world such as Krynn or Faerun or Eberron, or if you come from one of the Outer Planes, like Elysium or Hades, put that here. If your race is modron, then most likely your place of birth is Mechanus. If you were actually born in Sigil, go ahead and put that instead. You can be much more specific than a general plane of existence if you'd like.<br/>A list of the Outer Planes can be found <span class="bbc_u">here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Plane)</span>. They're a little too involved to describe here, but if you'd like more information on any of them, please send a PM my way.<br/><br/><strong>Date of Birth:</strong> The current year is 127 FHR, or Factol Hashkar's Reign. If your character is more than 127 years old, just use a negative number. So if your high elf cobbler is 500 years old, they will have been born in -373 FHR. We can assume the months and days are analogous to our own.<br/><br/><strong>Alignment:</strong> <br/>Alignment is the moral compass of a Dungeons &amp; Dragons character. In Planescape, where belief shapes reality, it has real and physical effects. The two axes of alignment are Law versus Chaos and Good versus Evil, with neutrality in between. This means you can be Lawful Good, Neutral Good, Chaotic Good, Lawful Neutral, True Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil, or Chaotic Evil.<br/>Alignment is not in place to restrict or dictate how you should play your character. You can be Chaotic Evil and still pay for a sandwich and not murder everyone you meet. (Please don't, in fact, that would be pretty disruptive.)<br/><br/><strong>Personality:</strong> <br/>Just a little bit about who your character is deep down, beneath the immediately physically obvious!<br/><br/><strong>History:</strong> <br/>For someone who isn't versed in Planescape or Dungeons &amp; Dragons lore, this is bound to be a challenge. I will be happy to guide you when it comes to history, or you can put together a very general history that might fit in anywhere. Your history doesn't have to be interesting and it doesn't have to be tragic, but I will forgive you if it is.<br/><br/><strong>Ons &amp; Offs:</strong> <br/>In addition to any character-specific ons and offs, please provide a link to your O&amp;Os thread if you have one.<br/><br/><strong>What was your last contribution to the Sensorium?</strong> <br/>The Sensorium is a database of sensation and experience. Each year, a Sensate must contribute something they personally have experienced to the recorders there. It could be a wonderful experience or a terrible one, but it must have happened within the past year.<br/><br/><strong>What experience in the Sensorium have you been intimidated, but curious, to try?</strong> <br/>This could be a forbidden pleasure, a morbid fascination, a religious taboo- something that a satisfying tour of the senses will not be complete without, but something prevents your character from opening up to.<br/><br/><strong>In what three ways would you most aid an adventuring party?</strong> <br/>If you have a talent, such as being able to cast illusion spells or pick locks, those are definitely beneficial to an adventuring party. Maybe instead you have a magical sword, or a compass that always points the way to the nearest portal. It could just as easily be something mundane, such as plucky charm or friends in unexpected places.<br/><br/><strong>In what way might you hinder an adventuring party?</strong> <br/>Nobody is perfect. Every character should have some kind of flaw that the villains might exploit. Maybe you're easily wowed by the splendor of the planes, are a staunch pacifist, have an enemy with a grudge, or can't refuse a new experience. The last is especially common to Sensates.</div></div><br/>So! The first IC thread is up. Feel free to place yourselves at any of the locations where things are happening, or start weaving your own story.<br/><br/>I gave some thought to official tags, but I don't know how necessary they're going to be. Until we need something more, let's say<br/><div class="codeheader">Code: <a class="codeoperation" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return smfSelectText(this);">[Select]</a></div><pre style="margin: 0; padding: 0;"><code class="bbc_code">[b]Name:[/b]<br/>[b]Location:[/b]<br/>[b]Time:[/b]<br/>[b]Tagged:[/b]<br/></code></pre>