Planescape Questions

[Shesau]

Hey, everyone. I apologize if my thread is redundant: I did search the forums and checked the stickies, but I've many questions and was hoping for some one-on-one attention.

Like most present, I enjoy role play games. I've been a longtime fan of the Infinity Engine games - Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment, ect. You get the idea. Thing was, my introduction to D&D was these games, and I have no real knowledge of campaign settings other than what is portrayed in the few select worlds presented in this medium.

I'm an avid writer, and I have recently decided that a traipse in this expansive universe would be fun. I've gone through a small share of Forgotten Realms books (Spellfire Saga, Azure Bonds, Dark Elf Trilogy, The Cleric Quintet) and have decided that I want to settle into the Planescape setting. Sigil is a city with many opportunities and too much potential, I think.

Problem: the Planescape campaign, as I understand it, is old and dry when it comes to further development. Can anyone point me in the direction of a good resource on the Planescape setting -- books preferred but websites are great, too -- that I can use as a reference to the workings of the planes would be just peachy.

In particular, I'm looking at Sigil politics (which I guess this refers to predominantly the 15 factions and the Lady of Pain? Or is there some manner of government other than this system?) and the social hierarchy of the city.

Also useful would be information on the Blood War. I get the general idea of Baatzu versus Tanar'ri and their reasons (orderly evil or unbridled evil - the eternal question). However, anything more-in depth also could make my life easier.

And here I'm just going to put some questions out there, to see what kind of responses I get. If you can back up answers with printed info, I'd love to know your sources!

• What's this business about Duke Darkwood and laying siege on the Lady? Was it a war or conflict, or some campaign plot that was before my time?
  
• In Sigil, is there a dominant populating race? In the game Torment humans seemed to be the most prevalent, with tieflings, Gith, and lower planes creatures occasionally dotting the scene. Is this accurate? Does any race hold more power than others?
  
• In specific, what is a tiefling? I had come to believe they were the result of mortals and fiends. Right? Wrong? Is there a certain type of fiend that parents a tiefling, like alu fiends or succubi? Does it matter? And does the same occur for aasimar but with upper planes creatures?
  
• From what I've read, Sigil is kind of a crossroads to several planes. Naturally, this would include the Inner and Material planes. Could this potentially apply to the Outer planes as well?
  
• Sigil sits atop the never ending spire, and can be seen from the plane below. Setting aside the baffling questions that fact brings up, how far do the Outlands span? And are there any maps of cities or areas of interest on the Outlands that I should maybe get a hold of?
  
• The Powers aren't allowed into Sigil by the efforts of the Lady of Pain. Is the worship of gods not practiced in the city at all? And once a mortal dies, what happens to the soul?

Again, I apologize if my questions seem ridiculous. I'm just a rank newbie when it comes to the Dungeons and Dragons worlds, and I just have so many questions. So if anyone could kindly satiate my curiosity, I wouldn't half mind sacrificing my first, second, or third-born children in your name.

[GawainBS]

Welcome to Gamebanshee.

As for your general curiosity, check out Wikipedia, they're bound to have some info. Do a google, I know I found several things that way, like a map of Sigil and such.
Also, visit the boards at Wizards of the Coast, the people there are very knowledgable about all things even remotely D&D-related.
One book I can recommend, is the D&D 3.5 Planar Handbook. It has several pages dedicated to Sigil.
On to your questions:

What's this business about Duke Darkwood and laying siege on the Lady? Was it a war or conflict, or some campaign plot that was before my time?

I have no idea about this one. Check Wiki.

In Sigil, is there a dominant populating race? In the game Torment humans seemed to be the most prevalent, with tieflings, Gith, and lower planes creatures occasionally dotting the scene. Is this accurate? Does any race hold more power than others?

I don't think there's any particular race more powerful in the political sense than another. Ofcourse, some races are more rare, others more common. Humans, having the ability to breed like rabbits, are probably very common.

In specific, what is a tiefling? I had come to believe they were the result of mortals and fiends. Right? Wrong? Is there a certain type of fiend that parents a tiefling, like alu fiends or succubi? Does it matter? And does the same occur for aasimar but with upper planes creatures?

Generally, a tiefling is the offspring of a mortal and someone with fiendish blood. When a fiend and someone else mate, they produce a Half-Fiend. Depending on the power of the Fiend, that Half-Fiend conceives a Half-Fiend or a Tiefling.
So, Tiefling is not bound to a particular type of Fiend. Both Tanar'ri (Demons) and Baatezu (Devils) can make Tieflings.
Same goes for Celestials. Wether it's an Archon (Angel), Guardinal or Eladrin, when they mate with something else, it's a Half-Celestial, which deludes to Aasimar. They appear in PS:T as well.

From what I've read, Sigil is kind of a crossroads to several planes. Naturally, this would include the Inner and Material planes. Could this potentially apply to the Outer planes as well?

This very much DOES apply to the Outer Planes as well. From Sigil, you can get to everywhere.
Originally, every setting (or most) of TSR (Now Wizards of the Coast) had "The Great Wheel" Cosmology. Outlands with Sigil in the center, Innerplanes around it, Outerplanes around that, all "suspended" in the Astral Plane and coterminous with the Material Planes. Yes, PlaneS. Every setting was a specific Material Plane, or World, or Continent there on. Think about Forgotten Realms, Dragon Lance, Greyhawk,... It was all too possible to travel from Dragon Lance (The world of Kryn) to the Forgotten Realms (the world of Abeir-Toril).
See the books of Raymond E. Feist, his cosmology goes along these lines and he explains it pretty well. He has said as much that his worlds are heavily influenced by D&D.

Sigil sits atop the never ending spire, and can be seen from the plane below. Setting aside the baffling questions that fact brings up, how far do the Outlands span? And are there any maps of cities or areas of interest on the Outlands that I should maybe get a hold of?

Every Plane is Infinite. See that Planar Handbook I mentioned for a better exlanation. There are also several maps of Sigil. PM me, and I'll send you one.

The Powers aren't allowed into Sigil by the efforts of the Lady of Pain. Is the worship of gods not practiced in the city at all? And once a mortal dies, what happens to the soul?

The Lady doesn't tolerate any gods in her city. So, no worshippers. When someone dies, his soul travels to the plane that resembled his alignment most closely and he becomes a petitioner there, with no memories of his past live. His soul might later be promoted to the more "advanced" inhabitants of this plane.

On the Blood War: two good books of Wizards: Fiendish Codex I & II. One about Demons, one about Devils. Lots of info on the Blood War.

I hope this helped!

[Shesau]

Oh, you cannot possibly understand how grateful I am for the prompt response. Thank you so much for your time and the welcome, Gawain!

I did consult Wiki for a time, but found that information there was kind of scrappy when it came to specifics. I'll definitely price check that manual you recommended to see if I can't get a copy some where. It's always great to have something physical to revert back to when in need of help. I like to keep notes and highlighters around when I write to avoid getting confused.


A couple of your answers have stirred up my imagination once more, though, so I hope you don't mind if I fire one more at ya.

I'm clear on that when a soul dies, it is sent to another plane based upon alignment. Earlier you stated that Sigil is connected to all planes through portals, so is it not possible that a person may find his or her way back to Sigil after passing away? Is this an accepted event in the setting, or is there some sort of fail safe to keep a petitioner from migrating back to the planes after death?

If I'm thinking too much into this, which I suspect I may be, just let me know.

[GawainBS]

You're welcome.
I don't see anything wrong with using that possibility to "trap" a soul in Sigil. It's not the common thing, but if you think it adds spice to your story, sure, go ahead. It sure isn't impossible.

Feel free to ask away about Planescape.

Also, this should help: ::Sigil Maps:: .

[nublet]

don't forget that these maps are actually inaccurate, especially for sigil, since it's ever-changing. not quite as much as limbo, but having played through torment you should be aware of this.
now, for the planescape sources.
THE source is www.planewalker.com with its excellent planescape campaign setting books (free of charge, pdf, they have some sort of agreement with wotc so they can use official content to some degree).
you may also want to visit their forums, some projects in there are quite interesting, too, like urban planescape (pscs mixed with d&d modern).
another good one is the mimir:
Planescape: Welcome to the Mimir
previous official planescape fansite, now on hiatus. it has a neat dictionary of planar cant, i think it contains over a hundred terms.
here's some info on ordial plane, the stuff is hard to find:
The Nature of the Elusive Ordial Plane
and an introduction to genasi, including the quasielemental, which are quite rare, too:
The Roaming Genasi Tavern
aand a good place to look for more is the planescape open directory:
Open Directory - Games: Roleplaying: Genres: Fantasy: Dungeons & Dragons: Campaign Settings: Planescape

also, the novels aren't bad. and there are official books, the stuff from 2ed is more comprehensive afaik, except for stats (esp. for deities and good/evil exemplars).

also, google helps, as always.