What can change the nature of a man? Let's Play Planescape: Torment!

ON ALIGNMENT

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Even if you haven't play D&D before, you've probably heard of its alignment system. It's spawned dozens of parodies, particularly trying to cram the characters of a show into categories, such as this one for Futurama:

Alignment is essentially the moral "box" you (and other) characters fit into. It's both beloved and (rightfully) criticized, and it's purpose (mechanical or otherwise) has fluctuated over the years. For some, alignment is a roleplaying tool that helps describe the moral boundaries of their character. For others, alignment is a straightjacket that - when used badly - causes players to make stupid decisions, potentially even leading to inter-party conflict.

A character's alignment falls into two catagories: the propensity towards good and evil (perhaps more accurately, the greater good and selfishness) and the propensity towards law and chaos (or, order and freedom). Everyone has an alignment in D&D, and in the abstract it can absolutely be used as a good shorthand when making decisions. It's also been used mechanically - particularly in spells and magical items - to help and hinder the party. The Protection from Evil spell makes it harder for "evil" creatures to harm you and your party, while a Holy Avenger is generally a magical weapon that only allows characters who share the weapon's sense of justice (i.e. Lawful Good) to wield it.

ALIGNMENTS DESCRIBED

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The following are brief descriptions of each alignment. Very few people will fit into a particularly alignment exclusively, and that's okay; even the people in the Outer Planes know that you're more than a couple of words. There's nothing wrong with a lawful cutter not arresting a child thief, many evil characters can look beyond their own selfishness, and most chaotic characters know that some laws are worth following. People change too, so while someone might not go from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil in a lifetime, someone might potentially visit their alignment "neighbors" as they're figuring out themselves. So while these descriptions might draw boxes around the concept of "alignment", they don't restrict people from dabbling outside of them.

(note: the example I give are largely from other sources, but feel free to disagree!)

Lawful Good (LG): characters of this alignment believe that there is a greater good, and the path towards that greater good lies in adherence to law and order. One punishes crime and disobedience because its existence is a blight that wears away on the "good". Many classic superheroes - such as Superman and Captain America - are considered examples of the LG alignment.

Neutral Good (NG): NG characters believe that there is an intrinsic "good" that should be sought, but they believe that the path sometimes requires working inside the law, and sometimes outside of it. They see too much emphasis on "law" as potentially overreaching its goals, but they also think that a healthy set of laws is important to keep the "system" stable. Many classic pulp characters are examples of the LG alignment, such as Zorro and Indiana Jones.

Chaotic Good (CG): Some characters believe that the best way to foster "good" is not by imposing laws that describe but by giving people the freedom to pursue happiness. CG can often take a very libertarian streak, but it might also simply represent a character who thinks that bureaucracy and the law moves too slowly to "truly" punish those who need punishing. "Rebels" like Robin Hood and Han Solo tend to fit into this category.

Lawful Neutral (LN): LN characters hold order and tradition above all. "Good" and "evil" make people too emotional, and that causes them to make poor decisions. If people follow the rules, then the best decisions will be produced. One can't damn a man for his past actions any more than one can forgive a man for this mistakes: the law must triumph such concerns. the most common fictional examples are those heavily influenced by the military, such as Star Trek's Jean-Luc Picard and Battlestar Galactica's William Adama.

True Neutral (TN): Possible one of the two most misunderstood alignments. It's often described as belonging to characters who seek to create a "true balance" to the uni/multi-verse, and as such intervene where they're needed. But it can also describe someone who would rather live in the moment, refusing to let themselves be beholden to a particular viewpoint. Animals are often considered "true neutral" because they tend to rely on instinct. Many movie "monsters" such as the Xenomorphs from Aliens might be considered "True Neutral" because there's no "grand" plan to their actions, they're simply following what their biology tells them to do. Captain Renault from Casablanca might be the best example.

Chaotic Neutral (CN): The "other" misunderstood alignment, CN characters are not crazy or insane. They're simply people who put their own freedoms and goals first. They won't kill someone for pleasure, but they'd probably trade someone else's life for their own. Their favorite "state" would be one of anarchy, that would allow them the chance to do what they want without that pesky "moral judgement". They do understand the concept of their actions having "consequences" however, so they're unlikely to break the law just because it's there (especially if it would hurt someone else). Calvin from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes is likely an example of "Chaotic Neutral."

Lawful Evil (LE): Some people see laws as enforcing "good". LE characters see the law as a potential for them to profit. They believe in a strict order, particularly one that has them controlling the shots from the top, and will exploit loopholes and twist words to justify their actions. Most notable WWF/WWE heels/"bad guys" such as IRS, Triple H, and Vince McMahon are examples of LE characters who use, bend, or even cover up their breaking of the rules to "win".

Neutral Evil (NE): NE characters put themselves first, usually in it for money or power, but aren't looking to necessarily run the show (unless there really is no one else better around!). They want to make their score and live quietly, or at least be allowed to continue doing what they're doing. People tend to gun for you if you're at the top of an organization, and enjoying your gains requires enjoying some protection from the law. But that doesn't mean you let people step on you; someone hurts you, you hurt them twice over. Assassins - such as Shadow from Final Fantasy VI and Revolver Ocelot from the Metal Gear Solid series would likely fall here.

Chaotic Evil (CE): A CE character is one that lives entirely for their own desires. They don't respect laws, their word can't be trusted, and they probably have no long-term goal with their actions. Of all the alignments, this is one that is willing to kill someone who gets in their way without regard to the consequences. Surprisingly, several "lovable" webcomic characters such as Black Mage (8-Bit Theatre) and Belkar Bitterleaf (Order of the Stick) represent this alignment.

ALIGNMENT IN PLANESCAPE

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Planescape: Torment uses the same alignment system that Dungeons and Dragons has been using for sometime. There are two big differences that make it particularly shine in the Planescape setting and Torment however:

1) The setting is explicitly tied to the concept of "alignment".

Allow me to do a small bit of world building here; I will expand on this in a future update:

Torment largely takes place in the Sigil, a torus shaped city that rests on top of the infinitely tall "Spire", which rests on a plane called the Outlands. It is (arguably, given that all planes are functionally infinitely large) at the centre of what is known as the Outer Planes. The Outer Planes are the seventeen "afterlives" that exist in and "around" the Outlands, and each of them corresponds to a particular alignment.

When a person dies, they typically are "reborn" on one of the Outer Planes as what is known as a "petitioner". The Outer Plane they end up on is typically tied to their alignment in life, but may also be influenced by what diety they served. In some cases, extraordinary circumstances might bring them to a different plane. Regardless these seventeen planes form what is known as the "Great Wheel":



The above map can be "read" by simply thinking about the two alignment scales, "law - neutral - chaos" as being represented from left to right, and "good - neutral - evil" being represented from top to bottom, and forming a "ring" that runs around The Outlands. Hence:

Mount Celestia: Lawful Good
Bytopia: Neutral Good (leaning Lawful)
Elysium: Neutral Good
The Beastlands: Neutral Good (leaning Chaotic)
Arborea: Chaotic Good
Ysgard: Chaotic Neutral (leaning Good)
Limbo: Chaotic Neutral
Pandemonium: Chaotic Neutral (leaning Evil)
The Abyss: Chaotic Evil
Carceri: Neutral Evil (leaning Chaotic)
The Gray Waste: Neutral Evil
Gehenna: Neutral evil (leaning Lawful)
Baator: Lawful Evil
Acheron: Lawful Neutral (leaning Evil)
Mechanus: Lawful Neutral
Arcadia: Lawful Neutral (leaning Good)

With the Outlands being in the middle as "True Neutral". Each of these planes "represents" their alignment, such that "Mount Celestia" is a place where one must pledge themselves to a particular code of good/justice to "climb" higher in the plane, "Limbo" is literally a plane that can be temporarily shaped by mortal minds, and Carceri is a prison that primarily holds those who seek retribution trapped within it's confines.

What's critically important is that the Outer Planes are greater than just "good versus evil"; the larger conflicts - particularly the Blood War - is all about "law" versus "chaos" (the oft-ignored axis in many campaigns). The game goes out of its way to highlight that a common axis can allow some individuals to work together despite being on opposites sides of the other axis. A lawful good character likely has as much in common with a Lawful Evil character as they do with a chaotic good one, and even the most noble intentions can be just as threatening to the multiverse as the worst of them.

Alignment might be something you write on the top of your sheet and vaguely follow in a typical D&D game, but here in Planescape it means something far greater.


2) Planescape: Torment treats alignment as the culmination of decisions you make, rather than a stat.

I can think of no better example than to compare it to the Baldur's Gate games, where one picks an alignment as one might pick a class. In fairness, many 2e classes are specifically tied to a particular set of alignments, the most famous being the "Lawful Good" Paladin (capital "law" and "good"), but also classes such as Druids (must be neutral) and Monk (must be lawful). But for most classes, alignment is pretty darn useless. An evil wizard doesn't play any differently than a good wizard, except that one can wear the "Robes of the Evil Archmage" and one can't (and vice versa).

Indeed, the Baldur's Gate games eschew alignment for a stat called "reputation" that is instead responsible for how willing a character is to play Murder Hobos with you. Good characters want to see a high reputation, while Evil characters want to see a low reputation. Some games - Icewind Dale as an example - ignore alignment pretty much entirely save for "class" restrictions. I don't criticize them for this, as their respective games are greater than any one issue. Indeed, for all the fault's I might toss as Baldur's Gate, it is perhaps hundreds of times more replayable than Torment is, simply because your character options are drastically expanded.

But I think what makes the Nameless One special is because he starts as such a blank state, you can truly say at the end "my character is (insert alignment of choice)" because your decisions - rather than a box you clicked at the beginning of the game - made him so, and is (with few exceptions) never penalized for his choice.

WHERE YOU CAN COME IN!

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(Aside from voting that is!)

You've - at this point - read too many words about alignment, so now it's time to pick one! I'll tabulate all the alignments on a spreadsheet, at by the end of the game we'll see how close the Nameless One is to the average. Some have already mentioned what alignment they want to gravitate towards here, but if you haven't (or want to change it), please post it!

Her ghostly words pierce my heart and leave me feeling like... well, if nothing it makes me wish I knew of a metaphor to describe it. Knowing I've lost my memories is one thing, but to find out that I... might have acted poorly... it makes me wonder who I truly am.




And now I might be going mad.

No; Dhall mentioned her, and she knew much... too much to be a mere memory. I rub my weary forehead, take another glance at the monument, and get back to the task at hand.

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Originally Posted by The Editor Nameless One: "I feel stronger." Morte: "My skills have increased..." Level Up time! Like all D&D characters, once enough experience is gained, characters will gain a level. Each level will make your character a little better at what you can do; Fighter will have an easier time hitting things, Thieves will get more skills, and Mages will get the ability to cast more spells. Here we can see the "before" for the Nameless One. That conversation with Deionarra tipped both the Nameless One and Morte into level 4 and 3 respectively. This screen tells us how we've improved. It's hard to tell, but some of my Saving Throws got better (by which I mean, the numbers went "down" because this is 2nd Edition rules). My "fighting skills have improved" means that my THAC0 ("to hit armor class zero") has dropped (which is good, because 2nd Edition rules). Characters generally get a random amount of hit points, and improve their THAC0 based on their class: Fighters: 1-10 hit points; -1 to THAC0 every level Clerics: 1-8 hit points; -2 to THAC0 every three levels (i.e. levels 4, 7, 10, etc.) Thieves: 1-6 hit points; -1 to THAC0 every two levels (i.e. levels 3, 5, 7, etc.) Mages: 1-4 hit points; -1 to THAC0 every three levels (i.e. levels 4, 7, 10, etc.) The Nameless One is a special case in that he always gets 1-10 hit points regardless of level, thanks to a fix I have installed. This was apparently always the intention, it just wasn't implemented in the game as shipped. Like the Baldur's Gate games, you can abuse the "random" seed through saving and reloading to get "max" hit points. I've just got another fix that just outright gives me max hit points on a level to save me from a bunch of saving/reloading. The Nameless One also gets the bonus of improving any one of his stats by one. While you can pretty much just improve what you want to, I've got a bit of a strategy here; the Nameless One has the chance to get particular stat bonuses through the game from particular conversation trees/items. He also gets some bonuses based on his class later - which I'll eventually get into. We can expect the following stat bonuses as we play through the game as a Mage: Dex +1 Con +2 Int +4 Wis +6 Cha +3 Which would leave us with: Str 9 Dex 12 Con 11 Int 19 Wis 24 Cha 16 Strength will be useless for us as a Mage, so we'll likely never increase it. Dexterity can stay low, but there are a few checks in the game that require a 13 Dex (there are others that require higher, but they probably aren't worth "raising" the stat for); we can get that with some items, but we'll probably just bite the bullet and raise it one. Constitution is great as it not only gives more hit points, but (eventually) better regeneration, so we'll probably be putting most of our points into this in the future. Intelligence is a key stat for mages, but it's not worth having more than a 19. Higher Intelligence only gives us the ability to hold more spells in our spellbook (but there aren't a ton of spells in Torment to require it), and a better chance to identify magic items (we've got a spell for that, and we'll be decent at that anyway). There are some checks that require a 20 Int, but those can also be handled with Wisdom (which will likely always be our highest stat anyway). Wisdom is great (recap: it influences many conversation paths, and gives us bonus experience) but it's also the stat we can expect to get a lot of over the course of the game. We can - barring some bugs I've encounter before - expect to get 6 more additional Wisdom, so we don't really want to put more than a point in it at this point. Charisma can be kept here at 13; other classes might wish to raise it higher, but Mages get access to a spell ('Friends') that can temporarily boost it 2-8 points. 13 Cha is enough to hit all the conversation paths we'll want, and give us roughly an 18 Cha on average, perfect to hit the Cha checks we encounter. So the plan is thus: Raise Wisdom one point (mostly for the experience bonus), raise Dexterity one point, and then pump Constitution for nearly the rest of the game. That probably sounds a little boring, but it'll give us access to the best conversation options and a sack of hit points. Morte gains a level too of course, although his levels won't be as awesome as the Nameless One's are. You can see that his 16 Con qualifies him for two additional HP a level.

Just to the north of the monument is the area that "zombie" was referring to. I see no exit - be it door, window, or otherwise - just a recess meant to hold the bodies of the dead. But Deionarra's comments on the nature of portals and their "keys" was intriguing. Perhaps this is one?



As I clutch the finger bone charm and approach, I see reality warp in front of me. A soft blue light stretches over the recess in the wall; it is no longer an entrance to a small room for the dead, it's no--

SIGIL: CITY OF DOORS

In which we learn about The Cage, The Lady, and The Factions.

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The update was too long to end at a decision point proper, so we're going to try something different. There will be a question at the end of this post; please read this and vote at the end! It will, in turn, affect a question in the next update.

By Krylee, Sensate Factotum, performer, and occasional tout

So, clueless eh? Oh - sorry, a prime. Well, no matter. Listen to me, and I'll give you the chant on this burg.

Welcome to possibly the most coveted place in the multiverse cutter. Sigil - affectionately known by its inhabitants as "The Cage" - is not the largest city in the multiverse (that honor likely goes to the City of Brass - The Editor), nor does it have what might be called a "clean" reputation. It's a city that takes in all the good and the bad in the world, and puts them into a pressure cooker. And the result is what you see here.

The city itself is a torus (kind of like a donut - the Editor), with the city inside. A basher can walk in any direction, and eventually - save for misfortune and accidents - find themselves back where they started. It's nominally divided into six wards:

The Lady’s Ward: Kip of the rich and powerful.
The Clerk’s Ward: Home of the bureaucracy.
The Guildhall Ward: The once and future place of power in Sigil.. that's where we are right now.
The Market Ward: The place to buy, sell, or bargain.
The Lower Ward: The working/middle class neighbourhood.
The Hive: The slums of Sigil.

The boundaries of each ward are disputed, as the inhabitants of each ward try and lay claim to one particular street or another (for prestige purposes, you understand). Nevertheless, they can serve as shorthand for directions, which is especially useful as the traditional cardinal directions are useless. Instead, many Cagers give directions depending on whether the location lies toward or away from the "Spire", the infinitely tall mountain that the city rests above. You can figure out where the Spire is by simply looking up and noticing which direction the city "curves". See? It's behind us, so if we head towards it, we're going "spireward". Get it?

Sigil is known as the "City of Doors" for good reason: it's theorized that every doorway in the city - EVERY doorway - holds a portal to another place in the multiverse. Imagine, one minute you're in Sigil, and by walking through a door way you're at the foot of Mount Olympus! Well, luckily, most of these portals only open if a "key" is presented. This key can be anything - an object, a word, a thought - but as long as you know what it is, you'll probably be able to step through the portal and instantaneously travel to places that could normally take you weeks or months to get to on foot.

(Of course, that also means that the occasional poor sod accidentally opens a portal as he's humming a tune he heard, and steps through a one-way portal to Gehenna, the Elemental Plane of Water, or worse. Some Cagers are so paranoid that many try and act as passively as possible when moving through a doorway. - The Editor)

As one might imagine, being a city with links to everywhere would make it a highly contested piece o' real estate. Merchants can use Sigil to ferry goods easily over long distances, friends (and enemies) can easily meet, and the diversity, culture, and experiences one can find in this city is second to none. Of course, all those portals stretching every which way would normally be a recipe for disaster. Armies could arrive literally through someone's back door, and the temptation for a powerful devil to park his butt at a portal to say, Arborea, and demand payment to travelers coming and going would be a very real threat to some places.

Luckily for the inhabitants of the Cage, they've got a warden looking over it who's pretty good at keeping the peace.




She's known as the The Lady of Pain. Her Serenity. her Dread Majesty. Allow me to relate a small story my father told me, whose father told him:

Once there was a god by the name of Aoskar. He was a power who tried to claim Sigil as his own. See, he fancied himself as the God of Portals, and pretty soon he had cutters all over the city whispering his name as they passed through one of the many portals in The Cage. Even got one of the Lady's Dabus to start worshiping him, and built a temple in the Lower Ward. It's hard to truly "rate" gods in the cosmic pecking order, but the fact is that any power is going to be a tough cookie, especially one whose found a niche that has thousands and thousands of bashers worshipping him every day. I want to be clear: he was a power. He was a god.

The Lady killed Aoskar, tossed his body in the Astral Sea, and destroyed his temple. Near as anyone could tell, she didn't even break a sweat.

It's this simple: what Her Grace wants, Her Grace gets. Not that she ever gives orders. See, She's one of those little things in the multiverse you don't question. Here's the dark I know on the Lady of Pain:

1) Her Dread Majesty controls all the portals into and out of Sigil. While powerful magic might allow you to break into the most magically protected sites across the Multiverse, it will outright fail if trying to get into or out of the Cage. And the portals are the only way into and out of Sigil; the berg sits on top of an infinitely tall mountain, remember?

2) Her Serenity communicates in three ways. The first is through the Dabus, who act as caretakers for Sigil. The second is to maze people who cross her. It's like you're walking down a familiar section of the city I hear, and then you find you can't get out. Boom, mazed. And if she feels that spending the rest of your good life in a maze won't "correct" the problem, she'll just outright flay you alive in her shadow. Dark of it is that anyone flayed by the Lady can't be resurrected neither.

3) There are certain things that are off-limits in Sigil that the Lady will not tolerate. One is plots to take over, grievously harm, or destabilize Sigil. That's a quick way to find yourself mazed. Secondly, she allows no one to worship her; those who do are found flayed soon after. So don't even think about it. Finally, if you're a power, you ain't getting in. The weakest of mortals can stumble their way into a city, but the powers can't seem to get a foot in the door.

You might ask yourself, "if the Lady runs the show, what's up with the Sigil Council? And the Factions? Why is she letting them run around, making rules and laws and decisions?" The answer seems to be, "because she allows them to".

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Originally Posted by The Editor The Lady of Pain is what you call "off-limits to the players". She has never been "stated" out like many gods and dieties in Dungeons and Dragons have been at one time or another. The Lady of Pain is generally described like this: if the PCs try and fight her, they lose. It doesn't matter how many epic spells, magic trinkets, and rousing speeches you bring to the table. You will lose.

The Dabus are Lady's servants, and they're the caretakers of Sigil. They can often be found around town cleaning, fixing, or modifying the city to the whims of the Lady. Unlike the Lady, they seem quite mortal, in the sense that people have seen them be killed, but since they all look near-identical no one is sure if they replace their numbers as needed, or if there is actually a finite amount. Regardless, the Lady doesn't take kindly to berks killing Dabus, so don't try it.

The strangest thing about the Dabus is their speech, or rather, their lack of speech. Rather than words, they communicate in rebuses: pictures and symbols. (They seem to be able to understand any language, but their rebuses are sometimes up for interpretation as many Guvners will argue with you - The Editor).

I mentioned one that worshiped Aoskar before The Lady penned him in the dead book; she left him alive, but... he's different than the rest now. No one knows why the Lady didn't just flay him, but now he mostly spends his days covering the Slime Portals in the Hive and creating tattoos. Weird guy; some are afraid to meet him, thinking they'll make The Lady mad, but I haven't heard chant of anyone disappearing after meeting him.

The Dabus have, on rare occasions, spoke the word of The Lady, the last decree being that there should be no more than 15 factions in Sigil (leading to the merging of factions such as the Sons of Mercy and Sodkillers). The Lady doesn't ask twice, so in the fury that followed, 15 remained.

Much like how “gods” are actually tangible creatures that someone could theoretically meet, there are very tangible examples of how philosophy – belief – can change one’s world in a very real and observable fashion. Thus, when someone tells you their 'philosophy', they’re doing more than explaining how they “think” the world should be: they’re actively trying to change the world they live in to meet their expectations.

Of course, most places – save perhaps for Limbo – won’t change on account of one individual believing in something. The powers might have that authority, but not the common sod like you and m!. But if one person can’t “will” their belief into existence, perhaps ten can. And if ten can’t, perhaps a hundred can. And if a hundred can’t… well, you’re a smart cutter, you get the idea. So what’s happened is that people have banded together to push their way of thinking. These are called 'factions'. Some groups are quite small, others are so big their factols couldn’t rightly tell you how many belong, but most try and have a tent large enough so that enough people can work together. Such individuals might have different interpretations their faction’s philosophy, but they’ll still both be 'steering' reality in about the same direction.

The number of factions has ebbed and waned over the uncountable history of the Multiverse, but in Sigil today, these are the fifteen that exist:

The Athar believe that the deities and powers in the multiverse are unworthy of worship, and to do so reinforces their subjugation of mortals. To the Lost, deities are just incredibly powerful individuals that are as flawed as lesser beings, and should therefore not be idolized. Kind of barmy, but they're alright.

The Believers of the Source see the multiverse as a testing ground, a place designed to help one pursue self-discovery and personal growth. Only through this path can cutters move up the latter of existence. The ultimate goal? Godhood. A bit self-centered, but they're good people.

The Bleak Cabal believe the multiverse has no purpose or deeper meaning, and every individual must find their own reasons and motivation from within. Trust me: never drink with a Bleaker. Alcohol can be depressing enough.

The Doomguard‘s philosophy revolves around entropy, the force of decay that they believe to be the only constant on the planes. These guys are bad news; nothing good can come from people who think death's a good thing.

The Dustmen believe that this life is a shadow of real existence, and that everyone has already died and transitioned to this poor substitute. Seeing no value in this life, the Dustmen accept death, and work to prepare themselves for the “True Death”, and whatever stage of existence exists beyond it. I've always wondered what it's like to be a Dustman; I'm guess it's no fun.

The Fated accept that life is tough, but assert that it is survival of the fittest, and that each individual has the right to do whatever it takes to survive and prosper. The multiverse exists for those that can take it, and those who won’t fight for their piece deserve to be shoved aside. Tip for you basher: never owe money to a Taker.

The Fraternity of Order champion “order” over “chaos”. They believed understanding the laws of the multiverse provides influence over it. These eggheads are probably juggling about three things that they don't understand, but I've got to admire their vision.

The Free League believe in individuality: people should be allowed the freedom to do whatever it is that makes them happy. Some bashers don’t even consider the Free League a faction at all given that they refuse to stand for a common philosophy.

The Harmonium think peace can only be achieved by getting every person across the planes to believe in the same ideals. Naturally, their beliefs are best suited for the task, so peace requires enlisting everyone into being a member of the Harmonium.

The Mercykillers believe in punishing those who break the law – and bring the muscle to back it up. To a member of the Red Death, upholding justice is their purpose, and punishment is their tool. One of these guys yells your name, you run, got it?

The Revolutionary League seek freedom from authority, and the total liberation of the planes from high-ups and hierarchies – especially from factional influence. Only once the chains of society are cast down will everyone be free to find the truth of the multiverse. Pretty romantic really, even if they want to tear my faction down.

The Sign of One believe that we’re all the masters of our own reality. With enough belief, one can shape their universe… or be crushed beneath it. These guys can be a real hoot once you get them drinking.

The Society of Sensation seek to demonstrate that experience equals power. That doesn’t mean simply length or depth of experience (though those are nice), but breadth. We Sensates believe experiencing something is the only way to understand it, and so to understand the multiverse one must expose oneself to as much of its experiences as possible.

The Transcendent Order seek to attain unity of mind and thought. Deliberation and hesitation are flaws from the standpoint of their members, and the Ciphers believe that by purifying action into instinct one can discover their role in the multiverse. I honestly don't know what that means.

The Xaositects are chaotic to the extreme. They think that disorder is the true state of the multiverse, and the only state worth seeking. True freedom and strength can only be found by discarding reason and conformity. Great artists, won't find any better in the multiverse.

No one knows why The Lady chose for there to be 15 factions instead of another number. And while the city is arguably better since her decree, there's just as much schemeing and fighting between the factions to make Sigil a rough burg to live in. It was - like all of the Lady's decisions - Hers to make. But now we're all in here, and most of us are trying to get along with the rest.

Well, that's the dark of it all cutter. You've heard the gist of what makes Sigil what it is, so now I'm going to ask you a question:

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1. Is Sigil, the City of Doors, a city of chaos, whose contradictions give it purpose? (more chaotic)

or

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2. Is Sigil, the City of Doors, a city of order, whose rules give it purpose? (more lawful)