Planescape

Lore & Background

Planescape encompasses numerous planes of existence, creating an entire cosmology called the Great Wheel, which was originally developed in the 1987 Manual of the Planes by Jeff Grubb, derived from concepts laid out in the 1978 Player's Handbook by Gary Gygax. This includes many of the other Dungeons & Dragons worlds, linking them via inter-dimensional magical portals. The cosmology consists of the Inner Planes, the Ethereal Plane, the Prime Material Plane, the Astral Plane, and the Outer Planes. The Outer Planes include: the Abyss, Acheron, Arborea, Arcadia, Baator, Beastlands, Bytopia, Carceri, Elysium, Gehenna, Gray Waste of Hades, Limbo, Mechanus, Mount Celestia, the Outlands, Pandemonium, and Ysgard. Sigil, the 'City of Doors', is located atop the Spire in the Outlands. It has the shape of a torus, and the city itself is located on the inner surface of the ring. There is no sky, simply an all-pervasive light that waxes and wanes to create day and night. Sigil cannot be entered or exited save via portals. Within Sigil there are philosophy-derived factions. Before the event known as the Faction War, the groups controlled the political climate of Sigil. In 1998, TSR published Faction War, an adventure that effectively closed the book on Planescape, as it was then ending the product line. Sects are in many ways identical to the Factions, differing in that they are not based in Sigil. There are three principles governing the world of Planescape: the Rule-of-Three, the Unity of Rings, and the Center of the Multiverse.

In Their Own Story

The rain in Sigil does not fall so much as it is remembered into existence by the clouds, which are themselves arguments made visible. You stand in the Factory of the Lady of Pain, watching the gears turn in silence, each one a life you once lived and no longer recall. A voice from the other side of the gate asks your name. You open your mouth. The name that comes out is not yours. It never was. But it is the only one that fits, and so you wear it like a coat that is slightly too large, walking back into the Outdoors where the sky is a ceiling and the ground is a floor and everything in between is a question you have been asked nine times and never once answered.

Reader's Guide

The Planescape Campaign Setting was released for AD&D 2nd Edition in April 1994. It was followed by expansions detailing the Planes of Chaos, the Planes of Law, and the Planes of Conflict. From 1994 to 1998, Planescape was a major setting for Dungeons & Dragons. The setting also had a small number of novels. Upon the release of 3rd Edition, Planescape, along with most other settings, was discontinued. The 3rd Edition Manual of the Planes (2001), the 3.5 Edition Dungeon Master's Guide (2003), and the Planar Handbook (2004) used the general layout of the planes and some details from the setting, including Sigil, but these are not part of the Planescape line. Sigil is described in the 4th edition Manual of the Planes (2008) and expanded upon in Dungeon Master's Guide 2 (2009).

Did You Know?

• Planescape was designed by David 'Zeb' Cook.
• The visual look of the setting was inspired by Piranesi's Le Carceri etchings and Brian Froud's illustrations.
• The Lady of Pain was drawn by Dana Knutson and became the setting's logo.
• The Faction War adventure (1998) effectively ended the Planescape product line.