Factions of the Planes

Source: A Players Guide to the Planes, p. 14
Race and class don't make a whole person on the planes. A body's got to have a philosophy, a vision of the multiverse and what it all means. Sure, a fellow can get along without it, but how’s he ever going to make sense of the whole thing and find his own “center of the multiverse"? How’s he going to know his friends from his enemies in places where what he stands for can mean everything? A body's got to have a place to stand in order to see the
majesty of the whole thing. On the streets of Sigil and beyond, philosophies are more than just ideas. They're groups — factions with leaders, goals, powers, and attitudes.

Every faction has its own way of seeing the multiverse and has its own powers to match, Some of them get along, others don't, and some could care less about the rest of the multiverse. Factions are a bit like backgrounds. Factions provide a basher with a way to understand the planes. It’s not the same as alignment, but it can be close. Also unlike kits, factions are actually organizations, with benefits and restrictions. Every faction has a leader, known as the factol, whose position is purely dependent upon dedication to the philosophy, not upon level or class. Some factions are more organized than others, and at least one — the Indeps (see page 23) — isn’t really a faction at all.
Every planar player character must start with a faction, and once a faction is chosen, the cutter is pretty much stuck with it, so they
should choose carefully. Those who change from one faction to another inspire about the same confidence as Benedict Arnold -- they're hated by old companions and mistrusted by new ones. Prime characters don't automatically start with a faction.
If the DM is running a mixed campaign with Sigil as its base, they can let prime player characters begin with membership in a faction. In that case it’s assumed the character has been on the planes (as an apprentice or whatever) long enough to sort out the philosophies. If prime characters are adventuring here from a prime-material campaign, they won't belong to one of the factions and will automatically be considered Outsiders.

Each faction described in the following pages is organized as follows:

• Official Faction Title. Alternate and slang names, not all complimentary, are given in
  parentheses.

• Faction Philosophy. This gives a quick summary of what the faction believes.

• Primary Plane of influence. This is the plane where the faction has the most power. Generally, this location is the plane with the alignment most similar to the faction’s philosophy. Each faction’s headquarters in Sigil is also noted here.

• Allies and Enemies. The factions don’t exist independently of each other, Some find their
  philosophies mutually favorable, while others hold beliefs at odds with one another. While factions rarely fight each other directly, rivals may not always be cooperative.

• Eligibility. Listed here are the game requirements that must be met for a character to
  join the faction. These are most often a restriction on the character's alignment.

• Gaming Benefits. These-are the special abilities, rewards, and resources available to members of that faction. Some are applicable immediately, and others come into play as the character rises in level.
• Gaming restrictions. All factions have limitations which the player character must accept.

The athar

(Defiers, the Lost)

Faction Philosophy

According to these folks, the great and feared powers are liars! Those who claim to be the “gods” of the planes are just mortals like us. Yeah, they’re unbelievably powerful, but they’re not gods. After all, they can die, they’ve got to keep their followers happy, and they often feud among themselves like children. Thor, Zeus, and the others - they’re all impostors.

Sure, there might be a true god, or maybe even more than one, but such power is beyond all understanding. Such beings cannot be seen, spoken to, or understood by mortals.

What’s the proof? Look at the spells and granted powers of priests. Where do these abilities really come from? Why, it must be from the unknowable, from the true god that is behind everything, and the powers are nothing but channels for its will. Foolish mortals believe the powers are the source of all majesty, and why would the powers do anything to correct that mistake?
Ysgard, Mechanus, Baator, and the like are all lies, too. These planes aren’t the abodes of supreme beings, just lands shaped by the wills of the powers. Anyone could do it with enough expertise. All the sweat and worry of petitioners ain’t just for oneness with their plane - it's for a greater reward, if there’s any at all. Proxies are merely magical or bio-magical transformations, the result of natural planar magic.

’Course,the Athar ain’t stupid. “Let the powers call themselves gods,” they say. “It ain’t worth the laugh, because there’s no point upsetting the powers.” With all that might, an angry power’d be a dangerous enemy. All the Athar want is to part the veil, discover the secret behind everything, and look on the face of the unknowable.

Primary Plane of Influence

The Astral, where the Athar point to the bodies of the dying powers as proof of their beliefs. The Athar headquarters in Sigil is the Shattered Temple, a place once dedicated to the now dead and forgotten god Aoskar.

Allies and Enemies

The philosophy of the Athar is similar to the Believers of the Source. They are frequently allies, but not always.

Eligibility

The Athar are one of the few factions with class restrictions. Priests of specific deities are never members of this faction, since it’s impossible to maintain faith in a “charlatan”deity. Clerics who do join worship the Great Unknown. Members can be of any race or alignment.

Benefits

You are immune to the following spells when cast by a servant of the gods (like a cleric, proxy, or angel): Augury, Bestow Curse, Divination, Divine Word, Enthrall, Geas. Also, you can spend Inspiration as a reaction to gain immunity to a single spell cast by a servant of the gods.

Restrictions

Because Athars deny the validity of the powers, priests of specific deities can’t provide known Athars with aid in the form of spells and magical devices, particularly those of healing. Only the most dire circumstances can compel a priest to violate this restriction. ’Course, no self-respecting Athar would let any toadie of a power touch him, anyway. Accepting aid from a servant of the gods is considered beneath an Athar, and prevents you from gaining Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.

Believers of the Source

(Godsmen)

Faction Philosophy

To these characters, all things are godly. All things can ascend to greater glory - if not in this life, then in the next. Patience, that’s all it takes.
See, here’s the chant: Everything - primes, planars, petitioners, proxies, the whole lot - is being tested. Survive, succeed, and ascend - that's the goal of all beings. Fail and get reincarnated to try again. It’s pretty simple and straightforward.

’Course, it ain’t that easy either. First off, no body really knows what the tests are. Is a body supposed to be good, evil, or what? Godsmen are trying to figure that out. Second, a fellow just might go in reverse - mess up and come back as a prime or something worse in the next life. It could even be that those who do really badly return as fiends. Finally, there’s one last
step nobody even understands. Getting to be a power ain’t the end of the cycle. There’s something beyond that, something that powers, themselves, eventually ascend to. Cross that threshold to the ultimate form and get released from the multiverse forever.

Now, there’s a fixed number of beings out there, and sooner or later we’re going to run out, when everybody’s ascended. A lot of the worlds on the so called “infinite”Prime Material Plane are already pretty thinly populated. When a prime ascends to the next level, then there’s one less prime in all the multiverse - unless, of course, a planar somewhere fails that and falls back a rank. But sooner or later, everybody’s going to attain the ultimate goal, the final ascension, and when that happens the multiverse ends - closes up shop, fades right out of
existence.

So you see, the Godsmen calculate that’s the whole purpose of the multiverse. The Prime Material, the Inner, and the Outer Planes - they exist to test and purge. It’s just a matter of figuring what’s being tested and how. When that happens, the Godsmen can hasten the end of the universe and get on with some new existence.

Primary Plane of Influence

The Ethereal. The demiplanes of the ethereal, formed by powerful wizards and the like, are evidence to the Godsmen that their philosophy is correct. In Sigil, the Godsmen maintain their
headquarters at the Great Foundry, the symbolic forge of the planes.

Allies and Enemies

Since a central belief of both the Godsman and Athar philosophies is that there’s some greater thing than the powers, those two factions often find themselves allied. Likewise the belief in the ultimate end of the multiverse sits well with the doomguard, although any alliance between the two groups is always temporary. Both the Bleak cabal and the dustmen take exception
with Godsman philosophy, and they’re considered foes of the Godsmen’s cause.

Eligibility

The Godsmen are open to all races, classes, and alignments.

Benefits

Because they believe all things have potential, Godsmen are generally well received throughout the planes. Your Charisma (Persuasion) checks with planar beings are advantaged. Also, you can spend Inspiration to make an Indifferent NPC Friendly to you until they take a long rest.
OPTION: Alternate Benefit: Begin with a bonus language or tool proficiency that you recall from a past life. Also, you can spend Inspiration to remember a language or tool proficiency from one of your past lives for the next hour.

Restrictions

Accepting aid during your personal tests is seen as beneath a true Godsmen, and doing so prevents you from gaining Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause. This includes being resurrected from death.

The Bleak Cabal

(Bleakers, the Cabal, Madmen)

Faction Philosophy

“There’s no meaning to it all,” say the members of this faction, “so just give it up, poor sod. Whoever said reality had to make sense?” To these folks, the multiverse ain’t even a cruel joke, because that would give it all meaning. Look at all those fools in their factions, running around, trying to discover the meaning of something that’s senseless. They’ll waste their lives at it. And they call the Bleak Cabal mad - hah!

Here’s the Bleaker credo: “The multiverse doesn’t make sense, and it ain’t supposed to.” That’s all there is to it, pure and simple. It ain’t “The multiverse is without meaning,” because that answer’s a meaning in itself.

Look, the primes, petitioners, proxies, even the powers don’t have The Answer. Nobody is here for some higher purpose. Things just are, and whatever meaning there is in the multiverse is what each being imagines into the void. The sad part to the Cabal is that so many others refuse to see this. Looking for the “truth,”these people don’t see it. Once a sod understands that it all means nothing, everything else starts to make sense. That’s why some folks go insane -from hunting for the snipe that ain’t there. ’Course, some folks just can’t handle the truth. They’re the ones that howl and rage, gibber in the comers, and plead with the powers, as if that would help them. Well, too bad for them. Bleakers know the hard truth, and if other folks can’t deal with that, it’s no concern of theirs.

For someone to join the Cabal,they have got to do three things: quit looking for meanings, accept what happens, and look inward. There’s no meaning on the outside, so the question is, “Is there any meaning inside?”

Primary Plane of Influence

Pandemonium. This plane, the Howling Land, owes its existence to no one and no thing. Its passages rage with the screaming winds of madness, an apt home for the Bleak Cabal. In Sigil, the Cabal maintains its headquarters at the Gatehouse, the asylum before the Hive.

Allies and Enemies

The Bleak Cabal isn’t a group most others view neutrally. The Doomguard, dustmen Revolutionary League, and Xaositects all view the Bleak Cabal sympathetically. The Fraternity of Order, the Harmonium, and the Mercykillers all have great difficulties with the Cabal’s nihilistic point of view, and so must beranked among their enemies.

Eligibility

The Bleak Cabal is open to characters of any race, class, or alignment save lawful. By their nature, lawful characters can’t accept the Cabal’s basic premise - that life exists without meaning- for without meaning there's no order.

Benefits

Considered mad by most, you are immune to madness inducing spells and effects such as Confusion, Crown of Madness, Feeblemind, Otto's Irresistible Dance, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, the gaze of an umber hulk, or the winds of Pandemonium. You can spend Inspiration to mask yourself from Detect Thoughts and similar forms of mind-reading (as if your Intelligence were 3 or lower) for 1 minute.

Restrictions

During each day of downtime you have a 1% cumulative chance of succumbing to temporary Bleaker madness which lasts either until your downtime period ends or after 1d6+1 days pass, whichever comes first. During this madness you cannot take any activities (downtime activities or otherwise) besides resting; if you do, you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause (or lack thereof!). If your group enjoys roleplaying such things, you may wish to roleplay the other PCs convincing your character to resume adventuring.

The Doomguard

Faction Philosophy

Ever hear of entropy, berk? Take a look around: Everything’s going down the tubes, falling apart, stopping. People die, rocks erode, stars fade, planes melt away. That’s entropy, the fate of the multiverse. A lot of folks think that’s a terrible thing, but not the Doomguard. They’re pretty sure nothing lasts forever, not even the planes. It’s the way things are supposed to be, they guess, the goal of everything. Sooner or later, the last bits of the multiverse’ll decay, and then there’ll be nothing left - think of it as existence’s ultimate release from toil and pain.

Now, the sods who try to fix things - stop the decay and put everything back together - they’ve got it all wrong. They’re fighting the natural goal of the multiverse, trying to do something unnatural. That ain’t right.

So look, the Doomguard’s here to see that the multiverse gets its way. Things are supposed 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? And somebody’s got to watch the proxies and the powers, to make sure they don’t meddle with the process. Can’t have the powers restoring things or ending them too fast, you know.

Don’t get this faction wrong. It’s 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. The sod who can’t see the grand scheme’ll go barmy trying to tear down everything that gets built. So, everything’s got a part in this. The primes slowly eat away their worlds, and planars do the same. Look at petitioners - entropy reaches perfection when they fade away. It’ll all happen in time.

Primary Plane of Influence

The Doomguard maintains one great citadel on each negative quasiplane: Ash, Vacuum, Salt, and Dust. The Negative Energy Plane represents the Doomguard’s idea of the ultimate fate of the multiverse, so the Doomguard’s citadels are built as close to the plane as practicality allows. In Sigil, their headquarters is the city’s main armory.

Allies and Enemies

Both the Bleak Cabal and the dustmen find the entropic visions of the Doomguard well suited to their own philosophies, although the Cabal sneers at the idea that entropy is the “goal” of the multiverse. The Godsmen agree with the idea that the multiverse is fated to end, but they can’t accept the idea that destruction is the purpose in itself. The Fraternity of Order and the Harmonium reject the Doomguard's philosophy wholesale.

Eligibility

The Doomguard is open to all races and alignments. Clerics of the Life domain cannot join the Doomguard, since Life is the opposite of Entropy.

Benefits

The Doomguard is very military in organization and outlook, All members are trained to fight with a sword, if you don't have it already you gain proficiency with swords (Shortsword, Longsword, Rapier, Scimitar, Greatsword). In addition, you can spend Inspiration to deliver an entropic blow, turning a successful attack you make against a creature of an opposing alignment into an automatic critical hit.
You can also sift thru destroyed matter for one minute, running your hands thru charred buildings and rubble, to determine the cause of the destruction so long as it occurred within 100 years.

Restrictions

Sinkers have resistance to healing magic, only regaining half the normal hit points from healing spells and magic items. No self-respecting Doomguard would acts against the forces of Entropy in favor of those of creation or preservation, and doing so prevents you from gaining Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.

Dustmen

(The dead)

Faction Philosophy

These guys say Life’s a joke, a great trick. Nobody’s alive; in fact, there’s no such thing as Life. Sure, the petitioners are dead compared to the rest of us, but everybody else is dead, too - they just don’t know it yet. So what’s the chant? Simple: “All these worlds and all these universes are just shadows of another existence.” This multiverse - the Prime Material, the Inner, and the Outer Planes - is where beings wind up after they die.

Look, if things were truly alive, would there be such pain and misery in the multiverse? ’Course not! Life is supposed to be about celebration and positive feelings. Existence here is muted, dull, full of pain, and twisted with sorrow. What kind of celebration is that? This existence is a mockery of true life.

Fact is, everyone is dead - primes, planars, proxies, petitioners, all of them - it’s just that some are more dead than others. Primes are just started on the path, planars are a little further along, and petitioners, well, they’re almost to the end. Then there’s the walking dead. They’ve attained purity in this world - purged themselves of all passions and sense. The goal‘s not to merge with the planes like the petitioners think; it’s to purify the self, to become one of the true dead.

This is important: In order to appreciate Death in proper Dustman fashion, a sod has got to explore his so-called “life”to its fullest and understand his present state of existence with all its trials before moving up the ladder of Truth. The berk who gets restless and rushes things dies a fool, and he’ll probably be forced to go through the whole thing all over again - that’s a real waste of time! Here’s the chant: Respect Death, and don’t ever treat it like a servant.

Primary Plane of influence.

The Negative Energy Plane. Through great effort, the Dustmen maintain a citadel in the inhospitable darkness of that plane. In Sigil, their headquarters is the Mortuary, the place where the bodies of all who die in the city are sent.

Allies and Enemies

The Dustmen’s views tend to provoke strong reactions. The Bleak Cabal favor their grim viewpoint, as do the Doomguard. The Fated find certain common ground in the deterministic views of most Dustmen, too. On the other side, the Dead’s fatalistic rejection of life runs counter to the teachings of the Sign of One. Of all the factions, the Society of Sensation is the most opposed to Dustman teachings. Furthermore, most primes have a great deal of difficulty dealing with Dustmen, for a Dustman’s views on life and death are too extreme.

Eligibility

All races, classes, and alignments are welcome to become members of the Dustmen. Clerics of death gods are particularly common in this faction.

Benefits

You benefit from the Dead Truce, an ancient compact between the Dustmen and undead which prevents undead from attacking a member of the faction unless the Dustmen initiates hostilities first. Normally this does not apply to a Dustman's companions; however, you can spend Inspiration to extend the Dead Truce to companions within 10 feet as long as you maintain concentration, though this only reliably applies to mindless undead like wraith, skeletons, and zombies, not free-willed undead like vampires and wights.

Restrictions

Your soul is never willing to return to "life" for the purposes of Raise Dead, Resurrection, and True Resurrection. Dustmen who act against the True Death (e.g. thru displaying excessive emotion or attempting to restore someone to life) are seen as heretics, and you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.

The Fated

(Takers, the Heartless)

Faction philosophy

This faction says the multiverse belongs to those who can hold it. Each sod makes his own fate, and there’s no one else to blame for it. Those who whine about their luck are just weaklings; if they were meant to succeed, they could have. Here’s the way the multiverse works, according to the Takers: Everybody’s got the potential to be great, but that don’t mean it’s going to happen. It takes work and sweat for things to come true, not just a lot of hoping. Those that work hard get what they deserve. Nothing’s free - not in life or any other.

Proof? Look at the poor petitioners. Can they just sit back and wait for their rewards? No, the powers put them through the mill with all kinds of trials. A lot of them fail and die permanent little deaths, but those that have the strength and the will reach the reward. There’s no point feeling sorry for the berks who didn’t make good - it was their own fault for being weak. Some softhearted folks call this a cruel philosophy, saying that there's no compassion in it. Well, that's just an excuse for weakness. Sure there’s compassion, but a body’s still got to earn it. The best way to keep from being hurt is to be strong enough to fight back.

Most folks think there’s nothing to the Fated but taking, but the Takers’ll tell a berk it’s more than that. There’s lots of things a being has to earn, and he can’t get all of them by force. A body’s got to have some respect, too, and that’s something that can’t be got with force. There’s happiness, too. A basher’s got to go out and make happiness, and no amount of hitting people is going to get that. It takes kindness without weakness, compassion without cowardice.
“The next time somebody snivels about their lot in life,” say the Takers, “just remember the powers gave ’em the wherewithal to get on with their life. It’s not anybody else’s fault if they ain’t going to use it.”

Primary Plane of Influence

The Fated’s philosophy fits well with the rough-and-tumble attitudes of the powers found on Ysgard, so it’s hardly a surprise that the faction is strong there. Their headquarters in Sigil is the Hall of Records, where the ownership of all things important is recorded.

allies and enemies.

Of all the philosophies, the Fated’s is closest to the “leave-me-alone” attitude of the Free League, and the two often work cooperatively. The Mercykillers share some sentiments with the Fated, too - particularly attitudes about compassion and mercy - yet they don’t accept the “might makes-right” attitude of the Takers, so the two groups are only cool allies. The Harmonium views the Fated as wrong-headed and dangerous, and the two must be considered enemy factions.

Eligibility

Membership in the Fated is open to any race or class. However, lawful good characters can’t join the Fated.

Benefits

You gain a bonus skill proficiency of your choice, and when selecting class skills you may select from any skills in the game, reflecting your faction's philosophy of self-reliance. In addition, you can spend Inspiration to apply your proficiency bonus to a skill check you are not proficient in.

Restrictions

A real Taker doesn't accept or give charity, always demands (or provides) services before payment is rendered, and strives toward self-reliance; should you compromise these core values, you lose the ability to gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.

The Fraternity of Order

(Guvners)

Faction Philosophy

These folks are sure that everything’s got laws. Mankind’s got laws. Sigil’s got laws. Even the Lower Planes got their laws. Now, once a body’s got the laws down, he does pretty well, right? He knows how to use them this advantage, and how to break them without getting caught. If everything’s got laws, then there are laws for the whole birdcage - the planes and all that. And if everything’s got laws, then those laws can be learned. See where this is going? Learn the laws of the planes and learn how to bend ’em, how to use ’em to best advantage. Get to be a real blood, a pro, and a basher’d have real power.

Think of the things a body could do with the laws of the multiverse under his thumb. He could manipulate the very heart of things! It’d make magic seem like a lousy put-up, make a fellow who knew the dark of things a real high-up man. He could find the loopholes of the multiverse, the little spots not covered by any rules, where he could do what he wanted. He’d be tougher than the powers themselves!

‘Course,it ain’t that easy. The multiverse keeps its laws dark, where a body’s not likely to find them. More than a few cutters have got themselves put in the deadbook trying to learn it all. Then there’s the powers - it ain’t likely they want any sod getting the secrets of more power than them.

So let all the other berks run around, looking for the meaning of the multiverse. It doesn’t matter what it all means, because that won’t tell a body how it all works. Knowing the operation of things - that’s what’s important. Who cares what it means when a blood can make it do what he wants?

So how’s a fellow to find out? Knowledge - knowledge is power. It takes study, it takes searching. Sometimes a body’s got to go out into the planes and look for the answers. Sometimes it takes science, study, and research. There are millions of laws to make this thing go, and the more a body knows, the more he can do.

Primary Plane of Influence

The cogwheeled plane of Mechanus, where everything aspires to perfect order, is the stronghold of the Guvners. In Sigil, their headquarters is the City Courts.

Allies and Enemies

With their knowledge of laws, Guvners are considered useful by many. They’re strong allies of the Mercykillers, who uphold laws, and they’re close to the Harmonium. At the other extreme, the Xaositects and the Revolutionary League are both opposed to the Guvners. The Doomguard, while not an enemy, remains suspicious that the Guvners are trying to prolong the life of the multiverse.

Eligibility

The Fraternity of Order is open to all classes and races, but because of its highly structured view of life, all members must be lawful in alignment.

Benefits

Your highly developed sense of patterns allows you to cast Comprehend Languages once per long rest. In addition, you can spend Inspiration when casting Comprehend Languages to decode secret messages in a text or glyph, such as an arcane Sigil, that isn't part of a written language.

Restrictions

A Guvner won't break a law unless they can find a loophole around it; should you knowingly break a law, you lose the ability to gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.

The Free League

(Indeps)

Faction Philosophy

This ain’t no faction and nobody tells them what to do. The idea that any berk knows the truth and everybody else’s wrong - well, that’s a chance a body shouldn’t take. Who’s right - the Guvners? The Mercykillers? The Chaosmen? Since when does a smart gambler play all his jink on a single throw?

The short and long of it’s simple: There’s nobody who’s got a sure key to the truth, so it pays to keep the options open. Maybe the multiverse is like the Lost say, but it could be the way the godsmen tell it. Side with one view and find out it’s wrong and, well, a fellow comes up a loser. There’s no wisdom in that!

Still, a body’s got to belong to something, if he wants to stay alive. The Free League’s kind of an informal group of like-thinkers. They share news, pass around jobs, and watch each other’s backs. Hey, in a place like the planes, a body can’t be too careful.

There ain’t nobody tells an Indep what to do. They hire on with whom they please, insult whom they dare, and drink with the rest. Every creature’s free to find his own path, his own meaning to the multiverse, and what works for one probably isn’t the answer for another. Pure fact is, there’s a lot of truths out there.

Some figure Indeps to be cowards, afraid to play a stake on the truth, but Indeps see themselves as free thinkers, refusing to be shackled to some blind ideology. Truth is, there are some that don’t want to make the choice, for fear of offending one power or another. Then again, there’s plenty of folks seeking to make their own truth - maybe even start themselves a new faction.

Primary Plane of Influence

The Indeps have a lot of power on the Outlands, the heart of the Great Ring. It’s no surprise that in Sigil their headquarters is found in the Grand Bazaar, where everyone looks after himself.

Allies and Enemies

Because Indeps have kept themselves free of a single philosophy, most other factions view the Free League with a cynical neutrality. Indeps are just about anything in others’ eyes: useful mercenaries, potential recruits, or dangerous spies. Rival factions’ll use the Indeps in their various plans, but few would ever trust them. Only the Harmonium, with its rigid beliefs, takes a strong stand against the lndeps.

Eligibility

Anyone who wants to can call himself an Indep. Race, class, and alignment make no difference to this group.

Benefits

Being bodies of their own minds, lndeps are a stubborn lot, hard to persuade. You gain advantage on saving throws against charm spells and effects. In addition, you can spend Inspiration when charmed to act of your own free will for one round and gain an extra saving throw to break the charm if you normally wouldn't be allowed one.

Restrictions

Being independent, the Free League has no factol and therefore is not represented in any city business. Indeps have no judge in the courts, nor any seat on the council. Not surprisingly, in Sigil Indeps have few protected rights.
A true Indep never gives away their independence, power, or truth to an outside authority, whether a faction, a king, or the powers of fate itself; should you betray your belief this way, you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.

The Harmonium

(The Hardheads)

Faction Philosophy

The secret of the multiverse? That's simple, and every cutter in the Harmonium knows what it is: " The Harmonium is always right." Look, the goal of every enlightened being in the multiverse is to live in perfect harmony with all others. Look around: Peace or war - those are the only true states of the multiverse. If a being and its neighbors got the same views, then there's peace between them. When they don't agree, that's what causes war; one body figures it can use fists to convince the other. Now, there's some powers who say otherwise, but the Harmonium believes that peace is a better end than war. For one, all of a body's work won't get destroyed during times of peace. Families don't get killed, kings can actually spend time ruling the people, scholars can study, and petitioners can raise their crops. Everybody, even the fiends on the Lower Planes, can prosper.

On the other hand, the Harmonium says there's only one way to have peace: their way. War or peace - squabble among each other or join the Harmonium - those are the only choices. The Harmonium believes that the ultimate goal of the multiverse is universal harmony, and it's ready to spread that belief to all those other sods out on the planes. If it takes thumping heads to spread the truth, well, the Harmonium's ready to thump heads. Sure, there may not be peace right away, but every time the Harmonium gets rid of an enemy, the multiverse is that much closer to the universal harmony it was meant to have.

And what happens once (And it will succeed, that's certain -just ask them.) the Harmonium succeeds? That part's simple. When everyone is in agreement with the Harmonium, a new golden age will begin. That's why the Harmonium works so hard to get folk to conform - it's all for their own good.

Primary Plane of Influence

The Harmonium is strongest on the plane of arcadia, where the ideal of harmonious good is seen in all things. Within the city of Sigil, the Harmonium claims the City Barracks as its headquarters.

Allies and Enemies

Because of their fierce devotion to order (albeit their order), the Harmonium often works closelywith the guvners and the mercykillers. Indeed, within Sigil the trio forms the wheels of justice: The Harmonium makes the arrest, the Guvners conduct the trial, and the Mercykillers carry out the sentence.

With their unbending attitudes, the Harmonium also has many enemies. Indeps, the Revolutionary League, and Xaositects all have little patience with the rigid views of the Harmonium.

Eligibility

All races and classes are welcome to join the Harmonium, but the applicant must be of lawful alignment.

Benefits

You can cast Charm Person as a 1st level spell once per long rest. In addition, you can spend Inspiration when casting Charm Person to invoke one of these extra effects: either the target does not realize you charmed them, or you cast the spell as if using a spell slot of the highest level you could cast (use the warlock table as a guideline).

Restrictions

There are two things which the Harmonium considers treasonous - disobeying just orders from a Harmonium superior, or initiating wanton violence with no intention to use it to arrive at peace. Should you break these rules you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.
Members who "turn stag" - betray the faction - are automatically sentenced to death by the factol. Even refusing to return to the faction's ranks is considered treasonous.

The Mercykillers

(Red death)

Faction Philosophy

As far as this faction’s concerned, justice is everything, and there ain’t no sod who can give it the laugh. Those cutters that try’ll have the Mercykillers on their tail, so the smart thing isjust don’t try. It’s the whole reason laws exist - to see that justice is carried out. Justice purges the evil in folks and makes them better, fit to belong in the multiverse. Once everybody’s been cleansed, then the multiverse reaches perfection, and perfection’s the goal of the multiverse.

Justice is absolute and perfect, but it’s got to be correctly applied. A body’s got to know the knights of the post, the criminals from the innocent, so he doesn’t make a mistake. Mercy’s an excuse created by the weak and criminal. They think they can rob or kill and then escape their crimes by pleading for mercy. The Mercykillers are not so weak. Every crime must be punished according to the law. There are no such things as “extenuating circumstances.” That being the case, some smart cutters figure they’ll hang the Mercykillers by their own yardarm and accuse them of some of their own crimes. Well, the Red death’ll just smile and say it answers to a higher law. Charged with protecting justice, they can do things others can’t - all in the name of justice. How else could they survive their own ideals?

’Course now, other folks don’t agree with Red Death logic. To them, the Mercykillers ain’t above the laws or even right in what they do. The Mercykillers don’t like such folk’s attitudes, but they can’t hang a being for its opinions - at least not in most places. See, the Mercykillers say they don’t make the laws, they only enforce them. All in all, they’re no better than the rest, but no worse than a few.

Primary Plane of Influence

The Mercykillers are most powerful on the plane of Acheron. Within Sigil their headquarters is the Prison.

Allies and Enemies

The Harmonium, the Guvners, and the Mercykillers form a natural triad of arrest, trial,and punishment. As in Sigil, they are often found together in the other towns of the Outlands, serving as the local justice system. The Doomguard is sympathetic to the goals of the Mercykillers, seeing ultimate entropy in the process of punishment. Not surprisingly, the Mercykillers are at odds with those groups who place the individual over all. Signers, Sensates, and Anarchists in particular seem to have constant run ins with the Red Death. It’d be expected that Indeps would defy them, too, but this group has the sense to leave well enough alone.

Eligibility

The Mercykillers are a strict group, allowing only those of lawful alignment to join them.

Benefits

Once per long rest you can cast Zone of Truth as a 1st level spell. In addition, you can spend Inspiration to deliver a blow for justice against a known criminal, turning a hit into a critical hit.

Restrictions

Mercykillers consider themselves innocent of crimes when these are committed in the course of punishing a known criminal. Should a Mercykiller commit a crime for any other reason, they would be subject to full punishment under the law. Furthermore, although a Mercykiller can accept the surrender of an individual (so that person can be properly punished), he can never release a lawbreaker until the proper sentence has been carried out.
Mercykillers who commit crimes when not pursuing a criminal, who let the guilty go without justice, or who present false testimony against the innocence betray their faction; should you commit such an offense you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction.

The Revolutionary League

(Anarchists)

Faction Philosophy

“These universes, these powers, they’re all corrupt!” screams this faction. “They’re guiding people in the wrong directions, keeping them slaves and prisoners to the powerful. The old beliefs are lies.” These sods claim that Guvners, Chaosmen, Mercykillers, Athar - every last one of them - no longer care about the truth. Their factols all have property, bodyguards, jink, and influence. They’re not looking for the truth; they just want to hang onto what they’ve got.

Well, the Anarchists say it’s time for that to change. It’s time to break free of the chains and seek the real truth. And that’s only going to happen when a body’s free of the bonds of the other factions. A being’s got to be able to make his own choices, but would any faction just let a body go? Think the Harmonium would say, “Sure, we admit we’re wrong. Go and find your own way.”

Not a chance! The only way a being’s ever going to get its freedom is to tear down the old factions. Throw ’em down, shatter ’em, break their power - that’s what’s got to be done! When the old factions are crushed, a sod has a chance to learn the real truth.

’Course, a body’s got to be careful. The plutocrats don’t want to give up a single grain of their power cache, so they’ll try to break the spirit of the revolution - if they can catch it. A blood’s got to be careful and keep himself dark from the factols or he’ll end up lost in an alley some night, so the best thing to do is to pit the factions against each other. A cutter doesn’t need to hit them head-on unless he wants to end up in the dead-book.

Once the factions all come down, then folks can find the real truth. What’s that truth? No one knows and there’s no way of saying. There ain’t no point in thinking about it even, not until what’s standing now is brought down. Break it all and rebuild with the pieces that’re left - that’s the only plan.

Primary Plane of Influence

The revolutionary League is best typified by the grim exiles of Carceri, forever scheming to overthrow their enemies. In Sigil, the faction rejects the idea of a fixed headquarters. Instead, it moves from place to place in the city, to prevent its discovery by the unwanted. The Anarchists have no factol.

Allies and Enemies

Although their stated goal is the overthrow of all, the Anarchists do have allies. The Doomguard and the Xaositects both find much merit in Anarchist activities, even if they don’t Agree with the other extreme, the philosophy the Harmonium and the Guvners consider the Revolutionary League an abomination.

Eligibility

Anarchists care nothing for race or class and even profess no interest in alignment. However, their doctrine of overthrow prevents lawful types from joining their faction.

Benefits

You can automatically pose as a member of any other faction without being detected; you don't gain special abilities that are spell or training related (such as a Xaositect's babble or a Cipher's initiative bonus), but you do benefit from abilities related to position or title, including access to the faction's headquarters. In addition, you can spend Inspiration as a reaction to perfectly conceal your thoughts and motives; whoever was attempting to gain insight into you receives whatever information you choose or merely gets a muddled result.

Restrictions

You must donate 80% of all treasure gained(not including magic items) to the revolutionary cause or to the oppressed (though in no case can it be given to another player character). Anarchists cannot hold public office or noble title, or take part in anything that would tie them to the power structure; should you betray your faction's beliefs in these ways, you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to the faction cause.

The Sign of One

(Signers)

Faction Philosophy

Every person, every individual, is unique. This is the greatest glory of the universe - that each creature living (and dead) is different from all others. It’s obvious, then, that the multiverse centers around the self, or so this faction would have everyone believe. “It’s quite simple, addle-cove,’’ one of these sods would say. “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, the rest the factions would cease to exist.

Better be nice to the Signers then, berk, because they just might decide to imagine a body right out of existence. Don’t think it can be done? Maybe not, but then a basher’s a fool to take the risk. Lots of folks disappear without a trace, and more than a few are enemies of the Signers. Makes a body think, don’t it?

So, some smart cutter'll say, what happens if two Signers don’t agree? What if they both think different things? Then what happens? After all, the multiverse is the same for everybody. The answer’s easy for a Signer. Since he’s the center of the universe, then obviously everything else is from his imagination - simple. Nobody else really exists except as he thinks of them, so of course the multiverse is the same. How else could it be?

A lot of folks don’t accept this idea. After all, they point to their own feelings and emotions, their own self, as proof the Signers are wrong. And the Signers simply claim to have imagined it all. What others feel and think isn’t real; only what the Signers feel is.

So exactly who is imagining the multiverse? That part even the Signers don’t know for sure. One of them is, but they can’t agree on which one. The safest bet is just to fall in with their faction, because any Signer could be the source of everything. Remember that, berk.

Primary Plane of Influence

The Signers are strongest on the plane of the Beastlands. Within Sigil, their headquarters is the Hall of Speakers.

Allies and Enemies

The Signers and sensates share some common points in their philosophies, making the two natural allies. Signers also gain frequent recruits from the Outsiders, who often are comforted by being placed at the center of importance. The Harmonium finds the Signers more than slightly annoying, and the Bleak Cabal’s the most opposed to them of all.

Eligibility

The Sign of One is open to all classes, races, and alignments. However, lawful good and lawful neutral characters may find adhering to the One’s beliefs difficult at best.

Benefits

Because they believe all the world is created from within, Signers are hard to fool with illusions of any type. A Signer automatically gains a saving throw vs. spell when confronted by illusionary magic.

Restrictions

Perhaps because of their often immense egos, Signers have difficulty understanding the motives and feelings of others. Hence, they suffer a -2 penalty on all encounter reactions and loyalty checks of nonplayer characters.

The Society of Sensations

(The Sensates)

Faction Philosophy

According to these folks, the multiverse is known by the senses - the only proofs of existence. Without experience, without sensation, a thing isn’t. If a sod can’t taste the soup, then it ain’t soup. The only way to know anything for sure is to use the senses.

Look, it ain’t that hard to understand. Which is real, a description of a rose or the rose itself? Only a barmy’d choose the description, which ain’t real. It’s got no smell, no thorns, no color. Picking a rose, that’s real, and the way a body knows is by experiencing it. The senses are the only way to know the universe.

So some berk’ll ask, “What’s this got to do with universal Truth, the meaning of the multiverse?” Well, the chant is no one’s going to know the big dark until they’ve experienced everything - all the flavors, colors, scents, and textures of all the worlds. Only when a body’s experienced the whole universe does the great dark of it all finally get revealed. It may seem like an impossible task, but there just might be a way to bob the problem - cheat the multiverse, as it were. It just might be that the multiverse doesn’t exist beyond what a body can sense. The answer to what’s over the next hill just might be “nothing.”

Given that, the multiverse has limits, and a body can try to experience it all. A being’s got to savor the intensity, explore the complexity. Don’t just guzzle the wine - find all the flavors within it. Before a sod’s all done, he’ll learn the differences between arborean and Ysgardian wine, know them by vintage, and even by the hand of the vintner. Only then do the secrets of the multiverse start to make themselves clear.

Primary Plane of Influence

The Sensates are strongest on Arborea, a plane of great beauty in all things. In Sigil, their headquarters is naturally the resplendent Civic Festhall.

Allies And Enemies

The Sensates and the Signers, both egocentric factions, do share points of agreement concerning their philosophies, and they often cooperate in their activities. Sensates are cordial to Guvners and Indeps, intrigued by their descriptions of things far away. However, they’re opposed to the philosophies of the Doomguard, which sees worlds only as decaying objects.

Eligibility

The Society of Sensation is one of the most liberal of all factions. Anyone, of any race, class, or alignment, can join.

Benefits

You gain darkvision 60 ft (or increase the range of your darkvision to 120 ft if you already have darvision) and proficiency in either Insight or Perception (your choice). You also gain resistance to poison damage.
In addition, you can spend Inspiration to use a sensory touch during a minute of quiet reflection, touching an adjacent creature and transferring one of your HD worth of hit points (including your Constitution modifier) to them as you open yourself to their pain; at 4th level you can transfer up to 2 HD, at 8th level up to 3 HD, at 12th level up to 4 HD, at 16th level up to 5 HD, and at 20th level up to 6 HD.

Restrictions

Sensates embrace new experiences, so long as there is no obvious deadly peril. Should you refuse a new experience, you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.

The Transcendent Order

(Cipher)

Faction Philosophy

These guys say that for a body to become one with the multiverse, he’s got to stop thinking and act. Action without thought is the purest form of thought. When a cutter can know what to do without even thinking about it, then he’s become one with the multiverse.

It goes like this. Every berks part of the multiverse, and nothing’s apart from it. So it figures that every being knows the right action to take at just the right moment. Problem is, some folks start thinking and mess it all up. Thinking adds hesitation and doubt. It overrules instinct and separates a sod from the multiverse. By the time a poor sod’s thought about something, the right action for the right moment is gone.

So all a berk‘s got to do is just quit thinking, right? ’Course it ain’t that easy. Any addle-cove can blunder in and act without giving it a thought, but that’s not the goal. A body’s got to work hard at learning himself - learning his own mind and instincts until the right action comes automatically. It’s done by training both the body and mind. Just like the way thieves practice their crosstrade, a Cipher’s got to train his mind(the source of action) and body (the actor) to be one thing. There’s no difference between the two, no separation between thought and motion. Body and mind act as one - the hand moves before the thought reaches it.

So what’s all this get a fellow, then? Once mind and body are in harmony, the spirit becomes in tune with the multiverse. A blood understands the purpose of the multiverse and knows just where and how he should be.

Primary Plane of Influence

The Order is strongest on Elysium, the plane of harmonious good. Within Sigil, the Order’s headquarters is found at the Great Gymnasium.

Allies and Enemies

Believing that all truth is found internally, Ciphers don’t seek out friends or enemies among the factions. Most other groups give them a lukewarm reception, although the Harmonium is always suspicious that Ciphers harbor thoughts contrary to universal harmony.

Eligibility

The Transcendent Order is open to any character of neutral alignment.

Benefits

You gain a +2 bonus to initiative. In addition, you can spend Inspiration to enter an action trance as an action; this trance lasts for up to one minute, and while in the trance you always win initiative ties, can take reactions even when surprised, and gain advantage on Acrobatics and Athletics checks.

Restrictions

Ciphers act without hesitation. Should you pause to consider or debate a pending action, or waver in your course of action, you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.

Xeositects

(Chaosmen)

Faction Philosophy

As these sods see it, the multiverse wasn’t born from Chaos - the multiverse is Chaos. There’s no order, no pattern to anything. That’s the meaning of the multiverse, the great secret everyone else is just too dull-witted and cowardly to admit! Look around. Is there any pattern to this existence? Any order that gives it all meaning? None, not a one. The only order is one that the addle-coved Guvners and Harmonium try to impose on it. Their order isn’t natural to the multiverse. Why, the minute they leave, the multiverse reverts to its natural state of disorganization and chaos.

So why fight it, since Chaos is how things are meant to be? It has a beauty and wonder all its own. By gazing upon Chaos, learning to appreciate the randomness o f it and understanding its sublime intricacies, the Xaositects (pronounced: kay-Oh-si-tekts) learn the secrets of the multiverse. They want to play within the unshapeable Chaos, and to be a part of its uncontrollable energies.

Primary Plane of Influence

Limbo is the heart and soul of the Chaosmen, for here the wild energies of creation rage at their fullest. In Sigil, the Chaosmen make their headquarters at the center of the Hive, a turbulent slum.

Allies and Enemies

The Chaosmen, the Doomguard, and to some extent the Bleak Cabal all get along and work together, as much as those committed to Chaos can work together. Not surprisingly, the Harmonium and the Guvners are stridently opposed to the theories of the Chaosmen.

Eligibility

The Xaositects are open to all races and classes, but only those of chaotic alignment can join this faction.

Benefits

You know scramblespeak, the secret language of Xaositects, and you have an instinctive sense for where to find lost items; this requires making a Wisdom check against a DC determined by the DM. You can't repeat this check until the item moves, and this sense for lost items doesn't apply to items that were deliberately placed somewhere, only to those misplaced thru the forces of chaos. 
In addition, you can spend Inspiration to invoke the Babble spell. Spellcaster Xaositects add the spell to their spell list at 5th level.

Restrictions

Xaositects don't found businesses, build strongholds, raise armies, or undertake any other action that requires long-term organization and discipline. Should you take such distinctly un-Chaotic action, you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.

The Outsiders

(The Clueless)

Philosophy

Pretty much none - no faction, no philosophy. Outsiders arejust that: adventurers who have wandered in from the Prime Material Plane, folks who aren’t part of the planes and don’t understand all this business of factions, philosophies, and whatnot. They’ve got no stake in knowing the meaning of the planes. They might be curious, but they’re not part of the never-ending debate that rages throughout the planes.

Outsiders bring with them a lot of peculiar ideas, at least by planar standards. Most of these have to do with notions that their world is the center of the multiverse, that their kingdom is the greatest wonder of the multiverse, or that their god is the greatest power of them all. Planars often make great fun of Outsiders for their wrong-headed beliefs, but primes have their ways of getting revenge against those who give them grief.

Primary Plane of Influence

Outsiders are clearly strongest on the Prime Material Plane, and especially so on their home world within that plane. outsiders have no headquarters in Sigil.

Allies and Enemies

Outsiders have no automatic friends or foes. Most other factions view them with ambivalence. Their freedom from the philosophies of the planes makes them both possible recruits and potential enemies. The strongest reaction to Outsiders is one of general pity for their unenlightened ways.

Eligibility

Any sod from a prime-material campaign is automatically considered an Outsider.

Benefits

Outsiders gain the benefits for prime characters. In addition, within Sigil, Outsiders are frequently hired for mercenary work, since their lack of faction allegiance is seen as a benefit.

General Faction Benefits

In addition to the specific benefits described in each entry, all factions have certain common benefits, the rewards of belonging to a group. Being part of a faction has rewards that go along with the philosophy. Some of these are particular to a basher’s outlook on life, like a Dustman’s pact with the dead, but nearly all factions have some rewards in common. The most obvious of these benefits are the fellowship and sanctuary of the faction headquarters. This is more than just a meeting hall, although it serves for that, too. Most faction headquarters provide services for the needs of the followers as well.

Information

There’s a lot of dark about the planes. Where to find portals in Sigil, where those portals lead, and spell keys for the different planes are just of few of the things a cutter needs to know before setting out on an adventure. Some of this a body can pick up from the chant on the streets, or maybe buy from a traveler in a shady tavern, but a berk never knows when some sharper’s going to bob him with forged information. It’s much better to go to one’s faction headquarters for what a body needs to know. Sure they charge - nothing’s free - but they don’t cheat their own.

Employment

Most factols figure it’s bad advertising when their members are unemployed too long. Looking shabby and poor doesn’t attract that many new followers, and out-of-work partisans can create all sorts of trouble. It’s pretty common, then, for the faction headquarters to keep an ear open for potential jobs.

Planars know that troubles can often be solved by taking them to the right faction. Got problems with undead? The Dustmen are probably best for the job. Somebody escape the slippery claws of justice? Tell the tale to the Mercykillers. For a cut of the profit or some up-front jink, a fellow can get connected with a potential employer through their faction headquarters.

Healing

Another common practice of the factions is to keep a few like-minded clerics at their headquarters. Most factions believe in taking care of their own, so the clerics are there to provide healing, lift curses, cure diseases, divine secrets, and perform other nonadventuring tasks within their power. It costs - and it can cost a lot - but at least the service is reliable.

Miscellaneous

In addition to these services, there’s a host of little things a faction can do. There’s advice, companionship, spare beds, and occasional hot meals. A headquarters ain’t an inn, though, so don’t expect to set up shop there. A night or two is tolerated, but after that a berk had better find some jink and get himself a proper room.

There are also some things that won’t happen at faction headquarters. They’re not in the business of loaning money or gear, especially not to adventurers. Oh, a lot of factions are rich, and some maintain sizable armories, but that’s for their own emergencies. They won’t attack other factions, either - at least not directly. Most factols aren’t too keen on seeing a bloody creed war waged in the streets of Sigil, except maybe the Xaositects and the Doomguard. Factions don’t interfere with the government of Sigil, either. In fact, some of them are part of that government, but a body can always find advice on who to garnish and how much to offer. Finally, factions don’t send out rescue parties. Get in trouble out on the planes and a berk’s on his own - unless, of course, he’s got something the faction really wants.