Names
Defiers, The Lost

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 imposters.

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 is no point in 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.

Role Within Sigil
The Athar's role in Sigil in unofficial but, in their minds, vital for the city's survival. They take it upon themselves to ensure that the streets are kept free of preachers and that religious powers remain weak. While this may not seem particularly important remember that Sigil is the hub of the multiverse - the priests of ten thousand gods ply their trade on the same streets walked by both angels and devils. Sigil is a religious power keg and the Athar ensure no-one becomes strong enough to light that fuse.

Allies and Enemies
The Athar share a belief in the nature of the divine with the Godsmen and the two factions often work together. They also possess some common ground with both the Free League and Revolutionary League though any agreement with these groups is short-lived at best.

The Harmonium view the Athar as little more then a splinter of the Revolutionary League and have held a grudge against the Lost stretching back to their very founding. The Fated also work against the Athar as they seek to undermine the unquestioning worship of an individual that the Fated find so appealing. The Athar's true enemies however are the powers themselves and many a god has sent agents into Sigil hoping to bring about their downfall.

Eligibility
Divine casters who venerate a specific deity can not be members of the Athar.

Abilities
Skills: Defiers have a +2 competence bonus on Knowledge (Religion) checks and may always make Knowledge (Religion) checks untrained. A Defier always treats Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Knowledge (Religion) as class skills.

Divine Disavowal: Defiers gain spell resistance equal to 10 + 1/2 their character level + their Wisdom modifier against certain faith-based spells when cast by servants of a power: Augury, Bane, Banishment, Bestow Curse, Blasphemy, Dictum, Dismissal, Divination, Doom, Enthrall, Geas/Quest, Holy Word, Lesser Geas, and Word of Chaos.

Divine Ban: The Lost pay a price for their defiance: Clerics, paladins, and other followers of specific deities may not aid known faction members with spells or other uses of divine power, particularly healing. Only extreme situations might lead a follower to violate this ban. ‘Course, no Defier blood would accept this aid anyhow.

Names
Godsmen

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 straight forward.

‘Course, it ain’t that easy, either. First off, nobody 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 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.

Role Within Sigil
From the Great Foundry the Godsmen take it upon themselves to be the peace keepers of Sigil. After all, everyone could become divine, and it would be a shame to put a potential power in the dead-books before it reaches it's destiny. They consider it to be their sacred duty to keep the peace between warring faiths (and they'll use swords to do it if they must). At least until a sod proves to a Godsman that he's no power in the making, he can expect a fair shake from the Believers.

Allies and Enemies
Both the Godsmen and the Athar share a belief in the transitory nature of divinity and are often allies. Likewise, the godsmans belief in the ultimate end of the universe sits well with the Doomguard although any alliance between the two is temporary.

Both the Bleak Cabal and the Dustmen take exception to the Believers philosophy and they are considered enemies of the Godsmans cause.

Eligibility
The Believers are open to all races, classes and alignments.

Abilities
Skills: Godsmen have a +2 competence bonus on all Craft checks. A Godsman always treats Diplomacy and Sense Motive as class skills.

Reputation: The Godsmen belief that everyone can achieve godhood generally translates into fair treatment of all they encounter. This reputation for a consistent lack of prejudice makes them well-received throughout the Great Ring. They gain a +2 circumstance bonus to all Charisma-based checks with sentient planar beings (Intelligence 3 or better).

Climbing the Chain: Godsmen can’t be resurrected or raised. Every time any Godsman dies, they are automatically reincarnated as a PC race (chosen by the GM based upon the Godsman’s previous actions).

Lack of Faith: Godsmen who venerate a specific deity (as opposed to the Source) suffer from lack of ultimate faith. After all, they know a power ain’t anything special – just some basher who occupies the next-to-last rung on the ladder of evolution. This problem of faith results in -2 penalties to save DCs for any divine spells or spell-like abilities they cast.

Names
Bleakers, The Cabal, Madmen

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 mutliverse is without meaning,” because that answer’s a meaning in itself.

Look, the primes, petitioners, proxies, even the powers that 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 that 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 corners, 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, he or she (or it) has 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
Pademonium. 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.

Role Within Sigil
For a group with such a miserable outlook on life the Bleakers are the most charitable faction in Sigil. These cutters have taken it upon themselves to run the almshouse for the sick and insane. Not that it's a great place - the Bleakers have some pretty strange ideas about treatment - but at least a sod can get a hot meal and a bed from them.

Allies and Enemies
The Cabal isn't a group most other view neutrally. The Doomguard, Dustmen, Revolutionary League and Xaositects all view the Bleakers sympathetically even if they do not agree with their outlook. The Fraternity of Order, Harmonium and Mercykillers all have difficulty accepting the Cabal's nihilistic point of view and so much be counted among their enemies.

Eligibility 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.

[u]Abilities[/u]
Skills: Bleakers have a +2 competence bonus on Heal checks. A bleaker always treats Diplomacy and Heal as class skills.

Already Mad: Already considered mad by most standards, devotees of the Bleak Cabal gain Spell Resistance equal to 10 + 1/2 their character level (minimum +1) + their Wisdom modifier against spells causing madness or insanity, including Confusion, Feeblemind, Hideous Laughter, Irresistible Dance, and Lesser Confusion.

Melancholia: Bleakers are subject to fits of deep melancholia as they reflect on the pointlessness of life. At the start of each game day, the player rolls 1d20. On a roll of 1, the character is overcome by the futility of his or her own beliefs. The basher won’t do anything unless philosophically convinced by another that it’s worthwhile. Note that a monster eating another party member is not sufficient justification. (To the Bleaker, the poor sod’s life or death is pointless anyway.)

Shortened Lifespan: Even if a Bleaker keeps making his daily d20 roll and never goes insane, he still faces a greater drawback to belonging to the faction. All members of the Bleak Cabal suffer from a shortened life span, as years of living with madness and melancholia eventually take their toll. ‘Course, many faction members see this as not a curse, but a blessing. Think about it – who’d want to live long in a multiverse that didn’t make sense?

Names
Sinkers

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 an 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 so 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 in the city’s main armory.

Role Within Sigil
The Sinkers control the City Armoury, and with good reason; as far as they can see, there's no better symbol of decay then weapons of destruction and death. It makes sense, too, because they're also keeping the tools of order out of the hands of their rivals the Harmonium. 'Course no other factions going to let these bloods police the city anyway - a gang devoted to entropy ain't exactly going to promote law and order.

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 philosophies wholesale.

Eligibility
The Doomguard are open to all races, classes and alignments.

Abilities
Skills: Sinkers have a +2 competence bonus on Knowledge (Engineering) checks and may always make Knowledge (Engineering) checks untrained. A Sinker always treats Disable Device and Knowledge (Engineering) as class skills.

Sword Training: Sinkers can choose any one weapon from the following list and gain the appropriate Martial Weapon Proficiency feat: Bastard Sword, Falchion, Greatsword, Longsword, Rapier, Scimitar, Short Sword. If the Sinker is already proficient in the chosen weapon, they instead gain the Weapon Focus feat for the weapon. In either case, the Sinker gains a +1 competence bonus to hit with the chosen weapon.

Sift: Faction members find themselves with more than just fighting skills. Any Sinker can sift through destroyed material and gain a psychic impression of what caused the destruction. He just picks up some broken rubble, charred wood, ground dust, or whatever. He then lets the material filter through his fingers while he spends 1 minute in quiet meditation. Sinkers of 1st through 5th level can read the cause of destruction only if it happened in the last 10 years. Sinkers of 6th through 10th level can go back 500 years. And Sinkers of 11th level or higher can read as far back as 1,000 years.

Healing Resistance: Sinkers gain spell resistance equal to 10 + 1/2 their character level + their Wisdom modifier against any kind of healing magic. They cannot voluntarily lower this resistance.

Names
The Dead, Dusties

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, everybody 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. They’ve attained purity in this world - purged themselves of all passions and senses. 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 Dustmen 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.

Role Within Sigil
The Dead have a job that suits them well, and one that nobody else is keen on anyway. In the Mortuary, they're the ones who dispose of Sigil's deceased. The Cage doesn't have space for graveyards or crypts, so the bodies of her citizens get dispatched to other planes. These portals lead directly to mortuaries and other places of death on each plane, and those on the other side are expecting nothing but dead bodies to come through, so those cutters who somehow manage to sneak through any of these doors are in for a nasty bit when they pass through. The Dustmen handle all this work, and for the most part nobody minds. Then again, there's always the suspicion that the faction's keeping a few back and reviving them for its own purposes...

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 the Dustmen’s 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.

Abilities
Skills: Dustmen have a +2 competence bonus on Knowledge (Religion) checks and may always make Knowledge (Religion) checks untrained. A Dustman always treats Heal and Knowledge (Religion) as class skills.

Dead Truce: The Dustmen have one of the most unique abilities of all the factions, embodied in the Dead Truce. This truce is a pact, reached in times more ancient than memory, between the Dustmen and the beings of the undead realm. The effect of the truce is that the undead’ll ignore a Dustman, so long as the Dustman does nothing to harm the undead creature. If the Dustman breaks the pact, the undead and its companions will treat the sod as they would any other living being. This pact applies only to Dustmen. If one of this faction is with other bashers, the undead will react to the rest of the group normally (attacking, for example) while ignoring the Dustman. Should the Dustman aid his companions, those undead are released from the pact. Because of this possibility, it’s more common to find Dustmen working side by side with zombies and such.

Negative Energy Channeling: No matter their religion or alignment, once a basher with the ability to channel energy joins the ranks of the Dustmen they always channel negative energy.

Toward True Death: A deceased Dustman should always refuse to be brought back from the dead. Even those willing to be resurrected only return if they fail a saving throw (Will DC 10 + spell level + ability modifier). The Dustman cannot choose to willingly fail this saving throw. The concept of raising and resurrection is counter to the philosophy of the faction, and so it’s not something willingly accepted by most Dustmen.

Names
Takers, The Heartless

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 to get what they deserve. Nothing's free - not in this 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 to reach the reward. There's no point in 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 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.

Role Within Sigil
The Takers handle the most hated and needed task in the city: They control the Hall of Records - a vital piece of city administration. They record property deeds, births, and deaths (when some sod bothers to notify them). This isn't what makes them hated though. They're also the tax collectors, a job nobody thanks them for. With their "I got it, you don't" attitude, the Takers are perfect for the job. Now, having all this jink could be trouble for the other factions, so they all keep the balance by trying to pay as little as possible. If things get too bad, any faction can always appeal to the Guvners - their control of the courts gives them the means to keep the Fated's greed under control, and the rest paying their taxes.

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.

Abilities
Skills: Takers have a +2 competence bonus on Sleight of Hand checks and may always make Sleight of Hand checks untrained. A Taker treats all skills as class skills, regardless of the Taker’s class.

Taker’s Skills: The Heartless are a self-sufficient bunch, and an independent one, too. They don’t pass out magical items or spells to every namer in the faction; each berk’s got to earn his way. However, all Takers gain two additional skill ranks per level (e.g. fighters gain four skill ranks per level, rogues gain 10 per level, etc.).

Haggle: A body who spends his life looking out for himself tends to pick up other tricks, as well. Any member of the Fated looking to make a purchase can haggle to get the price reduced. On a successful Diplomacy check opposed by the merchant’s Sense Motive check, the price is reduced by 5%, plus an additional 1% for every 4 points by which the Diplomacy check exceeds the Sense Motive check, to a maximum discount of 10%.

Nothing’s Free: The Fated have the wherewithal to learn and grab what they need, but a Taker’s fierce independence is also one of his greatest weaknesses. No member of the Fated can give or receive any kind of charity. It’s an easy thing to refuse to drop a few coins in a beggar’s hat, but it’s another story if a Taker’s dying and a comrade wants to give him a cure potion. Hard as it seems to believe, the Taker simply won’t accept the potion – it must be earned, not given freely.

Names
Guvners

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 to his 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 break '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 cog-wheeled plane of Mechanus, where everything aspires to perfect order, is the stronghold of the Guvners. In Sigil, their headquarters is the City Courts.

Role Within Sigil
The Guvners are a natural to act as judges and advocates. They believe in laws and don't like breaking them. The Guvners run the city courts, from the small ward courts to the High Court of the city. They also make the best advocates for pleading cases, so either way their faction tends to win, which keeps it fair. Their absolute belief in Law makes them chillingly legalistic. Still, the Xaositects and Harmonium are both happy the Guvners don't get the power to create laws, only enforce them.

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.

Abilities
Skills: Guvners have a +2 competence bonus on Linguistics checks and may always make Linguistics checks untrained. A Guvner always treats Linguistics, Knowledge (Planes) and Spellcraft as class skills.

Intuit Pattern: Since Guvners tend to understand patterns easily, they can use Comprehend Languages once per day as a spell-like ability.

Letter of the Law: Guvners believe in laws, though the rightness or wrongness of them often makes little difference. A Guvner won’t knowingly break a law, unless he or she can find a legalistic loophole to avoid the penalty.

Names
The Indeps

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.

Role Within Sigil
Buying and selling is what keeps Sigil alive, and the Indeps are there to make sure there's always good trade in the city's markets. Their job's not official, but these cutters still make sure that every small merchant's getting a fair chance. They don't like the high-up guilds fixing prices, strangling competition, peeling their partners, or hiring bashers to beat up rivals. Since they don't have an official rank, the Indeps use criers, rumors, and "friendly advice" to keep the markets more-or-less honest. If they must, they'll bring a case to the Guvners, but they don't like relying on others.

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 Indeps.

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

Abilities
Skills: Indeps have a +2 competence bonus on Sense Motive checks. An Indep always treats Diplomacy and Sense Motive as class skills.

Free Will: Free Leaguers have a natural resistance to mind-affecting effects, be they from spells, creatures, or magical items. Indeps save against mind-affecting effects with +2 bonuses to their rolls. Against mind-affecting effects that don’t normally allow saving throws, they still make a throw (though without the bonus).

One of Us: The Indeps aren’t a tight group, but they do look out for their own. Free Leaguers who buy wares in the Great Bazaar of Sigil get a 20% discount on all items purchased. This discount is only intended for fellow Free Leaguers, and Indeps buying discounted gear for members of other factions, even those friendly to the Free League, will quickly find this discount disappearing. And in public scuffles, a Free Leaguer who makes his faction known is likely to get help from other Indeps passing by.

On Our Own: 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.

Names
The Hardheads

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 the Harmonium succeeds? (And it will succeed, that's certain - just ask them.) 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 folks 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.

Role Within Sigil
The Hardheads, always sure their's is the only way, have muscled themselves into control of the City Barracks, which means the City Watch is theirs. Members of the faction take it upon themselves to arrest those they think are breaking the laws. Their hard-liner view of order means they're pretty eager to crush crime, but their laws and Sigil's laws don't always match, so they often arrest people who aren't really acting illegally. Fortunately, a sod arrested by the Harmonium's tried by the Guvners, who are strict about what's legal and what's not. With the Doomguard controlling the Armory, the real tools to run Sigil the Hardhead way are kept out of the Harmonium's hands. That suits everybody but them just fine.

Allies and Enemies
Because of their fierce devotion to order (albeit their order), the Harmonium often works closely with 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.

Abilities
Skills: Hardheads have a +2 competence bonus on Intimidate checks. A Hardhead always treats Intimidate, Knowledge (Local), and Sense Motive as class skills.

Command: All Harmonium members, from Notaries on up, gain the spell-like ability Command once per day as a cleric of the character’s level (DC 11 + Charisma modifier).

Orders: Their rigid beliefs expose several weaknesses in Harmonium philosophy. Any variance from the orders of a Harmonium superior requires an Atonement on the part of the character before he or she can rejoin the ranks of the faction. This spell must be cast by a spellcaster who is sympathetic to the Harmonium’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.

Names
The Red Death

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 is just 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.

Role Within Sigil
The Red Death has a job which it performs with relish: punishment. Now, the Mercykillers'd much prefer to hunt down, try, and punish criminals themselves, but that's not something the other factions are too keen on. The faction is too rigid in its views, and telling a Mercykiller to pike it is just not an option. Still, they're well suited to the task of running the Prison and carrying out sentences. After all, what happens to a criminal who's been arrested, tried, and sentenced is only just, and who better to administer justice than the Mercykillers?

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 runins 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. Thieves and known criminals are absolutely unwelcome.

Abilities
Skills: Mercykillers have a +2 bonus to Survival checks when following tracks. A Mercykiller always treats Diplomacy, Knowledge (Local), and Survival as class skills.

Discern Lies: All members of the faction are taught how to Discern Lies (per the 4th-level cleric spell) once per day to a single chosen question (DC 14 + Charisma modifier).

Shocking Grasp: Every Mercykiller arcane spellcaster automatically receives the 1st-level spell Shocking Grasp (the better to handle obstinate criminals) in addition to all other spells granted by the cutter’s level or ability scores.

Eight Tenets of Justice: Any Mercykiller – Justiciar or otherwise – who ever fails to uphold the faction’s Eight Tenets of Justice must pay the music. First, the accused gets a short hearing before the factol. If he can’t give a satisfactory explanation for having shirked his duty, he’s given a choice: death by beheading in the Guillotine Room, or abandonment in the cavernous Grotto beneath the Prison. Most Mercykillers so charged have chosen the quick and relatively painless death accorded by the guillotine. It’s said that those few who’ve chosen the Grotto found death by a much less pleasant means.

Names
Anarchists

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.

Role Within Sigil
The Anarchists don't have an official role and aren't even organized enough to have an unofficial one. Still, their belief in pulling down the system does have a twisted virtue in the works of the city: They're a haven for those who don't - indeed, can't - fit into the plan. Anarchists are proud of the fact their kind can be found anywhere, lurking in the streets as harmless-seeming clerks or wand-wielding wizards lending a hand to loners in trouble. These bloods keep Sigil alive and trying, or at least that's how they see it.

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 philosophy. At the other extreme, 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.

Abilities
Skills: Anarchists have a +2 competence bonus to Bluff checks. An Anarchist always treats Bluff, Disguise, and Stealth as class skills.

Infiltration: An Anarchist can pose as a member of any other faction automatically, without being detected. While they don’t receive the special abilities of the assumed faction, they gain acceptance, access to their headquarters, and can call on members of other factions for aid. Fact is, Anarchists can get help from a member of another faction sooner than from their own.

Fight the Power: Anarchists can never hold any public office or noble title, own a business, or take part in anything that would tie them into the power structure of the planes. Fully 90% of all treasure gained by those bashers must be distributed either to the cause or to the oppressed. In no case can it be given to another player character or player-controlled non-player character.

Names
Signers

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 of 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.

Role Within Sigil
The Signers' confidence that each berk's the center of his own universe makes them probably the only folks who can actually govern Sigil... as much as the Cage can be governed. They run the Hall of Speakers, where the high-ups meet to make the laws of the city, and they settle feuds, handle treaties, and do all the other legislative things that keep Sigil running. 'Course, the Signers aren't the only ones on the Council - every faction and power bloc's got representatives - but the Signers are the only ones who can preside over the sessions. Knowing every cutter's the center of things, the Signers make sure that everyone gets their say, and that's the only way to keep the sessions meeting. Other factions may not like the Signers, but they respect the faction's ability to keep city business on the table.

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.

Abilities
Skills: Signers have a +2 competence bonus to Perception checks. A Signer always treats Knowledge (Planes) and Perception as class skills.

Illusion Perception: It’s hard to put one over on Signers, as their belief that they create the multiverse lets them see through illusion. All members receive an automatic saving throw to resist illusion magic. Even if they fail this initial saving throw, they still receive the standard saving throw after interacting with the illusion.

Centre of All: Perhaps because of their often immense egos, Signers have difficulties understanding the motives and feelings of others. Hence, they suffer a -2 penalty on all Diplomacy checks (or Charisma checks) made to influence the attitude of a nonplayer character, as well as a -2 penalty on their leadership score if they have the Leadership feat.

Names
Sensates

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.

Role Within Sigil
The Sensates don't have an official role either, but every blood knows the city'd go mad without them. In their endless quest to experience everything, the Sensates make sure that there's plenty entertainments and diversions flowing through Sigil. Here's the dark that makes it important: What basher wants to be around when a lesser baatezu gets bored? Sound bad? Now multiply that disaster by tanar'ri, modron, tiefling, prime, bariaur, djinni, yugoloth, and more. Thanks to the Sensates, there should be something, somewhere in Sigil, that'll suit every taste. Pleasure is the balm that keeps Sigil from fevered rage.

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.

Abilities
Skills: Sensates have a +2 competence bonus to Sense Motive checks. A Sensate always treats Perception and Sense Motive as class skills.

Membership Has its Privileges: As managers of most of the entertainment in Sigil, the Sensates are by far the richest faction in the Cage, and they’re generous to their members. Characters who join the Sensates immediately receive a signing bonus – new characters begin with three times the typical starting money.

New Sensations: While not to the point of foolhardiness, Sensates are fascinated by new tastes, smells, and so forth. Whenever possible, they’ll seek out new experiences. In practise, they can’t refuse offers that could lead to these – a new wine, an exotic flower, or whatever. Only when faced with obvious deadly peril will they shun such temptations.

Names
Ciphers

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 berk's 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.

Role Within Sigil
The most universally accepted of all the factions, the Ciphers are natural advisers. They want the perfect union of thought and action, and they embody the qualities that other factions lack. To the Guvners, the Ciphers are the compassion missing from the coldly legalistic courts. To the Harmonium they try to lend tolerance, to the Mercykillers they preach order, for the Xaositects they're the voice of stability, and so on. Their advice usually gets ignored, and some basher'll take a poke at a Cipher for his troubles, but that's the play of things and they're ready to deal with it.

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.

Abilities
Skills: Ciphers have a +2 competence bonus to Acrobatics checks. A cipher always treats Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, and Swim as class skills.

Combat Instinct: Because they always try to act without thought, all Ciphers – namers included – gain a +1 insight bonus on their initiative modifiers.

No Hesitation: Because Ciphers act unhesitatingly, they suffer a unique restriction: In play, as soon as an action is stated for a Cipher player character, that cutter is committed to the action. They player can’t say, ”Oh, wait, I changed my mind!” Bashers who pause to consider or debate pending actions are failing to adhere to the philosophy.

Names
Chaosmen

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 of 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.

Role Within Sigil
Chaosmen have no claim, no stake in the city. Too capricious for ruling, too uncontrolled to judge others, too free to follow orders, the Xaositects, from their hole at the center of the Hive, are the voices of the dispossessed. They don't just -represent those poor sods who don't have anything - the Chaosmen become them. Security, warmth, sustenance, none of these things matter. The Chaosmen lurk on the edges of order, eager to pull down the case that's just been built. Along with the Anarchists, these wild addle-coves are part of what makes Sigil alive and constantly changing. Perversely, their attempts to tear everything down is part of what keeps the city constantly building.

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.

Abilities
Skills: Chaosmen have a +2 competence bonus to Bluff checks. A Xaositect always treats Bluff and Intimidate as class skills.

Babble: Once per week, all Xaositects can generate a 30-foot-radius emanation that causes all sounds in the area to turn into garbled, cacophonous, and unintelligible noise. Sounds that issue from, enter, or pass through the area are altered and made unrecognizable as a natural sound. Within this area, verbal communication is impossible. Even something as simple as a shout of surprise is turned into a warped and alien sound. Spells with verbal components cannot be cast. Scrolls and other magic items that require a verbal component to be activated do not function. Spells and items that rely on sound do not function. Sonic damage has no effect. This ability lasts for 1 round per two levels of the Xaositect.

Scramblespeak: “Not insane I am. Do to I naturally me merely comes what to multiverse the randomness the according of.” Anyone rattling his bone-box like that has to be barmy, right? Well, maybe not: Rolling a Xaositect’s words around a bit makes them clear: I am not insane. I merely do what comes naturally to me, according to the randomness of the multiverse. When Xaositects use this scramblespeak, they twist all the words of a sentence out of order. Another Xaositect can understand the talk if he makes a successful Intelligence check. Most cutters just muddle through, but, to interpreters of scramblespeak, Xaositect bloods can be downright erudite.

Follow the Wind: The Chaosmen are committed to the power of Chaos. As such, Xaositects can never found businesses, build strongholds, raise armies, or undertake any other action that requires long-term organization and discipline. Indeed, they just barely hold their faction together as it is.