The Factions are the philosophically-based power groups in the Planescape campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons game. Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. ... This article is about the role-playing game. ...

Background

The Factions 'control' Sigil, "the City of Doors". Although in actuality the Lady of Pain is truly in charge. Each of the Factions is based around one particular belief system; many of the Factions' beliefs make them enemies where their other goals and actions might have made them allies. All Factions hold many secrets from non-members and even their own members, for the fewer know a secret the more secret it is (and these are secrets of power, either wielded or potentially gained by the Faction's adversaries). According to Steve Winter, the idea of using factions in the Planescape setting was inspired by the idea of clans in Vampire: The Masquerade. A view of the Spire and Sigil from Outlands. ... The Serene Lady of Pain, ruler of Sigil by Amy K. Brown. ... This article is currently under construction. ... Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. ... Vampire: The Masquerade (Revised Edition) cover. ...

There are fifteen Factions in total, per decree of the Lady of Pain; any additional factions emerging would be subject to her wrath (unless of course, they destroy one of the current 15). At one point there were many more Factions, but the Lady of Pain decreed that they had a week to get the number down to 15 or she would kill them all. Interestingly the Free League membership swelled to over a million, compared to the 20,000 or so members present day. The Serene Lady of Pain, ruler of Sigil by Amy K. Brown. ... The Factions are the philosophically-based power groups in the Planescape campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons game. ...

Factions are lead by a Factol, mid level faction members are called Factors and the lowest level faction members are referred to as Factotums.

The Factions

The fifteen factions are (in alphabetical order):

• Athar ("Defiers", "The Lost"), who deny not only the gods' right to pass judgment over mortals, but their very divinity. They claim that the gods (whom they call "powers") are powerful but do not deserve worship. The Athar are broadly derived from real-world atheists, agnostics, and Deists. (brief description)

• Believers of the Source ("Godsmen"), who believe that each life is a test, and that every person has the potential to become a god. Shares many parallels with Hindu and Buddhism, may also be partly inspired by Mormonism (brief description)

• Bleak Cabal ("Bleakers", "Madmen"), who deny that any belief system has any merit; as they see it, the universe has physical rules, but no metaphysical or philosophical ones, therefore any meaning in life must come from within. They are derived from real-life existentialists and nihilists. (brief description)

• Doomguard ("Sinkers"), who believe in the sanctity and inevitability of entropy. They see the decay and destruction of the universe as necessary; for once it is destroyed all imperfections will be gone with it, paving the way for a perfect new world. (brief description)

• Dustmen ("The Dead") believe that both life and death are false states of existence, that there is a state of True Death which can only be accomplished by denying one's emotions and physical wants and needs (a conception similar to oblivion, but also conceivably to Nirvana) This is closely related to acosmism, with a more death geared ideal. The faction shares similarities with the Stoics as well. (brief description)

• Fated ("Takers", "The Heartless") believe that those with power and ability have the right to own what they control and to take what they can from those who are unable to keep it, and that it is their right to exploit any situation to their advantage, regardless of how it affects anyone else. They are derived from real-life Social Darwinists and the philosophies of Ayn Rand. (brief description)

• Fraternity of Order ("Guvners"), who believe that knowledge is power; they learn and exploit both the natural laws of the universe and the laws of society. They recall the Sophists of Classical Athens. (brief description)

• Free League ("Indeps"), who reject the other factions and their bureaucratic, hierarchical dogmatism. (brief description)

• Harmonium ("Hardheads"), who believe that peace and stability can only be established under one rule -- theirs. The planar faction known as the Harmonium is actually just a small part of a much larger political entity which rules over the entirety of the Prime Material world of Ortho. They are related to present day authoritarianism, particularly religious evangelicalism and fundamentalism. (brief description)

• Mercykillers ("The Red Death"), who believe in justice and retribution at the expense of all else. Their name comes from their credo that mercy is for the weak, and the merciful should be punished. (brief description)

• Revolutionary League ("Anarchists"), who believe that social order and man-made laws are inherently corrupt and must be destroyed--though none of their members can agree on what, if anything, should replace them. (brief description)

• Sign of One ("Signers"), who believe that the entire universe is a figment of someone's imagination; most of them are solipsists. (brief description)

• Society of Sensation ("Sensates"), who believe that accumulating experiential knowledge through the senses is the only way to achieve enlightenment. (brief description)

• Transcendent Order ("Ciphers"), who believe that by tapping in to the 'cadence' of the planes and acting through pure instinct they can achieve a higher state of being. (brief description)

• Xaositects ("Chaosmen"), who believe that the only truth is revealed in chaos. The Xaositects have been quite accurately described as being "totally off their rockers, every one of 'em." Some may place this a slight twist to accidentalism, but a far more relevant parallel is the Cynics (Greek κῠνικός "dogs") of antiquity. There is even a gang of Xaositects called the "Starved Dogs Barking." (brief description) Compare with real life discordianism

In The Faction War many Factions were destroyed or merged. “Atheist” redirects here. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Deism is belief in a God or first cause based on reason, rather than on faith or revelation, and thus a form of theism in opposition to fideism. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... A silhouette of a Buddha statue at Ayutthaya, Thailand. ... Book of Mormon, see Latter Day Saint movement. ... Existentialism is a philosophical movement which claims that individual human beings create the meanings of their own lives. ... Nihilism, literally, means belief in nothing. ... Look up oblivion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... ( Sanskrit: ; Pali: निब्बान Nibbāna; Vietnamese: Niết bàn; Chinese: 涅槃; Mandarin Pinyin: nièpán, Cantonese: nihppùhn; Japanese: nehan ); Korean: ì—´ë°˜, yeolbhan; Thai: nibpan นิพพาน); Tibetan mya-ngan-las-das-pa; Mongolian É£asalang-aca nögcigsen), is a Sanskrit word that literally means to cease blowing (as when a candle flame... Acosmism, in contrast to pantheism, denies the reality of the universe, seeing it as ultimately illusory, (the prefix a- in Greek meaning negation; like un- in English), and only the infinite unmanifest Absolute as real. ... Stoicism is a school of philosophy commonly associated with such Greek philosophers as Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes, or Chrysippus and with such later Romans as Cicero, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus. ... Social Darwinism is the idea that Charles Darwins theory can be extended and applied to the social realm, i. ... Ayn Rand (IPA: , February 2 [O.S. January 20] 1905 – March 6, 1982), born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum (Russian: ), was a Russian-born American novelist and philosopher,[1] best known for developing Objectivism and for writing the novels We the Living, The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged and the novella Anthem. ... Sophism was originally a term for the techniques taught by a highly respected group of philosophy and rhetoric teachers in ancient Greece. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      This article applies to political and organizational ideologies. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The word evangelicalism often refers to... Look up fundamentalism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Retributive justice maintains that proportionate punishment is a morally acceptable response to crime, regardless of whether the punishment causes any tangible benefits. ... Anarchism is a political philosophy or group of philosophies and attitudes which reject any form of compulsory government[1] and support its elimination,[2] often because of a wider rejection of involuntary authority. ... Solipsism is the philosophical idea that My mind is the only thing that exists. Solipsism (Latin: solus, alone + ipse, self) is an epistemological or metaphysical position that knowledge of anything outside the mind is unjustified. ... Experiential knowledge is knowledge gained through experience. ... Enlightenment (or brightening) broadly means the acquisition of new wisdom or understanding enabling clarity of perception. ... Accidentalism is a term with several meanings. ... This page is about the school of philosophy. ... Discordianism is a modern, chaos-centered religion founded circa 1958–1959 by Malaclypse the Younger with the publication of its principal text, the Principia Discordia. ... Faction War The Faction War is a book published by TSR in 1998. ...

See also

• Dungeons & Dragons
• Planescape
• Sect (Planescape)
• The Faction War

This article is about the role-playing game. ... Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. ... Faction War The Faction War is a book published by TSR in 1998. ...

External links

• Planewalker.com, the official Planescape fansite
• The Clueless Inn
• Map of Sigil
• TSR Archive Planescape product list