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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clueless" data-source="post: 3593471" data-attributes="member: 11802">If you're already running with some of Mieville's works as an inspiration then honestly - you're well on your way to a quality Sigilian atmosphere already. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> If your DM hasn't already read Perdido Street Station herself, then it's worth putting some time aside for it. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> It's not just the odd people or environments though that you can emphasize - don't forget that Sigil is a morphic place with in a way its own personality. Emphasize the <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/where/continents/europe/79086_shad_thames_02.php?id=79086" target="_blank">tight quarters</a>,  <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/where/continents/europe/170984_arch_stairs_flowers_and_entrance_door.php?id=170984" target="_blank">the odd little corners </a>, and <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/where/continents/europe/79783_lock_stock_warehouse.php?id=79783" target="_blank">the rundown parts </a> as well as  <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/architecture/houses/mansions/2212497_bath_mansions.php?id=2212497" target="_blank">the estates of the Golden Lords, covered in razorvine</a>. The place can and will change around you, the inn you were staying at may have moved over a block tomorrow, or there may be a new little hovel across the street. Imagine a city where, at DMs whim, the *street* may attempt to cheer you up.Water and air and resources may be something else to bring a unique quality to the place. Your party may not understand at first what the innkeeper means when he greets them before they do their morning wash-up in the fountain in the courtyard... "Yes, the water today is particularly Stygian, please pay in advance, and have a nice day!" And watching the air portals flush out the Lower Wards air once a week can be a mighty impressive sight. The players should get the feeling that the city is much like a giant terrarium, requiring the upkeep of some unseen force to keep the water flowing and the air churning. They're essentially living in a giant ring shaped life support system. It's not managed by a god with emotions, whims and demands - but nevertheless there are no outside fields to go running to, no walls to climb to freedom, should the unseen power decide to shut down life support for a week or so. That's why so many people in Sigil were frightened during the Tempest of the Doors - imagine realizing that you *can't* get out... and there's only so much air left.The familiar within the unfamiliar is a common Planescape theme as well. It may be worthwhile to focus on the micro instead of the macro for the city. Let the players get used to one or two minor NPC's - people whose oddities become a highlight of the oddities of the city. The donut vendor outside the inn who constantly changes hairstyles from green and spiked to bald to pink with floating purple polka dots and sometimes changes *while* you are buying breakfast...Another way of really highlighting the unique qualities of a town (any town, not just Sigil) can be to allow the players to become *involved* in the place. Sigil does have a Council, and seats are elected. Let the players vote on who gets elected, let them become involved in the politics or even run for office! Don't treat the city as merely a 'safe place to hole up while you get ready for the next mission' - let them think of it as home, and let them try to change it as they like. You'll have *tons* of opportunity to highlight unque aspects that way.Let's see, other ways to make the city come alive... *racks her brain* Hm. Emphasize how much Sigil is like the Seattle of Shadowrun. It's the central 'safe' point where deals and plots are hatched. Let the party find out about conspiracies that affect other planar events - Blood War connections are nice for this.And lastly - add some mystery. Play up that there are vast sections of Sigil that are almost entirely unexplored, like UnderSigil. Look up some of the research on the underside of cities <a href="http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000299.html" target="_blank">like</a> <a href="http://outside.away.com/magazine/0997/9709under.html" target="_blank">Moscow</a>. There's a lot you can work with in digging into the buried past of Sigil to truly creep out your players.You may want to pick a tone for certain sections of the city and run with that tone (dreary Hive vs. violent Hive for example). That way you have a guiding 'goal' for what you want to provoke in your players. That makes the job a bit easier.</blockquote>

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