The Sigil Detective Agency | A multiverse murder & conspiracy!

Creating your character

We'll go over the finer details of character creation during Session 0, including how your character fits into the detective agency and the ongoing mystery. Here are the important details to know beforehand: - Starting Level: 3 - Multiclassing: Allowed - Sources: All officially published D&D content is allowed. Unearthed Arcana and homebrew options require prior DM approval. - Ability Scores: You may choose either Standard Array, Point Buy, or rolled stats. - Rolling Stats: We'll roll 4d6, rerolling 1s, and drop the lowest die. Rolls will be made openly through Discord or Roll20 during Session 0. If your final ability-score total is below 72, you may reroll. - Character Concepts: Bring a character you’re excited to play! Characters with connections to Sigil, the planes, factions, or the detective agency are welcome, but you don't need to know Planescape lore to participate. I'll work with you during Session 0 to make sure your character fits naturally into the setting and has reasons to care about the investigation.

Preparing for the session

You'll need: 1) A Roll20 account to access the virtual tabletop. 2) A Discord account for voice chat and communication. 3) A character sheet of your choice. Roll20, D&D Beyond, a digital sheet, or even a physical character sheet are all fine. As long as you can share your character information when needed, use whatever works best for you. You do not need to be a Planescape expert! I'll provide the setting information you need during the campaign. If you've never played in Sigil before, that's completely fine, we'll discover the City of Doors together.

What Marco "Polo" Ricci brings to the table

I want Sigil to feel like a living, reactive world, not a series of encounters waiting for the players to walk into them. You can expect: - A living world: NPCs have their own goals, personalities, relationships, and agendas. The world continues to move even when you're not looking. - Consequences: Your decisions matter. The people you help, the enemies you make, and the choices you make during an investigation can all come back later. - Mystery & investigation: Follow leads, question suspects, connect clues, and decide what, or who, you can trust. Not every problem can be solved by drawing a sword. - Tactical combat: When a fight can't be avoided, expect combat that rewards positioning, creativity, teamwork, and clever thinking. - Creative problem-solving: If you come up with an unexpected solution, I'll look for a way to make it work. The Rule of Cool is alive and well at my table. - Your story matters: Character backstories aren't just something I read once and forget. Your character's history, motivations, and relationships can become part of the campaign. - Prepared, but flexible: I'll come to each session with plans, NPCs, mysteries, and encounters, but I'm prepared to throw those plans out the window when the players surprise me. - A range of tones: Sigil can be mysterious, dangerous, hilarious, heartfelt, or downright bizarre. I enjoy letting the game move naturally between serious moments and ridiculous ones. You don't need to guess what the "correct" solution is. If you have an idea, pursue it. The world will react.

Homebrew rules

All of these house rules can be discussed and adjusted during Session 0. My goal is to make the game fun, cinematic, and fair; not to surprise anyone with rules they weren't expecting. - Rule of Cool: Creative ideas and characterful descriptions can make a difference! Depending on the situation, describing how your character attempts something may grant advantage, lower the DC, or open up an option that isn't covered explicitly by the rules. - Encumbrance: We won't track encumbrance. However, we'll still use common sense, your character can't reasonably carry a giant statue, boulder, or other obviously excessive object just because the rules don't give it a weight limit. - Standing from Prone: Getting up from prone costs a maximum of 15 feet of movement. If you have less than 15 feet of movement available, you can still stand by spending what you have remaining. - Passive Perception: Your passive Perception is the minimum result you can roll on a Perception check. Other passive skills do not work this way. Advantage adds +5 to a passive score, while disadvantage subtracts 5. - Potions: Drinking a healing potion yourself is a bonus action. Giving a potion to another creature, or drinking any other type of potion, requires an action. - Reroll 1s: Whenever you roll a 1 for hit points (such as when gaining a level or rolling Hit Dice) you reroll it. This also applies to healing potions: any 1s rolled on their healing dice are rerolled. - Exhaustion: We use the 2024 rules for exhaustion. - Flanking: Flanking only applies when the creature being flanked is no more than one size category larger than the flanking characters. For example, two Medium creatures can flank a Large creature, but not a Huge creature. - Inspiration: Inspiration can stack up to 3 points. However, you can only carry 1 point of Inspiration between sessions. Any additional points remaining at the end of a session are lost. This encourages everyone to use Inspiration rather than hoarding it indefinitely. - Crunchy/“Perkins” Critical Hits: When you score a critical hit, roll your normal damage dice and then add the maximum possible result of those dice. For example, a critical hit with a 1d6 + 2 attack deals 1d6 + 6 + 2 damage. This makes critical hits feel appropriately devastating and exciting!

How Marco "Polo" Ricci creates a safe table

Player safety and comfort are a priority throughout the campaign. Because this is a murder mystery with horror elements, I want players to be able to engage with the darker parts of the story without feeling pressured to tolerate content that makes them genuinely uncomfortable. - Session 0 & Lines/Veils: Before the campaign begins, each player will receive a Lines & Veils survey where they can privately and anonymously identify topics they do not want included (Lines) and topics they are comfortable with only when handled off-screen or without graphic detail (Veils). I will compile the responses into an anonymized document so that everyone understands the table's boundaries without anyone having to disclose which limits belong to them personally. During Session 0, we will review the group's Lines & Veils, discuss the tone and expectations of the campaign, and go over how our safety tools work. Players can also privately contact me if they would rather discuss a boundary one-on-one. - Safety Tools During Play: Safety tools will be available throughout every session. On Roll20, I will provide digital X, N, and O cards that players can use whenever necessary. Players may also use the cards verbally, through chat, or by whatever method they find most comfortable. X card, Stop: Something about the current content is not comfortable. We immediately stop, skip, or change the scene without requiring an explanation. = card (N), Slow Down: Something is approaching a boundary or becoming uncomfortable. I will adjust the scene, tone, or description. I card (O), Okay: A check-in that indicates the current content is comfortable and we can continue. We will also have an Open Door policy. Anyone may step away from the game at any time for any reason, without needing to justify themselves to the group. - Ongoing Communication & Aftercare: Lines and Veils are not permanent once Session 0 ends. If something comes up during the campaign that a player realizes they would rather avoid, we can add or adjust a Line or Veil at any time. After each session, I will leave time for a brief debrief/check-in. Players are welcome to share what worked, what didn't, or anything they would like handled differently in future sessions. I will also be available privately between sessions for anyone who wants to discuss concerns, questions, or adjustments to their boundaries. The goal is simple: the characters can be scared, stressed, and in danger without the players ever feeling that they have to be.