Faces of Sigil

Type: NPC supplementCompany: TSR/WOTCURL: http://www.wizards.comDesigner: RV ValleseRelease: 1996Outline:

I'm not usually a big fan of "NPC Sourcebooks". My campaigns are usually customised enough that I can come up with fitting NPCs on my own. Plus these books often end up describing stereotypical NPCs that may "give a flavour" for the setting but are rarely that interesting to use. One last flaw of these supplements is usually that the NPCs described are so powerful that they will never get involved with your PCs...

So I was kind of reluctant to get hold of Uncaged : Faces of Sigil. But people on the Planewalker's Guild kept on ranting and raving at how good it was, so I finally thought I'd have to give it a try...

Man am I glad I did ! Uncaged is the supplement that really brings Sigil to life. For all the tidbits of info that In the Cage had, it lacked soul, and that soul is Uncaged.Contents:

First of all, the NPCs presented here, despite a few exceptions, are not stand-alone cut and paste characters. They are either recurring "background" characters or more often "involved" characters that have some impact on Sigil's day to day life. In that sense, Uncaged may remind some of a Sigil by Night kind of supplement in the tradition of the Vampire RPG, only better.

That means one important thing : this supplement is useful. It's more than a collection of characters that you can pick in depending on your mood and stick into a game; Uncaged really helps the GM understand the darks about Sigil and its many entertwined plots, and stick a face (and a background) on many important NPCs that are mentioned here and there but never properly described.

Uncaged is also perhaps the best incarnation of the much flaunted virtue of Planescape of breaking stereotypes. Neither fiends nor celestials are exactly what one expects, many characters or creatures are unique or nearly so. Finally, many of the characters are endearing and beg to be used.

Altogether, this is probably one of the best Planescape supplements, and certainly a must for any campaign set in Sigil. The lovely artwork of Tony Diterlizzi is an added bonus, of course, and for once, one doesn't resent the full page color illustrations that enhance many of the characters' descriptions.

Altogether I give this supplement a five star rating. If you find it, you will love it !Merits: Lots !Flaws: None !