Newsrags in the Planes

"Yo basher. You there wit da face. Wanna know da skinny? Light up some darks? C'mon an' git ta papers, git da papers. I gots rags from Undersigil to da 'lands. One stinger for Indeps, ever'body else pays two." - Papercart Pusher in the Grand Bazaar.

This is a listing of well known (canon and fan-content) as well as smaller (my own) of the newspapers available in Sigil.

THE PAPERS & THE PUSHERS

Papercart pushers can be found in most districts in Sigil. Many have mundane publications of local news and advertizements that sell for a green or two. There are also magical publications available. These consist of a single sheet of paper that is simply turned over several times, allowing multi-page papers to be mass produced, easily transported, and sold en masse. The usual price is two stingers per paper, one going to the paper one to the seller. Some sellers may try to undercut the competition by offering to dicker the price of multiple papers, but as they still owe one stinger per paper sold to the publishers, the price can only go down so far.

The schedule of major magical publications can be hard to keep track of. Some are published in Sigil, and use the most common calendar based loosely on the months of the Outlands. Several Sigilan scrolls are put out on schedules having nothing to do with the Sigilan calendar, whereas others are pubished on other planes entirely. As such, a papercart is an ever-changing thing, with a few mainstays, a few back-issues, and a few specialty items.

Papercart pushers are sometimes members of the messengers guild. Though they are rarely touts, they often know many prominant locals, including the local touts, gateseekers, planewalkers, and others out to convert a little knowledge into a lot of jink.

MAJOR PUBLICATIONS

S.I.G.I.S. - Undersigil - General interest, News of the planes, News of Sigil, Editorials, Ads - Perhaps the most famous, useful, and widely available newsrag in Sigil.

The Tempus Sigilan - Lady's Ward, Sigil - News of the Planes, News of Sigil, Political News, Editorials, Ads (upscale) - The oldest contunuous publication in Sigil, this is the favorite paper of high-ups, golden lords, nobility, and the "In crowd" of Sigil and the planes. Costs 1 jink, non-negotiable.

The Lady's Shaper Eye - The Clerks Ward, Sigil -News of the Planes, News of Sigil, Reviews, Editorials, Ads - Very popular paper, just behind S.I.G.I.S.

The Eye of Xaos - Pubishing site unknown, likely The Gate-town of Xaos or The Hive Ward, Sigil - News of the Planes, News of Sigil, Biography of the Editor-in-chief Barking Wilder - A wonderful little publication, much easier to read than one would expect of a paper put out by Xaositects.

MINOR PAPERS

The Whispering Leaves - Sandstone District, The Clerks Ward, Sigil - News of Sigil, Political News, Local News, Editorials - Good, solid, hard-working cullers offset by Revolutionary League and Mercykiller editorial writers.

The Hopeless Rag - The Gate-town of Hopeless - News of the Planes, (Upbeat) Editorials, Ads - The ironicly sunny viewpoint taken by the editors of this paper might be one of the only things keeping its home burg from sliding into the Waste.

The Trader's Almanac - The Gate-town of Tradegate - Buisiness news of Sigil and the Planes, Reviews, Ads - The real deal for planewalking merchants. Probably the most widespread paper on the planes, with many sattelite publications which each focus on more local businesses along the Great Road.

The Light - The Gate-town of Excelsior - News of the Planes, Local News of the Upper Planes, General Interest - While many might consider this paper's treatment of planar events as highly sanitized, it is one of the few publications available troughout Arcadia and Celestia.

Darks - Home office unknown - News of The Planes - This is the media outlet of the Darkseekers, a planewalking sect that exists to reveal secrets of the planes. It's cullers are the most repected, trusted, believed, and feared. Unfortunately, Darks has no set publishing schedule, and has vanished from the streets many times in the past, sometimes for years at a time, only to eventually resurect itself.

The Portents - The Lower Ward, Sigil - News of The Planes, Poetry, Horiscopes, Editorials - A joint venture by a Godsman and a Sinker, this paper publishes old prophesies (of doom, usually) and links them to newsworthy events (doom again). The Editors supply analysis and commentary (doom vs not-so-much doom). There is a letters section (most popular topic: doom) and a section for today's prophets (of doom).

The Courtyard Chronicles - The Ladys Ward, Sigil - News of Sigil, Court Postings, Ads - This paper touts itself as "The Unofficial Transcripts of the Courts". In reality it serves mostly as a propaganda piece for the Triad of Law (Harmonium, Guvners, Mercykillers). About half of the paper (one of the longest, and advertised as "The best deal for two stingers") consists of a police blotter. Rumor has it that the paper was in fact started by an Anarchist mole to keep tabs on what the status quo is up to, and still contains secret messages for the Revolutionary League hidden in the text.

The Four Winds - The Clerks Ward, Sigil - Planar News, Editorials, Ads - This paper focuses on news of the Prime and Elemental planes. It is published on a regular schedule that has absolutely nothing to do with Sigilans' reckoning of time.

The Tower of Knowledge - Waterdeep, Faerun (Prime) - Sage Articles, Biographies of Prominant Mages, Magic News, News of Faerun - A clueless visitor to Sigil was so impressed with the proliferation of newsrags on the streets that he set up a similar business on his homeworld. The main edition of the Tower of Knowledge, though noteworthy amoung arcanists, is full of local news useless to most Sigilans not planing a trip to that particular prime sphere. However, occasionally there is a 'foreign addition' available only in Sigil that contains articles of more general interest to planars, though they are notorious for using out-dated and downright erronious names for places and things.

The Bulletin - The Gate-town of Ribcage - News of the Planes, Editorials, Ads - An unabashed propaganda leaflet for the ruling families of Ribcage, and oftentimes the Baatezu, The Bulletin is one of an extreme minority of publications that has cullers covering the Blood War on a regular basis. Of course, it presents a one-sided viewpoint, and Tanar'ri successes never make print. Still, the Baatezu are lawful, and The Bulletin contains everything the Baatorian Embassy releases to the planar public at large, truth or deciet.