Who can and who can't...

Also, the ban on Powers entering Sigil seems to have happened some time after Aoskar got sliced and diced because he resided in Sigil up to that point.

-420

Yes, there is no written evidence that gods did or didn´t enter Sigil before Aoskar death.
But it seem´s that they could enter Sigil, then Aoskar became too posesive and Lady decided that gods are too dangerous for her city, and rest is history.
I mean, what could be more shocking to gods and their overblown egos than fact that one of them is brutaly murdred, and rest of them kicked out like some stray dogs. (Pun intended).

Would make sense.

I also think she wouldn't let in any nuclear devise. One BOOM and the city is gone. :shock:

I think planar paragons like Demogorgon, Dis, Domiel and Queen Morwel also can't go to Sigil even if they're not powers. There's the one exception of some Abyssal Lord that's cheated to get in through that printing press, but otherwise none of them can get in. It's even brought up in Savage Tide In Dungeon Magazine where they mention that Gwynharwyf, Malcanthet and Orcus can't go to Sigil because they have worshippers. Though no mention on whether or not Charon (who's a Yugoloth Lord, that apparently has no worshippers) could go in. Then again Charon probably never wants to leave the River Styx for long. But Malcanthet is described as having the option of either using an astral projection of herself to go into the Cage or having one of her radiant sister Lilitu proxies enter.

-420

If anything, I think it would be because the monsters threaten the integrity of Sigil. Remember, the factions were OK, till they started causing problems for Sigil itself, and thus threatened the city. If a monster could cause enough destruction, then it's possible the Lady would prevent the monster from entering on that basis.

There might also be practical reasons that powerful monsters *can* but don't *want* to enter Sigil.

First off, some entities might not be able to help causing trouble (like the exampled Pit Fiend), and the Lady's punishments tend to be on the harsh side for trouble makers. I doubt even a Balor particularly wants to get flayed.

Another factor is that powerful fiends and such might not want to leave their power bases for as long as a trip to Sigil takes. If the aforementioned Pit Fiend gets mazed for causing a riot, it'll be lucky to have the support of a lemure by the time it gets out.

Then there are logistical aspects. Most powerful planars are used to planeshifting all over the place, so having to go look for a portal is probably unnecessarily bothersome for them.

Oh, and wasn't there a pit fiend mentioned in the PSCS as living in the Baatezu slum of Sigil? Or rumors of one at any rate?

I found this little tidbit on page 47 of the Planescape Campaign Setting:

-420

I would imagine the Lady would permit most things to enter the city (barring deities, specific named/hideously powerful/hideously influential fiends and the like). The question would be how a powerful spell/creature ability is used.

For example, say an NPC uses a wish spell to attempt to kill the Lady (surely someone has tried this at some point). Not only would the spell fail, the spellcaster would be found hideously flayed somewhere. Someone using a wish spell to attempt to destroy an entire faction or large parts of the city might well end up mazed or flayed.

Using a wish spell to kill a factol would probably not bother the Lady unduly, since it (probably) doesn't directly threaten either her power or the security of the city.

Ultimately, the Lady is a Deus ex Machina that keeps the city under control, in a setting that's rampant with extremely powerful beings who have competing interests.

I asked a guy on the street about it. He said:

You expect to find meaning in some book? Look, berk, here's the chant: there isn't a reason for it. Sigil just is. The Lady? Doesn't matter what she does. If she's even real. I mean, sure it's said she flayed that former Mercykiller factol, but I wasn't there. Did you see it? Yeah, nobody's seen a power in the city since Aoskar's day, but why should there be a reason for it? Just the way the Cage works, man.

In fact Chuck Norris could very well be a demigod by d20 numbers ("a few hundred...devoted mortal worshipers"). This is because the d20 numbers are silly. Every Power with a following worthy of planar notice would be a Greater Power at a bare minimum.

Hmmm. All the blades and sharp bits in the city replaced with carvings of elbows and fists and roundhouse kicks. Truly horrifying