The Lady's Ward

It's always The Lady's Ward, not the Lady's Ward, because they're talking about the Lady of Pain here. Not that she's got a house there, or that she appears there more than anywhere else; the ward's named so because the greatest instruments of her might are found there. Of the six wards, this is far and away considered the richest and most powerful. Within its boundaries are the City Barracks, the City Courts, the Prison, and the City Armory - things that make for real wealth and power. Folks with both money and clout set their cases in The Lady's Ward, and over half the city's temples are based there. The Lady's Ward is the quietest and most orderly in the city, because only a leatherhead'd make trouble in an area that's home to both the Harmonium and the Mercykillers.

Not surprisingly, the buildings in this ward reflect the power and wealth of their owners. The Prison's a dominating, grim structure while the Temple of the Abyss - a cross between a portal to and a temple celebrating that plane - soars dangerously into the sky. The Barracks are dour and humor-less, and the Court is regal and imposing. Naturally, every temple here is designed to display the might and glory of its high-up man. It's as if the multiverse itself had been mined of its monuments, and all of them were placed here.

For all it's majesty, The Lady's Ward is still cold and lifeless. The regular hurly-burly of street life is missing, as too many folks are afraid of the Harmonium and the Mercykillers (and not without good reason). That suits the residents just fine, because the rich haven't ever been fond of the idea of the poor camping on their doorstep. The life that goes on there, which is actually much more than it seems, is carefully hidden behind iron-gated walls and discreet facades. For the cutter that finds her way inside, there's great balls where rivals circle each other, where grand plots are hatched over lavish dinners, and where secret affairs are hidden far from sight...

Hey, don't confuse power with security, berk! The ward's far from honest, although a cross-trading knight who's nipping purses on the street'll get scragged in an instant. Just like their prey, the criminals of that ward think on a grand scale. The risks are great, but so are the rewards, and only the finest of burglars can worm through the magical protections and alarms that safeguard the ward's treasures. And only the wisest of thieves can avoid the revenge that is sure to follow such a job. Nerve and luck are needed in equal measure.

'Course, housebreakers are small fish compared to the real criminals. The corruption and graft in The Lady's Ward make a jewel robbery look petty. See, the high-up men who live here know the way of things - whom to squeeze just when and for how much. Behind the image of respectability may be the secret face of a hidden crime lord.

Note: The Lady's Ward of Sigil originally appeared in the Planescape AD&D campaign setting from TSR. Additional information can be found in In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil. Its use here is for the purposes of providing context for the campaign only.