Uncaged: Faces of Sigil (1996) is an NPC book — over forty characters with in-depth profiles and about another dozen in quick capsules. All the characters are denizens of Planescape’s weird, central city, Sigil. I usually find these sorts of D&D books particularly tedious and dry, and honestly part of me still fundamentally thinks that about this one! But in actuality, it is very good.

First off, it is full to brimming with Tony DiTerlizzi’s trademark ink-and-wash illustrations. These feel a bit looser than his work elsewhere in the line, but also more comfortable with the setting and increasingly diverse. Alas, Planescape layouts bedevil me with text over the art, making them hard to present, so some of the very best illustrations are still hidden in the book. Consider this encouragement to seek it our for yourself.

At any rate, what I like about this book is that in addition to being a collection of NPCs, it also functions as a different kind of city guide and a potential web work for a campaign. All these characters are connected in some way (there are helpful maps of all the connections in the back of the book) so you can meet one as a player, then wind up being introduced to another (as you do) and suddenly find yourself in a swirling social circle of plots and counter-interests. Each of these characters has clearly defined wants and needs, so it is extremely possible, with a bit of work, to fashion a kind of social-crawl out of them (think faction-crawl, only with individuals), bouncing your players around their various schemes adventure after adventure. It reminds me a bit of the Power Behind the Throne chapter of the WFRP’s Enemy Within campaign.