Lady of Pain
Encyclopedia
The Lady of Pain is the fictional protector of the city of Sigil
in the Planescape
campaign setting
of the Dungeons & Dragons
roleplaying game. She is also known as Her Serenity.
(literally, Our Lady of Seven Pains), by English
Decadent
poet
Algernon Charles Swinburne
. The poem is written on the topic of a cruel and ruthless, sexualised but unapproachable, goddess figure, Dolores, Our Lady of Pain. Swinburne's Lady of Pain resembles her D&D successor in some ways. She is ancient, and has destroyed and outlived gods themselves (li. 353-368). Furthermore, with the D&D character she shares her absence of compassion, her moral neutrality, and the brutal indifference of her actions. She differentiates herself, however, in appearing decadent, where D&Ds Lady of Pain is austere.
Her image was originally a doodle
by Dana Knutson
. David "Zeb" Cook
, designer of Planescape
, explained how the character came about: "Dana Knutson was assigned to draw anything I wanted. I babbled, and he drew - buildings, streets, characters and landscapes. Before any of us knew it, he drew the Lady of Pain. I'm very fond of the Lady of Pain; she really locks up the Planescape look. We all liked her so much that she became our logo."
Troy Denning
wrote the hardcover novel Pages of Pain in 1996: "It had to be from the Lady of Pain's viewpoint—which is something of a problem, since (as every Planescape player knows) she never speaks—and (this was the really good part) the reader must know less about her at the end of the book than he does at the beginning, and nobody knows anything about her at the beginning." Denning recalled that Pages of Pain "really made me rethink the way I approach stories, and for that reason alone it was worth writing. It also ended up being a much deeper book than I had ever written before, which I think was a result of the extreme approach I was forced to take. Those who have [read it] seem to think it's my best work. It was certainly the most challenging and—forgive the pun—'painful' to write."
setting in the Planescape Campaign Setting
(1994).
The Lady of Pain's role in Sigil is described in the 4th edition Manual of the Planes and Dungeon Master's Guide 2. The Lady's appearance, behavior and function is overall unchanged from previous editions.
Her obvious objective is maintaining the balance within Sigil, by throwing defilers and denizens who anger her into one of her magical mazes. Often, she will only interfere when the very balance and stability of Sigil is threatened.
The Lady is an entity of inscrutable motives, and often those who cross her path, even if accidentally, are flayed
to death or teleport
ed to one of her Maze
s (an almost inescapable pocket universe
in the Ethereal Plane). Rumor has it that even greater deities
have fallen before the Lady, and she was able to kill the otherwise immortal Nameless One. The Shattered Temple in Sigil was a major temple of Aoskar
, the god of portals, who attempted to bring the city under his control. After his power had reached a certain point, she killed him with a thought, shattering the grand temple and throwing his priests into the Mazes of her making. The ruined temple eventually became the headquarters of the Athar
. The vast majority of Sigil's denizens dread her apparitions, and avoid mentioning her name aloud for fear of drawing her attention.
The Lady has the power to control each and every portal in Sigil, opening and barring them at will. The dabus
, her servants, maintain the city, forever fixing and patching its streets. For all her power, she apparently refuses to be worshipped as a goddess
, and anyone brave (or careless) enough to worship her has met a grisly demise in the shadow of her blades.
or Lord of the Nine. In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil assures us she has been ruler of Sigil for as long as the city has existed, though she might predate the city's creation. It seems she did not have her current ability to create Mazes 10,000 years ago, however.
The closest the Lady of Pain ever came to being overthrown was by Vecna
, as one of the final steps in his plan to reshape the multiverse
and make himself supreme. (recounted in Die Vecna Die!
).
is that the Lady is a prisoner and that Sigil is her cage. This theory is plausible in that its coiner, Ravel Puzzlewell, who would refer to herself as "the solver of puzzles not needing solving", had a level of understanding about the mechanics of the planes
incomprehensible by men. Unfortunately (or consequently), she was also insane
; whether her insanity set in before or after being "mazed" by the Lady is unknown.
Additionally, the novel Pages of Pain (ISBN 0786906715) suggests that she may be the daughter of Poseidon
from the Greek Pantheon
of Arborea. However this is not made clear and even suggested that the memories of her early life released from an amphora
may have been faked by the god himself in order to potentially sway the protector of the Cage towards his way of thinking.
According to Die Vecna Die!
she is a being of the same origin as The Serpent (representation of magic itself).
. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007. Cordell, Bruce
, and Miller, Steve. Die Vecna Die!
(TSR, 2000).
Denning, Troy. Pages of Pain (TSR, 1997).
Slavicsek, Bill
. Harbinger House (TSR, 1995)
Swinburne, A.C. Dolores (Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs)
(Poems and Ballads) (1866)
Sigil (city)
Sigil is a fictional city and the center of the Planescape campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Development:...
in the Planescape
Planescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
of the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
roleplaying game. She is also known as Her Serenity.
Creative origins
The chief inspiration for the character of the Lady of Pain is the 19th century poem Dolores (Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs)Dolores (Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs)
Dolores is a poem by A. C. Swinburne first published in his 1866 Poems and Ballads. The poem, in 440 lines, regards the figure of the titular "Dolores, Our Lady of Pain", thus named at the close of many of its stanzas....
(literally, Our Lady of Seven Pains), by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Decadent
Decadent movement
The Decadent movement was a late 19th century artistic and literary movement of Western Europe. It flourished in France, but also had devotees in England and throughout Europe, as well as in the United States.-Overview:...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He invented the roundel form, wrote several novels, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica...
. The poem is written on the topic of a cruel and ruthless, sexualised but unapproachable, goddess figure, Dolores, Our Lady of Pain. Swinburne's Lady of Pain resembles her D&D successor in some ways. She is ancient, and has destroyed and outlived gods themselves (li. 353-368). Furthermore, with the D&D character she shares her absence of compassion, her moral neutrality, and the brutal indifference of her actions. She differentiates herself, however, in appearing decadent, where D&Ds Lady of Pain is austere.
Her image was originally a doodle
Doodle
A doodle is an unfocused drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be abstract shapes....
by Dana Knutson
Dana Knutson
-Career:Dana Knutson has had a long career as an artist on role-playing games. He worked at FASA Corporation for 10 years, producing art on numerous works for their Star Trek and Shadowrun RPGs. He came to work for TSR in 1993 to produce artwork for the Dungeons & Dragons game, initially largely...
. David "Zeb" Cook
David Cook (game designer)
David "Zeb" Cook is an American game designer best known for his work at TSR, Inc., where he was employed for over fifteen years.-Early life:...
, designer of Planescape
Planescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
, explained how the character came about: "Dana Knutson was assigned to draw anything I wanted. I babbled, and he drew - buildings, streets, characters and landscapes. Before any of us knew it, he drew the Lady of Pain. I'm very fond of the Lady of Pain; she really locks up the Planescape look. We all liked her so much that she became our logo."
Troy Denning
Troy Denning
Troy Denning is a fantasy and science fiction author and game designer.-Career:Denning joined TSR as a game designer in 1981, and was promoted a year later to Manager of Designers, before he moved to the book department...
wrote the hardcover novel Pages of Pain in 1996: "It had to be from the Lady of Pain's viewpoint—which is something of a problem, since (as every Planescape player knows) she never speaks—and (this was the really good part) the reader must know less about her at the end of the book than he does at the beginning, and nobody knows anything about her at the beginning." Denning recalled that Pages of Pain "really made me rethink the way I approach stories, and for that reason alone it was worth writing. It also ended up being a much deeper book than I had ever written before, which I think was a result of the extreme approach I was forced to take. Those who have [read it] seem to think it's my best work. It was certainly the most challenging and—forgive the pun—'painful' to write."
Publication history
The Lady of Pain was first described for the PlanescapePlanescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
setting in the Planescape Campaign Setting
Planescape Campaign Setting
The Planescape Campaign Setting was a boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The set was designed by David "Zeb" Cook and published in 1994, and introduced the Planescape setting.-Contents:...
(1994).
The Lady of Pain's role in Sigil is described in the 4th edition Manual of the Planes and Dungeon Master's Guide 2. The Lady's appearance, behavior and function is overall unchanged from previous editions.
Description
The Lady is sometimes seen as a floating, robed, giant-sized woman with a mantle of blades around her expressionless face. She has never been heard to speak aloud, although she may communicate through her servants, the dabus. She can cause her victims to sprout wounds with a glance, and her shadow can flay the flesh from their bones.Her obvious objective is maintaining the balance within Sigil, by throwing defilers and denizens who anger her into one of her magical mazes. Often, she will only interfere when the very balance and stability of Sigil is threatened.
The Lady is an entity of inscrutable motives, and often those who cross her path, even if accidentally, are flayed
Flaying
Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.-Scope:An animal may be flayed in preparation for human consumption, or for its hide or fur; this is more commonly called skinning....
to death or teleport
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
ed to one of her Maze
Maze
A maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth, as the labyrinth has a single...
s (an almost inescapable pocket universe
Pocket universe
-In science:A pocket universe is a concept in inflationary theory, proposed by Alan Guth. It defines a realm like the one that contains the observable universe as only one of many inflationary zones.-In fiction:...
in the Ethereal Plane). Rumor has it that even greater deities
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
have fallen before the Lady, and she was able to kill the otherwise immortal Nameless One. The Shattered Temple in Sigil was a major temple of Aoskar
Aoskar
Aoskar is a fictional deity once worshiped among the planes in the Dungeons & Dragons Planescape campaign setting, and now a dead god.-Publication history:...
, the god of portals, who attempted to bring the city under his control. After his power had reached a certain point, she killed him with a thought, shattering the grand temple and throwing his priests into the Mazes of her making. The ruined temple eventually became the headquarters of the Athar
Faction (Planescape)
The Factions are fictional philosophically based power groups in the Planescape campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Background:...
. The vast majority of Sigil's denizens dread her apparitions, and avoid mentioning her name aloud for fear of drawing her attention.
The Lady has the power to control each and every portal in Sigil, opening and barring them at will. The dabus
Dabus
In the Dungeons & Dragons Planescape campaign setting, Dabus are the personal entourage of the Lady of Pain.-Publication history:...
, her servants, maintain the city, forever fixing and patching its streets. For all her power, she apparently refuses to be worshipped as a goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
, and anyone brave (or careless) enough to worship her has met a grisly demise in the shadow of her blades.
History
No one knows how the Lady came to be or what her true purpose is. Hellbound: The Blood War suggests she might be a renegade demon lordDemon lord (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demon lords are demons who have gained great power and established a position of preeminence among demonkind. Each demon lord has a unique appearance and set of abilities. Most control at least one layer of the Abyss...
or Lord of the Nine. In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil assures us she has been ruler of Sigil for as long as the city has existed, though she might predate the city's creation. It seems she did not have her current ability to create Mazes 10,000 years ago, however.
The closest the Lady of Pain ever came to being overthrown was by Vecna
Vecna
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Vecna was a powerful wizard who became a lich. He was eventually destroyed, and his left hand and left eye were the only parts of his body to survive...
, as one of the final steps in his plan to reshape the multiverse
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
and make himself supreme. (recounted in Die Vecna Die!
Die Vecna Die!
Die Vecna Die! is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module released in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.. The module is divided into three sections, each taking part in a different campaign setting: Greyhawk, Ravenloft, and Planescape...
).
Theories
A theory that appears late in the computer game Planescape: TormentPlanescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game developed for Windows by Black Isle Studios and released on December 12, 1999 by Interplay Entertainment. It takes place in Planescape, an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy campaign setting...
is that the Lady is a prisoner and that Sigil is her cage. This theory is plausible in that its coiner, Ravel Puzzlewell, who would refer to herself as "the solver of puzzles not needing solving", had a level of understanding about the mechanics of the planes
Plane (Dungeons & Dragons)
The planes of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game constitutes the multiverse in which the game takes place.In the earliest versions of Dungeons & Dragons, the concept of the Inner, Ethereal, Prime Material, Astral and Outer Planes was introduced; at the time there were only four Inner Planes...
incomprehensible by men. Unfortunately (or consequently), she was also insane
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
; whether her insanity set in before or after being "mazed" by the Lady is unknown.
Additionally, the novel Pages of Pain (ISBN 0786906715) suggests that she may be the daughter of Poseidon
Poseidon
Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
from the Greek Pantheon
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
of Arborea. However this is not made clear and even suggested that the memories of her early life released from an amphora
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...
may have been faked by the god himself in order to potentially sway the protector of the Cage towards his way of thinking.
According to Die Vecna Die!
Die Vecna Die!
Die Vecna Die! is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module released in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.. The module is divided into three sections, each taking part in a different campaign setting: Greyhawk, Ravenloft, and Planescape...
she is a being of the same origin as The Serpent (representation of magic itself).
Additional reading
- Baur, WolfgangWolfgang BaurWolfgang Baur is an American game designer, best known for his work with Dragon magazine. He designs role-playing games and also is known for his work at Wizards of the Coast.-Biography:...
and Gwendolyn Kestrel.
Expedition to the Demonweb Pits
Expedition to the Demonweb Pits is a super-adventure module for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. The adventure is designed for characters of levels 9–12...
. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007.
Bruce Cordell
Bruce Robert Cordell is an American author of roleplaying games and fantasy novels. He won the Origins Award for Return to the Tomb of Horrors and has won several ENnies as well...
, and Miller, Steve. Die Vecna Die!
Die Vecna Die!
Die Vecna Die! is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module released in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.. The module is divided into three sections, each taking part in a different campaign setting: Greyhawk, Ravenloft, and Planescape...
(TSR, 2000).
Bill Slavicsek
Bill Slavicsek is a game designer who served as the Director of Roleplaying Design and Development at Wizards of the Coast. He previously worked for West End Games and TSR, Inc., and designed products for Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, Alternity, Torg, Paranoia and Ghostbusters.-Biography:Bill...
. Harbinger House (TSR, 1995)
Dolores (Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs)
Dolores is a poem by A. C. Swinburne first published in his 1866 Poems and Ballads. The poem, in 440 lines, regards the figure of the titular "Dolores, Our Lady of Pain", thus named at the close of many of its stanzas....
(Poems and Ballads) (1866)