Society of Sensation
Table of Contents
Who We Are
Sensates see the pain that living a life of restricted inhibitions causes, and so do their best to provide endless merriment and entertainment to the masses. It’s often said that without the escapes provided by the Society of Sensation, a berk’d go barmy in the Cage. With so many people in such a small place, and such a diverse range of philosophies, needs, and wants, it’s easy to see how tensions could fray. The Sensates consider it their public duty to teach people the importance of experience. If not, they can at least keep them distracted.
A word from your Factol...
Watch me. Hear me. Smell me. Touch me. Taste me… Know me.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush right? Wrong. Try three. There is nothing more important than experiencing things for yourself. To hold them. To taste them.
We live in a multiverse of chaos and illusion. Rarely can we be as sure of something as when we experience it for ourselves. "Seeing is believing", or so they say.
That is our purpose. Our entire reason for being is to experience these wonderful worlds in which we live. Why would there be gorgeous vistas, fine foods, and superb company if we weren’t meant to enjoy them?
So go party till you drop. Climb a mountain. Rub your face all over a bush. Cuddle an Arborian Hambear. Because once you’re dead and judged and gone you sure as hell can’t. Make the most of it whilst you can.
It’s not enough to simply scrape by. You need to live.Pleasure is the balm that keeps fevered rage at bay.
A Sensate's Journey (A Feast for all Senses)
The Society of Sensation still has plenty of members who are in it for the pleasure, pure and simple, that’s for sure. They’re kept around anyways, in part because they’re vital to the day-to-day runnings of the Festhall. Still though, the Factol holds out hope that in time they will learn that there’s more to life than the gut and the loin.
Joining the Sensates is as simple as showing a genuine desire to join, and you’re in.
The Fledgling (Namer)
Recent events have seen the Sensates implementing a probationary period within their Faction. Partly this is to keep the Harmonium off their backs, but mostly it’s to maintain a public image against all the smears. This involves a three month period in which members are to report to a buddy Factotum, talking about any new interests or cool experiences that they’ve had (probation can be waived with a sufficiently impressive memory stone).
They also check that you don’t get into any trouble with the Harmonium in these three months - the Sensates are peery about allowing in lawbreakers with a tendency to get caught. Emphasis on caught. Sensates don’t give a mezzoloth’s ass if you break any laws… but they do have to keep up appearances.
Namers may put "the Fledgling" after their names.
The Versed (Factotum)
Advancing to Factotum requires providing a memory stone reading of an encounter with something, or someone remarkable, which has not yet been recorded within the Civic Festhall. That, and successfully passing your probation.
Factotum may put "the Versed" after their names.
The Seasoned (Factor)
Factor (“the Seasoned”) is a lot more exclusive. An existing Factor has to experience one of your recorder stone readings, and they must find it so enthralling and perfect an experience that they accept you into the ranks of the Sensate high ups. Luap Woodholly is the current dedicated Factor who tests your experience, having been a professional in the area for decades. You’ll know you’ve cracked a great experience when you’ve gotten the coveted Woodholly high five.
Factors may put "the Seasoned" after their names.
Factol
When the current Factol steps down, dies, or is otherwise removed, the Seasoned members of the Sensates enter into a process known as ‘Administration’ - which sounds far more bureaucratic than it actually is. Each Factor who steps forward for the role of Factol designs what they view to be the perfect series of sensory experiences. The Factotum then go through each experience, and vote on whose was the most enthralling. Whoever has the most votes becomes the Factol… simple as.
Faction Mechanics & Character Options
Those raised within the ranks of the Sensates become ‘citizens of the multiverse’ rather quickly. They are exposed to a huge variety of people, cultures, and experiences; and are taught to revel in the new and exciting.
If you are creating a character who has been a member of the Society of Sensation for a while, you may pick one of the following backgrounds at character creation. A list of suggested bonds within the faction and philosophical ideals is also presented below.
Providers get their kicks out of creating and providing - finding beauty and experience in hand crafting masterwork items and seeing them appreciated by those who seek them, hopefully getting a story or opportunity in return. They love nothing more making something bizarre or meeting strange new people.
- Skill Proficiencies: Any two from: Insight, Perception, Performance or Persuasion
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan's tools or gaming set
- Languages: Any one, or a gaming set of your choice
- Equipment: A set of artisan's tools (one of your choice), a bottle of fine spirits, a set of fine clothes, the plans of your magnum opus, Sensate insignia, and a pouch containing 10 gp
Feature: Sense of Worth
You’re familiar with all manner of tools and services, from the cheap to the luxurious. You may add +1d4 to any ability checks to determine the monetary worth of an item or service.
Seekers tend to be the most extreme of Sensates in every sense. Foolhardy and with little sense of self-preservation, they scour the planes for new sights and experiences to bring home. They can be the haughtiest of Sensates at the best of times, believing those who do not go to such extremes as they do are ‘posers’. Others are just in it for the hell of it.
- Skill Proficiencies: Any two from: Investigation, Perception, Performance or Stealth
- Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (land or water), Navigator’s Tools
- Equipment: A pair of leather goggles, a set of fine clothes, a set of desert clothes, Sensate insignia, a crowbar, and a pouch containing 5 gp
Feature: Thorough Rummage
Seekers leave no stone unturned. You may roll 1d4 and add the number to any Intelligence (Investigation) checks to find loot, treasure and secret compartments.
Socialites prefer to get their experiences from others, mingling with crowds and talking to anyone who piques their interest to hear their story. They are fantastic listeners and spinners of stories. Whilst most are well-connected among the rich and famous, some Socialites prefer to keep their circles low-key and illegal (and thus more interesting to them).
- Skill Proficiencies: Any two from: Deception, Insight, Performance or Persuasion
- Languages: Any two (you may replace one of these languages with a gaming set of your choice)
- Equipment: A set of ivory playing cards, a Sensate seal ring, Sensate insignia, a pair of loaded dice, a set of fine clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp
Feature: Party Favours
You have a well-established range of connections among either the rich and popular, or seedy underbelly of the Cage (your choice). At any formal event being held within one of these circles, you may add +1d4 to any Charisma skill checks.
d4 | Faction Draw (Ideal) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Curiosity, I love new things. Shiny objects are the best, but you can’t beat a good death-defying experience |
| 2 | Kinship, I love talking to people and hearing about the interesting things they get up to |
| 3 | Artisan, I love to make art. Having people appreciate it is just the cherry on top |
| 4 | Hedonism, I love food, fine wine, and good company. The Sensates provide these things in droves |
d4 | Faction Buddy (Bonds) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Boxy, a rogue modron punk who loves to travel |
| 2 | Ismerilda the Versed, a high-end tavern owner with a dark secret |
| 3 | Prudence the Versed, a famed adventurer who recently came back out of retirement |
| 4 | P. Woodholly Jr. the Versed, a collector of memory stones and fine experiences |
Faction Restriction
An Alternative 'Resurrection'
As an alternative to spells such as Raise Dead, Dustmen who die may be returned from the dead provided their body is returned to the mortuary within 10 days and a 1000 gp fee is paid (or subsequently worked off). These Dustmen are returned to life as either Dhampir, Hexblood or Reborn as though reincarnated (your choice).
Generally, only Dustmen who are convinced that they have good reason to be returned actually seek this alternative. However, it is frequently known for adventuring parties to burst into the Mortuary and "demand" their dead friend to be brought back in some way. In these instances, the dead sod usually accepts out of polite resignation.
A Sensate must never impede upon the free will of another. Sensates despise things such as compulsion magic and incarceration, as they 'taint' them and prevent people from seeking their own experiences. They will rarely cooperate with the Harmonium or detain an individual, unless that person’s freedom would risk the freedoms of even more people (and even then, many won't).
Roleplaying a Sensate
Style and Flair
Sensates have no set fashion in particular, with each member following their own style and colour scheme. The faction itself is big on aesthetics, and higher ranking members are in something of an arms race to be the most fashionable and noticeably dressed sods in the Cage. To some, this means high-end clothing like silk, velure, and shiny armour. Whereas to others this means scrounging together what you can from the bits you have and either tie-dyeing them or stitching them together.
Official Sensate faction colours are crimsons, hot pinks, and daffodil. Their emblem is hand overlain with a small eye.
A "Good" Sensate...
Despite their hard line when it comes to free will, a good Sensate also:
- Does not refuse a tantalising new experience, short of life or limb. Of course, if it doesn’t tantalise you then that’s fair enough. But if the temptation’s there…
- Does not prevent another from seeking or trying new experiences.
Faction Powers
You have advantage on saving throws against being Blinded, Deafened, or Frightened. Furthermore, you may ignore those conditions for the purposes of how and where you can move… Sensates are quite used to running *towards* the things that scare them.
Your senses are so finely honed that you are able to pinpoint the exact source of any sense. By spending an action, you may give a consumable item, or symptom of illness, a good poke/sniff/lick/listen/look. You may identify any food, poison, or disease with which you are already familiar as though routine. Otherwise, you have advantage on any ability check to determine exactly what it is.
You are immune to the Blinded and Deafened conditions, and gain Blindsight out to 10 feet. If you already have Blindsight, increase its range by 5 feet.
Faction Armoury
The Cost of Experience
Sensates trade in stories, memories, and experiences. They are always willing to buy Memory Stones with new experiences inside, paying anywhere from 10 to 10,000 gold pieces. They will outright reject stones with mundane or unremarkable experiences, or any which they already have (which is an awful lot right now).
A memory can be recalled with the use of a Sensorium - special chambers within the Civic Festhall that allow for the replay and re-experiencing of stored memories. Whilst watching an experience, a creature can make a retroactive Insight, Investigation, or Perception check to notice something that they missed the first time round, so long as it could have been reasonably possible for them to have noticed it.
Experiences viewed in a Sensorium by the use of a Memory Stone can be later used for your Sense Share ability, if you have it.
Memory Stone Payouts
Being killed in battle => Rejected
Fine dining => Rejected
Performing for a large crowd => Rejected
Sitting in beautiful (but common) scenery => Rejected
Viewing an undiscovered vista => 10gp
Sailing the River Styx => 25gp
Being killed by a mind-controlled friend whilst helpless => 250gp
Diving in the River Styx => 500gp
Finding a lost artefact => 1000gp
Breaking into a Factol’s private vault => 2000gp
Being fed to the Mercykillers’ Wyrm => 10,000gp
| Name | Rarity | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Namer Items | ||
| Memory Stone | Uncommon | Wondrous Item (Stone) |
Memory Stone
Wondrous Item (Stone), Uncommon
A Memory stone is an amethystine egg-like gem around an inch in diameter at most. Enchanted by mythal dust, it is capable of having memories imprinted upon it for later revisitation. A Memory Stone can record an experience up to 60 minutes long, and is from the point of view of the creature who activates it.
By spending an action to touch the gem to their forehead and focusing, a creature can start recording. During this time, everything that the creature experiences is recorded upon the gem from their point of view - from sights and smells to pain and emotion. The stone stops recording when it leaves the creature’s possession, or the creature uses an action to touch it to their forehead again.
A stone with a memory already in it can be recorded over if used again, destroying the old memory.
The Chant
History
There have always been folks who know how to have a good time. Bloods with a willingness to try anything and everything; be it physical, emotional, or cerebral. Often enough, a group of these uninhibited berks will group together and share in their amusements, broadening their horizons beyond anything they could ever try alone.
That was how the Sensates were born. Back in the early, more orderly, days of the Cage; a bunch of folks got together on a fortnightly basis for a little amusement, games, and escapades. Maybe they’d plot a holiday getaway to Celebro, or a sightseeing trip to Carceri; maybe they’d stay in with an esoteric board game and copious amounts of wine. The activity was only secondary to experiencing time together. For a time, they’d bask in each other's company and go their separate ways, only to return two weeks later with a swathe of new ideas.
As it so easily does in the Cage, word spread of their activities. As Sigil’s population swelled, theirs did too. This small group of bashers got more and more members, bringing even weirder and more bizarre ideas with them.
At some point, a few members got the bright idea of making a little coin off of meeting a sod’s need for entertainment. These members used their group’s wealth to put together a team to construct the Civic Festhall - a palace for acts and shows from the farthest corners of the multiverse. A real feast for the senses.
All told, it took them around a century to finish.
A Faction is Born
With a strong enough following, good leadership, and a gorgeous building for their Headquarters, the Society of Sensation was born. They quickly ballooned in membership, as the Clueless and the bored found the Sensates to be an attractive lot. Their open membership and worldly experience, combined with the promise of pleasure, was more than enough to rope in a large crowd.
Of course, they were, perhaps, a bit too indiscriminate back then. They soon found themselves full of leatherheads who just wanted the same entertainment night after night. The *same* inebriation. The *same* euphoria. The same old same old.
But that’s not what being a Sensate is about. A true Sensate seeks new experiences, new pleasures, and new entertainments. Things were tense for a while. Sensates who subscribed to the ‘true’ Society of Sensation philosophy started getting fed up with all the masses glutting themselves day after day on the same things. Fights broke out [though that’s mostly ‘cos some Sensates had never experienced a big fight before and were itching for the opportunity -M].
Things never really changed. The Factol figured they’d sort themselves out with time - and they did. When the Lady’s decree came through and the Factions were cut to 15, the Sensates survived through sheer virtue of numbers and popularity. They lost a good share of folk in the shakeup, but many consider that to be a blessing - those who jumped ship tended to be the more undesirable lot anyways.
A lesson was taken away from this: perhaps the Sensates could be a bit more careful about their member selection? They’re still open to all, but they’ve got to show themselves to be a Sensate, not just a hedonist.
So… what now?
Despite their burgeoning popularity, and stranglehold on the entertainment industry, the Sensates aren’t without their share of rival factions. The Consortium especially are finding themselves increasingly at odds with the Sensates. Seems the tight bastards want their own share of the entertainment market - and the Sensates are none too keen on handing it over. See, the Sensates are well-acquainted with Consortium ways… especially those of mass production and repeatability. To the Sensates, the Consortium represents not just the death of the entertainment industry, but of personal expression and the collective soul of the Cage.
Ever since turning down a partnership with the Consortium, the Sensates have been bombarded with smear campaigns and knock-offs dragging their name through the mud. Their Sensoriums - small chambers unique to the Sensates in which memories can be replayed over and over - are fast becoming a closely-guarded secret, at ever-increasing risk of corporate espionage.
References & Inspiration
- Mimir's Sensate page - General reference and inspiration
- Font Awesome - For the (placeholder) icon