The 1999

1999 in video gaming

-Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”...

 computer role-playing game Planescape: Torment

Planescape: 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...

featured a number of memorable characters who are listed in this article.

The Nameless One

(voiced by Michael T. Weiss

Michael T. Weiss

Michael Terry Weiss is an American actor best known for playing the title role in The Pretender.-Early life:Weiss was born in Chicago, Illinois. His father was a steel-industry executive and his mother was a homemaker. He has a sister, Jamie Sue Weiss, who became a make-up artist for television...

)

You are nameless. You awoke on a slab in the Mortuary in Sigil

Sigil (city)

Sigil is a fictional city and the center of the Planescape campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Development:...

, covered in scars and tattoos, your memory gone. Who has done this to you, and why? You don't know... yet. But you're going to find out.

The being now known only as The Nameless One is one of the closest things the multiverse has to a true immortal. Precisely how long he has lived or how many reincarnation

Reincarnation

Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...

s he has had is unknown, but judging from some of the contacts he has made (Lum the Mad, among others) he is probably at least several thousand years old, and a former "incarnation" notes that he has died several thousand times.

His place of birth and early history have been lost, but at some point he committed a horrible crime. The precise nature of this crime is never expressed directly, though it was clearly severe enough to damn his soul even if he spent the rest of his life doing nothing but good. Hoping to avoid the horrors of an eternity in the Blood War

Blood War

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the Blood War is an eternal conflict between the fiends of the Lower planes. The Tanar'ri are the demonic forces of the Abyss, an evil plane of chaos. Representing the equally evil but lawful realm of Baator are the Baatezu, the dominant caste of...

, he sought out the night hag, Ravel Puzzlewell, and presented her with the challenge to make him immortal, planning to spend the rest of his existence trying to atone for what he had done. As payment, he presented her with the riddle: "What can change the nature of a man?" Judging from his current appearance, he was likely around thirty at the time. Ravel's immortality ritual succeeded, though rather than granting him eternal life, Ravel simply stripped away his mortality (another character, Coaxmetal, mentions "strong magics" which maintain him) To test her ritual, Ravel immediately killed The Nameless One, and when he recovered, he had lost all of his memories. He no longer remembered the crime that caused him to seek immortality, or that he was immortal at all, or his own name.

Over the centuries, The Nameless One has taken myriad life-paths. According to Morte, his longtime companion, his personality often changes with each death. He has been virtually everything, from mighty wizard to petty thief, a paragon of virtue and a heartless villain. These memories are hidden, but not totally lost: new experiences can "jog his memory", leading to the Nameless One's rapid character growth (he's remembering previous skills rather than practicing new ones) In the game, this is simulated by giving the player the choice of which class to level and which attribute to gain.
Unlike all other 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...

characters, the Nameless One can switch classes at any time just by talking to one of the members of his party (fighter, mage, or thief), described in-game as a shift in mental state and focus. At the beginning of the game, The Nameless One awakens in yet another incarnation, remembering nothing of his long and complex history. This time, it soon becomes evident that he finally possesses the ability to recover from death without a memory loss. If the player gets The Nameless One killed in the game, it will simply continue with the hero waking somewhere (this can be anywhere from a metal slab at the Mortuary or a bed at an inn, depending on the hero's location at death) and will be able to continue his journey.

Each time The Nameless One dies, another life is claimed in his place. This other soul becomes a shadow and travels to the Fortress of Regrets on the Negative Material Plane for a time. The energies of the Fortress and the Plane give them power, and the oldest shadows have grown far larger and stronger than they were before. Eventually, some of the shadows escape (or are released) and attempt to track down The Nameless One and slay him in revenge for the torment he has put them through, however unwillingly.

A popular theory among fans is that The Nameless One is actually Zerthimon

Zerthimon

In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Zerthimon is the prophet-leader of a group of humanoids called the githzerai, cousins of the githyanki.-History:...

, creator of the Githzerai

Githzerai

The githzerai are a fictional race of creatures in the roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons.Githzerai are extraplanar humanoid creatures that reside on the Plane of Limbo.-Publication history:...

 faction of the Forerunners.
In the official novelization of the game, which is only loosely based on its plot, The Nameless One was a human being, who made a pact with the Baatezu Fhjull Forked-Tongue (an NPC met late in the game), offering his service as a soldier in the Blood War in exchange for his town being spared. He then sought a way to become immortal to avoid the Blood War entirely, and all of his most recent struggles are, in fact, the culmination of the machinations of Fhjull to claim The Nameless One's soul. In the book, The Nameless One's ability to remember memories from prior incarnations (beginning with the one that wakes up in the Mortuary) is due to being dosed prior to awakening in the Mortuary with a special elixir derived from the waters of the Styx

Styx

In Greek mythology the Styx is the river that forms the boundary between the underworld and the world of the living, as well as a goddess and a nymph that represents the river.Styx may also refer to:-Popular culture:...

 by Fhjull Forked-Tongue.

Previous Incarnations

The word "incarnation" is frequently used in fandom, and briefly in the game, to refer to a period of time when the Nameless One consistently remembers who he is. An incarnation begins when The Nameless One awakens from a death and ends when he loses his memory after a death.

Although there were many previous incarnations, possibly numbering in the thousands, the player only learns specific details about a few of them. This is because these are the three that somehow remained in his mind. The Nameless One also meets physical manifestations of three of his incarnations at the end of the game. (This is keeping with the notion of the "Rule of Three", which states that in 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...

 everything happens in threes.)

The Good Incarnation

The original incarnation of The Nameless One, he committed crimes so severe that no amount of repentance or good deeds could save him from punishment after death, which led him to ask Ravel Puzzlewell for aid. The Nameless One can learn a wealth of information about his past as well as his true name (which is never revealed to the player) from the Good Incarnation if he has the bronze sphere in his inventory. He believes that regret can change the nature of a man. He merges with The Nameless One (thus giving The Nameless One all his memories) with no qualms whatsoever.

The Practical Incarnation

One of the most powerful and cunning incarnations of The Nameless One. He was the one that left Deionarra to die in the Negative Plane to serve as his eyes in the Fortress of Regrets, imprisoned Vhailor in Curst, tricked Pharod into believing the finding of the bronze sphere would protect him, and pried Morte out of the Pillar of Skulls

Baator

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Baator, also known as the Nine Hells of Baator or the Nine Hells, is a lawful evil-aligned plane of existence...

. He rescued Dak'kon from certain death solely for his Karach Blade, manipulating him into swearing an oath of eternal obedience.

The Practical Incarnation took extraordinary measures to ensure continuity of purpose among the Nameless One's incarnations. He was the one who had instructions tattooed on his back to tell each new incarnation what to do. He also left a diary which explained everything he'd found out about his history and what he had attempted to do. He also built the Nameless One's tomb beneath Ragpicker's Square to trap the Transcendent One: an attempt he freely admits was an abysmal failure. He was also the one who discovered the existence of the Bronze Sphere, and furthermore discerned what it truly was.

While this incarnation initially appears to be evil, there is no mention of him committing evil deeds for their own sake. While he does mercilessly lie to and manipulate others with no regard for their suffering or death, he only does so when it serves his purpose, not out of actual malice.

He collected a party of very powerful and insightful warriors and managed to enter the Fortress of Regrets and face the Transcendent One. (This is even more impressive because he did it without the help of Ravel.) It is implied that he died in the Fortress.

In the Maze of Reflection, he tries to force The Nameless One into surrendering his will and control of his body, but ultimately fails.

It is implied that this incarnation was a powerful mage.

The Paranoid Incarnation

The overly cautious and extremely insane incarnation of The Nameless One. He was the one that set up the traps within the Dodecahedron Journal and he was the incarnation that the Lady of Pain

Lady of Pain

The Lady of Pain is the fictional protector of the city of Sigil in the Planescape campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game...

 placed in her maze as punishment for killing people. He is also the incarnation that learned the obscure language of Uyo and, after mastering the language, killed off the linguist who taught it to him, in order to ensure that no one else could decode his journal. The Paranoid Incarnation also destroyed the meticulously kept journal that the Practical Incarnation kept (among others) to help his future incarnations.

This incarnation found the Nameless One's tomb beneath Ragpicker's Square and heavily improved upon its booby traps. He also discovered a way of getting into Ravel's maze using a portable portal generator, but never succeeded in doing so. He was killed in the Clerk's Ward by Aelwyn (an aasimar

Aasimar

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, aasimar are a fictional race of humanoid creatures who are descended from celestials, angels and other creatures of good alignment...

 woman with the ability to impose her will upon reality), but it's unknown if this was his "true" death. Since this death took place 50 years ago, it's unlikely that the Paranoid Incarnation was the incarnation that died just previous to the events of the game (although the ramblings on the scrap of parchment Annah found on The Nameless One's body suggest otherwise). According to his journal, he was told that three deaths after his current (the Paranoid) incarnation, he would no longer forget upon dying. Disbelieving this, he killed the person who told him so (said person's identity was never explored) accusing them of lying and being useless.

He merges with The Nameless One after some convincing. Failing that, he fights The Nameless One to the death by ripping his own arm off and trying to beat The Nameless One to death with it.

Yemeth

This incarnation's story (though his name is mentioned among the aliases of the Nameless One) can only be tracked through an item that didn't make it in the game (Pendant of Yemeth). According to this, Yemeth was a sorcerer of great power who, when time began to take its toll on him, created the Pendant to draw souls from dying mortals to power his waning life-force before he was finally slain in battle. There is some speculation about whether Yemeth is in fact the same as the Good Incarnation, though the developers flatly deny it. It is also very likely that he was the one who taught Ignus the Art, though this is also never directly stated in the game.

The Lost Incarnation

The Nameless One doesn't actually encounter this incarnation, but finds his arm in the tombs beneath Ragpicker's Square. This incarnation was a thief. He may or may not have been the same as the Paranoid Incarnation.

Party Members

The following is a list of all the potential party members The Nameless One can recruit on his journeys. While there are seven potential members, there are only five slots (not including The Nameless One himself) in the party. Players may switch party members by finding and speaking to whomever was left behind.

Mortimer "Morte" Rictusgrin

(voiced by Rob Paulsen

Rob Paulsen

Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...

)

Morte is a talking skull. His sole weapon seems to be his mouth, whether by taunting or biting. He seems to be along for the ride, whether you want him around or not.

You are somewhat curious as to how he is able to float around.

A floating skull

Human skull

The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...

 with an acerbic attitude, Morte is chaotic good. While he lacks a body, he is a capable warrior in many aspects, biting with his sharp fangs and throwing foes off guard with taunts, while his smaller size, lack of vital organs, and pseudo-undead nature protect him from many attacks that would normally inflict serious wounds. Many fans wonder where he keeps his inventory. Morte and The Nameless One have an extended history together.

Morte starts off in your party at the very beginning of the game, and, if you do not remove him from your party, can help you learn much of The Nameless One's previous incarnations. His taunts are also very useful as they enable him to prevent a fleeing character from escaping and also allow him to silence spellcasting characters into going into melee combat. However, his taunts do not work on the undead and on creatures that possess very low intelligence or have no will of their own. Morte is the source of much of the game's humor, not the least being the chaotic conversations that can result between him and the Nameless One, whom he refers to as Chief.

Towards the end of the game, you find out where Morte came from: a Pillar of Skulls on the plane of Baator

Baator

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Baator, also known as the Nine Hells of Baator or the Nine Hells, is a lawful evil-aligned plane of existence...

. Morte was pulled out by the Practical Incarnation from the pillar. The pile is composed of the skulls of all the people who died and have caused another to die through their lies. Morte's torment comes from the fact that he, prior to his death, lied to the Good Incarnation and told him that Ravel could make him immortal, and is thus responsible for the Nameless One's lamentable condition. If the Nameless One convinces Morte to reveal this history and forgives him, Morte becomes significantly stronger, his personal torment lessened.

Dak'kon

(voiced by Mitch Pileggi

Mitch Pileggi

Mitchell Craig "Mitch" Pileggi is an American actor. Pileggi is known for playing FBI assistant director Walter Skinner on the long-running popular series The X-Files. He also had a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis as Col. Steven Caldwell...

)

Dak'kon is a githzerai, one of the tight-lipped people of Limbo. His skin is yellow and lined; he appears to be old, and pain haunts his small black eyes. He carries a blade of strange metal.

A Githzerai zerth

Githzerai

The githzerai are a fictional race of creatures in the roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons.Githzerai are extraplanar humanoid creatures that reside on the Plane of Limbo.-Publication history:...

, Dak'kon is the last known wielder of a karach (chaos-matter) blade, which alters its shape, appearance, and abilities depending on the power and mental state of its owner/wielder. Unlike most githzerai, Dak'kon is lawful neutral. He is a capable wizard

Wizard (Dungeons & Dragons)

The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.-Creative origins:...

 and an even more capable warrior, making him a very valuable ally throughout the game as he can adapt to different situations easily, going into melee or casting spells, whichever the situation calls for. However, his coal-black eyes hold a deep, secret pain, one that weighs on his very soul.

Dak'kon can be acquired early in the game and is found in The Smoldering Corpse Bar. He joins immediately after The Nameless One first talks to him, though he does not at first reveal that he has known The Nameless One for many years.

Dak'kon carries with him the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon

Zerthimon

In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Zerthimon is the prophet-leader of a group of humanoids called the githzerai, cousins of the githyanki.-History:...

, a religious text inscribed on a series of interlocking stone plates that follows the life of Zerthimon. Dak'kon is only able to read a portion of the text, though it is possible for The Nameless One to unlock the remaining texts if his Wisdom statistic is high enough, which also dramatically improves Dak'kon's abilities. Dak'kon's dread is that Zerthimon was broken by the torture of the Illithid

Illithid

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, illithids are monstrous humanoid aberrations with psionic powers. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns and cities of the enormous Underdark...

s, and had never really escaped their control. This doubt led to the destruction of the fortress under Dak'kon's care and his subsequent discovery by The Nameless One's Practical Incarnation, who gave him the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon. It is later revealed that the circle was fabricated by the Practical Incarnation, in order to elicit Dak'kon's loyalty. His faith and will to live partially restored, Dak'kon swore to serve his savior until The Nameless One's "(life was) no more"(Githzerai are typically much longer lived than humans.) Not realizing that The Nameless One was immortal, this oath bound him in servitude to the immortal for eternity. Slavery is a serious cultural taboo among the Githzerai: Dak'kon is now a pariah among his people. Even telling Dak'kon that his debt is nullified does not free him: his own sense of honor won't allow it.

It is revealed that The Practical Incarnation rescued Dak'kon solely for the latter's "karach blade". Allegedly, such a weapon, in the hands of a wielder who knows himself, could be powerful enough to unmake the multiverse

Multiverse

The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...

.

In the book, loosely based upon the game's early script, Dak'kon's history with The Nameless One is much briefer and less tragic than in the game. Rather than having been exiled by his fellows, Dak'kon left willingly after betraying a close friend of his; when his friend deliberately went into a Githyanki colony nearby to cause trouble, Dak'kon surrendered him to avoid a war. Dak'kon of the book is also a member of the Believers of the Source, who originally encountered The Nameless One after being sent to observe him and see if he could be useful to their faith. It is Dak'kon who gave The Nameless One the name of Hra'ka'lothanek, the contraction of which -Thane- is used to address The Nameless One throughout the book.

Annah-of-the-Shadows

(voiced by Sheena Easton

Sheena Easton

Sheena Easton is a Scottish recording artist. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television programme The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.Easton rose to fame in the early 1980s with the pop...

)

Annah is a tiefling, a brash girl on the brink of womanhood. Her tail lashes when she's angry. She's a canny guttersnipe, and the Hive seems to be a second skin for her.

A brash, young tiefling

Tiefling

Tieflings are a fictional race in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy tabletop role-playing game.Tieflings were originally introduced as humans with demonic ancestry. A Tiefling is a being whose lineage can be traced back to some degree or another to that of a fiend or demon within the Dungeons &...

 (person with fiendish heritage; one of Annah's grandparents was a fiend

Fiend (Dungeons & Dragons)

Fiends is a term used in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game to refer to any malicious otherworldly creatures within the Dungeons & Dragons universe. These include various races of demons and devils that are of an evil alignment and hail from the Lower Planes...

) Annah is chaotic neutral. She appears mostly human except for her tail. A fighter and a thief, Annah was raised by Pharod to be a capable rogue, useful for tasks that his more ordinary underlings could not complete. Annah utilises punch-daggers (similar to Kataras (कटार)) and attacks her enemies when they least expect it. She has no tolerance for fools or the clueless, and she is quite skilled at heaping verbal abuse, heavily laden with Hive slang, on those who annoy her. She is somewhat superstitious, especially where the Lady of Pain

Lady of Pain

The Lady of Pain is the fictional protector of the city of Sigil in the Planescape campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game...

 is concerned. Annah is a very useful ally as she is able to scout ahead of the party for any potential threats and traps and she is able to deal an amazing amount of damage if she performs a back-stab, which is extremely useful before fighting a boss or some very powerful creature.

Although she can be found on the streets of Sigil very early in the game, The Nameless One only gets her in the party during the mid-portion of the game, where she will automatically join the party after completing a task for Pharod. Annah is a potential love interest for The Nameless One.

In the loosely based novelization of the game, Annah is similar in personality, but in many other aspects very different to her game incarnation. In the game, Annah's sole deformity is her tail. In the book, Annah is described as having beige skin, six functional fingers on each hand, thin black lips that barely frame her wide mouth, which is filled with a chaotic jumble of squared-off teeth and pointed fangs, white hair that covers her head like lamb's fleece in inch-thick curls, and slits of skin instead of ears. She also wears a tightly laced dark-purple bodysuit instead of the mis-matching scraps she wears in the game. She also differs by being a multi-classed Thief/Wizard instead of a Fighter/Thief and by going by the name of Annah rather than Annah-of-the-Shadows.

Ignus

(voiced by Charles Adler)

There is a burning man hovering in the air over a grille in the Smoldering Corpse Bar. His skin bubbles and chars, and flames pour from his tormented eyes, yet his expression is far away, almost as if he were reveling in the flames.

A pyromania

Pyromania

Pyromania in more extreme circumstances can be an impulse control disorder to deliberately start fires to relieve tension or for gratification or relief. The term pyromania comes from the Greek word πῦρ . Pyromania and pyromaniacs are distinct from arson, the pursuit of personal, monetary or...

cal mage, Ignus is chaotic neutral (due to his insanity

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...

). Ignus once attempted to burn down the Hive, and was only stopped by a collaboration of many local magic users, from minor hedge wizard

Hedge wizard

In fantasy literature, a hedge wizard or hedge magician is a wizard of low ability, generally self-taught or with a low education background as opposed to the common examples of being apprenticed to a mentor or studying though a structured educational system. Some fictional backgrounds identify...

s to mighty sorcerers. Furious at his mad killing spree, they converted him into a living conduit to the Elemental Plane of Fire as an ironic punishment. Such treatment would have instantly incinerated a normal mortal, but Ignus survived and thrived in his fiery condition. Stuck in a semi-coma and reveling in the never-ending flames coursing over his body, he was eventually made into a mascot for the Smoldering Corpse Bar. If Ignus is freed from his imprisonment, it is possible to recruit him into the party.

Dialogues with Ignus reveal that his original mentor of the magical arts was one of The Nameless One's previous incarnations, allegedly "one of the last great sorcerers." This incarnation was a brutal teacher who believed that suffering is a necessity for learning, and subjected the young Ignus to many torments in order to teach him to master fire. Though he seems to harbor some grudge towards the Nameless One for the pain he inflicted, Ignus still views the immortal as his master in some way, and can be persuaded to teach the Nameless One some of his fire spells. Ignus retains his old master's policy of suffering to learn, however: each teaching requires that Ignus burn part of The Nameless One's body. While The Nameless One will quickly regenerate these body parts, Ignus's power is such that this burning results in permanent hit point loss.

As the little flesh he has remaining is molten, Ignus is unable to equip or wear any kind of armor or tattoo

Tattoo

A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...

s, making him very vulnerable to brute and raw physical damage. However, his magic spells and attacks are unmatched and he has the surprisingly high constitution score of 18, allowing him to regenerate lost health, albeit at a slow rate. Naturally, Ignus is also immune to fire attacks and spells.

Near the very end of the game, if the player has acted mostly lawful and/or good throughout the story, The Nameless One will have to battle Ignus in the Fortress of Regrets.

Nordom Whistleklik

(voiced by Dan Castellaneta

Dan Castellaneta

Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...

)

This modron seems to be subtly different from the others you have seen. It carries a pair of crossbows in its four arms, and it seems to be taking an active interest in your behavior.

A Modron

Modron (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the fictional multiverse of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Modrons are mechanical looking creatures native to the outer plane of Mechanus. Modrons resemble geometric shapes with humanoid limbs and represent a living, physical manifestation of law without regard to good or evil...

 who went rogue (separated from the Modron hive mind

Group mind (science fiction)

A group mind, hive mind or group ego in science fiction is a single consciousness occupying many bodies. Its use in literature goes back at least as far as Olaf Stapledon's science fiction novel Last and First Men ....

) after being exposed to the raw elemental chaos of Limbo, Nordom is chaotic neutral. While separated from the group mind by elemental chaos, he remains a very logical, mechanical thinker. While often referred to as "he", Nordom is sexless. He got his name after The Nameless One inadvertently referred to him as a "backwards Modron." He attacks with a pair of gear spirits in the form of crossbow

Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...

s, making him one of only two in-game characters able to attack from a distance.

Unlike all the other Modrons in the game, who have a pair of arms, a pair of legs, and a pair of wings as their limbs, Nordom has chosen to replace his wings with a second set of arms, so that he can reload his crossbows unnaturally quickly. If the player has not armed Nordom with special crossbow bolts, the gear spirits can create an infinite number of ordinary bolts for Nordom to fire at his enemies. Nordom is a very confused creature, unused to his new individuality; he's not entirely certain what happened to him to split him away from Mechanus

Mechanus

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Mechanus, also known as The Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus is a purely lawful aligned plane of existence...

, but being given a role in The Nameless One's party comforts him and gives him focus, as he's used to being part of a hierarchy

Hierarchy

A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...

.

With the right attributes, the Nameless One can reprogram Nordom making him more powerful, not to mention less troubled. Nordom has occasional dialogue with Fall-From-Grace which seem to indicate an attraction to her. He has no experience with humanoid social cues, so he often misses the point of jokes or barbs by other party members. Nordom is an extremely flexible ally. Under proper direction from his superior (in this case The Nameless One), he can modify his body to become stronger, stealthier, and/or smarter. Furthermore, he has a wide array of lenses and crossbow bolts, each with many different abilities, allowing him to deal with different types of opponents with great effectiveness. However, these lenses and bolts are very rare and are only dropped by the Constructs that reside within the Modron Maze itself.

Nordom is sort of a secret character

Secret character

A secret character can be a player character or a non-player character in a video game that must be unlocked by completing a goal within the game...

, as players can play through the game without meeting him or even learning of his existence entirely, and the fact that he is in a somewhat hidden location only makes it harder to acquire him. He can be found in the maze of the Modron Cube, which is notoriously hard to navigate.

Fall-From-Grace

(voiced by Jennifer Hale

Jennifer Hale

Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-born American actress and singer best known for her voice over work in video games like Grandia II, the Mass Effect trilogy, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Tales of Symphonia, the Metroid Prime trilogy, the Metal Gear Solid games, Brütal Legend, and Disney's...

)

Fall-From-Grace is a succubus, one of the tanar'ri, a creature literally formed of raw chaos and evil, her body and mind the perfect template to tempt a man of any species, any age. She is the proprietress of the Brothel for Slating Intellectual Lusts.

One of hundreds of children, Fall-from-Grace was sold by her mother, Red Shroud, to the baatezu, the tanar'ri's mortal enemies. After suffering years of mental torture, she was able to trick her baatezu master and won herself her freedom.

Fall-From-Grace is a creature of contradictions. She is a cleric but worships no god. She is formed from pure chaos and evil, but is (apparently) lawful neutral with a good bent. She runs a Brothel

Brothel

Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

 for Slaking Intellectual Lusts (a typo in the game, seen above, has the name as "Slating"). Perhaps the oddest of all, she is a beautiful succubus

Succubus (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a succubus is a female demon. Under 4th edition rules, a succubus is a devil.-Publication history:The succubus is based on the succubi from Western medieval legend.-Dungeons & Dragons :...

, but is by all appearances chaste. While many in-game characters are quick to indicate her heritage and proclaim that she must have some sort of demonic and evil scheme, no such plot on her part is ever indicated. Although she can only inflict physical damage with her touch (due to the fact that she cannot stand the feel of metal and is, therefore, unable to utilize any sort of weapons), she can also kill with a kiss.

She is the only available healer, and a very powerful one at that, making her one of the most valuable allies The Nameless One can bring along in his party. Furthermore, she is the only party member, aside from The Nameless One, that is able to resurrect fallen party members. Unfortunately, many players found that the AI

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...

 governing her combat actions often led her to rush forward into combat to heal others, and thus expose herself to attack.

Fall-From-Grace can be found during the mid-game at her brothel in the Clerk's Ward. The Nameless One requires a relatively high amount of intelligence and charisma to convince Grace to leave her brothel to journey with him to the other planes. Grace is a member of the Society of Sensates and is also a potential love interest for The Nameless One. The quest is fulfilling from a roleplaying aspect, although the lethality of her kiss prevents a more physical relationship. (If The Nameless One's Wisdom is low enough, the player should have access to an option to kiss her during a dialog session after she joins the party. The results are predictably lethal).

Vhailor

(voiced by Keith David

Keith David

Keith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...

)

This suit of Mercykiller armor apparently has been standing here in the prison under Curst for some years. It has not been disturbed, which is strange, considering how very quick the people of Curst are to seek a profit.

A fanatical Mercykiller who is lawful neutral, Vhailor's drive for Justice is so strong that it enabled his soul to remain long after he had died and his corpse rotted completely away. He now inhabits his suit of armor and does not appear to recognize that he has died. He simply doesn't think about it - and why should he, when there are so many criminals in 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...

 to bring to justice? Vhailor's favored weapon is his executioner's axe

Axe

The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...

, "Final Judgement". It is a cursed weapon and cannot be removed from Vhailor, even if a "Remove Curse" spell is cast on him.

When he was alive, he tried to track down and bring to justice one of The Nameless One's incarnations. This incarnation, the Practical Incarnation (see above), sealed Vhailor in a magical prison in the gate town of Curst. When the current incarnation of The Nameless One (the player) meets Vhailor, Vhailor doesn't immediately recognize that the player is the killer he has been hunting. However, through a certain conversation path, The Nameless One can end up revealing to Vhailor that he is the killer that Vhailor has been tracking, ending with violent results. Other conversations allow The Nameless One to convince Vhailor to depart this realm and truly "die."

He is found relatively late in the game in a magically sealed prison cell located under Curst. Like Dak'kon, he can immediately join the party after conversing with him for the first time. Near the very end of the game, The Nameless One may battle Vhailor in the Fortress of Regrets if the player has been mostly chaotic and/or evil throughout the game, depending on his choices.

Ravel Puzzlewell

(voiced by Flo Di Re)

All the stories you heard about Ravel Puzzlewell prepared you for a loathsome monster who would devour your soul. If she intended that, though, she chose a strange way to go about it - she is undeniably insane, trapped in a black-barbed maze of thorns and evil. You can't help but pity her, despite her great power: She has lost everything and doesn't even know it.

One of the ladies of the Gray Waste, a night hag

Night hag (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the night hag is an outsider that comes from the Gray Waste of Hades. The night hag's relationship to other types of hags is unclear...

, she was the one who made the Nameless One immortal. She's well-known and feared throughout the planes. Many people come to ask boons of her, and are enslaved when they fail to answer her riddles. The Nameless One is the only known person who got the better of Ravel in this contest and, consequently, got his wish.

The most notable of her riddles is, "What can change the nature of a man?", a recurring theme throughout the game. Only The Nameless One's first incarnation could answer, partly because he gave Ravel not the answer she wanted, but the one he believed to be true, and partly because the first incarnation was able to make Ravel fall in love with him.

At the time of the game, Ravel had been "mazed" by the Lady of Pain: placed in a pocket dimension constructed from an unused section of Sigil. This was in retaliation for Ravel's attempt to destroy Sigil. It is revealed through conversation with her, however, that she discovered the way to leave the maze long, long ago, but actively chooses to remain.

There are hints that Ravel is still attracted to The Nameless One - one conversation path leads to her transforming into Fall-From-Grace or Annah whereupon she kisses him, and he can gain a powerful tattoo from this experience.

In the game, when The Nameless One encounters a portrait of her, he recovers a memory of himself experiencing a classic, macabre three wishes joke

Three wishes joke

The three wishes joke is a form of joke in which the protagonist is given three wishes by a supernatural being, and fails to make the best use of them...

.

Trias the Betrayer

(voiced by John de Lancie

John de Lancie

John de Lancie is an American actor. He has been active in screen and television roles since 1977, though he is best known for his recurring role as Q on the various Star Trek series and as Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1....

)

Trias is a deva, a celestial being from the Upper Planes. You first encountered him in the prison of Curst, imprisoned in an obsidian bubble. His beauty is astonishing to behold; the aura of goodness rolls from him like a glorious wave of light. His wings are charred down to the bone, yet he seems to bear his suffering with pride.

A fallen Deva who had some past dealings with the Nameless One. In the game, Trias and the Nameless One's paths cross only tangentially. Trias has obviously met the Nameless One before, and did feel the need to lie to him and use his strength to break free, but nothing of their past is revealed or even hinted at.

Although he is a Deva, Trias has the ability to lie

Lie

For other uses, see Lie A lie is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement, especially with the intention to deceive others....

. Since it is generally believed that Devas never lie, both The Nameless One and Fhjull ended up being tricked by Trias. His true name is Trias the Betrayer, and true to form, he uses the Nameless One to escape his prison in Curst and drive the entire border town of Curst into Carceri, the prison plane at its edge. Trias does, however, provide the Nameless One with some of the information he needs, which leads him to Avernus, the uppermost level of Baator, where the Pillar of Skulls waits. Later, it turns out that the Pillar of Skulls did not have the answer the Nameless One wanted, but Trias did, and so the Nameless One returns to a hellish Curst to confront the Deva and defeat him. If Vhailor is with the party, you are given no choice but to kill Trias. Otherwise, Trias can actually be "redeemed", though this could simply be another lie.

Pharod Wormhair

Pharod Wormhair is the Collector King of the Hive, a man crippled in body and spirit. His mind, however, seems to be as sharp as ever. He rules the Buried Village with an iron fist, keeping even that disorderly rabble in line. He is a sneak, a thief, and he seems to know far too much about you, though he does not reveal it without ... coaxing.

The "King of Rags" who rules a community of thieves, grave-robbers, and other desperate ne'er-do-wells beneath Ragpicker Square, and Annah's adoptive father (for whom she usually expresses, at best, ambivalent feelings - though she does care for him a great deal). The Nameless One seeks him out because the tattoos on his back advise him to. Once a man of nobility and influence, but dubious integrity, Pharod demands that The Nameless One retrieve a certain object, a Bronze Sphere, for him in exchange for information. Pharod believes that the Sphere will somehow enable him to avoid damnation

Damnation

Damnation is the concept of everlasting divine punishment and/or disgrace, especially the punishment for sin as threatened by God . A damned being "in damnation" is said to be either in Hell, or living in a state wherein they are divorced from Heaven and/or in a state of disgrace from God's favor...

 for his many sins. This, however, is a lie told to him by the Nameless One's Practical Incarnation for his own purposes: the Sphere cannot save Pharod, and is, in a sense, ironically responsible for his death: he is slain by the Shadows for associating with the Nameless One, appearing later in the game on the Pillar of Skulls: the final fate for those whose lies lead to the death of others.

Deionarra

(voiced by Jennifer Hale

Jennifer Hale

Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-born American actress and singer best known for her voice over work in video games like Grandia II, the Mass Effect trilogy, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Tales of Symphonia, the Metroid Prime trilogy, the Metal Gear Solid games, Brütal Legend, and Disney's...

)

The ghostly apparition, Deionarra, claims she knows you, that you are her "Love." Whatever keeps her on the physical plane must be powerful indeed for her to stave off death so long. Dying does not seem to have improved her disposition.

First encountered in the Mortuary early in the game, this female ghost is clearly embittered towards the Nameless One. In life, she had the ability to glimpse the future in visions, and fell deeply in love with the Nameless One's Practical Incarnation.

The Practical Incarnation was quick to use her devotion to convince her to follow him on his travels, making use of her prophetic dreams. She traveled with The Nameless One throughout the multiverse

Multiverse

The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...

, only to be left behind to die in the Fortress of Regrets. Now, as a ghost, she haunts the Fortress of Regrets and the Mortuary, lamenting the loss of her love. Only The Nameless One can actually see her, all the other characters seem to think he is talking to thin air whenever he converses with Deionarra. Having met the Practical Incarnation, and having the power of devoted love, she possesses valuable information and can prove very useful to the player.

Fell

Fell is a fallen dabus, a former servant of the Lady of Pain, and one of the few remaining priests of the dead god of portals, Aoskar. He has achieved some renown as a tattoo artist, somehow bringing his pictures to a kind of life. Simply return to Fell with tales of your exploits and he can sketch them on your skin, and allow you to draw strength from them.

A fallen dabus

Dabus

In the Dungeons & Dragons Planescape campaign setting, Dabus are the personal entourage of the Lady of Pain.-Publication history:...

 that is skilled in the art of tattooing. While most Dabus float slightly above the ground, Fell has been cursed to walk on the ground by the Lady of Pain for worshiping her "rival," 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:...

, God of portals. He provides certain insights and advice to those that are willing to risk the wrath of the Lady, as well as creating a variety of different enhancing tattoos as the game progresses (reflecting what The Nameless One experiences).

The Lady of Pain

The Lady is a mystery. She's widely regarded to be the de facto ruler of Sigil, its protector and its victim. She is said to guard the doors of the Cage against the myriad schemes of the gods, to be the ultimate expression of balance in the multiverse, to be the prisoner of the City of Doors. There are thousands of stories about her - one even tells that she's actually six giant squirrels with a headdress, robe, and ring of levitation and illusions - but none of them can be verified. She is a true enigma, a puzzle with no solution.

If someone displeases her - by upsetting the balance of the city or by worshiping her - the Lady may punish the offender. Her punishment ranges from the Mazes - a twisting, turning hell with a cleverly disguised exit - to the casting of her shadow across the transgressor, covering him with slashes and gouges from her sharp-edged shadow, leaving behind a pile of gore and viscera. Neither option is particularly attractive.

A very powerful being, many of the hive dwellers consider her to be a deity, but no one really worships her for fear of her wrath. No one knows how she came to be or what her true purpose is, but she helps in maintaining the balance within Sigil and throws defilers and denizens who anger her into one of her mazes. Often, she will only interfere when the very balance and stability of Sigil is threatened. While the clueless may dismiss the Hivers' fear of her as superstition, the informed know that she is quite real and extremely deadly. She is also known as Her Serenity, for the permanently vacant expression on her face, or simply as The Lady. She is only a lady insofar as she is characterized as female in her countenance. The Lady may as well be male or sexless, or such a type that traditional gender classification is impossible.

In-game, the Lady is often mentioned but will only appear if The Nameless One angers her. The first time he does so, the Nameless One will be sent to a Maze to which one of his previous incarnations was previously condemned (and which still holds some of his former possessions). On a second offense, she will destroy the Nameless One, overcoming his immortality and ending the game. There are only two actions that the Nameless One can take that will make her angry: praying to a small doll that looks like her, or agreeing to worship 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:...

.

Coaxmetal

A huge iron golem laboring away in the mysterious siege tower in the middle of Sigil, Coaxmetal is metal given life with an urge toward destruction. It is immense in size and its goal seems to be the creation of weaponry.

A giant Iron Golem serving the cosmic force of entropy

Entropy

Entropy is a thermodynamic property that can be used to determine the energy available for useful work in a thermodynamic process, such as in energy conversion devices, engines, or machines. Such devices can only be driven by convertible energy, and have a theoretical maximum efficiency when...

, he has caused so much madness and chaos across the Planes that the Lady of Pain imprisoned him in the confines of a siege tower. He is a very skilled blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

 who is able to create a range of very exotic weapons, even weapons which can kill otherwise immortal beings. He longs for his freedom and asks The Nameless One to help free him by giving him the Modron Cube (a small portal device). Coaxmetal's ultimate goal is absolute entropy, the complete lack of order, and he creates weapons to someday aid in a war against order across the planes.

The Pillar of Skulls

This disgusting mass of heads towers lonesome in the fiery wastes of Avernus, the first layer of Baator. Apparently, it is composed of the heads of liars and ill-meaning sages, a punishment for those who squandered the gift of knowledge. You have been told that the Pillar holds the answers to your mortality, the precious secret that has been driving you for these long years.

A grotesque pillar composed of the skulls of those whose lies lead to the deaths of others. With the combined knowledge of all its component heads, it is extremely intelligent and has some information that The Nameless One needs. It is willing to answer questions, but at a steep price. For his crimes, Pharod has long been destined to be part of the Pillar and Morte first came to the Nameless One when the Practical Incarnation pulled him from the mass of heads.

The Transcendent One

(voiced by Tony Jay

Tony Jay

Tony Jay was an English actor, voice actor and singer. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was known for his voice work in animation, film and computer games. Jay's distinctive baritone voice often landed him villainous roles...

)

This mysterious spectral entity is responsible for delivering the killing blow to Ravel during her last moments in the Black-Barbed Maze. Who this adversary is is unknown.

The Nameless One's mortality in a corporeal form. After it was separated from The Nameless One by Ravel's ritual (which "cursed" the Nameless One with immortality), it manifested into a physical being and evolved, growing in power and intellect. He and The Nameless One share a bond, and if either of them dies permanently, so shall the other. He later reveals that he sends out shadows after The Nameless One not to kill him, but rather to make him forget through his death, and therefore leave the Fortress of Regrets (and the Transcendent One himself) in peace once and for all. He believes that nothing can change the nature of a man. Also, unlike the Nameless One, the Transcendent One remembers the past lives that both shared - and retains all of the powers and skills gleaned from them.