The Nameless One
Encyclopedia
"The Nameless One" is a fictional
character from the Black Isle Studios
computer role-playing game, Planescape: Torment
and is the main protagonist of the story. The character was voiced by Michael T. Weiss
and created by game designer Chris Avellone
. The Nameless One is a heavily scarred immortal, who, when killed, may suffer severe memory loss
.
Planescape: Torment begins in medias res
, with the character awakening from his previous death experience, on a Mortuary slab in Sigil, without his memories. He sets out on a quest to regain his lost memories and discover why he is immortal and slowly learns about the varying personalities of his previous incarnations, and the influence they have had on the planes and the people that surround him. The character has an expansive back story, spanning thousands of years, through a multitude of incarnations, benevolent and evil.
The character has received universally positive reviews. Empireonline.com placed "The Nameless One" as 4th on a list of "The 50 Greatest Video Game characters".
.
In order to escape his punishment of being damned to an eternity in the Blood Wars and perhaps to atone for his crime, he sought the help of someone powerful enough to make him immortal, so that he could spend the rest of his life doing nothing but good. Morte, also trying to atone for his actions, directed him to the Gray Wastes, where he would find the night hag, Ravel Puzzlewell. The Nameless One travels to the Gray Wastes, to find the "Greatest of the Gray Sisters". Ravel tells him that he must pay for her services, and the Nameless One presents her with the challenge of answering the question: "What can change the nature of a man?". He manipulates her with the challenge of making him immortal and seduces her to bend her to his will. Ravel agreed and performed the ritual, out of love and succeeded in making the Nameless One immortal, but the ritual was flawed, for every time he died, he forgot his memories and became another person. Ravel, in order to perform the magic, split the Nameless One's essence in two, and stripped his mortality from him, which turned into "The Transcendent One". The Nameless One's immortality comes at the terrible price of suffering the torment of not bearing his mortality with him and he will pull tormented souls towards him because of it. In order to test that her spell had worked, Ravel stabbed the Nameless One to death and when he awoke, without his memories, she realised that she had not entirely succeeded in her spell.
From this point onwards, the Nameless One's many incarnations travelled the planes, trying to gather together information on who he was from the fragmented memory of past existences.
He awakes a second time, to find Ravel standing over him, and she asks him what his third wish will be, to which he asks "to know who he is" again, which Ravel grants and leaves telling him that "that was your first wish". Presumably, the incarnation spent the rest of his life haunted by his crimes until he died and forgot everything.
He kept very detailed notes in his journal and was the one to issue the tattouage of the instructions onto his own back so that future incarnations could more easily find out who they were. He was the one to trick Pharod into searching for the Bronze Sphere for himself, and imprisoned Vhailor in a cell, so that, in years to come, he could release Vhailor and exploit his abilities. He commissioned a dream machine from Xeno Xander and a portal to reach Ravel from the Godsmen, but was never able to make use of them. He attempted to thwart his hidden enemy, of whom he was forever suspicious. He tried creating false bodies, hiding on the Outer Planes and by building a tomb to trap him in, which he admits to have been disastrous.
In order to access the Fortress of Regrets, the Practical Incarnation enlisted help from companions. The Practical Incarnation used trickery and emotional manipulation to get them to follow him. He pried Morte from the Pillar of Skulls and forced him to do his will, he tricked Deionarra into loving him in order to get into the Fortress of Regrets, he enslaved Dak'kon, after saving him from certain death and enlisted the help of Xachariah, and forced him to sign a Death Contract with the Dustmen. No matter how cruel, none of the Practical Incarnation's companions ever entertained the thought of abandoning him. Xachariah was a blind archer, who could see by other means, and whose arrows always found his enemies' hearts. Once the Practical Incarnation had recruited Xachariah, he got him drunk and forced him to sign a Dead Contract with the Dustmen, which would mean that when he eventually died, he would be condemned to a lifetime of servitude as a zombie. Xachariah travelled with the Nameless One to the Fortress of Regrets, and was mortally wounded there. He took to drinking and died of his wounds soon after and, because of his contract, was assigned to Mortuary work as a zombie. The Practical Incarnation saved Dak'kon from certain death, and enslaved him to do his bidding.
character and a unique and diverse protagonist.
Gamespot.com, giving the game an "Editor's Choice" score of 9.0 out of 10, noted that "the Nameless One" was nothing like the conventional main character of an RPG: "Even Torment's protagonist, who is heavily scarred, entirely tattooed, and dressed in bones and animal hides, seems nothing like the usual role-playing game hero." Greg Kasavin of Gamespot also noted the diversity of the Nameless One's choices in dialogue: "... it's one of the few role-playing games to ever make good on the promise of letting you play your character however you prefer. Torment's dialogue often lets you choose to make promises, bluff, or play dumb; the game lets you perceive small details if your character is intelligent, understand philosophical implications if he's wise, and intimidate or charm if he's strong or charismatic. Your character's moral alignment and his affiliation with Sigil's different factions are openly flexible and have a noticeable impact on the course of the game." Kasavin also notes that the character's "perverse incapacity to permanently die" helps to maintain pacing. Gamespot also noted the possible changes of classes the character can go through, "your character can readily switch between fighter, thief, and magic-user classes and can rapidly advance to a high level of proficiency in any and all of these, which is justified within the game as not so much an acquiring of new skills as a remembrance of latent centuries-old talents."
Empireonline.com placed the character 4th on a list of "The 50 Greatest Video Game characters", stating that "if you're looking for one of the most original, inspired and fascinating characters since gaming began, then look no further than The Nameless One". The review summarised with "Rather than other RPGs of the era, which gave you a blank slate character to flesh out as you wanted, Torment's
strength was in the detail and richness of its protagonist, who remains one of the very best more than ten years on."
RPGFan said that "as a character, The Nameless One exceeds every video game protagonist to date." Another review from RPGFan noted the diversity of the game: "Want to play the noble, yet tortured hero? The sarcastic and reluctant adventurer? The selfish scumbag? You can do all of those."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
character from the Black Isle Studios
Black Isle Studios
Black Isle Studios was a division of the computer and video game developer and publisher Interplay Entertainment. Black Isle Studios was a division that developed computer role-playing games, and also published several games from other developers. It was based in Orange County, California, USA. The...
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...
and is the main protagonist of the story. The character was 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...
and created by game designer Chris Avellone
Chris Avellone
Chris Avellone is an American video game designer and comic book writer who worked for Interplay and currently works in Obsidian Entertainment.-Early life and education:...
. The Nameless One is a heavily scarred immortal, who, when killed, may suffer severe memory loss
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
.
Planescape: Torment begins in medias res
In medias res
In medias res or medias in res is a Latin phrase denoting the literary and artistic narrative technique wherein the relation of a story begins either at the mid-point or at the conclusion, rather than at the beginning In medias res or medias in res (into the middle of things) is a Latin phrase...
, with the character awakening from his previous death experience, on a Mortuary slab in Sigil, without his memories. He sets out on a quest to regain his lost memories and discover why he is immortal and slowly learns about the varying personalities of his previous incarnations, and the influence they have had on the planes and the people that surround him. The character has an expansive back story, spanning thousands of years, through a multitude of incarnations, benevolent and evil.
The character has received universally positive reviews. Empireonline.com placed "The Nameless One" as 4th on a list of "The 50 Greatest Video Game characters".
Early history
The Nameless One's origins have been lost through time and as a result his history is shrouded in mystery. The Nameless One was once human. He sought the advice of a man named Morte, who ended up tricking him into committing the most terrible crime imaginable, even though the crime itself is unknown, save the implication that the planes are still slowly dying because of it. At the same time, The Nameless One was contracted to a lifetime of servitude in the Blood WarBlood 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...
.
In order to escape his punishment of being damned to an eternity in the Blood Wars and perhaps to atone for his crime, he sought the help of someone powerful enough to make him immortal, so that he could spend the rest of his life doing nothing but good. Morte, also trying to atone for his actions, directed him to the Gray Wastes, where he would find the night hag, Ravel Puzzlewell. The Nameless One travels to the Gray Wastes, to find the "Greatest of the Gray Sisters". Ravel tells him that he must pay for her services, and the Nameless One presents her with the challenge of answering the question: "What can change the nature of a man?". He manipulates her with the challenge of making him immortal and seduces her to bend her to his will. Ravel agreed and performed the ritual, out of love and succeeded in making the Nameless One immortal, but the ritual was flawed, for every time he died, he forgot his memories and became another person. Ravel, in order to perform the magic, split the Nameless One's essence in two, and stripped his mortality from him, which turned into "The Transcendent One". The Nameless One's immortality comes at the terrible price of suffering the torment of not bearing his mortality with him and he will pull tormented souls towards him because of it. In order to test that her spell had worked, Ravel stabbed the Nameless One to death and when he awoke, without his memories, she realised that she had not entirely succeeded in her spell.
From this point onwards, the Nameless One's many incarnations travelled the planes, trying to gather together information on who he was from the fragmented memory of past existences.
The Second Incarnation
The story of what happens after the Nameless One's mortality is stripped from him is told by Yves the Tale-Chaser. The Nameless One awakes from his "death", without his memories and is offered three wishes by Ravel Puzzlewell. Not knowing himself, the Nameless One asks "to know who he is", Ravel grants him his wish, but the truth of his crimes to the planes causes him so much pain that he asks Ravel immediately to make his second wish be to make him forget everything.He awakes a second time, to find Ravel standing over him, and she asks him what his third wish will be, to which he asks "to know who he is" again, which Ravel grants and leaves telling him that "that was your first wish". Presumably, the incarnation spent the rest of his life haunted by his crimes until he died and forgot everything.
The Practical Incarnation
The "Practical Incarnation" was the incarnation whom came closest to defeating the Transcendent One. He was cold, ruthless and incredibly intelligent. He was always tense, suspicious and watchful of enemies. He was incredibly ruthless and a force to be reckoned with, Xachariah notes that "there was no denying that anybody who messed with you [The Practical Incarnation] ended up in the black chapters of the dead book.".He kept very detailed notes in his journal and was the one to issue the tattouage of the instructions onto his own back so that future incarnations could more easily find out who they were. He was the one to trick Pharod into searching for the Bronze Sphere for himself, and imprisoned Vhailor in a cell, so that, in years to come, he could release Vhailor and exploit his abilities. He commissioned a dream machine from Xeno Xander and a portal to reach Ravel from the Godsmen, but was never able to make use of them. He attempted to thwart his hidden enemy, of whom he was forever suspicious. He tried creating false bodies, hiding on the Outer Planes and by building a tomb to trap him in, which he admits to have been disastrous.
In order to access the Fortress of Regrets, the Practical Incarnation enlisted help from companions. The Practical Incarnation used trickery and emotional manipulation to get them to follow him. He pried Morte from the Pillar of Skulls and forced him to do his will, he tricked Deionarra into loving him in order to get into the Fortress of Regrets, he enslaved Dak'kon, after saving him from certain death and enlisted the help of Xachariah, and forced him to sign a Death Contract with the Dustmen. No matter how cruel, none of the Practical Incarnation's companions ever entertained the thought of abandoning him. Xachariah was a blind archer, who could see by other means, and whose arrows always found his enemies' hearts. Once the Practical Incarnation had recruited Xachariah, he got him drunk and forced him to sign a Dead Contract with the Dustmen, which would mean that when he eventually died, he would be condemned to a lifetime of servitude as a zombie. Xachariah travelled with the Nameless One to the Fortress of Regrets, and was mortally wounded there. He took to drinking and died of his wounds soon after and, because of his contract, was assigned to Mortuary work as a zombie. The Practical Incarnation saved Dak'kon from certain death, and enslaved him to do his bidding.
Reception
The Nameless One has received overwhelmingly positive reviews, being praised as an unorthodox role-playing gameRole-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
character and a unique and diverse protagonist.
Gamespot.com, giving the game an "Editor's Choice" score of 9.0 out of 10, noted that "the Nameless One" was nothing like the conventional main character of an RPG: "Even Torment's protagonist, who is heavily scarred, entirely tattooed, and dressed in bones and animal hides, seems nothing like the usual role-playing game hero." Greg Kasavin of Gamespot also noted the diversity of the Nameless One's choices in dialogue: "... it's one of the few role-playing games to ever make good on the promise of letting you play your character however you prefer. Torment's dialogue often lets you choose to make promises, bluff, or play dumb; the game lets you perceive small details if your character is intelligent, understand philosophical implications if he's wise, and intimidate or charm if he's strong or charismatic. Your character's moral alignment and his affiliation with Sigil's different factions are openly flexible and have a noticeable impact on the course of the game." Kasavin also notes that the character's "perverse incapacity to permanently die" helps to maintain pacing. Gamespot also noted the possible changes of classes the character can go through, "your character can readily switch between fighter, thief, and magic-user classes and can rapidly advance to a high level of proficiency in any and all of these, which is justified within the game as not so much an acquiring of new skills as a remembrance of latent centuries-old talents."
Empireonline.com placed the character 4th on a list of "The 50 Greatest Video Game characters", stating that "if you're looking for one of the most original, inspired and fascinating characters since gaming began, then look no further than The Nameless One". The review summarised with "Rather than other RPGs of the era, which gave you a blank slate character to flesh out as you wanted, Torment's
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...
strength was in the detail and richness of its protagonist, who remains one of the very best more than ten years on."
RPGFan said that "as a character, The Nameless One exceeds every video game protagonist to date." Another review from RPGFan noted the diversity of the game: "Want to play the noble, yet tortured hero? The sarcastic and reluctant adventurer? The selfish scumbag? You can do all of those."