What can change the nature of a man? Let's Play Planescape: Torment!

Knowing Soego is a rat - literally - is likely bad news for the Dead Nations. As Soego's a Dustman under a Dead Contract, they literally cannot harm him as long as he causes them no direct harm. It's an ingenious plan; I wonder if this Many-As-One planned it as such from the beginning?

I decide to talk to Soego first. Maybe I can help him before this escalates.


CHAPTER 4: WHAT LIES BENEATH, PART 3

Where we find water, rotten custard, and death (in that order).

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The Dustman literally bursts out of his robes, as he completes the quick and messy change into his wererat form. So much for helping him anywhere but a quick grave.



Dak'kon immediately draws his blade, while Morte... Morte kind of just shakes in a kind of shiver of disgust. Were-creatures are not pretty to watch transform.



Despite his new strength, Soego is no match for Dak'kon's Karach blade. He quickly succumbs, and as he dies he transfers back to his human form... with a smile on his face?



I cut his head off for proof for both Hargrimm and the Dustman above who were looking for him. I get the sense that he found himself trapped in an impossible situation, pressed between his fear for his life, and his devotion to his faction.

I seek out the dead priest to deliver the news, and perhaps bargain for a way out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor Killing Soego nudges Dak'kon into his fifth level of mage, which gives him access to level 3 spells. I really need to teach him some attack ones; the Githzerai ones are okay but not really suited to my murder-hobo style.

For those in the city above, cranium rats are a nuisance. Down here, they've actively gathered to destroy the undead, so despite the relatively simple tasks I suspect it will curry some amount of favour with the Silent King.



We do indeed find a small pack of rats in a hallway near the cathedral. I send Morte in to distract them, if for no reason than that he is mostly immune to the Ice Dagger spells the pack casts.



Then I send in the swarm.



Once the bugs are finished with them, Morte and Dak'kon clean up with ease, their numbers reduced to a degree that prevents them from being very threatening.

I collect their tails, and return to Hargrimm.




I wait about an hour for Hargrimm to return from his conference with 'his majesty', and spend it asking about my next destination. Deeper inside this place is an area filled with stale water. Morte says that probably indicates that a portal to the Elemental Plane of Water rests here, which makes about as much sense to me as anything he normally says. If the bronze sphere I seek is not here in the Dead Nations, perhaps I shall find it there.

I am heartened that the priest returns with good news:



I resolve to leave immediately; I fear walking amongst the dead hits a bit too close to home for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor One thing I totally forgot to screenshot: some of you might remember that a collector in the Buried Village was asking us to keep an eye out for a ghoul that had his knife. This is the ghoul. You can trade the knife from him by giving him something to eat. Luckily, that thing is not us, but six cranium rat tails (which you should have plenty of by this point). It's a pretty simple quest that carries a pretty good reward for the effort, so there's no reason not to do it.

To the left of the entrance we came through lies a door that leads to what is referred to as the "Drowned Nations".



The skeletons I talked to told em that the ghouls mostly hunt down here, but not to worry: without the Silent King's permission, they shouldn't attack.
Probably.



As I enter, I see several ghouls lazing about. They all turn their heads as we enter, and I'm pretty sure I hear on of them hiss, but they make no sudden movements. They apparently recognize us from above.

I briefly chat with one.



I decide to search for this damned sphere and get the hell out before they "forget" that I'm under protection (and especially before they find out my 'meat' tends to grow back).

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor The Drowned Nations is a fairly short area; you're pretty much here for three things. If you chose the work with the cranium rats, they have an entrance into here, but I think in that case you'll have to fight the ghouls (who are tough, but not impossibly so). The way we're doing it simply skips the Warrens of Thoughts entirely, which is generally the smart move. I found the following treasure as I wandered around: Enchanted Hammer +1 Gold Ring Bandages x7 Bronze Ring 442 Copper Commons Copper Bracelet Tarnished Silver Bracelet Needle and Thread x2 Heart Charm x1

It comes as no surprise that the Ghoul's 'larder' is mostly live meat. We encounter a sizable lizard, who hisses at us as we approach.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor Trocopotaca are kind of a strange choice for this game; essentially giant crocodiles, they're actually not native to any Planescape material. I'm not 100% sure whether they existed before Torment. Granted, to my knowledge nothing like the Buried Village/Dead Nations exists in the official Planescape material either. It's neat tho.

As we rush to engage, a group of ghouls jump out at join in the frenzy. The difference of course, is that Dak'kon stops attacking when the beast stops moving while the ghouls begin feasting in a disgusting display.

As we press on, it appears that some of the ghouls have eyes larger than their mouths have the capacity to defend themselves with.



Of course, it's little to no skin off our backs when the vargouilles focus their attacks on the undead, allowing us to stab them from behind.



One of the ghouls falls, but his friend doesn't seem to mind. In fact, as we leave I think I see her sizing her partner up for a meal. Ghouls, sheesh.



Further in, we can see a body with a few choice bites in him. The whole set up screams trap, so I send Morte in first.



A dozen Vargouilles swoop down from the ceiling, surrounding not just Morte but us as well. Clever bastards.



I tell Dak'kon to rush in with Morte. There might be a dozen of them...



But I've got several thousand allies on my side.



It's still a fierce battle, since the swarm alone cannot kill them outright like they can with cranium rats, but it softens them all up for the three of us to begin hacking them down.



Eventually their numbers fall to such a degree that they begin to panic. It is a simple task from there.



As Dak'kon kicks his way out of the pile of corpses he's found himself in, I make some large steps over them to an overturned bottle that appears to be leaking, despite being on its side.



A quick examination of it indicates that this is the decanter that the weeping stone was asking about. I wonder if it might also help extinguish the fires that consume the flaming man in that Hive Tavern above, but even turning it upside down does not seem to produce much more than a slow trickle. I will likely need to investigate this flask some more; hopefully the stone will have answers.



We find several boxes that are locked, but Dak'kon's strength is not enough to pry them open.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor Some of these boxes contain a few magical weapons that you can sell. It's not a huge deal given the abnormal amount of thugs I killed on the streets of Sigil.

Several more groups of vargouilles stand between us and the end of the last cavern. We find a small group chewing on the corpse of one of those giant lizards. We don't have the ghouls this time to distract them, but they can't seem to decide between the dead meal and the new one that showed up, so we get to take on only half of them at any one time.



Another group ambushes us (again) as we engage a wounded Trocopotaca.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor We don't really have a way of getting off damage-free with this one. Both Morte (despite his damage resistance) and Dak'kon lose about half their hit points in the assault.

Bruised, but still swinging, the only other opposition is a pair of giant lizards at the end of the collapsed tunnel. I smell the faint whiff of rotten custard emanating from a collector body they were feeding on...



Sure enough, I find the cursed orb that Pharod is looking for on the corpse.



It is a disgusting thing. But I've got it now, and hopefully with it, the answers I seek.



As I turn to leave however, I get the sense that... something else important lies nearby. A sealed passageway lies nearby, that appears... familiar to me. Despite the heavy material and rust the now comprised the door, it easily opens as I push against it.



Dak'kon and Morte simply stand off the side. Were it not for the absurdity of the situation, I might find their lack of concern a bit strange.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor (Sort of) IMPORTANT: you'll want the Nameless One to have a bunch of free space in his inventory, so drop off his junk on Morte and Dak'kon before you go. You'll want at *least* 8 free spaces, with more if you can spare them. Worst case, just dump some junk on the ground before you enter; you can pick it up again afterwards.

Inside, I am greeted with a finely crafted tomb, complete with a door that shuts and seals itself as I enter.

I feel like this tomb is... for me.





I take a few steps forward when... I scream as a thin bolt of lightning rips through my body. The pain is only momentary, but I take it as a warning that stepping on these giant silver symbols on the floor is a bad idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor There are traps all over the Tomb, albeit most aren't that bad. And as we'll see, some are necessary to progress! In a neat bit of design, this trap is designed to show you that these symbols will indeed hurt you.

I take a quick look around the room before moving past the symbol. I see the remains of a few bodies here; grave-robbers perhaps? I shall have to keep on my toes if I wish to be successful.



I step around the giant symbol, and head deeper in. Ahead, I see a room with a giant sarcophagus. As I step into the room however...



... I find myself teleported somewhere else. "What the hell just happened?", I say out loud. To my left, I can see another way into the room I was *trying* to move into. I decide to do some exploring here... once again avoiding the giant symbol on the floor.



Another sarcophagus awaits. It is empty save for a strange looking key. It has an ornate handle, but no 'teeth' that one would find on a normal key.



I dodge an ice knife trap as I search some of the bodies nearby. One carries a strange pipe that has the whiff of conjuration magic (along with some foul-smelling tobacco). I will need to examine it more later.



With the key in hand - I figure it might be needed to bypass the teleportation trap - I move past the symbol, and into the middle room.



I do not make it very far before I'm shunted out again, back to the room where I found the key.

Blast it!

I pace around the room for about twenty minutes, looking for another exit, but come up short. Dropping the key does not deactivate the teleportation trap either. A horrifying thought crosses my mind:

What if...

... what if I'm right, and this place was built so that someone like me could only access it?

Someone who finds death a... temporary setback. I make some last minute scribbles in my journal. I am unsure whether I will retain my memories when I awake.



I grit my teeth knowing that right or wrong, this is going to sting.

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I gasp for air as I gain consciousness, choking on a mix of stale air and panic.

The soft light in the room illuminates some kind of temple. Or tomb?

I slowly stand up off the tiled floor I awoke on. Every muscle in my body feels stiff, and my limbs feel unusually warm, yet slightly numb. This place looks like it was built for some big shot.

I shake a bit once on my feet, but maintain my balance. I don't know where I am. My head hurts, as if a portion of my brain was ripped out. Everything looks unfamiliar. Everything.

I look through my possessions; I find a journal written on what looks like tattered rags, and some sort of strange book with arcane writing inside. I begin to read and...

... the memories return. Mostly. I'm at the entrance to a tomb. *My* tomb. I possess a key. I am looking for myself.

I spend about 15 minutes browsing through the journal, and finding my center. I'm okay. I've got more of this tomb to explore. My journal notes that I should avoid the symbols, unless there is no way forward to proceed.



If I remember correctly, the last time I stepped through this hallway, I was teleported somewhere else.



The result this time is no different. According to my notes, this is somewhere new.



I find a second key - this one with a slightly different handle - nearby.

After a bit of searching, I know how this must go.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor One of the weird quirks of the Torment engine is that the various graphical layers don't always screenshot right. It was particularly an issue on my laptop (you might have noticed more battle screenshots this update; that's because units are not constantly disappearing from the screenshots I take), but it's somewhat uncommon on my PC. It's not entirely a boon - these screenshots take longer to edit - but it's something good out of tragedy. I normally try and be diligent at getting a good shot, but this time, I messed up. Whoops!

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About three hours later...


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... for the third time. I tuck the two keys in my belt and begin searching for what I assume to be the third.



I find it nearby, as I step around the symbol. According to my journal, I think I understand how this needs to go down.

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About four hours later...


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Despite what my journal says, I have no problem stepping into the middle room. Inside is a giant sarcophagus that appears to be mechanically locked. Around the room are several slabs with writing on them. I have the feeling I've written them, and that they're meant for *me.*




With having freshly died not too long ago, these slabs help trigger some memories of the last few days that help fill in the blanks that skimming my journal couldn't. I'm looking to try and find out who I am, and why I'm seemingly immortal.

I read each of them in turn, pushing the panels as I go:

Quote:

Originally Posted by TABLET 2 So they said - You have been divided. You are one of many men. You bear many names, and each has left their scars on your flesh. LOST ONE... IMMORTAL ONE... INCARNATION'S END... MAN OF A THOUSAND DEATHS... THE ONE DOOMED TO LIFE... RESTLESS ONE... ONE OF MANY... THE ONE WHOM LIFE HOLDS PRISONER... THE BRINGER OF SHADOWS... THE WOUNDED ONE... MISERY-BRINGER... YEMETH... I grow weary.

The ghostly lady... Dieonnara? She said she did not know how many times I had died, how many lives I had lived. I was hoping perhaps for a dozen. Perhaps I was underestimating my age a little.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TABLET 3 There is nothing that can be done. Memories are gone, perhaps never to return. With every death I lose a part of me. How can one be immortal and still die? He told me that my mind is weakening with every death. I asked him how this could be, but he could not answer. He was of no use. I butchered him so that no other incarnation would ever benefit from his uselessness.

This... this does not sound like a man I would like to meet. Yet it is me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TABLET 4 I have lost lifetimes because of my killer. I cannot deceive him, so I must kill him. I tried to throw him off the scent. I left false bodies, tailored in such a way to placate him. I roamed the most outer planes, hoping to use distance as a shield. I built this tomb filled with traps to try and kill the killer. I hid. All I bought was time. The attacks inevitably begin again, with more fury than before. Deceptions are useless. Somehow, the killer always knows that I live. And no matter where on the planes I hide, he finds me... eventually.

I am being chased? And this tomb was an attempt to catch my killer?

That it did not stop him, when I had to die three times to get in here, disturbs me greatly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TABLET 5 I suspect that we will continue to die and be reborn until we finally get our life *right*. I do not know what we have to do to bring that about, though. And therein lies the frustration. Is it some sort of karmic cycle? As I gather, some incarnations have committed terrible crimes but also have been a number of incarnations where we have labored to do nothing but good. Are these incarnations intended as punishment? I don't know. And that is the only real truth I can offer in these carvings: I do not know. At what point does the *I* get separated from the *we*? At what point am I freed of the shackles of the actions of these other incarnations? At what point am I allowed to be *me*, without the weight of these past lives?

Weighty philosophical questions. From what little I remember (and I am relying on a lot of what a past version of myself wrote for quite a bit of my "memory"), some of my past incarnations must have been terrible indeed. I suspect it is not a question about whether I should be punished by my history, but when.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TABLET 6 It is extremely important to record your journeys so that you might learn from them. The greater need, however, is that the sources of information you use to uncover this mystery need to be protected when they are found. If key figures, documents or oracles are somehow removed, either by death or destruction, then you will never know who or what you are or how you came to be this way.

I never thought about the fact that I will likely *outlive* all those who could help me. I start mentally trying to figure out places and people I can trust to store such sensitive information. Mebbeth's perhaps? Maybe with Marta? My notes indicate they were most helpful.

The next inscription matches a passage that (according to my journal) is written in ink on my back. I apparently had Morte - the mimir - read it to me the last time I woke up in the Mortuary. I compare the two texts for differences.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TABLET 7 I know that you feel like you've been drinking a few kegs of Styx wash, but you need to CENTER yourself. Among your possessions is a JOURNAL that'll shed some light on the dark of the matter. PHAROD can fill you in on the rest of the chant, if he's not in the dead-book already. Don't lose the journal or we'll be up the Styx again. And whatever you do, DO NOT tell anyone WHO you are or WHAT happens to you, or they'll put you on a quick pilgrimage to the crematorium. Do what I tell you: READ the journal, then FIND Pharod.

I have not found the journal, but I suspect I've recently found Pharod. There is one final bit at the end that disturbs me, that Morte had not mentioned:

Quote:

Don't trust the skull.

What does that mean? I will have to question this Morte.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TABLET 8 What little life there is in the world is draining out this hole in my body. The world can burn, the planes can burn, just give me life! I will destroy this life so badly, break it, smash it, and stain it in blood and feces, so you cannot live it either! Let all creation burn for I cannot die!

I dismiss this last tablet as the work of one of my more... unstable... incarnations. I push the last button in and turn towards the sarcophagus.




A fourth key, to join the other three I share. Need I murder myself again to escape? I see no symbol - like the ones drawn in my journal - in here.

As I step out through the south passage...



... I find myself teleported somewhere new. It's a small, cramped space, with a large chest in the middle.



Inside is a bevy of magical items. I collect them all, suppressing a grin. The information, I suspect, was worth dying for, but these items I shall treat as a handsome bonus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor Let's see what goodies we've found! Aside from two common items (a Corpse Fly Charm and a Heart Charm), we find the following: First is a simple battle axe. This might be useful if you're a fighter, as this is likely the first magical axe you'll come across. Otherwise, it's destined to be sold as vendor trash. A new attack spell! Ax of Torment is a decent level 3 damage spell that does heavy damage to a single target: Quote: Originally Posted by AX OF TORMENT Range: 50 feet Duration: Instant / Special Speed: 3 Area of Effect: 1 Creature Saving Throw: Negates. As if from the depths of Baator, Torment shall be brought upon your enemies, and with time, its strength will only grow. Effect: This spell summons a mystical giant Battle Ax. The Ax strikes a specified individual target for 1-8 points of damage. In addition, as a final blow, the Ax will cause a magical effect to occur (at random): (1) Suffer an additional 1-8 points of damage; (2) 2-16 points of damage; (3) Paralyzed for 5-15 seconds. At level 9+, the following new effects can occur: (4) 5-40 points of Fire damage; (5) 6-48 points of Ice damage; (6) Randomly teleported 1-100 yards away; (7) Turned to stone; or (8) 6-64 points of pure damage. "While not reliable, once the Nameless One reaches level 9, this can be a good spell in a pinch to quickly take out an enemy. It's competing with Elysium's Tears at this level, an attack that deals more reliable damage (and with no saving throw), so use it up until the point that you get that spell. - The Editor This is a decent item to throw in Dak'kon or Morte's quick slot for a quick Strength boost. It's no good for the Nameless One however. Note that (like the Strength spell) you can't bring anyone above 21 strength. It's a single-use item too, so it's not spectacular. This is both the prize gem of the stash, and incredibly frustrating. BEGIN RANT. Now, I'm not one of those people who really thinks that alignment is the be-all and end-all of a character. People tend to lean one way or the other, but I think it's more important to play the character how you think they should be played, rather than how the alignment you picked says. In the Baldur's Gate series, there were absolutely some items that required a particular alignment, but the stat-boosting items were all neutral; they didn't care how you found a Tome of Wisdom (or whatever). You could use it. This item, however, is unusable except by Lawful Good characters. The only character that can become Lawful Good in the game is the Nameless One. And see, this wouldn't bother me if there were other stat-boosters in the game that were alignment specific. Like, perhaps a strength-boosting item required being chaotic evil, an intelligence-boosting one required being lawful-evil, a dexterity-boosting one required being chaotic good, etc. But this isn't the case. This is really the only item in the game that says "you miss out if you play the game anyway but as a boy scout". My preference is to say "screw that" and use an editor to give the Nameless One a +1 boost to his Constitution, because mixing alignment with such powerful items (without giving other alignments their own stat booster) is stupid. But I'll put it up to a vote.

Items in hand, a portal opens up that leads out of this deathtrap.



I step back through to the companions my journal noted, and more memories flood back in. Morte is the wise-ass, and Dak'kon is the Githzerai undergoing a small crisis of faith. I have a, er, bone to pick with Morte over the slab I read inside...




I better keep a closer eye on Morte. If my journal didn't indicate that I had reason to be suspicious of his motives before, I definitely do now.

Before returning to Pharod, I make a quick stop off in the crypt to see Glyve, the weeping stone. My jounral indicates that he wished for some of the water from the Decanter I found, and my journal says he believes he can help me unlock its full potential.




I pen Nemelle's name and something about the Clerk's Ward in my journal. Perhaps with her help, I can aid Ingus, the burning man in the tavern I've read about?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor The experience I get for helping the Weeping Stone brings the Nameless One to level 8, giving us an additional point of Constitution and another level 4 spell slot. It also lets me identify this item without using a spell. Cloudkill is a powerful spell that you may have abused to help kill dragons and the like in Baldur's Gate. It's still really good here too. This is a one-shot item, but you usually don't need more than one.

We take out leave of this crypt, hopefully never to return.




One quick stop to make before I meet with Pharod about my reward.




The copper he paid is likely what I would have gotten for the cranium rat tails I traded for it. Not a huge windfall by any stretch, but I'll take it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Editor I would comment that returning a knife that we got for a few rat tails is worth the same amount of experience as giving a sentient piece of stone a taste from a Decanter of Endless Water, but honestly, some of these experience rewards are going to become outright obscene as we progress.

Pharod's guard wave us in as we approach. I study my notes for a final time before we go to speak with him; I wish to be as prepared as I can, and not give off the sense that I'm meeting him for what - in many ways - is the first time.



The old man is as my journal describes. A wide smile crosses his face as he sees me.



I ponder his words. Have he (or I) done something so dire in the past that he must demand I should not harm him for his information? Or is this just a ploy for him to get my off-guard, and stop me from asking too many questions?

Quote:

Three votes here, the first is about how we'll treat Pharod. There are a few ways this can go down, so multiple options ahoy! PLEASE mark the one that is most important to you, as that one will determine vote weight factors. Do we... 1) Agree to his demands; you won't harm him (More Lawful) 2) Say you won't harm him, but maybe he deserves a thrashing if his info is bad (More Chaotic) 3) Tell him to just spit it out. (Neutral) ... and ... 1) Treat him with kid gloves; one of our past incarnations probably hurt him bad (More Good) 2) If threatening him for what he knows is what it takes, it's what it takes (More Evil) 3) I don't think we should worry about what happened in the past (Neutral) Finally, in regards to the Tear of Salieru-Dei (the +1 Constitution item that only works for Lawful Good characters), we should... 1) Throw it away. Cheating is not sporting! Pretend you left it in case you come back here as a future incarnation (More Lawful) 2) Open up the editor and give yourself +1 Con. It's only fair! (More Chaotic) So as a voting example: 1) More lawful 2) More Evil (<-- stressing this one as most important) 3) Let's use it! (more chaotic) Happy Voting!