Introduction
Planescape: Torment is a brilliant fantasy CRPG set in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Planescape multiverse. You play The Nameless One (TNO), a being who awakens on a cold metal slab in a surreal mortuary with no memory of who he is.
Tips & Advice
Apply the latest patch before you begin — it fixes numerous bugs and the game-slowing issue that occurs after an hour's play.
TNO begins as a Fighter but can switch classes to Thief or Mage by conversing with NPCs. Avoid constantly switching classes — XP only accrues for your current class, and diluting it across multiple classes leaves you proficient in nothing. Choose your preferred role early and stick with it.
When creating your character, spread stats somewhat evenly. Intelligence (INT) gives more conversation choices, Wisdom (WIS) helps regain memories and gives XP bonuses (roughly 20% at WIS 20, 35% at WIS 25), and Dexterity (DEX) lowers your Armor Class. Don't max any single stat above 15 at creation — you gain 1 point per level-up to correct imbalances.
Talk to every character with a blue circle when you cursor over them, especially zombie workers in the Mortuary. This is the primary way to discover things and get quests. Turn off Party AI — your Priests will otherwise constantly rush into combat to heal minor scratches. Use the spacebar to pause combat at any time and issue orders.
When a new party member joins, talk to them about everything immediately. You learn new things and sometimes gain valuable items. Keep Fighters up front and Mages in the back.
To identify items efficiently: wait until you have at least six items to identify, group them in one party member's inventory, put a Charm of Infinite Recall in their quick item slot, and activate it. All items in their inventory are instantly identified.
Stolen goods cannot be sold to merchants. Don't steal anything you won't use.
The Mortuary
2nd Floor
Morte, the skull, is hovering near you when you wake. There's writing on your back — you need to find a man called Pharod and your journal. Get the Scalpel and Bandages from the tables in the north, arm yourself with the Scalpel, then attack the southernmost zombie to get a key. Head through the NW door (the key is consumed — normal game behavior).
In the next key room: pick up the Fist Irons, the Receiving Room Logbook, and some copper. Speak to zombie worker #1201 — notice something in his mouth, cut it out for 250 XP. Fold the Note's corners (upper right, lower right, upper left, upper right again) to get a Triangle Earring for 250 XP more. Chat with Dhall the scribe — he apparently tore out the last Logbook page to protect you from cremation. Use his name to dismiss Dustmen who question you.
Proceed clockwise around the 2nd floor. Get the Receiving Log Page from zombie #1664 — entry #16539 looks like it's yours. You need a Copper Earring and zombie #79. From the room at 2 o'clock: speak to Dustwoman Ei-Vene to get Quest 3.
3rd Floor
The Finger Bone (activates the secret portal) is in a locked container in the room at 12 o'clock. It also functions as a Bone Charm — don't use it as a charm yet.
Skeleton #863 (10 o'clock room) has a Parchment mentioning a Prybar — find it on a table in the 6 o'clock room. The west stairwell key is on a shelf on the SE part of the stairwell wall — the Mortuary Sanctum Key opens all remaining locked Mortuary doors.
In the south room: examine zombie #79 to open your Ancient Copper Earring (250 XP). Zombie #42 circles the floor — if you've recalled the memory of him (from Ei-Vene's Quest 3), cross your arms and he'll put his at his side. Reach inside him to get a package with 2 Clot Charms, some Rags, and a Green Steel Knife.
1st Floor
Four Giant Skeletons guard the central room — too strong to fight early. Get the Tome of Bone and Ash from zombie #932 (SE room). Compare the runes on each Skeleton's armor with the Tome, then remove wards in the correct order — worth 800 XP per Skeleton. Three leave behind Runes of Lesser Warding ("Armor" spell), one has a Rune of Greater Warding ("Shield"). Mages only.
A Crescent Hatchet is on the north wall — the Skeletons don't mind if you take it. In the SW room, speak to Soego to have him open the gate for 500 XP. In the NW room: speak to the spirit of Deionarra — she once meant a lot to you. Get 1000 XP for recalling how you can raise the dead, and 500 XP for learning about the exit portal. With the Bone Charm in inventory, use the portal in the northern part of this room.
The Hive — Northeast Region
If you exited via the portal, you emerge in a small tomb with a note from Penn and 30 Coppers. Make your way south to Angyar's house east of the tomb. You'll encounter Annah — a tiefling girl with a Scottish accent. Wonder if she can join your party...
The Gathering Dust bar is due west of Angyar's house. Speak to Emoric to potentially join the Dustmen faction. Speak to Norochj to learn about the mausoleum to the north. In the bar also: Mortai Gravesend holds Angyar's Dead Contract — shame him, steal it, or kill him for it, then return it to Wife-of-Angyar for a free place to rest (750 XP).
The Hive — Southeast Region
The Smoldering Corpse bar is here. Talk to 'O' for +1 Wisdom. Acquire Dak'kon (githzerai Fighter/Mage) from the bar for 1000 XP. Barkus the owner can sell you back your old eye for 500 Coppers (300 with decent CHR) — recall memories and gain 1000 XP and weapon proficiencies. Ask Dak'kon to teach you the Way of Zerthimon — there are 8 Circles to complete, each requiring progressive WIS. Completing all 8 earns thousands of XP and multiple spells.
Fell's tattoo parlour on the east side provides stat-boosting tattoos. Tattoos that raise primary stats by 2 cost 1200 Coppers. You can wear 3 at a time. Return often — Fell gains new tattoos as you experience more of the game.
The Hive — Southwest Region
The Office of Vermin and Disease Control has a locked cellar with a Wererat (magic weapons only). The chest contains a Charm of Infinite Recall. You can rest for free by boring yourself with Phineas T. Lort's conversation.
The Hive — Alley of Dangerous Angles
Pay the 10 Copper toll for safe passage rather than fighting through. Two gang leaders: Krystall (Razor Angels, NW corner) and Rotten William (Darkalley Shivs, SE corner) each want the other dead. Killing either nets 1500 XP plus cascading quests involving Blackrose. Rauk's tent quest (SE) rewards a Bronze Ring, Silver Ring, and Gold Ring delivery with Scrolls and a Ring of the Traveler.
Ragpicker's Square
Access via the NW region of the Hive. Find Old Mebbeth in the round house — she heals for free and can teach you to be a Mage after several errand quests (fetching herbs, wash, and ink). Completing her training grants 7000 XP and spells: Chromatic Orb, Blood Bridge, Identify, plus Amber Earrings (+2 AC, 2 extra spell slots).
Visit Sharegrave (SE of the Square) to learn where Pharod is holed up. Activate the junk-portal in the far north of the square (throw Junk into the archway) to travel underground toward Pharod.
The Trash Warrens, Buried Village & Catacombs
Work your way through the Trash Warrens to the Buried Village. Speak to Pharod in the NE — he wants a Bronze Sphere from the catacombs. Enter the Weeping Stone Catacombs via Barr to the SE. In the Crypt of the Embraced (NW area) you can talk to Gris using Stories-Bones-Tell (from Stale Mary in the Dead Nations) to get Quint's Poison Charm.
In the Drowned Nations (SW area of the Catacombs): find the Decanter of Endless Water in an alcove at the bottom of the east room stairs. Return it to Glyve the face-in-stone to complete his quest and learn of Nemelle in the Clerk's Ward.
Your journal (TNO's Tomb) is in the far SE of the Dead Nations — access via the Sealed Passageway. Enter alone. Use the center symbols and kill yourself repeatedly to move through the rooms collecting Tomb Keys. Once all 8 wall panels are pushed, open the central sarcophagus to get Tomb Key4, then find your journal in the final room — along with a Knot Charm, a Charm of Infinite Recall, and other items.
Dead Nations
The entrance is on the west side of the Catacombs. You'll be captured and taken to Soego's room. Gain the Special Ability Stories-Bones-Tell from Stale Mary (3750 XP) to speak with all forms of undead. If your CHR is high enough, get an audience with the Silent King (3750 XP) — promise not to reveal his secret to be released for 7500 XP.
Expose Soego as a wererat spy: distract him by sending him to a Doubtful Skeleton, then read his journal hidden in his bed (2000 XP). Confront Hargrimm and collect Soego's Skull afterward.
Lower Ward
Access via the Alley of Lingering Sighs. Morte is kidnapped immediately — he's in the Wrecked House at the very south of the Ward. Lothar the Mage wants a skull of great value in exchange. Soego's skull or Mantuok's skull work — the latter can be gotten via Poisoned Cheese (buy from Giltspur). Lothar will give you Quest 3: Find Ravel Puzzlewell.
To access the Great Foundry: complete Giltspur's quest chain (deliver a handbill to Penn's Print Shop, take a message to Keldor at the Foundry).
The Great Foundry
Join the Godsmen faction by completing quests: forge an item (requires Leather Apron, Forge Hammer, Tongs from Nadilin the clerk, and Iron Ore from Thildon), solve the murder of Avildon the smith (Thildon is guilty — threaten him with a joint oath before Keldor to force his confession), and prevent Sandoz from killing himself by talking through his closed door. Joining grants access to excellent Godsman-only weapons: Ascension, Reason, Enlightenment.
After joining, complete the Dreambuilder questline: help Nihl Xander, get a birdcage from the Siege Tower (enter via the portal east of the drawbridge — ask Coaxmetal the golem for it), and bring a coffin pillow from Hamrys to get the Dream Key.
Anarchist players: help Bedai-Lihn sabotage the baatezu weapon in the secret north room (use Godsman Token from Keldor), then smuggle her out with a Godsman Disguise. This lets you speak with Scofflaw Penn and ultimately join the Anarchists.
Clerk's Ward (Upper Ward)
Seek out Nemelle at the outdoor bar SW to get the command word for the Decanter of Endless Water. Return to the Smoldering Corpse bar and use the Decanter on Ignus — he joins your party.
Vrischika's Curiosity Shop has the Hammer of Comminution (best weapon for Fighters — 4-14 crushing, +1 Enchanted, +6 Acid damage), the Teeth of the Fire Drake (best weapon for Morte), and many other essential items. Have Annah steal the Hammer using Dirty Rat Charms to boost Pick Pockets above 110%.
At the Brothel of Slaking Intellectual Lusts: talk to Fall-From-Grace and agree to speak with all 10 of her students. This leads to numerous quests. Once complete, Grace joins your party — she is the only Priest, invaluable for healing, and has very high Lore for item identification. Buy or steal special garments for Annah and Grace from tailor Goncalves.
Become a Sensate to access the private sensoriums: ask Aelwyn about previous incarnations, then Splinter will let you in. Speak to Quell (give him the Chocolate Quasit from Vrischika) — he reveals that a piece of Ravel is the key to the door in the Foundry. To get a piece of Ravel, find Kesai-Serris in the Brothel and establish that she is Ravel's daughter (see the quest involving Ecco). Get her blood on a handkerchief — your portal key.
Access your room in the Festhall for useful spells, charms, and a Dodecahedron. Learn the language to read it by visiting linguist Finam (use Stories-Bones-Tell on his father's urn). The Dodecahedron reveals legacy number '51-AA' — claim it from Iannis the advocate for a Kaleidoscopic Eye, Stone Gullet, and Godsman Receipt. Take the Receipt to the Foundry clerk for an Unfolding Portal to Ravel's Maze.
Ravel's Maze
Find Ravel in the left-center of her maze — 90,000 XP just for reaching her. Talk to her extensively — do not end the conversation prematurely as it terminates the game early. Ravel will take the forms of Ei-Vene, Mebbeth, and Marta during conversation, granting stat boosts. You can also get a lock of her hair for 90,000 XP. You must fight her when conversation ends — she's worth 32,000 XP and good loot. The Shadows that appear afterward can be killed or fled.
To exit: take the portal at the NE, ignore the SW portal when you arrive, head around the west edge to the NW portal, then the next portal takes you out.
Curst
Comprised of Outer and Inner Curst. Find a Displacer Ring (+2 AC) hidden in a hay pile on the east side of Outer Curst. The main quest here is assembling a Key through five sub-quests given by Tainted Barse, the tavern proprietor. Complete quests for Marquez, Kitla, Nabat, Dallan, and Dona Quisho. The Key ultimately gets you into the Curst Underground — but so does the steps in Kyse's dump. The real value of the Key quests is the enormous XP gained (over 700,000 XP combined).
The smith Crumplepunch sells outstanding weapons: Assassin's Knuckles, "Foolsmiter," Blind Terror, and Bolts of Whistling Doom for Nordom.
Curst Underground & Prison
In the Prison, find the deva Trias in the south — he needs his sword. Fight through multiple circular corridors of guards. Retrieve the sword, defeat Cassius (choose strength, wits, or speed based on your class) and gain Celestial Fire (if Lawful Good). Free Trias — hand back Celestial Fire. He tells you the portal to the Fortress of Regrets is in the Mortuary, and gives you a chain link that opens the exit portal.
Past the portal: find Vhailor, a spectral MercyKiller. Talk to him and examine his Helm to have him join your party — a formidable Fighter.
The Outlands & Baator
Travel through the Outlands to find Fhjull Forked-Tongue in a large skeleton. He is bound to help you — use him for free supplies, rest, and kassegs (brain parasites that boost INT by 3 for a few hours — save for the endgame). Travel to Baator via the portal in the skeleton's left hand.
In Baator, work through to the Pillar of Skulls. Ask it two questions: how to find the Fortress of Regrets (key is to feel regret) and how to get out (find a piece of obsidian and eat it — a portal appears in the far SW). The Pillar reveals that Trias knew about the portal all along and betrayed you.
Carceri
Trias caused Curst to slide into Carceri. You must perform good deeds to counter his chaos. Work quickly before the area becomes overrun. Good deeds to perform:
- Free both Tovus and Berrog from under the cart (use all party members to lift it) — get a Scroll of Deathbolt.
- Kill two gehreleths attacking townsfolk (225,000 XP).
- Talk the judge out of executing a merchant (225,000 XP).
- Save Jasilya from thugs again (75,000 XP).
- Talk Jujog's gang out of looting the warehouse (150,000 XP).
- Convince Ebb Creakknees (Anarchist in the warehouse) to join the good cause (gives a Scroll of Desert Hell).
- Talk the angry mob out of harassing a Curst Official (150,000 XP).
In the warehouse, find the Ancient Scroll (Wish Scroll) in a pile of boards left of the entrance. On the Administration Building's 3rd floor, locked and trapped desk: Mark of the Savant (best item for Annah), "Edge of Oblivion" (for Vhailor), and a Vrock Club.
Confront Trias on the 3rd floor balcony. Use melee to prevent him from casting spells. Once weakened, he submits. Vow to spare his life (breaking the vow ruins the game — but if Vhailor is in your party, he strikes Trias down and you can still complete the game). Return to Sigil via the portal that appears.
Sigil — Return & Final Preparations
Visit Coaxmetal in the Siege Tower — new weapons available. If you give him the Modron Cube, he gives you the Entropic Blade, the most powerful weapon in the game (talk to it to change its form for any fighter type). Return to UnderSigil for Greater Glabrezu enemies (enormous XP).
For the Fortress of Regrets, TNO should be carrying: Bronze Sphere, Blade of the Immortal, Deionarra's Wedding Ring, kassegs from Fhjull, and as many healing charms as possible. Travel to the Mortuary and tell the guard you're visiting Deionarra's memorial. The portal is at the far end of the room where you originally woke up.
Fortress of Regrets
You arrive alone. Speak with Deionarra along the east walkway. Enter the Fortress heading west. Greater Shadows are everywhere. Find and activate all four Cannons — each teleports you to a new area, and once all four are activated, a portal opens in the NE room. Follow the chain: 1st cannon (end of starting room) → NW room → 2nd cannon → west room → 3rd cannon (NW of large central room) → just north → stairs → 4th cannon → portal opens back near 4th cannon location.
Beyond the portal, fight Ignus (use Charcoal Charms against his fire spells). Find the Sounding Stone behind the NE statue, and supplies hidden in the SW statue's base. Activate the central crystal.
You wake on a slab surrounded by three previous incarnations: the Practical, the Good, and the Paranoid. Before absorbing any of them, exhaust all conversation paths for bonus XP. Use the Bronze Sphere (dead sensory stone) for 2,000,000 XP and 6+ Characteristic points — you discover your true name. This requires having explored all key conversation paths with the Practical and Good Incarnations.
Speak to Deionarra and tell her the truth. You appear on the Fortress roof for the Final Confrontation with the Transcendent One.
Ending Choices
- Best ending: If you used the Bronze Sphere, discuss your name with the Transcendent One — he agrees to merge with you. You resurrect your friends and go to fight the Blood War.
- Threaten him with the Blade of the Immortal — same result.
- Use the Blade on yourself — both you perish. Most unsatisfying.
- Resurrect one party member (best: Vhailor) — enrages him, must fight.
- Fight him directly — roughly 400 HP. You go to the Blood War but can't resurrect your party.
Key Party Members
- Morte — Skull Fighter. Joins you immediately in the Mortuary. Useful early on; gains new taunts from various encounters.
- Dak'kon — Githzerai Fighter/Mage. Smoldering Corpse bar, Hive SE. Comes with unique spells. Teach him the Way of Zerthimon for massive XP and spells.
- Annah — Tiefling Thief. Joins after presenting the Bronze Sphere to Pharod. Only uses Punch Daggers. Becomes fearsome later.
- Ignus — Fire Mage. Smoldering Corpse bar. Put his fire out with the Decanter of Endless Water. Pre-equipped with fire spells.
- Fall-From-Grace — Succubus Priest. Brothel of Slaking Intellectual Lusts. Only Priest in the game. Invaluable for healing and item identification.
- Nordom — Modron ranged Fighter. Found in the Modron Maze (set difficulty to "hard"). 36,000 XP to recruit. Use him to fire arrows into enemies engaged with your melee fighters.
- Vhailor — Spectral MercyKiller Fighter. Found past the exit portal in the Curst Underground Prison. High HP, strong Fighter. Don't miss him.
