LogFAQs > #895796276

7. The Nameless One (Planescape: Torment)

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/torment/images/c/c7/PC-NamelessOne.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100421052454

"What can change the nature of a man?"

This quote is not actually spoken by TNO, but it's the mantra of Planescape: Torment and is more relevant to him than any other line from that game.

You know nothing about The Nameless One when you first see him - and neither does he. He wakes up on a slab in a mortuary, completely bereft of any memories, while a talking skull claiming to be his ally starts blabbing to him and offers to read the message carved onto your back. It's probably the most bafflling introduction to a protagonist I've ever seen, made even more effective by how utterly strange his appearence is. Despite having the physique of a stereotypical D&D hero, his hair is wiry, his skin has a mottled gray color and is pulled tight across his muscles, and there are lines of age etched across every inch of his body. The Nameless One looks less like a person and more like a zombie - which is honestly not far from the truth.

The more you learn about The Nameless One, the more you're less sure of who he is. Cursed to never fully die and losing his memories every now and then, TNO has lived dozens of lives and left a deep scar on the world with each one. Traces of 'you' pop up everywhere you look, and little of it is...pleasant. One of the first sentient beings you encounter is a ghost who voluntarily bound herself to a singular spot, for all eternity, for the sake of helping you, because of a love she holds for you, that you openly do not reciprocate. That...kind of sets the tone from then-on. If I had to pick one thing to describe as a commonality between all of The Nameless One's lives, it would be 'selfish'. Even your nicer incarnations were self-centered and willing to use others without much hesitation. And why wouldn't they be? What repercussions could they ever truly face for their actions? And will you, the most recent incarnation of The Nameless One, be any different?

Can you be any different?

The Nameless One is both a player-insert character and not one. You are him, the one waking up on the slab in the mortuary, but while you control his actions and make his decisions, both of you are shaped and guided by the echoes of your past lives. The question Planescape: Torment poses is "what can change the nature of a man?", and it is through the character of The Nameless One that that question is explored in fascinating detail. Torment: Tides of Numenara - a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment - came out recently with a protagonist very similar to The Nameless One, and while the game is great, its writing doesn't come close to what Planescape accomplished with TNO. In terms of WRPG choose-your-own-personality main characters, he's easily the best of them all, and I doubt he'll ever be topped (sorry Shepard).
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.