The Nameless One

Character Generation

Okay, now that you've gotten that little bit of tedium out of the way, how about a few character generation tips? The Nameless One starts out with 9s in all of the attributes: Strength (Str), Intelligence (Int), Dexterity (Dex), Constitution (Con), Wisdom (Wis), and Charisma (Chr). Fortunately, you also have 21 Character Points to spread around so you can tailor The Nameless One to your tastes.

Personally, I like to be able to complete all the quests and have a bunch of dialogue options, so I always stock up on Intelligence. Also, Wisdom is a priceless attribute in Torment. Basically Wisdom = Big Time Experience, both in terms of recovering more memories and gaining more experience each time you earn it. Intelligence also means experience, as you gain access to more quests and are able to solve them in craftier manners -- which usually earns you more experience than the ol' hack 'n' slash method. Dexterity also plays a Key role in Torment, as there isn't any armor for The Nameless One of which to speak. Annah and Fall-from-Grace are the only characters about whom you need to worry armor-wise, but we'll get into that later.

Constitution is nice for the extra hit points, but you only gain them when you are gaining a level in your highest class. I got along fine without the extra HP. According to Brian Brown, the HP bonus from Con is retroactive as in Baldur's Gate (that is to say, you'll gain extra HP once you Con goes over 15). Charisma was never a big favorite of mine, since I radiate so much in real life. ;) It's nice to get some favorable reactions, but I think the points are better spent elsewhere. Charisma also influences some of the rewards you get for quests and some of your quest options. I spend the leftover points on Strength.

Here are some sample stats for a freshly awakened Nameless One:

Str: 12 Int: 15 Wis: 15 Dex: 15 Con: 9 Chr: 9

Advancement & Specialization

In the instruction manual, they say that the Nameless One gains 1-10 HP when he gains a level in his highest class. They lie; it's according to class. If you gain a level in another class that's not your highest, then you only get one measly hit point. You do, however, still receive the Con bonus. Also, as long as we're on the topic of gaining HPs, there's no shame in saving before you level a character up and reloading if they gain a measly amount of HP.

Also, when you advance in your highest class, you get an almighty characteristic point. Spend these wisely. With the first few I gain from gaining levels in Fighter, I raise my Int to 16 and get my Strength up to 17 (+1 hit and dam). After that, I pour most of the points into Wis and get my Dex up to 17 or 18. You also get characteristic bonuses when you first hit levels 7 and 12 in one class. This is termed "specialization." You only get these bonuses once, so you can't get three for getting all your classes to level 7 or 12; it only works for the first one you get to that level. Also, the bonuses are different at level 12, depending on whether or not it is the same class in which you have already specialized.

These numbers may be incorrect, so if you know differently, please e-mail me with a correction. Thanks to Brian Brown for helping compile some of these specialization bonuses.

FIGHTER
1st time: +1 Str, able to train up to 4 levels in weapon proficiencies
2nd time: +1 Str, +1 Con, able to train up to 5 levels in weapon proficiencies

THIEF:
1st time: +2 Dex
2nd time: +2 Dex

MAGE:
1st time: +1 Int
2nd time: +2 Int, +1 Wis

If you get the level 7 and 12 bonuses in the same class, better tattoos will be available in Fell's Tattoo Parlor. Thanks to Leo Wang for clarifying the Mage specialist bonuses.

I recommend getting the level 7 bonus in Fighter and the level 12 bonus with Mage, but it all depends on how you want to play it. By the time you're a level 8 Fighter or so, you should have tons of weapon proficiencies. Personally, I used them all on Fist and Edged Weapons, as those are the weapons that seem the most numerous in this game and are useful no matter what class you are. Hammers and Axes would fall into the second most useful tier, but you can only use these weapons as a Fighter. I didn't think the Club weapons in this game were all that great, so I don't recommend spending any valuable proficiencies on the Clubs skill.

Just so you know, I never really used The Nameless One as a Thief for very long. I got him to level 8 Fighter or so and then just went Mage for the rest of the game. Of course, I never did favor Rogues when I played the pencil, paper, and other people style of AD&D;, so my previous biases may be influencing my decisions here.

Damn it, you've skipped over this section and started playing already, haven't you? I guess that means we have to move on to the ... (drum roll) ...