After finishing Planescape:Torment I have a few questions [Spoilers]

[TransgenderVaultDeweller]

So, After running for my first time playthrough with high wis/intellect mage. I'm generally overwhelmed with it in both positive and negative aspects.


I appreciate resolution of TNO's mortality, But the issue was i feel TNO wasn't me anymore after merging the The transcended one, I felt that i lost control TNO and i don't know how i got dragged into Baator or one of the lower planes. What i don't especially understand was why give up on his companions? Especially if you had intimate relationship with one. Just send them back without a word and what was the horrible crime i committed again that can't ever be forgiven? What was the fate of Dakkon, Morte, Fall from Grace, Annah etc after the events at the fortress of regret transpired?

At sometimes, I felt i was third person in some regards which i didn't mind so much as long as it's good story telling. Which it mostly was, The concepts were unique and i can say that most characters i came across were well wrote and captivated my interest. However, The ending when you become one left a lot to be desired as i felt i dropped the proverbial ball and i was no longer TNO, But another character. Would the Transcended ones freedom had the nameless forgot just be puerperal isolation? What was my name is another thing as well. It just tells you that you know your name but really never gives you one. Then it ends with you being in lower hells with another battle taking place. I feel like it's also alluding to something else, But doesn't since it has no sequel or in the same universe.

I presume TNO became more adamant and infavor of repenting once he regain the memories of all three incarnations, Good, Practical and Paranoid. However, Once again, I never actually saw most of those memories as it just is hand wove at me. Again, What crime was so grave that he commited. I felt at the end of the game, I had more questions than answers left untouched.

I probably have a lot more i could say, But i'm just confused at the moment and i can't really explain what i feel after the game.

 

[Lanfear]

TNO is doomed from the beginning. There's nothing he can do to atone for the crimes he's committed across the planes and across dozens of hundreds of incarnations. All he can do is accept his fate, which is what you see in the game's finale. This was a fairly consistent theme in the game. He didn't give up on his companions, he simply decided that the time had come for him to end the destructive cycle he'd begun and take responsibility for his actions. Dragging someone along to join him in purgatory, even if it were possible, would've undermined this.

TNO is not your character, really; he isn't a blank slate. You don't get to decide his history or what he's done. These things are set in stone. You get to decide what his final incarnation's journey from birth to final death consists of and how he reacts to events within it. But he is always a doom-driven character who was destined for the Hells even before he first sought to escape his fate.

 

[The Vault Dweller]

I'm glad this got brought up and both of you have summarized my thoughts perfectly.

It's...hard to judge. Making and playing a specific character within a game with choices and consequences then suddenly revoking that with only one very specific ending available should be a travesty of game development. However the plot is about a person re-discovering their identity...regardless of whom you built who they were is set in stone and can't be changed.

Another way to consider it is this: if you played a righteous character they'd probably condemn themselves in the end for what they did even though for what the player did it wasn't deserved yet if you played a wicked character they'd be inclined to avoid punishment yet also overwhelmed with guilt, because they suddenly understand the scope of their possible actions (by becoming one with their alternate selves).

It really is a fascinating story and I think I learned just a little more about it through this discussion and my response!