Planescape: Torment Ending

[Ubiquitous Duck]

*This thread will necessarily contain significant plot spoilers for Planescape: Torment*

OK, so I've been bored at work today and have been reading about past RPGs that I played as a child.

It begun with looking at Baldur's Gate games, but then I moved onto Planescape: Torment.

Now, my knowledge of the stories of these games is very limited, due to it being so long ago and I not having a great retention of my memories of being that young.

Therefore I am hoping to enlist help from some of the brains of Escapists.

My main question(s) is around the ending of the game. I have a really fractured memory of it, but I remember there was a very brief cutscene where The Nameless One picks up his weapon and walks towards his fate in hell/purgatory/however you see the realm/plane he is in.

I have been searching the internet extensively to try and get an opinion behind the meaning of the potential endings or even a description of the possibilities, but have been failing immensely.

I can't seem to get a universal view (maybe there isn't one), but some people are suggesting The Nameless One has finally accepted the fate due to him, after centuries of dodging, and he is accepting his punishment for his untold crimes, whereas some people suggest that he has accumulated so much power now, that there is no way that plane will keep him for eternity and he will, one day, return.

My question, if you would like to help me piece together my memories and also relive this game's story, is this:

What is your interpretation of the end of this game and what ending did you get?

 

[antidonkey]

The Nameless One has finally accepted the fate due to him, after centuries of dodging, and he is accepting his punishment for his untold crimes

That was always my take on the ending. While Nameless was a bit of a selfish dickbag, he eventually had to come to realize that he cannot escape his fate regardless of what he tries. Plus, finding out that someone else has to take your place every time you die will take its toll on a person psyche after a while.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

The Nameless One has finally accepted the fate due to him, after centuries of dodging, and he is accepting his punishment for his untold crimes

That was always my take on the ending. While Nameless was a bit of a selfish dickbag, he eventually had to come to realize that he cannot escape his fate regardless of what he tries. Plus, finding out that someone else has to take your place every time you die will take its toll on a person psyche after a while.

That is the way that I was leaning towards with the meaning behind it.

But I have read that there are some final discussions you can have with some of the characters, such as Fall-From-Grace, who says that she will fight to free you, even if it takes millennia (paraphrasing the quote). This could be taken to be an unwinnable fight though, doesn't necessarily mean that she can really succeed in this.

And supposedly Vhailor threatens you by saying that, if you manage to escape your fate, he will hunt you down and bring you back there himself. Again though, he surely doesn't know if it is possible, but maybe suggests he thinks it may be.

People are suggesting that once you are the combined powers of your Transcendent and main 3 selves, that your knowledge-base and power would enable you to figure your way out of any cage, so you are not destined to an eternal war.

He also only supposedly properly says goodbye to Annah - who he says he will not see again. Presumably because she will age and die before he'd return, unlike Fall-From-Grace, who will be waiting for him still.

I do like the initial acceptance that there is no return though - because this is what the game is based around (whether a person's nature can change) and Nameless One has managed to finally accept the punishment before him and to stop prolonging the inevitable, to further cost of other people.

 

[SonicWaffle]

I do like the initial acceptance that there is no return though - because this is what the game is based around (whether a person's nature can change) and Nameless One has managed to finally accept the punishment before him and to stop prolonging the inevitable, to further cost of other people.

That's pretty much what I took away from it. TNO for me was a relatively good guy, appaled to learn of what his past selves had done, and accepted that returning to the Blood War was his punishment.

The possibility of a return, despite what Fall-From-Grace says, never seemed important to me. TNO has accepted his situation - possibly lost his memory again in the process though - and is resolved to just getting on with things.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

While I agree with the interpretation of the main "good" ending (it isn't my favorite end for the record), there are some qualms. Fall-From-Grace implied she would do everything in her (considerable) power to return me from the Blood War but, unless something arbitrarily quashes your powers upon arriving, there is nothing on any of the planes that could stop you as you are as powerful as most of the main gods of D&D.

I thus have to assume that the Nameless One will fight and die again and again in the Blood War until such time that he feels he has paid his dues (a process that could take millenia given the breadth of his transgressions). Once that is done, he has sufficient power to do whatever he wants. The burning hells have no hope of containing him, few gods could reasonably oppose him (and more than a few would be willing to lend a hand for no other reason than politics), and threat Vhailor might make is ultimately a futile gesture. What walking away might entail varies - he might ascend and literally become a god, he might walk the Plains again as a corporeal being or he might simply will himself into non-existence.

 

[Vegosiux]

I took the nihilist path initially, and went with the "will yourself out of existance" ending. By that, I of course assumed, I created a multiverse in which there never was a TNO - simply killing yourself doesn't wipe out the legacy you've left behind, for better or worse. But by actually removing myself from existance entirely, even that is gone.

However, to me, the "best" ending does a lot to show that souls bound by torment will always find a way to end up together, so there's no "need" for a TNO in the first place.

 

[erbkaiser]

I agree with your interpretation, in that in that ending TNO/Adahn finally accepts his fate. Whether or not it is a good ending is up for debate. Theology in the AD&D universe is very murky and all we need to know is that his story finally ends there.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

I can't seem to get a universal view (maybe there isn't one), but some people are suggesting The Nameless One has finally accepted the fate due to him, after centuries of dodging, and he is accepting his punishment for his untold crimes, whereas some people suggest that he has accumulated so much power now, that there is no way that plane will keep him for eternity and he will, one day, return.

I go with the former, and that he has basically finally accepted his fate and, having realized all the pain and suffering he has caused by attempting to cheat death for so long, has finally accepted the punishment for his sins, so long as it means the ones he cares about are no longer harmed.

I also remember that in one of the endings you'll hear Deionarra say "I will wait for you in Death's halls, my love" as he walks towards the battle, basically giving the glimmer of hope that he might one day be reunited with her.

Damn it, now I want to play the game again...

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

While I agree with the interpretation of the main "good" ending (it isn't my favorite end for the record), there are some qualms. Fall-From-Grace implied she would do everything in her (considerable) power to return me from the Blood War but, unless something arbitrarily quashes your powers upon arriving, there is nothing on any of the planes that could stop you as you are as powerful as most of the main gods of D&D.

I thus have to assume that the Nameless One will fight and die again and again in the Blood War until such time that he feels he has paid his dues (a process that could take millenia given the breadth of his transgressions). Once that is done, he has sufficient power to do whatever he wants. The burning hells have no hope of containing him, few gods could reasonably oppose him (and more than a few would be willing to lend a hand for no other reason than politics), and threat Vhailor might make is ultimately a futile gesture. What walking away might entail varies - he might ascend and literally become a god, he might walk the Plains again as a corporeal being or he might simply will himself into non-existence.

I love that you can use that as a threat to yourself, to will yourself out of existence.

It's a really interesting concept, that belief that cause something to be true. Like if you refer to yourself as Adahn continuously, you cause a man called Adahn to come into existence to fill that void, as you are not Adahn. Or that Vhailor seems to live on 'in some way', despite the fact that his human form is dead. He seems almost that he doesn't even realise that he is actually dead, so his mind/soul has allowed him to continue, in the form of his own armour, his duties.

I guess his fate wasn't written so it is open for speculation then is the answer? I can't see the original game creators/writers having said anything on it.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

I can't seem to get a universal view (maybe there isn't one), but some people are suggesting The Nameless One has finally accepted the fate due to him, after centuries of dodging, and he is accepting his punishment for his untold crimes, whereas some people suggest that he has accumulated so much power now, that there is no way that plane will keep him for eternity and he will, one day, return.

I go with the former, and that he has basically finally accepted his fate and, having realized all the pain and suffering he has caused by attempting to cheat death for so long, has finally accepted the punishment for his sins, so long as it means the ones he cares about are no longer harmed.

I also remember that in one of the endings you'll hear Deionarra say "I will wait for you in Death's halls, my love" as he walks towards the battle, basically giving the glimmer of hope that he might one day be reunited with her.

Damn it, now I want to play the game again...

I know right! I'm seriously considering reinstalling it, as the last time I played it I was 9/10 years old, so I doubt I understood a lot of what was going on.

Does this mean that he found out 'what can change the nature of a man', as he has been many different people, to many different extremes, throughout his existences? Still the same 'man', but The Practical One and The Paranoid One are quite different people.

 

[keiji_Maeda]

I can't seem to get a universal view (maybe there isn't one), but some people are suggesting The Nameless One has finally accepted the fate due to him, after centuries of dodging, and he is accepting his punishment for his untold crimes, whereas some people suggest that he has accumulated so much power now, that there is no way that plane will keep him for eternity and he will, one day, return.

I go with the former, and that he has basically finally accepted his fate and, having realized all the pain and suffering he has caused by attempting to cheat death for so long, has finally accepted the punishment for his sins, so long as it means the ones he cares about are no longer harmed.

I also remember that in one of the endings you'll hear Deionarra say "I will wait for you in Death's halls, my love" as he walks towards the battle, basically giving the glimmer of hope that he might one day be reunited with her.

Damn it, now I want to play the game again...

I know right! I'm seriously considering reinstalling it, as the last time I played it I was 9/10 years old, so I doubt I understood a lot of what was going on.

Does this mean that he found out 'what can change the nature of a man', as he has been many different people, to many different extremes, throughout his existences? Still the same 'man', but The Practical One and The Paranoid One are quite different people.

I reccommend re-installing it, one of my favorite discussions i ever had on the escapist, was regarding PtM, and the fact that i didn't finish it until 2012. I will say this, i remember trying to play it on release, and it was so unpolished yet enjoyable, like Fallout 2, but i wasn't as considerate to PtM's flaws as i was regarding F2's.

So what's mah' point? Get the mods, there are several GREAT mods that allow you to optimize resolution and get resolution (nudge nudge) to all the quests that were unfinished, especially the poignant one regarding deionerras fate.

My interpretation? What can change the nature of a man? There is a full quote that you can unlock with the all-mighty wisdom attribute.


"If there is anything I have learned in my travels across the Planes, it is that many things may change the nature of a man. Whether regret, or love, or revenge or fear - whatever you believe can change the nature of a man, can. I?ve seen belief move cities, make men stave off death, and turn an evil hag's heart half-circle. This entire Fortress has been constructed from belief. Belief damned a woman, whose heart clung to the hope that another loved her when he did not. Once, it made a man seek immortality and achieve it. And it has made a posturing spirit think it is something more than a part of me"

A great point of Torment is the lack of a clear answer regarding the Nameless ones fate. And how you played defines his actions, a good character has come to grips with the fact that they have committed a horrible transgression on the planes themselves, and must now pay the dues. An Evil No merely views his actions dispassionately and moves on, to claim glory, greatness or further challenges in the endless battlefields of the blood war. Where their new found memories and skills will doubtlessly serve them well. A good character may see their existence as futile and choose to remove themselves from existence, an evil one as well. For lack of challenges now to be found.

But there is one poignant clue, that regardless what you choose, what you do, there is no going back, there is no holding on. You can not remain, and your companions may not go where you go.

I swear, there are at least fifteen essays that are better than my ramblings. But these are my spontaneous memories of the game. And there are fewer representations of damned love than that of Deionerras that touch me such as it did.

If there is one thing i consider right in playing this game, then it is holding on to the bronzed sphere

*SPOILER*

(on the opening of the Bronze Sphere) The sphere wrinkles in your hands, the skin of the sphere peeling away into tears and turning into a rain of bronze that encircles you. Each droplet, each fragment that enters you, you feel a new memory stirring, a lost love, a forgotten pain, an ache of loss - and with it, comes the great pressure of regret, regret of careless actions, the regret of suffering, regret of war, regret of death, and you feel your mind begin buckling from the pressure - so MUCH, all at once, so much damage done to others... so much so an entire FORTRESS may be built from such pain. And suddenly, through the torrent of regrets, you feel the first incarnation again. His hand, invisible and weightless, is upon your shoulder, steadying you. He doesn't speak, but with his touch, you suddenly remember your name. ...and it is such a simple thing, not at all what you thought it might be, and you feel yourself suddenly comforted. In knowing your name, your true name, you know that you have gained back perhaps the most important part of yourself. In knowing your name, you know yourself, and you know, now, there is very little you cannot do.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

I can't seem to get a universal view (maybe there isn't one), but some people are suggesting The Nameless One has finally accepted the fate due to him, after centuries of dodging, and he is accepting his punishment for his untold crimes, whereas some people suggest that he has accumulated so much power now, that there is no way that plane will keep him for eternity and he will, one day, return.

I go with the former, and that he has basically finally accepted his fate and, having realized all the pain and suffering he has caused by attempting to cheat death for so long, has finally accepted the punishment for his sins, so long as it means the ones he cares about are no longer harmed.

I also remember that in one of the endings you'll hear Deionarra say "I will wait for you in Death's halls, my love" as he walks towards the battle, basically giving the glimmer of hope that he might one day be reunited with her.

Damn it, now I want to play the game again...

I know right! I'm seriously considering reinstalling it, as the last time I played it I was 9/10 years old, so I doubt I understood a lot of what was going on.

Does this mean that he found out 'what can change the nature of a man', as he has been many different people, to many different extremes, throughout his existences? Still the same 'man', but The Practical One and The Paranoid One are quite different people.

I reccommend re-installing it, one of my favorite discussions i ever had on the escapist, was regarding PtM, and the fact that i didn't finish it until 2012. I will say this, i remember trying to play it on release, and it was so unpolished yet enjoyable, like Fallout 2, but i wasn't as considerate to PtM's flaws as i was regarding F2's.

So what's mah' point? Get the mods, there are several GREAT mods that allow you to optimize resolution and get resolution (nudge nudge) to all the quests that were unfinished, especially the poignant one regarding deionerras fate.

My interpretation? What can change the nature of a man? There is a full quote that you can unlock with the all-mighty wisdom attribute.


"If there is anything I have learned in my travels across the Planes, it is that many things may change the nature of a man. Whether regret, or love, or revenge or fear - whatever you believe can change the nature of a man, can. I?ve seen belief move cities, make men stave off death, and turn an evil hag's heart half-circle. This entire Fortress has been constructed from belief. Belief damned a woman, whose heart clung to the hope that another loved her when he did not. Once, it made a man seek immortality and achieve it. And it has made a posturing spirit think it is something more than a part of me"

A great point of Torment is the lack of a clear answer regarding the Nameless ones fate. And how you played defines his actions, a good character has come to grips with the fact that they have committed a horrible transgression on the planes themselves, and must now pay the dues. An Evil No merely views his actions dispassionately and moves on, to claim glory, greatness or further challenges in the endless battlefields of the blood war. Where their new found memories and skills will doubtlessly serve them well. A good character may see their existence as futile and choose to remove themselves from existence, an evil one as well. For lack of challenges now to be found.

But there is one poignant clue, that regardless what you choose, what you do, there is no going back, there is no holding on. You can not remain, and your companions may not go where you go.

I swear, there are at least fifteen essays that are better than my ramblings. But these are my spontaneous memories of the game. And there are fewer representations of damned love than that of Deionerras that touch me such as it did.

If there is one thing i consider right in playing this game, then it is holding on to the bronzed sphere

*SPOILER*

(on the opening of the Bronze Sphere) The sphere wrinkles in your hands, the skin of the sphere peeling away into tears and turning into a rain of bronze that encircles you. Each droplet, each fragment that enters you, you feel a new memory stirring, a lost love, a forgotten pain, an ache of loss - and with it, comes the great pressure of regret, regret of careless actions, the regret of suffering, regret of war, regret of death, and you feel your mind begin buckling from the pressure - so MUCH, all at once, so much damage done to others... so much so an entire FORTRESS may be built from such pain. And suddenly, through the torrent of regrets, you feel the first incarnation again. His hand, invisible and weightless, is upon your shoulder, steadying you. He doesn't speak, but with his touch, you suddenly remember your name. ...and it is such a simple thing, not at all what you thought it might be, and you feel yourself suddenly comforted. In knowing your name, your true name, you know that you have gained back perhaps the most important part of yourself. In knowing your name, you know yourself, and you know, now, there is very little you cannot do.

I think I'm going to buy the game on gog or similar and give it a go.

I really don't remember a lot of the particulars people are going over now. Perhaps I should've replayed before I started reattuning myself with the ending... but oh well. I imagine I will still get enjoyment from the endeavour.

I wish that they would make more D&D style RPGs these days, along the same vein as Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale or Planescape. I miss my extraordinarily text-heavy adventures. I'm thinking of replaying Baldur's Gate 2 at least.

I have been advised to run with maxed intelligence and wisdom stats for the better dialogue options etc - which I would've probably done anyway, so I could run mage.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I love that you can use that as a threat to yourself, to will yourself out of existence.

It's a really interesting concept, that belief that cause something to be true. Like if you refer to yourself as Adahn continuously, you cause a man called Adahn to come into existence to fill that void, as you are not Adahn. Or that Vhailor seems to live on 'in some way', despite the fact that his human form is dead. He seems almost that he doesn't even realise that he is actually dead, so his mind/soul has allowed him to continue, in the form of his own armour, his duties.

I guess his fate wasn't written so it is open for speculation then is the answer? I can't see the original game creators/writers having said anything on it.

Well, depending upon how you "build" your nameless one, your stats can vary considerably. When you end up with a willpower in the 30 - 40 range, you literally have the will equivalent to a god and it can prove sufficient to the task of bending reality to your whim. I don't think a normal human, who's will is capped at 18 (and barring access to multiple magical artifacts of staggering power is fully capped at around 25), could reasonably expect to achieve the same end. Or perhaps it is possible in the Planescape universe - beyond being a perfectly dedicated physical embodiment of impartial and merciless judgement, Vhailor was just a dude in a suit of armor. In his case, he didn't live on so much as his dedication to law did.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

I love that you can use that as a threat to yourself, to will yourself out of existence.

It's a really interesting concept, that belief that cause something to be true. Like if you refer to yourself as Adahn continuously, you cause a man called Adahn to come into existence to fill that void, as you are not Adahn. Or that Vhailor seems to live on 'in some way', despite the fact that his human form is dead. He seems almost that he doesn't even realise that he is actually dead, so his mind/soul has allowed him to continue, in the form of his own armour, his duties.

I guess his fate wasn't written so it is open for speculation then is the answer? I can't see the original game creators/writers having said anything on it.

Well, depending upon how you "build" your nameless one, your stats can vary considerably. When you end up with a willpower in the 30 - 40 range, you literally have the will equivalent to a god and it can prove sufficient to the task of bending reality to your whim. I don't think a normal human, who's will is capped at 18 (and barring access to multiple magical artifacts of staggering power is fully capped at around 25), could reasonably expect to achieve the same end. Or perhaps it is possible in the Planescape universe - beyond being a perfectly dedicated physical embodiment of impartial and merciless judgement, Vhailor was just a dude in a suit of armor. In his case, he didn't live on so much as his dedication to law did.

That does make sense, because when I approached the concept afterwards - thinking about it - I thought, why isn't the world in a constant state of disarray if things can be willed in and out of existence. Surely the everyman would drastically be changing the lives of himself and those around him, all the time.

So that definitely needs a limiter on who and how everything can be affected.

Side note: I don't think I ever got Nodrom last time I played, so I will endeavour to find him this time.

Also feel like replaying Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, after finishing up on Planescape. There's my next week of played time sorted.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Also feel like replaying Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, after finishing up on Planescape. There's my next week of played time sorted.

I tried playing through Baldur's Gate again when the Enhanced Edition came out and, sadly, after about 100 cumulative hours, I just couldn't do it. Turns out, I have a compulsive need to re-roll my character again and again and again and I never settled on if I wanted to play a fighter/mage, a mage/thief/ a fighter/cleric, etc.

Honestly, I would play a fighter/cleric or even pure cleric if it weren't for the arbitrary "no bladed weapons" rule. I know that there are some very good blunt weapons (flail of ages for example) but I just don't like them.

Also, Nodrom is awesome and personally stayed a part of my party. Morte, Nordrom, and Falls-From-Grace were actually my favorites in the game.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

Also feel like replaying Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, after finishing up on Planescape. There's my next week of played time sorted.

I tried playing through Baldur's Gate again when the Enhanced Edition came out and, sadly, after about 100 cumulative hours, I just couldn't do it. Turns out, I have a compulsive need to re-roll my character again and again and again and I never settled on if I wanted to play a fighter/mage, a mage/thief/ a fighter/cleric, etc.

Honestly, I would play a fighter/cleric or even pure cleric if it weren't for the arbitrary "no bladed weapons" rule. I know that there are some very good blunt weapons (flail of ages for example) but I just don't like them.

Also, Nodrom is awesome and personally stayed a part of my party. Morte, Nordrom, and Falls-From-Grace were actually my favorites in the game.

Stayed up late last night to talk to a floating skull and loot the innards of still-walking zombies 10/10.

That's my quick review of Planescape!

Did Baldur's Gate enhanced edition bring the rules and classes of bg2 into bg1 or does it have the limited listing as it always did?

I think I'm going to buy it regardless, but it would be nice to know, for example, if I could make a sorcerer in bg1 and carry it through to bg2, or if I am stuck making a mage.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Also feel like replaying Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, after finishing up on Planescape. There's my next week of played time sorted.

I tried playing through Baldur's Gate again when the Enhanced Edition came out and, sadly, after about 100 cumulative hours, I just couldn't do it. Turns out, I have a compulsive need to re-roll my character again and again and again and I never settled on if I wanted to play a fighter/mage, a mage/thief/ a fighter/cleric, etc.

Honestly, I would play a fighter/cleric or even pure cleric if it weren't for the arbitrary "no bladed weapons" rule. I know that there are some very good blunt weapons (flail of ages for example) but I just don't like them.

Also, Nodrom is awesome and personally stayed a part of my party. Morte, Nordrom, and Falls-From-Grace were actually my favorites in the game.

Stayed up late last night to talk to a floating skull and loot the innards of still-walking zombies 10/10.

That's my quick review of Planescape!

Did Baldur's Gate enhanced edition bring the rules and classes of bg2 into bg1 or does it have the limited listing as it always did?

I think I'm going to buy it regardless, but it would be nice to know, for example, if I could make a sorcerer in bg1 and carry it through to bg2, or if I am stuck making a mage.

If you ignore the added content (a few new party members and a few small quests here and there) Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition is basically Baldur's Gate played with the BG1TuTu mod which plays the game in the Baldur's Gate 2 engine (and rule set). It is less prone to the small glitches the BG1TuTu mod had but those were relatively easy to ignore.

If you have a burning desire to play it, I'd certainly recommend it. While it is possible to get Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 to run in Windows 7, it can be a bit of a pain. I had terrible frame rate issues with the non-enhanced edition until I found a workaround (that I no longer fully remember) that included playing the game in a window which, at my native resolution, resulted in trying to play on a postage stamp.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Stayed up late last night to talk to a floating skull and loot the innards of still-walking zombies 10/10.

That's my quick review of Planescape!

Did Baldur's Gate enhanced edition bring the rules and classes of bg2 into bg1 or does it have the limited listing as it always did?

I think I'm going to buy it regardless, but it would be nice to know, for example, if I could make a sorcerer in bg1 and carry it through to bg2, or if I am stuck making a mage.

I'd roll as a Cleric for BG2 if I were you. Game is thick with Undead and Clerics shine as a result. You only get one non-evil Clerical option in the game, and he's a raging douche canoe and a split class at that (if I remember correctly).

On Planescape's ending...very similar thematically to Bioshock Infinite, to the point where I suspect the latter was heavily informed by the former. I'll never understand why Infinite's ending was controversial and reviled in some quarters while Planescape's was universally beloved, but I suspect it's some combination of http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ItsPopularNowItSucks and the fact a distressing number of people still seem to believe the game was a screed on racism and/or a rigorously scientific demonstration of quantum mechanics in action.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

Also feel like replaying Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, after finishing up on Planescape. There's my next week of played time sorted.

I tried playing through Baldur's Gate again when the Enhanced Edition came out and, sadly, after about 100 cumulative hours, I just couldn't do it. Turns out, I have a compulsive need to re-roll my character again and again and again and I never settled on if I wanted to play a fighter/mage, a mage/thief/ a fighter/cleric, etc.

Honestly, I would play a fighter/cleric or even pure cleric if it weren't for the arbitrary "no bladed weapons" rule. I know that there are some very good blunt weapons (flail of ages for example) but I just don't like them.

Also, Nodrom is awesome and personally stayed a part of my party. Morte, Nordrom, and Falls-From-Grace were actually my favorites in the game.

Stayed up late last night to talk to a floating skull and loot the innards of still-walking zombies 10/10.

That's my quick review of Planescape!

Did Baldur's Gate enhanced edition bring the rules and classes of bg2 into bg1 or does it have the limited listing as it always did?

I think I'm going to buy it regardless, but it would be nice to know, for example, if I could make a sorcerer in bg1 and carry it through to bg2, or if I am stuck making a mage.

If you ignore the added content (a few new party members and a few small quests here and there) Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition is basically Baldur's Gate played with the BG1TuTu mod which plays the game in the Baldur's Gate 2 engine (and rule set). It is less prone to the small glitches the BG1TuTu mod had but those were relatively easy to ignore.

If you have a burning desire to play it, I'd certainly recommend it. While it is possible to get Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 to run in Windows 7, it can be a bit of a pain. I had terrible frame rate issues with the non-enhanced edition until I found a workaround (that I no longer fully remember) that included playing the game in a window which, at my native resolution, resulted in trying to play on a postage stamp.

To be honest I played bg1 when I was so young that the chances are I won't remember a vast amount of the content. I just have vague recollections of areas, story, certain characters.

I dunno how I feel about new characters though, do they fit in well enough?

I much prefer spending money and getting rid of those workaround frustrations and just having the game immediately playable. I know this means I've really overpaid for the experience by buying the enhanced edition, but really it is providing what I want.

I want the continued storyline of having one character through bg1 and 2 as well, so I need to replay bg1 to get this. I remember the dwarf fighter I made when I was little had like max charisma, low strength and all kinds of terrible stats. He was definitely not a force to be reckoned with!...

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

Stayed up late last night to talk to a floating skull and loot the innards of still-walking zombies 10/10.

That's my quick review of Planescape!

Did Baldur's Gate enhanced edition bring the rules and classes of bg2 into bg1 or does it have the limited listing as it always did?

I think I'm going to buy it regardless, but it would be nice to know, for example, if I could make a sorcerer in bg1 and carry it through to bg2, or if I am stuck making a mage.

I'd roll as a Cleric for BG2 if I were you. Game is thick with Undead and Clerics shine as a result. You only get one non-evil Clerical option in the game, and he's a raging douche canoe and a split class at that (if I remember correctly).

On Planescape's ending...very similar thematically to Bioshock Infinite, to the point where I suspect the latter was heavily informed by the former. I'll never understand why Infinite's ending was controversial and reviled in some quarters while Planescape's was universally beloved, but I suspect it's some combination of http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ItsPopularNowItSucks and the fact a distressing number of people still seem to believe the game was a screed on racism and/or a rigorously scientific demonstration of quantum mechanics in action.

Making that leap and deciding on your class seems like such a commitment in baldur's gate that I'm almost too scared to make it.

In WoW or similar games I just solved it by having a ton of characters of varying classes. But you can't really do this in Baldur's Gate, unless you make your whole party, but then you miss out on a large part of the game - recruiting teammates and the interactions they lead to.

Typically I'd play fighters when I was little, nowadays it's definitely more towards mages/sorcerers. I think I will be bored if I choose anything else!

Maybe I could dual-class it?!???