Planescape: Torment - D&D Hall of Fame Nominee @ Diehard GameFAN

Next in line is Planescape:Torment to enter Diehard GameFAN's hall of fame:

…and here it is. The one Dungeons & Dragons video game that is spoken of with such reverence amongst video game fans that it is hard to believe it is a licensed title. In fact, this game dominated the 1999/2000 awards scene across the globe, is considered to be Interplay and Black Isle’s greatest creation ever (although Fallout is far more famous since it is still around) and shows up on nearly every “Top XXX Games of All Time” lists regardless of what site or magazine puts it out. When someone boldly proclaims this game to be the greatest RPG of all time or the greatest PC game of all time, those statements are generally met with acceptance or mild debate with titles like X-Com thrown out as possible contenders as well. By now everyone knows I’m talking about Planescape: Torment. Of you know…they could have just looked at the title of this piece.
Planescape: Torment is the very epitome of a cult classic in our industry. It is a game whose fame and sales came about because of word of mouth and the sheer quality of the game instead of name brand awareness. Hell, the D&D logo didn’t even appear on the cover – only a small TSR logo was there. Unless you were familiar with the tabletop campaign setting by the same name, you’d have no idea what Planescape originally started as. Otherwise, it was just a box with a weird dude’s face on it.

More information.

Never tried this one. I'm putting it off until I have a dedicated amount of time on my hands, preferably in winter when the weather's bad enough that I don't want to go out side. Maybe when I'm in between freelance jobs.

I have to say that the actual description of the setting and the game itself doesn't interest me at all. But it gets such great adulations and reviews that I'm eager to try it. Again, I'm waiting until the time is right.

Alongside Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment is probably the most obvious candidate for the D&D Hall of Fame. It doesn't get much better than PS: T.

just bought it and installed it with tweaks, played the first parts years ago but never finished it. Project for rainy autumn months.

To all the grognards, how do you get the most out of it with limited game time, one play through?
Fighter?
Mage?

C

Maybe as a wizard. High INT, WIS and CHA are useful for finding out more about the story, world etc. If I remember correctly. Tho you'll end up with some fighter levels until you can find a wizard trainer.

Not my cup of tea, but it's hard to ignore as a contender for this kind of thing.

I loved the game when I played it, but I can't remember why I never finished it (but got very far into it so I don't think I'll be trying it again, it is loooooong)

Originally Posted by Maylander
Alongside Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment is probably the most obvious candidate for the D&D Hall of Fame. It doesn't get much better than PS: T.

I agree, even if BG was significantly more enjoyable to me. PS:T is far more deserving than Eye of the Beholder, imho.

Unless you were familiar with the tabletop campaign setting by the same name, you’d have no idea what Planescape originally started as. Otherwise, it was just a box with a weird dude’s face on it.

And therein lay a big part of the reason for its poor sales. I hope whoever was in charge of the game's marketing is nowhere near the RPG game industry these days.

Originally Posted by Crilloan
just bought it and installed it with tweaks, played the first parts years ago but never finished it. Project for rainy autumn months.

To all the grognards, how do you get the most out of it with limited game time, one play through?
Fighter?
Mage?

C

As lumiapina has already pointed out: Mage with high WIS/INT/CHA is the most enjoyable way to play PS: T. It makes a few fights harder here and there, but overall it's still a better experience.

Remember one thing: WIS is the most important stat in PS: T, hands down, no matter what character you decide to play. Not only does it help you through a lot of dialogues, but it also increases the experience you gain by a pretty big %.