Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition Easter Eggs

Planescape: Torment is a game chock-full of real world references and various Easter eggs. The latest post on Beamdog’s blog describes a couple of them. And while some are quite obvious, there are several that lean towards the obscure. It’s quite an interesting read, but be aware of mild spoilers.

An excerpt:

During your travels in Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition you may discover barrels with radioactive warning stickers on them. The images above show a couple of those barrels in the Wrecked Home and the Tenement of Thugs. These are a nod to Fallout, a game many of the original Planescape: Torment team members worked on.

There’s another Fallout Easter egg in PST:EE that wasteland wandering fans may notice – picking up or dropping the Pet Lim-Lim in the inventory screen is the same sound as in Fallout’s inventory screen.

Li Shangyin was a Chinese poet of the late Tang Dynasty, “rediscovered” in the 20th century and famous for his tantalizing “no title” poems. If the Nameless One talks to Zombie #1041 on the ground floor of the Mortuary and uses the Stories-Bones-Tell skill, we’re treated to part of a Li Shangyin’s poem which can be translated as:

It is difficult to meet as it is difficult to part,
The north wind has weakened; hundreds of flowers fade way,
When the Spring worms die, the silk shall never come again,
When the candle wax becomes ash, tears shall stop.

The original team on Planescape: Torment liked many books, comics, and games. According to Chris Avellone, Annah and Fall-From-Grace were inspired by Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge from Archie comics. In the comics Veronica enjoys a very posh lifestyle but chooses to hang out with her less affluent friends. Her best friend (and sometimes arch-rival) is Betty Cooper, and the two enjoy countless activities and interests. However, they are also at constant competition for the love interest.

It’s also interesting that Annah is derived from the Hebrew name Hannah, which in turn means “Grace.” Since the Nameless One can meet Fall-From-Grace during his travels, the party can include two female members literally named “Grace” and “Fall-From-Grace”.