• Introduction!
  
  
• Creating a new Nameless One!
  
  
• Specialization Bonus & Proficiency!
  
  
• Alignment!
  
  
• Mage Spells!
  
  
• Factions!
  
  
• Helpful Tips!
  
  
• My Favourite Build!
  
  
• Credits

Torment is not your usual CRPG (Computer Role Playing Game). Firstly, it is
the very first game set in the Planescape Multiverse (and the last as well).
The game is not set in one definite world, but rather, many worlds, or
"Planes" of existence. In the "Planes" belief is literally power, as when
enough people believe something, it can become a reality. This isn't always
a good thing...

Your character in Torment, the Nameless One, is also not your typical Hero.
He has no name for starters. And he can't die. Sure he can be killed, but
that doesn't really get him down, he just dusts himself off and gets right
back up. (usually in the Mortuary) And yet, he has no memories of himself,
the only information he has is written on his back (in tattoo form) and from
a chatty floating skull named Morte.

The Nameless One's Quest is a personal one, rather than an Epic "Save the
World" quest. He wants to discover Who He Is, and Why Can't I Die? In
searching for the answers to these questions, he has run around the
multiverse a multitude of times, and each time he has forgotten what he had
managed to accomplish in his previous attempts. Can he remember long enough
to break the cycle? Will the Nameless One ever be free of his cursed
immortality?

You don't really "create" a character here, you merely "add" as many stats as you can to do well in the game. You start with a 9 in every stat, and are given 21 stat points to build with. At every level you gain, you will get a new Stat point to place however you will. There are also various items that increase your Stats, either by effect, or by permanently raising your stat. Finally, stats can also be increased through special dialogue options in the game.

I recommend placing points in Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma, why? Because Torment isn't as combat oriented as other CRPGs. A lot of experience (and other fun bonuses) can simply be gained in conversation, but only if you have good enough stats for it. For example, if you are talking to someone who wants to kill you, if you have a high Charisma, you could charm them out of it, or high enough Intelligence, and you can out-think them to avoid combat.

Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are important, but I wouldn't start the game with them.



Strength:

In combat, strength influences both your ability to hit
(THAC0) and the damage that you can do, while outside of
combat it determines just how much stuff you can carry, your
ability to bash open doors and chests, etc. Also there are
some Dialogue options that can only be successfully completed
with a high (15+ usually) strength score. Strength is great
and all, but for a New Nameless One, it isn't that crucial.
But by the end of the game, be sure to have lots of it!

Most useful for: Fighters, Chaotic, and Evil characters


Dexterity:

In combat, Dexterity influences your ability to avoid getting
hit by an enemy. Outside of combat, Dexterity is mainly used
for things like thievery. For example, there are some
pickpockets around, and if you are Dexterous enough (oh, 13+)
you can catch them in the act (although you also have to have
a good Wisdom to know to look for it).

Most useful for: Fighters, Thieves, and Chaotic characters


Constitution:

Quickens your regeneration rate, adds more HPs per level, and
other fun things.

Most useful for: Anyone

Constitution Note:

Constitution is handled differently in Torment, than in previous AD&D
CRPG's. It's retroactive. That is, if you increase your Constitution, you
will gain all the Bonus HP's as if you had had that Constitution from the
start of the game. (This is both good and bad, we'll get to the bad in a
moment) This means that you won't be punished by avoiding Constitution in
the beginning of the game. When you get it later, you'll get all those
HP's that you missed. This is especially sweet when you get an Item that
increases your Constitution, as you'll see instantly your new HP's.

So what's the bad side? If you lose constitution, you lose all the bonus
HP's that came with the high constitution. Therefore you can't just give a
CON+2 tattoo to someone, level them up for the bonus HP's, then give the
tattoo to someone else. As soon as the item is gone, so are the HP's.

I think that the good points outweigh the bad points, though.


Intelligence:

No combat effects. Outside of combat the most notable thing
about Intelligence is how it effects Dialogues. Smart
characters can think their way out of situations (again a 15+
Int is usually required for this). However, some situations
are better solved by a high Wisdom than they are by a high
Intelligence. Intelligence also greatly influences your
mages, not only in the % to learn a spell successfully, but
also in the number of spells that they can learn per Casting
Level. Finally Intelligence increases your Lore skill.

Most useful for: Mages


Wisdom:

The best stat in the game, bar none. Wisdom gives a great
bonus to experience, which in turn leads to the faster gaining
of levels. Also has an effect on Priests, by giving them
bonus spells the higher Wisdom they have. But since YOU can't
be a Priest, that doesn't help. The best effect, however, is
in the Dialogues where you will get the BEST options, as well
as the most Recovered Memories, and your "inner voice" will
even warn you of dangerous dialogue options. Also increases
your Lore skill.

Wisdom Note:

A Wisdom of 12 and lower, no bonus
13 gives you about a 2% bonus to experience
14 5%
15 8%
16 10%
17 13%
18 15%
19 18%
20 20%
21 23%
22 25%
23 27%
24 30%
25 35%

So, with a Wisdom of 25, if you get 1000 experience (assuming you
have no extra companions to split it) you will actually get 1350
experience.


Charisma:

Charisma is useful, but not on the scale of Wisdom. Charisma
has all its benefits in dialogues. It brings up new options,
but these options usually aren't any better than what Wisdom
would get you. Charming your way out of something works less
well than being Wise enough to get out of something. Also can
increase certain rewards.

Most useful for: Chaotic characters

Whichever class first reaches level 7 is considered TNO's first Specialization. The second Specialization occurs at level 12. If these are both the same class, this is called double specialization.

The Nameless One gets a Specialization Bonus at the 7th and 12th levels of whichever class he currently is. You only get each bonus once, so if you take the 7th level fighter bonus, you can't get the 7th level mage bonus. You could, however, take the 7th level fighter bonus, then the 12th level mage bonus. If you do THAT however, you will end out taking the 7th level mage, as you must have the 7th level specialization to get the 12th.

Fighter:

7th + 1 STR, able to have 4 proficiency in a weapon
12th + 1 STR, + 1 CON, + 3 HP, able to have 5 proficiency

Mage:

7th + 1 INT
12th + 2 INT, + 1 WIS, + 5 Lore

Thief:

7th + 1 DEX
12th + 2 DEX, + 1 Luck


Note: If you somehow end out gaining enough experience to the point where
you would be gaining enough levels to get BOTH specializations at
the same time, you actually will only get the first specialization.
So, if you are a Fighter at level 6, and level up to level 12, you
will only get the STR +1.

And besides cheating how would you get into this situation? I have
no idea.




Proficiency:
A character's skills with a particular weapon type are called proficiency, and can be increased by Trainers, using the character's stock of proficiency points, which are shown only by asterisks * on the character chart. A maximum of nine proficiency points is given, enough for the maximum of five in one weapon (with double specialization as a fighter) and four in another. Their bonuses are shown below

Bonuses
Attack speed is a major bonus gained by weapon specialization and using proficiency points


Attack speed:
There is no such thing as Damage per Second in Torment. Weapon speed is no more than a slight tactical advantage, giving the final attack at the end of combat before other damaging blows to the fastest weapon user. Other tactical considerations are equivocal, i.e. if one is damaged earlier, then using healing items in time might be more difficult, or it might be better to get those attacks and the subsequent healing out of the way so that commands can be issued for the next sequence of attacks. The point being, that the following bonuses DO affect attack speed, in that they give EXTRA attacks.

The below effects stack with specialization bonuses for a maximum of three attacks per round

• Weapons that have been trained to their second ** level gives an extra half an attack, i.e., every second round, TNO gets an extra attack. Weapons that have been trained to their fifth ***** level get an identical bonus, for a total of two attacks per round.
  
  
• Fighter seventh level or first specialization gives an extra half an attack. Thirteenth level or second specialization gets an identical bonus, for a total of two attacks per round.
  
  

Unlike in every previous AD&D CRPG (that's Computer Role Playing Game), you do not select your hero's Alignment at the start of the game. In fact, you don't ever get to choose the alignment. Instead, the game decides what alignment you are based on your actions. If you act Good, then you have a Good alignment, if you always tell the truth, then you have a Lawful Alignment, and so forth.



Alignment Types:


Lawful: The lawful character always tells the truth, never lies. So, if
you see the "lie" option, don't use it. Law is supreme. If
someone says that Chaos is the way to go, don't believe them. And
don't join up with the Anarchists or the Xaositects either. And
don't waste skeleton's time by bothering them with stupid
questions.

Chaotic: Say whatever pops into your head. Make fun of Morte, and ask
skeletons why they bother wearing smocks. Be impulsive. Act a
little crazy now and then. Lie to people. If you told someone
that you wouldn't do something, go ahead and do it anyway.

Good: Do the right thing. Never ever kill people who don't deserve it.
(But go ahead and kill any evil things that you want) Help people
out, and don't ask for a reward. Don't threaten people either.

Evil: Threaten to kill people if they don't do what you want, then
actually kill them. Lie, cheat, steal, kill, hurt, and generally
do everything that you shouldn't.


Here are the Alignments:

Lawful Good -- Lawful Good characters strongly believe in order and
the betterment of life for others. Their definition of
"betterment of life" for others can vary, however.

Neutral Good -- Neutral Good characters believe in the balance between
law and chaos, but they lean towards performing good
actions.

Chaotic Good -- Chaotic Good characters aren't concerned with structure
or order. They are individualists who tend toward
performing acts of kindness.

Lawful Neutral -- Lawful Neutral characters believe in order over all
other concerns.

True Neutral -- where you start the game

True Neutral characters believe in maintaining the
balance of law and chaos. They don't tip the scales
between the two and tend to oppose anyone who does.

Chaotic Neutral -- Chaotic Neutral characters do not believe in order.
This is the alignment of lunatics, madmen, and
impulsive characters.

Lawful Evil -- These characters believe in organized evil and prefer
to further the causes of evil and villainy in an
orderly, hierarchial manner. You believe in laws...
and fairness...to the extent that they improve your
situation or undermine another's place.

Neutral Evil -- These characters believe in the balance between law
and chaos, but they lean towards performing evil
actions. It's more of a selfish, egocentric evil in
which they're more concerned with making sure they're
taken care of first, and the rest of the planes can go
to their own hells-after they've been bled for all
their worth.

Chaotic Evil -- These characters are the epitomy of villainy. They
care nothing about order, truth and justice and serve
their own selfish desires at every opportunity. While
Neutral Evil characters tend to be selfish, Chaotic
Evil characters actively go out and promote evil, with
little regard for the consequences other than causing
dissent and harm to others.

A spell is an offensive or defensive ability magic wielders can use in or out of combat. In Planescape: Torment, there are two varieties: those used by mages, and those of priests.

Torment follows the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules, which means that mages must first learn spells from scrolls by copying them to their spell book, which hold a limited number of spells depending on the mage's level and intelligence. The number of slots available in the spell book can be temporarily increased with accessories such as the Amber Earrings, though if the accessory is subsequently removed, the extra spells will also be removed.

Mages must then rest to memorize and replenish each spell after adding it to their spell book or casting it. If a mage wishes to cast the same spell twice in a row without resting in between, he must add two copies of the spell to his spell book.

Advancing as a mage can be quite easy. Mages require less XP to level up, and there are many mage-oriented quests.

Mage level 1



Mage level 2



Mage level 3



Mage level 4



Mage level 5



Mage level 6

* Antimagic Shell and Howl of Pandemonium cannot be learnt in game. Some NPCs or items may cast them though, to be verified.


Mage Level 7

* Guardian Mantle cannot be learnt in game. Some NPCs or items may cast it though, to be verified.


Mage level 8



Mage level 9

* Conflagration and Elysium's Fires cannot be learnt in game. Some NPCs or items may cast them though



Priest Spells:
Unlike Mage spells, priest spells don't require scrolls and items to learn. Instead, priests learn spells automatically as they level up. Fall-from-Grace is the only priest companion and, as such, the only one capable of learning these spells.




Notes:
During the extended animation of spells such as Elysium's Tears and Cloudkill, enemy movement is halted and the player cannot issue new commands to player characters, but movement commands already issued will be executed; the player can use this "free movement" advantage (especially against ranged enemies), but beware of sending characters to potentially dangerous locations while casting of such spells.

During these animations, the Damage over Time of spells such as Swarm Curse will continue ticking, but then stop halfway through, for damage that is delivered sooner but reduced in total.


Missile of Patience

There's an awful lot of confusion about this spell and rightly so.

From levels 1 through 8 (Mage levels, it doesn't matter that dak'kon's combined level is 14, only that his MAGE level is at 7), all this spell does is show a sling shot float in the air and shoot a small glowing projectile at an enemy that does 1 damage. Pretty garbage.

For levels 9 and 10, the graphic shows a ghostly floating bow firing an arrow at the target for around 15 damage. It's okay, but it takes too long to come out and does less damage on average than magic missile at that same level, so still pretty worthless. Both this and the sling only fire one projectile.

At level 11 is where this spell gets fu**ing awesome. The graphic shows a ghostly BALLISTA appear several feet in the air, crash to the ground, and fire at your target. About a third of a second after that, assuming you haven't clicked anything after that, it can fire another, the same way you can throw multiple ice knives. And another, and another and another.... I haven't bothered to count, but I would guess it's somewhere in the range of 10-12 projectiles each doing 5-15 damage, making a very high damage spell indeed. The only downside is that it takes 2-3 seconds from when you cast the spell before it can start firing.

Factions are an order or fraternity that possesses a strong central belief. Joining a faction is meant to provide a sense of purpose to the player, but there are also many benefits to vowing your allegiance, including the ability to purchase exclusive armor, weapons, and other items that wouldn't be readily available otherwise. There are fifteen factions in the Planescape campaign setting, but you will only have the opportunity to join five of them in Torment.

The Nameless One can join any of these factions below.


Revolutionary League ("Anarchists")



These sods claim that Guvners, Chaosmen, Mercykillers, Athar - every last one of them - no longer care about the truth. Their factols all have property, bodyguards, jink, and influence. They're not looking for the truth; they just want to hang onto what they've got. Well, the Anarchists say it's time for that to change. It's time to break free of the chains and seek the real truth. And that's only going to happen when a body's free of the bonds of the other factions.

Motto: Destroy the factions; they're built on lies and greed. Break them all down and rebuild with what's left; that's the way to the real truth.




Dustmen ("The Dead")



These guys say Life's a joke, a great trick. Nobody's alive; in fact, there's no such thing as Life. Sure, the petitioners are dead compared to the rest of us, but everybody else is dead too - they just don't know it yet. So what's the chant? Simple: "All these worlds and all these universes are just shadows of another existence." This multiverse - this is where beings wind up after they die.
Look, if things were truly alive, would there be such pain and misery in the multiverse? 'Course not! Life is supposed to be about celebration and positive feelings. Existence here is muted, dull, full of pain, and twisted with sorrow. What kind of celebration is that? This existence is a mockery of true life.

The berk who gets restless and rushes things dies a fool, and he'll probably be forced to go through the whole thing all over again - that's a real waste of time! Here's the chant: Respect Death, and don't ever treat it like a servant.

Motto: Everyone is dead. Purge your passions, and in so doing, ascend toward the purity of True Death.




The Believers of the Source ("Godsmen")



To these characters, all things are godly. All things can ascend to greater glory - if not in this life, then in the next. Patience, that's all it takes. See, here's the chant: Everything - primes, planars, petitioners, proxies, the whole lot - is being tested. Survive, succeed, and ascend - that's the goal of all beings. Fail and get reincarnated to try again. It's pretty simple and straightforward.
'Course, it ain't that easy either. First off, nobody really knows what the tests are. Is a body supposed to be good, evil, or what? Godsmen are trying to figure that out. Second, a fellow might go in reverse - mess up and come back as a prime or something worse in the next life.

So you see, the Godsmen calculate that's the whole purpose of multiverse. The Prime Material, the Inner, and the Outer Planes - they exist to test and purge. It's just a matter of figuring what's being tested and how. When that happens, the Godsmen can hasten the end of the universe and get on with some new existence.

Motto: All life springs from the same divine source, ascending and descending in form as the cosmos tests it.




The Society of Sensation ("Sensates")



According to these folks, the multiverse is known by the senses - the only proofs of existence. Without experience, without sensation, a thing isn't. If a sod can't taste the soup, then it ain't soup. The only way to know anything for sure is to use the senses.
Look, it ain't that hard to understand. Which is real, a description of the rose or the rose itself? Only a barmy'd choose the description, which ain't real. It's got no smell, no thorns, no color. Picking a rose, that's real, and the way a body knows is by experiencing it. The senses are the only way to know the universe.

Given that, the multiverse has limits, and a body can try to experience it all. A being's got to savor the intensity, explore the complexity. Don't just guzzle the wine - find all the flavors within it. Before a sod's all done, he'll learn the difference between Arborean and Ysgardian wine, know them by vintage, and even by the hand of the vinter. Only then do the secrets of the multiverse start to make themselves clear.

Motto: Know the universe by experiencing it fully. The senses form the path to truth, for the multiverse doesn't exist beyond what can be sensed.




The Xaositects ("Chaosmen")



As these sods see it, the multiverse wasn't born from Chaos - the multiverse is Chaos. There's no order, no pattern to anything. That's the meaning of the multiverse, the great secret everyone else is just too dull-witted and cowardly to admit! Look around. Is there any pattern to this existence? Any order that gives it all meaning? None, not a one.

So why fight it, since Chaos is how things are meant to be? It has a beauty and wonder all its own. By gazing upon Chaos, learning to appreciate the randomness of it and understanding its sublime intricacies, the Xaositects learn the secrets of the multiverse. They want to play within the unshapeable Chaos, and to be a part of its uncontrollable energies.

Motto: Truth chaos is. By randomness embracing the of the multiverse, secrets its one learns

• Basically the sticking point of understanding the mechanics is knowing about Armour Class and THAC0. Armour Class is how hard you are to hit, lower being better (and negative numbers also being possible). 'THAC0' means 'To Hit Armour Class 0' - it's a stat each character has which says how good/accurate they are, again with lower being better. THAC0 is the number they have to roll to hit an enemy with an AC of 0, based on a 1 to 20 dice roll. For example if an enemy has AC of -1 and a character has THAC0 of 16, that character has to roll 17 or higher to hit.
  
  Those are the most important things to understand and tbh you don't really need to understand them. I didn't really when I first played. Just that low is good for both THAC0 and AC.
  
  
• The Nameless One starts the game as a Fighter. Later in the game, you can
  find trainers to switch your class to either Mage or Thief, or back to
  Fighter. This isn't multi-classing in the regular AD&D sense. You completely
  change over to that class.
  
  
• North of the northwest portion is Ragpicker's Square, where the very important Mebbeth lives. She's the only person that can heal you in the Hive and she is also the person who can train you to become a mage. I would recommend against doing so until you reach fighter level 6. that way you'll have more HP to play with.
  
  
• Go to gameplay options and activate heal on rest, max hp on levelup, always run and the cloud saves option.
  
  
• The Nameless One's actions affect companions directly and can lead to them permanently leaving the party, or even dying. If a companion leaves or dies, their equipment and the contents of their inventory will be lost.
  
  
• The Nameless One can revive his companions if they died during combat by using his Raise Dead ability. However, if dead companions are removed from the party, it becomes impossible to revive them.
  
  
• Be sure to examine *every* item you get on your inventory screen. Chances are, the description gives clues on how the item can be used effectively -- sometimes, an item's secondary power can be more useful than it's primary ability.
  
  
• Be sure to talk to your party members once they are in your party. They can offer advice, be a good source of experience, and even train you in skills and abilities. Often, helping them with their problems can make them stronger.
  
  The topics you can ask them about can change over time and based on what you do in the game - especially when you change your class. Chances are, any mage in your party can offer advice to your character when he becomes a mage, and the same holds true for thieves and fighters.
  
  
• Your weapon experience is based on finding tutors and getting trained. You'll start out with moderate skill in daggers and fist weapons, but any other type of weapon you try and use will carry penalties until you can find a tutor to train you. So before you rip that heavy axe off the Mortuary wall in the hopes of cleaving some zombies, keep in mind that a dagger might help you live longer until you can find someone to train you in the axe.
  
  
• You can RUN. Some critters can't. Use this to give them a bad day... from a distance. Running is also toggled on the Options screen, so if your thumb is about to fall off, just jump to options screen and toggle running on.
  
  
• Some store inventories change over time depending on what you do in the game, especially the tattoo parlor and some of the weapon stores. Always head back there when you have a life-shattering event.
  
  
• You will NEVER fail to copy a spell scroll if you can cast the spell and your Intelligence is high enough for you to learn that level of spell. This is done just to prevent reloading. However, there are a lot of spells in the game and your Intelligence determines the number of spells you can actually put in your spell book. So make sure you don't pump up your slots filled with spells unless you really want them -- or unless you have plans to raise your Intelligence later.
  
  
• If you happen to be a thief (or if you have Annah in your posse), raise the pickpocket ability as high as you can. This way, you'll be able to *nick* items from stores/people more easly, a less painful way to buy items.
  
  
• There are plenty of items and people who can give you stat points throughout the game. If a stat seems to be limiting you from doing something, try and accumulate items to pump up the appropritate stat and try again.
  
  
• The warrior get's a +1 STR bonus (at level 7) that raises STR from 18 to 19. It's like adding 5 points to STR at once. Warrior class users should take advantage of this.
  
  
• Save before talking to NPCs -- some dialogues are more dangerous than combat, and you might want a second try at some of them.
  
  
• There's a lot of combat in Torment, but you'll inevitably be rewarded a LOT more for not fighting in a number of situations. Don't be surprised if talking someone down or tricking them is worth three or more times what you'd get if you butchered them.
  
  
• Torment favors role-players. Get into your character, play it to the hilt, and you'll find the game has rewards just for your type of character.
  
  
• During initial character creation, you can't raise your stats over 18 (or in the case of strength, 18/00). When you start leveling up however and gaining more stat points, however, this cap is gone.
  
  
• If you get stuck, read your journal -- within the journal entries are usually clues to what you can do next. If that fails, ask one of your companions what you should do next (especially Morte, Annah and Fall-From-Grace). They can help point you in the right direction.
  
  
• Hold down the ALT key when you want to rotate your formations.
  
  
• You can guard an area (like in Baldur’s) just by selecting the shield and then dragging it out into a circle. This prevents your more over-zealous characters from running off the screen chasing a fleeing bad guy.
  
  
• There is no armor in this game (Not for TNO anyway). You use magical rings, artifacts and tattoos instead.
  
  
• Use Morte's Litany of Curses! If your level is too low and you find your Nameless One being killed by random thugs, use this ability to make the thugs attack Morte instead. Morte is a fantastic tank.
  
  
• There are two "hidden stats" maintained by the game:
  
  Lore gives you a chance to identify items without a spell. This Increases as you level.
  
  Luck is a very powerful stat. You can get from 1 to 3 luck points. For each point of luck, you get a +1 to hit, +1 to damage, +1 to saving throw, and +1 HP from healing spells. Opponents get -1 to hit and -1 to damage. Plus you get a small bonus to thief skills, bashing, and weapon speed.
  
  
• There are often many times in the game where you won't want to fight, or
  simply are too wounded to put up a decent fight. Or maybe you're just
  tired of it, in any case you want out. Well here's one strategy I have
  used a number of times to get myself out of a mess.
  
  Say that you are in a relatively safe place at the moment, but if you move,
  you'll be attacked in a battle that you can't win. And now you have to get
  across a very hostile area with some very nasty monsters in it, to get to a
  new area entirely across the way. Here's what to do:
  
  Send the Nameless One out alone, running to the new area. Don't stop to
  fight anything, just run.
  
  It's a lot easier to move just one person out, and avoid fights, the more
  people out there, the more likely one of them is to pick a fight. Plus the
  Nameless One has regeneration. This strategy takes advantage of the fact
  that you only need one member of your party moving to a new area, either by
  portal or by walking, to get to that area. In Baldur's Gate you had to
  have your entire party going to the new area, but in Torment, any one
  person can get to the new area, and your entire party will get there.
  
  
  

This is my go-to build for this game.

• You will want 18 Wis, and you *will* want to boost it constantly. End of story. There's a +2 Wis tattoo, and it's always a good thing to wear, so get yourself to 23 Wis and use that until your natural Wis reaches 25 and you can ditch the tattoo.
  
  
• If you start with 17 Int and plan on being a Mage (Mages are awesome), then you can safely *not* increase it at all during level-ups. Seriously. Level 7 as a Mage gets you +1 Int, Level 12 gets you +2 Int and +1 Wis, and the Level 12 Mage tattoo gives you +3 Int. And then there's the normal +2 Int one. That's +8. 17 + 8 = 25.
  
  
• With 18 Wis and 17 Int, that allows you to have 13 Cha right from the start, which gets you a little extra money from some quests. Boosting Cha from level-ups after you've taken Wis as far as you want to is a good idea. I mean, your party members can fight in melee for you. It's not a big deal.
  
  
  So in other words: 17 Int, 18 Wis, 13 Cha.

i've compiled this little guide with information from various sources from the net and i did not want to end this guide before i've actually credited those that stood for most of the work.

Dan Simpson (DSimpson) at Gamefaqs:
If you need an amazing in-depth guide and walkthrough you should totally look this guy up, he is amazing at what he does. https://www.gamefaqs.com/community/D_Simpson

Other sources:
http://torment.wikia.com/wiki/Torment_Wiki
http://www.sorcerers.net
http://shrines.rpgclassics.com
http://bootstrike.com