Special abilities

Source: Chris Avellone, lead designer of Torment
 

S.1. LITANY OF CURSES (MORTE)
? Type: Special Ability
? Name: Litany of Curses
? Description: Morte can draw upon his repertoire of insults to taunt an opponent into lowering his guard and attacking. The target suffers penalties to hit and damage when enraged.
? Not usable by: Anyone except Morte.
? Minimum Caster Lvl: N/A
? Ability: Instant
? Range: The effect can target any single living target on screen. I do not know what this range translates into.
? Speed Factor: 1
Effect: When Morte’s special ability is selected, the targeting cursor appears and the player may click on one living opponent on screen. This spell cannot target undead creatures. Magic resistance does not affect this spell. The target does get a saving throw vs. Spells to resist the effect, however.
When a target is selected, a brief insult from Morte plays (taken randomly from a list of voice files). If the Litany of Curses is unsuccessful, then nothing happens. If it is successful, the target freezes for two seconds, turns a pulsing red (pulsing like a heartbeat, the effect similar to the Strength spell) and then moves to attack Morte as quickly as possible. The number of taunts that Morte has accumulated will penalize this saving throw.
While the target is taunted, the following effects occur:
1. The target suffers a -2 to hit and a -2 to AC and a -2 to damage as long as the Litany of Curses is in effect.
2. The target’s AI is overridden so the target will always attack Morte with a physical hand to hand attack, no matter what. This lasts only for the duration of the taunt effect.
This special ability can only be used by Morte.

S.2. SKULL MOB (MORTE)
? Type: Special Ability
? Name: Skull Mob
? Description: Morte can summon an avalanche of his friends from the Bones of the Night to come and take a bite out of a target.
? Not usable by: Anyone except Morte.
? Minimum Caster Lvl: N/A
? Ability: Instant
? Range: The effect can target any single target on screen.
? Speed Factor: 1
Effect: A Morte-only "spell". When it is selected, the targeting cursor appears and the player may click on any one opponent on screen. Magic Resistance does not affect this ability. The target gets no saving throw against this effect.
When this spell occurs, everyone on the screen pauses, Morte turns to look off screen and whistles. There is a distant rumbling, the screen shakes, and a horde of skulls bound in from off screen (they don’t fly, they bounce like a skull avalanche) and swarm the chosen target, biting and head-butting, then leave by the opposite side of the screen.
The skulls do 1-4 hit points of normal piercing damage/Morte’s level. Morte can use this ability three times per day.

S.3. STORIES-BONES-TELL (NAMELESS ONE)
? Type: Special Ability
? Name: Stories-Bones-Tell
? Description: A lot of corpses have something to say... if you listen carefully enough. This ability can be used on most undead creatures as well as corpses you may find during your journeys. The spell has no effect on the recently departed.
? Not usable by: Anyone except Nameless One.
? Ability: Instant
? Action Target: Dialogue only.
? Missile Animation: Dialogue only.
? Range: Dialogue only.
? Speed Factor: N/A
Effect: This effect can only be used by the Nameless One. This power can only be used in dialogue. This spell allows the player to initiate dialogue with a specific undead or dead creature (Mortuary zombies or special scenery critters) he was not normally able to do so with before.

S.4. SENSORY TOUCH (FALL-FROM-GRACE/NAMELESS ONE)
? Type: Special Ability
? Name: Sensory Touch
? Description: With a touch, you can bring another’s pain into you, helping them at the cost of your own health. Not usable by: Anyone except Nameless One and Fall-from-Grace.
? Minimum Caster Lvl: N/A
? Ability: Instant
? Action Target: One target.
? Range: The range for this spell is touch range.
? Speed Factor: 1
Effect: This effect can only be used by the Nameless One (if he joins the Sensate faction) or Fall-from-Grace. This spell can only be used at touch range upon a living creature. Magic Resistance does not affect it. When it occurs, a light pulsing white glow surrounds the target (similar to what occurs with other healing spells), then a series of sparkles travel from the target to the caster, who glows a pulsing red as he suffers the damage from the spell. This ability can only be used once per day. It heals 1-10 hp of damage on a target, but the caster suffers the same amount of damage.

S.5. RAISE DEAD
? Type: Special Ability
? Name: Raise Dead
? Description: The most precious gift is bestowed upon all who were lost to the living.
? Usable by: Nameless One only.
? Ability: Instant
? Action Target: Dead Party Member Ally *still in party.*
? Range: Portrait.
? Duration: Permanent / Instant
? Speed Factor: 5
Effect: This spell restores life back to any slain individual chosen. No saving throw is required. The Nameless One is able to cast it 3 times per day and is replinished when he rests. To use it, the target must be in the Nameless One's party and dead -- if the party has been reformed and the dead character kicked out, then they cannot be raised.
When cast, the screen darkens, and a simple, glowing rune appears on the ground below the body and goes to bright white intensity. A glowing non-descript form descends down and fades into the body. A glowing stream of white-hot particles rise up from the rune and bathe the body (the particles should rise up pretty high and fade).

There are three other special abilities:

NORDOM'S WARP SENSE: 90% of the time when Nordom hits a portal trigger area, he will chirp up with "Portal detected."

FALL-FROM-GRACE'S KISS: This drains 1-10 hit points from a target and gives them to Grace. It works on critters only affected by magical weapons, it is touch range only, and she can use it ten times per day.

DEAD TRUCE: This power gives the Nameless One (when he joins the Dustman) a +4 AC bonus vs. any undead creature. (This ability functions somewhat differently than the normal Dead Truce, as the Nameless One has committed many unpardonable crimes against the undead in the past).