“ | What can change the nature of a man? | ” |
—Ravel |
Ravel Puzzlewell was a night hag of the Gray Wastes. A powerful witch, she is the one responsible for making the Nameless One immortal.
History[]
As is discovered during the course of the game, Kesai-Serris is the daughter of Ravel.
According to Yvana, the old woman who runs the Art and Curio Galleria, Ravel was once one of the eldest and most evil Night Hags of Oinos, first layer of the Grey Wastes of Hades, and came to Sigil to pursue "arcane experiments." She was an adept at solving puzzles – hence her name – and was plagued by one question over all others: "What can change the nature of a man?"
To many people she posed this question, promising to teach her arcane gift to any who could answer, but none could definitively answer it. She was more interested in the responses of those who genuinely tried to answer the question themselves than those who tried to guess "her" answer to the question.
Centuries ago, the First Incarnation of the Nameless One came to her asking to make him immortal, to escape the horrible fate that awaited him upon his death. Through flattery and seduction, he convinced her to perform such a ritual. By removing his mortality, she had succeeded in making him immortal, which she immediately tested - by killing him. While he did resurrect shortly after, his memories did not, causing Ravel to realize the ritual was flawed. She then offered the amnesiac three wishes. His first is to know himself again, which Ravel grants, causing his second wish to take those awful memories away again, which she also grants. Now having forgotten the first two, he wishes to remember again. Just before granting his final wish, she tells him, "My poor, dear, lovely man-thing! Why, that was your first wish!"
Eventually she became something of a legend after being caged by the Lady, who banished Ravel to one of her mazes in the Ethereal Plane for attempting to break open Sigil through her experiments, to "free" the Lady from her "imprisonment" in the Cage.
Ravel's maze[]
- See Black-Barbed Maze for more information.
Ravel is first directly encountered within the Black-Barbed Maze. After a lengthy conversation in which many questions can be answered, the Nameless One will have to be on his way.
One of the outcomes is that Ravel objects to his attempted departure and initiates combat.
After Ravel has been defeated within the Black-Barbed Maze, a few items can be looted from her body:
- Fiendish Eye of Kalem'Darr
- 3 Black-Barbed Charms
- 3 Heart Charms
- Scroll of Blacksphere? (Possibly dependent on other things. Verify.)
- Ravel's Fingernail
All of these can also be pickpocketed off of her before the fight.
It is however also well possible to have a "combat of wits" in a dialogue, and get an alternative ending without a fight.
Combat stats[]
Special abilities:
- Immune to paralysis
Stats:
Ravel | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level | HP | Attacks | AC | THAC0 | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Chr |
33 | 87/53 | 1 | -4 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 9 |
XP Value | Saves vs. | Death | Wands | Poly | Breath | Spell | ||||
32,000 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | |||||
Resistances vs. damage type | ||||||||||
Fire | Cold | Electricity | Acid | Magic | Mag. Fire | Mag. Cold | Slash | Crush | Pierce | Missile |
50 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 50 | 100 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Ravel has the following spells memorized:
- Heal
- Blindness
- Black-Barbed Curse
- Black-Barbed Shield
- Cloak of Warding
- Vampiric Touch
- Blacksphere
- Acid Storm
Fragments of Ravel[]
Because of Ravel's strange nature, she has existed in Sigil in different forms as different people. It is possible for the Nameless One to encounter them on his journey. Unfortunately, after Ravel's death their existences begin to unravel and their lives end. The Nameless One can visit them again before they die.
- Ei-Vene: After visiting the Black-Barbed Maze, she is no longer present after returning to Sigil.
- Marta: After visiting the Black-Barbed Maze, she is no longer present after returning to Sigil.
- Mebbeth: if visited in Ragpicker's Square after Ravel's death, Mebbeth will ask the Nameless One for one of the Black-Barbed Seeds he acquired in the Black-Barbed Maze. Giving it to her grants 12,000 XP.
Last Moments and Death[]
After battling with the player, a cutscene shows with following dialogue:
Ravel: "Off with ya. Dead I am."
The Transcendent One: THEN DEATH'S KINGDOM HAS SEALED ITS GATES TO US BOTH. ARISE, CRONE!
Ravel: "Sh. Sh. Sh. Away with ya. I'm dead and no traffic with the living may I have."
The Transcendent One: I CARE LITTLE FOR HOW YOU DIE. BUT I WARN YOU FOR THE LAST TIME, ARISE OR I SHALL SLAY YOU WHERE YOU LIE.
Ravel: "I had thought that dying at his hand would fulfill the requirements the past put forth."
The Transcendent One: YOU CANNOT HAVE THOUGHT THAT ONE WOULD HAVE A CHANCE. YOU WERE INDULGENT TO LET HIM THINK HE WAS SUCCESSFUL.
Ravel: "Powerful this incarnation is. And kill me he could have, but for a few tricks which I posses. Fortunate was I."
The Transcendent One: FORTUNE ABANDONED YOU THE MOMENT I FOUND YOU. HAS YOUR LIFE PREPARED YOU FOR WHAT IS TO COME, HAG?
Ravel: "I am not afraid. Not of the likes of you, ragged thing. Weak Ravel may be, but a few tricks has Ravel learned over the years. And I have known you would come. Witness Ravel's anger!"
...FIGHT SCENE...
The Transcendent One: NO LONGER SHALL YOU TROUBLE EXISTENCE WITH YOUR PRESENCE, WITCH.
Alignment[]
See the alignment section under Black-Barbed Maze.
Trivia[]
Though not very relevant to Planescape: Torment, a few fragments of Ravel can also be found in the Icewind Dale series.[1]
The Harp of Pandemonium, a magical object in Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, belonged to Ravel before she was exiled on a maze by the Lady of Pain.
References[]
- ↑ Chris Avellone, Obsidian forums (September 21, 2007). "Un-Ravel-ing Torment."