Torment will continue the thematic legacy of Planescape: Torment by having to face complex and nuanced morality decisions, carefully contemplating deep and reactive choices with consequences that echo throughout the game all the while immersed into a new and strange vision taken from by renowned designer and writer Monte Cook's new tabletop role-playing game, Numenera. 

In Torment: Tides of Numenera, players will have to decide for themselves the eternal question, what does one life matter? Numenera's Ninth World is a fantastic vision of a world in which massive civilizations continue to rise and fall with only cities, monuments, and artifacts left behind to serve as reminders of their past existence. These reminders have become part of the accumulated detritus of eons and now this assortment of ancient power is there for the taking. The humans of the Ninth World call the ancient power left behind the numenera. One of these humans has discovered a way to harness the numenera to grow strong, to cheat death, to skip across the face of centuries in a succession of bodies. But he discovers an unexpected side effect: You.

inXile entertainment's writers and artists are done working on Wasteland 2 and will begin immediately on Torment: Tides of Numenera, so by the time the game developers are done with Wasteland 2, they art and story will be complete on Torment and the developers can get torment up and running.

inXile Entertainment confirmed that Chris Avellone will be joining the design team for Torment: Tides of Numenera if the crowd-funded story-driven CRPG reaches the $3.5 million stretch goal.

Chris Avellone was lead designer on Planescape: Torment, the inspiration behind Torment: Tides of Numenera. He later cofounded Obsidian Entertainment, where he is the Creative Director. Chris was the lead designer for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, and has contributed his design expertise to every project Obsidian has developed. He also worked with inXile on Wasteland 2 last year, including designing the area showcased in inXile’s gameplay first look video.

He will have two primary roles on Torment: Tides of Numenera. Firstly, he will be reviewing and providing feedback on all creative elements of the game, including the story, characters, and areas. His input will be invaluable as a resource to creative lead Colin McComb in further detailing the creative vision for the game. Secondly, Chris will be designing and writing an eighth companion for the game, working with Colin and Monte Cook to craft a companion ideal for both Torment and the Ninth World. (This work is being scheduled and set up to not interfere with Chris’s involvement with Obsidian’s Project Eternity.)