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The Nameless One is a facet of the Eternal Champion.
The Planescape setting already features a massive conflict between Law and Chaos (The Blood War), and The Nameless One happens to be a tragic, extremely powerful individual condemned to fight that war for eternity (Or at least, until the Planes die off). The Dungeons & Dragons multiverse could very well be a part of the Multiverse.
The secret to the Nameless One's memory was the invocation of the player.
The incarnation that discovered a means by which the Nameless One's memory could be preserved between deaths was Dangerously Genre Savvy, and hit on the critical importance of the player in determining the outcome of tabletop and video games. He arranged it so that Planescape: Torment would be created in our world, but by the time it was released he had died a few more times, leaving us with the playable incarnation. The reason the memory endures is because the player is there to share the memory. However, the incarnation wasn't the only Dangerously Genre Savvy character wandering around; anyone capable of outright killing the Nameless One has, through madness or transcendancy, mastered the blackest art: that of the Game Over.
The Nameless One's name wasn't Adahn.
It was Adam.
The Nameless One's name is Torment.
Less brilliant, but like a certain other nameless, centuries-old living myth, the Nameless One might be the origin of the word Torment, it having come to mean what it does only through association with his actions.
The Nameless One's original crime was the instigation of the Blood War.
A crime so massive and downright evil that the planes seem to be slowly dying of it? The Blood War fits the bill well enough. Far back in a time before even surviving myth, the original incarnation instigated the Blood War for fun, profit or an ideal, and ended up causing a tumult that would endure for millenia, killing thousands by the hour. Therefore his ultimate fate: to fight as a soldier in a war of his own making.
Branches of the Ravel tree include...
Chris Avellone has said that Ravel's existence spreads through the planes like the branches of a tree. The other incarnations that appear in Planescape echo her existence in small or large ways. Due to the nature of belief on the planes, these incarnations may not start out resembling Ravel, but they come to resemble her in their lifetimes. Here are some from other planes:
For about five minutes of the Good Ending, the Nameless One was the most powerful being in the multiverse.
The Nameless One's last acts before he accepted his ultimate fate were to revive his companions, speak with them one last time, and open portals to send them back to Sigil. For those who might not know what this means, the Nameless One created portals to the city where no portals are created without the permission of the Lady of Pain herself. For the brief span of time between joining with the Transcendent One and his descent into the Blood War, the Nameless One could casually ignore Her Serenity and create changes in her city against her will. If he could do that, it's possible he had the power to undo his own punishment... and chose not to.
The Nameless One is the father of Cyric.
How else could a mere human kill a demigod (Bhaal) unless he had the blood of an immortal coursing through his veins? Yeah, Godsbane helped, but only so much. Considering that several of TNO's incarnations had had a way with the ladies, it's not hard to imagine TNO from getting one (or several) pregnant.
In life, Morte looked exactly like Joe Pantoliano.
Not just because the guy usually plays archetypal traitors and liars, but because of his role in Memento, which, without going into spoilery detail, is broadly similar to Morte's in Planescape. On top of that, they even act and sound similar, with the same outward Deadpan Snarker front.
The Nameless One's sin was creating Coaxmetal
Because I can't think of any worse crime than creating a entity that desires to destroy all universes, and succeeding in many of its attempts. Of course, it has probably forgotten its maker, and now attributes entropy as its creator and commander.
Fell was supposed to be able to join your party
Because it just makes so much sense. All the other party members have their own contradictions (a chaste Succubus, an enslaved Gith, and so on,) and so the idea of a Dabus who has fallen out of favour with the Lady of Pain fits so well. In addition, there seems to be something missing from Fell's Tattoo parlor. He's a guy who knows you, tattoos play a massive part in the game, he's relevant to your back story. Plus he's interesting. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just get this incredible feeling that, at least in one stage of development, they had Fell down as a potential party member.
The Nameless One's incarnation name for the player character, should the events in the Negative Plane be told from the perspective of the other incarnations, will be The Inquisitive Incarnation
In fact, this aspect of his nature is what allowed him to get so much further than any other incarnation. His power to make people who are about to kill him stop and answer any questions he might have. This is most obviously demonstrated by the demon that accosts you in Curst's underground. He wants to eat you, but he feels compelled to stop and answer your questions first.
The Nameless One is Tharizdun.
He isn't chained, he's forgotten who he even is. Explains a lot.
Vhailor is an homage to the Tin Woodsman.
He's heartless, he used to be human, and he carries an axe.
The ending is the beginning of the end for the Planes.
Think about it: petitioners retain no memories of their former lives, and petitioners sent to fight in the blood war are incarnated as grotesque creatures like Lemures (see the original campaign setting material if you don't believe me.) When the Nameless One wakes up in the Grey Wastes, he's still in his human body, and his remembrance of Ravel's words suggests he still has his memories. This is a Very Bad Thing since the Nameless One now has the memories and abilities of over a thousand lifetimes. Either side of the war he joins will have a serious advantage, and this may even lead to the end of the Blood War. The campaign setting material makes it very clear that the Blood War is the only thing keeping the Demons and Devil's from attacking other plains. Therefore the Nameless One's reclamation of his mortality ended up dooming all of reality!
the punishment at the end is entirely voluntary on The Nameless One's part.
OK, this may not seem like much, but upon arriving in the hellish Planes, he picks up a weapon, nods and goes into battle. Sure, it could be a "yeah, that's a neat weapon" nod, or a "OK, let's go kick some ass" nod, but in a story where many little details seem to have real significance, this little gesture suggests that he's making a decision. So he has a choice. Then, just perhaps, The Nameless One has kept his incredible power but, after remembering his past lives, accepts that he has to redeem himself. Note that - as mentioned above - he keeps his human body, that there is a "what can change the nature of man?" voiceover, and that he didn't seem to die before undergoing his belated punishment - it looks like he was pulled bodily into another plane. Hence he probably didn't forget things. And knowledge, like belief, seems to be a very important thing in the Planes. And lastly, but very importantly - why would the Nameless One lose his incredible power? There is nothing that indicates he did.
Planescape: Torment is a sequel of Baldur's Gate
The Nameless One is the Child of Bhaal if he were a Human male, followed the evil path and chose to remain a mere mortal being. After some times, he began to regret his deeds, and found a way to become immortal, so he would have the time to fix his numerous mistakes. It went horribly wrong...
The Nameless One is the Doctor
Read the full story here.
The Nameless One is Perrine, founder of the Godsmen
Because it would be just like this game if the founder of the Godsmen started that faction based on nothing more than the desperate hope that even someone like him could escape damnation and attain divinity.
Alternatively, The Nameless One founded every faction, or at least every faction he can join during the game
When he saw how the conflict between his factions, each of which was founded with the best intentions, was tearing the planes apart, the Good Incarnation repented of what he had done, and realized that he might need several lifetimes to make up for it. This would also explain why he feels no disconnect in joining any or all of them in a single playthrough.
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