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dewicking Guttural Growler
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* GutturalGrowler: Regardless of your chaos level his voice will always be deep and raspy which does help his intimidating presence.
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dewicking Badass Baritone
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* BadassBaritone: In the second game, courtesy of Creator/StephenRussell. In the first game, he's TheVoiceless.
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* {{Expy}}: Visually he looks a fair bit like one of the Endless from Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', especially Morpheus/Dream. He shares the somber, sardonic and slightly EmoTeen characteristic of Morpheus and likewise has the same sense of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HumansAreMorons sentiment.
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* {{Expy}}: Visually he looks a fair bit like one of the Endless from Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', especially Morpheus/Dream. He shares the somber, sardonic and slightly EmoTeen characteristic of Morpheus and likewise has the same sense of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HumansAreMorons sentiment.
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On second thought this is a bit loose. Mean Eerie Pale Skinned Brunette is a pretty common combo.
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* {{Expy}}: Visually he looks a fair bit like one of the Endless from Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', especially Morpheus/Dream. He shares the somber, sardonic and slightly EmoTeen characteristic of Morpheus and likewise has the same sense of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HumansAreMorons sentiment.
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* {{Expy}}: Visually he looks a fair bit like one of the Endless from Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', especially Morpheus/Dream. He shares the somber, sardonic and slightly EmoTeen characteristic of Morpheus and likewise has the same sense of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HumansAreMorons sentiment.
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* {{Expy}}: Visually he looks a fair bit like one of the Endless from Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', especially Morpheus/Dream. He shares the somber, sardonic and slightly EmoTeen characteristic of Morpheus and likewise has the same sense of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HumansAreMorons sentiment.
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Overarching Villain is now a disambig.
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* OverarchingVillain: She is one of the few characters to appear in both ''1'' and ''2'' and the only one that every PlayerCharacter (Corvo, Daud, Emily, Billie) have opposed and who even the Outsider turns against, making her the most recurrent and dangerous threat, second only to The Outsider.
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* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Theorized. In the Abbey's description he is not a physical being, but a tempting, corrupting immaterial spirit. [[spoiler:However, WordOfGod says that he in fact does not change appearance, and looks almost the way he did when his life as a human was "interrupted". ''Death of the Outsider'' confirms this when the Outsider is returned to mortal life, in one of the endings, looking just like he did when he was alive]].
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* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Theorized. In the Abbey's description he is not a physical being, but a tempting, corrupting immaterial spirit. [[spoiler:However, WordOfGod says that he in fact does not change appearance, and looks almost the way he did when his life as a human was "interrupted". ''Death of the Outsider'' confirms this when the Outsider is returned to mortal life, in one of the endings, looking just like he did when he was alive]].
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* GodIsEvil: The Abbey of the Everyman thinks so, at least - they despise the Outsider, but don't appear to recognize any other deity as being on his level. In reality, he's more... [[BlueAndOrangeMorality different]] than evil. [[spoiler:The Outsider also tasks the player to help out the Overseers in ''Dishonored 2'', noting about Liam Byrne that he's a honest preacher who is sincerely opposing Delilah, and that the player must protect the Abbey, as he sardonically notes, from "people like us"]].
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* GodIsEvil: The Abbey of the Everyman thinks so, at least - they despise the Outsider, but don't appear to recognize any other deity as being on his level. In reality, he's more... [[BlueAndOrangeMorality different]] than evil. [[spoiler:The Outsider also tasks the player to help out the Overseers in ''Dishonored 2'', noting about Liam Byrne that he's a an honest preacher who is sincerely opposing Delilah, and that the player must protect the Abbey, as he sardonically notes, from "people like us"]].
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* NeutralNoLonger: In ''Dishonored 2'', the Outsider is far more pro-active and clearly on the side of the protagonist (not that it stops him from criticizing them and wondering if Corvo/Emily will learn from this experience and make the world better). He just firmly dislikes what Delilah is doing. His involvement is best seen by him [[spoiler:giving the protagonist the time piece to time travel in the Stilton Manor - the only time in the game he manifests ''outside'' the Void]]. Without this particular involvement, the protagonist would've been unable to find how to break Delilah's immortality. [[spoiler:He also notes that Delilah's tampering with the Void has made her part of him, and he doesn't like that.]]
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* NeutralNoLonger: In ''Dishonored 2'', the Outsider is far more pro-active proactive and clearly on the side of the protagonist (not that it stops him from criticizing them and wondering if Corvo/Emily will learn from this experience and make the world better). He just firmly dislikes what Delilah is doing. His involvement is best seen by him [[spoiler:giving the protagonist the time piece timepiece to time travel in the Stilton Manor - the only time in the game he manifests ''outside'' the Void]]. Without this particular involvement, the protagonist would've been unable to find how to break Delilah's immortality. [[spoiler:He also notes that Delilah's tampering with the Void has made her part of him, and he doesn't like that.]]
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* OverarchingVillain: Though not necessarily villainous, the marks that he gives to various people, more specifically Daud and Delilah, are what allowed them to commit their deeds in the first two games and expansion packs. He also appeared in those first two games and expansions before becoming the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider Death of the Outsider]]'', being the only character to appear in all of them. According to the WordOfGod, the MythArc [[spoiler:ends once The Outsider is no more.]]
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* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Theorized. In the Abbey's description he is not a physical being, but a tempting, corrupting immaterial spirit. [[spoiler:However, WordOfGod says that he in fact does not change appearance, and looks almost the way he did when his life as a human was "interrupted". ''Death of the Outsider'' confirms this when the Outsider is returned to mortal life, in one of the endings, looking just like he did when he was alive]].
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* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Theorized. In the Abbey's description he is not a physical being, but a tempting, corrupting immaterial spirit. [[spoiler:However, WordOfGod says that he in fact does not change appearance, and looks almost the way he did when his life as a human was "interrupted". ''Death of the Outsider'' confirms this when the Outsider is returned to mortal life, in one of the endings, looking just like he did when he was alive]].
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* GodIsEvil: The Abbey of the Everyman thinks so, at least - they despise the Outsider, but don't appear to recognize any other deity as being on his level. In reality, he's more... [[BlueAndOrangeMorality different]] than evil. [[spoiler:The Outsider also tasks the player to help out the Overseers in ''Dishonored 2'', noting about Liam Byrne that he's a honest preacher who is sincerely opposing Delilah, and that the player must protect the Abbey, as he sardonically notes, from "people like us"]].
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* GodIsEvil: The Abbey of the Everyman thinks so, at least - they despise the Outsider, but don't appear to recognize any other deity as being on his level. In reality, he's more... [[BlueAndOrangeMorality different]] than evil. [[spoiler:The Outsider also tasks the player to help out the Overseers in ''Dishonored 2'', noting about Liam Byrne that he's a an honest preacher who is sincerely opposing Delilah, and that the player must protect the Abbey, as he sardonically notes, from "people like us"]].
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* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: More apparent in the first game than in the second game as he's quick to call out almost everyone for being horrible. Potentially due to being omnipresent, at least tangentially linked to linear time, and stuck watching the rat plague go on where thousands are dying and people are being even more horrible to one another then usual. That alone would put a damper on anyone's hope for humanity. By the second game, while he still isn't exactly humanity's biggest fan he does point out more genuinely decent people and acknowledges that many more at least have good motivations for doing bad things.
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* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: More apparent in the first game than in the second game as he's quick to call out almost everyone for being horrible. Potentially due to being omnipresent, at least tangentially linked to linear time, and stuck watching the rat plague go on where thousands are dying and people are being even more horrible to one another then than usual. That alone would put a damper on anyone's hope for humanity. By the second game, while he still isn't exactly humanity's biggest fan he does point out more genuinely decent people and acknowledges that many more at least have good motivations for doing bad things.
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* NeutralNoLonger: In ''Dishonored 2'', the Outsider is far more pro-active and clearly on the side of the protagonist (not that it stops him from criticizing them and wondering if Corvo/Emily will learn from this experience and make the world better). He just firmly dislikes what Delilah is doing. His involvement is best seen by him [[spoiler:giving the protagonist the time piece to time travel in the Stilton Manor - the only time in the game he manifests ''outside'' the Void]]. Without this particular involvement, the protagonist would've been unable to find how to break Delilah's immortality. [[spoiler:He also notes that Delilah's tampering with the Void has made her part of him, and he doesn't like that.]]
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* NeutralNoLonger: In ''Dishonored 2'', the Outsider is far more pro-active proactive and clearly on the side of the protagonist (not that it stops him from criticizing them and wondering if Corvo/Emily will learn from this experience and make the world better). He just firmly dislikes what Delilah is doing. His involvement is best seen by him [[spoiler:giving the protagonist the time piece timepiece to time travel in the Stilton Manor - the only time in the game he manifests ''outside'' the Void]]. Without this particular involvement, the protagonist would've been unable to find how to break Delilah's immortality. [[spoiler:He also notes that Delilah's tampering with the Void has made her part of him, and he doesn't like that.]]
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* OverarchingVillain: Though not necessarily villainous, the marks that he gives to various people, more specifically Daud and Delilah, are what allowed them to commit their deeds in the first two games and expansion packs. He also appeared in those first two games and expansions before becoming the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider Death of the Outsider]]'', being the only character to appear in all of them. According to the WordOfGod, the MythArc [[spoiler:ends once The Outsider is no more.]]
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* PrescienceIsPredictable: He says he sees all paths a person's future can take, but he seems more interested in finding out ''which'' of them is chosen. Could explain his disinterest in appearing to Sokolov. He knows ''exactly'' how Sokolov would use his powers -- studying them and trying to replicate them. The lack of uncertainty makes him uninteresting. It may also explain why he sends Piero dreams despite him also being a scientist: Piero is more a tester that makes a loose speculation and hopes it works out instead of properly studying it and making theories like Sokolov, thus keeping Piero at least interesting enough to have The Outsider interfere occassionally.
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* PrescienceIsPredictable: He says he sees all paths a person's future can take, but he seems more interested in finding out ''which'' of them is chosen. Could explain his disinterest in appearing to Sokolov. He knows ''exactly'' how Sokolov would use his powers -- studying them and trying to replicate them. The lack of uncertainty makes him uninteresting. It may also explain why he sends Piero dreams despite him also being a scientist: Piero is more a tester that makes a loose speculation and hopes it works out instead of properly studying it and making theories like Sokolov, thus keeping Piero at least interesting enough to have The Outsider interfere occassionally.occasionally.
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* VillainousAromanticAsexual: According to his biographical book, named after his title, found in ''2'', sex has never interested him (which WordOfGod eventually confirmed). Though, the "villainous" depends on many factors.
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Dewicked trope
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* BadassBeard: He grows one by the time of the second game.
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* PermaStubble: Implied as despite never getting a chance to shave it seems like his facial hair doesn't grow fast enough to give him anything more than a slight shadow. It grows out into a BadassBeard by the second game.
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* PermaStubble: Implied as despite never getting a chance to shave it seems like his facial hair doesn't grow fast enough to give him anything more than a slight shadow. It grows out into a BadassBeard tough beard by the second game.
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No longer a trope
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* MixedAncestry: Her mother was from Gristol's royal family, while her father is a commoner from Serkonos.
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Dewicking per TRS.
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* WorkingClassHero: Corvo was born the son of a Serkonos tradesman and rose UpThroughTheRanks to become Emily Kaldwin's bodyguard. His class is still an issue in ''Dishonored 2'' where Mortimer Ramsey, the snobbish Guardsman, laments taking orders from someone so lowborn as he drags Corvo to captivity. [[spoiler:Delilah also taunts Emily in a NotSoDifferent moment by reminding her that the latter is also a bastard child of a commoner and royalty, just like she is]]. It's possible in ''Dishonored 2'' to visit his childhood home in the Dust District, a small apartment that is obviously far more modest than his present dwelling.
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* WorkingClassHero: Corvo was born the son of a Serkonos tradesman and rose UpThroughTheRanks to become Emily Kaldwin's bodyguard. His class is still an issue in ''Dishonored 2'' where Mortimer Ramsey, the snobbish Guardsman, laments taking orders from someone so lowborn as he drags Corvo to captivity. [[spoiler:Delilah also taunts Emily in a NotSoDifferent moment NotSoDifferentRemark by reminding her that the latter is also a bastard child of a commoner and royalty, just like she is]]. It's possible in ''Dishonored 2'' to visit his childhood home in the Dust District, a small apartment that is obviously far more modest than his present dwelling.
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-->'''Daud:''' Why are you fighting? [[spoiler:[[TreacheryCoverUp For the men who poisoned you]] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and left you to die]]]]? For your dead Empress? [[StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred Go on, strike as if you mean it]]! You know I killed her! [[YouFool Fool]]! [[NotSoDifferent We're of the same breed, you and I]]. [[ProfessionalKiller We both kill for others]]. You think I'm your enemy? [[VillainsNeverLie I've never lied to you]].
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-->'''Daud:''' Why are you fighting? [[spoiler:[[TreacheryCoverUp For the men who poisoned you]] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and left you to die]]]]? For your dead Empress? [[StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred Go on, strike as if you mean it]]! You know I killed her! [[YouFool Fool]]! [[NotSoDifferent [[NotSoDifferentRemark We're of the same breed, you and I]]. [[ProfessionalKiller We both kill for others]]. You think I'm your enemy? [[VillainsNeverLie I've never lied to you]].
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[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Corvo Attano]]
!Royal Protector Corvo Attano
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/corvo_3.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:370:[[labelnote:Click here to see Corvo as he appears in the sequel.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/corvo.jpg]][[/labelnote]]
->'''Voiced by:''' [[TheVoiceless N/A]] (''Dishonored''), Creator/StephenRussell (''Dishonored 2'')
->'''The Outsider:''' My dear Corvo. What a sad hand fate has dealt you. The beloved Empress dead and everyone thinks you're the killer.
The game's protagonist, Corvo Attano was the hand-chosen [[PraetorianGuard bodyguard]] of the beloved Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, given the position both for his skill and as a gesture of diplomacy - no foreigner had ever held the position before Corvo, who is from Serkonos, not Gristol. He is framed for her murder and is in prison awaiting execution when the [[LaResistance Loyalists]] break him out. Soon after getting to their base, [[HumanoidAbomination the Outsider]] appears in a dream and grants Corvo a mark that imbues him with supernatural abilities. Corvo sets out to find the Empress' young daughter and heir to the throne, as well as discover the answers behind Jessamine's murder and his own betrayal.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Played with if Corvo makes a pass at Callista. She mentions she would be happy to let him into her bed, it's just being surrounded by plague, murder, and so on isn't exactly something which puts her in the mood. If you try anyway, you get a NonstandardGameOver.
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: His sword can decapitate people and remove limbs with little difficulty.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: His skin is notably tanned and he has Mediterranean features. He is also from Serkonos, the southernmost point of the empire.
* AntiHero: Even in the pacifist run, he sells people into slavery, kidnaps them and gives them to stalkers, and flat out resorts to torture and mutilation. Granted, [[AssholeVictim a lot of them have it coming]]. He's a straight-up VillainProtagonist if the player really pushes for High Chaos - fulfilling those conditions requires, among other things, killing ''upwards of fifty percent of all [=NPCs=] that exist in the game''.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: The guy was once the Royal Protector, and even before he started getting all his weaponry and supernatural powers, his combat abilities were apparently something to be feared.
* BadassAndChildDuo: With Emily.
* BadassBaritone: In the second game, courtesy of Creator/StephenRussell. In the first game, he's TheVoiceless.
* BadassBeard: He grows one by the time of the second game.
* BadassBack: Can appear to do this with clever uses of stopping time.
* BadassFamily: Him and Emily, his daughter, now also a trained assassin empowered by the Outsider in the sequel.
* BadassInDistress: If Emily is chosen as the protagonist in the second game, he spends the entire game as a statue.
* BadassLongcoat: Badass enough that for some reason, he got to keep it ''while imprisoned''. And he doesn't swap it out when he breaks out.
* BadassNormal: He ''started'' as a unstoppable force of protection for the Empress, thanks to his human combat skills alone. He becomes an EmpoweredBadassNormal when he meets the Outsider, who gives him superpowers. Potentially played straight in ''2'', where he can choose to stay depowered and be played without the Outsider's gifts.
* BadassPacifist: He can be this, if the player chooses the more merciful options for dealing with targets, in which case Corvo will be committed to doing his duty but doing so without lethally neutralizing his targets. However, the second game shows that Corvo canonically killed a few guards here and there and has no problems killing the guards who sided with Delilah's coup.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Corvo can get through the entire game without killing a single person - even his intended targets. That does not mean that what happens to them is by any means pleasant.
* BodyguardBetrayal: Everyone ''assumes'' he killed the Empress he was supposed to guard but he was framed.
* BodyguardCrush:
** Corvo had a romance going with the Empress Jessamine. The hints run rampant and [=NPCs=] constantly speculate. Emily will ponder the ramifications of Corvo marrying the Empress and will make a point to note how sad and lonely her mother seemed with Corvo away. Sokolov will taunt Corvo in a way hinting that the Empress and Corvo were lovers. Certain insults take on entirely more disturbing connotations if viewed through the lens of a Corvo who was sexually involved with Jessamine. [[spoiler:The Heart, implied to be that of Jessamine and containing her soul, is given to Corvo by the Outsider - ensuring that Corvo will keep her heart close and protected ''literally'', a gruesome twist on the poetic symbolism of the heart in romantic love and his role as her protector.]] The whole opening narration by the Empress itself reads like Corvo is more than just her bodyguard. Lydia will consider asking Corvo outright if that was the case, but decides not to as it would be improper. At some point in the game, Emily will draw Corvo with the caption "Daddy". In the final level with High Chaos, Treavor Pendleton will outright say that "everyone knows [Corvo was] screwing the Empress". Whether this is actually true or just a desperate attempt at an insult is not clear. Havelock's journal in the final mission will speculate as well.
** ''Dishonored 2'' drops all pretenses and just outright says that Corvo is Emily's father, thus making all of the rumors and hints correct. It also adds many, many lines (if Corvo is the protagonist) about his and Jessamine's relationship and how in love they were before she was killed, in addition to lines about how painful her death was and still is for him fifteen years later. The ramifications of Empress Emily [[BastardAngst technically being an illegitimate ruler]] are brought up too.
* BodyguardingABadass: Potentially in ''Dishonored 2''. If Emily was chosen as the PlayerCharacter, then the game can end with BadassNormal Corvo serving as the Royal Protector for an empress that now wields the power of the Void.
* BroughtDownToBadass: Certain enemies [[spoiler:or instruments]] have the ability to negate Corvo's 'gifts' from the Outsider. The problem is that he still was an in-universe MemeticBadass before he even got them. In ''Dishonored 2'', he has his powers removed in the beginning and can choose to not have them restored by the Outsider, thus relying solely on his natural skills and equipment.
* CadreOfForeignBodyguards: Corvo is from the island Serkonos, not Gristol. A book on the history of the position of Royal Protector notes that he is the ''first'' Royal Protector not to be from Gristol, and speculates that this might be related to his [[FrameUp murder of the Empress]]. He's also of common birth, which didn't prevent him proving his merit in Serkonos but upset certain members of the aristocracy in Gristol.
* TheChampion: Was one to the Empress, and then becomes one to Emily.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: A book on the history of the office mentions that Jessamine would have chosen her Royal Protector when she was twelve. Corvo was 18 when they first met, mitigating this on his end. He became her Royal Protector at her father's behest a year later. Either way, [[JailbaitWait five years later]], Corvo and Jessamine become lovers in secret.
* ChickMagnet: He was romantically involved with Empress Jessamine and fathered Emily, and then there's Callista and Lydia who aren't opposed to the idea of hooking up with Corvo and get ShipTease moments. Delilah Kaldwin also notes that he's quite good looking even in his fifties.
* CoolMask: His mask [[SkullForAHead looks like a skull]], and functions as a resistance against the MysticalPlague.
* CoolOldGuy: Corvo's 54 years old in ''Dishonored 2'', yet can still kick ass with the best of them.
* CoolSword: Collapsible, custom-made, feather-light and razor-sharp. Upgrading will replace its somewhat nicked steel blade with glistening black. A ''lot'' of attention was obviously paid to the animation of Corvo snapping it fully open, which is almost hypnotizing.
* CruelMercy: If Corvo doesn't kill you, ''he will make you [[FateWorseThanDeath wish he had]]''. Averted in the case of [[spoiler:Daud]], when sparing him is an act of either genuine mercy or intimidation. Similarly, [[spoiler:'eliminating' the Crown Killer, Alexandria Hypatia, simply means destroying her psychopathic alter-ego and restoring her original kindly personality]].
* DarkHorseVictory: Part of his backstory. Corvo came from humble origin, his father dying while he was young and with no military background in his family. As a teenager he won the Blade Verbena dueling tournament in Karnaca with his swordplay, despite his unlikely and humble origins, earning himself a junior officer posting in the Serkonan Grand Guard and earned the attention of the previous Duke.
* TheDreaded: Notably, even before the game started, Corvo was known to be a OneManArmy capable of taking on multiple enemies at once and generally being infallible as the Royal Protector. And then the game starts, and you have the masked felon stalking through the night.
* TheFaceless: PlayedWith; his face can be seen on several occasions: on some wanted posters throughout the game; the difficulty screen; as a secret [[spoiler:drawing by Emily, which is unlocked if you're a pacifist]]; and during the endings.
* FailureKnight: While he is a fantastic assassin, The Outsider is not shy about pointing out his failures as a bodyguard. In ''Dishonored 1'', he remarks that if Jessamine were as well protected as the current Lord Regent, then she might still be alive. At the start of ''Dishonored 2'', if the player decides to play as Corvo, the Outsider notes that he has "lost another empress!".
* FrameUp: The tutorial is his arriving home just in time to witness the Empress's murder. The game proper starts with him in prison and about to be executed for it. In the sequel, he's framed by Delilah's conspirators as "the Crown Killer", painting him as the loyal hatchet-man of the Empress to crush her critics.
* FisherKing
** His actions will directly affect the world around him. Some consequences of a violent playthrough are more or less understandable, like tighter security and proliferating plague hatched from numerous dead bodies, but a freaking ''storm'' raging around the final level that wouldn't be there for the Low Chaos Corvo is pretty hard to explain otherwise, although it is said by Harvey Smith that "[[https://web.archive.org/web/20160413021525/https://twitter.com/Harvey1966/status/498730126709100544 part of the Void is that it draws from your mind and that influences the environment]]".
** His attitude also influences that of the Loyalist Conspirators, with violence making them more cynical and violent themselves, such as Martin losing his desire to see the Overseers reformed or [[spoiler:Havelock using a more violent method when he kills Wallace]].
** Random citizens who've had no contact with Corvo are affected too. In the first mission, you'll find an infected Overseer who begs for death rather than infect others if chaos is low, but attempts to hide his condition if it's high.
* FoeTossingCharge: ''Blink Assault'' in the second game allows Corvo to blink towards a foe and end the blink with a powerful kick, which combined with the momentum of the blink, sends the enemy flying.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Depending on how you play. Corvo can be perfectly polite and helpful towards his allies, sweet and kind to Emily and go out of his way to rescue or aid complete strangers, while still ruthlessly eliminating every obstacle to overthrowing the Lord Regent. You could avoid killing guards, thugs and weepers, but still butcher your targets. Even if you choose [[TechnicalPacifist not to kill your marks directly]], you'll be forced to remove them by other, equally drastic methods, such as selling them into slavery or helping a stalker abduct them.
* TheGrimReaper: His skull-like mask combined with black coat and hood go a very long way to making Corvo look like a steampunk rendition of everyone's favorite Death Incarnate.
* TheHeart: Surprisingly. In Low Chaos, where Corvo does not disrupt the city more than absolutely necessary and shows mercy at every turn, the Loyalists are much more cordial with each other and generally more upbeat, talking about working toward a better future. In High Chaos, where Corvo is generally a murdering psychopath, they're far darker, snapping at each other and showing no sympathy for the plights of others, even approving of harsh methods and blackmail. [[spoiler:Not that being TheHeart stops Corvo from being betrayed even in Low Chaos, but it's the thought that counts. That said, after they poison him in a Low Chaos ending, the Loyalists fall apart not because of infighting, but because they were consumed by their own shame and guilt]].
* HeroicMime: The game designers chose not to have Corvo speak so that the player can project themselves onto the character. However, it's something of a DoubleSubversion in practice. The options given in the game indicate that he is speaking when he communicates with someone else, and he doesn't nod or shake his head when in communication with others. However, the lines given have no voice actor associated with them. He does ''apparently'' talk at a few points, such as one encounter in which Corvo holds a conversation with a blindfolded man who assumes throughout the talk that Corvo is a woman. We still don't hear him, though. In the second game, he is fully voiced.
* HitmanWithAHeart: Can be played as one by only killing his targets or in self-defense. Or better yet, not killing anybody at all.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Can be one. If finding Piero spy into the bathroom through the keyhole, he can make Piero apologize and leave, only to look through the keyhole himself.
* InTheHood: As an assassin he wears a hood to hide his face.
* JackTheRipoff: InUniverse, Corvo is seen as this during the height of his activities. Depending on how the player plays him, some of this reputation can be quite justified.
** The second game also has him accused of being this as the "Crown Killer", a serial killer targeting Emily's critics and political rivals. [[NotMeThisTime While he's innocent]], his past actions make the accusations very easy to believe.
* KleptomaniacHero: Corvo can steal a variety of items for cash to buy upgrades/supplies. This includes large paintings several times his size. The game even tells you exactly how much coins-worth of items you left behind.
* LivingLegend: Guards will comment on Corvo's combat skills being legendary (even before he gets his super powers). As Royal Protector, Corvo was often seen sparring against entire squads alone and ''winning'' and apparently, his military record is amazing. Older guards will warn their younger comrades that trying to take on Corvo one-on-one is tantamount to suicide. One guard advises another that if he should encounter Corvo alone to make sure to "make a lot of noise as you die" to warn the rest of them.
** In the sequel it's mentioned that Corvo won the Blade Verbena, an annual sword duel festival in Karnaca, which earned him an early officer ranking in the Grand Guard despite being the common-born son of a deceased tradesman at the age of 16, and that his military career started from there. Three years later he had impressed the Emperor enough that he was made the Royal Protector of Jessamine. Also in the sequel, Corvo's actions in the first game are now infamous.
* LongHairedPrettyboy: A bit more rugged than most , but Corvo had long hair in the first game. Notable in comparison to the other male characters (and some female), who are all either short-haired or completely bald.
* MalevolentMaskedMen: Wears a horrifying skull-shaped mask and a dark hood, and stalks people in the night. For those who see him, he must look like the manifestation of [[TheGrimReaper Death itself]].
-->'''Samuel:''' ''Seems like I carry Death with me wherever I go.''
* MarkOfTheBeast: The Abbey of the Everyman considers his PowerTattoo to be exactly this, and will react to it as one might expect from a ChurchMilitant. Even Teague Martin can comment on this but given their mutual situation, [[NecessarilyEvil chooses not to press the issue]].
* MasterSwordsman: Bordering on ImplausibleFencingPowers in some of his special kill animations.
* MeaningfulName: Corvo is the Italian, Portuguese, and Galician name meaning [[CleverCrows cr]][[CreepyCrows ow]]. A corvo is also a specific type of knife native to Chile, and well-known for being used by the Chilean Special Forces. Oh, and crows are really well known for a) being smart, and b)keeping grudges.
* TheMentor: To Emily Kaldwin, he taught her everything he knows and she became as adept at combat and stealth as her old man. In the first game, his actions and brutality also directly influence her view on the world and its people.
* TheMourningAfter: In the sequel's opening scene when Corvo greets Emily at the anniversary of Jessamine's death, he admits that fifteen years haven't been enough to dull his grief or his guilt over her death. If you play as Corvo [[spoiler:he refers to Jessamine several times and is heartbroken when the last of her soul leaves the Heart]], seeing her as TheLostLenore.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: He can take this view of things if the player so chooses.
* OldSoldier: He's 54 years old in the sequel, and age hasn't slowed this bodyguard down one bit.
* OneManArmy: Capable of cutting down swathes of watchmen armed with swords and guns, leaving piles of bodies in his wake.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: He was born poor in Karnaca's streets, learned street dueling, became a dark horse victor in the Blade Verbena grand tourney, rose up the ranks in the Grand Guard, came to the capital, fell in love with the previous Empress and fathered the next Empress, serving as her second-in-command. It's possible in both the Low and High Chaos endings of ''Dishonored 2'' to end up [[spoiler:as the new Duke of Karnaca]]. Indeed his mother Paloma Attano, as she notes in her diary, was heartbroken at Corvo leaving to Dunwall for better opportunities since she regretted the separation.
* OpenSecret:
** His affair with the Empress is supposedly a secret, but almost everyone seems either know or suspect something was going on. The secrecy is additionally questionable once one considers the rumors that were sure to have erupted over Emily's parentage. In the sequel, the swiss-cheese secret is dispensed, and it's open knowledge that Corvo fathered Emily.
** In the sequel, it's apparently known that he was the man with the infamous mask.
* PapaWolf: His relationship with Emily is made very clear by his actions towards her, and hers towards him. In short: do not, under any circumstances, screw with that kid.
* ParentalSubstitute: Since the relationship wasn't made public in her youth, Corvo appeared as this to Emily, but their close relationship led to much speculation, among characters in-universe and by other fans. The sequel confirms openly that Emily is Corvo's daughter with Jessamine.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: An alternate interpretation of his CruelMercy may be that he hates his targets ''so much'' that personally killing them isn't enough.
* PermaStubble: Implied as despite never getting a chance to shave it seems like his facial hair doesn't grow fast enough to give him anything more than a slight shadow. It grows out into a BadassBeard by the second game.
* PowerTattoo: The source of Corvo's magical abilities, courtesy of the Outsider.
* PraetorianGuard: His former occupation. His official title is Royal Protector. [[spoiler:If Emily survives, he gets his old job back.]]
* ProfessionalKiller: Most likely, unless the player [[TechnicalPacifist decides otherwise]]. Regardless, he becomes, or is regarded as, an assassin upon joining the Loyalists.
* TheProtagonist: Of the first game, which is why so many of his actions here are up to player choice. He's also one of two choices in the second.
* RagsToRoyalty: [[spoiler:A potential wrinkle in ''Dishonored 2'', both Low/High Chaos, has him end the game as the new Duke of Karnaca if Luca Abele was killed, while extremely High Chaos opens the door for him becoming Emperor Corvo the Black]]. Even beforehand, he was a presence in the Imperial Court directly associated with both Empresses Kaldwin, being the bodyguard and paramour to the former, and father and spymaster for the latter.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: It's the entire premise of the first game. He turns the government upside down in his vengeance and makes whoever wronged him pay ''and then some.''
** Corvo himself emphasizes it in the sequel:
-->''Everyone you love, everything you hold dear, I will destroy.''
* SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou: In [[http://i48.tinypic.com/rm6xqg.jpg this]] promotional image.
* SilverFox: He's in his early 50s in the second game and still quite good looking as even Delilah Kaldwin admits.
* SpannerInTheWorks: The conspirators had planned to assassinate the Empress while Corvo was out of town, but he returned home two days earlier than expected. At first the Lord Regent figures it for a bonus, since it gave them a patsy, but ultimately this leads to Corvo becoming his most terrible enemy. Daud, meanwhile, was pissed that Corvo injured several of his men and doubled his fee to the Lord Regent.
* TheSpymaster: By the time of the second game, he is both the Royal Protector and the Spymaster.
* SuddenlyVoiced: Corvo do not have any lines in the first against other than the occasional grunts. In the sequel Corvo is no longer a HeroicMime and has actual voiced dialog.
* SuperpowerLottery: Thanks to the Outsider, he won big time.
** AuraVision: The "Dark Vision" power grants Corvo this.
** BlowYouAway: The "Windblast" power lets Corvo blast people and objects back with a gust of wind.
** DemonicPossession: Is capable of possessing animals and people with the "Possession" power.
** FlashStep: Corvo can do this via the "Blink" power.
** HealingFactor: Due to the "Vitality" passive power, Corvo possess this.
** SummonMagic: Corvo is able to summon plague rats with the "Devouring Swarm" power.
** TimeStandsStill: The "Bend Time" power gives Corvo the ability to do this. In the second game, he can upgrade his Blink to stop time when he's standing still, similar to Daud.
* SwordAndGun: Although he always uses a sword in his right hand, his left hand can use a pistol, handheld crossbow, or one of his supernatural abilities.
* TakenForGranite: If the player chooses to play as Emily in ''2'', Corvo gets turned to stone by Delilah.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Corvo stands at [[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/05/11/get-reacquainted-with-corvo-attano-from-dishonored-2.aspx 6'4"]], his long black hair is one of his most distinctive features and, over the course of the 2 games, many women, both civil and enemy, express a certain physical attraction towards him.
* TechnicalPacifist: He can be played this way - never spilling a drop of blood by his own hand, but inflicting a diverse variety of awful fates on his enemies by other means. The only exception is when defending the Empress against assassins in the opening; while you can theoretically keep them alive, they don't count towards the kill count, and ''the Knife of Dunwall'' confirms that he injured at least one. The intro of the second game has him actively killing Delilah's henchmen.
* TranquilFury: Most of his behavior, whether going for low or high chaos, point to this. If you happen to be an enemy of his, ''especially'' one who has crossed the MoralEventHorizon or involved with The Empress' assassination, then when he catches you and kills you or sentences you to a FateWorseThanDeath, he will do it without a single word and with calm, ruthless precision. Even when he's TheVoiceless you can tell that he is [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge very, very angry.]]
* ThouShallNotKill: Another interpretation of Corvo if he [[TechnicalPacifist doesn't kill anyone throughout the entire game.]]
* TouchedByVorlons: The Outsider's abilities granted to him are a major game mechanic as it is difficult (but certainly not impossible) to get through the game without them.
%%* TrespassingHero
* UptownGirl: He's the Downtown Boy in this case. Jessamine is Empress and Corvo is the son of a tradesman, yet they fell in love and enjoyed a secret romance (albeit an OpenSecret), and eventually she and Corvo had a child.
* VillainProtagonist: If you choose the most merciless route. You can also make a case that Corvo is this in the ''non''-lethal route. Almost none of the people he "spares" meet pleasant fates. Perhaps Corvo simply thinks that death is too good for them.
* WalkingArmory: Doesn't employ a HyperspaceArsenal so much as he packs a very large amount of small weapons at once. A few bolts for his compact crossbow, a sword that folds up into something the size of a pocketknife, a pistol, maybe some grenades and small gadgets and that's it.
* WhatTheHellHero: The Outsider points out in the sequel that, as bad as [[TheCaligula Duke Abele]] is, a big reason he was able to act as he did is that he had Dunwall's, and by extension Emily's and Corvo's, backing. Indeed, it seems that Dunwall didn't much care about the Karnacan peoples' plight as long as the silver kept flowing. He also points out that had Corvo bothered to talk to Daud, Daud would've told Corvo all about Delilah, and Corvo might've been able to avert her coup, since by Corvo's own words, he only ever focused on physical threats to Emily, not magical ones.
* WouldHitAGirl: There are no issues with you attacking or killing random females in game and female targets are no exception. This is also what the populace thinks of him, as he has been framed for his Empress's murder.
* WorkingClassHero: Corvo was born the son of a Serkonos tradesman and rose UpThroughTheRanks to become Emily Kaldwin's bodyguard. His class is still an issue in ''Dishonored 2'' where Mortimer Ramsey, the snobbish Guardsman, laments taking orders from someone so lowborn as he drags Corvo to captivity. [[spoiler:Delilah also taunts Emily in a NotSoDifferent moment by reminding her that the latter is also a bastard child of a commoner and royalty, just like she is]]. It's possible in ''Dishonored 2'' to visit his childhood home in the Dust District, a small apartment that is obviously far more modest than his present dwelling.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness:
** Depending on the decisions of the player, he can kill characters that are no longer useful to him.
** [[spoiler:Is on the receiving end of this, when ordered to be poisoned by Havelock and Pendleton after he kills the Lord Regent. Thankfully, Samuel only gave him half.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lady Emily Kaldwin]]
!Lady/Empress Emily Drexel Lela Kaldwin
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/young_emily.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:370:[[labelnote:Click here to see Emily as she appears in the sequel.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/empress_emily.png]][[/labelnote]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ChloeGraceMoretz (''Dishonored''), Erica Luttrell (''Dishonored 2'')
The daughter of the now-deceased Empress, and the heir to the throne. She is currently missing, and Corvo breaks out of prison to find her. She becomes one of the leads of the second game alongside Corvo.
----
* ActionGirl: In the sequel, she has grown into a young woman with supernatural powers trained in the use of mines, knives, stealth and more.
* AmbiguouslyBi: Emily's lover, Wyman, was intentionally made gender-neutral, and referred in genderless pronouns, by Arkane, to allow the player to choose what gender they are, leading to this trope.
* BadassNormal: Not only is she already highly trained by her father by the second game, but she can actively reject the Outsider's mark and be played without any powers whatsoever.
* BreakTheCutie: Where do we begin? Over the course of the game, she;
** Sees her mother get murdered in front of her, and is then kidnapped;
** Is held against her will at a brothel by two noblemen for ''six months;''
** Has nightmares the whole time [[spoiler:and might have been visited by the Outsider;]]
** [[spoiler: Witnesses the murders of the people who protected her, while the only person she ever trusted is taken away from her;]]
** [[spoiler: Is once again held in captivity, until rescued one last time.]]
** [[spoiler: It's even worse if you took the High Chaos approach, where her life is directly endangered ([[KillTheCutie and she may indeed be killed]]). Everything then influences her to be evil on the throne, and chaos looms over Dunwall as a result.]] So yeah, she has a great time.
** In the second game, she's ousted from her throne and either spends the entire game as a statue or forced to reclaim her throne from the shadows.
* BodyguardCrush: One of the first things she does is ask if Corvo will marry her if he doesn't marry her mother. This is [[FatherIWantToMarryMyBrother presumably]] before she learns that he's her dad.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Wanted to escape her duties and be freed from being an Empress during the opening of Dishonored 2.
* ButNotTooForeign: Fictional example. She's the rightful empress of Gristol, but her father is from Serkonos. For a real life comparison, it's like the ruler of England being half-Italian, mind you many amongst real-life nobility have a parent from a royal family from other countries.
* CallingParentsByTheirName: Justified. For much of her childhood, her true father's identity was kept secret, probably even from her. He was still a paternal figure in her life, however; Corvo Attano, whom she called by that name. Essentially the name "Corvo" is more or less the title "Dad" to her. Even after the patrilineage was revealed, he was still "Corvo".
* TheChosenOne: Downplayed, but she is the only one the Outsider is willing to interfere in order to protect. Normally, he just appears to those he has Marked to comment on what they're doing, but when Delilah hatches a plan to [[spoiler:pull a GrandTheftMe]] on Emily, the Outsider sets Daud, [[EnemyMine who he openly dislikes]], on the path to stopping her.
* ComboPlatterPowers: In Dishonored 2, she gains her own set of powers (and with NewGamePlus she can gain Corvo's powers as well).
** AuraVision: "Dark Vision" is the only active power she shares with her father.
** CastingAShadow: "Shadow Walk", which lets her turn into a shadowy creature to slip into small spaces as well as for combat.
** HealingFactor: Thanks to the "Vitality" power.
** JediMindTrick: "Mesmerize", which creates a strange object that fascinates her enemies so much that they don't even notice her.
** MesACrowd: "Doppelganger", which lets her create a duplicate to either act as a distraction or to fight for her. An upgrade lets her use it as a NinjaLog.
** {{Synchronization}}: "Domino", which lets her link living people together so that whatever happens to one happens to the others.
** TentacleRope: "Far Reach", which lets her toss out a shadowy tendril to grapple to points and grab items and [[YouWillNotEvadeMe objects]].
** TimeStandsStill: The first trailer shows her using Bend Time, though she doesn't have that power in-game.
*** Thanks to New Game +, Emily can now use Bend Time, provided the save file you base the New Game + on was with Corvo and had unlocked at least one level of Bend Time.
* CharacterDevelopment: Has this in spades in ''VideoGame/Dishonored2'', Although a nice ruler, Emily has yet to grow into her role as empress. Prior to the coup, she spent half her time ignoring the Duke's corruption in Karnaca, neglected most of her courtly duties and wished that she was far away, doing fun things instead. Once overthrown, she underwent a massive character arc, where she learned how her neglect affected her subjects. Depending on the player's play style, [[spoiler:she could end up taking her job more seriously and become Emily the Just and Wise or reign as a bloody and iron-fisted tyrant.]]
* CoolMask: Her scarf covers her mouth and is made from the cloth used in Outsider shrines.
* CoolSword: If the PlayerCharacter in the second game, Emily gets ahold of her father's folding gadget sword, the same one that Piero made in the first game, while fleeing Dunwall Tower.
* CreepyChild: Says some seriously disturbing things if you have high Chaos.
* CruelMercy: Though the nonlethal options remain the same regardless of player character chosen in ''VideoGame/Dishonored2'', Low Chaos Emily is the canon story for the sequel, ''VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider''. With the exception of one enemy target, all the major enemies have a creatively "merciful" Low Chaos options to dispose of them.
* DaddysGirl: She's clearly very fond of Corvo, and he serves as her biggest role-model...
* DeathOfAChild: If you screw up the hostage situation in a High Chaos run, [[spoiler:the last thing you hear is her scream as Havelock drags her to her death]].
* DecoyProtagonist: She is canonically the protagonist of the second game. That said, she's TakenForGranite if you choose to play Corvo. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] obviously if you decide to play as her. That said, the prologue and tutorials are only seen through her point of view.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: She's one of the few beings that the Outsider will go out of his way to protect, she's just as essential to the plot as Corvo (being the heir to the throne, influenced by Corvo's actions, and ruling as TheHighQueen in Low Chaos endings), she has a strong emotional connection with him (being both his charge and his child), and she's the protagonist of the second game.
* EnfantTerrible: She learns from Corvo's example (rather like [[VideoGame/BioShock2 Eleanor Lamb]]). On a high Chaos run, that sees her end up as one seriously scary kid. After you [[spoiler:do away with the Lord Regent]] on high Chaos, she makes some disturbing remarks about what she'll do as Empress.
* GoingCommando: If "pants" is used in the meaning of undergarments instead of outer-garments in her letter in the sequel, where she says:
--> Remember the time I kept a straight face during the Watch Officer's report, all the while sitting at my desk without pants?
* GuileHero: Low Chaos!Emily is extremely intelligent, smart, astute and gifted at TakeAThirdOption and [[spoiler:the Outsider ends up noting that she will be remembered as Emily the Just and Emily the Clever]].
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Unlike any previous protagonist, Emily is not an assassin but a leader, and her powers are thus based around self control and control of others. Corvo and Daud’s powers may make Both of them a PersonOfMassDestruction, but Emily has control of some truly complicated void magic that lets her control any situation like a good leader would have to.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: High Chaos Emily eventually [[spoiler: Should she choose to kill Sokolov and Meagan, invokes this; she can't leave them alive to tell people about what she did]].
* HeroicBastard: Although Jessamine and Corvo were married in all but name... they were not married in name, and thus Emily is technically an illegitimate child of their romance. [[spoiler: Not so much the heroic part in a High Chaos ending though. Delilah points out to Emily in both instances that this means that both of them are equally illegitimate in terms of blood]].
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: If Emily follows the High Chaos route in the sequel, [[spoiler:she becomes as ruthless as her aunt in her ending of the game and can even kill Meagan/Billie and Sokolov and leaving her father in granite]].
* TheHighQueen: In a Low Chaos ending, [[spoiler: Emily's rule ushers a new golden age for the Empire and Dunwall, thanks to Corvo's guidance and protection. She becomes known as Empress Emily the Wise]]. In a High Chaos ending, she becomes a borderline case of GodSaveUsFromTheQueen. In the Low Chaos ending of the second game, [[spoiler:Emily becomes known as Emily the Just, ruling benevolently]].
** Note that at the beginning of the sequel, the game subverts this - Emily's rule has been a contested affair and her approval isn't high. Unemployment is high in the crown isle of Gristol and Dunwall's flooded district, though now drained, has yet to be repaired. An oil shortage is hitting the Empire. Emily has also not been paying attention to the other isles, allowing Serkonos' Luca Abele to rule over his island like a tyrant and run it into the ground. There are also rumors that she's had her dad murder anyone who questions her rule. [[spoiler:They are being framed of course]].
* HereditaryHairstyle: She wears her hair similar to Corvo, her father. Long and framing her face with a division to one side over the eye. Of course being a girl she has it in a more feminine manner with a ribbon in-game. However, her portrait's and Corvo's make them look startlingly similar. Dishonored 2 makes the resemblance to both her parents very apparent -- she looks a great deal like her mother, but a few of her features are unmistakably Corvo's.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness[=/=]ChildrenAreInnocent: Subverted, Emily is smarter than she appears. She heard a lot of horrible "grown-up" things at the Golden Cat but remains polite enough to pretend to still be an innocent. On a High Chaos run, she's a straight-out EnfanteTerrible.
* LadyOfWar: At the time of the second game, Emily is a young woman who is about as skilled as Corvo with stealth and combat, which means, one of the greatest fighters and assassins in the Empire, while she is always dressed in an orderly, elegant and impeccable way.
* MissingMom: As the game begins, her mother is murdered by unknown assailants in front of her eyes.
* MoralityPet: For Corvo, especially in a High Chaos run. It's even blatantly enforced in gameplay: it's possible to kill every other character in the story -- even if killing some of them results in a game over -- but it's impossible for Corvo to harm Emily.
* MixedAncestry: Her mother was from Gristol's royal family, while her father is a commoner from Serkonos.
* NecessarilyEvil: In a High Chaos ending of the first game, [[spoiler:Emily will be considered to have done what she had to in an awful situation]].
* OneWomanArmy: She is trained by Corvo, after all.
* OverlyLongName: Well, she's a noble, and long names are historically a noble thing. As revealed in ''The Dunwall Archives'' [[AllThereInTheManual artbook]], her full name is Emily Drexel Lela Kaldwin.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: In the second game, Emily is rather slight in build, but still has the strength to heft limp bodies around even without any Outsider assistance, and to grapple with swords against burly guardsmen or wrench Clockwork Soldiers apart.
* PowerTattoo: If chosen as the Player Character and accepting of the Outsider's empowerment, her left hand is marked with the Outsider's symbol.
* PrincessInRags: Or Empress In Rags. She gets a taste of her father's hardknock life before he became Royal Protector when she travels to his home city to investigate how and why she had her throne yanked out from under her. She mingled amongst the seedier parts of Dunwall as part of her training by father dearest so she could fend for herself (and so she could blow off courtly duties), but could always return to the cushy bed and silver tea sets of Dunwall Tower. After being usurped, she doesn't have that option and her place of solace is a leaky old boat owned by one of her few allies. Having her common-born father around and the aforementioned mingling helps make her take it more in stride than most cases of this trope that were more coddled.
* PromotedToPlayable: In the second game, she becomes a playable character alongside Corvo.
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: High Chaos!Emily [[spoiler:is essentially the story of a sheltered and apathetic but well-meaning young Empress becoming a ruthless cold and violent tyrant, becoming just as bad as Delilah. She ends up known as either Emily the Vengeful or Emily the Butcher.]]
* PuppetKing: What the Conspirators [[spoiler:(both sets)]] want to make her into.
* RoyalBrat: She's quite likeable overall, but makes things difficult for Callista when she's bored.
* StatuesqueStunner: She stands 5'10" in ''2''.
* TheStoner: Not explicitly shown, but her lover Wyman says (s)he'll bring back some white leaf tobacco, an illegal substance in Gristol, from his/her trip and implies it was Emily's request. Other than that, she doesn't act this way at all.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: In the main menu screen no less, looking back and forth between Corvo and Emily shows she's definitely Corvo's. Kirin Jindosh identifies her by the fact that she has her father's eyes, despite the bandanna mask she was wearing to hide her identity.
* SuperiorSuccessor: Potentially. In Dishonored, Corvo had to take the Outsider's mark and Blink, and while a run without using the power is possible, it's heavily implied that Corvo made use of the Outsider's gifts in canon (most notably when he uses them in cutting a few traitorous guards to pieces when Delilah's coup is sprung). Which means that an Emily who rejects the Outsider can match Corvo's feats without the powers or several years of experience that Corvo had.
* TakenForGranite: If Corvo is the chosen player character in ''2'', she gets turned into a statue by Delilah.
* TookALevelInBadass: Goes from a rather defenseless child to someone trained by the Empire's greatest swordsman and adept in stealth. Despite being rather petite, she is able to go against groups of enemies, sometimes knocking them out with a single punch. And that's before she gets powers from the Outsider.
* TouchedByVorlons: The Outsider [[PowerTattoo marks]] her in the sequel, empowering her with abilities distinct from Corvo's, such as tentacles used as a grappling hook as well as transforming into a creature made of shadows.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: If Emily is the Player Character in the second game, many of the conspirators gravely underestimate her, believing she's been coddled and spoiled by her father, advisors, and palace staff, not realizing that daddy dearest trained her in his ways quite well (to say nothing of potential Outsider aid).
* WarriorPrincess: Emily is the former empress and working to regain that status through skills gained by being trained by the greatest spy and assassin in the Empire.
* WeakButSkilled: Her powers are much more indirect in use than Corvo's. While Corvo's time and space based powers favor more direct power and straightforward solutions, Emily's shadow powers require some outside of the box thinking to use to their fullest. Mastering her powers and putting some whale bone points into them gives Emily a lot more freedom in her playstyle than Corvo has, with even her basic traversal tool (Far Reach) turning into a power that can grab items from a distance and even pull enemies towards her for takedowns.
* WhatTheHellHero: In The sequel, multiple characters point out that, as bad as [[TheCaligula Duke Abele]] is, a big reason he was able to act as he did is that he had Dunwall's, and by extension Emily's, backing. Indeed, it seems that Dunwall didn't much care about the Karnacan peoples' plight as long as the silver kept flowing.
* YouKilledMyFather: [[spoiler:When Billie Lurk confesses to Emily that she was part of the group of assassins who killed her mother, Emily's reaction is one of icy hostility. Even if you don't kill her and pick the more forgiving dialogue option, Emily makes it clear that she never wants to see her again.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Daud]]
!Daud
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_knife_of_dunwall.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''In the schoolyard, the other children would marvel at his quick hands. One day, a man came for young Daud, and led him away.'']]
->''"I'd killed nobles before. Why should an Empress be different? For six months, the city writhed and changed. For six months - I tried to forget what I'd done to the Empress and her little girl. Whatever doom was coming; ''I'' deserved it. [[LastDance But not yet]]."''
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MichaelMadsen
A fearsome underground figure in Dunwall, Daud is the leader of an assassin group called the Whalers (because of their use of discarded gear from a whaler factory) based in the Flooded District. These are the people who killed the Empress. He is the protagonist of the two story {{DLC}}s for the first game, ''The Knife of Dunwall'' and ''The Brigmore Witches'', as well as a main character in ''Death of the Outsider''. Like Corvo, he is from Serkonos.
----
* AntiHero: In Knife Of Dunwall. He's a villain in the main campaign, but no ''more'' villainous than Dunwall's many despicable citizens (and certainly no more villainous than Corvo can potentially be when they finally cross paths). When he's the central character, the player can decide his actions, which range from ruthless and unpleasant, but purely mercenary, to outright vicious sadism. [[spoiler:Ultimately however, his actions end up saving Emily from possession]].
* AntiVillain: What he is in the vanilla game. [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type I,]] as he's not necessarily a great guy, but of all the villains [[spoiler: and some of the heroes, as it turns out, especially if Corvo has been [[SociopathicHero running around murdering everyone,]]]] he is one of the more sympathetic.
* AcquiredPoisonImmunity: Of a sort. While he's not strictly ''immune'' to poisons, one of the benefits of his powers is a very strong ''resistance'' to toxins of all kinds. Accordingly, if Corvo shoots him with a sleep dart [[OnceIsNotEnough or ten]] -- even if it's with the upgraded combat sleep dart, which [[InstantSedation drops almost every other living thing in the game instantly no matter what]] -- Daud won't even be slowed down by the toxin, much less be dropped by it.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Corvo is this to Daud. No matter how great an Assassin Daud is, he's fated to lose his duel with Corvo should it happen, and the only way said duel can be averted is if Corvo is the one who decides to avoid it by sending Daud a more personal message (pickpocketing him). This goes double in a low chaos playthrough: Corvo does great things to make the world better with his powers, while the best Daud can hope to do is mitigate some of the evil he's brought about and earn a measure of redemption by saving someone he wronged.
* ArmCannon: In the DLC, Daud carries a wrist-mounted variation of the crossbow. It can also function as a BladeBelowTheShoulder similar to the Hidden Blade of the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series by extending the bolt to pierce through necks.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion[=/=]BreakingLecture: Daud gets in a mix of these two tropes during his fight with Corvo.
-->'''Daud:''' Why are you fighting? [[spoiler:[[TreacheryCoverUp For the men who poisoned you]] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and left you to die]]]]? For your dead Empress? [[StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred Go on, strike as if you mean it]]! You know I killed her! [[YouFool Fool]]! [[NotSoDifferent We're of the same breed, you and I]]. [[ProfessionalKiller We both kill for others]]. You think I'm your enemy? [[VillainsNeverLie I've never lied to you]].
* BadassBoast: When alerted to Corvo's presence.
-->'''Daud:''' I know your footsteps, Corvo. Do you really think you can hide from a hunter of men?
* BecauseImGoodAtIt: The main reason he became an assassin after getting his powers was because he had little else to do with them.
* TheBusCameBack: He returns in ''Death of the Outsider''.
* ClimaxBoss: It is very difficult to avert a battle with him, and in Low Chaos he actually stops time so he and Corvo can fight one-on-one, without interruptions.
* CradlingYourKill: If Daud decides to kill [[spoiler: Billie Lurk]] in Low Chaos, he holds her hand and her body gently.
* CruelMercy: [[AvertedTrope Averted.]] His non-lethal takedown is the only one in the game that doesn't put him in a FateWorseThanDeath.
* CombatPragmatist: If Corvo chooses to fight him in High Chaos, Daud will call on his assassins to help him, and dispenses with any notion of honour; after all, Corvo clearly has none.
* ContractualBossImmunity: Is resistant to many of Corvo's gadgets and powers. He'll outright mock you if you try to possess him or timestop him, and Windblast only staggers him slightly instead of blowing him across the room. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in the case of his immunity to sleep darts; in a memo to one of his assassins, Daud explicitly states that one of his abilities is a resistance to toxins of all kinds.
-->'''Daud (if Corvo tries timestopping him)''': Nice try, Corvo.
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Daud expresses regret about killing the Empress, and after witnessing Corvo in action he begins to question the way in which he's chosen to use the Outsider's powers and whether his life has really made a difference to the fate of the world in any meaningful way. After you defeat him in a duel, he expresses no real objection to Corvo simply striking him down, although he's also willing to retire and go into self-exile instead]]. After The Brightmore Witches, it becomes even more so: While the Outsider occassionally talks with him in his dreams, now all he gets are [[spoiler: nightmares of Corvo coming to kill him, followed with the Outsider constantly mocking Daud, especially in Low Chaos where he constantly questions if Daud believes that avoiding death would save him]]. Actually finally being confronted with the actual thing must be a great relief, one way or another.
* DespairSpeech: [[spoiler:When Corvo defeats him in Low Chaos, he gives one of these, saying that "something broke" inside of him when he killed the Empress and kidnapped her daughter, and he began to question what he's truly accomplished with his life and whether anything he's done has truly been worth anything -- and finally realized that he's had enough killing. The High Chaos speech is somewhat similar, but he tires of fighting and accepts death with dignity, should you give it]].
* DisneyVillainDeath: Corvo throws him off a ledge after slashing his throat.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: Certainly has his own objectives unrelated to the Lord Regent. [[spoiler:And of course, Corvo is only interested in rescuing and protecting Emily, not Havelock's ambitions.]]
* TheDreaded: When eavesdropping on conversations about Daud, he is referred to with both fear and reverence. According to one such conversation, some people are too afraid to so much as [[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed say his name]].
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Daud is dreaming of his upcoming confrontation with Corvo. It is possible in the dream for Daud to defeat Corvo - something even Daud knows is unlikely to happen in reality.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:He dies offscreen in ''Death of the Outsider'', succumbing to old age and injuries.]]
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: [[spoiler:Is very fond of his mother, citing her advise against the witches. When he died and lingered in the Void, he could be seen calling out for her, lamenting that he could not remember her face, only bits and pieces of her memories.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards: His personal audio log has him talking about how much he hates Burrows despite the fact that he is also a regular client of his and would love nothing more than to slit his throat himself. [[spoiler:He also expresses deep regret for killing the Empress for all the damage that it has wrought on Dunwall]].
** In a low-chaos run, Daud comes to consider Corvo a WorthyOpponent, and feels as though their conflict should be settled one-on-one. On a high-chaos run? [[YouBastard He thinks Corvo is a mad-dog]] and affords him no such special considerations.
* EvilCounterpart: To Corvo. Both are supernatural-empowered assassins gifted by the Outsider, but Daud has been doing it a lot longer, but with no real focus or purpose other than assassination for its own sake, and both are the only playable characters of the first game. Also, both of them are Serkonan. Daud even notes in his journal the similarities between him and Corvo. Their Outsider-bestowed powers are also extremely similar; the Outsider's Mark grants powers which usually vary quite noticeably from one individual to another.
* EvilVersusEvil: Potentially against Delilah.
* {{Expy}}[=/=]ActorAllusion: He's an incredibly skilled sword-wielding ProfessionalKiller who [[spoiler:has begun to experience regret over what he's done]] and is a DeathSeeker, but [[spoiler:isn't willing to go down without a fight]]. He's also voiced by Creator/MichaelMadsen. [[Film/KillBill Sound familiar]]?
* FaceDeathWithDignity: He accepts either death or being spared once he is bested in combat. If Corvo grabs him to deliver the killing blow, he won't even try to fight back.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Implied in the Death of the Outsider trailer, where he sets out with Billie Lurk to kill the Outsider, in spite of him being firmly on the side of Emily and Corvo]]
* AFatherToHisMen: He is shown to greatly care for his Assassins. He believes that whatever doom is coming for ''him'' should not be suffered by them as well.
* FeelingTheirAge: By the time of ''Death of the Outsider'', his hair has gone completely white and he's clearly past his prime. He's still dangerous enough that the Eyeless need to imprison him in a power-dampening chamber and he quickly massacres them once released.
* TheGhost: In Dishonored 2, he's confirmed to still be alive and is mentioned by several characters, but he never exerts influence on the story and is never seen. [[spoiler:Except in the credits sequence of a Low Chaos ending.]]
* GoodCounterpart: In a High Chaos run he is this instead, being strictly professional [[spoiler:and starting to experience remorse and second-guesses over his chosen path]] when you meet him, in contrast to how the player would've already choked the streets in innocent victims by this stage.
* GracefulLoser: In both High Chaos and Low Chaos, Daud is quite composed after being defeated.
* GutturalGrowler: Regardless of your chaos level his voice will always be deep and raspy which does help his intimidating presence.
* TheHeavy: Hiram Burrows was the mastermind the assassination of Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, but his plan, and his oppressive rule that plagued game would have never come to fruition without Daud,[[spoiler: a fact Daud knows very well and has given him so much angst.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: After being empowered by the Outsider, Daud spent his entire life killing on contract for money. After killing the Empress he realizes that all he's even done with his gifts is make the world a worse place. [[spoiler: He finds a small measure of redemption by defeating Delilah, and ultimately decides to seek redemption for his life by using his last days on earth to find a way to kill the Outsider, holding him responsible for all the evil committed by those who have received his Mark. It's ambiguous how correct Daud's reasoning is; while the Outsider had absolutely nothing to do with Burrows' coup, it ''is'' fairly reasonable to hold him responsible for Delilah and others like her over the centuries.]]
* HeelRealization: In a Low Chaos run [[spoiler:he regrets having killed the Empress for all it caused. And watching Corvo's actions makes him question the path he took and how he's wasted the Outsider's gift]]. He questions the need to kill the Empress in a High Chaos run, but it's not as obvious. Given that you've most likely slaughtered all of his guards, he has more things to worry about than a job.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: ''The Knife of Dunwall'' and ''The Brigmore Witches'' chronicle his actions between his assassination of the Empress and Corvo's arrival in the Flooded District.
* HeroicMime: A full aversion. He speaks in cutscenes even in the DLC where the player controls him.
* HiddenDepths: So sayeth the Heart.
-->'''The Heart:''' His hands do violence. But there is a different dream in his heart.
* HitmanWithAHeart: He murders people for money, but it's nothing personal and all about the money for him, which makes him a much more sympathetic villain than all the power hungry, amoral, over-privileged psychos Corvo normally has to deal with. [[spoiler: Then it turns out that Daud actually comes to deeply regret murdering the empress for all the pain and suffering it has caused to the city of Dunwall and all the people in it [[NiceJobBreakingItHero (Nice Job Breaking It Anti-Villain,)]] at which point you realize he has become a more sympathetic character than [[SociopathicHero Corvo on a high chaos run.]] The Brigmore Witches also reveals that Daud saved the empire by preventing Delilah from possessing Emily.]]
* IfIWantedYouDead: [[spoiler:Dealing with Daud without actually fighting him involves pickpocketing him to prove to him that you can kill him anytime you want.]]
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: In ''Death of the Outsider'', age has caught up to him to the point that he's coughing and can barely stand. [[spoiler:He ends up dying offscreen while Billie is off stealing the Twin-bladed Knife]].
** [[spoiler:It's later revealed that he only became ill because he came into contact with the Knife earlier due to TimeTravel.]]
* InkSuitActor: Looks very much like a younger Michael Madsen.
* ItsPersonal: Because he killed the Empress himself.
* JadeColoredGlasses: Daud has been wearing them for a long, long time, so even when a thought crosses his mind that his crimes might be catching up with him, he quickly dismisses it.
-->''"I'd say I'm being punished, but I know that the world doesn't punish wicked people. We make our choices, and take what comes.... and the rest is Void."''
* LeaveHimToMe: While Daud invokes this trope word-for-word in Low Chaos, it's actually a subversion, as Daud is acting out of respect for Corvo as a WorthyOpponent rather than personal antipathy.
* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: If Corvo has a low Chaos rating, Daud will order his men to leave so he and Corvo can fight one-on-one. He's even good enough to dismiss the assassins that show up to avenge him after Corvo severely wounds him. All bets are off on a High Chaos run, though, as Daud knows Corvo is a complete psycho and isn't taking any chances with him.
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: No matter how villainous you play him in the [=DLCs=], [[spoiler:Delilah]] is much worse.
* MemeticBadass: Like Corvo, he is this in-universe among the general populace. He is spoken of in hushed tone as a mystical dealer of death. Which, to be absolutely fair, is exactly what he is.
* MirrorBoss: He shares several of Corvo's powers.
* MoralityPet: A whole gang of them. He regularly takes in street urchins, refugees, and people with otherwise no place to go, and trains them in his craft. As a result, they are all fiercely loyal and devoted to him. In one note he even explains that he doesn't abandon anyone that wants to stay, even if they can't handle his gift, as long as they train in something else then. During the DLC, Daud is also very quick to explain that he is aware that doom is coming his way, but he doesn't accept his people getting hurt because of it.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Even for a seasoned killer like Daud, regicide seems to be taking things too far. The DLC in particular expose his gradual realization that the death of Empress Jessamine at his hands was what ultimately pushed Dunwall and the Empire over the edge, but even in the main game, he obviously regrets taking on that one job, such as in his last message to Hiram Burrows (recorded just as Corvo approaches his office):
-->''"Good riddance to you, sir. So many schemes you had and so many contracts. How many people did I kill for you? None like the last. None like her. I'd give back all the coin if I could. No one should have to kill an Empress."''
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Canonically, he had Delilah imprisoned in a painting. If he just killed her instead, then she wouldn't have escaped, and the events of ''Dishonored 2'' would never have happened.]]
* NoSell: [[SchmuckBait Go ahead. Try to Possess him]]. Bend/Stop Time doesn't work on him, either. Sleep darts won't drop him, and even Windblast II only staggers him.
* NothingPersonal: For Corvo, it's personal. Subverted for Daud, it was just a job [[spoiler:until he begins to feel guilt and regret for killing the Empress and the effects her death had on the city]]. Even so, he had no reason for killing her beyond the fact that [[ProfessionalKiller he was hired to do so]], so projects an attitude like this to Corvo. However in the DLC, it is shown he's having dreams of his confrontation with Corvo, and The Outsider himself warns him that a reckoning he can't escape for his actions is coming (in the form of Corvo).
* OptionalBoss: Fighting him is completely optional since you can either pickpocket him or just knock him out with a chokehold, which also counts as sparing him.
* OvertOperative: For a covert assassin, Daud certainly has an amazing amount of public exposure. Even before the assassination of Jessamine Kaldwin, he was known by name as the leader of the Whalers and his face was known well enough for Sokolov to paint an accurate likeness in his portrait of the man (though that’s barring the unlikely possibility that Daud actually modeled for it). By Dishonored 2 a biography has been written about him with enough detail to get into his sexuality and that the world gives no reason to believe is speculative.
* PowerTattoo: He has the Outsider's mark.
* ProfessionalKiller: Since his Outsider given talents were well suited to it and his being an assassin is why he killed the Empress in the first place.
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: In DLC notes, Daud has been known to ''curse'' the Outsider both privately and ''to his face''. The Outsider doesn't seem to take him seriously, in as much as the Outsider takes anything seriously. ''Death of the Outsider'' has him and Billie teaming up to finally take the Outsider down for good.
* RedBaron: The Knife of Dunwall.
* RedemptionEarnsLife: [[spoiler:If Corvo spares him. Daud is the only target whose non-lethal fate is actually merciful. The Low Chaos ending of The Brigmore Witches also has Corvo sparing Daud]]
* SlashedThroat: His close combat death animation.
* SpannerInTheWorks: To Delilah. The only reason he got involved, and ultimately foiled her plans, is because the Outsider gave him her name. So he spent months having his Whalers look for this "Delilah", which led to her noticing and making contact with [[spoiler:Billie]] and ultimately leading to Daud foiling Delilah's plans. Even better, when Daud kidnapped Emily, Delilah thought he was on to her. He didn't even know she existed then though.
* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: During their fight, he challenges Corvo to kill him.
* SummonBiggerFish: As a playable character, he can summon one of his Assassins to his side to deal with enemies.
* SuperpowerLottery: Thanks to being empowered by the Outsider, Daud has a variety of powers at his disposal.
** AuraVision: Daud's "Void Gaze" power works like this.
** FlashStep: Due to possessing the "Blink" power, Daud can do this.
** HealingFactor: Daud has this due to his "Vitality" power.
** MindOverMatter: Daud's "Pull" power grants him telekinesis. With an upgrade [[YouWillNotEvadeMe allows Daud to levitare opponets towards him]].
** SummonMagic: Can summon Assassins with the "Summon Assassin" power.
** SuperEmpowering: One of the powers he's granted by the Outsider is the ability to give lesser versions of his powers to those loyal to him. In ''Knife of Dunwall'' Daud muses that his "Arcane Bond" seems to make the reliability and strength of their powers ''directly proportional'' to their loyalty to him.
** TimeStandsStill: The "Bend Time" power gives Daud the ability to do this. His variation of Blink also stops time around him as long as he's standing still, unlike Corvo's.
* TheTeetotaler: According to his biographical book mentioned above, he does not drink as a general rule.
* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: A rare villainous example, assuming Corvo has Low Chaos. He refuses help from his assassins (who are more than willing to give it) and orders them away when they try to come to his aid.
* TouchedByVorlons: Like Corvo, Daud was empowered by the Outsider and has a number of the same powers.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Plays this part in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' when he assassinated Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, setting that installment's plot in motion. Can also be considered this in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored 2}}'' when he opted to trap Delilah in the void (instead of killing her) in ''The Brigmore Witches''.
* VikingFuneral:
** In the High Chaos ending of ''The Brigmore Witches'', [[spoiler:Daud's body is given a pyre, with Billie watching if she's alive.]]
** In ''Death of the Outsider'', [[spoiler:Billie has him go down with the Dreadful Wale once he finally passes away.]]
* VillainousBSOD: [[spoiler:He's started to slip into one by the time Corvo comes across him, expressing regret for the murder of the Empress and wondering if he chose the right path in his life]]. His card in the ''Dishonored'' tarot deck is titled "Regret".
* VillainEpisode: He's the protagonist of ''The Knife of Dunwall'' and ''The Brigmore Witches'' DLC.
* VillainProtagonist: Although, just how much Daud remains one is up to the player. If you want, you can play through the entire DLC non-lethally (just like you could in the main game) and follow the story path of Daud redeeming himself after the murder of the Empress (which, of course, is Low Chaos). Alternatively, you can hack through every living thing between you and your goals and leave a bloody swath marking your path through Dunwall in a High Chaos playthrough where Daud accepts his murderous self. The trophies/achievements for each ending explain it best: [[spoiler:Redemptive Path]] for Low Chaos and [[spoiler:No Regrets]] for High Chaos.
* VillainousAromanticAsexual: According to his biographical book, named after his title, found in ''2'', sex has never interested him (which WordOfGod eventually confirmed). Though, the "villainous" depends on many factors.
* VillainsWantMercy: A mild case. [[spoiler:If Corvo confronts him after defeating him, Daud will calmly tell Corvo that he would like to be spared. That being said, Daud clearly has no real objection to Corvo killing him, and sounds almost awed if Corvo grants his request]].
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Daud opposed Delilah's plot and [[spoiler:saved Emily]] with no expectation of being celebrated for his achievements or being spared by Corvo. He could have very well ignored Delilah since her plot didn't even directly affect him.
* WouldHitAGirl:
** The first time you see him, he's [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbing the Empress through the chest]] with zero hesitation whatsoever. [[spoiler:While he expresses regret later, it has nothing to do with the fact that she's a woman]].
** In ''The Knife of Dunwall'', he has no problems with torturing Abigail Ames for information.
** And in ''The Brigmore Witches'', he's a-okay with stabbing female gang members, the witches, and Delilah herself should the player will it. In short, he takes all his opponents seriously, whatever their gender.
* YouFightLikeACow: If you let the fight drag on, he begins taunting Corvo.
-->'''Daud:''' Fight harder! You're not fighting [[RichBitch Lady Boyle]] now!
* YouCantFightFate: Knew that he would eventually face judgment for his crimes at the hands of Corvo due to prophetic dreams.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Billie Lurk]]
!Billie Lurk
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billy_lurk_concept_art_zpse3447735.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Things would have been different for her, if her young friend had survived the attack all those years ago.'']]
-->'''Voiced by:''' Kristy Wu (''Dishonored''), [[spoiler: Creator/RosarioDawson]] (''Dishonored 2'')
Daud's number two, the most skilled of his Assassins. He holds her in regard that few of his other agents have earned, having her scout locations, gather information on targets, and offer advice.
She is the protagonist of ''Death of the Outsider''.
----
* AbusiveParents: Her mother only ever considered her "another mouth to feed" and often beat her; after her mother went blind from alcohol abuse, Lurk left home (but not without a bit of taunting).
* ActionGirl: She starts off as a DarkActionGirl give her history as a Whaler but she becomes more [[GreyAndGreyMorality morally gray]] over time until she's more of an AntiHero. Nevertheless, she's always been good with a blade.
* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:At the end of the second game, its mentioned she will go and search for Daud. The heart mentions that she has a great destiny waiting for her outside of Dunwall and Karnaca]]. This is explored in the sequel, ''VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider''.
* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:In Dishonored 2, as "Meagan" Her right arm has been cut off at the elbow and her eye was scarred when she broke into Aramis Stilton's home looking for him after he vanished. The home was heavily guarded at the time and she suffered those wounds escaping them. If the protagonist of ''Dishonored 2'' alters history and saves Stilton during "A Crack In the Slab" when they return to the present both her injuries are gone, as she never needed to break into Stilton's home that fateful night.]]
* ArmCannon: Billie wields a voltaic gun in the third game. Some sort of miniature railgun mounted on her left wrist.
* ArtificialLimbs: In ''Death of the Outsider'', she now has an arm made of the void.
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: In ''Dishonored 2'', while she still operates somewhat outside the law, she's distanced herself from her past as a paid assassin, and under the guise of Meagan Foster spends the game helping Emily or Corvo, the daughter or lover of the woman she helped murder.]]
* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler:Since parting ways with Daud, Billie lost her Outsider powers. And by the time the sequel begins, she's no longer in any shape to fight due to losing her arm. However, thanks to the protagonist's tampering of the timeline she not only regains her eye and arm but also becomes a living Time Paradox]].
* TheBusCameBack: In ''Dishonored 2'', [[spoiler:she turns out to be still working undercover, as "Meagan Foster", helping Anton Sokolov]].
* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:After ''Death Of The Outsider'' you can't help but wonder if everything that happened in the history of the 2 previous games (and spin offs) happened mathematically so that Billie was the one who would finally free (or kill) the Outsider and thus depriving the Void of its current divinity.]]
* CradlingYourKill: [[spoiler:She does this to the Outsider, should she decide to kill him.]]
* {{Cyborg}}: In ''Death of the Outsider'', she looks like one but her appendages are Void-based and occult, and not mechanical. Her arm is made of fragments from the Void and the red eye is in fact an artifact called "Sliver of the Eye/Eye of the Dead God" that belonged to the deity before the Outsider and it gives Billie the special ability of foresight.
* DeadpanSnarker: She's very fond of sarcasm.
* EvilMakeover: [[spoiler:She doesn't change any part of her appearance, but her boss battle in High Chaos uses Delilah's powers rather than Daud's, right down to the flower petal effects when she uses Blink. Though presumably, if she had won, Delilah would've modified her uniform into a GardenGarment like the rest of her witches.]]
* EyeScream: Not on herself, but when she was young her friend/lover Deirdre was offhandedly killed by a nobleman who struck her. Lurk's response was to break off part of a wooden ornament and jam it in the nobleman's eye, killing him. Unfortunately, he turned out to be a Duke's son. [[spoiler:She lost her right eye before meeting the protagonist in ''Dishonored 2''. Like her arm, the player can ensure she never lost it during "A Crack in the Slab".]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:If Daud chooses to kill her in Low Chaos, she'll smile a little ruefully and guide his hand in making the strike.]]
* TheFaceless: Like the rest of Daud's minions, she always wears a mask. [[spoiler:She takes it off during the ending of ''The Knife of Dunwall''.]]
* FinalBoss: In High Chaos, [[spoiler:she is the final opponent Daud faces in ''The Knife of Dunwall''.]]
* GhostMemory: In ''Death of the Outsider'', [[spoiler:while she now has her eye and arm intact thanks to Emily tampering with the past, this leaves her with nightmares where she lost them.]]
* GiantEyeOfDoom: After the Outsider replaces her limbs that she had lost in the previous timeline canceled by Emily, Billie gains a huge black stone as eye with a reddish glow that gives her the power to see the fractures of the Void and [[TimeStandsStill stop the time]] to supervise any area. [[spoiler:Later she discovers that this eye is the tiny countepart of the enormous eye that once belonged to the divinity who preceded the Outsider.]]
* IntergenerationalFriendship: [[spoiler:With Sokolov in the second game. Her greatest concern in the early parts is his safety, and the Heart mentions that she sees him as her closest companion, and possibly a father figure.]]
* IWasQuiteALooker: [[spoiler:She was reasonably attractive in ''The Knife of Dunwall'', but the years between the first and second game have given her some very disfiguring scars. If you change the past though, you can undo them.]]
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler:In Low Chaos, she admits her treachery after her attempt on Daud's life goes horribly wrong and accepts her execution or exile. Averted in High Chaos, where Delilah exposes her and Lurk chooses to fight Daud one-on-one.]]
* LadyLooksLikeADude: In the knife of Dunwal DLC, she rather confusingly uses a character model that comprises a mere PaletteSwap of the one used by the standard mook Whalers, the upper torso of which has a very masculine triangular shape.
* LadyOfWar: She is a beautiful woman who always wears makeup with a very pronounced light blue-indigo eyeshadow (when she has both eyes) but she is also one of the most deadly [[ProfessionalKiller professional killers]] in the world, capable of fighting and assassinating opponents twice the size of her without that a single drop of their blood stains the equipment she wears.
* TheLancer: To Daud.
* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: She wears a red cloak to distinguish her from the rest of the Whalers.
* TheLostLenore: No matter how long she lives or how many lovers she has, she's never quite able to get over her teenage love, Deirdre, whose murder set her on the path she walks throughout the franchise.
--> '''Billie''' ''(audio diary):'' "I've loved a number of women, and even a couple of men, but I've never loved anyone like my Deirdre..."
* MeaningfulName: Assassins do tend to lurk around a lot. It also isn't her birth name.
* MirrorBoss: [[spoiler: If you end up fighting her, she fights similar to Daud. Though her Void powers are based on Delilah's abilities rather than Daud's, unlike the Brigmore Witches she generally doesn't use abilities that don't copy the fighting style she learned from Daud.]]
* MrExposition: She provides Daud with the background of his targets and devises strategies to deal with them.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:In Low Chaos she realizes that she was wrong about Daud and becomes greatly distraught that she worked with Delilah.]]
* NoMoreLies: Decides to come clean with you about her past as [[spoiler:the assassin responsible for Jessamine's murder]] on low chaos. On high chaos, she's too afraid to go on with that for a very good reason.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Although she lost both her left eye and arm in the process, she says in an audiographer that she managed to escape by killing all the grand guard present on the night she broke into Stilton's villa.
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: For someone who grew up on the street, Billie is amazingly well connected and has ties to several major character across both games. Besides being Daud's best pupil and taking part in the assassination of Jessamine. [[spoiler:Her part in Delilah's plot meaning she's familiar with both Delilah and Breanna Ashworth. It's also revealed in ''Dishonored 2'' she's also friend with Aramis Stilton before he disappeared, and in the intervening time between both games became Sokolov's closest friend. On top of that Luca Abele's brother killed her lover and she killed him in return, and she also almost murdered Slackjaw once, according to the Heart. And of course in the sequel is an ally of Corvo and Emily.]]
* OneWomanArmy: Even without powers, Billie is an opponent not to be underestimated in combat (how the whole gang of the Eyeless can learn it in the hard way during her mission to free Daud).
* ParadoxPerson: In ''Death of the Outsider'', her new powers don't come from a Mark from the Outsider like Corvo, Daud or Emily. According to Harvey Smith, her powers come from her being "in one state and in another at the same time", which is a direct result of [[spoiler: Emily tampering with Stilton's past.]]
* PlatonicLifePartners: With Anton Sokolov [[spoiler:in ''Dishonored 2'']].
* PromotedToPlayable: She is the playable protagonist of ''Death of the Outsider''. Unlike ''Dishonored 2'', she is the sole protagonist and PlayerCharacter of this adventure.
* RedemptionEarnsLife: [[spoiler:Similar to Daud's own fate in the main game, it's possible to spare Billie, allowing her to leave Dunwall and makes a new life for herself.]]
* RememberTheNewGuy: She was introduced in the DLC and is never mentioned in the main game due to the fact that [[spoiler:she's either dead or exiled by the end of The Knife of Dunwall and Daud regrets her loss enough that he doesn't want to be reminded of it]].
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[spoiler:Part of her motivation for going after the duke in the second game is to avenge the death of her lover, Deirdre, whom he goaded his brother into killing.]]
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Only female assassin shown in game. WordOfGod confirms that Billie was "probably not" the only woman, and a note found in ''Dishonored 2'' suggests at least a few other women were working for "the Big Knife". On the other hand, the Outsider's ending narration for a High Chaos run in Knife of Dunwall says Billie was the only woman Daud ever trained (though we do see that some apprentice Whalers are trained by more senior Whalers rather than Daud himself).
* ShapeShifter: "Semblace" allows her to completely assume the shape of another person by astrally stealing their face and holding it in her normal hand.
* SpontaneousWeaponCreation: [[spoiler:Billie can materialize the Twin-Bladed Knife from her inhuman arm.]]
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:It's revealed at the end of ''The Knife of Dunwall'' that she was secretly working with Delilah to take down Daud. In the Low Chaos path, she ends up going back at the last moment and surrenders while in the High Chaos path, she takes Daud's murderous tendencies as him slipping and goes through with it.]]
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: [[spoiler:As Meagan Foster, she basically serves the same role that Samuel does in the first game, being the one who transports you in and out of places via a boat.]]
* TimeMaster: [[spoiler:Post-Death of the Outsider. In the comics she can stop time, while in the books she can go back in it. She tries to save Daud but ends up instead ensuring that his death happens.]]
* TokenMinority: She's the only dark-skinned person present in Dunwall. [[spoiler:Averted in ''Dishonored 2'', where dark skin is pretty common in Serkonos]]. It's also retroactivly averted in ''The Corroded Man'', as it turns out TheGhost Rinaldo is black too.
* TwoferTokenMinority: She's the only major character in the the first game who is either a) not white, or b) not straight.
* TomboyishName: Which makes her being the only known female assassin in Daud's ranks more surprising.
* WalkingSpoiler: Just about everything regarding her role in the Knife of Dunwall [[spoiler:as well as ''Dishonored 2'' and ''Death of the Outsider'']] means that talking about her to any great degree is going to get into spoiler-y territory.
* WarpWhistle: "Displace" allows Billie to place a mark (which materializes as a broken Billie) in a visible place where she can access and instantly teleport there.
** It also works as a WeaponizedTeleportation when used directly on an individual (even if doing it harms Billie).
* WeaponOfXSlaying: She eventually gains the Twin-bladed Knife, the blade used to [[spoiler:sacrifice the person who would become the Outsider]]. It lets her charge up a SwordBeam to knock enemies around. [[spoiler:After killing the Outsider, however, it loses the ability to use a SwordBeam.]]
* WorthyOpponent: Even in high chaos where she completely turns on Daud, she considers him such and insists on fighting him one on one - in her own words, she wants to do this "properly and with respect". In the following mission, if she was killed and an assassin refers to her as a "witch", Daud himself coldly replies that the "witch" was twice the fighter the assassin would ever be.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Anton Sokolov]]
!Anton Sokolov
[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/228px-Sokolov_7272.png]]
[[caption-width-right:210:''The city owes much to this great mind. Let him drink and find company where he can.'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Roger L. Jackson
Roseburrow's former partner and one of the main people responsible for the industrial revolution that swept over Dunwall. Currently the head of the Academy of Natural Philosophy and Piero's rival. Also an artist, drunkard, whoremonger and [[IJustWantToBeSpecial wannabe mystic]]. Like Corvo, he is a foreigner; in this case, from the remote and frozen Tyvia.
----
* AffablyEvil: He's more ''amoral'' than evil, but he still does some horrific things in the course of his experiments. All the same, he's pretty friendly and talkative with Corvo once he's been bribed with wine [[spoiler:and when Corvo shows up to save him and Piero from Havelock's guards]].
* TheAtoner: In Dishonored 2, he is haunted by how his inventions were used and the human experimentation he did during the rat plague and seeks to atone. Regrets over their pasts is mentioned by the Heart as what unites him and Meagan.
* BeardOfEvil: Though not ''nearly'' as evil as the other targets.
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Inverted in the sequel. If anything, being tortured by Jindosh made him more ''good'', as it reminded him of the many people he experimented on in the past and further compounded his regret.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: [[spoiler: He's the only target that Corvo must capture rather than kill, since he's the only guy capable of finding a cure to the plague. ]]
* CoolOldGuy: Emily seems to regard him as this in the sequel, seeing Sokolov as a CoolTeacher who taught her many interesting things, invented many great machines, and had a lot of funny (and crass) stories to tell.
* DeadpanSnarker: If you take the bottle of Brandy by Campbell while Sokolov is painting his portrait, he will complain that he needs it to "draw the eye away from Campbell". He'll also snark about being asked to paint the fairly ugly Campbell.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: He's rather cordial to Corvo after being captured, and by ''Dishonored 2'', Corvo regards Sokolov with some measure of fondness. Sokolov returns the feelings.
* DefiantCaptive: By the time he's found in the second game, he's been captured by the Crown Killer and tortured by Kirin Jindosh, to no avail. The torture has taken its toll on the old man, but he remains flippant in Jindosh's face, taunting that if Jindosh's electro-torture lobotomy device reduces him to a drooling idiot, he'd welcome being freed from having to endure Jindosh's rantings.
* DirtyOldMan: He makes a few comments that hint at this, and the Heart mentions that he often beds maidservants. Its precise words are that he has "the manners of a Tyvian swineherd." You can also overhear a maid saying she's heard that he "spends more time with prostitutes than he does in the laboratory".
* ExactWords: He makes use of this with one of his test subjects. She asks when she'll be allowed to leave. He promises her that the guards will take her out of her cell in the morning; around noon at the latest. What he fails to tell her is that she won't be ''alive'' by the time they remove her from the cell.
* EvilGenius: To the Lord Regent. Somewhat averted as while he created many of the tools used to enslave the populace, he's also devoting the majority of his efforts to curing the Rat Plague.
* FoodAsBribe: An alternative to feeding him to the rats, he has a favorite alcoholic drink [[spoiler: that can be bought to convince him to do a HeelFaceTurn.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: He's eventually captured by Corvo and "convinced" to side with the Loyalists, though it helps that he has no real fondness for the Lord Regent.]]
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Said verbatim by the Heart in the squeal. As discussed in the game itself, gone is the MadScientist RenaissanceMan who once looked his enemies in the eyes and dared them to kill him, and in his place is a feeble old man living in a dingy, beaten down ship who can hardly take care of himself without Meagan Foster's assistance. An audiograph record reveals he believes himself to only have it in him to make one last painting (of Emily/Corvo), and in Low Chaos endings he simply sails back to Tyvia to live his remaining years in peace and quiet.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: He's obsessed with contacting the Outsider through finding the right sequence of symbols and stars. The Outsider is well aware of his efforts, and doesn't bother to reward them because he believes Sokolov isn't interesting enough. He seems to find Sokolov's conviction that he can be summoned that way both a little amusing and slightly insulting.
** Inverted in the sequel, the heart points out that Sokolov, now haunted by regrets on some of the experiments he did, and the way some of his inventions have been used, is content to fade from the limelight and be forgotten.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Has one with Meagan Foster.
* LackOfEmpathy: It seems to be a learned trait, rather than a fundamental part of his personality. He is completely dispassionate about the below-mentioned test subject, and actually ''hopes'' that her skin will slough off so that the experiment's results match up with his expectations. When the plague has subsided and Sokolov has some time to look back on what he did, he is utterly horrified at the extremes he went to.
* MadScientist: He doesn't have much use for ethics and even keeps a woman imprisoned in his laboratory to use as a test subject to observe the progression of the plague. She's number "312" even to her face, she was originally healthy, and she is evidently not the first.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: In the second game, using the Heart on him reveals that he is haunted by the horrific experiments he performed to end the rat plague.
* NecessarilyEvil[=/=]IDidWhatIHadToDo: Despite his experiments on live humans mentioned above, it's important to remember that he didn't do that to be cruel (some notes and logs by him indicate that he really isn't a fan of unnecessary cruelty, actually), but because observing the progression of the plague and how the various versions of his serum affect it is the most direct route to developing a cure for the rat plague. It's not that he isn't cognizant of the suffering he's causing, it's that the best way to honor their sacrifice is to cure this plague...[[spoiler:which he eventually does by joining forces with Piero.]]
* NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: A skilled painter of portraits who is also an inventor of deadly weapons and respected scientist, Sokolov is {{Steampunk}} Creator/LeonardoDaVinci, albeit without Leonardo's famous good looks.
** He's also very reminiscent of UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk - he's from an in-universe Russia analogue, demonstrates a total disregard for etiquette and personal grooming, dabbles in the occult, has a reputation for lasciviousness, and is closely ingratiated with the ruling powers of the Empire despite his unpopularity amongst its people.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: As well as being an inventor who helped jump-started the industrial revolution, Sokolov is also the Royal Physician attempting to cure the plague.
* PlatonicLifePartners:
** He and Piero develop this dynamic towards the end of the first game. A Low Chaos epilogue reveals that they formed a fulfilling partnership and cured the plague, and one of the elixirs in the second game is named jointly after both of them.
** With Meagan Foster [[spoiler:a.k.a. Billie Lurk]] in the second game. He's a paying guest on her ship, but it's clear that they care about each other deeply and enjoy each other's company a good deal.
* ReallyGetsAround: In the second game we learn he became well known in high society for having trysts with promising artists or scientists.
* RenaissanceMan: As well as being a scientist, inventor and doctor working on creating a cure for the plague (which is used in-game as a health potion), Sokolov is also a renowned painter and sculptor.
* TheRival: To Piero. [[spoiler:When they actually meet, however, they become quick friends and work together to fight the plague]].
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Not he himself, but the titles of his many paintings exhibit names such as ''"The Torturer's Quaternionic Groan"''.
* ShoutOut: To Nikolai Sokolov, the scientist who goes missing in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater''.
* TokenEvilTeammate: He's forcefully recruited to the heroes' side, but remains as amoral as ever. [[spoiler:Subverted in that he doesn't betray Corvo like Havelock, Martin, and Pendleton do, providing support instead and remains loyal to the empire.]]
* TookALevelInKindness: He's considerably nicer and more retrospective in ''Dishonored 2''. Emily sees him as the CoolOldGuy and EccentricMentor from her childhood and Sokolov comes to care greatly for her. Corvo also regards Sokolov rather fondly, having enjoyed the man's stories. Players of the first game remembered him as a MadScientist DirtyOldMan who was desperate for the Outsider's attention, ignorant of the fact that said god had nothing but contempt for him.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: His relationship with Delilah prior to the games proper. While he was supportive of her talents, the sexually exploitive nature of her tutelage likely did little favors for her mental health. Strangely enough, none of the protagonists seem to ever call him out on this, but his habit of [[ReallyGetsAround Really Getting Around]] probably hurt a lot more women than just Delilah, as well as all of Dunwall by furthering her descent into madness.
* VetinariJobSecurity[=/=]SparingTheAces: Part of why people keep him around despite his flaws is that he ''is'' a genius and one of the few people making any headway on a cure for the plague. [[spoiler: Which is also why ''you'' need him around. You can't really afford to lose a mind like this.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Delilah Copperspoon]]
!Delilah Copperspoon
[[quoteright:202:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clipboard01fdgdfg_5466.png]]
[[caption-width-right:202:''She dreams of all the world bowing, but more than that. Loving her. Breathing her name.'']]
[[caption-width-right:370:[[labelnote:Click here to see Deililah's portrait.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/delilah.jpg]][[/labelnote]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Erin Cottrell
A mysterious witch who has history with the Kaldwin family, she first appeared as the antagonist of Daud's DLC. She returns in the second game to once again take over the Empire from Emily.
----
* TheAce: From a purely artistic point of view, especially in the second game, she is very often considered a genius like her old master Sokolov as well as one of the most skilled painters and sculptors of her time. Not to mention that despite not having passed so many years since she was marked by the Outsider compared to Daud and Vera Moray, not only did she immediately learn to unlock and use a multitude of powers but she deepened her knowledge on her magic and the Void at levels in some ways even superior to that of any other marked individual.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Delilah's ambitions are quite grand, far greater than a throne and claiming her birthright; [[spoiler:it extends to becoming a God Empress of the Void, reordering reality and supplanting the Outsider himself]].
* ArchEnemy:
** Initially, Daud is just an annoying threat to get rid of. But as he progresses, Delilah realizes he has a very real chance of stopping her, and decides to consider him as such.
** In the second game, she refocuses her efforts on Emily and Corvo. Her rivalry with Emily is especially personal since Emily Kaldwin is also an illegitimate offspring of royal and common blood, and Delilah wanted everything she had.
** The Outsider for his part considers Delilah the most dangerous person he has ever given his Mark, and he goes out of his way to foil her plans, directly intervening and empowering agents to get in her way.
* ArtAttacker: She can use her statues to detect intruders. In an emergency, she [[MesACrowd can turn them into copies of herself]]. [[spoiler:She also has the ability to use paintings to control people. It's implied that this is how she managed to completely enthrall Timsh. She planned on using a more powerful version of this ability to possess Emily.]]
** In the second game, the statues return as a long-distance communication system she uses to keep tabs on her lieutenants, and her power over paintings has grown to the point where [[spoiler:she can use them to alter reality, with her ultimate plan being [[InTheirOwnImage to completely rewrite the universe into a paradise for herself]].]]
* AndIMustScream:
** Her fate if Daud chooses a non-lethal means of dealing with her. [[spoiler:He replaces the painting of Emily she needs for her ritual with one that depicts a tree in The Void. Once she finishes, instead of possessing Emily, she ends up trapped, unable to die or to affect anything]].
** [[spoiler:Presumably also Emily's fate if she were to succeed with her plan, making the above an IronicHell.]]
* BadBoss: One of her witches realizes that all of the strongest members of the coven are being sent right into Daud's path. This ''is'' savvy of Delilah, but not because she expects them to succeed. Rather, it's to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness get rid of anyone who could overpower her]] [[spoiler:once she's in Emily's ten-year-old body]].
* BastardBastard: If her story is to be believed, then aside from being a self-centered usurper, [[spoiler:she's also the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Euhorn Kaldwin and a kitchen maid.]]
* BerserkButton: Do not compare her unfavourably to Jessamine (and by extension Emily). Don't even ''hint'' that she might not be as classy or graceful or even remotely less admirable than they are. Her temper is mercurial and she hands out death on a whim -- especially to aristocracy, whom she despises for their absence of true loyalty.
* BigBad: For Daud's story arc in ''Dishonored'''s [=DLCs=] and ''Dishonored 2''.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Sokolov, who knew her when they were both younger, points out that she's basically an idealist that wants to make the world better than it is. However, her idea of said better world is one in which everyone and everything bows down to her unquestioningly, and she doesn't care who she has to crush to achieve her goal.
* CallBack: In the second game, [[spoiler:once again the non-lethal way of dealing with her is to trap her in a painting.]]
* ContractualBossImmunity: Actually an ''aversion''; unlike Daud, she's not fully resistant to Bend Time, because her Void power set is different enough from Corvo and Daud's that she doesn't have that ability (like the Royal Interrogator, she won't be completely frozen, but is still noticeably slowed).
* CreateYourOwnVillain: A lot of people over the years made Delilah go down a bad path:
** Her father Emperor Euhorn refused to acknowledge Delilah as his offspring, and forced her to play and befriend Jessamine, his "true" heir. Jessamine herself unthinkingly pinned the blame for her own misdeeds on her, leading to Delilah and her housemaid mother to be removed from Dunwall Tower.
** Delilah then got the worst of Dunwall, seeing how class inequality led her mother to an early grave, a life of hardship and prostitution for her, and where her only real advancement, as student to Anton Sokolov, still involved sexual extortion.
** Finally, the Outsider decided to give an obviously damaged and vengeful individual with righteous grievances his Mark (WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong), and that made Delilah into a threat to the whole of Dunwall society. After realizing his mistake, the Outsider then got Daud to take care of her, and even that backfired when she crawled out of the Void stronger than ever, coming closer than anyone to toppling the Outsider as the God of the Void.
* DepravedBisexual: Confirmed by Harvey Smith to be "openly bisexual", being in a romantic relationship with her second, Breanna, a woman, and the Duke of Serkonos, a man.
* DreamWeaver: From the second game, as a consequence of her absorbing some of the Outsider's powers in order to take his place as divinity, Delilah can invade dreams and transport people to the Void and she used it with Emily in order to show her her version of the story.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Despite her being ItsAllAboutMe, a part of Delilah's bitterness came from the way her mother suffered and died due to [[spoiler: Jessamine's lie]]. She mentioned how her mother died after suffering weeks from a broken jaw and was buried unceremoniously in a coffin too small for her. This was after being forced into extreme poverty and sentenced to Debtor's Prison, even though Euhorn could have at least provided for them when her mother lost her job.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: As manipulative and self-centred as she is, Delilah is shown to care about a few people:
** Her feelings about [[spoiler: her sister Jessamine]] are... complicated... But at the very least when [[spoiler: Jessamine is released from the heart]], Delilah states without a trace of sarcasm that she's glad that the latter is finally at peace and can truly die. Might be because she can sympathise with what it's like to be [[AndIMustScream half alive in an inanimate object]].
** While one might expect that Delilah views the boorish Duke Luca Abele simply as a means to an end, information gleaned from the Heart and her diary shows that she does care about him on some level. Less as a lover and more as a "pet" or a little brother, but she nevertheless does. In particular, Delilah seems to appreciate that the Duke is [[TheUnfettered completely unfettered]] with morality and is pleased to see that he [[TheCaligula turned Karnaca into his personal playground]].
** Similarly, she seemed to have genuine feelings for Breanna Ashworth. The two have, after all, found the coven in Dunwall together and are implied to have been lovers at one point. Delilah [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness does cast Breanna aside]] [[spoiler: if she loses her powers in the non-lethal playthrough]] but Delilah claims it is because seeing Breanna in that state is too painful.
* [[EvilUncle Evil Aunt]]: She is the older half-sister to Jessamine, making her Emily's aunt.
* EvilCounterpart: Especially in the 2nd game, she's this to Emily, much like Daud was to Corvo. Their Outsider-given power sets are also quite similar, much like Corvo's and Daud's are.
** She is also one for Billie Lurk as both have gone through a childhood full of abuses and injustices and have held prominent positions in supernatural terrorist groups. However, while Billie deep inside has kept her empathy and conscience intact and over the years there she has come a deep remorse for the crimes she committed after separating from Daud, Delilah instead continued until the end to see herself as the victim and hold a grudge for old frictions to the point that she is more than willing to inflict death and suffering wherever she goes and reap a lot of innocent victims.
* EvilIsPetty: At the last mission, you can find that she had tossed Emily's doll, Miss Pilsen into a toilet. Delilah is also bitter that Jessamine 'cheated' at parlour games when they were kids.
* FisherKing: Delilah manages to run the city of Dunwall into the ground in the few months she sits on the throne in ''2'', and when Emily or Corvo return to the city in the final mission, it certainly looks the part. The buildings have fallen into disrepair, dead bodies can be found all over the place, and the sky seems to be permanently overcast, giving everything a sickly, decrepit look.
* FreudianExcuse: Delilah Kaldwin had a terrible, unhappy childhood and a traumatic adolescence as an orphan on the run, forced into prostitution and other means limited by class and gender discrimination from harnessing her true potential. As much as it fails to justify her actions, one cannot blame anyone with her upbringing for finding some way to create 'The World As It Should Be', as even Anton Sokolov admits. She has never been happy.
* FinalBoss: Of ''The Brigmore Witches'', as well as ''Dishonored 2''.
* FlowerMotifs: Roses.
* FromNobodyToNightmare:
** In a MotiveRant in the second game, she states that she basically had to claw her way up from the bottom after her and her mother were booted from Dunwall Tower. After her mother's death, she worked in a brothel as a maid before eventually becoming Sokolov's "apprentice".
** More literally, after Daud trapped her in the Void in the DLC, she was essentially nothing, without a body and no real chance to escape. With sheer will and cunning she clawed her way out, becoming one with the Void, communicating to her followers in dreams and starting a conspiracy that results not only in her return but opens the possibility that she could topple the Outsider and remake the world to worship her.
* GardenGarment: A snappy pair of leggings, heeled boots and a coat with a flared waist and a high collar. All of them are covered in thorny vines, leaves and roses true to her motif and powers.
* GodEmperor: What Delilah hopes to become, and what she comes very close to achieving in ''VideoGame/Dishonored2''. It was perhaps her overall goal all along, even in the DLC. This makes her such a threat that the Outsider actively opposes her, [[EnemyMine first tasking Daud with the job in the DLC (despite disliking and disapproving of how the latter used his mark)]] and then turning to Corvo and Emily, [[spoiler:even explaining his personal origins to them, to make them understand how serious a threat she is to ''existence''. Her grand plan involves reordering reality to "The World as it Should Be", an eternally static world where everyone adores her and follows her rule without question]].
* GodhoodSeeker: At the time of Dishonored 2 Delilah was no longer satisfied with becoming the Empress of the Islands and decided to aim directly to rule the world by supplanting the Outsider himself as a divinity.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Her opening play in the actual coup in the beginning of the second game is to start massacring Emily loyalists present in the throne room. It goes downhill from there in Dunwall.
* GreenThumb: She appears to have plant-based powers, most notably with the Blood Briar, a vine that is used to hold enemies in place.
* GrandTheftMe: [[spoiler: Her poem (found by her statue) reveals a plan to possess Emily and rule in her stead.]]
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: [[spoiler:In both ''The Brigmore Witches'' and the second game, neutralizing her non-lethally involves tampering with a ritual she's setting up so that it somehow traps her in another world.]]
* HotWitch: [[spoiler: Timsh certainly thought so, and if her GrandTheftMe plans succeeded considering what Emily looks like now and her parent(s)' appearances as adults she still would have been one.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: As of the second game. [[spoiler:Coming back from the void made her a part of it, and she is starting to merge with the Outsider, to the latter's absolute dismay.]]
* ICouldaBeenAContender:
** Delilah was one of the most intelligent persons of her age, and any age, and Sokolov laments the waste of her potential in her march towards tyranny and revenge. Delilah for her part feels she could have been better and achieved more had her childhood and her life been different and she is obsessed with rewriting the past to achieving her perfect world rather than making best of what she had.
** The mere fact that Delilah had the Outsider's mark proves that she had all the chances to do good, as the Outsider only gives the mark to people who interest him, and whose use of his powers he can't fully predict. Delilah could have used her abilities to create less chaos, and done good, but instead she chose to take her resentment and bitterness out on the world.
* InTheirOwnImage: [[spoiler:Her ultimate plan in ''Dishonored 2'' is to use an amplified version of her painting-based witchcraft to re-write reality into an egocentric paradise, where she's adored by everyone and rules the world without question. The huge painting she crafts for this purpose is even titled "[[ItsAllAboutMe The World As It Should Be]]"]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: Delilah's opinion of a world where her name and face are shown everywhere?
-->'''Delilah:''' This is the world as it ''should'' be.
** Also, as opposed to Sokolov's convoluted mathematical references, all her paintings' names relate to her.
** When Breanna gets DePowered? She can't bring herself to see Breanna in such a state, nevermind how crushed Breanna must be.
* KarmaHoudini: In Dishonored 2's non-lethal elimination she's trapped in her painting of a perfect world without knowing that she didn't actually transform the real world. She doesn't get any real punishment for her actions.
* LeanAndMean: She's also unusually tall.
* LivingStatue: She uses these to spy on people in the City and taunt Daud, as well as act as sentries for her base in Brigmore Manor. They return in ''Dishonored 2'' as a magical communication system that Emily[=/=]Corvo can use to trade banter with her on two occasions.
* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler: Her fate in ''Dishonored 2'' if she's dealt with non-lethally. Because of Corvo[=/=]Emily messing with her magic, she gets trapped inside her painting of her perfect world, believing it to be the real world, allowing her to harmlessly live out her fantasy (starting at her childhood) of being the world's beloved savior and eternal god-empress (even of Pandyssia) while the real world takes its true course]].
* MadArtist: Her artistic talents are present in everything she does; her paintings even often look mad and unsettling to others, and if she wasn't like this before the Outsider gave her his mark she has certainly gone mad with the powers she now has access to.
* MeaningfulName: [[spoiler:She's Jessamine's bastard sister, without any of the privilege of the Kaldwin name. In other words, instead of being born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she was born with a copper one]].
* MesACrowd: She turns her statues into perfect copies of herself if you try to take her on directly and retains the move in the sequel.
* NoSell: At the beginning of ''Dishonored 2'', Corvo immediately stabs her through the chest once she starts trying to cause trouble. She shrugs it off completely and takes away his Mark of the Outsider, de-powering him. [[spoiler: It turns out she's immortal due to having transferred her spirit into a SoulJar. In the final battle, you can impale her with finishing moves all day and it'll just annoy her, unless you return her spirit to her body first.]]
* NotQuiteDead: She returns in ''Dishonored 2'', having somehow escaped her fate at the hands of Daud. [[spoiler: It's strongly suggested that Daud sealed her in the Void instead of killing her outright; this turns out to be a case of NiceJobBreakingItHero, as it allowed Delilah to locate the place where the Outsider was created and assimilate a portion of his power.]]
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:If Daud sabotages her ritual, by the time she finds out it's too late for her to fix it.]]
* OverarchingVillain: She is one of the few characters to appear in both ''1'' and ''2'' and the only one that every PlayerCharacter (Corvo, Daud, Emily, Billie) have opposed and who even the Outsider turns against, making her the most recurrent and dangerous threat, second only to The Outsider.
* PowerEchoes: She speaks with a bit of an echo to her voice.
* PsychopathicManchild: After a rather crappy childhood, Delilah decides to had her revenge on the world, first by forcibly taking back her throne. During two months Dunwall is under the reign, the entire city is in a worst condition than in was during the Rat Plague not only due to her tyranny but also due to her negligence. As Emily learned, birth doesn't give a person the right to rule, they have to earn it first.
* RealityWarper: Her highest form of magic is capable of achieving this with her paintings. She can impose the painted world on to the real world.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Delilah sees her life's ambition as getting revenge on Dunwall, the Empire, the World and even The Outsider, all of whom at various movements have made her life a living hell, and she pushed back against them all intending to "take back what's hers".
* ShroudedInMyth: Up until ''Dishonored 2'' no one knew anything about her. She tells you a little; she was friends with the Empress Jessamine when they were girls, for instance. Aside from that, almost nothing. There are hints that she's Jessamine's illegitimate half-sister [[spoiler: which is more or less confirmed in the sequel. We also learn about most of her life before she was marked, and it's not a happy story.]]
* SpookyPainting: She's a gifted painter who seems to have a preference for portraits from life - like Sokolov, to whom she was actually an apprentice - but unlike his meticulous and realistic style, her paintings are garishly colorful, borderline-abstract, and unsettling to look at. [[spoiler:It turns out this is how she uses her powers; whoever or whatever she paints, she can control to some extent. In the second game, she discovers she even warp reality using her paintings.]]
* SuperEmpowering: Like Daud, she can grant her followers lesser versions of her own powers.
* TakenForGranite: In the second game, one of her new powers consists in slamming the heel on the ground in order to create a linear fracture which, if it hits the target, transforms it into a statue, using it already at the beginning of the game against the character who is not chosen as playable.
* TeacherStudentRomance: Delilah implies that she and Sokolov had one when she was under his "tutelage", though the way she says it suggests that Sokolov extorted sexual favors from her.
** She herself has one with one of her apprentices, [[spoiler: Breanna Ashworth, the director of the conservatory]].
* TookALevelInBadass: Goes from being a villain in a 2-Part DLC campaign to being the headline villain in the sequel, a fairly rare occurrence. You later learn that she went so far as to [[spoiler:merge herself with the Outsider's essence at the place where he was created, gaining the beginnings of the power to usurp him. This is also why the Outsider interferes and helps you more than he did the last time -- he has a personal stake in the outcome.]]
* TragicVillain: Delilah's life is one of pain, misery and sadness, and she pushed back with her fierce intelligence and ambition. Born a bastard princess, Delilah could have inherited the throne the same way Emily did. Unfortunately, the legitimate daughter of the Emperor framed her for destroying a valuable object and her father cared nothing for her, causing Delilah to be thrown into the streets, which caused her StartOfDarkness. Sokolov laments the great waste of her incredible potential in the sequel, noting that she could truly have made the world better had she not been so fixated on revenge.
* TouchedByVorlons: She has the Outsider's mark, as well as the ability to spread her powers to her minions like Daud.
* TheUnfavorite:
** According to her, her childhood was spent being disregarded by her father the Emperor in favor of Jessamine due to the latter's legitimacy.
** Also to the Outsider, which is quite the feat considering his nature. Among those marked by the Outsider, her mark is the only one he regrets enough to ''directly empower people to try to stop her.''
* TheUsurper: In the second game, she takes a much more direct approach to taking the throne by instigating a coup against Emily backed by the Duke of Karnaca.
* TheVamp: Uses her feminine charms on Timsh to get him to work for her, and according to WordOfGod, she did the same with Billie.
* VillainousCheekbones: To go with the general angular and slim theme of her appearance.
* VillainousValor: Unlike Hiram Burrows and Farley Havelock, Delilah Copperspoon is a woman of conviction and fierce courage. She is intelligent, charismatic and determined. She crawled out of an extra-dimensional prison more powerful than ever. The Outsider admits that anyone else in her situation would have floated endlessly in the Void, but not Delilah, and even he was surprised at what she achieved.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Outsider]]
!The Outsider
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_outsider.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''The one who walks [[AlternateDimension here]] is all things. [[{{God}} Cradle songs of comfort]] and [[{{Satan}} bones gnawed by teeth]].'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Billy Lush (''Dishonored'', Daud DLC, ''Dishonored 2'' reveal trailer), Creator/RobinLordTaylor (''Dishonored 2'', ''Death of the Outsider'')
Described as being a combination of God and the Devil, The Outsider is a sometimes-worshiped and sometimes-reviled (currently reviled) figure in the Isles and considered to be the source of all magic. He imbues Corvo with magic via a PowerTattoo near the beginning of the game, after Corvo escapes from prison.
----
* AffablyEvil: Whatever else he is, the Outsider certainly doesn't come off as a {{jerkass}} in his manner of speaking. He is neither a benevolent or malevolent god, and he actively opposes [[spoiler:Delilah's threat to reorder reality]].
* AllPowerfulBystander:
** In the first-game. Besides handing out his Mark, the Outsider doesn't directly interfere on the plot. He gives people powers, but makes no attempt to control or make them use said powers in any specific ways. He is far more active in the Daud DLC and the sequel.
** In the DLC he extends his involvement by giving Daud Delilah's name as a starting point. Otherwise he's content to let Daud figure it out and criticize how Daud used his gift, and taunt him with the retribution both of them know is coming in the form of Corvo.
** In the second game. The Outsider seems to be incapable of directly dealing with and attacking Delilah ([[spoiler:who has become part of him]], and thus immortal and someone he cannot directly affect). He nonetheless opposes her and repeatedly tells Emily and Corvo how serious a threat she is. At the same time he sticks to his "minimal involvement" rules and avoids giving information to Emily or Corvo about the conspiracy. It's once they figure out the practical parts that he fills in the more esoteric and supernatural details. The only time that he directly aids the protagonists, besides when he offers his Mark [[spoiler:and the Heart necessary to extract Delilah's spirit]], is in Aramis Stilton's mansion, when he gives them the timepiece, because otherwise it'd be literally impossible for them to proceed further. Even when he's directly concerned, he favors having mortals act freely of their own will and work things out on their own.
* AmbiguouslyEvil:
** Given that runes and charms with his markings on them give people nightmares and [[BrownNote headaches]], seem to attract the plague rats, and in several cases cause the possessor to outright spiral into self-destructive or murderous insanity, one can see where the Abbey is coming from when they say he's evil. He's rather giddy when he [[spoiler:points out that the collapsing, corrupted empire simply needed Corvo's help to finally tear itself to pieces]] in the worst ending. In the best ending, he's more aloof - [[spoiler:though he does make a point of saying a sincere farewell when Corvo reaches the end of his life]]. He seems to find the non-lethal fates (where Corvo inflicts poetic vengeance on his targets rather than simply killing them) more amusing than the alternatives, but it's unclear whether their suffering or the "poetic" aspect appeals to him more. What ''is'' clear is that he's genuinely shocked if Corvo doesn't abuse his powers; he firmly believes that HumansAreTheRealMonsters, and that he's SeenItAll. What entertains him most of all is Corvo acting contrary to his expectations.
---> '''The Outsider''': I've lived a long, ''long'' time, and ''these'' are the moments that I wait for.
** The 'evil' part is downplayed in ''The Knife of Dunwall'' and ''The Brigmore Witches''. The Outsider's tone and words to Daud are more hostile than to Corvo, critical of his choice to kill the Empress and his newfound troubled conscience. Also worth noting that he sets the entire plot into motion so [[spoiler:Daud can save Emily from Delilah]]. In fact, he's pretty benevolent, all things considered: his admittedly minimal involvement is the sole and only reason Daud gets involved with the Witches' plans. Had the Outsider not told Daud anything, no one would've been there to stop Delilah. On top of that, in setting Daud on this path, he offers Daud a chance to earn himself a bit of redemption for his earlier deeds.
** In ''Dishonored 2'', it's almost absent. While we still see bad stuff happen to people who use bone charms, and bloodflies and rats clearly are attracted to the charms, the Outsider himself is far more critical of the way things are in Karnaca, and how Corvo and Emily have not been paying attention to Serkonos while they were in power, allowing this to unfold. He still firmly points out that HumansAreTheRealMonsters and seems more contemplative on if Corvo and Emily will learn from this, and pull Karnaca from the brink.
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: His true form is that of a partially petrified version of himself screaming from being sacrificed. Judging by his relieved reaction if Billie restores his humanity, being an avatar of the Void was a very unpleasant experience.]]
* AnimalMotifs: He's associated with both whales and rats. Many writings tell of his true form as a Leviathan, and the bone charms and runes you use to upgrade your powers and speak to him are carved from whale bone. On the other hand, rats swarm towards runes and bone charms, and you can summon rats using his powers.
** Hell, in the second game during his first appearance, a large whale appears right behind him and 'swims' on by as he speaks.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: [[spoiler: A "representational" entity born of the Void's desire to perceive things, per WordOfGod. At 15 a poor human boy was merged with the Void, "spawning" what he is now.]]
* ArchEnemy: Delilah is this to him. He goes out of his way, and directly appoints people to put a stop to her. Be they Daud, Corvo or Emily. The reason for this is that Delilah wants to become a god and usurp him, and he believes she would actively harm and damage existence itself.
* BigBad: He's the primary villain of ''Dishonored: Death of the Outsider''.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: His solid black eyes are one of his most obviously inhuman aspects and while "evil" may be up for debate, his morality is unlike that of humans, and things with his mark, be they people or objects, tend to be unnerving and strange. [[spoiler:He loses them at the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', regardless of whether you choose to kill him or free him.]]
* BlueAndOrangeMorality:
** The Outsider has been described as "amoral", having elements of both {{God}} and the [[{{Satan}} Devil]]. He's more of an agent of fate than either good or evil. For instance, he gives a small boy the power to summon demonic rats, which the boy uses to slay some bullies. However, the boy is bitten by one of the rats and becomes infected with the plague, which he eventually dies from. On the other hand, if Corvo does not use his powers to kill, the Outsider compliments him for being intriguing. His sole motivation seems to be relieving his own boredom. The well-being of those he grants his Mark to really doesn't factor in at all.
** Note that he does have an understanding of morality (he will regularly comment on the various crimes and atrocities done by Corvo or Daud's victim, often in a judgemental tone), but he is ultimately unconcerned about handing out punishment or rewards himself, more interested on the stance his chosen ones take on the issue. As per Harvey Smith, developer of ''Dishonored'', The Outsider is motivated by plain curiosity and fascination; his chief interest is finding out what people who are given his powers do with them, what their choices and actions are.
** In the sequel, the Outsider is firmly against the arrival of any malevolent deity and [[spoiler:the aspirations to godhood by someone as unfit as Delilah Copperspoon, and he actively tells Corvo/Emily that they must oppose her before she becomes all-powerful]]. The one reason is that for all of his amorality and aloofness, the Outsider does value free will, the power of choice, and the ability to enact change, and Delilah's vision of the world would rob everyone of that.
* TheChessmaster:
** Comes off as this when [[spoiler:you realize the only reason the Empress was assassinated is due to the Outsider empowering her assassin. Then he empowers ''Corvo'' to assassinate the people who hired the assassin]]. In all fairness, he is stated to be simply an agent who empowers people to drive forward the fate of the world, for better or for worse.
** Even more so in ''The Knife of Dunwall''[=/=]''The Brigmore Witches'', where he's the one that sets Daud upon the path that leads him to [[spoiler:save Emily from Delilah]]. Had he never clued in Daud by giving him Delilah's name, Daud would never have began searching for her and Delilah's plan would've succeeded without ''any'' opposition. The only reason Daud involves himself at all is because the Outsider makes him.
** Of course, he has a major blindspot. The Outsider can see everything anyone ''might'' do, but he can never be certain what they ''will'' do. Presumably when he gave the mark to Delilah Copperspoon, he didn't think she would eventually use the power to crawl out of the Void stronger than ever, let alone [[spoiler:attempt to become a GodEmperor]].
*** This is actually his modus operandi: the only people who receive his mark are those who he has no idea what they will do with it. When Billie argues in ''Death of the Outsider'' that so many beggars and street urchins pray to him everyday for his gift, he essentially calls their calls boring.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: He gave the Outsider's Mark to Delilah, enabling her to start a murderous cannibalistic coven and become an aspiring tyrant, and then a usurping GodEmperor who apparently had a chance of toppling him. The Outsider goes out of his way to fix his mistake.
* CreepyMonotone: Not robotic or unnatural, just disinterested. You can tell he's intrigued by something when his tone of voice actually ''varies''. It doesn't happen often. This changes in the sequel with his new voice actor which gives him a more youthful and slightly more energetic voice, although he still maintains an even tone.
* TheCorrupter: He gives people down on their luck the power to take revenge. Although he seems to prefer when people are more original than just feeding their enemies to the rats and finds the concept of mercy fascinating, but that's because he expected a bloodbath.
* DeadpanSnarker: Shades of this.
-->'''The Outsider:''' [Sokolov] believes that there are [[SummoningRitual specific words and acts that can compel me to appear before him]]. He searches old temples in Pandyssia and ruined subbasements in the Flooded district. He performs [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgusting rituals]] beneath the Old Abbey. But if he ''really'' wants to see me, he could start by being a bit more interesting.
-->'''The Outsider:''' ''(to Daud)'' I see everything. I see forever, and right now I see a man walking a tightrope over a sea of blood and filth. The Empress is dead, and the water's rising. You'd better hurry. You're running out of rope.
-->'''The Outsider:''' Corvo, old friend, do I even have to say it? You've lost another Empress.
-->'''The Outsider:''' I'm a friend of your father. From the bad old times.
* DeityOfHumanOrigin: His OriginStory. [[spoiler:He was a young human outcast who was, at the age of 15, subjected to a magic ritual in which he was merged in part with the Void to become a "being of insatiable curiosity about what people do when given power over others."]]
* DidntSeeThatComing: The Outsider can see everything, all possible futures and possibilities, but he can never entirely predict human nature:
** In the first game, he's quite surprised at some of your choices, especially if you take a pacifist route. He is absolutely taken aback if you spare Daud despite having every reason to kill him.
** In the second game, he admits that [[spoiler:he didn't expect Delilah Copperspoon to have escaped the Void after Daud trapped her. He notes that anyone else would have remained floating for all eternity, but someone of Delilah's will, determination, cunning and courage rejected that fate and emerged more powerful than ever with an eye to usurping the Outsider's own place in the Void -- becoming the only known person to present a genuine threat to him]].
** In ''Death of the Outsider,'' he admits that while he can see almost all possible outcomes of all possible actions, he's completely blind to what happens in a future where he, for any reason, doesn't exist.
--> '''The Outsider''': What will it be like, to finally experience an ending? I see forever, and even I can't see that future.
* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:He goes out this way, should Billie decide to kill him.]]
* DisappointedInYou: The Outsider has low expectations to begin with, but even then he's considerably disappointed when people show no imagination in using his powers, as he expresses to Daud at the start of the DLC. In the sequel he expresses this to both Corvo and Emily, shrugging off their ruthless and cold actions as typical and unsurprising for humans.
* DreamWeaver: He has the power to visit people in their dreams and transport them to the Void to revive their respective life experiences, so much so that he chooses most of the individuals to whom donate his Mark in this way.
* EldritchLocation: The Void, where he lives.
** It appears to be endless sky-blue nothingness with twisted and frozen pieces of normal reality floating within it. Gravity there is ''odd'' and water doesn't flow the way you'd expect it to, nor do lights cast normal colours. The Heart describes it as untouched by time so neither seconds nor centuries pass. It may be where souls go after death or where people go when they dream. Or both.
** In the sequel, the Outsider describes the Void's nature himself. He explains that it is not exactly a place; it exists in every person. It's not so much another dimension as the space between dimensions. The way it seems to appear when characters dream and the description by Corvo of it being a place of endless cold makes it reminiscent of Creator/HPLovecraft's plateau of Leng, which at various times is likened to a planet on the borderlands between dreams and dimensions.
* EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity: He "gifts" select mortals with his powers for fairly vague purposes, mostly to see what potential chaos they can create.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: The only time in the game the Outsider is ever at a loss for words is [[spoiler:if you spare Daud on a low chaos playthrough. Corvo's subversion of the basic human desire for revenge leaves him utterly stunned]]. He regains his composure pretty quickly and commends you for getting more and more interesting, but other comments indicate he believes that corruption is "the nature of man", not kindness.
* {{Expy}}: Visually he looks a fair bit like one of the Endless from Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', especially Morpheus/Dream. He shares the somber, sardonic and slightly EmoTeen characteristic of Morpheus and likewise has the same sense of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HumansAreMorons sentiment.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Theorized. In the Abbey's description he is not a physical being, but a tempting, corrupting immaterial spirit. [[spoiler:However, WordOfGod says that he in fact does not change appearance, and looks almost the way he did when his life as a human was "interrupted". ''Death of the Outsider'' confirms this when the Outsider is returned to mortal life, in one of the endings, looking just like he did when he was alive]].
* FigureItOutYourself: His default MO. Especially in ''Dishonored 2'', where despite being more closely involved with the events and invested in them, he doesn't give Corvo/Emily any info on the conspiracy or on how to beat Delilah, until absolutely necessary, or until the protagonist has themselves discovered the information, at which point he will elaborate on it.
* ForTheLulz: He does some appallingly bad things as well as some good things, well in a sense anyway. Ultimately he just grants the powers and lets people do whatever they want with them seemingly because he's bored out of his skull being God. Good or bad don't seem to factor into it as much as 'interesting' for him to observe.
* GodIsEvil: The Abbey of the Everyman thinks so, at least - they despise the Outsider, but don't appear to recognize any other deity as being on his level. In reality, he's more... [[BlueAndOrangeMorality different]] than evil. [[spoiler:The Outsider also tasks the player to help out the Overseers in ''Dishonored 2'', noting about Liam Byrne that he's a honest preacher who is sincerely opposing Delilah, and that the player must protect the Abbey, as he sardonically notes, from "people like us"]].
* GreaterScopeVillain: Well, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality he's not really evil]] in the traditional sense of the word, but still, he's indirectly responsible for a lot of the bad things that happened to Corvo and Emily, [[spoiler:because he gave his mark to Daud and Delilah, which makes him indirectly responsible for all the death and destruction that they've caused in the first and second games. He's also responsible for the existence of a few minor antagonists, like Granny Rags. Plus, a lot of people died or were driven insane [[GoMadFromTheRevelation simply by worshipping him, so]]...]]
* HumanityEnsues: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', Billie can choose to turn the Outsider back into a mortal by convincing Daud's spirit that he deserves a chance at life.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: He looks like a pretty regular young man, complete with dirty clothes. If it weren't for the pitch-black eyes and the shadows and stars swirling around him, you might be tempted to think him just another ordinary human. It's not clear what he is, but it ''is'' clear that whatever he is, it's ''not quite right''.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: More apparent in the first game than in the second game as he's quick to call out almost everyone for being horrible. Potentially due to being omnipresent, at least tangentially linked to linear time, and stuck watching the rat plague go on where thousands are dying and people are being even more horrible to one another then usual. That alone would put a damper on anyone's hope for humanity. By the second game, while he still isn't exactly humanity's biggest fan he does point out more genuinely decent people and acknowledges that many more at least have good motivations for doing bad things.
** He makes more than one comment that strongly implies that he believes the "nature of man" to be cruel and corrupt. A nonlethal Corvo seems to incite his curiosity precisely ''because'' of this: Corvo is choosing, of his own free will, to act in complete opposition to everything the Outsider believes humans to be. The only time the Outsider is ''ever'' shown to be genuinely taken aback is if [[spoiler:Corvo chooses to spare Daud]]. Regardless, it doesn't seem to change his opinion or even make him reconsider; rather, he indicates that he sees Corvo as the exception that proves the rule.
** He doesn't have the attitude in the second game so much. He's even regretful mostly because he empowered Delilah, who ended up becoming a threat not only to the Empire but ''existence'' itself since she was on her way to godhood. In the second game he seems to lament the wasted potential and talent of the many targets you have to meet on your way, and how they use it for evil (Jindosh), waste their good fortune (Abele), use compelling FreudianExcuse to excuse and abet tyranny (Breanna Ashworth), and likewise feels the same about Delilah, who could have been a force of great brilliance and change but was driven to create what she imagined as a perfect and static world to worship her instead.
* ICannotSelfTerminate: [[spoiler:Ultimately, the Outsider wants his ordeal as the Void's executor to end, be it through being returned to mortality as a human or death, so in a sense, it can be interpreted that his aiding of Billie despite knowing her intentions is to facilitate this goal.]]
* IJustWantToBeNormal: [[spoiler:The Outsider is merely the dream-like apparition of a human boy trapped and frozen in the Void. What the Outsider truly wants is to be released from his prison and regain his humanity and complete his mortal life, since spending 4000 years watching generations of humanity come and go is apparently an experience that bothers him as time goes on. In ''Death of the Outsider'', Billie remarks that despite knowing her and Daud's intentions to kill him, he openly comes in and helps them along the way, proving that he wants some kind of end, either death or loss of power]].
* IKnowYourTrueName: [[spoiler:He can be freed from the Void by whispering his true name to his body.]]
* ItAmusedMe: Seems to be his primary motivation for gifting people supernatural powers. He seems to enjoy seeing how people will use his 'gift' and watching the choices they make.
* MeaningfulName: He is '''The Outsider'''. He never directly influences anyone. He may give you powers, but he only watches from the outside.
* NeutralNoLonger: In ''Dishonored 2'', the Outsider is far more pro-active and clearly on the side of the protagonist (not that it stops him from criticizing them and wondering if Corvo/Emily will learn from this experience and make the world better). He just firmly dislikes what Delilah is doing. His involvement is best seen by him [[spoiler:giving the protagonist the time piece to time travel in the Stilton Manor - the only time in the game he manifests ''outside'' the Void]]. Without this particular involvement, the protagonist would've been unable to find how to break Delilah's immortality. [[spoiler:He also notes that Delilah's tampering with the Void has made her part of him, and he doesn't like that.]]
* OffscreenTeleportation: He shows up in dreams, visions, and at shrines that people clandestinely erect in his name.
* TheOmniscient: The Outsider seems aware of everything going on, and at one point will mention he can see every path a person's future can possibly take and demonstrate it by commenting [[spoiler: on both fates you can inflict on Lady Boyle]]. However, this is played with a little. Even though he can see every choice you ''can'' make he doesn't seem to know for sure which one you ''will'' make. As already mentioned, Low Chaos Corvo surprises him constantly and can stun him speechless with the right actions.
-->'''The Outsider:''' No one's watching Delilah now, except you. And me, of course. I see everything. I see ''forever''.
* OverarchingVillain: Though not necessarily villainous, the marks that he gives to various people, more specifically Daud and Delilah, are what allowed them to commit their deeds in the first two games and expansion packs. He also appeared in those first two games and expansions before becoming the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider Death of the Outsider]]'', being the only character to appear in all of them. According to the WordOfGod, the MythArc [[spoiler:ends once The Outsider is no more.]]
* PetTheDog:
** He's normally perfectly content to allow those he's Marked to do whatever they like, including fight each other. There is one exception: he gives Daud the clue to find Delilah, in order to [[spoiler:prevent her from possessing Emily. No explanation for this is given other than him just wanting her to stay safe]].
** Word of God states that [[spoiler:he generally has a problem with powerful people that abuse the powerless, because he was powerless himself as a human. Many of his comments to Corvo, after his betrayal by the Loyalists and his assessment of his targets, have him speak in a disappointed tone about how people do bad things and never seem to learn from their mistakes]].
* PrescienceIsPredictable: He says he sees all paths a person's future can take, but he seems more interested in finding out ''which'' of them is chosen. Could explain his disinterest in appearing to Sokolov. He knows ''exactly'' how Sokolov would use his powers -- studying them and trying to replicate them. The lack of uncertainty makes him uninteresting. It may also explain why he sends Piero dreams despite him also being a scientist: Piero is more a tester that makes a loose speculation and hopes it works out instead of properly studying it and making theories like Sokolov, thus keeping Piero at least interesting enough to have The Outsider interfere occassionally.
* ProphetEyes: In ''[[VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider Death of the Outsider]]'' [[spoiler:after he returns to his original mortal form in the Low Chaos ending, he has very striking grey eyes which highlight his mystical connection to the Void and reflect his former status as something akin to an oracle.]]
* PowerTattoo: He appears fond of handing these out, though it's not clear why other than that the people he picks are "pivotal" to the fate of the world. A dark charity? Cruel amusement? To sow chaos? Who knows? The Outsider does not usually influence the people he grants the mark in any way; the choice of how to use the powers he gives them is up to the recipient, but he does only choose "special", ''interesting'' people for it.
* PowersThatBe: Rather than purely good or evil, The Outsider is merely seen as an agent of fate, interfering in lives that are pivotal to the world's destiny, for better or for worse.
* Really700YearsOld: In the "mercy" ending of "Death of the Outsider", the Outsider is BroughtDownToNormal and becomes fully human again, leaving him as an ordinary man with 4,000 years of all the knowledge of the universe in his head. Billie is curious about what kind of life such a person will find in the world.
* RedRightHand: His black eyes and his shadowy/starry aura.
* TheScapegoat: The Abbey blames all human failings on corruption from him and the Void. In truth, he has almost nothing to do with any of it; even if he's behind the witches and bone-charms (which is ambiguous), he never ''makes'' anyone do anything. He is in fact disappointed when people give in to revenge and other baser instincts. In ''Death of the Outsider'', [[spoiler:it is revealed that the highest-ranking members of the Abbey know that he is not the source of all evil, and are worried that they will lose all their power if he dies and they can no longer blame him for everything]].
* SpellMyNameWithAThe: He's never referred to as 'Outsider'. It's always '''The'' Outsider'.
* SuperEmpowering:
** Rather than directly manipulate the world, he prefers giving people he finds interesting powers and seeing what they'll do. Notably, while Bone Charms do seem to work for everyone, the Runes are only really useful to those touched by the Outsider. Everyone else sort of goes insane.
** [[spoiler:It's also ''sort of'' his OriginStory as well. The creature we know as the Outsider is ultimately an "avatar" or "figure" of the Void. Born three thousand years before "the Great Burning" (the first year of the Empire's calendar), as a young outcast boy of fifteen he somehow merged with part of the Void]].
* SupportingProtagonist: The Outsider is the only character to appear in all three released games and expansion packs, making him the central figure and driving character of the entire story. In ''Dishonored 1'' he has the most lines of dialogue and narrates the closing scenes of the game. Most of the lore, mystery, and gameplay depends on his powers and abilities and those he chooses to empower, [[spoiler:and his death or depowerment in ''Death of the Outsider'' marks the EndOfAnAge for the series]].
* TermsOfEndangerment: "My dear Corvo", in the trailer; Daud he refers to with some amusement as "my old friend". He's not exactly malicious, but he's ''definitely'' not benign.
* TimeAbyss: He looks young, but he's very, very old, having existed for millennia and seen the rise and fall of civilizations. He remarks upon the one before the Empire of the Isles, which has been gone for long enough that most aren't aware it ever existed; he's unmoved or even mildly bored during most of the plot, giving the impression that he's already SeenItAll; and the one time he seems surprised, he outright says that he's "lived a long, ''long'' time". The Heart describes his dwelling-place as "the end of all things, and the beginning". It's unlikely that time as humans perceive it has any meaning to the Outsider.
* TookALevelInKindness: In the second game [[spoiler:in Low Chaos interactions with Emily and Corvo, he is a good deal softer and less creepy than he was with Corvo in the first game. Rather than float off a few inches off the ground and look aloof, he moves around and interacts with them less as a god-and-supplicant and more as near-equals. The Outsider even reveals his origin to them, a privilege not many have ever known]].
* {{Troll}}: There's no other description for his reaction after reuniting with Corvo in the second game:
--> '''The Outsider''': ''(appears out of thin air)'' Corvo, old friend! Do I even need to say it? You've lost another Empress!
* TheUnfought: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', his petrified echo is encountered by Billie and she's simply given a choice to release or kill him. Billie even lampshades this, as she was clearly expecting to have to fight an omnipotent god at the end of her quest.]]
* WasOnceAMan: Part of being a DeityOfHumanOrigin.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: [[spoiler:Since he was himself powerless as a human and subjected to a lot of abuse]], he is very curious about how people who are suddenly given power over others behave themselves and what choices they make.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:The Outsider was really an unwilling sacrificial lamb to the Void by a Cult whose only form of contact to the outside world was to give people his mark along the powers that come with it, and let them carry out their chaotic and destructive desires. When Billie Lurk finally sees The Outsider's true form, a petrified boy in constant agony, her view of him can go from an uncaring monster to an unfortunate victim who never wanted to become this.]]
* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: ''Possibly'' averted, as an in-game book implies The Outsider is actually a eldritch-style whale residing in the deepest ocean; during your first visit to the Void, [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121022185011/dishonoredvideogame/images/0/0a/Leviathan.png you can actually see said whale floating in the ether]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Heart]]
!The Heart
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-The_Heart_5836.png]]
[[caption-width-right:200:''"Why am I so cold?"'']]
->''"What have they done to me?"''
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AprilStewart
The heart of a living thing, molded by the Outsider's power. Given to Corvo as a gift by the Outsider just after he receives the Mark. In addition to assisting you in finding various mystical items strewn throughout Dunwall, it whispers a great many secrets regarding the city and its inhabitants.
----
* DissonantSerenity: Save for a few instances, its tone is calm and serene, even when talking about horrific things.
-->'''The Heart:''' ''(about a maid)'' If she lives until tomorrow, her day off, she will be mauled by weepers and left for dead.
* DowsingDevice: Assists Corvo in finding runes and bone charms scattered around the city.
* DreamingOfTimesGoneBy: The Heart knows a great deal about the history of places and people.
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: It also occasionally makes predictions about things that haven't happened yet.
* ExpositionFairy: Knows an unnervingly large amount about just about everyone and everything you point it at, if you ask. Notably, she herself finds her extensive knowledge fearful and sorrowful.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Is most likely the SoulJar of a dead woman locked in a state of helpless observation only. This woman is almost certainly [[spoiler:Empress Jessamine]], given her comments and attitudes. [[spoiler:She also shares Jessamine's voice actress]].
* LiteralMetaphor: It's fair to say that Corvo was indeed [[spoiler:given Jessamine's heart, since they loved each other]]. When occupied by another soul, [[spoiler:Delilah's]], it turns dark and twisted. [[spoiler:Thus, as we already knew, Delilah is black-hearted.]]
* {{Magitek}}: The heart of a living thing, kept alive by clockwork and the Outsider's magic.
* MurderArsonAndJaywalking: The secrets it reveals about people span from murder, mutilations and intentional spreading of the plague to secretly keeping childhood toys.
* NotSoStoic: While it's usually pretty unflappable, capable of talking about murder and death without a hitch, its DissonantSerenity vanishes whenever it talks about anything to do with [[spoiler:Empress Jessamine]]. It ''really'' loses its stoicism when asked about [[spoiler:Daud, the man who assassinated the Empress]]. On a lighter note, it expresses clear joy when talking about how people used to sing old songs in happier times in the Hound Pits.
* TheOmniscient: It will tell you things about people that no one but the individual themselves could possibly know. It does the same for places, too. It also occasionally makes predictions about the future. The one thing it cannot tell Corvo much about are the Whalers. It notes that there is a "haze" that surrounds them, and that because of it, even the Heart cannot discern the truth. It is also notable that The Heart is shown to be ''wrong'' on a few occasions. [[spoiler:It says that there is no turning back from the path Daud has chosen, but Daud is willing to do exactly that should Corvo spare him. It also says that Sokolov will never forgive Piero for being the youngest man ever accepted into the Academy, but by the time of the siege on Piero's workshop, they have both put past grievances behind them]]. However, it is possible that the Heart is working on what the individual it is observing believes is true at the time the Heart "reads" them. [[spoiler:Or, in Daud's case, that it is biased]]. Alternatively, it is an object made by The Outsider and The Outsider himself believes that HumansAreTheRealMonsters, it might also be that the heart simply sees a variety of possibilities and picks what seems most likely by exactly that train of thought.
* PerceptionFilter: Its dialogue in ''Dishonored 2'' mentions that only the one who holds it can see it. Hence why other people don't freak out at Corvo/Emily wandering around holding a talking, beating human heart.
* SoulJar: For Jessamine. [[spoiler:And then, for Delilah.]]
* ThisIsUnforgivable: [[spoiler:It is absolutely ''livid'' if Corvo points it at Daud]].
-->'''The Heart:''' Why have you brought me here? Am I to forgive this man for what he did?
* WhatTheHellHero: In the second game, the Heart doesn't hold back on criticising your High Chaos playthrough.
-->'''The Heart:''' I have seen many horrors. A child beaten by thieves. A nest of bloodflies. Your blood-soaked hands.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Outsider]]
!The Outsider
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_outsider.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''The one who walks [[AlternateDimension here]] is all things. [[{{God}} Cradle songs of comfort]] and [[{{Satan}} bones gnawed by teeth]].'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Billy Lush (''Dishonored'', Daud DLC, ''Dishonored 2'' reveal trailer), Creator/RobinLordTaylor (''Dishonored 2'', ''Death of the Outsider'')
Described as being a combination of God and the Devil, The Outsider is a sometimes-worshiped and sometimes-reviled (currently reviled) figure in the Isles and considered to be the source of all magic. He imbues Corvo with magic via a PowerTattoo near the beginning of the game, after Corvo escapes from prison.
----
* AffablyEvil: Whatever else he is, the Outsider certainly doesn't come off as a {{jerkass}} in his manner of speaking. He is neither a benevolent or malevolent god, and he actively opposes [[spoiler:Delilah's threat to reorder reality]].
* AllPowerfulBystander:
** In the first-game. Besides handing out his Mark, the Outsider doesn't directly interfere on the plot. He gives people powers, but makes no attempt to control or make them use said powers in any specific ways. He is far more active in the Daud DLC and the sequel.
** In the DLC he extends his involvement by giving Daud Delilah's name as a starting point. Otherwise he's content to let Daud figure it out and criticize how Daud used his gift, and taunt him with the retribution both of them know is coming in the form of Corvo.
** In the second game. The Outsider seems to be incapable of directly dealing with and attacking Delilah ([[spoiler:who has become part of him]], and thus immortal and someone he cannot directly affect). He nonetheless opposes her and repeatedly tells Emily and Corvo how serious a threat she is. At the same time he sticks to his "minimal involvement" rules and avoids giving information to Emily or Corvo about the conspiracy. It's once they figure out the practical parts that he fills in the more esoteric and supernatural details. The only time that he directly aids the protagonists, besides when he offers his Mark [[spoiler:and the Heart necessary to extract Delilah's spirit]], is in Aramis Stilton's mansion, when he gives them the timepiece, because otherwise it'd be literally impossible for them to proceed further. Even when he's directly concerned, he favors having mortals act freely of their own will and work things out on their own.
* AmbiguouslyEvil:
** Given that runes and charms with his markings on them give people nightmares and [[BrownNote headaches]], seem to attract the plague rats, and in several cases cause the possessor to outright spiral into self-destructive or murderous insanity, one can see where the Abbey is coming from when they say he's evil. He's rather giddy when he [[spoiler:points out that the collapsing, corrupted empire simply needed Corvo's help to finally tear itself to pieces]] in the worst ending. In the best ending, he's more aloof - [[spoiler:though he does make a point of saying a sincere farewell when Corvo reaches the end of his life]]. He seems to find the non-lethal fates (where Corvo inflicts poetic vengeance on his targets rather than simply killing them) more amusing than the alternatives, but it's unclear whether their suffering or the "poetic" aspect appeals to him more. What ''is'' clear is that he's genuinely shocked if Corvo doesn't abuse his powers; he firmly believes that HumansAreTheRealMonsters, and that he's SeenItAll. What entertains him most of all is Corvo acting contrary to his expectations.
---> '''The Outsider''': I've lived a long, ''long'' time, and ''these'' are the moments that I wait for.
** The 'evil' part is downplayed in ''The Knife of Dunwall'' and ''The Brigmore Witches''. The Outsider's tone and words to Daud are more hostile than to Corvo, critical of his choice to kill the Empress and his newfound troubled conscience. Also worth noting that he sets the entire plot into motion so [[spoiler:Daud can save Emily from Delilah]]. In fact, he's pretty benevolent, all things considered: his admittedly minimal involvement is the sole and only reason Daud gets involved with the Witches' plans. Had the Outsider not told Daud anything, no one would've been there to stop Delilah. On top of that, in setting Daud on this path, he offers Daud a chance to earn himself a bit of redemption for his earlier deeds.
** In ''Dishonored 2'', it's almost absent. While we still see bad stuff happen to people who use bone charms, and bloodflies and rats clearly are attracted to the charms, the Outsider himself is far more critical of the way things are in Karnaca, and how Corvo and Emily have not been paying attention to Serkonos while they were in power, allowing this to unfold. He still firmly points out that HumansAreTheRealMonsters and seems more contemplative on if Corvo and Emily will learn from this, and pull Karnaca from the brink.
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: His true form is that of a partially petrified version of himself screaming from being sacrificed. Judging by his relieved reaction if Billie restores his humanity, being an avatar of the Void was a very unpleasant experience.]]
* AnimalMotifs: He's associated with both whales and rats. Many writings tell of his true form as a Leviathan, and the bone charms and runes you use to upgrade your powers and speak to him are carved from whale bone. On the other hand, rats swarm towards runes and bone charms, and you can summon rats using his powers.
** Hell, in the second game during his first appearance, a large whale appears right behind him and 'swims' on by as he speaks.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: [[spoiler: A "representational" entity born of the Void's desire to perceive things, per WordOfGod. At 15 a poor human boy was merged with the Void, "spawning" what he is now.]]
* ArchEnemy: Delilah is this to him. He goes out of his way, and directly appoints people to put a stop to her. Be they Daud, Corvo or Emily. The reason for this is that Delilah wants to become a god and usurp him, and he believes she would actively harm and damage existence itself.
* BigBad: He's the primary villain of ''Dishonored: Death of the Outsider''.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: His solid black eyes are one of his most obviously inhuman aspects and while "evil" may be up for debate, his morality is unlike that of humans, and things with his mark, be they people or objects, tend to be unnerving and strange. [[spoiler:He loses them at the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', regardless of whether you choose to kill him or free him.]]
* BlueAndOrangeMorality:
** The Outsider has been described as "amoral", having elements of both {{God}} and the [[{{Satan}} Devil]]. He's more of an agent of fate than either good or evil. For instance, he gives a small boy the power to summon demonic rats, which the boy uses to slay some bullies. However, the boy is bitten by one of the rats and becomes infected with the plague, which he eventually dies from. On the other hand, if Corvo does not use his powers to kill, the Outsider compliments him for being intriguing. His sole motivation seems to be relieving his own boredom. The well-being of those he grants his Mark to really doesn't factor in at all.
** Note that he does have an understanding of morality (he will regularly comment on the various crimes and atrocities done by Corvo or Daud's victim, often in a judgemental tone), but he is ultimately unconcerned about handing out punishment or rewards himself, more interested on the stance his chosen ones take on the issue. As per Harvey Smith, developer of ''Dishonored'', The Outsider is motivated by plain curiosity and fascination; his chief interest is finding out what people who are given his powers do with them, what their choices and actions are.
** In the sequel, the Outsider is firmly against the arrival of any malevolent deity and [[spoiler:the aspirations to godhood by someone as unfit as Delilah Copperspoon, and he actively tells Corvo/Emily that they must oppose her before she becomes all-powerful]]. The one reason is that for all of his amorality and aloofness, the Outsider does value free will, the power of choice, and the ability to enact change, and Delilah's vision of the world would rob everyone of that.
* TheChessmaster:
** Comes off as this when [[spoiler:you realize the only reason the Empress was assassinated is due to the Outsider empowering her assassin. Then he empowers ''Corvo'' to assassinate the people who hired the assassin]]. In all fairness, he is stated to be simply an agent who empowers people to drive forward the fate of the world, for better or for worse.
** Even more so in ''The Knife of Dunwall''[=/=]''The Brigmore Witches'', where he's the one that sets Daud upon the path that leads him to [[spoiler:save Emily from Delilah]]. Had he never clued in Daud by giving him Delilah's name, Daud would never have began searching for her and Delilah's plan would've succeeded without ''any'' opposition. The only reason Daud involves himself at all is because the Outsider makes him.
** Of course, he has a major blindspot. The Outsider can see everything anyone ''might'' do, but he can never be certain what they ''will'' do. Presumably when he gave the mark to Delilah Copperspoon, he didn't think she would eventually use the power to crawl out of the Void stronger than ever, let alone [[spoiler:attempt to become a GodEmperor]].
*** This is actually his modus operandi: the only people who receive his mark are those who he has no idea what they will do with it. When Billie argues in ''Death of the Outsider'' that so many beggars and street urchins pray to him everyday for his gift, he essentially calls their calls boring.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: He gave the Outsider's Mark to Delilah, enabling her to start a murderous cannibalistic coven and become an aspiring tyrant, and then a usurping GodEmperor who apparently had a chance of toppling him. The Outsider goes out of his way to fix his mistake.
* CreepyMonotone: Not robotic or unnatural, just disinterested. You can tell he's intrigued by something when his tone of voice actually ''varies''. It doesn't happen often. This changes in the sequel with his new voice actor which gives him a more youthful and slightly more energetic voice, although he still maintains an even tone.
* TheCorrupter: He gives people down on their luck the power to take revenge. Although he seems to prefer when people are more original than just feeding their enemies to the rats and finds the concept of mercy fascinating, but that's because he expected a bloodbath.
* DeadpanSnarker: Shades of this.
-->'''The Outsider:''' [Sokolov] believes that there are [[SummoningRitual specific words and acts that can compel me to appear before him]]. He searches old temples in Pandyssia and ruined subbasements in the Flooded district. He performs [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgusting rituals]] beneath the Old Abbey. But if he ''really'' wants to see me, he could start by being a bit more interesting.
-->'''The Outsider:''' ''(to Daud)'' I see everything. I see forever, and right now I see a man walking a tightrope over a sea of blood and filth. The Empress is dead, and the water's rising. You'd better hurry. You're running out of rope.
-->'''The Outsider:''' Corvo, old friend, do I even have to say it? You've lost another Empress.
-->'''The Outsider:''' I'm a friend of your father. From the bad old times.
* DeityOfHumanOrigin: His OriginStory. [[spoiler:He was a young human outcast who was, at the age of 15, subjected to a magic ritual in which he was merged in part with the Void to become a "being of insatiable curiosity about what people do when given power over others."]]
* DidntSeeThatComing: The Outsider can see everything, all possible futures and possibilities, but he can never entirely predict human nature:
** In the first game, he's quite surprised at some of your choices, especially if you take a pacifist route. He is absolutely taken aback if you spare Daud despite having every reason to kill him.
** In the second game, he admits that [[spoiler:he didn't expect Delilah Copperspoon to have escaped the Void after Daud trapped her. He notes that anyone else would have remained floating for all eternity, but someone of Delilah's will, determination, cunning and courage rejected that fate and emerged more powerful than ever with an eye to usurping the Outsider's own place in the Void -- becoming the only known person to present a genuine threat to him]].
** In ''Death of the Outsider,'' he admits that while he can see almost all possible outcomes of all possible actions, he's completely blind to what happens in a future where he, for any reason, doesn't exist.
--> '''The Outsider''': What will it be like, to finally experience an ending? I see forever, and even I can't see that future.
* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:He goes out this way, should Billie decide to kill him.]]
* DisappointedInYou: The Outsider has low expectations to begin with, but even then he's considerably disappointed when people show no imagination in using his powers, as he expresses to Daud at the start of the DLC. In the sequel he expresses this to both Corvo and Emily, shrugging off their ruthless and cold actions as typical and unsurprising for humans.
* DreamWeaver: He has the power to visit people in their dreams and transport them to the Void to revive their respective life experiences, so much so that he chooses most of the individuals to whom donate his Mark in this way.
* EldritchLocation: The Void, where he lives.
** It appears to be endless sky-blue nothingness with twisted and frozen pieces of normal reality floating within it. Gravity there is ''odd'' and water doesn't flow the way you'd expect it to, nor do lights cast normal colours. The Heart describes it as untouched by time so neither seconds nor centuries pass. It may be where souls go after death or where people go when they dream. Or both.
** In the sequel, the Outsider describes the Void's nature himself. He explains that it is not exactly a place; it exists in every person. It's not so much another dimension as the space between dimensions. The way it seems to appear when characters dream and the description by Corvo of it being a place of endless cold makes it reminiscent of Creator/HPLovecraft's plateau of Leng, which at various times is likened to a planet on the borderlands between dreams and dimensions.
* EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity: He "gifts" select mortals with his powers for fairly vague purposes, mostly to see what potential chaos they can create.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: The only time in the game the Outsider is ever at a loss for words is [[spoiler:if you spare Daud on a low chaos playthrough. Corvo's subversion of the basic human desire for revenge leaves him utterly stunned]]. He regains his composure pretty quickly and commends you for getting more and more interesting, but other comments indicate he believes that corruption is "the nature of man", not kindness.
* {{Expy}}: Visually he looks a fair bit like one of the Endless from Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', especially Morpheus/Dream. He shares the somber, sardonic and slightly EmoTeen characteristic of Morpheus and likewise has the same sense of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HumansAreMorons sentiment.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Theorized. In the Abbey's description he is not a physical being, but a tempting, corrupting immaterial spirit. [[spoiler:However, WordOfGod says that he in fact does not change appearance, and looks almost the way he did when his life as a human was "interrupted". ''Death of the Outsider'' confirms this when the Outsider is returned to mortal life, in one of the endings, looking just like he did when he was alive]].
* FigureItOutYourself: His default MO. Especially in ''Dishonored 2'', where despite being more closely involved with the events and invested in them, he doesn't give Corvo/Emily any info on the conspiracy or on how to beat Delilah, until absolutely necessary, or until the protagonist has themselves discovered the information, at which point he will elaborate on it.
* ForTheLulz: He does some appallingly bad things as well as some good things, well in a sense anyway. Ultimately he just grants the powers and lets people do whatever they want with them seemingly because he's bored out of his skull being God. Good or bad don't seem to factor into it as much as 'interesting' for him to observe.
* GodIsEvil: The Abbey of the Everyman thinks so, at least - they despise the Outsider, but don't appear to recognize any other deity as being on his level. In reality, he's more... [[BlueAndOrangeMorality different]] than evil. [[spoiler:The Outsider also tasks the player to help out the Overseers in ''Dishonored 2'', noting about Liam Byrne that he's a honest preacher who is sincerely opposing Delilah, and that the player must protect the Abbey, as he sardonically notes, from "people like us"]].
* GreaterScopeVillain: Well, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality he's not really evil]] in the traditional sense of the word, but still, he's indirectly responsible for a lot of the bad things that happened to Corvo and Emily, [[spoiler:because he gave his mark to Daud and Delilah, which makes him indirectly responsible for all the death and destruction that they've caused in the first and second games. He's also responsible for the existence of a few minor antagonists, like Granny Rags. Plus, a lot of people died or were driven insane [[GoMadFromTheRevelation simply by worshipping him, so]]...]]
* HumanityEnsues: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', Billie can choose to turn the Outsider back into a mortal by convincing Daud's spirit that he deserves a chance at life.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: He looks like a pretty regular young man, complete with dirty clothes. If it weren't for the pitch-black eyes and the shadows and stars swirling around him, you might be tempted to think him just another ordinary human. It's not clear what he is, but it ''is'' clear that whatever he is, it's ''not quite right''.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: More apparent in the first game than in the second game as he's quick to call out almost everyone for being horrible. Potentially due to being omnipresent, at least tangentially linked to linear time, and stuck watching the rat plague go on where thousands are dying and people are being even more horrible to one another then usual. That alone would put a damper on anyone's hope for humanity. By the second game, while he still isn't exactly humanity's biggest fan he does point out more genuinely decent people and acknowledges that many more at least have good motivations for doing bad things.
** He makes more than one comment that strongly implies that he believes the "nature of man" to be cruel and corrupt. A nonlethal Corvo seems to incite his curiosity precisely ''because'' of this: Corvo is choosing, of his own free will, to act in complete opposition to everything the Outsider believes humans to be. The only time the Outsider is ''ever'' shown to be genuinely taken aback is if [[spoiler:Corvo chooses to spare Daud]]. Regardless, it doesn't seem to change his opinion or even make him reconsider; rather, he indicates that he sees Corvo as the exception that proves the rule.
** He doesn't have the attitude in the second game so much. He's even regretful mostly because he empowered Delilah, who ended up becoming a threat not only to the Empire but ''existence'' itself since she was on her way to godhood. In the second game he seems to lament the wasted potential and talent of the many targets you have to meet on your way, and how they use it for evil (Jindosh), waste their good fortune (Abele), use compelling FreudianExcuse to excuse and abet tyranny (Breanna Ashworth), and likewise feels the same about Delilah, who could have been a force of great brilliance and change but was driven to create what she imagined as a perfect and static world to worship her instead.
* ICannotSelfTerminate: [[spoiler:Ultimately, the Outsider wants his ordeal as the Void's executor to end, be it through being returned to mortality as a human or death, so in a sense, it can be interpreted that his aiding of Billie despite knowing her intentions is to facilitate this goal.]]
* IJustWantToBeNormal: [[spoiler:The Outsider is merely the dream-like apparition of a human boy trapped and frozen in the Void. What the Outsider truly wants is to be released from his prison and regain his humanity and complete his mortal life, since spending 4000 years watching generations of humanity come and go is apparently an experience that bothers him as time goes on. In ''Death of the Outsider'', Billie remarks that despite knowing her and Daud's intentions to kill him, he openly comes in and helps them along the way, proving that he wants some kind of end, either death or loss of power]].
* IKnowYourTrueName: [[spoiler:He can be freed from the Void by whispering his true name to his body.]]
* ItAmusedMe: Seems to be his primary motivation for gifting people supernatural powers. He seems to enjoy seeing how people will use his 'gift' and watching the choices they make.
* MeaningfulName: He is '''The Outsider'''. He never directly influences anyone. He may give you powers, but he only watches from the outside.
* NeutralNoLonger: In ''Dishonored 2'', the Outsider is far more pro-active and clearly on the side of the protagonist (not that it stops him from criticizing them and wondering if Corvo/Emily will learn from this experience and make the world better). He just firmly dislikes what Delilah is doing. His involvement is best seen by him [[spoiler:giving the protagonist the time piece to time travel in the Stilton Manor - the only time in the game he manifests ''outside'' the Void]]. Without this particular involvement, the protagonist would've been unable to find how to break Delilah's immortality. [[spoiler:He also notes that Delilah's tampering with the Void has made her part of him, and he doesn't like that.]]
* OffscreenTeleportation: He shows up in dreams, visions, and at shrines that people clandestinely erect in his name.
* TheOmniscient: The Outsider seems aware of everything going on, and at one point will mention he can see every path a person's future can possibly take and demonstrate it by commenting [[spoiler: on both fates you can inflict on Lady Boyle]]. However, this is played with a little. Even though he can see every choice you ''can'' make he doesn't seem to know for sure which one you ''will'' make. As already mentioned, Low Chaos Corvo surprises him constantly and can stun him speechless with the right actions.
-->'''The Outsider:''' No one's watching Delilah now, except you. And me, of course. I see everything. I see ''forever''.
* OverarchingVillain: Though not necessarily villainous, the marks that he gives to various people, more specifically Daud and Delilah, are what allowed them to commit their deeds in the first two games and expansion packs. He also appeared in those first two games and expansions before becoming the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider Death of the Outsider]]'', being the only character to appear in all of them. According to the WordOfGod, the MythArc [[spoiler:ends once The Outsider is no more.]]
* PetTheDog:
** He's normally perfectly content to allow those he's Marked to do whatever they like, including fight each other. There is one exception: he gives Daud the clue to find Delilah, in order to [[spoiler:prevent her from possessing Emily. No explanation for this is given other than him just wanting her to stay safe]].
** Word of God states that [[spoiler:he generally has a problem with powerful people that abuse the powerless, because he was powerless himself as a human. Many of his comments to Corvo, after his betrayal by the Loyalists and his assessment of his targets, have him speak in a disappointed tone about how people do bad things and never seem to learn from their mistakes]].
* PrescienceIsPredictable: He says he sees all paths a person's future can take, but he seems more interested in finding out ''which'' of them is chosen. Could explain his disinterest in appearing to Sokolov. He knows ''exactly'' how Sokolov would use his powers -- studying them and trying to replicate them. The lack of uncertainty makes him uninteresting. It may also explain why he sends Piero dreams despite him also being a scientist: Piero is more a tester that makes a loose speculation and hopes it works out instead of properly studying it and making theories like Sokolov, thus keeping Piero at least interesting enough to have The Outsider interfere occassionally.
* ProphetEyes: In ''[[VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider Death of the Outsider]]'' [[spoiler:after he returns to his original mortal form in the Low Chaos ending, he has very striking grey eyes which highlight his mystical connection to the Void and reflect his former status as something akin to an oracle.]]
* PowerTattoo: He appears fond of handing these out, though it's not clear why other than that the people he picks are "pivotal" to the fate of the world. A dark charity? Cruel amusement? To sow chaos? Who knows? The Outsider does not usually influence the people he grants the mark in any way; the choice of how to use the powers he gives them is up to the recipient, but he does only choose "special", ''interesting'' people for it.
* PowersThatBe: Rather than purely good or evil, The Outsider is merely seen as an agent of fate, interfering in lives that are pivotal to the world's destiny, for better or for worse.
* Really700YearsOld: In the "mercy" ending of "Death of the Outsider", the Outsider is BroughtDownToNormal and becomes fully human again, leaving him as an ordinary man with 4,000 years of all the knowledge of the universe in his head. Billie is curious about what kind of life such a person will find in the world.
* RedRightHand: His black eyes and his shadowy/starry aura.
* TheScapegoat: The Abbey blames all human failings on corruption from him and the Void. In truth, he has almost nothing to do with any of it; even if he's behind the witches and bone-charms (which is ambiguous), he never ''makes'' anyone do anything. He is in fact disappointed when people give in to revenge and other baser instincts. In ''Death of the Outsider'', [[spoiler:it is revealed that the highest-ranking members of the Abbey know that he is not the source of all evil, and are worried that they will lose all their power if he dies and they can no longer blame him for everything]].
* SpellMyNameWithAThe: He's never referred to as 'Outsider'. It's always '''The'' Outsider'.
* SuperEmpowering:
** Rather than directly manipulate the world, he prefers giving people he finds interesting powers and seeing what they'll do. Notably, while Bone Charms do seem to work for everyone, the Runes are only really useful to those touched by the Outsider. Everyone else sort of goes insane.
** [[spoiler:It's also ''sort of'' his OriginStory as well. The creature we know as the Outsider is ultimately an "avatar" or "figure" of the Void. Born three thousand years before "the Great Burning" (the first year of the Empire's calendar), as a young outcast boy of fifteen he somehow merged with part of the Void]].
* SupportingProtagonist: The Outsider is the only character to appear in all three released games and expansion packs, making him the central figure and driving character of the entire story. In ''Dishonored 1'' he has the most lines of dialogue and narrates the closing scenes of the game. Most of the lore, mystery, and gameplay depends on his powers and abilities and those he chooses to empower, [[spoiler:and his death or depowerment in ''Death of the Outsider'' marks the EndOfAnAge for the series]].
* TermsOfEndangerment: "My dear Corvo", in the trailer; Daud he refers to with some amusement as "my old friend". He's not exactly malicious, but he's ''definitely'' not benign.
* TimeAbyss: He looks young, but he's very, very old, having existed for millennia and seen the rise and fall of civilizations. He remarks upon the one before the Empire of the Isles, which has been gone for long enough that most aren't aware it ever existed; he's unmoved or even mildly bored during most of the plot, giving the impression that he's already SeenItAll; and the one time he seems surprised, he outright says that he's "lived a long, ''long'' time". The Heart describes his dwelling-place as "the end of all things, and the beginning". It's unlikely that time as humans perceive it has any meaning to the Outsider.
* TookALevelInKindness: In the second game [[spoiler:in Low Chaos interactions with Emily and Corvo, he is a good deal softer and less creepy than he was with Corvo in the first game. Rather than float off a few inches off the ground and look aloof, he moves around and interacts with them less as a god-and-supplicant and more as near-equals. The Outsider even reveals his origin to them, a privilege not many have ever known]].
* {{Troll}}: There's no other description for his reaction after reuniting with Corvo in the second game:
--> '''The Outsider''': ''(appears out of thin air)'' Corvo, old friend! Do I even need to say it? You've lost another Empress!
* TheUnfought: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', his petrified echo is encountered by Billie and she's simply given a choice to release or kill him. Billie even lampshades this, as she was clearly expecting to have to fight an omnipotent god at the end of her quest.]]
* WasOnceAMan: Part of being a DeityOfHumanOrigin.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: [[spoiler:Since he was himself powerless as a human and subjected to a lot of abuse]], he is very curious about how people who are suddenly given power over others behave themselves and what choices they make.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:The Outsider was really an unwilling sacrificial lamb to the Void by a Cult whose only form of contact to the outside world was to give people his mark along the powers that come with it, and let them carry out their chaotic and destructive desires. When Billie Lurk finally sees The Outsider's true form, a petrified boy in constant agony, her view of him can go from an uncaring monster to an unfortunate victim who never wanted to become this.]]
* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: ''Possibly'' averted, as an in-game book implies The Outsider is actually a eldritch-style whale residing in the deepest ocean; during your first visit to the Void, [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121022185011/dishonoredvideogame/images/0/0a/Leviathan.png you can actually see said whale floating in the ether]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Heart]]
!The Heart
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-The_Heart_5836.png]]
[[caption-width-right:200:''"Why am I so cold?"'']]
->''"What have they done to me?"''
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AprilStewart
The heart of a living thing, molded by the Outsider's power. Given to Corvo as a gift by the Outsider just after he receives the Mark. In addition to assisting you in finding various mystical items strewn throughout Dunwall, it whispers a great many secrets regarding the city and its inhabitants.
----
* DissonantSerenity: Save for a few instances, its tone is calm and serene, even when talking about horrific things.
-->'''The Heart:''' ''(about a maid)'' If she lives until tomorrow, her day off, she will be mauled by weepers and left for dead.
* DowsingDevice: Assists Corvo in finding runes and bone charms scattered around the city.
* DreamingOfTimesGoneBy: The Heart knows a great deal about the history of places and people.
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: It also occasionally makes predictions about things that haven't happened yet.
* ExpositionFairy: Knows an unnervingly large amount about just about everyone and everything you point it at, if you ask. Notably, she herself finds her extensive knowledge fearful and sorrowful.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Is most likely the SoulJar of a dead woman locked in a state of helpless observation only. This woman is almost certainly [[spoiler:Empress Jessamine]], given her comments and attitudes. [[spoiler:She also shares Jessamine's voice actress]].
* LiteralMetaphor: It's fair to say that Corvo was indeed [[spoiler:given Jessamine's heart, since they loved each other]]. When occupied by another soul, [[spoiler:Delilah's]], it turns dark and twisted. [[spoiler:Thus, as we already knew, Delilah is black-hearted.]]
* {{Magitek}}: The heart of a living thing, kept alive by clockwork and the Outsider's magic.
* MurderArsonAndJaywalking: The secrets it reveals about people span from murder, mutilations and intentional spreading of the plague to secretly keeping childhood toys.
* NotSoStoic: While it's usually pretty unflappable, capable of talking about murder and death without a hitch, its DissonantSerenity vanishes whenever it talks about anything to do with [[spoiler:Empress Jessamine]]. It ''really'' loses its stoicism when asked about [[spoiler:Daud, the man who assassinated the Empress]]. On a lighter note, it expresses clear joy when talking about how people used to sing old songs in happier times in the Hound Pits.
* TheOmniscient: It will tell you things about people that no one but the individual themselves could possibly know. It does the same for places, too. It also occasionally makes predictions about the future. The one thing it cannot tell Corvo much about are the Whalers. It notes that there is a "haze" that surrounds them, and that because of it, even the Heart cannot discern the truth. It is also notable that The Heart is shown to be ''wrong'' on a few occasions. [[spoiler:It says that there is no turning back from the path Daud has chosen, but Daud is willing to do exactly that should Corvo spare him. It also says that Sokolov will never forgive Piero for being the youngest man ever accepted into the Academy, but by the time of the siege on Piero's workshop, they have both put past grievances behind them]]. However, it is possible that the Heart is working on what the individual it is observing believes is true at the time the Heart "reads" them. [[spoiler:Or, in Daud's case, that it is biased]]. Alternatively, it is an object made by The Outsider and The Outsider himself believes that HumansAreTheRealMonsters, it might also be that the heart simply sees a variety of possibilities and picks what seems most likely by exactly that train of thought.
* PerceptionFilter: Its dialogue in ''Dishonored 2'' mentions that only the one who holds it can see it. Hence why other people don't freak out at Corvo/Emily wandering around holding a talking, beating human heart.
* SoulJar: For Jessamine. [[spoiler:And then, for Delilah.]]
* ThisIsUnforgivable: [[spoiler:It is absolutely ''livid'' if Corvo points it at Daud]].
-->'''The Heart:''' Why have you brought me here? Am I to forgive this man for what he did?
* WhatTheHellHero: In the second game, the Heart doesn't hold back on criticising your High Chaos playthrough.
-->'''The Heart:''' I have seen many horrors. A child beaten by thieves. A nest of bloodflies. Your blood-soaked hands.
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder:Corvo Attano]]
!Royal Protector Corvo Attano
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/corvo_3.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:370:[[labelnote:Click here to see Corvo as he appears in the sequel.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/corvo.jpg]][[/labelnote]]
->'''Voiced by:''' [[TheVoiceless N/A]] (''Dishonored''), Creator/StephenRussell (''Dishonored 2'')
->'''The Outsider:''' My dear Corvo. What a sad hand fate has dealt you. The beloved Empress dead and everyone thinks you're the killer.
The game's protagonist, Corvo Attano was the hand-chosen [[PraetorianGuard bodyguard]] of the beloved Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, given the position both for his skill and as a gesture of diplomacy - no foreigner had ever held the position before Corvo, who is from Serkonos, not Gristol. He is framed for her murder and is in prison awaiting execution when the [[LaResistance Loyalists]] break him out. Soon after getting to their base, [[HumanoidAbomination the Outsider]] appears in a dream and grants Corvo a mark that imbues him with supernatural abilities. Corvo sets out to find the Empress' young daughter and heir to the throne, as well as discover the answers behind Jessamine's murder and his own betrayal.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Played with if Corvo makes a pass at Callista. She mentions she would be happy to let him into her bed, it's just being surrounded by plague, murder, and so on isn't exactly something which puts her in the mood. If you try anyway, you get a NonstandardGameOver.
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: His sword can decapitate people and remove limbs with little difficulty.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: His skin is notably tanned and he has Mediterranean features. He is also from Serkonos, the southernmost point of the empire.
* AntiHero: Even in the pacifist run, he sells people into slavery, kidnaps them and gives them to stalkers, and flat out resorts to torture and mutilation. Granted, [[AssholeVictim a lot of them have it coming]]. He's a straight-up VillainProtagonist if the player really pushes for High Chaos - fulfilling those conditions requires, among other things, killing ''upwards of fifty percent of all [=NPCs=] that exist in the game''.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: The guy was once the Royal Protector, and even before he started getting all his weaponry and supernatural powers, his combat abilities were apparently something to be feared.
* BadassAndChildDuo: With Emily.
* BadassBaritone: In the second game, courtesy of Creator/StephenRussell. In the first game, he's TheVoiceless.
* BadassBeard: He grows one by the time of the second game.
* BadassBack: Can appear to do this with clever uses of stopping time.
* BadassFamily: Him and Emily, his daughter, now also a trained assassin empowered by the Outsider in the sequel.
* BadassInDistress: If Emily is chosen as the protagonist in the second game, he spends the entire game as a statue.
* BadassLongcoat: Badass enough that for some reason, he got to keep it ''while imprisoned''. And he doesn't swap it out when he breaks out.
* BadassNormal: He ''started'' as a unstoppable force of protection for the Empress, thanks to his human combat skills alone. He becomes an EmpoweredBadassNormal when he meets the Outsider, who gives him superpowers. Potentially played straight in ''2'', where he can choose to stay depowered and be played without the Outsider's gifts.
* BadassPacifist: He can be this, if the player chooses the more merciful options for dealing with targets, in which case Corvo will be committed to doing his duty but doing so without lethally neutralizing his targets. However, the second game shows that Corvo canonically killed a few guards here and there and has no problems killing the guards who sided with Delilah's coup.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Corvo can get through the entire game without killing a single person - even his intended targets. That does not mean that what happens to them is by any means pleasant.
* BodyguardBetrayal: Everyone ''assumes'' he killed the Empress he was supposed to guard but he was framed.
* BodyguardCrush:
** Corvo had a romance going with the Empress Jessamine. The hints run rampant and [=NPCs=] constantly speculate. Emily will ponder the ramifications of Corvo marrying the Empress and will make a point to note how sad and lonely her mother seemed with Corvo away. Sokolov will taunt Corvo in a way hinting that the Empress and Corvo were lovers. Certain insults take on entirely more disturbing connotations if viewed through the lens of a Corvo who was sexually involved with Jessamine. [[spoiler:The Heart, implied to be that of Jessamine and containing her soul, is given to Corvo by the Outsider - ensuring that Corvo will keep her heart close and protected ''literally'', a gruesome twist on the poetic symbolism of the heart in romantic love and his role as her protector.]] The whole opening narration by the Empress itself reads like Corvo is more than just her bodyguard. Lydia will consider asking Corvo outright if that was the case, but decides not to as it would be improper. At some point in the game, Emily will draw Corvo with the caption "Daddy". In the final level with High Chaos, Treavor Pendleton will outright say that "everyone knows [Corvo was] screwing the Empress". Whether this is actually true or just a desperate attempt at an insult is not clear. Havelock's journal in the final mission will speculate as well.
** ''Dishonored 2'' drops all pretenses and just outright says that Corvo is Emily's father, thus making all of the rumors and hints correct. It also adds many, many lines (if Corvo is the protagonist) about his and Jessamine's relationship and how in love they were before she was killed, in addition to lines about how painful her death was and still is for him fifteen years later. The ramifications of Empress Emily [[BastardAngst technically being an illegitimate ruler]] are brought up too.
* BodyguardingABadass: Potentially in ''Dishonored 2''. If Emily was chosen as the PlayerCharacter, then the game can end with BadassNormal Corvo serving as the Royal Protector for an empress that now wields the power of the Void.
* BroughtDownToBadass: Certain enemies [[spoiler:or instruments]] have the ability to negate Corvo's 'gifts' from the Outsider. The problem is that he still was an in-universe MemeticBadass before he even got them. In ''Dishonored 2'', he has his powers removed in the beginning and can choose to not have them restored by the Outsider, thus relying solely on his natural skills and equipment.
* CadreOfForeignBodyguards: Corvo is from the island Serkonos, not Gristol. A book on the history of the position of Royal Protector notes that he is the ''first'' Royal Protector not to be from Gristol, and speculates that this might be related to his [[FrameUp murder of the Empress]]. He's also of common birth, which didn't prevent him proving his merit in Serkonos but upset certain members of the aristocracy in Gristol.
* TheChampion: Was one to the Empress, and then becomes one to Emily.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: A book on the history of the office mentions that Jessamine would have chosen her Royal Protector when she was twelve. Corvo was 18 when they first met, mitigating this on his end. He became her Royal Protector at her father's behest a year later. Either way, [[JailbaitWait five years later]], Corvo and Jessamine become lovers in secret.
* ChickMagnet: He was romantically involved with Empress Jessamine and fathered Emily, and then there's Callista and Lydia who aren't opposed to the idea of hooking up with Corvo and get ShipTease moments. Delilah Kaldwin also notes that he's quite good looking even in his fifties.
* CoolMask: His mask [[SkullForAHead looks like a skull]], and functions as a resistance against the MysticalPlague.
* CoolOldGuy: Corvo's 54 years old in ''Dishonored 2'', yet can still kick ass with the best of them.
* CoolSword: Collapsible, custom-made, feather-light and razor-sharp. Upgrading will replace its somewhat nicked steel blade with glistening black. A ''lot'' of attention was obviously paid to the animation of Corvo snapping it fully open, which is almost hypnotizing.
* CruelMercy: If Corvo doesn't kill you, ''he will make you [[FateWorseThanDeath wish he had]]''. Averted in the case of [[spoiler:Daud]], when sparing him is an act of either genuine mercy or intimidation. Similarly, [[spoiler:'eliminating' the Crown Killer, Alexandria Hypatia, simply means destroying her psychopathic alter-ego and restoring her original kindly personality]].
* DarkHorseVictory: Part of his backstory. Corvo came from humble origin, his father dying while he was young and with no military background in his family. As a teenager he won the Blade Verbena dueling tournament in Karnaca with his swordplay, despite his unlikely and humble origins, earning himself a junior officer posting in the Serkonan Grand Guard and earned the attention of the previous Duke.
* TheDreaded: Notably, even before the game started, Corvo was known to be a OneManArmy capable of taking on multiple enemies at once and generally being infallible as the Royal Protector. And then the game starts, and you have the masked felon stalking through the night.
* TheFaceless: PlayedWith; his face can be seen on several occasions: on some wanted posters throughout the game; the difficulty screen; as a secret [[spoiler:drawing by Emily, which is unlocked if you're a pacifist]]; and during the endings.
* FailureKnight: While he is a fantastic assassin, The Outsider is not shy about pointing out his failures as a bodyguard. In ''Dishonored 1'', he remarks that if Jessamine were as well protected as the current Lord Regent, then she might still be alive. At the start of ''Dishonored 2'', if the player decides to play as Corvo, the Outsider notes that he has "lost another empress!".
* FrameUp: The tutorial is his arriving home just in time to witness the Empress's murder. The game proper starts with him in prison and about to be executed for it. In the sequel, he's framed by Delilah's conspirators as "the Crown Killer", painting him as the loyal hatchet-man of the Empress to crush her critics.
* FisherKing
** His actions will directly affect the world around him. Some consequences of a violent playthrough are more or less understandable, like tighter security and proliferating plague hatched from numerous dead bodies, but a freaking ''storm'' raging around the final level that wouldn't be there for the Low Chaos Corvo is pretty hard to explain otherwise, although it is said by Harvey Smith that "[[https://web.archive.org/web/20160413021525/https://twitter.com/Harvey1966/status/498730126709100544 part of the Void is that it draws from your mind and that influences the environment]]".
** His attitude also influences that of the Loyalist Conspirators, with violence making them more cynical and violent themselves, such as Martin losing his desire to see the Overseers reformed or [[spoiler:Havelock using a more violent method when he kills Wallace]].
** Random citizens who've had no contact with Corvo are affected too. In the first mission, you'll find an infected Overseer who begs for death rather than infect others if chaos is low, but attempts to hide his condition if it's high.
* FoeTossingCharge: ''Blink Assault'' in the second game allows Corvo to blink towards a foe and end the blink with a powerful kick, which combined with the momentum of the blink, sends the enemy flying.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Depending on how you play. Corvo can be perfectly polite and helpful towards his allies, sweet and kind to Emily and go out of his way to rescue or aid complete strangers, while still ruthlessly eliminating every obstacle to overthrowing the Lord Regent. You could avoid killing guards, thugs and weepers, but still butcher your targets. Even if you choose [[TechnicalPacifist not to kill your marks directly]], you'll be forced to remove them by other, equally drastic methods, such as selling them into slavery or helping a stalker abduct them.
* TheGrimReaper: His skull-like mask combined with black coat and hood go a very long way to making Corvo look like a steampunk rendition of everyone's favorite Death Incarnate.
* TheHeart: Surprisingly. In Low Chaos, where Corvo does not disrupt the city more than absolutely necessary and shows mercy at every turn, the Loyalists are much more cordial with each other and generally more upbeat, talking about working toward a better future. In High Chaos, where Corvo is generally a murdering psychopath, they're far darker, snapping at each other and showing no sympathy for the plights of others, even approving of harsh methods and blackmail. [[spoiler:Not that being TheHeart stops Corvo from being betrayed even in Low Chaos, but it's the thought that counts. That said, after they poison him in a Low Chaos ending, the Loyalists fall apart not because of infighting, but because they were consumed by their own shame and guilt]].
* HeroicMime: The game designers chose not to have Corvo speak so that the player can project themselves onto the character. However, it's something of a DoubleSubversion in practice. The options given in the game indicate that he is speaking when he communicates with someone else, and he doesn't nod or shake his head when in communication with others. However, the lines given have no voice actor associated with them. He does ''apparently'' talk at a few points, such as one encounter in which Corvo holds a conversation with a blindfolded man who assumes throughout the talk that Corvo is a woman. We still don't hear him, though. In the second game, he is fully voiced.
* HitmanWithAHeart: Can be played as one by only killing his targets or in self-defense. Or better yet, not killing anybody at all.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Can be one. If finding Piero spy into the bathroom through the keyhole, he can make Piero apologize and leave, only to look through the keyhole himself.
* InTheHood: As an assassin he wears a hood to hide his face.
* JackTheRipoff: InUniverse, Corvo is seen as this during the height of his activities. Depending on how the player plays him, some of this reputation can be quite justified.
** The second game also has him accused of being this as the "Crown Killer", a serial killer targeting Emily's critics and political rivals. [[NotMeThisTime While he's innocent]], his past actions make the accusations very easy to believe.
* KleptomaniacHero: Corvo can steal a variety of items for cash to buy upgrades/supplies. This includes large paintings several times his size. The game even tells you exactly how much coins-worth of items you left behind.
* LivingLegend: Guards will comment on Corvo's combat skills being legendary (even before he gets his super powers). As Royal Protector, Corvo was often seen sparring against entire squads alone and ''winning'' and apparently, his military record is amazing. Older guards will warn their younger comrades that trying to take on Corvo one-on-one is tantamount to suicide. One guard advises another that if he should encounter Corvo alone to make sure to "make a lot of noise as you die" to warn the rest of them.
** In the sequel it's mentioned that Corvo won the Blade Verbena, an annual sword duel festival in Karnaca, which earned him an early officer ranking in the Grand Guard despite being the common-born son of a deceased tradesman at the age of 16, and that his military career started from there. Three years later he had impressed the Emperor enough that he was made the Royal Protector of Jessamine. Also in the sequel, Corvo's actions in the first game are now infamous.
* LongHairedPrettyboy: A bit more rugged than most , but Corvo had long hair in the first game. Notable in comparison to the other male characters (and some female), who are all either short-haired or completely bald.
* MalevolentMaskedMen: Wears a horrifying skull-shaped mask and a dark hood, and stalks people in the night. For those who see him, he must look like the manifestation of [[TheGrimReaper Death itself]].
-->'''Samuel:''' ''Seems like I carry Death with me wherever I go.''
* MarkOfTheBeast: The Abbey of the Everyman considers his PowerTattoo to be exactly this, and will react to it as one might expect from a ChurchMilitant. Even Teague Martin can comment on this but given their mutual situation, [[NecessarilyEvil chooses not to press the issue]].
* MasterSwordsman: Bordering on ImplausibleFencingPowers in some of his special kill animations.
* MeaningfulName: Corvo is the Italian, Portuguese, and Galician name meaning [[CleverCrows cr]][[CreepyCrows ow]]. A corvo is also a specific type of knife native to Chile, and well-known for being used by the Chilean Special Forces. Oh, and crows are really well known for a) being smart, and b)keeping grudges.
* TheMentor: To Emily Kaldwin, he taught her everything he knows and she became as adept at combat and stealth as her old man. In the first game, his actions and brutality also directly influence her view on the world and its people.
* TheMourningAfter: In the sequel's opening scene when Corvo greets Emily at the anniversary of Jessamine's death, he admits that fifteen years haven't been enough to dull his grief or his guilt over her death. If you play as Corvo [[spoiler:he refers to Jessamine several times and is heartbroken when the last of her soul leaves the Heart]], seeing her as TheLostLenore.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: He can take this view of things if the player so chooses.
* OldSoldier: He's 54 years old in the sequel, and age hasn't slowed this bodyguard down one bit.
* OneManArmy: Capable of cutting down swathes of watchmen armed with swords and guns, leaving piles of bodies in his wake.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: He was born poor in Karnaca's streets, learned street dueling, became a dark horse victor in the Blade Verbena grand tourney, rose up the ranks in the Grand Guard, came to the capital, fell in love with the previous Empress and fathered the next Empress, serving as her second-in-command. It's possible in both the Low and High Chaos endings of ''Dishonored 2'' to end up [[spoiler:as the new Duke of Karnaca]]. Indeed his mother Paloma Attano, as she notes in her diary, was heartbroken at Corvo leaving to Dunwall for better opportunities since she regretted the separation.
* OpenSecret:
** His affair with the Empress is supposedly a secret, but almost everyone seems either know or suspect something was going on. The secrecy is additionally questionable once one considers the rumors that were sure to have erupted over Emily's parentage. In the sequel, the swiss-cheese secret is dispensed, and it's open knowledge that Corvo fathered Emily.
** In the sequel, it's apparently known that he was the man with the infamous mask.
* PapaWolf: His relationship with Emily is made very clear by his actions towards her, and hers towards him. In short: do not, under any circumstances, screw with that kid.
* ParentalSubstitute: Since the relationship wasn't made public in her youth, Corvo appeared as this to Emily, but their close relationship led to much speculation, among characters in-universe and by other fans. The sequel confirms openly that Emily is Corvo's daughter with Jessamine.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: An alternate interpretation of his CruelMercy may be that he hates his targets ''so much'' that personally killing them isn't enough.
* PermaStubble: Implied as despite never getting a chance to shave it seems like his facial hair doesn't grow fast enough to give him anything more than a slight shadow. It grows out into a BadassBeard by the second game.
* PowerTattoo: The source of Corvo's magical abilities, courtesy of the Outsider.
* PraetorianGuard: His former occupation. His official title is Royal Protector. [[spoiler:If Emily survives, he gets his old job back.]]
* ProfessionalKiller: Most likely, unless the player [[TechnicalPacifist decides otherwise]]. Regardless, he becomes, or is regarded as, an assassin upon joining the Loyalists.
* TheProtagonist: Of the first game, which is why so many of his actions here are up to player choice. He's also one of two choices in the second.
* RagsToRoyalty: [[spoiler:A potential wrinkle in ''Dishonored 2'', both Low/High Chaos, has him end the game as the new Duke of Karnaca if Luca Abele was killed, while extremely High Chaos opens the door for him becoming Emperor Corvo the Black]]. Even beforehand, he was a presence in the Imperial Court directly associated with both Empresses Kaldwin, being the bodyguard and paramour to the former, and father and spymaster for the latter.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: It's the entire premise of the first game. He turns the government upside down in his vengeance and makes whoever wronged him pay ''and then some.''
** Corvo himself emphasizes it in the sequel:
-->''Everyone you love, everything you hold dear, I will destroy.''
* SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou: In [[http://i48.tinypic.com/rm6xqg.jpg this]] promotional image.
* SilverFox: He's in his early 50s in the second game and still quite good looking as even Delilah Kaldwin admits.
* SpannerInTheWorks: The conspirators had planned to assassinate the Empress while Corvo was out of town, but he returned home two days earlier than expected. At first the Lord Regent figures it for a bonus, since it gave them a patsy, but ultimately this leads to Corvo becoming his most terrible enemy. Daud, meanwhile, was pissed that Corvo injured several of his men and doubled his fee to the Lord Regent.
* TheSpymaster: By the time of the second game, he is both the Royal Protector and the Spymaster.
* SuddenlyVoiced: Corvo do not have any lines in the first against other than the occasional grunts. In the sequel Corvo is no longer a HeroicMime and has actual voiced dialog.
* SuperpowerLottery: Thanks to the Outsider, he won big time.
** AuraVision: The "Dark Vision" power grants Corvo this.
** BlowYouAway: The "Windblast" power lets Corvo blast people and objects back with a gust of wind.
** DemonicPossession: Is capable of possessing animals and people with the "Possession" power.
** FlashStep: Corvo can do this via the "Blink" power.
** HealingFactor: Due to the "Vitality" passive power, Corvo possess this.
** SummonMagic: Corvo is able to summon plague rats with the "Devouring Swarm" power.
** TimeStandsStill: The "Bend Time" power gives Corvo the ability to do this. In the second game, he can upgrade his Blink to stop time when he's standing still, similar to Daud.
* SwordAndGun: Although he always uses a sword in his right hand, his left hand can use a pistol, handheld crossbow, or one of his supernatural abilities.
* TakenForGranite: If the player chooses to play as Emily in ''2'', Corvo gets turned to stone by Delilah.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Corvo stands at [[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/05/11/get-reacquainted-with-corvo-attano-from-dishonored-2.aspx 6'4"]], his long black hair is one of his most distinctive features and, over the course of the 2 games, many women, both civil and enemy, express a certain physical attraction towards him.
* TechnicalPacifist: He can be played this way - never spilling a drop of blood by his own hand, but inflicting a diverse variety of awful fates on his enemies by other means. The only exception is when defending the Empress against assassins in the opening; while you can theoretically keep them alive, they don't count towards the kill count, and ''the Knife of Dunwall'' confirms that he injured at least one. The intro of the second game has him actively killing Delilah's henchmen.
* TranquilFury: Most of his behavior, whether going for low or high chaos, point to this. If you happen to be an enemy of his, ''especially'' one who has crossed the MoralEventHorizon or involved with The Empress' assassination, then when he catches you and kills you or sentences you to a FateWorseThanDeath, he will do it without a single word and with calm, ruthless precision. Even when he's TheVoiceless you can tell that he is [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge very, very angry.]]
* ThouShallNotKill: Another interpretation of Corvo if he [[TechnicalPacifist doesn't kill anyone throughout the entire game.]]
* TouchedByVorlons: The Outsider's abilities granted to him are a major game mechanic as it is difficult (but certainly not impossible) to get through the game without them.
%%* TrespassingHero
* UptownGirl: He's the Downtown Boy in this case. Jessamine is Empress and Corvo is the son of a tradesman, yet they fell in love and enjoyed a secret romance (albeit an OpenSecret), and eventually she and Corvo had a child.
* VillainProtagonist: If you choose the most merciless route. You can also make a case that Corvo is this in the ''non''-lethal route. Almost none of the people he "spares" meet pleasant fates. Perhaps Corvo simply thinks that death is too good for them.
* WalkingArmory: Doesn't employ a HyperspaceArsenal so much as he packs a very large amount of small weapons at once. A few bolts for his compact crossbow, a sword that folds up into something the size of a pocketknife, a pistol, maybe some grenades and small gadgets and that's it.
* WhatTheHellHero: The Outsider points out in the sequel that, as bad as [[TheCaligula Duke Abele]] is, a big reason he was able to act as he did is that he had Dunwall's, and by extension Emily's and Corvo's, backing. Indeed, it seems that Dunwall didn't much care about the Karnacan peoples' plight as long as the silver kept flowing. He also points out that had Corvo bothered to talk to Daud, Daud would've told Corvo all about Delilah, and Corvo might've been able to avert her coup, since by Corvo's own words, he only ever focused on physical threats to Emily, not magical ones.
* WouldHitAGirl: There are no issues with you attacking or killing random females in game and female targets are no exception. This is also what the populace thinks of him, as he has been framed for his Empress's murder.
* WorkingClassHero: Corvo was born the son of a Serkonos tradesman and rose UpThroughTheRanks to become Emily Kaldwin's bodyguard. His class is still an issue in ''Dishonored 2'' where Mortimer Ramsey, the snobbish Guardsman, laments taking orders from someone so lowborn as he drags Corvo to captivity. [[spoiler:Delilah also taunts Emily in a NotSoDifferent moment by reminding her that the latter is also a bastard child of a commoner and royalty, just like she is]]. It's possible in ''Dishonored 2'' to visit his childhood home in the Dust District, a small apartment that is obviously far more modest than his present dwelling.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness:
** Depending on the decisions of the player, he can kill characters that are no longer useful to him.
** [[spoiler:Is on the receiving end of this, when ordered to be poisoned by Havelock and Pendleton after he kills the Lord Regent. Thankfully, Samuel only gave him half.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lady Emily Kaldwin]]
!Lady/Empress Emily Drexel Lela Kaldwin
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/young_emily.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:370:[[labelnote:Click here to see Emily as she appears in the sequel.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/empress_emily.png]][[/labelnote]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ChloeGraceMoretz (''Dishonored''), Erica Luttrell (''Dishonored 2'')
The daughter of the now-deceased Empress, and the heir to the throne. She is currently missing, and Corvo breaks out of prison to find her. She becomes one of the leads of the second game alongside Corvo.
----
* ActionGirl: In the sequel, she has grown into a young woman with supernatural powers trained in the use of mines, knives, stealth and more.
* AmbiguouslyBi: Emily's lover, Wyman, was intentionally made gender-neutral, and referred in genderless pronouns, by Arkane, to allow the player to choose what gender they are, leading to this trope.
* BadassNormal: Not only is she already highly trained by her father by the second game, but she can actively reject the Outsider's mark and be played without any powers whatsoever.
* BreakTheCutie: Where do we begin? Over the course of the game, she;
** Sees her mother get murdered in front of her, and is then kidnapped;
** Is held against her will at a brothel by two noblemen for ''six months;''
** Has nightmares the whole time [[spoiler:and might have been visited by the Outsider;]]
** [[spoiler: Witnesses the murders of the people who protected her, while the only person she ever trusted is taken away from her;]]
** [[spoiler: Is once again held in captivity, until rescued one last time.]]
** [[spoiler: It's even worse if you took the High Chaos approach, where her life is directly endangered ([[KillTheCutie and she may indeed be killed]]). Everything then influences her to be evil on the throne, and chaos looms over Dunwall as a result.]] So yeah, she has a great time.
** In the second game, she's ousted from her throne and either spends the entire game as a statue or forced to reclaim her throne from the shadows.
* BodyguardCrush: One of the first things she does is ask if Corvo will marry her if he doesn't marry her mother. This is [[FatherIWantToMarryMyBrother presumably]] before she learns that he's her dad.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Wanted to escape her duties and be freed from being an Empress during the opening of Dishonored 2.
* ButNotTooForeign: Fictional example. She's the rightful empress of Gristol, but her father is from Serkonos. For a real life comparison, it's like the ruler of England being half-Italian, mind you many amongst real-life nobility have a parent from a royal family from other countries.
* CallingParentsByTheirName: Justified. For much of her childhood, her true father's identity was kept secret, probably even from her. He was still a paternal figure in her life, however; Corvo Attano, whom she called by that name. Essentially the name "Corvo" is more or less the title "Dad" to her. Even after the patrilineage was revealed, he was still "Corvo".
* TheChosenOne: Downplayed, but she is the only one the Outsider is willing to interfere in order to protect. Normally, he just appears to those he has Marked to comment on what they're doing, but when Delilah hatches a plan to [[spoiler:pull a GrandTheftMe]] on Emily, the Outsider sets Daud, [[EnemyMine who he openly dislikes]], on the path to stopping her.
* ComboPlatterPowers: In Dishonored 2, she gains her own set of powers (and with NewGamePlus she can gain Corvo's powers as well).
** AuraVision: "Dark Vision" is the only active power she shares with her father.
** CastingAShadow: "Shadow Walk", which lets her turn into a shadowy creature to slip into small spaces as well as for combat.
** HealingFactor: Thanks to the "Vitality" power.
** JediMindTrick: "Mesmerize", which creates a strange object that fascinates her enemies so much that they don't even notice her.
** MesACrowd: "Doppelganger", which lets her create a duplicate to either act as a distraction or to fight for her. An upgrade lets her use it as a NinjaLog.
** {{Synchronization}}: "Domino", which lets her link living people together so that whatever happens to one happens to the others.
** TentacleRope: "Far Reach", which lets her toss out a shadowy tendril to grapple to points and grab items and [[YouWillNotEvadeMe objects]].
** TimeStandsStill: The first trailer shows her using Bend Time, though she doesn't have that power in-game.
*** Thanks to New Game +, Emily can now use Bend Time, provided the save file you base the New Game + on was with Corvo and had unlocked at least one level of Bend Time.
* CharacterDevelopment: Has this in spades in ''VideoGame/Dishonored2'', Although a nice ruler, Emily has yet to grow into her role as empress. Prior to the coup, she spent half her time ignoring the Duke's corruption in Karnaca, neglected most of her courtly duties and wished that she was far away, doing fun things instead. Once overthrown, she underwent a massive character arc, where she learned how her neglect affected her subjects. Depending on the player's play style, [[spoiler:she could end up taking her job more seriously and become Emily the Just and Wise or reign as a bloody and iron-fisted tyrant.]]
* CoolMask: Her scarf covers her mouth and is made from the cloth used in Outsider shrines.
* CoolSword: If the PlayerCharacter in the second game, Emily gets ahold of her father's folding gadget sword, the same one that Piero made in the first game, while fleeing Dunwall Tower.
* CreepyChild: Says some seriously disturbing things if you have high Chaos.
* CruelMercy: Though the nonlethal options remain the same regardless of player character chosen in ''VideoGame/Dishonored2'', Low Chaos Emily is the canon story for the sequel, ''VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider''. With the exception of one enemy target, all the major enemies have a creatively "merciful" Low Chaos options to dispose of them.
* DaddysGirl: She's clearly very fond of Corvo, and he serves as her biggest role-model...
* DeathOfAChild: If you screw up the hostage situation in a High Chaos run, [[spoiler:the last thing you hear is her scream as Havelock drags her to her death]].
* DecoyProtagonist: She is canonically the protagonist of the second game. That said, she's TakenForGranite if you choose to play Corvo. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] obviously if you decide to play as her. That said, the prologue and tutorials are only seen through her point of view.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: She's one of the few beings that the Outsider will go out of his way to protect, she's just as essential to the plot as Corvo (being the heir to the throne, influenced by Corvo's actions, and ruling as TheHighQueen in Low Chaos endings), she has a strong emotional connection with him (being both his charge and his child), and she's the protagonist of the second game.
* EnfantTerrible: She learns from Corvo's example (rather like [[VideoGame/BioShock2 Eleanor Lamb]]). On a high Chaos run, that sees her end up as one seriously scary kid. After you [[spoiler:do away with the Lord Regent]] on high Chaos, she makes some disturbing remarks about what she'll do as Empress.
* GoingCommando: If "pants" is used in the meaning of undergarments instead of outer-garments in her letter in the sequel, where she says:
--> Remember the time I kept a straight face during the Watch Officer's report, all the while sitting at my desk without pants?
* GuileHero: Low Chaos!Emily is extremely intelligent, smart, astute and gifted at TakeAThirdOption and [[spoiler:the Outsider ends up noting that she will be remembered as Emily the Just and Emily the Clever]].
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Unlike any previous protagonist, Emily is not an assassin but a leader, and her powers are thus based around self control and control of others. Corvo and Daud’s powers may make Both of them a PersonOfMassDestruction, but Emily has control of some truly complicated void magic that lets her control any situation like a good leader would have to.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: High Chaos Emily eventually [[spoiler: Should she choose to kill Sokolov and Meagan, invokes this; she can't leave them alive to tell people about what she did]].
* HeroicBastard: Although Jessamine and Corvo were married in all but name... they were not married in name, and thus Emily is technically an illegitimate child of their romance. [[spoiler: Not so much the heroic part in a High Chaos ending though. Delilah points out to Emily in both instances that this means that both of them are equally illegitimate in terms of blood]].
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: If Emily follows the High Chaos route in the sequel, [[spoiler:she becomes as ruthless as her aunt in her ending of the game and can even kill Meagan/Billie and Sokolov and leaving her father in granite]].
* TheHighQueen: In a Low Chaos ending, [[spoiler: Emily's rule ushers a new golden age for the Empire and Dunwall, thanks to Corvo's guidance and protection. She becomes known as Empress Emily the Wise]]. In a High Chaos ending, she becomes a borderline case of GodSaveUsFromTheQueen. In the Low Chaos ending of the second game, [[spoiler:Emily becomes known as Emily the Just, ruling benevolently]].
** Note that at the beginning of the sequel, the game subverts this - Emily's rule has been a contested affair and her approval isn't high. Unemployment is high in the crown isle of Gristol and Dunwall's flooded district, though now drained, has yet to be repaired. An oil shortage is hitting the Empire. Emily has also not been paying attention to the other isles, allowing Serkonos' Luca Abele to rule over his island like a tyrant and run it into the ground. There are also rumors that she's had her dad murder anyone who questions her rule. [[spoiler:They are being framed of course]].
* HereditaryHairstyle: She wears her hair similar to Corvo, her father. Long and framing her face with a division to one side over the eye. Of course being a girl she has it in a more feminine manner with a ribbon in-game. However, her portrait's and Corvo's make them look startlingly similar. Dishonored 2 makes the resemblance to both her parents very apparent -- she looks a great deal like her mother, but a few of her features are unmistakably Corvo's.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness[=/=]ChildrenAreInnocent: Subverted, Emily is smarter than she appears. She heard a lot of horrible "grown-up" things at the Golden Cat but remains polite enough to pretend to still be an innocent. On a High Chaos run, she's a straight-out EnfanteTerrible.
* LadyOfWar: At the time of the second game, Emily is a young woman who is about as skilled as Corvo with stealth and combat, which means, one of the greatest fighters and assassins in the Empire, while she is always dressed in an orderly, elegant and impeccable way.
* MissingMom: As the game begins, her mother is murdered by unknown assailants in front of her eyes.
* MoralityPet: For Corvo, especially in a High Chaos run. It's even blatantly enforced in gameplay: it's possible to kill every other character in the story -- even if killing some of them results in a game over -- but it's impossible for Corvo to harm Emily.
* MixedAncestry: Her mother was from Gristol's royal family, while her father is a commoner from Serkonos.
* NecessarilyEvil: In a High Chaos ending of the first game, [[spoiler:Emily will be considered to have done what she had to in an awful situation]].
* OneWomanArmy: She is trained by Corvo, after all.
* OverlyLongName: Well, she's a noble, and long names are historically a noble thing. As revealed in ''The Dunwall Archives'' [[AllThereInTheManual artbook]], her full name is Emily Drexel Lela Kaldwin.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: In the second game, Emily is rather slight in build, but still has the strength to heft limp bodies around even without any Outsider assistance, and to grapple with swords against burly guardsmen or wrench Clockwork Soldiers apart.
* PowerTattoo: If chosen as the Player Character and accepting of the Outsider's empowerment, her left hand is marked with the Outsider's symbol.
* PrincessInRags: Or Empress In Rags. She gets a taste of her father's hardknock life before he became Royal Protector when she travels to his home city to investigate how and why she had her throne yanked out from under her. She mingled amongst the seedier parts of Dunwall as part of her training by father dearest so she could fend for herself (and so she could blow off courtly duties), but could always return to the cushy bed and silver tea sets of Dunwall Tower. After being usurped, she doesn't have that option and her place of solace is a leaky old boat owned by one of her few allies. Having her common-born father around and the aforementioned mingling helps make her take it more in stride than most cases of this trope that were more coddled.
* PromotedToPlayable: In the second game, she becomes a playable character alongside Corvo.
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: High Chaos!Emily [[spoiler:is essentially the story of a sheltered and apathetic but well-meaning young Empress becoming a ruthless cold and violent tyrant, becoming just as bad as Delilah. She ends up known as either Emily the Vengeful or Emily the Butcher.]]
* PuppetKing: What the Conspirators [[spoiler:(both sets)]] want to make her into.
* RoyalBrat: She's quite likeable overall, but makes things difficult for Callista when she's bored.
* StatuesqueStunner: She stands 5'10" in ''2''.
* TheStoner: Not explicitly shown, but her lover Wyman says (s)he'll bring back some white leaf tobacco, an illegal substance in Gristol, from his/her trip and implies it was Emily's request. Other than that, she doesn't act this way at all.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: In the main menu screen no less, looking back and forth between Corvo and Emily shows she's definitely Corvo's. Kirin Jindosh identifies her by the fact that she has her father's eyes, despite the bandanna mask she was wearing to hide her identity.
* SuperiorSuccessor: Potentially. In Dishonored, Corvo had to take the Outsider's mark and Blink, and while a run without using the power is possible, it's heavily implied that Corvo made use of the Outsider's gifts in canon (most notably when he uses them in cutting a few traitorous guards to pieces when Delilah's coup is sprung). Which means that an Emily who rejects the Outsider can match Corvo's feats without the powers or several years of experience that Corvo had.
* TakenForGranite: If Corvo is the chosen player character in ''2'', she gets turned into a statue by Delilah.
* TookALevelInBadass: Goes from a rather defenseless child to someone trained by the Empire's greatest swordsman and adept in stealth. Despite being rather petite, she is able to go against groups of enemies, sometimes knocking them out with a single punch. And that's before she gets powers from the Outsider.
* TouchedByVorlons: The Outsider [[PowerTattoo marks]] her in the sequel, empowering her with abilities distinct from Corvo's, such as tentacles used as a grappling hook as well as transforming into a creature made of shadows.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: If Emily is the Player Character in the second game, many of the conspirators gravely underestimate her, believing she's been coddled and spoiled by her father, advisors, and palace staff, not realizing that daddy dearest trained her in his ways quite well (to say nothing of potential Outsider aid).
* WarriorPrincess: Emily is the former empress and working to regain that status through skills gained by being trained by the greatest spy and assassin in the Empire.
* WeakButSkilled: Her powers are much more indirect in use than Corvo's. While Corvo's time and space based powers favor more direct power and straightforward solutions, Emily's shadow powers require some outside of the box thinking to use to their fullest. Mastering her powers and putting some whale bone points into them gives Emily a lot more freedom in her playstyle than Corvo has, with even her basic traversal tool (Far Reach) turning into a power that can grab items from a distance and even pull enemies towards her for takedowns.
* WhatTheHellHero: In The sequel, multiple characters point out that, as bad as [[TheCaligula Duke Abele]] is, a big reason he was able to act as he did is that he had Dunwall's, and by extension Emily's, backing. Indeed, it seems that Dunwall didn't much care about the Karnacan peoples' plight as long as the silver kept flowing.
* YouKilledMyFather: [[spoiler:When Billie Lurk confesses to Emily that she was part of the group of assassins who killed her mother, Emily's reaction is one of icy hostility. Even if you don't kill her and pick the more forgiving dialogue option, Emily makes it clear that she never wants to see her again.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Daud]]
!Daud
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_knife_of_dunwall.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''In the schoolyard, the other children would marvel at his quick hands. One day, a man came for young Daud, and led him away.'']]
->''"I'd killed nobles before. Why should an Empress be different? For six months, the city writhed and changed. For six months - I tried to forget what I'd done to the Empress and her little girl. Whatever doom was coming; ''I'' deserved it. [[LastDance But not yet]]."''
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MichaelMadsen
A fearsome underground figure in Dunwall, Daud is the leader of an assassin group called the Whalers (because of their use of discarded gear from a whaler factory) based in the Flooded District. These are the people who killed the Empress. He is the protagonist of the two story {{DLC}}s for the first game, ''The Knife of Dunwall'' and ''The Brigmore Witches'', as well as a main character in ''Death of the Outsider''. Like Corvo, he is from Serkonos.
----
* AntiHero: In Knife Of Dunwall. He's a villain in the main campaign, but no ''more'' villainous than Dunwall's many despicable citizens (and certainly no more villainous than Corvo can potentially be when they finally cross paths). When he's the central character, the player can decide his actions, which range from ruthless and unpleasant, but purely mercenary, to outright vicious sadism. [[spoiler:Ultimately however, his actions end up saving Emily from possession]].
* AntiVillain: What he is in the vanilla game. [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type I,]] as he's not necessarily a great guy, but of all the villains [[spoiler: and some of the heroes, as it turns out, especially if Corvo has been [[SociopathicHero running around murdering everyone,]]]] he is one of the more sympathetic.
* AcquiredPoisonImmunity: Of a sort. While he's not strictly ''immune'' to poisons, one of the benefits of his powers is a very strong ''resistance'' to toxins of all kinds. Accordingly, if Corvo shoots him with a sleep dart [[OnceIsNotEnough or ten]] -- even if it's with the upgraded combat sleep dart, which [[InstantSedation drops almost every other living thing in the game instantly no matter what]] -- Daud won't even be slowed down by the toxin, much less be dropped by it.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Corvo is this to Daud. No matter how great an Assassin Daud is, he's fated to lose his duel with Corvo should it happen, and the only way said duel can be averted is if Corvo is the one who decides to avoid it by sending Daud a more personal message (pickpocketing him). This goes double in a low chaos playthrough: Corvo does great things to make the world better with his powers, while the best Daud can hope to do is mitigate some of the evil he's brought about and earn a measure of redemption by saving someone he wronged.
* ArmCannon: In the DLC, Daud carries a wrist-mounted variation of the crossbow. It can also function as a BladeBelowTheShoulder similar to the Hidden Blade of the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series by extending the bolt to pierce through necks.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion[=/=]BreakingLecture: Daud gets in a mix of these two tropes during his fight with Corvo.
-->'''Daud:''' Why are you fighting? [[spoiler:[[TreacheryCoverUp For the men who poisoned you]] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and left you to die]]]]? For your dead Empress? [[StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred Go on, strike as if you mean it]]! You know I killed her! [[YouFool Fool]]! [[NotSoDifferent We're of the same breed, you and I]]. [[ProfessionalKiller We both kill for others]]. You think I'm your enemy? [[VillainsNeverLie I've never lied to you]].
* BadassBoast: When alerted to Corvo's presence.
-->'''Daud:''' I know your footsteps, Corvo. Do you really think you can hide from a hunter of men?
* BecauseImGoodAtIt: The main reason he became an assassin after getting his powers was because he had little else to do with them.
* TheBusCameBack: He returns in ''Death of the Outsider''.
* ClimaxBoss: It is very difficult to avert a battle with him, and in Low Chaos he actually stops time so he and Corvo can fight one-on-one, without interruptions.
* CradlingYourKill: If Daud decides to kill [[spoiler: Billie Lurk]] in Low Chaos, he holds her hand and her body gently.
* CruelMercy: [[AvertedTrope Averted.]] His non-lethal takedown is the only one in the game that doesn't put him in a FateWorseThanDeath.
* CombatPragmatist: If Corvo chooses to fight him in High Chaos, Daud will call on his assassins to help him, and dispenses with any notion of honour; after all, Corvo clearly has none.
* ContractualBossImmunity: Is resistant to many of Corvo's gadgets and powers. He'll outright mock you if you try to possess him or timestop him, and Windblast only staggers him slightly instead of blowing him across the room. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in the case of his immunity to sleep darts; in a memo to one of his assassins, Daud explicitly states that one of his abilities is a resistance to toxins of all kinds.
-->'''Daud (if Corvo tries timestopping him)''': Nice try, Corvo.
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Daud expresses regret about killing the Empress, and after witnessing Corvo in action he begins to question the way in which he's chosen to use the Outsider's powers and whether his life has really made a difference to the fate of the world in any meaningful way. After you defeat him in a duel, he expresses no real objection to Corvo simply striking him down, although he's also willing to retire and go into self-exile instead]]. After The Brightmore Witches, it becomes even more so: While the Outsider occassionally talks with him in his dreams, now all he gets are [[spoiler: nightmares of Corvo coming to kill him, followed with the Outsider constantly mocking Daud, especially in Low Chaos where he constantly questions if Daud believes that avoiding death would save him]]. Actually finally being confronted with the actual thing must be a great relief, one way or another.
* DespairSpeech: [[spoiler:When Corvo defeats him in Low Chaos, he gives one of these, saying that "something broke" inside of him when he killed the Empress and kidnapped her daughter, and he began to question what he's truly accomplished with his life and whether anything he's done has truly been worth anything -- and finally realized that he's had enough killing. The High Chaos speech is somewhat similar, but he tires of fighting and accepts death with dignity, should you give it]].
* DisneyVillainDeath: Corvo throws him off a ledge after slashing his throat.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: Certainly has his own objectives unrelated to the Lord Regent. [[spoiler:And of course, Corvo is only interested in rescuing and protecting Emily, not Havelock's ambitions.]]
* TheDreaded: When eavesdropping on conversations about Daud, he is referred to with both fear and reverence. According to one such conversation, some people are too afraid to so much as [[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed say his name]].
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Daud is dreaming of his upcoming confrontation with Corvo. It is possible in the dream for Daud to defeat Corvo - something even Daud knows is unlikely to happen in reality.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:He dies offscreen in ''Death of the Outsider'', succumbing to old age and injuries.]]
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: [[spoiler:Is very fond of his mother, citing her advise against the witches. When he died and lingered in the Void, he could be seen calling out for her, lamenting that he could not remember her face, only bits and pieces of her memories.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards: His personal audio log has him talking about how much he hates Burrows despite the fact that he is also a regular client of his and would love nothing more than to slit his throat himself. [[spoiler:He also expresses deep regret for killing the Empress for all the damage that it has wrought on Dunwall]].
** In a low-chaos run, Daud comes to consider Corvo a WorthyOpponent, and feels as though their conflict should be settled one-on-one. On a high-chaos run? [[YouBastard He thinks Corvo is a mad-dog]] and affords him no such special considerations.
* EvilCounterpart: To Corvo. Both are supernatural-empowered assassins gifted by the Outsider, but Daud has been doing it a lot longer, but with no real focus or purpose other than assassination for its own sake, and both are the only playable characters of the first game. Also, both of them are Serkonan. Daud even notes in his journal the similarities between him and Corvo. Their Outsider-bestowed powers are also extremely similar; the Outsider's Mark grants powers which usually vary quite noticeably from one individual to another.
* EvilVersusEvil: Potentially against Delilah.
* {{Expy}}[=/=]ActorAllusion: He's an incredibly skilled sword-wielding ProfessionalKiller who [[spoiler:has begun to experience regret over what he's done]] and is a DeathSeeker, but [[spoiler:isn't willing to go down without a fight]]. He's also voiced by Creator/MichaelMadsen. [[Film/KillBill Sound familiar]]?
* FaceDeathWithDignity: He accepts either death or being spared once he is bested in combat. If Corvo grabs him to deliver the killing blow, he won't even try to fight back.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Implied in the Death of the Outsider trailer, where he sets out with Billie Lurk to kill the Outsider, in spite of him being firmly on the side of Emily and Corvo]]
* AFatherToHisMen: He is shown to greatly care for his Assassins. He believes that whatever doom is coming for ''him'' should not be suffered by them as well.
* FeelingTheirAge: By the time of ''Death of the Outsider'', his hair has gone completely white and he's clearly past his prime. He's still dangerous enough that the Eyeless need to imprison him in a power-dampening chamber and he quickly massacres them once released.
* TheGhost: In Dishonored 2, he's confirmed to still be alive and is mentioned by several characters, but he never exerts influence on the story and is never seen. [[spoiler:Except in the credits sequence of a Low Chaos ending.]]
* GoodCounterpart: In a High Chaos run he is this instead, being strictly professional [[spoiler:and starting to experience remorse and second-guesses over his chosen path]] when you meet him, in contrast to how the player would've already choked the streets in innocent victims by this stage.
* GracefulLoser: In both High Chaos and Low Chaos, Daud is quite composed after being defeated.
* GutturalGrowler: Regardless of your chaos level his voice will always be deep and raspy which does help his intimidating presence.
* TheHeavy: Hiram Burrows was the mastermind the assassination of Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, but his plan, and his oppressive rule that plagued game would have never come to fruition without Daud,[[spoiler: a fact Daud knows very well and has given him so much angst.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: After being empowered by the Outsider, Daud spent his entire life killing on contract for money. After killing the Empress he realizes that all he's even done with his gifts is make the world a worse place. [[spoiler: He finds a small measure of redemption by defeating Delilah, and ultimately decides to seek redemption for his life by using his last days on earth to find a way to kill the Outsider, holding him responsible for all the evil committed by those who have received his Mark. It's ambiguous how correct Daud's reasoning is; while the Outsider had absolutely nothing to do with Burrows' coup, it ''is'' fairly reasonable to hold him responsible for Delilah and others like her over the centuries.]]
* HeelRealization: In a Low Chaos run [[spoiler:he regrets having killed the Empress for all it caused. And watching Corvo's actions makes him question the path he took and how he's wasted the Outsider's gift]]. He questions the need to kill the Empress in a High Chaos run, but it's not as obvious. Given that you've most likely slaughtered all of his guards, he has more things to worry about than a job.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: ''The Knife of Dunwall'' and ''The Brigmore Witches'' chronicle his actions between his assassination of the Empress and Corvo's arrival in the Flooded District.
* HeroicMime: A full aversion. He speaks in cutscenes even in the DLC where the player controls him.
* HiddenDepths: So sayeth the Heart.
-->'''The Heart:''' His hands do violence. But there is a different dream in his heart.
* HitmanWithAHeart: He murders people for money, but it's nothing personal and all about the money for him, which makes him a much more sympathetic villain than all the power hungry, amoral, over-privileged psychos Corvo normally has to deal with. [[spoiler: Then it turns out that Daud actually comes to deeply regret murdering the empress for all the pain and suffering it has caused to the city of Dunwall and all the people in it [[NiceJobBreakingItHero (Nice Job Breaking It Anti-Villain,)]] at which point you realize he has become a more sympathetic character than [[SociopathicHero Corvo on a high chaos run.]] The Brigmore Witches also reveals that Daud saved the empire by preventing Delilah from possessing Emily.]]
* IfIWantedYouDead: [[spoiler:Dealing with Daud without actually fighting him involves pickpocketing him to prove to him that you can kill him anytime you want.]]
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: In ''Death of the Outsider'', age has caught up to him to the point that he's coughing and can barely stand. [[spoiler:He ends up dying offscreen while Billie is off stealing the Twin-bladed Knife]].
** [[spoiler:It's later revealed that he only became ill because he came into contact with the Knife earlier due to TimeTravel.]]
* InkSuitActor: Looks very much like a younger Michael Madsen.
* ItsPersonal: Because he killed the Empress himself.
* JadeColoredGlasses: Daud has been wearing them for a long, long time, so even when a thought crosses his mind that his crimes might be catching up with him, he quickly dismisses it.
-->''"I'd say I'm being punished, but I know that the world doesn't punish wicked people. We make our choices, and take what comes.... and the rest is Void."''
* LeaveHimToMe: While Daud invokes this trope word-for-word in Low Chaos, it's actually a subversion, as Daud is acting out of respect for Corvo as a WorthyOpponent rather than personal antipathy.
* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: If Corvo has a low Chaos rating, Daud will order his men to leave so he and Corvo can fight one-on-one. He's even good enough to dismiss the assassins that show up to avenge him after Corvo severely wounds him. All bets are off on a High Chaos run, though, as Daud knows Corvo is a complete psycho and isn't taking any chances with him.
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: No matter how villainous you play him in the [=DLCs=], [[spoiler:Delilah]] is much worse.
* MemeticBadass: Like Corvo, he is this in-universe among the general populace. He is spoken of in hushed tone as a mystical dealer of death. Which, to be absolutely fair, is exactly what he is.
* MirrorBoss: He shares several of Corvo's powers.
* MoralityPet: A whole gang of them. He regularly takes in street urchins, refugees, and people with otherwise no place to go, and trains them in his craft. As a result, they are all fiercely loyal and devoted to him. In one note he even explains that he doesn't abandon anyone that wants to stay, even if they can't handle his gift, as long as they train in something else then. During the DLC, Daud is also very quick to explain that he is aware that doom is coming his way, but he doesn't accept his people getting hurt because of it.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Even for a seasoned killer like Daud, regicide seems to be taking things too far. The DLC in particular expose his gradual realization that the death of Empress Jessamine at his hands was what ultimately pushed Dunwall and the Empire over the edge, but even in the main game, he obviously regrets taking on that one job, such as in his last message to Hiram Burrows (recorded just as Corvo approaches his office):
-->''"Good riddance to you, sir. So many schemes you had and so many contracts. How many people did I kill for you? None like the last. None like her. I'd give back all the coin if I could. No one should have to kill an Empress."''
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Canonically, he had Delilah imprisoned in a painting. If he just killed her instead, then she wouldn't have escaped, and the events of ''Dishonored 2'' would never have happened.]]
* NoSell: [[SchmuckBait Go ahead. Try to Possess him]]. Bend/Stop Time doesn't work on him, either. Sleep darts won't drop him, and even Windblast II only staggers him.
* NothingPersonal: For Corvo, it's personal. Subverted for Daud, it was just a job [[spoiler:until he begins to feel guilt and regret for killing the Empress and the effects her death had on the city]]. Even so, he had no reason for killing her beyond the fact that [[ProfessionalKiller he was hired to do so]], so projects an attitude like this to Corvo. However in the DLC, it is shown he's having dreams of his confrontation with Corvo, and The Outsider himself warns him that a reckoning he can't escape for his actions is coming (in the form of Corvo).
* OptionalBoss: Fighting him is completely optional since you can either pickpocket him or just knock him out with a chokehold, which also counts as sparing him.
* OvertOperative: For a covert assassin, Daud certainly has an amazing amount of public exposure. Even before the assassination of Jessamine Kaldwin, he was known by name as the leader of the Whalers and his face was known well enough for Sokolov to paint an accurate likeness in his portrait of the man (though that’s barring the unlikely possibility that Daud actually modeled for it). By Dishonored 2 a biography has been written about him with enough detail to get into his sexuality and that the world gives no reason to believe is speculative.
* PowerTattoo: He has the Outsider's mark.
* ProfessionalKiller: Since his Outsider given talents were well suited to it and his being an assassin is why he killed the Empress in the first place.
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: In DLC notes, Daud has been known to ''curse'' the Outsider both privately and ''to his face''. The Outsider doesn't seem to take him seriously, in as much as the Outsider takes anything seriously. ''Death of the Outsider'' has him and Billie teaming up to finally take the Outsider down for good.
* RedBaron: The Knife of Dunwall.
* RedemptionEarnsLife: [[spoiler:If Corvo spares him. Daud is the only target whose non-lethal fate is actually merciful. The Low Chaos ending of The Brigmore Witches also has Corvo sparing Daud]]
* SlashedThroat: His close combat death animation.
* SpannerInTheWorks: To Delilah. The only reason he got involved, and ultimately foiled her plans, is because the Outsider gave him her name. So he spent months having his Whalers look for this "Delilah", which led to her noticing and making contact with [[spoiler:Billie]] and ultimately leading to Daud foiling Delilah's plans. Even better, when Daud kidnapped Emily, Delilah thought he was on to her. He didn't even know she existed then though.
* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: During their fight, he challenges Corvo to kill him.
* SummonBiggerFish: As a playable character, he can summon one of his Assassins to his side to deal with enemies.
* SuperpowerLottery: Thanks to being empowered by the Outsider, Daud has a variety of powers at his disposal.
** AuraVision: Daud's "Void Gaze" power works like this.
** FlashStep: Due to possessing the "Blink" power, Daud can do this.
** HealingFactor: Daud has this due to his "Vitality" power.
** MindOverMatter: Daud's "Pull" power grants him telekinesis. With an upgrade [[YouWillNotEvadeMe allows Daud to levitare opponets towards him]].
** SummonMagic: Can summon Assassins with the "Summon Assassin" power.
** SuperEmpowering: One of the powers he's granted by the Outsider is the ability to give lesser versions of his powers to those loyal to him. In ''Knife of Dunwall'' Daud muses that his "Arcane Bond" seems to make the reliability and strength of their powers ''directly proportional'' to their loyalty to him.
** TimeStandsStill: The "Bend Time" power gives Daud the ability to do this. His variation of Blink also stops time around him as long as he's standing still, unlike Corvo's.
* TheTeetotaler: According to his biographical book mentioned above, he does not drink as a general rule.
* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: A rare villainous example, assuming Corvo has Low Chaos. He refuses help from his assassins (who are more than willing to give it) and orders them away when they try to come to his aid.
* TouchedByVorlons: Like Corvo, Daud was empowered by the Outsider and has a number of the same powers.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Plays this part in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' when he assassinated Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, setting that installment's plot in motion. Can also be considered this in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored 2}}'' when he opted to trap Delilah in the void (instead of killing her) in ''The Brigmore Witches''.
* VikingFuneral:
** In the High Chaos ending of ''The Brigmore Witches'', [[spoiler:Daud's body is given a pyre, with Billie watching if she's alive.]]
** In ''Death of the Outsider'', [[spoiler:Billie has him go down with the Dreadful Wale once he finally passes away.]]
* VillainousBSOD: [[spoiler:He's started to slip into one by the time Corvo comes across him, expressing regret for the murder of the Empress and wondering if he chose the right path in his life]]. His card in the ''Dishonored'' tarot deck is titled "Regret".
* VillainEpisode: He's the protagonist of ''The Knife of Dunwall'' and ''The Brigmore Witches'' DLC.
* VillainProtagonist: Although, just how much Daud remains one is up to the player. If you want, you can play through the entire DLC non-lethally (just like you could in the main game) and follow the story path of Daud redeeming himself after the murder of the Empress (which, of course, is Low Chaos). Alternatively, you can hack through every living thing between you and your goals and leave a bloody swath marking your path through Dunwall in a High Chaos playthrough where Daud accepts his murderous self. The trophies/achievements for each ending explain it best: [[spoiler:Redemptive Path]] for Low Chaos and [[spoiler:No Regrets]] for High Chaos.
* VillainousAromanticAsexual: According to his biographical book, named after his title, found in ''2'', sex has never interested him (which WordOfGod eventually confirmed). Though, the "villainous" depends on many factors.
* VillainsWantMercy: A mild case. [[spoiler:If Corvo confronts him after defeating him, Daud will calmly tell Corvo that he would like to be spared. That being said, Daud clearly has no real objection to Corvo killing him, and sounds almost awed if Corvo grants his request]].
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Daud opposed Delilah's plot and [[spoiler:saved Emily]] with no expectation of being celebrated for his achievements or being spared by Corvo. He could have very well ignored Delilah since her plot didn't even directly affect him.
* WouldHitAGirl:
** The first time you see him, he's [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbing the Empress through the chest]] with zero hesitation whatsoever. [[spoiler:While he expresses regret later, it has nothing to do with the fact that she's a woman]].
** In ''The Knife of Dunwall'', he has no problems with torturing Abigail Ames for information.
** And in ''The Brigmore Witches'', he's a-okay with stabbing female gang members, the witches, and Delilah herself should the player will it. In short, he takes all his opponents seriously, whatever their gender.
* YouFightLikeACow: If you let the fight drag on, he begins taunting Corvo.
-->'''Daud:''' Fight harder! You're not fighting [[RichBitch Lady Boyle]] now!
* YouCantFightFate: Knew that he would eventually face judgment for his crimes at the hands of Corvo due to prophetic dreams.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Billie Lurk]]
!Billie Lurk
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billy_lurk_concept_art_zpse3447735.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Things would have been different for her, if her young friend had survived the attack all those years ago.'']]
-->'''Voiced by:''' Kristy Wu (''Dishonored''), [[spoiler: Creator/RosarioDawson]] (''Dishonored 2'')
Daud's number two, the most skilled of his Assassins. He holds her in regard that few of his other agents have earned, having her scout locations, gather information on targets, and offer advice.
She is the protagonist of ''Death of the Outsider''.
----
* AbusiveParents: Her mother only ever considered her "another mouth to feed" and often beat her; after her mother went blind from alcohol abuse, Lurk left home (but not without a bit of taunting).
* ActionGirl: She starts off as a DarkActionGirl give her history as a Whaler but she becomes more [[GreyAndGreyMorality morally gray]] over time until she's more of an AntiHero. Nevertheless, she's always been good with a blade.
* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:At the end of the second game, its mentioned she will go and search for Daud. The heart mentions that she has a great destiny waiting for her outside of Dunwall and Karnaca]]. This is explored in the sequel, ''VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider''.
* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:In Dishonored 2, as "Meagan" Her right arm has been cut off at the elbow and her eye was scarred when she broke into Aramis Stilton's home looking for him after he vanished. The home was heavily guarded at the time and she suffered those wounds escaping them. If the protagonist of ''Dishonored 2'' alters history and saves Stilton during "A Crack In the Slab" when they return to the present both her injuries are gone, as she never needed to break into Stilton's home that fateful night.]]
* ArmCannon: Billie wields a voltaic gun in the third game. Some sort of miniature railgun mounted on her left wrist.
* ArtificialLimbs: In ''Death of the Outsider'', she now has an arm made of the void.
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: In ''Dishonored 2'', while she still operates somewhat outside the law, she's distanced herself from her past as a paid assassin, and under the guise of Meagan Foster spends the game helping Emily or Corvo, the daughter or lover of the woman she helped murder.]]
* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler:Since parting ways with Daud, Billie lost her Outsider powers. And by the time the sequel begins, she's no longer in any shape to fight due to losing her arm. However, thanks to the protagonist's tampering of the timeline she not only regains her eye and arm but also becomes a living Time Paradox]].
* TheBusCameBack: In ''Dishonored 2'', [[spoiler:she turns out to be still working undercover, as "Meagan Foster", helping Anton Sokolov]].
* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:After ''Death Of The Outsider'' you can't help but wonder if everything that happened in the history of the 2 previous games (and spin offs) happened mathematically so that Billie was the one who would finally free (or kill) the Outsider and thus depriving the Void of its current divinity.]]
* CradlingYourKill: [[spoiler:She does this to the Outsider, should she decide to kill him.]]
* {{Cyborg}}: In ''Death of the Outsider'', she looks like one but her appendages are Void-based and occult, and not mechanical. Her arm is made of fragments from the Void and the red eye is in fact an artifact called "Sliver of the Eye/Eye of the Dead God" that belonged to the deity before the Outsider and it gives Billie the special ability of foresight.
* DeadpanSnarker: She's very fond of sarcasm.
* EvilMakeover: [[spoiler:She doesn't change any part of her appearance, but her boss battle in High Chaos uses Delilah's powers rather than Daud's, right down to the flower petal effects when she uses Blink. Though presumably, if she had won, Delilah would've modified her uniform into a GardenGarment like the rest of her witches.]]
* EyeScream: Not on herself, but when she was young her friend/lover Deirdre was offhandedly killed by a nobleman who struck her. Lurk's response was to break off part of a wooden ornament and jam it in the nobleman's eye, killing him. Unfortunately, he turned out to be a Duke's son. [[spoiler:She lost her right eye before meeting the protagonist in ''Dishonored 2''. Like her arm, the player can ensure she never lost it during "A Crack in the Slab".]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:If Daud chooses to kill her in Low Chaos, she'll smile a little ruefully and guide his hand in making the strike.]]
* TheFaceless: Like the rest of Daud's minions, she always wears a mask. [[spoiler:She takes it off during the ending of ''The Knife of Dunwall''.]]
* FinalBoss: In High Chaos, [[spoiler:she is the final opponent Daud faces in ''The Knife of Dunwall''.]]
* GhostMemory: In ''Death of the Outsider'', [[spoiler:while she now has her eye and arm intact thanks to Emily tampering with the past, this leaves her with nightmares where she lost them.]]
* GiantEyeOfDoom: After the Outsider replaces her limbs that she had lost in the previous timeline canceled by Emily, Billie gains a huge black stone as eye with a reddish glow that gives her the power to see the fractures of the Void and [[TimeStandsStill stop the time]] to supervise any area. [[spoiler:Later she discovers that this eye is the tiny countepart of the enormous eye that once belonged to the divinity who preceded the Outsider.]]
* IntergenerationalFriendship: [[spoiler:With Sokolov in the second game. Her greatest concern in the early parts is his safety, and the Heart mentions that she sees him as her closest companion, and possibly a father figure.]]
* IWasQuiteALooker: [[spoiler:She was reasonably attractive in ''The Knife of Dunwall'', but the years between the first and second game have given her some very disfiguring scars. If you change the past though, you can undo them.]]
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler:In Low Chaos, she admits her treachery after her attempt on Daud's life goes horribly wrong and accepts her execution or exile. Averted in High Chaos, where Delilah exposes her and Lurk chooses to fight Daud one-on-one.]]
* LadyLooksLikeADude: In the knife of Dunwal DLC, she rather confusingly uses a character model that comprises a mere PaletteSwap of the one used by the standard mook Whalers, the upper torso of which has a very masculine triangular shape.
* LadyOfWar: She is a beautiful woman who always wears makeup with a very pronounced light blue-indigo eyeshadow (when she has both eyes) but she is also one of the most deadly [[ProfessionalKiller professional killers]] in the world, capable of fighting and assassinating opponents twice the size of her without that a single drop of their blood stains the equipment she wears.
* TheLancer: To Daud.
* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: She wears a red cloak to distinguish her from the rest of the Whalers.
* TheLostLenore: No matter how long she lives or how many lovers she has, she's never quite able to get over her teenage love, Deirdre, whose murder set her on the path she walks throughout the franchise.
--> '''Billie''' ''(audio diary):'' "I've loved a number of women, and even a couple of men, but I've never loved anyone like my Deirdre..."
* MeaningfulName: Assassins do tend to lurk around a lot. It also isn't her birth name.
* MirrorBoss: [[spoiler: If you end up fighting her, she fights similar to Daud. Though her Void powers are based on Delilah's abilities rather than Daud's, unlike the Brigmore Witches she generally doesn't use abilities that don't copy the fighting style she learned from Daud.]]
* MrExposition: She provides Daud with the background of his targets and devises strategies to deal with them.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:In Low Chaos she realizes that she was wrong about Daud and becomes greatly distraught that she worked with Delilah.]]
* NoMoreLies: Decides to come clean with you about her past as [[spoiler:the assassin responsible for Jessamine's murder]] on low chaos. On high chaos, she's too afraid to go on with that for a very good reason.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Although she lost both her left eye and arm in the process, she says in an audiographer that she managed to escape by killing all the grand guard present on the night she broke into Stilton's villa.
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: For someone who grew up on the street, Billie is amazingly well connected and has ties to several major character across both games. Besides being Daud's best pupil and taking part in the assassination of Jessamine. [[spoiler:Her part in Delilah's plot meaning she's familiar with both Delilah and Breanna Ashworth. It's also revealed in ''Dishonored 2'' she's also friend with Aramis Stilton before he disappeared, and in the intervening time between both games became Sokolov's closest friend. On top of that Luca Abele's brother killed her lover and she killed him in return, and she also almost murdered Slackjaw once, according to the Heart. And of course in the sequel is an ally of Corvo and Emily.]]
* OneWomanArmy: Even without powers, Billie is an opponent not to be underestimated in combat (how the whole gang of the Eyeless can learn it in the hard way during her mission to free Daud).
* ParadoxPerson: In ''Death of the Outsider'', her new powers don't come from a Mark from the Outsider like Corvo, Daud or Emily. According to Harvey Smith, her powers come from her being "in one state and in another at the same time", which is a direct result of [[spoiler: Emily tampering with Stilton's past.]]
* PlatonicLifePartners: With Anton Sokolov [[spoiler:in ''Dishonored 2'']].
* PromotedToPlayable: She is the playable protagonist of ''Death of the Outsider''. Unlike ''Dishonored 2'', she is the sole protagonist and PlayerCharacter of this adventure.
* RedemptionEarnsLife: [[spoiler:Similar to Daud's own fate in the main game, it's possible to spare Billie, allowing her to leave Dunwall and makes a new life for herself.]]
* RememberTheNewGuy: She was introduced in the DLC and is never mentioned in the main game due to the fact that [[spoiler:she's either dead or exiled by the end of The Knife of Dunwall and Daud regrets her loss enough that he doesn't want to be reminded of it]].
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[spoiler:Part of her motivation for going after the duke in the second game is to avenge the death of her lover, Deirdre, whom he goaded his brother into killing.]]
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Only female assassin shown in game. WordOfGod confirms that Billie was "probably not" the only woman, and a note found in ''Dishonored 2'' suggests at least a few other women were working for "the Big Knife". On the other hand, the Outsider's ending narration for a High Chaos run in Knife of Dunwall says Billie was the only woman Daud ever trained (though we do see that some apprentice Whalers are trained by more senior Whalers rather than Daud himself).
* ShapeShifter: "Semblace" allows her to completely assume the shape of another person by astrally stealing their face and holding it in her normal hand.
* SpontaneousWeaponCreation: [[spoiler:Billie can materialize the Twin-Bladed Knife from her inhuman arm.]]
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:It's revealed at the end of ''The Knife of Dunwall'' that she was secretly working with Delilah to take down Daud. In the Low Chaos path, she ends up going back at the last moment and surrenders while in the High Chaos path, she takes Daud's murderous tendencies as him slipping and goes through with it.]]
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: [[spoiler:As Meagan Foster, she basically serves the same role that Samuel does in the first game, being the one who transports you in and out of places via a boat.]]
* TimeMaster: [[spoiler:Post-Death of the Outsider. In the comics she can stop time, while in the books she can go back in it. She tries to save Daud but ends up instead ensuring that his death happens.]]
* TokenMinority: She's the only dark-skinned person present in Dunwall. [[spoiler:Averted in ''Dishonored 2'', where dark skin is pretty common in Serkonos]]. It's also retroactivly averted in ''The Corroded Man'', as it turns out TheGhost Rinaldo is black too.
* TwoferTokenMinority: She's the only major character in the the first game who is either a) not white, or b) not straight.
* TomboyishName: Which makes her being the only known female assassin in Daud's ranks more surprising.
* WalkingSpoiler: Just about everything regarding her role in the Knife of Dunwall [[spoiler:as well as ''Dishonored 2'' and ''Death of the Outsider'']] means that talking about her to any great degree is going to get into spoiler-y territory.
* WarpWhistle: "Displace" allows Billie to place a mark (which materializes as a broken Billie) in a visible place where she can access and instantly teleport there.
** It also works as a WeaponizedTeleportation when used directly on an individual (even if doing it harms Billie).
* WeaponOfXSlaying: She eventually gains the Twin-bladed Knife, the blade used to [[spoiler:sacrifice the person who would become the Outsider]]. It lets her charge up a SwordBeam to knock enemies around. [[spoiler:After killing the Outsider, however, it loses the ability to use a SwordBeam.]]
* WorthyOpponent: Even in high chaos where she completely turns on Daud, she considers him such and insists on fighting him one on one - in her own words, she wants to do this "properly and with respect". In the following mission, if she was killed and an assassin refers to her as a "witch", Daud himself coldly replies that the "witch" was twice the fighter the assassin would ever be.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Anton Sokolov]]
!Anton Sokolov
[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/228px-Sokolov_7272.png]]
[[caption-width-right:210:''The city owes much to this great mind. Let him drink and find company where he can.'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Roger L. Jackson
Roseburrow's former partner and one of the main people responsible for the industrial revolution that swept over Dunwall. Currently the head of the Academy of Natural Philosophy and Piero's rival. Also an artist, drunkard, whoremonger and [[IJustWantToBeSpecial wannabe mystic]]. Like Corvo, he is a foreigner; in this case, from the remote and frozen Tyvia.
----
* AffablyEvil: He's more ''amoral'' than evil, but he still does some horrific things in the course of his experiments. All the same, he's pretty friendly and talkative with Corvo once he's been bribed with wine [[spoiler:and when Corvo shows up to save him and Piero from Havelock's guards]].
* TheAtoner: In Dishonored 2, he is haunted by how his inventions were used and the human experimentation he did during the rat plague and seeks to atone. Regrets over their pasts is mentioned by the Heart as what unites him and Meagan.
* BeardOfEvil: Though not ''nearly'' as evil as the other targets.
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Inverted in the sequel. If anything, being tortured by Jindosh made him more ''good'', as it reminded him of the many people he experimented on in the past and further compounded his regret.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: [[spoiler: He's the only target that Corvo must capture rather than kill, since he's the only guy capable of finding a cure to the plague. ]]
* CoolOldGuy: Emily seems to regard him as this in the sequel, seeing Sokolov as a CoolTeacher who taught her many interesting things, invented many great machines, and had a lot of funny (and crass) stories to tell.
* DeadpanSnarker: If you take the bottle of Brandy by Campbell while Sokolov is painting his portrait, he will complain that he needs it to "draw the eye away from Campbell". He'll also snark about being asked to paint the fairly ugly Campbell.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: He's rather cordial to Corvo after being captured, and by ''Dishonored 2'', Corvo regards Sokolov with some measure of fondness. Sokolov returns the feelings.
* DefiantCaptive: By the time he's found in the second game, he's been captured by the Crown Killer and tortured by Kirin Jindosh, to no avail. The torture has taken its toll on the old man, but he remains flippant in Jindosh's face, taunting that if Jindosh's electro-torture lobotomy device reduces him to a drooling idiot, he'd welcome being freed from having to endure Jindosh's rantings.
* DirtyOldMan: He makes a few comments that hint at this, and the Heart mentions that he often beds maidservants. Its precise words are that he has "the manners of a Tyvian swineherd." You can also overhear a maid saying she's heard that he "spends more time with prostitutes than he does in the laboratory".
* ExactWords: He makes use of this with one of his test subjects. She asks when she'll be allowed to leave. He promises her that the guards will take her out of her cell in the morning; around noon at the latest. What he fails to tell her is that she won't be ''alive'' by the time they remove her from the cell.
* EvilGenius: To the Lord Regent. Somewhat averted as while he created many of the tools used to enslave the populace, he's also devoting the majority of his efforts to curing the Rat Plague.
* FoodAsBribe: An alternative to feeding him to the rats, he has a favorite alcoholic drink [[spoiler: that can be bought to convince him to do a HeelFaceTurn.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: He's eventually captured by Corvo and "convinced" to side with the Loyalists, though it helps that he has no real fondness for the Lord Regent.]]
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Said verbatim by the Heart in the squeal. As discussed in the game itself, gone is the MadScientist RenaissanceMan who once looked his enemies in the eyes and dared them to kill him, and in his place is a feeble old man living in a dingy, beaten down ship who can hardly take care of himself without Meagan Foster's assistance. An audiograph record reveals he believes himself to only have it in him to make one last painting (of Emily/Corvo), and in Low Chaos endings he simply sails back to Tyvia to live his remaining years in peace and quiet.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: He's obsessed with contacting the Outsider through finding the right sequence of symbols and stars. The Outsider is well aware of his efforts, and doesn't bother to reward them because he believes Sokolov isn't interesting enough. He seems to find Sokolov's conviction that he can be summoned that way both a little amusing and slightly insulting.
** Inverted in the sequel, the heart points out that Sokolov, now haunted by regrets on some of the experiments he did, and the way some of his inventions have been used, is content to fade from the limelight and be forgotten.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Has one with Meagan Foster.
* LackOfEmpathy: It seems to be a learned trait, rather than a fundamental part of his personality. He is completely dispassionate about the below-mentioned test subject, and actually ''hopes'' that her skin will slough off so that the experiment's results match up with his expectations. When the plague has subsided and Sokolov has some time to look back on what he did, he is utterly horrified at the extremes he went to.
* MadScientist: He doesn't have much use for ethics and even keeps a woman imprisoned in his laboratory to use as a test subject to observe the progression of the plague. She's number "312" even to her face, she was originally healthy, and she is evidently not the first.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: In the second game, using the Heart on him reveals that he is haunted by the horrific experiments he performed to end the rat plague.
* NecessarilyEvil[=/=]IDidWhatIHadToDo: Despite his experiments on live humans mentioned above, it's important to remember that he didn't do that to be cruel (some notes and logs by him indicate that he really isn't a fan of unnecessary cruelty, actually), but because observing the progression of the plague and how the various versions of his serum affect it is the most direct route to developing a cure for the rat plague. It's not that he isn't cognizant of the suffering he's causing, it's that the best way to honor their sacrifice is to cure this plague...[[spoiler:which he eventually does by joining forces with Piero.]]
* NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: A skilled painter of portraits who is also an inventor of deadly weapons and respected scientist, Sokolov is {{Steampunk}} Creator/LeonardoDaVinci, albeit without Leonardo's famous good looks.
** He's also very reminiscent of UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk - he's from an in-universe Russia analogue, demonstrates a total disregard for etiquette and personal grooming, dabbles in the occult, has a reputation for lasciviousness, and is closely ingratiated with the ruling powers of the Empire despite his unpopularity amongst its people.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: As well as being an inventor who helped jump-started the industrial revolution, Sokolov is also the Royal Physician attempting to cure the plague.
* PlatonicLifePartners:
** He and Piero develop this dynamic towards the end of the first game. A Low Chaos epilogue reveals that they formed a fulfilling partnership and cured the plague, and one of the elixirs in the second game is named jointly after both of them.
** With Meagan Foster [[spoiler:a.k.a. Billie Lurk]] in the second game. He's a paying guest on her ship, but it's clear that they care about each other deeply and enjoy each other's company a good deal.
* ReallyGetsAround: In the second game we learn he became well known in high society for having trysts with promising artists or scientists.
* RenaissanceMan: As well as being a scientist, inventor and doctor working on creating a cure for the plague (which is used in-game as a health potion), Sokolov is also a renowned painter and sculptor.
* TheRival: To Piero. [[spoiler:When they actually meet, however, they become quick friends and work together to fight the plague]].
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Not he himself, but the titles of his many paintings exhibit names such as ''"The Torturer's Quaternionic Groan"''.
* ShoutOut: To Nikolai Sokolov, the scientist who goes missing in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater''.
* TokenEvilTeammate: He's forcefully recruited to the heroes' side, but remains as amoral as ever. [[spoiler:Subverted in that he doesn't betray Corvo like Havelock, Martin, and Pendleton do, providing support instead and remains loyal to the empire.]]
* TookALevelInKindness: He's considerably nicer and more retrospective in ''Dishonored 2''. Emily sees him as the CoolOldGuy and EccentricMentor from her childhood and Sokolov comes to care greatly for her. Corvo also regards Sokolov rather fondly, having enjoyed the man's stories. Players of the first game remembered him as a MadScientist DirtyOldMan who was desperate for the Outsider's attention, ignorant of the fact that said god had nothing but contempt for him.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: His relationship with Delilah prior to the games proper. While he was supportive of her talents, the sexually exploitive nature of her tutelage likely did little favors for her mental health. Strangely enough, none of the protagonists seem to ever call him out on this, but his habit of [[ReallyGetsAround Really Getting Around]] probably hurt a lot more women than just Delilah, as well as all of Dunwall by furthering her descent into madness.
* VetinariJobSecurity[=/=]SparingTheAces: Part of why people keep him around despite his flaws is that he ''is'' a genius and one of the few people making any headway on a cure for the plague. [[spoiler: Which is also why ''you'' need him around. You can't really afford to lose a mind like this.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Delilah Copperspoon]]
!Delilah Copperspoon
[[quoteright:202:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clipboard01fdgdfg_5466.png]]
[[caption-width-right:202:''She dreams of all the world bowing, but more than that. Loving her. Breathing her name.'']]
[[caption-width-right:370:[[labelnote:Click here to see Deililah's portrait.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/delilah.jpg]][[/labelnote]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Erin Cottrell
A mysterious witch who has history with the Kaldwin family, she first appeared as the antagonist of Daud's DLC. She returns in the second game to once again take over the Empire from Emily.
----
* TheAce: From a purely artistic point of view, especially in the second game, she is very often considered a genius like her old master Sokolov as well as one of the most skilled painters and sculptors of her time. Not to mention that despite not having passed so many years since she was marked by the Outsider compared to Daud and Vera Moray, not only did she immediately learn to unlock and use a multitude of powers but she deepened her knowledge on her magic and the Void at levels in some ways even superior to that of any other marked individual.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Delilah's ambitions are quite grand, far greater than a throne and claiming her birthright; [[spoiler:it extends to becoming a God Empress of the Void, reordering reality and supplanting the Outsider himself]].
* ArchEnemy:
** Initially, Daud is just an annoying threat to get rid of. But as he progresses, Delilah realizes he has a very real chance of stopping her, and decides to consider him as such.
** In the second game, she refocuses her efforts on Emily and Corvo. Her rivalry with Emily is especially personal since Emily Kaldwin is also an illegitimate offspring of royal and common blood, and Delilah wanted everything she had.
** The Outsider for his part considers Delilah the most dangerous person he has ever given his Mark, and he goes out of his way to foil her plans, directly intervening and empowering agents to get in her way.
* ArtAttacker: She can use her statues to detect intruders. In an emergency, she [[MesACrowd can turn them into copies of herself]]. [[spoiler:She also has the ability to use paintings to control people. It's implied that this is how she managed to completely enthrall Timsh. She planned on using a more powerful version of this ability to possess Emily.]]
** In the second game, the statues return as a long-distance communication system she uses to keep tabs on her lieutenants, and her power over paintings has grown to the point where [[spoiler:she can use them to alter reality, with her ultimate plan being [[InTheirOwnImage to completely rewrite the universe into a paradise for herself]].]]
* AndIMustScream:
** Her fate if Daud chooses a non-lethal means of dealing with her. [[spoiler:He replaces the painting of Emily she needs for her ritual with one that depicts a tree in The Void. Once she finishes, instead of possessing Emily, she ends up trapped, unable to die or to affect anything]].
** [[spoiler:Presumably also Emily's fate if she were to succeed with her plan, making the above an IronicHell.]]
* BadBoss: One of her witches realizes that all of the strongest members of the coven are being sent right into Daud's path. This ''is'' savvy of Delilah, but not because she expects them to succeed. Rather, it's to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness get rid of anyone who could overpower her]] [[spoiler:once she's in Emily's ten-year-old body]].
* BastardBastard: If her story is to be believed, then aside from being a self-centered usurper, [[spoiler:she's also the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Euhorn Kaldwin and a kitchen maid.]]
* BerserkButton: Do not compare her unfavourably to Jessamine (and by extension Emily). Don't even ''hint'' that she might not be as classy or graceful or even remotely less admirable than they are. Her temper is mercurial and she hands out death on a whim -- especially to aristocracy, whom she despises for their absence of true loyalty.
* BigBad: For Daud's story arc in ''Dishonored'''s [=DLCs=] and ''Dishonored 2''.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Sokolov, who knew her when they were both younger, points out that she's basically an idealist that wants to make the world better than it is. However, her idea of said better world is one in which everyone and everything bows down to her unquestioningly, and she doesn't care who she has to crush to achieve her goal.
* CallBack: In the second game, [[spoiler:once again the non-lethal way of dealing with her is to trap her in a painting.]]
* ContractualBossImmunity: Actually an ''aversion''; unlike Daud, she's not fully resistant to Bend Time, because her Void power set is different enough from Corvo and Daud's that she doesn't have that ability (like the Royal Interrogator, she won't be completely frozen, but is still noticeably slowed).
* CreateYourOwnVillain: A lot of people over the years made Delilah go down a bad path:
** Her father Emperor Euhorn refused to acknowledge Delilah as his offspring, and forced her to play and befriend Jessamine, his "true" heir. Jessamine herself unthinkingly pinned the blame for her own misdeeds on her, leading to Delilah and her housemaid mother to be removed from Dunwall Tower.
** Delilah then got the worst of Dunwall, seeing how class inequality led her mother to an early grave, a life of hardship and prostitution for her, and where her only real advancement, as student to Anton Sokolov, still involved sexual extortion.
** Finally, the Outsider decided to give an obviously damaged and vengeful individual with righteous grievances his Mark (WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong), and that made Delilah into a threat to the whole of Dunwall society. After realizing his mistake, the Outsider then got Daud to take care of her, and even that backfired when she crawled out of the Void stronger than ever, coming closer than anyone to toppling the Outsider as the God of the Void.
* DepravedBisexual: Confirmed by Harvey Smith to be "openly bisexual", being in a romantic relationship with her second, Breanna, a woman, and the Duke of Serkonos, a man.
* DreamWeaver: From the second game, as a consequence of her absorbing some of the Outsider's powers in order to take his place as divinity, Delilah can invade dreams and transport people to the Void and she used it with Emily in order to show her her version of the story.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Despite her being ItsAllAboutMe, a part of Delilah's bitterness came from the way her mother suffered and died due to [[spoiler: Jessamine's lie]]. She mentioned how her mother died after suffering weeks from a broken jaw and was buried unceremoniously in a coffin too small for her. This was after being forced into extreme poverty and sentenced to Debtor's Prison, even though Euhorn could have at least provided for them when her mother lost her job.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: As manipulative and self-centred as she is, Delilah is shown to care about a few people:
** Her feelings about [[spoiler: her sister Jessamine]] are... complicated... But at the very least when [[spoiler: Jessamine is released from the heart]], Delilah states without a trace of sarcasm that she's glad that the latter is finally at peace and can truly die. Might be because she can sympathise with what it's like to be [[AndIMustScream half alive in an inanimate object]].
** While one might expect that Delilah views the boorish Duke Luca Abele simply as a means to an end, information gleaned from the Heart and her diary shows that she does care about him on some level. Less as a lover and more as a "pet" or a little brother, but she nevertheless does. In particular, Delilah seems to appreciate that the Duke is [[TheUnfettered completely unfettered]] with morality and is pleased to see that he [[TheCaligula turned Karnaca into his personal playground]].
** Similarly, she seemed to have genuine feelings for Breanna Ashworth. The two have, after all, found the coven in Dunwall together and are implied to have been lovers at one point. Delilah [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness does cast Breanna aside]] [[spoiler: if she loses her powers in the non-lethal playthrough]] but Delilah claims it is because seeing Breanna in that state is too painful.
* [[EvilUncle Evil Aunt]]: She is the older half-sister to Jessamine, making her Emily's aunt.
* EvilCounterpart: Especially in the 2nd game, she's this to Emily, much like Daud was to Corvo. Their Outsider-given power sets are also quite similar, much like Corvo's and Daud's are.
** She is also one for Billie Lurk as both have gone through a childhood full of abuses and injustices and have held prominent positions in supernatural terrorist groups. However, while Billie deep inside has kept her empathy and conscience intact and over the years there she has come a deep remorse for the crimes she committed after separating from Daud, Delilah instead continued until the end to see herself as the victim and hold a grudge for old frictions to the point that she is more than willing to inflict death and suffering wherever she goes and reap a lot of innocent victims.
* EvilIsPetty: At the last mission, you can find that she had tossed Emily's doll, Miss Pilsen into a toilet. Delilah is also bitter that Jessamine 'cheated' at parlour games when they were kids.
* FisherKing: Delilah manages to run the city of Dunwall into the ground in the few months she sits on the throne in ''2'', and when Emily or Corvo return to the city in the final mission, it certainly looks the part. The buildings have fallen into disrepair, dead bodies can be found all over the place, and the sky seems to be permanently overcast, giving everything a sickly, decrepit look.
* FreudianExcuse: Delilah Kaldwin had a terrible, unhappy childhood and a traumatic adolescence as an orphan on the run, forced into prostitution and other means limited by class and gender discrimination from harnessing her true potential. As much as it fails to justify her actions, one cannot blame anyone with her upbringing for finding some way to create 'The World As It Should Be', as even Anton Sokolov admits. She has never been happy.
* FinalBoss: Of ''The Brigmore Witches'', as well as ''Dishonored 2''.
* FlowerMotifs: Roses.
* FromNobodyToNightmare:
** In a MotiveRant in the second game, she states that she basically had to claw her way up from the bottom after her and her mother were booted from Dunwall Tower. After her mother's death, she worked in a brothel as a maid before eventually becoming Sokolov's "apprentice".
** More literally, after Daud trapped her in the Void in the DLC, she was essentially nothing, without a body and no real chance to escape. With sheer will and cunning she clawed her way out, becoming one with the Void, communicating to her followers in dreams and starting a conspiracy that results not only in her return but opens the possibility that she could topple the Outsider and remake the world to worship her.
* GardenGarment: A snappy pair of leggings, heeled boots and a coat with a flared waist and a high collar. All of them are covered in thorny vines, leaves and roses true to her motif and powers.
* GodEmperor: What Delilah hopes to become, and what she comes very close to achieving in ''VideoGame/Dishonored2''. It was perhaps her overall goal all along, even in the DLC. This makes her such a threat that the Outsider actively opposes her, [[EnemyMine first tasking Daud with the job in the DLC (despite disliking and disapproving of how the latter used his mark)]] and then turning to Corvo and Emily, [[spoiler:even explaining his personal origins to them, to make them understand how serious a threat she is to ''existence''. Her grand plan involves reordering reality to "The World as it Should Be", an eternally static world where everyone adores her and follows her rule without question]].
* GodhoodSeeker: At the time of Dishonored 2 Delilah was no longer satisfied with becoming the Empress of the Islands and decided to aim directly to rule the world by supplanting the Outsider himself as a divinity.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Her opening play in the actual coup in the beginning of the second game is to start massacring Emily loyalists present in the throne room. It goes downhill from there in Dunwall.
* GreenThumb: She appears to have plant-based powers, most notably with the Blood Briar, a vine that is used to hold enemies in place.
* GrandTheftMe: [[spoiler: Her poem (found by her statue) reveals a plan to possess Emily and rule in her stead.]]
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: [[spoiler:In both ''The Brigmore Witches'' and the second game, neutralizing her non-lethally involves tampering with a ritual she's setting up so that it somehow traps her in another world.]]
* HotWitch: [[spoiler: Timsh certainly thought so, and if her GrandTheftMe plans succeeded considering what Emily looks like now and her parent(s)' appearances as adults she still would have been one.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: As of the second game. [[spoiler:Coming back from the void made her a part of it, and she is starting to merge with the Outsider, to the latter's absolute dismay.]]
* ICouldaBeenAContender:
** Delilah was one of the most intelligent persons of her age, and any age, and Sokolov laments the waste of her potential in her march towards tyranny and revenge. Delilah for her part feels she could have been better and achieved more had her childhood and her life been different and she is obsessed with rewriting the past to achieving her perfect world rather than making best of what she had.
** The mere fact that Delilah had the Outsider's mark proves that she had all the chances to do good, as the Outsider only gives the mark to people who interest him, and whose use of his powers he can't fully predict. Delilah could have used her abilities to create less chaos, and done good, but instead she chose to take her resentment and bitterness out on the world.
* InTheirOwnImage: [[spoiler:Her ultimate plan in ''Dishonored 2'' is to use an amplified version of her painting-based witchcraft to re-write reality into an egocentric paradise, where she's adored by everyone and rules the world without question. The huge painting she crafts for this purpose is even titled "[[ItsAllAboutMe The World As It Should Be]]"]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: Delilah's opinion of a world where her name and face are shown everywhere?
-->'''Delilah:''' This is the world as it ''should'' be.
** Also, as opposed to Sokolov's convoluted mathematical references, all her paintings' names relate to her.
** When Breanna gets DePowered? She can't bring herself to see Breanna in such a state, nevermind how crushed Breanna must be.
* KarmaHoudini: In Dishonored 2's non-lethal elimination she's trapped in her painting of a perfect world without knowing that she didn't actually transform the real world. She doesn't get any real punishment for her actions.
* LeanAndMean: She's also unusually tall.
* LivingStatue: She uses these to spy on people in the City and taunt Daud, as well as act as sentries for her base in Brigmore Manor. They return in ''Dishonored 2'' as a magical communication system that Emily[=/=]Corvo can use to trade banter with her on two occasions.
* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler: Her fate in ''Dishonored 2'' if she's dealt with non-lethally. Because of Corvo[=/=]Emily messing with her magic, she gets trapped inside her painting of her perfect world, believing it to be the real world, allowing her to harmlessly live out her fantasy (starting at her childhood) of being the world's beloved savior and eternal god-empress (even of Pandyssia) while the real world takes its true course]].
* MadArtist: Her artistic talents are present in everything she does; her paintings even often look mad and unsettling to others, and if she wasn't like this before the Outsider gave her his mark she has certainly gone mad with the powers she now has access to.
* MeaningfulName: [[spoiler:She's Jessamine's bastard sister, without any of the privilege of the Kaldwin name. In other words, instead of being born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she was born with a copper one]].
* MesACrowd: She turns her statues into perfect copies of herself if you try to take her on directly and retains the move in the sequel.
* NoSell: At the beginning of ''Dishonored 2'', Corvo immediately stabs her through the chest once she starts trying to cause trouble. She shrugs it off completely and takes away his Mark of the Outsider, de-powering him. [[spoiler: It turns out she's immortal due to having transferred her spirit into a SoulJar. In the final battle, you can impale her with finishing moves all day and it'll just annoy her, unless you return her spirit to her body first.]]
* NotQuiteDead: She returns in ''Dishonored 2'', having somehow escaped her fate at the hands of Daud. [[spoiler: It's strongly suggested that Daud sealed her in the Void instead of killing her outright; this turns out to be a case of NiceJobBreakingItHero, as it allowed Delilah to locate the place where the Outsider was created and assimilate a portion of his power.]]
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:If Daud sabotages her ritual, by the time she finds out it's too late for her to fix it.]]
* OverarchingVillain: She is one of the few characters to appear in both ''1'' and ''2'' and the only one that every PlayerCharacter (Corvo, Daud, Emily, Billie) have opposed and who even the Outsider turns against, making her the most recurrent and dangerous threat, second only to The Outsider.
* PowerEchoes: She speaks with a bit of an echo to her voice.
* PsychopathicManchild: After a rather crappy childhood, Delilah decides to had her revenge on the world, first by forcibly taking back her throne. During two months Dunwall is under the reign, the entire city is in a worst condition than in was during the Rat Plague not only due to her tyranny but also due to her negligence. As Emily learned, birth doesn't give a person the right to rule, they have to earn it first.
* RealityWarper: Her highest form of magic is capable of achieving this with her paintings. She can impose the painted world on to the real world.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Delilah sees her life's ambition as getting revenge on Dunwall, the Empire, the World and even The Outsider, all of whom at various movements have made her life a living hell, and she pushed back against them all intending to "take back what's hers".
* ShroudedInMyth: Up until ''Dishonored 2'' no one knew anything about her. She tells you a little; she was friends with the Empress Jessamine when they were girls, for instance. Aside from that, almost nothing. There are hints that she's Jessamine's illegitimate half-sister [[spoiler: which is more or less confirmed in the sequel. We also learn about most of her life before she was marked, and it's not a happy story.]]
* SpookyPainting: She's a gifted painter who seems to have a preference for portraits from life - like Sokolov, to whom she was actually an apprentice - but unlike his meticulous and realistic style, her paintings are garishly colorful, borderline-abstract, and unsettling to look at. [[spoiler:It turns out this is how she uses her powers; whoever or whatever she paints, she can control to some extent. In the second game, she discovers she even warp reality using her paintings.]]
* SuperEmpowering: Like Daud, she can grant her followers lesser versions of her own powers.
* TakenForGranite: In the second game, one of her new powers consists in slamming the heel on the ground in order to create a linear fracture which, if it hits the target, transforms it into a statue, using it already at the beginning of the game against the character who is not chosen as playable.
* TeacherStudentRomance: Delilah implies that she and Sokolov had one when she was under his "tutelage", though the way she says it suggests that Sokolov extorted sexual favors from her.
** She herself has one with one of her apprentices, [[spoiler: Breanna Ashworth, the director of the conservatory]].
* TookALevelInBadass: Goes from being a villain in a 2-Part DLC campaign to being the headline villain in the sequel, a fairly rare occurrence. You later learn that she went so far as to [[spoiler:merge herself with the Outsider's essence at the place where he was created, gaining the beginnings of the power to usurp him. This is also why the Outsider interferes and helps you more than he did the last time -- he has a personal stake in the outcome.]]
* TragicVillain: Delilah's life is one of pain, misery and sadness, and she pushed back with her fierce intelligence and ambition. Born a bastard princess, Delilah could have inherited the throne the same way Emily did. Unfortunately, the legitimate daughter of the Emperor framed her for destroying a valuable object and her father cared nothing for her, causing Delilah to be thrown into the streets, which caused her StartOfDarkness. Sokolov laments the great waste of her incredible potential in the sequel, noting that she could truly have made the world better had she not been so fixated on revenge.
* TouchedByVorlons: She has the Outsider's mark, as well as the ability to spread her powers to her minions like Daud.
* TheUnfavorite:
** According to her, her childhood was spent being disregarded by her father the Emperor in favor of Jessamine due to the latter's legitimacy.
** Also to the Outsider, which is quite the feat considering his nature. Among those marked by the Outsider, her mark is the only one he regrets enough to ''directly empower people to try to stop her.''
* TheUsurper: In the second game, she takes a much more direct approach to taking the throne by instigating a coup against Emily backed by the Duke of Karnaca.
* TheVamp: Uses her feminine charms on Timsh to get him to work for her, and according to WordOfGod, she did the same with Billie.
* VillainousCheekbones: To go with the general angular and slim theme of her appearance.
* VillainousValor: Unlike Hiram Burrows and Farley Havelock, Delilah Copperspoon is a woman of conviction and fierce courage. She is intelligent, charismatic and determined. She crawled out of an extra-dimensional prison more powerful than ever. The Outsider admits that anyone else in her situation would have floated endlessly in the Void, but not Delilah, and even he was surprised at what she achieved.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Outsider]]
!The Outsider
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_outsider.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''The one who walks [[AlternateDimension here]] is all things. [[{{God}} Cradle songs of comfort]] and [[{{Satan}} bones gnawed by teeth]].'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Billy Lush (''Dishonored'', Daud DLC, ''Dishonored 2'' reveal trailer), Creator/RobinLordTaylor (''Dishonored 2'', ''Death of the Outsider'')
Described as being a combination of God and the Devil, The Outsider is a sometimes-worshiped and sometimes-reviled (currently reviled) figure in the Isles and considered to be the source of all magic. He imbues Corvo with magic via a PowerTattoo near the beginning of the game, after Corvo escapes from prison.
----
* AffablyEvil: Whatever else he is, the Outsider certainly doesn't come off as a {{jerkass}} in his manner of speaking. He is neither a benevolent or malevolent god, and he actively opposes [[spoiler:Delilah's threat to reorder reality]].
* AllPowerfulBystander:
** In the first-game. Besides handing out his Mark, the Outsider doesn't directly interfere on the plot. He gives people powers, but makes no attempt to control or make them use said powers in any specific ways. He is far more active in the Daud DLC and the sequel.
** In the DLC he extends his involvement by giving Daud Delilah's name as a starting point. Otherwise he's content to let Daud figure it out and criticize how Daud used his gift, and taunt him with the retribution both of them know is coming in the form of Corvo.
** In the second game. The Outsider seems to be incapable of directly dealing with and attacking Delilah ([[spoiler:who has become part of him]], and thus immortal and someone he cannot directly affect). He nonetheless opposes her and repeatedly tells Emily and Corvo how serious a threat she is. At the same time he sticks to his "minimal involvement" rules and avoids giving information to Emily or Corvo about the conspiracy. It's once they figure out the practical parts that he fills in the more esoteric and supernatural details. The only time that he directly aids the protagonists, besides when he offers his Mark [[spoiler:and the Heart necessary to extract Delilah's spirit]], is in Aramis Stilton's mansion, when he gives them the timepiece, because otherwise it'd be literally impossible for them to proceed further. Even when he's directly concerned, he favors having mortals act freely of their own will and work things out on their own.
* AmbiguouslyEvil:
** Given that runes and charms with his markings on them give people nightmares and [[BrownNote headaches]], seem to attract the plague rats, and in several cases cause the possessor to outright spiral into self-destructive or murderous insanity, one can see where the Abbey is coming from when they say he's evil. He's rather giddy when he [[spoiler:points out that the collapsing, corrupted empire simply needed Corvo's help to finally tear itself to pieces]] in the worst ending. In the best ending, he's more aloof - [[spoiler:though he does make a point of saying a sincere farewell when Corvo reaches the end of his life]]. He seems to find the non-lethal fates (where Corvo inflicts poetic vengeance on his targets rather than simply killing them) more amusing than the alternatives, but it's unclear whether their suffering or the "poetic" aspect appeals to him more. What ''is'' clear is that he's genuinely shocked if Corvo doesn't abuse his powers; he firmly believes that HumansAreTheRealMonsters, and that he's SeenItAll. What entertains him most of all is Corvo acting contrary to his expectations.
---> '''The Outsider''': I've lived a long, ''long'' time, and ''these'' are the moments that I wait for.
** The 'evil' part is downplayed in ''The Knife of Dunwall'' and ''The Brigmore Witches''. The Outsider's tone and words to Daud are more hostile than to Corvo, critical of his choice to kill the Empress and his newfound troubled conscience. Also worth noting that he sets the entire plot into motion so [[spoiler:Daud can save Emily from Delilah]]. In fact, he's pretty benevolent, all things considered: his admittedly minimal involvement is the sole and only reason Daud gets involved with the Witches' plans. Had the Outsider not told Daud anything, no one would've been there to stop Delilah. On top of that, in setting Daud on this path, he offers Daud a chance to earn himself a bit of redemption for his earlier deeds.
** In ''Dishonored 2'', it's almost absent. While we still see bad stuff happen to people who use bone charms, and bloodflies and rats clearly are attracted to the charms, the Outsider himself is far more critical of the way things are in Karnaca, and how Corvo and Emily have not been paying attention to Serkonos while they were in power, allowing this to unfold. He still firmly points out that HumansAreTheRealMonsters and seems more contemplative on if Corvo and Emily will learn from this, and pull Karnaca from the brink.
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: His true form is that of a partially petrified version of himself screaming from being sacrificed. Judging by his relieved reaction if Billie restores his humanity, being an avatar of the Void was a very unpleasant experience.]]
* AnimalMotifs: He's associated with both whales and rats. Many writings tell of his true form as a Leviathan, and the bone charms and runes you use to upgrade your powers and speak to him are carved from whale bone. On the other hand, rats swarm towards runes and bone charms, and you can summon rats using his powers.
** Hell, in the second game during his first appearance, a large whale appears right behind him and 'swims' on by as he speaks.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: [[spoiler: A "representational" entity born of the Void's desire to perceive things, per WordOfGod. At 15 a poor human boy was merged with the Void, "spawning" what he is now.]]
* ArchEnemy: Delilah is this to him. He goes out of his way, and directly appoints people to put a stop to her. Be they Daud, Corvo or Emily. The reason for this is that Delilah wants to become a god and usurp him, and he believes she would actively harm and damage existence itself.
* BigBad: He's the primary villain of ''Dishonored: Death of the Outsider''.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: His solid black eyes are one of his most obviously inhuman aspects and while "evil" may be up for debate, his morality is unlike that of humans, and things with his mark, be they people or objects, tend to be unnerving and strange. [[spoiler:He loses them at the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', regardless of whether you choose to kill him or free him.]]
* BlueAndOrangeMorality:
** The Outsider has been described as "amoral", having elements of both {{God}} and the [[{{Satan}} Devil]]. He's more of an agent of fate than either good or evil. For instance, he gives a small boy the power to summon demonic rats, which the boy uses to slay some bullies. However, the boy is bitten by one of the rats and becomes infected with the plague, which he eventually dies from. On the other hand, if Corvo does not use his powers to kill, the Outsider compliments him for being intriguing. His sole motivation seems to be relieving his own boredom. The well-being of those he grants his Mark to really doesn't factor in at all.
** Note that he does have an understanding of morality (he will regularly comment on the various crimes and atrocities done by Corvo or Daud's victim, often in a judgemental tone), but he is ultimately unconcerned about handing out punishment or rewards himself, more interested on the stance his chosen ones take on the issue. As per Harvey Smith, developer of ''Dishonored'', The Outsider is motivated by plain curiosity and fascination; his chief interest is finding out what people who are given his powers do with them, what their choices and actions are.
** In the sequel, the Outsider is firmly against the arrival of any malevolent deity and [[spoiler:the aspirations to godhood by someone as unfit as Delilah Copperspoon, and he actively tells Corvo/Emily that they must oppose her before she becomes all-powerful]]. The one reason is that for all of his amorality and aloofness, the Outsider does value free will, the power of choice, and the ability to enact change, and Delilah's vision of the world would rob everyone of that.
* TheChessmaster:
** Comes off as this when [[spoiler:you realize the only reason the Empress was assassinated is due to the Outsider empowering her assassin. Then he empowers ''Corvo'' to assassinate the people who hired the assassin]]. In all fairness, he is stated to be simply an agent who empowers people to drive forward the fate of the world, for better or for worse.
** Even more so in ''The Knife of Dunwall''[=/=]''The Brigmore Witches'', where he's the one that sets Daud upon the path that leads him to [[spoiler:save Emily from Delilah]]. Had he never clued in Daud by giving him Delilah's name, Daud would never have began searching for her and Delilah's plan would've succeeded without ''any'' opposition. The only reason Daud involves himself at all is because the Outsider makes him.
** Of course, he has a major blindspot. The Outsider can see everything anyone ''might'' do, but he can never be certain what they ''will'' do. Presumably when he gave the mark to Delilah Copperspoon, he didn't think she would eventually use the power to crawl out of the Void stronger than ever, let alone [[spoiler:attempt to become a GodEmperor]].
*** This is actually his modus operandi: the only people who receive his mark are those who he has no idea what they will do with it. When Billie argues in ''Death of the Outsider'' that so many beggars and street urchins pray to him everyday for his gift, he essentially calls their calls boring.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: He gave the Outsider's Mark to Delilah, enabling her to start a murderous cannibalistic coven and become an aspiring tyrant, and then a usurping GodEmperor who apparently had a chance of toppling him. The Outsider goes out of his way to fix his mistake.
* CreepyMonotone: Not robotic or unnatural, just disinterested. You can tell he's intrigued by something when his tone of voice actually ''varies''. It doesn't happen often. This changes in the sequel with his new voice actor which gives him a more youthful and slightly more energetic voice, although he still maintains an even tone.
* TheCorrupter: He gives people down on their luck the power to take revenge. Although he seems to prefer when people are more original than just feeding their enemies to the rats and finds the concept of mercy fascinating, but that's because he expected a bloodbath.
* DeadpanSnarker: Shades of this.
-->'''The Outsider:''' [Sokolov] believes that there are [[SummoningRitual specific words and acts that can compel me to appear before him]]. He searches old temples in Pandyssia and ruined subbasements in the Flooded district. He performs [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgusting rituals]] beneath the Old Abbey. But if he ''really'' wants to see me, he could start by being a bit more interesting.
-->'''The Outsider:''' ''(to Daud)'' I see everything. I see forever, and right now I see a man walking a tightrope over a sea of blood and filth. The Empress is dead, and the water's rising. You'd better hurry. You're running out of rope.
-->'''The Outsider:''' Corvo, old friend, do I even have to say it? You've lost another Empress.
-->'''The Outsider:''' I'm a friend of your father. From the bad old times.
* DeityOfHumanOrigin: His OriginStory. [[spoiler:He was a young human outcast who was, at the age of 15, subjected to a magic ritual in which he was merged in part with the Void to become a "being of insatiable curiosity about what people do when given power over others."]]
* DidntSeeThatComing: The Outsider can see everything, all possible futures and possibilities, but he can never entirely predict human nature:
** In the first game, he's quite surprised at some of your choices, especially if you take a pacifist route. He is absolutely taken aback if you spare Daud despite having every reason to kill him.
** In the second game, he admits that [[spoiler:he didn't expect Delilah Copperspoon to have escaped the Void after Daud trapped her. He notes that anyone else would have remained floating for all eternity, but someone of Delilah's will, determination, cunning and courage rejected that fate and emerged more powerful than ever with an eye to usurping the Outsider's own place in the Void -- becoming the only known person to present a genuine threat to him]].
** In ''Death of the Outsider,'' he admits that while he can see almost all possible outcomes of all possible actions, he's completely blind to what happens in a future where he, for any reason, doesn't exist.
--> '''The Outsider''': What will it be like, to finally experience an ending? I see forever, and even I can't see that future.
* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:He goes out this way, should Billie decide to kill him.]]
* DisappointedInYou: The Outsider has low expectations to begin with, but even then he's considerably disappointed when people show no imagination in using his powers, as he expresses to Daud at the start of the DLC. In the sequel he expresses this to both Corvo and Emily, shrugging off their ruthless and cold actions as typical and unsurprising for humans.
* DreamWeaver: He has the power to visit people in their dreams and transport them to the Void to revive their respective life experiences, so much so that he chooses most of the individuals to whom donate his Mark in this way.
* EldritchLocation: The Void, where he lives.
** It appears to be endless sky-blue nothingness with twisted and frozen pieces of normal reality floating within it. Gravity there is ''odd'' and water doesn't flow the way you'd expect it to, nor do lights cast normal colours. The Heart describes it as untouched by time so neither seconds nor centuries pass. It may be where souls go after death or where people go when they dream. Or both.
** In the sequel, the Outsider describes the Void's nature himself. He explains that it is not exactly a place; it exists in every person. It's not so much another dimension as the space between dimensions. The way it seems to appear when characters dream and the description by Corvo of it being a place of endless cold makes it reminiscent of Creator/HPLovecraft's plateau of Leng, which at various times is likened to a planet on the borderlands between dreams and dimensions.
* EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity: He "gifts" select mortals with his powers for fairly vague purposes, mostly to see what potential chaos they can create.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: The only time in the game the Outsider is ever at a loss for words is [[spoiler:if you spare Daud on a low chaos playthrough. Corvo's subversion of the basic human desire for revenge leaves him utterly stunned]]. He regains his composure pretty quickly and commends you for getting more and more interesting, but other comments indicate he believes that corruption is "the nature of man", not kindness.
* {{Expy}}: Visually he looks a fair bit like one of the Endless from Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', especially Morpheus/Dream. He shares the somber, sardonic and slightly EmoTeen characteristic of Morpheus and likewise has the same sense of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HumansAreMorons sentiment.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Theorized. In the Abbey's description he is not a physical being, but a tempting, corrupting immaterial spirit. [[spoiler:However, WordOfGod says that he in fact does not change appearance, and looks almost the way he did when his life as a human was "interrupted". ''Death of the Outsider'' confirms this when the Outsider is returned to mortal life, in one of the endings, looking just like he did when he was alive]].
* FigureItOutYourself: His default MO. Especially in ''Dishonored 2'', where despite being more closely involved with the events and invested in them, he doesn't give Corvo/Emily any info on the conspiracy or on how to beat Delilah, until absolutely necessary, or until the protagonist has themselves discovered the information, at which point he will elaborate on it.
* ForTheLulz: He does some appallingly bad things as well as some good things, well in a sense anyway. Ultimately he just grants the powers and lets people do whatever they want with them seemingly because he's bored out of his skull being God. Good or bad don't seem to factor into it as much as 'interesting' for him to observe.
* GodIsEvil: The Abbey of the Everyman thinks so, at least - they despise the Outsider, but don't appear to recognize any other deity as being on his level. In reality, he's more... [[BlueAndOrangeMorality different]] than evil. [[spoiler:The Outsider also tasks the player to help out the Overseers in ''Dishonored 2'', noting about Liam Byrne that he's a honest preacher who is sincerely opposing Delilah, and that the player must protect the Abbey, as he sardonically notes, from "people like us"]].
* GreaterScopeVillain: Well, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality he's not really evil]] in the traditional sense of the word, but still, he's indirectly responsible for a lot of the bad things that happened to Corvo and Emily, [[spoiler:because he gave his mark to Daud and Delilah, which makes him indirectly responsible for all the death and destruction that they've caused in the first and second games. He's also responsible for the existence of a few minor antagonists, like Granny Rags. Plus, a lot of people died or were driven insane [[GoMadFromTheRevelation simply by worshipping him, so]]...]]
* HumanityEnsues: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', Billie can choose to turn the Outsider back into a mortal by convincing Daud's spirit that he deserves a chance at life.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: He looks like a pretty regular young man, complete with dirty clothes. If it weren't for the pitch-black eyes and the shadows and stars swirling around him, you might be tempted to think him just another ordinary human. It's not clear what he is, but it ''is'' clear that whatever he is, it's ''not quite right''.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: More apparent in the first game than in the second game as he's quick to call out almost everyone for being horrible. Potentially due to being omnipresent, at least tangentially linked to linear time, and stuck watching the rat plague go on where thousands are dying and people are being even more horrible to one another then usual. That alone would put a damper on anyone's hope for humanity. By the second game, while he still isn't exactly humanity's biggest fan he does point out more genuinely decent people and acknowledges that many more at least have good motivations for doing bad things.
** He makes more than one comment that strongly implies that he believes the "nature of man" to be cruel and corrupt. A nonlethal Corvo seems to incite his curiosity precisely ''because'' of this: Corvo is choosing, of his own free will, to act in complete opposition to everything the Outsider believes humans to be. The only time the Outsider is ''ever'' shown to be genuinely taken aback is if [[spoiler:Corvo chooses to spare Daud]]. Regardless, it doesn't seem to change his opinion or even make him reconsider; rather, he indicates that he sees Corvo as the exception that proves the rule.
** He doesn't have the attitude in the second game so much. He's even regretful mostly because he empowered Delilah, who ended up becoming a threat not only to the Empire but ''existence'' itself since she was on her way to godhood. In the second game he seems to lament the wasted potential and talent of the many targets you have to meet on your way, and how they use it for evil (Jindosh), waste their good fortune (Abele), use compelling FreudianExcuse to excuse and abet tyranny (Breanna Ashworth), and likewise feels the same about Delilah, who could have been a force of great brilliance and change but was driven to create what she imagined as a perfect and static world to worship her instead.
* ICannotSelfTerminate: [[spoiler:Ultimately, the Outsider wants his ordeal as the Void's executor to end, be it through being returned to mortality as a human or death, so in a sense, it can be interpreted that his aiding of Billie despite knowing her intentions is to facilitate this goal.]]
* IJustWantToBeNormal: [[spoiler:The Outsider is merely the dream-like apparition of a human boy trapped and frozen in the Void. What the Outsider truly wants is to be released from his prison and regain his humanity and complete his mortal life, since spending 4000 years watching generations of humanity come and go is apparently an experience that bothers him as time goes on. In ''Death of the Outsider'', Billie remarks that despite knowing her and Daud's intentions to kill him, he openly comes in and helps them along the way, proving that he wants some kind of end, either death or loss of power]].
* IKnowYourTrueName: [[spoiler:He can be freed from the Void by whispering his true name to his body.]]
* ItAmusedMe: Seems to be his primary motivation for gifting people supernatural powers. He seems to enjoy seeing how people will use his 'gift' and watching the choices they make.
* MeaningfulName: He is '''The Outsider'''. He never directly influences anyone. He may give you powers, but he only watches from the outside.
* NeutralNoLonger: In ''Dishonored 2'', the Outsider is far more pro-active and clearly on the side of the protagonist (not that it stops him from criticizing them and wondering if Corvo/Emily will learn from this experience and make the world better). He just firmly dislikes what Delilah is doing. His involvement is best seen by him [[spoiler:giving the protagonist the time piece to time travel in the Stilton Manor - the only time in the game he manifests ''outside'' the Void]]. Without this particular involvement, the protagonist would've been unable to find how to break Delilah's immortality. [[spoiler:He also notes that Delilah's tampering with the Void has made her part of him, and he doesn't like that.]]
* OffscreenTeleportation: He shows up in dreams, visions, and at shrines that people clandestinely erect in his name.
* TheOmniscient: The Outsider seems aware of everything going on, and at one point will mention he can see every path a person's future can possibly take and demonstrate it by commenting [[spoiler: on both fates you can inflict on Lady Boyle]]. However, this is played with a little. Even though he can see every choice you ''can'' make he doesn't seem to know for sure which one you ''will'' make. As already mentioned, Low Chaos Corvo surprises him constantly and can stun him speechless with the right actions.
-->'''The Outsider:''' No one's watching Delilah now, except you. And me, of course. I see everything. I see ''forever''.
* OverarchingVillain: Though not necessarily villainous, the marks that he gives to various people, more specifically Daud and Delilah, are what allowed them to commit their deeds in the first two games and expansion packs. He also appeared in those first two games and expansions before becoming the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider Death of the Outsider]]'', being the only character to appear in all of them. According to the WordOfGod, the MythArc [[spoiler:ends once The Outsider is no more.]]
* PetTheDog:
** He's normally perfectly content to allow those he's Marked to do whatever they like, including fight each other. There is one exception: he gives Daud the clue to find Delilah, in order to [[spoiler:prevent her from possessing Emily. No explanation for this is given other than him just wanting her to stay safe]].
** Word of God states that [[spoiler:he generally has a problem with powerful people that abuse the powerless, because he was powerless himself as a human. Many of his comments to Corvo, after his betrayal by the Loyalists and his assessment of his targets, have him speak in a disappointed tone about how people do bad things and never seem to learn from their mistakes]].
* PrescienceIsPredictable: He says he sees all paths a person's future can take, but he seems more interested in finding out ''which'' of them is chosen. Could explain his disinterest in appearing to Sokolov. He knows ''exactly'' how Sokolov would use his powers -- studying them and trying to replicate them. The lack of uncertainty makes him uninteresting. It may also explain why he sends Piero dreams despite him also being a scientist: Piero is more a tester that makes a loose speculation and hopes it works out instead of properly studying it and making theories like Sokolov, thus keeping Piero at least interesting enough to have The Outsider interfere occassionally.
* ProphetEyes: In ''[[VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider Death of the Outsider]]'' [[spoiler:after he returns to his original mortal form in the Low Chaos ending, he has very striking grey eyes which highlight his mystical connection to the Void and reflect his former status as something akin to an oracle.]]
* PowerTattoo: He appears fond of handing these out, though it's not clear why other than that the people he picks are "pivotal" to the fate of the world. A dark charity? Cruel amusement? To sow chaos? Who knows? The Outsider does not usually influence the people he grants the mark in any way; the choice of how to use the powers he gives them is up to the recipient, but he does only choose "special", ''interesting'' people for it.
* PowersThatBe: Rather than purely good or evil, The Outsider is merely seen as an agent of fate, interfering in lives that are pivotal to the world's destiny, for better or for worse.
* Really700YearsOld: In the "mercy" ending of "Death of the Outsider", the Outsider is BroughtDownToNormal and becomes fully human again, leaving him as an ordinary man with 4,000 years of all the knowledge of the universe in his head. Billie is curious about what kind of life such a person will find in the world.
* RedRightHand: His black eyes and his shadowy/starry aura.
* TheScapegoat: The Abbey blames all human failings on corruption from him and the Void. In truth, he has almost nothing to do with any of it; even if he's behind the witches and bone-charms (which is ambiguous), he never ''makes'' anyone do anything. He is in fact disappointed when people give in to revenge and other baser instincts. In ''Death of the Outsider'', [[spoiler:it is revealed that the highest-ranking members of the Abbey know that he is not the source of all evil, and are worried that they will lose all their power if he dies and they can no longer blame him for everything]].
* SpellMyNameWithAThe: He's never referred to as 'Outsider'. It's always '''The'' Outsider'.
* SuperEmpowering:
** Rather than directly manipulate the world, he prefers giving people he finds interesting powers and seeing what they'll do. Notably, while Bone Charms do seem to work for everyone, the Runes are only really useful to those touched by the Outsider. Everyone else sort of goes insane.
** [[spoiler:It's also ''sort of'' his OriginStory as well. The creature we know as the Outsider is ultimately an "avatar" or "figure" of the Void. Born three thousand years before "the Great Burning" (the first year of the Empire's calendar), as a young outcast boy of fifteen he somehow merged with part of the Void]].
* SupportingProtagonist: The Outsider is the only character to appear in all three released games and expansion packs, making him the central figure and driving character of the entire story. In ''Dishonored 1'' he has the most lines of dialogue and narrates the closing scenes of the game. Most of the lore, mystery, and gameplay depends on his powers and abilities and those he chooses to empower, [[spoiler:and his death or depowerment in ''Death of the Outsider'' marks the EndOfAnAge for the series]].
* TermsOfEndangerment: "My dear Corvo", in the trailer; Daud he refers to with some amusement as "my old friend". He's not exactly malicious, but he's ''definitely'' not benign.
* TimeAbyss: He looks young, but he's very, very old, having existed for millennia and seen the rise and fall of civilizations. He remarks upon the one before the Empire of the Isles, which has been gone for long enough that most aren't aware it ever existed; he's unmoved or even mildly bored during most of the plot, giving the impression that he's already SeenItAll; and the one time he seems surprised, he outright says that he's "lived a long, ''long'' time". The Heart describes his dwelling-place as "the end of all things, and the beginning". It's unlikely that time as humans perceive it has any meaning to the Outsider.
* TookALevelInKindness: In the second game [[spoiler:in Low Chaos interactions with Emily and Corvo, he is a good deal softer and less creepy than he was with Corvo in the first game. Rather than float off a few inches off the ground and look aloof, he moves around and interacts with them less as a god-and-supplicant and more as near-equals. The Outsider even reveals his origin to them, a privilege not many have ever known]].
* {{Troll}}: There's no other description for his reaction after reuniting with Corvo in the second game:
--> '''The Outsider''': ''(appears out of thin air)'' Corvo, old friend! Do I even need to say it? You've lost another Empress!
* TheUnfought: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', his petrified echo is encountered by Billie and she's simply given a choice to release or kill him. Billie even lampshades this, as she was clearly expecting to have to fight an omnipotent god at the end of her quest.]]
* WasOnceAMan: Part of being a DeityOfHumanOrigin.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: [[spoiler:Since he was himself powerless as a human and subjected to a lot of abuse]], he is very curious about how people who are suddenly given power over others behave themselves and what choices they make.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:The Outsider was really an unwilling sacrificial lamb to the Void by a Cult whose only form of contact to the outside world was to give people his mark along the powers that come with it, and let them carry out their chaotic and destructive desires. When Billie Lurk finally sees The Outsider's true form, a petrified boy in constant agony, her view of him can go from an uncaring monster to an unfortunate victim who never wanted to become this.]]
* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: ''Possibly'' averted, as an in-game book implies The Outsider is actually a eldritch-style whale residing in the deepest ocean; during your first visit to the Void, [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121022185011/dishonoredvideogame/images/0/0a/Leviathan.png you can actually see said whale floating in the ether]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Heart]]
!The Heart
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-The_Heart_5836.png]]
[[caption-width-right:200:''"Why am I so cold?"'']]
->''"What have they done to me?"''
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AprilStewart
The heart of a living thing, molded by the Outsider's power. Given to Corvo as a gift by the Outsider just after he receives the Mark. In addition to assisting you in finding various mystical items strewn throughout Dunwall, it whispers a great many secrets regarding the city and its inhabitants.
----
* DissonantSerenity: Save for a few instances, its tone is calm and serene, even when talking about horrific things.
-->'''The Heart:''' ''(about a maid)'' If she lives until tomorrow, her day off, she will be mauled by weepers and left for dead.
* DowsingDevice: Assists Corvo in finding runes and bone charms scattered around the city.
* DreamingOfTimesGoneBy: The Heart knows a great deal about the history of places and people.
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: It also occasionally makes predictions about things that haven't happened yet.
* ExpositionFairy: Knows an unnervingly large amount about just about everyone and everything you point it at, if you ask. Notably, she herself finds her extensive knowledge fearful and sorrowful.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Is most likely the SoulJar of a dead woman locked in a state of helpless observation only. This woman is almost certainly [[spoiler:Empress Jessamine]], given her comments and attitudes. [[spoiler:She also shares Jessamine's voice actress]].
* LiteralMetaphor: It's fair to say that Corvo was indeed [[spoiler:given Jessamine's heart, since they loved each other]]. When occupied by another soul, [[spoiler:Delilah's]], it turns dark and twisted. [[spoiler:Thus, as we already knew, Delilah is black-hearted.]]
* {{Magitek}}: The heart of a living thing, kept alive by clockwork and the Outsider's magic.
* MurderArsonAndJaywalking: The secrets it reveals about people span from murder, mutilations and intentional spreading of the plague to secretly keeping childhood toys.
* NotSoStoic: While it's usually pretty unflappable, capable of talking about murder and death without a hitch, its DissonantSerenity vanishes whenever it talks about anything to do with [[spoiler:Empress Jessamine]]. It ''really'' loses its stoicism when asked about [[spoiler:Daud, the man who assassinated the Empress]]. On a lighter note, it expresses clear joy when talking about how people used to sing old songs in happier times in the Hound Pits.
* TheOmniscient: It will tell you things about people that no one but the individual themselves could possibly know. It does the same for places, too. It also occasionally makes predictions about the future. The one thing it cannot tell Corvo much about are the Whalers. It notes that there is a "haze" that surrounds them, and that because of it, even the Heart cannot discern the truth. It is also notable that The Heart is shown to be ''wrong'' on a few occasions. [[spoiler:It says that there is no turning back from the path Daud has chosen, but Daud is willing to do exactly that should Corvo spare him. It also says that Sokolov will never forgive Piero for being the youngest man ever accepted into the Academy, but by the time of the siege on Piero's workshop, they have both put past grievances behind them]]. However, it is possible that the Heart is working on what the individual it is observing believes is true at the time the Heart "reads" them. [[spoiler:Or, in Daud's case, that it is biased]]. Alternatively, it is an object made by The Outsider and The Outsider himself believes that HumansAreTheRealMonsters, it might also be that the heart simply sees a variety of possibilities and picks what seems most likely by exactly that train of thought.
* PerceptionFilter: Its dialogue in ''Dishonored 2'' mentions that only the one who holds it can see it. Hence why other people don't freak out at Corvo/Emily wandering around holding a talking, beating human heart.
* SoulJar: For Jessamine. [[spoiler:And then, for Delilah.]]
* ThisIsUnforgivable: [[spoiler:It is absolutely ''livid'' if Corvo points it at Daud]].
-->'''The Heart:''' Why have you brought me here? Am I to forgive this man for what he did?
* WhatTheHellHero: In the second game, the Heart doesn't hold back on criticising your High Chaos playthrough.
-->'''The Heart:''' I have seen many horrors. A child beaten by thieves. A nest of bloodflies. Your blood-soaked hands.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Outsider]]
!The Outsider
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_outsider.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''The one who walks [[AlternateDimension here]] is all things. [[{{God}} Cradle songs of comfort]] and [[{{Satan}} bones gnawed by teeth]].'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Billy Lush (''Dishonored'', Daud DLC, ''Dishonored 2'' reveal trailer), Creator/RobinLordTaylor (''Dishonored 2'', ''Death of the Outsider'')
Described as being a combination of God and the Devil, The Outsider is a sometimes-worshiped and sometimes-reviled (currently reviled) figure in the Isles and considered to be the source of all magic. He imbues Corvo with magic via a PowerTattoo near the beginning of the game, after Corvo escapes from prison.
----
* AffablyEvil: Whatever else he is, the Outsider certainly doesn't come off as a {{jerkass}} in his manner of speaking. He is neither a benevolent or malevolent god, and he actively opposes [[spoiler:Delilah's threat to reorder reality]].
* AllPowerfulBystander:
** In the first-game. Besides handing out his Mark, the Outsider doesn't directly interfere on the plot. He gives people powers, but makes no attempt to control or make them use said powers in any specific ways. He is far more active in the Daud DLC and the sequel.
** In the DLC he extends his involvement by giving Daud Delilah's name as a starting point. Otherwise he's content to let Daud figure it out and criticize how Daud used his gift, and taunt him with the retribution both of them know is coming in the form of Corvo.
** In the second game. The Outsider seems to be incapable of directly dealing with and attacking Delilah ([[spoiler:who has become part of him]], and thus immortal and someone he cannot directly affect). He nonetheless opposes her and repeatedly tells Emily and Corvo how serious a threat she is. At the same time he sticks to his "minimal involvement" rules and avoids giving information to Emily or Corvo about the conspiracy. It's once they figure out the practical parts that he fills in the more esoteric and supernatural details. The only time that he directly aids the protagonists, besides when he offers his Mark [[spoiler:and the Heart necessary to extract Delilah's spirit]], is in Aramis Stilton's mansion, when he gives them the timepiece, because otherwise it'd be literally impossible for them to proceed further. Even when he's directly concerned, he favors having mortals act freely of their own will and work things out on their own.
* AmbiguouslyEvil:
** Given that runes and charms with his markings on them give people nightmares and [[BrownNote headaches]], seem to attract the plague rats, and in several cases cause the possessor to outright spiral into self-destructive or murderous insanity, one can see where the Abbey is coming from when they say he's evil. He's rather giddy when he [[spoiler:points out that the collapsing, corrupted empire simply needed Corvo's help to finally tear itself to pieces]] in the worst ending. In the best ending, he's more aloof - [[spoiler:though he does make a point of saying a sincere farewell when Corvo reaches the end of his life]]. He seems to find the non-lethal fates (where Corvo inflicts poetic vengeance on his targets rather than simply killing them) more amusing than the alternatives, but it's unclear whether their suffering or the "poetic" aspect appeals to him more. What ''is'' clear is that he's genuinely shocked if Corvo doesn't abuse his powers; he firmly believes that HumansAreTheRealMonsters, and that he's SeenItAll. What entertains him most of all is Corvo acting contrary to his expectations.
---> '''The Outsider''': I've lived a long, ''long'' time, and ''these'' are the moments that I wait for.
** The 'evil' part is downplayed in ''The Knife of Dunwall'' and ''The Brigmore Witches''. The Outsider's tone and words to Daud are more hostile than to Corvo, critical of his choice to kill the Empress and his newfound troubled conscience. Also worth noting that he sets the entire plot into motion so [[spoiler:Daud can save Emily from Delilah]]. In fact, he's pretty benevolent, all things considered: his admittedly minimal involvement is the sole and only reason Daud gets involved with the Witches' plans. Had the Outsider not told Daud anything, no one would've been there to stop Delilah. On top of that, in setting Daud on this path, he offers Daud a chance to earn himself a bit of redemption for his earlier deeds.
** In ''Dishonored 2'', it's almost absent. While we still see bad stuff happen to people who use bone charms, and bloodflies and rats clearly are attracted to the charms, the Outsider himself is far more critical of the way things are in Karnaca, and how Corvo and Emily have not been paying attention to Serkonos while they were in power, allowing this to unfold. He still firmly points out that HumansAreTheRealMonsters and seems more contemplative on if Corvo and Emily will learn from this, and pull Karnaca from the brink.
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: His true form is that of a partially petrified version of himself screaming from being sacrificed. Judging by his relieved reaction if Billie restores his humanity, being an avatar of the Void was a very unpleasant experience.]]
* AnimalMotifs: He's associated with both whales and rats. Many writings tell of his true form as a Leviathan, and the bone charms and runes you use to upgrade your powers and speak to him are carved from whale bone. On the other hand, rats swarm towards runes and bone charms, and you can summon rats using his powers.
** Hell, in the second game during his first appearance, a large whale appears right behind him and 'swims' on by as he speaks.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: [[spoiler: A "representational" entity born of the Void's desire to perceive things, per WordOfGod. At 15 a poor human boy was merged with the Void, "spawning" what he is now.]]
* ArchEnemy: Delilah is this to him. He goes out of his way, and directly appoints people to put a stop to her. Be they Daud, Corvo or Emily. The reason for this is that Delilah wants to become a god and usurp him, and he believes she would actively harm and damage existence itself.
* BigBad: He's the primary villain of ''Dishonored: Death of the Outsider''.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: His solid black eyes are one of his most obviously inhuman aspects and while "evil" may be up for debate, his morality is unlike that of humans, and things with his mark, be they people or objects, tend to be unnerving and strange. [[spoiler:He loses them at the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', regardless of whether you choose to kill him or free him.]]
* BlueAndOrangeMorality:
** The Outsider has been described as "amoral", having elements of both {{God}} and the [[{{Satan}} Devil]]. He's more of an agent of fate than either good or evil. For instance, he gives a small boy the power to summon demonic rats, which the boy uses to slay some bullies. However, the boy is bitten by one of the rats and becomes infected with the plague, which he eventually dies from. On the other hand, if Corvo does not use his powers to kill, the Outsider compliments him for being intriguing. His sole motivation seems to be relieving his own boredom. The well-being of those he grants his Mark to really doesn't factor in at all.
** Note that he does have an understanding of morality (he will regularly comment on the various crimes and atrocities done by Corvo or Daud's victim, often in a judgemental tone), but he is ultimately unconcerned about handing out punishment or rewards himself, more interested on the stance his chosen ones take on the issue. As per Harvey Smith, developer of ''Dishonored'', The Outsider is motivated by plain curiosity and fascination; his chief interest is finding out what people who are given his powers do with them, what their choices and actions are.
** In the sequel, the Outsider is firmly against the arrival of any malevolent deity and [[spoiler:the aspirations to godhood by someone as unfit as Delilah Copperspoon, and he actively tells Corvo/Emily that they must oppose her before she becomes all-powerful]]. The one reason is that for all of his amorality and aloofness, the Outsider does value free will, the power of choice, and the ability to enact change, and Delilah's vision of the world would rob everyone of that.
* TheChessmaster:
** Comes off as this when [[spoiler:you realize the only reason the Empress was assassinated is due to the Outsider empowering her assassin. Then he empowers ''Corvo'' to assassinate the people who hired the assassin]]. In all fairness, he is stated to be simply an agent who empowers people to drive forward the fate of the world, for better or for worse.
** Even more so in ''The Knife of Dunwall''[=/=]''The Brigmore Witches'', where he's the one that sets Daud upon the path that leads him to [[spoiler:save Emily from Delilah]]. Had he never clued in Daud by giving him Delilah's name, Daud would never have began searching for her and Delilah's plan would've succeeded without ''any'' opposition. The only reason Daud involves himself at all is because the Outsider makes him.
** Of course, he has a major blindspot. The Outsider can see everything anyone ''might'' do, but he can never be certain what they ''will'' do. Presumably when he gave the mark to Delilah Copperspoon, he didn't think she would eventually use the power to crawl out of the Void stronger than ever, let alone [[spoiler:attempt to become a GodEmperor]].
*** This is actually his modus operandi: the only people who receive his mark are those who he has no idea what they will do with it. When Billie argues in ''Death of the Outsider'' that so many beggars and street urchins pray to him everyday for his gift, he essentially calls their calls boring.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: He gave the Outsider's Mark to Delilah, enabling her to start a murderous cannibalistic coven and become an aspiring tyrant, and then a usurping GodEmperor who apparently had a chance of toppling him. The Outsider goes out of his way to fix his mistake.
* CreepyMonotone: Not robotic or unnatural, just disinterested. You can tell he's intrigued by something when his tone of voice actually ''varies''. It doesn't happen often. This changes in the sequel with his new voice actor which gives him a more youthful and slightly more energetic voice, although he still maintains an even tone.
* TheCorrupter: He gives people down on their luck the power to take revenge. Although he seems to prefer when people are more original than just feeding their enemies to the rats and finds the concept of mercy fascinating, but that's because he expected a bloodbath.
* DeadpanSnarker: Shades of this.
-->'''The Outsider:''' [Sokolov] believes that there are [[SummoningRitual specific words and acts that can compel me to appear before him]]. He searches old temples in Pandyssia and ruined subbasements in the Flooded district. He performs [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgusting rituals]] beneath the Old Abbey. But if he ''really'' wants to see me, he could start by being a bit more interesting.
-->'''The Outsider:''' ''(to Daud)'' I see everything. I see forever, and right now I see a man walking a tightrope over a sea of blood and filth. The Empress is dead, and the water's rising. You'd better hurry. You're running out of rope.
-->'''The Outsider:''' Corvo, old friend, do I even have to say it? You've lost another Empress.
-->'''The Outsider:''' I'm a friend of your father. From the bad old times.
* DeityOfHumanOrigin: His OriginStory. [[spoiler:He was a young human outcast who was, at the age of 15, subjected to a magic ritual in which he was merged in part with the Void to become a "being of insatiable curiosity about what people do when given power over others."]]
* DidntSeeThatComing: The Outsider can see everything, all possible futures and possibilities, but he can never entirely predict human nature:
** In the first game, he's quite surprised at some of your choices, especially if you take a pacifist route. He is absolutely taken aback if you spare Daud despite having every reason to kill him.
** In the second game, he admits that [[spoiler:he didn't expect Delilah Copperspoon to have escaped the Void after Daud trapped her. He notes that anyone else would have remained floating for all eternity, but someone of Delilah's will, determination, cunning and courage rejected that fate and emerged more powerful than ever with an eye to usurping the Outsider's own place in the Void -- becoming the only known person to present a genuine threat to him]].
** In ''Death of the Outsider,'' he admits that while he can see almost all possible outcomes of all possible actions, he's completely blind to what happens in a future where he, for any reason, doesn't exist.
--> '''The Outsider''': What will it be like, to finally experience an ending? I see forever, and even I can't see that future.
* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:He goes out this way, should Billie decide to kill him.]]
* DisappointedInYou: The Outsider has low expectations to begin with, but even then he's considerably disappointed when people show no imagination in using his powers, as he expresses to Daud at the start of the DLC. In the sequel he expresses this to both Corvo and Emily, shrugging off their ruthless and cold actions as typical and unsurprising for humans.
* DreamWeaver: He has the power to visit people in their dreams and transport them to the Void to revive their respective life experiences, so much so that he chooses most of the individuals to whom donate his Mark in this way.
* EldritchLocation: The Void, where he lives.
** It appears to be endless sky-blue nothingness with twisted and frozen pieces of normal reality floating within it. Gravity there is ''odd'' and water doesn't flow the way you'd expect it to, nor do lights cast normal colours. The Heart describes it as untouched by time so neither seconds nor centuries pass. It may be where souls go after death or where people go when they dream. Or both.
** In the sequel, the Outsider describes the Void's nature himself. He explains that it is not exactly a place; it exists in every person. It's not so much another dimension as the space between dimensions. The way it seems to appear when characters dream and the description by Corvo of it being a place of endless cold makes it reminiscent of Creator/HPLovecraft's plateau of Leng, which at various times is likened to a planet on the borderlands between dreams and dimensions.
* EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity: He "gifts" select mortals with his powers for fairly vague purposes, mostly to see what potential chaos they can create.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: The only time in the game the Outsider is ever at a loss for words is [[spoiler:if you spare Daud on a low chaos playthrough. Corvo's subversion of the basic human desire for revenge leaves him utterly stunned]]. He regains his composure pretty quickly and commends you for getting more and more interesting, but other comments indicate he believes that corruption is "the nature of man", not kindness.
* {{Expy}}: Visually he looks a fair bit like one of the Endless from Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', especially Morpheus/Dream. He shares the somber, sardonic and slightly EmoTeen characteristic of Morpheus and likewise has the same sense of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HumansAreMorons sentiment.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Theorized. In the Abbey's description he is not a physical being, but a tempting, corrupting immaterial spirit. [[spoiler:However, WordOfGod says that he in fact does not change appearance, and looks almost the way he did when his life as a human was "interrupted". ''Death of the Outsider'' confirms this when the Outsider is returned to mortal life, in one of the endings, looking just like he did when he was alive]].
* FigureItOutYourself: His default MO. Especially in ''Dishonored 2'', where despite being more closely involved with the events and invested in them, he doesn't give Corvo/Emily any info on the conspiracy or on how to beat Delilah, until absolutely necessary, or until the protagonist has themselves discovered the information, at which point he will elaborate on it.
* ForTheLulz: He does some appallingly bad things as well as some good things, well in a sense anyway. Ultimately he just grants the powers and lets people do whatever they want with them seemingly because he's bored out of his skull being God. Good or bad don't seem to factor into it as much as 'interesting' for him to observe.
* GodIsEvil: The Abbey of the Everyman thinks so, at least - they despise the Outsider, but don't appear to recognize any other deity as being on his level. In reality, he's more... [[BlueAndOrangeMorality different]] than evil. [[spoiler:The Outsider also tasks the player to help out the Overseers in ''Dishonored 2'', noting about Liam Byrne that he's a honest preacher who is sincerely opposing Delilah, and that the player must protect the Abbey, as he sardonically notes, from "people like us"]].
* GreaterScopeVillain: Well, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality he's not really evil]] in the traditional sense of the word, but still, he's indirectly responsible for a lot of the bad things that happened to Corvo and Emily, [[spoiler:because he gave his mark to Daud and Delilah, which makes him indirectly responsible for all the death and destruction that they've caused in the first and second games. He's also responsible for the existence of a few minor antagonists, like Granny Rags. Plus, a lot of people died or were driven insane [[GoMadFromTheRevelation simply by worshipping him, so]]...]]
* HumanityEnsues: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', Billie can choose to turn the Outsider back into a mortal by convincing Daud's spirit that he deserves a chance at life.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: He looks like a pretty regular young man, complete with dirty clothes. If it weren't for the pitch-black eyes and the shadows and stars swirling around him, you might be tempted to think him just another ordinary human. It's not clear what he is, but it ''is'' clear that whatever he is, it's ''not quite right''.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: More apparent in the first game than in the second game as he's quick to call out almost everyone for being horrible. Potentially due to being omnipresent, at least tangentially linked to linear time, and stuck watching the rat plague go on where thousands are dying and people are being even more horrible to one another then usual. That alone would put a damper on anyone's hope for humanity. By the second game, while he still isn't exactly humanity's biggest fan he does point out more genuinely decent people and acknowledges that many more at least have good motivations for doing bad things.
** He makes more than one comment that strongly implies that he believes the "nature of man" to be cruel and corrupt. A nonlethal Corvo seems to incite his curiosity precisely ''because'' of this: Corvo is choosing, of his own free will, to act in complete opposition to everything the Outsider believes humans to be. The only time the Outsider is ''ever'' shown to be genuinely taken aback is if [[spoiler:Corvo chooses to spare Daud]]. Regardless, it doesn't seem to change his opinion or even make him reconsider; rather, he indicates that he sees Corvo as the exception that proves the rule.
** He doesn't have the attitude in the second game so much. He's even regretful mostly because he empowered Delilah, who ended up becoming a threat not only to the Empire but ''existence'' itself since she was on her way to godhood. In the second game he seems to lament the wasted potential and talent of the many targets you have to meet on your way, and how they use it for evil (Jindosh), waste their good fortune (Abele), use compelling FreudianExcuse to excuse and abet tyranny (Breanna Ashworth), and likewise feels the same about Delilah, who could have been a force of great brilliance and change but was driven to create what she imagined as a perfect and static world to worship her instead.
* ICannotSelfTerminate: [[spoiler:Ultimately, the Outsider wants his ordeal as the Void's executor to end, be it through being returned to mortality as a human or death, so in a sense, it can be interpreted that his aiding of Billie despite knowing her intentions is to facilitate this goal.]]
* IJustWantToBeNormal: [[spoiler:The Outsider is merely the dream-like apparition of a human boy trapped and frozen in the Void. What the Outsider truly wants is to be released from his prison and regain his humanity and complete his mortal life, since spending 4000 years watching generations of humanity come and go is apparently an experience that bothers him as time goes on. In ''Death of the Outsider'', Billie remarks that despite knowing her and Daud's intentions to kill him, he openly comes in and helps them along the way, proving that he wants some kind of end, either death or loss of power]].
* IKnowYourTrueName: [[spoiler:He can be freed from the Void by whispering his true name to his body.]]
* ItAmusedMe: Seems to be his primary motivation for gifting people supernatural powers. He seems to enjoy seeing how people will use his 'gift' and watching the choices they make.
* MeaningfulName: He is '''The Outsider'''. He never directly influences anyone. He may give you powers, but he only watches from the outside.
* NeutralNoLonger: In ''Dishonored 2'', the Outsider is far more pro-active and clearly on the side of the protagonist (not that it stops him from criticizing them and wondering if Corvo/Emily will learn from this experience and make the world better). He just firmly dislikes what Delilah is doing. His involvement is best seen by him [[spoiler:giving the protagonist the time piece to time travel in the Stilton Manor - the only time in the game he manifests ''outside'' the Void]]. Without this particular involvement, the protagonist would've been unable to find how to break Delilah's immortality. [[spoiler:He also notes that Delilah's tampering with the Void has made her part of him, and he doesn't like that.]]
* OffscreenTeleportation: He shows up in dreams, visions, and at shrines that people clandestinely erect in his name.
* TheOmniscient: The Outsider seems aware of everything going on, and at one point will mention he can see every path a person's future can possibly take and demonstrate it by commenting [[spoiler: on both fates you can inflict on Lady Boyle]]. However, this is played with a little. Even though he can see every choice you ''can'' make he doesn't seem to know for sure which one you ''will'' make. As already mentioned, Low Chaos Corvo surprises him constantly and can stun him speechless with the right actions.
-->'''The Outsider:''' No one's watching Delilah now, except you. And me, of course. I see everything. I see ''forever''.
* OverarchingVillain: Though not necessarily villainous, the marks that he gives to various people, more specifically Daud and Delilah, are what allowed them to commit their deeds in the first two games and expansion packs. He also appeared in those first two games and expansions before becoming the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider Death of the Outsider]]'', being the only character to appear in all of them. According to the WordOfGod, the MythArc [[spoiler:ends once The Outsider is no more.]]
* PetTheDog:
** He's normally perfectly content to allow those he's Marked to do whatever they like, including fight each other. There is one exception: he gives Daud the clue to find Delilah, in order to [[spoiler:prevent her from possessing Emily. No explanation for this is given other than him just wanting her to stay safe]].
** Word of God states that [[spoiler:he generally has a problem with powerful people that abuse the powerless, because he was powerless himself as a human. Many of his comments to Corvo, after his betrayal by the Loyalists and his assessment of his targets, have him speak in a disappointed tone about how people do bad things and never seem to learn from their mistakes]].
* PrescienceIsPredictable: He says he sees all paths a person's future can take, but he seems more interested in finding out ''which'' of them is chosen. Could explain his disinterest in appearing to Sokolov. He knows ''exactly'' how Sokolov would use his powers -- studying them and trying to replicate them. The lack of uncertainty makes him uninteresting. It may also explain why he sends Piero dreams despite him also being a scientist: Piero is more a tester that makes a loose speculation and hopes it works out instead of properly studying it and making theories like Sokolov, thus keeping Piero at least interesting enough to have The Outsider interfere occassionally.
* ProphetEyes: In ''[[VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider Death of the Outsider]]'' [[spoiler:after he returns to his original mortal form in the Low Chaos ending, he has very striking grey eyes which highlight his mystical connection to the Void and reflect his former status as something akin to an oracle.]]
* PowerTattoo: He appears fond of handing these out, though it's not clear why other than that the people he picks are "pivotal" to the fate of the world. A dark charity? Cruel amusement? To sow chaos? Who knows? The Outsider does not usually influence the people he grants the mark in any way; the choice of how to use the powers he gives them is up to the recipient, but he does only choose "special", ''interesting'' people for it.
* PowersThatBe: Rather than purely good or evil, The Outsider is merely seen as an agent of fate, interfering in lives that are pivotal to the world's destiny, for better or for worse.
* Really700YearsOld: In the "mercy" ending of "Death of the Outsider", the Outsider is BroughtDownToNormal and becomes fully human again, leaving him as an ordinary man with 4,000 years of all the knowledge of the universe in his head. Billie is curious about what kind of life such a person will find in the world.
* RedRightHand: His black eyes and his shadowy/starry aura.
* TheScapegoat: The Abbey blames all human failings on corruption from him and the Void. In truth, he has almost nothing to do with any of it; even if he's behind the witches and bone-charms (which is ambiguous), he never ''makes'' anyone do anything. He is in fact disappointed when people give in to revenge and other baser instincts. In ''Death of the Outsider'', [[spoiler:it is revealed that the highest-ranking members of the Abbey know that he is not the source of all evil, and are worried that they will lose all their power if he dies and they can no longer blame him for everything]].
* SpellMyNameWithAThe: He's never referred to as 'Outsider'. It's always '''The'' Outsider'.
* SuperEmpowering:
** Rather than directly manipulate the world, he prefers giving people he finds interesting powers and seeing what they'll do. Notably, while Bone Charms do seem to work for everyone, the Runes are only really useful to those touched by the Outsider. Everyone else sort of goes insane.
** [[spoiler:It's also ''sort of'' his OriginStory as well. The creature we know as the Outsider is ultimately an "avatar" or "figure" of the Void. Born three thousand years before "the Great Burning" (the first year of the Empire's calendar), as a young outcast boy of fifteen he somehow merged with part of the Void]].
* SupportingProtagonist: The Outsider is the only character to appear in all three released games and expansion packs, making him the central figure and driving character of the entire story. In ''Dishonored 1'' he has the most lines of dialogue and narrates the closing scenes of the game. Most of the lore, mystery, and gameplay depends on his powers and abilities and those he chooses to empower, [[spoiler:and his death or depowerment in ''Death of the Outsider'' marks the EndOfAnAge for the series]].
* TermsOfEndangerment: "My dear Corvo", in the trailer; Daud he refers to with some amusement as "my old friend". He's not exactly malicious, but he's ''definitely'' not benign.
* TimeAbyss: He looks young, but he's very, very old, having existed for millennia and seen the rise and fall of civilizations. He remarks upon the one before the Empire of the Isles, which has been gone for long enough that most aren't aware it ever existed; he's unmoved or even mildly bored during most of the plot, giving the impression that he's already SeenItAll; and the one time he seems surprised, he outright says that he's "lived a long, ''long'' time". The Heart describes his dwelling-place as "the end of all things, and the beginning". It's unlikely that time as humans perceive it has any meaning to the Outsider.
* TookALevelInKindness: In the second game [[spoiler:in Low Chaos interactions with Emily and Corvo, he is a good deal softer and less creepy than he was with Corvo in the first game. Rather than float off a few inches off the ground and look aloof, he moves around and interacts with them less as a god-and-supplicant and more as near-equals. The Outsider even reveals his origin to them, a privilege not many have ever known]].
* {{Troll}}: There's no other description for his reaction after reuniting with Corvo in the second game:
--> '''The Outsider''': ''(appears out of thin air)'' Corvo, old friend! Do I even need to say it? You've lost another Empress!
* TheUnfought: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Death of the Outsider'', his petrified echo is encountered by Billie and she's simply given a choice to release or kill him. Billie even lampshades this, as she was clearly expecting to have to fight an omnipotent god at the end of her quest.]]
* WasOnceAMan: Part of being a DeityOfHumanOrigin.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: [[spoiler:Since he was himself powerless as a human and subjected to a lot of abuse]], he is very curious about how people who are suddenly given power over others behave themselves and what choices they make.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:The Outsider was really an unwilling sacrificial lamb to the Void by a Cult whose only form of contact to the outside world was to give people his mark along the powers that come with it, and let them carry out their chaotic and destructive desires. When Billie Lurk finally sees The Outsider's true form, a petrified boy in constant agony, her view of him can go from an uncaring monster to an unfortunate victim who never wanted to become this.]]
* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: ''Possibly'' averted, as an in-game book implies The Outsider is actually a eldritch-style whale residing in the deepest ocean; during your first visit to the Void, [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121022185011/dishonoredvideogame/images/0/0a/Leviathan.png you can actually see said whale floating in the ether]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Heart]]
!The Heart
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-The_Heart_5836.png]]
[[caption-width-right:200:''"Why am I so cold?"'']]
->''"What have they done to me?"''
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AprilStewart
The heart of a living thing, molded by the Outsider's power. Given to Corvo as a gift by the Outsider just after he receives the Mark. In addition to assisting you in finding various mystical items strewn throughout Dunwall, it whispers a great many secrets regarding the city and its inhabitants.
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* DissonantSerenity: Save for a few instances, its tone is calm and serene, even when talking about horrific things.
-->'''The Heart:''' ''(about a maid)'' If she lives until tomorrow, her day off, she will be mauled by weepers and left for dead.
* DowsingDevice: Assists Corvo in finding runes and bone charms scattered around the city.
* DreamingOfTimesGoneBy: The Heart knows a great deal about the history of places and people.
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: It also occasionally makes predictions about things that haven't happened yet.
* ExpositionFairy: Knows an unnervingly large amount about just about everyone and everything you point it at, if you ask. Notably, she herself finds her extensive knowledge fearful and sorrowful.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Is most likely the SoulJar of a dead woman locked in a state of helpless observation only. This woman is almost certainly [[spoiler:Empress Jessamine]], given her comments and attitudes. [[spoiler:She also shares Jessamine's voice actress]].
* LiteralMetaphor: It's fair to say that Corvo was indeed [[spoiler:given Jessamine's heart, since they loved each other]]. When occupied by another soul, [[spoiler:Delilah's]], it turns dark and twisted. [[spoiler:Thus, as we already knew, Delilah is black-hearted.]]
* {{Magitek}}: The heart of a living thing, kept alive by clockwork and the Outsider's magic.
* MurderArsonAndJaywalking: The secrets it reveals about people span from murder, mutilations and intentional spreading of the plague to secretly keeping childhood toys.
* NotSoStoic: While it's usually pretty unflappable, capable of talking about murder and death without a hitch, its DissonantSerenity vanishes whenever it talks about anything to do with [[spoiler:Empress Jessamine]]. It ''really'' loses its stoicism when asked about [[spoiler:Daud, the man who assassinated the Empress]]. On a lighter note, it expresses clear joy when talking about how people used to sing old songs in happier times in the Hound Pits.
* TheOmniscient: It will tell you things about people that no one but the individual themselves could possibly know. It does the same for places, too. It also occasionally makes predictions about the future. The one thing it cannot tell Corvo much about are the Whalers. It notes that there is a "haze" that surrounds them, and that because of it, even the Heart cannot discern the truth. It is also notable that The Heart is shown to be ''wrong'' on a few occasions. [[spoiler:It says that there is no turning back from the path Daud has chosen, but Daud is willing to do exactly that should Corvo spare him. It also says that Sokolov will never forgive Piero for being the youngest man ever accepted into the Academy, but by the time of the siege on Piero's workshop, they have both put past grievances behind them]]. However, it is possible that the Heart is working on what the individual it is observing believes is true at the time the Heart "reads" them. [[spoiler:Or, in Daud's case, that it is biased]]. Alternatively, it is an object made by The Outsider and The Outsider himself believes that HumansAreTheRealMonsters, it might also be that the heart simply sees a variety of possibilities and picks what seems most likely by exactly that train of thought.
* PerceptionFilter: Its dialogue in ''Dishonored 2'' mentions that only the one who holds it can see it. Hence why other people don't freak out at Corvo/Emily wandering around holding a talking, beating human heart.
* SoulJar: For Jessamine. [[spoiler:And then, for Delilah.]]
* ThisIsUnforgivable: [[spoiler:It is absolutely ''livid'' if Corvo points it at Daud]].
-->'''The Heart:''' Why have you brought me here? Am I to forgive this man for what he did?
* WhatTheHellHero: In the second game, the Heart doesn't hold back on criticising your High Chaos playthrough.
-->'''The Heart:''' I have seen many horrors. A child beaten by thieves. A nest of bloodflies. Your blood-soaked hands.
[[/folder]]
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