History WMG / Dishonored

* "Eminent Domain" and "The Surge" seem to take place shortly after "House of Pleasure". In "Eminent Domain", the broadcaster won't shut up about the Lord Regent raising the price on info on Emily's whereabouts, implying that he no longer knows where she is. The next mission in the main game, "The Royal Physician", has Corvo abduct Sokolov. Although Daud knows that Delilah can be found in Brigmore, he's GenreSavvy enough to understand that trying to take on a powerful witch without all the intel he can get on her is a bad idea. One of the few things known about Delilah is that she used to work with Sokolov, so Daud's next step should be to find out what Sokolov knows. But since Sokolov goes missing shortly after ''The Knife of Dunwall'', that's not an option. Daud will have to settle for looking into one of Sokolov's colleagues at the Academy.

When you consider how easily a man like Burrows took power, how cruel many of the rich and powerful are, and how grim and depressing the lives of many people are, it could be argued that The Outsider, with his "Human morality but inhuman perception" per WordOfGod, see's a few years of death and pain preferable to a few thousand years of most people being miserable. In Low Chaos, things get better by way of Emily being benevolent. In Total Chaos, thing's get "better" by way of KarmaticDeath for the corrupt and by way of MercyKill for those who would otherwise suffer there entire lives.

While the chaos stat is determined by how you act in-game, its consequences are oddly far-reaching. That's because you're not just playing out your actions in the now, you're also establishing what Corvo's character was before the game started. Go on a murder spree, and Corvo will have always been the kind of man who'd kill dozens just because they were in the way and he didn't feel like trying a stealthy approach. Do a ghost run, and Corvo will have always been the kind of man who'd always find a better way than murder. The effects on the city aren't the result of your killings, but the result of the empress' taste in men. If she took a high-chaos Corvo for a bodyguard, she was kinda unstable and handled the plague outbreaks worse. The conspirators are affected for a similar reason, as the personality of the empress probably had a major influence on the way business was handled in court and in politics. Under a more unstable empress, a more ruthless personality was needed to reach the top. As for the storm in the final level? High-Chaos Corvo once killed a [[ButterflyOfDoom butterfly]] low-chaos Corvo spared.

If Daud spared Billie in ''The Knife of Dunwall'', Billie leaves behind a book of possible locations Daud can retire to in ''The Witches of Brigmore''. One of these listed locations is Karnaca, and we also know that Daud was originally from Serkanos, where Karnaca is located. Since Dishonored 2 takes place in Karnaca and it appears that the Low Chaos ending is the canonical one, it would be possible that Emily and Corvo may run into a (possibly) retired Daud.

If Daud spared Billie in ''The Knife of Dunwall'', Billie leaves behind a book of possible locations Daud can retire to in ''The Witches of Brigmore''. One of these listed locations is Karnaca, and we also know that Daud was originally from Serkanos, where Karnaca is located. Since it appears that the Low Chaos route is the canonical route, it would be possible that Emily and Corvo may run into a (possibly) retired Daud.

Because she is the last remaining blood relative/descendant [[spoiler:of the poor outcast 15 year old boy he used to be thousands of years ago. His lingering humanity still has a soft spot for family.]]

*** And then there's Emily's drawing of Corvo with a big "DADDY" (no, not the ones from ''Franchise/{{BioShock}}'') written above his head.

[[WMG: ''Dishonored'' takes place in the same universe as ''Bioshock'']]
''Videogame/BioshockInfinite'' spoilers: ]Or rather, in the same multiverse. As Elizabeth said, "There's always a man, a lighthouse and a city". Corvo's first appearance is even via boat, approaching the aforementioned lighthouse.

According to his confession, Burrows brought the rats over from the Pandyssian Continent to KillThePoor. If you use the Heart in some areas, it will say "The Doom of Pandyssia is upon the city." The Outsider may have given people the option to summon plague rats [[YouBastard (if that is what they wished to use his gift of power to them)]] but who is to say they are not drawn from Pandyssia. All the in-game fluff about that continent is that there WERE civilizations there but they are all gone now. Granted they also say that there are monsters there but whose to say these civilization tear themselves apart with The Outsider's gifts?

* The plot will be kicked off by some sort of coup perpetrated against the Empress. Emily, thanks to training she received from Corvo, manages to escape. This time around, it's ''her'' turn to take back her empire. She might even take up Corvo's blade and mask.

She knew or at least suspected that Corvo would be framed for her death, or perhaps she saw everything in the afterlife. Given that she is acquainted with rituals, either she had a deal with the Outsider before her death or struck up a deal with the Outsider after her death, or the Outsider offered her the deal and she accepted. [[http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/The_Heart See here]] that the Heart can only be destroyed after her loved ones are dead. So this will be used by Emily in the Sequel.

* [[dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/The_Outsider Developer commentary]] (link to wiki article) confirms he was human...4,000 years ago.

** Maybe The Outsider isn't Q, but Q's ''son'' ("Q2" from ''StarTrekVoyager''), learning how to use his Q powers and leaning just how ''amusing'' mortals are to toy with...

The human-with-black-eyes you always see is just sock puppet for an eldritch whale, and whales don't have legs.

It just needed to be said. We see a lot of this in-game too: Corvo only has Blink before applying upgrades, but can eventually stop time, create gusts of wind strong enough to deflect grenades, and/or cause people to dissolve into ash when he kills them. Daud's powers show an obvious melding and advancement of Corvo's powers: Blink stops time if used while not moving, Void Gaze acts like the Heart as well as like Dark Vision, and Arcane Bond allows him to empower his assassins with copies of his powers (In that vein, the Tethering might be an advanced form of Windblast). Granny Rags, however, shows the greatest amount of "evolution"; her Vitality power has advanced to Immortality, she casts Devouring Swarm and Blink simultaneously whenever she's attacked, and refers to "the sight."

First, It's established that the city of Dunwall is built on top of a much more ancient city. This could possibly be a pre-war city, where-as Dunwall is a post-war city.

* I think we can use Occam's Razor here to draw the conclusion that The Golden Cat does not waste its prettier whores on a man who just wants to be blindfolded and shocked(or maybe Bunting believes this). He comments that Corvo's footsteps are only slightly heavier than usual, so maybe his usual domme is just a large manly voiced woman.

In the ''Thief'' games, the Trickster is portrayed as a force of nature, an embodiment of the will of the elements and a counterpart to modernisation and technology, and it is implied that his power was much greater in the days before civilisation when men toiled around in the wilderness. The Outsider shares some characteristics with him, and besides from the fact that he has apparently retained his powers even after the evident industrialisation of the world around him, his hailing from an earlier time when he obviously had a bigger, more well-viewed presence among the people and his later being persecuted by a church of zealots mostly dedicated to turning technology against him and his followers are certainly strong similarities. Besides, seeing how examining some maps in the ''Thief'' games implies that the games take place on a parallel Earth, a similar explanation would fit the setting of ''Dishonored'', and seeing how the Outsider seems capable of visiting multiple dimensions...

* I rather doubt it. For a start "laughing in the face of the Devil" is a term for courage that has been used in the real world and the Abbey treats The Outsider like the Devil. So it probably is just a euphemism for "very brave." More to the point Martin is, frankly, not that special. The Outsider picks the truely extraordinary and Martin, while brave, is just an ambitious priest. Also there's no evidence suggesting one ''can'' refuse The Outsider's gifts. Corvo wasn't offered a choice and said yes, The Outsider branded him and said "You've got magic powers now, deal with it."

*** Not really. The Mark is not an impulse of any kind, it's just a tool. He's not ''forcing'' Corvo to use his powers, he's just making them availible. Without the Mark and the first power how is Corvo supposed to know what he's being offered? Even if the Mark can be refused I still don't think Martin was offered it, for the other reasons I stated above.

Daud can share his powers with his subordinants if he chooses to with the Arcane Bond ability. However in the High Chaos run when he fights Billie she uses some powers that Daud does not have. It is likely that Delilah, or possibly another Brigmore Witch, has her own version of Arcane Bond and decided to share their powers with Billie. Especially with Billie intending to kill Daud, since it would make little sense to kill off the source of your supernatural powers.

"Eminent Domain" and "The Surge" seem to take place shortly after "House of Pleasure". In "Eminent Domain", the broadcaster won't shut up about the Lord Regent raising the price on info on Emily's whereabouts, implying that he no longer knows where she is. The next mission in the main game, "The Royal Physician", has Corvo abduct Sokolov.

Although Daud knows that Delilah can be found in Brigmore, he's GenreSavvy enough to understand that trying to take on a powerful witch without all the intel he can get on her is a bad idea. One of the few things known about Delilah is that she used to work with Sokolov, so Daud's next step should be to find out what Sokolov knows. But since Sokolov goes missing shortly after ''The Knife of Dunwall'', that's not an option. Daud will have to settle for looking into one of Sokolov's colleagues at the Academy.

The Outsider likes conflict, open and direct, or tense and subtle. Any form of it is fine, as long as it's interesting. Delilah's plan was quiet, subtle, and unobtrusive. She would have caused all that change with almost no risk to herself at all. The Outsider disliked that his gift was to be used in such a way, so he put Daud on the scent of her. Intentionally giving him the most difficult path to follow to get to her, so he could both deal with one who 'misused' his gift, and also be entertained.

* The problem here is that at the end of Brigmore Witches Daud is killed if High Chaos and only spared if not. Now of course it's quite possible to be Low Chaos and still kill all targets but the things you're suggesting as reasons Daud would kill his targets tends to favour a more violent, "kill all before me" approach. It looks more to me like Corvo and Daud's decisions mirror each other; if one is merciful, the other is, if one is violent the other is.

* He's really Jyggalag; who was "corrupted" and demoted by [[spoiler: the main character from VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion becoming Sheogorath; his old identity.]] Since he can't be pure "Order" anymore, and Madness is taken; he's trying to figure out what is in-between. Given his delight at what people do when he gives them powers and then stands back; his new portfolio may be "Free Will."
** Sounds like he may be [[spoiler:reverting back to the Sheogorath persona]] after all, considering that free will ''is'' part of the [[spoiler:Prince of Madness']] portfolio.

** Not only that, Granny Rags makes an interesing comment when The Heart is used around her [[spoiler: "Nothing's been the same since her death! Poor child! Her spirit lives on – trapped – misused – and for what purpose?"]]
** Also, using it on [[spoiler: Daud]] makes the Heart remark [[spoiler: "Why have you brought me here? Am I to forgive this man for what he has done to me?"]]

** [[spoiler:Most likely confirmed, if Pendleton's comments in the High Chaos version of "The Light at the End" is anything to go by.]]
*** And then there's [[spoiler:Emily's drawing of Corvo with a big "DADDY" (no, not the ones from ''Franchise/{{BioShock}}'') written above his head]].

** The Outsider didn't start the plague, [[spoiler:Hiram Burrows did. He admits as much.]]
*** [[spoiler:Hiram Burrows]] started Dunwall plague outbreak [[spoiler:by importing Pandyssian plague rats]], yes. But who caused the Pandyssian outbreak? It could be the Outsider, why not?

*** The Outsider rarely (if ever) acts directly, preferring subtle influence usually attributed by people to prophetic dreams, intuition, 'Eureka!' moments etc. And suggesting such mad scheme fits the personality of The Outsider perfectly. So he might have some input in the course of things, but in the end, it was the lack of strong will and imagination (did you really expect everyone following orders in a city that has an important crime problem?) that led [[spoiler:the Royal Spymaster]] to putting this insane plan in motion.
*** I always thought that the Hand That Feeds was one of the contributing factors to the persistence of the plague rats. Granted [[spoiler: The Spymaster's plan of "release diseased vermin into ghettos and then trap then latter" was extremely flawed. Between criminals outright disobeying martial law, and nobles screwing lower class whores containment was never an option.]]

*** Jossed. [[spoiler:According to his confession, Burrows brought the rats over from the Pandyssian Continent to KillThePoor.]] Also, the assassins get their powers from [[spoiler:Daud]], who probably got his own set from the Outsider the same way as Corvo, without any strings attached.

** Again, the Outsider did not start the plague, [[spoiler:the Lord Regent did.]]

**** Yes, but the Outsider shows no signs of doing so. He grants mortals powers, yes, but WordOfGod is that he does nothing to influence their subsequent actions. Plus [[spoiler: Burrows]] is not among the characters with any indications of a link to ol' Black Eyes.

* The Outsider said [[spoiler:that if the whales were hunted to extinction the world would be devoured by the void. In all other endings the whaling continues but with the Isles gone, and most of their technology locked behind rat infested walls. The whales now have a chance too repopulate, and the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt is averted.]]

* The Outsider is giving his "blessings" left and right - but mainly to those who could use those newfound powers to kill and wreak havoc, and he is quite surprised if Corvo doesn't do the same. As noted in previous post, [[spoiler:once whales are extinct, the world is devoured by the Void ]] So, by giving those powers to the people who kill and thus enclose the end of the Dunwall, he makes sure the world survives.
** Even if one takes [[spoiler: the extinction of the whales]] as an inevitable result of the Empire's survival (which, the case could be made that [[spoiler: a Low Chaos Corvo and Emily, armed with the knowledge of whales' importance and no longer in such desparate need of oil for security might scale back the hunting]]) this is rather Jossed by the Daud DLC, where The Outsider sets Daud on the path to preserve the Empire when otherwise Daud wouldn't have known to do so.

** Besides, you're kind of [[spoiler: using her heart as an artifact detector. Probably.]]

** [[spoiler: Jossed. The guy's an ass who just wants to enact a FinalSolution on the poor.]]

** Jossed. [[spoiler:According to his confession, Burrows brought the rats over from the Pandyssian Continent to KillThePoor.]]
*** How do you mean? [[spoiler: While the LR himself and his close allies are shown to be really bad, I did specifically include that possibility, but was mainly talking about the grunt-level mooks of said totalitarian government. Considering the Chaos system and the endings, and the fact that you somehow gain Chaos for killing "Weepers*, it's hard to say that they don't go outta their way to paint violence = bad or at least less satisfying.]]
*** Except for the fact the the Chaos stat and the plague have nothing to do with the regime. If anything the regime is worsening and prolonging the plague. The Chaos stat just measures how many people you kill, which adds to the number of plague rats, which increases panic, it's nothing political or anarchistic, heck, [[spoiler: in the low Chaos ending, the new golden age only came about by Emily decreasing the role of government and business in Dunwall and the Empire.]]
**** The regime's leadership [[spoiler: certainly is gleeful about the plague reacting a FinalSolution for the poor,]] but the rest of the grunts aren't necessarily in the know while they're upholding the quarantine and counter-plague measures even outside the wealthy areas. And furthermore, even the head honchos [[spoiler: that are happy siccing the plague on the poor]] certainly do try and keep *very* strong measures to prevent it from spreading into the wealthy areas. Also, it raises the issue of why killing Weepers- carriers of the plague- would raise public panic when it's impairing the spread of the plague?

** Makes sense. It was revealed that one can bestow their own power on others [[spoiler:(It was told in-conversation that he Whalers/Assassins got their blink power from Daud.)]], so it's not impossible that the Outsider was once a man who managed to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence and is now acting as a trickster god in order to relieve his boredom.

* He has a decidedly human aspect and, even though he can grant powers, so can others [[spoiler: (Daud comes to mind).]] Corvo, [[spoiler: Daud and Granny Rags]] are unusually skilled with them compared to, say, the [[spoiler: Torturer and Daud's assassins.]] The Outsider is only worshipped as a god because he's mastered so much void magic he's become ageless and basically unkillable [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration (he maxed out Vitality, in other words).]] It's possible there were Outsiders before him, and a previous Outsider may have granted him his original powers, but the Outsider killed his benefactors in a god-duel and is now the sole 'deity,' abandoning his human name to the ages. He's not evil incarnate, just petty and bored; he's as happy to help the heroes as the villains as long as they continue to amuse him. This of course means that any of the following could kill him in turn and/or become a new Outsider, possibly in Dishonored II, assuming they lived:
** [[spoiler: Corvo: Becomes either a watchful (but not omnipotent) protector or a ruthless slayer of even minor wrongdoers in the vein of Light Yagami.]]
** [[spoiler: Daud: Becomes a morally ambiguous bastard like the current Outsider, with a few soft spots that'll be ironed out over the course of the years-to-centuries.]]
** [[spoiler: Granny Rags: Becomes basically evil incarnate or close to it, even worse than current Outsider.]]

[[spoiler:According to his confession, Burrows brought the rats over from the Pandyssian Continent to KillThePoor.]] If you use the Heart in some areas, it will say "The Doom of Pandyssia is upon the city." The Outsider may have given people the option to summon plague rats [[YouBastard (if that is what they wished to use his gift of power to them)]] but who is to say they are not drawn from Pandyssia. All the in-game fluff about that continent is that there WERE civilizations there but they are all gone now. Granted they also say that there are monsters there but whose to say these civilization tear themselves apart with The Outsider's gifts?

Because Valve is too focused on making [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 War-themed Hat Simulators]] and [[VideoGame/Left4Dead Zombie Franchises]]. Mysterious force subtling observing the protagonist as he makes his way through the game? Check. Strange place outside of the normal reality which the protagonists use to their advantage? Check [[spoiler: Void here, Xen in Half-Life because of their teleports]] The protagonist semi-single handed unraveling a totalitarian Regime? Check. Things still not entirely okay even if you save the day? Check. [[spoiler: hey even the low chaos ending has the subtle idea that the whales dying makes the void devour the world.]]

The Outsider is implied to draw power from Chaos [[spoiler: if the Chaos ending is anything to go by.]] The Outsider can inspire natural philosophers with visions, as he did for Piero, but it's possible that Sokolov is too orderly for The Outsider to work with. That's why he said that Sokolov should "be more interesting" if he wants him to visit him. Sokolov has achieved most of what he wants in life, tends to cooperate with the "legitimate" government, and is more rigorously scientific, while Piero is the underdog, driven by jealousy and his inferiority complex; this makes his actions more feverish and unexpected. This is why Sokolov's inventions, while brilliant, are technically mundane; Piero's are inspired by the Outsider and thus seem magical in nature.

** Possible, although the fact that Corvo ends up drop-assassinating [[spoiler:Empress Jessamine right in front of Emily's horrified face]] with absolutely zero way to see who his target is beforehand makes me think that the Outsider's just screwing with Corvo for no apparent reason other than [[ForTheEvulz to be a dick]].

If you opted to put his confession into the loudspeakers and kept the chaos down, then it would only be [[LaserGuidedKarma fitting]] that [[spoiler:he is forcefully given the very same plague he brought to Dunwall. Especially when it's done as a means to help find a cure that had otherwise eluded his regime.]]

[[WMG: During The Knife of Dunwall story, Delilah empowers [[spoiler: Billie Lurk ]]]]
Daud can share his powers with his subordinants if he chooses to with the Arcane Bond ability. However in the High Chaos run when he fights [[spoiler: Billie she uses some powers that Daud does not have. It is likely that Delilah, or possibly another Brigmore Witch, has her own version of Arcane Bond and decided to share their powers with Billie. Especially with Billie intending to kill Daud, since it would make little sense to kill off the source of your supernatural powers.]]

Although Daud knows that Delilah can be found in Brigmore, he's GenreSavvy enough to understand that trying to take on [[spoiler:a powerful witch]] without all the intel he can get on her is a bad idea. One of the few things known about Delilah is that she used to work with Sokolov, so Daud's next step should be to find out what Sokolov knows. But since Sokolov goes missing shortly after ''The Knife of Dunwall'', that's not an option. Daud will have to settle for looking into one of Sokolov's colleagues at the Academy.

** That's not true; Corvo goes after Burrows the night after the party, and [[spoiler: is poisoned]] the following day, with an undisclosed amount of time en route to the Flooded District. The window of time is still razor-thin, ("The Surge" and "Return to the Tower" occur simultaneously, Daud leaving for the first ''Brigmore Witches'' mission immediately after the invasion is dealt with) but Daud still has time to go on one or two missions before the confrontation with Corvo. Of course, they can play fast and loose with the time Corvo spent passed out in that pit/escaping from the Whalers/retrieving his gear/etc. to give Daud the time he needs to take care of Delilah and meet Corvo on his way in.

''Videogame/BioshockInfinite'' spoilers: [[spoiler: Or rather, in the same multiverse. As Elizabeth said, "There's always a man, a lighthouse and a city". Corvo's first appearance is even via boat, approaching the aforementioned lighthouse.]]

Delilah grew up in Dunwall Tower and was allowed to become close friends with the future Empress. That doesn't seem like a luxury given to most serving girls. Delilah doesn't seem to care that Daud killed Jessamine, which would imply that the two of them had a falling out, possibly over Jessamine inheriting a throne that would have been Delilah's had she been a legitimate child. [[spoiler:During her final confrontation with Daud, Delilah starts talking as if the throne is rightfully hers. If Daud defeats Delilah in combat, her last words are "She took my life." The only woman who would be relevant in this circumstance would be Emily. While Emily most likely never even knew that Delilah existed, she still inherited a throne that Delilah believes to rightfully be hers.]]

[[WMG: The Outsider wins either way.]]
* If [[spoiler: Emily Dies and Dunwall collapses]] or if the plague just decimates the Empire, whaling slows or even stops. If Emily becomes a good and proper empress, then she puts a curtail on the whaling. Either way, the whales survive.

[[WMG: Lizzy Stride is Mortimer Hat's daughter]]
If Daud chooses [[spoiler:to fulfill Hat's dying wish in TBW, it becomes clear they have a connection, and Lizzy herself has a strong reaction when she learns he's dead]]. Hat was a clothing merchant, and Lizzy's biography mentions that she was rumoured to be the daughter of a seamstress and a "traveling cloth merchant". Seems to fit.

More specifically, a sim game. He prompts things to happen in the world, but is obviously not living in it directly. He takes an interest in certain characters, but is dismissive of others. He knows all the outcomes, but doesn't know which ones will happen. And most of all? He hates boredom. This also explains his BlueAndOrangeMorality - how many times have you drowned a Sim for the heck of it, or deleted the gates in a zoo tycoon-type game to see whether the lions were hungry? It doesn't matter because it's just a game. This is also supportive of the 'Marked people don't use their powers - the Outsider does it for them', because he just activates something that causes rats to spawn, slows/pauses the game while letting a character ignore the effect or picks up and drops them. The Marks allow him to flag a character and follow their life, even send private messages to them. The Abbey has sort of stumbled on this information and wants to become self dependent.

* I rather doubt it. For a start "laughing in the face of the Devil" is a term for courage that has been used in the real world and the Abbey treats The Outsider like the Devil. So it probably is just a euphemism fo "very brave." More to the point Martin is, frankly, not that special. The Outsider picks the truely extraordinary and Martin, while brave, is just an ambitious priest. Also there's no evidence suggesting one ''can'' refuse The Outsider's gifts. Corvo wasn't offered a choice and said yes, The Outsider branded him and said "You've got magic powers now, deal with it."