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The Heart
The Heart
"Why am I so cold?"
"What have they done to me?"
Voiced by: April Stewart
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.
- Dissonant Serenity: 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.
- Dowsing Device: Assists Corvo in finding runes and bone charms scattered around the city.
- Dreaming of Times Gone By: The Heart knows a great deal about the history of places and people.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: It also occasionally makes predictions about things that haven't happened yet.
- Exposition Fairy: Knows an unnervingly large amount about just about everyone and everything you point it at, if you ask. Notably, she finds her own extensive knowledge fearful and sorrowful.
- Fate Worse than Death: Is most likely the Soul Jar of a dead woman locked in a state of helpless observation only. This woman is almost certainly (and, in the sequel, confirmed to be) Empress Jessamine.
- Invisible to Normals: Dialogue in Dishonored 2 suggests that only those touched by the Void can perceive it, hence why other people don't freak out at Corvo/Emily wandering around holding a talking, beating human heart. The only NPC that reacts to the Heart being brandished is Aramis Stilton, who was driven mad by witnessing a catastrophic Void phenomena, and then returned to sanity by history being altered.
- Literal Metaphor: It's fair to say that Corvo was indeed given Jessamine's heart, since they loved each other, same with Emily in the sequel. When occupied by another soul, Delilah's, it turns dark and twisted. 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.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The secrets it reveals about people span from murder, mutilations and intentional spreading of the plague to secretly keeping childhood toys.
- Not So Stoic: While it's usually pretty unflappable, capable of talking about murder and death without a hitch, its Dissonant Serenity vanishes whenever it talks about anything to do with Empress Jessamine. It really loses its stoicism when asked about 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.
- The Omniscient: 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. 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. Or, in Daud's case, that it is biased. Alternatively, it is an object made by The Outsider and The Outsider himself believes that Humans Are the Real Monsters, 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.
- This Is Unforgivable!: 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?
- What the Hell, Hero?: 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.
Granny Rags
Granny Rags/Vera Moray
Careful! She treads with purpose. And is not as frail as she seems.
Voiced by: Susan Sarandon
A former aristocrat who now lives on the streets; she is blind and deranged.
- Abhorrent Admirer: There aren't many things the Outsider will find abhorrent. Him pausing when mentioning how Granny flirts with him suggests that her unrequited crush on him makes him uncomfortable.
- Ax-Crazy: She's clearly not all there in the head, and the jobs she sends Corvo on tend to involve inflicting harm on the local populace (specifically, the local gang who keeps harassing her for cash, though you also kill the families relying on their cure). Late in the game, not only will you find her notes next to her murder victims talking about how bland and dreary Dunwall is, you'll find her threatening to cook Slackjaw and Corvo. If you choose to fight her, you'll find that she can control swarms of plague-ridden rats.
- Blind Seer: Though apparently physically blind, she can see more than she lets on. She possesses Aura Vision like Corvo and Daud.
- The Cameo: Not that you'd realize it without knowing, but she does appear in Dishonored 2. Part of her anyway. Her severed, dead hand is used by Paolo as a magical trinket to keep from dying. If the player kills him, they destroy it, but not before it puts up a bit of a fight.
- Flash Step: She can use "Blink" as Corvo, Daud and Delilah.
- The Ghost: In the Daud DLC. You find messages from her giving people recipes to summon Runes, but she is never seen.
- Humanoid Abomination: While she may have once been human, appears to have left her humanity somewhere behind her. Until late in the game, it is impossible to kill her, and she possesses some of the same powers Corvo has.
- I Am a Humanitarian: She intends to cook and eat Slackjaw.
- I Was Quite a Looker: According to the Outsider. You can find a painting of her in her youth, which indeed shows her as striking when sans the wrinkles, blindness, filth, and with better make-up and less ragged clothing.The Heart: Princes begged for her hand.
- Life Drinker: Daud suspects that she sustains herself by stealing the life force of those who carry the runes she crafts.
- Never Mess with Granny: She may be crazy but she has gotten to be very skilled with the powers the Outsider gave her and even terrified local children into rightly thinking she was a witch.
- Obfuscating Insanity:
- She's clearly crazy, but not confuse-Corvo-with-her-dead-husband crazy. Rather, she's hire-Corvo-to-poison-and-weaken-Slackjaw's-thugs-so-she-can-attack-him-later-and-cook-and-eat-him crazy. It's hinted several times that her initial brand of crazy is an act, as she hints all the things she "imagines" are just for show.
- Foreshadowed if you spy on her going to her Outsider shrine. The "birdies" she kept mentioning before do come — in a form of a Swarm of Rats.
- Ominous Fog: Another of her powers granted by the Outsider is the ability to create and summon a thick fog to disorient her enemies.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Everyone calls her Granny Rags. Her name is only found in her diary, which only comes in the Arcane Assassin DLC (though references to her last name abound, and another book mentions her first name, allowing one to piece the pieces). The Outsider even lampshades the fact her name is mostly forgotten by telling Corvo it would mean nothing to him.
- Pet the Dog: When Corvo rescues Emily from the Golden Cat, it's strongly implied that Granny Rags ensured that Emily made it safely to the river and Samuel. She is also aware of the true nature of the Heart and expresses sympathy for the soul occupying it.
- Required Secondary Powers: Control over rats seems to be her primary Outsider-induced power. If you try to use Devouring Swarm on her, the summoned rats will ignore her and she'll laugh at you for trying to harm her with the one thing she's got the most power over.
- Resurrective Immortality: You can try to kill her or knock her unconscious, but she merely collapses into a swarm of rats that start biting you. She will turn up later as if nothing had happened. Eventually you find out that she cannot be killed without destroying her magic cameo, which is the source of her power. Slackjaw apparently slit her throat five times already.
- It seems that this power is so strong that it's actually transitive. In the second game, Paolo possesses her preserved hand, which allows him to cheat death by turning into a swarm of rats once per day.
- Riches to Rags: Seems to have fallen in with the Outsider (and subsequently caught the crazy) shortly after taking part in her husband's expedition to Pandyssia.
- Shout-Out: Different in personality, but her reputation in Dunwall and name is a reference to Granny Weatherwax from Discworld. In addition, her combat ability to control swarms of rats is very similar to Weatherwax's own ability of "Borrowing", although she prefers to use swarms of bees.
- Soul Jar: Her cameo, which must be destroyed in a furnace before Corvo can deal with her.
- Super-Empowering: Like Daud and Delilah, Granny has the ability to empower other individuals untouched by the Outsider or the Void. The difference is that while Daud and Delilah's ability, "Arcane Bond", bestows some versions of their respective power sets on a multitude of individuals who are loyal to them, Granny's ability, "Apprentice", can only affect a single individual and bestow upon powers that are totally random and noticeably different from her own (as seen with Morris Sullivan, who instead developed "Pull" along with various physical resistances to both lethal and stunning physical attacks).
- Touched by Vorlons: She is Marked by the Outsider. Her marked hand becomes an occult artifact in the sequel
- Unholy Matrimony: She considers herself married to the Outsider. Being the incomprehensible creature he is, he doesn't feel the same way. In The Brigmore Witches, one of the recipes Daud can find is a ritual that's supposed to marry them by proxy.
- Weak, but Skilled: It is probably either the result of her advanced age or her madness but compared to the others marked from the Outsider, Granny Rags is naturally not immune to all the powers that are used on her and she has few offensive powers to counter Corvo. However, thanks to her greater experience in the use of Devouring Swarm, she can easily turn the plague rats he summons against him. In addition, using the knowledge gained over the years on the Void, she has been able to stem her main weakness by creating a bone talisman that would transform her body into a swarm of rats every time she is killed and then reform it.
- Wicked Witch: Long suspected to be one by local kids like Slackjaw when he was younger. Turns out they were far more correct than they thought.
Madame Prudence
Madame Prudence
She learned long ago not to grow fond of any of the girls.
Voiced by: Jodi Corlisle
The proprietor of the Golden Cat.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She sends sweet letters to her most important clients, imploring them to come back after the mess with the plague. Bunting himself receives a letter telling him that many of the girls consider him a friend and they miss him. In truth... well, see the Evil Old Folks entry.
- Evil Old Folks: As the Heart will tell you, not only does she import her girls from the countryside under the false pretense of giving them jobs in factories if they die at the Golden Cat she just dumps their dead bodies into the river.
- Evil Redhead: Her amoral behaviors and bright red hair certainly qualify her.
- Karma Houdini: Is this if you're trying to go for a pacifist run. She treats her prostitutes as property, recruits them under false pretenses, and if they die, she simply tosses their corpses into the river. However, there's no in-game objective that allows you to bring her to justice short of introducing her neck to your knife.
- Love Hurts: Implied by the Heart saying that "she learned long ago not to grow fond of any of the girls."
- Miss Kitty: A subversion. While she did used to be a prostitute herself, and now runs the Golden Cat, she has none of the usual Mama Bear traits and treats her girls as disposable. Her predecessor was closer, according to the Heart.
Bunting
Art Dealer Bunting
An Art dealer living on Bottle Street and regular client at the Golden Cat and guest of the Lady Boyles.
- Asshole Victim: He cheats people by undervaluing their art when he buys it then selling it at market price. He's done so to other Asshole Victims (The Pendletons) but also to a family who is later seen in the Flooded District.
- Bondage Is Bad: He's into S&M, which some of the girls at the Golden Cat find repulsive despite the fact that they don't even need to touch him. Although that may have more to do with that fact that he's also kind of a dick, threatening the girls with having them tortured if they step out of line.
- Butt-Monkey: He can suffer multiple misfortunes at Corvo's hands:
- Be repeatedly electrocuted for the combination of his safe and into unconsciousness.
- Have his safe broken into and its contents stolen.
- Be prevented from entering Lady Boyle's party because Corvo stole his invitation. Guards assume Corvo really is Bunting and that Bunting is some guy trying to usurp "his" identity.
- Safe Word: "Retribution". Corvo can choose to ignore it.
- Upper-Class Twit: He doesn't even notice that the one giving him shocks is Corvo, instead thinking the girl who normally does it gained some weight based on the sound of the footsteps due to his blindfold. Also later thinking he could try to get into the Boyle's Masquerade party despite knowing his invite was likely stolen.
Griff
Griff
An honest man – no. But his heart is not as black as some.
A merchant living in the Distillery District. If Corvo saves his life, Griff sells items to him. If not, he becomes a Weeper.
- A Lighter Shade of Grey: As in the quote above, he's not a good person, but you could do worse. Much worse.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He's an escaped convict.
- No Hero Discount: Even though Corvo saves his life, Griff insists on charging far more than Piero does, since Piero can make his own wares, but Griff has to scrounge for what he sells.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Griff isn't his real name. After escaping from prison, he took the name to hide his identity. No one suspects.
- Secret-Keeper: According to the Heart, he knows Corvo's identity, but he won't tell anyone.
Abigail Ames
Abigail Ames
A professional rabble-rouser hired by one of Rothwild's competitors to shut down the Rothwild slaughterhouse.
- Affably Evil: She has a strong sense of honor and is seen as a Reasonable Authority Figure, but is also selfish and manipulative like many of Dunwall's citizens.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: She's every bit as ruthless as Rothwild, though she mostly targets those like him rather than her employees.
- Anti-Villain: Of the well-intentioned type. She's a manipulative saboteur who is willing to use violence to achieve her means, though her actions have brought hope and confidence to the laborers and her intended victims are Rothwild and his thugs.
- The Dog Bites Back: If you torture her for information but then spare her, the favor she sells will change to a letter from her explaining it was a trap, followed by a bomb.
- Foil: To Bundry Rothwild.
- Rothwild uses fear and violence to obtain his goals and his methods involve obtaining complete obediance from those under his employ. He doesn't hide his past and uses his ruthless personality to keep people in line.
- Ames uses charisma and idealism to get her way and seeks to disrupt and destroy her adversaries. She works for other people and relies on supporters rather than employees and hides her manipulative nature behind
- Loved by All: She's adored by all those who meet her, and even Rothwild is upset that she betrayed him, previously seeing her as a loyal assistant.
- Manipulative Bastard: When the strike started, Rothwild hired a private investigator to find dirt on her. The PI became convinced that Abigail was a genuine Wide-Eyed Idealist and actually tried to convince Rothwild to give into some of her demands.
- The Mole: She manipulated Rothwild so well that she actually managed to work her way up to Foreman before she started the strike.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: She justifies her plan to blow up the slaughterhouse to Daud by saying that Rothwild and his butchers will be the only ones harmed and that they deserve to die.
- Pet the Dog: She does make sure her corporate espionage doesn't get any of the innocent workers in Rothwild's factory caught in the crossfire, making sure they're out before blowing it up.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: The persona she puts on to rally the workers into striking. She claims to adamantly believe that no one deserves to work in the slaughterhouse's inhumane conditions. In reality, she's not just far more cynical, she's actually a professional rabble-rouser hired by Rothwild's enemies to sabotage him. The idealism is part of her act to gain sympathy, and she never actually cares about who she's supporting.
Thalia Timsh
Thalia Timsh
Barrister Arnold Timsh's niece. The two of them had a rather nasty falling out over the Barrister's mother's inheritance, and so Thalia hires Daud to remove her uncle from the picture.
- Ms Exposition: Her primary role in the story is to provide Daud with Delilah's backstory.
- The Stoic: Nothing seems to faze her. Daud first meets her being threatened by some Hatters who have already killed her bodyguards. She remains completely calm. Her cool demeanor doesn't even flap when she realizes that she has become an accessory to murder.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: The Barrister accuses her of being this, although nothing in her conversations with Daud supports his accusations.
Weepers
People in the final stages of the Plague, forsaken by all to live out their last days in Dunwall's most wretched squalor. Their symptoms have progressed to the point of dry and flaking skin, continuous coughing and wheezing, throwing up black vomit, almost complete deterioration of mental faculties and motor skills and the distinctive bloody tears that fall from their eyes. The scent of death surrounding them attracts flies and maggots, which infest them, and they wander around in a haze of despair, desperately seeking help, but unable to express it beyond pawing at others (and spreading the plague still further). Some believe that Weepers are no longer human.
- Body Horror: Dear lord.
◊ - Early-Bird Cameo: Search or listen hard and they'll turn up surprisingly early even in a Low Chaos game.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: If Corvo has Low Chaos and spares Sokolov, then a cure for the plague is found, capable of recovering even those who've progressed this far.
- Karmic Death: Campbell becomes a Weeper if you "spare" him. Killing him in that state is listed as a Mercy Kill in the end-mission statistics.
- Technically-Living Zombie: They may shamble, moan, claw at healthy people, and look/smell like they're rotting, but they're still just this side of alive. They can be occasionally be heard sobbing in misery and their attacks can be interpreted as the only way they have left of begging for aid. The Heart even sometimes remarks that they seem to be able to think or desire something, though they are obviously no longer able to talk. If not drawing their attention, they can even be seen walking to a fire to warm themselves like non-weeper Non Player Characters occasionally do.
- Tears of Blood: The Weepers have subconjunctival hemorrhages that cause their eyes to leak blood.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: One of their "attacks" and one of their idling actions. They also release insects from their bodies.
- Zombie Puke Attack: Attack by puking on you.
Doctor Luigi Galvani
A prominent doctor and natural philosopher in Dunwall.
- Everybody Has Standards: He's totally against Delilah's coup.
- The Ghost: He's mentioned several times in both games, the player is given two chances to break into his home in the first game (and another two in the sequel), but he's never seen. He's also invited to the Boyles' party, but his journal mentions he has no intention of going because he dislikes hanging out with aristocrats.
- I'm Your Biggest Fan: He's a huge fan of Sokolov, so much so that he celebrates the day he first met him.
- Mad Scientist: According to his maid, rat guts get all over the place in his lab in his quest to understand the rat plague, and there has been least one incident that's claimed the life of a servant...You can find her arm next to the door to the pantry.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: He studies the rat plague, but is also the inventor of two upgrades: "Bonded Galvani Weave" and "Folded Galvani Resin".
- Running Gag: Getting robbed by the player character. It can happen a total of five times over three games.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He was the one who discovered that the Pandyssian Rats bringing the plague to Dunwall wasn’t an accident, but rather that the rats were imported by someone. He then reported his findings to Empress Jessamine, which lead Jessamine to launch an investigation to find out who was responsible, which then lead to Hiram Burrows having her assassinated out of fear that he would eventually get caught, thus kickstarting the plot of the first game.
- Tempting Fate: After getting robbed four times in Dunwall, Galvani moves to Karnaca and puts all of his fortune in a safebox in the Michaels Bank, certain that it will be safe in such a legendarily secure bank. Billie can still rob him.
- What the Hell, Player?: During the first mission of Dishonored 2, you have the chance to rob Galvani and find his notebook, wherein he expresses his hope that moving to a new neighborhood would prevent future burglaries. In the final mission you can return to Galvani's house, but all you'll find in his safe is a few coins and a cranky note informing his burglar that he's so sick of being robbed he's decided to leave Dunwall for good.
