W
e’re off to the Clockwork Mansion today
to put a spanner in the works of inventor
and philosopher Kirin Jindosh, as well as
rescuing Anton Sokolov, currently in
Jindosh’s clutches. The good doctor
Hypatia, who I spared in my visit to Addermire,
describes Jindosh as having “the empathy of a Mantis”,
so I’m already leaning toward a permanent solution to
this particularly human enigma.
I’m less certain about how to approach the dozens of
other guards, gangsters, and civilians I’ll encounter
en-route. I left Addermire having killed a total of 36
people. Thanks to the Heart telling me their innermost
secrets, I’m confident they deserved it, but it’s also left me
with a High Chaos rating. This basically points you
towards the bad ending, though the game doesn’t
explicitly say this. I’m supposed to be cleaning up
Karnaca, not smearing
blood around to make a
bigger mess, so I need to
rein my murder in a little
to avoid dooming the city.
Naturally, the moment I
arrive at Karnaca’s Aventa
District, the Heart provides
me with a nightmare
judgement. I point it at a
civilian hanging around
outside a wine shop, and it
says, “He knew hagfish was not a fit food for the child. All
those little bones. But he didn’t care.”
Jeeeeebus Eight Cripes, everything about this is
horrible. The story is horrible. The phrasing is horrible,
disturbingly vivid, but also just vague enough to put doubt
in my mind. The man is clearly horrible, but is he horrible
enough? Remember, I need to try to minimize my
footprint. In the end, it’s the specificity of the words “All
those little bones” that forces my hand. I possess him,
walk him toward a secluded area, and put a dart in his ear.
All those little bones.
I think this encounter must have thrown my
concentration, because almost immediately afterwards I
stumble into a fight with two of the grand guard. I race
into a nearby tenement to escape, but they follow me in.
I deflect blades and bullets with my sword as I
backpedal up the stairs, trying to focus the Heart on the
officer at the front. “They place bets, he and the other
guards, on which prisoner will cry first.” Hardly person of
the year material, but not one who deserves to die by my
hand. I counter his attack and grapple him, trying tochoke him out as the second guard closes in. The officer is
between us, but the guard raises his sword anyway.
Don’t do it.
He swipes, cutting clean through the officer’s leg, who
crumples and dies. Aghast at what he’s done, the other
guard flees the scene, while I’m left standing on the stairs
with the corpse of a man I didn’t want dead.
Great. Just perfect. This is exactly the kind of scenario
I’m trying to avoid. I leave the tenement, trying to get my
head straight. But the guard who fled has apparently had
time to think about how he just ran through his own
superior, and has evidently decided that it was all my
fault, and comes after me again.
After what just happened, I don’t want to mess about,
so I Blink onto a first-floor balcony. Taking very careful
aim, I shoot the guard with a sleep dart. But he’s still
running as the toxin takes hold, and he topples over a
railing, landing hard on the
cobbles running along the
canal. Oh no.
I blink down to street
level and rush over to
where he lies sprawled,
dead as a doornail.
Civilians are screaming
now, so I don’t have time to
process this monumental
error. I cut down an alley,
and make haste to the
carriage station. I decide to head straight there and
resume my judgements in the next area, but I at least
focus the Heart on the people I pass, and mercifully it
comes up with nothing too egregious.
As I turn into the square behind the carriage station,
however, I’m immediately set upon by a group of
Howlers—Karnaca’s meanest gang. Simply being Howlers
puts them in the frame for a death sentence, as does the
fact that they’ve attacked me unprovoked. But after what’s
just happened, I really don’t want to kill more people than
necessary, so I do the best I can to avoid lethal force. At
the end, two Howlers are dead, and three are
unconscious. I’ll take it.
I hop in the carriage to Upper Aventa, which I need to
navigate before heading to the mansion. I also use the
Heart to scan for any murky souls lurking around. One
guard stood by a wall of light, “Killed his neighbor’s dog
[and] sold the meat to a cook on a merchant ship.” So I
pop his head from a distance with a dart.
Another, “Locked a squadmate in a blood-fly infested
apartment out of jealousy.” The Heart even specifies thisTHE RULES
1
Judge the actions of
every NPC in
Dishonored II using
clues from the
environment and
game mechanics.
2
Only kill NPCs
with clear evidence
of wrongdoing.
“Innocent” lives must
be spared.
3
High Chaos
must be avoided
if possible.
“HE KNEW HAGFISH
WAS NOT A FIT FOOD
FOR THE CHILD. ALL
THOSE LITTLE BONES”
EXTRA LIFE
NOW PLAYING (^) I MOD SPOTLIGHT I HOW TO (^) I DIARY (^) I REINSTALL I WHY I LOVE I MUS T P L A Y
This lady was almost a rat’s dinner.
“The man who passes the sentence
should swing the sword.”