User:The Millionth One/Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall

Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall and Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches are two pieces of downloadable content (DLC) for the stealth action-adventure game Dishonored. Both follow Daud, an assassin with supernatural powers, as he first investigates then works to stop the witch Delilah. The Knife of Dunwall was first released on 16 April 2013, with its follow-up being released 13 August the same year.

The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches were both well received by reviewers.

Gameplay
Chaos system. The Knife of Dunwall introduces "Favors", pre-mission bribes that alter the mission at the cost of coins collected in the levels. In one case, in The Brigmore Witches, Daud may use one to take the place of a visiting overseer, allowing the player free access to certain areas of the prison.

Powers. A new power is introduced in The Brigmore Witches, named Pull. Pull allows players to grab items from a distance or, when upgraded, pull human enemies towards them as well.

Plot
The game opens on Daud musing on his assassination on the Empress, before he is called into the Void by the Outsider. The Outsider "gifts" Daud a mystery: the name "Delilah". After six months of chaos in the city his second-in-command, Billie Lurk, discovers the existence of a ship named The Delilah owned by Bundry Rothwild, a former deck hand who now runs a whale slaughterhouse. Daud arrives on the day of a workers' strike, revealed to be spurred on by Abigail Ames, a plant from a competing slaughterhouse. The player may have Daud obtain information about the ship either by interrogating Abigail or Rothwild on the latter's torture chair or by agreeing to destroy the slaughterhouse for the former. In any case, Daud discovers that the ship was given to Rothwild by Barrister Timsh, who sold it in a panic and named it after a woman he knew. Delilah was formerly a baker's apprentice for the Empress and after that a painter, and recently had a relationship with Timsh.

Daud contacts the barrister's niece, Thalia, who agrees to tell Daud about Delilah in return for eliminating her uncle.

...

At Brigmore Manor, Delilah's full plan is revealed: using a painting of the Empress-heir, Emily Kaldwin, Delilah will perform a ritual to possess the girl and, living in Emily's skin, be crowned Empress in her place. Daud finds a painting taking him to the Void, and there finds Delilah preparing to perform her ritual. The player may either have Daud fight and kill Delilah, or choose to sabotage the ritual—trapping her in the Void.

After a time skip, Daud, beaten by Corvo, asks for his life. Depending on the player's chaos rating, Corvo either spares Daud and walks away (low chaos) or slices his throat (high chaos).

Development and release
The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches were developed by Arkane Studios, the creators of Dishonored. The original Dishonored "exceeded [Arkane's] expectations" in fan and critical response, and its success allowed them to continue on with downloadable content for the game. Developers considered various possibilities for the DLC, including playing as a thug or an overseer, but ultimately chose Daud due to both fan and developer enthusiasm. Items like chokedust were introduced as a response to criticisms of Dishonored not providing enough non-lethal combat or escape options.