Zodi Plays: Dishonored (Stealth Dad Simulator)

[DataNinja]

Well then. Good thing you didn't strangle the Officer indeed.

"Momentum is conserved between portals. In other words: speedy thing go in, speedy thing come out."

What, you mean this isn't the end of a game, with a happily ever after?

Spoiler: Takedowns

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Episode	Non-Lethal	Lethal	Total
1	0	4	4
2	4	8	12
3	0	0	0
4	0	0	0
5	6	2	8
6	9	7	16
7	2	3	5
8	3	0	3
9	7	0	7
10	16	1	17
11	2	0	2
12	3	0	3
13	13	0	13
14	11	0	11
15	9	0	9
16	2	0	2
17	7	1	8
18	13	0	13
19	7	0	7
20	2	0	2
21	2	0	2
22	2	1	3
23	5	0	5
24	4	1	5
25	2	0	2
Total	131	28	159

[Gray Mage]

Yay for smooth sailing, not yay for missing shrine and tecnical issues. Will you rerecord to get the missing shrine? This one is a fun one. If not, would you be ok with someone linking a video of it?

Also, flooded district will be a fun one. Time to depend on your powers.

By the way, Emily's drawings change depending on the chaos level. Let's just say that in high chaos things are not so spotless and with less rainbows.

[LaZodiac]

Yay for smooth sailing, not yay for missing shrine and tecnical issues. Will you rerecord to get the missing shrine? This one is a fun one. If not, would you be ok with someone linking a video of it?

Also, flooded district will be a fun one. Time to depend on your powers.

By the way, Emily's drawings change depending on the chaos level. Let's just say that in high chaos things are not so spotless and with less rainbows.

Absolutely show us the good shrine footage.

Please note that this is true for real life as well. Let me know if my own art appears different for you, we may be in an alternate reality. This is a joke.

[The Glyphstone]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bEVHlnd9wI&t=4m5s

Here's a time stamp from someone else's playthrough. It's claiming the rune before taking out the Regent though, I don't know what O-boy says if you visit him after doing the hit.

I would absolutely watch a Let's Scribble By Zodiac, btw. No game footage, just crude crayon/Paint drawings of what's happening in game.

And what's this nonsense about 'negatives'? The honest reactions of going in blind make it even better (for us)!

[Gray Mage]

Thanks Glypstone, I couldn't link it at the moment. I'd start the video a little earlier, at 1:50, so the fight with the torturer appears.

Spoiler: Fight details

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He's actually one of the toughest enemies in the game, if not the toughest himself. He also has powers from the outsider, but his powers are mostly passive, making him immune to your own powers, incluiding Bend Time, and ranged attacks, incluiding Sleep Darts. He's a nasty surprise at this point in the game where most people are in complete control of the machanics of the game and most enemies die quickly.

[LaZodiac]

I would absolutely watch a Let's Scribble By Zodiac, btw. No game footage, just crude crayon/Paint drawings of what's happening in game.

And what's this nonsense about 'negatives'? The honest reactions of going in blind make it even better (for us)!

I'm glad my little doodles always come off as good. I may keep that in mind for the future.

Thanks Glypstone, I couldn't link it at the moment. I'd start the video a little earlier, at 1:50, so the fight with the torturer appears.

Spoiler: Fight details

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He's actually one of the toughest enemies in the game, if not the toughest himself. He also has powers from the outsider, but his powers are mostly passive, making him immune to your own powers, incluiding Bend Time, and ranged attacks, incluiding Sleep Darts. He's a nasty surprise at this point in the game where most people are in complete control of the machanics of the game and most enemies die quickly.

On the one hand I feel bad for not fighting this guy... but on the other I'd have to KILL him probably, so that's a thing.

[HalfTangible]

Well then. Good thing you didn't strangle the Officer indeed.

"Momentum is conserved between portals. In other words: speedy thing go in, speedy thing come out."

What, you mean this isn't the end of a game, with a happily ever after?

Ha ha ha

Yeah

Who

Who'd be dumb enough to think this was a genuine party and everything would be fine and the loyalists weren't gonna betray you...

Ha ha...

>.>
<.<
>.>

[jindra34]

Who'd be dumb enough to think this was a genuine party and everything would be fine and the loyalists weren't gonna betray you...

The real question is who among the 'loyalists' thought betraying Corvo wasn't an insanely high risk play.
Consider that he was starving, in prison less than a week ago, and what he has done.

[LaZodiac]

I have a lot to say about this particular thing but I'm going to save that till the end, if that's okay. I have a lot to say about it from a writing standpoint, and it's actually an interesting topic and an example of some interesting fallacies some people can fall into with writing.

I should do videos where I just talk about writing ****, I'd just need to find the time to sit down and script it...

[DataNinja]

and an example of some interesting fallacies some people can fall into with writing.

Such as the fact that sometimes trying to pull a 'Surprise!' really isn't surprising at all, and it'd be far more surprising if things just went all as you were 'expecting' them to?

[LaZodiac]

Such as the fact that sometimes trying to pull a 'Surprise!' really isn't surprising at all, and it'd be far more surprising if things just went all as you were 'expecting' them to?

I mean that's true too, and to say they overplayed the sudden but inevitable betrayal is very true. But also I had been minorly spoiled about Daud being involved in some sense so I wasn't sure if it was them doing a traitor or Daud doing a thing.

But no my discussion on writing has to due with the reasons as to why they decided to traitor the man who removed every single enemy they had in under a god damn week.

[The Glyphstone]

He's a loose end. Remember that Corvo is officially the man who murdered the Empress. It's easier for them to (try and) dispose of him than it is to try and convince everyone a totally different assassin they haven't been bankrolling was the true killer.

Samuel was supposed to dump his corpse in the river, but instead he abandoned him alive on the boat. The Whalers comment on the poisoning being 'amateur' work at a glance, I assume the loyalists thought it was a lethal dose.

[LaZodiac]

He's a loose end. Remember that Corvo is officially the man who murdered the Empress. It's easier for them to (try and) dispose of him than it is to try and convince everyone a totally different assassin they haven't been bankrolling was the true killer.

Samuel was supposed to dump his corpse in the river, but instead he abandoned him alive on the boat. The Whalers comment on the poisoning being 'amateur' work at a glance, I assume the loyalists thought it was a lethal dose.

Dialogue we don't get to hear because of the game going weird is that Samuel only gave us half the poison, thus us not dying.

Believe it or not, that one idea you posted right there is the ONLY reasoning they DON'T use.

[Gray Mage]

The Whalers comment on the poisoning being 'amateur' work at a glance, I assume the loyalists thought it was a lethal dose.

Spoiler: Random Convo in this Mission

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The whalers/Daud's men comment that Daud has a power that makes him immune to poisons. It is speculated that it's an advanced use of the Vitality power. Would also explain the high chaos scene too.

If I remember right, in high chaos Sam fully poisons you. High chaos Corvo simply is that much of a bastard and survives.

Edit: I think a fear of Corvo getting them first (expecially in high Chaos) is part of it too, but I don't think they explicitly mention it.

[Qwertystop]

I would absolutely watch a Let's Scribble By Zodiac, btw. No game footage, just crude crayon/Paint drawings of what's happening in game.

I read a screenshot LP once that did that. Definitely in intermittent bits of the EpeeEm and MissEchelon runs of the Megaman Battle Network series (on lparchive) interspersed between screenshots, but I'm pretty sure there was also at least one update that was a significant fraction of just MS Paint doodles (possibly due to image hosting failures).

[factotum]

If I remember right, in high chaos Sam fully poisons you.

No, he still holds off on the poison, he just says he doesn't know why he's doing it considering what a git you are. Of course, he then later betrays you in the final mission by alerting all the guards to your presence, so it's a bit inconsistent all told.

[The Glyphstone]

Dialogue we don't get to hear because of the game going weird is that Samuel only gave us half the poison, thus us not dying.

Believe it or not, that one idea you posted right there is the ONLY reasoning they DON'T use.

Huh, apparently my head-canon is overriding my vague and distant memories of the actual plot.

Though it sounds like their plan would have been solid if Samuel hadn't double-crossed them, with a lethal dose of poison Corvo's gone for good.

[Iruka]

I have a lot to say about this particular thing but I'm going to save that till the end, if that's okay. I have a lot to say about it from a writing standpoint, and it's actually an interesting topic and an example of some interesting fallacies some people can fall into with writing.

I should do videos where I just talk about writing ****, I'd just need to find the time to sit down and script it...

I would totally watch that.

I'm glad my little doodles always come off as good. I may keep that in mind for the future.
On the one hand I feel bad for not fighting this guy... but on the other I'd have to KILL him probably, so that's a thing.

This guy is probably a shock to most players when they encounter him the first time. At least he was for me. You go like "Ok, dude and his dog. Looks kinda tough, I better Time Stop and snipe them both from over here. Wait, why is he still moving?! He noticed me! Fffffff.." You start pumping bolts into him, but that does not stop him. Then he pulls you close with his Outsider power and you panic, start throwing around grenades and mines, but he facetanks them too, keeps smacking you with his branding iron. If you did not kill yourself with your own grenades, all this hubub brings in the guards from the corridor and it is all a complete disaster and then you realise you have not saved the game for quite some time.
You can however choke or backstab him and he is actually quite a terrible fencer.

The objective markers mess up the non-lethal solution a bit during the mission. If you strangle him, the mission marker remains on him but when you finish the mission you do get the "Deal with the toturer" checked. I like to think that by subduing him you give the guards an opportunity to move in on him after they dealt with Burrows.
I read stuff like guards fighting the toturer and Burrows fleeing to him for protection but I could not reproduce this. Probably a High Chaos variant?

In case you missed it in the video: He got a letter from Granny Rags. She is quite fond of him.

Spoiler

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Oh, dearie, dearie. Down in the cellar, so dreary. Why don't you come out to see me? When you were here, we made them scream, didn't we? Come back to visit and I'll give you another present, carved and shiny. You aren't much in the way of proper conversation, mind you, but I do love to watch you work. come back and I'll tell you stories, such stories.

Your dear Granny

By the way, Emily's drawings change depending on the chaos level. Let's just say that in high chaos things are not so spotless and with less rainbows.

Oooooh, I did not know that. Nice.
edit: Found one in a wiki.

Some stuff I encountered but did not appear in your video:

You can go the gazebo(?) where you meet the Empress in the intro and find a small memorial:

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[/url]

Here are also a guard and a maid on what seems to be a smoke-break date. The view is nice, but being at the site of a murder, she is not really in the mood and leaves soon.

Further on, you can find a disgruntled engineer who opens a gate for a direct access to the moat for you. This does not seem all that useful to me, since you can easily get into the moat from other places.

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The access to the building I used is the one you found on the inside:

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[/url]

You can also just use the front door. It is not locked.

On the ground floor beyond the entrance hall, there is a small art collection, featuring little models of Sokolov's inventions:

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[/url]

Nearby there is a chapel with one Overseer endlessly reciting the Seven Strictures. Check the letter next to him and it becomes clear what has put him in the mood for some praying:

Spoiler: Letter

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Brother,

With an anxious heart, I respond to your letter. If your suspicion is true, I have grave misgivings about those presiding over Dunwall Tower. I have only recently resolved my disagreements with the Abbey, and it has come upon me as a surprise that some are lobbying for me to take up the mantle of High Overseer, but despite all that is going on, I hope to advise you personally in this matter.

Last time you wrote, you speculated that the mute who serves as torturer within Dunwall Tower might be a follower of the Outsider. He has an odd countenance, his tongue is twisted and he cannot speak, and a wolfhound follows him about. Add to this the incomprehensible groaning and the litany of repeated whispers you hear coming from his chambers at night and it seems certain.

At first I found it hard to believe. How could one I admire so, such as the Lord Regent, allow this to go unchecked within his own house? Surely he must respect the Seven Strictures? But now I see the pieces arranged before me. I must tell you, it aligns with a vision experienced by one of our sisters from the Oracular Sect. Coming to me in the night, she spoke, "Silence inflicts pain and a hound's shadow follows the puppet of the Outsider."

Your position at the Tower has been of great use to our order and there is no shame in reporting back to me. You are an Overseer, first and foremost, and it is your sole duty to protect the world of men from the malevolent influences of the Outsider. Tell no others of this and await my instructions. I must wonder how high up into Dunwall Tower this corruption has spread.

--Martin

On the second floor find the office of General Tobias. The Guard seems to be worried about the "Interrogator" as well:

Spoiler

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General Tobias, I have to press you again, sir. The torturer has been coming into the barracks at night.

Last night Corporal Huso woke up to find the freak leering at him in the dark. Other men have reported that personal items have gone missing, with odd things left in their place. Sanders said he found a bunch of teeth wrapped in his handkerchief. Teeth. And Bilson found three painted rat-heads on a string in his shaving kit.

Whatever this is, it has to stop. The men are rattled and I don't know how long I can keep them from going into that bastard's room and beating him to death in his sleep. I don't care what you call him, executioner, torturer, Royal Interrogator or bat-faced troll, he's got to stay out of the barracks.

--First Commander Greggory

The room next to it is presumably the general's bedroom. He apparently likes to read a little before going to sleep.

Spoiler

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[/url]

It looks to me like the erosion of the Regent's powerbase we did in the previous missions is showing results. I wonder how long he would have stayed in power even if Corvo had not moved against him directly.

Also on this floor:

Spoiler

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All this meticulous checking of fireplaces and then you go and miss the one that is actually a secret door.

From the stuff you find inside, it becomes clear that this was a secret hideaway for Empress Jessamine where she recorded private thoughts and had a little smoke break. (There is an Imperial Cigarette Case.) You can find both an audiograph to Emily

Spoiler: Audiograph

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Emily, my daughter, I know that one day you'll be grown up, and I wonder what you'll remember of these years. Will you recall your time as a child with fondness? Or were there too many caretakers, formal dinners and lessons about boring old history? Maybe the precious hours we spent together will shine brighter; time captured now and then with your mother and with Corvo, who was always close to my heart. I hope the season of rats and plague will be nothing more than a passing shadow on your early memories. A crisis come and passed, weathered by your mother and her advisors. You'll sit on the throne someday, and will do well I hope. It's a tricky life, full of responsibility and peril. It was not your choice to be the daughter of an Empress, but I believe you'll rise to the challenge. Stay good-hearted, Emily. Keep drawing and telling stories. And only share your power with those you truly trust.

and a letter to Corvo:

Spoiler: Letter

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Corvo, I have missed you while you've been away. If I could trust anyone else with these matters, I would gladly send them so you could remain close. But there is no one else. The plague has taken so many. The Spymaster was right to insist that I send you. When you are away, every day seems a heavy burden. Even simple tasks seem worrisome. Emily is difficult to manage. And the great troubles of the City, the conflict and the plague, all seem insurmountable. But when you are near, it is different. My heart is at peace.

Also a bone charm. Those things just do not seem to bring any luck.

The painting you missed was in the room beyond the fireplace you stepped into. It is "The Empress and the Empty Set", not the one with the cider. That was in the High Overseer's secret room you missed in the first mission. By the way, have you noticed that all the titles of Sokolov's pictures are math puns?

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Something I had not noticed before:
The locations of the missions are all really close together. The pub is just across the river, Kaldwin Bridge a little further upstream. The prison is even directly connected to Dunwall Tower.

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Hm, kinda hard to see on this small screenshots.

Bonus pic of the prison because I like the design so much:

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Since I am uploading all these screenshots anyway, a comparison of Dunwall from the beginning and now:

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Fun little bug (or does he just like messing with you?):

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After speaking to you, the Outsider's teeth hang around a little longer than he does.

edit:

Almost forgot: If you check the room with the bathtub in between missions, you can find different books on the sideboard.

Spoiler: The Young Prince of Tyvia

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[Excerpt from a theatre play]

Lord Nathan Bayle, shaking with outrage
How dare you, sir, clothed so in my very home?! I should hand you over to the Watch, depraved Tyvian!

Prince Kallisarr, moving closer
That's a harsh welcome for royalty, m'lord. Your daughter treated me with much more hospitality. Alas, she has gone out for the evening, leaving me all alone.

Lord Nathan Bayle, stammering, studying the younger man before him
What are you doing? Leave this house! Go back to your frozen wasteland, pale rascal!

Prince Kallisarr, smiling coyly, reaching out
No need for anger between us, Lord Bayle. Is it so wrong for me to be here? As I've proven, I've developed an affinity for you and your family.

Lord Nathan Bayle, gasping
Oh, my, Kallisarr, your skin is so warm, it burns.

If you read 'Daughter of Tyvia' , you know what it is all about. Just with a prince instead.

The other belongs into a different genre.

Spoiler: The Shadow on Bitterleaf

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[Excerpt from a much longer work of fiction]

Finding my way by the feeble light of the dying fire, I saw her working. A large needle moved in her hand, following precise, esoteric patterns; knots and loops of seamstress-craft from ancient days. Beneath her needle, his body clenched and shuddered, shaking the wooden table.

A morbid fascination pushed me closer, until she turned her blank face toward me, resting the needle in his flesh. With a refined tone, she addressed me, "So you are the lover, I presume. You too have been unfaithful, and it is now your turn to be mended."

Since the bathroom is presumably used by everyone in the house (or at least all the nobles), I will leave it up to your imagination whose favourite bathing reading those are.

All the transcriptions by courtesy of the gamepedia wiki, which saved me a lot of work.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Heh, the disgruntled engineer complaining about the impracticality of a moat made my day!

[LaZodiac]

At least, an end to pajamas.

Zodi Plays: No Need To Hide When It's Dark Outside [3] [FINALE] Darkness

Video Length: 32:19

In this video, me and Em finish off Pajama Sam, which involves a lot of flailing around and generally making a fool of myself, but it's great and wonderful and fun. We see some of the cooler stuff this game has to offer, and even go collect a very clunky minigame! After that, we go to face The Darkness and... well I mean that's it. I hope you liked this little experiment, because I know I sure did! You can expect more stuff like this to happen eventually, like A Taste Of's (though I may change those to Tuesday's while I've got a B-Side going) because it's actually been kinda refreshing to play something short and silly on the side.

As for what you can expect next Wednesday... well, we haven't been able to record whatever next silly thing we talk about at the end of this one, but I've got some stuff in the bucket waiting to be revealed. Hope you all enjoy, I'll see you then!

[The Glyphstone]

For the main videos, do you plan on continuing into Knife of Dunwall and Brinmor Witches after this?

[LaZodiac]

For the main videos, do you plan on continuing into Knife of Dunwall and Brinmor Witches after this?

Mentioned it previously but given the length of Knife and Brigmore, those will be their own combined "Daudhonoured" LP, separate from Dishonored and to be done at Some Point In Time.

[The Glyphstone]

Mentioned it previously but given the length of Knife and Brigmore, those will be their own combined "Daudhonoured" LP, separate from Dishonored and to be done at Some Point In Time.

As long as you get around to them before starting Dishonored 2. Despite being 'DLC', their story function is almost as a Dishonored 1.5 in terms of setting up the plot going forward.

[LaZodiac]

Oh don't worry, that was a given. Except for Zelda where the intent is to play them in chronological order to see if they hold up (they do don't at me) I typically only play game via release order, and the DLC would absolutely get done before I even consider D2.

I'm also intending to keep Dishonored and all connected to it as Blind LPs since it'll be funner and funnier that way.

[DataNinja]

Oh boy, more singing.
And swinging.

Oh, right. I forgot about the Magic School Bus games. Space and Dinosaurs. Brings back (vague ) memories.

Glad to know I wasn't the only one thinking of the other milkman and those lines.

Also glad that we didn't get sidetracked with Snake for hours.

And lo, thus another game falls before your might. Or something.

[Ninja_Prawn]

To Em, who doubted you:

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Computer Gaming World describes Tuneland as "a wholly captivating experience for both children and their parents." Apparently, the Lil' Howie series has won 36 awards! That's quite a lot better than just existing.

[LaZodiac]

To Em, who doubted you:

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Computer Gaming World describes Tuneland as "a wholly captivating experience for both children and their parents." Apparently, the Lil' Howie series has won 36 awards! That's quite a lot better than just existing.

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Fun fact Em told me that and I'm going to open the videos with that true statement.

Also... haha. WE won't be playing Tuneland. I've got something else in store

[Qwertystop]

Latest Pajama Sam:
Yep, you've gotten past the farthest I got. I remember the first door room, mostly sure I got in the music room, completely sure I didn't get the oars, not sure whether I saw the second door room or the book room. No recollection of the chemistry room.

(I also never saw the Snake game, and based on my mum still occasionally bringing it up, I can only assume I spent an inordinate amount of time playing Cheese & Crackers)

[LaZodiac]

Okay, let's get back into the swing of things here.

Zodi Plays: Dishonored [26] Daud Where's My Stuff?

Video Length: 22:52

In this exciting episode, we break our way out of where Daud has imprisoned us and begin the journey to get our stuff back. We'll have to stealthily make our way through the Flooded District, being watchful for dogs, fish, gross river krusts, and Daud's assassin minions known as Whalers (due to their outfits). We've had some encounters with Whalers before, their big deal being that they're quite good at sword fighting, have the Pull magic that lets them just kinda force grab us, and have rapid fire crossbows! The crossbows are barely significant, but still worth watching out for. All we've got is our magic to help us out here, so it's actually kinda tricky.

Something else that also makes it tricky is uh... there is a slight "thing" the game pulls here that I find kinda weird and frustrating, but also realize is kinda necessary for a number of reasons. The marker for where our stuff is is not an exact location of our stuff. It is instead a bread-crumb guide of sorts, leading us to specific areas. This is in part because the actual location OF our stuff is inside a place we can only get by climbing all the way up, and then climbing all the way down. So directing us in a more... well, direct way is the only way they can do this without it being frustrating. It begs the question of "why do this in the first place" given this is already a stealth game, a forced de-powered stealth section feels like an odd decision, but so it goes.

Also, regarding the... thing, that happens near the end of this one, let's just say I'm very bad at being subtle about things I've accidentally had spoiled for me. Womp womp. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, I'll see you all next time!

[HalfTangible]

"All I had were my wits, my mask, and magical powers granted to me by an otherwordly entity worshipped by many as a god. The odds were against me..."