Character Spotlight
How to Become Emily Kaldwin
Jul
Discuss this post in RPGFitGroup!
Name: Emily Kaldwin
Game(s): Dishonored 1 & 2
Archetype: Rogue
Class: Assassin
Skills/Attributes:
- Rightful Empress and skilled leader,
- Extensive training in stealth and hand to hand combat.
- Skilled freerunner/traceur.
- Keen logical mind, capable of matching wits with philosophers twice her age.
- Superhuman powers granted by The Outsider’s Mark such as Far Reach, Mesmerize, and Shadow Walk.
- Close association with legendary bodyguard and assassin, Corvo Attano.
Overview:
I try to get a good balance of gender and cultural representation here on the blog. Luckily, this has begun to get easier in recent years, and one fantastic example of this is Emily Kaldwin. Emily Kaldwin is the young ruler of the Empire of the Isles, a fragmented, steampunkian nation in the world of the Dishonored series. She is the daughter of the slain former empress, Jessamin Kaldwin, and her Royal Protector, Corvo Attano. Only a child in the first game in the series, she takes center stage as one of the two protagonists in the second game, in a quest to reclaim her title and her throne.
Her focus on agility, skill, and speed place her squarely in the Rogue Archetype. Her reliance on stealth, close quarters combat, and subterfuge make her the ideal Assassin, able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Ezio Auditore and Ryu Hayabusa. Between the unique setting of Dishonored, as well as her own personal story, Emily is by far one of the most intriguing and complex characters we’ve covered on the blog, lately. Let’s take a look at how we’re going to approach her!
In The Emily Kaldwin Workout, we’re going to attempt to emulate the physical training Corvo might have put her through in her youth. Emily was always an outgoing and adventurous child, encouraging Corvo to train her even when others thought it was a bit improper for a young heiress. We’re going to be focusing on speed, agility, and mostly bodyweight-based training, here, with an emphasis on fast, explosive movements. I see Emily as sort of a hybrid between an Olympic fencer and Spiderman, and her workout will be set up accordingly.
In The Outsider Assassin we’re going to be taking a look at the specific skillsets that Emily has, and how we can best emulate them ourselves. We’re going to be borrowing rather heavily from classical European fencing arts for our combat basis, as well as pulling some elements from other hand-to-hand systems that compliment Emily’s unique fighting style. Additionally, we’re going to look at ways we might be able to emulate some of The Outsider’s Mark abilities, maybe not literally speaking, but in some method to accomplish the same goals. We’ll also touch on the idea of leadership, and the difference between a strong, benevolent leader, and a weak, pushover leader.
In Empress in Exile we’re going to look at the circumstances of Emily’s life, both growing up in the tumultuous times of the Rat Plague, and her further adventures in adulthood. Emily is an outsider to her people in many ways, often preferring the solitude of the streets to the sycophants of her royal social circle. She bridges these gaps, and many others, all while contending with her own pain and internal conflicts. What sort of lessons can we learn, here? I’m excited to find out.
Emily is a really cool character, of course so is just about everyone in the Dishonored universe. This is going to be a great series of posts, starting with The Emily Kaldwin Workout on Monday!
Live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!
I’m sure it’s no accident, but you use the gymnastic rings quite a bit, even mentioning them in this breakdown. Let’s say I can’t get rings or make my own, what’s an adequate lateral move?
I actually nixed the rings from the workout. Changed my mind =D Do you have another workout with rings that you’d like to do in particular?
So excited that you decided to do a workout on Emily. She is so inspiring!!!
I’m excited too! =D
Hey man will you ever do Corvo’s workout I imagine it’s very similar with some variations, what do you think?
Maybe! This is definitely a good start for now, though!
If you haven’t, please do corvo
I probably will at some point. I think Emily’s a much more unique character, though.
Do corvo or Daud if you haven’t already
Why isn’t she on the list? I noticed a lot of characters are posted but not on the list. Please fix this. (Ex. Scorpion and Luke Cage)
The list definitely needs to be updated. =)