» Fri Aug 10, 2012 3:24 pm
Of all the people that can be killed, I would think that the targets affect the ending the most. I think the Chaos system treats everyone pretty equal before that point besides possible repercussions from loyalist allies that you might receive for not killing someone (although with how some of these non-lethal methods work I don't know how anyone would know if a target is dead or alive---neither here nor there though).
If there's a guard in close proximity to the target, according to what I've heard from Strife and how I understood it, that context puts a guard into a less Chaos-promoting position as opposed to if you kill a guard outside of a target zone, i.e. guards outside of The Golden Cat will make for a worse death than guards inside of The Golden Cat.
The relationship of guards and chaos is a little odd to me honestly, but you can know this for sure. Killing Courtesans, working stiffs and non-martial citizens will be not nice. Killing animals and weepers (the people affected by the plague---you'd know em when you see em) do not affect Chaos or your ending at all.
From low to high Chaos effects after-death:
Targets
Guards who are in target zone
Guards outside of target zone (Have no idea how a TallBoy fits)
People
So if you're in the mood for killing but want to remain non-lethal and you happen to be fighting a Warseer (a dangerous dude with a dog), freeze time, shoot the pooch and put the warseer to sleep. Blink to a spot where you can hide and he'll look down at his dead canine, "Why Rin-tin-tin? Take me! Take me!," and it'll start to rain, and his tears will no longer be distingusihable from the tears of the sky.
Seriously though, that's my best and silliest understanding of it all.