For those of you who don't know: The Outsider is the individual who gives Corvo his powers at the beginning of the trailer. Here's what we know about him so far.

1: He is a supernatural being who seems to be of male-human form.
2: He is the source of all supernatural forces in the world of Dishonored.
3: He is able to grant powers to those he wishes.
4: He is neither good nor evil.

Did I leave anything out?

The Darkness, The Beyonder, Nocturnal, and many other characters like them came to mind when I first heard about The Outsider. I have to ask how much they have in common.

1: Are there more like him who simply haven't visited the world of Dishonored yet?
2: How long has he been interacting with the world?
3: Is he more a mindless force of nature, or does he have his own motivations?
4: Can his artifacts (such as the mask) be used the same way by someone other than who he gave them to?

I really hope he becomes a major part of the plot, especially late game. These kinds of villians are so fascinating.

He seems to me very much like a Daedric lord but with more depth; I think he's surely going to be a very interesting character to learn about

From what very little we know as of yet, I wouldn't call him villainous so much as idly chaotic. The trailer gave me the impression that he's the sort of deity that will set in motion a complicated series of events and reactions just to watch those funny little mortals scamper about trying to deal with it.

Well, no, it's been indicated that he's slightly more serious than that. He sets things in motion with a specific outcome in mind.

so he is more like the architect !
choose one of two doors corvo .... well, to be honest: I hope he is not

PS: he could also be starchild (the rats are my solution)

He could be sort of like the moth man. As soon as anyone thinks they've figured something out about him he disproves it.

He is Gman now arrived at Dunwall after leaving the galaxy of Milkyway after it got hit by space potatoes that timefroze the whole place! Having nothing better to do, he now looks to unleash his God complex on Corvo and his misguided co-existorss- but in a new form

SHUT UP! SHUT UP!



Don't jinx it, please!

The voice in the trailer sounded really familiar. I tried to look it up on imdb since, sometimes, games are listed there. To no-one's surprise I'm sure, there was no entry. The closest thing I can think of is Jason Lee channeling Syndrome from The Incredibles.

Not really germane to speculation on his importance in the game, but from the fabulous Wiki I read he visited Anton Sokolov, a polymath responsible for lots of the health potables (from his description) and painted the guy's portrait. Based off that, one can see he touches important lives in different ways.

I wonder if they took any inspiration from the Lovecraft story? (one of my favorites by him, very Poe-ish):

http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/theoutsider.htm

Also, he reminds a bit of the trickster/builder characters from the Thief games.

Yes, kind of like this
He seems like a G Man like character, someone who is deeply involved, but you will never know how he is involved, what his motivations are, or who he is. Reminded me at first of the Illusive Man, a nameless character, but that comparison isn't very accurate.

Oh man, I really hope Dishonored is lovecraftian.

It has been called Lovecraftian a good amount, so you're in luck!

This.
I like how he's only giving you those powers to shake things up instead of just a simple execution.

Best thing I've heard all day. The Outsider better be from an alternate dimension too.

Eh, probably not. But it wouldn't be the most suprising thing possible.

I hope there are more like him who simply haven't shown themselves.

That would be interesting. Like multiple supernatural beings that have a wider view and have more control over things (not gods, I am Atheist).

Perhaps they are the gods of this world, and The Outsider is the rebel amongst them. Like Loki?


I am also an atheist, but I recall the devs saying in the bethesda podcast that Dishonored's world was not Earth, but some other planet in a different dimension. (Maybe I'm wrong) But, if that's the case it could be completely different than our world. They possibly could have norse-like gods.

Interesting thought. Especially since Loki became the rebel after his children were betrayed by the other Aesir.

That would be quite interesting. Or even not like Loki, maybe the other gods are corrupt, and the Outsider is rebelling in an attempt to make the world a better place. Probably not due to what we know of the Outsider's personality, but you never know!

Like Quetzalcoatl, you mean? ((long story short: the only Aztec god who wasn't a total dike.))

You don't think Arkane will pull a Remedy-Entertainment-overkill-Norse-metaphor on us, do you?

I'm not that familiar with Aztec mythology (although I do know Quetzalcoatl), but sure, I guess so!
What do you mean by that?