Flooded District

''This page is about the location, the Flooded District. You may be looking for the mission or the book.''

The Flooded District, officially known as the Rudshore Financial District, is a condemned district in the city of Dunwall, on the South bank of the Wrenhaven River and near the river mouth. Devastated by a flood, the City Watch quarantines there those infected by the plague and use it to dump victims' corpses. It is blocked off from the rest of the city by walls of light.

Corvo Attano visits this place during the mission The Flooded District. The Whalers' base of operations is located in this area and is visited by Daud during the missions The Surge in The Knife of Dunwall and Choosing Your Mark in The Brigmore Witches.

Details
"I remember the night the dams broke and Rudshore flooded. Me and Crowley took some of the boys out there to see what we could grab. Rich people and servants running crazy, trying to carry rugs and furniture out as the waters came in. Easy money, that night."

- Slackjaw, Bottle Street Gang'

Before the barrier broke and flooded the area, the Flooded District was known as the Rudshore Financial District, one of the most prosperous areas in Dunwall. It was home to Dunwall's Chamber of Commerce as well as the successful Greaves Whale House and Refinery. An elevated rail line allowed for easy transport throughout the area.

When the barrier broke its residents fled, and it became a breeding ground for rats, hagfish, and river krusts. Citizens infected with the plague who submitted to the regency's "rehabilitation service" were instead transported by train to the district, where they were quarantined and left to die. The district is also the dumping ground for the thousands of corpses that have been left by the plague.

Tallboys are common in the area, as their suits help them to move about more freely in the water than the City Watch. It is also home to the group of assassins, who are led by Daud. During Dishonored, Thaddeus Campbell sends a squadron of Overseers and wolfhounds to the Flooded District to eliminate the assassins; the remains of the squad can be found throughout the area. In The Knife of Dunwall, parts of the Flooded District are not entirely inundated, allowing Daud to access places that Corvo cannot.

Fourteen years later, the Flooded District has been drained and restored, becoming The Rudshore Financial District once again.

Rudshore Waterfront
Much of this area has been entirely flooded. It is here that Corvo is imprisoned within one of the old factories. There are two buildings connected by a bridge, with dead Overseers. On one side the building connects to the courtyard outside the Greaves Refinery, on the other side of the other building leads to the market, guarded by assassins that leads to the train station. The market connects to Central Rudshore and the Chamber of Commerce. The rest of the district is infested with river krusts. On the dry side of the street, there is a significant population of weepers and another door that leads to the Greaves Refinery's courtyard.

Greaves Refinery
Originally the main refinery of the wealthy and ruthless Greaves Whaling House, it used to refine whale oil for the Greaves Lighting Oil Company. Since the flood, the refinery has been abandoned and is inhabited by surviving weepers both inside the building and outside in the courtyard. Several dead Overseers can be seen by the door of the building that connects to Rudshore Waterfront.

The area around the refinery is surrounded by several sheds, numerous whale oil tanks and a substantial river krust infestation. A stair control allows Corvo access to the refinery; within is a drawbridge and chains hanging from the ceiling, connecting to the refinery floor, which is infested with weepers. It is here that Corvo's equipment is thrown by Daud.

Central Rudshore
The main street in Central Rudshore is flooded and most of the surrounding rooftops are being patrolled by Whalers. Whatever is left of the train tracks has been turned into a bridge. Several makeshift platforms and barricades have also been erected around the area, with most of the metal planks being recovered from nearby rooftops. The Chamber of Commerce has been turned into the gang's hideout, and features a training room for the assassins as well as Daud's office and chamber. An access under the building leads to the sewers draining into the Old Mosley Canal.

Old Mosley Canal
A large canal located west of the Rudshore Chamber of Commerce Building, this is the place where the bodies of plague victims are dumped via the train. The canal leads to the Rudshore Gate security checkpoint.

Rudshore Gate
A gate blocking off the Flooded District from the rest of Dunwall. The surrounding area – located west of the Old Mosley Canal – is spacious and is intersected by an elevated rail reserved for corpse carts. It is surrounded by ruined and decaying buildings, and the ground is littered with rubble. Only a few plague victims, survivors and sometimes weepers can be found living in the otherwise unoccupied buildings. Several tallboys patrol the area, which is further secured with walls of light blocking the gate; another security measure is the arc pylon in one courtyard, which guards access to the river. Some survivors have taken refuge in a large defunct building adjacent to courtyard with the arc pylon. A number of floodlights illuminate the area. On the other side of the gate is an access to a devastated alley of the Old Port District.

Trivia

 * The Flooded District is inspired by the breaking of the Thames Barrier in London.
 * The rat plague is unrelated to the flooding of the district; a journal found in the area notes that the barrier broke due to a lack of maintenance over a period of ten years.