Corvo's Mask



"One more time, old friend."

- Corvo Attano as he dons the mask, 1852

Corvo's Mask is a device used to conceal Corvo Attano's identity, and is constructed of a sturdy material that allows it to serve as conventional armor.

The mask, modeled after a human skull, was created by the inventor Piero Joplin, who gives it to Corvo upon their first meeting. Its design was inspired by a dream Piero had, in which he had seen "death itself staring back at him".

The mask possesses a telescopic function, allowing Corvo to view far-off objects and target enemies at long range. When zoomed in, the lens also amplifies sound. Piero can upgrade the function with a second spyglass zoom after Corvo delivers the appropriate blueprints. When acquired, this feature allows Corvo to view objects and people more closely than he can with the mask's single telescopic function.

The mask immediately becomes the terror of Dunwall, with many at Lady Boyle's Last Party commenting on how frightening the mask looks, along with how it reminds them of the masked man that has been terrorizing the aristocracy of the city.

While Farley Havelock claimed to have information linking the Masked Felon to Corvo Attano, this information was either never widely published or not trusted. Only a few individuals, including Slackjaw and some of the City Watch. Even after his name was cleared, Corvo continued to use the mask for covert operations as well as to intimidate enemies of the Empire.

In Dishonored 2, Corvo still uses the same mask although it has been patched up over time. Several of the corrupt guards working for Mortimer Ramsey are able to recognize Corvo on the streets of Dunwall in 1852. The mask, however, is barely known in Serkonos, allowing Corvo to conceal his identity whilst in Karnaca.

Trivia

 * Corvo's mask was originally conceptualized to be a gas mask. However, the gas mask was instead used for the Whalers.
 * A promotional item based on Corvo's mask was created for the Valve game Team Fortress 2, dubbed the Lacking Moral Fiber Mask. It was awarded to players at "Genuine" quality who had pre-ordered Dishonored through the Steam platform.
 * The zoom feature can be used when Corvo is not wearing the mask while at the Hound Pits Pub and the Dreadful Wale.
 * Despite the mask having three visible magnifying lenses in one eye when it is viewed from the back, the zoom functions cannot be used until bought.
 * The blueprints for the optics reveal that the three lenses do not canonically exist until Corvo has purchased the upgrade, making this a developmental oversight.
 * Corvo's in-game mask slightly differs from the mask seen on the cover art and in the advertisements. For example, the in-game mask has different details, such as two brass pieces on the nose and a completely different right eye magnifying lens.
 * When Corvo puts on the mask in the reveal trailer, there is a brief red tint before his vision adapts to the lenses. This does not occur in the game.
 * When Corvo first picks up his mask in Dishonored 2, from the Imperial Safe Room in Dunwall Tower, it already has the ability to zoom in once. This is consistent with Emily Kaldwin's telescope. The second level of zoom can be purchased at black market shops later in the game.
 * The mask appears as a collectible in The Evil Within 2, another game published by Bethesda. It can be found inside a train car in the Residential area, near some rats.
 * Kirin Jindosh mentions that he detects in the mask the work of Piero Joplin and of someone else, who he does not recognize.
 * According to Harvey Smith, the mask can maybe slowly change "according to its own arcane rules".
 * The reveal trailer of Dishonored 2 shows a plot idea regarding the mask that was discarded during development. Originally, the game would have shown Corvo and Emily standing out on a pier, from where Corvo would have dropped the mask into the water. The Outsider would have then picked it up and handed it back altered to Corvo at the start of the game.