Talk:Corvo Attano/@comment-11533966-20170121184259/@comment-16533050-20170715171240

-chuckles- TL/DR, but I’ll give it a go:

First that would a Gary Stu... ;)

Anyway, the main reason is Exposition and Storytelling.

The story/background of D1 bothers to set him up as a dangerous character: being the youngest person to winning the Blade Verbena, guards talking about his skills in the training yard at 3-to-1 odds and defeating them, his appointment as a gift from the old Duke due to his fighting skills, and later his appointment as Royal Protector.

He even bothered to teach his daughter some of his skills, which is like the ONLY reason she has any, as she won’t sit for lessons.

Exposition and storytelling.

Again in the first game, Corvo is set-up as a better character: he is loyal and does as his Empress bade: he went to the other countries to ask for help. Finding none, he returns home, sullen yet ready for his next task. He has no reason to suspect the Royal Spymaster or any others in the conspiracy, and does indeed get surprised when the attack happens. To see him defeated by the Assassins and his Empress dying in his arms is one of the most poignant moments in the game(s), and revenge becomes a very real motivator for him (and the player). I mean I TRULY wanted those people to pay for what they did.

After breaking free from jail, he crawls through sewers and the muck to get freed and stays in an abandoned part of the city in a rundown and half demolished area. The Loyalists work to set-up plans, build their forces (freeing Martin) and then to pick apart the conspiracy, one aspect at a time. The info they don’t have (such as who is backing the Lord Regent) they slowly obtain, and repeatedly send their champion out in the hopes to defeat them. Their final betrayal is just one more kick in the ribs for the Corvo.

This characterization is carried over somewhat in the novel, where Corvo is just much better due to experience. His take in the comics is even more well-executed, as he goes about his business to find the new threat of the Wyrmwood Deceit. Up against Broken Tom the first time, he is soundly defeated and flees. The second encounter, he has planned for the fight and is much better prepared. He uses his smarts and actual skills instead of relying solely upon his magic. He thinks.

Conversely, you have Emily, who Corvo warns about the Crown Killer murders. She’s "hum drum, father… posh and bother." Then when some of the conspirators show up she not only lets them in (albeit the guard were in on it and would have let them in anyway) but after Delilah’s appearance literally WELCOMES the woman until the coup starts.

Also, the majority of her guard just sorta betray her right off the bat. Nice job of ruling and all that. ;)

Then when she flees from her nice posh office, through her ornate castle, and out her rich vault, she dashes through the city and can ride a train, if she so chooses to circumvent the majority of the problem (I personally went slowly through the city to collect the goodies hidden therein, so I made it harder on myself).

When she does arrive at the boat, the captain actually knows who the villainess is and a good deal about her but doesn’t reveal that (EXTREMELY USEFUL) information until much later from 'dramatic purposes' and to set up some angst; however this is more due to writing but still.

During the course of the D2, I never had a sense of pending doom and how small my actual group of allies/friends/world was. As I said, Emily just kinda lucks into things.

To go back to the comics once more, Martha Cottings is much the type of character I would have liked to have as a protagonist then Whineygirl McEmpress, I mean Emily.

Really, really TL/DR, but as always merely my own opinions, and no more than that.