Back Yard

The Back Yard is a location on the property of the Office of the High Overseer at Holger Square. It is accessible during the mission High Overseer Campbell. A compound located behind the Office, it is comprised of several buildings used for the necessary functions of the Abbey of the Everyman:

• A bunkhouse for Overseers
• Kitchens and a mess hall
• A storage unit
• A warehouse for storage
• A locked workshop used for practice and research
• A second, two-story workshop used for the destruction of magical artifacts
• A room for housing Overseer recruits prior to their pilgrimage to Whitecliff
• A walled-off open area accessible by key

Trivia

• A mysterious figure can be seen standing on top of the large factory building behind the workshop. When Corvo moves further into the yard, it vanishes into a black fog. The identity of the figure is unknown.
  • A training dummy is used as a placeholder for the apparition.
• When Corvo Attano first enters the bunkhouse, three Overseers will be inside, one of whom has the plague. If Corvo's chaos is low, the infected Overseer will beg the others to kill him, and they will do so as a show of mercy. If Corvo's chaos is high, the infected Overseer will try to deny his illness, and the other two will viciously murder him.
• Searching the compound, the bunkhouse in particular, will reveal much about the internal politics of the Abbey and interactions between Overseers.
  • A note found in one of the bunkhouse post boxes hints at a possible homosexual relationship between an Overseer named Windham and a civilian named Darion.
  • Another note from Thaddeus Campbell to an Overseer named Edmund reveals the location of Campbell's secret room, as well as the function of the Heretic's Brand.
  • Several drafts of a letter to High Artificer Bartholomew from an Overseer named Humphrey can be found crumpled beneath one of the bunks.
  • A note from Hound Master Warton to High Artificer Bartholomew reveals that Corvo came very close to having to contend with exploding wolfhounds.
  • Yet another note found in the workshop reveals that the Overseers have been able to obtain several of the crossbows used by Daud's assassins. However, the Overseers are not competent with them, so efforts to integrate them into the Abbey's arsenal have been scrapped.
• A letter in one of the post boxes warns an Overseer named Overseer Berthold that evidence of his sister's "involvement in witchcraft" has been discovered, and urges him to flee the city with her. If Corvo visits the walled-off area of the back yard, he will witness Berthold attempting to protect his sister from fellow Overseers that have come to abduct her. Corvo can choose to intervene, but will have a limited amount of time to do so.
• The combination to the safe in the bunkhouse can be obtained in three different ways: it can be found in a note in the mess hall, under the bed next to the safe, or if Corvo chooses to save Berthold and his sister from the Overseers, they will tell him the combination as a gesture of thanks.
• The one of the two keys to the locked workshop is on a hook inside the workshop itself; Corvo can gain entry by smashing one of the windows on the roof. A patrolling Overseer has the other key.
• The replacement valve in the workshop is meant for the small storage unit in the far corner of the compound. However, the unit can be just as easily accessed by breaking boards placed over one of its windows.

Gallery

A door leading to the back yard.

Back yard entrance.

A poster warning of an "unknown assailant" near the entrance to the Back Yard.

Area where bone charms are destroyed.

Door leading to the foyer of the Office of the High Overseer.

A door leading to the Office of the High Overseer, close-up.

Corvo speaks with Overseer Berthold and his sister upon first entering the Back Yard.

The cage where young recruits are kept.

An outside view of the cage for recruits.

Back Yard.

The workshop.

Target practice for crossbows in the workshop.

The postbox and lockers.

Lockers, beds, and a safe.

The bunkhouse.

A bunk bed.

The mess hall.

A room in the Back Yard.

Two Overseers attack an Overseer who has contracted the plague.

The infected Overseer being killed.

Corvo kills an Overseer in the Back Yard.

A dead Overseer and a wolfhound's corpse in the Back Yard.

The dock behind the Back Yard.

View of Dunwall and the Wrenhaven, seen from the docks.

The dark figure resembling a body bag seen from the lens on Corvo's mask before vanishing.

The mannequin atop the factory in the back yard.

The black fog left by the mannequin when vanishing.

The training dummy used for the mysterious figure.

Smoke that appears after the dummy blinks away.

The Announcement Room overlooking the Back Yard.

Add a photo to this gallery