An advertisement for the tarot deck.
Included within the Special Edition of Dishonored is a 78-card tarot deck – themed on the game – which is usable to play the Game of Nancy, as well as for divination purposes.
The deck consists of 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana cards, but deviates from traditional tarot decks in that both the names for Major Arcana and their positioning differ.
While Arkane Studios did not provide a companion book or online information to accompany the deck and explain its occult symbolism for divination purposes, Harvey Smith, Co-Creative Director of Dishonored, stated on Twitter:
- "That's the kind of thing the community would have to do. We would pay attention to what the community devised. We'd look at it after the fact. Otherwise, too much work for already slammed people. Yeah, we'd love to see it, to give thoughts when we could, etc."
- —Harvey Smith.
Major Arcana
I - Judgement: Emily Kaldwin, daughter of the late Empress and rightful heir to the throne of Gristol.
II - Lust: Madame Prudence, owner and mistress of the Golden Cat pleasure house.
III - The Man on Stilts: One of the tallboys, elite members of the City Watch – heavily armored and chemically enhanced – that stalk the streets of Dunwall on their stilts.
IV - The Boatman: Samuel Beechworth, sailor, ferryman and moral guide of Death, Corvo Attano.
V - The Witch: Vera Moray, now known as Granny Rags, who is blind, mad and deceitful, and not quite as harmless as one might think.
VI - The Weeper: Victims of the plague in its last stage, weepers are senseless horrors that roam the streets of Dunwall, abandoned by society.
VII - The Lady: Lady Boyle, a ruthless mistress and powerful supporter of the Lord Regent, Hiram Burrows.
VIII - Regret: Daud, leader of a group of assassins and the one responsible for killing the Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, "blessed" with dark powers by the Outsider himself.
IX - The Urchin Prince: Slackjaw, ruthless, yet principled leader of the Bottle Street Gang.
X - The Twins: The Pendleton twins, Custis and Morgan, slavers, sadists and corrupt members of parliament who support the Lord Regent, Hiram Burrows.
XI - The Hermit: Piero Joplin, a socially inept genius, alchemist, weaponsmith and member of the Loyalists who oppose the Lord Regent.
XII - The Artist: Anton Sokolov, the Royal Physician, and a ruthless, unscrupulous scientist and inventor.
XIII - Cruelty: The Royal Interrogator, a sadistic torturer with a dark passion and an even darker secret.
XIV - The Governess: Callista Curnow, a passionate member of the Loyalists and a caring tutor to Emily Kaldwin.
XV - Nobility: Treavor Pendleton, the younger and morally stout brother of the malicious Pendleton twins, as well as a leading member of the Loyalists and opposer of the Lord Regent in parliament.
XVI - The High Overseer: Thaddeus Campbell (in red), a corrupt supporter of the Lord Regent, and Teague Martin (in blue), a member of the Loyalists that plan to overthrow Hiram Burrow's reign.
XVII - The Drowned Man: Admiral Farley Havelock, the leader of the loyalists, who is a soldier that knows that innocent people will die in every war.
XVIII - The Lord Regent: Hiram Burrows, the former Royal Spymaster for the Empress and instigator of her assassination, who now rules Gristol with an iron first.
XIX - The Empress: Jessamine Kaldwin, beloved Empress of the Empire of Isles, who died at the hands of the assassin Daud, in order to enable the coup d'état of Hiram Burrows.
XX - The World: A map of the Empire.
XXI - Death: Corvo Attano, once Lord Protector and bodyguard of Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, who was framed for her murder by Hiram Burrows. Freed by the Loyalists that oppose the Lord Regent, he now treads a careful path between vengeance and justice.
The Outsider: God, Devil, angel or demon, the Outsider is a timeless being of magic and mystery that has taken an interest in the world of Gristol and, particularly, in Corvo Attano.
Minor Arcana
The Suit of Rats - A suit of 14 cards, represented by rats.
The Suit of Swords - A suit of 14 cards, represented by swords.
The Suit of Pistols - A suit of 14 cards, represented by pistols.
The Suit of Skulls - A suit of 14 cards, represented by skulls.
Each suit contains four face cards and ten numbered cards in descending order, with the face cards being the King, Queen, Commoner, and Jack, and the numbered cards spanning from 10 to 1.
Use in Divination
While not specifically designed in accordance to the standards set in modern tarot decks, and while incorrectly numbered, the cards within the Dishonored Tarot deck can be theoretically linked to their Arcana counterparts by using their representative character and personalities, compared with the meanings given to certain tarot cards.
There are multiple theories and collections of ideas concerning what cards in a regular tarot deck the Dishonored cards represent. The most popular representations are as follows:
The Minor Arcana:
- Rats are Pentacles.
- Swords are Swords.
- Pistols are Wands.
- Skulls are Cups.
- The Kings and Queens remain Kings and Queens. Jacks are Pages, and Commoners are Knights.
The Major Arcana
- Judgement - Judgement
- Lust - Strength
- Man on Stilts - Chariot
- The Boatman - The Sun
- The Witch - The High Priestess
- The Weeper - Fortune
- The Lady - Justice
- Regret - The Tower
- The Urchin Prince - The Moon
- The Twins - The Lovers
- The Hermit - The Hermit
- The Artist - The Magician
- Cruelty - The Devil
- The Governess - Temperance
- Nobility - The Star
- The High Overseer - The Heirophant
- The Drowned Man - The Hanged Man
- The Lord Regent - The Emperor
- The Empress - The Empress
- The World - The World
- Death - Death
- The Outsider - The Fool
It is also important to note that it is possible to tell which way up a card in the Dishonored deck has been dealt by looking at the back.
Game of the Year Edition
A set of updated cards was released with the Game of the Year Edition of Dishonored, available to those who pre-ordered the game from GameStop. They feature new characters from the DLCs, such as Lizzy Stride and Billie Lurk and also new character classes, such as the Butchers and the Brigmore Witches.
Additional Information
- The Minor Arcana can be used for playing common card games that use a regular card deck, like Poker or Solitaire.
Trivia
- In-universe, a modified version of the Dishonored Tarot Deck is used, called the "Game of Nancy Tarot Deck".
- They can be found during The Knife of Dunwall at the Timsh Estate and in a cell in Coldridge Prison during The Brigmore Witches.
Gallery
Special Edition
Game of the Year Edition
In-Game
