Dunwall

Dunwall, the capital of Gristol and the Empire of the Isles, is an industrial whaling city situated on the Wrenhaven River. Its strategic importance has made it the target of numerous events throughout recorded history. It is the primary setting for the first Dishonored game, as well as The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches story DLC packs. It is also briefly visited in Dishonored 2.
==Geography==
Dunwall is one of the largest cities in the Empire, spanning an area of 19.65 square miles, and sitting at an elevation of 125 feet.Map in Dishonored: The Dunwall Archives It is divided in two by the Wrenhaven, a vast river which serves as the main thoroughfare for whaling trawlers and other commercial traffic. Kingsparrow Island, located where the river meets the sea, is the only island known to exist off the city coast. Dunwall is dominated by rocky outcroppings and numerous cliffs, which are topped by multiple factories and manors.
Dunwall is an expansive city comprised of numerous districts and locations: industrial, commercial and residential.
The districts north of the Wrenhaven are generally wealthier than those located on its southern counterpart. The Estate District, home of the aristocracy, and Dunwall Tower, the seat of the Empire, are located on the north side, dominated by the Clocktower of Dunwall, the tallest building in the city, save for Dunwall Tower itself.Dishonored: The Corroded Man, p. 26 Industrial districts such as Slaughterhouse Row and Drapers Ward are mostly located near the river, facilitating transport by trade vessels. Transport of goods and people is also assured by rails circulating all over the city. Lastly, Kaldwin's Bridge joins each side of the river while still allowing access to large vessels inland.
===Watercourses===
*Wrenhaven River: The main river flowing through Dunwall. Used mainly by whaling trawlers to access the slaughterhouses alongside the river.
*Dunwall Sewers: The city's waterworks used to evacuate wastewater directly into the Wrenhaven. They cover most of Dunwall's underground.
===Districts===
*Distillery District: A district named after the old Dunwall Whiskey Distillery, and known for the rampant criminality in its slums.
*Holger Square: Location of the Office of the High Overseer. It serves as headquarters for the Overseers of the Abbey of the Everyman in Dunwall.
*Estate District: A wealthy, upper class district housing the estates of Dunwall's aristocracy, such as the Boyles' and the Morays'. The Clocktower is situated there along with the Shining Market north of it.Dishonored Gamemaster’s Toolkit, p. 43
*Rudshore Financial District: Dunwall's financial heart, including the main establishment of the Greaves Lightning Oil company and the Rudshore Chamber of Commerce. It was colloquially referred to as the "Flooded District" after a devastating flood during the Rat Plague, and used to round up plague victims, both dead and alive.
*Old Port District: A harbor quarantined during the Rat Plague. It housed the Hound Pits Pub, headquarters of the Loyalist Conspiracy.
*Slaughterhouse Row: An industrial district of slaughterhouses nested in a bay of the river. It had some of the most modern whale slaughterhouses in its heyday, including the Rothwild Slaughterhouse.
*Legal District: Home to several major law offices in Dunwall, such as the estate of the crooked City Barrister Arnold Timsh.
*Drapers Ward: A major textile production area reconverted into a high-class clothing center. It declined during the plague crisis and was violently disputed between the Hatters and the Dead Eels. The district regained its prestige in later years.
*Mutcherhaven District: A mostly abandoned aristocratic district outside the city walls along the course of the Wrenhaven up North.Dishonored: The Corroded Man, p.135Dishonored: The Corroded Man, p.173 Home to several large estates of Dunwall's nobility, such as the Brigmore's and Inchmouth's.Dishonored Gamemaster’s Toolkit, p.43 and 47
*Civil Services District: An area home to various offices and courts dedicated to maintaining Dunwall's bureaucracy and logistics. It was established when Dunwall was officially named capital of the Empire of the Isles.Dishonored Roleplaying Game, pp. 125-128 During the plague crisis, emergency grain rationing was set up in the district to help citizens survive. 
*Tailors' District: An unseen district where a protest for more food, elixir rations and better treatment was severely repressed by the City Watch under Burrows's regency. It is described to be similar to Drapers Ward, but instead of factories where children and unskilled laborers toiled to produce cloth, it was home to expert tailors who designed such cloth into clothing. 
*Dunwall Water District: Less of a "district" in the traditional sense, and more of a collection of various authorities and responsibilities dedicated to maintaining Dunwall's canals, sewers, sluices, drains, and cisterns. Their offices are located in a narrow, tall brownstone building in the Civil Services District but their employees, either technicians, bureaucrats, or hired laborers, can be found everywhere in the city. They suffered heavily during the Rat Plague as their works took them to the most infected areas. 
*Rust District: An industrial district on the riverside where the Berrington Ironworks are located.
*New Mercantile District: A large residential village north from the Estate District past the old walls, emptied during the plague crisis and incorporated into the city's new expansion plans circa 1851.Dishonored: The Corroded Man, p. 46
*Old Waterfront: An industrial district on the riverside, east of Drapers Ward. It consists of several factories, including a small whale slaughterhouse.
*Tower District: The district around Dunwall Tower, with businesses such as the Boyle Industries office and the Dunwall Courier, and various docks.
*Dunwall Harbor: The city's harbor spreads along each shore of the Wrenhaven, with numerous docks boarding the city's riverside districts. It starts upriver, west from Slaughterhouse RowDishonored: The Corroded Man, p. 71 and continues past the Old Port and Rudshore. In 1852, the ISS Jessamine Kaldwin was anchored there after its launch.Letter from Rebecca Fletcher
*Wyrmwood District: The oldest and perhaps first established part of Dunwall, west from the Flooded District. This small but densely built area is the city's occult market.Dishonored Gamemaster’s Toolkit, p.48 It consists of Wyrmwood Way, which acts as its main thoroughfare, and smaller, twisted streets branching out from it.
*Downmarket District: A fairly large residential district for the lower class composed of four neighborhoods and the first to fall to the Rat Plague. At the center lies the Roseburrow Industries ruin.Dishonored Gamemaster’s Toolkit, p.29
*Debris District: A slum neighboring the Downmarket District, nicknamed as such by a passing academic.
*Academy District: The site of the Academy of Natural Philosophy as well as the the city's Port Authority and the Embassies of the Empire's other nations. It is located along the South-Easternmost side of the Wrenhaven River.Dishonored Gamemaster’s Toolkit, p.38
===Monuments And Other Important Landmarks===
*Dunwall Tower: Home and central seat of the Empire's rulers.
*Coldridge Prison: Main prison in Gristol holding Dunwall's criminals.
*The Golden Cat: An upscale bathhouse renowned for its essential part in Dunwall history, famous for theater and burlesque. It is Dunwall's most famous brothel, and the best-known tavern in the Isles.Dishonored: The Corroded Man, p. 34
*Kaldwin's Bridge: A large bridge spanning across the Wrenhaven. It holds several warehouses, apartments and estates, such as Anton Sokolov's Safehouse.
*Kingsparrow Island: A small island off the coast of Dunwall. It serves as a military fortress and holds a luxury penthouse atop the monumental lighthouse.
*The Academy of Natural Philosophy: Home to the intellectual elite of Dunwall and the chief authority of science across the Empire.
*Clocktower: The Clocktower is one of Dunwall's most famous landmark, located on the northern border of the Estate District and towering the city.
*Parliament: The seat of the Empire's government, where Gristol's aristocracy along with representatives of the other nations' rulers gather to legislate regarding the rule of the Empire and Gristol itself.Dishonored: The Corroded Man, p.46
*Wyrmwood Way: A street where fringe alchemists, bone charm crafters and anyone dabbling into the occult and the superstitious gather, despite the occasional raids by Overseers. The surrounding area is referred to as Wyrmwood, and is part of Wyrmwood district.
*Old Whaling Ship Hulks: Decommissioned whaling trawlers gathered downriver of the city. They were abandoned by their bankrupted company and were never broken down. They now serve as hideouts for illegal activities.Dishonored: The Wyrmwood Deceit, Issue Four
==History==
===Early History and Evolution===
The present site that Dunwall occupies was once home to an ancient civilization that collapsed for unknown reasons. Having existed approximately 1000 years before disappearing around the 9th century,Timeline in Dishonored: The Dunwall Archives its people worshiped the Outsider and inscribed whale bones with his mark. The ruins were only discovered in 1814, deep under present-day Dunwall. Many trinkets and artifacts from that era still wash up along Dunwall's shores.Timeline in Dishonored: The Dunwall Archives"...A thousand years ago there was another city on this spot. The people carved the bones of whales and inscribed them with my Mark. Children still find them washed up in the river-mud..."
Dunwall as a city always thrived from the bounty of the seas. It started as a few shacks for local fishermen before developing into a small whaling town. The Academy of Natural Philosophy was established there in the 16th century, but it wasn't until the War of Four Crowns 50 years later that the city became the seat of power for both Gristol and the nascent Empire.Official Dishonored website: Discover Dunwall - EnergyDishonored Roleplaying Game, p.111-114
The city was severely threatened during the Morley Insurrection, and the stability of its infrastructure was questioned. Emperor Euhorn Kaldwin, first of his name, undertook various urban projects to improve Dunwall and created the City Watch in 1809. Furthermore, the discovery of whale oil's potential as a fuel source by natural philosopher Esmond Roseburrow led to the emergence of various technological marvels, from mechanized whaling trawlers to electric lighting and security devices, many created by the inventor Anton Sokolov. This set an industrial boom across the Empire in 1825, further increasing Dunwall's wealth.
===The Rat Plague (1835-1837)===
The rat plague, a virulent and deadly disease originally from the distant Pandyssian Continent, emerged in Dunwall's poorest districts and decimated the city's population. Following a plea for aid from Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, the other nations of the Empire blockaded Dunwall to prevent the disease from spreading outside the city. Although the Empress rejected early efforts to establish quarantines and martial law to combat the plague, her assassination allowed Lord Regent Hiram Burrows to enforce aggressive policies, including using military technology for social control. Desperation within the city led to riots and chaos as Dunwall's government became increasingly oppressive and obtrusive. Whole areas of the cities became depopulated as neighbors, family, and friends succumbed to the disease, either dying or turning into weepers.
Walls of light controlled the flow of movement within the city, and the City Watch patroled the streets with a strict curfew imposed from dusk to dawn. An ever-increasing wealth gap secured health for those fortunate to have enough money, as the upper classes and their retinues hoard the elixirs that stave off the plague. Victims of the plague, both alive and dead, were deported to the Flooded District, devastated as a result of poor maintenance. Gang activity became rampant, strengthened by lax law enforcement and the collapse of industry within the city. Amid the chaos, corruption thrived as the City Watch pulled its efforts back to guarding more affluent areas of the city, leaving uncontrolled areas into the hand of numerous gangs.
In reality, the Rat Plague was covertly introduced by Hiram Burrows, then Royal Spymaster, in an effort to eradicate Dunwall's poverty. The rats however spread the plague beyond the poorest districts, leading to a city-wide sanitary crisis. Fearing that then Empress Jessamine Kaldwin I would find out, he orchestrated her assassination and seized control of the Imperial throne.The Lord Regent's Confession After a successful and short-lived coup, the efforts of Corvo Attano and the Loyalist Conspiracy to restore Jessamine's daughter, Emily Kaldwin to the throne succeeded, deposing Burrows and restoring stability to the Empire.
===Restoration and Expansion (1837-1852)===
The end of the Lord Regent Hiram Burrow's corrupt reign and the coronation of Emily Kaldwin marked the beginning of Dunwall's restoration under her rule. The Flooded District was drained and reconstructed, regaining its place as the city's throbbing financial heart. Free movement was reestablished throughout the Empire; trade resumed, and with it came travelers, foreigners and dignitaries.Dishonored: The Corroded Man, p. 35 Their arrival brought a new prosperity to the city and the Imperial Court, allowing new planning projects and the expansion of Dunwall past the old northern walls. Neighboring towns and villages such as the New Mercantile District were integrated in the city, some of them having been victims of the plague and left unoccupied for years. Within fourteen years the rat plague was all but a distant memory.Dishonored: The Corroded Man, p. 47-48
The Greaves Lightning Oil company began shuttering numerous factories in Slaughterhouse Row a few of years after the restoration of Empress Emily Kaldwin; focusing their efforts on modern installations closer to the harbor mouth. As a result, much of the city's old industrial heart had been mothballed. Furthermore, the city slowly became more and more gentrified with each passing year.Dishonored: The Corroded Man, p. 36
The fortunes of Dunwall's criminal gangs waxed and waned in the years following the Lord Regent's rule, with many worn down by a newly reinvigorated and reorganized City Watch. As a result, numerous gangs left Dunwall for easier cities in the Empire, with some rumored to resettle as far as Karnaca.Dishonored: The Corroded Man, p. 61
==Society==
Dunwall is known for extreme class division and xenophobia. The impoverished masses form the lowest stratum of society, and during the Rat Plague are the target of biological warfare aimed at eradicating poverty by decimating the underclass. During the plague, survivors represent those who have survived the plague but are downtrodden and oppressed. They are encouraged to join the Navy"Citizens displaced by quarantine measures are reminded that the Dunwall Navy has bunks, food and salary, and in some cases, legal amnesty available for qualified applicants. Report to a recruiter to learn more about the opportunities in service to the Lord Regent." or, in the case of children, the Abbey"Attention Dunwall Citizens: You are urged to consider presenting children between the ages of seven and ten to the Abbey to be tested. As Overseers, they will be provided for, and serve the wellbeing of the community and the city." in return for protection from the plague.
The aristocracy continued to thrive even during the prevalence of the plague, many of them belonging to influential families such as the Carmines, Inchmouths, Boyles and Pendletons. Individuals from other nations within the Empire are not highly regarded, and are not often seen among the privileged classes; Corvo Attano and Anton Sokolov are the only known exceptions, both of whom experience degradation due to their nationality.The Royal Protector"Yes, Sokolov's a foreigner - with the looks and manner of a Tyvian Swineherd. But he is also a great genius." Further, it is common belief that marriage between members of Gristol's aristocracy and people of other nations "dirties the blood."
Adherence to the Abbey of the Everyman is widespread, yet cultists of the Outsider prevail in the city's many dark corners. Cuisine is also divided - for the downtrodden, there are cheap canned goods and rations, and for Dunwall's upper classes, expensive foods, whiskeys and ciders are imported from across the Isles.
==Demographics==
In 1837, Dunwall had a total population of 202,900, with an average density of 10,620 per square mile. The total county population totaled 682,500. Prior to the Rat Plague, Dunwall had a population of around two million people. Dishonored Roleplaying Game, p. 118
==Law and Order==
The Dunwall City Watch is the primary law enforcement agency for the entire city, with three different tiers: the Lower Watch, the Guards, the Officers and a specialized rank, the tallboys. The Wrenhaven River Patrol enforces Dunwall's laws across the River and its tributaries. The soldiers of the Combined Armies of the Empire work with the Watch. During the reign of Hiram Burrows, the Abbey of the Everyman's Overseers worked alongside the Watch, given all the powers of a civil police,"...in this continuing crisis, the Overseers of the Abbey of the Everyman remain in service of the state, and are empowered to enforce whenever and wherever necessary..." though they largely deal with crimes of heresy. Some of Dunwall's largest criminal organizations include the Bottle Street Gang, Dead Eels, the Hatters, and Parliament Street Cutters.
During the rat plague, Arnold Timsh served in the newly-created position of City Barrister, and was responsible for confiscating properties left abandoned during the plague crisis, and to incorporate those holdings into state hands if no owner came forwards.The City Barrister The Responsible Citizens Group reported directly to the Royal Spymaster, and were tasked with reporting on suspicious activities.
The City Planning Department is one of the civil-oriented departments of Dunwall's administration, and oversaw the reinforcement of the Dunwall Sewers during the reign of Emperor Euhorn Kaldwin the First.The Sewers Beneath Dunwall
==Architecture==
Much of Dunwall's architecture is determined by wealth and status. Areas of affluence such as the Estate District exhibit the city's most elaborate architectural influences, with tall columns, marble staircases, large gardens and ornamental guilding. Poorer districts are comprised of simpler, more utilitarian structures. The latter also experience the heaviest deterioration during the plague, due to lack of civil maintenance; the Rudshore Financial District and Drapers Ward act as major exceptions following the breaking of the river barriers and the rise of gang warfare, respectively.
==Technology and Transportation==
Dunwall, being one of the most industrialized cities of the Isles, possesses numerous advanced technologies from the mundane to the sophisticated. Electric lighting and heaters are common in almost every home, while for security purposes, walls of light and arc pylons are utilized to control movement. The most infamous of these technologies is the tallboy, a heavily armored soldier armed with explosive arrows, walking on motorized stilts. Almost all of these technologies are powered by whale oil.
Due to Dunwall's port environment, boats, from small motor boats to massive, hulking whaling trawlers, form the bulk of transportation in and out of Dunwall. On the ground, railway tracks provide transport for the City Watch and smaller rail cars are used by the aristocracy as a means of personal transport. Elevated rail lines provide fast and easy transport for people, cargo and even corpses.
==Trivia==
*Dunwall is strongly inspired by London and Edinburgh,Interview with Havey Smith after the 2016 Bethesda E3 Showcase as well as British and American whaling towns as they existed in the 19th century.
**Further allusions to London can be seen from the commentary of a Natural Philosopher regarding Dunwall: "Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave Dunwall. No, Sir, when a man is tired of Dunwall, he is tired of life; for there is in Dunwall all that life can afford." This quote is almost identical to a popular quote regarding London, made by literary figure and author Samuel Johnson, in 1777.When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life: Samuel Johnson
*"Dun" is Old English for gray or drab, and is also a Scottish/Irish Gaelic term for "fort". Both of these definitions hint at aspects of the city.
*The collectible item Medicinal Herbs (valued 20 coins) are Nettle Seeds made in Dunwall.
*The compass on the city map in Dishonored 2 is wrong and points to west. This is confirmed by directions given in texts from Dishonored 2 and the first two novels.
**The Dishonored Roleplaying Game however sticks to the compass of the city map in Dishonored 2 for directions.
*Much of Dunwall's architecture is influenced by a mixture of real-world architectural influences: Dunwall Tower exhibits Gothic architecture, the Golden Cat resembles Art Nouveau, and the Boyle Mansion is heavily Victorian. The majority of housing is influenced by Victorian (primarily Jacobean revival) style and is comprised of a handful different designs repeated throughout the city. Industrial influences are also present, such as in the expansion of Dunwall Tower, Kaldwin's Bridge, and quarantine barriers, while Coldridge Prison and the Office of the High Overseer take heavily after Brutalist architecture.
*The location of Dunwall on the newest map of the Empire was slightly misplaced. According to the other maps of Gristol, its pin should have been placed further left along the coast, where the Wrenhaven meets the sea.
==Gallery==
===Concept Art and Renders===
2 concept art dunwall.png|Early concept art.
2 concept art dunwall2.png|Early Dunwall concept art.
concept art buildings.jpg|Dunwall buildings concept art.
dishonored concept fabric building.jpg|Fabric-covered buildings concept art.
street scene wo number.jpg|Concept art of a street scene.
concept art dunwall.jpg|Dunwall concept art.
concept art dishonored.jpg|Concept art of checkpoints on a street in Dunwall.
concept art dunwall something.png|Concept art of a building in Dunwall.
dishonored pre art01.jpg|Pre-production art of Dunwall.
dishonored pre art02.jpg|Pre-production art featuring Dunwall at night.
dishonored pre art04.jpg|Pre-production artwork of a foggy Dunwall.
dishonored pre art05.jpg|Pre-production art featuring a checkpoint in Dunwall.
dishonored pre art06.jpg|Pre-production art depicting Dunwall.
Alley Dunwall.png|A street in the Legal District during the early development of Dishonored.
render dunwall.jpg|Dunwall render.
Signs.jpg|Signs found throughout Dunwall.
Street assets2.jpg|Objects found throughout Dunwall.
Street assets.jpg|More objects found in Dunwall.
Wall.jpg|Wall texture.
===Dishonored===
dunwall panorama straight.png|Dunwall panorama.
Dunwall Clock Tower.png|The Clocktower.
DunwallTower.png|Dunwall Tower.
Screens05 coldridge.png|Coldridge Prison.
Office high overseer.png|Office of the High Overseer.
Clavering Boulevard.png|The Distillery District.
Samuel Golden Cat.jpg|The Golden Cat.
Dishonored-bridge.jpg|Kaldwin's Bridge.
LadyBoylesLastParty.png|The Boyle Mansion.
Flooded District.jpg|The Flooded District.
Kingsparrow1.jpg|Kingsparrow Island.
Sewerssewers02.png|The Dunwall Sewers.
dunwallgraffiti.png|Graffiti on a sign in Dunwall.
Dunwall.jpg|Part of Dunwall, reflecting its rundown environment.
Dishonored Dunwall Wrenhaven.jpg|View of Dunwall upstream atop Kaldwin's Bridge.
0 warehouse ad.png|A warehouse in Dunwall with mountains and building in the background.
Screen28 dunwall.jpg|Dunwall at night under the moon.
Dunwall View.png|View of Dunwall from the Hound Pits Pub.
Dunwall Closeup.png|Dunwall Tower and Coldridge Prison from afar.
Dunwall landscape.png|View of Dunwall from the Hound Pits at dawn.
Old port10.png|The Old Port District.
Outside coldridge01.png|View of Dunwall from Coldridge Prison.
Screens03 canal2.png|Millenary Canal in Drapers Ward.
Riverfront02.png|The Drapers Ward Riverfront.
Bmanor07.png|Brigmore Manor in the Mutcherhaven District.
Slaughterhouse row04.png|Slaughterhouse Row.
Legal district06.png|The Legal District.
Water District.png|Only mention of the Dunwall Water District.
===Dishonored 2===
Dunwall in Dishonored 2.png|A pre-release view of Dunwall for Dishonored 2.
Dreadful wale dunwall1.png|The Dreadful Wale in a port in Dunwall.
Dunwall Docks.png|Dunwall's dock area, circa 1852.
SmogDunwall.png|Dunwall during the reign of Delilah, 1852
Dunwall Dis 2 Promo.jpg|Dunwall in Dishonored 2.
Dunwall Tower (3).jpg|View over Dunwall.
Dunwall Tower (8).jpg|View on Coldridge Prison.
Dunwall Tower (1).jpg|View over the rest of the Tower District.
===Other Images===
Galvani Painting1.png|A painting of Dunwall, found at the Galvani Residence.
Map eminent domain.jpg|A map of the Legal District.
DunwallArea72N85Map.jpg|A map of John Clavering Boulevard in Dunwall.
DunwallMap.jpg|Dunwall indicated on a cartographer's map.
Dunwall map.jpg|A map of Dunwall dated 1837.
NewDunwallMap.png|The new map of Dunwall as posted on the franchise's official Twitter.
Gristol map.png|A map showing Dunwall as well as the bottom portion of Gristol.
DUNWALL STREETS MAP.jpg|An area map of Dunwall's Tower District.
==References==
de:Dunwall
es:Dunwall
ru:Дануолл
pl:Dunwall
fr:Dunwall
it:Dunwall
zh:顿沃
Category:Cities