Mordred Foley

"Innocence is only a matter of perspective"

Mordred Foley is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the videogame Dry Drowning. He appears in all chapters and endings.

## Psychological Profile:

"Mordred Foley considers himself a selfish individual exclusively committed to his job. His claim is at least partly confirmed by his practically nonexistent social life and his tendency to manipulate people around him."

## Biography:

"Mordred Foley left the middle-class family he was born in at the age of eighteen and at first tried studying Chemistry at the University of Nova Polemos, only to drop out three years later due to his poor results. He then worked as a cop for several years but eventually left the police as well in order to become a private investigator, founding his own agency at the age of 35. Foley Investigations became extremely famous after the successful capture of two of the most dangerous serial killers the city had ever seen (Jennifer Kingston and Robert Herrington), who were both executed. The detective was however later accused of having falsified the evidence used in their trial, an event that completely destroyed his professional integrity. Although on February 24th 2066 he was acquitted due to lack of evidence, the media and the accuseds' relatives are still convinced of his guilt. The case on which Foley was working on is currently considered still open."

## Character overview (spoilers):

Outlining Mordred's profile with precision is not possible because the character's psychology is ultimately shaped by the player himself through the many different choices featured in the game. Nevertheless, it is still possible to draw some conclusions based on some habits of his own that do not change.

To begin with, despite what's written in his psychological profile he seems to care deeply for his assistant Hera (whom he is also hinted to have been romantically involved with before the Foley Investigation scandal). Mordred's desire to protect Hera is shown to be a recurring factor that can contribute to both his best and most questionable decisions. Since these decisions ultimately depend on the player, the relationship between the two can also evolve towards different outcomes much like the main plot.

Mordred also seems to have a somewhat relevant sense of justice, as in more than one instance he shows no hesitation in criticizing things he considers morally wrong. Examples of this include the Black Bands (and specifically their political use of the Patterson Test as discussed in Chapter 1) and Dean Smith's videogame Be a Good Citizen (used as a mean to collect people's private data as discussed in Chapter 2). In a certain sense it could be speculated that Mordred's sense of justice was also what prevented him from building a successful career in the first place, causing him to feel disgusted by the very society he was desperately trying to fit in (more or less awarenly). This could also be what ultimately caused him to gain the ability to see the masks of lies.

Mordred is also at least partly truthful to his in-game description, in that he does indeed possess a great degree of personal ambition and a certain tendency to manipulate people around him, expecially by concealing either entirely or in part truths he's aware of. Examples of these concealed truths include his involvement with the events of Variagian 47 (as shown in the Emily Route in Chapter 2), his knowledge of professor Huber's secret research (discussed in Chapter 3) and the pact he can possibly make with Lee Graves at the end of Chapter 3.

Finally, Mordred is so obsessed with Pandora he will not hesitate to put his own physical and mental health on the line in order to pursue him. His obsession has also deep connections with his other three main traits since the serial killer is the most dangerous criminal Nova Polemos has ever seen, has caused the destruction of Mordred's professional integrity and has also kidnapped Hera, traumatizing her for life.

The different endings ultimately reflect Mordred's evolution towards some of these traits more than others.

## Trivia:

* The name Mordred is obviously a reference to the Mordred from the Arthurian legend, who is also responsible of an unforgivable sin based on deception/betrayal.
* The surname Foley is instead derived from the original modern Irish Ó Foghlú and older Irish Ó Foghladha, meaning "plunderer".
* He appears to have a scar right above his right eye, though it's never explained how he got it.