mental/emotional - 3 & beliefs - 3.
Character Survey of Doom | Not accepting.
> Describe the character’s thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
At his core, Corvo is intensely idealistic, no matter how those ideals have grown tarnished by suffering and decades-old grudges. Within the confines of his own mind, he tends to wax on right and wrong, the price of the goals he seeks and the Outsider-given powers he’s been given to pursue them, among other things. Few people ever really see this side of him, however, as age and a decades-long career in the military has honed that more practical side of his mind. When tackling a problem (whether it’s a frog stuck in a grandfather clock or a smuggling ring bringing military contraband into the city) Corvo relies on logic in order to overcome the obstacle. But when the problem becomes personal... Corvo’s own heart, so fierce in its love and its hate, often takes over, and his pragmatic thinking is charged with fulfilling these irrational feelings with rational methods.
> Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
Corvo has a personal set of principles that have been warped by the suffering he’s received—and inflicted—throughout his lifetime.
As a young man, brought up from the slums and into the Serkonan Grand Guard by a strong sword arm, Corvo’s principles were molded on a very idealistic view on what his military service was meant to entail: he must defend the weak, preserve lawful order, and punish the wicked with extreme prejudice. This zeal was tempered somewhat as he grew older and started a family (of sorts), so before being wrongfully blamed for the Empress’ assassination, Corvo was a good man who held himself to a very certain set of standards.
Losing everything changed things quite a bit. Throughout six months of torture, Corvo held onto his principles—he never once uttered a word of self-incrimination, nor was he coerced into signing false confession—but they were eventually corroded by pain and hate and fear. Corvo left Coldridge Prison with a very different set of principles in his heart. He understood that he could not avail of the old way of doing things... but there was more than a little cynicism there now. Taking lives became less of a burden, and Corvo began to acknowledge that primal satisfaction he gained when killing a foe. Gaining the favor of the Outsider—and with it, power beyond even that of his mortal foes—only exacerbated this desire to contradict his previous morals to satisfy his own urges. However, that ‘good man’ still exists within Corvo, so every time he visits violence on those who might not necessarily deserve it, there rises the ever-present specter of doubt and regret...
tldr: Corvo grew up with a strong set of morals, but forcibly being crowned the Dumpster King of Shitsville made him a lot more willing to forgo these principles for the purpose of seeking beautiful bloody vengeance. He’s very conflicted about it all but right now, he’s pretty stab-happy and outwardly fine with it. Also if you get onto his patented Shit-List™, he will find the most ironic and excruciating form of punishment because death is too good for assholes like that.