The differences between Corvo, Emily, and Daud's powers
It's well-established that which powers Outsider's mark grants depends on its receiver, so why exactly are Corvo and Emily's powers so different? If you think of it, it's quite obvious:- Corvo is an archetypal lone wolf vigilante, so his powers revolve around projecting the maximum force onto a single point, be it onto his own body with Blink and particularly Bend Time, or an external vector like Windblast or Devouring Swarm, or imposing his will on others with Possession.
- Emily's powers, meanwhile, reflect her upbringing as the Empress of the Isles: Domino, Doppelgänger, and Mesmerize are all deeply rooted in Emily's conviction that she is literally entitled to order and to manipulate her subjects. The power that perhaps best exemplifies it is Far Reach, which looks deceptively similar to Blink at first, but actually operates on an entirely different principle, more akin to Daud's Pull: instead of teleportation, Far Reach allows Emily to grab objects at a distance, which just happens to pull her towards them if they are too heavy to move. This is, again, a reflection of her sovereign entitlement to every thing, not just every person in her realm.
- And just to continue the discussion, Daud's powers are extremely similar to Corvo's to highlight their similarities, but he replaces Corvo's external force projection (Possession, Windblast, Rat Swarm) with powers that underscore his position as the ringleader of a large assassin gang (Arcane Bond and Summon Assassin). His final power, Pull (strangely absent from Knife of Dunwall despite being ubiquitous among the Whalers), is, as noted earlier, similar to Emily's Far Reach but stems not from entitlement but most likely from Daud's deeply ingrained mercenary smash-and-grab mentality.
