Arno Dorian

Lore & Background

Scriptwriter Travis Stout explains that Arno Dorian is a lead character who constantly questions the Brotherhood of Assassins' legitimacy and belief system. He created Arno as a 'very well educated young man, raised in a noble household, with access to tutors and books, and thus is very well-read', and that he has a tendency to use humor to deflect whenever he is emotionally vulnerable, and habitually quotes classical texts whenever the opportunity arises.

Stout addressed the particular spelling of the character's first name, explaining that besides the fact that the phonetic spelling makes it easier to pronounce, it is in fact an older French/Germanic variation which is less common than the more conventionally French Arnaud. Stout grounds this naming in the Dorian family history, explaining that Arno's family 'is a very old one and they've been Assassins for a very long time so we wanted to give him a slightly more antiquated name'.

Unity creative director Alex Amancio explains that Arno joins the Assassins with the ulterior motive to resolve the mystery behind the death of Élise's father. Arno eventually develops a belief in the Assassins' cause and what they stand for, but he is still constantly questioning their methods and refuses to follow their values blindly, especially since the man who raised him and the father of his love interest is a Templar.

Reader's Guide

Arno's fighting style involves the smooth executions of his targets. He is capable of swiftly running up to an enemy, kick their legs out from underneath them, and puncturing their chest with the Assassins' signature Hidden Blade. Arno also has new weapons at his disposal like the Phantom Blade, a crossbow-like attachment which adds a projectile mechanism for his Hidden Blade, and is ideal for stealthy or long-range kills. The Dead Kings downloadable content pack also introduces the Guillotine Gun, an axe that also functions like a grenade launcher or blunderbuss with a long-range attack that strikes multiple enemies at once.

Dan Jeannotte provides the motion-capture and voice performance for Arno Dorian in Unity. Jeannotte described Arno as relatable and admirable, who uses humor as a defense or coping mechanism in the form of snappy remarks or sarcastic one-liners. Jeannotte noted that Arno is a skeptic who always questions everything about the Brotherhood of Assassins, including their cause and how they operate. Like other characters in Unity, Jeannotte used a British accent for Arno, with comparatively few dialogue or words being delivered in French.

Jeannotte explained that while the developmental team had considered French accents during discussions, the final decision was made 'using the cinematic conceit of having historical British accents like you would in something like the movie Gladiator'.

Did You Know?

• Dan Jeannotte estimated the script for the main storyline of Unity to be between 350 and 400 pages, excluding dialogue for optional side missions.
• For romantic scenes involving kissing, Jeannotte would rehearse once with his scene partner without their motion-capture helmets on, then re-enact the scene with helmets on but with a foot of distance between them.