Inquisitor Elva's Warband

[Elva]

*Sigh*... Well she's done. After months of heart ache, the infamous Inquisitor Elva is finished. I've purposefully let this one sit for awhile so I could be sure it was right, and it fits the mold. Its also approved by my GM so there should be no issues with it apart from what you guys pick at, but that's the way it should be . So here she is, the final draft of Inquisitor Elva Bullen done to months of criticism and trial and error.

The rest of her warband shall follow with the winds of inspiration and free time on the same thread.
Elva Bullen
   
Personality

   Elva is cocky and easy going for the most part. She seems to live in the glory of her days in the guard, having her subordinates call her by her title of Captain and treating every hostile situation like a battle or engagement. She is rather logical in her thinking and treats every situation with a problem solving approach. However, when this doesn't seem to work for her, she can get rather hostile and aggressive either socially or physically depending on the situation. For the most part she values human life, at least to those who "deserve" it or don't get in her way. She is also slightly masculine in some of her tendencies and gets on naturally with males almost as if she where one herself. 

Appearance

The former officer is a mast of a woman. Six foot two and on the thin and gangly side, she can be rather intimidating at first through her sheer size in contrast with her gender. Her hair is a mop of dusty blonde strands which she keeps messy and unkempt. Her eyes are comparable to steel with their azure and her stare has been said to unnerve even the most hardened guardsman.
Elva appears to be no more than in her late twenties and is rather healthy despite her distaste for exercise and training.
   The lioness wears a large brown great coat over a carapace breast plate and her old guard uniform to which she wouldn't trade for the Imperium itself. To complement her torso's adornment, she wears two shoulder pads, one with a white lion's head decal painted on a red background. To put it simply, you'd be dead to catch her in anything other than her issued fatigues if she can help it.
   
   Gear and Equipment

   Though unconventional for an old Captain, Elva carries a lasrifle, to which she swears is more reliable and effective than any other weapon available. Its variant is a Bullpup make, again to which she prefers with a passion.
However, sometimes a plain old las weapon doesn't have enough fire power or intimidation factor to get the job done. For such a situation, the Inquisitor prescribes her trusty plasma pistol nicknamed: Rodullkyssa(presumably an old translation of Sun Kisser).
Elva carries a couple other implements should the situation call for it. A combat knife, a grenade or two and at least an extra reload for her ranged weapons, to which she is rather paranoid about.

Philosophies and Beliefs

Humanoids, and not just any humanoids; the ones that look human. These are the superior races in Elva's mind and it is their destiny to rule known space. This would normally be construed as a standard mindset in the Imperium, however there is one drastic inconsistency with such thought, one that many would consider heresy. Elva, the lioness, the Emperor's Valkyrie; does not see the Eldar as Xenos or aliens. In fact, she she has speculated on many an occasion that Humanity and the Eldar Race share a common ancestry, either through practical means such as an ancient isolated colony attempt or more grand origins that link the Eldar gods to the creation of both races.
Such opinions, and their vocalization have earned her many foes on both sides, however a few well minded Farseers have realized the potential of such a powerful and impressionable puppet, and she has been swayed in their preferred direction more than once. Of course on the other end of her allegiances she has both friends and foes, the latter making up the most for obvious reasons.

History 

Elva was born on the sedimentary desert world of Lagon VI, whose surface spanning ocean dried up long ago only to leave isolated lagoons and tidal pool like oceans. The people there where naturally taller than most due to its low gravity and the need for ganglier bodies to move through the deep now dry sands.
During the formation of the Macross Crusade, a strong xenoid presence was felt in the sector. Despite Imperial attempts to sway the xenos away, there where several reports of resourceful Pathfinders making their way past the Imperial defenses and barricades. One such was reported to have landed on Lagon VI but disappeared shortly from Imperial tracking soon after they where spotted.
This stranger went almost unnoticed through his trek along the world, his humanoid appearance and stealth avoiding both Imperial and native suspicion. In fact, it was said that he tolerated a naïve young hunter who traveled with the ranger for several hours completely unaware of her companion's true nature; it was twelve year old Elva Bullen who took an extreme fascination with the graceful and aloof  traveler. However such reports where dismissed as a rumor by the Planetary Governor.
Jak Bullen; Elva's father, was a metal smith. Although Elva knew little about her mother; it was assumed she was a traveling hunter. If that was so, Elva took after her by becoming a talented jaeger herself. She spent much time going through the dunes on her mount, a riding crab who she named Alexander, and taking shots at the dangerous wildlife and bringing back the spoils to her home settlement.
Eight Terran years later would see the death of her father to old age and her enlistment in the Imperial Guard as a Sergeant in a crustacean cavalry division that was being raised to participate in the liberation of the Sadrix system. However during the loading onto the transports, their mounts where left behind due to a clerical error.
Elva distinguished herself throughout the campaign, her survival and hunting techniques giving her enough time alive to adapt to the guard. She was eventually promoted to a Captain in the elite Stygian Assault Company. Elva was impressed by their coordination and discipline on the field and attempted to model herself as a fine example of the Stygian officer class. She stayed with her new unit until the end of her career.
As the campaign progressed, it became apparent that high command was not in control of their task. High Lord Inquisitor ___________ had observed several subtle alien nudges on the Imperial forces towards some unknown direction. __________ knew that he could not hope to understand the xenos plan, however he did have an underling who would.
Inquisitor Shia, a radical with a bad track record with her puritan counterparts, had a specialization as well as deep fascination with the aliens unsurpassed by any other. Though it posed a risk, ________ was confident that even if she did falter, it still would still unmask the xenoid plan.
Shia's investigations lead her to the frontlines of the conflict where she and an elite Stygian unit deployed behind heretic lines to investigate an old ruin. Shia had everything to prove and she could not afford to mess up again.
During the march to the ruins Shia noticed that the commanding officer of her escort seemed to be well aware that this was not an average sabotage or small scale investigation. After some observation, Shia noticed that the Captain was a strong leader and tactical thinker, as long as she had the upper hand, which if she didn't things deteriorated rapidly. Luckily the less than favorable situation only happened a handful of times. When she questioned the Stygian, the officer simply replied: "If a Stygian officer isn't in control, then there is something wrong."
The deep-strikers managed to make there way to the ruins with little incident. Shia began to look around as the guardsmen set a defensive perimeter. Elva positioned herself and her command squad inside where she could monitor her fallback positions.
Shia emerged from the depths of an old tomb a day later to find the officer starring at a statue of a beautiful mother goddess of the Eldar race. Shia observed for almost an hour before she realized she had found someone who shared her interest and awe for the aliens. The Inquisitor was quick to take the officer under her wing, even before evac arrived as the Imperial forces began to break through.
Elva left her unit without a single farewell, despite her attachment to her charges, and was soon a member of Shia's retinue. Though it would take two years for her to earn acolyteship, it was plain from the start that she would receive it.
After the toppling of the Traitor Warlord  Mazaarkos the Impalor, a two decade long war to which the Eldar where found to share a common goal with the humans, Elva received _________'s approval to become a full Inquisitor.
She would accomplish several minor investigations before she would begin her quest to uncover artifacts from the ancient of Eldar civilization. Some of these where said to have been touched by Isha herself, and the Inquisitor has drawn the attention of many high ranking Inquisitors and Eldar alike.

Inquisitor Elva Bullen
WS BS S   T   I  Wp Sg Nv Ld
56   73  49 57 77 78 80  42 85
Elva is Right handed.

Equipment-Bullpup lasrifle, plasma pistol, 1 spare las mag, I spare plasma clip, combat knife, 2 frag grenades, carapce armour on chest and shoulders(half value on shoulder pads).
Special Abilities-Leader, dead eye shot, lightning reflexes, fumble under pressure.

Fumble Under Pressure- If a friendly character within eyesight of Elva is incapacitated, Elva suffers a -10 to her nerve until an opposing model is incapacitated as well. If Elva is forced to make a toughness test, she suffers a -20 modifier to nerve and a -10 to leadership for the rest of the scenario. These modifiers are cumulative.

                        Type  Range Mode             Acc  Dam Shots Reload Weight Special
Bullpup LasRifle:Basic   C    Single/Semi2/3  -    2d6  50       3          23           -

[Dwi]

I can't see too much wrong with your work. Nerv, Weapon Skill could be a point or two higher but it should do.

Your SG and LD seem more like Inquisitor Lord level. Hell my ILord only has 75 LD and SG  but it's whatever you want.
For your avrage Inquisitor I would say an Ld and Sg of 60 to 70. However on the other hand your SG and LD should be reflect your char's age. My IL is 175 young for an IL he is just starting on the road to lorddom. His stats reflect this 68 WS, 75 SG, 75 Ld etc. Your Inquisitor could be well over 200 and still not have lorddom. So if you want those stats age up your char.

Hope that makes sence.

[MarcoSkoll]

Because of the whole 40-week gestational period and then the importance of the mother in raising the child, it's very unlikely that the father is known, but not the mother.
That's easily fixed though. The gender of the parent doesn't seem important here, so just swap mother and father in the background.

Other than that, I have no problems with the background.

I'd say that her Sg is perhaps a bit too high for an Inquisitor Ordinary, at least one who hasn't a particularly scholarly background. (I gave Inquisitor Rhodes Sg 81, but she's also a fully qualified doctorate who was considered something of a prodigy in her own field.)

Her Ld is also fairly high, but for a former Captain turned Inquisitor, that kind of forceful charisma is justifiable.

Her low Nv... not really justifiable though. That'd be low for a green guardsman, let alone an experienced officer. The description and the story you wrote implied someone who was at least confident, if not necessarily hugely brave.

Also, Wt 15 is unacceptably light for a long-arm, even a bullpup lascarbine. I'd recommend Wt 25.

[Dwi]

MS makes some good points there. I think Wt 23 for the lasgun would fit better though

[Inquisitor Cade]

Her rank progression is very unusual. You don't join as a sergeant, either as a private (or equivalent) or a lieutenant if you are an officer. Though promotion from a non-commissioned rank to one of an officer is not so impossible (though straight to captain is also unheard of) it is still atypical. On the other hand, with all the guard regiments out there I'm sure some will do things very differently, so just because this rank system makes no sense according to normal military organisation it doesn't mean it wouldn't be the case here. My suggestion would be to have her join as a lieutenant originally. This wouldn't have any effect on the background, that I can see, other than reverting the rank structure to a more recognisable one.

I like that she was selected by the inquisitor for her attitude towards the Eldar as much as for her skills, and in spite of her weakness for things going wrong that might well have rendered her below the notice of an inquisitor otherwise.

On her stats I agree with Marco:
Her Sg is very high indeed (though my take on Sg is rather more conservative than most). 80 would suggest to me a beyond genius level of intellect that, though not incompatible with the character, would have more effect on her backstory and character that you have demonstrated. A rather logical thinker, smart enough to become an officer rather than an enlisted woman despite her working class background (assuming you take my suggestion about that) who is smart enough to catch the eye of, and eventually become, an inquisitor would certainly be smarter than average, but an Sg beyond 60-70 would surprise me. Some impressive feats of mind, a greater emphasis on her smarts in the personality description and/or a more modest Sg would balance out what in my opinion is a bit of an inconsistency.

Ld on the other hand makes sense for an above average guard field officer turned inspirational inquisitor.

The nerve is very low and like the Sg does not fit with the description given of her.

You've given her Lightning reflexes. How do you use it. My suggestion is that it only applies to the forced pause for breath actions that a character faces when their initial actions lose validity (e.g. shooting at a target who falls out of sight after the first shot)

Uh oh, you've referred to a reload as a clip. Don't let Marco catch you. While magazine is a general term for a device that stores ammunition, a clip is more specific and doesn't apply here. Anyway, excuse my pedantry.

I'd give her some variety of close combat weapon (above the token knife). A chain weapon, or even a power weapon, as her mediocre Ws would stop her becoming too powerful a close combatant, and an inquisitor could come by one with relative ease. Unless an inquisitor has a specific reason not to, it is unusual for them not to have some sort of close combat defence. Maybe something more image intensive than practical, like a mundane flail, whip or just a sword.

Finally the lasgun. As a fan of lasweapons (the standard issue imperial weapon, whatever stubbers and auto rifles would have us believe) I'm afraid I'm going to subject you to my take on them. I also generally approve of a bullpup layout in firearms, but that's another matter.
1. Las rifles should be superior to autoguns in terms of range, as the 'missiles' travel far faster and without heed of gravity, wind etc. Thus range C or D is normal, with G for longlas style rifles and B for very short carbines.
2. Damage and Shots depend broadly on the 'megathule' power rating of the weapon. 18 magathule relates to about 2D6 damage and 100 shots, 19 megathule to around 2D6+1 and 80, and 21 megathule to about 2D6+3 and 50. Higher megathule levels enter into the range of Hellfire lasguns.
3. Power settings add to the versatility of las weapons and help make them distinct from autoguns. All las weapons have a high power setting that does +2 damage for double ammo consumption and some have an additional setting that does +1D6 damage for quadruple ammo consumption.
4. Lacking all/many of the moving parts of autoguns, automatic las weapons are easy to create, All lasguns are at least single/semi(2/3) and most have full (6), less so for 21 megathule varients. Some patterns may have much higher automatic rates.
5. Lasguns are slightly lighter than their autogun counterparts so typically weigh 25-30 rather than 35-40.

I suggest a range of C if this is a short weapon, with a medium barrel due to being bullpup (as the weight suggests) or D if it takes advantage of the layout to fit a very long barrel into a normal sized package. 18 or 19 megathules would be normal with full(6) or else a higher power 21 megathule with no fully automatic mode. Either way give it at least one high power setting. I'd say weight 23, or 26 if you go for range D, and maybe one higher again if you give it the additional higher power setting.

That's what I'd suggest anyway.

[MarcoSkoll]

Her rank progression is very unusual. You don't join as a sergeant, either as a private (or equivalent) or a lieutenant if you are an officer.

The Imperial Guard's recruitment strategy varies, but some of their methods mean it is possible that people might "join" as a NCO.

Unlike modern armies, which are well established forces which you add troops to progressively, some Imperial guard regiments are founded in one go, shipped off somewhere, fight a campaign or two until their numbers are too depleted (or the job they were needed for is done), then get disbanded keeping only the most important members to head up the next founding of the regiment.

As such, there are unlikely to be any lower rank NCOs when the regiment is created (although many COs may carry over), so more promising candidates will get assessed for those empty ranks.
After all, Sergeant is a more prolific rank in the IG than in the British Army, with one sergeant per 10 man squad, as opposed to one in a 25 man platoon. That said, whenever I've written regiments, they almost always use something far closer to the British Structure.

Still, it could make more sense for her to start as a commissioned officer. But as it is, it's not such a big thing that I'd have a problem with it - there's a lot more cases of NCO to CO promotions in the IG.
(GW's own knowledge of military structure is at times much more questionable. I remember one WD staffer with an army lead by a Captain, with a Major leading one of its platoons. )

(though straight to captain is also unheard of)

I assumed there had been several promotions along the way, not a single one.

Uh oh, you've referred to a reload as a clip. Don't let Marco catch you.

I've told him before. I've given up.

[Kaled]

I like the idea of them using crabs as mounts and was thinking that while such a mount may not be feasible in many games, a smaller crab-like creature could make an interesting companion. Maybe even a cyber-crab...

[Elva]

I will see to the changes momentarily. Sorry if I dropped off the face of the web for awhile, but life called *sigh*. Anywho, I'm glad that I pulled it off and she went over so well(sixth time is the charm ). Now onto the issues.

Her nerve and Sg: the nerve I agree with, I made a miscalculation in attempting to represent her cracking when things get out of her control, but I'll fix that along with the other issues after I'm finished this post. The Sg I will see to as well.

With her mother, I wanted her to leave to remain a bit of a mystery, sort of to make one wonder how much she took after her. Elva is also a bit masculine personally, in the image that I had so, another reason was to justify her lack of maternal influence, hence her slightly masculine tendencies(also her finding herself at home in the guard easier than most). I should probably add that to the appropriate section.

Lasrifle. I'm impressed by Cade's knowledge on the subject, though it might take awhile to sink in lol. I was referencing the three variants in the core rule book and wikipedia when I worked on it, so it is rough at best, however I'll start on it once I have time to think and review.

I wanted to make her a lieutenant originly, but it got vetoed in the editing process by my GM, however I will bring it up next time we talk. And she was promoted over time.

The lightning reflexes where to justify her quick thinking and natural talent towards problem solving in small amounts of time, something that an officer of her talent(especially one from an elite unit of Stygians) I would expect to have.

Drat, I tried to tip toe around the clip issue, but I couldn't think of a better term to describe a plasma pistol reload(apart from reload, but I like to spice things up).

She isn't meant to get up close and personal, at least without tossing a frag grenade. The Stygians who she served with had a tactical approach more closer to our time period, and would prefer to blast a charging enemy down with a grenade or las rifle than risking close quarters. The knife is merely a backup, though I might upgrade it to a power variant or give it some sort of edge(not that literal of course  ).

Cyber crab eh? That is a brilliant idea. Maybe she had an egg or something and it never grew to full size or she came across one later in her career. Now I want to make a division of rough riders mounted on them for my guard army . But ya, I think I'll go with that after I can find a way to fit it in.

[MarcoSkoll]

The nerve I agree with, I made a miscalculation in attempting to represent her cracking when things get out of her control.

In that case, I'd be inclined to give her a reasonably high nerve, but start giving her penalties to her speed/stats/something if she does fail a test.

With her mother, I wanted her to leave to remain a bit of a mystery, sort of to make one wonder how much she took after her.

Well it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Assuming her father is her real father (i.e. she's not adopted), it's hard to conceive of situations where so little is known about her mother.

I've got characters who don't know their father (easy enough, "one night stand" or equivalent) or don't know either of their parents (particularly unlucky Schola Progenium cases), but about the only "little known about the mother" I can think of is that Elva was conceived in a one night stand, the two parents were separated during the pregnancy, then the mother came back after giving birth and left Elva with her father.

Another reason was to justify her lack of maternal influence

That could be done with her mother dying while Elva was young.

I could see some kind of whirlwind romance, a child early on, then the mother dying relatively young... that could be as little as 2 or 3 years between the parents, but that would certainly give enough time for her father to get to know about her mother.

Personally, I'd write it so she grew up with her mother, knowing that her father was an officer in the Guard (having been with some regiment that had passed through, and who had gone looking for some "local entertainment") and having ended up enthralled by a perhaps overly heroic idea of who her father was - wanting to follow in his footsteps. (Possibly with the whimsy of finding and meeting him one day.)

That would mean he would have to be quite a charmer to have left a positive interpretation on Elva's mother (so that she didn't think of him as "Some jerk who had sex with me, then ran off" and instead described him favourably), but it could work.
If you want a character who's got masculine traits, it doesn't need a "no female influence" justification - some people are just that way. Ultimately, growing up without a mother isn't any kind of guarantee of masculine traits.

I wanted to make her a lieutenant originally, but it got vetoed in the editing process by my GM, however I will bring it up next time we talk.

Huh. Well, if someone is entering the commissioned officer ranks, they will usually start as a Lieutenant. It's not in the slightest out of the ordinary.

Drat, I tried to tip toe around the clip issue, but I couldn't think of a better term to describe a plasma pistol reload(apart from reload, but I like to spice things up).

Hydrogen flask is what they're usually called in the background.

[Elva]

The nerve I agree with, I made a miscalculation in attempting to represent her cracking when things get out of her control.

In that case, I'd be inclined to give her a reasonably high nerve, but start giving her penalties to her speed/stats/something if she does fail a test.

I rather like that idea. I'll see if I can come up with something.

Well it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Assuming her father is her real father (i.e. she's not adopted), it's hard to conceive of situations where so little is known about her mother.

I've got characters who don't know their father (easy enough, "one night stand" or equivalent) or don't know either of their parents (particularly unlucky Schola Progenium cases), but about the only "little known about the mother" I can think of is that Elva was conceived in a one night stand, the two parents were separated during the pregnancy, then the mother came back after giving birth and left Elva with her father.

Another reason was to justify her lack of maternal influence

That could be done with her mother dying while Elva was young.

I could see some kind of whirlwind romance, a child early on, then the mother dying relatively young... that could be as little as 2 or 3 years between the parents, but that would certainly give enough time for her father to get to know about her mother.

Personally, I'd write it so she grew up with her mother, knowing that her father was an officer in the Guard (having been with some regiment that had passed through, and who had gone looking for some "local entertainment") and having ended up enthralled by a perhaps overly heroic idea of who her father was - wanting to follow in his footsteps. (Possibly with the whimsy of finding and meeting him one day.)

That would mean he would have to be quite a charmer to have left a positive interpretation on Elva's mother (so that she didn't think of him as "Some jerk who had sex with me, then ran off" and instead described him favourably), but it could work.
If you want a character who's got masculine traits, it doesn't need a "no female influence" justification - some people are just that way. Ultimately, growing up without a mother isn't any kind of guarantee of masculine traits.

ahh, it may not be a guarantee, but that doesn't mean its not possible. Her father was supposed to be a down to earth guy who minded his own business and helped out when he could, not the kind who'd do the whole one night stand thing. That I was aiming to portray in the mother, which could be justified with her leaving then coming back one day with little Elva in her arms and basically saying "You're problem now.". That would also explain a bit of her masculinity, taking after her mother possibly through the description that her father gave, in combination with a possible admiration for the absent parent(which could have been developed by her seeing more (genetic) similarities between the description of her mother and her than her father). Bit of a complex explanation there.

Hydrogen flask is what they're usually called in the background.

lol I had remember talking about this recently with my GM.

[Flinty]

Humm.. assuming Mr Priestly and his early GW bods interpreted the equivilent modern institutions into the Grimdark, there are a number of historical precedents for entire regiments being conjured up overnight - during the English and American Civil Wars for example.

At the start of the conflicts candidates for officers were sometimes elected, given as patronage by the Colonel raising the regiment or even by lot. However, it seems NCO's were, wherever possible, professional soldiers; thier importance to the functional ability of a regiment seems to suggest that this rank actually does need to know what they are doing, rather then walk around in a nice new tailored uniform.

Glad to see you have reduced the Sg  (luckily for all of you I have just deleted a very tiresome diatribe  before I pressed the post button).

[JoelMcKickass]

I'm trying to join the army as an officer, and i've a friend who's in my OTC, and unfortunately, does have a tendency to crack when things start to go tits up. Personally, i'd have a drop in leadership, from experience, that represents the idea of being overwhelmed and whilst they recognise what to do, they flap and don't decide which one to do first.

I know officers in the British army start of as second Lieutenants, then go up to first Lieutenants, then Captains. The difference is Platoon Commander for Lieutenants and (in some cases) Captains, (so in charge of about 25 men), and Company Commander for Captains and Majors, a Company tends to consist of 3 platoons, and then added bits (specialist units that've been added on). Cavalry is weird though, the only reference i've got is Tanks...

Does your GM have a problem with her going in as an officer and would rather she started off in the ranks?

[Elva]

Now that I have some free time that I'm willing to put towards something useful and productive, I decided to do some work on Elva since she had been put on the back burner for too long for my liking.

I changed the weight and range for her lasrifle to Cade's suggested values and gave her the Fumble Under Pressure rule, which is my first attempt so I would love some feedback as to its accuracy in its portrayal of her in game terms.

I think my GM wanted me to move away from some old patterns with the rank business.

I'm gonna work on a sketch or two and converting her model next(which will be in 28mm scale). Her bullpup is going to be a fun challenge to work with.

[Elva]

Apologies on the double post, but I'd hate to see this thread buried too far as I am awaiting feedback on Elva's lasrifle and Fumble Under Pressure rule, which I would like to see before I move too far on with an unfinished warband leader.

I can't wait to hear your good ideas  and on a side note, her model is coming nicely and the rifle is one of my best works. Just awaiting a re-supplement of primer before I work on her further.

[MarcoSkoll]

I'd say both are fine. Usually lack of response means that people don't have a problem with what you've posted, not that they're ignoring it.

If I were to do anything, I'd probably have written Fumble Under Pressure as: "Elva's current Injury total is a penalty to both her Nv & Ld" because it fits with my policy of quick but detailed rules (not that I've always followed that policy). So she'd start to lose focus through pain, but would regain her composure as she recovered.

Your version is fine however. It takes a bit more keeping track of whether she's failed Toughness tests and seen allies go down, but it adds a degree of what she perceives as pressure and is perhaps more elegant in that way.