Necris, I hope it's OK to put up a character - I'm assuming you would have said if it wasn't. I'll hold off posting anything until this character has been thoroughly critiqued.
Inquisitor Drazno 'Witch-taker' Bockelsson of the Ordo Hereticus
Born: 5452848.M41 Selinus III
Gender: Male
Appearance: Even taking into account the effects of a lifetime of warp-travel, Bockelsson has lived for over a century, while also being prematurely aged by the use of his psychic powers. He has a spindly figure, with heavily wrinkled dark skin and a short white beard. His head carries a few wispy remnants of hair. A brass augmetic is clamped to his skull where his right ear used to be, with four tubes emerging from it, each looping round into the back of head. Bockelsson typically wears the broad-brimmed hat of a Witch Hunter, a large dark green coat, heavy boots, gloves and a waistcoat, all with several pockets.
Personality: Thanks to his impeccable mental strength, Drazno has partly avoided the fate of many telepaths. Despite having shared the thoughts of countless minds, he remains sane. However, his original, engaging personality and fierce convictions have been worn away over the years. Once, he was a zealous witch-hunter, utterly convinced of the Emperor's impending resurrection and dedicated to sending as many psykers as possible to Terra to hasten this moment. Now, particularly with the 41st millennium having passed without any resurrection, Drazno no longer clearly knows what the Emperor wants of him, and the spiritual elation he used to feel when collecting psykers or slaying heretics has given way to a vague satisfaction. Also, the galaxy seems less vibrant than it used to be, as though his years of meddling with the senses of others have now begun to erode his own. Only one thing truly staves off the feeling of decay: psychically digging into the mind of another and refashioning it according to his will. Since his early days he has gradually shifted towards more covert types of operation. In contrast, he has grown far less likely to go undercover himself: becoming another person does not appeal to a man increasingly worried about maintaining his own personality.
Abilities: Drazno is not an extraordinarily powerful telepath, but he has honed his control to a razor-edge. He can sense minds, burrow into them, shift senses and confuse thoughts. Though he cannot directly take control, he can often alter perceptions enough to create an equivalent effect. Given enough time, he can thoroughly reprogram victims, an ability he likes to use in conjunction with hypno-indoctrination and chemical treatment to produce infil-traitors. Bockelsson is reasonably adept with blade and gun, though he is not a naturally talented fighter.
Equipment: Drazno is never without his psykana mercy blade and the bone duct-flute that acts as his psy-focus. His flakweave clothing usually conceals light carapace, while his pockets contain an array of useful items, such as his excruciator, psy-tracker, exotic grenades, knives and bits of string. One of his gloves is actually a shock gauntlet. If possible, he will carry his Ceres-pattern bolt pistol, often loaded with Inferno rounds, and a power maul.
History (short version):
M41
848 Drazno son of Bockel born into hereditary servitude to House Sicani.
863 Drazno becomes a Herald of House Sicani.
865 Extinction of House Glahbid: the last Glahbid Malik dies of slow-acting poison, shortly after summarily executing his last surviving brother for the extra-legal killing of their nephew, on the basis that he had assassinated the Malik's two children.
869 Selinus effectively divided between three pseudo-Maliks locked in low-intensity conflict. The few Houses that remain independent rely heavily on their Heralds' diplomatic skill.
874 Gizewo Wolksson of House Sicani officially becomes Malik of Selinus. Drazno given the task of rewriting histories and genealogies to match the Sicani version.
876 A Black Ship visits Selinus. Drazno is taken as part of the psyker tithe, assessed to be a telepath.
897 Drazno is charged with assessing the mental purity of Scholastia Psykana trainees.
899 Drazno assists Inquisitor Raceva in her investigation of heretical practices by the ruling family of Cerogutia.
901 Serves Inquisitor Raceva on her tour aboard a Black Ship.
904 Promoted to interrogator by Inquisitor Raceva.
924 Elevated to the rank of Inquisitor.
934 Accompanies a Black Ship into the Fexora sub-sector.
961 Attends the previous Conclave of Fexora.
986 Drazno recruits Kat Satternach to treat his second pupil and retains her after the acolyte dies.
994 Ends his third tour on a Black Ship in the Fexora sub-sector.
996 Storms the Palace of Gorobad the Cruel with the assistance of the 14th Daubdan Grenzers. Casualties are extremely high. Many survivors are executed to guard against moral corruption. The remainder are taken by Bockelsson as Inquisitorial militia after suitable conditioning.
M42
012 Prevented from attending the Conclave of Fexora by warp disturbances.
Associates:
Interrogator Kat Satternach. She has a great deal of medical skill, is expert at non-psychic methods of interrogation, investigation and incapacitation. Kat is the longest serving of Drazno's retinue.
Sergeant Chebok and Captain Vepsin. Both of these men were once Daubdan Grenzers. They are the only two retaining their lives, sanity and memories. Chebok is Bockelsson's best militant, and leads his mind-cleansed Grenzer bodyguard. Vepsin acts as a mixture of Drazno's chamberlain, personal servant and third-in-command.
Eight ex-Grenzers: Ksi, Fita, Yat, Tse, Ot, Sha, El and Pe. Thanks to Bockelsson, none remember the Palace of Gorobad or much else from their lives. They have all the unswerving devotion of the expertly brainwashed.
Neomarcus Almagoren, Imperial Diviner. He relatively recently joined Drazno, replacing a burned-out Astropath. Bockelsson wonders if Almagoren's divinations might help reveal the Emperor's plan for him.
Julia Garcnerez. She acts as Bockelsson's savant, and is usually accompanied by her lexomat.
Jotun Iarow. A rogue pyromancer captured by Drazno last year. There has not been a chance to hand him over to the Black Ships as yet. While keeping him contained, Drazno began tampering with his mind to reduce the risk he posed. This has gone well, and Drazno is toying with the idea of turning him into a telepathically-controlled psychic weapon. Edit: Too bonkers
