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Nathaniel Monroe

Started by Nate, September 25, 2009, 09:06:43 PM

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Nate

Nathaniel Monroe stepped into the library of the old inquisitor, who looked up and smiled at him as he entered, starting the ritual that had passed between them hundreds of times before.
'Ah, mutant. Please, have a seat, I've been expecting you.'
'I have a name, Inquisitor.'
'Yes, Mr Monroe, and you have been so kind as to inform me of it on many occasions. Please, have a drink'
Nathaniel picked up the crystal glass offered by the inquisitor, studied its contents briefly and drank it. At once the colour drained from his face and he had to steady himself on the desk to stop himself collapsing as the poison rushed through his system.
'Strong one. What was it?'
'Powdered Phyraxan Root Worm. Very rare, and apparently tasteless. Glad to see it doesn't affect you, but I hardly expected it to.'
'Your sources are wrong, it does taste.' Nathaniel paused to consider it, 'but not unpleasant. Can I ask why you decided to poison me this time?'
'I needed to make sure it was you. My...colleagues have been attempting to put a crimp on my research. Last time they attempted to use an eversor, I'm sure you noticed the mess on the way in. He wasn't prepared for my staff, it would seem.'
'I had noticed, where is he now?'
'In one of the sub basements, Magos Korban was most excited to see him, apparently some of his augmentations are very unusual, and could even aid my work. Speaking of which is why I wanted to see you.'
'I'd wondered when we'd get to it. Korban's latest experiments seem to be holding better, although the eyes still giving me discomfort.'
'Well, he rarely has to work with a fully functioning body part, he's more used to replacing broken ones. You will be pleased to note that the treatments are helping me considerably. I can almost walk again.' The inquisitor beamed at Nathaniel, who smiled back, indicating his pleasure at the news.
'Glad that my blood is helping you. And the...other research?'
'Ah. That is...less promising. Biological functions can be restored, it seems, but the mind of others does not repair itself like yours does. Their souls move on as they should, where as yours lingers, waiting for your body to receive it once again.' The inquisitor sighed deeply. 'I did not ask you here to discuss our health, however.'
'I thought as much, such questions seem futile anyway.'
'Indeed, little changes. The information you brought me from your last trip was most illuminating.' He indicated a video screen mounted into his desk, where the death of inquisitor Pius Wood at the hands of Theya Martell was being played on repeat. 'I do not mourn the death of Pius by any means; the man was devoted to his blindness. He did, however, leave a great deal of questions unanswered. Primarily amongst them questions about the contents of his library, which would be most illuminating if answered. According to rumour, he owned a great many unique works on the binding of souls and demons, all confiscated from various cults and the like.'
'You wish me to retrieve them?'
'Retrieve? Oh, no. Such things would be rigorously catalogued, and their removal would doubtlessly cause more trouble than we could deal with subtly. Acquiring copies of the manuscripts would be sufficient, I'm sure. If we're lucky, he may even have produced electronic backups of them already.'
'Very well, I shall depart for his residences later this evening.'
'Excellent. And please, take advantage of the armoury here, anything you need please take, in this condition I have little need for any of it.'
'As I have said before, I've not yet seen the need for anything more than what I have.'
'Very well, but take a techpriest with you. You'll need someone to copy the scrolls anyway, and you're not borrowing my cherubim again.'



Found gambling, conning and fighting his way through life by Inquisitor Sirrap on the hive world of Sorus Beta, where Nathaniel Monroe was quickly employed by the inquisitor due to latent mutation and persuasive nature. Inquisitor Sirrap, due to his rapidly failing health, regularly sends Monroe into situations that would be deemed suicide, were those tasked with completing them capable of being killed by obvious physical means. Monroe is frequently sent to 'retrieve' objects and manuscripts for Sirrap, either by talking his way into situations or, when the situation calls for it, fighting his way through. Korban, a somewhat eccentric Magos in the employ of Parris has made extensive use of Monroe as a test subject, often pushing his regenerative abilities to the absolute limit.



Nathaniel Monroe

WS      BS      S      T      I      Wp      Sg      N      Ld
-------------------------------------------------------------

78      64      53    63    73      76      81     61     86

Nathaniel Monroe is right handed

Persuade, Regeneration*, True Grit, Feint, First Strike

Equipment:

Sword, Stubber (2 reloads), advanced bionic eye with infrascope and bio-scanner (passive only), implant re-breather (chest)


*will include rules for his body attempting to reject his implants once i've thought of them


1337inquisitor

is the Inq's name parris or sirrap. though it's strange that sirrap is parris spelt backwards
No honey, the true moral of the story is never put down your weapon.

Homer Simpson

Nate

The inqisitors name is Sirrap, which is, indeed, Parris backward. Its a handle my friend uses for internet things, and he seemed an appropriate person to name the shadowy inquisitor responsible for the clandestine behaviors of Mr Monroe after!

TheNephew

I like the sound of this, and I like the style of the introductory text.
Apart from the killing of the Eversor - difficult but by no means impossible - it all seems perfectly acceptable
The only problem I have with the character is his implied methods - a mutant with the normal range of regenerative powers probably wouldn't survive all that much more than the standard fit human, especially since you seem to want to put him in a lot of harm's way.
If you increase his regenerative ability - I can't remember the numbers off the top of my head, but perhaps doubling the number of dice rolled for damage regenerated would represent the greater magnitude of his mutation.

Inquisitor Cade

My SOP is to dissapprove of mutants with only beneficial mutations, though the great background is pushing me to make an exception. I'd even encourage you to step up the effects of the regeneration, to something more fitting of the background.

His stats seem at odds with the background. A proficient and experianced fighter he may be but his Ws is a bit too remarkable. I'd drop it to 70 or below, 65 if he has 2 combat skills to supplement it, and lower his Bs by a few points too. It is his mental stats that are really too much though. A high Nv (which he has) makes sence given that being shot isn't a long term problem, but the rest of his I, Wp, Sg and Ld are up there with the most able and senior members of the Inquisition.
As a relatively independant agent of the Inquisition I would expect his I to be fast, in the high 60's, Wp to be reasonably high, maybe 65, him to be bright, but not a genius, so Sg 60-65 odd, and his Ld to be unremarkable, no higher than 60. He may be above average in some, or even all of these areas, but in my opinion the stats he has at present are far above appropriate.

He might wear a few points of armour, or if he is unafraid of injury enough not to bother then give him nerves of steel. I'd also suggest looking at the revised Inquisitor armoury for a wide range of stubbers and beyond so he can choose the gun that suits him best.

Finaly I would encourage you to give him a debilitating mutation to go with his immortality. Maybe his off hand is atrophied or a club hand.

*Insert token witticism*

Nate

Lowering the Sg is definately a requirement, it was originaly up as he was going to be a largely solo character, but he's now probably going to be acompanied by a techpriest of dubios moral integrity ('Guilt And Morals Are Simply Glandular, Mr Monroe') who can do the sagacity stuff for him easily, likewise leadership can be nocked down several notches.

Bs is also definately too high, I'll lower it by 10. Ws of 72 sound better? Nerves of steel also sounds like an appropriate skill, I completely missed that one!

In terms of a debilitating mutation I can't entirely make up my mind, an obvious mutation would interfere with his ability to perform his task sucessfully, he's not going to manage to infiltrate a governer's private library with an obvious mutation. Possibly blindness in his non bionic eye, I seem to remember rules for cyclopean characters somewhere, possibly the alien generator...

I like the general consensus of doubling the dice of his regeneration, and I will be paying a trip to the revised armoury shortly (along with Ms. Martell, they both need a shopping trip I believe)

TheNephew

There's really no need to give him a debilitating mutation - approaching building a character by stacking the advantages and disadvantages so they balance is only a requirement if you're planning on tournament-style gaming with him.
When it becomes clear that he's regenerating, most puritan characters will recognise that he's a mustant, or at least not a normal human, and purge accordingly.
Also, if he stays in character, then the fact that he thinks and acts like he's immortal will probably stop him being too much of a problem for others, and if he is a problem on the tabletop - well, he should be, he's an Inquisitorial operative trusted with important missions and able to extensively regenerate.
I feel that the correct way to deal with a powerful character is not to nerf them, it's to allow the opposing warband to recognise how dangerous he is so they can choose to concentrate their fire if they feel he's that much of a threat to them or their objectives.

I feel that the attitude that a character that is too good at stuff should be toned down is inappropriate in Inquisitor, as long as the stats match the background.

Inquisitor Cade

TheNephew

I agree with you in principal but my attack at positive only mutations is not based on a balance conscideration but on the statistic unlikelyhood of a massive genetic mutation that would improve healing by a decernable degree without an some mutagenic agent or other catalyst for mutation (I pressue radiation is the cause of most of the imperium's mutant population) that, mutations being in their nature random, would cause such a mutation exteramely rarely. Factoring in the probability of there being no more mutations takes it to absurdly unlikely and 'convenient' for the player in the extreame.

So while I wholehartedly agree that
QuoteI feel that the attitude that a character that is too good at stuff should be toned down is inappropriate in Inquisitor, as long as the stats match the background.
I think the genetic mutations in the background do not fit into 40k canon, though it would be fine in X-men for example.
*Insert token witticism*

TheNephew

#8
Quote from: Inquisitor Cade on September 29, 2009, 12:26:47 AM
...statistic unlikelyhood of a massive genetic mutation that would improve healing by a decernable degree without an some mutagenic agent or other catalyst for mutation...

...I pressue radiation is the cause of most of the imperium's mutant population...

I think the genetic mutations in the background do not fit into 40k canon, though it would be fine in X-men for example.

Personally, I think you're approaching this in a way inconsistent with the 40k universe. I've picked out the three main points, as I see them, of your post and I'll try and respond to them as well as I can, though all the answers overlap extensively.
Apologies if any of this comes across as over-simplified or patronising:

Yes, it's very unlikely that a genetic mutation that would result in regeneration would occur at all, let alone without accompanying mutations. However, the main problem I have with this is entirely covered by the net point.

In the sense relevant here, I don't think that we can use the word 'mutation' about 40K in anything really approaching it's real world meaning.
Ionising radiation damage, mutagenic chemicals and DNA replication errors will introduce mutations into a cell's genome, but these will have no effect on the organism as a whole. If the cell concerned is a sperm of egg, then the offspring may be affected.
The commonly used meaning in 40k would be effectively impossible using real biology without setting out to to do it - horns, tentacles, regeneration and such aren't really in the scope of things that can conceivably go wrong with person due to biological error, certainly not in the same generation as the exposure. This is the magic and fantasy facet of the setting, and as such I don't think it's worth trying to lay science on it. Since it's magic, it seems as likely as not that the regeneration bestowed upon the mutant would drive the body back to it's perfect state, resembling a normal human

I don't think that mutation as it's usually mentioned in the setting is caused by radiation, since radiation mutations outside of the usual round of mutation due to replication mishaps are rarely all that noticeable, or are fatal to the foetus.

Finally, mutation not caused by Chaos is genetic mutation, so you'll have to pick one or the other - either radiation as the main source of mutations or genetic mutation fits.


Covering my back note:
I know there are at least a couple of other Biology students on here - I know that the theory here is generalised and poorly addressed, but going into it isn't really all that relevant here. If I'm wrong on important bits of it, do correct me. I just don't think it's particularly on topic or relevant to drag this too far into technicalities.

Inquisitor Cade

You've gone beyond my level of understanding. I think what you said is:
'Mutations, even those not caused by the warp, are too radical to be caused by any cause we know of today'
'Therefore it is not worth evaluating with modern science.'
If I paraphase it to death. If this is not what you meant then ignore this reply.

Whatever causes mutation in the imperial population, weather it is (supposed to be) modern causes over hundeads of years or if it is a source that we don't deal with today (say warp radiation is releaced whenever a spaceship entrers or exits the warp) we know that in 40k there are mutants with these radical mutaions. We don't have to apply science to work out the causes to say that it is more plausable for a radicaly beneficial mutation to be accopanied by other mutations.

QuoteFinally, mutation not caused by Chaos is genetic mutation, so you'll have to pick one or the other - either radiation as the main source of mutations or genetic mutation fits.

I'm afraid I don't get what you mean here. Are you saying that mutation caused by radiation are chaos mutations?
*Insert token witticism*

Simeon Blackstar

Basically, there are two types of mutation in the 40k universe.

Genetic mutation is the same thing you get in reality, caused by anything from simple copying errors to UV radiation, carcinogenic chemicals and radioactive substances.  The majority of these, if they have any effect at all, are what causes growths, tumours etc.  Some of them can be passed on to cause the various genetic disorders in the population, but by and large you aren't going to see much happen.  High exposure to these substances can be fatal and if not is frequently teratogenic - causies birth defects.  That can be stuff like unusual numbers of fingers or toes, atrophied/absent limbs, heart/eye/brain defects etc. 
The kind that is more often talked about it Chaotic mutation.  This is the kind of mutation that gives people tentacle limbs, spines, scales, wings, tails, horns, regeneration etc.  It tends to warp people over their lifetime, creating things normal genetic mutation likely never would and in some cases, never could.


Essentially, genetic mutation either does nothing to you and screws up your kids a bit, gives you cancer or kills you rather more quickly and nastily, dependant on dosage.  You are unlikely to have anything good happen.  Chaotic mutation is frequently disfiguring, but also quite often useful in some way as well.

MarcoSkoll

Quote from: Simeon Blackstar on September 29, 2009, 10:19:20 PMYou are unlikely to have anything good happen as a result of genetic mutation.
Unlikely... but possible. Bear in mind, much of the fuel for evolution is random genetic mutation. Generally, evolution can be well explained as "the process of making the good mutations stick, and (hopefully) sifting out the bad ones."

Of course, most of these are very minor mutations, scarcely notable - and a very long way from an increase in healing rate of a few orders of magnitude - but beneficial mutations are very possible.
Large beneficial mutations are highly improbable though, particularly compared to the likelihood of large harmful ones. And on the note of radioactive mutation, to quote the Doom comic: "Now I'm radioactive. That can't be good."

On the flipside, no mutation can be as bad as too much... because then there's nothing for evolution to work with.
As a result, there's interesting quirks in human assessment of attraction, like the fact that more symmetric faces (indicative of less genetic errors) are generally more attractive - to an upper limit. People with almost perfectly symmetric faces (thus very little mutation) tend to look good at first glance, then start to look odd after that. On a similar note, the smell of people of the opposite sex who has a generous genetic difference from you tends to be more appealing (versus those with a lesser difference), another one of the quirks that works to try and stop the gene-pool stagnating.

I know I'm being a bit pedantic (and possibly in error somewhere, I'm not much of a biologist - so feel free to correct me), but I find the subject of genetics rather interesting.
S.Sgt Silva Birgen: "Good evening, we're here from the Adeptus Defenestratus."
Captain L. Rollin: "Nonsense. Never heard of it."
Birgen: "Pick a window. I'll demonstrate".

GW's =I= articles

Inquisitor Cade

I have a theory that some time before now and then, there was a mutation that caused the genetic code to be much more flexible, so future ofspring would be more likely to experiance more and greater mutaions, and that this was where the imperial mutant community originated. Imperial mutants, whilst not to the extent of warp caused mutants, regulary show mutations like increased strength, skin thickness or healing. To say that this is impossible is to say that the future depicted in 40k is wrong and cannot be, which undermines the premice we are all working under. I'd rather say that in 40k a mutant with amazing healing abilities is hughely unlikely, but plauable within the associates of the Inquisition, where improbably capable people often find themselves. That such a mutant would have no other mutations at all is not reasonably possible, concidering he is from a mutant parents, and the chances of him having no other visible mutations in almost as implausable.

Another thought I had was that the healing is biological rather than magical so it would surely require fuel. It might be interesting if Nathaniel ate more than normal people, and was much less able to go without food for any serious period of time.
*Insert token witticism*

Simeon Blackstar

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on September 29, 2009, 11:04:38 PM
Quote from: Simeon Blackstar on September 29, 2009, 10:19:20 PMYou are unlikely to have anything good happen as a result of genetic mutation.
Unlikely... but possible. Bear in mind, much of the fuel for evolution is random genetic mutation. Generally, evolution can be well explained as "the process of making the good mutations stick, and (hopefully) sifting out the bad ones."

Of course, most of these are very minor mutations, scarcely notable - and a very long way from an increase in healing rate of a few orders of magnitude - but beneficial mutations are very possible.

As you point out though, mutations that are benficial will tend to be things like being a bit taller, a bit hairier (in cold climates), etc.  The vital word you missed in your definition of evolution is gradual.  It could take thousands of generations by normal processes to see any beneficial change, and we're still not entirely sure how some of the larger changes happen at all.

Also, remember that there's a big difference between genetic variety and mutation.  Variety is good, as some genes are more beneficial than others.  Mutation is a bit like changing a random letter in a sentence.  It might do something substantial like significantly change the meaning of the sentence, but the great likelihood is you'll end up with a nonsense word.  ;D

Adlan

Why not have Chaos Mutations which can then breed true? This could create enough difference for the taint to be negligible?

And it offers an explanation for the more dramatic mutations that are not considered heretical by the imperium.