Inquisitor Mordecai Vangar - First Draft complete

[mcjomar]

P&M Thread:
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2639.0

WS 57
BS 64
S 51
T 54
I 61
WP: 68
Sg: 74
Nv: 76
Ld: 62

Age: 132 TS
Physical Age: 31

Right handed
Skills: Dead Eye Shot, Rock Steady Aim, Leader(Intimidating),  Heroic

Equipment:

Plasma pistol
Power fist
Stubber (2 reloads)

Flak armour (equivalent) on all locations except head

Rebreather
Bionic monocle (average senses) for left eye with inbuilt infrascope (for hunting heretics, and seeing body temperature fluctuations - also useful as part of a disguise)


++++ I'm tempted to buy a Hunter servoskull for him as a "sniffer", as a floating skull would just complete the picture, really ++++




=======NOTE: this is an in-progress look at my ideas for what I want to do with this character archetype, first draft complete=======
Background:
Mordecai was born to wealthy noble parents of Holy Doctrinopolis on the planet Hagia in the Sabbat Worlds of the Segmentum Pacificus. His father was a lay preacher of some repute within local circles, and blessed by the local Ecclesiarch to do so. His mother was a medicae. One healed the mind, the other the body.
He was raised on stories of the regiments that had freed the city, and all of Hagia of the taint of Chaos, and of the saint they had followed to do so. Especially of the saint.
When a guard regiment was called for from their world by the Administratum, a clerical error caused both his parents to be called for service.
His father became confessor for the regiment, while his mother became an officer of the medicae units serving as part of the logistical train.
As such, he ended up becoming one of the 'guard runts' that formed part of the logistical train for the unit.

In their third deployment, on the world of Buchallis against traitor regiments who were attempting to emulate the blood pact, his mother was killed by artillery fire while in the midst of triage. Two weeks later, his father was killed during a forward thrust, sacrificing himself through desperation to break through a defensive line, killing the last members of a defensive position with one of their own hand grenades.

A small act, but it allowed that part of the push to advance to a better position to lay down covering fire for other allied advances, gradually adding up until the enemy were broken and routing, screaming for the fell gods that had long abandoned them to their fate.

The orphaned child of noble born officers, at age 9 Terran Standard he was shipped off with a number of other such orphans to the nearest schola progenium, to either be forgotten or make a name for himself.

As he grew up, his devout nature as an ex-native of Hagia (having been old enough to internalise and enjoy the culture of his world, and what he'd learned from the guardsman during transit with his homeworld's regiment) could have directed him towards training for the Adeptus Ministorum. However, the person he had become ended up getting him placed in his early teens toward training as an Inquisitorial acolyte, earmarked for the brutal service of such an august body, being beaten into shape (sometimes literally, but his piousness meant that it occurred less than for others his age).

He spent over a decade training in various studies, from weapons maintenance and combat techniques, through to research investigative techniques, breaking and entering, and more besides. Between studies and religious services, he barely had any time for himself, and due to his faith that was often spent studying the Word of the Emperor, or (like as not) more tales of Saint Sabbatine and all her history, which interested him greatly. He excelled in his combat studies and was reasonably accurate in the gun ranges, and comfortably capable in melee, albeit willing to use dirty tricks to win, preferring to actually defeat his opponent, rather than worrying about honour - death with duty unfilled was one thing he was warned to be mindful of. He also showed promise in his investigative work, and also in his tracking skills. The was supported by the odd skills he'd occasionally picked up around the guardsmen as a child, learning how to ask questions without attracting too much ire (useful when dealing with armed men), while the latter was a combination of interest in those  tracking and hunting skills, and a basic degree of talent for such work.
He also became fluent in High Gothic language, and also in various Low Gothic languages and dialects.

Eventually he was chosen as Explicator for Inquisitor Fathilda Grunwald of the Ordo Hereticus. Outside of the usual duties assigned to such acolytes, he often found himself assigned to purge teams, to add to his combat experience. His training and experience served him well in these endeavours, allowing him to survive where a less trained or capable acolyte would have died. It was especially useful when the Bolagus situation went firmly to the warp.

He had been sent in with a small number of stormtrooper veterans to investigate a possible cell of traitors or heretics, purported to be worshipping in a manner that had little to do with Him on Earth. Like as not they managed to trip some form of psychic ward or awareness, as the cultists were ready for them, opening up with las rounds and autogun fire.

Initially the stormtroopers made good headway, their armour proof against most of it, and smart use of cover protecting from the rest.
The first inkling they had that it was going ploin-shaped was when azure witchfire erupted amongst several of the troopers.
Then a plasma grenade arced over their heads.
The blast injured Sergeant Bernard, wounding him badly.

Mordecai's own weapon had been running low, so he looted the plasma pistol that had fallen from the Sergeants grasp, and made the decision to retreat.
However, he also decided to make the extra effort to haul the Sergeant's unconscious form out of the firefight, gaining the help of one of the other troopers in the squad as he did so. After several minutes of run-and-gun retreat, they managed to extract to a location where they could call in emergency air support in the form of a valkyrie gunship for fire support and casevac.

Thanks to Mordecai's actions, the Sergeant lived, when he otherwise would have died.
And Mordecai earned pointed lectures for his out-of-character failure to prosecute the foe and detect the presence of a witch, albeit couched in comments that he had at least had the wits to protect the information they had gathered up to that point - not to mention his discovery of just how well equipped they had been.
He also earned the friendship and loyalty of Sergeant Bernard, and the other members of his squad - and discovered a taste for firing plasma at heretics to burn them to a cinder.

Several weeks later he personally tracked the cult down.
He called in support, getting not only the (now reduced) squad of stormtroopers, but also two heavily armed servitors controlled by a Mechanicus adept. The troopers had been provided rare psyk-out grenades specifically for the task.
They crushed their opposition, the psyker dying in an explosion of blue and purple flames.

The information they had gathered eventually led to the toppling of corrupt officials placed in key positions of the Bolagus PDF command structure.
Mordecai soon proved that it went deeper than that, his instincts and talent for hunting down and rooting out corruption coming to the fore, in his desire and drive to atone for his previous failure and prove his worth. He discovered that the corruption was rooted all the way up to the Bolagus Governor, who had been turned by forces of the Alpha Legion.

This could have precipitated an all out war, but Inquisitor Fathilda called for members of the Assassinorum temples to be deployed to end the life of such a highly placed traitor. A month later, and the governor was dead, slain by the Callidus assassin who had replaced one of his most trusted aides. The various heretics who had followed him were swiftly purged with the aid of the Adeptus Arbites, and the Inquisitor's own personal retinue.

After this, Mordecai became a member of her personal entourage.

Eventually, after another decade of service, she eventually promoted him to her personal Interrogator, to potentially be nominated for promotion to full Inquisitor.

In his sixty sixth year, with decades of service already behind him, and extensive training and rejuvenat to keep him as physically fit and youthful as possible, he stumbled into the middle of the Pentachus affair. Caught between several Inquisitors, including Fathilda, was the Tome of Qul'hatrath, a daemonic text of tzeentchian provenance.
It developed into a race against time, trying to track down both the Tome itself, and any who were interested in it.

Fathilda had formed a minor conclave with several other puritanical Inquisitors, of a like mind to destroy the Tome, and purge from their order any who sought to preserve such a corrupting artefact.

They spent three years tracing it down, and fighting running battles with other, hostile Inquisitors. Members of the Xanthite factions especially wanted the tome.
Some were declared Excommunicate Traitoris. Others were merely purged in the shadows. Eventually it came down to Fathilda's warband, and the few allies who had kept up with her. Opposing them, in trying to break into the ancient void vault originally belonging to nobles of the hive world of Pentachus IV, since lost as the hives had grown ever higher, were the Xanthite Joraxus Fugue, and the Horusian Exallus Nordarin.

They moved in, securing the vault first, but failed to open it, lacking members who could break the security on the ancient vault.

Mordecai had foreseen this and urged his mistress to make inroads with the Mechanicus in preparation for this. They had provided a magos, and several combat servitors to aid them. In addition Fathilda had acquired two arco-flagellants from the Adeptus Ministorum for the task of cleansing the corrupted agents of the Emperor.
These were unleashed to devastating effect, killing many of the corrupted servants.

However, the xanthite carried a daemon weapon, the Hammer of Forthenak, a khorne daemon, simple-minded but brutal.
Great sweeps of the weapon brought down one arco-flagellant, and severely damaged one of the combat servitors.
The Horusian blasted at them with fell-magics, psyker powers ripped from the warp, twisting flesh and bone to his whims.

Fathilda slew him personally, protected by pentagrammic wards, which steamed and smoked as the Horusian threw whatever he could at her, eventually resorting to the corrupted bolt pistol at his belt. Fathilda swept his weakened defences aside, smashing him down with her chainsword, the keening blades carving him to mincemeat.

Mordecai removed several members of the opposing warband, until only the Xanthite was left against him.
His will and belief in the Emperor sustained him as he and Joraxus swept back and forth across the battlefield they had created for themselves, ignorant of what was happening around them as each sought to slaughter the other.
At an opportune moment, when his feet slipped from under him, Mordecai threw dust and gravel into Joraxus' eyes.
In the moment of distraction, Mordecai regained his footing, and smashed Joraxus in the head with his shock maul.

This was Joraxus' undoing, and the daemon within the hammer gained a moment of triumph over the Xanthite, filling his body with corrupted daemonic energy, altering and twisting his form as it possessed him.
Acting as quickly as he could, Mordecai dropped his maul, and whipped out his combat shotgun, unloading every shell in the gun directly into Joraxus' head. Unable to get a grasp on the physical form of the human who had bound it so tightly, the daemon was thrown back into the warp, unable to create any sort of stable form for itself.

With the current band of enemies removed, Fathilda and her remaining entourage spent the time necessary to open the vault, purging it in its entirety, rather than risk any taint or corruption from the chaotic tome.

A year later, Fathilda and the remaining members of her puritanical conclave all voted to promote Mordecai to be one of their own number.

Since then, Mordecai has prosecuted many more heretics, and traitors, following in his mistress' footsteps in the Ordo Hereticus, cleaning mutants and cultists from the underbelly of imperial society, having developed a hatred for psykers who are unsanctioned in the eyes of the Emperor or Inquisition, and outright despising traitors and heretics.

Tall, imposing, and impassive, Mordecai rarely smiles any more. He has become stern, grim, sometimes pessimistic and a little taciturn.
He has some interests that break through this outer defence though.
High Gothic religious chants, operas, hymns, and other such style of music evoke happier times to him, of the Schola and before, reminding him of his homeworld, where he now maintains estates for his own use to retire to when needed, or when duty allows.
As he has grown older, he has also become somewhat taken with more life-filled music and opera productions, trying to regain some amount of passion for life that his work has begun to drain him of.
He also appreciates various fictions, but also maintains a progressively large library of books for research purposes, and maintains a goodly number of religious books, especially indulging in those pertaining to the Saint of the Sabbat worlds, and all her histories, even those not normally published for public consumption.

In private he prefers wines, especially desert wines, but dislikes hard liquors like amasec, and also avoids beers and ales. He especially dislikes bitters as he dislikes bitter foods and drinks. In a similar vein he enjoys sweetened teas, but suffers caf as a necessary menace to his lifestyle to keep him functioning - he has never developed a taste for it. One of his vices is a very strong sweet tooth for sweet foods (much as with his drinks), especially those provided for appropriate imperial religious holidays.
In social settings, or in private he largely wears suits or fine clothing, varying such clothing up or down in formality relative to the setting and his own personal moods.
In public, battle, or when hunting, or on duty to officially represent the Inquisition he normally wears hunting gear, a long coat and tall hat that is often synonymous with his Ordo, to intimidate where necessary, or attempt to blend in with other rogues and bounty hunters, hiding in the shadows so he can catch his targets unawares.

He has surprisingly good relations with certain members of the Mechanicus - mostly those who believe that the omnissaiah and emperor are one and the same, and largely agree (or at east purport to agree) with his worldview in that regard. This is based on his mistress' own history with the Mechanicus, but he has extended his own relationship with them, supporting them occasionally, including such events as the Nomath insurrection, and the Daslia affair, gaining their appreciation and friendship.

He uses this friendship to acquire plasma weapons and flame weapons, and also maintains a small selection of power weapons, especially those which are brutal and allow for dirty tricks and surprises on an otherwise unsuspecting opponent. More general equipment is sourced through normal channels, or looted from suitable targets to deprive the great enemy of more weapons for their arsenals.
Mordecai Largely prefers to purge with plasma and fire. utilising these gifts of the Omnissaiah in the name of the Emperor. He prefers to execute his targets to eliminate and root out the threat they represent, and will only capture targets for torture if absolutely necessary - not because he finds it distasteful, but because he wants to remove corruption wherever he finds it. He is ruthless in prosecuting this war though, and will do whatever is necessary.

A staunch Monodominant, who truly and devoutly believes in the Imperial Creed, and the Emperor above all, he follows the same path as Fathilda before him. If someone points out that the Emperor is a psyker, his rebuttal is that the Emperor is a god, and rogue psykers are not, and tends to be equally blunt in other areas of his faith, even though he is well read. He could often be accused of being arrogant, and self-righteous in his religious nature. He is also somewhat superstitious, including paying attention to the Imperial Tarot, but only when read by Ecclesiarchy approved readers.

Mordecai views himself as a crusader in the shadows, a hunter of rogues and traitors, and the instrument of His divine will in purging of such heresy.
However, he understands the necessities of his work, and is prepared to create cells and an information network to aid him (and do plenty of the heavy lifting) to support him and guide him towards his targets. He is a hunter, seeking out rot and weakness, traitors, mutants, and heretics, and putting them to the flame (or plasma).

He took on Verena Starfire during the Necromunda purge, as part of setting up necessary networks to track down further elements of the corruption he discovered there - an affair which he believes should still remain on his active books. It is in hand for now, and matters elsewhere in the imperium have drawn him away in the last few years, but he still watches the situation carefully, as he will not relent until he is sure that the taint he knows of (and any that he doesn't) are purged from the underhive - a lifelong goal if ever there was one.

Magos Urial Vandus is another whose services he has acquired through friendship and loyalty. The Magos provides much needed knowledge of the works of the Omnissaiah, and also helps maintain the weapons needed for a witch hunter like Mordecai. They maintain a reasonable friendship, although they acknowledge their differences in faith. Mordecai reserves his zeal and fire for the enemy, however, his age having given him perspective on where his rage against the enemy should be directed. The Mechanicus too are servants of Him on Earth.

Interrogator Abigail Morton was once a Sister of Battle of the Order of the Ebon Chalice, who has strayed into his service after providing combat support with several others of her order. She has survived three decades in his service thus far, and her drive and purity have driven her to the rank of interrogator. She has learned much, but her friendship with Verena, and their sharing of attending services together have opened her mind further as an acolyte of the inquisition to new attitudes and pragmatic ways of thinking, tempering her as an Interrogator. She is still yet young in Mordecai's eyes though, and will likely remain an Interrogator for at least another decade, more likely two.

Transportation in his duties is provided by the Rogue Trader Serena Valerian Donatus, commanding the trade vessel Jewel of Hagia.
A large part of one deck is given over entirely for the Inquisitor's use for himself, his retinue, and the possessions he chooses to keep nearby for use in his duties.

Often accompanying Serena is "Crew member" Violet Noler, an ex-naval provost, now apparently her personal bodyguard.
Usually armed with autogun, for which she somehow stashes a number of reloads on her person, she is also regularly armed with eye-watering pink hair.
Apparently aiming to become a techpriest someday, Violet is often found in discussion with Magos Urial, with an eye towards at least becoming a lay member, and maybe someday a techpriest in her own right.


   

[mcjomar]

Alright.
First draft complete for sure.

I'm sure I've probably missed a few tricks somewhere down the line, but hopefully I've written up someone interesting.

[Alyster Wick]

Looking good! I'm definitely a fan, especially the beginning of his story (the "clerical error"). The personality bits really bring him to life, the discussion of his passions outside of work are an especially nice touch. This level of detail on a character is really helpful for a GM, as it gives potential tie-ins for scenarios. I imagine writing a scenario that takes place at an Imperial Opera would give a great chance for you to RP your character while also giving the GM a fun opportunity to throw curve balls out.

Some of the acolyte names sound familiar, I'll have to track down your other posts and give them a read through. Stats-wise I think he's good (but this is very subjective to your gaming group). I'm tempted to say that he doesn't have any real stand-out stats, which isn't fun for a leader. However his dual-shooting abilities combined with a solid BS probably mean he's quite dangerous and well balanced. Many people tend to shun two shooting (notably the combos available straight out of the rule book) but I think it works in this case. Plus all of his stats are pretty high, even if none is especially so, which probably means he's striking the right tone. It'll really depend on the rest of the band.

You might want to check out some of the files in Marco's archive. Swords of the Faithful and Part Two of the Treatise on the Wych (at least I think it's part two) both have some great wargear and ability of Imperial die-hards of Wych-Hunters, of which Mordecai is both. His wargear and skills are both great as-is, but they're mostly straight out of the rulebook. I feel like you might have fun combing through those documents to get some more ideas, even if you don't end up using them on Mordecai.

Anyway, good stuff! Keep it up.

[mcjomar]

Cheers - I was going for a steroetypical "witch hunter in the shadows van helsing" type theme with him, as I have images of him in the dark with lots of rain and lightning hunting heretics and blasting cultists. Maybe there's a little batman in there too.

I've tweaked his model painting after feedback (still needs some drybrushing for highlights) so I'll hopefully have an image up for the updated version tonight.

I mostly stuck with rulebook loadouts as that's primarily what I have access to, and is fastest to look up in a pinch.
I'll probably do a bit of digging later to see what else is out there.

I did grab a servo skull off ebay, but instead of being 54mm, it's at least double the size if not bigger, so my dreams of him having pet "hunter" servoskulls are currently not happening, sadly.

His backup is Verena (who I've got a properly painted model for also) so you'll meet those two at the IGT.
His Interrogator has most of a model, but it's unpainted, and broken at my parents, and needs repairs, remodelling, and some painting (as well as a sheet written up) before I'd be willing to put that one on the table.
The mechanicus guy I know how to build but I need to buy a gruss and some other parts before I can start on that one.

(Parts plan for techpriest:
Gruss head, torso, legs, right arm. Tela left arm. Stone hands and weapon. Probably gruss (or similar) mechadendrites instead of the backpack. Or maybe I'll do the backpack anyway. Probably have to create the mechanicus cogwheel axe head out of bits, and GS a skull embossed onto that. That's it.)

[Raghnall]

Nothing massively controversial, and it really is a good character. There is just one thing I'm not quite sure about.

Apparently aiming to become a techpriest someday, Violet is often found in discussion with Magos Urial, with an eye towards at least becoming a lay member, and maybe someday a techpriest in her own right.

Everything I have read about the Adeptus Mechanicus suggests that they recruit almost exclusively from forge worlds, it is rather unlikely that an outsider with  a prior career would be accepted as a member, and nigh on impossible for them to actually become a tech priest. I have a character of my own who has had associations with the Ad Mech, but that's been very much unofficial 'plausible deniability' style work, and I'm not certain they could become an actual member.

Otherwise there aren't any issues, and I someone may correct me on that point.

You might want to check out some of the files in Marco's archive. Swords of the Faithful and Part Two of the Treatise on the Wych (at least I think it's part two) both have some great wargear and ability of Imperial die-hards of Wych-Hunters, of which Mordecai is both. His wargear and skills are both great as-is, but they're mostly straight out of the rulebook. I feel like you might have fun combing through those documents to get some more ideas, even if you don't end up using them on Mordecai.

Yep, part 1 is Rogue Psykers. Part 2 is anti-psyker equipment. These provide specialist equipment appropriate for this character, and other files have rules for various other things. Most notably, I am a big supporter of Marco's Revised Inquisitor Armoury, which provides a much larger variety of guns and special ammo types. In my opinion though, the best bit is that it provides rules to create custom las weapons, which are actually comparable to solid shot weapons, as opposed to the rulebook versions that are vastly inferior to autoguns and stubbers.

I mostly stuck with rulebook loadouts as that's primarily what I have access to, and is fastest to look up in a pinch.
I'll probably do a bit of digging later to see what else is out there.

No need for extensive digging, the entire Skoll Archive can be downloaded from this thread here:
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=34.0

[mcjomar]

Regarding your first point, I pretty much pulled that idea from one of the Ciaphas Cain novels, specifically Death or Glory (one of my personal favourites).
Admittedly it's mildly apocryphal in this regard, but as It's still a Black Library source, I felt it might be canonical enough to use the idea here.
Plus the 28mm model looks rather mechanic-ey, as it is designed to do, so I wanted to give some attempt at a reason for that also.

Admittedly I only know the basics of the Adeptus Mechanicus recruitment methods and attitudes to such.
It would seem odd to turn away a willing applicant though - unless the Magos is merely humouring her.

[Raghnall]

From the way I understand things, the Cult Mechanicus recruits the brightest from their own domains, and act as much as an allied empire as a part of the Imperium. For example, take this quote from Dark Heresy.

"A forge world's undisputed masters are the Magos and Adepts of the Cult Mechanicus who rule with harsh precision and cold logic. To them the human population of their domains are little more than cogs and gears in the great machine, resources to be measured, graded and used to fit their worth. At their direction, the bulk of a forge world's human population is utilised as a skilled and trained labour force, while the brightest and best are inducted to the Adeptus Mechanicus itself. The more militant are chosen for the Skitarii Tech-Guard. Those deemed unworthy or irredeemable are fated to be "recycled" into servitor components, and indeed, servitors and drones often far outnumber a forge world's free- willed population. Such is the price of failure." - Inquisitor's handbook

Of course, I may well be wrong, and I concede I have never read Ciphas Cain. It seems likely that we have just both read different, contradiction sources of the fluff, and given the precedent, if you want to, then just run with idea. It's interesting concept, and as I said, I've done something similar myself, just not taken as far. Even if there are any problems, Everything You Have Been Told Is A Lie, so there's potential for it to happen I suppose.

[MarcoSkoll]

From the way I understand things, the Cult Mechanicus recruits the brightest from their own domains, and act as much as an allied empire as a part of the Imperium.

They are also a religion, I'd observe.

There are religions that are by birth, but I can't imagine the Mechanicus being one of them - family is a very "organic" concept, and to a true devotee of the cult, from whose loins you sprang is probably insignificant. (Although, like the Imperial cult, there will of course be many creeds of the Cult Mechanicus, and some may work differently).

If someone is dedicated enough to the cause, I doubt that they would be turned aside, although exactly what status they might achieve is another matter.

~~~~~

Anyway, as far as Vangar's profile and background, there's not really anything serious to call it up on.

There's a bit of the same kind of thing I mentioned as far as the writing style in Verena's background - that slightly choppy style where things could be consolidated to flow better - but as I said then, this isn't really a venue for literary critique!

[Alyster Wick]

From the way I understand things, the Cult Mechanicus recruits the brightest from their own domains, and act as much as an allied empire as a part of the Imperium.

I had forgotten to mention this in my post, but I tend to view the Cult Mechanicus more along these lines Raghnall. Fusing it with Marco's point about the Cult Mechanicus being a religion, I've always viewed it more as a matter of there being plentiful talent within the gene-pool of a given Forgeworld so there was no reason to look outside. Add to that the fact that the Mechanicus can exercise almost complete control over the populace of their Forgeworld from birth (or conception in many cases) til death (err, recycling) and it seemed they would have every reason to look within and no reason to look without, broadly speaking. An exception could be Tech Priests/gene-stock from other Forgeworld (even then there may be mistrust).

Now, that's the broad brush, and even if everything I said could be taken as canon (it can't) it wouldn't be cause to modify your story in any way other than minor changes, like she wants to be a mechanic rather than tech priest, or she girl wants to be a tech priest, the tech priest humors her, knowing she can be useful to him and that if push comes to shove he can leave her on a forgeworld who'll gladly servitorize anyone (going the dark route).

Continuing this tangent, a tech priest not based on a forgeworld could also completely do their own thing. Maybe he wants to make her his personal initiate, who's going to tell him no? It could be a possible plot tie in (the hard liners see an illegally ordained tech-initiate and freak out). He could be training her in the more arcane religious aspect, or he could completely leave out the religion side (having become cynical) and just teach the mechanical aspects to her. The list goes on.

My point is that there was an interesting discussion and I've talked myself out of my original point. Or rather, my point is that what you're doing is probably fine under any reading of the canon, but it's worth thinking through the specifics more as there's some fun stuff to play with considering the direction you're heading.