Witch Hunter: Theron Angelis

[Radu Lykan]

what do you think about giving him a soul net? it would fit in with his witch hunting and could be launched from a net gun which would make for an interesting model. a one shot weapon that could incapacitate his target so he can get close enough to put the shock collar on would be very useful in his line of work.
i agree with either litanies of spite or some other sort of psychic ward to aid him in his hunts.

[horuswaspretty]

Sorry about the late reply.

I did look into giving him more equipment such as litanies of spite, black charter, some fancy weapons etc (I didnt look at the soul net but did consider the shock net) but as he was supposed do be a semi-low level character I didnt want to load him out with a load of kit that would over power him. I dont want him to be able to kill any pyker easily, it should be a challenge for him.

@Kasthan: He does hate psykers, all of them, rogue and sanctioned, I do need to emphasize this more in his fluff. He will work for anyone who wants a psyer killing or captured, unless they want them captured to make use of their powers. As to how he saw the psyker, it was pure miraculous luck. I was thinking of giving him some kind of rule to represent this, but I think it will be best to just include it in the way he plays, attempting even the most impossible things. I dont want him to start at a high rank. Like I said, he is not a powerful character, the stormtroopers would have been sent in, but would have been killed, there was no need to mention this as it adds nothing to Theron's background.

@Vladimir: Perhaps I can use a version of nerves of steel which only applies against psyker characters!

@Inquisitor Cade: He will only be answering to an Inquisitor if thats who has hired him. Even so, that doesnt mean he is forced to stock up on overpowered equipment. He will most likely have extra ammo, thats just an oversight on my part. Didnt think about it at the time.

@Radu Lykan: As I said above, I did consider a net of sorts, but didnt want to over power him. But having left him for a while, and coming back to him, I feel he needs another gun, so maybe a net, and some form of close combat weapon. Perhaps dropping the nuckle dusters and giving him some basic sword or something.

I am still not sure on litanies or similar though, Im not sure if this would make him too strong, especially if combined with something like a soul net.

Thanks for the comments 

[Radu Lykan]

i dont think he will be overpowered, it just makes sense that if you are going up against psykers that you have a reliable defence and way of taking them down before they melt your brain.
if you make the net gun a one shot weapon i.e cant be reloaded in game and the soul net needs retrieving each time it is used (imagine you cant pick these up at the local corner shop) and give him wards of some kind he is good to go.
the knuckle dusters give character, too many people have swords in this game!
as long as he has a knife, naval pistol (to be used as a club) and knuckle dusters then he comes across as a dirty fighter, it might be fun to make a rule to represent his unorthodox skills, perhaps a bonus to hit the groin?

[horuswaspretty]

lol he is not quite THAT unorthodox! Will see how he plays in combat, I do like how he is kitted out, hence why I gave him the dusters and knife. Will think on the net/litanies. I think the naval pistol is enough fire power, especially if he has extra ammo or special ammo. A soul net is quite fitting, and out of the other bit litanies does sound the best fit for his character.

[Inquisitor Cade]

What are you're thoughts for the model? I recon the rifle/shotgun in sheath from the bounty hunter model would suit him. A shotgun, a long rifle, a lasgun or even a grenade launcher are readily available to most imperial citizens, although ammo for the latter would be limited. I don't think any of these would over power him (again, assuming he has no more than 3-4 grenades), he would be outmatched by veteran guardsman or any acolyte of the Inquisition.

[Brother_Brimstone]

I think a shotgun might fit the character quite well - shotguns are fairly brutal and low-tech - they fire clusters of bits of metal at people in a burst, have a high recoil and are fairly basic (although of course it depends on the type of shotgun) - overall I would say that sounds pretty brutal to me! A double barrelled shotgun, or even a sawnoff would seem to fit the bill best IMO. Still, this is just a suggestion for if you were going to go down that route - he's your own character, I'm just throwing my opinion in for your consideration.

Still, I like the character, it's a great concept, although I get the sense he'd only really be working with puritans rather than radicals (if with an inquisitor at all), due to what you were saying about him not wanting the psykers to live, hating even sanctioned psykers etc...

[horuswaspretty]

I have only thought about the model a little. I looked through both mine and Radu's bits boxes and couldnt really find anyting that I liked for him. I have an image in my head of what I want him to look like, just need to work out how to make it happen.

I dont really want to give him a shotgun. I know it would not over power him but it just doesnt fit my idea of his character. A shotgun is powerful, one shot and the enemy could dead. All his weapons, a pistol, shock collar and the knife with wither, all hints at giving a slow death. I think he would make the psyker suffer a bit before killing him. Shotgun is too easy.

Having thought about it, I think a soul net would be a good idea, and maybe some version of the litanies of spite (maybe a slightly less powerful version). I think I will stick with just the naval pistol though, but may give him some special ammo aswell.

[MarcoSkoll]

I know it would not over power him but it just doesnt fit my idea of his character. All his weapons hint at giving a slow death. I think he would make the psyker suffer a bit before killing him.

What happens if he encounters a witch who's far too powerful for him to "torture slowly to death" and which has to be killed before it kills him?

Also, psykers can become possessed or serve as gateways for the denizens of the warp (all the more likely if it's a rogue psyker, and that's exactly what he'll chase most of the time) - any Witch-hunter worth his salt would at least know rumours to that effect, and probably even (slightly) more solid facts.

Sure, a twisted Witch-hunter who tortures his foes is a perfectly valid idea, but his Sg implies he's an intelligent and educated guy... he'll know these things. Would he really be without a contingency plan?

[horuswaspretty]

What happens if he encounters a witch who's far too powerful for him to "torture slowly to death" and which has to be killed before it kills him?

Its not about torturing them, just not letting them go easy. There is a big difference between a quick death and torture.

If he encounters a psyker who is that powerful then it is unliely that he will be able to get close enough for a shotgun to be effective. With what he is equipped with can deal with most situations. A powerful psyker = a few shots from the naval pistol, hopefully doing some damage, throw a couple of bio-haywire grenades, reducing the psykers speed and stunning them, then shoot the soul net, removing their powers, then apply shock collar, shock them a few times, game over.

If the psyker is too powerful for that to work, then he should struggle, which is what I wanted. He is not supposed to take on every level of psyker with ease.

[MarcoSkoll]

If he encounters a psyker who is that powerful then it is unliely that he will be able to get close enough for a shotgun to be effective.

With slugs, a shotgun can easily be effective out to 100 metres. More if you know what you're doing. But I wasn't necessarily talking about a shotgun - a rifle or carbine would also be appropriate.

I'd at least run with the idea of some special ammunition for his pistol, so he has some form of backup plan. Whether it's explosive ammunition, warded against psykers or whatever, it doesn't really matter, but just some way of increasing his killing power.

He is not supposed to take on every level of psyker with ease.

No, he shouldn't be able to, but there's a difference between that and handicapping yourself.

[Alyster Wick]

Perhaps dropping the nuckle dusters and giving him some basic sword or something.

Why not have his knucle dusters inscribed with litanies against the dark arts?  Could have any effect from doubling damage vs. psychers to having a chance of lighting them on fire (it burns their skin when it touches).  Just throwing it out there.

I rather like the character and I think that a soul net would be a great addition.  It's both incredibly useful and makes for a good trump card.  If he's truly outclassed it gives him that one shot to take down even a more powerful foe but even at that point the weapon is literally hit or miss.

Another thought I'd play with is giving him some kind of special runes that he can place which (when the psycher is in proximity to them) reduces their power.  Give them effects similar to a powered down psych-out grenade but their effect only manifests when a psychic power is attempted near them.  It's not overly powerful and plays into your character's intelligence (the minnow luring the shark into a trap). There is a certain sadism in having the psycher take themselves out of action by effectively tricking them into giving themselves massive amounts of feedback. Not overly powerful, still takes luck and skill, but would make for interesting and challenging games.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Why not have his knucle dusters inscribed with litanies against the dark arts?

I like that idea, consider it seconded.

A shotgun is powerful, one shot and the enemy could dead.

If I had to be shot I'd rather it was by 12 gaugue buckshot from a shotgun than a .44 magnum or equivalently powerful pistol. The shotgun stereotype of video games is quite misleading. Low power lasguns and light assault rifles are less powerful than the naval pistol too. In practice, in Inquisitor, nothing short of a boltgun is at all likely to grant a mercifully quick death. A shotgun could even be loaded with 'bean bag' rounds to reduce an target to a groaning, and more importantly stunned, enemy.
But if you don't think a basic weapon is in his character then who am I to say different. I'm not saying he has to have one, I just think one would suit him, and so provide an argument counter to your reasoning of why you think it wouldn't.

[MarcoSkoll]

If I had to be shot I'd rather it was by 12 gauge buckshot from a shotgun than a .44 magnum or equivalently powerful pistol.

I really, really, really wouldn't.

A 2.75" 12 gauge shell loaded with 00 buckshot can put that shot straight through 16" or more of ballistic gel.
.44 Magnum, depending on the bullet design, can do a bit more as far as penetration is concerned - but that may well translate into over-penetration and lost energy.

But the important difference is that there's only one bullet, not 9 to 12 individual pieces of shot. There's over twice the lead in a 12 gauge round, and it's going near as dammit as fast. What that translates to is that in terms of wound trauma, 12 pellet 00 Buck does about 6 times the damage to tissue that a .44 Magnum round can.
While .44 Magnum is not a round I would want to get shot with (but I could say that about almost all firearms), it does not even close to match up to a shotgun as far as lethality, stopping power and internal damage. Very few people who take a centre-mass hit with buckshot will live to tell the tale.

Where buckshot is disadvantaged versus the .44 Magnum is if armour is involved, or at range - although if you're engaging a target who is armoured or who is outside the effective range of buckshot*, you should really be using a rifle, not a pistol.
*But even so, you could improve your odds with the shotgun by using slugs. They've got good range, and the armour piercing variants can go through the side of an armoured personnel carrier.

The shotgun stereotype of video games is quite misleading.

Yes, but not in the way you think. The effective range of shotguns in video games is usually ridiculously short compared to the real world version - in reality, buckshot should be effective up to around 70 metres (slugs will give you about twice that). You'd be unlikely to find a game where they were up to the job at half that distance.

~~~~~

Anyway, apologies for unleashing the ballistics nerd - but it was the subject at hand.

[Inquisitor Cade]

I stand corrected.

[horuswaspretty]

If I had to be shot I'd rather it was by 12 gaugue buckshot from a shotgun than a .44 magnum or equivalently powerful pistol.

Well I have fired a shotgun and I can tell you, I wouldnt like to be on the receiving end of it.

I have updated Therons equipment. How is he looking now?

Equipment:
Naval pistol, 2 reloads, every 3rd bullet man-stopper
Bolas launcher with soul net
Knuckle dusters
Spring brace mounted knife with wither toxin
Flak armour: chest, abdomen, groin
Shock collar
2 Bio-haywire grenades
Advanced bionic eyes incorporating psi-tracker
Litanies of spite

Abilities:
Iron will