Nade Skanek

[Dust King]

This is the profile for my aged sniper character, I know ex-vindicare does seem a bit ridicules but I wanted to try a new angle on the temple. What if someone did leave? How and why would they do it? what would they do next? Also if he was going to have the penalties for age I was planning to give him he'd need a very good reason to be included in a warband. So without further ado I present Nade Skanek. (also yes he is a rip off of several characters, I'm not trying to be that subtle about it )

---Personnel Evaluation---

-Name: Nade Skanek (Pseudonym, Nade generic name on imperial worlds. Skanek, a species of venomous ambush preditors) 

-Age: Biologically 71 (Estimated 160 years since birth)

-Height: 162cm

-Weight: 53kg

-Health: Good considering age 

-Home world: unknown

-Occupation: Retired. Ex-vindicare assassin (probably best not to mention this around imperial authorities)

-Loyalty: Interviews and psy scans have revealed no security threats, background suggests a loyal personality.

-Background:

M41~850: Estimated date of recruitment into vindicare temple.

876.395: Becomes an active vindicare operative, over the next 90 years he completes 83 missions with a 100% success rate. In addition to these missions he was involved in 11 ‘null’ ops, so called because no data is
recorded on their objectives.

963.781: Removed from database of active assassins following a null op. Listed as ‘lost in action’. [What follows is Nade’s own account of the events. Although there is very little evidence to support his account it does fit in with details listed in imperial records.] 

“I guess like most things in life it all started with a girl. You see back in the temple we assassins weren’t supposed to have faith in anything except the temple, no religion, no politics, no relationships. That way killing was less complicated, the temple told you to do it so you did it, that was it. The thing is you ended up putting your faith in other people, you had to really, and she was the only person I trusted, that I cared about. I guess you could say I loved her... I mean more of a deep connection... [At this point Kyle interrupted showing his usual subtlety with a bad pun] ...that’s not what I meant [Kyle relives us of his company here]”

“Her name was Hine, she was probably one of the best, completely dedicated to her missions, more so than most of the other assassins and that’s saying something. Anyway the two of us were selected for a null op, kill a cult leader, prevent the fall of a key world, save a sector and stop the imperium from having to open up another front. It all sounded so simple, that soon changed.”

“We infiltrated the planet separately to avoid drawing suspicion, when I reached our rendezvous point she was there waiting. She started speaking to me, which in itself was unusual, missions are often completed in complete silence, we were always thought if we knew the plans then there would not be a need for us to talk. She started talking about the world, the galaxy, the imperium, saying how fragile and weak it all was, how only the strong survived. I’ve fought deamons, elder, ‘nids even necrons and this was the only time I was ever shocked, afraid. Assassins were supposed to be unable to fall to chaos, yet the only person who I had ever cared for was standing in front of me spouting generic cultist drivel. One of the lessons they taught us at the temple was to target the weakness of faith “destroy his faith and you destroy the man” now I knew how it felt.”

“She was fast, faster than me. Before I could draw my pistol she was on top of me, her knife buried in my gut. She whispered in my ear “this is the only way, I’m sorry” then she ripped out my bionic eye, never got it replaced [Nade gestures to his eye patch]. She gets off me leaving me on the flaw bleeding and unable to move, probably due to a toxin on the knife. I’m starting to regain my composure while she’s speaking on her vox, then I hear his voice, the leader of the cult, all I hear is him saying “good, now finish the job”. She turns to me, picks me up, kisses me and then throws me out the bloody window! I’m only alive because I landed in a dumpster, breaking my fall. Now long story short I recovered from the fall and managed to finish the mission, killing that bastard cult leader and finding Hine.”

“When I finally confronted her she smiled at me, she said “I knew you could do it”. She explained this was the plan from the start, the temple needed someone on the inside to destroy the cult, otherwise a new leader would have simply risen up in his place. I was chosen for this mission because of my connection to her, apparently the temple thought I was the only one who would not stop until I had finished everything myself. I asked her if that meant that it was over now, that the mission was successful. She said it wasn’t over yet, she had been tainted by chaos, I would have to kill her, she said it was always the plan...” [ Nade refused to go into any detail over what happened next, although he says he did kill her. As he is emotionally distressed at this point I decided to call it a night and said we’d continue tomorrow]

[The next day] “After that I was damaged goods, the temple had manipulated and betrayed me, had made me kill a friend [Nade seems to be downplaying the relationship by this point]I know it was to save a sector and that it was necessary, but I had lost my faith in the temple. At this point I was approached by an inquisitor who had been helping to clean up after the cult had fallen, we spoke for a bit, that on its own was proof of how lost I was, assassins never speak to those outside their temple. He saw what had happened to me and offered to give me a new life in exchange for 20 years service, I accepted, he faked my death and covered up our trail and we left.” [Nade is reluctant to reveal anything about the inquisitor who he worked with, saying that he likes the guy and doesn’t want him having any ‘accidents’. To avoid attracting any ‘accidents’ happening to us I have decided to avoid investigating this incident lest it draw attention to us]

“I helped him for 20 years and in return he set me up here away from imperial authorities, but now this place seems to be going to hell, it looks like you could use all the help you could get.”

-Comments: Nade seems to be a good man, aside from his past sounding a little farfetched (although I have no reason to doubt him), and the possibility of him attracting unwanted attention. I believe he will make a valuable addition to the warband as well as an excellent instructor to the troops.

Stats:
WS   BS   S    T    I   Wp    Sg    Nv    Ld  Speed
62    83   42  47 76  78    67    79    43    4

Equipment: Bolt action rifle, 2 reloads, chamoline cloak*, 3 AP rounds. Light armour (2pts) on chest abdomen and groin, very light armour (1pt) everywhere else
*as long as he’s stationary for the whole turn awareness tests at him suffer a 30% penalty and shooting suffers a 15% penalty.

Skills:
Ex-sniper supreme: overwatch shots can have a resting bonus
Marksman: Does not nerve to pass nerve tests not to fire at the closest target
Past his best: -1 to speed (already on profile), -1 to run and sprint rates, fails movement based risky actions on a 1 or 2
Cough: smoking iho sticks has lead to a bad cough, sneaking is a risky action if it’s failed that turns movement counts as jogging (heard 10 yards away) for awareness tests
Lost eye: all range penalties are doubled, this is negated by aiming.

So what do you think? I've tried to not conflict with to much fluff (I found hardly any about the workings of the vindicare temple) as well as make the character reasonable.

Edit 1: changed hearing range for coughing to 10 yards

[N01H3r3]

Cough: smoking iho sticks has lead to a bad cough, sneaking is a risky action if it's failed that turns movement counts as walking for awareness tests

It's a nice drawback... but the problem here is that sneaking is already a risky action, with the consequence of failure being that it counts as walking for awareness purposes...

[Dust King]

Ah... right, In that case I'll change it to count's as speaking, heard up to 10 yards away, same as jogging. Seems about right for a muffled cough to me

[Inquisitor Cade]

I really  like the background. I don't know if it fits but I like it.

While his age will have drained his S and T, his Ws shouldn't have dropped that much should it. A full vindicare assassin would have Ws 75+, so I think somewhere between 60 and 70 would be about right. His Bs wouldn't have dropped much either, not as he is still sniping proffesionaly. It would be nice to see a justified Bs 90, and with his rather primitive gun, it will not be game dominating. I'd also have given him a few more points in Sg.

With the past his best rule it might be worth noting 'already included in profile' for the -1 speed, just for clarity.

On the subject of his gun, I suggest you take a look at the hunting rifle, bolt action rifle and sniper rifle on Marco Skoll's revised Inquisitor armoury, or have you already. A side arm, albeit a light one might be appropriate too. I'd take a peak at the compact stubbers and compact revolver, or invent a laspistol. He would probably carry a knife too.

The background say he has an eyepatch. There are rules for the lack of depth perception that looseing an eye induces; it effectively doubles ranges for the purposes of range modifiers. Obviosly this would be a bit of a hinderence, but not too much of one I think, concidering the sizes of Inq boards are limited and his high Bs.

[Hadriel Caine]

Thats damn cool. I dont care how fluffy it is to be honest because there is some real role play potential for this character in my opinion. I like the new idea for the coughing. Have you ever seen the film shooter? Mark Wahlberg. Doesn't quite relate but, having read this, I think you'd enjoy it!

Past his best is a great rule. It may be annoying to play however. don't be afraid to allow your choice of actions represent his age rather than physically restricting your options!

good work!

Adam

[MarcoSkoll]

Marksman: Does not have to pass nerve tests not to fire at the closest target

I think I brought this up somewhere on the last 'Clave. No offence to Derek, his Assassin rules are very well done, but that skill isn't well worded and confuses people as to what the core rules actually say.

The nerve test only applies when there is a closer character within 5 yards (which you're aware of, of course) that is not the target you are attempting to aim at. Failure results in your aim action turning into a snap shot at the nearest character instead.
It's not like the Target Priority tests from 4th Edition 40k, or Target selection from Necromunda - most of the time, you can shoot and aim at whomever you choose without any restriction or test, even if other people are closer than them... unless those people get within 5 yards.

And if you're not dealing with characters that close with your actions and are instead using them aiming at a character who's way out by Fort Mudge, then what are you thinking?

~~~~~

Next: Seems a fair enough profile. Background is a little questionable (as the Inquisitor mentions. But don't think that Lampshade Hanging works on me) - but like I say: "There's a million worlds. It's probably happened on one of them".

...or invent a laspistol.

The Lasweapon rules should be available in the not too distant future.

[Alyster Wick]

Just to get this off my chest, I always like to picture the Temple Assassins as so brainwashed and single minded that they cease to have real emotions.  From that angle, I'm not a huge fan of the fluff.  However it's nothing deal breaking.  He's a solid character with interesting motivations.  Comes off a little like the protagonist from nearly every bad 80s action movie, but I enjoy bad 80s action movies!

In the grim darkness of the far future, there are far too many emotional cripples/characters with no regard for life as it pertains to right and wrong.  It's refreshing to see one with the potential to feel.

Aside from fluff, I love the rules.  Giving a character some flaws is a good way to show you care.  I'll second Cade's sentiment that he should get a boost to his Ws and Bs as well as giving him a knife and side arm.  Also, the distance penalty due to his only having one eye should be added.  However it could also be nullified if Nade uses a scope with the rifle (as he'd only need one eye).  I know this is somewhat convoluted, but it'd be a good way to add another little flaw while not affecting his major strength (the sniper skills).  It would only hurt him when shooting from the hip or using his pistol.

Anyway, fun background!

[Adlan]

Rules seem very fair, I'd be tempted to give him some more skills to be honest. Dead Eye Shot or such like, because if he is who he says he is (I love the ambiguity within the story), he should be, even at his age, a phenomenal shot.

[Tullio]

I've given it a skim-through, and my immediate thought is this - ditch the Temple Assassin bit. There's not a lampshade big enough to justify a Vindicare Temple assassin with emotions of the sort you describe.

However - changing the assassin to be trained at an informal temple or Death Cult secretly sponsored by the Inquisition ... well, that works, and in any case gives you scope to make up as much stuff about the temple as you please without treading on any toes

Tullio

[MarcoSkoll]

@Adlan: That would depend on him still having decent eyesight.

Part of the reason I'm a decent shot is that I've got 20:10 eyesight (twice normal visual acuity).
The inverse applies - at a biological age in your seventies, fading eyesight would make it very hard to be a pinpoint shooter. Only having one eye would make it even harder.

Actually on that note, those of you who've watched the questionable "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" film may recall this joke with Sean Connery's character:

*Allan aims his rifle at a distant and fleeing assassin*
- Sanderson Reed: But he's so far away.
*Allan lowers the gun with a frustrated grunt*
- Sanderson Reed: Yes, I thought he was.
*Allan gets out and puts on his glasses*
- Allan Quartermain: God, I hate getting old.
*Aims the rifle and fires. Man in distance collapses*

Not entirely accurate to real life (as glasses can't completely correct deteriorating vision), but it was a humourous example of how shooting is dependent on eyesight.

[Dust King]

As I said there is little written on the actual day to day lives of the assassins. However it does seem that at least in one of the temples (Callidus) there is minimal or no brainwashing in the assassins as mentioned in the Asaid Virenus, rouge assassin section of the thorian source book. As well as this the hypno-indoctrination of space marines is nothing near foolproof as shown by the large amount of renegade chapters who were not turned (initially) by chaos (soul drinkers for example).

The way I view the fluff, the assassins still have emotions, their just buried deeply in their psyche. Becouse of this most of the time their emotions are supressed or ignored, however strong emotions massive psychological blows still affect them and can sometimes cause a psychological breakdown. If this happens the assassin would normally be re indoctrinated, however an oppertunistic inquisitor got there first with Nade  

Also as suggested I'll increase his WS and Sg, But his BS is <90 because of his age as marco suggested. I'll add the lost eye rule with a note that aiming negates it, which seems realistic to me.

I've also considered giving him a knife and silenced compact stubber but I'll wait a bit before doing that.

Also I'm using the rules from marco's armoury to represent his weapons.

[Aidan]

I like it. Of course, I've pretty much heard this before, but I like the way you've presented it for the conclave. While there are some detractors with regards to the Vindicare thing, remember that the fallibility and limitation of the Imperium - in all its forms - is probably the single most important idea behind our gaming group's 40,000 universe (which of course differs from some other views for 40k. But it's the view I take. We'll see how he plays out on the field, I have high hopes.

[Inquisitor Cade]

A final comment on the one eye thing, unless I am very much mistaken, it is best to aim with both eyes open, though this is not practical with a magnifying scope. The profile doesn't suggect he has a scope so I'd not have thought the disability would be negated by aiming. The simplist solution of course would be to put a scope on his rifle.

The bolt action rifle is a out of date weapon that is specialised for long range shooting, that suits him down to the ground. I think a silenced pistol would be a bit advanced an specialised in another direction that doesn't suit him very well. That said, he was an assassin so maybe he would want a silencer. Where did he get it though?

I never thought I'd say this but I buy his background, that he leaves the temple. The necessary betrayal and exploitation (I sense MSG 3 inspiration) could well over ride the brain washing and cause him to cooperate with the unknown opportunistic inquisitor.

[Hadriel Caine]

just a thought. weight 53kg? I'm not sure. but that ounds VERY light to me. He's 5'3" right? thats a foot shorter than me. I weigh 85kg ish. I'm by no means over weight. My maths and science is terrible but this sounds a little off to me.

He's only 8.346071 stone?

[MarcoSkoll]

53kg sounds VERY light to me.

I thought that, then I checked it. As a rough rule, the BMI system can be used for estimations:
(53 kg) / (1.62m) ^ 2 = 20.2

20.2 is about average for a BMI, so I'd say there's no real problem.
However, more sophisticated is a system that uses 2.5 as the power, because weight doesn't scale with the square of height (nor the cube either - taller people are usually relatively "lankier").

(53 kg)/ (1.62m)^2.5 = 15.9

15-16 is a good average for someone of decent build (on this system of course), so again, about right.

To give numbers to compare to, personally, I'm in good shape, and I stand at 188cm (or 6' 2" in old money) and 75 kilos (165 lbs, or 11 Stone 11), so a BMI* of 21.2, and 15.5 on the "2.5 power scale".

*But bear in mind, BMI is not great for comparing across the 10" height difference between him and me.

I had something similar with sorting the assassin Frost's weight - she's 5' 0.5" (short, but not unnaturally so), so strictly speaking, with the same rating on the "2.5 power scale" as me, she should be about 45-46 kilos (7 Stone 2/7 stone 3). I eventually set her weight at 50 kilos (7 stone 12) because she's somewhat more dedicated to her fitness than I am to mine.

Anyway, I know someone of a not unreasonable height who I know has never reached 8 stone (50.8 kg) - she is on the thin side, but it's not any sort of problem, being a natural result of her metabolism.