Well Here I am :) First post and first properly thought out Inquisitor character. He will based off a slightly modified Eisenhorn model.
Here goes:
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Mathius Book
Assisitant to the Prefect of Trade and Commerce
[Lora Sen Sub Sector; Vulturnus Gulf Sector; Segmentum Tempestus]
WS BS S T I Wp Sg Nv Ld
62 49 53 63 74 81 84 76 77
Equipment: Force Rod, Sword, 2*Digi-Weapons (Las and Stun), Flak Armour on Chest/Abdomen/Arms
Special Abilities: Feint, First Strike, True Grit
Psychic Abilities: Distraction, Mind Scan, Terrify
At first glance Mathius Book is your typical administratum cleric, soft spoken, mild mannered and basically non-descript in every aspect, his only bit of flamboyance is his hand-crafted walking stick (Force Rod with concealed sword). On a hundred worlds he could and does pass unoticed but if you were of a crminally attuned mind and in the business of questionable trade negotiations Mathius Book would suddenly become your most sort after and prized connection.
Mr Book is a mover. Of anything and everything. From illicit picts to exotic xeno arcifacts and weaponry.
He travels all over the Sector in his role as the prefects assistant as he has been proved himself to be a realiable envoy and stand in. On the surface it appears as though he ensures that all tradings of any kind are legit and within imperial laws but if you were able to gain a private audience with him behind closed doors then all the shippings lanes in the Sector can your personal highway.
But there is certain detail that only one other souls knows about Mathious Book.
He is an authorised throne agent under the protection of Inquisitor Jeremiah River.
Mathius is responsible for passing on detailed accounts of all xeno and heretical trade deals and cargoes to River. He also keeps tabs on minor smugglers in case they lead him to bigger more powerful smuggling organisations in the Sector and beyond.
Books physical appearance is all for show, underneath akk the supposed augmetics he is aphysically fit individual and while he doesn't enjoy violence or combat he is able to handle himslef in a fight. Book has some latent psychic talent but prefers to outwit and out think his opponents and only uses his talents if there is no other options available.
He is currently following up rumours of a Mister Maj Eskus who is suspected of dealing in a warp altered drug that is known as Ash.
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What you guys/girls think? Does his stats and equipment fit his background? And vice versa... Equipment is using the basic Eiesenhorn model but without his force staff thing or gun.
My idea with the rod/sword is that his 'walking stick' (yes I know, blatantly stolen form Gandalf's staff in LotR, but oh well :)) comes aprt revealing the word but the force rod can only be used when both bits (sword and casing) are connected (some technically minded person could expalin that away but I can't; allowing him some form of weaponry but without reaveling the sword (he is a cleric afterall :) the digi-weapons are purely from the models rings...
Not overly familiar with the rules and haven't enjoye dthe pleasure of playing a game but am wanting to get going with it.
C&C most welcome
Intermssion
P.S. Is this at all feasible in the 40K universe...?
I really like the idea behind this guy. Though i'd give him an undercover identity (i.e. Sekrit Von Agant is the Assisstant to Trade and Commerce), in order to hide who he is, the people who could be doing deals for may be able to figure out he's an Inquisitorial agent and introduce to the business end of a bolt pistol when he least expects it (probly whilst having a poop, i'd never expect to get shot whilst having a poop).
Equipment wise i think he's spot on, he's got, effectively, 4 hidden weapons (though i'm not sure what digi weapon stun is?), he's discreet, which i think perfectly fits the character. For the stats, i'd probly bump his BS by 2 points, but otherwise i like them.
Quote from: JoelMcKickass on December 18, 2010, 01:47:04 PM(though i'm not sure what digi weapon stun is?)
Needle digi with stun toxin, I imagine.
I like the concept and execution.
As far as the rules, I'd say he's a bit high in Wp and Sg. 80s should be reserved for characters who specialise in that area (i.e. at the cost of being pretty mediocre elsewhere), and thus usually only one on a character, unless they're supposed to be crazily good.
Few changes-
Mathius Book
Assisitant to the Prefect of Trade and Commerce
[Lora Sen Sub Sector; Vulturnus Gulf Sector; Segmentum Tempestus]
WS BS S T I Wp Sg Nv Ld
62 51 53 63 74 67 73 76 77
Wanting to show this guy is very clever and can think on his feet.
Marcoskull is corect! :) The stun digi-weapon aint in the rule book but i didnt want to give him somekind of stun grenade and wanted to give him the option of not having to kill his opponent.
@JoelMcKickass
He doesn't really need a undercover idnetity cause he is genuinely the assistant to the Prefect of Trade and Commerce... Or should he have a 'codename' for dealing with criminals?
I'm really drunk, i apologise for mistypes.
I've got you there, the way i saw it, he was an Inquisitorial agent who snuck into that position, rather than someone who was in that position who got brought into the Inquisition.
Having said that, aside from the usual psyker stuff, why has the entire operation not been ragg'd in front of an Inquisitorial meeting, and then smashed senseless? Why did the blackships not kidnap him and stick unfortunate things up his bum?
As for codenames, look at Deep Throat! and Abnetts "glossia" talk for his internal agents.
I too had wondered how he avoided the Blackships - and how he avoids being detected as a psyker by those he does business with (some of whom no doubt employ psykers)?
I really like the character though, it just seems like the latent psyker thing is tacked on rather than being integral to the character. I'd just drop the psychic powers and replace the force rod with either some discreet xeno-tech or have it as a shock maul.
Very good points made by both of you!
I honestly didn't think about the blackships or being detected by the criminal element or for that matter any psyker he comes across. I guessed I didn't think thru him as much as I thought I did :(
Will definately be making changes to him but not now as itr is late and been a long day.
I'll get him updated soon and then on to round 2 of C&C :)
Just a quick modeling question... Should I GS/paint on a administratum insignia onto the back of his cloak or somehow paint 'the stars' kinda 'night sky' look or just a plain colour? Or somethin else??? Eisenhorn's cloak is kinda big and flat without his force staff thingy there...
Intermission
You could paint in the stylised 'a' of the Administratum or work it into the design, that could look cool
- maybe even have it at the heart of a pattern of stars as some sort of symbolic representation of the Administratum's role in the Imperium...
It's always easy to give a character psychic powers without thinking about the black ships, although given his background is there any reason for him not to have been sanctioned as a low level psyker prior to his current career? If he's got inquisitorial connections a discreet veil could be drawn over this detail in his past. Or maybe rumours of psychic abilities simply add to his reputation?
I like the idea of this character, he seems almost the perfect placement for an inquisitorial agent, and ruleswise he seems strong with a few tricks, but not overwhelming, which is good. An administratum symbol would be good, but any generic imperial insignia could be pressed into service.
Equipment: Agoniser, Sword, 2*Digi-Weapons (Las and Stun), Flak Armour on Chest/Abdomen/Arms/Thighs
Special Abilities: Feint, First Strike, True Grit
Does anyone actually know what form an agoniser takes? Or doesn't it have set form... Just trying to rationilse the reach difference between the sword and agoniser since on the model they are gonna essentially by the same size...hmm...
I'm gonna drop him having psychic powers but ask this, do people always develope psychic powers when young or can they manifest latert in life, say after a horrific encounter? Maybe somehow bring that ointo a game situation and grow powers from there, 1 power that is really hard to perform but he gets better at it and then bring more in as he grows as a psychic and a as a person...
(http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/thumb/3/31/Administratum_Symbol.jpg/90px-Administratum_Symbol.jpg)
Is that the 'A' you were talking about Kaled? What u think of that shaope being done in orange/red/yellow stars aand around them white and/or blue stars, so his cloak is taken up by a starfield but the a is still visible; that kinda says that the administratum is there but is kinda lost in the background/hidden in plain sight...which also ties in with the inquistion...kinda.
Intermission
Quote from: Intermission on December 21, 2010, 05:52:41 AM
Is that the 'A' you were talking about Kaled?
That's the one. Maybe you could add a subtle suggestion of three bars to the central I to hint at his connections with the Inquisition...
Would this be to obvious of a change?
(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g305/Witblitz/Avatars/Administratum_Symbol0.jpg)
And then some quick variations:
(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g305/Witblitz/Avatars/Administratum_Symbol02.jpg)
(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g305/Witblitz/Avatars/Administratum_Symbol03.jpg)
(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g305/Witblitz/Avatars/Administratum_Symbol04.jpg)
I actually quite like the B/W with stars background.
And what do you think of him 'maybe' gaining psychic talents as he progresses. Maybe with his dealings with all the xeno/warp artofacts and stuff they somehow 'unlock' the psyker potential in him and then the inquistion has the choice of whether to keep him active and helping them but have him 'tainted' o rjust remove the threat all together.Oh, oh and then maybe he could actually turn rogue and go off soemwhere and do bad staff lol
Just spewing stuff off the top of my head here :)
Intermission
I was thinking more of either faint lines or lines of stars either side of the I rather than bars across the I. But go with whatever you like best.
Psychic powers usually manifest during childhood/adolescence, but can manifest later. You could make him a very low-level psyker who can mask his soul and so hide his growing abilities (I've got rules for a Soul Veil psychic power that could represent that so
some where). He could even have been sanctioned in secret under cover of attending a trade conference in a system that's home to a Scholastia Psykana facility.
Who do you plan for the rest of his warband? Security trooper? Savant? Pilot? Servitor bodyguard? Famulous? I really like tha idea of this character/warband - it has a lot of potential.
Personally I'd just suggest he go through the Black Ships, a little time at the Scholastica Pykana is not tricky to conceal in the records after all.
Either that or just drop the psychic abilities, in terms of character the distraction and mind scan could be covered for most non-combat applications by talent, he manages a lot of information and therefore is able to predict rather accurately what people who come to him are thinking...
Terrify doesn't seem to quite suit anyway - if someone goes "oogha-boogha-boogha" in your face to that degree (the degree to which you lose control over your bodily functions) you would likely remember that person and that seems to be the wrong way for this character.
As to the Agoniser, isn't that the Dark Eldar gauntlet?
And why not just work with a sword-stick? Rather than trying to do too much with it just allow it to be a simple sword-stick.
Great character concept!
Also, I think - don't hold me to this - but I seem to recall reading somewhere that the 'Agoniser' stats in the rule book are supposed to represent a whip.
The stick doesn't really work as an agoniser for me - I still think making it a shock maul would be better. I might be tempted to upgrade the sword to a monomolecular blade though if you want something a bit more deadly.
Great character concept! Very unique.
As for the agonizer, it's generally a rather gaudy gauntlet or equally gaudy whip which looks distinctly xenos in origin and is anything but subtle.
If I may throw my hat in the ring, I don't think him developing latent psychic powers in necessarily a bad thing, but it comes up relatively often on the Conclave. If the idea hasn't been hacked to death in your gaming group then that's fine, but it does get to seem a little trite in comparison to other characters, and as Kaled said it does feel a little tacked on which hurts the character somewhat.
To echo other suggestions, I would say that this guy has plenty of characterful ways (and I repeat, I really like the character) to give him an edge. I've been toying with a piece of arcane wargear which is a staff that allows the character wielding it to simulate the effects of psychic impel. If he fails an SG test while using it though he gets shot in a random direction as the staff/cane targets himself.
As was suggested, this guy has a great information network. Why not say that he can use the distract ability once per game or once per character per game to represent his preplanning/research on the individuals he's meeting with? He can either throw his voice, toss a stone to create a distraction or just directly use his knowledge of the characters to tell them something to confound them for a turn.
Basically, there are all kinds of arcane weaponry he can have or talents you can create which very organically fit in with him (a) being a purveyor of rare goods or (b) being an exceptionally clever individual. Having him be a psychic on top of it just seems unnecessary.
Anyway, I really do like the character so just do what feels right!
Mathius Book
Assisitant to the Prefect of Trade and Commerce
[Lora Sen Sub Sector; Vulturnus Gulf Sector; Segmentum Tempestus]
WS BS S T I Wp Sg Nv Ld
62 51 53 63 74 67 73 76 77
Equipment: Shock Maul, Sword, 2*Digi-Weapons (Las and Stun), Flak Armour on Chest/Abdomen/Arms/Thighs, Bio-scanner, Motion Tracker
Special Abilities: Feint, First Strike, True Grit
Mathius is no longer a psyker and I've modified his equipment.
@Kaled: what is that monomolecular blade you mentioned? Can't find it in the rulebook and not much info comes up in a google search.
Mind-Scan/Psi-track: Mathius is a great believer in 'Know thyself AND thy opponent'. To this extent he does conducts a thorough as possible background check on anyone he is searching for/tracking or just keeping tabs on. In this way he is able to reasonably predict where they might go next and what they could do.
In game turns this would mean that in scenarios where he is after someone and looking to track them down and ask them questions as to where someone/thing might be and he successfully rolls for a mind scan this could represent him having deduced it himself prior to th engagement or some such.
Distraction: In the same line as the above reasoning, if Mathius is able to talk with someone of the opposite warband he can use his vast knowledge of that person and mankind in general to try and 'distract' them by hinting at or telling them something that Mathius houldn't really be able to know. Or on the other hand he, as Wick said can throw a stone/his voice or whatever, this I think would be harder so the dufficulty level should be raised if Mathius isn't directly speaking to the person.
Okay; some new designs for his cloak and what he could say they stand for besides an -I-
Are they to obivious? Would ordinary people recognise the inquisition's symbol if thye saw it?
(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g305/Witblitz/Avatars/Administratum_Symbol05.jpg)
The 6 outer 'stars' represent the 6 systems that Mathius wanders around making sure everything is okay while the 3 inner star represent the code that all administratum workers live by: check, double check and check again, or whatever it might actually be.
(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g305/Witblitz/Avatars/Administratum_Symbol06.jpg)
The 5 red inner stars represent the 5 systems (yes I know I just deleted a system) he has 'control' over while the 6 outer stars show the capital planets of thge 5 systems plus the sub sector capital.
Also haven't really thought about the rest of his staff/warband. Maybe they have a a subwarp craft for in system flight an dpiggyback on rogue traders, freight ships, maybe even naval? So I guess a pilot is in order. Also maybe a sage of some kind but whether it will be a pure servitor cogitator thing or a living breathing human is yet to be decided.I also want to use this model http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/Master%20Series%20Miniatures/latest/30002 (http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/Master%20Series%20Miniatures/latest/30002) along with slick devaln as a brother/sister bounty hunter and part time bodyguards, but whethe rthey shall guard Mathius or someone else remains to be seen.
But now a real problem could be decideng on how much the warband knows of mathius and his various 'personaes'... could be a bit tricky.
Any thoughts?
Intermission
Quote from: Intermission on December 22, 2010, 10:08:10 PM
@Kaled: what is that monomolecular blade you mentioned? Can't find it in the rulebook and not much info comes up in a google search.
Have a look at the link below and you'll find rules for Custom Close Combat Weapons written by Charax & Helst;
http://www.freewebs.com/closecombatweapons/index.htm
Even if he develops psychic powers late (my inquisitor did, that's what happens when you enter chaos held territory and then have close encounters with demons) they'd still have to go to the blackships. Leaving out the psychic powers mean you don't lose the years spent there.
With both kinds of scanner, mindscan/ psi- track seems extraneous, and a stretch as an explanation of studying someone in depth.
That said, I love this character, really has the flair and feel of inquisitor.
QuoteWith both kinds of scanner, mindscan/ psi- track seems extraneous, and a stretch as an explanation of studying someone in depth.
I respectfully disagree. While I'd fiddle with the format a little bit (giving him a new ability as opposed to saying he acts as though he has Y because of skill set X) I think it makes sense. Rather than just giving Mathius a bioscanner and the mindscan ability Intermission has opted to give him comparable talents but also imposed penalties (he can only use these abilities on individuals he has studied).
I think it makes total sense for him to "get in the character's mind" as the mindscan ability allows and if he's studied them enough it's reasonable to think that he could predict where they might go. The real challenge goes to the GM who should feel free to have lots of fun misdirecting Book if he fails his tests. It isn't as though he automatically can predict where the individual would go, if he fails his test (I assume you'd want him testing off SG for this) he could end up on the other side of the board.
While perhaps a little far fetched, these abilities are essentially duplicating the results of "watching a lot of game film" (to use a sports metaphor) combined with a dash of fanciful suspension of disbelief (kind of like how fighting films will often have the scene where the martial artist is blindfolded but can still predict where their enemies will be).
Anyway, I'll finish my ramble with that.
Very well argued. I change my position based on your explanation.