Inquisitor Character: Colonel Ludwig Faust
Rank: Colonel
Name: Ludwig Faust
Affiliation: Death Korps of Krieg 8th Siege Artillery Regiment
WS BS S T I WP SG NV LD
61 60 60 67 56 73 60 88 90
Colonel Ludwig Faust is right handed
Equipment: Colonel Faust is armed with a no.88 Lucius-Pattern Laspistol with 2 reloads, an heirloom Black Powder Pistol with 1 dum-dum round, and an officer's Sword. He wears a greatcoat (armor 2 on all locations except for head), and 3 points of ceramite flak armor on his chest and abdomen, and an open helmet. He also wears a gasmask/rebreather and carries a shovel (can be used as an improvised weapon.
Special Abilities: Leader, Rangefinder (see below)
New Equipment: Laspistol (no.88 Lucius-Pattern)
Type Range Mode ACC Dam Shots RLD WT
Pistol E single ------ 2D6+5 25 2 15
New Special Ability/Talent: Rangefinder- As a skilled artilleryman, Colonel Faust has honed his skills at judging range, wind conditions, and other such variables on the battlefield both with his personal arms and directing the firing of his regiment's siege artillery. As such, he can accurately direct the fire of both his fellows and judge for himself the range of his enemies. Colonel Faust and any friendly model within 6" halves the range to his target when working out penalties To Hit for shooting, without the need for range finder gunsights or special wargear.
Bio: The planet of Krieg is home to the most fatalistic and grim regiment of the Imperial Guard: the Death Korps of Krieg. These siege and trench warfare specialists are the pinnacle of devotion to the Imperial Creed and dedication to the Emperor of Man, for their penance runs deep, and they prove their loyalty with every breath, and they gladly lay down their lives by the millions in sacrifice for their debt to the Imperium. Colonel Ludwig Faust is no exception, for he is a man of exceptional skill and valor, who, during multiple campaigns against the forces of the archenemy, has proven himself time and again and survived to continue his duty. During the fighting on Vraks Prime, Colonel Faust, in command of the 8th Siege Artillery Regiment in charge of shelling enemy positions, found his supply lines cut off by Vraksian Renegade sapper teams. His ammunition no longer plentiful, he directed his gun lines to carefully target the key position where the enemy command elements had dug in, destroying their Vox caster arrays with a single salvo, crippling their C&C structure and sending their soldiery into disarray. Seizing the initiative, he rallied his reserve squadrons to him, hunting down the elusive sapper teams while they were confused by the lack of communication from their superiors. In one night of fire and blood, he and his men slaughtered the Renegades, allowing supply lines to be reestablished, and by morning had resumed a full barrage on enemy positions, and Colonel Faust was awarded the Winged Skull in honor of his courage and leadership. Soon after this action, the Colonel was found by Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Solace Bastille, who herself was investigating the heavy warp influence on Vraks Prime along with several other inquisitors of her order. Upon reading after-action reports detailing the influential efforts of Faust's squadron under his command, Solace immediately requested his presence, and, after a brief interview, was quite impressed by the man's quiet reserve and the burning dedication to the imperial cause in his eyes. She inducted him into her retinue, and ever since, he has been serving with the dedication of a true hero of the imperium. His promotion to a member of an Inquisitor's retinue was the second proudest day of his life. When he was made a Colonel of the 8th Siege Artillery Regiment, the true proudest day of his career and life, Colonel Faust's father, himself a veteran of the Death Korps long since retired due to war injuries, presented him with an antique black powder pistol, a relic of the Faust lineage that had been passed down from father to son since the very creation of the Death Korps of Krieg 500 years earlier. Though the weapon is fully functional, and as reliable as it was half a millennium ago, Colonel Faust keeps only a single, armor piercing dum-dum bullet, reserved for his most hated enemies that he meets on the field of battle, and keeps it maintained and cleaned at all times. Though his subordinates and squad mates mock him for carrying such a nostalgic piece of paraphernalia, they cannot understand the sheer value and sense of honor it brings him in carrying forth his family legacy, and he one day hopes to be able to pass on the tradition to his own son, young Edwin Faust, waiting for his father to come home a hero of the Imperium, alive or dead.
Okay, slightly modified from the first and second postings so don't get confused. I took advice and added a bit more backstory, changed the origins of the heirloom pistol (thanks for the suggestion marco, sorry I got mad), changed his stats to be a bit less even and a little more believable hopefully, and changed his skills to, again hopefully, better represent the character as a whole.
Quote from: Lucidum on April 16, 2011, 01:09:58 AM
WS BS S T I WP SG NV LD
75 80 60 65 50 70 60 80 70
Sorry to start off this post on a critical note - but I can't help but express my doubts that a colonel in charge of an artillery regiment would really be given the extensive training in hand-to-hand combat to reach a weapon skill of 75 or find the time to achieve and maintain a ballistic skill of 80.
Certainly, given his rank, his skill levels might be a little higher than the average guardsman, but it's worth bearing in mind that he isn't an average guardsman. He's an officer. The sort of person who is normally a (relatively) safe distance from the fighting, directing his fighting men from the rear. His training would probably have been more focussed on command and leadership, rather than actual fighting. Also, you haven't mentioned in his background about any specific combat skills or where he might have earned them. (For instance, his weapon skill might have been due to being the house fencing champion back at the Schola Progenia where he grew up, and he often likes to practice duelling with his subordinates in an attempt to socialise with his men more. Alternatively, he might have made some enemies on his climb up through the ranks (blew up some expensive things on Vraks with his artillery, perhaps?), and is now paranoid about becoming the victim of a political / revenge assassination. This fear of someone sneaking into his billet to kill him in the middle of the night has resulted in him meticulously keeping his skills sharp, and his blade close at hand when he sleeps.)
To comment on his other stats, I would probably say his nerve characteristic could justifiably be a little higher. The soldiers of Krieg, if I recall correctly, care little for their own lives. They are utterly dedicated to their duty to the point of becoming almost automatons. So if you start shooting at one, the odds are that they won't feel the slightest flicker of fear in their heart.
However, he isn't completely suicidal, and would probably take a dive for cover if he was under heavy incoming fire. (A dead soldier doesn't perform it's duty, after all.) So the nerves of steel special ability probably isn't applicable. It better represents a suicidal character with no instincts for self-preservation whatsoever. Characters such as arco-flagellants, machines, or psychic puppets are better suited by this rule. For a character such as Ludwig, I would recommend a higher Nerve stat, but do away with the Nerves of Steel rule.
For a character who led an entire regiment, his leadership stat seems a little low. If anyone can lead, it would be an officer from Krieg. I would say that an extra 10 or 20 points on his leadership stat would probably be quite justified.
Perhaps a little more detail in his background would be nice - such as how the heirloom pistol got into his hands. Was it a family heirloom, or a regimental heirloom? Was it something he inherited, or something that was given to him as a congratulations present for reaching the rank of colonel?
A coat that offers 3 points of armour is one hell of a coat! Generally, clothing alone wouldn't offer any real armour. (Perhaps a single point for heavy stuff like leather, or two points for protective clothing such as tear-resistant worker's overalls.) So, if this coat is a one-of-a-kind flak armour greatcoat, you may want to explain how such an unusual item came into his hands in your back-story.
Sorry to be mostly critical there. But in spite of my tone, he's not a bad character, he could just do with a little fine tuning. ;)
Take a second look, I modified it based on your critiques and my own personal opinions. What do you guys think?
I like the backstory, the Guard regiments must be a fertile recruiting ground for the Inquisition, and a Colonel like Faust would have many skills, and perhaps crucially, the mindset and mental attitude an Inquisitor would be after.
Stat wise, I still think he's too combat orientated - a senior officer spends far more time on administration and human resources than he does on the shooting range. Obviously, he needs to be able to defend himself 'in game', but perhaps knock a few more points off his weapon skills. Personally, Id' view his fighting skills as equivilent or poorer than and standard Infantry private due to his other commitments. After all, he won his awards for directing his troops, not simply pulling a lanyard.
Of course, since joining Bastille, he may have spent more time practicing his skills to make sure he stays alive, a few more lines in the fluff would sort that.
I also notice his skills are all (at the moment) round numbers - really thinking about the individual and refining these, can tweak a characters skills to fit their background. You'd be suprised at the difference between 68 and 70 - or I am, but then perhaps Im just easily impressed.
Quote from: Flinty on April 16, 2011, 09:24:13 AM
Personally, Id' view his fighting skills as equivilent or poorer than and standard Infantry private due to his other commitments. After all, he won his awards for directing his troops, not simply pulling a lanyard.
I also notice his skills are all (at the moment) round numbers - really thinking about the individual and refining these, can tweak a characters skills to fit their background. You'd be suprised at the difference between 68 and 70 - or I am, but then perhaps Im just easily impressed.
Well the character isn't a geezer, he's a little seasoned but he's a decorated officer who I would say is probably right in his prime, and since Krieg soldiers are so dedicated to the Imperial cause, I would also say that they likely dedicate almost all of their off-duty time honing their skills and training further.
As for the skill numbers, I wasn't aware that skills were supposed to be non-round numbers. I have no local Inquisitor players in my vicinity, so all I have to go off of is the Inquisitor rulebook. I can definitely mess with his skills a little more, any suggestions on that note?
Quote from: Lucidum on April 16, 2011, 09:37:22 AM
and since Krieg soldiers are so dedicated to the Imperial cause, I would also say that they likely dedicate almost all of their off-duty time honing their skills and training further.
Even if that's true, and I kinda doubt it, it makes for a boring one-dimensional character in my opinion. I'd suggest adding in a few lines about what he does in his spare time - reading pornographic novels, writing for the regimental newsletter, cooking up weird dishes from ration packs and whatever else he can scavenge - anything would make him seem more like a well rounded character. His background is otherwise good, but it does focus on his military career rather than who he is as a person.
QuoteI took the first bit of advice I've gotten on this and lowered his greatcoat to 2 armor
AV2 seems right for a military coat, and with an extra point on the chest abdomen for his flak vest that seems fine for an officer. If you wanted him to have a bit more armour then a carapace breastplate wouldn't be out of place.
QuoteI'm KEEPING his Nerves of Steel skill ... Krieg guardsmen are penitent to the core, dedicated to sacrificing themselves for the good of the god emperor, and Nerves of Steel works for that.
I'm afraid I disagree - a high Nv works for that. Nerves of Steel works for someone who's literally incapable of feeling fear rather than for someone who's very brave and dedicated. And with a Nv as high as he has then he's only going to dive for cover when he's actually been hit anyway.
Quoteit makes perfect sense that the rather high-ranking colonel of an Artillery Regiment would be adept at close combat and weapons drills in order to combat these efforts.
Personally I'd have thought it made more sense that a high-ranking colonel of an Artillery Regiment would be adept in positioning and coordinating his men to combat these efforts rather than actually fighting them himself. He should definitely have some combat ability, but I wouldn't say this is enough in itself to justify those stats. Ynek's and Flinty's suggestions about his combat ability are good. The only other suggestion I'd make it to add 5-10 to his Initiative.
Have you got plans for his model?
Quote(hey, the frickin' Tau water caste's robes are armor 2, so don't give me crap by saying a military greatcoat can't be)
The Water Caste's robes could easily be some high tech fabric like carbon nano-fibre weave - it's not necessarily cotton blend or polyester, so it shouldn't be thought of as a good base line.
Quotehe's still an imperial guardsman and an officer at that, erego he's trained at loading his weapon
Officer = Not doing most of the fighting.
GW has it all pretty skewed with their ranks. While to them, higher rank equals more asskickery, it's not like that in reality. In normal cases, any commissioned officer, while not an incompetent fighter, is trained for leadership, and is therefore less skilled in combat than his front line troops whose job it actually is.
As such, I would suggest that while he would know how to defend himself in emergencies, he wouldn't have spent time training skills like Quickload. Particularly when he doesn't have the Leader skill.
On the other hand, I can just about see Nerves of Steel for a Death Korps, as they are supposed to still fear letting the Emperor down more than their own deaths. But you should bear in mind, it's one of those skills that is not just a skill, but a personality trait. Any character with Nerves of Steel should also be utterly dismissive of their own well being in game, even to the point of it potentially harming your objective.
Quotethe Lord General Militant of the Death Korps of Krieg presented him with an antique black powder pistol, the very sidearm owned by Colonel Jurten, the very man who lead to the creation of the Death Korps of Krieg 500 years earlier
What exactly makes him so special that he is granted what is an heirloom of indescribable value and importance... and for that matter, an item that rather interferes with GW's official canon?
I'm not even sure such a pistol exists in the canon, and even if it does, it's not really your place to decide what happens with it. As I've said before, backgrounds should defer to the canon rather than writing or re-writing it.
While I appreciate the the comment that in reality officer's wouldn't be combat oriented...it's kinda a moot point, I mean....40K isn't exactly setting the standard for realism.
As for Marco's comment about my choice for Nerves of Steel, I agree with it, and that's what I was trying to get across with this character. But then again on second thought and after reading more about the Death Korps of Krieg background, they're a defensively-specialized IG force....they excell at siege gunnery and trench warfare, so I guess they're not particularly blind-rage, pain-ignoring berserkers. Any particular way I can represent a complete devout faith in the imperial creed with skills? Or should I just up his Nerve stat and leadership more or give him the Leader skill?
And the background fluff bit about the antique heirloom pistol doesn't conflict with any official canon. Barely any information at all exists about the 500 year atomic purging of Krieg started by Colonel Jurten, I think saying that he once owned a black powder pistol and it serves as sort of a regimental keepsake given to a soldier who most personifies the ideals of the regiment is perfectly acceptable and even in keeping with GW's usual fluff (like the Black Templars Emperor's Champion or the Grey Knight's chosen chapter swordsman)
Quote from: Lucidum on April 16, 2011, 08:38:19 PMIt's kinda a moot point, I mean....40K isn't exactly setting the standard for realism.
It isn't a moot point, because every time you bend the rules of reality and sensibility, you make your character a little harder to believe.
While in 40k, a Colonel might be an arse-kicker supreme, I also remind you a typical 40k Inquisitor can make fair mincemeat of a squad of Space Marines.
Inquisitor is not the same game as 40k. In this game, fighting skill does not magically increase with authority.
QuoteAnd the background fluff bit about the antique heirloom pistol doesn't conflict with any official canon.
It doesn't
conflict, but it's still writing background for a character that isn't yours. Even if it is an "official character", messing with background that isn't yours to mess with is frowned upon around here.
Also, with official characters there is always two risks:
- One, that someone else has written their own fanon that conflicts.
- Two, that they introduce new background. Jurten isn't that unlikely a candidate for a future Black Library novel, as the DKoK are a popular regiment. And that would be pretty much guaranteed to conflict at that stage.
Okay, fine, the realism point is well made. I'll concede that.
I seriously think you're overthinking the background bit about the bloody gun. Would you stop critiquing it if I said it was his unnamed, unimportant, non-already-established father's gun for crying out loud?
And in case anyone's wondering what model I'm using, I'm basing it off of this:
(http://www.smartmaxstore.com/content/pdtimg_393556b.jpg)
How does that compare size wise to Inq models? All the smart max I've seen are quite slight of build being closer to 1/35 scale. Not a problem in its use by any means but it would impact the believability of his S and T characteristics....
Quote from: Lucidum on April 16, 2011, 09:43:57 PMI seriously think you're overthinking the background bit about the bloody gun.
There's absolutely no need to be snappy or rude about it. It's an honest concern - you're taking your character, who isn't widely famous or well recognised to be in the canon, then doing something that more or less means he should be.
In most cases, links to canon characters are completely unnecessary for the story, and just seem to be a way of going "my character is more awesome and more honoured than your character".
In fact, I often think they rob from the story - indeed, if it's his father's pistol, then it immediately becomes a more interesting item because it's special to
him rather than being just something that any DKoK trooper would covet.
Compare:
- "My character has a pistol which everybody in his regiment wants"
- "My character has a pistol that most people would write off as antique junk, but which means the world to him".
Personally, I'd say the latter says far more interesting things about him than him being just yet another trooper who has for some reason been rewarded beyond his apparent station.
Huh, well when you put it like that I rescind prior snippyness. That actually does sound better.
And as for that model all I know is that it's 1/35 scale, which I have no idea how that compares to 54mm, but if it's slightly smaller I can probably work with it, I didn't intend Colonel Faust to be a particularly large man.
Quote from: Lucidum on April 16, 2011, 08:38:19 PM
Any particular way I can represent a complete devout faith in the imperial creed with skills? Or should I just up his Nerve stat and leadership more or give him the Leader skill?
Faith and Fatalism
The character Knows that no matter what fate awaits him, the Emperor protects, the Emperor has a plan, and the Emperor's grace awaits him, and he can face danger unafraid. He may choose to reroll all failed Nerve tests.
If it makes sense for him to dive for cover, he dives for cover, if it's a big gribly he'll stand up to, it makes sense for him to ignore the danger.
54mm equates to 1/32 - and the 'heroic' proportions of the GW range means they tend to be bulkier than standard 1/32 miniatures. This all means that 1/35 miniatures tend to look a bit on the small and weedy side - that's not necessarily a problem but it means it doesn't really work for a strong, tough character like your Colonel.
A few companies, Andrea I think is one, do WWI soldiers that could be used as the basis for a DKoK character.
Quote from: Kaled on April 16, 2011, 11:55:35 PM
54mm equates to 1/32 - and the 'heroic' proportions of the GW range means they tend to be bulkier than standard 1/32 miniatures. This all means that 1/35 miniatures tend to look a bit on the small and weedy side - that's not necessarily a problem but it means it doesn't really work for a strong, tough character like your Colonel.
A few companies, Andrea I think is one, do WWI soldiers that could be used as the basis for a DKoK character.
Wait, so 1/35 wouldn't probably work for this character? (In a pinch I suppose I could make him younger and a lower rank, kinda the younger type of character who proves himself against all odds)
In my opinion, no that model wouldn't be the best representation of that character. I've seen at least one SmartMax model used for Inquisitor before, but that was for a character who was meant to be physically unimpressive. It shouldn't be too hard to find a model that would work for the character though.
Ah, fair enough. Well plenty of other models to consider I'm sure, lots of 54mm-ish manufacturers
I should note, after recent PMs with Shannow and the recent ideas about forum members starting to produce more models for the game, I have some plans to make and cast a 54mm "Space Guard Officer with Gas Mask and Greatcoat".
I don't know when it'll be available (although if the idea is popular, possibly sooner rather than later), but by complete coincidence, it may just happen to have some similarities to the Forge World DKoK Commissars.
(And as I tend to make my models to an average height of about 57-58mm for males and 53-54mm for females, it should be a reasonably imposing figure.)
I like this idea - I think a few casting of 'Sci-Fi Gothic' models would be great. I can't sculpt to save my life, yet, but I'll cheerfully give it a go once I'm good ... in a few years time!