Winged inquisitor character...

[MarcoSkoll]

Also looking at the alien generator rules it gives movement speeds for wings but doesn't mention wound allocation, which seems a bit silly given their size and that he still has legs to use if he needed.

Wings are large, but don't forget, most of that is feathers, not actual flesh and blood. The bone and muscle structure of a bird's wing is... well, basically that of an arm.



However, I have a better suggestion than what they did in the Aliens article. Messing with the hit location table means you have to learn a completely new table, and that's just extra work in game.

I wouldn't modify it at all. However, any attack that misses by 20% or less and isn't an auto-miss hits his wings instead. 25% chance of hitting the flesh and blood part of the wings - if not, it hits the feathered parts.

Both parts share the same injury table, but a hit on the feathered parts doesn't contribute to injury total, and has something of a resistance (along the lines of the Invulnerable/Impervious daemonic skills) to certain kinds of attack. Bullets for example, will only poke fairly minor holes through the feathers (so double toughness against solid projectile weapons), but things like bladed weapons or flames will hack/burn away quite large areas (half toughness against blades or heat based weapons).

The extra size added by his wings gets represented by that (without him becoming a total injury total magnet), you don't need to learn an extra location table, and it represents the structure of a wing reasonably.

[Shannow]

@ Marcoskoll, brilliant idea I think that'll be the mechanism I use. Won't be playing a game for a while as still have to finish character and models etc but will report back when I've tried this out but seems pretty damn good

Also I think in terms of back story I'll probably make him a Malleus Inquisitor and work up some story of fought of daemonic possession or warp battle that bestowed his wings unto him. That and it means I can more legitimately give him a daemonic weapon if I choose too

Thanks again

[Shannow]

Right, I've written another draft of backstory, this time from the perspective of being from the Ordo Malleus, having looked at who I want him to be I realised the Xeno association was not really that much of an issue. It is a fair bit so I whole heartedly don't mind if you don't read it. But if your interested in the wings bit, its only the last chunky paragraph (number 5) :p i haven't made any further mention of the daemon sword but plan to write at some point that he keeps it hidden as though it is useful he fears it. i might then make rules for when he uses it that he has a penalty to his willpower.

Inquisitor Maximilian Shannow: Shannow was born and raised on the planet Nocturna-Solaris, so called as due to its lack of axial spin, one half of the planet was permanently in darkness and the other in light. This leading to a population of extreme opposites, half dark skinned with small almost entirely white eyes and the other pale skinned with large obsidian pupil dominated eyes to accommodate for the general lack of light, not even compensated for by the aged globe spheres used to light there homes. Shannow was born to the latter population though at an extreme paleness even for them with almost translucent skin. This too was mirrored in his hair though in years to come he would dye it black to enhance the contrast with his skin, which along with other acquired traits would prove useful in present a more terrifying visage.

   His discovery by Inquisitor Erebus of the Ordo Malleus was precipitated by a psychic scream that the Astropath aboard Erebus' ship picked whilst in close proximity to his home world and which was accompanied with a profound pain so said the Astropath. On the surface of Nocturna-Solaris they found the pale skinned teenager weeping in a village, surrounded by the bodies of the townsfolk who had been killed by the uncontrolled blast of power, a small number of these however clearly possessed the mark of daemon worship; either in the form of a hidden brand or gruesome 'gift' of chaos. After much questioning, little answering and examination for taint, Erebus concluded the child had in all possibility reacted to a daemon worshipper revealing themselves in an attempt to kidnap the young Shannow with his powers and thus declared him clean and recruited into his service and therefore that of the Emperor.

   The psychic talents of Shannow were well tutored by the hand of Erebus; though lacking the strength of power that he had clearly been capable on Nocturna-Solaris he was nevertheless an extremely competent telepath(telekinetic? am unsure). Aside from these his rigours included much training for the combat that would come when his master declared him old enough and well enough for the rank of Interrogator, he proved an exceptional swordsman and a more than able marksman though his greatest competency certainly lay with small pistol firearms and was less keen on the bulky rifles he practiced with.

   At the age of 57 he attained the rank of Inquisitor with much support and enthusiasm of Erebus, who gifted him a pair of exquisite revolvers from his own personal collection that he knew Shannow (or Maximilian as he now regarded him) had much coveted. With swift progression Inquisitor Shannow rose in the esteem of the Holy Inquisition, purging many cults and twisted devils. However as his activity became more secretive many began to suspect that he was devoting perhaps too much time to the study of the forces his enemy employed and becoming less interested in their unfaltering destruction. They were, to the sadness of many to prove right in their whisperings.

In the 112th year of his life whilst attempting to bind a daemon to his service (a foolish and danger fraught process for any Inquisitor, let alone one as relatively young as Shannow) in the prison of his sword, he became possessed by the lesser daemon known as Vivaldus. It was only through great strength of mind and body that he fought of this demon and managed finally to challenge its corrupting essence into the dark metal prison as was intended. However Vivaldus as was his nature has the last laugh; the strength and concentration required to simultaneously bind the daemon to his weapon and hold back his presence had allowed a small opening through which Vivaldus had cursed Shannow to be forever known as tainted. As Shannow arose from his arduous task, large wings, 30ft across spread from his back and he wept. However might he try, he could not bring himself to remove the wings or to have them removed; he was bound by some infernal curse to have and protect them till his death.

Naturally this has led many to call for Shannow to be declared Hereticus. He has not been declared so, due only to the favour of his previous master Erebus, whom in such a position of influence had held the forces that be. This did not however prevent many forming their own vendettas against him and the number of Inquisitors that rank against him is many.  

Inquisitor Maximilian Shannow, a cursed man, but devout still in all ways to his Emperor, he treads the fine line between defeating and joining the ranks of the enemy.

[MarcoSkoll]

@ Marcoskoll, brilliant idea I think that'll be the mechanism I use.

It might need a little adjustment. There are a couple of oddities that might arise if a shot is very unlikely to hit - perhaps making it "equal to the hit chance or 20%, whichever is lower", so it doesn't end up being that when there's a 10% normal hit chance, they're twice as likely to hit his wings as him.

But the GM should be able to wing things (pun intended) a bit if it ever ends up really odd, and it'll save on needing a completely unique hit location table.

While I love Inquisitor's potential for detail and accuracy, it's more important to keep things moving. A game bogging down, running out of time or just not having enough explosions in it is far more likely to kill the mood than something not being completely accurate to the real world. (And let's face it, he has wings. He's not exactly accurate to the real world anyway.)

[Shannow]

Thank again, I'm really looking forward to playing my first  game in the close future hopefully. And I have wings...... Chicken Wings! mmm KFC

[Macabre]

Chaos, as a rule, tends to be lest perfect with its 'gifts', normally such blessing take the form of vestigial or malformed wings. I echo Necris's idea, indeed there was once another winged inquisitor on the old (old) board, and her wings were a simulacra over a bionic endo skeleton, similar to those used on Cherubim.

[Shannow]

Point taken and well made Macabre. As regards bionic wings, I know they work practically and are easy fluff wise, but I'd like the wings to be a physical example of his extreme radicalism that many of his fellow Inquisitors find repulsive. Any ideas on other ways to fit that well into a backstory. As a slight modification, I did note that Shannow left but a small opening in his will, perhaps I could make more of this battle of willpower and say that though the daemon Vivaldus was able to manipulate Shannow's physical form, the mutating power was still restricted/controlled/proportioned by Shannow? Not sure how much I'm hanging by my fingertips there feel free to chastise me appropriately:P

[Brother_Brimstone]

I'm surprised i'm the first to mention this; perhaps it's the elephant in the room that everyone is ignoring for one reason or another, but if humans had wings they still couldn't fly. We would need essentially hollow bones, such as those that birds have. Even with a huge wingspan, we would be too heavy. As far as my understanding goes (and i'm no scientist, but i've come accross these sorts of discussions before), just growing wings does not give one the ability to fly.

However, i suppose it could be argued that if the wings are stuff of the warp, they have the ability to fly as a sort of supernormal property, but if they are just feathers and bones, with no supernatural properties, then the problem still arises. Therefore, I agree with the suggestion that they should be bionic. if they were bionics, then they could feasible be argued to facilitate flight because in an age with anti-grav technology, advanced thruster propulsion etc... mechanical wings that bestow flight are just as beleivable as, for example, jump packs.

Anyway, perhaps there is a reason no one brought up the inability to fly so far, if so, feel free to tell me why, but to me, if we are considering some semblence of realism (and yes i know we are talking about a man with wings, but suspense of disbelief only gets you so far), surely simply growing ordinary wings does not facilitate flight?

[Shannow]

@ Brother_Brimstone, As mentioned above I wanted the wings to be a representative of his radicalism by them being spawned by daemonic or xenos origin, so yeah I was going for what you suggested which was that of the flight not strictly based on the physiology but more the wings latent power be it daemon or xenos. Again I see the point of bionics but I really would rather find a fluff kosher way of avoiding them if possible, they just don't appeal to me as an aesthetic or as an aspect of his personality i.e. if i knew someone who purposefully had jump wings designed it smack of self righteousness/puritanicalness etc (though that is just my take on it obviously)

[MarcoSkoll]

Perhaps it's the elephant in the room that everyone is ignoring for one reason or another, but if humans had wings they still couldn't fly.

I'm fully aware of that. But some elephants need to be ignored - winged humans are an archetype in fantasy, and even if it shouldn't work, it's usually taken as being within the realms of suspension of disbelief.

Anyway, the problem isn't so much weight (hollow bones wouldn't actually reduce a human's weight all that much) - but power. The muscle structure of birds is built with huge power in the chest - that is to say, that the muscle mass of a human is distributed wrong for flight.

The human's muscle distribution puts a LOT of muscle in the legs - as bipedalism is our primary method of locomotion, it's hardly surprising.

Any ideas on other ways to fit that well into a backstory.

If it's something that's supposed to have happened by accident, as opposed to being a deliberate choice, or something he's had since birth - it's quite hard to find a reason it would happen.

[Shannow]

Actually come to think of it, I suppose it needn't be an accident, just in some way linked to his radicalism. So I suppose deliberate organogenesis of wings through means most wicked would do..

[Myriad]

Someone just said to me 'subject to gravity and atmospheric conditions' for ability to fly, which I suppose is true enough.  It occurs to me that they could be of use even if full flight isn't possible, in gliding down distances or even for speed when running / gliding (some research on quails suggests they gain speed by flapping their wings while running, IIRC).

While the imperium does have major genetic engineering capabilities (ref. space marines), the use of it is extremely restricted and marked deviation from the 'human' genotype would be seen as heretical, certainly as a radical act.

It doesn't seem entirely impossible that he mutated to gain creepy chaos wings and then beautified them of his own accord.

[Shannow]

Once again I really have to thank everyone for their contributions and criticisms its all been very helpful:) I've decided that the wings would be a deliberately cultured mutation using a daemonic artifact called the Ataxium Telangiectasium (which if your interested is a medical condition with -um added on the end:p). This wasn't meant to be permanent, just a dabble into the use of chaos to heal, create, prolong etc but he lacked sufficient prowess knowledge to make it reversible.

I would write more on this but I have just hit the main lump of my exams so I am fairly swamped, I will try to get something more concrete done, but I'm fairly happy with most of his story I think. Anyone had chance to read it fully? Also I have a job interview in 45 minutes so hopefully will be able to crack on with more models soon (fingers crossed!)

Thanks again

Rob