Todd Alexius Blaire

[Swarbie]

Ok. So I decided that, if I'm going to start Inquisitor any time soon, it will be easier for me to start at 28 mm. Therefore, I, Swarbie, have actually written a character profile. Yes, that's right. I'm planning on making this guy using an Imperial Guard sanctioned psyker model, and maybe the Empire Wizards kit. His rules and profile are still WIP at the moment, so all comments, criticism and helpful ideas are welcome.


"I am no radical. I know you people may think me one, but all I do is carry out the Emperor's work. As I see fit. What? The psyker? No he's not possess- what do you mean, tests? Oh sweet Golden Throne, what have you done? Let me out! Let me out NOW! You can't knock him out! It's not safe here! Let me out then RUN!!!"
–Last words of Inquisitor Diados Blaire.

Todd Alexius Blaire was born in 984. M41. A week after his birth it was discovered he had a severe genetic defect which would cause his lungs to slowly stop functioning. As soon as he was old enough to go through surgery relatively safely, his father, Inquisitor Diados Blaire, commissioned a set of bionic lungs for him from contacts within the Adeptus Mechanicus. However, by this age Todd was old enough to understand that he was slowly dying. Because he could not figure out why this was happening, he blamed his condition on an entity he called "Darkling", believing that this creature was real no matter what Diados told him. The main problem with this was that Todd, like his father, was a nascent psyker, and his fervent belief had a beacon-like effect upon a particular Warp entity. When he began to complain to his father that he constantly had to fight Darkling to stop him escaping, even going so far as to say he battled a nightmare creature in his dreams,Diados decided to conduct an experiment.

Diados locked Todd in a room, and then activated an anesthetic gas in the vents, knocking Todd out. As soon as he was unconscious, Diados detected a surge of warp activity in the immediate area. Darkling had escaped. It took the form of a skeleton draped with flowing black fabric. It immediately moved to the door of the room and tore it off its hinges. It then began to run rampant through the house. Most of Diados' staff were killed before he emptied three clips of blessed rounds into Darkling. As soon as the creature was dispatched, Todd woke up. Diados was not pleased when Todd insisted that Darkling was still there, hiding in the back of his mind.

However, the inquisitor decided to take advantage of this new asset. When Todd turned 16, Diados "gifted" him with a neural suppressor. This device was designed to knock Todd out with the flick of a switch. Flicking the switch once again would re-awaken him. Diados used Todd in this manner to great effect, knocking him out just outside the doors of a Chaos cult and letting Darkling slaughter them. However, he found that he and his team had to use incredibly high-powered psy-dampeners, strong enough to mimic the effect of an untouchable, to protect themselves. With the psy-dampeners switched on, Darkling ignored them, moving on to their intended targets.

Now Diados takes Todd with him everywhere he goes. He has even hired a man to protect him while he is unconscious. However, after ten years of viewing his son as a mere asset, he has lost much of his affection for him. Such is the price we pay in our service to the Emperor.

WS BS  S   T    I   WP  SG  NV  LD
33  48 39 45  31 83   62  53   32

Todd is left-handed.

Equipment: Robes (AV1 to all locations except head), laspistol (Military magazine, Stealth muzzle, Short pattern barrel, 16 Megathule lasing chamber, Heruna discharge generator, standard trigger/grip, standard frame) with 2 reloads, average bionic lungs.

Neural Suppressor- It takes one action to activate this device. When activated, Todd immediately loses consciousness. It is, however, fairly painful and can cause mild damage when activated. Todd must pass a Nerve test to activate the device. He gains a 20% bonus to this test if Inquisitor Isaiah Matathos orders him to activate it. When the neural suppressor is activated, Todd takes D3 damage to his head. Deactivating the device takes 1 action, which can be performed by any character within arm's reach of him, providing they know how the device works (they may take a Sagacity test to try and figure this out). Todd will count as being Stunned for D3 turns, then can act normally.

Special Abilities: Darkling

Darkling- When Todd loses consciousness, for any reason, Darkling will appear. Darkling appears 2D10 yards away from Todd in a random direction, determined using the scatter dice. Modify this distance by the minimum amount required to prevent him appearing off the board or appearing inside a solid object. He may act normally during the turn in which he appears. If Todd regains consciousness, Darkling immediately disappears as Todd forces him back into the Warp.

Psychic Powers: Most of Todd's psychic ability is focused on keeping Darkling contained; however, he has incredibly minor telepathic powers that manifest randomly. He may occasionally hear other character's thoughts or speak to them telepathically (GM discretion).

* * *

His stats are, I admit, pretty low, but I attribute this to the fact that he is constantly distracted by Darkling's presence, and so cannot concentrate properly on anything, be it working on his physical strengths or his mental strengths. So, what do you guys think? I'll have some WIP rules for Darkling done in a week or so.

EDIT: Found the lasgun parts set in Marco's Revised Inquisitor Armoury. Adjusted the laspistol.

EDIT EDIT: Adjusted stats, background and special rules. Adjustments shown in red.

[Brother_Brimstone]

It's a really brilliant idea, and think it would be very interesting to see being played out - my only problem would be; would the belief of one person, no matter how strong, be enough to manifest such a relatively powerful being in the warp? Or is it that Darkling was a presence in the warp which already existed before Todd and it's just that Todd's belief in him has now attracted him?

Still, a unique concept, and an interesting one at that.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Very interesting. I have a few questions though.

If darkling appears whenever he loses conciousness, why didn't he/it appear before the knock out gas experiment?
What are the rules for Darkling?

Who turns the neural suppressor off again?

Given he spend most of his life suppressing a daemonic entity, and successfully at that, wouldn't his Wp be rather more impressive?

If Todd was not knocked unconscious by his neural suppressor, and Darkling is (temporarily) destroyed, Todd will immediately regain consciousness.

Surely if he was rendered unconcious by injury having darkling taken out wouldn't revive him. System shock maybe could be overcome, but not unconciousness by injury total.

From the background it appears that his father is dead. Who dore Todd work for now?

[Swarbie]

Good points from both of you. I shall edit the background, stats and special rules accordingly.

From the background it appears that his father is dead. Who dore Todd work for now?

That's a good question. I had sort of imagined Diados' last words as his future last words, but you're right, they do give the overall impression that Diados is dead. Hmmmmm, I will have to think about this one.

[Brother_Brimstone]

I think you made the better choice. If you think about how many people there are in the imperium, if everything any member beleived strongly enough manuifested in the warp, the warp would be much more of a horrific place than it already is! I know you may say that its because that one character is a psyker that means his emotions create more of an effect, but it still seems to strech credibility. I do, however, like the idea of someone who accidentally believes in a lesser daemon, and through the accidental belief ends up attracting that daemon. Being tht he is a psyker, and we know that psyker's souls are particularly tasty for daemons, that his belief in this daemon attracted it seems entirely plausable - the daemon has seen an easy meal!

I assume darkling is an independent daemon, is he not? I'd be interested in hearing a bit more about him, such as what he is a daemon of, his domain and powers etc... As my own primary character suggests, independent daemons are a particular area of interest for me.

As a suggestion, you may want to combine this information with Cade's question of Darkling's rules by giving Darkling his own separate character entry, with a short piece of background and stats, abilities, equipment etc...

[TheNephew]

I like the concept, but as Cade says, how it all actually works could do with some fleshig out.
Alternatively, you could simply say "lol the warp happens" and leave it at that. Might be more convenient for plot purposes.

As for Darkling itself, as a character, I would assume it's a fairly powerful daemon if it can physically manifest (perhaps only within a short distance of it's host?), so how it is caged in this boy's head is another question that needs to be re-covered.

Perhaps Darkling was believed to be a local malevolent forest spirit on his homeworld, confined by old shamanistic rites and small totes buried throughout the woods to a small grove or valley.
One day nascent psyker Todd was out exploring the village/hunting for deer-equivalents/roaming the grounds of his family villa when he stumbled into Darkling's territory, get's himself possessed and carries the entity out of the weakening and isolating prison.
This is where the nightmares of Darkling start, and Todd's history progresses as you wrote, but this is also where Darkling's power starts growing to the point where he can physically manifest by the time Diados starts his experiments, boosting the boy's mental defences in the process.
In this way Todd's ability to contain Darkling, and Darkling's power, both increase at the same rate, allowing the system to continue.
[Movie trailer voice]But for how long?[/Movie trailer voice]

[JoelMcKickass]

To back up and add to TheNephew's examples, it could simply be a shamanistic curse put on the family. A local Witch places a curse on the family because the Inquisitor arrested/debunked/killed him. A final breath "[EXCOMMUNICATE] you" if you will.

[Swarbie]

All of these are brilliant ideas. Don't worry, I am going to write up background for Darkling as well as giving him a profile and rules. He's going to be the very nasty 'surprise' of the group.

And, yes Brother_Brimstone, I am sure that he will be an independent daemon/ warp-entity (I'm not sure if he should actually be classified as a daemon or be a culture's view of death personified, but I'll work it out).

I'm loving all the ideas and am feeling very inspired; please, keep making suggestions.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Sorry for repeating a question, but I still think there is an inconsistency here:

If darkling appears whenever he loses consciousness, why didn't he/it appear before the knock out gas experiment?

[MarcoSkoll]

If darkling appears whenever he loses consciousness, why didn't he/it appear before the knock out gas experiment?

...such as whenever he goes to sleep.

Although, I suppose you could have it so that he's battling the daemon in his dreams...

[Swarbie]

 . . . Well spotted. My thanks.

Marco, that sounds like a brilliant fix and adds to my image of Todd; sort of pale, sickly and wasting away, with bags under his eyes and stuff like that.

[Swarbie]

Double post. Here's Darkling's background and rules. The rules are fairly complex, especially compared to the relative simplicity of Todd's; but Darkling is a daemon, and a unique one at that, so he was always going to be more difficult. I know his stats are high, but he's going to be the real heavy-hitter of the group, and he's a daemon, so I reckon he should be pretty nasty.

Anyway, fire away with the comment's criticism, etc.



Before the Imperium reclaimed the planet of Cathos, its people followed a religion that gave a god to almost every aspect of human life. The most revered and feared of this multitude of small deities was Dahar 'Keetlin, or "The darkness of the final breath". To them, it was the personification of death, embodying all that was to be feared about the end of life. The priests of Dahar ' Keetlin were those who heard Dahvshin, "the mad whispers"; in other words, nascent psykers with emerging telepathic powers.

Eventually, a lesser daemon of Chaos was drawn to this shining beacon of death-worship. It saw the people of Cathos, saw the fear on their faces when the black-robed priests went out into the streets, choosing sacrificial victims. It decided that it would draw upon the power offered by the blind faith of these people, and reshaped itself into the image provided by them. This not only affected its appearance, but its intentions; essentially turning the daemon into Dahar ' Keetlin. It waited. Soon, a psyker was chosen to be a sacrifice, and her wave of overriding terror allowed the daemon to move into the physical plane, temporarily.

The daemon appeared in front of the priests, who immediately threw them on the ground before it. It took the psyker and slowly devoured her soul. For the watching crowd, the daemon was Dahar ' Keetlin, showing himself to punish the unfaithful. The daemon returned to the Warp, satisfied. Now that it was the focal point for mass worship led by psykers, it grew in power quickly. Soon it had carved out a small kingdom for itself in the shifting seas of the Empyrean.

Less than three centuries later, an Imperial battlefleet arrived. The people of Cathos were deemed worshippers of Chaos, and were destroyed. Dahar ' Keetlin became nothing more than a myth. The daemon cursed. Its worshippers gone, it lost much of its power and wandered the Warp, until the fervent belief of one little child-psyker drew him back to Cathos.

Dahar ' Keetlin had returned.    

WS  BS   S   T     I   WP  SG  NV  LD
68   53  94 92  76  77   27  79   26

Darkling is ambidextrous

Equipment: Shadow cloth- AV1 to all locations. In addition, Darkling may conceal itself in a sufficiently dark area (GM discretion), giving a -40% penalty to all sight based Awareness tests to detect it. This takes one action and the penalty is removed if Darkling moves from the spot it was concealed in.

Special Abilities: Fearsome, Daemonic

Relentless Death- Darkling does not care about being harmed, it only cares that it should kill as many foes as possible before it is forced back into the Warp. Likewise, it cannot be frightened by anything the physical plane holds. Darkling has the Force of Will special ability against non-Daemonic characters and the Nerves of Steel ability against all shooting attacks.  

You Can't Kill Death- All mundane weapons halve their damage against Darkling, rounding up. Mundane weapons are: A) all close-combat weapons that have not been blessed, forged with the express purpose of killing daemons or given a connection with the Warp in some way (ie, all close-combat weapons except daemon-weapons and force weapons)
B) All ammunition that has not been blessed or given some kind of anti-daemonic property. Special rounds that have not been blessed or given anti-daemonic properties halve any damage bonuses they confer (rounding up).
Blessed weapons, blessed rounds, anti-daemonic rounds, force weapons, holy relics, etc, do an extra 5 points of damage against Darkling, in addition to any other bonuses they may confer.

Death Touch- All of Darkling's close-combat attacks count as Unarmed. However, if he penetrates a target's armour or lands a blow that would come into contact with the target's skin, he immediately does an extra 2D6 points of damage. If he stays in contact with that character's skin, he does an extra 2D6 damage to the character's Injury Total each turn until he is forced to let go or the character dies.

Death Takes You All- When Darkling appears, he will immediately be placed under the GM's control. The GM should give him the goal of wiping out all other characters on the table (except for T.A.B.), but should feel free to use evil, twisted, daemonic tactics. Darkling can "see" through any obstructions or cloaking devices (GM discretion for psi-inert obstructions, etc), but must take an Awareness test at -40% to detect untouchables or characters using psy-dampeners, and an Awareness test at -60% to detect pariahs. If he is able to charge any character, he must do so. He makes no distinction between "friends" (anyone working with Todd Alexius Blaire) and "foes" (the opposing characters). The only character he will not attack is Todd Alexius Blaire, as Todd is his only way to enter real-space.

[Molotov]

I apologise that I can't comment on the rules, but I did have one thing about the fluff - I dislike it when pople "humanise" daemons too much - I feel as though their motivations and goals should be ultimately unknowable to mere mortals. I think in your background you should make it a bit more ambiguous as to whether the daemon or the belief in the daemon came first. Perhaps it is as simple as saying that it is unknown as to whether which came first - as long as Imperial records can discern, the people of Cathos worshipped him. Ambiguity is good when it comes to Daemons, I think.

[MarcoSkoll]

Well, I can comment on the rules, and I have a question.

How do his Shadow Cloth and "Death takes you all" abilities work together? Given that his rules express that he has to move towards and attack the nearest character, and can see through intervening terrain, how is he going to come up with the spare action(s) with which to hide?

Personally, what I'd do is replace "Death takes you all" with a rule that puts Darkling under GM control, making sure the GM understands that everyone except T.A.B. is a potential target (as long as the daemon can see them). At this point, you then let the GM's evil and twisted mind go rampant.

That gives you a creature that can use all kind of evil and unpredictable tactics, making it a far more fearsome threat than a model that acts according to specific rules.
Of course, if your GM is a bit rusty, then it might not be a bad idea to have a short list of suggestions of how he might act, but I don't think there are many GMs who wouldn't happily control Darkling for you.

[Swarbie]

@Molotov: Yeah, but I personally like the idea of a daemon taking advantage of the mindless masses- a bit of a cliche, perhaps, but I like it. And remember, the background for Darkling may not necessarily be true- EYHBTIAL.

@Marco: Good point. I like that idea a lot more than keeping him under a player's control, and I admit I totally overlooked the way "Death takes you all" and Shadow cloth would clash. I think I shall reword "Death takes you all" to work like that.