New to Inq - general ideas and questions

[Colin747]

I think this is supposed to go here, apologies if it doesn't. As per the title I am new to Inq and I've a few questions and would like to run a few ideas past you to see if they are suitable/sensible or if they just don't fit in or wouldn't happen. I've no character stats or background created at the moment, I'm looking to figure out a more general story of the warband then work on the individual memebers.

1) I'm looking for a few different ideas for an Imperium/human warbands, I'm aware of some of the more obvious ones such as Inquisitors, Rouge Traders, Ecclesiarchy, Bounty Hunters, Ad-mec, smugglers but I'm wondering if anyone has something a bit different?

This is my general idea:
One of my ideas at the moment is a warband based around the right hand man of an Inquisitorial Representative (this Representative will be for background purposes only and will not be used in game). The Representative started his career as the staunch Monodominant taking to Ecclesiarchy propaganda at the Schola Progenium with enthusiasm believing that the Imperium are the rightful inheritors of the galaxy and all other races should be purged for the greater good of mankind that could only be achieved with swift and brutal force. He is well known for his school of thought, frequently speaking out against radical Inquisitors and is proud to be a Puritan.

From this point I've a general idea:

As he is aging he is getting more and more paranoid about dying before seeing the Imperium achieving this grand goal of inheriting the galaxy by purging all other races, some say he is beginning to show signs of Thanatophobia. This is driving him towards the Revivifictor school of belief, becoming increasingly more and more obsessed with increasing his life span, however due to his reputation as a Monodominant and the fact that his ego would never allow him to publicly admit to dealing in more radical methods he is sending his right hand man to covertly investigate knowledge and/or technology that may allow him to increase his life span allowing him to keep his public image of staunch Monodominatism.

Comments?

[greenstuff_gav]

Welcome To The Conclave!
(it's traditional )

i've not really gone for anything too off the wall, but a good friend of mine planned a crew where the Inquisitor was too aged to take to the field any more and sent 3 agents of his; whose entire personality was loaded into something similar to the mechanicus memory-implants and these were implanted into convicts / people physically useful to the inquisitors needs... had the benefit of modelling 'em how he liked and if they died.. they had a limited amount of charge in the core before they died for good (see Rogue Trooper)

for individuals, i always start with the model and work back from there.. the Community Showcases maybe worth a look!
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=22.0

[DapperAnarchist]

Welcome! I really like that idea, there's a lot of good slippery-slope type stuff there, and some good reasons for the character to be following up leads. The agent will need to be more filled out. Have you looked at "Bloody Work is its Own Reward"? It's in the Skoll Archive under the name "Fan14_Warbandconcepts", and is a good read.

[Colin747]

Thanks for the replies, I was just looking to make sure that my overall background wasn't too OTT or far-fetched before I started going into more detailed background for each member of the warband, I've a model in mind for the Inq agent (see link at bottom) I'm planning to replace the sword/sword hand with a ranged weapon of some sort and maybe a few minor changes, opinions on the model?

DapperAnarchist, I'll check that story out thanks! I'll post some more detailed background/stats about each member later tonight hopefully but may be a bit longer depending on when I'm happy with it I look forward to hearing your critique

Model for leader/agent: http://nocturnamodels.com/product.php?id_product=29

EDIT: Where is the Skoll Archive? lol

[DapperAnarchist]

http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=34.0 In here

[MarcoSkoll]

To explain further, the Skoll Archive is an unofficial nickname that has become associated with my project to ensure all the old material stays available.
It's the thread "Inquisitor PDFs" pinned at the top of the Rules Discussion section, which is also always linked in my signature.

As for the idea under discussion, I like it. As DapperAnarchist says, slippery-slope stuff is great stuff for Inquisitor, and there's oh so many depths he could find himself plunging into there - tainting himself with corrupted technology or being found out the two most obvious ideas to mind, but the simple sacrifice of the ideals he wants to uphold and the simple risk of death as an Inquisitor also have all kinds of possibilities for torturing his psyche.

[Colin747]

Glad to hear you all like my initial background idea Sorry but I'm unable to find that story in the archive
At the moment I haven't got detailed background drawn up yet for my warband leader but I have a number of bullet points that I would like you to look over which I will then flesh out more and re-write properly. I've tried to use the questions in this thread:
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=270.msg3199#msg3199

As for how he came to be in the Inq's service - I'm thinking something along the lines of a Xeno (Still thinking of what race as I don't want something that would sound too far-fetched, was thinking DE but I'm quite familiar with DE background and would probably be to OTT for him to have taken one on and killed it, suggestions on Xeno?) that killed/murdered his wife to be (too clichéd?) which he then hunted down and managed to kill but received fatal wounds in the process. The Inq who was also hunting this Xeno found him just as he landed the fatal blow on the Xeno, impressed he took him back to his ship and treated his wounds and offered him service under him, one of the agents core cultural beliefs is that of a "life debt", that if someone saved your life your life then belonged to them. (Sorry for the awkward writing, my first time trying to put this into words).

Where is your character from?
He came from a tribal like world (thinking something along the lines of Native American based culture). Strong warrior culture - see the model link in my last post to see the traditional tribe weapon (Scythe/axe like weapon)

Does your character have a family?
His father left when he was young as a result he was risen by his Mother and the Grandparents being particularly close to his Grandfather.

What does your character look like?/How does your character dress?
Rough but practical appearance, armour is styled in the traditional style of his tribe (leaving top half of torso and head unarmored). Looks to be in late 50's/early 60's, real age unknown but known to have received treatment to lengthen life from his Inq (nothing special just the usual treatments available to those with the means). Naturally physically strong due to tribal lifestyle, well built stature, Naturally intelligent but not scholarly.

Does your character have physical quirks, ticks or habits?
Known to lose his cool when fighting in close combat, uses his strength and brute force to land multiple heavy blows rather than finesse (once I decide on Xeno will have some sort of rule that he instantly gets lost in rage as memories are brought back.). Relies on his "gut feeling" when it comes to dealing with people, and can be overly blunt at times.

Where did your character learn their skills? Where did they first shoot a gun, wield a sword et cetera?
Due to the warrior culture he learnt to wield the traditional weapon as soon as he was able to lift it, he learnt to fire guns when entering the retinue of the Inq, average ability with a gun nothing special.

What else does your character know, stuff that doesn't come into the combats like a passion for Terran Wines for example. Where did he learn it? How did it develop?
Has an natural intellectual curiosity about engineering, all terrain vehicles/bikes and how things work as well as traditions of different cultures, particularly mannerisms of local cultures.

Where did he get his goodies?
His melee weapon was his personal weapon from his tribal origins. I've not decided on his ranged weapon I'm torn between a Ius automatic pistol due to it being a solid and very reliable weapon or a Ripper Pistol which I feel seems to fit with his personality - being able to debilitate an enemy with one blow, but where would it be justifiable? His armour was manufactured for him (commissioned by the Inq), thinking something tougher than Carapace armour but not as good as power armour - is this reasonable? (Bearing in mind it only covers half his torso). Also has acquired a Tauros Venator from a covert mission on Kastorel-Novem (after the RG/IG raid), found a partially destroyed Tauros that was salvageable, removing the irreparable gun turret and replacing it with two extra seats and converting the rest into storage space.

Where does your character live?
Live on board a gun cutter (will be fleshed out more later depending on more research).

Who does your character know?
Being the leader of a warband obviously all the members of the warband (other characters will be fleshed out once this guy is done). Being the right hand man (as well as bodyguard so nearly always at his side) of a leading Inq over many decades has resulted in him being generally known to Inquisitors as well as Rouge Traders etc. that the Inq has had dealings with over the decades. (Not known well but known of if you get my meaning?).

What are your character's likes and dislikes?
Has a deep distrust and dislike of Psykers never fulling trusting them to be in full control. Has a keen interest in ground bikes and all terrain vehicles.

What is your character's Moral Code?
Is more of the thought that the ends justify the means but due to the respect he has of the Inq that he works for he would not violate and bounds/lines that the Inq has drawn but does believe in the greater good i.e. Killing one to save two is justifiable.

Does your character have goals?/Does your character have personal beliefs?
Due to his cultures belief of a "life debt" his main goal is to serve the Inq and protect him at all costs, however the sign of the Xeno's that killed his wife to be can cause him to lose track of the overall goal to exterminate them.

Does your character have any personality quirks?
He is a humble but blunt man with a very dry sense of humour.

As I said all that needs to be fleshed out, it's just a starting point but opinions and criticism please.

EDIT: Also would people under the service of an Inq get paid in any form?

[MarcoSkoll]

Glad to hear you all like my initial background idea Sorry but I'm unable to find that story in the archive

http://www.mediafire.com/?czmnjm5zm1t

As for how he came to be in the Inq's service

This kind of "kills powerful enemy, Inquisitor is impressed" background comes around fairly regularly - it's now considered on the cliché side, due to being more common than it is logical.

Any Inquisitor has seen a lot in his lifetime - witnessing a small part of a single fight is not likely to impress them.
As an Inquisitor can recruit whoever they like, a more sensible approach to recruiting some competent muscle would be to have their savant look through the military records of a few regiments and pick out some of the NCOs with the most medals and commendations.

That (recruiting based on a exemplary record) is one of the more likely recruiting methods for an Inquisitor.
Another possibility I often use is that an individual originally recruited on a temporary basis (Inquisitors will often acquire local help, or individuals of the specific talents required for a certain mission) proves valuable enough to employ permanently.

a Ripper Pistol which I feel seems to fit with his personality - being able to debilitate an enemy with one blow

Incapacitating targets in one is not a good way to approach Inquisitor. It is a game of a co-operative nature where the ultimate goal is for everyone to have fun - and most players do struggle to find having their characters killed in one a fun experience.

It's one thing for him to favour a powerful weapon, but it does need to give those that fight it a fair (and interesting) chance.

thinking something tougher than Carapace armour but not as good as power armour - is this reasonable? (Bearing in mind it only covers half his torso).

Inquisitor does include hit locations - there's no need for armour to be the same everywhere.
A high AV would be acceptable for several of the locations (although whether tougher than carapace is another matter), but I think you'd have to leave the chest and head locations as unarmoured.

That said, are you really leaving the model entirely unconverted? It's a nice model, but it doesn't exactly scream that it's part of the 41st millennium.

Also has acquired a Tauros Venator from a covert mission on Kastorel-Novem (after the war)

Around here, it's a wee bit taboo to reference official characters/worlds. It's not an absolute no-no, but later official background changes can prove conflicting.
Or in some cases, other player's background is the problem. If everyone were to be believed, Witch Hunter Tyrus probably had several hundred apprentices, all of them from different parts of the galaxy, and none of whom know each other in the slightest.

However, this particular case is fairly minor.

Live on board a gun cutter

Ah. Not out of the question, but this does often just sound like "Well, Eisenhorn does it, my character will too".

Also would people under the service of an Inq get paid in any form?

That's really up to the Inquisitor in question. My Inquisitors do pay (financially) in often generous sums, as the promise of riches can motivate a lot of people. And paying better than other people does help ensure loyalty.

Of course, payment varies. For some, it might be making a criminal record disappear. Devout types might simply consider the honour of serving their payment.