Mathius Book

[Kaled]

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.

[Alyster Wick]

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!

[Intermission]

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?



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.



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 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

[Kaled]

@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

[Adlan]

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.

[Alyster Wick]

With 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.

[Adlan]

Very well argued. I change my position based on your explanation.