Inquisitor Stromm

[Lucien Alexius]

Alright, very very new to "The Conclave" and thought I'd post my main character that I would like to create and get some feedback (although be gentle with criticism  )


Inquisitor Stromm
A relatively obscure member of the Xanthite faction, Inquisitor Stromm is known for his dour demeanour and unflinching belief that the end will always justify the means. For over one hundred and seventy five years the Inquisitor has worked his way deep into the cluster of remote hive worlds that make up the Garuum Cradle. His ruthless techniques have not only seen the scouring of these worlds of any and all chaotic influences but also brought upon the Inquisitor a reputation for brutality unparalleled in that sector.

His most significant accomplishment was the public execution of Planetary Governor Ventrus of Larissa VII and thus the quelling of almost a decade of internal strife on that world. Whilst his methods have often been deemed "unorthodox" by more puritan minded members of the Inquisition and outright "heretical" by others, none can deny the results that Inquisitor Stromm has achieved.

WS   BS   S   T   I   Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
60   78   60   60   80   85   80   90   85

Equipment: Plasma pistol, Power Sword, Carapace Armour on Chest Abdomen and Groin, 2 points of armour everywhere else, MIU linked Servo Skull (gun), Refractor Field
Special Abilities: Force of Will, Nerves of Steel, Familiar (Servo Skull)
Psychic Abilities: Detection, Enfeeble, Storm of Lightning
Inquisitor Stromm is right handed


So, what do you think? any suggestions? Hope to hear some feedback.
Cheers

Lucien

[RobSkib]

Firstly, Welcome to the Conclave!

and get some feedback (although be gentle with criticism  )

These two terms are almost mutually exclusive What value is criticism if all the rough edges have been sanded off? Everyone has their own ways to play the game and their own power levels in their gaming circles, however, the Conclave strives for an 'industry standard' power level, so if ever you do attend a Conclave meet, play with someone from these boards or whatever, you won't have to spend hours readjusting your characters to suit.

WS   BS   S   T   I   Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
60   78   60   60   80   85   80   90   85

Inquisitor is a D100 game, not a D10 or D20 game. You have all those extra digits to play around with, so use them! Rounding numbers to the nearest 5 or 10 makes the penalties easier to work out, but makes your character seem fairly generic and not particularly well thought out. If you're stuck, consider that there are exactly 9 statistics, enough to fill each stat with a different second digit.

Curiously, BS is the only statistic with an odd number, any reason?

No statistics below 60 rings my alarm bells, however. There was recently a thread involving an Inquisitor who had no stats above 50, and would suffer similar problems to your character after a few games - a game involving random dice rolls stops being interesting if the result of the dice is almost a guaranteed pass or fail. You will find that with your character, there is very little he will fail to do, and your opponents will begin to complain or look elsewhere for a fun game of Inquisitor. Would Indiana Jones be as exciting to watch if he wore full plate armour and carried an RPG? Inquisitor is all about thrilling heroics, which don't have the same impact if there is no chance of failure.

Consider dropping all the stats by at least 10, and have another think at your character - he is not defined by your stats, but how you play him. Take BS for example - 78 is very, very high, even for an Inquisitor. With a single aim action, you're looking at a straight 95 or under to hit in most situations, that plasma pistol is ALWAYS going to find it's mark, regardless of circumstance. Remember that BS represents a character firing from the hip without taking a moment to raise his gun to eye level, or brace it against his shoulder. If you want a character who is a crack shot, you will better represent him on the table top with a lower BS (55-65) but by spending actions aiming before each shot.

He's fast, he's strong, he's good with a blade, an excellent almost god-like shot, tough, intelligent, gutsy, loyal and strong-willed. Does he have any weaknesses? Any flaws? Is it physically possible that he has enough time to keep himself fit, lithe and athletic, whilst also being able to study hard to keep his psyche sharp?

Equipment: Plasma pistol, Power Sword, Carapace Armour on Chest Abdomen and Groin, 2 points of armour everywhere else, MIU linked Servo Skull (gun), Refractor Field

Well, I've seen worse. The combination of high BS/WS and high damage weapons is a recipe for short games with a foregone conclusion. Sure, you'll kill things well, but there's only so many times your gaming group will want to play against this character before they start bringing bolters, forcefields, power armour and psychic powers to the table to counter you and the power level of your games spirals out of control, or worse, they just get bored and stop playing. Look deep into your character - why does he carry round all this high-end, expensive, rare, high-maintenance, unreliable equipment to meet with an informant, investigate leads in a royal palace or exchange intelligence with his spies?

With all this equipment, it seems like he is more at home on a battlefield than embroiled in the skullduggery and back-alley brawls that Inquisitor entails.

Special Abilities: Force of Will, Nerves of Steel, Familiar (Servo Skull)

Does he really need Nerves of Steel (Nos) when he's rolling 90 or under for pinning checks anyway? Ditto with Force of Will. It is widely accepted that NoS should be reserved for characters with literally no concept of fear - servitors, crazies, machines, cultists and the like. It means that he can't even voluntarily fail a pinning check, which is a little dim if someone is aiming a lascannon square at his chest.

Psychic Abilities: Detection, Enfeeble, Storm of Lightning

I almost missed this first time round, I had no idea he was psychic as well! Inquisitors don't have to be psychic, no matter how tempting it is to make your first character a bit good at everything. I have many, many characters with psychic powers in my collection, all of various power levels, but none of them possess a power weapon, plasma pistol and refractor field in addition to being able to fire lightning from their finger tips.

If you want to keep him going down the Biomancy route, I'd have a look at some of the Dark Heresy rulebooks for inspiration for psychic powers to replace Storm of Lightning - it seems a bit out of place on a character who fires miniature suns from one hand and carves straight through tank hulls, power armour and bone with the other. There are also some excellent psychic powers available at http://darkmagenta.co.uk/ if you're willing to do a bit of reading.

Overall, a good character concept let down by the desire to have too much on one model. Spread the love a bit - keep the power sword and force field on this character, for example, and give the plasma pistol to a lackey in the warband, and port the psychic powers to a dedicated psyker. You can still have all the cool stuff you want to play with, but it won't be on a single superpowerfulstabshootpsychic character.

Have another think about who he is, his strengths and weaknesses, and how he would try to capitalise on them. You don't get to become an Inquisitor by having weaknesses, so many cover them up as best they can. Maybe he has a ravishing disease that hits his constitution badly (low toughness,  35-45) so compensates by wearing heavy armour and a forcefield. Perhaps he carries all these weapons as a badge of honour from his glory days, but has since let his personal training slip (low BS and WS, 40-50) as he has no time for them next to his other duties as a senior Inquisitor. It might be that he puts on his air of authority and gruffness, unwavering in the face of danger, but frequently finds himself overcome in the heat of the moment and finds it difficult to refocus his attentions and resist his most base urges (low Wp).

I hope this has helped, and that you don't see this as an attack on you personally or your character. My intention is to turn you on to the fun side of Inquisitor - nailbiting finales, epic action sequences, thrilling heroics and climactic duels atop mountain tops - Those things can't be achieved when every character reads like an entry from the Daemonhunters codex.

If you need any more help, There's plenty to keep those reading muscles toned over at the Carthax Wiki as well as some excellent guidelines for profiles, stats and weaponry.

[DapperAnarchist]

Well, RobSkib did the stats and equipment, I'll do background. The background is pretty good! Its a bit sparse, but there's not "he's the new Messiah (he's a very naughty boy!)", you didn't give into the cliches on Xanthites such as "they're really pro-Chaos" or "they all have daemon weapons", and you gave him a nice long period of time, which is good for both explaining why he's good at what he does, and giving lots of space for plot hooks - "oh, our inquisitors crossed paths 50 years ago, and have followed each other's career with interest" works better when the characters are over 100 than when they're Eisenhorn's age.

[Draco Ferox]

Basically, what Rob said, though at least he doesn't have any power armour.

Another skill that seems strange is Force of will. It doesn't matter who you are, you're still liable to let a little panic wee out when faced with a bloodthirster unless you've been lobotomised, in which case you're also likely to not understand what the bullets flying around them do. He's an inquisitor, yet he doesn't have leader- I can see this justified in his background, being more than a little draconian, but even so, leader doesn't seem inappropriate.

He's a xanthite, yet so far, only his "unorthodox" methods appear to be what classifies him as such, and that single word also covers Istvaanians, recongregators, monodominants and some of the other, less well-known factions depending on what your personal views are.

His high BS suggests a naturally good shot- why would he risk his health with a highly volatile weapon when he can achieve similar results with a laspistol? It doesn't cause as much damage, but when you're a good shot, you can simply make the shots count. Personally I prefer the "sniper" skill to represent a patient shot, or just someone who has a better than average aim.

I would suggest dropping his Bs, keeping his WS stable, taking 5-10 of both S and T, reduce his Nv to about 70, because when you factor in the +20% for not being hit, and you're pretty much guaranteed a pass anyway if he's not hit. If he is hit, you've got bigger problems.

It seems that you've gone for the stereotypical Power sword + powerful pistol + decent stats + obligatory psychic powers, and whilst it's not overpowered in terms of most people's initial thrashichs with character creation (my first few make me cringe to look back at them), and you could do worse than visiting this page on character creation, and this page on alternative special abilities. Have a look, check the Revised armoury acailable from MarcoSkoll's signature, and if you see anything you like in lieu of a plasma pistol, try it out.

Finally, just a general not on mental stats- why are they usually higher than physical stats? A guy with a high Sg is every bit as capable as a guy with an equal BS, but it's often overlooked as irrelevant, and when mental characteristics make up fully half of your character's profile, this doesn't make sense to me.

[Dwi]

Inquisitor Stromm
A relatively obscure member of the Xanthite faction, Inquisitor Stromm is known for his dour demeanour and unflinching belief that the end will always justify the means. For over one hundred and seventy five years the Inquisitor has worked his way deep into the cluster of remote hive worlds that make up the Garuum Cradle. His ruthless techniques have not only seen the scouring of these worlds of any and all chaotic influences but also brought upon the Inquisitor a reputation for brutality unparalleled in that sector.

His most significant accomplishment was the public execution of Planetary Governor Ventrus of Larissa VII and thus the quelling of almost a decade of internal strife on that world. Whilst his methods have often been deemed "unorthodox" by more puritan minded members of the Inquisition and outright "heretical" by others, none can deny the results that Inquisitor Stromm has achieved.


WS   BS   S   T   I   Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
60   78   60   60   80   85   80   90   85

Equipment: Plasma pistol, Power Sword, Carapace Armour on Chest Abdomen and Groin, 2 points of armour everywhere else, MIU linked Servo Skull (gun), Refractor Field
Special Abilities: Force of Will, Nerves of Steel, Familiar (Servo Skull)
Psychic Abilities: Detection, Enfeeble, Storm of Lightning
Inquisitor Stromm is right handed

Ok so hes a Xanthite, good choice as it's pretty easy base to start with for a first char.

A bit of background help here; I would think he must beabout 250 or so? This is allways importent when fitting your char/chars in to 40K (to me anyway) I have former Tanith PDFer whos 270 by 999m41, the date most people use for thier settings of 40K, so for your Inquisitor to be recruted he wouldld have to be at least 20 or so most likely by another radical or a had line puratin who he did not agree with.
Also note that a Xanhite is on the fringes of Inquisitorial law and may very well be disliked even hated and remember that an inquistor can't do it alone so will most likely have to have at least one henchman. Xanthites draw moslt shum to them so perhaps a desperado would be best.

Also you never said what ordo he was from. Most likely from the Malleus or Herecticus if hes a Xanthite, though there is a chance he could be Zenos. A Zenos Xanthite poses a numer od interesting polt points.

Also whats up the with the whole power gear thing?  perhaps drop the Carapace in favour of flak, PPistol, PSword and mabe take a deamon sword that shoots fire balls instead? That would fit a xanthite Inquisitor better after all.

as per his stats they could use some droping

[Lucien Alexius]

Wow! Thanks for the big welcome and the generous heaping of constructive criticism
I can see that I like it here.

I'll make a slightly more extended version of background fluff for Mr Stromm at a later date (when I don't have an 1000 word essay due tomorrow) and take on board some of the points that you guys raised. I did think he was a tad too strong but figured "hey, I can always cut down"

Thinking of lowering most of the stats and dropping the power sword in favor of a normal sword, dropping the refractor field (or the carapace armour) and I was thinking of making him a very good shot, however severely lacking in close combat prowess. Of course all have a full re-working of the character later.

Really appreciate the effort and thanks for the very helpful criticism!

looking forward to future posts and being part of "The Conclave".

[Kaled]

Also note that a Xanhite is on the fringes of Inquisitorial law and may very well be disliked even hated and remember that an inquistor can't do it alone so will most likely have to have at least one henchman.

There's not really any such thing as Inquisitorial law - Xanthism is one of the oldest philosophies of the Inquisition and it's followers include many venerable and respected Inquisitors. Just because he's a Xanthite doesn't mean he needs to be a borderline heretic who practises his beliefs in secret and is hunted by his peers. Sure he's likely to have enemies, but then so will every Inquisitor, and every faction is going to have it's members who are seen to have gone too far and who have become disliked and have made enemies of other Inquisitors.

The thing I liked about this character is that he's a Xanthite who doesn't have a daemon weapon (and there's no mention of a daemonhost either), however it would be good to see something to show his belief that the essence of Chaos can be captured and turned to harnessed by mankind.

It sounds like he's disliked by his peers for his methods rather than his Xanthite beliefs, so I can see him accompanied by more mainstream Imperial henchmen rather than people from the fringes of society.

[Lucien Alexius]

Inquisitor Stromm

A relatively obscure member of the Xanthite faction, Inquisitor Stromm is known for his dour demeanour and unflinching belief that the end will always justify the means. For over one hundred and seventy five years the Inquisitor has worked his way deep into the cluster of remote hive worlds that make up the Garuum Cradle. His ruthless techniques have not only seen the scouring of these worlds of any and all chaotic influences but have also brought upon the Inquisitor a reputation for brutality, unparalleled in that sector.

His most significant accomplishment was the public execution of Planetary Governor Ventrus of Larissa VII and thus the quelling of almost a decade of internal strife on that world. Whilst his methods have often been deemed "unorthodox" by more puritan minded members of the Inquisition and outright "heretical" by others, none can deny the results that Inquisitor Stromm has achieved.

WS   BS   S   T   I   Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
35   78   40   34   70   77   80   90   68

Equipment: Laspistol, Sword, Carapace Armour on Chest Abdomen and Groin, 2 points of armour everywhere else, MIU linked Servo Skull (gun), Refractor Field
Special Abilities: Familiar (Servo Skull)
Psychic Abilities: Detection, Enfeeble
Inquisitor Stromm is right handed

Now I've tried to take some of the advice on board and so changed a few things in his stats and equipment. I've decided that the Inquisitor is a fairly average physical character, not unfit by any means but not much stronger than the average human. "Amongst his equipment is his master crafted Laspistol, Aegis Pattern Carapace Armour and a servo skull made from the remains of Governor Ventrus himself, now and forever in service of the Inquisitor (in penance for his sins).

His most treasured possessions however is the "Honorifica Saint Antonious" a powerful refractor field gifted to him by the Tsarina of Alessius V, in gratitude for his saving that world from the insidious cult influences that had plagued it."

I have kept his excellent ballistic skill but have swapped his plasma pistol for a laspistol, whilst also dropping his power sword for... well... a normal sword I've tried to keep his physical attributes fairly low but felt that for such a powerful individual as an Inquisitor to be so powerful he would need something other than being a good shot and have thus kept his mental characteristics very high.

A few other things I've dropped have been Nerves of Steel and Force of Will.
I've dropped one of his psychic abilities, Storm of Lightning (who needs lightning from their hands anyway)

I hope that this seems a much more reasonable character and again guys, thanks for the advice.

[Kaled]

I'd be tempted to give him something a bit more potent than a standard laspistol - maybe a custom one, or perhaps a stubber.

I also think you'be made his S and T too low - I'd suggest somewhere in the low 50s would be good. And I'd up his WS into the mid to high 40s - I know you said you want him to be severely lacking in close-combat ability but 35 is probably too low to make for an interesting game.

What gun is fitted to the servo-skull?

Finally, who else are you going to have in the warband?

[Lucien Alexius]

Hmmmm, custom laspistol does sound more appealling?  If anyone has any examples of "modified laspistol" stats and all that, would be appreciated.

The gun servo skull would likely have something similar, just a basic laspistol I would suppose.
I'll bump up those stats and just see how they look, and I haven't quite thought of a full warband yet but I can imagine Inquisitor Stromm accompanied by servitor's, and maybe a low ranking acolyte but nothing too significant.

Very encouraging feedback and again if anyone has any examples of Custom Laspistol stats. I think I stated in the fluff that the Inquisitor's pistol is "master crafted" so that gives me a bit of room to make it more special than a standard laspistol

[Kaled]

You can look at Marco Skoll's revised armoury, or just adjust the stats of a normal laspistol - add a few points of damage (and lower it's number of shots) improve it's accuracy and/or change it's range band.

Where do you plan to play? If you're in the UK you're welcome to any of the events we organise - but you'd need 54mm models (however Marco and I did discuss the practicalities of an event running across both 28mm & 54mm yesterday).

[Lucien Alexius]

Cheers for that.

Planning to play is a whole different kettle of fish... I love the designing of the character and over the next few months plan on converting Inquisitor Stromm from an Inquisitor Covenant figure, and making the stats is awesome.

Main problem is, that I have never played Inquisitor before and I live in Australia... namely... Western Australia and I don't actually know if there is any community here for Inquisitor. Plenty for 40k but I'm not actually sure if there are people out there who play the game.

Absolutely love the painting/converting and just general awesomeness of the Inquisitor range and the game sounds right up my alley but I'd have to see if I did have anyone to play against.

[Adlan]

Hmmmm, custom laspistol does sound more appealling?  If anyone has any examples of "modified laspistol" stats and all that, would be appreciated.

The gun servo skull would likely have something similar, just a basic laspistol I would suppose.
I'll bump up those stats and just see how they look, and I haven't quite thought of a full warband yet but I can imagine Inquisitor Stromm accompanied by servitor's, and maybe a low ranking acolyte but nothing too significant.

Very encouraging feedback and again if anyone has any examples of Custom Laspistol stats. I think I stated in the fluff that the Inquisitor's pistol is "master crafted" so that gives me a bit of room to make it more special than a standard laspistol

Well, Marco has some excellent and highly detailed rules for making custom weapons. I prefer just to think, what would the character improve about his la-pistol? Then make changes to the profile, see how it looks, playtest and then refine it, or run it past the conclavers.


Would he have a more accurate Las-Pistol? Well, change the range band, or give it a +10 bonus to hit. A more powerful one? Each shot is 3d6 dmage, but the pistol only has half the ammunition capacity. Maybe his las pistol has extended power packs (double the ammunition) and is more like an SMG, Semi 4 only.

Although given the changes you've made, I don't think a Plasma Pistol is unreasonable, particularly with a nicely converted 54mm model. It's not unreasonable for someone to have obtained a Plamagun by their 170th year.

Cheers for that.

Planning to play is a whole different kettle of fish... I love the designing of the character and over the next few months plan on converting Inquisitor Stromm from an Inquisitor Covenant figure, and making the stats is awesome.

Main problem is, that I have never played Inquisitor before and I live in Australia... namely... Western Australia and I don't actually know if there is any community here for Inquisitor. Plenty for 40k but I'm not actually sure if there are people out there who play the game.

Absolutely love the painting/converting and just general awesomeness of the Inquisitor range and the game sounds right up my alley but I'd have to see if I did have anyone to play against.

If there isn't a local group, build up a couple of warbands, familiarise your self with the rules as much as you can, and see if you can start one. It worked for me, I nabbed 40k players from the first night of the Uni RPG society though.

[Dwi]

"You don't know if theres players in your zone" Yah I know how that feels! Theres only one or two guys who would play in and around my hometown.

As for a fancy laspistol you could use one of Kal Jerico's but he long OOP. Jakson and Castalan bolth have one just depends wether you on the pistol in the left or right hand. I would slso like to note that your WS is... well... lets just say bad as I can't think of anything els to say. perhaps bing it up to 43 or so I like to think as 50 is avrage you should be good.

[Lucien Alexius]

Sweeet, stats are as follows

Inquisitor Stromm Stats

WS   BS   S   T   I   Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
45   78   48   44   70   77   80   90   68

Equipment: Master Crafted Laspistol, Sword, Carapace Armour on Chest Abdomen and Groin, 2 points of armour everywhere else, MIU linked Servo Skull (gun), Refractor Field
Special Abilities: Familiar (Servo Skull)
Psychic Abilities: Detection, Enfeeble
Inquisitor Stromm is right handed

Master Crafted Laspistol stats

                                        - Type   - Range - Mode -  Dam - Shots - Rld - Wt
Master Crafted  Laspistol - Pistol -     E     -  single -  3D6 -    20   -    2 - 15

Alternatively I am also leaning towards that shiny looking plasma pistol?
I'll post a full background for Mr Stromm later.