[RobSkib]

I've been having a bit of a think recently about a new character I've dreamt up and I heard mention of sanctioned aliens somewhere on the 'clave, and I was wondering what it was all about.

Can aliens become sanctioned, if so, how? Do they have a series of tests the Xenos must pass for it to be deemed 'safe' enough to be sanctioned? Could an alien under the employ of an Inquisitor request a sanctioning if he really believes in the Imperial Creed above his own culture's teachings?

[Molotov]

I'll chime in, as I believe you might've heard it when I was talking about Hurk.

The Imperial Creed obviously preaches that aliens should be feared/killed off. To my mind, an Inquisitor consorting with aliens is clearly liable to be branded "radical". In a sense, it's the Xenos equivalent of using Daemonhosts - it flies in the face of Imperial teachings, but the Inquisitor does it because he believes it to be prudent/believes he's "doing the right thing".

Here I'm talking about Inquisitors, as we have textual evidence of the Imperial military employing Ork and Kroot as mercenaries. (Something that some might turn a blind eye to, as the aliens are the ones doing the dying.)

So when I was saying that the alien had been "sanctioned", to my mind that's the decision of a singular Inquisitor who sees it as a useful tool to accomplish his aims. I don't really see that there would be any Inquisition-wide way to sanction an alien, or to enforce that sanctioning.

I do think the idea of an alien coming to embrace the Imperial Creed is a very interesting one. Clearly he would hate himself as an alien/go to extreme lengths to try to reach "redemption"... an interesting hook if it can be played right.

[Zephon]

I've never heard of sanctioned Xenos, though I think that the extermination of some species is placed at a lower priority than others, if they keep themselves to themselves. Given the attitude of the Creed towards aliens, I can't really see any believing in it. An Inquisitor could protect an alien from instant incineration by others, but the default response of any Imperial organisation is still going to be to kill aliens on sight.

[Tullio]

I think the issue with xenos isn't always so much whether they're any real threat to the Imperial way of life, as to the moral creep thier "sanctioned" presence might engender. If Imperial citizenry is to be exposed to xenos in a capacity other than the way they usually are (Ie - as monsters) they might begin to - horror of horrors - think that maybe the way the Adeptus Terra runs the show isn't actually the only sensible way to do it.

When you look at the kind of xenos the Imperium doesn't actively try to annihiliate, it's usually because it would either take up too many resources to no real gain (In the case of xenos enclaves with no real power to even contact the Imperium, let alone harm it), or they make themselves useful from a safe distance (The Kroot and Jokaero come to mind). The Kroot in particular usually have no buisness with Imperial society - since Guardsmen rarely, if ever, return to thier homeworld it doesn't matter quite so much if they find themselves fighting alongside xenos.

But that's just the Imperium as a whole. Inquisitors get away with far more, and in theory have the moral authority to decide what is a spiritual threat and what isn't. I could see a cabal of Inquisitors turning a blind eye to a useful xenos breed, even if some of them didn't like the idea very much - much like they might choose to ignore one of thier fellows regularly utilising mutant breeds. Further than that though, I'd imagine the Inquisitor in question would have to keep it rather quieter in case one of his fellows took exception to the deviance

Tullio

[N01H3r3]

I do think the idea of an alien coming to embrace the Imperial Creed is a very interesting one. Clearly he would hate himself as an alien/go to extreme lengths to try to reach "redemption"... an interesting hook if it can be played right.

I've pondered a similar idea recently. An isolated world (or collection of worlds) where an alien civilisation exists, which was once visited by pre-Imperial humans during the formative years of their culture, and who worship the technologically-advanced humans as gods, even imitating their technology as their sophisticated increases. Thousands of years pass, and these aliens now have STC-derived technology (based on that of the humans that visited them and maybe even which was left behind) and still believe in humans as god-like beings from beyond the stars... so when a Rogue Trader stumbles across these worlds, he finds a civilisation that looks remarkably human in every way except for the creatures that inhabit it, who seem to venerate the human form.

[Nash]

A Xenos' "sanction" can only go as far as his sanctioner's power go... In other words, a sanctioned alien is merely an alien who's under the relative protection of a Radical Inquisitor and would the path of this Inquisitor cross the path of a Puritan as powerful (or even more powerful --a Lord Inquisitor?) than the sanctioner then the so-called "sanction" wouldn't really protect anyone...

IMHO, or rather "in my vision of the Warhammer 40000 universe", Sanctioned Xenos are not an official thing, but just a term used by Radical Inquisitors to explain the presence of an alien in their retinue to other Imperials of lesser power/knowledge. It's just a term that calls upon its ressemblance with something a bit more usual (Sanctioned Psykers) to explain away something far more surprising at first glance.

Don't forget that to many an Imperial citizen (and even to many in the Guard, Navy, etc...) the Inquisition is merely a rumour and that they have no knowledge (or an extremely limited one) of the Inquisition's factions... Thus, many an Imperial general can't know if he's dealing with a Radical or a Puritan (he would most likely not even know what those words refer to) and what is to be considered normal for such special individuals as Inquisitors... Therefore, the only ones who could call the sanction a fraud are other Inquisitors (and maybe a few select individuals who have enough knowledge of how the Inquisition works...)

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I just feel like sharing an idea I've had for a Radical Inquisitor who likes to play it safe... He lies not only to other Imperials he meets (when claiming the xenos in his retinue are "sanctioned") but also to the xenos in question themselves when he claims that, to be recognized as Sanctioned Xenos, they must wear a particular collar a bit bulky and marked with the symbol of the Inquisition (which is in fact a small bomb that he can trigger at will and which would explode instantly if the Inquisitor was to die...)
An unwilling Xenos version of the Penal Legions of old if you wish...

[RobSkib]

Thankyou molotov, I think that's exactly what I was thinking of!

As others have shared their ideas with me, I think it's only fair to share mine too. My concept for a sanctioned alien is a disillusioned Tau fighting on the very fringes of Tau space, finding himself and his recon party in the middle of a fight between an Inquisitor and the forces of Chaos. After the smoke had cleared, he was the only one left alive, and Imperial scouts found him and took him prisoner, where he learned about the deeds of the Emperor and the Imperial creed from his Gaoler, who found the idea of a penitent Tau on death row very amusing. Later they brought him before the Inquisitor and so awed by the inspiring aura that Vanth exudes, the Tau pledged what little life he had left to the Inquisitor. If it was any other Inquisitor, they would probably have killed the Tau then and there and got on with their lives, but Vanth being as he is, executed all the guardsmen who had come into contact with the alien except his own personal cadre and left with the Tau in tow.

After months of interrogation, mind scanning and indoctrination, Vanth finally gave the Tau his own Imperial Eagle on a silk neckerchief, which he wears with pride around his left shoulderpad. His honesty and willingness to repent for his previous sins entertained Vanth, and as he sees it, the warrior who fights for his cause because he chooses to is more trustworthy than the one who is forced to, and his unique biological makeup makes him the ideal trooper to take into battle against the Daemon.

~~~~~


Obviously there are a few creases in that story that need to be ironed out, but the gist of it is there - Tau meets Imperium, falls in love, joins with an Inquisitor. I don't want to go into it too much because this isn't the place for discussing characters mostly, and also because I want to keep him relatively hush-hush until I get my article for Dark Magenta in. I have, however, done a sketch of what I want him to look like, I just need to finish off his legs and I might post a picture up here as WIP. Heaven knows I want him to be a 54mm reality because the image of a firewarrior with a lasgun and draped in purity seals is just too damn lolwtf not to!

[Myriad]

It's a bit of a stretch but broadly believable, and certainly a good characterful background.  The imperial creed doesn't allow you to trust aliens, but there's quite a bit of leeway in practice, especially in dealings with mercenaries. 

Inquisitors are more or less allowed to do what they like, up to the point where another inquisitor stops them.  If it fits the character of the inquisitor, an adopting xenos henchman is an interesting addition to the waband.

[RobSkib]

That's what I was hoping - something that pushes the limits of plausibility without actually breaking them. I'm hoping that the more this idea comes to fruition, the more acceptable it'll be.

I've alreday penned down some stats, but I'm going to hold them back for my Dark Magenta article - I've got to have something to keep you hooked However, I have scribbled an idea down on paper, I posted it over on the Carthaxian thread, but here's the link again if you missed it.

I'm hoping that my sculpting skills are up to scratch to pull this bad boy off. My aim is to get it done for the spring Conclave meet, whether I'll use it or not is another thing entirely! I have a history for him linking him to the two Inquisitors I'm bringing along, but it all depends on the scenario whether he'll get a game.

[Swarbie]

Hmmmmm, this is giving me an idea.....

Say there is a race of psychically blunt aliens that occasionally come into contact with the Inquisition without the Inquisition realising (they watch inquisitors fight battles against chaos on their world while hiding, etc).

On one of these occasions an inquisitor brings along a psyker. They see the psyker's powers in action, and assume that anything carrying that kind of awesome, unnatural power must be a god or a great servant of a god.

On another occasion, they see a culexus assassin destroy a chaos sorcerer, being seemingly impervious to the sorcerer's god-like abilities. They assume that the culexus and others like it are servants of another god.

This leads the aliens to begin worship of the human form as vessels for gods, and in particular psykers and untouchables. When a psychically active, radical inquisitor stumbles across this species, they begin to worship him. Seeing the usefulness of having an entire species under his command, the inquisitor indoctrinates them into a slightly modified version of the Imperial Creed. The aliens then begin worshipping the Emperor as a god, and have a great respect and fear of untouchables, seeing them as servants of the opposite god to the Emperor. The inquisitor then goes to great lengths to hide the existence of this species. 

Now, whenever he needs a cheap meatshield or an agent with inhuman abilities, he calls upon members of that species, saying that the Emperor has chosen them to do His work. The aliens are then used to carry out his dirty work for him.

The version of the Imperial Creed the inquisitor taught the aliens contains the idea that if one fails in the Emperor's work, one does not deserve to live. This gives the Inquisitor a failsafe if any of his alien retinue are captured, as they will think they have failed the Emperor and will so commit suicide. 

I'm thinking lots of aquilas, purity seals and possibly augmetics in a human-like form, as the aliens would aspire to become like humans.

[Gnaeus Conlitor]

I don't think there is a set procedure for sanctioning aliens as such. However, as is made quite clear in the 40K fluff, some Imperial agents make deals with the Xenos. Blood Axes and Kroot Mercenaries are employed by Imperial armies. Worlds close to the Tau Empire or the Craftworlds may have alien ambassadors but I doubt there is an actual doctrine about how to deal with aliens. It depends on the individual world and the individual agents.