Dalthan Conclave Discussion

[Molotov]

Greetings, Conclavers!

I've been a little busy for a while but I've been near-constantly fiddling with various concepts. My INQ28 campaign has been taking place in the Dalthus Sector, against the backdrop of powerplays in the Dalthan Conclave. I'm hoping that you guys can help me firm various things up - and as such I'll be using this thread for a lot of different things, really.

The main player character that's been involved thus far has been Inquisitor Alaric Balthier, of the Ordo Hereticus.



Balthier is an enthusiastic prosecutor of the Emperor's enemies. He's arguably a little too enthusiastic, especially when it comes to his peers within the Inquisition. Several years ago, Balthier brought charges against Philber Trask, a prominent member of the Dalthan Ordo Malleus. He was unable to prove his charges and was mocked by Trask, who vanished shortly after. Balthier has never forgotten the humiliation of that day, and remains convinced Trask found some way of fooling the Conclave. He has remained attentive to any clue that could lead him to his old adversary. That the denunciation did not result in a condemnation cast his judgement in doubt. Despite Balthier losing face in front of the assembled Conclave, he found unexpected public support in Lord Dire, the master of the Ordo Hereticus. Dire supported Balthier publically, but it was clear that there was a price to be paid for this act, a debt which led to Balthier being beholden to his master.

Shortly after the failed denunciation, Balthier was inducted into the XXXXX Cabal, an association of Inquisitors led by Dire. His short tenure within the Cabal has found him with little opportunity to discern its motives. It could simply be a powerbase for Dire to consolidate his influence in the Conclave; it could be something entirely more sinister.

Dire is a powerful force within the Conclave. He maintains tightly-controlled networks of spies, agents and operatives, and is very keen to take over the Conclave and secure his power. His true motiives are unknown (even to me, at the moment) - whilst diabolic enemies from beyond the material realm are very fun, sometimes the most dangerous thing is the avarice of Man.

Now, my friend Nick just happened to paint the skull on Balthier's rosette crimson, which is what set off my ideas about the XXXXX Cabal. I thought they might actively identify themselves, somewhat like the Tyrantine Cabal in Dark Heresy. I haven't got a name for the Cabal, though I really would like one - suggestions are most welcome! I liked the idea that Balthier has been inducted into the Cabal and is unsure of its motivations - it is almost a millstone around his neck. He's become one of Lord Dire's lapdogs and will find it difficult to get out of his influence without making a powerful enemy.

So, my first few questions:

• Hopefully someone can please come up with a cool name for Dire's Cabal!
• The model has some fairly hefty cabling going into Balthier's sword arm. I'm wondering as to potential rules for bionic enhancement (without necessarily being bionic replacement). The model has a small generator on the back - I'm not sure whether to include anythign for the generator, or whether that might just be overcomplicating things. So yes, - some sort of enhancement to his sword arm....?
• The servo-skull accompanying Balthier is taken from the plastic Devastators sprue. I'm wondering what justification I can give for the 'IV' inscribed upon its forehead. It could be the skull of a former Imperial servant, or the skull of a former heretic who has been granted the honour of serving those in death that he defied during life, but what might that mark mean?
  

This is just the start of my many questions! I'll doubtless be back with more as our campaign continues.

[DapperAnarchist]

Helping out, and avoiding any possibility I might write some of my thesis before lunch -

What sort of name? Lots of "Shadow Cabals" and the like are out there, but what sort of style of name? If its a religious name, it could be the Order of St. Seltullian, or the Lay Templars of Imperial Divinity or something like that - allowing it to masquerade as a Lay Order, with secret identities for its members sustained by its agents. Or a name similar to modern military codenames could be interesting, like The Whetstone Group (Whetstone being a British nuclear test series), or Keyhole (Keyhole being a clearance level in DoD intelligence).

You could simply give him "Augmented Right Arm (+10 S)" and leave it at that - no armour, nothing like that, just a strength boost.

well, IV means 4, so... his fourth big success? Or perhaps it was etched into the skull ante-mortem, to pick that servant out of a clone batch or something like that.

[MarcoSkoll]

As far as a name for the Cabal, I find the names of less known Greek or Roman gods (which really means those which haven't been used for planets) often have good merits, particularly if you can find a god whose "role" fits with the cabal's purpose.

For example, Inquisitrix Katlien Vance is part of the Janus cabal, which concerns itself with overseeing the Inquisition itself. Janus was of course the Roman god of doorways, but the reference I'm going with is that he had two faces with which he could look either way.
I've also got a project I'm working on that will use Athena as a name (Greek goddess of War), although that one has quite a lot more work before it's done.

As far as the arm, a simple stat boost to WS or S could do the job. Alternatively, you could write it as augmetic repairs to an old injury.

Also, IV is obvious. It's clearly a medical skull that carries intravenous fluids.
More sensibly, you don't necessarily have to assume it's a number. It could theoretically be someone's initials.

[DapperAnarchist]

Yes, thats true... I'm just being small minded, I guess. Though, a small mind is easily filled with faith...

Oh, and I lied slightly - Whetstone was an American nuclear test, not a British one. I misread the article...

[Easy E]

Lord Dire's cabal should be called.... wait for it... Dire Straits.  <Rimshot!>

As for the IV, in numerology, the number four symbolizes earth (IIRC), it is composed of the 1 meaning the individual and 3 meaning Heaven, therefore, the earth is a construct of the mortal and heavenly realm.  Therefore, the number IV could be a ward of some type?   

In conclusion, none of this post was helpful.   

[Radu Lykan]

regarding the number IV maybe his retinue get the other 3? there are lots of uses for servo skulls, they dont have to be combat oriented......

[psycho]

LOL at Dire.....hes my Main Herticus Inquisitor....and im loving easy-es dire straits lol.......sounds like that would make their opponents giggle....."oh look....here come the sultans of swing"

sorry cant give any decent input though :-(

Kerby

[O_o]

ok  read a few of the  replies 

I feel the  conclave  should be  called...The Ophiuchus Conclave (  going to make  ppl  think and  find  out  where it  comes from ) 

as  for the  cables and  generator  on  his  back  ??
I  say  something  cool  should be  used

this  model  used to have a  power fist or glove that the  cables  where for,  so I  would  recommend
once per  game  (  1 action to  activate if  the  sword is a power sword )  the  sword  would  function  as a power fist.

[Myriad]

ok  read a few of the  replies 

I feel the  conclave  should be  called...The Ophiuchus Conclave (  going to make  ppl  think and  find  out  where it  comes from ) 

Google sees all    Nice idea though.  The Aesthna cabal?  Lots of options either way.

The simple treatment of the cabling would be to give him a strength bonus when using that arm, although I quite like the idea of a one off power boost.

Maybe IV is just servo-skull number 4?  They must get damaged quite often after all.

Balthier's a nice model - just the other day I was trying to remember where I nicked the idea for a wood effect on a pistol from.

[Molotov]

Thanks for the many comments.

With regards to Dire's little organisation - I'm definitely after something that's the "X Cabal". Whilst it might have some ostensible use, it's primarily a power bloc for Dire to gain a lot of traction in the Dalthan Conclave. One of Balthier's retinue members will be an Interrogator assigned to him by Dire. Overtly, Dire has asked Balthier to provide him with the experience of being an investigative Inquisitor. This Interrogator will be hungry for advancement within the Conclave, and will be an ardent member of the Cabal. He will, of course, be keeping an eye on Balthier, which should provide a nice bit of tension within the retinue.

I really like the Janus Cabal, as it fits the two-faced nature of Dire - kudos to Marco for haaving good taste!

Also, regarding the 'IV', I actually really liked the idea that it could be someone's initials. That's an intriguing prospect. I'll have to give the idea some thought; it will more than likely germinate into something cool!

LOL at Dire.....hes my Main Herticus Inquisitor....

Mhmm, as I recall you named him after Marius Dire, the witch hunter in the Mordheim rulebook? Either way, it's a cool name and it works for me.

Either way, your comments have definitely given me something to think about.


Balthier's retinue consists of a number of individuals. This picture shows the main two:



On the left we have Salem "Slim" Rios, and on the right we have Ishmael Castor.

Ishmael is a 'Wayfarer', a member of a loose organisation invested with the authority of the Cardinal of the Shrineworld Roiscant and charged with tending to the many pilgrims of the Dalthus Sector. Theirs is a transitory existence, travelling amongst their flock and enduring the same hardships suffered by all who journey along the pilgrim trails. Their duties may sometimes only amount to leading mass prayers in the holds of the converted troop-transports used to convey pilgrims through the warp. Should the vessels come under attack, however, the Wayfarers stand ready to defend the traveller. It is certainly the case that many of the Wayfarers have eventually laid down their lives for those they protect, becoming folk heroes of a sort.

Ishmael's staunch faith has sustained him, and propelled him into the stars, carrying far beyond the ordinary life that he could have had. Travelling the pilgrim trails, he has always taken his duties seriously, and sets about them with great abandon. He considers himself extremely fortunate to serve an Imperial Inquisitor, given that it puts him in the perfect position to directly aid the citizenry of the Imperium. For his part, Balthier has found in Ishmael a talented and skilled servant, resourceful and independent, possessed of a strong personal faith and enthusiastic to fulfil his duty. Dependable and tenacious, Ishmael is not one to shirk a fight, and stands resolutely to defend his convictions. Every horror faced strengthens his faith, for he knows he must never weaken lest the enemies of the Emperor receive the respite they so desire.

On the other hand, there's Rios; once a farmhand on a dreary and insignificant agri-world, he stowed away and upon reaching Dalthus Prime he cut a distinctive figure in the fighting arenas of Dalthus Prime with his tall, willow-thin frame – a legacy of a childhood spent upon a low-gravity world. The jaded nobles took to their latest distraction, and Rios thrived on their attention, living a life in marked contrast to the world which he had left mere months before. His ascent could not last forever, and when he was caught in bed with the Sector Governor's daughter the ensuing scandal saw him thrown into jail, facing imminent execution. Inquisitor Balthier stepped in to commute the sentence - provided Rios began to work for him.

The relationship between the grim, irascible Inquisitor and the jovial trickshooter is a strained one at times, but 'Slim' Rios has proved his worth on numerous occasions. A bond of quiet respect exists between the two.  Whilst Rios insists on a nominal fee - for professional reasons - the money that actually exchanges hands falls far short of the price he could command elsewhere. the excitement and danger of life in the employ of an Inquisitor is more than adequate compensation, however.


Alongside these two, there's Bastian Grimm, the aforementioned Interrogator. I've not managed to settle on a suitable model for this individual.

In a sort of reverse to this situation, I have this model from Mordheim:



I know that I want him to be in Balthier's retinue, but I have no real idea what sort of character he should be - any suggestions are greatfully received!

[Radu Lykan]

the main thing to decide is do you want a stereotypical strongman from a lowtech world who bashes stuff with his hammer or stray away from this and let something else define him rather than his size and strength?

[Molotov]

At the moment, I'm more than open to any ideas. I love the model, but I haven't had any flashes of inspiration for him.

[Myriad]

I like him.  Looks like a blacksmith to me.  No doubt, protected by his faith from the decadent music of a slaneshi cult, he foiled the plot by hammering the musicians into the stage, returning order to the world and gaining the inquisition's eye.

Failing that, it seems to me that Ishmael may well have picked up some friends from among the pilgrims he shepherds.