Winged inquisitor character...

[Shannow]

Hey there all, I'm new to conclave and relatively new to inquisitor. I've had the rule book since I was about 15 (now 20) but having been distracted by boobs mainly I'm getting back into it.

When I started reading and planning character creation for my inquisitor, I was straight away drawn to the more radical section of inquisitors (xanthites) and i really like the idea of developing an inquisitor character (called 'something' Shannow....terrible with first names but a big fan of Jon Shannow in the Gemmell books) that is convinced of his path yet hunted by his more puritanical comrades.

With this in mind I was also browsing 54mm and 28mm minis as I want to make a version of each. In my search I came across

http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/miniatures/andrea-miniatures/andrea-miniatures-54mm/leogante-wings-of-redemption-54mm.html

and loved the look of it and the idea of making an inquisitor out of it. I was wondering how well or badly received the wings would be in a game by more experienced players of the game?

My general idea was that in terms of flight they were defunct, and were a mutation by-product caused by over exposure to some chaos/warp/xeno relic that Shannow had been tampering with in order to unlock its power to aid the imperium. I was going to give him the acrobatic skill to represent that they allowed him to be slightly lighter on his feet cushioning falls etc, and due to there size and unearthly origin they allowed him the protection of approximately flak armour levels.

In terms of character I was thinking of a ruthless, decadent (in terms of luxury of living) man with a high level of sophistication and patience but once he had lost said patience became irrational in his fury. I also see him as a man that would use any and all means to achieve his end but preferred to make himself known after his companions had done the research work and only appear for the final mission/fight scenario.   

In terms of combat I have him billed as very sword competent (first strike or fast reflexes?), but generally finding guns disdainful methods (though maybe equip with one pistol/xeno pistol?) and lacking in a certain level of honour (but only if he used them, he is perfectly happy to have his companion snipe from afar). Again due to his more radical beliefs I would want to give him 1 or 2 pysker powers, probably one from pyromancy as a definite and possibly one along the lines of telepathic control.

Thats sort of all I've come up with for the moment, just wondering what the background sounds like as a starting point and also how viable the wings would be on a character; I love the model aside from the wings so would probably by and just not have the wings (maybe make into a hat for myself, to wear in games or 40k matches....)

Thanks for reading this far and I'm sorry if its all a load of tosh and boring!

Rob

Ps I did originally post this in the wrong place, sorry about that!

[Kaled]

There are rules for winged characters in the Alien Generator article - you'll find it by looking at the 'Inquisitor PDFs' thread.

The thing about close-combat being honourable and not using ranged weapons is a bit of a cliche, but the rest looks like a pretty good starting point - although I generally prefer to see characters with psychic powers from just one discipline.

Oh, and
Welcome to the Conclave

[Shannow]

Haha thanks for the welcome,

Now you mention it it is a tad cliched and thanks for the pointer on PDF's I haven't had a full browse yet, in the middle of my exams sadly! I'll post some more stuff when I get round to writing an in depth character description etc.

Rob

[Shannow]

Right, I've just downloaded and speed-read the alien generator and rules. Even though the rule are designed for rouge traders and bounty hunters, would it be ok to apply the rules to my inquisitor? Just want to be absolutely sure is all, sorry for the retentiveness...

Rob

[Metellus]

would it be ok to apply the rules to my inquisitor? Just want to be absolutely sure is all, sorry for the retentiveness...

Rob

Of course; with Inquisitor it's possible to bend the rules as much as you want as long as it fits the character... just don't go too overboard.
Also, I'm going to go with Kaled on the multi-discipline psychic powers, although if you really want something from pyromancy too you could just give him a Telepathy power and a Daemon weapon with Fiery Blast - it suits his whole Radical theme, too.
That said, he's your character, design him any way you want.
Any plans for the rest of his warband (if he's going to have one)?

[Kaled]

To clarify - I don't mind characters having a major focus on one discipline with just a minor power from another (so a pyromancer who can speak telepathically to his minions is okay by me), but I'm less keen on a character who is capable of performing high-end powers from two disciplines.

As for using alien generator rules for an Inquisitor - sure, go for it.  A good model makes up for a multitude of sins in my opinion - back it up with some nice background and you're on to a winner.

[Shannow]

Ok I've done a bit more thinking and writing (at the expense of revision...I'm sure those exams will go just fine.... ) and the background so far ive come up with is:
Inquisitor Maximilian Shannow: Shannow was born and raised on the planet Nocturna-Solaris, so called as due to its lack of axial spin, one half of the planet was permanently in darkness and the other in light. This leading to a population of extreme opposites, half dark skinned with small almost entirely white eyes and the other pale skinned with large obsidian pupil dominated eyes to accommodate for the general lack of light, not even compensated for by the aged globe spheres used to light there homes. Shannow was born to the latter population though at an extreme paleness even for them with almost translucent skin. This too was mirrored in his hair though in years to come he would dye it black to enhance the contrast with his skin which along with other acquired traits would prove useful in present a more terrifying visage.

In a desperate bid to escape his treacherous home world he took work aboard the trade ship Nordican under Captain Salence at the age of 19. The good captain in the following years tutored Shannow in the mastery of the blade himself being an expert with the rapier though Shannow held more potential in heavier blades. He would also provide shannow with his first exposure to the world of xenon technology. As it happened the Nordican was a ship with usually less than legal cargo as Salence traded with many different races including the kroot, eldar rangers far from their craftworlds and very occasionally the technology of their darker cousins; though generally this occurred when  they had need of less savoury cargo the captain had acquired.

It was the discovery of the cargo and the captains intention that led the now 25 year old shannow to give him up to the ordo xenos, an act which earned him a place as an explicator under the watchful and learned gaze of Inquisitor Erebus. Under him it was discovered he had an undeveloped talent as a psyker; his quick learning and the fervour with which he applied himself to the study set quickly earned him promotion to interrogator. It was with some mirth that shannow regarded his talent, as given the hemisphere of his origin, it was somewhat ironic that he a fantastic talent for pyromancy. After more than a decade of treacherous escapades since obtaining the rank of interrogator he was finally promoted to full inquisitor of the ordo xenos.

Some of the names and stuff I think are pretty shoddy but I'm terrible at this sort of stuff so be nice:P also unsure about giving up Salence xeno, my thoughts being that he loves xeno tech but not at expense of human slave trade (though not even sure that fits with dark eldar style possibilities).

Thanks for the points on the powers, I think that I'll probably go a couple of pyromancy powers (though have plenty of time to fiddle before playing anyway), was thinking blinding flash and firestorm. Daemon sword was a good idea but I want to concentrate any different equipment as being Xeno as that is his order and obsession.

As for companions, I was thinking of a rogue trader that had become a follower after spending years supplying him with illegally procured xeno stuff (maybe attach a story to a bit of his equipment) but aside from that not really thought of another unless he associates himself with an eldar ranger or xeno/regular bounty hunter for some reason. It'll all come together.

Thanks again for all the stuff, been a very nice welcome

Rob

[Shannow]

Also was just flicking through the 'where people live' section and noticed you were from the north west kaled, whereabouts? i study at bristol but I live in Lancaster during my holidays and most of my family live/work in Preston. Just curious anyhoo.

Rob

[Kaled]

I live in Preston - if you fancy a game during the holidays then I'm sure we can arrange something...

[Shannow]

That sounds like a plan...I'm aiming to have at least the inquisitor completed by mid-late july but depends heavily on cash flow....its horrible when I equate how many models/paints etc I could buy for one textbook (£80!!!). Will definitely take you up on that though if possible.

[Flinty]

I'll echo Kaled with a welcome - a model you like is always a good palce to start and wings are a nice change from bionics or possession.

However, your fluff/background dosn't really explain how he ended up with them - what relic (and what happened to it?) was he tampering with? I could see a warp/chaos exposure resulting in something like that, but it is quite a 'specific' mutation - perhaps (for example)  after a warp breach/summoning failure, he was falling through a void as some daemonic plaything and was 'gifted' them.

A lot of people are going to view him as obviously tainted and/or a mutant as they make him stick out a fair bit; so how does he cope with that? Can he fold them up under a cloak, does he have to prominantly display his Inquisitorial credentials, if he has telepathic powers, can he force people to ignore them/blank them from peoples minds/memories??

Undeveloped psychic talent - humm....not sure he'd make it to 25 without that sort of thing cropping up or being noticed by someone/something earlier (black ships...). Maybe his new found mental powers were connected with his growing/gaining wings?

Dont forget the Inquisition work very much in the shadows, and even if anyone ever heard of them, or knew who/where/how to find them - no one in their right mind is going to try and contact them about something' they have been associated with for a year or two but now have cold feet about, and the wings? oh, well, nothing dodgy about them, honest'

Honest, Im not tyring to sound negative, there is definately potential for something different here!  Im looking forward to seeing how this develops.

Sympathise with the student budget problems - but surely the really essential text books are in the library - go on, crank up that overdraft!

Disclaimer: I am not, or ever have been, employed, affliated or otherwise contractually conected with any financial institution in any capacity other than as a debtor

[Shannow]

@ Flinty: I see all the points your making and I've been trying to fit bits of story together during my frequent procrastination from revision and have written a few expanded version; the one above was just to get feedback and suggestion like yours.  

I was going to go for a Ordo Xenos and relate an alien artifact to the mutation, one idea was a warp fuelled genetic modifier sort of like a fully integral form of a Callidus Assassins Poly suit, and the tampering with it resulted in the wing growth. he was aiming for greatly enhanced physical and mental power but couldnt read it properly , also thought this might be a basis to give him regeneration as a residue of the growth capacity of the device? Not sure what you'll make of that. I was leaning to the xenos area because I think it provides a good basis for procuring xenos weapons, however having mulled over it I think Malleus might be easier fluff wise (as per your suggestion sort of thing).

In terms of him hiding his wings, I was leaning more to the point of him being so radical that he was termed hereticus, partly because it would be a good storyline basis i think and makes the lack of concealment less of a problem. But he looks pretty freaky anyway! I like the idea of the telepathic shrouding effect, maybe making it look like a cloak? I was keen on pyromancy but as suggested I could have a couple of telepathic powers and have a daemon weapon, which would also push me further to malleus.

Dont worry about the critique, I didn't take it negatively in the slightest I really want to get this right so any and all help is welcomed.

In terms of finance I have just been given a credit card by lloyds...its so damn tempting! But I have a job iinterview next tuesday so hopefully....(rubs hands gleefully) I'll post one of the longer back stories maybe tomorrow

[JoelMcKickass]

If anyone remembers the old tv show Gargoyles, they used to be able to fold their wings over like a cloak in order to hide them, they almost past for humans too. You could steal that idea and have it that people have to pass a Sagacity test with a -20%, if they pass they see him for what he is, if they don't, he just looks like he's wearing a particularly fabulous coat.

Also, i don't see a problem with him being a mutant, and an Inquisitor with a particular fascination with Sanguinius who's looking for children with that particular mutation (aptly named Homo-Sanguine), and raising them in his own school (ala X-Men, albeit a little more sinister, or even like the G-Men from The Boys, only minus the child rape). That is if you want to take the Inquisitorial route, I was going to go with him being a Mutant who's been captured and fights as a Gladiator, and one of my characters won him in a bet/took the best two as a form of payment becuase their previous owner couldn't afford it. For pretty much the same reasons as you, that is a beautiful model.

[Necris]

Why not make them bionic implants, a way for the radical to mask is activities by appearing like an angelic avenger of the Emperor?

It would only take a little GS and some extra kit on his back to make it into an effect jump pack

[Shannow]

@ JoelMcKickass, I didn't want to make him a mutant because I couldn't really see a mutant becoming an inquisitor even with a link to such a prestigious character. But I am going to go with the fact that the wings looks like a cloak, though I will probably make it a willpower test because I think telepathic shrouding of his wings will be easier to apply to lots of scenarios, such as if a character see's him jump pr fly between levels the wings would have to be unfurled and so couldn't look like a coat, even someone who was a bit thick could see that, but if mentally shrouded may just look like a flowing cloak and a good jump.

@ Necris, I did consider bionic implants but I can't tear myself away from their organic nature:P

Also looking at the alien generator rules it gives movement speeds for wings but doesn't mention wound allocation, which seems a bit silly given their size and that he still has legs to use if he needed. I was thinking using the table they give for quadruped creatures to represent the chance of hitting the wings, maybe decrease the chance for characters shooting at him that hadn't already passed a Wp test to see if he had wings? or is that complicating things too much?

Once again thanks for all help and ideas from you guys, this is making it a lot easier!