Maximillian Ashbeth

[Swarbie]

Maximillian Ashbeth stood in the center of the small agri-town, the town's occupants gathered round him in a tight circle, grief and anger clearly written on their faces. The old man at his feet was silently crying, dirt caking his long white hair.

He looked up at the townsfolk, warm triumph slowly filling his heart. Another world, another witch. The vile, groveling creature at his feet continued to cry, and beg, and plead his innocence. Foul lies, all of it.
One glance from his Eye had been all that was needed. The man was guilty. He raised his voice.

"Listen to me! This man, though he hardly deserves the title, is guilty of witchcraft. I see his taint. You should be showering me with gratitude for ridding you of the canker in your midst."

Ashbeth glared at the town's mayor, who was quivering.

"But instead, you form a mob. You say I am wrong." He affected a high, girlish voice. "'Oh please, Sir Inquisitor, let the old man go. He has harmed no one. All he does is work in the apothecary's shop.' Well, guess what! I do not care! He is a witch, condemned by the Emperor and all right-thinking men! I will ignore your threats this time, but others of my kind are not so forgiving. Remember that."

He turned away, grabbed the old man by his hair and pushed through the crowd. His comm-link beeped. "Sir, we have arrived."

"Good. Bring the cage. I have another witch."

"Yes sir."

He began stomping off. A rock bounced off his hat. He turned around, instantly full of rage.

"Alright! Who did that? Which one of you threw that rock?"

A little girl answered him. "You leave my grandpa alone, ugly!" The townsfolk around her muttered angrily, in agreement with her.

"Give him back, you bastard! He's no witch," said a burly butcher, stepping forward with cleaver in hand.

Suddenly Ashbeth began shaking. He clutched his head in his hands. His voice changed in tone with each sentence he spoke. "You're all in on it! All of you! Every stinking one! I should have known. Why was I nice? They weren't nice to me. Not nice at all. They took my eye! I know, I know. Kill them! Yes, yes. Burn them! Make them hurt!" He started laughing, the insane giggle high in pitch.  

He raised his voice once more. "Hear me! I am a member of His Most Holy Inquisition! I see you! I judge you! My Eye tells me what you are!" He flipped the patch off his right eye. The townspeople shrank back. What had once been a fine bionic now filled the socket, its red glass lens filled with a raging maelstrom of power. He stared at them.

"Witches! All of you! Heretics! Defilers of His holy symbols! You will burn! You will all burn!" He drew an inferno pistol with one hand, activating his comm-link with the other. "Gregory?"

"Yes sir?"

"Put it to the torch. No one leaves alive."

"Yes sir. I understand."  

Maximillian Ashbeth is a member of the Ordo Hereticus. A foundling taken in by the Ecclesiarchy, he was originally trained as a battlefield priest, but when Inquisitor Bronx visited the monastery he lived in, he was touched by the boy's clear devotion to his spiritual duty. Ashbeth was taken on by the inquisitor and found contentment in his job polishing the Bronx's personal shrine and feeding his Cherubim.  

Ashbeth accompanied the Inquisitor Bronx wherever he went, and soon his staff members began confiding in him, seeking the judgment of an Ecclesiarchy-trained peer to determine their penance. After many years, he was taken on as an Acolyte after he jumped in front of a lasgun-wielding cultist to protect Inquisitor Bronx. Although he lost his right eye, the inquisitor provided him with a bionic replacement.  

Inquisitor Bronx was very fond of Ashbeth, and left him a number of properties in his will. He also posthumously sponsored the boy in his bid to become a full Inquisitor. Although such a thing would normally not be allowed (given the possibility of Acolytes killing their masters and leaving false documents to heighten their standing), the senior inquisitors present at Ashbeth's request for advancement could see no harm in the well-meaning, fiercely religious young man.      

In his first decade as a fully-fledged Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus, Ashbeth captured, tried and executed over three hundred witches. He quickly became noted for his fierce, uncompromising approach to precarious situations, and many older inquisitors became interested in his prospects. Many tried to influence him and failed, finding him to be exceptionally headstrong and somewhat single-minded.

Thirty years later, he faced his most life-threatening event to date. An alpha-level psyker escaped from a Blackship escort and Ashbeth vowed to track him down. After following the witch on foot for five days, he managed to corner the psyker in the middle of a spaceport. Approximately three thousand civilians were killed in the ensuing confrontation, with many more injured or driven insane. As Ashbeth struck the psyker's head from his shoulders, the witch cursed him, saying that Ashbeth should forever more bear the mark of those he hunted, and that his mind would one day consume him.

The psyker's words had some truth to them. When he was examined while lying unconscious in a hospital bed, his staff members found a miniature warp rift lodged inside his bionic eye. Terrified of what would happen to him should this be discovered, they immediately attempted to remove his bionic. As soon as it left his eye socket, it disintegrated, only to reform in its rightful place.

Amazed, they whisked Ashbeth away, hiding him from the sight of the ever present Inquisition. When Ashbeth awoke, he was . . . different. He became prone to violent rages, became paranoid, and was more obstinate and stubborn than ever. He also discovered that his tainted bionic, loathsome though it was, allowed him to discern whether or not a person he looked at was a psyker. This allowed him to resume his life, and soon he became even more efficient than usual.

However, although he does not know it, Ashbeth's time is running out. Although he keeps the bionic covered night and day, his subconscious is continually being fed images from the darkest depths of the Warp. As every year passes, his mind slips closer and closer to the very brink of sanity. Before long, if nothing is done, his subconscious will overpower his conscious mind, and he will experience the full horror of a direct link with the realm of the damned.


WS  BS   S   T     I   WP  SG  NV  LD
67   58  64 61  69  82   67  78   66

Maximillian Ashbeth is right-handed.

Equipment: Reinforced hat (AV2 to head), shock sword, inferno pistol with 1 reload, carapace armour (AV5 to chest), heavy clothing (AV1 to all locations except head and chest), Inquisitorial Seal, comm-link, electro-cuffs, The Eye.

Electro-cuffs: These are gene-locked hand cuffs designed to deliver short, sharp jolts of electricity to anyone unfortunate enough to be wearing them. They can only be placed on characters that are unconscious or Stunned; in the case of Stunned characters, a successful unarmed close-combat attack is required before placing the cuffs on them. Characters wearing the cuffs immediately loose the use of both of their hands (they must take a Strength test if they are holding anything; if it is failed, the objects being held are dropped) and take D6 damage to their injury total. If anyone other than Maximillian Ashbeth attempts to remove the cuffs, the failsafe will activate. The character attempting to remove the cuffs must pass a SG test. If they fail, the character wearing the cuffs and the character attempting to remove them immediately take D6+3 damage to both of their arms and count as having been hit by a Shock weapon.

The Eye: This is an advanced bionic eye with an eye-patch worn over it. It takes one action to remove or replace the eye-patch. While the eye-patch is removed, Maximillian Ashbeth can immediately tell if someone is a psyker by looking at them.

Special abilities: Subdue, Dodge

Volatile- Ashbeth is prone to violent rages, often for little or no reason at all. Usually an insult, refusal to obey orders, or a cutting remark about his dress sense will set him off. If something occurs that could set him off (GM discretion), he immediately gains the Furious Assault and Frenzy abilities.

I may Break, But I Shall Never Bend- Extremely puritan and intolerant thanks to his upbringing, Ashbeth is also peculiarly single-minded and resistant to the influences of others. He takes Persuasion tests at his full WP and halves all modifiers (whether positive or negative) to his mental statistics induced by other people's opinions, Threats, etc. For example, this means he will halve the modifier from a Threaten test, but will not halve modifiers from drugs.    

[Brother_Brimstone]

I like the fluff piece at the beginning and love the whole 'mad inquisitor' thing. I like the whole thing with the eye, a really interesting and unique feature which adds depth to the the whole 'religious fanatic' thing.

Stats seem fine, equipment; do you mean hand flamer? An inferno pistol is a pistol version of the melta-gun and is very rare and powerful, but from the fluff you make it sound like a hand flamer.

As for skills, i think immune to persuasion is a bit excessive, Perhaps he gets to use full willpower when being persuaded (and if you want to be really anti-persuasion, you could say that even those with Persuasuve skill must still test at half Ld).

[dumdeedum]

Slightly off topic, but where can I find the persuasion rules?

As for the character, I do like the begining story, and would also like to see how his madness develops.
I too think a hand flamer may be more fitting than in inferno pistol, those things are crazy powerful and rare.

[Brother_Brimstone]

Slightly off topic, but where can I find the persuasion rules?

They're from Inq2, but they can be found here . They're in the first post, you'll need to scroll down a bit though.

[MarcoSkoll]

I'd echo Brimstone - I wouldn't ever make a character immune to persuasion, although I would certainly appeal to the GM for bonuses if they're being persuaded to do something heavily against their nature.

However, outside of that, I believe the Stubborn skill (although not mentioned in that post) means that persuasion is resisted with full Wp. And although I don't know if there's an equivalent for threatening, I'm currently treating characters who are immune to Fearsome (for whatever reason) as testing against Full Nv - doesn't really make sense that someone who doesn't find that kind of thing particularly scary would be easily threatened.

Brimstone's suggestion may be a good one. Mix "Stubborn" with immunity to the "Persuasive" skill - but not just an outright immunity to persuasion, because frankly, that's in the same calibre as slapping Nerves of Steel and Force of Will on a character. A boring invalidation of a chunk of rules, which more suggests a character is mindless than strong minded.

~~~~~

Other notes: What exactly is the point in him ever leaving his eye covered in-game, if he isn't disadvantaged for keeping it in view?

I'd also look at the Electrocuffs - by at least giving others character a chance of removing them without them going off (a Tech-Adept, for example, would at least have some chance of deactivating them), and I'd suggest swapping System Shock for shock weapon effects.

[JoelMcKickass]

I like the character, though i think his madness isn't represented in his skills. How about giving him frenzy, but he needs something to happen to trigger it. Maybe if he accuses someone, and they try to defend themselves, or if someone tries to persuade him, and fail, then he loses his rag and goes mental with all of his delightful rage.

[Myriad]

I like this guy.  Always good to see a monodominant going off the rails!  It is implied in the fluff that the eye has a somewhat disquieting appearance, and is visibly corrupted by the dark powers.  I suppose that would in some circumstances be the downside to uncovering it. 

Volatile represents his flakiness to a degree, but 'GM's discretion' is a wide brief, and it might help to specify one or two specific triggers.  Marco & brimstone make good points about the persuasion rule, complete immunity isn't ideal.

[MarcoSkoll]

if someone tries to persuade him, and fail, then he loses his rag and goes mental with all of his delightful rage.

I like that as an idea, although I wouldn't just say any fail... given the likelihood of a failed persuasion, that's perhaps a bit much.

It is implied in the fluff that the eye has a somewhat disquieting appearance, and is visibly corrupted by the dark powers.

Yeah, but there's no rules for what that might mean in game. As it is, there's no real reason for him not to have it visible all the time - it's +20% for a Advanced sense and the ability to detect psykers (as well as binocular vision!)

Perhaps if uncovered, it causes Distrust (refer to Dark Magenta Issue 1) or a Nv penalty in his allies? Based on the fluff, it sounds like if he's uncovered it, he's probably gone more than a bit crazy, so it might cause his allies to steer clear...

[Flinty]

Ah, excellent character! Whats wrong with the Inferno pistol - he's an Inquisitor, a reload gives him a total of 6 shots over 10 turns (? if I remember correctly and its a 3 shot, 4 reload) - that doesnt seem overly powerful to me for his only ranged attack.

As for the eye - I like the idea of distrust, a whirling maelstrom staring at you is probably more than a little unsettling, possibly causing fear in the weak willed? I'd imagine it would be perfectly feiasable to rp keeping it covered - he may be teetering on the brink of insanity, but not so far gone he realises that a tainted eye is not something one should flashing about - after all, word gets out....

If he exposes the eye for too long, maybe the peripheral visions of the warp increase his insanity/instability and he becomes more (even more?) irrational in his actions; to the point where he may even act contary to his original motives - i.e from escaping the rabid monodominant to deciding that since it gave him a funny look, all dogs on this planet must be exterminated...starting right now. Possibly difficult to create a rule for, I admit, but possibly colourful

[Brother_Brimstone]

Whats wrong with the Inferno pistol - he's an Inquisitor, a reload gives him a total of 6 shots over 10 turns (? if I remember correctly and its a 3 shot, 4 reload) - that doesnt seem overly powerful to me for his only ranged attack.

Actually, that wasn't quite my point. I wasn't saying that he couldn't get ahold of one or that it made the character overpowered, but look at this fluff-wise. The inferno pistol is a small melta weapon, one that is rather difficult to find (an inquisitor could find one, but fluff seems to indicate it isnt't the sort of thing they just have lying around in armouries waiting for inquisitors to use). What are melta weapons used for? Hitting individual heavily armoured targets (the melta being a weapon designed for melting armour). What does this witch hunter do? He, judging from the fluff piece, takes on large groups of ill-equipped enemies. From a practical view, it isn't worth the effort to find, bring and use an inferno pistol - it would actually be less effective against a large group of peasants than a flamer. A hand flamer can set lots of people on fire, they're ill equipped so have little armour to protect them from the flames, and also, of course to 'burn the witch' is standard practice among zealots - not so much 'microwave the witch' (insert cooking joke here).

On top of which, in the fluff, i get the sense he meant a hand flamer (and the name 'Inferno pistol' can be misleading - inferno implies fire) - note how the character says 'you will burn, you will burn!' in the fluff and not 'you will melt' - if it was an inferno pistol they wouldn't burn; they'd cook, but they wouldn't burn. I wasn't suggesting that if the inquisitor really wanted one he couldn't get it, or that it would unbalance his character, it just seems to make a lot less sense than a hand flamer.

[Metellus]

If he's going against psykers, surely something that can batter down even the strongest mental defences would be more useful than a flamer (I mean, with some psykers, setting them on fire might be saving them a job)? I would imagine that after an encounter with an alpha-level psyker who killed thousands of people around you and lodged a mini-warp rift in your eye you might want to have a bit of extra protection.
That said, hand flamers are incredibly fun, and do make sense if he's decided to restrict himself to lower-grade targets in the aftermath of the alpha psyker's attack. It's your character, so feel free to disregard this, and I'm definitely relishing seeing him in model form.

[Brother_Brimstone]

If you're arguing that case, surely a bullet in the brain takes them out quicker than cooking it? That's the point with meltas, they kill enemies who's armour is too dense to be penetrated by bullets (e.g. space marines). Unless any of these psykers are inexplicably in power armour, it's much easier and cheaper to put a bullet in them, if you're worried about setting them on fire (and let's be honest, this isn't hollywood; it's VERY difficult to concentrate on using a psychic power while horrifically burning). As i say, anything he can do with the inferno pistol, he can do much more easily and cheaply with other weapons, unless he's up against power armour - which seems unlikely.

Besides which, as i keep saying, my original point was not that he shouldn't/couldn't have an inferno pistol, just that it sounds to me like he thought inferno pistol meant hand flamer (although i still maintain that a hand flamer is a better choice for a witch hunter).

[Swarbie]

No, I meant inferno pistol. I am planning to use this rather lovely model for him (the one in the hat, with the sword and inferno pistol): http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1110092&rootCatGameStyle=

Of course, an inferno pistol is rare. It is more of a threat/desperate situation tool, but proves equally useful for burning psykers.

When he says "You will all burn!" he is referring to his companions setting the town on fire and making sure no-one escapes. One of the companions I think will have a somewhat unhealthy fascination with stakes and burning things (kind of like the guy from Terry Pratchett's Carpe Jugulum).

I also think that he would keep his eye covered because: a) It is obviously tainted. He has a reputation to uphold, and being tried as a heretic is likely to damage that reputation.
b) He is afraid of what he can see. He is literally looking through a hole in time and space when he looks through his bionic eye. However useful it is, seeing the light emanating from a person's soul and the dark . . . things hovering like moths around a candle would no doubt be somewhat distressing. 
c) He is unsure of what prolonged use may bring. Part of him is aware that he is slowly becoming more and more irrational, paranoid and violent, and so he has a subtle feeling that all is not right, that he should most definitely be as far away from the bionic as possible. However, seeing as it is impossible to remove, he must content himself with covering it up. If you can't see the monsters, they can't see you . . .   

And finally, you have all given me excellent advice for his rules (again). Being immune to persuasion is somewhat overbearing. I shall edit his rules according to your advice.

[Brother_Brimstone]

I'd always presumed that weapon being held by the chap with the hat and sword was a flamer; i even based the aesthetic of the flamer being held by my preacher murphey model on it (if it's a melta, why does it have flames coming out of the end? Meltas fire microwaves...). Nonetheless, it's your character and entirely up to you how you choose to arm him.

As a suggestion for what you were saying about the eye, how about when he unveils it, he must make a nerve test or be subject to fear, or perhaps lose xd10 nerve, to show he is being terrified by what he is seeing? That might help help balance it in terms of game mechanics. Once again, however, just a suggestion which you can take or leave.

As I say, I like the overall character concept, so i'm sure he'll turn out well either way.

EDIT: by the way, when i say i had always presumed it was a flamer, having looked, i know you're right and it isn't but it's odd it has flames on the end - must be a decoration thing...

[Swarbie]

if it's a melta, why does it have flames coming out of the end?

Dramatic effect? Invisible radiation never really looks as threatening as fire.