The Line

[SoulReaver296]

I understand that each ordo has a specialty and deals with certain threats (within, without, and beyond, i believe). But, where do you draw the line? when does a job for the Hereticus become one for the Malleus? A cult would normally be taken care of the WitchHunters, but what about a cult either trying to summon a daemon, or simply worship one? what about a case such as with the sautheri(?) from "Xenos"? when does a rouge psycher change from menace to gateway for daemons? etc.

 

Further, what instances are there of Ordos working together (including their chamber militants)?

[jeffersonian000]

There isn't a line. There have been instances in the fluff where one or more Inquisitors from different branches were found to be working the same problem from different sides, usually causing problems for each other. Inquisitors tend to work in cell-like organizational structure, which prevents inter/intra-Ordo communication.

 

SJ

[Secondwind]

I dont think there is a hard and fast rule of where they can step only.

 

Inquisitors are pretty much a big fat grey area. My personal expectation is that if a branch of the inquisition engaged its non-specialist foe it would telling the relevant organisation of whats happening (so if needed they can come support) and still fight if it had a chance of stopping it.

 

A traitor can be supporting anything - daemon cult, chaos, tau, genestealer cult, seperatist movement, etc.

The inquisition deal with them all, but its about the initial information that the inquisition gets on them that will decide on the inquisitor sent or even if its just the proximity by an inquisitor to investigate.

 

Regarding chamber militants working together, just like the back of the codex's it lists reasons on why they would fight X opponent, all you need is to make a plausable reason they they are together.

All inquisitiors can requisition forces and I doubt sisters of battle would complain much if they were requisitioned to aid grey knights kill a daemon or a ordos xenos: deathwatch kill team sent in to aid sisters of battle after the rogue PDF forces actually were supporting a genestealer cult.

[jakehunter52]

Lines? What are....lines? The Inquisition does not know of these....lines. And they must be purged. Because they are heresy. And that is all that matters, regardless of their origins. -_-

[SoulReaver296]

so its not a case of "oh, these heretics are really just part of a genestealer cult, lets just contain till the OX gets here", but more like "oh, these heretics are really just part of a genestealer cult... requisition more flamers and tell the OX about this in case there are more on other planets"

[Kaled100]

As the others have said, there are no set lines about what Inquisitors belonging to each Ordo can investigate (if there were, what would those Inquisitors who chose not to join an Ordo be left to investigate?). An Ordo is more like a club that has resources an Inquisitor can borrow than a department of the Inquisition; it indicates an Inquisitors chosen speciality and the Inquisitor joins to share information and resources with others who are combatting the same foe. So for example, if Inquisitor Isenberg believed that the Tau were the greatest threat to humanity, he might petition to join the Ordo Xenos to gain access to it's libraries, facilities, military forces and of course the Deathwatch. However, if he was say investigating a suspected 'stealer cult which in fact turned out to be a chaos cult, he'd still try to deal with it as best he could. If it was too much for him to handle with the forces he could requisition (either locally or from his Ordo), he could contact an Ordo Malleus fortress or a member of the Ordo and hope that they were able to send aid. It's unlikely he'd be able to requisition Grey Knights directly (although they might respond if the threat was big and obvious enough), so normally an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor would pick up the case and in turn s/he would requisition the Grey Knights.

 

The inquisition deal with them all, but its about the initial information that the inquisition gets on them that will decide on the inquisitor sent or even if its just the proximity by an inquisitor to investigate.

Inquisitors aren't 'sent' by the Inquisition, they choose what to investigate rather than being ordered around. The Inquisition is only very loosly organised, mainly along the lines of sector Conclaves and Ordos - even then, there are Inquisitors who have as little to do with either as possible prefering to work alone. It certainly doesn't have a formal hierarchy such as you'd find in the military. Of course, an Inquisitor Lord (who has reached that position by virtue of his reputation and influence) may request another Inquisitor to do something, and he may even frame that request as an order, but technically he has no more authority than any other Inquisitor so the Inquisitor could just stick two fingers up at the Lord and go do his own thing instead. Of course, that would probably be a bad idea as the Lord will have a lot of friends and will have more influence over the deployment of Inquisitorial/Ordo resources and the Inquisitor may find that his requests for aid go unanswered (or in extreme cases, the Lord may take is 'disobedience' as evidence of heresy and have a carta taken out against him). The Inquisitor may choose to submit to the Lords authority in the hope of increasing his standing within the Conclave/Ordo, thereby winning more political power for himself.

[Inquisitor =D=]

The line cannot be crossed. That's it. Its simply too vast to cross.

And yeah if a Hereticus =][= encounters a genestealer cult she/he will get some more flamers a few good sisters and purge all and call the Ordo Xenos to get a real specialist to clean up the peices or continue the investigation should it be warranted.

Or lets say a Xenos =][= finds that the smuggling ring he was persuing is dealing in rogue psykers, they will of course inform the Ordo Hereticus and continue the investigation.

 

And Yes there has been many many instances where multiple =][=s have had to work together. I sight the case of Gregor Eisenhorn, though I will not go into details as I love that book and want EVERYONE to read it for themselves. ;) But yes if you have read the book than you know what I mean. Its the very first book, very first investigation, very first mutilation.

 

=]D[=

[Kaled100]

Or lets say a Xenos =][= finds that the smuggling ring he was persuing is dealing in rogue psykers, they will of course inform the Ordo Hereticus and continue the investigation.

Why would he necessarily inform the Ordo Hereticus? I don't see any need for that as the Hereticus does not have a monopoly on investigations involving rogue psykers. There is no need for an Inquisitor who comes across a threat that is not his speciality to inform the Ordo that does specialise in that threat. He could do if he felt that he was not able to deal with the threat himself, but equally if he felt that it was within his abilities, then he could do the job himself. Of course he might choose to inform someone in the Ordo Hereticus out of courtesy, or he might have friends or contacts in the Ordo to whom he'd pass the information. However, Inquisitors are well known for not following rules - so even if informing the Ordo was considered the proper way of doing things, it's likely that a lot of Inquisitors wouldn't bother. After all, an Inquisitor is supposed to announce his presence to the Inquisitor Lord who oversees the regional conclave for the area of space in which he's operating, but it's said that many Inquisitors do not bother with this formality (unless they want the support of the Inquisitor Lord - then they would have to).

 

I think the mistake a lot of people make is in concluding that the Inquisition is made up of Ordos, which in turn are made up of Inquisitors - in other words, that the Ordos are a formal, integral part of the Inquisition. In fact, the Inquisition itself is made up of Inquisitors and the Ordos are just one of many groupings of Inquisitors - albeit one that by long tradition have become sort of semi-formal. The Inquisition is an organisation where every member is granted equal authority by the Emperor, so although there is no formal hierarchy, there is an informal one based on respect, influence and political power, and positions such as Inquisitor Lord are just a formalisation of this. In other words, an Inquisitor Lord is higher up the pecking order because he is highly respected and influential (and that respect and influence has been recognised by a title), not because he has more actual authority - people listen to him and do what he says because he is a trusted and respected peer, not because he is their commander. Even the Inquisitorial Representative has no more authority than a newly promoted Inquisitor; what he does have is far more influence and respect among his peers - enough to have firstly been chosen as an Inquisitor Lord, and then secondly to be chosen from amongst the ranks of Inquisitor Lords to speak for the Inquisition at the Senatorum Imperialis.

 

The Ordos are slightly different; they are semi-formal organisations made up of Inquisitors who have grouped together to share resources and information to enable them to better combat their chosen foe. The most influential Inquisitor within the Ordo, usually an Inquisitor Lord (and sometimes given the title Master) is able to exercise a measure of control over other members of the Ordo, because a) it is he who has the most control over the resources of the Ordo, and b ) anyone joining the Ordo is likely to have made an oath to submit to his authority. Any member of the Ordo Xenos can requisition the Deathwatch, but they are only likely to respond to known members in good standing - in other cases, the Deathwatch are likely to ask the Master of the Ordo Xenos (or some other senior member) for approval before they deploy. In some cases the organisation of the Ordo may be even more formal - the Ordo Malleus is described as having a rigid formal hierarchy overseen by a council of masters (although it is noted as being the only part of the Inquisition to have such a formal hierarchy).

 

If it helps, think of an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor (for example) as belonging to two organisations - the Inquisition and the Ordo Malleus (of course membership of the latter is only available to members of the former). As a member of the Inquisition he is granted abolute authority by the Emperor and stands among other Inquisitors as an equal. As a member of the Ordo Malleus, he is part of a far more formal organisation and has superiors, but in return he is given access to specialised resources that enable him to better hunt down and destroy the daemonic. Of course, as a member of the Inquisition there is nothing to stop him prosecuting investigations against rogue psykers, aliens, rogue assassins, zombie plagues or any of the other myriad threats that beset the Imperium, but as a member of the Ordo Malleus he is better able to deal with the daemonic and will no doubt focus his work on those areas.

 

An Inquisitor who choses not to join an Ordo still has the absolute authority granted to him as an Inquisitor, but he will only have acess to those resources he can requisition for himself and not to the more specialised resources of the Ordos. (Of course, there are plenty of other Inquisitorial groupings other than the Ordos such as cell, cabals, conclaves, factions etc, and membership of these may also bring with it access to resources not normally available to non-members.)

 

Phew, that turned into something of an essay didn't it - sorry!