Jurisdictions and Ordos

[Dexter Kong]

So I've noticed what I perceive to be an inconsistency in the fluff I've read. It concerns the different Ordos, and who does what.

The Ordo Xenos deals with all alien-related threats. Duh. To me, this means monitoring the movements of Eldar Craftworlds, fighting to contain the growth of Ork populations, rooting out Genestealer cults, dealing and negotiating with Tau, investigating Necron ruins, countering Dark Eldar raids, so on and so forth.

However, I'm also a big fan of the Eisenhorn books. And in them, Eisenhorn, a stated Ordo Xenos inquisitor, begins the first book chasing a heretic, and later investigates a heretical cult, interrogates daemon-worshipers, destroys a host of plague daemons (or something like that, I forget the exact wording) has multiple encounters with a daemonhost, and hunts down Quixos, who had been driven insane by Chaos (the daemon within). During all this time, Eisenhorn never seems to feel like he is overstepping his bounds into the realm of other Inquisitorial Ordos.

So, my question is, what's fair game regarding inter-Ordo business? Can a Ordo Malleus Inquisitor burn out a group of Heretics if a Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor isn't around to do the job himself? If an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor stumbles across an alien plot, can he pursue it to the end, or is he required to alert the Ordo Xenos and have them deal with it? I'm really interested in how this sort of thing is handled, because what I've read has a lot of inconsistencies.

[Chengar Qordath]

So, my question is, what's fair game regarding inter-Ordo business? Can a Ordo Malleus Inquisitor burn out a group of Heretics if a Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor isn't around to do the job himself? If an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor stumbles across an alien plot, can he pursue it to the end, or is he required to alert the Ordo Xenos and have them deal with it? I'm really interested in how this sort of thing is handled, because what I've read has a lot of inconsistencies.

Inquisitors are Inquisitors, regardless of what Ordo they're in; an Inquisitor is not just going to ignore an impending threat to the Imperium just because it's not in his/her area of expertise. Between the vagaries of warp travel, and the massive scale of the Imperium, it can take years for an Inquisitor to arrive in any given location (Think about how long travel times were in the Eisenhorn books, then consider that most of that travel was within just one sector of the Imperium). It is simply not practical to wait for someone else to show up while Chaos worshippers, rogue psykers, or Xeno agents are running rampant. All Inquisitors have jurisdiction over everything.

 

Ordos are groups that specialize in dealing with a particular threat, and have additional knowledge and resources for dealing those threats, but they do not have any sort of exclusive jurisdiciton over dealing with that threat. An Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor who finds out that the suspicious group he was investigating is actually a Genestealer cult is not just going to decide it's not his problem, then sit back and watch as a dozen worlds fall to the Tyrannids before an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor arrives in the area.

 

In short, the Inquisitor with jurisdiction is the Inquisitor that's there.

[Inquisitor =D=]

Very comprehensive answer there Chengar. Theres nothing left for me to say, well done.

[Grand Master Tyrak]

In short, the Inquisitor with jurisdiction is the Inquisitor that's there.

 

Just to add to that (if that's possible :P ), the Inquisition cannot work without universal jurisdiction. Since they have to police themselves, universal jurisdiction must be given to each individual Inquisitor, not to an Ordo.

[stoopicus]

Totally stealing that for my signature.

[Kaled100]

The only thing I can think of to add to the already comprehensive answers is that there are more Ordos than just the three major ones, and that not all Inquisitors will choose to specialise and join an Ordo - they may instead be more active within their faction, cell, cabal or regional conclave.

[Dexter Kong]

I had imagined it was that way, with Inquisitors handling whatever they stumbled across, but actively seeking out what their specific Ordo had designated. I was thrown off when reading about Hector Rex and the Vraks Rebellion, when he apparently got mixed up in some bureaucratic fight between himself and the Ordo Hereticus, who thought that the war was under their jurisdiction.

Thanks for the clarifications.