Radical Thought

[Snejk]

I'm not upto date with the new GK codex so I might be way off before I even get started. But, in the old Daemonhunters codex there is a passage describing radical inquisitors using daemonic and chaos artifacts to obtain their goals. What if some ultra radical inquisitor went one step further and began cooperating with a small chaos warband in order to defeat a larger common enemy? And finds the deal so sweet he or she permanently attaches the warband to his retinue and in the end is declared heretic by the rest of the Inquisition.

 

I imagine a radical Inquisitor could make use or be used by an Alpha Legion warband or maybe a Malal worshiping CSMs. If nothing else it could make up for some interesting conversions and painting projects.

 

Any thoughts on this? Doable or just plain crap?

[Clewz]

I could see getting made use of such as inquistor drago in the space marine game but I can't see them allying them selves willingly with the great enemy

[Lysimachus]

I think there are probably limits, I can't see any Inquisitor (who hasn't already gone off the deep end, anyway) knowingly allying himself with one of the traitor Legions*. A smaller renegade warband/Chapter that isn't blatantly and obviously worshipping Chaos, however? That might work.

 

 

*although, if you wanted to go with the AL, he could be working with them without actually knowing that's who he's working with.

[Snejk]

I could see getting made use of such as inquistor drago in the space marine game but I can't see them allying them selves willingly with the great enemy

 

 

I haven't played the Space Marine game, so I can't say. But I figured something in the lines of a radical inquisitor who's judgement is so clouded by the use of daemonhosts, alien artifacts etc, etc, that he might be thinking "Just this once, for the greater good.". But unfortunately, as Strike Captain says he's now so far off in the deep end of the pool there is no way back. And who knows, maybe he ends up becoming some sort of weirdo Chaos champion, with Tzeentch smiling and rubbing his hands/wings somewhere deep in the warp.

[Snejk]

I think there are probably limits, I can't see any Inquisitor (who hasn't already gone off the deep end, anyway) knowingly allying himself with one of the traitor Legions*. A smaller renegade warband/Chapter that isn't blatantly and obviously worshipping Chaos, however? That might work.

 

 

*although, if you wanted to go with the AL, he could be working with them without actually knowing that's who he's working with.

 

Alpha Legion could of course work. Those bad boys were my first thought since such a thing feels like something they could try to pull off, and maybe even slowly corrupt the inquisitor into turning him/her against the emperor. Being a radical his judgement could be clouded and partly corrupt after dacades and centuries of using alien and chaotic artifacts. Who knows, a friendly push could be all it takes to sway the poor soul in the right direction, giving his new allies deep knowledge of the inquisition.

 

I see a whole new HQ-unit forming up for my Alpha Legion warband... *Snicker snicker...*

[Blood Angel Scout]

There was a short story in one of the recent Hammer and Bolter releases that describes the AL's designs on the Inquisition

[Snejk]

There was a short story in one of the recent Hammer and Bolter releases that describes the AL's designs on the Inquisition

 

I have to look into that. It sounds promicing.

[darth_giles]

I think there are probably limits, I can't see any Inquisitor (who hasn't already gone off the deep end, anyway) knowingly allying himself with one of the traitor Legions*. A smaller renegade warband/Chapter that isn't blatantly and obviously worshipping Chaos, however? That might work.

 

 

*although, if you wanted to go with the AL, he could be working with them without actually knowing that's who he's working with.

I could see a Horusian (sp?) Inquisitor doing it to try and produce der ubermensch. But that's the only one.

[Lord_Caerolion]

Yeah, Horusian and Phaenonites are really the only factions willing to break the One Rule, and both of those factions are Inquisitors only so long as they keep their beliefs hidden. To become known as a Phaenonite (or as a Horusian, if I remember correctly), is punishable by Excommunication, and a painful, burning death. To everybody else, Chaos is something to be fought, not something to fight alongside. Some might use its weapons against it, but even using a daemonweapon is basically grounds for Excommunication right there, unless you have very, very powerful friends. Fighting alongside the Arch-Heretics is inexscusable.

[Snejk]

Yeah, Horusian and Phaenonites are really the only factions willing to break the One Rule, and both of those factions are Inquisitors only so long as they keep their beliefs hidden. To become known as a Phaenonite (or as a Horusian, if I remember correctly), is punishable by Excommunication, and a painful, burning death. To everybody else, Chaos is something to be fought, not something to fight alongside. Some might use its weapons against it, but even using a daemonweapon is basically grounds for Excommunication right there, unless you have very, very powerful friends. Fighting alongside the Arch-Heretics is inexscusable.

 

Master inquisitor Xhanthus used various kinds of daemon weapons and alien tech frequently, was excommunicated, hunted down and put to death by fellow inquisitors, so no it is not risk free of course not. But enough inquisitors thing that he did the right thing so that there is still use of such devices. And i imagine useing such stuff slowly corrupts the user, want it or not. So by time, if the radical isnt burnt on a stake by former colleagues it could be possible för him to go completely rouge, working with a renegade warband. He'd of course be hunted like a rabid dog by other inquisitors when the news get out.

 

But that raises the question would any warband or legion ally themselves with such a high risk partner? Even if it ment getting access to wargear and knowledge privvy only to a very small number of people with the empire? would the risk stop a chaos lord from doing anything but rip the inquisitor apart and move away?

[Iron Lord]

In The Radical's Handbook- it mentions that even the more radical Xanthites regard the Horusians with suspicion.

 

However this may not extend to the "kill on sight" policy that they have with Phaenonites.

 

In the short story Unthinking Justice, in the Into The Maelstrom collection, the Inquisitor at the end is shown to have an Alpha Legion tattoo.

 

And I believe Inquisitor Defay went over to Chaos in the Defay comics.

[Inquisitor Fox]

Fluffwise entirely possible. Ruleswise, you'd have to do it in Apocalypse or have cool friends ^_^

 

Remember Inquisitors are individuals, one of the only organizations in the Imperium that Likes thought, asking questions, more "modern" scientific reasoning and knowledge. There are as many viewpoints within the Inquisition as there are Inquisitors after all. These are grouped into larger "schools of thought" but even within each philosophy or group are individual variations.

 

Since they are individuals, and we also know that Chaos can corrupt any individual given enough time or effort (with exceptions for things like Sensai, etc) it stands to logic that obviously it's possible for Chaos to corrupt an Inquisitor. The bigger questions are things like was (s)he corrupt before or after joining the Inquisition, which style of corruption, goals/methods, how long can they hide being corrupted from the rest of the Imperium, etc.

 

Personally, if someone were to tell me "Hey, I have this awesome Chaos warband and I'd like to use the Inquisitor profile from Codex: Grey Knights to represent a heretical Inquisitor allied with Chaos" I'd be jumping up and down and grabbing my Inquisition/Grey Knight army faster than I could say "Bring it on, heretical scum!" :) It's very plausible, gives lots of modeling potential, and would just plain be awesomesauce as far as I'm concerned.

 

I just wish they still had more of a Lost & the Damned lists other than the stuff from Vraks... otherwise how do you fit your traiter guard in there too? :)

[Excessus]

Wasen't inquisitor Kravin in league with Alpha Legion?

[Snejk]

Fluffwise entirely possible. Ruleswise, you'd have to do it in Apocalypse or have cool friends :)

 

A good thing I have a cool friend with an Apocalypse sized gaming board. :huh:

 

I would so get my hiney kicked by the loyalists but i'd still field my Alpha Legion and their corrupted ally.

Just to show no mortal man is untouchable. Besides i think the Inquisitor models look awesome.

[minigun762]

I think its easier to argue for cooperation between renegade marines instead of the original traitors.

[Yogi]

I think you could also get away with it with the Istvaanians.. They think horrible conflict strengthens the imperium.. could work well with alpha legion.

[Lord_Caerolion]

Just as again, don't expect the Imperium to tolerate them for any longer after they're discovered. An extremist Istvaanian could decide that a Chaos warband is exactly what the area needs to help it though, yes.

[Snejk]

Just as again, don't expect the Imperium to tolerate them for any longer after they're discovered. An extremist Istvaanian could decide that a Chaos warband is exactly what the area needs to help it though, yes.

 

Ohh i'm not, i'm not. Since people get banned as heretics for far less i imagine this is just the sort of stunt that sends several inquisitors after the poor sap. And makes for a good game or two. Perhaps even a small campaign.

[Lord_Caerolion]

Ah, cool. For some reason I had it in my head that you were looking for reasons why a loyal Inquisitor would have renegades in his retinue, and still be kinda accepted. If you're going for traitor-Inquisitors though, there's definitely lots of paths you can go. If you want more information on this, I strongly recommend getting a look at the Radicals Handbook, for Dark Heresy. Everything you could want for information on the semi-heretical (or even full-blown, as the case may be) guys! Lots of plots and plans that could cause an Inquisitor to look in all the wrong places for help, lots of extra philosophies, like the above-mentioned Phaenonites (who believe in harnessing Chaos through technology, so have lots of items with daemons bound inside them, and amazing warp-tech), or the Oblationists (a Monodominant sect that's gone kamikaze, basically, believing that the only way to destroy Chaos is to use Chaos, but that Chaos irredeemably damns everyone that it touches. Hence, the "Sin-Eaters", who vow to go out in a blaze of glory, swear their souls to the Emperor, and then pick up daemon-weapons, inscribe their skin with sorcery, and try to take out as many of the enemy as they can before Chaos eventually manages to corrupt them).

[Snejk]

Ah, cool. For some reason I had it in my head that you were looking for reasons why a loyal Inquisitor would have renegades in his retinue, and still be kinda accepted. If you're going for traitor-Inquisitors though, there's definitely lots of paths you can go. If you want more information on this, I strongly recommend getting a look at the Radicals Handbook, for Dark Heresy. Everything you could want for information on the semi-heretical (or even full-blown, as the case may be) guys! Lots of plots and plans that could cause an Inquisitor to look in all the wrong places for help, lots of extra philosophies, like the above-mentioned Phaenonites (who believe in harnessing Chaos through technology, so have lots of items with daemons bound inside them, and amazing warp-tech), or the Oblationists (a Monodominant sect that's gone kamikaze, basically, believing that the only way to destroy Chaos is to use Chaos, but that Chaos irredeemably damns everyone that it touches. Hence, the "Sin-Eaters", who vow to go out in a blaze of glory, swear their souls to the Emperor, and then pick up daemon-weapons, inscribe their skin with sorcery, and try to take out as many of the enemy as they can before Chaos eventually manages to corrupt them).

 

 

I'll look into the radicals handbook.

 

My initial thought was a radical inquisitor corrupted so badly by the use of daemonhosts and other daemonic tools that his judgement is so clouded that he actually thinks that it's ok to use actual renegades/traitors to fight the enemies of the Emperor. Or maybe he's just a dumb s*** believeing that the guys in blue with hydras on their shoulderpads are the good guys...

 

The renegades themselves would probably hesitate at first but realize that there might be at least a shortsighted win situation (gaining new equipment, knowledge, help defeating a rival warband or what ever their agenda might be. And possibly a long term win if the Inquisitor is swayed into believing that the Emperor is in fact the great enemy. Or maybe they just let their precious Dreadnaught rip him apart once their mission objectives are met.

 

However I make no illusions what sso ever that any other imperial agent would say anything but "Inquisitor Ness! I don't approve of your methods!" Before setting out to destroy the arc heretic.

[Lord_Caerolion]

Well, if you want the good old "use Chaos to fight Chaos, and got corrupted" theme, you're pretty much looking for a Xanthite. They're the most general philosophy of using Chaos to fight it, and have had a good few fall to Chaos over the millenia (they're also the most devoted to hunting fallen Inquisitors down though, one of the reasons the philosophy as a whole manages to stay within the bounds of tolerance).

[Bearingtheword]

Well fluffwise, iirc, there was an inquisitor aligned with the Word Bearers in the Blood Angels trilogy who turned out to be fully corrupted and was more than happy to work alongside and utilize a Chaos Legion/Warband to further his ends (or the ends of the Tzeentchian daemon he was beholden to at least). So it's not to much of a stretch in terms of fluff. In game mechanics that's a bit of another story unless, as mentioned before, you're playing chaos or have really cool, flexible friends....

 

Personally, I say it's a game based on using your imagination. Do what you want and have fun with it ;)

 

~BtW

 

If primarchs can be corrupted, what chance do mere humans have against the power of chaos?!?

[Lord_Caerolion]

If primarchs can be corrupted, what chance do mere humans have against the power of chaos?!?

 

It depends, is Matt Ward writing their book? ;)

[Hyaenidae]

*snip*

...or the Oblationists (a Monodominant sect that's gone kamikaze, basically, believing that the only way to destroy Chaos is to use Chaos, but that Chaos irredeemably damns everyone that it touches. Hence, the "Sin-Eaters", who vow to go out in a blaze of glory, swear their souls to the Emperor, and then pick up daemon-weapons, inscribe their skin with sorcery, and try to take out as many of the enemy as they can before Chaos eventually manages to corrupt them).

 

:)

Whoa. I need to pick up that book, that sounds friggin' awesome.

 

Dang it, Caerolion, I really can't financially start another army, why do you tempt me so...? :tu:

[Lord_Caerolion]

Ahh, another convert to the true path of the Radical... my job here is done! It is an awesome book though. You can find a cheap copy online from the FFG store, either ordering it or buying a download. Pretty much anybody with an interest in the Radical aspects of the Inquisition should pick it up. Another faction they created that I particularly like is the Libricar, a sub-faction of the Amalathians that are so extremist in their views they've been deemed Radical. Basically, in their eyes, any change whatsoever is heretical, even allowing the change to occur is damning in their view. Crazy, crazy people.