Updating Imperial Agents- Special Project

[ThePenitentOne]

So the Inquisition rules are now confirmed to be a reprint, and the Custodes Lieutenant leak seems to confirm that Talons will not get a generic SoS HQ who can be fielded without a boyfriend.

 

There's been some talk of special projects in the Liber, and I haven't moved anything forward in the Chronicles of Saint Katherine's Aegis for quite some time- I've been really busy with work and personal stuff lately.

 

But the time is coming, and I'm inspired by others on B&C as always. So I'm going to fix the Inquisition myself. It isn't going to be a huge fix- I've always advocated for small changes that were no brainers. Because GW has locked certain rules in a current form, I feel the best way to achieve my goal is to add things rather than modify what is already there. For example, a small change to the Authority of the Inquisition rule could have allowed Imperial vehicles to be taken in an Inquisition detachment rather than merely allowing Inquisitors to ride in the transports from other detachments. But since it was reprinted as is, that ship has sailed.

 

I can fix this by adding a Warlord Trait that allows an Inquisitor to add Imperial Transports to their <Ordo> detachment. That way, I'm not rewriting the Authority of the Inquisition rule.

 

Additionally, I've lost my hope that White Dwarf will give us Inquisition Kill Team and Crusade rules, so I'll write those too. Again, I'm not going to go huge- the rules that were created on B&C for the Inquisition/ Rogue Traders in KT18 were amazing... But beyond the scope of what I'm looking to create. 

 

It's going to take some thought, and some time. I hope to get suggestions and feedback from the community, and do it up as a decent little PDF for the uploads section of B&C.

 

I'm looking at a potential fix for SoS too, but I'll hold off on that til the Talons dex drops in December.

 

Edit: Changed the title of the thread- the original felt a little critical and aggressive. This feels nicer.

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by ThePenitentOne

[Lord_Ikka]

I love that there are many people with a passion for this unique and somewhat forgotten faction. Unfortunately, I think a full re-write is necessary if the Inquisition is going to be more than just a side show or psychic buff character add-in. 

 

Detachment issues

Issue 1- The Inq have the ability to just take one HQ; you can only take 1 Inquisitor in an Inquisition detachment and there are no other HQs than Inquisitors, which limits the faction immensely. 

Issue 2- Only HQ and Elite slots mean that the only Detachment you can take as Inquisition is a Vanguard,  costs 3 CP and unlike Patrol/Battalion cannot be refunded by having your Warlord in the Detachment. 

Issue 3- The lack of choices for units (3 Elites) means that Inquisition detachments hit the Rule of 3 real quick.

 

Unit Issues

Inquisitor- No power armor/termie armor option, psychic powers are fairly lackluster, and special abilities make it just a buffing character rather than having the ability to really go out and go toe-to-toe with other factions' characters (as they do in the fluff often).

Acolytes- Great variety in weapon choices, but lack any sort of staying power or armor, making them basically an IG special weapons team rather than something interesting (most people seem to gravitate towards multiple storm bolters or meltas in the acolytes to get off a good shot before they are wiped).

Daemonhost- Alright melee but not great against anything other than chaff. With only one model in the unit, they aren't durable enough to get into combat with their standard movement value, even with Character-targeting rules. Special ability is very swingy- movement addition is great, but wounds repair and 3" mortal wound generation are hit and miss whether they are useful.

Weaponsmith- Terrible WS/BS (especially for a creature that creates weapons), low durability, and the buff should be similar to the AdMech's Techpriest Manipulus; no d6 roll to find out what you are doing, just a base upgrade with a larger aura. 

 

Not trying to dissuade you or put a damper on things- I'm really for the Inquisition getting some decent rules and becoming a workable faction (I've got an entire Inquisition Stormtrooper army ready to go when so), I just thing there are too many issues that make the faction unworkable right now.

Edited October 27, 2021 by Lord_Ikka

[ThePenitentOne]

Okay, I've done some thinking on it. So first change is that the Ordo Malleus Terminator Datasheet comes back- it is still compatible with 9th, so that's one minor change that makes an improvement.

 

Next: 

 

Rather than a Warlord trait, I would offer a few upgrades to Inquisitors for additional points/ PL. Unlike standard HQ upgrades, I would make these available to named Inquisitors as well as generic ones, because they don't improve the Inquisitor model- rather they affect who that model can command.

 

Master of the Chamber Militant:

 

If this Inquisitor is included in an Inquisition Vanguard Detachment, that detachment can include any Transport from the Inquisitor's Chamber Militant. If the army includes other detachments, provided those detachments include only units from the Inquisitor's Chamber Militant, the Inquisition Vanguard will not affect the Army composition rules of those Chamber Militant detachments. A Vanguard Detachment that includes this Inquisitor gains the following command benefit: This detachment provides 3 command points. These rules apply even if the Master of the Chamber Militant is not chosen as the warlord of the army.

 

Master of Mobile Infantry:

 

If this Inquisitor is included in an Inquisition Vanguard, that detachment gains the following command benefit: This detachment provides 3 command points. Additionally, this detachment may include any Imperial Transports. These rules apply even if the Master of the Mobile Infantry isn't chosen as the Warlord of the army.

 

Master of Allied Command:

 

If this Inquisitor is fielded with an Inquisition Vanguard detachment, that detachment gains the following command benefit: this detachment provides 3 command points. This detachment may include up to 3 troops choices, as well as accompanying transports from any one Imperial Faction; these units will gain the <Ordo> Keyword. Inquisition units within this detachment may also select transports from the accompanying Imperial faction. Finally, if this army includes other Imperial detachments, provided they are detachments from the accompanying faction, the Inquisition Vanguard will not affect their army composition rules. These rules apply even if the Master of Allied Command is not chosen as the warlord of the army.

 

A note on Master Inquisitors: Unlike most character upgrades, the Master Inquisitor upgrades can be applied to named Inquisitors. A Master Inquisitor does not count against the limit of one Inquisitor per detachment, but only one Master Inquisitor may be taken per detachment. Only one of each Master Inquistor may only be included in an army. 

 

This gives us 3 options:

 

The first option is pure Inquisition + Chamber Militant, essentially allowing you to add an Inquisition Vanguard to an army of its Chamber Militant without spending CP to do it and without breaking the Chamber's Purity rule.

 

The second option allows you to include any combination of Imperial Transports in the detachment, but if used in conjunction with another detachment, won't cost you CP, but it will continue to break that detachment's purity rules. 

 

The final option is similar to the first, except it allows you to work with an Imperial Faction that is NOT your Chamber militant. It will also allow you to confer the <Order> keyword to the units directly under the Inquisitor's command, which can affect other Inquisitor abilities.

 

Just as Master Achons/ Succubi/ Haemonculi unlock favoured retinues, Master Inquisitors will unlock favoured Operatives (buffed up character Acolytes) and favoured Acolytes (units), but only one of each. There will also be a strat for each Master Inquisitor, and maybe a Relic for each as well. But that's another post...  

[Lord_Ikka]

I like it, gets around some of the issues with bringing in an Inquisition detachment. Maybe for the Master of the Chamber Militant include Astra Militarium/Tempestus Scions as the Chamber Militant for Ordos Minoris, just to give them something (not really canon, but gives taking Minoris a unique option and some interesting versatility).