Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor

Of all the Imperial factions, the Emperor's holy secret Inquisition fascinates me the most. Few imperial citizens know of its existence, and even fewer survive interrogation or other interactions to spread the word. Those who catch glimpses of it in rumors know that Inquisitors travel the stars and seek out all that would destroy the Emperor's blessed Imperium. They also know these are men and women of great stature, unforgiving methods, and carry authority unchallenged and unquestioned. But what they do not know, is the Inquisition is not a united front. It is rife with different beliefs, methods, and diverging goals. Many are rivals, some are professional friends, but most work alone, handling issues with near absolute power rivaled only by the High Lords of Terra.

One such inquisitor is Lord Tilbin Marius Volwkin the 3rd. An Ordo Hereticus inquisitor with a retinue of specialists. One who hunts the witch, the traitor, and Xanthite inquisitors. Xanthite inquisitors subscribe to a belief that daemons and their implements must be used to fight the ruinous powers instead of destroyed.

I had planned to start a small space hulk themed kill-team campaign (I will discuss kill-team in a later post). My team I was bringing would be an inquisitorial retinue. This is Lord Volkwin's story:

A man shrouded in mystery to his acolytes. He wears a helmet as long as anyone has seen him. Only his first Acolyte, Father Trubald, has actually seen it.

The secret history to Lord Volkwin is he was an Acolyte to his previous inquisitor, Lord Davrus. He was born on Thirrin, a hive world, in what could be best described as a middle class family. Seeking a way out of his station, he joined the Adeptus Arbites. It was in the Arbites that they discovered he had some very minor psychic ability. They trained him to be an Arbitrator Detective, and began assigning him cases to seek out other psykers when needed. While he could manifest no powers himself, his sense of them nearby made him useful. This too caught the attention of an inquisitor who recruited him. This inquisitor was Lord Davrus, an Ordo Malleus and did not have any psychic ability of his own. But this inquisitor was also a Xanthite. He began to use Agent Volkwin as a tool for seeking other psykers who could be controlled. 

Unfortunately this inquisitor’s seeking and meddling got too carried away. He kept trying to push Volkwin’s abilities far beyond what he was ever trained for. With Volkwin and other acolyte psykers in a room where the inquisitor attempted a summoning, a catastrophe erupted. The other psykers began to become hosts for tzeentchian daemons. The Lord Davrus thought that if he could interrupt the summoning at just the right time, he could create daemonhosts while retaining the original hosts minds and control. This did not work out. The daemons completely erupted from the bodies of the other psykers and turned to kill their summoner. These daemons were not completely anchored to reality and needed Volkwin alive long enough for their fellow daemon to get through his mind and complete what was necessary to manifest them completely. Volkwin knew the teachings of the Imperial Creed, and though his inquisitor threw that to the wind, he did not want to be a tool of the ruinous powers. 

He took his bolt pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. Fortunately it missed, only nicking the part of his brain that handled his psychic power. That immediately cut off the connection to the warp as he completely lost his gift, and the daemons disappeared. Volkwin barely made it out alive. His face and head was scarred terribly, leaving traces of daemonic tentacles that fused into his skin. Any who looked upon him would see a daemon trying to get through, even though they were rendered completely inert. 

Inquisitor Davrus’ mentor, a very old and experienced Lord Inquisitor found Volkwin in the aftermath of the experience. This Lord Inquisitor was also rumored to be a Xanthite. He saw Volkwin’s scars and saw much potential from this trial by fire. He knew Volkwin would not trust psykers or Xanthites, but let him free to fulfill his own destiny, and granted him title and authority of Inquisitor.  

Volkwin took up the mantle of his master that day, and vowed to seek out others who would wish to mess with the ruinous powers. Due to the experience he has no tolerance for Xanthite inquisitors, and a severe distrust of psykers. 

He quested alone for quite some time before he met Father Trubald and found a companion. Lord Volkwin rarely interacts personally with his acolytes, preferring Father Trubald to be his voice. When he does speak it is through the synthesized voice of his helm.

As far as game rules go, Lord Volkwin is a standard inquisitor with 2 plasma pistols and power armour (53 points). Why dual wielding plasma pistols? Because he can, and because it's badass. (Look up the gunslinger rule in the rulebook on page 42)

Next entry I will get into the stories of his acolytes. Starting with Father Trubald, the Ministorum Priest.