I've always loved the inquisitor range, and thought it about time to get some models, even if they simply gather dust after hours of loving conversions and painting (wouldn't be all that different to a lot of my projects )

I’ve had zero experience of making warbands, so this was essentially letting my mind run riot while scouring the inquisitor models for ideas and after a few different ideas, I think I’m getting near a winner. Second to that, I’ve had zero experience with the game itself, so if anything is obviously flawed, overpowered or whatever do say so, it’s all part of the learning curve.

Fluff wise I’m pretty terrible when it comes to knowledge of the imperium (orks and kroot I’m sorted, the imperium, not so much) so quite a lot of what I write may just be silly and impossible. Clearly the point of me posting is to get ideas so hopefully with some help this can turn into a really cool and characterful warband (which, in the end, is what inquisitor should be all about). And on that note, I haven’t put in stats since different GMs will have different ideas of power level of groups, so I’ve put in what some ideas for where they’d be, but no finite numbers (it doesn’t help that I myself have little idea of what is balanced).

Here’s my group of five, with everything about them I’ve decided or written so far (ie, fluff, skills, weapons, and conversion for the model itself).

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Taken from his parents at birth, the nameless baby was one of countless imperial bourn children taken for experimentation by several scattered research facilities during the years after the Armageddon war, where warriors were scarce and the imperium was eager to develop new soldiers to counter the ever present threat of xenos attacks. Having survived the initial tests, “braig” as he was deemed on his first birthday, the overseers began radical alterations to their subjects. However, during the initial stages of gene seed manipulation, a neighbouring planet was discovered to be host to a huge band of cultists of malal, where a huge daemon gate had just been opened, flooding the nearby planets with demonic taint and followers of the renegade god. The swift response of a nearby company of steel legion, as well as a handful of grey knights to ensure the forgeworld stationed in the sector remained taint free. With the cultists dispersed and the daemon threat suppressed, the research facility was cleansed and the experiments continued.

As years passed, many more of the subjects succumbed to the influence of the experimentation and harsh training regime fit for those who had survived thus far. As Braig turned ten, the hundreds of children that had entered had faltered to a less than a dozen, due to the facility lossing its recruitment drive as the steel legion took charge of the infants in the sector. However, as the numbers dwindled, the influence of malal grew more apparent in the facility. With the decreased attention from the imperial higher ups due to dwindling numbers, the taint affected the overseers unnoticed as they continued their modifications, spreading their new found possession with their subjects. The dozen soon became even less as experiments left both students and overseers spread across laboratory walls, and after a particularly evident disaster, a platoon of guardsmen were called in to investigate, only to find two children left inhabiting the facility, both curled up in a corner, soaked in blood.

After being examined by an inquisitor of the ordeo malleus, the children were deemed a worthy investment of time and the experiments continued, though this time to suppress the daemonic power the kids had inherited. While the experiments showed promise, one of the children, xigbar as he called himself, succumbed to his taint. The inquisitor quickly bound the daemon in his host before fully emerging and removed him from the nearby area in the hopes the last child would not be affected by this influence, but as the daemonhost was removed, both it and Braig, the remaining child, started shrieking in pain until the two were reunited. The only option was to keep the two contained together. With Xigbar slowly but surely losing grip on reality, Braig gained increased stability as the experiments suppressed the possession to its source, a brain implant from the previous facility that had left daemonic taint dormant in his mind, who’s access to the outside world was through Braig’s left eye.

Several more years passed as Braig’s power was left dormant, he was classed a successful experiment, and was trained in typical fighting, as he showed particular promise with a sword, and should he die, he would die a dignified death for the emperor he was born to protect. However, due to his ties to Xigbar, and his reputation as a daemonhost, none of the nearby forces would take him in. With his reputation on the line, the inquisitor requested he be trained to as an inquisitor himself, allowing him to act independently. Given his evident lack of radical thinking, and dedication to the emperor, and his exceptional fighting prowess, the request was passed and Braig was given the inquisitorial cross, but was released months later as his teacher was reassigned to a hive world spreading in a nearby system. Braig, with his “brother” Xigbar chained to his back, was given leave as an inquisitor.

(That’s what I’ve got so far for fluff. I know how I want to incorporate the other three characters, it would just be very helpful to give them names before writing it all. That, and it’s pretty late )

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Inquisitor Braig “The faceless butcher” – right handed

Would have a suitably high weapon skill and initiative, respectably high nerve and strength, average toughness and willpower, slightly low sagacity but very low BS and leadership.

Nerves of steel, possessed

Due to his partial possession (see fluff), he walks the line between human and daemon. After years of experiments and training, Braig has gained moderate control of his powers, and is able to unleash his full potential as an experiment when the situation sees it fit. At the start of any turn, Braig can use one action point to unveil his covered eye and unleash the daemonic power dormant in him. This gives him +1 speed, +5 WS and +10 strength, as well as the following abilities:

Frenzy, lightning reflexes, furious assault, deflect shot, terrifying

Being a mere mortal, the possession takes its toll on Braig’s body, slowly destroying him from within. At the end of every turn he has awakened, Braig takes D3 damage to D3 random locations. Braig can chose to end the possession at the beginning of any turn as a free action by making a successful leadership test to regain control of his body and cover his eye. If this test is failed, Braig continues the possession for another full turn before he can try again. If there are no enemies in Braig’s line of sight, he gets +15 leadership for the purposes of this test only. Also, if Braig becomes temporarily blinded for whatever reason (say, photon grenades or the like), he will regain his senses long enough to cover his eye and suppress the daemon, though this is optional, and must be decided as soon as the cause occurs.

(I’ve never played a proper inquisitor game, so that may need a fair bit of balancing)

Braig carries: power sword with attached exterminator, carapace on his chest, flak everywhere else, hexagrammic wards, counts as-highly advanced bionic brain, counts as-filtration plugs and Xigbar (counts as MIUed familiar)

The model would be a virtually untouched bounty hunter (with hat of course) for the basis. I'd take off the silly skull from his hat and put an inquisitor symbol in its place, and I’d want to do something to the cloak around his legs, possibly extending it all the way round to hide most of his legs, or just decorate the back (removing the equally silly trim the goes around the bottom of the cloak). I’d use the pistol arm with pistol+hand removed and replaced with Gruss’ gloved hand and pistol, but remove most of the pistol itself, leaving just a gloved hand with trigger. A long, thin blade of some form (elder ranger, assassin sisters or the force sword) would be attached to the trigger, and a pair of thinned town flamer heads would be put by the handle of the sword, making a gunblade, just with a flamer instead of revolver.

see here for those who aren't familiar to final fantasy

The left arm would be outstretched to the side, possibly replacing the hand with a more demonic one, such as a 40k tyranid rending claw. He’d be holding up his familiar by a chain attached to the cross (see Xigbar bellow).

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Xigbar, the daemonhost of malal – right handed (stop me now if malal is a no go zone and I’ll change it all to khorne, it isn’t a massively important detail)

Would have very low weapon skill, ballistic skill, initiative and leadership, but would high frighteningly high willpower (I mean frighteningly!) and nerve, along with a high toughness and sagacity (I have no idea about sagacity for a daemonhost).

(for the willpower, he can’t actually do much with it offence wise except lift heavy thing and hurl them at people, so I’d have thought it’d be ok to make it extremely high)

Impervious, regeneration, telekenisis, teleportation

Due to some of his essence being trapped in Braig, the two are connected in thought and soul, much like a familiar is to his master. If Xigbar takes damage, Braig takes residual damage in the same way described for familiars. Also due to this connection, Xigbar cannot survive long if separated with Braig, and hence must stay within 50’ of him at all times (I’m not going to put a penalty here for going outside the limit as this could give GM grand ideas for story telling which I wouldn’t want to ruin) .

Since Xaldin is tied down to a giant cross (subtlety was never the imperium’s way), he can only move normally through telekenisis or by being carried. Having grown accustomed to carrying his own weight for a century, Xigbar counts the differculty of moving himself as 50 (this number will change depending on the decided willpower). Xigbar also has the power to teleport, but doing so would cause his being to be temporarily away from Braig, and hence succumb to instability is lost to the warp. For this reason, the teleport power can only be used if Braig is within 4’ of Xigbar, and will target both of them. The spell’s differculty is increased by 15 (to 35) and receives an extra -1 penalty for each yard teleported for this reason. When the models are replaced, Xigbar is placed in the intended place, and Braig is placed anywhere within 2’ of him.

The model would be cherubael tied down to a large wooden cross, with chains around the back near his arms for Braig to keep hold of him.

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Commisar --- (need names for the next 3) – right handed

Stats are pretty self explanatory for a combat oriented commissar, though with a slightly higher than average leadership.

Leader, force of will, fearsome to guardsmen and Braig, first strike

Laspistol with reload, pump action shotgun with 30 scatter shells, holy power sword, 4x photon grenades, carapace armour for all but the head, average bionic eye

The model is going to be the arbites judge body and head (with typical commissar hat sculpted on), and arms/weapons taken from Eisenhorn. He’d have the judge’s shotgun slung over his right shoulder and would either get Eisenhorn’s pistol holdster somewhere, or failing that I’ll just say he has a pistol under the cloak.

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Colonel --- (all name suggestions most welcome) – “right handed”

Again, the stats would be typical human stats, with emphasis on ballistic skill and nerve rather than physical prowess.

Ambidextrous, gun fighter

2x laspistols with reloads, sword, carapace for all but head, crude bionic legs (both)

The model is Eisenhorn’s body and head (will probably also get a typical guard style hat, because they’re awesome) with Jerico’s two outstretched arms (pointing to each side) with Jerico’s two pistols in hand, face looking directly foreward, slightly at the ground in the menacing walking foreward style that Eisenhorn has. Jerico’s sheathed sword handle would be put in the cloak to represent his combat weapon, and if I can find space Jerico’s pistol holdsters would be put somewhere on the model, but I may have to resort to the “they’re under the cloak” excuse again.

(This guy is fairly dull on the character and rules front, he’s mainly there because I’d have the parts for the model and if it goes like I’m imagining, he’d be a pure awesome model, so some ideas on how to spice him up would be awesome)

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Gun servitor --- - “left “handed”” (double sarcasm)

High BS and toughness, low natural strength (though the mech arm will have its own that’s a bit higher) and weapon skill, but fairly high for all the mental stats

Ambidextrous, rock steady aim, medic

MIU multimelta with laser sight (replaces his right arm), counts as implanted chain axe (left hand), 2x melta bombs, flak armour for all but right arm, refractor field, average bionic left arm, gas mask, mechadendrites

Based heavily on Gruss, slapping a multimelta onto his right shoulder. On his back would be the thorian inquisitor’s backpack with the two quills, and a couple long scrolls, as well as a couple servo skulls holding more scrolls. The mechadendrites would be coming out of this backpack as well (may need extending to accommodate all the arms coming out of it).

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I know it’s a lot of text, but I’d love to know what you think. I’m very open to ideas, as I’d like to make these guys really come alive, and as ever two minds are better than one