u/IrishMarksman92

Being busy the past week, I haven't had much time to devote to the hobby and even less time to dig up further Inquisitor/Exterminatus/Dark Magenta articles. I have however been thinking of some items that could add some additional tension/intrigue. Various relics or artifacts of Xenos origin.

Most relics or gear is handled as a passive (during turn you can reroll hits) buff most of the time. What good are 2 warbands fighting over the same artifact/relic if there is no apparent use other than as a plot device?

If my friend and I deploy our warbands and wish to secure the artifact, we do not know the true nature so there would be a natural hesitation to secure it at all with limited information. When the artifact/relic is secure; then what? Well most warbands have some form of identification. If they do not possess an impressive archivum or even an autosavant, perhaps they have to contract or even find a specialist who can assist in classifying the item. This in itself could produce story hooks, the archaeologist could possess their own warband to try and steal the item, or maybe they want to join up and seek more fortunes out in the void.

Either way, however identifying is done for you and your games; what if the effect was so great (but maybe a one-time use) but so were the consequences? Perhaps the artifact is a Reliquary of a Chaos patron, and using it grants you immense fighting power for the current mission, but using it requires a sacrifice to be made? This could absolutely re-establish your warband as Puritan or Radical. This also can play off the Psychology article I wrote last week. This can make your characters more believable and immerse you into a deeper story.

After all, seeking a great treasure (relic in this case possibly!) is a good story in itself. A fragment of us wants to explore the hidden and obscure at some point. Temptation can creep in and tug at the most Puritan of Inquisitors. Rogue Traders? Well they have a Warrant of Trade, so they have a little more leeway with their decisions.

Perhaps artifacts/relics are inert unless progressing a narrative or completing a certain objective? A blessed reliquary of the Emperor might require a pilgrimage to a less-populated world in order to be sanctified once more. Have a Daemonblade? Perhaps it requires Chaos Forging to re-awaken the powers long dormant. These are just made up scenarios but the principles could be used either way.

Have any artifacts/relics that you are proud of (or hesitant)?

I was reading through some issues of Dark Magenta last night for inspiration. Dark Magenta was a fan-made newsletter led by Derek Gillespie; diving into the Inquisitor (2001) setting. An article stuck with me, and it brought up something that I don't think gets illustrated enough (though it does in stories). Psychology.

Psychology and the mind games that could be had. This article written by Ruaridh Dall (Van Helser himself!) illustrates that a warband might stick together because they serve the Emperor, but some might loathe their patron. Not every warband will stick together like comrades and even some will dislike one another due to personality differences or maybe because their Inquisitor is a tyrant and they do not wish to suffer the consequences. This could play an interesting role in games of not only Inquisitor (2001), but anything INQ28 related.

Let's say you have a warband led by a Radical Inquisitor; their retainers, while strong could be a bit wary of their employer. There is a possibility that they can lose their edge in combat over sheer stress and the scenarios that their minds run them through. Dall suggested that in Inquisitor (2001) they could have "-10 Nerve within 'x' yards of their Leader". I thought this was a fantastic idea. Even further in the article, Dall mentioned that these buffs/debuffs didn't have to be permanent as maybe it was a sudden instance this happened, or maybe this grows over time or even improves? Something that makes characters interesting is how "human" they are.

We are all afraid of something, we all have desires and wishes. Why shouldn't our models? (if you wanted to expand on those stories). Next time you are playing through some variation of an INQ28 inspired game, see what that psychology could look like for you. It could even spawn future stories and even plot hooks.

For another example, we could say that you have a Crusader and a Mutant/Twist who do not like each other. The Crusader is a penitent and does not like anything 'impure', whereas the Mutant thinks the Crusader is full of themselves. They avoid helping each other even during combat, that could pose some tension and further story post-combat.

>!Godwyn Fischig is another great example. He did not like some of Eisenhorn's methods and would actively call him out on it even though Eisenhorn was his superior. This created stories (and even shock eventually....you know what I mean).!<

This was a bit of a longer post, but I am going to start publishing Storycrafting ideas to add a little spice to your games! I recently got my hands on the Inquisitor Annual which has a treasure trove of hobby articles within and I have been looking at Dark Magenta for some fan-added flavoring. Does your warband have squabbling members? Does your Leader stress their retinue out? Share your stories!

My sincerest condolences to my Brothers and Sisters of the Inquisition, and to our Rogue Trader allies. Perhaps the only way to keep our fires burning, is to seek and play games YOU like. The rules as written only pertain to matched play and competitive scenes. I am unsure of the populace, but I play this army for "rule of cool" and for narrative spice.

I could go against the grain here and say to not play 40k and find a game system where your warbands and squads can shine like they are SUPPOSED to. I highly doubt GW will fix or have an errata regarding our predicament. Let your dice do cool things and tell stories. Most I have read on here create lore for their armies and I think that is the core of building an army.

Don't let that die, and have them take part in battles elsewhere with a different game engine.