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Abhumans (that is, genetic mutations caused by environment and pollution, as opposed to mutations caused by Chaos) are sometimes allowed to live as an underclass. As above, anything from discrimination to slavery to extermination campaigns.

If you're going to be doing an army of Imperial mutants, I'd expect them to be the ultimate expendable force, even more than your usual run of Guardsmen. Put them in waves between the enemy and your real troops and hope the mass of bodies slows the advance.

I'd also figure that Imperial commanders, of whatever stripe, aren't going to like or trust the mutants. Tanks are different regiments from the infantry units, and I don't imagine the bosses will be keen on idea of mutants behind vehicle armor or with access to ordinance weapons, so I'd keep the tank crews human.

Actually, I'd probably go pure human with most all of the officers and command structure. Like the British Empire's colonial regiments, the self-declared "superior" race keeps hold of the officer ranks, under the assumption that they're the only ones equipped to command. Also, no Carapace Armor or other defensive upgrades--these guys aren't supposed to survive. Penal Legion would make sense, and don't skip on the Commissars. Have to keep the twists in line, after all.

Brotheralexos wrote:@Kroothawk, You'll have to make that larger so I can read it, it looks interesting.

@ Electric Paladin, I like the take on the imperium being a number of kingdoms that are allied. I might just use that.

@ Oakenshield, which Eisenhorn book is that? I hear references to that all the time, but none have said wchich book specifically.

I'm currently toying around with the idea of an entire army of mutants, so I'll be asking about a lot of stuff. Hopefully I can re-name the thread, and try to enlarge the conversation from simple Q&A to something more energetic.

First things first, I have read a lot of background on the Inquisition, but I feel I'm still missing a lot. Do all the Inquisitors get training on how to identify Chaotic activity? Do Inquisitors pick which branch they end up in (Like, Xenos, Hereticus, and Malleus, not the smaller sub-factions)?

I am thinking about actually doing this thing, and I need some opinions on the following: I don't know what codex to use for these guys, and I was thinking that to tie in with the background I should use the GK Inquisition list. I need to know if you can still combine the Inquisition and Imperial guard like in the Witch Hunters old codex? I want an Inquisitorial aspect to the army, but still need the Horde advantage. I have some story in the works to explain how I want this to feel, and I'll probably have that uploaded sometime tommorrow. I want to be able to discuss everything from Transport to Armoured backup here, so any and all ideas are welcome.

Thanks in advance,
Alexos

There is no problem with as many mutants in your inquisitorial army as you want. The fluff has inquisitors as a loosely governed body where individual inquisitors are very autonomous and their discretion decides what is heretical. Mutant retinues may not fit the puritan ethos, but they're a hell of a lot less radical then using Daemonhosts. Unfortunately with the GK codex your unit size will be capped at 12 dudes, and unless you take Coteaz they are not a troop choice and you'll be forced to take marines to fill the FOC/add scoring units.

IG penal legions are probably the perfect fit though.

If you are planninng to field an Inquisition army full of mutants, you may have to bend yourself into a fluff pretzel to justify it. An Imperial Guard regiment with mutants in it would be a lot easier to explain (run them as counts-as conscripts or penal squads, make liberal use of commissars and ministorum priests, etc). From what I've read (the old Inquisition game, the BL RPG, some 40K codex fluff...) individual inquisitors may make use of individual mutants, if the mutant has a useful skill and is not too badly mutated. More radically mutated people would only find use in the retinue of a fairly radical Inquisitor, because of the direct correlation the Imperium places on physical appearance and spiritual purity (mutation without = corruption within). A heavily mutated individual is in league with the Ruinous Powers BECAUSE they are mutated, not in addition to being mutated.

Now, some Inquisitors might justify using mutants as meat shields, because "why should decent humans die when mutants will do the job fine?"... Except for the idea that it is humanity's duty to suffer in the name of the Emperor and to do his work. Dying in service to the Emperor is the higest honor a person can achieve in life. Why would you bestow that honor on filthy mutants? Isn't that an insult to the Emperor? (This is one way Inquisition wars get started)

An Inquisitor who organizes a large number of mutants and arms them, even if he intends to use them as cannon fodder, will come under the suspicion of his fellow Inquisitors, who may fear he has gone Radical (or Fallen) and is preparing to foment rebellion. Such an Inquisitor may get purged before he haas a chance to use his mutant army.

It is important to note that Abhumans (Ogryns, Ratlings, and yes, Squats) aren't TECHNICALLY considered mutants. They are a "stable" mutation, which means two Ratling parents will produce a Ratling child, and not a human, Ogryn, or Squat child. Abhumans are considered second-class citizens, and treated poorly by human standards, but usually get better treatment than full-on mutants. It is worth noting that on their own planets (where Abhumans make up the bulk of the population) they are regarded much better, and probably don't see any institutional prejudice (the occasional bigotted human notwithstanding).

Beastmen used to be considered Abhumans (back in 1st edition) but had been relegated to the ranks of Chaos by 2nd Edition (with a brief re-appearance in the IoM during a 4th Edition White Dwarf article). I'm working on an IG army that incorporates Beastmen Abhumans (counts as penal squad) so I've done some looking into the subject.

As a modelling suggestion, you might want to use a mixture of Catachan and Beastmen plastics to make your mutants. I suggest using Catachan bodies with Ungor heads and/or arms (the Ungors are smaller than regular Beastmen and fit the IG plastic bodies better in most cases). If you have purity seals leftover from SM sprues, those are a great way to show that the Ecclesiarchy has given that particular band of mutants the OK to die for the Emperor.

Also, I don't know what plasma stacks would look like, but any terrain based on one should probably utilise blue LEDs.

Thanks guys, I've really been thinking over what I want to be able to do with this army, and I am really struggling with how I'm going to make this work. A number of different ideas assail me at the moment, and I am trying to stay on track. So far, I've come up with some ideas for a new direction with this piece, which I'll post here Opinions are welcome:

Using the GK inquisitor list, I could make an army based around a Facilitator of chaos. In the Eisenhorn books, they seem to have the same amount of vast resources that Inquisitors themselves use.

An army from a planet of mutants. These dregs of society are given crap weapons, unreliable vehicles, and little ammunition, but have a strong belief in the Emperor that makes them useful. They are deployed to worlds where Imperial Rule has collapsed, and cannot be reinforced by the regular armies of the 41st millenium. Basically a 'Fire and forget' army.

.....Or I give up and do Eldar......

That, and I have one question about inquisitors. Is their power armour the same as the Astarte's? I can't imagine them being able to handle that without augmentation.

Brotheralexos wrote:

That, and I have one question about inquisitors. Is their power armour the same as the Astarte's? I can't imagine them being able to handle that without augmentation.

Regular humans like inquisitors and battle sisters have a different type of power armor. You can find a description of it on lexicanum under battle sisters.



If you're not particularly interested in making them loyalist mutants, one of the chaos 'dexes that should be coming out in the next few months is supposed to bring back cultists, which is a perfect fit for an army of mutants.

Yeah, I heard about that. I don't know if it's true, though. I'll probably just have to wait and see.