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So here's what I'm planning on doing. For my GK army, I was going to build an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor in terminator armor, and I wanted to set him apart from a regular terminator, and yet still didn't want him to look like a regular terminator. As a result, I gave him the deathwatch shoulderpad from the SM Terminator kit due to it having the ][ on it. Then I thought, "You know, why not just make him a Deathwatch marine that was recruited. Yeah, that sounds cool and might give him some sense of background."

Then I started thinking about it, and I wondered if OM would recruit from Deathwatch. It seems more Ordo Xenos style, but at the same time, as Lexicanum states, recruitment is varied and comes from many different places. Do you think he would still wear the Deathwatch colors, or would he adapt a more traditional black and red scheme? While trying to exercise creativity, I want to stay away from breaking established canon. Does this sound fluffy? Does it sound especially unfluffy? What do you think?

It dosen't sound right to me. I don't think a SM can become an inquisitor, but I think the general rule is what ever the inquisition wants it gets.

According to the Deathwatch RPG it is indeed possible. Making that character anything other than a loathsome Mary Sue will be more difficult.

Heh, according to FFG's RPG the Deathwatch isn't even part of the Inquisition anymore. Those books take quite a few liberties when it comes to their characters.

That said, the general idea may still be sound. Certainly non-standard (see the marysue-remark), but not impossible. Wasn't one of the first Inquisitors a Marine as well or am I remembering that incorrectly?

I thought they were, but that could be my memory playing tricks. I also thought that at the end of the GK Omnibus, it was implied that the OM took Alaric for Inquisitive type things, though I suppose they might not have actually made him an Inquisitor.

If we're talking about fluff - the OM would not recruit from Deathwatch not because DW is supposedly an agency of Ordo Xenos, but because they would not really recruit a Marine.

Movement between Inquisitors themselves is not prohibited, though, and it is possible to switch Ordos. Also, Ordo Hereticus and Ordo Malleus works with the Deathwatch as well.

However, you can have a DW Librarian Marine being a "Counts as" inquisitor, with the story being that a seasoned veteran Librarian joined a contingent of Grey Knights after/in-the-middle of a campaign. As each DW member is a veteran with decades of experience, I don't see why your guy couldn not be treated as a HQ choice/important person, especially if your force would be fighting Xenos. Grey Knights might be proud, but I guess they'd heed the council of a brother seasoned in various fights against Xenos. That's waht I'd do.

It's kinda backwards, the Deathwatch recruits from SM Chapters. Largely from the Ultramarines because they are skilled against Tyranids. I don't think you could pull from the GK though.

Lynata wrote:Heh, according to FFG's RPG the Deathwatch isn't even part of the Inquisition anymore.

Really, so what are they now then?

Pilau Rice wrote: Really, so what are they now then?

Their own Chapter (still drawing recruits from other Chapters though) allied with the Ordo Xenos, but no longer subservient to the Inquisition's authority. I guess the writers thought that this increased level of autonomy would swing better with the players, and the majority of fans did like it.

In FFG's RPG, they have considerably grown in size (in that every single sector now has a DW presence) and now have their own fortresses as well as fleets of "Kill-Ships" - small unmanned vessels that do not require a Navigator for warp jumps, have the ability to sneak past a system's defences undetected by means of archaeotech cloaking devices, and routinely carry Exterminatus to destroy entire planets. Yeeeeaaaaahhh.

English Assassin wrote:According to the Deathwatch RPG it is indeed possible. Making that character anything other than a loathsome Mary Sue will be more difficult.

I hate to say it daedalus, but I agree with this. Wholeheartedly. You absolutely can do it. But should you? Magic Eight Ball says 'Signs Point To No.'

I like the idea of a Deathwatch Marine working with the Ordo Malleus, but to make him an actual inquisitor just gives him far too many degrees from Badass University. Now, maybe if you had some reason he could no longer be a Space Marine? Some kind of Ravenor-esque crippling disfigurement that made him unsuitable as a warrior, but still valued for his mind? Then maybe you could balance out the Badass effect a little bit and still have a workable concept.

I'm trying to be funny, but seriously, I like your idea, I just think it needs some refinement.

The Inquisition has no oversight. They can literally do anything they feel like it and only other Inquisitors can stop them. If one of them wanted to make a Space Marine an Inquisitor, it would happen. If one of them wanted to make their dog an Inquisitor, that would happen too.

One bark means food, two barks means EXTERMINATUS!

Jimsolo wrote:

English Assassin wrote:According to the Deathwatch RPG it is indeed possible. Making that character anything other than a loathsome Mary Sue will be more difficult.

I hate to say it daedalus, but I agree with this. Wholeheartedly. You absolutely can do it. But should you? Magic Eight Ball says 'Signs Point To No.'

I like the idea of a Deathwatch Marine working with the Ordo Malleus, but to make him an actual inquisitor just gives him far too many degrees from Badass University. Now, maybe if you had some reason he could no longer be a Space Marine? Some kind of Ravenor-esque crippling disfigurement that made him unsuitable as a warrior, but still valued for his mind? Then maybe you could balance out the Badass effect a little bit and still have a workable concept.

I'm trying to be funny, but seriously, I like your idea, I just think it needs some refinement.

I really like that. To be fair, I was going to work on it a bit more. I just wanted to see if my initial premise was way off mark. I agree that "hey, look at me, I kicked ass as a marine, now I kick ass as an inquisitor" is kind of monodimensional.

I think he's probably going to be just a regular man then unless I can find some suitably grimdark reason for him to not be 'space marine'-ing anymore. Part of the problem is that space marines are such Mary Sue's themselves that there's not much you can do to them that doesn't leave them dead. I mean, can they even get sick? If they get hurt, I imagine it's just healed/fixed with bionics by the chapter. I can't see anything you can do to them that provides lasting effect shy of corruption or some horrible thing that leaves them unfit for ANY duty.