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I was doing some writing and I need a bit of help.
1) Are craft like thunderbolts Valkyries, and Vultures space-worthy? They don't really look like they can survive re-entry, but how else would they get into a battle on a different planet?
2) Would a ship have a navigator and a backup navigator in case the first one gets a case of the exploding head?
3) Can astroptaths communicate while inside the warp, and is it them that can see the "shifting tides of the empyrean" or just the navigators?
4) Is it likely that an Inquisitor would command their own ship, or would they simply call a nearby fleet and "borrow" a few ships for a campaign?
Any help would be great, thanks!

1) Those you pointed out aren't, but large gunships such as the thunderhawk are.
2) I'm assuming a big ship would, the smaller ones wont, also any psyker should in theory be able to navigate a ship through the warp, however at the cost of life, sanity and only for a limited amout of time (seconds-minutes)
3) They can and yes they are psyker, therefor they posses the witch-sight and can see inside the warp.
4) They can have their own ship, but most prefer to "borrow", rogue traders being on the top of the list as their ships are state of the art and pack quite a punch.

1) Thunderbolts are space worthy. They are the primary space fighters the Imperium has.

2) Yes, they will always have multiple backup navigators.

3) Just navigators can "see" the warp but Astropaths can still sense the shifting in the tides and communicate.

4) Yes, no, maybe so? Some Inquisitors will have their own ship, others will hire one for a period of time, and others will requisition ships as needed.

1)I'm fairly certain that the thunderbolts are, as are lightnings. I don't know about surviving re-entry, but there's a few novels out there depicting them as flying in space as fighter screens for cruisers and such.

I think Valks, Ven's, and Vultures are transported down to the surface and then take off from there. IIRC, they are classified as skimmers.

2)If it was a large ship like a frigate or cruiser, then definitely. If it was a smaller craft on a recon mission, possibly. Generally though, small craft are sent out with at least one other wingman, so if one did die, there would be another navigator in the other vessel.

3)I'm fairly certain that they can, barring any major warp storms or distortions.

4)Inquisitors certainly have the authority to command their own ship, but will most likely just request/demand one from a nearby battlegroup (if they need one for fighting) or demand free passage on a commercial transport (if they simply need a ride).

Hope this helps.

Alright, so that's questions 2,3,and 4 pretty much answered, thanks.

Yeah, the apocalypse book says that marauders work in space, and that thunderhawks and stormravens have the heat shield special rule bcuase they can survive re-entry, but there isn't any of that for thurnderbolts.

And for the other ones, they would just ride a bulk lander down to the surface and get unloaded from there then right?

It would depend lots on how low the ship would go. It seems like the Dicator-class can go very low as it's specialized for that duty and can send Valkyries and such forth.

They are slowly changing the IN to more of the heavy Fury-class Interceptors that all carry Navigators and Astorpaths.

Alright, a low orbit / atmospheric deployment would make sense. Thanks!

Grey Templar wrote:1) Thunderbolts are space worthy. They are the primary space fighters the Imperium has.

2) Yes, they will always have multiple backup navigators.

3) Just navigators can "see" the warp but Astropaths can still sense the shifting in the tides and communicate.

4) Yes, no, maybe so? Some Inquisitors will have their own ship, others will hire one for a period of time, and others will requisition ships as needed.

Actually the Fury Interceptor is the primary Imperial starfighter. The Thunderbolt is really only used for low-orbital combat or in the atmosphere.

Imperial Navy lacks swift Star Wars-style starfighters. The Fury/Starhawk Bomber are both fairly large craft. Their doctrine is based around capital ships and broadside firepower.