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Right, this is the first time I've ever tried to do a 40k blog, but I wanted something to keep track of an army I'm trying to put together at the moment, and to get some input from other hobbyists on where to go with the background, look and composition of the army.
The army will be based around the Ordo Sepulturum of the Inquisition, one of the Ordos Minoris. In the fluff its stated to be one of the smallest orders, but it in my opinion it is by far the coolest for one simple reason - IT WAS PUT TOGETHER TO HUNT ZOMBIES. IN SPACE. SPACE ZOMBIE HUNTERS.
I first encountered idea whilst reading the Thorian Sourcebook for the Inquisitor game system, which I'll put here so other people can have a read :
THE ORDO SEPULTURUM
One of the smallest and most specialised organisations within
the Inquisition, the Ordo Sepulturum operates around the Eye of
Terror and is dedicated to investigating a specific threat - the
Zombie Plague.
Although occurrences of Plague Zombies have been recorded
across the Imperium for many millennia, it is in the wake of the
Plague Fleets of the Chaos Champion Typhus that they have
grown in number to the point where they present a threat to the
Imperium in their own right.
Before Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade, the incidence of Zombie
Plague around the Cadian system dramatically increased. This
was noticed by several agents of the Inquisition who were soon
in communication, and within a few years several more Thorians,
most notably Inquisitor Aghastri, were investigating the Zombie
Plague and the Ordo Sepulturum was formed.
As a combination of both a Chaos infection as well as a physical
malaise, the Zombie Plague has always been on the agenda for
Thorians to study, but its unpredictable nature and sporadic
occurrences meant that it took luck or a tremendous amount of
patience to capture Plague Zombies for investigation. With the
advent of the Eye of Terror-related epidemic, Inquisitors that had
previously been thwarted in their missions to achieve specimens
were suddenly confronted with a plethora of test subjects.
The Zombie Plague physically degenerates those it infects - and
infection can occur in many ways, including psychically - but
maintains a portion of the life essence of the victim even after
physical death occurs. The parallels between the Zombie Plague
and the operation of the Golden Throne have not been
overlooked.
The increased study of the Zombie Plague has lead many
Thorians believe that in its unaltered form it may well provide
several clues to the nature of the Emperor's life-indeath, but all
forms of the 'faith virus' so far examined have undergone
mutation. That the Plague Zombies still possess a Warp-reflection
has been confirmed not only by psychic investigation but also by
the fact that several psykers have been able to control these
creatures - psychic manipulation is normally only possible
through the Warp-ego of a creature. The possibility that the
Plague Zambie infection is an offshoot of Golden Thron
technologies is not widely supported and the common theory is
that it was spawned by Dark Mechanicus within the Eye of Terror.
Much more rare is the Obliterator virus, which again is a Chaosborn contagion that combines elements of physical corruption
with mental disruption. Allowing the psychic manipulation of
technology, the Obliterator virus allows for humans to interact
and meld with machinery, not only on the physical plane but also
on the psychic and spiritual level. In combination with what has
been gleaned from Eldar technology, the existence of the
Obliterator virus lends hope to the idea that an augmented
Divine Vessel could be artificially created, should a noncorruptible version of the virus ever be developed.
As far as background is concerned, I was thinking of going with a radical Sepulturum inquisitor who recruits warriors who have survived the Zombie Plague in the past, creating a private army of specialised Zombie Hunters. Similarly, his own personal retinue would include magos-biologis and officio medicae officers dedicated to the study and quarantine of the outbreaks, as well as warriors infected with forms of the obliterator virus in morally-questionable experiments.
As to their appearance, an illustration in the Thorian Sourcebook seems like the perfect direction to go in :
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