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In terms of fluff, what are the limits for an inquisitorial retinue? I.e. in terms of permanent followers rather than just the epic battle shizz? Could an inquisitor just go and befriend some SM and go "hey come join my cause!" for example, or would that never happen? What are the limits on what one can take in their retinue?

They are limited only by the followers they can attract. Followers of Inquisitors in the fluff have included elderly men suffering debilitating mental disorders, trained assassins, barbarian primitives who practice tribal sorcery, ex-Arbites, children, nulls/blanks, bounty hunters, whores, psykers, and all manner of things in between.

I think it would be very odd for a Space Marine to join a retinue, but each retinue (fluff wise) is supposed to be unique anyway, so I don't see any reason you can't do it. The oddness of it, however, means you would need a damn good backstory (better than just 'hey follow me') for most players to accept it. Still, I could see an individual member of the Deathwatch winding up with an Inquisitor on a semi-permanent basis. Other Chapters, particularly the ones with close ties to the Inquisition, might be willing to loan out a battle brother on an extended arrangement, especially if the Inquisitor tended to do things that jived with the chapter's interests. (Like, say, a chapter of Tyranid fighting specialists might be more inclined to send a battle brother along with an Inquisitor who specialized in rooting out genestealer cults.)

In any event, hope that helps.

I think that their only limits are High Lords and Custodes. Besides that, they can, in theory, conscript anybody.

 Troike wrote:
I think that their only limits are High Lords and Custodes. Besides that, they can, in theory, conscript anybody.

I had images of an Imperator Titan as part of and undercover operation when I read this, searching for traps.

 Jimsolo wrote:
They are limited only by the followers they can attract. Followers of Inquisitors in the fluff have included elderly men suffering debilitating mental disorders, trained assassins, barbarian primitives who practice tribal sorcery, ex-Arbites, children, nulls/blanks, bounty hunters, whores, psykers, and all manner of things in between.

I think it would be very odd for a Space Marine to join a retinue, but each retinue (fluff wise) is supposed to be unique anyway, so I don't see any reason you can't do it. The oddness of it, however, means you would need a damn good backstory (better than just 'hey follow me') for most players to accept it. Still, I could see an individual member of the Deathwatch winding up with an Inquisitor on a semi-permanent basis. Other Chapters, particularly the ones with close ties to the Inquisition, might be willing to loan out a battle brother on an extended arrangement, especially if the Inquisitor tended to do things that jived with the chapter's interests. (Like, say, a chapter of Tyranid fighting specialists might be more inclined to send a battle brother along with an Inquisitor who specialized in rooting out genestealer cults.)

In any event, hope that helps.

Draco in the Inquisition War books has a Marine as part of his retinue. But then he also has a Squat


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also from memory there was at least 1 54mm marine for use with Inquisitor strongly implying that marines can be standard retinue fodder.

 Flinty wrote:

Also from memory there was at least 1 54mm marine for use with Inquisitor strongly implying that marines can be standard retinue fodder.

The 54mm Marine was a Deathwatch Marine (had the DW Pauldron & Special Bolter) so that would make sense for an ordo xenos retinue.

I imagine marines would be very rare as a permanant member of an inquisitional retinue - however its easy to bend the fluff to your will! (chapter owes a great debt to the inquistor - last member of a doomed chapter - marine dishonored himself and chapter and joined inquisitor to redeem themselves etc...)

There was an Inquisitor who once used Xenos as apart of his Retinue, two in fact if I remember from the fluff.

Of course one of them was using them with slave collars that hindered thought function (Believe he was an Ordo Xenos), but still.

They don't have limits save for the high lords of terra, the space marines, and other inquisitors. Their the Emps will made manifest.

The fluff has shown the natural limit is the more you have, the more likely you gain the interest of another Inquisitor.

I had read that one handled an entire "sub-sector" some are more warlike and need entire armies of the IG..

Stealthier ones keep small retinues to avoid notice from their enemy or an at odds faction of the Inquisition.

The high lords of terra give them their powers and they have little hold on marines (other than the death watch or grey knights).

Every action made, the more grandiose it is, will be weighed and measured by his peers and possibly be executed just for keeping too large a profile (or just poor taste).

LordGirrit wrote:
In terms of fluff, what are the limits for an inquisitorial retinue? I.e. in terms of permanent followers rather than just the epic battle shizz?

In theory limitless, but in practice an inquisitor isn't going to drag around more people than he needs for his style of operations. A hands-on investigator might have bodyguards, interrogators and specialists such as sages, spies and the like. An inquisitor who often leads troops might have a few good military specialists that can handle his logistics and command center. One snooping out heretics might add a prosecutor and an executioner.

AFAIK "retinue" in general refers to the inquisitor's closest personal aides and agents, not to any extras he's requisitioned for the current job.

LordGirrit wrote:
In terms of fluff, what are the limits for an inquisitorial retinue? I.e. in terms of permanent followers rather than just the epic battle shizz? Could an inquisitor just go and befriend some SM and go "hey come join my cause!" for example, or would that never happen? What are the limits on what one can take in their retinue?

The Inquisitor can't go up and say. "Hey young Space Marine who never have seen an Inquisitor before, come with me and I would have you on the ride of your life." But I can see a Space Marine getting permanently assigned to the Inquisitor as a bodyguard from reasons ranging from great honor of the chapter, to well it beats executing the Space Marine for a folly he has made. He would of course be induced to the Deathwatch, but that's how I can see it happening.

 Beaviz81 wrote:

LordGirrit wrote:
In terms of fluff, what are the limits for an inquisitorial retinue? I.e. in terms of permanent followers rather than just the epic battle shizz? Could an inquisitor just go and befriend some SM and go "hey come join my cause!" for example, or would that never happen? What are the limits on what one can take in their retinue?

The Inquisitor can't go up and say. "Hey young Space Marine who never have seen an Inquisitor before, come with me and I would have you on the ride of your life." But I can see a Space Marine getting permanently assigned to the Inquisitor as a bodyguard from reasons ranging from great honor of the chapter, to well it beats executing the Space Marine for a folly he has made. He would of course be induced to the Deathwatch, but that's how I can see it happening.

An inquisitor could indeed requisition any troops he sees fit. Also Deathwatch marines answer directly to the Ordos Xenos only in the same way that Grey Knights theoretically report to the Ordos Malleus only and Ordos Hereticus has the Sisters of Battle available. Working for an inquisitor does not automatically mean they are Deathwatch.

Of course not, but I thought the OP meant permanent addition to the squad. An Inquisitor dabbling too long with the same Space Marines from a chapter for no good reason would have said Space Marine chapter getting cranky and the rival Inquisitors would start asking questions as well. I thought long-term, not short-term.

By definition the actions of an inquisitor have a good reason and given the line of work typically referenced for inquisitors it makes total sense to have a marine or 2 available for heavy lifting. The home Chapter(s) might get cranky, but they can't do anything about it really. Alternatively they might see it as an honour to assist the representatives of Him on Earth in their duties. Marines are supposed to be the epitome of minimum numbers providing the biggest value. Where is this better epitomised than in the actions of the Inquisition?

Rival Inquisitors comes to mind. But I see you point. If the Inquisitor is lets say a High Inquisitor he could easily have a few Space Marines in his retinue just to do the heavy lifting as you say it.

They act with the absolute authority of the High Lords of Terra and the Emperor of Mankind himself. They can order any one and anything in the Imperium to do their bidding.

Of course, the Adeptus Astartes, the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Adeptus Custodes and the Navis Nobilite are under no obligation to do as they are ordered - as none are actually truly part of the Imperium. They are allied with it under very old treaties or bonds - but many would assist if asked.

The Inquisition is limited in scope only so far in how far the Eldar convince the other entities to do their bidding as well as the Inquisitor in question.

KAPOW!

Well, if an Inquisitor did take a Space Marine with them, the stealthy approach to dealing with heretics and the like would be out of the question. But yes, an Inquisitor would be able to have one in their travelling party under certain circumstances. For example, if the Space Marine did something to dishonour his Chapter, and would not be welcome amongst his brothers until he regained his honour by fighting alongside the Inquisitor. That, or it could be the other way around. Perhaps the Space Marine earned the honour of becoming a part of Deathwatch, and is tasked with hunting down the Imperium's enemies alongside this Inquisitor.

At the end of the day, Inquisitors can be seen travelling with anyone and as long as it was a pretty convincing backstory, a lot of people wouldn't be too nitpicky with it.

No real limits beyond Custodes. And only a limited number of marines. Like 1 at a time.

There are no real limits beyond what his or her peers will tolerate.

After all an Inquisitor gatehring too much of an army without obvious cause could be becoming a rogue and a danger to the Imperium.

but otherwise whatever and whoevever they can find and/or want.

Marines would join an Inquisitor for many reasons. Stealthy options aren't necessarily out of the question since the marine may simply remain hidden until he's called, like some kind of heavy support.

And marines are more than capable of being stealthy. Especially if he has access to some inquisition tech-goodies.

If you have a Space Marine scout yeah. Powered armour just is a tad noisy which can explain why camouflage ain't that big concern amongst many chapters.

Sure, stock PA.

But then there are plenty of BL stories of marines moving in a stealthy fashion. The Deathwatch in particular almost always deploy in stealth infiltration missions.

Does make the Ravenguard hard to explain though...
I imagine most chapter forgo camouflage for reasons relating to honour and such.
I think it would be hard to hide in power armour if you aren't a marine, the black carapace probably goes a long way to helping control noisy things.

Mind you the Raven Guard is about guerilla tactics, that doesn't mean powered armour doesn't make some noise. I assume like that of a running engine for obvious reasons, and the Raven Guard seem to use a different configuration than most chapters with all those Beakies, mark six is known as very good for reducing noise pollution, and they field plenty of jet-packy Marines, which I can't envision being quiet at all if activated.

The only noise I've ever heard PA described as making is some slight whirring from the servos when it moves. Otherwise it doesn't make a ton of noise. Certainly not like a running engine.

I'm not sure what kind of engines you are thinking about I thought about the noise of f.ex. the fan of a computer. Or maybe a modern car if running at high or being damaged. That's just my opinion.

Wasn't Corvus-pattern PA known for being easier to move in? Perhaps this would be good for stealth?

 Jimsolo wrote:
They are limited only by the followers they can attract. Followers of Inquisitors in the fluff have included elderly men suffering debilitating mental disorders, trained assassins, barbarian primitives who practice tribal sorcery, ex-Arbites, children, nulls/blanks, bounty hunters, whores, psykers, and all manner of things in between.

One Inquisitor even had a Blank whore.