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Melissia wrote:You might, but she was also a combat veteran. I mean, you HAVE to be to survive in Dark Heresy-- you try playing an Adept from 0 XP to the last rank of Ascension and having her actually survive with most of her limbs intact...

It's a lot harder than it sounds, even for Dark Heresy. Adepts have the lowest wound count of any DH character...

Ha, that reminds me of one of my Dark Heresy things. I was playing an Arbites,and event after event transpired, and 5 gun servitors came through an opening about 30 meters away. Me and the Adept were the only combat effective ones in just 2 rounds, and by then I took 5 Heavy Stubber Rounds and barely made it out. Only 2 critical damage to the arm


AND that was extremely off-topic. I'm pretty sure that an Astartes could not be an Inquisitor, and if he could, he probably wouldn't accept. I, and please correct me, am pretty sure Astartes want to stay with their chapters.

Melissia wrote:

DEUS VULT wrote:yes, and astartes pull the trigger of Exterminatus

Most of the time, no.

K, sunshine.
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Exterminatus

Lexicanum isn't good for details...
Maybe for overview but for specifics it isn't as much.

purplefood wrote:Lexicanum isn't good for details...
Maybe for overview but for specifics it isn't as much.

Yeah, I know. But Im lazy right now and its stated throughout the fluff... INq gives the orders, Space Marines drop the exterminatus. Couldnt well trust the Imperial Navy with planet killing hardware could we?

Well...
We could and we do...
The Imperial Navy is just as capable of performing an exterminatus as the Astartes.

purplefood wrote:Well...
We could and we do...
The Imperial Navy is just as capable of performing an exterminatus as the Astartes.

Hey maybe I'm wrong. Please point me to some fluff and Ill reconsider my situation.
"we"?

DEUS VULT wrote:

purplefood wrote:Well...
We could and we do...
The Imperial Navy is just as capable of performing an exterminatus as the Astartes.

Hey maybe I'm wrong. Please point me to some fluff and Ill reconsider my situation.
"we"?

We as in the way you used we.
Let me go see if i can find something...

Why? What difference does it make? Astartes, Imperial Navy, and Inquistion all can and do destroy worlds. Turns out it's pretty easy to do. Doesn't mean anything one way or the other.

That's a fair point...

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Why? What difference does it make? Astartes, Imperial Navy, and Inquistion all can and do destroy worlds. Turns out it's pretty easy to do. Doesn't mean anything one way or the other.

Do you mind? were picking nits here!
Gotta have my lunch. Shoot....

It seems like we finally agree that it's possible, but very unlikely for many different reasons.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Why? What difference does it make?

Because Astartes don't have the authority to proclaim exterminatus upon Imperial worlds. That's far too much power, and the Imperium doesn't trust Astartes with that much power after the Horus Heresy.

Melissia wrote:

DEUS VULT wrote:yes, and astartes pull the trigger of Exterminatus

Most of the time, no.

Very true... in fact the Inquisition and Chapters have gotten in titanic fits over the =][= over using Exterminatus (in SM eyes). To my memory in GW fluff we've had three times in which Chapter Masters or Captains have fought to avoid Exterminatus... its been so bitter the =][= wiped out the Celestial Lions due to their complaints on Exterminatus miss use.

However, none of the nay sayers have explained the offer the =][= made to Alaric... seemed pretty clear to me that they were offering him the chance to leave the Grey Knights and join the Inquisition (don't think I'm reading that into the Grey Knight series, its pretty straight forward).

Just because you've joind the Inquisition as an organization doesn't mean you've become a full blown inquisitor.

Melissia wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Why? What difference does it make?

Because Astartes don't have the authority to proclaim exterminatus upon Imperial worlds. That's far too much power, and the Imperium doesn't trust Astartes with that much power after the Horus Heresy.

Cyclonic, planetkilling, torpedoes are standard issue on Space Marine Vessels. They do use them on their own. Does The Inquisition destroy the most worlds? Yes, but that's hardly something to be proud of.

And yet, they still don't actually have the authority to use them, except MAYBE on their own planets. Even then it's unlikely, as the Blood Ravens called the Inquisition to perform exterminatus on their planets, not doing it themselves.

Both times, I should note.

Authority schmority.

I've got these bombs. I'ma drop 'em!

Kanluwen wrote:Authority schmority.

I've got these bombs. I'ma drop 'em!

Pretty much.

"Sir, looks like we got one of those warp rifts of doom that'll destroy the galaxy in 10 minutes again"

"Emperor's Teeth! I hate those things! Well we got to fill out the form to apply, to petition, to request, to communicate with the local Inquisitorial conclave guys. Y'know form DF3534FWF-Y1354. Should take about 4-6 weeks - I mean years."

"Yeah, let's just blow up the Planet"

"Yes sir".

Melissia wrote:That's because they aren't. They never were. In fact, Space Marines are more a danger to humanity than a boon.

Quoted for emphasis. The Emperor and his mutated progeny are the worst tragedy ever to befall not only humanity, but the galaxy as a whole.

I know that Marines can become attached to Inquisitorial retinues.

In Kill Team, there's a lone marine who's kept as a secret from the rest of the team until he's needed. But at the end of that I think he was on about leaving (can't be arsed to check the book, even though it's five feet from me), so perhaps he was on a one-man crusade and the Inquisitor simply saw his usefulness and persuaded him to join them for a time, rather than the marine being an 'official' part of the team.

I remain unconvinced, however, as to whether a Marine can actually progress through the Inquisitorial ranks. Or even join them in an official capacity. It would be nice fluff, very characterful, but I think with the ridiculous bureaucracy of the Imperium it's unlikely to happen.

Werent the original Inquisitors space marines who escaped on the Eisenhorn or something? (been a while since I read it)

But that was just after the horus heresy either began or ended (again been awhile)

The average astartes are warriors, bred for war and combat in all its forms, not for covert operations or petty murders. So agree with Kanluwen that Dark Angels or Raven Guard would make better Inquisitors because of their personality.

But saying that, Dark angels would have their own objectives, and are already used too snooping around covering up stuff.

Deathwatch are the fist of Ordo Xenos. Inqusitor points at something, they destroy it, SOB are bible bashing corpse worshippers who would be blind to anything but the Imperial 'truth'. Grey Knights would be the smartest out of the lot, but wouldnt have the patience to be an Inquisitor


So you would have to find a particularly smart, patient
Marine, but this would be rare in the astratus.
(Im not saying they are stupid, just specialized in their thinking, ie they are bred for war in all its forms)

It is possible, rules wise, to make an inquisitor a marine. You can give them artificer armour. I have not seen their rules, so i'm not sure whether they are str 4, ws 4, bs 4, et ceterer. So if you want an SM commander rules wise you are almost sorted. But I seem to remember that they banned allies between imperial dxs on 5th ed. I don't even think that they ever allowed it.

If the reason you want an inquisitor is backgroundwise, your screwed. But inquisitors are sometimes basically Astartes. They are sometimes genetically augmented to the size that of a marine, so they can wear ornate artificer power armour, or terminator armour, depending on their style.

If you have a copy of C: Witch Hunters, you can still have Inquisitor allies, but they are nowhere near Space Marines.

Anyway, there is no fluff or precedent for Space Marine Inquisitors (with the possible exception of Grey Knights as evidenced by Alaric, although even that is not clear), as an Inquisitor is supposed to be able to integrate himself in society to do his job. A Space Marine will stick out like a sore thumb

But hey, it's your army and the fluff behind it can be whatever you want. I've seen an army concept flying around this forum that was basically "a warpstorm happens, and my 14-yo self is teleported from algebra class into the 40K universe, where I become a Chapter Master and kick ass".

Toastedandy wrote:SOB are bible bashing corpse worshippers who would be blind to anything but the Imperial 'truth'.

THAT certainly isn't true. The various orders of the Adepta Sororitas are very much capable of independent, intelligent military thought.

It'd be impossible for them to have forces of veterans of hundreds if not thousands of battles and wars otherwise. Many of them probably have better tactical acumen than the average general.

At least if Gaunt's Ghosts is to be believed, but frankly I think Abnett is a bit overdoing that aspect of the Sabbat Crusade, given that the other books don't have it anywhere near as bleak.

Melissia wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Why? What difference does it make?

Because Astartes don't have the authority to proclaim exterminatus upon Imperial worlds. That's far too much power, and the Imperium doesn't trust Astartes with that much power after the Horus Heresy.

I'm pretty sure there are cases of the Astartes doing just that when they've determined the world is beyond saving.

Probably the best example I can think of is the battle of Sondheim V that's referenced in the Tyranid codex and expanded on in the GK codex. The Sky Sentinels chapter saw that the world was caught in a battle between Tyranids and a major Daemonic incursion and decided to go with Exterminatus as the planet was beyond saving.

nobody wrote:I'm pretty sure there are cases of the Astartes doing just that when they've determined the world is beyond saving.

Just because someone DOES something doesn't mean they have the authority to.

The Space Marines carry themselves as separate from the Imperium. Fine, but that also means they have no legal authority over the Imperium's worlds, only what bare charisma and reputation allows.

The Inquisition is not impressed by either.

Melissia wrote:

nobody wrote:I'm pretty sure there are cases of the Astartes doing just that when they've determined the world is beyond saving.

Just because someone DOES something doesn't mean they have the authority to.

Considering the Grey Knights only asked them to hold off until they could go down and retrieve an artifact, I'd say the fact that they didn't face any repercussions (beyond the standard "you saw chaos, MINDWIPE!") is pretty telling.

It just means that they got away with it because it was justified.

Marines have a lot of plot armor like that.

Out of curiosity, what is the source on your statement that Astartes cannot declare exterminatus?

nobody wrote:Out of curiosity, what is the source on your statement that Astartes cannot declare exterminatus?

What source do you have to say that they have the authority to put to death billions upon billions of people and irrevocably remove the resources of an entire planet from the Imperial arsenal without Inquisitorial review?

Even an Inquisitor can be punished for declaring exterminatus. Astartes are far, far less than an Inquisitor.