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Hi

I’m trying to write documents for my SM Chapter and I want official style records but I’m not sure on what kind of jargon and stamps to use to create an authentic feel. Can anyone help please

Thanks

What sort of documents?

From the Inquisition and Adeptus Terra mainly please

What do you mean by "documents"? Fluff has never bothered to include mundane stuff (requisition forms, etc.) and usually dossiers/incident reports/etc. are random fragments used as background to artwork.

I'd try to get your hands on codexes from the 3rd and 4th edtions. They usually had snippets of this stuff in the background and fluff paragraphs that you could use for inspiration. Also, if I recall, you might try reading the Eisenhorn series from Black Library. I seem to remember there being several inquisitorial documents described in those. Hope that helps...

 brushcommando wrote:
I'd try to get your hands on codexes from the 3rd and 4th edtions. They usually had snippets of this stuff in the background and fluff paragraphs that you could use for inspiration. Also, if I recall, you might try reading the Eisenhorn series from Black Library. I seem to remember there being several inquisitorial documents described in those. Hope that helps...

Yeah, the Eisenhorn books all start up with a data retrieval process thing, with a whole bunch of numbers and codes. I did a PowerPoint for a Psychology project in school in which we had to choose fictional characters. I chose Eisenhorn. Since I didn’t have to present and the instructor viewed these on her own, I feel the “Thank you, Inquisitor” bit must have made it feel more personal and cool.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I haven’t looked into the Eisenhorn books yet but I remembered I had a copy of Imperial Armor: The Badab War and there are some good pieces in there to take from

This should probably be in background but whatever.
Here's a link to a thread I started a while back about imperial correspondence. There's a few useful thoughts in it....
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/676135.page

Azkallean wrote:
Thanks for all the help everyone. I haven’t looked into the Eisenhorn books yet but I remembered I had a copy of Imperial Armor: The Badab War and there are some good pieces in there to take from

Imperial Armour 13 has a fair few examples of inquisitorial correspondence.

If you're going for offical documents, use fairly formal language,avoid excessive, if any, contractions (use can not instead of can't for example)

Another good "official" (I suppose it's arguable whether or not these are still official but at the time they were definitely GW sanctioned) source are the in-universe documents that came with the Fantasy Flight RPGs, specifically Black Crusade and Deathwatch.

Unfortunately below is the best image of the Writ of Execution (from Black Crusade) I was able to find online with a quick search:


And here is the Deathwatch Apocryphon Oath:

*spoilered for size

Almost the entirety of the Imperial Armor book concerning the Tyranids (I think it's IA 4?) Anphelion Project is all documents by the ordos xenos or inquisition. Either reports on what happened or reports on their studies of the tyranids.

Even the tyranid data sheets or lore entries are all written in a style that resembles ordos xenos reports.

Fantastic, thanks everyone for all your help

The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer is a Warhammer 40,000 background book by Matt Ralphs. It takes the form of an in-universe Imperial text that is supposedly possessed by all members of the Imperial Guard as part of their standard-issue equipment. Cover-to-cover, the only thing (apart from its very existence in your hands) marking it out as not an actual Imperial object is the Black Library publishing and copyright information printed on the second page - just underneath the Imperial copyright and publishing information.
Contents

1 Background Information
2 Contents
2.1 Preamble
2.2 Chapter 1rinciples and Regulations
2.3 Chapter 2:Issued Arms, Attire, Apparatus & Equipment
2.4 Chapter 3:Imperial Guard Organisation, Structure & Basic Battlefield Policy
2.5 Chapter 4:Imperial Guard Armour & Tank Recognition-Affiliated and Enemy Variants
2.6 Chapter 5:Know Your Foe
2.7 Chapter 6:Elementary Battlefield Medical Instruction
2.8 The Benedictions of the Emperor, Inspiration Source and Uplifting Creeds
3 See also
4 Sources



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Sorry additional info....

Contents

The actual book is hard cover, denim-bound with gold/bronze leaf lettering on the cover. The pages containing prayers and litanies at the back of the book are printed on pink paper while the majority of the book is printed in black on cream. It is liberally illustrated with diagrams, forms[i], tables and devotional pictures.

As it is written in-universe, the actual tone of the book trends towards the blackly humorous rather than the informative, as it is basically a list of the various unfortunate ways an Imperial Guardsman can die (most of them at the hands of the Commissariat), wildly inaccurate information about various Xenos species a Guardsman may encounter, and prayers, litanies and thoughts for the day (the latter written at the bottom of every page). Even the fieldcraft and maintenance sections of the book prioritise entertainment for the reader over a more 'realistic' dry and informative format.