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I think I'd like to use this as a recurring character and looking for help making some nice fluff / background for her.

I wanted to run an inquisitor to buff conscripts with Power through Knowledge. While they were there I decided to put on a power maul to deliver a few good hits as needed. Playing around futher I decided to throw on a condemnor bolt gun as well. Found a mini that I figured I could mod all this nonsense out of (work in progress minus maul below). Then I went crazy and made her an Alpha Class Psyker with an Inquisitorial Mandate

Inquisitor Scarlet Bellata:
Ordo Malleus (reroll hit and wound rolls on DEMON/CHAOS)
Psyker(1 psychic power, 1 cast, 1 deny), Alpha-Class Psyker (know +1 psychic power, +1 deny)
Stratagem: Inquisitorial Mandate (+Warlord Trait: Malleus - Psychic Mastery (+1 known psychic power, +1 cast, +1 deny), +Relic: Blackshroud (-1 wound))
Powers (2 cast, 3 deny, 3 powers known):
-Malleus - Power Through Knowledge (Give 1 imperium infanty unit's models +5 invlun save)
-2) Psychic Fortitude (One friendly imperium unit auto passes morale)
-6) Castigation (D3 mortal wounds vs a unit with lowest leadership less than 3d6)
Gear: Condemnor Boltgun (extra damage vs. psykers), Power maul
Battlefield Role: Keep blobs of conscripts on the objectives, counter-psyker, direct damage when needed

So with the condemnor and the outfit she seems to look more like Ordo Hereticus, but I aim to run as malleus for the buff. Fluff says condemnor is almost exclusively used by Hereticus, but in 40k anything is possible. Any thoughts for fluff on how one might end up with an inquisitor like this?

If she were an alpha psyker she wouldn’t carry weapons, partly because she reshapes reality as casually as breathing and a gun that has to be aimed, loaded, etc wouldn’t ever be useful. The main reason is that alpha psykers are physically and mentally unstable such that they have trouble perceiving reality correctly and reality becomes unstable around them, they accidentally turn their friends and families into trees without even noticing it and then everyone left in alive in a 100 mile radius becomes part of a chorus of voices each one representing a different part of the alpha’s psyche.

Or something like that. Have you ever seen the anime Akira? Where he turns into a mass of protoplasm that envelopes the city? That. If the inquisition interacts with them it’s to sedate them and put them in a dungeon until they can be used to power some kind of weapon or ritual in highly controlled circumstances.

Thanks, so while for table top alpha may be fine, it does sound like it would be pretty broken for the fluff. So at best she's a gamma or delta then, or would the threshold for bothering with weapons be even lower?

pelicaniforce wrote:
If she were an alpha psyker she wouldn’t carry weapons, partly because she reshapes reality as casually as breathing and a gun that has to be aimed, loaded, etc wouldn’t ever be useful. The main reason is that alpha psykers are physically and mentally unstable such that they have trouble perceiving reality correctly and reality becomes unstable around them, they accidentally turn their friends and families into trees without even noticing it and then everyone left in alive in a 100 mile radius becomes part of a chorus of voices each one representing a different part of the alpha’s psyche.

Or something like that. Have you ever seen the anime Akira? Where he turns into a mass of protoplasm that envelopes the city? That. If the inquisition interacts with them it’s to sedate them and put them in a dungeon until they can be used to power some kind of weapon or ritual in highly controlled circumstances.

An alpha level psyker might carry a gun if she comes into contact with a situation where she's cut off from the warp. Also, if she works with Malleus or Hereticus, she would undoubtedly be encountering opponents who could counter her abilities. A Lord of Change, for example, would be at least as powerful as her.

So it sounds like fluff revolving around her being a highly taltented member of Ordo Malleus, with a specialty in deamon hunting. Having faced the evil tricks of chaos and it's ability to cut off and distort the effects of the warp around them, she has learned to rely not only on her excpetional psychic skills, but has trained to be equally efficient with physical weapons for cases where her powers are either suppressed or the circumstnaces to dangerous to rely on.

 ArcaneHorror wrote:

pelicaniforce wrote:
If she were an alpha psyker she wouldn’t carry weapons, partly because she reshapes reality as casually as breathing and a gun that has to be aimed, loaded, etc wouldn’t ever be useful. The main reason is that alpha psykers are physically and mentally unstable such that they have trouble perceiving reality correctly and reality becomes unstable around them, they accidentally turn their friends and families into trees without even noticing it and then everyone left in alive in a 100 mile radius becomes part of a chorus of voices each one representing a different part of the alpha’s psyche.

Or something like that. Have you ever seen the anime Akira? Where he turns into a mass of protoplasm that envelopes the city? That. If the inquisition interacts with them it’s to sedate them and put them in a dungeon until they can be used to power some kind of weapon or ritual in highly controlled circumstances.

An alpha level psyker might carry a gun if she comes into contact with a situation where she's cut off from the warp. Also, if she works with Malleus or Hereticus, she would undoubtedly be encountering opponents who could counter her abilities. A Lord of Change, for example, would be at least as powerful as her.

Pretty sure that any force capable of shutting an Alpha level psyker from the warp isn't going to give two hoots about whatever piddly pea-shooter it has to hand. Oh, the Shadow in the Warp cut you off from your powers? Do you think that Hive Fleet of a gagillion Tyranid vessels is going to care about your Hot-shot Laspistol?

Also, cutting off a psyker of that power from the warp in any case is probably going to cause their psyche to break in a matter of moments regardless.

Whilst I agree narratively (given the description of alpha-level payers in books like Malleus and Faith and Fire), in game 'alpha-class psyker' is a one command point "cast an extra power" stratagem.

The Ravenir series shows off psyker mastery levels - with a competent Inquisitor psyker described as high delta/low gamma.

Ravenor is Gamma isn’t he? And he can possess people from orbit (albeit with some assistance from Eldar runes).

Gamma is probably about right for a really good inquisitorial psyker.

Even a Beta is terrifyingly powerful - let alone an Alpha or Alpha+!

Great feedback guys. While I may use the Alpha class strategem on the table, I for the fluff I'll keep the exact level "High" but vague. This obfuscation should be true to form for Inquisition anyway, particularly given the suspicion that goes with higher powered psykers.

Next thoughts: She's being modeled with a Sister's condemnor bolt gun, A grey knights power maul, a guard canteen, and a random grenade. My thinking is this would not be too far fetched for an inquisitor with a mandate since I imagine few would resist much when such an Inquisitor says "give me that" . Is that a fair assumption? Also, given Ordo Malleus is so closely associated with grey knights, the grey knights maul is a good fit maybe? Anything too improbable?



Automatically Appended Next Post:
I think I've answered my own question with the melee weapon as I actually have a Thunder Hammer.
Malleus is all about the Thunder Hammer though so I think I'm good, though it puts me in mind to magnetize for when I want to save the points and run a Power Maul instead. Once againn, I don't imagine the condemnor from the sister's kit would draw too many questions even though it is more iconic for Hereticus. Thanks again for the inputs. Always interest if anyone spots anything else to add.

locarno24 wrote:
Whilst I agree narratively (given the description of alpha-level payers in books like Malleus and Faith and Fire), in game 'alpha-class psyker' is a one command point "cast an extra power" stratagem.

The Ravenir series shows off psyker mastery levels - with a competent Inquisitor psyker described as high delta/low gamma.

I'm glad someone else said this before me.

Fluff wouldn't exist without the game; therefore when fluff contradicts the game, fluff must always take the back seat. If something is possible in the rules, a thousand novels aren't going to change that, and thus 1000 novelists would be wrong.

A few thoughts

1) If you're Alpha level or not you are still going to have to draw on your own personal power to use those powers. In a long conflict or against a few powerful opponents this might leave you drained and weaker come the end. So having access to a more mundane weapon lets you not only have a back-up; but also a means to dispatch weaker opponents that you might otherwise not want to use your mental powers on

2) Using mental powers sends a big "here I am" signal to others. It's far better to sometimes be hidden. To not use your powers (sometimes even to have those near you who nullify your psychic powers) so that you can operate undetected. Be this whilst investing things or even on the battlefield so you can move around without being as easily traced.

Again this would highlight the need for having additional weapon options.


Having more options gives you more room to operate, Inquisitors are often shown as being very much "Jacks of all trades" through their own personal skills and their retinues. You'd expect them able to fight hand to hand; with guns; with hand weapons; with mental powers if they've go the gift/curse etc...

I think I'm also going to include in her fluff that she often poses as a member of Ordo Hereticus as a cover, given the penchant Ordo Malleus has for keeping it's membership and operations secret. Thus she is often seen in the guise of a witch hunter and bearing a condemnor bolt gun, but may quickly bring her Daemon Hammer out of hiding when she finaly uncovers the demonic foe she is hunting.

Resulting fluff:

Scarlette Bellata is an talented inquisitor of the secretive Ordo Malleus generally operating with the Calixian Conclave. She often masquerades as witch hunter of the Ordo Hereticus wielding a Condemnor boltgun. Only upon dire need or after she has uncovered her demonic quarry does she reveal her affiliation with Ordo Malleus, and typically then by bringing forth her iconic Daemon Hammer to crush the chaos tainted foes of the Imperium.

Featured here:


Thanks for taking the journey of creating this charater with me.

BaconCatBug wrote:

 ArcaneHorror wrote:

pelicaniforce wrote:
If she were an alpha psyker she wouldn’t carry weapons, partly because she reshapes reality as casually as breathing and a gun that has to be aimed, loaded, etc wouldn’t ever be useful. The main reason is that alpha psykers are physically and mentally unstable such that they have trouble perceiving reality correctly and reality becomes unstable around them, they accidentally turn their friends and families into trees without even noticing it and then everyone left in alive in a 100 mile radius becomes part of a chorus of voices each one representing a different part of the alpha’s psyche.

Or something like that. Have you ever seen the anime Akira? Where he turns into a mass of protoplasm that envelopes the city? That. If the inquisition interacts with them it’s to sedate them and put them in a dungeon until they can be used to power some kind of weapon or ritual in highly controlled circumstances.

An alpha level psyker might carry a gun if she comes into contact with a situation where she's cut off from the warp. Also, if she works with Malleus or Hereticus, she would undoubtedly be encountering opponents who could counter her abilities. A Lord of Change, for example, would be at least as powerful as her.

Pretty sure that any force capable of shutting an Alpha level psyker from the warp isn't going to give two hoots about whatever piddly pea-shooter it has to hand. Oh, the Shadow in the Warp cut you off from your powers? Do you think that Hive Fleet of a gagillion Tyranid vessels is going to care about your Hot-shot Laspistol?

Also, cutting off a psyker of that power from the warp in any case is probably going to cause their psyche to break in a matter of moments regardless.

They can't shoot a hive fleet, but they can shoot a daemon prince that is blocking their smite. Also, cutting off a psyker from the warp might not be the end, as if they are trained to handle the situation and deal with the physical and mental effects, they might be able to adapt.