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would it make sense to have an Inquisitor be vehemently opposed to mass execution of guardsmen regiments after deamons/GK encounters? Or is execution just too common place?
My idea is that my inquisitor is part of the Ordo Sepulturum, the guys who follow typhus, killing his plague zombies, and that this combines with him being an Anomolian Beholder, believing that the emperor could theoretically resurrect into any random joe.
In my mind, mass executions seemingly go against both of those things, with death supporting nurgle, and the off chance that it may kill off the emperor resurrected. Any input?

 Brennonjw wrote:
would it make sense to have an Inquisitor be vehemently opposed to mass execution of guardsmen regiments after deamons/GK encounters? Or is execution just too common place?
My idea is that my inquisitor is part of the Ordo Sepulturum, the guys who follow typhus, killing his plague zombies, and that this combines with him being an Anomolian Beholder, believing that the emperor could theoretically resurrect into any random joe.
In my mind, mass executions seemingly go against both of those things, with death supporting nurgle, and the off chance that it may kill off the emperor resurrected. Any input?

so an inquisitor has to balance a lot of things

The cost of an IG regiment is not high. Killing them off and burning their tanks isnt really an issue. There will always be more.

vs the risks

The risks that the knowledge of Daemons and chaos will lead to the spread of chaos. If .01% of the guardsmen become radical after viewing the power of chaos and they go off and become heretics and raise armies against the IoM it is probably worth exterminating them

The risks that the guardsmen might be contaiminated. Nurgles rot is real. If the guardsmen are infected, they could spread the plague to 1000 planets. Again is is probably worth the cost of exterminating them.

However, a more sympathetic Inquisitor might well try to screen potentially infected/corrupted guardsmen, and only execute the ones who are affected. That might include psychic interrogation, biological screening, or some kind of trial by ordeal. It might be time-consuming, but your hypothetical Inquisitor might well think it's worth it.
Plus, guard survivors might be good recruits for the Inquisitor's retinue.
I think it's perfectly reasonable that your Inquisitor wouldn't want to kill entire regiments - not all inquisitors go straight for "Execute all the survivors" mode. Most, maybe, but not all of them. After all, Inquisitors are a very varied bunch of individuals.

There's also the matter of exactly what knowledge is too much.

People must know some basics about Chaos in order to make things work. There's only so many Inquisitors after all, and they each have only so many spies. The faithful must be warned about shady cults so that they can notify the authorities, and there's probably a liberal amount of horror stories about what could happen to people that join the wrong shady cult. Things from beyond that explode out of your head, for example. IIRC anyone traveling on a space ship is required to know what the "Gellar Field breached" warning klaxon means - time to arm yourself and kill anything that doesn't belong onboard.

Once you get to stuff like knowing the Traitor Primarchs are still alive as daemon princes, well, that's nearing the mass execution button. Or seeing the top secret Grey Kaniggits working.

Another option, although not as conventional, an inquisitor that has strong, amicable ties to the ecclisiarchy. While they don't get along a whole lot, they could have similar goals and the ecclisiarchy would be more inclined to try to spare the loyal and innocent Emperor's subjects... Not by much, but it is an angle that can be exploited. Specifically, in your narrative, and i guess so on the table top, how are you representing this inquisitor and his retinue?

Though not quite the same I draw your attention to Quovandius from the Inquisitor wargame:
"Quovandius was brought up in a slave mill on Thagra IV, raised from birth in dank holding pens beneath the machine rooms. When Traitor Marines of the Alpha Legion attacked Thagra, the slave mill was half destroyed by their orbital bombardment and it was Quovandius who seized the opportunity to lead several hundred of his mutated comrades to freedom.

Unfortunately, freedom was not quite what it used to be, as the Alpha Legion conquered more and more of the planet. Some Mutants sided with the Chaos followers, while Quovandius and his closest friends and kin began making guerrilla raids on the traitor warriors. When Space Marines of the White Panthers Chapter arrived to liberate the planet, Quovandius and his followers were rounded up for execution, the commander of the White Panthers believing them to be guilty of treason. The intervention of Inquisitor Eisenhorn gave them a stay of execution and in return Quovandius swore an oath of loyalty to protect him from harm."

If an Inquisitor can find cause to spare a bunch of filthy mutants he can certainly find cause to spare trained loyal soldiers of the Imperium.

I wouldn't bat an eye at some sort of Radical believing that the 'tainted' Guardsmen are now more able or better equipped to fight daemons or in this case the plagues that follow Typhus. Preferring these men that survived, no matter how broken it makes them. Using the tainted, broken and I pure to fight the tainted, broken and impure.

Yeah inquisitors are highly individualistic, you can't assume they all operate the same way.

Heck a true radical could deliberately expose guardsmen to daemons, to see which ones coped best with the ordeal.

There a varired bunch from puriton to radical and a 100 other shades in between and around it.

Maybe some may be saved if pass medical, and anti chaos screening process to weed out any who have been infected, or mentaly tainted etc.

The suvivers obviously of strong mind, faith etc make good henchmen for a inquisitor, trained up and with some inquisition 101 power points.

it's worth noting various novels and soruces implies that the "clean up" after the 1st battle of Armageddon was a contentious issue even amongst the Inqusition

When Gaunt from Gaunts Ghosts came back from a chaos occupied world (after fighting at least one daemon) They had a trial to see if they were corrupted.

 Dark Apostle 666 wrote:
However, a more sympathetic Inquisitor might well try to screen potentially infected/corrupted guardsmen, and only execute the ones who are affected. That might include psychic interrogation, biological screening, or some kind of trial by ordeal. It might be time-consuming, but your hypothetical Inquisitor might well think it's worth it.
Plus, guard survivors might be good recruits for the Inquisitor's retinue.
I think it's perfectly reasonable that your Inquisitor wouldn't want to kill entire regiments - not all inquisitors go straight for "Execute all the survivors" mode. Most, maybe, but not all of them. After all, Inquisitors are a very varied bunch of individuals.

I think you might have an inquisitor that is MORE compassionate than most. One that is MORE likely to let them live, but not one that will let them ALL live under any circumstances.

 Exergy wrote:

 Dark Apostle 666 wrote:
However, a more sympathetic Inquisitor might well try to screen potentially infected/corrupted guardsmen, and only execute the ones who are affected. That might include psychic interrogation, biological screening, or some kind of trial by ordeal. It might be time-consuming, but your hypothetical Inquisitor might well think it's worth it.
Plus, guard survivors might be good recruits for the Inquisitor's retinue.
I think it's perfectly reasonable that your Inquisitor wouldn't want to kill entire regiments - not all inquisitors go straight for "Execute all the survivors" mode. Most, maybe, but not all of them. After all, Inquisitors are a very varied bunch of individuals.

I think you might have an inquisitor that is MORE compassionate than most. One that is MORE likely to let them live, but not one that will let them ALL live under any circumstances.

Sympathy is single clean round to the head. Not burning, flaying or all manner of horrific deaths. If your tainted, none would let you live but they may make it clean and quick.

Thanks for all the help guys. I like to add my own little bits of fluff into my armies, but I never want to be that guy who's entire army is one big mary sue that ignores standing fluff. at the moment, the way I think the fluff works is something along these lines:

Basically, being part of the Ordo Sepulturum means fighting zombies, lots of them. A larger than usual dedicated Inquisitorial war band would be needed, so my inquisitor "adopted" a few regiments from the local PDFs. After the first encounter, a pyrrhic victory, the inquisitor decided it would be best to have access to a force trained to specifically deal with this threat instead of relaying solely on the few grey knights tasked with ending the menace. So, with a bit of foresight (rare in 40k ) the inquisitor decided not to kill off the surviving guardsmen, but to subject them to rigorous tests and trial to check for corruption. those that were proven clean were sworn to secrecy, and trained to better deal with Typhus' zombies and the daemons of the warp, with new recruits going through a similar process. This is not to say, however, that mind wipes never happen, but occur less frequently, like when the regiment will be separated from the inquisitor, for example.


It may be a bit to noblebright, but my main thing is that I would prefer to avoid the things in fluff that truley bother me, i.e. inquisitors being dicks and being so grim dark that it's funny.

Sorry for my noob-ness, but why should IG regiments be executed after having contact with with demons or GK? I really don't get it. Is it because the bare sight of Chaos could turn them to the other side? o.O

 Psylution wrote:
Sorry for my noob-ness, but why should IG regiments be executed after having contact with with demons or GK? I really don't get it. Is it because the bare sight of Chaos could turn them to the other side? o.O

Because the Inquisition suppresses all knowledge of Chaos among the population.

Ah, I did not know that
Thanks for clearing that up mate!

But does the common population know about Chaos n stuff?

 Psylution wrote:
Ah, I did not know that
Thanks for clearing that up mate!

But does the common population know about Chaos n stuff?

Nope. most inquisitors, and daemons for that matter, tend to kill the people that do.

In the face of such a threat it would be easy for an inquisitor to lose the part of them that sees the value in an individual human life when we have so many in the galaxy, but some to retain that and the can be a factor of upbringing, experience, or just simple personal belief. very little justification would be required to play that up.

Is Abnett writing the book? If so yes you may have a good guy inquisitor. I liked Ravenor, and Eisenhorn, Emperor's Gift (had a good inquisitor as well), but it's not believable to me. I don't think you get to be an inquisitor and be that altruistic... not for a second. Realize most inquisitors are no longer "normal" for the most part they are not like you and me.

jakejackjake wrote:
Is Abnett writing the book? If so yes you may have a good guy inquisitor. I liked Ravenor, and Eisenhorn, Emperor's Gift (had a good inquisitor as well), but it's not believable to me. I don't think you get to be an inquisitor and be that altruistic... not for a second. Realize most inquisitors are no longer "normal" for the most part they are not like you and me.

even Ravenor and Eisenhorn could be pretty ruthless when the situation required it. thing is ruthlessness doesn't nesscrily mean "total jerk" thing is, if beign nice works better for the ruthless individual in question? he'll be nice

BrianDavion wrote:

jakejackjake wrote:
Is Abnett writing the book? If so yes you may have a good guy inquisitor. I liked Ravenor, and Eisenhorn, Emperor's Gift (had a good inquisitor as well), but it's not believable to me. I don't think you get to be an inquisitor and be that altruistic... not for a second. Realize most inquisitors are no longer "normal" for the most part they are not like you and me.

even Ravenor and Eisenhorn could be pretty ruthless when the situation required it. thing is ruthlessness doesn't nesscrily mean "total jerk" thing is, if beign nice works better for the ruthless individual in question? he'll be nice

Indeed - Amberely Vail is often perceived as a "good guy" - partly as that’s the persona she tends to use at “work” - but she will sacrifice anyone at any time as required to safeguard the Imperium. She also fondly remembers being taught as a child about promethium and the remembered images of heretics being burnt alive brings a smile to her face even now.........

Humans are strange creatures - they can mix the deepest darkness with some light - look at some historical war criminals and torturer’s - they are often married, often like children, or animals or such like – IMO this can sometimes make them more horrific as they are not devoid of emotion or feelings but still do the terrible things they do –perhaps with a smile as they think of going home for dinner with their loved ones.

Some inquisitors will be like this, others frothing fanatics and some will be cold and calculating psychos - Inquisitors are all very very different.

Yeah, combat testing of new vaccines require subjects. Whilst a vaccine may work in the lab, under the stress of combat, or to open wounds it may not work. Regiments who have already come up against the plague zombie infestation are perfect test subjects, this guy could have close ties to the mechanics bio division.

You've also got to remember that they also execute guardsmen just by being exposed to chaos means that they could be corrupted by it, all it takes is a little foothold. The longer the exposure the bigger the risk. Any fear/anger/envy could lead to corruption. Guardsmen already swore their lives to the protection of the imperium, and executions could be seen as an extension of the responsibility.

 Grey Knight Janitor wrote:
You've also got to remember that they also execute guardsmen just by being exposed to chaos means that they could be corrupted by it, all it takes is a little foothold. The longer the exposure the bigger the risk. Any fear/anger/envy could lead to corruption. Guardsmen already swore their lives to the protection of the imperium, and executions could be seen as an extension of the responsibility.

Best thing on this thread even the Emperor himself said even knowing about the warp open you up for corruption almost without a doubt (in IG cases and humans in general) so after knowing they are a risk to the saftey of the imperium. Best thing is death !