an acolytes tutelage

7/25/2019 An Acolytes Tutelage

1/6

An Acolytes TutelageBy Ruaridh Dall, Robey Jenkins and Derek Gillespie

An Unexpected Enquiry

Several months ago, at the end of 2010, I received an e-mail to my moderatorial inbox at The Conclave.Rhinocaps !the "oys of for#m #sernames$% &as as'ing mefor my tho#ghts on vario#s aspects of Inquisitor. Initially, Ibegan to type a reply, b#t it then occ#rred to me that there&as something more interesting l#r'ing &ithin the s#b"ectmatter. It(s been )#ite a &hile since Dark Magenta letsomeone get bac' #p on the metaphorical soap-box, and Itho#ght that Rhinocaps( e-mail &as the perfect chance tolet a fe& highly-opinionated so#ls hold co#rt once again.

*ere(s &hat Rhinocaps had to say+

Dear Dark Magenta,

I just read Derek Gillespie's "Piercing the Shadows" article,

and I was quite happy to read such a critical view on the wayInquisitor is eing played! In soe points I #elt Derek also

criticised e, which I really liked ecause, eing the ostknowledgeale o# Inquisitorin y gaing clu, I iss having

a ore e$perienced person who can tell e what I a doing

wrong!

I have een #ollowing Inquisitor#ro a point not long a#ter it

was released y G% in &(! )t that tie there was a lot o#

enthusias aout the new gae and the "narrativewargaing" idea, and G% seeed to e supporting it!

*owever, with not enough odels availale at + scale,and too any gaers wanting to use everything they-d see in a

gae o# %arhaer , in a gae o# Inquisitor, our talk o#

having a narrative capaign died e#ore we actually got

started!

.or e the Inquisitor ruleook has always had this special

#eeling, perhaps o# nostalgia! %hat I a ost proud o# is thatthe ruleook, to e, sees to create this really dark universe o#

special individuals all #ighting #or what they elieve is the truecause! I really like the idea o# the su/title "0he 1attle #or the

2peror's soul" and the idea o# section wars within theInquisition! 1ut this dark universe slipped away quickly when

people thought it was just k on a ore detailed scale! )lso,G% started releasing odels like the Genestealer and 3root,

which ade it harder #or e to say, 4Inquisitor is aouthuans!5

I have tried to hold capaigns with gaers ut there are acouple o# points I always see to get stuck on and that's why I

wanted to ask Derek's advice, as his article is asically aout

soe o# the "arriers" I #ace when trying to alance a

capaign! I think every GM deals with this 6 how to decidewhat people can and cannot #ield7 Derek entioned in his

article that it's not that you can't include a 0au .ire %arrior,ut it's why you shouldn't! My annoyance is, when I want to

write a capaign intended to capture that dark atosphere o#Inquisitor and #ocusing it on a huan/only capaign, ost

players still end up wanting soething totally outside the o$,

like their 8urglite Sorcerer accopanied y his daeonic

inions, or a 4#ully/loaded5 Space Marine!

My dilea is that, one the one hand, I as a GM write this

capaign, and I want people to e ale to coe up with really

creative ideas #or their warand! I don't care i# one o# theircharacters happens to e an 2ldar pirate, ut soeties

people ask #or what I elieve are such ig deviations #ro thescript that, #or e, it takes the #un out o# writing and running

the capaign! I #elt that Derek-s article also touched on this 6

it's aout the story, and i# you want to go kick ass and chew

ulegu aye Inquisitoris not the gae you should play!9n the other hand, it had e thinking, ') I not very sel#ish7"

I# you think aout it, I write the capaign and I would I notlike to see warands that #it the capaign atosphere7 So I

a siultaneously asking #or the creativity o# y #ellow

gaers ut, at the sae tie, I liit what they like so it #its

"y" idea o# Inquisitor! I was wondering how an e$periencedGM deals with these sort o# decisions7

9ne thing I thought as a possile e$planation why "y" idea o#Inquisitor varies #ro that o# others is ecause o# y

knowledge! My good #riend and I are always o# one ind aouthow to play Inquisitor, ecause we oth know all the

ackground related to it! *owever a lot o# people are too la:y

to actually read ore than ( pages #ro the ruleook! 0hose

people then also don't understand that "dark universe"

ar' agenta is an #nofficial fanine and is not endorsed by /ames or'shop /ro#p lc in any&ay. ext and layo#ts are 3 ar' agenta and its proprietor. 4rt&or' and characters are the property oftheir respective o&ners. 5o part of this magaine sho#ld be reprod#ced in any form &itho#t the express permission of the 6ditor-in-7hief. ar' agenta is a non-profit-ma'ing organiation and &ith theaim of promoting the In)#isitor game, prod#cts and hobby.

How, in the name of the Throne, do you handle it if one ofyour players thinks its appropriate to use something asmonstrous as this versor !ssassin as his or her player

character"


2/6

age 2 of 8

atosphere I was talking aout, and that akes it logical that

they look at stereotypical stu## like the a#oreentioned .ire%arriors, Space Marines and others! So, I was wondering /

how do you think I should etter educate the on "the

purpose" o# Inquisitor7

5o&, the first thing I(d have said is that Rhinocaps isn(tdoing anything &rong. *o&ever, I certainly can thin' of

some general pointers I(d give and, as I scanned the e-mailover again, I co#ld discern &hat I tho#ght of as three broadareas of foc#s 9 Inquisitor(s distinction, bac'gro#nd, andfreedom 9 each of &hich can be both a blessing and ac#rse, depending on ho& they(re each handled. 4s ares#lt, I(ve enlisted the help of R#aridh all and Robey:en'ins !fanatical Inquisitor gamers, games-masters and&riters, both%, and &e(re going to tac'le each of thesethree areas &ith some short mini-essays.

Distinction

As a campaign gamesmaster, what methods do you

use to drive home the unique emphasis of theInquisitor game? How do you make you playersunderstand what the game's about?

Ruaridh:/etting players into the right frame of mind forgames of Inquisitor is &itho#t do#bt one of the biggesth#rdles a /amesmaster has to cross, especially &ith ne&players &ho have perhaps come straight from thearhammer ;0,000 tabletop game. he competitiveelement of most &ar games leads to a &inning-at-all-costsmentality that really doesn(t &or' &ithin Inquisitor(snarrative emphasis. he lac' of points in Inquisitor!disco#nting the )#ite rightly maligned Ready Rec'oner%

can serve to conf#se ne& players and leave them&ondering &hat reason co#ld there be for not ta'ing atooled-#p character &ith stats in the attle for the 6mperor(s so#l so#nds li'e a "ob for po&ers&ords and boltg#ns, does it not? esigning charactersfor players is an obvio#s ans&er, b#t that can disco#rageplayers from ta'ing part in one of the best elements of thegame - b#ilding and modelling their o&n characters. 4good a#thor stic's to the r#le sho&, don(t tell and a good/amesmaster sho#ld follo& that advice too 9 &e ares#pposed to be telling grand tales &ith Inquisitorafter all. Ibelieve the /amesmaster(s greatest responsibility is tosho& the players thro#gh their scenarios that having the

best e)#ipped and most po&erf#l characters does notnecessarily res#lt in the most exciting games and stories.If players find o#t for themselves that simply ta'ing aimand 'illing everyone res#lts in fail#re they &ill )#ic'ly cometo #nderstand that In)#isitor is abo#t so m#ch more thanarhammer ;0,000 &ith fe&er models.

4s I said before, I feel that scenario and campaign designare paramo#nt to 'eeping Inquisitorflo#rishing in its #ni)#eniche. If players are constantly lined #p against moo's&ith a mission no more complex than g#nning them do&n,then players are going to treat Inquisitor li'e a simple&argame. /amesmasters have a &onderf#l opport#nity tointrod#ce the #nseen face of the Imperi#m, and stic'ing tothe battlefield all the time misses o#t the tr#e charm of theInquisitorgame. he rich tapestry of the ;1st millenni#m isripe for exploration and sho#ld be delved into &ith relish bythe /amesmaster. Searching the s#lph#r deserts of5ayan I@ for the data storage crystals containing thecomplete &or's of agos 5#ll is so m#ch more evocative

a scene than g#nning do&n the m#tie rebels, again. 5o&,everybody loves a bit of g#nplay, b#t all too often Inquisitorcan become a game of highest >allistic S'ill &ins, andthat(s a shame. Inquisitor games sho#ld be exciting,memorable affairs, and the /amesmaster can enco#ragethis &ith appropriate #se of applied hand&avi#m. hisconcept re&ards exciting play and 'eeps the game r#nningat a fast pace, and stops the game becoming bogged

do&n in dice rolls. 7an the free-r#nning death c#ltistcart&heel over the gap bet&een these t&o b#ildings andthro& a 'nife do&n at the t&in st#bber-toting, one-eyedbo#nty h#nter belo&? So#nds great 9 don(t bother rollingthe action dice. 7an the tele'ine propel himself #p&ards tograb onto the landing s'id of the @al'yrie as it departs &iththe prisoner on board? 4&esome. /o for it. If the/amesmaster thin's something &ill add to the spectacle ofthe game, then it absol#tely sho#ld be enco#raged. hereis a fine line to tread bet&een helping the game andfavo#ring one player over another, b#t if a player has hismodels acting in character then perhaps he sho#ld bere&arded for playing Inquisitoras it(s meant to be played.

his notion of acting in character comes bac' to therichness of the setting, especially the fract#red andcomplicated nat#re of the In)#isition. here are moreshades of grey in the In)#isition than any s#b"ect of theImperi#m &o#ld believe, and players sho#ld be tas'ed todecide &here in the spectr#m their characters sit, before,d#ring and after games. Scenarios sho#ld challengeplayers intellect#ally 9 both in terms of &or'ing o#t ho&their characters &ill achieve their goals, b#t also have them)#estion their characters( morals and their motivations. 4character(s beliefs go a long &ay to deciding the nat#ralprogression of a campaign, and the /amesmaster sho#lddesign scenarios to challenge these notions. Soon players&ill be approaching the gaming environment thro#gh theeyes of their characters, not their o&n, and at that point thelegendary tales from the #nderbelly of the Imperi#m &illbegin to tell themselves. he /amesmaster(s nextchallenge is 'eeping his scenarios fresh for f#rther

The #attle reports featured in Dark Magenta attempted toemphasise the $cool factor% of the Inquisitor game& Here,

!rkat 'kar gets the drop on Inquisitorial (perative'usannah )ard, preventing her from easily achieving her

infiltration and data*drop mission on #ehalf of Inquisitor'aussure&


3/6

age A of 8

excitement and intrig#e$

he main point for any b#dding /amesmaster to ta'ehome from this lot is to be creative. 5ovel ideas formissions far detached from the #s#al ob"ectives of tabletop&ar games stand a far better chance of sho&ing players&hat In)#isitor sho#ld be all abo#t 9 exploring the #nseenside of the Imperi#m.

Robey: I once described Inquisitor as &argaming forpoets. he sad fact is that a game li'e Inquisitor simplyisn(t for everyone and part of the challenge for a/amesmaster is trac'ing do&n and initiating the rightpeople into the game(s partic#lar delights. If yo# can pic'the right people to introd#ce to the game then a lot of the&or' &ill be done for yo#, ma'ing the transition fromtraditional miniat#res &argame or paper-and-pen roleplaygame to the challenges of narrative s'irmish game thatm#ch smoother.

here are really three basic &ays to find the right person to

introd#ce to the game. he first is the simplest+ the self-selector. Some people see the game for themselves and"#st 'no& in their hearts that it(s the game they(ve beenloo'ing for. hey might see yo# or others playing the gamein the local cl#b or at arhammer orld and be captivatedby the drama and #n#s#al flo& of the events. hey mightdo&nload the r#leboo' from the /ames or'shop &ebsiteand be s#c'ed inexorably into see'ing o#t a game. heymight st#mble #pon he 7onclave or some big for#m s#b-board dedicated to the game and find the comm#nity(sremar'able openness and intelligence a refreshing changefrom the perpet#al cries of cheese$ and bro'en$ onother for#ms.

Bthers don(t 'no& that they(re loo'ing for Inquisitorand forthese yo# need to be alert. he second sort of person yo#might spot &ho &o#ld be ideal to introd#ce to the game arethose &ho are already playing &ith narrative elements.Coo' for the players &ho &rite their o&n scenarios fortabletop games, &ho &ant to design armies that tell a storyrather than ones that annihilate all comers, and &ho &o#ldrather be part of a campaign than a to#rnament. heseplayers already #nderstand that miniat#res &argaming canbe as m#ch abo#t &eaving a compelling narrative as it isabo#t defeating yo#r opponent, so the discovery of a game&herein that is an integral part of play and a 'ey so#rce ofthe game(s attraction &ill come as a refreshingenlightenment.

Dinally, loo' for those on the fringes of the miniat#res&argaming comm#nity &ho may not be into collectingmighty armies or painting endless s)#ads of armo#redbl#e s#per-h#mans, b#t &ho nevertheless feel the call ofthe compelling bac'gro#nd of the ;1st illenni#m - people&ho love the >lac' Cibrary novels, or &ho contrib#te fan artto pro"ectsE people &hose roleplay gro#ps are en"oyingDark Heresyor +ogue Trader. hese people already graspthe idea of the narrative, b#t have most li'ely never seenho& it can be a game.

arget these three sorts of potential player &ith yo#rdemonstrations or disc#ssions of the game and yo# &ill beass#red of a receptive a#dience &ho are already primed toen"oy the poet(s &argame.

Background

The best Inquisitorcampaigns often involve playerswith a deep understanding of the background canonof the !arhammer "#,### universe$ !hat publicationswould you consider to be required reading ifsomeone is looking to really understand the Imperiumof %an in the forty&first millennium?

Robey: he )#estion is a partic#larly perceptive one,beca#se &hilst I thin' that neither a player nor a /sho#ld necessarily possess an encyclopaedic 'no&ledgeof the arhammer ;0,000 canon, it is absol#tely tr#e thatan #nderstanding of the context is absol#tely vital. >y thisI mean that, &hilst one may not necessarily have to 'no&the cognomen of the fo#nder of the emple of the Savio#r6mperorFor the date of the 7onclave of o#nt 4malathFFtoen"oy the game, one does need to have a grasp of theessential aesthetic of the bac'gro#nd+ yes, itGs Hgrimdar'HEb#t itGs more than that - itGs a time of deepest pessimism setagainst highest faithE itGs a place &here the shado&s are

ha#nted by monsters, b#t some of them are on yo#r sideEitGs a #niverse cons#med by &ars, b#t not all of &hich arefo#ght on battlefieldsE itGs an age of con)#est, b#t &herethe vital gro#nd is the hearts of men and, of co#rse, the6mperorGs so#l.

ith all of that in mind, then, &hat &o#ld I consider to bethe Hre)#ired readingH list for players of Inquisitor? ell, it&o#ld be easy to recite the names of the boo's I can seeon my boo'shelf from &here I sit, b#t that &o#ld be #nfair

to ne& or potential players o#t there, beca#se thereGs som#ch that can be read and en"oyed &itho#t needing tospend a penny. Start at the Specialist /ames r#leboo's.

FDatidic#s, since yo# as'.

FFI canGt remember, either.

In the forty*first millennium, men of faith treat the entiretyof Imperial society as the pulpit from which to preach& The

word of the mperor must #e taken to the masses, andan Inquisitor often has need of ro#ust spiritual guidance

during their work&


4/6

age ; of 8

Bbvio#sly, yo# sho#ld read the Inquisitorr#leboo' - ideallyfrom cover to cover. >#t yo# can also get theecromundar#leboo' for a loo' at life in the #nderhive !apop#lar setting for many Inquisitorscenarios, after all%E andthe r#leboo' for -attlefleet .othic, &hich shifts perspectivefrom the dirtiest, most insignificant gang scraps to theloftiest and most magnificent exchanges bet&een city-sied space vessels+ the sort of perspective every

In)#isitor !or In)#isitorGs nemesis% sho#ld possess. Some&o#ld also point to the pic/ !rmageddon r#leboo' b#t,personally, &hilst I love that game, IGd recommend s'ippingit. ItGs light on bac'gro#nd, in any case, and the battlesdepicted in the game are a very long &ay from &here anIn)#isitor sho#ld find him- or herself.

he core r#leboo's for the Specialist /ames are far fromthe only reading matter to be obtained for free. heThorian 'ource#ookcan still be do&nloaded, along &ith/av horpeGs article on #sing Space arines and ere'HDark MagentaH /illespieGs tho#ghtf#l ideas on ho& toapproach the Inquisitorgame+ both good reading, b#t

especially the latter.

-attlefleet .othicreso#rces incl#de extensive bac'gro#ndsections on the Imperi#m of the ;1st illenni#m and themany races and factions levelled against it, andecromundareso#rces offer similar insights into theforgotten corners of the #nderhive and life in the Imperial

fast-lane.

If yo#Gve devo#red all of these and feel prepared to part&ith some cash, then the next steps sho#ld be thearhammer ;0,000 th, ;th and Ard edition r#leboo's.hether yo# play the game or not, they all incl#deimages, bac'gro#nd and plot hoo's aplenty, incl#dingmany glimpses into aspects of the *;0' #niverse

other&ise ignored+ historical references to the 5ovaterranInterregn#m and other historical anomalies of theImperi#mGs shady history are all ripe for /Gs and playersali'e to pl#nder, even the Slann get a brief appearance,and most importantly they give the best overall sense -capt#red in microcosm in the Specialist /ames range - ofthe sta'es for &hich the games are played.

>eyond these, the next boo's I highly recommend arethose p#blished by 0antasy 0light .ames in their)arhammer 12,222 +oleplayseries - Dark Heresy, +ogueTraderand no& Deathwatch, pl#s all of the expansions andcampaigns associated &ith those. 5o other range of

boo's concerns itself so deeply &ith the min#tiae of life inthe ar' illenni#m or &ith the myriad #nseen and#n'no&able threats that l#r' beyond the thinnest of veils.4nd besides that, the ;0'R series lends itself extremely&ell to adaptation to ne& r#les archetypes and e)#ipmentfor Inquisitor. hey are a barely-tapped seam of sheergeni#s.

Dor the Inquisitorplayer, the boo's IGve s#ggested are onlythe nearest at hand. Bver the horion, of co#rse, l#r' theever-increasing >lac' Cibrary bac' catalog#e ofarhammer ;0,000 novels, the Imperial !rmourboo'sfrom Dorge orld !&hich, &hilst they cover ma"or military

campaigns, often hint at shado&y operations bet&een andbehind the lines% and no end of reso#rces s#ch ascodexes, hite &arf articles and even some of the betterfan fiction. >#t by the time one reaches this point, onereads not to expand oneGs #nderstanding, b#t to simplyincrease oneGs immersion in the context. I &o#ld even goso far as to say that, if yo#Gve tr#ly #nderstood the ar'illenni#m from reading the s#ggestions above, yo#ren"oyment of the extensive body that remains &ill bedeepened and yo#r discrimination concerning &hat &ill and&hat &ill not contrib#te to&ards appreciating a good gameof Inquisitor&ill slo&ly be honed to a raorGs edge.

>#t, having said of all of that, everything yo#Gve been toldis, of co#rse, a lie.

Derek: ell, I(d call Robey(s ans&er to this,comprehensive. 7ertainly, in terms of the boo's that yo#sho#ld ens#re yo#(ve loo'ed at to #nderstand the canon ofthe Imperi#m of an in the arhammer ;0,000 #niverse.hat he hasn(t to#ched #pon are the boo's that the >lac'Cibrary ma'es available, or has made available in the past.If yo#(re loo'ing for novels that may help yo# immerseyo#rself f#rther &ithin the dystopian nightmare that isImperial society, then yo#r obvio#s starting points are theisenhorn and +avenor trilogies, from the pen of an4bnett. I &o#ld also recommend the Shira 7alp#rnia

series, by att Darrer, for an insight into the relationshipbet&een the la&-'eepers of the Imperi#m and several 'eyaspects of society. If yo# can get yo#r hands on them, theRog#e rader series from the early days of the >lac'Cibrary are also excellent &indo&s onto a lesser-exploredaven#e of the Imperi#m. hese t&o novels are c#rrently

The imagery of the forty*first millennium is dark andgothic, #ut its also a wonderful #lend of archetypes fromhistory and science fiction& This Imperial Crusader looks

at first glance like a medieval knight, #ut the #ionics,weaponry, purity seals, #anners and cheru#s help toplace him firmly in the madness of the )arhammer

12,222 universe&


5/6

age of 8

available from the >lac' Cibrary(s print on demand serviceas a compilation entitled, he /othic ar.

erhaps even harder to come by today are the >lac'Cibrary so#rceboo's, some of &hich contained excellentinsights. Dirst and foremost amongst these, in my opinion,&as3enology, tho#gh if yo# are presented &ith a chanceto loo' thro#gh Tactica Imperialis, the -attle for

!rmageddon or the Thirteenth -lack Crusade, then I(drecommend yo# to do so. ritten from the vie& point ofImperial citiens or soldiers str#ggling to come to terms&ith &hat the galaxy has thro&n at them, they convey thedesperate emotions of a man faced &ith cr#shingadversity. 4nd, if there(s one thing yo#r average Inquisitorplayer is going to enco#nter, it(s cr#shing adversity &ithinthe Imperi#m of an$

Freedom

How strict are you in enforcing the type of playercharacters you permit in a campaign you've written? If

you are relaed about the types of protagonists thatwill take part, how do you deal with the player whowants a highly unusual character or war band?

Derek: Bver the space of time that I(ve been playing,gamesmastering and &riting abo#t Inquisitor, I(ve dealt &ithplayers of all pers#asions &hen it comes to the character,or characters, that they(d li'e to control on the tabletop, orhave represent them in a campaign. I have r#ncampaigns and one-off games in &hich I laid do&n verystrict r#les as to &hat &as and &as not permissible, andam still &illing to resort to a tailored character creationsystem that limits &hat archetypes players can select, and&hat paraphernalia those characters can then begin thegame or campaign &ith. *o&ever, there(s an over-archingprinciple here that, ifeveryone ta'es it to heart,sho#ld ma'e most of thoses#ggestions red#ndant. It(salso the reason that this isthe last )#estion of the threein this article !cheating, I'no&$%. *ere(s my advice 9 ifyo# get yo#r players to b#yin to the #ni)#e foc#s ofInquisitor, and theyappreciate the richness ofthe arhammer ;0,000#niverse, then they sho#ldn(tpose yo# any problems.4nd, conversely, if yo#, asthe gamesmaster, tr#st yo#rplayers to 'eep &ithin thebo#ndaries of those points,then yo# sho#ldn(t have toom#ch to fear from one ofyo#r players &anting to trysomething a little bit#n#s#al.

hilst yo# can #se theInquisitor r#les to represent;mm s'irmish combatbet&een pretty m#ch anydeniens of the forty-firstmillenni#m that yo# &ant,

the primary foc#s of the game is clear from the o#tset 9this is the battle for the 6mperor(s so#l, and th#s thema"ority of o#r protagonists are li'ely to be men and&omen of the Imperi#m. o really play Inquisitor&ell, yo#have to inhabit the Imperi#m of an in yo#r mind, mentallyrole-playing &ithin that environment, even if yo#(re notnecessarily role-playing on the table-top !of co#rse, someof yo# might be doing that as &ell$%. h#s, en 9 or things

that can pass as en 9 can be present in their infinitevariety, and move in many circles of Imperial societylargely #nnoticed. Bn the other hand, players that &ant tochoose a character that is #nmista'eably xenos in originare going to have a hard time blending into the midst of acivilised Imperial &orld.

hen yo#(re planning a campaign, yo# are li'ely to be inone of t&o sit#ations - either yo#, as the gamesmaster, arecoming to the table &ith an idea in yo#r head of &hat yo#rbroad storyline &ill be, and yo# need some playercharacters to pop#late it. hen I adopt this approach, Ieither opt to restrict the &ildest excesses of my potential

players &hen it comes to character creation, or I try toens#re that my campaign setting is broad eno#gh toprovide some settings that are not solely pop#lated mynormal Imperial citienry 9 it needs to be feasible that amore #n#s#al character co#ld hide o#t, or pass by #n-noticed. he second approach, and potentially moreen"oyable, is to sit do&n &ith yo#r potential players anddisc#ss the broad stro'es of a campaign before yo# plan it9 an approach that can some&hat b#ild the campaign #paro#nd a more #n#s#al character type, providing arationale for the li'elihood of their involvement. hisdoesn(t mean that yo#(re having yo#r f#n ta'en a&ay asgamesmasterE there are still plenty of opport#nities to

spring s#rprises 9 all yo#(re doing is creating the broad

Inquisitorial war#ands will inevita#ly #e made up of a diverse mi4ture of characters fromacross the whole range of Imperial society, or #eyond& 5layers and .Ms need to workcooperatively to ensure that they can accommodate the ideas of the players into the

campaign or game setting&


6/6

age 8 of 8

stro'es of the campaign setting together.

In either scenario, yo# need an #nderstanding bet&eenyo#rself as gamesmaster and the players. 6ven if thecampaign setting has been adapted to ma'e it possible toincl#de a player &ho has their heart set on playing a a#operative, for example, the player in )#estion is going tohave to thin' li'e an invader in an alien land. In other

&ords, they(re going to have to find creative sol#tions tosolve certain sit#ations, in &hich a h#man character co#ldperhaps ta'e a simpler, more direct approach. his alsoapplies to characters carrying aro#nd highly#n#s#alJvisibleJalien &argear as &ell 9 things li'e that aregoing to get yo# noticed m#ch more readily than anyone&andering aro#nd &ith a minor side-arm li'e a respectablecitien of the Imperi#m$

So, in my gamesmastering old age, I(ve adopted acomparatively collaborative approach to&ards thecharacters I li'e to see on my gaming tables. Kltimately,Inquisitor enco#rages creativity and free-thin'ing, so I(d

enco#rage everyone to thin' laterally abo#t ho& they canincorporate aspects of the oddities they love into the >attlefor the 6mperor(s So#l. If yo#r player &ants to field an Br'>oy, might they consider a lone, s'#l'ing, isolated >lood4xe Lommando? 6ven better, ho& abo#t an ex-g#ardsman, &ho has become barely less feral than theBr's he spent his career fighting? Someone obsessed &ithtrying to bring a 5ecron to the tabletop might "#st beinterested in ta'ing a corr#pted echanic#s follo&er of heragon instead. 4nd the player &ho craves the Direarrior from (4# co#ld perhaps instead consider a/#e(vessa 4#xiliary, no& moving once more thro#ghImperial society to spread the /reater /ood.

It(s a big galaxy, and a &onderf#l canvas for everyone toplay on 9 it(s #p to yo# and yo#r players to fill it...

Ruaridh: ere'(s advice here is pretty so#nd 9 havingtried to r#n a campaign encompassing a h#ge variety of&arbands I(ve come to similar concl#sions abo#t playercharacters. Mo# can(t please everybody and 'eep acampaign foc#ssed aro#nd a single theme at the sametime, and #s#ally the campaign s#ffers for it. isc#ssingthe concept behind a campaign &ith potential playersbefore getting #nder&ay is the best &ay to bring easilymanageable player characters to the table. hesecharacters don(t have to be conventional by any stretch ofthe imagination, b#t a convincing story as to &hy they havebeen ca#ght #p in everything is a necessity to minimise theheadache mass incl#sions can ca#se.

I hope the tho#ghts &e(ve p#t together here &ill be a helpto all players of the Inquisitor game, b#t most especiallythose of yo# &ho have only recently discovered ho& m#chthere is to offer &ithin the pages of the r#leboo'. leasefeel free to let #s 'no& yo#r tho#ghts. 6ven better, if yo#have another point of vie&, &hy not p#t yo#r ideas do&non paper? ar' agenta &o#ld be delighted to host analternative point of vie& if yo# can constr#ct an interesting

co#nter-point article to &hat yo#(ve "#st read...

About the Authors

(uaridh )all is a qualified dentist, living in lgin, in the

north of 'cotland& )hen not filling teeth, he can commonly#e found attempting to complete far too many modellingpro6ects at any one time& He goes #y the online moniker,$7an Helser%&

(obey *enkins is a self*styled Inquisitor*Missionary,founder of the 8ork .arrison )argaming Clu# and of theIn)#isitor /rand o#rnament& He is also the owner of5recinct (mega, an independent miniatures andwargaming company, and the writer9designer of thescience fantasy skirmish game :'krapyard:& +umours thathe is working on an unofficial second edition of In)#isitorare not completely unfounded&

)erek +illespiehas had a semi*official involvement withthe In)#isitorgame since it was first released& He was amem#er of the In)#isitor+ules Committee in the earlydays of 'pecialist .ames, and has moderated he7onclave internet forum from the moment that it wascreated #y .), through to its independence of the presentday&

There are always alternative ways to view any$traditional% character archetype, such as this near*cra;ed Imperial .uardsman, traumatised #y long

service against the (rk threat&

an acolytes tutelage

Documents