Suffer Not the Witch (Warhammer 40k Psyker Quest)

[Maugan Ra]

(Credit to Inkary for the image, found on their Deviantart page )

Suffer Not the Witch
A Rogue Psyker Quest​

It's cold in your cell. That's the first thing you notice when you regain consciousness, every single time. The air is chill and sharp with the scent of antiseptic, and when you slump bonelessly to the ground the metal deck plates burn your skin on contact. You moan, twitching weakly in a liquid heap, and when the heavy gauntlets of the overseers close around your arms you can do nothing but hang there limply in their grasp. It takes time for the sedatives to leave your system, and by the time you have control of your muscles again the collar is back in place, sealing itself around your neck with a harsh metallic click.

"Prisoner Oh-Four-Two-Five," says a voice, blunt and flat with boredom and routine, "Your presence is required in interrogation. Do not resist."

"...'ave a name," you mumble, your lips tingling and your jaw left half-numb by the same drugs that dull the pain in your shoulders. The guards haul you upright, uncaring of how it hurts, and hold you in place until your feet consent to bear your weight. You can't see them, their features hidden beneath insectoid carapace and mirrored visors, but it's not like they can speak anyway. You caught a glimpse inside their mouths once, and the sight of the ragged nubs of gristle where their tongues once were has stayed with you ever since.

"No," says their commander, a hatchet-faced man in a pale grey overcoat, "You don't."

He's afraid of you. It's ridiculous, really, almost comical. You're drugged and collared, malnourished and beaten, unarmed and outnumbered, and he fears you. You can see it in his eyes, sharp and hard though they are. He is afraid of you, and through the alchemy of zeal that fear becomes hate, and that hate blames you for the qualm in his heart. How dare you make him afraid. How dare you make him weak. For this and this alone, all your suffering is justified. It is always like this, with little men and their little minds. His name is Crane, you know that much - he introduced himself to you, before the beatings first began.

Crane clicks his tongue, and with a grunt the guards push you into motion, forcing you out of your cell. You leave behind a dozen stasis tubes, one of which held you until mere moments ago, and enter a branching corridor that blossoms with other chambers of similar design. There must be hundreds at least, judging solely by the brief glimpses you are afforded as you stumble your way forwards, and this is but one deck. Are all within as feared and hated as you? Were their crimes as great, in the eyes of the only law that matters? You have no way of knowing. You will die never knowing.

It's almost funny - once, a place like this would have been reassuring, strange in design yet of clear and comforting purpose. Once the iconography would have faded from your mind, the aquila and its scrolls so commonplace as to be all but invisible. Once, but no longer. Now you feel the gaze of the twin-headed eagle on the back of your neck with every step, the cold metal talons clenched tight around your heart. Now the scrolls hang heavy with the weight of your sins and the echoing corridors of this vast prison ship threaten to swallow you whole.

"You know," you say weakly, talking to hide the fear as you are dragged ever onwards, "You could brighten up the place. Put some portraits up, the odd statue. Wouldn't take much..."

Crane clicks his tongue again, and without a word the guards draw to a halt, their hands like iron bands around your arms. You blink, confused and disorientated, and do nothing with the moment's warning as Crane lets out a breath and steps in front of you. He hits you, a balled fist to the gut, and you double up with a gasp as your innards force their way into your throat.

He doesn't stop there. Again and again he hits you, sharp workmanlike blows raining down upon your chest and shoulders, and just when you think he might be getting tired he takes a step back and brings a polished boot swinging up into your groin. The world spins, your body burning with fire and ice as pain and nausea battle for control of your senses, and when he finally stops the commander is breathing heavily, his fear exorcised through pain.

"Speak when spoken to, four-two-five," he says, wiping his hands against your ragged jumpsuit, "And only then. Am I clear?"

You can't speak. You can barely even think, your face wet with tears and your chin dripping with half-solid bile, and the one thought in your mind is that you could end it now. The collar around your neck is a bomb, but would not that be a kinder end than what your captors have planned? Is it not better to go out on your own terms, and perhaps if you are lucky to take some of these monsters with you? You think it might be, you almost go through with it… but no. While you live, you hope. While you hope, not all is lost. There might yet be a way out of this, a way to change the stakes and escape your chains, and while that hope exists you will not resign yourself to death. Not yet. Not yet..

You can't really walk now, your legs are too weak to support your weight, so the going is slower and your guards soon grunting with the exertion. You scarcely notice, drawing your thoughts inwards, hiding from the dull ache of pain that radiates from every inch of your body. Distantly you are aware that you've exited the warren of corridors and entered some large, cavernous space, but nothing really registers save for the gleam of cell bars and the looming bulk of a central tower. A watchtower, a panopticon to keep the prisoners at bay, and at its heart… the titanic, chiselled symbol of your judgement made manifest.

A singular gothic I, crossed with three horizontal bars. His Imperial Majesty's Holy Inquisition. Your gaolers, your masters, your executioners-in-waiting.

A door unseals with a pneumatic hiss, allowing you and your escort inside, and the shadows swallow you whole. There is nothing to see save gloom, nothing to feel save pain, nowhere to go save on whatever path your captors choose… and then, at the end, a bench. A wirework frame to hold you, shackles and manacles to bind you, a single burning bulb to set the metal tools to gleaming. Knives and spikes and razor-tipped syringes, vials of strange liquid and wands that glow red hot. You've seen many of them before. You know what it is they do.

"No, no please," you moan, thrashing weakly as the guards strap you in place and disappear into the gloom, "I already told you everything, please, don't… there's nothing else, I swear..."

"I believe you."

Your eyes adjust to the gloom at last, and in the shadows at the edge of the chamber you can make out the newcomer, the second man to speak to you today. He is as different from Crane as night from day, a small man with hunched shoulders and a wiry frame hidden beneath a coat of some strange reptilian leather. His hair is wispy and white, his eyes soft and kind, and on the bridge of his nose perch a set of silver eyeglasses. He looks like someone's favourite grandpa, a kind-hearted elder here to indulge his descendents with treats and stories of a mischievous youth.

There is a rosette pinned to his lapel, and next to that detail all else is trite and meaningless.

"You have been most forthcoming, prisoner oh-four-two-five, and we have been equally attentive," the Inquisitor says, folding his hands in front of him and peering down at you with a kindly gaze, "but now it is time for us to speak, and you to listen. Will you be quiet, and do just that for me?"

You nod, heart beating erratically in your chest as you try to contain your terror. You've never met an Inquisitor before, even after weeks (or is it months) in the care of their pet monsters, but you've heard the stories. Your mother used to invoke their gaze to make you and your siblings behave, and though you thought you were beyond such childish fears, the cold sweat beading your brow proves such confidence wrong. It's not childish to fear the Imperial Inquisition. It is only sane.

"You will? I'm glad. But before we begin, let us first establish some context," the Inquisitor says with a soft smile, one hand brushing almost absently against the metal tray and the tools it contains. "So that we both know where we stand."

You nod obediently, seizing even this faintest scrap of civility as a suffocating man would grope for a rebreather, even though on some level you know the trick for what it is. He's training you as a man would teach a hound, balancing the fear of punishment with the safety brought by obedience. Is it working? Would you even know if it was?

"You were born on the hive world of Malfi, capital of the subsector of the same name. A quite detestable place, in truth," the Inquisitor says, and your fist clenches without thought at the slight. He notices, of course he notices, and his smile is almost sincere as he raises his hand in apology. "Please know that I bear no animus towards you or any other singular resident of your homeworld. It is the culture that vexes me so, the traditional love for deception and double-dealing, for vendetta and preening. A world afflicted with such egotistical sophistication produces no end of headaches for the Holy Ordos. You understand, of course."

Of course you understand. You understand that this man is a liar, that his smiles are tools and his eyes keener than he would have you think. There is no way he is unaware of what his soldiers and subordinates have done to you, no path that leads him here with hands unstained by blood. Crane and his fists, Crane and his fear and his sadism, Crane is the truth of the Inquisition. You cannot allow yourself to forget that.

"You were loosely connected to the nobility, a bastard's by-blow five generations removed, but though your diluted blood gave you access to the powerful you were never truly one of them," the Inquisitor continues in a sympathetic voice, as though you should be angered by this, as though your place in the tapestry of society is some manner of insult or transgression. "A servant, an aide, a tiny cog in the machinery of an empire built on lies. It is surprisingly common, you know, how a flaw in such a tiny piece can produce tragedy out of all proportion to its size."

"One might almost think you were flattering me, Inquisitor…" you say dryly, or at least attempt to. Your voice fails you midway through, becoming a hoarse wheeze that draws the last word out in the semblance of a question.

"Tahr. Inquisitor Tahr, if you must know," your tormentor says with a kindly smile, "and such was not my intent. I suppose it cannot be helped, however. You're not all that used to flattery, are you, zero four two five? I suppose it was hard to come by, given your service as a…"

Article:

Who were you? The life you had on Malfi is done and finished, but one never truly outgrows their birthplace, and your formative years and principle trade have left marks still visible to this day:

[ ] Duelist. Malfi is a world obsessed with appearance and the art of vendetta, and often such performances turn violent. You were a champion-for-hire, a blade and gun available for coin or favour, at once a respectable professional and a thuggish pawn in another's games. (++Combat, +Social)

[ ] Tutor. Those of ambition seek both advancement and reminders of victories already won, and among the greatest accolades of the latter is a noble's education. You taught your charges of politics and lore and the shape of the cosmos, and tried not to despair at the uses to which they inevitably put it. (++Mental, +Social)

[ ] Veritor. Despite its sinister reputation, Malfi remains a civilised world, and with civilisation comes law and those who enforce it. Yours was a softer and more restrained hand than some, your victories won through guile and reason and only ever as prizes granted by the culprit's peers. (++Social, +Mental)

"Honest work, I think," you say, though the pain in your ribs makes the words quiet and fragile, injects a note of doubt, "Lawful, honest work. Virtuous, even, one could say."

"Honest work, on a world like Malfi? Hardly," Inquisitor Tahr smiles, as though you told him a joke, as though the idea that your life held meaning compared to his own is too absurd to even be offensive. "No, your life was much like any other, filled with all the myriad sins and failings of a mortal soul. Most were petty things, far beneath our concern. Then, at the age of twenty five, you became a psyker. Such awakenings typically occur in puberty, but a late bloomer is far from unusual, and even in this you were unexceptional… until, that is, you ran."

It isn't a question, you know it isn't, but he pauses anyway and you're feeling defensive enough to argue.

"You make it sound so simple, Inquisitor. I knew what being a psyker meant, everyone does," you say, your voice cracking slightly beneath the weight of the collar around your neck. "I knew what the law would do, what my neighbours would do, I knew…"

"That your sin was born of cowardice does not lessen it," Tahr says, and though his voice is that of a grandfather admonishing a wayward child you do not miss the way his hand comes to rest on the branding iron by his side. Your throat closes and your voice falls silent, and only when he is satisfied does the Inquisitor continue. "You ran, fearing the just application of imperial law, and after several near misses and misadventures too tedious to recite, you found the Menagerie. A malefic cult of the very worst kind, responsible for acts of blasphemy and atrocity across the subsector and beyond… and a haven for renegade psykers."

"They found me!" You protest, shocked out of your silence, silencing the gibbering voice of doom with a desperate grasp for innocence, for the possibility of an Inquisitor's mercy. "I didn't know, not who they were, not what they were. I thought it was just another syndicate, some hidden sect in service to a House, I didn't… I'm innocent, I swear!"

"Innocence, zero four two five, proves nothing," Inquisitor Tahr shakes his head, sighing at your naivete, " Your intent was venal and cowardly, your actions provided aid and comfort to the forces of darkness. Doubtless the Menagerie had no end of uses for one such as you…"

Article:

In what field do your psychic talents lie? It will be possible to develop and expand your capabilities into multiple disciplines in the future, but this is your foundation, the core competencies you will come to rely on.

[ ] Biomancy. Channelling the energy of the warp through the physical form allows you to manipulate flesh and bone with a thought, bolstering your capabilities and draining those of your foe.

[ ] Divination. Peering beyond the veil of reality, you may glean fragments of the truth about the future, the fate of you and others, or some distant point in space. With care and practice, you might even begin to manipulate them.

[ ] Telekinesis. By enforcing the superiority of mind over matter you may exert and manipulate physical force and energy. Magnitude is often less challenging than precision, but in extremis even gravity might be bent to serve your will.

[ ] Telepathy. The subtle realm of the mind is yours to command, the mere possibility of your perception and manipulation of both thought and emotion enough to make you feared, regardless of your deeds.

You swallow thickly, unable to speak. You learned much from the Menagerie while you were their guest, their prisoner, their agent. Little secrets, little truths, tattered fragments of a greater whole designed to bait you ever further into their coils. You undertook light favours for them at first, and then more serious tasks, and had the Inquisition not taken you doubtless greater and more terrible deeds still, but… you didn't know. Malfi is built upon such bricks, layers of fealty and obligation hidden behind masks of etiquette and guile. That this cell was worse than the others, that this deserves damnation where another would scarce merit an eyebrow… it's not fair. It isn't just. It isn't right.

"Nothing to say, no more denials? A pity. Perhaps you are not quite so committed as I believed," the Inquisitor says with a sigh too easy to be natural, "but no matter. Rejoice, zero four two five, for though you have sinned, the God-Emperor has seen fit to offer you redemption."

There is a finality in his words that snaps you from your horror, that fills your guts with lead and makes the world seem distant and quiet all around you. "What… what do you mean?"

"Your body is honed, and your talents quite impressive, but the mind is weak and the soul too soiled for any righteous use," Tahr says, as though this is a thing any man can possibly hope to judge. "So we shall grant you another. A new life, a new purpose. Upon arrival at Scintilla you will be taken for processing, and with your memories excised and your personality grafted, you will know the peace of righteous service in the Inquisition's name. Death, when it comes, will be the capstone upon your redemption."

He thinks it a mercy. You can see it in his eyes, hear it in his words. He thinks that condemning you to such a fate is a kinder end than you deserve, that he is being generous by merely promising to scrub away all that you are and ever have been, that a life of mindless service is preferable. He is going to kill you and parade your corpse around on strings, and he honestly expects you to be grateful.

"You… you can't!" you say frantically, straining at your bonds, reaching with your mind though the collar beeps in warning, "You can't do this!"

"Now now, zero four…"

"THAT'S NOT MY NAME!" You roar, and the leather cuff around one arm snaps, and the Inquisitor lets a brief flash of alarm enter his eyes as he backs away, "I HAVE A NAME YOU BASTARD! I HAVE A NAME! I HAVE…"

There is a hiss, a pneumatic whine, a touch of ice against your neck and you are falling. Falling down into darkness, into the welcoming embrace of death, into the void that is all they would make of you, and in that void you scream and shout and cling to the one thing that matters with all the fervour of a dying sun.

Your name. You won't surrender your name. You won't let them take it from you. You won't. You refuse…

Article:

What is your name? Malfi tends towards space!italy with a heavy dose of the byzantine and baroque, if you need inspiration or guidance.

[ ] Write in

You may also include other details such as gender and physical description if you wish, though this isn't being taken as a strict vote.

 

[Maugan Ra]

A Word of Welcome

Welcome everyone to my latest quest, set in the universe of Warhammer 40k. In this quest you play a character either blessed or cursed with the gifts of the Psyker, and try to both survive and make a life for yourself worth living in the Grim Darkness of the Far Future.

As the opening chapter should establish, in this quest, the Imperium of Man is hostile. You are a renegade psyker, unsanctioned and untrained, and worse than that you were however unwittingly a member of a Chaos Cult. Should the Imperium recapture you, then the future that Inquisitor Tahr offered is the most merciful of many terrible options. They have many reasons for this policy, some of them even sensible and pragmatic, but such cold logic is of little comfort to one such as you.

Note that this does not mean that Chaos is automatically your ally - the whispers of daemons and the ambitions of those who serve them will be a frequent occurrence in this quest, but whether you accept or reject them (and more critically why) will remain a matter of player choice. To Fall is the easy path, one that presents any number of rewards and temptations, but it remains entirely possible to live your life free of any master... for a time, at least. The Dark Gods can be patient, when they need to be.

The system used for this quest is Wrath and Glory, the 40k rpg, albeit modified for quest use and my own comfort. A knowledge of the system is not required, save for the most basic level - tests are taken by assembling a number of d6 equal to (attribute+skill) and rolling them. 4+ grants one 'icon', a 6 grants two icons and often some kind of additional benefit, and you must obtain a certain number of icons equal to the difficulty of the test in order to succeed.

 

[Maugan Ra]

Name: Vincenzo Leonardo Borgia
Keywords: Psyker, Scum
Origin: Fallen member of High Society (+1 Resolve)
Accomplishment: Professional Duellist (+1 Max Wounds)
Goal: A Free Life (+1 Determination)

XP Spent: 16

Attributes

Attribute Name	Rank	XP to next rank	Description
Strength	2	0/6	Raw physical power, athletic prowess and bodily might.
Toughness	3	2/10	Endurance and vitality, ability to resist trauma, toxins and disease
Agility	2	0/6	Dexterity and coordination, accuracy and finesse
Initiative	4	0/15	Reflexes and reaction speed, ability to make split-second decisions
Willpower	5	0/20	Self-control and mental fortitude, ability to harness or resist the power of the warp
Intellect	3	0/10	Processing, retaining and applying information.
Fellowship	3	0/10	Charisma, sensitivity to social cues, empathy.

Skills

Skill Name (Linked Attribute)	Rank	XP to next rank	Description
Athletics (Str)	1	0/4	Running, jumping and swimming, applying strength to others and the environment.
Awareness (Int)	1	0/4	Observing details and changes in the environment, especially hidden ones.
Ballistic Skill (Ag)	2	0/6	Skill with firearms and other ranged weapons. Includes identifying, understanding and maintaining them.
Cunning (Fel)	1	0/4	Operating outside the law, or thinking like those who do. Used to find illicit goods, obtain information subtly and make cunning plans.
Deception (Fel)	3	0/8	Deceiving and manipulating others, whether through plain lies, carefully worded truths or poisonous flattery.
Insight (Fel)	1	0/4	Pick up on social cues or discern the motivations of others. Also used to detect liars.
Intimidation (Will)	1	0/4	Frightening others into doing your will, through bullying, coercion and threats both stated and implied.
Investigation (Int)	0	0/2	Deciphering clues, performing research and obtaining information through formal channels.
Leadership (Will or Fel)	1	0/4	Inspiring others to do dangerous things, taking command in stressful situations, inspiring respect and obedience.
Medicine (Int)	1	0/4	Diagnosing and treating injuries, diseases and toxins
Persuasion (Fel)	2	2/6	Swaying other people to your point of view or preferred course of action through charm, empathy and manipulation.
Pilot (Ag)	0	0/2	Knowledge of and ability to use vehicles on the land, sea and sky.
Psychic Mastery (Will)	3	0/8	Ability to understand, use and counter psychic abilities and warp phenomena
Scholar (Int)	1	0/4	Absorbing knowledge and recalling it later when relevant, from public announcements to forbidden lore
Stealth (Ag)	0	0/2	Going unnoticed, whether by hiding or simply making yourself look broadly uninteresting
Survival (Will)	0	0/2	Finding food and shelter or navigating to a specific destination. Works in both wilderness and urban environments.
Tech (Int)	1	0/4	Understanding, using and repairing works of advanced technology, such as cogitators, plasma weapons and force fields.
Weapon Skill (I)	4	0/10	Knowledge of how to recognise, employ and maintain melee weapons of all varieties.

Combat Traits
Defence = Initiative -1 = 3 (Base difficulty to be hit by attacks)
Resilience = Toughness + Armour +1 = 7 (Soak applied to incoming damage)
Max Wounds = (2x Tier) + Toughness +1 (Accomplishment) = 8 (Max damage taken before dying)
Determination = Toughness +1 (Goal) = 4 (Rolled to convert incoming wounds to shock)
Max Shock = Willpower + Tier = 7 (Max mental shock and trauma taken before exhaustion)

Mental Traits
Corruption = 0
Conviction = Willpower = 5 (Dice rolled to resist corruption)
Resolve = (Willpower -1) +1 Origin = 5 (Rolled to resist fear and terror)
Passive Awareness = (Awareness + Intellect) /2 = 2 (Base difficulty to be snuck past)

Social Traits
Influence = (Fellowship -1) = 2 (rolled to acquire goods and services)
Wealth = 0 (Spent to boost influence rolls)

Archetype Abilities and Talents

Psyker - Can learn the Psychic Mastery skill and develop psychic powers.

Discovery is Death - Gain (rank x2) bonus dice on all tests made to conceal your nature as an unsanctioned psyker

XP to Next Talent - 0/15

Equipment
Laspistol - 7+1ED damage, Reliable
Fancy Clothing
Flak Coat - AP3
Force Sword - (Str)+5+4ED Damage, AP-3, Force (Adds half will to damage) Parry (+1 defence in melee)

Psychic Abilities

Universal

• Psyniscience - Make a DN3 test as a free action to detect warp phenomena within 50m. This cannot trigger Perils of the Warp.
• Deny the Witch - When another psyker invokes a power, you may nullify it with a test at DN (2 + target power's DN)
• Smite - As an action, roll against the target's defence to inflict d3 mortal wounds.
  • [3] +1 mortal wound

Minor Powers

• Dull Pain - DN4 simple action to desensitize self or another to pain. Target reduces all shock damage taken by 1 as long as this power is sustained.
  • [1] All shock damage is reduced by a further 1.
  • [3] Target reduces all wounds taken by one.
• XP to next minor power: 0/5

Biomancy

• Warp Speed - DN7 test to enhance own speed, moving impossibly quickly. Will the power is sustained, double your speed, gain an extra action per turn, always go first and increase defence by 1. Take d3+1 shock per round due to the strain this power places on the body.
  • [1*] Reduce shock taken by one.
  • [2] Increase defence by a further +1.
• Shape Flesh - DN6 test to modify and shape your own physical form. At a baseline, change your appearance and body to that of any creature with a roughly equal physical mass. Can also grant self wings, water-breathing, hardened skin (+4 resilience) or other useful mutations, once per use of the power.
  • [1] Gain +1 bonus dice when imitating a specific individual
  • [2] Gain a second useful mutation when employing the power.
• XP to next Biomancy power: 0/15

 

[Woltaire]

I am a simple man I see a new @Maugan Ra quest I click

[X] Tutor. Those of ambition seek both advancement and reminders of victories already won, and among the greatest accolades of the latter is a noble's education. You taught your charges of politics and lore and the shape of the cosmos, and tried not to despair at the uses to which they inevitably put it. (++Mental, +Social)

[X] Veritor. Despite its sinister reputation, Malfi remains a civilised world, and with civilisation comes law and those who enforce it. Yours was a softer and more restrained hand than some, your victories won through guile and reason and only ever as prizes granted by the culprit's peers. (++Social, +Mental)

[X] Biomancy. Channelling the energy of the warp through the physical form allows you to manipulate flesh and bone with a thought, bolstering your capabilities and draining those of your foe.

[X] Belisarius

 

[justlove]

Plan I didn't ask how big the room is I said I cast fireball
[X] Duelist. Malfi is a world obsessed with appearance and the art of vendetta, and often such performances turn violent. You were a champion-for-hire, a blade and gun available for coin or favour, at once a respectable professional and a thuggish pawn in another's games. (++Combat, +Social)
[X] Telekinesis. By enforcing the superiority of mind over matter you may exert and manipulate physical force and energy. Magnitude is often less challenging than precision, but in extremis even gravity might be bent to serve your will.
[X] Andrew Beretta

Andrew is a Greek name meaning brave and Beretta is both an Italian arms firm and a gun that they make.

Fair point @Imrix I guess I just assumed that we'd end up working for them in some capacity. Still I like the name and its connotations so I'll stick with it.

 

[Alectai]

I too am very simple.

[X] Tutor. Those of ambition seek both advancement and reminders of victories already won, and among the greatest accolades of the latter is a noble's education. You taught your charges of politics and lore and the shape of the cosmos, and tried not to despair at the uses to which they inevitably put it. (++Mental, +Social)
[X] Divination. Peering beyond the veil of reality, you may glean fragments of the truth about the future, the fate of you and others, or some distant point in space. With care and practice, you might even begin to manipulate them.
[X] Verity

Dunno about name, I haven't had time to read everything but I don't know if we're lady psyker or gentleman psyker.

 

[Maugan Ra]

I too am very simple.

[X] Tutor. Those of ambition seek both advancement and reminders of victories already won, and among the greatest accolades of the latter is a noble's education. You taught your charges of politics and lore and the shape of the cosmos, and tried not to despair at the uses to which they inevitably put it. (++Mental, +Social)
[X] Divination. Peering beyond the veil of reality, you may glean fragments of the truth about the future, the fate of you and others, or some distant point in space. With care and practice, you might even begin to manipulate them.

Dunno about name, I haven't had time to read everything but I don't know if we're lady psyker or gentleman psyker.

Click to shrink...

The protag's gender is currently undefined. There may be a vote on that later, or people's preferences might be made clear from the choice of name.

 

[Alectai]

Nice. Edited in a name.

Because "Truth" is one of those really ironic names in this setting, and with our character's story. It's also a Virtue Name which implies a highly pious upbringing, which also goes to show why their reaction was "OH FUCK" when their nature became clear--they know full well what actually happens to Psykers regardless of what the law says.

 

[Scia]

Alekandratia Kleftis
[X] Tutor. Those of ambition seek both advancement and reminders of victories already won, and among the greatest accolades of the latter is a noble's education. You taught your charges of politics and lore and the shape of the cosmos, and tried not to despair at the uses to which they inevitably put it. (++Mental, +Social)

[X] Biomancy. Channelling the energy of the warp through the physical form allows you to manipulate flesh and bone with a thought, bolstering your capabilities and draining those of your foe.
[X]Alekandratia Kleftis
A guide, a protector and healer of men, and someone who is in the run.

Lacking the ability to preplan and cheat via knowing what will be we need to use our brain in a different sense.
We can fight and defend ourself with our powers, always daring to reveal ourself. But we can also find employment with those that want such a healing without betraying us, and yet we are not so dangerous that people will be unwilling to let us go as it would be with other witches

 

[Teocraso]

[x] Duelist. Malfi is a world obsessed with appearance and the art of vendetta, and often such performances turn violent. You were a champion-for-hire, a blade and gun available for coin or favour, at once a respectable professional and a thuggish pawn in another's games. (++Combat, +Social)

[x] Biomancy. Channelling the energy of the warp through the physical form allows you to manipulate flesh and bone with a thought, bolstering your capabilities and draining those of your foe.

Clearly the best name would be:

[x] VINCENZO LEONARDO BORGIA

I don't know what any of those names mean but clearly the right name is the most Italian one possible.

 

[Renu]

[X] Tutor. Those of ambition seek both advancement and reminders of victories already won, and among the greatest accolades of the latter is a noble's education. You taught your charges of politics and lore and the shape of the cosmos, and tried not to despair at the uses to which they inevitably put it. (++Mental, +Social)

[X] Telepathy. The subtle realm of the mind is yours to command, the mere possibility of your perception and manipulation of both thought and emotion enough to make you feared, regardless of your deeds.

[X] Rosalia Constantine

or, if male, Jedediah Constantine so we automatically receive a revolver, a leather coat, a grizzled voice and a tobacco addiction.

 

[Not A Pipe]

I'm excited for this but I was a little confused when I saw the title as there's another quest with the title already: Suffer Not ≡][≡ 40k Inquisition Quest Mature

 

[Woltaire]

[X] Tutor. Those of ambition seek both advancement and reminders of victories already won, and among the greatest accolades of the latter is a noble's education. You taught your charges of politics and lore and the shape of the cosmos, and tried not to despair at the uses to which they inevitably put it. (++Mental, +Social)

[X] Biomancy. Channelling the energy of the warp through the physical form allows you to manipulate flesh and bone with a thought, bolstering your capabilities and draining those of your foe.

[X]Alekandratia Kleftis

 

[Imrix]

Andrew is a Greek name meaning brave and Beretta is both an Italian arms firm and a gun that they make. I like the idea that our name would basically mean brave weapon while serving the emperor (a tad unwillingly but still).

Click to shrink...

i mean

As the opening chapter should establish, in this quest, the Imperium of Man is hostile. You are a renegade psyker, unsanctioned and untrained, and worse than that you were however unwittingly a member of a Chaos Cult. Should the Imperium recapture you, then the future that Inquisitor Tahr offered is the most merciful of many terrible options. They have many reasons for this policy, some of them even sensible and pragmatic, but such cold logic is of little comfort to one such as you.

Click to shrink...

it seems pretty clear that we're not going to be serving the inquisition, and that the prologue arc is going to consist of how we escaped the inquisition and how much damage we caused in the process

 

[Laundreu]

[x] Duelist. Malfi is a world obsessed with appearance and the art of vendetta, and often such performances turn violent. You were a champion-for-hire, a blade and gun available for coin or favour, at once a respectable professional and a thuggish pawn in another's games. (++Combat, +Social)

[x] Biomancy. Channelling the energy of the warp through the physical form allows you to manipulate flesh and bone with a thought, bolstering your capabilities and draining those of your foe.

[x] VINCENZO LEONARDO BORGIA

if it's good enough for a bear its good enough for me

 

[Alectai]

Yeah, TBH, the Imperium deserves to be kicked repeatedly and with great vigor for its evils.

But the trick is doing so without literally justifying their dickery, with the Chaos Gods trying to co-opt you at all times.

Remember, an Imperial Assassin ganking you is a win, because it means the Imperium had no 'Legitimate' recourse to shutting you up except resorting to their "Murder Literally Anything" option generally reserved for secessionists and powerful protestors.

 

[Spear]

[X] Veritor. Despite its sinister reputation, Malfi remains a civilised world, and with civilisation comes law and those who enforce it. Yours was a softer and more restrained hand than some, your victories won through guile and reason and only ever as prizes granted by the culprit's peers.
[X] Telekinesis. By enforcing the superiority of mind over matter you may exert and manipulate physical force and energy. Magnitude is often less challenging than precision, but in extremis even gravity might be bent to serve your will.
[X] VINCENZO LEONARDO BORGIA

Something something the crime in the Old Country ™️ requires a soft touch, so soft you have to do it from three hundred meters away and with your mind.

 

[Renu]

Yeah, TBH, the Imperium deserves to be kicked repeatedly and with great vigor for its evils.

But the trick is doing so without literally justifying their dickery, with the Chaos Gods trying to co-opt you at all times.

Remember, an Imperial Assassin ganking you is a win, because it means the Imperium had no 'Legitimate' recourse to shutting you up except resorting to their "Murder Literally Anything" option generally reserved for secessionists and powerful protestors.

Click to shrink...

Let's do something new and be a chaos stan instead of an imperium stan.

Thing is, what does Chaos do that is worse than the Imperium? Mass murder? Ritual Sacrifice? Cannibalism? The doom of all life and hope? Because the Imperium does it too.

As such, joining Chaos to fuck the Imperium is, if not moral, a neutral choice.

Now, the moral choice would be to become a Gue'Vesa.

 

[Manic Dogma]

It's very funny to me how, even with an entire first post wholly and unambiguously dedicated to hammering home with only the largest, most decadently decorated and unmercifully heavy of hammers that the Imperium is not just malicious, but its malice is directed upon the MC with a merciless zeal and unrelenting focus...

People still immediately defaulted to "We gonna work for them, do good job :>"

[X] Duelist. Malfi is a world obsessed with appearance and the art of vendetta, and often such performances turn violent. You were a champion-for-hire, a blade and gun available for coin or favour, at once a respectable professional and a thuggish pawn in another's games. (++Combat, +Social)

[X] Biomancy. Channelling the energy of the warp through the physical form allows you to manipulate flesh and bone with a thought, bolstering your capabilities and draining those of your foe.

[X] Konrul Fata Obiezione (Konnie to your friends, most of whom are dead)

I know what I'm about, and when I see the opportunity to be a monstrously powerful melee character, you bet your ass I'm going to take it over the much less fun talky scholarly options.

(Edit: Thanks Revlid, for the much better name)

 

[Alectai]

Let's do something new and be a chaos stan instead of an imperium stan.

Thing is, what does Chaos do that is worse than the Imperium? Mass murder? Ritual Sacrifice? Cannibalism? The doom of all life and hope? Because the Imperium does it too.

As such, joining Chaos to fuck the Imperium is, if not moral, a neutral choice.

Now, the moral choice would be to become a Gue'Vesa.

Click to shrink...

I mean you're not wrong, the difference is that for Chaos, the suffering is quite literally the point and explicitly reaches beyond death, while the Imperium doesn't actually care what happens to you after they've finished wringing you for all you're worth.

Also, Chaos is literally just as dehumanizing as the Imperium is because you either devolve to Spawn or have to fit to one of their four archetype boxes until you don't have the ability to think or act outside of it. That's the real irony of it, Chaos is just the Imperium that isn't trying to pretend like they're in it for your Best Interests. But when you use evil to fight evil you still have evil at the end of the day and have thus not solved your monster problem in the slightest.

 

[Naatra]

[X] Tutor. Those of ambition seek both advancement and reminders of victories already won, and among the greatest accolades of the latter is a noble's education. You taught your charges of politics and lore and the shape of the cosmos, and tried not to despair at the uses to which they inevitably put it. (++Mental, +Social)

[X] Biomancy. Channelling the energy of the warp through the physical form allows you to manipulate flesh and bone with a thought, bolstering your capabilities and draining those of your foe.

 

[darknessworld]

[X] Tutor. Those of ambition seek both advancement and reminders of victories already won, and among the greatest accolades of the latter is a noble's education. You taught your charges of politics and lore and the shape of the cosmos, and tried not to despair at the uses to which they inevitably put it. (++Mental, +Social)
[X] Biomancy. Channelling the energy of the warp through the physical form allows you to manipulate flesh and bone with a thought, bolstering your capabilities and draining those of your foe.
[X] VINCENZO LEONARDO BORGIA

Always have a hidden middle name. It would probably help us in the future when some sorcerers or daemons will try to enslave/kill/sacrifice us. Also, those random names actually works.

 

[Wootius]

[X] Duelist. Malfi is a world obsessed with appearance and the art of vendetta, and often such performances turn violent. You were a champion-for-hire, a blade and gun available for coin or favour, at once a respectable professional and a thuggish pawn in another's games. (++Combat, +Social)
[X] Telekinesis. By enforcing the superiority of mind over matter you may exert and manipulate physical force and energy. Magnitude is often less challenging than precision, but in extremis even gravity might be bent to serve your will.

 

[Cecylene]

[X] Duelist. Malfi is a world obsessed with appearance and the art of vendetta, and often such performances turn violent. You were a champion-for-hire, a blade and gun available for coin or favour, at once a respectable professional and a thuggish pawn in another's games. (++Combat, +Social)

[X] Divination. Peering beyond the veil of reality, you may glean fragments of the truth about the future, the fate of you and others, or some distant point in space. With care and practice, you might even begin to manipulate them.

I like this combination due to how Warhammer is a system that has a lot of options to it, especially for Psykers, to participate in not just being the "Scholarly" archetype but also supplement their physical abilities and be something a bit more varied. Psychic might isn't often quite as cost-effective at killing people as using guns or swords to stab them, sure we can begin burning out the minds of the weak-willed but when it comes to actual threats that don't come in Mob-form there is going to rapidly be a need to stand and fight and I would like for this character to not only be able to do that but be damned good at it too

Divination is always a favorite, not just for how it can help fill in gaps of both in and out of game knowledge and provide plot hooks a plenty, the powers of Divination in Warhammer and W&G in particular are very very fun. The basic ability to boost our rolls or make enemies vulnerable, scrying, post-cognition, querying the cosmos, and Seizing the Initiative or boosting our own defenses are all fun parts of divination.

As for a name, I'm thinking...

[X] Genevieve Praetius De Marius

Or for a male protagonist:"

[X] Juliannus Praetius De Marius

It's pretentious, as makes sense for the world Malfi apparently was, but also it nicknames well into Genn/Jules, Jenny/Jay, GP/JP, Marius, etc. for both cover opportunities as well as relationships with other characters.

 

[Walker]

[X] Duelist. Malfi is a world obsessed with appearance and the art of vendetta, and often such performances turn violent. You were a champion-for-hire, a blade and gun available for coin or favour, at once a respectable professional and a thuggish pawn in another's games. (++Combat, +Social)
[X] Biomancy. Channelling the energy of the warp through the physical form allows you to manipulate flesh and bone with a thought, bolstering your capabilities and draining those of your foe.
[X] Alekandratia Kleftis