Quick Links
In the grimdark future there is only war, and with the tireless legions of darkness scratching at the door, there's only one group in the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Warhammer 40K universe ab🍸le to slow them down. The Inquisitiไon is the candle flickering in the gloom of the far future, and woe to those on any world that enter their gaze.
A group of heavily armed and often psychically gifted individuals, the Inquisition is an organization that exists outside of the hierarchy of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the Imperium. A force that ruthlessly hunts down any and all threats to the stability of the human empire, the Inquisition carries a lot of influence and weight in their actions. There’s a lot of information to get through, but here’s a slimline look at the Inquisitors🐲 of Warhammer 40,000.
Who Are The Inquisition?
A secretive order that often performs the Imperium's dirty work in the shadows, you do not want a visit from an Inquisitor. They are the equivalent of the Secret Police of the Imperium and beholden to mostly no one but themselves. Considered merciless zea⛄lots by even the 🦄most devout believer in the Emperor of Mankind, Inquisitors fight with a faith and fury that is unbreakable and unquestionable.
They operate both alone or with a retinue of powerful individuals they’ve recruited during their time as an Inquisitor. Their goal, to protect the worlds and souls of Humanity from any and all threats through whatever methods they deem appropriate. Whether that’s destroying Xenos artifacts to stop them from falling into the wrong hands, purging planets tainted with Chaos, eliminating Tyranid Genestealer Cults, or putting an end to world leaders that got a bit too big for their boots. Their mission is unending and there’s no retirement for an Inquisitor. But it’s an organization that kept the universe relatively safe from a lot of much stronger threats they weren’t prepared for🎐 just yet foᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚr a very long time.
Why Do They Fight?
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1.5)
Without the Inquisition fighting the good fight, Humanity may have been lost to the unending tides of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Daemonic Warp Spawn, mutants, and monsters millennia ago. Without their knowledge and constant fight against the dark places of the universe, the Imperium wouldn't have survived for as long as it has. Their eternal crusade is crucial, as the raw anarchic psychic maelstrom of the Immaterium doesn't exactly play nice with normal reality.
If the material plane were to mesh with the immaterial you would see reality tear apart, time unwinds, organic and inorganic matter twisted beyond recognition, and a tireless tide of monsters from every dark nightmare unleashed upon countless worlds. Entire planets and their population would be pulled into a realm akin to hell, the torment within depending on which particular dark deity laid claim to the world and the damned souls within. Countless worlds have🍰 been lost to the terrors of the Warp, uprisings, Xenos machinations, and more꧑. But just as many have been saved by a select few on missions nobody will ever know took place.
Hierarchy
Unlike other groups within the Imperium where they report to a higher power within the unyielding hierarchy of Humanity, the Inquisitors are mostly free to take part in whatever task they see fit. As long as it’s in the interest of preserving the human race, they pretty much do what they want.
However, they're not an unorganized mob as, the Inquisition is broken up into a series of equally secretive sects known as Ordos. But, this is far from strict compartmentalization, as these groups often act in tandem with each other, either for a common goal or for their own unique interests. It's not perfect, but it does allow a great degree of autonomy in an organization that would struggle to function without it.
The Ordos
There are a number of different Ordos within the Inquisition and each has its own specific goals, rules, and requirements for joining. There is no set ruler within these groups, but those of esteemed experience (Grandmasters) are often deferred to in times of importance or greaꦐt need. In 🌊some circumstances, members of different Ordos will often form groups known as Conclaves, led by the most experienced of them.
Discord and apathy within these groups is rare. But because of the wide and varying beliefs and methods of each particular Ordos, in particular such groups like the Puritans and Radicals, occasionally there can be some friction. To lay out this complicated and often interlaced web of operatives, here's a brief rundown of the main Ordos and their purpose:
|
Ordo Malleus |
The Daemon Hunters |
|
Ordo Xenos |
The Alien Hunters |
|
Ordo Hereticus |
The Heretic, Mutant, and Witch Hunters |
Each of them combats threats to Humanity and the Imperium that are both external and internal. These are just the major Ordos operating within the influence of the Imperium, but there are also a lot of notable minor groups as well as even smaller ones outside of those. To catalog each and everyone would require several novels worth of information. But rest assured that there's enough of them to counter essentially every threat the deep reaches of space can throw at them.
The Inquisitions Influence
One of the most terrifying aspects of the Inquisitions is just how much reach, influence, and power they wield. Only the God Emperor and his Adeptus Custodes a♋re exempt from their scrutꦕiny, but only just. Anyone can be brought in for questioning or have their forces commandeered by an Inquisitor for an ulterior motive.
No one is safe from their gaze, from the High Lords of Terra to the lowliest Guardsmen and even entire Space Marine Chapters have to bow their heads in supplication to the Inquisition should they stop by. Many are more than willing to subject themselves to an Inquisitor's demands lest they be branded Heretics and subsequently purged. In some extreme cases, those that are found to be heretical, but are still of use, are of𝐆ten mind-purged. Their will, identity, and memories removed an🔴d replaced, turning them into disposable agents of the Inquisition. Either way, you don’t want them knocking on your door.
Purges And Stigmas
Purges and the Inquisition go hand in hand. It's their favorite thing to do when it comes to dealing with Humanity's problems and they can mainly only be started after an individual, Chapter House or World has been marked officially with an Imperial Stigma.
There are a number of them, and they have different names depending on the Ordos that issued them. For example, the Ordo Malleus use Extremis Diabolis, Ordo Hereticus use Hereticus Abomini and the Ordo Xenos use Xenos Horrificus. If 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Space Marines Chapters are involved and deemed to be traitors, they're stigmatised as Excommunicate Traitoris. All of these are permanently marked on Imperial records and it's borderline impossible to have them removed. Receiving one of these is essentially a death sentence being issued, and it's usually not long until the purges and cleansing crusades begin after that.
Exterminatus
In the event that a world is completely lost and beyond redemption, then an Inquisitor may pull out the final knife in their bag, the Exterminatus. Not something that's ordered lightly, an Exterminatus renders entire planets into lifeless husks.
The methods for mass destruction are many and all of them are awful. From organic matter-melting Virus Bombs, to atmosphere burners and planet crackers that blast worlds into floating space debris. Thankfully, there are some parameters and protocols in place to prevent planetary destruction being the instant easy option for dealing with a Chaos incursion, uprising, and extremely bad 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ork Waagh or Xenos horde. However, there have still been cases of rogue or warp-tainted Inquisitors dealing out armageddon to billions on a whim. So just because your planet got a pass for now, doesn't mean it's not off the table. The🐠y could just hit the big Doomsday button for a reason known only🎶 to themselves.
Technology
The arms and weaponry that can be wielded or pulled out to solve the problems of the Imperium are seemingly almost limitless. All an Inquisitor has to do is flash the right seal and they can get access to an entire Forge World's worth of arms at short notice.
Still, the means of defense for an Inquisitor are many and unique to the particular member. It's not uncommon to find Bolters, Mechanicus inventions, and even strange Xenos artifacts being used by these Marshals of the universe. As long as it kills whatever it's aimed at or stabbed through, a weapon is a weapon as far as an Inquisitor is concerned.
As far as transportation and uniforms are concerned, again it depends on the particular Conclave, Cell, or Ordos as they all have their own preferred manner of dress and modes of travel. Some use Imperial-class starships, other small disguised Rogue Trader vessels. They're a rainbow-colored assortment of Secret Space Police, which is just how they like it as it makes them unpredictable and often hard to detect.