Inquisition (Warhammer 40,000)
Encyclopedia
The Inquisition is an organisation in the fictional Warhammer 40,000
universe. They act as the secret police
of the Imperium
, hunting down any and all threats to the stability of the God-Emperor's realm. In fiction relating to the games, Inquisitors are usually represented by extremely powerful, intelligent, and talented individuals. In the games, Inquisitors are usually powerful combatants with a variety of specialized abilities with a party of followers who improve and protect the Inquisitor. Inquisitors also grant the player access to many new units, such as Imperial Assassins and Daemonhosts.
There are online rules for using the Deathwatch, the militant arm of the Ordo Xenos and one such Ordo Xenos Inquisitor has been released by Forge World. The Deathwatch and the thousands of sister organizations like the Retribution Sentinels have millions of cloned genetic-super troops just like the thousands of space marines taken every day from every chapter of the Space Marines. Following the end of the Inquisitor line, and the successful relaunch of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay by Black Industries, it was decided that the first roleplaying game to explore the Warhammer 40,000 universe would be Dark Heresy, a game in which the player characters are, by default, diverse agents of the Inquisition sent to investigate various mysteries and heresies on behalf of their Inquisitor.
In early editions of Warhammer 40,000, the Inquisition was a single, undivided organization, with a single inner order, the Ordo Malleus. The stated purpose of the Ordo was to police the Inquisition itself, but it also existed to combat the threat of the infinite hordes of Chaos via the numerous Grey Knights with their billions of companion armies like the Golden Aquilas, Eagles of Purity, Black Hammers and the Void Souls to name only a few. This massive war remains a secret hidden from most forces of the Imperium, including non-Malleus Inquisitors. The Grey Knights are equipped almost entirely in terminator armor and bolstered by their innate force powers and their elite orders of Paladins and Purifiers.
It was hinted in the book "The Flight of the Eisenstein" written by James Swallow, page 404, that the Inquisition was created around the Horus Heresy on order of Malcador the Sigillte, thus making battle-brothers Nathaniel Garro, of the Death Guard, Iacton Qruze, of the Sons of Horus, and the Sister of Silence, Amendera Kendel, the original founders of the Inquisition.
However, the more radical elements of the Inquisition also possess many forces of their own, such as the Radical Malleus' daemonhosts bound in Emperor blessed chains and seals or the trillions of pertinent and brainwashed former chaos or renegade marines that go to war with their armor devoid of any markings. The Ordo Xenos has radical elements as well like hidden android robotic armies from the Iron Men or the freed Necrons souls of the enslaved Void Dragon on Mars, a hope for the radicals that the Emperor can bind the corrupt xenos into his service.
There were originally only two Orders within the Inquisition(Ordo Malleus and Ordo Xenos), but a third (the Ordo Hereticus) was added after the events of the Age of Apostasy.
A further fourth the Ordo Sicarius was formed following the Wars of Vindication. It is rumored that the Inquisition has thousands of independent ordos and cells for various goals and tasks, and the resources they pool together can rival those individually owned by Inquisitor Lords.
Within the narrative provided by source books and other media, a number of Inquisitors are considered to be famous. Those include Gideon Ravenor, Ario Barzano who is featured in the book Night Bringer by Graham McNeill
, Gregor Eisenhorn the main character in the Eisenhorn series by Dan Abnett
, and Jaq Draco, the main character in the Inquisition War series, written by Ian Watson
. In the graphic novel Daemonifuge, by Kev Walker
, the character Silas Hand features prominently.
The development of other characters alludes to important literature works. Fydor Karamazov, Fyodor is known as the Pyrophant Judge of Salem Proctor. This is a reference to Arthur Miller's The Crucible
, Proctor being the name of one convicted, yet innocent, witch; and Salem being the puritan township he lived in. His name is a reference to Russian authors Fyodor Dostoevsky
's book entitled The Brothers Karamazov
whose main character is named Fyodor Karamazov and, included in the book, is a poem titled The Grand Inquisitor
.
Warhammer 40,000
Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
universe. They act as the secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
of the Imperium
Imperium (Warhammer 40,000)
The Imperium of Man is a fictional galactic empire of over a million planets that contains the vast majority of humans in the forty-first millennium, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe created by Games Workshop....
, hunting down any and all threats to the stability of the God-Emperor's realm. In fiction relating to the games, Inquisitors are usually represented by extremely powerful, intelligent, and talented individuals. In the games, Inquisitors are usually powerful combatants with a variety of specialized abilities with a party of followers who improve and protect the Inquisitor. Inquisitors also grant the player access to many new units, such as Imperial Assassins and Daemonhosts.
Development of the Inquisition
The Blood Angels are one of the 20 First Founding Legions of the Space Marines. They are well known for their bloodthirsty nature in battle, and feared for the curse of flawed gene-seed they carry. The Blood Angels are among the longest-lived of the Adeptus Astartes, with some of the Chapter's Space Marines having served the Emperor of Mankind for over a thousand standard years. Thanks to recent events, the Blood Angels' numbers have been severely depleted. Under the threat of extinction, and in order to quickly replenish their numbers, the Blood Angels were forced to ask their kindred Successor Chapters from subsequent Astartes Foundings for a tithe of warriors from the related Chapters' pools of Neophytes, their candidate Space Marines. With these tithes of new recruits, the Blood Angels were more quickly able to replenish their losses, though they still face a time of trial like none the Chapter has known since the days of the Horus Heresy.There are online rules for using the Deathwatch, the militant arm of the Ordo Xenos and one such Ordo Xenos Inquisitor has been released by Forge World. The Deathwatch and the thousands of sister organizations like the Retribution Sentinels have millions of cloned genetic-super troops just like the thousands of space marines taken every day from every chapter of the Space Marines. Following the end of the Inquisitor line, and the successful relaunch of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay by Black Industries, it was decided that the first roleplaying game to explore the Warhammer 40,000 universe would be Dark Heresy, a game in which the player characters are, by default, diverse agents of the Inquisition sent to investigate various mysteries and heresies on behalf of their Inquisitor.
In early editions of Warhammer 40,000, the Inquisition was a single, undivided organization, with a single inner order, the Ordo Malleus. The stated purpose of the Ordo was to police the Inquisition itself, but it also existed to combat the threat of the infinite hordes of Chaos via the numerous Grey Knights with their billions of companion armies like the Golden Aquilas, Eagles of Purity, Black Hammers and the Void Souls to name only a few. This massive war remains a secret hidden from most forces of the Imperium, including non-Malleus Inquisitors. The Grey Knights are equipped almost entirely in terminator armor and bolstered by their innate force powers and their elite orders of Paladins and Purifiers.
It was hinted in the book "The Flight of the Eisenstein" written by James Swallow, page 404, that the Inquisition was created around the Horus Heresy on order of Malcador the Sigillte, thus making battle-brothers Nathaniel Garro, of the Death Guard, Iacton Qruze, of the Sons of Horus, and the Sister of Silence, Amendera Kendel, the original founders of the Inquisition.
However, the more radical elements of the Inquisition also possess many forces of their own, such as the Radical Malleus' daemonhosts bound in Emperor blessed chains and seals or the trillions of pertinent and brainwashed former chaos or renegade marines that go to war with their armor devoid of any markings. The Ordo Xenos has radical elements as well like hidden android robotic armies from the Iron Men or the freed Necrons souls of the enslaved Void Dragon on Mars, a hope for the radicals that the Emperor can bind the corrupt xenos into his service.
There were originally only two Orders within the Inquisition(Ordo Malleus and Ordo Xenos), but a third (the Ordo Hereticus) was added after the events of the Age of Apostasy.
A further fourth the Ordo Sicarius was formed following the Wars of Vindication. It is rumored that the Inquisition has thousands of independent ordos and cells for various goals and tasks, and the resources they pool together can rival those individually owned by Inquisitor Lords.
Within the narrative provided by source books and other media, a number of Inquisitors are considered to be famous. Those include Gideon Ravenor, Ario Barzano who is featured in the book Night Bringer by Graham McNeill
Graham McNeill
Graham McNeill is a British novelist. He is best known for his Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 novels, and his previous role as games designer for Games Workshop.-Biography:...
, Gregor Eisenhorn the main character in the Eisenhorn series by Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...
, and Jaq Draco, the main character in the Inquisition War series, written by Ian Watson
Ian Watson (author)
Ian Watson is a British science fiction author. He currently lives in Northamptonshire, England.His first novel, The Embedding, winner of the Prix Apollo in 1975, is unusual for being based on ideas from generative grammar; the title refers to the process of center embedding...
. In the graphic novel Daemonifuge, by Kev Walker
Kev Walker
Kevin "Kev" Walker is a British comics artist and illustrator, based in Leeds, who worked mainly on 2000 AD and Warhammer comics and the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering...
, the character Silas Hand features prominently.
The development of other characters alludes to important literature works. Fydor Karamazov, Fyodor is known as the Pyrophant Judge of Salem Proctor. This is a reference to Arthur Miller's The Crucible
The Crucible
The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
, Proctor being the name of one convicted, yet innocent, witch; and Salem being the puritan township he lived in. His name is a reference to Russian authors Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. He is best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov....
's book entitled The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov is the final novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky spent nearly two years writing The Brothers Karamazov, which was published as a serial in The Russian Messenger and completed in November 1880...
whose main character is named Fyodor Karamazov and, included in the book, is a poem titled The Grand Inquisitor
The Grand Inquisitor
The Grand Inquisitor is a parable told by Ivan to Alyosha in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov . Ivan and Alyosha are brothers; Ivan questions the possibility of a personal, benevolent God and Alyosha is a novice monk....
.