Investigations

Though a weapon in hand is essential for surviving in the Dark Millennium the work of the Holy Ordos is not to win wars, that falls to the Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy as well as the many other military arms of the Imperium. No, while servants of the Inquisition often fight them fighting horrors in the shadows of the Imperium their singular, unenviable, task is to understand those horrors - to investigate them and develop the methods by which they may be combatted or defeated - and not all foes can fall to conventional weaponry either some are better defeated with wit then a blade.

Most Inquisitorial Agents have a dual role in investigations, some might simply hold knowledge to be better fighters, but many are genuine scholars of the unusual and esoteric and use their insight to investigate issues. Though the Inquisition is not a true police force, it is often called in when things become hard for conventional enforcers to understand when a murder starts leaving unusual cuts in their targets, or harvesting specific organs...is usually a sign that something unusual is occuring and an Agent of the Inquisition needs to be dispatched to investigate it.

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Lore

In the broadest possible terms, the Imperium in the 41st Millenium is built on ignorance and lies. There are threats in the galaxy that gain purchase simply by being thought about, and if the average Imperial citizen truly knew what dire threats surround and permeate the Imperium, then all semblance of control the Imperium has would surely collapse.

Servants of the Inquisition do not have the luxury of ignorance. Every character is a veteran of the shadow wars fought by the Inquisition behind a veil of secrecy to achieve its own ends, as well as preserve the sanctity of the Imperium. To know what you know is no blessing; understanding is a Curse in this dark millenium, and a life sentence of service to the Inquisition.

Lore is acquired from certain Traits. All characters additionally gain one Lore for free at character creation, representing the basic training the Inquisition has given them even if not their former lives. If your character obtains a lore twice by acquiring two different Traits which grant it, this has no additional effect.

The Lores

There are five core Lores that have a direct impact in the game:

• Malleus Lore represents a specialist in studying, interacting and combating the forces of the Warp, be they the ruinous powers themselves or the myriad daemons and other psychic entities that live within that nightmare realm. This Lore is considered threatening to the very soul of someone who learns it, and as a result those who bear it are encouraged not to share their knowledge, lest they damn the innocent.

• Xenos Lore represents a life spent studying, fighting, or even speaking with the myriad alien life forms that threaten human life across the entire Prosperitas Sector, as well as a basic understanding of the strange relics left behind on certain worlds within the Sector.

• Hereticus Lore represents a fundamental understanding of the internal threats facing the Imperium from human foes. Be they the cults and armies of the Archenemy, or Rebel and Separatist movements that seek to divide or change the Imperium from within. Hereticus Lore represents a life dedicated to studying, hunting or otherwise interacting with divergent human cultures.

• Medicae Lore represents more than basic medical training: it represents the finest education at the hands of lecturers in a Medicae Schola, and years learning about the body and biology, rather than representing the simple first aid training used by base medicaes. It has forensic value in identifying causes of death where they may not be immediately obvious, and represents the ability to carry out research into medical issues or perform medical actions not immediately pertinent to healing mechanics such as the dissection of corpses, study of diseases and understanding of Alchemistry.

• Mechanicus Lore is not the operation of machinery; all characters are assumed to be familiar with the operation of technology associated with their current or previous role in the Imperium prior to becoming an agent of the powers they answer to. Mechanicus Lore is an intimate familiarity with the workings of machines, the science that makes them function and their repair and manufacture; such things are lost secrets in this age, obscured by the rituals of the Adeptus Mechanicus, with this Lore you understand the need for those rituals and might even have gleaned some knowledge about the truth of machines obscured behind them.

Educational Background

If a character selects any Lores, they will need to complete the educational background section of the character sheet. Educational background defines how a character acquired their knowledge. Some servants of the Inquisition became so because of their life experiences: soldiers of the Imperial Guard who survived an encounter with a xenos monster and killed it, Arbitrators who stumbled across Cults performing dark rites, Scholars who found ancient texts containing forbidden secrets. Others were born into Inquisitorial service or recruited young, and have spent much of their lives studying the secrets of the Inquisition.

A character’s educational background is important; it helps frame the context for the Game Team giving you hints about things you witness in downtime and it helps you flesh out how your character acquired their education in these secrets in an Imperium that is largely filled with poorly-educated Citizens. This needn’t focus entirely upon the five core Lores, this is a great opportunity to note other areas of ‘mundane’ interest that your character specialises in.

Focus

For every Lore you select you will be asked to fill out your Focus within that Lore. Focus is the special interests your character holds within that Lore, for example an interest in the xenos more palatable to diplomacy could be a good example, or a specialisation in understanding the passage of the soul after death might be another… these can be as specific or as broad as you like. Try to keep to roughly a paragraph of text, or a few concise bullet points.

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Investigations

As much as talent with a gun might get you somewhere in the 41st Millennium, a sharp eye and an inquisitive mind are just as valuable. Indeed some of the greatest threats of the dark times that characters live in are better defeated with a combination of research, investigation and hard evidence, then they are via resorting simply to direct violence to against an opponent.

Investigation Scenes

Investigation Scenes are represented by the players being presented with a plastic box located somewhere obvious for them to see within this box will be a set of Clues.

Each Clue will state something in the area close to the box it relates to and the Lore, Trait or sometimes Character or appropriate Character Background (such as 'Imperial Guard Service') relevant for understanding it.

• After a period of roleplay examining whatever the clue relates to a character may read the Clue.

We encourage you to limit yourself to reading only a few clue cards in a scene, this allows for multiple characters to participate in an investigation scene and creates a more collaborative roleplaying experience for all involved.

Hidden Clues

In some investigation scenes some Clues may be Hidden - these can either be written Clues or Props hidden around the scene - if they are found by hard-skill searching for them then they may be read like normal Clues.

Verispexes have an expertise for locating Hidden Clues in a scene where Hidden Clues exist there will be a Clue for them to read which will inform them if there are Hidden Clues present in a scene and how many there are - where hidden clues are a prop it may also inform them what kind of prop they are looking for (but they may not tell others this).

Erasing Evidence

You may not remove clues or props from an Investigation Scene unless you are permitted to by the Game Team - when you have finished examining a clue, you should make every effort to return it to where you found it, or keep it with the prop it relates to - if it is damaged please tell the Game Team

However, a considerable part of the Holy Ordos work involves covering up and hiding information and sometimes it is necessary to do so - with Game Team permission a character attempting to remove evidence, must first remove the elements of a scene that the clues relate to, before removing the clue from the box and handing it to the Game Team; for example, if a Xenos clue describes alien tracks visible in a muddy patch of ground, you must spend time actively disturbing the earth and physically obscuring the tracks.

A character can only erase clues that they themselves have the abilities to read or that someone with the ability to read a clue has instructed them to. If nobody involved in cleaning up a scene has the relevant ability to read a clue they characters are oblivious of its importance and will leave it in place.