Servants of the Inquisition

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An individual Inquisitor surrounds themselves with a network of contacts and retinues of servants, willingly or unwillingly recruited into pursuing their agenda. Contacts are largely kept on the outside, sometimes only communicated with through proxies and servants of the Inquisitor, never knowing who they are truly aiding with their actions and information. Retinues represent Inquisitorial servants that answer directly to the Inquisitor, often by a lead agent close to the Inquisitor’s inner circle. An Inquisitor might have one or several retinues, each formed for a specific purpose, often unaware of each other. These ‘Cells’ are directed by the Inquisitor but rarely come together except for times of dire need. Sometimes these Cells will operate distantly from the Inquisitor they serve acting as autonomous ‘hands’ of their Inquisitor's will, enforcing their power beyond their physical reach. Rank amongst Inquisitorial servants is limited to the structure an individual Inquisitor decides, normally based on radiating ‘circles’ of trust; an Inquisitor might keep an inner circle of devoted servants always close to them, while outer circles are kept at arm’s length. Outside the immediate servants of their Inquisitor though, no Inquisitorial agent possesses authority other others that others don’t choose to give them.

Much like Inquisitors themselves, the servants of the Inquisition are individuals who stand out from the ordinary stock of Imperial citizens. Specialists in combatting certain threats, survivors of battles against impossible beings, and those possessed of unique traits valued by the Inquisition that would usually mark them as outsiders in the Imperium. These individuals are usually referred to as ‘Agents’ collectively, sometimes by the honorific of ‘Throne Agents’ representing their close ties to the God-Emperor's authority invested in their Inquisitor.

Outer Circle

The members of an Inquisitors Outer Circle usually fulfil some form of specialised role. The exact title of each individual agent changes from Inquisitor to Inquisitor, if they possess a title at all, but most fulfil an archetypical role with their cell, attributed to their specialities. The titles that follow are by no means exhaustive, but do best represent the roles commonly found in most Cells and Retinues. In most cases cells use these to determine responsibility for certain duties, but many cells see members combine multiple roles:

• Physiks represent the medical staff of an Inquisitor, dedicated practitioners of the healing arts, dedicates to the survival of their cell, but equally expected to keep prisoners alive throughout interrogations.
• Excoriators represent skilled gatherers of information, capable of acquiring information through myriad methods. Some, are skilled torturers, but more so are simply manipulators and ‘faces’ capable of acquiring information more subtley.
• Hierophants represent the spiritual security of their retinues, often recruited from the Imperial Faith, they are individuals of great will responsible for shepherding the faith of their cells and providing confession, as well as Exorcism where it is needed.
• Mystics represent those born with the powers of the Warp, psykers, often assigned other duties but deliberately ‘othered’ within their cells to make it clear to others their status apart from humanity, though in some cells they are treated far better.
• Sages represent the centres of intellect, skilled archivists, specialist researchers, Mechanicus and others who all provide some form of specialised non-combat aid to the Imperium through their vast knowledge.
• Warriors represent the muscle of Inquisitorial retinues, providing force protection to their fellow agents, or assassins to remove specific threats, serving to provide direct, physical, opposition to foes.
• Penitents represent a unique place in a retinue, an individual convicted of something and bound into service of the Inquisition, so they might repent for their sins. They are alive at the will of the Inquisition alone. Sometimes they are simply abhumans, ‘endured’ by puritan inquisitors for their talents and given lease to die for the Emperor.

Acolytes

Acolytes are set apart from the rest of their cells, they are those who exist within the direct and trusted inner circles of their Inquisitor’s agents. They are often considered ‘proto-Inquisitors’ and apprentices of their Inquisitor, the trust offered them often considered representing a step on the pathway of eventually becoming an Inquisitor. It is a not a guarantee of course, but most Inquisitors walk this path. There is a misconception that most Acolytes are stylised by the title of ‘Interrogator’ but there are many titles assigned to them, representing their value to their Inquisitor:

• Interrogators are commonly seen as their Inquisitor's ‘hands’: broadly varied in their specialities and dedicated primarily to acting on their Inquisitor's behest, they are valued for their loyalty and obedience most of all above any skills they possess.
• Deductors often operate more independently of their Inquisitor, tasked with investigating a specific concern or problem or monitoring a specific region of space. They often spend years apart from their Inquisitor working a specific case alone until finally reporting in when they believe higher attention is needed. They are arch-informants, often running rings of localised contacts to provide an Inquisitor the most complete overview of a world when they make contact.
• Intelligencers are charged with the duty of managing intelligence and knowledge, each is a specialist in an area of knowledge, be it a specific threat, or in information monitoring and analysis, dedicating their entire lives to an existence within dusty librariums and archives, or linked in to monitoring endless scrawls of information. They are the arch-sages of the Inquisition, savants tasked with information management and research tasks.
• Elucidators act in concert with their Inquisitors, governing and guiding specific investigations, focused on providing their Inquisitor with a steady flow of reliable information to support their work. Generally granted independence to pursue information gathering they are the spymasters of the Inquisition ensuring nothing escapes the view of their Masters.
• Agitators are specialised solitary acolytes, granted the independent duty of dealing with threats to their Inquisitor by any means necessary they are defined by a creed of permissions granted to them by their Inquisitor, either to infiltrate and out heretical and criminal groups, or to bring judgement on an Inquisitors foes. They are the Inquisition's bloodhounds, sometimes sleeper agents lying in wait for their prey to present themselves.

Chambers Militant

The Chambers Militant are military organisations tied to the Inquisition. The Ordos Majoris command ancient alliances with mysterious warriors of the Imperium enabling them to call upon ancient pacts to summon them when all other options have failed. But some Inquisitors and Conclaves possess their own Chambers Militant comprised of so-called ‘Black Units’ of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers and many other unique warrior orders.