Thursday 4 December 2014

Inquisitor Het'Fjeld


A former member of the Ordo Militarium, the Inquisitor has more recently been battling the forces of Chaos as a member of the Ordo Malleus, largely due to the ascension of chaos in the region as a result of the escalating Sicaran War. However the Inquisitor's mandate changed with the return to real-space of a fragment of a space hulk in the sector. Initial analysis was difficult due to chaos ships picketing the hulk, however some components were positively identified as being consistent with those identified in the hulk Sin of Damnation during its famous encounter with the Blood Angels chapter of Astartes. The hulk that entered realspace was clearly a much younger conglomeration of vessels than the Sin of Damnation, and was hypothesised to be an earlier iteration of that famous hulk, from a time in the Imperium's past, potentially causing a paradox should it not return to the warp. 



Upon the hulk's re-emergence to real-space it was boarded and partially controlled by forces of the Chaos Lord Borshak the Blightlord, leader and self proclaimed prophet of the Blighted Path, a war band dedicated to the chaos god Nurgle. It has since been used by the forces of the Blightlord to meander through the sector bringing war, plague and despair to numerous imperial worlds in the region.

As an Amalathian, and believing that the seizing of the hulk would cause a chain of events to unfold that would potentially destabilise the Imperium, the Inquisitor's mandate changed to track down and cleanse the hulk of leadership, and as many traitors as practicable, and release it back to the warp to maintain the status quo of historical events.

To execute this mandate, the 9th Necromundan Regiment of Imperial Guard was requisitioned to assist in capture and control of key assets on the hulk, and provide military might as directed by the Inquisitor. The Necromundans are proficient at zone mortalis fighting thanks to their hive background, which was the primary reason for their commandeering by the Inquisitor.

Abhumans from the Dunbarian 4th Ratling regiment were also recruited, to assist with the elimination of enemy leadership, along with members of the Og 33rd ogryns to provide assistance neutralising traitor Astartes, and the Skallarn 787th Beastmen to honour the Emperor of Mankind with their glorious deaths.

The Paladins of Exodus, a chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, have also joined the Inquisitor's forces, although they are able to maintain a level of independence and autonomy; providing heavy infantry and fleet support in times of need.

The Blightlord maintains a retinue of Death Guard chaos space marines, as well as recently recruiting the Togari 88th, 89th and 90th regiments of Imperial Guard, under the command of Overlord Kazador, who turned from the Emperors light during the Sicaran war (ironically after battling chaos forces and being targeted for termination as ordered by the Inquisitor). They are joined by innumerable mutants, heretics and traitors who have flocked to the banner of the Blighted Path.

Imperial Navy assets were also commandeered, which when combined with the fleet based Astartes, provide the Inquisitor with the means to pursue his foe and execute his goals.

The execution of the Blightlord is a secondary mission, it is the release of the hulk that is the Inquisitor's primary goal. This is at odds with the Astartes, whose goal is to execute the Blightlord and halt the blighted path.
This model is one of the older ones that I bought when it first came out, in the late 80's or early 90's. It is an inquisitor in terminator armour, armed with a combi needler, power fist with digital weapons, a bionic leg, some type of short sword, and various other bits of equipment. I really liked the model when it came out, and bought it as soon as I saw it in the blister on the rack. I first saw an image of it on the Space Hulk Genestealer expansion box, so painted it in that scheme, complete with black and white checks and a coat of spray on varnish.

I have re-based the model to allow it to fit in with my Imperial Guard army, but haven't re-painted it. The varnish is starting to yellow, and the subtlety of colour in things like the green wreath and flesh are disappearing, but I will leave it as is I think. A couple of washes might do wonders, so I will experiment with it some day and see how it goes. But for now he is ready for action.

In the current Inquisitor codex the wargear that he is equipped with isn't possible. A terminator Inquisitor can't be equipped with needle weaponry or digital weapons, and can take a force sword or nemesis daemon hammer. So in regular 40k games the combi-needler is actually a combi-"something else", and the power fist is actually a nemesis daemon fist. Pretty neat. Servo skulls are compulsory in my IG army, with the thudd guns and deep striking assault troops, so I make sure that he takes three with him. These also add a bit of atmosphere to the model. Like most inquisitors he has surrounded himself with a retinue of trusted individuals who are all detailed (or to be detailed) elsewhere in this blog.

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