Hi there,

after starting the game with Edge of Darkness and being halfway into Illumination one of my players asked when they would be granted proof of working for the =I= in case of accidents or problems with the law.

My idea was that they would get one once they have proven themselves trusted acolythes (so with rank 4 and upwards). How did you handle that?

And did your players meet and work with their inquisitor from the beginning or an interrogator first??

A "Trusted" acolyte is of Rank 7 or 8, and as a GM, I would certainly not allow anyone below that to wear the rosette.

EDIT: Also, acolytes have to prove themselves to be resourceful and capable individuals before they can be allowed to just flaunt a rosette to get out of anything. And by the time they've reached rank 7 they should have learned that many times it's better to keep the fact that you work for the inquisition hidden.

I'd hand out the rosette permanently around rank 6 or so - before that, characters can be granted one temporarily when it's necessary or helpful for their investigations. The extreme case would be Drake from Purge the Unclean who got his rosette IIRC on his third day on the job after showing the other acolytes that he was indeed quite competent.

Always remember, however, that a rosette is a physical piece of equipment that can be lost and, most importantly, found when the acolytes or their lodgings are being searched. That alone is reason enough for most acolytes doing any undercover work to not carry one.

Id have the rossette given out permenantly on roughly rank 7-8, but before that they may be granted the papers and the like, proving they're with the Inquisition if it benefits their investigation.

Ian Watson use an electronic tatoo in the palm of the hand.

Activated with a thought or a word.

Maybe a n idear?

An electoo is one option. Taking the Legate Investigator alternate rank (once you've earned it) is also a good way to get some official authority. That's available as early as rank 4, though the power it confers isn't as expansive as a full rosette.

Well Legate falls at rank 5, which technically is the first time any alcolyte can be given a measure of his or her master's power. Course that's by definition and any GM can caveate that.

Like everyone said, I say for permanent nothing before tier 7 or 8, and even then only the most trusted alcolytes would get the rosette permanently. I could honestly see an inquisitor simply not handing out a rosette to some simply due to his or her preference.

When the GM feels their master trusts them with that much authority, based on what that NPC knows about them and thinks about their competency (which isn't necessarily the truth). If there are a couple trigger happy gun totting screw ups in the group, but the group's leader is awesome, chances are the leader is getting a rosette pretty fast and he's the only one getting a rosette.

I think I read somewhere that every group (or most groups) of acolytes should have a leader, called a "Prime"- who should be in charge of all correspondence with their inquisitor, as well as all major leadership decisions (with their teammate's input), during the mission.

I think that a Rosette, or some other official badge is acceptable by rank 7 or 8- and should only be given to the Prime.

If a character can stay in the good graces of, learn from, and serve under his inquisitor for the duration of his career path; he/she may even have the honor of full inquisitorial status.

For my next mission my players have to accompagny their Interrogator (he does have a rosette) to the War World Kulth, to avoid any confusion they will be wearing greatcoats with silver shoulder shield engraved with the Inquisitorial Seal.

When they heard this they were excited and dead scared.

I'm with Cat on this one. Such things should be based solely on how much the group's Inquisitor trusts the group and feels they are competent for/need such authority.

The group I run for has been fairly sucessful thus far and the closest they've come to such was getting to hang around a captured military base for 3 days wearing borrowed BDU's and allowed to wear little steel pins in the shape of then =][= column in place of rank insignia. And they're rank 6 at this point.

As to the question of a cell having a 'Prime', that seems to be common, but organization of his network of subordinates is entirely up to each inquisitor. The cell in my game doesn't have a Prime, not because their inquisitor doesn't use them, but because no one of them has shown judgment/fitness to command/make decisions/lead sufficient to make the inquisitor decided he should have command over the others.

They still manage to work reasonably well together, but it does get muddled from time to time.

Most of my cell actually (except 1 who still hasn't met him in person) met their inquisitor first, the interrogator later. However they interact w/ the Interrogator more often and more directly recently.

I've occasionally given my PCs a piece of writ of investigation. This usually takes the form of a scroll (or authenticated dataslate or holo wafer depending on how I'm feeling) with the following written on it:

The Divine Emperor's most humble servant,

Inquisitor Lucidia Waterman of the Ordo Hereticus of the Holy Inquisition,

Requests and Requires in the name of the Holy Inquisition that the bearer of this note [ident here] be allowed:

To pass freely throughout all facilities not expressly and explicitly denied or barred to them by authority of a member of the inquisition or person of appropriate rank in those organisiations which explicitly do not fall under the Inquisition's jusitiction or command.

Immunity from all prosecution with the corrolory that they be rendered into Inquisitorial custody in the event of serious transgression of local or Imperial laws.

To be answered fully, truthfully and promptly in any question they ask which is pertinent to their investigations.

This request is made and certified by Inquisitior Lucidia Waterman of the Ordo Hereticus of the Holy Inquisition at the Tricorn of Hive Silibus on the Planet of Scintilla in the Callixis Sector on the date of 066.998.M41

If I'm feeling fun I'll throw in a few clauses about having certain, limited authority in certain places at certain times, generally the higher rank and more respect the Inquisitor has for them the more authority she'll grant them. But normally I'll just give them a "Get out of jail for anything short of mass murder" card, a limited budget and let them bluff the rest as best they can.

Edith The Hutt said:

I ran a demo with over eager pc's, they thought it would be a get out anything free card...boy they were wrong.

They tried it on Imperial Guardsmen first, worked like a charm. After that they used in on a group of Arbitrators, seriously hampering the Arbitrators investigation, but it worked.
Later they tried it on Hive scum and they were answered with Autogun and Shotgun fire. They vox-ed the Arbitrators they abused earlier and commanded them to "F***ing down here ASAP".
The Arbitrators obeyed, quote: "We'll be right there sir, after lunch"

Needless to say what happened to the poor Acolytes...

I actually found out that acolytes don't need the Rosette, it's much more fun not having one...also makes the time they have one extra special.

Also the Prime of my players party is held responsible for all of his Cell's actions, their achievements and their slip-ups.

Nojokejoe45 said:

This sounds like an excellent idea. The Prime should also be well aware that he or she is responsible for the other members of the group, and if they screw up, the Inquisitor will be letting him or her know. ****, as they say, rolls downhill.

The Prime in my game already had the choice, get flogged or flog the psyker for loosing equipment.

I'm planning to make getting their rosettes its own mission, though they won't know at the time that it was largely a test devised by their Inquisitor. I imagine it will happen around rank 6 or 7, just based on the speed the campaign is moving. And the PC's will be entirely capable of individually failing or passing these tests, so some of them may get one and some not.

As for this...

Santiago said:

That's great. So which did he pick?

Hmmmmm,

It was a tough choice, but the Adept Prime didn't want to be flogged by the Feral World Interrogator, his skin was to dear to him.
The choice took about 3 seconds....

OP here,

thanks for all the replies, I got some good material on how to handle the rosette now. Especially the idea about a test for it, which the inquisitor tells them nothing about, is great. I am going to have sooo much fun designing that...hehe

And before they ge the test I will take "Edith the Hutt"'s way and just give them an inquisitorial writ with seal and sign. Enough for the authorities but not as easy to abuse and less responsibility. Though they will only get one when they are expected to work with local authorities.

Good way of doing it. I'd warn you not to say it carries inquisitorial sign and seal, though, as an inquisitorial seal is only carried by a full inquisitor- possibly have the writ under 'sign and sigil' (if you want to go with the double-barrelled alliteration).

In my own game, the team bears a Mark of Sanction (a bit like the Legate Invetigator's Sigil of Question, but with less authority- essentially it's little more than an =][= ID entitling them to "pass, without let or hindrance, through all borders, checkpoints, territories and areas under less than grade Magenta-epsilon-tertius classification and security; pass without cavity search into Inquisitorial facilities (at the discretion of facility commander); access priority and secure communication channels; and request such support from the organs of the Adeptus Terra as they require, up to grade Cyan-phi-quintus"

It is worth noting, of course, that this only applies to places within the Imperium, and where the law holds sway. Astartes (should they encounter any) and Mechanicum personnel and territories are still not bound to allow them to do anything, and even the various organisations that are bound by it can still legally refuse to provide them with support. It also (strictly speaking) doesn't allow them to freely trespass on private property.

I'll also note that in my game I've allowed several levels of trusted authority- in ascending order: Sign of Induction (essentially, they have worked/are working for the Inquisition and are allowed to wear the =][=), Writ of Operation (sort of a one-shot/time-limited version of the Rosette, but limited to actions and support in the pursuit of one specific task, normally has a clause at the end specifying incarceration/execution/mindwiping/promotion upon the completion of the mission), Mark of Sanction (given to reasonably trusted operatives, who are probably going to be spending their career working for the =][=), Sigil of Question, Rosette and Inquisitorial Seal (this last carried only by an Inquisitor). My team haven't even seen a Seal (although the have met their Inquisitor- he chose to openly carry his rosette to the meeting, and didn't draw attention to it), and probably won't.
These various levels of authority are purely to give NPCs 'in the know' an idea of how impressed/scared to be if the PCs play the blatant route, and can check the exact limits of their authority (assuming the NPCs have the clearance and think to do so).

1st A Rosette marks one only as a henchmen of the =I= , their stormtroopers bearing it

2nd whatever authority it gives are from 2 things,

a those given by the Adeptus Terra and locals of their own free will

b what their Master gives them.

2nd I remember 2 times an inquisitor gives an acloute his seal.

1st dying his Interrogator to finish the mission

2nd wounded on body and mind, for the specific mission to evacuate his staff.

Good thread. I'd just like to add my 2p.

Regarding the positition of "Prime" I've personally decided that for the first few missions the Inquisitor/Interrogator will assign the position to whoever "on paper" seems the best for the job amoungst the acolytes. e.g. Tech Priest or Arbitrator for "Edge of Darkness", Nobel types for "Rejoice" etc.

They wil be instructed that the Prime has the casting vote on any decision and can override it. However the Prime will have to give a full report at the end and account for all actions during the mission. The players will be allowed to reallocate the position of Prime if the current Primes doesn't want it.

That way at the start the "lucky" acolyte chosen to be Prime will be hopefully quaking in their boots.

Eventually I imagine things will settle down and a natural Prime will come out of the player group.

Reguarding the Rosette, yes it's a long way away, rank 7+ and also I see not all players being offered it. However I'd see that Acolytes other than the Prime wil be offered it if the Inquisitor thinks they are up to it.