Maybe I'm totally wrong, coulda swore I read that the Inquisition was a secret...

If so - at the Rogue Trader / Peer & Scion level of society - who knows about it, and how?

Been trying to wrap my mind around this for a minute now, and as such I want to deliver content to veterans of 40k that they come to expect is all.

Thanks - Insight is always Appreciated!

Morbid

Who inquisitors are is a secret (mostly). The existence of the Inquisition is not. Even then, some Inquisitors operate essentially in the open. (Kryptman and Cortiez for example)

If the Inquisition itself wasn't known, the rosette would have no power. That said, the majority of inquisitors and inquisitorial agents operate in secret the much the same reason police use undercover cops, but with much wider discretionary powers.

Anyone who's at the Peer level of society will know about the existence and mission of the Inquisition. If they have useful resources, they may even have been approached by an inquisitor or inquisitorial agent at some time who needed to requisition supplies. Peers in particularly powerful and influential positions (Navy Lord-Captains, Arbites High Judges, Canonesses) may have more consistent contact with a particular inquisitor who makes more regular use of their resources and have proven themselves trustworthy.

AHH - ok that clears things up - operators are secret for the most part - but the organization is an institution of society to be wary of LOL

Thanks Quicksilver!

Morbid

A lot of people compare the Inquisition to the KGB or the CIA, which is probably not bad in terms of conveying the general idea by using contemporary examples.

It would actually suffice to look at medieval times and consider the witch hunters of ye olde Europe and the real life Inquisition, too - it just so happens that in 40k, some of them prefer to operate in secrecy so as to better protect their work from the meddling of the forces they fight against, or the local populace from being corrupted by knowledge of the truth ... or even other Inquisitors who may not agree with their methods.

I would wager that all in all, most of the secrecy actually comes from an Inquisitor simply not announcing their plans and intents, and simply showing up without warning , though.

I view the Inquisition as more of an Internal Affairs Bureau. Many people know it exists and nobody want them dropping by for lunch.

In the Calixis Sector (the neighbouring Imperial Sector to the Koronus Expanse) the Inquisition is actually a giant political body operating out of Scintilla from the Tricorn Palace. They are much more open in their activities and citizens are more aware of their purges. This is partly a reflection of the fact that the Calixis Sector is super corrupt, and partly because it is really far from everything else and people need to be afraid.

You still shouldn't ask them for favours.

In the Calixis Sector (the neighbouring Imperial Sector to the Koronus Expanse) the Inquisition is actually a giant political body operating out of Scintilla from the Tricorn Palace. They are much more open in their activities and citizens are more aware of their purges. This is partly a reflection of the fact that the Calixis Sector is super corrupt, and partly because it is really far from everything else and people need to be afraid.

You still shouldn't ask them for favours.

And partly because the Dark Heresy game happens there, so everything the players of that game do, that is not discrete, shows the people that the Inquisition is there, and watching you.

I know some act openly, and some act in secret; some even act both, with some convenient disguises, and such. Some do their own work, while others operate vast networks of lackeys, some of which are open, and others of which also conceal who they are, and to whom they answer.

Much of what they know is a secret, and much of what they do is hidden from people, who are better off not knowing, and not knowing that they don't. Otherwise, they sometimes pull a GK out of the usual place, and liquidate assets who witness things they aren't cleared for, as it were. If you dig into old comics, you might know what the original Men In Black were like, compared to the funny Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones did, and those meh sequels it got. They were cruel, fascist, and their "neuralizer" was a gun, ala a Commissar's best friend; if you knew something you ought not, they "wiped your memory", off the pavement.

The Calixis sector has a huge population of inquisitors and staff compared to others, for the reasons mentioned above. The mystery of the tyrant star has lured a few names in by canon.

It is possible for rogue traders to have contacts with inquisitors or even outright alliances. Peers of the imperium who can help each other quite a bit. And of course, some inquisitors *become* rogue traders.

For normal people? The inquisition is a word of fear, and sometimes connected to some really powerful guy who burns people in the street.

I can see what you mean Decessor - I was looking (which you answered) as to what the "common" lowly man knows aka wage slave, oath bound menial, aka the prosaic side of things...

I like to defined from the bottom and work my way up culturally - both in my GMing presentation thereof and in my own 40k education.

I am working on getting my Bachelor's degree in 40k Lore - thanks guys! LOL

Morbid

There is some info about the Tricorn Palace in the Dark Heresy core book. The Inquisition's public holdings in Hive Sibellus.

Ahh very cool - I'll drill in there next tonight when I hit the books - thanks again Decessor!

You're welcome. There's a steep learning curve when it comes to 40k background. So much material.

And so much contradiction, particularly if you start looking at specifics. I'll outline the most important parts:

+++ Post Redacted by the Order of the Holy Inquisition +++

Yeah, you're only going to go mad if you assume that all the material is supposed to neatly tie together, when the owners of the IP consider it a feature to have you, me and everyone else, including the writers of official products, make up their own vision of the 41st millennium.

To quote from another thread:

But, but... what about my 40k degree?! LMFAO

In fairness, such a "degree" would still be possible - it can simply represent extensive knowledge in a specific area and from specific sources.

Such knowledge can be well appreciated by your peers in discussions about the background, too, as long as everyone involved understands that there are very few absolutes in 40k, and that all those details are more like suggestions rather than official facts or "canon". People will just have different opinions about it. There are a bunch of things I simply dismiss as "unsuitable" for the vision of 40k I have formed by reading other sources, and I am quite sure this goes for every single fan of the franchise who has read more than a couple books by sheer necessity of forming a consistent perspective.

Heh. The University of Bologna has been granting medical degrees (doctores) since about 1200 AD. Yes, bleeding people to excise them of their malignant spirits was part of the curriculum and state-of-the-art science. Sooo...

"Everything you think you know is a lie," is very appropriate.