Have you hugged your Saint today?

By Jack of Tears, in Dark Heresy

So, my main question here revolves around saints, if you couldn't have guessed. I know we have a few in print, but was curiuos if one might find a great more here or elsewere on the ... places you'd recommend getting that material from.

Following that line of questioning I an also on the look out for a fair numb or Hymns, chants, prayers, curses, etc. that one might pick from reading the Eccesiarchal tormbs.

I would to have a fairly diverse collection of these to pull out on my players later. Oh yeah.

Well here is a responsorial psalm to get the ball rolling.

R: THE PRECEPTS OF THE EMPEROR GLADDEN THE HEART.

1, The law of the Emperor is perfect,

it revives the soul.

The rule of the Emperor is to be trusted,

it give wisdom to the simple. R,

2, The fear of the Emperor is holy,

abiding for ever.

The decrees of the Emperor are truth

and all of them just. R,

3, So in them your servant finds instruction;

great reward in their keeping. R,

4, from presumption restrain your servant

and let it not rule me.

Then shall I be blameless,

clean from grave heresy. R,

From Eisenhorn:

Rite of Banishment: "Spirit of noxious immateria, be gone from hence, for as the Emperor of Mankind, manifold be his blessings, watches over me, so I will not fear the shadow of the warp." Note that as written in the book it seems to perhaps be incomplete.

The Benediction of Terra: "Gracious Emperor of Mankind, hallowed by your majesty, bright be your light everlasting, vouchsafe your servant in this hour of peril, so that I may continue to serve you, great lord, and purify your dominion of man, casting out all daemons and changelings of warpcraft."

The old Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer has several in the last several pages. The problem is finding a copy of it, I don't think it has been printed for a while.

The IIUP is a great source for a few prayers for characters to utter, bellow or holler reverentially throughout a game.

My personal favourite, though I highly suspect almost no-one in the Calixis Sector would ever have even heard it spoken, let alone read it or known about it, is from Ben Counter's Grey Knights series. It's I am the Hammer.

I am the hammer,
I am the sword in His hand,
I am the point of His spear,
I am the gauntlet about His fist,
I am the bane of His foes
And the woes of the treacherous,
I am the end.

It's really rather enjoyable. Has a few different variations, but this is the one from near the end of the first Grey Knights book, Grey Knights. An epic scene and one of my favourites from 40k fiction.

When interrogating

Saint Castor grant us your aid

As we uphold our oaths to the God Emperor

We seek information and truth from those before us

Watch over our enquiry and guide us true

Foil their attempts to misled us

Guide us to the truth we seek Saint Castor

Light our way through their lies

Malefic I name thee

Your heresy damns thee

Damned into darkness

You can never walk amongst humanity

Know that you are doomed to be hunted

Hunted until your death

You will never have peace

When dealing with the bureaucracy on Solomon, I made up Saint Garander and put him into the conversation for added spice when the players tried to bring their weapons into the Chancellery Court, flashing a badge and claiming "official business".

The guard shrugs. "The only business going on here IS official business. I don't care if you're Saint Garander (Common Lore (Imperial Creed): PASSED. Saint Garander is the patron saint of Bureaucracy and the Official Process) himself; you want in, you check your weapons"

Not canon, but still. I seem to remember a mention of some saint of automation, which would be useful :)