Even though I did roll this character with a (possibly, it might not happen) Deathwatch campaign in mind (so I choose things to compliment Marines, while also trying to let her keep up in combat), I want to post it here just to see what you guys think.

I haven't got a chance to actually play DH, and I have very limited actual rolplaying experience, but I have spent hundreds of hours over the years reading rule books and creating characters and adventures.

Anyway, here she is - Sister Superior Inellia of the Order of the Valorous Heart and Throne Agent of the Ordo Hereticus .

Yes, Hereticus, even though I was planning to run her with Deathwatch. I think it's fine. Ordo membership is rather fluid and a matter of self-identification anyway. Please look at what I have to say below the character before replying . . .

Here's a summary of her Talents.

An d here's a little background.

The girl who would become Sister Inellia was born deep in the bowels of a cruiser of Battlefleet Bakka in the Segmentum Tempestus. Her parents where two amongst tens of thousands of crewman native to the ship, born within its hull and invisible to the great men and women who ruled their lives and commanded their fate. Her tremendously pale skin and pink eyes marked her as an albino, not entirely uncommon aboard the ship of her birth, where she lived as normal a life as any child ever does aboard an Imperial Navy vessel.

It was not the simple news of new arrivals that had caught the attention of the girl, now thirteen years old. Thousands of troops and other personal came and went every day that the ship was in realspace. No, it was who these new arrivals where that had piqued her interest. It seemed that over five hundred Sisters of the Adepta Sororitas had taken up residence in one of the ship’s many barracks for transport from one warzone to another.

At first, the news of the Battle Sisters arrival was no more than a curiosity to the girl, but as the days passed she thought of them more and more. She had no idea what they looked like, and had heard only vague and fanciful tales of the deeds of the Emperor’s most faithful servants. The pull toward these righteous protectors of mankind grew in the girl’s mind daily. Finally, one night, or rather, during one of the shifts when the group of habs in which she lived was darkened, the girl pried open a large ventilation panel in a corridor and began to climb her way up from the depths of the ship.

It was twelve hours later when she arrived at an air vent that looked into barracks where the Battle Sisters where quartered. She sat behind the large grate and watched the Sisters. At first, they seemed not to notice her, but as the hours passed they began to take note. Some frowned or glared at the girl, while a few smiled. Eventually, she fell asleep where she sat.

The next day, a few of the Sisters spoke to her. They where kind to the girl, curious as to why she was sitting behind the grate. One even gave her a portion of her simple lunch. When it was once again time to begin the night cycle that portion of the ship, a woman with a scarred face and a bionic eye came to the girl. She introduced herself as a Palatine of the Order of the Valorous Heart, and asked why the girl was here. The girl said that she had to go with the Sisters when they left the ship. The Palatine smiled and asked why she had to go with them. The girl told her that it was because she knew that it was the Emperor’s will that she follow the Sisters. After staring into the girl’s eyes for an eternity, the Palatine removed the grate and wordlessly ushered the girl to a vacant bunk in the barracks.

A few months later, when the Sisters returned to Celestine VII, the girl was inducted into the Order of the Valorous Heart as a Novice. She took the name of Inellia, one of the Sisters martyred in silence before the blinded eyes of Saint Lucia before her death. Despite being several years behind the other Novices of her age, Inellia progressed admirably through her training, showing a sharp intellect, and a natural aptitude for the use of a Boltgun.

Besides her martial training, Inellia studied the Imperial Creed in great depth, and spent hours rehearsing hymns to the Emperor with the other Novices. She was content, and her tutors where quite impressed with her progress. Inellia was received fully into the Sisterhood, swearing her holy vows to the Emperor and her Canoness at the age of twenty-two. Then, an Inquisitor came calling.

He was of the Ordo Hereticus, and he requested that five newly minted Sisters be transferred into his care. The Canoness could not refuse the Inquisitor, and just three days after receiving her Chaplet Ecclesiasticus, Sister Inellia left Ophelia VII, along with four of her fellow Sisters. The five Sisters where quickly separated, and Inellia was put to work investigating and crushing heresy in the name of the Emperor’s holy Ordos. Her Inquisitor seemed to have a proclivity for seeking out the most twisted and insidious of Chaos cults, and throwing Inellia and her fellow Acolytes into their jaws time and again.

As the years passed, Inellia faced the servants of all four Chaos Gods, human and otherwise. Those around her fell away - killed, driven insane, or dawn into the festering corruption which they sought to snuff out - but she endured. She learned to protect her mind from the foulness she encountered, and to rebuke the onslaught of the witch. Eventually, she found herself once more before the Inquisitor.

Inellia was sixty-one years old, though through the Emperors grace and impeccable gene therapy, she had maintained the physical ability and appearance of one in her third decade, while serving the Ordo Hereticus for thirty-nine years. The Inquisitor told Inellia that he was immensely pleased with her work, and that she was a remarkable individual. He said that she would be given more freedom to act as she saw fit in the future, and that the filing process for her new position would take some time. She was to do as she pleased for the time being, and to return when she was prepared to continue her work in the Emperor’s name.

It was the first time in her life that she had had the freedom to go where she willed. At first, Inellia did not know what to do, but the answer came to her quickly. With the help of her Inquisitorial identification, she gained passage to the world where Saint Lucia, the patron saint of her Order, had been martyred millennia before. The Saint’s eyes had been gouged out, and she had been forced to listen to the screams of one thousand innocents being tortured to death before her. She had not known that some of her Sisters where among that thousand, for they had died silently to keep from adding to the Saint’s torment.

Eventually, Inellia found herself in the cathedral built on the site of Saint Lucia’s martyrdom. The Inquisition had changed Inellia. She had witnessed things that would, and had, driven men and women mad at their mere mention, but she had remained faithful, if not completely sane. The training forced upon her by her Inquisitorial handlers had been almost as painful as the horrors of Chaos and heresy that had clawed at her psyche. She had mastered the art of interrogation, and was a capable hunter of men. She could make even the most deluded of cultists cry for mercy as she ripped the truth of their heresy from their twitching bodies, and it made the young girl singing righteous hymns inside of her scream in agony.

But here she was, at this, her final test. If she could complete the task set before her, there could be no doubt that the Emperor held her worthy of the Sisterhood that she held so dear. Inellia stared into the eyes of the statue of Saint Lucia, drawing strength from her likeness. Reverently, she drew her power blade from its sheath, and activated its power field. Exhaling slowly, and refusing to close her eyes or utter a single sound, she slowly sliced off her left arm just below the elbow. Tears of triumphant pain running down her face, she sheathed the blade, and applied a tourniquet to her upper arm. The throng of stupefied pilgrims that filled the cathedral parted quickly as Inellia walked, smiling, from the building, not unchanged, but unbowed.

Firstly, the prospective Deathwatch GM rolled me a random Home World, and I had gotten used to the Void Born idea by the time I realized it wasn't allowed. The GM was willing to roll with it, so I did. I'm just glossing over the Charmed thing where they unconsciously channel the warp. Instead she is just favored by the Emperor. No, an active psychic capability would not go undetected. I will not debate the point, she is in no way psychic.

I wish she could carry more, but whatever. I am a little worried I didn't put enough XP into Characteristic Advances. Her gear has been approved by the prospective Deathwatch GM, but feel free to comment on my choices none the less.

Anyway, I think I have and interresting character with a somewhat split personality. You have the young Battle Sister who studies the Imperial Creed and sings hymns, and the 40 year Inquisitorial veteran who can make a Heretic squirm just by looking at them, and that power has not come free. I transferred all the Corruption she got during the Ascended character creation over to Insanity, and now she whispers to her Chaplet Ecclesiasticus. If you want to know what she talks to it about, just look at her forbidden lore skills.

Besides all of this, she is still a loyal Battle Sister, and will accept no deviance from the Creed.

I've had one person not understand why she cuts off her hand (which I would assume has been replaced by a Standard Quality bionic). Read up on St. Lucia. She was blinded by recidivists, then forced to listen as 1000 innocents where tortured to death in front of her. Some of the Sisters under her command where among that 1000, but the Saint never knew since they refused to make any noise as they died.

Inellia is mirroring the sacrifice of those sisters in some way, in order to prove her worthiness to herself and the Emperor.

Please ask questions and/or leave comments about crunch and fluff!

I have very limited actual rolplaying experience, but I have spent hundreds of hours over the years reading rule books and creating characters and adventures.

Story of my life.

Looks fantastic. First question: where did you get the character sheet? Is it a spreadsheet? Did you make it yourself?

The amount of detail you've pored into the character is amazing. I assume you used the 2nd ed rules? It'll take me a bit to absorb it all.

I like the story. Right in line with every piece of Black Library fiction I've read.

I have an idea for a DH game set on a Black Ship. It's the perfect opportunity to combine Mechanicum, the Inquisition, Psykers (my favorite) and Untouchables. Also about as grim as one can get.

I have very limited actual rolplaying experience, but I have spent hundreds of hours over the years reading rule books and creating characters and adventures.

Story of my life.

Looks fantastic. First question: where did you get the character sheet? Is it a spreadsheet? Did you make it yourself?

The amount of detail you've pored into the character is amazing. I assume you used the 2nd ed rules? It'll take me a bit to absorb it all.

I like the story. Right in line with every piece of Black Library fiction I've read.

I have an idea for a DH game set on a Black Ship. It's the perfect opportunity to combine Mechanicum, the Inquisition, Psykers (my favorite) and Untouchables. Also about as grim as one can get.

That is a word document I created as I went. I've . . . spent a lot of time punching tables, page/section breaks, and columns into submission in Microsoft Word. I did this since I couldn't find a printer friendly Ascended character sheet. I wouldn't know how to upload the actual word file, but if someone told me I'd be happy to create a blank version. Unfortunately, the good looks come from personal attention rather than ease of use. For example, the Skills section is just a table with Xs in the boxes. You change the training level of a skill by manually typing and deleting "X" from the appropriate cells. If I was actually going to play this character, I would want certain fields (current wounds, gear, current fate, insanity, and so on) left blank and filled in with pencil, but since I wanted to share this character online, I just filled everything in.

This is 1st edition, since I like the Sisters better in 1E (even though some of it butchers the fluff). Also, Deathwatch came out before 2E, so there's that. I used the Inquisitor's handbook career, as you can see, since I can't abide the Faith Talents in Blood of Martyrs.

Thanks for the complement about the story! It was honestly just something I wrote in one sitting, but if you aren't looking for anything too narratively (not a word, I think) engaging in it's own right, I'm certainly pleased with it.

The campaign idea sounds good, but I'm afraid Sister Inellia would not enjoy transporting psykers without first putting bolts in their heads. No, I don't mean bionic implants.

Thanks for the response! I really appreciate it.

I used the Inquisitor's handbook career, as you can see, since I can't abide the Faith Talents in Blood of Martyrs.

A Sister after my own heart. <3

Replies in my favorite shade of red (I'm on another 40K related forum that uses the same interface). Thanks!

I used the Inquisitor's handbook career, as you can see, since I can't abide the Faith Talents in Blood of Martyrs.

A Sister after my own heart. <3

I certainly read your opinions (I think, either that or it was some other person with a similar opinion and the same profile picture) when I researched DH SoB. Then I looked at BoM for myself. I would have to rewrite all of them to make them usable, but I'm not sure it's worth it, or even possible.

I would say you are fortunate that/if you are going to play Dark Heresy rather than Deathwatch, as things scale poorly between those two games and I predict you may not have had much fun with a combat character trying to keep up with Space Marines using FFG's rules. At least not without houseruling certain things to fix both the fluff and the crunch that may have been left wanting in such a combination.

Well . . . it's supposed to be Deathwatch play by post. I don't think it's going to happen now, but that's almost better since now I'm free to do what I want with this character!

I am also a bit surprised your GM started you off with this choice of Homeworld -- not only because in the setting, Battle Sisters generally (or universally, if you wanted to go by codex fluff) come from the Schola Progenium, but also because the rules of character generation as mentioned in the Inquisitor's Handbook itself would preclude this character from having the Voidborn origin. I assume your GM simply didn't see that?

That was my fault mostly. Just a lack of reading. I went off the main IH Homeworld table. In my defense, I didn't expect to be forced into a random homeworld, and I would never choose anything other than Schola for a Sister (to much special snowflake if you make any other choice, plus the Schola provides some nice bonuses, and is thematically pleasing). By the time I caught the restriction line in the IH, I had already gotten used to the void born idea, so I asked the GM if I could keep it, but her Charmed trait comes from the Emperor's grace, not unconscious warp-channeling. It's downright stupid to say ALL void borns do that anyway.

That being said, I would think you have found an excellent way to work around this problem. The finer details of the world often tend to differ depending on the exact source, anyways, and I know of only two instances where a Sororitas' career progression has been explained in detail, with neither of them being widely known in the fandom.

Thanks! I really appreciate the compliment.

All in all, I have to say I'm impressed, both by the ideas you weaved into this character's backstory as well as the words you employed to tell it. Clearly, you have an aptitude for this sort of thing and enjoyed fleshing out Inellia's past and personality. Makes me want to participate in your game just so that I would see her in action!

Again, thanks. I feel that I learned about her through spending hours and hours picking out her advances. Of course, I too would love to see her in action. On that note, I'll see about PMing you some info on this game. Maybe if someone new shows up we can get going, or I could find a new play by post group for Inellia. Her background is written so she can go anywhere from this point.

On a sidenote, the pseudo-split personality also makes for a great (and quite suitable) quirk, and is something I tried to go for as well with my Novice. Whilst at times challenging to pull off, it certainly serves as a good (and intentionally creepy) reminder of characters such as her being not quite normal even in the context of 40k, and possibly just as dangerous to their friends as they are to their foes, if said friends happen to have a cheeky tongue and a lack of faith in the Creed.

Absolutely! I'm reeeeeeeaaly looking forward to rolplaying this character. Especially the part where someone asks what I'm whispering to my Chaplet, and I offer to tell them.

And I assume I don't have to tell you, but in cases where conflict with other party members does pop up, maintain a way out for your opponent, whilst simultaneously standing your ground. Battle Sisters don't take lightly to insult and heresy, but if push comes to shove, they are also indoctrinated/disciplined enough to not necessarily just execute any offender (even where warranted) but perhaps settle things with a swift power-armoured fist to the face before letting the Inquisitor sort out the rest. But hopefully, the other players are smart enough to not push your character's buttons and force such a situation in the first place.

Sure. This brings up my beef with the Sisters in the Ciphas Cain novel Duty Calls (and every other Ciaphas Cain novel, for varying reasons). 3 squads push forward from a stable IG and PDF line because . . . ? Then they all get eaten by Tyranids.

Sisters are Zealous, and ready to die for the Emperor at a moments notice, but they are NOT STUPID ! If I can see it's a bad tactical decision, so can they.

Well ... if you ever want to discuss SoB fluff, do tell. I have collected quite a few "arcane" bits of knowledge from here and there, and I suspect we might get along splendidly.

Awesome! I've only been playing Sisters for . . . holy crap it's coming up on a year! But I certainly love the fluff.

Enjoy your game, and Ave Imperator!

I look forward to your next response!

Imperator Vult!

Thanks again!

PM sent!

Hoo boy, the Cain novels. That's a whole 'nother can of warp you're opening up for me here.

PM replied! Looks like we will have lots to talk about.