My group is fairly new at DH and has difficulty understanding the limitations of Inquisitors and Arbitrators. The fluff suggests outright uberpower but that seems over the top in actual game play. As GM, I certainly wouldn’t want them to exercise such power as it makes producing an entertaining adventure very difficult.

After wading through the forum and the books, I have come up with a short summary to give to my players which I would like to put forward for evaluation before actually doing so. Remarks and criticism are appreciated.

The power and limitations of Inquisitors
Officially, they can do anything they want in the pursuit of their job: the protection of the Imperium of Man. In reality, there are distinct limits to their power.

What can they do?
The job of the Inquisitor is to investigate any threat to Mankind and to eliminate it. This is easy enough from a bureaucratic standpoint when it concerns Xenos or Warp entities because they have no rights but when it concerns citizens it becomes more difficult.

Commoners have no individual rights under the Lex Imperialis but nobles and senior officials of the Adeptus Terra have the right to a trial if deemed guilty of some offence. Which means commoners can be investigated and summarily judged but people of influence may only be investigated. If deemed guilty, they must be brought before a court. It is after all a feudal society and influential nobles and Peers are top of the heap.

Depending on the evidence and the influence of the suspect, this can then become a short show trial in which the outcome is already pre-determined or it can turn into a trial lasting decennia with legal experts clashing daily on obscure legal precedents.

If during an investigation, an obvious crime is being committed (e.g. a noble is raising a demon) then immediate action can be taken but it will still be investigated afterwards by higher authorities. If an Inquisitor does perform a summary judgment without a crime in progress, he will have to answer afterwards and he had better have a good reason.

The right to investigate is also subject to higher authority. Certain things are simply forbidden to know and even an Inquisitor cannot demand access to certain ‘state’ secrets decreed by the High Lords of Terra or other very high ranking officials. In fact, an Inquisitor can simply ban all other Inquisitors from having access to something and only a local Conclave can then overturn this decision.

Technically, all Inquisitors are equal. The difference is the amount of influence one has acquired. Even the title of Lord Inquisitor is mostly a courtesy and indication of subjective influence rather than a strict hierarchical position. If an Inquisitor wants to overrule another, he needs the backing of other Inquisitors, e.g. the conclave or cabal must support his investigation. And even then, some things remain out of their scope. For example, Space Marines may only be investigated at the behest of the High Lords of Terra.

What aid can they request?
Technically, an Inquisitor can call upon the full might of the Imperium to execute his responsibilities. In practice, a newly minted Inquisitor can not demand an entire battlefleet be made available for his every whim.

The other organizations of the Imperium have their own responsibilities and if they feel the demands of an Inquisitor endanger those responsibilities, they will protest along their own chain of command. Thus a system admiral will protest to the subsector high command and so forth who may or may not invoke ‘orders coming from Terra which unfortunately prevent the Battlefleet from complying with the request of the Inquisitor at this time.’ Reasonable requests (a single ship, a company of men, access to generic data etc.) will not be rejected and the Inquisitor will become highly suspicious if it is but for example rearranging the entire PDF on a planet without an explanation will not be condoned by the Planetary Governor and if the Inquisitor starts babbling about Heresy to enforce his arbitrary demands, the governor will send a protest note to the subsector governor explaining his reasons for not complying and request the Inquisitor either explain himself or remove himself….

In short, there are very real limitations to what an Inquisitor can do and these limitations are subject to the influence they wield. A smart Inquisitor knows when to push and when to yield. Fellow Peers of the Imperium can not be pushed around without evidence of crimes.

Acolytes
Acolytes are not mini-Inquisitors. They simply have no outright authority of their own. Commoners are usually unable to make this distinction and usually obey and fear acolytes but nobles and high officials do and will cooperate within the narrow authority of the acolyte’s brief or demand the presence of the Inquisitor before doing so if they think they can get away with it. Acolytes are commonly given authority by their Inquisitor to either investigate something or to investigate & purge if they are trusted. Thus the power of the Inquisitor should be used sparingly.

The Arbites
The role of the Arbites and that of Inquisitors often overlap, causing confusion. The Arbites serve three main functions. One is as riot police, buttressing Imperial rule. Their second function is to arbitrate between rival bureaucracies. The feudal Adeptus have very loosely defined responsibilities and delineations and they are constantly trying to increase their power. Based on the Lex Imperialis and relevant case laws, Arbites often arbitrate in these turf wars. Thirdly, the Arbites police the Adeptus because ‘power corrupts’ . Thus the Arbites enforces the Lex Imperialis and the rule of the Imperium. It is here where the Inquisition and the Arbites often overlap.

A tithe lord of the Administratum who steals money to fund his own luxury lifestyle is a matter for the Arbites. A tithe lord of the Administratum who steals money to fund a heretical cult is a matter for the Arbites and might also capture the attention of an Inquisitor.

As such, their relationship is often similar to local police and the FBI. The local police does all the grunt work and has the local knowledge with the FBI monitoring their work and sweeping in on the juiciest cases.

What can they do?
The Arbites has the duty to investigate high crime but does not have the outright authority of the Inquisition to cut through red tape. The Arbites have to follow procedures and make requests etc. (e.g. successful roles for Common Lore Arbites, Scolastic Lore Judgement etc.). Nor can they meet out summary judgment to nobles and high officials. Just like Inquisitors, they have to produce their evidence against such suspects in court. Commoners have no right to a trial.

you are probly mostly right. there are a few little things i disagree with. but in general your most likely right on the bal

however you can do everything if you have the seal (with in reson of the GM) you real real real want that cruiser too pick you up sure lose x amount of political pull and maybe an angry navy officer or 2 and hey presto cruiser is on its way might take some time but it coming

ranoncles said:

There's a distinction that you've not covered here that I think is pertinent - the one between the civilian populace and the Adeptus. While still relatively insignificant, a Menial or Subordinate within the Administratum is a part of the Imperium rather than merely a subject of it, and those few who manage to ascend from civilian to Adeptus often take great pride in their status.

That distinction comes in handy in a fair few cases, as the fact that someone is a servant of the Imperium means that any crime committed against him is covered by the Lex Imperialis (as opposed to being a purely local offence).

However, most of the relevance covers the Adeptus Arbites, rather than the Inquisition, so I'll save it for later.

In matters Inquisitorial, nobody has any rights except the ones they gain through their own personal power. That is, unless you're powerful/connected/etc enough to cause the Inquisition a problem, then they can just make you disappear.

ranoncles said:

This, I disagree with. An Inquisitor's mandate permits him to seek out any avenue of investigation, at any time. I'll go into the reasons why and how it gets curtailed more in a moment, though the difference in opinion is really only a matter of degrees.

ranoncles said:

To be honest, I think this is a matter of too many rules and restrictions placed on an organisation that deliberately exists outside of them.

As I see it, every Inquisitor is equal not only because that's how the organisation is set up, but because every Inquisitor has the same theoretically limitless authority. The restrictions upon their actions are not constant or regulated, nor do they require petitions to the Senatorium Imperialis to engage in certain activities. Instead, an Inquisitor is allowed to do anything he can get away with... those last three words being the most significant here.

Inquisitorial politics are a matter of ad-hoc threats of force, and are entirely ephemeral until you get down to the matter of individuals. An Inquisitor is free to act unless another Inquisitor comes along and stops him, and which point, it comes down to whomever can bring the greatest force to bear upon the other. At the crudest level, it's bolt pistols at dawn and the first man to die loses. More typically, it comes down to political backing - every Inquisitor will have cultivated a network of alliances, resources and favours to help him accomplish his goals - but it's all basically a matter of "if you don't back off, I'll crush you..." and having the means to follow through on that threat.

This is also why many Inquisitors operate covertly - an action that nobody knows about cannot be so easily stopped by others opposed to your particular methods. This in particular aids those of a Radical inclination, as while their actions are entirely legitimate within the context of the Inquisition ("I can do what I want to get the job done"), those actions are frequently amongst those commonly opposed by other Inquisitors.

Finally, it also covers nicely the interactions between the Inquisition, the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Adeptus Astartes - both the Mechanicus and the Astartes possess enough power and autonomy on their own to be able to directly refuse Inquisitorial investigations.

ranoncles said:

Going back to where I started from earlier, the Lex Imperialis essentially covers all of Imperial Law (though not all of the law in the Imperium; the Adeptus Ministorum maintain both their own canon laws which the Adepta Sororitas are responsible for enforcing, and their own definitions of heresy, sin and blasphemy which are the responsibility of Confessors and other suitably-trained members of the clergy, while individual worlds will possess their own laws, and the Adeptus Mechanicus adds a further wrinkle with their own internal and external laws), which essentially covers all law dealing with the Imperium and its servants. In essence, if you work for the Imperium directly (and can claim the title of Adeptus) then you are subject to the rulings, precedents and judgements of the Lex Imperialis as carried out by the Adeptus Arbites.

Now, the actual matter of due process is, as I see it:

• Suspicion/Acknowledgement: A crime becomes known to a Precinct, and an Arbitor (catch-all term to cover Arbites personnel above the standard ranks) is assigned to oversee the case. Detectives and Verispex technicians (forensics experts) will begin to gather information, while Arbites squads will apprehend suspects and witnesses to be interrogated by Chasteners, and Judges will begin researching the matter of judgement.
• Determination of Guilt: Eventually, the criminal will be apprehended and brought to the courthouse. He - and any accomplices - will be interrogated to determine the true extent of guilt and obtain as full an account as possible of the crime. This information is added to the findings of the Detectives and Verispex technicians and passed to Judges who make use of it in determining the judgement required.
• Judgement: The accused receives his trial. As there aren't actually any lawyers specialising in the Lex Imperialis outside of the Adeptus Arbites, nobody gets legal counsel save for the interrogation of the Chasteners. Nonetheless, this is the accused's opportunity to face the law outside of a holding cell. If they're not guilty, it doesn't get to this point. Trials are inquisitorial in nature (that is, the courts investigate the crime and pass judgement based on the evidence gathered; in such regards, the Adeptus Arbites are both the police force and the courts).

This process is used for all crimes, regardless of who was involved, that fall within the Lex Imperialis (which, in spite of how vast the Book of Judgement actually is, still only covers a minority of the crime on any given world).

It isn't a matter of whether or not somebody has a right to a trial, because that's now how things work. The Adeptus Arbites will give you a trial because that's the due process as demanded by the letter of the law, and everything must be done by the letter of the law (attempting to operate by the intent of the law is amongst the greatest of sins an Arbitrator can commit, because it indicates that he presumes to understand the Emperor's laws better than anyone else). Everything is done by the book, and the book is extremely large and full of the precedents of a million worlds and a hundred centuries.

This "letter of the law" approach is also the biggest limitation upon the otherwise-abusable power of the Adeptus Arbites - they're as subject to the law as everyone else, because it's the law (case in point - the third novel in the Shira Calpurnia series, collected together as the Enforcer omnibus, has the protagonist imprisoned and subjected to the attentions of a Chastener because of her failure in the second book - she failed in her Throne-given duties and that's as much a criminal offence for the Arbites as it is for any other servant of the Adeptus Terra). The Adeptus Arbites cannot step outside the law in order to perform their duties, and thus are limited by the procedures that they enforce.

A few things missing and worth mentioning. Firstly, the Chapters Militant: The Ordo Hereticus with the Sisters of Battle being the least servile relationship. The Ordo Xenos has sole and utter command of the Deathwatch, and the Ordo Malleus command the Grey Knights. Moreover, the Malleus Remit (That is to say a declaration that a particular planet has fallen so far to the Warp that humanity must gather and fight or face grave threat to the Imperium itself - something like the Eye of Terror opening up) must be responded to with all haste and every means at your disposal on pain of death. That holds true for every member of Imperial society, even Chapter Masters of the Adeptus Astartes are subject to the penalty of ignore the Malleus Remit.

N01 is completely correct in that Inquisitors have limitless powers, and while both are correct that with proper authority one could resist the demands of an Inquisitor. However, the Inquisitor would be well within his rights to burn the person in question alive for the Sin of interfering with His Holy Inquisition, and none but another Inquisitor could call him to account by law. Refusing the Inquisition instantly earns the deadliest enemy that can be found - the men and women with the legal authority to wield Daemonhosts, Pirates, Cults, Mutants, and even the Xenos as a dagger to plunge into the heart of Their foes - and by representing the full might of the Imperium, the foes of Humanity. Now I do not say that the Inquisitor would be able to escape retribution, for a powerful institution, let's say the Adeptus Mechanicus, would not fear retribution for visiting it upon the Inquisitor who just slew a Magos for refusing to grant data-access, likely by bribing another Inquisitor or Astartes Chapter to do it with their virtually limitless influence (note the distinction-Inquisitors have the raw authority, but the Mechanicus has a hand in everything ). Someone as lowly as a Planetary Governor would not dare instigate an Inquisitor unless his world was incredibly influential, for the powers of the Inquisition are galaxy-spanning and the Governer controls but a small, easily bombed island in the Void. He might make it difficult, forcing the Inquisitor to show him he has the data in question before admitting the data exists and providing it, but outright refusal is impossible.

1°) Inquisition has many limits; every inquisitor is equal to other inquisitors, they must control the Imperium and their peers, so they need allies.

If a planetary governor dislikes the way a inquisitor deals with him, he can try to contact other inquisitors.

Remember, the role of inquisition is fight demons (Malleus), deals with aliens (Xenos) and control the Ministorum (Hereticus).

They can't take the power, the Administratum and the nobles have the power, Emperor himself said so.

Libricars are Radicals for this.

2°) What we call "heresies" are crimes in truth, because the Inquisition is a secular organization.

That's why Arbitrators weren't unable to deal with Vandire, technically, he does not broken any imperial rule.

3°) Only Assassins, Guardsmen and Scums are without power, and Clerics have power by circumstances because the Ministorum is the youngest organization and the Emperor said nothing about it, so they have a great influence with masses but little with others. And it's the same for Adepta Sororitas.

BangBangTequila said:

Strictly speaking, not the case. It turns out that the Adepta Sororitas' interactions with the Inquisition aren't actually all that unusual.

The Deathwatch, as described in the Deathwatch rulebook, are an autonomous force founded by the Space Marine Chapters who were present at the Apocryphon Conclave, who are oath-bound allies of the Ordo Xenos. The Deathwatch have their own operations, and are compelled by ancient bonds of mutual purpose to operate alongside the Inquisition, but they're not as a whole under the command of the Inquisition any more than the Imperial Guard or Imperial Navy are.

I've not fully read up on the current Grey Knights background, but it does seem like they're the only ones fully bound to the service of the Inquisition.

Oh I know the Sororitas work with the Inquisition fairly regularly, but Hereticus is the only branch (of the big three-The Ordo Chronos for example is a minor one that has no chapter militant) that has no Chapter Militant. Technically speaking Witch hunters ask the Ecclesiarchy for units of the Sisters of Battle. They are almost always given them when they ask, but the fact that they do have to ask sets them apart.

While the Deathwatch is not strictly speaking under total control of the Ordo Xenos, I have always interpreted them, as the Chapter Militant, as having to have a damned good reason to disobey an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor. Like "There is a Genestealer Cult threatening the very existence of the Forge World and you want me to go check up on your sister" kind of a good reason. To betray the ancient vows that in part define the existence of the Deathwatch would be to betray their honour as Astartes, something that few would do (See Chaos Space Marines or Horus Heresy for details).

The Grey Knights are the only chapter that is truly bound to the Inquisition, the rest are bound by the Remit Malleus and of course by the theoretically boundless authority of the Rosette but that's it. In fact, it's this binding to the Ordo Malleus that sets them apart as the only Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes that is exempt from contributing to the Deathwatch.

@Sebashaw: You mean the Inquisition is not a secular organization, right? The Ordo Hereticus' sole purpose is to hunt down and execute those who go against the Creed of the God-Emperor of Man. That's about as non-secular as it gets... The whole society is based upon Law and Religion as one. The philosophy is gone into fairly in depth in Dune, as when forging a civilization, they must be one. To commit a crime must be as a sin, so the law will remain unbroken. A very good way of enforcing discipline and ensuring everyone stays submissive to your divine will...

And actually, thanks to the Age of Apostasy, the Ecclesiarchy is among the most toothless of the Adetus Terra. As you said, they are among the youngest, and in their rise to power they got it in mind that they could become the most powerful of the Adeptus. The Administratum cracked down on Vandire, hard , and and this point they are incapable of a standing army. The Inquisition, provided the Inquisitor in question isn't a complete moron, would have a fairly easy time coercing/persuading the Ministorum to go along with whatever they want, because while some members may be nigh untouchable, they're one of the few Adeptus that will not be able to truly strike back.

*Note, alot of that is interpretation, I truly find the Ecclesiarchy as one of the biggest peacocks of the Adeptus Terra. They fluff themselves and puff out their feathers to make it look like they are huge, glorious and powerful, but in reality they are just a middling sized flightless bird. It's not a perfect analogy, since they are massive, but their power is not as great as it should be.

an important distinction for your players to keep in mind maybe that they are acolytes, and not inquisitors?

TLG is right. Can the Acolytes present any credentials? A Badge of Office (Ascension), or a Rosette?

BangBangTequila said:

Except that the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas serve as the Chamber Militant for the Ordo Hereticus - as per the Convocation of Nephilim.

Similarly, the Adepta Sororitas do not work for the Ecclesiarchy - they're a separate organisation to the Adeptus Ministorum, with their own command structure and their own responsibilities. Their core duties are twofold - to protect the Church from enemies outside it, and to monitor the Church to prevent corruption from subverting it. In the former role, they are allies of the Adeptus Ministorum, in the latter they are allies of the Ordo Hereticus, but subservient to neither. A Canoness is an extremely powerful woman in her own right, not merely a pawn to be manipulated by Cardinals

BangBangTequila said:

I agree, for the most part... but the path to that end is not the same. A Watch Captain or Watch Commander can face an Inquisitor as an equal, no different to a Canoness, Rogue Trader, Lord Admiral, etc, etc. Fundamentally, the Deathwatch exists and operates as a distinct entity. Kill-Teams are a rare and valuable resource and frequently operating upon their own initiative and following their own intelligence. Any Inquisitor working with the Deathwatch should know well that he won't get anywhere trying to give orders without showing respect to the Deathwatch and to the alliance between them and the Inquisition. IMO, an Inquisitor should only really be dealing with an individual Kill-Team if he's already gone through the proper channels of agreeing the matter with the Kill-Team's Watch Captain (mainly because the Watch Captain will be a far more visible person to deal with than individual Kill-Teams, who'll likely already be in the field somewhere and beyond easy reach).

BangBangTequila said:

Except when it isn't. The clearest example of this: the Adeptus Arbites deal exclusively with Law, while the Adeptus Ministorum deals exclusively with Religion, and while there is overlap between their respective remits, the Law and the Creed are not the same thing.

The Ordo Hereticus exists to combat the threat of The Enemy Within. That isn't just a matter of religion - those who go against the Imperial Creed already have the Adepta Sororitas and the Ecclesiarchy's own Confessors to contend with. The Enemy Within is everyone within the Imperium who is acting against it, plus the additional workload of Psykers and Mutants. For example, Heretek organisations such as the Logicians are not covered by the Imperial Creed, yet are a serious threat nonetheless (they're blasphemers and sinners all, certainly... but from the perspective of the Adeptus Mechanicus, which is an entirely different set of religious doctrines). Internecine conflict between organisations is not strictly a sin (because every organisation in the Imperium is constantly pushing for dominance over a wide variety of matters) but are a threat because they damage the ongoing mechanism of the Imperium.

The Ordo Hereticus exists to police the Imperium, not to enforce the will of the Church. The difference might get muddled at times, but there is most definitely a difference.

BangBangTequila said:

1) Dark Heresy Core Rulebook, P,269: "The Sister of Battle are the Dhamber Militant of Ordo Hereticus..."

2) I'm sorry, I mean Inquisition IS a secular organization, it's more old than Ministorum and Ordo Heresticus was born to control it.

[The same old question about marine's chaplains]

After I had read Dune, I think the best readings for Dark Heresy are the Lovecraft's stories.

I have to continue to dissent, there are no secular organizations. The Imperium of Man is maintained under the strict believe that their head of state is a God. While there are both a Law and a Religion, the law comes directly from the Will of the God Emperor. To be Secular, there must be a difference between Church and State, which there is not, and never can be since the head of state is God, the laws are his commandments (as has been pointed out, because the Emperor and the Imperium pre-date the ecclesiarchy). Now bear in mind, I'm not referring to the Ministorum as the religion, because they are not. That would be like saying Christianity is the first mention of God in our history. They are the most recent and now most popular interpretation, but worship of the God Emperor far pre-dates them. The believe of every human being in the Imperium that their Emperor is their God prevents there from being any Secular organizations because everything they do, they do in the name of God. Look at the law which they enforce, the greatest crime that can be committed is Grand Heresy. Heresy is an innately religious term, used because they are unravelling the works of God (Emperor). The Mechanicus worship the Omnissiah as well as/in place of the Emperor, the Astartes are the Emissaries of their God, bearing his very genetic seed, and every one of the Holy Ordos works to defend their God's sacred dominion. Church (not the Ministorum, just worship of the God Emperor) and state are one, therefore secularism is quite literally impossible. Grand Heresy is such a grave crime because, through this marriage of church and state the Imperium is bound together. To threaten the worship of the God Emperor is to attack the mortar between the bricks of a great building, and those in power know this.

I do feel like this is just arguing semantics though, so any response can be the last word.

In reply to them being the Chapter Militant, from Ascension page 170:

"The Ordo Hereticus maintains links with the Adepta
Sororitas, the militant arm of the Adeptus Ministorum. The
Sisters of Battle are often found at the very forefront of the
war against the traitor and the heretic, and as such often make
common cause with the more Puritan Witch Hunters. In
times of need, the Ordo Hereticus petitions the Ecclesiarchy
for the services of a Mission of Battle Sisters. They could, of
course, simply demand the use of the Sisters of Battle, but
few Inquisitors would risk spoiling the relationship between
their own order and the Ecclesiarchy."

Given that Ascension overrules the Core Rulebook in terms of FFG fluff (Note to anyone who cares that I am speaking purely in the context of Fantasy Flight Games material and Dark Heresy) whether or not they are the Chapter Militant, they are the least servile of them all.

@N01: A Cannoness is absolutely a powerful individual, but by no means the equal of an Inquisitor, because as you pointed out, they must obey when called. They are rarely if ever called as a dog to heel, but they must if they ever are. Of course this interpretation springs from a fundamental dislike of the Sororitas, but I'm so not jumping that far off topic.

I would agree about the Watch Captain or Commander, but these are still men of the purest sense of duty. An Inquisitor could stride through the door and order "You bastardous son of a Grox! Heed your master!" and while the Inquisitor may wind up dead for the insult, whatever he was ordering done (providing it was under the jurisdiction of the Deathwatch) would be done. They are equal in terms of standing and likely in power (Though this depends entirely upon the individual Inquisitor), but not in terms of authority. They do not have the legal authority to decree death upon literally anyone, they simply have the power to do it without being stopped.

Thank you all for your comments. It is clear that the power of the individual Inquisitors is not so much based on rules & regulations but rather on the influence they wield. Unfortunately, that is not the more black and white view (my) players want.

Question: “Can we do this or not?”

Answer: “That depends”

Response: “Aaaarghhh”

As to the question of how much access an Inquisitor has, I have the impression that is not quite as unlimited as some may think. I am obviously not thinking about stuff like ‘passenger information on all travel from Scintilla to Sepherus’ but real secrets.

In my opinion, the Imperium seems to built on secrets (and lies). Practically everything is considered a secret, to be withheld from almost everyone and either safely archived somewhere or purged from the records. For example, in one Imperial Armour book, after every communiqué, the astropath was purged. There are a lot of examples in WH background of stuff that is highly confidential, from the real history of the Black Angels to the bulging archive-vaults of the Inquisition, which are also not open to every Inquisitor (and his acolytes).

So there are indeed practical limitations to what Inquisitors and their cadres may know and I think an appeal to the Conclave is likely the best way of getting permission. Or at least that’s how I would run it, I think.

@BangBangTequila: Emperor himself said he was not a god.

In fact, space marines (HIS SONS!) consider the Emperor a human, not a god. (And for this reason I want wipe out all chaplains!)

BangBangTequila said:

A quote which fundamentally oversimplifies the relationships between the Ecclesiarchy, the Adepta Sororitas and the Inquisition, by folding the Adepta Sororitas into the Adeptus Ministorum without consideration of the actual groups involved. It's little different than trying to dismiss the Officio Assassinorum or the Departmento Munitorum as being "just" parts of the Administratum.

It's also a quote which doesn't really bear out in practice when compared with other descriptions of the matter. It, for example, entirely ignores the fact that one of the major roles of the Adepta Sororitas is policing the Ecclesiarchy, and simply refers to them as the militant arm (also overlooking the large number of non-militant Sisters).

Basically, the quote doesn't do the situation any justice.

Similarly, your insistence that the Deathwatch will just sit down and do as they're commanded doesn't seem to mesh with, well, the background. The Deathwatch have autonomy. They're allies of the Inquisition, with a similar power to condemn worlds to death by Exterminatus (and the tools to carry out that sentence), who pursue the same goals as parts of the Inquisition. They're not vassals to the Inquisition, they're not servants or minions... they're allies .

Honestly... this situation seems to come up sooner or later on every board. Someone on the Rogue Trader boards will insist that a Rogue Trader can get away with anything, and not even an Inquisitor can stop him. There was a long-winded thread on the Deathwatch boards where some were basically claiming that a Kill-Team could murder an Inquisitor over a conflict of interests and that they'd get a pat on the back from their Watch Captain for doing so. Here we have the insistence that nobody can gainsay an Inquisitor except another Inquisitor.

I can't honestly agree with any of that - when you get to the Peer of the Imperium level of things (that is, the elite group containing Astartes Chapter Masters, Deathwatch Watch Commanders, the Grand Masters of the Grey Knights, Canonesses, Prioresses and the Abbess Sanctorum of the Adepta Sororitas, Cardinals, Imperial Commanders, Lords-General and Lords-Admiral of the Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy, respectively, the heads of the Navigator Houses, Magi and other members of the Ruling Priesthood of the Cult Mechanicus, certain Masters of the Administratum, Rogue Traders, and of course Inquisitors, plus various other really important people), nothing is certain, not even the Ultimate Authority or the freedom of a Warrant of Trade. At that point, everything is a matter of politics, influence, intimidation, intrigue and colossal amounts of money.

Sebashaw said:

Chaplains are (at present) matters of political convenience (they represent something of a truce between the Adeptus Astartes and the Adeptus Ministorum, to stifle the otherwise-inevitable conflict between the Faithful and the paradoxically-heathen Angels of Death) and significant duty. A Chaplain is necessary to monitor the spiritual well-being of the Astartes under their authority (this has always been their role, ever since their introduction before the Heresy), as well as upholding the traditions of an individual Chapter's Cult. While they aren't religious in the sense of worshipping the Emperor, Space Marines are still by-and-large spiritual individuals with strong traditions to observe.

I agree that it oversimplifies it, but the point I was making was about as clear and accurate as can be. The Inquisition requests Sisters of Battle, despite being able to order them (see Authority below)

I apprently did not make myself clear. I was trying to describe the difference between authority, power, and influence. Inquisitors have Authority surpassed only by the Inquisitor Lords, their legal position within the Imperium is beyond reproach. That means that no matter high up you are, you are not beyond his jurisdiction, so to speak, and should an Inquisitor manage to make the arrest there is not a damned thing that the person in question can do. likewise, the Inquisitor does have the right to order in kill teams. They are the chapter militant, regardless of autonomy or the fact that they are possibly the most well respected force among the Astartes - the most respected force of Humanity, and if given a proper order I find it simply outrageous that they would fail to do their duty.

Now, that is not to say they have limitless power to do anything to any one, they do not. Whether they may actually make a solid investigation and have their charges and sentences carried out depends entirely upon the particular Inquisitor's influence, his friends and contacts that control the resources he needs directly. This is the source of power for those of the Ecclesiarchy, the Navis Nobilite, etc. They cannot order an Inquisitor directly, they don't have the authority. They do know people who do, and can call in favours to wrap the Inquisitor in chains of red tape or even literal chains, if they know the right people. This is how an Administratum clerk would be able to deny an Inquisitor access to information, by burying it in red tape and stalling the transfers to such an extent that the Inquisitor must go higher in the command chain, where he will encounter the same difficulties. The flip side of course is that the Inquisitor does have the authority to execute the clerk for impeding His Holy Agent, but doing so might bring down the wrath of the clerk's contacts and wrap the Inquisitor in greater trouble, and even procuring a ship off planet may become impossible.

Lastly there is power, that untouchable quality tightly bound with influence but different. The Astartes have power; almost regardless of what they do, they will not be harmed, because only another Chapter would be able to harm them with any degree of assurance. An inquisitor could, in theory, arrest any Astartes and have him executed, but the status and quality of the Astartes makes this something very difficult, if not impossible to do, and should it be accomplished the retribution of the Chapter would be massive. It is this ability to throw their literal weight around, and the incredibly long history with the Imperium that is the source of their power and influence, and why they are servants to none. Again, could a Brother Captain kill an Inquisitor? Probably, and would likely not suffer provided he and his Brother-Marines felt it was justified. Could they ignore an Inquisitor? Absolutely, if they felt he was a babbling fool. But thousands of years of duty and tradition say to me that unless they have an urgent reason, they will do their duty as the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos.

Whether or not Space Marines consider the Emperor a God or not, they do serve as Holy warriors. To the rest of the Imperium, they represent Divine Strength and God's will. So even in one of the few organizations that does not recognize the leader of the Imperium as a God, they derive some influence and power from that belief. As well as seconding N01's comments on this topic.

Von Todkopf said:

The rules (both the Rulebook and Ascension ) say that an Inquisitor can allow an Acolyte to carry his Rosette for a specific mission, and thus temporarily wield the authority of an Inquisitor (or at least a percentage of it). I can't find any refference to official credentials for Acolytes, but in a society as bureaucratic as the Imperium, I can't imagine that they wouldn't have proper identification showing their affiliation with the Inquisition. Since many of the missions in my campaign tend to be of the "police procedural" variety, I represent these I.D.s as being identity cards and badges (with implanted datacrystals containing all of an Acolyte's biometric data) in a "flashable" wallet...

As far as what authority an Acolyte can wield, in my campaign I have established that an Acolyte's power is entirely mission-specific , i.e. that Inquisitor So-And-So has authorized them to investigate/apprehend/etc. this specific individual/organization/situation, and they have no inherent authority beyond the parameters of that specific mission. So, if they stumble upon a bank robbery unrelated to their mission, for instance, they could potentially be prosecuted by the local authorities for interviening- the Imperium taking a dim view of vigilantes. They are still Adeptus, of course, which gives them more rights than a typical citizen, and the local authorities would likely let them off with a slap on the wrist out of fear of incuring the wrath of their patron, but the threat of punishment if the Acolytes exceed the limits of their authority (and, more importantly, get caught doing so) is ever-present.

Once they are promoted to Throne Agents (9th level+), they will gain a larger degree of legal authority; that's a way off yet for my players, so I haven't defined exactly what the magnitude of that authority will entail yet...

N0-1_H3r3 said:

Isn't this itself a simplification for the aid of the players though, for some reason assuming they were incapable of roleplaying a game where they have to follow a chain of command? The Imperium act's as a feudal system, with a set out Hierarchy, no one group is autonomous EVERYONE is a vassel whether it's to the Inquisition or Adeptus Terra, if they call you must answer.

Face Eater said:

Space Marine chapters are autonomous, and always have been. You make requests of the Adeptus Astartes, not demands. Space Marine chapters are similar to Inquisitors in that respect.

bluntpencil2001 said:

Well not always:

As far as I know the Astartes are still nominally part of Adeptus Terra (only the Inquisition and the Ministorum exist outside), and even if their connections with Ad Terra are just to collect weapons and give geneseed tithe then they are still created and charged by the High Lords of Terra as the representatives of the Emperor.

Space Marines are nobodies *****.

What?

Seems like you are dumbfounded, my dear Sir.

The Laughing God said:

They'll also find out the very hard way that unless you're capable of snapping a boot in someone's arse, literally or metaphorically with some kind of leverage, no one does anything just because "I'm an acolyte" to an inquisitor... in fact advertising the fact is even less recomended because no one likes a "snitch" and the Inq has a reputation that usually preceeds it with arbitrary brutality backed up by a profound disregard for ruining people's ****, even if they are innocent!

Quite a lot of the Arbites and Inquisitions power is backed up by judicious or excessive force, blackmail, coercion and general bastardry, as required.

MKX said:

The thing about the Arbites is that although the wheels of justice are laborious the punishments are so severe that the threat alone is often enough to break people. Plus, of course, if they resist arrest then that's an admission of guilt.