15 replies to this topic

[Da Bikers]

I'm thinking of starting to play Inquisitor as it looks very good, although I haven't really been able to find out much about it, for example what sort of game is it? - Is it a role playing game or a skirmish game like GorkaMorka (Anything else you could tell me about it would be appreciated.)

[Dim_Reapa]

Inquisitor is essentially a Role Playing Game with big miniatures.

Here's some info on Wiki

Here's some from Lexicanum

My own view (noting I have rules published for it), the models are expensive, the system can easily be broken, Beakies spoil the game and making terrain for it is insanity. This is before you try and find what little of the miniatures range remains intact.

My advice is either play this with 40k scale models, or instead get a hold of Rogue Trader/Dark Heresy if you want a good role play game.

[Da Bikers]

Thanks, I’ll probably use the 40k models if I do play it. I might look into Rogue Trader/Dark Heresy sometime if I get a chance.

[Kaled]

I agree with Dim_Reapa in saying that if you want a good role-playing game then get Dark Heresy or Rogue Trader - but Inquisitor is not an RPG, it's a narrative skirmish game. If that's the sort of thing you want, then it's an excellent game. I've been playing Inquisitor for some years now, and it's by far my favourite game. I wrote a guide to the game for beginners which can be seen here - hopefully it will help;
http://www.the-concl...o.uk/index.html

My advice is not to play it using 40k models - it may be cheaper, but the temptation to include archetypes that are not appropriate to the game can prove overwhelming for some people and they decide to include warbands made up of models taken straight from their 40k armies. The game isn't designed to cope with warbands made up of things like Fire Warriors, Orks, Aspect Warriors, tin'eads etc - even Beakies push the system to breaking point. A lot of people try these things and then conclude that the game is broken or dull, but in fact it's that they're playing it 'wrong'. That said, Inq28 can be done well but it requires a very different mindset to 40k and in my experience the larger scale helps get across the difference.

The 54mm models may be individually more expensive, but you only need 3-4 to make a good sized warband (and the rules are free) so it's actually a pretty cheap game to get started with. There's also such a huge range of 54mm models available that can be used in the game that creating new and original characters is easy. As for terrain, the over-sized proportions of most of GWs 28mm terrain means that it works perfectly at the larger scale so you can reuse most of your existing terrain. The following link has a list of manufacturers who make models suitable for the game - and if you're looking for inspiration, the Showcases and Retrospectives at the bottom of the list include pictures of loads of fantastic models;
http://www.the-concl....php?topic=22.0

Incidentally, if you are interested in the game, then it might be worth you joining the 'Clave as it's a forum dedicated to the game. You might also be interested in Dark Magenta which is a fanzine dedicated to the game;
http://www.darkmagenta.co.uk/

Hope that helps, but just ask if you have any more questions.

- Dave

[Da Bikers]

Thanks that helped a lot. Getting on to actually playing will probably take me a while but I would like to have a go at it.

[Kaled]

As this a for dedicated to Orks I thought I should clarify my earlier comment about then being something that shouldn't be included in the game. The Inquisitor rules are really designed for characters with 'human' statlines - characters with stats much higher than humans, such as Beakies, produce some weird effects (such as a beakie being likely to do more damage by throwing a bolt pistol at someone than he would by shooting them). Therefore I generally suggest that new players start out playing human characters - once they get a feel for the game they're in a better position to judge the impact of playing something like an Ork and what tweaks they will need to make to the rules. Dim_Reapa mentioned that the rules are easily broken - I disagree, but would note that the rules are more a loose framework that the GM can follow or ignore as he sees fit. Often a player will want to do something entirely unexpected that isn't covered by the rules. In this case, the GM should make up some appropriate test rather than tell the player they can't do it. Most GMs I know tend to reward players who do things that are unusual, risky, exciting or just plain cool - so won't just slap them with multiple penalties that make it almost impossible to do anything cool. I tend to run the game with movie logic and movie physics - a cinematic game where characters do things that would be almost impossible in real life but which are commonplace in the movies is much more fun for everyone involved. If the GM and players are of the mindset that they're there to tell an exciting story then the game will be much more fun than if the players are trying to win at all costs and the GM is being very strict and makes it hard for the players to do anything cool and different. - Dave

[Da Bikers]

Thanks. By the way, I was wondering if Grots would be weedy enough to work in the game, would they?

[Kaled]

By the way, I was wondering if Grots would be weedy enough to work in the game, would they?

It's not really a question of finding a character who's 'weedy enough' - you can have powerful characters in the game and you can have weak ones. So Grots would be fine, but so would Orks - in the same way that an Administratum adept and Inquisitor are both valid choices for a human warband.

A lone Ork leading a small warband is unlikely to have grown anywhere near as big and strong as a Warboss leading a huge waaagh, so you could make a warband made up of an Ork accompanied by his Grot retainers. The question is, why is the Ork wandering around getting involved in Inquisitorial business? Or would you set your games few from the gaze of the Imperium?

[Da Bikers]

I'm not sure how the stories work in the game but perhaps in an Imperial experiment caused an Ork to become became extra smart; he escaped to enter hiding and now he has to be neutralised. He could have met up with some mad rebel grots that have been running from the Orks and hide on the planet (I’ve always seen grots as, if not smart, at least cunning).

[Kaled]

I'm not sure how the stories work in the game but perhaps in an Imperial experiment caused an Ork to become became extra smart; he escaped to enter hiding and now he has to be neutralised. He could have met up with some mad rebel grots that have been running from the Orks and hide on the planet (I’ve always seen grots as, if not smart, at least cunning).

I'm sure you could get that to work with a little effort. Why are the Imperium experimenting on Orks? Why are they doing so on a planet with a significant Ork presence? What is the Ork's objective once he's escaped? Why does it keep bringing him into the sorts of scenarios you'd see in Inquisitor?

If you want the Grots to be the cunning behind the warband, why not make one of them the warband leader. He could be obsessed with making himself big and strong so is looking for any artefact or knowledge that will give him power over Ork kind. The Ork, rather than being extra intelligent, could be a slightly thick (even for an Ork) outcast who thinks he's leading a group of Grots but is really their manipulated muscle. The reason I suggest that is that you get to role-play the Orks and Grots as they should be rather than giving the Ork a non-Orky characteristic (I.e. high intelligence).

[Da Bikers]

Thanks, that sounds good. I think that I’m going to find a copy of the rules for now so I can get started.

[Easy E]

One thing I want to stress is the importance of the game master. The rules are not designed to be balanced, just like in an RPG the rules are not designed to be balanced either. The GM is there to help smooth out any balance issues, make judgements, and help facilitate the story the players are trying to tell. I don't feel Inq is a me vs. you wargame like 40K, gorkamorka, necro, etc. Instead, it is much more about telling a story and working together to have a good game. If that is not the type of game you are interested in, then please avoid it. If you want to help flesh out and tell interesting stories int eh 40K universe, then it is a cracking fun experience.

[Da Bikers]

Thanks, I'd already got the general idea but thanks anyway. This sounds like the kind of game I would enjoy playing and I can already tell that I’m going to end up being the GM.

[ThorDUDE]

It needs one of two things: A good GM or good friends playing, and sorting out the warbands beforehand. I made an Inquisitor Scale ork, A kommando, I haven't got the chance to play with him yet (it's been a few years), but me and my buddies did plan a campaign "in the aftermath of armageddon". We'd play in the lower levels of one of armageddons hivecities. As such, a lone kommando wouldn't be that out of place. "The Kommando" was to be a force of nature type thing, a GM controled device to send lesser characters running. And as a plot device mainly. We also found that the less powerful characters were, the more fun it was to play. /Dude

[Marishvcard]

It needs one of two things:
A good GM or good friends playing, and sorting out the warbands beforehand.

I made an Inquisitor Scale ork, A kommando, I haven't got the chance to play with him yet (it's been a few years), but me and my buddies did plan a campaign "in the aftermath of armageddon". We'd play in the lower levels of one of armageddons hivecities. As such, a lone kommando wouldn't be that out of place. "The Kommando" was to be a force of nature type thing, a GM controled device to send lesser characters running. And as a plot device mainly.

We also found that the less powerful characters were, the more fun it was to play.

/Dude

I never played this game before I seed this thread. But it's now on my favorite list.

[Kaled]

I recently started a Wiki for all thing Inquisitor - http://carthax.wikispaces.com/

Among other things, it has an updated version of the FAQ I posted earlier, a list of manufacturers who make suitable models, and some new rules.

Hopefully it's of use to anyone interested in the game.