Black Crusade - Apostate.pdf - Black Crusade - chesschempion

Apostate

S t a r t i n g S k i l l S , t a l e n t S & g e a r

Apostates must be Human.

Characteristic Bonus: Apostates gain +5 Fellowship.

Starting Skills: Awareness, Charm, Command,

Deceive, Scholastic Lore (any three), Forbidden Lore

(any three), Inquiry, Dodge or Parry, Intimidate or

Commerce, Charm +10 or Deceive +10, Command

+10 or Inquiry +10, Security or Stealth or Logic

Star ting Talents : Air of Authority, Hatred (any

one), Peer (any one), Total Recall, Unshakeable Will,

Weapon Training (Las, Primary), Disturbing Voice or

Radiant Presence, Polyglot or Mimic, Inspire Wrath or

Iron Discipline or Lesser Minion of Chaos

Starting Gear: Good-Craftsmanship Laspistol, Best-

Craftsmanship Sword or Common Craftsmanship

Power Blade, Flak Armour or Mesh Armour, Chaos

symbol pendant, unholy tomes, 2 laspistol clips.

Wounds: 9+1d5

“The corpse-emperor cannot hear your pleas, but there are others who

are happy to grant your every wish.”

–Archdeacon Gabriel Huang of the Holy Oath

T he forces of the Imperium maintain a stalwart barrier

against Chaos intrusions within the worlds and

organizations of their monolithic realm. Between

the incessant speeches of the Ecclesiarchy and the ruthless

enforcement of the Inquisition and the Adeptus Arbites,

the Imperial Creed is effectively reinforced. Through the

ministrations of the Adeptus Administratum and the legions

of Imperial bureaucracy, the rule of Imperial law is brutally

maintained. However, every so often one of those within that

vast bureaucracy falls from grace. When this happens, the

consequences can be disastrous.

Those who served within the

Imperium’s inner workings can

be ideally placed and equipped

to destabilise the very structures

they spent a lifetime creating

and supporting.

Some Apostates

may

S p e c i a l a b i l i t y :

S e r p e n t ’ S t o n g u e

The Apostate is a master of iniltration, deception,

and seduction, allowing him to ingratiate himself

with organisations who would normally kill him

on sight. Once per game session, the Apostate may

make a Challenging Charm or Deceive Test to gain

the Peer Talent with one organisation of his choice

for the remainder of the session. If the Apostate has

a Fellowship of 55 or higher, he can gain the Peer (2)

Talent for a chosen organisation instead.

newly turned against the Imperium, whether through some

personal rebellion against the Imperial Creed, succumbing

to the dark lure of power, or any number of other reasons.

These may begin their work against the Imperium in the

very organizations they serve in. Apostate preachers and

cardinals may subtly twist the words they speak, using

their inely honed powers of persuasion to change beliefs

until their locks have become unwitting servants of Chaos.

Traitorous members of the Administratum may redirect funds

and supplies into their own coffers, starving entire planets to feed

his own greed. Meanwhile, treasonous Munitorum agents may

subtly alter orders so that entire Guard regiments are redirected

from critical warzones, or even assault the wrong worlds.

Other Apostates are long-time foes of the Imperium and may

even be the irst agents of Chaos to begin an incursion upon a

target world. They enter the planet under the cover of an Imperial

loyalist. These Heretics begin their subterfuge under the pretence

of an honest merchant or a loyal servant of the Ministrorum. Only

once they have established a presence and friendly relationships

with the world’s residents can their true work begin.

These characters may rely upon subtlety, perhaps calling

controversial facets of the Imperial Creed or seemingly

pointless bureaucratic procedures into question. As they

develop a sense of trust with their targets, they can begin to

gradually draw those subjects to the path of the Chaos Gods.

p l a y i n g a b l a c k c r u S a d e a p o S t a t e

The following are some of the ways a player can play and

portray an Apostate. Of course, these should be considered

guidelines and suggestions, not directives nor canon. If a player

comes up their own backstory and character personalities,

they should feel free to explore them.

An Apostate is a master of deception, manipulation, and

misdirection. He can quickly read people’s reactions and gauge

how they are likely to think and feel. Though he likely lacks any

moral integrity and possibly emotional responses, he is intimately

familiar with these weaknesses and knows how to use them to

control other people. He can comfortably lie to control his prey,

choosing falsehoods carefully to it his targets.

Much more than a simple conidence artist, many Apostates

are motivated by a deep spiritual devotion to their cause. A

Heretic who follows this path may believe that only through

a willing dedication to Chaos may humanity achieve their

ultimate potential and salvation. In some cases, an Apostate

irmly believes that he is in direct communion with a speciic

Chaos God. As a consequence, he is likely to be very strongly

devoted to this deity, viewing that entity as his personal sponsor.

In other cases, the Apostate sees himself as the voice of all the

Gods, not one in particular, and offers prayers and sacriices to

whichever deity may be appropriate as the situation calls.

His zeal is unparalleled; he believes his cause is not just right

but also vital. Through his twisted worldview, the Apostate

believes that he really is helping those that he draws to the

corrupting inluence of the Dark Gods. Even when confronted

with the brutal consequences of his actions, he is likely to

identify them as acceptable costs. Some must fall by the wayside

as examples for those who might achieve the greater blessings.

Apostates are often deined by their skill in leadership and

corruption and these attendant skills must often be learned. Thus,

many Apostates begin their lives as a part of the very Imperium

they later decide to destroy. He might have served within the

Ecclesiarchy, spreading the word of the false God-Emperor to all

who would listen. It could be that that at the heart of his faith he

discovered a core of death, decay, and corruption, which left him

disenfranchised. Alternatively, the Apostate might have served

the Administratum. It could be that he had even established

himself politically, and manoeuvred his way into the position

of a planetary governor—or covertly pulled the strings of the

oficial governor. From these lofty heights, he was exposed to

the back room manipulations of the populace and might even

have taken part in deciding about acceptable losses and other

sacriices for the continued survival of his world.

For most Apostates, the call to power is a vicious cycle. Even

when they manage their greatest triumphs, they look over the

horizon or across the stars and begin to plan for their next

objective. As the Dark Gods grant them boons, they may also

feed this lust through sibilant whispers of additional blessings

that could come as ever more challenging tasks are offered.

Ultimately, this hunger for power must lead an Apostate

towards the path of a daemon prince. From the moment

they realise the amount of control that comes with this lofty

transformation, their very souls ache for the blessing. Of course,

in striving for this goal, they must make ever-greater sacriices

and accept ever-greater risks along the way. Few manage to attain

their aspirations before their lives are cut short through failure.

a p o S t a t e S i n t h e V o r t e x

The Archetype of Apostate presents a broad concept,

which may apply to any number of individuals across the

galaxy. Any character who has garnered the opportunity

to spread the word of Chaos among potential recruits

and used it could be an Apostate. The examples who

have established a presence within the Screaming Vortex

commonly follow one of these paths:

Former Member of the Calixian Ecclesiarchy: The

Ecclesiarchy in the Calixis Sector is rife with hidden

intrigues, cults, and undiscovered corruption. The

Inquisition works tirelessly to purge it, but there are

always those who slip through the cracks. A former priest,

confessor, or cardinal in the Ecclesiarchy is a charismatic

and charming individual, able to convince those that not

only is he a trusted ally, but things they may have believed

all their lives are incorrect. His knowledge of the Imperial

Creed and the particulars of faith in the Calixis Sector

allow him to twist that faith in others, so that without

realising it, he can tempt them on the path to Chaos.

Disenfranchised Member of the Jericho Adeptus

Munitorum: An Apostate in the Munitorum would

be ideally placed to see the futile waste of men and

supplies in the Crusade to conquer the Jericho Reach.

Through this he may have realised the impotence of the

Imperium, and this stoked the ires of revolution in his

heart. Such individuals have an unparalleled knowledge

of the Imperial war machine, and may be able to develop

a rapport with unsuspecting members of the Imperial

Guard. Such a Heretic might see actions against the

Imperial War Machine as the ultimate way to save the

lives of untold human soldiers who would otherwise be

fed into the meat grinder of the Jericho Reach.

Interloper within Sector Governor Hax’s Lucid

Court: An Apostate in the Lucid Court of the Calixis

Sector Governor Marius Hax would be ideally placed

to see the waste and corruption of the Imperial and

planetary nobility and inspire him to prey on that

corruption. These individuals may be able to worm

their way into the highest strata of Imperial society, able

to bring it down from within. As his inluence spreads,

such a Heretic could draw the nobility of an ever-

broader region to the ways of the Ruinous Powers.

Corrupted Rogue Trader of the Koronus Expanse:

In the role of a travelling merchant and diplomat, a

Rogue Trader is uniquely suited to establish contact

with the governments of many Imperial worlds in

a relatively short time frame. From this position, an

Apostate could establish an interplanetary network

dedicated to the promulgation of heretical beliefs. This

could quickly enable the heretic to assemble a potent

and diverse force with a broad range of resources.

Black Crusade - Apostate.pdf

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