Demagogue

“You have been forsaken! You have been enslaved by lies, beaten by injustice, and bled by greed, but you have not bowed your heads or bent your knees. If it takes a thousand years and a river of blood, then so be it, but we will be free!”
–Unidentified heretic on Tranch
prior to the rising of the Pale Throng
Demagogues are rabble rousers and agitators who can sway
great crowds with their words. These fiery orators may be cult
leaders, idealists, madmen, fanatics, or subtle manipulators
and agent provocateurs. All, however, have the skill to draw
crowds together with words, bind them with rhetoric, and
loose them on a target like a pack of dogs. Worlds have
burned because of the actions of such men and women.
Some wish for nothing more than to see the world around
them torn down and set aflame, to stoke the fires of anger
and dissent to the point of an all-consuming inferno. Some
demagogues are created by the injustices done to them or
those around them, injustices that push the demagogue past
the confines of society and into open insurrection against
all in authority. Many Demagogues within the Imperium are
touched with such conviction and faith that they use their
skills to build crusades of the credulous and desperate. Of
these renegade preachers, many profess faith in the God-Emperor of Mankind in some form, but a few are spurred by
the touch of Chaos and the lure of false gods.
To the Imperium, demagogues are, for the most part, a
menace whose activities must be controlled—and if necessary
curtailed---with force. This can be more easily said than
done, for many demagogues are adept at slipping through
the Imperium unseen and unaccounted for. It is common
for recidivist demagogues to appear long enough to create
a brushfire rebellion or riot, only to melt away when the
authorities move against them and replicate the destruction
they have unleashed somewhere else. These elusive agitators
are the most dangerous and hunted variety of demagogue, and
many are counted amongst the most notorious of recidivists
and heretics.
Some demagogues are not the crazed fanatics or simple
rebels they appear, but servants of the Inquisition acting as
provocateurs and instigators for reasons hidden from all but
the most subtle investigator. Most of these tame agents of
hatred serve Inquisitors of a Radical disposition---and those
who follow the Recongregator philosophy or Istvaanian
doctrine in particular. Unlike true demagogues, these secret
provocateurs choose their causes and targets with the
dispassionate consideration of a master surgeon choosing
the proper blade. One moment, they are calling for the
overthrow of a mining cartel on Sepheris Secundus, and the
next, they are rousing the mutants of Scintilla to frenzied
revolt. For this most dangerous breed of demagogue, the
effect their mission requires is all, and how it is masked is of
no consequence.
==Becoming a Demagogue==
Demagogues who serve Radical Inquisitors usually assume
the role through necessity. When you are charged with
bringing blood and destruction or instigating fundamental
changes in the structure of Imperial authority, the ability
to create a riot, instigate a mutiny, and foment rebellion is
useful indeed. Talented orators and socially adept Acolytes
may embrace this role and dedicate themselves to perfecting
its finer points, while some are thrust towards it by
their master.
Required Career: Adept, Cleric, Imperial Psyker, or Scum.
Alternate Rank: Rank 3 or higher (1,000 XP).