Legate Investigator

“Did you receive the heretics into your company? Did you swear to them any service? Did you, knowing that they are the foulest of traitors, aid them by deliberate act, by tolerating their presence, or by the sin of silence when knowing of heresy?”
— from the Blessed Rituals of Inquiry, Volume IX
Heresy is most skilled at hiding its face from those who
would find it out and persecute it. Conspiracies, cults and
false creeds hide themselves behind layers of petty crime,
local prejudices, crude fakery, false rumor and seeming
foolishness, as well as more labyrinthine plots and intricate
layers of well-crafted lies and deceit. Cutting through these
distractions to find the truth, no matter how deeply buried,
is the trade of the Legate Investigator.
Fully ranked Inquisitors of the Holy Ordos are rare
individuals, and in large inquiries or full-scale purges they
must often delegate the minutiae of sifting through detail,
and the questioning under duress of hundreds, sometimes
thousands of suspects to others in their retinue---tasks for
which the Legate is exhaustively trained. Gifted with a special
seal of authority for the duration of a particular enquiry, these
Legates are variously called “cult breakers”, “hounds”, and
“brothers of question” by their fellows in the Ordos Calixis.
If an Acolyte makes a particular success of their time as a
legate, it is popularly viewed as a sign that the recipient may
be headed for an Inquisitorial rosette themselves one day.
The use of Legate Investigators is common amongst
Inquisitors, a tradition within the Ordos Calixis since
before its formal foundation. To be invested as a Legate is
to receive a portion of the power of an Inquisitor, though in
a strictly limited and defined form based upon the enquiry
they are involved in and for a very limited duration. Such
powers usually extend to command authority over local
law enforcement, detention, requisition and question, but
rarely much further. When an investigation is complete, the
authority of the Legates involved is formally ended.
Despite the potential for advancement in the role, some Acolytes
see Legates as unfortunate drudges used by their master to plough
through tedious months of interrogations and mountains of
interminable records, only to find that there is nothing beyond
the most minor criminal activity present. Other unfortunates are
left to clean up endless loose threads after the main thrust of their
Inquisitor’s wrath has been expended and they themselves have
moved on. This view does have some basis as the Ordos Calixis
do invest and dispatch Legates where Inquisitorial involvement is
being demanded, but thought largely unnecessary by the higher
authority. Some Inquisitors invest Legates and dispatch them on
an investigation simply to stir up what may be lurking beneath
the mud, using them as literal and open bait to draw heresy and
dark forces out into the open---obviously, this last task is far from
popular with the Acolytes in question. More subtle Inquisitors
use legates to give formal weight to a largely covert operation,
knowing that their Acolytes will have access to greater resource
without having to wait on petitions to local authority or constantly
having to refer back to higher powers.
The granting of even a fraction of the absolute authority
of an Inquisitor, even closely defined as in this case, is a
very serious matter indeed, only ever entrusted to the most
promising and able of Acolytes, and often to candidates who
have successfully performed such a role before. Failure or
misuse of such an office also holds the distinct prospect of
censure and harsh punishment.
==Bearing The Sigil of Question==
All Legate Investigators bear a formal carta of inquiry (their
Legature) and a Sigil of Question that demonstrates their
remit and authority under the Ordos Calixis. These two
things are proof of their authority and status. The first is a
document that states the locale of investigation and the focus
of concern, granting the bearer the absolute right to question
and examine who or whatsoever they wish on presentation
and corroboration of a Sigil of Inquiry. The Sigil of Inquiry is
an icon made of silver featuring the sign of a chalice engraved
with the symbol of the Inquisition. It may be worn as a
medallion, carried in a wallet or worn on the finger as a ring,
and contains within it a code-key system for verification and
secure data-access if needed.
==Alternate Career Rank==
Becoming a Legate Investigator is as much about
acknowledgement of capability and potential by an
Acolyte’s Inquisitorial masters as it is a willingness or
want on the part of the player or character. The opening
up of this Career Rank to one or more members of a
group of Acolytes may be a form of reward by the GM for
a deftly accomplished mission or successful campaign, or
some similar accomplishment. Chiefly, this career shows
that a character is both trusted and viewed as capable by
their superiors. Whether they live up to such trust is in
the player’s hands.
Once this Rank has been taken, the character has permanent
access to its Advance Scheme, although the Legate’s authority
only applies for the length of a particular enquiry or mission
within the game.
Required Career: Adept, Arbitrator, Cleric, Guardsman, or Imperial Psyker
Alternate Rank: Rank 4 or higher (2,000 XP)
Other Requirements: You must have the Literacy skill. In addition, you can only select this Alternate Rank if your Inquisitor offers it to you.