Infil-Traitor

“Maxil, Maxil, what’s wrong, your eyes man! What are you doing with that... no!”
–Last words of Adept Acolyte Danvers
An Infil-traitor is an unwilling assassin, a living weapon
turned against former friends and allies to sow terror and
death. Infil-traitors are disposable weapons whose chief
effectiveness lies in their ability to be rapidly converted from
captives or abductees and turned unexpectedly against their
erstwhile comrades. Captured, tortured, and mentally rewired,
either by the dark arts of the witch or sorcerer or
through the application of ancient and sinister technologies,
Infil-traitors have no idea of what has happened to them
until their programming is triggered---and then they become
blank-eyed killers.
Although the processes of creating an Infil-traitor are
much the same as that of creating one of the Mind-Cleansed, the process
is performed with much greater speed and nowhere near as
thoroughly. The mental programming overlays rather than
replaces the subject’s original thought patterns, instilling a
set of pre-programmed commands and mimetic knowledge
crudely and brutally on the subject’s mind.
The use of Infil-traitors is a long-established practice
both by the Inquisition itself (which uses them often to
infiltrate heretical sects) and by some of its enemies, such as
the Logicians and the Brotherhood of the Horned Darkness
within the Calixis Sector (although the means by which
these two organizations create their living weapons differs
greatly). It is also far from unknown, though it is considered
a particularly odious tactic, for certain Inquisitors and Radical
factions to employ Acolytes and agents turned Infil-traitors
against their rivals within the Holy Ordos.
==Becoming an Infil-traitor==
The first criteria for a character to become an Infil-traitor is
to run afoul, in secret, of some agency, enemy, or cult with
the means and motive to abduct and modify him accordingly.
The character suffers 2d5 Insanity Points and gains the Trait
Flawed Conditioning (see below) and may choose advances
from this career rank representing his conditioning.
The Infil-traitor should receive a specific task (such as an
assassination, act of sabotage or particular bit of theft or spy
work) that he must carry out at the behest of the agency
that has programmed him, as well a trigger event or code
word, both of which must be secretly agreed between the
player and the GM in advance. The Acolyte will then carry
on behaving as normal until his conditioning is triggered,
at which point he must try to carry it out to the best of his
ability until he accomplishes his mission, his conditioning
breaks down, or he dies trying.
Required Career: Any
Alternate Rank: Rank 4 or higher (2,000 XP)
Flawed Conditioning
The mental conditioning and mimetic programming
that makes an Infil-traitor is far from perfect, and if
he is subjected to sufficiently powerful trauma, his
mind can shatter or regress and the conditioning
unravel. If an Infil-traitor fails a Fear Test by more
than three degrees, suffers mental trauma, suffers
Critical Damage, a psychic attack on his mind, or
is called on to perform a self-destructive act by his
programming, this conditioning may break down. If
any of these factors occur, the Infil-traitor may try and
pass a Hard (–20) Willpower Test to break free of
the conditioning. If successful, the Infil-Traitor falls
catatonic for 1d5 hours (or until roused by medical
attention), after which time he is free of the conditioning
and this Trait. If he fails, the conditioning holds and
he suffers 1d5 Insanity Points. Alternatively, the
character may spend 200 XP to automatically pass the
Willpower Test.
Warning
This career option is intended to provide experienced players with an opportunity to be a ‘double agent’ of sorts---at least
for a while. As such, it may well result in their character eventually being eliminated from play, quite possibly at the hands
of their comrades once their treachery comes to light! There is, however, a ‘way back’ if their conditioning can be broken,
which can provide the chance for some great roleplaying experiences and memorable events on the way, to say nothing of
the later adventure where characters get revenge on their former puppet master. This option should only be taken in full
cooperation between the player(s) and the GM, and with a mind to how it may affect an ongoing campaign.