Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: modelwarrior on August 31, 2022, 10:13:46 AM
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I recently found a 54mm Artemis figure in my lead pile and was wondering what the Inquisitor game was like and has anybody ever played it ? Can you still get rules for it ? Just wondering before I am tempted to sell it as prices seem high on fleabay.
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The different scale put off many people and the game never really took off, even with strong support in White Dwarf. The fact that a different scale terrain was required played a big part in that I feel. It was relegated to Specialist Games pretty quickly.
A lot of people did like the rules though; think a very light RPG skirmish game, and a fanmade derivative called Inquisitor 28 (or Inq28) using regular 40K miniatures and conversions plus terrain still has a pretty strong following.
I do have the book, which I bought cheaply at a clearance sale, but I never played the game myself...
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I'd definitely sell the fig at the prices they go for.
I've got the Inquisitor rulebook.It definitely has a following, but it was kind of a mess as a game that didn't quite know what it wanted to be. Lots of great fluff though and the figures were quite cool.
Very compelling setting that gave us the Eisenhorn novels that I still think of as among the only Black Library books to approach "literature". Various forms of the idea have carried on such as the aforementioned Inq28. Post Inquisitor several fan rulesets also appeared melding ideas of Inquisitor into Necromunda as Inquisimunda and a few years after, Dark Heresy would pick up the mantle as a traditional RPG in an inquisitorial setting.
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As others have said, a somewhat confused game. Played it a few times, but suffered from the skirmish aspects rapidly overwhelming any 'RPG-lite' angles. Other games of that era (the Rattrap productions .45 Adventure stable, Astounding Tales) probably manage it better with better mechanisms for bringing problem solving to the table.
Combat from memory worked well enough, and the core could probably function as a '5 men in a bar have a gunfight' set.
The 54mm figures were lovely, but the need for bespoke terrain (especially things that could be *interactive* terrain rather than just some rocks and junk piles) made things harder. Plus the limited number of 'heroic' 54mms made conversions hard (as they were a lot bigger than most historical 54mms)... such that most people had figures that looked like bad cosplays of the stock characters (Behold it's Not-Eisenhorn in a different colour fighting Not-Esienhorn in a hat with an Axe rather than a sword). There was a company that started doing scale compatible sci-fi 54mm figures about a decade after Inquisitor came to popularity, but I think they only did one or two
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A few more things to add, in the off chance that you end up playing Inquisitor.
The first generation modular 40k buildings were (intentionally, I think) functional at both 28 and 54mm. The big doorways and such (maybe pictured in the Inq rulebook?) work great for both. The Pegasus Gothic buildings are similar. A bit smaller, but would probably work ok for both.
For expanding your forces beyond the meager/expensive GW offerings, the Tehnolog company has a whole range of Sci-fi (and fantasy) 54mm figures. The style is a bit more Warzone that GW and they're monopose, but I've seen some impressive conversions and they're dirt cheap. Be aware that they are produced in both soft army man plastic and in hard plastic.
If you can find a download, the free "Thorian Sourcebook" that was formerly avaialble from SG is a great grimdark read.
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There are also several Spanish(?) companies who do resin "not" Inquisitor stuff...but no one can answer "Why not just play at 28mm?". GW's range of plastics are more 'Blanche' capable than ever...and why build gigantic 54mm scenery if you don't need it? It was more or less an an answer to a question no one asked.
I don't know anyone who plays it locally, but I have seen it pop up at conventions occasionally (unfortunately often unpainted and being played on poorly built foam-core buildings!).
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Found the company doing the 'not-Inqusitor' figure in metal: http://www.molniyafigs.com/khans.html
Looks like the other planned models never materialized
https://hitechminiatures.com/9-54mm-minis
Also found these, although no clue how well they'll scale up
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You're also in the world of 3D printed miniatures....so any of the "not" 40K stuff on Etsy could be scaled up easily (just email the producers). If you're dead set on 54mm stuff it'd be the easiest time in history to get involved.
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Thanks for all the answers and suggestions. I must admit I am tempted to have a go with 54mm. Building bespoke terrain would not be an issue for me as I quiet enjoy scratch building and I can find lots of 54mm figure makers out there and 3D printing would help as mentioned. The only downside I can see apart from the cost of the original figures(if I needed them ?) is the storage space for the terrain.
Searching for 54mm terrain brings up some huge boards :o
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I really like the game. I have never played it with the original models though. You can easily play it with 28mm straight out of the box. But you really should think of the game as a sort of a "light" RPG. You need some linked scenarios and some form of restraint when you build the bands. A Space Marine like Artemis is virtually unkillable under the rules. As he should be, but it does not make for a fun game. You should stick to underhivers, cultists, arbites and the odd guardsman or mutant.
We did play it a few times with old GI.JOE models. That was great as we could actually pose them to be kneeling, standing or prone.
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I remember being disappointed and frustrated with that range of figures. I'd wanted a 54mm Space Marine, but the one they produced was running full speed and wasn't suitable. Likewise, the Imperial Guard figure didn't do anything for me.
I have a few spares I bought from them (in the days when you could order a shield or a spear separately), but I never actually found a figure I wanted to paint.
Cubicle 7 has Dark Heresy RPG PDFs up on DriveThru (along with a Rogue Trader RPG). I don't know how close they are to the Inquisitor game though.
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We did play it a few times with old GI.JOE models. That was great as we could actually pose them to be kneeling, standing or prone.
There was an action figure scale necromunda game at partizan a few times, all custom sculpts/builds, always looked like a lot of fun.
There is a new version of the D100 RPG coming from Cubicle7 (Imperium Maledictum is the name I have in my head) for lower level, grittier games than Wrath & Glory is intended for, if I understand the intent correctly, which should be useful.
On the subject of the game - I only ever played it at 28mm (cos why wouldn't you?) but had a lot of fun with it. It needs some streamlining for mooks over 'real' characters, especially if you want good numbers of poor enemies rather than roughly reasonably matched small parties. The supplementary materials are well worth seeking out (though I think only the first part of the campaign got released, sadly). Works best with a GM though, much like Rogue Trader.
ArtelW and even Reaper have some very useful figures for some of the characters/archetypes (and as previously said, it's never been a better time to kitbash!).
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The game is great, IF you play it with a GM as a lite RPG and minimally equipped forces. It relies on setting and story as the actual mechanics are too easy to exploit if that is a players intent.
At launch it fell afoul of the competitive 40K crowd wanting to max out on uber characters with all the best kit. A lot of people could not get their head round the fact that although it was the same world, same background, same ethos it was not the same game as 40K.
I did a lot of figures and scenics in 54mm (converted 1/32 Airfix multipose) for the shop game table but off the premises all our own games were always in 28mm.
There is a lot of supplementary stuff around. These are probably the places to start:
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/overview.html (http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/overview.html)
http://www.darkmagenta.net (http://www.darkmagenta.net)
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The game is great, IF you play it with a GM as a lite RPG and minimally equipped forces. It relies on setting and story as the actual mechanics are too easy to exploit if that is a players intent.
At launch it fell afoul of the competitive 40K crowd wanting to max out on uber characters with all the best kit. A lot of people could not get their head round the fact that although it was the same world, same background, same ethos it was not the same game as 40K.
I did a lot of figures and scenics in 54mm (converted 1/32 Airfix multipose) for the shop game table but off the premises all our own games were always in 28mm.
There is a lot of supplementary stuff around. These are probably the places to start:
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/overview.html (http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/overview.html)
http://www.darkmagenta.net (http://www.darkmagenta.net)
Excellent links,well done and thanks.
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The game is great, IF you play it with a GM as a lite RPG and minimally equipped forces. It relies on setting and story as the actual mechanics are too easy to exploit if that is a players intent.
+1 to this ^
I've played it in 28mm a few times as GM'd campaigns; it's good if you embrace the RPG side of things alongside the combat.
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Inquisitor (colloquially shortened online to =][= by many fans) was in fact closely based on Confrontation ruleset - even the cover diagrams were identical. Yes, that Confrontation, the one that would later become Necromunda.
That's why the combat is pretty decent, why the game suits 4-6 models a side, and why the rest of the ruleset is pretty barren for pretty much everything else the game expects of you. At least =][= seems to recognise this, and offers some "points values" to guide you, and suggests a non-player GM to arbitrate the games, handwave rules issues, and provide some RPG mystery for both players.
As others have already said though, the scale was a strange choice that made it difficult and unnecessarily expensive for people to get into, and the game was easily broken by anything that veered too far from what you could reasonably expect from a typical human. In fact, Space Marines were restricted quite a lot by many players because they were frankly bonkers-good.
Shortly after =][= was released, GW made a fairly wide range of 28mm Inquisitor and Henchmen figures for 40k, and many people took to just using those figures with Necromunda rules... And Inq28 was born.
For what it's worth, you might like to look into trying Confrontation out, as it's easier from a narrative point of view, and more people will have suitable figures and terrain for it. Be warned though, Confrontation is rough and less complete than =][=, but it can still be lots of fun with the right people! ;)
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For anyone interested in playing Inquisitor as intended (semi RPG) Humble Bundle have the full sets of Cubicle 7 Deathwatch and Rogue Trader RPG books in full colour pdfs on offer at the moment.
Core rules, Handbooks, Bestiaries, Adventures, Campaigns and all sourcebooks for (currently) €25.
http://www.humblebundle.com/books/warhammer-deathwatch-and-rogue-trader-cubicle-7-books (http://www.humblebundle.com/books/warhammer-deathwatch-and-rogue-trader-cubicle-7-books)
It is a very easy conversion to make them work with the Inq rules as the 40K based stat lines are virtually the same between the systems. Very cheap way to pick up many hours of pre-prepared settings and scenarios for Inquisitor bands.
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For anyone interested in playing Inquisitor as intended (semi RPG) Humble Bundle have the full sets of Cubicle 7 Deathwatch and Rogue Trader RPG books in full colour pdfs on offer at the moment.
Core rules, Handbooks, Bestiaries, Adventures, Campaigns and all sourcebooks for (currently) €25.
http://www.humblebundle.com/books/warhammer-deathwatch-and-rogue-trader-cubicle-7-books (http://www.humblebundle.com/books/warhammer-deathwatch-and-rogue-trader-cubicle-7-books)
It is a very easy conversion to make them work with the Inq rules as the 40K based stat lines are virtually the same between the systems. Very cheap way to pick up many hours of pre-prepared settings and scenarios for Inquisitor bands.
Ha! Just posted about this over on the GW thread. I had no idea the statlines were so similar. I just picked up the bundle for reading material and possibly scenario ideas for skrimish games.
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I love inquisitor - it was the end of the line for GWs long winded attempt at a D100 system (laserburn became confrontation which became inquisitor)
It's an oddly simple system that just gets bogged down in some overly convoluted mechanics. Still, Its influence is ongoing and it's well worth a playthrough if you ever get the time.
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Ha! Just posted about this over on the GW thread. I had no idea the statlines were so similar. I just picked up the bundle for reading material and possibly scenario ideas for skrimish games.
Yes, for example a basic Deathwatch Marine exists in Deathwatch, Rogue Trader and the older (better imho) FFG Dark Heresy RPGs as well as Inquisitor and 40k, so he can be your baseline. Compare any of the RPG characters to him in that system and extrapolate that directly to Inquisitor, or back to 40k and then to Inq if you want to set a class rather than a single character.
The GM will still need to revert the exotic weaponry in the newer games back to 40K/Inq (although I imagine newer versions of 40K have the same weaponry in there somewhere so up to date players should find it easy)
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I have played entire games of =][= without firing a single shot as we resolved the conflict via RP and investigation instead.
Fun game if played in the proper spirit and a willing GM.
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I have played entire games of =][= without firing a single shot as we resolved the conflict via RP and investigation instead.
Fun game if played in the proper spirit and a willing GM.
That sounds like a great group if you can pull off such a game with willing participants and still have it be engaging. Even my touchstone for Inquisitor fluff Eisenhorn -while he does have a good deal of violence- uses much negotiation, threats, subterfuge and just boring research to accomplish his ends.
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I have never played =][=, specifically, but I love the concept of an RPG on the table which is more like a skirmish than an RPG, using larger figures, and that's an avenue I am keen to explore.
There is a fantasy/medieval ruleset called The Dolorous Stroke (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/249660), which is heavily influenced by =][=, albeit in a different setting, but it's the same sort of idea.
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I have never played =][=, specifically, but I love the concept of an RPG on the table which is more like a skirmish than an RPG, using larger figures, and that's an avenue I am keen to explore.
There is a fantasy/medieval ruleset called The Dolorous Stroke (http://"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/249660"), which is heavily influenced by =][=, albeit in a different setting, but it's the same sort of idea.
Dolorous stroke is great, and has a really elegant system with card decks for wound tracking.
Perhaps in a more sci fi vein I could recommend Planet 28? ;)
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Dolorous stroke is great, and has a really elegant system with card decks for wound tracking.
Perhaps in a more sci fi vein I could recommend Planet 28? ;)
Planet 28 looks great. I haven't played yet, but I've been texting it and a club member highly recommend it after his play through.
https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/2021/12/aar-planet28-why-are-there-so-many-planets/
If you join the Mammoth Miniatures Patreon the 2nd edition of the game is free...
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Dolorous stroke is great, and has a really elegant system with card decks for wound tracking.
I didn't find that card based system particularly elegant myself -- I found it downright fiddly -- but otherwise those rules certainly have a lot of cool ideas.
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Planet 28 looks great. I haven't played yet, but I've been texting it and a club member highly recommend it after his play through.
https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/2021/12/aar-planet28-why-are-there-so-many-planets/
If you join the Mammoth Miniatures Patreon the 2nd edition of the game is free...
It's free on wargames vault by default.
Back to inquisitor - the campaign books were really good too - lot off off table gameplay crammed in to very small mystery focused campaigns.
They are however prohibitively expensive!