Inquisitor

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This article is about the Warhammer 40,000 title. For the role-playing game, see Inquisitor (role-playing game).

I think the inquisitor is a pretty cool guy. Eh exterminates heretics and doesn't afraid of anything.

In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, an Inquisitor is a member of the Inquisition of the Imperium of Man. They are mainly responsible for rooting out heresy and other threats that inwardly or outwardly threaten the Imperium's interests. Where the Space Marines are the Emperor's Broadsword, and the Imperial Guard is the Hammer, an Inquisitor is like a Shiv, quick, deadly and able to accomplish tasks with as little fanfare as possible.

This is not to say that Inquisitors complete their tasks only in the shadows. While this is their preferred method of operation, their unique status in the Imperium means that they can take command of pretty much everything short of an entire Space Marine Chapter, and even then the Chapter would be hard pressed to come up with a reason to defy an Inquisitor's request.

Ranks

• Acolyte: Inquisitors can call upon any Imperial citizen to perform any task. Acolytes are set apart from the rest by being told that their master is in fact an Inquisitor. That they are trusted with this much knowledge indicates that the Inquisitor who "recruits" them sees that they have promise, and may have what it takes to one day be Inquisitors themselves. Acolytes may acquire sub-ranks within their Inquisitor's cadre, especially as an Inquisitor accumulates more Acolytes than can be used at once. Acolytes may be divided into cells set on particular tasks, and some whom the Inquisitor trusts may be put in charge of a cell, or of multiple cells.
• Inquisitor: Somehow, Acolytes who do well enough on missions and impress their Inquisitor become Inquisitors themselves. Sometimes they are formally trained and officially inducted by their Inquisitor and some of her colleagues, but sometimes the process is as simple as a dying Inquisitor handing his rosette to whichever Acolyte was closest at hand. Officially, all Inquisitors are on equal standing, but of course there is an informal pecking order, usually based on experience.
• Inquisitor Lord (or "Lord Inquisitor" or "High Inquisitor"): Very senior Inquisitors are sometimes granted the title of Inquisitor Lord. By default, more senior Inquisitors are given more respect and authority anyway, but the title helps make Inquisitor Lords' authority clear to Inquisitors who do not know them personally, and also confers a few formal powers, like the ability to convene High Conclaves (which are better than the ad-hoc conclaves that regular Inquisitors can call...somehow). The only way to become an Inquisitor Lord is to be nominated by one Inquisitor Lord and approved by two more, which raises some questions about who the first three Lords Inquisitor were. A Lord Inquisitor based near Terra may be nominated to be the Inquisitorial Representative on the High Lords of Terra.

Famous Inquisitors

• Amberley Vail, assembler and editor of Ciaphas Cain's memoirs (and possibly Cain's lover)
• Gregor Eisenhorn, protagonist of the Eisenhorn trilogy
• Gideon Ravenor, Eisenhorn's student and protagonist of the Ravenor trilogy

See Also

• Dark Heresy, in which the player characters are Acolytes of an Inquisitor.
• Inquisitor (film), a cheesy live-action 40K short film starring an Inquisitor and some Dark Angels.
• Inquisitor (role-playing game)‏‎, which is Games Workshop's fuckawesome 40K role-playing game that has since been discontinued.
• The Lord Inquisitor, a fan film about Lord Inquisitor Torquemada Coteaz.