Dark Heresy: Thorian Inquisitors

"A logical argument must be
dismissed with absolute conviction!"

    The Thorians are a faction within the Puritan side of the Inquisition. Generally considered as pro-resurrectionists, the Thorians' philosophy is named after the great hero of the Age of Apostasy, Sebastian Thor who overthrew Goge Vandire, the tyrannical High Lord of Terra who plunged the Imperium into the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium. Its members believe that the Emperor´s spirit can be transferred into another host, referred to as a Divine Avatar, an especially gifted, charismatic and saintly individual. Many other Inquisitors work against this agenda, because if such a thing happened the Imperium would be torn apart in a massive conflict between believers and non-believers, resulting in a devastation similar to the aftermath of the Horus Heresy.

    The Thorians believe that Thor was divinely inspired and that he moved with the Emperor’s light burning within him. To many Inquisitors of the day, it was obvious that Thor was imbued with a measure of the Emperor’s will and charisma. They believed that it was not the first time that the Emperor had acted in such a way, citing such figures as St. Capilene and the hero Josmane as previous vessels of the Emperor walking amongst his people.

    The Thorians believe that the Emperor’s near-death at the hands of Horus allowed him to break the final bonds between the crude matter of corporeality and ascend to assume his true nature as a deity. His spirit wanders the void, travelling as a whisper in the warp, flitting from place to place and perhaps even through time. Thorian dogma tells that the Emperor has manifested his spirit through his chosen vessels many times when his people needed him, but that these bodies were able to contain only the barest fraction of his power and soon withered and died. They await the day that He shall be reborn and lead his people onwards in the continuation of the Great Crusade.

     To this end, the Thorians closely study the interaction of consciousness, energy and the warp, believing that if they can manipulate these energies correctly they can channel the Emperor’s spirit into a suitable vessel and effectively resurrect the Master of Mankind. There have been many attempts to create a body suitable for such an important ritual, including the disastrous events on Incunabla, but so far none have succeeded. Followers of the Thorian philosophies constantly scour the galaxy for beings they term “Avatars”, individuals of such power that they may prove able to contain the Emperor’s soul once more – or be turned to evil by the Ruinous Powers.

    Many Thorian inquisitors are found within the Ordo Malleus, where their greater understanding of the immaterium grants them an insight into how the rebirth of the Emperor could be achieved. Others may be found among the Ordo Hereticus, though there are few within the Ordo Xenos, save those who believe manipulation of alien psychic-engineering, such as that of the Eldar may provide valuable insights. Inquisitors of all orders foster the growth of resurrectionist cults throughout the Imperium, as they provide useful foot-soldiers for an Inquisitor when he must raise an army to achieve his ends.

    Opponents of the Thorians claim that were the Emperor to be reborn it would cause a schism and civil war more deadly than that begun by Horus. Believers and unbelievers would fight to the death and the galaxy would be consumed in an apocalyptic holy war. They cite the Thorian’s naivete, claiming that they cannot know what would come back, that the Emperor himself might be changed, altered by his long absence from the flesh. And more importantly, what of the Astronomican? The Imperium would surely collapse without the Emperor’s guiding light to steer ships through the Empyrean. The risks inherent in what the Thorians propose are too great for many to contemplate but, despite this, the Thorians are determined upon their course.

   Because of this, Thorians make one of the best antagonist to use in a Dark Heresy campaign. While superficially a puritan faction, they can easily fall from grace in pursuits of their ultimate endgame. Daemonic incursion is but one horror that can happen as a result of a botched resurrectionist experiment. Their expertise and goals will often bring them into contact with a wide variety of contacts without issue - Eldar xenos, sorcerers and ancient cults, Omnissiads and Genators of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Orders of the Sisters and the greater whole of the Ecclesiarchy. The Thorian antagonist will truly prove hard to denounce and convict for players in a game they feature in.

    I have for this reason favored Thorian Inquisitors heavily in my games of Dark Heresy to serve as my primary antagonists, including roles as true villains or competitive rivals to the party. Their nimbus of influence can easily extend to any other faction I require for a setting without laboring to 'make things fit', and their intuitive research into the warp makes them perfect as (un)intentional forgers of forbidden Malifica or transgenic blasphemies.

     On the other hand, Thorian inquisitors make great allies as well. Their knowledge of the immaterium, the nature of the soul and the rites of the warp that can affect the daemonic can assist any daemon-hunter and his cadre of acolytes greatly. Their often tumultuous nature with the Eldar (who do not take lightly the inquisitions acquisition and misuse of their soul stones) has forged men and women wizened and battle hardened against the enigmatic pirates and raiders. Inquisitor Czevek Bronislaw, most famous of all Thorians, is most famous of all for being the only known Imperial given access to the infamous Black Library  within the web-ways. 

     In the articles to follow I will share many of my Thorian inventions and mechanics and discuss my campaign ideas for my successful campaign, "The Thorian Throne", which saw at it's conclusion the rebirth of the God-Emperor of Mankind. Intrigued yet? Stay tuned!

"The rewards more than outweigh the risks should we succeed. Imagine it! The Emperor reborn and walking amongst his people as a living god. Who can say such a thing is wrong" -- Inquisitor Crescere. From Inquisitorial Report TH/21/36: “The Incunable Incident”