Single-minded in the pursuit of their vital goals or the
destruction of their hated enemies; there are no limits to what
extremes they will go as a result of their obsessive beliefs.
“Why do you stay your hand? Where one mutant exists, I know there
must be others!”
–Last words before the Burning of Hive Jaspo
Role aptitudes
Leadership, Offence, Toughness, Weapon Skill, Willpower
Role talent
Deny the Witch or Jaded
Role bonus
Death to All Who Oppose Me!: In addition to the normal uses of Fate points (see page 293 of the DARK HERESY Core Rulebook), a Fanatic character may spend a Fate point to count as having the Hatred talent against his current foe for the duration of the encounter. Should he choose to leave combat against a Hated foe in that encounter, however, he gains 1 Insanity point.
The Imperium thrives on belief. Belief drives the Adeptus
Ministorum in its eforts to unite Mankind in worship of
the Emperor. For most citizens, belief might be as simple
as the forlorn idea that tomorrow might be a better day, or that
they can expect a tomorrow at all. For a Fanatic, though, belief
is all. It consumes his life, and the depth of his conviction creates
the purity of utter certainty in his actions and utter obsessiveness
towards his goals. He might easily hate anyone not agreeing with
him as much as he hates the target of his beliefs, and burn friend as
well as foe in his quest. Death holds no fear, and any setbacks only
make him redouble his eforts. Convinced in the righteousness of
his beliefs, no matter what they are, he strides fearlessly against his
foes as an unstoppable force, and woe unto anyone or anything
that dares bar his way.
The role of the fanatic
A Fanatic can be found anywhere across the Imperium, from a
lowly underhive scum who obsesses over the precise geometry of
his fungus patch to a planetary governor determined to eradicate
all mutation, no matter how many of his subjects he has to burn to
do so. A Fanatic might direct himself towards a single activity, such
as continually carving Aquilas onto any surface he inds to spread
the word of the Emperor, or arranging his chainsword strikes
in battle to form his hive gang’s mark in bleeding lesh. There
is nothing that a Fanatic cannot become obsessed over, though
those chosen to become Acolytes often have devoted themselves to
directions an Inquisitor might ind advantageous. A Fanatic who
passionately hates psykers, aliens, or heretics is useful, but many
a Fanatic has other useful traits, and his zealotry might not be
obvious to his Inquisitor or fellow Acolytes at irst. His comrades
understand only when they notice that he insists on hand-making
each of his autogun rounds because he does not trust castings he
has not witnessed personally, or calmly refuses disguises and insists
his enemies must always know the face of their killer.
While every Fanatic is nigh-absolute in his conviction, for
some the exact target of that conviction could shift. This can come
about due to a change in location, where he might encounter an
unfamiliar heretical cult or foul xenos race and thus make this
his new focus. Alternatively, he might strive to abolish plasma
weaponry after sufering vent-burns in combat or upon learning
that such weapons devastated a beloved settlement. A Fanatic
might be aware of his dogmatic nature, and through sheer force of
will redirect his monomaniacal dedication towards a new purpose
or foe. So long as he has a proper focus, this type of Fanatic can
develop and become even more useful for the warband.
The mere absence of his obsession does not lessen his zeal,
however. For a Fanatic, this could only indicate the righteousness
of his cause and make him strengthen his eforts. Finding a hab
empty of expected xenos relics, for example, might only be the
irst step. He might be convinced that only through even more
stringent interrogations can they be found. This might lead to
purging an entire hive level by level, no matter how impossible this
task, in order to ind the relics he is convinced must exist.
Within a warband, a Fanatic can be a powerful asset. Where
others might falter when set against overwhelming cultists or
terrifying Daemons, he cannot be stayed and can inspire others
with his convictions. When Acolytes face hopelessly complex data
retrievals or insidiously attractive temptations, a Fanatic rebukes
doubt and exhorts his compatriots to do the same. He always
scofs at any signs of laxity, and considers anything less than
absolute conviction to be weakness—and no Fanatic can abide
weakness. This can lead to rabid pursuits in mistaken directions
or futile attacks, however. In some cases, the other members of
the warband might have to rein in or redirect a Fanatic when his
actions are not furthering the aims of their Inquisitor. This can
be a diicult task, for a Fanatic often opposes these eforts with
increased certainty that his beliefs are correct, and redoubles his
actions despite any evidence others might see.
Fanatic characters
Given the horrors of the 41st Millennium, the behaviour of the
Fanatic is a common one amongst many settings and organisations.
On death worlds, for example, only those with ardent and ceaseless
hostility for the local lora and fauna survive to live another day,
and on shrine worlds a Fanatic can ind pilgrims and other
passionate worshippers to share his zealotry. Indeed, a Fanatic
within the Adeptus Ministorum can often ind welcome company
in his extreme beliefs amongst the iery orators and torch-wielding
preachers that roam many worlds in search of sinners to burn.
This is especially so for the Adepta Sororitas, where few can match
the ierce hatred that their Sisters of Battle show towards any they
deem heretic, or the adoration they hold for the Emperor.
research and study allow for acutely focussed thought and activity,
from the search for STC fragments to unravelling the secrets of
the Tyranid Hivemind. There is no area in which an Adeptus
Mechanicus Fanatic cannot immerse his entire being, perhaps
augmented through engrammic branding or other electro-cranial
reinforcements. Filled with certainty in the Omnissiah, a Fanatic
might spend his life buried deep within datavaults that extend to
the Dark Age of Technology or far beyond the fringes of Imperial
space in search of archaeotech relics, in all cases conident beyond
calculation that his pursuit is worthy and cessation is unthinkable.
It is also not uncommon for a Fanatic to truly ind himself
as a member of the Adeptus Arbites. All Arbitrators, from the
lower ranks who patrol scum-illed habways to the stern Judges
who oversee entire worlds, are expected to have extreme dedication
to the Emperor’s Laws. Regardless of the circumstances or even
degree of the ofence, a Fanatic would endlessly pursue the guilty
no matter the collateral damage or injury to others. Punishing the
guilty is all that matters, and anything less is to weaken the laws
that bind the Imperium together.
Sample fanatic: Sister Pyress
Ellessa Rone was a simple vendor of her intricate, hand-crafted
trinkets in Hive Suzzum’s infamous Circumspect Market—until
she was swept into the fervour of the Order of Redeeming Flames
after it led a procession of captured witches and mutants near her
stall. The righteousness of the Order lit something within her, a
deep longing for such certainty, and she fashioned her own torch
to join their ranks. Now known as Pyress, she soon became one of
the Order’s most devoted members. Nothing was allowed to stand
in the way of her iery sweeps; she even led pogroms deep into the
gigantic crystalline caverns far below the hive’s surface. It was in
one of these unnatural grottos that she met a strange visitor, who
showed her even greater threats to target with her obsessive fury.
Fanatic sample paths
A Fanatic’s obsessions are sometimes not limited to his own
mind: he must convince others of the correctness of his beliefs
as well. Unlike a Hierophant, he is not necessarily a zealot for
the Emperor, and focusses his extreme beliefs in almost any
direction, from hatred of the xenos to a passion for bladed
weapons. A player wishing to build a Fanatic in this way would
concentrate on linguistics, rhetoric, and other means to help
sway others to his convictions, as well as reinforcing his own
mental strengths to ensure nothing can alter his own beliefs.
Recommended advances:
Characteristics: Intelligence, Fellowship, Willpower
Skills: Charm, Deceive, Intimidate, Linguistics (High Gothic)
Talents: Bastion of Iron Will, Halo of Command, Resistance
(Psychic Powers), Strong Minded
The Fanatic often displays the righteousness of his fervent
beliefs through example, and leads through the strength of
his conviction. No matter what stands before the warband or
causes it to hesitate, he refuses to fall—a tenacious inspiration
to the other Acolytes and an unstoppable enemy to his foes. To
develop this type of Fanatic, a player would look to enhance
his Acolyte’s physical characteristics and combat abilities. The
character might even devote himself to becoming a living
weapon to better demonstrate his zealotry, using his own lesh
to smite his hated enemies.
Recommended advances:
Characteristics: Strength, Toughness, Willpower
Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Intimidate, Navigate (Surface)
Talents: Combat Master, Crushing Blow, Frenzy, Hammer Blow, Purity of Hatred, Unarmed Specialist
Ignis Aeternus WH 40K campaign notes 