[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-517846-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-517846-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","an-acolytes-tutelage-an-unexpected-enquiry","An Acolyte’s Tutelage - An Unexpected Enquiry","","An Unexpected Enquiry letter-style essay explores how an Inquisitor campaign can drift away from its intended dark, human-focused tone. The author reflects on a reader’s critique of Derek Gillespie’s views, discusses early expectations for “narrative wargaming,” and examines rulebook nostalgia versus later model releases. It raises practical questions for GMs about restricting player warband options while still encouraging creativity, education, and maintaining story-driven boundaries.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/","Literature",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/an-acolytes-tutelage-an-unexpected-enquiry/517846/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/an-acolytes-tutelage-an-unexpected-enquiry/517846.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Aran","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-17","2026-10-07",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why does the writer feel Inquisitor’s intended atmosphere can be lost in campaigns?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Because players often treat it as “40k on a more detailed scale” and choose stereotypical or out-of-theme options, which undermines the dark, story-focused vision the rulebook creates.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What dilemma does the writer face as a campaign GM?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Balancing freedom for creative warband ideas with limits needed to keep characters fitting the campaign atmosphere and narrative intent.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the writer respond to concerns about using non-human or extreme characters?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The writer argues that what matters is why such elements are included, and seeks ways to educate players on the purpose and distinctions of Inquisitor rather than policing creativity blindly.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},517846,1791453962,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,91,95,100,105,109,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":26,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":101,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":115},137455076865,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","An Acolyte’s Tutelage  \nBy Ruaridh Dall, Robey Jenkins and Derek Gillespie  \nAn Unexpected Enquiry  \nSeveral months ago, at the end of 2010, I received an email to my moderatorial inbox at The Conclave.“Rhinocaps”(the joys of forum usernames!) was asking me for my thoughts on various aspects of Inquisitor. Initially, I began to type a reply, but it then occurred to me that there was something more interesting lurking within the subject matter. It’s been quite a while since Dark Magenta let someone get back up on the metaphorical soap-box, and I thought that Rhinocaps’ e-mail was the perfect chance to let a few highly-opinionated souls hold court once again.  \nHere’s what Rhinocaps had to say: Dear Dark Magenta,  \nI just read Derek Gillespie's \"Piercing the Shadows\" article, and I was quite happy to read such a critical view on the way Inquisitor is being played. In some points I felt Derek also criticised me, which I really liked because, being the most knowledgeable of Inquisitor in my gaming club, I miss having a more experienced person who can tell me what I am doing wrong.  \nI have been following Inquisitor from a point not long after it was released by GW in 2001. At that time there was a lot of enthusiasm about the new game and the \"narrative wargaming\" idea, and GW seemed to be supporting it. However, with not enough models available at 54mm scale, and too many gamers wanting to use everything they’d see in a game of Warhammer 40,000 in a game of Inquisitor, our talk of having a narrative campaign died before we actually got started.  \nFor me the Inquisitor rulebook has always had this special feeling, perhaps of nostalgia. What I am most proud of is that the rulebook, to me, seems to create this really dark universe of special individuals all fighting for what they believe is the true cause. I really like the idea of the sub-title \"The Battle for the Emperor's soul\" and the idea of section wars within the Inquisition. But this dark universe slipped away quickly when people thought it was just 40k on a more detailed scale. Also, GW started releasing models like the Genestealer and Kroot, which made it harder for me to say, “Inquisitor is about humans.”  \nI have tried to hold campaigns with gamers but there are a couple of points I always seem to get stuck on and that's why I wanted to ask Derek's advice, as his article is basically about some of the \"barriers\" I face when trying to balance a campaign. I think every GM deals with this – how to decide what people can and cannot field? Derek mentioned in his article that it's not that you can't include a Tau Fire Warrior, but it's why you shouldn't. My annoyance is, when I want to write a campaign intended to capture that dark atmosphere of Inquisitor and focusing it on a human-only campaign, most players still end up wanting something totally outside the box,  \nlike their Nurglite Sorcerer accompanied by his daemonic minions, or a “fully-loaded” Space Marine.  \nMy dilemma is that, one the one hand, I as a GM write this campaign, and I want people to be able to come up with really creative ideas for their warband. I don't care if one of their characters happens to be an Eldar pirate, but sometimes people ask for what I believe are such big deviations from the script that, for me, it takes the fun out of writing and running the campaign. I felt that Derek’s article also touched on this – it's about the story, and if you want to go kick ass and chew bubblegum maybe Inquisitor is not the game you should play. On the other hand, it had me thinking, 'Am I not very selfish?\"If you think about it, I write the campaign and I would I not like to see warbands that fit the campaign atmosphere? So Iam simultaneously asking for the creativity of my fellow gamers but, at the same time, I limit what they like so it fits\"my\" idea of Inquisitor. I was wondering how an experienced GM deals with these sort of decisions?  \nOne thing I thought as a possible explanation why \"my\" idea of Inquisi","cbCaib4FoCspniBf","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaib4FoCspniBf","pdf",2394210,"English","# An Unexpected Enquiry\n## Distinction","[{\"question\":\"Why does the writer feel Inquisitor’s intended atmosphere can be lost in campaigns?\",\"answer\":\"Because players often treat it as “40k on a more detailed scale” and choose stereotypical or out-of-theme options, which undermines the dark, story-focused vision the rulebook creates.\"},{\"question\":\"What dilemma does the writer face as a campaign GM?\",\"answer\":\"Balancing freedom for creative warband ideas with limits needed to keep characters fitting the campaign atmosphere and narrative intent.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the writer respond to concerns about using non-human or extreme characters?\",\"answer\":\"The writer argues that what matters is why such elements are included, and seeks ways to educate players on the purpose and distinctions of Inquisitor rather than policing creativity blindly.\"}]","An Acolyte’s Tutelage - An Unexpected Enquiry | PDF",1791346659]