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(Basic) Ministorum – Preacher

Founded to spread the Emperor’s Word to the citizens, holding the million disparate human cultures together with one religion, the Ministorum (also known as the Ecclesiarchy) was once the most powerful institution in the Imperium. Over time, it amassed the legions of the Frateris Templar to enforce its will, granting it far more temporal power than the Administratum was comfortable with. Following the civil wars of the Age of Apostasy, its political influence and military might was dramatically reduced, leaving it in third place after the Administratum and the Adeptus Mechanicus. However, it still holds a spiritual grip over the people of the Imperium.

The Ministorum is the larger of the two branches of the Ecclesiarchy (the other being the Adepta Sororitas), composed of the Church’s priests, rather than its templars. The Ministorum is split into hundreds, if not thousands, of sub-creeds, all with their own beliefs and peculiarities. The most notable difference of opinion is over wealth – whether poverty inspires piety, or whether the Church should act as a physical manifestation of the Emperor’s unequalled spiritual power and glory. As such, some preachers will walk amongst their flock in battered sandals and a sackcloth habit, while others will wear luxuriant robes and deliver sermons from a pulpit trimmed with gold and encrusted with gemstones. Preachers are also known as the Defenders of the Faith, and are expected to protect Ministorum holdings from invasion and rebellion. Although not a patch on the Adepta Sororitas when it comes to combat, preachers are experts at whipping crowds into a holy fervour and letting them do the fighting.

Advance Scheme

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Wp

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Ld

Preacher

-

-

-

-

1

2

1

1

1

Only human males may join the Ministorum.

Abilities:

Arcane Language – High Imperial Gothic

Literacy – Basic

Public Speaking

Theology

25% chance of Exorcism

25% chance of Word of the Emperor

10% chance of Daemon Lore

Preacher’s habit or robe

Holy book

50% chance of any civilian pistol with one clip of ammunition

50% chance of any civilian close combat weapon

25% chance of any civilian basic weapon with one clip of ammunition

50% chance of a tech-scroll reader and D6 tech-scrolls

10% chance of a holy relic

Ministorum – Missionary

Ministorum – Drill Abbot

Ministorum – Witch Hunter

Craftsman – Artist

Craftsman – Illuminator

Craftsman – Scrivener

Cultist – Acolyte

Scum – Lay Preacher

(Advanced) Ministorum – Missionary

When a lost human world is brought into the Imperial fold, the inhabitants have to be educated as to the ways of the Emperor and his servants. This is the work of missionaries, who live among the (often primitive) people, gradually taking them from their previous barbaric or misguided beliefs and practices and converting them to the truth of the Imperial Cult. When a complete conversion is impossible, missionaries will attempt to subvert existing beliefs to redirect worship to the Emperor. For example, a primitive culture that worships their sun may eventually be persuaded that it is, in fact, the Emperor. Missionary work is dangerous, with alien diseases and unusual predators, and not all cultures are willing to embrace the Emperor. It takes a tough preacher with remarkable skills of endurance to survive a term of mission service. As such, many within the Ministorum view being posted to a mission as much as a punishment as they do an opportunity.

Advance Scheme

WS

BS

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Wp

Sg

Nv

Ld

Missionary

1

1

-

1

2

3

1

1

1

Only human males may join the Ministorum.

Cook

Daemon Lore

Exorcism

Immunity to Disease

Literacy – Basic

Public Speaking

Word of the Emperor

One of the following:

- Fish

- Huntsman

- Identify Plant

Any civilian pistol or basic weapon with one clip of ammunition

Any civilian close combat weapon

Rosarius (as conversion field)

Tech-scroll reader and D6 tech-scrolls

Backpack containing:

- One week’s rations (21 meals)

- Insulated sleeping bag

- One-man survival tent

- Camping stove

Spacer – Rating

Ministorum – Drill Abbot

Ministorum – Confessor

Ministorum – Witch Hunter

Craftsman – Scrivener

Cultist – Acolyte

Scum – Lay Preacher

(Advanced) Ministorum – Drill Abbot

A number of priests are ex-servicemen, often crippled on the battlefield, who have heard the call to the priesthood. After a lifetime of killing many discover that the best way they can serve the Emperor is as a drill abbot, passing on their military knowledge to the students of the Schola Progenium. Many of these students then go on to become commissars or Imperial Guard Storm Troopers. Drill abbots also act as bodyguards to senior Ministorum figures when they visit regions wracked by religious unrest or that have been recently converted. When called upon to fight again, drill abbots can be terrifying, their former military training now augmented by the righteous certainty and fervour of the born-again. Their favoured weapons are massive hammers, axes or flails, all of which have some kind of holy significance in the history of the Emperor and the Imperial Cult.

Advance Scheme

WS

BS

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Wp

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Drill Abbot

2

1

1

-

2

3

1

2

1

Only human males may join the Ministorum.

Brawler

Daemon Lore

Exorcism

Fearless

Impetuous

Literacy – Basic

Specialist Weapon – Fist

Specialist Weapon – Flail

Specialist Weapon – Two-handed

Teacher

Theology

Word of the Emperor

Any civilian pistol or basic weapon with one clip of ammunition

Any civilian close combat weapon

Rosarius (as conversion field)

Flak armour vest

Drill abbot’s robes

Commissariat – Cadet

Ministorum – Missionary

Ministorum – Witch Hunter

Cultist – Deacon

Scum – Lay Preacher

(Advanced) Ministorum – Witch Hunter

Officially, the Inquisition has jurisdiction over the persecution of heretics (a right it granted to itself upon its founding). However, the Ministorum insists that, as the main religion of the Imperium, it should take at least some part. Thus, the Church funds and trains small bands of extremists and vigilantes known as the witch hunters (not to be confused with the Ordo Hereticus Inquisitors that use the same appellation in their work). Because of the Ministorum is forbidden from having a standing military force of its own, this funding takes place discreetly and the Adepta Sororitas overlook it because the witch hunters do get results, of sorts. Most witch hunters are insanely self-righteous, seeing themselves as chosen by the Emperor to lead crusades against the unbeliever – it is no coincidence that approximately 10% of them are Redemptionists. Where the Inquisition relies on intelligence-gathering, the witch hunters launch purges and mass denunciations, and the harmful fallout of these methods – civil unrest, ill feeling and occasionally the disruption of long-term Inquisitorial operations – means that the Inquisition officially disapproves of the witch hunters’ existence and considers them dangerous amateurs. Occasionally, groups from each faction come into physical conflict, with difficult political consequences. The Ordo Hereticus sometimes swallows its reservations and frustrations and takes on board a promising witch hunter for Inquisitorial training.

Advance Scheme

WS

BS

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Wp

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Nv

Ld

Witch Hunter

4

2

1

1

4

5

1

4

2

Only human males may join the Ministorum.

Arcane Language – High Imperial Gothic

Brawler

Combat Master

Disarm

Exorcism

Fearless

Furious Assault

Interrogate

Public Speaking

Specialist Weapon – Chain

Specialist Weapon – Flail

Specialist Weapon – Power

Specialist Weapon – Two-handed

Strike to Stun

Theology

Torture

Word of the Emperor

Any civilian or military pistol or basic weapon with one clip of ammunition

Any civilian or military close combat weapon

Full suit of carapace armour, with pentagrammic wards

Rosarius (as conversion field, carried over from previous careers only)

Tech-scroll reader and 2D6 tech-scrolls

Holy books

A warband of like-minded vigilantes and mercenaries

Commissariat – Cadet

Ministorum – Confessor

Inquisition – Explicator (Ordo Hereticus)

Cultist – Demagogue

(Advanced) Ministorum – Confessor

At the heart of the Ministorum on every Imperial World is the confessor. Backed by all the wealth and resources of the Ministorum, they are ranked after only the diocese’s cardinal and Sororitas canoness in terms of spiritual influence. The confessor’s primary role is to ensure that the planet’s population are engaging in worship to an appropriate degree, and to take steps when this is not the case. Some, particularly those who have previously served as witch hunters, will head out onto the streets and lead rallies exhorting the people to greater displays of piety (and greater donations to Ecclesiarchy funds). More subtle confessors may petition planetary governors to pass new laws enforcing visits to chapels, introducing new religious taxes or making certain ‘unholy’ organisations or local religions illegal.

Advance Scheme

WS

BS

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Wp

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Ld

Confessor

1

1

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-

3

5

2

3

4

Only human males may join the Ministorum.

Arcane Language – High Imperial Gothic
Create Wards

Daemon Lore

Etiquette

Exorcism

History

Leader

Literacy – Advanced

Public Speaking

Theology

Word of the Emperor

Robes of office

Rosarius (as conversion field)

Tech-scroll reader with 3D6 tech-scrolls

A bodyguard of around a dozen drill abbots, cultists or Adepta Sororitas battle sisters

Ministorum – Witch Hunter

Noble – Count

Cultist – Demagogue