Inquisitor was a tabletop miniatures game based in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 (Warhammer 40K, or simply 40K) universe. Whereas the main line of Warhammer 40K games is based on squad based tactical warfare, Inquisitor focused on a small group of player characters akin to many role-playing games. Inquisitor miniatures are no longer produced by Games Workshop but, whilst they were, the game had its own website and 54 mm scale models were available as "Specialist Games" from the Games Workshop catalogue.
Players choose a warband, typically made up of an Inquisitor and his/her henchmen, but also potentially led by any of a huge variety of characters from throughout the 40K universe's Imperium, such as Rogue Traders, Space Marines or Tech-priests. It also offers the chance for players to take on the guise of some of the Imperium's greatest enemies, such as Chaos Lords, the Demonic legions of Chaos, Genestealer Cult Leaders, or twisted Mutants.
The game
The game was supported by Games Workshop's Specialist Games division, which periodically released new rules for the game through the Specialist Games website Home | Games Workshop Webstore. The game was intended for older wargamers, aged 16 and up.
The Inquisitor rulebook was available as a hard copy from Games Workshop, or as a PDF from the Specialist Games website. It gives information about the Inquisition and the Warhammer 40K universe in general. The name, when written, is sometimes shortened to =I=, =][=, or -][- by fans, in homage to the symbol of the Inquisition as depicted on the cover of the rulebook.
Inquisitor uses a rules system in which two 10-sided dice (known together as a d100 or d%) are thrown to generate a percentile value, with one die representing the "tens" and the other representing "units". Standard six-sided dice are also used for several of the game's mechanics.
There are, technically, no limitations on the effective power and equipment of a player character - the rules do not prevent a player from creating a character armed with extremely potent combinations of equipment and skills. The game rulebook does offer an optional "points" system that the organisers of a campaign might use to limit or guide their players, and the general expectation is that players exercise common sense when creating their characters. Unlike a tactical wargame or role-playing game, Inquisitor describes itself as a "narrative" skirmish game, with an emphasis on storytelling in the nature of action movies or adventure novels, as opposed to a focus on winning at all costs.
Source books
There were several additional companion rulebooks for the Inquisitor game available:
Thorian Faction Sourcebook: This book details the background and history of the Thorian philosophy and those who follow it. Amongst other topics, the book focuses on the efforts of Promeus, a semi-legendary figure from the earliest days of the Imperium, and his desire to revive the Emperor of Mankind from his half-life existence on the Golden Throne. It traces his and his followers', the Promeans, attempts to achieve their end, and their conflict with their allies and later rivals led by Moriana. Over millennia, the two factions slowly disappear, but their history and achievements paved the way for two factions, the Thorians and the Horusians, to rise and seek out a new way to approach the divine nature of the Emperor.
The book details additional characters and how the followers of the Thorian philosophy interact with other Ordos of the Inquisition. It also provides additional weapons and powers to be used by the Thorians.
Campaigns
There are three campaigns in the game and each has a Conspiracies book: These books are no longer available from Games Workshop.