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STARTER PACKET: INQUISITION INTERNAL STRUCTURE
Document Number: #4751-OPS
Prepared By: Julious von Leeuven
Subject: Inquisition Culture, Field Discipline, and Prohibited Practices
Executive Summary
This annex consolidates operational knowledge about the Inquisition as it functions in the current era. It expands on training culture at the Southern Gate, practical doctrine for the Six Orders, and conduct in the field. The intent is to reduce operational friction, prevent avoidable casualties, and ensure that investigations remain within Imperial law and the High Inquisitors’ intent.
Core Culture and Training Notes
? Philosophy: Recruits are tempered under hardship. Failure is removed early to protect the Mission.
? Authority Stack: The 1st Order arbitrates disputes among Orders. The 2nd through 6th Orders execute discipline inside their lanes unless ordered to perform other services.
? Mission Primacy: Containment and Mitigation take priority. The Orders are judged by outcomes that preserve the Empire.
? Necromancy Control: Licensed necromancers operate under charter and are barred from inquisitorial rank. Violations trigger immediate sanction by the 2nd and 4th Orders.
? Records Discipline: Execution logs and field notes are complete, factual, and sealed until the executing inquisitor’s retirement or death.
Uniform Equipment Norms
? Weapons are chosen for control and accountability. Improvised toxins, indiscriminate explosives, or devices that complicate identification are restricted.
? Symbols and heraldry must project Imperial authority.
? Mobility and transport are requisitioned through Order channels.
Operational Conduct Code
The following articles are mandatory inquests practice. Violations are chargeable under Article 14 of the Imperial Security Act and internal discipline codes.
Addendum by Senior Inquisitor Svendsen: We ussed to have 3 Operational Conduct Codes. The Inquisition has had to add further regulations based on practice seen in the field. Please keep this in mind, and strive not to make the list longer.
ICR-01: Synchronised panic is not a plan.
ICR-02: The backup trap handler is not the member of the team with the healthiest body. It is the most qualified investigator.
ICR-03: Do not burn suspected cult sites from the outside as a first action. Secure, isolate, search, then cleanse.
ICR-04: Return captives and assets intact. Redundant organs count as intact.
ICR-05: High Inquisitor Herbert Alenius and High Inquisitor Sigrid Damunsdaughter are, following the incident at the winter meeting in the year 4964, prohibited from consuming alcohol while the following topics are being discussed: force-feeding, chastity belts, High Inquisitor Katarina Holegius’ prior employment, kittens, or dwarf-tossing.
ICR-06: The use of raccoons as weapons is frowned upon throughout the Inquisition, except in the case of Acolyte Gustaff Goltrinsson in 4851, when all High Inquisitors present found it compelling and a necessary measure under the circumstances.
ICR-07: There are no Halfling dwarf of heavy artillery, despite what the rumours are saying.
ICR-08: Choose a traditional sanctioned sidearm. A Blunderbuss is not a sidearm.
ICR-09: There is an upper limit on the number of people a bullet will go through.
ICR-10: We will not implement any battle plan that includes the underlined words "And hope they miss a lot"
ICR-11: You cannot steal your own soul to evade judgment.
ICR-12: You will not derail operations for lengthy debates on rope quality.
ICR-13: If the High Inkvisitor must ponder the impact of your idea for more than a minute, stop.
ICR-14: Do not invent creative new uses for cursed items. Catalog and contain them.
ICR-15: Check the door means observe and listen. Not put rounds through it.
[These continue until ICR-95]
Order-Specific Reminders
1st Order, also known as “The Order of the Hammer.”
Primary purpose: Judging and resolving complex cases.
Supreme Inquisitor: High Inquisitor Alemach Starborn.
2nd Order, also known as “The Order of the Flame.”
Primary purpose: Identifying, capturing, punishing, and judging illegal mages and witches.
Supreme Inquisitor: Sigrid “The Bloodhound” Damunsdaughter.
3rd Order, also known as “The Order of the Shield.”
Primary purpose: Protecting the populace.
Supreme Inquisitor: Katarina Holegius.
4th Order, also known as “The Order of the Chain.”
Primary purpose: Observation and classification of mages and supernatural threats, including the investigation of magical phenomena.
Supreme Inquisitor: Herbert Alenius.
5th Order, also known as “The Order of the Nail.”
Primary purpose: Extraction of information by necessary means.
Supreme Inquisitor: Mallark “One-Hand” Stonedragger.
6th Order, also known as “The Order of the Scales.”
Primary purpose: Applying political pressure and corruption to achieve peaceful solutions. The newest order, recently founded.
Supreme Inquisitor: Erik Creamheart.
WARNING
This annex contains binding conduct rules. Unauthorised dissemination or public mockery is punishable under Article 14, Section 8 of the Imperial Security Act.
END OF ANNEX
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STARTER PACKET: DROW ANNEX
Document Number: #4762-ILSHER
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Prepared By: Julious von Leeuven
Subject: The Ilshere and the Houses of the Dark Elves
Summary
The Ilshere are the children of Daikia and bear the blood of the over-god Misrush. They are not full gods. They function as demi over-gods to the dark elves, who organize themselves into Houses that mirror each Ilshers doctrine. Each dark elf owes primary devotion to one Ilshers House. Only clergy of the White House may lawfully address prayers to the full pantheon. This restriction is enforced by custom, threat of reprisal, and theocratic courts within dark elf enclaves.
Hierarchy and Factional Map
? Authority: Ishtar of the White House. All brothers stand beneath her. White seeks religious hegemony and harmony, yet delegates tasks to other Houses. Entry to White is only by blessing during a two-cleric rite. Male membership is rare, though not unheard of.
? Sibling Block: Five principal brothers engage in recurring conflicts. Blue and Red are the chief rivals. Purple mediates. Green and Black pursue their own aims. The Grey is bound by Daikias punishment and serves as messenger among siblings and worshipers.
? Historical Outliers: Orange Ilshers Vagor is recorded as dead in war(We believe that this creature became an Archdemon, but before any cults could be started, it was killed by the Archdemon of the Night). A Yellow Ilshers is unnameable by taboo. The color yellow is held ritually unclean. Violations of the naming taboo provoke collective retaliation.
Conjecture
Separate demonology testimony alleges a concealed seventh daughter, Lasandra, once counted among the Ilshere, later associated with the Night and with covert influence among assassins. This claim conflicts with common dark elf doctrine that Ishtar is the sole daughter. Treat as low confidence.
Threat Classification by House
Ratings reflect the likelihood of destabilising a province.
WHITE_Ishtar
Profile: Firstborn, overwhelming personal presence, mythic accounts of walking Akastin during the Demon Wars. Ishtar frames itself as divine authority and internal executor of Drow law. Only female clergy, but allows men to serve in lesser positions. Public disrespect toward White house in general is met with ritual displays of pain.
Risk: High.
Inquisitorial Posture: Engage only with 1st Order mandate. Employ female negotiators when possible.
BLUE_Sefyr
Profile: Academic order, disciplined hierarchy. Maintains a High Council that hoards and classifies knowledge. Prefers elemental and mental magics. Cold logic, debate, and rigid plans. Direct foil to Red.
Risk: Moderate.
Inquisitorial Posture: Warranted seizures target libraries first. With anti-magical rituals and runes, the Inquisition stands to take down the Blue Ilsher with minimal casualties.
RED_Ira
Profile: Cult of war and berserk fury. Smiths are prized above rank soldiers. Claims to be in possession of the axe that belonged to Orlek. Trains elite Red Guard. Impulsive, emotional, violent, yet tactically adaptable when paired with competent smiths and quartermasters.
Risk: Extreme.
Inquisitorial Posture: Disperse with distance fire, deny forges and cooling water, separate smiths from shock troops. Call in the White Feathers and the Royal Guard for hope of take-down.
PURPLE_Marcel
Profile: Logistics, supply, civil order, and protection of hearth. Guards chokepoints and caravans. Acts as shield to temples and women of status. Farmers, healers, artisans, and wardens are common in this house. The center of cohesion in prolonged conflicts. Have been seen in A'kastin, and observed negotiations with high-value people.
Risk: Low.
Inquisitorial Posture: Offer safe-conduct for noncombatants. This is one of the few targets where negotiation might be fruitful.
GREEN_Tanis
Profile: Assassins and thieves, alchemists, ruthless experimentation. Many die young due to house conflicts, yet Assassins of the Green House are more exposed to this than most. Claims immunity to toxins through self-dosing. Chaos druids are sometimes embedded in this house. Torture is cultivated as a craft. Furthermore, the Green Ilsher, Tanis, is impossible to identify, as not even their siblings have seen their face. Assumed male based on ranking.
Risk: High.
Inquisitorial Posture: Align with the Fist of Darkness to ensure optimal countermeasures. Mitigation plans have been implemented in the form of backups for key leaders' backups.
BLACK_Mordecai
Profile: Judge at the gate of death. Clergy include healers and necromancers, with a minority of shamans. Seeks balance between life and death. Communities value at least one Black adept as physician and mortuary guide. Unsure of the interaction between Mordecai and Morwen.
Risk: Variable.
Inquisitorial Posture: Verify rites are within Imperial charter. Allow medical relief under guard. Prohibit field necromancy while engaging target.
GREY_Tanatos
Profile: The smallest House, made of pardoned outcasts chosen by Tanatos. Any non-drow race that converts to worship the Ilshers is assigned to this house. Bodyless messenger, bound to service for confessing love to Ishtar. Has found a way to travel between Spheres. Those marked by Grey receive universal pardon among dark elves yet must own no land or wealth. The most common cause of death for drows in Tanatos's service is suicide. This is usually due to them seeing death as preferable to serving Grey House. Only women of White House may choose them as partners.
Risk: None.
Inquisitorial Posture: None
ORANGE_Vagor
Status: Killed in war. Residual cults are possible.
YELLOW_Unknown
Status: Knowledge deliberately suppressed by every house. Even significant leverage has not been enough to ensure cooperation on this topic.
Dogma and Behavioural Cues
Each House maintains short doctrinal formulas used in oaths, punishments, and recruitment. White elevates fear and obedience to the firstborn. Blue exalts knowledge through discipline. Red glorifies fury and crafting. Purple affirms protection and fair order. Green honours deception and poison. Black preaches remembrance, truth before fate, and calm passage to the Whirlpool. Grey promises voice, pardon, and service without possessions. Field teams should memorise key phrases to efficiently communicate and insult each House.
Tradition and Social Structure
Drow society is matriarchal in pairing and inheritance. Partnerships can cross Houses, yet marriage is disfavored to preserve strategic choice. Children enter the mother's House, though never White unless the mother herself was blessed into White by Ishtar herself, and even then, entry is by a separate rite. The race places survival over ethics. Means are justified by ends. They permit aid from other races when profitable and accept worship from outsiders who affirm their supremacy.
Contact Protocols
Follow these rules during approach and negotiation. Violations escalate quickly into violence.
Never display distrust toward White House in public view.
Do not provoke Red House.
Run the moment Blue House begins to lecture without invitation, this is often a monologue that initiates a battle.
Do not stand between Purple House and a woman of rank.
Never turn your back on Green House. Do not drink Green House offerings.
Do not toy with the dead in front of Black House.
A threat to one is a threat to the many, assume that these houses will act upon an external threat rather than internal politics.
Do not bring anything you cannot afford to lose.
Do not send a child to carry your message.
Above all, never utter the unnameable color. Repeat, never.
WARNING
This annex contains sensitive religious and cultural intelligence. Unauthorized use will jeopardize ongoing negotiations and border stability. Punishable under Article 14, Section 8 of the Imperial Security Act.
END OF ANNEX