Inquisitor 28: Inquisitor Erasmus Gotthardt

Once I had begun putting together Inquisitor Antrecht and his retinue, I found myself thinking about both possible friends and enemies of his as well. Today, I would like to introduce you to a man who, in a way, is both. Meet Inquisitor Erasmus Gotthardt.

I am always easily drawn towards certain visual archetypes. One that really fascinated me while browsing through the Inquisitor rulebook was that of Inquisitor Tyrus: A massive, implacable man, quite intimidating and possibly terrifying to behold, as he is slowly advancing towards his quarry. So in a way, Inquisitor Gotthardt started out as a way of building a character similar to Tyrus at the 28mm scale.

Here’s the result:

I started with an AOBR Terminator to make the model look suitably massive. However, I didn’t want him to be wearing a standard Terminator armour, so I added a couple of bits to individualise the armour: The shoulderpads are armour plates from the Ork boyz kit, while his chestplate came from a Chaos Space Marine. I also added scrolls and decorations to make him look more like an Inquisitor and less like a Marine sergeant. The head is from a WFB Empire flagellant.

Regarding the paintjob, I went for the classic “Inquisitorial” colours of gold and crimson for a rather regal look.  I have to be honest with you, though: That meant I could also use the Inquisitor as a test piece of sorts for the colour scheme I wanted to use for a small Custodes project. Oh, and I decided to paint his energy mace in light blue to make it pop more.

All in all, Inquisitor Gotthardt is quite an imposing figure. One thing that’s important to note though is that he is not actually supposed to be wearing Terminator armour! He may be based on an AOBR Termie, but I wanted his armour to look if it was more of a special design. If I ever were to do an INQ28 Space Marine, it would be a truescale version, so he would look just as big as, if not a little bigger than Gotthardt. So the armour is really supposed to be some “regular” power armour, pretty much like the one Tyrus is wearing. Maybe it’s even only partial power armour. I really only build him that way for looks, not because I wanted him to be invincible during games.

As for the character’s background, I already mentioned that, while working on the model, I hwas thinking of Gotthardt as some kind of Tyrus-expy: A bombastic, narrowminded Monodominant, strict in his rejection of what he considers to be Heresy (i.e. pretty much everything). However, as I began to think about the various possible members of his retinue, Inquisitor Gotthardt’s character somehow slowly began to transform. I now see him as more of a “good guy” (insofar as that category can even be applied to Inquisitors at all): fair and straightforward, if a little orthodox in his philosophy. But at the same time, he is a tortured man, full of insecurity over his old friend Antrecht’s seeming betrayal and torn between what he believes is right and what Antrecht has told him during their various confrontations (Fear not however, the role of pompous, insane Monodominant will be filled by somebody else — I have a plan!).

So with this gradual shift of his character in mind, I sat down to write a short piece of background for Inquisitor Gotthardt:

Inquisitor Erasmus Gotthardt, Ordo Hereticus (formerly of the Ordo Malleus)

Inquisitor Erasmus Gotthardt is a man torn. Torn between old loyalties and his beliefs. Torn between what he has been told and what he believes to be right.

Once he was one of Inquisitor Antrecht’s closest friends, and both of them worked tirelessly to smite the daemon wherever it was found. Many were their exploits in the service of the Ordo Malleus, and their friendship endured through all the hardships they had to face during their arduous work.

The two of them went separate ways when Antrecht set out on a quest to take down the notorious heretic Amnon Helix, and they did not see each other for a long time. So Gotthardt was all the more shocked when he heard the accusations leveled at Antrecht after the disappearance of Witch Hunter Ferrante. He could not believe that his friend could have fallen so far, so he sought him out in order to make him see reason.

During their confrontation, Gotthardt implored his old friend to finally come clean, to accompany him before the Conclave and deal with the accusations. Gotthardt felt that they were beginning to work out some kind of understanding, but then the rash and fanatic Inquisitor Fiegmund, an erstwhile pupil of Ferrante,  interrupted their discussion and tried to apprehend Antrecht by force. In the ensuing three-way fight, Ferrante was attacked and horribly maimed by Antrecht’s Daemonhost, while the Inquisitor managed to get away. Afterwards, the Inquisitorial Conclave at Pervatia Secundus addressed the question of how best to stop Antrecht. Inquisitor Gotthardt was thorougly examined and interrogated due to his connections to the fugitive and the grievous injuries dealt to another member of the Holy Ordos, and there were those who suspected that he was Antrecht’s accomplice in the matter. Riddled with doubt over what he had witnessed and weakened by his long interrogations, Gotthardt adressed the Conclave:

“You may keep arguing about whether there is any method to Lazarus Antrecht’s madness. You may keep searching for a name to give to his philosophy: Call it Istvaanianism or Antrechtism or call it by its true names: Madness. Heresy. That is the only classification I need. And though I may weep for the friend I lost, I must not waver in my task. For he whom I knew is dead and gone, and the last service that I may do him is to run down and take out the monster that he has become.”

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As always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!