There is a time for subtleties, and there is a time for passing judgment upon the sinful. The Ordo Hereticus gives these more unsavory tasks to the Ashes of the Penitent.

Led by Inquisitor Eustace Erepatian, the Ashes of the Penitent is an Ordo Hereticus warband composed of the most zealous acolytes in the Glouroth Sub-Sector.

When they are tasked with rooting out a recidivist cell, their work begins at the bottom of the proverbial food chain. The acolytes of the Penitents cloak themselves in shadow and infiltrate the myriad cults that would threaten the foundations of the Emperor’s domain. Gaining the trust of the low-level serfs, the acolytes slowly move up the chain of command, capturing lieutenants, shift bosses, cartel strongmen, and other mid-level henchmen.

These wretched souls are tortured until they give up their secrets, usually amid fire and blood. Only then does Inquisitor Erepatian take the field, clad in rusted battle armor and wielding his holy flamethrower. Among his many accolades, Erepatian is remembered for speaking the Catechism of Ending, which finally stopped the dreaded Pluvial Pilgrimage on Palus Secundus. At the height of the Plague Circus on Endymion Prime, Erepatian drained the Necromarsh and recovered the hilt of St. Theodosia’s longsword from the teeming muck. His current work has taken him to the Gulf of Bittenbrach, in pursuit of the shadowy faction known as the Sanethe Enclave…

The Ashes of the Penitent is another cool warband I painted up over the last year. Inquisitor Erepatian is a special character … he was my first zealot character in the Darktide video game, and I enjoyed playing him so much that I decided to add him to the lore of my little corner of the Inq28 universe.

I imagined that Erepatian survived his trials on the hive world Atoma and eventually ascended to the rank of inquisitor. Now he commands a warband composed of the same willful zealots that he served with on Atoma. It is thankless work, to be sure, but Erepatian and his followers seek no reward and no recognition.

These grim warriors will see the tabletop in some upcoming games of Shadow War: Armageddon, as well as other games that we’ve explored for Inq28, including The Doomed, Space Weirdos, and maybe Rogue Hammer.

I shared my Ordo Xenos warband last month. And gosh, that just leaves one of the main Inquisitorial Orodos remaining. What do I have up my sleeve for the venerable Ordo Malleus? Check back soon to find out!