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Warhammer 40k - Inquisitor - The Living Rule Book 1.1 (Part II).

Warhammer 40k - Inquisitor - The Living Rule Book 1.1 (Part II).

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Mutants<br />

For millennia, Mankind has been suffering<br />

increasing instability in its gene-pool.<br />

Thousands of years of exposure to<br />

radiation, carcinogens and the warp<br />

threaten to destroy the biological<br />

foundation of Mankind itself. During the<br />

shrouded times of the Age of Strife, this<br />

mutation was left to run unchecked and<br />

even hastened by internecine wars that<br />

employed all manner of horrifying atomic,<br />

chemical and biological weapons that<br />

further seared the genetic base of<br />

Humanity. Not only that, Mankind is<br />

slowly and tortuously evolving into a<br />

psychic race and mental powers are not<br />

the only manifestation of this painful<br />

evolution.<br />

<strong>The</strong> position of Mutants within the<br />

Imperium varies from world to world.<br />

Mutation is almost universally regarded as<br />

a sign of spiritual deviation and a<br />

punishment from the Emperor for the sins<br />

of the parents. On the least technicallyadvanced<br />

worlds, where feudal rulers and<br />

barbarian hordes hold sway, superstition<br />

rules over any sense of common humanity<br />

and deformed babies are slain at birth. On<br />

the more advanced worlds, Mutants may<br />

be tolerated, but nowhere are they granted<br />

the few rights and privileges enjoyed by<br />

untainted folk. <strong>The</strong>y are segregated and<br />

shunned, often formed into groups of<br />

slaves and forced labour, outlawed from<br />

inhabiting the same areas as normal<br />

citizens. Other persecutions may be<br />

heaped upon them, such as involuntary<br />

sterilisation, for Mutants are at far higher<br />

risk of giving birth to mutated children.<br />

However, not all mutations turn a man or<br />

woman into a sloughing-skinned, frothing<br />

beast, and many Mutants can pass a<br />

cursory examination. Where Mutants are<br />

tolerated, it is possible for such a hidden<br />

Mutant to rise to a position of authority,<br />

either socially or militarily. In fact, many<br />

of the Imperial Commanders and noble<br />

houses of the Imperium are rumoured to<br />

harbour Mutants within their ranks, and<br />

certainly it is the case that very powerful<br />

Mutants may retain their position even if<br />

their taint is discovered or widely<br />

rumoured.

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