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