Welcome back, Inquisitor
The role of an Inquisitor is to investigate and settle all manner of threats to the Imperium. This work is carried out in secret, for ignorance is one of humanity’s greatest defences against the conspiracies of the mutant, alien, and heretic.
Safeguarding humanity from warp-born abominations and its own gross incompetence requires agents who are particularly adept at understanding these types of threats.
What is Inquisitor: Doctrina Malum?
Inquisitor: Doctrina Malum is an unofficial, immersive, collaborative-fiction project set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000.
Participants assume the role of an aspiring Inquisitor, interact with members of their Ordo, and catalog their activities as mission logs within the community.
As a community, participants help fill out the story by submitting creative writing briefs and engaging in fan-made content.
If you’re a fan of Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy, Inq28,
the SCP Foundation, or alternate-reality RPGs, you will feel right at home.
Shallow draughts may intoxicate the mind, but a little knowledge can imperil the soul.
Pledge fealty to your Ordo
As a clandestine member of the Inquisition, you choose to follow one of three major orders: Ordo Hereticus, Ordo Malleus, or Ordo Xenos.
Your choice will link you to one of three Lord Inquisitors, each of whom have their own unique personalities and motivations which will unravel over the course of the story.
THE VALUE OF SECRETS DEPEND ON THOSE WHO KEEP THEM.
An evolving narrative
Each month your Lord Inquisitor will issue a vox message sending you on a dark and perilous journey.
These fully-produced voice recordings will pull you into the narrative and offer missions based around different objectives and creative tasks, several of which have tie-ins to the Short Fiction and Audio Dramas found on the site.
Be cautious. Lord Inquisitors did not reach their rank by being anything other than cunning and pitiless. Many lesser acolytes have found themselves turned into pawns as part of their larger games and manipulations.
Life is hardship, robbery, envy, starvation, falsehoods, repulsion, idiocy, illness, disasters, and heaps of corpses.
Complete your mission
Missions are designed to engage your creative writing skills and community engagement in the 41st millennium.
Missions can include writing about a character or event, reading a historical event laced with Imperial propaganda, or engaging with community members who have uncovered threats to the Imperium. You will have a secure method of submitting your logs, thematically tied to your chosen Ordo.
You will have a brief window to complete your mission, lest you risk excommunication and become the next target for your rivals…
DO NOT STRAY ON UNPATHED CURRENTS.
Knowledge of the Lord Inquisitor’s quarry has been contained, but a dozen deserters may know the truth behind the Urathian’s destruction.
Investigate and recount the tale of the crew who abandoned their posts. Teach them the consequences of renouncing the Imperium.
Short Story – 1000 Word Maximum. If you require additional context, confer with the auditory records here.
Word has reached Onzedius of an Oculus Investigatus straying too far from simple chronicling. The man’s unsated curiosity is proving dangerous and may reveal, in his own words, “knowledge that could shatter the world”.
Remind him that the Inquisition is always watching. Recount for him a tale of well-meaning individuals digging too deeply into places no man should rightly go.
Short Story – 1000 Word Maximum. If you require additional context, confer with the auditory records here.
A fellow member of the Ordo had returned different. He spoke of colours that do not exist and rambled about some strange alien race.
Melusine is asking if you’ve ever heard something like this. Tell her a story of human-Xenos interaction so that she may review potential leads.
Short Story – 1000 Word Maximum. If you require additional context, confer with the auditory records here.
Decorate your Rosette
Commendations await for serving your Lord Inquisitor. As a reward for your activities, you will be able to adorn your Inquisitorial Rosette with badges that track your achievements.
- Groomed for Greatness – Log-in for your mission on the first day of the month.
- Scornful in All Things – Post 10 comments in the Doctrina Malum archives.
- Brains and Brawn – Complete Melusine’s “personal” errand for the month.
(Feature currently in beta and subject to testing)
NOBODY SURVIVES THIS LIFE UNSCATHED.
Access the archive
Records in the 41st millennium should be seldom trusted. They include multiple tellings of the same event, or contain conflicting information.
Inquisitor: Doctrina Malum leans into these contradictions. Each month when you submit your mission log, you’ll have a chance to have your submission added to the Doctrina Malum archives for other Inquisitors to read, study, and expand upon in their own investigations.
As the fiction collection grows, more opportunities will arise for shared collaboration – or dissension.
THE PAST IS BUT A PROLOGUE TO OUR TIMES.
Exterminatus Coming Soon
All of this will be available for free as an unofficial Warhammer 40,000 experience.
Help us spread the word in the noosphere by using the hashtag #coldopenstories.
Story & Production: @ColdOpenStories| Art: @ArtistsEmpire | Icons: @inquisitor_isaniel |
Interested in volunteering with this project? Are you skilled in WordPress, art, or game design? Let us know!
We’re always looking for collaborations on fan-productions to offer the most immersive experience.