SENSEI

reproduced from Rouge Traider the first edition of warhammer 40,000 which was based heavily on D&D. It was more a role playing game.

The Star Child is a tiny core of what remains of the Emperor's humanity, bobbling amongst the tides of psychic energy in the warp. There are a select few amongst the Imperium, called the Illuminati, who believe that the Star Child will awaken thus bringing the rebirth of the Emperor - the Second Coming. Such a belief is not tolerated in the Imperium, which is why the Illuminati maintain a strict code of secrecy within their brotherhood. To the Imperium the Emperor lives, albeit motionless in the Golden Throne.

The soul of the Emperor, in the warp, remains as merely potential, a child awaiting birth and it is the Illuminati that are paving the way for this birth. The Illuminati remains a secret force in the Imperium as they prepare for the Second Coming. They secretly work their way through the echelons of government and commerce, preparing for the rebirth of the Emperor.

Briefly, the brotherhood of the Illuminati is a small and flexible force within the Imperium. Its members are very special people indeed; they have survived Daemonic Possession. They have survived Chaos, and have achieved a balance that eluded even the Eldar.

THE SENSEI

Just as Chaos has its Champions, so does the Star Child and these are the Sensei. The Sensei are descended from the Emperor's own descendents. They do not know of their lineage. They do not know that they are the Emperor's sons. Because of this very special lineage, a Sensei is immortal and ageless, and possess quite amazing powers of recovery. But immortality and resilience are just some of the attributes that makes a Sensei special. The Star Child bestows gifts and blessings upon those that perform favourably, just like a Chaos Power rewards its followers with Chaos Gifts and mutations.

Probably most important trait of the Sensei is that they do not feel hate, bitterness, or irrational anger, as these emotions lead the mind closer to the Dark Powers; the disharmony of these emotions brings the individual to the attention of Daemons. A Sensei radiates confidence and serenity and they themselves are utterly invulnerable to Chaos. The taunts and promises of daemons have little or no effect upon them.

Even the Emperor does not know of the Sensei's existence. This is because the Sensei are psychic blanks. They are the exact opposite of the Emperor. Where the Emperor is the most powerful psyker Mankind has, Sensei are psychically impotent. Because of this they cannot be detected by psykers and can move around freely amongst the populations of the Imperium. Few outside the Illuminati and the Inquisition know of their existence.

Sensei are heroes who wander the galaxy, sometimes in the company of a select band of adventurers who are often themselves powerful heroes. They fight oppression and injustice wherever it may be found. The Inquisition see this as a threat and where most of the Imperium's repression is justified some of it isn't. Inquisitors, powerful people they are too, hunt groups of known Sensei and often put them to death.

The Imperium regards the Sensei and their followers as dangerous bandits, nihilists and psykers who, if not actually in league with Chaos, are weakening the bulwark which the Imperium has set against its threat. As a result the Sensei operate as outlaws. They hide in underground caverns, or deep insides cities, or lead freedom fighters from the forests and mountains. Some sail the seas as pirates and operate from secret islands and coves. Others sail space itself as pirates of a different kind, boarding and robbing Imperial cargo vessels as they move ponderously between planets. Everywhere they champion the poor against the rich, the oppressed against the oppressors. They see themselves as the enemies of both Chaos and repression.

PERSECUTION

Because the Sensei do not age they are often referred to as 'witches' and 'devils' by the general population. But this is only because they do not know of the Sensei's true nature; their magnificence; their godliness. The Sensei are promoted as 'brigands' and 'vagabonds' by the Imperium. A deathsquad tasked with hunting a Sensei and his followers will take over a region's administration, headed by a powerful Inquisitor, where they label the local outlaws, i.e. the Sensei adventurers, as bloodthirsty bandits. The Inquisition seek to undermine the Sensei and so far are succeeding. Consequently the Sensei are nomads by nature and their followers are sworn to vows of secrecy.

Those Sensei who know of their powers refer to themselves and their kindred as 'Sensei Knights', crusaders against the forces of Chaos.

However, it is the Illuminati who help protect and shield the Sensei from unwelcome eyes. But the Illuminati are not all that they seem... The Sensei have been duped. There is to be no final battle against Chaos, the battle that the Sensei Knights are preparing for, only uncertainty. The uncertainty lies with the Emperor. How long will he last? The Illuminati plan to round up the Sensei, when his power is clearly declining, and sacrifice them to the Emperor where he will then become whole once again. The Sensei Knights do not know of this plan and neither the Emperor for if he knew he would prematurely abdicate.

GENERATING A SENSEI PLAYER CHARACTER

Sensei are generated using the racial template below. They receive DOUBLE the normal number of points for generation, if doubling the campaigns point cost still does not cover the cost of this template then the player can not be a Sensei.. They MUST be of "good" alignment, this must be role-played. Sensei must be male, all their off-spring are male also and share the same racial template. Sensei also have their own unique advantage, Antipsi: Invisible Mind. Sensei can not be detected at all using psionic based powers, they are, effectively, invisible. This ability is passive and is in constant affect. They use the following template;

Advantages: Absolute Direction (+5). Absolute Timing (+5). Acute Hearing V (+10). Acute Vision V (+10). Alertness V (+25). Ambidextrous (+10). Cast Iron Stomach (+15). Fearlessness V (+10). Eidetic Memory II (+60) Double-Jointed (+5). Danger Sense (+15). Regrowth (+40). Full Coordination I (50). Hard-to-kill V (+25). High Pain Threshold (+10). Perfect Balance (+15). Sanitized Metabolism (+5). Patron, Illuminati (+25). Antipsi: Invisible Mind (+20). Invulnerable vs. Mental Attacks (+100). Immortality (+140).

Disadvantages: Enemy (Inquisition -40).

Total Template Cost: 555

Physique: Sensei in all intents and purposes look Human. Some might not be beautiful to behold, others just look 'normal', whereas some might have the appearance close to a god.

Age: Any Sensei will be many thousands of years old. The oldest Sensei will be the ones who actually fought against Horus ten thousand years ago.

Psychological Traits: None. Sensei are invulnerable to emotion and mental based attacks.

Career Generation can be similar to a human's, but for PC Sensei they will always be, in the end, carefree adventurers. PC Sensei can never become part of the Imperium. They cannot follow any of the career paths that place them into direct contact with the Imperium; their powers mark them out as potential Chaos Mutants. The GM should ensure that whatever career a PC Sensei chooses to follow is not part of the Imperium. Ideal careers for Sensei are listed below together with a selection of 'yes' and 'no' careers. 'Yes' careers are careers that Sensei will not stay with for long; they are careers that are associated with very young or ignorant Sensei that haven't discovered their potential. 'Ideal' careers are those that a Sensei will follow eventually. 'No' careers are those in which cannot be chosen by a PC Sensei. They are either those that are Imperial or are just unsuitable due to different psychological presets (like a Cut-Throat for example). The GM and player should use this table as a guidline to what is a Sensai is willing to do.

THE MARK OF THE STAR CHILD

Some Sensei are over ten thousand years old but still remain ageless and beautiful. Given that they are immortals they do not follow the same rules as for mere mortals. Their genetic structure is almost that of the Emperor's and this has ensured that their bodies are very tough and heal quickly. Read the below attributes that apply to all Sensei.

THE SENSEI MASTER

The ultimate reward for a Sensei is becoming a Sensei Master, as becoming a Daemon Prince is the ultimate for a Champion of Chaos. A Sensei Master is one who has served the Star Child exceptionally well, more than exceptional. He has foiled the Forces of Chaos and fought oppression time after time, after time. Once a Sensei has 6 Star Child Rewards (see below) the Star Child's gaze focuses upon him. If the Star Child deems the character worthy, the Sensei vanishes from the material world altogether to take his place in the warp with the Star Child as a Sensei Master. Consequently the character is automatically retired, however...

A Sensei Master continues to have a very strong emotional bond with his former comrades and might help them when they are in dire trouble. From time to time, perhaps every 5 or 10 years, the Sensei Master will return from the warp and into the material world. Once there he will again walk among men and be able to talk to his former friends. But any visit is often always very brief indeed, unless the Sensei Master is on an important mission. However, a Sensei Master prefers to contact his friends via dreams or omens as in this state his friends are easier to contact through the warp and it is less taxing on the Sensei.

Because a Sensei Master has grown in statue and power he is reluctant to physically intervene in the matters of the material world. But sometimes he will intervene. The Sensei Master may be taken as a 30 point Patron Advantage. He will not (nor can he) supply the player with equipment, but can supply the player with information and can directly intervene to save the players life.

THE JUDGEMENT

As briefly mentioned above, the Star Child brings its verdict upon the Sensei once the Sensei has gained 6 Rewards. Even if the Star Child deems it unnecessary to bring his servant into the warp as a Sensei Master, the character in question will never be free from the Star Child's eye again, such a character is vitally important and the Star Child will continue to follow his progress.

As soon as a Sensei gains 6 Rewards, roll on the below table to see if he is rewarded by the Star Child and achieves the final blessing of 'Master'. A Sensei character will continue to roll on the below chart each time he gains a Reward which takes his total of Rewards over 6 (if he fails to become a Sensei Master).

SENSEI IN THE ROLEPLAY ENVIRONMENT

The best term to describe PC Sensei is ultra-advanced. Mortal characters, the normal Humans and Squats for example, can only hope to become very advanced, but Sensei are very special people. You could say that a new Sensei character 'leap frogs' the normal roleplay ideals by actually starting as an advanced character. With this in mind the GM should only ever allow one Sensei in any adventuring party; it's fine to begin with but once they receive a few Star Child rewards they will become too powerful. However! The sheer beauty of 40k Roleplay is that even the most powerful of characters can be killed with one shot of a 9mm bullet. That is what it is like in real life and that is what it is like in 40k Roleplay. So before you start disallowing any player to be a Sensei just remember that anything in 40k Roleplay is deadly.

Roleplaying a Sensei

A Sensei PC will always be concerned for his fellow adventurers' welfare. There are some adventuring parties that don't give a shit about one another, but a Sensei PC has no choice but to be concerned. If he sees one of his friends dying on the floor, in full view of some horrific creature, then the Sensei would go and rescue him.

Also, Sensei tend to be on the whole emotionless. They do not feel much anger or hatred, though they will display their displeasure to someone who is really annoying them. Sensei are not unlike superheroes or the Jedi Knights of Star Wars in that there is always a mission to accomplish. They always seek to improve themselves and they must use their abilities for the benefit of others.

The Leader of the Group

A Sensei will always be the leader of any adventuring group no matter what; the other adventurers are his brave and faithful followers. However, as this is usually the case it might not fit in with your campaign. With this in mind the Sensei might not know of his nature, that he is a Sensei, and might follow other characters. But after a short time the exceptional qualities of the Sensei will begin to shine and his natural charisma will begin to work on his comrades.

Imperial Players

A Sensei will never associate himself with determined Imperial characters as such characters will more than likely report him to the local Imperial authorities, and before they can say 'eat this!' the Inquisition will be on to him. The natural charisma of a Sensei is effective against any mortal even if he is a part of the Imperium but those with trained and superior minds (for mortals), such as Commissars, Inquisitors, and Space Marines to name a few, will not succumb, or at least not succumb easily. This means that it would be possible for a Sensei PC to be in a group with one or two Imperials but it would be an unusual situation indeed for this to happen. The most obvious would be for the Sensei to be captured and one or two Imperial PCs act as jailer and yet after a while the Sensei's aura breaks them down to allow him to escape - but would the Imperials join him?

STAR CHILD REWARDS TABLE

The 'Champions of Good' are not without their Champions of Chaos equivalent. Sensei can gain rewards in exactly the same way as Champions of Chaos. As all Star Child Rewards are beneficial they are all classed as gifts or blessings; the Star Child does not bestow some ghastly mutation upon its servants as the Powers of Chaos do.

If a Sensei gains the same reward for a second or subsequent time then he may, GM permitting, pass it on to one of his followers. This represents the Sensei's loyal followers becoming more and more like their leader as the power of the Star Child is rubbed off on to them. Any reward passed on still counts towards a Sensei's Judgement (see above) even though one of his followers has benefited from it. The GM should be careful when allowing a player Sensei to bestow a reward to one of his followers. A Sensei will not grant a blessing of this calibre every single time he gains a multiple reward. It is up to the GM, entirely.

GAINING REWARDS

Gaining a reward from the Star Child should be harder than gaining a Fate point. Star Child rewards should be seen as blessings and not a way of receiving some additional abilities. They are godly blessings not 'skills' and should be treated as such.

01-10 PROTECTOR

The Sensei acts as a focal point for the protective powers of the Star Child. Any characters friendly to the Sensei will benefit from this reward as long as they are within 3 yards of the Sensei. This reward grants an extra +10% to any armour type. If a character wears carapace armour and is equipped with a conversion field then the extra +10% is added to the carapace value. Protector is never added to a Force Field's protection value. If a character wears no armour then he recieves a basic 10% armour protection.

In addition to this protection, characters within 3 yards of the Sensei receive an extra +10 to Will Power tests when facing psychic attacks. The Sensei character himself benefits from the powers of Protector.

11-15 DAEMON SLAYER

The Sensei is able to channel raw warp energy into his hand-to-hand combat hits whenever he is faced by a daemonic opponent. Any hand-to-hand attack against a daemon automatically penetrates its daemonic aura protection. This means that all a Sensei needs to do is to successfully hit a daemon and work out the damage on the appropriate Damage Chart.

16-30 SWORD MASTER

The Sensei's martial prowess is enhanced. This allows the Sensei a free parry per round without the need to expend an attack to do so. Subsequent Sword Master rewards adds an extra +5% to the chance of parrying a blow. Additionally this allows the Sensei to use any hand-to-hand combat weapon, from a two-handed sword to a power glove, and he can use two weapons in either hand without penalty.

31-40 MARKSMAN

The Sensei can keep his hands perfectly still and when aiming can completely shut out all other distractions. To represent this the Sensei can fire two shots of semi-automatic or fully automatic without the usual -5/-10 penalty per shot. When firing on automatic the Sensei will only receive penalties for the third and fourth shot, -10 and -20 respectively.

Marksman is also extended to firing at a moving target, at a small target, and moving and firing in the same action (all -10 to hit). This penalty is now ignored. Firing and running in the same action incurs a -10 penalty to hit instead of -20.

41-50 ENDURANCE

The Sensei is able to endure terrible injuries and still fight on either through stubbornness or sheer physical power. This enables the Sensei to fire a weapon when lightly or seriously wounded (-10 and -40 to hit respectively). If the Sensei has sustained a wound in which it states that it incapacitates a character, the Sensei can continue to fight on, unless of course the wound kills him or prevents him from performing an action due to broken bones. Endurance merely means that the Sensei can ignore terrible pain. The GM will have to rule when this gift comes into action.

51-55 ATHLETIC

The Sensei's body becomes increasingly perfect as the mind becomes in tune with that of the Star Child. The Sensei's Movement characteristic is increased by 1. Additionally, the character adds another D6 metres to any leap roll. Subsequent Athletic rewards adds an additional D6 metres to any leap but no M bonus.

The Sensei is also able to contort his body into various horrific positions just like a contortionist (gain the Contortionist skill) and can also climb sheer surfaces with breathtaking ease (gain Scale Sheer Surface skill).

56-60 RESCUER

The Sensei becomes very concerned for his comrades' safety and consequently always tries to help them in their direst need. Any one character within 3 yards of the Sensei may be saved, either by a warning shout, or distracting an opponent in hand-to-hand combat, or even by a telepathic message. The Sensei can do this even if he is shooting or in combat.

Only one character within 3 yards of the Sensei may be saved. If that character suffers a 'Dead' result from a Damage Chart, or dies as a result of a critical hit, then the Sensei may attempt to save him or her. To rescue a character the Sensei must roll under half of his Initiative (rounding fractions down). If this is successful then the character is saved from certain death from the Sensei's brave and heroic effort.

If the Sensei fails by 01 to 10 points then the character is saved but the Sensei himself is distracted and may not move, shoot, or attack in hand-to-hand combat for the present and next rounds. He may defend himself as normal in hand-to-hand combat and use any Star Child Rewards at his disposal.

If the Sensei fails by 11 to 20 points then the character is saved but the Sensei himself is hit by the full force of the blow or shot that would have struck his comrade. The Sensei's armour penetration value is doubled for the purpose of this attack making it easier for the enemy to injure him (including any Force Fields). Additionally the Sensei may not move, shoot, or attack in hand-to-hand combat for the present and next rounds. He may defend himself as normal in hand-to-hand combat and use any Star Child Rewards at his disposal.

If the Sensei fails by 21+ points then not only is the character not saved. This leaves the Sensei stricken by his failure and as a result he may not move, shoot, or attack in hand-to-hand combat for the present and next rounds. He may defend himself as normal in hand-to-hand combat and use any Star Child Rewards at his disposal.

A Sensei who has second and subsequent Rescuer rewards will always attempt multiple rescues, so if he has 3 Rescuer rewards he will attempt 3 rescues.

61-70 NEVER KILLS

The Sensei can never intentionally take a life. When the Sensei shoots he never shoots to kill. A Fatal result on a Damage Chart becomes a serious wound. Should the Sensei inflict damage that would cause a critical hit then any critical hits that cause death are ignored. However, although the Sensei never kills he may slaughter creatures that are not alive, such as Daemons.

71-75 STRENGTH

The Sensei is able to draw upon the energy of the Star Child to give him great strength. The Sensei is able to do the following when firing weapons: he can fire a Basic weapon, such as a bolter, one-handed without the -20 penalty to hit, he can firing two weapons simultaneously with only a -10 penalty to hit, and he can fire a Heavy weapon one-handed with only a -30 penalty to hit (as opposed to -60).

When the Sensei is called upon to make a Strength test he adds an extra D6 points to his Strength for the purposes of the test only.

In hand-to-hand combat the Sensei gains an extra D3x10 points to any Armour Penetration roll.

76-80 MASTER OF DISGUISE

The Sensei is gifted with the ability of being able to assume the form of any human-sized creature. This transformation, however, is only in the eye of the beholder as the Sensei does not actually transform; it is nothing but an illusion.

Anyone looking upon a Sensei in disguise must pass an Int test in order to see through it. A Sensei who is gifted with several Master of Disguise rewards becomes much better at disguising himself. For each second and subsequent Master of Disguise reward, the Int test to see through it is made with a penalty of -10, e.g. having 3 of these rewards will grant a -20 penalty to Int.

81-88 HEALER

The Sensei has a remarkable healing hand capable of restoring an injured character, to something approaching full health, as the power of the Star Child flows through his body. The Sensei can heal a character of D6 Wounds, even if it is a serious injury. However, bloodloss can only be stopped if the Sensei passes a< strong>WP test. Failure results in the character sustaining D6 Wounds instead. This ability has many uses, such as halting diseases, not curing them note, so the GM should rule when this ability can be put into action.

89-94 REDEEMER

The Sensei is able to 'cure' Chaos mutations simply by holding the individual's hand or by a word of command. The power of the Star Child channels from the Sensei and into the individual, freeing the spirit and cleansing the soul of Chaos. A Sensei can attempt to free any individual bearing mutations.

In order for an individual to be cleansed he must pass a WP test. Success results in the individual embracing the glory of the Star Child and freeing all Chaos from his soul. All mutations disappear.

If the Sensei wishes to cure a Champion of Chaos then the Champion of Chaos must be incapacitated, for his allegiance to the Powers of Chaos is strong, even for the Sensei. A Champion of Chaos will behold the Sensei and even he will be in awe of his victorious foe. If the Champion of Chaos fails a WP test, the Will Power for a Champion of Chaos is raised to 89 for the purpose of this test, then he renounces Chaos and all mutations disappear. If the Champion of Chaos is successful then he defies the Star Child with obscene gestures and remarks.

Any individuals who have been cured of mutations now have a Good alignment.

95-99 EXORCIST

The Sensei is able to physically touch ethereal supernatural entities, such as Ghosts. He can see them and harm them in hand-to-hand combat. Additionally, the Sensei becomes immune to all fear and terror effects caused by undead.

Not only is the Sensei able to harm ethereal creatures he can also exorcise Possessees, those individuals that have given their bodies for daemonic possession.

00 APOTHEOSIS

The Star Child gives the Sensei the power to bring life to the dead. Any living creature may be brought back to life. The creature in question must pass a Toughness test. Success results in the creature being brought back to life and restored of D10 Wounds. Failure means that the creature will always remain dead no matter how many times the Sensei tries. However, this does not come without its cost. Each time that a Sensei uses Apotheosis he loses D6 Wounds permanently. Apotheosis will not function on creatures that are not living but it can work on any creature that is 'alive' so to speak.

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