abstract
| - The Imperial Creed is not a forgiving faith. Those who observe its doctrines in the strictest possible way know that redemption is only found in death. Redemptionists will often congregate in cults whose focus of hatred for a particular sin in the Emperor's eyes is similar. These cults are highly xenophobic and violent, and their members are sworn to expunge all sin with fire and blade. For some cults their focus of hatred is very limited: mutants, witches or aliens. But for Redemptionists, sin exists in every creature, which can be purged only through bloodshed. A few Cardinals within the Ecclesiarchy see these cults as breeding grounds for assassins of the faith. They will provide the cults with resources as well as targets. Confessors or other clergy will often accompany them to document and bear witness to the faithful's campaigns of cleansing. Those Redemptionists who prove themselves competent or especially devoted are often recruited into the service of a Cardinal or into a cell of Inquisition Acolytes. Although ostensibly pro-Imperial, such militant factions can often pose more of a threat to the Emperor's peace than the Heretics they seek to destroy. Their mob mentality and ability to rouse a populace into a frenzied witch hunt, blinded by its all-consuming need for the guilty and blasphemous to be cleansed, can cause serious problems to any planetary government, upsetting the precarious balance of power which allows a world to continue to exist in a galaxy that contains a thousand and one threats. The task at hand is never truly done in the eyes of a Redemptionist, for all of the xenos of an area have been purged then all those who aided them must also be purged, followed by all those who might fail in the future and so on, until everyone is prosecuted for the failure to prevent such heretical acts. Planetary governments must often act quickly before the frenzied need to put the blasphemous to the pyre spreads. But Redemptionist cults can also be callously and cynically manipulated by individuals for their own agendas, and often act as a front for even more nefarious activities. Clever leaders will find new targets or crusades for their Redemptionist cults. More drastic means may also be utilised to control these cults, including condemning the members of a cult as Heretics themselves. Inquisitors, especially those who are zealous Puritans, put such reactionary cults to productive purposes in Acolyte cells that lack either focus, faith or simply a large Chainsword capable of rendering an Ork or a Heretic in half. The Redemptionist is, however, only a man and is susceptible to many of the same depravities, confusions and wounds as any other man. Determination and faith do not make one invincible, and many die willingly for their cause. Flamers are the weapon of choice for such militant fanatics, as the Emperor is often symbolised as the cleansing fire in these cults' doctrine. Other than Flamers, spiked maces, whirling Chainaxes, Chainswords and other weapons which render and tear flesh in a scourging manner are also extremely popular among Redemptionists.
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