u/Disossabovii

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Major story spoiler, beware!

>!Marazhai as an enemy was a profound disappointment.

​I hated Marazhai deeply. For what he did to my planets. For sitting on my throne. For always avoiding a direct confrontation.

​As much as I am trying to avoid spoilers, I knew I could have recruited him as a companion. What would I have done? Would I have given in to pragmatism or executed him? Probably the latter. With extreme relish.

​But no. I should have shown him mercy instead of insulting him. And so he died, right there in the arena, mowed down by Sister Argenta’s opening burst, without having fired a single shot, without it meaning a thing. Just one corpse among many, a nobody like any other.

​In the brief time your soul exists within the Warp, bear this in mind: we will never forget you. For how disappointing you were!<

In this run, I’m roleplaying a Dogmatic Commissar: a man of discipline who should execute every heretic without blinking. And yet, despite her being a walking hazard, I like Idira. I decided to spare her, using her as tactical support with the Psy-Raven. But the encounter with the >!Hellbrute!< changed everything.

​I didn’t know this creature or its powers, but I was managing the situation—until it unleashed its AoE attacks. In one sweep, it shattered our cover, instantly killing Jae and Argenta (who were standing shoulder to shoulder) and greviously wounding my Rogue Trader and Abelard. I thought: "Go, Idira, this is your time to shine. Heal them all!"

​At that exact moment, she tore the Veil, triggering a Warp Breach. Time froze for us and split wide open for the enemy. I had to watch helplessly as the Hellbrute and every single cultist received a full extra turn for free, massacring Abelard and my RT while we stood there paralyzed.

​But all was not lost! Kibellah lunged at the still-undamaged Hellbrute and miraculously took it down, though she perished in the subsequent explosion.

​Only Idira and a single cultist remained on the field. One way or another, we had survived... or so I thought. I ordered Idira to finish him off with a nearly harmless psychic power. Instead, she decided it was a great moment to drop dead and summon two demons, forcing me to reload my save.

​That’s when I realized: the Imperial Dogma isn’t some fanatical absurdity; it’s a rule written in blood to allow humanity a shred of peace. If you let an unsanctioned psyker live out of affection, you accept that her next "favor" might gift your soul to Chaos. Now I understand why the Law says "shoot on sight." They were right all along.