Editing Heresy (section)

==What do they do with heretics?==
In Warhammer Fantasy, heresy is usually met with (questionably historical) torture until a confession is extracted and the TRUE torture (or immediate execution in a busy week) can take place. Although the various churches of the setting are slow to act and generally are only capable of convicting those who march into a city square covered in Chaos tattoos and trying to recruit Priests of Sigmar, or are doing Thriller in a group of Zombies while singing "I am a Vampire" at the top of their lungs, Witch Hunters tend to BLAM without second thought any who smells a bit too nice/bad or stutters when attempting to recite a prayer on command. Any time a [[Mordheim|major event that does not involve large armies occurs]], chances are good Witch Hunters will soon be converging on the area to execute anything still moving.

The Imperium has a much more complex system of dealing with things. If your heresy was serious but you are repentant in your trial, the church may strap you to a horrific war machine called the [[Penitent Engine|Penitent Engine]], which is a bit like a Space Marine dreadnought except it's designed to be really painful and humiliating for the pilot who themselves are drugged and tortured until there's nothing left of their mind but rage and shame. What's creepy is that it's an entirely voluntary way of seeking absolution (obviously, since strapping someone against their will to a war machine they can control is [[derp|NOT SMART]]). Considering how many of these are stomping around, it's a wonder the [[Adeptus Mechanicus|AdMech]] hasn't designed a not-insane version to be used by the [[Imperial Guard]] as an assault walker. [[Sentinel|... right]].

The body of an [[Arco-flagellant]] is a much similar fate for heretics. In fact Penitent Engines and Arco-flagellants seem to be the same concept given to two different writers. In any case if your heresy was serious but you are repentant in your trial, the church may Lobotomize you, fry your prefrontal cortex responsible for rational thinking, strap VR goggles on your newly-lobotomized head, install combat drug pumps into your spine, chop off your arms and replace them with weapons, and hold you in storage as what is basically a combat [[Servitor]]. The fate of an Arco-flagellant is oddly merciful and calming; during times of peace you're sedated and made to watch Ecclesiarchy-approved public television all day. In times of battle you're used as a suicide bayonet rusher.

The [[Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer]] says that a heretical Guardsman should have his extremities severed and left to bleed to death. At the discretion of the commanders, he may just get moved to a penal battalion or classically BLAM'd.

On remote Imperial worlds and [[Necromunda|highly populated hiveworlds]], minor heresies naturally spring up all the time because the Ecclesiarchy has a weak presence, so visiting preachers may try to take a softer approach with these things. They may even tolerate some fanciful unorthodox beliefs as long as they don't offend the core values of the church. While this might seem at first to be common sense over-ruling grimdark in some some small way, the scary bit is that how far this tolerance extends varies a lot and shifts, some benign little deviation which one high ranking priest would know to be a harmless quirk of local customs may be seen as another as being heretical and dooms millions to die as heretics.

Oddly (in earlier editions of Fluff), it was implied that even significant Heresy could be redeemed but a traitor could never ever be forgiven. One character in The Emperor's Gift was a penitent who had been a member of a significant heretical cult but was redeemed by an Inquisitor and entered her service. Despite this, most other characters viewed him with suspicion or outright hatred, so your mileage may vary.

In terms of mass Heresy, (Example given, a large congregation of worshippers that worship a deity that isn't the God-Emperor of Mankind) the usual solution to such crimes is either [[Exterminatus|genocide via orbital bombardment]] or the deployment of [[Space Marines|death squads]] to the planet itself to commit mass-genocide via [[Bolter]], [[Chainsword]], and armored boot. The [[Black Templars]] are especially gifted at the latter option, often landing on planets deemed to be infected with mass Heresy and usually committing mass murder and torture on a scale that would make an Inquisitor puke (And that's saying something).

For [[Xenos]], their existence is an automatic Heresy. Xenos are usually exterminated on sight, usually in an excessively brutal fashion (e.g. Chainsword disembowelment). Even in several rare cases of Xenos attempting to surrender, the majority were usually purged. In the rare (Read: Nearly nonexistant) cases of a Xeno being captured, the captive is usually "questioned" (Read: Tortured via Chainsword and/or Bolter) and then executed (Usually via Chainsword and/or Bolter).

Humans that have utterly surrendered themselves to [[Chaos]] are of course, treated no longer as a human, but as the lowest form of Heresy possible. Those that are captured (If ever) are usually tortured (In a fashion nearly similar to what Chaos does with unfortunate souls), then turned into [[Arco-flagellant|Arco-flagellants]] and/or killed in an excessively brutal and painful manner (The manner of which is still unknown but horrific).