Meet Cain, the Longest Running Joke in 40K (WIP) (Patreon)

Good day!

Here's the first WIP for Ciaphas Cain.  In 40K, Commissars are the ruthless disciplinarians of the Imperial Guard (I refuse to call them Astra Militarum).  To maintain moral, they are authorised to execute anyone: from the lowest Guardsman to the the Lord General should the Commissar find them lacking in courage or judgement.  By and large, Commissars are feared, fearless and trigger happy.  

Cain is...the complete opposite of all that.  A self professed coward, Cain would like nothing more than to sit behind a desk and have an easy job.  Unfortunately, his profession doesn't allow that so he must bluff/con/weasel his way out of life threatening situations to survive.  But that's fine, because Cain is the ultimate scoundrel, a con man who rolls a natural 20 on every bluff check.  

Despite being a Commissar, Cain rarely executes Guardsmen, preferring to feign concern for their well-being (so there are more bodies between him and the enemy).  He is also shrewd enough to benefit from most situations, somehow always looking heroic while trying to save his own hide.  Ironically, this approach has made Cain more successful than any of his peers, earning countless accolades and becoming a Hero of the Imperium.  In short, Cain is essentially a hybrid of Blackadder and Harry Flashman in space. 

Now, any conversation about Cain isn't complete without his loyal servant Jurgen.  Jurgen is the Baldrick to Cain's Blackadder: a sidekick that is non too bright, possesses questionable hygiene and straight up drives people away.  However Jurgen will also follow Cain's orders no matter how suicidal and is excellent at scrounging/keeping unwanted people away.  He is also a Pariah, which basically means Cain has a huge advantage against enemies using Warp powers.  

But wait!  If I add a gas mask, suddenly Cain becomes a grimdark lemming, I mean a Krieg Commissar!  Looks cool as hell, but if there is any Imperial Guard army that DOESN'T need Commissars, it would be the Death Korps of Krieg.     

I will be making my first poses for them, and I have a diorama in mind that basically sums up Cain's career in a nutshell.  Stay tuned!