Psychic Powers (Psykers): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:17, 24 August 2022

Psychic Powers come about from mutant Psykers tapping into their abnormal awareness of the other-realm known as the Warp and channeling its energies to alter reality at their whim. Feared and distrusted, they are bound as virtual slaves to the Imperium and taught Rotes to focus their minds on achieving a particular outcome such as blasts of devastating energy, reading the possibilities of the future, altering minds or reknitting flesh. The fear they are treated with, however, is justified for their powers come with the dangers of mutation, madness and worse.

Power Tests

Several traits and abilities request that a character performs a Power Test - this is a test with a 25% chance of failure. In all cases you can always delay a test until it would not interrupt the flow of roleplay or combat - you are free to do it earlier, but we generally recommend doing tests at the end of a combat for example.

The standard suggestion for doing this is take a bag of beads and fill it with 12 beads, 9 of one colour (representing success) 3 of another (representing failure) and do a draw. But any other method capable of determining a 25% chance of failure is acceptable.

There may be conditions where this will flip and it will be a 75% chance of failure and a 25% chance of success.

Witchbane

Psykers are far more vulnerable to the Null call then other humans and as such should make note of its increased effect when used on them - fortunately such weapons, and indeed beings that cause such effects innately, are mercifully rare outside of the Servants of the Inquisition.

Psychic Disciplines

Each psyker is different in how they personally manipulate the energies of the warp then they pull them though to realspace. Though, in theory, the possibilities of what one can achieve with warp energies is infinite the human mind is narrow and its ability to creatively shape the energy of unreality into reality limited by the creativity and imagination of the psyker - because of this most Psykers find it easier to shape reality in one way rather than another and each Psyker is different due to their own personal experiences. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica has shaped these various ‘schools’ of usage into formalised Disciplines that Psykers are trained to harness.

Each Psychic Discipline is divided into two types of ability the Rote Majoris and the Rotes Minoris - each Discipline has access to only a handful of Rotes Minoris and a single Rote Majoris.

The majority of rotes are trivial for a psyker to do and place them at very little risk however psykers can increase their potency by pushing themselves further to achieve greater effects. However unlike others with powers Psykers can often Unbind some rotes opening their mind to to the warp and becoming a conduit for the warp at the cost of 1 willpower to achieve it.

Once after any scene where you have used your powers and for each time you push or unbind any of your Rotes - do a power test - for each one you fail you suffer the a ‘peril’ of dealing with the warp and draw a card from the Warp Phenomena deck.

If you choose to Unbind this increases the risk of a peril, flip your Power Tests so that 75% is failure and 25% is success.

Each Psyker must choose a Psychic Discipline and cannot know more powers than that without a Unique Trait.

All Psykers have access to the following generic Rote Minoris;

Psyniscience

All Psykers have the capacity to sense the presence of the Warp pressing in against the physical world giving warning of impending disturbances in reality or the thinning of the veil or all manner of other minor perceptions of the warp - after spending some time concentrating you may ask a member of the Game Team a question about the state of warp or the veil in your immediate area - you may also use this after 30s of roleplay to call Sense Warp or Sense Daemon after which you cannot do this again until you have Recuperated.

The following Psychic Disciplines are available to be taken;

Characters with the Astropath Trait can, in addition to their other disciplines, utilise powers from the Astropathy discipline.

Astropathy

Warp Phenomena

The infinite power offered from the Warp is not without consequence even Psykers, with their innate ability to manipulate it, are vulnerable to the fickle nature of its energies which can demand a horrendous price from their minds and bodies to channel its eldritch power.

This risk is represented by the Warp Phenomena Deck. This deck consists of;

50% of cards are Phenomena side effects that represent a successful use of a power but with unusual side effects,
25% of cards are Perils of the Warp that represent a horrendous consequence for tapping into these chaotic energies, these are usually affects personal to the psyker.
25% of cards are Major Perils that represent a cataclysmic consequence for tapping into these chaotic energies, these are usually effects with consequences to the entire party.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
-=== Psychic Power Tests ===
+=== Power Tests ===
+Several traits and abilities request that a character performs a Power Test - this is a test with a 25% chance of failure. '''In all cases''' you can always delay a test until it would not interrupt the flow of roleplay or combat - you are free to do it earlier, but we generally recommend doing tests at the end of a combat for example.
-All sources of power in Death Unto Darkness are associated with a mental, physical or spiritual danger for doing so. Power, no matter how convinced you are that you can control it, always comes with inherent dangers for doing so. '''Psychic''' powers more so for the stirred up state of the Prosperitas Sector means that few things flow accordingly to plan these days, whereas most tests in DUD are taken against a 25% chance of failure, psychic powers are taken with a 25% chance of success.
+The standard suggestion for doing this is take a bag of beads and fill it with 12 beads, 9 of one colour (representing success) 3 of another (representing failure) and do a draw. But any other method capable of determining a 25% chance of failure is acceptable.
-These dangers are represented by a system of random tests to determine if a consequence of wielding power has occurred. These ‘Power Tests’ are modified depending on the potency or ‘tier’ of the powers used in a scene, each name for a tier varies from power to power but they will always use one of the three following keywords '''Lesser''', '''Major''' or '''Greater'''.
+There may be conditions where this will flip and it will be a 75% chance of failure and a 25% chance of success.
-'''All power checks are taken at the end of the scene in which they used it or when a Ref instructs you to do so,  It is suggested you use a bead-draw bag, but any randomisation method is acceptable;'''
-* If the user only used a '''Lesser''' power in a scene they '''DO NOT take a Test'''.
-* If the user only used a '''Major''' power in a scene they make a '''Test for each time it was used, with a 25% chance of success'''.
-* If the user used a '''Greater''' power in a scene then they make '''Two Tests for each time it was used, each with a 25% chance of success, and take all failed results'''.
-If a Psyker fails a check they may expend '''Willpower''' to succeed it instead, representing their mastery over their will enabling them to buck the eddies of the warp as well as the slow sapping effect it has on theril will. If they do not spend will however they draw from the '''Warp Phenomena''' deck.
-'''Biomancers''' using major powers that rely on the Biomantic Healing deck do not test, as the risk for those powers is built into those decks.
-=== Warp Phenomena ===
-The infinite power offered from the Warp is not without consequence even Psykers, with their innate ability to manipulate it, are vulnerable to the fickle nature of its energies which can demand a horrendous price from their minds and bodies to channel its eldritch power.
-This risk is represented by the Warp Phenomena Deck. This deck consists of;
-* 50% of cards are '''Phenomena''' side effects that represent a successful use of a power but with unusual side effects,
-* 25% of cards are '''Perils of the Warp''' that represent a horrendous consequence for tapping into these chaotic energies, these are usually affects personal to the psyker.
-* 25% of cards are '''Major Perils''' that represent a cataclysmic consequence for tapping into these chaotic energies, these are usually affects with consequences to the entire party.
+=== Witchbane ===
+Psykers are far more vulnerable to the '''[[Calls#NULL|Null]]''' call then other humans and as such should make note of its increased effect when used on them - fortunately such weapons, and indeed beings that cause such effects innately, are mercifully rare outside of the Servants of the Inquisition.
-=== Vulnerable Minds are Doorways ===
-When a psyker runs out of Will there are far more consequences then for a standard human being, as conduits of warp energies psykers are taught the importance of strong willpower to protect them from predation by the predatory creatures that lurk within the warp, and rely heavily on their strength of will to protect them and shape their abilities.
+=== Psychic Disciplines ===
+Each psyker is different in how they personally manipulate the energies of the warp then they pull them though to realspace. Though, in theory, the possibilities of what one can achieve with warp energies is infinite the human mind is narrow and its ability to creatively shape the energy of unreality into reality limited by the creativity and imagination of the psyker - because of this most Psykers find it easier to shape reality in one way rather than another and each Psyker is different due to their own personal experiences. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica has shaped these various ‘schools’ of usage into formalised Disciplines that Psykers are trained to harness.
-To this end there are two consequences that occur when a psyker runs out of willpower;
+Each Psychic Discipline is divided into two types of ability the '''Rote Majoris''' and the '''Rotes Minoris''' - each Discipline has access to only a handful of Rotes Minoris and a single Rote Majoris.
-* They must inform a member of the Game Team, there may be severe consequences depending on the situation.
+The majority of rotes are trivial for a psyker to do and place them at very little risk however psykers can increase their potency by '''pushing''' themselves further to achieve greater effects. However unlike others with powers Psykers can often '''Unbind''' some rotes opening their mind to to the warp and becoming a conduit for the warp at the cost of 1 willpower to achieve it.
-* They can no longer safely call upon the warp, they must test when they use Minor Powers and when they use Major or Greater powers they must draw directly from the '''Warp Phenomena''' deck each time they want to.
+'''Once after any scene where you have used your powers''' and '''for each time you push or unbind any of your Rotes''' - do a power test - for each one you fail you suffer the a ‘peril’ of dealing with the warp and draw a card from the '''Warp Phenomena''' deck.
+If you choose to '''Unbind''' this increases the risk of a peril, flip your Power Tests so that 75% is failure and 25% is success.
-=== Witchbane ===
+'''Each Psyker must choose a Psychic Discipline''' and cannot know more powers than that without a Unique Trait.
-Null weaponry was originally created as a lethal method to disrupt the abilities of renegade Witches - while to normal humans these slugs are no more lethal than standard munitions, but to a Psyker, these weapons unleash disruptive bound anti-psyker energies. The result on a psyker is excruciating full-body spasms resulting in multiple blood vessels rupturing.
-The call Null cannot be defended against by any psychic defence, and cause Psykers endurance to immediately drop to zero and enter the Bloodied condition.
+''All Psykers have access to the following generic Rote Minoris'';
+===== Psyniscience =====
+All Psykers have the capacity to sense the presence of the Warp pressing in against the physical world giving warning of impending disturbances in reality or the thinning of the veil or all manner of other minor perceptions of the warp - after spending some time concentrating you may '''ask a member of the Game Team''' a question about the state of warp or the veil in your immediate area - you may also use this after 30s of roleplay to call '''Sense Warp''' or '''Sense Daemon''' after which you cannot do this again until you have Recuperated.
-=== Psychic Powers ===
+The following Psychic Disciplines are available to be taken;
-Because of differing aptitudes Psykers learn a system of Rotes categorised into various Disciplines. Psykers know only one of the major Disciplines:
 * [[Psychic Discipline: Biomancy|Biomancy]]
@@ Line 62: / Line 42: @@
 * [[Psychic Discipline: Astropathy|Astropathy]]
+=== Warp Phenomena ===
+The infinite power offered from the Warp is not without consequence even Psykers, with their innate ability to manipulate it, are vulnerable to the fickle nature of its energies which can demand a horrendous price from their minds and bodies to channel its eldritch power.
+This risk is represented by the Warp Phenomena Deck. This deck consists of;
+* 50% of cards are Phenomena side effects that represent a successful use of a power but with unusual side effects,
+* 25% of cards are Perils of the Warp that represent a horrendous consequence for tapping into these chaotic energies, these are usually affects personal to the psyker.
+* 25% of cards are Major Perils that represent a cataclysmic consequence for tapping into these chaotic energies, these are usually effects with consequences to the entire party.