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The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Dark Heresy FOR THE EMPEROR!!! OOC thread - always recruiting, give a shout
- Thread starter DrZombie
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psykers in w40k are very tricky to play. The rules are brutal and lethal, about as dangerous for the caster as for his opponents. What you do as a psyker is open a conduit to the warp in order to use your powers. The warp is inhabited by shitloads of very strong and very nasty demons, looking for a way into the prime material. Only those that are strong enough are trained and conditioned to use psychic powers, and that training and conditioning leaves them damaged in body and mind. They are universally feared and reviled throughout the imperium.
Don't say I didn't warn you. But you're more than wellcome to play one
I'm slightly worried about the possibility of being little more than a liability mechanically, since I'm really bad at optimizing, and this kind of 'time bomb' archetype seems like it might need optimizing to wind up not just being a horror for the rest of the party.
That said, the troubled psychic with powers that are both boon and bane is certainly a cool concept. A sort of sci-fi'd version of a poltergeist-y teen / young adult. And if the planet we're starting on is 'backwater,' I suppose it's possible that could be why he's there: lying low while he tries to get his powers in check before the Imperium finds him and labels him a threat?
Maybe a young soldier whose powers manifested during his first actual combat (a response to stress). He and his commanding officer were pinned down, and while the manifestation saved both their lives, the commander recognized the danger the boy might be (and be in), and did him the favor of keeping his secret while re-assigning him somewhere less front-lines, where he might have the chance to learn the control he'd need before returning?
Or perhaps he was recommended to be an Imperial Psyker, and this is his first assignment? I'm not sure what works best.
Depending on background, he might also have run after his powers manifested, and fallen in with whatever organization Shayuri's assassin works for, there as some kind of backup / support?
I just got ahold of the core pdf, haven't had a chance to read much of it, so any help with chargen would be greatly appreciated.
Well, you are automatically a Sanctioned psyker, which is rare. Most psykers in the Imperium are either too weak to have powers (and are generally ignored), strong enough to touch the Warp, but not strong enough to be of much use, or potential powerhouses who can serve the Empire with their powers, but must first be taken before the Throne for Sanctioning.
The Sanctioning is basicaly a series of gruelling endurance tests, both physical and psycho-emotional. They ensure you have enough strength to resist the temptations of Chaos.
Once Sanctioned, a psyker is more or less a "free" agent. You can pick who to work for, and more or less what to do...subject to the same limits as most other PC's.
The Sanctioning is basicaly a series of gruelling endurance tests, both physical and psycho-emotional. They ensure you have enough strength to resist the temptations of Chaos.
Once Sanctioned, a psyker is more or less a "free" agent. You can pick who to work for, and more or less what to do...subject to the same limits as most other PC's.
If he manifested during combat he'd get a bullet in his skull from his squadmates or from the comissar . If he was really lucky they'd beat him up and hold him in a cell under heavy guard untill he could be collected by the black ships and sent to Terra. After that he'd be assigned a task. That could be with an assassin as backup (and safety net to but a bullet in his head if he s up) . But a former guardsman turned psycker in the heat of battle is a definite possibility. Perhaps some family history of weird things happening?
I take it you're primarily interested in playing a telekinetic?
If you have the core rules, just read through the part about origin worlds, that's the first part you need. the rest will follow.
[MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] : the total of your points should be 120, ranging from 2-18. 19 cost 25, 20 costs 30 pts. You can choose your origin.
. If he was really lucky they'd beat him up and hold him in a cell under heavy guard untill he could be collected by the black ships and sent to Terra. After that he'd be assigned a task. That could be with an assassin as backup (and safety net to but a bullet in his head if he s up) . But a former guardsman turned psycker in the heat of battle is a definite possibility. Perhaps some family history of weird things happening?I take it you're primarily interested in playing a telekinetic?
If you have the core rules, just read through the part about origin worlds, that's the first part you need. the rest will follow.
[MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] : the total of your points should be 120, ranging from 2-18. 19 cost 25, 20 costs 30 pts. You can choose your origin.
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Ahh, I see...and those are added to our 'base' stats based on origin.
Excellent. That's what I needed to know.
I could see my character as being assigned to a fresh newb psyker...both as a bodyguard, and as a lethal safety mechanism if he starts to turn. The dissonance of that duty appeals.
"Your mission is to support and protect this newly Sanctioned psyk-specialist. As always, be prepared to grant mercy upon him should chaos claim his soul."
Excellent. That's what I needed to know.
I could see my character as being assigned to a fresh newb psyker...both as a bodyguard, and as a lethal safety mechanism if he starts to turn. The dissonance of that duty appeals.
"Your mission is to support and protect this newly Sanctioned psyk-specialist. As always, be prepared to grant mercy upon him should chaos claim his soul."
If he manifested during combat he'd get a bullet in his skull from his squadmates or from the comissar
I was definitely thinking Shayuri's character might be acting as some kind of 'handler,' depending on the concept. Sort of figured my character might just be a mobile part of the arsenal, and one with the annoying ability to think and act for itself on occasion.
TK was the first thing I thought of, but looking over the core book, biomancy seems really cool, too (ack! option overload!
). Maybe he manifested the Healing minor ability the first time, which was what kept the others from killing him outright? BTW, I'm not seeing a point buy system in the core rulebook? This was all I could find with my limited Google-fu:
[Dark Heresy] Point Buy chargen
Nah, just go for the option I posted. I don't really care about such silly things as stats unless you go ludicrously high or low
So we have shayuri as bodyguard/assassin and jkason as a psyker.
jkason : you need to pick an origin world. I'd type a huge post but it's better if you just read that part in the PDF. Don't worry too much about optimising your character, just go for what makes you feel 'waaw this is cool'
So we have shayuri as bodyguard/assassin and jkason as a psyker.
jkason : you need to pick an origin world. I'd type a huge post but it's better if you just read that part in the PDF. Don't worry too much about optimising your character, just go for what makes you feel 'waaw this is cool'
Nah, just go for the option I posted. I don't really care about such silly things as stats unless you go ludicrously high or low
So we have shayuri as bodyguard/assassin and jkason as a psyker.
jkason : you need to pick an origin world. I'd type a huge post but it's better if you just read that part in the PDF. Don't worry too much about optimising your character, just go for what makes you feel 'waaw this is cool'
Ack. Sorry, missed that part of the previous post. So anything up to 18 costs whatever that score is, and the only point bump is at 19 and another at 20?
As for Home world, I like the idea of Void Born. It adds to his feeling of being out of place. The book mentions battlefleet refit stations, which seems like a good match; it explains how he fell in with the military prior to his manifesting. The warp used to travel between worlds and the warp psykers tap, is that the same thing? I'm assuming so, and it's one of the other things that seems to fit him.
