Psykers (formerly Brain Wiggling 101) 11/8/13 WIP

     What is a Psyker?
     The term "psyker" is used when generally referring to any individual or creature capable of manifesting the power of the Warp to affect or alter reality/real space. In more specific terms:

     Abominations are "otherworldly" creatures of psychic ability- Daemons, Daemonhosts, and Enslavers are some examples. Focus Power Tests made by Abominations cannot be Controlled, but may be Pushed +1, +2, +3, +4, or +5.

     Librarians are Adeptus Astartes of psychic ability. They are also the keepers of forbidden and/or esoteric lore, often acting as trusted advisers to their Chapter's command ranks. Focus Power Tests made by Librarians may be Controlled or Pushed +1, +2, or +3.

     Sanctioned Psykers (aka Sanctionites) are Humans of psychic ability that have been deemed by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica to be strong enough of will that they may be trained by the Scholastica Psykana. Sanctioned Psykers include Astropaths. Focus Power Tests made by Sanctioned Psykers (and Eldar Warlocks) may be Controlled or Pushed +1, +2, or +3.

     Sorcerers are sentient beings of psychic ability that have spent many centuries perfecting their mastery of Warp energies, or have learned/been given the knowledge of Warp mastery by a patron or fell power, or both- Chaos Space Marines, Eldar Farseers, and Navigators are some examples of Sorcerers. Focus Power Tests made by Sorcerers may be Controlled or Pushed +1, +2, +3, or +4.

     Wyrds (aka Unsanctioned Psykers) are sentient beings of raw and wild psychic ability- Humans that have evaded/escaped Psyker culls (including Black Ship Escapees) and Ork Wierdboyz are two examples. Focus Power Tests made by Wyrds cannot be Controlled, but may be Pushed +1, +2, or +3.

     Abominations, Librarians, Sanctioned Psykers, Sorcerers, and Wyrds possess the Psyker and Psy Rating (X) Traits.

     A Quick Note: GMs interested in using these proposed rules can easily incorporate the Psychic Powers from Black Crusade and/or Only War by assigning a XP cost to each Power equal to the hundreds digit of the published XP cost. As an example, the Doombolt Psychic Power (Black Crusade Core Rules, pg. 213) would cost 2 XP.
     The time, or Psychic Action Points required to manifest a Psychic Power is as follows: Full Action = 3 Psychic AP; Half Action = 2 Psychic AP; Free Action/Reaction = 1 Psychic AP. The number of Psychic AP a Psyker may use during a Turn is equal to his/her WPB (WPB+1 for Abominations), and these Psychic AP may be spent in addition to* his/her normal (Agility-based) AP. However, a Psyker may not manifest any individual Power more than once during their Turn, nor may he/she take more than one Attack and one Concentration Action per Turn.
     Lastly, Psychic Powers may no longer be manifested at the Fettered Power Level.

* The PC does not roll AP Dice for Psychic AP.

     PSY RATING (TRAIT)

     Psy Rating (PR) represents a PC's mastery of his/her psychic ability- the effects of many Psychic Powers are based upon PR, with these effects increasing as the PC's mastery increases. PR also represents as PC's ability to tap into Warp energies- in game terms, a higher PR makes it easier for a Psyker to successfully manifest his/her Powers.
     Psy Rating is recorded as PRX, where X equals the PC natural (not Pushed) Rating.

     Abominations are dreadfully powerful Psykers, possessing a Psy Rating equal to their WPB+1.

     Librarians begin play with Psy Rating 2 and may not possess a Psy Rating greater than their WPB.

     Sanctionites begin play with Psy Rating 1 and may not possess a Psy Rating greater than their WPB.

     Sorcerers begin play with Psy rating 2 and may not possess a Psy Rating greater than their WPB.

     Wyrds have only recently recently realized their potential- they begin play with Psy Rating 0 and may not possess a Psy Rating greater than their WPB.

     Psy Rating may be increased (after play begins) through the expenditure of XP (Abominations excluded):

• Increasing PR0 to PR1- 3 XP
• Increasing PR1 to PR2- 3 XP
• Increasing PR2 to PR3- 8 XP
• Increasing PR3 to PR4- 15 XP
• Increasing PR4 to PR5- 24 XP (Maximum possible PR for Sanctionites and Wyrds)
• Increasing PR5 to PR6- 35 XP (Maximum possible PR for Librarians and Sorcerers)

     Each increase of PR must be paid cumulatively- ex: for Yves the Sanctionite to increase her PR1 to PR4 (assuming she has WPB4) she must spend 26 XP.

     Increasing Psy Rating requires deep, lengthy, uninterrupted meditation and is extremely exhausting:

• Increasing PR0 to PR1- 1 day meditation, +1 [F]
• Increasing PR1 to PR2- 2 days meditation, +2 [F] 
• Increasing PR2 to PR3- 3 days meditation, +3 [F] 
• Increasing PR3 to PR4- 4 days meditation, +4 [F] 
• Increasing PR4 to PR5- 5 days meditation, +5 [F] 
• Increasing PR5 to PR6- 6 days meditation, +6 [F]

      Time is cumulative, as well- continuing with the example above, for Yves to increase her PR1 to PR4 she must devote 9 days to uninterrupted meditation, at the end of which time she passes out from complete exhaustion (+9 [F] is +1 [F] higher than she can withstand with WPB4).

     Increasing Psy Rating too quickly can have calamitous results- if a PC's PR is raised more than one (1) point during any period of meditation the Player must roll d% on Table 6-2: Psychic Phenomena (pg. 210 of the Black Crusade Core Rules), adding 10 to the die result for each point of PR increased after the first- Ex: PR1 to PR4 would roll d%+20.

     If at any time a PC's WPB is permanently reduced, he/she must also reduce his/her PR (if appropriate) until it is no greater than his/her WPB. Psy Rating "lost" in this way may be regained only through the expenditure of XP (as normal) and only if the PC's WPB has increased to an appropriate value.

     PSYCHIC POWERS

     Psychic Powers are no longer considered Talents. Psykers are limited to X Psychic Powers, where X equals:

• Abominations- 3x WPB
• Librarians/Sorcerers- (2x WPB)+2
• Sanctionites- 2x WPB
• Wyrds- (2x WPB)-2

     Like the loss of Psy Rating, if a PC's WPB is permanently reduced he/she must also reduce the number of Psychic Powers he/she knows (if appropriate). Psychic Powers "lost" in this way may be regained (or traded) only through the expenditure of XP (as normal) and only if the PC's WPB has increased to an appropriate value.

     FOCUS POWER TESTS

     A Focus Power Test is Willpower-based. The Psyker multiplies his/her Psy Rating by his/her Willpower Bonus (ex: PR3 x WPB4 = 12) and adds the result to his/her Willpower score to calculate the base TN for the Psyker's Focus Power Test. The base TN may be further modified by [F]atigue and/or a Difficulty modifier associated with the Psychic Power itself-

• All Tests (including Focus Power Tests) suffer a cumulative -5 penalty per point of [F].
• Certain Psychic Powers may be easier or harder to manifest, thus will have a specific Difficulty modifier (quite possibly based on the nature of the power itself and/or Corruption requirements).

     WP may be replaced by other Characteristics within specific "Disciplines" once Psychic Powers have been rewritten. So, from the example Focus Power Test above: a Biomancy Power might use S or T instead of WP.

     DENY THE WITCH

WIP

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Hand Flamers, Flamers, and Heavy Flamers (The Flamethrowers of the 41st Millennium)

     Fire is a primordial weapon.

     The contemporary flamethrower has it's humble origins at the turn of the 20th Century. The first working model (circa 1901) was a single shot weapon that projected a jet of flame and billowing black smoke to a range of about 18 meters. Though they have been used extensively in warfare, more casualties have been attributed to the conventional weaponry supporting flamethrowers- the flames were used to drive enemy soldiers from the protection of their trenches and bunkers, while supporting infantry shot them as they became exposed. In 1978, flamethrowers were retired from the U. S. military arsenal. At that time they had an effective range of 50-80 meters.
     Since their inception, flamethrowers have seen numerous design advances and have been adapted for uses other than warfare.

     However, in the 41st Millennium there is only war. Flamer variants (aka "Burners") represent a staple weapon in the arsenal of the Imperium, and I want to redefine their utility and effects.

     First, the mechanism. Generally, a flammable liquid or gas is pressure-forced from its containment through the weapon's firing aperture. Looking at the most recent drawings of 40K Flamer weapons, we can clearly see the firing aperture more closely resembles a hooded, vented muzzle rather than a nozzle. Personally, I prefer the drawings from the era of 40K 2nd Ed- these were cylindrical nozzles. I envision the nozzle being rotated to change the AoE of the weapon, selecting either a focused (choked) or spread target area.
     Next, the fuel. Dan Abnett's character of Brostin (one of Gaunt's Ghosts) is described as frequently adjusting both the mixture of his Flamer fuel and his weapon's choke, and carefully clearing his weapon's ignition system. All of this implies a liquid fuel that requires an ignition source at the time of firing. In other publications, Prometheum is described as being akin to napalm, igniting on contact with the air. I prefer the former fuel type.

     With both mechanism and fuel more clearly defined, I move now to the utility of Flamer variants.
     Because Flamer weapons have a multipurpose nozzle, they can either be used to send a jet of fuel in a narrow AoE out to its effective range or to cover a wider AoE at a much shorter effective range. And because Flamer weapons use a fuel type requiring an ignition system located just outside their apertures, they can either be used to saturate an AoE with fuel only or to saturate an AoE with flaming fuel.

     Now that Flamer variants can be used to saturate two different AoE and with two different results, I move now to the effects.
     Flamer variants possess a number of Special Weapon Qualities that are inherent to their mechanisms and fuel: the mechanism results in all Flamer variants having the Spray Quality, and ignited fuel results in all Flamer variants having the Flame Quality.

• Hand Flamer- Pistol/Spray, Rng: Choke-10m or Spread-5m RoF: S/-/-. Dmg: d10+4[E], Pen: 2, Clip: 2, Rld: 2 AP, Flame and Spray, Loaded Wt: 3.5kg, Availability: Extremely Rare
• Flamer- Special/Spray, Rng: Choke- 20m or Spread 10m, RoF: S/-/-, Dmg: d10+4]E], Pen: 2, Clip: 6, Rld: 2 AP, Flame and Spray, Loaded Wt: 6.5kg, Availability: Very Rare
• Heavy Flamer- Heavy/Spray, Rng: Choke- 50m or Spread 25m, RoF: S/-/-, Dmg: d10+5[E], Pen: 4, Clip: 10, Rld: 4 AP, Flame and Spray, Loaded Wt: 13.5kg, Availability: Extremely Rare

1. Each 1 shot of pressurized fuel is approximately 1 liter and weighs .5kg. Hand Flamers and Flamers use pressurized screw-on fuel bottles, Heavy Flamers use backpack fuel/pressure tanks.
2. If the weapon is fired on Choke, the AoE is a 30-degree arc of fire out to Range- better for targeting particularly resilient individual enemies from a safer distance. If the weapon is fired on Spread, the AoE is a 180-degree arc of fire out to Range- better for targeting multiple less-resilient enemies in close proximity.
3. Hand Flamers and Flamers cause [BRN2], and Heavy Flamers cause [BRN4] (see below for details).
4. Contrary to Hollywood propaganda, the pressure/fuel tanks of flamethrowers do not always explode when shot. In game terms, pressurized fuel bottles and pressure/fuel tanks will only explode if penetrated with incendiary rounds. The AoE of an explosion is 2x X meters radius, where X equals the remaining ammunition, with Damage equaling that of the weapon.
5. All Flamer variants are capable of saturating an AoE with fuel that isn't ignited- useful for setting up a distraction, an ambush, etc.

     BURNING [BRN]

     Creatures hit with weapons possessing the Flame Special Quality must make a Challenging (+/-0) Agility Test or suffer the [BRN] condition for d5 Rounds. Creatures suffering the [BRN] condition may attempt to douse the flames during their Turn, requiring a successful Challenging (+/-0) WP Test and the expenditure of 2 AP for [BRN2] or 3 AP for [BRN3], and so on. As a general rule, the Penetration value of weapons possessing the Flame Special Quality indicates the [BRN] lethality.
     Flames that are not doused cause Damage at the end of each Round as follows:

     [BRN2]

1. 2
2. 6
3. 14
4. 30
5. 62

     [BRN3]

1. 3
2. 9
3. 21
4. 45
5. 93

     [BRN] Damage is not soaked by the DV of Armour unless it possesses the Bonded Ceramite Upgrade. This rule is not to be confused with Armour DV that is resistant to [E] Damage.

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