So I was looking over my new character's possibilities in all the different Trades he can get (he's a psyker), and I spotted something that thusfar had eluded me:

"An acolyte with Trade skills is considered a member of the Trading Class for purposes of determining monthly income." (p.239, bottom left paragraph)

I can't help but thinking this was important enough to deserve a bigger mention than just this, after all, adepts, clerics, imperial psykers, and tech-priest all start with a Trade skill, granted, clerics and tech-priests have higher monthly income than the Trading Class to start with, but adepts and imperial psykers start at 100 and 70 respectively. I can appreciate that table 5-1 (p.124 Income and Social Class ) has not been featured in the errata, because it still makes a point of where adepts and imperial psykers generally stand in the social hierarchy, but still.

So, how many of you actually noticed this and have you simply allowed adept and imperial psykers to earn accordingly?

We noticed. We are not, however, using the rule.

First, we didn't think the tradeskills really represent full-time work for a PC. Your imperial psyker problably isn't allowed the freedom to quit his psyker career and settle down as Joe the Average Merchant permanently.

Second, it tends to pretty much eliminate the point of the career wages for all but a few careers. Everyone will be a tradesman or better, rather than their actual career.

We only use it when players, in game, have time to settle down for a while to actually practice their trade full-time (perhaps as part of a cover). No off-camera handwaving allowed.

I think what Slaunyeh says is a good option.

If I was GM'ing a campaign and someone approached me with this I would prehaps rule: In the 3 months between missions, if you do not wish to spend time trading for new equipment, finding a contact, earning skills that would take considerable amounts of time to learn etc, you can practice your trade to earn extra money. If you wish to occupy your time otherwise, you get your standard career wages instead.

It's one thing to say that you couldn't work as an Imperial guardsman or a sanctioned psyker because the bosses won't allow it.

But then what does a psyker actual do in between missions. The description certainly sounds like the act as soothsayers so I don't really see an issue with that.

And taking it one step further, if a scummer learns a trade who is there to tell him he can't stop robbing and conning people so that he can go straight.

I think I'd deffinately play it by ear. I imagine it's more difficult than just learning a skill to get a good wage doing it but if someone is ready to roleplay it a bit and come up with some ideas I'd allow it.

I too am a litle curious about this. How exactly does a Guardsman, an Arbitor, or a sanctioned psyker do work per his career during downtime? I mean, being an Acolyte, they need to keep their acolyte identities hidden. So when not on a mission, they live "normal" lives. But then they also go on dangerous missions, returns scarred, hurt. How do they "work" normaly in their downtime? The career income system never made any sense to me.

A psyker can't just strot off and say "Hey im a sanctioned psyker, need some help with something?". A guardsman could posibly work as a mercenary, and an arbitor as a Private Investigagtor. An Adept, whom usually have more permanent positions, and not to speak about official credentials. Both organizations are highly hierarchal, so they are not just going to take the word of some random adept / tehcpriest that wants employe. There will be questions asked, where did you work with, whom were your masters, why did they send you to work with them. I suppose that your Inquisitor can provide you with false credentials, and you can make up a believable alter ego, but then you are just going to dissapear for emperor knows how long to go on a mission, posibly returning scarred and/or changed. Will you then be given a new job to temporarily work in?

Whats your take on these?

Giantmoth said:

There's no official answer on this, but here is my take on it:

Guardsman: Depends on actual profession (merc, imp. guardsman, penal legionair etc. Actualy militairy will probably spend time at a barracks somewhere. That means training, obeying orders etc. I suppose the =][= grants them leave when they need to go on a mission. As for scars etc.--- it's a dangerous unvierse so not hard to come up with an excuse, especially for fightin classes.

Psyker: A bit trickier. Psykers either work directly for Scholastica Psycana, or recieve a stipendium from a Noble House or even Trade House/Guild/Corporation where they serve as supernatural advisors (think court mage). If they're not belonging to either they could work as Soothsayers (reading the Imperial Tarot for divination of imperial citizens), or possibly even become merchants (otherwise why would they have that as a trade skill?). I would use psyker income in most cases, and require investments and actual skill checks for psykers that want to use the merchant trade skill (as well as time enough to actually do this).

Gaurdsman:

• gets rented out to some local noble by his inquisitor
• gets paid to pull guard duty on some property of his inquisitor
• gets loaned to the local OpFor unit