So, if a Nascent Psyker who's abilities have already manifested wields a Force Weapon, how would you resolve the damage done? According to the RAW, I don't think they would get a damage bonus, since the bonus is based on Psy-Rating, which a Nascent Psyker does not have. This however, seems like a limited interpretation, especially considering that the book points out that Psy-Ratings are an abstraction, rather than actual notable tiers of ability.

Also, if a Nascent was to receive the bonus, would they be able to use the "Killing Will" power of the weapon?

(I apologize if this topic has already come up or I missed an errata. I looked and didn't find it, but you never know.)

The Boy Named Crow said:

For simplicity's sake, I'd say that the powers of a Nascent Psyker are too unfocussed to be used in such a deliberate manner as wielding a Force Weapon - such a being's control over his abilities is so meagre as to be almost non-existent, while those psykers who have a psy rating (for any reason) have acquired sufficient self-discipline to be able to direct their powers in specific ways not naturally apparent to those without such luxuries.

If I could ask a followup question: Does a Psyker have to be aware that they are using a Force Weapon in order to tap into it's abilities? I was under the impression that they subconsciously channeled their abilities into the blade, and control didn't enter into it.

(The killing will ability being a different matter, I would agree that it wouldn't be possible for a nascent psyker to achieve.)

I guess that comes down to a GM interpretation as to the how/why a force weapon does what it does.

If it is a tool that allows a psyker to focus his power through it, then I would say a psyker has to be aware, AND able to focus his will into the weapon (i.e. be trained/experienced enough to have a stable psy rating)

If it is an item whose warp-sensitive matrix draws the power coming off of a psyker into it, then I could see it working for any psychically active individual regardless of his capacity for control.

I tend toward the former interpretation, but I could see the latter as a valid way to take it if a GM wanted to go that way.

I agree with you that using the killing will ability must be focused and intentional.

A thematic way to handle things would be for it to have its damage and pen. increased by half the Psyker's WP bonus (rounf up), but on a 95-100 attack or parry roll, s/he must make a WP save or take the weapon's full damage as the force channeled through the blade momentarily runs wild.

The Boy Named Crow said:

As I interpret it, a psyker needs considerable control over his subconscious in order to remain safe - he can't allow stray thoughts and daydreams to get loose, because such things bleed into the warp far more easily from a psyker than from a blunt (normal non-psyker) human and thus pose a greater risk to the psyker and those around him. Given the years of extensive testing and training a sanctioned psyker undergoes, it makes sense that they'd have their unconscious mind under controls no less strict than their conscious minds.

A Nascent Psyker lacks that - his mind is linked to the warp but he can only control it in the crudest ways, because he hasn't yet learned how to reign in his mind.

From a purely game mechanical perspective, a Nascent Psyker has no Psy Rating (though hypothetically they could be classed as being Psy Rating 0 - psychic, but not able to wield powers under the normal psyker rules - either way, the result is the same), so no bonus damage or Pen is granted to a Nascent wielding a Force Weapon.

From a background perspective, even if wielding a force weapon is an unconscious matter, the psyker's will still needs to be extended into the weapon, which IMO without even rudimentary training in psychoreactive devices (force weapons being one such example, certain forms of Emperor's Tarot being another, psychic hoods and the various augmentative and limiter devices used by some psykers being others) is akin to trying to travel somewhere without knowing the direction or location.

I wouldn't say that a Nascent Psyker has Psy-Rating 0. After all, they can manifest powers at will, and one who has remained in hiding for a little while can potentially have more powers than a seasoned Psyker. As I understand it, they access and harness their power in a fundamentally different way, and therefore conventional means of measurement aren't applicable.

Still, I agree that, as they don't have a firm control of their subconscious, their results with a psychoreactive object could only be as sporadic as that control.

I think I'd rule on some kind of mechanic for randomly accessing the extra power. Perhaps test WP, or apply the bonuses to a Righteous Fury...