New Psyker Abilities

By Jack of Tears, in Dark Heresy

Taking the rather limited number of physkic powers available to those of the profession, (10 major powers for each school?) I was wondering if anyone had come forth to try and create a expanded list of powers for DH? If not here, I though I'd throw one up to get us started.

Entice

Threshold: 17

Focus Time: Half Action

Sustain: Yes

Range: 5 meters

~~The choice for the subtle operative, Entices a far shot less overt than it's sister power; ineed, a victim of this working should never feel as though they are being forced to do anything. Rather, the psyker utilizes his power to stear the victims thoughts and desires in a manner so casual he or she will be absolutely convinced the implanted ideas were her own. Thus, without any overt prompting on behalf of the agent, she is happy to show him their home and the don't-tell-anyone-now not so legal paraphenalia they'd picked up on her husbands last trip. So long as the effect is kept running the victim feels no real guilt about anything she has "chosen" do to for you.

Keep in mind, this power is one open to abuse and while it cannot be used to directly kill a target (she won't walk off a wall or put a gun in her mouth) it can be responsible for other crimes of concent; such as ****; pedophilia; homosexuality; beality; xenos-human relations, etc. In some sectors whole inquisitorial operations spend their time pursuing the offenders of just such crimes.

Hmm, this reminds me a lot of Suggestion, a minor power in Disciples of the Dark Gods. It has more flushed out mechanics, but is a lot easier to manifest and not quite as powerful overall. Still, this seems a little powerful as written, just because it's a little vauge (no WP check mechanics, makes someone give you clues outright). Suggestion involved an opposed WP test and effectively gave a+30 on a social interaction score, so I think it may actually be exactly what you wanted from this power.

Which is either a bad start or a really promising start for the thread, depending on how you look at it. I'd like to see some new Divination Powers, since it didn't get any new ones in DotDG, so I'll try to think of at least one to add to this thread.

Okay, got some ideas. They follow the "unstable and most likely to be developed by Rogue Psykers" theme of DotDG:

Tempt Fate (Divination)

Threshold: 28

Focus Time: Full Action

Sustained: No

Range: You

You attempt to bend the strands of fate itself with the raw might of your will. Casting your mind into the warp, you attempt to alter the currents which shape your very soul to grant yourself the protection of the warp. Make a Very Hard (-30) Invocation Test, which may not be assisted or granted bonuses except by a Psi-Focus (this prohibition is exceptionally powerful, and even bars the effects of Pacts of Desire, etc). If you succeed by two or more degrees, you may restore one spent Fate Point. If you succeed by one degree or less, you restore a Fate Point, but must spend this point within the next hour or it fades without effect. If you fail, all tests made by the Pskyer permanently suffer a -10 penalty and an additional -10 penalty for each degree of failure. By spending a Fate Point, the Pskyer may make a Challenging (+0) Invocation Test in order to attempt to remove this effect. By burning a Fate Point, the Psyker may immediately remove this effect.

If this ability in used more than once between the restoration a Psyker's Fate Points, each time beyond the first incurs a -20 cumulative penalty to the Invocation Test to no maximum. Additionally, penalties provoked by use of this power are cumulative to no maximum.

Here's another:

Wheel of Fortune (Divination)

Threshold: 25

Focus Time: Full Action

Range: 30 meters

Special: Requires 20 Insanity point to manifest.

Sustained: Yes

A wild and uncontrollable power developed only rarely, and then by highly unstable Diviners, the Wheel of Fortune attempts to twist the warp to better suit the unhinged vision of its user. While this power is active, the user rolls three dice on every test and makes a result out of the two dice of his choice. However, the power is far from stable, and increases the difficulty of the first test made enough round (or hour if out of combat) by one step and of all subsequent tests by two steps (to a maximum of very hard (-30)). Additionally, each person other within the area of effect other than the Psyker, be they friend or foe, may reroll one test once per round (or hour) while this power is active, taking the new result. Finally, all failed tests made in the area of effect of this power suffer an additional degree of failure.

Here's one!

Consume (Biomancy)

Threshold: 30

Focus Time: Full Action

Sustained: Yes

Range: Touch

Concentrating your entire being into consuming and devour your victim, your body responds by shaping numerous tendrils which lashes out in their hundreds from your body, completely enveloping the target while at the same time synthesizing the most powerful acidic agents, breaking down the victim much like the way a powerful digestive system would to it's constituent proteins and amino acids absorbing the victim into the psyker's own body. Not only does this near heretical act spell the utter doom of the victim, but it also allows the psyker to replenish his physical reserves along with giving the psyker a glance at some of the victims memories as the genetic memory is transferred to the mind of the biomancer directly.

This power works much like a grapple as it keeps the target constricted and locked in place with the Psyker. Each round the victim is under the effects of the Consume power it may attempt to break loose from the biomancer by an opposed Strength test versus the biomancers Willpower. If this fails the Biomancer will absorb 1d10 plus the biomancers Willpower Bonus amount of wounds from the victim that round (although the total amount of wounds the psyker has will never exceed beyond it's limit, additional wounds are simply taken from the victim and then lost), until the victim is dead leaving nothing behind but a pool of mucus and bodily fluids of excess bio-matter (not even clothing, armour or held weapons are left behind as the acidic agents are powerful enough to digest even such apparel!). If the victim ever manages to break loose from the biomancers deadly embrace (either due to the strength test succeeding or the psyker willfully or not cease to sustain the power) the psyker will suffer 1d10 points of Damage for each round the power has been sustained, ignoring armour and Toughness bonus as the body suffers great strain in reshaping itself for the power to manifest. If the victim is fully consumed the biomancer is granted visions from the Consumed victims memory as per the rules of a fully successful Mind Scan (see page 179 in the Dark Heresy Core Rulebook). This of course will make the Biomancer subject to the "Closer Than Flesh" penalties as well.

This power cannot be used against targets larger than Hulking size or targets with the Incorporeal trait.

Yes, this power has been blatantly stolen by me from the videogame Prototype which is why it might sound familiar to some. gui%C3%B1o.gif

Can't say I've given much thought of how balanced the power is or if it's overpowered or not, I just wanted a Psychic Power that allows the biomancer to consume his or her victims just like Alex Mercer does in the game, as I intend to either create a PC whose a biomancer, heavily reminiscent of Alex Mercer or perhaps one of the most nasty NPC's my players have yet to face. demonio.gif

Note that I did put in some effort in making it a bit balanced, like penalizing the psyker for being unable to sustain the power until the victim is completely consumed (meaning that it's really a "do or die" type of power) and the fact that it even melts away armour and weapons (effectively preventing the psyker and the rest of the acolytes from being able to loot the consumed enemies, which might be important in some scenarios).

Do you like it? gran_risa.gif

P.S Players imitating pacman going: "Omnomnomnomnomnomn!" while they roll the dice using this power should be penalized for cheesy behavior. Consuming living people is not the same as eating little dots or coloured ghosts! (besides Ghosts are incorporeal, and the rules have explicitly stated that such targets aren't allowed to be consumed!) lengua.gif

It looks good to me, except that I would make the power use a standard Grapple check with the Psyker's WP used in place of Strength. This would make the applicability of abilities such as Acrobatics and Contortionist to the consumed creature's checks clear, and clarify what I take to be your intent, which is that the Psyker remains occupied with the act of consuming his foe.

Hodgepodge said:

It looks good to me, except that I would make the power use a standard Grapple check with the Psyker's WP used in place of Strength. This would make the applicability of abilities such as Acrobatics and Contortionist to the consumed creature's checks clear, and clarify what I take to be your intent, which is that the Psyker remains occupied with the act of consuming his foe.

Well I thought of that at first, but then I figured that you can't use dodge tests to avoid being hit by other psychic powers (they move at the speed of thought so you won't ever be able to dodge it or parry it), and since the power explicitly states that the biomancers body reshapes itself according to hsi or her will (almost like shape flesh), the shaped biomatter tendrils enveloping the target moves at the same speed and ferocity like other psychic powers and shouldn't be dodgeable with skills that concern grappling. If you want to break free from it you'll have to use brute strength and rip your way out of the consuming embrace, Weaponskill, Agility or Contortionist tests won't save you from it. demonio.gif