Hello,

I can't find information about psychic power modyfiers. Is using psychic powers equal to other ranged weapons?

Should I add negative modifier for attacking target in melee combat? Or my psychic power always hit if I pass concentration test that is modyfied only by description of used power?

Is psychic powers range final? Can I use rules for long, short and medium range for ranged weapons?

I would be thankful if someone could explain me that matter or point me paragraph in core book.

Thanks,

All good questions. Some even have answers. There are no modifiers for psychic powers unless stated in the abilities description: such as focus power test -10 WP and the like. However, casting at lower or higher Psi Ratings will give you a bonus or a penalty on the casting. You do not treat the Focus Power action the same as attack actions, such as for range, melee combat modifiers and the like. However, you do treat them like other attack actions for resolving them, such as hit locations (though many of the abilities default to body).

Psychic power range is indeed final. Just like Grenades, you cannot throw or cast past the HARD limit of the ranges, unlike guns which can shoot past their ranges with penalties. Also, most Psychic powers have description on exactly these tid bits. Such as Range= PRx2 and the like.

A question which has not been answered and I don't have a sound response for is, can Called Shot be used with Psychic powers? RAW no, as called shot is used specifically for the range and melee talents, but intent and the ambiguous relation of psychic abilities and even some weird wording in certain abilities imply that this can be done. In my games, I house rule yes, called shots can be done with Pyschic powers if the Psyker has the talent and suffers the penalty to his Focus test as if it were a ranged attack.

If you want quotes or exact wording, the first three pages of the Pysker chapter cover all of your questions.

In short:

No. No. Yes. No. No. You're welcome!

Focus Power (page 222) describes (although very briefly) the rules for that action, which is NOT the Standard Attack action and therefore handled differently than normal ranged attacks.

Core page 198 describes the different types of psychic attacks and how they can be dodged/mitigated.

Additionally, specific powers will have modifiers to their checks, as described by the power. e.g. Haemorrhage is a Focus Test made at -10.

Attacking at longer range is handled by using the Push rules (page 194), as most powers' ranges are based on the Psy Rating of the psyker.

Re: Olifant and the Called Shot question. I'd say either you're taking a -20 (or -30) to the test or you shouldn't allow it at all and justify it because psychic attacks are inherently inaccurate.

I say -30 because the Standard Attack gives +10 and the Called Shot -20 and also removes the +10, so your "effective" modifier is -30. Then again, this can't be compensated by Aim, RAW, since that is ALSO only for Weapon or Ballistic tests.

Psychic power range is indeed final. Just like Grenades, you cannot throw or cast past the HARD limit of the ranges , unlike guns which can shoot past their ranges with penalties. Also, most Psychic powers have description on exactly these tid bits. Such as Range= PRx2 and the like.

Where is the rule that range bands don't apply to thrown weapons?

Psychic power range is indeed final. Just like Grenades, you cannot throw or cast past the HARD limit of the ranges , unlike guns which can shoot past their ranges with penalties. Also, most Psychic powers have description on exactly these tid bits. Such as Range= PRx2 and the like.

Where is the rule that range bands don't apply to thrown weapons?

Actually now that I think about it, there is none. I ran into this issue in first edition when a player threw a grenade 200 meters. I reasoned the SBx3 was a practical range you could throw and not like the guns where you're firing something with accuracy. I now realise I was just reasoning it and it was not actually a rule.

Yeah, it's not specified, which is nice, since SB*3 averages out to like 9 meters, which is generally a lot closer than most engagements. Weapons do actually have hard limit on range, specified on page 144 "Weapons cannot be fired at targets more than four times their range distance away."

(average) SB*3*4 would be to 36 meters, which isn't impossibly far, but I suspect it would actually take longer to get there than the explosive timer. You'd have to arc that badboy.

Hello again,

Thank you for all provided answers.

Could you please answer me one more question about psychic powers?

Have you ever found any information, that casting psychic power is subtle and enemy do not know who is casting it?

Of course, when you cast flame bolt or envelop with shield, it should be pretty obvoius. But when you cast dominate? Or cast assail hitting enemy with barrel or rock from chosen direction? Is that subtle casting?

I think that all psychic powers are very hard to cast and using concentration change you apperiance and pose you are taking while casting powers.

I have little dispute about it with one of my players.

Can someone point me text from any present or previous books from wh40k where i can take clear information about casting and how it look like.

Last core book decribes only mechanics.

Re: Olifant and the Called Shot question. I'd say either you're taking a -20 (or -30) to the test or you shouldn't allow it at all and justify it because psychic attacks are inherently inaccurate.

I say -30 because the Standard Attack gives +10 and the Called Shot -20 and also removes the +10, so your "effective" modifier is -30. Then again, this can't be compensated by Aim, RAW, since that is ALSO only for Weapon or Ballistic tests.

Since a Called Shot is not a Standard Attack you don't get the +10 so a -20 would seem fair, except for the fact that psykers can't really add bonuses to their attacks to mitigate the penalty