How would a Templar Calix go about making or getting his force weapon? What sort of materials are needed for it? Should I go knock over a cult and take the force weapon off the cult leader? Any other ideas?

If I remember correctly, I read somewhere that Force Weapons derive their power mostly from the patterns carved into them, which inherently channel the Psychic Power of the caster. However, the IH also mentions special materials. So, part of making them would be successfully obtaining the materials. THen you have to make them into a blade or other design (the current weapons are based on Bulkhead Cutters (Axe), Chimera Pistol Sword (Sword), and a Staff). The other would be correctly carving the design, which would take instructions from the Temple, Forbidden Lores (Psyker, Cults, Warp, or Ordo Malleus) or Scholarly Lore (Imperial Creed or Occult). The Trades involved would be Smith, Scrimshawer, and possibly Prospector. Obviously, you don't need all the skills yourself, but you do need to find people with the correct skills and provide the necessary knowledge and items to the Smith and Scrimshaw.

Or yeah, you could quest for it. Perhaps there is a lost weapon on a Feral World somewhere. Maybe, if you're doing Shades on Twilight, the Luminous Reproach is actually a Best-Quality Force Weapon instead of a Best-Quality Power Sword +, and your team was sent specifically to provide you with a chance to obtain it for the Temple and yourself.

The cult of the Machine God would be the best place to find such a weapon, or have it crafted. Perhaps a journey to the lathe-worlds is in order. Or you can go in search of a specific exiled tech preist. Afterall, that's where Eisenhorn gets his force-weapons made (by the crazy Heretical Ad-Mech guy). Either way, If you're character is not competent enough with technology to create a Lasgun from scratch, he probably couldn't whip up a Force-wapon from scratch either. Judging from the models, they are as much High-Tech as they are sorcery, (Like warp engines or gellar fields), so having a high scolastic-lore rating in Occult probably wouldn't do the trick (Unless you want to build some kind of demon weapon or other purely sorcerous contrivance).

The latest information I've seen (Imperial Armour 7: The Siege of Vraks Part 3) has this to say about Force Weapons.

Page 15 "The psychoresponsive metal of the force weapon allows a psyker... to focus murderous energies into the blade, rendering it able to cleave through even hardened ceramite and directly sever the life force of an individual wounded by it"

Page 55 "Like other force weapons, the nemesis halberd is psychically attuned to its wielder, allowing him to channel psychic energies from the Warp, through his mind and into the blade. Wreathed by the glowing Warp energies, a nemesis force weapon then becomes almost unstoppable - smashing through the thickest armour with ease. A well-trained psyker can deliver devastating attacks, blasting apart foes with pure energy, as well as using the blade as a focus through which to unleash a holocaust of Warp energies.

"Each nemesis force weapon is made from rare psychically resonant materials. Where these are attained from is a closely guarded secret. Before entering service, each is ceremonially blessed at the Synod Ministra on the Cardinal World of Ophelia IV and uniquely tuned to match the user's psychic field. Once complete, each force weapon can only be wielded by its owner, much of whose training revolves around controlling and channelling power through the weapon."

While the second section refers specifically to Nemesis Force Weapons, the words 'Like other force weapons' suggest some degree of similarity in the nature of Nemesis Force Weapons to more conventional ones, and I imagine that, aside from the extensive blessing, warding and consecration that characterises Nemesis weapons (in rules terms, I tend to treat them as Blessed, Pentagrammically Warded Best Quality Great Weapon Force Weapons; in the hands of a potent psyker like a Grey Knight Brother-Captain, they're perhaps one of the most destructive melee weapons in the game), the processes to create a force weapon is little different from that described above - including attuning the weapon to an individual.

Well your character could always go to the force weapons store, those places are a nickel a dozen!

Seriously, I think it offers great Rollplay oppertunities to make one yourself. If there is a high level tech-priest in your group then perhaps set out on a side quest with him to get the materials. If not see if the whole group is willing to help you find the materals to go to a high ranking tech priest and convince him to build it. This may result in the age old "Ill do it, but not for money, you see theres this guy....."

Well the whole reason I'm asking is for good RP ideas, I don't want to just fork over the thrones. I really like that idea about the Luminous reproach.

Also try reading the second book in the Eisenhorn series. In it Magos Bure constructs a Force Staff.

And I think he re-forges Barbarisater into a force sword of some kind, or at least turns it into a blessed weapon covered with hexegramatic script.

Barbarister is already a force weapon of one of Eisenhorns acolytes before she is killed. he kept the sword for her memory and eventually had it reforged with wards so he could effectivley combat demons

Nullius said:

I reread the Eisenhorn omnibus again recently. Barbarisater seems to act like a demon sword in disguise a lot of the time.

Torquar said:

I agree. I've always had a lot of trouble swallowing Abnett's portrayal of those force weapons. He makes it clear that the weapon itself is sentient to a degree and that shouts daemon weapon to me. What's even stranger is that the whole clan of those... sword people (I can't recall how to spell the name) do not seem to be psykers yet use those weapons. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a daemon weapon the whole time and that it was Eisenhorn's continuing fall into radicalism that blinded him to the truth.

When I played a Templar Calix, I was seconded to an Inquisitor's kill team by the temple as part of a bargain. When my tenure was up, he returned the favour by sending his team with me to a Forge World (I believe it was Synford II) to deal with a problem they were having, part of which involved recovering a force sword. The deal was that I either kept the sword, or the magos would see to the manufacture of a new one for me.

I retrieved the weapon, but (surprisingly!) everything went to the Warp shortly afterwards, and that's about where we left it. Still, personally, I would recommend some sort of in-game quest (if feasible with the other players and plot) to get the sword. It's a very special and rare item, so getting your hands on one should be a testing experience, so that it really means something when it's finally yours.

If you read the entry for the Templar youll see that you have to have a force weapon before being one. It states that you either help build or find one during your training

Ravamunk said:

One of my players showed an interest in joining the Calix; since it says you can aquire a Force Weapon during the mandatory training time, I was going to have the masters of the Temple test the character's commitment by sending him to kill a renegade former member who is bringing disgrace on the Temple by working as a mercenary. The PC was to bring the renegade's Force Weapon back to the Temple as proof of his success; naturally it would then become his required Force Weapon (I say that all in the past tense; when the player found out that he would likely fall behind the rest of the party in Experience as he trained while they continued to go on missions, he decided against it).

My psyker character is not Templar Calix and unlikely to walk that path, but she very recently aquired a force sword. No, I did not go the the "force weapon store." Of note, other than her powers she is incredibly pothetic in the physical stature and might department. Cassie is 42kg of stunted, skinny void-born cuteness. WS30, S20, T31 and 11 wounds. She is usually mistaken by others to be about 12 years old.... On this mission her sanctioning brand was carefully concealed by a layer of synthetic skin.

Our group was operating undercover amongst the nobility of Scintilla investigating a cult (surprise!) and she had managed to gain the attention of a high ranking cult member (just HOW high up he was was not yet revealed!). An invitation to a private date arrived by courier and she decided to go along with it as an opportunity to possibly search the cultist's mansion. Events during the date as well as prior incidents spiked her suspicions, so once the suspect had fallen asleep (or so she thought!) she began searching the mansion... And managed to find the boss' majordomo (oops!)! At this point it was obvious that the "fit had hit the shan", so I whipped out my powers and compelled the majordomo to "show me secrets!"

Well, he lead me to the basement, where there were indeed secrets: A heretical drug lab as well as extensive ****/torture facilities! Having nothing in my posession at the time besides my vox and a holdout laspistol I decided to call in my team at this point, only to have the vox short out in my hands.... and in walks my date. Oh crap, this is getting bad! No, wait, it is worse... He is a wytch, and a POWERFUL one at that (the GM told me later he was built at rank 9!)! To make things worse, he is carrying a shiny silver force sword in his hands... And he is using powerful telepathy powers to compel me to reveal myself to him, then surrender (I was wisely hiding!). Eventually his searching forces me to fight or surrender, and what I had discovered meant that surrender was simply NOT an option. I am pretty much dead meat, being unarmed, unarmoured and severely outclassed, but at least I am a Telekine, so I will go down defiant! A truely epic psyker battle erupted, made even nastier by the fact that the boss had fate points! I ended up spending all 4 of my fate points and burning two of them as well; the boss spent, then burned his as well... I expected death to claim me every single round of combat, but I clung on my my mental fingertips and sheer audacity. The endgame of this epic duel to the death came with myself sitting at 2 remaining wounds and the boss in criticals (about the 4th or 5th time, since the bastard had Telepathy, TK, Bio and a Daemon pact) when I triggered a full on Perils of the Warp, resulting in a massive explosion! (There can be only ONE!) [i gained 8 insanity and 4 corruption during this battle!]

The details of the next day or so are rather blurry to her, but apparently she wandered around the hive naked and burnt... and eventually waking up dressed, cleaned up and in her own bed?! My teammates informed me that I staggered back to the mansion we had been operating out of muttering nonsense and carrying a manilla envelope as well as a large giftwrapped box. Both had already been opened when I asked to see them, apparently opened by my own hands during an earlier bout of semi-lucidity. The envelope (in posession of the team's Prime) contained campaign-important documents and the gift box contained a familiar looking force sword, the only thing besides myself to have survived the warp-explosion apparently, only now with the blade permanently blackened.

Pretty darn cool and memorable way to get a force weapon, I must say! As an added bonus, the GM gave me a shiny new fate point for beating the "big bad" in a totally unexpected solo fight, which took some of the sting out of the two that were burnt during the battle.