Psychic abilities

By Battle Sister, in Deathwatch Rules Questions

Hi I am new to Deathwatch and a few questions have come up in a game that we are playing.

1. Is a Librarian able to activate Iron arm as a reaction if he has already used a psychic ability on his turn?

2. Does the Blood Angel psychic ability "Blood Boil" damage a horde as a standard psychic power or an area of effect power?

3. Can channeling psychic power through a Force weapon be used in conjunction with a) an All out attack / Killing strike?

b) Swift / Lightning attack?

Any help here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

@ Battle Sister ...

1. Iron Arm ... Yes, you can activate Iron Arm as a Half Action &/or Reaction (as listed in the power's description), assuming you have either (or both) available during your Combat Round Turn; even if you have used other psychic powers during your Turn, as well as while Sustaining other psychic powers.

However... it also means that it falls under Sustaining (multiple) Psychic Powers (pg. 186, DW-01: Core Rulebook ), even if you only use Iron Arm for a single Combat Round, which reduces the overall Psy Level of each power used/sustained during that Combat Round. The more psychic powers you use/sustain in a Combat Round, the less powerful each one is (spreading your energies thin).

2. Blood Boil ... No, Blood Boil specifically states it is single-target only.

3. Force Weapons ... The psychic (passive) boost to Force Weapons (+damage & +Penetration) works with all melee rules.

However... the (active) ability to channel psychic force through the Force Weapon for the additional ("+Xd10's") damage requires a Free Action ; and as a general play-rule, a Player may only conduct one Free Action of a particular type per Combat Round.

To further explain, a Player may perform multiple Free Actions, but each one must be different.

For example, some Free Actions include:

- a. Dropping a (non-attached) weapon.

- b. Speaking/shouting a short phrase/command (not more than a single short sentence).

- c. A short curt gesture.

- d. Channeling psychic force through a Force Weapon's attack.

The Player can do each and all of these (four) example Free Actions in a single Combat Round. But he may NOT do multiple versions of the same Free Action, such speaking multiple phrases/commands, dropping multiple weapons, or multiple Force Weapon channels.

So a Librarian Squad Leader could do all of the following in the same Combat Round:

- a. Drop his bolt pistol.

- b. Physically point (gesture) to a target.

- c. Verbally order an focus-fire on the target.

- d. ONE psychic channel through his Force Weapon (assuming he successfully attacks & hits with his Force Weapon).

The same Librarian Squad Leader, in the same Combat Round, may NOT :

- a. Make complex gestures to direct the Kill Team in a squad maneuver, or to inform them to strike the target at a specific weak-point.

- b. Take the time to explain the nature of a weak-point, or specify what kind of attack(s)/ammo-type to use on said weak-point.

- c. Multiple channels through his Force Weapon through multiple attacks, if the first channel-attack does not slay the target.

He could, however, drop both his bolt pistol AND his Force Weapon in the same Combat Round, as these are not the same Free Actions (different weapons & different hands). Though it must be an unusual combat scenario if the Librarian Squad Leader is having to do drop both his weapons :huh: . And, rather obviously, he cannot make a psychic channel-attack after having dropped his Force Weapon.

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Hope this helps.

Edited by pendrake71

Thank you very much for the explanation. I will bring this information to the table!