Greetings and salutations!

I'm new to Dark Heresy, and will be playing my first game tonight as GM. I've only bought and read the core rulebook, and I've come up with a few areas where clarification would be appreciated before I try to run this beast. So, here goes...

1- Insanity and Corruption ; In the rulebook, you gain insanity points by failing on a Fear Test and corruption points by dealing (pact) with Daemons, specifically. Are there any other sources of IP and CP? Call of Cthulhu comes to mind where merely reading blasphemous tomes of forbidden lore would grant you insanity points. Any guidelines for instances when insanity and corruption should be doled out, as well as quantities- or is this strictly GM fiat? Sure, gazing into the warp may corrupt an Acolyte, but to what degree?

2- Space Travel ; When reading the book, I figured that Slower Than Light travel was used for voyages between planets and Warp travel was reserved for longer journeys, such as a trek to other sectors for example. However, in the Illumination adventure it is said that the trip to Iocanthos (presumably from Scintilla) takes 3 days at warp! Scintilla and Iocanthos are practically within arm's reach by cosmic standards. Does that mean that Slower than Light travel is utterly useless, or at least dreadfully impractical? Will the Acolytes be using Warp travel exclusively, since they don't have years to get to their destination? Also, I trust this means that there shouldn't be a lot of "planet hopping" in your average mission. Basically, I'm just looking for a rough idea of times and distances when traveling the sector. Oh wait, time is wonky in the warp....

3- Psychic Power ; And now the mandatory psychic question(s). I figure at least one of my players will want to dabble in psychic powers, so I should be able to answer their concerns. What happens when a non-psyker gains the Psy-Rating talent (the Adept, for example)? I know what happens mechanically, but what about thematically? Are the characters whisked away to the Golden Throne on Holy Terra to be sanctioned for 3d10 years? Are they simply allowed to continue using their psychic abilities unchecked? Wouldn't their Ordos hunt them down as rogue psykers? I know this isn't likely to come up for quite a while, but I'm really curious. Similarly, wouldn't an Acolyte who is suddenly afflicted with a mutation be destroyed by his fellow Acolytes and Inquisitors?

4-Mutant Abomination ; I've noticed that the entry for the Mutant Abomination has "Corruption Points:8" and "Insanity Points:12" listed in it's stats. What's up with that? It's the only creature with those characteristics. What do those mean? How do you use them? Are those the points gained from contact with such a being, or merely corruption and insanity that the mutant has? The former seems rather steep, while the latter wouldn't be enough.

5- Errata & FAQ ; Should I download, print, and/or read that monstrosity? Does it address glaring problems/oversights in the core rulebook, or is it mainly typos? Basically, I loathe the idea of playing a game and having a huge printed document on hand that must be constantly referred to in fear that what's in the book is "wrong". Can the game be played with the core book alone, or will I run into severe difficulties?

Well, that about covers it for now. I'm sure I'll have much more to ask after we've played a game though. Thanks in advance for any input or insight-- it's all greatly appreciated!

1- Insanity and Corruption;
The various books and adventures hint at other sources such as dealing with Xenos, reading forbidden texts or wanton cruelty. In the end it is up to you how bad it is going to be.

2- Space Travel;
Well in between the same system a spacevessel is fast enough to reach most places in a few weeks at most. For longer trips you use Warp Travel which is a dangerous business indeed. Warptravel is pretty fast to, only taking a couple of days to weeks to reach places. More if you travel longer distances. Just a fun fact though, on average of 12 days pays in the real world for every day spend in Warp. Now and then ships can become lost for centuries or arrive before they left.

3- Psychic Power;
A good question and I am sure that normal person going that route will be whisked away. However, working for the inquisition has its benefits. You just have to convince your Inquisitor not to shoot you on the spot.

5- Errata & FAQ;
I advise you to download it (use the printer friendly version). It is actually not that bad and most of the bulk of the errata is the graphics.

johnnybleu said:

Those are the mutants IP and CP, which becomes relevant if someone uses telepathy on them.

As to question 3, By the time the adept reaches rank 7 to purchase the 1st psy rating its gonna be assumed that they are a valuable acolyte of their inquisitor. As such the GM could use the ascension rules for sanctioning an acolyte. 1D5 years of downtime for a free trip to Holy Terra, sanctioning brand, and one of those happy sanctioning side effects.

The Adepts Psy Rating represents Sorcery.

Alternitively these are developed powers and don't really work in the context of Sanctioning.

Thanks for all the input, folks!

Bilateralrope said:

I see. I think. Strange that theirs is the only entry that lists those stats. Shouldn't that information be available for all creatures if it's required for telepathy? Furthermore, how is the target's IP and CP relevant for the use of telepathy?

Beyond that, if I get things straight, an Acolyte that suddenly develops psychic abilities for whatever reason will have to convince his peers to let him live, and if so he will then need to go through the pleasantries of sanctioning.

As for space travel, I suppose Warp travel is the only real option for time-sensitive missions and even then we're talking days and weeks before reaching your destination. While not a problem in and of itself, I was aiming at more action-oriented missions for my group, so I suppose that realistically things will have to remain more or less local. I'll figure some things out, I suppose.

So, an ideas about rationing CP? Say, for example, and acolyte stumbles upon a bizarre artifact, a strange mirror that shows him disturbing glimpses of the warp... I would certainly call for a Fear test, with possibility of gaining IP, but I would also say that Corruption would be an issue. In such a case, how much would be reasonable? 1 to 3, or upwards to 10?

Thanks again!

johnnybleu said:

IP and CP are only important if you have a Telepath, so they aren't that important.

Read the Closer than Flesh box in the telepathy section of the Dark Heresy core book. Telepaths can gain corruption and Insanity by invading minds more corrupt or insane than theirs.

ItsUncertainWho said:

Ohhhhhh, I get it now. Thank ye kindly!

So then I suppose it's up to the GM to determine if a mind being invaded is more corrupt or insane than the psyker, and to what degree exactly?

*takes a deep breath*

1- Insanity and Corruption; In the rulebook, you gain insanity points by failing on a Fear Test and corruption points by dealing (pact) with Daemons, specifically. Are there any other sources of IP and CP? Call of Cthulhu comes to mind where merely reading blasphemous tomes of forbidden lore would grant you insanity points. Any guidelines for instances when insanity and corruption should be doled out, as well as quantities- or is this strictly GM fiat? Sure, gazing into the warp may corrupt an Acolyte, but to what degree?

There are generally all kinds of sources. You already mentioned the classic tome of forbidden lore, though that's generally a toss-up between Corruption and Insanity. However, there's one important point I'd like to stress: No warp -> no Corruption. Corruption is not the same as D&D alignment when you can shift to chaotic evil for kicking the dog too often. Corruption is what happens when you have contact with the warp or when a creature of the warp becomes interested in you. When a Commissar shoots a squad of guardsmen for perceived cowardice, he gets no Corruption. When a nobleman has an orgy with a few dozen concubines and gets into decidedly depraved practices, he gets no Corruption. When an Inquisitor orders the death of an entire world, he gets no Corruption. Only when something takes an interest there is a chance of CPs being awarded and tentacles grown - if the commissar gets a little too trigger-happy at a location known for its association with Khorne, if the nobleman just happens to date a sorceress who brings her daemonic patron along and if the Inquisitor uses the advice of a bound daemonhost who tells him the world is unsaveable, they have a fair chance of becoming corrupted.

2- Space Travel; When reading the book, I figured that Slower Than Light travel was used for voyages between planets and Warp travel was reserved for longer journeys, such as a trek to other sectors for example. However, in the Illumination adventure it is said that the trip to Iocanthos (presumably from Scintilla) takes 3 days at warp! Scintilla and Iocanthos are practically within arm's reach by cosmic standards. Does that mean that Slower than Light travel is utterly useless, or at least dreadfully impractical? Will the Acolytes be using Warp travel exclusively, since they don't have years to get to their destination? Also, I trust this means that there shouldn't be a lot of "planet hopping" in your average mission. Basically, I'm just looking for a rough idea of times and distances when traveling the sector. Oh wait, time is wonky in the warp....

Well... at this point, I'd like to quote the Hitchhiker's Guide on how big Space actually is, but I'm sure you'll find that little gem on your own. The star closest to ours is about four and a half light years distant, meaning a starship travelling at near the speed of light would take four and a half years to get there (let's just leave out relativity for a moment here...). Sub-light travel is all well if you stay within the same system, but it won't help you otherwise. Also, I'd have to do the maths, but Imperial ships don't get anywhere near lightspeed while using their plasma drives.

3- Psychic Power; And now the mandatory psychic question(s). I figure at least one of my players will want to dabble in psychic powers, so I should be able to answer their concerns. What happens when a non-psyker gains the Psy-Rating talent (the Adept, for example)? I know what happens mechanically, but what about thematically? Are the characters whisked away to the Golden Throne on Holy Terra to be sanctioned for 3d10 years? Are they simply allowed to continue using their psychic abilities unchecked? Wouldn't their Ordos hunt them down as rogue psykers? I know this isn't likely to come up for quite a while, but I'm really curious. Similarly, wouldn't an Acolyte who is suddenly afflicted with a mutation be destroyed by his fellow Acolytes and Inquisitors?

The question on how the adept gets his powers has multiple answers, all equally valid if the player and the GM decide on them. The first would be that the adept actually gets Sorcery, in which case the Radical's handbook advises switching out the talents for Sorceror and Master Sorceror. The second is that he simply has a "late awakening" of actual psychic powers - most psykers awaken during puberty, but the warp is not exactly a precise thing. The third one, which I prefer, is that by studying the empyrean in conjunction with the human soul, the adept has found a way to awaken himself to psychic potential. What happens next depends on the group and their inquisitor. The adept might try to hide his talent from his cell, the cell might try to hide his talent from the inquisitor. The cell might simply shoot the adept. The inquisitor might turn him over to the black ships (in which case according to Ascension he'd be unavailable for 1d5 years due to getting express processing as a valued throne agent). And finally, the Inquisitor might be a Radical who considers it prudent to have a non-sanctioned psyker working for him, tutoring him himself and being rather happy since he'll be less obvious to both the heretic cults he'll be sent to infiltrate and the master's rivals.

4-Mutant Abomination; I've noticed that the entry for the Mutant Abomination has "Corruption Points:8" and "Insanity Points:12" listed in it's stats. What's up with that? It's the only creature with those characteristics. What do those mean? How do you use them? Are those the points gained from contact with such a being, or merely corruption and insanity that the mutant has? The former seems rather steep, while the latter wouldn't be enough.

Presumably, all NPCs were given with an IP and CP rating in a prior draft of the book and this was stricken for space purposes, but forgotten for the Mutant. However, in general, NPCs don't use these traits - usually, an NPC will mutate upon coming into contact with a warp-y source and will go mad when confronted by mind-blasting revelations, unless the GM declares it not to be so.

5- Errata & FAQ; Should I download, print, and/or read that monstrosity? Does it address glaring problems/oversights in the core rulebook, or is it mainly typos? Basically, I loathe the idea of playing a game and having a huge printed document on hand that must be constantly referred to in fear that what's in the book is "wrong". Can the game be played with the core book alone, or will I run into severe difficulties?

I'd advise just sticking a few markers into the book to note which portions were errata'ed. But yes, the Errata definitely improves the game. It's playable without it, but I wouldn't miss it as a few important balance issues and imprecise phrases were cleared up. For the updates of careers, there's a file floating around here somewhere that compiles errata and book into one document. Quite helpful!

As for space travel, I suppose Warp travel is the only real option for time-sensitive missions and even then we're talking days and weeks before reaching your destination. While not a problem in and of itself, I was aiming at more action-oriented missions for my group, so I suppose that realistically things will have to remain more or less local. I'll figure some things out, I suppose.

Always remember an important fact: Just because a setting is bigger (several lightyears across rather than a few hundred km) doesn't mean it becomes less dense. A planet is still a big chunk of earth with often upwards of 20 milliard people living on it. Would you have trouble finding enough material for a hundred campaigns on our Earth? Then you won't have it on a planet of the Imperium either. Warp Travel is not something done lightly here - this is not Star Wars where everyone jumps from system to system every thirty minutes. In my campaign, my players will likely visit a grand total of three planets, each one of which will be thoroughly detailed and explored instead of being used as 'exotic location of the week' a la Enterprise.

So, an ideas about rationing CP? Say, for example, and acolyte stumbles upon a bizarre artifact, a strange mirror that shows him disturbing glimpses of the warp... I would certainly call for a Fear test, with possibility of gaining IP, but I would also say that Corruption would be an issue. In such a case, how much would be reasonable? 1 to 3, or upwards to 10?

I generally find it prudent to give out very little CP and IP. Don't forget: a total 10 CP will deprive a Sororitas (career from the Inquisitor's Handbook) of her most powerful talents and may give out a malignancy that in some cases makes the character pretty much unplayable in a Puritan group. IP can be given a little more freely though reaching the first threshold with the first permanent derangement should still be a little work.

johnnybleu said:

One thing to consider is that most starships will likely take several days to go from a planetary orbit to a point far enough away from the nearest star to be able to enter the Warp, a journey that will then take several days for a short journey, to several weeks, months or even years for long voyages, depending on the stability of the routes, the conditions within the Warp and the distances involved.

Warp Travel is much, much faster than conventional methods of travel... but journeys over interstellar distances are still quite slow.

2. Space Travel

I think the Inquisitors hand book has a little bit more information about interplanetary travel. Mostly with some price guidelines... Rogue Trader also has some good info.

Still, one thing I like about a lot of the WH40K novels is the way they compare the Warp to our Oceans, when viewed in the context of sailing ships. Meaning that Warp Travel is subject to storms, shoals, doldrums and similar comparable effects. Warp currents and warp lanes are also mentioned several places in the fluff and various novels. So, much like sailing ships of centuries past, warp and ocean travel was an uncertain endeavor. Its a medium that was not yet mastered and where you are at the mercy of the "elements".

In other words, if you use sailing ships as inspiration for your warp travels I think you'd find that it can really give some substance to the way you relay the concepts in game. It also lets you come up with any time frame for a journey you wish and explain it away as the uncertainty of the warp.

For an example, in real-space, Iocanthos and Scintilla could be across the sector from each other (they aren't, but we're talking examples), but because of a stable, well documented and relatively safe warp current/warp lane, they are quite close to one another in terms of time spent in warp travel.

This also allows you to really flesh out the travel experience if you so wish with all kinds of hazards. Perhaps the warp lane requires the ship to drop out of warp-space at one end of a star system (possibly unpopulated) and travel across all or part of the system before entering the warp again. Such areas could be natural hazard zones, similar to island archipelagos or straits, that serve to channel travel into specific areas. Such systems or void co-ordinates would also be an excellent place for void pirates to lay in wait...imagine the tension you could build up as the PCs suddenly notice that the crew grows tense and fearful as they approach one of these "warp straits" and the possibilities of throwing them up against some otherwise unconnected xenos or chaos raiders with some savage boarding combat.

Also, even though I use familiar concepts from human history as inspiration, the empyrian is a place of pure chaos and so doesn't really have to have a logic or rules. Its a mutable realm and one which is pretty much under the fiat of the GM. The level of detail you put into warp and space travel is entirely up to you, but if players ask it gives you the nice option to explain things away however you like.

3. Psychic Power

Again, the Inquisitor's Handbook has some info on Nascent Psykers. It also has a small fluff piece about sanctioning and how it could take years before the character can return to play, even if he's strong enough to survive the process. But Nascent Psykers and the slow, controlled power gain of an Adept are very different. One is explosively dangerous, powerful in the extreme but very unpredictable. The other is slow and gradual, the product of study and careful experimentation.

There are also several hugely iconic characters with psychic powers who do not seem to suffer the seriously bad side effects of the Rite of Sanctioning such as the man himself: Eisenhorn. But other characters like Ravenor and Commodus Voke are also good examples.

So it seems obvious to me that the empire makes distinctions. And it also seems to me that DH has somewhat erroneously decided that the Rite of Soul Binding of the Astropaths (a group who are constantly exposed to Warp energies, arguably even more so then Navigators...) be expanded into the Rite of Sanctioning for ALL Psykers in the Imperium. This is something that I disagree with for several reasons:

1.) There are a HELL of a lot more Psykers then there are Astropath-talented psykers. Having every single one of those pissant nobodies stand before the emperor really doesn't seem realistic. The lore also talks a lot about the Black Ships and how they sort and test Psykers during transit. Some are fuel for the Golden Throne, some are slated for the Astropath Choirs and the most promising are selected for the Inquisition itself. Note that promising does not necessarily mean the most powerful...it could mean those most able to control their abilities without risk or danger.

2.) To me, it seems clear that the Inquisition itself is able to perform the Rite of Sanctioning and that the actual physical presence of the Emperor is not required (though I'm sure he's invoked somehow). This also accounts for the relative crudity of some of the Rite's side effects ala the table in the DH sourcebook (none of which major characters such as Eisenhorn displayed).

3.) The Inquisition has the power and ability to decide what Psykers require the Rite of Sanctioning. This means the Imperial Psyker Career Path are the ones so dangerous, erratic or unstable...but powerful and thus potentially useful...that they are given the Rite of Sanctioning to determine if they are allowed to serve. By passing through the Crucible (and being damaged or at the least affected by it), the Imperial Psyker is deemed safe though never trusted and always watched carefully.

4.) There is a group of Psykers who are exempted from the Rite of Sanctioning. This group would primarily be Inquisitors-in-training, apprentices to other Psychic Inquisitors who carefully guide, mold and test the burgeoning psyker throughout his training (Patience Kys would seem to be one example of how this could happen...). This group does not pass through the rather crude and damaging Rite of Sanctioning, instead perhaps being guided and encouraged through a series of tests as they build their powers and abilities under close supervision. This group are generally less obviously powerful (though not always...) but also far less obviously messed up then Sanctioned Psykers. To me, an adept learning his powers gradually and with great care definitely falls into this category...

So, and this is just in my opinion and based on a lot of WH40K books, the way I intend to handle Psykers is to split them into 2 very broad categories, and then expand from that:

Imperial Psykers: The "fast track" to psychic power. Affected by the Rite of Sanctioning giving them some control (with some cost in the form of side effects), but still very much at risk when invoking their full powers from the dangers of the warp. Also the most obviously "witchy" of all the Psykers and thus the most subject to the setting's psyker hatred. Despite the Rite they can never be fully trusted because true control really isn't possible for them.

Inquisitorial Candidates: Psykers who, regardless of power level, have a great deal of willpower and control over themselves. Discovered early on the Black Ships and immediately re-classified for further training, indoctrination and testing. They may generally be more limited (Though exceptions such as Ravenor and Commodus Voke or Heldane exist), but also have a far greater control. Basically they would be able to take advantage of the Fettered Powers rules from Rogue Trader and are thus far more reliable...and subtle! The psyker adept would also fall under this category.

Part of the problem, at least in my point of view, is that the DH book really contradicts a lot of the material in the novels. I suppose its done from a balance point of view, so that a player choosing the Imperial Psychic actually has some penalties and downsides to his choice. But I feel it would be a mistake to judge all psykers by the very simplistic and rigid approach that they give in the corebook. Like any resource, psykers are carefully managed and above all: controlled. That control can be as nuanced as you wish to make it.

As a final note, it makes no sense to me from a design point of view to include an option in the basic career paths that has the potential to remove your character from the campaign if you choose to take that path. There is no side-bar addressing the issue...the skills and talents just suddenly appear late in the career tree with no explanation whatsoever. It might have been nice with a small blurb of text explaining the likely context and the likely effects of your suddenly manifested psychic abilities...

Bladehate said:

Actually, Astropaths outnumber legitimate non-Astropath Psykers in the Imperium - becoming an Astropath merely requires a useful amount of power... being a Sanctioned Psyker - also known as a Primary Psyker, at least at this early stage - requires a useful amount of power and the mental fortitude to wield it relatively safely, which is significantly rarer. Astropath candidates - Secondary Psykers - are sent in groups to be Soul-Bound to the Emperor in order to give them the strength to withstand the outside forces that make their powers dangerous, and are sent away to be Astropaths, simply because Astropaths are far more essential than any other form of Psyker the Imperium possesses. Any that don't fall into either category get fed to the Emperor.

Most Astropaths don't actually have the power to send messages between worlds by themselves anyway; the majority of them spend their lives in the choirs providing the extra impetus for a more powerful Astropath to send messages.

SomVone said:

This is not necessarily the case, as Sorcery has its own associated talents. However, there is a sidebar on the topic in The Radical's Handbook on page 149 titled The Question of Psychic Adepts which has three suggestions on how to handle the subject.

1. Sorcery - with modifications to the talents and skills available to the Adept to bring it in line with that flavor of ability.
2. Sanctioned Psyker - once Psy Rating 1 is taken as a Loremaster the character is considered to have been trained and sanctioned. There is a brief point in another source (I believe Ascension ) about " field sanctioning " of a Psyker. Tested by the local Astrotelepathica and sanctioned as a favor to the Inquisitor without the Adept going all the way to Terra.
3. Rogue Psyker - Instead of the Psy Rating talents the Adept becomes a Nascent Psyker (pages 89-90 of The Inquisitor's Handbook ).

To the OP, I hope that the above is helpful.

-=Brother Praetus=-

Cifer said:

I sincerely disagree with that viewpoint. But it is as valid as I consider my viewpoint to be (which is that yes, the warp is always there looking for weak spots in a character and doing depraved things will have a chance to corrupt you). It is up to you as GM to choose what does and what does not give corruption in your campaign.

But be sparse with dealing out corruption though. Even as little as 10 corruption points can result in having an unplayable character.

N0-1_H3r3 said:

Well, now that you point it out, you're right. I actually don't know anything about the population spread for psykers in the Imperium.

Also, you're right that full Astropaths are fairly rare, with many lower level psykers chained into the choirs to support them. I dunno why I forgot about that since I recall reading about it in the Shira Calpurnia novels.

Still, I think I'm going to defend my statement that there has to be far more primary psykers and astropaths then could realistically be shoved through the Emperor's throne room...meaning there exists alternative methods for sanctioning psykers, or at least helping out the Emperor in dealing with the many, many psykers he has to "safeguard". How many pyskers do millions of worlds produce anyway?

And actually it looks like Brother Praetus found some info that would seem to indicate that alternatives to travelling to Terra do exist.

@Sister Callidia

I sincerely disagree with that viewpoint. But it is as valid as I consider my viewpoint to be (which is that yes, the warp is always there looking for weak spots in a character and doing depraved things will have a chance to corrupt you). It is up to you as GM to choose what does and what does not give corruption in your campaign.

So why haven't the entire upper echelons of the Imperium sprouted tentacles and gone over to Chaos by now? Senseless cruelty, debauchery and disregard for the loss of life are pretty big in the Imperium. There are quite a few settings in which Doing Evil Deeds corrupting a character makes sense, but 40k doesn't seem to be one of them.

Cifer said:

I don't want to hiyack this thread, just offering a different viewpoint here. Imo, much depends on the reason why you are doing things. When a Kommisar executes somebody he does so because of his feel of duty and doing unpleasent things like that strengthens his resolve. When he gets remorse about his actions, his resolve will crumble, making him an easier prey.

If the same Kommisar however enjoys executing people and finds excuses to do so more and more. His purpose is no longer pure, his resolve to the Imperial Creed is corrupted and so is he. Sooner or later he will be a servant for the dark powers.

It is not the act that corrupts you but the emotion why you do it. Those emotions are what attracts the denizens of the warp. The stronger they are, the more danger you are in. That is my view of it.

Of course all hell breaks loose if the Kommisar speak things like Blood for the Blood God while he is busy. It is never wise to attract their attention.

While that may excuse certain actions, it doesn't do much about others - the decadence of the imperial nobility is pretty well-known and if scheming is attributable to Tzeentch... well....

Cifer said:

There is a reason that Nobilty are on the watch list and so many succumb to Corruption. Most cults of Slaanesh for example just start out as yet another Fab for the rich and famous. For how Tzeentch works, I think it is beyond my comprehension to understand that. Which is also my salvation