I have a player in my group who is taking a Sanctioned Psyker in our upcoming game of DH. This character is going to be a bodyguard type using the Templar Calix template from the Inquisitor's Handbook.

Ultimately the characters in this game are going to Ascend, and the game is planned around this auspicious moment which shouldn't take too long considering they start at Rank 6 (I really want to get Ascension happening...!).

Given the character type (bodyguard) the player may consider Ascending to a Crusader; it's a very good fit for his idea, however I'm not too sure how to handle it. Initially I told the player that this should be possible, but my first impression is that he could in no way gain the Primaris Psyker powers - no Fettering, no Primaris 'spells' etc. The character's focus is on combat, and the powers he has are more inherent than trained (though he's still Sanctioned of course); they're of a supporting nature rather than a primary skill set.

I have also thought of maybe reducing the number of psychic powers he has once he takes the Crusader template. Maybe halve it or something to represent his specialisation on combat rather than warp powers, forgetting some of the psychic abilities he has so he can focus more on hitting stuff. It may be possible to buy more 'spells', though perhaps only as an Elite Advancement.

Firstly, would other GMs allow it, or would they only allow the usual Ascended careers (Primaris, Interrogator, Inquisitor)?
Secondly, would you modify either the Psyker/Calix career, or the Crusader career to suit? What changes would you make? This one becomes a little more complicated so would like as much time as possible to work it out.

Any help would be appreciated.

Personally I would allow a Templar Calix to become a Crusader. You might even give him the option of the ascended trait Interrogators and Inquisitors can get regarding Psychic Powers (forgot the name), so that he is able to get the ascended Psychic Powers and the ability to ‘fetter’ and ‘push’. I would not allow it most probably though, but would rather simply allow being able to ascend to the Crusader ‘career’ while still having his ‘normal’ Psychic Powers. Maybe he could sell Psychic Powers similar to a Primaris Psyker, but for combat related skills and talents instead of ascended Psychic Powers.

I have a player in my game that was considering this very thing, so I put a fair amount of thought into how to handle the idea (a cool one IMO).

The character in question is an Imperial Psyker who took the militant path (including a little campaign downtime serving alongside the Imperial Guard for a bit of "seasoning") and likewise took the Templar Calix alternate career. What I came up with is 1) becoming a Crusader was an appropriate and legal ascention choice for the character. 2) Fettered/Unfettered/Push is the domain of the Astropath and the Primaris Psyker... The "pure" psyker careers (gotta let them have their cookie for being specialists!) 3) The character could select the psyker special ability choices from Interrogator or Inquisitor in place of the more traditional "good at killing X" packages that Crusaders choose from. You should also add Warp Lore Mastery to their career list for around 700xp at rank 9 or 10.

What you get from all this is a good solid melee and security specialist character who's psychic potential does not completely stagnate. They can still increase their Psy Rating, buy minor powers, major powers and even ascended powers, but at a bit of a higher cost than a "pure" psyker. In exchange, they become alot more durable than a more typical wytch. This also has the mathematical advantage of continuing the WS/Int flip-flop theme that Templar Calix started, so those last few stat increases should feel a bit more natural for the character.

I would make some allowances in equipment variation for a Templar/Crusader. Your Carapace and shield are iconic wargear and should absolutely remain (note that the Crusader's shield is Hex-warded so the Psyker should treat it with due care and caution), but I would allow them to take a common quality Force Weapon in place of the best quality powersword (assuming they don't already have one, and shame on a Templar Calix that reaches rank 9 without a force weapon!).

Thanks guys. Sounds like you've both got the same general idea about allowing the player to purchase psychic powers as per Interrogator/Inquisitor.

Zilla, did your player go down the Crusader path, or did he decide against it? I'd like to hear whether your plans worked as expected. Regardless, I think you had some good ideas there, and I may just shamelessly steal them...!

PullsyJr said:

As I AM the player in question, I thought I should respond here.

After finally getting a copy of the Ascension book, my first response was something along the lines of: "Oh my stars and Garters!". I know I responded to this question already on another post, you should look for it.

I decided against going Crusader, mainly because I like the control and cookies that going Primaris will give me. As a player who has invoked the warp at least 5 times in a single session, and on average at least twice every game session, and since don't like getting shot by my fellow players, it seemed the prudent course.

I did make a suggestion to Zilla that he allow me to work on a hybrid class, that was mainly Primaris, losing some of the Psyker Ascended powers and Psy ratings, but he didn't like the idea. Most of what I wanted to add, such as the talent 'Guardian', would be things I could easily add through elite advances anyway, so he didn't see the point of a hybrid.

My only complaint is most of the higher Ascended powers, while a lot more powerful, seem to be more of the 'whizbang' variety, and as such are really unsuitable for my Amy. So my current project is coming up with a totally new Ascended power... stay tuned, as if I get my wish I'll post it in the home rules section when I finally ascend (11800 exp... 1200 to go!).

BTW, I posted a short story in the fan fiction section, of some downtime that Amy had. It describes the 'seasoning' (a little more salt, and a lot more pepper) that she went through while assigned to the Brontians for Guardsman training. It involved a bit more than just training. I think it's posted back in July.

Fantastic - thanks Denmar. I shall seek out the other threads you've mentioned.