Hello fellow Deathwatch players,

I already tried to find my answer through the search option in this forum, but to no success. So now I want to ask you guys directly:

How can I get additional traits for my character? If I want to be a librarian for example, I would like to have the trait "Unnatural Characteristic: Willpower", but I have no idea how to get it. What are my options here? I would really be happy for some answers.

Thanks in advance,

Shirohige

Shirohige said:

Short answer: You cannot do so.

Longer answer: Although it might be possible to talk to the GM and come to arrangement via the Elite Advances rule.

However, the example that you give would snap the game in two, as it would drastically power-up a librarian and is clearly very broken. Any GM agreeing to it would have to be kinda crazy!

Thank you for your answer. I just have one follow up question: Why all those traits if you usually can't even use them? Am I missing the point here?

Shirohige said:

The Traits are mainly for aliens, monsters and chaos. The talents are for everybody.

Regarding your question: Unnatural Willpower can be bought by a Rank 14 Primaris Psyker once (x2) for 1000 XP, and then at rank 16 again (x3) for 2000 XP. Primaris Psyker is a unique "Epic" career for the Psyker. Rank 9 follwing Ascension advance charts means 13000 XP, while rank 14 means 35.000 and 16 is the top, standing between 45.000 and 49.999.

Yeah but that psyker has other problems a DW libby doesn't have

As for traits in general, you may gain them via some Talents : see The Flesh is Weak (Techmarine Talent), which gives the Machine Trait

Thanks again for your answers.

Where can I found those epic careers you are talking about? Sounds interesting .. not that I will need them any time soon, just curious

And why would Unnatural Characteristic: Willpower break the game? I am very, very new to this RPG and I am not quite sure how important willpower is for a librarian. I just read about this trait (Unnatural Characteristic: Willpower) at page 186 in the Core Rulebook, so I got curious.

And while we are at it, a little question beside the original topic: Which chapter would you guys recommend for a librarian? I am really torn between some of them. I don't know how to decide: Do I go for the chapter with the coolest style? Do I go for the chapter with the coolest psy powers? I am really lost here, any tips?

best answer is choose the chapter whose story, background and fighting style most appeals to you.

Shirohige said:

Quite simply : it would give the psyker the equivalent of a +10 in Willpower, except for the characteristic bonus, where it would "only" double it. Seeing as all psy power tests are Willpower tests and some of his tricks would rely on Willpower bonus...That boost would be quite powerful.

Frankly, for the chapter, your lines are correct : go for the rule of cool, what you want to play. If the Dark Angels power sound cool to you, go ahead. A Librarian with a good Willpower and a correct Weapon Skill will never be too weak, so you can really go ahead and have fun

If a Chapter sounds cool to you, that is a bonus, of course. But really, just chose according to what you find cool.

RE: Unnatural Willpower: It "breaks" the game because a lot of psychic powers are based off of the WP bonus and were balanced against the standard 4-8 WP bonus range. Even in DH:Ascension, where you can get your WP to x3 unnatural and theoretically the powers were designed to work with UW, you end up with a ridiculously powerful character. As for 'overpowered', well, everyone has their opinion on it but I really feel the UW makes psykers over powered (the powers are already amazing).

And IMHO, the because Ascension psykers have much less to fear from Perils of the Warp (they can pickup talents that allow them to roll twice pick lowest on the table) you end up without the balance factor that kept core DH psykers in check.

Those epic careers are available in the dark heresy books. They are for normal humans and not available for space marines.

Ok, got it, thank you.

Another question to that:

Can a Space Marine Librarian become a Primaris Psyker? Or to ask this question in a more general way: Can a Deathwatch Character advance in Ranks out of the Ascension book?

Now you got me thinking: Do I want to play a Human Psyker or a Space Marine Psyker? Hard choice.

herichimo said:

Oh, ok, that answers my question. Thanks

Well, if you intend to play a human psyker who fights alongside Space Marines in the Deathwatch setting, you'll have to be an Inquisitor or find a good reason why they would bring you along...And not kill you outright (cause, face it, normal human psykers aren't Space Marines' best friends) or just tell you to go shove your psychic powers up your buttochs a bit farther from them.

Inquisitor can be psykers (fluff-wise, as for the DH rules I don't remember but I think they can), but not Primaris Psykers.

A Libby cannot be a Primaris Psyker (as has been said), but he can be an Epistolary, which is an "advanced career" (can be founbd in the Rites of Battle supplement), but don't expect miracles or Unnatural Willpower there

DacenMarus said:

This is the most important thing.

Don't try to game the system for the best advantage, it leads to boring characters.

Stormast said:

They're not all Black Templars

That said, any character from another game needs a good reason to hang with the KT, but the book(s) offer up some ideas for that. You just need a pretty good GM.

Yeah, you are probably right. For a starting group like us, it is probably not the best idea. I will probably stick to a Librarian. I am just a little bit sad that the Librarians doesn't have so much choice in their psy powers, as a human psyker. But I can live with that, I guess

Thanks anyway for all the answers, guys.

And FWIW, if you guys head down the path and find them to be lacking (say in comparison to someone elses abilities or the like), petition the GM for an elite advances to pick up extra traits.

Though I think you guys (gals?) will find they are plenty good in this system, despite the fact they're a little less flexible than a 'human' psyker!

Charmander said:

That is correct, sir. Though I've often felt that a random Space Marine's tolerance to "normal" human psykers should be quite lesser than that he has to Librarians.

Cause Librarians are, you know, Brothers . So, surely they can't be wielding some dark forsaken power having to do with eldritch horrors that shouldn't be messed with, right ? Whereas "natural" psykers are...Wild. And uncontrolled. And unreliable. And human . Somehow, they just don't have the solid feeling a Libby has

Shirohige said:

"Normal" psykers may be more powerful when it comes to wielding their powers, but a Librarian is the more powerful overall. Even a Primaris Psyker doesn't have access to 19 new organs, and Astartes-level power armour (not to mention Tactical Dreadnought Armor). A "normal" psyker would have no chance in hand-to-hand combat with an ork. And, a "normal" psyker may not have the access to such vast libraries of forbidden lore as a librarian might.

However, the beautiful thing about any role playing game is that if you want to do something "un-canonical" the player and GM can work out some explanation for its occurance.

Stormast said:

In many cases I agree 110%, I just think it depends on how you answer the questions at the start of the character creation section 'how do you feel about psykers' and 'how do you feel about humanity'. I definitely agree some, or even most, Space Marines might get the heebie jeebies from a 'feral' psyker and see corruption where there isn't (meanwhile overlooking the growing corruption in their brother), though others might see it as the natural evolution of the human race, and they're charged with protecting them (from themselves, and with a boltgun if needed) by their granddad.

Though the first time a human psyker gets perils of the warp...

True enough, I myself play a Space Marine who would be quite similar to that

I just think what I stated is more general.

Oh, and for the Perils, yeah, sh*t may very well hit the fan after that