How do you use this skill in your own game? I asked about a different topic in another thread and it became clear after a little bit that people use the skill a bit differently in different games.

What are you able to do with it? Does its uses change based on where you currently are (as in, on a planet, in a building, in the void, in the warp, or others)?

I thought that I had read some rules about using it in the void but I am unable to find them now. Are there specific rules, or even references, in places other than the skill block in the rogue trader book?

Coldshard said:

I saw your thread about the Navigator Powers. since I play a Navigator myself too, I share your interest in their powers. I noticed that Gaze into the Abyss Navigator Power and the Psyniscience skill description were, seemingly, quite similar, so I wrote about them to Sam Stewart throught the Rules Questions link. Here below is what he had to say. Notice that his final answer touches upon the limits of the Psyniscience skill.

My first question:

> The Gaze into the Abyss Navigator Power from the core rulebook
> pages 179-180. Novice level gives the Navigator a chance to
> "determine if a creature or object holds the taint of the warp" with
> a successful Perception Test. Is there some limit to the size and
> nature of the "object"? Does this mean only man-portable items,
> statues, boulders etc, or could this power be used to detect warp
> taint in "objects" like: a. small craft like guncutters and
> starfighters, b. starships c. moons and asteroids d. planets?

Sam Stewart's answer:

The GM should use his best judgement in this regard. In general,
however, he should consider excluding objects whose size is measured
in kilometres, not metres.

My second question:

> With the Gaze into the Abyss at Adept Level a Navigator "can
> detect major disturbances in the wap, such as warp portals and ships
> [...] In Starship Combat this power functions within a number of VUs
> [...]. Does the Navigator need to actively decide to use this Power
> at Adept level during the round/rounds the disturbance happens to
> detect it? And does he need to actively decide to use the power as
> an Extended Action in starship combat during the exact round the
> disturbance happens to happen (i.e. get really lucky to pick the
> right Turn to use it)?
> Or does this Power function passively at Adept level? If so, is the
> success automatic or does it require a succesful Perception Test
> like the Novice level?

Sam Stewart's second answer:

The Navigator does need to use this power actively. Outside of combat,
he could use it to detect recent disturbances, or he could activate it
and it would last for roughly a half hour. In combat, he can activate
it to detect recent disturbances, or he can detect any arrivals or
other disturbances on the same turn he activated the power.

My third question:

> The Gaze into the Abyss Power at Master level means that the
> Navigator "can also use the power to detect the use of psychic
> powers within a radius of 10 meters per point of his Perception
> Bonus." Is the detection automatic, or is a successful Perception
> Test required? Does this Master level Power work passively, or does
> the Navigator have to guess the round the NP Cs use their psychic
> powers, to activate this Power during just that Round in order to
> have a chance at detecting the use of said powers?

Sam Stewart's third answer:

The detection of psychic powers is a rider on the remainder of the
power, and does not require additional tests. Once it has activated,
he can detect any powers being used for the remainder of the combat
(or for half an hour, outside of combat), or anything recently used.

My final question:

> My questions about the Gaze into the Abyss stem from the fact that
> my Gm and I are not sure how Gaze into the Abyss at Adept/Master
> level is different/better from the Psyniscience skill which all
> Navigators have as a starting Skill already? Psyniscience means that
> "the Explorer can use the Skill to detect [...] the use of psychic
> powers." And since Psyniscience also "allows detection of Psychic
> phenomena, disturbances, voids or other areas where the flow of the
> immaterium has been unsettled or disrupted", this at first glance
> seems to overlap a lot of the effects of the Gaze into the Abyss at
> Adept level.
> And unlike Gaze into the Abyss which has defined Ranges of its
> effects, in the Skill description of Psyniscience no Ranges are
> given for detecting things. Does Psyniscience have any practical
> Range or is it just decided by the GM on a case by case basis?

Sam Stewart's final answer:

Since the warp is a strange and unpredictable place, the range of
Psyniscience can fluctuate based on the situation at hand. The GM
should decide this on a case by case basis, but a good guideline might
be the limits of the character's other senses.

After these clarifications I think Gaze into the Abyss becomes one of the must-have Powers for a Navigator, if the Psyniscience skill will be limited by the Navigator's other senses (this does make sense imho). This clarification also justifies the existence of Tracks in the Stars, for example. No tracking of other ships in the Warp with just the Psyniscience skill etc.