The rules state that the Psychic hood can be used as a reaction to nullify psychic powers, does this mean that it can only be used when a 'reaction' would be possible (ie not surprised) or just that you couldn't make another reaction that turn?

Our DM ruled that the hood couldn't be used as the attack was a 'surprise'... I disagree with this because all psychic attacks would be undetectable until they tried to manifest, so surely the hood must be automatic. Does anyone else have any ideas on this?

Thanks,

PDave

If it's the first round and you are deemed 'surprised' then you don't get a reaction that first turn so you are out that time. If you are in the middle of a fight it doesn't look like 'surprise' would be the correct game mechanic. I think an important distinction is that it says that 'A character equipped with a psychic hood may expend his Reaction to attempt to nullify a psychic technique...' (emphasis mine) I think this is important because it says you expend the reaction you get once per round but it is not done as a reaction. It just means you can only do it the once and that you are focusing on it too much to reactto other things as quickly. If you had the other talents to get extra reactions then they would still be available (but unless it was an extra generic reaction you couldn't use the hood again.) But this doesn't change the fact that you don't get a reaction if you are 'surprised' that first round. Now this is not exactly the same as being 'unaware' of the source of the attack. This gives them a bonus to hit you but doesn't remove the ability to react as such. If you were in the middle of a fight and the psycher in concealment you didn't notice unleashed a psychic attack you would get to use the hood in my opinion. it's like if they were trying to read your mind outside of combat. the hood would work to help you resist even if you didn't know where the power was coming from. (Though by the time you get the hood you shouldn't be too far from being able to get improved warp sense to use psyniscience as a free action to notice things like that. If you noticed it with psyniscience before it went off I'd say that would negate the surprise even.)

First off, wall of text. Second, I think I'd go so far to say you need to be aware of the characters existence, though the question really revolves around how much concentration a librarian needs to put forth to use the hood. If he only needs to wear it, he gets to react to everything. If he needs to be focusing on his hood (like he would in combat), he won't get the first surprise round but he'll get all other powers cast in combat. However, this also means if the individuals suspects an ambush, they can't be psycher-ambushed.

What I like is he needs to be aware of the presence of the individual so he can focus to some degree on them in the warp (and Psyniscience will pinpoint psychers anyway). This means if the person gets a surprise shot, the librarian can't use his hood. But once they're engaged in the skirmish they can be blocked normally. In my opinion it makes the psychic hood equal to parry and dodge and less automatic (it does take a reaction, and therefore attention and focus).

You make a good point, but with psychic powers I don't think there would be a need to be aware of the psyker's existence all the time. Or even to be aware of the psyker's existence at the time of manifestation (only when dealing with powers that remain in effect for a period of time).

Now psychic shooting attacks, telekenisis, and the like I would agree with you. These you'd have to be aware of the psyker using them. Things such as mind reading, telepethy, reality/time altering effects or buff-like powers would not require the character to be aware of the manifesting psyker. Simply a psyniscience check (I believe thats the skill for it right?) to be aware of the power then the Librarian can try to stop it, if possible.

(sorry about the wall)

p 186 Detecting psychic powers: "Psychers are attuned to the Warp, including the currents and eddies caused by other psykers dipping into the flow of the Immaterium. When psychic powers are in effect in a psyker's presence, he can make a Psyniscience test in oeder to determine their source."

If you have the talent to do this as a free action I would let you try to stop it with a psychic hood even if the only thing you can sense is the psychic disturbance.

Sure. I was agreeing with autarkis only concerning attacks from psychic shooting. Psychic powers that are relatively instant and wouldn't give enough warning to the librarian to stop it in time. They just happen so fast, unless the librarian sees the psyker start to manifest, the power would activate and go off before the librarian could activate his hood. I would say the librarian could make a psyscience test and detect the attack, say to not be suprised in first turn if successful, but be unable to stop this particular attack from activating.

I am only talking about psychic shooting attacks or others that manifest energy/projectiles/etc. with a relatively fast psychic focus. Things like smite and blood lance, you generate the shot then send it on its merry way without the need to control it or focus to keep it in existence. With these attacks the only time you could psychic hood it would be the few seconds the psyker is manefesting it before shooting. Things like probability shield, vortex of doom, etc. would work as normal.

How this would work and which powers that fit in the "instant" catagory would be totally up to your GM, of course.

I would say if you can do the psyniscience in a shorter action than the manifestation then you can stop it. so if it takes you a half action or more then you are stuck stopping things you know about, but if it only takes a free action and they are spending a half action building up and releasing the energy of Smite or other attack powers you would still get the roll to notice it and possibly use your reaction to weaken the power.

Nathiel said:

Sorry for the short derail, but as my game's GM I was looking for that rule a while ago and couldn't find it. Could you give a pagenumber? would be of great help for me.

p. 235 Surprise: last paragraph before example: A Surprised character looses his turn in the first round. He can do nothing except stand dumbfounded.