Recently, I've found myself having extreme misgivings about the Fettered level of psychic powers. While it poses a minor difficulty to balance, as it allows Psykers to completely eschew weapons in favor of constant face-blasting, my primary issue is that it doesn't evoke the feel or atmosphere that I desire in a 40k game. Psykers should feel dangerous , I think, to both their enemies and allies alike, and Fettered gives them a 'safe' mode on which they can blaze away without consequences.

So, I'm looking at incorporating some possibility of Psychic Phenomena into the Fettered strength. However, it needs to occur less frequently (in fact, I don't mind if it never actually occurs in a game, just so long as the players feel like it might ), and the Psychic Phenomena needs to be reduced in severity (to balance it against Unfettered). I had considered the following, and wanted to see if I could get some opinions on it from other GMs.

House Rule: Fettered

When using a psychic power at the Fettered level, the power incurs Psychic Phenomena on a roll of 97-100 (I wanted something comparable to jamming, but still less than the 10% chance that Unfettered gives). Furthermore, to represent the fact that the psyker has closed himself off from the Warp to some degree compared to his usual power level, any rolls made on the Psychic Phenomena table are modified by -10. Bound psykers, due to their higher level of control, modify this by an additional -10 (for a total of -20). This rule only applies to psychic powers used in combat, as without the stresses of impending death the psyker can perform mundane psychic tasks with relative (read, cinematic) safety.

What do you guys think? Does this help address the atmosphere issue, without unbalancing the game? Does it 'nerf' psychic powers too much? Are there any situations I haven't thought of, where it might apply differently? How would you change it to make it work better? Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

Hmmm... so would you prefer even the little psyker-chans to run around firing autocannons? Since I mean... it already seems like you're best off just using a good ole daemonbound reaper autocannon or what not, or leaving fighting to the minions, most of the time.

While I think this houserule is unnecessary, how about it being a normal perils roll triggered on a roll of 99 on the dice (Tzeench really loves you today!).

I think this houserule goes against the feel of the setting. Yes, it's still 40k, but it's 40k on the other side. You're one of Chaos' own. Constantly living in fear of your own powers is for Imperial losers. One of the interesting descriptions of Sandy Mitchell's Innocence Proves Nothing was how differently Sanctioned and Rogue psykers use their powers, with the Sanctioned ones only using them in great danger while the unsanctioned ones throw their abilities around like candy.

Thus, IMO, everything a psyker can do fettered, he should be able to do without fear of phenomena.

Aren't Psyker sanctioned to make them more safe to use, so they dont go and blow up entire planets because they dont know what they're doing.

And aren't Rogue psykers supposed to be incredibly unstable to the point where they risk causing daemon invasion because they wanted to lit a candle.

To me this means that Rogue psykers, with no training to minimize the dangers, not having to worry about Phenomena seems wrong.

Bassemandrh said:

One thing to remember is that that not all Rogue Psykers are the same. The ones that spontaneously explode under the strain of their powers tend not to enter the service of the Ruinous Powers... they're somewhat busy exploding under the strain of their powers. Beyond that, there are psykers who can control their powers and avoid annihilating themselves and everything around them by accident - when the Imperium finds them, they go through Sanctioning to make them safer still.

Assume that PC psykers, even rogue ones, are of this stable variety - safe enough to use their powers without the immediate danger of self-annihilation, but not as safe as a Sanctioned psyker. The psykers who aren't that stable aren't really suitable as player characters, owing to the fact that they have an exceptionally short lifespan and an entirely arbitrary death.

I agree with you, but being able to negate all risks comepletely seems wrong to me. Even Imperial psykers are dangerous and risks dying from their own powers, why can the rogue psykers choose not to?

I think the fettered system makes sense in DW or RT since you're supposed to be the epitome of Imperial psykers, but in BC I find it odd that theres anything risk free.

I want to say however that if fettered the risk should be minmal, something like the OP mentioned, low chance with a reduction on severity of the phenomena.

Primaris psykers don't risk dying from their powers. THEY (and astropaths, I guess) are the epitome of imperial control, and a primaris psyker is a ludicrously safe psyker character to play, especially with Resist Possession. They can fetter their powers to be 100% safe, but its ALMOST impossible for them to die of Perils or get possessed. And a primaris psyker blows any self taught BC psyker char out of the water, in terms of safety (and in terms of nuking everything with Firestorm -- yowza).

On the other hand, name me one time in the fluff where a psyker or sorcerer self-declared to be in league with the Ruinous Powers got asploded for lighting a candle or TK'ing a channel changer to him from across the room. The fettered/unfettered/push scale works just fine for the self taught.

Also, being bothered by psykers force bolting in combat, just leads to the inevitable conclusion of simply using buff powers (with a lot of modifiers and boosts) once, leaving them on sustain mode, and equipping reaper autocannons and only relying on passive psy abiltiies forever.

Bassemandrh said:

Different system. For all intents and purposes, the Dark Heresy psychic power system only exists within the context of Dark Heresy.

Bassemandrh said:

In DW, RT or BC, the system doesn't just cover what Player Characters can do - it serves all psykers, be they Sanctioned Psykers, Astropaths, Chaos Sorcerers, Greater Daemons of Tzeentch, Eldar Seers, Ork Wierdboyz (who would, admittedly, need a rule giving them bonus Psy Rating for the number of Orks nearby), Tyranid Zoanthropes, etc, etc, etc. Within that context, everybody has the same three options when using a Focus Power action - Fettered, Unfettered or Pushed (well, except Daemons in Black Crusade - they can't use powers Fettered, but nor do they need to).

One thing to remember is that using a power Fettered makes the power less effective - if memory serves, all powers in Black Crusade have one or more factors determined by Psy Rating, which means that choosing a Power Level is a matter of risk vs reward - you get a bigger benefit by Pushing a power, but you also take bigger risks, particularly with Rogue Psykers who gain a particularly large bonus to Psy Rating when Pushing... but at the same time, risk-free power use comes with diminished effects. Also, with the varied difficulties of powers in BC, the more difficult powers may be difficult to reliably use when Fettered, at least early on, requiring that the character go Unfettered or even Push the power to get the effects reliably (similarly, many powers have a bonus to their basic Focus Power Test in order to encourage their use Fettered. A starting Chaos Sorcerer with WP50 using Doombolt Fettered takes no risks... but is also putting out a blast that's pretty much just a poor man's hellpistol shot up to 20m away, and it'll only work 55% of the time... if he Pushes that power, he's putting out up to 5 1d10+5 E, Pen 8 blasts up to 100m away, and succeeding 75% of the time... it makes quite a difference.

From practical experience running Dark Heresy, Deathwatch and Rogue Trader, psykers in DW and RT tend to Push, Fetter or Unfetter with reasonable regularity, choosing whichever one is most appropriate to the situation. In Dark Heresy, players only ever chose to roll as few dice as humanly possible, because there's no consistent, significant benefit in using more than the absolute bare minimum compared to the risk added by each additional d10. A system which promotes actual risk-vs-reward thinking and choices for players is, IMO, preferable. Yes, characters using powers Unfettered can go through life without taking any risks with their powers... but they're unlikely to actually accomplish much with those powers as a result.

I'm sorry if you thought that I was talking about DH system vs the other lines, i wasn't trying to compare psy systems.

What i meant was that even Imperial psykers are dangerous to use and have apparently limited control over their powers. What confuses me with this game is that the most dangerous psyker available, Rogue psykers with no training whatsoever would qualify, have the option to not be dangerous. They may not be as effective as is possible for them but it is risk free.

When I mentioned RT and DW, i was pointing out that the psykers of those games are at the top level of imperial psykers and could perhaps control these power better than your usual psyker.

In BC i thought Human psykers were supposed to be untrained and very dangerous psykers which doesnt fit well with fettered casting as it is in RT or DW. I like the idea the OP gave with a very small chance of Phenomena, and in case it happens making the phenomena less severe, hell it could even be restricted to Phenomenas only, no Peril ever. This would to me fit better with the dangers of Psychic powers.

BC psyker PCs are stated to have either been renegade imperial psykers, psykers who were trained by non-imperial psyker orders, or self trained. They are not rogue psykers with no training whatsoever, which is best represented by the nascent psykers from Dark Heresy.

Deinos said:

Ok so some of them may be former sanctioned psykers, which would put them on the dangerous level i was talking about in imperial ranks. But these rogue psykers are more powerfull than Sorcerers but have less control. We're talking about the raw stuff of chaos here, there should be a risk no matter how you handle it.

Again, i don't think Fettered should be super dangerous, something like normal jamming chance, and perhaps only limited to Phenomena and a reduction to the roll.

They are more powerful when Pushing by 2 points, but its so much more dangerous that they have less reason to risk Pushing in the first place.

They are no more powerful at Unfettered, but they are still more dangerous to themselves.

Unbound is already of extremely questionable utility compared to Bound. Unless you want to play a cold hearted prick, in which case, Sacrificial Slaughter will let you never worry about Perils of the Warp ever again.

Bassemandrh said:

Sactioned psykers are only diffrent becuase they are taught how to defend themselves from the predations that cause demonic invasion.

the fluff of the game states that we are all in some way connected to the warp and that our life energy is like a star in a sea of stars, psykers however burn much more brightly than any other drawing attention more often than not undesired.

rogue psykers may naturally know how to defend them selves or may be sactioned psykers who abandoned the imperial cause.

I retract my earlier statement that sorcerers are unadulteratedly superior... just played an insanely fun intro session with a young Slaaneshi psyker with light power armor and MULTILASER. Having a STARTING character who can grant him/herself Unnatural Agility 10, Unnatural Weapon Skill 10, and Unnatural Ballistics Skill 10 is off the freaking hook... you can simply maximize a push to set up the buffs once and then not worry about Perils.

Of course none of this was relevant since there was no combat, but its INCREDIBLE to play a starting char who can (albeit, by Pushing) reach Psy Rating 10, especially when a poor starting sorcerer can "only" reach Psy Rating 5.

Its going to be immensely entertaining to spread the love with Lash of Submission + Host of Fiends to rapidly overload astartes, sisters of battle, inquisitors, etc. with corruption.

Its going to be immensely entertaining to spread the love with Lash of Submission + Host of Fiends to rapidly overload astartes, sisters of battle, inquisitors, etc. with corruption.

While most of this will work, do remember that Battle Sisters can become immune to corruption for a scene by activating their Pure Faith.

That's true. Metagamingly, I expect that a FP type will probably spend willpower to reroll the willpower check against Lash control, but who knows. My char will just fire the lazors of chaos and hope for the best.