Sooo one of my players is on the Templar Calixis path and part of their training involves the obtaining or crafting of a Force Sword.

Now I know Force Weapon tech is hardly common and this whole idea of making one does sound a bit nuts but also kinna cool so i'm going along with it.

Way I figure using the rules at the back of the Inquisitors Handbook it's probably gonna require the Trade Smith skill and Tech Use i'd imagine.

I was thinking for the Materials something like 1x Exotic Metal beam (for the blade itself), 1 Average Metals (grip/guard), and maybe something like 4xAverage components, 2x complex and 1 Exotic.

What i'd appriciate is some input about if this sounds right, and what actual components would be needed. I know they use advanced metals or ceramics for the blade and a psi-conducting material weaked through the blade but other than that i'm not sure.

I'll be honest, I don't have the references ( Malleus , Dan Abnett, the chapter with Magos Bure) with me, so this all bears the warning IIRC: Adamantium with a titanium skin for the blade, shot through/inlaid with lapidorontium wires; possibly a telempathic crystal of some sort set into the hilt- tabular xanthase? tourmaline? whatever you have them use, it should probably be worked so they have physical contact with it while holding the weapon. Either that, or use a plug-in type interface akin to the haptic hard-plugs of titan moderati, although if you have them go that route, I seriously recommend that they fit and wear a martingale with the weapon (a loop of material, traditionally leather, attached to the hilt of the weapon and looped aroung the wielder's wrist, used to prevent them from dropping it), as if someone hits them with a disarm move it could cause serious damage to their psyche and the interface plugs.

Obviously, the above presupposes they are going for a force sword, or possibly a force axe. If they were going to go for something a little less obviously militant (force rod, force staff, conceivably even force brass knuckles!) then I would recommend adding a capstone at the tip, probably of a telempathic crystal, maybe itself capped of electrum (a gold/silver alloy). I will also note that some force rods seem to be made purely of a single crystal, although scans show them to contain channels within of a different density, so presumably they also hold the psy-conductive wiring. However, as the outside is seamless, and these rods have been around since before the rise of the Imperium, no-one actually knows, or wants to try and break one open to find out.

Tech use lets you use technology, not build it...there are no functional crafting rules at the moment. And also its not like the PC is like some sort of Jedi that would be able to put a focus on crafting...hes a templar with a quest, not a craftsman with a job. High-Tech is the domain of the admech.

Crafting rules are in back of IH

To the best of my knowege a psyker can never learn Trade (Smith). So they will (and should, by laws of tech heresy) have to find a tech-priest with the ability to create such a weapon. This could result in a side quest for the psyker (and any willing to help him), to obtain the materials, or (assuming the tech-priest has these materials) a quest to do something for the servants of the Ommessiah. Perhaps tracking down and killing (or capturing) a heretek, and in doing this wavers the cost of the materials and labor. Makes for a somewhat fun side-quest.

Since we're refrencing Eisenhorn, he did have to kill the Lith to save Bure, and in doing so he got one of the nessisary materials for his rune-staff. So something may bring the psyker into an area he didnt expect to be in, but fate (or the God-Emperor) put him there to save a tech-priest and in exchange he could forge the blade.

Or, using the contact rules in IH, he may have to use Exp to make a tech-priest a contact and still he would have to provide the mats.

OR, if the group has a tech-priest with the Trade (Smith) rule, you could organise a scenario for the two of them to accomplish together. Completing the quest could give the psyker his force-weapon, and maby a decent chunk of EXP and perhaps some gelt to satisfy the Tech-Priest.

Just a few ideas.

-Ira-

The GM can allow a character to learn a skill that isn't on his path (I think that theres a sidebar on this somewhere), If part of the path is the creation of a personal weapon than I can see the group arranging for training in the nessercary skills.

Some things to bear in mind - (These are based on how I would interpret it and not on any canon material)

All force weapons are unique, there's no standard pattern, so finding out what materials to use could be a quest in its self. (or the temple could provide plans if you wished to make it easier)

There should be something personal to the psyker in the construction, maybe a relic from his homeworld, For instance a psyker from a feral world could include the tusk/bones/hide of a local predator. For a greater psychic connection perhaps the psyker should hunt it him/herself.

The creation should probably take some time, and include, because this is an imperial process we are talking about, spiritual cleansing/purification for the creator, and possibly taking the object to a major Adeptus mechanicus shrine to awaken any machine spirit that might be included.

You can of course use any or none of these ideas, because its your game. If you need the psyker to aquire the weapon in a hurry, it could take 5 minutes to create it by placing a psycho-reative crystal on the tip of a staff. The only thing that matters is that you are happy with the result, and it fits your campaign.

Alex

I am sorry.........this one psyker-warrior background in IH states that a member of this path/ordo/whatever has to build its own powersword?

First; since this is very rare knowledge, I deem it a **** of the fluff

Second; that is one of the most blatant star wars rip-offs I know about...even the pale chemo-rancor pales against it!

How is it a rip-off, power swords are not lightsabers.

Letrii said:

I think he's getting at the fact that Jedi have to build their own lightsabers and the Templar Calix need to build their own Force Weapon as part of their training

It'd be more of a rip off if they had to build a Solux Aegis Energy Blade

And star wars ripped off of the way of the samurai. Alot of ancient cultures required its warriors to create their own weapons.

I know the idea of building a Force Weapon is nuts hence I mentioned it at the start, feel free to kick off a topic about the blatant idea robbing GW does or heck just about any other sci-fi/fantasy game/film/book etc. elsewhere.

Like Letrii said the crafting rules are there in the I.H. P245 and this is what i'm referencing with the material types in my original post, as for me thinking Tech Use, well how the heck is someone meant to forge a weapon with intricate circuitry if they can't use the devices to solder/build circuits etc.? As for the no Trade Smith being available it's easily resolved by a Elite Advance.

Anyway I like your thinking folks, the party actually includes a Tech-Priest so I might run a side quest for them and the assassin all of whom I see far more often IRL and i'll try balance something else in for the others later. I just thought it'd be fun for the player to make it rather than the nip-down-the-shop approach, and couldn't decide whether the Psyker should train up on it or just enlist the Tech Priests help.

The material from your homeworld is a nice idea. I was thinking the Psi-reactive material would require a trip to some hazardous area to obtain too.

Yea I think i'll design a mission for them and get both the Psyker & Tech Priest to be involved. Perhaps get the Psyker to cut the crystal and the Tech Priest to forge the blade. I forgot about thebig E making his own in Malleus so i'll dig that out and have a look, cheers guys!

First of all, my apologize for hijacking your topic. It won´t happen again

Okay, back to topic:

Darkshroud said:

Since the rule for this psyker ordo really says "build", the pc should have to build the sword on his own. This means forging a weapon, for which he will be forced to have a trade skill. As far as I remember, their is a trade "smith" or "weapon" smith. Why this trait is not part of the background package of said psyker order is beyound me.

I deem it impossible for anyone besides a member of the Mechanicus to have the knowledge of the ways of turning a fine sword into a force sword, so the psyker in question would have to hand the finished sword to a tech-priest. But since this is a ritual of his order, his order/temple/schola would be within reason to have a "standing agreement" with a temple of the machine god. Somewhere. Perhabs they are even take care of shipment and hand back the "turned-energy-weapon" sword back to the psyker? A great ceremonie comes to mind where the blade is handed out which marks the turn from "initiate" into "full member".

Talking materials; a beam of fine metal/steal should do the trick. Perhabs with some other material for the grip and ornaments. The electronics will be the most complicated in the IH list.

It says build or obtain IIRC.

I don't see there being circuits in force weapon, that sounds more like a power weapon.

It does indeed say build or obtain.

As for the inclusion of circuitry, I'm going from the old Rogue Trader/Space Hulk descriptions (Rogue Trader, p76), although the wording was generally 'an interwoven matrix' or a 'special psi-convector'. Soldering is not required- it is simply a case of inlaying the psi-(re)active material in the correct shape, both on the surface of the blade and in it's core. Personally, I'd make sure the weaponsmith in question had at Trade(Smith) at at least +10, if not +20; meaning the psyker is either going to need a hell of a lot of xp for the needed Elite Advances, or get a master smith/tech magos to build it for him. I'm leaning towards having the Templars Calix retain a number of master smiths (possibly each with a speciality of a particular weapon design- say one excels at crafting swords, another does axes, a third does staves and halberds, etc) who will have the prospective templar assist (peripherally, at least) in the construction of their force weapon, and consult with them on fine niceties of design.

All that said, I have a player who was tempted to try and obtain a set of force brass knuckles, which, while technically legal, and highlyamusing, I ruled too silly.

Building it yourself is cooler, and goes back farther than just star wars (though the jedi similarity is quite obvious... unfortunately).

If you're just looking for a cost of materials, I'd say about the same as the base cost of the weapon, but easier to get than the weapon itself.

If you are going for more of an adventure, make all but 2 or 3 parts obtainable through some favors and diplomacy with the right people (some reasonable and accessible RP). For all but the last one, give the player the option of bending over backwards to get people to grant/sell him the stuff, or going off to get it himself from someone/somewhere considered criminal/heretical/hostile to the imperium. For the last material, I'd say either indebt the player deeply (major quest level) to a Magos or Psyker, or have them go on some major quest to get the key part. Either way it's a scenario about getting the final part to the blade.

The reason for this, in my opinion, is that it seems all force weapons produced are for the astarte psykers first and foremost, and not even all of them get one.

Edit: I'd say the skills needed are trade(armorer) to build it and Forbidden Lore(psykers) to know and understand what materials will work for them.

Thanks for the input peeps!

Seems most of us are of similar opinion about a mix of forge it yourself and then it being approved by Mechanicus. I like the idea of a standing agreement between the Temple & the Mechanicus, makes sense to me.

Pehaps the Templar Calix "loan out" their initiates to the Mechanicus during the forging process to do little jobs for them as payment. After all Psyker services probably arn't cheap normally.

I have not created a force weapon myself, but i reckon that when a psyker is suposed to "build" its likely on the psykers way, first the simple "mundane" task of gathering the materials and getting the smiths in the templar fortress forge the weapon then it goes for psykers part to conduct a difficult ritual that scars his soul and turns the inert force weapon into a real force weapon.
The ritual might also require some materials to conduct.

atleast thats my interpetation.

Sarius said:

Well I'd certainly make it more interesting and better than just a "by the book" force blade in that case. I think that's a concern to, does the psyker just want A force sword, or do they want THEIR force sword?

user4574 said:

technically DH came first then Star wars. so star wars ripped DH off, and in turn DH ripped of various ancient warrior cultures. so there we're all right.

If memory serves (haven't got the IH book to hand), it says that the character has to assist in building a Force Weapon or obtain one themselves. With 'assist' being the key word in the sentence, they might not actually have to build one completely, just show aptitude in certain steps of the creation of a Force Weapon

wulfenite said:

Not sure how you get that DH came before Starwars? As far as my memory serves, Starwars had been out long before Rogue Trader