Mercy Blades!? a vital part of being a sanctioned psyker,, but absolutely no game info exists,, how do u use them, stats, cost etc etc?? a fella over at Dark Reign drew up this: http://darkreign40k.com/drjoomla/index.php/armoury/weapons-and-armour/288-rules-for-using-a-psykana-mercy-blade

what do ya think 'bout that?

oi oi

! : ?

Pretty sure its just a knife (as ornate as you want it to be). And its soul purpose is to enable the psyker to kill himself if he knows he did a Bad Thing .

It probably could be easily identified by someone knowledgable of such things that the bearer is most likely a psyker. I doubt it should ever be used in combat though, and is of a more decorative purpose.

! : ? said:

Actually they are in the game. I'm quoting from memory here but the entry of the psyker strating gear looks something like that

Compact Laspistol, Dagger (Mercy Blade), etc...
Now since my copy is german it actually says "Psykanische Gnadenklinge" but that's more or less a mercy blade.

So there you have it. The Mercy Blade is a dagger and that's it. You use it by carfully perforating the pysker until he ceases to be.

In one of the rulebooks (it could be part of a Cell Directive in Blood of Martyrs, but that's not sure) there is a talent for psykers that allows them to actually USE their mercy blade in case they **** up. IIRC it allows them to prevent possession by applying damage to themselves. There also is a talent in the same Cell Directive that allows their comrades to do the same. Probably very fun for that puritan heavy weapon specialist Guardsmen…

Besides from that,

Musclewizard said:

applies

I like those rules, they don't provide a sure-fire way to escape possession and even if they succeed you're still dead.

I'd allow them

I always liked using the minor power that lets you transport a single hand-sized object back to you on the Mercy Blade.

It could come in handy if I were to be captured, never know when I might need to avoid possession via suicide. Or kill a guard, I suppose.