So ran into a bit of a situation with my first session of Black Crusade. I've got a player who's built himself a Tzeentchian sorcerer whose main weapon is a force staff. Now we had a question come up with regard to this. Force weapons require a psy focus (can't remember the exact term) test to get their bonus damage, but does this test cause psychic phenomena if the dice show up as doubles? Initially we ruled that it wouldn't mainly because I couldn't find anything in the book saying yes or no, and so that we could move on (he's a rules lawyer and would argue it endlessly). The problem that's cropped up is now we're into our 3rd session, and he's used psychic powers maybe twice. It'd be nice to get a ruling on this, although for the next session I'm probably just going to rule that yes, it does in fact cause psychic phenomena as per using an unfettered power.
A question: Force Weapons
Right, so:
A force weapon gains the wielder's psy rating in extra damage and penetration. This requires the character to be nothing more than a psyker. No test, no risk, no nothing. All you need to be is psychic.
However, when a character damages an opponent, he may as a free action do a focus power test. This test is opposed willpower (both the psyker and the victim roll willpower, most Degrees of Success wins). For every degree the psyker wins with, the victim takes 1d10 damage with no reduction for armor or toughness. THIS is a focus power test. This means the psyker adds the appropriate bonus for psy rating (and other applicable bonuses such as a psy focus, which is an item the staff counts as, giving +10 to all focus power tests) and may, as usual, choose to fetter, unfetter and push. ALL of these options work as normal, meaning the psyker does, indeed, cause psychic phenomena if he uses it unfettered and rolls doubles. He's also safe from psychic phenomena if he chooses to go fettered.
Clear?
If he feels like arguing, this is all written on page 149 under the "force" quality. Focus power traits are explained on page 208.
Also yes, force weapons are ******* scary.
I didn't realise the effects of psy-focus had been changed for Black Crusade. My own Tzeentchian Sorcerer with a force staff is going to be pretty happy about this!
Yupp. It's pretty useful now. Also combines well with a psychic hood. +15 to all tests AND the usual psychic hood ability of "**** you fellow psyker I'm immunes!"
A sorcerer can start with all of it.
Reverend mort said:
Right, so:
A force weapon gains the wielder's psy rating in extra damage and penetration. This requires the character to be nothing more than a psyker. No test, no risk, no nothing. All you need to be is psychic.
However, when a character damages an opponent, he may as a free action do a focus power test. This test is opposed willpower (both the psyker and the victim roll willpower, most Degrees of Success wins). For every degree the psyker wins with, the victim takes 1d10 damage with no reduction for armor or toughness. THIS is a focus power test. This means the psyker adds the appropriate bonus for psy rating (and other applicable bonuses such as a psy focus, which is an item the staff counts as, giving +10 to all focus power tests) and may, as usual, choose to fetter, unfetter and push. ALL of these options work as normal, meaning the psyker does, indeed, cause psychic phenomena if he uses it unfettered and rolls doubles. He's also safe from psychic phenomena if he chooses to go fettered.
Clear?
If he feels like arguing, this is all written on page 149 under the "force" quality. Focus power traits are explained on page 208.
Also yes, force weapons are ******* scary.
Ok, that makes sense. So force weapons work exactly like a psychic power for their extra damage.
For the extra d10's, yes. The psy rating bonus to the main statline (the +X) one, no. It's for free. Just to be very clear
Reverend mort said:
....the usual psychic hood ability of "**** you fellow psyker I'm immunes!"
Having played Deathwatch as a Librarian, I can safely say that actual "Bumper Fun Book of Being a Librarian" uses those exact words.