Greetings! I've been playing in a long-run Dark Heresy campaing (three and a half years now) with a Noble (Scintillian) Adept (which is the name of my Avatar) and being at 15k XP, we are pretty close to move into Ascention. I have a couple of doubts which i'd like to get clarified:

1) Does the Unnatural Intelligence (x2) trait which you can buy at the Sage Rank stacks with the one provided by the Good Quality Cortex Implant? (DH pag 155). Meaning: Can you get an Unnatural Intellgence (x3) on this deal?

2) How does Unnatural Agility (x2) and Lightning Reflexes talent stack for Initiative?

3) Rules for Heavy Weapons state that if you don't brace them (bipod/tripod, sanbag etc and using a full action) it's impossible to do semi/auto fire and you get a -30 penalty to shot. The Bulging Biceps talent states that you can fire a weapon on semi or auto fire modes without first bracing, does the talent also remove the -30 to hit penalty?

4) Is there any way in the game to remove the -10/-10 penalty for Ambidiextry/Two Weapon Wielder (Melee)? (Like the Gunslinger ranged talent)

5) Is there a guideline to put a price on the Implants found on Rouge Trader?

6) Two Weapon Wielder (Ranged) and Two Weapon Wielder (Melee) are required to perform attacks with a ranged weapon and a melee weapon in the same turn, otherwise you don't count to have any of them. Does this mean that if you have Ambidiextry and Two Weapon Wielder (Ranged) and i try to attack with a Bolt pistol and a Chainsword i get a -10 / -30 penalty? (or a -20 / -40 penalty without Ambidiextry?). Can i do multiple attacks without having any Two Weapon Wielder talents? (like firing two bolt pistols without Two Weapon Wielder Ballistics talent)

7) Table 5-5 'Servitors and Familiars" (Page 145, Inquisitor's Handbook) seems to be a guideline to build cyber-familiars from scratch (thus, to calculate the Adeptus Arbites Cyber-Mastiff for example). Could this table also be used to improve already exsisting ones? If i'd want to buy a Cortex (Talent Implant) to give my Bloodhound Cyber Mastiff (Book of Judgdement page 74) the "Double Team" talent, could i do it by paying 500 thrones and passing some sort of skill test (like Tech-Use) and a reasonable lenght of time?

8) The Ordo Sicarius Initiate alternate rank on the Daemon Hunter suplement allows you to buy Psy-Rating 1 for ANY class. How does this fits on the Tech-Priest , since all background packages/talents/rules related to Psychic powers are always restricted to that class? Would it fit on the game background having a Tech Priest with psychic capability?

I'm pretty sure i have more questions, but for now these will do.

The Emperor Protects!

Sage Havelock Victus, Ordo Xenos.

Havelock Victus said:

Yes.

Havelock Victus said:

If memory serves, Lightning Reflexes doubles Ag Bonus for initiative. The system is additive in nature, so add the UAx2 and LR to get a x3 Ag bonus for initiative. ex Agility bonus of 4 with both traits would be a initiative roll of 12 + 1d10 for inititative.
Havelock Victus said:

I think most people do allow it to remove the firing penalty but I don't think it should.

Havelock Victus said:

I don't believe there is unless you house rule a version of gunslinger for melee.

Havelock Victus said:

Not really. You can estimate based on rarity and roughly equivalent costs in DH.

Havelock Victus said:

See page 11 of the DH erratta for this info.

Havelock Victus said:

I would say yes, but this is up to your GM.

Havelock Victus said:

Just because the advance is in the list doesn't mean you qualify for it.

I would say no for Tech Priests. Generally the amount of augmentation they receive precludes them from developing psychic abilities without the direct involvement of warp entities. Also, someone who is an Untouchable would not be able to purchase the advance.

ItsUncertainWho said:

1) My initial thoughts were that since trait and implant get you the same bonus (x2), they wouldn't stack. Could you explain me the logic behind it?

8) As the Psy Rating 1 on that advancement table has no pre-reqs, and there was no wording whatsoever against Tech-Priest (plus, with the Sicarius Training talent that gives something to each class) i though this alternate rank had some background-fluff to allow it. I never read any novel or found any mention of Psy-Techs so i wanted to be sure.

9) What would be the diference between an Electro-Graft and a Mind Impulse Unit? I know MIU is a kind of a "Matrix craneal plug" but i also thought Electro-Grat was the same. Do bonuses for talent and implant stack?

Havelock Victus said:

The unnatural would be from the meaty part of your brain getting better while the cortex implant is a computer. I see no issue with those stacking. At the same time I approve of your restraint in saying they wouldn't stack.

Havelock Victus said:

My view is from reading too many books. The tech implants are always implied to hinder or outright remove any psy ability from the recipient.

Havelock Victus said:

The MIU is a massively invasive set of implants that allows you to plug directly into machinery and control things directly with your brain. I generally describe these as dozens of plugs, sockets, and connectors of various sizes and shapes running up and down someones spine, skull and arms, with an array of different cables dangling free and some running interconnected to different body parts. You know if someone has an MIU system implanted.

The Electro-Graft is a much more subtle, almost unnoticeable, set of circuits inlaid in the palms. These allow for a similar, yet lesser, machine interface. I view these as far more common outside the Mechanicum.

These two would not stack. The bonus would depend on which type of interface you are using, and you would only be using one interface at a time.

"1) Does the Unnatural Intelligence (x2) trait which you can buy at the Sage Rank stacks with the one provided by the Good Quality Cortex Implant? (DH pag 155). Meaning: Can you get an Unnatural Intellgence (x3) on this deal?"

It shouldn't stack.

"2) How does Unnatural Agility (x2) and Lightning Reflexes talent stack for Initiative?"

Unnatural Agilty doubles your AG bonus. Lightning Reflexes allow you to take twice your AG bonus to initiative, so if you have bonus 4 you get 16 for Initiative.

"3) Rules for Heavy Weapons state that if you don't brace them (bipod/tripod, sanbag etc and using a full action) it's impossible to do semi/auto fire and you get a -30 penalty to shot. The Bulging Biceps talent states that you can fire a weapon on semi or auto fire modes without first bracing, does the talent also remove the -30 to hit penalty? "

I checked RT for The Bulging Biceps talent. It says that you dont have -30 penalty and cab shoot full and semi bursts. RT was released later than Dh so the rules are newer and revised, so I would say you don't have penalty in DH too.

"4) Is there any way in the game to remove the -10/-10 penalty for Ambidiextry/Two Weapon Wielder (Melee)? (Like the Gunslinger ranged talent) "

Well, there is no way, but if you use best quality weapons you get 0/0

"6) Two Weapon Wielder (Ranged) and Two Weapon Wielder (Melee) are required to perform attacks with a ranged weapon and a melee weapon in the same turn, otherwise you don't count to have any of them. Does this mean that if you have Ambidiextry and Two Weapon Wielder (Ranged) and i try to attack with a Bolt pistol and a Chainsword i get a -10 / -30 penalty? (or a -20 / -40 penalty without Ambidiextry?). Can i do multiple attacks without having any Two Weapon Wielder talents? (like firing two bolt pistols without Two Weapon Wielder Ballistics talent)"

Yes, you get -10/-30 and -20/-40 without Ambidiextrty

"7) Table 5-5 'Servitors and Familiars" (Page 145, Inquisitor's Handbook) seems to be a guideline to build cyber-familiars from scratch (thus, to calculate the Adeptus Arbites Cyber-Mastiff for example). Could this table also be used to improve already exsisting ones? If i'd want to buy a Cortex (Talent Implant) to give my Bloodhound Cyber Mastiff (Book of Judgdement page 74) the "Double Team" talent, could i do it by paying 500 thrones and passing some sort of skill test (like Tech-Use) and a reasonable lenght of time?"

I would allow it with good price

"8) The Ordo Sicarius Initiate alternate rank on the Daemon Hunter suplement allows you to buy Psy-Rating 1 for ANY class. How does this fits on the Tech-Priest , since all background packages/talents/rules related to Psychic powers are always restricted to that class? Would it fit on the game background having a Tech Priest with psychic capability?"

If the rules allow it I would say yes. I don't know techpriest well, but I can imagine one, who was born with psychic abilities but didn't develop them and become techpriest, then he joined Ordo Sicarius and they taught him to use psychic powers.

Thank you both for your replies!