Feedback Request - New Psyker Discipline

By Faern, in Dark Heresy House Rules

Hi all,

I recently tossed myself at a project of making a few disciplines, with a focus that I felt was missing from DH.
The thoughts behind it is basicly the missing link between psyker-manifestation, and the use of pure faith.
The main "energy" or "focus" behind the powers is the undying will of the Emperor.

I figured all of you in here were the best kind of feedback for a thing like this :)

Thank you in advance, all thoughts and ideas are welcome.

http://rapidshare.com/files/619731345/Thaumaturgy.pdf


Why not just copy-paste them here in a spoiler tag? I be some people (including myself) are reluctant to download files.. but if we could just read it here.. :)

Thats a great idea. Never thought about that :)
Seems Im not smart enough to use spoiler tags :P

Sorry for the wall of text

Thaumaturgy

Mind Shield
Threshold: 10
Focus Time: Full
Sustained: Yes
Range: 10m
The psyker extends his powerful will to blanket a huge area, shielding his allies from the harmful effects of the warp.
The psyker can test his willpower, including which ever talents he may possess versus psychic powers, instead of his
allies.
The psyker can affect a number of allies equal to his fellowship.
If the psyker fails the willpower test of a power intended to hit one of his affected allies, the psyker instead takes the full
effect of the power upon himself.
This power also works against fear effects generated from daemons.
Overbleed: For every 10 points by which the threshold is exceeded, the psyker gains a +10 to pass the willpower test.
Sanctified Shroud
Threshold: 18
Focus Time: Half
Sustained: No
Range: 10m
When the psyker manifests this power himself and all affected allies within range is covered in a shimmering shield of
light.
All affected by this power gains a shield absorbing 1d5+ the psykers willpower bonus points of damage.
The effect granted from this shield is absorbed first, before the affected person takes any damage upon himself.
In addtion any affected by this power ignore the Warp Weapon trait as long as the shield is active.
Any daemons attacking with natural weapons versus a person affected by this power, also takes 1d5 points of holy
damage.
The shield effect lasts till the end of the next turn, or untill it has expended its absorbtion value.
Overbleed: For every 10 points by which the threshold is exceeded, the shield gains 1 extra point of absorbtion.
Transcendance
Threshold: 15
Focus Time: Full
Sustained: Yes
Range: Self
By manifesting this power, the psyker gives up his worldly strenght, to gain strenght of the mind.
The psykers body slowly wither away as this power is manifested, losing 20 points of strenght, toughness and agility as
long as this power is in effect. However the psyker gains Unnatural Intelligence (x2), Unnatural Willpower (x2) and
Unnatural Perception (x2) while the power is in effect.
Every time this power is manifested, the psyker gains a level of fatigue due to the strain on his body and mind from the
transcendence. In addition, for every 5 rounds this power is sustained the psyker gains one level of additional fatigue.
Overbleed: For every 5 points by which the threshold the psyker can push of the additional fatigue by one round.
Cloaking Field
Threshold: 22
Focus Time: Full
Sustained: Yes
Range: 5m
By focusing his will outwards, the psyker causes reality to blur and distort himself and his allies, blending them in with
the surroundings.
All affected by this power is considered as having used the minor power chameleon gaining +30 bonus to concealment
tests. In addition, all opponents using ranged weapons to attack suffer a -20 penalty to their ballistic test.
The psyker can affect a number of allies equal to his willpower bonus.
If any ally leaves the range of this power, the effect immediately ends.
Overbleed: For every 5 points by which the threshold is exceeded, the range of this power extends by 1 meter.
Collective Mind
Threshold: 15
Focus Time: Full
Sustained: Yes
Range: 5m
By using this power, the psyker merges all affected into one big colletive hivemind, working towards a single purpose.
At the manifestation of this power, the psyker centers himself as the focus of the collective mind.
The psyker gains access to all lore skills of every affected ally in the collective mind, including all their bonuses for lore
skills in question, and can freely test any of the lore skills as he pleases.
For every ally in the collective mind, the psyker gains a +10 towards passing the lore skill of his choosing.
The psyker can affect a number of allies equal to his intelligence bonus.
At the ending of this power, all affected allies including the psyker takes a level of fatigue from the unnatural experience
of being part of the collective mind.
Should the collective mind be interupted violently, all affected must test willpower or be dazed and confused for 1d5
rounds only able to take a half action per round, as the stress wears off
Consecration
Threshold: 15
Focus Time: Half
Sustained: Yes
Range: 5m
By channeling the will of the Emperor through him, the psyker grants the Emperor a temporarily foothold in realspace.
The affected area around the psyker starts to glow with a golden light, rendering the psyker and affected allies immune
to the effects of daemonic presence, and gaining a +10 bonus towards resisting fear effects.
In addition, all melee weapons within the area counts as being sanctified, in they are in the hands of an affected ally.
The weapons immediately lose the sanctified quality if they leave the affected area.
The psyker can affect a number of allies equal to his willpower bonus.
Overbleed: For every 5 points by which the threshold is exceeded, the range of the area increase by 1 meter.
In addition, for every 10 points by which the threshold is exceeded, daemons gain a -5 to weapon skill within the
affected area.
Transferance
Threshold: 10
Focus Time: Free
Sustained: Yes
Range: 20m
There is no greater bond, then that between allies united towards a singular goal, in the service of the God-Emperor.
When manifesting this power, an strange sense of purpose and calm settles on the psyker and all affected allies, as weak
golden light wash over the area.
Any affected by this power may test willpower, to transfer 1d5 damage taken by a fellow affected ally upon himself,
healing the other part of the same amount of damage.
The transfered damage ignores armour and toughness.
Overbleed: For every 10 points by which the threshold is exceeded, the subject taking the transfered damage is allowed
to use one point of toughness to soak.
Divine Grace
Threshold: 22
Focus Time: Full
Sustained: No
Range: 15m
By channeling the divine energies of The Emperor through him, the psyker is able to gift himself and any effected ally
with extraordinary speed. Anyone affected by this power gains an extra half action in the round this power is manifested.
This extra half action can by used for anything including an extra attack.
Allies who have already acted in the round where the power is manifested, also gains the half action to spend as they
wish.
The psyker can affect a number of allies equal to his fellowship bonus.
Any affected people takes one fatigue level as the power strains the body past inhuman levels.
Overbleed: For every 10 points by which you exceed the threshold, you can affect one extra ally with this power.

Radiance
Threshold: 16
Focus Time: Half
Sustained: Yes
Range: 6m
By focusing his psychic power inwards, the psyker creates a cascading effect bleeding out waves of bright light from his
body. Everybody within the powers range watching the psyker must pass a difficult toughness test (-10), or be blinded
for 1d5 rounds. Those with appropriate glare shielding, or without visual sensory organs are immune.
In addition any psykers, daemons or those with more then 20 corruption points, takes damage equal to half the psykers
willpower bonus, as the pure essence of the Emperor rips through them. This damage ignores both armour and toughness.
Overbleed: For every 5 points by which you exceed the threshold, you extend the range by 1 extra meter.

Purge The Unclean
Threshold: 14
Focus Time: Half
Sustained: No
Range: 50m
This power creates a searing burst of light centered around a person, so powerful and all-consuming that the target takes
1d10 damage and must pass a difficult toughness (-10) or be blinded for 1d5 rounds. Those with appropriate glare
shielding, or without visual sensory organs are immune from the blinding effect, but still takes damage.
In addition if the target is a psyker, daemon or has more then 20 corruption points, the target also takes half the psykers
willpower bonus in damage. This damage ignores both armour and toughness.
Mind Shield
To strong for it negates most of the dangers enemy psykers posess for the entire group.
Sanctified Shroud
Absolute OP, thing about the Absortion. A Decen Psyker has a WPB around 7 or 8, now add unnatural Willpower and you ignore 1d5+14/16 damage, that is a higher treshhold most characters will ever get with a power armor and toughness combined! Also ignore Warp Weapon? Hexagrammic Wards for everyone? Holy Damage to natural Weapons? And only a Threshold of 18? If it would be so easy to fight Daemons we would have conquered the Eye of Chaos thousands of years ago.
Transcendance
Sound very much like a super saiyan mode to further boost psy-powers into a strenght that kills everything.
Cloaking Field
Free amush power for entire group. How do we infiltrate suited in power armors? We take a cloaking field. We do not need assassins or have to forsake bits of equipment, with this you could even infiltrate with a squad clad in terminator suit.
Collective Mind
This in addition with Transcendance renders your entire akolyth cell useless. Is that the intention of this powers? This game is about playing together, about characters that have their strenghtes and weaknesse and in combination aid each other. But with this power your team-mates become flesh-hulls you can abused and render them unimportant.
Consecration
Absolute NO. Faith is a power of the Ecclesiarchy, not the Psykers. And becoming and embodyment of the Emperor is just too much. Also this power reflects an Ascention abilty of a Hierophant, rendering him useless too.
Transferance
5th Edition wound allocations rules? Making the entire squad more unkillable? This in addition of Sanctified Shroud makes the akolythes like wargods that soak more damage than a tank.
Divine Grace
This breakes so much basic balancing of the game… hell… make everyone auto-stabilized. Let them Aim and fire Full-Auto. Why not? 5 or 6 Melee attacks per turn? Yes…

Radiance
Are you trying to turn a psyker into a saint? This power is the absolute horde killer for deamons. With this power a Psyker can go through his enemies like moses went through the seas.

Purge The Unclean
Nearly the same as Radiance and therefore the same critique.
Overall this powes absolutly look like powergaming to me. Not do they make the Psyker the ultimate center of every inquisition cell, they turn him into a saint that has acess to Faith itself and is a vesell for the emperors will. With this powers every daemon-world would be cleansed by a single squad of imperial primaris psykers at their own. This powers make the huge power gap between normals PCs and a Psyker PC even more dramatic and some powers even rip your teammates of their abilites. Just think of an Adept that is only a Lore-Data-Vault and everytime the group wants to know something the psyker takes controll and makes the roll. Why? Because he is simply better at anything, literaly. These powers are so much over the top in addition to the existing ones it makes me wonder what your intentions were? Are you planning a 2 players campaign where the other Acolythes are only NPCs? Also there is a reason why psy-powers and Faith are seperated. There are many theories how Faith works, some say they are the possitive emotions of the warp or what ever but it is clearly not the power-base of a psyker and is unique to the true faithfull and in this strenght to SAINTS! Saints are no psykers, at least they do not have to be one, they are more. A psyker is just an "abomination" in comparsion to a vessel of faith in the fluff. Think of the Sororiats and the high Hierophants, the Ecclesiarch or Saints. These are no psykers and are clearly seperated from them.

didn't read all of it, but after reading a few powers I only thought to myself how out of hand an OP these powers get in later levels, especially with unnatural Wp, and the next power I read gave him the unnatural wp… I think it's kinda an overkill.

also, i'm not sure, but the whole power tree ida seems to be a little off for me. I mean, a psyker who uses powers of the warp gets these "holy powers", where one of them specificly defends against the warp? How does it defend against itself? :)

Griautis said:

also, i'm not sure, but the whole power tree ida seems to be a little off for me. I mean, a psyker who uses powers of the warp gets these "holy powers", where one of them specificly defends against the warp? How does it defend against itself? :)

Well, Warp can be protecitve against Warp just as a metal Shield can Stop a metal mede sword. Though these powers he discribed are clearly acts of faith and this is a somewhat different thing in WH40k fluff. There are many theories and the one I like to take is that if the warp mostly consists of corrupted, bad emotions there is also something or some place that is made of ye ol' "good" emotions that can be channeled by the true believers. Even further some argue the Emperor is the Good of this new Domain he grants this powers to his most fiathful.

Though what ever it is, it is absolutly no "ordinary" psycic power someone can learn. And how it is written here it is just op.

also for such powers, why not just go with Faith powers from Blood of Martyrs? After all, as I understand those are exactly the powers you want this discipline to be… it's the faith in emperor given true holy power.