OOC II: DH The Purity of Sacrifice

[BananaPhone]

Hmmm, what do you reckon fellows - telepathically reach out to Drimmle and tell him to open the door?

[Haval]

As in domination? I suppose it depends on how likely it will be that his guards will notice him opening the door. I'd say go for it if you want.

[BananaPhone]

Nah, just telling him to open the door and cooperate lol.

He's already lost 1/3 of his goons, now he's down to just 2 or 3 with him and suddenly he's receiving a telepathic message that we can find him anywhere and learning we're in the building with him. The guy is pretty cowardly as it is.

If he still refuses, Marc can Psychic Shriek the guards and we climb up the wall and enter that way.

[Haval]

Might be the more chaotic option, so I am in favour of it.

Marcella's going full Gideon Ravenor

[bramblefoot]

@bennosuke

milo would like to pick up nascent psyker at some point

[BananaPhone]

Why does Milo look like he's about to attack Drimmle using a microphone stand?

[bramblefoot]

shrugs

my ai art is sometimes hot, sometimes cold

[rax]

I see Marc has now transitioned into Scarlett Johansson...

[bramblefoot]

milo would like to pick up this homebrew talent

Bioluminescence: Your body emits a soft, natural light that can be controlled at will. You can dimly illuminate your surroundings, making Stealth and Navigation tests in darkness easier.

id also like an add-on to that called starflare: you can flare your bioluminescence to force anyone within 10m to make a toughness test or be blinded for 1 minute

[BananaPhone]

I see Marc has now transitioned into Scarlett Johansson...

It's a known side-effect of psychic usagw, and is more common than you think.

shrugs

my ai art is sometimes hot, sometimes cold

Oh no mockery intended, I just thought it was a funny mental image ^_^ lol.

[bramblefoot]

Oh no mockery intended, I just thought it was a funny mental image ^_^ lol.

hey marcella, can we discuss milo becoming a psychic sensitive. i dont want to pick up nascent psyker,but something more like wyrd. basically milo would have an array of fun little tricks, like being able to project his voice, to being able to produce soft light, to being able to flash-blind people

[BananaPhone]

hey marcella, can we discuss milo becoming a psychic sensitive. i dont want to pick up nascent psyker,but something more like wyrd. basically milo would have an array of fun little tricks, like being able to project his voice, to being able to produce soft light, to being able to flash-blind people

My name is bananaphone hah.

But, being psychic in the WH40k universe is pretty perilous, particularly in the Imperium. The galaxy is divided between the materium (our world) and the immaterium, also known as The Warp, which is where Psykers draw their power form. It's like an alternate dimension of roiling psychic energy and chaos. It's where the Chaos Gods and their demonic legions live. Everything alive is like a pinprick of light in the Warp, but Psykers glow much more brightly, as they have a connection to the Warp that allows them to manipulate its energies and manifest them in the Materium. However, that's a two way street, as it also draws the notice of demons and other entities of the Warp that wait for any opportunity they can to use that two-way street to enter the Materium, where they'll promptly rip the Psyker to shreds, those around them and do their best to initiate a demonic invasion, potentially dooming a whole planet.

That's why people are terrified of Psykers, especially untrained and unsanctioned ones. They're an enormous risk not just to themsleves, but especially to those around them in their immediate vicinity and the planet/ship they're on as a whole. If they push themselves too hard, if they screw up, if they lose concentration or focus, and everyone around them could be doomed to not just a grotesque physical death, but damnation of the spirit. If Psykers didn't also offer such a host of benefits and abilities that are super useful (as Marc is now doing for the group with her Telepathy), maintaining the Golden Throne notwithstanding, they'd likely just be culled outright rather than take the risk.

That's why psykers are hunted relentlessly by the Inquisition, rounded up onto Black Ships and sent to Terra where they are evaluated by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. Of those that arrive, only about 1% are both mentally strong and psychically gifted enough to avoid being culled to maintain the Golden Throne, and instead undergo a Sanctioning Ritual that is a traumatic experience that binds their soul to the Emperor to help further protect them against demonic possession. Of those 1%, most will become Astropaths, where they'll undergo a ritual that burns their eyes out. Of the remaining fraction, those go on to become Imperial Sanctioned Psykers (like Marcella), and undergo years and years and years of training and conditioning under the watchful eye of the Scholastia Psykana (which itself is an arm of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica). For those that do survive their training they can go on to join the Imperial Guard, become residential scholars in the Psykana's cathedrals, become paid retinue of Rogue Traders or Noble houses (probably the best gig to get), become middle managers in the Adeptus Administratum (probably the safest but most boring job to get, you're a psychic bureaucrat) and many more, with the rare few being recruited by the Inquisition (like Marcella). Yet even after all of this they're never fully trusted and are under a watchful eye, with those around them ready to put a bullet in the back of their head if they start exhibiting signs of possession. Now, they can go on to reach positions of greater autonomy and respect like becoming Primaris Psykers, or even Inquisitors themselves, but even then, constant mental exposure to the warp and its erosion and plenty of Sanctioned Psykers just eventually go crazy. I play Marc as relatively normal, if a bit eccentric, because she's only got 3 insanity points and has 55 willpower (which, by Dark Heresy standards, is crazy good for a human). But, I'm getting sidetracked.

I tell you all this because it's the setting we're in, and it lays out why, if Milo did develop Nascent Psyker or Wyrd...I don't want to tell you how to play your character, but chances are 99% he'll end up on a Black Ship and sent back to Terra for evaluation, where he'll most likely be culled for the Golden Throne. Marc won't be able to help him, hell she'd probably be the one to report him because she knows better than anyone in the group the threat of an unsactioned/trained psyker, plus she'd probably be branded a heretic if she didn't. The interrogator/inquisitor might be able to protect him for a bit, but they'd need a good reason and it would be a short term strategy at best, because if his nascent psyker/wyrdness is ever discovered (which is just one Psyniscience roll away), he's going to end up on a Black Ship one way or the other.

Page 90 of the Inquisitors Handbook goes into this in more detail. But yeah, sorry to be the bearer of bad news mate :(, I'm not trying to 'protect my niche' or tell you how to play your character, but in the WH40K universe, being a nascent psyker/wyrd is as good as signing your own death warrant. Unless you figure out something with Bennosuke and Milo disappears from play for half a decade and comes back a Sanctioned Psyker, I really don't see it working out well for him.

If he's wanting to pull little tricks like blinding people etc I think flash grenades are probably the safer option :P lol.

[bramblefoot]

My name is bananaphone hah.

But, being psychic in the WH40k universe is pretty perilous, particularly in the Imperium. The galaxy is divided between the materium (our world) and the immaterium, also known as The Warp, which is where Psykers draw their power form. It's like an alternate dimension of roiling psychic energy and chaos. It's where the Chaos Gods and their demonic legions live. Everything alive is like a pinprick of light in the Warp, but Psykers glow much more brightly, as they have a connection to the Warp that allows them to manipulate its energies and manifest them in the Materium. However, that's a two way street, as it also draws the notice of demons and other entities of the Warp that wait for any opportunity they can to use that two-way street to enter the Materium, where they'll promptly rip the Psyker to shreds, those around them and do their best to initiate a demonic invasion, potentially dooming a whole planet.

That's why people are terrified of Psykers, especially untrained and unsanctioned ones. They're an enormous risk not just to themsleves, but especially to those around them in their immediate vicinity and the planet/ship they're on as a whole. If they push themselves too hard, if they screw up, if they lose concentration or focus, and everyone around them could be doomed to not just a grotesque physical death, but damnation of the spirit. If Psykers didn't also offer such a host of benefits and abilities that are super useful (as Marc is now doing for the group with her Telepathy), maintaining the Golden Throne notwithstanding, they'd likely just be culled outright rather than take the risk.

That's why psykers are hunted relentlessly by the Inquisition, rounded up onto Black Ships and sent to Terra where they are evaluated by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. Of those that arrive, only about 1% are both mentally strong and psychically gifted enough to avoid being culled to maintain the Golden Throne, and instead undergo a Sanctioning Ritual that is a traumatic experience that binds their soul to the Emperor to help further protect them against demonic possession. Of those 1%, most will become Astropaths, where they'll undergo a ritual that burns their eyes out. Of the remaining fraction, those go on to become Imperial Sanctioned Psykers (like Marcella), and undergo years and years and years of training and conditioning under the watchful eye of the Scholastia Psykana (which itself is an arm of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica). For those that do survive their training they can go on to join the Imperial Guard, become residential scholars in the Psykana's cathedrals, become paid retinue of Rogue Traders or Noble houses (probably the best gig to get) and many more, with the rare few being recruited by the Inquisition (like Marcella). Yet even after all of this they're never fully trusted and are under a watchful eye, with those around them ready to put a bullet in the back of their head if they start exhibiting signs of possession. Now, they can go on to reach positions of greater autonomy and respect like becoming Primaris Psykers, or even Inquisitors themselves, but even then, constant mental exposure to the warp and its erosion and plenty of Sanctioned Psykers just eventually go crazy. I play Marc as relatively normal, if a bit eccentric, because she's only got 3 insanity points and has 55 willpower (which, by Dark Heresy standards, is crazy good for a human). But, I'm getting sidetracked.

I tell you all this because it's the setting we're in, and it lays out why, if Milo did develop Nascent Psyker or Wyrd...I don't want to tell you how to play your character, but chances are 99% he'll end up on a Black Ship and sent back to Terra for evaluation, where he'll most likely be culled for the Golden Throne. Marc won't be able to help him, hell she'd probably be the one to report him because she knows better than anyone in the group the threat of an unsactioned/trained psyker, plus she'd probably be branded a heretic if she didn't. The interrogator/inquisitor might be able to protect him for a bit, but they'd need a good reason and it would be a short term strategy at best, because if his nascent psyker/wyrdness is ever discovered (which is just one Psyniscience roll away), he's going to end up on a Black Ship one way or the other.

Page 90 of the Inquisitors Handbook goes into this in more detail. But yeah, sorry to be the bearer of bad news mate :(, I'm not trying to 'protect my niche' or tell you how to play your character, but in the WH40K universe, being a nascent psyker/wyrd is as good as signing your own death warrant. Unless you figure out something with Bennosuke and Milo disappears from play for half a decade and comes back a Sanctioned Psyker, I really don't see it working out well for him.

If he's wanting to pull little tricks like blinding people etc I think flash grenades are probably the safer option :P lol.

circle of life. i dont have to, im just asking for an opinion

[BananaPhone]

circle of life. i dont have to, im just asking for an opinion

No worries ;) just wanted to provide context for the answer .

Like have you seen Event Horizon? That's basically what can happen if the Psyker ****s up or gets possessed. So if you're a normal person and you're around someone whose head is a potential portal for demons to flow into your surroundings, possess, brutally murder you and feast on your soul, yeah, Psykers are terrifying lol which is why they need to be Sanctioned and most don't survive.

[bramblefoot]

no, i havent seen event horizon. is that the one with the demon ship?

[BananaPhone]

Hey Ben, when Marc used her Mind Scan earlier, could she detect anyone in that van?

[Bennosuke]

She did not, but again, she only gets a general sense of where people are.

[Haval]

no, i havent seen event horizon. is that the one with the demon ship?

Kind of. Lawrence Fishburne is in it. It's not actually a 40k tie in movie but it might as well be.

[BananaPhone]

no, i havent seen event horizon. is that the one with the demon ship?

That's the one. It was a critical and commercial failure when it came out in the 90s, but it sold really well on home VHS and DVD's and contemporary reviews consider it a sci fi horror classic. Unfortunately the theatrical release was short almost an hour of additional footage, and sadly we'll never see it because they ended up (somehow) in a salt mine in Transylvania where they were eroded and destroyed. (I'm serious lol)

She did not, but again, she only gets a general sense of where people are.

Understood!

[bramblefoot]

@bananaphone

can we discusss marcella probing milos brain and maybe planting a little way for them to do instantaneous two-way psychic link?

Unbreakable Bond: You share an unbreakable psychic connection with a specific individual, often a fellow player character or a trusted NPC. You can communicate telepathically with this person across great distances and gain a +20 bonus to Willpower tests when resisting psychic or mental attacks when they are nearby.

[BananaPhone]

Ahh there already is!

On page 163 of the Rogue Trader book there is 'Mind Link'. You basically form a telepathic connection between yourself and a number of willing participants equal to your willpower bonus (5 in Marcs case), allowing them all to talk instantaneously and secretly with each other. It's 200 exp and Bennosuke approved of it last OOC thread.

...but she's kinda spent enough exp on psychic stuff for now lol she really needs to focus on her skills and become a more well-rounded character.

[bramblefoot]

Ahh there already is!

On page 163 of the Rogue Trader book there is 'Mind Link'. You basically form a telepathic connection between yourself and a number of willing participants equal to your willpower bonus (5 in Marcs case), allowing them all to talk instantaneously and secretly with each other. It's 200 exp and Bennosuke approved of it last OOC thread.

...but she's kinda spent enough exp on psychic stuff for now lol she really needs to focus on her skills and become a more well-rounded character.

i mean, i was feeling i would spend the xp on the unbreakable bond talent above, but if you dont want milo in your head, i can accept that

[BananaPhone]

I don't think she wants anyone in her head lol. She's the telepath, she likes sliding into other peoples heads .

[bramblefoot]

I don't think she doesn't want anyone in her head lol. She's the telepath, she likes sliding into other peoples heads .

fine

the clarion call goes out. anyone want to have a two-way psychic connection with milo?

if bennosuke will allow it, i may just take it with our dear interrogator, minus the +20 to wp

[Bennosuke]

As far as I can tell, no one is making any moves yet? Let me know if I missed something, or if the group is going to open the front door or do something else.

[BananaPhone]

I think Raxs post implies that he's approaching and knocking on the front door or activating the comms switch. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Bennosuke]

It wasn't explicit, and I've had players complain for making assumptions like that when they had not clearly said they wanted their character to do something.

Thank you regardless for your IC post, allowing me to move things forward.

[bramblefoot]

full-auto stubber boy with the orthlack loaded with manstoppers

(1d100)[3] tn 67

[Bennosuke]

I am going to suggest against that.

[bramblefoot]

in that case, ill wait until hes coming to take it, and then do it