Psychic Powers

Welcome back prospective Agents of the Imperium, to another preview for Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum. On the 23rd of March, 2023 you’ll be able to dive into the Imperium Maledictum Core Book for yourself and discover all the secrets contained within! Keep an eye on our social media accounts for the latest updates.

Today the Astra Telepathica has allowed us to give you a sneak preview of Psychic Powers and discuss how they work within the game.

Minor Psychic Powers Spot by Runesael Flynn 

In Imperium Maledictum, your character might be one of the unlucky souls whose mind is linked to the Immaterium, the vast well of maddening power better known as the warp. Such individuals are known as Psykers, though the Imperium has many names for them; ‘witch’ chief amongst them. To be a psyker is to be feared and loathed by your fellows, but tolerated so long as you prove useful. At least you’re strong enough to have a modicum of control over the powers you manifest. It is better by far to risk it all in service of your Patron than to discover just why so many psykers disappear to Holy Terra, never to be seen again.

If your character is a Psyker, manifesting one of your Psychic powers is as easy as rolling a D100 against your Psychic Mastery Skill. The tricky part comes in managing the amount of Warp Charge your abilities manifest. Drawing the raw stuff of the immaterium into realspace can lead to disastrous consequences if left mishandled. Every Psyker has a Warp Threshold; keeping your accumulated Warp Charge equal to or lower than your Warp Threshold is key to preventing the ‘Perils of the Warp’ from spilling over into realspace.

This becomes tricky during prolonged uses of your powers — and especially so in combat. Psykers will have to choose when to unleash their powers for maximum effect, whilst thinking ahead to ensure they have time to purge themselves of excess warp charge and avoid a psychic catastrophe. Purgation involves a psyker ridding themselves of the excess energy and nascent corruption that is an inevitable side effect of channelling the power of the Immaterium. 

Every time you purge, the dissipated psychic energy can cause minor psychic phenomenon to manifest. Fans of Warhammer 40,000 will be familiar with some of these; lighting dims in the surrounding area, nearby surfaces to frost over, or disquieting whispers urge listeners towards profane acts of heresy.

But sometimes holding on to the charge is worth the risk! Psykers can push their manifestations to make greater success more likely, but allowing so much of the immaterium’s limitless power to flow through oneself is dangerous. But holding onto too much Warp Charge can result in your Corruption - or worse, invoking the Perils of the Warp, major psychic phenomena that could cause you to be restrained by invisible forces, or even cause a Daemon to rip through reality and make the situation worse for everyone! 

Divination Psychic Powers Spot by Runesael Flynn

Let’s take a look at one of the Minor Powers from the Core Book, a useful power that all Psykers can learn:

SMITE

Cognomens: Blast, Empyric Screech, Eldritch Undoing

Warp Rating: 3

Difficulty: Difficult (-10)

Range: Medium

Target: 1 Creature

Duration: Instant

You unleash a corruscating blast of raw psychic power against a foe, rending flesh and spirit. Choose a Creature within Medium Range. The target suffers Damage equal to 2 + your Willpower Bonus + the SL from your Manifest Test, which ignores Armour. Specialisation in Telepathy applies to this power's Manifest Test.

Smite is a great power to use in combat, especially against heavily armoured foes your allies might have a hard time taking down. A Warp Rating of 3 typically means that a well-statted Psyker can unleash Smite a couple of times before having to take cover and release their Warp Charge without risking inflicting the Perils of the Warp on the surrounding world.

Yet, Smite is only the tip of the iceberg! Psykers can use their connection to the warp to achieve all manner of unnatural effects, from bending a swarm of scuttling vermin to their will, to slowing down time, or even boiling the blood in their enemy’s veins! This power comes at a terrible price, but it is one that the Imperium — and the psyker in question — must be willing to pay.

That’s all for today! Keep your third-eye peeled on the Cubicle 7 Blog for more Imperium Maledictum information!