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Defensive psykers?

Started by MarcoSkoll, December 11, 2018, 01:47:57 AM

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MarcoSkoll

I can't remember when I started dropping it in as an official part of event packs, but most of you will be familiar with fairly common community "house rule" that flips the onus on psychic nullification tests. To copy the text I used in the "Abyss" pack:

QuoteNullification
The official psychic nullification rules are replaced with the following:
An enemy psyker may attempt to nullify the power if he is directly affected by that psychic power. This is a free reaction that does not count towards the actions the psyker can or has used that turn.
A nullification attempt must be declared immediately after the psychic test is passed and before any effects are resolved. The nullifying psyker takes a Willpower test, with a penalty equal to the amount the casting psyker passed his Willpower test. If successful, the power is nullified and has no effect. Nullifying a power has the same risk of psychic overload as using a psychic power.
Rather than the casting psyker having to beat the nullifying psyker, the nullifying psyker must now beat the casting psyker. This in itself significantly limits the problem that existed in the original rules of one psyker being nullified by several, and thus ending up almost completely unable to pass the power (and with his brains outside his skull). While they'll get several attempts to nullify, this doesn't stack into one outrageous penalty.

At this point, is it worth removing the limitation about psykers only getting to only nullifying powers that they're affected by? (Which was of course GW's solution to the problem - and by one reading, that could still be very nasty when three psykers were all technically affected by a Blinding Flash).
I have in IRE given psykers the ability to nullify at up to five yards, in order to reinstate the idea of a defensive psyker, but can we reasonably re-integrate the idea into the original rules?
S.Sgt Silva Birgen: "Good evening, we're here from the Adeptus Defenestratus."
Captain L. Rollin: "Nonsense. Never heard of it."
Birgen: "Pick a window. I'll demonstrate".

GW's =I= articles

Koval

There's always the version I wrote in RIPPA.

QuotePsychic Nullification
Just as a psyker can exercise his will on reality, so too can other psykers resist their attempts to do so.
Needless to say, the hurried attempt to prevent another psyker from using his abilities is more taxing and
spontaneous than the (relatively) controlled and deliberate act of a psyker bending the power of the Warp to
his will in the first place.

Whenever a psyker successfully uses a psychic power, any other psyker that is affected by that power,
or is within 6 yards of a character that is affected, may immediately attempt to Nullify it. We will refer
to the psyker making the Nullification attempt as the "Nullifying psyker". As this is not so much an action as a
reaction, Nullification may be attempted without using up any of the Nullifying psyker's actions, and can be
performed even if the Nullifying psyker has already expended his allotted actions for the turn.

A Nullification roll is a Willpower test. This is made immediately after a psyker using his powers (the "casting
psyker") successfully passes a Psychic test, provided that the Nullifying psyker is directly affected by the
power itself (or is within 6 yards of a character that is). If the Nullification roll is successful, the psychic
power being Nullified fails and has no effect.

The Nullification roll is modified negatively by the amount by which the casting psyker's Psychic test
was passed. Furthermore, if the casting psyker's Psy Rating is higher than the Nullifying psyker's, apply a
further -10 modifier to the Nullification roll. However, if the Nullifying psyker's Psy Rating is higher than the
casting psyker's, apply a +10 modifier instead.

If a psychic power affects multiple psykers, all of them may make separate Nullification attempts; similarly, if
a psyker is affected by multiple psychic powers, he may attempt to Nullify them all. However, do keep in mind
that a psyker cannot attempt to Nullify the same power more than once.
Finally, if a psyker is affected by multiple powers and makes several Nullification rolls in the same turn, then
for the purposes of making Nullification rolls, he suffers a -20 penalty to his Willpower for each
successive attempt.

Example: Inquisitor Smythe's Willpower is 75 and his Psy Rating is 2. The unsanctioned witch Argyris
Petrov, with Psy Rating 3, has just used Compel on Smythe, passing his Psychic test by 28. Smythe's
Nullification roll is therefore modified by -28; as his Psy Rating is lower than Petrov's, he suffers a further -10
modifier, bringing the total to -38. Smythe's chance of nullifying Petrov's Compel power is therefore 37%.

Inquisitor Wesson, on the other hand, also has a Willpower of 75, but his Psy Rating is 5. As his Psy Rating
is higher than Petrov's, he gains a +10 modifier to his Nullification roll instead. In the same circumstances as
above, Wesson's total modifier would therefore be only -18 and his Nullification chance becomes 57%.

MarcoSkoll

I think that's originally where the principle of flipping the onus came from, and it was generally decided that worked enough better that it worked its way into standard event rules (even when the full extent of RIPPA wasn't being used), but the "the psyker must be affected by the power" errata still managed to stick at the same time.

Thing is, I'm writing up a pack for the London GT, and I'm considering overruling said errata (although yes, possibly still capping nullification to a short range), but I don't want to cause a mutiny if that would be too wildly unpopular.
S.Sgt Silva Birgen: "Good evening, we're here from the Adeptus Defenestratus."
Captain L. Rollin: "Nonsense. Never heard of it."
Birgen: "Pick a window. I'll demonstrate".

GW's =I= articles

TallulahBelle

I'd like to see that change as it would make a character from fiction viable in the game which would be stunning.

MarcoSkoll

Well, as far as making characters viable, it's certainly not beyond reason that it could be given to specific characters as a special rule.

However, as far as a general rule, I've incorporated a test version of the rules in the Fracture event pack, allowing nullification at up to 6 yards. We'll see what happens.
S.Sgt Silva Birgen: "Good evening, we're here from the Adeptus Defenestratus."
Captain L. Rollin: "Nonsense. Never heard of it."
Birgen: "Pick a window. I'll demonstrate".

GW's =I= articles