Mirror image / projection psychic power?

[Ferran]

Is there one? I need one for a character and can't find it in the telepathy section, may as well use an existing version if such a thing exists, if not I can design one.

[MarcoSkoll]

I discussed this briefly with Robey at the IGT, and afterwards, I was inclined to agree with him. Illusion isn't really the realm of 40k - it's too D&D.

I've since retconned that particular character's powers to being passive telepathy (with a bit of Pyromancy mixed in here and there). That is, while an illusion might make the character invisible, passive telepathy would make it so they were visible but not noticed.

I still call them "Illusion" powers, but it's something of a misnomer now.

[Inquisitor Cade]

I recon a skilled psyker could refract light to create an image. It would be much more difficult to make it a 3D image and harder still to mold the image into something recognisable. It would be much easier for a telepath to reach into a weak will mind and make it not percieve certain things.

[precinctomega]

If anyone was wondering, my reasoning was that psychic powers represent siphoning warp energy into realspace through the mind/space interface established in the "observer effect" described by quantum theory*.

The warp energy can, of course, be fashioned into just about anything but at the human level of power and control, this tends to be fairly unsophisticated stuff - fireballs, warp breaches, that sort of thing - or, where the control is more sophisticated, influence over other mind/space interfaces, such as is seen in telepathy.

Creating an illusion, therefore, could be done either by fashioning a warp-energy version of the subject of the illusion (requiring powers of visualization far beyond even the most remarkable humans) or by telepathic infiltration: all well and good when working on a single mind but bloody difficult indeed when trying to "broadcast" it to mutliple minds.  And even harder, again, if only trying to influence specific minds out of a selection.

An Eldar Farseer could do it, maybe.  But setting it up would require intense deep meditation and focus upon the object being visualized.

R.

*Yes, I realize this is, at best, cod physics, but this is the frikking Warp we're discussing, here.

[N01H3r3]

An Eldar Farseer could do it, maybe.  But setting it up would require intense deep meditation and focus upon the object being visualized.

Fundamentally, the powers used by the Shadow Seers of the Harlequins are based around sensory manipulation and illusion. The 'Veil of Tears' power they had in the old Citadel Journal armylist for 3rd edition 40k was literally described as removing the Shadow Seer's allies from the enemy's perception; the warriors can be seen by the eyes, but the mind does not notice them. And they do this while somersaulting and eviscerating.

According to the Horus Heresy audiobook Raven's Flight, the Primarch Corax had a similar ability, allowing him to go unnoticed if he so chose.

[Kaled]

According to the Horus Heresy audiobook Raven's Flight, the Primarch Corax had a similar ability, allowing him to go unnoticed if he so chose.

Off-topic I know, but that's interesting as it was always said that the Primarchs had powers that hadn't been passed on to the Astartes including invisibility - a lot of people speculated that one of the missing Primarchs must have had the power of invisibility, and so may have been around for longer than people thought but was just hidden...

[Ferran]

Decided to go with wyrd Distract instead, as the character is a juve without any training or sanction so being able to project a mirror image of himself wouldn't be very fluffy.

[Gnaeus Conlitor]

There is a Tau Gizmo ability that projects a mirror image holographically. You could use the mechanics from that with a little modification.