Shadow in the Warp
Shadow in the Warp is a Tyranid Psychic Power.[1] Hive Ships act as powerful nodes for the Hive Mind and disrupt the Warp in a radius of several light years.[4]
Overview
It is as if the Tyranids have blocked out the connection to the Warp, making any psychic abilities very difficult to utilise, affecting psychic races like the Eldar most heavily. It does however have the added benefit of keeping the denizens of the warp in the warp.[1]
Many scholars suggest the Shadow in the Warp is the result of a constant two-way communication between the Hive Mind and lesser organisms, this creates a phenomenal amount of psychic activity. The primary sources of this broadcast are the hive ships, though some other Tyranids are also capable (Broodlords, Tyrants and Warriors).[2]
Independent of the source, the arrival of the Tyranid brings a blanket of psychic static that scratches the mind.[2] The archives of the Adeptus Mechanicus are replete with reports analysing this disruptive influence in the warp and its debilitating effect on individuals with a connection to the empyrean. Reports include instances of astropaths breaking their skulls against bulkheads in order to silence the sibilant chittering that fills their minds, and blinded Navigators who drive their ships onto the warp's treacherous tides.[6]
During times of war, the Seers of the Eldar are able to channel the fury of Khaine to cloud the Shadow in the Warp, bringing it down to manageable levels.[7]
Effects
The effects of the shadow are varied:[2]
- The average person experiences uneasiness and terrible nightmares.[2]
- Psykers or anybody with warp sensibility suffer severe headaches, uncontrollable screaming, bleeding eyes and unconsciousness.[2]
- It blocks most astropathic signals.[2]
- Complicates warp travel.[2] Potentially effecting the cohesion of a voidship fleet exiting a warp jump within the radius.[6]
- Disrupts psychic phenomena.[2]
Sources
- 1: Codex: Tyranids (4th Edition), pg. 31
- 2: Deathwatch: The Achilus Assault, pg. 45
- 3: Warhammer Art : Shadow in the Warp (saved archive)
- 4: Deathwatch: The Achilus Assault, pg. 48
- 5: Magic: The Gathering's Universes Beyond Warhammer 40,000 - Shadow in the Warp
- 6: Dominion Genesis (Novel): Gryphonne IV, Chapter 2
- 7: Valedor (Novel) - Chapter 4
