Unsanctioned psyker

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“Like I said, he had me dead in sights, then his stubber just exploded. I’m just lucky that way, I guess.”

– Leelo Zol, unsanctioned psyker[4c]


An unsanctioned psyker, (also known as a wyrd, wilder,[6] or rogue psyker)[4d][8b][31a] is a human psyker who hasn't been taken as part of the Imperial Tithe by a Black Ship.[4d][31a] They are brutally tested and sometimes sanctioned. A fraction of these psykers will be trained by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, while the vast majority are sacrificed to the Golden Throne.[4b][31a]

Unsanctioned psykers are also sometimes decried as witches[6] or warp-dabblers. This term is also used commonly as a pejorative term for psykers in general (sanctioned or not) by the ignorant masses of the Imperium.[7]

Overview

“When anyone comes looking for me I just go down stack and find the darkest corner I can find. I stand there and wait for the hammers to come by and I just... think at them to not see me. I don’t know why it works.”


Unsanctioned Psyker Idira Tlass, companion to the Rogue Trader of House von Valancius.[5]

The existence of unsanctioned psykers puts both themselves and those around them in danger.[4a] A human psyker might appear like any other baseline human, but they are mutants.[7] Planetary Governors are often expected to keep psyker numbers below a certain threshold, as well as other aberrant mutants. Many Imperial worlds cull their populaces in this pursuit.[30] With Humanity's ever-increasing uptick in psykers being born, the Black Ships of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica can't hope to quantify them all, and can only hope to harness a small fraction of new psykers.[25]

A psyker's psychic abilities usually begin to emerge between ten to twenty years of age. However, some psyker's power begin to emerge much later or earlier in life, such as infancy or middle-age.[7] Some might not even be aware of their powers, latent or otherwise, simply chalking strange occurrences up as uncanny luck.[4b] Many must learn to control their powers on their own. Others might learn through ancient shamanistic scripts passed down through generations or ancient lost scripts and tomes. Many will hide away from society, forming an off-putting reputation as a formidable practitioner of mystical arts, a dark witch or wizard on the edges of civilisation. Others still might attempt to aid their community with their abilities. Often time these are individuals with a talent for healing arts.[4a]

Only the strongest of these psychically gifted individuals make it to adulthood, requiring exceptional willpower to ward off daemonic possession and maintain their sanity.[4a] Unsanctioned psykers are more vulnerable to daemonic possession than a sanctioned psyker, especially if they have have an affinity towards one of the four major Gods of Chaos. Those that do can easily be exploited by the Ruinous Powers as portals for daemons to enter the Materium.[6] However, when conventional means prove insufficient, some Inquisitors and Rogue Traders are willing to take this risk and make use of the great potential power some of these individuals harness. These Rogue Psykers are safeguarded from the rest of the Imperium due to the political power of their patron's respective offices.[4a][6][8b]

Some rogue psykers seek to nullify or suppress their warp abilities, such as through the use of artefacts made from Noctilith.[18] Blackstone Shard Amulets or psy-suppressor can ward off warp influence and/or mask their own nascent powers.[26][27]

Communities of rogues psykers can result in a variety of problems, even if they only seek a peaceful life hidden from the persecution of Imperial Law. There is the immediate threat of uncontrolled, destructive powers, and the innate threat of daemonic incursions.[4e] Then there are other threats from the warp-based threats that prey on psykers, such as Psychneuein or Enslavers. Both being attracted to psyker colonies and potentially causing a catastrophic infestation on a world.[19][4f] Rogue Psyker Covens sometimes form deep within hive cities where the charred remains of their experiments litter profaned grounds. Then there is the potential for a warlord to arise, leading an army of mutant thralls. The possibility of Chaos Sorcerers arising and leading to any combination of the threats.[20] Genestealer Cults will often seek out untrained psykers to induct into their cult. Offering the fugitive protection, and in turn, paving the way for a future Magus to be born to them.[25] Pirates also desire the advantages having a rogue psyker in the crew. Potential disadvantages potential unwanted attention from the Imperium and the chance of daemonically possessed rogue psykers subverting their crew into a Chaos Cult.[29]

With psykers accumulating on various worlds in greater numbers due to the Psychic Awakening and logistical issues for the Black Ships, the influential of some worlds have begun training these mutants locally, as best they can. Some worlds have rounded up any children with psychic potential and forced them into specialised schools to train them in their abilities. It is common for the children at these places to be frequently beaten bloody in between their demanding training regimens. These facilities are more prominent on the dark side of the Great Rift.[5]

Containment

Maddened Rogue Psykers escaping a compromised prison spire.[21c]

Local Enforcers typically arrest any suspected rogue psykers. Those found to exhibit psychic abilities will be sent to a holding where they will await the arrival of a Black Ship.[21a] Ideally, Rogue Psykers are held in specialised prison facilities (Sanctum Psykana).[22] However, delays to Black Ship arrivals can occur and lead an occupancy overflow. This is especially notable in the Imperium Nihilus due to the creation of the Great Rift. Authorities may then choose to imprison Rogue Psykers in mundane prison facilities instead. These facilities can become hotbeds of uncontrolled psychic power, if the facility or world is compromised. The thinning of the veil between warp and reality could lead to the appearance of Warp Entities like Khymera or worse, daemonic possession and incursion.[21c]

Some psykers escape imprisonment before a Black Ship comes to collect the interred. Some of these escapees might seek turn on the Imperium for the torture inflicted on them during imprisonment or revenge for the family members murdered in order to capture them.[28b]

Some see this Psychic Awakening as a boon. The Inquisitors of the Radical ideology known as the Polypsykana believe Humanity is becoming a psychic species, for better or worse, and this psychic potential must be protected, nurtured, and explored. With so many Black Ships lost or running significantly late, Polypsykana Inquisitors have found a massive backlog of imprisoned psykers, to recruit or experiment on, to further their research.[18a]

Rogue Psykers and Chaos

"I pity you, standing there with your cherished Wargear. How naive of you to think such trinkets can keep me from the power that is my birthright. I will wipe you from existence with a single thought."

— High Adept Sywethan of the Divine Path[31c]


A Rogue Psyker of Chaos[15]

Untrained psykers who have eluded the Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus Witchhunters or the Adeptus Astra Telepathica's torturous League of Black Ships are more often than not referred to as rogue psykers, and are considered fugitives[14] and illegal citizens.[31c] Those that evade the Imperium are not always corrupted by the Ruinous Powers, but those that are will more than likely choose to avoid the near-assured torture and destruction that Imperial capture promises.[14] Other times, a rogue psyker's persecution and flight might push a rogue psyker into bargaining with the Powers of Chaos for their own survival, revenge, or avarice.[13][31c]

Rogue psykers are often lonely or unstable individuals, especially those tainted by Chaos. Even if they aren't, these desperate souls have everything to lose and often ally with others for safety, hiring mercenaries or working with Chaos Cultists out of necessity. Although rogue psykers tend to work alone, not forming large communities as these individuals tend to be quite rare, there are a few rare cases of two working together as master and apprentice.[31c]

A psyker under the influence of Chaos are prone to possession and insanity even moreso than the standard untrained psyker.[14] The power of the Ruinous Powers making them inherently unpredictable.[39c] Their powers can run completely out of their control, capable of causing mass destruction, as well as making the psyker himself prone to possession by Daemons.[15] Such is the danger of a Rogue Psyker that entire Imperial Guard Regiments may fall under their sway, forcing the hand of the Ordo Hereticus to muster a retinue or even an army to purge the entire regiment.[16]

Necromundan Wyrds

Unsanctioned psykers are among the most despised criminals on Necromunda, with Lord Helmawr ensuring they have no place in civilised society.[2a] A significant proportion of Necromundans, maybe as high as 10% or so, have minor abilities which they don't even consider to be psychic mutations – for example they may be 'lucky' at cards, or very good at 'guessing' what is on another person's mind – but only at such level that others think that they were just born lucky or are very perceptive, rather than mutants.[1a]

Wyrds that can hide their powers are fairly safe in the hive proper, although there is always a small risk of discovery. If a Wyrd grows older and more confident in their abilities they may start to flaunt their superhuman abilities. Few of those Wyrds that reveal their powers truly appreciate the danger they are in and many are either burnt as a witch, or captured by the Scholastica Psykana.[1a] Those Wyrds who are captured by House Cawdor or the Redemptionist Crusades will be automatically burned alive, unless they can be rescued in time.[3]

For this reason many Wyrds choose to live in the Underhive, where mutants for the most part are tolerated, so long as they are not grossly mutated, or a danger to all around them.[1a]

Wyrds in the Underhive

A Wyrd Psyker[1c]

Once in the Underhive Wyrds are forced to rely on their powers in order to survive. Some Wyrds use their powers to help others, especially those who have purely beneficial abilities that allow them to heal physical injuries or help those in mental turmoil. These individuals are often harboured and protected by Underhive communities who value their powers and respect their wisdom.[1a]

More often than not, however, a Wyrd in the Underhive will follow a more practical and mercenary path and offer his services to the highest bidder. Although hiring a known psyker is a felony on Necromunda, there are many who are willing to take the risk in order to gain the services of one of these powerful individuals. Many Outlaw gangs are happy to employ Wyrds as they have nothing to lose by breaking the law again.[1a]

Types of Wyrds

Outland wyrds

Outland wyrds are self-taught individuals who fled their settlements to live solitary lives or occasionally form gangs for protection. These wyrds often specialize in one discipline, such as the telepathic oracles known as the Sightless Sisters on the Sunless Isle of the sump sea. Their strength can provoke crusades of extermination by the Redemption to eliminate them.[2a]

Rogue wyrds

Rogue wyrds are failed psykers or escapees from Helmawr’s psykanariums. Trained and conditioned to resist the Warp, these rogue wyrds are formidable adversaries, their freedom often resulting from flaws in their conditioning or underestimation by the Imperial House. Hunted relentlessly, they pose a significant threat to Necromunda’s stability and are considered failures by Lord Helmawr. They remain high on the most wanted lists of Scrutinators and Scryarii enforcers.[2a]

Wyrd Gatherings

Wyrd Gatherings are gangs made up entirely of Wyrds, who rely on each other for protection and constantly travel to avoid those who hunt their kind. These gangs are formed by charismatic leaders known as Mentors, who are wise in the ways of the Underhive and have also developed a more precise control over their psychic powers. Because of this, Mentor Wyrds are considered to be very dangerous and they are the hated enemies of the Redemptionist Crusades.[3]

Wyrd Powers

Wyrds have far more effective powers, but are still very different from the highly trained psykers of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. This because wyrds almost always develop their abilities in an undisciplined, self-taught way.[1a] Some of their unique abilities are classified as Psykana Obscura and typically seen used outside of Imperial Sanctioning.[23]

The powers displayed by Wyrds are highly varied, and it is extremely rare that two Wyrds have exactly the same abilities. But there is a number of very broad types that many Wyrd powers are divided into:[1a]

Wyrd Variants

Notable Unsanctioned Psykers

Notable Rogue Psyker Groups

Images

Necromundan Wyrds
Chaos Rogue Psykers

  • Rogue Psyker[28a][31d]

  • Rogue Psyker[3]

  • Rogue Psykers miniatures[4]

  • Rogue Psyker miniature

See also

Sources

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