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Could Lightning Claws, Power Fists, Thunder Hammers and Power Weapons be used to electrocute a bunch of attackers charging through a large puddle without insulated boots?

I doubt it, best way to think of Power weapons is like Lightsabers, cut through armor very easily. (or if you know starwars lore like the vibroblade)

The fluff for power weapons describes 'power fields' or 'energy fields', and even describes 'lightning-like discharges', so it sounds plausible to me.

Though, were this the case, wouldn't the Astartes constantly find themselves electrocuting themselves, their equipment and their allies in wet conditions?

English Assassin wrote:The fluff for power weapons describes 'power fields' or 'energy fields', and even describes 'lightning-like discharges', so it sounds plausible to me.

Though, were this the case, wouldn't the Astartes constantly find themselves electrocuting themselves, their equipment and their allies in wet conditions?

In Horus Rising, some of the Astartes were struck by lightning and were unscathed so the power armour probably has some sort of insulation for those situations.

Deathly Angel wrote:

English Assassin wrote:The fluff for power weapons describes 'power fields' or 'energy fields', and even describes 'lightning-like discharges', so it sounds plausible to me.

Though, were this the case, wouldn't the Astartes constantly find themselves electrocuting themselves, their equipment and their allies in wet conditions?

In Horus Rising, some of the Astartes were struck by lightning and were unscathed so the power armour probably has some sort of insulation for those situations.

Ceremite conductivity is probably pretty low.
You'd think there'd be traces of metal in those suits. Could be dangerous. In fact the current could pass through to the flesh unless it was completely air-tight.
But most lightening strikes are actually pretty mild. With astartes' toughness it's unlikely they'd be seriously hurt by "conventional" lightening.

I think if a LC is swinging in your direction you have bigger problems then the danger of electrical shock.

There is metal in suits of PA as well as all the interior equipment(Vox, targeting systems, power reactor...) but it is almost certaintly shielded from electricity. And does Adamantium even conduct?

Joey wrote:

Deathly Angel wrote:

English Assassin wrote:The fluff for power weapons describes 'power fields' or 'energy fields', and even describes 'lightning-like discharges', so it sounds plausible to me.

Though, were this the case, wouldn't the Astartes constantly find themselves electrocuting themselves, their equipment and their allies in wet conditions?

In Horus Rising, some of the Astartes were struck by lightning and were unscathed so the power armour probably has some sort of insulation for those situations.

Ceremite conductivity is probably pretty low.
You'd think there'd be traces of metal in those suits. Could be dangerous. In fact the current could pass through to the flesh unless it was completely air-tight.
But most lightening strikes are actually pretty mild. With astartes' toughness it's unlikely they'd be seriously hurt by "conventional" lightening.

Remember this is sci-fi lightning, it'd probably leave nothing of you or I other than a shadow


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I'm going to assume that power weapons and the like have hilts and suchlike designed to keep rain and suchlike from forming a complete circuit from the blade to the hand and up to the exposed head and flesh wounds

You could possibly do it with Force weapons but then you might as well use warp lightning, as you'd only have a Force weapon if you were a psyker.

The energy field of a power weapon is not an electrical field, in that it is not the flow of electrons from Points A to B and back again, though the arcing bands of power are described as "lightning-like". That's a visual descriptor, not a definition of the scientific principle behind its cause.

So, basically, you have a sword (or a gauntlet or a hammer or whatever) that seems to have little lightning bolts arcing around its business end. That gives you, the player, who will never see a real life power weapon in action, an idea of what it looks like. Electricity is generally not very useful in tearing things apart on an molecular level without extreme levels of amperage (not to mention wattage), so we can assume that a power sword, which has a battery in the hilt, isn't actually a lightning-sword. It's just... energy. That ill-defined sort of sci-fi power that isn't electricity, isn't heat, isn't kinetic force and isn't gravity, but is, simultaneously, something like all of these things combined, working together, and yet is wholly different and separate at the same time.

Sticking your Thunder Hammer into a pool of water isn't going to electrocute anyone getting their feet wet. Though if you slam the hammer down, you're going to catch them in its shockwave effect (this, though, is less electrical and more kinetic).

Of course, when you have something wrapped in a crackling field of "energy", there's likely to be some static build-up and such, not to mention creation of ozone as you super-heat the oxygen molecules of the surrounding atmosphere. This static build-up, though, seems incidental to the weapon's function, rather than an intent of design.

yeah, any electricity that is generated won't be enough to cause appreciable damage to those concerned. Like I said earlier, you got bigger problems if a power weapon is swinging in your direction.