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This came up with the FAQ release for Tyranids, but figured I'd open it up in general. For reference, I've spoilered the original posting from the Nid Tactics thread:



The FAQ entry in question:

Page 69 - Dominion
Add the following sentence to the end of Dominion's rule:
'If the Psyker does not have the Synapse Creature special rule, it gains it for the duration of this power and has a synapse range of 6".'

It's important to note that in the current Tyranid codex the Broodlord is the only Psyker who is NOT a synapse creature. I also feel it worth noting that the two are not 100% linked; there are synapse creatures that are not Psykers (warriors or shrikes, for instance).

These are the relevant BRB rules, presented for discussion:

Psychic Focus (rulebook page 22)
If a Psyker generates all of his powers from the same psychic discipline (eve if he can only generate one power), that Psyker is said to have Psychic Focus, and gains that discipline's primaris power in addition to his other powers. (rest goes on to discuss losing psychic focus if you gain powers from another discipline, how Force doesn't count, and chaos psychic focus.)

Generating Psychic Powers[b] (rulebook page 23)
Psykers generate their psychic powers before the game begins. This is done openly, so both you and your opponent are aware of the power(s) each Psyker has generated. If your army includes more than one Psyker, you can choose the order in which you generate their powers.

In some Army List Entries, a Psyker will have one or more specific psychic powers listed - where this is the case, it will be clearly stated. These Psykers always start the game with those psychic powers. Otherwise, a Psyker generates random psychic powers from amongst the psychic disciplines known to him.

To randomly generate a psychic power, (do some stuff; rules snipped for both copyright and brevity).

Primaris Powers (subsection of [b]Generating Psychic Powers above
Immediately after generating a psychic power, a Psyker can always choose to substitute the power generated for the discipline's primaris power.

Basically it will come down to "does having a set power list count as 'generating psychic powers' or not"?

My thoughts, spoilered so as not to bias initial readings:


Thoughts?

This says it all...

"Psychic Focus (rulebook page 22)
If a Psyker generates all of his powers from the same psychic discipline..."

You only get Psychic Focus if you generate powers, which the Broodlord does not do.

They probably meant for him to have it though, but you can never really tell intent.

I sincerely doubt that the FAQ entry cited above would be there if the Broodlord were not granted Dominion, since as also noted by the OP the Broodlord is the only psyker that is NOT also a synapse creature. Thus if the Broodlord is not granted Dominion, the FAQ entry has literally no purpose. As to the phrase "generating Psychic Powers", look at the full paragraph provided by the OP. The portion about certain units always having specific (ie non-random) powers is under the heading of "Generating Psychic Powers". Just because they're non-random doesn't mean that they aren't "generated". Regardless of the ambiguity of the phrase "generate powers" based on the FAQ entry alone I believe it's safe to state that the RAI interpretation is that the Broodlord DOES gain Dominion.

And if that isn't sufficient evidence to compel you, maybe you can be swayed by the fact that it's fething Tyranids, throw them a freaking bone here.

I agree that the intent is to give Broodlords Dominion, and I even agree that RAW shows they get focus. The problem I see is that by the same RAW, a psyker with ML2+ would be able to swap any pre-generated powers for the primaris. Seriously doubt that is intended.

 DeathReaper wrote:
This says it all...

"Psychic Focus (rulebook page 22)
If a Psyker generates all of his powers from the same psychic discipline..."

You only get Psychic Focus if you generate powers, which the Broodlord does not do.

They probably meant for him to have it though, but you can never really tell intent.

Bogus interpretation, assuming the quotations are perfectly accurate.

The rules for automatically known powers appear under the heading "GENERATING PSYCHIC POWERS". Therefore they represent one subset of possible generation mechanics (auto-generation versus random generation).

I'd suggest the reason you can't switch an auto-generated power for the primaris is because of the sentence, "These Psykers always start the game with those psychic powers."

"Always" precludes swapping. It does nothing to inhibit the additional inclusion of the primaris.

 Leonus wrote:
I agree that the intent is to give Broodlords Dominion, and I even agree that RAW shows they get focus. The problem I see is that by the same RAW, a psyker with ML2+ would be able to swap any pre-generated powers for the primaris. Seriously doubt that is intended.

I agree the fact that the part sayig about if your rulebook ays you have a power you have that means is under the generating psychic powers means its a way of generating then thus you have generated that psychic power and get the focus.... Id say your more focused than most ha

This question is very relevant for Chaos Psykers with a Mark of ... too.

If taking a (pre set or not) power is generating, taking the primaris through Chaos Psychic Focus fulfills the prerequisite for a Mark of Tzeentch/Slaanesh/Nurgle.

If another Psyker in another Codex also has pre-generated powers wouldn't they also know the Primaris for that Codex's psychic powers by default? And as such can not swap a pre-generated power for the Primaris that they all ready know?

If they don't specifically have a Primaris power for the psychic discipline than it's a moot point anyway is it not?

 Leonus wrote:
I agree that the intent is to give Broodlords Dominion, and I even agree that RAW shows they get focus. The problem I see is that by the same RAW, a psyker with ML2+ would be able to swap any pre-generated powers for the primaris. Seriously doubt that is intended.

I agree the fact that the part sayig about if your rulebook ays you have a power you have that means is under the generating psychic powers means its a way of generating then thus you have generated that psychic power and get the focus.... Id say your more focused than most ha

 Hansisaf wrote:
This question is very relevant for Chaos Psykers with a Mark of ... too.

If taking a (pre set or not) power is generating, taking the primaris through Chaos Psychic Focus fulfills the prerequisite for a Mark of Tzeentch/Slaanesh/Nurgle.

Certainly seems to fill that requirement.

If you're getting the power as a freebie, you're not really generating it IMO... And you need to generate a power first, before you get your primaris for free. As a BONUS.

Same for the Eldar Wraith Fighter. Does it get to take Psychic Shriek because it knows Terrify?

 Hansisaf wrote:
This question is very relevant for Chaos Psykers with a Mark of ... too.

If taking a (pre set or not) power is generating, taking the primaris through Chaos Psychic Focus fulfills the prerequisite for a Mark of Tzeentch/Slaanesh/Nurgle.

Interestingly enough, page 30 of CSM codex says Mark of ... must generate at least one, but page 70 says must roll at least one. Clearly the books language doesn't take into account there being a difference. While a preset power may be considered 'generated', raw it certainly isn't 'rolled'. Which way this goes could have a huge effect on 1ksons asp. sorcs.

katana100 wrote:

 Leonus wrote:
I agree that the intent is to give Broodlords Dominion, and I even agree that RAW shows they get focus. The problem I see is that by the same RAW, a psyker with ML2+ would be able to swap any pre-generated powers for the primaris. Seriously doubt that is intended.

I agree the fact that the part sayig about if your rulebook ays you have a power you have that means is under the generating psychic powers means its a way of generating then thus you have generated that psychic power and get the focus.... Id say your more focused than most ha

Also, the grey knight faq had grey knight units that had set powers "gained" the primaris power albeit in a explicit way. I think the broodlord's dominion and the "generating psychic powers" section are very strong clues as to what the intent is with the psychic focus.

I don't think "generating" is equal to "randomly generating" buuuuuuut I want to use my hemlock wraithfighter with the psychic scream so I might be a little biased haha.