Is psychic power proportional to intelligence?

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**Owain**

It seems to me that most powerful psykers such as Ravenor, Librarians and Sorcerers are all of above-average intelligence. Even the alpha-plus psykers that get loose in the Eisenhorn series display a certain animal cunning. What connection does psychic ability have to intelligence?

Also, how do weirdboyz fit into this?

**Orkeosaurus**

Theoretically you would need to have a sharp mind to keep your psychic ability in check. Psychic ability is also likely honed through mental control and researching into your ability. Hence, Tzeentch is the god of both knowledge and pskery.

Weirdboys try and keep their ability in check as best they can, but it's not really that important to the orks, because daemons really don't anything to do with them and blowing up people's heads is considered okay.

Warpheads, however, do actively try and make themselves more powerful psykers. They probably are fairly knowledgeable about their own ability, although I doubt any other psykers would be so similar to them as to benefit from this knowledge.

Remember as well, orks are quite intelligent, they just don't have have the same motivations as humans. An ork doesn't strap a rocket to his back and risk blowing up because he doesn't understand that this is likely to happen, he does so because he doesn't care that it's likely to happen. He thinks it would quite awesome, and that it's more important to be awesome for a short period of time than less awesome for a long period.

**inquisitorfaust**

I tend to think of it as like swordsmanship. A really powerful psyker has a lot of psychic oomph to their attack and punches like an Ogryn, but a very intelligent and well trained one can use smaller psychic oomph like a fencer uses a rapier. An intelligent, trained psyker that also has a lot of raw power would, like an Astartes, be essentially the best of both.

**Orkeosaurus**

I would add that if your power exceeds your control by too much, you end up with arms sprouting from your face.

**Owain**

So an Ork uses his powers like he fights, and a Farseer's powers are the equivalent of a grand-master fencer with the strength of an Ogryn.

**Orkeosaurus**

I don't know that Farseers have that much raw power, actually.

Eldritch Storm isn't particularly exceptional, and that seems like the most warp energy they really spit out. Their best abilities are a lot more finesse, or mental strength.

**Daba**

Eldritch Storm has been toned down much more than other powers since 2nd ed. In 2nd, it used the huge blast marker (bigger than the current large blast); it didn't do that much direct damage, but flung everything it hit to the edge of the template (while hitting them) and sent vehicles out of control.

Then it remained in place and blocked LOS to everything and didn't allow anything to move through it.

Besides, I actually think their other powers (Doom, Guide) require even greater power than just blorching or mind blasting due to the fact they are fate manipulation.

**Orkeosaurus**

It doesn't seem like it takes much power to me.

So you slightly twinge one thing knowing that it will cause other things to fall into place; that's not a huge exertion of will. That's a huge amount of knowledge, to be able to know exactly what to do and what will come from the manipulation, but it's not raw power in the sense that it was being used (i.e. something separate from skillful usage).

I suppose by "power" I'm referring to pure warp energy being channelled through the psyker into the material plane; not the level of effect the ability has, or the skill at which the psyker can look through the warp and see the strands of fate, or navigate a spaceship, etc.

And there were a lot of things different in 2nd edition. It's over now, though, and a new edition has replaced it.

**karimabuseer**

Thousand son sorcerers (the exiled ones) are pretty poweful imo.....especially Ahriman, he has a crazy amount of knowledge and is an amazingly powerful sorcerer.

**Owain**

Perhaps we should attempt to differentiate between psychic ability and the ability to channel the warp.

Sorcerers unleash the Warp itself on people, tearing asunder the barriers between real and unreal and unleashing dark creatures and energies. Here the caster relies on knowledge and willpower to control whatever he brings forth.

Some powers like the ones Ravenor uses against other psykers in Dan Abnett's series seem to be innate abilities that are powered by the user's will, psychic ability, and knowledge of how to control their powers.

Does anyone care to add or correct?

**Orkeosaurus**

Hmm. I don't know if there's that much actually published on how psykery works.

I figure telepathy and precognition are sort of using the warp as a medium, taking information from other places (or minds) and other times, or reading the ripples those events caused in the warp themselves.

I can see how that would be different from directly manipulating the material world through the warp.

Perhaps psychic wards against other psykers would be sort of like taking control of the warp around them and stabilizing it? Or stirring it up, depending on the wards? That would, in a way, limit their ability to use the warp themselves.

No idea how Pariahs work. Perhaps they're like some sort of black hole, and when they're around all of the warp energies flow into them? That would be consistent with the ability to drain souls or lifeforce.

**Platuan4th**

Orkeosaurus wrote:No idea how Pariahs work. Perhaps they're like some sort of black hole, and when they're around all of the warp energies flow into them? That would be consistent with the ability to drain souls or lifeforce.

Pariahs have no soul. The lack of a soul creates a negative/null space(both in reality and the warp) around the being that the warp can not touch. It's all there in the background for Culexus Assassins.

From Lexicanum: "Pariahs are the antithesis of Chaos as their being does not have any presence in the warp and indeed radiates a sense of unnaturalness and unease that is uncomfortable to living creatures and can be painful or even lethal to psychically sensitive beings such as Eldar or Psykers. "

Also, there's no real indication whether Zoanthropes have a true intellect or are simply conduits for the Hive Mind's own powers, so I'd say that Psychic powers don't really have to do with intelligence.

**Orkeosaurus**

Good point on the Zoanthropes. There are some other generally unintelligent psychic beings in the 40k universe too (like a plant that can control your mind)

I know that the Pariahs have no soul, and I know that they create a null (so I guess I was lying about having no idea how they work), but I'm trying to visualize exactly what they entails.

As far as I know, rocks and tree and nothingness (space) is soulless. Unless it's not? Psykers don't fear inanimate objects, or space with no people present, so it can't simply be "soullessness" in the sense that they're like a rock or a tree in the warp.

That's what made me think of a black hole; also, I read a bit of fluff on the Pariahs that mentioned them appearing as sort of a dark void sucking everything in it to psykers (and consequently making them gak their pants).

**Try Again Bragg**

I would think it closer to meditation then intelligence. Those with the most control over their minds are the ones that are going to be the more powerful psykers. as well there are external factors. A librarian is covered in purity seals that help him control the warp power flowing through his head. guard psykers on the other hand have only a brown robe and maybe a staff, not very counteracting.

**DeathTyrant**

Orkeosaurus wrote:Remember as well, orks are quite intelligent, they just don't have have the same motivations as humans. An ork doesn't strap a rocket to his back and risk blowing up because he doesn't understand that this is likely to happen, he does so because he doesn't care that it's likely to happen. He thinks it would quite awesome, and that it's more important to be awesome for a short period of time than less awesome for a long period.

This is exactly why I love my Orks.

As for intelligence being a factor, I think it is indeed a matter of control of power, not the level of power.