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Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but it seemed like the closest match. Anyway, just wondering what kind of psychic disciplines that the traitor legions would have had before the Heresy? If they were to have powers and rules, what would they be?

Obscuration seems like a great choice for the Alpha Legion. That's the only definite one I have so far. I thought that the Word Bearers could have the Sanctic discipline. Death Guard and World Eaters are both potential candidates for Biomancy, but that discipline now has its powers in other disciplines, so...yeah.

Thoughts?

"Psychic disciplines" are a construct of game rules. Pre-Heresy Traitor Legions in 30k use the same standard five (biomancy, divination, pyromancy, telekinesis, and telepathy) as pre-Heresy loyalists. Daemonology (both Sanctic/Malefic) was pretty thoroughly suppressed early on, knowledge and use of both didn't really start to spread until daemonic incursions started to become more commonplace later in the Heresy.

 AnomanderRake wrote:
"Psychic disciplines" are a construct of game rules. Pre-Heresy Traitor Legions in 30k use the same standard five (biomancy, divination, pyromancy, telekinesis, and telepathy) as pre-Heresy loyalists.

What about when psychic disciplines are translated into what they are now, in 9th edition? Assuming that those pre-heresy legions were still loyal and such. If the current loyalists have their own unique powers, why not the others?

So the question is "how would you write psychic disciplines for the traitor Legions if there were 9e-style 30k rules?"

Why are we in Background?

(As to an answer: I wouldn't. Six unique powers for every sub-faction of every Codex is bloat for the sake of bloat.)

NeoAigaion wrote:

 AnomanderRake wrote:
"Psychic disciplines" are a construct of game rules. Pre-Heresy Traitor Legions in 30k use the same standard five (biomancy, divination, pyromancy, telekinesis, and telepathy) as pre-Heresy loyalists.

What about when psychic disciplines are translated into what they are now, in 9th edition? Assuming that those pre-heresy legions were still loyal and such. If the current loyalists have their own unique powers, why not the others?

The Pre-heresy librarius was based on the teachings of Magnus which are the 5 disciplines currently used in the 30k rules so that’s what they’d have.

Obviously exception for Space Wolves who did their own thing, plus some slight tweaks for White Scars who had some Stormseer stuff that was subtly different (although they were the 2nd or 3rd biggest proponents of the librarius project).

I do not know much about current state of 9th edition but in 6th and 7th (and also Horus Heresy which is based upon these editions) there were 5 basic disciplines of magic. There were some various additions for other armies like Eldar, Chaos or Space Wolves.

40k paper RPGs also had 5 basic schools of psychic powers with additional chaos and witch powers.

These 5 basic schools of psychic powers is what Thousand Sons use:
https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Cults_of_the_Thousand_Sons

The Smite power was unique to the Biomancy discipline.