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Psyker

2017-11-06T01:14:41Z

2605:E000:7ECF:7F00:143C:32A:D33C:E495: /* Psychic Disciplines */

[[Image:imperialpsyker.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Good thing [[Games Workshop]] has an extremely liberal interpretation of the word 'psychic'. Magic IN SPEHSS!]]

''“We always vilify what we don't understand.”'' 
- Nenia Campbell

A '''psyker''', in the [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe, is an individual with psychic powers capable of accessing the [[Warp]]. This is both a blessing and a curse; though psykers are often able to achieve spectacular feats with their abilities, the Warp is a perilous place, and whenever a psyker uses their abilities there is a chance that they will be subject to the Perils of the Warp. Death is one of the milder results of this; extremely unlucky psykers might actually be raped in countless ways by [[daemon]]s and used as a gateway from the Warp into the physical world. Luckily, in the ranks of the [[Imperial Guard]], where there's a psyker, there's usually a [[Commissar]] ready to unleash the power of [[Blam]].

==Types of Psyker==
The different races of the setting perceive psykers in different ways.

===Imperium===
The [[Imperium of Man]] regards most psykers as extremely dangerous, because these are people with scary powers, and the influence of the Warp tends not to let them stay sane for very long, but hey, space wizards are cool. There is also the threat of [[Chaos]] possessing them and summoning daemons. Thus, the [[Inquisition]] hunts them down so they can either be sacrificed to feed the [[Empra]] or sanctioned and made to serve the Imperium (under an inquisitor's watchful eye). Such psykers appear as a unit in the Dawn of War games and like to scream incomprehensible one-liners so mind-numbingly loud that they may very well actually make your head explode. [[Space Marines]] make their psykers into [[Librarian]]s: in addition to psychic support on the battlefield, they compile records in the Librarium, serve to assist in battlefield communications, and test their brothers for Chaotic contamination. [[Imperial Guard]] Sanctioned Psykers combine psychic powers with Standard Issue Balls of Steel that every Imperial Guard member has. In addition, they have a nasty reputation for being BLAMMED by Commissars. "Rogue Psykers" is the official designation for any psyker who hasn't been collared by the Imperium yet and are often hated by more puritan worlds, in extreme cases routinely being hunted down and killed; but on most worlds being sactioned (assuming you survive and don't mind the side affects) gives an air of authority and orthodoxy to an otherwise hated thing. People still hate you, but instead of treating you like a particularly verbose bit of dung, now you're hated the way tax collectors are hated. Astropaths are beyond such venom, partly because they are less prone to possession and mostly because they are a planet's only way of communicating with the greater Imperium. People still feel uneasy around them, but even [[Black Templars]] have to cope with them and make nice faces. Pointing out that the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor]] was a psyker usually results in the person struggling to make a retort for a few moments before beating you to death. Well, actually not, since for an average citizen of the Imperium the Emperor is God, so His wielding godly powers in the [[Great_Crusade|glory days]] before His ascension is actually the core tenet of the Imperial Cult and proof of his divinity. Not so for mere mortal psykers, who are rightly considered unholy and corruptible.

Humanity being the stars of the show obviously have arguably the greatest psychic potential overall (because of course they do), with a psychic evolution (which could take countless centuries or even millennia to take place; even if they can survive it) into a full psychic race which the Emperor himself has said may very well equal or even possibly surpass even the Eldar at their peak, although with the loss of the Webway project even the Emperor admits that this path is pretty much now closed to humanity. Becoming a psychic race doesn't suddenly make you god tier, it just makes you psychic; the Eldar are a full blown psychic race and they aren't exactly doing brilliantly.

Humanity has managed to produce the strongest Psykers in the history of the Galaxy but most didn't come into being through natural means:
*[[The Emperor]] is obviously the first that springs to mind as he is unquestionably the strongest mortal psyker that has yet been seen, unless you count the [[Old Ones]]. The question is however: is he even human? There are many theories surrounding the Emperor's origins and his exact nature. Was he born or is he a construct from the Dark age of technology that believes itself to be human? If we take the whole Shaman origin as fact then his psychic might is due to the large number of psychic beings merging their minds into one which is certainly not the norm (strangely something similar happened to [[Ephrael Stern]]). Even if we assume he's a single entity that [[Perpetual|happens to be immortal]], there is the whole deal with the Chaos gods which may or may not have boosted his already considerable power. The Emperor is clear proof ha that the most powerful Psyker in existence is indisputably human
*[[Magnus]] is a Primarch and should in no way be considered entirely human. He, like all his kind, are artificial beings created through Warp shenanigans and advanced bio engineering. There is nothing natural about him or his psychic might.
*[[Malcador]] is the only truly natural (depending upon what happens with his back story once it is finally revealed) human standout amongst the big names. He may play second fiddle to the likes of the abominations that are the Emperor and Magnus but he is still the strongest "human" psyker on the list. Natural humans are never going to be able to compete with the gods of the Warp, but a race of potential Malcador's doesn't sound too shabby now does it.
*[[Voldus]] like many Grey Knights and even other Space Marine Librarians, Voldus and his predecessors have often performed feats far beyond that shown by any Eldar Farseer, with Voldus, in the crunch, actually having basic net superior abilities to even Eldrad.
*[[Tigurius]] is arguably the greatest precognitive in the galaxy, with accurate predictions and manipulations which put Eldrad to shame, and the only Psyker to ever manage to make contact and read the mind of the [[Hive Mind]] itself and survive, using that knowledge against the [[Tyranid]].

===Forces of Chaos===
[[Chaos]] tends to have...varied opinions on psykers.
*[[Daemon]]s are made out of the stuff of the Warp, and using psychic powers is shaping and throwing out a little bit of the Warp; so a daemon using psychic powers is the rough equivalent of [[Rip and tear|taking a severed limb or some bones and throwing it]] as a viable attack. While that sounds pretty fucking metal, [[Khorne]] thinks that pulling this bullshit is a sign that you're not manly enough to get into the thick of it and handle the situation on your own. So it's an opinion shared by his daemons and his mortal followers. Not only do they not use psychic powers, but they actively hate any pussified deadbeat who uses them, and they even get toys that fuck with anybody trying to use those powers. However, it should be said that Khornate traitor librarians exist. Librarians by nature are beings that focus on destruction with their minds, so Khorne recognizes that as inner strength and makes an exception for them.
*On the other end of the spectrum, [[Tzeentch]], being the god of magic, is hugely into psychic powers, and he likes making new ones that do all kinds of mix-and-match effects, though only the best are actually rolled out. That's the official line. He's actually a closeted pyro, and a lot of his powers are burny or...do weird shit. Being the patron of psykers, if people get Tzeentch's attention because they're scholars or [[Just As Planned|David Xanatos]], they'll eventually develop psychic power whether they like it or not. Due to higher exposure to Warp energy via psychic powers and serving the god of change, Tzeentch's minions, and more often, ''their'' minions have the highest rates of mutation and turning into [[Chaos Spawn|Chao--er, tentacly gribblies]]. [[Ahriman]], possibly the greatest of Tzeentch's Servants barring Magnus himself, was so powerful a Psyker that he was able to defeat Ulthwe's most venerated Psyker; Kyaduras the Anchorite, with ease and, in the same battle, also casually defeated [[Yvraine]], the Yncarne and the Visarch.
*In the middle, [[Nurgle]] likes any psykers that spread his gifts around but doesn't really go out of his way to promote them in his followers either, probably on account of his direct opposition to Tzeentch. Needless to say, his powers all revolve around inflicting people with horrible diseases or boosting their endurance to unnatural levels.
*Similarly, [[Slaanesh]] thinks Tzeentch is a [[Neckbeard|giant nerd]], whose overdevotion to his nerdy hobby of inventing new psychic powers will never get him laid. We think it says this because <s>Tzeentch refuses to sleep with it (it almost certainly likes his tentacles and crotch mouth)</s> he's afraid he might catch Warp chlamydia, and he's just not willing to give Nurgle that kind of [[Just as Planned|satisfaction]]. Slaaneshi psykers emphasize powers that makes the [[Chaos|hurt feel good]], or has effects that look like the target might have [[Drug|snorted]] the psychic power off of a stripper's ass.

===Eldar===
The [[Eldar|Craftworld Eldar]] are a strongly psychically-attuned race (to the point as to a good chunk of their biology can't funcion were it not for their psychic power). While the regular, off-the-street Eldar will restrain themselves from using any psychic powers beside basic telepathic communication and the ability to use their psychic technology out of fear of being mindraped by Slaaneshi daemons, they can join the [[Path]] of the Seer and train to better control their innate abilities. Eldar who go on this path with previous experience as Aspect Warriors become [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warlock_(Eldar)| Warlocks], while the most powerful seers can become [[Farseer]]s and leaders of their people. They're ridiculously powerful psykers because of that deep imprint in the Warp to draw power, combined with their Spehss Ehlvan minds and willpower. They just need to be fucking careful and avoid unwanted attention unless they like [[Slaanesh|tentacles]].

[[Harlequin]]s are also psychic, which really comes out in their shows, and although only the [[Shadowseer]] can use powers in a fight, other Harlequins do enjoy the benefits of psychic senses and silent telepathic communication.

The true capacity and depth of Eldar psychic abilities tends to be rather watered down or just plain ignored outright, due to the demands of the plot which is almost always told with the Imperium as the protagonist of the story. Within most stories the authors will tend to use the "M. Night Shyamalan" style of writing, which means having the Eldar Farseers getting a vision of events that are going to happen in the future and set out to stop it, only to discover that they either had it wrong the whole time ,or they themselves bought about the very event that they wished to prevent; all the while the authors are hopping around shouting "WHAT A TWIST" at the top of their lungs. Due to the vast focus put upon the forces of the Imperium it is not a surprise that there are so many named human Psykers present in the list below but remember that humans only produce an exceptional psychic individual once in a blue moon; those humans that prove themselves strong and stable enough to join the ranks of the Marines as Librarians are a rare breed but more then prove their worth over multiple centuries of service, so most if not all of the human Psykers of note will be present within the list below.

In comparison every Eldar citizen can, if they wish to, potentially become a Farseer; although no Farseer will ever manage to reach the same level of power as the likes of Magnus it's not really a fair comparison as he really isn't [[Primarch|human]] and did not come into existence through natural means. Although it should be noted that although the likes of [[Spiritseers]] who are able to commune with and manipulate the souls of the Eldar dead the Ynnari actually amplify their existing powers through absorbing the souls of previous Eldar. GW's "fuck what the Xenos are supposed to be able to do; the Imperium and Chaos are the stars of this setting" rule is seen many times in the story itself, with powerful Eldar Psykers like Eldrad very rarely performing impressive feats within the stories they are featured in, and you are just told that they are very powerful before they are inevitably defeated by the glorious human protagonist (Loyalist or otherwise). Eldar Farseers, in particular, suffer from the "worf effect" more then most, despite often being heralded as great seers they have a terrible track record within the story line itself, very rarely succeeding in any of their endeavours. An important thing to keep in mind is that The Black Library writers love to add their very own super duper special human snowflake Psyker into the story because the "Rule of Cool" demands it, with many in the lore being attributed with the ability to destroy Titans and armies. Farseers on the other hand are often shown being incapable of even defeating a single Space Marine, let alone a tank, army or Titan, and Farseers are, explicitly, meant to be the most powerful Eldar Psykers in the galaxy. However, this could simply be either a way of keeping it so they don't win by default due to knowing exactly how a battle will go or (much more likely) Black Library incompetence making it impossible to get a remotely accurate depiction of what their powers can do.

The Eldar make use of Rune Stones that act as conduits through which they can manipulate the psychic energise of a the Warp without actually having to interact with the Warp directly; though this does limit their overall psychic power level it does provide them with a much safer and controlled way to access the energies of the Warp. The Rune stones also act as psychic fuses burning out and cutting the link to the Warp should an Eldar try to tap into too much power before they are ready. As they develop their control and skill the Eldar psykers will eventually be able to use a far greater number of stones, which allows them to tap into far greater pools of power.

===Dark Eldar===
The [[Dark Eldar]], however, are psychically atrophied compared to their Craftworld bros. They have to avoid using psychic powers due to [[Slaanesh]]'s "I own your soul" gig, and Dark Eldar using psychic powers are reasonably feared as bait for [[Rip and tear|snusnu-with-a-Daemonette]]. They ''can'' use psychic artifacts, like all those crazy living swords and [[Haemonculi|Haemonculus]] toys; the only psychic power they use is their infamous emotion-vampirism ability that can replenish their bodies and souls. And kamehamehas, for [[Mandrake]]s. They do have extra fun torturing, killing and then weaponizing psykers though.

===Tau Empire===
The [[Tau]] race is incapable of producing psykers, due to having almost no presence in the Warp. The good news for them is that they don't have to worry about [[Chaos|''Bad Things'']], such as any members of their species spontaneously turning inside out from the anus and summoning an army of monsters that will fuck, kill, and eat people, (''not strictly in that order''). The bad news is that they have no way to develop psychically based technology, so their FTL travel is glacial, albeit a good deal safer than an actual Warp jump, and their FTL communications options are limited to the Space Pony Express. It should be noted that some of their vassal races have psychic abilities, including their own Navigator analogues. It is known that they actually locate, isolate and study human (and probably other species') psykers, but as the Immaterium is too irrational and far beyond their science they have had little success in analyzing the reason behind Gue'La suddenly going crazy and <s>summoning</s> teleporting armies of violent omnicidal "aliens" out of thin air.
*Funnily, the Kroot have psykers (they have a diverse diet) and understand a great deal about the Immaterium. They even have some crude warp vessels, usually with purchased or stolen xeno tech in it. How the Tau have gotten so far without bothering to ask their close allies about it all probably says something about the Tau's Greater Good and its inability to properly assimilate new cultures.

===Necrons===
The [[Necron]]s no longer have souls, so they have no presence in the Warp, and therefore can't manipulate it with their minds. And yet, they have managed to conquer the Warp with technology. (Egyptian Skeleton Zombie Robots, Yeah!) They keep fucking up the Warp and psykers with the gloom prisms they mount on their spiders, pylons ([[Cadia|sounds familiar...]]), or even giant city-sized mechanisms that cut entire planets from the Warp. One in the ''Word Bearer'' novels even had...this thing, about the size of a resurrection orb, which blanketed an entire system in a "psychic black hole." Problem, daemons? There's also the Pariahs, a dangerous type of [[lychguard]] made from psychic blanks that act much like [[Culexus]] assassins.

===Orks===
The [[Ork]]s are all passive psykers, or rather emanate their own gestalt "psykik" energy in the power of the WAAAGH!, though they're mostly unaware of this. A large number of Orks in one place will slightly alter reality to suit their wishes, turning jam-prone, dirty blunderbusses into [[Dakka|fully-automatic rifles of rape.]] [[Weirdboy|Weirdboyz]] are the only ones who can tap into it actively to manifest psychic powers, which have an amusing tendency to make Orks heads explode with absolutely no warning. As said above, the Orks draw psychic energy from each other, not from the [[Warp]], which makes them virtually immune to Chaotic influences, although they do have a pretty serious presence in the Warp in the form of [[Gork]] and [[Mork]] (or maybe the other way round).

===Tyranids===
The [[Tyranid]]s are innate psykers, and their collective power goes into the [[Hive Mind]], which is what the big bugs tap into to manifest psychic powers rather than the Warp, the same way a Weirdboy would tap into the WAAAGH!. Only a few bugs are capable weaponizing the Hive Mind's psychic energy, the [[Zoanthrope]] being one such option for Tyranid psychic support. Few 'Nid species beyond the Zoanthrope are capable of firing [[Awesome|tank piercing mind-lasers]]. Instead the other big bugs use its powers for buffs and a form of control called "synapse", which keeps the Tyranid horde from going feral and killing everyone and everything they see. If the Hive Mind gets driven away from the horde or the synapse bug gets killed, the synapse link collapses and the 'Nids turn feral. How Zoanthroapes still manage to retain psychic powers when they lose their link to the Hive Mind is not understood. Also, before [[Genestealer]]s got retconned into being Tyranids, [[Genestealer Magus|Genestealer Magi]] DID use the power of the Warp to power their abilities and could dedicate themselves to Chaos. There's an image of a Khorne Magus in one of the 2nd edition books...

===Squats===
The [[Squat]]s that grow very old are called "living ancestors". They are extremely rare, and develop psychic powers by communing with the spirits of their predecessors. And you could put them in an egg-shaped terminator armor, then onto a trike, with a bolt-firing cavalry lan-{{BLAM}} {{BLAM|Squats are ''heresy''!}}

==Psychic Power Hierarchy==
The Imperium of Man uses a 26-point scale (with gradations named for the letters of the Greek alphabet, for some reason) called The Assignment to determine the comparative psychic power of an individual. Unfortunately, this gets very confusing in the [[fluff]], where Alpha-level psykers seem to be a dime-a-dozen and show up all over the place, and established characters that are canonically high on the scale are completely overshadowed by [[Kaldor Draigo|some other character]]. All of this [[Derp|"logically"]] leads [[neckbeards]] to reach the flawed conclusion that [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|their favourite character on the tabletop MUST be Alpha level or greater.]]

Furthermore, it is canon that a psyker's place on the scale can change over time as his or her powers either increase with practice or decrease due to atrophy from lack of use. So generally, the fluff is quite useless for determining who is greater than whom; without the evidence of a direct psychic battle between any two comparing how they match up, it is pretty pointless to use this method.

Nevertheless, here is the scale, starting with the most powerful classification:

#Alpha-Plus
#*Alpha-Plus psykers do not represent the top of the scale, but in fact are completely beyond the scale. These individuals operate on a completely different wavelength from normal people and are owners of completely alien mindsets. In terms of power, they are akin to weapons of mass destruction, flavored depending on their particular discipline; for instance, an Alpha-Plus Pyromancer is entirely different from (and significantly less dangerous than) an Alpha-Plus Telepath. However, in theory there is nothing that a trained Alpha-Plus psyker cannot accomplish through force of will, from snapping a [[Titan]] in half (Telekinesis) to summoning the Chaos Gods themselves (Malefic Daemonology). There is a tacit assumption that this category contains the [[Emperor]] and his "notably-psychic" [[Primarchs]] (especially [[Magnus the Red]] in his daemon Primarch form), but even he admitted there were limits on his power, specifically that one could not be both all-seeing and all-powerful at the same time. No attempt is made to distinguish power levels among members of this grade, even when they demonstrably differ in power (such as [[The Emperor]] and [[Magnus the Red]]).
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[The Emperor]]
#**[[Hive_Mind#Warhammer 40,000|The Hive Mind]]
#**Other God-level and Demigod-level Psykers, such as [[Tzeentch]] and [[Magnus the Red]], respectively.
#** [[Malcador the Sigillite]] is definitely up here as well, being the third-most powerful human Psyker (only outranked by [[The Emperor|The Big E]] himself and Magnus, a [[Primarch|Demigod]].
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 5+.
#Alpha
#*It is very much assumed that the most powerful, mortal fluff characters, such as [[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]] or [[Ahzek Ahriman]], are Alpha-level psykers. There are a couple of Imperial Alpha-level psykers in the canon who still have their mental faculties and happen to be [[Grey Knight]]s: [[Knights-Errant#5._Epimetheus|Grandmaster Epimetheus]], one of the original founders, and [[Hyperion|Prognosticar Hyperion]].
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Ahzek Ahriman]]
#**[[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]] (he is listed amongst the greatest of his race but there are other Eldar seers that rival him in power even if they are not named)
#**[[Knights-Errant#5._Epimetheus|Grandmaster Epimetheus]]
#**[[Hyperion|Prognosticar Hyperion]]
#**[[Kairos Fateweaver]]
#**Inquisitor Lord [[Hector Rex]], who bested [[An'ggrath]] '''IN CLOSE COMBAT'''
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 4.
#Beta
#*Exceedingly rare and dangerous. The Imperium believes that human beings have not sufficiently evolved enough to contain Beta and Alpha levels of psionic talent without going completely bat-shit mental(Though exceptions do exist). [[Arvann Stern]] is Beta level. The Beta (or perhaps Gamma) level might also include the most powerful Chief [[Librarian]]s of the [[Space Marine]]s, like [[Varro Tigurius]], [[Mephiston]], and [[Ezekiel]], and most of the more powerful [[Eldar]] [[Farseer]]s. ''Very'' unlucky Alpha psykers may instead find Imperial service in the Ordo Sinister, meaning they'll get turned into screaming batteries for [[Warlord_Battle_Titan#Warlord-Sinister_Pattern_Battle_Psi-Titan|Psi-Titans]].
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Arvann Stern]]
#**[[Be'lakor]]
#**[[Ezekiel]]
#**[[Mephiston]]
#**[[Varro Tigurius]]
#**Grand Master [[Voldus]]
#**The [[Swarmlord]]
#**The [[Yncarne]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 3.
#Gamma
#Delta
#*Approximately one out of every billion human births will produce a Delta- or Gamma-level psyker, who, for the Imperium, represent the "useful" upper limit of psychic potential without being too dangerous to let live, though it's up to the [[Inquisition]] to be the ultimate judge of that. The Inquisitor [[Gideon Ravenor]] was believed to be a high Delta-level psyker. The lower level Eldar Farseers might also be considered Delta- or Gamma-level, along with common [[Daemon Prince]]s. The average chapter chief librarian will likely be around this level.
#*Assumed Examples (Gamma and Delta are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**[[Castellan Crowe]]
#**[[Gideon Ravenor]]
#**[[Jensus Natorian]]
#**Grand Master [[Kaldor Draigo]]
#**Inquisitor [[Katarinya Greyfax]]
#**Inquisitor [[Torquemada Coteaz]]
#**[[Yvraine]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 2.
#Epsilon
#Zeta
#*Epsilons and Zetas represent your ranks of relatively strong psykers. The [[Primaris Psyker]]s of the [[Imperial Guard]], rank-and-file Space Marine [[Librarian]]s and the lower level chief librarians will full amongst the upper range, garden-variety [[Chaos Sorcerer]]s, and Eldar [[Spiritseer]]s and [[Shadowseer]]s could be counted among the Epsilon- and Zeta-levels, as well as [[Tyranid]] [[Hive Tyrant]]s and [[Zoanthrope]] broods.
#*Assumed Examples (Epsilon and Zeta are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**The [[Changeling]]
#**[[Ku'gath Plaguefather]]
#**Shadowseer [[Menahina Ylsa]]
#**The [[Spawn of Cryptus]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 1.
#Eta
#Theta
#Iota
#*Iota represents the first "true" psykers who are able to manifest and control psychic abilities with a modicum of training. These are the people that find their way into the various Imperial institutions and become [[Psyker Battle Squad|Sanctioned Psyker]]s in Imperial armies. The average Eldar could probably be considered among the Iota to Theta levels, though most make minimal use of their inborn psychic potential except for maybe an occasional telepathic communication. The Eldar who train as [[Warlock (Eldar)|Warlock]]s might reach the Eta level. [[Ork]] [[Weirdboy|Weirdboyz]], who represent the highest extent of psychic potential in individual Orks, have reached about Iota, though this has the potential to be massively boosted by a sufficient amount of WAAAGH! energy, provided they can keep their own heads from detonating.
#*Assumed Examples (Eta, Theta, and Iota are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**There are no named characters known or strongly suspected to be at this level, although smart money would be on the named Ork psykers, like [[Old Zogwort]] or [[Big Redd]].
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 0 (this is the appropriate grade for members of a Psyker Brotherhood who are only substantively powerful in aggregate, like [[Wyrdvane]] Psykers).
#Kappa
#Lambda
#Mu
#Nu
#Xi
#Omicron
#*You get a broad range of people who can manifest psychic talents either unconsciously or so subtly as to be beneath the notice of everyone but the Inquisition, such as performing minor "magic" tricks or divinations. Most of the time they are quite useless but still represent a danger since they can be possessed. An Omicron might be able merely to predict consistently what someone will do right before they do it, while a Kappa might be able to move objects by concentrating or create flames out of thin air. These individuals may use their abilities to become petty crime lords, expensive hitmen, or fortune tellers. Although the Inquisition is too busy to sort out everyone at this level, the Imperial public is conditioned well enough to spot and ostracize these witches if the truth about them ever comes to light in their societies. (Read ''Gaunt's Ghosts''.) An ordinary Ork would likely register somewhere in this area—that is, psychic enough to contribute to the gestalt field that Orks will produce in great enough numbers, but not psychic (or smart) enough to actually harness that power and bend it to his will. The same is true of basic Tyranid species, who are psychically linked by the [[Hive Mind]], but not psykers individually.
#Pi
#Rho
#*Run-of-the-mill humans, neither psy-active nor psy-inert. A generally safe place to be. If this scale was a number line, Pi and Rho would be zero.
#Sigma
#Tau
#*When you start descending below the scale of humans, into the "negative" side of the scale, you start going psy-inert. When psychic effects start manifesting subtle phenomena that most people would describe as something feeling "off", people at the Sigma/Tau level can't tell anything is happening. Amusingly enough, this level contains the [[Tau]] race, who have no psykers and (little to) no signature in the Warp. The [[Necron]]s, machines who long ago sold their souls to the [[C'tan]], could also be found in this level.
#Upsilon
#Phi
#Chi
#Psi
#*These are individuals with varying degrees of immunity to psychic powers. They are not true Blanks (see below), but they may reduce an incoming power from something absolutely lethal to something survivable, or are much more difficult to mind-read than most people. The appropriate grade for most Sisters of Battle or other devout members of the Ecclesiarchy.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**Saint [[Celestine]]
#**[[Uriah Jacobus]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately having the rule Adamantium Will without having the Psyker rule.
#Omega
#*Usually referred to as Untouchables, Pariahs, or [[Blank]]s. Not only are they immune to psychic powers, but they can also inhibit the powers of psykers around them and/or neutralize psychic effects on an area around them. The Imperium trains its human Blanks as deadly [[Culexus Assassins]], who are professional psyker-hunters, as it did the [[Sisters of Silence]] before them. The Eldar, believe it or not, also produce the occasional Blank, and these become the infamous [[Solitaire]]s of the [[Harlequin]]s.
#*The fluff is a bit inconsistent on the ''exact'' limit of a Blank's ability, but that's fine, because in [[Dark Heresy Second Edition|Dark Heresy]], Blanks exhibit a broad range of effects which can be different from person to person, much like high-level psykers can have different powers and disciplines. True Blanks have such a psy-negative effect that even normal people can sense it, and it manifests as an irrational loathing for the Blank, though in some cases it can be offset by either a good personality (Alizebeth Bequin) or an odd character trait (Gunner Jurgen). For psykers, however, Omega-level persons are physically and mentally painful to be near. After some training, Blanks can actually benefit from the psychic power they suck from their surroundings (having psykers or even normal living beings in those surroundings really helps), which they use to empower and invigorate themselves. Culexus Assassins take this even further with their Animus Speculum helm by shooting mind-bullets formed from that energy.
There have, however, been a few occasions where a Blank's abilities have been overwhelmed or even permanently shutdown. Bequin's blankness was overwhelmed by the warp corrupted psi-sentience of a Chaos Titan and Wystan Frauka's Blankness was gradually eroded away over time till he was able to be possessed by a psyker.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Alizebeth Bequin]]
#**[[Jurgen|Gunner Jurgen]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately -4.
#Omega-Minus
#*The Yin to Alpha-Plus's Yang, Omega-Minuses, or Black Pariahs, are so extremely rare that it's a safe bet only one of them (an assassin named Spear) ever existed in our galaxy at any point in time. Their null-aura is so powerful that it drives even normal humans insane (and eventually kills them, unless they kill themselves first), and psykers and psychic artifacts within their aura simply cease to exist, turning into dust in a matter seconds. Even other Pariahs are terrified of them. Basically, anybody with the classification Omega-Minus is a Warp black hole that only exists to suck in all souls and Chaos energies and turn it into void. That means the people who get killed by these fucking terrifying abominations have [[Grimdark|their souls sucked out and completely destroyed]]. It's not as terrifying as it sounds, though, as being utterly destroyed upon death certainly beats being raped by daemons for all eternity.
#:The only known example of a Black Pariah was bonded to a minor daemon by [[Erebus]], so their aura does not appear to eradicate daemons. On the other hand Spear's clone-fetus made by the Inquisition and placed in an anti-warp projection device known as "the Black Lantern" had shown the ability to liquefy high-level psykers and perma-kill greater daemons all the while creeping the hell out of the regular humans, although it could be attributed to the device focusing and amplifying the Black Pariah aura not unlike the Animus Speculum does with regular Blank auras.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Spear (Assassin)|Spear]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately -5.

===Other Factors===
When you get further into the details, not only is sheer psychic potential a factor to consider in determining how powerful a psyker is, there are other things to consider when trying to figure out mechanically how one differs from another.

This is easier to do outside of the tabletop setting, which focusses on a d6 scale, where a minor difference in a single statistic can create one power tier an order of magnitude more effective above another.

====Level of Control====
The [[Rogue Trader (RPG)|Willpower]] ''(read: control)'' of a given individual holds almost about as much sway in saying who is more powerful than who, so just because a psyker has an mid-high psy rating, if their Willpower is low ''(say: 30)'' they're less likely to successfully manifest but are more likely to create a powerful effect when they do. Inversely, a low-mid rated psyker with a strong willpower ''(say: 60)'' is more likely to successfully manifest and is ''also'' more likely to be able to resist/counter incoming psychic effects.

That said, even in the mechanics of the RPG rules, once a psy-rating [[Powergamer|reaches epic heights]] then they should have no problems casting even with a low willpower.

====Sorcery====
The second thing to consider is the whims of the [[Chaos Gods]], (particularly [[Tzeentch]]). '''Sorcery''' is entirely separate from Psy Rating/Assignment and even a non-psyker with the correct rites and incantations can pull off similar ''(if not the same)'' manifestations as a true psyker. Back during the [[Horus Heresy]], [[Erebus]] (and 30k Word Bearers with '''Burning Lore''') is an example of this.

A true psyker with access to sorcery can increase his power levels even higher and can easily outstrip more powerful psykers than himself, though Sorcery comes with its own perils and generally leads to Damnation and Corruption ''(no wonder big Emps put his foot down at the council of Nikaea)''

Furthermore, certain favours gifted from the Gods also increase psychic output. It used to be that in days gone by, the '''Mark of Tzeentch''' used to enhance psychic potential on the tabletop. [[RAGE|Nowadays it doesn't]], but in the RPG it still does. But obviously once you've been marked by a God of Chaos, you're in their pocket forever, and you best do your utmost to keep them happy or you end up becoming [[Chaos Spawn|that-which-shall-not-be-named.]]

====Pushing====
Separate from either issue is the fact that Psykers can theoretically increase their assignment rating for a brief instant in order to grant themselves more power.

In both the rules and the fluff there are common instances of psykers being able to boost themselves and create larger effects or to overcome more powerful opponents. This is not so prevalent on the 40k tabletops ''(although with the 7th Edition advent of the shared Warp Charge "Pool" this may be untrue)'' and not all psykers have the ability to do this to the same degree.

One method is to ''"Push"'' their powers further, basically taking a gamble and temporarily adding MOAR power to their manifestation.
*'''Bound''' psykers ''(that is to say, nearly every Imperial psyker who has undergone a Sanctioning process [Including Librarians] or Soul-Binding)'' can only push themselves so much and they are at greater risk of something bad happening (ie: Perils of the Warp) when they do so.
*'''Unbound''' psykers ''(Rogue Psykers / Sorcerers)'' on the other hand can reach even higher degrees of power but [[Not as Planned|shit WILL hit the fan]].
*'''Daemonic''' psykers who attempt to push their powers can go yet higher, but are considerably more likely to cause dangerous psychic phenomena. However since their mere existence on the material plane can be considered a dangerous psychic phenomena they are less likely to be bothered by it unless it is a straight up Perils of the Warp.

==Psychic Disciplines==
There are five "basic" psychic disciplines in the grim darkness of the future. Generally speaking psykers prefer to focus on one discipline if they seek more power, but doing so runs the risk of changing their mindset, as connection between psyker's mind and the Warp is two way, and if one is to use his mind to alter the Warp, warp would use that connection to alter psyker's mind. Some psykers fight this, some don't, and most don't live long enough for this to take effect.
*'''Biomancy''' is about flesh/life force manipulation and shooting lightning, [[derp|somehow]] (probably bioelectricity, but depending on your interpretation, either pyromancy or telekinesis fits this power better). Old and powerful biomancers tend to become quite sick fucks, building cruel and sadistic tendencies over time.
*'''Divination''' is about predicting and tweaking the future. Old and powerful diviners are known to be extremely nerdy, hoarding massive amounts of knowledge about deciphering visions and omens and general theory of the Warp, but this often comes at the price of constant melancholia and depression, as they realize how much of a puppets in the hand of Fate they are. Unless that diviner is Ahriman, who decided to skullfuck Fate and be the one in charge of his own destiny (though even he went though an "I'm just a puppet" emo-phase before it).
*'''Pyromancy''' is about conjuring and throwing fire at people. It comes to no surprise to anyone that pyromancers that happen to live long enough without blowing themselves up often to grow into aggressive pyromaniac [[RAGE|hotheads]] that tend to solve all problems by KILLING IT WITH FIRE.
*'''Telepathy''' is pretty much self-explanatory - reading and translating minds. Mind control and mind rape goes there, as well as [[Cheese|invisibility]], even though this power [[derp|renders you invisible to things without minds]]. In terms of long-term personality changes Telepaths draw the absolutely shortest straw, as over time they "pick up" bits and pieces of personalities of people they mindraped, risking to lose their original selves eventually, and even if they have the will to resist it, they inevitably grow into absolute misanthropes due to knowing too well what disgusting things people around them think about all the time.
*'''Telekinesis''' is also obvious - moving things with a mind. Here also goes psychic shields and [[derp|somehow]] dimensional gates. Not much known about how it affects psyker's psyche - old telekines are known to being quite stoic, even stubborn but many unspecialized psykers that manged to survive for long without losing their minds also tend move towards this archetype, so it's debatable whether it's discipline effect or a simple natural selection.
*'''Daemonology''' is a sixth common discipline, although it's by no means basic, being much more difficult to learn and dangerous to use (as anything that directly deals with chaos daemons carries the possibility of the psyker's head exploding into a warp portal). It's split into two sub-disciplines - '''Malefic''' is about summoning daemons and using their power, and '''Sanctic''' is about banishing them and killing things with the refined unshaped Warp energy. Generally speaking most dedicated daemonologists do not live long enough to experience any personality-changing effects of their discipline, and those that do are either brainwashed on a regular basis (Grey Knights) or are already Chaos-corrupted and affected by daemonic pacts (Chaos sorcerers and wild psykers).

Besides those six, other disciplines exist, although they are mostly faction-specific:
* [[Chaos]] psykers and daemons use their own specific disciplines, dedicated to one of the three gods who don't hate sorcery:
**'''[[Tzeentch]]''' is mostly about mutation, subjugation, and manipulation of the warp itself. Tzeentchian powers typically revolve around controlling the energies of the warp itself to damage foes (like Doombolts), mind-reading and controlling people, and manipulating reality to either open warp rifts or mutate their opponents into [[Chaos Spawn|those-which-shall-not-be-named]].
**'''[[Nurgle]]''' is like a twisted version of Biomancy, focusing on the psyker spreading the gifts of Papa Nurgle by polluting their surrounding area with his many plagues and contagions, causing most people to succumb and die within minutes. The "beneficial" parts of these are mostly related to raising a recipient's endurance, as the many blessings of Nurgle can do anything from mending grievous wounds in an instant, to granting them inhuman resistance to damage.
**'''[[Slaanesh]]''' tends to be the trickiest, focusing on illusions, and manipulating their targets' senses to either control them or drive them into the throes of insanity (Which can either be good or bad depending on the power involved). Slaaneshi powers are a bit similar to Tzeentchian ones, although are focused more around manipulating the physical and mental characteristics of people to the extreme (something they have control over), rather than their fates and surrounding reality (which people typically do not).
* The [[Eldar]] have developed four disciplines of their own; the first two use runes as proxies to manifest psychic powers, so they don't get mind fucked by Slaaneshi daemons the moment they surge in the warp for the power, and they created two disciplines to utilize those runes:
**'''Runes of Fate''' Used by Farseers is kind of like Telepathy and Divination mixed together and shaken a bit - same kind of future telling and mindrape in a slightly different form. Except for Eldritch Storm, which looks like it was pulled form the Sanctic Daemonology
**'''Runes of Battle''' Used by Warlocks and Spiritseers. Features a set of powers that can be used to buff allies or debuff opponents, most of which don't fit into any of the basic disciplines.
** [[Harlequin]] Shadowseers also use their own discipline called '''Phantasmancy''', which is basically Telepathy on an acid trip, as the psyker channels his own killer-clown kind of batshit insanity into people, and polishes it out with hallucinogen grenades thrown on the top.
** Eldar Corsairs, being cool space pirates, do not utilize rune stones, and channel psychic powers the old way, at a higher risk of being raped by daemons. Their old-school techniques allow them to use pre-fall magic called '''Aetheromancy''', designed to utilize the Webway (similarly to how Sanctic Daemonologists utilize the Warp), so they can project a guidance map, teleport their allies through it, and create rifts that suck their enemies into it.
**The new Ynnari faction brings with it the new '''Revenant''' discipline which looks suspiciously like Necromancy but isn't we swear.
* [[Ork]] Weirdboyz have their own discipline, that runs on Waaagh! energy rather than the Warp, and don't have access to other disciplines. Surprisingly, Waaagh! powers are quite powerful and some of them are tricky, although they are mostly focused on pumping the boyz around the Weirdboy with buffs, getting them closer to enemies or killing shit with green lightning.
* Similarily, [[Tyranids]], whose psychic powers also run on a collective psychic field, have a specific discipline, which is Telepathy with a bit of Biomancy and the odd Zoanthrope mind bullet power thrown in.
* Spaсe Marine librarians have developed not one but FOUR special disciplines, which Chaos Sorcerers rename because they have to be different:
:*'''Technomancy'''/'''Heretech''' Telepathy/biomancy for machine spirits rather than living beings, for those who prefer the company of machines or like to wreck enemy ones.
:*'''Fulmination'''/'''Ectomancy''' Biomancy that throws away all that life force and biochemistry shit and focuses solely on the lightning. All the lightning!
:*'''Geokinesis'''/'''Geomortis''' If you ever wanted to be an earthbender this is the discipline for you. Among other things it allows you to [[cheese|move buildings, hills and forests around.]]
:*'''Librarius'''/'''Sinistrum''' Very Eldar-runes-like telepathy/divination based discipline with trickery thrown in.

* [[Space Wolves|Space Wolf]] Rune Priests use a discipline called '''Tempestus''' (although they refuse to admit it's a psychic discipline at all, since they're hypocrite assholes) - it involves powers that mostly revolve around ice, earth, and storms. It looks like it utilizes a psychic ice effect, which is a common ''side'' effect of manifesting powerful non-pyromancy powers, and then they mix that with a bit of Telekinesis to spin that ice around or shape it into giant killer wolves that eat you alive.
* [[Blood Angels]] and their successors claim to have their own discipline called '''Sanguine''' but it's really just a bunch of Biomancy, Telekinesiss and Telepathy powers thrown together and given fancy names. Their buffing spells have a tendency to affect allies, rather than just the psykers at the cost of sheer power, [[Fluff|possibly due to the selfless nature of their chapter.]] Then there's the Blood Lance - which is just the entirety of their psychosis bottled into one power, with all the heat and fury of the Black Rage with the color of the Red Thirst.
*The [[Dark Angels]] utilize the '''Interromancy''' discipline, which is a specialized variant of the Telepathy discipline, originally designed to ''interro''gate <s>Fallen</s> FOUL TRAITORS WHO ARE NOT IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO THE FIRST LEGION. It may lack some of the most bullshit OP powers of true Telepathy, but has a strong combination of buffs and debuffs and the latter have a chance to ''permanently'' cripple their targets, especially if they are weak-willed.

==Comparing Psykers==
Addendum: This list is subjective in the extreme. Trying to compare the Psychic powers of so many characters without a standard metric is fukkin' stupid.
# God-Emperor of Mankind, The Hive Mind, Chaos Gods and other Deities.
# Magnus the Red
# Eldrad; Malcador the Sigilite; Lorgar; Azhek Ahriman.
# Epimetheus; Warlock Titans.
# Eldar Farseers; other Alpha level psykers; Lords of Change.
# Rubric Sorcerers; Tigurius; Sevrin Loth; Mephiston; Njal Stormcaller; Ezekiel; Kaldor Draigo.
# Chaos Sorcerers; Grey Knight Librarians; Ravenor; Hyperion; Swarmlord; Zaraphiston; Shadowseers (Harlequins); Spiritseers; Worldsingers (Exodites); Wraithseers (''power equal to the seer used in its construction'').
# Regular Librarians, Zoanthropes; Eldar Warlocks; Bonesingers; Corsair void dreamers (''tend to be random in power with some being the equal of Farseers'').
# Primaris Psykers; Hive Tyrants;
# Wyrdvane/Sanctioned Psykers; Ork Wyrdboyz; Zoanthropes;
# Regular Grey Knights; Navigators; Astropaths ''(they are powerful, but their powers are normally so specialized at being a cell-phone, most of them are no match for 'true' psykers).''
# Regular [[Eldar]].
# Regular [[Orks]].
# Regular Humans.
# Blunted Humans; [[Tau]]; Regular [[Space Wolves]].
# [[Necrons]].
# Blanks/Pariahs.
# [[Culexus Assassins]]/Sisters of Silence - ''farthest from Psyker as possible, soulless anti-psykers.''
# The Black Pariah (Daemon-Blanks?)

''I'm not sure about the place of Greater Daemons here; also, Tyranid psykers.''

= Gallery =
<center><gallery>
Image:1228653127630.jpg
Image:psykertraining.jpg
Image:Suffer not the dirty cheat by Mr Culexus.jpg|You should never invite psykers to your poker night.
Image:1204002502106og9.jpg|Culexus assassins are psykers' worst nightmare, though they are very friendly.
File:1263350811847.jpg|Psyker Dredd knows you were gonna say that.
Image:We are not going to get in trouble are we.png|Shh, my heresy sense is tingling...
File:Are_you_a_psychic_final.jpg|The Adeptus Astra Telepathica's easy steps in identifying and capturing potential psykers.
</gallery></center>

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]

Psyker

2017-11-06T00:57:39Z

2605:E000:7ECF:7F00:143C:32A:D33C:E495: /* Eldar */

[[Image:imperialpsyker.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Good thing [[Games Workshop]] has an extremely liberal interpretation of the word 'psychic'. Magic IN SPEHSS!]]

''“We always vilify what we don't understand.”'' 
- Nenia Campbell

A '''psyker''', in the [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe, is an individual with psychic powers capable of accessing the [[Warp]]. This is both a blessing and a curse; though psykers are often able to achieve spectacular feats with their abilities, the Warp is a perilous place, and whenever a psyker uses their abilities there is a chance that they will be subject to the Perils of the Warp. Death is one of the milder results of this; extremely unlucky psykers might actually be raped in countless ways by [[daemon]]s and used as a gateway from the Warp into the physical world. Luckily, in the ranks of the [[Imperial Guard]], where there's a psyker, there's usually a [[Commissar]] ready to unleash the power of [[Blam]].

==Types of Psyker==
The different races of the setting perceive psykers in different ways.

===Imperium===
The [[Imperium of Man]] regards most psykers as extremely dangerous, because these are people with scary powers, and the influence of the Warp tends not to let them stay sane for very long, but hey, space wizards are cool. There is also the threat of [[Chaos]] possessing them and summoning daemons. Thus, the [[Inquisition]] hunts them down so they can either be sacrificed to feed the [[Empra]] or sanctioned and made to serve the Imperium (under an inquisitor's watchful eye). Such psykers appear as a unit in the Dawn of War games and like to scream incomprehensible one-liners so mind-numbingly loud that they may very well actually make your head explode. [[Space Marines]] make their psykers into [[Librarian]]s: in addition to psychic support on the battlefield, they compile records in the Librarium, serve to assist in battlefield communications, and test their brothers for Chaotic contamination. [[Imperial Guard]] Sanctioned Psykers combine psychic powers with Standard Issue Balls of Steel that every Imperial Guard member has. In addition, they have a nasty reputation for being BLAMMED by Commissars. "Rogue Psykers" is the official designation for any psyker who hasn't been collared by the Imperium yet and are often hated by more puritan worlds, in extreme cases routinely being hunted down and killed; but on most worlds being sactioned (assuming you survive and don't mind the side affects) gives an air of authority and orthodoxy to an otherwise hated thing. People still hate you, but instead of treating you like a particularly verbose bit of dung, now you're hated the way tax collectors are hated. Astropaths are beyond such venom, partly because they are less prone to possession and mostly because they are a planet's only way of communicating with the greater Imperium. People still feel uneasy around them, but even [[Black Templars]] have to cope with them and make nice faces. Pointing out that the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor]] was a psyker usually results in the person struggling to make a retort for a few moments before beating you to death. Well, actually not, since for an average citizen of the Imperium the Emperor is God, so His wielding godly powers in the [[Great_Crusade|glory days]] before His ascension is actually the core tenet of the Imperial Cult and proof of his divinity. Not so for mere mortal psykers, who are rightly considered unholy and corruptible.

Humanity being the stars of the show obviously have arguably the greatest psychic potential overall (because of course they do), with a psychic evolution (which could take countless centuries or even millennia to take place; even if they can survive it) into a full psychic race which the Emperor himself has said may very well equal or even possibly surpass even the Eldar at their peak, although with the loss of the Webway project even the Emperor admits that this path is pretty much now closed to humanity. Becoming a psychic race doesn't suddenly make you god tier, it just makes you psychic; the Eldar are a full blown psychic race and they aren't exactly doing brilliantly.

Humanity has managed to produce the strongest Psykers in the history of the Galaxy but most didn't come into being through natural means:
*[[The Emperor]] is obviously the first that springs to mind as he is unquestionably the strongest mortal psyker that has yet been seen, unless you count the [[Old Ones]]. The question is however: is he even human? There are many theories surrounding the Emperor's origins and his exact nature. Was he born or is he a construct from the Dark age of technology that believes itself to be human? If we take the whole Shaman origin as fact then his psychic might is due to the large number of psychic beings merging their minds into one which is certainly not the norm (strangely something similar happened to [[Ephrael Stern]]). Even if we assume he's a single entity that [[Perpetual|happens to be immortal]], there is the whole deal with the Chaos gods which may or may not have boosted his already considerable power. The Emperor is clear proof ha that the most powerful Psyker in existence is indisputably human
*[[Magnus]] is a Primarch and should in no way be considered entirely human. He, like all his kind, are artificial beings created through Warp shenanigans and advanced bio engineering. There is nothing natural about him or his psychic might.
*[[Malcador]] is the only truly natural (depending upon what happens with his back story once it is finally revealed) human standout amongst the big names. He may play second fiddle to the likes of the abominations that are the Emperor and Magnus but he is still the strongest "human" psyker on the list. Natural humans are never going to be able to compete with the gods of the Warp, but a race of potential Malcador's doesn't sound too shabby now does it.
*[[Voldus]] like many Grey Knights and even other Space Marine Librarians, Voldus and his predecessors have often performed feats far beyond that shown by any Eldar Farseer, with Voldus, in the crunch, actually having basic net superior abilities to even Eldrad.
*[[Tigurius]] is arguably the greatest precognitive in the galaxy, with accurate predictions and manipulations which put Eldrad to shame, and the only Psyker to ever manage to make contact and read the mind of the [[Hive Mind]] itself and survive, using that knowledge against the [[Tyranid]].

===Forces of Chaos===
[[Chaos]] tends to have...varied opinions on psykers.
*[[Daemon]]s are made out of the stuff of the Warp, and using psychic powers is shaping and throwing out a little bit of the Warp; so a daemon using psychic powers is the rough equivalent of [[Rip and tear|taking a severed limb or some bones and throwing it]] as a viable attack. While that sounds pretty fucking metal, [[Khorne]] thinks that pulling this bullshit is a sign that you're not manly enough to get into the thick of it and handle the situation on your own. So it's an opinion shared by his daemons and his mortal followers. Not only do they not use psychic powers, but they actively hate any pussified deadbeat who uses them, and they even get toys that fuck with anybody trying to use those powers. However, it should be said that Khornate traitor librarians exist. Librarians by nature are beings that focus on destruction with their minds, so Khorne recognizes that as inner strength and makes an exception for them.
*On the other end of the spectrum, [[Tzeentch]], being the god of magic, is hugely into psychic powers, and he likes making new ones that do all kinds of mix-and-match effects, though only the best are actually rolled out. That's the official line. He's actually a closeted pyro, and a lot of his powers are burny or...do weird shit. Being the patron of psykers, if people get Tzeentch's attention because they're scholars or [[Just As Planned|David Xanatos]], they'll eventually develop psychic power whether they like it or not. Due to higher exposure to Warp energy via psychic powers and serving the god of change, Tzeentch's minions, and more often, ''their'' minions have the highest rates of mutation and turning into [[Chaos Spawn|Chao--er, tentacly gribblies]]. [[Ahriman]], possibly the greatest of Tzeentch's Servants barring Magnus himself, was so powerful a Psyker that he was able to defeat Ulthwe's most venerated Psyker; Kyaduras the Anchorite, with ease and, in the same battle, also casually defeated [[Yvraine]], the Yncarne and the Visarch.
*In the middle, [[Nurgle]] likes any psykers that spread his gifts around but doesn't really go out of his way to promote them in his followers either, probably on account of his direct opposition to Tzeentch. Needless to say, his powers all revolve around inflicting people with horrible diseases or boosting their endurance to unnatural levels.
*Similarly, [[Slaanesh]] thinks Tzeentch is a [[Neckbeard|giant nerd]], whose overdevotion to his nerdy hobby of inventing new psychic powers will never get him laid. We think it says this because <s>Tzeentch refuses to sleep with it (it almost certainly likes his tentacles and crotch mouth)</s> he's afraid he might catch Warp chlamydia, and he's just not willing to give Nurgle that kind of [[Just as Planned|satisfaction]]. Slaaneshi psykers emphasize powers that makes the [[Chaos|hurt feel good]], or has effects that look like the target might have [[Drug|snorted]] the psychic power off of a stripper's ass.

===Eldar===
The [[Eldar|Craftworld Eldar]] are a strongly psychically-attuned race (to the point as to a good chunk of their biology can't funcion were it not for their psychic power). While the regular, off-the-street Eldar will restrain themselves from using any psychic powers beside basic telepathic communication and the ability to use their psychic technology out of fear of being mindraped by Slaaneshi daemons, they can join the [[Path]] of the Seer and train to better control their innate abilities. Eldar who go on this path with previous experience as Aspect Warriors become [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warlock_(Eldar)| Warlocks], while the most powerful seers can become [[Farseer]]s and leaders of their people. They're ridiculously powerful psykers because of that deep imprint in the Warp to draw power, combined with their Spehss Ehlvan minds and willpower. They just need to be fucking careful and avoid unwanted attention unless they like [[Slaanesh|tentacles]].

[[Harlequin]]s are also psychic, which really comes out in their shows, and although only the [[Shadowseer]] can use powers in a fight, other Harlequins do enjoy the benefits of psychic senses and silent telepathic communication.

The true capacity and depth of Eldar psychic abilities tends to be rather watered down or just plain ignored outright, due to the demands of the plot which is almost always told with the Imperium as the protagonist of the story. Within most stories the authors will tend to use the "M. Night Shyamalan" style of writing, which means having the Eldar Farseers getting a vision of events that are going to happen in the future and set out to stop it, only to discover that they either had it wrong the whole time ,or they themselves bought about the very event that they wished to prevent; all the while the authors are hopping around shouting "WHAT A TWIST" at the top of their lungs. Due to the vast focus put upon the forces of the Imperium it is not a surprise that there are so many named human Psykers present in the list below but remember that humans only produce an exceptional psychic individual once in a blue moon; those humans that prove themselves strong and stable enough to join the ranks of the Marines as Librarians are a rare breed but more then prove their worth over multiple centuries of service, so most if not all of the human Psykers of note will be present within the list below.

In comparison every Eldar citizen can, if they wish to, potentially become a Farseer; although no Farseer will ever manage to reach the same level of power as the likes of Magnus it's not really a fair comparison as he really isn't [[Primarch|human]] and did not come into existence through natural means. Although it should be noted that although the likes of [[Spiritseers]] who are able to commune with and manipulate the souls of the Eldar dead the Ynnari actually amplify their existing powers through absorbing the souls of previous Eldar. GW's "fuck what the Xenos are supposed to be able to do; the Imperium and Chaos are the stars of this setting" rule is seen many times in the story itself, with powerful Eldar Psykers like Eldrad very rarely performing impressive feats within the stories they are featured in, and you are just told that they are very powerful before they are inevitably defeated by the glorious human protagonist (Loyalist or otherwise). Eldar Farseers, in particular, suffer from the "worf effect" more then most, despite often being heralded as great seers they have a terrible track record within the story line itself, very rarely succeeding in any of their endeavours. An important thing to keep in mind is that The Black Library writers love to add their very own super duper special human snowflake Psyker into the story because the "Rule of Cool" demands it, with many in the lore being attributed with the ability to destroy Titans and armies. Farseers on the other hand are often shown being incapable of even defeating a single Space Marine, let alone a tank, army or Titan, and Farseers are, explicitly, meant to be the most powerful Eldar Psykers in the galaxy. However, this could simply be either a way of keeping it so they don't win by default due to knowing exactly how a battle will go or (much more likely) Black Library incompetence making it impossible to get a remotely accurate depiction of what their powers can do.

The Eldar make use of Rune Stones that act as conduits through which they can manipulate the psychic energise of a the Warp without actually having to interact with the Warp directly; though this does limit their overall psychic power level it does provide them with a much safer and controlled way to access the energies of the Warp. The Rune stones also act as psychic fuses burning out and cutting the link to the Warp should an Eldar try to tap into too much power before they are ready. As they develop their control and skill the Eldar psykers will eventually be able to use a far greater number of stones, which allows them to tap into far greater pools of power.

===Dark Eldar===
The [[Dark Eldar]], however, are psychically atrophied compared to their Craftworld bros. They have to avoid using psychic powers due to [[Slaanesh]]'s "I own your soul" gig, and Dark Eldar using psychic powers are reasonably feared as bait for [[Rip and tear|snusnu-with-a-Daemonette]]. They ''can'' use psychic artifacts, like all those crazy living swords and [[Haemonculi|Haemonculus]] toys; the only psychic power they use is their infamous emotion-vampirism ability that can replenish their bodies and souls. And kamehamehas, for [[Mandrake]]s. They do have extra fun torturing, killing and then weaponizing psykers though.

===Tau Empire===
The [[Tau]] race is incapable of producing psykers, due to having almost no presence in the Warp. The good news for them is that they don't have to worry about [[Chaos|''Bad Things'']], such as any members of their species spontaneously turning inside out from the anus and summoning an army of monsters that will fuck, kill, and eat people, (''not strictly in that order''). The bad news is that they have no way to develop psychically based technology, so their FTL travel is glacial, albeit a good deal safer than an actual Warp jump, and their FTL communications options are limited to the Space Pony Express. It should be noted that some of their vassal races have psychic abilities, including their own Navigator analogues. It is known that they actually locate, isolate and study human (and probably other species') psykers, but as the Immaterium is too irrational and far beyond their science they have had little success in analyzing the reason behind Gue'La suddenly going crazy and <s>summoning</s> teleporting armies of violent omnicidal "aliens" out of thin air.
*Funnily, the Kroot have psykers (they have a diverse diet) and understand a great deal about the Immaterium. They even have some crude warp vessels, usually with purchased or stolen xeno tech in it. How the Tau have gotten so far without bothering to ask their close allies about it all probably says something about the Tau's Greater Good and its inability to properly assimilate new cultures.

===Necrons===
The [[Necron]]s no longer have souls, so they have no presence in the Warp, and therefore can't manipulate it with their minds. And yet, they have managed to conquer the Warp with technology. (Egyptian Skeleton Zombie Robots, Yeah!) They keep fucking up the Warp and psykers with the gloom prisms they mount on their spiders, pylons ([[Cadia|sounds familiar...]]), or even giant city-sized mechanisms that cut entire planets from the Warp. One in the ''Word Bearer'' novels even had...this thing, about the size of a resurrection orb, which blanketed an entire system in a "psychic black hole." Problem, daemons? There's also the Pariahs, a dangerous type of [[lychguard]] made from psychic blanks that act much like [[Culexus]] assassins.

===Orks===
The [[Ork]]s are all passive psykers, or rather emanate their own gestalt "psykik" energy in the power of the WAAAGH!, though they're mostly unaware of this. A large number of Orks in one place will slightly alter reality to suit their wishes, turning jam-prone, dirty blunderbusses into [[Dakka|fully-automatic rifles of rape.]] [[Weirdboy|Weirdboyz]] are the only ones who can tap into it actively to manifest psychic powers, which have an amusing tendency to make Orks heads explode with absolutely no warning. As said above, the Orks draw psychic energy from each other, not from the [[Warp]], which makes them virtually immune to Chaotic influences, although they do have a pretty serious presence in the Warp in the form of [[Gork]] and [[Mork]] (or maybe the other way round).

===Tyranids===
The [[Tyranid]]s are innate psykers, and their collective power goes into the [[Hive Mind]], which is what the big bugs tap into to manifest psychic powers rather than the Warp, the same way a Weirdboy would tap into the WAAAGH!. Only a few bugs are capable weaponizing the Hive Mind's psychic energy, the [[Zoanthrope]] being one such option for Tyranid psychic support. Few 'Nid species beyond the Zoanthrope are capable of firing [[Awesome|tank piercing mind-lasers]]. Instead the other big bugs use its powers for buffs and a form of control called "synapse", which keeps the Tyranid horde from going feral and killing everyone and everything they see. If the Hive Mind gets driven away from the horde or the synapse bug gets killed, the synapse link collapses and the 'Nids turn feral. How Zoanthroapes still manage to retain psychic powers when they lose their link to the Hive Mind is not understood. Also, before [[Genestealer]]s got retconned into being Tyranids, [[Genestealer Magus|Genestealer Magi]] DID use the power of the Warp to power their abilities and could dedicate themselves to Chaos. There's an image of a Khorne Magus in one of the 2nd edition books...

===Squats===
The [[Squat]]s that grow very old are called "living ancestors". They are extremely rare, and develop psychic powers by communing with the spirits of their predecessors. And you could put them in an egg-shaped terminator armor, then onto a trike, with a bolt-firing cavalry lan-{{BLAM}} {{BLAM|Squats are ''heresy''!}}

==Psychic Power Hierarchy==
The Imperium of Man uses a 26-point scale (with gradations named for the letters of the Greek alphabet, for some reason) called The Assignment to determine the comparative psychic power of an individual. Unfortunately, this gets very confusing in the [[fluff]], where Alpha-level psykers seem to be a dime-a-dozen and show up all over the place, and established characters that are canonically high on the scale are completely overshadowed by [[Kaldor Draigo|some other character]]. All of this [[Derp|"logically"]] leads [[neckbeards]] to reach the flawed conclusion that [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|their favourite character on the tabletop MUST be Alpha level or greater.]]

Furthermore, it is canon that a psyker's place on the scale can change over time as his or her powers either increase with practice or decrease due to atrophy from lack of use. So generally, the fluff is quite useless for determining who is greater than whom; without the evidence of a direct psychic battle between any two comparing how they match up, it is pretty pointless to use this method.

Nevertheless, here is the scale, starting with the most powerful classification:

#Alpha-Plus
#*Alpha-Plus psykers do not represent the top of the scale, but in fact are completely beyond the scale. These individuals operate on a completely different wavelength from normal people and are owners of completely alien mindsets. In terms of power, they are akin to weapons of mass destruction, flavored depending on their particular discipline; for instance, an Alpha-Plus Pyromancer is entirely different from (and significantly less dangerous than) an Alpha-Plus Telepath. However, in theory there is nothing that a trained Alpha-Plus psyker cannot accomplish through force of will, from snapping a [[Titan]] in half (Telekinesis) to summoning the Chaos Gods themselves (Malefic Daemonology). There is a tacit assumption that this category contains the [[Emperor]] and his "notably-psychic" [[Primarchs]] (especially [[Magnus the Red]] in his daemon Primarch form), but even he admitted there were limits on his power, specifically that one could not be both all-seeing and all-powerful at the same time. No attempt is made to distinguish power levels among members of this grade, even when they demonstrably differ in power (such as [[The Emperor]] and [[Magnus the Red]]).
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[The Emperor]]
#**[[Hive_Mind#Warhammer 40,000|The Hive Mind]]
#**Other God-level and Demigod-level Psykers, such as [[Tzeentch]] and [[Magnus the Red]], respectively.
#** [[Malcador the Sigillite]] is definitely up here as well, being the third-most powerful human Psyker (only outranked by [[The Emperor|The Big E]] himself and Magnus, a [[Primarch|Demigod]].
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 5+.
#Alpha
#*It is very much assumed that the most powerful, mortal fluff characters, such as [[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]] or [[Ahzek Ahriman]], are Alpha-level psykers. There are a couple of Imperial Alpha-level psykers in the canon who still have their mental faculties and happen to be [[Grey Knight]]s: [[Knights-Errant#5._Epimetheus|Grandmaster Epimetheus]], one of the original founders, and [[Hyperion|Prognosticar Hyperion]].
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Ahzek Ahriman]]
#**[[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]] (he is listed amongst the greatest of his race but there are other Eldar seers that rival him in power even if they are not named)
#**[[Knights-Errant#5._Epimetheus|Grandmaster Epimetheus]]
#**[[Hyperion|Prognosticar Hyperion]]
#**[[Kairos Fateweaver]]
#**Inquisitor Lord [[Hector Rex]], who bested [[An'ggrath]] '''IN CLOSE COMBAT'''
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 4.
#Beta
#*Exceedingly rare and dangerous. The Imperium believes that human beings have not sufficiently evolved enough to contain Beta and Alpha levels of psionic talent without going completely bat-shit mental(Though exceptions do exist). [[Arvann Stern]] is Beta level. The Beta (or perhaps Gamma) level might also include the most powerful Chief [[Librarian]]s of the [[Space Marine]]s, like [[Varro Tigurius]], [[Mephiston]], and [[Ezekiel]], and most of the more powerful [[Eldar]] [[Farseer]]s. ''Very'' unlucky Alpha psykers may instead find Imperial service in the Ordo Sinister, meaning they'll get turned into screaming batteries for [[Warlord_Battle_Titan#Warlord-Sinister_Pattern_Battle_Psi-Titan|Psi-Titans]].
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Arvann Stern]]
#**[[Be'lakor]]
#**[[Ezekiel]]
#**[[Mephiston]]
#**[[Varro Tigurius]]
#**Grand Master [[Voldus]]
#**The [[Swarmlord]]
#**The [[Yncarne]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 3.
#Gamma
#Delta
#*Approximately one out of every billion human births will produce a Delta- or Gamma-level psyker, who, for the Imperium, represent the "useful" upper limit of psychic potential without being too dangerous to let live, though it's up to the [[Inquisition]] to be the ultimate judge of that. The Inquisitor [[Gideon Ravenor]] was believed to be a high Delta-level psyker. The lower level Eldar Farseers might also be considered Delta- or Gamma-level, along with common [[Daemon Prince]]s. The average chapter chief librarian will likely be around this level.
#*Assumed Examples (Gamma and Delta are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**[[Castellan Crowe]]
#**[[Gideon Ravenor]]
#**[[Jensus Natorian]]
#**Grand Master [[Kaldor Draigo]]
#**Inquisitor [[Katarinya Greyfax]]
#**Inquisitor [[Torquemada Coteaz]]
#**[[Yvraine]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 2.
#Epsilon
#Zeta
#*Epsilons and Zetas represent your ranks of relatively strong psykers. The [[Primaris Psyker]]s of the [[Imperial Guard]], rank-and-file Space Marine [[Librarian]]s and the lower level chief librarians will full amongst the upper range, garden-variety [[Chaos Sorcerer]]s, and Eldar [[Spiritseer]]s and [[Shadowseer]]s could be counted among the Epsilon- and Zeta-levels, as well as [[Tyranid]] [[Hive Tyrant]]s and [[Zoanthrope]] broods.
#*Assumed Examples (Epsilon and Zeta are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**The [[Changeling]]
#**[[Ku'gath Plaguefather]]
#**Shadowseer [[Menahina Ylsa]]
#**The [[Spawn of Cryptus]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 1.
#Eta
#Theta
#Iota
#*Iota represents the first "true" psykers who are able to manifest and control psychic abilities with a modicum of training. These are the people that find their way into the various Imperial institutions and become [[Psyker Battle Squad|Sanctioned Psyker]]s in Imperial armies. The average Eldar could probably be considered among the Iota to Theta levels, though most make minimal use of their inborn psychic potential except for maybe an occasional telepathic communication. The Eldar who train as [[Warlock (Eldar)|Warlock]]s might reach the Eta level. [[Ork]] [[Weirdboy|Weirdboyz]], who represent the highest extent of psychic potential in individual Orks, have reached about Iota, though this has the potential to be massively boosted by a sufficient amount of WAAAGH! energy, provided they can keep their own heads from detonating.
#*Assumed Examples (Eta, Theta, and Iota are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**There are no named characters known or strongly suspected to be at this level, although smart money would be on the named Ork psykers, like [[Old Zogwort]] or [[Big Redd]].
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 0 (this is the appropriate grade for members of a Psyker Brotherhood who are only substantively powerful in aggregate, like [[Wyrdvane]] Psykers).
#Kappa
#Lambda
#Mu
#Nu
#Xi
#Omicron
#*You get a broad range of people who can manifest psychic talents either unconsciously or so subtly as to be beneath the notice of everyone but the Inquisition, such as performing minor "magic" tricks or divinations. Most of the time they are quite useless but still represent a danger since they can be possessed. An Omicron might be able merely to predict consistently what someone will do right before they do it, while a Kappa might be able to move objects by concentrating or create flames out of thin air. These individuals may use their abilities to become petty crime lords, expensive hitmen, or fortune tellers. Although the Inquisition is too busy to sort out everyone at this level, the Imperial public is conditioned well enough to spot and ostracize these witches if the truth about them ever comes to light in their societies. (Read ''Gaunt's Ghosts''.) An ordinary Ork would likely register somewhere in this area—that is, psychic enough to contribute to the gestalt field that Orks will produce in great enough numbers, but not psychic (or smart) enough to actually harness that power and bend it to his will. The same is true of basic Tyranid species, who are psychically linked by the [[Hive Mind]], but not psykers individually.
#Pi
#Rho
#*Run-of-the-mill humans, neither psy-active nor psy-inert. A generally safe place to be. If this scale was a number line, Pi and Rho would be zero.
#Sigma
#Tau
#*When you start descending below the scale of humans, into the "negative" side of the scale, you start going psy-inert. When psychic effects start manifesting subtle phenomena that most people would describe as something feeling "off", people at the Sigma/Tau level can't tell anything is happening. Amusingly enough, this level contains the [[Tau]] race, who have no psykers and (little to) no signature in the Warp. The [[Necron]]s, machines who long ago sold their souls to the [[C'tan]], could also be found in this level.
#Upsilon
#Phi
#Chi
#Psi
#*These are individuals with varying degrees of immunity to psychic powers. They are not true Blanks (see below), but they may reduce an incoming power from something absolutely lethal to something survivable, or are much more difficult to mind-read than most people. The appropriate grade for most Sisters of Battle or other devout members of the Ecclesiarchy.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**Saint [[Celestine]]
#**[[Uriah Jacobus]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately having the rule Adamantium Will without having the Psyker rule.
#Omega
#*Usually referred to as Untouchables, Pariahs, or [[Blank]]s. Not only are they immune to psychic powers, but they can also inhibit the powers of psykers around them and/or neutralize psychic effects on an area around them. The Imperium trains its human Blanks as deadly [[Culexus Assassins]], who are professional psyker-hunters, as it did the [[Sisters of Silence]] before them. The Eldar, believe it or not, also produce the occasional Blank, and these become the infamous [[Solitaire]]s of the [[Harlequin]]s.
#*The fluff is a bit inconsistent on the ''exact'' limit of a Blank's ability, but that's fine, because in [[Dark Heresy Second Edition|Dark Heresy]], Blanks exhibit a broad range of effects which can be different from person to person, much like high-level psykers can have different powers and disciplines. True Blanks have such a psy-negative effect that even normal people can sense it, and it manifests as an irrational loathing for the Blank, though in some cases it can be offset by either a good personality (Alizebeth Bequin) or an odd character trait (Gunner Jurgen). For psykers, however, Omega-level persons are physically and mentally painful to be near. After some training, Blanks can actually benefit from the psychic power they suck from their surroundings (having psykers or even normal living beings in those surroundings really helps), which they use to empower and invigorate themselves. Culexus Assassins take this even further with their Animus Speculum helm by shooting mind-bullets formed from that energy.
There have, however, been a few occasions where a Blank's abilities have been overwhelmed or even permanently shutdown. Bequin's blankness was overwhelmed by the warp corrupted psi-sentience of a Chaos Titan and Wystan Frauka's Blankness was gradually eroded away over time till he was able to be possessed by a psyker.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Alizebeth Bequin]]
#**[[Jurgen|Gunner Jurgen]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately -4.
#Omega-Minus
#*The Yin to Alpha-Plus's Yang, Omega-Minuses, or Black Pariahs, are so extremely rare that it's a safe bet only one of them (an assassin named Spear) ever existed in our galaxy at any point in time. Their null-aura is so powerful that it drives even normal humans insane (and eventually kills them, unless they kill themselves first), and psykers and psychic artifacts within their aura simply cease to exist, turning into dust in a matter seconds. Even other Pariahs are terrified of them. Basically, anybody with the classification Omega-Minus is a Warp black hole that only exists to suck in all souls and Chaos energies and turn it into void. That means the people who get killed by these fucking terrifying abominations have [[Grimdark|their souls sucked out and completely destroyed]]. It's not as terrifying as it sounds, though, as being utterly destroyed upon death certainly beats being raped by daemons for all eternity.
#:The only known example of a Black Pariah was bonded to a minor daemon by [[Erebus]], so their aura does not appear to eradicate daemons. On the other hand Spear's clone-fetus made by the Inquisition and placed in an anti-warp projection device known as "the Black Lantern" had shown the ability to liquefy high-level psykers and perma-kill greater daemons all the while creeping the hell out of the regular humans, although it could be attributed to the device focusing and amplifying the Black Pariah aura not unlike the Animus Speculum does with regular Blank auras.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Spear (Assassin)|Spear]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately -5.

===Other Factors===
When you get further into the details, not only is sheer psychic potential a factor to consider in determining how powerful a psyker is, there are other things to consider when trying to figure out mechanically how one differs from another.

This is easier to do outside of the tabletop setting, which focusses on a d6 scale, where a minor difference in a single statistic can create one power tier an order of magnitude more effective above another.

====Level of Control====
The [[Rogue Trader (RPG)|Willpower]] ''(read: control)'' of a given individual holds almost about as much sway in saying who is more powerful than who, so just because a psyker has an mid-high psy rating, if their Willpower is low ''(say: 30)'' they're less likely to successfully manifest but are more likely to create a powerful effect when they do. Inversely, a low-mid rated psyker with a strong willpower ''(say: 60)'' is more likely to successfully manifest and is ''also'' more likely to be able to resist/counter incoming psychic effects.

That said, even in the mechanics of the RPG rules, once a psy-rating [[Powergamer|reaches epic heights]] then they should have no problems casting even with a low willpower.

====Sorcery====
The second thing to consider is the whims of the [[Chaos Gods]], (particularly [[Tzeentch]]). '''Sorcery''' is entirely separate from Psy Rating/Assignment and even a non-psyker with the correct rites and incantations can pull off similar ''(if not the same)'' manifestations as a true psyker. Back during the [[Horus Heresy]], [[Erebus]] (and 30k Word Bearers with '''Burning Lore''') is an example of this.

A true psyker with access to sorcery can increase his power levels even higher and can easily outstrip more powerful psykers than himself, though Sorcery comes with its own perils and generally leads to Damnation and Corruption ''(no wonder big Emps put his foot down at the council of Nikaea)''

Furthermore, certain favours gifted from the Gods also increase psychic output. It used to be that in days gone by, the '''Mark of Tzeentch''' used to enhance psychic potential on the tabletop. [[RAGE|Nowadays it doesn't]], but in the RPG it still does. But obviously once you've been marked by a God of Chaos, you're in their pocket forever, and you best do your utmost to keep them happy or you end up becoming [[Chaos Spawn|that-which-shall-not-be-named.]]

====Pushing====
Separate from either issue is the fact that Psykers can theoretically increase their assignment rating for a brief instant in order to grant themselves more power.

In both the rules and the fluff there are common instances of psykers being able to boost themselves and create larger effects or to overcome more powerful opponents. This is not so prevalent on the 40k tabletops ''(although with the 7th Edition advent of the shared Warp Charge "Pool" this may be untrue)'' and not all psykers have the ability to do this to the same degree.

One method is to ''"Push"'' their powers further, basically taking a gamble and temporarily adding MOAR power to their manifestation.
*'''Bound''' psykers ''(that is to say, nearly every Imperial psyker who has undergone a Sanctioning process [Including Librarians] or Soul-Binding)'' can only push themselves so much and they are at greater risk of something bad happening (ie: Perils of the Warp) when they do so.
*'''Unbound''' psykers ''(Rogue Psykers / Sorcerers)'' on the other hand can reach even higher degrees of power but [[Not as Planned|shit WILL hit the fan]].
*'''Daemonic''' psykers who attempt to push their powers can go yet higher, but are considerably more likely to cause dangerous psychic phenomena. However since their mere existence on the material plane can be considered a dangerous psychic phenomena they are less likely to be bothered by it unless it is a straight up Perils of the Warp.

==Psychic Disciplines==
There are five "basic" psychic disciplines in the grim darkness of the future. Generally speaking psykers prefer to focus on one discipline if they seek more power, but doing so runs the risk of changing their mindset, as connection between psyker's mind and the Warp is two way, and if one is to use his mind to alter the Warp, warp would use that connection to alter psyker's mind. Some psykers fight this, some don't, and most don't live long enough for this to take effect.
*'''Biomancy''' is about flesh/life force manipulation and shooting lightning, [[derp|somehow]] (probably bioelectricity, but depending on your interpretation, either pyromancy or telekinesis fits this power better). Old and powerful biomancers tend to become quite sick fucks, building cruel and sadistic tendencies over time.
*'''Divination''' is about predicting and tweaking the future. Old and powerful diviners are known to be extremely nerdy, hoarding massive ammounts of knowledge about deciphering visions and omens and general theory of the Warp, but this often comes at the price of constant melancholia and depression, as they realize how much of a puppets in the hand of Fate they are. Unless that diviner is Ahriman, who decided to skullfuck Fate and be the one in charge of his own destiny (though even he went though an "I'm just a puppet" emo-phase before it).
*'''Pyromancy''' is about conjuring and throwing fire at people. It comes to no surprise to anyone that pyromancers that happen to live long enough without blowing themselves up often to grow into aggressive pyromaniac [[RAGE|hotheads]] that tend to solve all problems by KILLING IT WITH FIRE.
*'''Telepathy''' is pretty much self-explanatory - reading and translating minds. Mind control and mind rape goes there, as well as [[Cheese|invisibility]], even though this power [[derp|renders you invisible to things without minds]]. In terms of long-term personality changes Telepaths draw the absolutely shortest straw, as over time they "pick up" bits and pieces of personalities of people they mindraped, risking to lose their original selves eventually, and even if they have the will to resist it, they inevitably grow into absolute misanthropes due to knowing too well what disgusting things people around them think about all the time.
*'''Telekinesis''' is also obvious - moving things with a mind. Here also goes psychic shields and [[derp|somehow]] dimensional gates. Not much known about how it affects psyker's psyche - old telekines are known to being quite stoic, even stubborn but many unspecialized psykers that manged to survive for long without losing their minds also tend move towards this archetype, so it's debatable whether it's discipline effect or a simple natural selection.
*'''Daemonology''' is a sixth common discipline, although it's by no means basic, being much more difficult to learn and dangerous to use (as anything that directly deals with chaos daemons carries the possibility of the psyker's head exploding into a warp portal). It's split into two sub-disciplines - '''Malefic''' is about summoning daemons and using their power, and '''Sanctic''' is about banishing them and killing things with the refined unshaped Warp energy. Generally speaking most dedicated daemonologists do not live long enough to experience any personality-changing effects of their discipline, and those that do are either brainwashed on a regular basis (Grey Knights) or are already Chaos-corrupted and affected by daemonic pacts (Chaos sorcerers and wild psykers).

Besides those six, other disciplines exist, although they are mostly faction-specific:
* [[Chaos]] psykers and daemons use their own specific disciplines, dedicated to one of the three gods who don't hate sorcery:
**'''[[Tzeentch]]''' is mostly about mutation, subjugation, and manipulation of the warp itself. Tzeentchian powers typically revolve around controlling the energies of the warp itself to damage foes (like Doombolts), mind-reading and controlling people, and manipulating reality to either open warp rifts or mutate their opponents into [[Chaos Spawn|those-which-shall-not-be-named]].
**'''[[Nurgle]]''' is like a twisted version of Biomancy, focusing on the psyker spreading the gifts of Papa Nurgle by polluting their surrounding area with his many plagues and contagions, causing most people to succumb and die within minutes. The "beneficial" parts of these are mostly related to raising a recipient's endurance, as the many blessings of Nurgle can do anything from mending grievous wounds in an instant, to granting them inhuman resistance to damage.
**'''[[Slaanesh]]''' tends to be the trickiest, focusing on illusions, and manipulating their targets' senses to either control them or drive them into the throes of insanity (Which can either be good or bad depending on the power involved). Slaaneshi powers are a bit similar to Tzeentchian ones, although are focused more around manipulating the physical and mental characteristics of people to the extreme (something they have control over), rather than their fates and surrounding reality (which people typically do not).
* The [[Eldar]] have developed four disciplines of their own; the first two use runes as proxies to manifest psychic powers, so they don't get mind fucked by Slaaneshi daemons the moment they surge in the warp for the power, and they created two disciplines to utilize those runes:
**'''Runes of Fate''' Used by Farseers is kind of like Telepathy and Divination mixed together and shaken a bit - same kind of future telling and mindrape in a slightly different form. Except for Eldritch Storm, which looks like it was pulled form the Sanctic Daemonology
**'''Runes of Battle''' Used by Warlocks and Spiritseers. Features a set of powers that can be used to buff allies or debuff opponents, most of which don't fit into any of the basic disciplines.
** [[Harlequin]] Shadowseers also use their own discipline called '''Phantasmancy''', which is basically Telepathy on an acid trip, as the psyker channels his own killer-clown kind of batshit insanity into people, and polishes it out with hallucinogen grenades thrown on the top.
** Eldar Corsairs, being cool space pirates, do not utilize rune stones, and channel psychic powers the old way, at a higher risk of being raped by daemons. Their old-school techniques allow them to use pre-fall magic called '''Aetheromancy''', designed to utilize the Webway (similarly to how Sanctic Daemonologists utilize the Warp), so they can project a guidance map, teleport their allies through it, and create rifts that suck their enemies into it.
**The new Ynnari faction brings with it the new '''Revenant''' discipline which looks suspiciously like Necromancy but isn't we swear.
* [[Ork]] Weirdboyz have their own discipline, that runs on Waaagh! energy rather than the Warp, and don't have access to other disciplines. Surprisingly, Waaagh! powers are quite powerful and some of them are tricky, although they are mostly focused on pumping the boyz around the Weirdboy with buffs, getting them closer to enemies or killing shit with green lightning.
* Similarily, [[Tyranids]], whose psychic powers also run on a collective psychic field, have a specific discipline, which is Telepathy with a bit of Biomancy and the odd Zoanthrope mind bullet power thrown in.
* Spaсe Marine librarians have developed not one but FOUR special disciplines, which Chaos Sorcerers rename because they have to be different:
:*'''Technomancy'''/'''Heretech''' Telepathy/biomancy for machine spirits rather than living beings, for those who prefer the company of machines or like to wreck enemy ones.
:*'''Fulmination'''/'''Ectomancy''' Biomancy that throws away all that life force and biochemistry shit and focuses solely on the lightning. All the lightning!
:*'''Geokinesis'''/'''Geomortis''' If you ever wanted to be an earthbender this is the discipline for you. Among other things it allows you to [[cheese|move buildings, hills and forests around.]]
:*'''Librarius'''/'''Sinistrum''' Very Eldar-runes-like telepathy/divination based discipline with trickery thrown in.

* [[Space Wolves|Space Wolf]] Rune Priests use a discipline called '''Tempestus''' (although they refuse to admit it's a psychic discipline at all, since they're hypocrite assholes) - it involves powers that mostly revolve around ice, earth, and storms. It looks like it utilizes a psychic ice effect, which is a common ''side'' effect of manifesting powerful non-pyromancy powers, and then they mix that with a bit of Telekinesis to spin that ice around or shape it into giant killer wolves that eat you alive.
* [[Blood Angels]] and their successors claim to have their own discipline called '''Sanguine''' but it's really just a bunch of Biomancy, Telekinesiss and Telepathy powers thrown together and given fancy names. Their buffing spells have a tendency to affect allies, rather than just the psykers at the cost of sheer power, [[Fluff|possibly due to the selfless nature of their chapter.]] Then there's the Blood Lance - which is just the entirety of their psychosis bottled into one power, with all the heat and fury of the Black Rage with the color of the Red Thirst.
*The [[Dark Angels]] utilize the '''Interromancy''' discipline, which is a specialized variant of the Telepathy discipline, originally designed to ''interro''gate <s>Fallen</s> FOUL TRAITORS WHO ARE NOT IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO THE FIRST LEGION. It may lack some of the most bullshit OP powers of true Telepathy, but has a strong combination of buffs and debuffs and the latter have a chance to ''permanently'' cripple their targets, especially if they are weak-willed.

==Comparing Psykers==
Addendum: This list is subjective in the extreme. Trying to compare the Psychic powers of so many characters without a standard metric is fukkin' stupid.
# God-Emperor of Mankind, The Hive Mind, Chaos Gods and other Deities.
# Magnus the Red
# Eldrad; Malcador the Sigilite; Lorgar; Azhek Ahriman.
# Epimetheus; Warlock Titans.
# Eldar Farseers; other Alpha level psykers; Lords of Change.
# Rubric Sorcerers; Tigurius; Sevrin Loth; Mephiston; Njal Stormcaller; Ezekiel; Kaldor Draigo.
# Chaos Sorcerers; Grey Knight Librarians; Ravenor; Hyperion; Swarmlord; Zaraphiston; Shadowseers (Harlequins); Spiritseers; Worldsingers (Exodites); Wraithseers (''power equal to the seer used in its construction'').
# Regular Librarians, Zoanthropes; Eldar Warlocks; Bonesingers; Corsair void dreamers (''tend to be random in power with some being the equal of Farseers'').
# Primaris Psykers; Hive Tyrants;
# Wyrdvane/Sanctioned Psykers; Ork Wyrdboyz; Zoanthropes;
# Regular Grey Knights; Navigators; Astropaths ''(they are powerful, but their powers are normally so specialized at being a cell-phone, most of them are no match for 'true' psykers).''
# Regular [[Eldar]].
# Regular [[Orks]].
# Regular Humans.
# Blunted Humans; [[Tau]]; Regular [[Space Wolves]].
# [[Necrons]].
# Blanks/Pariahs.
# [[Culexus Assassins]]/Sisters of Silence - ''farthest from Psyker as possible, soulless anti-psykers.''
# The Black Pariah (Daemon-Blanks?)

''I'm not sure about the place of Greater Daemons here; also, Tyranid psykers.''

= Gallery =
<center><gallery>
Image:1228653127630.jpg
Image:psykertraining.jpg
Image:Suffer not the dirty cheat by Mr Culexus.jpg|You should never invite psykers to your poker night.
Image:1204002502106og9.jpg|Culexus assassins are psykers' worst nightmare, though they are very friendly.
File:1263350811847.jpg|Psyker Dredd knows you were gonna say that.
Image:We are not going to get in trouble are we.png|Shh, my heresy sense is tingling...
File:Are_you_a_psychic_final.jpg|The Adeptus Astra Telepathica's easy steps in identifying and capturing potential psykers.
</gallery></center>

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]

Psyker

2017-11-06T00:53:35Z

2605:E000:7ECF:7F00:143C:32A:D33C:E495: /* Eldar */

[[Image:imperialpsyker.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Good thing [[Games Workshop]] has an extremely liberal interpretation of the word 'psychic'. Magic IN SPEHSS!]]

''“We always vilify what we don't understand.”'' 
- Nenia Campbell

A '''psyker''', in the [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe, is an individual with psychic powers capable of accessing the [[Warp]]. This is both a blessing and a curse; though psykers are often able to achieve spectacular feats with their abilities, the Warp is a perilous place, and whenever a psyker uses their abilities there is a chance that they will be subject to the Perils of the Warp. Death is one of the milder results of this; extremely unlucky psykers might actually be raped in countless ways by [[daemon]]s and used as a gateway from the Warp into the physical world. Luckily, in the ranks of the [[Imperial Guard]], where there's a psyker, there's usually a [[Commissar]] ready to unleash the power of [[Blam]].

==Types of Psyker==
The different races of the setting perceive psykers in different ways.

===Imperium===
The [[Imperium of Man]] regards most psykers as extremely dangerous, because these are people with scary powers, and the influence of the Warp tends not to let them stay sane for very long, but hey, space wizards are cool. There is also the threat of [[Chaos]] possessing them and summoning daemons. Thus, the [[Inquisition]] hunts them down so they can either be sacrificed to feed the [[Empra]] or sanctioned and made to serve the Imperium (under an inquisitor's watchful eye). Such psykers appear as a unit in the Dawn of War games and like to scream incomprehensible one-liners so mind-numbingly loud that they may very well actually make your head explode. [[Space Marines]] make their psykers into [[Librarian]]s: in addition to psychic support on the battlefield, they compile records in the Librarium, serve to assist in battlefield communications, and test their brothers for Chaotic contamination. [[Imperial Guard]] Sanctioned Psykers combine psychic powers with Standard Issue Balls of Steel that every Imperial Guard member has. In addition, they have a nasty reputation for being BLAMMED by Commissars. "Rogue Psykers" is the official designation for any psyker who hasn't been collared by the Imperium yet and are often hated by more puritan worlds, in extreme cases routinely being hunted down and killed; but on most worlds being sactioned (assuming you survive and don't mind the side affects) gives an air of authority and orthodoxy to an otherwise hated thing. People still hate you, but instead of treating you like a particularly verbose bit of dung, now you're hated the way tax collectors are hated. Astropaths are beyond such venom, partly because they are less prone to possession and mostly because they are a planet's only way of communicating with the greater Imperium. People still feel uneasy around them, but even [[Black Templars]] have to cope with them and make nice faces. Pointing out that the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor]] was a psyker usually results in the person struggling to make a retort for a few moments before beating you to death. Well, actually not, since for an average citizen of the Imperium the Emperor is God, so His wielding godly powers in the [[Great_Crusade|glory days]] before His ascension is actually the core tenet of the Imperial Cult and proof of his divinity. Not so for mere mortal psykers, who are rightly considered unholy and corruptible.

Humanity being the stars of the show obviously have arguably the greatest psychic potential overall (because of course they do), with a psychic evolution (which could take countless centuries or even millennia to take place; even if they can survive it) into a full psychic race which the Emperor himself has said may very well equal or even possibly surpass even the Eldar at their peak, although with the loss of the Webway project even the Emperor admits that this path is pretty much now closed to humanity. Becoming a psychic race doesn't suddenly make you god tier, it just makes you psychic; the Eldar are a full blown psychic race and they aren't exactly doing brilliantly.

Humanity has managed to produce the strongest Psykers in the history of the Galaxy but most didn't come into being through natural means:
*[[The Emperor]] is obviously the first that springs to mind as he is unquestionably the strongest mortal psyker that has yet been seen, unless you count the [[Old Ones]]. The question is however: is he even human? There are many theories surrounding the Emperor's origins and his exact nature. Was he born or is he a construct from the Dark age of technology that believes itself to be human? If we take the whole Shaman origin as fact then his psychic might is due to the large number of psychic beings merging their minds into one which is certainly not the norm (strangely something similar happened to [[Ephrael Stern]]). Even if we assume he's a single entity that [[Perpetual|happens to be immortal]], there is the whole deal with the Chaos gods which may or may not have boosted his already considerable power. The Emperor is clear proof ha that the most powerful Psyker in existence is indisputably human
*[[Magnus]] is a Primarch and should in no way be considered entirely human. He, like all his kind, are artificial beings created through Warp shenanigans and advanced bio engineering. There is nothing natural about him or his psychic might.
*[[Malcador]] is the only truly natural (depending upon what happens with his back story once it is finally revealed) human standout amongst the big names. He may play second fiddle to the likes of the abominations that are the Emperor and Magnus but he is still the strongest "human" psyker on the list. Natural humans are never going to be able to compete with the gods of the Warp, but a race of potential Malcador's doesn't sound too shabby now does it.
*[[Voldus]] like many Grey Knights and even other Space Marine Librarians, Voldus and his predecessors have often performed feats far beyond that shown by any Eldar Farseer, with Voldus, in the crunch, actually having basic net superior abilities to even Eldrad.
*[[Tigurius]] is arguably the greatest precognitive in the galaxy, with accurate predictions and manipulations which put Eldrad to shame, and the only Psyker to ever manage to make contact and read the mind of the [[Hive Mind]] itself and survive, using that knowledge against the [[Tyranid]].

===Forces of Chaos===
[[Chaos]] tends to have...varied opinions on psykers.
*[[Daemon]]s are made out of the stuff of the Warp, and using psychic powers is shaping and throwing out a little bit of the Warp; so a daemon using psychic powers is the rough equivalent of [[Rip and tear|taking a severed limb or some bones and throwing it]] as a viable attack. While that sounds pretty fucking metal, [[Khorne]] thinks that pulling this bullshit is a sign that you're not manly enough to get into the thick of it and handle the situation on your own. So it's an opinion shared by his daemons and his mortal followers. Not only do they not use psychic powers, but they actively hate any pussified deadbeat who uses them, and they even get toys that fuck with anybody trying to use those powers. However, it should be said that Khornate traitor librarians exist. Librarians by nature are beings that focus on destruction with their minds, so Khorne recognizes that as inner strength and makes an exception for them.
*On the other end of the spectrum, [[Tzeentch]], being the god of magic, is hugely into psychic powers, and he likes making new ones that do all kinds of mix-and-match effects, though only the best are actually rolled out. That's the official line. He's actually a closeted pyro, and a lot of his powers are burny or...do weird shit. Being the patron of psykers, if people get Tzeentch's attention because they're scholars or [[Just As Planned|David Xanatos]], they'll eventually develop psychic power whether they like it or not. Due to higher exposure to Warp energy via psychic powers and serving the god of change, Tzeentch's minions, and more often, ''their'' minions have the highest rates of mutation and turning into [[Chaos Spawn|Chao--er, tentacly gribblies]]. [[Ahriman]], possibly the greatest of Tzeentch's Servants barring Magnus himself, was so powerful a Psyker that he was able to defeat Ulthwe's most venerated Psyker; Kyaduras the Anchorite, with ease and, in the same battle, also casually defeated [[Yvraine]], the Yncarne and the Visarch.
*In the middle, [[Nurgle]] likes any psykers that spread his gifts around but doesn't really go out of his way to promote them in his followers either, probably on account of his direct opposition to Tzeentch. Needless to say, his powers all revolve around inflicting people with horrible diseases or boosting their endurance to unnatural levels.
*Similarly, [[Slaanesh]] thinks Tzeentch is a [[Neckbeard|giant nerd]], whose overdevotion to his nerdy hobby of inventing new psychic powers will never get him laid. We think it says this because <s>Tzeentch refuses to sleep with it (it almost certainly likes his tentacles and crotch mouth)</s> he's afraid he might catch Warp chlamydia, and he's just not willing to give Nurgle that kind of [[Just as Planned|satisfaction]]. Slaaneshi psykers emphasize powers that makes the [[Chaos|hurt feel good]], or has effects that look like the target might have [[Drug|snorted]] the psychic power off of a stripper's ass.

===Eldar===
The [[Eldar|Craftworld Eldar]] are a strongly psychically-attuned race (to the point as to a good chunk of their biology can't funcion were it not for their psychic power). While the regular, off-the-street Eldar will restrain themselves from using any psychic powers beside basic telepathic communication and the ability to use their psychic technology out of fear of being mindraped by Slaaneshi daemons, they can join the [[Path]] of the Seer and train to better control their innate abilities. Eldar who go on this path with previous experience as Aspect Warriors become [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warlock_(Eldar)| Warlocks], while the most powerful seers can become [[Farseer]]s and leaders of their people. They're ridiculously powerful psykers because of that deep imprint in the Warp to draw power, combined with their Spehss Ehlvan minds and willpower. They just need to be fucking careful and avoid unwanted attention unless they like [[Slaanesh|tentacles]].

[[Harlequin]]s are also psychic, which really comes out in their shows, and although only the [[Shadowseer]] can use powers in a fight, other Harlequins do enjoy the benefits of psychic senses and silent telepathic communication.

The true capacity and depth of Eldar psychic abilities tends to be rather watered down or just plain ignored outright, due to the demands of the plot which is almost always told with the Imperium as the protagonist of the story. Within most stories the authors will tend to use the "M. Night Shyamalan" style of writing, which means having the Eldar Farseers getting a vision of events that are going to happen in the future and set out to stop it, only to discover that they either had it wrong the whole time ,or they themselves bought about the very event that they wished to prevent; all the while the authors are hopping around shouting "WHAT A TWIST" at the top of their lungs. Due to the vast focus put upon the forces of the Imperium it is not a surprise that there are so many named human Psykers present in the list below but remember that humans only produce an exceptional psychic individual once in a blue moon; those humans that prove themselves strong and stable enough to join the ranks of the Marines as Librarians are a rare breed but more then prove their worth over multiple centuries of service, so most if not all of the human Psykers of note will be present within the list below.

In comparison every Eldar citizen can, if they wish to, potentially become a Farseer; although no Farseer will ever manage to reach the same level of power as the likes of Magnus it's not really a fair comparison as he really isn't [[Primarch|human]] and did not come into existence through natural means. Although it should be noted that although the likes of [[Spiritseers]] who are able to commune with and manipulate the souls of the Eldar dead the Ynnari actually amplify their existing powers through absorbing the souls of previous Eldar. GW's "fuck what the Xenos are supposed to be able to do; the Imperium and Chaos are the stars of this setting" rule is seen many times in the story itself, with powerful Eldar Psykers like Eldrad very rarely performing impressive feats within the stories they are featured in, and you are just told that they are very powerful before they are inevitably defeated by the glorious human protagonist (Loyalist or otherwise). Eldar Farseers, in particular, suffer from the "worf effect" more then most, despite often being heralded as great seers they have a terrible track record within the story line itself, very rarely succeeding in any of their endeavours. An important thing to keep in mind is that The Black Library writers love to add their very own super duper special human snowflake Psyker into the story because the "Rule of Cool" demands it, with many in the lore being attributed with the ability to destroy Titans and armies. Farseers on the other hand are often shown being incapable of even defeating a single Space Marine, let alone a tank, army or Titan, and Farseers are, explicitly, meant to be the most powerful Eldar Psykers in the galaxy. However, this could simply be either a way of keeping it so they don't win by default due to knowing exactly how a battle will go or (much more likely) Black Library incompetence making it impossible to get a remotely accurate depiction of what their powers can do.

The Eldar make use of Rune Stones that act as conduits through which they can manipulate the psychic energise of a the Warp without actually having to interact with the Warp directly; though this does limit their overall psychic power level it does provide them with a much safer and controlled way to access the energise of the Warp. The Rune stones also act as psychic fuses burning out and cutting the link to the Warp should an Eldar try to tap into too much power before they are ready. As they develop their control and skill the Eldar psykers will eventually be able to use a far greater number of stones, which allows them to tap into far greater pools of power.

===Dark Eldar===
The [[Dark Eldar]], however, are psychically atrophied compared to their Craftworld bros. They have to avoid using psychic powers due to [[Slaanesh]]'s "I own your soul" gig, and Dark Eldar using psychic powers are reasonably feared as bait for [[Rip and tear|snusnu-with-a-Daemonette]]. They ''can'' use psychic artifacts, like all those crazy living swords and [[Haemonculi|Haemonculus]] toys; the only psychic power they use is their infamous emotion-vampirism ability that can replenish their bodies and souls. And kamehamehas, for [[Mandrake]]s. They do have extra fun torturing, killing and then weaponizing psykers though.

===Tau Empire===
The [[Tau]] race is incapable of producing psykers, due to having almost no presence in the Warp. The good news for them is that they don't have to worry about [[Chaos|''Bad Things'']], such as any members of their species spontaneously turning inside out from the anus and summoning an army of monsters that will fuck, kill, and eat people, (''not strictly in that order''). The bad news is that they have no way to develop psychically based technology, so their FTL travel is glacial, albeit a good deal safer than an actual Warp jump, and their FTL communications options are limited to the Space Pony Express. It should be noted that some of their vassal races have psychic abilities, including their own Navigator analogues. It is known that they actually locate, isolate and study human (and probably other species') psykers, but as the Immaterium is too irrational and far beyond their science they have had little success in analyzing the reason behind Gue'La suddenly going crazy and <s>summoning</s> teleporting armies of violent omnicidal "aliens" out of thin air.
*Funnily, the Kroot have psykers (they have a diverse diet) and understand a great deal about the Immaterium. They even have some crude warp vessels, usually with purchased or stolen xeno tech in it. How the Tau have gotten so far without bothering to ask their close allies about it all probably says something about the Tau's Greater Good and its inability to properly assimilate new cultures.

===Necrons===
The [[Necron]]s no longer have souls, so they have no presence in the Warp, and therefore can't manipulate it with their minds. And yet, they have managed to conquer the Warp with technology. (Egyptian Skeleton Zombie Robots, Yeah!) They keep fucking up the Warp and psykers with the gloom prisms they mount on their spiders, pylons ([[Cadia|sounds familiar...]]), or even giant city-sized mechanisms that cut entire planets from the Warp. One in the ''Word Bearer'' novels even had...this thing, about the size of a resurrection orb, which blanketed an entire system in a "psychic black hole." Problem, daemons? There's also the Pariahs, a dangerous type of [[lychguard]] made from psychic blanks that act much like [[Culexus]] assassins.

===Orks===
The [[Ork]]s are all passive psykers, or rather emanate their own gestalt "psykik" energy in the power of the WAAAGH!, though they're mostly unaware of this. A large number of Orks in one place will slightly alter reality to suit their wishes, turning jam-prone, dirty blunderbusses into [[Dakka|fully-automatic rifles of rape.]] [[Weirdboy|Weirdboyz]] are the only ones who can tap into it actively to manifest psychic powers, which have an amusing tendency to make Orks heads explode with absolutely no warning. As said above, the Orks draw psychic energy from each other, not from the [[Warp]], which makes them virtually immune to Chaotic influences, although they do have a pretty serious presence in the Warp in the form of [[Gork]] and [[Mork]] (or maybe the other way round).

===Tyranids===
The [[Tyranid]]s are innate psykers, and their collective power goes into the [[Hive Mind]], which is what the big bugs tap into to manifest psychic powers rather than the Warp, the same way a Weirdboy would tap into the WAAAGH!. Only a few bugs are capable weaponizing the Hive Mind's psychic energy, the [[Zoanthrope]] being one such option for Tyranid psychic support. Few 'Nid species beyond the Zoanthrope are capable of firing [[Awesome|tank piercing mind-lasers]]. Instead the other big bugs use its powers for buffs and a form of control called "synapse", which keeps the Tyranid horde from going feral and killing everyone and everything they see. If the Hive Mind gets driven away from the horde or the synapse bug gets killed, the synapse link collapses and the 'Nids turn feral. How Zoanthroapes still manage to retain psychic powers when they lose their link to the Hive Mind is not understood. Also, before [[Genestealer]]s got retconned into being Tyranids, [[Genestealer Magus|Genestealer Magi]] DID use the power of the Warp to power their abilities and could dedicate themselves to Chaos. There's an image of a Khorne Magus in one of the 2nd edition books...

===Squats===
The [[Squat]]s that grow very old are called "living ancestors". They are extremely rare, and develop psychic powers by communing with the spirits of their predecessors. And you could put them in an egg-shaped terminator armor, then onto a trike, with a bolt-firing cavalry lan-{{BLAM}} {{BLAM|Squats are ''heresy''!}}

==Psychic Power Hierarchy==
The Imperium of Man uses a 26-point scale (with gradations named for the letters of the Greek alphabet, for some reason) called The Assignment to determine the comparative psychic power of an individual. Unfortunately, this gets very confusing in the [[fluff]], where Alpha-level psykers seem to be a dime-a-dozen and show up all over the place, and established characters that are canonically high on the scale are completely overshadowed by [[Kaldor Draigo|some other character]]. All of this [[Derp|"logically"]] leads [[neckbeards]] to reach the flawed conclusion that [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|their favourite character on the tabletop MUST be Alpha level or greater.]]

Furthermore, it is canon that a psyker's place on the scale can change over time as his or her powers either increase with practice or decrease due to atrophy from lack of use. So generally, the fluff is quite useless for determining who is greater than whom; without the evidence of a direct psychic battle between any two comparing how they match up, it is pretty pointless to use this method.

Nevertheless, here is the scale, starting with the most powerful classification:

#Alpha-Plus
#*Alpha-Plus psykers do not represent the top of the scale, but in fact are completely beyond the scale. These individuals operate on a completely different wavelength from normal people and are owners of completely alien mindsets. In terms of power, they are akin to weapons of mass destruction, flavored depending on their particular discipline; for instance, an Alpha-Plus Pyromancer is entirely different from (and significantly less dangerous than) an Alpha-Plus Telepath. However, in theory there is nothing that a trained Alpha-Plus psyker cannot accomplish through force of will, from snapping a [[Titan]] in half (Telekinesis) to summoning the Chaos Gods themselves (Malefic Daemonology). There is a tacit assumption that this category contains the [[Emperor]] and his "notably-psychic" [[Primarchs]] (especially [[Magnus the Red]] in his daemon Primarch form), but even he admitted there were limits on his power, specifically that one could not be both all-seeing and all-powerful at the same time. No attempt is made to distinguish power levels among members of this grade, even when they demonstrably differ in power (such as [[The Emperor]] and [[Magnus the Red]]).
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[The Emperor]]
#**[[Hive_Mind#Warhammer 40,000|The Hive Mind]]
#**Other God-level and Demigod-level Psykers, such as [[Tzeentch]] and [[Magnus the Red]], respectively.
#** [[Malcador the Sigillite]] is definitely up here as well, being the third-most powerful human Psyker (only outranked by [[The Emperor|The Big E]] himself and Magnus, a [[Primarch|Demigod]].
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 5+.
#Alpha
#*It is very much assumed that the most powerful, mortal fluff characters, such as [[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]] or [[Ahzek Ahriman]], are Alpha-level psykers. There are a couple of Imperial Alpha-level psykers in the canon who still have their mental faculties and happen to be [[Grey Knight]]s: [[Knights-Errant#5._Epimetheus|Grandmaster Epimetheus]], one of the original founders, and [[Hyperion|Prognosticar Hyperion]].
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Ahzek Ahriman]]
#**[[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]] (he is listed amongst the greatest of his race but there are other Eldar seers that rival him in power even if they are not named)
#**[[Knights-Errant#5._Epimetheus|Grandmaster Epimetheus]]
#**[[Hyperion|Prognosticar Hyperion]]
#**[[Kairos Fateweaver]]
#**Inquisitor Lord [[Hector Rex]], who bested [[An'ggrath]] '''IN CLOSE COMBAT'''
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 4.
#Beta
#*Exceedingly rare and dangerous. The Imperium believes that human beings have not sufficiently evolved enough to contain Beta and Alpha levels of psionic talent without going completely bat-shit mental(Though exceptions do exist). [[Arvann Stern]] is Beta level. The Beta (or perhaps Gamma) level might also include the most powerful Chief [[Librarian]]s of the [[Space Marine]]s, like [[Varro Tigurius]], [[Mephiston]], and [[Ezekiel]], and most of the more powerful [[Eldar]] [[Farseer]]s. ''Very'' unlucky Alpha psykers may instead find Imperial service in the Ordo Sinister, meaning they'll get turned into screaming batteries for [[Warlord_Battle_Titan#Warlord-Sinister_Pattern_Battle_Psi-Titan|Psi-Titans]].
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Arvann Stern]]
#**[[Be'lakor]]
#**[[Ezekiel]]
#**[[Mephiston]]
#**[[Varro Tigurius]]
#**Grand Master [[Voldus]]
#**The [[Swarmlord]]
#**The [[Yncarne]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 3.
#Gamma
#Delta
#*Approximately one out of every billion human births will produce a Delta- or Gamma-level psyker, who, for the Imperium, represent the "useful" upper limit of psychic potential without being too dangerous to let live, though it's up to the [[Inquisition]] to be the ultimate judge of that. The Inquisitor [[Gideon Ravenor]] was believed to be a high Delta-level psyker. The lower level Eldar Farseers might also be considered Delta- or Gamma-level, along with common [[Daemon Prince]]s. The average chapter chief librarian will likely be around this level.
#*Assumed Examples (Gamma and Delta are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**[[Castellan Crowe]]
#**[[Gideon Ravenor]]
#**[[Jensus Natorian]]
#**Grand Master [[Kaldor Draigo]]
#**Inquisitor [[Katarinya Greyfax]]
#**Inquisitor [[Torquemada Coteaz]]
#**[[Yvraine]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 2.
#Epsilon
#Zeta
#*Epsilons and Zetas represent your ranks of relatively strong psykers. The [[Primaris Psyker]]s of the [[Imperial Guard]], rank-and-file Space Marine [[Librarian]]s and the lower level chief librarians will full amongst the upper range, garden-variety [[Chaos Sorcerer]]s, and Eldar [[Spiritseer]]s and [[Shadowseer]]s could be counted among the Epsilon- and Zeta-levels, as well as [[Tyranid]] [[Hive Tyrant]]s and [[Zoanthrope]] broods.
#*Assumed Examples (Epsilon and Zeta are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**The [[Changeling]]
#**[[Ku'gath Plaguefather]]
#**Shadowseer [[Menahina Ylsa]]
#**The [[Spawn of Cryptus]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 1.
#Eta
#Theta
#Iota
#*Iota represents the first "true" psykers who are able to manifest and control psychic abilities with a modicum of training. These are the people that find their way into the various Imperial institutions and become [[Psyker Battle Squad|Sanctioned Psyker]]s in Imperial armies. The average Eldar could probably be considered among the Iota to Theta levels, though most make minimal use of their inborn psychic potential except for maybe an occasional telepathic communication. The Eldar who train as [[Warlock (Eldar)|Warlock]]s might reach the Eta level. [[Ork]] [[Weirdboy|Weirdboyz]], who represent the highest extent of psychic potential in individual Orks, have reached about Iota, though this has the potential to be massively boosted by a sufficient amount of WAAAGH! energy, provided they can keep their own heads from detonating.
#*Assumed Examples (Eta, Theta, and Iota are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**There are no named characters known or strongly suspected to be at this level, although smart money would be on the named Ork psykers, like [[Old Zogwort]] or [[Big Redd]].
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 0 (this is the appropriate grade for members of a Psyker Brotherhood who are only substantively powerful in aggregate, like [[Wyrdvane]] Psykers).
#Kappa
#Lambda
#Mu
#Nu
#Xi
#Omicron
#*You get a broad range of people who can manifest psychic talents either unconsciously or so subtly as to be beneath the notice of everyone but the Inquisition, such as performing minor "magic" tricks or divinations. Most of the time they are quite useless but still represent a danger since they can be possessed. An Omicron might be able merely to predict consistently what someone will do right before they do it, while a Kappa might be able to move objects by concentrating or create flames out of thin air. These individuals may use their abilities to become petty crime lords, expensive hitmen, or fortune tellers. Although the Inquisition is too busy to sort out everyone at this level, the Imperial public is conditioned well enough to spot and ostracize these witches if the truth about them ever comes to light in their societies. (Read ''Gaunt's Ghosts''.) An ordinary Ork would likely register somewhere in this area—that is, psychic enough to contribute to the gestalt field that Orks will produce in great enough numbers, but not psychic (or smart) enough to actually harness that power and bend it to his will. The same is true of basic Tyranid species, who are psychically linked by the [[Hive Mind]], but not psykers individually.
#Pi
#Rho
#*Run-of-the-mill humans, neither psy-active nor psy-inert. A generally safe place to be. If this scale was a number line, Pi and Rho would be zero.
#Sigma
#Tau
#*When you start descending below the scale of humans, into the "negative" side of the scale, you start going psy-inert. When psychic effects start manifesting subtle phenomena that most people would describe as something feeling "off", people at the Sigma/Tau level can't tell anything is happening. Amusingly enough, this level contains the [[Tau]] race, who have no psykers and (little to) no signature in the Warp. The [[Necron]]s, machines who long ago sold their souls to the [[C'tan]], could also be found in this level.
#Upsilon
#Phi
#Chi
#Psi
#*These are individuals with varying degrees of immunity to psychic powers. They are not true Blanks (see below), but they may reduce an incoming power from something absolutely lethal to something survivable, or are much more difficult to mind-read than most people. The appropriate grade for most Sisters of Battle or other devout members of the Ecclesiarchy.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**Saint [[Celestine]]
#**[[Uriah Jacobus]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately having the rule Adamantium Will without having the Psyker rule.
#Omega
#*Usually referred to as Untouchables, Pariahs, or [[Blank]]s. Not only are they immune to psychic powers, but they can also inhibit the powers of psykers around them and/or neutralize psychic effects on an area around them. The Imperium trains its human Blanks as deadly [[Culexus Assassins]], who are professional psyker-hunters, as it did the [[Sisters of Silence]] before them. The Eldar, believe it or not, also produce the occasional Blank, and these become the infamous [[Solitaire]]s of the [[Harlequin]]s.
#*The fluff is a bit inconsistent on the ''exact'' limit of a Blank's ability, but that's fine, because in [[Dark Heresy Second Edition|Dark Heresy]], Blanks exhibit a broad range of effects which can be different from person to person, much like high-level psykers can have different powers and disciplines. True Blanks have such a psy-negative effect that even normal people can sense it, and it manifests as an irrational loathing for the Blank, though in some cases it can be offset by either a good personality (Alizebeth Bequin) or an odd character trait (Gunner Jurgen). For psykers, however, Omega-level persons are physically and mentally painful to be near. After some training, Blanks can actually benefit from the psychic power they suck from their surroundings (having psykers or even normal living beings in those surroundings really helps), which they use to empower and invigorate themselves. Culexus Assassins take this even further with their Animus Speculum helm by shooting mind-bullets formed from that energy.
There have, however, been a few occasions where a Blank's abilities have been overwhelmed or even permanently shutdown. Bequin's blankness was overwhelmed by the warp corrupted psi-sentience of a Chaos Titan and Wystan Frauka's Blankness was gradually eroded away over time till he was able to be possessed by a psyker.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Alizebeth Bequin]]
#**[[Jurgen|Gunner Jurgen]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately -4.
#Omega-Minus
#*The Yin to Alpha-Plus's Yang, Omega-Minuses, or Black Pariahs, are so extremely rare that it's a safe bet only one of them (an assassin named Spear) ever existed in our galaxy at any point in time. Their null-aura is so powerful that it drives even normal humans insane (and eventually kills them, unless they kill themselves first), and psykers and psychic artifacts within their aura simply cease to exist, turning into dust in a matter seconds. Even other Pariahs are terrified of them. Basically, anybody with the classification Omega-Minus is a Warp black hole that only exists to suck in all souls and Chaos energies and turn it into void. That means the people who get killed by these fucking terrifying abominations have [[Grimdark|their souls sucked out and completely destroyed]]. It's not as terrifying as it sounds, though, as being utterly destroyed upon death certainly beats being raped by daemons for all eternity.
#:The only known example of a Black Pariah was bonded to a minor daemon by [[Erebus]], so their aura does not appear to eradicate daemons. On the other hand Spear's clone-fetus made by the Inquisition and placed in an anti-warp projection device known as "the Black Lantern" had shown the ability to liquefy high-level psykers and perma-kill greater daemons all the while creeping the hell out of the regular humans, although it could be attributed to the device focusing and amplifying the Black Pariah aura not unlike the Animus Speculum does with regular Blank auras.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Spear (Assassin)|Spear]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately -5.

===Other Factors===
When you get further into the details, not only is sheer psychic potential a factor to consider in determining how powerful a psyker is, there are other things to consider when trying to figure out mechanically how one differs from another.

This is easier to do outside of the tabletop setting, which focusses on a d6 scale, where a minor difference in a single statistic can create one power tier an order of magnitude more effective above another.

====Level of Control====
The [[Rogue Trader (RPG)|Willpower]] ''(read: control)'' of a given individual holds almost about as much sway in saying who is more powerful than who, so just because a psyker has an mid-high psy rating, if their Willpower is low ''(say: 30)'' they're less likely to successfully manifest but are more likely to create a powerful effect when they do. Inversely, a low-mid rated psyker with a strong willpower ''(say: 60)'' is more likely to successfully manifest and is ''also'' more likely to be able to resist/counter incoming psychic effects.

That said, even in the mechanics of the RPG rules, once a psy-rating [[Powergamer|reaches epic heights]] then they should have no problems casting even with a low willpower.

====Sorcery====
The second thing to consider is the whims of the [[Chaos Gods]], (particularly [[Tzeentch]]). '''Sorcery''' is entirely separate from Psy Rating/Assignment and even a non-psyker with the correct rites and incantations can pull off similar ''(if not the same)'' manifestations as a true psyker. Back during the [[Horus Heresy]], [[Erebus]] (and 30k Word Bearers with '''Burning Lore''') is an example of this.

A true psyker with access to sorcery can increase his power levels even higher and can easily outstrip more powerful psykers than himself, though Sorcery comes with its own perils and generally leads to Damnation and Corruption ''(no wonder big Emps put his foot down at the council of Nikaea)''

Furthermore, certain favours gifted from the Gods also increase psychic output. It used to be that in days gone by, the '''Mark of Tzeentch''' used to enhance psychic potential on the tabletop. [[RAGE|Nowadays it doesn't]], but in the RPG it still does. But obviously once you've been marked by a God of Chaos, you're in their pocket forever, and you best do your utmost to keep them happy or you end up becoming [[Chaos Spawn|that-which-shall-not-be-named.]]

====Pushing====
Separate from either issue is the fact that Psykers can theoretically increase their assignment rating for a brief instant in order to grant themselves more power.

In both the rules and the fluff there are common instances of psykers being able to boost themselves and create larger effects or to overcome more powerful opponents. This is not so prevalent on the 40k tabletops ''(although with the 7th Edition advent of the shared Warp Charge "Pool" this may be untrue)'' and not all psykers have the ability to do this to the same degree.

One method is to ''"Push"'' their powers further, basically taking a gamble and temporarily adding MOAR power to their manifestation.
*'''Bound''' psykers ''(that is to say, nearly every Imperial psyker who has undergone a Sanctioning process [Including Librarians] or Soul-Binding)'' can only push themselves so much and they are at greater risk of something bad happening (ie: Perils of the Warp) when they do so.
*'''Unbound''' psykers ''(Rogue Psykers / Sorcerers)'' on the other hand can reach even higher degrees of power but [[Not as Planned|shit WILL hit the fan]].
*'''Daemonic''' psykers who attempt to push their powers can go yet higher, but are considerably more likely to cause dangerous psychic phenomena. However since their mere existence on the material plane can be considered a dangerous psychic phenomena they are less likely to be bothered by it unless it is a straight up Perils of the Warp.

==Psychic Disciplines==
There are five "basic" psychic disciplines in the grim darkness of the future. Generally speaking psykers prefer to focus on one discipline if they seek more power, but doing so runs the risk of changing their mindset, as connection between psyker's mind and the Warp is two way, and if one is to use his mind to alter the Warp, warp would use that connection to alter psyker's mind. Some psykers fight this, some don't, and most don't live long enough for this to take effect.
*'''Biomancy''' is about flesh/life force manipulation and shooting lightning, [[derp|somehow]] (probably bioelectricity, but depending on your interpretation, either pyromancy or telekinesis fits this power better). Old and powerful biomancers tend to become quite sick fucks, building cruel and sadistic tendencies over time.
*'''Divination''' is about predicting and tweaking the future. Old and powerful diviners are known to be extremely nerdy, hoarding massive ammounts of knowledge about deciphering visions and omens and general theory of the Warp, but this often comes at the price of constant melancholia and depression, as they realize how much of a puppets in the hand of Fate they are. Unless that diviner is Ahriman, who decided to skullfuck Fate and be the one in charge of his own destiny (though even he went though an "I'm just a puppet" emo-phase before it).
*'''Pyromancy''' is about conjuring and throwing fire at people. It comes to no surprise to anyone that pyromancers that happen to live long enough without blowing themselves up often to grow into aggressive pyromaniac [[RAGE|hotheads]] that tend to solve all problems by KILLING IT WITH FIRE.
*'''Telepathy''' is pretty much self-explanatory - reading and translating minds. Mind control and mind rape goes there, as well as [[Cheese|invisibility]], even though this power [[derp|renders you invisible to things without minds]]. In terms of long-term personality changes Telepaths draw the absolutely shortest straw, as over time they "pick up" bits and pieces of personalities of people they mindraped, risking to lose their original selves eventually, and even if they have the will to resist it, they inevitably grow into absolute misanthropes due to knowing too well what disgusting things people around them think about all the time.
*'''Telekinesis''' is also obvious - moving things with a mind. Here also goes psychic shields and [[derp|somehow]] dimensional gates. Not much known about how it affects psyker's psyche - old telekines are known to being quite stoic, even stubborn but many unspecialized psykers that manged to survive for long without losing their minds also tend move towards this archetype, so it's debatable whether it's discipline effect or a simple natural selection.
*'''Daemonology''' is a sixth common discipline, although it's by no means basic, being much more difficult to learn and dangerous to use (as anything that directly deals with chaos daemons carries the possibility of the psyker's head exploding into a warp portal). It's split into two sub-disciplines - '''Malefic''' is about summoning daemons and using their power, and '''Sanctic''' is about banishing them and killing things with the refined unshaped Warp energy. Generally speaking most dedicated daemonologists do not live long enough to experience any personality-changing effects of their discipline, and those that do are either brainwashed on a regular basis (Grey Knights) or are already Chaos-corrupted and affected by daemonic pacts (Chaos sorcerers and wild psykers).

Besides those six, other disciplines exist, although they are mostly faction-specific:
* [[Chaos]] psykers and daemons use their own specific disciplines, dedicated to one of the three gods who don't hate sorcery:
**'''[[Tzeentch]]''' is mostly about mutation, subjugation, and manipulation of the warp itself. Tzeentchian powers typically revolve around controlling the energies of the warp itself to damage foes (like Doombolts), mind-reading and controlling people, and manipulating reality to either open warp rifts or mutate their opponents into [[Chaos Spawn|those-which-shall-not-be-named]].
**'''[[Nurgle]]''' is like a twisted version of Biomancy, focusing on the psyker spreading the gifts of Papa Nurgle by polluting their surrounding area with his many plagues and contagions, causing most people to succumb and die within minutes. The "beneficial" parts of these are mostly related to raising a recipient's endurance, as the many blessings of Nurgle can do anything from mending grievous wounds in an instant, to granting them inhuman resistance to damage.
**'''[[Slaanesh]]''' tends to be the trickiest, focusing on illusions, and manipulating their targets' senses to either control them or drive them into the throes of insanity (Which can either be good or bad depending on the power involved). Slaaneshi powers are a bit similar to Tzeentchian ones, although are focused more around manipulating the physical and mental characteristics of people to the extreme (something they have control over), rather than their fates and surrounding reality (which people typically do not).
* The [[Eldar]] have developed four disciplines of their own; the first two use runes as proxies to manifest psychic powers, so they don't get mind fucked by Slaaneshi daemons the moment they surge in the warp for the power, and they created two disciplines to utilize those runes:
**'''Runes of Fate''' Used by Farseers is kind of like Telepathy and Divination mixed together and shaken a bit - same kind of future telling and mindrape in a slightly different form. Except for Eldritch Storm, which looks like it was pulled form the Sanctic Daemonology
**'''Runes of Battle''' Used by Warlocks and Spiritseers. Features a set of powers that can be used to buff allies or debuff opponents, most of which don't fit into any of the basic disciplines.
** [[Harlequin]] Shadowseers also use their own discipline called '''Phantasmancy''', which is basically Telepathy on an acid trip, as the psyker channels his own killer-clown kind of batshit insanity into people, and polishes it out with hallucinogen grenades thrown on the top.
** Eldar Corsairs, being cool space pirates, do not utilize rune stones, and channel psychic powers the old way, at a higher risk of being raped by daemons. Their old-school techniques allow them to use pre-fall magic called '''Aetheromancy''', designed to utilize the Webway (similarly to how Sanctic Daemonologists utilize the Warp), so they can project a guidance map, teleport their allies through it, and create rifts that suck their enemies into it.
**The new Ynnari faction brings with it the new '''Revenant''' discipline which looks suspiciously like Necromancy but isn't we swear.
* [[Ork]] Weirdboyz have their own discipline, that runs on Waaagh! energy rather than the Warp, and don't have access to other disciplines. Surprisingly, Waaagh! powers are quite powerful and some of them are tricky, although they are mostly focused on pumping the boyz around the Weirdboy with buffs, getting them closer to enemies or killing shit with green lightning.
* Similarily, [[Tyranids]], whose psychic powers also run on a collective psychic field, have a specific discipline, which is Telepathy with a bit of Biomancy and the odd Zoanthrope mind bullet power thrown in.
* Spaсe Marine librarians have developed not one but FOUR special disciplines, which Chaos Sorcerers rename because they have to be different:
:*'''Technomancy'''/'''Heretech''' Telepathy/biomancy for machine spirits rather than living beings, for those who prefer the company of machines or like to wreck enemy ones.
:*'''Fulmination'''/'''Ectomancy''' Biomancy that throws away all that life force and biochemistry shit and focuses solely on the lightning. All the lightning!
:*'''Geokinesis'''/'''Geomortis''' If you ever wanted to be an earthbender this is the discipline for you. Among other things it allows you to [[cheese|move buildings, hills and forests around.]]
:*'''Librarius'''/'''Sinistrum''' Very Eldar-runes-like telepathy/divination based discipline with trickery thrown in.

* [[Space Wolves|Space Wolf]] Rune Priests use a discipline called '''Tempestus''' (although they refuse to admit it's a psychic discipline at all, since they're hypocrite assholes) - it involves powers that mostly revolve around ice, earth, and storms. It looks like it utilizes a psychic ice effect, which is a common ''side'' effect of manifesting powerful non-pyromancy powers, and then they mix that with a bit of Telekinesis to spin that ice around or shape it into giant killer wolves that eat you alive.
* [[Blood Angels]] and their successors claim to have their own discipline called '''Sanguine''' but it's really just a bunch of Biomancy, Telekinesiss and Telepathy powers thrown together and given fancy names. Their buffing spells have a tendency to affect allies, rather than just the psykers at the cost of sheer power, [[Fluff|possibly due to the selfless nature of their chapter.]] Then there's the Blood Lance - which is just the entirety of their psychosis bottled into one power, with all the heat and fury of the Black Rage with the color of the Red Thirst.
*The [[Dark Angels]] utilize the '''Interromancy''' discipline, which is a specialized variant of the Telepathy discipline, originally designed to ''interro''gate <s>Fallen</s> FOUL TRAITORS WHO ARE NOT IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO THE FIRST LEGION. It may lack some of the most bullshit OP powers of true Telepathy, but has a strong combination of buffs and debuffs and the latter have a chance to ''permanently'' cripple their targets, especially if they are weak-willed.

==Comparing Psykers==
Addendum: This list is subjective in the extreme. Trying to compare the Psychic powers of so many characters without a standard metric is fukkin' stupid.
# God-Emperor of Mankind, The Hive Mind, Chaos Gods and other Deities.
# Magnus the Red
# Eldrad; Malcador the Sigilite; Lorgar; Azhek Ahriman.
# Epimetheus; Warlock Titans.
# Eldar Farseers; other Alpha level psykers; Lords of Change.
# Rubric Sorcerers; Tigurius; Sevrin Loth; Mephiston; Njal Stormcaller; Ezekiel; Kaldor Draigo.
# Chaos Sorcerers; Grey Knight Librarians; Ravenor; Hyperion; Swarmlord; Zaraphiston; Shadowseers (Harlequins); Spiritseers; Worldsingers (Exodites); Wraithseers (''power equal to the seer used in its construction'').
# Regular Librarians, Zoanthropes; Eldar Warlocks; Bonesingers; Corsair void dreamers (''tend to be random in power with some being the equal of Farseers'').
# Primaris Psykers; Hive Tyrants;
# Wyrdvane/Sanctioned Psykers; Ork Wyrdboyz; Zoanthropes;
# Regular Grey Knights; Navigators; Astropaths ''(they are powerful, but their powers are normally so specialized at being a cell-phone, most of them are no match for 'true' psykers).''
# Regular [[Eldar]].
# Regular [[Orks]].
# Regular Humans.
# Blunted Humans; [[Tau]]; Regular [[Space Wolves]].
# [[Necrons]].
# Blanks/Pariahs.
# [[Culexus Assassins]]/Sisters of Silence - ''farthest from Psyker as possible, soulless anti-psykers.''
# The Black Pariah (Daemon-Blanks?)

''I'm not sure about the place of Greater Daemons here; also, Tyranid psykers.''

= Gallery =
<center><gallery>
Image:1228653127630.jpg
Image:psykertraining.jpg
Image:Suffer not the dirty cheat by Mr Culexus.jpg|You should never invite psykers to your poker night.
Image:1204002502106og9.jpg|Culexus assassins are psykers' worst nightmare, though they are very friendly.
File:1263350811847.jpg|Psyker Dredd knows you were gonna say that.
Image:We are not going to get in trouble are we.png|Shh, my heresy sense is tingling...
File:Are_you_a_psychic_final.jpg|The Adeptus Astra Telepathica's easy steps in identifying and capturing potential psykers.
</gallery></center>

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]

Psyker

2017-11-06T00:52:26Z

2605:E000:7ECF:7F00:143C:32A:D33C:E495: /* Eldar */

[[Image:imperialpsyker.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Good thing [[Games Workshop]] has an extremely liberal interpretation of the word 'psychic'. Magic IN SPEHSS!]]

''“We always vilify what we don't understand.”'' 
- Nenia Campbell

A '''psyker''', in the [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe, is an individual with psychic powers capable of accessing the [[Warp]]. This is both a blessing and a curse; though psykers are often able to achieve spectacular feats with their abilities, the Warp is a perilous place, and whenever a psyker uses their abilities there is a chance that they will be subject to the Perils of the Warp. Death is one of the milder results of this; extremely unlucky psykers might actually be raped in countless ways by [[daemon]]s and used as a gateway from the Warp into the physical world. Luckily, in the ranks of the [[Imperial Guard]], where there's a psyker, there's usually a [[Commissar]] ready to unleash the power of [[Blam]].

==Types of Psyker==
The different races of the setting perceive psykers in different ways.

===Imperium===
The [[Imperium of Man]] regards most psykers as extremely dangerous, because these are people with scary powers, and the influence of the Warp tends not to let them stay sane for very long, but hey, space wizards are cool. There is also the threat of [[Chaos]] possessing them and summoning daemons. Thus, the [[Inquisition]] hunts them down so they can either be sacrificed to feed the [[Empra]] or sanctioned and made to serve the Imperium (under an inquisitor's watchful eye). Such psykers appear as a unit in the Dawn of War games and like to scream incomprehensible one-liners so mind-numbingly loud that they may very well actually make your head explode. [[Space Marines]] make their psykers into [[Librarian]]s: in addition to psychic support on the battlefield, they compile records in the Librarium, serve to assist in battlefield communications, and test their brothers for Chaotic contamination. [[Imperial Guard]] Sanctioned Psykers combine psychic powers with Standard Issue Balls of Steel that every Imperial Guard member has. In addition, they have a nasty reputation for being BLAMMED by Commissars. "Rogue Psykers" is the official designation for any psyker who hasn't been collared by the Imperium yet and are often hated by more puritan worlds, in extreme cases routinely being hunted down and killed; but on most worlds being sactioned (assuming you survive and don't mind the side affects) gives an air of authority and orthodoxy to an otherwise hated thing. People still hate you, but instead of treating you like a particularly verbose bit of dung, now you're hated the way tax collectors are hated. Astropaths are beyond such venom, partly because they are less prone to possession and mostly because they are a planet's only way of communicating with the greater Imperium. People still feel uneasy around them, but even [[Black Templars]] have to cope with them and make nice faces. Pointing out that the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor]] was a psyker usually results in the person struggling to make a retort for a few moments before beating you to death. Well, actually not, since for an average citizen of the Imperium the Emperor is God, so His wielding godly powers in the [[Great_Crusade|glory days]] before His ascension is actually the core tenet of the Imperial Cult and proof of his divinity. Not so for mere mortal psykers, who are rightly considered unholy and corruptible.

Humanity being the stars of the show obviously have arguably the greatest psychic potential overall (because of course they do), with a psychic evolution (which could take countless centuries or even millennia to take place; even if they can survive it) into a full psychic race which the Emperor himself has said may very well equal or even possibly surpass even the Eldar at their peak, although with the loss of the Webway project even the Emperor admits that this path is pretty much now closed to humanity. Becoming a psychic race doesn't suddenly make you god tier, it just makes you psychic; the Eldar are a full blown psychic race and they aren't exactly doing brilliantly.

Humanity has managed to produce the strongest Psykers in the history of the Galaxy but most didn't come into being through natural means:
*[[The Emperor]] is obviously the first that springs to mind as he is unquestionably the strongest mortal psyker that has yet been seen, unless you count the [[Old Ones]]. The question is however: is he even human? There are many theories surrounding the Emperor's origins and his exact nature. Was he born or is he a construct from the Dark age of technology that believes itself to be human? If we take the whole Shaman origin as fact then his psychic might is due to the large number of psychic beings merging their minds into one which is certainly not the norm (strangely something similar happened to [[Ephrael Stern]]). Even if we assume he's a single entity that [[Perpetual|happens to be immortal]], there is the whole deal with the Chaos gods which may or may not have boosted his already considerable power. The Emperor is clear proof ha that the most powerful Psyker in existence is indisputably human
*[[Magnus]] is a Primarch and should in no way be considered entirely human. He, like all his kind, are artificial beings created through Warp shenanigans and advanced bio engineering. There is nothing natural about him or his psychic might.
*[[Malcador]] is the only truly natural (depending upon what happens with his back story once it is finally revealed) human standout amongst the big names. He may play second fiddle to the likes of the abominations that are the Emperor and Magnus but he is still the strongest "human" psyker on the list. Natural humans are never going to be able to compete with the gods of the Warp, but a race of potential Malcador's doesn't sound too shabby now does it.
*[[Voldus]] like many Grey Knights and even other Space Marine Librarians, Voldus and his predecessors have often performed feats far beyond that shown by any Eldar Farseer, with Voldus, in the crunch, actually having basic net superior abilities to even Eldrad.
*[[Tigurius]] is arguably the greatest precognitive in the galaxy, with accurate predictions and manipulations which put Eldrad to shame, and the only Psyker to ever manage to make contact and read the mind of the [[Hive Mind]] itself and survive, using that knowledge against the [[Tyranid]].

===Forces of Chaos===
[[Chaos]] tends to have...varied opinions on psykers.
*[[Daemon]]s are made out of the stuff of the Warp, and using psychic powers is shaping and throwing out a little bit of the Warp; so a daemon using psychic powers is the rough equivalent of [[Rip and tear|taking a severed limb or some bones and throwing it]] as a viable attack. While that sounds pretty fucking metal, [[Khorne]] thinks that pulling this bullshit is a sign that you're not manly enough to get into the thick of it and handle the situation on your own. So it's an opinion shared by his daemons and his mortal followers. Not only do they not use psychic powers, but they actively hate any pussified deadbeat who uses them, and they even get toys that fuck with anybody trying to use those powers. However, it should be said that Khornate traitor librarians exist. Librarians by nature are beings that focus on destruction with their minds, so Khorne recognizes that as inner strength and makes an exception for them.
*On the other end of the spectrum, [[Tzeentch]], being the god of magic, is hugely into psychic powers, and he likes making new ones that do all kinds of mix-and-match effects, though only the best are actually rolled out. That's the official line. He's actually a closeted pyro, and a lot of his powers are burny or...do weird shit. Being the patron of psykers, if people get Tzeentch's attention because they're scholars or [[Just As Planned|David Xanatos]], they'll eventually develop psychic power whether they like it or not. Due to higher exposure to Warp energy via psychic powers and serving the god of change, Tzeentch's minions, and more often, ''their'' minions have the highest rates of mutation and turning into [[Chaos Spawn|Chao--er, tentacly gribblies]]. [[Ahriman]], possibly the greatest of Tzeentch's Servants barring Magnus himself, was so powerful a Psyker that he was able to defeat Ulthwe's most venerated Psyker; Kyaduras the Anchorite, with ease and, in the same battle, also casually defeated [[Yvraine]], the Yncarne and the Visarch.
*In the middle, [[Nurgle]] likes any psykers that spread his gifts around but doesn't really go out of his way to promote them in his followers either, probably on account of his direct opposition to Tzeentch. Needless to say, his powers all revolve around inflicting people with horrible diseases or boosting their endurance to unnatural levels.
*Similarly, [[Slaanesh]] thinks Tzeentch is a [[Neckbeard|giant nerd]], whose overdevotion to his nerdy hobby of inventing new psychic powers will never get him laid. We think it says this because <s>Tzeentch refuses to sleep with it (it almost certainly likes his tentacles and crotch mouth)</s> he's afraid he might catch Warp chlamydia, and he's just not willing to give Nurgle that kind of [[Just as Planned|satisfaction]]. Slaaneshi psykers emphasize powers that makes the [[Chaos|hurt feel good]], or has effects that look like the target might have [[Drug|snorted]] the psychic power off of a stripper's ass.

===Eldar===
The [[Eldar|Craftworld Eldar]] are a strongly psychically-attuned race (to the point as to a good chunk of their biology can't funcion were it not for their psychic power). While the regular, off-the-street Eldar will restrain themselves from using any psychic powers beside basic telepathic communication and the ability to use their psychic technology out of fear of being mindraped by Slaaneshi daemons, they can join the [[Path]] of the Seer and train to better control their innate abilities. Eldar who go on this path with previous experience as Aspect Warriors become [[Warlock(Eldar)|Warlocks]], while the most powerful seers can become [[Farseer]]s and leaders of their people. They're ridiculously powerful psykers because of that deep imprint in the Warp to draw power, combined with their Spehss Ehlvan minds and willpower. They just need to be fucking careful and avoid unwanted attention unless they like [[Slaanesh|tentacles]].

[[Harlequin]]s are also psychic, which really comes out in their shows, and although only the [[Shadowseer]] can use powers in a fight, other Harlequins do enjoy the benefits of psychic senses and silent telepathic communication.

The true capacity and depth of Eldar psychic abilities tends to be rather watered down or just plain ignored outright, due to the demands of the plot which is almost always told with the Imperium as the protagonist of the story. Within most stories the authors will tend to use the "M. Night Shyamalan" style of writing, which means having the Eldar Farseers getting a vision of events that are going to happen in the future and set out to stop it, only to discover that they either had it wrong the whole time ,or they themselves bought about the very event that they wished to prevent; all the while the authors are hopping around shouting "WHAT A TWIST" at the top of their lungs. Due to the vast focus put upon the forces of the Imperium it is not a surprise that there are so many named human Psykers present in the list below but remember that humans only produce an exceptional psychic individual once in a blue moon; those humans that prove themselves strong and stable enough to join the ranks of the Marines as Librarians are a rare breed but more then prove their worth over multiple centuries of service, so most if not all of the human Psykers of note will be present within the list below.

In comparison every Eldar citizen can, if they wish to, potentially become a Farseer; although no Farseer will ever manage to reach the same level of power as the likes of Magnus it's not really a fair comparison as he really isn't [[Primarch|human]] and did not come into existence through natural means. Although it should be noted that although the likes of [[Spiritseers]] who are able to commune with and manipulate the souls of the Eldar dead the Ynnari actually amplify their existing powers through absorbing the souls of previous Eldar. GW's "fuck what the Xenos are supposed to be able to do; the Imperium and Chaos are the stars of this setting" rule is seen many times in the story itself, with powerful Eldar Psykers like Eldrad very rarely performing impressive feats within the stories they are featured in, and you are just told that they are very powerful before they are inevitably defeated by the glorious human protagonist (Loyalist or otherwise). Eldar Farseers, in particular, suffer from the "worf effect" more then most, despite often being heralded as great seers they have a terrible track record within the story line itself, very rarely succeeding in any of their endeavours. An important thing to keep in mind is that The Black Library writers love to add their very own super duper special human snowflake Psyker into the story because the "Rule of Cool" demands it, with many in the lore being attributed with the ability to destroy Titans and armies. Farseers on the other hand are often shown being incapable of even defeating a single Space Marine, let alone a tank, army or Titan, and Farseers are, explicitly, meant to be the most powerful Eldar Psykers in the galaxy. However, this could simply be either a way of keeping it so they don't win by default due to knowing exactly how a battle will go or (much more likely) Black Library incompetence making it impossible to get a remotely accurate depiction of what their powers can do.

The Eldar make use of Rune Stones that act as conduits through which they can manipulate the psychic energise of a the Warp without actually having to interact with the Warp directly; though this does limit their overall psychic power level it does provide them with a much safer and controlled way to access the energise of the Warp. The Rune stones also act as psychic fuses burning out and cutting the link to the Warp should an Eldar try to tap into too much power before they are ready. As they develop their control and skill the Eldar psykers will eventually be able to use a far greater number of stones, which allows them to tap into far greater pools of power.

===Dark Eldar===
The [[Dark Eldar]], however, are psychically atrophied compared to their Craftworld bros. They have to avoid using psychic powers due to [[Slaanesh]]'s "I own your soul" gig, and Dark Eldar using psychic powers are reasonably feared as bait for [[Rip and tear|snusnu-with-a-Daemonette]]. They ''can'' use psychic artifacts, like all those crazy living swords and [[Haemonculi|Haemonculus]] toys; the only psychic power they use is their infamous emotion-vampirism ability that can replenish their bodies and souls. And kamehamehas, for [[Mandrake]]s. They do have extra fun torturing, killing and then weaponizing psykers though.

===Tau Empire===
The [[Tau]] race is incapable of producing psykers, due to having almost no presence in the Warp. The good news for them is that they don't have to worry about [[Chaos|''Bad Things'']], such as any members of their species spontaneously turning inside out from the anus and summoning an army of monsters that will fuck, kill, and eat people, (''not strictly in that order''). The bad news is that they have no way to develop psychically based technology, so their FTL travel is glacial, albeit a good deal safer than an actual Warp jump, and their FTL communications options are limited to the Space Pony Express. It should be noted that some of their vassal races have psychic abilities, including their own Navigator analogues. It is known that they actually locate, isolate and study human (and probably other species') psykers, but as the Immaterium is too irrational and far beyond their science they have had little success in analyzing the reason behind Gue'La suddenly going crazy and <s>summoning</s> teleporting armies of violent omnicidal "aliens" out of thin air.
*Funnily, the Kroot have psykers (they have a diverse diet) and understand a great deal about the Immaterium. They even have some crude warp vessels, usually with purchased or stolen xeno tech in it. How the Tau have gotten so far without bothering to ask their close allies about it all probably says something about the Tau's Greater Good and its inability to properly assimilate new cultures.

===Necrons===
The [[Necron]]s no longer have souls, so they have no presence in the Warp, and therefore can't manipulate it with their minds. And yet, they have managed to conquer the Warp with technology. (Egyptian Skeleton Zombie Robots, Yeah!) They keep fucking up the Warp and psykers with the gloom prisms they mount on their spiders, pylons ([[Cadia|sounds familiar...]]), or even giant city-sized mechanisms that cut entire planets from the Warp. One in the ''Word Bearer'' novels even had...this thing, about the size of a resurrection orb, which blanketed an entire system in a "psychic black hole." Problem, daemons? There's also the Pariahs, a dangerous type of [[lychguard]] made from psychic blanks that act much like [[Culexus]] assassins.

===Orks===
The [[Ork]]s are all passive psykers, or rather emanate their own gestalt "psykik" energy in the power of the WAAAGH!, though they're mostly unaware of this. A large number of Orks in one place will slightly alter reality to suit their wishes, turning jam-prone, dirty blunderbusses into [[Dakka|fully-automatic rifles of rape.]] [[Weirdboy|Weirdboyz]] are the only ones who can tap into it actively to manifest psychic powers, which have an amusing tendency to make Orks heads explode with absolutely no warning. As said above, the Orks draw psychic energy from each other, not from the [[Warp]], which makes them virtually immune to Chaotic influences, although they do have a pretty serious presence in the Warp in the form of [[Gork]] and [[Mork]] (or maybe the other way round).

===Tyranids===
The [[Tyranid]]s are innate psykers, and their collective power goes into the [[Hive Mind]], which is what the big bugs tap into to manifest psychic powers rather than the Warp, the same way a Weirdboy would tap into the WAAAGH!. Only a few bugs are capable weaponizing the Hive Mind's psychic energy, the [[Zoanthrope]] being one such option for Tyranid psychic support. Few 'Nid species beyond the Zoanthrope are capable of firing [[Awesome|tank piercing mind-lasers]]. Instead the other big bugs use its powers for buffs and a form of control called "synapse", which keeps the Tyranid horde from going feral and killing everyone and everything they see. If the Hive Mind gets driven away from the horde or the synapse bug gets killed, the synapse link collapses and the 'Nids turn feral. How Zoanthroapes still manage to retain psychic powers when they lose their link to the Hive Mind is not understood. Also, before [[Genestealer]]s got retconned into being Tyranids, [[Genestealer Magus|Genestealer Magi]] DID use the power of the Warp to power their abilities and could dedicate themselves to Chaos. There's an image of a Khorne Magus in one of the 2nd edition books...

===Squats===
The [[Squat]]s that grow very old are called "living ancestors". They are extremely rare, and develop psychic powers by communing with the spirits of their predecessors. And you could put them in an egg-shaped terminator armor, then onto a trike, with a bolt-firing cavalry lan-{{BLAM}} {{BLAM|Squats are ''heresy''!}}

==Psychic Power Hierarchy==
The Imperium of Man uses a 26-point scale (with gradations named for the letters of the Greek alphabet, for some reason) called The Assignment to determine the comparative psychic power of an individual. Unfortunately, this gets very confusing in the [[fluff]], where Alpha-level psykers seem to be a dime-a-dozen and show up all over the place, and established characters that are canonically high on the scale are completely overshadowed by [[Kaldor Draigo|some other character]]. All of this [[Derp|"logically"]] leads [[neckbeards]] to reach the flawed conclusion that [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|their favourite character on the tabletop MUST be Alpha level or greater.]]

Furthermore, it is canon that a psyker's place on the scale can change over time as his or her powers either increase with practice or decrease due to atrophy from lack of use. So generally, the fluff is quite useless for determining who is greater than whom; without the evidence of a direct psychic battle between any two comparing how they match up, it is pretty pointless to use this method.

Nevertheless, here is the scale, starting with the most powerful classification:

#Alpha-Plus
#*Alpha-Plus psykers do not represent the top of the scale, but in fact are completely beyond the scale. These individuals operate on a completely different wavelength from normal people and are owners of completely alien mindsets. In terms of power, they are akin to weapons of mass destruction, flavored depending on their particular discipline; for instance, an Alpha-Plus Pyromancer is entirely different from (and significantly less dangerous than) an Alpha-Plus Telepath. However, in theory there is nothing that a trained Alpha-Plus psyker cannot accomplish through force of will, from snapping a [[Titan]] in half (Telekinesis) to summoning the Chaos Gods themselves (Malefic Daemonology). There is a tacit assumption that this category contains the [[Emperor]] and his "notably-psychic" [[Primarchs]] (especially [[Magnus the Red]] in his daemon Primarch form), but even he admitted there were limits on his power, specifically that one could not be both all-seeing and all-powerful at the same time. No attempt is made to distinguish power levels among members of this grade, even when they demonstrably differ in power (such as [[The Emperor]] and [[Magnus the Red]]).
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[The Emperor]]
#**[[Hive_Mind#Warhammer 40,000|The Hive Mind]]
#**Other God-level and Demigod-level Psykers, such as [[Tzeentch]] and [[Magnus the Red]], respectively.
#** [[Malcador the Sigillite]] is definitely up here as well, being the third-most powerful human Psyker (only outranked by [[The Emperor|The Big E]] himself and Magnus, a [[Primarch|Demigod]].
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 5+.
#Alpha
#*It is very much assumed that the most powerful, mortal fluff characters, such as [[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]] or [[Ahzek Ahriman]], are Alpha-level psykers. There are a couple of Imperial Alpha-level psykers in the canon who still have their mental faculties and happen to be [[Grey Knight]]s: [[Knights-Errant#5._Epimetheus|Grandmaster Epimetheus]], one of the original founders, and [[Hyperion|Prognosticar Hyperion]].
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Ahzek Ahriman]]
#**[[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]] (he is listed amongst the greatest of his race but there are other Eldar seers that rival him in power even if they are not named)
#**[[Knights-Errant#5._Epimetheus|Grandmaster Epimetheus]]
#**[[Hyperion|Prognosticar Hyperion]]
#**[[Kairos Fateweaver]]
#**Inquisitor Lord [[Hector Rex]], who bested [[An'ggrath]] '''IN CLOSE COMBAT'''
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 4.
#Beta
#*Exceedingly rare and dangerous. The Imperium believes that human beings have not sufficiently evolved enough to contain Beta and Alpha levels of psionic talent without going completely bat-shit mental(Though exceptions do exist). [[Arvann Stern]] is Beta level. The Beta (or perhaps Gamma) level might also include the most powerful Chief [[Librarian]]s of the [[Space Marine]]s, like [[Varro Tigurius]], [[Mephiston]], and [[Ezekiel]], and most of the more powerful [[Eldar]] [[Farseer]]s. ''Very'' unlucky Alpha psykers may instead find Imperial service in the Ordo Sinister, meaning they'll get turned into screaming batteries for [[Warlord_Battle_Titan#Warlord-Sinister_Pattern_Battle_Psi-Titan|Psi-Titans]].
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Arvann Stern]]
#**[[Be'lakor]]
#**[[Ezekiel]]
#**[[Mephiston]]
#**[[Varro Tigurius]]
#**Grand Master [[Voldus]]
#**The [[Swarmlord]]
#**The [[Yncarne]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 3.
#Gamma
#Delta
#*Approximately one out of every billion human births will produce a Delta- or Gamma-level psyker, who, for the Imperium, represent the "useful" upper limit of psychic potential without being too dangerous to let live, though it's up to the [[Inquisition]] to be the ultimate judge of that. The Inquisitor [[Gideon Ravenor]] was believed to be a high Delta-level psyker. The lower level Eldar Farseers might also be considered Delta- or Gamma-level, along with common [[Daemon Prince]]s. The average chapter chief librarian will likely be around this level.
#*Assumed Examples (Gamma and Delta are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**[[Castellan Crowe]]
#**[[Gideon Ravenor]]
#**[[Jensus Natorian]]
#**Grand Master [[Kaldor Draigo]]
#**Inquisitor [[Katarinya Greyfax]]
#**Inquisitor [[Torquemada Coteaz]]
#**[[Yvraine]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 2.
#Epsilon
#Zeta
#*Epsilons and Zetas represent your ranks of relatively strong psykers. The [[Primaris Psyker]]s of the [[Imperial Guard]], rank-and-file Space Marine [[Librarian]]s and the lower level chief librarians will full amongst the upper range, garden-variety [[Chaos Sorcerer]]s, and Eldar [[Spiritseer]]s and [[Shadowseer]]s could be counted among the Epsilon- and Zeta-levels, as well as [[Tyranid]] [[Hive Tyrant]]s and [[Zoanthrope]] broods.
#*Assumed Examples (Epsilon and Zeta are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**The [[Changeling]]
#**[[Ku'gath Plaguefather]]
#**Shadowseer [[Menahina Ylsa]]
#**The [[Spawn of Cryptus]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 1.
#Eta
#Theta
#Iota
#*Iota represents the first "true" psykers who are able to manifest and control psychic abilities with a modicum of training. These are the people that find their way into the various Imperial institutions and become [[Psyker Battle Squad|Sanctioned Psyker]]s in Imperial armies. The average Eldar could probably be considered among the Iota to Theta levels, though most make minimal use of their inborn psychic potential except for maybe an occasional telepathic communication. The Eldar who train as [[Warlock (Eldar)|Warlock]]s might reach the Eta level. [[Ork]] [[Weirdboy|Weirdboyz]], who represent the highest extent of psychic potential in individual Orks, have reached about Iota, though this has the potential to be massively boosted by a sufficient amount of WAAAGH! energy, provided they can keep their own heads from detonating.
#*Assumed Examples (Eta, Theta, and Iota are folded together, as they are difficult to distinguish):
#**There are no named characters known or strongly suspected to be at this level, although smart money would be on the named Ork psykers, like [[Old Zogwort]] or [[Big Redd]].
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately 0 (this is the appropriate grade for members of a Psyker Brotherhood who are only substantively powerful in aggregate, like [[Wyrdvane]] Psykers).
#Kappa
#Lambda
#Mu
#Nu
#Xi
#Omicron
#*You get a broad range of people who can manifest psychic talents either unconsciously or so subtly as to be beneath the notice of everyone but the Inquisition, such as performing minor "magic" tricks or divinations. Most of the time they are quite useless but still represent a danger since they can be possessed. An Omicron might be able merely to predict consistently what someone will do right before they do it, while a Kappa might be able to move objects by concentrating or create flames out of thin air. These individuals may use their abilities to become petty crime lords, expensive hitmen, or fortune tellers. Although the Inquisition is too busy to sort out everyone at this level, the Imperial public is conditioned well enough to spot and ostracize these witches if the truth about them ever comes to light in their societies. (Read ''Gaunt's Ghosts''.) An ordinary Ork would likely register somewhere in this area—that is, psychic enough to contribute to the gestalt field that Orks will produce in great enough numbers, but not psychic (or smart) enough to actually harness that power and bend it to his will. The same is true of basic Tyranid species, who are psychically linked by the [[Hive Mind]], but not psykers individually.
#Pi
#Rho
#*Run-of-the-mill humans, neither psy-active nor psy-inert. A generally safe place to be. If this scale was a number line, Pi and Rho would be zero.
#Sigma
#Tau
#*When you start descending below the scale of humans, into the "negative" side of the scale, you start going psy-inert. When psychic effects start manifesting subtle phenomena that most people would describe as something feeling "off", people at the Sigma/Tau level can't tell anything is happening. Amusingly enough, this level contains the [[Tau]] race, who have no psykers and (little to) no signature in the Warp. The [[Necron]]s, machines who long ago sold their souls to the [[C'tan]], could also be found in this level.
#Upsilon
#Phi
#Chi
#Psi
#*These are individuals with varying degrees of immunity to psychic powers. They are not true Blanks (see below), but they may reduce an incoming power from something absolutely lethal to something survivable, or are much more difficult to mind-read than most people. The appropriate grade for most Sisters of Battle or other devout members of the Ecclesiarchy.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**Saint [[Celestine]]
#**[[Uriah Jacobus]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately having the rule Adamantium Will without having the Psyker rule.
#Omega
#*Usually referred to as Untouchables, Pariahs, or [[Blank]]s. Not only are they immune to psychic powers, but they can also inhibit the powers of psykers around them and/or neutralize psychic effects on an area around them. The Imperium trains its human Blanks as deadly [[Culexus Assassins]], who are professional psyker-hunters, as it did the [[Sisters of Silence]] before them. The Eldar, believe it or not, also produce the occasional Blank, and these become the infamous [[Solitaire]]s of the [[Harlequin]]s.
#*The fluff is a bit inconsistent on the ''exact'' limit of a Blank's ability, but that's fine, because in [[Dark Heresy Second Edition|Dark Heresy]], Blanks exhibit a broad range of effects which can be different from person to person, much like high-level psykers can have different powers and disciplines. True Blanks have such a psy-negative effect that even normal people can sense it, and it manifests as an irrational loathing for the Blank, though in some cases it can be offset by either a good personality (Alizebeth Bequin) or an odd character trait (Gunner Jurgen). For psykers, however, Omega-level persons are physically and mentally painful to be near. After some training, Blanks can actually benefit from the psychic power they suck from their surroundings (having psykers or even normal living beings in those surroundings really helps), which they use to empower and invigorate themselves. Culexus Assassins take this even further with their Animus Speculum helm by shooting mind-bullets formed from that energy.
There have, however, been a few occasions where a Blank's abilities have been overwhelmed or even permanently shutdown. Bequin's blankness was overwhelmed by the warp corrupted psi-sentience of a Chaos Titan and Wystan Frauka's Blankness was gradually eroded away over time till he was able to be possessed by a psyker.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Alizebeth Bequin]]
#**[[Jurgen|Gunner Jurgen]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately -4.
#Omega-Minus
#*The Yin to Alpha-Plus's Yang, Omega-Minuses, or Black Pariahs, are so extremely rare that it's a safe bet only one of them (an assassin named Spear) ever existed in our galaxy at any point in time. Their null-aura is so powerful that it drives even normal humans insane (and eventually kills them, unless they kill themselves first), and psykers and psychic artifacts within their aura simply cease to exist, turning into dust in a matter seconds. Even other Pariahs are terrified of them. Basically, anybody with the classification Omega-Minus is a Warp black hole that only exists to suck in all souls and Chaos energies and turn it into void. That means the people who get killed by these fucking terrifying abominations have [[Grimdark|their souls sucked out and completely destroyed]]. It's not as terrifying as it sounds, though, as being utterly destroyed upon death certainly beats being raped by daemons for all eternity.
#:The only known example of a Black Pariah was bonded to a minor daemon by [[Erebus]], so their aura does not appear to eradicate daemons. On the other hand Spear's clone-fetus made by the Inquisition and placed in an anti-warp projection device known as "the Black Lantern" had shown the ability to liquefy high-level psykers and perma-kill greater daemons all the while creeping the hell out of the regular humans, although it could be attributed to the device focusing and amplifying the Black Pariah aura not unlike the Animus Speculum does with regular Blank auras.
#*Assumed Examples:
#**[[Spear (Assassin)|Spear]]
#**In terms of seventh-edition mastery levels, approximately -5.

===Other Factors===
When you get further into the details, not only is sheer psychic potential a factor to consider in determining how powerful a psyker is, there are other things to consider when trying to figure out mechanically how one differs from another.

This is easier to do outside of the tabletop setting, which focusses on a d6 scale, where a minor difference in a single statistic can create one power tier an order of magnitude more effective above another.

====Level of Control====
The [[Rogue Trader (RPG)|Willpower]] ''(read: control)'' of a given individual holds almost about as much sway in saying who is more powerful than who, so just because a psyker has an mid-high psy rating, if their Willpower is low ''(say: 30)'' they're less likely to successfully manifest but are more likely to create a powerful effect when they do. Inversely, a low-mid rated psyker with a strong willpower ''(say: 60)'' is more likely to successfully manifest and is ''also'' more likely to be able to resist/counter incoming psychic effects.

That said, even in the mechanics of the RPG rules, once a psy-rating [[Powergamer|reaches epic heights]] then they should have no problems casting even with a low willpower.

====Sorcery====
The second thing to consider is the whims of the [[Chaos Gods]], (particularly [[Tzeentch]]). '''Sorcery''' is entirely separate from Psy Rating/Assignment and even a non-psyker with the correct rites and incantations can pull off similar ''(if not the same)'' manifestations as a true psyker. Back during the [[Horus Heresy]], [[Erebus]] (and 30k Word Bearers with '''Burning Lore''') is an example of this.

A true psyker with access to sorcery can increase his power levels even higher and can easily outstrip more powerful psykers than himself, though Sorcery comes with its own perils and generally leads to Damnation and Corruption ''(no wonder big Emps put his foot down at the council of Nikaea)''

Furthermore, certain favours gifted from the Gods also increase psychic output. It used to be that in days gone by, the '''Mark of Tzeentch''' used to enhance psychic potential on the tabletop. [[RAGE|Nowadays it doesn't]], but in the RPG it still does. But obviously once you've been marked by a God of Chaos, you're in their pocket forever, and you best do your utmost to keep them happy or you end up becoming [[Chaos Spawn|that-which-shall-not-be-named.]]

====Pushing====
Separate from either issue is the fact that Psykers can theoretically increase their assignment rating for a brief instant in order to grant themselves more power.

In both the rules and the fluff there are common instances of psykers being able to boost themselves and create larger effects or to overcome more powerful opponents. This is not so prevalent on the 40k tabletops ''(although with the 7th Edition advent of the shared Warp Charge "Pool" this may be untrue)'' and not all psykers have the ability to do this to the same degree.

One method is to ''"Push"'' their powers further, basically taking a gamble and temporarily adding MOAR power to their manifestation.
*'''Bound''' psykers ''(that is to say, nearly every Imperial psyker who has undergone a Sanctioning process [Including Librarians] or Soul-Binding)'' can only push themselves so much and they are at greater risk of something bad happening (ie: Perils of the Warp) when they do so.
*'''Unbound''' psykers ''(Rogue Psykers / Sorcerers)'' on the other hand can reach even higher degrees of power but [[Not as Planned|shit WILL hit the fan]].
*'''Daemonic''' psykers who attempt to push their powers can go yet higher, but are considerably more likely to cause dangerous psychic phenomena. However since their mere existence on the material plane can be considered a dangerous psychic phenomena they are less likely to be bothered by it unless it is a straight up Perils of the Warp.

==Psychic Disciplines==
There are five "basic" psychic disciplines in the grim darkness of the future. Generally speaking psykers prefer to focus on one discipline if they seek more power, but doing so runs the risk of changing their mindset, as connection between psyker's mind and the Warp is two way, and if one is to use his mind to alter the Warp, warp would use that connection to alter psyker's mind. Some psykers fight this, some don't, and most don't live long enough for this to take effect.
*'''Biomancy''' is about flesh/life force manipulation and shooting lightning, [[derp|somehow]] (probably bioelectricity, but depending on your interpretation, either pyromancy or telekinesis fits this power better). Old and powerful biomancers tend to become quite sick fucks, building cruel and sadistic tendencies over time.
*'''Divination''' is about predicting and tweaking the future. Old and powerful diviners are known to be extremely nerdy, hoarding massive ammounts of knowledge about deciphering visions and omens and general theory of the Warp, but this often comes at the price of constant melancholia and depression, as they realize how much of a puppets in the hand of Fate they are. Unless that diviner is Ahriman, who decided to skullfuck Fate and be the one in charge of his own destiny (though even he went though an "I'm just a puppet" emo-phase before it).
*'''Pyromancy''' is about conjuring and throwing fire at people. It comes to no surprise to anyone that pyromancers that happen to live long enough without blowing themselves up often to grow into aggressive pyromaniac [[RAGE|hotheads]] that tend to solve all problems by KILLING IT WITH FIRE.
*'''Telepathy''' is pretty much self-explanatory - reading and translating minds. Mind control and mind rape goes there, as well as [[Cheese|invisibility]], even though this power [[derp|renders you invisible to things without minds]]. In terms of long-term personality changes Telepaths draw the absolutely shortest straw, as over time they "pick up" bits and pieces of personalities of people they mindraped, risking to lose their original selves eventually, and even if they have the will to resist it, they inevitably grow into absolute misanthropes due to knowing too well what disgusting things people around them think about all the time.
*'''Telekinesis''' is also obvious - moving things with a mind. Here also goes psychic shields and [[derp|somehow]] dimensional gates. Not much known about how it affects psyker's psyche - old telekines are known to being quite stoic, even stubborn but many unspecialized psykers that manged to survive for long without losing their minds also tend move towards this archetype, so it's debatable whether it's discipline effect or a simple natural selection.
*'''Daemonology''' is a sixth common discipline, although it's by no means basic, being much more difficult to learn and dangerous to use (as anything that directly deals with chaos daemons carries the possibility of the psyker's head exploding into a warp portal). It's split into two sub-disciplines - '''Malefic''' is about summoning daemons and using their power, and '''Sanctic''' is about banishing them and killing things with the refined unshaped Warp energy. Generally speaking most dedicated daemonologists do not live long enough to experience any personality-changing effects of their discipline, and those that do are either brainwashed on a regular basis (Grey Knights) or are already Chaos-corrupted and affected by daemonic pacts (Chaos sorcerers and wild psykers).

Besides those six, other disciplines exist, although they are mostly faction-specific:
* [[Chaos]] psykers and daemons use their own specific disciplines, dedicated to one of the three gods who don't hate sorcery:
**'''[[Tzeentch]]''' is mostly about mutation, subjugation, and manipulation of the warp itself. Tzeentchian powers typically revolve around controlling the energies of the warp itself to damage foes (like Doombolts), mind-reading and controlling people, and manipulating reality to either open warp rifts or mutate their opponents into [[Chaos Spawn|those-which-shall-not-be-named]].
**'''[[Nurgle]]''' is like a twisted version of Biomancy, focusing on the psyker spreading the gifts of Papa Nurgle by polluting their surrounding area with his many plagues and contagions, causing most people to succumb and die within minutes. The "beneficial" parts of these are mostly related to raising a recipient's endurance, as the many blessings of Nurgle can do anything from mending grievous wounds in an instant, to granting them inhuman resistance to damage.
**'''[[Slaanesh]]''' tends to be the trickiest, focusing on illusions, and manipulating their targets' senses to either control them or drive them into the throes of insanity (Which can either be good or bad depending on the power involved). Slaaneshi powers are a bit similar to Tzeentchian ones, although are focused more around manipulating the physical and mental characteristics of people to the extreme (something they have control over), rather than their fates and surrounding reality (which people typically do not).
* The [[Eldar]] have developed four disciplines of their own; the first two use runes as proxies to manifest psychic powers, so they don't get mind fucked by Slaaneshi daemons the moment they surge in the warp for the power, and they created two disciplines to utilize those runes:
**'''Runes of Fate''' Used by Farseers is kind of like Telepathy and Divination mixed together and shaken a bit - same kind of future telling and mindrape in a slightly different form. Except for Eldritch Storm, which looks like it was pulled form the Sanctic Daemonology
**'''Runes of Battle''' Used by Warlocks and Spiritseers. Features a set of powers that can be used to buff allies or debuff opponents, most of which don't fit into any of the basic disciplines.
** [[Harlequin]] Shadowseers also use their own discipline called '''Phantasmancy''', which is basically Telepathy on an acid trip, as the psyker channels his own killer-clown kind of batshit insanity into people, and polishes it out with hallucinogen grenades thrown on the top.
** Eldar Corsairs, being cool space pirates, do not utilize rune stones, and channel psychic powers the old way, at a higher risk of being raped by daemons. Their old-school techniques allow them to use pre-fall magic called '''Aetheromancy''', designed to utilize the Webway (similarly to how Sanctic Daemonologists utilize the Warp), so they can project a guidance map, teleport their allies through it, and create rifts that suck their enemies into it.
**The new Ynnari faction brings with it the new '''Revenant''' discipline which looks suspiciously like Necromancy but isn't we swear.
* [[Ork]] Weirdboyz have their own discipline, that runs on Waaagh! energy rather than the Warp, and don't have access to other disciplines. Surprisingly, Waaagh! powers are quite powerful and some of them are tricky, although they are mostly focused on pumping the boyz around the Weirdboy with buffs, getting them closer to enemies or killing shit with green lightning.
* Similarily, [[Tyranids]], whose psychic powers also run on a collective psychic field, have a specific discipline, which is Telepathy with a bit of Biomancy and the odd Zoanthrope mind bullet power thrown in.
* Spaсe Marine librarians have developed not one but FOUR special disciplines, which Chaos Sorcerers rename because they have to be different:
:*'''Technomancy'''/'''Heretech''' Telepathy/biomancy for machine spirits rather than living beings, for those who prefer the company of machines or like to wreck enemy ones.
:*'''Fulmination'''/'''Ectomancy''' Biomancy that throws away all that life force and biochemistry shit and focuses solely on the lightning. All the lightning!
:*'''Geokinesis'''/'''Geomortis''' If you ever wanted to be an earthbender this is the discipline for you. Among other things it allows you to [[cheese|move buildings, hills and forests around.]]
:*'''Librarius'''/'''Sinistrum''' Very Eldar-runes-like telepathy/divination based discipline with trickery thrown in.

* [[Space Wolves|Space Wolf]] Rune Priests use a discipline called '''Tempestus''' (although they refuse to admit it's a psychic discipline at all, since they're hypocrite assholes) - it involves powers that mostly revolve around ice, earth, and storms. It looks like it utilizes a psychic ice effect, which is a common ''side'' effect of manifesting powerful non-pyromancy powers, and then they mix that with a bit of Telekinesis to spin that ice around or shape it into giant killer wolves that eat you alive.
* [[Blood Angels]] and their successors claim to have their own discipline called '''Sanguine''' but it's really just a bunch of Biomancy, Telekinesiss and Telepathy powers thrown together and given fancy names. Their buffing spells have a tendency to affect allies, rather than just the psykers at the cost of sheer power, [[Fluff|possibly due to the selfless nature of their chapter.]] Then there's the Blood Lance - which is just the entirety of their psychosis bottled into one power, with all the heat and fury of the Black Rage with the color of the Red Thirst.
*The [[Dark Angels]] utilize the '''Interromancy''' discipline, which is a specialized variant of the Telepathy discipline, originally designed to ''interro''gate <s>Fallen</s> FOUL TRAITORS WHO ARE NOT IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO THE FIRST LEGION. It may lack some of the most bullshit OP powers of true Telepathy, but has a strong combination of buffs and debuffs and the latter have a chance to ''permanently'' cripple their targets, especially if they are weak-willed.

==Comparing Psykers==
Addendum: This list is subjective in the extreme. Trying to compare the Psychic powers of so many characters without a standard metric is fukkin' stupid.
# God-Emperor of Mankind, The Hive Mind, Chaos Gods and other Deities.
# Magnus the Red
# Eldrad; Malcador the Sigilite; Lorgar; Azhek Ahriman.
# Epimetheus; Warlock Titans.
# Eldar Farseers; other Alpha level psykers; Lords of Change.
# Rubric Sorcerers; Tigurius; Sevrin Loth; Mephiston; Njal Stormcaller; Ezekiel; Kaldor Draigo.
# Chaos Sorcerers; Grey Knight Librarians; Ravenor; Hyperion; Swarmlord; Zaraphiston; Shadowseers (Harlequins); Spiritseers; Worldsingers (Exodites); Wraithseers (''power equal to the seer used in its construction'').
# Regular Librarians, Zoanthropes; Eldar Warlocks; Bonesingers; Corsair void dreamers (''tend to be random in power with some being the equal of Farseers'').
# Primaris Psykers; Hive Tyrants;
# Wyrdvane/Sanctioned Psykers; Ork Wyrdboyz; Zoanthropes;
# Regular Grey Knights; Navigators; Astropaths ''(they are powerful, but their powers are normally so specialized at being a cell-phone, most of them are no match for 'true' psykers).''
# Regular [[Eldar]].
# Regular [[Orks]].
# Regular Humans.
# Blunted Humans; [[Tau]]; Regular [[Space Wolves]].
# [[Necrons]].
# Blanks/Pariahs.
# [[Culexus Assassins]]/Sisters of Silence - ''farthest from Psyker as possible, soulless anti-psykers.''
# The Black Pariah (Daemon-Blanks?)

''I'm not sure about the place of Greater Daemons here; also, Tyranid psykers.''

= Gallery =
<center><gallery>
Image:1228653127630.jpg
Image:psykertraining.jpg
Image:Suffer not the dirty cheat by Mr Culexus.jpg|You should never invite psykers to your poker night.
Image:1204002502106og9.jpg|Culexus assassins are psykers' worst nightmare, though they are very friendly.
File:1263350811847.jpg|Psyker Dredd knows you were gonna say that.
Image:We are not going to get in trouble are we.png|Shh, my heresy sense is tingling...
File:Are_you_a_psychic_final.jpg|The Adeptus Astra Telepathica's easy steps in identifying and capturing potential psykers.
</gallery></center>

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]

Khorne

2017-11-06T00:33:17Z

2605:E000:7ECF:7F00:143C:32A:D33C:E495:

[[File:Khorne mark.png|center]]
[[File:khorne_by_baklaher-d7335e6.jpg|500px|thumb|right|The Big K. Sitting comfortably on his Skull Throne, being pissed off at everyone and everything.]]<div style="font-size:1.10em;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-family:serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em"> BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! MILK FOR THE KHORNE FLAKES! - The creed of Khorne being Overused to Death'''</div>

''"Craniums for the Cranium Chair!"'' 
-[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZI0ZX1DrRw| A... less common take on Khorne's credo.]

''"Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him."'' 
-Louis L'Amour

''"The important thing in life is not victory but combat: it is not to have vanquished but to have fought well."'' 
-Pierre de Coubertin

''"War is the father of all." 
-Heraclitus

''"Who was the first that forged the deadly blade? Of rugged steel his savage soul was made."'' 
-Tacitus

{{heresy}}

==Introduction==
'''Khorne''', also known as Kharnath, Arkhar, Khorgar, [[Viking|Kjorn]], Khar, the Bloody Handed, the Axefather, the Bloodwolf, The Great Khorneholio, Special K, the Wolf-Father, Frowny Face McMurderaxe, Sergeant Slaughter, the Lord of Fighters, [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|The Parapeligac Sociopath]], Angry Jesus, Definitely not fucking Khaine and 8870 other names, is the [[Chaos God]] of war, murder, savagery, hatred, rage, wrath, battle, and [[Vance Motherfucking Stubbs|manliness]]. He is also the mofo that the Klingons worship. As well as this he symbolises courage, athleticism, determination, daring, discipline, sportsmanship, honor, impulsiveness, and struggling onward in the face of any odds. But mostly he's simply about being angry.

He is commonly held to be the strongest Chaos God by default, and is associated with wolves and powerful hunting dogs, as well as lions and bulls. For another reason that is likely inspired by occultism, Khorne's sacred number is eight - and thus, his followers tend to organize themselves into groups of eights and its multiples. Fun fact, this also means that the names of Khornate daemons are usually comprised of eight syllables.
[[File:SkullThrone.jpg|400px|right|thumb|The Big K in all his glory contemplating on whose rectum he is going to shove his chainaxe into with extreme prejudice.(Spoiler: its everyone)]]
Khorne, by virtue of being the most powerful Chaos God, is also the most powerful general "divinity" in both iterations of Warhammer. In both versions of Warhammer, his followers are characterized by an overbearing need to spill blood and engage in honest battle, as well as a violent code of martial honour and a "survival of the fittest" approach to morality. They tend to be dutiful, as well, but said duties involve whacking their axes into their enemy and painting their blood all over villages gargling their blood as mouthwash (if only because Khorne's only real command is to spill worthy blood in his name).

This is where Khorne and Slaanesh generally clash as enemy gods. While Khorne instills discipline, honor and a sense of selfless duty towards his followers to obey a single purpose (I.E: Spill blood in his name), Slaanesh is the polar opposite. Slaanesh instead tells his/her followers to do whatever they want for their own selfish pursuits for pleasure, not caring the consequences of such acts. (I.E: Using your authority to hoard food from your starving citizens, so you could indulge in bottomless gluttony everyday.)

This is also why Khorne is at odds with Tzeentch: Tzeentch sees things like honor and discipline as unnecessary hamstrings towards one's advancement and opts that everything is on the table when one wishes to further their position (I.E.: Why duel your Chaos Lord for his position when you could arrange for an "accident" to happen to him instead? Sure its a low-blow, but if your lord was too stupid to not see that betrayal coming, was he really deserving your loyalty?). The same can be said for his disdain of sorcery. Tzeentch thinks that mortals using the power of the gods themselves is fair game in their pursuit of progress (so long as you can control it), while Khorne thinks that using anything else but your own strength alone means you are weak and his "survival of the fittest" ideal has no place for you.

Khorne also has the distinction of being the only Chaos God whose word you can take at face value. They don't realize that disdain for scheming and backstabbing isn't the same as being stupid. Nor do they realize that over-complicating things is actually the worst thing a planner can do. Any plan that relies on more than one variable to succeed (ie: the vast majority of Tzeentch plots) is almost always doomed to fail ([[Just as Planned|that said Tzeentchian plans have divination included into them, eliminating most tactical miscalculations]], [[Not as Planned|unless Tzeentch wanted it to happen.]]). So you actually want results? Be practical. Involve only as many steps as you need (IE: Beat someone up, until they're reduced to a bloody smear on the ground).

Basically, Khorne isn't a stupid brute, he's actually pretty smart. The god of battles knows a thing or two about tactics and warfare. That said, Khorne's doctrine is inflexible. One, straightforward approach to anything. Simply put: Break everything in half. Which means that it all rides on an "all-or-nothing" deal. If his battering ram approach doesn't work there's little to be done to salvage the situation beyond everyone dying a glorious death. Usually this isn't the case for most battles, the Khornates' overwhelming need to quench their bloodlust gets in the way of reorganization. Of course, if things go according to plan, there are only few things that can stop the demonically-possessed no brakes hate train.

If Khorne had a voice actor it would be [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFseqTnysBY BRAIN BLESSED!]

Yes, Brain Blessed apparently.
===Appearance===
Khorne is described as resembling a giant, iron-hewed warrior clad in red armour, with a massive sword and a winged helm that conceals a snarling face like that of a wolf. This humanoid form could be seen as something darkly meaningful, were it not for the fact that more or less everyone in both settings is conveniently human-shaped.
[[File:Khorne First.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The first depiction of Khorne in Warhammer art.]]
Of course, most artists at GW forget that he's supposed to look a giant Chaos Warrior and instead make him look like an overgrown Bloodthirster on a chair.

===Khorne and His Worship===
Khorne is the easiest god ever to worship. Where [[Tzeentch|other]] [[Slaanesh|more]] [[Nurgle|pussified]] gods may demand you to memorize overly long prayers and hymns, or to build huge houses of worship and other such unmanly bullshit, Khorne is venerated with one thing and one thing only: the time-honoured tradition of [[rip and tear|hack'n'slash]].

Khorne is worshipped on the battlefield. His hymns are the sound of steel on steel, his prayers are the blows of hammer and axe and the bellowing of 'Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull throne!" and his sacrament is blood spilled in his name.

In essence, you worship Khorne by being a good warrior. And as a warrior, you'll find your interests and his tend to generally align; he wants death but isn't picky on who, and you want to live to fight another day. Thus, the mere act of preserving your life will earn the pleasure of the god of battle.

However, Khorne is one of those honourable war-gods. So don't think that beating your enemies by anything other than sheer strength, skill and aggression will make him happy. And for the love of Sigmar/Empra, don't try to cheat by picking fights with the weak or helpless or by giving him baby skulls. Khorne expects a form of savage, viking-esque dignity from his followers and for them to be generally [[Fist of the North Star|manly]], this means you have to fight worthy opponents and those generally able to at least hold up a sword. ''Only after'' the worthwhile enemies are out of the way; then you can gorge yourself on the blood of women and children all you want (or make them fight amongst themselves and recruit the survivors, or enslave them, or whatever). Most of the writers forget this, thinking that Khorne really gives no fucks about what you kill, and it makes Khorne [[Rage|snarl in anger]]. Though he continues to send his flesh-hounds to hunt down those who flee and abandon their brothers on the battlefield, be they Chaos or non-Chaos.

Aside from that, Khorne has no commandments whatsoever. But deviating from the aforementioned in the slightest is begging for the flesh-hounds to tear your ass apart.

Such as it is, it would be incorrect to think Khorne doesn't have priests dedicated to him. Though, being a warrior god, these priests tend to be warriors themselves and are often marked by their god. In essence, the only difference between them and a Chaos marauder/Space Marine is several pounds of armour. In Warhammer Fantasy, these priests are called 'Bloodfathers', and in lieu of magic that is gifted to their priests by other gods, Khorne just gives [[AWESOME|HOLYSHITAWESOME]] fighting skills and visions of bloodshed. In [[skub|Age of Sigmar]], they're called Slaughterpriests and they basically lead by example, killing while screaming out Khorne's name. If the killing is good enough, Khorne will empower the priest and/or his allies; but if the killing is unworthy, the priest himself will feel Khorne's wrath.

Khorne is also venerated by working brass into your armour and weapons and donning fashionable high collars. Occasionally, a warrior so pleases Khorne that he gifts him with specially made ones that in addition to looking fabulous can also grant total fucking immunity to magic.

Anyway, Khorne is worshiped by warriors, generals and basically anyone who likes battle. His chosen Space Marines legion is of course the World Eaters, in Warhammer Fantasy, the Norscans tend to venerate him with the greatest piety, especially the Aesling tribe, who are Khorne's most devoted servants in Fantasy.

===Khorne's take on magic===
As posted by an Anon some time ago, he perfectly summed up what Khorne's opinion on magic is: FUCK WIZARDS!!!!

Okay, here's what the "FUCK WIZARDS" thing means.

Note that the hate of psykers/wizards/etc is pretty much the exact same and works by the same logic for both Khornates and the SoB/Black Templar/etc. Its a [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan-esque]] kind of swords and sorcery thing. Khornates hate wizards for [[3e|trivializing encounters with a single spell and overshadowing fighters]]. They hate turning what should be a military endeavor into a weird wizard show where people turn into frogs. They hate Slaaneshi for the same reason, they take what should be a wholesome murder fest and make it into something creepy and weird, what with them "discomporting themselves with the dead" and all that. In Realms of Chaos, its entirely possible for a librarian or wizard to go to Khorne. They just refrain from using their powers, and only use their psi/magic (in combat) to resist spells from that point onward.

They are okay with laser beams. They are okay with sniper rifles. They are okay with flaming swords. They are okay with running people over with tanks. They are okay with chemical gas. They are okay with exterminatus. They are okay with holocausts. They are okay with blitzkriegs. They are okay with honorable duels at dawn.

They are not okay with turning people to frogs, mind controlling people, raining glitterdust from the skies to blind everyone, raising armies of zombies to do the killing for you, and so forth. They are not okay with someone pointing their finger and you dropping dead. They are okay with rituals to summon demons. They are okay with navigating the warp without crashing into suns. They are okay with sending astropathic messages. They are okay with chaining wizards up and forcing them to eternally forge magic items on pain of death.

You may consider it hypocritical that Khornates are okay with blatantly unfair TECHNOLOGICAL murder, but not okay with blatantly unfair MIND/MAGICAL murder, but the point, or at least one interpretation, is that wizards/psykers fucking cheat. They do. They steal the power of the Warp for their own ends. As long as they stay in line, and do nothing but permit the warrior to enact his craft, fine, let them live, albeit in terror, enslaved by chains of brass until the day they are no longer useful, at which point their skulls can join Khorne's throne.

But stealing the Gods' own fire and using it to do what mortals should do through their own skill and strength is unacceptable. Remember that technology is completely valid to Khorne. Stealth is completely valid to Khorne. Skill is completely valid to Khorne. Cleverness is completely valid to Khorne. The nuclear bomb and other innovations that come after it could be seen to be unfair. But it is a mortal invention. Mortals should give honor to Khorne by murdering each other through the sweat of their brow.

The scientist who devises new ways to kill is a saint. His work can be put to any other use -- [[Slaanesh|enriching human life]], [[Nurgle|ending hunger, fighting diseases]], [[Tzeentch|answering great questions]]. But the scientist who devises new bombs and weapons is, in his own way, a champion of Khorne. He takes his limitless human potential and nobly limits himself to new ways to kill. Whether you kill with a sword or a bomb, you are killing using good old fashioned mortal strength and genius. You aren't stealing warp energy from the gods in the form of a fireball and cravenly calling it your own.

The forger of enchanted weapons, though deserving of slavery and abuse as all wizards are until the day they die, is an ideal symbol. It is fitting that spell energy be subjugated to and entombed within cold steel, just as wizards deserve to be subjugated to warriors until they lie cold and headless in the ground or else burnt to ash. The magic weapon is a symbol of might's superiority to magic.

The jury is still out on whether or not Khorne is okay with magically imbued people.

Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne! When the Galaxy burns, we will define righteousness!

tl;dr Magic is unmanly, grab a sword (or a 16-inch battleship cannon, if that's your thing) and go kill like real men do already.

===Khorne and other Chaos gods===
As a rule, Khorne despises [[Slaanesh]] because s/he's an effeminate milk-sop who can't grow a beard or swing an axe like she's got a pair (even though she's probably got the biggest pair, but less on that), and also because he personifies acting outwardly (ie: seeking the deaths of others), while Slaanesh acts inwardly (ie: pleasuring him-/herself). Khorne also finds Slaanesh's obsession with luxury and torture wasteful and dishonorable. Slaanesh is about living it up while Khorne is about tearing it the fuck down.

Khorne also hates [[Tzeentch]], though they are not fundamental rivals, because his reliance on magic is seen as a sign of weakness and his desire not to face his foes in person is decried by Khorne as cowardly. Khorne sees his penchant for deceit and trickery as dishonorable. Also Khorne prefers muscles over books.

Khorne thinks he hates [[Nurgle]] also, because the fat fuck doesn't even try to get shit done. Thus, his embodiment as sloth runs contrary to the active, vital aspect of Khorne, but he's all for death if its by homicide or genocide.

Of all the Chaos gods, Khorne actually hates [[Malal]] the least. For one thing, he respects the lost god for sticking to his guns: he hates the other gods, wants them dead and is actively working towards that goal. Since Nurgle just sits there being a scabby procrastinator, Tzeentch just has to have his fingers in everyone's business and Slaanesh is fucking Slaanesh (no literally, s/he is fucking him/herself right now, go look if you don't believe me), this is something Khorne can sympathize with. Also, Malal is the only chaos god to put up a halfway decent fight when Khorne manages to find him, which would mean that they would be best buds if Malal wasn't a self destructive, omnicidal lunatic.

In short he hates everyone and pissed at everyone, including you even if you worship him (usually its a matter how pissed he is at you). And they hate him too. Except for Nurgle, who's too nice to hate anyone.
Except Tzeentch. The know-it-all, indecisive, over-thinking, birdy bastard...

===Khorne and non-Chaotic Gods===
Well, [[Ulric]] is his little brother and they tend to get along rather well. Ulric's still ridiculing Khorne over the fact that one of his greatest champions, Haargroth, got his head smashed in by Ulric's Ar-Ulric, Khorne usually replies by pointing out that ''Storm of Chaos'' isn't canon anymore. Not that that stops Ulric. Khorne and Ulric often get into arguments over which one of them is moar Viking; with Khorne usually winning by pointing out that his top worshipers actually are Vikings and that he has a Valkyrie. They also settle this with arm wrestling and drinking contests. There's a lot of belligerence, but you can sense the brotherly love underneath. Indeed, it's kind of a [[Fist of the North Star|Raoh/Ken relationship]].

Despite both being war-gods, Khorne has a poor relationship with [[Myrmidia]]. Khorne, despite being a master of tactics and sieges and the finer points of warfare, vastly prefers a manly head-on charge, and Myrmidia's sissy "planning" approach to warfare therefore offends Khorne. Most meetings between the Blood God and the Maiden of Strategy end with the Blood God fuming impotently because his strict code of martial honour does not permit him to hit girls (or pull their hair) and retreating to his tree house.

Khorne is the only Chaos God who tolerates Sigmar because he thinks he's pretty bad-ass AND respects the idea of a mortal man becoming a god. That and Sigmar's comic book series, Sigmar the Emprahrian, has great splashpages of fights and no SWORDSWORDSWORDS. However, this tolerance is only one-sided, and while Khorne respects him, it doesn't mean he won't try to put an axe in his head for being an sworn enemy of Chaos.

When asked about the [[Emperor]], Khorne usually responds with a streaming torrent of bloody curses and oaths which causes a bloody froth to start leaking from his helmet. In short, he is remarkably indifferent to the old man. Ironically, they share many of the same beliefs: They both disliked psykers, they both have a kick ass thrones, and they both have units dedicated to close combat. Hell, even the Emprah's head is a skull. What's not to like?

Khorne is utterly sick and tired of anyone who dares associate him with [[Khaine|40Khaine]]. Before eviscerating anyone who makes that connection, he will often give a short PowerPoint presentation, explaining how Khaine is an honourless god of murder and sadism while he himself is a god of honourable and forthright battle and courage, and how sadism is contrary to his code (Khorne indeed used to be about honorable combat, but now he's just about mindless violence and hating everyone for either piss-poor reasons or for no reason at all. Goddammit, GW). Khorne then reiterates that Khaine's elfishness and love for scantily clad women is sickening and makes him more like Slaanesh... Of course, this is just a front on Khorne's part. Khaine's love of war combined with his elfness and that his most ardent worshippers are scantily-clad women proves Khaine to be the secret love-child of Khorne and Slaanesh (tsundere confir- *sounds of violent, painful evisceration* '''{{Blam|WHO DARES? IN MY OWN PAGE, OF ALL THINGS? FUCK YOUUUUUUUU}}''' '''''[[Slaanesh|Search your feelings you know it to be true]].

That being said, Khaine does have a dual nature in Fantasy thanks to being worshiped by [[Dark Elves]] and paid respect to by [[High Elves]], where one side is indeed honorable and just wants to keep fighting and being badass which means Khorne can tolerate him approximately half the time. The fact that both are patrons of [[Blood Bowl]] teams is usually the common ground, with Khaine and Khorne crashing/trashing some other God's house to watch on game nights while downing can after can of Bloodweisers and shoveling Dwarf Rinds in their faces. Khaine periodically tries to invade the realm of Khorne whenever the Khornate team beats the Dark Elf team, with such meetings ending with Khorne individually breaking every bone in his body and spitting on the pain-wracked heap. When Khaine's team beats Khorne's, Khorne takes out his aggression by beating the fuck out of Slaanesh while Dark Elves go on safari hunting [[Warriors of Chaos|Khorne's worshipers]].

Khorne has absolutely no patience for the [[Horned Rat]], who is a favorite of Nurgle and Tzeentch respectively. It's a weak vermin whose very existence pisses him off. As a result, Khorne is much more fond of [[Sotek]] who encourages killing the fuck out of [[Skaven]] whenever they appear, and is also a fan of blood sacrifice (the fact that Sotek wants hearts and cares nothing for skulls is reassuring since they don't intrude on each other's fetish); this fondness is entirely one-sided.

Like the other Chaos Gods, Khorne has no fucking clue what the Great Maw is. However, it doesn't seem to complain when [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] worship Khorne, so he's got nothing against him...her...it...schclim...whatever, the big god-thing that wants to eat.

The pantheon of the [[Tomb Kings]] mostly stick to themselves, so Khorne only knows they exist..

Khorne is impressed with the [[Bretonnia|Bretonnian]] race by the fact they're the epitome of honor and glorious valor. On the other hand, their entire race has been tricked by a single fucking Elf Goddess into doing their every command which fills Khorne with incomprehensible fury. As it stands, the first being that's going to get the axe when Khorne manages to get an avatar to manifest in the material plane is Lileath.

[[Mork]] and [[Gork]]/Gork and Mork are Khorne's old drinking buddies. They piss him off more than any other beings in existence, but after a good 3-way beatdown and a few billion cases of squig beer he realizes they're alright company.

Khorne has a feeling that he'd get along with the gods of the [[Dwarfs]], but even their introductions (being long ass winded descriptions of their primary worshipers and their lineages) irritate him so much he can't even get into a conversation with them. One of them is STILL giving his own introduction, and has been for about 20,000 years or so now (and he hasn't even reached the changes that have happened since he started). Unable to make him aware of what's going on around him, Khorne simply moved him into the guest room and bricked it off with a wall of skulls.

As for the [[Tyranid|Bugs?]], Khorne hates them '''''Especially''''' due to them not having real blood, just vile alien ichor.

==His portrayal in Warhammer Fantasy==
He's a half-way mythologically accurate version of [[Viking|Odin]], whose very name means Fury (and one translation means 'frenzy'). You could also make the case that Khorne is Thor minus any protective instincts towards humanity, as both are whirling vortices of blood and spit who are associated with the colour red and its connotation of anger.

No, that's it. Get the fuck out; he's an axe-crazy, psychopathic, evil-as-balls daemonic version of Odin - so basically the Norse god of wisdom, with wisdom actually treated the way Vikings would have recognised. Currently there's a bit of a debate about how much of Odin he represents (see discussion page) so this bit will list the similarities and some of the differences.

Well, for one thing, Chaos worshipers in Warhammer Fantasy actually are Vikings. Read about them [[Warriors of Chaos|here]]. Secondly, Khorne is closely associated with wolves in that setting (one of Odin's names literally translates to 'Battle Wolf'), and even has a wolf-like pet in Karanak, thus, fulfilling a role similar to Freki and Geri, or more closely, Garmr. Also, it's revealed in Knight of the Realm that Khorne owns two hunting wolves/giant fleshhounds called Garmr and Gormr, with whom he partakes in a wild hunt across the heavens.

Another point of similarity is that both Odin and Khorne are war gods explicitly connected with berserker rage. They have their own warrior-cults associated with them who fight with said rage and Odin's Olfhednar are practically the same as Khorne's Chosen in both form and function.

Additionally, thanks to Valkia, Khorne also has a Valkyrie to further the similarity between him and Odin. This was inevitable, of course, given that the Warriors of Chaos are indeed an evil version of the Vikings as has already been stated. It should also be noted that Valkia's similarity to the Valkyries is not a superficial one. She is actually referred to as 'the Sword-Maiden of the Blood God' in the WoC codex, and is Khorne's Chooser of the Slain who carries those worthy champions and warriors of his to fight on in the Blood God's halls after death.

Finally, we got a glimpse of his neck of the Realm of Chaos in the Valkia novel written by Sarah Cock-well. It was basically Chaos Valhalla, and here's some of his quotes:

"A cleaved head no longer plots." "A head stuck on a pike no longer conspires." "Put to the sword they who disagree."

Now for the differences, aside from the obvious physical ones Odin also scries, it's woman's magic taught to him by Frigg and Freya. He's got the rage, yeah, but he's also all about fate and averting ragnarok, (directly opposed to Khorne's goals) even if he knows he can't stop it since fate works that way. We see this in the Havamal, Grimnismal, the Voluspa, and the Lokasenna. Hell, in Lokasenna, we learn he cross dresses, ie was tied into shamanic practices (Indo-Europeans have a thing for seers in drag). He can also get to Tzeentch levels with his planning and Odin's perfectly fine with Runic magic, whereas Khorne hates that shit.

==Champions Of Khorne==
===In 40K===
Because most fa/tg/uys are idiots and newfags who likely don't know that another Warhammer existed long before bolters and power armour. And this makes the Blood God snarl in anger.

* [[Kharn the Betrayer]]: Embodiment of Crazy Awesome and Patron Saint of fun guys everywhere. Kharn is Khorne's greatest mortal champion in 40K and has a wholly deserved reputation as a team-killing nuts:o. Once upon a time, Kharn was a straight-laced, meticulous Assault Captain of the World Eaters 8th company. But [[Horus Heresy|after a certain chain of events]] dedicated himself wholly to Khorne, thus becoming one of the most fucking lethal warriors in the galaxy as well as probably the most religiously devoted of Khorne's servants. Also notable for shattering two entire Space Marine legions by himself with a flamethrower in a single night. Despite this, since his first appearance (where he was no different from other Berzerkers) he became more and more coolheaded when not in combat (and even then there are moments when he is coolheaded in combat).

* [[Angron]]: '''HE! GETS! SHIT! DONE!!!''''. Khorne's foremost Daemon Prince alongside Doombreed. PERIOD.

* [[Doombreed]]: Khorne's greatest Daemon Prince ever and possibly either Genghis Khan or Turgeis the Devil IRL. Notable for launching an actually successful Dark Crusade that wiped out two Space Marine chapters. Which is more than a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure has pulled off]].

* [[Svane Vulfbad]]: EVEN IN 40K KHORNE'S CHOSEN ARE VIKINGS. Svane Vulfbad is motherfucking badass [[Awesome|Chaos Terminator Space Wolf Chaos Lord]] who grew tired of the Imperium's sickening effeminate inability to GET SHIT DONE and the Space Wolves' sickening fur-fetishes and instead decided to dedicated himself to a god worthy of his kickassery. He thus became a badass Chaos Lord dedicated to Khorne (because a berserker god of war who likes axes meshes well with Vikings) and slaughtered a shitton of Space Wolves despite being outnumbered and escaped Harald Deathwolf. He is currently rampaging throughout the Imperium. He has the best facial hair in all of 40k.

* [[Crull]]: A Chaos Lord from Winter Assault notable only for making idiotic statements, and utilizing Sorcerers in his warband when there's some possessing to be done. Also has a weird way of saying "drown".

* [[Azariah Kyras]]: A Librarian who somehow became a Champion of Khorne and who ascended to daemonhood. Presumably, his [[Awesome|speaking skills were great enough that the Blood God was able to give him slight leeway in regards to the 'no Psyker rule']], likely because he was a philosopher of carrion and slaughter, showing Khorne's way as freedom, freedom in meaningless, in mindlessness, which he accuses the functionings of the universe of. Khorne loves that stuff, existentialism for skulls, especially when it's an arch-traitor responsible for the deaths of billions, then declaring openly his allegience of Chaos to his fellow Mehreens as he is about to ascend as one of the most powerful daemon princes ever. A psyker who uses psykic powers to bring about good old kinetic Exterminatus, their reputation to raise covert cults of slaughter, discover their lust for combat and seek to encompass it, and ultimatedly be the poster child of Khornist Existentialism is too good of a chance for Khorne to pass up, who either wins against the galaxy or gets to devour Kyras' soul in a good long bloodbashing and probably still make a good Greater Daemon of Khorne out of him, probably the one and only Chaos tactical genius who could actually lead a Black Crusade properly. That's another reason Khorne likes him. Kyras' no funny business style of simply tearing a sector apart however possible tends to draw other Chaos God devotees under the wing of a Khornate champion. Here is the speech of doom that he gives the player's army (before the last level of the game ) or per canon, the Blood Ravens following Captain Diomedes before the climax:

"Faithful... enlightened... ambitious... brethren.

In but a single decade, a few mere swipes of the pendulum, we have gathered a sacrifice to Khorne that will be made legend.Though it was a simpler, weaker voice that illuminated me during my centuries upon the Judgement of Carrion... it was Khorne's messenger that showed me the true path of freedom from our pathetic corpse-Emperor.

And what is this path? This meaning, this purpose to which we gather the skulls of our foes? It is nothing. There is no meaning, no purpose. We murder. We kill. It is mindless savagery, this UNIVERSE IS MINDLESS!

In mere hours, billions will die. Innocent! Guilty! Strong and weak! Honest and deceitful! ALL of them! They will scream, they will burn, and for no purpose but that mighty Khorne may revel in their bloodshed! And united in this void of purpose, fear, or duty... we shall at long last be free!

BLOOD! FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!! SKULLS! FOR THE SKULL THRONE!!! LET... THE GALAXY... BUUUURRRRNNN!!!"

Also notable as the single <s>longest-to-fucking-kill-boss in the history of the Dawn of War series other than [[Ulkair]].</s> ( '''Actually''' if you play tyranids and spam warriors with venom upgrades and he dies in uhnder 5 minutes.) '''FUCK'''. Still, pure undiluted awesome.

===In Fantasy===
'''VIKINGS!!!''' '''VIIIIIIIIIIIIKIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGSSSSSSSS!!!'''

[[Space Wolves|NO...]]

* [[Valkia the Bloody]]: A pissed off badass Valkyrie who chooses who will fight on in the Halls of the Blood God after they die in glorious battle. She managed to kill a motherfucking DAEMON PRINCE as a lowly, un-Marked, un-augmented human in SINGLE COMBAT to earn Khorne's favour, CUT ITS FUCKING HEAD OFF, AND THEN CARRIED IT BACK TO THE NORTH TO PLACE AT THE FOOT OF THE SKULL THRONE. And then she died on the way. But Khorne was so impressed by this badassery/ pissed off by her death, he resurrected her as a fucking Daemon Princess. Now she flies around the battlefields of the world slaughtering anything that looks at her funny and bearing Norsemen to the Khorne's place for a glorious afterlife of fighting and drinking. She is also far more attractive than anything of Slaanesh's menagerie, much to the Prince of Pleasure's eternal rage and the Bloodfather's great amusement, primarily due to having hair.

* Garmr Hrodvitnir: Aka Billy Squigins, A Chaos Lord of Khorne who managed to almost kill Gotrek Fucking Gurnisson in a fight. 'Nuff said.

* Hrothgar Daemonaxe: A Chaos Lord who only had his rules and miniatures released at a Games Day. He had the statline of a Bloodthirster. His miniature also depicts him throttling an elf, which makes him a good person.

* Arbaal the Undefeated: Nicknamed 'Arbaal the Easily Defeatable' due to his rules from Champions of Chaos having been shockingly awful. Arbaal's been effectively retcon'd out of existence under the excuse that he's journeyed into the Realm of Chaos to challenge Khorne himself to a fight. Good luck with that.

* Scyla Anfingrimm: The greatest You-Know-What ever to walk the earth. Scyla was a Chaos Lord of Khorne who got one too many mutations before his time and devolved into a YKW. But he's the most badass YKW ever, and is a leadership 10 general. Which is impressive considering the only thing he can say is "'''KILL FOR KHORNE! KILL FOR KHORNE! KILL FOR KHORNE!'''".

* Chaos Lord Varmisgal: A Chaos Lord who's blood has turned to liquid bronze. He is responsible for the stalking brass bull of Nuln and the great raid into the Misty Mountains... it is also alleged he ate his own penis.

* Valmir Aesling: A Norscan king and Champion of Khorne who destroyed the Norse Dwarf Hold of Kraka Drak. Managed to get a fucking Daemon Prince to work for him, slaughtered a metric fuck-ton of Norse Dwarfs (roughly 8 times the manliness of a regular Dwarf and thus worth 24 Space Wolves). [[Awesome|Also rode a motherfucking chariot pulled by skinless bears]].

* Egil Styrbjorn: A Norscan High Yarl of the Skaeligs and probably the greatest epitome of manliness a Chaos Warrior devoted to Khorne can achieve. He slew a lot and took names, kicked Bretonnian arses, sexed many women yet never got a proper heir (only daughters). It was so bad for him that he adopted a boy that became later his personal shamanistic seer and advisor...that is until he banged a Kurgan Sorceress that was prophesied by said shaman to bear Egil's son, yet the damned cheese eating surrender monkeys took her and his unborn son away, which he answered them with apocalyptic RAAAAAGE and titanic slaughter (added that said Sorceress wanted to sacrifice the unborn child for immortality actually made this a good situation). And thus there was an epic campaign to retrieve the boy. Wields two badass flaming axes called Garmr and Gormr. Really dislikes the Lady of the Lake and other Southerner gods. So manly he is that he let a Grail Knight stab him only to throw back his sword to him. Also known for embodying Khorne's tactical take on war, which he mercilessly used against the Bretonnian Knights that stubbornly charged his warriors head on (until said knights realized that they were duped and slaughtered in seconds).

==Fun Khorne Facts==
* Interestingly the word "Khorne" in Ancient Cypriot Greek literally means to "Shit Blood". Kh' - "To force outward", ORN - "Back passage", Ee - "Blood".
*A possible factor in Khorne's birth was the Aztecs, who basically worshipped the guy (Hint: BLOOD SACRIFICE) and might have chucked him into existence along with the Mongols.
*Doombreed, Khorne's second daemon prince servant, might actually be Genghis Khan himself.
*Khorne's color scheme (red, brass and black) is almost the same as the German flag's and Soviet Russia's flag's color scheme (just replace brass with gold [and brass and gold are already fairly similar in colour]). Hitler and Stalin were allies of convenience and then turned on each other in WW2, remember "(he) cares not from whence the blood flows..."
*Khorne's looking for ways to incorporate dinosaurs into his armies, due to the sheer amount of [[RIP AND TEAR]] they can unleash on their enemies. He's unbelievably pissed that he hasn't managed to get any yet- '''{{Blam|YOU GAVE IT AWAY?!?!? FFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOUUUUUUUUUU}}'''
*Khorne <strike>secretly</strike> '''blatantly''' hates everyone who kills the defenceless in his name. He'd plot ways to kill them, but he's too mad to do that. (So what else is new?)
*Khorne was just able to stand watching Jurassic World once it got going due to the Indominus Rex and how it made everything else look like faggots. He raged when it died. He's looking for its skull 'cause he wishes he could have it as one of his servants- *sounds of swords and blood* '''{{Blam|FAGGOT!}}''' (Why couldn't Khorne just seek the skull of the Mosasaurus that killed it? Or Rexie, T-rex is classic, I hear you say.) To that, I answer that coz without the Mosasaurus then Rex would'a DIED.
*Khorne is unsure whether or not he hates [[Cultist-chan]], due to a) the fact that she can't do anything except scream about 'kap-tooring eet for kay-oss' and get purged and b) the fact that she's so good at spreading [[RAEG]] amongst various unlucky meatsacks and fa/tg/uys. And that indecisiveness makes him foam at the mouth in anger.
*Khorne practically invented flipping the table when you lose at card games, or it goes too slowly. He does this whenever the major Warp entities play cards in the Formless Wastes.
*Followers of Khorne actually have the ability to pull off [[LIIVI]]/[[Eldrad]] level dick-style moves in battle. They just choose not to do this.
*Khorne wanted [[Settra the Imperishable]] as one of his servants once. However, Settra won't ever serve Khorne, even going so far as to give ALL OF CHAOS the '''motherfucking middle finger''' before going off to hunt down [[Nagash]]. That said, Settra may well be one of the few mortal beings besides his own servants Khorne has any respect for. He still hates Settra though.
*Slaanesh once created some Kayos Spess Mehreens with his/her colour scheme, but with armour nicked off fallen Khornate warriors. And when Khorne saw this, '''his wrath was legendary'''.
*Slaanesh and Khorne also have regular 'plans' on Friday night- *sounds of something even bigger than a [[Bloodthirster]] coming through and much ripping and tearing* '''{{Blam|NO! YOU'RE LYING!}}'''
* [[Emperor|That Twat With The Chair]] and Khorne haven't '''SMACKED DOWN''' yet, but Khorne is secretly looking forward to it when it happens- he wants to test Spess Jaysis's might against his own. Tickets are now on sale!
*If an internet hyperlink comes up red, it's not because the page doesn't exist, it's because Khorne looked at what was once on the other end, and '''he didn't like what he saw''', so much so that the hyperlink is stained with the blood of what once was.
* Khorne's favorite form of grouping is in ogdoads, for reasons that should be obvious once you know what that word means.
* Khorne's favorite [[video game|vidja]] is [[Doom]]. For obvious reasons.
* If Khorne is acting calm towards you, don't relax. He doesn't like anything, he just hates some things less than others. There is such a thing as cold-hatred.

==Gallery==
{{promotions}}
<gallery>
Image:Khornate.JPG|Khorne's followers off the battlefield. REVERSE ARMWRESTLE!!!
Image:khornewaffel.JPG|Waffles for the Blood God!
Image:Khornetrainer.JPG|Khorne's trainers prefer violent Pokémon.
Image:khorneberserker.png|Would have been a somewhat adequate picture, had they taken the right photographs of the actual Berzerkers. Lulz.
Image:Khorne_tattoo.jpg|Mark of Khorne.
Image:Free like a riding demon by Ragathol.jpg|Khornette.
Image:Backwardsthrone.jpg|Just as Planned. Always. As. Planned.
File:Khornette.jpg|Khorne wants to know why the drawfags never give them noses.
File:Tea Time.jpg|In the grim darkness of the far future, there is still time for tea...
File:Khorne-Art.jpg|Warriors of Chaos: making everything in 40K look like bitches since 2002.
Image:You're_madder_than_Khorne.png|There '''is''' such a thing as being too mad for Khorne!
Image:Khorneholiover2.png |The Great Khorneholio. He needs blood and skulls for his bunghole.
Image:Khorne-and-Slaanesh.jpg|Nine months later Khaine was born...
Image:Anon_pleases_Khorne.png|Anon begins his trail to becoming a Khorne Berserker.
Image:Khorne Flakes.jpg|The tastiest of all! Add blood for more flavor.
</gallery>

==See also==

*[[Brass]]
*[[Berserker]] - Chaos Space Marines with Axes and a bad attitude.
*[[Angron]] - Daemon prince of Khorne and the Primarch of World Eaters.
*[[World Eaters]]
*[[Khârn|Khârn the Betrayer]] - A pretty fun guy to be around.
*[[Valkia the Bloody]] - Scarousal in it's purest form.
*[[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Khorne_Daemonkin(7E)|Tactics/Khorne Daemonkin]] - That's right, meatsacks! The servants of Khorne have their own codex!
*[[Rage]]
*[[Sorcerers of Khorne]] - Double heresy!
*[[Doombreed]] - One angry son of a bitch.
* This pretty much sums up his forces: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-gSJW3sHXE&feature=channel_video_title
*[[Katanas_are_Underpowered_in_d20#Khorne_is_underpowered_in_40k|Khorne is underpowered in 40k]]
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vljHBXA3UKE - death metal song devoted to Khorne.
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8mEOiI4pjs - trash metal song summing up Khorne pretty well.
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUB9QGKCNmI - a bunch of anime Khorne worshippers. Better than it sounds.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8mEOiI4pjs - another metal song devoted to Khorne. GW actually commissioned this one. Yes, they really were that awesome back in the day.

{{Template:ChaosGods}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Age of Sigmar]]

Khorne

2017-11-06T00:32:52Z

2605:E000:7ECF:7F00:143C:32A:D33C:E495:

[[File:Khorne mark.png|center]]
[[File:khorne_by_baklaher-d7335e6.jpg|500px|thumb|right|The Big K. Sitting comfortably on his Skull Throne, being pissed off at everyone and everything.]]<div style="font-size:1.10em;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-family:serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em"> BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! MILK FOR THE KHORNE FLAKES! - The creed of Khorne being Overused to Death'''</div>

''"Craniums for the Cranium Chair!"'' 
-[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZI0ZX1DrRw| An... unconventional take on Khorne's credo.]

''"Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him."'' 
-Louis L'Amour

''"The important thing in life is not victory but combat: it is not to have vanquished but to have fought well."'' 
-Pierre de Coubertin

''"War is the father of all." 
-Heraclitus

''"Who was the first that forged the deadly blade? Of rugged steel his savage soul was made."'' 
-Tacitus

{{heresy}}

==Introduction==
'''Khorne''', also known as Kharnath, Arkhar, Khorgar, [[Viking|Kjorn]], Khar, the Bloody Handed, the Axefather, the Bloodwolf, The Great Khorneholio, Special K, the Wolf-Father, Frowny Face McMurderaxe, Sergeant Slaughter, the Lord of Fighters, [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|The Parapeligac Sociopath]], Angry Jesus, Definitely not fucking Khaine and 8870 other names, is the [[Chaos God]] of war, murder, savagery, hatred, rage, wrath, battle, and [[Vance Motherfucking Stubbs|manliness]]. He is also the mofo that the Klingons worship. As well as this he symbolises courage, athleticism, determination, daring, discipline, sportsmanship, honor, impulsiveness, and struggling onward in the face of any odds. But mostly he's simply about being angry.

He is commonly held to be the strongest Chaos God by default, and is associated with wolves and powerful hunting dogs, as well as lions and bulls. For another reason that is likely inspired by occultism, Khorne's sacred number is eight - and thus, his followers tend to organize themselves into groups of eights and its multiples. Fun fact, this also means that the names of Khornate daemons are usually comprised of eight syllables.
[[File:SkullThrone.jpg|400px|right|thumb|The Big K in all his glory contemplating on whose rectum he is going to shove his chainaxe into with extreme prejudice.(Spoiler: its everyone)]]
Khorne, by virtue of being the most powerful Chaos God, is also the most powerful general "divinity" in both iterations of Warhammer. In both versions of Warhammer, his followers are characterized by an overbearing need to spill blood and engage in honest battle, as well as a violent code of martial honour and a "survival of the fittest" approach to morality. They tend to be dutiful, as well, but said duties involve whacking their axes into their enemy and painting their blood all over villages gargling their blood as mouthwash (if only because Khorne's only real command is to spill worthy blood in his name).

This is where Khorne and Slaanesh generally clash as enemy gods. While Khorne instills discipline, honor and a sense of selfless duty towards his followers to obey a single purpose (I.E: Spill blood in his name), Slaanesh is the polar opposite. Slaanesh instead tells his/her followers to do whatever they want for their own selfish pursuits for pleasure, not caring the consequences of such acts. (I.E: Using your authority to hoard food from your starving citizens, so you could indulge in bottomless gluttony everyday.)

This is also why Khorne is at odds with Tzeentch: Tzeentch sees things like honor and discipline as unnecessary hamstrings towards one's advancement and opts that everything is on the table when one wishes to further their position (I.E.: Why duel your Chaos Lord for his position when you could arrange for an "accident" to happen to him instead? Sure its a low-blow, but if your lord was too stupid to not see that betrayal coming, was he really deserving your loyalty?). The same can be said for his disdain of sorcery. Tzeentch thinks that mortals using the power of the gods themselves is fair game in their pursuit of progress (so long as you can control it), while Khorne thinks that using anything else but your own strength alone means you are weak and his "survival of the fittest" ideal has no place for you.

Khorne also has the distinction of being the only Chaos God whose word you can take at face value. They don't realize that disdain for scheming and backstabbing isn't the same as being stupid. Nor do they realize that over-complicating things is actually the worst thing a planner can do. Any plan that relies on more than one variable to succeed (ie: the vast majority of Tzeentch plots) is almost always doomed to fail ([[Just as Planned|that said Tzeentchian plans have divination included into them, eliminating most tactical miscalculations]], [[Not as Planned|unless Tzeentch wanted it to happen.]]). So you actually want results? Be practical. Involve only as many steps as you need (IE: Beat someone up, until they're reduced to a bloody smear on the ground).

Basically, Khorne isn't a stupid brute, he's actually pretty smart. The god of battles knows a thing or two about tactics and warfare. That said, Khorne's doctrine is inflexible. One, straightforward approach to anything. Simply put: Break everything in half. Which means that it all rides on an "all-or-nothing" deal. If his battering ram approach doesn't work there's little to be done to salvage the situation beyond everyone dying a glorious death. Usually this isn't the case for most battles, the Khornates' overwhelming need to quench their bloodlust gets in the way of reorganization. Of course, if things go according to plan, there are only few things that can stop the demonically-possessed no brakes hate train.

If Khorne had a voice actor it would be [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFseqTnysBY BRAIN BLESSED!]

Yes, Brain Blessed apparently.
===Appearance===
Khorne is described as resembling a giant, iron-hewed warrior clad in red armour, with a massive sword and a winged helm that conceals a snarling face like that of a wolf. This humanoid form could be seen as something darkly meaningful, were it not for the fact that more or less everyone in both settings is conveniently human-shaped.
[[File:Khorne First.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The first depiction of Khorne in Warhammer art.]]
Of course, most artists at GW forget that he's supposed to look a giant Chaos Warrior and instead make him look like an overgrown Bloodthirster on a chair.

===Khorne and His Worship===
Khorne is the easiest god ever to worship. Where [[Tzeentch|other]] [[Slaanesh|more]] [[Nurgle|pussified]] gods may demand you to memorize overly long prayers and hymns, or to build huge houses of worship and other such unmanly bullshit, Khorne is venerated with one thing and one thing only: the time-honoured tradition of [[rip and tear|hack'n'slash]].

Khorne is worshipped on the battlefield. His hymns are the sound of steel on steel, his prayers are the blows of hammer and axe and the bellowing of 'Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull throne!" and his sacrament is blood spilled in his name.

In essence, you worship Khorne by being a good warrior. And as a warrior, you'll find your interests and his tend to generally align; he wants death but isn't picky on who, and you want to live to fight another day. Thus, the mere act of preserving your life will earn the pleasure of the god of battle.

However, Khorne is one of those honourable war-gods. So don't think that beating your enemies by anything other than sheer strength, skill and aggression will make him happy. And for the love of Sigmar/Empra, don't try to cheat by picking fights with the weak or helpless or by giving him baby skulls. Khorne expects a form of savage, viking-esque dignity from his followers and for them to be generally [[Fist of the North Star|manly]], this means you have to fight worthy opponents and those generally able to at least hold up a sword. ''Only after'' the worthwhile enemies are out of the way; then you can gorge yourself on the blood of women and children all you want (or make them fight amongst themselves and recruit the survivors, or enslave them, or whatever). Most of the writers forget this, thinking that Khorne really gives no fucks about what you kill, and it makes Khorne [[Rage|snarl in anger]]. Though he continues to send his flesh-hounds to hunt down those who flee and abandon their brothers on the battlefield, be they Chaos or non-Chaos.

Aside from that, Khorne has no commandments whatsoever. But deviating from the aforementioned in the slightest is begging for the flesh-hounds to tear your ass apart.

Such as it is, it would be incorrect to think Khorne doesn't have priests dedicated to him. Though, being a warrior god, these priests tend to be warriors themselves and are often marked by their god. In essence, the only difference between them and a Chaos marauder/Space Marine is several pounds of armour. In Warhammer Fantasy, these priests are called 'Bloodfathers', and in lieu of magic that is gifted to their priests by other gods, Khorne just gives [[AWESOME|HOLYSHITAWESOME]] fighting skills and visions of bloodshed. In [[skub|Age of Sigmar]], they're called Slaughterpriests and they basically lead by example, killing while screaming out Khorne's name. If the killing is good enough, Khorne will empower the priest and/or his allies; but if the killing is unworthy, the priest himself will feel Khorne's wrath.

Khorne is also venerated by working brass into your armour and weapons and donning fashionable high collars. Occasionally, a warrior so pleases Khorne that he gifts him with specially made ones that in addition to looking fabulous can also grant total fucking immunity to magic.

Anyway, Khorne is worshiped by warriors, generals and basically anyone who likes battle. His chosen Space Marines legion is of course the World Eaters, in Warhammer Fantasy, the Norscans tend to venerate him with the greatest piety, especially the Aesling tribe, who are Khorne's most devoted servants in Fantasy.

===Khorne's take on magic===
As posted by an Anon some time ago, he perfectly summed up what Khorne's opinion on magic is: FUCK WIZARDS!!!!

Okay, here's what the "FUCK WIZARDS" thing means.

Note that the hate of psykers/wizards/etc is pretty much the exact same and works by the same logic for both Khornates and the SoB/Black Templar/etc. Its a [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan-esque]] kind of swords and sorcery thing. Khornates hate wizards for [[3e|trivializing encounters with a single spell and overshadowing fighters]]. They hate turning what should be a military endeavor into a weird wizard show where people turn into frogs. They hate Slaaneshi for the same reason, they take what should be a wholesome murder fest and make it into something creepy and weird, what with them "discomporting themselves with the dead" and all that. In Realms of Chaos, its entirely possible for a librarian or wizard to go to Khorne. They just refrain from using their powers, and only use their psi/magic (in combat) to resist spells from that point onward.

They are okay with laser beams. They are okay with sniper rifles. They are okay with flaming swords. They are okay with running people over with tanks. They are okay with chemical gas. They are okay with exterminatus. They are okay with holocausts. They are okay with blitzkriegs. They are okay with honorable duels at dawn.

They are not okay with turning people to frogs, mind controlling people, raining glitterdust from the skies to blind everyone, raising armies of zombies to do the killing for you, and so forth. They are not okay with someone pointing their finger and you dropping dead. They are okay with rituals to summon demons. They are okay with navigating the warp without crashing into suns. They are okay with sending astropathic messages. They are okay with chaining wizards up and forcing them to eternally forge magic items on pain of death.

You may consider it hypocritical that Khornates are okay with blatantly unfair TECHNOLOGICAL murder, but not okay with blatantly unfair MIND/MAGICAL murder, but the point, or at least one interpretation, is that wizards/psykers fucking cheat. They do. They steal the power of the Warp for their own ends. As long as they stay in line, and do nothing but permit the warrior to enact his craft, fine, let them live, albeit in terror, enslaved by chains of brass until the day they are no longer useful, at which point their skulls can join Khorne's throne.

But stealing the Gods' own fire and using it to do what mortals should do through their own skill and strength is unacceptable. Remember that technology is completely valid to Khorne. Stealth is completely valid to Khorne. Skill is completely valid to Khorne. Cleverness is completely valid to Khorne. The nuclear bomb and other innovations that come after it could be seen to be unfair. But it is a mortal invention. Mortals should give honor to Khorne by murdering each other through the sweat of their brow.

The scientist who devises new ways to kill is a saint. His work can be put to any other use -- [[Slaanesh|enriching human life]], [[Nurgle|ending hunger, fighting diseases]], [[Tzeentch|answering great questions]]. But the scientist who devises new bombs and weapons is, in his own way, a champion of Khorne. He takes his limitless human potential and nobly limits himself to new ways to kill. Whether you kill with a sword or a bomb, you are killing using good old fashioned mortal strength and genius. You aren't stealing warp energy from the gods in the form of a fireball and cravenly calling it your own.

The forger of enchanted weapons, though deserving of slavery and abuse as all wizards are until the day they die, is an ideal symbol. It is fitting that spell energy be subjugated to and entombed within cold steel, just as wizards deserve to be subjugated to warriors until they lie cold and headless in the ground or else burnt to ash. The magic weapon is a symbol of might's superiority to magic.

The jury is still out on whether or not Khorne is okay with magically imbued people.

Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne! When the Galaxy burns, we will define righteousness!

tl;dr Magic is unmanly, grab a sword (or a 16-inch battleship cannon, if that's your thing) and go kill like real men do already.

===Khorne and other Chaos gods===
As a rule, Khorne despises [[Slaanesh]] because s/he's an effeminate milk-sop who can't grow a beard or swing an axe like she's got a pair (even though she's probably got the biggest pair, but less on that), and also because he personifies acting outwardly (ie: seeking the deaths of others), while Slaanesh acts inwardly (ie: pleasuring him-/herself). Khorne also finds Slaanesh's obsession with luxury and torture wasteful and dishonorable. Slaanesh is about living it up while Khorne is about tearing it the fuck down.

Khorne also hates [[Tzeentch]], though they are not fundamental rivals, because his reliance on magic is seen as a sign of weakness and his desire not to face his foes in person is decried by Khorne as cowardly. Khorne sees his penchant for deceit and trickery as dishonorable. Also Khorne prefers muscles over books.

Khorne thinks he hates [[Nurgle]] also, because the fat fuck doesn't even try to get shit done. Thus, his embodiment as sloth runs contrary to the active, vital aspect of Khorne, but he's all for death if its by homicide or genocide.

Of all the Chaos gods, Khorne actually hates [[Malal]] the least. For one thing, he respects the lost god for sticking to his guns: he hates the other gods, wants them dead and is actively working towards that goal. Since Nurgle just sits there being a scabby procrastinator, Tzeentch just has to have his fingers in everyone's business and Slaanesh is fucking Slaanesh (no literally, s/he is fucking him/herself right now, go look if you don't believe me), this is something Khorne can sympathize with. Also, Malal is the only chaos god to put up a halfway decent fight when Khorne manages to find him, which would mean that they would be best buds if Malal wasn't a self destructive, omnicidal lunatic.

In short he hates everyone and pissed at everyone, including you even if you worship him (usually its a matter how pissed he is at you). And they hate him too. Except for Nurgle, who's too nice to hate anyone.
Except Tzeentch. The know-it-all, indecisive, over-thinking, birdy bastard...

===Khorne and non-Chaotic Gods===
Well, [[Ulric]] is his little brother and they tend to get along rather well. Ulric's still ridiculing Khorne over the fact that one of his greatest champions, Haargroth, got his head smashed in by Ulric's Ar-Ulric, Khorne usually replies by pointing out that ''Storm of Chaos'' isn't canon anymore. Not that that stops Ulric. Khorne and Ulric often get into arguments over which one of them is moar Viking; with Khorne usually winning by pointing out that his top worshipers actually are Vikings and that he has a Valkyrie. They also settle this with arm wrestling and drinking contests. There's a lot of belligerence, but you can sense the brotherly love underneath. Indeed, it's kind of a [[Fist of the North Star|Raoh/Ken relationship]].

Despite both being war-gods, Khorne has a poor relationship with [[Myrmidia]]. Khorne, despite being a master of tactics and sieges and the finer points of warfare, vastly prefers a manly head-on charge, and Myrmidia's sissy "planning" approach to warfare therefore offends Khorne. Most meetings between the Blood God and the Maiden of Strategy end with the Blood God fuming impotently because his strict code of martial honour does not permit him to hit girls (or pull their hair) and retreating to his tree house.

Khorne is the only Chaos God who tolerates Sigmar because he thinks he's pretty bad-ass AND respects the idea of a mortal man becoming a god. That and Sigmar's comic book series, Sigmar the Emprahrian, has great splashpages of fights and no SWORDSWORDSWORDS. However, this tolerance is only one-sided, and while Khorne respects him, it doesn't mean he won't try to put an axe in his head for being an sworn enemy of Chaos.

When asked about the [[Emperor]], Khorne usually responds with a streaming torrent of bloody curses and oaths which causes a bloody froth to start leaking from his helmet. In short, he is remarkably indifferent to the old man. Ironically, they share many of the same beliefs: They both disliked psykers, they both have a kick ass thrones, and they both have units dedicated to close combat. Hell, even the Emprah's head is a skull. What's not to like?

Khorne is utterly sick and tired of anyone who dares associate him with [[Khaine|40Khaine]]. Before eviscerating anyone who makes that connection, he will often give a short PowerPoint presentation, explaining how Khaine is an honourless god of murder and sadism while he himself is a god of honourable and forthright battle and courage, and how sadism is contrary to his code (Khorne indeed used to be about honorable combat, but now he's just about mindless violence and hating everyone for either piss-poor reasons or for no reason at all. Goddammit, GW). Khorne then reiterates that Khaine's elfishness and love for scantily clad women is sickening and makes him more like Slaanesh... Of course, this is just a front on Khorne's part. Khaine's love of war combined with his elfness and that his most ardent worshippers are scantily-clad women proves Khaine to be the secret love-child of Khorne and Slaanesh (tsundere confir- *sounds of violent, painful evisceration* '''{{Blam|WHO DARES? IN MY OWN PAGE, OF ALL THINGS? FUCK YOUUUUUUUU}}''' '''''[[Slaanesh|Search your feelings you know it to be true]].

That being said, Khaine does have a dual nature in Fantasy thanks to being worshiped by [[Dark Elves]] and paid respect to by [[High Elves]], where one side is indeed honorable and just wants to keep fighting and being badass which means Khorne can tolerate him approximately half the time. The fact that both are patrons of [[Blood Bowl]] teams is usually the common ground, with Khaine and Khorne crashing/trashing some other God's house to watch on game nights while downing can after can of Bloodweisers and shoveling Dwarf Rinds in their faces. Khaine periodically tries to invade the realm of Khorne whenever the Khornate team beats the Dark Elf team, with such meetings ending with Khorne individually breaking every bone in his body and spitting on the pain-wracked heap. When Khaine's team beats Khorne's, Khorne takes out his aggression by beating the fuck out of Slaanesh while Dark Elves go on safari hunting [[Warriors of Chaos|Khorne's worshipers]].

Khorne has absolutely no patience for the [[Horned Rat]], who is a favorite of Nurgle and Tzeentch respectively. It's a weak vermin whose very existence pisses him off. As a result, Khorne is much more fond of [[Sotek]] who encourages killing the fuck out of [[Skaven]] whenever they appear, and is also a fan of blood sacrifice (the fact that Sotek wants hearts and cares nothing for skulls is reassuring since they don't intrude on each other's fetish); this fondness is entirely one-sided.

Like the other Chaos Gods, Khorne has no fucking clue what the Great Maw is. However, it doesn't seem to complain when [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] worship Khorne, so he's got nothing against him...her...it...schclim...whatever, the big god-thing that wants to eat.

The pantheon of the [[Tomb Kings]] mostly stick to themselves, so Khorne only knows they exist..

Khorne is impressed with the [[Bretonnia|Bretonnian]] race by the fact they're the epitome of honor and glorious valor. On the other hand, their entire race has been tricked by a single fucking Elf Goddess into doing their every command which fills Khorne with incomprehensible fury. As it stands, the first being that's going to get the axe when Khorne manages to get an avatar to manifest in the material plane is Lileath.

[[Mork]] and [[Gork]]/Gork and Mork are Khorne's old drinking buddies. They piss him off more than any other beings in existence, but after a good 3-way beatdown and a few billion cases of squig beer he realizes they're alright company.

Khorne has a feeling that he'd get along with the gods of the [[Dwarfs]], but even their introductions (being long ass winded descriptions of their primary worshipers and their lineages) irritate him so much he can't even get into a conversation with them. One of them is STILL giving his own introduction, and has been for about 20,000 years or so now (and he hasn't even reached the changes that have happened since he started). Unable to make him aware of what's going on around him, Khorne simply moved him into the guest room and bricked it off with a wall of skulls.

As for the [[Tyranid|Bugs?]], Khorne hates them '''''Especially''''' due to them not having real blood, just vile alien ichor.

==His portrayal in Warhammer Fantasy==
He's a half-way mythologically accurate version of [[Viking|Odin]], whose very name means Fury (and one translation means 'frenzy'). You could also make the case that Khorne is Thor minus any protective instincts towards humanity, as both are whirling vortices of blood and spit who are associated with the colour red and its connotation of anger.

No, that's it. Get the fuck out; he's an axe-crazy, psychopathic, evil-as-balls daemonic version of Odin - so basically the Norse god of wisdom, with wisdom actually treated the way Vikings would have recognised. Currently there's a bit of a debate about how much of Odin he represents (see discussion page) so this bit will list the similarities and some of the differences.

Well, for one thing, Chaos worshipers in Warhammer Fantasy actually are Vikings. Read about them [[Warriors of Chaos|here]]. Secondly, Khorne is closely associated with wolves in that setting (one of Odin's names literally translates to 'Battle Wolf'), and even has a wolf-like pet in Karanak, thus, fulfilling a role similar to Freki and Geri, or more closely, Garmr. Also, it's revealed in Knight of the Realm that Khorne owns two hunting wolves/giant fleshhounds called Garmr and Gormr, with whom he partakes in a wild hunt across the heavens.

Another point of similarity is that both Odin and Khorne are war gods explicitly connected with berserker rage. They have their own warrior-cults associated with them who fight with said rage and Odin's Olfhednar are practically the same as Khorne's Chosen in both form and function.

Additionally, thanks to Valkia, Khorne also has a Valkyrie to further the similarity between him and Odin. This was inevitable, of course, given that the Warriors of Chaos are indeed an evil version of the Vikings as has already been stated. It should also be noted that Valkia's similarity to the Valkyries is not a superficial one. She is actually referred to as 'the Sword-Maiden of the Blood God' in the WoC codex, and is Khorne's Chooser of the Slain who carries those worthy champions and warriors of his to fight on in the Blood God's halls after death.

Finally, we got a glimpse of his neck of the Realm of Chaos in the Valkia novel written by Sarah Cock-well. It was basically Chaos Valhalla, and here's some of his quotes:

"A cleaved head no longer plots." "A head stuck on a pike no longer conspires." "Put to the sword they who disagree."

Now for the differences, aside from the obvious physical ones Odin also scries, it's woman's magic taught to him by Frigg and Freya. He's got the rage, yeah, but he's also all about fate and averting ragnarok, (directly opposed to Khorne's goals) even if he knows he can't stop it since fate works that way. We see this in the Havamal, Grimnismal, the Voluspa, and the Lokasenna. Hell, in Lokasenna, we learn he cross dresses, ie was tied into shamanic practices (Indo-Europeans have a thing for seers in drag). He can also get to Tzeentch levels with his planning and Odin's perfectly fine with Runic magic, whereas Khorne hates that shit.

==Champions Of Khorne==
===In 40K===
Because most fa/tg/uys are idiots and newfags who likely don't know that another Warhammer existed long before bolters and power armour. And this makes the Blood God snarl in anger.

* [[Kharn the Betrayer]]: Embodiment of Crazy Awesome and Patron Saint of fun guys everywhere. Kharn is Khorne's greatest mortal champion in 40K and has a wholly deserved reputation as a team-killing nuts:o. Once upon a time, Kharn was a straight-laced, meticulous Assault Captain of the World Eaters 8th company. But [[Horus Heresy|after a certain chain of events]] dedicated himself wholly to Khorne, thus becoming one of the most fucking lethal warriors in the galaxy as well as probably the most religiously devoted of Khorne's servants. Also notable for shattering two entire Space Marine legions by himself with a flamethrower in a single night. Despite this, since his first appearance (where he was no different from other Berzerkers) he became more and more coolheaded when not in combat (and even then there are moments when he is coolheaded in combat).

* [[Angron]]: '''HE! GETS! SHIT! DONE!!!''''. Khorne's foremost Daemon Prince alongside Doombreed. PERIOD.

* [[Doombreed]]: Khorne's greatest Daemon Prince ever and possibly either Genghis Khan or Turgeis the Devil IRL. Notable for launching an actually successful Dark Crusade that wiped out two Space Marine chapters. Which is more than a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure has pulled off]].

* [[Svane Vulfbad]]: EVEN IN 40K KHORNE'S CHOSEN ARE VIKINGS. Svane Vulfbad is motherfucking badass [[Awesome|Chaos Terminator Space Wolf Chaos Lord]] who grew tired of the Imperium's sickening effeminate inability to GET SHIT DONE and the Space Wolves' sickening fur-fetishes and instead decided to dedicated himself to a god worthy of his kickassery. He thus became a badass Chaos Lord dedicated to Khorne (because a berserker god of war who likes axes meshes well with Vikings) and slaughtered a shitton of Space Wolves despite being outnumbered and escaped Harald Deathwolf. He is currently rampaging throughout the Imperium. He has the best facial hair in all of 40k.

* [[Crull]]: A Chaos Lord from Winter Assault notable only for making idiotic statements, and utilizing Sorcerers in his warband when there's some possessing to be done. Also has a weird way of saying "drown".

* [[Azariah Kyras]]: A Librarian who somehow became a Champion of Khorne and who ascended to daemonhood. Presumably, his [[Awesome|speaking skills were great enough that the Blood God was able to give him slight leeway in regards to the 'no Psyker rule']], likely because he was a philosopher of carrion and slaughter, showing Khorne's way as freedom, freedom in meaningless, in mindlessness, which he accuses the functionings of the universe of. Khorne loves that stuff, existentialism for skulls, especially when it's an arch-traitor responsible for the deaths of billions, then declaring openly his allegience of Chaos to his fellow Mehreens as he is about to ascend as one of the most powerful daemon princes ever. A psyker who uses psykic powers to bring about good old kinetic Exterminatus, their reputation to raise covert cults of slaughter, discover their lust for combat and seek to encompass it, and ultimatedly be the poster child of Khornist Existentialism is too good of a chance for Khorne to pass up, who either wins against the galaxy or gets to devour Kyras' soul in a good long bloodbashing and probably still make a good Greater Daemon of Khorne out of him, probably the one and only Chaos tactical genius who could actually lead a Black Crusade properly. That's another reason Khorne likes him. Kyras' no funny business style of simply tearing a sector apart however possible tends to draw other Chaos God devotees under the wing of a Khornate champion. Here is the speech of doom that he gives the player's army (before the last level of the game ) or per canon, the Blood Ravens following Captain Diomedes before the climax:

"Faithful... enlightened... ambitious... brethren.

In but a single decade, a few mere swipes of the pendulum, we have gathered a sacrifice to Khorne that will be made legend.Though it was a simpler, weaker voice that illuminated me during my centuries upon the Judgement of Carrion... it was Khorne's messenger that showed me the true path of freedom from our pathetic corpse-Emperor.

And what is this path? This meaning, this purpose to which we gather the skulls of our foes? It is nothing. There is no meaning, no purpose. We murder. We kill. It is mindless savagery, this UNIVERSE IS MINDLESS!

In mere hours, billions will die. Innocent! Guilty! Strong and weak! Honest and deceitful! ALL of them! They will scream, they will burn, and for no purpose but that mighty Khorne may revel in their bloodshed! And united in this void of purpose, fear, or duty... we shall at long last be free!

BLOOD! FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!! SKULLS! FOR THE SKULL THRONE!!! LET... THE GALAXY... BUUUURRRRNNN!!!"

Also notable as the single <s>longest-to-fucking-kill-boss in the history of the Dawn of War series other than [[Ulkair]].</s> ( '''Actually''' if you play tyranids and spam warriors with venom upgrades and he dies in uhnder 5 minutes.) '''FUCK'''. Still, pure undiluted awesome.

===In Fantasy===
'''VIKINGS!!!''' '''VIIIIIIIIIIIIKIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGSSSSSSSS!!!'''

[[Space Wolves|NO...]]

* [[Valkia the Bloody]]: A pissed off badass Valkyrie who chooses who will fight on in the Halls of the Blood God after they die in glorious battle. She managed to kill a motherfucking DAEMON PRINCE as a lowly, un-Marked, un-augmented human in SINGLE COMBAT to earn Khorne's favour, CUT ITS FUCKING HEAD OFF, AND THEN CARRIED IT BACK TO THE NORTH TO PLACE AT THE FOOT OF THE SKULL THRONE. And then she died on the way. But Khorne was so impressed by this badassery/ pissed off by her death, he resurrected her as a fucking Daemon Princess. Now she flies around the battlefields of the world slaughtering anything that looks at her funny and bearing Norsemen to the Khorne's place for a glorious afterlife of fighting and drinking. She is also far more attractive than anything of Slaanesh's menagerie, much to the Prince of Pleasure's eternal rage and the Bloodfather's great amusement, primarily due to having hair.

* Garmr Hrodvitnir: Aka Billy Squigins, A Chaos Lord of Khorne who managed to almost kill Gotrek Fucking Gurnisson in a fight. 'Nuff said.

* Hrothgar Daemonaxe: A Chaos Lord who only had his rules and miniatures released at a Games Day. He had the statline of a Bloodthirster. His miniature also depicts him throttling an elf, which makes him a good person.

* Arbaal the Undefeated: Nicknamed 'Arbaal the Easily Defeatable' due to his rules from Champions of Chaos having been shockingly awful. Arbaal's been effectively retcon'd out of existence under the excuse that he's journeyed into the Realm of Chaos to challenge Khorne himself to a fight. Good luck with that.

* Scyla Anfingrimm: The greatest You-Know-What ever to walk the earth. Scyla was a Chaos Lord of Khorne who got one too many mutations before his time and devolved into a YKW. But he's the most badass YKW ever, and is a leadership 10 general. Which is impressive considering the only thing he can say is "'''KILL FOR KHORNE! KILL FOR KHORNE! KILL FOR KHORNE!'''".

* Chaos Lord Varmisgal: A Chaos Lord who's blood has turned to liquid bronze. He is responsible for the stalking brass bull of Nuln and the great raid into the Misty Mountains... it is also alleged he ate his own penis.

* Valmir Aesling: A Norscan king and Champion of Khorne who destroyed the Norse Dwarf Hold of Kraka Drak. Managed to get a fucking Daemon Prince to work for him, slaughtered a metric fuck-ton of Norse Dwarfs (roughly 8 times the manliness of a regular Dwarf and thus worth 24 Space Wolves). [[Awesome|Also rode a motherfucking chariot pulled by skinless bears]].

* Egil Styrbjorn: A Norscan High Yarl of the Skaeligs and probably the greatest epitome of manliness a Chaos Warrior devoted to Khorne can achieve. He slew a lot and took names, kicked Bretonnian arses, sexed many women yet never got a proper heir (only daughters). It was so bad for him that he adopted a boy that became later his personal shamanistic seer and advisor...that is until he banged a Kurgan Sorceress that was prophesied by said shaman to bear Egil's son, yet the damned cheese eating surrender monkeys took her and his unborn son away, which he answered them with apocalyptic RAAAAAGE and titanic slaughter (added that said Sorceress wanted to sacrifice the unborn child for immortality actually made this a good situation). And thus there was an epic campaign to retrieve the boy. Wields two badass flaming axes called Garmr and Gormr. Really dislikes the Lady of the Lake and other Southerner gods. So manly he is that he let a Grail Knight stab him only to throw back his sword to him. Also known for embodying Khorne's tactical take on war, which he mercilessly used against the Bretonnian Knights that stubbornly charged his warriors head on (until said knights realized that they were duped and slaughtered in seconds).

==Fun Khorne Facts==
* Interestingly the word "Khorne" in Ancient Cypriot Greek literally means to "Shit Blood". Kh' - "To force outward", ORN - "Back passage", Ee - "Blood".
*A possible factor in Khorne's birth was the Aztecs, who basically worshipped the guy (Hint: BLOOD SACRIFICE) and might have chucked him into existence along with the Mongols.
*Doombreed, Khorne's second daemon prince servant, might actually be Genghis Khan himself.
*Khorne's color scheme (red, brass and black) is almost the same as the German flag's and Soviet Russia's flag's color scheme (just replace brass with gold [and brass and gold are already fairly similar in colour]). Hitler and Stalin were allies of convenience and then turned on each other in WW2, remember "(he) cares not from whence the blood flows..."
*Khorne's looking for ways to incorporate dinosaurs into his armies, due to the sheer amount of [[RIP AND TEAR]] they can unleash on their enemies. He's unbelievably pissed that he hasn't managed to get any yet- '''{{Blam|YOU GAVE IT AWAY?!?!? FFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOUUUUUUUUUU}}'''
*Khorne <strike>secretly</strike> '''blatantly''' hates everyone who kills the defenceless in his name. He'd plot ways to kill them, but he's too mad to do that. (So what else is new?)
*Khorne was just able to stand watching Jurassic World once it got going due to the Indominus Rex and how it made everything else look like faggots. He raged when it died. He's looking for its skull 'cause he wishes he could have it as one of his servants- *sounds of swords and blood* '''{{Blam|FAGGOT!}}''' (Why couldn't Khorne just seek the skull of the Mosasaurus that killed it? Or Rexie, T-rex is classic, I hear you say.) To that, I answer that coz without the Mosasaurus then Rex would'a DIED.
*Khorne is unsure whether or not he hates [[Cultist-chan]], due to a) the fact that she can't do anything except scream about 'kap-tooring eet for kay-oss' and get purged and b) the fact that she's so good at spreading [[RAEG]] amongst various unlucky meatsacks and fa/tg/uys. And that indecisiveness makes him foam at the mouth in anger.
*Khorne practically invented flipping the table when you lose at card games, or it goes too slowly. He does this whenever the major Warp entities play cards in the Formless Wastes.
*Followers of Khorne actually have the ability to pull off [[LIIVI]]/[[Eldrad]] level dick-style moves in battle. They just choose not to do this.
*Khorne wanted [[Settra the Imperishable]] as one of his servants once. However, Settra won't ever serve Khorne, even going so far as to give ALL OF CHAOS the '''motherfucking middle finger''' before going off to hunt down [[Nagash]]. That said, Settra may well be one of the few mortal beings besides his own servants Khorne has any respect for. He still hates Settra though.
*Slaanesh once created some Kayos Spess Mehreens with his/her colour scheme, but with armour nicked off fallen Khornate warriors. And when Khorne saw this, '''his wrath was legendary'''.
*Slaanesh and Khorne also have regular 'plans' on Friday night- *sounds of something even bigger than a [[Bloodthirster]] coming through and much ripping and tearing* '''{{Blam|NO! YOU'RE LYING!}}'''
* [[Emperor|That Twat With The Chair]] and Khorne haven't '''SMACKED DOWN''' yet, but Khorne is secretly looking forward to it when it happens- he wants to test Spess Jaysis's might against his own. Tickets are now on sale!
*If an internet hyperlink comes up red, it's not because the page doesn't exist, it's because Khorne looked at what was once on the other end, and '''he didn't like what he saw''', so much so that the hyperlink is stained with the blood of what once was.
* Khorne's favorite form of grouping is in ogdoads, for reasons that should be obvious once you know what that word means.
* Khorne's favorite [[video game|vidja]] is [[Doom]]. For obvious reasons.
* If Khorne is acting calm towards you, don't relax. He doesn't like anything, he just hates some things less than others. There is such a thing as cold-hatred.

==Gallery==
{{promotions}}
<gallery>
Image:Khornate.JPG|Khorne's followers off the battlefield. REVERSE ARMWRESTLE!!!
Image:khornewaffel.JPG|Waffles for the Blood God!
Image:Khornetrainer.JPG|Khorne's trainers prefer violent Pokémon.
Image:khorneberserker.png|Would have been a somewhat adequate picture, had they taken the right photographs of the actual Berzerkers. Lulz.
Image:Khorne_tattoo.jpg|Mark of Khorne.
Image:Free like a riding demon by Ragathol.jpg|Khornette.
Image:Backwardsthrone.jpg|Just as Planned. Always. As. Planned.
File:Khornette.jpg|Khorne wants to know why the drawfags never give them noses.
File:Tea Time.jpg|In the grim darkness of the far future, there is still time for tea...
File:Khorne-Art.jpg|Warriors of Chaos: making everything in 40K look like bitches since 2002.
Image:You're_madder_than_Khorne.png|There '''is''' such a thing as being too mad for Khorne!
Image:Khorneholiover2.png |The Great Khorneholio. He needs blood and skulls for his bunghole.
Image:Khorne-and-Slaanesh.jpg|Nine months later Khaine was born...
Image:Anon_pleases_Khorne.png|Anon begins his trail to becoming a Khorne Berserker.
Image:Khorne Flakes.jpg|The tastiest of all! Add blood for more flavor.
</gallery>

==See also==

*[[Brass]]
*[[Berserker]] - Chaos Space Marines with Axes and a bad attitude.
*[[Angron]] - Daemon prince of Khorne and the Primarch of World Eaters.
*[[World Eaters]]
*[[Khârn|Khârn the Betrayer]] - A pretty fun guy to be around.
*[[Valkia the Bloody]] - Scarousal in it's purest form.
*[[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Khorne_Daemonkin(7E)|Tactics/Khorne Daemonkin]] - That's right, meatsacks! The servants of Khorne have their own codex!
*[[Rage]]
*[[Sorcerers of Khorne]] - Double heresy!
*[[Doombreed]] - One angry son of a bitch.
* This pretty much sums up his forces: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-gSJW3sHXE&feature=channel_video_title
*[[Katanas_are_Underpowered_in_d20#Khorne_is_underpowered_in_40k|Khorne is underpowered in 40k]]
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vljHBXA3UKE - death metal song devoted to Khorne.
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8mEOiI4pjs - trash metal song summing up Khorne pretty well.
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUB9QGKCNmI - a bunch of anime Khorne worshippers. Better than it sounds.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8mEOiI4pjs - another metal song devoted to Khorne. GW actually commissioned this one. Yes, they really were that awesome back in the day.

{{Template:ChaosGods}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Age of Sigmar]]

Khorne

2017-11-06T00:31:33Z

2605:E000:7ECF:7F00:143C:32A:D33C:E495:

[[File:Khorne mark.png|center]]
[[File:khorne_by_baklaher-d7335e6.jpg|500px|thumb|right|The Big K. Sitting comfortably on his Skull Throne, being pissed off at everyone and everything.]]<div style="font-size:1.10em;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-family:serif;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em"> BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! MILK FOR THE KHORNE FLAKES! - The creed of Khorne being Overused to Death'''</div>

''"Craniums for the Cranium Chair!"'' 
-[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZI0ZX1DrRw|An... unconventional take on Khorne's credo.]]

''"Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him."'' 
-Louis L'Amour

''"The important thing in life is not victory but combat: it is not to have vanquished but to have fought well."'' 
-Pierre de Coubertin

''"War is the father of all." 
-Heraclitus

''"Who was the first that forged the deadly blade? Of rugged steel his savage soul was made."'' 
-Tacitus

{{heresy}}

==Introduction==
'''Khorne''', also known as Kharnath, Arkhar, Khorgar, [[Viking|Kjorn]], Khar, the Bloody Handed, the Axefather, the Bloodwolf, The Great Khorneholio, Special K, the Wolf-Father, Frowny Face McMurderaxe, Sergeant Slaughter, the Lord of Fighters, [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|The Parapeligac Sociopath]], Angry Jesus, Definitely not fucking Khaine and 8870 other names, is the [[Chaos God]] of war, murder, savagery, hatred, rage, wrath, battle, and [[Vance Motherfucking Stubbs|manliness]]. He is also the mofo that the Klingons worship. As well as this he symbolises courage, athleticism, determination, daring, discipline, sportsmanship, honor, impulsiveness, and struggling onward in the face of any odds. But mostly he's simply about being angry.

He is commonly held to be the strongest Chaos God by default, and is associated with wolves and powerful hunting dogs, as well as lions and bulls. For another reason that is likely inspired by occultism, Khorne's sacred number is eight - and thus, his followers tend to organize themselves into groups of eights and its multiples. Fun fact, this also means that the names of Khornate daemons are usually comprised of eight syllables.
[[File:SkullThrone.jpg|400px|right|thumb|The Big K in all his glory contemplating on whose rectum he is going to shove his chainaxe into with extreme prejudice.(Spoiler: its everyone)]]
Khorne, by virtue of being the most powerful Chaos God, is also the most powerful general "divinity" in both iterations of Warhammer. In both versions of Warhammer, his followers are characterized by an overbearing need to spill blood and engage in honest battle, as well as a violent code of martial honour and a "survival of the fittest" approach to morality. They tend to be dutiful, as well, but said duties involve whacking their axes into their enemy and painting their blood all over villages gargling their blood as mouthwash (if only because Khorne's only real command is to spill worthy blood in his name).

This is where Khorne and Slaanesh generally clash as enemy gods. While Khorne instills discipline, honor and a sense of selfless duty towards his followers to obey a single purpose (I.E: Spill blood in his name), Slaanesh is the polar opposite. Slaanesh instead tells his/her followers to do whatever they want for their own selfish pursuits for pleasure, not caring the consequences of such acts. (I.E: Using your authority to hoard food from your starving citizens, so you could indulge in bottomless gluttony everyday.)

This is also why Khorne is at odds with Tzeentch: Tzeentch sees things like honor and discipline as unnecessary hamstrings towards one's advancement and opts that everything is on the table when one wishes to further their position (I.E.: Why duel your Chaos Lord for his position when you could arrange for an "accident" to happen to him instead? Sure its a low-blow, but if your lord was too stupid to not see that betrayal coming, was he really deserving your loyalty?). The same can be said for his disdain of sorcery. Tzeentch thinks that mortals using the power of the gods themselves is fair game in their pursuit of progress (so long as you can control it), while Khorne thinks that using anything else but your own strength alone means you are weak and his "survival of the fittest" ideal has no place for you.

Khorne also has the distinction of being the only Chaos God whose word you can take at face value. They don't realize that disdain for scheming and backstabbing isn't the same as being stupid. Nor do they realize that over-complicating things is actually the worst thing a planner can do. Any plan that relies on more than one variable to succeed (ie: the vast majority of Tzeentch plots) is almost always doomed to fail ([[Just as Planned|that said Tzeentchian plans have divination included into them, eliminating most tactical miscalculations]], [[Not as Planned|unless Tzeentch wanted it to happen.]]). So you actually want results? Be practical. Involve only as many steps as you need (IE: Beat someone up, until they're reduced to a bloody smear on the ground).

Basically, Khorne isn't a stupid brute, he's actually pretty smart. The god of battles knows a thing or two about tactics and warfare. That said, Khorne's doctrine is inflexible. One, straightforward approach to anything. Simply put: Break everything in half. Which means that it all rides on an "all-or-nothing" deal. If his battering ram approach doesn't work there's little to be done to salvage the situation beyond everyone dying a glorious death. Usually this isn't the case for most battles, the Khornates' overwhelming need to quench their bloodlust gets in the way of reorganization. Of course, if things go according to plan, there are only few things that can stop the demonically-possessed no brakes hate train.

If Khorne had a voice actor it would be [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFseqTnysBY BRAIN BLESSED!]

Yes, Brain Blessed apparently.
===Appearance===
Khorne is described as resembling a giant, iron-hewed warrior clad in red armour, with a massive sword and a winged helm that conceals a snarling face like that of a wolf. This humanoid form could be seen as something darkly meaningful, were it not for the fact that more or less everyone in both settings is conveniently human-shaped.
[[File:Khorne First.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The first depiction of Khorne in Warhammer art.]]
Of course, most artists at GW forget that he's supposed to look a giant Chaos Warrior and instead make him look like an overgrown Bloodthirster on a chair.

===Khorne and His Worship===
Khorne is the easiest god ever to worship. Where [[Tzeentch|other]] [[Slaanesh|more]] [[Nurgle|pussified]] gods may demand you to memorize overly long prayers and hymns, or to build huge houses of worship and other such unmanly bullshit, Khorne is venerated with one thing and one thing only: the time-honoured tradition of [[rip and tear|hack'n'slash]].

Khorne is worshipped on the battlefield. His hymns are the sound of steel on steel, his prayers are the blows of hammer and axe and the bellowing of 'Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull throne!" and his sacrament is blood spilled in his name.

In essence, you worship Khorne by being a good warrior. And as a warrior, you'll find your interests and his tend to generally align; he wants death but isn't picky on who, and you want to live to fight another day. Thus, the mere act of preserving your life will earn the pleasure of the god of battle.

However, Khorne is one of those honourable war-gods. So don't think that beating your enemies by anything other than sheer strength, skill and aggression will make him happy. And for the love of Sigmar/Empra, don't try to cheat by picking fights with the weak or helpless or by giving him baby skulls. Khorne expects a form of savage, viking-esque dignity from his followers and for them to be generally [[Fist of the North Star|manly]], this means you have to fight worthy opponents and those generally able to at least hold up a sword. ''Only after'' the worthwhile enemies are out of the way; then you can gorge yourself on the blood of women and children all you want (or make them fight amongst themselves and recruit the survivors, or enslave them, or whatever). Most of the writers forget this, thinking that Khorne really gives no fucks about what you kill, and it makes Khorne [[Rage|snarl in anger]]. Though he continues to send his flesh-hounds to hunt down those who flee and abandon their brothers on the battlefield, be they Chaos or non-Chaos.

Aside from that, Khorne has no commandments whatsoever. But deviating from the aforementioned in the slightest is begging for the flesh-hounds to tear your ass apart.

Such as it is, it would be incorrect to think Khorne doesn't have priests dedicated to him. Though, being a warrior god, these priests tend to be warriors themselves and are often marked by their god. In essence, the only difference between them and a Chaos marauder/Space Marine is several pounds of armour. In Warhammer Fantasy, these priests are called 'Bloodfathers', and in lieu of magic that is gifted to their priests by other gods, Khorne just gives [[AWESOME|HOLYSHITAWESOME]] fighting skills and visions of bloodshed. In [[skub|Age of Sigmar]], they're called Slaughterpriests and they basically lead by example, killing while screaming out Khorne's name. If the killing is good enough, Khorne will empower the priest and/or his allies; but if the killing is unworthy, the priest himself will feel Khorne's wrath.

Khorne is also venerated by working brass into your armour and weapons and donning fashionable high collars. Occasionally, a warrior so pleases Khorne that he gifts him with specially made ones that in addition to looking fabulous can also grant total fucking immunity to magic.

Anyway, Khorne is worshiped by warriors, generals and basically anyone who likes battle. His chosen Space Marines legion is of course the World Eaters, in Warhammer Fantasy, the Norscans tend to venerate him with the greatest piety, especially the Aesling tribe, who are Khorne's most devoted servants in Fantasy.

===Khorne's take on magic===
As posted by an Anon some time ago, he perfectly summed up what Khorne's opinion on magic is: FUCK WIZARDS!!!!

Okay, here's what the "FUCK WIZARDS" thing means.

Note that the hate of psykers/wizards/etc is pretty much the exact same and works by the same logic for both Khornates and the SoB/Black Templar/etc. Its a [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan-esque]] kind of swords and sorcery thing. Khornates hate wizards for [[3e|trivializing encounters with a single spell and overshadowing fighters]]. They hate turning what should be a military endeavor into a weird wizard show where people turn into frogs. They hate Slaaneshi for the same reason, they take what should be a wholesome murder fest and make it into something creepy and weird, what with them "discomporting themselves with the dead" and all that. In Realms of Chaos, its entirely possible for a librarian or wizard to go to Khorne. They just refrain from using their powers, and only use their psi/magic (in combat) to resist spells from that point onward.

They are okay with laser beams. They are okay with sniper rifles. They are okay with flaming swords. They are okay with running people over with tanks. They are okay with chemical gas. They are okay with exterminatus. They are okay with holocausts. They are okay with blitzkriegs. They are okay with honorable duels at dawn.

They are not okay with turning people to frogs, mind controlling people, raining glitterdust from the skies to blind everyone, raising armies of zombies to do the killing for you, and so forth. They are not okay with someone pointing their finger and you dropping dead. They are okay with rituals to summon demons. They are okay with navigating the warp without crashing into suns. They are okay with sending astropathic messages. They are okay with chaining wizards up and forcing them to eternally forge magic items on pain of death.

You may consider it hypocritical that Khornates are okay with blatantly unfair TECHNOLOGICAL murder, but not okay with blatantly unfair MIND/MAGICAL murder, but the point, or at least one interpretation, is that wizards/psykers fucking cheat. They do. They steal the power of the Warp for their own ends. As long as they stay in line, and do nothing but permit the warrior to enact his craft, fine, let them live, albeit in terror, enslaved by chains of brass until the day they are no longer useful, at which point their skulls can join Khorne's throne.

But stealing the Gods' own fire and using it to do what mortals should do through their own skill and strength is unacceptable. Remember that technology is completely valid to Khorne. Stealth is completely valid to Khorne. Skill is completely valid to Khorne. Cleverness is completely valid to Khorne. The nuclear bomb and other innovations that come after it could be seen to be unfair. But it is a mortal invention. Mortals should give honor to Khorne by murdering each other through the sweat of their brow.

The scientist who devises new ways to kill is a saint. His work can be put to any other use -- [[Slaanesh|enriching human life]], [[Nurgle|ending hunger, fighting diseases]], [[Tzeentch|answering great questions]]. But the scientist who devises new bombs and weapons is, in his own way, a champion of Khorne. He takes his limitless human potential and nobly limits himself to new ways to kill. Whether you kill with a sword or a bomb, you are killing using good old fashioned mortal strength and genius. You aren't stealing warp energy from the gods in the form of a fireball and cravenly calling it your own.

The forger of enchanted weapons, though deserving of slavery and abuse as all wizards are until the day they die, is an ideal symbol. It is fitting that spell energy be subjugated to and entombed within cold steel, just as wizards deserve to be subjugated to warriors until they lie cold and headless in the ground or else burnt to ash. The magic weapon is a symbol of might's superiority to magic.

The jury is still out on whether or not Khorne is okay with magically imbued people.

Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne! When the Galaxy burns, we will define righteousness!

tl;dr Magic is unmanly, grab a sword (or a 16-inch battleship cannon, if that's your thing) and go kill like real men do already.

===Khorne and other Chaos gods===
As a rule, Khorne despises [[Slaanesh]] because s/he's an effeminate milk-sop who can't grow a beard or swing an axe like she's got a pair (even though she's probably got the biggest pair, but less on that), and also because he personifies acting outwardly (ie: seeking the deaths of others), while Slaanesh acts inwardly (ie: pleasuring him-/herself). Khorne also finds Slaanesh's obsession with luxury and torture wasteful and dishonorable. Slaanesh is about living it up while Khorne is about tearing it the fuck down.

Khorne also hates [[Tzeentch]], though they are not fundamental rivals, because his reliance on magic is seen as a sign of weakness and his desire not to face his foes in person is decried by Khorne as cowardly. Khorne sees his penchant for deceit and trickery as dishonorable. Also Khorne prefers muscles over books.

Khorne thinks he hates [[Nurgle]] also, because the fat fuck doesn't even try to get shit done. Thus, his embodiment as sloth runs contrary to the active, vital aspect of Khorne, but he's all for death if its by homicide or genocide.

Of all the Chaos gods, Khorne actually hates [[Malal]] the least. For one thing, he respects the lost god for sticking to his guns: he hates the other gods, wants them dead and is actively working towards that goal. Since Nurgle just sits there being a scabby procrastinator, Tzeentch just has to have his fingers in everyone's business and Slaanesh is fucking Slaanesh (no literally, s/he is fucking him/herself right now, go look if you don't believe me), this is something Khorne can sympathize with. Also, Malal is the only chaos god to put up a halfway decent fight when Khorne manages to find him, which would mean that they would be best buds if Malal wasn't a self destructive, omnicidal lunatic.

In short he hates everyone and pissed at everyone, including you even if you worship him (usually its a matter how pissed he is at you). And they hate him too. Except for Nurgle, who's too nice to hate anyone.
Except Tzeentch. The know-it-all, indecisive, over-thinking, birdy bastard...

===Khorne and non-Chaotic Gods===
Well, [[Ulric]] is his little brother and they tend to get along rather well. Ulric's still ridiculing Khorne over the fact that one of his greatest champions, Haargroth, got his head smashed in by Ulric's Ar-Ulric, Khorne usually replies by pointing out that ''Storm of Chaos'' isn't canon anymore. Not that that stops Ulric. Khorne and Ulric often get into arguments over which one of them is moar Viking; with Khorne usually winning by pointing out that his top worshipers actually are Vikings and that he has a Valkyrie. They also settle this with arm wrestling and drinking contests. There's a lot of belligerence, but you can sense the brotherly love underneath. Indeed, it's kind of a [[Fist of the North Star|Raoh/Ken relationship]].

Despite both being war-gods, Khorne has a poor relationship with [[Myrmidia]]. Khorne, despite being a master of tactics and sieges and the finer points of warfare, vastly prefers a manly head-on charge, and Myrmidia's sissy "planning" approach to warfare therefore offends Khorne. Most meetings between the Blood God and the Maiden of Strategy end with the Blood God fuming impotently because his strict code of martial honour does not permit him to hit girls (or pull their hair) and retreating to his tree house.

Khorne is the only Chaos God who tolerates Sigmar because he thinks he's pretty bad-ass AND respects the idea of a mortal man becoming a god. That and Sigmar's comic book series, Sigmar the Emprahrian, has great splashpages of fights and no SWORDSWORDSWORDS. However, this tolerance is only one-sided, and while Khorne respects him, it doesn't mean he won't try to put an axe in his head for being an sworn enemy of Chaos.

When asked about the [[Emperor]], Khorne usually responds with a streaming torrent of bloody curses and oaths which causes a bloody froth to start leaking from his helmet. In short, he is remarkably indifferent to the old man. Ironically, they share many of the same beliefs: They both disliked psykers, they both have a kick ass thrones, and they both have units dedicated to close combat. Hell, even the Emprah's head is a skull. What's not to like?

Khorne is utterly sick and tired of anyone who dares associate him with [[Khaine|40Khaine]]. Before eviscerating anyone who makes that connection, he will often give a short PowerPoint presentation, explaining how Khaine is an honourless god of murder and sadism while he himself is a god of honourable and forthright battle and courage, and how sadism is contrary to his code (Khorne indeed used to be about honorable combat, but now he's just about mindless violence and hating everyone for either piss-poor reasons or for no reason at all. Goddammit, GW). Khorne then reiterates that Khaine's elfishness and love for scantily clad women is sickening and makes him more like Slaanesh... Of course, this is just a front on Khorne's part. Khaine's love of war combined with his elfness and that his most ardent worshippers are scantily-clad women proves Khaine to be the secret love-child of Khorne and Slaanesh (tsundere confir- *sounds of violent, painful evisceration* '''{{Blam|WHO DARES? IN MY OWN PAGE, OF ALL THINGS? FUCK YOUUUUUUUU}}''' '''''[[Slaanesh|Search your feelings you know it to be true]].

That being said, Khaine does have a dual nature in Fantasy thanks to being worshiped by [[Dark Elves]] and paid respect to by [[High Elves]], where one side is indeed honorable and just wants to keep fighting and being badass which means Khorne can tolerate him approximately half the time. The fact that both are patrons of [[Blood Bowl]] teams is usually the common ground, with Khaine and Khorne crashing/trashing some other God's house to watch on game nights while downing can after can of Bloodweisers and shoveling Dwarf Rinds in their faces. Khaine periodically tries to invade the realm of Khorne whenever the Khornate team beats the Dark Elf team, with such meetings ending with Khorne individually breaking every bone in his body and spitting on the pain-wracked heap. When Khaine's team beats Khorne's, Khorne takes out his aggression by beating the fuck out of Slaanesh while Dark Elves go on safari hunting [[Warriors of Chaos|Khorne's worshipers]].

Khorne has absolutely no patience for the [[Horned Rat]], who is a favorite of Nurgle and Tzeentch respectively. It's a weak vermin whose very existence pisses him off. As a result, Khorne is much more fond of [[Sotek]] who encourages killing the fuck out of [[Skaven]] whenever they appear, and is also a fan of blood sacrifice (the fact that Sotek wants hearts and cares nothing for skulls is reassuring since they don't intrude on each other's fetish); this fondness is entirely one-sided.

Like the other Chaos Gods, Khorne has no fucking clue what the Great Maw is. However, it doesn't seem to complain when [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] worship Khorne, so he's got nothing against him...her...it...schclim...whatever, the big god-thing that wants to eat.

The pantheon of the [[Tomb Kings]] mostly stick to themselves, so Khorne only knows they exist..

Khorne is impressed with the [[Bretonnia|Bretonnian]] race by the fact they're the epitome of honor and glorious valor. On the other hand, their entire race has been tricked by a single fucking Elf Goddess into doing their every command which fills Khorne with incomprehensible fury. As it stands, the first being that's going to get the axe when Khorne manages to get an avatar to manifest in the material plane is Lileath.

[[Mork]] and [[Gork]]/Gork and Mork are Khorne's old drinking buddies. They piss him off more than any other beings in existence, but after a good 3-way beatdown and a few billion cases of squig beer he realizes they're alright company.

Khorne has a feeling that he'd get along with the gods of the [[Dwarfs]], but even their introductions (being long ass winded descriptions of their primary worshipers and their lineages) irritate him so much he can't even get into a conversation with them. One of them is STILL giving his own introduction, and has been for about 20,000 years or so now (and he hasn't even reached the changes that have happened since he started). Unable to make him aware of what's going on around him, Khorne simply moved him into the guest room and bricked it off with a wall of skulls.

As for the [[Tyranid|Bugs?]], Khorne hates them '''''Especially''''' due to them not having real blood, just vile alien ichor.

==His portrayal in Warhammer Fantasy==
He's a half-way mythologically accurate version of [[Viking|Odin]], whose very name means Fury (and one translation means 'frenzy'). You could also make the case that Khorne is Thor minus any protective instincts towards humanity, as both are whirling vortices of blood and spit who are associated with the colour red and its connotation of anger.

No, that's it. Get the fuck out; he's an axe-crazy, psychopathic, evil-as-balls daemonic version of Odin - so basically the Norse god of wisdom, with wisdom actually treated the way Vikings would have recognised. Currently there's a bit of a debate about how much of Odin he represents (see discussion page) so this bit will list the similarities and some of the differences.

Well, for one thing, Chaos worshipers in Warhammer Fantasy actually are Vikings. Read about them [[Warriors of Chaos|here]]. Secondly, Khorne is closely associated with wolves in that setting (one of Odin's names literally translates to 'Battle Wolf'), and even has a wolf-like pet in Karanak, thus, fulfilling a role similar to Freki and Geri, or more closely, Garmr. Also, it's revealed in Knight of the Realm that Khorne owns two hunting wolves/giant fleshhounds called Garmr and Gormr, with whom he partakes in a wild hunt across the heavens.

Another point of similarity is that both Odin and Khorne are war gods explicitly connected with berserker rage. They have their own warrior-cults associated with them who fight with said rage and Odin's Olfhednar are practically the same as Khorne's Chosen in both form and function.

Additionally, thanks to Valkia, Khorne also has a Valkyrie to further the similarity between him and Odin. This was inevitable, of course, given that the Warriors of Chaos are indeed an evil version of the Vikings as has already been stated. It should also be noted that Valkia's similarity to the Valkyries is not a superficial one. She is actually referred to as 'the Sword-Maiden of the Blood God' in the WoC codex, and is Khorne's Chooser of the Slain who carries those worthy champions and warriors of his to fight on in the Blood God's halls after death.

Finally, we got a glimpse of his neck of the Realm of Chaos in the Valkia novel written by Sarah Cock-well. It was basically Chaos Valhalla, and here's some of his quotes:

"A cleaved head no longer plots." "A head stuck on a pike no longer conspires." "Put to the sword they who disagree."

Now for the differences, aside from the obvious physical ones Odin also scries, it's woman's magic taught to him by Frigg and Freya. He's got the rage, yeah, but he's also all about fate and averting ragnarok, (directly opposed to Khorne's goals) even if he knows he can't stop it since fate works that way. We see this in the Havamal, Grimnismal, the Voluspa, and the Lokasenna. Hell, in Lokasenna, we learn he cross dresses, ie was tied into shamanic practices (Indo-Europeans have a thing for seers in drag). He can also get to Tzeentch levels with his planning and Odin's perfectly fine with Runic magic, whereas Khorne hates that shit.

==Champions Of Khorne==
===In 40K===
Because most fa/tg/uys are idiots and newfags who likely don't know that another Warhammer existed long before bolters and power armour. And this makes the Blood God snarl in anger.

* [[Kharn the Betrayer]]: Embodiment of Crazy Awesome and Patron Saint of fun guys everywhere. Kharn is Khorne's greatest mortal champion in 40K and has a wholly deserved reputation as a team-killing nuts:o. Once upon a time, Kharn was a straight-laced, meticulous Assault Captain of the World Eaters 8th company. But [[Horus Heresy|after a certain chain of events]] dedicated himself wholly to Khorne, thus becoming one of the most fucking lethal warriors in the galaxy as well as probably the most religiously devoted of Khorne's servants. Also notable for shattering two entire Space Marine legions by himself with a flamethrower in a single night. Despite this, since his first appearance (where he was no different from other Berzerkers) he became more and more coolheaded when not in combat (and even then there are moments when he is coolheaded in combat).

* [[Angron]]: '''HE! GETS! SHIT! DONE!!!''''. Khorne's foremost Daemon Prince alongside Doombreed. PERIOD.

* [[Doombreed]]: Khorne's greatest Daemon Prince ever and possibly either Genghis Khan or Turgeis the Devil IRL. Notable for launching an actually successful Dark Crusade that wiped out two Space Marine chapters. Which is more than a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure has pulled off]].

* [[Svane Vulfbad]]: EVEN IN 40K KHORNE'S CHOSEN ARE VIKINGS. Svane Vulfbad is motherfucking badass [[Awesome|Chaos Terminator Space Wolf Chaos Lord]] who grew tired of the Imperium's sickening effeminate inability to GET SHIT DONE and the Space Wolves' sickening fur-fetishes and instead decided to dedicated himself to a god worthy of his kickassery. He thus became a badass Chaos Lord dedicated to Khorne (because a berserker god of war who likes axes meshes well with Vikings) and slaughtered a shitton of Space Wolves despite being outnumbered and escaped Harald Deathwolf. He is currently rampaging throughout the Imperium. He has the best facial hair in all of 40k.

* [[Crull]]: A Chaos Lord from Winter Assault notable only for making idiotic statements, and utilizing Sorcerers in his warband when there's some possessing to be done. Also has a weird way of saying "drown".

* [[Azariah Kyras]]: A Librarian who somehow became a Champion of Khorne and who ascended to daemonhood. Presumably, his [[Awesome|speaking skills were great enough that the Blood God was able to give him slight leeway in regards to the 'no Psyker rule']], likely because he was a philosopher of carrion and slaughter, showing Khorne's way as freedom, freedom in meaningless, in mindlessness, which he accuses the functionings of the universe of. Khorne loves that stuff, existentialism for skulls, especially when it's an arch-traitor responsible for the deaths of billions, then declaring openly his allegience of Chaos to his fellow Mehreens as he is about to ascend as one of the most powerful daemon princes ever. A psyker who uses psykic powers to bring about good old kinetic Exterminatus, their reputation to raise covert cults of slaughter, discover their lust for combat and seek to encompass it, and ultimatedly be the poster child of Khornist Existentialism is too good of a chance for Khorne to pass up, who either wins against the galaxy or gets to devour Kyras' soul in a good long bloodbashing and probably still make a good Greater Daemon of Khorne out of him, probably the one and only Chaos tactical genius who could actually lead a Black Crusade properly. That's another reason Khorne likes him. Kyras' no funny business style of simply tearing a sector apart however possible tends to draw other Chaos God devotees under the wing of a Khornate champion. Here is the speech of doom that he gives the player's army (before the last level of the game ) or per canon, the Blood Ravens following Captain Diomedes before the climax:

"Faithful... enlightened... ambitious... brethren.

In but a single decade, a few mere swipes of the pendulum, we have gathered a sacrifice to Khorne that will be made legend.Though it was a simpler, weaker voice that illuminated me during my centuries upon the Judgement of Carrion... it was Khorne's messenger that showed me the true path of freedom from our pathetic corpse-Emperor.

And what is this path? This meaning, this purpose to which we gather the skulls of our foes? It is nothing. There is no meaning, no purpose. We murder. We kill. It is mindless savagery, this UNIVERSE IS MINDLESS!

In mere hours, billions will die. Innocent! Guilty! Strong and weak! Honest and deceitful! ALL of them! They will scream, they will burn, and for no purpose but that mighty Khorne may revel in their bloodshed! And united in this void of purpose, fear, or duty... we shall at long last be free!

BLOOD! FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!! SKULLS! FOR THE SKULL THRONE!!! LET... THE GALAXY... BUUUURRRRNNN!!!"

Also notable as the single <s>longest-to-fucking-kill-boss in the history of the Dawn of War series other than [[Ulkair]].</s> ( '''Actually''' if you play tyranids and spam warriors with venom upgrades and he dies in uhnder 5 minutes.) '''FUCK'''. Still, pure undiluted awesome.

===In Fantasy===
'''VIKINGS!!!''' '''VIIIIIIIIIIIIKIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGSSSSSSSS!!!'''

[[Space Wolves|NO...]]

* [[Valkia the Bloody]]: A pissed off badass Valkyrie who chooses who will fight on in the Halls of the Blood God after they die in glorious battle. She managed to kill a motherfucking DAEMON PRINCE as a lowly, un-Marked, un-augmented human in SINGLE COMBAT to earn Khorne's favour, CUT ITS FUCKING HEAD OFF, AND THEN CARRIED IT BACK TO THE NORTH TO PLACE AT THE FOOT OF THE SKULL THRONE. And then she died on the way. But Khorne was so impressed by this badassery/ pissed off by her death, he resurrected her as a fucking Daemon Princess. Now she flies around the battlefields of the world slaughtering anything that looks at her funny and bearing Norsemen to the Khorne's place for a glorious afterlife of fighting and drinking. She is also far more attractive than anything of Slaanesh's menagerie, much to the Prince of Pleasure's eternal rage and the Bloodfather's great amusement, primarily due to having hair.

* Garmr Hrodvitnir: Aka Billy Squigins, A Chaos Lord of Khorne who managed to almost kill Gotrek Fucking Gurnisson in a fight. 'Nuff said.

* Hrothgar Daemonaxe: A Chaos Lord who only had his rules and miniatures released at a Games Day. He had the statline of a Bloodthirster. His miniature also depicts him throttling an elf, which makes him a good person.

* Arbaal the Undefeated: Nicknamed 'Arbaal the Easily Defeatable' due to his rules from Champions of Chaos having been shockingly awful. Arbaal's been effectively retcon'd out of existence under the excuse that he's journeyed into the Realm of Chaos to challenge Khorne himself to a fight. Good luck with that.

* Scyla Anfingrimm: The greatest You-Know-What ever to walk the earth. Scyla was a Chaos Lord of Khorne who got one too many mutations before his time and devolved into a YKW. But he's the most badass YKW ever, and is a leadership 10 general. Which is impressive considering the only thing he can say is "'''KILL FOR KHORNE! KILL FOR KHORNE! KILL FOR KHORNE!'''".

* Chaos Lord Varmisgal: A Chaos Lord who's blood has turned to liquid bronze. He is responsible for the stalking brass bull of Nuln and the great raid into the Misty Mountains... it is also alleged he ate his own penis.

* Valmir Aesling: A Norscan king and Champion of Khorne who destroyed the Norse Dwarf Hold of Kraka Drak. Managed to get a fucking Daemon Prince to work for him, slaughtered a metric fuck-ton of Norse Dwarfs (roughly 8 times the manliness of a regular Dwarf and thus worth 24 Space Wolves). [[Awesome|Also rode a motherfucking chariot pulled by skinless bears]].

* Egil Styrbjorn: A Norscan High Yarl of the Skaeligs and probably the greatest epitome of manliness a Chaos Warrior devoted to Khorne can achieve. He slew a lot and took names, kicked Bretonnian arses, sexed many women yet never got a proper heir (only daughters). It was so bad for him that he adopted a boy that became later his personal shamanistic seer and advisor...that is until he banged a Kurgan Sorceress that was prophesied by said shaman to bear Egil's son, yet the damned cheese eating surrender monkeys took her and his unborn son away, which he answered them with apocalyptic RAAAAAGE and titanic slaughter (added that said Sorceress wanted to sacrifice the unborn child for immortality actually made this a good situation). And thus there was an epic campaign to retrieve the boy. Wields two badass flaming axes called Garmr and Gormr. Really dislikes the Lady of the Lake and other Southerner gods. So manly he is that he let a Grail Knight stab him only to throw back his sword to him. Also known for embodying Khorne's tactical take on war, which he mercilessly used against the Bretonnian Knights that stubbornly charged his warriors head on (until said knights realized that they were duped and slaughtered in seconds).

==Fun Khorne Facts==
* Interestingly the word "Khorne" in Ancient Cypriot Greek literally means to "Shit Blood". Kh' - "To force outward", ORN - "Back passage", Ee - "Blood".
*A possible factor in Khorne's birth was the Aztecs, who basically worshipped the guy (Hint: BLOOD SACRIFICE) and might have chucked him into existence along with the Mongols.
*Doombreed, Khorne's second daemon prince servant, might actually be Genghis Khan himself.
*Khorne's color scheme (red, brass and black) is almost the same as the German flag's and Soviet Russia's flag's color scheme (just replace brass with gold [and brass and gold are already fairly similar in colour]). Hitler and Stalin were allies of convenience and then turned on each other in WW2, remember "(he) cares not from whence the blood flows..."
*Khorne's looking for ways to incorporate dinosaurs into his armies, due to the sheer amount of [[RIP AND TEAR]] they can unleash on their enemies. He's unbelievably pissed that he hasn't managed to get any yet- '''{{Blam|YOU GAVE IT AWAY?!?!? FFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOUUUUUUUUUU}}'''
*Khorne <strike>secretly</strike> '''blatantly''' hates everyone who kills the defenceless in his name. He'd plot ways to kill them, but he's too mad to do that. (So what else is new?)
*Khorne was just able to stand watching Jurassic World once it got going due to the Indominus Rex and how it made everything else look like faggots. He raged when it died. He's looking for its skull 'cause he wishes he could have it as one of his servants- *sounds of swords and blood* '''{{Blam|FAGGOT!}}''' (Why couldn't Khorne just seek the skull of the Mosasaurus that killed it? Or Rexie, T-rex is classic, I hear you say.) To that, I answer that coz without the Mosasaurus then Rex would'a DIED.
*Khorne is unsure whether or not he hates [[Cultist-chan]], due to a) the fact that she can't do anything except scream about 'kap-tooring eet for kay-oss' and get purged and b) the fact that she's so good at spreading [[RAEG]] amongst various unlucky meatsacks and fa/tg/uys. And that indecisiveness makes him foam at the mouth in anger.
*Khorne practically invented flipping the table when you lose at card games, or it goes too slowly. He does this whenever the major Warp entities play cards in the Formless Wastes.
*Followers of Khorne actually have the ability to pull off [[LIIVI]]/[[Eldrad]] level dick-style moves in battle. They just choose not to do this.
*Khorne wanted [[Settra the Imperishable]] as one of his servants once. However, Settra won't ever serve Khorne, even going so far as to give ALL OF CHAOS the '''motherfucking middle finger''' before going off to hunt down [[Nagash]]. That said, Settra may well be one of the few mortal beings besides his own servants Khorne has any respect for. He still hates Settra though.
*Slaanesh once created some Kayos Spess Mehreens with his/her colour scheme, but with armour nicked off fallen Khornate warriors. And when Khorne saw this, '''his wrath was legendary'''.
*Slaanesh and Khorne also have regular 'plans' on Friday night- *sounds of something even bigger than a [[Bloodthirster]] coming through and much ripping and tearing* '''{{Blam|NO! YOU'RE LYING!}}'''
* [[Emperor|That Twat With The Chair]] and Khorne haven't '''SMACKED DOWN''' yet, but Khorne is secretly looking forward to it when it happens- he wants to test Spess Jaysis's might against his own. Tickets are now on sale!
*If an internet hyperlink comes up red, it's not because the page doesn't exist, it's because Khorne looked at what was once on the other end, and '''he didn't like what he saw''', so much so that the hyperlink is stained with the blood of what once was.
* Khorne's favorite form of grouping is in ogdoads, for reasons that should be obvious once you know what that word means.
* Khorne's favorite [[video game|vidja]] is [[Doom]]. For obvious reasons.
* If Khorne is acting calm towards you, don't relax. He doesn't like anything, he just hates some things less than others. There is such a thing as cold-hatred.

==Gallery==
{{promotions}}
<gallery>
Image:Khornate.JPG|Khorne's followers off the battlefield. REVERSE ARMWRESTLE!!!
Image:khornewaffel.JPG|Waffles for the Blood God!
Image:Khornetrainer.JPG|Khorne's trainers prefer violent Pokémon.
Image:khorneberserker.png|Would have been a somewhat adequate picture, had they taken the right photographs of the actual Berzerkers. Lulz.
Image:Khorne_tattoo.jpg|Mark of Khorne.
Image:Free like a riding demon by Ragathol.jpg|Khornette.
Image:Backwardsthrone.jpg|Just as Planned. Always. As. Planned.
File:Khornette.jpg|Khorne wants to know why the drawfags never give them noses.
File:Tea Time.jpg|In the grim darkness of the far future, there is still time for tea...
File:Khorne-Art.jpg|Warriors of Chaos: making everything in 40K look like bitches since 2002.
Image:You're_madder_than_Khorne.png|There '''is''' such a thing as being too mad for Khorne!
Image:Khorneholiover2.png |The Great Khorneholio. He needs blood and skulls for his bunghole.
Image:Khorne-and-Slaanesh.jpg|Nine months later Khaine was born...
Image:Anon_pleases_Khorne.png|Anon begins his trail to becoming a Khorne Berserker.
Image:Khorne Flakes.jpg|The tastiest of all! Add blood for more flavor.
</gallery>

==See also==

*[[Brass]]
*[[Berserker]] - Chaos Space Marines with Axes and a bad attitude.
*[[Angron]] - Daemon prince of Khorne and the Primarch of World Eaters.
*[[World Eaters]]
*[[Khârn|Khârn the Betrayer]] - A pretty fun guy to be around.
*[[Valkia the Bloody]] - Scarousal in it's purest form.
*[[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Khorne_Daemonkin(7E)|Tactics/Khorne Daemonkin]] - That's right, meatsacks! The servants of Khorne have their own codex!
*[[Rage]]
*[[Sorcerers of Khorne]] - Double heresy!
*[[Doombreed]] - One angry son of a bitch.
* This pretty much sums up his forces: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-gSJW3sHXE&feature=channel_video_title
*[[Katanas_are_Underpowered_in_d20#Khorne_is_underpowered_in_40k|Khorne is underpowered in 40k]]
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vljHBXA3UKE - death metal song devoted to Khorne.
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8mEOiI4pjs - trash metal song summing up Khorne pretty well.
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUB9QGKCNmI - a bunch of anime Khorne worshippers. Better than it sounds.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8mEOiI4pjs - another metal song devoted to Khorne. GW actually commissioned this one. Yes, they really were that awesome back in the day.

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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Age of Sigmar]]