# Non-Scholastica Psykana Psykers?



## goldenhorde (Dec 21, 2011)

The Scholastica Psykana supplies the "majority" of the Imperium's psykers. So, aside from Navigators, what are the other minority psykers? Specifically, would a feral world regiment be allowed to use native Psykers who do not come from the Telepathica?


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## Magpie_Oz (Jan 16, 2012)

Astropaths are another minority psyker but they are trained in the same place.

Generally the Psykers/Mystics in the Inquisitor retinues are "locally grown" , mainly because they haven't been flogged into submission by the Imperium so they can still play dirty pool.

So yeh sourcing local talent is quite likely if not a bit dangerous.


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## jonileth (Feb 1, 2012)

There are a vast number of unsanctioned psykers in the universe. It is entirely likely that a feral world would have shaman or the equivalent among them that could be tapped for service rather easily. Since most feral societies don't bear the same stigmas toward the psyker, they can be very potent indeed, and highly useful.


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

I would be willing to bet that the major exceptions to Imperial psykers who aren't trained by the Scholastica Psykana fall are:

1. Inquisitors who probably went through an even tougher training process.
2. Adeptus Astartes Librarians.


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## MEQinc (Dec 12, 2010)

goldenhorde said:


> Specifically, would a feral world regiment be allowed to use native Psykers who do not come from the Telepathica?


Not likely, at least as a full psyker. Although, as jonileth noted, feral societies might have less of a stigma towards shamans/seers/etc this will not change the Imperiums attitude. Such an untrained/unsanctioned psyker might exist on the feral world simply because such worlds often have a very small Imperial presence. However the Imperium takes a much heavier hand in recruiting, training and equipping regiments (obviously) so its likely that they will catch the majority of psykers in the influx. Now, it's possible that some minor (very, very minor) psykers might slip through but that's true of any regiment (and it's most likely that they won't be shamans because that group is likely to have the greatest scrutiny placed on it).


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## goldenhorde (Dec 21, 2011)

So, two followup questions
-when Ravenor & acolytes were at the agriworld that raises livestock auctioning, the very primitive Governor had a "warlock" to enforce a ban on offworlders bringing psykers for a negotiating edge. Would that "warlock" be a Scholastica trained one or at least a Sanctioned Psyker?

-would the Scholastica establish some kind of branch school on a feral world, to produce Sanctioned Psykers that are still recognizably from that world? Perhaps with Black Ships bringing psykers from systems in the same region?


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## Ardias26 (Sep 26, 2008)

I like to think that the scholastica merely trains and places the 'standard' safguards on psykers before transferring them over to other organisations that use them. Its very likely that since most imperial governance occurs on a sector level that each sector has its own local scolastica (probably the same with other imperial organisations too) with its own black ships etc. Of course segmantum capitals and terra itself would always be able to override any desicions they made.


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## Over Two Meters Tall! (Nov 1, 2010)

In the inestimable Dan Abnett's novels, the vast majority of psychers are actually fed to the Astronomican directly from the Black Ships. The 'Warlock' almost certainly wasn't a Scholastica-trained psycher although the book never makes a distinction or discussion of the matter. I've also never heard of any Segmentum-level schools for psychers outside of the individual Astares chapters and I doubt the various Imperial institutions would allow any to be formed as a possible threat to their hegemony.

You could probably make an interesting story about a Black Ship running from Chaos that gets stranded on a feral world and over time grows an unsanctioned training/breeding program.


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## goldenhorde (Dec 21, 2011)

@Ardias26

Thanks, makes a lot of sense that there would be lots of local Scholastica Psykana facilities scattered around rather than risk putting everyone on Terra or a few 'psyker planets' ... but with Terra and other important facilities still getting first pick of promising psykers or those earmarked for the Astronomican.


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

goldenhorde said:


> So, two followup questions
> -when Ravenor & acolytes were at the agriworld that raises livestock auctioning, the very primitive Governor had a "warlock" to enforce a ban on offworlders bringing psykers for a negotiating edge. Would that "warlock" be a Scholastica trained one or at least a Sanctioned Psyker?
> 
> -would the Scholastica establish some kind of branch school on a feral world, to produce Sanctioned Psykers that are still recognizably from that world? Perhaps with Black Ships bringing psykers from systems in the same region?


The world in question was on the edge of Imperial space. The blackships probably rarely go out that far and he probably slipped between the cracks if they even bothered to go out there.



Over Two Meters Tall! said:


> You could probably make an interesting story about a Black Ship running from Chaos that gets stranded on a feral world and over time grows an unsanctioned training/breeding program.


I don't think they'd start a training program. The blackships merely pick up and contain the psykers. If the psykers prove too hazardous the people manning the blackships will kill the psyker (like the Alpha+ psykers in Eisenhorn).

They know precisely how dangerous an untrained psyker can be. They'd be amongst the last people I'd imagine risking to use untrained psykers.



Phoebus said:


> I would be willing to bet that the major exceptions to Imperial psykers who aren't trained by the Scholastica Psykana fall are:
> 
> 1. Inquisitors who probably went through an even tougher training process.
> 2. Adeptus Astartes Librarians.


From the Dark Heresy roleplaying rule book, it mentions that occasionally the Inquisition will take psykers directly from the Scholastica Psykana and see if they have what it takes to become an Inquisitor. 

The Inquisitors or Inquisitor's acolytes that are found to possess psychic potential later on are (if I recall correctly) sent to the Scholastica Psykana. Their training can be rushed or...embellished by Inquisitional influence. 

_Some_ Space Marine Chapters recruit their librarians directly from the Scholastica Psykana, from the Deathwatch rule book.



jonileth said:


> There are a vast number of unsanctioned psykers in the universe. It is entirely likely that a feral world would have shaman or the equivalent among them that could be tapped for service rather easily. Since most feral societies don't bear the same stigmas toward the psyker, they can be very potent indeed, and highly useful.


I'd like to think the minority of cultures accept unsanctioned psykers.

Keep in mind part of what made Old Night so dangerous--the rapidly growing populations of untrained psykers and all the nastiness, namely daemonic possession, that comes with it.

Those that accepted untrained psykers probably died out one way or another. Those that fear the psyker had a better survival chance.

Social Darwinism would lead us to believe that psyker-tolerant societies would die out quickly.


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## thebinman (Jun 18, 2010)

Isnt the elephant in the room the soul binding that Scholastica members undertake? I may be wrong but I presume that blinds 99.999% of its participants and that any non blind psyker is non Scholastica? 

By the way, I never liked the way in the Eisenhorn novels alpha plus were literally too dangerous to live...can remember a short story I read years ago on a alpha plus child that was rescued from kidnapping by a chaos titan by - I think - Dark Angles. Good story, suggests that with a little training you could contain and then work to master your powers.


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## goldenhorde (Dec 21, 2011)

I might be mistaken, but isn't soul binding only for Astropaths?


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## MEQinc (Dec 12, 2010)

hailene said:


> Those that accepted untrained psykers probably died out one way or another. Those that fear the psyker had a better survival chance.


Psykers can offer lots of benefits to a primitive culture though. This is the reason why witch-doctors and shamans and such were pretty common across human history. Further, saying that a culture doesn't have the same stigma towards psykers as the bulk of the Imperium doesn't mean they wouldn't kill a psyker who seemed dangerous. It just means they wouldn't automatically kill even a minor psyker.


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

MEQinc said:


> Psykers can offer lots of benefits to a primitive culture though. This is the reason why witch-doctors and shamans and such were pretty common across human history. Further, saying that a culture doesn't have the same stigma towards psykers as the bulk of the Imperium doesn't mean they wouldn't kill a psyker who seemed dangerous. It just means they wouldn't automatically kill even a minor psyker.


Perhaps in the short run. Maybe a generation or two.

But in the long run? Over hundreds, thousands of years? Daemonic possession is inevitable. There are no safe, untrained psykers. Merely time bombs waiting to explode.


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