Basics of Warpcraft

Source of Psychic Power: The Warp

In the universe of Warhammer 40,000, psykers, daemons, sorcerers, and even faith-workers draw their power—whether knowingly or not—from a vast, churning dimension beyond reality: the Warp.

The Warp—also known as the Immaterium—is a chaotic, ever-shifting realm of raw emotion, thought, and spiritual resonance. It exists parallel to the material universe and mirrors the psychic pressure of all sentient life. Within it, the boundaries between time, space, and identity collapse. It is both a source of incredible power and unspeakable horror.

Psykers and Daemons

Psykers are humans or xenos born with a natural connection to the Warp. They can channel its energy to manipulate the material world with will and practice—projecting fire, tearing minds, healing bodies, or warping physical laws. Every use of psychic power is dangerous: the Warp is sentient, treacherous, and ever hungry.

Daemons, in contrast, are native entities of the Warp. They are sentient constructs of emotion—wrath, desire, despair, ambition—given shape by collective belief. They do not channel the Warp; they are the Warp. Their very presence distorts reality. To them, the physical realm is an illusion, a place to be twisted or destroyed.

Sorcerers

Sorcerers are practitioners of esoteric or forbidden warp manipulation—those who wield power through deliberate study of occult lore, dark pacts, or arcane formulae. Unlike natural psykers, who draw Warp energy through instinct, sorcerers bind and shape it through ritual and knowledge. Many walk the thin line between mastery and damnation.

Though their power may mirror that of sanctioned psykers, sorcerers rely on externalized warp essence, daemon-bound tomes, sacrificial focus objects, or ancient symbology. Their connection to the Warp is often academical, but sometimes more volatile—and more likely to attract the interest of the Inquisirion.

Faith-Workers

In contrast to psykers or sorcerers, faith-workers—such as saints, miracle-performing clergy or Adeptus Sororitas—draw power not through direct Warp manipulation, but through pure, focused devotion. Their acts are guided by faith, and empowered by the collective psychic resonance of billions who share their belief.

Though faith-workers are not awakened psykers, the effects they produce—spontaneous healing, divine fire, blessings, wards against daemons— manifest as miracles indistinguishable from psychic phenomena. In truth, such miracles are channeled through the Warp, shaped not by will, but by unshakable faith.

For them, power flows not from domination of the Warp, but from becoming a conduit of belief—a living vector between the God-Emperor’s will and kneeling masses.

Aspect	Psychic Projection	Sorcery	Daemonic Malediction	Faith-Based Miracle
Power Source	Warp (internal and external)	Warp (external)	Warp (via daemon’s might)	Pure Devotion, The God-Emperor construct (via belief), Relics
Control	Self-discipline	Arcane formulae	Instinctive	Based on purity & faith
Corruption Risk	Medium – High	Minimal – Very High	High	Minimal
Training	Innate talent + focus	Study of occult lore	Increasing might	Devotion + Testimonials
Alignment	Heretical, indifferent or Imperial	Heretical, indifferent or Imperial	Heretical	Imperial

Power and Peril

Warpcraft wielders manipulate reality by shaping Warp energy into effect by training, will and knowledge. This allows them to bend physical laws, invade minds, or alter matter and space. But those who reach too deeply may become conduits for daemonic possession, madness, soul-shattering death or God-emperor’s scorn.

Limits of Warpcraft

The Limit of the Soul
Warpcraft cannot create the soul.

The Limit of Arcane Connection
To affect something at a distance beyond a view, requires an arcane connection — a tangible link to the target.

The Limit of Time
Warpcraft cannot affect the past or the future.

The Limit of the Void
Warpcraft cannot function beyond a certain distance. During void combat, even if target is visible, Psykers can reach out to the void up to distance of Psy Rating + WB void units.

The Limit of Aging
Warpcraft can slow, disguise, reverse or halt aging and extend life, but true age is always applied when the required power level for the next life extension is calculated.

The Limit of Creation
Warpcraft cannot create something from nothing on a permanent basis without the use of Warp Essence. Instant creation is possible (a burst of flame) , but permanent creation (a perpetual flame) requires a ritual.

The Limit of Warping
Warpcraft cannot remove Corruption or Insanity

The Limit of Energy
Warpcraft cannot create enduring, self-sustaining sources of energy or power without Warp Essence. Warpcraft must either manipulate existing energy or use Warp Essence for lasting effects. Perpetual motion, infinite light, or unending fire are beyond its reach without Warp Essence or natural input.

The Limit of Knowledge
Warpcraft does not guarantee absolute truth. Unnatural inquiry can return misleading or partial answers, especially where knowledge is hidden or obscured.

Using Powers: Warpcraft Structure

Every psychic power is built from:

[Technique] + [Form]

This forms the basis for improvisation, power creation, and narrative adjudication.

Examples:

Create Force – Summon a Warp lightning blast or kinetic wave.
Know Mind – Read surface thoughts or locate a psyker.
Control Warp – Suppress a daemon or shape raw Warp energy into a ritual.
Destroy Flesh – Rot a body, melt a face, or collapse a lung.
Create Matter – Shape cover from battlefield debris or conjure barriers of bone.

Techniques – The Mode of Psychic Action

These represent what the wielder of warpcraft does with the power of the Warp.

Technique	Description	Equivalent in Ars Magica and Mage: The Ascension
Create	Conjures or enhances something — heals, generates, or strengthens.	Creo
Control	Moves, transforms, manipulates, or restrains the target.	Rego + Muto
Know	Reveals information — perceives, detects, or understands.	Intellego
Destroy	Damages, weakens, erases, or breaks things.	Perdo, Entropy

Forms – The Target or Substance of Warp Power

These define what is being affected by the warpcraft manifestation.

Form	Description	Equivalents in Ars Magica/Mage: The Ascension
Life	Living matter: plants, animals, humans, xenos.	Corpus + Animal + Herbam, Life
Matter	Physical reality: gas, liquids, solids.	Terram ´+ Aquam + Auram, Matter
Forces	Energies: fire, electricity, plasma, gravity, kinetic force, light, sound, entropy.	Ignem + Auram, Forces
Mind	Thought, emotion, memory, fear, instinct, will.	Mentem + Imaginem, Mind, Spirit
Warp	The Immaterium itself: daemons, psychic auras, corruption, soul, sorcery, countering powers, rituals.	Vim, Prime, Correspondence, Spirit, Entropy

Determining Technique and Form by End Result

In the Warpcraft system, the intended final effect of a psychic power determines the correct Technique + Form combination — not the method used to achieve it.

Rule: Outcome Over Method
If a psyker uses an indirect mechanism (e.g., warp-altered bacteria), the effect — not the tool — defines the power’s classification.

Example: Tech-Destroying Warp Bacteria

A psyker creates a ritual spreading warp-mutated bacteria that corrode and break down all machinery in a city.

What is created? Warp-bacteria (seemingly a Create Life effect)
What is the result? Destruction of machines, infrastructure, and devices

Correct classification:

Technique: Destroy
Form: Matter (representing solid material and technology — includes Earth, Stone, Metal, and artificial constructs)

Even though the bacteria are biologically themed, they function only as a vehicle for destruction, so the appropriate Form is Matter, not Life.

Warp Projection Dice Mechanics

When projecting psychic powers, you roll 1d10 to determine your success and Overbleed. This roll is not linear — it has two special conditions:

🔹 If the first result is `0`:

Treat it as a 0 and it automatically triggers a Psychic Phenomena check.
The power may still succeed (if your projection total is high enough), but the Warp may surge dangerously.

🔹 If the result is `1`:

Roll again.
If you roll 0 it is treated as 10 and it automatically triggers a Psychic Phenomena check.
Multiply the new result by 2 and use that as your die result.

❗️If the second roll is another 1:

Roll again, and multiply the next result by 3.

❗️If the third roll is also 1:

Roll again, and multiply the result by 4, and so on.

Examples

First roll: 0 → Count as 0 and roll on Psychic Phenomena.
First roll: 1 →
→ Second roll: 6
→ Final result = 6 × 2 = 12
First roll: 1
→ Second roll: 1
→ Third roll: 7
→ Final result = 7 × 3 = 21
First roll: 1
→ Second: 1
→ Third: 1
→ Fourth: 1
→ Fifth: 5
→ Final result = 5 × 5 = 25
First roll: 1
→ Second: 1
→ Third: 0 -> 10 and roll on Psychic Phenomena.
→ Final result: 10 x 3= 30

Design Intent

Simulates the unpredictability of the Warp — the die could surge with power or collapse into peril or both.
Emphasizes the danger-reward loop of psykers in 40K.
Allows extreme projection results, perfect for risky penetrations or powerful rituals.

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