Chapter III - New Talents

“All of thy abilities come through the grace of the Emperor, and know that their use reflects
back upon Him. Do not disappoint the saviour of all humanity.”

– Morticator Siobhan Reichmyn, training an assistant

Tier 1 Talents
All Out Attack
Tier: 1
Activation: Active (Action)
Ranked: Yes
When making a melee combat check, you may add a number of b to the check up to your
ranks in All Out Attack. Until the beginning of your next turn, adversaries add an equal
number of b when making an attack against you.

Black Market Contacts

Tier: 1
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: Yes
When purchasing illegal goods, you may reduce the item’s rarity by 1 per rank of Black Market
Contacts, increasing cost by 50 percent of base cost per reduction.

Deadeye Shot
Tier: 1
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Your character does not add any b to their combat checks due to use of the Aim maneuver.

Disturbing Voice
Tier: 1
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Your character adds b to all Coercion checks when using their voice, but adds b to all social
interaction checks when dealing with persons likely to be put off by the character’s disturbing
cadence.

Mimic
Tier: 1
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
Your character adds b per rank of Mimic to all Deception checks made to imitate the voice of
another person.

Physician
Tier: 1
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
When making a Medicine check to help a character
recover from wounds, the target heals 1 additional
strain per rank of Physician.

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Chapter III - New Talents Rapid Recovery
Tier: 1
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
When healing strain after an encounter, heal 1 additional strain per rank of Rapid Recovery.

Second Wind
Tier: 1
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
Once per encounter, your character may use this talent to heal an amount of strain equal to
their ranks in Second Wind.

Tier 2 Talents
Ambassador Imperialis
Tier: 2
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
Your character removes one b per rank of Ambassador Imperialis from social interaction
checks to interact with Xenos.

Archivator
Tier: 2
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
When making a Forbidden Lore or Scholastic lore skill check utilising sources of recorded
information such as cogitators, tomes or data-slates, your character can re-roll a failed check
once per session.

Berserk Charge
Tier: 2
Activation: Active (Action)
Ranked: Yes
When making a melee attack after moving straight towards your target, you may suffer a
number of strain up to ranks in Berserk Charge. For each point of strain suffered in this way,
add +1 to the attack’s damage.

Binary Chatter
Tier: 2
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
Your character grants b per rank of Binary
Chatter to any tasks he directs a servitor to
perform.

Blooded
Tier: 2
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
Add b per rank of Blooded to all checks to
resist or recover from poisons, venoms, or toxins.
Reduce duration of ongoing poisons by 1 round
per rank of Blooded, to a minimum of 1.

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Body Guard
Tier: 2
Activation: Active (Maneuver)
Ranked: Yes
Once per round, perform the Body Guard maneuver to guard an engaged character. Suffer a
number of strain no greater than ranks of Body Guard, then until the beginning of the next
turn upgrade the difficulty of combat checks targeting the character by the number of strain
suffered.

Bulging Biceps
Tier: 2
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
Reduce any wielded weapon’s Cumbersome quality and Encumbrance rating by a number equal
to ranks in Bulging Biceps, to a minimum of 1.
Corpus Conversion
Tier: 2
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
When making a psychic power check, you may suffer 2 wounds per rank of Corpus Conversion.
For each 2 wounds suffered in this way, add s or aa to the results of the check.
Deceptive Taunt
Tier: 2
Activation: Active (Action)
Ranked: No
Once per encounter, your character may make a Deceptive Taunt action. Your character makes
an opposed Deception check targeting one NPC within medium range. If you succeed, the NPC
must attack you during its next turn. If the NPC cannot do so, it must spend all subsequent
turns maneuvering into position until it can make a melee or ranged attack against your
character. Once it has made a melee or ranged attack against your character, the adversary is no
longer affected by Deceptive Taunt. If your character is incapacitated or leaves the encounter,
the adversary is no longer affected by Deceptive Taunt. Certain targets, such as daemons or
unintelligent beasts, may be immune to this talent at the GM’s discretion.
If used outside of combat, at the GM’s discretion the adversary can choose to perform a non-
lethal attack if the situation warrants it. If the encounter takes place at a ball, for example, the
NPC may choose to punch the character rather than using a weapon.
Emperor’s Blessing
Tier: 2
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
Once per session, your character may add bb to any one skill check.

Flagellant
Tier: 2
Activation: Active (Ten minutes or more)
Ranked: Yes
If your character spends ten minutes or more ritually inflicting pain on themselves, they may
reduce their wound threshold by 1 a number of times equal to ranks in Flagellant. For each
point their wound threshold is reduced in this way, they add b to all Corruption checks and
checks to resist mind altering psychic/warp effects.

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Chapter III - New Talents Hardened Soul
Tier: 2
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
Whenever your character would gain Corruption, they may ignore the Corruption gain. If they
do so, they immediately gain an Easy (d) severity mental trauma.

Heightened Senses
Tier: 2
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
When you gain this Talent, select one of the five senses. All Perception and Vigilance checks
involving this sense add b. This talent may be purchased multiple times, selecting a new sense
each time.

Quickdraw (Improved)
Tier: 2
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Your character must have purchased the Quick Draw Talent to benefit from this talent. You may
use Quick Draw twice per round. This also allows you to reduce the prepare rating of a weapon
by 2, to a minimum of 1.

Resist Disarm
Tier: 2
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
If your character would be disarmed or their weapon would be damaged or destroyed, you may
choose to suffer 2 strain to ignore the effect.

Shortcut
Tier: 2
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
During a chase, your character adds b per rank of Shortcut to their checks made to catch or
escape an opponent.

Supporting Evidence
Tier: 2
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
When your character assists an ally with a Charm, Deception, Leadership, or Negotiation
check, that ally adds automatic a to the results of the check per rank of Scholastic Lore.

Witch Finder
Tier: 2
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
You can use Psyniscience (see page 76 of Dark Heresy) even if your character has no psychic
abilities. Any test made to detect, track or otherwise locate psykers adds b per rank of Witch
Finder.

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Tier 3 Talents
Ambush
Tier: 3
Activation: Active (Maneuver)
Ranked: No
Once per round while benefiting from cover, your character may perform the Ambush
maneuver. Your may add additional damage equal to your ranks in Stealth to one hit of the next
successful combat check you make against a target within short range before the end of your
turn.

Armour of Faith
Tier: 3
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
Immediately after being hit by a successful combat check but before damage is calculated, you
may spend one Story Point to increase your character’s soak by a number equal to their ranks in
Discipline.

Berserk Charge (Improved)

Tier: 3
Activation: Active (Action)
Ranked: No
Your character must have purchased the Berserk Charge talent to benefit from this talent. When
spending strain to activate Berserk Charge, your attacks gain the Knockdown quality.

Binary Chatter (Improved)

Tier: 3
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
Your character must have purchased the Binary Chatter talent to benefit from this talent. When
your character directs a servitor to assist any character with a check, that servitor provides an
additional b to the check for which it is assisting (beyond the usual benefits of assistance).

Body Guard (Improved)

Tier: 3
Activation: Active (Maneuver)
Ranked: Yes
Your character must have purchased the Body Guard talent to benefit
from this talent. Once per session, when an ally protected by your
character’s Body Guard maneuver would suffer a hit from a combat
check, you mat choose to suffer that hit instead of the ally.

Bulwark of Faith
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
When your character passes a Fear check caused by a
Daemon, the Daemon suffers 1 strain ignoring soak
for each s on the Fear check.

Cleanse and Purify

Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Attack checks made with flamer weapons
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Chapter III - New Talents decrease their difficulty once (to a minimum of Easy (d)).

Combat Master
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
When you are engaged by three or more adversaries, your melee defence increases by 1.

Daemonologist
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
Only psykers may benefit from this talent. When your character makes a psychic power check
targeting a Daemon, add b for each rank of Daemonologist.

Dark Soul
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
When rolling on the Malignancy table with a modifier, reduce that modifier by half, rounding
up.

Double Team
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
When you and an ally are both engaged in melee combat with an enemy, add b to all melee
combat checks targeting that enemy. If your ally also has the Double Team talent, add bb
instead.
Encoded Communique
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Upgrade the difficulty of checks to decrypt your character’s coded messages without the proper
cipher a number of times equal to your character’s ranks in Scholastic Lore.

Feint
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: Yes
Upon missing an opponent with a Melee combat check, your character may spend t or aaa
to upgrade the difficulty of the opponent’s next combat check targeting your character during
this encounter by your ranks in Feint.

Hardy
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Medicine or Biomancy checks made to heal you reduce their difficulty once, to a minimum of
Easy (d).

Purity of Hatred
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
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Your character must have purchased the Hatred talent to benefit from this talent. When you
gain this talent, select a target group for which your character possesses the Hatred talent.
When making attacks against a target that belongs to this group, your attacks gain Vicious 2, or
increase their existing Vicious quality by 2. You may spend a Story Point to reduce the attack’s
crit rating by 1 (to a minimum of 1). You may purchase this talent multiple times, selecting a
new target group each time.

Reconstruct the Scene

Tier: 3
Activation: Active (Action)
Ranked: No
Once per session, your character may perform the Reconstruct the Scene action. The character
makes a Hard (ddd) Perception check when present at a single crime scene (or similar
location). If the character succeeds, they identify all prominent physical characteristics of
one person who was at the crime scene in the last 24 hours per s. Trying to identify the
characteristics of individuals who were present at the crime scene longer than 24 hours ago is
sometimes possible, but increases the difficulty to Daunting (dddd).

Rites of Banishment
Tier: 3
Activation: Active (Maneuver)
Ranked: Yes
Once per round your character may perform the Rites of Banishment maneuver. Until the
beginning of your next turn, Daemons within Medium range add b to Willpower checks equal
to ranks in Rites of Banishment.

Shortcut (Improved)
Tier: 3
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
Your character must have purchased the
Shortcut talent to benefit from this talent.
When engaging in a chase or race, your
character may suffer two strain to add s
equal to ranks in Shortcut to the check.

Unshakeable Faith
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Once per session, you may reroll a failed
Fear check.

Xeno-anatomist
Tier: 3
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Your character must have purchased the
Specialist Knowledge talent to benefit
from this talent. Your attacks reduce their
critical rating by 1 (to a minimum of 1)
against xenos creatures for which you have
a relevant Specialist Knowledge talent.

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Chapter III - New Talents Tier 4 Talents
Body Guard (Supreme)
Tier: 4
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Your character must have purchased the Body Guard (Improved) talent to benefit from this
talent. When your character uses the Body Guard maneuver, they may protect a number of
engaged characters up to your ranks in Resilience instead of just one.

Commanding Presence
Tier: 4
Activation: Active (Action)
Ranked: No
Once per session, your character can take the Commanding Presence action to choose a target
minion, minion group, or rival and make a Leadership check opposed by the target’s Discipline.
If the check is successful, the target adversary or group removes itself from the encounter for
the duration of the encounter. The target will not attack or otherwise engage the PCs, nor
perform any hostile or overt action. However, it will defend itself if attacked. Attacking the
target ends the effect.
The Commanding Presence action can be used in narrative encounters. The specific details of
its effect are at the DM’s discretion, but could include commanding a guard to let the PCs pass
or causing political opponents to remove themselves from a debate.

Discredit
Tier: 4
Activation: Active (Action)
Ranked: No
Once per encounter, your character may take the Discredit action by making a Hard (ddd)
Deception check. If you succeed, one chosen character upgrades the difficulty of all social
checks once, and one additional time for every aa on the Deception check, until the end of
the encounter.

Independent Targeting
Tier: 4
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
After a successful combined check with two Ranged (Light) weapons, additional hits can be
allocated to other targets within range of the weapon.

Instrument of His Will

Tier: 4
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
After making a successful attack against a Daemon
(including attacks made using psychic powers),
your may spend a Story Point to inflict a number of
wounds on the Daemon equal to your Willpower. This
damage bypasses soak, including soak provided by the
Daemonic trait.

Lightning Reflexes
Tier: 4
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
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Once per session when making an initiative roll, you may suffer 2 strain to add a number of s
equal to your Agility to the roll.

Litany of Hate (Improved)

Tier: 4
Activation: Active (Action)
Ranked: No
Your character must have purchased the Litany of Hate talent to benefit from this talent. When
your character performs the Litany of Hate action, they may affect a number of targets equal to
ten times their Presence. Easily manipulable targets such as Imperial citizens will be whipped
into a religious frenzy, devolving into an angry mob with the slightest provocation.

Rain of Death
Tier: 4
Activation: Active (Maneuver)
Ranked: No
Your character may perform the Rain of Death maneuver. If you do so, when you make an
attack in the same turn, you do not increase the difficulty of the attack due to the Auto-Fire
quality.

Researcher
Tier: 4
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
When your character makes a successful knowledge skill check to gain information, they and
their allies gain an automatic a per rank of Researcher to checks they make to act on that
knowledge until the end of your next turn.

Strength Through Conviction

Tier: 4
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
When your character gains a mental trauma, reduce the severity level once (to a minimum of
Easy (d)).

Thorough Assessment
Tier: 4
Activation: Active (Action)
Ranked: No
Once per session, your character may make a Hard (ddd) knowledge check (the GM and
player should determine which knowledge skill is most applicable in the given situation) to
perform the Thorough Assessment action. If you succeed, your character may add b to one
check that another character who could reasonably benefit from this information makes before
the end of the encounter. For every s beyond the first, you may add b to one additional check
this way. You cannot allocate more than b to any single check this way. At the end of the
encounter, any unused b are lost.

True Faith
Tier: 4
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Once per game session, as an out of turn incidental, the character may suffer two strain to turn
one GM Story Point into a Player Story Point (this cannot be used to interrupt the spending of
a Story Point).

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Chapter III - New Talents Wall of Steel
Tier: 4
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Your character must have purchased the Parry talent to benefit from this talent. When an ally
engaged with your character suffers a hit from a melee combat check, your character may use a
Parry incidental to reduce the damage the hit deals (even though you are not the target of the
combat check).

Tier 5 Talents
Aegis of Contempt
Tier: 5
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Your character must have purchased the Armour of Contempt talent to benefit from this talent.
Whenever an ally within Short range would gain Corruption, reduce the amount by 1, to a
minimum of 1. Additionally, they may spend a Story Point to instead reduce the amount by 4.

Baleful Gaze
Tier: 5
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
When targeted by a combat check made by an enemy within medium range, your character
may spend a Story Point to upgrade the difficulty of the check a number of times equal to your
ranks in Coercion.

Binary Chatter (Supreme)

Tier: 5
Activation: Active (Maneuver)
Ranked: No
Your character must have purchased the Binary Chatter (Improved) talent to benefit from this
talent. Once per encounter, your character may perform the Binary Chatter maneuver, choosing
one skill. Until the beginning of your next turn, a number of non-minion servitors up to your
ranks in Binary Chatter may use your character’s ranks in the chosen skill (rather than their
own ranks in that skill).

Coordination Dodge
Tier: 5
Activation: Active (Incidental)
Ranked: No
When targeted by a combat check, your character may spend a Story Point to add f equal to
your ranks in Coordination to the check.

Intense Focus
Tier: 5
Activation: Active (Maneuver)
Ranked: No
Before making a skill check, you may perform the Intense Focus maneuver. Your character
suffers 1 strain and upgrades the ability of the skill check once.

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