+++The Adeptus Astra Telepathica+++

The Adeptus Astra Telepathica are commonly known as Astropaths - their role within the Imperium is one of communication. As the Imperium is so vast the only practical means of communication is by telepathy, and telepathy over interstellar distances can be achieved only by the Astropath.

Psykers are vigorously controlled by the Imperium, some may escape detection, but the vast majority are fated to serve the Imperium in one way or another. Many are given up to the Emperor as sustenance, whilst countless others are executed because they are too dangerous to live. The remainder are recruited into the imperial organisation in some way, but only a tiny proportion of the very best are judged strong enough to survive without some form of psychic protection. So psykers can be found throughout the Adeptus Terra, the Inquisition, the Legiones Astartes, the army and the fleet. However, over 90% of psykers in imperial service are members of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, known commonly as Astropaths. Astropaths are created from those psykers who have considerable powers, but who are not mentally strong enough to withstand the attentions of psychically attuned warp creatures. Were they simply allowed to develop without interference they would quickly find themselves in serious trouble, endangering the rest of humanity as well as themselves. However, the Imperium has a use for them. An Astropath is an Astro-telepath, an individual capable of communicating with others of his kind over vast interstellar distances. In the Age of the Imperium, where worlds are light-years apart, this is the only practical means of communication. For this reason the network of Astropaths is very important to the Imperium, and every spacecraft, research station, outpost, etc, has its own Astropath. Even small planets need hundreds of these useful servants, while large worlds may have thousands and Earth itself is home to tens of thousands.

All Astropaths undergo a special process which moulds their powers and at the same time strengthens them against pyschic danger. This is called the soul-binding ritual and only the Emperor has the power to perform it. It takes place in the great palace, where the psykers are led before the Emperor one hundred at a time. Knelt before the Emperor they must endure several hours of agony whilst the Emperor uses his powers to reshape their minds - mingling a little of his immeasurable power with their own. Unfortunately, the Emperor's mind is so powerful that not all candidates survive the ritual. Some are driven insane, and all have their personalities altered to some extent. The raw energy of the Emperor's will also has another effect, so powerful are the forces involved that many of the more delicate nerves can be damaged, especially the optic nerves. Consequently all Astropaths are blind, whilst many may also lack any sense of smell, touch or hearing.

SPECIAL:

1 An Astropath is psychically strengthened to withstand the attentions of warp creatures. Most of the psychically parasitic reatures can only warp into normal space through a non-protected psyker. This is indicated in the creature's description. Astropaths are psychically protected and thus cannot be utilised by creatures in warp space. They can, however, still be harmed by psychic attacks made from normal space.

2 Astropaths are blind but have a form of near-sense which allows them to sense normally visible objects within 20 metres. Up to this distance they may shoot, fight etc. normally.

Organisation
The Adeptus Astra Telepathica is a vast organisation whose central administrative core is based upon Earth. It exists purely to serve the needs of the Imperium, its leaders have no task to perform other than ensuring the network operates as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Because of their very nature, Astropaths often work in cooperation with the other branches of the Adeptus Terra, the Inquisition, fleet, army and Imperial Commanders. Every priesthood temple would have its own staff of Astropaths, relaying and receiving the messages of their masters, gathering and disseminating information throughout the galaxy.

Equipment
Astropaths carry no equipment as a rule - their ability to use most types of equipment is hindered by the fact that they are blind, but they do carry a long white stick or staff. One of the abilities gained during the soid-binding is near sense - an awareness that allows the Astropath to detect nearby objects, to sense (if not exactly see) the world about him. Some Astropaths have mechanical eyes connected directly into their brains, but this is not common - few Astropaths have the money or influence to restore their sight.

Uniforms
Astropaths wear a hooded robe or habit, belted at the waist. Personal possessions are kept in a sling bag, often omamented with religious motifs. The colour adopted by Astropaths as a symbol of their status is green, although a robe will often incorporate several shades of the colour, ranging from pale near-grey to almost black. Astropath Abilites. Astropaths have psychic abilities in exactly the same way as other psykers. In addition they have between 1 and 5 other abilities conferred during the soul-binding. Astropadis always have the Astrotelepathy ability with a 50% chance of having 1-4 other abilities as shown on the following chart. Note that many of these abilities relate to spacecraft and warp travel. They are given here toillustrate the sort of powers available to these powerful psykers.

Astrotelepathy
This is an extremely long-range telepathy that permits Astropaths to receive and transmit messages over distances up to 50 thousand light years. The use of this ability is successful only 50% of the time. Messagess are often distorted or lost.

Locate Warp Gate/Portal
This ability allows the Astropath to locate the position of any warp gate/portal within 10 light years. Within warp space this ability can be used to locate warp portals through to real space 10% of the time. Otherwise the ability is always successful, assuming a gate/portal is present.

Psychic Beacon
An Astropath with this ability is able to broadcast a psychic beacon similar to the Astronomican but far less powerful. The range of the signal is a 10 light year radius around the position of the Astropath. Within this sphere of space a Navigator can guide a ship even without access to the Astronomican, beyond the galaxy for example. The ability cannot be used from inside warp space, so an Astropadi on board a spacecraft is unable to provide a signal (although if two ships were making alternate jumps it would be possible for each to derive coordinates from the other).

Warp Space Trail
This ability allows an Astropath to place a psychic homer into the mind of a member of a spacecraft crew. It doesn't matter which crewman is affected, the victim wouldn't even be aware of his predicament. The homer can only be placed from a short distance away (up to 1000 kilometres in clear space, but as little as 10 kilometres in a busy spaceport). Once placed the homer lasts for 5-10 days and its signal can be detected within 1000 kilometres by the Astropath. If during this time the ship makes a warp jump the Astropath will be able to sense its destination. Of course, to successfully trail a ship through warp space the trailing craft must remain within 1000 kilometres in real space, otherwise the signal will be too weak to follow.