Adeptus Titanicus - Shadow and Iron - Psi-Titans

The psychic potential of the myriad numbers of races within the Warhammer 40,000 setting has been vast from the creation of the hobby. During the time of the Horus Heresy psychic potential was feared less than it is currently, and even had its place. Enter the Psi-Titans, a threat beyond even the deadly god-machines that we know now.

PSI-TITANS

These monsters are just what they sound like. Titans that throw out psychic powers and are an order of far greater danger than a standard Titan. While Shadow and Iron covers the introduction of the Ordo Sinister (a separate article), it also comes with the bonus of introducing generic rules for Psi-Titans to the game, meaning we are likely to see more coming. However, Psi-Titans definitely come with restrictions:

· Only one Psi-Titan per maniple in a battlegorup.
· Psi-Titans cannot join squadrons.
· Psi-Titans cannot join a battlegroup with Corrupted Titans (more on this in a bit) or Traitor Titans of Legend
· Psi-Titans cannot use any Traitor stratagems, traits, equipment, etc. or Legio Traits.

Psi-Titans are heavily restricted and it’s made clear that they can only be taken by the Loyalist Imperium. But there is a beacon of hope for Traitor players to get their own psychically powered engines of death in the Corrupted Titans. Shadow and Iron makes it clear that those Titans will be coming in a later supplement, which is a good move on GW’s part.

HOW DO THEY WORK

For all of the heavy restrictions that you have to deal with to add a Psi-Titan to your force, it cannot be understated just how much of a force multiplier they are. Psi-Titans do not take standard Command checks, but instead cast powers every turn. Each Psi-Titan gets its own powers depending on its class, which may indicate that other Titans beyond the Warlord for the Ordo Sinister may get powers. Whether this means xenos Titans in the future or not is unknown, but it creates the potential.

Of course, such great power comes with great risk, and catastrophe is always a possibility. Psi-Titans contain a Manifestation Table for when this goes wrong, and badly injured Psi-Titans stand to suffer more. However, a failed psychic test is also no guarantee of further damage since the effects can be negated.

Perhaps the scariest impact of the Psi-Titan past their fearsome powers is that they do not stop other units from issuing orders if they fail their psychic test and that they also put out an aura that impacts other Titans within a certain radius. Friendly Titans do suffer a -1 to command checks, but so do enemy Titans. However, Corrupted Titans feel this impact even more, making the Psi-Titans a true threat to this upcoming type of enemy. Psi-Titans will be a real game-changer, and the current rules set up many opportunities for them to expand and influence the game.