Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-25686730-20141212030710/@comment-25686730-20141214201003

The power of psykers is either extremely overplayed, or incredibly downplayed in fluff so far. Lexicanum says:
 * Rho // Pi
 * No manifestation of psychic talent (common human being).


 * Omicron // Xi // Nu // Mu // Lambda // Kappa
 * Unconscious and minor level of psionic brain activity. Such low levels of talent only manifest in high-stress experiences and remain beyond the control of the individual. Phenomenon commonly explained as "good luck" or "fluke" occurrences.


 * Iota // Theta // Eta
 * Conscious and moderate level of psionic talent. As the individual is able to control abilities with effort, subjects of Iota level and higher are true psykers and under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition and Adeptus Astra Telepathica.


 * Zeta // Epsilon
 * Very high level of mental psychic activity. Manifesting early, these levels of talent (and those above) require the immediate attention of Imperial authorities and represent a true security threat.


 * Delta // Gamma
 * Occurring in approximately one-per-billion human births, Delta and Gamma level psykers exhibit extreme levels of psionic ability. Unless discovered quickly, death or possession are common results of the untrained mind being unable to handle this level of mental energy.


 * Beta // Alpha
 * Exceedingly rare and dangerous. Mainstream Medicae Imperialis discussion agrees that current human beings do not possess the necessary evolutionary development to contain Beta and Alpha levels of psionic talent. As such, the great majority of those discovered at this Assignment rating usually suffer from mental instability.


 * Alpha-Plus
 * In the rarest of all cases, the twenty-four point scale of the Assignment does not adequately characterize a being of indescribable ability. Such individuals, for all intents and purposes, pass beyond the scale entirely. These subjects are known as Alpha-Plus psykers.
 * Uncontained, Alpha-Plus psykers represent an immediate and catastrophic threat to the Imperium. In theory, there is nothing that a trained Alpha-Plus psyker cannot accomplish through force of will; from snapping a Titan in half to summoning a legion of Greater Daemons. Representing such a great danger, the Inquisition usually executes Alpha-Plus psykers on sight unless the possibility for capture is nearly assured.


 * With this in mind, the only Alpha in existence is Mangus the Red, and the only alpha plus is emps himself. So, even incredibly powerful psykers cannot destroy planets according to the most official fluff. However, they can flay people alive and snap battle titans in two at will. So their still pretty dangerous.
 * Moving onto the battle in the Webway, I want to make clear that this was not the Thousand Sons themselves, but a band of exiles led by Ahriman called the Prodigal Sons. The Thousands Sons in total number about 200-300 Sorcerers of immense power. The Prodigal Sons have only about two dozen sorcerers, but these are the most elite. For the lexicanum article on the PS, http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Prodigal_Sons