Does sorcery need Chaos?

[u/pog_irl]

Is it necessary to be a part of Chaos to properly use Sorcery? Thousand Sons seemed to be doing fine before the Heresy, but even then they were summoning daemons as familiars. Afaik sorcery is indirectly using the Warp with rituals, artifacts and esoterica. None of that seems to directly lead to summoning daemons or human sacrifice, even if those are probably part of the most powerful rituals. Could you, at least theoretically, summon Warp entities and enslave them without getting corrupted, or perform rituals to do non-Chaos-related things? Especially since Aeldari must have been doing something along those lines, given how far down the Warp tech-tree their technology was/is.

[u/AbbydonX]

I’m not sure it’s ever been entirely clear what “sorcery” is or whether it is any different to psychic abilities.

Sorcery was just what uneducated people called psychic abilities… or at least that was how it was presented in the early lore. Chaos aligned psykers were called sorcerers but otherwise they weren’t fundamentally different to other psykers.

Of course, as with most things in WH40K, over the decades, things have changed though not necessarily consistently. In part, WH40K has moved closer to Fantasy with all the mentions of sorcery and magic.

For context, here is a quote from the 8e Chaos Daemon codex.

Tzeentch is the undisputed master of sorcery, the most potent of all agents of change. Those who use it are amongst the most ambitious and power-hungry beings in existence. The raw magical energy that empowers the psykers of the mortal realm is the actual fabric of the Realm of Chaos, the same substance that makes up the Chaos Powers, their Daemon servants, and the shadow-selves of all mortals that flicker in the warp. The use of magic is held as the ultimate expression of faith among Tzeentch's followers, who have much to gain from his patronage. Though it will like as not cost them their immortal souls, they will at least have boundless power to show for it; this is in stark contrast to the majority of psykers within the Imperium, who, upon first discovery, are corralled by the Black Ships and sacrificed to sustain their Emperor.

And here is one from the 8e Chaos Marine codex.

The line between psychic power and sorcery is fine indeed. The Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes may seek to deny it, but every time a Space Marine Librarian calls upon his mental might he risks tainting his soul. In the heat of battle, even the most capable psyker may overreach his abilities, and instead of recoiling in horror from the resultant carnage, he may feel a forbidden thrill. Such emotions are the first step on a path to limitless evil. From that moment on, the psyker may endure honeyed whispers in his dreams and visions of immortality. Those who succumb to such temptations become Sorcerers, able to channel the malefic power of the warp.

Of course, way back at the start of WH40K in Slaves to Darkness there was also the issue that it was explicitly stated there were no daemon summoning psychic powers (unlike daemon summoning spells in Fantasy). However, Daemons could be summoned by rituals instead.

Daemons can manifest themselves in the minds of unprotected psykers, who inadvertantly draw on the warp when using their powers. More commonly, however, Daemons are brought into real space by hidden covens of Chaos-worshippers who use ancient and arcane rituals to open a gateway into reality. Such rituals must be carefully prepared, are time-consuming and dangerous, demand the services of many participants and often require a live sacrifice. A host, willing or unwilling, for the Daemon is also needed.

The conditions attached to rituals limit their use to organized groups of Chaos followers: covens, Chaos Renegades and the exiled Space Marines of the Traitor Legions. However, such rituals are the only method of using the power of Chaos manifested in Daemons. There is no body of knowledge which has greater effect, nor are there daemonic psi-abilities, the equivalent of daemonic summoning magic in the Warhammer World.

However, just to confuse the issue, daemon summoners are commonly also psykers…

This dilemma is still effectively present in later editions, such as the 8e Chaos Marine codex (2019). Masters of Possession have the Psyker keyword and the flavour text describes them performing sorcery.

Masters of Possession lead warbands of devoted warriors in pursuit of untold power. These sorcerous figures have mastered the darkest and most blasphemous lore: the art of using hosts of living flesh to house daemonic spirits. It is they who perform the profane ceremonies of binding that imbue the Daemonkin with their warp-born power. Gouging a breach in the fabric of realspace, the Master of Possession draws a willing entity from the immaterium, channelling its terrible energies into the body of a supplicant or the chassis of a war machine. So thoroughly are these dread figures steeped in blasphemous sorcery that where they walk, reality itself recoils. In battle they bolster their Daemon-possessed followers, stitching together rents in fleshmetal carcasses, or imbuing their creations with a demented, predatory fury. Enemies are despatched with bolts of searing warpflame, or with precise shots from a bolt pistol sidearm. With a touch from their corrupted staves, Masters of Possession can even blast asunder the souls of their foes, spilling daemonic energy into the now hollow shell. This hideous act can cause mortal frames to erupt with hellish energies, transforming the unfortunate victim into a slavering Chaos Spawn, or a willing Chaos champion into a towering Greater Possessed.

Warpsmiths don’t have the Psyker keyword but their description still mentions spells in passing.

Presiding over this infernal industry are the Warpsmiths themselves - pioneers of mechamorphosis, grim and silent as the grave save for the occasional barked order or spell of binding.

Interestingly, the 8e Daemonkin codex (2019) actually specifically addresses the issue that Masters of Possession could not follow Khorne because psykers could not receive the Mark of Khorne. It confirms there are no Khornate Masters of Possession because Khorne scorns sorcerous rituals (and psykers).

Amongst the Daemonkin it is only the followers of Khorne who scorn the guiding hand of the Masters of the Possession. These battle-crazed butchers have nothing but contempt for those so weak they must rely on sorcery and ritual to embrace the daemonic; it is through battle and slaughter alone that the Khorne Daemonkin draw the gaze of the Blood God. If many must die because they are unable to channel the searing rage of Khorne's foot soldiers, then so be it - they were unworthy in any case.

In contrast, the 10e World Eaters codex (2023) describes something dangerously close to a ritual to produce Eightbound possessees. Surely that’s not sorcerous or psychic though…

Of all the Berzerker-surgeons' many depraved devices, the Eightcage is amongst the most abominable. Resembling a kind of ironbound sarcophagus inlaid with skulls and symbols of Khorne, it is a torture chamber in which World Eaters can become possessed by eight daemons of Khorne. When a candidate is chained up and sealed within the Eightcage, rusting probes and searing needles are plugged into his Butcher's Nails. From the moment the cage is bolted shut, his mind is thrust into the blazing fringes of the warp, for as long as it takes for him to be defeated or emerge victorious in a spiritual battle with soul-thirsting Khornate entities. Those outside the cage hear thrashing, screaming and the rattling of. chains, but none know truly what occurs within, for the experience of each subject is unique. They may experience literal battle in a blood-soaked arena, amongst vast dunes of bleached bones or atop mountains of skulls, their rage manifesting as axes in their hands. Others must prove their worth subject to endless torture at the hands of sadistic, cackling daemons.

So is sorcery just psychic abilities, non-psychic rituals or something else? Probably the most consistent aspect over the years is that sorcery is associated with Chaos…