I don't have a vast amount of experience with DW and would like to crowd source opinions about Apothecaries. Specifically, are they needed in every group or can kill-teams do just fine without them?

Depends what you go with and what you're up against. From what I have encountered with them they are a supportive class which seem to have an ever so slightly more melee bend in their abilities. They are unlikely to make strong front line fighters and don't get much in the way of lots of strikes or shots till late in their tree but they are there to keep you alive and more importantly, recover your battle brothers gene-seed if things do not go to plan. A regrettable but vital requirement. They also get lots of Int bonuses plus a good number of skills which can make them good walking encyclopaedia of beasts, mutants, creatures and various other things.

Their three abilities are quite nice, extra wounds recovered on first aid is good to keep the brothers alive. Toxin making ability against Xenos, quite potent in big combats and engagements and the reduction in corruption from the other option is good with keeping your squads on the straight and narrow. Good for when Librarians in your squad have as much chance of making your squad gain a load when things go wrong.

I'm new to DW too and have some questions:

- Apothecary Mini-figs have their Apothecary-Backpack with scanner, spotlight (?) and medical supplies. Is this Backpack anywhere mentioned in DW-rules or do these things belong to Exsanguinator, Narthecium, Reductor and/ or Diagnostor Helmet?

- if this is all "standard" in Backpacks for Apothecaries, could there still be mounted a jump pack?

- Is the Reductor compatible with Power Fist/ Lightning Claw?

Another Question, not belonging to "Apothecaries" ... what Chainweapons may be combined with the Combat Mark "Master of Blades" (p. 93/94 in RoB)?

1) It really depends on your vision of it. Me and my players are going basically for the "utility-belt" when it comes to stuff : you take extra ammo/auspex/anything ? well that goes in a couch to attach to your belt. But basically, if you want to have it attached to your backpack, you're free to do so. Same thing apply to the diag' helmet. In the description it's an helmet (even in the name, doh), but nothing prevents you to play this as a backpack-mounted diag. As for the spotlight ... I've never seen the point of having one when your helmet can give you perfect night vision.

2) It could be, but should it be ? I don't think so, jump pack are pretty big and adding stuff to it is (in my opinion) just transforming your character into a christmas tree. Plus i I don't really think the devices could handle the force/heat produce by the jump pack (if they are on it).

3) Maybe, but with a big malus on use. You can't be precise using a hand this big, even when you're not "directly" using your hand to use it. In my game, I'll just say no, but I don't think my player thought of this possibility.

I don't really like Master of Blades, because it doesn't make sense, really ... (just my opinion, but I find it really ... odd/irrealist). Aaaanyway, with chain weapons, you don't really have a choice, unless you houserule every kind of weapons in WH40K, and thus you can combine Chainsword with Eviscerator, for instance.

I don't have a vast amount of experience with DW and would like to crowd source opinions about Apothecaries. Specifically, are they needed in every group or can kill-teams do just fine without them?

They are invaluable in protracted/high risk missions/long-running campaigns.

They are invaluable in protracted/high risk missions/long-running campaigns.

This is true, using Fate Points and combat drugs creatively only gets you so far, so if you embark on a long campaign (especially with low-level characters), it is worth bringing someone trained in the Medicae Skill along. Outside the Apothecary advancement table, the skill at Rank 1 is available only for the Ultramarines' Tyrannic War Veterans, but if in a pinch, you can always offer it as an Elite Advance. For higher-tier campaigns the Wolf Priest gets Medicae quite cheap at Rank 4 (but, admittedly, the WP is a half-Apothecary anyway), and the Ultramarine Libby gets Glory of the Emperor, a healer psychic power, at Rank 5.

Note that a number of GMs opt for running an Apothecary as a recurring NPC Kill-team member, especially in smaller groups lacking the xp or desire for branching out into healing.

There is also another way of giving Marines Medicae. There is a Deed of Disdain in a Rites of Battle (p.87) called Gene-Seed Anomaly. It provides player with Medicae Skill on Trained (and also a +3 and -3 to any two Characteristics) for 300 xp. Besides being my favorite way of adding Medicae to the group, it also makes for some interesting roleplaying and combat choices, as player has to avoid anyone not from his Chapter healing him or risk him noticing problems with Gene-Seed. There is also a very original Adventure Seed linked with it, as and additional Bonus.
It's even better if Battle-Brother comes from chapters like Raven Guard (well-known for Gene-Seed problems) or Red Scorpions (with their purity obsession, maybe that's what actually made this Marine choose Deathwatch in the first place?).

Another way is to give players a Medicae servo-skull. I've seen it being done with 20 Requisition cost, Int 20, Medicae +20 and some Medicae Talents. Not as good as Apothecary, but definitely better than nothing.

From my experience, Medicae gives Kill-Team large boost in effectiveness. Less FP used for healing = more for re-rolls, and on long missions it becomes even more evident.

There is a Deed of Disdain in Rites of Battle (p.87) called Gene-Seed Anomaly. It provides player with Medicae Skill on Trained (and also a +3 and -3 to any two Characteristics) for 300 xp.

That's actually a good one - it escaped my notice somehow, but it does have real potential both in crunch and in roleplay, thanks for pointing out.

Another way is to give players a Medicae servo-skull. I've seen it being done with 20 Requisition cost, Int 20, Medicae +20 and some Medicae Talents. Not as good as Apothecary, but definitely better than nothing.

Is it just a normal Servo-skull with the free skill slot used for Medicae, or a specialist skull listed somewhere? I wouldn't give it extra healing talents, at least not for the +5 Req it costs over the normal 15 Req price of the Skull, but I can see situations where it might be necessary. On the other hand, the premise is that there's no Apothecary in the team, so I'd probably allow it as a Follower.

There's also the Astartes Combat Webbing in RoB (p. 144) with a Medicae Pouch - this doesn't give the character the Medicae skill in itself, but for 3 Req offers a dirt cheap way for a +20 bonus on it.

If you dont' have an apothecary, you should automatically assign a medicae servoskull. No KT commander would want to risk the loss of geneseed because he couldn't spare a simple servitor. (or let another marine take medicae as a GM advanced skill)

Game play wise the skull helps keep the nicks and cuts down between fights. Its really brutal when you're only using fatepoints to heal. Players feel they have to stockpile them for healing and then tend to be out at the boss fight when they're supposed to be using them to the max.

Bonus rule: There was another forum on this that suggested changing the servo skull from 40% for 4 wounds to 1d5-1. Thats a little more consistent, but slightly lower return each time.

There is a Deed of Disdain in Rites of Battle (p.87) called Gene-Seed Anomaly. It provides player with Medicae Skill on Trained (and also a +3 and -3 to any two Characteristics) for 300 xp.

That's actually a good one - it escaped my notice somehow, but it does have real potential both in crunch and in roleplay, thanks for pointing out.

No problem, glad to help . It is also my favorite Medicae option and it's already making session much more interesting.

There's also the Astartes Combat Webbing in RoB (p. 144) with a Medicae Pouch - this doesn't give the character the Medicae skill in itself, but for 3 Req offers a dirt cheap way for a +20 bonus on it.

Yep, my players always start mission with Astartes Combat Webbing - it's so good, it's unbelievable for 3 Req.

If you dont' have an apothecary, you should automatically assign a medicae servoskull. No KT commander would want to risk the loss of geneseed because he couldn't spare a simple servitor. (or let another marine take medicae as a GM advanced skill)

Game play wise the skull helps keep the nicks and cuts down between fights. Its really brutal when you're only using fatepoints to heal. Players feel they have to stockpile them for healing and then tend to be out at the boss fight when they're supposed to be using them to the max.

Bonus rule: There was another forum on this that suggested changing the servo skull from 40% for 4 wounds to 1d5-1. Thats a little more consistent, but slightly lower return each time.

Assigning a Medicae Servoskull for free is a good idea if you don't want to penalize your players for lack of Medicae.

1d5-1 is fine, but I would suggest making it "to the minimum of 1". But I'm not sure, I'm using my own Medicae system for a long time, so I don't really have an experience with rulebook version.

There is also another way of giving Marines Medicae. There is a Deed of Disdain in a Rites of Battle (p.87) called Gene-Seed Anomaly. It provides player with Medicae Skill on Trained (and also a +3 and -3 to any two Characteristics) for 300 xp. Besides being my favorite way of adding Medicae to the group, it also makes for some interesting roleplaying and combat choices, as player has to avoid anyone not from his Chapter healing him or risk him noticing problems with Gene-Seed. There is also a very original Adventure Seed linked with it, as and additional Bonus.

It's even better if Battle-Brother comes from chapters like Raven Guard (well-known for Gene-Seed problems) or Red Scorpions (with their purity obsession, maybe that's what actually made this Marine choose Deathwatch in the first place?).

Another way is to give players a Medicae servo-skull. I've seen it being done with 20 Requisition cost, Int 20, Medicae +20 and some Medicae Talents. Not as good as Apothecary, but definitely better than nothing.

From my experience, Medicae gives Kill-Team large boost in effectiveness. Less FP used for healing = more for re-rolls, and on long missions it becomes even more evident.

I actually took that deed for the last Deathwatch character I made. A consecrator who had his geneseed damaged by a hit from a warp-tainted Fallen plasma weapon, just as he made rank for their deathwing equivalent. He learned quite a bit from watching the apothecaries' efforts to heal him before he was shipped to a Unforgiven-friendly outpost of the deathwatch due to prior chapter obligations. His teammates have not yet pried into *why* this veteran-class brother does not have deathwing markings but does know quite a bit about medicae. Down to Unforgiven self-reliance I suppose.

As for apothecaries, medicae definitly adds to a kill-team's endurance in the field. But apothecaries are rare in the deathwatch so are valued assets. Personally, I find the class underwhelming mechanically and not geared enough towards their role (determined to save their brothers' lives regardless of the cost). I generally add access to cheaper willpower and related talents, while allowing them to swap their bolter for a chainsword at the start.

Another Question, not belonging to "Apothecaries" ... what Chainweapons may be combined with the Combat Mark "Master of Blades" (p. 93/94 in RoB)?

Wolves` Frost Blade + something. Or, for inhuman superhumans, pair of Frost Blades.

The changes I've made to Apothecaries for my current Deathwatch campaign.

Apothecary changes

An apothecary may permanently switch their bolter for a chainsword as standard wargear at character creation.

The "Guardian of Purity" special ability now also gives the Forbidden Lore (mutants) skill, and a unique +10 bonus to any perception- or intelligence-based tests related to mutants, mutation, or physical corruption.

All apothecaries now start with the Chem-Use, Scholastic Lore (chymistry), and Trade (chymist) skills to represent that they should know these things to do their role.

Additions to the ranks:

Rank 1. Last Man Standing 500xp

Rank 2. Duty Unto Death 500xp

Rank 3. Flesh Render 800xp (moved from Rank 8)

Trade (chymist) +10 200xp

Rank 4. Swift Attack 500xp (moved from Rank 6)

Trade (chymist) +20 200xp

Rank 5. Unchanged.

Rank 6. Stalwart Defense 500xp

Rank 7. Unchanged.

Rank 8. Foresight 800xp