No, I don't mean my "character" as in "character reference", I know
that's
awful. I mean my character for DW.
I'm a writer who has sold some gaming stuff to various companies and been published a few times so I like creativity. So I want a character that's unique and creative while still fitting the game, unlike a certain first time GM's player from Hell who wants to make a character that fits into deathwatch like a skinhead at a bar mitzvah.
So, basically, here's my outline:
His name is Brother Tanhauser, and he is a black shield techmarine. (I know taking a blacksheild has it's ups and down, I read up on it. How he became one is covered.)
He was recruited into the ravenguard and was marked as technicallty apt early on. His background was the fall of voldurius, the one where you come out thinking the white scars aren't so bad after all. He pointed out that the two chapters actually complimented each other between the ravenguard's ability to infiltrate small numbers of elite forces behind enemy lines and launch sudden guerilla warfare attacks there to severely if temporarily disrupt their organization combined with the white scars ability to get very close to enemy lines in larger numbers and suddenly launch a rapid attack while the enemy was still unaware of how badly his forces had been disrupted, and so tey should bury their greivences and co operate more for the good of the imperium.
Needless to say
that
went over
really
well with the raven guard, and it was quite fortunate he was transferred to mars to be trained as a tech marine soon thereafter.
As he was transporting to Mars, his home hive on the ravenguard homeworld rose up in rebellion, being seduced into chaos worship and turniung virtually overnight from a nondescript hive of little reputation to a festering mass of warped, insane chaos forces.
The ravenguard annihilated the hive, leaving not a single survivor, then advised the inquisitor that the hive Tanhauser had come from had recently fell to chaos and he was suspected of possibly chaos taint.
at mars he was taken into custody by inquisitor Brooks (I told you I'd make an inquisitor brooks joke somewhere after Mel Brooks' "inquisition" skit...) and examined very thoroughly. Months of arduous probing and testing satisfied inquisitor Brooks that Tanhauser was free of chaos taint. He informed the ravenguard that their young member was pure, and was told by them that if the inquisition deemed him worthy, they could keep him. Tanhauser would not be allowed back into the ravenguard on on it's homeworld.
While the inquisition has a reputaion for being largely unsympathetic, not all members of it are whooly devoid of compassion, and Inquisitor Brooks' one home had fallen to chaos after he was taken from it long ago. He offered the young marine a chance to serve in the deathwatch, which is always willing to welcome a capable marine, especially one already subjected to intense inquisitorial vetting.
As young tanhauser meditated in his cell on what to do, as per Brook's urging, the lights in his room dimmed suddenly. He waited, thinking perhaps it was the emperor's will be be putt o death as a risk and accepting it if it were so. He heard a voice behind him command him in a voice that touched the very cells of his being "Face me, my son."
As he turned in silent awe, he beheld a vision of Corax standing before him, a great raven upon his right shoulder. The apparation reached forward and laid great white hands upon the marine's shoulders and looked into his ebon eyes with his own. "You are a true son of mine, and only your own choice could ever change that. Your destiny and duty lay far outside the chapter, so go forth, shoulder your burden and let the wrong done to you trouble you nevermore."
At this the chamber went pitch black, he heard a flutter of wings and then the lights returned. He was alone in the chamber, save for a single, perfect feather of jet with a blue sheen to it. Brother Tanhauser knelt reverently, gathered up the feather in his hands, and raised the quill to his lips for a moment.
Tanhauser completed his techmarine training in exemplary fashion, achieving a closer connection with the red robed acolyte of the machine god than most tech marines ever do for he had no chapter loyalty to interfere with his acceptance of their ways.
He accepted a role as a black shield and was transferred to the deathwatch fortress Erioch where, despite is relative inexperience he was accepted based on a letter of recommendation from Inquisitor Brooks. He has made his story mostly known to his commander and brothers even tho it is not custom for a black shield to be required to do so. He does not say what chapter or world he was from despite the fact his lineage is written plainly on his face, and his brothers, respectfully, act as though they did not know.
He is a bit unusual in some ways. While his demeanor is studious he behaves in a fairly gregarious manner, vaslty more t[so than most members of the raven guard or techmarines would. Having been betrayed twice, by his home hive and his chapter, Tanhauser perhaps seeks assurance his new comrades will not betray him b seeking to connect with them. Other marines may at times be surprised at his behavior, but his loyalty is quite plain to see,
He seems to have a few quirks. He would appear to hate xenos less than betrayers, and his hatred of betrayers is all but rabid. While normally a calm model of efficiency, he has been known to be particularly harsh towards those guilty of betrayal, sometimes making their last moments longer and more painful that actually necessary. He also has the odd habit of collecting skulls of traitors on occasion, which he often turns into servo skulls. These are often fitted with auspex and commlink units and used as reconnaissance drones. When asked to explain himself in this matter, he simply says that those who commit betrayal in life should be forced to serve loyally in death. Some of his scout skulls have left Erioch as gifts to various inquisitors and other kill teams.
As a black shield he has no chapter solo or squad mode abilities but no primarch curse either; He has chosen to use raven guard defense and attack postures.
Most of his thousand initial points went to forbidden lore Adeptus Mechanicus and security. Since he was training to join deathwatch even as a techmarine trainee on mars he took a field of study useful to the guerilla nature of much deathwatch work.
And of course underneath it all tanhauser is in fact tainted by chaos and just waiting for the day he will betray the DW and sabotage fortress erioch, leaving it helpless before a massive assault by a chaos space marine fleet. Hey, had you going for a second, didn't I?
