Don't forget the SpaceWolf in the discription section.

I would just like to stress that as its the Deathwatch we're talking about, we should remember that DW picks the best of the best, and while it isn't voluntary, its unlikely the Ordo Xenos could force a selected Marine to show up for service.

Chapters with very stable geneseed will likely be chosen often: Ultramarines and Imperial Fists, and most of their successors.

Fleet-based chapters that spend a lot of time travelling, or have ignored the Codex and maintain greater-than-chapter-strength numbers increase their odds by sheer numbers/saturation: Black Templars

Chapters that are on good terms with the High Lords/Inquisition will be more likely to submit: Crimson Fists, Ultramarines,

Chapters that are on bad terms with the High Lords/Inquisition will be less likely: Space Wolves, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Exorcists, Revilers, any of the Badab "Traitors"

Chapters that specialize/have an affinity for killing Xenos: Crimson Fists, Black Tempalrs, White Scars, Scythes of the Emperor, Red Scorpions....

A lot to consider. I personally hope to see 1 or 2 "homebrew" Chapters by FFG.

BrotherAtrox said:

What? Deathwatch don't pick their members at all, the Deathwatch have arangements with many chapters that state that they are obliged to supply marines to the Deathwatch but not every chapter has such an arrangement and the Deathwatch cannot force chapters to supply marines to them. They will simply make it known to chapters that supply them that they need to form a kill team and the chapters will respond if they feel they can.

Im hopeing that they are images that GW requested or that they have done just for the sake of being recognisable. Not all pictures they do necissarily appear in the game.

Kaihlik

BrotherAtrox said:

Virtually none of these statements are supported by the lore. In particular, as Kaihlik stated, Deathwatch Marines aren't chosen by the Ordo Xenos. They are chosen by their Chapter's commanders.

The other thing is this whole "on bad terms with the High Lords/Inquisition" thing is pretty far off , seeing as it's really only true of the Badab Chapters. There may be an Inquisitor here or there that has suspicions of one of those Chapters, but officially they all have clean records.

I've actually warmed up to the idea of hoping for Blood Ravens. I know the odds are slim to none but I feel they would make a terrific choice for librarian, especially if the rumors about their geneseed are true.

Here's a list list of Chapters that are known to second their Marines to Deathwatch:

wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Deathwatch

Atheosis said:

Virtually none? How so?

And the old Chapter Approved article stated that Marines are hand-picked for Deathwatch service, but doesn't state who. I'm not sure why the Chapter's commanders would make the selection as opposed to a Watch Captain or Inquisitor?

Atheosis said:

I'm guessing 6 will be the Hammers of Retribution.

My money is on Crimson Fists. Makes sense.

macd21 said:

Reasonable, since our sole example in DH's PtU was from that chapter. I would like to know more.

-=Brother Praetus=-

BrotherAtrox said:

Because a Space Marine Chapter is autonomous and does what it sees as best, not what an Inquisitor wants. The process is pretty simple: a Chapter vows to second Battle-Brothers to Deathwatch based upon need. If the Deathwatch then requests support (key word being requests), they then would choose who they feel would be a)best suited for the task an and b)unnecessary to the Chapter's day to day functioning.

macd21 said:

Keep in mind that that was Black Industries' creation and not FFG's.

BrotherAtrox said:

Its a term of practicality. For an Inquisitor or an outside member of a chapter to pick viable candidates they would first have to do intensive studies of potential candidates and pick one, not something that is likely if time is a factor. The other reason is that chapters do not have to second members to the Deathwatch so any invasive testing from outside sources would lead to much fewer chapters volunteering forces.

Secondment to the Deathwatch is meant to be a mutually benifitial experiance for both the Deathwatch and the chapter as the experiance he gains can be used when he returns to his chapter. For this reason as well as others it makes sense for the Chapter Master or Company Captain to marines as they are more likely to know who will use the information and will spread it within the chapter as well as who would be best suited to the job. This is a reason why Cyrus in Dawn of War 2 was a perfect candidate as he was a Scout Sergeant i.e. a full marine tasked with training the chapters recruits.

If outside forces were to make the choice it would simply add an unneeded layer of complication that would put the fiercly independent Astartes off, be less likely to guarentee a good candidate and take much more time than if the chapter was to pick themselves.

Kaihlik

Kaihlik said:

Fair enough, but how does it work on the next level? The Inquisition still has to notify the Chapter that they need a new DW marine - otherwise a Chapter Commander has to send them out in hopes that they'll be accepted? Seems odd. So if the Inquisition has to pick a Chapter(s) and say "Hey you, we need some guys." They still get to go through the decision-making process of who to call on. If thats the case, I'd still argue that bringing in agents from Chapters like the Space Wolves is unlikely as they are notorious for not getting along well with the upper echelons of Imperial authority.

BrotherAtrox said:

Yes Deathwatch can more or less choose what Chapters they request Marines from more often, but only really in theory. The reality is that in an Imperium of over a million worlds they are going to accept the help of any Chapters that are known to be steadfast and loyal to the Emperor. What you have to understand is that the Deathwatch is in charge of its own affairs, and, unlike the Inquisition proper, has an Astartes way of doing things. They aren't so much concerned with the politics of a Chapter, so much as whether a Chapter produces effective and reliable warriors that will do their duty to the utmost. That is why the Space Wolves have a long history of Deathwatch service: they are good at it. That's also why the Chapter's you are less likely to see within the Deathwatch are those who are either unreliable or just plain crazy (ie Flesh Tearers). When the Inquisition needs the service of the Deathwatch they ultimately have to accept that those that will be serving them are not acolytes or personal underlings. Most Inquisitors realize that that's the price to be paid for having a team of demigod warriors in their service, and most will only petition Deathwatch when all other options have been exhausted.

Whilst Chapters have sworn oaths of support for the Deathwatch, I was under the impression that the Deathwatch was then made up of volunteers from those Chapters.

Ok, this is where I wish I had the background material to hand but I can't be bothered looking for the White Dwarfs and I have lent my Index Astartes books to a friend. Even if it was made up solely of volunteers then most of the time the call comes from the Deathwatch then you have to suspect that many more Astartes would volunteer than would be needed (even if its only 10 volunteers you will only need to send one or two marines) in that case it would be best if the people choosing who would go would be the ones who know the men and not outsiders.

The way it works IIRC is that the call is put out to chapters in the area with whom the Deathwatch have sworn oaths and those chapters send marines if they can. Most chapters tend to keep to one region of space due to the problems of long distance space travell in 40k so its usually not hard to find ones local.

Kaihlik

I am officially snagging Blood Angels as my chapter of choice!

Looking forward to fending off the black rage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(already certain they are in the book, however this note is for my buds thinking of who they'll want to play)

Since half our group is posting on these forums I decided to jump in as well. I play the tech-priest in LeBlanc13's group.

LeBlanc13 said:

I want to play UltraMarines; mostly because I know how much it would annoy our GM.

Kael of Tyr said:

"Well back on Ultramar we had..."

That would be awesome... as would be referring to everything as "Smurfy".

Kael of Tyr said:

I'd like to play a Space Wolf . They are representative of two of my favorite things. Heavily inspired by Norse philosophy and "werewolves."

-=Brother Praetus=-

Brother Praetus said:

Loki may join you down that path since he's a die-hard wolfbrother!

While my army is smurfy blue, I'm die-hard blood angel through and through. (Red ain't easy to paint... at least not theirs)

LeBlanc13 said:

Red is plenty easy to paint. You just need to mix in the proper proportion of human blood... I mean, "non-acrylic red base" to get it to show right. I think a Wolf Scout would be awesome to actually play... After all, the scouts are kind of contrary in the Space Wolves . Experienced (counter to most other chapters) and highly individualistic loners (contrary to general Space Wolf mentality). I'd like to see the Stalker pattern Boltgun detailed in there, as well the many and varied types of ammunition available for Boltguns.

-=Brother Praetus=-

Prime your mini in white. 2 coats of Blood Red. Blackline the crevices. Blood Angel tabletop quality.