So looking at the Deathwatch description page we have the following :

Tactical, Assault, & Devastator Marines, Librarians, Techmarines as well as Apothocaries.

What happened to the venerated Chaplain? Wouldn't a squad of Marines dropped into hostile territory need the confidence of a Chaplain?

Do they even exist in the GW background?

I know this game seems at first look to be combat orientated, but DH and RT seem to fit the same sort of character types in sucessfully.

Why not this one?

ducky185 said:

I think that Chaplain will be featured in some expansion (with plently of faith and rabble-ehm sorry I mean chapter-rousing abilities) and don´t worry, they are still in GW backround :-)

We must see foreward for a Players Guide, , there can be a chaplain probably inside...

Chaplains Maintain the chapter's faith and purity they watch for corruption and heresy could any chapter be so pure where they would willingly risk there souls

If you look at back under the "description" of the Rogue Trader page it doesnt describe all the classes, only Rogue Trader, Navigator, Arch-Militant, Astropath and Missionary. So Scenshal, Explorator and Void-Master was left out.

Therefore I would think they have left out at least a single Career, maybe even more. Also the Chaplain just fits well and it also seems like there is missing some sort of Sneaky and Brainy career path.

What those could be I dont really know, seeing as Scouts are junior marines and really cant see what type of marines arent there. Maybe the Brainy part will be covered by librarian, and I could see the Chaplain covering the Fellowship skill speciality.

Barl said:

LOL! Why do I think of the Chaplain's application of all Fellowship skills along the lines of:

"BROTHER MARINE - SERVE THE EMPEROR - HONOUR YOUR PRIMARCH, YOUR BATTLEGEAR AND YOUR BROTHERS - DEATH IN HIS SERVICE IS THE GREATEST REWARD!"

Subtle !

If there aren't any in the book it's because there aren't any in the background/wargame. You could only ever take a librarian or captain.

I assume this is because a chaplain will be from ONE chapter whilst everyone in the kill team will be from multiple. Can you imagine a Wolf Priest ministering to a Black Templar and Ultramarine? Although that might be funny and good RP it wouldn't really work. Their belief systems are too different. Salamander Chaplains belong to the Promethean Cult and like to burn each other for fun. I can imagine the pretty boy blood angels disliking the idea of having to have burn scars applied to their face to show their purity...

Hellebore

Ben Counter has a fascinating take on a chaplain in his Grey Knights series - sort of a combination of a father confessor / mentor / old voice of wisdom. Very interesting and not at all the "KILL EVERYTHING IN THE EMPEROR'S NAME!" take that many have suggested would be the way to play one.

Back in, what was it Dark Millenium days(?), Chaplains were typically exemplars of the values of a given Chapter... which does make them somewhat problematic for the Deathwatch.

Up until this announcement there were really only three types of Deathwatch:

Deathwatch Captains
Deathwatch Librarians
Deathwatch Marines (Bolters, Heavy Bolters, the odd Special or HTH weapon)


Now we've got DW Apothecaries, Dev, Assault and Techmarines. Oh, and Terminators. I think that's a pretty good expansion of the existing fluff.

BYE

Oh yeah terminators could be Career, but maybe that will just be part of the standard career progression for some of the other Career paths

Probably just equipment with maybe a prerequisite or two (Terminator Honours, a Talent for training in how to use Terminator Armour, etc.).

BYE

Most likely in a future expasion or just not metioned yet we would see the following:

• Deathwatch Chaplain
• Deathwatch Scout Vetrean
• Deathwatch Captain

If I remember my fluff right (and it has been years since I read up on Deathwatch) there are no Chaplains in the Deathwatch.

I think that at the time of Deathwatch RPG and new Steve Parker NOVEL about Deathwatch (or so they say... ) there will be a huge expansion on our knowledge of Chamber Militant of Ordo Xenos. Don´t forget the Deathwatch dreadnought in Headhunted short story!

Next expansion should cover Chaplain and Scout Veteran (c´mon, who don´t like Sergeants Naaman and Tellios?)

TorogTarkdacil said:

Dreadnoughts! I knew we were forgetting something! Forget the Chaplains Brothers! This is the thing we want.

Aajav-Khan said:

Since Dreadnoughts are basically marines that would be dead if not housed in the Dread sarchophagus, are kept in status and only revived when needed for combat, and we presume this game is going to be more than a series of combat encounters, D'noughts would not make for very good PCs.

mac40k said:

Yes, I know but you can always dream . Maybe not as basic career but as an Elite Advance. Much like the "Cybernetic Resurrection" from the Inquisitors Handbook. The principle is the same. Get blown to bits serving the God-Emperor. Fall into torpor. Wake up in a room full of Tech-Priests with all sort of strange symbols flashing in your sight. "Only in death does duty end".

I persoanlly would like to see Chaplains as a Deathwatch class and I don't think their is a reason to miss them.

Most Deathwatch personal are selected for the role either by Chapter or other Deathwatch. I am sure that when the Deathwatch a Chaplian they would draft from a chapter who presents an orthodox or middle ground view or they an individual who is able to ratify all the disperate "cults" of the Astartes.

Its the same as with Priest irl, some might be staunch traditionalists but their is a growing number out their who recognise that if their religion is valid perhaps all religions are valid so they take on a more relaxed stance.

It would mean of course that some chapters would never provided Chaplians to the Deathwatch (i.e. the Black Templars) but lots of those chapters would be carefully scrutinzied anyway before entry as often their wide beliefs would make it difficult for thier Marines to even work with other chapters.

As an aside iirc while he wasn't a Chaplain in position in the first CS Goto Deathwatch book thier was a Black Templar who essentially filled the role of Chaplain for the DW Kill Team exposing the virtues of the Emperor and acting as religious council for the other DW Marines despite some of them being Psykers.

I would also like to see Veteran Scouts... or maybe the Astartes Scouts that some chapters (like the Wolves) field, full battle brothers who have mastery infiltration as thier means of For the Emperoring.

- Raith

'Veteran' Scouts are normal 'Veteran' Astartes...wearing Scout ballistic carapace.

fimarach said:

Read again, there are Chaplains in Deathwatch. They take any Marine who is good enough to kill Xenos

Only thing is that there are many different ways and point of views in different, even in successor chapters religion. Some worship Emperor as God like Ecclesiarchy teaches and others that He was great man but only man notheless. Iron Hands have stronger connections to Adeptus Mechanicus than Ecclesiarcgy and that's why they don't have Rosarius but equivalent they get from Techpriest of Mars.

For different names and roles Chaplains play in chapters. Example Iron Father in Iron Hand's chapter is Chaplain/Techmarine. And Space Wolves Wolf Priest is Chaplain/Apothecary.

Even if you don't have Chaplain as a choise in Deathwatch when it come's out you could always make one of your Marines trained in medic or oratory.

The only two examples I've seen of Deathwatch Chaplains come from C.S. Goto novels.

Thereby, Deathwatch Chaplains do not exist! Quick mods, close the thread before any of Goto's horrors are allowed to spread unchecked across the Immaterium!

Kanluwen said:

So if there are only two references then it's not true. Hmmm why would Deathwatch leave out Chaplains. Too different world view or the different creed. Still they would propably be most effective Xenos killers because they have all that hate inside them. I don't see any point why would the not exist. And also their oratory would propably be like throwing fuel to fire to keep battle-brothers fighting when they are be siege by Xenos scum.

Routa-maa said:

More likely, they're left out specifically BECAUSE of all that hate. Hate's not conductive to 'good' relations that sometimes occur with the Ordos Xenos, which is seemingly the only Ordos where there's no issue with occasionally allying with Xenos. Add in the fact that letting a Chaplain in would result in the destruction of any/all Xenos material, and huge protests whenever the Ordos practices the "Knowledge is Power" viewpoint rather than the "RAWR SLAUGHTER!" viewpoint.

As far as I know, there are no Chaplains in Deathwatch organization due to the highly selective nature of the group and the fact that zealotry towards the emperor is probably a foregone conclusion. And don't forget they usually roll with a Ordos Xenos Inquisitor around to enforce the emperor's will...

One may note that there is very little fluff as to where a chaplain gets his training.

It would be a better assumption to have a chaplain as an Elite Rank Package that may be taken say about rank 6-8 or so to represent the awesome might these heros command on the field.