Deathwatch: not just aliens anymore

By The Laughing God, in Deathwatch

PGMason said:

I've never seen the downside to 'fluff' personally - I see it as the contrast to 'cruch' - which is the mechanical side of things. Both are important, and which is more so depends on context.

'Lore' I find to be slightly infantile. It sets my teeth on edge in the same way that medieval dialogue spoken with an American accent does. (It doesn't work, as clearly everyone in the middle ages talked like a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company). Completely arbitrary and ridiculous I know but it's a personal prejudice of mine.

Er. Sometihng on topic perhaps. There are enough accounts of xenos chaos worshippers (such as the Saruthi in the aforementioned Eisenhorn books) or cults around xenos (e.g. genestealer cults) to allow for plenty of overlap between ordos.

Agree 100% In fact, Dragon magazine used to have advertisements comparing themselves to a jar of fluffernutter.

While I can understand there being overlap for Deathwatch and the Sisters of Battle, I find it highly unlikely that Grey Knights would have the same level of overlap. Only because as the militant arm of Ordo Malleus, it's pretty hard to confuse a demonic incursion with xenos activity or heretical cells.

Really? I can easily imagain a hurried description of an unknown C'tan being mistaken for a discription of a demon princes.

zombieneighbours said:

The death watch, as currently detailed, are focused Xenos hunters, that is their job plain and simple. If the inquisition knows that the problem is demonic or heretical, they arn't going to call in the death watch.

That doesn't however mean that the death watch never end up fighting those challanges. The Ordo Xenos can easily attack what they think is a xeno-tech smuggling ring, using a death watch kill team team, only to discover that the kill team is fighting a logician cell and that the advanced tech was in fact forbidden archiatech. enslavour infestation? Oh **** is really a demonic incursion.

I agree. Was aiming at something like this with my previous post. Distinctions will not always be text-book clear in the field. So these daemon-worshippers were actually tainted by xeno tech, as part of a sinister plot to quicken psyker development inside the Imperium and pave the way for a xenos invasion that is underway right at this moment? Call in the Deathwatch. Nevermind that ordos Malleus and Hereticus would be just as right to call in their own chambers militant if they happened to sniff the crisis out first.

Now, even if the duties of the Deathwatch per se are straightforward, the inquisitor whom they work with (and many times for) may not be so single-minded in his loyalties, goals and aspirations. This may or may not lead to a conflict of interests, which in turn would generate roleplay.

Sammail said:

zombieneighbours said:

The death watch, as currently detailed, are focused Xenos hunters, that is their job plain and simple. If the inquisition knows that the problem is demonic or heretical, they arn't going to call in the death watch.

That doesn't however mean that the death watch never end up fighting those challanges. The Ordo Xenos can easily attack what they think is a xeno-tech smuggling ring, using a death watch kill team team, only to discover that the kill team is fighting a logician cell and that the advanced tech was in fact forbidden archiatech. enslavour infestation? Oh **** is really a demonic incursion.

I agree. Was aiming at something like this with my previous post. Distinctions will not always be text-book clear in the field. So these daemon-worshippers were actually tainted by xeno tech, as part of a sinister plot to quicken psyker development inside the Imperium and pave the way for a xenos invasion that is underway right at this moment? Call in the Deathwatch. Nevermind that ordos Malleus and Hereticus would be just as right to call in their own chambers militant if they happened to sniff the crisis out first.

Now, even if the duties of the Deathwatch per se are straightforward, the inquisitor whom they work with (and many times for) may not be so single-minded in his loyalties, goals and aspirations. This may or may not lead to a conflict of interests, which in turn would generate roleplay.

I have to say an overbearing Inquisitor who decides to keep ordering around the Kill-team after they've completed their mission, wanting them to purge a chaos cult or some other non-xenos related thing, would be fun. It'd be interesting to see how the players reacted. If they just did whatever they were told, they might face a shitstorm from their Deathwatch commander. If on the other hand they refused, the Inquisitor could get nasty. Some good stuff there.

Another big difference between the Grey Knights & Deathwatch is that the Grey knights are born & especially bred for their task. The members of Deathwatch are not.

Please do not forget, that the Imperium does not know (in General) that there are different ordos inside of the inquisition.

If there is a Space Marine Team Dropping to bring the Demon and the Cultist to their Deaths, the Planetary Gouvenor would not ask them to stop, because thats not something the Deathwatch does.

No other Ordo should be concerned with such a thing.
See Shattered Hope (DH Adventure) you are expected to be an inquisitor from Malleus, but you arent an inquisitor, and maybe not Malleus.
So nobody had a Problem if you go and kill something, or uncover a heresy.
But interesting it gets, when the Order IS to "stand down" or do something else...

Example from my DH-Campaign:
We "stumbled" over a SpaceHulk, and entered it, without the help of the Astarted (2nd Evening of play).
Because our inquisitor told that battlecruiser to let us. (the Spacehulk would enter the warp in a few hours again, and noone else in reach.)
Because the Cpt. of the IG-Cruiser was pissed from the Inquisitions order he gave us one Pilot and one Shuttle... no other support but VAC-Suits.
We uncovered Humans on the ship... Dead humans. Mostly composed of Dustyflesh and some greenruned-Metalthingies, Controlled by a Green/Metal/Stonetable.
We fought that Zombies, took the stonetable and some of the Heads (where the Implants where).

Returned before the Spacehulk reached his ETL (Estimated Time of Leaving) and then back to Scintilla.
We put the things in a hardly Secured Chest. In the Tricornpalace: We opened it to show it to our Inqiusitor (Hereticus!):
in THAT Moment the Doors swung open and a Xenos Inquisitor demanded that Things, caus it's obvusly his Juridiction... no Argument. we handed it over...
But wanted to see whats in it... and so the adventure began, over this small conflict. Now we have a secret war with that Xenos Inquisitor... but thats anotherstory.

I Think it made clear what I mean?

Do not Care for the Ordothing, unless it's Plot and Fun to play!