Questions about the contents of Deathwatch have been asked all over the place since I said I got the book on Tuesday, so I thought that it'd be easier to make a single thread for questions about the contents of the book, in which myself and anyone who has managed to get a copy at Gencon this weekend can answer them to the best of our ability

So, ask away!

Are players able to create Librarians and Terminators or are players limited to Tactical, Devastators, and Assault Marines. (I'm going off of what I've seen from Final Sanction)

You might want to check out MILLANDSON's thread on the same subject over in this thread on Dark Reign . In there, someone comments on how MILLANDSON had been talking on one of the DR chats about how Librarians are a playable "Speciality" and that there are Chapter-specific powers, "Codex" powers (general) and other general ones in certain Disciplines.

It also includes the rather embarrassing moment that I forget that it was 19 implants rather than my tired thought of 18.

Just thought that it would create more specific and interesting questions that might reveal more rather than going over the same old territory and just being a bit of a drumming-up-interest thread.

Kage

SinisterSyx said:

You can play Librarians, Tech-Marines, Assault Marines, Devestators, Tactical Marines and Apothecaries.

Being a Terminator isn't a speciality a Marine choses, it's something bestowed onto them when they are resepected and veteran enough to be blessed with such armour. This is why Artificer and Terminator Armour are both in the game, but you have to have fairly/very high Renown (the rating/mechanic for how respected and heroic a Marine is, and therefore how good the equipment they can requisition is) to get to borrow either of them from the Deathwatch armoury.

Cool glad to hear I can use my Deathwatch Librarian mini I painted up. Thanks Bro

Then I guess that chaplins are out, since you didn't mention them?

Nope, no Chaplains. I've not even seen them mentioned in the book (even in the fluff sections) from what I've read, to be honest.

Are there other Marks of power armour than Mk. VII "Aquilla" present, with different rules?

Is there a description of Hadex ? If yes, an you elaborate what is this anomaly?

Are there any regular Chapters active in Jerico Reach?

I couldn't find any mention of dual wielding mechaics in the free demo even tho the Assault Marine obviously make use of such rules heh Are marines abidextrous by default ?

Hi MILLANDSON,

Thanks for taking the time to answer some of our questions on Deathwatch. I've had a read through most of the threads on here and Dark Reign so hopefully these aren't duplicates, here we go:

• Do marines get additional unnatural characteristics as they advance? If so then what options are available (just strength and toughnss or other stats as well?) and do they vary by chapter, marine speciality, etc.
• Are the talents broadly similar to Dark Heresy type talents or are there any Paragon talents like in Ascension. What I've seen so far suggest the former. Are there a lot of new talents?
• Any chance of giving us a little information on a Hive Tyrant's stat block, armour and damage? I cooked one up for Oblivion's Edge based on the Tyrannid Warriors and would like to know how close to the mark I was!
• Are Genestealers different from their treatment in Final Sanction or Creatures Anathema? When I ran Final Sanction I used the best bits of both types but I'm curious how Deathwatch treats them.
• Could you give us one or two examples of squad mode abilities? How do you pay for those? The designer's diary suggested that you recieved a certain number of order points for a mission, is this accurate and how are they assigned?
• Is equipment limited by marine speciality in any way other than available talents? The heavy bolter seemed to effective in Final Sanction that I could see a lot of people wanting to use one! Similarly I presume that the tactical marine shouldn't be the power-fist and power-sword guy.
• Is there a sample adventure in the book or just a selection of suggested missions? What's the most interesting suggestion for a mission?
• Are Chaos Marines more powerful than standard marines, would one Renegade be a challenge for a group or are they fairly equivalent? I presume there are Chaos Marines in or around the Hadex Anomaly, is this confirmed in the book?
• The pips on the sample character characteristics in Final Sanction suggested that +30 characteristic raises were possible, but the Devastator career published on the website only went up to +20. Is +20 the maximum characteristic bonus in the Deathwatch main book?
• You've mentioned that advancement is split 4 ways, which sounds awesome. Do all 4 ways advance in a similar manner (ie. through rank) or do they vary? Can you tell us what the progression is for each of the advancement paths? Presumably marine speciality is ranks 1-8 for example.
• Do marines have difficulty using regular weapons and equipment? Is there any fluff on them not using enemy equipment? A few of my Final Sanction players picked up power-swords from fallen enemies to use in place of their combat knives which I didn't agree with.

Apologies for asking so many questions, but I'm very excited about the game coming out!

Cheers,

Shaun

MILLANDSON said:

are you able to start as any of the above, or do you start as one kind of Marine (say tactical) and diverse into the others?

That's been answered before, so...

No. Well, technically, you always (precluding certain chapters) start as a Scout, then move on to Devastator, then Assault and finally Tactical status. That happens before the game, however. At (or before) the start of the game, you get seconded to the Deathwatch where you take up the role you've been best at and follow it like a Career in DH or RT.

Coming from the Temple Assassi

Does the rulebook present any way of whittling down a horde's magnitude other than dealing damage? Since it also represents morale and cohesion, I'd assume scrambling communications and assassinating or dueling leaders would likely damage nearby hordes...

TorogTarkdacil said:

I answered the first part in the thread linked to by Kage near the top. Short story, however, no, other models of power armour will be in a future book, all with their own rules (the Aquila has about 4-5 pages of rules for itself).

There is a description of Hadex, but... well, it's complicated. It is placed, broadly, as a Class 3 Warp Anomaly, but if pushed, the Inquisition would say they didn't really know what the hell it is.

And yes, there are other Chapters active with the Crusade forces, such as the Storm Wardens and the Space Wolves. The Deathwatch, however, have been there for the entire millenium that the Jericho Reach has been outside the Imperium, and so know a lot more about it than most people. What's most amusing is that most of the Imperial forces in the Crusade actually think that they are fighting over near Calixis/Scarus/Koronus Only those in charge know it's over on the Eastern Fringe.

@Lucius: Yep, all Marines are ambidextrous by default. You do, however, need the various "Two Weapon Wielder" talents to be able to dual wield properly, just as in Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader.

@Shaun:

No, no extra Unnatural Characteristic talents.

Yep, the talents system is like Dark Heresy/RT, and there are a fair few new ones.

I could give you info on the Hive Tyrant stats, but since they cover a full page and a bit, suffice to say "they are tough bastards".

There are no Genestealer stats, so I'd just use the Final Sanction ones.

The Squad mode abilities stem off who the leader of the Squad is (players chose between them before a mission) and what Oath the leader swears. Examples are Bolter Assault, where the squad can charge an enemy and fire their bolters at the same time, ignoring the number of actions it would require. You use them by spending Cohesion points, which are dictated by the Fellowship bonus of the leader (leader has Fellowship of 50, you have 5 Cohesion points). These can be lost by the team being hit with ordinance or flamers (causing them to lose sight of one another, etc), by creatures that cause Fear, and other things. They can be regained by Squadmates doing things that help the unit (like jumping into a fight to save an overwhelmed ally, etc).

Equipment isn't limited by Speciality, but you can only claim a certain amount of equipment for each fight, and given that a Heavy Bolter needs to be braced, etc before firing, and that you can't exactly run around with them, they aren't that much more useful. Plus, only Devestators get their additional damage to Hordes, so a Heavy Bolter would only be as effective as any other high-rate-of-fire weapon.

Chaos Marines are, possibly, slightly more dangerous than a Space Marine. I'd probably put it to 1 Chaos Marine (plus his human minions) per 2 Marines or so.

+20 is the most you can raise your characteristics in Deathwatch, just like it is in Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader.

Erm... trying to explain the advancement ranks in a short paragraph is kind of difficult. What I can probably say is that the General Space Marine/Deathwatch/Speciality advancement lists are ranked 1-8, but the Chapter one is one big set of skills/talents you can gain at any time.

Yes, Marines can have trouble using, at least weapons, not designed for them, due to the fingers of power armour not fitting through trigger guards and the like, and normal human power-swords having hilts that are too small for a Marine. There is no set penalty for using normal human weapons, but the rulebook suggests the GM make the Marines take a couple of rounds to remove the trigger guard and stock of a weapon before they can use it properly, due to such bits getting in the way.

@remmus: As Cifer said, I've answered that before, but yes, you can start as any, since all Marines train in all Specialities (meaning Scout, Devestator, Assault, Tactical (in that order)) whilst in their own Chapters.

@Cifer: No, no rules for that, given that, in those circumstances, you probably wouldn't be using the Horde mechanic (the Horde mechanics are generally only used for mass combat). You could, however, use the same sort of rules as non-lethal psychic powers use, whereby the power (eg Compel) still carries out "hits", in that some of the Horde have been persuaded to stop fighting. Tyranid Hordes (eg. of Hormagaunts and Termagants) still require a Synapse creature nearby to not start carrying out their Instinctive Behaviour though, so killing their leaders (Warriors or Hive Tyrants) would work well. It's basically something for the GM to decide, since any one set of rules for those situations might not suit all opponents, and so making several rules for each different type of opponent would take up space that isn't in the book.

Millandson, when you say that Marines don't get additional unnatural talents, does that also extend to no increases for their existing unnatural stats? For example, the Deathcult Assassin in Ascension get to increase their existing x2 unnatural agility to x3 and eventually x4. Thus, marines do not get x3 or x4 to strength or toughness as they progress?

Beyond the Devastator Marine, do other specialities have special abilities that help them deal with hordes, like the Unrelenting Devastation ability?

Did the Servo Harness make it into the game for the Techmarine?

If it's not that much trouble, could you type out a list of all the melee and ranged weapons that appear in DW core, no stats, just the names?

Lastly, are all the weapons listed as "Astartes" versions? Are there weapons listed in the DW core book that appear in previous games such as DH and RT with no stat change? I assume the man portable lascannon would be one that is one of such weapons.

Thanks for your time, you've been a great help for us who do not yet have the book.

Are there extended rules for horde vs. horde combat or is it still "one horde cancels another"?

Does the book list any penalties for "normal" humans using the Astartes weapons?

How is fear, along with insanity/corruption handled? Is it similar to DH/RT, or do marines have some advantage?

Are there vehicle mechanics, or info on using pods besides just narrative uses?

Besides the benefit Space Wolves have, are there any benefits/penalties for choosing not to wear the helmet for power armour (other than the obvious loss of the autosenses/armour/void capability etc.)?

Do things like purity seals fit under the armour histories (I think that is what I heard them called), or are they their own thing (or even listed?)?

Carry capacity, do marines use a different table, or can they actually carry 1350+ kg of stuff (or does bulk of equipment just become the primary issue?)?

Progenoid recovery, if a player character dies, is this an issue, are there stats for the reductor?

Sorry for all the questions, just can't wait to get the book in hand.

Also, here's hoping I can get my hands on a copy of the CE, that thing is glorious.

I'll hit the easy ones:

Does the book list any penalties for "normal" humans using the Astartes weapons?

-Yes

How is fear, along with insanity/corruption handled? Is it similar to DH/RT, or do marines have some advantage?

-It affects Marines differently. They do not suffer Fear in the normal way, but can accrue Insanity, which manifests in The Primarch's Curse.

Are there vehicle mechanics, or info on using pods besides just narrative uses?

-Not in this book, but the GM's kit states that vehicles rules will be coming out in a future book.

Besides the benefit Space Wolves have, are there any benefits/penalties for choosing not to wear the helmet for power armour (other than the obvious loss of the autosenses/armour/void capability etc.)?

-No.

Do things like purity seals fit under the armour histories (I think that is what I heard them called), or are they their own thing (or even listed?)?

-No purity seals in this book.

Progenoid recovery, if a player character dies, is this an issue, are there stats for the reductor?

-There are rules for Progenoid recovery and the reductor.

@Veroldindir: Nope, no increase to the Unnatural Characteristics they already have either. Same goes for other Specialities having anti-Horde abilities.

Yes, there is the Servo-Harness.

Sadly, given it's pages of stuff, I'm not writing out all the weapons. However, if you've seen it being used by the Space Marines in the tabletop game, it's probably there.

A lot of the weapons are Astartes only versions, but a couple of the weapons are the normal type. The Lascannon included is actually the Marine-Portable one, designed to be carried around and fired whilst held (not on a tripod) and used with a back-pack rather than the one used by the Imperial Guard (the man-portable one).

@Cifer: Nope, no Horde v Horde rules, though using the normal rules used by PCs versus Hordes would work fine.

@KommissarK

Yep. Other than normal humans generally being shot for carrying Astartes weapons (they don't like normal humans taking their stuff), all Astartes weapons count as one class heavier than normal (an Astartes Bolt Pistol, in the hands of a normal person, counts as a Basic weapon, and a Bolter would count as a Heavy weapon). They also give you a -30 modifier to all rolls using them, due to the size, recoil, etc, of the weapon.

Fear, Insanity and Corruption are all treated differently due to the Marine's training. Basically, Marines don't run away scared from things that cause fear, but it does make them less effective as they are distracted by the fear.

Nope, there aren't really any benefits to not wearing the power armour helmet.

No vehicle rules, sorry.

Purity seals are mentioned, but only in that it says the rules for various honours and awards, such as Purity Seals and the Imperial Laurel will be in a later book.

They can actually carry 1000+kg worth of equipment, and it is basically bulk of equipment that is the primary issue.

There are stats for a narthecium, and rules on how to recover geneseed. Recovering the geneseed actually gives the dead character's player a bonus in creating their new character (there are in-setting reasons for a new Marine of the same Chapter turning up, and rules that mean that the new Marine is the same rank as the rest of the team).

aethel said:

Disappointing. In Rifts I had the same problem: anybody not armoring their entire body was insane for not doing so (which is realistic but no fun).

Nobody in their right mind won't wear a helmet. In spite of all the published minis and drawings with helmless marines.

House rule suggestion: helmless marines get an extra temporary fate point for a session in which they announce they won't wear a helmet. They won't be able to use a helmet unless having a head wound, being exposed to vaccum or similar.

And in combat-heavy sessions make that two temporary fate points.

Alex

ak-73 said:

Aren't they all going to be combat-heavy? That seems to be the general perception.

Adam France said:

Don't forget Einstein though: everything is relative. :-)

I ran the first half of Final Sanction and it was pure combat, still the hordes sucked at shooting, so few shots actually hit which means a lower chance of a head getting hit. The slight disadvantage to 'no helmet' is that you have to roll hit location for each attack that hits, btw. Still a Space Wolf should wear no helmet... ;-)

Alex

However, remember that you can just twist the helmet off and hang it on your belt. It's not as though you can't just take the helmet off whilst not fighting, and quickly fix it on before going into (when you know you will be) combat.

@Cifer: Nope, no Horde v Horde rules, though using the normal rules used by PCs versus Hordes would work fine.

Now I might remember that wrong, but wouldn't the low number of shots per round which actually represents a higher number result in a rather lengthy slugfest, assuming the hordes aren't decked out in flamers and blast weapons?

@ak

The slight disadvantage to 'no helmet' is that you have to roll hit location for each attack that hits, btw.

You'll have to do that anyway when playing the full game - the torso location has two more AP than the others now.

Cifer said:

Well, I've not personally done Horde on Horde fights, so I wouldn't know. I'd be tempted to run any such battles narratively anyway.

And you'd have to roll location for every attack that hits due to the way that Critical Hits work anyway. It's not as though it's difficult to do, you just reverse the original "to hit" roll (so a "to hit" roll of 40 would hit the location covered by 04, which is the head).