it says that it's down to the individual oath taken by that individual Marine. Often it is for "one mission", but the meaning of "one mission" could mean one Crusade, one area of space for a set length of time... you get the drift. It's basically entirely down to the Marine in question and where he is being stationed.

How does the "recruiting" work in general? Does the chapter grant Marines to the Deathwatch on a hunch, does the Deathwatch ask for Marines from specific chapters? And who exactly is "The Deathwatch" anyway? How are they organized?

Cifer said:

Sometimes a Marine will be chosen from his Chapter by his Captain/Chaplains/Apothecaries/Chapter Master to represent their Chapter in the Deathwatch, following a Chapter-wide oath that so many Marines from that Chapter will be in the Deathwatch at any one time. Sometimes the Deathwatch will, due to sheer workload, request nearby Chapters if they might send more Marines to join the Deathwatch. Other times a Chapter might have lent a couple of Marines to an Inquisitor for a mission, and the Inquisitor might suggest to the Chapter Master/Deathwatch that that Marine might be a good candidate for the Deathwatch. All of those and a few more are the various recruitment methods of the Deathwatch.

As for how the Deathwatch is organised and what it is... it is an organisation borne of a millenia old oath between dozens of Chapter Masters (one of the few times in the history of the Imperium that such a gathering of Chapter Masters has taken place) and the Inquisitorial Conclave of Orphite IV (which had gathered to discuss their shared belief that one day the Imperium would be subjugated by xenos (not a matter of if, but when, and which xenos) and how they might go about combating such a fate for Humanity), to create a force of wardens to stand guard over the Imperium to protect it against the ravening hordes of Xenos that threaten to destroy the Imperium. It is not subordinate to the Inquisition, and as such is only a Chamber Militant in the loosest sense of the term, as they are, at the same time, independent of the Inquisition, yet often co-operate with it. They are both equals, and as such don't really have the same sort of relationship as the Ordo Hereticus has with the Adepta Sororitas, or the Ordo Malleus has with the Grey Knights.

There's a whole section of the book all about the Deathwatch, what they are, how they recruit, what they fight against... all sorts.

There's a whole section of the book all about the Deathwatch, what they are, how they recruit, what they fight against... all sorts.

One would imagine that about 80% of the book would be all about the Deathwatch.

Quite interesting. Especially that thing about them actually not being subservient to the Inquisition...

What's the adventure like?

Thank you for your answers, i know they were a little repetitive and all. I appreciate the help regardless! Thanks for taking the time to help those less fortunate.

How does the Assault Cannon of the Astartes compare to the Heavy Bolter? Is it a bucket load of awesome? ROF 10 with the Storm Quality?? And what about the Lightning Claws? My favourite weapons of the 41st Millennium!

Thanks in advance!

Cifer said:

That is cool!

AluminiumWolf said:

Not bad, though I have a feeling they have learnt that most people never bother using the adventure in the book, so it is just a fleshed out example of one of the many sorts of missions the Deathwatch get called upon to carry out, though that gives them more space to include more fluff, which is a good trade in my opinion.

@Space Monkey: The overall average damage is roughly the same as a Heavy Bolter, though with a much larger magazine. It can also only be used when attached to Terminator Armour, so you won't be using those for a long while unless you just skip your team ahead.

As for the Lightning Claws, they do the same damage as a Power Sword, but do extra damage per DoS you get due to having multiple blades (this is increased more when you wear a pair of lightning claws), and also have the Tearing quality.

MILLANDSON said:

We played the introductory scenario from Dark Heresy and enjoyed it. And if I recall it correctly, it contained an "early form of hordes" too, these crow-things.

Are Space Marines immune to pinning?

Alex

ak-73 said:

No, but they do start off with Nerves of Steel.

Hi, just a quick question about the marine implants, are there any differences between the chapters with regards to these? I remember that some chapters have deficiences or alterations to specific organs? Does this come up at all?

It does point out that some Chapters have malfunctioning organs, though none of those who have have non-functioning organs are the ones in the rulebook, to my knowledge (other than the Space Wolves having big canines, though that's not a major malfunction).

MILLANDSON said:

How to kill a Space Marine with rabble troopers: pin him with an autopistol and puncture him with a few hunting rifles.

Alex

MILLANDSON said:

Got to correct you here, Millandson - Black Templars (being of Imperial Fists geneseed) lack both the Betcher's Gland and Sus-an Membrane.

N0-1_H3r3 said:

Quite right, other than they do have both, but they don't work. Looking over the Black Templar info, the rules do indeed say they don't benefit from their Betcher's Gland or Sus-an Membrane

Since I'm not one for pointless speculation and nay-saying when we've got someone around here who has the book and is even finally allowed to say something about it, let me transfer this comment from ak-73 to this thread:

Again I'd like to invoke Recon too - another military setting and the job of the GM was to ensure that interesting group dynamics would take place (psychotic civilian life journalist and pacifist coal miner or whatever). Or take the Twilight RPG (anyone remember?), for example. In military RPGs a lot comes down to who the person is outside of their job and how these different personalities interact on the job.

My impression is that the Deathwatch Core Rulebook quite frankly will be lacking in the regard. My hopes are pinned on Rites of Battle.

And as knights are the other great influence on the idea of Space Marines, an RPG about knights has to also give the players and the GM inspiration who a knight might be behind their jousting and sword-fiddling. What do they do, how do they live, whom do they interact with in daily living, what are their dreams, hopes and aspirations.

Again, not under the impression that the Core Rulebook wil provide this inspiration.

So... how much is said about the daily life of a marine? And how much help does the GM receive when it comes to crafting low-combat adventures?

Each of the Chapter sections covers generally how their Marines live, what they do (such as the Black Templars spending a lot more time praying than most Chapters), and the sections on how to build missions and GM assistance cover non-combat objectives/missions just as much as they cover combat missions, so there should be no trouble with GMs being unable to make non-combat missions (personally, I'm planning a mission where the Deathwatch squad go as a bodyguard for an Inquisitor who is acting as a diplomat to the Tau. It's only once they are there that they discover that the Tau have captured several Tyranid specimens and are doing genetic research on them... which obviously the Deathwatch can't let them do, which means them having to carry out their orders as bodyguards whilst also planning a raid on the labs that the Tyranids are being kept at. Should prove interesting, I think )

MILLANDSON said:

Are the rules for the Betcher's Gland in there, allowing Marines to spit poisonous acid? I ask because if it is, the Black Templars shouldn't get it (as no Marine of Imperial Fist heritage should have it).

[EDIT]: 'Spose I should have read further in the thread where you answered that question. What does the Betcher's Bland do in DW?

Exactly what it says on the tin, HBMC Let's you spit acid and do things like burn/melt through mostly anything, given enough time.

The mental image of a Space Marine gnawing through the bars of his jail cell has always amused me.

According to the example usage for the gland in the rulebook, you could chew through about 4kg of iron in a minute or so. So, basically, you'd best chain them up on a wall so they can't reach to chew anything Otherwise, use adamantine for the bars, unless you want the Marines running around your base breaking necks/backs within 10 minutes of having been put in the cell.

MILLANDSON said:

As an extra objective, or an alternative one. Have an Istvaanian Inquisitor send some kind of Temple assassin after the Diplomatic Inquisitor and the Tau representative. An Eversor, perhaps, just to make the whole thing a bloody spectacle and ruin any chance of cease-fire. This assassin, of course, is perfectly willing to go through the Kill-team if they get in the way of his mission.

Could you tell us something about the Chaos faction? Somehow, I'm assuming elements of a Traitor Legion will be present. Which legions are there? Which deities are most prevalent?

Cifer said:

There are Traitor Marines there, but for the most part it doesn't state what specific legions are involved, or what deities are most prevalent. The one reference to a specific legion being involved in the area states that a Word Bearers fleet controls one area of the Cellebos Warzone, a system of three planets called the Blood Trinity (the three planets are Agri/Paradise worlds, and are the breadbasket for the Chaos forces). There are rules for all of the Marks of Chaos though, so any/all of the Legions might have representatives involved.

Out of curiosity, does the book make any mention of characgter gender re space marines etc? Just wondering if they decided to step into the minefield of female space marine debate.

Hellebore