Forgive my ignorance, since I am still waiting for the book to arrive (darn media mail...), but as the topic asks, does the Deathwatch maintain its own fleet or rely on the Imperial Navy for transportation?

Further along those lines, if the Deathwatch maintains its own fleet, is it primarily comprised of IN vessels, or do they require a tithe of them from the space marine chapters as well?

Reason for asking: I wish to include some RT elements in a campaign I am knocking ideas around for, with some void-naval battles between the party's ship and some tyranid Krakens, but I need to know what kind of vessel to base the party out from. I'm hoping for a Nova, since I just got new models for them. Since Novas have Lances, and the Inquisition isn't too keen on Space Marines having too "self-sufficient" fleets, would it be plausible that the Inquisition would have "commandeered" or otherwise gained control of a few of them, to limit a chapter from having too many lance-armed vessels?

They have several warships, but they almost all consist of frigates, destroyers and other rapid-strike vessels. Otherwise they do just call upon the Imperial Navy or other Space Marine Chapters for support (eg. larger ships like cruisers).

Space Marines are one of those pesky independant groups within the Imperium, who don't seem too likely to tolerate any BS from the Inquisition over commandeering their ships.

Yeah, the Inquisition's practical authority over any Astartes Chapter is between little and none. Look at the Black Templars: they have many thousands of Marines, and multiple fleets of warships. An Inquisitor trying to seize Astartes vessels would be laughed at if he was lucky, and killed if he was slightly less lucky. They even stated in the Deathwatch rules that Inquisitors who've tried to throw their weight around in the Erioch Watch Fortress have ended up dead. The Inquisition as a body is not likely to go to war over one headstrong (and newly dead) Inquisitor, and no one in their right mind picks a fight with an entire Chapter.

But to answer the question more directly: I suspect that the Deathwatch in particular has a larger-than-average number of salvaged starships, whether they are captured derelicts, refitted vessels taken from conquered foes, or pried out of space hulks. It's also possible that Chapters have tithed vessels to the Deathwatch. Space Marines in general prefer fast-attack craft, and don't generally go to war in anything bigger (and slower) than a heavy cruiser.

So how would you explain a kill-team being in charge of a Nova-class frigate? I need a good backstory to tell my players.

Requisitioned from the Imperial Navy. A very large Space Marine clad in black armor walks onto the command deck, up to the command pulpit and says "My team needs the use of this ship.". It would take a particularly brave Captain to tell him "No" especially when this Space Marine has his team standing behind him.

That would work for IN ships, but not for a Nova (a space marine class of vessel). Any ideas for a reason behind having a SM vessel?

Right now I'm leaning towards it being gained for the Deathwatch via tithe, or through a salvage operation, as those seem the most likely ways I've heard so far.

I don't think it's the best idea to put a kill-team in charge of a starship, at least not permanently. That said, depending on the makeup of the team, they could be invaluable on a mission against a spacegoing enemy that one or all of them have extensive experience fighting.

That's kind of true...

So what about this: I was thinking of having the ship be a mission in its own right, and the control of said ship being the ultimate reward for completing the mission. I was thinking a genestealer infestation aboard a vessel would warrant a kill-team's investigation, and if they successfully purge the infestation without destroying the ship they would be allowed to commandeer it (given that they would have enough renown to requisition a crew and any neccessary parts for repair).

You might concider using the ship that is actually provided in the DW corebook. It was supposedly built at the Mars shipyards and commissioned by the DW. It is known as "Thunder's Word" and has some excellent history behind it. It is a modified Gladius class frigate. It's insanely fast and heavily armed. I can just picture this cool looking jet black imperial frigate with silver accents making deep strikes within the most dangerous warzones in the imperium... I think I may use this myself!

If you're willing to dig back a few pages, I even stated up the Thunder's Word using Rouge Trader and RT: Into the Storm components. It is a dangerous vessel capable of fighting well above its tonnage, but is also capable of speed and stealth.

I stumbled across some interesting material while reading "Oblivion's Edge":

"Shortly thereafter, a Deathwatch battle barge arrives, marking the end of the swarm for good." - Pg 23

This implies that the Deathwatch does maintain its own fleet of vessels, and some of those vessels are definitely Space Marine in origin. The only question I have, then, is how do they acquire these vessels, and who is placed in control of these vessels?

FoxPhoenix135 said:

I imagine some may have been given to the Deathwatch when it was formed, by the Chapters involved in its founding. Others would probably have been commissioned specifically for the Deathwatch. Its crew... well, most Astartes vessels aren't crewed by Astartes anyway - they use a combination of chapter serfs and servitors, with a the Astartes on board performing the roles of command crew, passengers and boarding parties. Given the limited requirement for Astartes as crew aboard even a Battle Barge (most Astartes on board such a vessel will be passengers, awaiting deployment by gunship or pod), that role can easily be performed by any Deathwatch Battle-Brother skilled in space combat.

I'd personally always seen the Deathwatch as tending to operate smaller, faster vessels, and relying upon "normal" Marine chapters for battle barges when the sh*t hits the fan on a larger scale. This certainly seems to be how the Deathwatch operate in the Jericho Reach, given how they have the Storm Wardens...er..."nearby" to act as heavy support.

Mind you, the Grey Knights - an equivalent Chamber Militant with an Ordos-specific brief - has Strike Cruisers...which are pretty big...and in the past, during major Daemonic incursions, they operated at a company sized level.....and didn't the Grey Knights use battle barges against the Relictors? Hmmm....I guess it DOES make sense that the Deathwatch would have battle barges.

I seem to recall that Deathwatch states somewhere that Watch Fortress Erioch once had 200 or so members of the Deathwatch in it at one time. If you're talking 2 x marine company sized deployments, then a Battle Barge (or 2x strike cruisers) is the sort of ship scale you'd be talking about.

At this stage, we have no idea how larger scale Deathwatch deployments operate. And to some extent this goes to the question "how much are the Deathwatch like a regular Chapter?" We seem to have established that they have Dreadnoughts and the like, so Battle Barges seem a logical thing for them to possess, as well.

As to where they're kept, who maintains them etc etc...we don't know yet. But one can theorise that perhaps there are some really big Watch Frotresses (many times bigger than Erioch) where these vessels are mothballed until needed. They may be used for massive strikes in unusual situations where the expertise of the Deathwatch makes it necessary to use them for huge strikes as opposed to "regular" Astartes forces...Just a few thoughts!

For yet another possibility, see wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Inquisitorial_Black_Ship.

though it is a nice thought to have DW have their own ship, however you are in danger or turning the game into a space opera star wars style fly here blow up that style game.

The DW and the marine chapters have various vessels "owned" by them, but I would imagine for the DW to be successful they rely on other ships such as charter captains, rogue traders and the imperial navy.

If it is a rapid reaction response I would imagine the DW would commandeer the first ship available.

In a recent session the DW were taken by one ship to their location, and the Space Wolf got along "very well" with the ship captain. He now has her as a friend, and could maybe call upon her to help. In the meantime they have transferred to an different ship, whose captian is a glory hound.

If the captains are detailed enough, and strong enough the players should be able to build a decent list of contacts, and it's always nice story wise to return to a ship they have travelled on, and those old friendships renewed, as well as the reverse.

Mithras said:

What page is the Thunder's Word on?

Page 335, with the rest of the info on what types of ships the Deathwatch use (almost universally small, fast, agile ships. Proper naval fighting is for the Imperial Navy).

MILLANDSON said:

Thanks! I was going nuts skimming for a stat-block. Can some folks post what they came up with?

darkrose50 said:

If you have a RT book, I would stat it up as a modified Firestorm class. most likely with Wolf in sheep's clothing or Air of the Imperium or something like that.

As for its Machine Spirit...Most likely: Ancient and wise; Adventurous; or A nose for Trouble.

Huh, I hadn't thought about GK Strike Cruisers... It would only make sense that the Deathwatch would have their own version of these attack craft.

As to it becoming a space opera... I thought that is more or less what 40k is, albeit a dark and grim one?

Anyway, I intend on running my player(s) through the full Final Sanction / Oblivion's Edge introductory games before reaching this point, so I will not be letting them use the ship to go around and do whatever they please. It will serve mainly as a base of operations for them, a place to return to and store their gear... but only AFTER: They eliminate the genestealer infestation that spread rampantly after the stored "specimen" aboard (being transported to a research lab to gain more information on the Tyranid threat and the link between the Great Devourer and genestealers) escapes and begins to start the infection anew aboard the vessel... I am imagining a very "space hulk" style of mission, with the ship as a reward only if they can figure out a way to destroy the genestealers without blowing up the ship...

For ship components, is Into the Storm a good buy? Do they have additional components that could be used for statting SM vessels?

@ Darkrose

Here is something I did.

FoxPhoenix135 said:

Well, rules for pod bays and pods (the latter in the vehicle rules, which also include stats for Scout Bikes and Rhinos) are in there, so I imagine those elements would be helpful to someone playing Deathwatch.