I was reading through Deathwatch last night, in the section about Watch Fortresses.

I had been thinking of conducting a Deathwatch game (or elements of one, in connection with Dark Heresy) in the Calixis Sector.

Not knowing where or what the canonical Watch Fortress for Calixis was, the idea of founding it aboard an old Imperial Navy Battleship came to mind. It would rove about the sector, providing exceptional flexibility of operations.

Before I ran off all excited to do work on this idea, I searched on Google to try and locate anything official, and came up empty.

Does anyone know if there is an official Watch Fortress Calixis?

You are free and clear, brother! I have seen no evidence of DW in Calixis (other than a cameo by a single marine in one published adventure)....there is some fluff (in Lexicanum i think is where i found it) regarding a secret inquisition base somewhere in the region, but i don't have my notes with me to be more specifice - sorry! (I used the secret inq base as a starting-off point for me players).

btw, love the idea of yer roving base - it's an idea i came up with meself as an alternative to the Jericho Reach setting; glad to see great minds think alike

Thanks! I appreciate it.

Now I just have to estimate a BB hull in RT ship construction terms. Shouldn't be too hard.

Hmm, perhaps you may wish to cross reference with DH material on Inquisition resources in the Calixis sector. Any chance you maybe a Black Templar fan? As Black Templars always move on their battle barges with no particular recruiting planet, moving from crusade to crusade. That is quite synonymous with the style of the BT.

In the DH book Daemonhunter there is a bit about the Ordo Malleus headquarters, which is apparently a group of asteroid bases or some such thing. Maybe there you can find some info or ideas or maybe something more substancive, I don't remember exactly what it said, but hopefully it would be helpful,

Lionus said:

The idea for placing the Deathwatch Watch Fortress for Calixis aboard a former Imperial Navy battleship came about when I was a) reading about Watch Fortresses in Deathwatch and b) when I was thinking about basic military strategy, which emphasizes mobile forces over fixed defenses. Having a mobile base would make it quite difficult to locate. Also, it would be different than the fixed secret bases of Ordo Malleus and any connected Grey Knights facilities, and from the Jericho Reach Watch Fortress.

I have also been thinking of creating a group of small merchant corporations in Calixis, each whose small fleet of ships were nothing more than a front for Deathwatch, carrying secret quarters, armories, and boat bays to facilitate kill-team operations throughout the sector. They would also be strongly sympathetic to general Inquisitorial operations. The nobles behind each of the corporations would largely be Imperial loyalists. Using multiple small corporations would make it far more difficult for enemies to associate any particular merchant concern as being an Inquisitorial or Deathwatch front.

The basic theme, though, is a sector stripped to the bone due to decades of manpower requests from the crusade in the Jericho Reach. With the oncoming Tyrant Star, increased Eldar and Dark Eldar activity after almost no such activity since the founding of the sector, plus other xenos interest in whatever it is the Eldar are doing, an ever-more active Koronus Expanse, and everyone must do more more with less. The Calixis sector leaders of all the Adepta, from Hax on down, are all facing having to start refusing or otherwise fighting requests from the Lord Militant of the Jericho Reach for more forces. The Adepta leaders from nearby sectors are not far behind. No matter what they do, it will be very costly. Efforts are being made to persuade sectors further away to contribute forces, or be ordered to do so by the High Lords of Terra, though its success is doubtful as the Eye of Terror has appearances of becoming more active (I haven't obtained Black Crusade yet, but I can speculate things are going to become interesting out there).

Deepstriker said:

I may use them, or may not. The issue is that the crusade in the Jericho Reach, I think, will have attracted any forces such as the Black Templars that were nearby. Just by their very nature they would go straight after that type of conflict. There may not be any left in Calixis.

The DW do have BT in their ranks. And the Black Templar do move from battle front to battle front. I do think that since DH is meant for the Ordo Herticus/ Ordo Malleus, the only astartes in there would be the Grey Knights.

There is mention on http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Calixis_Sector for the BT maintaining a base on a planet called Cloister. Although which source material that is from was not mentioned. They do maintain keeps in worlds that they conquer, although you maybe right that there maybe few BT left.

Like the way you set up the DW in that sector. You make them look very mysterious than the Ordo Malleus. Although the web of trading organisations front does remind me abit of Rogue Trader. Cohesive for the Kill Marine (RoB) web of peers specialization.

I see what you mean about Black Templars serving in the Deathwatch.

A complete list of the chapters and what they're characteristics are, and how that all works together, is not yet loaded into the back of my mind. Most of what I know about the Adeptus Astartes comes from reading Deathwatch, and a bit from Lexicanum. I just have a few bits of knowledge about a few chapters.

Naturally, the Deathwatch could use some Rogue Traders. I was just thinking that since that trope appears to be heavily used, that my version of the Deathwatch in the Calixis sector would steer clear of them for primary operations, just to be different. Let the noisy Inquisitors use up the Rogue Trader contacts. Meanwhile, a Deathwatch kill-team appears out of nowhere. None of those small-time freighters in orbit could have had anything to do with it. Obviously, they still have some of their own obvious purpose-built raiders and a few frigates with Navigators aboard to get around the Warp directly.

Deepstriker said:

Cloister is mentioned in the Dark Heresy core rulebook although there are no space marines currently inhabiting the Black Templar bastion at the moment, only a group of imperial loyalists so if you did want to use the base as a watch fortress in your game your characters would need to do a little evicting first.

If memory serves, the description of the Tricorn Inquisitorial Fortress/Palace in Hive Sibellus, on Scintilla (sector Capital) is noted to have two of each 'chamber militant' standing over the entrance ways. I forget the origin of it, but it seems reasonable to infer that the Tricorn is home to at least some 'semi-permanent' staff in the form of Sisters of Battle, Grey Knights (transient) and Deathwatch Marines.

We know Sacris is home to the Storm Wardens, I can imagine that the Ports are home to something resembling a Deathwatch fortress. That or perhaps the Adrantis Nebula?

As the Koronus Expanse is somewhat an analogy to the Jericho Reach, albeit never properly 'rediscovered' by the Imperium, there may well be 'semi operational' Deathwatch fortresses remaining out in the Expanse.

Back in the beginning of the DH days, Nerroth (IIRC) wrote up a wee something suggesting a Demiurg vessel dwelled within the Kao-Li system. I've always felt sympathetic to that. If the Navy blockade is maintained, I also like the idea that on the interior of the system, there's an actual Watch Fortress, or fur, deeper inside the system which watch the star for clues that the Demiurg ship might be moving out from the star and into the sector once again. (Demiurg ships are said to hide out effectively 'inside' stars, e.g. deep into the mercurial/flare/corona region where most other species' ships can't follow.)

I think that the reference to the ordos militants guarding the Tricorn Palace was from the second dark heresy novel is memory serves. And there has been a few references to the Deathwatch in the Calixis sector starting as early as the adventure collection, Purge the Unclean in Shades of Twilight. Brother-Segeant Aggmorr is a member of the Deathwatch in the Calixis sector. Also, In Demon Hunter, The insert on page 106, labeled the Eye of the Abyss, describes a joint boarding mission between a Deathwatch kill team under the command of Watch Captain Brand aboard the strike cruiser Silent Slayer, and Grey Knights from the strike cruiser Righteous Dawn.

I like some of your inputs. I definately agree with the idea that the Deathwatch in the Calixis sector would be stretched thin. Personnally, I would have that due to the fact that they are supporting operations within the Kronus Expanse. Between Yu'Vath ruins, the Slaught, orks, and eldar/dark eldar they would be very busy. I agree with having the Calixis sector fortress on a starship of some kind. However, your proposed cover companies feels very much like how the slaught get around in the calixis sector. While the Deathwatch is not very visible I don't really see them as sneaking around. Now they might use several of the Inquisition transportation networks in the sector when not on their own vessels. I would probably just have them with their own small fleet of ships. Primarily frigates, with a few cruisers and one battleship sized ship. Thus allowing them to move throughout the Kronus Expanse and the Calixis sector responding to Xenos incursions, and suppressing Rogue Traders/Chartist Captains who peck around Xenos Ruins that don't need to be disturbed.

Salcor

Remember, though, that the Deathwatch are the best kept secret in the galaxy....they are our first, last, and only line of defense....a mystery, an enigma...they are Them...they are the Marines in Black....so, for me, I have no problem with the Deathwatch sneakin' around and being all...sneaky...they operate in kill teams, after all, not chapters or companies or even squads....just sayin'...

Whoa, that's alot of history there. Well, each mission is different unto itself. Who is to say the Deathwatch does not resort to insertions by 'trading vessels'. Inquisitional resources aside, I think the Deathwatch does what is necessary.