Due to the insane level of zealotry my players have displayed in keeping the honour of their colours intact (diving in the path of heavy weapon fire that might hit the banner; flat out killing anyone who insults the banner; coming nearly to blows in character when it comes time to determine the squad leader), I've instituted some banner house rules.

Squad Banner

Requisition: special

Renown: Respected

Once a kill-team has established themselves in a watch house, the Watch-chaplain, a Keeper and a number of specially trained serfs approach them and provide the greatest physical representation of the kill-teams personal honour - a banner. The banner is initially a field of black cloth, it is up to the kill-team to instruct their serfs as to exactly what they want on it. Personal honours, squad mottos and images taken from the early and most bonding victories of the kill-team are common, with more honours being added on to the banner as the squad progresses through their Watch. Many kill-teams do not bear their banner into the field, but those that do often find the sight of their colours to be inspiring when all else seems lost. Should a kill-team complete their watch or be killed in the course of their duties, the Keeper that initially presented them with their banner pole and colours will take the banner and hang it in one of the most sacred places in any Watch-station; the Black Hall. To walk down a Black Hall is to walk past the history of the Deathwatch and to stand with the warrior spirits of heroes many centuries or millenia dead.

A kill team automatically receives a Squad Banner once they reach Respected renown. During the preperation stage of a mission, one member of the squad must be chosen to bear the banner into battle, either by afixing it to their backpack or by carrying a long banner pole. The banner bearer need not be the Kill-team leader. The banner offers the following effect.

*Any member of the kill team may place a fate point into the banner during the preperation phase of a mission. Any member of the kill team within support range of the banner bearer and in squad mode can spend one of the pooled fate points as if it had come from their own pool. This pool can only be refreshed at the start of a new session, and the same number of fate points must be placed inside it.

*The banner bearer counts as being one rank higher for the purpose of calculating support ranges.

*The banner bearer gains +1 renown at the end of a mission as long as the banner isn't allowed to fall or be insulted. If they are slain in such a way that the banner is not allowed to fall, they post-humously gain +5 renown. If the banner is dropped for any reason, the bearer loses -3 renown at the end of the mission, -5 if they dropped it deliberately for any reason.

*Any of the pooled fate points that are spend to restore cohesion restore 2 instead of 1 cohesion.

*With the GM's permission, other Imperial Agencies that are inspired by the banner (the bearer leading a horde of Imperial Guardsmen into battle, as an example) may also spend fate from the pool, but they can never add to it.

I must say I absolutely love this idea. I've been mulling a few ideas over for banner rules for my own Kill Team, as the rules presented in the book are hardly inspiring. I love the pooled fate points Idea, but most of all the black banner that the kill team itself adorns makes me all tingly inside. Can't thank you enough!

Holy Hell, I'm using this. Fantastic.

edit: RobIsRob, you mention 'uninspiring' rules for banners, where are these?

Thanks lads!

igotsmeakabob!! said:

The rules for back banners are in the wargear section of the Core book. It took me about three months before I even noticed it was there. That is not an awesome enough representation of a banner IMO, hence this

Oh, it's also worth mentioning, I've house ruled my house rule.

*The banner pole's spiked end, tempered and sharpened in order to be able to plant it even in ceramite hull plating, counts as an Unwieldy Astartes knife. If the banner pole is used to deal the finishing blow to a Master level creature (NOTE: In my game, this reads "With an appropriately described cut scene from the player), the entire kill team gains +D3 renown at the end of a mission.