First, I just got The Jericho Reach and made it to page 29. On that page Table 1-1: Acheros Oaths lists 4 of the new oaths. Under Oath of Purity there is a new squad mode ability called Faith is our Shield. I've looked in every book I have and cannot find it. This is the case with another squad mode ability, Stalwart Survivors under Oath of the Watchguard.

Do these squad mode abilities exist? Am I just missing them?

Second, in the same table mentioned above, Oath of Vengeance lists Holy Vengeance as a squad mode ability. If I'm not mistaken Holy Vengeance is a Black Templar Chapter squad mode ability.

Is this correct? Does this function as a normal squad mode ability or a Chapter squad mode ability? If so, does the squad leader need to be a Black Templar? Does there need to be a Black Templar in the group for the Kill-Team to be able to use it?

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

C.M.

to add to the questions above

the new oaths cost xp, if you buy that do you get the squad mode abilities listed with it or do you have to buy those seperatly?

From what it says in the sidebar "Using Salient Squad Modes" on pg. 84, it appears as though you must buy all of it separately.

ddunkelmeister said:

I don't have the book yet but that kind of piecemeal purchasing seems like it would make Oaths that are purchased initially useless barring further XP investment in Squad Modes, and that's not exactly a good interpretation or a good mechanics decision.

I agree with you, but that appears to be the intended effect. That being said, the abilities and oaths are, for the most part, fairly cheap (the most expensive one is 400 xp, and most of the others are ~250).

On a semi-related note, Parlay Terms is the greatest Squad Ability ever .

Do you get to pick which Squad Modes go with each oath, and that's how the purchases are piecemeal?

If that's the case I'll probably roll everything together in the cost of one big purchase.

Cromagnum Man said:

I guess they changed the names. Because Fury Preserves Us and Close Minds aren't used. My guess would be Fury Preserves Us = Faith is our Shield and Closed Minds = Stalwart Survivors .

I assume this, because in the other Salients all pattern had been used and these would be the only two remaining patterns. Why this grave failure, I don't know ... However I can't say that my assumptions are right. I will go with this explanation however, until the Errata (hopefully) gets updated...

Kshatriya said:

All of the new oaths have preset squad abilities, just like normal. As I remember, in most cases the oaths have a mix of corebook abilities and one or two of the new ones.

I could see how piecemeal purchase makes sense if it the new rules were like "here's this oath, now pick 4 Squad Modes from this list of 10 that can be usable when you swear this Oath."

If there's no customization, the piecemeal approach doesn't really make sense to me. So I think I will go with the package deal.

The way I'm running it with my group is... uh... weird to explain, now I come to think of it. Gimme a second here...

Right. RAW states that each character effectively has two types of squad abilities - codex and chapter. The available codex abilities are available to the kill team depending on which Oath is selected at the start of the mission. The chapter abilities (and let's ignore squad leaders and how they interact for now) are available to any member of that chapter - if one Space Wolf calls Tooth & Claw, all Space Wolves can benefit (also, if I've got this wrong, it's because I don't have my book with me atm and we my lads don't use chapter abilities that often so I'm a little rusty ).

The Jericho Reach abilities work a little like a mix of the two. If somebody has bought one of the squad abilities and uses it, everone who has bought that ability can activate it but ONLY the people who have bought it. Anyone can call the ability, even if they are not the squad leader. Jasticus Craig, famed devastator and Beret wearer is the first into the tunnel at the Squad Leaders behest. Having seen the Broodlord riding a Mawloc down there, he calls Tunnel Assault and the other members of the team who have bought Tunnel Assault also gain the benefits. The Squad Leader then dutifully marks off the requisite Cohesion whilst inwardly seething that his authority has been co-opted.

Purchasing an Oath means whenever that Oath is selected, any of the Jericho-specific squad modes that come along with that Oath are available for the squad leader to call that mission, jsut like a regular Codex squad ability.

We're only just starting to run with this, so time will tell if I've made a huge mistake, but the theory is sound (unless you people can find a clear and obvious flaw).

professor_kylan said:

Thanks for writing me a new campaign AND a villain to go with it!

Now I'm picturing a Devastator with a beret on his helmet, but we all know those Brits at GW wouldn't let no Frenchies in their game!

Heh - interestingly, one of my guys is a devastartor with a beret. I don't have PROOF that the player wasn't attempting to challenge my abilities to create a mini for him, but I have a sneaking suspicion it might be the case...

Thank you Imperial Guard Command Squad boxed set! You have all the beret I will ever need.

professor_kylan said:

So, just to make sure I understand correctly, you have ruled it as thus:

PCs can either

1) purchase individual squad abilities. These abilities are treated similarly to chapter abilities, in that only other squad mates who have purchased the ability can benefit from it.

or

2) buy an oath. When selected for a mission, this oath automatically unlocks the associated squad abilities for the entire team, regardless of whether the individual marine has purchased the squad ability in question separately.

If so, that is an interesting way to handle it..

That is a shockingly more simplistic way of explaining it and I feel like an idiot for not working out those words.

"D'oh"

-excerpt from c.M2 fictional works

Yes, that's pretty much exactly it. So far (aka, one session in) it seems to be working fine and the group are enjoying hte mechanic. Although they did look at the various lines of "Deathwatch kill teams are learning to adapt to fight [bADGUYS] by [DOING SOMETHING COOL]" description in half of the new squad modea and are working on developing their own new ones. So that should be interesting to watch/arbitrate.