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So my friends and I are planning on picking up the Deathwatch RPG from Fantasy Flight, and we're all planning on modelling all our characters for it, I myself am thinking of doing a techmarine. I know the left shoulder pad has the death watch symbol, which we are planning on getting the Deathwatch Kill Team Conversion Kit from GW to use. Now I am unsure of how to do the right shoulder pad, for Deathwatch it is usually the chapter symbol and colours, but a Techmarine usually has a pad with the symbol of the Machine Cult.

My question to you; Should I use my chapter symbol, or that of the Machine Cult for the right shoulder pad?

Officially, Techmarines have chapter symbol on the left, AdMech on the right. Deathwatch pads, like terminator honors, take precedence and bump the chapter symbol to the other side. The thing is, that side is taken up by AdMech bling. I don't believe there's a clear-cut rule for this (someone correct me if there is a precedent I don't know about), but you could easily pick either and stay justifiably fluffy.

Since this is for an RPG, why not put some RP into the equation? Decide which is more important to your character: Chapter or Machine Cult? Primarch or Omnissiah? Whether you decide based on aesthetics and work it into your story or do the modeling based on your preferred background, if both facets agree, you're in nerdvana.

I'de have the AdMech on the right shoulder and have the chapter symbol elsewhere say in the centre of the Aquilla or on a greave.

From a Lore perspective techmarines start out as standard marines but If an astartes shows technical aptitude the chapter is honour bound by ancient pacts with the mechanicus to send them to mars for training once they return they are accepted back to the chapter but there is always that question of where their loyaties primarily lie.

Very good choice of class from a lore perspective since in any RP situation a standard marine is, shall we say, one dimensional? But with a techmarine you can put some emotional conflict of where his loyalties lie.

As oadie said chapter or machine cult?

oadie has a cool idea. GM will like it too. devils advocate: if you put a chapter pad then im sure admech stuff will be all over things like the power axed and knee pads etc. may be a bit more difficult to work in the chapter symbol somewhere.

Just thought of another thing to consider. Since this Techmarine is having a stint in the Deathwatch he also has a commitment to the ordo Xenos to take into account.
Geez if your GM was to put your group on a forgeworld which was being attacked by eldar while your original chapter was trying to get a mission accomplished while an ordo Xenos inquisitor was trying to get answers out of the mechanicus of the forgeworld this guys head would explode!

Or you could just do what Deathwatch do and move the chapter symbol to the right pad and incorporate the Admech iconography into it somehow. Or ignore the admech on the shoulderpad and use the techmarine torso and let that indicate Techmarine status.

My old Techmarine is covered in AdMec stuff. I would just go directly for mechanicus and DW and forget the chapter. Why you say? Well how do Deathwatch Dreads work? Are they on Loan. Or does the DW maintain a number of vehicles that belong to them and therefore would require their own techmarine that they recruited and indoctrinated? I think this is the most likely, all other personnel are drawn from the chapters but because DW have access to superior tech they would have a specialist cadre of Tech'Marines. This is my one, needs some dullcote to tone him down!


Checkout my DW if you want. http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-22413-6355_Deathwatch%20Ongoing.html

I'm about to put together a Deathwatch Techmarine as well, and I'll be giving him the Ad-Mech Shoulder pad rather than a specific chapter pad (then again, they don't make pads for the Chapter I'm doing - Emerald Vipers - so it's no big deal).

In any case, his Chapter symbol can go on a knee-pad or something.

Personally, I like the idea of him being loyal to the AdMech over his chapter, but there you are. I therefore agree with the above post.

I did not know that the Deathwatch maintained dreads. Doesen't power armour require all the standard prayers, maintinence and blessings from the omnissiah before going into battle like a dread does?

Are DW killteams still in 5th edition? Be cool to have a whole arm of em but woulden't feel right having kill teams count as just tac squads. Need to have a small but expensive force of xeno killers!

I did just that, 21 Marines with 2 Dreads. I called it a Deathwatch Strike force. I had a 5 Man Command squad led by a Chaplain, A Captain in Terminator Armour, a 5 Man Combi bolter Squad (Sternguard), a 5 Man CC unit and a 5 man Devastator unit. Not very legal, but great fun to have a friendly challenge at my local club, plus they look amazing in Apocalypse games when you rock up with a small nails force it does feel special when you have only 21 guys and the rest have 4000pts plus and you are going for an objective with guile not strength!


I'll post some more of my old units at the weekend, thankfully my painting has improved since i did these.