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Hello,
I'm starting a Deathwatch campaign with some friends. One of the other players wants to play a Black Shield and he asked me for help to refine his character's background, specifically his original chapter. From what he told me, he wants to play a marine that focuses on melee with a two handed weapon, but that falls back to ranged weapons like rifles and guns if the enemy is "not worthy": so for example, he'd gun down normal orks and would then switch to melee against a Nob (as dangerous as it may seem). I told him to check out Storm Wardens and the various successors of the Blood Angels, but I'm not that familiar with the various SM chapters, so I want to make sure I'm not forgetting about some others that fit the concept.
Could you name (if there are any - I realize the idea doesn't really fit the standard Astartes mentality) a few chapters whose SMs would go out of their way to meet in melee only the best opponents they face? Our DM told us that any chapter can be proposed as long as it's not a huge stretch, so feel free to suggest chapters that went renegade and Chaos aligned chapters.

Thanks.

The BA you mentioned might do so, and some of their successors are noted as battle-crazed. Just not sure Deathwatch would recruit an uncontrollable psychotic killer with a twohanded powersword.

The Black Templars are on permanent crusades against the enemies of mankind. They name one of their number The Emperor's Champion before great battles and outfit him with the finest armor and close combat weapons - I'd imagine they put a lot of store in melee skills.

Space Wolves like nothing better than a good victory they can tell tall tales about later - I'm sure plenty of them will risk melee if there's good bragging rights in it.

And surely any Vanguard Veteran knows when to go for the close-quarters kill? Close combat is their job after all.

Oh yes we do. Black Templars become fearless in CC because they hate to flee from a enemy and all CC weapons and cheap in points compered to other chapters.

I echo the above - black templars are happy to shoot to soften them up. For Space wolves only the old fogeys shoot! Real men hit it with their axe!

Blood angels are sensible if they are not raging.

Thanks guys

Any time.