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Like the title says. Death Watch just sound really awesome! I mean you got Scythes of the emperor, Crimson Fists, Ultra Marines, Space Wolves, Blood Angles, Dark Angels, Grey Knights and even more like Iron Hands or something all in the same unit and all charging towards the elimination of the Xenos scum that the other weak douches cannot win against.

I think it would be da best codex Evah!

God I hope not.


I like the Deathwatch, but they're really not something which should be a Codex of their own. They should be an option for all Imperial forces to take a Kill-Team of or some kind of upgrade option for the Astartes characters, etc.

You want a codex that say mix and match the other SM codex?

And GK are never members of Death Watch.

To be honest, I wish GW would make supplements again.
A Death Watch supplement would be pretty cool to mix and match with Space Marines.
I could think of rules for them right now...

Restricted to a 5 man Squad taken as an Elite choice.
Lots of load-out choices.
Can only deep-strike.
Has to maintain mission objective.

For example, if it's a capture the objective match, then they must always move towards the nearest objective, killing everything in their path. Or if it's just a standard points match, then they have to move to engage the nearest unit at all times and always move towards the nearest enemy HQ unit.

Or something.

*Shrug* I still think it'd be pretty freaking sweet...

Kanluwen wrote:God I hope not.


I like the Deathwatch, but they're really not something which should be a Codex of their own. They should be an option for all Imperial forces to take a Kill-Team of or some kind of upgrade option for the Astartes characters, etc.

Seeing as GK were supposed to be like that before. I wouldn't mind an Anti-Xenos codex.

I'm with you on the topic of Deathwatch being AWESOME! but agree that they shouldn't have their own codex as there are better known SM chapters out there without one. But the option of taking an astartes kill team sounds even better. Would love to make up an Inquisitorial taskforce with storm troopers, guardsmen and some Deathwatch marines.

Warbear wrote:I'm with you on the topic of Deathwatch being AWESOME! but agree that they shouldn't have their own codex as there are better known SM chapters out there without one. But the option of taking an astartes kill team sounds even better. Would love to make up an Inquisitorial taskforce with storm troopers, guardsmen and some Deathwatch marines.

The old Daemonhunters Codex would be perfect for that! :O

You could make a squad or two and have them counts-as Sternguard/Vanguard Veterans.

ZebioLizard2 wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:God I hope not.


I like the Deathwatch, but they're really not something which should be a Codex of their own. They should be an option for all Imperial forces to take a Kill-Team of or some kind of upgrade option for the Astartes characters, etc.

Seeing as GK were supposed to be like that before. I wouldn't mind an Anti-Xenos codex.

Seeing as Grey Knights weren't really like that before, I would mind that codex.

Grey Knights--while previously available as an option for all Imperial forces--were an entire standing army of their own. Deathwatch, as of now, are beginning to be fleshed out somewhat similarly but they still retain the distinction that they are not a "standing" force of their own. Their numbers are shifting, and they are deployed piecemeal to warzones.

They did make it - but it's a Role Playing Game. Deathwatch are never fielded as an Army. Defeats the point really....

As in second edition Gray knights, they used to be done the same way, with squads being sent out to area's that desperately needed them. Usually at most they would send a terminator squad and that was it.

After all Sisters of battle used to be an actual codex to itself rather than mixed together with inquisition or others, but that was the only one of the three Inquisitor factions to have an actual army, Gray knights could only be taken piecemeal. (One terminator squad per army if I remember second codex right)

Maybe the next Ultramarines Codex can have that option?

Have a huge secondary book that goes along with it that has every Astartes special character and space marine in it that would make up anywhere between a 5-20 man team. Depending on the points. So lets say 500-1000 points you can only have 5 as a kill team. Than higher point games you can fix it with more as those battles are larger and more desperate and therefore call for a larger kill team to coming again to save the mutha zogging day yeah!

It would have special options that only kill team have available and no other codex has stuff that the kill team has access to in addition to each individuals models own special rules that add to the team. So one model could be a Space wolf that has its acute senses and counter attack but only count towards that one model. Another could be something else and so on and you have this mix and match force with a collection of powers fighting together with special weapons and options or armor that no other has access too. Like a non terminator power armor that has 2+ armor saves with a 4+ invuln?

Knights-Abhorrent wrote:To be honest, I wish GW would make supplements again.

Those were the days....

re:OP, take the CF special character and run a bunch of vanguard units. Extra fluff points for a librarian.

Death Watch are cool but they will never get a codex. They dont have enough unit types.

They would be a cool entry im the vanilla dex. 5-10 in the elite slot with some awesome rules. Maybe a Death Watch SC in the HQ slot.

It would have special options that only kill team have available and no other codex has stuff that the kill team has access to in addition to each individuals models own special rules that add to the team. So one model could be a Space wolf that has its acute senses and counter attack but only count towards that one model. Another could be something else and so on and you have this mix and match force with a collection of powers fighting together with special weapons and options or armor that no other has access too. Like a non terminator power armor that has 2+ armor saves with a 4+ invuln?

<o.0>

You do realize that the Deathwatch is mostly made up of Marines from other Chapters and doesn't really have *that* much production capability for cranking out nifty gear that no other Chapter has even heard of or seen, right? They have a few captured relics, either xenotech or archaeotech, that they might give out (Stasis Grenades, Vortex Grenades, etc).. they're not really a self-sufficient army, by any stretch, and certainly not a Forgeworld.

The armor they wear is pretty standard Astartes PA, painted black with a silver arm. You want Terminator saves? Better get Terminator Honors.

cvtuttle wrote:Deathwatch are never fielded as an Army. Defeats the point really....

First of all, this. They're ad-hoc kill teams, not dedicated armies. Sternguard rules are influenced a lot by the old Deathwatch rules, so just use those.

Psienesis wrote:

It would have special options that only kill team have available and no other codex has stuff that the kill team has access to in addition to each individuals models own special rules that add to the team. So one model could be a Space wolf that has its acute senses and counter attack but only count towards that one model. Another could be something else and so on and you have this mix and match force with a collection of powers fighting together with special weapons and options or armor that no other has access too. Like a non terminator power armor that has 2+ armor saves with a 4+ invuln?

<o.0>

You do realize that the Deathwatch is mostly made up of Marines from other Chapters and doesn't really have *that* much production capability for cranking out nifty gear that no other Chapter has even heard of or seen, right? They have a few captured relics, either xenotech or archaeotech, that they might give out (Stasis Grenades, Vortex Grenades, etc).. they're not really a self-sufficient army, by any stretch, and certainly not a Forgeworld.

The armor they wear is pretty standard Astartes PA, painted black with a silver arm. You want Terminator saves? Better get Terminator Honors.

Actually they do have a high production rate, however it's less production and more "Reclamation", they have the highest Archeotech out of the Imperium due to how often they are "reclaimed" by the Ordo Xeno's, not to mention the highest amount of Xeno's tech, which has been incorporated into their weaponry by the "Tech Priests". Not to mention they have a high degree of customization amongst their weaponry than the standard codex, though thanks to codex marines they lost some of their special bullets, soon enough they'll be able to make heavy bolters assault, and the gray knights got the special grenades, there's still plenty amongst the DeathWatch however.

I'd like to see them as an HQ choice in the next vanilla codex myself.

Base unit = Captain + 4 buddies. Option to add upto 5 more members, option to upgrade captain to librarian.
Options to upgrade at least a percentage of the unit to veterans who can take gear like power toys/fists, lightning claws etc... Upto 2 move-and-fire heavy bolters/meltas/plasma/flamer. Perhaps a new special bolter round or three that Sternguard don't get?! For example, let the Deathwatch Killteam keep the kraken & hellfire rounds as those are pretty iconic, but bring back the metalstorm ammo (assault bolter), sniper mode, etc...

And, no super special character option who then moves them into another area of the org chart!!!

Make up a force of them, use them in Kill Team matches only? I'm sort of tempted to...

I hope you can use them in the spin off table top game inquisitor but definatly not in regular 40k or apocalypse

sumi808 wrote:I hope you can use them in the spin off table top game inquisitor but definatly not in regular 40k or apocalypse

You already can, they're called Sternguard.

They don't need to. You can just use vanilla marines and paint them up Deathwatch.

They actually have an old Deathwatch Kill Team ruleset. I'm not sure where I found it, but I'll attach it to this post - if this is against the Dakka rules, then would a mod please delete it? Anyway, the rules are really outdated, a single Marine costs 20 points haha, but you can see how it influenced Sternguard.

As for them getting their own Codex, I used to hear rumours in 3rd ed of them making a "Alien Hunters" Codex to supplement the Daemon and Witch Hunters, but it never really materialized. If they did this, they shouldn't making it Deathwatch-focused, but could take them as maybe a 0-1 or 0-2 Elites choice or something. I don't really know how they'd justifiably differentiate them though.

Anyway, I've also written up some tabletop Deathwatch rules for my friends' campaign, you can read them here in my P&M blog.