H.B.M.C. wrote:'Bout time they announced this:

Greetings, Deathwatch fans!

I am very excited to start talking about Rites of Battle, the upcoming supplement for Deathwatch. This big, massive tome is stuffed full of great additional options and stories for any Deathwatch campaign! Rites of Battle has been a labour of love from the start, and it was a great opportunity to present some expanded character options, new Specialities, and much more. I plan to talk about this book quite a bit in detail over the next few weeks, and I thought I would start with a guest designer diary from Owen Barnes, one of the authors of Rites of Battle.

Owen was one of the primary authors on the book, and below he explains in his own words about some of the new character options in Rites of Battle: Honours and Distinctions. Enjoy!

From the pen of Owen Barnes:

Space Marines are exceptional warriors in every respect. Therefore, it is only fitting that when a Battle-Brother completes a great task—say saving a world singlehandedly, or defeating an exceptionally powerful foe such as a daemon prince or Tyranid swarm-lord—his rewards are so much greater. This is where the new rules for Distinctions and Honours from the upcoming Rites of Battle come into play—a selection of rewards that reflect the true glory of a Battle-Brother’s achievements beyond the advancement system of Talents, Skills and Characteristic increases.

Distinctions

Distinctions are special rewards created by the GM for the deeds of his players, something more enduring than simply giving out experience points or Renown. Distinctions can also be completely unique, created by the GM to reflect the very specific actions and triumphs of his own players. To help him in this task, Distinctions are broken down into parts called ‘Marks of Distinction’. Each of these Marks (of which there are almost 30) gives the player-character’s a broad set of special rules (reflecting hard won knowledge, the accolades of glory or exceptional experience) and can be modified to suit the Distinction the GM is creating. Some example Marks include Favoured Foe (giving a bonus against a specific enemy), Enduring Name (boosting the courage and respect of those that recognize the Battle-Brother as a great hero) or Campaign Hero (reflecting the benefits from surviving a campaign against one of the Imperium’s great enemies).


Of these Marks, the GM then combines any number to create a Distinction to suit his needs—for example, if the GM wanted to grant his players a special achievement for defeating the Tyranid invasion of the Imperial world of Avalos he could create the ‘Hero of Avalos’ Distinction combining the Campaign Hero (Tyranids) and Enduring Name (Avalos) Marks. Distinctions can also cover existing rewards within specific Adeptus Astartes Chapters, and the Distinction rules also detail a host of example (premade) Distinctions such as Tyranic War Veterans, Sanguinary Guard, and the Emperor’s Champion to name a few.

Honours

By contrast, Honours are a far more rigid set of rewards than Distinctions—and are almost without exception set down by the Codex Astartes and observed by the majority of the Space Marine Chapters. Ever wonder just what some icon on a Space Marine’s armour or weapon was, or why some Battle-Brothers have different chest plates or shoulder pads? The majority of these are Honours—symbols of status laid down by the Codex Astartes millennia ago to represent a Battle-Brother’s standing within the Chapter. Honours range from the Crux Terminatus (worn by members of the 1st Company and those who have earned the right to don Terminator armour) and Imperialis (the winged icon worn on chest plates to show loyalty to the Emperor) to the Imperial Laurel (often worn on helmets to mark out a favoured veteran or standard bearer) and Iron Skull (worn on shoulder pads or knee guards to denote the rank of Sergeant).

Unlike Distinctions, Honours do not grant a Battle-Brother any specific special rules. Instead, having an Honour is more of a roleplaying reward and player achievement, though the status it offers within a Chapter is undeniable, and in the case of some Honours (most notably the Crux Terminatus) it is a requirement to use sacred weapons and armour, or even be considered for certain missions. Honours also don’t cost any experience points to acquire, though earning the right to place one on your armour can be just as momentous as earning a Distinction.

Together, both Distinctions and Honours provide some really exciting rewards for Deathwatch players that encapsulate the heroic and legendary nature of their missions and give Battle-Brothers an enduring way of remembering their deeds.

FFG wrote:


Greetings, Deathwatch fans!

I am very excited to start talking about Rites of Battle, the upcoming supplement for Deathwatch. This big, massive tome is stuffed full of great additional options and stories for any Deathwatch campaign! Rites of Battle has been a labour of love from the start, and it was a great opportunity to present some expanded character options, new Specialities, and much more. I plan to talk about this book quite a bit in detail over the next few weeks, and I thought I would start with a guest designer diary from Owen Barnes, one of the authors of Rites of Battle.

Owen was one of the primary authors on the book, and below he explains in his own words about some of the new character options in Rites of Battle: Honours and Distinctions. Enjoy!

From the pen of Owen Barnes:

Space Marines are exceptional warriors in every respect. Therefore, it is only fitting that when a Battle-Brother completes a great task - say saving a world singlehandedly, or defeating an exceptionally powerful foe such as a daemon prince or Tyranid swarm-lord—his rewards are so much greater. This is where the new rules for Distinctions and Honours from the upcoming Rites of Battle come into play - a selection of rewards that reflect the true glory of a Battle-Brother's achievements beyond the advancement system of Talents, Skills and Characteristic increases.

Distinctions

Distinctions are special rewards created by the GM for the deeds of his players, something more enduring than simply giving out experience points or Renown. Distinctions can also be completely unique, created by the GM to reflect the very specific actions and triumphs of his own players. To help him in this task, Distinctions are broken down into parts called 'Marks of Distinction'. Each of these Marks (of which there are almost 30) gives the player-character's a broad set of special rules (reflecting hard won knowledge, the accolades of glory or exceptional experience) and can be modified to suit the Distinction the GM is creating. Some example Marks include Favoured Foe (giving a bonus against a specific enemy), Enduring Name (boosting the courage and respect of those that recognize the Battle-Brother as a great hero) or Campaign Hero (reflecting the benefits from surviving a campaign against one of the Imperium's great enemies).

Of these Marks, the GM then combines any number to create a Distinction to suit his needs - for example, if the GM wanted to grant his players a special achievement for defeating the Tyranid invasion of the Imperial world of Avalos he could create the 'Hero of Avalos' Distinction combining the Campaign Hero (Tyranids) and Enduring Name (Avalos) Marks. Distinctions can also cover existing rewards within specific Adeptus Astartes Chapters, and the Distinction rules also detail a host of example (premade) Distinctions such as Tyranic War Veterans, Sanguinary Guard, and the Emperor's Champion to name a few.

Honours

By contrast, Honours are a far more rigid set of rewards than Distinctions - and are almost without exception set down by the Codex Astartes and observed by the majority of the Space Marine Chapters. Ever wonder just what some icon on a Space Marine's armour or weapon was, or why some Battle-Brothers have different chest plates or shoulder pads? The majority of these are Honours - symbols of status laid down by the Codex Astartes millennia ago to represent a Battle-Brother's standing within the Chapter. Honours range from the Crux Terminatus (worn by members of the 1st Company and those who have earned the right to don Terminator armour) and Imperialis (the winged icon worn on chest plates to show loyalty to the Emperor) to the Imperial Laurel (often worn on helmets to mark out a favoured veteran or standard bearer) and Iron Skull (worn on shoulder pads or knee guards to denote the rank of Sergeant).

Unlike Distinctions, Honours do not grant a Battle-Brother any specific special rules. Instead, having an Honour is more of a roleplaying reward and player achievement, though the status it offers within a Chapter is undeniable, and in the case of some Honours (most notably the Crux Terminatus) it is a requirement to use sacred weapons and armour, or even be considered for certain missions. Honours also don't cost any experience points to acquire, though earning the right to place one on your armour can be just as momentous as earning a Distinction.

Together, both Distinctions and Honours provide some really exciting rewards for Deathwatch players that encapsulate the heroic and legendary nature of their missions and give Battle-Brothers an enduring way of remembering their deeds.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:I wonder if I'll ever play this game. I doubt it but the books are nice.

Alpharius wrote:Next thing you know we'll find out about Deathwatch Terminators, and won't that bring a certain someone runnin'!

shrike wrote:wouldn't a marine who was injured and entombed in a dread that served in the DW be given back to his chapter?

lasgunpacker wrote:well, not ill per se, but it just does not seem right.

lasgunpacker wrote:...stick even more closely to the fluff...

H.B.M.C. wrote:

I see no reason why a Deathwatch Dread shouldn’t exist.

Plus there are Deathwatch Marines (not just Black Shields) that can be permanently seconded (or as close to) the Deathwatch, where they serve tour after tour without ever returning, and in those cases a Dreadnought could be part of that (the whole ‘on the job’ wounding thing I mentioned).

Alpharius wrote:Next thing you know we'll find out about Deathwatch Terminators, and won't that bring a certain someone runnin'!

Whatchatalkinbout Willis? We already have Deathwatch Terminators. The rules for Terminator Armour are in there, along with how they are requisitioned. These rules might expand that by making the Crux Terminatus a requirement (which is should be).

H.B.M.C. wrote: My own Deathwatch army has a Dreadnought – Venerable Brother Niops of the Iron Legion Chapter, a Chapter that was mostly wiped out by Hive Fleet Kraken and was essentially ‘adopted’ by the Ordo Xenos within the Aquila Sector (the sector where most of our games have been set since 2004, including our DH Campaign) – and that was fairly easy to justify.

You can do anything with 40K, so why is a Deathwatch Dread out of the question? You know what wouldn’t be right – a Grey Knight Dread serving the Deathwatch – but a regular Dread? That’s not a stretch by any means.

H.B.M.C. wrote:

lasgunpacker wrote:...stick even more closely to the fluff...

What fluff?

The Deathwatch are one of the least explored areas of 40K lore outside of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Skitarii. The FFG guys have been given an enormous amount of latitude to come up with the fluff for the Deathwatch, they thus can pretty much do whatever they want. Sure, GW has final approval, but given that the DW Dread is there, front and centre, it’s safe to say that GW supports the concept.

shrike wrote:wouldn't a marine who was injured and entombed in a dread that served in the DW be given back to his chapter?

Alpharius wrote:

H.B.M.C. wrote:

I see no reason why a Deathwatch Dread shouldn’t exist.

Plus there are Deathwatch Marines (not just Black Shields) that can be permanently seconded (or as close to) the Deathwatch, where they serve tour after tour without ever returning, and in those cases a Dreadnought could be part of that (the whole ‘on the job’ wounding thing I mentioned).

Alpharius wrote:Next thing you know we'll find out about Deathwatch Terminators, and won't that bring a certain someone runnin'!

Whatchatalkinbout Willis? We already have Deathwatch Terminators. The rules for Terminator Armour are in there, along with how they are requisitioned. These rules might expand that by making the Crux Terminatus a requirement (which is should be).

H.B.M.C. wrote: My own Deathwatch army has a Dreadnought – Venerable Brother Niops of the Iron Legion Chapter, a Chapter that was mostly wiped out by Hive Fleet Kraken and was essentially ‘adopted’ by the Ordo Xenos within the Aquila Sector (the sector where most of our games have been set since 2004, including our DH Campaign) – and that was fairly easy to justify.

You can do anything with 40K, so why is a Deathwatch Dread out of the question? You know what wouldn’t be right – a Grey Knight Dread serving the Deathwatch – but a regular Dread? That’s not a stretch by any means.

He's coming!

I hear him coming!

RUN!!!

H.B.M.C. wrote:

lasgunpacker wrote:...stick even more closely to the fluff...

What fluff?

The Deathwatch are one of the least explored areas of 40K lore outside of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Skitarii. The FFG guys have been given an enormous amount of latitude to come up with the fluff for the Deathwatch, they thus can pretty much do whatever they want. Sure, GW has final approval, but given that the DW Dread is there, front and centre, it’s safe to say that GW supports the concept.

Alpharius wrote:
Too true here!
We used to think Skitarii were basically IG grunts with maybe some grafted weapons.
But after TITANICUS, who knows?

Kanluwen wrote:

Alpharius wrote:
Too true here!
We used to think Skitarii were basically IG grunts with maybe some grafted weapons.
But after TITANICUS, who knows?

Anyone who'd read Mechanicus fluff prior to that?

Skitarii have always been described as being on par with Stormtroopers(or in the case of the more heavily augmented Skitarii--on par with Ogryn/Astartes).
Tech-Guard are the ones who are "basically" IG grunts with the occasional grafted weapons.

aka_mythos wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

Alpharius wrote:
Too true here!
We used to think Skitarii were basically IG grunts with maybe some grafted weapons.
But after TITANICUS, who knows?

Anyone who'd read Mechanicus fluff prior to that?

Skitarii have always been described as being on par with Stormtroopers(or in the case of the more heavily augmented Skitarii--on par with Ogryn/Astartes).
Tech-Guard are the ones who are "basically" IG grunts with the occasional grafted weapons.

Until the novel, skitarii and techguard were synonymous... I'd say more out of a lack of detail than any contradiction. To hypothesize on the bureaucratic difference, Skitarii are the soldiers raised and maintained by the Adeptus Mechanicus directly, while techguard would more likely be individual planetary governments equivalent contribution to the Adeptus Mechanicus' defense in a similar way as IG are the contribution of soldiers to the Imperium as a whole.

FFG wrote:“By the Throne, would you look at this! Barely a stone to fly around, no xenos, no grav-tides, nothing. There’s money to be made here, lads. Easy money.”
— Rogue Trader Markus Forsellis



Near the Coreward end of the God-Emperor’s Scourge, bathed in the faint, flickering, bruise-coloured light of the distant Void Dancer’s Roil, lies the small and unassuming Forsellis system. It is sparsely inhabited, has little in the way of resources, and boasts no archaeological sites of interest. Its one habitable planet, Damaris, lies halfway between the star and the vast ice fields at the edge of the system, and manages to survive against all odds. But now, vile xenos threaten to destroy everything they’ve built. Can you help the people of Damaris in their hour of need? More importantly, can you find the profit in it?

The Frozen Reaches, the first adventure in The Warpstorm Trilogy for Rogue Trader, is now on sale at your local retailer and on our webstore! As previewed in Profit and Plunder, The Frozen Reaches throws the Explorers before an impending Ork invasion as they work to save the planet of Damaris. But first, they will need to organize squabbling factions and establish a united front. This is no easy task, as powerful forces are working against them from the shadows...

Use all your charm and influence to prepare a planet’s defences as the Ork fleets close in on Damaris. Fight the xenos in space aboard the bridge of your starship, or meet the bloody Orks in brutal hand-to-hand combat on the ground! The choices you make ensure success, or guarantee defeat. Choose wisely, and reap the rewards of your victory.

The Frozen Reaches can be played as a standalone adventure, but the events and characters it introduces are only the beginning. The Warpstorm Trilogy, an epic series of adventures, centers on the exploits of the Explorers as they uncover a great mystery that threatens the entire Expanse.

Do you have what it takes to brave the dangers of a warpstorm? Head to your local retailer and pick up The Frozen Reaches today!

FFG wrote:“There can be but one Emperor, one god, one saviour, one deliverer. Without Him, a billion billion souls are nought but fodder for the ever-thirsting evils of the warp.”
–Ecclesiarch Theodacus V, Indroit to the Verses of Dusk



The light of the God-Emperor stands between humanity and destruction. Against myriad enemies, the Ecclesiarchy defends the faith with bolt, chain, and flame.

Blood of Martyrs, a supplement for Dark Heresy first previewed in the recent Knowledge is Power preview pdf, is now on sale at your local retailer and on our webstore! This invaluable tome contains new rules, backgrounds, alternate careers and equipment for playing servants of the Adeptus Ministorum, the church of the God-Emperor of Mankind.

Included within are a detailed history of the Ecclesiarchy and the Sisters of Battle, as well as extensive accounts of the Ministorum within the Calixis Sector from Shrine worlds to the powerful cardinals of the Sector Synod. Take up the mantle of the most faithful of the Emperor’s servants, the Adepta Sororitas including the Sisters of Battle and the Orders Dialogous, Famulous and Hospitaller!

Mack Martin, Dark Heresy’s lead developer, took a moment to share his excitement for Blood of Martyrs:

In Blood of Martyrs, I had the opportunity to delve into one of the most iconic areas of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Ecclesiarchy. The Adeptus Ministorum (also known as the Ecclesiarchy) is the all-powerful and ever-present church of the Imperial cult of the God-Emperor of Mankind. While many of the previous Dark Heresy sourcebooks have discussed the Imperial faith in parts, the Ministorum of the Calixis sector has not yet been presented as the focus of an entire volume.

Thanks, Mack! For more on Blood of Martyrs, read our previews: Brides of the Emperor and A Solitary Purpose. Then, head to your local retailer and prepare to defend the faithful followers of the Emperor, by any means necessary...

H.B.M.C. wrote:All three of the non-combat Sister alternate ranks (Dialogous, Famulous and Hospitaller) are for the Adept career. And any of those three can become a Repentia.

H.B.M.C. wrote:I know what an Adept is.

Because they're not ranks for the Battle Sister career. Only the Seraphim, Celestine and Repentia are for the Battle Sister career. The Dialogous, Famulous and Hospitaller ranks are all replacements for the Adept's 1st Rank (ie. it replaces your starting Skills, Talents, Gear and Wealth and the chart from which you can purchase new Skills/Talents). From Rank 2 onwards you use regular Adept ranks, but it significantly changes who you are at the start.

And there are many role-playing reason why someone playing such a rank would want to become a Repentia. It could make sense for their character to submit themselves to such an act, or their actions may mean that the GM forces them to choose the path of the Repentia as a punishment for their deeds, and so on.

Eumerin wrote:

H.B.M.C. wrote:All three of the non-combat Sister alternate ranks (Dialogous, Famulous and Hospitaller) are for the Adept career. And any of those three can become a Repentia.

Adept is class - specifically the scholar-type class. Maybe I'm missing something obvious here, but how do Sororitas ranks help out a non-Sororitas class?

And why would an Adept character (i.e. about as non-combat as you can get) want to become a Repentia?