Rites of Battle - Deathwatch Chaplain

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Deathwatch

ChaplainHonour the fallen; speak their Rites of Passage with pride.

Give respect unto the battle gear of the dead.

Praise the bravery of the living with a loud, clear voice.

Above all else, honour the Emperor and the Primarchs for their handin our victory.

I undertake to do this at battles end with reverence despite

exhaustion and many wounds.

It is my burden and my satisfaction to do so.

Deathwatch Chaplain Antieus at the Fallow Cross Massacre

In ordinary Space Marine Chapters, i such a term may be

applied to such unique and diverse organizations,

Chaplains are those appointed to minister to thespiritual well being o their brother Space Marines. As bets

the spiritual leaders o such mighty warriors in battle,Chaplains lead rom the ront as awe-inspiringwarrior priests, ghting wherever the

ght is ercest and praising

the Emperor throughthe destruction o his

enemies. They rejoice inthe glorious act o war

and exhort their Battle-Brothers to

ever-greater deeds o bravery anddevotion. Their stern demeanour and

critical eye watches over every action o

a Battle-Brother rom his initiation to his

last breath in service to the Chapter, everalert or signs o a slackening in zeal or any

wavering in belie. Above all, Chaplains remindthe Battle-Brothers to honour the Primarchs

and keep their aith with the Emperor.Chaplains are treated with awed respect by

their Battle-Brothers, and in many Chapters it

alls to them to choose which supplicants willundertake training to become Space Marines.

During the trials o new recruits the Chaplains

are the ones who inculcate the culture andvalues o the Chapter into them, as well as

weeding out the spiritually weak and aithlessindividuals they nd unworthy to becomea Space Marine. The development and

guidance o such super-human warriorsis only entrusted to the wisest and ercest

members o the Chapter, mighty heroes

that have demonstrated their own enduringdevotion and uncompromising zeal on

countless occasions. Chaplains are renowned

or their sense o duty and responsibility to theirBattle-Brothers, knowing that only through

unshakeable aith can a Space Marine stand

rm against the darkness.

Deathwatch Chaplains act in a similar role to those o otherChapters by acting as the spiritual leaders o Battle-Brothers

undertaking their Vigil with the Deathwatch. However, the

challenges acing a Deathwatch Chaplain are unique. Therigours o serving in the Deathwatch can be sorely vexing or

Space Marines accustomed to the rigidly ordered lie o theirown Chapters. Long periods o isolation and privation await

them, only punctuated by chaotic, oten-desperate combat

against wildly diverse enemies. The need to work alongside

Battle-Brothers o other Chapters in the Deathwatch can bechallenging in itsel, particularly among those rom Chapters

with long-running rivalries and past antagonisms. Most o all,Battle-Brothers in the Deathwatch are exposed to horrible

truths about the true threat o the xenos lurking just beyond

the circle o the Emperors light. They will witness sights thatcan shake their aith to its very oundations and yet are oten

asked only to watch and report back on what they have seen.The corrosive poison o seeming impotence

and rustration can drive Space Marines to

insane acts o sel-sacrice in a hopelesseort to overcome star-spanning evils. A

Deathwatch Chaplain must always standready to renew a Battle-Brothers devotionwhen he alters, and to remind him o his

duty and his vows when hope seems lost. On

the most dicult missions a Deathwatch Chaplainwill lead his Battle-Brothers personally to ensure that

their ervour is directed squarely towards victoryeven i it comes at the cost o the sacrice o

the entire Kill-team.

The erce dedication o aChaplain to his own Chapter usually

makes them unsuitable to become

Deathwatch Chaplains, although

examples o such broad-mindedindividuals do exist. More typically,

Battle-Brothers nd their callingthrough apprenticeship to an

existing Deathwatch Chaplain thathas noted their unfagging zeal

in pursuit o the alien. Once a

Deathwatch Chaplain takes hisvows he will seldom see his old

Chapter again, instead giving

himsel entirely to the Long Vigiland the duties o the Deathwatch.

A Deathwatch Chaplain must studyextensively during their training. He mustknow the belies and values o a thousand

dierent Chapters and their sometimes-contradictory legends o the Primarchs

by heart. A Deathwatch Chaplain must

become not only a righteous warriorbut also a scholar o the Primarchs

and o Chapter histories originating

in the very birth o the Imperium.Thus, when a Deathwatch Battle-

Brother stands at the brink o

despair or impotent rage, the

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Chaplain will know the right liturgies and catechisms to speak,and which Chapter heroes or legendary battles o the past to

cite that will inspire the warriors o the present.

Deathwatch Chaplains also make it their business to knowo every potential motivation, confict and agenda among their

Battle-Brothers beore battle is joined. Many Battle-Brothersare amazed by the knowledge o Deathwatch Chaplains,

and in some cases that knowledge extends even unto the

deepest mysteries known only to the inner circle o Chapter

hierarchies. A Deathwatch Chaplain takes no sides and makesno judgments about individual Chapters and in some senses

their long study grants them a perspective denied to most.Deathwatch Chaplain doctrines hold that all Space Marines are

united in their purpose o service to the Emperor and those

bound by their vows to the Deathwatch must be united morethan most.

Watch Fortresses include a central shrine called a Reclusiamwhere prayer and worship is conducted. The Reclusiam is

greatly revered as a sacred place and contains precious relics

o Deathwatch history: ragments o armour rom allenchampions o the Watch, blessed weaponry that has drunk

deep o xenos blood in millennia past, the captured bannersand shattered icons o deeated oes. Here the sonorous voiceso the Battle-Brothers are raised in honour o the Primarchs

and the Emperor, and the catechisms o hate and repugnance

are spoken. Among these relics o past glory the DeathwatchChaplains proselytize on the sacred duties and the virtues o

service to the greater glory o the Emperor. But Chaplains alsoteach that the time or prayers and worship is not only within

the ancient stones o the Reclusiam but also on the battleeld.

Here, where the roar o bolters is the loudest and where theres o righteous ury burn the brightest, Space Marines can

exercise their most sacred duty and give praise to the Emperorwith the slaughter o His enemies.

Chaplains are sinister and orbidding gures in battle. They

wear macabre skull masks depicting the ace o the Emperor

mordant and their black power armour is heavily bedeckedwith icons and symbols o death. They wield the deadly

Crozius Arcanum, both a rod o oce and a lethal combatweapon. This righteous and most holy instrument symbolizes

the importance o battle to Space Marines. It normally takes

the orm a heavily adorned power maul oten topped with anImperial Eagle or winged skull.

Chaplains are among the Chapters greatest heroes and areinvariably armed and armoured with the very nest wargear

available. Chaplains are oten recipients o the treasured

Rosarius, a symbolic git rom Ecclesiarchy to express spiritualunity in spite o deep dierences in creed. The most common

orm o the Rosarius is a Crux Terminatus richly embellishedwith gemstones and precious metals. Concealed inside it is apotent personal shield generator that symbolically bestows

the blessed prayers o protection rom the aithul or their

champions to triumph in the battle against evil.

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To this existing panoply Deathwatch Chaplains alsocommonly add many xenos trophies: strips o tanned alien

hide, strings o bones, skulls or shrunken heads inscribed with

liturgies o hate and remembrance. Their passion or killingaliens is without peer and each trophy will mark a noteworthy

oe or memorable battle. A Deathwatch Chaplain is a deep

well o tried and trusted techniques or slaying xenos, not onlyrom personal experience but rom the vast tracts o Chapter

legend and lore that they can draw upon. A Kill-team led by

a Deathwatch Chaplain will plunge into the res o hell andemerge victorious no matter the price.

Prerequisites

Requirements: Rank 4 or more, Willpower 45+, Fellowship

40+, cannot be a Librarian or Techmarine, cannot be aSpace Wol

Cost: 3000 xp

Deathwatch chaplain wargear

Deathwatch Chaplains gain a Crozius Arcanum, a Skull Helm,and a Rosarius as standard issue wargear (see page 28 in the

DeathwatchRulebook).

chaplain Special ability:

FearSome preSence

Space Marine Chaplains are a earsome sight on thebattleeld, their skull aced helmets proclaiming their rank

and instilling ear in their oes. In many ways a Chaplain

represents the heart and soul o a Space Marine Chapter andcarries the indomitable will o the Adeptus Astartes with him

so that he might strengthen the resolve o his Battle-Brothers

while breaking the spirit o his enemies. The Chaplain addsa bonus point to the Kill-teams Cohesion, and the Chaplain

may perorm a special Oath i he is the Kill-teams leader.The Chaplain gains the ollowing Talents: Fearless, Hatred

(Choose one), and Litany o Hate.

Nw Oah: Lg of Bal

Chaplains are the very embodiment o Honour, and when war

calls, his righteous wrath at the oes o the Imperium inspires

his Battle-Brothers. This Oath ollows the same rules as Oath-taking (see page 228 in the Deathwatch Rulebook).

Effect: All Battle-Brothers in Support Range o theChaplain gain the Fearless Talent. In addition, the eectso the Chaplains Litany o Hate Talent extend to all Battle-

Brothers in support range, and the eects o that Talent are

Doubled (rom +10 to +20) when perorming a charge.

new talent: iconoF Duty

Chaplains are the spiritual advisors o a Chapter as well as those

responsible or its morale. While they do not worship the Emperorin the same ashion as the teeming masses o the Ecclesiarchy,

they are the closest thing the Adeptus Astartes has to men o

aith-their ocus however being more on the spirit o the Chapter

rather than the Imperial Creed. Icon o Duty allows a Chaplainto tap into this ghting spirit to boost the will o the Battle-

Brothers around him, spurring them on to victory and remindingthem o their sacred place in the deence o the Imperium o

Man. At any point during a game session a Chaplain may spenda Fate Point to gain one o the ollowing eects on himsel and

all Battle-Brothers within Support Range o him.

Hardened Will: The Chaplain and his allies steel themselvesagainst mental and spiritual assault gaining a +10 to all

Willpower Tests.

Fearsome Assault: While this ability is active, the Chaplainand all Battle-Brothers in his Kill-team gain the Fear (1)

Trait. I the Chaplain or any o the Battle-Brothers alreadypossess the Fear Trait, it is instead increased by one level toa maximum o 3.

Extreme Prejudice: The Chaplain whips his ellow Battle-Brothers into rage against a single type o oe. The Chaplain

and any Battle-Brothers o his Kill-team in support range

may re-roll a ailed Weapon Skill Test against a oe duringa charge. To gain this bonus, the Chaplain must possess a

Hatred Talent against this enemy.

All o these benets last or the duration o single encounteronce activated and only one eect may be active at any one time;

should the Chaplain use a dierent ability it will immediately

end the eects o the previous one.

the Sterling reliquary

Eriochs Reclusiam houses its most sacred relics in

a depository known as the Sterling Reliquary. Its

massive silver doors secure thousand o relics foating inilluminated stasis columns. Some o these items date back

urther than the Great Crusade, but each ones history has

been meticulously detailed and is displayed with it. Sucharteacts include:

The Banner of HoTsun: This golden heraldry

was the personal standard o Balthazar HoTsun, anearly Master o the Watch on Erioch. The details o

HoTsuns nal Mission remain shrouded in mystery,but the strange patterns o scorch marks on his preserved

banner are said to be rom that conrontation.

The Shattered Pauldron: The iconography has been

meticulously scoured rom this shoulder plate, but itsblank and ractured slate serves as a warning that no

one is beyond corruption. The pauldrons historyscroll contains many sections blotted out in midnight

ink, but the rst line reads: May this blank emblem

serve as a reminder that a moment o weakness canerase millennia o valour.

The Lightning Heart: This ractured crystalormation dates thousands o years beore the Achilus

Crusade. It is said that only a single Battle-Brother

survived the encounter which elled the xenos terrorwhose dead core foats on display.