Deathwatch - Rites of Battle

than a year, human and tau have fought, every crew berth THE ANGEVIN LINE VI: Watch Fortress Erioch
and bulkhead door won and lost in blood, and unless the
stalemate is dramatically broken there is no end in sight for The Angevin Line is drawn on stellar maps of the Canis
the ship-bound miniature war. Salient, beyond which no Tyranid organism can be suffered
to reach. Beyond this line are the untouched Imperial worlds
WARZONE EPSILON of the Canis Salient, including Fortress Wrath and several
industrial and hive worlds essential to the war effort in the
Hive Fleet Dagon crashed into the Canis Salient with such force Jericho Reach. Imperial Navy ships aggressively patrol this
that the Imperial Crusade was taken completely by surprise. line and skirmishes with vanguard fleet-organisms are a
After all, the main tendrils of the Hive Fleet first appeared on the daily reality. Few Naval ships can gain any reputation in the
other side of the Reach in the Orpheus Salient. The presence of Jericho Reach without having served on the Angevin Line; its
Tyranids in the Canis Salient has caused the feeling of enormous constant action creates battle-hardened crews and xenocidal
jaws beginning to close upon the Jericho Reach, jaws that are only officers. On the Line, a ship either gathers victory laurels
held at bay for now by the Crusade forces. Dozens of Imperial rapidly, or it is lost.
Guard regiments, preparing for a major offensive to flank the
Velk’Han Sept, were evacuated from worlds that suddenly fell THE XENOCIDE
into shadow as Tyranid fleet organisms massed overhead. Some
regiments were cut off and were left to die as the Tyranids The Tyranid assault on the Canis Salient did not hit the
descended on one world after another, stripping them of biomass Velk’Han Sept head on, but the hive fleet’s advance is now
and dissolving every living thing in nutrient oceans to fuel the threatening one flank of Tau space. This area, where the Tau
hive fleet with biomass for its advance. and the Tyranids do battle, is gleefully known to Imperial
officers as the Xenocide. Most battles here are fought in
Only great sacrifices halted the Tyranids. An Imperial Navy space, with Tau warships fighting fleet organisms. The ground
fleet was shattered at the Battle of Themiskos Point, but the battles are fought mainly by the Tau forces, but also include
Tyranid victory cost the hive fleet huge amounts of biomass. small armies raised from the Sept’s human populations. The
Meanwhile the Imperial Guard launched counterattacks to soldiers on the ground are told that their sacrifice is essential
bring the Tyranids to battle over the worlds they were invading, for the Greater Good, but in truth they are merely buying
forcing them to commit more and more biomass in the form time for the air caste captains to bring Tyranid fleet organisms
of warrior-organisms. Until the hive fleet recovers the biomass to battle.
it lost at Themiskos Point, it cannot continue its advance into
the Canis Salient, and to do that, its organisms must devour the A few rare Imperial officers have suggested that the
worlds the Imperial Guard are defending in their millions. Imperium might assist the Tau in the Xenocide, to force
the Tyranids to fight on two equally costly fronts. Such
The Tyranid objectives in the Canis Salient are obscure. Some suggestions are dangerously close to xenophilia and few voice
strategists maintain the xenos are there to draw off Imperial
forces and prevent them from opposing the them openly. Others take the opposite view, believing
hive fleet’s main thrust in other areas that the Imperium should sabotage the Tau
of the Reach. Others insist that the forces in the Xenocide so that the hive fleet
hive fleet does not possess the will run rampant through the Velk’Han
tactical competence for such a Sept. Opponents of this view point out that
scheme, and that the Canis the Imperium is unlikely to hold the Canis
Salient is being attacked Salient against a Tyranid foe strengthened
by a wayward splinter by the biomass it would reap from the Sept’s
of the hive fleet that is worlds. For now the Imperium is content to
assaulting the Jericho
Reach. Ebongrave’s let two of its alien foes battle one another.
primary concern is the
Tau and he cares only
that the Tyranids are held
in check while the “real”
enemy is destroyed
by an invasion
of the Velk’Han
Sept. Some close
to him insist that
the Tyranids are
the greater or
equal threat,
but he rarely
suffers such dissenters for long.

251

VI: Watch Fortress Erioch THE DESERTER’S COIL THE HONOURED DEAD

The battles against the Tau and the Tyranids in the Canis An unhealthy trade in xenos artefacts has grown up in the
Salient produce plenty of refugees and deserters from the Canis Salient, with examples of Tau technology becoming
Imperial Guard and Navy. There are no punishments for available for sale along with stranger artefacts from the
desertion in the Imperial military other than death, so such xenos ruins in the Black Reef and deserted noble estates
deserters are keen to find somewhere to hide from Imperial in the Coil. Such artefacts can be bought from contacts
authorities, or even somewhere that would welcome such in the Deserter’s Coil, although such contacts are difficult
desperate yet capable men. Many deserters choose to follow to find. Among the artefacts are a number of elaborate
the rumours of the Deserter’s Coil, a region of the Canis Salient sarcophagi in which the xenos of a long-fallen empire
hemmed in by nebulae and gravity wells, and one which buried their dead. Each sarcophagus is a work of bizarre
Imperial forces are too thinly-stretched to control. There, it art, wrought in materials unknown in this region of
is said, colonies of free-minded men can live demanding but space, and they have all resisted the most eager attempts
ultimately free lives among untouched alien worlds. Rumours to open them so far. Nevertheless, it is widely assumed
claim that these worlds have been abandoned, leaving whole that each sarcophagus possesses a unique power, such
cities untouched save for their lack of inhabitants. Riches lie as resurrecting the dead or healing the most appalling
undisturbed and a new life waits for anyone who can make wounds, and that the “Honoured Dead” within may even
it to these flawed but free planets. Some renegades in the still be alive thanks to their miraculous technology. The
Imperial Navy can offer safe passage along the hidden routes Honoured Dead can change hands for astonishing sums,
to the Coil, as long as they are handsomely paid. All of these with a deserter warlord able to equip an entire personal
rumours, however, are lies. army or pirate fleet in exchange for a single sarcophagus.

The truth is infinitely more malevolent. The Deserter’s Meniscus was founded by a cult leader drawn there by ecstatic
Coil is real, but it is ruled by emissaries of the Dark Gods visions. Several thousand members of the Most Sanctified Host
from the Cellebos Warzone, who have set up their petty of the Young God arrived here and, instead of seeing a world in
kingdoms among these benighted planets. These cult leaders the painful throes of new life, saw a promised land.
hope to appease their masters by forging insane armies from
those lured to the Deserter’s Coil, then launching attacks Two generations have passed since then. Meniscus is
on the Canis Salient to further divert Imperial forces from primitive by necessity, with its people living in treetop homes
the Cellebos Warzone. The worlds and settlements in the or networks of caves, armed with spears and armoured in the
Deserter’s Coil are places of cruelty and nightmare, ruled over hides of slug-like carnivores. They are led by a core of ancient
by petty tyrants who grow closer to true Champions of Chaos cultists who teach them from birth that the only god is the
with every passing day. Young God, a being of immense power who lives in the warp,
and that this world is just a paper-thin membrane between the
MENISCUS human mind and the contemplation of the Young God. The
Young God promises visions, and to receive them, the braves
The world on which the nation of Meniscus now lies is and seekers must seek out the most painful and exhilarating
covered in life, from plains of head-high grass to waterfalls experiences that Meniscus can offer. Those who succeed
thick with microbial life and noisome swamps where new learn that the Young God is the prince of the warp and that
forms of predator and prey evolve daily. Here, among the hills by following him they can ascend beyond their human minds
that rise above a forest of spongy fungal trees, is an obscene and experience the realities of the universe. All this happens
nation built on the worship of dark gods. under the eye of Mother Scarifal, the cult’s high priestess, who
dreams of opening a door to the Young God’s court and letting
his glory through into this drab and undeserving galaxy.

252

Index Chaos Space Marine Dreadnought 190

A Chaos Vehicles 189

Activating Squad Mode Abilities Chapter Deeds 75
Adeptus Astartes Assets
Advanced Solo and Squad Mode Chosen of the Chapter 91
Advanced Specialities
Aerial Combat Clavis 145
Angel of Death
Angels of Absolution Combat Marks 92
Angels of Redemption
Anti-Plant Grenades and Missiles 226 Command Marks 90
Armourbane Missile Launcher
Artefacts of the Omega Vault 221 Concussion Grenades and Missiles 136
Assault on Baal Veteran
Astartes Assault Shotgun 225 Conflagration Melta Weapons 135
Astartes Combat Webbing
Astartes Executioner Axe 99 Consecrators 59
Astartes Grapnel
Astartes Grav Chute 167 Creating Your Own Chapter 14
Astartes Power Claymore
Astartes Power Falchion 92 Battle Cry 38
Astartes Power Spear
Astartes Webber 61 Chapter Flaws 21
Atomizer Cannon
Aura of Leadership 60 Chapter Name 38 Index
Auto-Sense Goggles
136 Codex Demeanours 18
B
137 Combat Doctrine 30
Balefire Gun
Barracuda Fighter 248 Current Status 36
Barrage Plasma Gun and Pistol
Battle Damage 75 Founding Fathers 23
Beliefs
Bionic Hand 136 Friends and Enemies 36
Black Consuls
Blood Angels Successors 144 Gene-seed 16
Blood Drinkers
Blood Duel 139 Gene-seed Deficiencies 20
Breaching Augur
Breaching Rounds 144 Heraldry 39
Bringing Dark Heresy into Deathwatch
Bringing Deathwatch into Dark Heresy 144 Home World 24
Bringing Deathwatch into Rogue Trader
Bringing Rogue Trader into Deathwatch 139 Home World Predominant Terrain 26
Brothers of the Blood
Bulkhead Shears 139 How Closely Does The Chapter Follow The Codex

C 139 Astartes? 29

Cameleoline Tarpaulin 137 How Pure Is The Chapter’s Gene-seed? 16
Camo-Cloak
Campaign Deeds 137 Organisation 29
Campaign Hero
Challenge 90 Origins 14

144 Relationship with Home World 28

Solo Mode Abilities 32

Special Equipment 34

Speciality Restrictions 33

135 Squad Mode Abilities 32

193 What Is The Current Status of Your Chapter? 36

135 When Was The Chapter Founded? 16

81 Who Are The Chapter’s Heroes? 23

34 Why Was the Chapter Founded? 14

146 Crimson Fists 66

57 Crozius Arcanum 140

62 Crusade Reinforcement 79

64 Cryo Grenade 136

9 Custom Chapter Advance Tables 40

139

140 D

70

69 Dakinor 250

70 Dark Angels Successors 59

70 Deathwatch Black Shield 100

92 Deathwatch Champion 104

139 Deathwatch Chaplain 106

Deathwatch Dreadnought 110

Deathwatch Epistolary 114

Deathwatch Forge Master 118

145 Deathwatch Keeper 120

145 Deathwatch Kill-Marine 123

79 Deathwatch Scout Armour 142

93 Deathwatch Watch Captain 126

12 Deathwing 97

253

Index Death World Veteran 93 I 140
Deeds 135
Deeds of Disdain 74 214
Defensive Genius 86 Ignis Rounds
Defiler 82 Immolation Rifle 46
Determination Marks 191 Imperial Assets 50
Devilfish Troop Carrier 94 Imperial Fist Characters 48
Diagnosticator 193 Imperial Fists Psychic Powers 217
Distinctions 145 Imperial Fists Rules 214
Dreadnought 89 Imperial Guard Assets 145
Drop Pod 180 Imperial Navy Assets 234
170 Infiltriol Enamel 136
E 75
Inhabitants of Erioch 219
Earning Distinctions Inhalation Grenade
Emperor’s Champion Initiate of Secrets 94
Endless Favour 89 Inquisitional Assets 69
Enduring Name 97 72
Erioch Operations
Execution Eternal 91 J 78
Expanded Wargear 65
Exposure Trial 91 12
244 Jaws of Intellect
F 250 Joint Operations 63
134 Joint Operations in Your Campaign 172
Favoured Foe 11 173
Feast of Blades Participant 174
Fenris-Pattern Wolf Helm K 136
First Among Equals 87
First Company Veteran Keeper of Ways
Flesh Tearers 93 Knights of Blood 91
Forbidden Lore 75 Knowledge of Self 146
Force Fields 143
Forging the Bond 90
91 L 93
G 93
130 95
Gene-seed Anomaly 62 Lamenters 139
Genesis Chapter 94 Land Raider 137
Ghost Ships 143 Land Raider Variants 252
Grav-flares 226 Land Speeder 95
Graviton Cannon 92
Greater Authority Leaper Mine 137
Grenades, Missiles, and Explosives Lone Survivor 57
Guardian Bolt Pistol Lord of the Domain
87 Luminator Signal Flare Capsules 83
H 58 55

Hammerhead Gunship 80 M
Hammers of Dorn
Harbinger 146
Hell Blade 137 Marks of Distinction
Hell Talon
Hesh-pattern Bolter 91 Master of Arms
Honours 136 Master of Blades
Hunting the Hunter 134 Master of Secrets

254 Melee Weapons
Melta Bomb
Meniscus
194 Mental Ascension
67 Mighty Lineage
189 Monoball Grenade
190 Mortifactors
190

134 N

204
10 No Quarter Given
Novamarines

O Stalker Flares 146
80
Stealth Operations
183
Omnissiah’s Calling 85 Stormraven Gunship 82
68
Orca Dropship 195 Strike Team Specialist 52
10
Subjugators
95
P Successor Chapters 193
138
Survival of the Fittest 97
197
Pain Glove Mastery 76
44
Peerless Warrior 94 T 79
183
Penetrator Rounds 140 197
83
Pirhana Scout Skimmer 195 Tactical Experience 144
8
Power Armour 149 Tau Vehicles 97

Power Armour History 153 Techxorcism Gun

Precision Targeting 84 Tempest Blade Index

Predator Tank 177 Tetra Scout Speeder

Price of Victory 81 The Imperial Fists

Prisoners of the Deathwatch 240 The Spectre of Vanity

Protector of the Chapter 84 Thunderhawk Gunship

Psyber Familiars 146 Tiger Shark Fighter-Bomber

Psyber-raven 146 Toe to Toe

Psychic Powers in Deathwatch and Dark Heresy 71 Tools and Equipment

Psychic Powers in Rogue Trader and Dark Heresy 71 Trials of the Aspirant

Purger of Vigil 77 Tyrannic War Veteran

RU

Razor-web 140 Ultramarines Successors 55
Reason and Will
Reclaiming the Lost 95 Ultra pattern Sniper Rifle 138
Regions of the Jericho Reach
Relics 86 Universal Renown 92
Remora Stealth Drone Fighter
Renown 250 Unshakeable 96
Renown as Influence
Requisition 156 Using Deeds 74
Reserve Requisition
Return to Duty 196
Rhino APC
Right Gear for The Job 200 V
Right Place, Right Time
Rites of Selection 202
Ritual Duel Fighter
Rosarius 212 Valorous Deeds 82

S 213 Vehicle Combat 166

Sanguinary Guard 81 Vehicles 164
Second-in-Command
Secrets of Others 178 Vindicator 184
Seismic Escalation Detonator
Shredder Rounds 85 Vivisection Gage 146
Siege Auspex
Skull Helm 84
Slug Rounds
Solo Mode Abilities 9W
Space Marine Bike
Special Issue Ammunition 77
Speciality Deeds
Squad Mode Abilities 143 Warhound Titan 185

Warzone Epsilon 251

Watcher 96

Watch Fortress Erioch 228

97 Weakness as Strength 94

82 Weapons Tables 141

95 Weapon Upgrades 144

138 We Are All One 85

140 What Type of Planet Is The Chapter’s Home World? 24

146 Whirlwind 184

143 White Consuls 56

140

225

176

140

84

225

255

™

™

PREPARE YOURSELF FOR HONOUR AND GLORY!
The Space Marines of the Deathwatch
safeguard the Jericho Reach against the
galaxy’s deadliest foes. Do not falter:
arm yourselves with the best wargear
and abilities the Deathwatch has to offer!

A host of new character options allow for increased
personalization with a thorough Create Your Own
Chapter and Alternate Specialities rules. Plus, play a
member of the Imperial Fists Chapter or one of the
Successor Chapters that send Space Marines to the

Deathwatch.

Vehicle rules add a new dimension to gameplay
and expand possibilities for adventure. Battle alien
gunships with your Land Raider or prowl behind

enemy lines with a Land Speeder Storm.

Gain access to an extensive new armoury of weapons,
armour, and relics from the armouries of Watch Fortress
Erioch, or earn new special honours and distinctions to

reflect your Space Marine’s glorious victories.

These pages contain everything needed
to prepare a Deathwatch Kill-team for

any mission.

Suitable for players of all levels. 917NOV10
A copy of the DEATHWATCH Core Rulebook

is needed to use this supplement.

TM

Rites of Battle DW04
ISBN: 978-1-58994-781-8

.F F G .™ WWW ANTASY LIGHT AMES COM 9 781589 947818 54995