Deathwatch - Specialist Ranks: The Deathwatch is uniquely organised as a formation of Astartes since the Veteran Space Marines that make it up are drawn from many different Chapters. After being seconded to the Deathwatch, these Space Marines are specially trained in small units called kill-teams to counter xenos threats.They are sworn to serve an open-ended term with the Deathwatch. When they return to their Chapter of origin, the former members of the Deathwatch take their hard-won knowledge with them to share with their battle-brothers, as well as supplies of specialist anti-alien weaponry.Specialist ranks and positions within the Deathwatch are very similar to those of Codex Astartes-compliant Chapters with the exception of a few unique specialist positions that are only found in the Deathwatch, including:Deathwatch Apothecary - Deathwatch Apothecaries take on a number of additional duties over those performed in their parent Chapter. For starters, they must master the genetic inheritance not only of their own gene-seed, but of a myriad of other Chapters too, so that they might monitor and maintain the Astartes organ implants of all their fellow Space Marines, each of which may be drawn from a different Chapter with a different genetic inheritance. In this matter, Deathwatch Apothecaries occupy a uniquely trusted position. Aside from monitoring the state of the Space Marines' implants and altered transhuman metabolisms, the Apothecaries must also be ever alert to the risk of alien contamination, as Deathwatch kill-teams often come into contact with numerous xenos species and the bacterial life they contain. The greatest duty that a Deathwatch Apothecary must perform is to recover the gene-seed of a fallen battle-brother, so that it may be returned to his parent Chapter, and he may live on through the creation of future generations of Space Marines.Deathwatch Assault Marine - Assault Marines are specialists in the brutal art of close quarters combat. They carry a range of weaponry, usually a lethal combination of a pistol and a melee weapon, the most common being the iconic Bolt Pistol and chainsword. Many choose to take to the battlefield equipped with a Jump Pack, allowing them to close rapidly on their foes, often descending from above in a devastating charge. A Deathwatch Assault Marine is likely to be a warrior who has mastered all of the methods of war, and discovered that he is most skilled at close combat. To serve as an Assault Marine is to go quite literally face-to-face with the most terrible of Humanity's foes, and to have pitted wits against the vilest of beasts countless times, and won. When serving in a Deathwatch kill-team, it is the task of the Assault Marine to close with and engage the enemy in an overwhelming charge. Many of the alien foes the Deathwatch must face are ravening beasts sporting multiple, diamond-hard claws, whipping tentacles, slavering maws or carrying all manner of deadly close combat weaponry.Deathwatch Black Shield - Amongst the ranks of the Deathwatch there are anonymous warriors that bear no Chapter mark, their right pauldron showing only featureless black. By ancient tradition, a Space Marine with his heraldry obscured may present himself before a Watch Commander and petition for admittance to the Deathwatch. He may not be questioned or pressed to divulge anything about his origins, all such information having been ritually obliterated by the removal of his Chapter's mark. Should he be accepted, only the silvered skull of the Deathwatch will mark out the allegiance of these so-called, "Black Shields", who shun the company of other Space Marines until the time of battle is upon them. Such warriors are unique to the Deathwatch and even there, they are regarded as figures of ill-omen.Deathwatch Champion - Deathwatch Champions are among the mightiest of the Emperor's Chosen. A Deathwatch Champion fears no alien monstrosity or xenos death machine, his skills and armaments the equal of anything the foe can bring to bear. His coming is an inspiration to his battle-brothers and a terror to his enemies, as he is an all-destroying comet blazing across the battlefield in an arc of glory. A Space Marine in the Deathwatch may be elevated to the status of Champion by several means. Most commonly it is bestowed by a Watch Captain in recognition of a mighty feat of arms in battle. However, Deathwatch Champions are also elevated on the strength of their longstanding courage and steadfastness, by the turn of the Emperor's Tarot or by a common acquiescence of their battle-brothers.Deathwatch Chaplain - Deathwatch Chaplains act in a similar role to those of other Chapters by serving as the spiritual leaders of battle-brothers undertaking their Vigil with the Deathwatch. However, the challenges facing a Deathwatch Chaplain are unique. The rigours of serving in the Deathwatch can be sorely vexing for Space Marines accustomed to the rigidly ordered life of their own Chapters. A Deathwatch Chaplain must study extensively during his training. He must know the beliefs and values of a thousand different Chapters and their sometimes contradictory legends of the Primarchs by heart. A Deathwatch Chaplain must become a dedicated scholar of the Primarchs and of Chapter histories originating at the very dawn of the Imperium. Thus, when a Deathwatch battle-brother stands at the brink of despair or impotent rage, the Chaplain will know the right liturgies and catechisms to speak, and which Chapter heroes or legendary battles of the past to cite that will inspire the warriors of the present.Deathwatch Devastator Marine - Devastator Marines are those battle-brothers tasked with manning the heaviest and most powerful of portable weapons. In his parent Chapter, the Devastator Marine might recently have ascended from the 10th Scout Company, and therefore be undertaking a crucial stage in the process of mastering all of the arts of war. In the Deathwatch, however, it is more likely that the Devastator Marine has already served in his parent Chapter as a Devastator, Assault and Tactical Marine, and is returning to the role he most excels in -- the application of overwhelming firepower. In battle, the Deathwatch Devastator Marine carries one of a wide range of heavy weapons, and his role is to provide fire support for the other members of the kill-team. It is often the case that a concentrated burst of fire from a heavy weapon like a Heavy Bolter or Plasma Gun will force the enemy to seek cover, thus allowing the kill-team to advance across otherwise perilous ground.Deathwatch Dreadnought - Rare as it is for a Space Marine to be revered enough to become an Old One, it is rarer still for a member of the Deathwatch to achieve the same honour. The circumstances of the small unit actions undertaken by kill-teams often make it impossible to retrieve a fatally injured battle-brother and inter them within a Dreadnought's cybernetic life-support sarcophagus in time to be transported to a Watch Fortress. Even if such is achieved, the Space Marine must be worthy and willing to remain with the Deathwatch, effectively renewing their vows to serve with the Long Watch in perpetuity. Finally, permission must be sought and received from the Space Marine's own Chapter that he may remain with the Deathwatch. Should all these difficulties be overcome the sarcophagus of a Deathwatch Old One is placed in a great sepulchre with others of its kind in one of a handful of hidden Watch Fortresses. There the Old One will sleep away the centuries until the Techmarines awaken him to seek his knowledge or send him into battle once more.Deathwatch Veteran - The Deathwatch is not formally divided into full separate companies of one hundred Astartes each as are other Space Marine Chapters. The basic tactical unit of the kill-team is the only truly set organisation used and individual kill-teams can often change their composition from mission to mission as ordered by the watch captain in ultimate command of them. Nonetheless, there are 1st Company Firstborn and Primaris Marine Veterans to be found in the ranks of the Deathwatch, expert warriors who have come to perform their Long Vigil and bring their considerable prowess to the service of the Watch. More rarely a Space Marine will win such renown within the Deathwatch that he is accorded the rank and privileges of a 1st Company Veteran in recognition for his zeal and purity during his Vigil. When the battle-brother returns to his Chapter, it is rare for his Chapter Master not to acknowledge this honour, inducting him into the 1st Company, or that Chapter's equivalent, at the first opportunity.Deathwatch Veteran Biker - Where a Vanguard Veteran represents the pinpoint application of close combat force, the Deathwatch Veteran Biker is a nigh-unstoppable battering ram. A Veteran battle-brother at full sprint can break limbs with the weight of his charge, but one hurtling upon the dense tonnage of a Space Marine Assault Bike can plough through an entire battle line, guns blazing and chainsword juddering until dozens lie slain in his wake. The Veteran Bikers of the Deathwatch are excellent shock troopers, especially when several ride to war side-by-side. When the order for the final charge comes, theirs is a blunt and unsubtle duty -- to smash aside the alien's defences so that the xenos army's throat is exposed for a killing strike. As with many elements of their alien-hunting brotherhood, however, the Veteran Bikers' role is multifaceted.Deathwatch Terminator - A Deathwatch Terminator, usually part of a Deathwatch Terminator Squad, is a Veteran Firstborn or Primaris Space Marine who serves in the Deathwatch Chapter as a Terminator or Assault Terminator wearing Tactical Dreadnought Armour. The indomitable Deathwatch Veterans honoured to wear the hulking Terminator Armour are an inspiring sight to their brethren. Deathwatch Terminators carry the most powerful close combat weapons and the strength and durability of their armour allows them to take the heaviest ranged firepower directly into hidden xenos lairs.Deathwatch Forge Master - A Techmarine who wins sufficient renown may eventually be raised to the honoured rank of Forge Master within the Deathwatch. A Forge Master oversees the manufacture and maintenance of Deathwatch armaments of all kinds in a particular watch fortress. A Forge Master must also deal with all manner of xenotech captured by kill-teams on their missions, studying, categorising and determining its potential value or threat. A Forge Master is commonly a close confidante of the Watch Commander and acts as central cog in the functioning of the whole watch fortress and its associated kill-teams. Whether in a watch fortress or out on a mission, the Forge Master's position is one of the gravest responsibility, for kill-teams rely on the quality of the Forge Master's work in environments where a single faulty bolt round or inoperable vox receiver could spell disaster.Deathwatch Keeper - A Deathwatch Keeper is a Veteran Space Marine and extremely capable warrior with many long standard years of service. Keepers are often equipped with ceremonial weapons and armour to make their status clear to all. They are often armed with tall powered glaives, double-handed chainswords or even incredibly ancient Las-lances. Richly embroidered robes cover their armour, save for their helmet and shoulder guards. Their helmets bear the Imperial Aquila or the icon of the Deathwatch, cunningly wrought into their faceplates. Beneath their robes their power armour is of the earliest and most hallowed marks, hailing from the days of the Great Crusade. Keepers appear most prominently on watch fortresses where their imposing figures bar entry to areas placed off-limits to ordinary battle-brothers, and stand sentinel over the captured xenos imprisoned within their walls. Even an Inquisitor may not pass a Keeper without special remit from the watch commander. Keepers occupy positions of the most solemn trust as guardians of the sacred and the most profane objects in the care of the Deathwatch. They fulfil sacred duties that in other Chapters would more commonly be undertaken by Librarians, Apothecaries or Techmarines, but amongst the ranks of the Deathwatch such specialists are too few and their tasks too many for this to be practical. Instead these burdens are undertaken by battle-brothers who have served the Watch across many decades' Vigils. Keepers are entrusted with all manner of things important to the Deathwatch -- everything from alien prisoners to the starships carrying kill-teams across the void.Deathwatch Kill-marine - A Deathwatch Kill-marine is a specially trained battle-brother, skilled in solo operations, who is sent to investigate and exterminate where possible or to call in backup where it is truly needed. Not every xenos-related threat demands the full deployment of a kill-team, but many seemingly inconsequential incidents can be harbingers of a greater threat that would be unwise to ignore. Under these circumstances, a watch captain will deploy these lone Kill-marines to carry out their sacred duty. Scout Sergeants often make superlative Deathwatch Kill-marines with little additional training but these specialists are drawn from all the ranks of the Deathwatch as needed. A certain independence of thought and great personal strength of spirit are in many ways more important than exceptional stealth skills for a Kill-marine, for they must possess the right temperament to operate for long periods of time cut off from their kind and from their Chapter. Kill-marines spend time living alongside those they must ultimately defend, sharing their trials and seeing the world through their eyes.Deathwatch Librarian - Librarians are those Space Marines born as psykers, able to wield the powers of the Warp against the foes of Mankind. Most of the Librarians called to serve in the Deathwatch hold the rank of Lexicanium, the most junior of the four ranks of the Space Marines' battlefield psykers. They are nonetheless warriors of fearsome ability and renown. However, a small number of higher-ranked Librarians do serve -- the most senior become the watch commanders' most valued counsellors. Within their own Chapters, Librarians may have different titles and unique methods of utilising their powers. Librarians fulfil a number of roles within the Deathwatch. Chief amongst them is that of the combat psyker. Librarians are also the guardians of the secrets of the Deathwatch. Within each watch fortress is to be found the sealed Vault which stores weapons and relics too dangerous to be allowed to fall into the hands of Mankind's enemies. Also within the Vault is an archive of forbidden knowledge. Not even the watch commander has access to these archives -- only the Librarians are entrusted with their access codes, and only they are judged strong enough to withstand the sanity-shattering secrets sealed within.Deathwatch Epistolary - Often, the lowest-ranked Librarians, known as Lexicaniums, most commonly undertake a Vigil within the Deathwatch. It is rare, but not unknown, for individuals to unlock psychic powers through their experiences during their Vigil that raise them to the rank of codicier or even epistolary while still in the Watch. Other Librarians return to the Deathwatch later in their lives in response to a personal request from the Watch Commander, to finish some matter first unearthed in their formative years or simply because they have come to believe the threat of the alien deserves special attention. Such renowned individuals hold a high rank within the Deathwatch and are liable to be consulted on all major undertakings.Deathwatch Tactical Marine - Tactical Marines are the most numerous of Space Marine warriors, and as their name suggests they are equipped and trained to fulfil the widest range of battlefield roles. Armed with the iconic bolter, Tactical Marines provide the bulk of a Firstborn kill-team's firepower, which they are able to lay down in a devastating fusillade even as they advance implacably towards their objective. Most battle-brothers taking up service in the Deathwatch have advanced to the position of Tactical Marine in their parent Chapters, and so are Veteran warriors well-versed in the many disciplines of war. Truly, there are very few enemies that the Tactical Marine has not encountered and defeated, and no battlefield holds any terror for him.Deathwatch Techmarine - Techmarines are highly valued for the important role that they perform in the Deathwatch. Their skills in the operation of machines and techno-arcana are an asset to the day-to-day operations of the watch fortresses and the advanced technology the Deathwatch has access to within its Vaults at the heart of each watch fortress. These weapons and items of equipment are known to be more exotic than even the rare Conversion Beamer. Many are unique, and all are sealed within the Vault at the heart of each watch fortress. Just as the Librarian has exclusive access to the reams of forbidden knowledge in each of these archives, so the Deathwatch Techmarine keeps his portion of the Vault sealed to all but his fellow Techmarines. There are weapons kept within the Vault the likes of which are thought to be unique in the galaxy, their secrets impenetrable even to the highest-ranking tech-priests of Mars.Deathwatch Vanguard Veteran - The Veteran Assault Marines sent to the Deathwatch are melee experts beyond compare. Many have put down looming alien monstrosities with no more than a Combat Knife and gut instinct. Once seconded to a watch fortress, these killers are armed with a profusion of weaponry and equipped with a comprehensive knowledge of alien anatomies that makes them hideously effective. Where a marksman of the Sternguard has to anticipate his target's movements to make the killing shot, the Vanguard face the xenos beast face-to-face, and more often than not their blades find their mark with unerring precision.Deathwatch Intercessor - Intercessor Squads form the beating heart of the Primaris Space Marine forces. Harking back to the single-armament squads of the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade, every Intercessor is armed with one of several marks of Bolt Rifle. These weapons boast superior range and stopping power to even the holy boltgun, allowing Intercessor Squads to level withering storms of firepower that annihilate many enemies before they can even bring their own guns into range. Against those few foes who survive the concentrated fire of their bolt weapons and the detonations of their Frag and Krak Grenades, the Intercessors' physical strength and resilience is so formidable that they can withstand the most horrific wounds without falling, and punch clean through steel plating to rend the flesh and bone beneath. Amongst most Space Marine Chapters, Intercessors form part of the main battle line. They are relied upon to hold their ground against onrushing foes, secure key objectives and wear down the enemy’s strength with weight of fire. Their role in the Deathwatch echoes this in microcosm, for they form the backbone of the Fortis Kill-teams, or else deploy as compact teams of Intercessors from different Chapters. No matter the nature of the foe, be they ferocious Clawed Fiends, scuttling Hrud or technologically advanced T'au, the survivability and firepower of the Intercessors is an invaluable asset. Anyone who has ever seen such a warrior pick off one Necron after another from extreme range, tear the arms from a charging Ork, or endure the hissing bite of an Asuryani Striking Scorpion's mandiblasters long enough to snap the xenos' neck, knows that the Intercessors are to be respected and feared.Deathwatch Heavy Intercessor - A Heavy Intercessor is a Primaris Space Marine who serves on the battleline and are a potent defensive force. Clad in thick Mark X Gravis Power Armour, Heavy Intercessors are used to secure ground already won and are immovable in its defence. Always ready for any sign of enemy counterattack, they stand firm, laying down volleys of heavy fire that keep all but the most determined or foolhardy enemies at bay.Deathwatch Assault Intercessor - Assault Intercessors are Primaris Space Marines who are among the most widespread close support units in a Space Marine Chapter's arsenal. Firing their Heavy Bolt Pistols as they close upon the foe, they charge into the fray, where they make short work of their enemies with brutal swings of their chainswords.Deathwatch Inceptor - Inceptors are fast-moving Primaris Space Marine shock troops. Equipped with heavy, built-in Jump Packs and wearing heat-shielded Mark X Gravis Power Armour, they are capable of making combat drops from a planet's upper atmosphere, streaking down upon the battlefield like living missiles from the troop bays of orbiting battle barges. Upon landing, they raise a sweeping storm of fire with their brutally effective Assault Bolters or terrifying Plasma Exterminators. Hails of mass-reactive shells and searing plasma bolts spew from their barrels, blasting apart everything in their vicinity in a tornado of gore and sun-bright energies. Inceptors employ their speed and punishing firepower to launch advance strike missions. They slam down into the midst of the foe to slaughter command personnel and destroy rear-line strategic assets, before leaping away from retribution in huge, rocket-assisted bounds. They are deployed by Space Marine Chapters for beachhead clearance operations, diversionary raids and decapitating strikes, relishing the opportunity to perfect each new role. The Deathwatch have found ample use for squads of Inceptors amongst their ranks. Given the element of surprise, and a clear approach corridor, they can perform a similar role to Purgatus Kill-teams. Indeed, many watch captains have met with considerable success pairing these two forces together, using their Inceptors to mow down bodyguards and cut off the xenos commanders' escape while gunship-mounted Purgatus teams swoop in to strike the killing blow. The Onyx Patrol and Watcher Keep, in particular, have also found great success pairing their Inceptors with Venator Kill-teams, the two elements combining their speed and firepower into a hard-hitting and strategically flexible whole. Such tactics have proven the bane of Craftworld Aeldari and Drukhari alike, and have sealed the complete extermination of the Harlequin Masque of the Sudden Exclamation. When they fight as part of a Fortis Kill-team, Inceptors fulfil a somewhat different role. The speed afforded by their heavy Jump Packs allows them to operate as forward scouts for their battle-brothers, moving at the forefront of their kill-team to spy out enemy locations, or ascending to commanding positions where they can spy out the wider strategic picture. They are equally adept at reacting swiftly to developing situations, jetting across the battlefield to come to the aid of beleaguered comrades or defend vital locations. Though they do not wield dedicated close-combat weaponry, the battering-ram impact of an Inceptor jetting into battle with his engines howling is enough to shatter bones and crush armour plate like foil. Inceptor battle-brothers from certain Chapters have become especially prized amongst the Deathwatch. The noble selflessness and airborne skill of the Blood Angels, the headlong aggression of the Flesh Tearers and the mastery of situational warfare displayed by the Raven Guard all lend themselves well to the Inceptors' role. Those watch masters furnished with an abundance of such effective shock troops have taken to altering the composition of their Fortis Kill-teams to include increasing numbers of Inceptors. Such tactics have proven effective for countering swift, swarm-based foes such as Tyranids, and are coming to be relied upon by many watch fortresses.Deathwatch Hellblaster - The galaxy seethes with dread terrors, monstrous beasts and heretical war engines that vent their fury upon the Emperor's servants. It is the job of the Hellblasters to eradicate such abominations. With searing plasma they scour them from existence, until nothing but glassy craters and glowing clouds of ash remain. Amongst the Space Marine Chapters, Hellblaster Squads act as single-armament fire support teams. The entire squad carries potent Plasma Incinerators, directing these weapons against priority targets that threaten the advance of the Adeptus Astartes. Often a squad of Hellblasters will be all that stands between a rampaging monster or xenos walker and the rest of the Space Marine strike force. Thus, each Hellblaster must be ready to concentrate their fire upon such targets to the exclusion of all else, sending pinpoint shots into their target's weak spots no matter the risk to themselves. This ethos is epitomised by the Hellblasters' ability to overcharge their weapons and deliver a truly ferocious volley of plasma, at the risk of enraging their guns' volatile Machine Spirits to a lethal degree. Hellblasters do not risk self-sacrifice lightly, for they recognise their value to the Imperium of Man, but they will chance death without a second thought when the stakes are sufficiently high. Considering the plethora of monstrosities fielded by xenos armies, it is no surprise that almost every watch fortress has a standing requisition order for Hellblasters. Many watch captains prefer to field these warriors as Roboute Guilliman intended, lacing small squads of them in amongst more varied kill-teams to provide reliable close-range fire support. Indeed, the watch fortresses of Doombreak, Furor Shield and Indomitus Point have taken to using Hellblasters much like lighter, more manoeuvrable Devastator Squads in order to deal with the hulking Tyranid and Greenskin monstrosities they face. When fielded as part of a Fortis Kill-team, Hellblasters adopt a protective role. They cover their brothers' backs, calmly picking off foes that pose the greatest threat to their team. They use their weapons to eliminate enemy leaders, blast tanks and walkers to glowing slag, and breach armoured hatches that may bar the kill-team's path. More than one watch fortress has already started fielding Fortis Kill-teams that include a higher proportion of Hellblasters amongst their ranks, pairing them with Malleus Kill-teams to annihilate heavily armoured enemies at both long range and close quarters. A Hellblaster's Chapter of origin can have considerable impact upon his approach to warfare, and his role within a Deathwatch kill-team. Those battle-brothers drawn from the Imperial Fists, for example, demonstrate a particular talent for knocking out enemy siege engines with their Plasma Incinerators, coupled with a stubborn determination to do their duty no matter the cost. By comparison, those from the Iron Hands have the ability to rapidly cogitate the changing target priority values of the enemies around them, while Scythes of the Emperor Hellblasters are as skilled as they are ruthless in exterminating Tyranid bio-horrors. An experienced watch captain will seed in the most appropriate Hellblaster battle-brothers to each Fortis Kill-team, dependent upon qualities such as these, and upon the enemy they are likely to face. Thus a kill-team about to descend into an Ork stronghold would likely boast Hellblasters from Chapters such as the Black Templars or Crimson Fists, who have long specialised in fighting Greenskins, while those facing the T'au might gain a Hellblaster from the Raven Guard Chapter, who fought valiantly against the T'au Empire during the campaigns of its Third Sphere Expansion.Deathwatch Aggressor - Living up to their designation, Aggressors form the most belligerent of all Primaris Space Marine squads. Their hulking suits of Mark X Gravis Power Armour and resilient physiques allow them to withstand punishing hails of enemy fire, into which they typically advance with complete disdain. Indeed, the relentless advance of an Aggressor Squad is a psychological weapon in its own right, for panic spreads quickly through the enemy ranks when these walking tanks stride inexorably through the heaviest fire the foe can muster without so much as slowing. Though slower than their Intercessor Primaris brethren, Aggressors excel in short-ranged firefights, where their pugnacious suite of weaponry can pile the bodies high in a matter of moments. When equipped with Boltstorm Gauntlets and Fragstorm Grenade Launchers, the Aggressors sow rippling explosions through the enemy lines, shredding the foe in a blizzard of blood and shrapnel. Conversely, when armed with Flamestorm Gauntlets the Aggressors engulf their victims in a point-blank inferno that can clear a bunker complex or scour a trench line in solar seconds. In either case, their crushing fists make short work of those enemies foolish enough to engage them hand-to-hand, while also allowing these warriors to stave in a ferrocrete bulkhead or crush a tank's tracks with a single thunderous punch. Aggressors have seen considerable use by Watch Companies that face lightly armoured but numerous xenos foes. Against bellowing Ork hordes, tides of hissing Tyranid warbeasts and screeching Kroot mercenaries alike, Aggressors cause absolute carnage. Deployed at squad strength, drawing upon the wisdom and experience of several Chapters at once, they form bulwarks to break the momentum of the enemy's advance, or unstoppable linebreakers to crack enemy strongholds wide open. As part of a Fortis Kill-team, Aggressors provide their battle-brothers with devastating point-blank fire support, and selflessly soak up the incoming fire of the foe. They specialise in breaking open seething nests of xenos horrors, smashing down barred doorways and purging alien warriors with killing firepower as they lead the advance of the Deathwatch.Deathwatch Reiver - Skull-helmed terror troops that strike from the shadows with devastating force, Reivers embody the most frightening and inhuman aspects of the Adeptus Astartes. They are masters of stealth, slipping deep behind enemy lines or dropping secretly onto planets solar weeks in advance of any other Imperial forces. However, unlike more conventional scouting forces who withdraw once their task is accomplished, Reivers drop their shroud of secrecy when the moment to strike is at hand. Then they launch their assault in shocking and terrifying style. All of the Reivers' highly specialised equipment is tailored towards their unique strategic role. Their Mark X Phobos Power Armour boasts auto-dampened servomotors and virtually silent power plants, ensuring that they can approach to within arm's reach of the enemy without being heard. Their death-mask helms incorporate elaborate suites of auto-senses, vox-thief and auspicator arrays, prognosticator spirits (artificial intelligence targetting routines) and other techno-arcana. These allow them to see in multiple spectra over great distances, track audio and life signs of enemy sentries, and rapidly predict patrol routes and the like to ease their infiltration duties. Some Reiver Squads use Grav-Chutes to drop silently into hostile territory, guiding their descent with the streamlined fins on their armour. Others traverse even the most treacherous terrain using grapnel guns and high-tensile adamantium climbing lines, allowing them to approach through territory that their foes have discounted as wholly impassable. In these ways do Reivers attack from unexpected quarters, the better to shock and disorient. When the Reivers strike, they do so in whatever way will best spread terror and panic through the enemy ranks. Hurled clusters of Shock Grenades pump out savage cacophonies of mind-shredding sound and bewildering sprays of hololithic imagery intended to terrify and confuse. The Reivers' vox-modulators transform their battle cries into monstrous roars, while their Heavy Bolt Pistols boom and monomolecular Combat Knives slash through flesh and bone. The strike of a single squad of Reivers is enough to collapse an entire battle line, convincing the foe that a far larger force besets them, or eliminate key command elements to leave the enemy reeling. The Deathwatch have found numerous uses for Reivers. Deploying them at kill-team strength, they capitalise on the accumulated skill and wisdom of multiple Chapters' Reivers to create superlative infiltration and destabilisation units. Such warriors excel against ill-disciplined or superstitious xenos races, who scatter in abject terror when their attack begins. When faced with the less comprehensible psychology of alien races such as the Tyranids or Necrons, Reivers have proven better employed as members of Fortis Kill-teams. Their scouting abilities, mastery of stealth, and strengths as sudden ambush-killers are a substantial boon to their battle-brothers. That is not to say that teams of Reivers cannot have a deadly impact against such inhuman foes. Fort Prescience has found particular success in its battle against the swarms of Hive Fleet Leviathan by combining Reivers drawn from the Raven Guard, Hawk Lords and Lamenters and using them as dedicated synapse-beast hunters.Deathwatch Outrider - An Outrider is a Primaris Space Marine who rides to battle on a Raider Pattern Combat Bike.  Outrider Squads advance ahead of the main Space Marine lines, guard the flanks of larger formations and hunt down enemy infiltrators to the Adeptus Astartes' battlelines. When battle is joined, they conduct lightning fast hit-and-run attacks on defended positions and run down those who would try to escape the vengeance of the Chapter. The Raider Combat Bike, designed like most of the vehicles and wargear used by the Primaris Marines by Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl, shares a lot of similarities with the standard Space Marine Assault Bike, including a twin-linked bolter weapon load-out and double exhausts. However, the engine block is even more heavily armoured, and the front suspension has undergone quite an evolution. While speed, weapons and armour are certainly important for a combat bike, they are nothing when compared with performance. The Raider Pattern Combat Bike is also excellent on the battlefield as long as its rider can dominate its bellicose Machine Spirit. With battle-brother and bike in harmony, victory is all but assured.Deathwatch Eradicator - An Eradicator is a Primaris Space Marine dedicated to a close range fire support role, particularly against enemy armour and fortified positions. Before the molten ire of an Eradicator Squad's thermal ray Melta Weapons, heavy armour and static defensive positions stand little chance. Eradicators wear the heavier Mark X Gravis Power Armour pattern, allowing them to stride unharmed through waves of incoming fire before bringing their own destructive weaponry to bear at close range.Deathwatch Infiltrator - An Infiltrator is a type of Vanguard Space Marine which are Primaris Space Marines who are responsible for disrupting enemy communications and sabotaging targets of opportunity. Clad in Mark X Phobos Power Armour, the first the enemy sees of Infiltrators is a cascade of choking smog as they hurl a barrage of Smoke Grenades, masking their advance. As the foe peers into the swirling cloud, the Space Marines bring their targets down with disciplined bursts of fire, the augur-scopes of their marksman Bolt Carbines lighting each victim up for the kill. Aside from their weaponry, the most important tool at the Infiltrators' disposal is the Omni-Scrambler. This portable, back-mounted device intercepts wave signals across a broad spectrum, scrambling frequencies and diverting holo-broadcasts to ensure that enemy communiques never reach their intended recipients. Infiltrators are drilled in self-sufficiency and survival techniques, and some squads have their own medicae specialists called Helix Adepts to perform the sacred duty of recovering the gene-seed of fallen brothers.Deathwatch Incursor - An Incursor is a close support Primaris Space Marine unit that fulfils an aggressive, close-quarters gun-fighting role within Adeptus Astartes forces. Their missions typically see them storming defended positions, sweeping the flanks of spearhead advances or rapidly knocking out strategic enemy assets such as power generatorums and communication centres. Key to this role are the paired wargear technologies of their Occulus Bolt Carbines and the Divinator-class auspexes that feed directly into their highly advanced transpectral combat visors.Deathwatch Eliminator - An Eliminator is a type of Vanguard Space Marine who are dedicated marksmen. These fire support Primaris Marines haunt the shadows of the battlefield, seeking out high-value targets and bringing them down with pinpoint volleys of bolt rounds. Eliminator Squads utilise a particularly stripped down version of Mark X Phobos Power Armour. This allows them to operate with maximum discretion as they stalk their prey. Their primary armament is the Mark III Shrike Pattern Bolt Sniper Rifle. The optical sights of this weapon can be tailored for any situation, from thermoscopic vision to precision auspex scans that can penetrate several metres through solid matter. Once marked, there is nowhere for an Eliminator's prey to hide, and no amount of protective armour that can stop the killing shot. Each member of an Eliminator Squad carries spare magazines filled with special issue ammunition, tailored for every tactical eventuality and variety of target. Hyperfrag rounds detonate in a shower of shrapnel, sending out a cloud of lacerating shards that devastates closely-packed infantry. Executioner rounds, by comparison, are sophisticated self-guiding missiles slaved to a miniaturised cogitator that can seek their target behind cover, even changing direction mid-flight with tiny bursts of ballistic propellant. Mortis bolts, meanwhile, spew self-replicating mutagenic toxins into the flesh of the target, causing the rapid and complete collapse of all vital biological systems while making for a horrifying spectacle into the bargain.Deathwatch Watch Commander (Deathwatch Watch Master) - Watch commanders are the senior-ranking Astartes within the Deathwatch, usually bearing the rank of watch master, and serve as the commanders of a Deathwatch watch fortress or other Deathwatch headquarters installation. Their role is equivalent to that of a Chapter Master of a Space Marine Chapter, save that there are many of them scattered across the galaxy in the myriad watch fortresses of the Deathwatch. They are the finest warriors of the already elite Deathwatch at the very pinnacle of their abilities, for their tactical acumen and uncanny skill at combating the alien is nearly unsurpassed within the Adeptus Astartes. The knowledge and experience a watch commander has gained through standard centuries of combat, against the various xenos threats from his time spent throughout the ranks of the Deathwatch, have taught him valuable lessons in the art of war, trained him in the various facets of military strategy and honed his martial instincts to a level nearly unmatched even by the other elite xenos-hunters of the Deathwatch. A watch commander acts with authority as he sees fit, according to his own counsel and judgment, answerable to no one except his fellow watch commanders, the Inquisition and the Emperor of Mankind Himself. Watch masters are the foremost xenos hunters in the galaxy. They are counted as heroes even amongst the highest echelons of the Adeptus Astartes, for these warriors have tested their mettle against a hundred species of aliens and emerged triumphant. They have such intense charisma and martial and command ability that within the Deathwatch their every word is law. Their mission is to ensure the survival of the Human race, and it not one they take lightly. No less a body than the High Lords of Terra has been known to seek their counsel -- for in the business of laying low the alien, the watch masters are without equal. Though they theoretically return to their original Chapter once their duties are discharged, watch masters usually prove so vital they are never allowed to leave their post. Often, watch masters shoulder their duties alone, seeking the solace of pure thought in long periods of solitude. Yet their actions send ripples throughout history, almost always for the betterment of the Imperium. The watch masters hold a position of such trust and authority they have access even to the archives of the Inquisition. Even merciless Inquisitor Lords treat these transhuman warriors with a degree of deference, for of all the Imperium's defenders, the Ordo Xenos know best how grave a burden the watch masters bear. On a strategic level, the watch masters work ceaselessly to outwit and outmanoeuvre the warlords of the alien races, to stymie invasions before they occur, to bring ascendant dynasties to their knees, and to wipe out parasitic species that would otherwise infest great swathes of Imperial space. It speaks to their quality that they can actually achieve such goals in practice. Knowledge is power, after all, and they use it well. When the watch masters take the field, their standard centuries of experience are focussed to a deadly point, a weapon specifically made for the task of slaying xenos bioforms. Wisdom is far from their only tool. They go to war girded in the finest Imperial war-tech, the artefacts they bear so precious they would make a magos weep oily tears of envy. Just as the hero of an ancient people was once given the keys to his city, the watch master is given the key to Humanity's domain -- the clavis, a wrist-worn repository of Machine Spirits (artificial intelligences) from the Dark Age of Technology that can open any door, and in theory, take control of any Imperial machine. Watch masters are clad in precious masterpieces of the artificer's art -- each a formidable and ornate suit of Artificer Armour. They carry the fabled Vigil Spear, symbolic of their role of sentinel, and the same weapon borne by the Emperor's personal warrior elite, the Custodian Guard of the Adeptus Custodes, though modified to fire the signature special-issue bolt shells of the Deathwatch. When a watch master joins the fight on the front line, which happens rarely, he cuts down his foes with a cold precision that leaves monsters and tyrants slain in his wake.Deathwatch Watch Captain - Space Marine company captains are superb leaders with a depth of experience excelled only by the Chapter Master himself. A Chapter's captains are inducted into the greatest secrets and mysteries of their order with the most binding and terrible oaths and when it is time for a new Chapter Master to be chosen he will most likely be elevated from amongst their ranks. When the time comes and they are nominated to be seconded to the Deathwatch, these captains dutifully set aside their own desires to remain with their company and undertake their Vigil with humility. The Deathwatch traditionally extends the rank of captain to a Space Marine company commander during their Vigil, but most captains entering the Watch refuse to accept such a lofty position until they have earned it. Thus, the scarred hero of a thousand battles will accept a role in a kill-team as a simple battle-brother under the command of an individual several centuries his junior until he feels he has learned the ropes. Deathwatch watch captains are also raised from battle-brothers who have served in the ranks of the kill-teams with great distinction and undertaken many Vigils in the Watch. A particularly skilled xenos-hunter may be called to duty with the Deathwatch repeatedly. Eventually such a renowned battle-brother may be afforded the honour of assuming the rank of watch captain and leading the kill-teams he has fought as a part of for so long.Deathwatch Watch Lieutenant - A watch lieutenant is a Firstborn or Primaris Space Marine lieutenant who serves as one of the two subsidiary officers of a Watch Company under the command of a watch captain. In the wake of the resurrection of Primarch Roboute Guilliman in ca. 999.M41 and his revisions to the Codex Astartes, the rank has been introduced to all the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, including the Deathwatch, since the start of the Indomitus Crusade. A lieutenant normally serves as a demi-company leader, with two assigned per full company of 100 Space Marines. In the Deathwatch, where a Watch Company rarely has more than four kill-teams, each comprising on average 10 or sometimes 15 Astartes, they rarely command more than 50 Astartes. Watch lieutenants act as the right hands of their watch captains by providing flexibility and helping to direct their battle-brothers in engagements, as well as providing strategic and tactical advice alongside their watch captain in the strategium of their watch fortress' watch commander.Deathwatch Watch Sergeant - A watch sergeant is a Veteran Firstborn or Primaris Marine sergeant of the Adeptus Astartes who has been seconded to the Deathwatch Chapter and now serves as a noncommissioned officer in command of a Deathwatch kill-team or as a sub-commander to a kill-team's chosen leader if the mission profile calls for accompaniment by a higher-ranking officer. A watch sergeant can serve as the commander of a Deathwatch kill-team composed of 10 Firstborn Space Marines or Primaris Space Marines. Watch sergeants often bore the rank of sergeant in their parent Chapter before secondment to the Deathwatch, but many give up the rank when they first enter their Long Vigil. Instead, many watch sergeants earn the rank anew when they are selected from those hardened Deathwatch Veterans who have survived and thrived through several standard years or even solar decades of service to the Long Watch. It is essential that a kill-team be led by a canny and daring individual capable of divining the flow of battle for those opportunities that will allow his squad to maximise its tactical advantage, and it is quite common for squad sergeants to be seconded from their Chapter's elite 1st Company. This is to ensure that the mainstay of the Chapter's battle forces are led by the most experienced of its warriors.Master of the Hunt - Over the centuries since its founding, the Hunting Grounds of Watch Fortress Erioch have always been overseen by a Master of the Hunt. Always bestowed on a senior Deathwatch Space Marine with vast experience in both the hunting of xenos and the training of Space Marines, the title of Master of the Hunt is as unique to the Jericho Reach as the Hunting Grounds they oversee. Often extremely old, even by the standards of long-lived Astartes, and typically heavily scarred by centuries of service, each of these Veterans has overseen the daily operation of the Hunting Grounds during the decades of their stewardship. They are responsible for maintaining the facility and keeping it stocked with xenos specimens, and work closely with the fortress' Forge Master to keep the numerous arcane mechanisms found within the complex operating.