Deathwatch Watch Captain - Role: Adeptus Astartes 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 the ranks of the Chapter's captains.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 Long Vigil with humility. The Deathwatch traditionally extends the rank of watch captain to a Space Marine company commander during his Vigil, but most captains entering the Long 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 standard centuries his junior until he feels he has learned the ropes. There is wisdom behind such an approach, for a Deathwatch captain must learn how to fight a new kind of war, a shadow war against opponents on a dozen fronts where a single kill-team must tip the balance.The methods, tactics and targets of the Deathwatch are best learned in the field, and a Space Marine captain will stand side-by-side with his battle-brothers to learn their way of battle before presuming to take command of them.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 Long 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.Indeed, such is the unique situation of the Deathwatch that there are multiple well-documented instances of specialist Space Marines, such as Librarians and Apothecaries, who have been promoted to the rank of watch captain, a thing unheard of in Codex Astartes-compliant Chapters.Ultimately, the burden of command falls upon the shoulders of the battle-brother who is judged the most apt to bear it by his peers and superiors, regardless of his former role and Chapter of origin.A watch captain has to be a remarkable individual. He must be a scholarly adept of the teachings within the Codex Astartes and show himself to be an astute tactician through the maelstrom of uncounted battles. He must be a diplomat and act as a representative of the Chapter to Imperial authorities. It is a position of tremendous responsibility to command a hundred of the Emperor's Space Marines.The hammer blow delivered by a Space Marine company can devastate a battle zone or strike with pinpoint accuracy, and this decision is also the responsibility of the captain. Collateral damage may be inevitable, or even desirable; civilian casualties will often be unavoidable. Space Marines will not hesitate to sacrifice themselves in the cause of victory, but it falls to the captain to make the decision on when and where such sacrifices must be made. A moment's hubris could bring about a disaster that decimates the company's ranks but every campaign demands boldness and an aggressive fighting spirit. The captain must weigh all of these factors as he plans for battle; the burden is his to bear alone.It takes a resolute and often ruthless commander to command a Space Marine company in battle. The unflinching zeal of the battle-brothers is one of their greatest weapons and must be exploited to the fullest. As the enemy tires, Space Marines must relentlessly attack with redoubled fury. Foes in retreat must be mercilessly crushed and put to flight before they can regroup, their strongpoints eliminated, their defences bypassed.A Space Marine captain will seize the initiative and keep it, orchestrating a rising crescendo of mayhem that shatters the enemy force into bewildered fragments fleeing from the battlefield. A Space Marine captain can win great glory for himself and his company, entering the annals of Chapter history as a celebrated hero.A captain leads from the front, his words and deeds an inspiration to the mighty warriors at his command. Their individual prowess with blade and bolter is peerless, as it must be to command the respect of the Space Marines in their charge. Captains are often lionised by their battle-brothers in the company, and forge an unshakeable mutual bond of loyalty and trust across solar decades of war.The demands on a Deathwatch captain are very different to those found in Space Marine Chapters. A Deathwatch captain is usually placed in charge of several kill-teams and given guidance on broad objectives by the watch commander. Beyond that and advice from Deathwatch Chaplains and Librarians, the watch captain sets his own missions and organises his kill-teams appropriately. He is responsible for every detail of their recruitment, training, wargear and deployment.It is also his solemn duty to record their deeds in battle and, where possible, to return the remains of a fallen battle-brother to their parent Chapter with all due honour. It is unlikely the watch captain will ever have a full 100 battle-brothers to command in the Deathwatch, and the handful of Space Marines available will always be widely scattered across the vast area under the scrutiny of a single watch fortress.Instead the watch captain must learn how to best employ a changing roster of battle-brothers from different Chapters to assemble the most effective kill-teams for the missions required. Much of the watch captain's time is occupied by endless analysis of data and closeted consultations with Librarians and Inquisitors in an attempt to determine when and where to intervene. It is rare to have the luxury of planning campaigns in the Long Watch. All too often the watch captain is engaged in long-term triage against a series of alien threats across an entire sector of Imperial space. Precision strikes by kill-teams to keep the enemy off-balance, often in collusion with the efforts of Ordo Xenos Inquisitors, and some subtle prodding of Imperial military forces in the right direction is commonly the best that can be achieved.A watch captain will often take personal command of important missions, particularly ones that involve multiple kill-teams or diverse objectives. A watch captain makes for a truly deadly opponent, but one armed with the ancient weaponry and forbidden wargear available to the Deathwatch is more terrible still. Under his deft control the most diverse kill-teams work together with the smooth efficiency of a well-oiled bolter. Unconquerable fortresses and indestructible war machines are meat and drink to the fertile mind of a watch captain.Even the strongest enemy forces are liable to be pulled apart and defeated at the hands of a watch captain's kill-teams before they know they are under attack. When a major xenos threat is identified by a watch captain, his role is to formally warn nearby Imperial Commanders of the threat. If the Imperial response proves weak or ineffective, it may then fall to the Deathwatch to intervene directly and put an end to the matter. The Deathwatch has access to weaponry that is the doom of worlds. Where conventional defences fail, a watch captain may have to sorrowfully order the complete destruction of a planet, potentially sacrificing innocent lives in their billions to protect other worlds in peril.It is not unknown for Imperial Commanders to beg a watch captain to take command of their defences in the event of an alien invasion in hopes of saving their world from Exterminatus. A watch captain is a wise choice of supreme commander in such times as their skill and zeal will wring the very best out of even the most lackluster Planetary Defence Force.It is also a pitiless choice, as a watch captain will not hesitate to turn the whole world into a charnel house for the invaders, a devastated war zone piled high with countless dead. Destroying the alien is the watch captain's primary objective; preservation of the world and its people is a secondary concern.Such dreadful power is also a watch captain's greatest potential peril. A Space Marine's stalwart character is a proud and ferocious one as befits such a mighty warrior. But in these traits the seeds of his damnation can also be sown. Overweening pride can turn to hubris and narcissism; excessive ferocity can beget bloodlust and madness.A watch captain can order whole worlds burned with a single word and entire populations slaughtered without fear of censure. The temptation to abuse such power, often with the purest of motivations, can be a seductive one. There is a certain grim hopelessness in Humanity's eternal battle against the alien, fighting an unwinnable war against a galaxy full of enemies.The belief that the threat of the xenos must be attacked directly with every weapon available is a form of lurking madness that a watch captain must learn to always keep at bay. In truth, the adamantium protecting the flesh of a Deathwatch captain is weak and brittle in comparison to the unbreakable steel to be found in his soul.Though they have only joined the ranks of the Deathwatch in the wake of the Ultimaris Decree, several Primaris battle-brothers have already earned the rank of watch captain. Brother Lyone of the Novamarines, for example, joined the garrison of the Null Breach watch fortress as an Intercessor. Within six solar months he had taken such a toll upon the Orks of Calverna that they feared him as "Da Black Butcha," while his brothers took to calling him "Orksbane." When Watch Captain Daxis was crushed by a rampaging Squiggoth, Lyone slew the beast with pinpoint fire to its eyes and earned his former captain's place. Primaris Watch Captain Lyone assumed the mantle of command, and has excelled himself ever since.Other Primaris watch captains, such as Barradan of Fort Excalibris and Denassio of Mortguard, have also made names for themselves in battle against myriad xenos threats. Such promotions have proved strategically beneficial, for with their intrinsic understanding of Primaris infantry forces and Repulsor tanks, these watch captains have helped to fully integrate these new weapons into the Deathwatch's arsenal.