Search the Community

THE RETURN OF THE GREEN KNIGHT The strike cruiser Verdant Oath did not sound a welcoming chime. The Thunderhawk settled into its cradle amid drifting vapor and cooling metal. From its hold emerged a lone figure clad in black ceramite. Brother Martin bore the sigil of the Deathwatch upon his pauldron. The Inquisitorial mark still clung to his armor, dull and intrusive, like a scar that refused to fade. No honor guard awaited him. Marshal Calder stood at the foot of the embarkation ramp, hands clasped behind his back. To one side waited Brother-Artificer Verdug, his servo-arm locked in repose. A pace behind them stood Codicier Lucan, hood drawn low, presence folded inward like a sheathed blade. Calder inclined his head. ‘Your vigil is ended.’ Brother Martin knelt. ‘It ended early, My Lord,’ Martin said. Not defensively. Precisely. ‘As intended,’ Calder replied The black of his armor was not revered aboard the Verdant Oath. It was residue. A foreign layer to be removed. They led him into the Armorum Sanctum. Cog-etched arches rose overhead. Incense hung heavy in the air, sharp with solvents and sanctified oils. The rites of return began. The black paint was burned away. Chemical agents hissed as Deathwatch livery dissolved down to bare adamantium. Serfs worked in silence. No hymns were sung. No litanies spoken. Only the steady rhythm of cleansing. As the green was reapplied, Codicier Lucan circled Martin slowly. His eyes never lingered on the armor. They searched deeper. ‘You refused three direct taskings,’ Lucan said, eyes unfocused. ‘Not requests. Orders.’ ‘I did,’ Martin replied. ‘Specify,’ Calder said. ‘The Deathwatch required maintenance of xenos-derived weapon systems,’ Martin said. ‘Calibration. Sanctification. Instruction.’ Verdug’s optics brightened faintly. ‘I refused,’ Martin continued. ‘Each time, I cited Martian doctrine and Imperial law. Each time, I offered sanctioned alternatives.’ ‘And?’ Calder asked. ‘They recorded my refusals,’ Martin said. ‘They judged me obstructive. Ideologically inflexible. A liability to operational cohesion.’ Calder’s mouth twitched, almost a smile. 'They I was released to my parent chapter under writ,’ Martin finished. Calder inclined his head once. ‘Exactly as hoped.’ Lucan stopped pacing. ‘There has been interference,’ Lucan said at last. Calder did not turn. ‘Explain.’ ‘The Ordo Xenos attempted a surgical purge,’ Lucan replied. ‘Memory excision. Observation anchors. They were thorough.’ Verdug’s optics flared softly. ‘And successful?’ Lucan paused. ‘Incomplete.’ At a gesture from Verdug, servitors drew back a shrouded reliquary. Runes flared as seals disengaged, one by one. Beneath lay an ancient device of brass and blackened steel, its surface etched with sigils older than the Chapter. ‘Sanctioned by Holy Terra,’ Verdug intoned. ‘Recovered during the Third Scouring of Helican Reach.’ Lucan’s voice lowered. ‘Rumors claim the Ordos Hereticus uses such devices to unmask witches. To reconstruct lies stripped from the mind.’ Calder turned at last. ‘Then use it.’ Brother Martin was seated before the device. Cables interfaced with his cranial ports. The machine stirred, not with noise, but with intent. Lucan reached into the warp. The device responded. Fragments surfaced—gaps where memory had been cut away, cauterized with cold precision. The machine probed those absences, not restoring what was taken, but mapping what should have been there. Runes ignited across the chamber walls. Star charts unfolded, incomplete at first—then sharpening. Worlds returned from omission – bled back into focus. Vaults hidden by silence. Listening posts. Quarantine reliquaries hidden beneath layers of denial. Lucan exhaled slowly. ‘Nineteen,’ he said. ‘Recovered from absence,’ Verdug confirmed. ‘The rest are too degraded.’ Calder stepped forward, studying the burning points of light. ‘Nineteen worlds touched by xenos treachery,’ he said, ‘Nineteen worlds, hidden not by ignorance, but by intent.’ ‘Some confirmed,’ Martin said, his voice steady despite the lingering ache behind his eyes. ‘Some merely watched.’ Lucan’s gaze hardened. ‘Watched is enough.’ ‘Then no longer,’ Calder said. He turned to Verdug. ‘Inform the Blade.’ The words carried weight. The War Council would convene. Routes would be charted. Oaths renewed. Weapons sanctified. Calder faced Martin once more. ‘Your vigil ended early because it needed to,’ he said. ‘You were sent back because you exposed their weakness. They lack faith in humanity.' Martin bowed his head. ‘You return to us without stain,’ the Marshal said. ‘Go and rejoin your brothers.' Outside the Armorum Sanctum, klaxons began to sound—not alarms, but summons. The Verdant Oath altered course. A Crusade had been declared. It was a good day for the Green Templars. And the alien would not endure it.

Hello Everyone! Been out the hobby for about 7 years and decided recently the Deathwatch are the army to get me back into it. Decided to record my progress as i go. I'll be adding some inquisition as well when I've got them time. But first i decided to make up some Primaris Deathwatch to get me started. I really wanted to see what the new primaris models were like and thought i might as well make them Deathwatch. Probably won't get any more though, just normal size after this. Here are some pics! Did a fair bit of conversion work on the basic intercessors to get them to be deathwatch. Added the shoulder pads and the elbow detail on the left arms, sculpted shot selectors into the boltguns, filed of the chest eagles and replaced them with pouches, grenades and bullets and sliced up the right arms to incorporate the wrist scanner. Here's a close up of the Sergeant Prior to this i painted up some random servitors i had unpainted from years and years ago as Inquisition for practice. I'll post more when I've painted the primaris squad. Let me know what you all think!

Hello everyone! I've been working on this army for a long while and thought i should post it here to see what you all think. I always like to get comments and constructive criticism on my work so please let me know what you think of them all! I've taken some photos of the whole set plus i've added the photos from my entry to Armies on Parade last year. If you want to see any of the models in more detail let me know and i can add photos of them, OR you can check out my other topic in the deathwatch forum here. I'll be updating this as build and paint more models, the first update is already below! I've arranged the army in a rough outline of the watch fortress structure, they all have the correct squad designations on their kneepads and i've got an excel sheet to record who is in which squad! Almost all of them are from different chapters as well (another reason for the excel spreadsheet) I like to make them all a bit unique with the names and chapter background, i endeavor to add some elements of their home chapter to the model but after the 50 most well known ones it gets difficult! So i come up with a feel for their chapter from the name, colour scheme or what i decided to make up for them. I like to add little details like that, as you can see from the photos i am very fond of converting. All of them have the deathwatch wrist scanner, shoulder pad and elbow pad, where possible i also give them the ammo pouches and more! My goal is to build a deathwatch version of every unit currently available to them! So if you can't see something in these photos i will build one eventually! Please let me know what you think of all these!!!

Evening all, this hopefully marks the start of my 40k painting blog. This is mainly focussed around a small, but growing Deathwatch and inquisition force based around having fun with kitbashes, sculting and 3d printing to make something interesting and fun to look at. I'm not the biggest player... my last match was probaby some time back in 7th edition. The thought of having to get something up to gaming standards that won't be trounced by local WAAC players is not something that grabs. Hopefully you have some fun, and feel free to offer critique or suggestions as we go! I need to redo some shoulder pads as I've decided freehand really wasn't the way to go, so I'll try and do some group shots once those are done, but for now lets start with a recently completed project, and a current WIP to get things rolling. We have Judicar Zakaror, who spent years as part of the Dark Angels chapter, but as part of his recent progression to Chaplain, has been seconded to the Deathwatch to serve as a Judicar. Where better to prove your worth and learn those valuable lessons in serving the Emperor? The base model for our Judicar here was the Lord-Terminos model from the recent Age of Sigmar box, with some marine bits and pieces added into the mix. Eventually we will also have Wolf-Brother Faffnar the Bold joining the watchhouse to guard the domains of mankind. The additions to the dreadnought frame are from GreyTide Studio's Primal Hounds set, along with a Deathwatch shoulder guard. He is being done as part of an Ancients painting challenge on another forum.

THE 164TH: Team Dossier AQUILON TEMPESTOR MASON Role: Squad Lead Weapons: Hotshot Lascarbine and a Tempestus Dagger MASON never traded up for the traditional officer’s pistol and sabre. He sticks with the same lascarbine he’s carried since his first drop, and the squad trusts him for that. He keeps a sealed relic-vial of Armageddon ash under his chestplate—grainy grey dirt Yarrick himself once trod on. MASON’s leadership style is brutally simple: “land hard, move fast, die later.” He handpicked every member of the 164th Ash Vultures after a disastrous, op that killed 80% of his previous squad at Hive Secundus. Since then, he’s shown an almost religious intolerance for incompetence and an equally religious patience for trauma. AQUILON TROOPER VESPER Role: Rifleman Weapons: Hotshot Lascarbine and a Tempestus Dagger VESPER refuses every promotion thrown at him, convinced dying starts the moment you get noticed. He blends into any formation like smoke—quiet, unobtrusive, impossible to remember until everything’s already gone to hell. Among the Ash Vultures, VESPER is the steady center. Nobody knows how old he is, but his instincts in a firefight are flawless. He and MASON share a long, unspoken history from the early Harakoni days, something involving a failed drop and a crashed Valkyrie whose crew didn’t make it. AQUILON TROOPER ECHO Role: Rifleman Weapons: Hotshot Lascarbine and a Tempestus Dagger ECHO claims her memories were wiped, that she once fought alongside silver-armoured warriors carrying halberds. The others laugh it off—mostly to hide that they believe she might be right. She’s brilliant at pattern analysis and movement prediction, often calling threats seconds before they appear. Off-mission she watches the sky like something’s going to come back for her. AQUILON TROOPER THORN Role: Rifleman Weapons: Hotshot Lascarbine and a Tempestus Dagger The sole non-Harakoni in the team, THORN survived an Ork overrunning of his Steel Legion company by sheer stubborn refusal to die. MASON dragged him into the Ash Vultures not out of pity but respect: THORN kept firing long after his gas mask cracked and his squad was gone. The others treat him like a younger cousin—respectful but merciless in hazing. THORN takes it in stride, absorbing Harakoni doctrine with frightening speed. AQUILON GRENADIER KILN Role: Demolitions Weapons: Hotshot Laspistol, Melta Bombs and a Tempestus Dagger KILN is a walking arsenal. He carries more grenade varieties than most supply officers have manifest slips for. His favorites are a pair of Krak Grenades, sizes for an Astartes. They came from a trade with a Black Templar neophyte; the reliquary he gave away in return almost certainly wasn’t authentic, but no one questions it. KILN treats explosives like fine wines—classified by vintage, flavour, and ideal occasion. AQUILON GUNFIGHTER SABLE Role: Dual-Pistol Specialist Weapons: 2× Hotshot Laspistols and a Tempestus Dagger SABLE solves problems with gunfire and is annoyed when other solutions work. Her reputation for dead spouses follows her around; the squad jokes she marries for fun and “widows” for stress relief. She and VESPER have an odd sibling rivalry: he avoids notice, she demands it. On missions, their paired advance is devastating. AQUILON GUNNER HEMLOCK Role: Melta Support Weapons: Melta Carbine and a Tempestus Dagger HEMLOCK hides his intelligence behind a slackjaw façade. In truth he’s a meticulous thinker, designing a wargame about grot submarines and Ork naval tactics. He’s terrified the others will find out—not because they’ll laugh, but because they’ll ask to play. In battle, HEMLOCK’s melta work is clinical. Anything that needs to stop existing, he deletes. AQUILON GUNNER PRAXIS Role: Plasma Support Weapons: Plasma Carbine and a Tempestus Dagger PRAXIS was raised to be a dentist, then discovered he hated teeth and loved falling out of aircraft. He took to plasma like an addict to his vice: he knows it’s killing him a little at a time, but Throne does it feel righteous. He and HEMLOCK often run paired deep-strike insertions—one melts armour, one melts everything inside it. AQUILON MARKSMAN TANGENT Role: Sniper Weapons: Hotshot Long-Las and a Tempestus Dagger TANGENT’s auditory implant plays constant choirs whenever it detects blasphemy. Given the Imperium’s general level of profanity, she’s lived in a private cathedral for four straight years. Her silence unnerves new recruits, but the Vultures consider it comforting. If TANGENT is listening to what you have to say, it means you’re not damned… yet. AQUILON PRECURSOR SPECTRE Role: Pathfinder/Forward Drop Weapons: Hotshot Laspistol and a Tempestus Dagger Youngest in the squad, SPECTRE hates aircraft with a religious intensity and prefers to free-fall whenever regulations allow. First down, first gone, he marks drop zones with burning white phosphorus—his way of telling the enemy the sky belongs to the Ash Vultures. He hero-worships MASON and distrusts ECHO, claiming ECHO “falls like she’s being watched.” SERVO-SENTRY ARGONAUT Role: Automated Support Weapons: Hotshot Volley Gun and a Tempestus Dagger The regimental Enginseer insists ARGONAUT is a standard-pattern servo-sentry. The 164th insists he’s the reassembled skull of Trooper Argus Naught, whose grav-chute failed and who crushed an Ork Big Mek on impact. The team issued the Servo-Sentry with a Tempestus Dagger, and while no one has ever seen the servitor draw the weapon (or wonder how such a miracle could occur), they find its mere presence comforting.

Ordo Maledictum: 164th Detachment "Ash Vultures" Affiliation: Ordo Maledictum Role: Rapid Retrieval and Purification Unit Doctrine: Grav-chute insertions into rift-proximate warzones to recover warp-tainted artifacts, terminate psy-reactive entities, or destroy evidence of corruption. Motto: “By any means necessary.” Symbol: A black shoulder pad or knee guard bearing a red Inquisitorial “I” pierced by a downward silver sword — the blade representing “containment from above.” Uniform: • Fatigues: Smoke-grey and dust-tan mix, worn and scorched. • Carapace Armor: faded olive. • Markings: Red wiring, faded purity seals, patches of melted paint. Lore: Once part of the Harakoni Warhawks, the 164th were deployed for 11 years on the planet Armageddon. 16 months after the fall of Cadia, the 164th were transferred to the Vigilus Sector. Officially “lost during transit,” they were instead redirected for special duties: retrieval of warp-tainted relics, purging of psychic outbreaks, and sterilization of contaminated outposts, by the Ordo Maledictum. The Ordo Maledictum emerged after the birth of the Great Rift, and were given a near impossible task: Close the Great Rift. The 164th operate without backup, without oversight, and without limits. Each Grav Chute descent is a death sentence delayed by discipline. They’ve fought daemons, foul xenos, cultists, rogue Guardsmen, and even loyalist Astartes who impede the Ordos mission to save the Imperium of Mankind. The 164th's orders are simple: Save Humanity from Chaos... by any means necessary.