IA: The Nightwatch

[Firepower]

ORIGINS

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The Unblinking Eye

Strive to see all, or you’ll miss the Serpent’s rise.

C

reated during the 20th Founding by the gene-seed of the revered Corax, the Nightwatch were originally intended to shore the borders of the Imperium surrounding the Eye of Terror. Trained by their venerable cousins of the Raptors and equipped with a fleet consisting of some of the most advanced surveillance and reconnaissance ships available, the fledgling Chapter rooted out cancerous Chaos incursions and infiltrators with ruthless, surgical precision over the first few centuries of its existence. However, not long after gaining full operational strength and autonomy, the Nightwatch would come to find a purpose beyond watching for cracks in the crumbling borders of the Imperium.

During the Age of Apostasy, the young Astartes found themselves horrified by the sheer extent of anarchy one crazed demagogue could wreak upon their beloved Imperium. The Nightwatch took sides with the Loyalists, and from one bloody purge of heretics to the next saw their faith in the common citizen withered, and their loathing for the demagogical Ecclesiarchy swollen. The tactics they had developed for rooting out cults of the Dark Gods were put to use in expunging one mad preacher after another, though more often than not the taint of heresy had already wormed too deeply into the minds of men to die as easily as their progenitors. By the time the civil war finally came to an end, the sons of Corax had waded through the blood of innocents on countless worlds, and became butchers of sheep led to the slaughter by a corrupt and exploited faith. In an oath of penance and revenge, the eyes of the Nightwatch were forever turned inward, vigilantly watching for the slightest whisper of another hopeful successor to Vandire.

HISTORY

Live in His light, lest the Shadows take you too.

Since the young Chapter’s trial by fire during the Reign of Blood, actions by the Nightwatch have predominately involved the removal of internal threats rather than attacks from without. Genestealer infestations and cults, covens dedicated to the infamous False Gods, traitors, renegades, and even fellow Astartes have found themselves attacked without warning after careful scrutiny from the shadows. The greedy, corrupt, and power hungry have been found butchered in all Segmentums of the galaxy, their broken bodies and followers left to rot under the Chapter’s sign: the Unblinking Eye. Were it not for this trademark, it is unlikely many of the ambushes and surgical strikes could ever be traced back to the Nightwatch at all.

During the 12th and 13th Black Crusades of the Despoiler, the Nightwatch played a key role in keeping the encroaching darkness bottlenecked towards the front lines. Straggling or wandering ships intent on exploiting the distraction of the larger attack for their own gains would time and again find themselves blown from the sky in precisely choreographed assaults, or ambushed and executed at range the moment the Traitors made planetfall. The greatest losses during the campaigns came as retaliation by the infamous Traitors of the Alpha Legion. During the 12th Crusade, a fleet carrying roughly a full company was found adrift and butchered in the void: a carefully executed retaliation by the Legion in reply to the Nightwatch’s efforts in rooting out and destroying the Traitors’ forward infiltration units and cults. It was not until the next conquest of the Despoiler that the Nightwatch had its revenge by luring the Legion into a trap, deliberately allowing select cults to prosper and achieve their insurgent agendas just long enough to bring their masters into the open on the world of Jorano. Although the Chapter has received open ridicule in knowingly allowing the forces of Chaos to prosper until bursting on the planet, what curt and characteristically cold rebuttals the Nightwatch offered were quick to note the tactical rewards: fully double their numbers lost to the Legion nearly a millennium prior were culled from the Traitors’ ranks before they managed an unforeseen withdrawal, and all other hostiles were dutifully purged. Whether accusations of putting vengeance over duty by peers bears fruit, and exactly how the Alpha Legion will enact its revenge are both mysteries, though the Nightwatch is vigilant for ill winds on both sides.

Beyond the Eye of Terror, the Chapter has been equally effective in war as well as controversy. Although their honorifics and Librarium record a number of masterpieces in warfare, the Chapter is most well known for its more shocking campaigns: most notorious of all to date being the Culling of Martyr’s Rest. Acting upon intelligence gathered by one of the Nightwatch’s uncounted patrol fleets, a detachment of Astartes infiltrated and attacked the Sororita Shrine, Martyr’s Rest, located in the northern reaches of Segmentum Tempestus. By the time the Sisters’ distress calls were heeded, Martyr’s Rest was a charnel house, with the entirety of the Order slain and its leaders flayed open in the central shrine under the Chapter’s iconic mark, their proof of mutation naked and exposed as they rotted. Though the leaders were indeed corrupt, only a handful among the many corpses showed any such sign of mutation. Demands for restitution by the Ecclesiarchy upon the discovery were answered only once: “The many innocent turned their guns on us at the beck and call of the few damned. Be grateful as we are their blind subservience led to such an early end, lest many innocents more would be dead today.”

Although this is the most marked example, several other sudden attacks on Ecclesiarchy bastions have left many keeping a watchful eye to the shadows; on Jeriah VI, Cardinal Letke was found slain with an execution style shot to the head among his similarly dispatched bodyguard and left laying atop his horde of ill-gotten riches (left noticeably untouched afterwards under the Unblinking Eye), and on Sephila the Nightwatch are attributed with the mysterious mass escape from notoriously corrupt prison camps and the overthrow of the governmental and religious aristocracy that followed. No matter the list of successful and honorable victories, it is these fearfully whispered stories that leave more than a few authorities of the Imperium constantly counting shadows.

COMBAT DOCTRINE

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Nightwatch Veteran

Strike as the darkness. Let the living see only your finished craft. Let them see naught but memories of the dead and the damned in every shadow from the moment they know your name.

The Nightwatch’s approach to combat is not entirely dissimilar from other sons of Corax. Typically, plans are put together around a list of priorities centering specifically on information gathering, stealth, and precision. The ideal success for a commander of the Nightwatch is a maximum amount of effect with a minimal application and loss of resources. Typically, innocent life falls under the latter category, though large enough gains have been known to lighten the value of this consideration for some colder minded Nightwatch leaders, such as at Jorano. Still, this sort of behavior is an exception to the rule, as the Chapter still remembers the countless lives lost during their involvement in the Reign of Blood. Those outside the Chapter are often quick to decide that a hatred for the Ecclesiarchy and anything like it is far more motivation than a love for the innocent all the same.

When engaging humans, the norm is to remove the leader of the enemy force, then his subordinates, and so on down the chain of command until there is no longer a homogenous enemy force to speak of. The biggest danger the Nightwatch faces in such an approach is the threat of martyrdom in killing the more entrenched, popular demagogues of false faiths. As such, the Chapter always strives to execute their plans as swiftly as possible, rather than allow the taint of heresy, corruption, and treason to spread to the fool-shepherds’ flocks, as had transpired in the Reign of Blood.

Against nonhuman opponents, the tactics employed by the Nightwatch do not change too much. Every Marine is expected to know the structure of the enemy’s command and control system as well as its anatomy, so as to strike the weakest spot of the weakest link. Most often this means targeting the enemy’s most important leaders and working down the chain of command from there: an effective strategy against Ork Warbosses and Tyranid Synapse creatures alike. On such occasions where these sensitive targets are not immediately vulnerable, the Nightwatch reverts to the hit and run tactics famous amongst descendants of the Raven, striking supply lines, key structures, and exposed flanks until the enemy is too disorganized to protect its heart any longer. Typically, enemy leaders are engaged at extreme range by way of snipers and heavy weapons, while harassment duties fall to more rapid assault units. Ideally, this means that suddenly leaderless enemies are left sprawling while the Nightwatch eliminates them safely from afar, while sensitive areas can be struck and withdrawn from before the enemy ever musters a counter offensive. At any engagement, the Nightwatch tend to seek the fastest resolution to a war as manageable, as even the best laid strategy will have casualties and collateral damage. Given the Chapter’s organizational structure, it is rare that any extensive losses can be managed without crippling the campaign.

ORGANIZATION

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Nightwatch Initiate

Although the Nightwatch revere the Codex Astartes as an eloquent and insightful manual to warfare, they don’t particularly take any of its organizational doctrines to heart. Although the 10 Company system was formerly practical enough to be used, since the Chapter’s newfound purpose after the Age of Apostasy, a largely ad hoc system has been developed. The forces stationed around the Eye of Terror are referred to simply as the Corps, and consists of half or less of the Chapter’s numbers at any one time. The rest of the Chapter is divided into a number of Patrols scattered throughout the galaxy, whose number and locations are known only to the Master of the Vigil. Alongside the Master of the Walls, who is permanently stationed with the Corp and oversees its functions around the Eye, these two positions are the closest thing the Nightwatch has to a Master of the Chapter.

The Chapter regards the notion of a homeworld, or practically any permanent base for that matter, as a tactical weakness, and as such nearly every Patrol and the Corps itself are capable of their own recruitment procedures. Though every Patrol has ample supply of infantry war material, tanks are often far too large to transport easily among the small, reconnaissance oriented fleets they use. As such, it is rare to see the Nightwatch make use of an armored spearhead anywhere but around the Eye of Terror, though even then the burdensome and slow vehicles of Man are often unsuitable to the stealth oriented warfare of the Chapter. Dreadnaughts and Tactical Dreadnaught Armor are likewise rare anywhere but around the Eye, due to the Chapter’s youth and dangerously thin distribution throughout the Imperium. So, most typical deployments of the Nightwatch feature a infantry force with available resources to deploy as Assault, Devastator, or Tactical squads with a small supply of newly indoctrinated scouts, roughly half a Company in size on average and rarely with access to any vehicles beyond bikes, Land Speeders or Drop Pods.

Command structure of any given Patrol falls under a Prime Investigator and his entourage. These individuals are roughly an amalgam of the typical Captain, Librarian, Techmarine, and Chaplain roles of orthodox Chapters. Each one is geared towards uncovering the enemy, be it through understanding of the fleet’s technical capabilities, prescience, understanding of the insidious nature of the enemies of man, or tactical expertise. More than once, a Prime Investigator’s entourage has been known to include an Inquisitor, though whether invited, and just what function he performs on the Patrol’s journeys and duties is unknown to any but the Nightwatch and Inquisitors themselves. Some who know of such arrangements believe the Nightwatch and Inquisitors are working towards a similar, noble end of rooting out the wicked from the Imperium. A much more common opinion is that of their detractors: the Inquisitors are invited along to ensure the Chapter’s tendency to step on toes doesn’t result in any major backlash.

BELIEFS

The core tenets of faith for the Nightwatch are deceptively simple: the Emperor is the highest moral authority, and those who serve him do so for the betterment and protection of His children. The Chapter sees Him and His works as, above all else, a grand design for the betterment of humanity. As such, those who invoke His name for anything less than the most benevolent of works are rarely considered anything but subhuman. Although they are not naïve to the harsh demands for survival in a cruel galaxy, the Nightwatch are loathe to support any act they consider to unnecessarily cause suffering and death to His children.

Within the Chapter itself, the most iconic belief revolves around the meaning of their symbol, the Unblinking Eye. New inductees to the Chapter becoming living embodiments of the icon, as their right eyelids are surgically removed with their ascension to status as a full Battle Brother. The Eye serves as a warning to the Chapter itself, reminding every Brother that the vigil must be unwavering. Enemies of the Nightwatch know the symbol by another meaning: the Shadows never blink. It is this fear that the Chapter enforces at every opportunity, leaving their symbol in prominent position over their battlefields, looking down upon the dead of the Chapter and its enemies with the perfect clarity of His judgment.

GENE-SEED

The Nightwatch’s gene-seed has remained within the acceptable parameters in their short history. Normal mutations associated with the seed of Corax are found within their ranks, particularly the gradual decline in melanin and darkening of hair. The one peculiarity to develop in recent years is a reversal of this mutation, in which hosts will gradually darken to a pitch black skin. These rare individuals have come to be known as Shadow-Born amongst the Chapter, and are watched closely as their Brothers try to discern their unique gift to be a mark of favor or a sign of ill fates. However, many within the Apothecarion simply believe it to be a natural random occurrence, given the wide array of populations the Chapter draws its numbers from.

BATTLE-CRY

The Nightwatch have no battlecry per se, given its lack of value in the Chapter’s largely stealth-oriented operations. However, a saying commonly appears alongside the Unblinking Eye left at the Chapter’s battlefields: “Live in His light, and count the Shadows.”



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Okay, think that's a good enough start. C&C would be most appreciated, anything from technicalities to grammatical errors to "By the Throne this could never work!"

[Armor Athlete]

I will finish reading but I just wanted to say that I have a close Paint scheme with my Angels Revenant

[StGene]

Very well done! The only problems I can see is the Chapter strength and the presence of the Inquisitors. I personally have nothing against this, but many Liberites are extremely vocal about their disapproval. Make sure you have a good reason as to why the Nightwatch are overstrength and buddy-buddy with the Inquisitors.

[Firepower]

I personally have nothing against this, but many Liberites are extremely vocal about their disapproval. Make sure you have a good reason as to why the Nightwatch are overstrength and buddy-buddy with the Inquisitors.

 

 

Ah, see, that's the thing. I don't see these fellows as being over strengthed. In fact, if anything, they're overstretched. Much like the Pre-Heresy Night Lords, the Chapter revolves around the idea that fear instills loyalty, regardless of their capabilities to actually enforce retribution. Their presence in Segmentums far beyond the Eye of Terror and the deliberate warning they leave are designed to enforce such fear, regardless of their capabilities to actually enforce a constant patrol of any given sector. I do not intend for them to be over the designated 1,000 marine limit by any great degree (it's hard to keep track precisely given their organization), though their enemies don't know as much, nor where those 1.000 are exactly deployed.

[Shinzaren]

Haven't read it all yet, got caught up on the Chapter symbol. Why is PacMan in the middle of a weird bird? It throws the whole thing off and distracts from the symbol. But that could just be me I guess ;) I see PacMan.

[Captain Forcystus]

So far im liking the looks of it. But I do gotta say the eye part of the insignia looks alot like Pac Man. It aint a big deal but it gives me a little chuckle.

[Jonas Stromclaw]

Under organization you keep saying the "corp." Assuming you are talking about a military unit and not the abbreviation for corporation, it should be "corps," which is both plural and singular. Only mistake I saw, other than that I really like it.

[Aegnor]

Second sentence under "Organisation", I think you mean "formerly" rather than "formally".

 

I like it. Agree with the Pacman comments - it is distracting.

 

Couple of points - as I've been told with my DIY, Raven Guard successors tend to require regular top ups of viable geneseed from the Mechanicus, given how unstable Corax's geneseed is. Would the Night Watch continue to receive it when they've shown a proclivity for stepping on the toes of the powerful in the Imperium? And not sure how viable the "no homeworld, recruit where we can" approach would be.

 

It's interesting to see the similarities but more particularly the differences with my Night Owls (working name, will be changed) - see the link in my sig, which have many of the same elements, but a very different end result.

[NightrawenII]

1st, the Night Watch is official Chapter, just look into your Codex 5th ed.

 

2nd, this is the theme I really cannot swallow, the Space marines are Elite Unit of Army, not Gestapo, FBI or KGB. For me, such Chapter is missing the theme of Astartes altogether by mile(s). It's waste of Emperor's Finest Warriors, not least for the simple fact that there are organisations like Adeptus Arbites, Officio Assassinorum and lastly the Inquisition.

 

Of course this my personal opinion and you are not obliged to comply.

[Firepower]

Fixed the Eye (i was kinda unsatisfied with it myself) and grammatical errors.

 

Aegnor: I was unaware of such a situation with the gene-seed. I thought Corax's legacy was only messed up when he tried to rebuild rapidly during the Heresy, I didn't know anything about continued instability afterward. Just what sort of "top ups" are you referring to? As for their relationship with the Ad Mech, I wasn't intending for them to be on any remarkably unusual terms with them. I figure if anyone in the Imperium is tech-savvy enough to jam or avoid detection, it'd be the Ad Mech. As for the no-homeworld approach, plenty of Chapters do it. The one thing that seems dangerous about the Nightwatch's approach in particular is that with such small fleets, carrying around gene-seed stocks in each one could be dangerously risky.

 

 

Nightrawen: On point #1: I don't own the 5th Edition Codex, so I'd never heard of the official Night Watch. Unless they gave the chapter any extensive fluffing in the Codex, I'm just going to stick with the name. I think it's very fitting, and rather catchy.

 

As for point #2, hear me out a moment. The role of the Astartes is to kill the enemies of man. The Astartes are also fiercely autonomous. As such, they set their own definitions as to what the biggest threat to Humanity and the Imperium is. Precisely because they are the Elite of the Elite, they will apply themselves to their chosen duty regardless of who else already fights the same enemy. Just because there is the Ordo Xenos, the Astartes don't go "Oh, well, someone's already fighting aliens, what else can we do?" Rather, they go "They try to fight aliens, but we could do it so much better, and if we don't then everything will go to hell." Particularly after the failure of the Imperium's other self-governance elements to prevent the Age of Apostasy, the Nightwatch decided that only proper Astartes could be counted on for keeping the Ecclesiarchy and similar organizations in line. Who's to tell them otherwise?

 

I don't see it being so much of a stretch as such. They're still fighting the enemies of the Emperor, and they're still actively combat units and not Arbites (they don't set up prisons and such, or stick around to actually govern planets). Just because they decided their skills were better applied against the dangers of man rather than the dangers of the xeno does not mean they are suddenly failures as Astartes.

[NightrawenII]

Nightrawen: On point #1: I don't own the 5th Edition Codex, so I'd never heard of the official Night Watch. Unless they gave the chapter any extensive fluffing in the Codex, I'm just going to stick with the name. I think it's very fitting, and rather catchy.

The Night Watch is member of Astartes Praeses, during the 13th BC fielded 11 Companies and their homeworld is called Silence. Chapter symbol is Candle.

 

Particularly after the failure of the Imperium's other self-governance elements to prevent the Age of Apostasy, the Nightwatch decided that only proper Astartes could be counted on for keeping the Ecclesiarchy and similar organizations in line. Who's to tell them otherwise?

Inquisition

High Lords of Terra

other Astartes

 

I don't see it being so much of a stretch as such. They're still fighting the enemies of the Emperor, and they're still actively combat units and not Arbites (they don't set up prisons and such, or stick around to actually govern planets). Just because they decided their skills were better applied against the dangers of man rather than the dangers of the xeno does not mean they are suddenly failures as Astartes.

Modus Operandi of SWAT is different from the Delta Force.

[Firepower]

Nightrawen: On point #1: I don't own the 5th Edition Codex, so I'd never heard of the official Night Watch. Unless they gave the chapter any extensive fluffing in the Codex, I'm just going to stick with the name. I think it's very fitting, and rather catchy.

The Night Watch is member of Astartes Praeses, during the 13th BC fielded 11 Companies and their homeworld is called Silence. Chapter symbol is Candle.

 

Hm. Pretty much just what's on Lexicanum then. I think I'll keep the name unless something better strikes me.

 

Particularly after the failure of the Imperium's other self-governance elements to prevent the Age of Apostasy, the Nightwatch decided that only proper Astartes could be counted on for keeping the Ecclesiarchy and similar organizations in line. Who's to tell them otherwise?

Inquisition

High Lords of Terra

other Astartes

 

Ok, which of these 2 scenarios sounds more accurate: An Astartes fleet roots out signs of growing genestealer cults on some planet, attacks, and gets censured by the High Lords of Terra for doing the Ordo Xenos job. Or, an Astartes fleet roots out signs of growing genestealer cults on some planet, and sits back and watches, maybe making a phone call to the organization with proper jurisdiction, and gets censured by the High Lords of Terra for not doing anything to stop the infiltration themselves.

 

The Nightwatch have not declared war on the Ecclesiarchy, and they are not actually stepping in to manually govern and direct the Ecclesiarchy. That would indeed result in a major backlash. What they do is watch them very closely, as well as most other major institutions, for any sign of heresy/treason/corruption, and intervene accordingly. I can't see the logic in the High Lords of Terra or other Chapters saying "Yeah, sure, you killed the enemies of man, but those enemies were for Bob and Joe over there to kill."

 

The Astartes are autonomous, and can get away with quite a lot so far as they don't break a few rules. The Ultramarines govern a huge chunk of the Imperium, which hardly seems a proper application of what should be the super elite fighting force born to kill.

 

I don't see it being so much of a stretch as such. They're still fighting the enemies of the Emperor, and they're still actively combat units and not Arbites (they don't set up prisons and such, or stick around to actually govern planets). Just because they decided their skills were better applied against the dangers of man rather than the dangers of the xeno does not mean they are suddenly failures as Astartes.

Modus Operandi of SWAT is different from the Delta Force.

 

True, but SWAT and Delta Force have their roles strictly set out by governing bodies, which also determine when and where said forces are deployed for a limited duration and precise objective. A Space Marine Chapter is a group of 1,000 Delta Force, given their own airforce, tanks, guns, and ammunition, and told "Ok, go out and kill something. Just be sure they deserve it."

 

It's not that I don't appreciate some critical analysis. I welcome it. I just happen to think you're wrong on this particular note. :cuss To put it simply, Astartes are not told what to do, just what not to do. Their mission, purpose, reason for being and general list of preferred opponents are entirely up to the Chapter itself, so long as none of their decisions violate the very few rules limiting their autonomy. They may face criticism, just like an Black Templar may ridicule a Raptors commander for using stealthy sneaky tactics (just a random example mind you), but unless they do something majorly afoul of the rules, criticism is where it ends.

[NightrawenII]

An Astartes fleet roots out signs of growing genestealer cults on some planet, attacks, and gets censured by the High Lords of Terra for doing the Ordo Xenos job.

And the problem is right at beginning of your point: "An Astartes fleet roots out signs..." Astartes are soldiers, not policemen.

 

True, but SWAT and Delta Force have their roles strictly set out by governing bodies, which also determine when and where said forces are deployed for a limited duration and precise objective. A Space Marine Chapter is a group of 1,000 Delta Force, given their own airforce, tanks, guns, and ammunition, and told "Ok, go out and kill something. Just be sure they deserve it."

 

It's not that I don't appreciate some critical analysis. I welcome it. I just happen to think you're wrong on this particular note. :D To put it simply, Astartes are not told what to do, just what not to do. Their mission, purpose, reason for being and general list of preferred opponents are entirely up to the Chapter itself, so long as none of their decisions violate the very few rules limiting their autonomy. They may face criticism, just like an Black Templar may ridicule a Raptors commander for using stealthy sneaky tactics (just a random example mind you), but unless they do something majorly afoul of the rules, criticism is where it ends.

Poor Guilleman, he reorganized Imperial Armed forces, codified their structures, organisation and tactics. In the case of Space marines he has written this book with very catchy name, the Codex Astartes and you are completely forgetting all his efforts. :)

 

I had this argument once with another member and I think it's rather pointless to continue this debate.

[Jonas Stromclaw]

True, but SWAT and Delta Force have their roles strictly set out by governing bodies, which also determine when and where said forces are deployed for a limited duration and precise objective. A Space Marine Chapter is a group of 1,000 Delta Force, given their own airforce, tanks, guns, and ammunition, and told "Ok, go out and kill something. Just be sure they deserve it."

Firstly, thats hilarious. Sigged.

 

Secondly, I think you're being a bit hard, NightrawenII. What he is effectively saying is that his chapter takes standard Raven Guard tactics, and applies them to human worlds as well as xenos. Captain Shrike and Co. go off and kill Waaghs! in their infancy, these Nightwatch locate and kill rebellions before they can get started. A tactical flexibility which Guilliman would have appreciated, I'm sure.

[NightrawenII]

Secondly, I think you're being a bit hard, NightrawenII. What he is effectively saying is that his chapter takes standard Raven Guard tactics, and applies them to human worlds as well as xenos. Captain Shrike and Co. go off and kill Waaghs! in their infancy, these Nightwatch locate and kill rebellions before they can get started.

I know, I said this is theme I can't really swallow. He was trying to fight back. ;)

 

A tactical flexibility which Guilliman would have appreciated, I'm sure.

It smells suspiciously like Alpha legion modus operandi and we all know the issues the Papa Smurf had with Alpharius.

[Firepower]

I know, I said this is theme I can't really swallow. He was trying to fight back. ;)

 

Not so much "fighting," as I am showing you the error of your ways. ;)

 

A tactical flexibility which Guilliman would have appreciated, I'm sure.

It smells suspiciously like Alpha legion modus operandi and we all know the issues the Papa Smurf had with Alpharius.

 

He was wrong then and he's wrong now, even in stasis he's wrong :P . And actually, it's more Alpha Legion blended with Night Lords: the AL weren't too interested in people knowing they were being watched, whereas the Night Lords counted on it. They're essentially Night Lords that make up for the relative lack in number with more precise targeting and tactics, with just a flavoring of anti-establishment leanings (Robin Hood flavored, not so much System of a Down flavored). Not that different from the Raven Guard, really (hell, the RG even look like Night Lords under the armor).