Deathwatch: black shields

[Canadian_F_H]

So it's heavily suggested that some black shields are members of traitor legions from during the great crusade that find themselves orphaned and possibly loyalist, or at least not loyal to chaos, stranded by the warp in the later millenia.

 

 

 

While this creates some strange situations to be sure, I love this idea and would love to build some black shields explicitly from various legions.

 

Please please please tell me other frater will be slinging some sweet black shield conversions!

 

Warhounds, dusk raiders, luna wolves, iron warriors... Oh my

 

 

A thousand son who was just enough of a psykers to escape the rubric, but not enough to be a sorceror... or diligent enough to appear to be an adherent librarian... Oh wait, those are blood ravens... ;)

 

Still, looking forward to y'all's work. And I cannot make up my mind which of the excommunicated legions I will pull from, and how to show it without being obvious enough that they get caught...

 

 

 

For those lost legion fans... this is a great oportunity to hide survivors of the lost 2 legions in the 41st millenium!

[blackoption]

While I like the idea, remember that the Black shield as actively gone out of his way to obscure his identity. So, any references to a Black Shield originating from a traitor chapter or legion must be subtle.  Though I am curious as to how creative our community can be in this task.

[Ordo Machinum]

Most definitely, I will be adding a few black shields... or in my case, 'Red Shields' as my force will be formed to assist the Ordo Machinum.

They are the 'Judicators of the Forge', overseeing the AdMech's exploration, analysis, and implementation of STC designs.

They also ally with the Ordo Xenos so that makes the adaptation convenient. They are comprised of Techmarines from Mars

and other Space Marine Chapters.

As the AdMech are the keepers of archived stores geneseed, almost any of the [excommunicate traitoris] marines may be in service.

A good resource will be the imagery from the Horus Heresy legions for details.

For example, Night Lords chain glaives... hmm, similar to the forthcoming Watch Master's guardian spear... a little pale complexion.. viola!

I'm still going through the new rules, but I am sure there can be other visual contributions.

[Spinsanity]

My first Blackshield will be a former TigerClaw.

 

Mistrustfull of the Astral Claws leader Huron, he volunteered for the Deathwatch only to later realize the former Chapter Master had doomed his chapter. While not a Blackshield per say (his brother know what chapter he came from), he bears the black outof shame and to avoid raising too much imperial/inquisitorial suspicion.

[Canadian_F_H]

My first Blackshield will be a former TigerClaw.

 

Mistrustfull of the Astral Claws leader Huron, he volunteered for the Deathwatch only to later realize the former Chapter Master had doomed his chapter. While not a Blackshield per say (his brother know what chapter he came from), he bears the black outof shame and to avoid raising too much imperial/inquisitorial suspicion.

I can totally see the moment when somebody might discover his chapter had turned renegade.

 

First disbelief, then rage, then disgust at his own chaptermarkings once worn with pride. The brother, even in an active warzone tearing the pauldron from his armour and casting it aside spitting acid on it, scraping other marks of his chapter from his shins, chest and knees. A nearby tech marine attempts to salvage the pauldron and the marine snatches it back and hurls it further screaming with rage... the tech slinks away to retrive it, and carfully removes it's marks, presents it to the brother the next morning after he has fought all night with his armour critically under protected. The pauldron, all marks ground down and filled with polyceramite, and painted deathwatch black.

 

He accepts.

[Black Cohort]

As others have said blackshields can cover anything from a former legion marine out of time that is still loyal to the emperor, to one of the last loyalists of a chapter gone rogue, to one of the final survivors of a chapter that has been almost completely destroyed to a marine that has brought shame on his chapter and banishment as a blackshield to the deathwatch was his punish and everything in between those ideas.

[Vel'Cona]

How about a rare, non-mutant one of these guys?  Would be fantastic for a Power Axe/Chainsword combo!  http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Wolf_Brothers

[Canadian_F_H]

How about a rare, non-mutant one of these guys? Would be fantastic for a Power Axe/Chainsword combo! http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Wolf_Brothers

Oooh. Nice

[Sete]

Astral Claws.

Astral Knights.

Edited August 15, 2016 by Sete

[Spinsanity]

Astral Claws.

Astral Knights.

Hey, I wanted my Watch Captain to be an Astral Knight. I don't, however, think that's a chapter that'd deserve the Blackshield treatment; the Chapter was disbanded as a result of honorable sacrifice, and any remnants would probably still bear the chapter's colours proudly.

 

Now the Claws are another matter entirely, of course...

[Sete]

 

Astral Claws.

Astral Knights.

Hey, I wanted my Watch Captain to be an Astral Knight. I don't, however, think that's a chapter that'd deserve the Blackshield treatment; the Chapter was disbanded as a result of honorable sacrifice, and any remnants would probably still bear the chapter's colours proudly.

 

Now the Claws are another matter entirely, of course...

Im tempted to go Astral Knight. Instead of the chapter symbol an Imperial Aquilla. For Watch Captain.

[Reyner]

 

Astral Claws.

Astral Knights.

Hey, I wanted my Watch Captain to be an Astral Knight. I don't, however, think that's a chapter that'd deserve the Blackshield treatment; the Chapter was disbanded as a result of honorable sacrifice, and any remnants would probably still bear the chapter's colours proudly.

 

Now the Claws are another matter entirely, of course...

 

The Astral Knight could want to become a Blackshield out of shame that he wasn't with his brothers when they made their sacrifice? 

[Toxichobbit]

I built a Black Shield Librarian a few years ago. He's still unpainted, sadly.

Despite the hood he isn't Unforgiven. In fact I have no idea what Chapter he's from. I think I'll keep it that way.

[Vel'Cona]

I dig it. He looks pretty brutal!

[Black Cohort]

The Astral Knight could want to become a Blackshield out of shame that he wasn't with his brothers when they made their sacrifice?

Or because he thought that he couldn't live up to their memory. Why should the chapter's glorious last action be tainted if he should fail at some key task in the future.

[Nomus Sardauk]

I've got a Blackshield "Librarian" planned for the Deathwatch Kill Team I've been slowly gathering bitz for over the past year or so. He'll be a survivor of the 21st Cursed Founding Chapter the Flame Falcons who disguises his flame mutation as Pyromancy, allowing him to use his powers to further the mission without risk of discovery. Unfortunately however he has a hostile attitude towards Inquisitors due to his history and is none too friendly to his Black Dragon teammate either, resentful of the Black Dragon's Chapter avoiding the fate his suffered despite being arguably just as mutated. Edited August 16, 2016 by SanguiniusReborn

[Brother Captain Kezef]

I have a Blood Angel blackshield in mind as a watch captain. Fighting alongside an adepta sororitas squad, he succumbed to the curse of sanguinius for a brief time and ripped apart his allies.

 

When he came round, the shame was too much and he joins the Deathwatch as a blackshield.

[Canadian_F_H]

I really really want to make a couple from traitor legions dating back to the HH. Lost in the warp types. I think I'll do multiple because I can't make my mind up...

 

I was debating between a black shield who was part of a shattered legion force, a black shield who fought throughout the heresy, possibly loyal the whole time, or worse, one who fought for the warmaster up until he became disillusioned at the very end. Maybe a son of horus?

 

Or another, an iron warrior, many never really fought for chaos. But only out of spite because their emperor had foreskin them for so long, but realized that his warmaster, and primarch had been duped by the chAos gods...

 

Or a warhound librarian who was deployed remotely and killed his own entourage when the order to kill their psykers came down.

 

Or. A deathguard who survived the istvaan 3 betrayel, and fought a guerrilla campaign against the warmaster's forces throughout the war... or darker, a deathguard who killed his brothers at istvaan 3 and participated in the massacre at istvaan 5 but fled the rott spreading thru his legion...

 

So many ideas...

 

Oh yeah, any chaplain that escaped murder during the istvaan 3... recall they were all killed except in the word bearers where they became dark apostles. Perhaps a word bearer chaplain who didn't turn and some how escaped...

 

 

 

It's a big grimdark galaxy out there...

[Sete]

Im thinking on doing a small force of just BlackShields.

A group of marines that for some reason forsaken their chapter and just serve Deathwatch until they die.

[Canadian_F_H]

Im thinking on doing a small force of just BlackShields.

A group of marines that for some reason forsaken their chapter and just serve Deathwatch until they die.

That would be cool...

 

Possibly survivors of several renegade chapters that were subject to the wrath of the imperium/inquisition similar to the badab war. When the dust settled the survivors hid their identities and having been thru a harrowing campaign where the imperium exterminated several thousand marines (several rogue chapters I assume) they would be quite "veteraned" this could be a really cool black shield army imo.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Canadian_F_H

[Nomus Sardauk]

Surviving victims of the Abyssal Crusade? Or the Pentarchy of Blood perhaps?

[Brother Captain Kezef]

I think something needs to be made clear before the fluff-nazis get involved and start being obnoxious.

 

The FW horus heresy books outline the origins of the Black Shields as a mixture of loyalist marines who where originaly part of traitor legions, broken legion marines and renegades who either refuse to take a side or just go rogue.

 

The Deathwatch RPG strongly suggests that 40k Blackshields are members of existing, loyal chapters who have a need to repent, avenge or atone for something and serve untill they feel that deed is achieved.

[blackoption]

I think something needs to be made clear before the fluff-nazis get involved and start being obnoxious.

 

The FW horus heresy books outline the origins of the Black Shields as a mixture of loyalist marines who where originaly part of traitor legions, broken legion marines and renegades who either refuse to take a side or just go rogue.

 

The Deathwatch RPG strongly suggests that 40k Blackshields are members of existing, loyal chapters who have a need to repent, avenge or atone for something and serve untill they feel that deed is achieved.

 

Agreed on the first point, but not so much on the second.  There is clear precedent for potential renegades to seek absolution through the long vigil.  A clear cut example would be an Astral Claw who stood watch during the Badab war.  After the war, he retains his oath of loyalty to the Imperium and sheds his heraldry and takes up the black shield.  The example/description given by both the codex and FFG material articulate key points.  1st. it is the Watch Commander's choice on if a potential black shield is taken. 2. It is understood that once the watch commander is satisfied with the blackshield applicant, that no further questions will be asked about the black shield's history while under the aegis of the deathwatch.  Thus... it is theoretically possible for a former traitor to serve within the Deathwatch.

 

But, there is something to be said about those traitors who would be considered veterans of the long war. It is extremely unlikely that such a marine would be accepted by a Watch Commander, especially in the modern timeline at 40K. 

 

I'd also like to point out: Black shields are rare among the Deathwatch. Where they exist, they generally are given the more dangerous, long term, and distance assignments.  This is in part because these breed of marines seek out the worst assignments as a form of penance for previous misdeeds or affiliations.  Therefore, it is also unlikely that a black shield will live for very long in the vigil.

 

Just some thoughts.

[Canadian_F_H]

The only reason we are even discussing veterans from the HH is because (if I'm remembering correctly) a fluff blurb from codex DW explicitly mentions them. It was in one of atia's photodumps.

I'll look for it.

Ok. Not so explicit. ..

It's the line about legendary few lost in time...

I suppose that open to interpretation... also, it does take away a bit of the specialness of the fallen angels being cast forward in time not necessarily being traitors and hunted down etc... but that was only remarkable because it happened to a particularly large and distinct group, the setting always assumed it happened to every now and then to a lesser degree...

Edited August 17, 2016 by Canadian_F_H

[GhostMalone]

I'm looking at the weapons nothing screams former Traitor legionary like welding a scythe or a lance, chain axe heaps can come through from subtle nods