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Tuchulcha

2018-05-20T07:37:26Z

2600:1700:BF90:B950:C5CD:903:80C9:2967:

[[File:Tuch.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[Doctor Who]], proving nothing is too wholesome for 40k to rip off.]]
'''''Azrael saw a flicker of reflection- an immensely bloated daemonic creature with a dozen fanged maws and a thousand eyes. Yet beyond the daemon, inside its immaterial form, he saw a vast worm, coiled about the core of the daemon, feeding on it's own tail.'''''

The Tuchulcha Engine used by the Lion during the Horus Heresy is a truly interesting entity. It is an incredibly ancient sentient device of unknown origins; though it does mention that it was created by beings that used it to '''"tunnel their secret ways hidden from the eyes of the powers that rule"''', which sounds suspiciously like the [[Old Ones]] and their creation of the Webway (and on a metatextual level, like a TARDIS, but we'll get to that later). If its creators are indeed the Old Ones and it was indeed used in the creation of the [[Webway]] then it is possibly the oldest thing still around by the time of 40k and may even predate the Chaos Gods themselves seeing as they came into being during the War in Heaven ''(Warp entities existed before the ruinous powers existed. As linear time doesn't apply consistently in the warp this may or not be true; it's all so very Chaotic isn't it?)''.

Tuchulcha claims that it cannot be destroyed as it exists in the past, present and future simultaneously and that if it was ever destroyed then it will no longer exist in any time line, though it admits that the Lion scares it as it has no wish to die.

==Paradox==

This brings up an interesting dilemma that the guys at GW could not possibly have missed as it turns Tuchulcha into possibly the ultimate reset button; if Tuchulcha was indeed used in the creation of the Webway and if destroying it retroactively erases it from reality, that means if it does get destroyed then it couldn't have been used to make the Webway. And if the Webway doesn’t exist, then the Old Ones and the Necrontyr may never have crossed paths, which means that the War in Heaven never happens. The [[Eldar]] and [[Orks]] are never created, the C’tan are never discovered, and the Necrontyr never become the Necrons. With the War in Heaven never happening, the turbulence that it created in the Warp never happens, and the Chaos Gods never come into being. Without them the ancient Shamans never sacrifice themselves in order to protect their souls, the God Emperor is never created...and so on.

TL;DR: if Tuchulcha is ever destroyed, the resulting chain reaction of time paradoxes will erase the 40k universe as we know it.

==The Trinity==

Tuchulcha is part of a trinity of sentient Warp constructs consisting of itself, the '''Plagueheart''' and the '''Consumer''' (the creature at the heart of Caliban, also called the '''[[Ouroboros]]'''):
#Tuchulcha takes the form of a large perfect sphere. Presently hidden deep within [[the Rock]] and guarded by the [[Watchers in the Dark]].
# The [[Ouroboros]] (also known as The Consumer or devourer worm) is a gigantic nightmare creature almost the size of a planet that comes straight out of H. P. Lovecraft. Current state unknown but likely still hidden within the ruins of Caliban. During the event of ''Unforgiven'' by [[Gav Thorpe]], the [[Dark Angels]] and [[Cypher]] attempted to slay it, but they discovered that its “Heart” was somewhere else.
#The Plagueheart is a vast living planet like entity that looks like it was the love child of a Great Unclean One and Ego the Living Planet from the Marvel universe. Presently in the possession of Typhus and Merir Astelan.

When the three are combined they can create a rift that bridges space and time. The three entities were apparently at one time part of a single whole but were split apart at some time in the past by some unknown means. On its own, Tuchulcha is capable of extremely efficient, precise, and accurate Warp jumps by calming or flattening the Warp around it.

For some reason Tuchulcha claims that [[Caliban]] is its home and that salvation is waiting there for it and the Dark Angels.

''''''Who? Who made you?''''''

''''''At the dawn of the galaxy, so far removed from humans they might as well be gods. But even they could not tame the warp, only corral it for moments at a time. But that which creates also devours, and i am the foundation of all that was, is and will be. I am the Lens, the Bridge, the Doorway.''''''

==The Great Crusade==
During the great crusade the [[Dark Angels]] and the [[Death Guard]] brought to compliance the Perditus System where Tuchulcha was being worshiped as a god by the local population.

Tuchulcha apparently took a great liking to the Lion as it says that as soon as it felt the presence of the Lion, it knew its “saviour” had finally come. Its apparent fondness for the Lion borders on almost stalker-like levels of obsession; although it could have left at any time, it chose to remain in the exact same spot for more than fifty years waiting for the Lion to return and claim it; even when Typhus turned up wanting to save it, Tuchulcha told him to go away as it would only leave with the Lion.

==The Horus Heresy==
During the Horus Heresy the Lion would come into conflict with the Death Guard under Typhon over Tuchulcha. The Lion prevented Calas Typhon from acquiring the engine and was determined to use it to defeat the Night Lords and their Primarch, Konrad Curze. Lion El'Jonson began to frequently converse with Tuchulcha in the aftermath of the battle. Tuchulcha of course was overjoyed at the Lion's return and constantly wanted to know how it could help.

The Lion would use Tuchulcha to enter the realm of [[Ultramar]] through the [[Ruinstorm]] brought on by the devastation of Calth. After joining Guilliman's [[Imperium Secundus]], despite the fact he had only a small fleet and 20,000 warriors with him ''(the rest remaining on the opposite side of the Ruinstorm with [[Corswain]])'' he would employ it to great effect against the forces of the [[Word Bearers]] and [[World Eaters]] who were plaguing the 500 worlds. All the time, Tuchulcha remained fairly reliable and never lied to the Lion, albeit speaking in a cryptic manner.

When the joint visions of [[Konrad Curze]] and [[Sanguinius]] proved the lie of Imperium Secundus, the three legions set out for Terra. Initially leaving separately, the Lion ordered Tuchulcha to take him to Terra, and instead delivered him to the '''Pandorax''' system. Later explaining that it took the Lion as far as he needed to go, but no further until certain barriers were overcome, but becoming almost belligerent in its further explanations, saying that the Lion could not go directly to Terra, but could not explain what the barriers were, arguing that it could only see so far and it was not omnipotent.

After picking up some members of the Shattered Legions and getting pointed in the direction of '''Davin''', the Lion called his brothers to him so that he could lead them through the [[Ruinstorm]] together. At which point Tuchulcha [[Troll|noped]] him again and deposited the fleets at a literal brick wall in space; billions of miles wide and thousands of miles thick. Only made possible as it was being summoned from the warp and being anchored to a conquered Forge World.

Tuchulcha then dropped the fleets in a region of space filled with giant solid blocks, light years in diameter, again summoned from the warp. The three primarchs now realising what the galaxy would look like if Chaos achieved it's victory.

Then Tuchulcha finally took them to Davin, which was surrounded by a bone yard of actual skeletons and ruined buildings, the layer was millions of miles thick and took hours to shoot their way through.

When their business on Davin was completed, the way to Terra was revealed. But the Lion would not go to Terra because Sanguinius needed a distraction to make it there himself and face his own destiny. So the Lion and Guilliman set about assaulting the Traitor force's rearguard to start drawing them away from Terra and give Sanguinius a chance.

==40k==
[[File:Ouroboros-dragon-serpent-snake-symbol.jpg|200px|thumb|right|]]
Much later in the 41st Millennium, [[Cypher]] revealed that Tuchulcha was embedded within [[The Rock]] and that the [[Dark Angels]] dark history of [[The Fallen]] could potentially be changed by finding the other two engines and changing history. He also warned that Astelan and [[Typhus]] both sought the engines as well, the former trying to ensure his rebellion would be a success and the latter attempting to join forces with his past self. Eventually all 3 devices were gathered, and a warp rift was summoned over the ruins of Caliban.

''''''It is done, the plague-lord will no longer interfere. We will be remade.''''''

Convinced by [[Ezekiel]] to leave history be and to focus on trying to prevent nearby Fallen and Death Guard forces from accessing the rift first, [[Azrael]] destroyed the rift leaving the status of the other two constructs unknown, and it also had the unforeseen consequence of '''***Error*** records cannot be found, there is nothing to see here move along***'''.

==Contact Re-established==
Yeah, a living machine with a human-like avatar with the ability to travel through time and space, and that is much bigger on the inside than it has any right to be and the ability to open seemingly random doorways inside itself that weren't there before, all centered around a glowing orb power source? The writers don't dwell on it, but this thing is definitely 40k's answer to the TARDIS.

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Chaos]]

Megalith

2018-05-20T07:09:13Z

2600:1700:BF90:B950:C5CD:903:80C9:2967:

[[File:Necron-Megalith.jpg|280px|right|thumb|Supposedly an April Fool's model (that got leaked in October) of a Megalith made by [[Games Workshop|GW]] to [[Troll]] us into thinking we're getting a Necron Titan.]]
Megaliths are [[Monolith]] and [[Doomsday Monolith]]'s [[Papalith|father]] and is thus very large and very powerful. Megaliths are enormous mobile fortresses; in fact, they are so large they can carry multiple Monoliths within its hull, releasing them like a swarm upon the battlefield like a giant [[Necron]] Matryoshka Dolls [[Meme|so you can shoot Gauss cannons while you shoot Gauss cannons.]]

Other than its humongous (''humongous what?!'') size and capability of carrying as many Monoliths as possible, the Megalith is also equipped with an arsenal of devastating Gauss and particle weaponry far more powerful than your standard-issue Monolith. The Megalith is fully capable of space travel as well as planetary landings, and is used to initiate full-scale planetary assaults against hardened targets, usually from planetary orbit.

A Megalith was first encountered by the forces of the [[Imperium of Man]] in the hands of [[Nemesor Zahndrekh]], a [[Necron Overlord]] of the Sautekh Dynasty, during the Necrons' Conquest of Uttu Prime in the Vidar Sector in the late 41st Millennium. At Uttu Prime, Zahndrekh's Megalith and its related forces were responsible for eradicating 3 regiments of the Imperial Guard's elite [[Catachan Jungle Fighters]] and 3 full companies of [[Imperial Fists]] [[Space Marines]]. Suffice to say, the Imperials got their asses kicked and were sent home crying that the big meanie Zahndrekh had stolen their lunch money and took them to town for an ass whoopin'. Ever since this incident, the Imperium has stayed the fuck away from Zahndrekh's Megalith.

{{Template:Necrons-Forces}}

[[Category:Vehicles]]

Gauss

2018-05-20T06:50:18Z

2600:1700:BF90:B950:C5CD:903:80C9:2967: /* Necrons */

FIRST AND FOREMOST: It is pronounced such that it rhymes with "house".
[[Image:Railgun_explained.png|thumb|right|I'VE BROUGHT SCIENCE!]]
'''Gauss''' is the last name of [[wikipedia:Carl_Friedrich_Gauss|Carl Friedrick Gauss]], one of the greatest mathematicians in history. His work in calculus was (and is) invaluable to the study of electromagnetism, so he got a unit of magnetic field strength named after him. It is universally agreed that "Gauss" is a cool name, and so you can bet dollars to donuts that any sci-fi gizmo with any sort of vaguely electromagnetic theme will have the word "gauss" in it.

By the way, if an electromagnetic weapon doesn't have "gauss" in its name, it's a fair bet that it has the word "[[Tesla]]" in it, after another cool-sounding unit of magnetic field strength, itself named for [[wikipedia:Nikola_Tesla|Nikola Tesla]], a famed inventor and scientist who did cool stuff with electromagnetism.

"Realistic" gauss weapons come in two flavours: rail-gun (juicier, more meaty) and coil-guns. '''Rail-guns''' work by having a really long pair (or pairs) of conductors, and passing opposing currents through them and the ammunition. It works like an electric motor that is unwound into a straight line. Cheap to manufacture, awesome velocities, but it is energy-hungry, needs to be really long and causes a lot of stress on the materials. It's not to be confused with the [[Peasant Railgun]]. '''Coil-guns''' work by surrounding the barrel with a sequence of coil magnets that are switched on to pull (and then reverse current to push) the ammunition. Since the ammunition doesn't physically touch the mechanisms, the gun lasts longer and there is better control over the speed, but the control mechanisms are very complicated and the overall weapon is weaker than a railgun of the same current draw. Of course, once you get into soft sci-fi, all bets are off; expect to see guns that shoot lightning.

When used as a name, "Gauss" is capitalized. When used as a unit or adjective, "gauss" is usually lowercase (though the abbreviation for the CGS unit is a capital "G").

== Real-Life ==
[[Image:Railgun.jpg|thumb|right|Who needs fiction when weapons this badass exist?]]
[[File:Du8_uuovqaau-5p.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Ahhhh....looks like we are at the beginning stage of the [[Imperium of Man|Imperium of]] [[China|Han.]]]]
The US Navy has successfully tested 32-megajoule railguns. The friction from the ammunition moving at these velocities turns the air inside the barrel into plasma instantly. They were planning to build a 64-megajoule testfire, but they lost funding. This might have to do with how they had to build an entirely new railgun after every third shot; the rails wear out quickly due to the heat the projectile produces, and no known material is heat-resistant enough to withstand being worn out in this manner and also capable of conducting electricity to allow the mechanism to work in the first place. You also need a really strong generator to keep it powered as well, or the projectile will be propelled with less force. In any event, nobody foresees those problems being solved anytime soon. Then again, the first flight occurred in 1903 and the Sputnik was launched in 1957 (giving a difference of 54 years, well within a modern humans lifetime) so make of that what you will.

On early February 2018, pictures showed that [[China]] became the first nation to mount a railgun on a naval warship. Not much is currently known as of yet other than it is gonna be a [[Rape|'surprise',]] but so far the experts seem to confirm that this giant fuckoff cannon is indeed the real deal. Due to the fact that modern railguns have a reputation for wearing out its barrels in quick, sustain bursts, it could be concluded that China's railgun would opt for a more precision 'sniper' gun rather than 'Murica's [[MOAR DAKKA|Dakka Dakka Dakka.]] This is to both prolong the lifespan of the barrels without changing too much and providing more accurate shots.

If you see a carpenter using an "electric nailgun," it's actually a coilgun they're using.

== Rifts ==
In [[Rifts]], a "Gauss cannon" is just a synonym for "machinegun that does MDC damage." The artwork for railguns always shows them as ejecting cartridges and being round, with no rails in sight ... it's not like anything else in Rifts even tries to be rational, so just roll with it.

== Traveller ==
In [[Traveller]], Gauss weapons are slugthrowers that use 3-5.5mm (.11 to .21 calibre) slugs or flechette needles. They're the preferred rifle and sidearm for TL12 armies (Tech Level 10 in GURPS Traveller); at this tech level, the preferred heavy weapons will be laser or plasma. Until these non-chemical sidearms are in use, ship boarding parties in space prefer using sabres and melee for combat. The exception is zero-G environments, where recoil on any slugthrowers (gauss or not) are as much a hazard for the wielder as the target.

== Warhammer 40,000 ==
[[Image:Oldschool_Tau_Broadsides.gif|right|thumb|220px|The only thing that made the old Broadsides different from the normal battlesuits were the huge Twin-linked strength 10 AP 1 guns.]]
Being set in the [[grimdark]] ''future'', several [[Warhammer 40,000]] races use Gauss weapons.

=== Tau ===

The [[Tau]] use railguns as the primary heavy weapons on tanks and walkers.

Rail Weapons are considered some of the most potent and fearsome weaponry employed by the Tau Empire. Rail weapons are linear accelerators that use super-conductive electrodes to accelerate a solid-shot round to hypersonic speeds. The vast kinetic energy generated by the round on impact is capable of devastating damage on enemy vehicles.

Usually, Rail weapons are (Obviously) very powerful and penetrating (as in real life) as the acceleration is limited only by the amount of power that can be input and how much the weapon can handle without exploding or melting.

===Rail Rifle===
[[File:RailRifle6.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Rail Rifle]]
Emboldened by the success of vehicle-mounted railguns, the Earth Caste built a [[Tau]]-portable railgun weapon, called the "rail rifle." It debuted in [[Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior]] as a prototype weapon; it soon got rules in [[Chapter Approved]], and by the next Tau Empire [[Codex]], it was a regular part of the Fire Caste's armory, used by [[Pathfinder Team|Pathfinders]] and drones as a sniper weapon. Incidentally, while it was in Chapter Approved, the Rail Rifle was subject to "Gets Hot!" like a Plasma Gun, but the Earth Caste improved the safety margins on it such that blowing up in the user's face is no longer a concern by the time of the 4th Edition codex. 6th edition further uplifted the Rail rifle, turning it from Heavy to Rapid Fire and making it AP1, meaning it now could oneshot terminators and light vehicles, be fired on the move and even could be fired in full-auto.

It is mentioned in the fluff that once Rail Rifles would be advanced enough to mass-produce and do not eat all the ammo and battery pack in a matter of seconds (and seeing their progress rate from overheating backpack-powered heavy weapon to magazine-fed rapid fire rifles in a matter of a few decades it's not a long time to wait for), Tau command have a plans to use them as a standard issue Fire Warrior guns instead of pulse rifles. Come 8th edition they are still used only by Pathfinder teams. At least until a new Tau Codex comes out. If GW did do this they would most likely nerf it's range to match up with the [[Lasgun]] and [[Bolter]] and increase the price to the same as a [[Plasma Gun]]. Otherwise it would pretty much break the game with Tau basic infantry being able to steamroll everything in their field of view even more than 3E Necrons could. One would think that this would be possible as the Tau now have [[awesome|Plasma Shotguns]] but they are [[derp|still remain one of the few races without a one man flamer]].

===Heavy Rail Rifle===
[[File:Heavy_Rail_Rifle.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Rail Rifle]]
A recent development wielded by next-generation Broadside battlesuits, it is less powerful than the Tau's primary railguns, though only moderately so (S8 versus S10). However, its reduced bulk allows it to be mounted in such a way as to more easily track fast moving targets, and thus it fulfills an anti-air role, where its slightly reduced strength is not a big liability as it is still plenty powerful enough to punch through most fliers with ease, and its double-barreled (twin-linked) setup [[derp|increases its odds of hitting a target rather than its odds of wounding or total wounds deal after wounding]]. That said, it's still a considerable threat even to AV13 vehicles, since with AP1 the first penetrating hit would likely be the last.

===Railgun===
[[File:RailgunHammerhead.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Railgun]]
The Railgun is the iconic [[Tau]] heavy weapon, mounted on [[Hammerhead Gunship]]s (and ''[[Battlesuit]]s'', in previous editions) to cause massive damage to enemy armor (72", S10, AP1). At its most basic form the railgun is a linear accelerator using standing wave acceleration along a number of cylindrical superconductive electrodes surrounding a barrel.

A Broadside Battlesuit Team used to be able to carry up to 3 twin-linked railguns in one Heavy Support slot (nerfed to the S8 heavy rail rifle, see below, in their 6E codex), while the Hammerhead can only carry one, but the Hammerhead has enough ammunition capacity to also carry a S6 AP4 Large Blast submunition round for dealing with infantry blobs. (Squad of guardsmen a turn anyone?)

===Heavy Railgun===
[[File:Heavy_Railgun.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Railgun]]
Because the regular railgun wasn't enough for putting down the really big targets (like [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titan]]s), the Earth Caste developed the '''Heavy Railgun''' (110", SD, AP1) for their super-heavy vehicles. It was originally designed to blow up ''space ships'', as Tau never expected anyone to be stupid or crazy enough to build a big enough land-based vehicle to justify this weapon's use against it.

Then they encountered Ork gargants and Imperium titans, and figured out that most inhabitants of the Galaxy aren't sane or reasonable. The [[Manta]] mounts two of these, while the [[Tiger Shark AX-1-0]] mounts a twin-linked pair. Like the Hammerhead railgun, the heavy railgun can fire a pie-plate for destroying massed infantry formations, but the heavy railgun's submunitions are [[rape|S7 AP3 and the blast is 10" across.]]

===Heavy Rail Cannon Array===
[[File:HeavyRailCannonArray.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Rail Cannon Array]]
The latest advancement in bringing hyper magnetized death to the enemies of the Greater Good. The Heavy Rail Cannon Array is mounted on the KX-139 Ta'Unar Supremacy Armour, and is designed to take down Super-Heavy vehicles and Gargantuan creatures, alongside any infantry which may be attempting to close in on the suit.

The Heavy Rail Cannon itself possesses a longer range than the equally destructive Heavy Railgun topping out at 120", S:D AP1, Ordinance (1), Blast (3") however it has been designed to aim at the heaviest points of an enemy and strike those points with enough force that should it wound the enemies own mass is turned against itself (roll twice on the Destroyer Weapon Attack table and pick the higher result when firing against Super Heavies or Gargantuan Creatures), and is paired with the Cluster Shell system which is used to launch sub-munition shells at nearby enemies (36", S:6 AP4, Apoc Barrage (4), pinning), in such a way that both weapons may be fired against different targets at the same time.

{{40k-Tau-Weapons}}

=== Necrons ===
[[Image:Necron_meme.jpg|thumb|right|Truer words have never been said.]]
The backbone of the [[Necron]] force are gauss weapons, which produce a magnetic field with the strength of several thousand Teslas. And then point it at something they don't like. They do this by producing an incredible voltage across the body and focus of the gun (Hence its electric nature. Doesn't explain the green though.) and then driving a current across it using two charge-rich microdimensions (think Rick's spaceship's battery), one in the focus and one in the body. The focus limits the volume effected since it's bad form to destroy everything around you including allies, enemies, rocks, atoms, yourself etc. The process is not perfect however, since charge fluctuations in the microdimensions translates to a varying strength of field which expresses itself as a non-uniform level of destruction from one moment to another. One second it can melt a land raider, the next it might just have enough for a butterfly. You know, if you found butterflies in the middle of a Necron battleline.

(Most sources don't bother with this fluff and just have Necron Gauss weapons fire distinctly un-Gauss disintegration rays in the form of green lightning)

In the Third Edition [[Codex]], gauss weapons automatically wounded infantry and automatically caused glancing hits to vehicles on a to-hit roll of 6. This was devastatingly powerful at the time, as it meant that Necrons could chew through vehicles like no tomorrow, but was rather reduced in effectiveness in Fifth Edition, as most vehicles could no longer be destroyed through glancing hits alone, though with the introduction of Hull Points in Sixth Edition, gauss weapons are once again a lot more dangerous to vehicles (three glancing hits -- which a full squad of 20 [[Necron Warrior]]s can easily supply -- is enough to wreck most regular vehicles and expose a super-heavy ). That said, Gauss weapons were reduced in effectiveness by the Fifth Edition Codex, which removed the auto-wound property (anti-infantry effectiveness was moved to their new "[[Tesla]]" weapons). However with the advent of the 7th edition codex gauss weapons have regained their auto-wounding on 6's, which wasn't much of a buff since those weapons already did wound on a 6 in most cases, leaving that rule only being useful against Gargantuan Creatures.

===Gauss Flayer===
[[File:GaussFlayer.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Flayer]]
The trusty Gauss Flayer is the standard weapon (in fact, the only weapon) wielded by [[Necron Warrior]]s. Gauss Flayers are rifle-like weapons used by Necron Armies. They consist of a metal stock, a transparent tube containing the unholy and unknown energy the weapon fires, and an axe-like bayonet underneath the muzzle.

The weapons fire green, lightning-like beams at the enemy, which strip the targets away molecule by molecule. The beams are capable of stripping away almost anything, even ceramite armor and starship hulls, with ease. It is, supposedly, [[HHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhnnnnnnngggggg-|extremely painful to be shot with a Gauss Flayer,]] and victims die as much from shock as the damage caused by the beams.

Its stats are equivalent to the [[bolter]], with the additional "Gauss" rule mentioned above. [[Ghost Ark]]s and [[Doomsday Ark]]s mount an array of five of these guns on each side.
===Gauss Blaster===
[[File:GaussBlasterColor.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Blaster]]
A Gauss Flayer given the [[Melta#Multi-Melta|Multi-Melta]] treatment, that is, get two of the same gun and then Macgyver all over it.

The Gauss Blaster is the standard weapon of [[Necron Immortal]]s; Gauss Blasters fire more powerful beams than Gauss Flayers, and are extremely potent against infantry and light vehicles alike.

Necron Pariahs also make use of a form of in-built Gauss Blaster integrated into their Warscythes. Unfortunately, Pariahs [[Squats|no longer exists]] [[FAIL|thanks to this]] [[Matt Ward|loser,]] so the days of Warscythes-Gauss Blaster combo is a thing of long lost past.

It is basically a Gauss Flayer with slightly improved strength and armor-piercing capability (FOUR microdimensions, for when you need several universes to simultaneously hate the same thing). A unit of [[Tomb Blade]]s can also choose to take twin-linked pairs of them to specialize in vehicle-hunting.

===Gauss Cannon===
[[File:GaussCannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Cannon]]
The iconic weapon of [[Necron Destroyer]]s is their shoulder-mounted Gauss Cannon, however, both Catacomb Command Barges and Annihilation Barges are able to mount an underslung Gauss Cannon instead of their usual Tesla Cannon.

Though it's only as strong and long-ranged as a Gauss Blaster, it is overall a larger version of the Gauss Blaster and has four barrels, providing it with an even higher rate of fire and because of its mounting on a heavier base, it has greater power over a greater distance. Also due to its mount it is able to be fired and redeployed very quickly. It has more shots and will tear through all but the toughest armor suits.

===Heavy Gauss Cannon===
[[File:Heavy_Gauss_Cannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Gauss Cannon]]
[[Necron Heavy Destroyer]]s get Heavy Gauss Cannons, and [[Triarch Stalker]]s [[Rape|can choose a twin-linked set of them as a primary weapon.]] They only get one shot, but it's as powerful as a [[lascannon]].

These Gauss Weapons have been known to hurt [[Tyranids|monstrous creatures that similar weapons have no hope of even scratching,]] and have also been documented tearing at the armour of even the most heavily armored of tanks and starship hulls with ease. The [[Imperium of Man]] is confounded by the nature of the energy used by these weapons, not only because the basic weaponry of the Necrons can cause great harm to even the most advanced vehicles deployed by the armed forces of the Imperium, but also because by all the physical principles known, these weapons should overheat and malfunction as a result of the tremendous energies they unleash, destroying the warrior who is firing them.

It is a larger version of the Gauss Cannon, although it only has one barrel and so a slow rate of fire. Though it has the greatest power and range, its reduced rate of fire makes it less effective against vast armies, but more effective against certain heavily armored targets, such as [[Land Raider|Land Raiders.]]

So when people meant that the Necrons can blow up your Land Raider with their most simple weapons, this is the gun they usually specify.

===Gauss Flux Arc===
[[File:Gauss_Flux_Arc.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Flux Arc]]
The Gauss Flux Arc is basically like the [[#Gauss flayer|Gauss Flayer]], but firing more shots at a time by simply opening one enormous microdimension. [[Monolith]]s mount one at each corner, Ghost Arks mount one at each side, and they are capable of choosing their targets independently. Gauss Flux Arcs come in the form of four automated turret projectors positioned around the vehicles hull.

Gauss Flux Arcs consist of linked batteries of three Gauss Flayers, which each feature a single barrel that leads to a transparent conduit containing the unholy and unknown viridian energy the weapon fires, and an axe-like bayonet underneath the muzzle ([[Stupid|even though the weapon is connected to a platform that would make the use of the bayonet pointless in the first place]]).

===Gauss Exterminator===
[[File:Gauss_Exterminator.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Exterminator]]
A Gauss Exterminator is a large Gauss Weapon mounted as the primary weapon on Necron [[Sentry Pylon|Sentry Pylons.]] Similar in power to a Heavy Gauss Cannon, a Gauss Exterminator possess a higher rate of fire and is able to engage targets at extreme ranges. Gauss Exterminators are also capable of using their sophisticated targeting systems to accurately track and fire upon aircraft at incomprehensibly long ranges.

Exterminators are far larger than the more common Gauss Flayers, Gauss Blasters and Gauss Cannons, and feature a single elongated barrel containing the unholy and unknown viridian energy the weapon fires.

===Gauss Annihilator===
[[File:Gauss_Annhilator2.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Annihilator]]
Basically an upscaled Gauss Exterminator, but instead of aircraft, its everything.

A Gauss Annihilator is one of the largest known forms of Gauss weapons, with the only Gauss weapon similar in size to it being the Gauss Obliterator. Gauss Annihilators are only ever found mounted on devastating Necron [[Necron Pylon#Gauss Pylon|Gauss Pylons.]]

Like the smaller [[Sentry Pylon]], the shape of the both the weapon and machine itself is quite identifiable. A Gauss Annihilator consists of a single focusing crystal which leads to transparent tubes containing the unholy and unknown viridian energy the weapon fires. This is combined with several focusing arrays and a pair of particle emitters mounted on the Pylon's crescent shape to further empower the Gauss Annihilator beams.

Gauss Annihilators are supremely powerful weapons, capable of a relatively fast rate of fire that can penetrate even Titan armor with ease; let alone vaporize smaller tanks. Gauss Annihilators can also be fired as a flux arc similar to the Gauss Flux Arcs mounted on a Monolith. However, a Pylons version is stronger and can even destroy Space Marines with comparable ease in a larger radius; as Gauss beams lance out all around it.

===Gauss Obliterator===
[[File:Gauss_Obliterator.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Obliterator]]
The glowing crystal of doom.

A Gauss Obliterator is one of the largest known Gauss Weapons, with the only Gauss Weapon similar in size to it being the Gauss Annihilator. Gauss Obliterators are only found mounted on the [[Doomsday Monolith]] variant, where the weapon itself consists of a large focusing crystal leading to transparent conduits containing the unholy and unknown viridian energy the weapon fires.

Doomsday Monoliths can focus their awesome destructive energies into devastating beams which can be fired from its Gauss Obliterator; the beams themselves are capable of outright destroying infantry and vehicles alike. However, a Doomsday Monolith is inevitably accompanied by several lesser constructions, whose eldritch power it can siphon towards its own cataclysmic ends. [[Powergamer|This additional energy is drained from the power matricies of other Monoliths, and is discharged from the Gauss Obliterator in the form of additional blasts.]] This increases the weapon's rate of fire and all but ensures the doom of the enemy.

{{40k-Necron-Weapons}}

=== Eldar ===
Eldar in general do not make wide use of magnetic weaponry. Their Shuriken and Shard weaponry function similarly to magnetic weapons, but rather than using an electro-motive force they use miniaturized grav-generators similar to what keeps skimmer vehicles airborne (at least according to the 2nd Edition fluff on shuriken weapons which we have no reason to believe has changed.) Essentially, they make gravity inside the barrel point to the end of the barrel as "down" as though they were on a particularly heavy gravity well, and the rounds "fall" out through the end of the barrel with an intense acceleration, keeping their momentum once they align back with the normal gravity outside the gun.

=== Imperium ===
Strangely enough, heavy bolters use coilgun tech [Citation Needed] to further accelerate its bolts, so they can use much lighter ammo with less gunpowder (as real life gyrojets have shown, more "kick" is needed to make it viable at ranges below a dozen or more meters).

Also, the [[Nova Cannon|NOVA CANNON]] is sometimes described as fuckhuege railgun, though this is only one of a half dozen completely different explanations of how the NOVA CANNON actually works. (which is actually surprisingly fluffy, when you think about it.)
Macro Cannons, the Imperium's go-to for ship-to-ship broadsides each utilize a massive coil gun in the outer muzzle shroud to accelerate their shells even further.

Other possible Imperium Gauss weapons are [[Autogun#Accelerator_Autocannon|Accelerator Autocannon]] of the Sicaran Tank, the [[Accelerator_Cannon|Accelerator Cannon]] of the [[Fellblade|Fellblade]] and the Macro-Accelerator cannons on the [[Astraeus]]. If not they are gravity accelerated like Eldar [[Shuriken_Catapult|Shuriken Catapults.]]
Since all but the Astraeus are relics that even the most adept [[Techmarines]] and [[Tech_Priest|Tech Priests]] are too paranoid to mess with. Modifying these weapons for other platforms or using them like [[Havoc|Havocs]] armed with [[Autocannon|Autocannons]] are unlikely. With [[Cawl]] being the sole possible exception.

For the record the [[Galvanic Weapons]] used by the [[Skitarii]] and [[Secutarii]] are not Coil-guns despite the fact that the term implies it uses electric currents. The chemical reactions would mean that they are [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrothermal-chemical_technology Electrothermal-chemical] weapons.

== StarCraft ==
In [[StarCraft]], the main weapon of the Terran marines is a gauss weapon referred as the Gauss Impaler Rifle, and their design varies between the first and second games, where in the first they looked like pump action shotguns (big ones almost as tall as the user) while in SCII, they have a much more boxy shape. Despite being magnetically fired, the games still depict them as having muzzle flashes and for some reason using .50 caliber cartridge ammunition, despite the fact that gauss guns can do away with the cartridges by just directly launching the slugs, but Starcraft is hardly the only thing to ever inaccurately portray a realistic gauss weapon. (Handwaved in one of the side manuals as the bullet being initially launched by gunpowder and is then accelerated through the gauss rails, similar to 40k bolters with gyrojets. And they could probably handwave the muzzle flash as a split-second of plasmized air, since the slug is traveling so fast).

Despite being one of the weakest military grade weapons, and that's an understatement given that Impaler rifles are almost at par with the laser and photon weapons commonly mounted on Terran and Protoss gunships, Impaler rifles still can pierce through about anything, and though the little holes a single Impaler leave in enemy armor do not really bother giant humanoid battle robots, towering War of The Worlds-esque death automatons, and bone/chitin plated monsters the size of small house, massed gauss fire could and would bring down pretty much anything just by turning it into oversized swiss cheese until it collapses under it's own weight. That's why basically every Terran armed force in the galaxy worth a damn usually [[Tarpit|send marines in hundreds to drown their enemies in bodies and gauss fire]]. <s>How they're able to sustain those losses on a constant basis is anyone's guess</s> They just use [[Penal legion|brainwashed convicts]] drugged with steroids and adrenaline (which eventually kills them, if they somehow survive on battlefield, which they usually don't), and considering low life level anywhere outside core worlds (and even on some of core worlds), they have almost unending supply of criminals.

Although, how an infantry rifle could bring down a Terran Battlecruiser or a Protoss Carrier, which are essentially massive ships designed for large-scale ship-to-ship combat, through massed fire tends to make you wonder: What the hell?

== Battletech ==
In the [[Battletech]] universe, Gauss Rifles are some of the most powerful solid-based weapons. Packing the power native to Heavy Autocannons, which generally suck at range, and the range negligible heat generation comparable to light autocannons, which are long-ranged and produces little heat but lack the sufficient punch to threaten heavily armored 'mechs. They're capable of smashing a [[MadCat]]'s cockpit off from long range with a single, well-placed shot.

The Gauss Rifle however, suffers form a few problems: One is that they cycle rounds much slower than conventional autocannons, limited ammunition count, and that they're heavier than most weapons. Also, while their ammunition is inert and won't explode from heat or critical hits, the weapons themselves are a bit unstable, and will explode if they suffer critical hits (though for much less damage than most ammo explosions).

== External Links ==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2QqOvFMG_A A video of a real-life railgun in action.] When you consider the fact that humanity is on the verge of(and certainly will)inventing a practical railgun in early ''M3'' (which we can power effectively for naval use),the main infantry weapon of the Imperium in M41 is a [[lasgun|shitty flashlight]] which, according to [[Dark Heresy]] has an effective range of 200-300 meters, the main tank armament is a 120mm smoothbore battle cannon, and the only undisputed rail weaponry the Imperium has are mainly found on its huge flying cathedrals, [[grimdark|humanity has fallen pretty far.]] Or [[humanity Fuck Yeah|GW didn't expect humanity to progress this fast.]]

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7YvV8y32f0 Thank you <s>Omnissiah</s> NAVSEC for this wondrous beauty.] Essentially the previous railgun, but now at a more advanced stage with a much easier and faster time to reload and fire.

[[Category:Necrons]]

Reductor Pistol

2018-05-20T06:33:22Z

2600:1700:BF90:B950:C5CD:903:80C9:2967:

[[File:Reductor_Pistol.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Reductor Pistol]]

With the arrival of [[Roboute Guilliman]] and the beginning of the [[Indomitus Crusade]], [[Primaris Apothecary|Primaris Apothecaries]] didn't feel too keen on the standard Apothecary Reductor tool. You know that Chainfist-shaped thing on an Apothecary's wrist? That's a Reductor. It's a special medical tool used by [[Apothecaries]] as a way to safely retrieve the crucial [[Gene-seed|gene-seed]] of their fallen Battle-Brothers so that new Astartes might be raised from among their Chapter's Aspirants, using a monomolecular saw for penetrating Power Armour and Ossmodula-enhanced rib cages, and a diamantine-tipped extractor drill. Retrieval and storage of a fallen Battle-Brother's gene-seed is so critical that Apothecaries carry a special tool for this operation, often included as part of the Narthecium. While a Reductor is not required for Progenoid removal, it significantly reduces the time.

While this may sound useful, and it is, the point of contention Primaris marines had is that having a piece of medical equipment permanently attached to your power armor could risk it being damaged in the heat of combat due to [[Khorne Berserkers|some]] [[Ork Boy|numbskull]] [[Genestealers|trying]] [[Bloodletter|to]] [[Kroot|go]] [[Nob|all]] [[RIP AND TEAR|CQC]] on the Apothecary. So having the Reductor separate and actually become a weapon of sorts (like in that old vidja disaster Eternal Crusade) could provide the Apothecary a way to safely place this important tool somewhere where it won't get smashed.

The solution Guilliman and Cawl came up with is the Reductor Pistol. The Reductor Pistol is similar to the Narthecium's Reductor tool but takes the form of a pistol and is used to both quickly retrieve and store multiple-sets of Astartes gene-seed on the battlefield. The Reductor is designed to punch through Space Marine Power Armour quickly and cleanly; and can do much the same to the skull of a rampaging Ork Warboss if he gets close enough to the Primaris Apothecary. Although carrying the risk of being dropped, a pistol is much more easier to handle than a wrist mounted melee weapon and can be holstered to free up a hand.

On the tabletop the Reductor pistol has a puny 3-inch range, but boasts an impressive AP: -3 and D: 2 (though with only S: 4) if you ever get a chance to fire it. This will probably be never, which is less a fault of the Reductor pistol itself and more due to the inherent limitations of pistols: Apothecaries ''do not want to be in combat''. They want to be safely bubblewrapped by their retinue or running around healing things. Though if you do get stuck in combat and don't find yourself immediately falling back, you have nothing to lose in firing it off since you can fire both it and the Absolver pistol into whatever charged you.

{{40k-Imperial-Weapons}}

Deathwatch

2018-05-20T06:08:26Z

2600:1700:BF90:B950:C5CD:903:80C9:2967: /* So, where's their Codex? */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = The Deathwatch
|Heraldry = [[Image:DW_Shoulder_Pad_final.jpg|center|140px]]
|Battle Cry = "Suffer not the Alien to live!" / Various battle cries from the Marine's parent chapter.
|Founding = Around M32, in [[The War of The Beast]]
|Chapter Master = None - Lead by Watch Commanders
|Primarch = Varies
|Homeworld = Various Watch Fortresses around the galaxy, but officially Talasa Prime
|Specialty = Killing Xenos, Kill-team strikes, being every Chapter at once.
|Strength = Exact number varies.
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = Black, with a silver left arm and right pauldron bearing the colors and iconography of the Marine's parent Chapter
}}
{{topquote|1=Ooh ooh ooh! '''DEATH-WATCH!''' Ooh ooh ooh! '''DEATH-WATCH!'''|2=An [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B60gnOiHDfw&index=16& unorthodox battle cry], which has gained popularity among the more musically inclined in the Deathwatch}}

''This article is about the organization. If you were looking for a different Deathwatch, see [[#See Also|below]].''

=Summary=
The Deathwatch is an independent Space Marine Chapter and is composed of the most badass [[Space Marines]] from every [[Space Marine Chapter|chapter]] who are deployed according to their skills and which specific kind of [[Xenos|xeno]] they are the most experienced at facing. If they have a [[Devastator Squad|devastator squad]] composed of ten [[Bolter#Heavy Bolter|heavy bolter]]-equipped [[Space Marines]] who are sent to fight the [[Tyranid]]s, then you can bet that those heavy bolter-equipped marines will be the best shots with a heavy bolter the Imperium could get their hands on and know everything there is to know about fighting the space bug lizards, loaded with all the best toys for Tyranid killing.

Their [[Power Armour#Space Marine Power Armour|armor]] is painted black save for one [[Pauldrons|pauldron]] which remains painted in the chapter colors to avoid pissing off the [[Machine Spirit|machine spirit]]. The other pauldron gets replaced entirely with a superfancy silver one bearing the Inquisitorial Seal (despite them no longer having anything to do with the Inquisition). Surprisingly this paint job actually manages to look really badass even if it ends up being totally pointless with the [[Black Consuls]], [[Black Templars]], [[Raven Guard]], and anyone else wearing black. They get their shit done and get it done quickly and now finally have their own [[codex]]. There are also a few fan-made codices for them as well as an [[RPG]] where they star as player characters though.

[[image:Deathwatchgetallthebitches.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Sister Carmella appreciates Battle Brother Bellephoron's screening for Genestealer contamination a bit too much. The outrage and jealousy offer Brother Seraphicus a perfect distraction to slip away from the team, seeking objectives unknown.]]
In short, [[awesome|Space Marine Special Forces.]]

Tactics for Overkill's Deathwatch have been assembled here: [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Space Marines|Tactics/Space Marines]] and here: [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Inquisition(7E)|Tactics/Inquisition]], since it's not entirely clear which the Overkill dataslate is a supplement for. Tactics for the codex can be found [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Deathwatch(7E)|here]].

=Origins=
The origin of the Deathwatch is apparently a point of contention, since over the decades there have been several different accounts of how they came to be, with variances across the codices, novels and roleplaying games.

==1990s > 2010s==
The ''original'' origin for the Deathwatch wasn't really fleshed out too much other than to say that at some point, a group of Inquisitor Lords sat down with esteemed Space Marine Chapter Masters and assess the encroaching xenos threats and decided to hash out an agreement where the many disparate chapters of space marines could work together with the Inquisition to create a more effective fighting force.

The [[Deathwatch (RPG)]] eventually put a name to this meeting and called it the '''Conclave of Orphite IV''' and in this telling the Ordo Xenos already existed, who shared the belief that without imminent action, humanity would be consumed by alien beasts and the Age of Imperium would come to an end.

The Deathwatch RPG and the original fluff differ on what form the Deathwatch would exactly take, as in the original 90s articles, "Deathwatch Kill Teams" were basically a synonym for the "Ordo Xenos Kill Teams", where squads would be raised at the behest of individual Inquisitors and commanded by them, but in certain exceptional cases these Kill Teams might be led by a Deathwatch Librarian or Captain. Beyond this, GW had been very neglectful of the Deathwatch for decades and never really provided any new fluff or crunch. Conversely, in the RPG of early 2010s, the Deathwatch would become its own entity with a heirarchy of ranks, capable of sustaining and directing itself without direct input from the Inquisition and was not beholden to the Inquisition ''(explicitly calling them equals)'', though still tied to the Inquisition who would root out the foes for the Deathwatch to eradicate.

==Recent Origins==
{{spoilers}}
[[image:Deathwatch-large.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The old but still-used front for the [[Deathwatch (RPG)]] core rules... [[Rogue Trader|Well, at least it's kinda goofy.]]]]
Come late 2016 however, practically all of the above is retconned directly. Now the Deathwatch was formed after the Ork Tyrant called "[[The Beast]]" nearly conquered [[Terra]], and it was made directly by the High Lords rather than by agreement of Inquisition and Chapter Masters. From there the Deathwatch were given the best equipment that the Imperium had, and they were even allowed [[heresy|to innovate with whatever they wanted]], though how the fuck the AdMech were convinced to agree to that is left up to the reader. The books official explanation for why that's allowed is the same one as why the Deathwatch have Custodes equipment and why the Deathwatch choose to use Xenos weapons: Fuck all.

With regards to the status of "Chamber Militant"; the Codex for the Deathwatch and their section in Imperial Agents outright ignores any Inquisitorial attachment. They wear the same sigil, which is apparently open to everyone now, and occasionally find themselves allied with an Inquisitor but that's the extent of their relationship.

Following the release of the Codex though, the Beast Arises Series offers a take on their origin that differs in some ways. We learn that during the days of the WAAAGH! Beast, the Orks were an almost unstoppable force and many marine chapters were slaughtered. The Imperial Fists Chapter Master and Lord Commander of the Imperium at the time: [[Slaughter Koorland]] determined that taking the Orks on head-to-head no longer worked since the Imperium's technological advantage was being eroded. So he colluded with Grand Master Assassin Vangorich ''(yes, the dude that killed all the High-Lords, and he was a rather cool dude back then)'' to create much smaller kill-teams with mission specific profiles which would be better suited to cripple or behead a threat rather than slug it out on a battlefield. Thus many chapter mixed units were formed and have their armor painted black, they forgoed their allegiance to the chapter and most importantly, its dogma. With this concept the Space Marines would have an extremely flexible force: from the melee prowess of the Blood Angels, to the stalwart defense of the Imperial Fists. It was a specialist force, but all the specialists were mixed in giving each unit an edge on every possible situation.

The Deathwatch was the love child of Koorland himself, although the most of the High Lords (other than Vangorich, who had inspired them) protested its creation, primarily based on deep seated fears of an Astartes re-unification following the Horus Heresy and that it was bad enough that Koorland was an Astartes High Lord himself, fearing him turn into a dictator ''(amusingly he would later go on to shoot the Ecclesiarch for [[Heresy]])''. He only gave it up when he was called out on the fact that he was already the Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists as well as being the Lord Commander of ALL Imperial armed forces; So having a third title was a bit of a push. The Inquisition happily took over the role as overseers to the Deathwatch because they themselves owe allegiance to no single master other than the Emperor, so in theory were not likely to go AWOL with a powerful force of Space Marines. Koorland agreed, but with three caveats:
#That the Deathwatch be limited to Chapter-Strength
#That the Lord Commander have authority to disband them.
#That he would appoint a Space Marine to oversee all strategic aspects of the Deathwatch. ''(the first Watch Commander Asger Warfist)''

At the time the Deathwatch would be referred to as the chamber militant of the [[Ordo Xenos]], except for the fact that during its inception the Inquisition didn't even have Ordos. Towards the War of the Beast, the Inquisitorial Representative(s) decided that the Inquisition itself could be better served by dividing their attentions between Xenos and Daemon, rather than arguing over which was the greater threat. So the Inquisition divided into Ordo Xenos and Ordo Malleus.

The differences between the codex and surrounding sources place doubt on what ''exactly'' happened, since no source can seem to agree on the details. In the Codex there is no mention of them having fought in the War of the Beast other than participating in the clean-up afterwards, though given how it's worded and what happened in that series, it could be argued that they were formed partway through the war, rather than as a consequence of it (which the codex seems to imply). Other differences with the codex:
*Koorland's role in agreeing to Inquisitorial authority and restrictions to chapter strength is not mentioned in the codex ''(though by rights, the Inquisition can oversee anything they like)'' though the book does say that occasionally an Inquisitor will be in command of a Watch Fortress.
*The Codex doesn't mention any Inquisitorial connection which is arguably contradicted by the Inquisition's entry in Imperial Agents, and more specifically the rule Chambers Militant which allows an Inquisitor to field a Deathwatch squad but with the Inquisition faction, though that might be more a reference to how an Inquisitor can command a Watch Fortress and using an older term rather than keeping the old "Inquisitorial" Chambers Militant of the 90s.
*The 2017 tie-in novel to the codex: ''"Deathwatch: Kryptman's War" by Ian St Martin'' has the Imperial Navy believe that the Deathwatch carry Inquisitorial authority, ''(the source of which is not made clear)'' but no Inquisitors are present in the book. Additionally ''Swordwind"'' by the same author directly deals with a Deathwatch member's oaths to the Inquisition upon his returning to his parent chapter, refers to Deathwatch vessels as belonging to the Inquisition and has him ferried home in an Ordo Xeno starship.

=Organisation and Chapter Strength=
Another point of contention is how the Deathwatch is organised and how many marines they actually have.

The original fluff barely made any reference to how the Deathwatch was organised aside from being an ad-hoc arrangement of temporary squads and fortresses under the command of the Inquisition. In the Beast Arises, Koorland set that the Deathwatch be set to "chapter strength" back in M32, and appointed a single '''Watch Commander''' to oversee strategic aspects while taking his orders from the Inquisition. Admittedly, even the Watch Commander himself had no idea what the position entailed.

By M40 in the codex and contemporary fluff, Koorland's singular position of "Watch Commander" doesn't seem to exist and command is decentralised to the Watch Commanders of their respective fortresses and surrounding domains, making them roughly analogous to Chapter Masters. These new fortress commanders are usually '''Watch Masters''' but the codex implies this may not always be the case. ''(Interestingly, the new "Watch Master" role has been amalgamated with the old RPG rank of '''Watch Keeper''' who was one of the few permanent Deathwatch staff members and carried the same '''Clavis''' that Watch Masters now do)'' Whether the Masters have any higher authority above them is not made clear, depending on how much influence you think the Inquisition actually has over them.

Despite nominally being referred to as a chapter, the issue of "chapter strength" also seems to have been ignored, though this depends on how large you assume the "average" Kill Teams to be. For example: kill team Cassius was 11 strong, while kill team Artemis was 6 ''(plus himself as Captain for 7)''.

A traditional Fortress such as '''Talassa Prime''' has been shown to have five companies of four kill-teams plus a '''Watch Captain'''. So there is probably somewhere between 21 - 41 marines per company, making 105 - 205 marines per Fortress, plus a dedicated command staff including a Librarius, Chaplaincy and any attached Dreadnoughts for around 9 - 10 members, plus an armoury of indeterminate size to maintain the fortress's vehicles, though a conservative estimate would be 3 more techmarines given the size of the other departments, especially considering the huge redundancy of experience spread through the kill teams themselves, which can compose of their own techmarines, librarians, chaplains and Apothecaries.
All in all this puts a watch fortress at somewhere between 119 - 219 space marines.
The Deathwatch tie-in novel shows around 200 members mustering at fortress '''Furor Shield''', though this was a joint action including watch teams from nearby jurisdictions, but probably remains a good estimation of roughly how large a bulked out fortress can be.

Across the Imperium there are four "primary" fortresses which probably have either significant strategic value or play host to unique facilities ''(Talasa Prime is said to be a major training facility)'' plus fourteen other regular fortresses, which are all said to generally follow the same core structure, so the concentrated bulk of the chapter would be anywhere between '''2142 - 3166''' Deathwatch Marines, much higher than "Chapter Strength", assuming all of the Fortresses are equivalent in strength to the primary ones.

The final number is also complicated by the 40+ smaller Watch Stations which house anything between squad or two all the way up to a full blown company! Though it is not made clear whether or not those small stations fall under the purview of the closest Fortress and being assigned squads from there, or if they have their own discrete commands, otherwise that would add about another 200 - 1640 to their roster. Nor does it account for any Deathwatch Marines on detached duties (Kill-Marines) that appear in the RPG but are not mentioned in the codex unless you count those units which can be deployed in squad sizes of 1.

In addition, the 8th Edition Deathwatch Codex mentions that Roboute Guilliman assigned "multiple chapters" worth of Primaris Marines to the Deathwatch. While its quite possible that this hasn't increased their overall numbers if they took greivous casualties due to the Great Rift/Blackness, this alone implies that the Deathwatch are far bigger than any chapter.

Given the possible final numbers anywhere between around 2100 - 4800 marines, assuming the Deathwatch maintains itself at full strength all of the time, and that all Watch Fortresses are equal in strength.

If that seems like a huge amount, remember that would imply that each chapter of the thousand or so in the Imperium are donating only about two to five marines at any given time. But given the number of repeat chapters represented in Talasa Prime ''alone'', added to the fact that apparently hundreds of chapters are risking dishonour by actually requesting their battle brothers return to their parent chapter, this unusually high number may not be an unfair estimation.

= Induction and Training =
Calling on ancient oaths and debts of honour from hundreds of Space Marine Chapters, the Deathwatch <s>forces</s> ''requests'' each Chapter to volunteer a handful of its best warriors to be conscripted into the Deathwatch. This usually occurs when the old Deathwatch-conscripted marine dies in battle or returns after he fulfils his term of service to the Deathwatch. Some Chapters view recruitment into the Deathwatch as a great honour, with the warrior both envied and revered by his battle brothers for being chosen. Others, either view the conscription as little more than an inconvenience as it robs them of their best warriors or as a chance to get rid of marines too insubordinate to mix with the battle companies but too [[Derp|well-celebrated]] to be demoted.

As their recruits are full-fledged space marines and not mere neophytes, they usually believe they have some idea what to expect; most assume that they will be brought to a heavily-fortified space station where they will be trained much in the same way they are [[Derp|already trained]], but with more specialized weapons (after all, Space Marine training is already [[Rip and tear|quite intense]] and [[grimdark|comprehensive]]). This notion [[not as planned|is immediately proven wrong]] as the inductees first gaze upon a Watch Fortress. What greets them is a systemless [[Death World|planet]] floating in the middle of nowhere, encircled by a [[Halo|colossal artificial ring, supposedly built millions of years ago by an ancient alien civilisation]]. It is on this ring, bristling with Imperial gun batteries and missile defences, that the Deathwatch and its private fleet of warships make their home.

[[File:Tumblr m3en0pFje01rq1yzso1 1280.jpg|thumb|400px|left|Deathwatch Marines with Bolt Pistols only? The Deathwatch know how to conserve for the [[Tyranids|really]] [[Orks|big]] [[Chaos Space Marines|things]].]]

The ring station is so large that the Imperium has built entire orbital cities into their ancient superstructure; including individual quarters for thousands of space marines and serfs, vast [[Games Workshop|customizable]] training fields, including artificially-recreated planetary environments. The recruits are sworn into the Deathwatch and are forced to undergo hypno-indoctrination to put the Watch above all their old loyalties, and then undergo months of intensive retraining in [[Reasonable Marines|unconventional tactics]]. They are divided into 6-man Kill Teams, no two members being from the same chapter. The inductees are also introduced to their new arsenal; each of them is given a [[Combi-weapon]] built to accept a range of attachments and ammunition, for every Deathwatch space marine must have a secondary and tertiary weapon for [[Just_As_Planned|any eventuality]].

As part of the training, each marine is forced to watch endless hours of vid-recordings of space marines ''losing'' battles against Xenos. The lesson there is two-fold, one is to understand Xenos strategies, tactics, and weaponry, including all their strengths and weaknesses. The other is that though the Deathwatch marines come from diverse backgrounds, apparently nothing creates better unit cohesion and hatred against the Xenos than for a Space Marine [[Rage|to watch helplessly as another space marine fights a desperate and ultimately doomed last stand]], again and again across thousands of battles. At that point the point is pressed home--it does not matter what chapter you are from, the Space Marines in the recordings were mercilessly slaughtered and you must now [[Exterminatus|avenge them with extreme prejudice]]. The experience is so realistic that all inductees must be physically restrained to their seats prior to donning the vid gear (which in all likelihood includes a Pain Glove nicked from the [[Imperial Fists]], so that the Deathwatch trainees get to feel the pain the Astartes victims of Xenos likely felt in those recordings, which must be especially unnerving if the recording a trainee is watching came from a helmet cam mounted to an unfortunate Astartes being disemboweled and then beheaded by a [[Genestealer]] or certain [[Dark Eldar]]).

At the end of their training, every Deathwatch Space Marine has not only been reforged into an unparalleled Xenocide machine, but a Deathwatch Kill-Team as a whole will royally fuck up the shit of their target. Though extremely rare as Deathwatch is more of a small unit spec-ops force meant to infiltrate and eliminate specific objectives and targets instead of fighting all-out battles, the arrival of additional Deathwatch Kill Teams typically spells the end of whatever unlucky Xeno son of a bitch is on its receiving end. And if the shit has hit the fan to the extent that one hundred or so Deathwatch members have to deploy to just one battle and organize into an actual company, it probably means that the [[Imperium of Man|Imperium]] is going to be sending a [[Titan|lot more than just the space marines]].

Before deployment, each marine has the Deathwatch [[pauldron]] added to their armour and has the rest of their suit painted black. This process is surprisingly dangerous and must be carefully overseen as the [[machine spirit]] of the armour must be coaxed into accepting its new designation. Each suit of Deathwatch armour is thereafter twice blessed; a unique entity in itself and a single-minded foe against xenos.

= So, where's their Codex? =
[[image:Cautious approach by diegogisbertllorens-d5p1452.jpg|right|thumb|200px|No danger here, just a bunch of old ruins. Sure to be a lot of loot for the Deathwatch in there, don'tcha think?]]
The earliest rules for Deathwatch were a 6th-edition [[Apocalypse]] formation in the Damnos book, where two Sternguard Squads Squads and a Captain would get Preferred Enemy (one Xenos codex) and an additional special ammunition profile called Aniphase Rounds (AP4, forces Necrons to re-roll successful Reanimation Protocols). From here their representation would slowly accelerate...

In 2016 the game [[Deathwatch: Overkill]] was released. While not a full army, it did give a small set of special units using the packaged models, each of which was based on the hero of a story written by [[Black Library]] and led by a younger, un-nommed [[Ortan Cassius]]. Each model has their own Chapter Tactics (or equivalent thereof), but don't officially have it, so they can fit in any other Marine army without complaint. A good majority of the units also have Sternguard ammo, making them far more useful than their Damnos forebears.

Then, in August 2016 a full Codex went up for pre-order alongside a new game called "Death Masque" which featured new models for the Eldar (Xenos filth!), Harlequins, and official Deathwatch sprues with Deathwatch Veterans, Deathwatch Vanguard veterans, and an upgrade sprue to make your own Deathwatch units. There are also "new" (essentially the same thing but with a few "I"s to glue on) vehicles for them such as the Deathwatch land raider and Deathwatch transport/razorback. However, they do get one genuinely unique vehicle in the form of the [[Corvus Blackstar]], an airborne transport that carries a decent amount of firepower, as befitting the Deathwatch.

One of the great things about the Deathwatch is that the kill team kits provide a lot of goodies for kit-bashing some of your other Space Marine armies. Some of the items available are listed below:

Lots of chapter specific pauldrons. You only get one per chapter for every five-man kit, but they can be useful if you want a nicer-looking pauldron for a single character (especially if GW doesn't sell transfer sheets or upgrade sprues for said chapter):
* All Nine [[First Founding]] chapters
*[[Crimson Fists]] (Technically it's the Imperial Fists pauldron, but the shape's identical)
*[[Flesh Tearers]]
*[[Raptors (Chapter)|Raptors]]/[[Mentors |Mentors]]
*[[Brazen Minotaurs]]
*[[Black Templars]]
*[[Mortifactors]] (only available on Captain Artemis' model in Death Masque)
*[[Blood Ravens]] (only available from Jensus' model in Kill Team Cassius)
*[[Howling Griffons]]
*[[Novamarines]]
*[[Silver Skulls]]
*[[Blackshield]] (represented as a pauldron with scratch marks and chains)

You can also give the Deathwatch pauldron to your regular space marine veterans to show their service, to give your characters more flavor.

Unique weapons:
*Shotguns for full-size Astartes, not just scouts
*Infernus Heavy Bolter
*Storm Shields similar to the one used by [[Hector Rex]]
*Melta Powerfists
*Heavy Thunderhammer
*Infantry-portable Frag Cannons
*[[C'tan Phase Weapons|Xenophase Blades]]
*Guardian Spears (The only source for the weapon outside of the Adeptus Custodes)

Their 8th Edition Codex shows that Primaris Marines will be included [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/05/02/2nd-may-codex-deathwatch-building-primaris-kill-teams/|included]

=Daily Rituals of the Deathwatch=
03:00 - Morning Prayer. The Deathwatch are roused from their chambers to pray. Prayer lasts two hours, one for the Emperor and the other for ways to kill the xeno.

05:00 - Morning Firing Rites. The Deathwatch begin honing their shooting skills upon captured alien civilians. Bonus points if it is a [[Eldar|Elffag]] or [[Tau|Weeb]].

07:00 - Battle Practice. The Deathwatch descends upon the prisons holding captured xenos and proceed to find the best way to maximize pain and suffering upon them before giving them the Emperor's Peace.

10:00 - Morning Meal. A light meal is prepared by the serfs in the Deathwatch. Permission to eat the xenos they've killed is prohibited.

10:15 - Movie Time. [[Grimdark|The Deathwatch are forced to watch videos on fellow battle brothers getting shat upon and humiliated by the filthy alien. Each Deathwatch are strapped and bounded by ceramite braces]] to contain their [[Rage|rage]]. The ancient films Alien and Predator are popular choices.

11:15 - Tactical Indoctrination. The Deathwatch plans the next campaign to wipe out the filthy xenos and study the weaknesses and best possible way to enact as much pain on the alien.

13:00 - Midday Meal. A meal is prepared by the Deathwatch serfs. Eating the alien is still prohibited.

14:00 - Evening Firing Rites.

16:00 - Battle Practice.

19:00 - Evening Meal. A feast is prepared by the Deathwatch serfs. Eating the dead aliens is allowed if they are deemed safe to eat.

20:00 - Evening Prayer.

22:00 - Interrogation Time. The Deathwatch interrogates and torture captured xenos on information and intelligence.

24:00 - The Deathwatch ends their interrogation and proceed to go back to rest in their chambers.

= See Also =
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Deathwatch(8E)]] - Tactica for the official Codex!
*[[Cyrus]] - A fellow deathwatch and a well known scout sergeant.
*[[Ortan Cassius]] - Another Deathwatch Alum and current [[Chaplain|Master of Sanctity]] of the [[Ultramarines]]
*[[Alienhunters]]
*[[Deffwotch]]
*[[Deathwatch (RPG)]], part of [[Fantasy Flight Games]]' [[Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay]] system. You get to be a Deathwatch marine and kill [[xenos]].
*[http://heralds-of-ruin.blogspot.com/p/kill-team-rules.html Heralds of Ruin] You get to be Deathwatch and play kill team! We even have tactics for both the [[Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team (HoR)/Tactics/Deathwatch|Deathwatch]] and [[Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team (HoR)/Tactics|general tactics]] for the game, for your pleasure!
*[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Deathwatch/40k-rules-deathwatch-en.pdf Deathwatch: Overkill] Rules for the Deathwatch units from Deathwatch: Overkill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nodA5bxueyo A vid-recording likely included in the Deathwatch "compulsory viewing" curriculum for trainees.] Yes, this is from an official 40k product.

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