How Will You Be Remembered?A Designer Diary for Deathwatch: The Emperor's Chosen by Jason Marker
Recently, we announced The Emperor’s Chosen, a supplement for Deathwatch. In an earlier preview, the legacies of Deathwatch veterans, and their legendary kill-teams were explored. The Emperor’s Chosen allows dedicated and elite members of the Deathwatch to ascend to Deathwatch veteran. Kill-teams may follow in the footsteps of the heroic veteran squads that came before them with the Heroic Legacies included in The Emperor’s Chosen.
Those few Space Marines who have served the Emperor with distinction and honor in the Deathwatch, and their masterful Kill-teams serve to inspire those who would follow in their footsteps. Aspire to honor the Emperor and the memories of your predecessor with Heroic Legacies. In this upcoming supplement for Deathwatch, you’ll find Heroic Legacies that are modeled after the greatest veteran kill-teams ever to fight for the Imperium in the Jericho Reach Deathwatch. Contributing writer Jason Marker discusses the role of Heroic Legacies in The Emperor’s Chosen. Read what he has to say below, as you prepare to advance yourself and your Battle-Brothers into the next phase of glory with The Emperor’s Chosen!
A Kill-team of Legendary Prowess
In The Emperor's Chosen, I had the pleasure of writing Chapter II: Figures of Legend. The Battle-Brothers of the Adeptus Astartes are already larger than life heroes, mythic warrior-monks in power armor who journey across the galaxy in His service tackling threats too large or too horrific for other, lesser branches of the Imperial war machine. The goal of my assignment for this project was to discuss those Space Marines who had risen not only to the top of their home chapters, but to the the top of the Jericho Reach Deathwatch as well. These are the stories of Battle-Brothers who had faced the worst that the various xenos races could throw at them and come out not only alive, but covered in laurels.
To start, I wrote about Heroic Legacies. Kill-teams who have worked long together and distinguished themselves both in and out of battle can use their pooled experience points to buy a Historic Legacy. A Heroic Legacy is similar to a kill-team's squad abilities, but is something acquired by the Kill-team themselves and tailored to their experience and manner of working together. The core of the Heroic Legacy package is purchased by the players and provides several options for customization. The specifics are designed by the players and the Game Master, offering numerous options in offensive and defensive formations as well as special manoeuvres that allow a Kill-Team to shape their Heroic Legacy to their own particular combat style. So, a Kill-Team specializing in surgical strikes or stealth can build a powerful legacy around their particular form of warfare, enhancing their abilities and making them truly a power to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
In all, I really enjoyed working on this project and I hope that you, the players, enjoy the fruits of our labor. So go spend your XP, collect you
r laurels, and go knock some xenos’ heads together. Who knows, perhaps you and your Battle-Brothers will go down in Imperial histories, and your names will be whispered in the halls of the Deathwatch for millennia to come.
Thanks, Jason!
Check out the following pages (pdf, 688 KB), excerpted from The Emperor’s Chosen, for an example of a Heroic Legacy package, and a sample of Heroic Legacies to aspire to in this upcoming supplement. Then, gather your Battle-Brothers and prepare to fight for your place in the annals of history with The Emperor’s Chosen.
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How Will You Be Remembered?
