Deathwatch: Overkill Rulebook

Table of Contents

Introduction
Components
Kill Team Excis
Wargear
Turn Sequence
The Broodmind Phase
The Movement Phases
The Attack Phases
Background
Deathwatch Kill Teams
- Weapons of the Mighty
Genestealer Cults
- Vectors of Infection
- Closing Report – Chaplain Ortan Cassius
The Missions
The Cleansing of Ghosar Quintus
Reference
- Turn Sequence
- Genestealer Cult Profiles

Introduction

Deathwatch Overkill is a fast-paced board game for two players that pits a Deathwatch Kill Team against an insidious Genestealer Cult. One player commands the elite Deathwatch, and the other marshals the diverse forces of the Genestealer Cult. Although the Kill Team numbers but a few warriors, each is a veritable one-man army. The Genestealer Cult, on the other hand, has dozens of malformed Cultists in its ranks, and an intimate knowledge of the lair the Deathwatch must negotiate.

Deathwatch Overkill includes nine missions that recreate the Deathwatch's mission to investigate an adamantium mine upon the delverworld of Ghosar Quintus. In each mission, the Deathwatch have an objective to achieve, while the Genestealer Cultists have a horde of monstrous aliens with which to try to stop them! The missions take place on a map made up of board sections that can be put together in a variety of configurations so that no two missions are the same. Each board section is split into a number of smaller zones, used to regulate movement, and a Range Ruler is used to measure the range of any attacks that are made.

The players take turns to move and fight with the warriors under their command. The Genestealer Cultist can use Broodmind Cards each turn to represent their powerful brood intelligence, allowing them to spring ambushes or unleash deadly ploys. In the face of these devious tactics, each Deathwatch Space Marine has a set of unique skills that they can bring to bear to defeat their deadly foes.

The players keep on taking turns until the Deathwatch win by achieving their objective or are defeated by the Genestealer Cultists. Deathwatch Overkill games can usually be completed in less than an hour, which allows plenty of time for the players to swap sides or play several missions in a row. You can also play the missions one after the other as a campaign, which provides the ultimate test of your skill as a Deathwatch Commander or Genestealer Cultist.

This book takes you through the game rules first and then introduces the missions. Once you've had a look through the rules, pick one of the missions and decide which player will take each side – Mission 1, Killstorm, is ideal for your first game. Set up the board and pieces as described in the mission, and you're ready to play.

Components

There are fourteen datacards included in Deathwatch Overkill, and a datasheet printed on the back page of this rulebook. These describe the skills, equipment and abilities of the miniatures, detailing their speed and armour, the weapons they wield, and any special tactics they can use to defeat their foes in battle. The datacards are used to describe the Deathwatch Space Marines and the alien leaders of the Genestealer Cult. The datasheet covers all of the other models used in the game.

Broodmind Cards

Deathwatch Overkill includes a deck of thirty Broodmind Cards. These are used by the Genestealer Cultist to call for additional forces, launch ambushes and unleash fiendish tricks and traps during the game.

Board Sections

Each board section is divided into a number of zones. These zones are used to determine how far models can move and how many models can fit in them.

Range Ruler

The Range Ruler is used to measure the distance between models. It is also used when a model tries to leap over a gap. It is divided into three ranges – Assault, Combat and Maximum. The range is always the shortest distance between a model and its target.

Dice

This game uses six-sided dice. The symbol # is used to denote a dice roll. Certain weapons or ammunition load-outs allow you to roll two or more dice when attacking. The number of dice you roll is indicated by the number of # symbols next to each weapon. Roll one dice for each #. The number on the # tells you the minimum you need to roll in order to hit your target with that weapon.

Kill Team Excis

Chaplain Ortan Cassius has split his assigned Kill Team into two combat squads, one to continue their extant mission, the other to investigate the Ghosar enigma. The roster for the latter mission contains the following battle-brothers, each seconded to the Deathwatch from his own Chapter and bound by his own personal Oath of Binding.

Ortan Cassius

Role upon Advancement: Chaplain Chapter: Ultramarines Oath of Binding: Bane of That Which Lurks

Ortan Cassius is a man of impressive presence, even for a Warrior of Ultramar. His gaze is cold as the void, and amongst the ranks it is said he could stare down a pack of Donorian Clawed Fiends with the intensity of his contempt. Cassius was put forward as an exemplar of Imperial values by Lord Macragge himself, and rightly so. Since his oath, his inspirational hatred of the xenos has galvanised every operative he has spoken to. Ultimately, in the eternal crusade, such indomitable conviction is the greatest weapon of all.

Great trust has been placed in Cassius. He carries the deadly Crozius Arcanum and the protective Rosarius force field of his former office, and also bears the Tome of Ectoclades – a unique treatise upon the Ordo Xenos' most hard-won secrets.

Rodricus Grytt

Role upon Advancement: Devastator Chapter: Imperial Fists Oath of Binding: Rain Steel Upon Them

An expert but unsubtle heavy weapons operative, Rodricus Grytt is never more content than when wreaking indiscriminate destruction upon his enemies. Over a hundred pict-feeds of Grytt exist, archived by his servo-skull spotter, that show the battle-brother sowing thunderous explosions through hordes of alien assailants with his frag cannon. Each explosion is aimed to tear apart a knot of foes whilst showering those nearby with their bloody remains. Panic and confusion soon follow; it is a matter of some pride to Grytt that he has single-handedly broken xenos charges on several occasions. He is a messy killer, and takes no pains to hide it – this is perhaps the root cause of the rivalry between Brothers Grytt and Donatus. In recognition of his extreme cull-ratio, Grytt was offered Captaincy of the Imperial Fists 9th Company, but instead took active heavy weapon service in the ranks of the Deathwatch.

Zameon Gydrael

Role upon Advancement: Company Champion Chapter: Dark Angels Oath of Binding: The Vigil Unceasing

Brother-Sergeant Gydrael is the oldest and most experienced of the operatives on the Deathwatch's current roster of souls. Uncannily observant, he has excelled in the role of battlefield tactician in every Segmentum. By finding the chinks in the armour of the alien he has secured victory time and time again. Gydrael's skill with a powered blade is well known amongst the Deathwatch, and his sheer determination has seen him fight on after suffering grievous wounds. Yet Gydrael is a man of few words, preferring to observe and then to act rather than debate. He has little respect for those that are boastful or wasteful of his time. In the past, Gydrael has come to blows with those initiates who have railed against his constant and often intrusive vigilance, but the Watch Captains turn a blind eye – they would be loath to lose Gydrael's experience, and he is always quick to prove his worth in the white heat of war.

Vael Donatus

Role upon Advancement: Sternguard Veteran Chapter: Ultramarines Oath of Binding: Death Inescapable

Vael Donatus is an expert shot, arguably the most skilled wielder of the sacred boltgun in the Deathwatch Chapter. He is unrivalled in the use of specialist ammunition, invariably selecting the right bolt to slay the enemy before him. Additionally, quartermaster reports detail his expenditure of ammunition is extremely economical, indicating a propensity for one-shot kills. Donatus won the Laurel Imperialis, the Iax Skull and the Marksman's Honour in the space of a single year – an unprecedented achievement. However, when the matter was raised during his induction protocols, he was quick to change the subject. Chaplain Cassius requests Donatus' attendance on every mission he undertakes, and will usually bestow the mantle of command upon him during the formation of combat squads. Thus far, Donatus has turned down offers for a permanent position of leadership, implying an unseemly lack of ambition.

Drenn Redblade

Role upon Advancement: Blood Claw Chapter: Space Wolves Oath of Binding: Slay Them In Great Measure

A young and gifted recruit of the Space Wolves Chapter, Drenn is a loud, brash and cocksure fighter who revels in his own prodigious abilities. It cannot be denied that his prowess in the arts of close combat are remarkable – despite his propensity to forgo his bolter in order to plunge headlong into the fray, he has yet to get himself into a situation he cannot overcome through violence. Before induction to the Deathwatch, Redblade was elevated from the rank of novitiate to a member of Kjarl Grimblood's Flame Hunters – a 'promotion' that is tantamount to a death sentence. Yet his tenure in this famously reckless brotherhood only saw Drenn excel all the more. Some say Redblade was recommended to the Deathwatch so his Wolf Lord would be free of his incessant boasting, but consistently impressive kill statistics show he is as worthy an operative as any other.

Edryc Setorax

Role upon Advancement: Vanguard Veteran Chapter: Raven Guard Oath of Binding: Bring Terror To The Alien

In terms of sheer lethality, there are few in his Chapter that can match Setorax. He takes the Raven Guard's propensity to strike from the shadows to an almost supernatural level, appearing from nowhere or hurtling out of the clouds to spear his victims with his Talon pattern lightning claws. Like many in his Chapter, Setorax is a withdrawn and insular character, haunting the edge of vision even during official briefings. If there is no battlefield cover from which to ambush his foes, Setorax will create his own, activating the weaponised smoke launchers that adorn his jump pack to shoot from a cloud of choking mist into the enemy ranks. Setorax has used this terrifyingly effective shock tactic to great effect against the perfidious Eldar, whose spite and cowardice the Raven Guard know well. It was Setorax who brought the Emperor's Justice to the Seer Council of Yme-Loc, an act that cemented his reputation across the Deathwatch within a matter of days.

Antor Delassio

Role upon Advancement: Assault Marine Sergeant Chapter: Blood Angels Oath of Binding: Strike Them All Down

Brother Delassio is an exceptional shock trooper whose aerial attacks have struck down xenos monsters many times his size. It is said by Delassio's fellows that he elevates the role of the Assault Marine to an art form, though Delassio remains humble, and claims he is amongst the least talented of his kin. The battle-brother was gifted the artisan-crafted hand flamer Ignatus during his tenure in Inquisitor van Corollor's personal retinue. Since his release from that duty, the Blood Angel has perfected his squad-breaking tactic of burning away the rank and file of the enemy before hurtling down to decapitate the unit leader with his chainsword. Despite his skill, Delassio is under threat of Invigilus Expulsor by the Ordo Xenos. His record was once without blemish, but since the boarding incident that scuppered the Incontrovertible Truth (cf. Black Legion Raids) he has exhibited a worrying loss of control in the heat of battle.

Ennox Sorrlock

Role upon Advancement: Sternguard Chapter: Iron Hands Oath of Binding: Learn, The Better To Kill

Ennox Sorrlock is one with his combi-melta, calibrating every bolt and melta beam for maximum effect. However, his truest weapon is his mind, a logic engine as cold and indomitable as titanium. Sorrlock is capable of comprehending the horrors of the galaxy in a fashion that would drive lesser warriors raving mad. Much of his flesh was lost to the acidic spray of a Dark Eldar Haemonculus, but this fact is of purely academic interest to Sorrlock, for his emotions are as suppressed as his bionics are plentiful. Seconded from Clan Kaargul, Sorrlock was not sworn to the Deathwatch for a specific strike, but for a wider mission – to understand the alien in order to defeat it. Should a Watch Captain wish to find the most expedient route to a success, he need merely ask – within seconds Sorrlock will devise the optimum course, with every possible variable accounted for.

Jetek Suberei

Role upon Advancement: Biker Sergeant Chapter: White Scars Oath of Binding: Ride Upon The Storm

Though eccentric in manner, Brother Suberei is a force of unbridled destruction who takes great joy in wreaking utter havoc upon the enemies of the Imperium. He speaks more often to his cyber-eagle, Vengla, than to his squad mates, finds easy mirth in things that other operatives find disturbing, and refuses to fight with sanctioned Deathwatch wargear. However, he has accepted a specialist upgrade to the twin-linked bolters of his bike, making the storm of ammunition he lays down with each charge all the more deadly. Suberei considers it a matter of honour to always be at the forefront of the fray, and claims to take offence if any wet their blades before he does. However, he puts aside his tribal sensibilities when duty is at stake. Though he is a loner and a nomad at heart, Suberei is an invaluable member of any team. Woe betide those foes standing against the hurricane of his wrath.

Garran Branatar

Role upon Advancement: Firedrake Veteran Chapter: Salamanders Oath of Binding: Bring Flame Unto The Darkness

Branatar is the bulwark upon which countless monstrous foes have broken. Reliable, stoic and heavy-set, he makes for an obvious target, but is all but impervious to injury. When despatched upon a mission he will stride through the fires of war until his duty is complete and a trail of smouldering xenos corpses stretches out behind him. Branatar carries a self-imposed burden – during the Gharuda Cleansing, he left his battle-brother Athondar to die in order to fulfil the mission's kill criteria. The Chaplaincy believes he is still haunted by his comrade's death, but thus far, the guilt he carries like an anvil upon his back has not impacted his efficacy. His mastery of the heavy flamer is unmatched, and he wields its fire with the skill of a master artisan, teleporting right in the midst of the enemy before burning their squads away from the inside out.

Jensus Natorian

Role upon Advancement: Codicier Librarian Chapter: Blood Ravens Oath of Binding: Through Mental Might, Annihilation

Natorian's potent psychic powers enhance his innate strength and speed to unstoppable levels. He first manifested this ability after the violent death of his parents to the Orks of Waaagh! Gutsplitta – the resultant psychic rampage saw the young Natorian tear apart scores of xenos with his bare hands. Natorian was on the verge of being taken by the Black Ship Psythanatos when he came to the notice of Inquisitor Belicor of the Ordo Xenos. Belicor saw the potential within Natorian, and personally delivered the young warrior to the Blood Ravens. He oversaw Natorian's tenure in the Chapter, and later in his career instigated his induction into the Deathwatch (note – Belicor has since been reported missing in action). Natorian fights at lightning speed whenever his ire is raised, perhaps seeking to wash away his tormented past in a sea of xenos blood.

Wargear

Crozius Arcanum

Justus Incarna pattern. Includes disruption field generator capable of yielding flaring bursts of destructive force upon impact.

Mining Laser

Dvarlock pattern, artefact record 112/P/1. Those specimens pict-captured by Tempestor Gulack of the Kappic Eagles have been modified to exceed all quotidian parameters, so much so that their laser beam can blast a hole through a metres-thick bulkhead with a single pull of the trigger. This specimen features three hand-grips, indicating its intended use in combination with a tertia pattern servo-arm – this appendage would allow additional stabilisation of the beam during cutting operations.

Boltgun

Artifex pattern. The bolter is revered as the tool of the righteous warrior. Those bolters used by the Deathwatch reach still higher levels of lethality. The weapon carries a shot selector allowing the owner to deploy bolt shells tailored to his target's demise (cf. Kraken, Vengeance, Hellfire, Dragonfire bolts).

Bolt Pistol

Mortrex pattern. Favoured tool of those Space Marines who prefer to engage the foe at close quarters. All bolt pistols are miracles of ancient technology; they fire the mass-reactive ammunition of the bolter, yet from a far more compact device. Though short ranged, they are no less potent.

Plasma Pistol

Executio pattern. Compact version of the infamous plasma gun (cf. Ryza, cf. containment fields). Generates an incandescent fury comparable to that which burns in the heart of stars. Note autohazard sigil – can wound or even kill the wielder if proper machine spirit appeasements are not observed.

Special Issue Bolts

Lexmechanic's Note: All brothers of the Deathwatch bear the finest weaponry the Imperium can provide. This extends to a panoply of lethal ammunition specifically devised to be the bane of the xenos.

Kraken Bolts: The Justice Inescapable. Adamantine core and refined propellant. Able to punch through the thickest hide, even at maximum viable range.

Vengeance Rounds: The Wrath of Stars. Extremely volatile. Contains unstable flux technology. Able to reduce even ceramite to molten sludge.

Hellfire Rounds: The Devourer of the Unworthy. Contains voracious bio-acid. Dissolves target's flesh, exoskeleton and/or bone with incredible rapidity.

Dragonfire Bolts: The Inescapable Fire. Filled with superheated gas. Detonates to swathe targets in chemical fires that cannot be extinguished.

Chainsword

Executio pattern. Adamantium teeth give this pattern great cutting power – they also leave a distinctive, ragged wound that invariably incapacitates the victim. Note runic honour marking upon blade casing.

Power Sword

Aquilion-class. Wyrmslayer hilt decoration. Hilt and grip attuned to wielder's specification, incorporates Discord-class power field that can discorporate ceramite and even ferrocrete without functional dulling of blade's edge.

Lightning Claws

Talon pattern. Fitted to a powered gauntlet calibrated to concentrate a disruption field upon four talon-like blades. Wielders can slash through thick exoskeletons and tempered titanium without loss of kinetic force.

Power Fist with Meltagun

Vigorian-class melta core. The meltagun super-heats a column of air to such an extent it not only melts its target, but causes it to vaporise altogether. Short-ranged due to heat dissipation, but immensely powerful.

Combi-melta

Tempus Mortis pattern. Formed of a compact boltgun conjoined with a powerful secondary weapon (cf. meltagun). Allows the wielder versatility enough to bring low armoured targets with melta blasts and decimate hordes of alien bioforms with bolter ammunition.

Force Sword

Epistolary pattern (artefact status). Contains psychically responsive crystal helix that allows wielder to channel a portion of voracious mental energy throughout the blade. A true strike can not only sever flesh but also destroy the mind of the foe, leaving them as little more than a corporeal shell.

Power Hammer

PSI yield in excess of rockcrete maximum tolerance.

Power Pick

Note extreme weathering and matted hair/bloodstains.

Grenade Launcher

Grim Harvest pattern. Likely black market sourced.

Needle Pistol

Reservoir contains crippling neurotoxins and acidic poisons.

Doloran 0.42 Pattern Autogun

Autopistol, unidentifiable type/model. Note unauthorised modification.

Valedictio Pattern Frag Cannon

Augmented to employ solid or frag rounds.

Heavy Flamer

Note canisters for variant types of promethium load.

Cryptocultural Icon

Ferrum-adamantium alloy, sequestration ref. 056/Q67a. Sigil displaying a wyrm-form. Found by Inquisitor Chaegryn on amulets, sprayed on walls, and scrawled onto holy triptychs across the upper levels of the Great Pit. Its significance is still a mystery.

Turn Sequence

In Deathwatch Overkill, each mission is resolved over a number of turns, during which players move their models and fight the enemy. Each turn is divided into the following six phases:

Broodmind Phase. The Genestealer Cultist draws upon the gestalt consciousness of the Broodmind to summon reinforcements and devise insidious ploys and gambits to thwart the Deathwatch.
Deathwatch Commander Movement Phase. The Deathwatch Commander explores his force's surroundings, ordering his Space Marines to proceed to their objective or advance into position to eliminate any hostile threats.
Genestealer Cultist Movement Phase. The Genestealer Cultists navigate their lair, surrounding and ambushing the Deathwatch interlopers before closing for the kill.
Deathwatch Commander Attack Phase. The Deathwatch Space Marines unleash death upon their xenos foes using their formidable arsenal of weaponry.
Genestealer Cultist Attack Phase. The Genestealer Cultists fight back against the Space Marine invaders, shooting them with salvaged weapons and tearing them apart with alien claws.
Deathwatch Commander Second Attack Phase. Such is the skill and training of the Deathwatch, they can attack for a second time, reaping a harvest of dead aliens in the Emperor's name.

The Broodmind Phase

In the opening phase of each turn, the Genestealer Cultist can bolster his forces, set traps or use cunning ploys.

Draw Broodmind Cards

At the start of the first turn, the Genestealer Cultist shuffles all of the Broodmind Cards and draws a hand of them – the instructions for the mission will say how many. At the start of each consecutive Broodmind phase, the Genestealer Cultist draws as many cards as are needed to replenish his hand. If there are no Broodmind Cards left in the deck, shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.

Ambushes

After drawing cards, the Genestealer Cultist must use some of them to lay Ambushes, which will give him more models to use in the fight against the Deathwatch – the mission rules will state how many cards must be used this way. Any remaining Broodmind Cards must either be saved for use in future turns or played as Gambits, which are explained later.

To lay an Ambush, place the Broodmind Card face down next to the board on an Ambush Point. The map included with each mission will show which Ambush Points are available. No more than one card can be laid at an Ambush Point at the same time.

Note that you can place a Broodmind Card as an Ambush even if the models listed for the Ambush are not currently available – the Deathwatch Commander will not know this until the card is revealed, so you can use the card to make them think they will come under attack when in reality there is no one there.

Gambits

A Broodmind Card can instead be used as a Gambit – these represent the insidious tricks, traps and strategies available to the gestalt will of the Broodmind. Gambits can be played during the phase specified on the card. The card is then discarded. Any number of Gambits can be used in a turn.

The Movement Phases

There are two phases in each turn during which the players can manoeuvre their forces. The Deathwatch Commander takes the first Movement phase, and the Genestealer Cultist the second.

Moving Your Models

Models are selected one at a time to make a number of moves up to their Speed, which is listed on the model's datacard or datasheet. Each time a model makes a move it is placed into an adjacent zone. A player's Movement phase ends when he has moved all of the models he wants to.

Zone Occupancy & Enemy Models

When it is moved, a model can be placed anywhere within a zone, as long as its base fits entirely within the zone's border. During your Movement phase, you can reposition any of your models freely within their zones to allow other friendly models to enter, but when the phase ends they are locked in position. A model can move into an enemy-occupied zone, provided there is space for it to fit. However, a model cannot move out of a zone that is occupied by enemy models – until slain, these models are barring the path or preventing retreat.

Jumping

Instead of moving into an adjacent zone a model can jump. To do so, use the Range Ruler to measure the shortest distance between the model and the zone it is going to jump to. If the distance is within Assault range, move the model to that zone (a model cannot jump further than Assault range), then roll a dice. On a roll of 1 the model lands badly or suffers some mishap and is wounded, with no armour saves allowed (see the rules for Wounded Models in the Attack Phases section). On any other roll the jump is made without incident. Once a model has jumped, it cannot move any further in that phase.

Launching Ambushes

The Genestealer Cultist can launch Ambushes before finishing his Movement phase – this is done after all models have moved. To do so, he can reveal any of the Broodmind Cards he laid as Ambushes and place the models shown on them anywhere in the zone adjacent to that Ambush Point. If a card allows you to take more than one type of model, you can place them in any combination you wish.

If there is not enough room to place all of the models shown on the card, or there are not enough models, then the Genestealer Cultist just places as many as he can. Ambushing models can be placed in a zone occupied by enemy models, provided there is enough room. Once all of the ambushing models have been placed, discard all the revealed Ambush cards. Ambushing models cannot move any further in the phase when you place them on the board.

Lurking

The warriors of the Broodmind are cunning and can hide in the shadows, waiting until overwhelming numbers are on their side. To represent this, the Genestealer Cultist can choose to lurk with one of his Ambushes each turn. The card is not revealed, and remains on the Ambush Point into the next turn.

The Attack Phases

The second half of each turn has three consecutive Attack phases. The Deathwatch Commander has the first, and the Genestealer Cultist the second. The Deathwatch then gets the third and final Attack phase.

Making Attacks

In each attack phase your models will use their weapons to shoot, incinerate, stab or slash their foes. The power and effective range of a model's weapons can be found on its datacard or datasheet. Models attack one at a time, until all have done so.

In order to make an attack with a model, first use the Range Ruler to determine which targets are in range. Some weapons can be used up to Maximum range, while others can only be used up to Combat or Assault range.

Some warriors enter battle wielding several different weapons or are equipped with multiple ammunition load-outs. Once you have selected a target and determined its range from the attacker, declare which weapon profile you will use against it – note that you can only use one profile each time a model makes an attack. Then, check to see how many # are listed for it at that range and roll that many dice; one hit is scored for each roll that equals or beats the score shown at that range.

Armour Saves

If a model is hit by an attack, there is a chance that its armour will deflect the blow and prevent any damage. To see if this is the case, roll a dice; if the roll is equal to or higher than the Armour characteristic on the model's datacard or datasheet, the hit has no effect. If the armour save is failed, or a model has an Armour characteristic of '–', the model suffers a wound.

Wounded Models

If a Deathwatch Space Marine, a Genestealer Primus, a Genestealer Magus, or the Genestealer Patriarch suffers a single wound, they are Wounded. To mark a model as Wounded, flip its datacard over. The model is otherwise unaffected, but if it suffers a second wound, it succumbs to its injuries and is removed from the board.

If any of the Genestealer Cultist's other models suffers a single wound it is slain immediately and removed from the board.

When one of the Genestealer Cultist's models is slain, it can be used again when another Ambush is launched. This represents the endless horde of Genestealer Cultists at the Broodmind's disposal or, in the case of the Cult leaders, a lucky escape from death at the last second and subsequent healing and return to the fray. The Deathwatch Space Marines are deep in enemy territory without the services of an Apothecary; they cannot be returned to the board during a mission once they have been slain.

Attack Abilities

Some weapons have one or more special abilities – Blast, Rend or Cleave – listed on the bearer's datacard or datasheet. The effect that each of these abilities has is described below.

Blast: A blast weapon creates a massive explosion or projects a burning sheet of flame over a wide area. Instead of targeting a model, pick a target zone that is in range, measuring the shortest distance between the attacking model and the zone with the Range Ruler. Roll a dice, one at a time, for each other model (including friendly models) in that zone to see if they are hit.

Rend: A rending weapon can cut through several opponents with a single attack. If the target model is slain by a rending weapon, any remaining hits can be allocated to a new target in the same zone. If the new target is also slain and there are remaining hits, then they can be allocated to another target in the zone, and so on.

Cleave: A cleaving weapon's attacks cut through any armour with ease. No armour saves can be taken against hits inflicted by a cleaving weapon.

Running

Any model can run in its Attack phase instead of attacking. If it does so, it can either move into an adjacent zone or make a jump.

Combat Recovery

Space Marines have enhanced metabolisms that can minimise the effects of injury. If a Deathwatch model has been Wounded, it can make a Combat Recovery in its Attack phase instead of attacking. If it does so, flip the model's datacard back to the unwounded side.

Background

The following vox-transcripts and servo-skull records, recovered and correlated by the Ordo Xenos, tell the story of Kill Team Excis' mission to Ghosar Quintus.

Journal 680.M41, Inquisitor J. Chaegryn

L181: There is something deeply wrong with Ghosar Quintus. Though it took me a goodly time to see it, the planetoid's local turns of phrase hint at a deviant religion of some kind. Though the Emperor is worshipped in a thousand different forms across Mankind's realm, there is something unsettling about the names and icons used by the people of this far-flung mine. A hunch it may be, but I intend to investigate Ghosar Quintus in person, for these missives have the vile stink of perverted truths. I have requisitioned a unit of Militarum Tempestus from the Kappic Eagles to escort me, effective immediately.

L398: I have made planetfall upon Ghosar. It is a barren orb indeed. Making haste underground, I have investigated its mining complexes, and found more scrawled texts praising the 'Four-armed Emperor' daubed upon the walls. The more I have delved into the mine's indigenous culture, the more evidence of heathen xenos worship I have discovered. When I revealed myself as an Imperial Inquisitor to the overseer of sub-level A12, the transformation that overcame him was dramatic. His veiled threats were many and varied until he lapsed into a mantra. He then became violent, and my escort took the appropriate lethal measures.

L399: It appears the incident with the overseer was anomalous. All is well. The mines of Ghosar Quintus are productive and sound, hence I recommend all investigation is ceased immediately. I shall return to the Ordo fortress forthwith.

Sanctioned Kill Team Despatch – Ghosar Quintus (Persecutio Anomalis)

The Ghosar Quintus anomaly has been brought to light once more. At first, many of Chaegryn's peers insisted the matter be put to rest as per their fellow's communiqué, for an Inquisitor's word is rule and not to be questioned. However, a full Imperial year has passed and still Chaegryn has not returned, nor has he responded to further communication.

Inquisitor Chaegryn's last received missive has been reviewed by a divinatory council, and they have concluded the messages therein are suspicious. Chaegryn is a man of conviction, not given to changing his mind. Some believe the latter text carries the overtones of outside influence. However, our soothsayers maintain it does not bear a spiritual residue consistent with any psychic discipline practised within the Imperium. Inquisitor Chaegryn is well known for his mental fortitude, as are the operatives of the Militarum Tempestus he requisitioned as his escort. After long consideration, the Ordos suspect a new force at play, and likely one of xenos origin.

Those races of the hated alien that evince psychic potential are the most dangerous of all to the sanctity of Mankind's future. Hence the matter has been passed to the Deathwatch. Watch Commander Quovis Vaerion has sanctioned the despatch of a Kill Team, code-named 'Excis'. The battle-brothers of Kill Team Excis have been sworn to retrieve Inquisitor Chaegryn and return him to the Fortresses of Negation – or to recover his remains for dissection and posthumous atonement if he is no longer of vital status.

The closest operatives to the site of Chaegryn's disappearance are those under Chaplain Ortan Cassius. They have each sworn the Oath of Lethal Investigation; hence their tenure can be extended to include this mission as part of their wider duties. Chaplain Cassius has already split his assigned Kill Team into two combat squads, one to continue their extant mission (cf. Waaagh! Mek), the other to investigate the Ghosar enigma. The roster for the latter mission contains the following battle-brothers: Thaniel Ectros, seconded from the White Consuls; Luca Thalassi, seconded from the Flesh Tearers; Koenen Siegfric, seconded from the Howling Griffons; Vondel Omid, seconded from the Crimson Fists; and Stentor Pranus, seconded from the Novamarines. The Kill Team is to make all haste to Ghosar Quintus and pry the Inquisitor from the clutches of whatever force holds him captive.

Missive to Watch Commander Vaerion, from Ortan Cassius

Hail, Watch Commander Vaerion. I originally penned this script in order to request your blessing to pursue a mission of my own design – and should you deny me that request, to take my leave from the Deathwatch. Though such exile would bring a great measure of shame upon me and lead me to be censured by the Chapter that epitomises everything I believe in, I would willingly pay that price in order to investigate the disappearance of Kill Team Excis. They were as brothers to me, heroes within their Chapters and without. To accept their disappearance is to lose a part of our souls.

Yet after lengthy meditation upon the subject, I realise my desire to pursue this matter is not born from grief, nor from guilt. I wish above all to punish those who would challenge the supremacy of the Imperium, who would challenge the Adeptus Astartes, and in doing so challenge the Immortal Emperor of Mankind.

Having reviewed the Ghosar enigma, I found reference to a 'Four-armed Emperor,' a phrase I saw sprayed on the interior of a starship that carried a clutch of the organism known as the Genestealer (X823.1). This is why I do not request your permission to bring a Lethal Investigation unto Ghosar. Instead I demand it. I have already assembled the Kill Team with which I intend to expunge the alien canker I believe claimed my brethren.

But know this; whether this mission meets with your approval or not, I will reach Ghosar Quintus, and I will bring the vengeance of the Emperor to that which lurks there.

Autoraptid Data Cull, addressed to Watch Captain Artemis

Contained below is a missive captured from Chaplain Ortan Cassius' data echo. It bears the destination seals of ten of our Chapter's most gifted veterans. Despite the Ordo Xenos' insistence that Ghosar Quintus be left alone, I am of a mind to allow Cassius to proceed. – Watch Commander Vaerion

Begin excerpt O/CA/93: Battle-brother, a great task awaits you. You wear the black of the Deathwatch, as do we all. You bear the heraldic colours of your former Chapter upon one pauldron; upon the other, you bear the Litany Xenomortis. Yet with the right to wear these fabled colours come duties both written and unwritten.

It is the calling of our kin to defend Humanity's domain against the predations of the alien. We are recruited from across the length and breadth of the galaxy, and as such count amongst our ranks a thousand warrior traditions. It is the tradition of my world, Macragge, to right wrongs where they can be put to rest, and avenge those brothers lost to the xenos foe.

I have requested you by name to form part of a Kill Team operating outside the sanction of the Ordo Xenos. A matter of grave import is at hand; several of our brethren have gone missing upon the mining world of Ghosar Quintus. I intend to investigate their disappearance, and mete out vengeance upon those that have laid them low.

Ultimately, it is the will of the Emperor we must obey. Meditate upon this well, noble brother, and make your choice. I pray it is the correct one.

Vessel Anomaly Report, Ordo Astra (Inquisitor A. T. Dethred)

Vessel Codification: Space Hulk. Name: Curse of Unreason. Sighted by: War Bulker Cornucopia of Blades. Location: Pluvian Sound, Drell V. System: Ghosarian. Timestamp: c101.M40.

In the last hours of 101.M40 an anomalous vessel phased into realspace between the Pluvian and Ghosarian systems. It fitted silhouette descriptors of the Space Hulk Curse of Unreason to within a 0.1% degree.

The spotter, Navigator Amelia Thridivist of the Cornucopia of Blades, appended a separate incident report detailing her captain's reactive bombardment and the resultant cluster of debris that broke away from the Curse and tumbled towards the Ghosarian System.

Though Navigator Thridivist believes she saw the hull of a craft amongst the debris, she maintains that a hole was torn in it, and that no mortal creature could have survived the bombardment, let alone breach the quarantine protocols of Ghosar or its moons. The Curse of Unreason passed back into the Pluvian Warp anomaly before the Ordo Astra could bring a full investigation to bear. Thus the matter has been closed.

Deathwatch Endoscreed – Species Code X232.US/823.1

The xenos lifestrain codified X232.US/823.1, known colloquially as the 'Genestealer', is an anomalous bioform. Aside from striking similarities to the indigenous predators found upon the planetoids of Ymgarl, it has no comparator in the known galaxy, though alpha strains have been encountered (cf. Broodlord). Genestealers are fearsome foes at close quarters. Their super-efficient biomechanics make them far faster and stronger than a man, and their claws can cut like diamond through even ceramite. Pict-capture footage exists of them leaping as many as thirty feet from a hiding place to ambush their prey. They are thankfully isolated to the void wastes of Ultima Segmentum.

Because of their habit of abducting their victims, Genestealers are thought incapable of reproducing amongst themselves. Their epithet stems from the concept they are parasites that force their genetic material into the body of a captured host. The initial implantation does not kill the host immediately – in fact, survivors of Genestealer abductions have been encountered without major physical injury.

Chaplain Ortan Cassius of the Ultramarines, a member of the Deathwatch with prior experience fighting this xenos species, has of late bent much of his attention towards it. We believe there may be truth to Cassius' reports of possible Genestealer presence upon Ghosar Quintus, and hereby grant his request to Investigatum in Extremis.

Chaplain Cassius' Briefing to Kill Team Excis

Listen well, my brothers. This is the world of Ghosar Quintus. Look about you, be alert as ever. But know that upon its surface, you will find nothing worthy of your ire. I believe the corruption that gnaws at this world, the taint of alien malignancy, lies beneath.

This planetoid has been cored by the honest industry of the Imperium. Its bounty of adamantium provides a potent shield to the war engines of our own Chapters. What scattered evidence I have been able to compile hints at a dread truth lurking behind this facade. Like maggots chewing their way into a nutrient sphere, xenos bioforms have burrowed deep within it, claiming its mineral bounty for their own foul purposes.

Inquisitor Chaegryn took the scalpel of his blessed mind to this world. He peeled off its outer skin of wholesome servitude, and found something repugnant beneath. Then he disappeared. The noble brothers of Kill Team Excis investigated his loss, and they suffered the same fate. It is our duty to find them, or at the least consecrate their corpses. We will excise the evil that plagues the planetoid not with scalpel, but with sword and flame. To kill is our holy birthright. Be not sparing with the death you wield.

First we shall make haste to the Great Pit that forms the gaping heart of this world. There we will begin our work, descending layer by layer into the darkness until we bring to light its hidden truths.

After we have split our forces, remain in constant vox contact throughout. The first to find evidence of the Inquisitor's presence shall summon the others. Donatus, you are to lead Grytt and Branatar to the main entrance of this repugnant warren. Be generous with your slaughter, and make as much of a spectacle as you can – even you, friend Vael. In doing so, you will draw the gaze of the beast that dwells here.

Sorrlock, Delassio, Setorax, you are with me. Brothers Redblade and Gydrael will form our vanguard. I sense your displeasure at this pairing, Gydrael, but if your blessed Primarchs can learn to fight together then you can learn to follow their lead. Suberei, Natorian – I extend to you the role of hunter. Of our number, you stand the best chance of locating our lost brothers. Regroup as you see fit.

If my conclusions prove true, the foe we face this day is powerful indeed. I have fought the Genestealer before, and know well of its voracity. Engage it at range if possible, for it is swift as unseen death. To let it clamp its teeth into you is to court a dire demise. That said, I selected you because I trust your judgement and your skill, and believe you to be capable of victory no matter the evils ranged against you. Go well, brothers, in the name vengeance and the Emperor. Purge the alien! Hate the alien! Burn the alien to ash!

Deathwatch Kill Teams

The Adeptus Astartes are righteous wrath incarnate. They are the Angels of Death, descending from above to butcher their foes in endless measure. Amongst the direst of these threats is that of the Enemy Without, those alien races that would gnaw at the Imperium until nothing remains but dust. There is an entire Chapter, known as the Deathwatch, that is tasked specifically with the destruction of these myriad foes. Each member of this ancient brotherhood is a black-clad veteran trained specifically to slay the monstrosities that infest the galaxy. These indomitable hunters are organised into squads known as Kill Teams – elite groups that have changed the fate of the galaxy time and time again.

The warriors of the Deathwatch are truly exceptional individuals, even within the ranks of their original Chapters. Each has shown extreme aptitude in battle against Humanity's alien foes, amongst them the brutal Ork, the perfidious Eldar and the upstart Tau. When a Space Marine excels himself in the business of xenoslaughter, word of his deeds will sometimes reach the attention of his elders – the Captain, Chaplain and perhaps even Chapter Master of his warrior kindred. After long discussion a decision will be made that can change the fate of that individual forever. Long ago, many Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes swore an oath to send a tithe of their finest to the Deathwatch, and they do not take such vows lightly. Alongside the Ordo Xenos, that organ of the Inquisition tasked with unblinking vigilance over the alien, the Deathwatch form the first and most potent bulwark against the crashing tides of xenospawn that batter the Imperium with every new year.

The Space Marines seconded to the Deathwatch are expert killers to a man. Once they reach the fortresses of their new Chapter, their battle skills are honed to a new level of lethality. Each warrior learns well of the xenos foe, absorbing every hard-won fact and secret about the dread enemies he was born to face. He lives, breathes and fights alongside battle-brothers sent to the Deathwatch by other Chapters, each of whom has warrior tactics and skills of his own to impart to his team-mates. Though sparks inevitably fly at the resultant clash of traditions and cultures, in the heat of battle these rivalries are forged into steel-strong bonds of friendship and respect, each Kill Team becoming stronger and more capable for the diversity within it. In this way the Watch Commanders ensure each Kill Team is equal to whatever task is assigned it, able to overcome its foes with blade and bolt no matter whether they face a seething swarm of alien horrors or blade-limbed behemoths that conventional armies could never hope to lay low.

Weapons of the Mighty

When ranged against the bio-terrors of the most voracious xenos races, even the sacred wargear of the Space Marine can be found wanting. The Deathwatch utilise the most potent of artefact weapons in their eternal quest to protect Mankind's rule, some of which are specifically designed to lay low the alien. Every member of the brotherhood is given specialist ammunition with which to slay his foes, and his favoured tools of war are bolstered by the Deathwatch's talented battlesmiths to form composite weapons of terrifying power which complement his preferred fighting style. Even a single Space Marine from this secretive brotherhood has everything he needs to bring down a greenskin war-beast, a canoptek automaton of the Necron Dynasties or an Eldar wraith-construct should he get the chance. Yet the most potent weapon of all is the battle-brother's mind. Steeled against the witchcraft of the alien and the horrors of war unending, a battle-brother of the Deathwatch will let nothing stand in the way of his duty to the Emperor.

Genestealer Cults

In the shadowed reaches of the Imperium lurk the Genestealer Cults. Unseen, unheard, they propagate with a hideous alien fecundity until it is the time to strike. At an unspoken signal from their progenitor they swarm from the darkness, united by a gestalt mind intent on consuming everything in its path.

A Genestealer Cult can start with but a single organism. Should a lone Genestealer reach an inhabited world, it will immediately go to ground, emerging only on the blackest of nights. Those who fall prey to the Genestealer's silent ambush are not torn apart, but instead brought in thrall to its hypnotic gaze, whereupon they are implanted with a portion of the creature's own biomass delivered via a ribbed tube known as an ovipositor. The resultant biological parasitism is akin to a cancer that alters the body of the victim until the xenos taint runs throughout. It also rewires the mind, forcing the victim to revere the Genestealer as a messianic figure, and the patriarch as an idol of an obsessive new religion.

Once a Genestealer has implanted its victim, a horrific birth soon follows. The resultant hybrids are grotesque and misshapen creatures that are as varied in form as they are hideous to behold. Certain features are common, such as bulbous craniums and snarling, needle-toothed maws, extra limbs ending in viciously sharp claws, truncated tail-spikes and mottled, purplish skin. The first wave of hybrids will reproduce with newly-hypnotised members of the cult, who sire young in their turn. As each cycle passes, fewer and fewer mutations bear visible fruit. After the passing of several generations, the scions of the Genestealer Cult can pass for human, inveigling themselves into positions of power to further the aims of the cult. Leaders of uncanny influence soon emerge, psychic magi and charismatic cult leaders whose rhetoric unites the subculture further still. By the fifth generation the cult's members can breed true, loving parents to 'purestrain' Genestealers just as alien as the original progenitor – who by this point has grown mighty indeed.

The 'patriarch' Genestealer at the heart of the cult has an inherent control over its minions, uniting them in a single sentience – a gestalt consciousness known as the Broodmind. It is this shared mind that makes the cult so tight-knit and loyal, that gives them uncanny strength and speed in battle, and that seeks to undermine the spiritual sanctity of Mankind. Such cults have thrived in the dark corners of the Imperium longer than any suspect – on those occasions when they rise up in open rebellion, they can capsize a planet's defences in a matter of hours. As dangerous as these cults can be, some amongst the Deathwatch and the Ordo Xenos believe them to be but the vanguard of a far greater threat...

Vectors of Infection

Genestealers are carried from world to world much as a virus is carried from host to host – unseen and unbidden. The physique of the Genestealer is so hardy they can even survive in the cold vacuum of space; there are scattered reports of these xenos life forms emerging from honeycombed asteroids and torn-open ghost ships. More commonly they stow away upon the manifold craft of Humanity's endless armadas. Able to fold their gangling bodies into relay pipes and crawlspaces, these nightmarish creatures can stow away on even the smallest of shuttles, entering a hibernatory state until they emerge from their long sojourn to sow the seeds of destruction anew. Many a transport bulker has arrived at its destination carrying a far more lethal cargo than intended. The most severe Genestealer infections have been traced to space hulks, vast conglomerate ships that drift across the galaxy seemingly at random. On such behemoths Genestealers have been found not in twos and threes, but in their tens of thousands.

Closing Report – Chaplain Ortan Cassius

The mission to Ghosar Quintus was concluded successfully. Despite serious injuries, we lost no member of our team. We found Inquisitor Chaegryn's body, recovered his servo-skull, and left the world behind us littered with alien corpses. The most valuable consequence of our mission, however, is the harvest of information we reaped from the hellhole at the core of this world.

Ghosar Quintus contained something far more disturbing than a Genestealer nest, as horrific as their infestations can be. Little is truly known about this species' reproductive capabilities, but since our delving into the Great Pit, we have learned more than any mortal man's sanity should bear. Their breeding process is insidious and unnatural. We encountered bastard hybrids of man and alien by the thousand, endless gruesome anatomies ranging from by-blows that could pass for human to the six-limbed horrors that represent the pure form of the Genestealer race. The species is ill-named – these creatures seek not only to steal the genetic material of their prey, but to twist it, meld it, and use it for ancestral camouflage, blending their hosts over the course of several generations. We must reevaluate those few truths we considered known about these xenos monsters.

The entire colony had presumably been infected by some ancient visitation, turning it from a productive but unremarkable mining colony to a dynasty of fiends. The dwellers in the darkness ambushed us time and time again. We sought to break the cursed unity that bound them together by rendering their vox-links null, but this had no effect. Our Librarian, Jensus Natorian, believed them to be linked by a psychic will – a gestalt mind like unto that of the insect swarm, driven by the unknowable intellect of a hidden monarch.

It was in the rank depths of the colony that we found such a being – the living idol of the blasphemous Cult of the Four-armed Emperor. Named 'Great Patriarch' by its infected vassals, this creature was an immense Broodlord grown strong and tall through the efforts of its followers. The words of its vizier, a xenopsyker mind-magus capable of dulling the senses and hurling bolts of eldritch force, proclaimed this being both messiah and prophet. His pernicious dogma held the thing up as the living representative of a twisted Emperor-figure, a false god as far from our own spiritual father as the vilest cuckoo is to the noblest eagle. I duelled this alpha life-form myself; it proved faster than an Eldar and stronger than an Ork, but blessed be, my rosarius stayed its killing blows.

And yet the gravest secret of Ghosar Quintus was not that which lay at its heart. These traitors to Mankind are so base, so hateful, they would pervert that which we hold most sacred. I believe that in breaking wide the horror of Ghosar Quintus we have uncovered a wide-ranging contamination, an insidious threat that is not only biological but spiritual in nature. I also believe this is the beginning of a new war – a war waged in the shadows, but one that may determine the fate of Mankind itself.

It is a war I intend to win.

Ortan Cassius Chaplain of the Deathwatch Chapter, 681.M41

The Missions

As the Deathwatch battle their way through the mining complex on Ghosar Quintus, they launch a series of raids and assaults in order to excise the Cult of the Four-armed Emperor.

Deathwatch Overkill includes nine different missions, each of which is a game in its own right. You can use any of the missions when you play, though we recommend that you start with Mission 1: Killstorm.

Agree who will take command of each side – if you can't, roll a dice to see which player decides – and then set up the board and miniatures as described in the instructions for the mission you wish to play.

Each set of mission instructions includes the following information:

Mission Map: The mission map shows which board sections are used for the mission, and how they should be set up in relation to each other. The mission map also shows the Muster Zones in which the Deathwatch can set up, and the Genestealer Cultist's Ambush Points along its borders.

Mission Objectives: This section describes what each player has to do in order to win the mission. The player that achieves their objective first is the winner!

Muster Kill Team: This section of the mission tells you how many Deathwatch Space Marines have been sent to perform the mission, and where they are set up. The Deathwatch Commander can pick which Deathwatch models to use, so long as he does not exceed the limit for the mission.

Broodmind Deck: This section explains how to form the Broodmind deck, how many cards the Genestealer Cultist can have in his hand, and the number of Ambushes he will lay each turn.

Mission Special Rules: Some missions require the use of one or more special rules that override the normal game rules. You will find any special rules that apply to the mission in this section.

Mission 1: Killstorm

Under instructions to engage the Cult's forces directly to enable the rest of the Deathwatch to gain access into the interior of the mining complex, a determined Kill Team must bring the wrath of the Emperor to all who oppose them.

Mission Objectives: Both sides must attempt to slay as many foes as possible, while minimising their own casualties. Keep a kill tally by recording the number of models belonging to the Genestealer Cultist that have been slain. As soon as this kill tally reaches 25, the mission ends and the Deathwatch Commander wins. If the Genestealer Cultist can slay two Deathwatch Space Marines before this happens, the mission ends and the Genestealer Cultist wins.

Muster Kill Team: The Deathwatch Commander chooses a Kill Team that consists of any four Deathwatch Space Marines. After the board has been set up, the Deathwatch Commander places his models in any of the two Deathwatch Muster Zones shown on the mission map.

Broodmind Deck: The Genestealer Cultist prepares his Broodmind deck by taking all of the cards that have Hybrids as Ambushers, and shuffling them thoroughly. Any remaining Broodmind Cards are not used in Killstorm. The Genestealer Cultist draws a hand of five Broodmind Cards, and must lay three as Ambushes each turn.

Mission Special Rule – First Contact: In this mission the Deathwatch Space Marines are willing to expend vast reserves of ammunition in their opening salvos to divert the enemy's attention from their battle-brothers. To represent this, the Deathwatch Commander can, when making attacks with his models, re-roll any dice that fails to score a hit during the first turn.

Mission 2: Vox Noctis

As the Deathwatch advance further into the mining complex, Ortan Cassius orders all Kill Teams to regroup in order to lead an assault on a heavily defended comms array and deny the Cult the ability to summon reinforcements.

Mission Objectives: The Deathwatch Commander's objective is to shut down the Master Vox Unit before reinforcements can be summoned. The Genestealer Cultist must prevent this by any means necessary. The Deathwatch Commander can shut the Master Vox Unit down if all four of the energy cell zones are occupied by his models at the same time. If he does so, the mission ends immediately and the Deathwatch Commander wins. If the Genestealer Cultist can slay three Deathwatch Space Marines before this happens, the mission ends and the Genestealer Cultist wins.

Muster Kill Team: The Deathwatch Commander chooses a Kill Team that consists of any six Deathwatch Space Marines. After the board has been set up, the Deathwatch Commander places his models in any of the three Deathwatch Muster Zones shown on the mission map.

Broodmind Deck: The Genestealer Cultist prepares his Broodmind deck by putting aside the cards that have the Genestealer Patriarch as an Ambusher, and shuffling all of the remaining cards thoroughly. The Genestealer Patriarch cards are not used in Vox Noctis. The Genestealer Cultist draws a hand of seven Broodmind Cards, and must lay five as Ambushes each turn.

Mission Special Rule – Vox Patrol: After the Deathwatch Commander has placed his models, but before the first turn begins, the Genestealer Cultist draws three Broodmind Cards from the Broodmind deck and places all of the models described under the Ambush header on those cards anywhere on the same board section as the Master Vox Unit (see mission map). Any models that cannot be placed (due to lack of appropriate models or space) are lost. The three cards are then discarded.

Mission 3: Recover

The Deathwatch have begun to pick up erratic broadcasts bearing the secure vox signature of Inquisitor Chaegryn. After spreading out to search for the servo-skull broadcasting the messages, one of their number strikes lucky and calls his battle-brothers to him to help secure it.

Mission Objectives: The Deathwatch Commander's objective is to secure and retrieve the Servo-skull. The Genestealer Cultist must prevent this by slaying enough Space Marines to force them to withdraw from the area. If a Deathwatch Space Marine carrying the Servo-skull moves off the board from the Space Marine Muster Zone (see Mission Accomplished below), the mission ends immediately and the Deathwatch Commander wins. If the Genestealer Cultist can slay three of the Deathwatch Space Marines before this happens, the mission ends immediately and the Genestealer Cultist wins.

Muster Kill Team: After the board has been set up, place the Servo-skull model in the zone shown on the mission map. The Deathwatch Commander then places one Deathwatch Space Marine in the Deathwatch Muster Zone, and selects five other Deathwatch Space Marines as reinforcements. The reinforcements arrive later in the mission (see the mission special rules). Only reinforcements can carry Garran Branatar's teleport homer in this mission.

Broodmind Deck: The Genestealer Cultist prepares his Broodmind deck by taking all of the Broodmind Cards and shuffling them thoroughly. In this mission, the Genestealer Cultist draws a hand of Broodmind Cards equal to the current turn number; he must lay between one and six of them as Ambushes each turn. The remaining cards (if there are any) are then discarded – no Gambits can be used in this mission.

Mission Special Rules

Convergence: The Deathwatch Commander can bring one reinforcement into play each turn, in his Movement phase. To do so, he places the model in any zone adjacent to a Genestealer Ambush Point. He can do so even if the zone is occupied by enemy models, provided there is room. The model cannot move further in that Movement phase.

Servo-skull: When a Deathwatch Space Marine moves into the same zone as the Servo-skull, he can pick it up (place it beside the model or its datacard as a reminder). A model carrying the Servo-skull can move and attack as normal. If the model is slain, leave the Servo-skull behind in the zone in which the model was slain; it can be picked up by another Deathwatch Space Marine later in the mission.

Mission Accomplished: The model carrying the Servo-skull can be moved off the board at the Deathwatch Muster Zone. Moving off the board is treated as moving into a new zone, exactly as if there was another zone beside the Muster Zone just off the edge of the board section.

Mission 4: Exterminatus Modicum

The Deathwatch have been cornered by huge force of Cultists. In order to escape their current predicament and make their way further into the mining complex, they have dispersed and planted high explosives to take out swathes of the enemy in one blow.

Mission Objectives: The Deathwatch Commander's objective is to move at least three of his models off the board through the Exit Zone. If he does so, the mission ends immediately and the Deathwatch Commander wins. The Genestealer Cultist's objective is to inflict crippling casualties as their quarry attempts to escape. If he can slay at least two Deathwatch Space Marines, the mission ends immediately and the Genestealer Cultist wins.

Muster Kill Team: The Deathwatch Commander chooses a Kill Team that consists of any four Deathwatch Space Marines. After the board has been set up, the Deathwatch Commander places his models in either or both of the two Deathwatch Muster Zones shown on the mission map.

Broodmind Deck: The Genestealer Cultist prepares his Broodmind deck by putting aside the cards that have the Genestealer Patriarch, Magus or Primus as Ambushers, and shuffling all of the remaining cards thoroughly. The Genestealer Patriarch, Magus and Primus cards are not used in Exterminatus Modicum. The Genestealer Cultist draws a hand of five Broodmind Cards, and must lay three as Ambushes each turn.

Mission Special Rules

Chained Explosives: The Deathwatch have left a trail of high explosives in their wake to deter pursuit. However, if they are not swift enough to vacate the area, they too risk immolation in the growing firestorm. At the end of the second turn, the board section with the Deathwatch Muster Zone is removed and replaced with the Void board section (see below) – any models on the board section when it is removed are slain. At the end of the fourth turn, the board section beside the Void is similarly destroyed, and the Void slides along to take its place. At the end of the sixth turn the next board section along is also destroyed. Carry on removing board sections at the end of every other turn until only the Void board section remains!

Escaping the Firestorm: Deathwatch Space Marines can be moved off the board at the Deathwatch Exit Zone. Moving off the board is treated as moving into a new zone, exactly as if there was another zone beside the Exit Zone just off the edge of the board section. Note that models that leave the board through the Exit Zone cannot return later in the mission.

Mission 5: Officium Solus

The Deathwatch have located a lift that will lead them significantly deeper into the mining complex. A small rearguard is tasked with securing it whilst one of their number races to reach them.

Mission Objectives: The Deathwatch Commander's objective is to consolidate his forces before proceeding into the lower level of the mine and escaping. If he can move at least two of his models off the board through the Exit Zone, the mission ends immediately and the Deathwatch Commander wins. The Genestealer Cultist's objective is to prevent the Space Marines from reaching their Exit Zone alive. If he can slay at least two Deathwatch Space Marines before they move off the board, the mission ends immediately and the Genestealer Cultist wins.

Muster Kill Team: The Deathwatch Commander chooses a Kill Team that consists of any three Deathwatch Space Marines. After the board has been set up, the Deathwatch Commander places one model in the Deathwatch Muster Zone shown on the mission map, and the other two in any of the three zones that represent the Mining Lift (marked in grey on the mission map).

Broodmind Deck: The Genestealer Cultist prepares his Broodmind deck by putting aside the cards that have the Genestealer Patriarch, Magus or Primus as Ambushers, and shuffling all of the remaining cards thoroughly. The Genestealer Patriarch, Magus and Primus cards are not used in Officium Solus. The Genestealer Cultist draws a hand of five Broodmind Cards, and must lay three as Ambushes each turn.

Mission Special Rules

Voltaic Discharge: The Void board section is filled with deadly voltaic energy. Such is the danger represented by the voltaic discharge that models cannot jump over any part of the Void board section, and Garran Branatar's teleport homer cannot be used in this mission.

Comrades in Arms: The Deathwatch Space Marines placed on the Mining Lift board section cannot leave it until the third Deathwatch Space Marine has either moved onto the board section or has been slain.

Mining Lift: Models can move from the Mining Lift Zone and onto the Lift Exit Zone on the Lower Mine Section as if they were moving to an adjacent zone. Models cannot make attacks between the Upper and Lower Mine Sections. Broodmind Cards can only use Ambush Points in the Lower Mine Section after a Deathwatch Space Marine has moved to the Lower Mine.

Rejoin Battle-brothers: Deathwatch Space Marines can be moved off the board at the Deathwatch Exit Zone. Moving off the board is treated as moving into a new zone, exactly as if there was another zone beside the Exit Zone just off the edge of the board section. Note that models that leave the board through the Exit Zone cannot return later in the mission.

Mission 6: Firestorm Ultima

Faced with another horde of the Cult's hybrids, Ortan Cassius orders a Kill Team to undertake a high-risk mission to detonate a nearby promethium silo. By attaching their armour-busting krak grenades to the silo's weak points, they hope to wipe out much of the enemy forces, trusting that the sanctuary of their power armour will prevent them from sharing a similar fate.

Mission Objectives: The Deathwatch Commander must attempt to destroy the Promethium Silo by attaching krak grenades to it. If he manages to detonate the silo, the mission ends immediately and the Deathwatch Commander wins. If the Genestealer Cultist can slay all of the Deathwatch Space Marines before this happens, the mission ends immediately and the Genestealer Cultist wins.

Broodmind Deck: The Genestealer Cultist prepares his Broodmind deck by taking all of the Broodmind Cards and shuffling them thoroughly. The Genestealer Cultist draws a hand of six Broodmind Cards, and must lay four as Ambushes each turn.

Mission Special Rule – Targeted for Destruction: The Promethium Silo itself cannot be moved onto. If a Deathwatch Space Marine is in a zone next to the Promethium Silo in a Deathwatch Attack phase, he can attach krak grenades to the side of the silo in that zone instead of attacking, running or making a Combat Recovery. Krak grenades cannot be attached if the zone is also occupied by any Genestealer Cultist models. When krak grenades have been attached to the silo in all three zones, they can be used to detonate the silo and unleash a firestorm.

Mission 7: The Tables Turned

The Deathwatch are ambushed by a Genestealer horde, but quickly turn the tables on their attackers.

Mission Objectives: Both sides must attempt to wipe out the enemy's force. The mission ends when all of the Deathwatch have been slain, or when all the models the Genestealer Cultist can use have been slain. Whichever player has any models remaining is the winner. If both sides are slain at exactly the same time, then the mission is tied!

Broodmind Deck: The Genestealer Cultist prepares his Broodmind deck by putting aside the cards that have the Genestealer Patriarch as an Ambusher, and shuffling all of the remaining cards thoroughly. The Genestealer Patriarch cards are not used in The Tables Turned. The Genestealer Cultist draws a hand of ten Broodmind Cards, and must lay seven as Ambushes each turn.

Mission Special Rules

All-out Attack: In this mission, the Genestealer Cultist must launch all of his available Ambushes in each of his Movement phases – he is not allowed to lurk.

Limited Resources: Each time a model belonging to the Genestealer Cultist is slain, place it to one side; that model cannot be used again during this mission. If the Genestealer Cultist reveals an Ambush and cannot set up any models because they have all been slain, he must instead pick any one model that is still available (except the Genestealer Patriarch) and set it up instead. Discard any remaining Ambushes once all the Genestealer Cultist models have either been slain or have been set up – no further Ambushes are placed for the rest of the mission, but the Broodmind Cards can be used as Gambits.

Mission 8: Purgation Protocols

Having located the lair of the genestealer Patriarch, Cassius swiftly orders the Deathwatch to converge on his position in preparation for the final assault.

Mission Objectives: The Deathwatch Commander must rally his forces and proceed to their next objective without suffering crippling losses. If he can move at least eight of his models off the board, the mission ends immediately and the Deathwatch Commander wins. If the Genestealer Cultist can slay four Deathwatch Space Marines before this happens, the mission ends immediately and the Genestealer Cultist wins.

Muster Kill Team: All eleven Deathwatch Space Marines are used in this mission. After the board has been set up, place Cassius in the zone indicated for him on the mission map. The players then take it in turns, starting with the Deathwatch Commander, to set up the remaining ten Deathwatch Space Marines in the ten Deathwatch Muster Zones. One Deathwatch Space Marine must be set up in each of the zones.

Broodmind Deck: The Genestealer Cultist prepares his Broodmind deck by thoroughly shuffling the entire deck of cards. Before drawing his hand of cards, the Genestealer Cultist places a card beside each board section other than the one with Cassius (he is not allowed to look at the card before placing it beside the zone). The cards are revealed, and the Ambushers on the card are placed by the Genestealer Cultist in any of the zones in the board section on which the card was played, including zones occupied by Deathwatch Space Marines if there is room. The cards are then discarded.

This done, the Genestealer Cultist draws a hand of Broodmind Cards and play begins. The Genestealer Cultist draws a hand of seven Broodmind Cards, and must lay five as Ambushes each turn.

Mission Special Rule – Towards the Alpha Threat: Deathwatch Space Marines can be moved off the board at Cassius' Muster Zone. Moving off the board is treated as moving into a new zone, exactly as if there was another zone beside the Set-up Zone just off the edge of the board section. Models that leave the board through the Set-up Zone cannot return.

Mission 9: Eliminate the Alpha Threat

The insidious power behind the Cult of the Four-armed Emperor has been revealed at last. To the Deathwatch, their duty is clear. The fell creature that holds psychic dominion over the Cult must be eliminated at all costs.

Mission Objectives: The Deathwatch Commander's objective is to kill the Genestealer Patriarch, at any cost. If the Genestealer Patriarch is slain, the mission ends immediately and the Deathwatch Commander wins. If the Genestealer Cultist can slay all of the Deathwatch Space Marines before this happens, the mission ends immediately and the Genestealer Cultist wins.

Muster Kill Team: All eleven Deathwatch Space Marines are used in this mission. After the board has been set up, the Deathwatch Commander places his models in the Deathwatch Muster Zones shown on the mission map.

Broodmind Deck: The Genestealer Cultist must set up the Genestealer Patriarch on his Throne (marked in grey on the mission map), and the Genestealer Magus, Primus, two Familiars and two Purestrain Genestealers in any other zones in the Patriarch's Throne Room (see the mission map).

After setting up the models, he prepares his Broodmind deck by thoroughly shuffling the entire deck of cards. The Genestealer Cultist draws a hand of eight Broodmind Cards, and must lay five as Ambushes each turn.

Mission Special Rules

Last Gasp: The Deathwatch are surrounded deep in enemy territory; they have run out of time and are very low on ammo. Deathwatch Space Marines cannot make a Combat Recovery in this mission, and their attacks are limited to Assault and Combat range in order to preserve their ammunition.

Sustaining Nutrients: The Patriarch's Throne feeds the Patriarch with life-sustaining nutrients. If he is on the Throne and has suffered a Wound, flip his card back to the unwounded side at the end of the Genestealer Attack phase.

Psychic Conduit: The Patriarch's Throne can be used to focus the Patriarch's Psychic Scream so that it can reach almost anywhere in the mining complex. If the Patriarch is on the Throne, he can either use the Psychic Scream normally, or use it to attack a single Deathwatch Space Marine on any board section.

Energy Field: The Patriarch's Throne can be used to generate a protecting barrier of energy. If the Patriarch is on the Throne, he cannot be attacked at greater than Assault range.

The Cleansing of Ghosar Quintus

You can play through the missions in sequence to fight a thrilling campaign. If you do so, the victor of each mission will receive a bonus in the next mission of the campaign, as detailed here.

1. Killstorm Deathwatch Commander Victory: No special benefits are received. Genestealer Cultist Victory: The Genestealer Cultist has a hand of 8 Broodmind cards in Vox Noctis, rather than 7 Broodmind cards.

In either case, the Deathwatch Commander cannot muster Deathwatch Space Marines in Vox Noctis if they were used in Killstorm.

2. Vox Noctis Deathwatch Commander Victory: No special benefits are received. Genestealer Cultist Victory: The Genestealer Cultist increases their hand size by 1 in all future missions.

3. Recover Deathwatch Commander Victory: The Genestealer Cultist decreases their hand size by 1 in all future missions. Genestealer Cultist Victory: No special benefits are received.

In either case, the Deathwatch Commander cannot muster Deathwatch Space Marines in Exterminatus Modicum if they were used in Recover.

4. Exterminatus Modicum Deathwatch Commander Victory: The Genestealer Cultist decreases the number of Ambushes they must lay each turn by 1 in the Officium Solus and Firestorm Ultima missions. Genestealer Cultist Victory: No special benefits are received.

In either case, the Deathwatch Commander cannot muster Deathwatch Space Marines in Officium Solus if they were used in Exterminatus Modicum.

5. Officium Solus Deathwatch Commander Victory: No special benefits are received. Genestealer Cultist Victory: The Deathwatch Commander is only allowed to muster 3 Deathwatch Space Marines in Firestorm Ultima.

6. Firestorm Ultima Deathwatch Commander Victory: No special benefits are received. Genestealer Cultist Victory: The Genestealer Cultist increases their hand size by 1 in all future missions.

In either case, the Deathwatch Commander cannot muster Deathwatch Space Marines in The Tables Turned if they were used in Firestorm Ultima.

7. The Tables Turned Deathwatch Commander Victory: No special benefits are received. Genestealer Cultist Victory: The Genestealer Cultist can pick one Deathwatch Space Marine that was slain in this mission; that model starts all future missions wounded.

8. Purgation Protocols Deathwatch Commander Victory: No special benefits are received. Genestealer Cultist Victory: The Deathwatch Space Marines cannot move in their Movement phase in the first turn of Eliminate the Alpha Threat, and can only attack in their second attack phase in the first turn of the mission.

9. Conclusion The winner of Eliminate the Alpha Threat is the winner of the campaign. The winner can look up the number of victories they achieved on the table below to see how well they have done:

Victories	Genestealer Cultist Rating	Deathwatch Commander Rating
1-2	Brood Sibling	Battle-brother
3-4	Cruel Master	Honoured Veteran
5-6	Grim Overlord	Heroic Captain
7-8	Feared Oligarch	Revered Commander
9	Supreme Tyrant	Legendary Warlord

Reference

Turn Sequence

Broodmind Phase. The Genestealer Cultist draws Broodmind Cards and lays Ambushes.
Deathwatch Commander Movement Phase. The Deathwatch Commander moves his models.
Genestealer Cultist Movement Phase. The Genestealer Cultist moves his models and then launches his Ambushes.
Deathwatch Commander Attack Phase. The Deathwatch Commander can make attacks with his models.
Genestealer Cultist Attack Phase. The Genestealer Cultist can make attacks with his models.
Deathwatch Commander Second Attack Phase. The Deathwatch Commander can make attacks with his models for a second time, such is the skill and training of his warriors.

Genestealer Cult Profiles

Model	Speed	Armour	Weapon	Assault	Combat	Max.	Special
Hybrid with Autogun	2	–	Autogun	5,5	6,6	6	–
Hybrid with Autopistol	2	6+	Autopistol, Combat Knife & Sharp Claws	4,4	6	–	–
Hybrid with Mining Laser	1	6+	Mining Laser	4	5	–	Cleave
Hybrid with Grenade Launcher	2	–	Grenade Launcher	6	5	5	Blast
Aberrant with Power Hammer	2	5+	Power Hammer	3,3	–	–	–
Aberrant with Power Pick	2	5+	Power Pick	3	–	–	Cleave
Purestrain Genestealer	2	4+	Rending Claws	4,4,4	–	–	Cleave
Genestealer Familiar	2	6+	Wracking Claws	5,5	–	–	–

Exceptional Agility: You can make a save roll against Cleave attacks for a Purestrain Genestealer. In addition, it can run and then attack in the same Attack phase.

Psychic Vassal: All attacks made by Genestealer Familiars have the Cleave ability if a Genestealer Magus is on the same board section as the Familiar.