"There may come a time when men have forgotten all of the glories of our age, forgotten even the Emperor, may He forgive me for saying. But this I swear. When all else is dust and all other names are forgotten, the name of our Chapter shall endure, and through it, so shall we!"
- — Chaplain Harak, Adeptus Astartes Night Watch, prior to the loss of the entire 5th Company at the Battle of Silver River
The Night Watch is one of the Loyalist Space Marine Chapters founded as part of the Astartes Praeses, the 20 Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes created to defend the regions surrounding the Eye of Terror in the Segmentum Obscurus.
The Night Watch is a Chapter of unknown Founding and genetic origin. The Night Watch's homeworld is the planet Silence which lies to the direct galactic north of the Eye of Terror.
The Night Watch is unlikely to be a firm adherent to the Codex Astartes since it fielded 11 companies during the 13th Black Crusade. Most Chapters have only a maximum of 10. The current Chapter strength is thus greater than 1,000 Space Marines.
Chapter History[]
Notable Campaigns[]
- 13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - The Night Watch helped defend the Imperium from the Forces of Chaos led by Abaddon the Despoiler in the 13th Black Crusade. The Chapter fielded 11 companies against the forces of Chaos in this campaign.
- Zeist Campaign (999.M41) - The Night Watch participated in the Zeist Campaign, heeding the call of the Lord Macragge, Marneus Calgar, the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, who tasked Captain Cato Sicarius of the 2nd Company to lead the Imperial forces in containing the T'au expansion in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy. The Night Watch contributed several Tactical Squads that were instrumental in the successful assault and liberation of the world of Augura, which had served as a primary forward base of operations for the T'au Empire's forces during its Third Sphere Expansion.
Chapter Appearance[]
Chapter Colours[]
The Night Watch primarily wears black power armour, with the helm and shoulder guards cobalt blue. The trim of the shoulder guards is black. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest is silver.
The white squad specialty symbol -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command -- is indicated on the right shoulder guard.
A black High Gothic numeral centred in the middle of the squad specialty symbol indicates squad number.
The symbol on the left knee guard indicates company number in accordance with Codex Astartes-approved heraldry.
Chapter Badge[]
The Night Watch's Chapter badge is a white, stylised lit candle with a large red skull sitting in the centre of it.
Sources[]
- Adeptus Astartes: Successor Chapters (Limited Release Booklet)
- Codex: Eye of Terror (3rd Edition), pg. 16
- Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pp. 30, 48
- Deathwatch: Rites of Battle (RPG), pg. 38