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I used to think that Sororitas had to hitch a ride with the Imperial Navy, just like the Guard, but I occasionally see references to the Sisters and/or the Ecclesiarchy in general having their own starships. So what is canon?

- the Ecclesiarchy has its own fully capable combat fleet (presumably not).
- the Ecclesiarchy owns the equivalent of armed merchant ships (who in the 40K 'verse ISN'T armed?) and maybe a few warships "off the books," but if the Sisters need serious aerospace firepower, they have to get it from Navy ships and fighter-bombers, like the Guard.
- the Ecclesiarchy only has a few small transports for high officials -- like yachts or private jets -- and any significant force needs to get a ride with the Navy or at least hire some Chartist Captains.
- the Ecclesiarchy has jack (presumably not).

I humbly request enlightenment from the seasoned fluffmeisters of the forum.

The Black Library novel 'Hammer and Anvil' included a chapter that took place on a starship in service to the Sisters of Battle, the Tybalt. There wasn't a lot of info to go on, but it was pretty clear that the ship was not the exclusive property of the Ecclesiarchy. That being said, the Ecclesiarchy wasn't just renting the thing by the hour: they were definitely in charge of the operation.

It seemed to me that the ship and it's core personnel were provided by the Imperial Navy, with combat personnel and the bulk of the grunt labor being provided by the Ecclesiarchy. It was unclear if the vessel was simply handed over for a single mission or whether this ship was in longterm service to the Ecclesiarchy.

'Some of the helots were commissioned men in service to the Imperial Navy, but the majority were tithed workers bound by oath or deed of penance to the Sororitas.' This quote specifically described a labor-gang that was preparing landers for planetary descent, and clearly specified that the men's master was a Deacon- although it was ambiguous as to whether he was just the leader of that labor gang, all the labor gangs, or everyone on board. The book later covered planetfall, done in Arvus and Aquila landers. It didn't specifically say who owned them, though I suspect they were probably Navy vessels that were provided along with the starship. This is all from a single Black Library source, for what it's worth.

Edit- I just flipped through the Black Library novel 'Faith and Fire' since I remembered that it too began on a starship. This frigate was clearly stated to be an Imperial Navy vessel, though an entire shrine had been built within it, indicating it was in longterm service to the Ecclesiarchy. The leader of the Sisters of Battle stationed on board could make demands of the ship's officers, though she didn't seem to be in command, per se. However, she was only a SIster Superior, and the ship, being a frigate, was likely commanded by a relatively high ranking officer, one who had been ordered to do the Ecclesiarchy's bidding (specifically, a prisoner transfer from a Black Ship to a Shrine World).

My personal take would be the third scenario you posted: the Ecclesiarchy owns a small fleet of its own, but the bulk of its interstellar operations rely upon requisition of the vessels of the Imperial Navy and Chartist Captains. Any vessel in service to the Ecclesiarchy is under absolute Ecclesiarchal authority for the duration of service, and there are probably a few Chartist vessels that have been appropriated indefinitely. Much like retaining the Sisters of Battle and raising Frateris Militia mobs in violation of the Decree Passive, when it comes to interstellar fleets, the Ecclesiarchy probably bends a number of rules that 'lesser' authorities would be bound to.

After all the checks and balances imposed on the Eccelsiarchy after Vandire's reign, it wouldn't surprise me if they had to resort to the Imperial Navy to move stuff around.

On the other hand, being the Ecclesiarchy, I'm almost certain they can requisition whatever ship they fancy. After all, it's one of the most influential organizations in the Imperium, maybe on par with the Mechanicum. If the local head of the Administratum or the Imperial Navy won't cooperate, a host of pious mercantile houses and rogue traders in need of a favor from people in high places will.

Hi Sister Sydney, I understand the confusion. I had it too, until my Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Only War GM explained it to me. The important point was the reasoning.

The bureaucratic answer is: No, the Adeptus Soritas definitely do NOT have their own warships, they have to hitch a ride exactly like you said, in accordance to Imperial law. The reason is very specific, it's to do with the laws after Vandire's Age of Apostasy, specifically designed so that the Ecclesiarchy won't be that powerful (exactly the whole checks/balances thing), of which the ONLY loophole was the Adeptus Soritas themselves due to the "no men at arms" wording that we all know.

The real answer is: Yeah, because of what you mentioned. The Ecclesiarchy MAY have ships DESIGNATED as private yachts or pilgrim transports or something...that's actually being used for all intents and purposes a Soritas warship. "Oh, this is just a pilgrimage ship to deliver pilgrims, but of course we need some security from pirates and to oversee the purity of the pilgrims...thats's what the Sisters are for, okay?" Reasoning: It becomes a case of what you can get away with.

So the practical answer: it's exactly how much you can get away with. It's like the official answer according to Imperial law is "NO!"...but how much are you willing to pay in terms of political favours, military support, or just plain money to have everyone turn a blind eye? Reasoning: this is so how the 41st millennium works, isn't it?

---

This is just an interpretation, but one based on someone much smarter than me who knows the lore like crazy, but one that makes a lot of sense based on what I read in the Blood of Martyrs sourcebook.

My own interpretation: It makes sense. The Sisters (at least through the Ecclesiarchy) can barter...and they themselves are a bartering chip. They're like a highly-trained military force that work for free under the right circumstances. Any number of Rogue Traders or Inquisitors would provide the Sisters a ship and say "Oh, that ship's owned by ME...I'm just providing transportation for the Soritas like a good Imperial servant. For how long? Indefinitely." It's just office politics in my view.

The Ecclesiarchy is actually *the* most influential organization in the Imperium. The vast majority of Imperial citizens will never interact with a Tech-Priest.... almost everyone goes to church.

SisterSydney wrote:So what is canon?

This franchise, for better or worse, does not have a uniform canon (see quotes and sources provided here), which is why material from different sources may at times yield conflicting information. It is pretty much left to the reader to cherrypick what they like most, and a lot of debate on the fluff section of this forum is simply the result of fans having read different things.
My personal take is that I prioritise anything from the GW core studio (rulebooks, codices, white dwarf articles), but I also occasionally adopt individual bits from outsourced or licensed products (Black Library novels, Forgeworld army books, FFG's RPGs) if I think they are cool and fit in with the original material. This is just my own formula to make sense of everything, though, and ultimately this is a decision that each of us needs to make for themselves.

As to your question, I shall try to answer it as best as I can - and under the aforementioned considerations!

First, the studio material. The most distinct statement is probably contained in the 2nd Edition Codex Imperialis:

"Each Convent has its own fleets and runs its own affairs in much the same way as the Space Marine Chapters."

This sentence was part of a section about the two big Convents (Prioris and Sanctorum) that serve as the overall heart of the Sororitas, rather than the small regional convents that function as mere bases, so I would caution against applying this as a broad statement to any Order. To my knowledge, this bit of information has not been repeated elsewhere since, but at the same time it has never been outright contradicted by a newer studio source either. The designer's notes for the 3rd Edition Codex Witch Hunters as published in WD #292 also stated that the team went through great lengths not to contradict anything published before - including even the original Rogue Trader fluff, where the Sisters of Battle were mentioned first, and which was directly referenced in the article.

Of course there is the Decree Passive, which is often mentioned as an argument against the Ecclesiarchy having starships, yet the exact wording leaves several interesting ways to interpret it:

"Amongst other prohibitions on military activity, the Decree Passive forbade the Ecclesiarchy from controlling any 'Men under arms'. Sebastian Thor was ordered to disband the Frateris Templars of Vandire and any armies and fleets assembled by other members of the Ministorum while separated from Terra. This was duly done, but for one exception. Seeing that some military force would be needed, and not wishing the Ecclesiarchy to be totally subservient to the will of the Adeptus Terra and the Imperial Guard, Sebastian Thor kept the one army he was allowed under the Decree Passive. Due to the archaic wording of the law, the Daughters of the Emperor did not break the ban."
- 2E C:SoB

Since the Sororitas are "the one exception", it could be argued that any ships they would have had would remain in their possession, just like the Decree would not apply to future vessels acquired by the Orders Militant. However, even more important than this is Thor's reasoning: If Saint Sebastian wanted the Ecclesiarchy's protection to be independent from the Imperial Guard, surely it would only make sense for it to be independent from the Imperial Navy as well? After all, otherwise the Adepta Sororitas would suffer the same problems that a rebellious regiment from the Guard would have to face: they'd be stuck on a planet with no way off of it.

Lastly, there are the tasks of the Sororitas as mentioned in the codices, amongst them policing the Ecclesiarchy as well as protecting pilgrim routes. The latter is admittedly not much of an argument, as this sort of protection could just as well refer to individual Sisters travelling aboard the same transport vessel as the pilgrims and standing ready to repel any boarders, but I wanted to at least list it here as the other option (patrols by SoB starships) is an interesting thought. Policing the Ministorum's priesthood, however, almost necessitates the Sororitas having their own vessels, as the clergy traditionally has a lot of influence over the armed forces of the Imperium, including the Navy thanks to Confessors attached to every capital ship. It would be dangerously easy for a scheming Cardinal to arrange for a Navy vessel simply not picking up or at least delaying the detachment of Sisters investigating him or her, as well as knowing their exact time of arrival (possibly allowing to arrange for a "special reception"), so this might be another argument in favour of them having their own vessels.

The six Major Orders simply need to get around - a lot. If you follow GW's fluff on the Sisterhood's activities, you'll notice that it is almost exclusively the "Big Six" that show up whenever the Sororitas are involved in large scale military activities such as the defence of Armageddon or the Cadian sector, or one of the Imperial crusades. The chief reason behind this is, of course, their comparatively impressive size, as each Major Order consists of several thousand warriors, whereas the smaller regional convents of the Minor Orders may only have a hundred or even less. This, too, necessitates a means to travel fast, and due to the massive distances and unpredictability of the Warp every week, even every single day may count, so waiting until the Navy gets around to free up a small flotilla may just not be an option. And then we have military operations such as the Ecclesiarchy's punitive expedition to Fenris as described in 5th Edition C:SW. Assuming that the High Lords of Terra themselves did not back this attack and issue the appropriate orders, would the Imperial Navy be willing to get dragged into a war with the Space Wolves by providing the ships required for an invasion of their homeworld?

The Sororitas' needs for transportation expand beyond shipping their armies around, however. Delegates of the Orders Famulous, Infiltrators from the Orders Sabine, and other personnel of the Sisterhood have to travel as well, and given the oft-touted rarity of interstellar transportation in 40k, I would be sceptical about the idea of the Sisters just "calling a taxi" every time they need to go from point A to point B. How long would it take the Navy to respond to those hundreds of requests it would have to receive daily? Would they really send a kilometer-long ship just to transport a single young Sororitas fresh out of her novitiate from Terra, where she took her oath in front of the Ecclesiarch, to her future post, as described in the backgrounds of Rosetta Anastasia (GW website "Inquisitor" RPG characters) and Ephrael Stern (GW website "infamy & villainy part 2")?


And then of course we have the various licensed sources, such as the Black Library books. Stormfather already mentioned one, but the graphic novel Daemonifuge was even more blatant about it:
The hardcover book contained a two-page description of this ship - a Lunar-class cruiser originally of the Imperial Navy, but recommissioned over Ophelia VII in M39. Its service history included three notable engagements in M41 and at least two victories over Chaos and renegade capital ships. Even more, in M41 it was assigned to "Ecclesiarchy sub-fleet Augustus".

Personally, this seems "a bit much", so I would probably not incorporate such an extensive naval presence into my own interpretation of the 41st millennium, but I at least wanted to mention it here since we've already started to discuss non-studio fluff.

What I *do* like, however, is the Lightning fighters, Aquila landers and the modified Valkyrie dropship that the SoB got in the PC game Dawn of War: Soulstorm.

And then I have this bit from a sort of "fluff bible" that went through that really old SoB yahoo-group where even Andy Hoare posted from time to time:

"The major Orders Militant are primarily a mobile strike force, deployed against threats to Imperial security and purity as and when the need arises. Though the Ministorum maintains no warships or regimental transports, relying on the Imperial Navy for protection from space-borne foes, each Order operates a fleet of transport craft, ranging from single-detachment troopships to high speed corvettes. In lieu of the capability to engage in full-scale fleet actions, the Sororitas' ships are engineered for maximum speed through the warp, allowing the Orders to deploy their troops anywhere in the Imperium. The longest deployment distance, all other factors being equal, is the Eastern Fringe beyond Kar Duniash and Okassis, which the major Orders can reach in eight weeks. However the small size and purely defensive weaponry of these craft require the Sisterhood to seek assistance from the Imperial Navy in cases where large-scale deployment is required, or when troopships are likely to come under attack from hostile forces. The Imperial Navy has officially protested Sororitas transports carrying weapons at all in an effort to force the disbanding of the transport fleets and make the Ministorum entirely reliant on the Navy for transport. However, the Navy is unwilling to propose outlawing weaponry on all non-Navy vessels, as this would increase the need for Navy vessels to protect civilian freighters to unsustainable levels."

Unfortunately, I do not know the exact source of these bits of fluff, and although the file has so far been extremely accurate and in spite of me having been able to verify a great deal of the information within through various "elusive" GW publications (primarily old WD articles), I still refrain from regarding it as "official" until I see the original source. If anyone recognises this text, I would be highly welcome to hear where this is from. Until then it at least fits in nicely with the studio material, and I have decided to adopt this into my own vision of the setting.

So my personal conclusion is this: The Major Orders of the Adepta Sororitas have their fleets to support their regular campaigns, whilst the less active Minor Orders depend on the Imperial Navy or, on occasion, the Inquisition to supply them with means of transportation whenever it would actually become necessary. The necessary personnel for the Major Orders' ships might come from both the Navy (officers) as well as the masses of the common faithful (crew), some of whom may have volunteered for such duty whereas others may have been assigned this post as a form of penance (as the 2E Codex notes, the Ecclesiarchy also judges the populace for its spiritual health and may assign a variety of punishments to give the penitent a chance to cleanse their sins and save their soul).

Lynata, did you include the references that you could find in the document or any other form that you could circulate? I stumbled across a so-called “fluff bible “ years ago, but having the bits backed by the primary sources would be incredible!

So it seems like the consensus is moving towards a modified version of my second option (changes in italics):

- the Ecclesiarchy commandeers and "indefinitely borrows" the equivalent of armed merchant ships (who in the 40K 'verse ISN'T armed?) and maybe a few warships "off the books," and the Major Orders of the Adeptus Sororitas have modest fleets of fast armed transports -- in modern terms, more like a US Navy amphibious assault ship for carrying Marines than a cruiser or destroyer -- but if the Sisters need serious aerospace firepower, they have to get it from Navy ships and fighter-bombers, same as the Imperial Guard.

[mutiple edtis to corect darm typos]

Possibly, though they don't necessarily need to go to the Navy. There are plenty of super-devout Rogue Traders who own entire flotillas of ships. If asked, one of these faithful would, I'm sure, be only too happy to transport the Sisters wherever they wanted to go... and they would have a small fleet to support their operations, some of which might be armed with relics of the Dark Age of Technology or pre-Heresy armaments.

Rogue Traders have more bling than you can possibly imagine.

 SisterSydney wrote:
So it seems like the consensus of moving towards a modified version of my second option (changes in italics):

- the Ecclesiarchy commanders and "indefinitely borrows" the equivalent of armed merchant ships (who in the 40K 'verse ISN'T armed?) and maybe a few warships "off the books," and the Major Orders of the Adeptus Sororitas have modest fleets of fast armed transports -- in modern terms, more like a US Navy amphibious assault ship for carrying Marines than a cruiser of destroyer -- but if the Sisters need serious aerospace firepower, they have to get it from Navy ships and fighter-bombers, same as the Imperial Guard.

That's a really good analogy, actually. I'm actually going to use your version, I like it. They have these fast armed transports ("they're for transporting/protecting/policing pilgrim routes!") but not fighter-bombers, as they're too obviously for war.

I also appreciated Lynata's referring the source material. My favourite part was the Imperial Navy not liking the Soritas having weapons, but don't want an outright ban, as it would stretch their resources. It's political...it's practical.

When I read all your views, I immediately thought of a real life example. I was having dinner with a big group with the CEO of a big engineering firm. One of their divisions was military vehicles: attack helicopters, tanks, etc.

Someone asked something along the lines of, "Oh, I heard you're making TANKS for the United Nations."

Immediately, the CEO said something very much like, "No, we don't. We make Armoured Personnel Carriers for the U.N."

The guy then said something like, "Well...aren't tanks and APCs the same thing?"

The CEO replied, and I only remember some phrases, "No, they're not...the U.N. uses APCs for Police Actions. Tanks are designed for war." It was something like that.

I remember it because it came out so fast, so perfectly, like it was scripted. Apparently, the distinction between APCs and Tanks, Police Actions and war was important. Probably politics involved.

It's like there's a line there...very blurry, but also very important to never cross. But when Lynata mentioned policing pilgrimage routes, I thought this was such an interesting parallel with real life.

KhornedBeef wrote:Lynata, did you include the references that you could find in the document or any other form that you could circulate? I stumbled across a so-called “fluff bible “ years ago, but having the bits backed by the primary sources would be incredible!

I have tracked down the majority of the sources mentioned in the index.txt such as the various codices, the Astronomican book or Citadel Journal (which is how I was able to verify most of the contents in the file), but I'm still missing a few White Dwarves.
I'm on a constant hunt for sources of SoB fluff and managed to get hold of a number of WD back issues with some interesting details. It's an ongoing project.

Kommissar Waaaghrick: Interesting bit about the UN/corp/tanks/APC thing.
Also, +1 for your name and avatar.

Marines are particularly famous for rapid intervention and non-combatant evacuation (NEO) of US citizens -- but they can't do "sustained land operations" without extensive Army support, if only in logistics -- so they're a really good analogy to the Sisters' role as rapid response for Ecclesiarchy assets in trouble and a supplementary force in Imperial Guard campaigns.

Though US Marines have their own strike-fighter squadrons independent of the Navy; given that Avengers are Imperial Navy assets exclusively, it looks like their Navy did better in interservice turf wars than ours did.

Now, our Navy (to my knowledge) hasn't tried to take over the Marine Corps's organic helicopter squadrons, which are their main means of getting ashore in a hurry. The Sisters certainly need an aerospace craft to get off and on their ships, one that provide covering fire for landings as well, and the Aquila Lander and Arvus Lighter (bleh) don't do it for me at all.

So I want the Sisters to have their own Valkyries (even the name is perfect), as Lynata pointed out they do in Dawn of War:Soulstorm. I want Valkyries in Sororitas colors with Sororitas crews, sporting multi-meltas instead of multi-lasers/lascannons, and shooting at BS:4.

Unless people can give me overwhelming reasons not to do that, I'm gonna work up a Sororitas Valkyrie and post it in Proposed Rules soon...

Codex-wise, the only reason I can imagine the SoB not getting a Valkyrie is that they already have some flyers to their name. We've got the Lightning Fighter from Soulstorm as well as the Avenger Strike Fighter from Forgeworld.

But hey, fluff-wise, there's nothing saying that they can't field Valkries, so go right ahead. I'm just saying that if we got a flyer on the tabletop, I'd rather one of those, since they already have ties to the Sisters.

Agreed, Sisters really should be using Valkyries. Hell, Sororitas power armor is vacuum-sealed, allowing them to launch the Valkyrie gunships directly from orbit, which most Guard units aren't capable of doing.

Well, who is to say that the Valkyrie's from Soulstorm aren't simply Soritas pattern Valkyries? We already have god knows how many patterns of Land Raiders, Leman Russes, variants of the Rhino, etc. Besides, the Sisters do use tanks as a part of their Modus Operandi, and I don't think an Aquila or Arvus could land those.

This is all speculation and interpretation so that it fits within the current scheme of things, but perhaps Aquilas are used to transport a Canoness or Soritas Brass either in a combat situation or as a personal transport. Whereas the Arvus Lander would almost exclusively be a surface to orbit taxi for the higher ups of the sisterly orders.

Not a major contribution to the discussion, but I think it still fits within the scope you are looking for.

The SoB Valkyries in Soulstorm were rarely shown, as they were not a controllable unit but (or so I recall) part of the building animations. I think you briefly saw them when constructing certain units, where they'd land atop the building for a few seconds?

Fleur-de-Lis = Sisters.

Also, the Seraphim are capable of Deep Strikes - for which they'd need to jump out of something. This is basically paratrooper insertion, and just like paratroopers they would require a plane to do so.

And of course I simply like the idea of grizzled SoB pilots.

They most likely have ships of some kinds, but they wouldn't have their own unique ship designs like Space Marines.

They'd just be the same ships the Navy uses with the Fleur-de-lis slapped all over it, and with lots of gold trim.

Hopefully GW will give them Valks eventually. Its the only GW flyer that would make sense for them to have.

Eh, I think a few of the fliers in Forgeworld could be used for it if they were revamped. Like the Aquila lander, if it didn't suck.

The problem is GW will never have the rules for a FW only model in their own codices.

I think they should do it. Sisters could have the Avenger stuck in there. It would be different from every other flyer, and actually a darn nice one.

But GW doesn't even like competing with themselves.

I thought some IG flyers used to be FW? I do remember somebody saying that GW had moved stuff over from FW before.

Vendettas and Valks did use to be FW only models(Vendettas still are only available as either a FW upgrade kit or a scratch build)

but they are really exceptions. And GW has had ample opportunity to move stuff over. They could have moved the FW SM flyers over, but instead they invented the Stormraven and Talon.


And some people think all the new IG vehicles are examples, but really all those tanks used to be in the IG codex. Then got removed, and now got put back.

 Troike wrote:
Codex-wise, the only reason I can imagine the SoB not getting a Valkyrie is that they already have some flyers to their name. We've got the Lightning Fighter from Soulstorm as well as the Avenger Strike Fighter from Forgeworld. But hey, fluff-wise, there's nothing saying that they can't field Valkries, so go right ahead. I'm just saying that if we got a flyer on the tabletop, I'd rather one of those, since they already have ties to the Sisters.

Except those aren't transport aerospacecraft. Sisters gotta move between space and ground somehow, as Lynata points out:

 Lynata wrote:

Also, the Seraphim are capable of Deep Strikes - for which they'd need to jump out of something. This is basically paratrooper insertion, and just like paratroopers they would require a plane to do so.

Now, admittedly they could ride down on an Arvus Lighter and blow open the cargo bay door in mid-flight to jump out -- who cares if the useless thing crashes afterwards?

 Grey Templar wrote:
They most likely have ships of some kinds, but they wouldn't have their own unique ship designs like Space Marines. They'd just be the same ships the Navy uses with the Fleur-de-lis slapped all over it, and with lots of gold trim.

Agreed. But they'd probably be modified to use the Sisters' favorite weapons -- heavy flamers & multi-meltas instead of multi-lasers and lascannon, since lasers are not a Sisters thing, not in fluff (maybe they don't have the maintenance base for them?) and not in gameplay: letting them have easy access to 48" S:9 AP:2 would really change the nature of the army and even put our beautiful Exorcists a little in the shade.

 Lynata wrote:


And of course I simply like the idea of grizzled SoB pilots.

I don't know how to embed images yet, but I'm now totally thinking of a Sororitas version of the badass female dropship pilot from Aliens (YouTube here).

Which in turn makes me think of a Sisters version of this:

BLOOD ANGEL: Hey, Sister, have you ever been mistaken for a man?
SISTER OF BATTLE: No. Have you?

Because I can't help imagining Sisters have a sense of humor and the older combat vets, in particular, are kinda snarky.

 SisterSydney wrote:
Except those aren't transport aerospacecraft. Sisters gotta move between space and ground somehow, as Lynata points out:

I was speaking about codex units only, since you seemed to be talking about the prospect of SoB Valkyries on the tabletop.I did agree that fluff-wise, there's no reason they can't have them. Heck, I'd encourage them appearing in the fluff, actually. It's a common misconception that SoB cannot have any aircraft whatsoever, an outright example against this would be nice.

 SisterSydney wrote:
(maybe they don't have the maintenance base for them?)

I'm pretty sure that it's mostly a result of their great love for the holy trinity. They might be able to support lasers if they wanted to, but they're far happier using bolters, flamers and meltas. There is fluff, in their 2e codex IIRC, stating that they can field any weapons they want to, which would support this theory.

Not that I'm complaining, though. Who needs lasers when we can bring silly amounts of flamers and meltas?

 SisterSydney wrote:
I don't know how to embed images yet

I use imgur. Go there, upload an image and use the link for forums that it provides.

 SisterSydney wrote:
Because I can't help imagining Sisters have a sense of humor

There have been a few examples of it, actually. In James Swallow's Faith and Fire, a Sister quips "If only I had a storm bolter!" during a last stand against several enemies. Their current codex also has two quotes that strike me as somewhat humourous: "Heretics crave the clensing fire of absolution. They need not fear, for we shall deliver it to them" and "These heretics refute the Emperor's holy right to rule. Let them argue with the barrel of a gun". Maybe they're not meant to be humourous, but I can't help but see them as gallows humour, myself.

Humour in the SoB is something that I like to see very occasionally. Nothing too excessive, but just enough to humanise them a little.

So I guess you wouldn't like my list of lightbulb jokes that Sisters tell about other Imperial factions.....

I probably would, actually. I'm not at all opposed to some silliness with my 40K.



And hey, my avatar isn't exactly the most serious depiction of a Sororitas either. The above was just my personal preference for it being handled in the fluff.

Go ahead, post 'em!

I could definitely see ships requisitioned (or purely owned) by the Ecclesiarchy shuttling the Sisters from one battlefront to the next. Even a normal-sized bulk transporter could probably carry an entire Order with vehicles without much effort. It's not like they need something Strike Cruiser-sized.

At the very least they would likely be given VIP billets aboard normal Navy ships. As for landing craft, they probably would use whatever the Guard uses to get troops and vehicles down to the surface, just dedicated (and decorated!) to their particular Order.

Troike wrote:I probably would, actually. I'm not at all opposed to some silliness with my 40K,

Indeed. What would our hobby be without some silly jokes?

Troike wrote:Codex-wise, the only reason I can imagine the SoB not getting a Valkyrie is that they already have some flyers to their name. We've got the Lightning Fighter from Soulstorm as well as the Avenger Strike Fighter from Forgeworld.

Well, neither the Avenger nor the Lightning are Codex units, and the latter is from the same source that also had the SoB use Valkyries. It may just be something they didn't think of yet. Let's be honest - our current 'dex isn't exactly chock-full of innovation or new toys.

If the Allies rules would at least allow us to share transports we could just take a bunch of IG, hijack their Valks, and pretend the infantry is Frateris Militia. Alas ...

On a sidenote, since we're talking 'bout flyers, did y'all see this one already? As far as I know, this was supposed to be an alternate cover for Soulstorm:
Love that formation of Lightnings in the back. I still think they look so much more prettier than the boring Avenger. Aquila-shapes ftw.

SisterSydney wrote:But they'd probably be modified to use the Sisters' favorite weapons -- heavy flamers & multi-meltas instead of multi-lasers and lascannon, since lasers are not a Sisters thing, not in fluff (maybe they don't have the maintenance base for them?) and not in gameplay:

Lasers are pretty much only surpassed by wooden spears when it comes to ease of maintenance; even underhive gangs can reliably take care of them. That is one of their biggest advantages, after all. I think it's really just a matter of preference, as Troike said, rather than a question of capability or availability.

"The Sisters of Battle are exceptionally well equipped, with armour and weapons the equal of any Space Marine Chapter."
- 3E C:WH

On the other hand, what sort of weapons would actually make sense there? Flamers are probably out of the question (as funny as the idea of an Immolator-like gunship sounds), and I don't think the Sisters would argue with the "punch" a lascannon could bring to the field. Plasma weapons are not part of the Holy Trinity either, yet pistols of this class seem fairly popular with a number of Superiors and Canonesses. Plus, I still like the idea of lasgun-wielding novices.
Would multi-meltas make sense for an aircraft, given this weapon's effective range? Are there already any examples for such a loadout?

SisterSydney wrote:I don't know how to embed images yet, but I'm now totally thinking of a Sororitas version of the badass female dropship pilot from Aliens

I actually thought the same thing as I was typing that!

Also, lol @ SoB/BA dialogue

Troike wrote:There have been a few examples of it, actually. In James Swallow's Faith and Fire, a Sister quips "If only I had a storm bolter!" during a last stand against several enemies. Their current codex also has two quotes that strike me as somewhat humourous: "Heretics crave the clensing fire of absolution. They need not fear, for we shall deliver it to them" and "These heretics refute the Emperor's holy right to rule. Let them argue with the barrel of a gun". Maybe they're not meant to be humourous, but I can't help but see them as gallows humour, myself.
Humour in the SoB is something that I like to see very occasionally. Nothing too excessive, but just enough to humanise them a little.

I'm in the same dropship.

It's the sort of grim, "controlled" humour you could see in any outfit of professional warriors, including the Space Marines. No lighthearted jokes, but rather clever remarks that elicit a lightly raised corner of the mouth, or the exchange of knowing glances between comrades in arms. James Swallow managed to capture that spirit pretty well in his novels, as I recall a handful of scenes that would fit to this expectation of mine.
Miriya holds a speech and goes like "As you know, my Sisters, we have never been the most favoured of squads ...", and the rest of her unit looks at each other and you can just about picture the "Heh" in thought bubbles above their heads, but - and this is important - none of them actually makes that sound aloud. Perfect balance.

 Lynata wrote:

Troike wrote:I probably would, actually. I'm not at all opposed to some silliness with my 40K,

Indeed. What would our hobby be without some silly jokes?

They mainly take from the Imperial Navy for combat aircraft, for instance the Avengers Strike Fighter (Navy aircraft) are mentioned to be "frequently called upon by the SoB". The SoB do use transports/landing craft though. Probably from the Ecclesiarchy's own fleet of transport ships.

Those might be specifically built for the Sororitas, though, since the Navy doesn't actually build its own ships (that's what the AdMech is for). The Navy maintains several ship-yards (both space-stations and planetary) throughout the galaxy, but the people actually building the ships are AdMech Engineseers.