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now for starters im not having a go at chaos lol, but as i know as much fluff as in my eldar and csm dex I have a question about wether sisters can succumb to the calls of chaos, my missus is thinking of making a sob army with a chaos influance, witch I think will look awsome but wonder if people will kick up a stink about it on the table.

Cheers guys.


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Oh and would be using sisters rules.

They've fallen to Chaos in the past, seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Sounds interesting - there are a few instances of SOB under the influence of Chaos.

If its going to look good - then go for it

It could always be a Chaos Champion that has created its forces to mock the appearance of the Sisters even if its has not actual Sisters in the force.

I would be surprised if anyone got uptight about it but then people can be surprising!!

I think somewhere in the fluff it states that only one SoB has ever fallen to Chaos (not sure where it says it, so don't quote me on that... it just something I've seen once or twice on Dakka). If that happens to be true, then a fair number of people will become unfriendly when somebody shows up with a Chaos SoB army.

If I'm wrong about the fluff, then I can't think of why anyone would have a problem with it.

Still, it might just be safer to say that a Chaos Lord modelled his warband after the SoB to give the Emperor the finger, rather than have them be full-on fallen SoB. That way, you get Chaos-looking SoB models, without contradicting the fluff that some people care a little too much about.

There are imho 2 reasons why only one SoB ever fell to chaos:

1.) They are nearly incorruptable, almost as hard to corrupt as Grey Knights (no GK has ever fallen to Chaos)
2.) It would make no sense for Chaos to corrupt a SoB. It cost a lot of effort, and in the case that Chaos is successful, you have a 'normal' woman in Power Armor. No acts of faith what makes a SoB special anymore. They can get that a lot easier by corrupting a IG soldier.

Grimmzahn wrote:There are imho 2 reasons why only one SoB ever fell to chaos:

2.) It would make no sense for Chaos to corrupt a SoB. It cost a lot of effort, and in the case that Chaos is successful, you have a 'normal' woman in Power Armor. No acts of faith what makes a SoB special anymore. They can get that a lot easier by corrupting a IG soldier.

Chaos would try simply because its not been done - same as trying to corrupt GKights - they would try as they have infinite time and reources to spend and if they don not suceed (as they have not with GKs thus far) then they will just keep trying. Its also a bit like saying to the Powers - I bet you can't corrupt me - go on then lets see you try

thats said the Chaos Lord option is easiest to avoid arguments - you coudl evne say that the Lord strips dead or dying Sisters of their armour - make up some nasty fluff about the process involved..........

Oh and in a recent Cain novel some Sisters were mind controlled by a Chaos Lord for a time........but then not everyone takes BL publciations as canon.

Part of the appeal, especially for Slannesh, would be the fact that a pure and 'perfect' soldier of the Imperium has fallen to the ways of Chaos. Plus Sisters are much better trained than most Guardsmen anyway. And there new Patron could certainly grant them there own version of Acts of Faith if it wanted to.

It's certainly not impossible for Sisters to go to Chaos, although on the occasions I've seen/read it seems to be something exerting it's will over them rather than a true fall. That said, a Sister's Convent that ended up stuck in a Warp Storm or the Warp itself could certainly be tainted with time and patience. And most of the Powers are pretty patient, Khorne non-withstanding.

...I suddenly have the horrible feeling that them being ladies could give rise to some horrible 'Blood for the Blood God' jokes to be made, but that's too low for me. I don't heading for the gutter, but I'll avoid the sewers.

My friend is thinking of making some Chaos Sisters, and has even converted a few using Daemonette parts. They look pretty good.

Grimmzahn wrote:There are imho 2 reasons why only one SoB ever fell to chaos:

1.) They are nearly incorruptable, almost as hard to corrupt as Grey Knights (no GK has ever fallen to Chaos)
2.) It would make no sense for Chaos to corrupt a SoB. It cost a lot of effort, and in the case that Chaos is successful, you have a 'normal' woman in Power Armor. No acts of faith what makes a SoB special anymore. They can get that a lot easier by corrupting a IG soldier.

When did we get the idea that chaos are is of accountants? We corrupt these things, not because it is easy, but because they are hard.

Then why haven't the Tau been corrupted yet?

Ohhhh...right.
Because the expenditure of effort for a Daemon to corrupt/possess a Tau is absurdly not worth the effort.

@OP
Why didn't you write out "Sisters of Battle"? This is a forum. Write out your topic title fully and be descriptive, abbreviations really should only be acceptable in the Army List section.

I don't see why it couldn't happen. If some Chaos Lord had the resources he could put a bunch of women in power armor and have them be led by psykers (that way the powers are derived from the Warp and not Faith in the Emperor.)

That way you can have Chaos SoB without having to argue with people about how the SoB would never succumb to the predations of Chaos.

Personally, I think that if fully half of the Space Marine legions could turn traitor it isn't insanity to suggest that some Sisters might as well. YMMV

Kanluwen wrote:Then why haven't the Tau been corrupted yet?
Ohhhh...right.Because the expenditure of effort for a Daemon to corrupt/possess a Tau is absurdly not worth the effort.

Not sure - although isn't that a possible explanation of what is happening to Commander Farsight (although it might be other things I grant you) - also they did try quite hard in the Fire Warrior novel IRC to corrupt Tau, especially the POV character?

but as I said and others have suggested I would go with the fake Sisters army - made by a Chaos Lord to taunt the pure of the Imperium

Jon Garrett wrote:Part of the appeal, especially for Slannesh, would be the fact that a pure and 'perfect' soldier of the Imperium has fallen to the ways of Chaos. Plus Sisters are much better trained than most Guardsmen anyway. And there new Patron could certainly grant them there own version of Acts of Faith if it wanted to.

It's certainly not impossible for Sisters to go to Chaos, although on the occasions I've seen/read it seems to be something exerting it's will over them rather than a true fall. That said, a Sister's Convent that ended up stuck in a Warp Storm or the Warp itself could certainly be tainted with time and patience. And most of the Powers are pretty patient, Khorne non-withstanding.
[list]
...I suddenly have the horrible feeling that them being ladies could give rise to some horrible 'Blood for the Blood God' jokes to be made, but that's too low for me. I don't heading for the gutter, but I'll avoid the sewers.

My friend is thinking of making some Chaos Sisters, and has even converted a few using Daemonette parts. They look pretty good.

I like were your headed, espicaly with the faith stuff, and lol at the blood god. Thats funny.

Kanluwen wrote:Then why haven't the Tau been corrupted yet?

Ohhhh...right.
Because the expenditure of effort for a Daemon to corrupt/possess a Tau is absurdly not worth the effort.

@OP
Why didn't you write out "Sisters of Battle"? This is a forum. Write out your topic title fully and be descriptive, abbreviations really should only be acceptable in the Army List section.

Wow, I didnt write "sisters of battle" because I didnt want to, and if I did mean son of a bitch I wouldnt have used the commas lol. I didnt think of it as being an issue.

Thanks for all the replys and ideas guys.

Well Word Bearers are fanatical religious pyschos of Chaos, it's not to hard for me to believe a group of Sisters falls into the same level of religious fervor, to the point they still have faith points but thier alliance is with Chaos. I could even imagine them taking the role of religious emissaries to the marines or even a pet project of the Word Bearers themselves.

squidhills wrote:I think somewhere in the fluff it states that only one SoB has ever fallen to Chaos (not sure where it says it, so don't quote me on that... it just something I've seen once or twice on Dakka).

That's from their current Codex. Their nigh-incorruptability is a rather important aspect of the fluff, and even 1 amongst 30.000 is still a great shame to every Sororitas. The hunt for her is like a sacred duty to the Orders Militant.

The one Sister that has fallen was Miriael Sabathiel, a former Superior from the Order of Our Martyred Lady, who was captured by the Emperor's Children and was missing for quite some time - until she reappeared in the Pyrus Reach as a traitor. She has become a Champion of Slaanesh, leading her own warband out of the Inferno-class battlecruiser "Eternal Pain" into an unholy crusade against the Emperor's domain. Amongst numerous rank-and-file troops, her forces also consist of a band of Daemonettes and a bodyguard of CSM Terminators called "Sabathiel's Chosen". She has managed to kill her former Canoness Olga Karamanz (who was pursueing her with a very small escort to keep her fall a secret) in a trap, forcing Palatine Elana to take command of the Order as the conflict in the Reach escalated into full scale war between Chaos Undivided and the Imperial forces.



The character and her background originate from the Dark Millennium TCG from Specialist Games, canonized for the TT by her being mentioned in the WH Codex.

Though non-canon, several licensed products such as BL novels made entire Orders fall to Chaos - examples include "Daemonifuge" (an Order Pronatus on the world of Parnis and a Repentia Mistress on Ophelia VII) or "Redemption Corps" (where a Canoness allowed Orks to attack Imperial settlements to promote conflict). This is non-studio material and as such of no consequence to TT canon (Daemonifuge was even released before the WH Codex), but it does show some interesting ideas and inspiration for how one could go about a "Fallen SoB" army. Though personally I would avoid it for reasons of consistency and because I feel it would diminish the unique awesomeness of Miriael, I'll admit that the basic idea is not impossible (just extremely unlikely), for what happened to one can in theory happen to more - and I have seen some "converted" Chaos SoB miniatures that looked pretty cool. One in particular - a single Chaos Sister in a CSM HQ squad - had a pretty awesome design.

So if your wife really wants a Chaos SoB army, I'd recommend reading Daemonifuge.

Squidhills also had a pretty good idea concerning the "fake Sisters", though!

In a Ciaphas Cain book, a pair of sisters fought for the dark side.

To be fair, the one in "Redemption Corps" could be considered a 'radical' in the Istvaanian philosophy...except for one problem.

The problem is that she was being manipulated by a Genestealer Halfbreed.

And it's C Canon, before you ask Lynata.

Goddard wrote:In a Ciaphas Cain book, a pair of sisters fought for the dark side.

An entire covenenat did actually but then again they were all being psychically controlled by a guy who managed to turn large swathes of populations to his side as well as commissars.

The recent FFG daemonhunters book has the following...

The Sisters of the Adeptus Soritas are second only to the Grey Knights in thier incorruptibility. So few have turned to evil that they remain amongst the most trusted and valued warriors in the Imperium's arsenal.

... so... it would seem more than one has fallen.. but not all that many have. So it's a rare event as/when/if it does happen.

.. Given how closely some of the FFG stuff follows on from the GW stuff I wouldn't expect this to change much.. if at all.... as'when we get some more SoB info.

Kanluwen wrote:The problem is that she was being manipulated by a Genestealer Halfbreed.

Wow. Really? How ... why ...

Sheesh, some writers. I suppose I shouldn't be shocked, though, considering that the same novel supposedly also features 16 year old Celestians and a single Storm Trooper wasting an entire SoB HQ.

Kanluwen wrote:And it's C Canon, before you ask Lynata.

There's no such thing as "C-Canon" - either it's official as per GW or it isn't. And when Gav Thorpe says they don't care about what some novel says (as proven by the WH 'dex obviously discarding that Order Pronatus from Daemonifuge!), then that's that. Be glad about it, for else we'd have to accept Multilaser Marines and other atrocities as well.

I suppose you're referring to the blogpost from Mr. Dembski-Bowden, by the way? Note he just used that scale to explain the topic at hand, it's directly taken from the Star Wars franchise which he also mentioned in the article. A somewhat flawed comparison, though - the Star Trek franchise would have been a better choice, I think...

Goddard wrote:In a Ciaphas Cain book, a pair of sisters fought for the dark side.

Those books also want to make you believe that the Schola Progenium isn't gender-divided and that it's perfectly okay for a penitent and dedicated Sister to get drunk, get laid and play cards out of boredom, because hey, there's nothing to do in a Schola (prayers are boring) and who cares what kind of example she'd make for the next generation of Sororitas?

reds8n wrote:.. Given how closely some of the FFG stuff follows on from the GW stuff

Or how much it deviates at times...

I'll continue to stick with what GW says - much more reliable. Though both BL novels as well as the FFG RPG offer some cool ideas in the cases where they don't try to retcon Codex material.

Lynata wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:The problem is that she was being manipulated by a Genestealer Halfbreed.

Wow. Really? How ... why ...

Sheesh, some writers. I suppose I shouldn't be shocked, though, considering that the same novel supposedly also features 16 year old Celestians and a single Storm Trooper wasting an entire SoB HQ.

A "single Stormtrooper"(wrong. A single Stormtrooper Squad, loaded and kitted for extracting someone) wasting "an entire SoB hq" (that was full of like 15 Sisters, various Commissariat/Guard/Ministorum personnel amounting to I think another 30 people maybe, and hardly anyone actually armed and ready for battle).
The "16 year old Celestian" was the Genestealer 'Halfbreed', for lack of a better term. It's not great fiction, but it makes far more sense than you think. You never see an age for the Celestian, all you get is the mention that it appears to be very young looking, especially for a Celestian.

Kanluwen wrote:And it's C Canon, before you ask Lynata.

There's no such thing as "C-Canon" - either it's official as per GW or it isn't. And when Gav Thorpe says they don't care about what some novel says (as proven by the WH 'dex obviously discarding that Order Pronatus from Daemonifuge!), then that's that. Be glad about it, for else we'd have to accept Multilaser Marines and other atrocities as well.

I suppose you're referring to the blogpost from Mr. Dembski-Bowden, by the way? Note he just used that scale to explain the topic at hand, it's directly taken from the Star Wars franchise which he also mentioned in the article. A somewhat flawed comparison, though - the Star Trek franchise would have been a better choice, I think...

It really doesn't matter, because if Rodenberry was alive we'd be seeing the same thing in all likelihood regarding Star Trek.

And he used that scale to explain what he felt should be considered canon. I'd tend to agree with him on it, because he also has the knowledge of being on the inside.
Your post about "Gav Thorpe says they don't care about what some novel says" is, as ever, missing the context of the piece you kept quoting time and time and time again.

reds8n wrote:.. Given how closely some of the FFG stuff follows on from the GW stuff

Or how much it deviates at times...

Er...yeah, clearly that's the case?

More often than not, the FFG stuff has been privy to stuff before it's been printed by GW proper.

We saw this happen with the Taros Campaign book for Forge World as well.

KingmanHighborn wrote:Well Word Bearers are fanatical religious pyschos of Chaos, it's not to hard for me to believe a group of Sisters falls into the same level of religious fervor, to the point they still have faith points but thier alliance is with Chaos.

Isn't this how many faithful ones fall? They think they're doing the right thing all along while their actions keep sliding further and further away from what they supposedly represent.

look at it this way
primarchs = yes
marines = yes
sisters = why not its a game, if you like the idea then do it write some fluff convert paint and play then bask in your awesome original army

Kanluwen wrote:A "single Stormtrooper"(wrong. A single Stormtrooper Squad, loaded and kitted for extracting someone) wasting "an entire SoB hq" (that was full of like 15 Sisters, various Commissariat/Guard/Ministorum personnel amounting to I think another 30 people maybe, and hardly anyone actually armed and ready for battle). The "16 year old Celestian" was the Genestealer 'Halfbreed', for lack of a better term. It's not great fiction, but it makes far more sense than you think. You never see an age for the Celestian, all you get is the mention that it appears to be very young looking, especially for a Celestian.

Thanks for clarifying - I'm relying on readers' input here. This indeed makes it somewhat better, though the infiltration and mind control still sound a bit idiotic, considering we're talking about the one organization that cares most about the genetic purity of its members.

Kanluwen wrote:And he used that scale to explain what he felt should be considered canon. I'd tend to agree with him on it, because he also has the knowledge of being on the inside. Your post about "Gav Thorpe says they don't care about what some novel says" is, as ever, missing the context of the piece you kept quoting time and time and time again.

What context? There's not much context required when Gav (who has way more inside knowledge than Aaron) says that GW feels no need to accept novel stuff they dislike into their setting, or when George (who still is the Head of Publishing) says that a novel is an "alternative version of the world".

Actually ... I pretty much agree with what Aaron Dembski-Bowden wrote in terms of canon, I just think you have mistaken what this scale actually means for the setting. In Star Wars, G-Canon overrides C-Canon whenever there is a contradiction. Meaning, no novel or RPG has the power to retcon anything in the setting when there's a GW book that has established a fact: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_canon#The_Holocron

If you agree with Aaron on this, then we are actually of one mind, because I myself tend to occasionally "adopt" stuff from the licensed products when it doesn't contradict studio material. It's "the best of both worlds", so to say.

Though this still goes against what Gav wrote, so I have to accept that those little additions may potentially get into conflict with GW canon some day in the future, necessitating a "retcon" on my own part (for whatever I have used that 3rd party stuff).

Er...yeah, clearly that's the case?

If you think that the contradictions introduced by FFG will become official GW retcons ... well, that remains to be seen. I suppose it's just a matter of time until this question can be answered. About one month, if my suspicions are correct.

Though it's worth pointing out that the Grey Knights of the Daemon Hunter book sound notably different from their 5E Codex. Despite including the Dreadknight, all the daemon weapon stuff and "fighting fire with fire" seems to be amiss. In essence, FFG either chose to keep the 3E style of the Grey Knights or they didn't know about the 5E fluff. Either way, there's a conflict now.

Kanluwen wrote:More often than not, the FFG stuff has been privy to stuff before it's been printed by GW proper. We saw this happen with the Taros Campaign book for Forge World as well.

Uhm? Imperial Armour III is from 2005 - the RPG wasn't even in development back then.

Though I won't dispute the possibility that there's a lot of communication between FFG and GW! The same goes for any licensed product, though. Obviously this does not prevent certain contradictions to pop up. When an author doesn't ask if something is okay, GW cannot say no to him. Added to that comes the issue of editors who seemingly aren't very versed in the fluff themselves, lest we would see fewer contradictions between novels and the most basic principles of the setting pop up all the time (multilasers, Marine height, Terminator agility, Sororitas purity, etc).
FFG has the advantage of including some former GW writers amongst themselves now, but sadly this too did not prevent certain inconsistencies. These contradictions are likely the result out of missing "team input" as it exists at the GW HQ, or because the people at FFG take some "artistic license" with certain things where they feel it'd be cooler to do it different than in the GW books.
I know of at least one writer who has written stuff for the books and who has said so on the FFG forums. I can link you the post, if you're interested.

Lynata wrote:... and that it's perfectly okay for a penitent and dedicated Sister to get drunk, get laid and play cards out of boredom, because hey, there's nothing to do in a Schola (prayers are boring) and who cares what kind of example she'd make for the next generation of Sororitas?

How do you get that?

The sister in question is semi-retired (i.e. she's getting on in years, so she's been 'promoted to a desk job' - teaching, in this case), meaning that she doesn't have the full array of duties that one would normally expect of a member of the Sororitas. She drinks, but only socially. And there's no indication that she drinks to excess. She plays cards, but so far as we can tell only with the other instructors (who are all old vets themselves). Knowing how to play cards is an indication of her status as a veteran campaigner, as she likely learned how while out on campaign (You want boredom? It's just you and the members of your unit, out in the middle of nowhere, on semi-alert just on the odd chance that the enemy decides to try something today. Playing cards are small and easy to carry, and they help to pass the time, which is why many soldiers learn how to play.). And while we know that she has at least one sexual tryst (I wouldn't be surprised if she's in a relationship with the man in question, though it's not made clear in the book), she's extremely discrete about it. Cain wouldn't have even suspected if he hadn't literally been in the right place at the right time.

Nor would I be overly concerned about the fallen Sisters in that novel. Given what happened, pretty much anyone and everyone who wasn't a psyker or blank would be vulnerable - and I'm not even too sure about the former. I suspect that even the vaunted purity techniques of the Grey Knights wouldn't hold up to what is, in essence, a complete rewriting of one's world-view.


The Sisters that are problematic for me are actually the ones in the prior novel, who basically come across as parodies.

The drinking per se would be okay (depending how it's pulled off), it's just that the combination of everything makes her come off as way too normal. Sisters aren't female Guard. They're on nearly the same indoctrination level as Marines. Perhaps even more so.

All GW books go on about how the Sisters "brook no distractions from their tasks", about how "isolation is part of their puritan lifestyle" and how their daily life is one of "constant hardship, deprivation and arduous work".

And yes, all the stuff in quotation marks is directly quoted from studio material. And then some novel comes along and basically portrays one of them like an everyday joe. And not just anyone but a Sister Superior in charge of training the next generation. One should assume that such a character should be especially zealous as to not taint the novices with impure thought.

I know that the Cain books are basically meant to be a parody of the setting, but given how I see this book being mentioned again and again whenever the question of Sororitas chastity comes up, I think that this portrayal was quite damaging to the overall perception of the Sisterhood, robbing it of one of its core aspects - their fanatism.

"The lifestyle of the teachers and pupils is strict and puritan. During the Age of Apostasy, most of the Schola Progenium was corrupted and rife with slavery and depravity. Orphans were used as slave labour in factories and mines making goods for the Ecclesiarchy. Particularly promising individuals were sold to Imperial commanders as slaves and servants, and the most attractive became concubines for Imperial Nobles. The most physically adept were sent to be trained as Frateris Templars or Brides of the Emperor, swelling Vandire's armies with the best recruits. The habitats themselves became associated with licentious practices, and their money was put to questionable ends. In direct contrast, each habitat now maintains a strict separation between the two genders and contact between them is restricted purely to religious ceremonies. Only with this purity can the Progena hope to be elevated to a position within the Emperor's domain."
- Codex: Sisters of Battle, The Schola Progenium

Lynata wrote: it's perfectly okay for a penitent and dedicated Sister to get drunk, get laid and play cards out of boredom, because hey, there's nothing to do in a Schola (prayers are boring) and who cares what kind of example she'd make for the next generation of Sororitas?

That's my kind of battle-nun.

Garters make me so hawt.

Lynata wrote:The drinking per se would be okay (depending how it's pulled off), it's just that the combination of everything makes her come off as way too normal. Sisters aren't female Guard. They're on nearly the same indoctrination level as Marines. Perhaps even more so.

All GW books go on about how the Sisters "brook no distractions from their tasks", about how "isolation is part of their puritan lifestyle" and how their daily life is one of "constant hardship, deprivation and arduous work".

To which I repeat -

She's semi-retired (it's not stated, but the clear implication is that pretty much all of the teaching staff are old campaigners who are no longer what one would consider 'active service'), and she's very discreet about it. The group's even shocked when she turns out to be pretty good at cards - they mistakenly thought that Sisters wouldn't know the first thing about card games. So clearly she's still presenting herself in a completely upright fashion. It's only when she's with a private group that she lets her hair down somewhat. It's also worth noting that it takes place with other members of the faculty, who use the opportunity to talk together about what their students are up to. So the drinks and cards also tie into her work as a member of the school's faculty. She's talking shop over drinks and quiet entertainment, which is an old and time-honored tradition.

She's not - so far as we know - violating any rules. She's just employed somewhere other than a convent and thus probably has a little more free time on her hands than would otherwise be the case. As a result, she has the time to engage in activities that she otherwise wouldn't be able to enjoy (and Amberley's footnote implies as much).


And since you bring up marines, there are plenty of chapters that engage in much more... boistrous... activities when not on the battlefield. The Space Wolves come to mind as a prime example...

Lots of Marine Chapters do things other than train for battle in their "downtime". The Space Wolves, as mentioned, are fond of taking something that negates their resistance to toxins so they can go out for a night of boozing. Blood Angels are often found creating works of art, most often paintings or sculptures, and are considered some of the foremost artists in the whole Imperium. I would not be surprised if Ultramarines also did something like that, or turned to civil engineering, city planning, architecture and similar fields, given that they directly control most of the Eastern Fringe.

...and specifically with the Sisters of Battle, I think that the taking of wine probably has some sort of religious significance to them, outside of social situations, so there's probably not a strict ban on its consumption. This would likely allow them to partake of wine or other spirits, in moderation, in other settings. I'd also be surprised if a Sister Famulous was not expected to partake of wine or other drinks when meeting with nobles, important Imperial functionaries, or similar worthies.

Of course, obscura and other drugs are right out, but that's a different matter entirely. The Schola Progenium is a program designed for more than just the Sisterhood. The children of all Imperial war-heroes whose parents are killed in action are taken in by such schools, so they can be trained and inducted into continued service for the Imperium. Even if the schools are gender divided (which seems implausible, given the availability of planets where a Scholam may be found), there's no guarantee that a girl from a given family is going to be able to pass the physical requirements for entrance into the Sisterhood, for whatever reason, and may instead be slated to go into the Administratum or some other function... perhaps even the Commissariat or the Inquisition.

ETA: With regards to the OP... well, it's possible, sure, though you might be better off fielding a single character as an HQ unit or something, rather than having a bunch of rank-and-file C:SOBs. This is a bit more in keeping with established fluff, in that, rather than entire convents turning to the Archenemy, sometimes, a woman in the SOB suddenly experiences a rise in nascent psychic expression. This is a death-sentence in the Sisterhood, who view their now-psychic Sister as a witch. Most of them die soon after their gifts are discovered, alone and in pain. Some few are whisked away by Radical Inquisitors who have use for unsanctioned psykers. Others may be set free by the actions of Chaos... such as the convent being already in a warzone, and is overrun by the forces of Chaos, who take her captive as their Sorcerers sense some special gift about her (or because their Daemonic patron tells them to) or perhaps the Night Lords receive a prophetic vision of this fallen Sister, and mount an operation to obtain her for their own purposes, and through their Rites of Excruciation, turn her to their cause. You could then use this Sister of Battle as a "counts as" Chaos Sorcerer or similarly-gifted HQ unit.

Eumerin wrote:She's semi-retired

I'm not sure you can actually "retire" as a SoB. Their abbesses are ancient. If one gets too old for one duty, she gets moved to another - and if old granny can do nothing more than ranting at young novices being too loud in the librarium, then she's going to do that. Back in medieval times, nuns also didn't just "quit convent life" when they turned 50 or whatever.
That said, the Adepta Sororitas actually do have access to Juvenat treatments, and given that people always describe her as flirting with the characters, it didn't really make her sound that old.

But let's suppose they do retire (I could actually imagine some sort of Ministorum-run facility where retired clergy and Sisters may live out the rest of their lives). This isn't the problem. That the character is breaking half of what the very concept of the Sororitas stands for is, and the author pandering to the fantasies of the male readers by turning the Sisters from aloof crusaders into a bunch of sunday school chicks.

The Cain novels don't respect SoB Codex canon, it's as simple as that. Both regarding SoB lifestyle and (relative) incorruptability as well as how a Schola is actually run. I suppose Mitchell/Stewart simply didn't read up on it. No biggie, lots of BL writers make mistakes like that. Even Abnett gets stuff wrong.

Still, it currently is a big problem this faction has to fight with, because unlike with most Marine or Guard novels such mistakes do not get identified as such and thus "mitigated" in public perception due to a lack of common knowledge regarding the SoB canon that GW has put out. I'm going to assume that many people don't read their Codices and Sororitas canon in general is few and far between. The only thing people read about them is in novels. Yet next to no-one writes books about them, they just seem to be a popular choice for when an author needs incompetent cannonfodder, power-armoured Chaos traitors and/or sexy romance interests. You'll forgive a certain bitterness on my part regarding this treatment.

Eumerin wrote:And since you bring up marines, there are plenty of chapters that engage in much more... boistrous... activities when not on the battlefield. The Space Wolves come to mind as a prime example...

Yeah I remembered that after posting, which is why I edited the "perhaps even more so" in.

I was referring to the hypno-indoctrination and the monastic lifestyle (see the "daily schedule" contained in the back of the 3E Marine Codex) that should be a defining aspect of most Marine Chapters. Of course the SW stand apart, but they're pretty much the big special snowflake in nearly everything that is supposed to describe the Astartes.

Psienesis wrote:The Schola Progenium is a program designed for more than just the Sisterhood. The children of all Imperial war-heroes whose parents are killed in action are taken in by such schools, so they can be trained and inducted into continued service for the Imperium. Even if the schools are gender divided (which seems implausible, given the availability of planets where a Scholam may be found), there's no guarantee that a girl from a given family is going to be able to pass the physical requirements for entrance into the Sisterhood, for whatever reason, and may instead be slated to go into the Administratum or some other function... perhaps even the Commissariat or the Inquisition.

Of course. In fact, the vast majority of female progena ends up there rather than in the ranks of the Sisterhood. What does that change, though?

And why is the division between genders implausible? All it takes is a high wall, and considering what Schola training is supposed to achieve, keeping both genders from interacting with each other seems way more plausible than the alternative. I always thought the cited part about purity is very important (which is why it also applies to the teachers, as the Codex notes further).

Lynata wrote:

Goddard wrote:In a Ciaphas Cain book, a pair of sisters fought for the dark side.

Those books also want to make you believe that the Schola Progenium isn't gender-divided and that it's perfectly okay for a penitent and dedicated Sister to get drunk, get laid and play cards out of boredom, because hey, there's nothing to do in a Schola (prayers are boring) and who cares what kind of example she'd make for the next generation of Sororitas?

You can ignore any bit of fluff you want, that doesn't change anything.

It's his army, he can do whatever he wants with it. He asked if there has been any official canon indicating that a SoB fell, or succumbed, to Chaos influece, and I cited it.