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Beaviz81 wrote:It's a total strange thing there. At one point many girls enter into the Sororita-program, then again only a few thousand is said to exist. I don't know what to believe.

Many are called. Most are found wanting.

BaronIveagh wrote:That last one also flushes the whole 'no sex' vow right down the toilet

You know, i feel the need to ask this question (not necessarily of you Baron), but why do people feel so utterly compelled to either uphold the celibacy of the SoB or its antithesis?

Is there anything so critical or crucial to the faction that is irrevocably harmed if the SoB (or some of them, or all of them, or none of them) should happen to engage in procreative acts? Or be absolutely celibate?

Psienesis wrote:

Beaviz81 wrote:It's a total strange thing there. At one point many girls enter into the Sororita-program, then again only a few thousand is said to exist. I don't know what to believe.

Many are called. Most are found wanting.

I know, I discussed that at length with Lynata. I reached your conclusion. Most are either there as servants and such, a few might be released for personal reasons by the Abbess.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:Huh? Are you still feverishly re-reading Ian Watson's Space Marine and your dog earned copy of Rogue Trader? While inductee standards certainly vary, there's really no suggestion that for most chapters, especially those which follow the guidelines for recruitment in the Codex Astartes, select anything but the best candidates. And definitely no evidence that they recruit from amongst a demographic that would be "unfit to serve" once they attained adulthood.

The Blood Angels and their gladiatorial fights to the death don't ring any bells?

The average Space Marine "aspirant" is 6-8 years old, lol. A little hard to have much street cred as a "thug" when you're still losing the last of your baby teeth.

Index Astartes says 10-14. 6-8 would be stupid.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:How do we know what the curriculum is that is taught to Schola Progenium attendees?

You are correct that after a certain age they train for specific professions, but...



The Imperium is a nation at war, and the Schola Progenium is a very martial school.


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AlexHolker wrote:Index Astartes says 10-14

This is correct. Ten to twelve, actually, is ideal, as at taht age the aspirant will have the least amount of problems with the Astartes organ implants.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:Most accurate? By what standard?

They're just the most specific. But there's a distinct difference between precision and accuracy, lol.

Maybe by the examples I showed above but no go ahead, ignore my examples that show the rules to be more accurate and precise.

Necrosis wrote:
True but even so, it still strange that there is a lot more space marines and then sisters of battle.

We are agreed in this. The math simply does not hold up, as it seems like every sector has a different order minoris or a significant presence by one of the order's majoris. And there are something like 25,000 sectors (IIRC) in the Imperium...

Beaviz81 wrote:Many girls enters one of the Orders of the Sororitas. Then again, you state it's the cream of the crop, so logic tells me that from millions of candidates they likely end up with only a hardened core who comes out of the convents as fully fledged Sororitas.

Given the size of the Imperium, and the number of candidates thus produced, you'll have more then mere 'millions'. The schola on Perlia, a relatively underpopulated nowhere, produces about 8-12 a year. Assuming, of course, that Hive worlds produce proportionately more...

Beaviz81 wrote:1KM only for a cannon far better than what a M1 can produce, I could do better than those fans.

As for the whole no-sex-vow. If they are flushed out, then they renounce their vows.

You must not play or know much about ordinance. It's max range would be about equal to the current 120 that M1A2's get fitted with. (remember that max range = 4 times the listed distance.) Given it's relatively shorter barrel and heavier shell, that's actually pretty damn good accuracy. (Since they're explicitly stated to be 'dumb' rounds).

Actually one could argue that they were 'promoted out' To be 'flushed out' means that they failed in some way (which they don't do, you get to be a Repentia or Oblatia at that point. Or executed. Or a seething Chaos Fanatic, depending on the exact mechanism of your failure....). I highly doubt the Inquisition would be taking them in as Inquisitors if they had failed as SoB.

Necrosis wrote:
Well why are you referring to table top rules when I'm referring to another set of rules. Dark Heresy is the most accurate set of rules we have for 40k (as it uses a d100 system instead of a D6). You can see the differences between a space marine bolter, a sister of battle bolter and imperial guard bolter. You can also see major differences in space marine power armour and a sister of battle power armour. And then you use fan material to back up your argument which is ridiculous. It is not made by the company, thus it is not valid example. Now I'm not saying Dark Heresy is the holy grail of fluff/cannon but if it does say something, its something to consider. As both the witch hunter codex and several dark heresy supplements are written by the same person.

And then we have relic bolters, which make that difference go up in smoke like a chimera hit with a volcano cannon. And while, yes, you can see the difference between the different patterns of SM armor and sisters Power armor (slight depending on pattern) you can also see the difference between a suit of Terminator armor for Astartes and one for mere mortals (apparently none).

Further, it's possible to make power armor for 'mere men' that actually exceeds SM armor. So....


And the Leman Russ thing had nothing to do with anything, other than you mentioned working out the ranges on a Leman Russ, which has already been done. And I have a feeling will be fairly close to the actual stats when Only War comes out.

Melissia wrote:
From the FFG games, all progenia graduates (even scholars) have the following:
Lore (War)
And training with rifles/pistols and basic melee weapons of the Imperium. Sisters in specific can get scholastic lore (tactics) fairly early on-- at the exact same time that dedicated scholars and, more relevantly, at the same time that Guard officers get them.

The Imperium is a nation at war, and the Schola Progenium is a very martial school.

Common Lore (War) however, is the skill that measures a characters knowledge of famous commanders and battles (basically a general History of the Imperium if you get down to it). Scholastic Lore (Tactica Imperialis) (This is the skill about your character's grasp of tactics and battle planning.) is not given until Rank 6 or 7 (depending on Book) to Sororitas (or anyone else in the Dark Heresy, AFAIK). Or the last two ranks before the level limit, if you're not using Ascension. This is more likely to represent their own growing experiences rather then any actual scholastic learning.

Compare this to the Arch-militant, who receives this at first level in Rogue Trader.

A Rogue Trader character is, by design, the equivalent of a Rank 8 Dark Heresy character, though. It explains this in the beginning of RT about mixing characters between the games.

I agree to the promoted out, that was good wording. I can actually see an Abbess telling a young Sororita she don't think the organization is right for her as she lack the bone-hammered home point of view of her sisters f.ex. and releasing her, or finding the young woman to inquisitive to be of any use. Neither warrants death, but neither is fit for such an organization.

I'm not even gonna discuss your fluff behind your Battle Cannon Baron.

Psienesis wrote:A Rogue Trader character is, by design, the equivalent of a Rank 8 Dark Heresy character, though. It explains this in the beginning of RT about mixing characters between the games.

A Rogue Trader rank 1 character is expressly equal to a Rank 5 DH character, according to Page 34 of the RT corebook.

Inquisitor Terminator armour provides 12 armour all around and is already considered best craftsmen ship (on top of all the other rules it gets, like force-field and hurt daemons). Grey Knight Terminator armour provides 14 armour all around, which is better then Inquisitor Terminator armour. Same thing with the Death Watch Terminator Armour, they also provide 14 armour all around.

Necrosis wrote:Inquisitor Terminator armour provides 12 armour all around and is already considered best craftsmen ship (on top of all the other rules it gets, like force-field and hurt daemons). Grey Knight Terminator armour provides 14 armour all around, which is better then Inquisitor Terminator armour. Same thing with the Death Watch Terminator Armour, they also provide 14 armour all around.

Wow, talk about broken telephone. We started with where are SoB trained, and now we're talking about TDA armor ratings.

I think you make a valid point TermiesInARaider. I withdraw my last argument in this topic.

Necrosis wrote:I think you make a valid point TermiesInARaider. I withdraw my last argument in this topic.

It wasn't as much of a criticism as it was an amused statement. I personally don't mind, though I'm sure some of the Admin's would prefer you take this to your own thread if you have more to speak about it.

Beaviz81 wrote:I can actually see an Abbess telling a young Sororita she don't think the organization is right for her as she lack the bone-hammered home point of view of her sisters f.ex. and releasing her, or finding the young woman to inquisitive to be of any use. Neither warrants death, but neither is fit for such an organization.

Um, Beaviz, these have all been veteran Sororitas of many years experience, not some noviate. The one that became a Rogue Trader was a celestian, IIRC (been trying to find which book this appears in. I remember reading it, and in a nutshell, she gets granted the warrent of the Rogue trader she's travelling with. I seem to recall it happening during the Crusade that founded the sector, but can't find the specific reference. Too damn many books) I tgets a passing reference in BoM but not the whole story. The process that one of them becomes a cardinal is unexplained, but the one where they become an Inquisitor seems to be simply that the Inquisitor names one an Interregator (or even a full Inquisitor) and off they go. (interestingly, it seems, reading BoM that this can run the other way too, an Inquisitor can name a person to the Sisterhood, and off they go. Why this is is NOT EXPLAINED.)

And the Abbess hasn't told any of them anything for quite a while, having been lost in the warp quite a while ago...

Extra: Might want to source that 12 AP, Osrin's armor at the end up Radical's Handbook simply states that it's ancient Terminator armor.

BaronIveagh wrote:First: There is a serious problem with the idea of the Sororitas being united. That being that there currently is no Abbess, and has not been since the previous one was lost to the warp.

Of course, this doesn't actually change much about their connections as detailed in the Liber Sororitas. Furthermore, the Canonesses still meet to vote on stuff. It's how new Abbesses are determined.

BaronIveagh wrote:Second: GW falls into the 'Math Hole' again. If there are currently fewer then 30,000 sisters, and orders majoris currently have 3,000 to 4,000 sisters, this means that there are insufficient battle sisters to outfit all the named orders at their canon levels, let alone the orders minors for whom actual numbers are unavailable (even at the 'as few as 100' levels suggested).
(We'll just hand-waive how 30,000 anything isn't enough to ride herd on an entire planet even at a 'mere'5 billion humans, let alone 500 billion humans...)

You see a conflict where none exists. ~30k is the headcount given for the Major Orders, totals for how many Sisters are in the Minor Orders are unavailable as is the number of Minor Orders itself. For those, all you can do is make an educated guess based on how quickly the Sisterhood grew over the first couple millennia when the Minor Orders were still non-existent. Personally, I'm thus assuming something between 50k and 100k.

As for the small size, it fits when you keep in mind how the Adepta Sororitas work. They're not line infantry to be wasted in trench wars. They come down in landers and drop pods to take out an enemy by striking at his heart, or they are simply the vanguard of a much larger force of Imperials consisting of allied Imperial Guard and/or the masses of zealous Frateris Militia led into battle by Ecclesiarchy clerics. It's either that, or small-scale engagements where they scour a Hive for hidden mutants and heretic cults amongst the civilian populace, or act as guards for various VIPs, holy sites or pilgrim trecks. Though that doesn't quite qualify as warfare. Anyways, their numbers, combined with the grade of their equipment and training, are certainly enough to fulfill these roles.

BaronIveagh wrote:Point of fact though, you're referring back to 1st edition, which has been retconned so hard it bounced...

I do believe that even newer material still talks of Space Marine Chapters preferring barbarian tribes for recruitment as they tend to produce more resilient and warlike candidates than a civilized world.

BaronIveagh wrote:Unless you leave. BoM has a serious incongruity between 'Sisters never leave the order' when earlier 'Sisters have left the order to become inquisitors, cardinals, and Rogue Traders'.

Well, yes - sort of. I was specifically referring to "washing out" and not a honorable transfer, as the latter are referenced in studio material where it is said that in rare cases a Sister may be called to higher office elsewhere in the Imperium.

BaronIveagh wrote:That last one also flushes the whole 'no sex' vow right down the toilet, as a Rogue Trader would need to reproduce to continue the line. (Which they did, apparently, since the line is not on the list of Rogue Trader warrants that have died out, despite being the only member of the house.)

Technically, it is entirely possible for a Rogue Trader's Warrant to be transferred not to blood relatives but to, say, one's most trusted officer. Such technicalties are usually outlined in the contract when drafted, and unless we assume that a Sororitas suddenly abandons her monastic mindset and turns into an egocentric capitalist overnight it doesn't take much to assume she would care for the fate of her endeavour more than what she as an individual has to do with it, let alone the importance of a blood succession.

Assuming you are following BL/FFG's fluff at all, of course. I for one find the idea of "Sororitas Rogue Traders" somewhat far-fetched, and given that this is not the only example of where these books leave more room to a player's creativity than other sources, this is quite simply where my disclaimer comes into play.

Necrosis wrote:As both the witch hunter codex and several dark heresy supplements are written by the same person.

Then again, they also clearly contradict each other on various instances. The person who wrote them is the one I cited with saying "no obligation for consistency".

Although it is probably worth pointing out that Andy Hoare did not write the Witch Hunter Codex alone, just like he did not write these DH supplements alone. It was a team-effort, and as such likely influenced by whoever else was working on these projects.

Necrosis wrote:Inquisitor Terminator armour provides 12 armour all around and is already considered best craftsmen ship (on top of all the other rules it gets, like force-field and hurt daemons). Grey Knight Terminator armour provides 14 armour all around, which is better then Inquisitor Terminator armour. Same thing with the Death Watch Terminator Armour, they also provide 14 armour all around.

Ahh, yes, Dark Heresy and its "civilian" equipment. I still maintain that inventing this difference between human and Astartes gear created one of the worst contradictions of the entire RPG line.

ContemplativeSphinx wrote:Is there anything so critical or crucial to the faction that is irrevocably harmed if the SoB (or some of them, or all of them, or none of them) should happen to engage in procreative acts? Or be absolutely celibate?

Jumping in there, I have to say that there is an important aspect about this. Actually, three important aspects. For one, celibacy is often equated to purity, and certainly the Adepta Sororitas are all about this. Secondly, celibacy is also a commitment to their duty and so to the Emperor. Thirdly, all Adepta Sororitas are specifically stated to live in a regime of "constant hardship, deprivation and arduous work", so them not caring about a few of them going off to have some fun in the sheets does sound a bit odd. Especially when they have about 40.000 rules to follow, regulating just about everything they do from day to day.

Taking away the chastity would, in my personal opinion, harm the factional identity. It's why I've always been so unforgiving on those Cain satires.

Psienesis wrote:

Brother Thomas wrote:Sister's of battle seem ignorant

Blessed is the mind too small for doubt.

Also i believe the SoB are so succesfull because the foe can often get distracted by the *ehm...* wiew when they charge into battle

Necrosis wrote:

Veteran Sergeant wrote:Most accurate? By what standard?

They're just the most specific. But there's a distinct difference between precision and accuracy, lol.

Maybe by the examples I showed above but no go ahead, ignore my examples that show the rules to be more accurate and precise.

You're still confused as to what is accuracy and what is precision, lol.


You can be precise by shooting ten bullets in a 3 inch group, seventeen feet off the target. Your accuracy was terrible though.


What the FFG games are, cannot be called accurate, because there exists no adequate evidence of what the target mark is.

Lynata wrote:Of course, this doesn't actually change much about their connections as detailed in the Liber Sororitas. Furthermore, the Canonesses still meet to vote on stuff. It's how new Abbesses are determined.

BoM gives an instance where two orders develop a dislike so intense that the Inquisition has to intervene to keep it from breaking into violence. I would not call that unity.l

Lynata wrote:
You see a conflict where none exists. ~30k is the headcount given for the Major Orders, totals for how many Sisters are in the Minor Orders are unavailable as is the number of Minor Orders itself. For those, all you can do is make an educated guess based on how quickly the Sisterhood grew over the first couple millennia when the Minor Orders were still non-existent. Personally, I'm thus assuming something between 50k and 100k.

Except that's not what it says. (and even if your numbers are right, they're still wildly below what they need to be if fluff is right, and far less than the number of, say, Space Marines.)

Lynata wrote:
As for the small size, it fits when you keep in mind how the Adepta Sororitas work.

As the dedicated assault troops of the Ecclesiarchy.

Lynata wrote:
They're not line infantry to be wasted in trench wars.

They don't call it the Death Korps for nothing. (sorry, some IG humor)

Lynata wrote:
They come down in landers and drop pods to take out an enemy by striking at his heart, or they are simply the vanguard of a much larger force of Imperials consisting of allied Imperial Guard..

Those are Space Marines, not SoB.

Lynata wrote:
Anyways, their numbers, combined with the grade of their equipment and training, are certainly enough to fulfill these roles.

Sure, for a single sector, maybe, if the don't guard anyone below Cardinals and Imperial Governors. The sort of deployment we see in fluff would be impossible.

Lynata wrote:I do believe that even newer material still talks of Space Marine Chapters preferring barbarian tribes for recruitment as they tend to produce more resilient and warlike candidates than a civilized world.

Varies with chapter, however, they're taking them young enough that it frankly wouldn't matter as long as they passed the genetics tests.

Lynata wrote:Technically, it is entirely possible for a Rogue Trader's Warrant to be transferred not to blood relatives but to, say, one's most trusted officer. Such technicalties are usually outlined in the contract when drafted, and unless we assume that a Sororitas suddenly abandons her monastic mindset and turns into an egocentric capitalist overnight it doesn't take much to assume she would care for the fate of her endeavour more than what she as an individual has to do with it, let alone the importance of a blood succession.

I might point out that the take over in question was what in this day and age is termed a hostile take over. So I'd say either she was egocentric befor boarding, or sizing the warrant in question was premeditated by either the Inquisition or the Ecchlesiarchy. The fact that the warrant became her's permanently suggests the latter. Since his heirs and not the crew and officers (who are usually the 'heirs' in a warrant that is transferable in the manner you describe) were the ones that protested this, it's fair to assume that there was an 'and their heirs' clause to it, or otherwise they wouldn't have had any grounds.

Lynata wrote:
Assuming you are following BL/FFG's fluff at all, of course. I for one find the idea of "Sororitas Rogue Traders" somewhat far-fetched, and given that this is not the only example of where these books leave more room to a player's creativity than other sources, this is quite simply where my disclaimer comes into play.

No more than a planet totally abandoned by the SoB suddenly sprouting nine full strength Orders minoris to oppose a random CSM incursion. That's some damn rapid recruiting, training, and fitting out there.

Lynata wrote:Then again, they also clearly contradict each other on various instances. The person who wrote them is the one I cited with saying "no obligation for consistency".

This I can't argue with. They also reprinted some of the same inconsistencies from C:SoB back in 2nd. Personally, I think the inconsistencies are something GW shoe horns in.

Although it is probably worth pointing out that Andy Hoare did not write the Witch Hunter Codex alone, just like he did not write these DH supplements alone. It was a team-effort, and as such likely influenced by whoever else was working on these projects.

Lynata wrote:Ahh, yes, Dark Heresy and its "civilian" equipment. I still maintain that inventing this difference between human and Astartes gear created one of the worst contradictions of the entire RPG line.

It also contradicts itself. Human holdable bolters can have identical stats to Astartes bolters, the ammo is just harder to get. Assuming her Term armor for Inq stats are correct, again, add impact gel and Lathe Wrought and it's not only 14 all around, it halves pen.

Lynata wrote:Jumping in there, I have to say that there is an important aspect about this. Actually, three important aspects. For one, celibacy is often equated to purity, and certainly the Adepta Sororitas are all about this. Secondly, celibacy is also a commitment to their duty and so to the Emperor. Thirdly, all Adepta Sororitas are specifically stated to live in a regime of "constant hardship, deprivation and arduous work", so them not caring about a few of them going off to have some fun in the sheets does sound a bit odd. Especially when they have about 40.000 rules to follow, regulating just about everything they do from day to day.

Taking away the chastity would, in my personal opinion, harm the factional identity. It's why I've always been so unforgiving on those Cain satires.

And let's not forget the 2nd ed codex. You need to be unforgiving of it too.

And I'm having a hard time picturing them doing arduous work as every single description in fluff I've found has them living in palatial abbeys filled with servants...

BaronIveagh wrote:It also contradicts itself. Human holdable bolters can have identical stats to Astartes bolters, the ammo is just harder to get. Assuming her Term armor for Inq stats are correct, again, add impact gel and Lathe Wrought and it's not only 14 all around, it halves pen.

Human bolters are no where near the level of a space marine version. Also any gm who knows much about the Mechancius would not let you perform those upgrades on your armour, as they would refuse to alter Terminator Armour. At that point, that is no longer even regular Terminator armour but modified terminator armour. Also if you want to say humans can get special ammunition, so can space marines.

Human Bolter: 1d10+5x pen 4, no special rules.
Space Marine Bolter: 1d10+9x pen 4, Tearing (meaning they roll 1d10 twice and choose the highest).

They abduct orphans and train them worship of a religion that has nothing to do with the psyker they worship

BaronIveagh wrote:

Lynata wrote:Jumping in there, I have to say that there is an important aspect about this. Actually, three important aspects. For one, celibacy is often equated to purity, and certainly the Adepta Sororitas are all about this. Secondly, celibacy is also a commitment to their duty and so to the Emperor. Thirdly, all Adepta Sororitas are specifically stated to live in a regime of "constant hardship, deprivation and arduous work", so them not caring about a few of them going off to have some fun in the sheets does sound a bit odd. Especially when they have about 40.000 rules to follow, regulating just about everything they do from day to day.

Taking away the chastity would, in my personal opinion, harm the factional identity. It's why I've always been so unforgiving on those Cain satires.

And let's not forget the 2nd ed codex. You need to be unforgiving of it too.

And I'm having a hard time picturing them doing arduous work as every single description in fluff I've found has them living in palatial abbeys filled with servants...

It should be kept in mind that the Caiphas Cain novel where this is looked at was about a sister that was very far removed from the wider Order, stationed on a distant location. It's not hard to imagine one finding solace in human companionship in such circumstances, but it would be ridiculous to suggest that this means that frequently engaging in hanky-panky at the convent is acceptable.

Melissia wrote:[ they have no vow of chastity, the Sisters are dedicated to their cause above all else, living a life of self-denial in complete dedication to the Emperor.

Isn't that a contradiction?


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Necrosis wrote:

BaronIveagh wrote:It also contradicts itself. Human holdable bolters can have identical stats to Astartes bolters, the ammo is just harder to get. Assuming her Term armor for Inq stats are correct, again, add impact gel and Lathe Wrought and it's not only 14 all around, it halves pen.

Human bolters are no where near the level of a space marine version. Also any gm who knows much about the Mechancius would not let you perform those upgrades on your armour, as they would refuse to alter Terminator Armour. At that point, that is no longer even regular Terminator armour but modified terminator armour. Also if you want to say humans can get special ammunition, so can space marines.

Human Bolter: 1d10+5x pen 4, no special rules.
Space Marine Bolter: 1d10+9x pen 4, Tearing (meaning they roll 1d10 twice and choose the highest).

I loved the bit in mechanicum where that atheist tech-priest holds up a switch and explains. This is a simple machine 'but some people would have you believe that in order to make this work you have to appease some non-existent machine spirit inside it or else it won't work.'

BaronIveagh wrote:BoM gives an instance where two orders develop a dislike so intense that the Inquisition has to intervene to keep it from breaking into violence. I would not call that unity.

Oh, I'm not saying they all get along equally well - I am merely pointing out that they still have a uniform command hierarchy which culminates in the convent of Canonesses and ultimately the Ecclesiarch who should be quite capable of commanding the Sisterhood without outside interference from the Inquisition, and that there isn't that much room for variance in their teachings that some Orders would suddenly forget all about focus on servitude and penance and instead allow their members to "enjoy themselves" in this way.

I don't place much faith (do ho ho) on the BoM as it and other BI/FFG books clash with Codex material elsewhere, though I've already covered my stance regarding licensed material in my "disclaimer".

BaronIveagh wrote:Except that's not what it says. (and even if your numbers are right, they're still wildly below what they need to be if fluff is right, and far less than the number of, say, Space Marines.)

The 30k are from the 2E Codex (actually the only GW source that talks about SoB numbers in detail), and the context clearly refers to the Major Orders alone - so that is what it says. And I don't see why 50-100k is "wildly below what they need to be", it fits to everything I've read so far, including the Force Disposition Charts on the Third War for Armageddon or the 13th Black Crusade - see example here.

Perhaps we simply use incompatible sources, making for two incompatible perceptions of the setting. Given the absence of canon and the vast amount of interpretations of Sororitas to be found (especially throughout licensed fiction), this would seem likely.

BaronIveagh wrote:Those are Space Marines, not SoB.

No, that's the SoB, if used against a high-profile enemy. CJ #49 had an article about this: against an enemy such as an excommunicated Space Marine Chapter, a direct assault on their leader(s) is the recommended approach. It's pretty much the only instance they use drop pods at all, though. Lesser enemies are swept away in a direct frontal assault - but against lesser enemies, they don't need tens of thousands of Sisters either. In fact, the WH Codex did contain their deployment style, and it wasn't that big on numbers.

BaronIveagh wrote:Sure, for a single sector, maybe, if the don't guard anyone below Cardinals and Imperial Governors. The sort of deployment we see in fluff would be impossible.

Which deployment, exactly? The whopping 1.000 Battle Sisters fighting against the Orks on Armageddon? The 15.000 Sisters who set out to repel the 13th Black Crusade? Or their complete absence on the holy sites of Bladen which saw a bunch of Cadians and the Bishop face the CSM invaders without any Sisters to help defend the Cathedral?

They are quite simply not as numerous as the Imperial Guard or the Space Marines. They keep a more public profile, but they are not everywhere. As a military force they are fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things, not counting the profound effect they have upon Imperial morale.

BaronIveagh wrote:No more than a planet totally abandoned by the SoB suddenly sprouting nine full strength Orders minoris to oppose a random CSM incursion. That's some damn rapid recruiting, training, and fitting out there.

San Leor, the very root of the Adepta Sororitas, totally abandoned by them? Where did you read that?

BaronIveagh wrote:This I can't argue with. They also reprinted some of the same inconsistencies from C:SoB back in 2nd. Personally, I think the inconsistencies are something GW shoe horns in.

Which inconsistencies are you referring to?
What is "special" about Sororitas fluff is that, as we learn in the designer's notes of the Witch Hunters Codex, their authors have taken great care not to contradict anything previously published, all the way back to their first appearance in the original 1E Rogue Trader book. As such, Sisters fluff is probably one of the most consistent things of the entire setting.

BaronIveagh wrote:It also contradicts itself. Human holdable bolters can have identical stats to Astartes bolters, the ammo is just harder to get.

The stats for weapons and equipment have jumped a lot, depending on where you look. The first Marine bolter showed up in a DH adventure and was just 2d10, exactly like the supposed "human" variant using Astartes ammo in the Inquisitor's Handbook. In the same adventure, Marine power armour was AP8, too, which it still was in the free Deathwatch introduction, but bolters were suddenly 2d10+5. Then, in the full version, Marine power armour was suddenly AP10. And I think the latest errata has since "nerfed" bolters back to 1d10+9 (though this isn't much of a difference in terms of average damage)...

Now, I appreciate the writers' desire to iron out perceived flaws, but ultimately this results in a lot of chaos and, perhaps most unfortunate, missing compatibility between the various books of the RPG themselves. Then again, it's a P&P, and house rules are easily drafted. I also understand that the Deathwatch RPG is quite simply intended to deliver a different kind of combat experience, and the stats in its books as well as certain talents for the player characters reflect this.

BaronIveagh wrote:And I'm having a hard time picturing them doing arduous work as every single description in fluff I've found has them living in palatial abbeys filled with servants...

You mean the novices? Or were those descriptions from sources other than GW?

A saying from a Sororitas Canoness from the 3E rulebook springs to mind: "It is our belief that the purpose of life is to suffer, for in suffering we are one with our God-Emperor."

Actually the machine spirit does exist, their are even rules for it, such as humans wearing space marine equipment will make the machine spirit mad and make malfunction more often or do other crazy stuff that it is not suppose to.

Necrosis wrote:
Human bolters are no where near the level of a space marine version. Also any gm who knows much about the Mechancius would not let you perform those upgrades on your armour, as they would refuse to alter Terminator Armour. At that point, that is no longer even regular Terminator armour but modified terminator armour. Also if you want to say humans can get special ammunition, so can space marines.

Human Bolter: 1d10+5x pen 4, no special rules.
Space Marine Bolter: 1d10+9x pen 4, Tearing (meaning they roll 1d10 twice and choose the highest).

Turn to page 50, Hostile Acquisitions. It's reliable AND holy, on top having the same stat line as a SM bolter. It's description even states it's similar to those used by the Adeptus Astartes.

And, btw: those are AdMech approved Power armor modifications, available as options on your power armor from the Lathes. And if that;'s what you think of terminator armor, you might want to run over to FW and tell them that the AdMech would never permit their new terminator armor variants.

"Originally developed during the closing years of the Great Crusade, and adapted from the heaviest of industrial gear, several types and patterns were developed concurrently." - Forge World, fluff for Tartaros pattern Terminator armor.

*Turns to page 50*
It the intro to the Aribitor Class.

Edit: Woops, wrong book!

Lynata wrote:
Perhaps we simply use incompatible sources, making for two incompatible perceptions of the setting. Given the absence of canon and the vast amount of interpretations of Sororitas to be found (especially throughout licensed fiction), this would seem likely.

I'd say that's the case here. I don't put much stock in any of them, but I know the history of real world orders that were thier basis, and it's never, ever worked in the way you describe.

The problem with 40k is that the moment any hint of reality or how people actually work, even religious crazies, it falls apart. 40k depends on absolutes the way Alec Baldwin depends on cocaine.

If you are talking about the Boltgun (Archeotech), it say these boltgun may have been used by space marines and that a person needs to have a strength bonus of 6 (meaning 60 strength, which is high) or it counts as a heavy weapon (meaning you need to be a space marine to use it normal since space marines have x2 strenght bonus).

impact gel only works against impact damage (so when your getting hit by explosives, laser and other types of damage that isn't impact, your impact gel won't help) and Lathe Wrought is near unique and terminator armour is unique, so manging to combine the two, would create a very personal armour that almost no one else would have (and require excellent relationship with the Mechancius to make such armour and it would take a long time to build it).

Dating an sob is suicide