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Who would typically win a battle between those two? I know for one they both use bolters, except maybe smaller ones for the sisters. Is there any in lore explanation that tells us who is better than the other?

Space Marines are bio-enhanced psycho-indoctrinated super soldiers. Sisters are the strongest candidates from the Schola Progenium in physical skills and devotion to the Emperor. Both have bolters, both have power armour ( the SoB pattern doesn't support the wearer for as long in inhospitable environments). An individual SM is far more dangerous than a Sister, though the latter sometimes get a burst of power through their devotion to the Emperor. The marines can win most random encounters of even forces, though why they should be fighting is a totally different question.

Sisters are sometimes used to take down a rogue Chapter. It is not a pretty affair, and the SoB much prefer to have at least the traditional three-to-one ratio you need to attack entrenched enemies. But so would the marines, ofc, if they listened to their tactics teacher.

1 for one marines out perform sisters of battle. To win vs Space Marines the sisters would need a miracle...

luckly thats kind of their stock in trade

Poor Rainbow Warriors.

 Jazzylee wrote:
Who would typically win a battle between those two? I know for one they both use bolters, except maybe smaller ones for the sisters. Is there any in lore explanation that tells us who is better than the other?

It would depend entirely on circumstances. That's the simple answer.

I know it's been retconned but ask the Grey Knights about the best ways of purifying wargear.

 Dakka Wolf wrote:
I know it's been retconned but ask the Grey Knights about the best ways of purifying wargear.

I think I've heard this before, don't they kill sisters of battle and cover their own armor in their blood? Or were you gonna mention something else?

 Jazzylee wrote:

 Dakka Wolf wrote:
I know it's been retconned but ask the Grey Knights about the best ways of purifying wargear.

I think I've heard this before, don't they kill sisters of battle and cover their own armor in their blood? Or were you gonna mention something else?

The blood thing. IIRC some Sisters of Battle resisted a Chaos disease better than normal people so the GK murdered them and used their blood to protect them. Which really just makes them seem like they follow Chaos...

pm713 wrote:

 Jazzylee wrote:

 Dakka Wolf wrote:
I know it's been retconned but ask the Grey Knights about the best ways of purifying wargear.

I think I've heard this before, don't they kill sisters of battle and cover their own armor in their blood? Or were you gonna mention something else?

The blood thing. IIRC some Sisters of Battle resisted a Chaos disease better than normal people so the GK murdered them and used their blood to protect them. Which really just makes them seem like they follow Chaos...

Seems like it, I'm surprised they haven't been hunted down by the Inquisition for that nonsense yet or given a "slap on the wrist". Isn't it traitorous to kill off your comrades in the Imperium if they're still loyal and untainted by Chaos?

In the case of the Blood Tide incident, we know the Grey Knights killed the Sisters to use their blood and souls as a shield against the power of Chaos, but we don't specifically know if the Sister were against the procedure. It's very possible that given the condition that they can resist the powers of Chaos, but cannot reach the sanctum where the daemons are appearing and realising that the Grey Knight could, but cannot resist the powers of Chaos for as long that they had to go the way of martyrs and die so the Grey Knights could be protected and the daemons defeated. This is very much in the tradition of the Sisters.

As for who is better between a Space Marine and a Sister of Battle in combat. The Space Marine is a bit lesser trained then a Sister, but possess a far superior biology perfect for war. The Sister's bolter is a bit more performant, but otherwise just as powerful as the Space Marine one's. The Space Marine's armor are more performant, but otherwise offer the same level of protection then the armor of the Sisters. Both have an insane level of moral that allows them to fight terrible foes without flinching. Space Marines are immune to fear and panic, but are somewhat easier to corrupt by the power of Chaos.

On one on one, a Space Marine will defeat a SIster, but will probably be slowed down and might even have to work to triumph thanks to the Sister's skill and equipment. At two or three to one in the SIsters favor, the battle is fairly even. Sisters of Battle have triumphed against Space Marines and the opposite is true to. Generally, the battle between the force are tense engagement unless one has a clear edge in numbers or tools of war. Space Marines tend to have much better armor and air support and thus are more strategically flexible and dangerous then the SIsters who are mostly just a heavy or mechanised infantry with minimal artillery support.

Of course the new Primaris Space Marines are better equipped, better trained and even more powerful then their predecessor and are thus significantly stronger in all areas when compared to a Sister.

In what world is a Space Marine less trained? One on one a Marine is better in almost every way. The Sisters only level the playing field when it comes to numbers.

pm713 wrote:
In what world is a Space Marine less trained? One on one a Marine is better in almost every way. The Sisters only level the playing field when it comes to numbers.

To make a long story short, Space Marine training last around 2-3 years. It's the average length of a Scout service which starts around the age 15-16 and end around the age of 18-19 when the Black Carapace is implented and they join a reserve company as a Devastator. Prior to that, they were recruited at the age of 12 or 13, usually from a feral/feudal world young boys. Each Space Marine Chapter recruits from a single homeworld with a few exceptions like the Ultramarines who recruits from the entire Realm of Ultramar and a few Fleet Chapter who recruit from planets where they operate. Sisters of Battle recruitment starts younger, at the age of six to twelve, when they enter the Schola Progenium as orphans before having their memory erased. Scholam training lasts 6 to 12 years depending on the age at which they entered. Once their Scholam training is over, the best warriors amongst them are either sent to a Tempestus Academy to become Scions or a Sister of Battle Covens to become Sister of Battles. They will spend 3 to 4 years of training there before going to the field and becoming a SIster of Battle. It's a better training because it's about three times longer (10 years vs 3) or twice if you want to consider the time from recruit to Devastator vs recruit to Sister of Battle. Space Marines don't need training all that much anyway. They are built for war. Their eyes are designed to be targetters, they don't build up muscle mass through exercise, neither do they lose some to inactivity. They don't require brainwashing and massive indoctrination to supportand operate despite the terrorising reality of war since they have no fear (they do get brainwashed to be loyal and disciplined though). Space Marine are built more they are trained. Thus, their training doesn't need to be as long and intense then that of humans fighting against similar foes. Being better trained for combat then a person doesn't mean you are better then that person. In combat, you could train like a maniac, but if you are particularly small and light weight, you will be beaten by someone particularly large and strong with half your training simply because you are completely outclassed physically. It's the case for newly minted Sisters of Battle vs newly minted Space Marines.

One on one, the marine will likely will. But two on two, the Sisters in every time! See, one of the marine falls to chaos, they fight each other, and the two Sisters, who easily resisted corruption, gang up on the survivor .

epronovost wrote:

pm713 wrote:
In what world is a Space Marine less trained? One on one a Marine is better in almost every way. The Sisters only level the playing field when it comes to numbers.

To make a long story short, Space Marine training last around 2-3 years. It's the average length of a Scout service which starts around the age 15-16 and end around the age of 18-19 when the Black Carapace is implented and they join a reserve company as a Devastator. Prior to that, they were recruited at the age of 12 or 13, usually from a feral/feudal world young boys. Each Space Marine Chapter recruits from a single homeworld with a few exceptions like the Ultramarines who recruits from the entire Realm of Ultramar and a few Fleet Chapter who recruit from planets where they operate. Sisters of Battle recruitment starts younger, at the age of six to twelve, when they enter the Schola Progenium as orphans before having their memory erased. Scholam training lasts 6 to 12 years depending on the age at which they entered. Once their Scholam training is over, the best warriors amongst them are either sent to a Tempestus Academy to become Scions or a Sister of Battle Covens to become Sister of Battles. They will spend 3 to 4 years of training there before going to the field and becoming a SIster of Battle. It's a better training because it's about three times longer (10 years vs 3) or twice if you want to consider the time from recruit to Devastator vs recruit to Sister of Battle. Space Marines don't need training all that much anyway. They are built for war. Their eyes are designed to be targetters, they don't build up muscle mass through exercise, neither do they lose some to inactivity. They don't require brainwashing and massive indoctrination to supportand operate despite the terrorising reality of war since they have no fear (they do get brainwashed to be loyal and disciplined though). Space Marine are built more they are trained. Thus, their training doesn't need to be as long and intense then that of humans fighting against similar foes. Being better trained for combat then a person doesn't mean you are better then that person. In combat, you could train like a maniac, but if you are particularly small and light weight, you will be beaten by someone particularly large and strong with half your training simply because you are completely outclassed physically. It's the case for newly minted Sisters of Battle vs newly minted Space Marines.

yeaaah no thats not the case. Marines are given intensive training. furthermore just because they spend all that time in the scholar doesn't mean they're given reams of MILITARY training. chances are a lot of it is ":and this is how to sing a hymn children"

BrianDavion wrote:
yeaaah no thats not the case. Marines are given intensive training. furthermore just because they spend all that time in the scholar doesn't mean they're given reams of MILITARY training. chances are a lot of it is ":and this is how to sing a hymn children"

From the description of life in a Scholam, yes this is pure military training and an insane and cruel one by that, designed to crush your mind and indentity until you are nothing but a pure killing machine built to survive. Then, later, they will give you a new identity depending on your skills and aptitudes. Sisters of Battle training even pushes the envelop further. Praying and fighting are mixed together to a point where one and the other are the same. The hymn children are singing are battle hymn and they are recited while they practice their firedrills and close combat techniques. In the same fashion I could say that a lot of the Space Marine training in none military in nature. They have to learn how to pray, learn the history and traditions of their Chapter, participate in religious ceremonies, learn how to read and write, etc. In both cases, a lot of ths can be done in hypnotherapy and other technological ways. Mind you, I'm not saying SPace Marines aren't intensively trained. They have a very harsh and long training, but it's just not quite as hard and long.

Well, sisters are armed with pretty similar guns, and there's probably....oh....five, ten thousand sisters for every single marine in the galaxy?

Space marines if their numbers were actually what is written in the fluff would be pretty drop-in-the-bucket in terms of overall galactic impact.

the_scotsman wrote:
Well, sisters are armed with pretty similar guns, and there's probably....oh....five, ten thousand sisters for every single marine in the galaxy?

Space marines if their numbers were actually what is written in the fluff would be pretty drop-in-the-bucket in terms of overall galactic impact.

Once upon a time, the fluff mentionned there were only about 35K Sisters of Battle (but millions of Sisters in non-combattant Orders). I think this was retconned in the latest, ebook only, Sister of Battle Codex and simply mentions there are millions of them without any mentions if this gross estimate also takes into account non-millitant Sisters or just Sisters of Battle. There are probably more Sisters of Battle then Space Marines, but I wouldn't go as far as 5000 to 10 000 for every single Marines. Their recruitment pool is still rather limited (orphans of nobles who are Scholam educated) and they have to share it with multiple other organisation like the Arbites, the Ecclesiarchy, the Inquisition, the Ordo Tempestus, the non-combattant branch of the Sisterhood and the Administratum. I would say more like 10 to 100 times more numerous, but at that point we are in pure speculation.