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Made in gb
Araqiel






I'm talking a real army again, with their own real codex, new models and so on. Ive been waiting years for the sisters of battle to get the attention they deserve. Any word about them? or are they sticking with that White dwarf rules for them now.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/12/05 21:26:34


 
   
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Lesser Daemon of Chaos






After the Tau.
   
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Veteran Wolf Guard Squad Leader



DC Metro

I think a huge chunk of the playerbase have spent the last decade waiting for plastic Sisters of Battle since they love the idea of the army but don't want to buy 120 static, mail order only, pewter models to field it.
   
Made in gb
Araqiel






I just hope with a re-release they dont go overboard with the models like they seem to be doing with most of the re-releases. Its just too clustered and messy, keep them simple, bold and all about cleansing fire. With their future medieval style. We dont need models with tons of bits and charms and stupid comic book style stuff hanging from them.
   
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Infiltrating Broodlord





I'm still waiting, it's been eight years, but I'm still waiting.

I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member. -Groucho Marx

 
   
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Sister Oh-So Repentia





You are looking at this the wrong way. Look at what we do have over other armies. Why would you want new models? I like the old metals over resin and plastics for many reasons. They have a better center of gravity, they can be restripped easily, they are easier to convert, and when you throw them at your opponent you can do real damage. Try that with a plastic space marine or a resin ork. Plus, we have easy to assemble models. A drop of glue on the base and backpack, and DONE. No more spending weeks on multipart models to get a unit done, no more glue on your fingers, and no more figuring out what to arm your model with. In addition, the average boltgun toting sister only has 3 real poses, with slight variations (bolter angled up, down, or level, helmet or not, etc..). After about 120 or so girls I can now paint sisters like the wind. Another benefit is we, and our opponents, easily know what we are armed with. No guessing. Lets see a mob of orks do that. Plus, we Sisters player have the advantage of surprise. Since our models are harder to find and more expensive, there are fewer of us, and we tend be be hardcore and stubborn. There are usually only 1 or 2 Sisters players at most stores, so no one can accuse us of playing the flavor of the month cookie cutter army. Very few opponents play against us often enough to know all of our surprises. And since we are stubbornly still playing sisters, we have years, if not over a decade (14 years for me) of experience with them. We, on average, tend to be substantially better then most players. Finally, who wants to buy a new codex every few years. I bought one in 98, and another in 06. Toss in a White Dwarf list in 01 and 12, and that's plenty. Besides, we all know that a codex is a crutch for weak players.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't mind a new unit or two. I picked up a Forge World Avenger and an Aegis Defense Line. I just don't want to give up all we have for a few new models that probably won't look all that good and still cost way too much.

Rant over. I'm going to take my meds and take a nap until Saturday.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/12/05 22:46:07


Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.  
   
Made in gb
Unshakeable Grey Knight Land Raider Pilot





United Kingdom

 The Sarducci wrote:
You are looking at this the wrong way. Look at what we do have over other armies. Why would you want new models? I like the old metals over resin and plastics for many reasons. They have a better center of gravity, they can be restripped easily, they are easier to convert, and when you throw them at your opponent you can do real damage. Try that with a plastic space marine or a resin ork. Plus, we have easy to assemble models. A drop of glue on the base and backpack, and DONE. No more spending weeks on multipart models to get a unit done, no more glue on your fingers, and no more figuring out what to arm your model with. In addition, the average boltgun toting sister only has 3 real poses, with slight variations (bolter angled up, down, or level, helmet or not, etc..). After about 120 or so girls I can now paint sisters like the wind. Another benefit is we, and our opponents, easily know what we are armed with. No guessing. Lets see a mob of orks do that. Plus, we Sisters player have the advantage of surprise. Since our models are harder to find and more expensive, there are fewer of us, and we tend be be hardcore and stubborn. There are usually only 1 or 2 Sisters players at most stores, so no one can accuse us of playing the flavor of the month cookie cutter army. Very few opponents play against us often enough to know all of our surprises. And since we are stubbornly still playing sisters, we have years, if not over a decade (14 years for me) of experience with them. We, on average, tend to be substantially better then most players. Finally, who wants to buy a new codex every few years. I bought one in 98, and another in 06. Toss in a White Dwarf list in 01 and 12, and that's plenty. Besides, we all know that a codex is a crutch for weak players.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't mind a new unit or two. I picked up a Forge World Avenger and an Aegis Defense Line. I just don't want to give up all we have for a few new models that probably won't look all that good and still cost way too much.

Rant over. I'm going to take my meds and take a nap until Saturday.


That made me chuckle
   
Made in us
Sister Oh-So Repentia





Which part? The rant, the meds, or the 4 day nap?

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.  
   
Made in ie
Hallowed Canoness




Ireland

I don't expect a new Codex anytime soon, but let's see what the future holds. Not a fan of the stripped-down WD minidex with its reduced wargear and fluff nerf at all. But for the moment I'm just lucky they are at least back in the limelight a little rather than being a semi-forgotten bunch of minis in the background that a surprising number of people wasn't even aware of.
Sweet Emperor, I still remember the people complaining about Soulstorm because they assumed Relic invented the SoB.

Have to agree with The Sarducci about the minis, tho. I just <3 their designs and their proper weight too much.
   
Made in fr
Trazyn's Museum Curator





on the forum. Obviously

When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, when a good Hellboy movie is made, when TRI makes games with their own IP once more, shall you have your new sisters.


What I have
~4100
~1660

Westwood lives in death!
Peace through power!

A longbeard when it comes to Necrons and WHFB. Grumble Grumble

 
   
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The Beach

This topic can't possibly end well, lol.


The real answer is probably never. They've been marketed twice, and apparently never turned enough profit to get further attention. There's a valid argument that they haven't gotten a fair shake in their first outing, but the Necrons didn't either, and they're now one of the biggest factions in the game. The Sisters just never had that "it factor" in the hobby.

I don't know why. But my best guess is that the majority of it is being an army of girls in a hobby that is predominantly male. I also don't think they were sufficiently differentiated from Space Marines. They are basically Space Marines(-), with lower stats, and not as many toys. And since Space Marines are the most popular army in the game by a huge margin, it's easy to see why being negatively compared to Space Marines hurts them more. Some of it is also that their background material paints them into army build types that aren't complimentary to their strengths and weaknesses. I'm not saying that they can't win, and don't have the (apparently) one decent build for 6th. But the Sisters lack the kind of long range firepower that they need to be more flexible, all because their fluff says they like to set stuff on fire.

Ultimately, Games Workshop is a business with a finite amount of assets. Because they can't make everything at once, they have to choose what to make based on profitability. Revamping the entire Sisters of Battle line, like needs to be done, comes with not just a substantial dollar cost, but an opportunity cost. Any assets they use to make new Sisters can't be used to make anything else. What you can take away from this concept, and the fact that Sisters haven't been significantly updated in a long time, is that other armies have been deemed a better use of company assets, and will probably continue to be.

I've suggested this in the past, and it always results in strong negative reactions from dedicated Sisters players, but what the army has needed for a long time is a complete revamping, from the ground up, that takes them away from being the Ladymarines, a job they are unsuited for in both the fluff, and on the tabletop.

I'm sure the usual suspects of Sisters fans/trolls will start to lambast me and my ideas because what I'm saying makes them unhappy. I'm used to that. The funny part is, I have quite a few Sisters of Battle models in my collection. Some of them are incredibly cool looking (I really like the multi-part cannoness with the fur cloak, the hospitaller, and the signum bearer, for example) I've never hated the army itself. I just think Games Workshop has mishandled them as a product and their fluff in the universe. And I also think that a product that has failed twice already isn't going to magically be successful a third time. If Games Workshop is going to make a sizable dollar and time investment in the Sisters by issuing plastics, they're going to want to do it where they can see a return on investment.

The market segment of Sisters players is very small. And it isn't because they don't have plastics. They don't have plastics because their share the sales was small, even when all the armies were almost entirely metal models. If it was any other way, Games Workshop would have made a plastic range for them already. I've heard the argument made that Sisters have been ignored because there's nobody at GW who plays Sisters and will advocate for them. That's not true. The difference is, when somebody who plays a faction like Space Marines, or Imperial Guard, or Orks, or one of the other proven sellers, advocates a product, the risk is much lower, and it is easy to push forward. Sisters represent a higher risk because the fixed costs for introducing models remains more or less the same (paying someone to design the models, then creating the molds, the packaging, the marketing/advertising).

Anyhow. I'm sure this snowballs. Sadly, there are a lot of Sisters players who would rather argue emotionally than take a realistic look at why their army has struggled. And they'll try to take out their pent up rage against Games Workshop on me, lol.

Marneus Calgar is referred to as "one of the Imperium's greatest tacticians" and he treats the Codex like it's the War Bible. If the Codex is garbage, then how bad is everyone else?

True Scale Space Marines: Tutorial, Posing, Conversions and other madness. The Brief and Humorous History of the Horus Heresy

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Canada

Big compromise here - either keep the WD or get a new Codex with fluff abomination like Uriah the Pimp-Daddy and new units like THUNDERHERETIC CAVALRY.

   
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Equestria/USA

I like them as a whole, some things that i do want different is a plastic pentinent engine, those things are a pain for me to assemble.

Black Templars 4000 Deathwatch 6000
 
   
Made in ie
Hallowed Canoness




Ireland

Veteran Sergeant wrote:I've suggested this in the past, and it always results in strong negative reactions from dedicated Sisters players, but what the army has needed for a long time is a complete revamping, from the ground up, that takes them away from being the Ladymarines, a job they are unsuited for in both the fluff, and on the tabletop.
How can they be unsuitable for something "both in the fluff and on the tabletop" if those two things are the only sources of definition? What exactly is it, apart from your personal preferences, that makes them unsuitable as "Ladymarines"?

Veteran Sergeant wrote:I'm sure the usual suspects of Sisters fans/trolls will start to lambast me and my ideas because what I'm saying makes them unhappy. I'm used to that.
I wonder who the "emotional troll" really is when you word your arguments in such a condescending way.
Next time, perhaps just post something like "everybody who doesn't agree with me is wrong" - that's conveying the same message in a much less convoluted way.

To actually address the somewhat constructive parts of your post, however, I would say that I am sceptical towards any ideas concerning an excessive remake that destroys the image the current players have grown to like. There is a high risk in losing their existing fans. How would you model the army in a way that it would appeal to a new generation (that also needs to be larger than their existing playerbase), exactly?

Personally, I still think it is chiefly a question of exposure. When you have the army hidden away for years on end (something that has fortunately changed over the past months) then few people will take notice. It's as simple as that. I for one did see a lot of questions about the SoB pop up on dakka since they were made somewhat more prominent. I also saw many comments like "I would play them, but I can't afford the metal minis", so I doubt the pricing argument is entirely without merit, regardless of my own preference for the current minis over potential plastics.
   
Made in us
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Equestria/USA

I was told to wait to get Sisters, I agreed, I really wanted that army, but settled for tyranids. then dark eldar, orks, tau, CSM, finally decided to trade/buy the army of my dreams, the one that I wanted from the beginning. Finally got about 4000 points worth now. I've never had as much fun playing 40k, than while playing sisters.

Black Templars 4000 Deathwatch 6000
 
   
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Ancient Venerable Dreadnought





The Beach

 Lynata wrote:
Veteran Sergeant wrote:I've suggested this in the past, and it always results in strong negative reactions from dedicated Sisters players, but what the army has needed for a long time is a complete revamping, from the ground up, that takes them away from being the Ladymarines, a job they are unsuited for in both the fluff, and on the tabletop.
How can they be unsuitable for something "both in the fluff and on the tabletop" if those two things are the only sources of definition? What exactly is it, apart from your personal preferences, that makes them unsuitable as "Ladymarines"?

Well, they get consistently slaughtered in the fluff, lol. And they have exactly one build that is viable in 6th Edition, from all reports. And it doesn't even seem like it plays to their strengths, so much as skirts around their disadvantages.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:I'm sure the usual suspects of Sisters fans/trolls will start to lambast me and my ideas because what I'm saying makes them unhappy. I'm used to that.
I wonder who the "emotional troll" really is when you word your arguments in such a condescending way.
Next time, perhaps just post something like "everybody who doesn't agree with me is wrong" - that's conveying the same message in a much less convoluted way.
No, I said exactly what I meant to say. People will attack me because they don't like what I say, and not respond to the ideas. It isn't like this topic is new, and hasn't been done before, lol. I know how it goes. I mean, maybe this time people will prove me wrong. But I'm not holding my breath. This happened recently on Warseer when a player asked a similar question. It took exactly two posts before people were taking out their considerable nerd rage against Games Workshop by taking snippy tones with me, one even going so far as to call my opinion "worthless", when he didn't even understand what it was that I was saying. You can only imagine how much fun I had crafting my reply.

In the end though, it's not really about being "right" or "wrong". I understand the emotional investment (well, truthfully, I don't get why, it's just a silly game, but I understand that people get emotionally invested). But the simple fact is that twice Games Workshop has tried to make Sisters sell, and twice it hasn't worked. And I agree there are several schools of thought on why this is so, but ultimately, the business aspect is what it will come down to. They don't work the way they exist. And by don't work, I mean as a product for sale, not as an army. They've gotten exposure in the past. Games Workshop has actually put a fair amount of weight behind the line in the past. And it was done when being an all-metal army wasn't a huge liability like it is today. The state of the Sisters today is the end result of past failures as a product, not the other way around.

I would say that I am sceptical towards any ideas concerning an excessive remake that destroys the image the current players have grown to like. There is a high risk in losing their existing fans.
It's really not to be callous, but the existing player base is irrelevant. They obviously didn't represent a large enough segment to carry the line in the past. Ultimately, whatever changes happen, the existing Sisters will adapt to, or leave the hobby. Either of which is irrelevant to Games Workshop as they need to focus on selling new models, not keeping the existing ones viable. And selling new models means attracting new players. So they need to come up with a concept for the army that grabs a target segment. 40K is heavily derivative. We've got Rambo in Space. Vikings in Space! Anime mecha suit using Utilitarians in Space! Egyptian Terminators in Space! Aliens/Starship Troopers bugs in Space. Crazy religious knight in Space. Lawrence of Arabia in Space. Mad Max in Space. Elves in Space. Dark Elves in Space, etc. Even better than normal Space Marines... in Space! Sisters needs to find a new target niche, if that is possible.

How would you model the army in a way that it would appeal to a new generation (that also needs to be larger than their existing playerbase), exactly?
Good question. Honesty, I'm not sure it can be done. I think, in the end, an all girl army in a male dominated hobby is going to fall victim to passive misogyny without hypersexualization. Plenty of male players will play as girls. But nuns aren't exciting. Even with guns. Look up Sisters on DeviantArt. Most of it lives up to the site's name, lol. Honestly, and I've only half joked about it, but plastic Sisters would be the new hotness because players would buy the kits so they can massacre them. Space Marines impaled on spikes is so 2000. Killing Space Nuns is provocative, and shocking. Well, it isn't. But that's what the strange smelly Chaos player at your FLGS will think when he's tacking them onto banners and tanks, lol.

I've said before I think a full face lift is what is needed. Write a supplement that just completely alters their place in the background, Necron style. Make a Codex: Crazy Religious Nutters on Parade(Crusade)!. Make the Sisters more akin to the Stormtroopers than Marines. It makes more sense with their background (as unmodified humans) in my opinion. I know that's not a popular opinion among Sisters players, but you asked. Then bring back the Frateris Militia, but tier them out too so there can be a variety in troop quality that puts them closer to Guard at the top tier. Give the Sisters some more ranged options. An army full of T3 models reliant on flamethrowers and meltaguns is gonna be shoehorned into some pretty specific builds. Drop the Acts of Faith and Faith points, and bring back something more like the Sacred Rites, that can also whip the supporting cast into a froth too. It makes them into fanatics that fit into the canon, instead of fluff breaking D&D clerics. Again, I know there are people who think that the Acts of Faith make sense, but I heartily disagree, and again, you asked, lol.

People like the Black Templars. So the religious nuttery niche is there. Sisters aren't capturing it. I wonder if perhaps this is because there's already a power armor option for religious nuttery, and it has the advantage of being Space Marines. The Sisters are competing inside their own niche, against the most highly selling model line in the game. It's a significant disadvantage. Taking the Sisters out of the Power Armor army and giving them a (more) unique identity might help. Make the Sisters grittier. I mean, leave the option for the old models to be used (even if it just means pulling the power armor backpacks off; I mean Sisters armor looks no heavier than the Arbites, or Space Marine Scouts). But I'd love to see the Sisters get an entirely new look. Make them bad asses like the Kasrkin models. Less flowy robes and corsets. An army that can be taken seriously. Again, I know that won't be popular with a lot of Sisters players, but you asked. The good news is, the old models won't suddenly vaporize.

Oh, and for God Emperor's sake, get rid of all the silly models. No more Walking Chairs covered in purity seals. No more robot walkers with unarmored people crucified on the front of them (people laughed at the old Eldar War Walker too). No more S&M lumberjack chicks.


Again though, those are just my ideas, as a professional in the marketing field and a hobby enthusiast. They won't appeal to everyone, I know. But I don't think Games Workshop is excited to throw good money after bad, so a facelift may be the only way the Sisters make a return.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/12/06 05:35:59


Marneus Calgar is referred to as "one of the Imperium's greatest tacticians" and he treats the Codex like it's the War Bible. If the Codex is garbage, then how bad is everyone else?

True Scale Space Marines: Tutorial, Posing, Conversions and other madness. The Brief and Humorous History of the Horus Heresy

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Beautiful and Deadly Keeper of Secrets






I've said before I think a full face lift is what is needed. Write a supplement that just completely alters their place in the background, Necron style. Make a Codex: Crazy Religious Nutters on Parade(Crusade)!. Make the Sisters more akin to the Stormtroopers than Marines


Aside from power armor, how aren't they more like storm troopers? Elite 3 stat units in a better armor that uses flamers/meltas.
   
Made in gb
Araqiel











Less flowy robes and corsets.

But I like flowy robes and corsets
   
Made in us
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The Beach

 ZebioLizard2 wrote:

I've said before I think a full face lift is what is needed. Write a supplement that just completely alters their place in the background, Necron style. Make a Codex: Crazy Religious Nutters on Parade(Crusade)!. Make the Sisters more akin to the Stormtroopers than Marines

Aside from power armor, how aren't they more like storm troopers? Elite 3 stat units in a better armor that uses flamers/meltas.
Well, for one, they try to pretend to be Space Marines. And that's a problem for two reasons. One I covered, and it is the bigger problem. They share a target segment with Black Templars (religious nutters in power armor), while not being as tough and versatile as Black Templars. And being girls. The other sort of overlaps and has to do with the meta of the game being geared towards killing MEQ armies when they aren't as durable as actual MEQs. But that's besides the point.

I get that people like the Sisters the way they are. That's not what we're discussing here though, personal preferences. The question that was asked by Lynata was how I thought they could possibly be redesigned with a new army look and theme that might offer them a larger player base. I think part of that means distancing them from the Ladymarines image and concept, and especially distancing them from the Space Arsonists army concept. I mean, they can still prefer to set things on fire, and burn the heretics, but also be smart enough to have some lascannon teams. That's why I think you transform them into a more Stormtrooper style force. Give them based heavy weapon teams like the Guard, etc. They can still have the heavy flamers and melta guns and such in their "tactical" squads. You can field Sisters with sniper rifles who are sneaky. Fly them into battle in Vendettas. Really embrace the idea of them as elite Ecclesiarchy shock troops and warrior fanatics, instead of these strange Space Nuns derived from this one rather silly drawing in the Rogue Trader book. They can still be nuns, just without looking so much like nuns, And again, pulling them out of the Power Armor army niche means making the army different than a Space Marine army with boobs and pageboy haircuts.

Could easily transform them into something like this:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EQyEQlhTXGo/TBtGS3K3ZiI/AAAAAAAAAQo/nJ4O1j6Ag0o/s1600/DSCF2194.JPG

But with a bolt pistol and a little more feminine looking (not quite so bulky).

Either way, not saying my idea is perfect or it has to be that way. Just giving an example of how you can redo the concept. The Space Nuns didn't work. My thought is you try something new, rather than blindly hope that throwing new money at an old problem will fix it somehow. That never works.

Marneus Calgar is referred to as "one of the Imperium's greatest tacticians" and he treats the Codex like it's the War Bible. If the Codex is garbage, then how bad is everyone else?

True Scale Space Marines: Tutorial, Posing, Conversions and other madness. The Brief and Humorous History of the Horus Heresy

The Ultimate Badasses: Colonial Marines 
   
Made in gb
Araqiel






This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2012/12/06 08:23:24


 
   
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Hallowed Canoness




Ireland

Veteran Sergeant wrote:Well, they get consistently slaughtered in the fluff, lol. And they have exactly one build that is viable in 6th Edition, from all reports. And it doesn't even seem like it plays to their strengths, so much as skirts around their disadvantages.
They get slaughtered depending on which fluff you look at. That's not really "consistent", even though it was certainly enough to make it somewhat of a (sad) running gag.
I do agree about the 5E WD Codex and its weird SC-based army list, though, probably like most Sisters players do... Fortunately, there is a good chance that this temporary setback might be corrected with a proper Codex sometime down the road.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:People will attack me because they don't like what I say, and not respond to the ideas.
From all I've seen in the past, people at times attack you because your posts can be fairly offensive and downright insulting, as a good number of posters have said by now in threads across this forum. In this particular instance, preemptively labeling anyone that does not conform to your opinion as a troll and any opposition as being the result of overemotional attachment is certainly not a good way to start a debate.

I'm not sure if it's any use even touching this point and I certainly do not have a degree in psychology, but if you want people to respond to your posts differently, then write them with a more open attitude. We all have our own opinions, but there are many ways how we can convey them, and trying to enforce one's view with a metaphorical sledgehammer rather than a calm argument usually only works in direct conversation, where charisma and time pressure play a significant role in conversation. Here in a forum, many people spend multiple minutes absorbing a post, thinking it over and carefully weighing their response. Or at least that's how it should work.

As for your thoughts/suggestions ... ehh, "no thanks" would sum up my thoughts, but here I suppose you already correctly guessed that would happen. With their superbly trained human bodies (T3) and high-technology (3+ power armour), they currently occupy a nice niche far above Guard, but not quite Astartes (unless we factor in Acts of Faith). Nudging them down just to reinforce the Space Marines' specialty would merely render them Guard +1, to a point where they could probably even be rolled into their Codex like the Storm Trooper regiment. And whilst this is certainly doable, I don't think this would make them any more popular than, say, Mordian Iron Guard or Catachans. Now, this is just an assumption and I have no numbers to back this up, but I'd expect even the current Sisters to be at least somewhat more prominent than those special regiments.

No, their tech is a necessary requirement to make them last on the battlefield against the beasts they fight. Strip that away and you'd have a horde army like Guard that wins with quantity rather than quality. Might as well field pure Frateris Militia if you just want to throw bodies at the daemon.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:It makes them into fanatics that fit into the canon, instead of fluff breaking D&D clerics. Again, I know there are people who think that the Acts of Faith make sense, but I heartily disagree, and again, you asked, lol.
Hmm. I also posted the actual Codex quotes twice in response to this claim, but you keep disregarding that. You could at least make it more clear that it is not GW's fluff that is "broken" this way, but rather your own interpretation or something out of a licensed product...

Veteran Sergeant wrote:People like the Black Templars. So the religious nuttery niche is there. Sisters aren't capturing it. I wonder if perhaps this is because there's already a power armor option for religious nuttery, and it has the advantage of being Space Marines. The Sisters are competing inside their own niche, against the most highly selling model line in the game. It's a significant disadvantage.
The Black Templars quite possible were a mistake by GW, in that they should not have made up an army that challenges the niche of something that is already there ever since the days of Rogue Trader. Especially since the Space Marines are supposed to be all about not being "religious nutters", or so I thought.

Still, it's not like "being dudes" is the only thing that differentiates the BT from SoB. The latter are also fairly unique in that they are all-female, fall somewhere in-between Marines and Guard as far as their stats go, and are the only users of a special game mechanic with their Acts of Faith. Designwise, they also look much more gothic than even the BT, making full use of the Crazy rather than toning it down like the few more "sensible" armies (e. g. Cadians). And lastly, being "just humans", Schola-training and indoctrination aside, also has them leech a little bit of the Guard's underdog theme, which is fairly badass in itself, yet without surrendering the awesome weaponry available to the Space Marines. Some people would call that a cool compromise.

Manchu recently found a neat way of expressing this:
 Manchu wrote:
I'd say it's their defining feature. It's like you take a Space Marine and say "what could make him cooler?" So instead of adding more super-genetic-psycho-organic modification, you take it all away. You have a regular human left in that power armor and all the armies of hell at the gates. And she doesn't even flinch.
Pure. Badass.


Veteran Sergeant wrote:But I'd love to see the Sisters get an entirely new look. Make them bad asses like the Kasrkin models. Less flowy robes and corsets. An army that can be taken seriously.
Okay, it's obviously a matter of taste / personal preferences - I don't know how many people are playing 40k because it's "serious", though.
Besides, reasonable fanatics sounds a lot like an oxymoron.

Still, thanks for taking the time to draft such a long post, I guess. I can at least appreciate the effort, and it was interesting to hear the thoughts of an outsider (as far as the Sisters are concerned).
   
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Regular Dakkanaut




Bellevue, WA

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:

I get that people like the Sisters the way they are. That's not what we're discussing here though, personal preferences. The question that was asked by Lynata was how I thought they could possibly be redesigned with a new army look and theme that might offer them a larger player base. I think part of that means distancing them from the Ladymarines image and concept, and especially distancing them from the Space Arsonists army concept. I mean, they can still prefer to set things on fire, and burn the heretics, but also be smart enough to have some lascannon teams. That's why I think you transform them into a more Stormtrooper style force. Give them based heavy weapon teams like the Guard, etc. They can still have the heavy flamers and melta guns and such in their "tactical" squads. You can field Sisters with sniper rifles who are sneaky. Fly them into battle in Vendettas. Really embrace the idea of them as elite Ecclesiarchy shock troops and warrior fanatics, instead of these strange Space Nuns derived from this one rather silly drawing in the Rogue Trader book. They can still be nuns, just without looking so much like nuns, And again, pulling them out of the Power Armor army niche means making the army different than a Space Marine army with boobs and pageboy haircuts.


So you want to get the Sisters away from the ladymarines image by giving them lascannons and sniper teams? I really don't see what you are going for here - the Sisters play nothing like marines as is, and giving them lascannons, snipers and the like just makes them resemble marines more. Giving them 4+ armor just forces you to take what makes the army unique away, while pushing them into a mediocre marine/IG fusion that plays like Space marines (long range army with close range fire support) without the durability that makes that work. As is they play very different from Marines, and despite what you say have several effective builds. Like the Grey Knights before their update, they lack options and models, and thus lack players. That will cease once they get an update, which will happen sooner or later. GW has figured out updating old armies can work for them, and they are working down the list.

Plus, how on earth does the current SoB line look like nuns?

   
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I mean, they can still prefer to set things on fire, and burn the heretics, but also be smart enough to have some lascannon teams. That's why I think you transform them into a more Stormtrooper style force. Give them based heavy weapon teams like the Guard, etc. They can still have the heavy flamers and melta guns and such in their "tactical" squads. You can field Sisters with sniper rifles who are sneaky. Fly them into battle in Vendettas. Really embrace the idea of them as elite Ecclesiarchy shock troops and warrior fanatics, instead of these strange Space Nuns derived from this one rather silly drawing in the Rogue Trader book.


So instead of Space Marines..You just want them to be Imperial guard? That doesn't exactly help them at all, except for being pushed into the IG book for being as bland and insurmountable IG is. To be fairly honest your opinions don't seem to be rather an idea to fix them, but to generally push them more towards being IG with all 4+ saves. Something that's more of a style you prefer than an actual fix.


Plus, how on earth does the current SoB line look like nuns?


I have no honest clue myself, Compare



to

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2012/12/06 08:52:21


 
   
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ZebioLizard2 wrote:So instead of Space Marines..You just want them to be Imperial guard? That doesn't exactly help them at all, except for being pushed into the IG book for being as bland and insurmountable IG is.
Quite a lot of Marine players dislike having to "share" the elite status with the Sisters. Just look at the Deathwatch RPG forum, where people rejoice at FFG "finally" establishing a firm distinction between them - so much so that even their bolters do less damage.

Now, I'm not saying that this was his intention from the start, but given the "truescale" Marine avatar and army, I have to admit I'm suspicious.

Hollowman wrote:Plus, how on earth does the current SoB line look like nuns?
Now, there I'd have to side with him. Granted, it's not a straight 1:1 look, but they do wear robes under the armour and carry religious iconography.
Even in the real world there's not one specific look for "nun".
   
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Now, I'm not saying that this was his intention from the start, but given the "truescale" Marine avatar and army, I have to admit I'm suspicious.


Seeing as he often posts exactly like this in any area regarding sisters in this sort of topic in the exact same tone of voice. It's rather typical at this point.
   
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 ZebioLizard2 wrote:
Plus, how on earth does the current SoB line look like nuns?


I have no honest clue myself, Compare



to



First I have to say, I'd happily go to hell to get in the middle of that sandwich

And second, I reckon they'd look pretty cool if they were more nun-ish. I'm picturing a Dark Angel type hood with their faces exposed and like hair flowing out or something. That'd be awesome! I've been thinking about having a small SoB force as allies to my wolves but I want to find a way to give them a fur cloak or scarf or something.

I have no opinion towards the rest of the thread beyond that. Please resume your debating!
   
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I feel the Sisters should shift more to the Ecclesiarchy, and expanding how priests/inquisitors interact with the sisters themselves. Go full gothic on new units tying in with that theme.

I've always thought the Sisters ran mostly as escort/shocktroops, rather than full-fledged armies like the Guard, mostly because even more than Marines they lack sufficient presence in the galaxy to mount full campaigns on their own.

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There wasn't a lot of us Daemonhunters-players before Codex: Grey Knights, now there's loads (which is good, don't get me wrong). Same thing probably applies to Sisters; I know I'd play them if they had an accessible Codex and didn't cost a small fortune.

That and GW fethed up the allies matrix so my Templars and any Sisters I'd ally in wouldn't work very well, which is a shame.

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 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
The real answer is probably never. They've been marketed twice, and apparently never turned enough profit to get further attention. There's a valid argument that they haven't gotten a fair shake in their first outing, but the Necrons didn't either, and they're now one of the biggest factions in the game. The Sisters just never had that "it factor" in the hobby.


Not a valid parallel when the Necrons got plastics the second time around. SOB have no plastics besides the borrowed tanks. If by the "it factor" you mean, a box set of troop choices which don't cost as much as several characters, then yeh they don't have the "it factor".
   
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The it factor is more the factor that while the basic troops are reasonable (3 in a blister), everything else is single models for as much or more as the 3 basic troopers.

Trying to get enough special weapons/sergeants/etc.. to flesh out the squads is where the big hurt lies.

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