Sisters of Battle Wishlist

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**ClockworkZion**

aka_mythos wrote:
"Thrones" are in some instances translated as the Valiant... Probably a more easily used name.

Thrones is a currency in the setting though too.

aka_mythos wrote:
On a different note... Who maintains the SoB's vehicles?-Do they anything analogous to Techpriest/Techmarines?

I've always wondered about this.

**CthuluIsSpy**

To be affordable. I would really like to start Sisters (or should we call them Adepta now?), but I still have 2 40k armies in progress + small lizardmen updates.

**Lynata**

Furyou Miko wrote:They have an okay portrayal in that they aren't shown as drinking, flirting or gambling, I guess.
However, they also don't do anything until the Wolves tell them to. They have a month before the enemy army arrives to besiege their walled city. They don't make any preparations to defend said city until the Wolves arrive two days before the army arrives. Literally none.
They also allow plague carriers into the city in the name of sentimentality and charity ("I thought we were saving them" - a direct quote from the canoness, who then admits she was wrong and should have killed them as soon as the Space Wolves tell her so).
The Sisterhoods Face Character, an ex-famulous who previously worked with the Inquisition, actively kills several of her Sisters in a fake infiltration raid in order to cover up and destroy Inquisition secrets... which she then tells to the person she was hiding them from anyway. Oh, and she admits to lacking faith and being a doubter. So the face character is an explicitly bad Battle Sister.
Finally, a Palatine and five Sisters with flamers, along with a platoon of Imperial guardsmen, in an entrenched, defensive position manage to kill "dozens" of cultists before being overwhelmed and killed. Compare to the Wolves killing "thousands" and walking home.
Somehow, this is portrayed as impressive. So, Blood of Asaheim may not have whorish, gambling Sisters... but it does have incompetent, lazy, treacherous and overall faithless Sisters. Even the Canoness says "I had lost faith and thought we were going to die until you arrived" - talking about an under-strength squad of Grey Hunters, who apparently are so awesome that they teach a Canoness of the Sisters of Battle to believe in the Emperor again.
By the way, these are Wounded Heart sisters - they faced down the 13th black crusade, yet here they doubt, lose faith and give up because of a horde of cultists led by three plague marines. Three.

Somehow I have a feeling that SoB might be more popular if some freelance authors wouldn't constantly write them off as this crappy and incompetent.
We need a new Daemonifuge...

Spoiler:

ClockworkZion wrote:
aka_mythos wrote:On a different note... Who maintains the SoB's vehicles?-Do they anything analogous to Techpriest/Techmarines?

I've always wondered about this.

"Besides the Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes, only a select few Imperial organisations now have access to Rhinos, the priceless technology involved in their construction and maintenance is too valuable to be entrusted to any but the most loyal and steadfast bodies of warriors. The Adepta Sororitas and Adeptus Arbites in particular have a number of Rhinos, and they maintain a body of those sanctified and pure of heart to care for them. Years of training go towards achieving this respected position. Aspirants must learn how to divine the runes of engineering, memorise the liturgy of maintenance and constantly study the routine of service. It is a position of great honour to care for these vehicles and those that are carried into battle within one of these armoured transports are mindful of the spirits that inhabit the mechanical functions and blessed bolts that make up each one."
- WD #269 : Rhinos

I like to think of them as a "Mistress of the Armoury" or something like that. A tech-savvy Sister in a huge crimson robe worn above a Hospitaller-like carapace, with all sorts of tools crammed into a dozen pockets. Though that's really just the mental image I have in mind.

**CthuluIsSpy**

Did...she just clothesline a Rubric Marine while wearing a nightgown?

That's pretty metal.

**Furyou Miko**

Yes. Yes, she did.

I never noticed that before.

She, in fact, clotheslined a Rubric Marine while wearing a nightgown and shooting someone else with a bolt pistol one handed.

**Lynata**

Granted, Ephrael is "special", and that sequence has a twist to it ...
... but still, the entire comic is pretty badass - about Sisters as a whole.

Spoiler:

Canoness Ramientes is pretty cool. And even the old Abbess in the Convent Sanctorum gets to troll an Inquisitor...

**Melissia**

Wow, that's metal. The clotheslining of a marine while in an evening gown thing I mean. I love it, sounds like something one of my characters from Dark Heresy would do

**Furyou Miko**

A nightgown is sleepwear, Melissia, an evening gown is formal wear. :p

**Lynata**

That reminds me of something I saw.

Spoiler:

:b

**AtoMaki**

^Gosh, it has just reminded me how insanely OP the sisters are in the 40k RPGs

.

**KalashnikovMarine**

That comic's hilarious. I still need to find a local DH campaign so I can play the genki girl/cloudcukoolander sisters character I rolled up a while back.

**Lynata**

AtoMaki wrote:^Gosh, it has just reminded me how insanely OP the sisters are in the 40k RPGs .

Ehh, depends on how/when/where you introduce them, really. And what you compare them to.
Black Industries' Inquisitor's Handbook supplement featured a rather clever solution by having Sororitas characters be Novices for the first four ranks, and at about rank 5 the team should be close to getting advanced armour and weaponry for other characters as well.

Unfortunately, it's just not viable to have them team up with Space Marines (such as in a game of Deathwatch, or when taking a Grey Knight into your Dark Heresy party) as FFG's Astartes play in a totally different league, with special rules and traits that make them almost invulnerable to the sort of weapons and enemies that DH characters would usually deal with.
And let's not even talk about Blood of Martyrs, which fluffwise nerfed the Sisters to "Guardsmen +1" and gave them weird space magicks, and handed them power armour at rank 1 already. That's, like, the worst possible thing you could do to the SoB as a faction and gameplay balance.

A far cry from the strong-willed zealots that can keep up even with Space Marines by sheer conviction and grit, and whose armour and armaments are just as good as theirs - if one were to go by GW's fluff instead of FFG's Astartes hype.

/rant

**Furyou Miko**

And that, folks, is why I always play techpriests in Dark Heresy.

**CthuluIsSpy**

Out of curiosity, can you play as a member of the Divisio Biologis, or can you only go machine cult? I suppose it depends on how you play it, but is there Biologis friendly gear?

**Pendix**

Lynata wrote:

... but still, the entire comic is pretty badass - about Sisters as a whole.

Are all these comics from the old 'Inferno' books? I still have a few of those lying around. They are a good thing to pull out and read once in a while.

**Furyou Miko**

CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Out of curiosity, can you play as a member of the Divisio Biologis, or can you only go machine cult? I suppose it depends on how you play it, but is there Biologis friendly gear?

Biologis are still machine cult. :p

Techpriest is a generic Skilled class with cybernetic bonuses. Which skills (tech, bio, shooting, whatever) you pick up then decides your divisio.

**aka_mythos**

Lynata wrote:

ClockworkZion wrote:
aka_mythos wrote:On a different note... Who maintains the SoB's vehicles?-Do they anything analogous to Techpriest/Techmarines?

I've always wondered about this.
"Besides the Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes, only a select few Imperial organisations now have access to Rhinos, the priceless technology involved in their construction and maintenance is too valuable to be entrusted to any but the most loyal and steadfast bodies of warriors. The Adepta Sororitas and Adeptus Arbites in particular have a number of Rhinos, and they maintain a body of those sanctified and pure of heart to care for them. Years of training go towards achieving this respected position. Aspirants must learn how to divine the runes of engineering, memorise the liturgy of maintenance and constantly study the routine of service. It is a position of great honour to care for these vehicles and those that are carried into battle within one of these armoured transports are mindful of the spirits that inhabit the mechanical functions and blessed bolts that make up each one."
- WD #269 : Rhinos

I like to think of them as a "Mistress of the Armoury" or something like that. A tech-savvy Sister in a huge crimson robe worn above a Hospitaller-like carapace, with all sorts of tools crammed into a dozen pockets. Though that's really just the mental image I have in mind.

I just can't imagine a SoB who has given herself over to the Mechanicum in the way Techmarines have. I kinda imagine something like you've said but accompanied by a band of maidens who maintain the armory... Where there is almost a sense of maintaining purity from the Omnissiahs influence by intentionally being ignorant of its workings. Where the knowledge is divided with each Sister only knowing a small piece of the ceremonies and rites of servicing the different equipment. Where too much knowledge of the Machine god is viewed as a corrupting influence. I think this is a notion consistent with some of the different specialized SoB units where their specialization is viewed as a bit of a sacrifice and burden.

**SisterSydney**

Which makes sense and also explains why we don't see a "Techpriestess" in any of the Sisters' codices over the years.

**aka_mythos**

Rule wise I imagine they'd start off functioning similarly to a Techpriest but where either the ability to deal with specific types of damage or the ease of dealing with damage to vehicles are diminished with each model removed.

Weapon-wise I don't see them using servo-arms and power weapons... Relying instead on equipment not associated with the Mechanicum... Something like lascutters and welders.

Another unit I'd like to see and have been thinking about are Crusaders. As we all know the prohibition on the eclissiarchy from maintaining a standing army of men was worked around by virtue of the army being women. The other work around is apparent in the form of Frateris Militia... Militias aren't really standing armies as much as they are ad-hoc armies brought up temporarily and reactionary. Crusaders are effectively a higher quality form of Militia either drawn from those of a higher social standing or from those with prior military experience. I think this elite unit should be a unit expanded with a greater number of close combat weapon options. I'd like to see them be more than a unit with a single composition.

**Lynata**

Well, I'm going by the fluff in White Dwarf ("[...] divine the runes of engineering, memorise the liturgies of maintenance [...] mindful of the spirits [...]") - but that's a personal decision, of course. Still, I think it fits to the "greater picture"; it'd be odd if the Sisters were the only ones in the entire Imperium immune from the superstitious teachings of the Machine Cult, an organisation that is far older than the Sisterhood, and gained considerable power and influence long before the Adeptus Ministorum was even founded.

I still agree about the lack of servo-arms, though. They may have accepted the need to offer respect to the machine spirits in the gear and vehicles they maintain, but respect for the Sacred Human Form still reigns supreme, and unnecessary bionics go against this concept. How can you improve what is already perfect?

Pendix wrote:Are all these comics from the old 'Inferno' books? I still have a few of those lying around. They are a good thing to pull out and read once in a while.

Inferno?

That name rings a bell, but I can't quite put my finger on it now ...

Daemonifuge and Deff Skwadron were standalone comic series published by Black Library. The Redeemer may have been, too. Kal Jerico is from Warhammer Monthly.

I've posted a couple comic recommendations here, if you're interested.

**CthuluIsSpy**

Furyou Miko wrote:
CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Out of curiosity, can you play as a member of the Divisio Biologis, or can you only go machine cult? I suppose it depends on how you play it, but is there Biologis friendly gear?

Biologis are still machine cult. :p

Techpriest is a generic Skilled class with cybernetic bonuses. Which skills (tech, bio, shooting, whatever) you pick up then decides your divisio.

What do you call the branch that everyone knows of then? The machine obsessed ones?

**Muddypaw**

Lynata wrote:
Inferno? That name rings a bell, but I can't quite put my finger on it now ...

Daemonifuge and Deff Skwadron were standalone comic series published by Black Library. The Redeemer may have been, too. Kal Jerico is from Warhammer Monthly.

I've posted a couple comic recommendations here, if you're interested.

Inferno was a monthly (or bi? Been a while) magazine with short stories, fluff and background pieces and comic strips. It was varied but there were some real gems in there. Redeemer was originally published in Warhammer Monthly before being re-printed as a standalone book.

Gosh I miss those experimental days.

**Pendix**

Lynata wrote:

Daemonifuge and Deff Skwadron were standalone comic series published by Black Library. The Redeemer may have been, too. Kal Jerico is from Warhammer Monthly.

I've posted a couple comic recommendations here, if you're interested.

Thanks! I'll look into them.

Muddypaw wrote:

Inferno was a monthly (or bi? Been a while) magazine with short stories, fluff and background pieces and comic strips. It was varied but there were some real gems in there. Redeemer was originally published in Warhammer Monthly before being re-printed as a standalone book.

Gosh I miss those experimental days.

I checked my issues; 'those days' were the late 90s, dam, that seems like a age ago. Inferno was great. I've got issues 6, 7, & then 10 to 15. Issue 12 actually has a good short story featuring a Sister & a Space Marine. It's called 'Daemonblood' by Ben Counter, and I'd heartily recommend it . . . if I knew any way for people to read it.

**Troike**

Daemonblood is included in the Black Library book "Let the Galaxy Burn", which is a collection of lots of short stories. I guess you could find it on the BL website. And yes, I'd recommend it. Cool plot, and a writer who actually understands the Sisters.

**Melissia**

I think a Machine Sister, as it were, could work if it was indicated to be something independent of the Machine Cult.

Perhaps add another non-militant order, intent on gaining new technology for the Ecclesiarchy and general Imperial use, bartering these new techs for more and more concessions from the Mechanicus?

Could go like this:
Sister of Battle
Sister Hospitaller
Sister Dialogous
Sister Famulous
Sister Technical

**ClockworkZion**

Sister Technicanus?

**AlexHolker**

I don't think the Sisters should get proper field mechanics. The Rhino chassis is apparently easy to keep running in the field - as shown by the Repair special rule - so the focus should be on keeping them in working order between visits to the tech priests.

On the subject of Rhinos, one of my additions would be a command pulpit, allowing a Rhino to be upgraded with an additional transport slot and fire point, so that it can carry a ten woman squad plus an IC.

**ClockworkZion**

AlexHolker wrote:
I don't think the Sisters should get proper field mechanics. The Rhino chassis is apparently easy to keep running in the field - as shown by the Repair special rule - so the focus should be on keeping them in working order between visits to the tech priests.

On the subject of Rhinos, one of my additions would be a command pulpit, allowing a Rhino to be upgraded with an additional transport slot and fire point, so that it can carry a ten woman squad plus an IC.

I don't know where you could put such a thing on our Rhino kit though.

**AlexHolker**

ClockworkZion wrote:
I don't know where you could put such a thing on our Rhino kit though.

It could replace the storm bolter.

**ClockworkZion**

AlexHolker wrote:
ClockworkZion wrote:
I don't know where you could put such a thing on our Rhino kit though.

It could replace the storm bolter.

So the vehicle would lose it's actual weapon in exchange for an extra passenger slot?

While cool, I imagine some people would be quite annoyed if this upgrade then also cost them points.