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One of the things that caught my attention towards purity seals was while I was watching Astartes - Part 5, where the characters were walking through a corridor filled with purity seals. Granted, it is not official Games Workshop material, but regardless, I was wondered if there were any instances in canon where purity seals have actually worked or helped out?

I don't know about lore, but they used to give a bonus when taken as a piece of wargear by Marine Sergeants. When falling back they allowed you to roll an extra die and then pick the results you wanted. This was really handy for being able to fall back far enough so avoid being contacted by an opponents Consolidation move after a lost CC. Waay back in 3rd edition.

As far as I'm aware, the purity seals themselves don't have any power - they only represent faithfulness and merit. So while the underlying belief might have some effect, the seal itself would not.

I thought they were "oaths of moment". I think they write their oaths on a purity seal before a battle.

 Insectum7 wrote:
I don't know about lore, but they used to give a bonus when taken as a piece of wargear by Marine Sergeants. When falling back they allowed you to roll an extra die and then pick the results you wanted. This was really handy for being able to fall back far enough so avoid being contacted by an opponents Consolidation move after a lost CC. Waay back in 3rd edition.

While true, there were other in-game benefits granted by mere symbols back in 3rd that don't exactly fit logic. Getting an extra Attack for Terminator Honours, for example - this was to represent that the Marine in question was a veteran worthy of the honour, not that the Crux Terminatus somehow mystically made them faster and deadlier in combat.

On the other hand... you have the Rosarius and Iron Halo, which while they are symbols of office, also contain a literal force-field - so it's not beyond reason that a purity seal could do something tangible.

Personally I've never seen anything in lore to suggest that they have any noticeable function, but I can't help but think they'd serve as a suitable catalyst and/or focus point for some Sisters' miracles in particular.

 Reavsie wrote:
I thought they were "oaths of moment". I think they write their oaths on a purity seal before a battle.

That's pre-Heresy. As the Imperial Truth faded they became more of a religious symbol.

It is well documented that standard purity seals are simply decorative and symbolic, holding no functional value. However I am sure I have read in various places instances of an imperial warrior becoming empowered by their faith in the god emperor (40k) or by the binding oaths of their oath of moment (30k)
I assume reading any SOB literature will mention a battle sister being empowered by their faith in the emperor through their purity seal and regaining zeal and strength by its symbolic significance.

It is almost like a grimdark version of a sacred keepsake or picture that some people keep on their person at all times to be a physical representation of an idea/a memory/a faith

They are basically medals.

Purity seals do work. No Space Marine has ever gotten pregnant while wearing one.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Purity seals do work. No Space Marine has ever gotten pregnant while wearing one.

Shows what you know, given how space Marines reproduce, with geneseed and proginoid glads, ALL space Marines are technicly pregnant

Yeah, they make acceptable toilet paper.

On the topic of Purity Seals: One thing I've always found odd in Horus Heresy artwork is that none other than Emps himself is also wearing them:



I mean, who exactly was authorized to give him the seal of holy faith? Is he protecting himself with the blessing of...himself?

In the cult mechanicus game they are bothered by necron intruders. They try with insence, it does not work. They try with vox caster with prayers, it does not work. They try with a purge, it does help. I really like that they do not distinguish between symbolic and actual solutions.

 Esmer wrote:
On the topic of Purity Seals: One thing I've always found odd in Horus Heresy artwork is that none other than Emps himself is also wearing them:



I mean, who exactly was authorized to give him the seal of holy faith? Is he protecting himself with the blessing of...himself?

presumably given the era when the emperor was around, that's an oath of moment.

BrianDavion wrote:

 Esmer wrote:
On the topic of Purity Seals: One thing I've always found odd in Horus Heresy artwork is that none other than Emps himself is also wearing them:



I mean, who exactly was authorized to give him the seal of holy faith? Is he protecting himself with the blessing of...himself?

presumably given the era when the emperor was around, that's an oath of moment.

Grocery list.

 McMagnus Mindbullets wrote:
It is well documented that standard purity seals are simply decorative and symbolic, holding no functional value.

Currently. There were several editions where they did have functional value.

It just became more of an issue to track all the little things a unit could be equipped with as army sizes grew.

Well, one inquisitor seems to think if you wrap enough purity seals around an alien weapon it either ceases to be an alien weapon or people can no longer tell it's an alien weapon.




Hate to tell her but it doesn't work.

Won't work because the Astartes don't believe in the God Emperor. In dark Imperium/Psychic Awakening / Indomitus fluff there are stories of guard units, civilians , sistersof battle gaining psychic based powers , which is because they believe in Him and channel His power.

Even factions of the Inquisition dont truly believe purely enough to manifest that.

In a bit of BG i did for a more pragmatic and less fanatical SM chapter, I had the idea that the 'purity seals' were actually the hopes and wishes of children written down in school on parchment and delivered to the marines that defended those worlds to be affixed to their armor as a reminder to them they literally were fighting for their people's children and future.

 TwilightSparkles wrote:
Won't work because the Astartes don't believe in the God Emperor. In dark Imperium/Psychic Awakening / Indomitus fluff there are stories of guard units, civilians , sistersof battle gaining psychic based powers , which is because they believe in Him and channel His power.

Even factions of the Inquisition dont truly believe purely enough to manifest that.

There are also Chapters such as the Black Templars that absolutely do believe.

 Matt Swain wrote:
Well, one inquisitor seems to think if you wrap enough purity seals around an alien weapon it either ceases to be an alien weapon or people can no longer tell it's an alien weapon.




Hate to tell her but it doesn't work.

Actually given how ignorant most people in the Imperium are, it actually might. Remember that most of what players know about the various alien factions is not known to the general public of the Imperium, or even within its major armed forces. There are enough divergent cultures out there that a power weapon like that could be passed off as an obscure exotic but still human creation from "far away".

By the way, what is the source for that artwork?

Iracundus wrote:
By the way, what is the source for that artwork?

A Google Image search suggests the FFG RPG "Deathwatch: The Outer Reach".

 Matt Swain wrote:
In a bit of BG i did for a more pragmatic and less fanatical SM chapter, I had the idea that the 'purity seals' were actually the hopes and wishes of children written down in school on parchment and delivered to the marines that defended those worlds to be affixed to their armor as a reminder to them they literally were fighting for their people's children and future.

Sounds like something the Salamanders would do.

Won't work because the Astartes don't believe in the God Emperor. In dark Imperium/Psychic Awakening / Indomitus fluff there are stories of guard units, civilians , sistersof battle gaining psychic based powers , which is because they believe in Him and channel His power.
Even factions of the Inquisition dont truly believe purely enough to manifest that.

For the most part yes, in part because they have psykers that can give a bit more insight to their brothers as to how the Warp actually works (or, well... they can give the insight that they can't really give any insight, because it's the Warp and it defies understanding). There are definitely exceptions in fluff though, not just the Black Templars - and I do find it telling that the Black Templars in particular of course have no Librarians...

 Matt Swain wrote:
Yeah, they make acceptable toilet paper.

Before a campaign the Chaplains pass through the ranks chanting litanies and invocations. Honoured individuals are marked by the Chaplains for special blessings recorded on the parchment streamers and affixed to their armour with the great wax seal which are often replaced with a more permanent electrum casting of the seal after the battle.

Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. The ancient Greeks called it 'gold' or 'white gold', as opposed to 'refined gold'. Its colour ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the proportions of gold and silver.

Super Ready wrote:

 Matt Swain wrote:
In a bit of BG i did for a more pragmatic and less fanatical SM chapter, I had the idea that the 'purity seals' were actually the hopes and wishes of children written down in school on parchment and delivered to the marines that defended those worlds to be affixed to their armor as a reminder to them they literally were fighting for their people's children and future.

Sounds like something the Salamanders would do.

This sounds great, mind if I utilise this, my Salamanders totes approve

 TwilightSparkles wrote:
Won't work because the Astartes don't believe in the God Emperor. In dark Imperium/Psychic Awakening / Indomitus fluff there are stories of guard units, civilians , sistersof battle gaining psychic based powers , which is because they believe in Him and channel His power.

Even factions of the Inquisition dont truly believe purely enough to manifest that.

The vast majority of Astartes don’t believe in the Emperor as a deity. And, out of the handful that do, a few may actually believe in the Imperial Cult, the faith that will have the most potential output, while others believe in variations of or a couple of others believe, but do not follow the Cult. A small amount believe in the Emperor as a diety as the Omnissiah in the case of the Sons of Medusa (maybe the Iron Hands as well? It’s never seems quite certain.) and the Steel Confessors (that also believe in an Omnissiah/Machine God/Ferrus Manus trinity).

Whether or not they actually have any power is one of those things that should be left up to the individual player, imo.

I rather liked the way that Dark Heresy utilized it, though I don't know how many GMs actually did this. In Dark Heresy, iirc, the rulebook suggested that when the GM needed a "Bad Thing(tm)" to happen to a random player, the player who would get hit by it was the one who had the fewest charms/seals/etc...

According to the grey knight codex it says that when a battle brother dons his armor it's seals are blessed with ancient rituals so they will keep its integrity and protect against attacks both mundane and mystical.

When the brothers come back to Titan the number of unbroken purity seals is a measure of the skills in battle and the strength of will of the brother.

This information seems to suggest that perhaps an important part of the purity seals by itself might not work but the ritual to attach it to an object is what makes them useful, which seems to have the effect to provide some sort of protection against the temptation of the warp entities. Given that grey knights mostly they fight demons, is not so sure if the mundane attacks protection only works against daemons and corrupted been's or it works for any mundane attack.

psipso wrote:
According to the grey knight codex it says that when a battle brother dons his armor it's seals are blessed with ancient rituals so they will keep its integrity and protect against attacks both mundane and mystical.

When the brothers come back to Titan the number of unbroken purity seals is a measure of the skills in battle and the strength of will of the brother.

This information seems to suggest that perhaps an important part of the purity seals by itself might not work but the ritual to attach it to an object is what makes them useful, which seems to have the effect to provide some sort of protection against the temptation of the warp entities. Given that grey knights mostly they fight demons, is not so sure if the mundane attacks protection only works against daemons and corrupted been's or it works for any mundane attack.

The last Grey Knight Codex I read was 5th ed... I do recall that first line about armour being sealed... but not the second one about purity seals being unbroken.
As a result I always took that first line to mean the armour's physical seals, that is, things like joining seams and covering panels.
I'm almost disappointed to learn that it's not what that means.

 Super Ready wrote:

psipso wrote:
According to the grey knight codex it says that when a battle brother dons his armor it's seals are blessed with ancient rituals so they will keep its integrity and protect against attacks both mundane and mystical.

When the brothers come back to Titan the number of unbroken purity seals is a measure of the skills in battle and the strength of will of the brother.

This information seems to suggest that perhaps an important part of the purity seals by itself might not work but the ritual to attach it to an object is what makes them useful, which seems to have the effect to provide some sort of protection against the temptation of the warp entities. Given that grey knights mostly they fight demons, is not so sure if the mundane attacks protection only works against daemons and corrupted been's or it works for any mundane attack.

The last Grey Knight Codex I read was 5th ed... I do recall that first line about armour being sealed... but not the second one about purity seals being unbroken.
As a result I always took that first line to mean the armour's physical seals, that is, things like joining seams and covering panels.
I'm almost disappointed to learn that it's not what that means.

This is from Grey Knight 8th edition codex page 16 where it's describing the standard equipment of a grey knight around a big picture of a GK terminator.

There are sections talking about nemesis weapons, crusader helmet, oath shield, storm bolter, etc...

This passage is from a section titled "Purity Seals".


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Sadly is just a few lines. I won't write them all here because respect to GW work but in regard your interpretation it literally says "When a Grey Knight battle-brother dons his armour its seals are blessed in complex and ancient rituals to preserve [...]" just below the title "Purity seals".

It might be as you say, but in my opinion given the context is more likely to refer to the purity seals of the armour.

The truth is that with so few lines everything is open. I just described what is been written about purity seals.in this case