Editing Sisters of Battle (section)

==Overview==
[[File:Lusty Marine.png|300px|thumb|left]]
The Sisters of Battle are part of the [[Ecclesiarchy]], the religious arm of Imperial government, and sometimes work with the [[Inquisition]]'s [[Witch Hunters]]. In the 36th millennium, the Ecclesiarchy's pope, a guy called [[Goge Vandire]], attained the dual position of Ecclesiarch and Master of the Administratum, effectively giving him control over everyone in the Imperium, including nearly all of its armed forces. With the exception of the Space Marines and Adeptus Mechanicus, pretty much everyone had to do what he said or face a slow and agonizing death. Unfortunately for everyone who wasn't lucky enough to be a Space Marine or Tech-Priest, he was also completely insane, and his rule was so devastating that it came to be known as the [[Goge Vandire|Reign of Blood]], leading to untold billions of deaths across the Imperium, which in turn led to violent warp storms the likes of which wouldn't be seen again until the formation of the [[Great Rift]] 5,000 years later. During this period, Vandire discovered a force of warrior-nuns living on the feudal world of San Leor known as the Daughters of the Emperor. Although they initially didn't want anything to do with him, he convinced them that he was the Emperor's chosen by having his bodyguard shoot him while he was protected by the force field of a rosarius. Because the relatively primitive Daughters of the Emperor had never seen a force field before, they assumed that this meant Vandire was protected by the Emperor, and happily joined him. Rechristened as the Brides of the Emperor, they served as Vandire's personal bodyguards, shock troops, servants, and concubines. With a force of hyper-loyal Battle Sisters at his command, Vandire became effectively untouchable, proven when he had the Sisters execute all of the [[High Lords of Terra]], which he quickly replaced with his cronies. Suffice to say, things looked pretty bleak.

Of course, this state of affairs couldn't last forever. Late in his reign, a preacher known as [[Sebastian Thor]] rose to prominence in the Imperium, leading a massive crusade to Terra to take down Vandire once and for all. Agreeing that they too were sick of the High Lord, the Space Marines and Adeptus Mechanicus joined forces and launched an assault on Terra, matching themselves against Frateris Templars and the Daughters of the Emperor. Unfortunately for them, the Daughters numbered around 10,000 women by this point, and they were battle-hardened, motivated, and armed to the teeth. The siege dragged on interminably, with no end in sight. Getting desperate, the Space Marines contacted the Adeptus Custodes, who had remained neutral for most of the siege, but agreed to help the insurrectionists out. Using secret passages to avoid the fighting, the Captain-General of the Custodes presented himself to Alicia Dominica, the leader of the Brides of the Emperor. After debating with her for some time, the Captain-General realized that she wasn't going to budge, and resorted to an extreme course of action; he took her and her five closest compatriots to the Imperial Palace and into the throneroom of the Emperor himself. No one knows what happened in there, but when the six women re-emerged, they went straight to Vandire, declared him a heretic of the highest degree, and beheaded him.

In the aftermath of this conflict, the Imperium underwent a substantial political restructuring known as the Reformation, designed to prevent another Reign of Blood from ever occurring. As part of this restructuring, the High Lords [[Decree Passive|decreed that the Ecclesiarchy was no longer allowed to maintain "men under arms."]] Of course, while this meant the Ecclesiarchy had to disband their fleet and standing armies of Frateris Templars, the Sisters of Battle were technically allowed to remain, being women under arms and not men. While many point to this as an example of the idiocy of the High Lords of Terra, this easily-circumventable wording was likely intentional, as unlike the other Ministorum forces, the Sisters of Battle had proven that their loyalty was to the Emperor first and the Ecclesiarchy second, meaning that they could be relied upon to police the Ministorum as well as protect it, which was also why Thor made a stand for them to be sanctioned.

In combat, Sisters of Battle have something of an obsession with the purifying effects of flame, and generally choose equipment that allows them to cover heretics with as much holy promethium and thermal lances as possible. This philosophy is most obviously exemplified by the Immolator tank, essentially a rolling [[METAL BOXES|steel crate]] with giant flamethrowers or multi-meltas stuck on it. They also have the [[Exorcist]], [[Awesome|a mobile pipe organ that shoots missiles.]] Less accurate than the Whirlwind Missile Launcher or any Imperial Guard artillery, but who cares, the thought of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flmoGRFZ7jc|pipe organs launching missiles while playing epic mass complete with High Gothic] is fucking awesome, dammit.

[[File:Ordersmilitant.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Brief overviews of the six main Orders. For a long time, this was basically the only lore that most of them had.]]
There are six main Orders, divided between the two Convents that were separated during the Reformation in the 36th Millenium: Prioris, based on Terra, and Sanctorum, based on Ophelia VII. All minor Orders are descended from one of these six. In general, Prioris behave like an actual military force, while Sanctorum is made up of Fanatical Sado-Masochists.

'''Convent Prioris Orders:'''
* [[Order of the Argent Shroud|'''Argent Shroud:''']] The Lawful Goods. Are a rarity among Imperial factions, in that they are described as being famous for selfless heroism, as well as altruism. For this reason, /tg/ likes to fluff them as noble space Paladins and she-bros to the [[Salamanders]]. Probably waiting for their husbando Lamenters to return. They wear Silver.
* '''[[Order of the Ebon Chalice|Ebon Chalice]]:''' The vanilla Order. These Sisters haven't changed a whole lot since they were first created, preferring to stick to their tried and tested methods. The most dedicated to Flamers and psyker-killing. They wear Black and White.
* [[Order of the Sacred Rose|'''Sacred Rose:''']] Cool, calm and collected. The most tactical Sisters. Enjoy gunning their foes down in a more disciplined manner. <s>If they were to get their own rules, their Rets would have slow and purposeful</s> their rules are dedicated to the new 8e mechanic for the sisters in Miracle Die, and its accumulation. The most defensively minded of all. They wear white.

'''Convent Sanctorum Orders:'''
* [[Order of the Bloody Rose|'''Bloody Rose:''']] Aggressive as fuck. Aim to kill off their enemies as quickly as possible, as they suffer not the heretic to live any longer than necessary. They wear red.
* '''[[Order of Our Martyred Lady|Our Martyred Lady]]:''' The postergirl Order, probably the ones who come to mind when people think of Sisters. The amount of favouritism they receive from GW is slightly disturbing. Just take a look at the Notable Sororitas Characters table below to get an idea of how they dominate SoB fluff. The Order itself is reputed as being determined even for SoBs, which is saying something. Will not stop until their enemies are utterly destroyed. They wear black and red. They originally wore all-black armour to show their mourning for St. Katherine, but changed the cloth to red to honour their losses during the Third War for Armageddon.
* [[Order of the Valorous Heart|'''Valorous Heart:''']] [[Asmodai|Repent!]] These Sisters feel the guiltiest about that whole [[Age of Apostasy]] thing, and as a result have an excess of [[Sisters Repentia|BDSM berserkers]]. Likely on constant lookout for the slightest sign of weakness in themselves or any allies serving alongside them. They wear the most black.