Order of the Blinded Martyr
| Order of the Blinded Martyr | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Battle Cry | "Give them nothing! Take from them everything!" | |
| Founding | M38 | |
| Daughters of | Order of the Valorous Heart | |
| Homeworld | Lycia | |
| Strength | Endangered | |
| Allegiance | Imperium | |
| Colours | Black, Blue, and Silver | |
Overview[edit | edit source]
Following in the footsteps of the martyred Saint Melinoe, the sisters of the Blinded Martyr are warriors first and foremost, dedicating themselves fully to perfecting the art of battle. They are very proud, preferring death to dishonoring themselves in retreat. Although this demeanour has brought them countless victories, it has also taken a tremendous toll, bringing them to the brink of extinction. In battle, they endeavor to attack under adverse conditions, preferring to fight in darkness, rain, and fog, forcing their foes to engage them at a disadvantage.
Origins[edit | edit source]
The warlike sisters of the Blinded Martyr paradoxically hail from Lycia, one of the most peaceful planets in the Imperium. A garden world on the eastern fringe, Lycia is a cultural epicenter, producing a seemingly endless tide of great artists, philosophers, and poets. The planet has been a popular location for Adeptus Ministorum retreats since it was brought into the Imperial fold, and has born witness to some of the greatest religious debates of the past few centuries.
However, the lush exterior of Lycia conceals many dark truths. Corruption festers within its magnificent temples and art houses. The openness of Lycian culture frequently leads to the formation of heretical schools of thought, such as freedom of information. Occasionally, this decadent culture even gives rise to deviant cults devoted to the dark gods, as philosophers and artists are seduced by false promises of free thought and liberation from the Imperial yoke.
These issues came to a head in M38.481, when a deviant pleasure cult known as the Consummate Mass attempted to seize control the of the planet on the feast of the Emperor's Ascension. Although the philosophers and poets who fought for the cult were not particularly astute fighters, they were led by a fearsome Keeper of Secrets, Bar'zol, which had been blessed with such perfect beauty that any who gazed upon it who had not been blessed with the cults profane rituals went mad. As the cult swept through the capital of Lycia, they found their progress impeded by sisters of the Order of the Valorous Heart, who were present to safeguard a relic that had been brought to the planet for the feast day; the blessed scythe of Saint Thanatos. As the planetary defense forces crumbled around them, the sisters held fast, vigorously defending the cathedral of Saint Erato with bolt and blade.
This changed when Bar'zol joined the fray. Although their faith allowed them a degree of protection from it's unholy presence, the battle sisters were still no match for the daemon, and it cut a bloody swathe through the Sororitas defenses, leaving scores of sisters dead or driven insane in it's wake. Seeing the effect the daemon was having on her fellow sisters, one Sister Superior by the name of Melinoe realized the terrible cost that would be required to fell the unholy creature. Seizing the relic scythe, she gouged her eyes out, relying on the God-Emperor to guide her as she went out to face Bar'zol.
With the scythe in hand and a prayer on her lips, Melinoe emerged from the cathedral to face the daemon. Striding through the bodies and wreckage of the Sororitas defense lines, the Keeper of Secrets smirked, pleased with the opportunity to seize and defile the holy relic wielded by the small battle sister who was methodically approaching the daemon. With sickening speed, the daemon lept at Melinoe, and the duel was joined.
Stabbing at her with pincers and clawed hands, Bar'zol assailed the blinded sister. Relying solely on her hearing and her faith, Melinoe continued to quietly pray the Litany of Saint Lucia as she parried blow after blow from the greater daemon. For hour upon hour, the daemon assaulted the lone battle sister, but no matter what it did, she continued to calmly dodge and parry it's blows. In a snake-like motion, Bar'zol lunged at Melinoe with it's enormous maw, hoping to consume her and end this distraction once and for all.
As she felt the warm moist air of the daemon's breath on her face, Melinoe went on the offensive. Quickly sidestepping the daemon's head, she spun around and brought the scythe down, the holy weapon biting deep into one of the daemon's perfect eyes. Screaming in agony, Bar'zol stumbled back. Filled with righteous fury, Melinoe struck again and again with the holy weapon, lopping off limbs and talons, and covering the daemon's infallible visage with deep scars. Realizing it was beaten, Bar'zol opened a warp gate, and fled through it. Unwilling to allow the daemon to escape so easily, Melinoe followed, leaping through the warp gate as it closed.
In the aftermath of the battle, Melinoe was declared a saint. The Ecclesiarch also decreed that the surviving battle sisters of the war would form a new order to safeguard Lycia from threats both without and within. The sisters of the newly-christened Order of the Blinded Martyr quickly devoted themselves to following Saint Melinoe's example.
Despite Saint Melinoe officially being regarded as KIA, there are many in the order who believe she lives still. In the centuries since her death, there have been multiple reported sightings of a woman wielding scythe on battlefields where the sisters of the Blinded Martyr are active. Although attempts to verify these sightings have always met with failure, the sisters of the Blinded Martyr regard this figure as saint Melinoe herself, returned to aid the order of her namesake in their darkest hour.
Training[edit | edit source]
The sisters of the Blinded Martyr believe that the mission of the Orders Militant is to be holy warriors first and foremost; all other concerns are secondary. From the moment they enter the fortress-convent on the storm-shrouded Mount Skollis, recruits are put through one of the most brutal training regimens in the Adepta Sororitas. Day and night, they are forced to drill and fight in the freezing oxygen-thin heights of the mountain. When they have mastered this environment, they must go through the same process again, in the muddy beaches at the mountains base, in the thick forests on the neighboring islands, even in the cold vacuum of space.
While this process produces some of the toughest fighters in the Imperium, the arts of war are but one aspect of being a sister of the Blinded Martyr. The other is strength of spirit. As the implacable Saint Melinoe willingly sacrificed her sight to defeat Bar'zol, so too must every battle sister be capable of rising to any challenge required of them. It is this demeanor which has led to widespread ritual scarification among the sisters of the order. By regularly subjecting themselves to intense suffering, the sisters of the Blinded Martyr gird themselves spiritually as well as physically. A battle sister who feels fear in her heart needs only gaze upon the numerous scars to be reminded of the sacrifice expected of each and every sister, and that there are fates far worse than death.
Combat Doctrine[edit | edit source]
The sisters of the Blinded Martyr frequently venture forth from their homeworld seeking new enemies to test themselves against. Using their extensive training to their advantage, the sisters of the Blinded Martyr always seek to attack under adverse conditions, concealing their advance under cover of rain, thick vegetation, or darkness. Before the foe realizes the terrible danger they're in, Avenger Strike Fighters and Seraphim dive from the heavens, commencing a sudden and devastating aerial assault. As the enemy reels from this sudden attack, the sisters charge from cover, singing hymns of righteous castigation.
While the sisters of the Blinded Martyr are among the finest warriors in the Adepta Sororitas, they are also possessed of a stubborn pride which has led to their sustaining heavy losses over the centuries. They believe that there are only two circumstances in which they should return to Lycia; in victory, or in death. While this attitude has led to several seemingly impossible victories, it has also seen them suffer unsustainable losses, bringing the order to the brink of extinction.
Homeworld[edit | edit source]
The Order is stationed on the temperate garden world of Lycia. The local populace are well-educated folk who place a high priority on philosophy, art, and politics. They are also horrible at fighting and their planet has an issue with corruption, hence why the order was established. The sisters don't really interact with the local government, as in their view, the Sisters Militant are called to the holy arts of war, not politics. The only function of politicians is to ensure they have enough fuel and ammunition to shield the Emperor's people and spread the Emperor's word.
Culturally, the sisters are similar to Spartans (hence the no retreat, no surrender mentality). When they aren't actively fighting, they're training or engaging in contests to test their physical and mental fitness against one another. Peculiarly, the sisters also regularly engage in a form of ritual scarification meant to help focus their faith. It is whispered that whatever corruption has taken hold on the planet has also affected the sisters in some way. Although no heretics have ever been officially found amongst their number, they seem to be even more wary than usual of sin within their ranks, and have an unusually high rate of lethal training accidents (which also doesn't help their endangered status).
Alliance with the Pointed Word[edit | edit source]
The alliance with the Order of the Pointed Word came about when a WAAAAGH! hit a shrine world. The Imperium had seen the Ork fleet coming months in advance and moved a bunch of sisters from both orders to defend the planet. Initially, there was a lot of tension between the two orders, as the sisters of the Pointed Word tend to be well-educated and focused on politics and administration whereas the sisters of the Blinded Martyr see war as their main duty. Both sides had very different visions for the defense of the world, and it was clear to all parties involved that both sides wanted to get this war over with and split ways as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, the ork warboss was particularly kunnin' and after a few skirmishes, figured out the Blinded Martyr's M.O. and lured them into a trap which saw almost all of their forces wiped out. Following this, there just weren't enough sisters of the Pointed Word to hold the orks back and most of them got BTFO'd as well, only leaving about 100 sisters from both orders remaining. They were ordered to retreat and evacuate, but rather than doing this, the two remaining commanders from each order, both sister superiors, resolved to set aside their differences for the moment and stop the orks from looting any priceless relics.
What followed was an extensive guerilla campaign. The sisters of the Blinded Martyr would scout targets of opportunity for the Pointed Word to come in and launch devastating hit-and-run attacks. As the months wore on, the sisters from each order learned to appreciate each other's perspectives, learning that perhaps their methods were not as incompatible as their erstwhile superiors had thought. Eventually, they discovered the warboss's base of operations and launched a daring raid which saw him and most of his subordinates slain, throwing the WAAAAGH! into chaos and infighting, making them easy pickings.
After the campaign, the two sides parted amicably, the sisters superior planting the seeds for a future alliance between the two orders. The sister superior of the Blinded Martyr went on to become the order's Canoness Superior who launched a daring raid on an Eldar craftworld.
Tabletop Rules[edit | edit source]
Homebrew rules for your gaming pleasure, courtesy of /tg/ Codex Supplement - Faith Militant.
Order Conviction: Warriors Supreme[edit | edit source]
Following in the footsteps of their beloved Saint Melinoe, the sisters of the Blinded Martyr are proud warriors, fighting to the bitter end.
Roll a D6 each time a model with this conviction is slain or flees. On a 5+, that model refuses to yield. Either the wound that slew it is ignored, or the model does not flee. However, ORDER OF THE BLINDED MARTYR units with this conviction cannot fall back unless there is a friendly ORDER OF THE BLINDED MARTYR CHARACTER on the battlefield.
Stratagem: Not One Step Back[edit | edit source]
For the sisters of the Blinded Martyr, failure is not an option, no matter the circumstance.
This Stratagem costs 2 Command Points. Use this Stratagem at the end of any of your turns. Select an ORDER OF THE BLINDED MARTYR INFANTRY unit from your army that is within 3" of an objective marker. Until the start of your next turn you can add 1 to all saving throws made for that unit and increase the Attacks characteristic of all models in that unit by 1.
Warlord Trait: Monster Slayer[edit | edit source]
Just as Saint Melinoe fought the daemon Bar'zol, so too does this leader hunt the monstrous creatures of their foes.
Add 1 to wound rolls made by your Warlord against MONSTERS and VEHICLES.
Relic: The Scythe of Saint Thanatos[edit | edit source]
This scythe was originally wielded by the legendary missionary saint Thanatos, who found it to be the perfect symbol for his work of harvesting good souls for the Emperor's service. Centuries after Thanatos' death, the scythe was taken by Saint Melinoe, who used it to vanquish the Keeper of Secrets Bar'zol. For years, the scythe was thought lost in the warp after the saint chased the wounded daemon into the warp, but there have been multiple reported sightings of a woman wielding the scythe on battlefields where the sisters of the Blinded Martyr are active. Although attempts to verify these sightings have always met with failure, the sisters of the Blinded Martyr regard this figure as saint Melinoe herself, returned to aid the order of her namesake in their darkest hour.
This relic can only be used with the rules found in /tg/ Codex Supplement - Faith Militant. ORDER OF THE BLINDED MARTYR LIVING SAINT with blessed blade only. The Scythe of Saint Thanatos replaces the bearer's blessed blade. When attacking with this weapon, choose one of the profiles below:
| Weapon | Range | Type | S | AP | D | Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Scythe of Saint Thanatos (Slashing Strikes) | Melee | Melee | +1 | -1 | 1 | When the bearer attacks with this profile, they make 3 additional attacks with this weapon. |
| The Scythe of Saint Thanatos (Thunderous Blows) | Melee | Melee | x2 | -3 | 2 | - |
Original Rolls[edit | edit source]
Created using the Sisters of Battle Order Creation Tables.
Order Originator: Daughters of the Order of the Valorous Heart
Purpose of Founding: Standing Force, founded to provide protection and spiritual guidance to the world of Lycia.
Order Flaw: An Eye For An Eye
Order Demeanour: See, But Don't Be Seen
Figure of Legend: A Canoness Superior who led a daring raid on the Eldar Craftworld Imak.
Order Homeworld: Lycia, a temperate garden world led by philosopher-kings.
Influence Over Homeworld: None, the sisters of the Blinded Martyr are wholly devoted to practicing the art of war and have no time for politics.
Order Organization: Standard Organization
Order Strategy: Close Air Support; the Order makes extensive use of Seraphim and Avenger Strike Fighters.
Order Method of Worship: Honor Those Gone Before; the Order places a high priority on rank and experience, its sisters looking to the wisest among them for guidance in these dark times.
Order Size: Endangered; the Order is constantly on the verge of being wiped out, numbering only a few hundred Battle Sisters.
Order Allies: The sisters of the Blinded Martyr share a close bond with the Order of the Pointed Word.
Order Enemies: The Order are steadfast opponents of the Orks.