Codex: Sisters of Battle (Player Edition)

[Haravikk]

Version 0.6.3 in the first post, all minor changes, mostly tidying up special rules and trying to make sure as many of the rules-section entries match the actual unit entries in the army-list section.

There is however one small addition; Zealot Cavalry, which I'd intended to return from 2nd edition sooner, but completely forgot about. Anyway, they're simply an incredibly cheap cavalry unit with Scout; good for a bit of light disruption or possibly a suicide run on a vehicle, but otherwise they're mostly just doomed. A Preacher can however choose to take a mount (also with scout) to join them, potentially adding a bit of clout to the unit. Otherwise they can upgrade laspistols to bolt pistols for some more useful (if still minor) shooting, or they can take flails or spears; both are Furious Charge combat weapons, but spears are one-use only with a further +1 Strength.

Anyway, I'm sure there are tons more mistakes to correct, so do please give the benefit of the doubt when reading the list, just in case it seems like I've omitted something (though do let me know about it!)
The updates have been coming fairly quickly as I've been getting a bit of a chance to play test it a little; I'm enjoying it so far, though it's hard to say if the distinction between shooting for adepta sororitas and combat for adeptus ministorum is well balanced or not.

[Haravikk]

Yet another update in the first post. This is probably going to be the last update for some time, unless I turn up many issues in play-testing or find any more mistakes (I'm sure there are some somewhere).

Anyway, there are only two important changes:
First of all, with the release of the Stormtalon I felt inspired to redo the rules for the Supernal Lander; my original aim for it was to create Storm Raven/Valkyrie like vehicle, but I was never really happy with it. Instead what I'm going for is something that is closer to the Aquila Lander upon which it is based. It now has a transport capacity of 8, retaining its previous assault landing capabilities and ability to become Open Topped by blowing open the passenger hatches (since the passengers are supposed to be harnessed inside, facing outwards, in place of a more traditional compartment). Its weapon systems are now limited to mostly short-ranged missile pods, that provide three options (it can only take one) in frag missiles (Heavy 8, S4 AP6, Pinning), inferno missiles (Heavy 8, S3, AP5, Ignores Cover) and twin-linked melta missiles (Heavy 2, S8, AP1, Melta), and it can swap these for a pair of hurricane bolters or heavy bolters as desired. The aim being for short-range supporting fire for the squads it drops, rather than pseudo gunship firepower. Heavy 8 sounds a lot until you see the basic Ballistic Skill of 3 and range of 18" for the missile pods, however an upgrade option allows for an Adepta Sororitas pilot (BS4 with The Passion Act of Faith for possible BS6). Another interesting option is a Target Painter upgrade, allowing it to "paint" a point on the battlefield that blast, barrage and deep strike can be used upon without scattering, useful in conjunction with an Exorcist, Orbital Bombardment or a Deep Striking unit. In any event, I much prefer the new rules as they make a lighter craft that plays more of a supporting role than a lot of flyers in other armies which are just flying versions of various tanks.

The second change is the return of Purity Seals, which seem to have disappeared. These give a +1 bonus to Shield of Faith rolls when taken against psychic attacks (including Force Weapons) and Daemons, giving a possible 4+ save against psychic attacks and 5+ against daemons, mostly because anything that counteracts Power Armour en masse will eat sisters units alive. Purity Seals are standard equipment for Canoness' (including special characters), Command Squads, Celestians and Seraphim, the latter of which have gone up slightly in price. This helps give a small boost against the vulnerability of a pure sisters force against massed force weapons (Grey Knights) or basic infantry with massed power weapons (Bloodletters), as well as the various nasty armour-piercing ranged attacks they may use. A Canoness with Cloak of St. Aspira and Praesidium Protectiva could have a potential 2+ Invulnerable Save against psychic attacks or 3+ against Daemons, which is pretty formidable, but not as over-powered as it may sound, since they're still relatively lacklustre characters when considered one-on-one, their Acts of Faith and faith usage buff being their most important feature.


[edit]
Actually, there was one thing I wanted to ask about. But, since Immolators and Adherers are taken as Fast Attack and Heavy Support choices respectively, would it make sense for them to be able to be taken as squadrons of up to 3 vehicles? I never really reached a decision on it, but since they can only be taken as dedicated transports for certain squads, and the list doesn't have any main battle tanks like other armies (i.e - predators) it seemed a possibility, and would give you more of a reason to take two or three Adherers instead of Exorcist, for example.

[Haravikk]

Yet another update in the first post, this time some further tweaks to the Supernal Lander, which is now a one-off lander. It's basically a transport Flyer in that it cannot slow down except to allow passengers to disembark, and once it has it will leave the battlefield. It's weapons reflect this in that the missile pods are now one-shot only, making them ideal for supporting the passengers or taking out a key target on the way to dropping troops.
Helena the Virtuous now has a Power Weapon to represent the Rod of Grace and make her a bit less useless in close combat, along with Eternal Warrior to make her less prone to dying before you can get any use out of her special ability.
Immolators and Adherers can be taken in squadrons when taken as a Fast Attack or Heavy Support choice, rather than a Dedicated Transport. This hopefully makes them a bit more attractive as choices in these slots, as otherwise there's little reason to spend the slot on them. However, a squadron of flaming death or massed Heavy Bolter fire is a bit more impressive.

[Haravikk]

New update for 6th edition in the first post!

I won't really go into the details as there's a ton of changes; loads because of new rules in 6th that have thrown things off, and some that 6th's new rules have encouraged me to tweak. It's probably going to have ruined what little balance there was, and returned tons of mistakes to the list, but it's been good fun in the games I've played so far. However, I doubt I've had anywhere close to enough 6th edition games so far to really appreciate all the changes this edition, but I wanted to start getting feedback!

[edit] And no sooner than I post do I notice a mistake! Only minor, but the changelist for this version is incorrectly listed as v0.6.6, but I decided it was a bigger update than that due to the edition change.

[Son of Sanguinius]

Looks really good.

I would probably remove Zealot Cavalry and Mandated Troopers, considering that they can just as easily take Imperial Guard allies.

Blessed Weapon entry says "Power Paul".

Not a huge fan of the inclusion of Orbital Bombardment, but I can see why you did it.

I've always been a fan of Penitent Engines, so I'd give them a straight up 3 attacks, S6, Rampage, and probably Crusader. 4th Wound couldn't hurt either.

I don't understand the point of the Missionaries.

I'd like to see Zealot Mobs get a big increase in unit size. 10-30, preferably.

All in all, very nice work.

[Haravikk]

I would probably remove Zealot Cavalry and Mandated Troopers, considering that they can just as easily take Imperial Guard allies.

True, but then I think it's nice to be able to build the list without relying on allies; plus the Imperial Guard don't have squads that can properly represent arbites, which the mandated troopers are partly to represent as well, basically it's a fit in with your theme unit so you can do local law enforcement in addition to generic squadies.
The riot shields have been very fun to play with; a full-blown arbites unit with shields mixed in is pretty tough all round, but even just a cheap unit with shields slapped on makes a great buffer unit to keep the enemy away longer.

Not a huge fan of the inclusion of Orbital Bombardment, but I can see why you did it.

Any particular reason, or just not a fan of things like orbital strikes to begin with? In play testing so far I've blown up more of my own vehicles than my enemy's when I've used lance strike, always when I think "oh it won't scatter that far surely!"

I've always been a fan of Penitent Engines, so I'd give them a straight up 3 attacks, S6, Rampage, and probably Crusader. 4th Wound couldn't hurt either.

You know I completely forgot about Penitent Engines when thinking about 6th edition changes! Too focused on the rest of the list I guess! What you suggest sounds good, I'm thinking of maybe switching plain Fearless for Zealot; a 6-8 attack machine charging into a superior enemy with re-rolls to-Hit is nothing to scoff at. Not sure about an extra wound, but then until 6th arrived Rage was the crippling factor, now it's a bonus, how things turn around

I don't understand the point of the Missionaries.

They're mostly just if you want to play more heavily on the Ecclesiarchy side as it gives them a Fast Attack option, as do Zealot Cavalry, neither is great but then they're really cheap. Missionaries do get some decent equipment; stick a flamer and some meltabombs in them and they can mess up the enemy's deployment, even if they're ultimately doomed in the long run. Definitely not much compared to Seraphim, Dominion or the Ordo Hereticus Strike Teams, but for a themed list, or to keep points free for other things they can still be a little bit useful.
Any particular reason you think they're pointless, maybe something could be changed? Earlier on I did consider making them more expensive but having them be scoring units (possibly with a certain number remaining) which could ramp up their usefulness. The other alternative was to make them multi-wound, like mini-characters, since they're supposed to very hardened.

I'd like to see Zealot Mobs get a big increase in unit size. 10-30, preferably.

Well, I kind of picture them at least 3 zealots to a base already; I know they're terrible individually and Fearless means they're not easy to keep alive, but the unit of 10 is already 30 Wounds, would a 90 Wound unit be overkill? They are Troops after all so you can take as many as you like.


Anyway, thanks for the great feedback! Lots to think about, and I'll get to work on a revamped Penitent Engine profile right away

[Son of Sanguinius]

True, but then I think it's nice to be able to build the list without relying on allies; plus the Imperial Guard don't have squads that can properly represent arbites, which the mandated troopers are partly to represent as well, basically it's a fit in with your theme unit so you can do local law enforcement in addition to generic squadies.
The riot shields have been very fun to play with; a full-blown arbites unit with shields mixed in is pretty tough all round, but even just a cheap unit with shields slapped on makes a great buffer unit to keep the enemy away longer.

I'm of the opinion that Arbites need to be left in the realms of roleplaying or skirmish games. That said, both the Mandated Troops and Zealot Cavalry work as they have been presented.

Any particular reason, or just not a fan of things like orbital strikes to begin with? In play testing so far I've blown up more of my own vehicles than my enemy's when I've used lance strike, always when I think "oh it won't scatter that far surely!"

I'm not a fan of them to begin with. You can justify almost any commander being able to do it.

You know I completely forgot about Penitent Engines when thinking about 6th edition changes! Too focused on the rest of the list I guess! What you suggest sounds good, I'm thinking of maybe switching plain Fearless for Zealot; a 6-8 attack machine charging into a superior enemy with re-rolls to-Hit is nothing to scoff at. Not sure about an extra wound, but then until 6th arrived Rage was the crippling factor, now it's a bonus, how things turn around

You could give them Headstrong (with appropriate renaming) from Codex Space Wolves to give them that slightly uncontrollable edge. You're also probably right on the 3 wounds. Now that I've given it more thought, I think 3 works for making them cheaper, suicidal dreadnoughts.

Come to think of it, that could be the drawback. Make them like Lone Wolves in that they concede points to the enemy if they are alive at the end.

They're mostly just if you want to play more heavily on the Ecclesiarchy side as it gives them a Fast Attack option, as do Zealot Cavalry, neither is great but then they're really cheap. Missionaries do get some decent equipment; stick a flamer and some meltabombs in them and they can mess up the enemy's deployment, even if they're ultimately doomed in the long run. Definitely not much compared to Seraphim, Dominion or the Ordo Hereticus Strike Teams, but for a themed list, or to keep points free for other things they can still be a little bit useful.
Any particular reason you think they're pointless, maybe something could be changed? Earlier on I did consider making them more expensive but having them be scoring units (possibly with a certain number remaining) which could ramp up their usefulness. The other alternative was to make them multi-wound, like mini-characters, since they're supposed to very hardened.

They feel too much like a SM Scout squad or an IG Veteran squad, which is not what I would envision in a unit called Missionaries. I'll think more about it.

Well, I kind of picture them at least 3 zealots to a base already; I know they're terrible individually and Fearless means they're not easy to keep alive, but the unit of 10 is already 30 Wounds, would a 90 Wound unit be overkill? They are Troops after all so you can take as many as you like.

My mistake. Totally missed that they were Swarms. Nevermind.

[Haravikk]

You can justify almost any commander being able to do it.

True, but I do think they fit inquisitors reasonably well since they're more of the extreme measures in extreme situations types. Doesn't justify the disparity with Grey Knights, but then the whole Grey Knights chapter is the "extreme measure" in the case of that codex

They feel too much like a SM Scout squad or an IG Veteran squad, which is not what I would envision in a unit called Missionaries.

Yeah, I'm definitely agreeing; they do feel too much like… well, what they are, that is a bolt-on unit I added mostly just to give Ecclesiarchy a Fast Attack choice of their own, since even with Infiltrate it's hard to imagine situations where you wouldn't just take Dominion, Seraphim, or an Ordo Hereticus Strike Team instead.

However, looking back at some of my older ideas for them I've actually really warmed back up to the idea of mini-characters. Think along the lines of two-Wound, two-Attack guard-stats with Stealth, a heap of grenade types and access to some decent equipment, probably a focus on the usual flamer, melta and bolt-weapon choices, and dropping the requirement for the squad to be lead by a Preacher. The fluff in the old 2nd edition Sisters codex does describe missionaries as infiltrating in small numbers (or even alone) but being grizzled enough to handle themselves; I did think of making them lone characters, but I think it makes sense that small numbers would team up in battlefield situations. Could make Uriah Jacobus a more powerful upgrade as well, granting Shrouded and It Will Not Die to make them really tough for a small unit? Definitely deserves a rethink to try to make them viable enough that the other options aren't an automatic choice.

[Haravikk]

Okay, v0.7.1 in the first post!.

Even though it was only meant to be a small update there are quite a lot of changes, I'll summarise some here:

• Missionaries - These guys are now 2 wound 2 Attack mini-characters in a fixed squad size of 5. Can force an enemy to shoot at them instead of a different target, and they gain Stealth when they go to Ground (for a minimum 5+ cover save). They also have a decent range of equipment options.
• Uriah Jacobus - Changed to upgrade the new format Missionaries, giving them Shrouded instead when they Go to Ground (min 4+ Cover Save), and It Will Not Die, as well as his Acts of Faith and Stubborn, allowing for a very resilient missionaries unit that can cause big trouble for the enemy.
• Zealot Cavalry - Swapped Shield of Faith for Zealot, which makes them much more useful in combat for tying up an enemy. Flails and Spears now affect Hammer of Wrath, meaning they have up to four hits at either Strength 3, Strength 4 (flails) or Strength 5 (spears once per game) on the charge. Otherwise their basic equipment is two laspistols making it easy for them to harass, and swapping for two bolt-pistols they can actually manage fairly serious damage.
• Penitent Engine - Comes with Rampage meaning it can get 6-8 Attacks on the charge, or 4-6 thereafter provided it's outnumbered (which is usually going to be the case). It does however need to take Leadership tests to prevent it from becoming uncontrollable, and can lose Victory Points if it doesn't kill anything significant. Not 100% on the wording of the latter, I'm considering switching it to each Penitent Engine simply having to equal or beat its own points cost in damage, might be easier.

As usual there's a bunch of other stuff as well, including tweaks to vehicle repair, further equipment tweaks and so-on.

[Vet.Sister]

Finally forced myself to sit and read... durned RealLife getting in the way. I missed 5th Edition and it looks like I may well miss 6th.
However, after reading your codex I am thoroughly reminded of what I hope GamesWorkshop will do whenever they get around to releasing a new, full codex for Battle Sisters.
Your codex has plenty of options, I can't really comment on the efficacy of them but I don't feel like I'm being railroaded into taking the same list (with very little variation) over and over and over and over...
I especially like the Adherer, different but not overpowered. I also never considered making Zealot Mobs have the swarm special rule, it could add some unique character to the unit.

So, overall I like it!

[BlackTalos]

Great rules, will have to play them!

Just a few points/questions if this topic is not completely dead:
Why don't you have the rules for the Avenger Strike Fighter which are in the White dwarf Codex?
Helena the virtuous originally had the Mantle of Ophelia (p5 &p34). Is the cloak of St Aspira intended? (Also re-rolls of an invulnerable save on the original model sounded pretty nice - too OP?)
Is the supernal lander just an Aquila lander model?

Hope i get an update

[Haravikk]

Thanks for the reply! It's not really dead, I just haven't had enough that I felt needed updating to bother posting a new version, I've also been a bit too much on a Dark Angels buzz to get more play-testing done

Why don't you have the rules for the Avenger Strike Fighter which are in the White dwarf Codex?

Is that a more recent White Dwarf? I cancelled my subscription after the change to the new format increased the amount of product advertisement to more than 50 pages per issue, so I don't have any rules from any newer issues.

Helena the virtuous originally had the Mantle of Ophelia (p5 &p34). Is the cloak of St Aspira intended? (Also re-rolls of an invulnerable save on the original model sounded pretty nice - too OP?)

Actually the Mantle of Ophelia is in my list as a wargear item granting Eternal Warrior. Somehow I missed that when I was hacking about with Helena's rules, as she just has Eternal Warrior in her special rules instead. It's functionally identical, but yeah she should really be getting that from a Mantle of Ophelia instead.

Is the supernal lander just an Aquila lander model?

Essentially yes, as it seemed like a vehicle that suited the Sisters. The Supernal Lander's main difference is that instead of an internal troop compartment it would essentially have a rack of harnesses facing outwards, with two halves of a compartment closing around them; these are thrown open as the lander approaches its target to allow the sisters to disembark quickly. It's essentially an assault lander variant of the Aquilla, which is used as much by governors and their bodyguards as they are in combat zones (if not more so). Some extra variety of equipment too, though mostly intended for one-off use or in a purely supporting role, as a proper aerial fighter didn't seem like the right style for sisters. For true air-support in my games I will use an allied Vendetta since drafting in help from the Imperial Navy seems more accurate.


I do have a few things I was planning to add to the codex, and now that we have two proper 6th edition codexes out I probably need to do a pass to fix anything that doesn't seem to mesh with GW's style of rules so far. I'm currently trying to decide whether to include an extra tank or if the list is busy enough already; specifically I was thinking of including either the Incarcerator (Rhino with a holding/torture cell for a psyker on top), or some kind of ecclesiarchy command vehicle, though the latter is probably covered already by the ability to slap pulpits on rhinos and repressors.

[BlackTalos]

My main is also Dark Angels so i understand completely. Really good to know this is still running! (nice fast answer too )

For the avanger, i found the rules on here: [Link]
When searching as to where they came from, I have no idea, as i am guessing the author included the rules him/herself. I came across a thread referring to the ForgeWorld Model where it is stated: "The Avenger is often specifically requested by the Adeptus Sororitas should they require close support in their purgations". Having looked at the vehicle's rules in the link above, i can clearly see the tabletop use of this model (excluding the £85 of it) as a pretty low cost weapons platform. The Heavy stubber with Skyfire seems to be the only "Skyfire" weapon i've ever seen on SoB. Also when looking at the rules it seems to fit the space of a SM Pred, but with even more options! (and fit your "extra tank" slot with a nice "can fit all" option) - If you can afford it

On the mantle of Ophelia, Eternal Warrior is quite far from the "re-roll invulnerable" (although probably just as useful), so maybe split/rename the items?

I asked about the Aquila Lander as it is no longer available at ForgeWorld, hopefully (rumors) meaning a plastic release with (wishful thinking) a new SoB Codex.
Also, the rules above might give some ideas for the Supernal Lander rules (eg. Is it Supersonic too?)

Hope this helps in any way

PS: Really nice Avenger fighter Here

[A.T.]

When searching as to where they came from, I have no idea, as i am guessing the author included the rules him/herself.

Imperial Armour Aeronautica, along with the Arvus and Aquila.

The Repressor was also advertised in the WD dex but has never had a rules updated for the new codex or 6th (beyond hullpoints).

FWs line with the Aquila was that the mold had deteriorated and that they didn't want to replace it as the model didn't fit their new style. AFAIK it's on their list of things to either remodel or drop and is expected to remain unavailable until they decide one way or another.