Greetings.

First the background: So in my new Ascension game, set in a Sector where my games have been happening for a while, one of the players decided to play a Palatine. Although little out of scope for my plans, I however allowed it because I knew that in any other game a Sororitas Character would be impossible play, and it could be fun.

As the Sector was established already, I told the player about the local Battle Sister order: The Order of the Broken Sword, who are quite much focused on the battle part of battle sister. Not caring that much about prayers or anything else than warfare, their dogma could described as: A sword that is broken is still a weapon, and can be used to end foes of the Holy Imperium . The Order believed that their mission was to fight, no matter the cost, and that was enough for them.

Well, the Player did not like this dogma. He also knows somewhat more of Sororitas "canon" as he has (only after deciding to create this PC) began collecting a TT army of them, and has read all the background regarding them. Anyway, the Player created his PC to be little different Sister, with quite different dogma (more focused on belief than mere fighting). And as this is Ascension, I had to give the PC some troops to command, which was close to 100 sisters of various units. I suppose I could have had the PC to come from other Order than the local one, but I wanted that for each PC there would be a "bigger fish" over their heads (so in this case the Canoness commanding the local Order) so I could have some control of their actions. After all, Ascension can get little messy, and I am keeping the game quite sandbox.

Even before the game the Player had stated to me that his PC is intending to leave her order and try to create a new one. I though this could be interesting, if done correctly. However…

The first session was happening in the Sectors most important Shrineworld, which was too the base of the Order in this Sector. It was under attack by an Ork Waaagh, and naturally the Palatine were there fighting the Orks there. But this was the backdrop, and the Palatine and other PCs where in a specific fortress trying to extract information from another Inquisitor, but that is not important here.

Due the course of the session, the Palatine decided to start her new Order _right_ now, in middle of a war. No miracles, a small speech only. The PCs (and Players) had decided to leave the Shrineworld and go to nearby Hiveworld in order to think about what to do (they got most out of the Inquisitor what they wanted).

Okay, the Palatine announced herself a Canoness of her new order, and rolled charm to get at least some of her soldiers to join her. She got a fourth of her troops, as there had been always some rivalry between the PCs dogma and the dogma of the Order. Her former underlings were little shaken by this, after all she was leaving them in the middle of holy defence of the Sectors most important Shrineworld (and their Orders base in this sector). Then PC called her former Canoness, and announced her actions to her as well. The Canoness responce was basically "I have no clue why you are doing this now, but do not fail. You renegade" . Then the PC called couple of her friends, securing herself a place on a Agriworld to build a fortress for her new Order there. Then the PC left the Shrineworld with her new 25 or something Sisters.

So, summary:

• a Palatine with differing views to her Order announced herself a Canoness of a new Order, and managed to get 25 sisters from her original Order to join it. Also she took with her 20 of her students, young girls she was training to be Sororitas.
• This was done without support from _any_ Ecclesiarchal power.
• Then she and her newly created Order left the most important Shrineworld of the Sector which was under attack by Orks. This will gather her few enemies alone, and the enemies will be the ones she would just have needed (Ecclesiarchy)
• And she left her company on the battlefield without a commander. This at least should get her charged of fleeing the battlefield or something.
• She took with her all the gear her 25 Sisters were carrying, including Power Armors. That could constitute as stealing, although she said she would return them someday. This also will lead to logistical problems with the new Order, as they have no maintenance for their Armors, no ammo, and perhaps not even servitors to remove their Armors.

So, what you think? As I sated, my knowledge regarding Sisters is limited. How new Orders are created in background? I think it is almost always after some miraculous deed, and Sainthood and perhaps Martyrdom. None of which were done here. I think the PC should have gathered more allies for her cause, for in the feudalistic Imperium you stay afloat only with good supporters. Now she is alone, made at least semi-official deserter and renegade by her Order, and made new enemies in the Ecclesiarchy as she just abandoned the defence of their holy world.

All in all, I think the PC could survive this and forge herself a new Ecclesiarchal Order (yet even that could create some problems) as she feels little bit more a priest/cleric than a Sister.

But the PC will have difficult times ahead. Yet as a GM, I am forced to give the Player some chances. Her former Canoness said it quite well: " If you succeed, you will be hailed as a hero. If you fail, your name will be cursed for Eternity."

What you think the Ecclesiarchy should do to his? Her order? The Inquisition? The Imperium as a whole? Is this the right way to create new Order? What would you do as a GM here?

You just never know what players are going to do, do you? I have never gotten too deep into the sisters' fluff, so I can't say with certainty how new orders are formed. I can see with near certainty that it's not like THAT! That sounds like desertion to me… One soldier leaving a battlefield is Absent Without Leave, but taking a portion of your troops with you? That's betrayal. No commander of a military force would condone something like that, especially in the middle of battle.

Why they would up and leave like that is beyond me. Even if they don't believe in such a militaristic interpretation, surely fighting for their world and beating back orks is about as defensible as ANY philosophical position. Not to mention the brainwashing and the fact that the PC may have known little else in their entire life. Rising to ranks of power within an order while being THAT opposed to their beliefs seems far-fetched.

I dunno. I would offer some pretty severe consequences, up to and including being actively hunted by her former sisters. Perhaps the Inquis could offer her shelter as they would see her as being in their debt and having a loyal, experienced sister with a crack team of, what, 25 followers could be pretty useful. They could shelter and protect her from prying eyes. Perhaps they could even make up a new heraldry as a ruse and tell people they're from out-of-sector if they ask too many questions. This could be cool. Basically, she gets to feel like she's doing what she wanted to, but in reality she's indebted to the Inquis and has to do what they say lest she lose their resources and protection. Certainly the Ecclesiarchy wouldn't sponsor her…

Or at least, I don't see any way the Ecclesiarchy would recognize this as legitimate. It has the reek of blind ambition on the part of the Palatine, and doing anything without them being in control will rub them the wrong way. They love their power, and creating a new order without their consent or explicit instruction would surely be considered heresy of the highest order. Unless she has some very powerful friends who can vouch for her intentions and appease the right people. As in, the Inquisition. But not just any Inquisitor. It would have to be one who was actually in good standing with the church and can offer them something very valuable.This would still place them in the debt of the Inquis and they would still have many enemies working against them, even if it was political and passive-aggressive.

Either of those options leaves a lot of room for future roleplaying hooks. What I can NOT see happening is for her new order to simply be recognized as legitimate and let her found a new order with no major consequences. This is a really big deal. Can you imaging how angry the original order would be?

Whew!

Now, I consider myself to be rather fluent in Sororitas fluff, at least as far as the fluff from GW is concerned, but reaching beyond mere Codex contents and collecting the various White Dwarf articles that have popped up over the years. I realize that FFG's version of the Sisters differs a little from that, but perhaps my input can still be helpful in some way.

For starters, Minor Orders are usually founded due to simple distance from the Major Order the Sisters had been a part of. A Minor Order spawning another Minor Order would, in my mind, be highly unusual - even moreso if it is done "just like that" and without any significant background that might justify it. I have to agree with Jeff Tibbetts in that it sounds more like desertion, and considering the Sisters' rigid code which puts even the Imperial Guard's strict regulations to shame, the sheer level of disobedience displayed in the act would normally warrant an execution - or at the very least a forced transfer to the Repentia (together with anyone who followed her). I even find myself wondering how such a character was able to gain the rank of Palatine. Did she just fake understanding and submission all along, or does the persona have a history of open dissent with her Canoness? Was there something that led to this development for the character - or was it just the player's plan all along?

What I am not sure about is what level of backup a Minor Order requires from the Ecclesiarchy to get recognized. The Sororitas stand a bit apart from the usual hierarchy in that they are subjected only to the Ecclesiarch, and even then always keeping their role as "internal police" in mind, quite willing to put down a new Vandire if they are convinced the position has become corrupted once more. Stuff like acknowledging Minor Orders might be dealt with within the ranks of the Sisterhood (Abbess or Prioress), but I really don't think it could be done just bypassing the "maternal" Order's Canoness. Enemies within the local Ecclesiarchy might, however, be quite capable of making it even more difficult for such a new Minor Order by petitioning the Sororitas and further increasing the pressure coming from that direction. It could go as far as reaching the Ecclesiarch himself, but considering the size of the Imperium I don't think the matter would be considered important enough just yet … at least not until that player and his troops really screw up, which might already have happened if someone succeeds in painting them as scapegoats if/when that Shrine World falls now. Lastly, there is also the Ordo Hereticus, but since the Adepta Sororitas are rather good at policing themselves and due to the contents of the Convocation of Nephilim, the Inquisition usually stays out of their affairs. Inquisitors have, however, the necessary authority to step in, and there is a lot of potential in Jeff Tibbett's suggestion of tying this new Minor Order's survival to the Inquisitor in charge of the cell. I assume it would be the most elegant solution to "gloss over" the undiplomatic behaviour of this Palatine and still give this player what he wants, with the added bonus that this might invoke the disapproval of other Hereticus Inquisitors who see their ties to the Sororitas threatened by this action, or even have been Sisters in the past themselves before taking up the mantle of Inquisitor. Needless to say, internal rivalries between Inquisitors always come with a lot of plot potential for future disruptions!

Regarding the equipment, this will soon become a major problem for this group of renegade Sisters. Whilst I assume that they would not need a servitor to don or remove the armour (a job that may well be done by those 20 novices, if not the other Sisters), it would be quite a coincidence if any of them had the knowledge to provide maintenance. The specialists ordained and inducted in the necessary rites usually remain within the convents, so unless the mission this Palatine had embarked on had her establish her own base of operations, I think she'd be out of luck. Delivery of new wargear from the manufactoriums and forges of the Adeptus Mechanicus or Ophelia VII, on the other hand, is arranged by the Ecclesiarchy - so if neither the Adepta Sororitas as a whole nor the Ecclesiarchy acknowledge the right of the Palatine's Minor Order to exist, I suppose she will soon have to rely on scavenging. Some limited level of support could probably be obtained by "cheating", i.e. acting like a high officer of the proper Battle Sisters (which I assume this Palatine still sees herself as) and just demanding supplies from some PDF or Guard garrison. By the time the locals figure out that the character was not authorized to do that, she'd probably be long gone again. Again, however, the Inquisition should be able to procure replacements by sidestepping the normal means of distribution, further indebting this Minor Order into the service of whatever Inquisitor has arranged for all of this.

Hope that helps. If there's any more questions about the Adepta Sororitas, I'd be happy to answer them.