What are the tenets of the Imperial Cult?

Are there any listed Litanies in full?

Example

"Lead us from death to victory, from falsehood to truth.
Lead us from despair to hope, from faith to slaughter.
Lead us to His strength and an eternity of war.
Let His wrath fill our hearts.
Death, war, and blood;
in vengeance serve the Emperor and the name of Dorn!"

Latin seems to be used as the unofficial santification language, for instance once a weapon is deemed unique and holy it is given a Latin name. Even various other things are derived from Latin ie Deus Mechanicus or the Machine God. So question is how can this be used if there are no languages in the book denoting this aspect? If no one can speak it then where is it coming from?

Is Latin used in their prayers or litanies?

Example: Red & Black

What are the trials and tribulations of the Adeptus Sororitus? What methods are used to train them. I know of the method of a Space Marine but I've never seen the Adeptus Sororitus in detail. Anyone know?

New question: If the God Emperor is the source of rule, and an Inquistor is his shepard sort to speak, then the PCs are an extension of his will. If an NPC refuses a decree by PCs with an Imperial Seal does that automatically make the NPC a heretic?

The supplement you want to look at is Blood of Martyrs. It's the religion supplement to Dark Heresy for Clerics and Soritas. Talks about the Church's presence in the sector. For litanies check out The Imperial Infantryman's Handbook. It's an Black Library creation of the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer and Munitorum Manual in one book, it has various litanies in the back.

The supplement you want to look at is Blood of Martyrs. It's the religion supplement to Dark Heresy for Clerics and Soritas. Talks about the Church's presence in the sector. For litanies check out The Imperial Infantryman's Handbook. It's an Black Library creation of the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer and Munitorum Manual in one book, it has various litanies in the back.

I've read Blood of Martyrs it doesn't answer any of those questions. It denotes an overview of history of the Sororitas and the Adeptus Ministorum. I'm looking for details such as the training of a Sister, do they get placed in front of books at the age of 5 and beaten with a stick if they mispronouced or something. I'm looking for details on how they are trained. Such as with Marines you can read about it in Space Wolf by William King.

I'll definitely check out the Uplifting Primer should be an interesting read.

The supplement you want to look at is Blood of Martyrs. It's the religion supplement to Dark Heresy for Clerics and Soritas. Talks about the Church's presence in the sector. For litanies check out The Imperial Infantryman's Handbook. It's an Black Library creation of the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer and Munitorum Manual in one book, it has various litanies in the back.

I've read Blood of Martyrs it doesn't answer any of those questions. It denotes an overview of history of the Sororitas and the Adeptus Ministorum. I'm looking for details such as the training of a Sister, do they get placed in front of books at the age of 5 and beaten with a stick if they mispronouced or something. I'm looking for details on how they are trained. Such as with Marines you can read about it in Space Wolf by William King.

I'll definitely check out the Uplifting Primer should be an interesting read.

Soritas are raised in Scholas and then selected to become a soritas for the most part. It likely varies with each chapter (or whatever grouping a soritas holds herself to) of Sisters how they are specifically trained. I know Inquisitor's Handbook had the old Soritas tree in it not sure if it's more descriptive. Maybe there's a Black Library book about Soritas? Check Horus Heresy there may be something there. Sorry I can't be of more help. But check out The Handbook version, it's both books (Primer and Munitorum Manual) in one.

As for your Latin question it is more like 'Church Latin' than real Latin IMO and is represented by the SL:High Gothic skill. Much like Church Latin it is used to keep the unwashed masses largely ignorant of what is going on in services and to name special things.

Disclaimer: The following is sourced entirely from material directly by Games Workshop, which I personally prefer greatly to certain details in books such as Blood of Martyrs. I'm biased towards both the original fluff, and due to the nature of my sources, the following answers may not line up perfectly with what is written in the books of this RPG. Take this into consideration whilst evaluating my advice.

What are the tenets of the Imperial Cult?

Are there any listed Litanies in full?

Is Latin used in their prayers or litanies?

If the God Emperor is the source of rule, and an Inquistor is his shepard sort to speak, then the PCs are an extension of his will. If an NPC refuses a decree by PCs with an Imperial Seal does that automatically make the NPC a heretic?

Let's just say an Inquisitor would certainly have the ability to make it appear that way.

Non-Inquisitors wielding that much influence is pretty much an invention of Dark Heresy, though. It could be less severe in such cases.

I'm looking for details such as the training of a Sister, do they get placed in front of books at the age of 5 and beaten with a stick if they mispronouced or something. I'm looking for details on how they are trained.

Soritas are raised in Scholas and then selected to become a soritas for the most part. It likely varies with each chapter (or whatever grouping a soritas holds herself to) of Sisters how they are specifically trained.

Going by the Liber Sororitas in White Dwarf #293, the Adepta Sororitas are an extremely uniform organisation, as (unlike the Guard or the Space Marines) they can all trace back their traditions and regulations to a single point of origin - the San Leor Temple of the Daughters of the Emperor. Furthermore, all Orders are centrally organised in the Convents Prioris and Sanctorum on Terra and Ophelia VII with a singular leader for the entire organisaiton (the Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas, one of the potential High Lords of Terra). Due to this, it is fairly common for a Sister to transfer from one Order into another with a minimum of difficulty. Indeed, one of the early special characters, Helena the Virtuous, originally served in the non-militant Order of the Key, but this did not prevent her to rise to the position of Prioress Sanctorum, and thus become a battlefield commander for the Orders Militant as well. However, the most common transfers happen from the Militant to the Non-Militant Orders due to age or injury, or from the Non-Militant to the Militant Orders in a supporting capacity.

It should be pointed out, however, that a small degree of difference between the various Orders exists in details of its teachings or doctrinal interpretation, influenced by the personality of an Order's Founding Saint who unsurprisingly is treated like an ideal, leading many Sisters to display a noted tendency to that particular Saint's writings and aspire to walk in her path. One of the issues of White Dwarf following the 5E Codex release published a page that mentions what shape these influences may take: [ image ]

Hope this helps in some way!

Very informative, I'll admit the Soritas are one of the factions I enjoy the most. However I do think they removed the gender seperation from canon later (as you admitted in the first part of your post).

For better or worse, this IP does not aim for consistency , resulting in contradictions between the various origins of background all depending on who is writing on it.

I know the novel you are referring to, and I think it fails to capture the essence of the Sisters by letting them appear way too "normal".* The gender segregation was not "removed"; the author, Sandy Mitchell, simply did not care to incorporate this idea into his interpretation of the Sisterhood.

So far, GW has shown no interest in adopting anything from those books into their own background.

That doesn't mean that either the Codex fluff or Mitchell's novel are "wrong" or "outdated", though. Both are simply different perspectives on the setting. And it's the same for the books of FFG's RPG. It is up to the individual GM and their players which sources they wish to base their campaign on. I'm merely here to point at what the people at GW are saying. The rest is up to you!

(for more details about the issue of "canon" in 40k, just check the sources below the quotes in the linked post - it's pretty interesting stuff, and rather important to avoid confusion stemming from contradictory fluff!)

*: a Veteran Sister Superior responsible for the upbringing of the next generation of Sororitas drinking alcoholic beverages, flirting, playing games of chance and laughing with other Imperials? Nope. Not in my 40k. May as well have a love affair with a Space Marine while we're at it ...

**** thanks for the amazing info. That was exactly what I was looking for.

Glad to be of help!

I've also did a quick glance at some of GW's material that is accessible online, and maybe you will also find that to be of use, or at least an interesting read:

Sister Anastasia - background from an Inquisitor RPG character, features some background about her induction

" The Bones of Saint Emiline " - short story from WD #269 about a Sororitas Rhino driver

Excerpt from the 3rd Edition rulebook - another short story about the Sororitas' affinity towards pain/penance

Armageddon 3 Global Campaign Website - features articles about the two Orders Militant involved in the war (be sure to also click on the Fleshtearers' entry to read a communique from Canoness Carmina to General Kurov)

If you have any other questions about the Sisterhood, feel free to shoot me a line at any time. I've got a bunch of old (and thus little known) sources lying around - from Andy Hoare's Strike Force List with Marine-hunting Battle Sisters in drop pods to the aforementioned Liber Sororitas article to their 2E Codex preview, their Codex Imperialis listing, or the 3E Codex designer notes. I even have their fluff blurb in the Rogue Trader rulebook (1st edition 40k, not the Pen&Paper RPG).

Collecting this stuff has become a little hobby of mine.

Oh, by the way - you can also download the 3rd edition Codex Witch Hunters from GW's website as a free PDF . It's a shortened version that is missing a few bits of fluff, but it's still very much worth a read! Not as informative and extensive as the 2nd edition Codex, but much easier to find.

I knew of the Fleshtearers' entry to read a communique from Canoness Carmina to General Kurov, as I played a Fleshteater in Death Watch, until he died attempting to save a party member.

I admit, I actually like the Fleshtearers due to their tragic fate - Chapter Master Seth in particular seems like an overtaxed concerned shepherd, trying hard but ultimately being unable to fight his people's curse.

Something more on the FTs .. the Index Astartes article once printed in WD #251. Just in case someone wants to give it a read. The IA articles are all very nicely written, and I greatly recommend the whole series, even for people who usually aren't into Space Marines. The "Renegade Marines" one also briefly discusses the Inquisition!

One of the old, old books had a piece about language. Basically, language has changed a lot over 30000 years, so what we read as English really isn't.

High Gothic, being the language of tech, is much closer to modern-day English. It is written as Church Latin to get the right feel.

No idea if this has been superceded.

I think it's officially called the Fede Imperialis; it's popped up in quite a few places since (including the purity seal on the 5th edition rulebook).

"I know the novel you are referring to, and I think it fails to capture the essence of the Sisters by letting them appear way too "normal".* The gender segregation was not "removed"; the author, Sandy Mitchell, simply did not care to incorporate this idea into his interpretation of the Sisterhood."

It's not so much that the Sisterhood was changed as the Schola Progenum - since Caine is a commissar, he had to come through the system, but to avoid his personality being wildly schitzophrenic with his personal history, the Schola had to be significantly less 'monastary of brutal abuse' than it was often previously made out to be.

When he featured a full Sororitas convent in one of the other stories (the one with the plateau 'islands') it's pretty much spot on for classic description, by comparison.

I think it's officially called the Fede Imperialis; it's popped up in quite a few places since (including the purity seal on the 5th edition rulebook).

I think you're right - that other one may have just been the first line?

It's not so much that the Sisterhood was changed as the Schola Progenum - since Caine is a commissar, he had to come through the system, but to avoid his personality being wildly schitzophrenic with his personal history, the Schola had to be significantly less 'monastary of brutal abuse' than it was often previously made out to be.

Which is why I think the author should have simply picked a more appropriate origin / character type rather than turning 40k into Hogan's Heroes. A satirical novel series about a Commissar is about on the same level as a cartoon about an officer of the Waffen SS. Don't get me wrong: there is a time and a place for humour in 40k (see: Deff Skwadron, Kal Jerico, The Redeemer, ...), but in my opinion, this isn't it.

And it's not just that the Schola was "softened up" - Commissars, Sisters or Storm Troopers are not even supposed to train there, IF one would go by the original fluff.

At least it can be assumed that Mitchell's ideas will never find their way into Codex fluff. I guess I'm just miffed by how these very popular novels have affected the fandom's perception of the Sororitas. Really a great disservice by the author, however unintentional it may have been.

Last Line, I think. The speak-and-response " Our Emperor, Deliver Us " bits was the start.

It's supposed to be 'The Battle Hymn of the Ecclesiarchy', although how you'd sing it escapes me. I remember that the voice clips for the Dawn Of War Imperial Guard priest used lines from it as well.

To be honest, I actually prefer his view of the Imperial Guard and the commissariat. They are, after all, supposed to be the top 10% of the planet's military compared to the 'territorials/national guard' of the PDF, and the simple fact is that not every commissar is a frothing nutter who tries to slot people in the head at the first opportunity, any more than every Soviet Zampolit was. There are plenty of those in the series but the genuinely successful ones aren't. The rule is in there for wargames, but how many summary executions do you really think a commissar could perform before - as Caine puts it - catching the wrong end of a 'negligent discharge'?

The humour/satire isn't even too slapstick most of the time; it feels far more correct to the personality you see in serving or former military personnel.

The writers who love to wallow in the 'send in the next wave' drivel with guard annoy me more. At Cadia? Fine. Armageddon? Fine. But normal - and a lot of the imperium is 'normal' - regions, with guard units being a mobile fire brigade for rebellions and relatively minor campaigns in areas which haven't had a major war in years, decades or even centuries - no. For starters, writers who focus at great length about how a tank is centuries or millenia old then in the next chapter proceed to describe how regiments are thrown into 70% casualty meatgrinders as standard practice need their grasp of basic probabilities checking...

Yes, the threats are so much more horrific. Yes, there are subtle changes in people's perception of the universe - especially technology - but at the same time, people remain people. Marines have a psychology so fundamentaly different we'll never truly understand it, but guardsmen aren't.

The sororitas in Duty Calls are pretty much as normal in codex witch-hunters, faith and fire, and other novels I've read; the Sister Celestian in Cain's Last Stand is out of character but to an extent that's the point of her, and it's not like anyone else outside her immediate friends knows about most of her bad habits. And even then; I cant remember if she actually drinks, and yes she fleeces the other teachers at cards but then puts her winnings straight in the chapel's poor box. You get out-of-character individuals in stories - think Cadfael compared to the rest of the Shrewsbury Abbey inhabitants, who repeatedly (but quietly) breaks the rules. I can only speak for my immediate friends, but I don't know anyone who think's she's meant to be a typical sororitas. I certainly don't.

[double post]

I guess it's a matter of interpretation, specifically what material we "grew up with", so to speak ->

To be honest, I actually prefer his view of the Imperial Guard and the commissariat. They are, after all, supposed to be the top 10% of the planet's military compared to the 'territorials/national guard' of the PDF, and the simple fact is that not every commissar is a frothing nutter who tries to slot people in the head at the first opportunity, any more than every Soviet Zampolit was.

Going solely by Codex fluff, Guard regiments are not supposed to be the "top 10%" at all. There's plenty who are recruited from hive gangs, unskilled farmhands, or even prison populations, as the books mention. As is further explained, "the Emperor's demand is simply that these troops are fit to fight." Is it possible that the 10% bit is just something that evolved out of hearsay within the fandom? I often see various opinions take on a life of their own, eventually being propagated as "canon".

Ironically, the PDF is the best the Imperial Guard could possibly recruit from. Where else would you find "the top 10% of the planet's military", if not ... well, in the planet's military?

As for Commissars, I just think that the upbringing and indoctrination in the Schola would have tremendous effect on a soldier, which the author either failed to grasp - or rather rewrote, given how his description of the Schola differs from that in Codex fluff. Perhaps Mr. Mitchell thought that the Scholae work like a sort of boot camp where only future members of the military would be trained, allowing "less than suitable" individuals to slip through and attain such positions, missing that in GW's material such people would simply end up in a non-militant branch. The vast majority of Schola graduates are scribes; to become a Commissar a progena must have displayed a certain level of fanaticism and ruthlessness during their youth.

the Sister Celestian in Cain's Last Stand is out of character but to an extent that's the point of her

I guess I don't see why this would be necessary or commendable. Aside from the original background of the Sororitas leaving no room for such crass deviations, it just strikes me as utterly bonkers that someone like that would be in charge of training the next generation of Battle Sisters (which in itself is a contradiction to studio fluff as well).

but I don't know anyone who think's she's meant to be a typical sororitas. I certainly don't.

Well, she certainly gets pulled often enough as an example of "Sororitas are allowed to feth around and have boyfriends".

I think this reaction from the fandom is the main gripe I have with that novel, and by expansion the entirety of licensed fluff like Black Library books. They change the public perception of an entire faction. And, so I believe, to the worse.