Only those, who are really devoted to this army, collect battle sisters. Old ugly metal miniatures, weak rules, and no future... But even this army can be made the way, any other one will envy. So, guys from War Head Studio have created an example of pure awesomeness - the army of Adepta Sororitas, which looks even better, that some recently released armies. Enjoy!
The Adepta Sororitas, also known as the Sisters of Battle and formerly known as the Daughters of the Emperor, are an all-female division of the Imperial Cult's ecclesiastical Adepta known as the Ecclesiarchy or, more formally, as the Adeptus Ministorum. The Sisterhood's Orders Militant serve as the Ecclesiarchy's fighting arm, mercilessly rooting out corruption and heresy within humanity and every organization of the Adeptus Terra. There is naturally some overlap between the duties of the Sisterhood and the Imperial Inquisition; for this reason, although the Inquisition and the Sisterhood remain entirely separate organisations, the Orders Militant of the Sisterhood also act as the Chamber Militant of the Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus.
The Adepta Sororitas and the Sisters of Battle are commonly regarded as the same organisation, but the latter title technically refers only to the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, the best-known part of the organization. The Sisterhood serves as the Ministorum's only official military force because the Decree Passive laid down by the reformist Ecclesiarch Sebastian Thor held that in the wake of the Age of Apostasy of the 36th Millennium, the Ecclesiarchy cannot maintain any "men under arms." This was supposed to limit the power of the Ecclesiarchy. However, the Ministorum was able to circumvent this decree by using the all-female military force of the Sisterhood's Orders Militant.
In the 41st Millennium, the Adepta Sororitas is part of the Ecclesiarchy and is divided into two Convents. The Convent Prioris is located on Terra, and the Convent Sanctorum is based on the Shrine World of Ophelia VII. The overall commander and spiritual leader of the entire Sisterhood and all its myriad Orders is the Abbess Sanctorum, the leader of the Convent Prioris on Terra. As the recognised leader of the Adepta Sororitas, the Abbess Sanctorum is sometimes elected to join the ranks of the High Lords of Terra, while other times she is subservient to the commands of the Ecclesiarch.
The Convents of the Sisterhood are organized into several Orders. Each Order follows the same basic hierarchical structure:
- Order: Led by the most senior Canoness, called the Canoness Superior, who runs the entire Order. Each Canoness Superior is subservient only to the will of the Abbess Sanctorum.
- Preceptory: A Preceptory contains a single Convent with up to 1,000 Sisters, so an Adepta Sororitas Preceptory is equivalent in size to a Space Marine Chapter and is led by a Canoness Preceptor orPrioress.
- Commandery: A Commandery normally comprises several smaller Convents or detachments of Orders Militant Sisters from a single Convent with up to 200 Sisters of Battle, led by a Canoness Commander. A Commandery is more or less equal in size to a Space Marine company.
- Mission: The smallest organisation of the Sisters, a Mission consists of a few Sororitas units and can be led by a Canoness or the lesser rank of Palatine.
Unlike the many Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, the Sisterhood is united into a single organisation with a centralised ruling body. The head of the Adepta Sororitas holds the rank of Abbess, and is elected from and by the leaders of all the orders. Beneath the Abbess are two Prioresses, one leading each Convent, and below these, the Canonesses of each Order. There exists a hierarchy of sorts amongst these leaders, though to outsiders it is highly arcane and ritualistic and based on a system of precedence. Orders that were established by "Ecclesiarchal Writ" are ranked higher in the order of precedence than those that were formed by a group splitting off from a preexistent order. This is especially visible in the six Orders Militant, each of which has spawned dozens of far smaller Lesser Orders Militant, the Canonesses of which rank lower in the order of precedence than those of their parent organisation.
The Canonesses are aided in their duties by their order’s Palatines. These are highly experienced and capable officers, from whose ranks the next Canoness will be drawn. It is the Palatines that often lead missions in the field, whether the order is an Order Militant fighting the enemies of mankind, or an Order Hospitaller establishing a hospital at the front lines. Below the Palatines are the Sister Superiors, who lead or supervise groups of their sisters in whatever tasks the order in question is focussed upon.
Members of the Adepta Sororitas can and do a transfer from one order to another, depending on their own unique skills and experience. In particular, a sister of an Order Militant may eventually transfer to a non-militant order in order to carry on the Emperor’s work should age or injury render her less effective a warrior. Furthermore, it is not unheard of for a senior member of the sisterhood to transfer to another organisation entirely; several Canonesses are known to have become Inquisitors, one a Cardinal Palatine and one even a Rogue Trader.