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The Return of Celestine


BitsHammer

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The expanded background in the Dark Heresy books has unsanctioned psykers as part of the Inquisition, it is even part of possible character advances in the later game. The reasoning is that the Inquisitorial Mandate like the Rogue Traders Warrent of Trade allows the bearer to speak with the voice of the Emperor and superceed the laws of the Imperium. So whilst the rules say this must be done the Inquisition can quietly go "No Thanks".

 

 

Hm, I've never read any of the RPG books, but aren't they third-party products that take more than a few liberties with the canon in order to create a more engaging role-playing experience?

 

There is no doubt that unsanctioned psykers may end up in the employ of radical Hereticus Inquisitors, just as radical Malleus Inquisitors employ Daemonhosts and radical Xenos Inquisitors employ alien mercenaries, but I can't see how an organisation in which the ultra-puritans view any form of psychic ability as witchcraft (to the extent that they persecute Navigators, Astropaths and by extension even the Emperor himself and thus are damned by their fellows) that would permit an untested, unsanctioned psyker to be a Mandate-bearing member of its ranks.

I prefer the Fantasy Flight RPG books to GW fluff to be fair. It is written with more passion, more depth and brings across true Grimdark, not the current Grimderp. They also show flexibility and liberty with some issues, coming across far more realistic and sinister. I doubt there aren't any Imperial deals under the table regarding illegal matters like unsanctioned Psykers. They are also not afraid to touch on political issue, which are absent from usual GW publications, which put more value in family friendliness and Bolter Porn. The RPG books are one of the reasons I prefer pnp over 40k these days.

I'm still thinking hidden psyker. Someone at some point can sanction you and then bury the records because =I= , or can hide your existence as a psyker to avoid the big I.

Then you're raised knowing nothing and one day discover it and all hell breaks loose, or you veer towards the big I , with or without external puppetmasters pulling the strings

Right, I've now been through everything that has been released or leaked thus far, and I still see nothing that confirms that Greyfax was a member of the Adepta Sororitas. The only reference I have found is from White Dwarf and it is intentionally ambiguous:

 

"I also wanted her power armour to look like the suits worn by the Adepta Sororitas, with the cabling on the thigh plates, the under-bust corset, the high greaves and armoured boots. It suggests that she might once have been a battle sister herself - her haircut certainly indicates that - or that perhaps her armour was given to her by them many years ago." (emphasis mine).

 

What I feel is rather significant is that the shoulder pads are a completely different shape, rendering them bereft of iconography - there is nothing on the armour that indicates a Sororitas past - no hint of a Fleur De Leys or Ecclesiarchy symbol anywhere on the armour, the Chaplet Ecclesiasticus replaced with an Inqusitorial icon. I feel this is important as we know from the Deathwatch recruitment and armour-painting practices that maintaining the original iconography of a suit of armour is important so as to not offend the suit's Machine Spirit.

As to the Sisters training, I hold that all Novices are trained on Ophelia or Terra then sent out to the various orders. It's how they maintain uniformity.

 

I really need to find the bit of fluff that made me think that. Can't actually remember where it's from XD

 

And I don't think it's going to suprised anyone that there are chunks of the FFG fluff I don't like :P

Sounds to me like the sculptor just had very few female armored GW models from which to draw inspiration, so the natural one to go with was sisters of battle, and the the whole "might have been one" is just an artist-first gamer-second sculptor taking artistic liberties without being nerd enough about the 40K universe to know all the details about faction origins and such.

Celestine Video is out - Warhammer TV Facebook.

 

Celestine Rules Highlights:

 

Summary:
 
Can still get back when slain still.
Can use "The Emperor's Will" to summon a beam of holy light that lances down from the heavens and incinerates a whole squad.
She wasn't in the Agents book because of the new model. She returns now with her Gemini who are also integral to the story (won't ruin that bit yet!)
She can revive the Gemini in battle.
Ardent Blade has Armourbane now.
"Saintly Blessings" affect armies of the Imperium - pick a battlefield role (HQ, Troops etc) and these buff one of them. Examples were HQ: "Fight with renewed vigor." and LoW: Gain IWND for the rest of the battle.

As to the Sisters training, I hold that all Novices are trained on Ophelia or Terra then sent out to the various orders. It's how they maintain uniformity.

I really need to find the bit of fluff that made me think that. Can't actually remember where it's from XD

And I don't think it's going to suprised anyone that there are chunks of the FFG fluff I don't like tongue.png

Funnily enough, all recruits from the Calixis Sector being shipped to one of the two convents for rigorous suitability testing, instruction in the traditions of the Sisterhood, some degree of military training and assignment to one of the Orders is a piece of background that the FFG books very much support XD

IWND for Lords of War? I'm more excited than ever to get a Knight to run with my Sisters. I hope the other abilities are just as neat, and work as well with Adepta Sororitas units as other Armies of the Imperium units (though I am intrigued to see if there are any fun interactions with Inquisitors or Assassins).

 

Armourbane really does open up her tactical role, allowing her to carve up a Leman Russ Demolisher chassis with ease, as well as still chomping through MEQ squads. It some ways it is a shame that she is unlikely to be a Character-killer (as epic duels between the Emperor's Angel and wayward Chaos Lords would be, well, epic) but once she's in the opponent's lines she is going to cause carnage.

I don't know if it's the longer hair without an overhanging fringe or that her countenance isn't the more serene expressions of her tabletop incarnations and prior artwork, but that piece just doesn't look like Celestine to me.

I don't know if it's the longer hair without an overhanging fringe or that her countenance isn't the more serene expressions of her tabletop incarnations and prior artwork, but that piece just doesn't look like Celestine to me.

Lack of roses and doves?

I don't know if it's the longer hair without an overhanging fringe or that her countenance isn't the more serene expressions of her tabletop incarnations and prior artwork, but that piece just doesn't look like Celestine to me.

I mean I can tell the picture is of Celestine, but I will say I prefer her picture in the witch hunter book
What is up with that facial expression and super thin forarms. The hair is frazzled as well, and looks as if she just survived some flames as it appears to have singed split ends. Also it looks like she stabbed some one with the but of her sword as it appears to have dried blood on the fleur de Lys.

She looks like a really stern school teacher Oo

 

I get the feeling the same artist did both the Celestine and Greyfax video artwork - they both have really odd faces/expressions, and do indeed look like stern headmistresses. All the other artwork I've seen thus far looks ace, particularly the small thumbnail of Greyfax they used elsewhere in her respective video.

 

++Edit++

 

Here's the picture I mean:

 

Capture.PNG

 

In a way I find it funny, because it seems like GW have learnt how to sculpt female faces at long last, and subsequently forgot how to paint them!

 

On a less sarcastic note, the video really shows off the models well, and I am so pleased that the first plastic Sisters look absolutely stunning. Glad I pre-ordered everything on impulsive decision, when I had been a bit iffy on the release following the early rumours/leaks.

Celestine certainly got poweful rules but apparently with it being possible to take her as HQ of any Imperial codex... I just hope she won't be in every darn Imperial list from now on :P It will be interesting to see how 8th changes things but seems like Sisters get no unique goodness with Cel being pimped to everyone.

Celestine certainly got poweful rules but apparently with it being possible to take her as HQ of any Imperial codex... I just hope she won't be in every darn Imperial list from now on :P It will be interesting to see how 8th changes things but seems like Sisters get no unique goodness with Cel being pimped to everyone.

Yeah. I suppose it is what it is. We still have 1 (of 6) special characters to call our own.

Celestine certainly got poweful rules but apparently with it being possible to take her as HQ of any Imperial codex... I just hope she won't be in every darn Imperial list from now on tongue.png It will be interesting to see how 8th changes things but seems like Sisters get no unique goodness with Cel being pimped to everyone.

Pimped is unfortunately a fitting description (GW is all like "for the low price of one triumverate box set she's all yours"), and I am actually hoping Celestine lost hit-and-run in order to make her less appealing to non-sisters players (as I was planning on putting her with a unit of seraphim anyway, so she can just borrow their hit-and-run).

Apparently all three of the Triumvirate characters are a HQ choice for the entire Imperium. If Celestine is the same level of bonkers as Cawl, then we can expect a whole lot of power gamers sporting her :/ I understand including her if you can support it with fluff (as mentioned above), but seeing her on the table in the hands of people who only care about rules makes me bitter.

seeing her on the table in the hands of people who only care about rules makes me bitter.

Signed.

I know what I play doesn't have anything to do with what other people play, but when you're told for years that the only good things in your codex are X, and then when you start getting updates it goes hand in hand with non-Sisters players getting easier access to the best parts of your codex, it starts to make you wonder why even have codexes and separate factions at all? Why not just have one giant super Imperial codex of nothing but the best units from all factions and call it Codex: Best Possible Maths?

down.gif

I agree with others about that new artwork above: Celestine doesn't really look good.

As for my reaction after watching the video: "YEEAAHHH!!!!!" smile.png

Ave Imperator and Celestine!

Man that one ability sounds like Holy Beam from the heavens in description. Glorious.

Very much looking forward to picking her up!

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