Sororitas weaponry and Ecclesiarchy rules lawyers

[Atrus]

The most famous rules lawyery examples of the Ecclesiarchy is the whole "no men under arms" and "not men, look, mamories".

 

It got me to thinking that maybe the sisters armory is limited by other restrictions by the decree passive? Much like the whole semi-auto vs auto firearms argument in the US.

 

For example; if i recall correctly, meltaguns are repurposed mining equipement and therefore makes its way into the sisters armoury.

 

Flamers might be classed as foliage clearing?

 

Bolters/heavy bolters might (long shot) be classed as defensive weapons and permitted by the passive restrictions?

 

This could explain why we dont see obvious military weaponry like Assault Cannons, Plasma Cannons and Missile Launchers in use. As well as some of the tanks.

 

Immolators would be classed as a transport with "heavy mining equipment or defensive weapons"

Exorcists are mobile shrines that (if clarified/retconned to fire melta warhead) is equipped with mining tools.

 

It could be the restrictions in the Decree Passive are to such an extent that bolter, melta and flamer type weapons are the only thing the ecclesiarchy rules lawyers could loophole into effect?

 

If that is how the sororitas armoury is decided, i think thats a pretty cool explanation of their limited armoury and would be the case for any new weaponry only to fit within that.

 

Thoughts?

[Servant of Dante]

The Holy Trinity and the Decree Passive are two entirely separate things. The Holy Trinity is a dogma held by the Sisters themselves, they limit their own weapon options because they want to, and we can see exceptions for things like plasma pistols, which are usually gifts from Inquisitors they served or what not.

 

The Decree Passive is just what you said “no men under arms.” If the Sisters weapon’s didn’t count as “arms” they’d just give a bunch of dudes the equipment and keep going, and there’s no mention in any fluff I know of that says the Decree Passive sets out any restrictions on anything other than “men under arms.”

 

The Frateris Militia are tolerated as they are temporary and hardly armed (more a mob with pitchforks and torches than anything else) and the Crusaders are let by so long as no one Cardinal gathers too many of them for their personal guard.

 

The reason the Sisters don’t have heavier weapons (though this is just my opinion) is that they really don’t need them often. An Exorcist is usually overkill or just too unwieldy for most of what they do, and so they really don’t need a ton of redundant battle tanks. The flamer, Boltgun and meltagun are their chosen, sacred weapons so they dont use others widely, Meltaguns can’t really be called mining tools in any amount of good faith with how rare they are supposed to be. But again this paragraph is just my opinion.

[Atrus]

I agree with what youre saying; yet for the purpose of this thought exercise, im thinking that what if there was more to the decree passive than what is mentioned in the fluff.

Could it be that when the Ecclesiarchy came out with their loophole, there were some restrictions put in place that essentially left them scrabbling for the weaponry that they have now?

Were the then daughter/brides of the emperor exclusive users of the trinity?

Was it that after the decree and my theoretical restrictions that the holy trinity was made and embraced and then became the sororitas dogma?

 

As for the meltagun, i compare that to a mining tool as terminator armour is to the hazard suits on starships for strolling through drive cores. Terminator armour is rare and revered but its template is on just about every ship. A meltagun is apparently rare as you say, but its template can be found in a lot of mines.

This paragraph my opinion.

[A.T.]

Aside from the sisters own traditions their equipment is not restricted by the ecclesiarchy so much as the high lords - for instance when they picked up the repressor there was a lengthy debate among the administratum as to whether they should be permitted to use it.

 

There is also a question of supply with some of the sisters equipment being part of trade pacts with the mechanicus. The immolator is a good example as the sisters get a steady supply of them in perpetuity as payment for delivery of a standard template construct fragment.

[Ficinus]

I was always under the impression that the "no men under arms" wasn't rules lawyering since it was written with the intent that the Sisters of Battle serve as the militant arm of the Ecclesiarchy (while also policing the Ecclesiarchy for heresy).