Iron Gauntlet 2024: The Sisters of Saint Katherine's Aegis

[ThePenitentOne]

I, ThePenitentOne, on behalf of the Sisters of Saint Katherine's Aegis take up your Challenges. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete Challenge I and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Emperor curse me if I fail.

 

Premise:

 

The Sister's of Saint Katherine's Aegis live in a system on the Western Fringe of Pacificus that was liberated by Saint Katherine in the Wars of Faith that followed the execution of the heretic Vandire, and subsequently hidden from the fleet of Cardinal Bucharis after Katherine's flagship destroyed a relay station that marked the warp corridor leading to the system.

 

The Sisters of Saint Katherine's Aegis have been isolated from the Imperium since the Plague of Unbelief. They would describe themselves as the Order of the Fiery Heart; they do not know that their matron saint has been martyred, and they pray to the Emperor for her return.

 

This force will be a mission, though a fairly large one. The are headquartered in Aegis City, the capital of the sparsely populated agriworld Orison's Wake, Several members of the mission are stationed at smaller chapels, scattered throughout the grain-junction settlements that are spread across two continents.  I don't know that I will get the whole mission painted over the course of the event, but I'm good for at least a Kill Team when the time comes.

 

Evolution:

 

This is a Crusade force, and their timeline begins with transmissions from the 7th Blackstone Fortress, which means the Sisters of Saint Katherine's Aegis will be discovered by the Imperium over the course of the campaign. 

 

[twopounder]

Its good to see Sisters get a vow. Speaking of which, have you though of adding specific vows for the mission or some nuance they have for being isolated from the wider Ecclesiarchy?

[ThePenitentOne]

This mission is part of a campaign I've been trying to document since 8th edition, and it's based on an experience that actually happened during an Apocalypse game back in 2008.

 

I was still using the Hunter's dex, and the game required each of the six players to define an objective. Knowing that Saint Katherine had been Alicia Dominica's shield bearer, I chose to define the objective as a Praesidium Protectiva, and Sister Superior Jahalla Athebraxis captured the objective, and was subsequently promoted to Palatine.

 

Fast forward to the Sisters update in 8th ed... And the magnificent release of the Triumph of Saint Katherine.

 

Seeing that Praesidium Protectiva displayed as the sacred relic of the Order, I felt validated, and like I had somehow contributed to the Lore. (I have a similar story about the Kelermorph, but that's a different thread).

 

Anyway, yes: this Order is FULL of stuff that makes them unique... As they consider themselves to be the Order of the Fiery Heart, and they assume their Matron Saint is still alive, they have not yet developed their penchant (and rules) for Martyrdom. Rather, they are known for their indomitable and impetuous nature, which manifests as improved Leadership, morale and surprise tactics.

 

Now, what's awkward about that, is that the paint scheme of Fiery Heart differs from OoOML, who changed their livery after their massacre at Armageddon, which the Sisters of SKA also don't know about. I don't want to paint them one colour and have to change them, so I'm writing the colour change into their recent history; Jahalla, Keeper of the Praesidium, has had visions that prophesy a reunion with the Imperium and the larger Order. These visions include neither the Martyrdom of Katherine, nor the Massacre at Armageddon, nor the renaming of the Order... But they do predict the livery, and the Sisters of SKA, seeing her as Katherine's chosen, follow her lead in adapting her livery in preparation to join the larger order once more.

 

Also:

 

The world on which the Chapel of Saint Katherine's Aegis resides (Orison's Wake) is about to have trouble with both a Genestealer Cult and a Cult of Slaanesh. This required us to add civillians who can be corrupted by either cult, if not properly defended by both the Sisters of SKA and the garrison of Guardsmen assigned to the planet. In the beginning, these cults are mere kill teams, and they must use stealth to grow- attacking the Noble Houses rather than actual military forces. If they are discovered, the Sisters and Guard will hunt them down.

 

Now Orison's Wake is an Agriworld, so the nobility are known as the Thresher Houses. I've created six of them, and I've assigned each of them one of the traits attributed to planets in the GSC's Crusade content. So:

 

Bannerjee = Industry

Tavinder = Community

Kronar = Religion

Jendaro = Military

Syrinx = Resources

Mercer = Politics

 

(Side note: there are two Canadian jokes hidden in those names- Syrinx are named for a song by Canadian rock power trio Rush, and Mercer are named for one of Canada's most famed Maritime pundits, Rick Mercer)

 

So how does this relate to the Sisters of SKA?

 

Well, they are pretty tight with House Kronar. Many of the sisters are actually members of the House, though not Jahalla herself. Furthermore, the Death Cult Assassins that affiliate with the Sisters of SKA are known as the Cult of the Grainmaiden, and they are exclusively women of House Kronar... Though this secret is unknown to any but the Cult of the Grainmaiden themselves.

 

The Grain Maiden is an Orison's Wake myth that predates the Chapel of SKA, and the arrival of the Sororitas in the Desdaemona system. When the Sororitas arrived, they pulled a Bene Gesserit trick and used the Myth of the Grain Maiden to appeal to the citizens, embracing the Grain Maiden as a Saint. There is an annual spring planting festival in Aegis City every year where a Thresher woman is chosen to channel the spirit of the Grain Maiden to bring bountiful crops- I'll be using one of the house Escher outland models to represent her, and she can be a counts-as Death Cult Assassin with other DCA's as Handmaidens. It's only a three day festival, and it only happens once a year, so it's rare.

 

Also:

 

I've used the rules from the 9th ed Tau Crusade book to generate all of the features of the Desdaemona System. Orison's Wake is the the second planet from the sun- it is small and sparsely populated. There is also a world that is the Political Centre of the system (Miranda Regent) and a Hive World (Desdaemona Prime). And interestingly enough, there are Sororitas on these planets too. The Sisters of SKA who are from Orison's Wake are close knit, and somewhat suspicious of off-world folk.... Even other Sisters.

 

This is true of Jahalla's Dominions; five are native Wakers, and that's who Jahalla rides with in the Immolator, because they've all known each other since they were children. The other half of the unit are from Desdaemona Prime, and they work more closely with the Ordo Hereticus than the rest of the Mission. As the Sisters of SKA begin to suspect cult activity, more reinforcements will arrive from Desdaemona Prime, and eventually the Hereticus will come too.

 

I'm about 500-700 words into the article for the first challenge; some of what I've written here will end up in the article, but other stuff is more closely connected to the campaign than it is the Sisters of SKA. I've created a club here on B&C, and the link is in my sig... But I haven't posted an update in ages. What I tried to do was have two separate pages in the club- one specifically for the Chronicles of SKA and one with more generic tools for campaign play. The article that's up in the generic forum is about the correspondences between the planets in the Tau, GSC and Tyranid 9th ed Crusade planet types. Each dex categorizes planets; the Tau assigns a Military and a Diplomatic rank plus a supply chain effect, the GSC assigns four of the six traits listed in my Thresher House table above and a control effect to each type, and the Tyranid dex assigns Biomass and Resistance ratings. But the trick is, each dex categorizes planets differently.... So without thinking of correspondences, you can't always give a planet rules from all three dexes. The article is designed to help people do that, so that Tau can be trying to bring a planet to the greater good at the same time as the GSC is growing their revolution to prepare it for the arrival of Tyranids.

 

A future article will be about making cities and settlements and dividing them into territories for map-based campaign play. The systems I'm using to do that are 8th ed's Urban Conquest combined with Ashes of Faith. Then I'm going to use the system in the article to generate the Settlements and the City on Orison's Wake. There are 8 Settlements consisting of 25 territories each, and only one city of 45 Territories. Each settlement is at a junction of four massive fields, meaning that each corner of a settlement belongs to a randomly determined Thresher House... And doubles are allowed, so some settlements are dominated by a House if they own more than one corner.

 

It's a big process, so I won't write all the details here. But how it relates to this post is that the size of the Mission will depend on how many Churches are generated. The Chapel of SKA itself is in Aegis City, and it's so massive that it occupies four territory slots. I do know that it is where the senior Canoness and the Senior Missionary reside; it is also the headquarters of an Order of Crusaders, and Penitent units are not permitted to darken its glory. By 9th ed standards, it would have been home to a brigade of at least 75 PL.

 

But I have no idea yet how many satellite shrines, chapels and churches exist in the Settlements yet. These are more likely to be randomly generated in Kronar territory, and there can be more than one in each territory. Each one holds at least a Kill Team; some are exclusively Ecclesiarchy, some are pure Sororitas and some are mixed; none support more than a 25 PL Patrol. So until I generate my territories, I don't know how big the Mission is.

 

What I do know is this: planet-wide, there is enough Ecclesiarchal infrastructure to support a Commandery, just not enough sisters. When the Chapel of SKA was built, Katherine herself was present to consecrate the monument and lead the first sermon. For a century, Orison's Wake was as much a shrine world as an agriworld, but when Katherine detonated the Mechanicus Relay Station to prevent the Desdaemona system from being discovered by the Crusade Fleet sent by Cardinal Bucharis, all of the convents in the system were cut off from fresh recruits, the force on Orison's Wake was allowed to dwindle to Mission level because the population of Desdaemona Prime had a greater need for Sisters to help maintain order.

 

Anyway, thanks for the interest. Sorry to spam so much all at once, but writing it out like this helps me figure out what's important enough to be included in the challenge article.

 

[sitnam]

I love that you use gameplay and crusade content to develop your story. It's not something I am really capable of given I only play Warcry, but it is awesome to see. Perhaps if I get back into Kill Team I can develop some stories for my Kroot in a similar style

[ThePenitentOne]

@sitnam Thanks for that- developing this story through gameplay is the entire point for me; it does make some stuff hard to write though; I ended up generating 200 Territories in order to be able to write my article, and you'll be able to see the role playing potential in it. As part of the project, I created a new detachment, which means 4 enhancements; two of these will only be available for use after particular story events occur.

 

Okay, so I've finished almost everything. I need to finish two more datacards for new units: Thresher Command and Thresher Militia Cell. I also need to design the template for index card backs and complete the backs for all 4 of the units I've designed. And then I'm going to do a bit of teaser text to set up my challenge 3 Battle Report. I'd also like to try and use AI to generate a bit of art for the article- it's pretty "Wall of Text." I will also put this through some formatting once I finilaze the draft text- the datachment rules should be done up as a card set.

 

What I am about to post comes to 2980 words, and it doesn't include any of the datacards or the Batrep Prelude. 

 

Anyway, here's my draft:

 

Order Datafile: The Sisters of Saint Katherine’s Aegis

 

Order Identification: Order of the Fiery Heart

Organisational Structure: Mission

Location: Segmentum Pacificus, Desdaemona System, Orison’s Wake

 

Mission Commander: Cannoness Ailia Lavalle

Primary Fortifications: The Chapel of Saint Katherine’s Aegis, Aegis City

        The Chapel of the Grain Maiden’s Prayer, Xerastor

 

Order History:

 

Discovery of the Desdaemona System

 

The Desdaemona system lies on the Western fringe of Segmentum Pacificus. In the years following the Heresy, an Explorator Fleet of the Adeptus Mechanicus discovered a stable warp corridor at the edge of known space- a corridor which had an exit point beyond the boundaries of the Imperium into a star system of three habitable planets, rich with untapped resources. The Mechanicus established a relay station to mark the warp route, and over two Millennia, the Imperium began colonisation of the system. This began with the largest of the system’s three habitable planets- Desdaemona Prime. During the first wave of colonisation, the resources of this planet alone were sufficient to maintain the population, but over time, it was determined that the political centre of the system should be located off-world on the smaller and more defensible planet Miranda Regent. 

 

Desdaemona Prime grew to a great Hive world, exporting citizens across the system to extract resources from less habitable planetoids, to build orbital infrastructure and defences and finally to tithe and trade with the monolithic Imperium. Orison’s Wake, the final habitable world in-system, was colonised and designated as an agriworld to feed both the constant growth of Desdaemona Prime and the political elites of Miranda Regent.

 

The Age of Apostasy

 

At the peak of the Reign of Blood, the tyrant Goge Vandire sent vast fleets of Frateris Templar on unholy crusades of conquest and slaughter. One such fleet, destined for the naval base at Hydraphur, was sent lightyears rimward in the Empyrean turmoil common to the era. When the fleet emerged from the phenomenon, they were close enough to detect the Mechanicus beacon that marked the Desdaemona warp corridor.

 

Reconnaissance vessels emerged and quickly cut off the isolated outpost of Echo Station, extracting intel from the captured traders to assist Vandire’s Frateris Templar fleet with the conquest and subjugation of the Desdaemona system. Once the full battery of the Heretic fleet arrived, the battle was quick and decisive. Vandire’s forces destroyed Military assets that were too distant or isolated to be centrally controlled and captured the rest.

 

Over the decades of Vandire’s rule, the Desdaemona system was twisted to a shadow of its former self- at Desdaemona Prime, those who refused to submit to the depravity of their captors were burned by the thousands; Miranda Regent’s palaces and mansions were occupied by the senior officers of the fleet and the most brutal of the warlords who commanded the ground forces. The agricultural rites of sparsely populated Orison’s Wake were twisted into perverse fertility rituals, contaminating the food supply for the entire system with the taint of chaos.

 

When Alicia Dominica finally took Vandire’s head, the reformation efforts spread outward from Terra along the most stable warp routes. But even along those corridors, systems were claimed based on the value of their assets, leaving the far edge of Pacificus to the continued depredations of chaos for solar decades after Vandire's defeat. The Desdaemona System continued to suffer until fate brought the Crusade fleet of Saint Katherine’s Fiery Heart to Hydraphur.

 

As Katherine’s flagship approached the naval base, she was afflicted with visions of the suffering of Desdaemona’s faithful. Katherine attempted to follow through with her responsibilities to reinforce the fleet at Hydrafur, but the visions persisted, and in the end she put her trust in the wisdom of the Emperor, taking her flagship and a handful of escort ships west to the Mechincus relay station and ultimately, the Desdaemona system beyond.

 

Vandire’s forces had become complacent after breaking the system, and they did not anticipate Katherine’s holy wrath. The system was reclaimed in less than a solar year. As Katherine’s fleet launched surprise raids against docking facilities, orbital defences and vital ground fortifications, loyal Imperial citizens of Desdaemona Prime found the courage to unpack hidden weapon caches, maintained from the early days of the Chaos invasion in support of their liberators. On Orison’s Wake, a Thresher woman known only as the Grain Maiden united the Thresher Houses  to overthrow the shadowy advisors who had encouraged the corruption of ancient rituals. 

 

The Reconstruction

 

Following the liberation, Saint Katherine continued her involvement with the  Desdaemona System to ensure an effective reconstruction. First, she restored any of the elites who had escaped the purge of Miranda Regent to oversee the appointment of a new governor and the restoration of the Imperial tithe. Katherine assembled the rebel militias of Desdaemona Prime into the First regiment of Desdaemonian Primals with additional resources from the Imperium. At Orison’s Wake, she oversaw the construction and consecration of the Chapel of Saint Katherine’s Aegis; she established a Commandery of the Fiery Heart to defend it, and she had the Grain Maiden sanctified as an Imperial Saint for her role in the purification of the system’s food supply. She oversaw the repair and augmentation of orbital facilities around Miranda Regent into a dynamic ring of docks, hangars and weapon platforms known as Sycorax Delta. Finally, she oversaw the assembly of the Consecration Crusade fleet, which included ships from her own fleet.

 

Katherine’s involvement in the restoration, however, was on borrowed time. The Reign of Blood was over, but the Plague of Unbelief was about to begin, and Katherine was needed at Hydrafur on a more permanent basis. Cardinal Bucharis had begun to push out from Gathalamor, and the fleet was on high alert.

 

When Katherine finally emerged at the relay station, a large Heretic Fleet was detected at the outer limit of long range sensors. Knowing that she was out-gunned, and that the Desdaemona system would be vulnerable, Katherine made a critical decision. After a hasty evacuation, she detonated the relay station to conceal the passage to the Desdaemona System, and baited the Heretic Fleet back to Hydraphur where Imperial Reinforcements were able to outflank and cut off the enemy’s line of retreat, crushing them in a brutal pincer attack.

 

Katherine had always intended to return and re-establish contact with the Desdaemona system, but the Plague of Unbelief turned out to be a larger threat than anyone had anticipated.  The fleet that Katherine defeated at Hydrafur was only the first of many, and the Fiery Heart was deployed in ground invasions across the sector and beyond. Katherine herself was martyred at the hands of the Witch Cult of Mnestteus before she could complete the pilgrimage, leaving the Desdaemona system isolated for five Solar Millennia.

 

The Stillness

 

Desdaemonians refer to the era following Katherine’s departure as the Stillness. For a century or more, the citizens maintained hope that Katherine would return to reestablish a connection with the larger Imperium. In time, however, that hope faded. While Katherine continued to be regarded as a liberator, living memory of her faded, and the Chapel of Saint Katherine’s Aegis attracted fewer and fewer pilgrims from the other inhabited planets in the system. Without new recruits from the Convents at Terra and Ophelia VII, it was determined that many of the resources deployed at Orison’s Wake would be better used on Desdaemona Prime, where they could recruit and train new Sisters from the larger population.

 

As the Sisters of Saint Katherine’s Aegis saw their forces redeployed, they were promised that in time, recruits from Desdaemona Prime would be sent back to replace the losses. Instead, many of the recruiting Missions on the larger planet consolidated to form a Commandery of their own, while the Sisters of Saint Katherine’s Aegis saw their once proud Commandery reduced to a mere Mission- a shadow of the force once celebrated and blessed by Katherine herself. In time, Sisters of the Aegis began to distrust the Commandery at Desdaemona Prime.

 

What was sent from Desdaemona Prime instead of the requested sisters were the 17th, 25th and 33rd Companies of Desdaemonian Primals, as well as Precinct 13 of the Adeptus Arbites, placing local authority in the hands of other Imperial forces and further diminishing the role the Sisters of Saint Katherine’s Aegis had once played in maintaining order. Over time, the Sisters were left with no choice but to work with their Thresher allies in House Kronar to establish Schola Progenium territories in the settlements to plant the seeds for local recruitment. In addition to recruiting from the children of the Imperial forces stationed at Orison’s Wake, these facilities now recruit the most promising children of the Thresher Houses.

 

The Sisters of Saint Katherine’s Aegis

 

Due to their long separation from the Imperium, the Sisters of Saint Katherine’s Aegis retain their ancient connection to the Order of the Fiery Heart- they never experienced the Martyrdom of their Matron Saint, avoiding the grief that transformed their coreward sisters into the Order of Our Martyred Lady. In the Desdaemona system, there is no cult of martyrdom within the sisterhood; Katherine is remembered as an impetuous, living warrior saint. On the battlefield, their strategy and technique is closer to the Daughters of the Emperor than the Adepta Sororitas- they strive to incorporate the holy trinity of bolter, meltagun and flamer into as many of their units as possible.

 

While the Commandery at Desdaemona Prime and the Mission at Orison’s Wake belong to the same Order, the Orisonborn see themselves as separate from their Desdaemonian Sisters. They work closely with the Thresher militia of House Kronar and the Death Cult known as the Grain Maiden’s Rage. These allies are particularly powerful during the equinox festivals associated with the planting and harvesting seasons, when the Death Cultists are occasionally accompanied by a living embodiment of the Grain Maiden herself. 

 

The Orisonborn always treat their Sisters of the Fiery Heart with respect, but they are accustomed to conducting themselves without input or interference from the Commandery. In recent years, however, this has led to tension within the Mission after Palatine Ailia Lavalle was sent to Orison’s Wake with a bodyguard of Sacressants and a unit of Seraphim to reinforce the Mission. The Sister of Saint Katherine's Aegis welcomed the reinforcements, but they fear that the Commandery will see this as an opportunity to exert their authority over the Mission at Orison's Wake.

 

Mission Assets and the Distribution of Forces

 

The landmass of Orison’s Wake consists of two large continents and a few scattered islands too small to support agriculture. The larger continent, Farrow, is home to the planetary capital, Aegis City, named for the Chapel of Saint Katherine’s Aegis, which lies at the heart of the city. In addition to the capital, Farrow boasts four settlements. The Mission has a secondary shrine in the settlement of Thraxa, which is maintained with the support of the Threshers of House Kronar. Finally, a tertiary shrine in the settlement of Talla supports an Imperial Medicae facility. The Mission has no assets in the remaining settlements, Krannick and Varga.

 

Palatine Ailia Lavalle was recently sent to the Chapel of Saint Katherine’s Aegis by the Fiery Heart Commandery, along with a Sacressant Bodyguard and a unit of Seraphim. Lavalle would serve under Canoness Jalissa Kronar, a weathered and wizened Orisonborn, known to her Sisters and congregants as the Reverend Mother. Lavalle would earn the respect of her new sisters in a vicious campaign against Drukhari raiders in the continental northwest on the far side of Thraxa. The victory, however, was bittersweet; during the final battle, the Reverend Mother was infected with a virulent poison, and while she was able to walk unassisted from the battle, she succumbed to the infection three days later.

 

It was assumed that Orisonborn Palatine Lauriel Syrinx would be promoted to Canoness and that Sister Lavalle would assume her position as the senior Sister stationed on the smaller continent of Lodi. Instead, the Commandery at Desdaemona Prime promoted Lavalle and installed her as the Canoness of Saint Katherine’s Aegis. While Ailia had proven her worth in battle and none would ever question her loyalty to the Emperor or the Sisterhood, there were many who felt that the position of Canoness was better suited to an Orisonborn daughter of the Grain Maiden’s blessing.

 

The Sisters stationed on Lodi are all native daughters of Orison’s Wake. The Chapel of the Grain Maiden’s Prayer, located in the settlement of Xerastor, rivals the size of its sister chapel in Aegis City, but much of it sits upon land owned by the Threshers of House Kronar. It supports and is in turn supported by a Progenium Facility as well as a Penitentiary. The settlement of Miro is home to a secondary shrine, maintained by a Preacher and a unit of Arcoflagellants. The Sisterhood has no assets in the remaining territories, Theryll and Ranx.

 

Optional Rules

 

The following optional rules can be used to represent the Sisters of Saint Katherine’s Aegis, who differ significantly from the Order of Our Martyred Lady, and are not well suited to detachment rules that privilege martyrdom. The Harvester of Sorrow detachment uses some 9th Edition rules to better approximate the Fiery Heart battle tactics employed by both the Sisters of Saint Katherine's Aegis and the Commandery at Desdaemona Prime. When the storyline of this Crusade brings the Desdaemona System back int contact with the larger Imperium, both the Sisters of Saint Katherine's Aegis and the Fiery Heart Commandery will be reeducated and join the Order of Our Martyred Lady.

 

In addition to the Harvester of Sorrow Detachment, these rules include four new datasheets: the Grain Maiden, the Assassins of the Grain Maiden's Rage, Thresher Militia and Thresher Command. These units represent forces drawn from the Threshers of House Kronar, strong allies to the Sisters of Saint Katherine's Aegis since the day Katherine elevated the Grain Maiden to Sainthood. They will only serve under Sisters who are native to Orison's Wake. This is represented by the Orisonborn Keyword.

Not all Sisters of Saint Katherine's Aegis are Orisonborn- Canoness Ailia Lavalle, her Sacressants and her Seraphim have all been sent by the Fiery Heart Commandery at Desdaemona Prime, with a high probablitlity of additional reinforcements. Additional Orisonborn, however, can only join the Sisters of Katherine's Aegis in the four units presented here, or as Novitiates- graduates from Progenium facilities which are often located on Kronar controlled territories.

 

Detachment Rule: Harvester of Sorrow

 

Saint Katherine instilled in her Order of the Fiery Heart a reverence for the Holy Trinity of Bolter, Flamer and Melta. The Sisters of Saint Katherines Aegis see the heat beams of the melta as the scythes which reap the harvest.

 

Each time a unit with this ability makes an attack with a melta weapon, the target of that attack is considered to be in half range for the purposes of that weapon’s abilities if:

• The weapon has the pistol or assault trait
• The weapon has the Heavy trait and the target is with 18” of the firing model

 

Strategems:

 

Cleansed by Fire (2 CP)

Harvester of Sorrow- Battle Tactic Strategem

When: Your shooting phase.

Target: One Adepta Sororitas unit that has been selected to make a shooting attack.

Effect: When that unit makes an attack, do not roll to determine the number of attacks; instead, that weapon automatically make the maximum number of attacks.

 

A Moment of Grace (1 CP)

Harvester of Sorrow- Epic Deed Strategem

When: Any phase.

Target: One Adepta Sororitas unit that has just made a hit, wound or save roll.

Effect: The unit may discard one or two Miracle Dice: add +1 to that roll for each Miracle Dice discarded.

 

Faith and Fury (1 CP)

Harvester of Sorrow- Strategic Ploy Strategem

When: Shooting phase or fight phase.

Target: One Adepta Sororitas unit that has just used an Act of Faith for a shooting or melee attack.

Effect: That unit may immediately use that Miracle Dice for the wound roll. This does not count as an additional Act of Faith.

 

Judgement of the Faithful (1 CP)

Harvester of Sorrow- Strategic Ploy Strategem

When: Movement Phase.

Target: One Adepta Sororitas unit that has made a fallback move.

Effect: That unit may make a shooting attack even though it made a fallback move.

 

Holy Trinity (1 CP)

Harvester of Sorrow- Wargear Strategem

When: Your shooting phase.

Target: One Adeptus Sororitas unit that has been selected to make a shooting attack.

Effect: The attacking unit can only target one enemy unit that is visible to and within range of at least one of the attacking unit’s bolt weapons, melta weapons and flame weapons; each hit with these weapons receives +1 to wound.

 

Daughters of the Aegis (1 CP)

Harvester of Sorrow- Strategic Ploy Strategem

When: Enemy shooting or fight phase.

Target: One Adepta Sororitas unit that has been chosen as the target of a shooting or melee attack.

Effect: Until the end of the phase, each time this unit is hit by an attack with AP 1, that attack is considered to be AP 0.

 

Enhancements:

 

The Grainmaiden’s Resolve

During the uprising against Vandire’s forces, a Thresher woman known only as the Grain Maiden rose up to lead the Threshers against the forces that had corrupted their agricultural rituals. It was said that with her intimate knowledge of the land, the Grain Maiden could appear anywhere.

 

Orisonborn Adepta Sororitas character model only. This model and any Assassins of the Grain Maiden’s Rage or Thresher unit that she is attached to gain the infiltrate ability. If this model’s retinue is destroyed, the model gains the lone operative ability. Note: this enhancement can not be used in games which include a Host of the Grain Maiden model.

 

The Warscythe of Orison’s Wake

This sacred weapon was used by the Grain Maiden in the final battle with the sorcerous cabal responsible for the subversion of the agricultural rituals of the Thresher Houses.

 

Orisonborn Adepta Sororitas character model only. The bearer of this weapon may make 5 AP-3 D-2 attacks; if this unit attacks during a turn in which it charged, this weapon inflicts an additional mortal wound. This weapon may not be used during a turn in which the bearer attacked with another weapon.

 

Saint Katherine’s Aegis

While the Praesidium Protectiva carried to battle in the Triumph of Saint Katherine is a true Praesidium, it is not the shield that Katherine carried into battle on behalf of Alicia Dominica. Prior to her departure from the Desdaemona system, Katherine hid the true Aegis beneath the Chapel that bears its name, where it has remained for five thousand years. Upon her return to Hydrafur to face the fleet of Cardinal Bucharis, Katherine adopted the Praesidium that currently travels with the Triumph.

 

Adepta Sororitas model only. This shield confers a 4+ Invulnerable save to the bearer’s unit. If every model in the bearer’s unit has the Orisonborn keyword, that unit is additionally assumed to automatically pass any battleshock test it is required to make.

 

Condemnor of the Hereticus

This mastercrafted condemnor boltgun is granted to the Sister who serves in the capacity of Inquisitorial Liaison. In addition to its martial functions, this weapon serves as a badge of honour, and it is a reminder that the Eye of the Emperor is always watching.

 

Adepta Sororitas model equipped with a Condemnor Boltgun. That weapons type is changed to assault, and the weapon receives +1 Attack, +1 Strength, + 2 AP, and +1 Damage.

 

 

 

Edited May 15 by ThePenitentOne

[ThePenitentOne]

So the link to the completed Article is up in the challenge thread- it's pretty much the draft above, and that weighs in at 3195. 

 

But I didn't want to clutter up that thread with stuff that didn't need to be there, so that's what this thread is about- all the extra stuff that ended up happening as a result of the article. I've been working on the Chronicle of Saint Katherine's Aegis (at a glacial, uncommitted pace) since 8th ed, so I had named all the settlements, and at one point had even generated settlements using an earlier version of the Territory rules. Once the Tau and GSC 9th ed dexes dropped, I used the Tau dex to generate a system, and I named all the planets. Then I sed the GSC Crusade content to flesh out the territory rules... But I never got around to using those rules to regenerate new territories.  The decision to divide Orison's Wake's land mass into two continents was recent too- I hadn't even decided which settlements were on which continent.  

 

Writing the Article made me do all that stuff. Over the next few weeks, I'm hoping to get some of this stuff posted- I want to put up the settlement territory maps in the Chronicle, but since I wrote about it in the Challenge Article, and because it's where the challenge three battle will take place, I figured I'd give you some idea what Xerastor looks like:

 

 

 

So the first thing I did was randomly determine the corners. Each House controls the three territories that surround it, and they are generated from a table specific to that House in order to ensure that controlled territories are consistent with the character of the House that controls it. 

 

The center row and center column are reserved for Imperial territories- every settlement has a garrison at its core, and both the resevoir and the power facility will always be in Imperial Territory, with the rest of the territories randomly generated on the Imperial Table. The four Church territories are a single, massive complex, known as the Chapel of the Grain Maiden's Prayer.

 

So the campaign kicks off in the Progenium, where a class is set to graduate, from which eight will be chosen to become Noviates (my Kill Team for the painting challenge, obviously).  Graduation ceremonies in Xerastor are synched to the equinox, because the 9th and final Candidate to be selected for the Noviates is always the woman who is chosen as the Grain Maiden.

 

In the week leading up to the equinox, a Thresher named Jahalla Athabraxis began having dreams... Visions of long lost Sisters of the Fiery Heart from the larger Imperium, clad now in red robes instead of black, and somehow, after 5 long Millennia, finally drawing near. Jahalla was not a student of the Progenium- she's a true Thresher, maintaining the Agriservitors of her family and patrolling the vast fields for both the predatory beasts that prowl among the crops and competing Thresher Houses looking to scout territory. Her dreams were unexpected in one untrained to serve as as Adepta Sororitas, and so they were ignored. But soon those dreams became waking trances. 

 

The eight Progena were chosen at noon on the day before the solstice, but in one of her trances Jahalla had predicted all eight days earlier, refering to them as her sisters, though there some among them who she had never met. Later that day, the priests would arrive from their Prayer Among the Leaves- a week long pilgrimage into the deep fields to pray in isolation to select a woman to represent the Grain Maiden. The omens were clear: Jahalla Athabraxis was chosen by the Emperor to be a vessel for his lost saint.

 

At sundown, Jahalla is to be consecrated. It is the final, ritual approach to the altar, flanked by a ceremonial bodyguard drawn from the Assassin's of the Grain Maiden's Rage... It is then that enemies launch their attack, seeking to disrupt the sacred ritual.

 

So the force I hope to paint would include the horned Escher Deathmaiden painted in greener gear and living flesh tones to represent Jahaala as the Grain Maiden, Knosso Prond (the RT DCA with face darts) and four regular DCA's; a unit of Novitiates (with one of them representing Jahalla's Novitiate gear, which is left off the table in because in this mission, Jahalla is represented by the Death Maiden, and finally, a priest to perform the ceremony.

 

For the challenge, I commit to doing the novitiates as my kill team Bronze... But I want to set a stretch goal and try to make it to silver. The army described about IS the army I'm using in that first game, but it lacks a battleline unit, because Novitiates aren't battleline, and even if it didn't, it's only 17 models. I'm not sure that's worth a Silver. I'd need to add 10 models to include a battleline unit, and I know I wouldn't be able to do 27 by the deadline... But I could do up a five woman unit, like Retributors, Seraphim or Sacressants.

 

Anyway, enough for now. 

 

 

Edited May 17 by ThePenitentOne

[Brother Argent]

So I have read over you article mate.  The level of detail that you have gone to is impressive and very immersive.  I will admit with the vast number of names of people, places, houses and things you have thrown in I did struggle to keep it all straight.  In saying that it is close to midnight here and I am operating on little sleep so that could be more my fault then yours.

 

You have put a lot of love and time, both on and off the game table, into these sisters and it shows.  The fluff is tied nicely into the greater shared universe fluff and your sisters, although still obviously sisters, have enough tweaks of personalisation in their fluff to be uniquely yours.  I admit I am not up on the more recent fluff for the Sisters.  Well since about their rebirth in Eighth to Ninth Edition I think it was so I cant offer too much insight more then that.

 

All I can say is it is good to see such a close connection to ones fluff and force and I see plenty of promise here with what you have done.  I will have another reread and try to perhaps offer a little more when I have a chance and some sleep but you certainly have your fluff well constructed and so I say keep up the good work.  I look forward to seeing more from you as the Iron Gauntlet goes on. 

[ThePenitentOne]

Thanks for the response. I want to spend some time going over all the submissions; I read and commented on a few in development, but I haven't read any of the finished ones yet. Looking forward to reading some material that will provide some examples for me to hone what I have.

 

I had some insecurities- in my fluff, I know some of the names I chose are very "______ of the _______" which just gets awkward after repetition. In other writing I often abbreviate Sisters of Saint Katherine's Aegis to Sisters of SKA... but it didn't feel right in the dex. I also felt like much of the history was about the Desdaemona system rather than the Sisters of SKA, and I think I can balance that over time moving forward, adding here or there as the Crusade moves on. 

 

Then there's the House Rules... And believe me, more than a little insecurity here; house rules can get out of hand, and detachment building is easy to do, but I think maybe hard to get right. I sourced as many of my rules in 9th ed as I could, and I focused on strats that were regarded as weak (Holy Trinity) rather than the ones that were strong (Defenders of the Faith and Blessed Bolts). They don't give you much to go on with the style of Fiery Heart, because the Order is defined by Katherine's Martyrdom.

 

Finally, the other thing that's odd about these rules is that they will fade as the story progresses. The distress signal sent by the Blackstone Fortress draws the attention of the Imperium close enough to detect the warp corridor that leads back to the Desdaemona system. There are plans for Taddius, Pious, and Gotfret to make cameo appearances in the campaign. The point is that as the Sisters of SKA merge with the Order of Our Martyred Lady, they will likely lose their house rules. Hopefully the dex provides me with a detachment that matches them.

 

I have cleaned up 3/4 Index Cards, and I'll have the last finished by the end of the night, but I think I'm going to post them one unit at a time so that I can talk and maybe get feedback on each card as I go. Also tonight, I want to try and take the photo for my vow in challenge two. 

[ThePenitentOne]

Been a while since I posted. I haven't read the other articles yet, but I did build and basecoat 10 Novitiates, a Necromunda Death Maiden (the Grain Maiden), and a Necromunda Redemptionist (Preacher). I have 4 Death Cult Assassins that were previously built and based, and Knosso Prond. I'm going to try to post pictures and my vow tonight, but I want to spray Knosso first so that everything is uniformly based. The Noviates are for my vow, but the whole force needs to be done for the batrep. Depending on how fast I finish those 16 models, I'll decide whether I try to add a Battle Sister Squad (which would turn a Bronze to a Silver) or a 5 woman unit of Seraphim (which would only count of Silver if the organizers think the force is worthy of waiving the Battle Line requirement, because unless it was in a dataslate I didn't read or don't remember, Noviates aren't Battleline.

 

Anyway, this force includes BOTH the Grain Maiden and the Assassins of the Grain Maiden's Rage. I said I was only going to include the datacards one at a time, but I can't write about two units and not post their cards. So here they are:

 

 

 

Edited May 23 by ThePenitentOne

[ThePenitentOne]

I, ThePenitentOne, on behalf of the Sisters of Saint Katherine's Aegis take up your Challenges. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete Challenge II and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Emperor curse me if I fail.

 

 

 

 

This unit is my priority. They are a Kill Team, so finishing them will secure the bronze. This unit has two flamers, an Simulacrum, a Banner, a Penitent and her Handler. All the others are autopistol CC. One of the flamer girls is the Novitiate that the Grain Maiden will become; she has to sit the first battle out, because in the first battle, Jahalla is the Grain Maiden.

 

Which brings us to....

 

 

 

So this is Jahalla Athebraxis as the Grain Maiden. She's a Thresher of House Kronar, and though she was not a student of the Schola Progenium, by custom being chosen as the Grain Maiden confers recruitment by the Sisterhood. My hope is by painting this model in greens and yellows with more living skintones and a colourful headdress, I can make a "Death Maiden" model into a decent representation of what the Grain Maiden is supposed to be.

 

I'm a bit nervous about her.

 

Next up: her bodyguard:

 

 

You'll notice Knosso Prond in the Center. Her weapons profile from the Rogue Trader list is on the datacard, and for consistency's sake, I duplicated the powerblade profile for the regular DCA's. It's a better profile, and Knosso's Dart Mask adds one ranged attack to the unit, so I will have to up points costs. I might tweak the unit construction rules on the back of their card.

 

Finally, the Preacher who presides over the ritual:

 

 

I had to pick the Beardy Redemptionist as my Preacher.

 

The actual Redemptionist Leader model will represent a Missionary... but he's a long way off, and not part of the challenge.

 

So only the Novitiates are a solid pledge- the other three units are stretch goals, but I'm going to try really hard to finish all of this fast enough to leave me time for one more unit- Seraphim if I'm too close to cut off and a BSS if I think I have enough time. Once the Novitiates are done, the Preach comes next, followed by the Grain Maiden, and finally her bodyguard. 

Edited May 25 by ThePenitentOne

[NovemberIX]

It looks like you've got a good set of models to paint, and are well ahead of the curve when it comes to the index cards. The concept of the grain maiden is taking great shape as well, the lore has a a bit of a midsommar/wickerman feel, but that could just be my personal phobias about the agrarian lifestyle.