Adepta Sororitas

The "unquestioned" access and deference to the power of the Adepta Sororitas grants Sisters of all Orders, be they actual power-armoured battle maidens or not, the ability to accomplish much that others cannot. Battle Sisters of the Orders Militant are renowned for their "purity and martial prowess". This secures the Sisters’ positions at the sides of governors, politicians, and other dignitaries, where they offer matchless protection while keeping watch over their charges, "without fear of being drawn into any political machinations". A Sister of the Orders Militant may serve on many planets and fight thousands of battles in her lifetime, all in the name of her Order and her Emperor.

A Sister of the Non-Militant Orders may be just as well-travelled as her warrior kin, but her roles are very different. With access to otherwise sealed historical records, a Sister can uncover plots that have been centuries in the making. Negotiating on behalf of a planetary governor, she can steer arrangements to the benefit of her Order, or even prevent those deemed unwise. A Sister’s keen mind makes her a welcome addition to the staff of a wealthy merchant, where she can maximise proits while also tracking resource movements in search of illicit dealings. War and disease bring pain and misery to all parts of the galaxy, and many Sisters take it upon themselves to aid those who have suffered, especially those who have fallen in service to the Emperor.

There are also Sisters who save lives by acting as translators across the stars or even on single planets, where human tongues have twisted base Gothic into myriad forms, and a single misspoken phrase could ignite a bloodbath. The ways in which a Sister of the Non-Militant Orders can use her skills and devotion in order to serve her vital mission are limited only by her persistence and will, "and for her these traits are never in short supply". The diverse range of skills and roles represented in the Adepta
Sororitas and the devotion all within have to the Emperor’s Will can even lead to a Sister working with like-minded Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus as they purge the Imperium of the enemy within.

As the primary military arm of the Adeptus Ministorum, the Adepta Sororitas is expected to fight the Ecclesiarchy’s Wars of Faith and to defend its holdings from alien or daemonic attack. Additionally, its Orders are charged with maintaining the rule of the church by keeping Imperial citizens on the Emperor’s path. Those citizens outside the Adeptus Ministorum who have dealings with any Sister know that she is an extension of her Order, of the larger Adepta Sororitas, and of the Ecclesiarchy as a whole. This gives even a lone Sister the ability to achieve much, for her authority to act in the Emperor’s holy interest is "almost never questioned, lest recalcitrance be perceived as heresy". Because no obstacle must be allowed to impede this holy mission, "even those citizens within the Ecclesiarchy itself defer to the requests of a Sister. If she requires access to an otherwise of-limits holy tome, or if she demands answers from a Cardinal, she will not be denied".

The Sisters of the Adepta Sororitas have an "intrinsic protective instinct and a willingness to sacriice themselves for a purpose and for the love of their Emperor". Such inspiring devotion for others comes through instruction and indoctrination. "These fiercely loyal women are Daughters of the Emperor in more than just title, for no child has ever so loved her own father as the Sisters love the Emperor. In His name they seek the enemies of their Father and annihilate them with unmatched zeal". It matters not to them if their foe is a sect of overt Chaos-worshipping humans discovered on a backwater world, or a seemingly loyal Astra Militarum regiment standing watch at the heart of Imperial space. Heretical action demands deadly retribution, and the Sisters of Battle mete it out "regardless of the nature of the foe".

This is not to say that all members of the Adepta Sororitas are soldiers, as its various organisations are divided into Militant and Non-Militant Orders. The Sisters of the Orders Militant serve as soldiers, guardians of sacred sites, and righteous enforcers of the Emperor’s Will wherever they are needed. The Sisters of the Non-Militant Orders ill the ranks of the linguists and scholars (Orders Dialogous), negotiators (Orders Famulous), physicians (Orders Hospitaller), and other non-combat personnel. Though not as visible to the foes of the Imperium, the Sisters of these Orders are just as vital for uncovering and rooting out traitors. Their knowledge is used to reveal the blasphemous meanings of mysterious texts, to discover the beginnings of heresy in a suspect’s family history, and to keep prisoners alive long enough for Confessors to see their grim efforts bear fruit.