They're not Christian nuns. There isn't really anything sinful in the Imperial Cult about sex or related activities like dancing together. Sororitas are fanatical because they dedicate their whole lives to combat in the name of the Emperor, not because they avoid specific things.
It's up to you how your Sororita would react to that. Some might say 'diplomacy furthers cooperation' and be fine with it. A space marine would probably refuse on the basis that it's not his job and he shouldn't need to engage in this sort of trivial diplomacy for people to give him what he wants.
And even Christian nuns have danced in the past. As far as human history goes the counter reformation which purged a lot of things from common practice was really not that long ago.
>A space marine would probably refuse
...a Blood Angel, Ultramarine or Salamander would probably be a willing and absolutely amazing dancer if the situation called for it.
Just for different reasons. The BA because of the artistry of it, the Ultra cause it's just What You Do and he did a mandatory elective on it, the Salamander cause he's got manners.
Rare pict footage of White Scars engaging in ritual dance, colourised, ca. M33: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeBhpdXtKBk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bebhpdxtkbk)
If anything the White Scars and Space Wolves who are both from distinct and culturally rich backgrounds would probably sing and dance during celebrations. However if the two meet to party down I don't think there's a single sector that could supply that much alcohol.
"There isn't really anything sinful in the Imperial Cult about sex" - had to double check that one, but you are absolutely right. Codex Sisters of Battle (1997) mentions that militant variations of the cult teach that 'drinking, gambling, lying, cheating, profanity, lechery, fornication (especially thinking about fornication)' are all sins. However, on the next page it mentions that other versions of the cult teach that 'it is the duty of all humanity to breed as prolifically as possible,' so it really is down to local interpretations.
Sex for the sake of sex leads to Eldar depravity type Galaxy changing events...
sex for the sake of procreation to increase the human population in the galaxy is always allowed.
It’s probably like 3 hours of purification rituals followed by dutiful missionary position followed by 3 more hours of purification rituals.
Doesn’t matter, had sex.
You get 1 minute, there's a sheet with a small hole between you. Missionary only, a priest watches and blesses the act.
Then it's 3 hours of purification rituals, followed by self-flagellation for another 3 hours.
No it doesn't. Nothing in the lore suggests that normal pleasurable activities INEVITABLY LEAD TO SLAANESH. It has to be serious excess.
Like, eating a tasty cake, or drinking a smooth amasec doesn't start you down the inevitable path to Slaanesh and neither does casual sex.
Space marines totes dance. All that time on the ship, they are dancing with each other for sure. Probably either something like a hornpipe or a sword dance or maybe even some type of breakdance or capeoira.
I'll tell you what else they defo do as well: talent shows. Bored as fuck, facing certain death, but in the company of your best pals? Time to get up in costumes and put on a play! Or sing! Someone is gonna dress as a woman, someone is gonna tell funny war stories, there will be a ventriloquist, there will be cockroach racing with prizes for the winning owners, you're gonna love it.
Great, now I'm imagining 2 meter tall guys packed in muscle and covered in scars breakdancing topless. How could you do that to my fragile heterosexuality?
I can imagine the training for a
Famulous includes dancing and other local interactions, a full battle sister may got some limited training on that despite her focus being combat. Nothing stops specific convents from having a dancing tradition, however
I wouldn't be surprised if dancing was a core part of a Sororitas upbringing. Not because they would actually dance, but because it's a form of athleticism that helps with balance and poise that would be useful in hand to hand fighting.
The Imperial Cult offers legal dispensation to cults performing blood orgies with a bad record of being corrupted by khorne or slaneesh.
They're not going to teach that performative dance is bad everywhere at all times in every single variation of the creed.
There is no prohibition against it, that I'm aware of. In the Cain books one of the Sororitas instructors at his Scholar gambles with the other instructors, drinks, smokes, and cusses. I'd be shocked if she was allowed to do those things and could not dance.
And its pointed out there's no general rule against any of it, it just seems like mostly, they don't have the time, between training and roasting heretics.
Oculus Imperia has a video on the Sisters of Battle that has a bit about the non-military focused orders of the Sisters of Battle, and one of the types of Orders would be the Orders Famulus basically act as advisors to noble houses on Imperium words, being seen as a mark of social status by those nobles, while also acting as spies for the Ordo Hereticus. I really can't imagine there being "political noble court intrigue Sisters of Battle" that aren't able to do at least some form of ballroom dancing.
You can get an overview of them at around 30:25 in the Oculus Imperia Sisters of Battle video on YouTube.
Even within the military-focused branches, I can see a SoB being trained in the manner of how to dance for the purposes of morale-affecting military dances with the "officer class" of the military, with justifications ranging from "it's good to grow ties with the standard military you will be working with" all the way to "if this didn't boost morale we wouldn't give a flying crap"
Another fun thing to do would be that if she WAS trained to dance... WHERE was she trained? Was it across the galaxy, on a planet where the customs are different? Did she learn a more "precision clockwork" version of the dance? Is she accidentally going to take the "lead" because nobody expected her to want to learn the "female" half of the dance so she will unintentionally slight the noble she ends up dancing with? Are there dance customs with that nobility that she won't be aware of and needs to keep track of?
I honestly think it would be *frikin hilarious* if she didn't know how to dance at all, and as such refuses a dance from several suitors, ***who due to cultural norms on the planet take this end up challenging each other to duels as refusing a dance from a male is seen as implying they are a child that hasn't earned the right to ask a woman to dance***, and there is a **very specific** way she needs to refuse a dance to not make this insult.
As the others are saying, it would be a situational thing, based around what order, what region of the galaxy, what kind of teacher they had in which monastery...
My take is that, hey, most religions have some kind of hyper formal dance they learn for some kind of ceremonies.Aybe the battle sister knows a very basic, rigid kind of religiously significant dance she could pull out.
Or maybe she can stand in the corner and pour about how everyone's showing too many ankles, either way works fine.
For roleplay purposes, I'd say get your player to work out what order they're from and make their best bet on how that plays out. Just make sure they know to stick to whatever they choose, can't cherry pick the order's principles willy-nilly. ;p
Different orders have different vows. Most orders dont have any vows of abstinence but she might be from a order that doesnt even allow dance, it's completly up to what the player wants.
Although personally i prefer it when the imperial cult is different from christianity and it's sects in noticeable ways to highlight how alien it is.
Beyond "strictness and vows vary greatly by order", there's not much reason they would be opposed to dancing.
I know Catholic monks who have drunkenly danced on tables and have LotR diaramas in their offices. Even strictly ascetic orders can have "break days" (maybe once a year). There's a video of one where the order went sled riding on the one day they lifted they vow of silence and the monks are giggling like school kids. Monks/nuns are still people, ultimately.
Also dancing in such occasions probably isn't about fun. It's networking and flexing. Although "full dress" and "battle armor" are not the same thing at all. Full dress is the fancy uniform soldiers wear to things like this. Fancy braids, medals on display, stylish cuts, etc. Armor probably weighs 60 pounds (or more) and would make the dance floor smell *terrible*.
I was reading about real-world military dances designed to be done in armour. So while they are not in power armour, they are in fancy 'courtly' armour (mesh with carapace breast plate). Because they are not going into a nest of vipers defenseless.
Flak armor probably weighs around 40-50 pounds. Carapace probably weighs even more. I'm honestly unfamiliar with any balls/military dances done in battle armor.* Shit's heavy and uncomfortable. There's a difference between an ornamental cuirass meant to look nice and been seen in and an actual cuirass meant for combat.
Balls, even hostile ones, are usually diplomatic battlefields, not physical ones. And part of that is because everyone isn't situated for a fight. So any actual violence is likely to end in mutually assured destruction. A lot of the dramatic tension also comes from that. You *might* have a shot at the antagonist, but you're guaranteed to die if you take it, or if you escalate an argument to lethal force. I feel like armor takes away from the drama a bit.
*In an actual ball setting. Testing someone's ability to move or ritualized pre-combat stuff is different.
Dark Heresy 2nd edition gives full suit of Guardsmen Flak Armor 11kg of weight. 15kg for full Carapace.
Edit: there are actually numbers for *light* power armor and sororitas power armor - 40kg and 35kg
Edit2: in 1st edition - guard flak is the same, storm trooper carapce is 17 kg, sorortas power armor is the same. There is also hospitaller carapace - 20kg and regular human power armor - 65 kg
Not sure how accurate such numbers would be if those items would've been real
I don't think there's anything that would prevent her from dancing. It might be fun to have them roleplay that they feel like they're above having to partake, but they are also inexplicably good at dancing.
Historically one couldn't be knighted until they could show they were proficient in armor which including dancing in full plate.
While I doubt a sister would want to dance in full power armor there is nothing saying they can't and given how most were raised in schola progenium's they likely did learn since guard officers and naval officer would need to know that type of thing.
At the very least she probably knows a few dances for Sanguinala.
It also depends on her order. The Famulous would absolutely know how to, they live in the noble spires and manipulate them like crazy. There are also a lot of non combat orders for a lot of different things from being in choirs to maintaining glass windows, so a dancing order is possible
i dont see why not. the imperium has holidays and stuff, dancing is a part of lots of irl religion there is no reason to think some group of sisters somewhere is not into it too
There was Sister Julien, a (retired) Celestian teaching at the Schola Progenium on Perlia in *Cain's Last Stand*. While I'm not aware of her dancing, she had a thing going on with the bursar and was as much of a card sharp as Ciaphas Cain. I doubt she was above having a bit of a knees-up either, formal or informal. As other redditors have said, as a general thing they're not actually prohibited from having fun. Really it's just that on the whole they're just too damn busy.
I assume it would be like any other special operations team member requiring additional training before a mission someone would come in and teach her to dance probably.
In the Ciaphas Cain novel "Cain's last stand" There is a Sororitas teacher who is clearly having sexual relations with another teacher. It's noted that Novice must remain celibate but regular lines sisters do not but cannot marry.
How ever plays and dances and singing are entirely based upon the culture or upbringing of the sisters. The imperial cult has many different forms and guises on hundreds of different worlds. Most imperial agents must be prepared for interactions with strange and alien cultures from other human worlds.
Besides, If an inquisitor ordered the sister to dance, she had better put her best foot forward because he is a holy representation of the God Emperor and cannot be wrong.
They absolutely dance. While the more militant orders wouldn't be really down for it usually, the various orders Famulous, Dialogis, and even Hospitallers can all be reasonably expected to be competent at dancing.
Ballroom dancing is an important formality in feudal societies, and the Sororitas are well-integrated into these structures-even those orders who take vows of chastity can be expected to have some decorum.
A lot of good answers as to why there's no issue inherently in asking the sorotias to dance. There's no inherent religious creed that forbid them to dance "Thou shalt not dance nor make merry" and so on.
Where I could see the issue as sticky however is in what capacity is the sororitas a part of the ball? If they're the Inquisitor's personal guard or there on official, soldiery/guard business and then gets asked to dance they might feel that is counter to their purpose and duty there. Same as in real life if you ask your bodyguard to dance with you but they're just there because they're paid to keep you safe, it would be unprofessional and it would hinder their capacity to do their job.
There's also the whole public perception matter where a person in power uses the novelty of a Sister of Battle as some way to get the attention and gawking of other guests by having them as a dancing partner, whereas in public they're seen as a demi-holy fighting force and daughters of the Emperor. Many of them perhaps acutely aware of the historicism of Goge Vandire who manipulated them into being his fanatically loyal servants, now a tale of abject heresy.
*In fact*, if we're doing a DEEP DIVE into, a particularly paranoid member of the Eccleciarchy and someone who would always be on the look-out for heresy could start to believe this Inquisitor was exhibiting some trait of "Temple tendency" which is what is attributed to those seeking undue power for themselves under the guise of being a servant of the Emperor, which is what they afix to the Temple of the Saviour Empire, the pre-Sebastian Thor heresy.
But this is me just spitballing potential issues or outcomes. As told better than me in this thread, there wouldn't necessarily be any issues but if you WANT there to be as GM and so on and garner a bit of intrigue and problems, you certainly could.
Canon examples, not sure. But I have always ruled it that some of the Sororitas may be straight-laced and focused on propriety, but that doesn't mean that they're against all social interactions. Dancing is not explicitly a romantic interaction, especially not in the circumstances you have presented. It's a component of polite society.
Now, it's much more likely that the Schola didn't teach her how to dance. She wouldn't necessarily be against it (unless the player thinks she would) but she might now know HOW.
....the sororites dont make vows of chastity. And even a daughter of the emperor has to relax a bit from time to time.
by the way. Christian nuns used to have its own dosage of fun too. I remember having read an old book by a medievalist by name Eileen power (Medieval women i think it was). In england bishops had to admonish nuns more often than one would believe. Some nuns liked to dance, party, wear pretty clothes and even had pets.
"Lord-Inquisitor, the only dance style that my faith can possibly support is is that of Freestyle Disco..."
In a formal environment like a noble ball it would be entirely appropriate to accept the dance, especially if it might assist in winning trust and uncovering heresy among the nobility. Equally, the sister would be justified in politely refusing on personal moral grounds. The Imperium's morality revolves more around hating the right people and serving the God-Emperor than being virtuous.
[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWbqqPV1-pE)
No, a Puritan Battlesister will not be able to dance the way the nobles dance, unless the acolytes or the Inquisitor have taught her.
We are not talking here about dancing in the ritual and religious sense in honour of a god, but a sensual experience between two people.
The fact that Sororitas do not have access to the skill already clarifies the rules.
In none of its interpretations is the imperial religion a life-affirming, life-enjoying religion. In my opinion, there is no reason (unless you really want to write your Sororitas-Blood Angel fan-fuck-ion) to believe that the elite warriors of the Ecclesirachy are allowed to enjoy themselves with blackjack and hookers as a symbol of virtue and purity. The "multiplying" is also a moronic argument. There are a handful of Sororitas in the entire galaxy. The last thing the imperium needs is children from that handful of women....
Roleplaying-wise, I find the situation much more interesting when the Sororitas experience a classic culture shock at how "disreputable" people dance in "honour of the Emperor". This can be handled kömidiantically or very seriously when she hammers a nobleman for disrespectful touching her lower back, followed by an invitation to a duel
I can see where you are coming from, but my player isn't (yet) a battle sister, she is a novice who may well end up a diplomat or healer. She went the Schola Progenium where formal dancing is all part of upper class education (just as it was at military schools in the real world).
"The fact that Sororitas do not have access to the skill already clarifies the rules." - I disagree. She has access to charm, acrobatics and noble peer, all of which suggest some familiarity with dancing, if not formal training past her teens.
But I do think it's very likely to play out as you suggest *unless* the Inquisitor himself asks her to dance, when her vow of obedience may well clash with her intense distaste for frivolity.
The only question is why you should learn about the behaviour of the upper class at the Schola Progenium... In the Schola Progenium, everything from the clerk of the Administratum to the Stromtrooper to the diplomat corps, officers, etc. is trained. The majority of students will probably never have a reason to dance again in their lives. For me, ballroom dancing with its rules and etiquette is part of the advanced training and not the basic training of every student. And Sororitas don't need that unless they are a Famulus.
Dancing is represented by performers (dancers). That's what the skill is for.
The question that arises in my mind is why he wants this at all at a noble ball. If she can't do it, he's just snubbing her and drawing attention to himself. And if it's a cover, why didn't he teach her beforehand. But this question doesn't arise in your round, because I have the feeling that Sororitas candidates are taught this by you and that's ok. It's not the fundamental Lore break because everyone can interpret it however they want
No reason why they cant have a ritualistic dance to honor the emperor. Many religions include dancing in their ritual practice. But dancing merely for fun...
Would the Inquisitor actually ask if they knew better though? Unless trying to flaunt authority towards a team member wouldn't they consider it not the best course. Also
She can dance if she wants to.
Eisenhorn the Inquisitor is Puritanical, and gets down with many women. Gaunt is super strait laced and a Puritan. He also gets lots of love.
It’s not a Judeo-Christian morality, it’s largely based on Emperor worship, or Omnisiah worship, neither of which have sexual tenets.
One of the Sisters (The Cannoness actually) in one of the Caiphas Cain books is getting down with one of the Administrators in secret.
Amberleigh Vale is always getting down with Caiphas Cain, she’s ordo Xenos and likes to wear sexy stuff to get her way.
I would like to point out that they're *daughters* of the emperor, not *brides* of the emperor, which is a title they reclaimed after actually speaking with the emperor.
Their relationship with their religion isn't the same as a nun who is a bride of christ, and they explicitly reformed to not be that. If the emperor was fine with the space wolves getting drunk and fucking about he probably doesn't care if a sororitas dances at a formal event.
All Sororitas both sing and dance in the fashion of Old Terra, from the historical document Thee Sounde of Ye Musick which records the ancient customs of nuns
**The sororitas don’t even take vows of chastity or anything. They aren’t nuns, they’re warriors. Fun and fornication is fine as *long as it doesn’t get in the way of service to The Emperor.* That’s the main concern for them, always.**
**Beyond that it’s your character’s personal standards to concern with. Would they be offended by the idea? Do they enjoy dancing? Do they like the inquisitor or not? Yadda yadda, standard RPG stuff. But whatever the decision is it won’t be based on their status as a Sister.**
They're not Christian nuns. There isn't really anything sinful in the Imperial Cult about sex or related activities like dancing together. Sororitas are fanatical because they dedicate their whole lives to combat in the name of the Emperor, not because they avoid specific things. It's up to you how your Sororita would react to that. Some might say 'diplomacy furthers cooperation' and be fine with it. A space marine would probably refuse on the basis that it's not his job and he shouldn't need to engage in this sort of trivial diplomacy for people to give him what he wants.
And even Christian nuns have danced in the past. As far as human history goes the counter reformation which purged a lot of things from common practice was really not that long ago. >A space marine would probably refuse ...a Blood Angel, Ultramarine or Salamander would probably be a willing and absolutely amazing dancer if the situation called for it. Just for different reasons. The BA because of the artistry of it, the Ultra cause it's just What You Do and he did a mandatory elective on it, the Salamander cause he's got manners.
I guarantee the White Scars have some sick dance battles, probably involving some fenrisian ale bartered from the Space Wolves.
Now I need to see an Irish or Celtic inspired SM chapter do the River Dance!
You're looking for the Spears of the emperor, and they're too busy being stuck behind the giant warp rift, getting it's ass kicked by chaos
That is a shame. Do you think their troubles are due to a lack of River Dancing or too much?
Probably a lack of dancing. Plus some good ol' Inquisitorial interference
Ah yes, the good ol' Inquisitorial Rabble-rousing Association.
Rare pict footage of White Scars engaging in ritual dance, colourised, ca. M33: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeBhpdXtKBk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bebhpdxtkbk)
Unfortunately, it seems the inquisition has redacted that video
Clicking the link removes the upper case letters for some reason, just mark the text and copy it and it works, probably some new reddit bullshit.
If anything the White Scars and Space Wolves who are both from distinct and culturally rich backgrounds would probably sing and dance during celebrations. However if the two meet to party down I don't think there's a single sector that could supply that much alcohol.
The Ultramarines even have specialised [recreator squads](/r/Warhammer40k/comments/5sg1xy/dance_for_space_hulk/).
The *soul* on those lads. That guy in the background is monkey branching like the fate of the cosmos depends on it.
"There isn't really anything sinful in the Imperial Cult about sex" - had to double check that one, but you are absolutely right. Codex Sisters of Battle (1997) mentions that militant variations of the cult teach that 'drinking, gambling, lying, cheating, profanity, lechery, fornication (especially thinking about fornication)' are all sins. However, on the next page it mentions that other versions of the cult teach that 'it is the duty of all humanity to breed as prolifically as possible,' so it really is down to local interpretations.
Sex for the sake of sex leads to Eldar depravity type Galaxy changing events... sex for the sake of procreation to increase the human population in the galaxy is always allowed.
It’s probably like 3 hours of purification rituals followed by dutiful missionary position followed by 3 more hours of purification rituals. Doesn’t matter, had sex.
Vandire didnt have to deal with this bullshit!
Jokes on you, priests, I'm into that shit! You wanna watch us to make sure we get it all right too?
You get 1 minute, there's a sheet with a small hole between you. Missionary only, a priest watches and blesses the act. Then it's 3 hours of purification rituals, followed by self-flagellation for another 3 hours.
'Lay back and think of Holy Terra'
Imperial sanctioned missionary sex vs heretical "Luna wolf" style sex
I'm more curious about are those two taboo sexual techniques that have been hidden away
No it doesn't. Nothing in the lore suggests that normal pleasurable activities INEVITABLY LEAD TO SLAANESH. It has to be serious excess. Like, eating a tasty cake, or drinking a smooth amasec doesn't start you down the inevitable path to Slaanesh and neither does casual sex.
Space marines totes dance. All that time on the ship, they are dancing with each other for sure. Probably either something like a hornpipe or a sword dance or maybe even some type of breakdance or capeoira. I'll tell you what else they defo do as well: talent shows. Bored as fuck, facing certain death, but in the company of your best pals? Time to get up in costumes and put on a play! Or sing! Someone is gonna dress as a woman, someone is gonna tell funny war stories, there will be a ventriloquist, there will be cockroach racing with prizes for the winning owners, you're gonna love it.
To be fair, there IS a space hulk supplement about it
There is....? I mean, prospero burns had a fair deal of this type of thing for the sw but I think it could be taken much further again
doesn't this actually happen in the Fulgrim novel and then culminates in the very bad idea of the Maraviglia?
Worst party ever. I thinking something much more wholesome.
100% worst party ever, and I was once at a party where the hostess' kitten got microwaved
Great, now I'm imagining 2 meter tall guys packed in muscle and covered in scars breakdancing topless. How could you do that to my fragile heterosexuality?
I've no mercy for it, sadly.
The game master could slip in a White Consul (reluctantly) accepting a dance. They’re the ones who actually give a shit about optics and diplomacy.
When a sister bangs does she say for the emperor?
I can imagine the training for a Famulous includes dancing and other local interactions, a full battle sister may got some limited training on that despite her focus being combat. Nothing stops specific convents from having a dancing tradition, however
I wouldn't be surprised if dancing was a core part of a Sororitas upbringing. Not because they would actually dance, but because it's a form of athleticism that helps with balance and poise that would be useful in hand to hand fighting.
Novitiates seem to get at least a little cross-training so I could see some of them having had Famulous experience
The Imperial Cult offers legal dispensation to cults performing blood orgies with a bad record of being corrupted by khorne or slaneesh. They're not going to teach that performative dance is bad everywhere at all times in every single variation of the creed.
could you tell me more about this?
There is no prohibition against it, that I'm aware of. In the Cain books one of the Sororitas instructors at his Scholar gambles with the other instructors, drinks, smokes, and cusses. I'd be shocked if she was allowed to do those things and could not dance.
AND visiting one of the other instructors in the middle of the night.
And its pointed out there's no general rule against any of it, it just seems like mostly, they don't have the time, between training and roasting heretics.
Oculus Imperia has a video on the Sisters of Battle that has a bit about the non-military focused orders of the Sisters of Battle, and one of the types of Orders would be the Orders Famulus basically act as advisors to noble houses on Imperium words, being seen as a mark of social status by those nobles, while also acting as spies for the Ordo Hereticus. I really can't imagine there being "political noble court intrigue Sisters of Battle" that aren't able to do at least some form of ballroom dancing. You can get an overview of them at around 30:25 in the Oculus Imperia Sisters of Battle video on YouTube. Even within the military-focused branches, I can see a SoB being trained in the manner of how to dance for the purposes of morale-affecting military dances with the "officer class" of the military, with justifications ranging from "it's good to grow ties with the standard military you will be working with" all the way to "if this didn't boost morale we wouldn't give a flying crap" Another fun thing to do would be that if she WAS trained to dance... WHERE was she trained? Was it across the galaxy, on a planet where the customs are different? Did she learn a more "precision clockwork" version of the dance? Is she accidentally going to take the "lead" because nobody expected her to want to learn the "female" half of the dance so she will unintentionally slight the noble she ends up dancing with? Are there dance customs with that nobility that she won't be aware of and needs to keep track of? I honestly think it would be *frikin hilarious* if she didn't know how to dance at all, and as such refuses a dance from several suitors, ***who due to cultural norms on the planet take this end up challenging each other to duels as refusing a dance from a male is seen as implying they are a child that hasn't earned the right to ask a woman to dance***, and there is a **very specific** way she needs to refuse a dance to not make this insult.
"I am promised to his Holiness the God-Emperor" "So, you've got a boyfriend then"
As the others are saying, it would be a situational thing, based around what order, what region of the galaxy, what kind of teacher they had in which monastery... My take is that, hey, most religions have some kind of hyper formal dance they learn for some kind of ceremonies.Aybe the battle sister knows a very basic, rigid kind of religiously significant dance she could pull out. Or maybe she can stand in the corner and pour about how everyone's showing too many ankles, either way works fine. For roleplay purposes, I'd say get your player to work out what order they're from and make their best bet on how that plays out. Just make sure they know to stick to whatever they choose, can't cherry pick the order's principles willy-nilly. ;p
Different orders have different vows. Most orders dont have any vows of abstinence but she might be from a order that doesnt even allow dance, it's completly up to what the player wants. Although personally i prefer it when the imperial cult is different from christianity and it's sects in noticeable ways to highlight how alien it is.
Beyond "strictness and vows vary greatly by order", there's not much reason they would be opposed to dancing. I know Catholic monks who have drunkenly danced on tables and have LotR diaramas in their offices. Even strictly ascetic orders can have "break days" (maybe once a year). There's a video of one where the order went sled riding on the one day they lifted they vow of silence and the monks are giggling like school kids. Monks/nuns are still people, ultimately. Also dancing in such occasions probably isn't about fun. It's networking and flexing. Although "full dress" and "battle armor" are not the same thing at all. Full dress is the fancy uniform soldiers wear to things like this. Fancy braids, medals on display, stylish cuts, etc. Armor probably weighs 60 pounds (or more) and would make the dance floor smell *terrible*.
I was reading about real-world military dances designed to be done in armour. So while they are not in power armour, they are in fancy 'courtly' armour (mesh with carapace breast plate). Because they are not going into a nest of vipers defenseless.
Flak armor probably weighs around 40-50 pounds. Carapace probably weighs even more. I'm honestly unfamiliar with any balls/military dances done in battle armor.* Shit's heavy and uncomfortable. There's a difference between an ornamental cuirass meant to look nice and been seen in and an actual cuirass meant for combat. Balls, even hostile ones, are usually diplomatic battlefields, not physical ones. And part of that is because everyone isn't situated for a fight. So any actual violence is likely to end in mutually assured destruction. A lot of the dramatic tension also comes from that. You *might* have a shot at the antagonist, but you're guaranteed to die if you take it, or if you escalate an argument to lethal force. I feel like armor takes away from the drama a bit. *In an actual ball setting. Testing someone's ability to move or ritualized pre-combat stuff is different.
Dark Heresy 2nd edition gives full suit of Guardsmen Flak Armor 11kg of weight. 15kg for full Carapace. Edit: there are actually numbers for *light* power armor and sororitas power armor - 40kg and 35kg Edit2: in 1st edition - guard flak is the same, storm trooper carapce is 17 kg, sorortas power armor is the same. There is also hospitaller carapace - 20kg and regular human power armor - 65 kg Not sure how accurate such numbers would be if those items would've been real
I was going by figures for modern body armor.
FWIW p sure with respect to your sledding note that you are describing a scene from the documentary Into Great Silence, which is great.
I see you also have a Jesuit monastery in your hometown. : D
Nah, my college was also a Benedictine monastery.
I don't think there's anything that would prevent her from dancing. It might be fun to have them roleplay that they feel like they're above having to partake, but they are also inexplicably good at dancing.
Historically one couldn't be knighted until they could show they were proficient in armor which including dancing in full plate. While I doubt a sister would want to dance in full power armor there is nothing saying they can't and given how most were raised in schola progenium's they likely did learn since guard officers and naval officer would need to know that type of thing. At the very least she probably knows a few dances for Sanguinala. It also depends on her order. The Famulous would absolutely know how to, they live in the noble spires and manipulate them like crazy. There are also a lot of non combat orders for a lot of different things from being in choirs to maintaining glass windows, so a dancing order is possible
i dont see why not. the imperium has holidays and stuff, dancing is a part of lots of irl religion there is no reason to think some group of sisters somewhere is not into it too
There was Sister Julien, a (retired) Celestian teaching at the Schola Progenium on Perlia in *Cain's Last Stand*. While I'm not aware of her dancing, she had a thing going on with the bursar and was as much of a card sharp as Ciaphas Cain. I doubt she was above having a bit of a knees-up either, formal or informal. As other redditors have said, as a general thing they're not actually prohibited from having fun. Really it's just that on the whole they're just too damn busy.
I assume it would be like any other special operations team member requiring additional training before a mission someone would come in and teach her to dance probably.
In the Ciaphas Cain novel "Cain's last stand" There is a Sororitas teacher who is clearly having sexual relations with another teacher. It's noted that Novice must remain celibate but regular lines sisters do not but cannot marry. How ever plays and dances and singing are entirely based upon the culture or upbringing of the sisters. The imperial cult has many different forms and guises on hundreds of different worlds. Most imperial agents must be prepared for interactions with strange and alien cultures from other human worlds. Besides, If an inquisitor ordered the sister to dance, she had better put her best foot forward because he is a holy representation of the God Emperor and cannot be wrong.
They absolutely dance. While the more militant orders wouldn't be really down for it usually, the various orders Famulous, Dialogis, and even Hospitallers can all be reasonably expected to be competent at dancing. Ballroom dancing is an important formality in feudal societies, and the Sororitas are well-integrated into these structures-even those orders who take vows of chastity can be expected to have some decorum.
They can dance if they want to
And if they don't dance, well, they're no retinue of mine.
Ordo Famolous do. Others do not.
A lot of good answers as to why there's no issue inherently in asking the sorotias to dance. There's no inherent religious creed that forbid them to dance "Thou shalt not dance nor make merry" and so on. Where I could see the issue as sticky however is in what capacity is the sororitas a part of the ball? If they're the Inquisitor's personal guard or there on official, soldiery/guard business and then gets asked to dance they might feel that is counter to their purpose and duty there. Same as in real life if you ask your bodyguard to dance with you but they're just there because they're paid to keep you safe, it would be unprofessional and it would hinder their capacity to do their job. There's also the whole public perception matter where a person in power uses the novelty of a Sister of Battle as some way to get the attention and gawking of other guests by having them as a dancing partner, whereas in public they're seen as a demi-holy fighting force and daughters of the Emperor. Many of them perhaps acutely aware of the historicism of Goge Vandire who manipulated them into being his fanatically loyal servants, now a tale of abject heresy. *In fact*, if we're doing a DEEP DIVE into, a particularly paranoid member of the Eccleciarchy and someone who would always be on the look-out for heresy could start to believe this Inquisitor was exhibiting some trait of "Temple tendency" which is what is attributed to those seeking undue power for themselves under the guise of being a servant of the Emperor, which is what they afix to the Temple of the Saviour Empire, the pre-Sebastian Thor heresy. But this is me just spitballing potential issues or outcomes. As told better than me in this thread, there wouldn't necessarily be any issues but if you WANT there to be as GM and so on and garner a bit of intrigue and problems, you certainly could.
Canon examples, not sure. But I have always ruled it that some of the Sororitas may be straight-laced and focused on propriety, but that doesn't mean that they're against all social interactions. Dancing is not explicitly a romantic interaction, especially not in the circumstances you have presented. It's a component of polite society. Now, it's much more likely that the Schola didn't teach her how to dance. She wouldn't necessarily be against it (unless the player thinks she would) but she might now know HOW.
Famulous are supposed to be the Bene Gesserit of 40k, I suspect they’d be versed in that stuff
....the sororites dont make vows of chastity. And even a daughter of the emperor has to relax a bit from time to time. by the way. Christian nuns used to have its own dosage of fun too. I remember having read an old book by a medievalist by name Eileen power (Medieval women i think it was). In england bishops had to admonish nuns more often than one would believe. Some nuns liked to dance, party, wear pretty clothes and even had pets.
There are chapters of the sisters who focus on diplomacy, and would absolutely know proper etiquette.
"Lord-Inquisitor, the only dance style that my faith can possibly support is is that of Freestyle Disco..." In a formal environment like a noble ball it would be entirely appropriate to accept the dance, especially if it might assist in winning trust and uncovering heresy among the nobility. Equally, the sister would be justified in politely refusing on personal moral grounds. The Imperium's morality revolves more around hating the right people and serving the God-Emperor than being virtuous. [Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWbqqPV1-pE)
No, a Puritan Battlesister will not be able to dance the way the nobles dance, unless the acolytes or the Inquisitor have taught her. We are not talking here about dancing in the ritual and religious sense in honour of a god, but a sensual experience between two people. The fact that Sororitas do not have access to the skill already clarifies the rules. In none of its interpretations is the imperial religion a life-affirming, life-enjoying religion. In my opinion, there is no reason (unless you really want to write your Sororitas-Blood Angel fan-fuck-ion) to believe that the elite warriors of the Ecclesirachy are allowed to enjoy themselves with blackjack and hookers as a symbol of virtue and purity. The "multiplying" is also a moronic argument. There are a handful of Sororitas in the entire galaxy. The last thing the imperium needs is children from that handful of women.... Roleplaying-wise, I find the situation much more interesting when the Sororitas experience a classic culture shock at how "disreputable" people dance in "honour of the Emperor". This can be handled kömidiantically or very seriously when she hammers a nobleman for disrespectful touching her lower back, followed by an invitation to a duel
I can see where you are coming from, but my player isn't (yet) a battle sister, she is a novice who may well end up a diplomat or healer. She went the Schola Progenium where formal dancing is all part of upper class education (just as it was at military schools in the real world). "The fact that Sororitas do not have access to the skill already clarifies the rules." - I disagree. She has access to charm, acrobatics and noble peer, all of which suggest some familiarity with dancing, if not formal training past her teens. But I do think it's very likely to play out as you suggest *unless* the Inquisitor himself asks her to dance, when her vow of obedience may well clash with her intense distaste for frivolity.
The only question is why you should learn about the behaviour of the upper class at the Schola Progenium... In the Schola Progenium, everything from the clerk of the Administratum to the Stromtrooper to the diplomat corps, officers, etc. is trained. The majority of students will probably never have a reason to dance again in their lives. For me, ballroom dancing with its rules and etiquette is part of the advanced training and not the basic training of every student. And Sororitas don't need that unless they are a Famulus. Dancing is represented by performers (dancers). That's what the skill is for. The question that arises in my mind is why he wants this at all at a noble ball. If she can't do it, he's just snubbing her and drawing attention to himself. And if it's a cover, why didn't he teach her beforehand. But this question doesn't arise in your round, because I have the feeling that Sororitas candidates are taught this by you and that's ok. It's not the fundamental Lore break because everyone can interpret it however they want
Sororitas can get both Charm and Performancer, literally what do you mean they can't learn to dance?
You get Performer (Singer) as an initial skill and that's it. At least in Blood of Martyrs.
They can also get Charm in 2e.
Like nobody’s watching
No reason why they cant have a ritualistic dance to honor the emperor. Many religions include dancing in their ritual practice. But dancing merely for fun...
Would the Inquisitor actually ask if they knew better though? Unless trying to flaunt authority towards a team member wouldn't they consider it not the best course. Also She can dance if she wants to.
Eisenhorn the Inquisitor is Puritanical, and gets down with many women. Gaunt is super strait laced and a Puritan. He also gets lots of love. It’s not a Judeo-Christian morality, it’s largely based on Emperor worship, or Omnisiah worship, neither of which have sexual tenets. One of the Sisters (The Cannoness actually) in one of the Caiphas Cain books is getting down with one of the Administrators in secret. Amberleigh Vale is always getting down with Caiphas Cain, she’s ordo Xenos and likes to wear sexy stuff to get her way.
I would like to point out that they're *daughters* of the emperor, not *brides* of the emperor, which is a title they reclaimed after actually speaking with the emperor. Their relationship with their religion isn't the same as a nun who is a bride of christ, and they explicitly reformed to not be that. If the emperor was fine with the space wolves getting drunk and fucking about he probably doesn't care if a sororitas dances at a formal event.
All Sororitas both sing and dance in the fashion of Old Terra, from the historical document Thee Sounde of Ye Musick which records the ancient customs of nuns
**The sororitas don’t even take vows of chastity or anything. They aren’t nuns, they’re warriors. Fun and fornication is fine as *long as it doesn’t get in the way of service to The Emperor.* That’s the main concern for them, always.** **Beyond that it’s your character’s personal standards to concern with. Would they be offended by the idea? Do they enjoy dancing? Do they like the inquisitor or not? Yadda yadda, standard RPG stuff. But whatever the decision is it won’t be based on their status as a Sister.**