Orders Dialogous

“Words are the weapons of our enemies. I have seen an apostate sermon cut through a soul like a chainsword. Leaving nothing but a husk where once a loyal servant stood. The weapons of our enemy must be blunted upon our faith.”
–Sister Sephi of the Order of the Lexicon
Of the three well-known Orders Non-militant, the
Orders Dialogous is the one least often seen. Revered
within the Ministorum as some of the most learned
people in the Ecclesiarchy, the Sisters Dialogous generally
keep to themselves. Inquisitors heading into places that speak
new or unusual dialects often seek them out for their skills
in unlocking ciphers and translating languages. Though they
specialize in languages and processing information, Sisters
Dialogous are just as martially trained and fanatically devoted
to the Imperial Creed as any Battle Sister.
Sisters Dialogous generally leave their datastacks only
when their linguistic or cipher-breaking skills are needed.
There have been occasions where a full Mission is sent to
retrieve data, though this is rare because the risk
involved in letting sisters with access to sacred
and secret information out into the open is
very high and has to be authorized by the
Convent. This has led the Dialogous to be a
much more cloistered and in some ways naïve
Order than the others.
==Dialogous in the Calixis Sector==
As in other sectors of the Imperium, the Calixis Sector Sisters Dialogous have opted to stay
out of the limelight, providing support and
information to both the Ecclesiarchy and the
Holy Ordos. While the entire Sisterhood is far more
active in the Calixis Sector than in other places, they
still hold true to the principle that knowledge comes before
action. When on active field duty with the Orders Militant or
the Ordo Hereticus, they are generally used in a support role as
a communications or scientific experts. Field agents are likely to
hear them only at the other end of a comm-link as they provide
detailed information on the enemy.
The largest concentration of the Order Dialogous in Calixis is
the Sanctum Dialogous on Solomon. It houses a full preceptory
of Sisters Dialogous and is guarded by a thousand Battle Sisters and a squadron of Imperial Navy ships
in orbit. While regular traffic is allowed to
and from the planet, it is commonly believed
that the Naval ships keep sensors locked on
the small promontory where the Sanctum is
located. No one has revealed the secrets held
in its vaults (under penalty of death), though it has been thought
to hold all manner of heretical and xenos texts which have been
fully translated into High Gothic. In conjunction with their joint
work with the Sisters Famulous, they also maintain the history
and blood lineage of the founding nobles for the sector including
the Sinos family, the Haarlocks, the Sabrehagens, and, of course,
the Angevin. Whatever is actually in there, the information deep
below the Sanctum rivals that are housed anywhere within the
Ecclesiarchy’s holdings.
Another aspect of the Order Dialogous is that they are some
of the best information gatherers in the Sisterhood. Respected
for their translation skills, they often work in data repositories
and thus have access to new sources of data. Both the
Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition use this detailed information
on potential threats to the Creed and the Imperium. While the
Sisterhood has frowned on the Inquisition’s
usage of Dialogous services, their efforts
have led to the discovery and destruction
of some of the larger cults in the sector.
Prol IX and the Library of Knowing
on Fenksworld each house a small
contingent of Sisters Dialogous.
==The Order Pronatus==
Tasked with the care of holy relics reclaimed from the clutches of renegades and heretics, the Order Pronatus is subtly
influential within the Ecclesiarchy of the Calixis sector. They can be found on many shrine worlds, tireless working to
purify the stain of the Warp from artifacts recovered on crusades. Inquisitors will occasionally recruit the skills of an
Order Pronatus sister when they feel their acolytes may need to deal with unholy devices.
A Sister of the Order Pronatus is effectively a Sister Dialogous for game play purposes. With GM permission the
character may exchange Forbidden Lore (Heresy) for Forbidden Lore (Warp).
==Alternate Career Rank==
Sisters Dialogous are talented at breaking ciphers and
translating texts. They are also extremely diligent in caring for
the records they are entrusted with and guarding the secrets
of the Ecclesiarchy and the Sisterhood. They understand
knowledge is useless if they don’t act on it. Any extended field
assignment with either the Inquisition or the Ecclesiarchy
grants them a unique opportunity to experience the Imperium
first hand and to use their knowledge to actively hunt down
heretics and pry their secrets from them. They also know that
the information they seek and guard comes with the eternal
threat of temptation. It has been drummed into them that
they cannot fail in their duties, because when condemned
knowledge falls into the hands of the unwary, catastrophe
often follows.
All Starting Skills, Talents, Gear and Wealth listed here replace
the Adept Rank 1 starting Skills, Talents, Gear and Wealth.
Starting Rank: Rank 1 (Replaces Rank 1 Adept)
Starting Skills: Common Lore (Ecclesiarchy), Common
Lore (Imperial Creed), Literacy, Logic, Speak High Gothic,
Speak Low Gothic, Performer (singer), Trade (Copyist) and
Forbidden Lore (Heresy).
Starting Talents: Pistol Training (SP), Melee Weapon
Training (Primitive) or Basic Weapon Training (SP), Light
Sleeper.
Starting Gear: Shield Robes, Dialogous Staff, Chaplet
Ecclesiasticus, Ring of Suffrage, Rule of the Sororitas, Stub
Revolver (and two reloads).
Requirements: WP 30, INT 30
Starting Wealth: 100+2d10 Thrones
Monthly Income: Learned Class
Restrictions: Characters with this alternate career rank
may not purchase Psy Rating advances or any advance that
allows use of psychic powers or sorcery.