Pray tell, hypothetically speaking, how exactly does the inclusion of a faction that has been a part of the franchise since the very 1st edition "whitewash", "retcon", "corrupt" or "alter" anything? What's your agenda here? Are you quite sure that it isn't you who is advocating a retcon if it's your wish to diminish the role of the Adepta Sororitas? Perhaps it is you who are having a backlash against a current push against the status quo because you feel threatened by the possibility of change? Judging from your strong choice of words, it certainly seems that you are very passionate about this topic. And 40k's background supposedly being "built on sexism" is nonsense. The Imperium does not care whether you're a man or a woman - members of both sexes end up being Inquisitors, High Lords, or nameless lasgun-toting grunts dying on some Emperor-forsaken rock to take hill #937.
Are you telling me that you need this game to have a more equal balance between male and female characters for you to fully enjoy it? If someone needs that to enjoy a game or a franchise I don't think they really like it. It's as if I were around saying that it's a pity that you don't get to play any of the strong male models that appear on Metroid, and complaining how Capcom is promoting misandry because males are put aside from protagonism on the series.
To me is more that there are bigger more interesting factions that deserve to be implemented before SoB. Tau, for instance. Too bad they're way too far from Arkhona... maybe a warp storm could bring a Tau army there by accident.
The franchise doesn't have this problem. The game has. From a personal perspective, it's two problems in one: it doesn't have any of my favourite factions, and I miss variety in character choice. So .. yeah, why should I play it? Just because it is 40k alone? As I already mentioned earlier, I'm going to give Orks a try. Perhaps the game is so amazing that I end up not minding it - but that doesn't change that there are two boxes of my "I'd like to see this in the game" list that remain blank. As I have explained, whether someone likes a game or not usually depends on a combination of factors, not a single one alone. But if a product doesn't convince on a sufficient number of those checkboxes, ... well. I'm not debating nor denying that. But some people in this thread do not want SoB at all, because their inclusion would apparently reduce a supposed sexism within the game's background, which has just been described as a wanted feature. I consider this an interesting perspective, as it vindicates a suspicion I have voiced earlier. I'm all for adding Tau or IG next, as those happen to be two of my three favourite factions. Plus, both of them would allow male and female characters. Everybody wins?
Adding female Space Marines would be "white-washing," and I distinctly remember another thread that has sense been closed that claimed that 40k should get with the times and have female Space Marines. But I was referring more to things that other developers have done to existing properties to make them more PC... Like The Old Republic for example. Star Wars has a lot of sexism in it. George Lucas isn't sexist but he was making a realistic world and women are oppressed throughout (look at the concept behind the Twi'lek race). All of a sudden, in TOR the militaries are fully integrated... While Jedi and Sith could just as easily be male or female, soldiers were not. While women did often fight their way to the top they faced discrimination and had to earn the respect that would be given to men by virtue of being men (see Zahn and Anderson novels). It would make sense for players to be able to play female characters (because they are supposed to be "heroes") but not to have the genders be equally represented in the NPC realm. The main example of sex discrimination is 40k is that only men are subject to the tithe. If Sisters of Battle are implemented they need to be uniquely separate from Space Marines. Lumping them under Space Marines would do exactly that. The Sisters of Battle did play an important role. Internally. They were the Church's personal police force. They are Warrior Priestesses and Nuns, they are entirely separate from the Space Marines. If we renamed the Space Marine faction "The Imperium" and then added the Sisters as a sub-faction I would be fine with that. I personally really like the Sisters of Battle, but acting like they can just implement them in with the way factions are currently set up is bogus. The first step is renaming the Space Marine faction. The second step is more intensive. Do you really want the Sisters of Battle classes just to be weaker clones of the Space Marines or would you rather have dedicated unique classes? I would rather have the latter. EDIT: And in case you were curious... I was pissed that they let players roll male Sorcerers in Warhammer Online even though all male Dark Elves with the gift are executed at birth. And there should have been an option for Chosen to be female. Naturally I was upset about the female dwarves too. Umm... bullcrap... Why are women not subject to the tithe? If they are in some obscure text from twenty years ago why aren't their female models for the traditional military? Dark Eldar is the only integrated faction, some units having a 60/40 split (female / male). The church doesn't care if you are male or female but the formal military does. If I seem overly passionate it is because I am attracted to "flaws" in my fiction as they add character and that character is slowly being eroded away so everyone can feel good and act like we've progressed beyond our base animal instincts even though prejudice is and always will be the default human response. Natasi Daala wouldn't be an interesting character if it wasn't for the fact that she got to the rank of Admiral in spite of the sexism of the men who served her. Drizzt do'Urden wouldn't be near as interesting if it wasn't for the fact that the very people he fought and bled to protect hated him because of his race.
Not gonna get into this whole feminism thing but what do you mean by women in 40k not being "subject to the tithe"? I'm not sure I understand what this refers to in the lore. There are also plenty of female-only regiments in lore as well as mixed ones though these are considered difficult to discipline.
In order to survive the Imperium needs bodies to fight Xenos and Chaos. Every planet is required to supply a tithe of fighting men every year to become soldiers in the traditional army. One specific method is every family gives up their first born son. If there are actually females that are drafted I would be interested in reading about it. It isn't in the codex. EDIT: But neither are female Chaos Lords and they do exist. I am going to be converting Lilith into a Chaos Lord.
Oh I know that. I just didn't get the reference seeing as tithes are paid in other commodities as well and are a general term for the taxes a planet pays to the Imperium. As far as I know the Firstborn son model is only something Vostroyans do though while other planets opt for mass conscription or contributing the elite of their PDF. Why do you say that this is for men only though? Is this the actual formulation of the decree? I don't remember if this is the case or not but there are plenty of female-only regiments (or rather more accurately- companies within regiments now that I think about it) as well as mixed ones so I was under the impression that anything goes as long as you're supplying troops.
Mainly inference... other races have female bodies in their spruces of mostly male foot soldiers but the Imperium doesn't, which doesn't make sense. I am new to 40k lore... but over the past few days I've read most of the Codexes and rulebooks (yay for piracy). I was into Warhammer Fantasy (40k looked kind of generic to me before DoW2) and it was specified certain orders in the Imperial military accepted both genders while others discriminated against women. EDIT: I am going to look it up now... don't remember which .pdf it was in.
