VOID LEVIATHANS

0 rate - Voidships this big and powerful aren't given any rating at all, making them know as 'null-rates' (which is VERY different from Unrated ships).

Leviathan (LV): Leviathans are those voidships that are so large as to defy classification. The Imperial Fists' Phalanx is by far the most infamous void leviathan; it has the power to wipe out an entire fleet of battleships without breaking stride.

SHIPS OF THE LINE

Ships of the line make up the core of sector Battlefleets. Their job is to break major enemy fleets, defend key Imperial worlds, and bring especially well-defended planets to compliance.

Ships of the line are often divided into two tiers; the top tier ships are collectively known as battleships. The lower tier ships are called cruisers. Grand cruisers are sometimes counted as battleships, sometimes as cruisers. In terms of size and firepower they (almost) qualify as second rate battleships, but in other aspects they are little more than lumbering cruisers.

BATTLESHIPS

Battleships are so powerful, so rare, and so valuable that they are almost never used for routine duties. Instead they are held in reserve for when their services are really needed.

0.5 rate - The so-called 'half rate' is used to classify ships that are noticeably more powerful than even 1st rate vessels.

Super-dreadnought (SD): Super-dreadnoughts are for all intents and purposes gargantuan battleships; their capabilities are the same, only on a much grander scale. Very few such ships are available to the Imperial Navy and even fewer will be built in the future – the art of their construction is largely lost. Most existing vessels are near-unique and ancient beyond counting. The Divine Wrath, flagship of Segmentum Pacificus, is one of the few Terra-class superdreadnoughts left in the galaxy - few were built and even fever survive. It is three times the size of an ordinary battleship of the 2nd rate and much larger than even the 1st rate ships like the Emperor-class battle carriers of the Imperial Navy. In terms of fire-power it is truly unique: It holds 1.5 times the number of small craft of an Emperor-class BB. Its mighty broadsides and heavy lances make it like a fleet onto itself. The crowning glory is a super powerful nova cannon that runs the length of the ship's main hull (deep beneath the arboretum). To add insult to injury this fearsome weapon is ringed with torpedo launchers. Warmaster Abbaddon commands another SD, the unique Regia Telluris Occisor, constructed in the hell-forges of the Eye of Terror. Crew complement approx. 250,000-300,000.

1st rate - First rate battleships, sometimes called dreadnoughts, are somewhat more powerful than 2nd rate battleships.

Dreadnought (DN): Some Imperial Navy analysts make a division between the larger and smaller classes of battleship. Dreadnoughts are oversized battleships. They might not appear to be much larger than 'normal' battleships, but at this scale appearances can be deceiving. Dreadnoughts mass millions of tons more than their smaller cousins. The Imperator-class (aka Emperor-class) is the most common (relatively speaking) such ships in the Imperium. Outwardly similar to a Retribution-class vessel, the Imperator has numerous archaic components, houses numerous massive launch bays, and much more powerful defensive systems. It is significantly more massive, but only marginally longer (just over 10.000 meters), than comparable 2nd rate ships. Crew complement approx. 205,000.

2nd rate - Second rate battleships are the most common battleships in the 41st Millennium.

Battleship (BB): Battleships are the kings of space. They have incredibly potent offensive systems and are just as well protected. Their only drawback apart from low speed is their enormous build and maintenance costs. Because of their ponderousness and their great value most battleships spend their time at anchor, except when called upon to fight a major battle. It is very rare for battleships to operate alone; Navy doctrine calls for at least two battleships to fight together, along with a screen of supporting escorts and cruisers. The Retribution-class is an all-gun battleship that works along the lines of a Lunar, only on a much greater scale. It’s significantly longer and sleeker than the Overlord-class, and nearly twice as massive. Much of that extra tonnage dedicated to power production, shielding and armour. Crew complement approx. 169,000.

2.5 rate - Grand cruiser designs are often classified as 2.5 rate, i.e. more powerful than a cruiser, but not quite battleship material.

Grand cruiser (CC or GC): Grand cruisers are very large, very powerful 'cruisers'. In earlier eras this was the warship, fulfilling the role of both cruisers and battleships. They have now largely fallen out of favour with the Imperial Navy (the Navy now prefers a mixture of DNs/BBs and BCs/CAs).  Existing grand cruisers are often very old. The Eye of Terror is home to quite a few vessels of the battery-heavy Avenger-class. Some of these vessels have travelled the stars since the days of Horus. With a length of nearly 7.5 kilometres these vessels are truly massive. Crew complement approx.AC 141,000.

CRUISERS

Cruisers form the backbone of every fleet. They are powerful enough to participate in pitched battles, and versatile enough to be used in most other roles. They are also much cheaper to maintain and easier to build than battleships, a considerable advantage in the dark future.

3rd rate - Battlecruisers are the archetypical 3rd rate ships, meaning they are rated for line fleet duties (if heavier ships aren't available).

Battlecruiser (CB or BC): Battlecruisers are the Imperial Navy's attempt at upgrading existing heavy cruiser designs, usually but up-gunning existing STC templates. Battlecruisers are considerably smaller, faster, and more agile than true battleships, but carry almost as much weaponry. This makes a battlecruiser the ultimate predator - a raider powerful enough to destroy anything it can't outrun. To achieve this combination a battlecruiser sacrifices defence; shields and armour are not significantly more powerful than those of an ordinary heavy cruiser. This is compounded by the aggressive operating pattern of the battlecruiser. In a protracted battle this lack of protection and aggressive stance can be a deadly combination. The sleek and lance-heavy Overlord-class is one of the more successful battlecruiser designs in the Imperial arsenal. Based upon the Acheron-class CA it measures 6,000 meters and masses half again as much as a Lunar class. In terms of throw weight it matches most GC designs. Crew complement approx. 110,000.

3.5 rate - Cruisers are 3.5 rate, meaning they aren't quite as capable as the more potent battlecruisers.

Cruiser (CA or CH): Heavy cruisers form the backbone of most interstellar fleets. Big enough to engage anything short of a battleship in open combat and powerful enough to deter all lesser vessels. Heavy cruisers are considerably bigger and more powerful than light cruisers, but slower and less agile. The Lunar-class cruiser is the most common major combat starship in the Imperial fleet. It has a powerful and balanced armament of torpedoes, lances, and batteries, plus good armour, shields, and turrets. It’s not very fast, nor does it carry many small craft, but overall it’s a very versatile vessel. Many variants exist. The Lunar is 5,000 meters long (main hull some 3,500 meters), making it about 25% longer than the Dauntless-class CL, but much more massive. Crew complement 95.000.

4th rate - Fourth rate ships aren't supposed to be part of a line of battle, except in emergencies. More often they take on escort duties.

Light Cruiser (CL): Light cruisers are the lesser type of cruiser. Not intended for direct fleet action they serve as screens, scouts and raiders. In remote areas this is the biggest warship likely to be encountered. The Dauntless-class cruiser is the most common Imperial light cruiser. The Dauntless is fast, decently protected, and sports a powerful lance armament for a vessel of its size. It is nearly 4 km long, has a displacement of almost 20 million tonnes, and a crew complement of 67,500.

ESCORTS

Escorts are lesser (relatively speaking) vessels. It is their job to scout, to screen, and to raid. It falls upon them to patrol outlying systems, and do all the thankless tasks larger ships are too valuable for. In battle their job is to keep enemy escorts and ordnance away from the ships of the line, or alternatively to launch lightning strikes upon enemy capital ships.

5th rate - Fifth rate ships are the larger type of escort. More or less synonymous with Frigate-class vessels, although some very heavy raiders are rated as 5th rate.

Frigate (FF): Frigates are the most versatile and potent class of escorts. They are fast, agile, reasonably well protected, and can pack quite a punch. They can act as fleet pickets, long range scouts, convoy escorts or raiders with equal ease. Commanding one is the dream of every young officer. The Sword-class frigate is a typical example of an Imperial Navy design of this class. The Sword measures approximately 2,200 meters of sleek, 10 megaton lethality. Nearly as fast as some destroyer designs, it has a powerful armament and much better defences. Crew complement 26,000.

Heavy Raider (RH): Heavy raiders are similar in design to raiders and fulfil the same roles. The only real difference is one of tonnage and associated combat performance. Within the Imperium this class is a common type of system defence ship (i.e. not warp capable). One heavy raider design that is warp capable is the Intruder-class, found in large numbers around the Maelstrom anomaly. The class sports a decent battery armament and can achieve very high speeds. Defensive measures are limited; it has decent armour, but very weak void shields. The Intruder measures around 2,000 meters in length and has a crew in the 20-25k range, depending on configuration.

6th rate - Sixth rate ships are the smaller type of escort. Destroyers are typically of the 6th rate, as are heavy raiders.

Destroyer (DD): Destroyers are the smallest class of starships that regularly engage in fleet battles. They are very fast and pack as much firepower as some of their larger cousins. Shielding and armour is light at best. Range is usually limited. Destroyers serve as fleet pickets and close escorts, either tasked to attack larger ships en masse or defend cruisers and battleships from close-in attacks. The Cobra-class is a typical Imperial design; very fast, armed with torpedoes and turret-mounted batteries, but too frail to stand up to heavy fire for long. Length is approximately 1,500 meters, mass nearly 6 megatonnes. Crew complement 15,000.

Corvette (VV): Corvettes are purpose-designed vessels. Design-wise they have a lot in common with the larger frigates. They are used primarily as convoy escorts, but are also pressed into other roles where more capable ships aren’t available. The Claymore-class is an example of this type of vessel. It carries two demi-lances and has a light battery armament, making it less heavily armed than comparable destroyers. It is relatively fast, but not as quick as comparable destroyers or raiders. It is, however, better protected and has a somewhat longer range. Length is 1,400 meters, crew complement 21,000 (making it a very crew-intensive design).

Raider (RR): Raiders are not fleet vessels, but ships designed for independent operations against outlying worlds and interstellar shipping. They are commonly found in two roles; as warp-capable corsairs or as system defence ships. One infamous raider design is the Infidel-class, which can be found across the galaxy in the hands of ner-do-wells. The class sports a decent battery armament and can achieve very high speeds. Defensive measures are limited; it has decent armour, but nearly non-existent shielding. The Intruder measures around 1,500 meters in length and has a crew just over 10,000.

UNRATED SHIPS

Unrated ships are those combat-capable vessels that fall short of the 6th rate mark, usually because they lack firepower.

Sloop (SL): Sloops are among the smallest warp-capable ships commonly used by the Imperial Navy. They are generally used as fast couriers and scouts. The Viper-class sloop is about 950 meters long and has a crew of approximately 7,500 souls. Offensive capabilities are very weak and defences laughable. The Viper is, however, one of the fastest ships in the galaxy, able to outrun most ordnance-type weapons.

Light Raider (RL): Light raiders are a type of unrated vessel. In size they approach the limit of what can be made warp-capable and battle-worthy. Ships of this size are commonly found as system ships within the Imperium. Most raider class vessels belong to xenos, pirates or renegades. Some are warships from the keel up while others are converted freighters. The Chariot-class is an STC-pattern Kull vessel found raiding in the Finial sector and surrounding areas. Ordo Xenos records indicate a length of 850 meters (approximately). Few other details are known, except that it’s fast, carries a light battery complement, and has negligible armour. Crew aestimate in the 5k range.

Brig (GG): The brig is the smallest warp-and-combat-capable ship type in the Imperial arsenal. It is significantly less capable than a sloop in all regards; offensive, defensive, range, speed, etc. Brigs are used courier and priority transport in remote areas. Length around 600 meters, crew approximately 3,000.

SYSTEM SHIPS

System ships are those vessels that lack a warp drive. They are otherwise similar in appearance and capabilities as their warp-capable kin. Theoretically they should be more potent than comparable warp ships (since they've no need for a warp drive and associated systems), but in practice this isn’t the case, as they will often be constructed with inferior materials and production techniques. All Imperial worlds with sufficient tech base and industrial capacity will maintain such ships as part of their PDF. Ships above the 5th rate are uncommon. Most are 6th rate or Unrated.

SPACE FORTIFICATIONS

Space fortifications are commonly deployed to defend Imperial worlds or other important locations. Lacking anything but the most rudimentary drive systems they can dedicate all of their space and power to defence and offence. Fortifications are also very stable gun platforms. The end result is that they generally have more and heavier guns than comparable voidships.

Star Fortress SF (LV): Star fortresses are monolithic structures, sometimes the size of small moons. They have enough firepower to devastate and entire invading fleet, and enough staying power to soak an incredible amount of damage.

Battle Station SF (BB): Battle stations are hugely powerful fortifications, capable of taking on ships of the line and winning. The Ramiles-class Star Fort is the largest such station commonly found in the Imperium.

Orbital Base SF (CA): Orbital bases are the equivalent of cruiser-class vessels. On fringe worlds they often represent the command and control element of the orbital defence grid. On more prosperous worlds they are deployed by the dozen.

Defence Platform SF (DD): These escort-sized defence platforms are arrayed in such a manner as to provide (in theory) full protection for an entire world. For remote planets a dozen or so platforms, tied into an orbital base, make up the orbital defence grid (plus land-based assets).

TRANSPORTS/MERCHANTMEN

The vast majority of voidships are not military vessel, but transports and merchantmen. If compared to military ships of equivalent size they will have MUCH smaller crews. Their innards are also quite different; offensive, defensive, and propulsion systems have been gutted to make room for vast cargo spaces.

Transports (TP): Transports come in all shapes and sizes. They are abbreviated TP. Relative hull size is often added in parentheses, i.e. TP (DN) for a dreadnought-sized Mass Conveyor or TP (DD) for a Pro Patria-class Sprint Trader.

Armed merchantmen (TA): Although most Imperial transport vessel have some form of defensive systems (light armour, void shields, turrets, etc.), they are not really combatants. In times of need the Imperial Navy – or more rarely, planetary commanders – may authorized the refitting of a merchantman. Such vessels can be quite powerful, but they will always compare poorly to a true warship of equal tonnage.

Q-ships (TQ): Q-ships are a special subset of armed merchantmen. They are heavily armed for their type, but have been constructed in such a way as to conceal their offensive capabilities.

CARRIERS

Many ships of the line carry attack craft in mighty hangars. Such ships are not normally classified as carriers, unless the small craft constitute the vast majority of their firepower. So a 1^st rate Emperor-class battleship is classified as a DN, despite having many attack wings on board.

In addition to wings of attack craft (interceptors/bombers/assault boats) a carrier (and other non-carriers with attack craft capacity) can hold fleets of atmospheric attack craft. These are generally useless in a pitched space battle, but are of great value during planetary assaults and orbital operations.

Battle/Fleet Carrier (CVB): Battle (or Fleet) carriers capable of carrying 10 or more attack craft wings into battle. The Nemesis-class dreadnought, a variant of the Emperor-class, is the largest Fleet Carrier in Imperial service.

Carriers (CV): Carriers of this category are usually based upon battleship/grand cruiser hulls and are capable of operating 6-8 attack wings.

Light Carrier (CVL): Light carriers use battlecruiser/heavy cruiser hulls and carry approximately 4 wings of attack craft.

Escort Carriers (CVE): Escort carriers use light cruiser hulls. They are the smallest dedicated carriers in service. Usually carries around 2 attack wings.

ATTACK CRAFT

Deep space attack craft (Fury/Starhawk/Shark) are a different breed from aerospace combat craft (Lightning/Thunderbolt/Marauder). The smallest such craft weigh hundreds of tonnes, whereas heavy bombers and assault boat variants can mass several times that. The big battle carriers can spew out hundreds of such attack craft.

Interceptor: Large space fighters. Used to eliminate enemy ordnance, including bombers and assault boats – or to clear a path for own ordnance. Useless against capital vessels.

Bomber: Heavy space bomber. Carries submunitions capable of damaging even capital warships.

Assault boat: Heavily armoured and shielded, lighting quick. Used to board enemy vessels. Can carry a company of heavy armed and armoured troops.

40k roleplay - the emperors tarot supplement v1.24.pdf

The Warp actually has very little in common with planetary oceans, but let's stick with it for lack of a better metaphor. But if we must use the ocean to explain the Warp, let us instead go under the surface. That adds dimensions to our tale that the surface of the ocean lacks. So...let the voidship be a submersible. The submersible is protected by a pressure hull. That hull is all that stands between its occupants and a watery grave. This hull very rarely loses integrity, but when it does the effect is spectacular: Sea-water gushes into the sub, flooding it. If the breach is large there is naught to be done; there is no escape for crew and passengers, and the vessel itself sinks to the bottom of the sea. If the breach is small, however, the crew might be able to stem the flow of water long enough to surface.

It's more or less the same with a voidship and its Geller field; the Geller field protects the ship - without it everyone dies a horrible death and the vessel is lost. There is no water involved of course; instead the Geller field maintains a bubble of normality around the ship. Without this bubble the full entropic effects of the Warp will grab hold of the ship and its occupants. Destruction is not far away. Even a small 'leak' in the field can create a lot of trouble; the weird energies of the Warp can do untold damage to a voidship, even if the Geller field doesn't collapse completely. And of course there are the Daemons...but that's another issue altogether.

Entering the Warp requires preparation, just as it does for a sub to go under the water. The Warp drive must be brought online and charged - which requires stupendous amounts of energy - and all manner of calculations and preparations are made before reality is finally rent asunder and the ship slips into the Empyrean. A sub doesn't require a Warp drive of course, just some ballast tanks, propulasion and adjustable planes - but the principle of preparation and readiness is the same, even if there is no tearing reality apart in the case of the sub. And just like the sub can't dive in shallow water the voidship cannot enter the Warp where there is a powerful gravity well nearby; gravity equals the shoals of the Warp if you will: Most ships need to be in a system's outer reaches before entering the Warp - the orbit of Saturn is considered the safe Warp threshold in the Sol system for example. Finally; where the sub creates bubbles and turbulence in the water as it dives, so too does the voidship create ripples and disturbances in the space-time continuum as the Warp drive engages. And when the transition has been made both types of ship are simply gone, leaving no trace of their existence behind.

Let's presume for a moment that you've got both the entry and exit strategies covered. That only leaves the actual journey. Which pretty much involves pointing your ship in the general direction of the star you're going to and pushing the 'Engage' button on the Warp drive control station. Right? Wrong. Very wrong. Navigating in the Warp is difficult; much worse than steering a submersible with nothing but the most rudimentary telemetry to work with. The ship's empyric augury arrays collect some data, which is sufficient to perceive the ship's immediate surroundings. Ships without Navigators use these data to navigate by running them through massive cogitator banks. It's not perfect, but it works for short trips. If the ship is fortunate enough to have a trained Navigator on board its ability to traverse the Warp improves dramatically; Navigators have a unique psychic capacity to perceive raw Warp-data without the need for additional machinery. Simply put they just peer into the augury arrays and their minds plot courses with far greater accuracy than a mere machine can accomplish. Needless to say Navigators are rarely completely sane...and many suffer from bodily mutation. Such is the price they pay for peering into the Warp for a living. The Astronomican is another important factor; if this beacon of Imperial might shines brightly Navigators can use it to fix their position: Much like ancient mariners used stellar formations fixed above the poles of their worlds to navigate by. If the light of the Emperor grows dim - or is obscured altogether - their ability to navigate (pardon the pun) is somewhat curtailed, but still significant.

For navigation to mean anything you have to know where you're going. That's when those tiny islands in the great, dark and often storm-tossed sea come in. Having a real-space bearing is a good starting point, but nowhere near sufficient to get you where you want to go: Once you go under the surface you'll lose you target and won't have more than a general idea of where you must go to reach it. Again Navigators and the Astronomican makes it a bit easier, but you're still essentially going blind. You'll need to resurface frequently to get your bearings, then dive again (with all the complexity entering and leaving the Warp entails). Repeat as often as needed. It works, but it can take months to reach even nearby stars, making large-scale interstellar civilizations...impractical. That's where Warp routes come in. Warp routes are paths through the warp that have been charted in detail, taking note of markers, currents, ebbs and flows or whatever they call it. Even in a realm of Chaotic energy there are patterns that offer a way of telling one place from another (but routes do change and need constant monitoring and updating for charts to stay viable). The houses of the Navis Nobilite guard the knowledge of such routes jealously: The greater the house the more routes they will know and the greater the extent of their travel networks - and the greater their power and wealth will be. Ships without Navigators also stick to the same routes; Chartist vessels have the data required to travel between their designated ports of call, but rarely more than that.

Once the course is set the ship's warp drive will be able to move it in the direction specified by the ship's navigator - be he at true Navigator or a mere man and his machines. The Warp is in constant turmoil, so regardless of the course laid in there will be a drift. The Navigator and the Helmsman will work diligently between them to keep a ship on its course, but there will always be some deviation, however slight. It's more a skill thing than a power thing: The Warp is rarely turbulent enough to actually force a ship along, despite its warp drives; it's far more common to be pushed ever so slightly off course. And remember what I said about dimensions - the Warp has very many, so it's tad bit more complex than up-down and north-south. Try keeping your bearing in seventeen dimensions, with drifts and flows and sheers in all of them and you'll know what I mean. But barring major turbulence or outright storms the ship will move where its Captain wills.

Then there is speed. Speed is generally taken to mean time used to cover a distance. Well, in the Warp both time and distance cease to behave in a fashion that's predictable, so already the 'speed' thing gets a little murky. But as a general rule the deeper you go the faster you move. I don't have a good ocean metaphor for that one, except perhaps if the core of the world was filled with watery tunnels and you could move through them and reach the other side faster than you would if you had to traverse the surface ocean. In the Warp it's more about how many dimensions you're willing to play with; deeper essentially means taking on more dimensions and using them for travel. The more dimensions are involved the greater the complexity of navigation...and consequently the risk of getting lost - possibly forever - increases dramatically. Which is why a ship that has a Navigator who can see the Astronomican it can make longer journeys at greater speed; they can go deeper, faster, without risking destruction. Lesser Chartist captains who must do without such luxuries can only move between local systems at a much slower pace. As a side note lesser charts need only contain a fraction of the data complete Navis Nobilite charts holds, because the Chartist barges using them will never go that deep.

Finally your destination island is looming ahead of you. Then there is getting to the surface...unfortunately leaving the warp is not as simple as pushing a big red button or pulling a panic lever. Cutting the warp drive just leaves you adrift on the currents of the Immaterium; it doesn't return you to real space. So not only is it pointless in terms of getting out, it will actually throw you off course - which is never a good thing. Disengaging the Geller field also doesn't work, but it's infinitely more stupid: It's not the field that's keeping you in the Warp - it's whats keeping the Warp out of you! Losing the Geller field is like breaching the pressure hull of the sub; the outside comes rushing in to fill the vessel., which is a very, very Bad Thing! One final solution that doesn't work: Supposing you're close to a solar system you might think that heading in-system will yank you out of the warp once you're deep enough in the gravity well. That works about one time in a million; the rest of the time it's like running your sub at full speed into submerged reefs just off the coast of the island you're trying to reach...'Total Warp breach imminent'...those are the last words you'll ever hear, droning out from the ship's intercom system.

To leave the warp you first have to ascend to the surface - remember we're using the submarine metaphor - before you can break through into the air.This is one point where the metaphor fails to convey the message: The warp is not an ocean. It doesn't have just three dimensions; it has many, many more. Even with a Navigator on board it might not even be apparent which way is 'up'. The difficulty increases if the ship's aethyric auspexes are damaged or local warp conditions makes navigation difficult. Then there are Warp storms; not only can the push you of course, but they can be a real show-stopper for those trying to escape the Warp: As you near the surface the risk of destruction rises many-fold, as the storm gains in destructive power as you draw closer to reality. Not unlike the effects of a real-ocean storm; you can ride the waves when out at sea, but once you get close to land things suddenly get more dramatic and dangerous. Thus most ships will just have to risk riding out the storm - which will likely leave them wildly of course.

Now that you sub has finally reached the surface there is another problem; the sea is covered by a thick sheet of ice. Unless you can find a suitable spot for breaking through you're going to be stuck down there. Fortunately - unlike the sub - the voidship as an advantage; it has a Warp drive than can rip open a hole in the icy surface of reality and let it slip back into real space. Congratulations - you've made it to your destination. One final thing remains; getting a fix on the current real-space time. Time in the warp gets compressed at variable rates (generally speaking greater the deeper - faster - you go). For a slow Chartist vessel the compression ration could be as low as 1:2 one week of ship-time for ever two weeks in real space - but for the fast Nobilite highliners it could regularily go as far as 1:5 or greater. As a result ship crews tend to outlive any on-world relations that they might have, further setting them apart from the land-based kin.

Communication needs mentioning: It's perfectly possible for a vessel in the Warp to send and receive astropathic messages. Caveats do apply; the deeper in the Warp the harder it is for astropaths to send and receive. Turbulence and storms can also disrupt communications; but that's not unique to vessels under Warp drive. Most Astropaths - and Captains for that matter - are rather reluctant when it comes to communicating: The uneducated think it's asscociated with 'bad luck'. Those in the know are aware of the possibility of a ship attracting the attention of aethyric predators and the strain that can place upon a ship's Geller field. Reception of messages is perhaps less dangerous, but it is still not to be undertaken lightly: There is always the chance of insanity, psychic backlash or even bodily entropy. To be fair the danger is there in real space as well, but aestimates indicate that the frequency of incidents go up while under Warp drive - and that the average magnitude of at-warp incidents is much greater. If as ship must communicate it will generally rise close to the surface before transmitting.

One final thing: It is possible for ships in the Warp to detect one another. The chance is very slight, but it is there: Geller bubbles are at most a few hundred kilometers across; they are less detectable than a single snow-flake caught in a roaring blizzard. Powerful augury arrays help of course, as does having an idea as to the location of the other vessel and where it might be headed. Navigators are another great asset in this regard as they can interpret Warp data more accurately than servitor operators; some skilled Navigators can even track the paths of other vessels through the Warp with some accuracy. Since ships can detect one another they can engage one another as well; combat within the Warp is rare because detection chances are so low - and because when it does happen it is a brutal, short-range affair: Geller bubbles must overlap, meaning ranges are a few hundred kilometers at most - practically point-blank range in terms of space combat. That's too close for torpedoes to arm or lances to target properly, meaning that it's usually down to battery fire. Furthermore void shields cannot be brought up to strength because of the power drain of the Geller field, so ships are protected solely by armor. Needless to say few sane captains are willing to risk entering into combat on those terms.

It is done!

My Dark Heresy rules adaptation is complete! You can grab it from the download link in this post...

Well...almost complete anyway. I didn't have time for everything I wanted to do, but I gave myself a 21st December deadline so here goes. I've already spent too much time on an essentially pointless project. Well, maybe no pointless, but of limited value to everyone save myself. For me it was kind of cool to actually push forward and get something (semi)completed. The devil is in the details they say. And whenever you change something that tends to cascade throughout the entire system in unexpected ways. I learned a lot from that. Things I'll put to good effect when I now move on to finish my Birthright domain rules.

Important changes to version 2.27:

- Toughness again reduced damage taken. The previous version felt alien. A few number-crunching tests also proved it to be too grim and gritty. It looked nice on the paper, but it was decidedly un-nice to PC and didn't help create a fun game. It just created a lot of dead people. The new version is more like the old one, but with some new elements.

- Weapons do D6 instead of D10 damage. That means you can optionally roll damage at the same time you roll to hit, saving a bit of time. It also allows for greater variety and removes some of the extreme effects between weapons that rolled 1D10 vs. weapons that rolled 2D10 for damage. Now they do 2D6 and 3D6 (plus modifiers) which produces more average results.

- WS and BS now have associated skills. for BS its pistols, rifles and heavy weapons. So you can advance those skills like you do other skills. Combat modifiers have been tweaked slightly to compensate for the more extreme effects of this.

- Other than that additions and chances too numerous to mention.

- Layout and navigation vastly improves.

Things that will be added to a future version 3.0:

- True faith: Refers to the talents in the Blood of Martyrs book. I'd like to redo them slight and add them to the document.

- Gear: There are some sections that haven't been filled out. Also the more exotic weapons haven't gotten the love they deserve - I've focused on stuff used in DH games and not so much on melta weapons and heavy guns.

- Psychic powers: Some of the powers haven't been fleshed out. That needs to be taken care of. There are also some holes than needs filling.

- NPCs and opponents: This is time-consuming shit. But I want to add the most common types of human, xenos and daemonic opponents. Later I can fill in more as time permits.

- Playtesting: many things haven't been playtested enough - or not at all. So there are bound to be loopholes and ares that aren't covered. I'll try to remove any that I find, but this was never intended to be a complete fully playtested game. It is a toolbox. And a free one at that.

- Character generation sheet: Once I've done the final tweak and additions I'll update the Excel sheet. But not before as it will only trigger more work.

Any feedback is highly appreciated.

I've made a little "supplement" covering the Imperial (Emperor's) Tarot. I know there is some stuff out there already, but none of it covered my needs. So I made this. I've put much of it out in a few previous posts, but some of it has been rewamped and streamlined, plus I added something new.

It owes a lot to RL tarots, but with a distinctly 40k twist to the cards. Haven't really tried to keep it in line with tarot 'canon', cuz that was just confusing. If there are discrepancies between my interpretation and some other interpretation I'm willing to blame that on a whole galaxy and 10k+ years worth of tarots...

Location: Xicarph, Quaddis, Golgenna Reach, Calixis Sector

Situation: Back down on the streets of Xicarph. Locate and eliminate target 'Heron Mask'.

Haxtes has formulated a plan that involves killing the Heron Mask to prevent him from achieving whatever nastiness he's after. Said nastiness has something to do with the alignment of the planets and the Steel Clock of Gabriel Chase Haarlock striking the Thirteenth Hour to mark the occasion. Haxtes doesn't know Heron's exact plan, but that's not required. Only his death is required. Let the analysts sort out the whys and hows afterwards.

Body: The chute starts to repack itself as soon as you feet touches the wide flat roof of the three-story palatial building  you were aiming for. Having no more need for it you hit the quick release button and it falls away. You take a few seconds to scan your surroundings, but they are clear. Grabbing your utility bag you check it's contents for damage. Nothing. The padded bag has done its job admirably. You quickly move to the edge of the roof. The longlas is released and used to sweep the area - it has a powerful scope, complete with nighvision. You've landed about two klicks east of the eastern edge of the Great Eastate in an area known as the Palaces and Structures of Wonder - a collection of famous buildings from other worlds recreated here on Quaddis. Right now you're crouching on the roof of the Forum of Protasia. Unsurprisingly there are few people about - after the rebellion all things Protasian have been less than popular.

The City of Xicarph is still bathed in the eternal light of the polar summer, but high above the planets and the moons has started their alignment. Already some of them move as black spheres across the sun's yellow disk, casting moving shadows down upon Xicarph..

You remember faintly from a brief that the planetary bodies of the Quaddis system have a most peculiar arrangement. Some Magoses of Astrocartography have even suggested the orbits are not natural, but artificially arranged. That type of lore is restricted of course. At any rate Quaddis is the subject of irregular eclipses and strange alignments of the heavenly bodies. The most noteworthy being a long-lasting total eclipse that occurs every 10-20 years or so. There is a time-piece in the Colonial Regent's clock collection - the Steel Clock - that shows the time until the next eclipse. The clock starts striking once there is thirteen hours left until total eclipse: Once it strikes the thirteenth hour Xicarph will be cast into total darkness (well, the city still has lights you know, so it doesn't really get all that dark, but you get the picture).

The months leading up til the eclipse sees dignitaries from all over Calixis (and beyond) flocking to Quaddis. Why? Ancient tradition is why. The powers that be have need of meeting from time to time and since times immemorial Quaddis has served that purpose. And the Colonial Governors always made sure to make the time of the eclipse a particularily entertaining time to be in Xicarph. Now there are no regents, but tradition lives on.

The weeks immediately preceding the eclipse are known as the Festival of Tattered Fates. Local tradition holds that this is a time of momentous change. Fortunes can be made or lost. Power wax or wane. Health change for good or ill. People seem to focus on the good parts: The festival is a time of gambling, for healing, for having good fortune foretold, that sort of thing. Haxtes has already had a glimpse of this festival.

When the Steel Clock starts striking it's a signal for parties and revelry that will last for 13 hourse before climaxing. The entire city joins in. Parties range from hanging out in local watering holes, raving through the streets or being invited to a fancy party. The most fancy party of all is the one arranged at the Haarlock estate. Only the very rich and the very powerful get to go, by invitation only.

---

Your stay with the Abrites gave you a bit of intel in addition to the gear. Over the last few days there have been several reports of incidents involving a monster of some sort, heavy firepower and rogue psykers:

One of the incident reports is of particular interest to Haxtes: It's from the square where you saw Melua the Whore and Jeb the Cockroach. The two made contact with an Abrites checkpoint. The checkpoint was attacked 'by a monstrous creature, not much different from a man, but possessing unnatural speed, strength and resilience to weapons fire' and 'it wore a flak coat over a padded jump suit of sorts, with an all-enclosing helmet'. The report concludes that the creature was - for unknown reasons - hunting the Whore. It fought through the checkpoint, killing 7 officers and ripped open an APC to get to her. It then absconded with the woman, despite surving officers' best efforts to execute her before the ting could carry her off. The report is very thorough - Maxi would have been proud. Btw: The report mentions Jeb missing after the attack. He's now wanted for questioning.

The Abrites managed to track down Melua using cyber-hounds and specialist auspex gear. The autopsy report is appended. In the few hours the creature spent with her she was subjected to much cruelty and every abuse known to man. Haxtes is...impressed. The creature is a master of torture. It must also have carried a grudge or something - for its handiwork is more than professional, it's personal.

You have also concluded that the monster is in turn being hunted. No Heron Mask in any of the reports, but the combination of big-game hunters with powerful weapons working with rogue psykers makes the conclusion and easy one to reach: These are the Heron's people and they are looing for it.

If you had Vern and Venus here they could probably draw out more relevant data and link it together. There was more stuff in the datavaults, incldued highly encrypted stuff. But they are, so this is all you got.

---

Speaking of the cadre. You know they are here. You've had the Eyeball Mark 1 on some of them and you've flet the presence of Odessa. And you know they know you are here. But neither of you have made any attempt to make contact. They seemed like they had a plan, but with these guys it's hard to tell. Sometimes they are really clever, but whithout guidance they tend to wander a bit. Let me know if you wish to come in.

There is also Xerza. Karkalla claimed she had escaped and gone into hiding. He also told you that she had left one of her people behind for you to contact. You're not too sure about this one. Karkalla felt too much like one of Heron's hooks. You're free of him now, but if you pursue this lead you could become entangled again.

Speaking of entangled: You know Jeb made it out alive. You don't known that Parsifal is alive, but your gut tells you he is. Maybe some of the other gladiators made it out as well. The ratling was a useful homidical maniac. And you still would like to have worlds with that ex-hunter. Not important now. But if they made it out AND they got entangled with Melua, then chances are the Heron's hooks are in THEM now. Which could be good for Haxtes (since he's off the hook), but bad for the others. Oh well, they are all big boys.

So, what to do, what to do? You can always call upon Proctor Ramiles for updates, but if you intend to avoid all other entanglements then finding Heron in time might be tricky.

And ideas?

The Hub: Hanging from the apex of the containment dome is the Hub, a blister of crystal and brass that houses the offices of the Colonial Regent and the Office of Colonisation. More importantly, it also houses the docking control centre that controls orbital traffic and the city’s more than adequate aerial defences, guiding the landing of craft on Ashtear Starport, located on the exterior of the city’s dome.

A. The Grand Estate of Gabriel Chase Haarlock: The palace of the Colonial Regent. Built by the first Regent. Now it sits silent and empty, except for the Fetival of Tattered Fates and the Grand Ball leading up to the Revel of Darkness. Artificial rivers flow through acres of primal forest and jungle dotted with follies and monuments ranging from artfully ruined basilica to cruel towers jutting from stone crags. At the estate’s
centre lies the manse, a great tiered building said to extend down into the bedrock of Quaddis just as it towers above Xicarph. The manse is also said to house the famous Gabriel Chase Collection, which scholars from across the sector regularly (and often fruitlessly) petition to be able to view. The sum of generations of acquisition within and without the bounds of Imperial space, the collection spans works of art, literature, and artefacts, as well as a vast collection of preserved specimens anthropological, xenological, and biological. At the heart of the manse can be found the Theatre of Clocks, a chamber in which a million separate mechanisms are said to faultlessly keep the time of a million worlds across the Imperium, and at its centre sits Chase's legendary Steel Clock, a device keyed in some way to the Grand Conjunction, counting down to the Revel of Shadows.

B. The Ashtear Starport: Quaddis only spaceport. Passengers disembarking pass through Xicarph’s halls of greeting and descend to the city via mag-rail cars that glide down the inside of the dome, giving mismatched vistas of Xicarph and the ice planes stretching out all around, while cargo and less prominent travellers are ferried through the lightless tunnels of the undercity.

C. The Collapsed Palaces: Slums. This is where Haxtes and the later Jeg/Parsifal surfaced. Pointedly ignored by the rest of the city, the Collapsed Palaces is the only place the poor and outcast can go, and thousands eke out ramshackle lives in the upper reaches of the collapsed area, forgotten and unaided. Life here in the shadow of Xicarph’s opulence is bitter and uncertain, and the depths of the rent swallow up without a trace many who venture there.

D. The High Steps of the Pleasure Gardens: Stepped public gardens that form a raised arc that curves around one flank of the cityscape where the most extravagant and strange wonders can be found. Rising at their highest point to almost a third of the dome’s height, the High Steps are a mass of artfully weathered stone, tiled staircases, and shaded promenades—all surrounded by the most wonderful exotic plants and flowers. Tended and protected by silent servitors of verdigris-coated brass while strange birds murmur in branches of trees native to planets half a galaxy away, the gardens are ever alive with the heady, almost narcotic scent of flowers and sap. Though for half its orbital cycle Xicarph enjoys almost perpetual sunlight, for some time the polar region has almost no light. During this time, solar lamps burn on the inside of the dome so that the gardens might survive.

E. The Akasen Follies: Seated at the southern tip of the High Steps, amid an artful arrangement of marble domes, pavilions, and courtyards is the area known as the Akasen Follies. They are the domain of rare pleasures, both subtle and visceral, some purchased only at a cost that would beggar a feudal king. Fabled in half-true tales across the sector both licentious and often sinister, the Akasen-trained companions and courtesans are among the most respected and sought after in the Segmentum.

F. The Promenade of Arenas: This raucous district houses the bulk of the city’s public stadia—a mixture of fighting arenas, bestiaries, xenological exhibits, and bloodsport pits—along with their attendant gambling houses, bars, feast halls, and all manner of other entertainments. Like much in Xicarph, even these bloody locales have been constructed in a high style, with the sands of battle surrounded by high tiers of steps and towering marble walls draped in red samite, crowned with ornate statuary depicting the heroes of the Imperium.

G. The Gilden Houses: the publicly open Gilden Houses—a profusion of markets, emporia, and galleries where some of the most highly valued and exotic goods known to man can be found for sale.

H. The Refutation: This somewhat forlorn district houses many of Xicarph’s adepts and their works, built around a series of amphitheatres and decrepit privately sponsored colleges which in recent centuries have been left largely abandoned by the whims of fashion and fate. This area also houses the drab grey ziggurat of the Adminitratum and several cathedral-like data-vaults given over to the storage of Quaddis’ planetary archives.

I. The Eternal Show of Shadows: There are numerous play houses and theatres in Xicarph, all hoping to draw the favour of visitors and the patronage of the nobility, but no other has the reputation of the Eternal Show of Shadows, a venue of such status that other playhouses appealing to the elite of Quaddis have clustered around it to form a distinct district.

J. The Valley Gardens of Sul: Named for one of Quaddis’ more pious nobles of centuries past who founded them, the Valley Gardens are quiet and shadowed places given over largely to sprawling cemetery complexes, mausoleums, and monuments to wars and saints long forgotten.

K. The Guild Enclave: The Guild Enclave is an arrangement of private villas and compounds where most of the prominent commercial enterprises and organisations from across the sector (and indeed beyond) maintain representation. Their presence is maintained both for the prestige it brings them and to avoid the potential disadvantage their absence might create, as much as for any actual business they might conduct.

As it turned out the Baron was not entirely dead. He resurface many times over the following years, always following the same pattern: Gaining a place among the worker castes by preaching his deadly gospel. At the same time his mutant allies, led by Ulbrexis' second in command Assord Morir, would insinuate themselves along the local mutants, thereby gaining a strong fighting force. His most recent attempt at inciting global rebellion was the minor hive world of Baraspine, Adrantis sub.

The Baron is believed to have picked up his deviant ideas during his extended stay on Protasia: Havalir Saerton Ulbrexis was effectively sent to that accursed world as a hostage, to ensure that his father, then Baron Ulbrexis, did not fault on his loan payment to his Protasian bankers. As was so clearly exemplified by the Protasian rebellion: The world was a cesspool of dangerous and deviant thought; democracy, equality, religious freedom, technological progress - all values proven again and again to be detrimental to a stable society.

Today there is little strip mining in the Gorgonid directly beneath Icenholm - that sort of activity has moved on to the valleys and plateaus in the surrounding mountains. Instead the old faces are puckered by great portals of metal leading down and into the surrounding mountains and the deep earth. Each portal leads to a single independent mine, each run by a Baron, and there are thousands of such mines (many of whom are no longer operated, their mineral bounty stripped out long ago, and the portals closed forever).

Approximately 200.000 million serfs live and work in the shadow of Icenholm, with another 300.000 million spread across the strip mines in the surrounding mountains. In a way they are the fortunate ones. The Gorgonid is not run purely by hand power - semi-advanced gear is in use, ranging from drilling equipment, to explosives and massive ore haulers. In other regions of the planet conditions are more primitive, and the lives of the serfs even more desperate. But that is beyond the score of this brief (but there is an appendix ;-)

The ore that is gathered is sorted on site and hauled by building-sized trucks to the great ore processor stations at the edge of the Tumble (the great slag heaps that surround the mines of the Gorgonid). Elsewhere on the planet ore must sometimes be transported overland for quite a distance to reach the regional orbital landing fields. After sorting and some simple refinement the processed ore go into the great ore barges (the pilots and tech-adepts operating these shuttles also live in Icenholm - but out of sight of the nobility). Thousands of barges make the trip every day, carrying the ore into the waiting maws of the megafreighters waiting in low orbit.

In an effort to make it easier to picture a ‘Typical Imperial World’ I’ll try to paint an OOC picture of one. You won’t find any worlds that are exactly like this, but you’ll find plenty of variations over this theme. So this is intended to provide a reference against which other worlds can be compared. Should be useful for all games – Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Deathwatch and Black Crusade.

The world has been settled for a relatively long period of time, usually in the 500-2000 year range. Shorter settlement times are possible if there are massive investments. Longer settlement times are also possible, but only in special cases – the Imperium isn’t balanced on a local level, but tends to lay waste to planetary ecospheres sooner or later. Population ranging from a few hundred million into the low billions. Resources of a variety of types are relatively abundant and industry well-developed, society is fairly homogenous and stable.

The Imperial Governor is the highest-ranking Imperial representative on any given world (‘world’ in this contexts usually includes the entire solar system in which the world is situated, but there are exceptions). The governor is effectively a feudal ruler: Upon him the High Lords of Terra has bestowed dominion over his world in return for his fealty, which includes a not inconsiderable tithe tax. The Governor is not a direct part of the Adeptus Terra chain of command, and does not formally have any power over the Adepts present on his world. In practice many Governors will have established working relationships with whatever parts of the Adeptus Terra are present (though there are plenty of examples of friction or outright conflict between Governors and parts of the Adeptus Terra). Meanwhile the Adepta watches the governor – and each other (and the Inquisition keeps an eye on all of them).

Many Governors rule as dictators, but it’s not universal. Some worlds have a more feudal arrangement (even if they are not ‘feudal’ in the techno-social sense) or are ruled by oligarchies and other elitist forms of governments. True representative democracies are very rare, but there are a number of semi-democratic worlds in the Imperium (worlds where only a small elite has a vote in political matters). The High Lords of Terra do not care how a world is rules as long as it meets its obligations – in practice it’s difficult to rule as anything but a tyrant when your masters are all a vile mix of ignoramuses, tyrants, religious zealots, bureaucrats and warmongers.

Governors are not without civil servants. For ever billion population there is likely to be approximately 50 million people somehow employed by government, ranking from high officials and officers, via soldiers and spies, to the lowliest clerks and manual labourers. The worlds of the Imperium are not just dictatorships; they are government-heavy dictatorships.

The Governor may be the most powerful ruler on a planet – his position may even effectively be hereditary – but he’s not the only power figure. There are always other factions vying for power and even a Governor isn’t immune to assassination, rebellion or outright civil war. As long as it doesn’t rock the boat too much the Imperium will not intervene – only if the sacrosanct Adepts of Terra are harmed or the tithe is threatened does the Imperium become concerned. So the successful Governor must devote some of his resources to keeping his enemies and rivals in check – another burden upon his income.

Every major part of the Priesthood of Terra will invariably have a presence on a typical Imperial world. The Arbites are present in some number to make sure the world does not fall victim to sedition or tithe evasion, the Astra Telepathica provides psyker services and readies psychic cargo for transport on the Black Ships, the Adminstratum is there to count coppers, collect tithe, make records, spy and generally make a lot of bureaucratic trouble for everyone. The Mechanicum provides important technical support, monitors the world for deviant technologies and keeps an eye on local tech-guilds. The Ministorum keeps an eye on local religious practices, tries to shape them into forms more in line with the Imperial Truth, and generally encourages the worship of the God-Emperor. The Army and Navy are not present in numbers unless the world is a fleet base or fortress world – but they may have some liaisons, recruitment officers, etc. in place.

The Inquisition has a presence on every Imperial World. How big a presence varies tremendously, but for a typical world there will be at least one planetary office that handles the processing of information from a number of planetary sources. Typical worlds will have at an Interrogator or other senior officer commanding. 

No two worlds are the same. They all have their unique identity. Yes, there is Imperial influence, but there is also strong local traditions. For simplicity’s sake it’s usually enough to have each world appear fairly homogenous, but in reality this is rarely the case – most worlds are likely to have a variety of sub-cultures, just like our own world does. There are some things that are fairly universal though:

As a rule of thumb the masses hate the Governor and his servants. Many also detest the Priesthood of Earth. If they are pious they worship the God-Emperor, but his servants may be another matter. A lot of the Governor’s energy goes into controlling the masses – keeping them sufficiently fed and entertained, downtrodden and brutalized. A rebellion involving one area or one group of dissidents can be handled – and entire world revolting is another matter. Upward social mobility is very limited.

Not all worlds have a feudal structure and a nobility. But almost every world has a hereditary upper class. They protect their own interests, their wealth and their power from generation to generation. This is usually best accomplished by siding with the Governor in keeping the planet productive and the masses under control, but sometimes they plot to become governors themselves (and they always plot against each other in petty games of prestige). So even if they aren’t nobles in name they are nobles in fact.

There is a middle class on the typical imperial world. It’s fairly small and does not have a lot of power. Generally a member of the middle class lives in great fear – fear of falling down the social ladder into the great abyss of the masses. They also dream of riches and try as best they can to ape after the nobility. The middle class is usually the most traditional of the bunch and support the Governor – anything the rocks the boat is a bad thing.

The Adeptus Terra uses High Gothic for internal communication. High-ranking local officials are also likely to use High Gothic both when interacting with Adepts and otherwise – the use of the master tongue gives an extra veneer of credibility. Local citizens do not speak High Gothic. Instead they speak Low Gothic. Low Gothic is an amalgamation of High Gothic and whatever local languages existed before the coming of the Imperium (if the world was colonized from another Imperial world it will simply inherit its dialects).  Some worlds can have multiple variants of Low Gothic, but with a little effort they can understand one another. That’s not necessarily the case with people from another world: The Low Gothic of Baraspine is nearly incomprehensible to a citizen of Tranch for example, whereas the Scintillan Low Gothic can be understood on many worlds in Calixis because Scintilla is the capital and has influenced other planets over the last two thousand years. People who travel should ideally learn High Gothic AND the local Low Gothic (or hire a translator). Remote regions and primitive worlds often cling to their non-Imperial tongues. These are separate languages entirely.

Every Imperial world subscribes to the Imperial creed. But the Imperial Creed can take many forms, some of them utterly contradictory. Those worlds that have been brought to compliance instead of being colonized are particularly likely to have divergent religious beliefs: But as long as they preach in favour of the Imperium and accept the God-Emperor as the head of their religion they are tolerated. Religious practices can vary greatly even on the same Imperial world.

The Adeptus Arbites does equal the sum of law enforcement in the Imperium.  The Abrites are only there to ensure the world does not fall into sedition or fail to meet the tithe: They are a bit like a mix of federal police, riot police, and intelligence agency. How deeply they are involved in planetary affairs varies according to traditions and the local situation. On a world like Malfi there are literally a million Arbitrators, who are actively patrolling the hives in an effort to keep the unemployed and dissatisfied masses under control. More typically the Arbites only patrol intermittently, come out to supress major revolts, and/or investigate special cases.

The Governor is responsible for his own law enforcement and judicial system. Typically this includes a professional police corps, a secret police, and an at least semi-functional judicial system. The average citizen can expect to see police fighting crime, which cases get to court and are resolved there. Corruption and injustice is probably common, but there is at least some reason and rhyme to the system.

If there is a large Adept presence the Department Magistratum might be present – this is the Administratum equivalent of a police force. It’s primarily intended to self-police the Administratum, but in certain Adept-heavy areas it has replaced local law enforcement entirely.

All imperial worlds produce something and a typical Imperial World will have a decent industrial base and a decent population. The economy is geared towards local consumption (the lower classes get but little, but the upper classes are typically very rich indeed), some exports to generate trade revenues (necessary to maintain needed imports and to pay the monetary part of the tithe), seeing to planetary defence needs, maintaining a largish public sector, and paying the tithe (the bulk of the tithe is paid in local produce and natural resources).

Typical Imperial worlds are largely self-sufficient, but not completely. Interstellar transportation is cheap and commonplace so there is a profit to be had in specialization and trade. It is also a design feature – the Imperium does want their worlds to be too self-sufficient. Might give them incentive for rebellion So a typical Imperial world will be tied to the greater Imperium through ties of trade – it will import and export both bulk goods and lesser volumes of luxury items.

Transportation is handled mostly by Chartered captains, some charters are hereditary, most are not (the former are often employed by corporation, the later may operate individually or in guilds). Free charters work the same as normal charters, only with fewer limitations. Fleet charters are tied strictly to work for the Navy. Rogue Trade charters are the most coveted – they give their holders the right to go outside the Imperium, to explore, to trade and to exploit. If there are multiple settlements with a system there will also be in-system charters, but these are handled by the local Governor and not the Adeptus Terra.

The ships involved in trade range in size from the biggest macrohaulers who can haul million upon millions of tons of cargo to light transports that can speed a few thousand valuable tonnes or a handful of passengers across the great voids of interstellar space. The biggest macro-haulers dwarf even the mightiest battleship, while the smallest ones fall in the lower end of the raider spectrum. The more common vessels are the destroyer-to-frigate-sized sprint freighters, the cruiser-sized medium freighters and the battleship-sized bulk transports. The typical Imperial world will have a number of vessels calling inn over the course of a year – it would be very rare for no traders to be in-system at any given time.

While some of the smallest interstellar freighters can land on planets such ships are the exception rather than the norm. Some large escorts are able to land, but rarely do – landing is very stressful for a big hull and ships are very vulnerable when landed. So ships, even those that could have landed, usually dock with orbital facilities and then rely on local transportation guilds to move cargo up/down. To/from orbital transportation can take many forms, but the most common method involves orbital barges. These craft combine anti-gravity systems with some form of multi-purpose propulsion for cheap and efficient transportation.

Imperial worlds are rated by their Gross Planetary Product (GPP). GPP and several other more esoteric factors determine a world’s Tithe Grade. GPP times Tithe Grade gives the annual tithe to the Imperium.  That’s the basics. It gets a little more complicated than that because worlds do not necessarily pay their tithes with money – they pay some or all of it in manpower, resources, industrial produce, food, water, starships, Ghostfire Pollen, etc.

Unless the tithe is set very low (which usually means a world has big economic problems or has little of importance to offer) it is a very real burden to the planetary economy. Not an insurmountable burden, but definitely a burden. Other worlds may have really high tithe grades, so high that they are effectively bled dry. The typical Imperial World, however, can manage its tithe with a little effort. Failing to meet the tithe is the dread of every Governor – failure equates Imperial attention and Imperial attention often means additional trouble.

A typical tithe will include manpower (for the Guard/Navy), monetary transfer, grants of natural resources and industrial produce, plus the transfer of any and all psykers to the Black Ships.

The Imperium is at a constant state of war. That doesn’t mean that every world is ravaged by war all the time, but it does mean that every world must be both ready if war comes and ready to support war. The former is the province of the Planetary Defence Force (FDF) and the second is handled by planetary tithes (including manpower tithes for the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Navy).

Tithes to the Imperium will indirectly work towards the protection of a typical world, although it might not be readily apparent to its Governor or its people. The burden of the tithe might even seem to weaken the system needlessly. This is of course only an illusion – without the tithe the Imperium cannot protect its member worlds and all would eventually come to ruin. Only if war actually comes knocking will a typical world see the Imperial Guard upon its soil and the Imperial Navy in the skies above. Some key worlds will have Guard armies as garrisons or a permanent Navy presence, but these are best classified as fortress worlds, not typical worlds.

Barring the aid of the Imperium it’s still the sacred duty of the Imperial Governor to keep his fief safe, including safe from external (raids and invasions) and internal military threats (civil wars and insurrections). To this end the Governor must maintain a large enough military to credibly deter any threat. Placed on top of the tithe and the Governor’s other obligations (maintaining law and order, bribing the Adeptus Terra, and maintaining an opulent palace and lifestyle) this usually places a great strain upon the world’s economy.

System defence

Unless a Governor for some reason has his fief restricted to a specific planet he’ll be responsible for the security of the entire system and its immediate surroundings. That means maintaining a fleet of system ships (ships without warp drives), monitoring stations, surveillance platforms, orbital and planetary defence batteries.

The outer system will be only lightly protected: A few surveillance platforms, maybe some minor monitoring stations above any outer system planets. If there are commercial interests in the deep beyond there may be patrols, fighter garrisons and orbital defences attached. Inside the warp threshold military presence increases: There is more surveillance and patrols will be more common.

Space is large, however, so it’s around key worlds that the real defences can be found. Typical Imperial worlds will have at least one battle station in orbit, backed up a number of weapon platforms. If the Governor can afford he’ll expand his orbital network to include more forts and more platforms. These systems carry a mix of lances, batteries, torpedoes and fighter/bomber squadrons. Since they don’t need warp drives or real space drives they can dedicate space to offense/defence. Their only weakness is a lack of mobility.

Additional weapon systems will also be deployed on the planetary surface. Surface to space missiles (equivalent of torpedoes) and heavy defence lances are the most common types. More fighter and/or bomber squadrons can be based on the surface. There are also anti-air defences of a variety of types. Key areas (major cities/hives and industrial areas) are likely to be protected by heavy void shields. Planetary weapons are easier to hide and protect and cheaper to maintain that space-based weapons. Their range is limited however.

If there are natural satellites around a planet they can be fortified and serve as bases for small craft. If the satellite is close enough it’s even possible for long-range weapon systems to be employed against ships attacking the mother world. Even if no natural satellites exist the Imperium has the ability to move large asteroids or other objects so ‘natural’ satellites can be created if need be (and the resources exist).

Backing up these relatively static defences are the systems fleet. It is probably not very large in the case of a typical world. A handful of heavy raiders and scores of lighter raiders. All probably relatively old, poorly maintained and manned by second-rate crew. They should not be underestimated, however, for backed up by orbital/planetary defences they can be a formidable obstacle. Wealthy systems can have many more ships – massive fleets of cruisers, battleships even. Some systems have managed to purchase decommissioned Navy vessels – even without their warp drives they can be formidable system defence ships.

In sum the average Imperial world can stand up to anything short of a major invasion. The occasional raid might cause trouble and pirates could prey upon intrasystem and interstellar shipping, but as long as defences are maintained the world will be safe. 

Planetary defence

Standing armies are deployed as to protect key assets – main cities, spaceports, production areas, and so on – both from outside attack and insurrection. They are equipped in the fashion of their homeworld. Typically this will be autoguns and flak armour. These PDF armies will a have whatever support weapons, vehicles, ships and aerospace craft the forges of their world can supply them with. As a rule of thumb there will be a million men under arms per billion of population. Quality varies. Most worlds will have at least some elite formations. Depending on the political situation the entire PDF may be under the command of the Governor, but more typically there are several factions controlling part of the world – and part of the military.

There will almost always be some form of armed insurrection on most Imperial worlds, but full-scale rebellions are rare. The Imperium is a violent and oppressive regime where many feel they have nothing to lose – keeping a lid on this seething anthill of human emotion is simply not possible. Rebellions are rare because Governors can usually suppress local insurrections.

Invasions are also rare, but not unheard of. Raids are somewhat more common, but there are not many potential attackers out there who are willing to risk a planetary assault just for the sake of a raid (Chaos reavers and Eldar corsairs are among those who does). Successful invasions almost invariably require the use of weapons of mass destruction and massive invading forces; you simply can’t take an entire world with a billion-strong population without massive collateral. Orks are good at this type of operation – they have the numbers, the weapons, and a complete disregard for real estate.

Guytoga is an Imperial World located deep in the Hazeroth subsector of the Claixis Sector – which means it’s just about as far away from anything as you can get and still be within the Imperium. It’s not a complete backwater – it’s a civilized world and part, however remote, of the greater Imperium of Man.

The world played no part in the Angevin Crusade. It was rediscovered early in M40 by Imperial Explorators during a centuries-long push to catalogue and ‘reclaim’ the Hazeroth sub. Despite its remote location it was deemed to have sufficient potential to warrant development. In addition to a near-Terran ecosphere and exploitable resources it had a native feral human population. Attempt were made integrate the natives into the Imperium, but despite the best efforts of the Ministorum they remained stubbornly opposed to the notion of a human God-Emperor.

A minor crusade was called in 213.M40, drawing manpower for Imperial Guard Regiments from all over the sub-sector. Fifty divisions and supporting assets were deemed sufficient to remove the natives. The initial projection called for a 5-year campaign. Fifteen years later there was still stiff resistance, but core areas had nevertheless been cleared for colonization. The Guard Regiments were disbanded and the survivors granted lands on Guytoga. Additional colonists were brought in and settlement began in earnest.

Despite some continued trouble with the natives the colony prospered. Former Guardsmen became the ruling caste of Guytoga and maintained a large and professional PDF force to deal with remaining savages. Guytoga still has a strong martial tradition and provides the Imperium with valuable Guard recruits when called upon to do so.

Guytoga trades with neighbouring systems, but lacks anything really valuable to export. Its remote location also works against it. The good news is that the planet is essentially self-sufficient. Imports are either hi-tech goods or luxury items. Exports include some rare minerals, luxury items, and carapace armour for the Calixis Abrites.

Given Guytoga’s remote location and proximity the Hazeroth Abyss the Governor maintains a strong PDF that includes substantial space assets. Imperial navy patrols make their way here at least twice per year, but rarely venture deeper into the Abyss – they are mostly there to wave the flag and collect manpower.

Most of the population lives in or around one of the many small hives scattered across the planet. Each hive and its surroundings are ruled by the descendants of the original Guardsmen that settled Guytoga. The hives offer a great deal of protection even for those that do not normally live inside them – much like the castles and fortified towns of an older age they are places of refuge should trouble come. Which is good, since those citizens that do not live in the hives must contend with the savages that still live in Guytoga’s hinterlands. Each hive maintains its own PDF forces, including an air wing and anti-orbital defences.

The Governor of Guytoga is a direct descendant of Lord General Chern, the overall Guard commander during the Guytoga Crusade. He’s more like a first among equals than a true sovereign. The Governor also claims to be the rightful Lord sub-sector: While it is true that Guytoga was at one time intended to be the capital of the ‘new’ Hazeroth sub this was abandoned a long time ago and the capital ended up at Gunpoint instead.

The general lack of trade revenues, high military expenditure and factitious nature of the world means that the Governor is hard pressed to meet his tithe quotas – even though they are relatively low for such a well-developed world. The nobles use this fact to pressure the Governor and retain their extensive freedoms and privileges.

History: The region that is now Calixis was only partially surveyed and lightly settled during the Dark Age of Technology. What horrors took place here during the Age of Strife are fortunately long forgotten or mercifully suppressed by the Holy Ordos. The Great Crusade only briefly touched upon the Carlyx expanse and in the millennia that followed the region was largely ignored by the Imperium. That is, up until the Calyx Expanse was re-explored by infamous Rogue Trader Solomon Haarlock 723-736.M36. Haarlock established a personal fief on the world of Solomon, but it was not until 322.M39 and the Angevin crusade that Calixis was brought back into the fold. As such Calixis is a relatively young sector, with only a few worlds that have been continuously inhabited since the Dark Age.

Subsectors: Calixis is divided into a number of sub-sectors and regions. The Golgenna Reach is the civilized heart of the  sector, with the Malfian sub second in importance. The Drusus Marches, the Josian Reach, and the Markayn Marches are second-rate subsectors - important, but not critical to the sector. Adrantis and Hazeroth are subsectors in name only - they are more like autonomous territories if truth be told. Their commercial worth is considered negative (but the Imperium does not abandon its gains and they serves as security buffers for the other subs). The Periphery is not formally a sub-sector.

                                    SCARUS SECTOR                                                 FINIAL SECTOR

KORONUS                     Periphery      Markayn

KORONUS         Malfi             Golgenna          Josian                    IXANIAD SECTOR

KORONUS         Drusus         Adrantis           Hazeroth              IXANIAD SECTOR

                                                FYDAE GREAT CLOUD

Golgenna Reach (Scintilla): The central hub of the sector, through which most of the major trade routes pass. Named after Golgenna Angevin, the original commander of the Calyx Crusade (more commonly known as the Angevin Crusade). The most important world is Scintilla, the sector capital. Scintilla is the policical, religious, and commercial hub of Calixis. Scintilla was originally settled during the Dark Age. It was resettled during the Angevin Crusade.

Malfian sub (Malfi): Lying to rimward from the Golgenna Reach the Malfian sub is the most populous subsector of Calixis, both in terms of total Imperial citizens and number of Imperial systems. The Malfian sub guards the rimward borders of the sector and also controls access to the Koronus Expanse and the Halo Stars (the sub-sector fleet is actually stronger than that of the Golgenna Reach; only the main body of Battlefleet Calixis is stronger). The sector capital is Malfi, the most ancient, populous and decadent world in Calixis. There is plenty of friction between Malfi and Scintilla, with Malfi opposing Scintilla in every conceivable (and then some) way.

Drusus Marches (Maccabeus Quintus): This rim/trailing sub lies in the most remote corner of Calixis. It is huge, both in terms of spatial volume and number of settled worlds. It's worlds are typically distant, lightly populated, and lacking in important industries. The sub is big on faith, pilgrims and hardy settlers. The sub-sector capital is the shrine world of Maccabeus Quintus - the local Cardinal-Governor is typically also Lord sub-sector.

Markayn Marches (Solomon): This coreward/spinward sub is centered on the ancient stronghold of the Haarlocks - Solomon. During the Angevin Crusade Solomon became one of the two primary staging grounds for Imperial forces (the other being Sinophia). Solomon was eventually given over to the Departmento Munitorum, with the Haarlocks retaining control only over a remote island. The Haarlocks undoubtedly got something in return. Some trade passes through along secondary routes to Ixaniad and Finial sectors. After the start of the Margin Worlds Crusade Solomon has seen an upsurge in activity, but by and large the Markayn Marches are a remote and unproductive part of the Imperium

Josian Reach (Fenksworld): This coreward sub lies closer to civilized space than any other part of Calixis. The main routes which connect Calixis to Ixaniad (and the Imperium beyond) pass through the Reach by way of Canopus and Fenksworld, generating much revenue. The Josian Reach came into being in M41 as a result of the Meritech Wars - Battlefleet Calixis established a semi-permanent fleet and support facilities to battle the Meritech Clans. After the war it was decided to keep the fleet as a permanent fixture and to support it by removing some territory from the Markayn Marches. Fenksworld remains a major Naval depot to this day and the Josian fleet is the 4th most powerful in Calixis (BF Calixis - Malfi - Glogenna - Josian). The fleet often supports neighboring subs and conduct patrols into Adrantis, Hazeroth and beyond. The Joisan Reach number several productive hives and settled worlds, plus a number of frontier planets. There latter are often settled by Naval veterans and are excellent recruiting grounds for petty officers and armsmen.

Adrantis (Tranch): The Adrantis sub lies trailing of the Golgenna Reach. It is named for the mysterious Adrantis Nebula that lies at the heart of the sub. The worlds of Adrantis are scattered around the nebula, separated by great distances and tenous warp routes. The war-torn world of Tranch is technically sub-sector capital, but in practice the outlying systems fend for themselves or enter into local alliances and trade pacts. The most prominent of these leagues are the so-called 'Far Side League', which comprises Baraspine and several outlying systems. Baraspine's local rival is the Tephaine system with its multiple inhabited planets and moons.

Hazeroth (Clove, Pending approval by Lord Hax): The Hazeroth sub lies corward of Adrantis. It's named after the Hazeroth Abyss, a celestial region even more ill-omened than the Adrantis Nebula. No one ever goes to Hazeroth, not if they have any choice in the matter. The Imperium, however, is as always hell-bent on keeping control over every single piece of stellar property it can get its hands on. The Abyss has remained untamed since the Angevin Crusade and since Lord Hax is a pragmatical man he's not one to waste any resources on this dreary place. The sector capital was originally Guytoga, an Imperial world deep in the Abyss. This proved an...impractical arrangement and the capital was moved to Gunpoint in M40. Gunpoint did not fare well, however, and since mid-M41 Clove has served as de-facto sector capital.

The Periphery (None): This border region stretches for many lightyears towards the Scarus sector. Includes only a handful of worlds, none of them very important. The decaying Imperial world Sinophia should by rights have been made sub-sector capital during the early days of the sector, but political infighting between the Rogue Trader Houses of Haarlock and Sinos effectively sidelined the entire region. The region never received sub-sector status and  consequently no sub capital was named. Trade flows from Calixis to Scarus by way of Sepheris Secundus and Sinophia - but without official recognition the Imperial Governor has limited ability to tax trade passing though his system. Sinophia and the Periphery are actually less well off than they were before the Angevin Crusade.

Threats: Calixis must contend with the usual threats of sedition, treason, heresy, xenos aggression, etc. Calixis biggest challenge is its vast size and nearly endless (both internal and external) borders. Battlefleet Calixis is much too small to effectively defend the sector. The Eye of Terror is not so far away, but there are plenty of other Imperial worlds much closer to the fire. There have been occasional raiders, but nothing major - Calixis is simply too remote. What the Lord Admirals fear is a major xenos incursion, possibly from an as yet undiscovered race...who knows what lurks out there beyond the borders of the Imperium, in the darkness where even the light of the Astronomican fails.