Perpetually frozen in a state of technological grace where muscle
dominates and machinery is limited; these societies relect and
afirm the correct Imperial roles of master and servant.
“Ours is the perfect life. All know their place, and all know their duty to
their lords, vassals, and of course to the Emperor. All are surely comforted
that this will be the same, both the next day and the next century.”
–Federica VI, Lady Beneicia of Castillo
ChArACteristiC modifiers
+Perception, + Weapon Skill, – Intelligence
fAte threshold
3 (Emperor’s Blessing 6+)
home world bonus
At Home in Armour: A feudal world character ignores the maximum Agility value imposed
by any armour he is wearing.
home world Aptitude
Weapon Skill
wounds
A feudal world character starts with 9+1d5 wounds.
reCommended bACkgrounds
Adepta Sororitas, Adeptus Administratum, Adeptus Ministorum, Imperial Guard
rAndom seleCtion
If using Table 2–1: Random Home World from page 31 of the DARK HERESY Core Rulebook, a feudal world can be generated on a roll of 16–33 with an odd result.
Feudal worlders live on planets deined by two pronounced
aspects, the irst and most dominant being a technological
level suspended far below many other Imperial societies.
On many of these worlds, gunpowder-based devices represent the
extent of advancement. Ranks of crude blackpowder irearms and
legions of mounted warriors on the charge might make for the
ultimate weapons on their battleields. The other deining aspect
of feudal worlds is how their natives live, all part of networks of
obligations and allegiances throughout a tribe or other societal
grouping. These ties remain throughout generations, all members
born, raised, and dying within their ixed stations. Like their
technology, feudal worlders exist in a stagnated state. In many
ways their society is similar to the Imperium itself, a welcome
familiarity after the shock many natives of such worlds face as they
become aware of the wider society of Mankind
life on A feudAl world
Feudal worlds are commonly thought to be backward, and
compared to much of the Imperium, this is true. Their technology
is certainly primitive, with beasts and human muscle providing
the power to till ields, raise protective battlements, and
transport goods and people. Their technology can also
dictate how they ight; with gunpowder as the pinnacle
of weaponry, personal combat might dominate as
warriors seek glory against honourable foes.
Despite these limitations, feudal worlders are capable of
great feats of engineering, such as complex aqueducts or gigantic
statuary. They might also develop alchemical potions, healing
herbologies, biological poisons, or techniques in animal training
that could surpass those of many other societies.
All within a feudal world owe allegiance to those above them,
from lowly peasants to elite warriors to the local ruler, who bows
before the world’s assigned planetary governor. This allegiance can
take the form of providing food, armed support, material supplies,
or other aid on demand. In turn, each ruler has obligations to those
below him, such as protection from external threats, lands to work
for personal use, and other beneits. This reliance on societal bonds
of obedience and loyalty between members can provide structured
governance across the years, lending stability to an otherwise harsh
and demanding life. This helps populations balance themselves in
turn; unlike many planets within the Imperium, feudal worlds are
generally self-suicient, with populations low enough that they
can support themselves through agriculture and animal husbandry.
Like other aspects of feudal world life, the methods used might
appear primitive, but are often efective and well-suited for the
natives and their planet.
Feudal worlders live a life of security. All know their role in
society, and would rarely think of questioning this order. That
it does not change from one generation to the next, from one
century to the next, is of little notice or importance. Such is life on
a feudal world, as it is across the Imperium itself.
feudAl world ChArACters
Feudal worlders can range from peasants expert at raising crops,
to artisans and masons responsible for providing shelter, to martial
defenders of the realms, and more. Following their hereditary
paths, few stray from what their forefathers have done for
generations before them, or would even think of that possibility.
One thing they all have in common, though, is an ingrained trust
in the obligations and allegiances that tie together all levels of
their culture. Such strong cultural backgrounds make them ideal
for adoption into service to the Imperium, which operates along
similar structures on a galactic scale.
Most feudal worlds owe minor agricultural or mineral tithes,
with raw manpower their most important Imperial ofering.
Feudal worlds often experience culture shock when the Imperium
contacts them; once this is overcome and the threats humanity
faces are translated into forms the natives can understand, they can
become strong sources for Imperial Guard recruitment. Mounted
feudal warriors, used in combat on steeds ranging from near-
Terran equines, reptilian lizards, or huge, lightless avians, provide
for some of the most famous shock troops in the Imperium.
Feudal worlders often venerate personal combat and honour, and
some of their planets might become recruiting grounds or even
fortress-monasteries for Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.
War is not the only area feudal worlders might excel at, for
without advanced technologies, their reliance on memorisation
and mental organisation can make for strong ittings within the
Adeptus Administratum. Many turn their devotion to the newly-
revealed Imperial Creed, displaying veneration suicient to join
the Ecclesiarchy or even possibly the Adepta Sororitas. Despite
unauthorised pogroms and burnings, witches are still captured as
per Imperial dictate. Those brought to the Black Ships, though,
might go on to serve their Emperor directly, or provide aid against
the very forces that spawned their unholy and unwelcome powers.
sAmple feudAl world: Adderoth
Adderoth is one of the coldest inhabited Askellian worlds. Its
natives live behind massive castles carved from anchored icebergs,
with royal sigils inscribed into the frozen walls to ward of both
predatory creatures and rival empires. Peasants work shore-iefs to
grow kelpweed and harvest shoals of bloodsnails, while honoured
knights do battle against gigantic aquatic reptiles to prove their
mettle and defend their peoples. Those warriors chosen to leave
the ice for the sky—new regiments of the Adderoth Drakemen
raised for the Imperial Guard—carry the fangs of their last kill as
sets of ornate daggers.
Ignis Aeternus WH 40K campaign notes 