Adding detail to the world in a sector.
Step 1: Determine Installations and Defenses
Roll for the number of installations and defenses on the column of the table corresponding to world type.
Planetary Installations Table (pdf)
Extraction, Production, and Storage installations work as described in the campaign rules. If not otherwise noted, Extraction installations typically have a capacity of D6, Production installations of D6 (for supplies and munitions) and 5,000 points (with every 1,000 points counting as a unit of output) for troops, and Storage installations a capacity of 12. Production installations are assumed to be of standard efficiency if not otherwise noted. Details of production need to be determined for each installation.
Ground Defenses
Fortification: This is a fortified zone or strongpoint. In abstract sieges, it counts as a City in Mighty Empires. If attacked in regular battle, it provides 900 points worth of fortifications to the defender. If part of a base, it counts as a vast facility.
Heavy Fortification: This is a heavily fortified zone or planetary fortress. In abstract sieges, it counts as a Fortress in Mighty Empires. If attacked in regular battle, it provides 2,100 points worth of fortifications to the defender. If part of a base, it counts as a vast facility.
Space Defenses
Laser Silo: This is a defense laser silo for orbital defense. If part of a base, it counts as a vast facility.
Ordnance Field: This is a missile or landing field housing orbital munitions. A typical ordnance field is equipped with 2D6 munitions. If part of a base, it counts as a vast facility.
Planetary Shield: This is an immobile void shield generator. Features protected by the shield, typically a base, installation, cluster of installations and features, or even one or more entire map hexes, cannot be subject to orbital bombardment. If part of a base, it counts as a vast facility.
In addition to its defenses, practically all Imperial worlds also house an Arbites Precinct:
Arbites Precinct: This is typically a grand base, containing at least one Barracks facility capable of housing and supporting 1,500 points of Arbites and a Fortification or Heavy Fortification facility. Additional facilities typically include further Arbites Barracks, a Planetary Shield, Grapplehawk Aeries, Medicae Centers, Extensive Armouries, and potentially a Seat of Power if a senior judge is overseeing the precinct.
Notes by World Type
Schola Progenium
Distribution: 1 distributed, 2-3 clustered, 4-6 centralized
Extraction: Due to the limited number of students, Human extraction installations on Schola Progenium worlds often have a reduced capacity of D3 or D6-1
Production: Army supply installations are more common than ship supplies; troop production is mostly infantry and those installations are typically hyperefficient
Storage: –
Defenses: Ground defenses are often heavy fortifications
Common base facilities: Cadet Schools, Hypnoindoctrinators, and Ancient Libraries (covering D6 Scholastic Lore skills) are commonly found on major bases
Research Station
Distribution: 1-3 distributed, – clustered, 4-6 centralized
Extraction: –
Production: –
Storage: –
Defenses: Ground defenses are more likely to be fortifications; space defenses tend towards shields and laser silos
Common base facilities: Archeotech Labs, Genetor Labs, and Ancient Libraries (covering D6 Scholastic Lore skills or in case of hidden bases D3 each of Fordbidden and Scholastic Lore skills) are commonly found on major bases
Forge World
Distribution: 1-2 distributed, 3-4 clustered, 5-6 centralized
Extraction: Material extraction installations often have increased capacity
Production: Ship supplies and troop production (other than infantry and cavalry) are typically hyperefficient; troop production includes super-heavies and knights
Storage: –
Defenses: –
Common base facilities: Archeotech Labs, Crew Reclamation, and Forges are commonly found on major bases
Hive World
Distribution: – distributed, 1-3 clustered, 4-6 centralized
Extraction: Human extraction facilities have 2D6 capacity (and maybe more)
Production: Infantry production is typically inefficient or unpredictable
Storage: –
Defenses: –
Common base facilities: Any
Industrial World
Distribution: 1 distributed, 2-4 clustered, 5-6 centralized
Extraction: Material extraction facilities typically have 2D6 capacity
Production: –
Storage: –
Defenses: –
Common base facilities: Forges, Extensive Armouries, and Munitions Depots are commonly found on major bases
Civilized World
Distribution: 1-2 distributed, 3-5 clustered, 6 centralized
Extraction: –
Production: –
Storage: –
Defenses: –
Common base facilities: Any
Agricultural World
Distribution: 1-4 distributed, 5-6 clustered, – centralized
Extraction: Produce extraction facilities typically have 2D6 capacity
Production: The vast majority of supplies production installations are for army supplies
Storage: –
Defenses: Ground defenses are more likely to be fortifications
Common base facilities: Any
Medieval World
Distribution: 1-4 distributed, 5 clustered, 6 centralized
Extraction: –
Production: Troop production is typically infantry and often of unpredicatable efficiency; supply production is typically limited to army supplies
Storage: –
Defenses: –
Common base facilities: Any
Feral World
Distribution: 1-5 distributed, 6 clustered, – centralized
Extraction: –
Production: Troop production is typically infantry; supply production is typically limited to army supplies
Storage: –
Defenses: Ground defenses are more likely to be fortifications; planetary shields are uncommon as space defenses
Common base facilities: Any
Death World
Distribution: 1 distributed, 2-4 clustered, 5-6 centralized
Extraction: –
Production: Troop production (infantry) installations are typically hyperefficient
Storage: –
Defenses: Ground defenses are typically heavy fortifications
Common base facilities: Beastboxes, Extensive Armouries, and Medicae Centers are commonly found on major bases
Voidborn
Distribution: – distributed, 1clustered, 2-6 centralized
Extraction: Produce extraction installations are often of lower capacity
Production: Army supplies are less common than ship supplies and may be of lower capacity
Storage: –
Defenses: Ground defenses are more likely to be fortifications
Common base facilities: Voidborn base facilities may include facilities typically limited to starships
Step 2: Determine Special Features
Roll for the number of special industry, infrastructure, and complication features and then roll 2D6 for each feature to determine its nature.
Planetary Special Features Table (pdf)
Special Industry
High Capacity: One (or more) of the existing storage installations can hold a higher capacity of resources (typically 24 instead of 12).
High Yield: One (or more) of the existing extraction installations delivers a higher yield (typically 2D6 instead of D6).
Hyperefficiencies: One (or more) of the existing production installations is hyperefficient.
Inefficiencies: One (or more) of the existing production installations is of lesser efficiency.
Leakage: One (or more) of the existing storage installations gradually loses stored resources due to leaks, spoilage, theft, or similar (typically D3 resource units are lost per year).
Low Yield: One (or more) of the existing extraction installations delivers a lower yield (typically D3 instead of D6).
Luxury Goods: One of the existing extraction installations provides some particularly rare and exquiste resource, highly prized and sought after by the rich and powerful across the Imperium (see Interstellar Trade).
Ordnance Production: An installation for producing orbital munitions, typically of standard efficiency and with a maximum annual output of 2D6 munitions.
Rare Installation: An additional installation of the type least common on this kind of world, e.g., a Material extraction installation on an agricultural world.
Shipyard: An orbital yard, potentially paired with groundside foundries, able to repair and build spaceships. Building a ship is a long-term project, typically requiring D6 years per size category to complete and consuming D6 Power, 2D6 Material, and D6 each of Human and Produce resources every year. A set of blueprints is required, which may be treated as a tech arcanum. Shipyards may be limited in the size, purpose, and age of ship they can construct.
Titan Forge: A facility for the construction of god-machines. Building a battle titan is a long-term project, typically requiring D3 years to complete and consuming D6 Power and D3 (for a scout titan), D6 (for a Reaper), D3+3 (for a Warlord), or D6+6 (for an Emperor) Material resources every year. Titan Forges may be limited in the classes and armarments of titans they can construct.
Special Infrastructure
Adeptus Hub: A major administrative complex. Upon spending one Power, a character may gain D6-2 Power with a successful roll on an appropriate skill (typically Scholastic Lore (Adeptus Terra or Bureaucracy)).
Data Mine: An archaeotech trove of some sort. By spending one Power, a character is allowed to retrieve a single techarcanum fragment with a successful roll on an appropriate skill. Data Mines may be limited in the fragments they can yield.
Governor’s Palace: While all planetary governors maintain one or more residences, this is an extensive government center of special importance. This is counted as base, typically of large or grand size, and contains a Seat of Power facility, as well as a number of other facilities such as Embassies, Astropathic Choirs, Ancient Libraries, or defensive facilities.
Grand Base: A grand-size base is an important part of the planetary infrastructure on the planet. The facilities inside the base may be influenced by the type of world (e.g., death world bases more often house Beast Boxes than bases on other worlds). Planets without this special feature may still be home to bases, including grand bases, but these will then be operated by smaller factions or individuals and not part of the overall infrastructure.
Hidden Base: A secret base is located somewhere on the planet. It will not show on the planetary map and will be hidden from typical orbital scans or cursory surface scouting. It takes blind luck or a dedicated search operation in a designated area to find it.
Mobile Infrastructure: All or part of the world’s infrastructure is mobile, be it giant suspensor borne palaces drifting over the seas, nomadic tribes and caravan settlements, or mechanical walking cities. One (or more) installations, defenses, or special features can move on the planetary map like an army, able to scout and move one hex. Mobile infracstructure cannot be force marched or cross dangerous terrain if no suitable route is found. The mobility may apply to several features which must move together (e.g., an entire ambulatory hive, containing of multiple installations and special features), or may allow every mobile infrastructure to move independently of one another.
Orbital Fortress: An orbital fortress protects the world. Treat this as a space ship incapable of movement. It can be randomly generated, but will typically be of at list medium size (re-roll results of 1 or 2 for size) and have a Navy (bonus to battle modifier) purpose. Any Drives facilities should be re-rolled.
Planetary Stasis Vault: This can store resources indefinitely. Power is only required when opening the vault to put resources into the vault and/ or retrieve them from within. Typically, a planetary stasis vault can hold up to 12 units of resources.
Rapid Transit: The world can boast of rapid transit systems connecting various points and areas on its surface and allowing to ignore terrain or forced marching without losses, as noted in the rules for Planetary Operations.
Rare Defenses: An additional defensive feature of the type least common on this kind of world, e.g., heavy fortifications on a feral world.
Trade Hub: A mercantile or financial center where fortunes are made or lost. Upon spending one Power and D6 resources, a character may gain Lavishly Equipped (Obsence Wealth) as an additional talent with a successful roll on an appropriate skill (typically Commerce).
Special Complications
Addictive Environment: Those exposed to the world for a long time have a hard time leaving it. This may be caused by actual addictive substances prevalent in the environment, by changes to the immune system, or by more esoteric means. A character that leaves the world after a longer period of time (usually D6 months are required to trigger the effect, but on some worlds this might take more time – or much less), needs to roll for casualty recovery. Troops leaving the world after this time will incur losses as if they had been out of supplies.
Ancient Ruins: These are the remnants of a prior presence of some sort, long vanished. What might be found within – or below – them?
Cult Activity: The world sports an unusually high number of deviant sects and cults amongst its population, some mostly benign, others less so. Redemptionists, xenos cultists, hereteks, worshippers of dark gods, and countless others may be present on the world.
Endemic Violence: Violence is even more common on this world than elsewhere in the already violent Imperium. Its people are suspicious and dangerous, ready to not just defend themselves but to attack at the slightest provocation, sign of danger, or hint of weakness. This also covers ongoing low-intensity wars, tribal warfare, ubiquitous duelling culture, or gang violence.
Frequent Raids: The world is plagued by frequent raids. This might be Dark Eldar slave raids, Saharduin incursions, or pirate attacks.
Genetic Divergence: The world’s population in large parts or even in whole deviates from human baseline. The whole world counts as a Cadet School facility for, typically, Ratlings, Ogryns, Beastmen, Squats, or Mutants. Worlds with a divergent population of Rogue Psykers are typically sterilized upon detection of such deviancy.
Lifedraining: The world is especially harsh to those living on it, diseases, gravity, radiation, or any number of other factors cut the lifes of humans short on it. Characters age more rapidly on the world (typically D6 months for every 1 month spent on the world).
Native Fauna: The world is home to one or more species of especially dangerous creatures, such as feral orks, carnosaurs, or living pits. Bases on planets with such native fauna may sport Beast Box facilities.
Navigation Impedence: Some feature of the world makes it almost impossible to navigate its surface, this could be energy or psychic emanations, extreme weather conditions, ancient labyrinth structures covering the planet, or a rapidly changing landscape due to explosively growing vegetation or superactive tectonics. When scouting, the hex scouted is randomly determined. Depending on the nature of the impedence, there may be means to neutralize the effects.
Pollution: The world is heavily polluted. See Day 13 or Day 21 of the Dirty Dozen article series.
Rapid Erosion: The world’s environment eats away at artifical structures at a rapid pace. Any installations that are not used in a given year (no Power expended on them) will be destroyed on a roll of 1 on a D6, roll separately for each affected installation.
Thriving and Struggling Worlds
If a world is thriving or struggling, make D3 rolls on the table below. On thriving worlds the rolls indicate additional installations, defenses, or features. On struggling rolls, they indicate installations, defenses, or features that need to be removed, having fallen into disrepair.
| D6 | Result |
| 1 | Extraction installation (1-2 Human, 3-4 Material, 5-6 Produce) |
| 2 | Production installation (1-3 supplies, 4-6 troops) |
| 3 | Storage installation (1-2 Human, 3-4 Material, 5-6 Produce) |
| 4 | Defenses (1-3 ground, 4-6 space) | 5 | Special feature (1-3 industry, 4-6 infrastructure) |
| 6 | Each year, distribute/ deduct a total of D3 Power randomly between power groups |
Step 3: Mapping the World
Populate the strategic or planetary map with the determined features, taking into account the likely distribution pattern noted for each world type above.
Distributed: Installations and features are widely spread out over the world.
Clustered: Several installations and features lie close to one another, forming multiple clusters separated from one another by empty territory.
Centralized: The majority or even all installations and features are closely grouped together in a single center, only a few outpost are scattered around the rest of the world, if at all.
Step 4: Determine Power Groups
Each ally or enemy of the governor is a potential power group on the world: Bloodlines and local groups are automatically power groups, imperial administrative or military organisations as well as individual are treated as power groups on a D6 roll of 1-5, other worlds are treated as power groups on a roll of 1-2. In addition to these there are an additional D6 neutral power group, their nature can be randomly determined using the ally/ enemy table for governor creation.
In any given year, each power group receives D3-1 Power.