Death World

"Few born upon such inhospitable worlds will readily trust those who have not endured what they have. Instilling appropriate discipline is a difficulty faced by many Commissars, but the difficulties are regarded as acceptable, given the matchless survival instincts and natural resilience of such peoples."

— Extract from the Tactica Imperialis

A Death World

A Death World is a planet which is too dangerous for a variety of environmental and biosphere reasons to support widespread human settlement. The types of Death Worlds are varied, ranging from planets that are covered by world-wide jungles that harbour vicious carnivorous plants and animals to barren rockscapes strewn with volcanoes and wracked by ion storms. These worlds are near-impossible to colonise by Mankind due to their environmental conditions or the nature of their biospheres. Nonetheless, many of these worlds have large human settlements, which are notable for the strength and self-reliance of their people. Many of the people of these worlds are inducted into the Imperial Guard, or recruited by the Space Marines, a fact which is often the sole reason for the continued habitation of those worlds. Some harbour rich mineral, vegetable, animal or gaseous resources that are of such value to the Imperium that a small human settlement will be maintained despite all the dangers. It has been theorized by the Imperial Magos Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus that many Death Worlds are the result of biological seeding by ancient advance Hive Fleets of the Tyranids that entered the Milky Way Galaxy long ago. Many of the monstrous creatures inhabiting these worlds, such as the Kraken of Fenris and the Catachan Devil of the jungle world of Catachan, have many features in common with Tyranid organisms, and may in fact be descended from them. Left behind by the Hive Fleets that seeded these worlds and then moved on, these Tyranid species lost access to the Tyranid Hive Mind and so degenerated into unintelligent yet vicious animal species.

Life on a Death World

On paper, planets classified as death worlds should not be inhabited by humans. Often, however, something about these locations requires an ongoing physical presence even though life on the surface is not for the faint of heart or for the weak of body. Everyone must pull his own weight and support the larger population, or else all face imminent destruction. The threats on these planets vary tremendously, from aggressive predators to weather abnormalities, but that does not stop humanity from thriving against the odds. Individual roles and adherence to guidelines are crucial to the survival of any death world outpost or colony. As a result, life is often regimented and punishment for ignoring assigned tasks is very harsh. Those unable to perform the more physical tasks provide support for those who can. No effort is wasted, and anyone capable but unwilling is dealt with severely. On worlds where lack of support from others is a death sentence, the worst punishments can be simple banishment; should the offender survive, he assuredly would hesitate before repeating his error.

While it would be easy to stay in protected habitats, often the need for the planet's resources requires that those who live there engage its deadly environments directly. In many cases, braving the world's threats means protecting the crews harvesting mineral or biological resources. For others, it means making sure that defence systems and other technologies remain operational despite the damaging effects of the planets. Whatever the reason, life is often very short and therefore tenuous. That reality comes with the understanding that the duty to the settlement, facility or base outweighs the wants or needs of any single individual. People hailing from death worlds are scarred individuals, both physically and emotionally. The ever-present spectre of death haunts them and can create a sense of detachment that stands in the way of strong interpersonal connections. For most of them, someone near and dear to them has perished: in front of them, in their arms,or in extreme cases, by their own hands. As a result, they tend to be fiercely loyal to the group or larger body they serve, especially when the survival of that group is at risk, but also lean away from individual attachments lest those people be lost.

Death world natives are pragmatic and realistic. Many exhibit little tolerance for indirect options, and often rush to action before fully considering all possibilities. Some call this hot-headed behaviour reckless. Very few death world natives, however, do this out of a passionate need. They see a direct solution and move to execute with as little loss of community resources and lives as possible. Because survival is instilled as a daily practice from birth, they are notoriously difficult to kill. Astra Militarum tithes from these worlds are renowned as some of the fiercest fighting troops the Imperium puts on the battlefield. Though some also have specialty skills in the terrain of their home world, the combination of resourcefulness, physical skill, and sheer determination make them capable warriors on any battlefield.

As befits such hostile environments, death world natives also make excellent Arbitrators, as their practical mindset and grit enable them to survive the deadly violence of that position. Those aligned with the Adeptus Mechanicus or the Adeptus Administratum, already fairly pragmatic in nature, also thrive as their technological and logistical skills are perpetually in need. For all of them, the understanding of self-sacrifice for the larger well-being as well as the rapid thinking processes born from grappling with imminent death allow them to find effective solutions quickly when time is of the essence.

Notable Death Worlds

Planet Name	Segmentum	Sector	Sub-Sector	System	Population
XIII	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Ag'Ni	Segmentum Ultima	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Alfrost	Segmentum Ultima	Unknown	Corvus Sub-Sector	Unknown	Unknown
Autega	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Baal	Segmentum Ultima	Unknown	Unknown	Baal System	122,000
Baal Secundus	Segmentum Ultima	Unknown	Unknown	Baal System	Unknown
Belisarius IV	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Byssta	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Caldera	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Caliban (Destroyed)	Segmentum Obscurus	Unknown	Unknown	Caliban System	N/A
Canak	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Catachan	Ultima Segmentum	Unknown	Unknown	Catachan System	Unknown
Cesstium	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Cthelle	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Crake's World	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Cretacia	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Croatoa	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Damnia	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Dark Haven	Segmentum Obscurus	Cyclops Cluster	Unknown	Coronid Deeps	Unknown
Demogorgon IV	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Derwynia	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Endymion Prime	Ultima Segmentum	Endymion Cluster	Unknown	Endymion System	1,100,000,000
Fedrid	Segmentum Obscurus	Calixis Sector	Markayn Marches	Unknown	Unknown
Fenris	Segmentum Obscurus	Unknown	Unknown	Fenris System	Unknown
Gath Rimmon	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Gheistos	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Gorang	Segmentum Tempestus	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Haddrack	Segmentum Obscurus	Calixis Sector	Drusus Marches	Unknown	Unknown
Hyperion	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Jjojos	Segmentum Ultima	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Kanak	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Karrik	Segmentum Obscurus	Calixis Sector	Markayn Marches	Unknown	Unknown
Kenov III	Segmentum Obscurus	Calixis Sector	Malfian Sub-Sector	Unknown	Unknown
Khymara	Segmentum Ultima	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Krieg	Segmentum Tempestus	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Kvaran IX	Segmentum Obscurus	Askellon Sector	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Laius Rift	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Lesser Nox	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Lost Hope	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Luther Macintyre IX	Segmentum Tempestus	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	16,000
Makron V	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Malmar	Segmentum Obscurus	Eye of Terror	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Maypax	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Megiddio Primus	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Menazoid Epsilon	Segmentum Pacificus	Sabbat Worlds	Unknown	Menazoid Clasp	Unknown
Messia	Segmentum Obscurus	Screaming Vortex	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Miral	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Moraz II	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Mortressa	Segmentum Obscurus	Calixis Sector	Andrantis Sub-sector	Unknown	Unknown
Murder (One-Forty-Twenty)	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Nectavus VI	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Nepenthis	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Nocturne	Ultima Segmentum	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	15,000,000
Parasis	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Phyrr	Segmentum Obscurus	Calixis Sector	Hazeroth Abyss	Unknown	Unknown
Piscina V	Segmentum Obscurus	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Pythos	Ultima Segmentum	Demeter Sector	Unknown	Pandorax System	Unknown
Sans Gaviria	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Settler's Bane	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Sycorax	Ultima Segmentum	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	360,000
UB-26	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Vallyx V	Segmentum Ultima	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Varestus Prime	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Vityris	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Woe	Segmentum Obscurus	Calixis Sector	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Zel Secundus	Segmentum Obscurus	Calixis Sector	Drusus Marches	Unknown	Unknown

Sources

• Codex: Angels of Death (2nd Edition)
• Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), pp. 14-17, 30
• Codex: Blood Angels (4th Edition)
• Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 48
• Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema (RPG), pp. 39, 42, 44-46
• Dark Heresy: Enemies Without (2nd Edition) (RPG), pp. 26-27
• Imperial Armour Volume Ten - The Badab War - Part Two, pp. 14-15, 18-19, 69, 119
• Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition), pg. 26
• Codex: Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), pg. 61
• Index Astartes II, "Angels of Death"
• Only War: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 59
• The Citadel Journal 22, pp. 49-55, 59
• The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest by Alan Bligh, pp. 62-63, 66-67, 122-129
• Warhammer 40,000: Crusade of Fire (Campaign Book), pp. 21-25
• Warhammer 40,000: Death Worlds (Warhammer 40,000 Battle Missions)
• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (1st Edition), pg. 207
• Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (7th Edition)
• Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (6th Edition), pg. 153
• Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (3rd Edition), pg. 115
• White Dwarf 388 (UK), "Death Worlds of the Imperium," pp. 76-85
• White Dwarf 330 (UK), "Warhammer 40,000: Blood Angels Official Codex," pg. 70
• Caves of Ice (Novel) Sandy Mitchell
• Redemption Corps (Novel) by Rob Sanders
• The Greater Good (Novel) by Sandy Mitchell