A Desert World is not an official Imperial planetological classification, but is a term in common usage among Imperial citizens for those planets whose environments are arid and barren across their entire surfaces.
Since the term "Desert World" is not an official Imperial classification of the Administratum but simply a label used to describe the planet's predominant environmental feature, most Desert Worlds that have been settled by Mankind are officially classified as Civilised Worlds, Feral Worlds or even Death Worlds if the environmental conditions are hostile enough to human life.
Desert Worlds often produce hardy peoples superbly adapted to combat in arid conditions and so become prime recruiting grounds for the Astra Militarum when it needs desert-adapted regiments.
Most Desert Worlds occur naturally, but a few once possessed very different climates that were radically altered by events, such as the planet Tallarn, which had its planetary forests destroyed by the ancient bombing campaign of the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion during the Horus Heresy.
Notable Desert Worlds[]
| Planet Name | Segmentum | Sector | Sub-Sector | System | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolom Reach | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Arkunasha | Ultima Segmentum | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Belisarius IV | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Calderis | Ultima Segmentum | Korianis | Aurelia Sub-Sector | Unknown | 25,000,000 |
| Celephace | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Cocijo | Segmentum Ultima | Jericho Reach | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Cressid | Segmentum Ultima | Jericho Reach | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Dolumar IV | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Eyrok | Segmentum Ultima | Sanctus Reach | Sanctus Sub-Sector | Unknown | Unknown |
| Gacrux | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Gonoria Prime | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Goru-Prime | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Herod | Segmentum Obscurus | Unknown | Achilles Sub-Sector | Unknown | Unknown |
| Hethgard | Segmentum Ultima | Jericho Reach | Unknown | Unknown | Estimated 338 Million |
| Hyrion Major | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Kalidar | Segmentum Pacificus | Chiros Sector | Kalidar Sub-Sector | Kalidar | Unknown |
| Kitab | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Lavantia | Segmentum Tempestus | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Marfak | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Masali | Ultima Segmentum | Ultramar | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Mon'Kali | Ultima Segmentum | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Murzim | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Na'jadar | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Nunc | Segmentum Ultima | Jericho Reach | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Quaran | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Quatara | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Quatara-Prime | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Quintarn | Ultima Segmentum | Ultramar | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Rand XXI | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Santos 9 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Sarius V | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Secunda | Segmentum Obscurus | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Tallarn | Segmentum Tempestus | Unknown | Unknown | Tallarn System | Unknown |
| Tanis | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Tarentus | Ultima Segmentum | Ultramar | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Thargorum | Segmentum Pacificus | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Thoth | Segmentum Pacificus | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Tranquility III | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Tsua'Malor | Segmentum Ultima | Jericho Reach | Unknown | Unknown | Est. Billions |
| Tunis | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Vitria | Segmentum Ultima | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Yu'Kanesh | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Zibal | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Sources[]
- Codex: Chaos Daemons (6th Edition), pg. 33
- Codex: Chaos Daemons (4th Edition), pg. 83
- Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition), pg. 17
- Codex: Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), pp. 22, 25, 30, 46, 58
- Codex: Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 1st Codex), pg. 19
- Codex: Imperial Guard (2nd Edition), pp. 15-16, 37
- Codex: Orks (7th Edition)
- Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 15
- Codex: Tau Empire (4th Edition), pg. 14
- Codex: Ultramarines (2nd Edition)
- Deathwatch: Rites of Battle (RPG), pg. 43
- Farsight Enclaves - A Codex: Tau Empire Supplement (Ebook), "The Arkunasha War"
- Imperial Armour - Imperial Vehicles for Warhammer 40,000, pp. 24, 66-69
- Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard & Imperial Navy, pp. 226, 253
- Imperial Armour Volume Two, Second Edition, pg. 8
- Imperial Armour Volume Three - The Taros Campaign, pg. 60
- Imperial Armour Volume Thirteen - War Machines of the Lost and the Damned, pg. 36
- Only War: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 54-55
- Rogue Trader: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 305
- White Dwarf #369 (UK), pg. 54
- White Dwarf #185 (UK), "Tallarn Desert Raiders: Imperial Guard," pp. 41-44
- Shield of Baal: Leviathan (7th Edition), "The Vitria Strike," pp. 5-7
- Tallarn: Executioner (Novella) by John French
- Tallarn: Ironclad (Novella) by John French
- Tallarn: Witness (Ebook) by John French
- Baneblade (Novel) by Guy Haley
- Desert Raiders (Novel) by Lucien Soulban
- Fire Warrior (Novel) by Simom Spurrier
- The Chapter's Due (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- What Price Victory (Anthology), "Calculus Logi," by Darius Hinks
- Eye of Vengeance (Audio Book) by Graham McNeill
- Iron Corpses (Audio Book) by John French
- The Eagle's Talon (Audio Book) by John French
- Dawn of War II (PC Game)
- Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate (PC Game)