“We were all from different worlds. We never really liked each other; we could rely on each other, but we were never friends. If we weren’t bound together against terrors no one else even dreamed existed, we probably would have killed each other quickly.”
–Gex Avrille, from the private memoirs Recollections of Service
The Imperium of Man is spread across the stars, laying claim to huge reaches of space and encompassing nearly the entire galaxy. It is made up of over a million systems, each an uncertain light flickering in the surrounding darkness. Holy Terra is at its centre, the birthplace of humanity. Surrounding it are the many other planets, void stations, vessels, and other locations where man has established a presence. From these come the teeming billions that are the true measure of the Imperium, each life moulded and shaped from the place of its origin.
The Adeptus Administratum classifies each world into one of many broad categories in a vain attempt to apply organisation over the domains of man. Though each setting is utterly unique, there are enough commonalities to make these generalisations somewhat effective. Hive cities might appear superficially identical, no matter the planet, but in reality each proves to be wildly different once one ventures inside the kilometres-tall metallic spires.. The billions that reside inside of each hive, though, still share more in common with each other than those from a primitive wasteland or massive trawler migrating through the void.
In an Imperium where only a small fraction ever leave their local environs, let alone the actual planet of their birth, home worlds play a huge part in a character’s development. They impart certain favoured types of clothing, such as the blood-marked leathers of an ex-ganger or the elaborately braided feathers of a feral warrior. Fashion or grooming styles might also stay with a character long after he has left his home world. A highborn might insist on keeping his distinctive diamond-dust facial tattoos that once indicated his familial sect, or a Tech-Priest might continue to wear the forge-lathe’s binary pattern engraved on his first mechadendrite.
Home worlds also instil unique religious beliefs, for though the Imperium officially worships the Emperor as the deific Master of Mankind, each world does so in its own manner. Some worlds might venerate Him as a Sun-Father, the bringer of blessed heat to Mankind. On others, the Cult Imperialis has assimilated local beliefs into worshipping the Emperor as the Storm-Fury, showing displeasure through terrible cyclonic devastation whenever His peoples fail in their service. Even the worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus, which all worship the Emperor as the Omnissiah, might do so in slightly differing fashions from forge to forge.
Home worlds also shape characters physically and mentally. Those from a rough, feral world usually grow up strong and tough—or do not grow up at all. Voidborn that come from artificial habitats of lessened gravity can develop taller but frailer forms. Hivers are used to dense concentrations of people, and might feel uncomfortable in large, open spaces that lack the usual industrial scents. Highborn are often groomed to rule, and develop charm and social skills at early ages in order to navigate the deadly paths to power.
Though the home worlds in this chapter represent archetypal settings, players are encouraged to use additional information on a location to be found in this or other Dark Heresy books to add greater distinctiveness to their characters’ previous lives. A character might be from a hive world, but one from Desoleum would place greater value on personal vows, representing that hive’s elaborately binding network of oaths and obligations. An Acolyte from a world gone feral after its pre-Crusade civilisation destroyed itself might view technology as dangerously taboo; one from a violently evolving land could see it instead as useful against the megafauna he battles each day. Each home world presented here includes a description of its setting, along with an example from the Askellon Sector. Each also includes the following special rules that are applied to a character from this home world:
Characteristic Modifiers: Modifiers that alter how the player generates the Acolyte’s starting characteristics.
- Fate Threshold: A value representing the starting Fate threshold of a character from this home world. A character starts with a threshold equal to the listed value, but has a chance at gaining the “Emperor’s Blessing” and increasing the value by 1. The player rolls 1d10, and compares the result to the Emperor’s Blessing value for his home world. If the result is equal to or higher than the listed value, the player increases his character’s Fate threshold by 1.
- Home World Bonus: A special ability that a character from this home world gains during character creation. Note that the character does not need to meet the prerequisites for talents granted in this stage.
- Home World Aptitude: Any Unknown that the character gains based on his home world.
- Wounds: The number of wounds a character possesses at the beginning of the game. This is commonly a static value plus a die roll.
- Recommended Backgrounds: Several samples representing Unknown that a character from this type of home world would be likely to follow.
Each player chooses one home world for their character, and either uses the example given, creates a new, unique world for their character, or leaves the exact world of their origin a mystery. Alternatively, players can use the Rnadom Homeworld Table to let chance decide. After the player chooses a home world, their character immediately gains the appropriate home world bonus.