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 fields, raise protective battlements, and transport goods and people. Their technology can also dictate how they fight; 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 benefits. "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-sufficient, 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 effective 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 offering. 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 Astra Militarum recruitment. Mounted feudal warriors, used in combat on steeds ranging from near-Terran equines, reptilian lizards, or huge, flightless 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 fittings 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".