Imperium of Man - Heretics and Traitors: The Imperium is the only rightful authority of Mankind, as has been decreed by the Emperor, and His will, executed by the Adeptus Terra, is absolute. But Man has ever been a fractious and fickle creature and not all agree that the Emperor's rule is to be desired. Therefore the rule of Terra must, by necessity, be harsh. The size of the Imperium means the grip of its governance must be loose, and rebellion is only regarded to have taken place when one of the various Imperial Tithes goes unpaid. Worlds which rise up to shake off the benevolent hand of the Emperor fall into one of the following four categories:Governmental Revolt: Occasionally the ruling body of an Imperial world might misguidedly decide that their planet would be far better off outside of the Imperium. They might not have been visited for a thousand Terran years or the Planetary Governor may harbour territorial ambitions of his own, but whatever their motivations, the result is the same -- ruthless and immediate repression. These revolts must be dealt with swiftly and graphic examples made of the ringleaders, for if just one planet is shown to succeed in such a quest, others will certainly follow. It may take centuries to quash a revolt, but no Human world is ever allowed allowed to secede for long from the Imperium. Assassination, planetary assault and, occasionally, Exterminatus are all righteous tools that may be employed to bring the wayward world to heel.Popular Revolt: It is a regrettable fact that many citizens of the Imperium suffer from the most horrendous living conditions in less-than-ideal environments. From time to time, a particularly bold demagogue may rally his fellows and overthrow a planetary government. This only becomes a problem if they then go on to defy the authority of the Imperium, otherwise the new regime will go unmolested -- it is ordinarily not the Adeptas' way to impose a specific governmental form upon a population. Foolishly, flush with success, the rebellious people of a world often go on to do just that, mistakenly identifying the Imperium with their oppression and not their salvation. Also, it is sometimes better on planets with a particular strategic importance to ensure continuance of a specific form of governance. In both these cases the military forces of the Imperium are brought to bear.Xenos Infiltration: There are many creatures in the universe that exist by using other creatures as their proxy. These may be creatures from the physical realm, such as Genestealers, or beings such as the Enslavers, who somehow have a material being but dwell within the Empyrean. Sometimes these worlds carry on seemingly as normal, the rest of the galaxy unaware of the dark, alien cancer eating at their heart. As often as not, the alien-dominated population will rise up in armed rebellion. In either case, utter destruction of the infested inhabitants is, regrettably, the best course of action. This can be effected via Exterminatus, through tectonic destabilisation, the use of Cyclonic Torpedoes or viral (general or geno-tailored) bombardment, dependant upon the importance of the world and the possibilities for subsequent recolonisation.Daemonic Infiltration: A planet may turn to worship of the Dark Gods under a number of circumstances. Suppression of such revolts must be handled carefully -- destruction of the population may be the Ruinous Powers' actual aim, as the psychic feedback in the Immaterium caused by the sudden deaths of millions of people can be enough to permanently open a rift between the Warp and realspace. Planetary invasion by specialist formations like the Space Marines or the Grey Knights is advisable, followed immediately by planetary cleansing or destruction through Exterminatus.