Planetary Governor - Planetary Governor: The political leader of a world of the Imperium of Man is known as a planetary governor or sometimes as an Imperial governor, and is considered an Imperial Commander in military matters. Regardless of his or her specific title, a planetary governor is an individual with the (often hereditary) authority to rule a world or even an entire star system in the name of the Emperor of Mankind.The planetary governor of a particularly important world may also serve as a sub-sector, sector or even Segmentum governor in some cases. Naturally, since the vast and dispersed nature of Imperial space would make a totally centralised system of interstellar government unfeasible, the planetary governor is given discretionary political control over the administration -- including governance, defence and economic development -- of the planet in question.In theory, an Imperial Commander is duty-bound to the Adeptus Terra. In practice, though, he or she is an independent autonomous ruler who can govern their planet as they see fit with only minimal interference from the other organs of the Imperium.As long as the planet's Imperial taxes are paid, its mutant and psyker populations are kept under control, the requisite tithes of psykers and Astra Militarum regiments are delivered to the Imperium and the planet is governed competently, the governor is free to run the planet however they choose.Imperial planetary governors are expected to defend their planet in the name of the Imperium, maintaining the necessary Planetary Defence Forces and orbital defences. Due to the fickle nature of the Warp, astropathic communication with the Adeptus Terra is often delayed and sometimes prevented entirely.Often this means that governors must make decisions on the defence of their world without advice and help from Terra, meaning that for the world to prosper, every governor must be adept at military matters as well as the development of the planet's trade and commercial infrastructure.Planetary governors are usually referred to in Imperial feudal nomenclature as "lords," and their position often becomes hereditary depending on their world's political culture. Even though governors are given these extraordinary powers over a planet's population, they come at a price. The governor is a sworn vassal of the Imperium, and as such is required to provide military support to local Imperial campaigns.In the early history of the Imperium this was a simple process, a straightforward pledge to provide a certain number of troops and to fight in person when required. This was later seen to be too inflexible because as the Imperium grew, the differing numbers of troops provided made poor use of some planets' populations and on others too high a proportion of the population was sent to war, leaving the planet sorely short of the labour required to efficiently run its economy. This pledge was thus later replaced with a tithe to provide Astra Militarum regiments.The tithe is assessed by the wealth and available resources of the planet. As part of the tithe, the governor is expected to supply troops to the Astra Militarum, the troops often being requisitioned from the planet's existing Planetary Defence Forces. The tithe is also a percentage of the planet's economic output, in whatever form that may be derived.Most tithes are regular obligations, while others are demanded when specific circumstances are met. These requirements lead to a close relationship between Imperial planetary governors and the officials of the Departmento Munitorum who look after the deployment of troops and supplies across the galaxy. Both military and economic tithes go to the Departmento Munitorum who can raise soldiers from across entire sectors of the galaxy.On the Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Imperial governor is only Imperial in name. The Tech-priests choose amongst their ranking archmagi who will be promoted to the rank of fabricator-general, the Mechanicus' equivalent rank to that of planetary governor.The fabricator-general's loyalty is always to the Cult Mechanicus first and the Imperium second, and they are notably more independent of the Adeptus Terra than other planetary governors, their only obligation to the Imperium being that their world delivers the required tithes in war materiel and other manufactured items in due time.