So my players are defending a moon in a Severan Dominate system as they were forced into the war as a punishment. When their sentence has been served I plan on offering them governorship over the world (the Administratum would do this since it will force them to keep defending it due to doing so being the legal responsibility of the governor).

Since this is both a big deal for the players (the Rouge Trader getting legal ruling over a world) and something coming with legal traps I decided I would write down an Administratum contract. Now after four and a half page filled with duties, benefits and exceptions I'm starting to lose ideas of what else it legally means to be a governor in the Imperium. If anyone has a few ideas on laws that should be mentioned or laws that would just be fun to have in a Rouge Trader campaign.

Here is the contract thus far. It would also be cool to once when I talk about Administratum paperwork be able to dump a bunch of papers in front of the player.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ek5bbs8dfwd1xeh/Contract%20of%20Lesser%20Governorship%20over%20Landfall.pdf?dl=0

I'm not sure this CAN happen, as the Rogue Trader is already following a contract, one that requires him to journey beyond the safety, security, and civilization that is the Imperium of Man, and traverse the benighted stars held by aliens, heretics, and the forgotten wisps of time, and depending on the age of your Warrant, that document speaks with the authority of the Emperor, Himself. It might be hard to force a Rogue Trader to abandon that responsibility (it isn't all freedom, money, power, and being a crazy space pirate), just to tie them to a world, especially one that the Imperium already holds, so whereing the Rogue Trader's powers are muted. Besides, even if it were possible, and it might be, I don't know; lots of Rogue Traders claim worlds in their own, and His, names, or so integrate themselves into its finances as to be in charge, more or less, nothing says the RT's dynasty won't administer it, freeing him up to keep risking life, and limb, for the furtherance of his Emperor's holdings and glory.

As for the obligations, the Planetary Governor is gifted with great freedom to run his world, or system, as he sees fit. The Imperium is far too vast, and distracted, to hold any but the most critical expectations, and responsibilities, over their heads. Whether he is a saint, or a vile despot, a micro-manager, or a distracted delegator, all he needs do is thus:

• The Emperor's Faith is the one, and only religion permitted. While the practice of this faith may vary almost to the same degree as the myriad worlds wherein it is practiced, it is to the Emperor that such faith must be directed.
• Curtail the mutant population. The Human form is sacred, while mutation is, for the most part, blasphemy. Keep the quantity of mutants, especially those whose mutation cannot serve the Emperor more surely, to a minimum.
• Round up your psykers. Untended psykers are the single greatest threat Mankind can pose, to itself. Each one is a living door to unspeakable horrors, only a sneeze, or a nosebleed, away from letting Enslavers, Daemons, or worse into our reality, and constantly hearing the damning, chattering voices of the Ruinous Powers, beyond. While psykers are vital to the Imperium's continued survival, they can best serve this end in chains, till they have demonstrated that they are able to resist the siren's song of the warp. You will confine them, till the Black Ships arrive, and then you will present them all to that organization. Based on your population, it is your responsibility to meet this quota.
• Your world may be tasked with fulfilling a function for the greater Imperium, be it food production, manufacturing, or any of a countless other possibilities. It falls to you, as Governor, to see to it that your populace, however you keep them, are capable of meeting this quota, as well. Failure to do so will be punished harshly.
• The defense of your world falls to you. While desperate times will allow you to beseech the wider Imperium for aide,in the form of the Imperial Navy, and the Imperial Guard, should these forces prove necessary, it falls to you to hold your world in good standing, regardless of the threats, until they arrive, if they ever do. Th that end, you will raise, and maintain, a Planetary Defense Force, of whatever fashion your culture supports, and all policing, protection, and security falls to you, to maintain. The Adeptus Arbites will be present, but this is not their job; their responsibility is to enforce the laws that govern the entire Imperium, and, if you should fail to, to police YOU.

I think I got most of them. Protect your world, build it up, to serve your Emperor, and be sure to halt the spread of Rogue Psykers, Heretics, and Xenos influences. You get lots of responsibilities, but you get vast freedoms in how you accomplish them. Opinions circulated. have a good one.

That's a really good plan. I think the RT earning control of this moon (which may be inside Impereum so involves a legal formality) is good incentive for fighting xenos close-up or in space. Your contract might be hard to enforce on your rogue trader companions however if they run out of things to do. Best give them more options or perhaps let the seneschal (if there is one) roll a scholastic lore test instead of delivering a lengthy document to a rogue trader that has a whole dynasty of power behind him/her.

a binding contract can include their obligation to a.) look after an Imperial relay station. b.) make sure nobody but the Inquisition or Cult of Mars goes to the surface b/c of a crashed spaceship there. c.) never under any circumstances go down into the center of the world via a maze of tunnels >>

Ambition is the best motivation! If having this planet gives some profit factor then so be it.

I'm not sure this CAN happen, as the Rogue Trader is already following a contract, one that requires him to journey beyond the safety, security, and civilization that is the Imperium of Man, and traverse the benighted stars held by aliens, heretics, and the forgotten wisps of time, and depending on the age of your Warrant, that document speaks with the authority of the Emperor, Himself. It might be hard to force a Rogue Trader to abandon that responsibility (it isn't all freedom, money, power, and being a crazy space pirate), just to tie them to a world, especially one that the Imperium already holds, so whereing the Rogue Trader's powers are muted. Besides, even if it were possible, and it might be, I don't know; lots of Rogue Traders claim worlds in their own, and His, names, or so integrate themselves into its finances as to be in charge, more or less, nothing says the RT's dynasty won't administer it, freeing him up to keep risking life, and limb, for the furtherance of his Emperor's holdings and glory.

As for the obligations, the Planetary Governor is gifted with great freedom to run his world, or system, as he sees fit. The Imperium is far too vast, and distracted, to hold any but the most critical expectations, and responsibilities, over their heads. Whether he is a saint, or a vile despot, a micro-manager, or a distracted delegator, all he needs do is thus:

• The Emperor's Faith is the one, and only religion permitted. While the practice of this faith may vary almost to the same degree as the myriad worlds wherein it is practiced, it is to the Emperor that such faith must be directed.
• Curtail the mutant population. The Human form is sacred, while mutation is, for the most part, blasphemy. Keep the quantity of mutants, especially those whose mutation cannot serve the Emperor more surely, to a minimum.
• Round up your psykers. Untended psykers are the single greatest threat Mankind can pose, to itself. Each one is a living door to unspeakable horrors, only a sneeze, or a nosebleed, away from letting Enslavers, Daemons, or worse into our reality, and constantly hearing the damning, chattering voices of the Ruinous Powers, beyond. While psykers are vital to the Imperium's continued survival, they can best serve this end in chains, till they have demonstrated that they are able to resist the siren's song of the warp. You will confine them, till the Black Ships arrive, and then you will present them all to that organization. Based on your population, it is your responsibility to meet this quota.
• Your world may be tasked with fulfilling a function for the greater Imperium, be it food production, manufacturing, or any of a countless other possibilities. It falls to you, as Governor, to see to it that your populace, however you keep them, are capable of meeting this quota, as well. Failure to do so will be punished harshly.
• The defense of your world falls to you. While desperate times will allow you to beseech the wider Imperium for aide,in the form of the Imperial Navy, and the Imperial Guard, should these forces prove necessary, it falls to you to hold your world in good standing, regardless of the threats, until they arrive, if they ever do. Th that end, you will raise, and maintain, a Planetary Defense Force, of whatever fashion your culture supports, and all policing, protection, and security falls to you, to maintain. The Adeptus Arbites will be present, but this is not their job; their responsibility is to enforce the laws that govern the entire Imperium, and, if you should fail to, to police YOU.

I think I got most of them. Protect your world, build it up, to serve your Emperor, and be sure to halt the spread of Rogue Psykers, Heretics, and Xenos influences. You get lots of responsibilities, but you get vast freedoms in how you accomplish them. Opinions circulated. have a good one.

I am pretty sure you can fall under plenty of different and even contradictory contracts from the Administratum, wouldn't be a good representation of a buerocratic nightmare else, of course you will be responsible for breaking any of them even if it was to fulfill another. But I don't plan to just abandon the Rouge Trader part of Rouge Trader, more have them work hard to stabilize a world before they can find some suitable vassals to look after it while they are away. I got most of the ones you mentioned but not the mutant part (will of course add that shortly).

That's a really good plan. I think the RT earning control of this moon (which may be inside Impereum so involves a legal formality) is good incentive for fighting xenos close-up or in space. Your contract might be hard to enforce on your rogue trader companions however if they run out of things to do. Best give them more options or perhaps let the seneschal (if there is one) roll a scholastic lore test instead of delivering a lengthy document to a rogue trader that has a whole dynasty of power behind him/her.

a binding contract can include their obligation to a.) look after an Imperial relay station. b.) make sure nobody but the Inquisition or Cult of Mars goes to the surface b/c of a crashed spaceship there. c.) never under any circumstances go down into the center of the world via a maze of tunnels >>

Ambition is the best motivation! If having this planet gives some profit factor then so be it.

I do think they will leave it governed by someone else after a while, when it feels secure in the hands of the PDF (which they will need to properly create). It's a great idea adding some world-specific mysterious obligations. I will certainly use that.

The contract itself is more for show, it will be cool to, for a special occassion (being granted a governor title and a moon), give them a physical contract with an Administratum feel. For gameplay just letting someone test for it would suffice but sometimes its cool to go that extra step and use a prop to, in this case, have a player actually sign a physical contract for governorship.