This guy just lost control of his planet. Why is he still valuable to Imperial forces? I kind of envisioned the Imperium as having a dim view of failure. Maybe we just need to keep him alive until a new Inquisitor can show up with a replacement?

thegonk said:

Well, in this kind of situation, the first priority is to maintain order and morale among (what's left of) the local population. You don't want (what's left of) the PDF falling to their knees crying like babies so it's better to maintain as much normality as possible. Thus, keeping the local figure of authority alive might be a good idea. Of course once the crisis is over he will probably have to answer some questions about how he managed the situation and he might be removed from his office (maybe with extreme prejudice). But first things first.

Find an Arbite and put him/ her in command of the planet.

As Kyorou noted, keeping the governour alive is primarily important for morale purposes - he'll probably be deposed after the whole thing is over, but until then, presenting a stable government to the people is vital in combating the rebellion and not having them lose faith when the actual invasion hits.

the way i read it they had lost faith in him already.

Then keep him alive so that he can be publically executed for dereliction of duty. That, too, might be a boost for morale.

Kage

He holds an Imperial post of Power, and therefore a Noble. As the W40K is heavily Feudal, regardless of his successes he is still a powerful person.

There are many many tales of incompetent rulers throughout history who "get away with it".

The final say would eventually be the Segmentum Ruler, assuming it gets past the Sector Commander. Space Marines are more or less the same level and Deathwatch be slightly higher, but still they are not really higher up the food chain, so taking any decisive action on the outcome of the governor would probably be a misplaced judgement.

Also the Kill Team doesn't know the full ins and outs of what happened and probably never will - after all once the jobs done, it is for others to make judgement.

FatPob said:

Exactly !

The Administratum (so the Imperium) mostly doesn't choose governors.

These are men or women who managed by their own to become rulers of their world and, then, be recognized by the Administratum as governors.

So, indeed, regardless of his successes or mistakes, the Adeptus Terra can't simply replace him.

It must find a new suitable ruler, accepted by the ones who have real power on this world (mostly nobility), to make sure things run good and tithe is payed.

He will be used to restore/boost moral and insure that the Imperial hierarchy is visible on the world (like the Queen staying at Buckingham during german bombing as a defiant act).

Then once the dust settles and things are back in control, he would be made a martyre for the Imperial cause by un untimely death at the hand of the last enemy or will simply be buried deep within the Imperial cogs and then recycled as a servitor...

He could end up being transferred to a penal legion serving is last moment in a inglorious charge with countless others...

The Imperium is humongous and the different possibilities are endless.

Maybe he as information relevant enough to prove he was innocent enough or worked hard enough to try and prevent it but was simply out done by Xeno infiltrator or even worst Traitors used or manipulated him (which will probably bring either a lobotomy or a quiet execution followed by a cover story).

He could be promoted to some dark and pointless administrum office to be forgotten from time.

etc.

Kyorou said:

Except for the part where the moron has drawn off PDF resources to guard his ongoing party. That neither helps moral or the situation on the ground. I'd give him a case of terminal kinetic energy poisoning...

@DarkLoic

So, indeed, regardless of his successes or mistakes, the Adeptus Terra can't simply replace him.

Um... yes, they can. That's precisely why the Adeptus Arbites, Inquisitors and some others have the power to do so and appoint a successor. Of course, whether that's actually a wise choice is another question - the governour to be deposed may coax the populace into rebellion or there may not be a successor capable of holding the planet together.

@Darq

Except for the part where the moron has drawn off PDF resources to guard his ongoing party. That neither helps moral or the situation on the ground. I'd give him a case of terminal kinetic energy poisoning...

It isn't known whether the populace actually knows this.

In my game, I decided that the Lord-Governor would be pretty important in the sense that his access is valuable. Without his direct aid, the kill-team would not have access to the Astropath, nor know about the secret sewer.

Reading the source material, I decided that I would make him arrogant and a bit of a coward. He would have been upset at the presence of Inquisitor Kalistradi and her wild accusations of an alien threat on his planet. He would have been helpful, but suspicious. His advisors would probably convince him that this elaborate fiction of an alien incursion was simply a plot by the Inquisitors to investigate some shady business going on at his spaceport. When the fighting actually broke out, he would be convinced that the Rebel uprising was merely a bunch of disgruntled workers or whatever. And only when the fighting spread like wildfire, would he reflexively pull most of his armed forces back to protect himself and his lords. In my game, the players successfully saved him from the pantstealers through quite heroic action.

So yeah, I mean, CAN you succeed with the mission without his aid? Yes, they make that much clear. But as others have pointed out, his usefulness as a planetary administrator is valuable, since the marines have no training or inclination to organize planetwide actions.

Cifer said:

The PDF doing the guarding know, and it's their families getting killed.

The PDF doing the guarding know, and it's their families getting killed.

So? That's perhaps 200 people out of a planet with probably several milliards.

If the governor dies, it will impact morale. Unless the governor was utterly hated by his people (which this guy isn't). So keeping himself alive makes sense for maintaining a defense. And the PDF have to know this too. Yes, he's using excessive resources. It is noted in Final Sanction that he is out of his depth. How many governors are seriously ready to perfectly act when genestealers pop up? Afterwards he might be screwed but equally he could be useful if the planet can be salvaged. "Look your governor survived by the grace of the God Emperor!" Makes being good Imperial citizens after a horrendous invasion that little bit easier to swallow.

FatPob said:

Actually, that's not the case as far as I'm aware.

Strictly speaking, we have a situation where an Adeptus - that is, a person who directly serves the Adeptus Terra - has failed in his duties. That's a crime by the Lex Imperialis , and consequently a matter for the Adeptus Arbites to deal with, as duly appointed representatives of the Emperor's Law. The Imperial Commander of Avalos is thus subject to arrest (at which point he is stripped of rank, title and status), interrogation, trial and punishment in a manner determined by the commander of the nearest Adeptus Arbites precinct according to ten thousand years of legal precedent. They will do this because it is their solemn and unchanging duty to uphold the Law, and because it's technically a crime (the same crime, in fact: failure to fulfil one's duty) for the Arbitor in charge of the matter not to try and bring the Imperial Commander of Avalos to justice. Even the Arbites are bound by the laws they uphold.

While he's unlikely to be found innocent, it may be determined that his sin/crime can be atoned for through a lesser punishment than execution, meaning that some other form of penitence would need to be performed.

N0-1_H3r3 said:

The reason that this may not have happened on this particular world could be that there was no need for an Arbites presence to be stationed there. Not every planet has a strong or even a small Arbites force... some have no Arbites at all... which further leaves me to believe that this planet is an Aggri-World.

SpawnoChaos said:

Avalos is indeed an agri-world, says so in the adventure overview on page 22 of Final Sanction .

• " The adventure takes place in the sprawling city of Lordsholm, on the agri-world of Avalos ."

It's also described as being a somewhat unimportant world, at least, in the eyes of the enemies of the Imperium.

-=Brother Praetus=-

Never underestimate the political power structure.

The governor has assembled all his rich and famous friends and provided them with protection against the rebels. In fact giving them a stronghold to recapture the city. (Off course he is losing the battle, as he has no way of defeating the Brood Lord) But to his friends he acted and protected them.

Even a Arbites would think twice before removing him at this moment. Removing the governor would open up all kinds of pits. People loosing morale, people trying to gain power, usually at the expense of others. Removing the governor will remove the current power structure and throw the world into even further chaos. Something you do not want during a rebellion.

In the first Word Bearers book a Arbite shoots a governer for letting the planet fall into chaos via insergats.

miss dee said:

I haven't read it personally, but I would say this sounds like a case of an extremist individual rather than standard operating protocol.

SpawnoChaos said:

The reason that it may not have happened is more likely to be that there's an invasion in progress, and consequently the repercussions haven't started yet.

While some worlds lack a resident Arbites presence, they are not beyond the reach of the Arbites - space-borne precincts, based upon patrol cruisers and other vessels, allow the Arbites to police even the most remote corners of the Imperium.

Octus said:

Never underestimate how little the Adeptus Terra cares about the politics of a single world, particularly one only of local strategic significance like Avalos.

Octus said:

I never said it would happen instantly or immediately... but it'll happen. The foundations of Imperial Law are the judgements and decrees of the Emperor, and it is the solemn duty of the Arbites to enact that judgement in His name. In this regard, inaction on the part of the Arbites is no less a matter of criminal laxity than the failures of Avalos' Commander... they are compelled by law to act, and consequently, the Imperial Commander will be held accountable.

Artemesia said:

The Arbites have a motto: "We Determine the Guilty; We Decide the Punishment". If that particular senior Arbitor determined that the situation required immediate and final judgement, then it's within his right to do so (theoretically subject to later scrutiny by his superiors).

Planets are irreplaceable. Planetary Governors are not.

N0-1_H3r3 said:

Well, depending on the tech level, of course

Kyorou said:

Indeed. That's one of the main arguments about why there are so many habitable planets in the 40k universe: the G/DAoT society terraformed everything.

Admittedly, the Imperium is not the G/DAoT, but since when did that stop them. Plus, that's probably something else they do better than the Eldar anyway.

Kage

Indeed. That's one of the main arguments about why there are so many habitable planets in the 40k universe: the G/DAoT society terraformed everything.

While terraforming may count for something... is it really needed to account for a million habitable worlds in the whole galaxy when "habitable" is partly used to describe Death Worlds and little outposts?