Planets of Warhammer 40,000

This is an incomplete list of planets in the universe of the fictional science fantasy game Warhammer 40,000.No full list could every be compiled because the Warhammer Universe is not limited, with many fans making their own planets. More recent Warhammer stories include new planets.

== Types of plantes

Civilized worlds
A civilized world is a planet whose development has been allowed to happen (for some time) "naturally", without any specific purpose to fulfil. These worlds are generally self-sufficient in terms of food-supply and have varying manufacturing and industrial capabilities. Many may be equivalent in culture and population levels to modern-day Earth.

Death worlds
Death world is a term used by the Imperium to designate a planet with a climate, terrain, or ecosystem that is highly dangerous to human life. Nonetheless, many of these worlds have large human settlements, notable for the strength and self-reliance of their people. Many of the people of these worlds are inducted into the Imperial Guard, or recruited by the Space Marines, a fact which is often the sole reason for the continued habitation of those worlds. Notable death worlds include Catachan and Fenris.

Death worlds and the Tyranids
It has been theorized by Imperial biologists that many death worlds are the result of seeding by ancient advance fleets of the Tyranids. Many of the monstrous creatures inhabiting these worlds, such as the Kraken of Fenris and the Catachan Devil have many features in common with Tyranid organisms, and may in fact be descended from them.

Feral and medieval worlds
These are worlds into which the Imperium has not seen fit to introduce most modern technology, although medical technology is often an exception. Feral worlds are defined by a population living in hunter-gatherer societies and having technology equivalent to Earth's Stone Age or Bronze Age societies. Medieval worlds are somewhat more advanced, having progressed as far as to discover gunpowder, and having more widespread farming. Generally, worlds of either of these classes will have little interference from the Imperium and low planetary tithes.

Governors of Feral and Medieval worlds will generally live on a space station in orbit, only descending to the surface to deal with heresy and mutation.

Many Space Marine Chapters prefer to recruit from feral worlds, since such environments tend to produce warrior-quality men.

Forge worlds
Forge world is a term for the numerous worlds that are directly controlled by the Adeptus Mechanicus. All have in common that they are completely dedicated to the manufacture of the various machines of the Imperium, the pursuit for and preservation of (ancient) knowledge and the worship of the Machine God. Because of the Adeptus Mechanicus' monopoly on technical knowledge and expertise, the forge worlds are the Imperium's primary source of all kinds of hardware: from farming equipment to war machines such as tanks, fighters, or even Titans. Ancient pacts between the Adeptus Mechanicus and other worlds and institutions of the Imperium oblige the various forge worlds to supply other worlds and the various military arms of the Imperium, such as the Imperial Guard.

The surface of a forge world is normally completely covered in massive factory complexes that stretch across the horizon. Its ecosystem has been completely destroyed. The air is saturated with toxic gases and rivers flow with toxic runoff from factories. In many cases, even seas and oceans have been dried up to make room for more factories. However, the sheer output benefits the Imperium as a whole.

While there are hundreds of forge worlds in the Imperium, one of the best-known is Mars, home of the Adeptus Mechanicus' political and spiritual head, the Fabricator-General of Mars; and the Imperium's first forge world. Other forge worlds include Ryza, known for its advanced plasma technology; Gryphonne IV, home of the Legio Gryphonnicus; Agripinaa, a primary supplier of Cadia; Phaeton, home of the Leman Russ MBT; and Urdesh, major forge world within the Sabbat Worlds.

Forge worlds are mostly independent from the rest of the Imperium and have their own armed forces. Each of these worlds is home to one of the Titan Legions, supported by legions of Skitarii, the Adeptus Mechanicus' cybernetically enhanced soldiers.

Hive worlds
Hive worlds are worlds that have an extremely high population, which is confined in massive arcologies called "hives", each of which is essentially an individual nation occupying a single massive hive city. Of the species in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, only the humans of the Imperium are known to live on such worlds. The world outside the hives is usually heavily polluted and desolate, and most hivers live their entire lives without ever having seen the outside of the tunnel network of their hive. Hive worlds often possess extensive manufacturing districts. It has been said that the sacrifice of over a million soldiers is worth "one day's hive world production" in weapons and armour.

Perhaps even more valuable is what at first glance seems to be a byproduct of the monolithic city's design. The population of any given world* approximately doubles every 100 years. With each hive housing between 10 - 100 billion people and 5 - 20 hives per planet the sheer number of citizens is staggering. And each of those citizens is a potential soldier for the Emperor's already unmatchably vast armies. Hives manufacture far more than mere steel and silica, they are vast factories for the most useful possible resource: people. It is no accident that hive worlds contribute the vast bulk of the recruits for the Imperial Guard. The often violent gangland lifestyle which most residents are forced to live is also semi-deliberate. Almost every recruit will already know how to handle a gun. Hive worlds also serve to populate newly discovered planets. Imperial citizens are gathered from various hive worlds (willingly or unwillingly) and shipped off to distant colonies. Examples of this include Medusa V and Armageddon.

In common with most other Imperial worlds, hive worlds are often based on a very obvious class system, with a ruling class and a working class, although with populations so tightly packed there develops a lower class that become violent street gangs. As can be expected, the upper classes are situated in the affluent upper areas of the hive, whilst the middle classes are situated in the middle areas, whilst the worker classes are packed together in the lower areas. The very bottom sections are often areas where the underclasses and criminals are sent to be forgotten about and obviously anarchy rules.

Some extensively developed hive worlds do not even simply consist of various enclosed arcologies surrounded by wasteland, jungle, ice, or plains. These hive worlds are completely urbanized and stacked with hundreds of layers of arcologies, covering the entirety of the planet, effectively being an Ecumenopolis. Holy Terra is an example of this "super hive world".

Notable hive worlds include Holy Terra (where the whole planet is one hive), Armageddon, Necromunda and Verghast (from the Gaunt's Ghosts novels).

Cardinal worlds and Shrine worlds
Cardinal worlds are planets ruled directly by the Ecclesiarchy and are completely dedicated to the worship of the Immortal Emperor according to the tenets of the Cult Imperialis, with sanctuaries potentially covering entire continents. Aside from being a center of the Ecclesiarchy's power and a destination for countless pilgrims, they also serve as a base of operations for many orders of the Adepta Sororitas. One example is Ophelia VII, whose spiritual significance is second only to that of Holy Terra.

Shrine worlds are worlds that are heavily focused on the worship of one or more Imperial Saints. A shrine world can also be considered to fall into another category, for example Hagia is an agri-world while Herodor is a hive world. They will have a strong relationship with the saint in question, such as being the world of his/her birth or death or the site of a major miracle.

Notable Shrine worlds include: Hagia (birthplace of Saint Sabbat) and Herodor (where Saint Sabbat rested while recovering from battle)

Dead worlds
Barren worlds that are virtually lifeless, unable to support any native or imported lifeforms. Dead worlds occur naturally, as the unforgiving conditions of the universe mean the majority of planets are uninhabitable. Some, however, have been created in the long history of the Imperium by catastrophic events, including an exterminatus or a successful Tyranid invasion.

Ironically, some planets classified as dead worlds have been settled by various groups specifically for their properties. For example, several Space Marine fortress-monasteries are located on dead worlds because of their harsh conditions, desolation and defensive opportunities. Dead Worlds that appear to be natural are often Tomb Worlds for the Necrons.

Tomb Worlds
Tomb Worlds are worlds that have Necron stasis tombs located on them. Such worlds are often devoid of all life, the only known exceptions being Lorn V and Kronus.

Accatran
This forge world is the homeworld of the Adeptus Mechanicus' Legio Destructor, also known as the Beasts of Steel. The planet is located in the Ultima Segmentum.

Aerius
A hive world of great importance to the Imperium, it suffered a devastating plague when the Balestar, a comet appearing every two thousand years, returned. The plague was connected with the enigmatic Black Pyramid, an impenetrable Eldar structure which was built, unknown to the local human population, to restrain a Greater Daemon of Nurgle called Botchulaz.

Adrantis Five
Adrantis Five was a human, hyper-technical planet which had been separated from the Imperium for over five thousand years. It was conquered by Lord Commander Solar Macharius during the Macharian Crusade in the Segmentum Pacificus.

The planet's population were hyper advanced, and when Macharius arrived he said that they had 'turned to the dark certainties of science, and created many new and wondrous machines.' Even so, Macharius still had to conquer it. He was held at bay for two years until the planet finally succumbed to a redirected comet. 'Of its secrets, nothing now remains' were the last words of Macharius on the subject.

Angelis
Known to the Orks as "Gorkamorka". This planet is located in the north of the Eastern Fringe. There is also considerable evidence that there could be, or was a Necron presence on the world. There are also theories that it is still a Necron tomb world.

Armageddon
A hive world that has been repeatedly invaded by the Orks, where the outdoors are nothing but huge wastelands so polluted and hostile they can kill a man in a day. Due to this, all infantry always wear gas masks, trench coats and rebreather units whenever outside. Additionally, this causes its famed Steel Legion regiments to field large numbers of mechanized infantry borne by Chimera IFVs, of which Armageddon is also famed for producing.

True to its name, Armageddon has been the site of three massive wars in the history of the Imperium, The First an invasion by the primarch-turned-daemon Angron of the World Eaters and most recently a pair of invasions by the Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. As a result, the people of Armageddon are a tough lot, and its armies experienced in fighting the Orks. Armageddon is a Mecca of sorts to all Orks in the region, who refer to the planet as 'Armour-get-em'. As such, Orks are constantly pouring into the system to join the ongoing battle. Orks 'native' to Armageddon are considerably tougher than normal Orks; Orks thrive in combat situations, becoming stronger, tougher and more aggressive with each generation to match and eventually best their opposition.

Artemis
An Imperial world that was under heavy attack by Chaos, including their own warped Titans. Also the site of a massive Warp/Realspace overlay, which spawned a daemon so huge it was literally several dozen times larger than even an Emperor-class Titan.

Arthas-Moloch
A Dead World discovered by O'Shovah, where he found the Dawn Blade; the Tau call it an "Artifact World".

Baal
Baal is the nominal homeworld of the Blood Angels chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. Baal itself is a dry, dusty and largely uninhabitable desert world, but its two moons, Baal Prime and Baal Secundus support notable human settlements and were once "Paradises for mortal men". Little is known about the past circumstances of these two moons, but at some time in the past (probably during the Age of Strife) a cataclysmic conflict arose and led to the widespread use of weapons of mass destruction, destroying the ecosystems of both satellites and contaminating their biospheres with radioactive fallout, chemical pollution and biological agents.

The indigenous peoples of Baal Prime and Baal Secundus suffered greatly and gradually became degenerate, mutated and sickly, the survivors banding together into semi-nomadic tribes. These tribespeople appear to have maintained some technology as mention is made of rad-counters, rad-suits (self-evidently advanced technological equipment to protect from the effects of radiation), vehicular transport and advanced weaponry. Many tribes turned to cannibalism and became even further corrupted by the toxins endemic to their environment, but at least one tribe maintained a noble and enlightened outlook; known as the 'Ones of Pure Blood', often contracted simply to 'The Blood'. It was The Blood who encountered the infant Primarch Sanguinius when he came to rest on Baal Secundus, and they adopted him as one of their own. The tribespeople were astonished at the young Primarch's rate of growth, constitution and strength, and he soon became a hero among them, on at least one occasion defending The Blood against an attack by another, mutant tribe, and killing many of them. It was in this capacity that he was discovered by the Emperor during the Great Crusade. Sanguinius instantly recognised the master of mankind and swore fealty to him, taking command of the Blood Angels legion created from his own genes. The Legion made Baal Secundus its home and base of operations as it has been ever since.

Baal Secundus is the site of the Blood Angels' fortress monastery, about which little is known.

Beta Anphelion IV
Beta Anphelion IV is the second moon of the fourth planet in the Anphelion system. It was the focus for Forge World's fourth major work (Imperial Armour Volume 4: The Anphelion Project) which described the investigation by an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor of a secret project related to the Tyranids in the year 850 of the 41st millennium.

Brontissa
A planet that was invaded by the Tyranids. Imperius Dictatio had in its past joined the fray and participated in eight straight days of intense fighting. On the ninth, all Imperial forces were pulled out into space, and the planet virus bombed.

Cadia
Cadia is a Fortress world which guards the entrance to the Eye of Terror. Cadia has endured many attacks from Chaos legions and 13 Black Crusades. Cadia is highly militaristic; birth rate and recruitment rate are synonymous.

It was recently attacked by a Blackstone Fortress controlled by the Chaos leader Abaddon the Despoiler. Cadia is also very well known for its elite Cadian Shock Troop Regiments-men and women raised from birth to defend the gate.

Caliban
Once the homeworld of the Dark Angels chapter, Caliban was destroyed during a heresy on the planet. Now all that remains is an asteroid field and The Rock, the mobile fortress-monastery of the Dark Angels. Before its destruction, Caliban had an extremely harsh environment. Vast, impenetrable jungle covered all of the planet's surface, with monstrous Chaos creatures haunting them. The human population formed into several Knightly orders, to fight off the hordes, as a lone human would be killed in a minute. It is amazing how the Dark Angels Primarch Lion El'Jonson ever survived as long as he did there.

Calth
As part of Ultramar, an area under the jurisdiction of the Ultramarines, Calth provides recruits for the Ultramarines Chapter. The aspirants compete in a series of contests between hopefuls to determine who is worthy of joining the Space Marines. Calth's inhabitants live in subterranean cities where the deadly light of Calth's blue sun cannot reach them. The caverns of Calth are constructed on such a huge scale, and with such grandeur, that they are as light and airy as any city of Macragge. The world above is devoid of air, the atmosphere stripped away during the Horus Heresy, when the Ultramarines and the traitorous Word Bearers, under the command of Kor Phaeron and Erebus the Dark Apostle, came into conflict.

Although the inhabitants are perfectly capable of living on what is grown in nutrient vats, they prefer to import foodstuffs from Iax. The shipyards of Calth also earn the world a name to look up to, their vessels used by the Ultramarines and the Imperium at large.

The Ultramarines captain Uriel Ventris was born upon Calth. The Tyranid "character" Old One Eye was discovered on Calth in icepacks. At least one regiment of the Imperial Guard has been raised on Calth.

Catachan
Catachan is a death world almost entirely covered in dense jungle. Vegetation on Catachan reacts to attempts at colonisation and rapidly grows back whenever it is cleared. This forces the population of the planet to live a semi-nomadic existence, moving on whenever the jungle violently reclaims their land.

It is believed that all of Catachan's native fauna is carnivorous, as is much of the flora. Poisonous creatures are extremely common. The most well known of Catachan's native animals is the infamous Catachan Devil, a voracious predator somewhat similar in appearance to an enormous scorpion. Devils can grow over 40 paces long, but their bulk and lack of speed allow many creatures to simply avoid them. One of the most dangerous animals on the planet is the Catachan Barking Toad, a seemingly innocuous-looking creature which discourages predators by exploding and spraying a highly lethal acidic toxin on anything nearby. The largest of the species, the Greater Catachan Barking Toad, is rumoured to be capable of annihilating everything within a half-kilometer radius upon detonation. The dangers in Catachan's jungles are not limited to the fauna; in many cases the plant life can be just as deadly. The Spiker, for example, is a plant capable of firing extremely sharp spikes into the bodies of its victims, which then emit a mutative chemical which eventually turns the unfortunate recipient into another spiker. The Brain Leaf is an example of the more insidious dangers to be found on Catachan. The brain leaf has long, smooth tendrils, at the end of each of which is a single leaf. The plant can attach these leaves to living creatures, taking control of their nervous systems and using them as protection and, eventually, compost. Insects and diseases are every bit as dangerous as the larger monsters. Blood-wasps are swarming, carnivorous insects that will swarm over a man and eat him down to a skeleton in a matter of hours. Another subtle threat are Heretic-ants, highly venomous ants so named because they attack their victims from the feet - going for your soles (souls, so to speak).

Creatures native to Catachan are often found elsewhere in the Imperium (the brain leaf can also be found on Necromunda, for example). Sometimes they are exported deliberately, as in the case of the Face Eater, and sometimes they are simply unwitting stowaways on board transport vessels.

Catachan only has one export for the greater Imperium: Its people. Catachan is a harsh world, to make an understatement, and living to the age of ten is considered an achievement. Those born on Catachan are, unsurprisingly, of hardy stock, and the regiments of Catachan Jungle Fighters raised from the planet are among the Imperium's best guerrilla fighters. A quote from the downloadable Codex: Catachans perfectly outlines how the world has affected its populace: "We've run into scorpions the size of battle tanks, three men died from Eyerot this week, I've sweat enough to fill a lake, my boots got sucked into a sink-swamp and the trees are so thick in places you can't squeeze between them. Emperor help me, I love this place! It's just like home!" - Captain Rock of the Catachan III "Green Devils" on Varestus Prime.

Chaeronia
The planet featured in Dark Adeptus (Grey Knights 2) by Ben Counter. It is a former Forge World. It was taken into the warp for over 1000 years, only 100 years in real-time. It is ruled by the Dark Mechanicus, although there are still a few loyal Adeptus Mechanicus troops. It contained an STC Titan, which was destroyed by the Grey Knights.

Cypra Mundi
Cypra Mundi is an Imperial Forge World and Naval Base of Segmentum Obscurus, the sector including the Eye of Terror. Cypra Mundi is located on the Northern fringe of the galaxy. During the 13th Crusade, a massive fleet was dispatched from Cypra Mundi to reinforce the Imperial Navy, which had been fighting an ongoing battle against the seemingly endless waves of Chaos vessels. The fleet from Cypra Mundi staged at Belis Corona in preparation for a massive counter-push into the Cadian Gate, just outside the Eye of Terror. Cypra Mundi is also the traditional home of Naval officers in the Segmentum, which are chosen from the aristocracy of Cypra Mundi

Cyrene
A planet visited extensively by the Blood Ravens to recruit new members. When Blood Ravens' 3rd company commander Gabriel Angelos, himself a native of Cyrene, returned to his homeworld to conduct the Blood Trials to induct new recruits, he found evidence of wide-spread heresy and mutation among the populace. He quickly sent a coded message to the Inquisition, who performed Exterminatus on the world.

Dolumar IV
Dolumar IV is the planet fought over in the game Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior. The planet was a small, but growing world, until Imperial forces attacked a nearby Tau world, killing many Tau and kidnapping the Ethereal Ko'vash. Tracking the imperials back to Dolumar IV, the Tau attacked in force. The battle on and over the planet would be the Trial by Fire of a young Fire Warrior named La'Kais, who would prove instrumental in stopping the demon Tarkh'ax. To cleanse the taint of Chaos, the planet was subjected to Exterminatus.

Eustis Majorus
Eustis Majorus is a hive world in the Anjellus sub-sector that features in the Ravenor novels by Dan Abnett. Its capital is the hive city of Petropolis, a dirty, polluted and overcrowded city that was in fact designed as a huge "Psychic Resonator" by the infamous heretical architect Theodor Cadizky with precisely nine hundred and ninety-nine temples, the central one of which, called the Old Sacristy, being in the exact centre of the hive, with all of the others, the axial temples, forming lines from the Old Sacristy that give the entire hive an overall mathematical symmetry.

Fenris
Fenris is a cold, icy planet that is the homeworld of the Space Wolves. The planet's culture is made almost entirely of scattered tribes similar to Viking Age Scandinavia. The Space Wolves keep a close watch over the people of the world, recruiting fallen warriors from battles much like the Valkyries of Norse mythology. The tallest mountain on the planet is called the Fang, a massive fortress built on the tallest mountain of the only stable continent. The Fang is the home base of the Space Wolves and extends into the surrounding mountain range as well as into orbit, drawing energy from the geothermic source of the planet's core. The complex includes huge ground based anti-ship weapons concealed as nearby peaks, docks at the summit for the Space Wolves' battle barges and strike cruisers, numerous shrines along the lower slopes, and huge fusion and geothermal reactors deep underground. Outside of Earth, the Fang is considered one of the most impregnable fortresses in the galaxy. It has never been conquered, although the Thousand Sons did manage to briefly occupy the outer slopes after luring the bulk of the Space Wolf forces away.

Fortis Binary
Formerly a main forge world, this world features in the Dan Abnett book First And Only, in this book a chaos uprising by a group of former workers called the Shriven led to a long, drawn-out conflict of trench warfare.

Galt
Technically Galt Three in the eponymous system, it has an elliptical orbit about a yellow sun and is characterised by three main continents and dense jungle growth. Their most common export to the Imperium is the bud of the red lotus used in many alchemical products. It houses a pre-Imperial structure known as the Temple of Xikar, home to a sect known as the Brothers of Perpetual Bliss. The Temple and planet were devastated in an Ork raid led by one Ork Warlord, Gurg, who possessed one-third of the Talisman of Lykos, which made him practically invulnerable.

Golgotha
A Squat homeworld. In 3rd edition the Squat homeworlds were destroyed by the Tyranids. Golgotha was previously attacked by Ghazghkull Thraka and was the origin world of the Ordinatus Golgotha.

Gravalax
Mainly mentioned in the novel "Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium" the Imperium held colonies on this planet with the Tau and "Xeno-Lovers" a group of pro-tau humans who fight the PDF and the Valhallan 597th Guard regiment. Not much history is told about this "miserable mud-ball." The combined forces of the Valhallan 597th and Commissar Cain, and an Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, Amberley Vail, were sorely tested on Gravalax. After political instability caused the fall of the Tau's peaceful diplomatic missions and the Order to eliminate the human planetary governor by Lord General Zyvan. This was all dwarfed by the invasion of one of the first Tyranid hive fleets in many a century.

Gudrun
Located in the Helican sub-sector of Segmentum Obscurus it is a relatively idyllic world with stately manors controlling vast estates of rolling green hills studded with small villages. A feudal world controlled by rival Great Houses. Once the Capital of the Helican sub-sector, it is no longer, the centre of government having been moved to Thracian Primaris. It is not dissimilar to ideas of 'Merry Olde England'. For a time it was the home and headquarters of the Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn as detailed in the novel, Malleus, by Dan Abnett.

Hagia
Located in the Sabbat Worlds, Segmentum Pacificus. It is the birthplace of Saint Sabbat, and the location of her remains. During the Sabbat Worlds Crusade the forces of Chaos attacked the world and mocked the people of the world by calling themselves Infardi which was the local word for Pilgrim. Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his regiment the Tanith First and Only fought the Infardi in the capital city of the world, Holy Doctrinopolis, and drove them out but at a very heavy cost. To redeem himself and his regiment, Gaunt led an honour guard to the Shrinehold of Saint Sabbat to safeguard the relics there from the incoming Chaos Fleet.

Herodor
A desolate world, located in the Sabbat Worlds where the Imperial Saint Sabbat was reincarnated. It was attacked by the forces of Chaos, mostly Blood Pact but also with the aid of 9 champions of that foul creed. Eventually, Imperial forces including the Tanith First of Gaunt's Ghosts fame aided in crushing the chaos invasion.

Holy Terra
Holy Terra (sometimes also called Terra or Earth) is the future incarnation of our Earth. Throne world of the Imperium, Terra is the homeworld of the Emperor and of the human race. Before the Great Crusade, Terra was plagued by a long age of war and anarchy known as the Age of Strife. Terra is perhaps the most massive Hive World within the Imperium, with a population of tens of trillions. The bulk of Terra's population is divided into the Adepts (servants of the Emperor and his Imperium, including priests, scribes and workers) and non-Adepts (the far less privileged common citizens.)

Terra's entire surface, with the exception of the Antarctic region, is covered in labyrinthine edifices of state, including the Imperial Palace, the Ecclesiarchal Palace and many departments of the Imperial government. The base of the Inquisition on Terra is beneath the ice caps of the south polar region.

Billions of pilgrims flock to the planet every day, eager for a glimpse of the Imperial Palace or one of the untold number of gargantuan Imperial cathedrals. Such is the scale of the Imperium that many of these pilgrims' journeys were started by their ancestors and only generations later will a member of the family complete the pilgrimage. Many will set out hopeful and never come close to their goal. Terra is the resting place of the Immortal Emperor of Mankind, where he has sat on the life-preserving Golden Throne, neither alive nor dead, for ten thousand years. He and the Palace are guarded by the Adeptus Custodes. Among them is a select inner corps of three hundred who never leave his side, known as the Companions.

The Astronomican is a psychic beacon beamed from Terra and powered by a "choir" of ten thousand specially-trained psykers, providing a reliable reference point which Navigators can utilize within warp space. These psykers are chosen from among those brought from other parts of the Imperium to Terra aboard the Inquisition's Black Ships. Other psykers, considered powerful enough are recruited into the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, the department forming the network of interstellar communication for the Imperium.

Luna (Terra's moon) has also been colonized and is home to immense planetary defense lasers charged with protecting Terra from invasion. These defenses inflicted savage losses on the invading rebel fleets of Warmaster Horus, during the latter stages of the Horus Heresy. Luna also gives its name to a class of Imperial Cruiser called the Lunar Class.

Hubris
Hubris was named for the excessive pride of the colonists who founded a society there despite the harsh climate which sees the planet icebound for 11 months of the 29 month Lunar Cycle. This period is known locally as Dormant and the majority of the population enters cryogenic stasis in hibernation tombs to escape the cold. This is followed by Thaw, a period of feasting and activity designed to help overcome the effects of cryosleep and Vital, the normal active time of the planet.

In the novel Xenos, it was on this planet that Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn killed the heretic Murdin Eyclone, who was attempting the bodily resurrection of the infamous Pontius Glaw with the mass murder of cryosleepers. It was this event that started the chain of events that marked Eisenhorn's slide into radicalism.

Istvaan III
See the Istvaan III section under Horus Heresy for more details.

Istvaan III was an Imperial world whose inhabitants broke from the Imperium during the Great Crusade. When Warmaster Horus and elements of the Sons of Horus, Emperor's Children, Death Guard and World Eaters Legions reached Istvaan, there were no negotiations; instead, Horus sent an assault force against the planet's vital areas - where the leadership of the planet would most likely be hiding. This, however, was a trap laid by Horus to purge the Legions - which had all but declared their loyalty to Horus in his mad bid to overthrow the Emperor of Mankind - of the elements deemed unsuitable. The Warmaster ordered the planet virus-bombed in order to kill any remaining resistance, and then with the words "Let the galaxy burn", ignited the gasses given of by its decomposition

Istvaan V
See the The Drop Site Massacre section under Horus Heresy for more details.

Istvaan V was where the Legions of Warmaster Horus redeployed following the virus-bombing of Istvaan III. Upon learning of the terrible atrocity Horus had committed, the Emperor deployed seven Legions to bring Horus to account for his actions. The Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard made up the first wave of the attack, but were pushed back by the superior tactics of Horus' maddened followers. The reserves were called in, but the four Legions comprising the reinforcements - the Iron Warriors, the Alpha Legion, the Word Bearers and the Night Lords - had betrayed the Emperor and were prepared to follow Horus. The three loyalist Legions were almost annihilated.

Kronus
Kronus is the planet fought over in the computer game, Dark Crusade, held mainly by the Tau Empire prior to the game's events. It lies near the Tau Empire somewhere in the Galactic East, boasting diverse conditions and terrain; the population is mostly humans and Tau, with a small number of feral Orks in the fringe regions. The planet's human history runs a fairly long way back, as evidenced by its ancient STC technology, and has been fought over in both the Horus Heresy and the Damocles Gulf Crusade. In addition, Kronus has also played host to major fighting during the Horus Heresy, and a few previous Ork Waaagh! attempts. The planet however, hides a dark secret. It used to be a Necron tomb world, which over the span of millions of years, developed into its current life-supporting environment. Awoken by an archaeological team, their appearance was made worse by the rapid arrival of several armies on the planet when word got out. All in all, the planet was contested by no less than seven distinct forces: The Word Bearers Chaos Legion, the Ulthwé Eldar, the Imperial Guard 1st Kronus Liberators, the native Necrons, the Waaagh! of Warlord Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter, the Blood Ravens who fight for it due to a dark secret held there, and the Tau Empire. The unique seven-way conflict would be recorded in Imperial history as the Dark Crusade.

Lorn V
Lorn V is the planet fought over in the Dawn of War expansion Winter Assault. The planet had already fallen to two separate forces of Orks and Chaos servants of Khorne, who had taken to fighting each other. In the game, the Cadian 412th was sent to the planet on a mission to salvage an Imperator Titan before the Xenos and traitors could find it. In a plot-twist, a force of Necrons were also buried deep underground, bringing the Eldar to the planet in an attempt to keep them from awakening.

In the novel Dawn of War: Ascension (Goto, 2005), Lorn V is mentioned to have been a former Eldar Exodite world. However, the canonicity of this statement is debatable since other plot elements in the novel conflict those in the game, for example Farseer Taldeer being from the Biel-Tan Craftworld instead of the Ulthwé Craftworld, and the Blood Ravens assisting the Cadian 412th instead of the Ultramarines as seen in the game. Though it should be noted that the Biel-Tan Eldar and Blood Ravens could still have been an off-screen presence.

A small note to the side: Mentioned in Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War-Dark Crusade The Ork Warlord Gorgutz fought the chaos lord of Lorn V which, if the player defeated the Chaos armies with the Orkz, gave Gorgutz experience to defeat the Word Bearers.

Luther McIntyre
Luther McIntyre (or Luther McIntyre IX) is a deathworld frequently referenced by Games Workshop publications, but rarely explored in detail. Multiple sources since 1st edition Warhammer 40,000 vaguely indicate that it is a hot desert deathworld. One lifeform known from this world is the Mica Dragon, whose teeth formed the chainsaw edge of Khârn the Betrayer's axe Gorechild.

Macragge
Macragge is the homeworld of the Ultramarines and the capital world of the Realm of Ultramar at the Eastern Fringe. In 745.M41, Hivefleet Behemoth was destroyed in the Battle of Macragge at the expense of the Ultramarines 1st Company.

The immense strength of the veteran 1st company, led by Captain Invictus, was forced into the fortress of the Ultramarines by the Tyranids. The battle, or 'Last stand of the First Company' took place in the Lower Generatorium of the fortress. The Third Company had made its way to where the last stand occurred. Bodies of Tyranids were piled everywhere, and in the middle of the room, the final remains of the First Company remained right next to their battle brothers, where they had fought back to back in a determined rage.

Mars
Mars is the twin planet of Holy Terra, and one of many long-inhabited worlds near to the Cradle of Humanity. It is the home and power centre of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the ancient  priesthood of the Machine God, and the heart of their galaxy-spanning monopoly on technology. Mars is peppered with towering hive cities, and there is very little of the planet's surface which remains untouched by the constructions of the Techpriests.

It is hinted that C'tan, The Void Dragon, may be dwelling under the surface of Mars. A piece of writing in the Necron codex, in which Abaddon the Despoiler is seen seeking information from a daemon, indicates the location of the C'Tan. The daemon hints that the Void Dragon is at Vaul's Moon. Vaul is the Eldar god of the forge. Since Mars is the greatest forgeworld in the galaxy, it can be assumed the Dragon may be there. There are also other pieces of backstory that provide similar evidence. This point is open to debate though and has not been confirmed by Games Workshop. It is also possible the Adeptus Mechanicus worship the ancient C'tan (although unknowingly) as they worship a figure called the Omnissiah, which is possibly the Void Dragon.

The planet is home to three Titan Legions, one of them the Legio Ignatum. The other two are classified.

Medusa V
Medusa V is a world close to a warp phenomena known as Van Grothe's Rapidity, better known as Hell's Slingshot for the way Imperial ships have used it to drastically increase the speed of their transit through the area. As of late, however, the Rapidity has vastly increased in size and intensity, and will soon envelop the entire system. However, even though the fate of the planet is sealed, it has become a major battlefield, as every major faction of the Eastern Fringe, from the Imperium and Chaos to the Tau and the Necrons, has found a stake in the planet's approaching destruction.

The Imperial forces, Guardsman and Space Marine alike, sent to the planet were victorious in their efforts to evacuate the population of the planet before it fell. Sicarius, captain of the Second Company of Ultramarines fought there to track down a daemon of Nurgle, while members of the Tyranid Veterans were sent to hunt down a Lictor subspecies and prevent them from getting back to the Hive.

Additonal After heroic fighting on the planet, the warp storm overcame it. By the efforts of the Imperial Guard and Space Marines the planet was saved from eternal damnation at the hands of Chaos.

Mordax Prime
A Forge World in the Scarus Sector. Almost completely destroyed during the aftermath of the Horus Heresy when it suffered heavy attack from Traitor forces escaping to the eye of Terror including a large fleet fleeing from Mars. Known to have been defended successfully with the aid of a force of Iron Hands in M39 against enemies unknown. Suffered increasing attacks from elements of the Night Lords and Black Legion before and during the 13th Crusade culminating in a huge Ork Invasion. It was defended unsuccessfully by a combined Imperial Guard, Skitarii and Black Templar force. Adeptus Mechanicus artifacts were looted by Chaos forces under the cover of the Ork invasion, but they were severely hampered by the Ork forces who inevitably turned on their paymasters. The planet fell to the "Green Kroosade", and was quickly renamed Mordakka Prime by the Orks.

Mordian
Mordian is a Hive World with tidally locked rotation on its axis, leaving one side of the planet locked in eternal night while the other side is cooked by the Mordian sun. Ruled by a totalitarian regime that controls the planet's meager supplies, Mordian is defended by the elite Iron Guard - a highly disciplined army wearing ornate uniforms. Many of their enemies have underestimated these ranks of colorfully-uniformed troops, only to find out that they were tough and uncompromising soldiers.

The people of Mordian are often of a dour and grim temperament, living as they do in perpetual darkness. The suicide rate on the planet is reportedly now the highest in the Imperium, since the destruction of Nostramo.

Murder (One Forty Twenty)
Murder was a death world discovered during the Great Crusade by the 140th Expedition under the command of the Blood Angels Space Marines. Shortly after a combat drop, the planet was consumed by warp storms, which effectively prevented reinforcements from landing. As a result, the Blood Angels were dripfed into the planet and wiped out to a man by the lethal Megarchanid forces. The Emperor's Children were similarly destroyed when they attempted to relieve the Blood Angels. Eventually, the Luna Wolves under the command of the Warmaster Horus, were able to successfully counterattack with the aid of Sanguinius. The planet was then destroyed by Exterminatus.

Nostramo
Former homeworld of the Night Lords Chaos Space Marines Legion.

The world of Nostramo was shielded from its sun by an enormous moon as well as tremendous pollution. As a result, the planet was covered in almost perpetual darkness. Nostramo boasted five major cities, Nostramo Prime through Nostramo Quintus, from which the planet’s vast reserves of naturally occurring adamantium were processed and exported off-world. Society was dominated by a ruling hierarchy and its thugs, and any who protested the status quo were trampled down or killed. Depression was widespread and overpopulation prevented not through war, disease or legislation, but suicide.

The Nostramans were superficially similar to normal humans, save for their lack of irises (the pupil having expanded for better night vision), and albinism, though recessive, was common.

Then the Primarch Konrad Curze arrived. The impact of the infant Primarch's capsule upon Nostramo left a massive tunnel boring almost through to the planet’s core. Curze later adopted the name Night Haunter and decimated the hierarchy’s ranks until he was the sole ruler of the planet. Social equality was enforced through Curze’s horrific acts of retribution, until the Emperor arrived and Curze rejoined his Legion. The arrival of Imperial rule had removed the last shield protecting Nostramo: ignorance. Aware of the existence of other worlds and light, and that these were unreachable, Nostramo descended back into chaos.

After learning of his world's anarchy, Night Haunter arrived with his fleet and concentrated its fire upon the shaft left by his arrival decades earlier. The planet's volatile core did not hold out for long - the planet's unstable tectonics resulted in Nostramo exploding.

Ophelia IV
Imperial World and the base of the Convent Prioris of the Sisters of Battle (Rogue Trader and Warhammer 40K second edition). It is home to the Synod Ministra and is a place of power for the Ecclesiarchy.

Ornsworld
One of the only named worlds that the abhuman race, Ratlings are supposed to originate from, it was attacked during the Gothic War by Abaddon the Despoiler.

Praetoria
Praetoria is a heavily populated Hive World that lies in a system close to the Imperial naval base at Bakka. The overpopulated Hive-Cities of Praetoria are renowned for their squalor and degradation, and produce some of the toughest gangsters on any of the hive worlds in the Imperium. This vast population work as little more than slave-labour in the huge factory complexes of Praetoria, producing the goods that have made the planet (and its rulers) one of the richest in the Imperium, with a huge fleet of merchant craft that trade all over the Segmentum and beyond.

Imperial Guard regiments raised on Praetoria are renowned for their iron discipline and bravery, even in the face of the most overwhelming odds. Much of the Praetorians' fame comes from their infamous last stands and subsequent massacres, rather than more glorious victories. The planetary lords of Praetoria hold it is only through fearsome training and draconian punishments for the most minor infringements that the hive-toughened inhabitants of their planet can be made to follow orders and do as they are told. Whatever one's views on the training methods used, they seem to work, producing troops that are as ferocious on the attack as they are determined in defence.

Games Workshop did, at one time, produce a line of Praetorian Imperial Guard miniatures. They bore a close resemblance to Victorian-era British soldiers.

Prospero
Prospero was the original homeworld of the Thousand Sons Legion of Space Marines and Magnus the Red.

Chosen by settlers for the planets isolated position, although far closer to Terra than many colonies, Prospero had few redeeming qualities - no independent resources, little contact with any outsiders and few sources of nourishment. The only reason for setting a colony there was because it was a very good place to hide, and became such for a large community of psychically talented humans.

During the Great Crusade Prospero had developed into a paradise world. Many of the vast buildings on the planet were massive gold and marble pyramids, although these have only been drawn as such in the CCG game The Horus Heresy. It is depicted as a planet with blue skies and gleaming Egyptianesque architecture. One of the many cities is the capital Tizca, often referred to as the City of Light, where the Thousand Sons held out against the Space Wolves when they were mistakenly declared traitors.

Prospero's 'cleansing' at the hands of the Space Wolves was hastened by the dilapidated state of the planetary defences. As homeworld of a Space Marine Legion, it was standard for the surface of a planet to be dotted by immense defence lasers; sunk into reinforced silos many miles beneath settlements. Orbital fire platforms, automated tracking stations, minefields, as well as a number of the Legion's own starships – All manned continuously and diligently.

The focus of the Thousand Sons, having always been away from the traditional Space Marine role of combat in most forms, led to dangerous weakening of the defence grid. The cavernous subterranean defence lasers were neglected, unmanned and poorly maintained and orbital defences virtually non-existent. As a result, the arrival of the Space Wolves' battle barges went uncontested, their orbit-to-surface ordnance barrages unanswered and their drop-pods unchallenged.

Ironically, whilst the attack was underway, the Thousand Sons focus remained their lore – rushing to save what incalculably precious works they could whilst the righteous, if possibly misplaced retribution of Leman Russ' chapter went unchallenged. Indeed had a defence of Prospero been attempted, more time might have been bought to evacuate the libraries and studies of their ultimately costly work.

The planet eventually became a blasted ruin, picked clean by millennia of looters and rogue traders, declared 'exterminatus' by the Inquisition.

Rogar III
Rogar III is a deathworld featured in the novel "Deathworld" by Steve Lyons. It resembles the deathworld Catachan greatly as it is a world almost entirely covered in dense jungle and also in how the vegetation of the planet grows back rapidly, no matter what happens to it. A Unit of Catachan Jungle Fighters lands to find that the planet evolves with lightning quickness to combat invaders and enemies. What would take other planets thousands of years to evolve into, takes Rogar III a few days to do. The planet becomes more dangerous as the violence of the fighting on its surface escalates, similar to a allergic reaction.

Sarosh
A temperate planet which was the site of resistance to the Imperium's rescue attempts in the early parts of the Great Crusade. Here elements of the Dark Angels fought a creature of the Warp. The creature had been summoned by the fanatical local populace with the murder of millions of people.

Stalinvast
Stalinvast was a hive world covered in coral-like city growths used in the manufacturing of weapons for the Imperium, between which grow vast blue-green jungles filled with teeming life and vicious predators. Stalinvast was subject to a genestealer infestation which was cleared out, at a vast expense of lives, by Inquisitor Harq Obispal. He was given free rein in this by planetary governor Lord Voronov-Vaux who was suffering from a minor hereditary mutation, thus being in no position to argue with a member of the Inquisition. Stalinvast was soon after rendered lifless by an Exterminatus order, using a 'life-eater virus' bombing, given by Inquisitor Jaq Draco. (See below)

The Hydra
The millions of deaths on Stalinvast also served as energy to generate the Hydra, a bizarre Chaos manifestation supposedly designed to help mankind in their battle with Chaos. Obispal was unknowingly being watched by the Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Jac Draco, who subsequently ordered an exterminatus on Stalinvast, but then rescinded the order upon learning that the Hydra had withdrawn from the world. However, the astropath Moma Parsheen secretly sent the message for destruction as vengeance for the suffering she had undergone as a consequence of her profession, and Draco himself was later considered a heretic by his order for the unsanctioned action. The Eldar later used the dead world as the site for an alien ritual due to the calamity which had befallen it.

Tallarn
Tallarn was described in Tallarn Desert Raiders, by Rick Priestley, White Dwarf 185. It is a harsh desert planet in Segmentum Obscurus, and the home of the Imperial Guard's "Tallarn Desert Raiders" regiments.

When it was first discovered by Imperial settlers in the 29th Millennium it was classified as a verdant agri-world. However, around the time of the Horus Heresy, the rebel Iron Warriors legion--intending to destroy all potential resistance before landing--virus-bombed the planet from space, rendering it an inhospitable desert. Only then did the Chaos Space Marines land. Tallarn's few survivors emerged from their underground bunkers to stop the Iron Warriors' invasion.

Soon, reinforcements from both sides arrived. It became clear to the Imperial forces the futility of fighting over a destroyed planet but by then there was no turning back. Although it could not be guessed at the time, the Chaos legion were motivated beyond mere destruction. Since the poisoned environment made it impossible for infantry to operate outside of protective shelter, the only available option of battle was that of armored tank warfare. The largest tank battle in human history erupted on the surface of Tallarn. By the end of it, the Iron Warriors were defeated, and the wreckage of over a million tanks littered the sands.

Approximately twenty years after this, the official Tallarn Desert Raiders military force was formed. These regiments specialised in desert fighting, and were highly adept at ambushing enemy forces in the desert.

The Tallarn Desert Raiders continued their attack on various worlds which had turned to Chaos until sometime around the 30th Millennium, when they were recalled. The "Cursus", a Chaos relic of black stone which had led the Iron Warriors to the world was discovered deep under the desert sands. Immediately after finding this relic both Eldar of the Biel-Tan craftworld and Iron Warriors spilled from the sky once more, to attempt to claim this relic. After months of fighting, the Eldar and Tallarn Desert Raiders formed an alliance and destroyed the Chaos forces.

After their combined victory over the Chaos hordes, both races exchanged their promises of friendship, before the Eldar departed in peace. The Tallarn re-entombed the Chaos relic beneath the sulphur sands and turned their backs on it.

Tartarus
Tartarus was the planet fought over in the computer game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. It was classified a Civilized World that had frequent problems with raids by Orks.

During a terrible invasion, the Blood Ravens's 3rd Company, led by Brother-Captain Gabriel Angelos, were called in to assist. But the situation turned out to be more than just a simple Ork incursion. Long before the time period the game takes place in, the Eldar battled a powerful Daemon of Khorne on the planet, finally, at terrible cost, managing to seal it inside a stone known as the Maledictum. Chaos Space Marines of the Alpha Legion had also come to the planet, seeking to gain power by releasing it; the Ork invasion was in fact instigated by the traitors, for purposes of distracting Imperial forces. The Blood Ravens battled the Orks, Eldar from the Craftworld of Biel-Tan, and the Alpha Legion, and were victorious, but ultimately failed to prevent the release of the Daemon. The Blood Ravens evacuated the planet as the Warp Storm engulfed it, Angelos swearing to track down and destroy the Daemon. It's highly likely that the planet is close to the Eye of Terror, as Gabriel Angelos, Captain of the 3rd company of the Blood Ravens said that: " Tartarus has endured several Black Crusades led by the Terrible Chaos Champions."

T'au
See the History section under Tau (Warhammer 40,000) for more details.

T'au is the homeworld of an alien race known as the Tau. It was discovered and categorised by the Adeptus Mechanicus' Explorator vessel Land's Vision a few thousand years before the emergence of the Tau as a space-faring race. Before the Imperium could cleanse the planet of the then-primitive Tau population, a freak warp storm occurred and effectively sealed the planet and the surrounding region off. In the few thousand years since, the Tau underwent very rapid technological evolution, emerging as a technologically advanced race as the warp storm dissipated.

T'au is described in the Last Chancer novel "Kill Team" as being warm and desertlike. Preference for planets like T'au drives Tau colonization towards certain planets and away from others.

Thracian Primaris
For a time the capital of the Helican subsector in Segmentum Obscurus, Thracian Primaris is a hive world. Its decline followed an atrocity orchestrated by renegade Inquisitor Quixos in 337.M41 and its position of dominance was overtaken by Eustis Majoris.

Titan
Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the legendary homeworld of the Grey Knights chapter. A huge basalt fortress punches through the barren landscape of this harsh world, it is here newly selected 'recruits' are brought, for an extensive program of combat training and faith screening, before initiation into the chapter's attack forces. Further details of the Grey Knights can be found in the Daemonhunters codex.

Tsagualsa
Tsagualsa is a planet on the Eastern Fringe, notable for being the base of the Night Lord's Primarch Night Haunter and his operations in the Horus Heresy and also the location of his death at the hands of the Callidus assassin M'Shen.

Ullanor
During the Great Crusade Ullanor was overrun by Orks, in the largest Ork Waaagh!! ever encountered in Imperial history. Supported by the White Scars and Ultramarines, The Emperor, Horus and the Luna Wolves attacked the planet striking directly at the Ork warlord, and crushed the Waaagh!!. After the battle, the Adeptus Mechanicus levelled a huge area to create a parade ground sufficiently large to stage a Triumph for the massed Imperial forces. It was at this triumph that the Emperor promoted Horus to the rank of Warmaster and announced his intention to return to Earth.

Valhalla
Probably named after the Vikings' heaven, Valhalla, like Tallarn, was once a verdant and beautiful world. Also like Tallarn it suffered a destructive catastrophe: sometime after its discovery by the Imperium, it was hit by a comet. The catastrophic effects of the impact sent the planet into an ice age which, ten thousand years later, is still in place, with temperatures that freeze blood solid and winds that could shear flesh from bones. Valhallan Imperial Guard units are adept at surviving in these conditions.

Valhalla was assaulted by an Ork Waaagh! sometime in the 32nd millennium, where the greenskin horde very nearly took over the planetary food supply; if that had fallen, Valhalla would be doomed. But the tenacity of the defenders destroyed the Waaagh! and saved themselves from annihilation.

Vivaporius
A bridgehead planet that was under threat by the Tyranids, but eventually saved. The plantlife and terrain features in some areas were so large that they posed maneuvering and orientation problems to even the Titans. The Tyranids were not there to strip the planet bare of resources as they usually did, but rather to seize control of lured Eldar and Imperial Titans, having found a way to forcibly overtake the mental links. All in all, Imperial casualties included at least three million Guardsmen, two squads of Ultramarines, and two Titan crews. The Tyranids eventually fled into deep space after their presence in the mental links was forcibly killed off.

Vraks
A world currently in the midst of a rebellion by the PDF supported by the Alpha Legion, World Eaters and Death Guard Leigons and under siege in the main by the regiments of the Death Korps or Krieg and members of the Dark Angels chapter. The war is characterisd by the many siege works thrown up by the Imperials as is customary when the Death Korps are present. The war is detailed in Imperial Armour books 5 and 6.

Xerxes Quintus
Xerxes Quintus is the fifth planet of a harsh white sun. It had lost contact with the Imperium thousands of years before and had no knowledge of the origins of human settlement there or of the Emperor of Mankind. It was an agricultural world harbouring a large percentage of mutants and psykers. This generated a tradition of neighbours raising each other's children so that their parents would not have to condemn their own offspring if they proved to be tainted. The language is a highly bastardized version of High Gothic punctuated by oaths. Of religious beliefs they are heretical, holding no saviour figure but rather a reviling of the God of Change, which is how they saw the actions of Chaos in causing mutation.

It is most notable as the birthplace of Inquisitor Jaq Draco, whose parents were adepts of genetics given a life assignment to helping reabsorb Xerxes Quintus into the Imperium. The planet had been recontacted by the Imperium approximately a century before Jaq's birth and plans were being made to utilise it as an agricultural export world, which would in turn allow exploitation of the mineral wealth of its sister world Quartus.

Yu'Kanesh
Yu'Kanesh  is a Tau desert planet planet being attacked by the imperium in the beginning of the game Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior.