Imperial Citizen NPC Factions

[ThePenitentOne]

I don't know how much the idea of Imperial citizens as models appeals to the broad playerbase- the conversation comes up now and again on forums: people need citizen models for dioramas, or objective markers, etc. For me, this kind of world building has always been a part of GW's appeal. I remember looking at Dark Future models in White Dwarf and thinking about using them to expand what I could represent on a table. I remember some of the Forgeworld non-combat support units and feeling the same way. As a final source of inspiration, I cite the Citadel Journal's Covert X campaign and their Urban Infiltration rules, where you could buy stands of Imperial Citizens to place on the board, which would move randomly (via control rolls every turn to determine which player could move them). The schtick was that the Infiltrator Units of Covert X, if left in reserve, could subsequently choose to emerge from any stand of citizens on the board.

 

So if someone wanted to take it further, what would Imperial citizens look like, what might their functions be, and how would you shape and define them into distinctive groups?

 

Necromunda does some of the heavy lifting for me- distinctions between underhivers, gangs, and spyrers, plus the dramatis personae like guilders, bounty hunters, agitators and guides provide a template. In Necromunda, each gang has a theme, and the gangs are there to be the meat and potatoes of the game. Outlanders and Spyrers serve as exotics that still function like gangs. And then dramatis personae serve to both round out the world and spice up the groups they attach to in order to add uniqueness.

 

Now if we're  going to think about Imperial citizens in 40k, I think we have to figure out what purpose they serve, because they certainly are not meant to be viable opponents for actual trained military forces. For me, I see a few possibilities: first, they are the occupants of territory that has not yet been claimed by a military force in map-based play. Second, they are a source of recruits for various factions- I think of units like Penal troops, or Conscripts... But also Cultists (both loyal and Heretical), Brood Brothers, etc. And of course, they are a part of world building as well.

 

The system I've used in the Chronicle is just one way of fleshing out imperial citizens. I knew that the Genestealer Cults were going to be playing a big role, so I figured I'd design the citizens according to the GSC spheres of influence. So this is what I ended up with:

 

Bannerjee = Industry

Tavinder = Community

Kronar = Religion

Jendaro = Military

Syrinx = Resources

Mercer = Politics

 

Each of these subfactions can own and control territory in the campaign, and these associations provide a basis for determinig which territories each house would likely control. I came up with this:

 

 

It's important to be able to represent these citizens with models so that the GSC or Chaos Cultists can infect or subvert them.  I haven't gone that far yet, but I did think about how some forces might be expressed on the battlefield. So for example, House Kronar's ties to religion make them an ideal ally to Sisters of Battle, while the Jendaro would be suitable to the Guard. 

 

 

Edited May 20 by ThePenitentOne