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Who rules over the Imperium apart from the empoper?

The High Lords of Terra if I remember correctly. They are a council that rules in his place while he is unable to.

The Emperor is obviously the ruler of the Imperium, but the High Lords of Terra act in his name.

They're generally made from the most powerful of the organisations in the Imperium, but aren't necessarily the leader of that faction, just a figurehead.

Quoted from the Lexicanum, as to who makes up the High Lords:

The following nine offices are almost always represented as High Lords:

* The Master of the Administratum
* The Inquisitorial Representativea
* The Ecclesiarch of the Adeptus Ministorum
* The Fabricator-General of the Adeptus Mechanicus
* The Grand Provost Marshal of the Adeptus Arbites
* The Paternoval Envoy of the Navigators
* The Master of the Astronomican
* The Grand Master of the Officio Assassinorum
* The Master of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica

The remaining three positions are most likely to be filled from among the following powerful leaders:

* Lord Commander of the Segmentum Solar
* Lord Commander Militant of the Imperial Guard
* Cardinal(s) of the Holy Synod of Terra
* The Abbess Sanctorum of the Adepta Sororitas
* Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes
* Chancellor of the Estate Imperium
* The Speaker for the Chartist Captains

Other have answered quite well. The Emperor is still on top figuratively, but the High Lords of Terra are the current rulers of the Imperium, acting in the Emperor's Name.

Iirc, they were formed by the Emperor in order to assist him in ruling the Imperium, doing things like running the beuraucracy and other such things, but with his confinement in the Golden Throne they've kinda....starte going off a bit of a bastardization of what the Emperor originally wanted.

spya wrote:Who rules over the Imperium apart from the empoper?

Actually, the Empoper is a Tau device. When the current Space Pope dies, it installs the new Space Pope into his Space Pope Chair. This process is known as "empoping".

If the Space Pope is a Bad Space Pope, or if he got really fat before he died, the Tau may have to resort to the Depoper to remove the Space Pope from his Space Pope Chair. This device is activated by chanting "Pope on!" [clap, clap] "Pope off!" [clap, clap] "Depoper!" A single Callidus assassin with a good grasp of the Tau language could thus remove the Space Pope from power, provided her transformed hands sounded identical to actual Tau hands when clapping.

Da Butcha wrote:

spya wrote:Who rules over the Imperium apart from the empoper?

Actually, the Empoper is a Tau device. When the current Space Pope dies, it installs the new Space Pope into his Space Pope Chair. This process is known as "empoping".

If the Space Pope is a Bad Space Pope, or if he got really fat before he died, the Tau may have to resort to the Depoper to remove the Space Pope from his Space Pope Chair. This device is activated by chanting "Pope on!" [clap, clap] "Pope off!" [clap, clap] "Depoper!" A single Callidus assassin with a good grasp of the Tau language could thus remove the Space Pope from power, provided her transformed hands sounded identical to actual Tau hands when clapping.

Dis iz t'rrable. Rull t'rrable.

Da Butcha wrote:
Actually, the Empoper is a Tau device. When the current Space Pope dies, it installs the new Space Pope into his Space Pope Chair. This process is known as "empoping".

If the Space Pope is a Bad Space Pope, or if he got really fat before he died, the Tau may have to resort to the Depoper to remove the Space Pope from his Space Pope Chair. This device is activated by chanting "Pope on!" [clap, clap] "Pope off!" [clap, clap] "Depoper!" A single Callidus assassin with a good grasp of the Tau language could thus remove the Space Pope from power, provided her transformed hands sounded identical to actual Tau hands when clapping.

I thought Lobo was the new Space Pope?