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Whats the fluff behind PDF, or Planetary Defence Forces. Suppose I want to make an army out of them, what codex would I use, what models etc?

PDF are the armed forces assembled and controlled by individual planetary governments in the Imperium. The Imperial Guard are drawn from PDF troops. PDF that haven't been inducted into the Imperial Guard would closely resemble IG, if missing a little training, sometimes not as well equipped, and lacking certain personnel sourced from the Departmento Munitorum (proper stormtroopers, commissars) and others that aren't generally available domestically such as abhuman auxilia.

Models and rules => IG
The PDF as the planetary defense force is the military raised to defend said planet and depends on the abilities of the local planetary governor to establish recrutement and supply equipment to keep a force ready to respond to threats.
Because of this, I'd guess van straab is one of the worst examples of a planetary governor getting them slaughtered...
Others fare better and usually the imperial authorities will unseat any governor who fails to provide the neccessary forces not only for a possible tithe of IG but also a half-way decent PDF.
The PDF is built on local ressources and may use different wargear than the IG. The IG is standardized and supplied by the munitorum, the PDF is sometimes using older varients than IG or traditional gear the IG wouldn't consider to field.
PDF could use autoguns for example, instead of lasguns.
I'd guess it all depends on the investments made, like real military sometimes they get every shiny they want and somewhere else they are cut down to a bunch of militia, barely able to keep themselves upright.

In the fluff, one of the IG regiments actually became the PDF after they won the right for settling on the planet after 10 years of service. So they could use lasguns, chimera transports etc but they might be far worse for wear though than exisitng regiments as the regiment is more or less disbanded. So personally just use the IG codex and make up an interesting back story.

The 'PDF' of each planet does vary greatly. On some planets it may be little more than men in padded jackets clutching shock pikes, with the elite of the planet riding into battle on horseback, clad like 'knights' of c12-c15 Europe. On the far-end of the scale the PDF of a planet may be better trained, equipped and motivated than most actual Guard regiments!

With a million worlds, give or take a handfull, you could use the Guard Codex and come up with almost whatever you wanted.

Some even use Rhinos. I guess sometimes an Arbite will lead them as well.

Sparks_Havelock wrote:On the far-end of the scale the PDF of a planet may be better trained, equipped and motivated than most actual Guard regiments!

At least going by the Codex descriptions, PDF's are liable to be conscripted into the Imperial Guard - and the better equipped and trained a regiment is, the more "attractive" it becomes for the Munitorum to requisition this one. Unless the local lord is hiding it from the officials, of course, an act that would lead to charges of high treason were it ever to be uncovered...

As far as vehicles are concerned, even "industrialized" PDF formations were said to use locally produced models rather than what an actual Imperial Guard regiment is receiving from Mechanicus Forgeworlds upon being raised.* I would say that you could easily do "counts as" versions of classic IG vehicles, though. Basically, a PDF unit would be your license to get even more creative on how to make the army look. And that's saying something, considering the range that IG regiments can take!

*: A freshly raised Imperial Guard regiment is recruited from the PDF of one world, retaining its uniforms and its small arms - if their ranged weapons aren't lasguns, they get swapped to this tho. The regiment then is shipped to the nearest Mechanicus Forgeworld where it takes on (additional) weapons, munitions, and vehicles. Then their troopship brings them to a staging area where they meet up with other Imperial forces to form a fleet. During the entire time, the troops are undergoing basic training aboard their transport. PDF units from civilized worlds have an advantage here as they mostly already have a modicum of military experience. I would assume that the training onboard the troopship focuses entirely on very basic stuff ("how to shoot and reload your lasgun").

This opinion is based entirely on studio material, though, most notably the Imperial Guard codices of the various editions. Licensed/outsourced publications may disagree with it. As always, it comes down to which source(s) you'd want to follow. Unfortunately, not all are compatible with each other.

Would PDFs have commissars?

I don't think so since they get attached to a regiment, but I suppose it could be possible. They'd at least interact with the PDF in a prolonged campaign provided the PDF of that planet is still alive and loyal.

In either way a Commissar is not assigned to a regiment that comes from the same planet as them if I remember correctly. So if they are with the PDF they come from a different planet anyway.

They'd get a Commissar for the whole planet, according to Ciaphas Cain, some would even get a Commissar for the whole system.

Most PDF won't know they have a Commissar.

cadbren wrote:Would PDFs have commissars?

I don't think studio material ever discussed this detail. Consequently, the licensed books say "yes" and "no" depending on which one you'd look at. As a counter-example to the aforementioned Cain books (who don't seem to care much for existing fluff concerning Imperial organisations in general and the Commissariat in particular) I could mention FFG's version of the 40k RPG (which admittedly introduces a lot of contradictions to GW stuff as well), where they specifically say that PDF's dont have Commissars - unless the local governor has introduced them by himself (this setting's Calixis sector has some sort of local "PDF Commissariat" whose members are loyal to the Lord Sector).

In short: the answer is up to you.

Just like their officers and weaponry, any "commissars" would likely be locally produced, e.g. not actually part of the commissariat. But they may certainly have political officers that fulfill the same function. A wealthy world might even hire a retired commissars for the duty.

As has been said, PDF forces vary wildly. lt is simply a catch-all term for the local, non-imperial controlled militaries of human worlds. Some may be better equipped the the IG, the equivalent of the sororitas in gear and training. The most wealthy and influential with contacts in the ad-mech may be able to field the equivalent of Skitarii, paying to have them augmented by the AdMech. Equipment and training is limited only by the local governors influence.

Others will be medieval equivalents, or mongolian hordes, or like some other army in antiquity.

Most will lie between these two extremes.

A PDF force can be almost anything. Fluff it however you want.

The only in-game representation of PDF I've seen is in the Tyrant's Legion (FW) army (marines supplemented by guard, or the reverse, depending on how you build it). PDF were roughly the same stats as conscripts.

Forge World (planets, not the company) PDF are the Skitarii (sp?), which are best represented by storm troopers.

Death Korps of Kreig might work, since they're slow and land-based.

Probably using IG with your own fluff would be fine. I wouldn't expect a lot of veterans or abhumans without a good reason behind it, but, otherwise, there isn't much that wouldn't fit.

spiralingcadaver wrote:Probably using IG with your own fluff would be fine. I wouldn't expect a lot of veterans or abhumans without a good reason behind it, but, otherwise, there isn't much that wouldn't fit.

Aye. The Imperial Guard troop tithe is usually raised from PDF, and the "civilized" 40K worlds will have a pretty well-equipped PDF. They might not have too many transports or all the heavy equipment, but they'll have lasguns and common heavy weapons. And if the world is in a spot with regular trouble (ork raids, pirates, rebellions etc) the PDF is sure to have some experience too. The fluff about how guards look down on PDF is in many cases just snobbery instead of anything to do with performance.

Use the IG codex and whatever models you want. A PDF is just like a Guard force except it is not centrally trained and equipped by the Adeptus Munitorum, unstead being trained and funded from their own world. A PDF trooper could be as good as a storm troopers or worse than a conscript. For a stereotypical (the PDF tried to do X but were killed to a man type PDF) PDF I would suggest using Cadians as conscripts, your army will suck, but it will fight like a stereotypical PDF and die to a man.

Take this for example.

Cadia is basically one REALLY big PDF. Really, there's no difference between the IG and the PDF, it all just depends on where they're from, who's training them, and how well connected the planet is to the larger Imperium. Short and sweet.

Cadia is a big exception to the rule, though.

Personally, for a PDF I'd go nuts with vehicle customization, simply because PDF will often use local stuff that you're not going to find in a "proper" IG regiment.

Maybe even use Necromunda heavy stubbers as counts-as heavy bolters ("they're loaded with explosive rounds") and stuff like that.

In addition to other suggestions a good way to represent a PDF list might be a liberal use of conscripts to represent the large numbers of inexperienced troopers.

The PDF are an instance of gawdawful writing at the hands of gawdawful writers. It was supposed to be a serious instance of grimdark, showing how dangerous the galaxy is and how millions of normal Infantry men would merely be a speed bump to the villain of the week. However, because they handle the brutal butchering of millions of men and women with families and children with ONE fething SENTENCE the PDF instead becomes fething hilariously poorly written. It's even worse when the PDF is killed to a man, but a squad or two of Space Marines suddenly swoops in and saves the day at the last minute.

Cadia also happens to be the trademark IG regiments of Warhammer 40k. Chances are, if you've seen anything with the IG, you've seen a Cadian.

Moreover, in retrospect to my last comment, I've also thought of another example of a notable PDF that's practically the same force as the IG:

The Armageddon Steel Legion is constantly fighting Orks on its home world, and though it may be some time between wars, they are about as common as the Dark Crusades Cadia faces.

Apart from that, I agree completely with Lynata, especially with the variation of both vehicles, and unique weapons planetary lords might be able to buy from Rogue Traders that other IG may not have access to.

If you do want a stereotypical PDF force I suggest an army list like

CCS

PCS
Infantry Squad
Infantry Squad
50 Conscripts
(Repeat as needed)

DemetriDominov wrote:The Armageddon Steel Legion is constantly fighting Orks on its home world, and though it may be some time between wars, they are about as common as the Dark Crusades Cadia faces.

On a sidenote, does the Armageddon Steel Legion really qualify as PDF? It's a regiment from the IG Codex, and the force disposition chart for the Third War references 120 regiments of "Armageddon Hive Militia" that exist alongside 25 Steel Legion regiments.

Although it's perhaps better to say that Armageddon is indeed a second big exception to the rule. The Imperial Guard is effectively in command of Armageddon, and handles its defence. Unlike Cadia, however, I would expect Armageddon's state of affairs to be temporary, and "return to normal" once the Orks are eradicated. The Steel Legion, which was buffed by the Munitorium in anticipation of the Orks' return, would slowly but surely be drained by sending no-longer-needed regiments to Imperial Crusades elsewhere without raising replacements of the same superior training and equipment status. Give it another 50-100 years and Armageddon looks like any other industrialized Imperial world in terms of defences.

Either way, it does deserve mention here.

(and yeah, I would suggest Conscripts for PDF troops - unless they hail from a world where they actually have combat experience from some civil war, which is possible, as the IoM doesn't care for such local matters as long as the tithes are paid)

I think Armageddon Steel Legions are like any other Imperial Guard regiment, the only difference is that instead of being shipped off-world they are directed to the defence of the planet they were raised on.

Hazardous Harry wrote:I think Armageddon Steel Legions are like any other Imperial Guard regiment, the only difference is that instead of being shipped off-world they are directed to the defence of the planet they were raised on.

i would think they were like Cadians in that some regiments do get shipped out to elsewhere but the majority are thrown into the immediate warzone

Aye, that makes sense. Would suck if IG players could only field them against Orks.

That's what I was getting at btw. The first line of defense is the PDF of the planet the IG regiments are raised on. All IG forces are commanded by the Administratum, including the PDF through planetary governors. All I'm saying is that the line between IG regiments and PDF's from the same homeworld are blurred.

The PDF tried to answer your question but were killed to a man

Couldn't resist

DemetriDominov wrote:That's what I was getting at btw. The first line of defense is the PDF of the planet the IG regiments are raised on. All IG forces are commanded by the Administratum, including the PDF through planetary governors. All I'm saying is that the line between IG regiments and PDF's from the same homeworld are blurred.

Blurred but by and large IG are better equipped, trained and (Usually) led.

PDF Have Commissars like every other Imperial Fighting group. They are trained on planet by the Commisariat and not always Scholam trained.

PDF that are more likely to have Commissars are ones that were made from old guard regiments. But PDF do have them, especially hives.

Like the VPHC from the Guant's Ghosts book "Necropolis"

PDF do not have commissars as standard.