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So I know there are specific cases of singularly special Ogryns making it into the Lore, such as Nork, but aside from him, I've almost never read a book about imperial guard where they are "part of the actual fighting forces". Cain mentions them as a passing joke, saying things like "This person smells like one" or something, but they almost never show up in the lore. Are they an extreme rarity? Bullgryns I assume are, being to Ogryns what Scions are to standard troopers. So what level do they actually get used at? Regimental? Even the Gaunt books don't mention them ever showing up in any of the major battles, not as body guards, or shock troops. Were they created soley for the game, and left out of the lore entirely?

I mean, the same could be said for Ratlings.

Second:

I know Power armor is now Power-ED armor, and that normal humans can't use Power Armor, but that sometimes they use powered armor. But Sisters of Battle and Silence use Power Armor correct? So when Inquisitor Vail uses "power armor" in the Cain books, is it "powered armor, or Power Armor? I'm confused by the inconsistent use.

Lastly: When an Imperial planetary Governor is on a world being attacked by a hostile force, what powers do they wield in summoning nearby Guard not part of their planet? If I am totally caught up on my tithe, and everything is in the goodbooks, and Tau attack, can I command a passing fleet of guard to assist? Or does it have to be a request? What powers do planetary governors have in their own systems, on demanding imperial aid?

On ogryns- they do seem to be relatively rare, and only some worlds have ogyrn populations- there are two near Armageddon, for example, and one has feral ogryns that are used more as an area denial weapon than a tual combatants.

Abhumans are typically recruited into auxilia, and these are generally divided up and individual units attached to formations that need them. Rarely, an auxilia might be deployed on mass. They are treated as rare specialists.

I am aware of no distinction between power and powered armour. The term power armour is generally used to refer to both the advanced models used by the Astartes and the versions used by humans like Inquisitors and Sisters of Battle. The only chief difference is the absence of the black carapace interface on the human models.

I think planetary governors are subservient to the Guard and can only request aid, not order it. Technically, the Guard outranks a PDF, and planetary governors are the chief of their PDF. For political reasons, PDF command is normally integrated more based on rank during actual wars rather than the planetary governor being subservient to an IG private, but I think it remains the case that a planetary governor could not countermand the deployment orders of passing Guard regiments.

I have wondered a few times why Herman von Strab had the authority to waste a titan legion during the Second War for Armageddon, so perhaps they do officially have command over forces once on-world. However, this may be an unusual example where High Princeps Mannheim found themselves in an unviable situation even if they did not march to their death, and von Strab was declared a criminal on the wars conclusion.

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
So I know there are specific cases of singularly special Ogryns making it into the Lore, such as Nork, but aside from him, I've almost never read a book about imperial guard where they are "part of the actual fighting forces". Cain mentions them as a passing joke, saying things like "This person smells like one" or something, but they almost never show up in the lore. Are they an extreme rarity? Bullgryns I assume are, being to Ogryns what Scions are to standard troopers. So what level do they actually get used at? Regimental? Even the Gaunt books don't mention them ever showing up in any of the major battles, not as body guards, or shock troops. Were they created soley for the game, and left out of the lore entirely?

I mean, the same could be said for Ratlings.

Ogryns and Ratlings don't make for particularly interesting POV characters nor do they interact with POV characters well.

I know Power armor is now Power-ED armor, and that normal humans can't use Power Armor, but that sometimes they use powered armor. But Sisters of Battle and Silence use Power Armor correct? So when Inquisitor Vail uses "power armor" in the Cain books, is it "powered armor, or Power Armor? I'm confused by the inconsistent use.

Powered armour doesn't get used often, at least not in anything I've read in Codexes or BL novels. The difference between Astartes/Custodes PA and human PA is that the latter doesn't have the Black Carapce that turns the suit into a form of second skin. The reason Astartes/Custodes are so good in PA is because it essentially becomes a part of them, rather than something they wear.

Lastly: When an Imperial planetary Governor is on a world being attacked by a hostile force, what powers do they wield in summoning nearby Guard not part of their planet? If I am totally caught up on my tithe, and everything is in the goodbooks, and Tau attack, can I command a passing fleet of guard to assist? Or does it have to be a request? What powers do planetary governors have in their own systems, on demanding imperial aid?

Yes but also no. It's fuzzy. Very fuzzy.

So I understand, that a governor of a planet is still small potatoes to even the lowliest naval commander, but it's symbiotic isn't it? I mean, are the Imperial guard within their rights to tell the governor to pound sand, deal with it yourself? Obviously the Sisters and Astartes are a different level, but the Guard exist to basically fight the threats and protect the worlds.

I am fairly positive the equivalent of the planetary leader of Armageddon or (Insert Critical Forge world here) would be well within their rights to tell even Warmaster; "Listen up, you let us fall to the enemy, then next week you'll be fighting heretics AND bane blades/Titans, so get the bloody hell over here and help out!"

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
So I understand, that a governor of a planet is still small potatoes to even the lowliest naval commander, but it's symbiotic isn't it? I mean, are the Imperial guard within their rights to tell the governor to pound sand, deal with it yourself? Obviously the Sisters and Astartes are a different level, but the Guard exist to basically fight the threats and protect the worlds.

I am fairly positive the equivalent of the planetary leader of Armageddon or (Insert Critical Forge world here) would be well within their rights to tell even Warmaster; "Listen up, you let us fall to the enemy, then next week you'll be fighting heretics AND bane blades/Titans, so get the bloody hell over here and help out!"

Like a lot of the Imperium it seems to depend on a combination of personal clout and the importance of whatever you’re in command of.

So the governor of Armageddon is giving orders to Titan legions, but in the Cain books you see his regiment able to declare Martial Law on the backwaters and overrule the governor, but actually have to work with the leadership on the larger ones.

There are some Imperial orgs which have policing governors explicitly in their remit (e.g. Arbites and Inquisition), but even what they can get away with depends on their personal clout and that of those involved (with the internal politics of the Inquisition especially being infamously ruthless and labyrinthine, though perhaps that’s the only reasonable way to self-police nominally unlimited authority).

Again, yes and no. Political clout, planned orders and other shenanigans all play a part.
If an Ork fleet suddenly materialises in-system then in-system assets will be utilised and a call sent out for more aid if needed.

There is also a difference between de jure power and de facto power. A Guard colonel may technically outrank a planetary governor, but in practice the planetary governor may be supplying the colonel with all their food, ammunition, spare parts, and have a PDF larger than the regiment. Sometimes it is politically smarter to not do things by the book if they can make you pay for it. Wait for the right moment to spend political capital, like Gaunt at Vervunhive.

1. If you haven't already, read Wraithbone Phoenix. The main characters are a ratling and ogyrn duo who deserted from the guard. We only see glimpses of their time in the IG, but it does give you few clues as to how that works.

The impression I get is that ogryn are common enough that your average guardsman seems to know what they are, but rare enough that they don't seem to appear in most BL novels. Given that ogryn are notoriously difficult to transport due to their claustrophobia, it could simply be that they're deployed differently and generally segregated from the non-ogryn troops. So they might be kind of like rough riders; not *that* rare, but different enough in how they're deployed and utilized that they're not someone every guardsman is shoulder-to-shoulder with at some point.

2. Pretty sure "powered armor" is just power armor. There's at least one book where a (wounded) sister of battle essentially gets trapped inside her own armor because the power generator is damaged and the suit becomes dead weight. So sororitas armor seems to essentially just be marine armor without the benefits of the black carapace, and it stands to reason that most power armor used by other unaugmented humans would be similar.

3. I vaguely recall a few different scenes where imperial big wigs present on a planet have to hash out who's going to be primarily responsible for command. So I imagine where an imperial governor lands in the pecking order during a battle depends largely on how those types of meetings go. If he can make a good case for himself and show that he knows his planet's defenses and how to use them, he's probably left with a lot of direct authority. If he's timid and just relieved someone with battlefield know-how showed up, he's probably happy to be treated as a small fish, most likely kept safe somewhere for morale's sake.

As for requesting/demanding help in the first place... I was under the impression that the guard don't normally wander around answering distress calls the way marines do. If a regiment is sent somewhere, they were probably sent by someone of higher rank who received word of the distress call and elected to send them there intentionally. If the regiment happened to be around (resupplying while getting ready to deploy elsewhere), I imagine the leader of the regiment would have some say in whether they stick around or not, but it's probably the sort of decision that risks getting them in trouble either way.

Ran away when orks attacked because you're supposed to be fighting tau next week? The comissar might have something to say about your cowardice. Stuck around to fight orks thus leaving the tau unopposed? How dare you disregard your deployment orders to chase glory?

The arm of the Adeptus Terra where Planetary Governors sit is basically parallel to the Departmento Munitorum, where Strategic Command of the Guard sits. Guard and Naval battlegroups are entirely under the command of the relevant commander. The commander will have their orders and will need to carry them out, otherwise they will be executed for desertion. The two parties are just not in each others chain of command, and therefore one cannot formally instruct the other.

As with all things Imperium, and as noted above, it comes down to whether you get caught, whether you deliver success for the Imperium, and how powerful your benefactors are. Pure politics.

If an imperial commander diverts from their mission, saves the planet, and then manages to still go on and complete the original mission with what they have left, then promotions a,l round. If they don't complete the original mission then they had better hope the grateful governor or a handy benefactor can keep the vultures away. If they fail at both then they are probably doomed unless they have some serious friends.

In many cases I imagine that any commander receiving such a request will just kick it up to Sector Command to make the decision as to whether they should divert or not.