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Can imperial citizens travel freely throughout the galaxy? Or do they need to apply for a permit?

The average citizen could barely dream of leaving their planet. There are many references to pilgrims, who seem to do nothing but travel whether toward Holy Terra or along the Marcharian trail of conquest, but I was always under the impression that only the children of high ranking planetary officials could do something like that.

I tend to think of the average citizens like Feudal serfs, in that it may very well be illegal for them to leave the land, city, country, planet that they are bound to. While there certainly are some garden worlds that resemble civilized society, where the people aren't engaged in mining or back breaking labor or munitions assembly, the Imperium doesn't seem to be the sort of place to grant vacation time.

Imperial citizens cannot freely travel throughout the galaxy. The average citizen would never leave their planet. Many planets will have no clue that such a thing is even a possibility and live as feudal serfs or barbarians or tribals or something else. Even in advanced planets such as Hive Cities, Imperial Worlds, Factory Worlds, and Forgeworlds, the life of humanity is arduous with only a select few managing to travel. Even many nobles will never get to travel. The only possible exception is garden worlds as mentioned.

Pilgrimages occur but any rabble (poor and the sort) likely sacrifice all they have and often will die on the trips to or at. Even more will have no real way to return.

No, besides pilgrims that basically sign away their life, the only individuals traveling the galaxy are high ranking nobility possibly, high ranking tech priests (if they don't just stay on their planet), Guardsman, and Imperial Citizens that have been selected by a high ranking member, examples being inquisitor acolytes. Even with these, there is a large limit. The only people that get to travel freely are individuals such as Rogue Traders and Inquisitors, a rather rare bunch. Even then, the former gets a contract permitting his family to do it whilst an Inquisitor is permitted to by a mixture of being an Inquisitor and his own renown. Besides that, trade is planned and ships are mobilized to fight as the Munitorum so demands. Trade Ships and RT would be most prone to assisting the few nobles that ever leave their planet.

Sure they can.

Sure they can.

The imperium is a behemoth, it does not acknowledge that individual citizens exist. More to the point, individual citizens don't exist. You can be a citizen of a planet or a member of an organization that is part of the imperium, but the imperium only really recognizes big entities, things that last more than a generation and have some kind of impact; talk about blinks of God's eye.

The restriction that exists is that only the Imperium may truly own interstellar ships, and merchants who own ships really just own a license, or lease a license. Planetary governors the closest things to basic citizens. They are "Imperial Commanders" and they get to run planets but are forbidden from owning interstellar ships. Rogue Traders are often the reverse.

The basic resident on an imperial urban / industrial planet can get on a transport and go where he likes, I just can't imagine why he would or how he would afford it. Mainly it would be that he gets a job, and that job happens to be for an outfit that is colonizing another planet, or similar.

 StarTrotter wrote:
Pilgrimagers

Like... Pilgrims? Or do you mean a different word.

pelicaniforce wrote:
Sure they can.

Sure they can.

The imperium is a behemoth, it does not acknowledge that individual citizens exist. More to the point, individual citizens don't exist. You can be a citizen of a planet or a member of an organization that is part of the imperium, but the imperium only really recognizes big entities, things that last more than a generation and have some kind of impact; talk about blinks of God's eye.

The restriction that exists is that only the Imperium may truly own interstellar ships, and merchants who own ships really just own a license, or lease a license. Planetary governors the closest things to basic citizens. They are "Imperial Commanders" and they get to run planets but are forbidden from owning interstellar ships. Rogue Traders are often the reverse.

The basic resident on an imperial urban / industrial planet can get on a transport and go where he likes, I just can't imagine why he would or how he would afford it. Mainly it would be that he gets a job, and that job happens to be for an outfit that is colonizing another planet, or similar.

 StarTrotter wrote:
Pilgrimagers

Like... Pilgrims? Or do you mean a different word.

*facedesk* Yeah that was the worst derp up I've done yet ha ha ha.

Short version- time consuming and expensive.. Prepare to spend your life saving for several trips and do some unsavoury thugs to afford the last few jumps..

There are three MAIN types of space travellers
Rouge traders- prepare to pay big bucks to get on.. Whilst they are common enough to see them once or twice a lifetime (especially in a big world) they usually make money from obscure agendas and a destinations which most haven't heard of.. These guys are the true nobles of IoM (think yacht trading black market goods) and don't need the fare.

Merchants- These are like our modern cargo ships.. Except there are poor and rich versions depending on the cargo and clients.. most have or make space to fit passengers by the 100s if not 10,000s and depending on the planets can be relatively cheap (like a life's savings of a middle class citizen for one trip..) they however have predictable destinations traveled for hundreds of generations.. So to get to a shrine world you might have to use two or three journeys lasting many many years and maybe 1-2 warp jump if your not lucky..

Last are the Imperial ships.. And whilst as common as merchants for the most part.. The only way to get on them is to be smuggled, have official business.. Or get evacuated from a war zone.. Which they would be near starving in overcrowded conditions and get dumped unceremoniously onto the nearest random world.. Throwing both citizens and immigrants into chaos!


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But no .. No permit... Unless the world their travelling to/from is a particularly tyrannical dictator.. But the Imperium doesn't give two Hruds..