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I was wondering what is the highest political or military position a non-noble and non-psychic person can reach, assuming their world is not a recruitment base for any SM chapter.
The peak of political would be the High Lords of Terra, the head of the Ecclesiarchy and the Master of Assassins, but I feel these may be very inbred and only for nobility.
Even a planetary Governor seems unlikely to be open to someone born in the bottom of a hive or a farmer.
An army or naval commander may be possible within the military, but again may require noble birth.
My best guesses are an Inquisitor may be possible, if unlikely for the vast majority, otherwise a Commissar.

Fun thing about the breadth of the 40k universe is that really most anything could happen, and we can write just about anything if it doesn't contradict established lore. Take Sebastian Thor, for example; a simple priest born on some planet in the middle of nowhere who eventually became Ecclesiarch. Much of humanity will likely live short, unpleasant lives, but anything is possible for individuals.

Daemon Prince.

^^ Erm, by the time they get to "daemon prince" they aren't really normal mortals anymore.

nareik wrote:Daemon Prince.

chromedog wrote:^^ Erm, by the time they get to "daemon prince" they aren't really normal mortals anymore.

It's true that they aren't mortal (and probably aren't even in control of their minds or their actions by the time they get there), but it is still technically achievable by a mortal and arguably one of highest (if not, the highest) position a mortal can attain. If we consider them retaining their humanity, I would have to say the peak would be one of the HLoT.

The other thing is that Stonebeard is right: As long as it doesn't break the canon lore, then anything can happen (however unlikely).

The inquisition is definitely the organisation that is most open to recruiting based on talent/skill/luck.

Comissars are typically recruited from among the Schola Progenium (spelling?), that is to mean they have been orphanaged at young age when their parents died performing some suitably heoric deed for the imperium. So not really an "everyday background".

Planetary governor, or even sector governor, is definitely reachable. The Imperium at large doesn't really care about who is governor as long as tithes are paid and psykers rounded up. So an underhive scum that starts her own gang and successively controls more and more of the hive, then planet etc...

Rogue Traders are technically more powerful outside of the imperium than inside. But a Rogue Trader-chart can be inherited or traded or handed over to a talented individual, so that is definitely accessible in theory.

It's an interesting question because both social, economic and political stangation AND the deeds and fame of unlikely individuals are central themes in the 40k-setting. So there is definitely room!

The 'shortcut' that a lot of people get to power is the Schola Progenium - technically Progenii are orphans, either by war or by their parents being shipped off somewhere so far away they might as well be dead.

Despite the lack of family connections, you do get doors opened for progenii and particularly in the Administratum, Commissariat and Ecclesiarchy.

The downside is that the Commissariat is more or less a closed school - as far as we know the Officio Prefectus recruits exclusively from the scholams, so it's not open to a 'normal' person.

As noted, the High Lords - and their surrounding Peers Of The Imperium like Lords Militant and Lord Admirals are very much nobility-driven - indeed, they and planetary governors are largely what the 'nobility' of the Imperium is. There are occasional worlds where the Planetary Governor is chosen from the populace or even (gasp) elected, but they're a rarity.

The Inquisition is the best route to the 'highest point' in the Imperium - not the safest, or the sanest, or one you can choose to join, but unlike the Commissariat, recruits can come from anywhere, and whilst there is enough political faction-fighting, it's not Dynastic like the High Lords or the Admiralty.

You will find an inquisitor who started as a hive ganger in the ass end of nowhere and got caught up in an ongoing Inquisitorial operation far more often than any other Peer of the Imperium having such 'low-born' origins.

Because the AdMech recruits for talent rather than birth, you can go a long way in that organisation from very humble beginnings as well - although you generally have to be in the right place at the right time to even get noticed.

For example, Abrehem Locke was an ordinary dockworker with a pair of inherited cyber-eyes that just happened to be noospherically enabled. His origins were humble, but he got lucky, and ended up a grand prophet of the Mechanicum.

True.

One problem, though is that many entry-level Mechanicus positions often involve you being so comprehensively modified for the task (not servitor-ized but not all that far short in some cases - see mining rig augmetics, etc) that any future promotion is unlikely.

After posing this question I was reading Armageddon by ADB and in the first few chapters the Pinceps Majoris mentions she is from a dodgy Hive so she certainly had made it very high up. She even has a Black Templar Reclusiarch paying her respect with no issues. She pilots an Emperor Titan so while she cant do so alone, she does command more personal power than any individual. Even a Daemon Prince.

Well, Creed was a foundling in the ruins of a warscape, and he rose to be the leader of the Cadian military, so that's basically an unknown person to sector ruler with the might of the Cadian military at your command. That's pretty high-end power spectrum.

Charged with the duty of making sure the Eye of Terror doesn't vomit Chaos all over the realspace, and being successful.

Excluding the "noble" titles like High Lord, Planetary Governor and the like, some of the things a regular person can become:

High-ranking member of the Adeptus Mechanicus
High-ranking member of the Administratum (if you don't think bureaucrats can be powerful, you haven't paid attention)
High-ranking member of the Adeptus Arbites
The Ecclesiarch
Lord Inquisitor
Lord-General Militant
Lord Admiral
Rogue Trader

Technically, navigators are direct vassals of the Emperor, so a high position in one of the navigator houses could be seen as the equivalent to the High Lords of Terra, or at least the High Lords would have no authority over you.

Inquisitor's are supremely powerful, the single most powerful beings in the Imperium. They often have humble origins as they were orphans inducted into the Schola Progenium

Definitely agree with a high-ranking Magos or Inquisitor of some kind.

But after skim-reading this, nobody has suggested the title of Warmaster?

The problem with a Lord Solar/Warmaster is that it's essentially a political appointment and therefore incredibly hard to achieve without a serious political backing.

Which, by and large, makes it inaccessible to non-nobility.

On terms of what has the most power, i would say a Lord Inquisitor is the highest level an ordinary mortal can achieve.
You get to Exterminatus planets 'Nuff Said

However a Commissar/Lord Commissar can also be quite powerful and can get away with slapping (AND PUTTING A GUN TO) a Planetary Govenor
(Just google Commissar Holt on why i just said that)

A Commissar is basically an Inquisitor attached to a Guard regiment, lol.

The Imperium of Man is feudal.That means the nobility dominates absolutely everything. It would be hard to get anywhere high without becoming nobility of some kind. The highest possible position for a non-noble in most cases will be the position of Menial. Above that every position is held by Adepts, the hereditary nobility of the Adeptus Terra and Mechanicus.
Through great luck and skill (and connections), a menial may be raised to the esteemed title of Adept, after which he could rise even higher, but he would no longer be a non-noble at that point.

Also, afaik the Schola Progenium is an elite school and only accepts the orphans of important Imperial officials, so that will be pretty much nobility-only too. No way a mere street urchin or child of a factory labourer will be admitted into the Schola outside of exceptional circumstances.

The only exception may be the Ecclessiarcy, which would probably offer the best advancement options for simple folk.

Theoretically the schola progenium is open to orphans of any imperial servant. A common example is officers of the imperial guard - not necessarily warmasters and lord generals; just lieutenants and captains.

One of the big bonuses of working for the Adeptus Terra, even at a fairly scrubby level, is that your children will get brought up by the Imperium if/when you die and given education and a (fairly decent by Imperial standars) career prospect. For a junior officer in the Guard, this is a non-trivial benefit given that few worlds have anything you might consider 'social security' and that once deployed to another world you're unlikely ever to see them again.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
Also, afaik the Schola Progenium is an elite school and only accepts the orphans of important Imperial officials, so that will be pretty much nobility-only too. No way a mere street urchin or child of a factory labourer will be admitted into the Schola outside of exceptional circumstances.

The only exception may be the Ecclessiarcy, which would probably offer the best advancement options for simple folk.

You know that the Ecclesiarchy runs the Schola Progenium, right?

Xenoesis wrote:
Technically, navigators are direct vassals of the Emperor, so a high position in one of the navigator houses could be seen as the equivalent to the High Lords of Terra, or at least the High Lords would have no authority over you.

Good point. Although I believe the navigator houses are etremely feudal and hereditary, even compared to the imperiums standards, so it seems likely that their servants and households also are rather socially static.

Anybody can become a High Lord of Terra, at least certain positions.

These are the permanent positions,

The Master of the Administratum
The Inquisitorial Representative
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 3 positions are usually held by the following offices,

Lord Commander of Segmentum Solar
Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes
The Chancellor of the Estate Imperium
The Speaker for the Chartist Captains
Lord High Admiral of the Imperial Navy
Lord Commander Militant of the Imperial Guard
Cardinal(s) of the Holy Synod of Terra


The bolded positions are theoretically available to anybody who has the ability to raise to that station. Birth station and psychic abilities are not required.

commander dante wrote:
On terms of what has the most power, i would say a Lord Inquisitor is the highest level an ordinary mortal can achieve.
You get to Exterminatus planets 'Nuff Said

However a Commissar/Lord Commissar can also be quite powerful and can get away with slapping (AND PUTTING A GUN TO) a Planetary Govenor
(Just google Commissar Holt on why i just said that)

A Krieg colonel executed a Governor at some point. They were under martial law, but still.

Basically, you can become one of the twelve most powerful people in the galaxy, all without noble birth. /thread

 Furyou Miko wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:
Also, afaik the Schola Progenium is an elite school and only accepts the orphans of important Imperial officials, so that will be pretty much nobility-only too. No way a mere street urchin or child of a factory labourer will be admitted into the Schola outside of exceptional circumstances.

The only exception may be the Ecclessiarcy, which would probably offer the best advancement options for simple folk.

You know that the Ecclesiarchy runs the Schola Progenium, right?

Yes, but the fluff for the Schola clearly states it only accepts the orphans of high-ranking officials, so there is no doubt about that.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Grey Templar wrote:
Anybody can become a High Lord of Terra, at least certain positions.

These are the permanent positions,

The Master of the Administratum
The Inquisitorial Representative
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 3 positions are usually held by the following offices,

Lord Commander of Segmentum Solar
Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes
The Chancellor of the Estate Imperium
The Speaker for the Chartist Captains
Lord High Admiral of the Imperial Navy
Lord Commander Militant of the Imperial Guard
Cardinal(s) of the Holy Synod of Terra


The bolded positions are theoretically available to anybody who has the ability to raise to that station. Birth station and psychic abilities are not required.

Wrong. All positions higher than Menial in the Adeptus Terra or Adeptus Mechanicus are only open to Adepts, who are a hereditary noble class. You are never going to become Master of the Administratum or get any other high position if your father wasn't a high ranking, influential Adept. The Imperium is a feudal society, virtually every job in the entire Imperium is hereditary. The AdMech too.

Where does it say that Adepts are all hereditary?

A canny lord inquisitor or lord commisor could take advantage their position to enforce their own individual will. Done right no one will hang them when they are the ones doing the hanging.

 Grey Templar wrote:
Anybody can become a High Lord of Terra, at least certain positions.
-snip-

You missed one - for the last few thousand years, one of the optional seats has been held by the Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas.

One of those seats currently lies empty, because it's officially held by the Abbess Prioris, who is missing.

 Grey Templar wrote:
Where does it say that Adepts are all hereditary?

Codex Imperialis