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Hi,

most likely useless fluff questions, but it is something that somehow bothers me to know if there ever was something mentioned about it:

1. If a planet might fit into several of the classical categories, how are they classified in the imperial administration? For my personal example the homeworld of "my dudes" is a civilized world that has some densely populated Megacities but also a significant percentage of population living in feudal or even feral civilization stages. Would such a world classified according to their "maximal development" (so civilized world) or kind of an "average development" (Feudal world... kind of)?
Or for example if a world consists of one continent with hives and one continent that is basically a giant forge. Is that a Forgeworld or a Hiveworld? Who decides that?

2. I read about Quarry worlds that are categorized for having a resource of "high value". What defines "high value"? Is this only "once in a million planets" things like blackstone or do things like huge titanium deposits or rare minerals for armored glas production also count? So strategically valuable and due to ease of mining the prefered source of the resource within the whole sector, but technically there are other worlds were you could get your hands on it, it would just be harder.

3. Regarding Industrial Worlds/Forgeworlds: Were exactly are these separated? Is this just if they are run by the AdMech vs. Imperial authorities? Or are these different stages of industrialization?

4. If the Admech is founding a new colony, is it immediatly called a Forgeworld, even if most of the planet is not (yet) industrialized? Or is it called industrial world (or something else) until it reaches a certain treshhold?

1- In your example, the feudal or feral population would be irrelevant (at best they're likely kidnapped on a regular basis and pressed into work gangs). They'd get the upper classification, as whatever products the world makes likely come from the megacities. [With the caveat that in a couple centuries life for the feral/feudal inhabitants would likely become unsustainable due to pollution, purges, and/or culling for useful factory workers or troops]

On the other hand, if the primary output of the world is soldiers, in some ways the designation doesn't matter. And the Imperium can be really vague about that sort of thing anyway, as well as out of date. It can take centuries for any sort of 'central records' to note that 'hey, that place is mostly urban now.'

2- Exact definitions probably aren't available. But there have been things like the Ice World in one of the Cain books, which has tons of frozen Promethium in the ice, which makes it very valuable indeed. That sort of thing would be high value (until you find... other things... down in the ice, anyway.)

3 (and the end of 1)- I think it is specifically an Ad Mech designation.

4- I believe it gets a lower Production Grade, but is still marked as a Forge World, as that's more of the administrative marker.
This may help, for a consolidation of information if nothing else (fact checking may be required):
https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Forge_World

Headcanon wise, I think the most likely explanation is that planetary designations are (to the extent they're at all accurate; time, warp, chaos, bureaucracy etc might do otherwise) mostly for administrators to know quickly what a planet outputs, or is expected to output, and who has jurisdiction over it. So for the administratum and the munitorum, feral worlds are primarily noted as being a source of skilled recruits, industrial worlds are expected to produce some set of goods, civilized worlds produce expertise, agriworlds produce food/water, and so on, while Forgeworld or Cardinal World and the like indicate which body has jurisdiction over that world.

I think the only consistent world definition I have come across is death world, which means life is very hard.

Agri world I think comes up regularly
Hive planet? Like necromunda...
And maybe temple worlds that people travel to on pilgrimage

I think a planet can be anything the planetary governor wants as long as it fulfils certain tithes and taxes

 Pyroalchi wrote:
Hi,

most likely useless fluff questions, but it is something that somehow bothers me to know if there ever was something mentioned about it:

1. If a planet might fit into several of the classical categories, how are they classified in the imperial administration? For my personal example the homeworld of "my dudes" is a civilized world that has some densely populated Megacities but also a significant percentage of population living in feudal or even feral civilization stages. Would such a world classified according to their "maximal development" (so civilized world) or kind of an "average development" (Feudal world... kind of)?
Or for example if a world consists of one continent with hives and one continent that is basically a giant forge. Is that a Forgeworld or a Hiveworld? Who decides that?

I would say by the dominant classification, in your main example it would be a Civilised world, with a feral element (Much as, say the USA or the UK are developed nations, but still has people living in abject poverty

2. I read about Quarry worlds that are categorized for having a resource of "high value". What defines "high value"? Is this only "once in a million planets" things like blackstone or do things like huge titanium deposits or rare minerals for armored glas production also count? So strategically valuable and due to ease of mining the prefered source of the resource within the whole sector, but technically there are other worlds were you could get your hands on it, it would just be harder.

i think your "expanded" answer is the most likely, but whatever is being mined, its important enough that its the defining feature of that planet to the galaxy at large, and given the difficulties of interstellar travel in 40K, its must be extremely valuable to be worth large scale exporting.

3. Regarding Industrial Worlds/Forgeworlds: Were exactly are these separated? Is this just if they are run by the AdMech vs. Imperial authorities? Or are these different stages of industrialization?

4. If the Admech is founding a new colony, is it immediatly called a Forgeworld, even if most of the planet is not (yet) industrialized? Or is it called industrial world (or something else) until it reaches a certain treshhold?

I believe you are right in that is mostly a matter of Jurisdiction which label is used. Any world controlled by the Admech tends to be called a Forge World, and a new one is just that: a new forge world, with lesser capabilities than older ones, but still a Forge World. I imagine that a large, well established Industrial world or Hive World would have a greater output than many newer Forge Worlds, so sheer industrial output alone isnt what makes it a forge world.

Agree with Xerxes. The 3rd Ed MRB has a great summary of the Worlds of the Imperium. It has Hive Worlds, Feral Worlds, Forge Worlds, Feudal Worlds etc etc. It offers some criteria for the different classes. I think that Civilized World fits your description: "This is the widest category comprising any world, generally self-sufficient, with a contemporary technology-base that does not comply with other specification. Includes major sub-categories Cardinal Worlds, Garden Worlds, Mining Worlds."

A Feudal World has "Technical base just prior or just post-black powder..."

I always found the world categories a little strained.
You couldn't dedicate an entire planet to one singular function, that would be a massive strain on imports/exports if it was the default.

 kirotheavenger wrote:
I always found the world categories a little strained.
You couldn't dedicate an entire planet to one singular function, that would be a massive strain on imports/exports if it was the default.

It doesn't make a great deal of sense for the most part, but the same goes for most sci fi planets. It's generally just cooler to say, that's an ice/desert/lava/wasps planet than it is to have Planet Basically Earth #18753.

In some regards it kind of makes sense to have planets that only do one thing (predominantly forge worlds, why make several planets uninhabitable through pollution when you could just have one that's super uninhabitable. Mining planets/moons as well make some sense if they're uninhabitable to the wider populace), but for the most part inhabited/terraformed worlds only doing one thing is silly.

Forgeworlds are admech rules I belive while an industrial world is any world mostly busy manufacturing stuff.

Otherwise I think most world are, as silly as it may sound, focused on one thing.
That could actually retain some logic in universe with the imperium callously using planets, which implies sihting everything on it to fill that one and only goal. In the exageratly over the top setting that is 40k, that kind of silliness fits just rights.

In the case of planets looking like modern earth, that's to say, varied, I think the prevailing, or first noticed, feature of said planet could give have it labelled accordingly. Or if your planet delivers any kind of particular service or resource, it could also be labelled accrodingly.