Rogue Trader in 2009

Luddite wrote:So less a 40k Rogue Trader RPG; and more an explore the Calixis sector/Halo Stars DH supplement then?

Sounds perfect to me. Especially with the addition of Astropaths and Navigators.

Personally, I'd love to use it to continue expanding the power of my group's DH characters. I think a great high-end Inquisitorial/Acolyte campaign would be to give them their own ship and set them loose hunting down powerful interplanetary cults and dangers from the outer reaches.

Yeah, loads more settings and background, please!

Sorry, everyone, I already let my players 'travel' between planets. The main conflict with some of the feel of DH for my group is the claustrophobia of being in employment and generally told what to do by an exterior agent.

Step one for my group: Gain trust of employer. Step two: Discover tasty info whilst on assignment. Step three: Take the initiative and go off adventuring just like the good old days

I must admit that I always wanted Rogue Trader rpg and that DH was 'second best' option. Not that I am not enjoying it. Au contrair, mon amis! But, I always loved that rags to riches and back againg angle of the traditional Warhammer...and I miss it sorely from the DH RPG (if you do it by the book).

Even now, I am running campaign that I have named The Art of Kanly/Alien Gods in which high concept is that players are all part or retainers of the noble family that is working for an Inquisitor. Somehow, having personal ambitions and ideological prerogatives helps game along...

I must admit that I am unclear as to what a Rogue Trader is. A lot of people are alluding to a role somewhat similar to an Elizabethan privateer- sort of a legally sanctioned pirate like sir Walter Raleigh.

Am I on the right track or is it more of a loose term?

I would say yes but this is because I want it to be this way. And by the by your comment reminded me of the never realized concept for high space adventure by comic book artists/designer god Brendan Mccarthy called Admiral Polo.

Check it out

http://brendanmccarthy.co.uk/subsite/designwork/artwork/admiralpolo.htm

Nice link, Captain! That "Polo" is definitely my kind of scum...
Excellent bloke in a powdered wig also.

My only 'beef' with Rogue Trader is that I hope they avoid making it identical to the oft-mentioned Firefly, Star Wars (Han Solo), and the like. There are too many games like that which follow the same basic structure already, and it'd be nice to have something fresh.

...not that I dislike Han Solo and Firefly, mind you.

The term Rogue Trader comes from the very first edition of 40k released some 25 years ago. In the original sense, the Rogue Trader was an immensely powerful individual. The ranks of Rogue Traders were drawn from the likes of retired Inquisitors and ex High Lords of Terra. They were in command of not some tramp freighter, but entire fleets. Their mission was to venture beyond the borders of the Imperium into uncharted space. The Rogue wasn't meant to be "scoundrel", it was referring to the fact that they were essentially beyond the law of the Imperium, even though their authority stemmed from it. They had the authority to sign treaties or declare wars with alien races or splinter human factions, to colonize a world or destroy it as they saw fit.

Over the years the term has also come to include merchant princes and powerful trade captains. Basically a Rogue Trader these days is a captain who possess a charter, somewhat like the Letters of Marque from the Age of Sail. The charter defines what the RT can or cannot do. It can be limited to trading ore between Scintilla and Sepherus Secundus or can grant a level of power referred to in the original book, or anything in between.

The Rogue Trader aspect, namely Han Solo, Firefly, etc. connotation is the newest of the ideas attached to the term Rogue Trader and probably the least supported by the nature of 40k space travel, ie. interstellar ships are huge compared to the Millenium Falcon.

Lord Kruge wrote:Over the years the term has also come to include merchant princes and powerful trade captains. Basically a Rogue Trader these days is a captain who possess a charter, somewhat like the Letters of Marque from the Age of Sail.

Hmm... definitely like the sound of that over another Han Solo/Mal Reynolds clone!

My vote is to keep Rogue Traders as they were originally envisioned, before all the Han Solo/ Malcolm Reynolds hooplah. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not what a Rogue Trader is in my mind. He's not small time that's for sure. Big plans, big executions, big scores. Even having his own fleet to boot.

E

I have a feeling the game will start with the characters ont he lower end of the Rogue Trader spectrum, or working for a Rogue Trader similar to how Acolytes work for Inquisitors. I find it hard to believe that Rogue Trader will give players their own fleets and armies under their command.

More likely you will be a small outfit, akin to Tale of the Gold Monkey or Wings, as opposed to commanders of space fleets or even Captain Kirk level.

And Id personally rather it be low grade sci-fi like Han Solo or Malcolm Reynolds. Otherwise who gets to be the Rogue Trader? Does every character get his or her own fleet? Or just one and everyone else works for him?

Nope, you will have you captains, your techies, your body guards, your spies, your representatives for the Imperium, your outlaws, your explorers and so forth, but not you fleet admirals.

[quote=peacekeeper_b]
More likely you will be a small outfit, akin to Tale of the Gold Monkey or Wings, as opposed to commanders of space fleets or even Captain Kirk level.

And Id personally rather it be low grade sci-fi like Han Solo or Malcolm Reynolds. Otherwise who gets to be the Rogue Trader? Does every character get his or her own fleet? Or just one and everyone else works for him?

Nope, you will have you captains, your techies, your body guards, your spies, your representatives for the Imperium, your outlaws, your explorers and so forth, but not you fleet admirals. [/quote]

That makes sense and fits the icon of the Rogue Trader. Starting at 1 ship and building a fleet sounds like a great deal of fun.

The WORST option will be Dark Heresy v2 with the PCs as 'servants (read: slaves)' of a Rogue Trader - i.e. Redshirts working for Kirk.

Given the DH model we saw, that, i fear [i]might [/i]be what we get...

I think it will be something akin to DarkStryder campaign for old WEG's Star Wars D6 system.

Characters could play, if not the Rouge Trader herself, important members of the crew making big decisions that have impact on the rest of the crew of the ship or the fleet.

all this is awesome and all - but I'm holding out for Deathwatch.

[quote=Luddite]
The WORST option will be Dark Heresy v2 with the PCs as 'servants (read: slaves)' of a Rogue Trader - i.e. Redshirts working for Kirk.

Given the DH model we saw, that, i fear [i]might [/i]be what we get...[/quote]
Well, in my opinion it would make for a better roleplaying game than bossing around fleets and armies. Stuff like that can be a ton of fun, but is a hell of a lot of work for the gm and tends to get stale rather quickly. I think most people prefer the gradual advancement of their characters and having actual [i]adventures[/i] in the classical sense of the word over managing a small empire which is fun for a while and then just becomes, well, [i]work[/i].
I find it much more fun having someone else worrying about fleet level logistics. :wink: Besides, a game that is made for the smaller scale of group-level can be quite easily taken to higher levels of organisation (read: epic stuff I just ranted about) if the players and the GM prefer that style of play. The reverse is not quite so easy.

[quote=Bruder Loras][quote=Luddite]
The WORST option will be Dark Heresy v2 with the PCs as 'servants (read: slaves)' of a Rogue Trader - i.e. Redshirts working for Kirk.

Given the DH model we saw, that, i fear [i]might [/i]be what we get...[/quote]
Well, in my opinion it would make for a better roleplaying game than bossing around fleets and armies. Stuff like that can be a ton of fun, but is a hell of a lot of work for the gm and tends to get stale rather quickly. I think most people prefer the gradual advancement of their characters and having actual [i]adventures[/i] in the classical sense of the word over managing a small empire which is fun for a while and then just becomes, well, [i]work[/i].
I find it much more fun having someone else worrying about fleet level logistics. :wink: Besides, a game that is made for the smaller scale of group-level can be quite easily taken to higher levels of organisation (read: epic stuff I just ranted about) if the players and the GM prefer that style of play. The reverse is not quite so easy.[/quote]

Try playing Pendragon.

You'll see how this could work very well. PC knights that 'quest' (normal adventures) in the same year that they may lead an army in battle.

They have property and resources, yet still have reason to adventure, to advance through the ranks of knighthood...

It can work very well and make for a far more satisfying RP experience without descending into worrying about 'logistics'... :wink:

On pg 43, Chap 2 of DH rulebook in the last section "Completing All The Ranks", I get the impression (and hope it's true) that future supplements will continue on where DH left off. Now, we start seeing our characters moving into the lower ranks of being a Rogue Trader, or the Inquisition, or what-have-you. I don't necessarily see all RT's having an antagonistic view of all Inquisitors. They are all very different people who all have their own way of doing things. Plus, when an =][= catches a ride with a RT, s/he is a guest, and it would be foolish to attempt a "cleansing" so far from home. I'm just thinking...

E

It would be my hope that there is room for both small and large scale roles - ranging from Scout ships /recon to to full blown expedtions into the unknown - taking the light of the Emperor to all - whether that be the light of enlightenment or the light of Las Cannon.

either can work - but setting it up for both would be great..............

I remember fondly my charcater in an epic Star Trek campaign - where the Dominion had won and it started as three PC's and ended with us taking back the glaaxy - took us years but god it was good. As it continued we commanded great warships and later even whole fleets but still had plenty of role playing the little things - trying to balance the glorious revival with winning back my ex girlfriend............

Scale is not something to be scared of - with the right GM its all just part of the story.

If RT can help this work that would be great...............I feel DH already has tremendous fluff - absolutely lovely background and if this alone continues I'll be happy - despite any system shortcomings - I'll just chnage them to suit my play style.

Looking forward to descriptions of ships and worlds large and small, technologies - unusual, forbidden and Xenos, creatures - void born and the perils of moving out from the Emperors Light.

I want it now

when the core book comes out for RT I hope people don't go on about wanting to play SM and get on with the game they have

LOL

sorry that was a bad nasty thing to say but needed to be done, you all have fun now, need to put out the flames LOL

really looking forward to RT, even more than I was for DH. fingers crossed its good as we all have high hope about this one.

I'm glad I'm not working for FFG on this as it must be a difficult one to get right. mess this up and you piss a lot of people off.

good luck FFG as "we" are a bunch of picky bastards

In adition to the guess above I have fingers crossed for playable Abhumans (Squats, Rattling, Ogryn, Navigators)

I think RT could be near to the fact of DH, being the PCs some kind of members of a Rogue Trader fleet, but with far more power and acting freedom than acolites. May be, high rank officers wannabes, but always free scouts along the border of the Halo Stars or who knows if may be across other segmentums.

i suspect that it will be that you are agents of a RT similar in the inquisitor/acolyte relationship of DH. i'm okay with this. i have seen what happens when one player is given teh resposibility of the LORD (king, inquisitor, prince, RT, authority figure of great power) and the rest of the party be his minions, subordinates, etc. it can work, but more often than not it doesnt.

gregor eisenhorn is fantastic, but outstrips godwyn fischig in capapbility and resources. that works fine with some groups, i have run a game wherin their was one pc with the title of captain and lord mayor of the city state and the rest of teh party enjoyed it. it is looked upon as the finest game i have run, but without the right LORD player and without synergistic players to accompany him this doesnt work. i'm ok with playing acolytes, i find them more interesting (see also, interrogater carl thonius) same as i'm ok with being the underling for the captain.

on the other hand if they pull it off in such a manner, i'm okay with playing tobias maxilla as well ^_^

also i would like to throw in my jaunty hat into the playtest offering

Ross,

Can you shed any further light on Rogue Trader.

Perhaps just whether or not it will be released as a full game next summer or is it going to be released in a starter scenario like Dark Heresy was with Shattered Hope?

Thanks

I'm not sure I understood the question, but I'll try:
Rogue Trader is going to be released as a full game next summer,
and we are looking into releasing something for Free RPG day in 2009, similar to Shattered Hope but better.

Seems you understood the question just fine. Thanks for the info. Looking forward to the new releases this winter, and now a full RPG for RT next summer. And when is free game day?

Im stationed in europe, anyway to get that item other then in game stores?