Rogue Trader (wh40k) RP-- Get your ass to the in-character wave! Seriously!

DouglasDanger

The Rogue Trader rpg is in stores! Space pirates are always awesome, but space pirates in wh40k, holy shit!

In Rogue Trader, players will take on the roles of the crew of a Rogue Trader ship, a ship given the freedom to explore the edges of known space and exploit them for riches and renown. A Rogue Trader who can wrest profits from a dangerous universe will enjoy something few humans in the 41st Millenium know - a life of adventure and freedom. The course, however, is fraught with peril: foul aliens, pernicious raiders, and even other Rogue Traders will stand in your way on the path to greatness. Will you set forth into the beyond and brave a deadly universe for fortune and glory?

Party forming for game right now!
Psycojester is planning on running it with google wave.

psycojester wrote: »

If you haven't got a googlewave account yet PM me an email address and i'll send you an invite.

So far we have:
GM: PJ.

Sweeney (SA): Rogue Trader Lord Captain Aronn von Barsymes

Zetetic: Void Master Veridighun Auch

Dark_side: Arch Militant Ziel Vendigroth

me: Navigator Zanus Hieronymus



That leaves Explorator, Seneschal and Missionary, without doubling up on any of the career paths.
That's everyone on the Wave I think.
I'll add more players as we get more.

I read a lot of wh40k stuff online, not books or anything, but I enjoy the thread here and reading the various pedias when boredom strikes. I love the setting, but I have played the tt game or even the other rpg, Dark Heresy. I did read the Dark Heresy books last summer while visiting a friend, but there was too much other stuff going to play. Same for the latest edition of the TT game. I love the whole fallen future/Dark Ages in Space thing.

(working on this here OP)

Utsanomiko

Well, yeah there's quite a few people looking forward to it. There's been quite a bit of buzz about it in the 40k RPG thread. :P

DouglasDanger

I guess I missed that thread somehow. I think it is close enough to have its own thread, to get the word out.

Maybe, maybe not. I guess it is coming out at Gencon, but I have only the vaguest grasp of what that is-- some kind of covention about rpgs that usually takes place in August.

I was all set to buy the DH books on Amazon a couple of weeks ago and found out about this game. Now, I am going to buy this first. Granted, I can buy DH and and an expansion book for the price this game will probably sell at; but the Rogue Trader stuff interests me more than than Inquisition-themed DH.

DouglasDanger

The sampler manual looks like a lot of fun.

Ferrus

I was never really into Dark Heresy, although it seemed cool enough.

Rogue Trader looks like the glorious offspring of Exalted (Power-wise) and Dark Heresy though. :winky:

DouglasDanger

You would think there would be something, with the game coming out in less than a month. There have been some previews. I think the classes look fun:

The Rogue Trader, who is basically a space pirate!
The Arch-militant. The one in the preview was built for ranged combat.
The Seneschal (a real word!), sort of a fighting historian or something, who knows a lot of lore. A real seneschal was apparently sort of a manager for a royal house. So maybe the seneschal is a rich explorer, looking for things for his royal family.
The Missionary
Void-master, a badass fighter/pilot
The Explorator, a tech-priest explorer guy
And the Navigator.

All of them sound fun.

Wildcat

Oooh, I like Explorators.

Rainfall

Yeah, I was reading through the quickstart the other day, it's shaping up to look good.

And frankly, I like the Rogue Trader hooks to be more interesting than the Inquisition ones. I think it allows you to show off some of the more outlandish aspects of the setting rather than getting bogged down in procedure and cleansing heretics.

psycojester

The Seneschal (a real word!), sort of a fighting historian or something, who knows a lot of lore. A real seneschal was apparently sort of a manager for a royal house. So maybe the seneschal is a rich explorer, looking for things for his royal family.

Or maybe the Seneschal is exactly what his job title implies, he's the guy who knows the logistical side of how everything works and keeps the ship running for the Rogue Trader, essentially the brains of the outfit.

DouglasDanger

psycojester wrote: »

The Seneschal (a real word!), sort of a fighting historian or something, who knows a lot of lore. A real seneschal was apparently sort of a manager for a royal house. So maybe the seneschal is a rich explorer, looking for things for his royal family.

Or maybe the Seneschal is exactly what his job title implies, he's the guy who knows the logistical side of how everything works and keeps the ship running for the Rogue Trader, essentially the brains of the outfit.

Thanks for the snark and everything. That's a possibility! The sample seneschal seemed like something a little different, with the "auto quil" and his little version of a tablet-pc and everything. Which I guess are tools he would need to manage everything, so never mind. I'll go with the "it was too early in the morning" excuse.

I freaking love how every other character seems to have at least one cybernetic implant. They have shown like 5 characters and three of them have really obvious cyborg implants. I'm thinking about the look of my character, and I have some ideas. At least one cyborg eye, two replacement limbs-- maybe one of them is organic, but the skin color is different from the rest of the body.

I also get the feeling this will be pretty combat-focused. The sample characters have pretty decent weaponry.

psycojester

two replacement limbs

Power-Hook and bionic peg?

DouglasDanger

psycojester wrote: »

two replacement limbs

Power-Hook and bionic peg?

I was thinking he would start with one of his arms being a replacement, with the same stats as a normal arm and everything, just a different skin tone. Maybe he did time in the Guard or something, was the poor bastard who drew the short straw and had to lug the plasma gun. That has has a one in 10 chance of exploding or something horrid.

DouglasDanger

This game is coming at GenCon, last I heard, which is scheduled for next Thursday and Friday! They have also released a character sheet to gaze upon, see Dark Primus's very informative post--

DarkPrimus wrote: »

Well then just wait a few more weeks!

Maybe run the two free adventures for your group, with up to five players supported if you get the two bonus premades.

And after that you can ponder over the character sheet and fantasize about the cool stuff your character will be able to do.

And don't forget your copy of the Collector's Edition core book.

oaklore

The latest the D6 Generation podcast is about this.

DarkPrimus

Thanks Douglas! Now I don't even have to post in this thr- oh, drat. Never mind.

delroland

Aren't rogue traders allowed to partner up with xenos, as long as it is to further the aims of the Imperium? It makes me wonder if they will finally have rules for playing xeno PC's.

DouglasDanger

delroland wrote: »

Aren't rogue traders allowed to partner up with xenos, as long as it is to further the aims of the Imperium? It makes me wonder if they will finally have rules for playing xeno PC's.

Some podcast thing had an interview with one of the game designers. I saw a summary of it on 4chan while looking for ridiculously metal wh40k pics, but I'm really not in the mood to look there again. The summarizer was saying there is going to be some way to maybe play as Xenos in some expansion. I guess the designers ran over the page limit or something. In the blog/newsposts thing on the website, they seemed to be going really wild with the setting/concept.

With that said, I can't imagine any of the Xenos we know of from TT actually working with humanity. Maybe an Eldar who went the corsair route, but serving on the crew of a human ship? I have a hard time with that.

DarkPrimus

delroland wrote: »

Aren't rogue traders allowed to partner up with xenos, as long as it is to further the aims of the Imperium? It makes me wonder if they will finally have rules for playing xeno PC's.

Not necessarily "allowed", per se, but the blind eye/carte blanche that comes with the Warrant of Trade allows Rogue Traders to get away with things like that as long as they don't make too obvious a show of it.

DouglasDanger

googled Rogue Trader podcast and found it, not at 4 chan, thank the emperor

- One of the design factors was the desire to avoid "waiting to be cool". Rogue Traders start badass and get cooler.

- Ascension is confirmed to be a book that allows you to play Dark Heresy at the same 'power tier' as Rogue Trader, with the Inquisitor in the party.

- Endeavors sounds to be more complex and solidly integrated into the system than the previews lead me to believe. There's some sort of points system per Objective that influences the outcome, and keywords that provide bonus points depending on your specific circumstances. (The example given was that an Objective with the Trade keyword gives bonus Objective points if your ship has extra cargo holds.)

- The GM presents an opportunity for Profit, and the GM and players work together to decide on the specifics of the Endeavor to exploit it. (Example given was an ice world with minerals under the frozen crust, but an Ork freeboota uses it as a base of operations. The players get to decide if they set up their own mine with defenses, wipe out the orks and set up a trade route to allow outside miners access, or sell the location to a rival so that the rival can engage the ork ship, come in during the battle, and blast both out of the Void. Then the specific Objectives are set up.)

- You can customize your ship and characters to be good at the type of Endeavors you prefer.

- All characters can take extended actions to influence a space battle even if they're not in direct control of some factor of the combat. (Example given was a social character climbing down to the gun decks to inspire/harangue the loading crew, providing some sort of gunnery bonus.)

- The eight classes in the core are Rogue Trader, Arch-Militant, Missionary, Explorator, Senschal, Astropath, Navigator, and Voidmaster. The Astropath is soulbound to the Emperor, so is more stable as far as perils of the Warp go at the cost of being more limited in scope of powers. The Navigator sounds like he's going to be the weird-stuff psychic guy, with the third eye manifesting the bizarre powers. The Voidmaster is your veteran space goer, with the ability to pick one aspect of space faring he's an ace at, from sensor operation to being a wing commander in the fighter pilots.

-Everything will be compatible stat-wise with material published for Dark Heresy. Creatures Anathema was mentioned specifically as regards to this.

-Early copies will be for sale at GenCon, with the full retail release being "soon after". When pressed, Ross didn't think it would be as long as September for the full retail release. A GM Kit will soon follow, and supplements he couldn't talk about to follow.

-When asked, Ross said that there would eventually be non-human PCs for the 40K RPGs. When pressed further, he gave early next year as a very tenuous (and reluctant) estimate.

via http://forum.rpg.net

somewhere around the one hour 24 minute mark according to that forum

DouglasDanger

DouglasDanger wrote: »

More background stuff for the Rogue Trader setting

Behold, my friends—the map of the mysterious Koronus Expanse. Naturally, this map is merely a sketch of the known (and rumored) regions of the Expanse...there are planets, moons, and phenomena aplenty that have yet to be fully chronicled. It is said that some of the regions named upon this map may not even exist, or are far different than originally reported...

Nevertheless, this map gives you a taste of what lies ahead for your Explorers, a glimpse of the opportunities for plunder and profit for an enterprising Rogue Trader to grasp.

And remember...Ambition Knows No Bounds.

web-quality pdf map of the Koronus Expanse

There is also this:

This week I bring to you a special preview of the Koronus Expanse, from the lips of one who has been there and returned safely to the bosom of Imperial space. His name is Ibraham Totimus, and I bring his words to you via the Rogue Trader Sarvus Trask, a mutual friend.

Secrets of the Expanse (pdf)

Looks neat. I love the whole feel of wh40k stuff, sort of the dark ages in space or whatever.

DarkPrimus

"The Dark Ages in Space" is not a bad bullet point description of 40k, actually.

Edith Upwards

I just realized that a Warrant of Trade is a holy relic, being written by the Empra's own hand and bearing his signature

Sigmund

I'll say this... the Dark Hersey game sucked as a system. The setting, fluff and character creation was AMAZING, however when it came down to the numbers it blew. Rogue trader on the other hand sounds amazing and I can't wait to pick it up and run a game... perhaps on here? Just a thought for now.

Edith Upwards

Sigmund wrote: »

I'll say this... the Dark Hersey game sucked as a system.

I don't quite understand where this shit comes from, care to explain?

DarkPrimus

Erich Zahn wrote: »

I just realized that a Warrant of Trade is a holy relic, being written by the Empra's own hand and bearing his signature

Some of the very old Warrants bear the Emperor's own hand-writing, yes, but most (including the ones included as part of the Collector's Edition) are from the High Lords of Terra.

I would also like to hear Sigmund's complaints regarding the Dark Heresy system.

DouglasDanger

I am under the impression that Rogue Trader's mechanics or whatever you want to call it owe pretty much everything to Dark Heresy. I understand the characters are more powerful, to represent them being totally awesome, utterly bitching space pirates, but I think RT is a progression or perhaps evolution of the DH system.

DarkPrimus

DouglasDanger wrote: »

I am under the impression that Rogue Trader's mechanics or whatever you want to call it owe pretty much everything to Dark Heresy. I understand the characters are more powerful, to represent them being totally awesome, utterly bitching space pirates, but I think RT is a progression or perhaps evolution of the DH system.

Rogue Trader uses the same system, and the games are compatible. Everything I am about to say comes directly from the mouth of the lead designer.

-You can take anything from the Dark Heresy supplements, such as Creatures Anathema, and put them in a Rogue Trader game.

-40k is a universe that goes to 11. If Dark Heresy is a 1, then Rogue Trader is at least a 2.

-The Dark Heresy supplement "Ascension" is supposed to bring Dark Heresy characters up to the same power-level as Rogue Trader characters.

-"Rogue Trader is not a game about waiting to be a badass. You start as a badass, and get more badass."

DouglasDanger

DarkPrimus wrote: »

DouglasDanger wrote: »

I am under the impression that Rogue Trader's mechanics or whatever you want to call it owe pretty much everything to Dark Heresy. I understand the characters are more powerful, to represent them being totally awesome, utterly bitching space pirates, but I think RT is a progression or perhaps evolution of the DH system.

Rogue Trader uses the same system, and the games are compatible. Everything I am about to say comes directly from the mouth of the lead designer.

-You can take anything from the Dark Heresy supplements, such as Creatures Anathema, and put them in a Rogue Trader game.

-40k is a universe that goes to 11. If Dark Heresy is a 1, then Rogue Trader is at least a 2.

-The Dark Heresy supplement "Ascension" is supposed to bring Dark Heresy characters up to the same power-level as Rogue Trader characters.

-"Rogue Trader is not a game about waiting to be a badass. You start as a badass, and get more badass."

After my comic failures in previous rpg attempts, I am really looking forward to starting as someone other than an incompetent clutz armed with a pointy stick.

DarkPrimus

Seriously, right from the go, you are playing someone who has dozens, if not hundreds, if not thousands of individuals at their command.

Utsanomiko

Although to be fair, most of those thousands are incompetent clutzes with pointy sticks. :P

SpectralSpork

A minion is a minion is a minion.

DouglasDanger

Utsanomiko wrote: »

Although to be fair, most of those thousands are incompetent clutzes with pointy sticks. :P

I have no objections to ordering those clutzes around while I, the badass, swashbuckling, gunslinging space pirate kill the shit out of some filthy xenos.

DarkPrimus

Utsanomiko wrote: »

Although to be fair, most of those thousands are incompetent clutzes with pointy sticks. :P

I'd rather have a thousand idiots with pointy sticks doing boarding actions on a hostile ship rather than just myself.

Mr_Rose

Hee! Wantwantwant!

Is it possible to get the collectors edition not in Ameribucks?

Moridin889

I certainly hope we start as badass. In the Dark HEresy game that was played on here a while back, before it twas abandoned, I spent 3 rounds firing a Heavy Bolter at a warphound....I missed every shot.

Then I missed it with a shotgun, and like 4 swings of a sword.

My character was certainly high up there in the badass department.

DarkPrimus

Mr_Rose wrote: »

Hee! Wantwantwant!

Is it possible to get the collectors edition not in Ameribucks?

Well, there are going to be 500 copies available to retailers, but they won't be personalized, and the chance s of one of those copies getting to a retailer near you and then you buying it...

Wildcat

Moridin889 wrote: »

I certainly hope we start as badass. In the Dark HEresy game that was played on here a while back, before it twas abandoned, I spent 3 rounds firing a Heavy Bolter at a warphound....I missed every shot.

Then I missed it with a shotgun, and like 4 swings of a sword.

My character was certainly high up there in the badass department.

Whereas the dashing tech-priest was one-shotting those fiends with a laspistol? :winky:

Utsanomiko

Rogue Trader starting characters seem at the very least to have a wide selection of weapon training, plus a number of attribute advancements, so keeping a decent 50% accuracy shouldn't be too hard.

I find that Dark Heresy characters pick up quite a bit of slack after rank 4 or so. The first couple ranks need a very cautious route to play.

Rainfall

Well, what with Gencon and all, we got a nice thread over at rpgnet revealing some truths about Rogue Trader. Link is here.

Looks like RT starting characters are like DH characters with a 5000 XP advantage, some kind of lifepath-esque system, a ship, and slightly more rigid classes. Good stuff.

DouglasDanger

I was just bitching about not knowing where to find RT news. thanks for sharing.

Neaden

One of the posts on RPG.net says that you have a random roll to get your ships history and machine spirit, and that one of these rolls can lead to having a death cult in the lower decks of your ship. I want this game so much now.