• Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader Pdf
• Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader Rpg Pdf

Rogue Trader: Pride and Profit

Ship Roles

Ship Roles are positions of command and responsibility aboard a Rogue Trader vessel. Typically, these positions are occupied by player characters, and only player characters can gain and provide the listed bonuses. Generally, Ship Roles are selected at character creation and since changing the ship’s hierarchy is no mean task, a character must spend 100xp in order to change his or her Role.

Rogue Trader is a 40k Roleplaying game that is set aboard the players spaceship as they ply the stars seeking treasure, glory and a hefty amount of danger. From the Back of the Rogue Trader RPG Book: You are an Explorer, part of a proud dynasty of privateering merchant princes known as Rogue Traders. Rogue Trader Living Errata This is the Living Errata for the Rogue TRadeR RPG line. The Errata is dividing according to product. The most recent updates to this Errata are in red. This Errata had its most recent update: April 9, 2013. Special thanks to Paul Tucker for compiling the core Errata. Rogue Trader Core Rulebook ChaptER 1: ChaRaCtER.

RANKONE

This rank only has one position, namely the Lord-Captain, master of the vessel.

Lord-Captain

A void-ship is a mighty fortress, its Captain upon the command throne the feudal lord who accepts pledges of allegiance and fealty from his advisors, the commoner crew, and their elected spokesmen. The Lord-Captain is the ultimate decision-maker on matters of strategy, void-law, and negotiation, responsible for the lives and souls of all who pledge to his banner. The fate of thousands hangs upon his decisions, though a wise Lord-Captain takes council with his advisors and bridge crew, and listens well to their wisdom before giving his orders.

Career Preferences: Rogue Trader only.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Personal guard company, emissaries of Imperial powers, subordinate officers of the ship.
Important Skills: Command, Charm, Intimidate.
Benefits:
The Lord-Captain gains a +10 bonus to the Hold Fast! Extended Action. If he possesses the Exceptional Leader ability (the class ability for Rogue Traders) he may grant it to anyone aboard his ship once per Strategic Round as a Free Action, ignoring the normal restrictions on who can benefit from this ability.

RANKTWO

This rank includes the Lord-Captain’s immediate seconds and senior command crew, the few in charge of the remainder of the ship.

First Officer

Though a Lord-Captain’s power is absolute, his time and energy are finite. Someone must stand at his right hand, acting as his voice and serving as an instrument of his will. The First Officer speaks and acts with the full authority of his Lord-Captain, ever prepared to assume the mantle of leadership should his Lord become indisposed.

Career Preferences: Any save Astropath Transcendent.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: All senior bridge officers, deck foremen, Mechanicus Emissariat.
Important Skills: Command, Intimidation, Secret Tongue (Rogue Trader).
Benefits:
The First Officer treats Command as a Trained Basic Skill when dealing with his crew. If the First Officer possesses the Command Skill, he receives a +5 on all Command Tests made aboard ship.

Enginseer Prime

In the eyes of the Cult Mechanicus, an Imperial void-ship is a living shrine, rife with Tech-Adepts and servitors, its machine sections constantly rebuilt, repaired, and encrusted with shrines and prayer-works. Constant labour is necessary to sustain the vessel’s great machine spirit and so please the Omnissiah—and moreover, it is vital preparation to stand against the disorder of battle damage and the great efforts needed to repair such violations of a holy place. The Enginseer Prime directs this holy toil, and his solemn pledge to the Lord-Captain holds him responsible for maintenance of the void-ship’s strength, resilience, and tech-secrets.

Career Preference: Usually Explorator, but possibly Missionary or Void-Master as well.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Appointed Magos Enginarium, emissary of the Latheic Archmagi, aggregate council of machine-shrine Tech-Priests.
Important Skills: Tech-Use, Chem-Use, Common Lore (Machine Cult).
Benefits:
The Enginseer Prime gains a +10 bonus to the Emergency Repairs Extended Action.

High Factotum

The High Factotum is a maestro of the mechanisms of trade: negotiations, compacts, endless records, bribes, threats, and the filling and emptying of great-holds. Maintaining the crew at strength and obtaining needed supplies for the continuing operation of the void-ships is also the High Factotum’s concern. This is a realm in which corruption and honour walk hand in hand, and the path taken by Thrones is always twisted to private ends. The High Factotum has pledged to bring profit to the Lord-Captain’s venture, and will do whatever is necessary to keep both dock-scum and haughty, hidebound merchants in line.

Career Preference: Usually Seneschal but also Missionary.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Quartermasters, skilled negotiators and factors, officers of the common great-hold crew.
Important Skills: Barter, Commerce, Evaluate.
Benefits:
Once per game session, the High Factotum may take up to 300 Achievement Points gathered towards the completion of one Endeavour and apply them to the completion of another.

RANKTHREE

Those in the “third rank” aboard a starship are still command staff, usually those given specialized duties with unique skill-sets.

Master-At-Arms

An Imperial void-ship can muster numerous small armies: security companies, boarding parties, the common crew armed with rusty blades and stub-guns, and often entire barracked regiments of mercenaries, Imperial Guard, or other steadfast troops. The Master-at-Arms is responsible for these militants and their commanders; it is his pledged duty to the Lord-Captain to ensure the loyalty of the void-ship’s forces, carefully guard the vessel’s security, maintain the armouries, ensure victory against boarders, and guide attacks upon the crew of enemy vessels or foes on hostile worlds.

Career Preference: Typically Arch-Militant but also Void-master.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Armoury crew, shipboard troop commanders, mercenary leaders.
Important Skills: Command, Tech-Use, Intimidate, Scholastic Lore (Tactica Imperialis).
Benefits:
The Master-at-Arms gains a +10 bonus to the Prepare to Repel Boarders! Extended Action.

Master Helmsman

The Master Helmsman is responsible for safely piloting the vast vessel through the myriad threats of the void of space. A helmsman risen to be master of his profession must have a sixth sense for the dangers that can confound auspex and lead void-ships to ruin, and know how best to make use of his helm crew and their familiarity with a vessel’s character. The Master Helmsman must pilot not just the voids, but also the competing fiefdoms of enginarium, auspex, and bridge crew to ensure that every manoeuvre is accomplished to the Lord-Captain’s exacting standards.

Career Preference: Normally Void-master but Explorator and Arch-Militant are also possible.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Helm crew, enginarium Tech-Priests, lesser auspex officers.
Important Skills: Pilot (Space Craft), Trade (Voidfarer).
Benefits:
The Master Helmsman gains a +10 bonus to the Evasive Manoeuvres Action.

Master of Ordnance

The Master of Ordnance pledges to keep the void-ship’s weapons and fighting crew in the finest condition, and then directs them to destroy foes at the Lord-Captain’s order. He is responsible for the quality of gun-deck crews, the workings of the armoured munitions vaults deep within the vessel, and the operation of weapons in void-battle. If the vessel boasts torpedoes, fighter squadrons, or other more esoteric ordnance, then these crews and systems also fall under the Master’s purview.

Career Preference: Usually Arch-Militant but also Void-master.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Assembled officers of each gun-deck, lance battery, and other ordnance system, munitions vault crew, commanding officer of small-craft squadrons.
Important Skills: Command, Scholastic Lore (Tactica Imperialis), Trade (Voidfarer).
Benefits:
When firing ship weapons while benefiting from the Lock on Target Extended Action, the Master of Ordinance adds an additional +5 bonus to the Ballistic Skill Test.

Master of Etherics

The Master of Etherics is responsible for the operation of the void-ship’s auspex and vox systems. Without auspex a vessel is blind, and without vox it is deaf and mute; the Master of Etherics stands at the Lord-Captain’s right hand, such is his worth, and to fail in his pledge is unthinkable. Dire regions beyond the Imperium are cloaked with the darkness of the unknown—the Master of Etherics must marshal his resources to overcome these hostile voids and light the path ahead with his vision.

Career Preference: Usually Void-master but Arch-Militant and Explorator are possible.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Lesser auspex vault officers, lesser vox system officers, appointed Tech-Priest of Etherics.
Important Skills: Scrutiny, Tech-Use, Trade (Voidfarer).
Benefits:
The Master of Etherics gains a +10 bonus to the Focused Augury Extended Action.

Chief Chirurgeon

The Chief Chirurgeon is master of the void-ship’s medicae wards and their staff: doctors of physiks, medicae, alchemists, and a horde of apprentices. Accidents, maladies, and agues of a thousand varieties afflict common voidfarers, and a crew unattended by medicae and physiks will soon enough lapse into illness, putting the safety of the vessel at risk. The Chief Chirurgeon pledges his talents to maintain the crew’s stalwart willingness to toil, and further to make of his wards and supply vaults a scourge upon disease, injury, and sicknesses of the mind.

Career Preference: Usually Missionary or Explorator but Seneschal is possible.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Biologis Tech-Adepts pledged to the medicae wards, lesser medicae and doctors of physiks, appointed Savant-Medicaes of the void-ship librarium.
Important Skills: Medicae, Chem-Use, Scholastic Lore (Chymistry), Tech-Use, Trade (Technomat).
Benefits:
The Chief Chirurgeon gains a +10 bonus to the Triage Extended Action.

Master of Whispers

Men and women are willful creatures, given to secrets, deceit, disloyalty, and subterfuge. The Master of Whispers inhabits this realm; he seeks out and purge the crooked timbers and weak spars in the Rogue Trader’s crew. His agents hunt for the very same elements in rival Rogue Trader missions—but for the purpose of advantage and deception. Spies pledged to the Master of Whispers roam far beyond the void-ship’s bulkheads in search of precious knowledge, untended resources, and hidden weaknesses that can benefit the Lord-Captain’s mission.

Career Preference: Usually Seneschal but could also be Missionary.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: A array of capable agents, master savant of the void-ship librarium, trusted spies in the crew.
Important Skills: Inquiry, Deceive, Scrutiny.
Benefits:
The Master of Whispers gains a +10 bonus to the Disinformation Extended Action.

Choir-Master Telepathica

The etheric voices of Astropaths resound throughout the Immaterium. When these voices are united by a single will, they combine into a psychic harmony capable of touching minds half a galaxy away. The Choir-master directs this harmony, and in turn directs the choir as a whole.

Career Preference: Only the Astropath Transcendent.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Lesser Astropaths of the Choir, Choir support staff, Ritemasters of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica.
Important Skills: Psyniscience, Forbidden Lore (The Warp), Command.
Benefits:
The Choir-master Telepathica may increase the range of his Astropathic Signals by one step.

Warp Guide

Also sometimes known as the Navigator Primaris, the Warp Guide is wholly responsible for steering the vessel through the treacherous tides of the Empyrean, both the safer routes within Imperial borders, and the terrible, dark voids beyond. The Warp Guide’s burden is heavy indeed; he and he alone stands as a bulwark between thousands of faithful Imperial souls and the unbridled damnations of the warp. A single mistake and terrible daemons of the Empyreal spaces will consume the vessel and all aboard it, and that horrid death will be but a prelude to the eternal torment that follows.

Career Preference: Navigator only.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Lesser Navigators on board, trusted bodyguards and assassins, emissary of the Navigator House elders.
Important Skills: Navigation (Warp), Trade (Astrographer), Scholastic Lore (Astromancy), Forbidden Lore (The Warp).
Benefits:
The Warp Guide gains a +5 bonus to the Navigation (Stellar) skill for purposes of steering the ship through the Warp.

RANKFOUR

This is the rank of ship’s officers who have the most day to day contact with the crew, and are often intimately familiar with the ship’s workings.

Ship’s Confessor

The Ship’s Confessor is the uppermost hierarch of shrines and Clerics aboard the vessel, responsible for their scriptural purity and by extension the spiritual well-being of all aboard. The God-Emperor protects the righteous who abide by the holy laws of Ministorum and Imperium, and it is His will that keeps the warp at bay and guides weapons to strike true against foul xenos. The Ship’s Confessor pledges to uphold the faith and courage of the crew against all adversities, and so make the void-ship a true cathedral of the Imperial Creed, echoing with the prayers of the holy and blessed in the God-Emperor’s sight.

Career Preference: Normally Missionary but could also be Explorator or Seneschal
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Lesser Clerics and Confessors of the vessel’s shrines, emissaries of major Ministorum cults in attendance, an unruly mob of zealots, penitents, and pilgrims.
Important Skills: Scholastic Lore (Imperial Creed), Common Lore (Ecclesiarchy, Imperial Creed), Charm, Intimidate
Benefits:
The Ship’s Confessor gains a +10 bonus to the Put your backs into it! Extended Action.

Drivesmaster

A voideship’s enginearium is a sprawling complex filling many decks. Within this sepulchral facility countless ranks of enginseers work the rites that appease the machine spirits of the vessels roaring heart. Some among their number are schooled in special rituals that inspire the drive to greater efforts. The Drivesmaster is in charge of monitoring and maintaining the roaring plasma drives that form the heart of the ship. Though subservient to the Enginseer Prime, the Drivesmaster often maintains the plasma drives as his own fiefdom, where none but the Mechanicus and their servants are welcome.

Career Preference: Explorators only.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Enginseers of the Drive Temple, enginearium servitors, crewmembers who maintain the primary plasma conduits
Important Skills: Tech-Use, Forbidden Lore (Archeotech), Pilot (Space Craft).
Benefits:
The Drivesmaster gains a +10 bonus to the Flank Speed Extended Action.

Omnissianic Congregator

The machine spirit of a starship is a slow but fickle intelligence, demanding the veneration and respect of hundreds if it is to function properly. The Omnissianic Congregator guides the tech-priests and other crew versed in technoarcane ritual, in the maintenance rites and algorithmic prayers that appease spirit of the ship, conferring the blessings of the Omnissiah upon its operation.

Career Preference: Only Explorators and character with the Forge World Home World option.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Laymen Shipwrights, lexemechanics of the Central Cogitation Vault, keepers of the Altar Omnissiah.
Important Skills: Tech-Use, Forbidden Lore (Adeptus Mechanicus), Trade (Technomat)
Benefits:
The Omnissianic Congregator gains a +10 bonus to the Aid the Machine Spirit Extended Action.

Chief Bosun

Voidfarers are often trained from birth in the tasks they will be expected to perform aboard ship, and this training does not end when a position is secured. To keep skills sharp, all crew are expected to participate in regular drills and practice sessions. A steady regimen of drills makes for an efficient crew. The Chief Bosun also serves as the enforcer of discipline aboard a vessel.

Career Preference: Arch-militants, Missionaries, Seneschals, and Void-masters.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Watch leaders, bonded shipwrights, armsmen commanders.
Important Skills: Command, Intimidation, Trade (Shipwright).
Benefits:
The Ship’s Bosun provides a +5 bonus to the ship’s NPC Crew Rating, As long as the Chief Bosun is aboard, Command Tests involving the ship’s crew suffer no penalties for reduced Morale.

Infernus Master

No shipboard danger is more devastating or frightening than fire, burning uncontrolled through a voidship’s corridors and decks. Even the smallest blaze can send a seasoned crew into a panic, trampling each other in the frenzy to escape through narrow corridors before the bulkhead is sealed in a vain attempt to keep the fire from spreading. During a conflagration, the Infernus Master is charged with keeping order and minimizing the damage caused to equipment, personnel, and morale. The Infernus Master organizes bucket chains, directs evacuations, and commands damage control crews brave enough to combat even the deadliest plasma flares.

Career Preferences: Not Rogue Trader, Astropath Transcendent, Explorator, or Navigator.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Commanders of shipboard troops, aqueduct technicians, senior damage-control crew.
Important Skills: Command, Intimidate, Search.
Benefits:
The Infernus Master gains a +20 bonus to all Command Tests made to combat shipboard fires.

Twistcatcher

Those who dwell within the enclosed environment of a voidship’s hull risk constant exposure to radiation, both from the vessel’s mighty engines and the void itself. These harsh conditions mean an increased risk of mutation. It is a lamentable fact that even the most well-maintained vessels play host to sizeable mutant populations, hordes of the deformed unfortunates lurking in unused holds and seldom-serviced bilge decks. It is the duty of the Twistcatcher to keep his ship’s mutant population in check, and in times of dire need press these malformed wastrels into service for the good of the human crew.

Career Preference: Typically Arch-Militant or Missionary…any save the Rogue Trader.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Press gang foreman, mutant informants, bilge workers.
Important Skills: Forbidden Lore (Mutants), Secret Tongue (Underdecks), Tracking.
Benefits:
Immediately after Starship Combat, the Twistcatcher may raid the lower decks, replacing a portion of the dead crew with mutant slaves captured in the raid. If such a raid is undertaken, the ship regains 1D5 Crew Population but loses 1 Crew Morale.

Master of the Vox

In the course of daily operations, an endless stream of vox traffic passes through a voidship’s command deck. These lines of communication are vital to the operation of a vessel and a Rogue Trader’s fleet, and it is the responsibility of the Master of The Vox to keep all channels of communication clear, and all vox-casters functioning at peak efficiency.

Career Preference: Astropath Transcendent, Seneschal, and Void-master
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Senior communications officers, officers of cryptography, vox-caster maintenance personnel.
Important Skills: Ciphers (Rogue Trader), Secret Tongue (Rogue Trader), Trade (Cryptographer)
Benefits:
The Master of The Vox gains a +20 bonus to the Jam Communications Extended Action.

Purser

The operation of a Rogue Trader’s vessel and the execution of endeavours requires uncountable amounts of wealth to be shuffled between investments and expenses on a daily basis, and the risk of loss is great. Financial officers must be prepared to balance enough books to fill a librarium many times over. In an economic climate where the single stroke of an autoquill can mean the difference between tragic loss and phenomenal gain, the purser must be tireless and ever vigilant. However, the purser also has a second duty, to ration payment and rewards to the crew serving aboard his ship. This often means the purser is loved and hated in turn, based on how forthcoming a crew’s pay is.

Career Preference: Seneschal only.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Senior financial managers, chartered accountants, the Master of Pensions.
Important Skills: Barter, Commerce, Evaluate.
Benefits:
When replenishing Morale by spending Achievement Points, the Purser only has to spend 25 Achievement Points, and may always make a Routine (+20) Barter Test instead of a Charm Test. (This test is always Routine, no matter how many times Morale is replenished in this manner.)

Carto-Artifex

The void and the warp contain dangers that often mean death for those who venture forth unprepared. The best way to survive such dangers is to avoid them entirely. To this end, a wise Lord-Captain consults his Carto-artifex before any voyage. This master of charts and hololithic maps is charged with finding safe routs and circumventing danger. The secrets of the void and the warp are laid bare before his vast knowledge of the tides and current of the immaterium.

Career Preferences: Seneschals, Navigators, Explorators, and other Explorers with a scholarly bent.
Examples of immediate Subordinates: Navigator House archivists, keeper of the librarium, deep void auger operator.
Important Skills: Trade (Astrographer), Navigation (Stellar and Warp), Forbidden Lore (Navigators).
Benefits:
The Carto-artifex gains a +10% bonus to all Awareness and Perception Test made during Warp Navigation, and when detecting stellar phenomena.

Ship’s Steward

The vast stocks of food, water, and air upon which a crew depends must be carefully monitored and rationed, lest wanton consumption and theft lead to a crippling shortage. Someone must take charge of these resources, to see that they are used properly. To do less invites starvation, dehydration, and suffocation on a catastrophic scale.

Career Preferences: Seneschal and Void-master, plus any character with the Void Born Home World option.
Examples of Immediate Subordinates: Master of Stores, senior hydrologists, guildmaster of Atmospheric Reclamators.
Important Skills: Blather, Survival.
Benefits:
The careful rationing imposed by the ship’s steward doubles the effective provisions of a craft, allowing it to function for up to a year before the crew suffers the consequences of long voyages.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is the first edition rule/source book for the Warhammer 40,000 miniature wargame by Games Workshop. The subtitle refers to a particular class of character within the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Rule Book[edit]

The existence of a science fiction table top game in development by Games Workshop was made known through Citadel Journal in 1986 and Rogue Trader was officially released at Games Workshop's annual Games Day event in October 1987. Created by Rick Priestly, The game was sub-titled Warhammer 40,000 in order to clearly differentiate it from 2000 AD's Rogue Trooper comic series. The game featured rules that were closely modelled on those of its older fantasy counterpart, Warhammer Fantasy Battle. The majority of the book was written by Rick Priestley who was also responsible for WFB.

The gameplay of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader differs from its main modern-day descendant, in that it was heavily role-play-oriented, with great detail placed on weaponry and vehicles and the inclusion of a third player (the Game Master) in battles, a role not dissimilar from the Dungeon Master of Dungeons and Dragons. Rogue Trader introduced some races that were later removed from the setting, such as Squats (Warhammer dwarfs in space), Zoats (also present in Warhammer Fantasy Battle) and the Space Slann (a humanoid frog-like race also found in Warhammer Fantasy at the time).

Models which were released for Rogue Trader are no longer produced and are available in private collections with limited runs sometimes sold through the Games Workshop online store.

Like many later incarnations, the Rogue Trader rulebook mostly contained what is often termed 'fluff' (more properly referred to as 'Lore'), including the historical background of the Imperium and alien races. Information on the Warp was limited and the forces of Chaos were nowhere in the text. They were, however, referred to by game designer Rick Priestly in the pre-release announcement, and did show up shortly after in expansion rule books which provided not just greater background for the various races and armies but also the first proper army lists. Only a small portion of the book contained rules, the bulk of the pages instead being devoted to the background of the universe. The fact that the current edition still contains a great amount of 'fluff' is a testament to the popularity of this arrangement.

The tone of much Rogue Trader content is in line with the more whimsical and tongue-in-cheek style of 1980s and early 1990s; it is jarring when compared to more recent lore, so this material is rarely mentioned in modern publications. Nonetheless, the opening text was highly similar to the later editions' and to the opening texts of Black Library publications.

Also illustrative of the style is that the inside covers of the book were decorated with caricatures of members of Games Workshop staff. Additionally, the physical rule book, itself, was also notorious for poor construction, as the pages almost invariably fell out of the binding. This led to a variety of repair solutions - such as drilling holes through the book near the binding and binding it with string or ring binders - that, coincidentally, echoed the ramshackle construction techniques of the Orks.

In addition, supplemental material was continually published in White Dwarf magazine, which provided rules for new units and models. These articles were from time to time released in expansion books along with new rules, background materials and illustrations. Ten books were released for the original edition of Warhammer 40,000.

Chapter Approved - Book of the Astronomican, the Warhammer 40,000 Compendium and the Warhammer 40,000 Compilation compiled articles previously printed in White Dwarf.

Waaargh - Orks, 'Ere We Go - Orks in Warhammer 40,000 and Freebooterz introduced background material for Ork culture and physiology, and army lists for not only the major Ork clans but also pirates and mercenaries.

The Realm of Chaos books, Slaves to Darkness and The Lost and the Damned, included background and rules for Chaos in all of GW's main systems of the era - Rogue Trader, Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd edition, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

The Battle Manual consolidated rules for the many weapons of the 41st millennium, and introduced new rules replacing the shooting and hand-to-hand combat phases of the game, while the Vehicle Manual contained a new system for vehicle management, including an inventive target location system which used acetate crosshairs to simulate weapon hits on a silhouette of the vehicle. Together, these manuals practically form an intermediate edition of the Warhammer 40,000 rules, between Rogue Trader and 2nd edition.

Character class[edit]

The rule book originally described Rogue Traders as being freelance explorers employed by the Imperium to search for planets outside of the established borders. A Rogue Trader is a trusted Imperial servant, given a ship, a crew, a contingent of marines and the right to go wherever they so desire. They generally survey uninhabited worlds near to the fringes of Imperial space and on the Eastern Fringes where the Astronomican does not reach.

The potentials of new worlds, such as material wealth or knowledge, has stimulated the growth of the Rogue Trader section of society. Some have even gone so far as to try to cross intergalactic space, although even a mighty psyker is not powerful enough to send back reports from that distance. When encountering new alien species, the Rogue Trader is very much a separate organisation from the Imperium, so they must decide how to react to these new creatures. If they judge them unworthy they can be destroyed or they can gather information on them and have someone else destroy them. If he deems them useful, he may make contact with them. If they are only useful for their technology or material wealth then they may be raided, the trader returning to Terra laden with rich goods and undreamt of technology.

A Rogue Trader can be in charge of up to a dozen ships, including many transports with willing colonists and troops. They tend to be individuals who have reached a certain height in the Imperium but for some reason are not considered fit for further advancement. By being offered Rogue Trader status, they can be put somewhere out of harm's reach, though it strengthens their reputation as outcasts. They can include overzealous Space Marine Commanders, powerful navigators and even Inquisitors.

This profile has been altered as the game (and Warhammer 40,000 universe) evolved. For example, in many of the more recent Warhammer 40,000 novels, many Rogue Traders have been depicted as independent traders who tend to smuggle highly illegal or dangerous contraband by running Imperial blockades. Some of these items include, but are not limited to, narcotics, alien technology, and warp-tainted items. However, some Rogue Traders are more sympathetic to the Imperium, and many Imperial agents such as Inquisitors employ Rogue Traders when they require fast and stealthy transportation.

Yet more recent canon depicts the Rogue Traders as an amalgam of the two previous versions. Rogue Traders are given a writ from the Imperium, much like privateers, to explore beyond the boundaries of Imperial Space. This writ passes to the Trader's descendants. The Rogue Trader and his family, and the vessels they command, which can comprise a small fleet in some cases, are exempt from many Imperial laws and regulations, but is still under Imperial scrutiny. Rogue traders that dabble too heavily in alien trade, or other 'heretical' practices, could still be investigated and executed by the Inquisition.

Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader Pdf

Spin-offs[edit]

In 2009, Fantasy Flight Games released Rogue Trader, a role-playing game based on Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. In this RPG, the players specifically play the roles of a rogue trader and his retinue, whereas in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, this was merely a recommended option. A rogue trader is a human who has been licensed by the Imperium to travel freely across the galaxy and trade with aliens.

Reception[edit]

In the September 1989 edition of Dragon (Issue 149), Ken Rolston liked the setting of this game, pointing out that it 'has more in common with fantasy role-playing than with most other science-fiction games. Sure, there are spaceships, lasers, and plasma guns, but in WH40K these marvels are treated more like fantasy magical devices than like plausible developments of modern technology.' Rolston then wrote a lengthy article showing how this miniatures game could be converted to a role-playing system. He thought the mixture of sf and fantasy lent itself to role-playing, saying, 'this choice of a future-fantasy theme has two appealing features as a role-playing setting. First, a future fantasy frees the game master (GM) from the challenging task of moderating and maintaining a plausible science-fictional universe... [and] you can borrow liberally from the trappings and conventions of two popular adventure genres — medieval fantasy and science fiction — to create a fantasy campaign with its own peculiar and distinctive flavor.'^[1]

Reviews[edit]

• Challenge #35 (1988)

References[edit]

1. ^Rolston, Ken (September 1989). 'Role-playing reviews'. Dragon. TSR, Inc. (149): 32–41.

Bibliography[edit]

Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader Rpg Pdf

• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, Rick Priestley, Berkley Publishing Group, London 1989, ISBN1-869893-23-9
• Priestly, Rick (September 1987). 'Warhammer 40,000: Games Workshop's Latest Tabletop Game - Hail the Emperor!'. White Dwarf. Nottingham, UK: Games Workshop. 93: 33–44.
• Priestly, Rick (October 1987). 'Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader'. White Dwarf. Nottingham, UK: Games Workshop. 94: 2–3.
• Chamber, Andy (October 1986). 'Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader'. Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay. Nottingham, UK: Black Library. 171: 2–3.