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I want to run a Rogue Trader PBP. But before recruiting the rest of the retinue, I'd like to get first the Rogue Trader, as he will be the one responsible for a big chunk of the game, since he'd be designing the Rogue Trader Dynasty and the ship.
The successful applicant for the position of Rogue Trader will be the one to submit a compelling story about his lineage along with a design of his ship (preferably a cruiser, as the game I want to run will involve a lot of space battles).
Once selected, he will also assist me in selecting the rest of his team.
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Here's a stab at a ship built for fighting. It's bare bones now, but it's got room both power and space for a bunch of expansion. The crew is downgraded for the backstory; that being a recent tragedy that almost spelt doom for the the Rogue Trader house and almost losing the ship. That could also be used to explain why the ship isn't outfitted with much. Perhaps it *was* but quite a bit was damaged an beyond repair and this is what they got it back to.
The weapons listed are really mostly fillers. I like the idea of it having a torpedo loadout, especially so low on PF. It means that the crew can pack a huge punch, but it'll cost them as they can't easily replace those shots. The macrobattery and lances are just thrown on and are easily switched around to something more fitting. I've found lances to be *really* subpar with the RT ship combat rules out of the book. With the Mathhammer rules they're a bit better. But I think the build works either way.
The ship's biggest "thing" is the amazing amount of speed you can get out of it for a Battlecruiser. Not much can escape this thing. I was torn on the Barracks. It gives a massive boost to military endeavors, which is good, but the ship is currently *very* focused. It might be more interesting to have something like Extended Supply Vaults or Arboretum and design it to stay out of port for extended amounts of time hunting pirates and such. Or maybe those were parts of the ship that were damaged beyond repair and need replacement?
With that said, it's way undergunned at the moment. Which is fine since it's fast and armored up. But that's something the crew would want to work towards.
Overlord-class Battlecruiser
Dimensions: 5.3km long,0.85 km abeam at fins approx.
Mass: 31 megatonnes approx.
Crew: 100,000 crew, approx.
Accel: 2.4 gravities max sustainable acceleration.
A successful early illustration of how workable the battlecruiser concept can be, the Overlord is as fine an example of a pure warship as can be found. Most Rogue Traders find the ship is poorly suited to anything other than combat, as its enormous weapons systems place a colossal strain upon the plasma drive.
Some Rogue Traders strip out the extensive macrobatteries, freeing up space for other Components, but others regard this as a foolish and blinkered waste of some of the most elegantly designed and lethally effective weapons systems in the galaxy.
Manufactured in the vast orbital shipyards of Cypra Mundi (as well as at other shipyards in lesser numbers), the Overlord is a difficult vessel to construct, but faithful and fierce in its service to mankind. It does not waste space on massive attack craft hangers or the temperamental nova cannon. Instead, most designs use powerful long-range macrobatteries and lance turrets, backed by prow torpedo tubes. This simple, proven, and effective weaponry plays to the strengths of Imperial Navy tactics and Imperial technology. The design is an ancient but successful one, and new examples of the class are still commissioned every decade or so.
Speed: 5
Maneuverability: +10
Detection: +10
Hull Integrity: 70
Armour: 20
Turret Rating: 2
Space: 78
Base SP: 64
Weapon Capacity: Prow 1, Port 2, Starboard 2, Dorsal 1
Battlecruiser: This ship can use “cruisers only” Components
Machine Spirit Oddities - Wrothful: The ship’s spirit constantly smoulders with anger. In battle, it explodes into a berserker fury, straining and exhausting its systems. During combat, the ship gains +1 Speed and + 7 Maneuverability. Out of combat, the ship suffers –1 Speed and –5 to Maneuverability and Detection.
Past Histories - Wrested from a Space Hulk; The ship has been recovered from a space hulk - a mass of wrecked ships that drifts intermittently through the warp and realspace. The ship is very old (and thus of high quality), but those who know of its origins whisper that it is cursed. The ship gains +1 Armour, +1 Speed, and +3 Maneuverability. However, every time the crew suffers a Misfortune, the GM rolls twice and chooses the worse of the two. The curse can have many other effects as well, many ill, but a truly skilled Rogue Trader can turn any situation to profit...
Plasma Drive: Saturnine-pattern class 4a “ultra” drive
Power Generated: 90, Space: 14, SP:0
Warp Engine: Miloslav h-616.b Warp engine
Haste of the Damned: Reduce the duration of all warp passages by half. However, roll on the Warp Travel Encounters table every three days rather than every five days.
Power: 10, Space: 12
Geller Field: Geller Field
Power: 1, Space: 0
Void Shields: Dual Void Shield Array
Power: 7, Space: 2
Ship's Bridge: Ship's Master Bridge
Master Plotting Table: All Piloting and Navigation tests by crew on the Bridge gain +5.
Improve Fire Direction: All Ballistic Skill Tests to fire shipboard weapons gain +10.
Power: 4, Space: 3
Life Sustainers: Vitae Pattern Life Sustainer
Power: 5, Space: 3
Crew Quarters: Voidsmen Quarters
Power: 2, Space: 4
Augur Arrays: Mark–201.b Auger Array
External: This Component does not require hull space. Although it is external, it can only be destroyed or damaged by a Critical Hit.
Sensitive: Increased power draw provides a +5 bonus to the ship’s Detection.
Power: 5, Space: 0
Barracks
Soldiers: When working toward a Military objective, the players earn an additional 100 Achievement Points towards completing that objective.
Reinforcements: If the ship is transporting troops, it gains +20 to all Command Tests involving boarding actions and Hit and Run Actions.
Power: 2, Space: 4, SP: 2
Trophy Room
Past Experiences: When working toward an Exploration, Trade, or Criminal objective, the players earn an additional 50 Achievement Points toward completing that objective.
Power: 1, Space: 1, SP: 1
Energistic Conversion Matrix
Redirect Power to Engines: The ship’s captain can choose to activate the conversion matrix at any time as a free action. When he does so, he decreases the amount of Power generated by the ship and increases its Speed value. Transports and Cruisers can exchange 5 Power for 1 Speed. A ship’s Speed value cannot be increased by more than 5 using this Component. A captain may divert Power being used to power other Components, however, if he does so, the Component becomes unpowered for as long as the conversion matrix is used.
Power: 1, Space: 1, SP: 1
Supplemental Components, Weapons: -
Prow
Torpedo Tubes: Mars-pattern Torpedo Tubes
Larger vessels are capable of supporting far more massive installations of torpedo tubes. In addition to a larger ammunition capacity, these Components are also capable of firing six torpedoes in each salvo. It can store 42 torpedoes, plus an additional six if the ship’s captain does not mind keeping six “in the tubes.”
Volatile: If this Component is Damaged or Destroyed (but not Unpowered or Depressurized) while torpedoes are loaded, it has a 10 percent chance of exploding. In this event, the Component is destroyed and the ship takes 2d5 Hull Integrity damage.
Power: 2, Space: 8, SP: 2, Strength: 6
Dorsal
Macrobatteries: Sunsear Laser Battery
Strength: 4
Damage: 1d10+2
Crit Rating: 4
Range: 9 VU
Power: 6, Space: 4, SP: 1
Port
Lance: Titanforge Lance Battery
Strength: 2
Damage: 10+4
Crit Rating: 3
Range: 6 VU
Power 13, Space: 6, SP: 2
Starboard
Lance: Titanforge Lance Battery
Strength: 2
Damage: 10+4
Crit Rating: 3
Range: 6 VU
Power 13, Space: 6, SP: 2
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Speed: 6 (7 combat, 5 non-combat)
Maneuverability: +13 (20 combat, 15 non-combat)
Detection: +15 (10 non-combat)
Hull Integrity: 70/70
Crew Population: 100/100
Crew Rating: Incompetent (Skill 20)
Morale: 100/100
Armour: 21
Turret Rating: 2
Space Remaining: 10 (68 Used)
Power Remaining: 18 (72 Used)
Weapon Capacity: Port 1 (1 used), Port 2 (1 used), Starboard 2 (1 used), Dorsal 1 (1 used)
I would be down for some Rogue trader. Are you wanting core only? Or are other books such as Into the storm and BK allowed?
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@ william nightmooon and seekofshadowlight, this thread is for the recruitment of THE ROGUE TRADER, if you have designs on heading your own dynasty and building your own ship, you're welcome to submit your version. You may use Core, Into the Storm and Battlefleet Koronus.
on the other hand, retinue recruitment (not the rogue trader) will follow after we've ironed out the dynasty and ship. so far, aptinuviel has submitted details on the dynasty and the intended ship.
@ Radavel, I know. I just wanted to know what books the RT creation was limited to.
Tweaked the ship a bit. Changed up the weapon load-out and added a Compartmentalized Cargo Hold. This makes the ship great for transporting weapons. If you're planning on a war in some far away place, this is the ship you hire to get stuff to you. Weapons, soldiers, and that's not even getting to the ship capable of outfighting most small fleets.
Would like to play some 40k Rogue Trader
I know this thread is for the recruitment of the Rogue Trader, but I'll dot to keep an eye on this and not miss the retinue recruitment. Don't know much about the setting, but always wanted to play some Warhammer.
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Did a little updating of the ship sheet. It could use a little formatting clean-up, I think. I'll work on it.
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I know I sent a sample background for a RT, but that was based on an "open choice" in the Birthright section (my typical section to pick for open when running RT). However, do you plan to have an open pick, and if so, will it be the Birthright section?
Thanks!
Open pick is fine. No need to roll stuff especially if it comes up to a combo you don't like.
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I was kind of looking forward to seeing other RT concepts thrown out there. I'm going to post the one I sent the GM here in the hopes that it inspires a few more!
The Rogue Trader
Lord-Captain Haji Qalandar Khan of House Durrani, Badcha of Haqqowijja:
Qalandar was born on Tolkhan, a Forgeworld in the Segmentum Tempestus. Unlike many in his culture, Qalandar had little family and thus was forced to struggle to survive. His natural curiosity got him into all sorts of trouble, including eventually the notice of a noblewoman of House Durrani. Khaista Durrani, the heir to the House, was a strong willed woman who would one day carry the title of Rogue Trader and carry the sacred Warrant of her dynasty. But first she would marry for love, despite her family's objections.
Qalandar accompanied Khaista on many an adventure before they found the Lost World of Ur. Unfortunately, the planet was lost with good reason. They thought they had found a dead world. How wrong they were. Khaista died saving her husband. She was not the last of the crew to be lost, but through wits, guile, and a large helping of luck, Qalandar kept what he could alive and led what remained of the crew away from the planet. Without his bravery, the fortunes of House Durrani would have been completely lost. In the wake of this near-disaster the Matriarch of House Durrani declared that Qalandar Khan would carry on as Rogue Trader and regain the fortunes that the House had lost.
The Lord-Captain is a tall, well-built man. Despite the darkness in his eyes, he remains quick to smile. His once black hair has started to turn silver, and he keeps a neatly trimmed beard upon his face. He wears a power sword at his waist in a manner that might give the impression he's never even drawn the weapon. The laspistol, almost an antique, seems to see much more use. His attire is that of a noble of Tolkhan, a culture similar to Tallarn's. Loose fitting and lightly colored, Qalandar always looks comfortable in whatever setting he's in.
Qalandar is not as familiar with the Imperial Creed as some members of the Ecclesiarchy would like. Despite not being a religious man, he is quite spiritual. But, like many people from Tolkhan, cultural values are sometimes held in higher regard than religion.
There are many mysteries surrounding Qalandar Khan, adding to his charm and fame, and not some small amount of infamy. But what is clear to everyone is that his crew will follow him to hell, or back to hell, as it were. That he will be the first to lead the way. And that he'll be laughing the entire trip.
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Working on some more RT concept, I was thinking of having Qalandar go the Crusade (Call to War) route having him be a former Imperial Navy officer and pushing the concept a bit more in the martial direction to be in line with the "lot of space battles" expectation. So, prior to marrying into the Durrani House, he served in the Navy.
I'll also do some work on writing up the House itself (motivations, goals, etc.) in a bit.
Warrant Age: The Age of Rebirth
Fortune & Fate: Fallen From Grace
Acquisition: Reward
Sanction: Age of Plunder
Contacts: Battlefleet
Warrant Renown: Famous
House Durrani is one of the oldest noble families of Imperium, having their hand in many of the worlds in the Coreward planets of Segmentum Tempestus. During the Age of Plunder the House joined many others seeking their fortune in the Calyx Expanse. The House sent a full fleet, often having many nobles serving in the Imperial Navy before commanding House vessels. Many being veterans of the Horus Heresy. It was there that they were rewarded with a Warrant for killing the notorious Dark Eldar pirate Alaryn Ellarion, a target that had eluded even the Ordo Xenos. The Warrant itself is still held in a stasis vault in one of the catacombs beneath the surface of Terra itself.
Long allied with the Battlefleet, House Durrani has been the bane of pirates for centuries. The House's main fleet, led by the Battlecruiser Heart of the Tempest, has brought the Emperor's judgement to raiders and reavers at the far edges of the void. In the last few generations the House has moved more toward smaller trading vessels and keeping open regular trade routes from their traditional planetholds in the Segmentum Tempestus. However, they still maintained several ships exploring the far reaches of the Koronus Expanse, finding new worlds and rooting out dens of scum and villainy.
But tragedy has befallen the House in recent years. Thinking they had found a fortune to be made on a lost world, the overconfident Lord-Captain committed their fleet to exploiting its resources. The destruction of most of its ships, and the near loss of its flagship, almost destroyed House Durrani. Even now, the Heart of the Tempest isn't at full strength and remains the only vessel the House can put towards endeavors to increase what wealth they have remaining.
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I left the tragedy of the Lost World deliberately vague in case people put that into their background and have ideas for specifics. Also, I deliberately made the Dark Eldar's name close to the name of current Corsair in the Koronus Expanse. They don't have to be related, but I figured I'd leave that option out there just in case it sounded like fun to the GM. :)
It was probably David Tennant's fault, it always is.
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I like it. I think you could probably work out the same Warrant History path I used above as well. If you'd prefer Missionaria Galaxia in the Contacts part, that shakes things up a bit. But you end up with a lot more PF.
You could do something like this:
Warrant Age: Age of Rebirth [SP: 12/PF: 10]
Fortune & Fate: Struggling [SP: 6/PF: 4]
Acquisition: Bribery [SP: 12/PF: 2]
Sanction: Angevin Crusade [SP: 10/PF: 4]
Contacts: Missionaria Galxia [SP: 8/PF: 6]
Warrant Renown: Famous [SP: 14/PF: 4]
Total SP: 62
Total PF: 30
This is, of course, if you're pushing for as much SP as you can get while also having Inquisition connections as part of the Warrant. That gets you a decent Light Cruiser or a stripped down Cruiser. You can go lower on SP, but then we're getting into decent Frigate or stripped Light Cruiser territory. Not necessarily bad, but Radavel has expressed a preference for Cruisers, so I wouldn't go too light.
Alternatively, the Warrant itself doesn't have to be connected to the Inquisition. There are a couple of ways to get the Peer (Ecclesiarchy) Talent and you could also take the "Far Reaching Contacts" Lineage to get three Peer Talents and pick up Inquisition, specifically, as one of them. It's an expensive background, but it's also really good.
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Some notes about the Exorcist:
1. It doesn't have any Prow or Dorsal mounts for weapons. It's a good boat for carrying smaller craft, but that's a bad solo role for a ship. That actually fits your fluff really well, so that might be okay with you. Also, small craft are, fluff wise, really good at pirate hunting. Mechanics-wise they're pretty good against anything.
2. You can get another 5 SP from downgrading your crew to Incompetent. This isn't as bad as it looks since crew rolls tend to be terrible even if they're decent. But, it does mean being okay with having a less well-trained crew. Maybe the best of them stayed with the Navy?
3. It's also *really* slow, coming in at 4 speed. Almost anything can outrun it. Though, if you check out the Heart of the Tempest above, you can see how to make a big slow ship fast...at least for short bursts.
4. I'd consider other classes of ship and just put Jovian bays on them. You're basically getting a 2 space discount when you choose the carrier-specific ships, but space is not exactly tough to come by in anything Cruiser sized or higher. Especially if you start picking up Best-quality components. It would cost 4 SP to put two Landing bays on another ship, but that might be worth it. For example, if you did that to the Avenger you'd spend 3 SP to get -2 space, +1 speed, +1 detection, +1 armor, +5 hull integrity. Though you'd still have the same weapon capacity.
Overall, because they mount only Port/Starboard weapons and aren't the most maneuverable, Grand Cruisers aren't all that great when alone. However, this fits what you're going for, so that's probably a good thing rather than a bad. :)
Crew Rating: pg. 193 as part of ship construction. It allows you to upgrade or downgrade the crew.
Be careful with Lath Hangars. The downside is that if you lose power to the component when the doors are open, they automatically depressurize. Also you can't go into the warp with them open. (Which also means that if you accidentally enter the warp with them open, that's *really* bad.)
It essentially means that your cruiser is a bit more vulnerable and you can't shut off power to those components for the extra speed with the Energy Converter. Given they only require 1 Power each, that last isn't *that* big a deal, but with Jovian's you can squeeze out that last bit of power if you ever need it.
The Heart of the Tempest is built as a Torpedo heavy hitter, but you could easily convert it to a carrier. It's also built on 70 SP. If you have 73, all I'd do is pull out the Torpedo tubes, put in two Jovian bays, and throw another Sunsear on the prow. That's a sunsear and plasma firing in any forward-ish direction along with two carrier bays. And the ship moves *fast*. I was actually strongly thinking of taking the carrier track with it, and may still do so. Especially if someone is interested in playing a hotshot pilot Void Master. And, if you end up playing the RT, expect for me to put in a VM pilot application! :)
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@Swordwhale, SP to PF is ok but PF to SP is not. If you do not have enough SP, I suggest making using of Child of Dynasty. Several players with that should be a game changer.
Going carrier for a ship submission smacks of Battlestar Galatica. I love that show both the old and the new.
and can u explain further the double rogue trader idea that you have as i might have a different understanding.
@aptnuviel and Swordwhale, to which Imperial Institution does your dynasty owe its existence to? which does it work best with? which does it hate or avoid like the plague?
Also be advised that we shall be using the Roles from Into the Storm so Rogue Traders are required to style themselves as Lord-Captains. More about this once we've settled who's the RT.
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House Durrani is the RT House that my RT is associated with. I posted it mistakenly under my GM tag (Game Master Listener) above.
The House is closely associated with the Battlefleet and was originally awarded the Warrant due to it's efforts to settle the Calyx Expanse during the Age of Plunder. Due to the House having ties mostly to Forge worlds and the Battlefleet in Segmentum Tempestus, they have a rather rocky association with the Ecclesiarchy. They have a history of Privateering and Pirate Hunting, so they get along rather poorly with actual Pirates and have a rocky relationship with some Merchant Houses, being associated with one that is old, but which has fallen on hard times at the moment.
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It actually might be more interesting if historically the RT House has hunted Pirates but recent hard times has forced them to make deals with some Pirate crews to fight some others. Hopefully some of the more "honorable" Pirate organizations, but hey, they're called hard times for a reason. And heck, they aren't reavers! :)
I like it. I modified Heart of the Tempest as a carrier as well. I took off the Trophy Room and Compartmentalized Cargo Hold as well as the Torpedoes, and threw on two landing bays. If someone were planning on being a Child of Dynasty and bringing three more SP, I'd add the two supplemental components back and put some Sunsears on the Prow.
Some suggestions:
1. Always use the Miloslav h-616.b Warp engine. It's just better all around. It's mechanically better *and* its spooky. That's just a win-win.
2. I think you can do better with 2SP than the Augmented Thrusters.
3. I suggest Sunsears as your Macrobatteries. They've got some decent range.
4. A main issue you'll run into is that your broadsides are decent (but lower than a true Cruiser broadside since you've got bays rather than a 3rd weapon), but your prow firing is really weak with just one weapon.
5. You're definitely going all-in on attack craft from the start. This isn't bad, but I'd probably use that 2SP from Augmented Thrusters to diversify just a bit.
6. What Auger array are you planning on using? You've got the extra power to go bigger if you want, but it's really up to you.
7. I think I'd still go with the Ship's Master Bridge on it, despite the Flight Command Bridge being great for carriers. If you *don't* have a hot shot pilot to go out with the squadrons it might be better? I think the +10 ballistics tests, even having less macrobatteries, is just too awesome to pass up.
And I agree on two ships being too many. As it is, it's best to have a large-ish (at least what would be large for a single TT game) single ship crew for pbp RT. You inevitably lose a few players early in games and having a few extra makes that loss a little less harsh.
Broadsides tend to have higher Strength at the cost of a lot higher Space and Power. Cruisers and bigger ships can afford that trade off, but they don't do more damage or Crit.
I tend to recommend Sunsear Batteries because there's nothing else for 1 SP with that range. With a Strength 4, same damage as pretty much any other Macrobattery, and way more range than anything else worth just 1 SP, they're all around a better weapon. There's no broadside option with them, but again, increasing the Strength a bit for massive power increases is...questionably good. I'm actually strongly considering dropping the Hecutor-pattern Plasma Broadside on the Tempest to a battery. It saves 4 Power and 2 Space for the price of 2 Strength. Strength is good, but the cost is rough unless you're a dedicated gunboat, which these ships aren't.
And you're absolutely right on guns being tougher to get during the game. *Way* tougher. It's why leaving the prow open on the Tempest is *so* rough, but it's on of those things the crew would just have to deal with.
You sold me on a bit more focus. If the Tempest gets 3 SP from a Child of Dynasty crewmember, then I'd pick up another Sunsear on the prow, the Trophy room (it's too hard to pass up), and either a Pilot's Chamber or Small Craft Repair Deck. The next upgrade would be whichever wasn't picked up.
I still think the Ship's Master Bridge is worth it on the Tempest, but not be worth it on the Dictator frame. The amount of firepower the Tempest is putting out, despite having bays, is impressive. A Port or Starboard broadside would have two Sunsears and a Hecutor broadside firing away. +10 BS on each of those is another hit each. That's...a lot of damage.
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