Hey!
I wrote down one of my best adventures, so it can be used by those, who want to start playing Rogue Trader, introduce new players, or just start a new campaign. I hope you like it guys and write back what you think about it. You're free to try it out or pass it to others MG's. Just remember I brought it to you
Commediante
Here it is:
The pilgrimage
This session is somewhat unusual, because your players start it with blank character sheets.
What is this adventure about?
It tells a tale of journey to The Holy Terra, where one of the characters receives the Warrant of Trade, and all of them give life and story to their new characters.
Abstract:
All the players wake up on their voidship, which appears to be in an orbit around Terra. They come down, where one of them is given the Warrant of Trade by the authorities. Then they are kidnapped from the streets of Holy Planet to a place which turns out to be Inquisition Headquarters. There they’re being interrogated and learn some things about their new liberties.
Point by point version:
1. Players wake up in their apartments on board a voidship. They feel sleepy and confused. Their eyes needs to adjust to lights after a long slumber. After a while someone comes in. He presents himself as First Archreferent Farkin Trask, their Licensed Final Preparator before the descent to the Holy Grounds.
The official asks for their names (they write them down on their sheets), checks their vital signs, moves coordination and intelligence using various methods and tools (simple IQ tests, reaction to Terra’s gravity, medical scans etc.). That means that player roll their starting abilities.
Description of Farkin Trask:
Farkin Trask is a high imperial official tasked with preparing very important pilgrims to come down to the cradle. He looks modestly, dressed in a green, weathered robe, bent under the weight of his servo-desk attached to his body somewhere around the waist. He carries almost as many seals of merit as official papers which he fills every time he learns something about the players.
After the tests are done (when all your players have their names chosen and their stats rolled), they all come to their voidship’s main docking hall, where their bridge and deck officers, soldiers, and family members stand all clad in ceremonial uniforms.
If any of your players wants to say anything to their men, this is the best moment for this. Oh, so there was one? That’s probably your Rogue Trader
2. Finally the characters get into one of thousands space elevators surrounding the old Earth. You may give them descrpitions about how Terra looks like during the descent. Terra is a super-hive city inhabited by billions of people, orbited by milions of voidships. The northern lights are the only phenomen known from the age, when the planet was only green, blue and white. Now, since it’s atmosphere was eradicated, it coveres the entire globe and serves it’s residents a never ending spectacle of colour and nostalgia. Below the so called northern lights they can see whole rivers of artificial ones. They all seems to flow to one place - to the ocean of light, which must be The Imperial Palace. The elevator seems to be attracted to it as well.
3. When they finally lay their feet on the ground, the cradle of Mankind greets them with an astonishing view - the Palace seems to be built on a mountain top! They cannot admire the view for too long though. They have strict instructions and passes that oblige them to join a stream of terrans flowing in one direction - towards Imperial Palace. They are forbidden to stop and are being watched by omnipresent authorities. They may pass a column of Sisters of Battle, Imperial Navy generals, Adeptus Custodes, they can exchange looks with a group of hurried officials from the Administratum…
4. Then they reach the Hall of Heroes which leads directly to the Palace, Where He sits on the Golden Throne. It is as far as a mere mortal can go. Your players may want to give homage to the imperial heroes immortalized here as sculptures or say a prayer to the Emperor. This may be a good moment for the players to tell what their characters think about the Imperial Creed, imperial beaurocracy and the direction mankind is heading. Players who don’t know Wh40k may be told a story or two (by other players who know it well, perhaps?).
5. Next stop is a great hall nearby, where the ceremony of Warranting will commence. The characters are told to walk narrow causeway hanigng in midair. On the end there is a stairway leading to big desk, behind which an old-as-world scribe sits. Players may be accompanied by a flock of mechanical cherubs here, little ones flying over them and looking at out of curiosity. Over the scribe’s head there’s a faint, but huge and very clear hologram of someone wearing heavy, hooded robe. Only the robe can be seen, face of a giant hologram is covered in shadow. When characters approach the steps scribe says that he, Arch-scribe Lizandrus, The Speaker of Her Words, Carrier of The Binder of Saint Admerus, is honored to write down the will of High Lady Adrastia of Terra which is a Warrant of Trade for a Rogue Trader. Then he asks which of the characers it is… It’s important decision, so let your players to take their time. The
Arch-scribe may help them by saying that it is a role of a leader, a speaker, and the one who takes responsibility for entire worlds and their populations. Bones of short-sighted and ignorant rogue traders dry in the void all over the galaxy and their deaths bring death and destruction upon thousands who served them and millions that were dependant on his work.
After the Rogue Trader is chosen, the holographic figure in the background (presumably High Lady Adrastia) nods her head, the players receive a Warrant of Trade and leave the great hall.
6. When they’re on their way to the astrodock they sense something strange in a torrent of people they pass by - a gap. Then a middle aged and middle sized man appears and tells them to go down the alley that’s suddenly empty. They may notice that surprisingly, there are no authorities around. When they go there, the Average Man leads them to the elevator (normal one) that goes down underground and down the endless shaft in which walls turn from metal to concrete, from concrete to stone. Finally they come out to see some kind of a rail station. They are invited to board the train and start to move fast in the unknown direction. It seems all this mess is intended to confuse them utterly.
7. When they finally stop they recognize the Inquisition sign immidiately. There is only one doorway leading out of the station and it ends with door to the office of Lord Inquisitor Tallabane, who asks them about their past. This is the moment, when players complete stories of their characters in a direction “proffesion to origin”. You can help yourself by using a chart from the page 16 of Core Rulebook and telling your players to draw line of their character’s life on it. Inquisitor is free to ask them when their paths crossed and how. Players basically invent their common story.
Description of the Lord Inquisitor Tallabane:
He’s in a rather good mood and quite friendly (almost too friendly) to player’s characters. He behaves rather like a proud uncle eager to see their nephews make a career than merciless superspy and destroyer of worlds. He is very curious about what the characters might have to say about their past, but tries not to judge them (at least for now).
After players make up their history it is your time to tell them with the voice of LI Tallabane about their liberties as the Warrant of Trade holders and… their obligations, if you have any for them. That can be a seed for a next session or a whole new campaign.
8. After that they are released in the same place they were kidnapped from the streets of Terra and continue their journey to the astrodock. When they are done they can fly away towards the distant worlds.
Options:
- you can add various tests along the way if players are not familiar with them. Trained skill tests, basic untrained skill tests etc. Those that show the mechanics of the game as well as your understanding of them.
- You can use gadgets like official papers that players need to fill or certficates with imperial stamps etc.
I didn’t include the voidship creation part in this session, because it has enough features for one time. I’m writing this after playing this adventure a couple of times, so you may trust me with this.
Edited by Commediante