What year would a typical Rogue Trader game start in? Are there any important dates I should be informed about?

FFG's History of the Expanse.

FFG's History of the Expanse.

Thank you!

Pick any date you want and whose events your group thinks is interesting - but a "typical" game of Rogue Trader would probably be orientated to FFG's material and locations, simply because those are featured in the game's books.

If you are looking for a timeline of Warhmemr 40k, try the Wiki here and here , and the Lexicanum here . Bear in mind it's a lot of info, gathered from various sources, and and aligned together to make a clear and unified picture. Stuff that was conflicting was omitted, which was at the whim of the poster. Viewer discretion is advised.

I'm more a fan of a later time stamp, personally, and feel that one benefit of the FFG set is that they "just made some place up." Whether this is 999m41, or 200 years prior, where I think the FFG timeline sits (and with how much warp travel can f with time, it's as "we just picked something" as anything else), you will be in an enclosed, distant place, so whether Abaddon is launching his 13th I'm Still Here Tea Party, or the meaningful Armageddon Wars are still several years off, their impact won't strongly affect you, unless that's the desired result. OW is my whine point, because the Guard's big heroes, Lord Solar Macharius excluded, don't exist yet, and as I whined there, a Guard without Creed, Kell, Straken, and Marbo just doesn't have the same appeal to me. You can't go from Guardsman to Space Marine, normally, but you CAN say "I want to be like Harker, someday", if he exists to inspire you. RT though, there aren't too many established individuals of that title, and your own characters, by definition, will BECOME legends, for good or ill, so when is a bit less important, if a Navis Primer mishap doesn't get you eaten, or drop you off at the 13th Black Crusade.

RT gets me more with all the fallen alien empires I've never heard of. I'm sure if I was more of a 40k nerd, and read all the novels, there MIGHT be a book that mentions Rak'Gol, Stryxis, Yu'Vath, or some of the others, but if it isn't an army in the Table Top, my knowledge will be spottier than usual (which is only helpful in preventing me from meta-gaming), and I won't enjoy picking through their crap as much. Oh well, still probably my favorite setting of FFG.