Graver said:

You mean, risking your life (as a Seneschal) by letting a simple crewman of competent ability (competent crew = 30 to their skills and characteristics) shuttle you across to an enemy vessel through turretfire?

It sure sounds courageus, but a bit too kamikaze for my tastes. And I'd like to keep my 4 fate points for as long as possible for times when they're really needed, not throwing them away at the hands of a mere competent boarding pilot.

Graver said:

That's a good point and I can see that that might have been RAI (Rules As Intended) once, but I see a few problems with that argument.

Having bought the Murder Servitors component, implies that you have "enough" of the little buggers in cryo stasis. And while the GM might force you the group to take Profit Factor tests if they launch many unsuccessful H&R attacks with the help of Murder Servitors (meaning failed Command checks during the H&R, where one could naturally assume that the enemy managed to take down and destroy the servitors) in order to replenish the lost units, it's still assumed that you can launch further attacks with the help of Murder Servitors even after previous unsuccessful attempts where individual units of them were destroyed.

After all, it would be of little point to just have a number of servitors enough for only ONE attack. And according to their description you don't send the entire storage of them in one H&R, you send a few dozen and let the deadly things go to work on the enemy vessel.

HOWEVER, it might be good for balancing issues to limit the use of the Teleportarium? After all, it must require massive amounts of energy to de-materialize and instantly re-materialize a full blown raiding party at the correct location aboard an enemy vessel that could be situated up to 5 Void Units away (5 Void Units are efter all "thousand of kilometres" times five away).

So you can use a single Teleportarium each strategic round, but if you want to conduct further H&R attacks, then you'll have to use assault craft like normal people, but it is assumed that you'll have enough Murder Servitors to go round (even if the GM might force you to replenish them with an Acquisition test at the end of the scenario or consider that component lost or out of action). That would sort of make sense, right?

In my game, because our rogue trader is the first of his house and it is a new warrant of trade, i wanted to run the beginning adventure anyway as it had some fun ideas, so I have turned it backwards, they had to steal the information off of the rightful heir to the information a rogue trader ours has history with Phinneasus Rex (think Shooter McGavin the Rogue trader)The group made a copy of the box, stuck in misleading information and built a genetic sample to open the real box by staging a drunken brawl.

only to descover days after when they finally decipher the map that they had sent phinneaus straight towards the treasure... (ahh i love plot points.)

They then to get around the ork's surrounding the star mirror staged a diversion by sending the voidmaster out with small ships to go Apocolypse now on a bit of the ork city (orks love them a big fight) the rogue trader senceshal and explortor teleported down to the surface to sneak into the mirror where, after dispatching a gretchen on gaurd, they notice the psyker assistant of Phineaus and some gaurds in a firefight with a few orks. they have dispatched the orks and then we called game. its a really fun twist on the starting adventure if you have a new rogue trader without a lineage.

Waring Kadmon, spoilers follow! Do not read if you're Kadmon!

Haven't run it yet, but I felt I had to say this. I fully expect my group to go entirely 'Cubes of Man' on this run. The characters are mostly extremely pious types and should they find Lady Ash without a sanctioning brand (they will), House Fel is going to have made one determined enemy. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't ignore the treasure in favour of hunting down and purging the entire household. The player who has snagged the Rogue Trader character has a severe propensity for vengence anyway and I have this very strong feeling that the fact that he has a friend in Vaarak (Previous DH play) might make a right maelstrom out of this. All it will take is one astropatic message and House Fel will find itself with battlefleet Calixis taking a strong interest in their affairs.

I ran this adventure about a month ago for my PCs. We had similar results with the raider encounter. Our shipmaster detected the raiders hiding out, we rigged for silent running, they failed to detect the PCs and we coasted in and first hit was a lucky critical, blowing out the engines and sensors of one of the hiding ships. We closed fast (and when I say fast, the raider we have is speed 12), and shot the daylights out of the other ship, causing it to be a burning, drifting hulk (our gunner was spot on and didn't miss a shot). When we got in range and boarded it, and in one solid roll, forced them to surrender. The ship was too damaged to continue in the rest of the adventure, but the prize skeleton crew and the pirates leftover able to be "charmed" (coerced), to return to port wander for repairs and refit.

My crew, very angry at Fel, the "villain" of the encounter, wanted badly to nab HIS ship as well, luckily, I had a few days break irl before running it and found the most likely ace in the hole to keep your PCs from netting a fleet of ships after every naval enconter... the Disengage action. Again, good rolling had Fel's ship nearly dead and ready for boarding, however, before they could close, they executed the disengage move and slipped away to lick their wounds. When you run it and run the raider encounter, remember the disengage move, if it looks like a lost cause, they'll try it. It's not a guarantee by any means, but it can save you some headache lol.

Oh, the only other snags I had running it was the first encounter was over WAY before round 8, but I simply stepped up the time the guards showed up. The second snag was when Lady Ash steps onto the bridge, those servitors can be armed with a laundry list of items, but they went up in smoke in... 2 rounds I think (plasma pistols on super mode make short work of... everything). You MIGHT want to make it 4 servitors, but keep them to like, hellguns or some of their smaller calibur weaponry.

other notes, plasma cannons and teleportariums mess the wolfsbane raiders up.

The plasma cannons are nice, but the raiders have range on anything that isn't another ship armed with a Sunfury like they are. If the PCs don't detect both ships and don't have the same range on their weapons, they will be in serious trouble, especially if they are in a slower ship.

admittedly a 13 on the void masters detection role was pretty key.

Personally as a GM I plan to handle capture of the raiders in one of the following ways.

1)The ships in question are an Idolator raider (see BFG), and a former naval escourt.

a)The Idolator was produced at an unknown location. It uses heretical, and xenos technology. Imperial naval ships will generally open fire on the ship once their scanners determine it's class. The Admech considers the ship an affront to the Machine God. There are system that can be salvaged, but the ship itself is of little interest to anyone, but pirates.

b)The naval ship by imperial law must be turned over to the Navy. Anyone using the ship will be treated as a pirate. Then is however a sizable reward for the ship. Most systems can be salvaged as well. Obviously turning the ship over to the Navy without stripping it would make them happier. (If the PCs hand over the ship without obvious stripping of the ship's systems the RT or another PC gains Peer Navy or other similar talent....)

2)If I'm feeling really evil the prize crew(s) simply sells the ship(s) off when they get to port, and disappears with the thrones....

3)If I'm feeling really evil if they leave the ships in dead space they are pretty well stripped when they get back.

Yup, thought so. Within 6 seconds of that scene the astropath had detected Lady Ash, the rogue trader was in pursuit and three rounds later she'd been incapacitated, then beheaded, her corpse incinerated and... well like I said, I knew where this was going.

The rogue trader takes the continued crusade very much to heart. He's even more interested in the relic status of the ship more than the treasure of it's contents.

"A life without deeds is meaningless."

A rogue trader warrant negates such petty imperial law. A rogue trader only answers to the Holy Order of His Inquiry and the other High Lords of Terra (that's right the Inquisition has the same status as the High Lords of Terra). Of these two institutions there is only one superior... the God Emperor of Man.

"In hoc signo vices"

That's only true outside the bounds of the Imperium. Inside they are bound by imperial law.

Dalnor Surloc said:

Sort of.

Looked at completly literally this is true, however not all laws in the imperium are the same for everybody (like all feudal systems).

A RT has immense latitude compared the average imperial citizen. His Nobility and Warrent of Trade means he operates under a different rule set than everyone else. With Inquisitors being the only people they are likely to meet who have more latitude than they do (unless they travel to terra to meet a high lord).

That is also not always the case as RT are sometime Highlords and Lord inquisitors themselves (or is it the other way around?).

llsoth said:

Technically, an Inquisitor has more theoretical authority and freedom to act than a High Lord of Terra, and the Inquisition send a representative to meetings of the Senatorium Imperialis to debate amongst them, rarely sending the same one twice, strongly suggesting that the Inquisition feels that its members stand on at least equal terms with the men and women who rule the Imperium.

llsoth said:

The Rogue Trader rulebook states that Inquisitors given a Warrant of Trade are removed from office and are no longer Inquisitors. There is one example of a Rogue Trader who was also a High Lord of Terra, but Jan van Yastobaal is essentially an honourary High Lord (the status and the title, none of the political power that comes from being in charge of one of the massive organisations that allow the Imperium to function) rather than someone who pops back to Terra every so often to attend senate meetings.

Even so, because Inquisitors have the freedom to act as they see fit in the prosecution of their duties, unbound by the laws that govern the rest of mankind, they're the kind of people a Rogue Trader needs to be wary of when back in Imperial space, alongside senior Adeptus Arbites personnel (because the Arbites don't concern themselves with petty laws like theft or murder; they enforce the laws of the Imperium, not the local laws that may vary from world to world)

As to inquisitors and what they can and can't do. They occupy a odd place that does not belong in a feudal system. They are in fact so out of place that it is hard to fit them in at all.

As to inquisitors and high lords "retiring" on paper that might be true, the title may shift, but I doubt the power and authority does. Think present day Russia and Putin.

The adventure went pretty much as expected, pretty smoothly, everything turned out well. Though, the final battle with Fel in Magoros turned out interestingly...

Fel was bearing down on them trying to get a hit with his lance, but missed. In response, the Rogue Trader's PC thought a bit and then gunned the engines and veered straight for Fel, and at absolutely point blank range (as far as space combat goes) gave him both laser batteries from their Sword class.
Two critical hits. Both of Fel's weapons mounts caught fire, and almost immediately I ruled that Fel hailed the Rogue Trader and made a big conciliatory speech and said he'd leave and never come back if he just let him leave gracefully. For laughs, the Rogue Trader PC agreed. As Fel slunk off, desperately trying to contain the flames and then putting down a resulting mutiny, the PCs just laughed and started tallying up the loot.

Interestingly, the group has now started to think about the possibilities of salvaging the Righteous Path. I have no idea if it's even feasible. I mean, it'd need to be carved out of the ice, and then patched up extensively, it'll need a lot of components (including all the gun decks, according to the backstory) but as it's supposed to be a grand cruiser... the group just might feel it's worth that effort.

Get them to carve it out and outfit it with essential components only, so they can send a prize crew over to tow it to the nearest port, before taking it to a more senoir base for a complete overhaul. Of course, Fel probably sells the info on the Path's location on, so they'll have to defend it from rivals all the way. With all the complications (and you can choose them from the complications tables) this could even be a grand endevour.

Dalnor Surloc said:

So is Battlefleet Obscuras. I was however making reference to the fact that the party will follow the path of the crusader. That is, they will truck with no xenos exept it be to purge them with the edge that never dulls. They will bring the light of the Emperor to the fallen with word, or flame. They're a pious lot. Most Rogue Traders seem to flaunt their responsibilities is what I was driving at.

Dalnor Surloc said:

Ooops, sorry I should take my own advice and read all that's put down.

Actually I stand by what I origionally said there. A Rogue Trader is entitled to what he takes a prize. That is, he doesn't have to turn anything over to the Munitorum unless ordered to by someone with higher authority - Macroth for example would have the pull. He can in fact in times of need requisition from the Munitorum whatever is necessary provided he can provide sufficient justification.

Well that all depends on the warrant of trade. The imperium could easily as part of the warrant demand a cut of all procedes made by the Rogue Trader, and i Imagine they do when they need funds for say, fighting off a black crusade, or funding a grand crusade. Those are all possible requests the Imperium can make on rogue traders as part of the warrant.

Not a hereditary warrant.

Except the Administratum can revoke even a hereditary warrant in situations most dire, its not a real threat but more a political thing. if it is a hereditary warrant, there is also expectation, and familial obligation that will keep the trader from just taking everything in prize. the longer the family has been active, the more porimises and deals it has to keep. TANSTAAFL! (There ain't no such thing as a free lunch)

but fundementally it comes up to you, personally, as a GM i like to force more restrictions on my players due to the warrant, i can sue it as a plot point. if they are slow at paying thier tiethes and taxes to the imperium, well then, they might have an audit. and no matter how scary the inquisition is, the Administatum is just straight cold harted when it comes to imperial dues.

I get the impression it depends on who signed the warrant. To revoke it you'd need someone with that authority. If this was the Emperor you are out of luck short of declearing the RT a heretic and sicking an Inquisitor or 8 on him/her. Even if a person(s) had the authority there is no example in the fluff of an RT warrant being revoked short of direct action against the Imperium. Sure there are example of various groups offing the RT for crimes, but often the warrant goes to a family member.

The whole point of a warrant is you are free to do what ever you want outside the Imperium. Short of major heresy or out right acts against the Imperium. Yes you are expected to explore and expand the Imperium, but nothing says you have to. When you are back in the Imperium you are bound to a large extent by Imperial law. Sure you have to keep the admech happy to fix/run the ship. Planetary Governors happy for refit, and trade. Pissing off the Administratum or the Church is a bad idea as an RT has considerable holdings and interests in Imperial space.

I'd reccomend anything published by Black Library (novel-wise) for material. It's a fertile background to say the least.

Origionally the only authority that has the position to contest a warrant are the High Lords of Terra.... that's it.