I still have a feeling that the rt handbook is gonna be the ship book-

Tullio said:

Let's be honest - it really, really does. Currently the ship section in RT is the bare minimum required to get us by until the ship book comes out. We need new hulls and ship systems, along with plenty more pre-gens to throw at the PCs, especially xenos vessels. A xenos supplement is also critical. RTs are far more likely to encounter aliens than DH characters. We need more details on the many weird alien races that are hiding in the expanse in addition to more info on the Eldar and Orks. Plenty of fans would also love if that info included rules on playing them as PCs.

EDIT: Anyway, we know that the Game Masters kit will include a starship construction guide, so that will probably include a more comprehensive list of starship weapons and other options.

macd21 said:

We do? Since when?

MILLANDSON said:

http://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Trader-Game-Masters-Kit/dp/1589947053/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257103755&sr=8-2

Relevant bit:
This Game Master's Kit includes a screen for the Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Rogue Trader RPG which features useful charts and tables, as well as a sourcebook that includes a starship construction guide, NPC starship vessel generator, and Starship Combat summary sheet, plus the exciting adventure, "Whispers on the Storm."

I doubt it'll have any especially new bits in it, as that'd mean spreading it between the GM screen and the proposed ship book. And you know how often 1) Amazon are wrong, and 2) the blurbs for stuff like that are changed.

Or maybe FFG is (yes I know I'm dreaming) moving away from the useless junk option that normally comes with a screen and giving us something nice.

Well, in the adventure Dark Frontier (by FFG) they had this to say about space battle with the Void Wasps

This battle can most easily be done with information
found in the Rogue Trader GM’s Toolkit, which has
information on Void Wasps and intersystem ships.

So it looks like we will be getting some more information on ships, whenever this comes out.

DW

Traveller61 said:

And I have to say that I REALLY dislike this stunt of them. Considering that im supposed to GM Dark Frontier this sunday, and since the first scenario didn't contain any ship battles, my group is itching to try out the rules for it.

Meaning of course that I'll have to invent relevant stats for the Void Wasps and intersystem ships myself.

I mean, really would it have killed them to write something like: "This scenario doesn't really support the rules for starship combat, but if you have access to the Rogue Trader rulebook and want to use the rules for starship combat, here are the relevant stats for Void Wasps and intersystem ships: " ?

It certainly would have made my efforts a little easier. But: "NOOOOO. You'll have to wait for our little Game Masters kit to find out those stats. Sure we know that you'll probably buy it anyway because you are a dedicated fan of our games, but instead of just giving you the stats so you can run the adventure with a spicy starship combat with the severely overprized collectors edition rulebook you paid for, we're gonna make you wait for the Game Masters kit that will be released... Sometime in the foreseeable future."

Yes, I am in fact a little grumpy over this.

Varnias Tybalt said:

I understand, but that's typical for RPGs.

If you want full support for an RPG, don't start a campaign with just the core rulebook. If you are excited and want to start right away, expect to have to make up stuff that will be covered by supplements later.

Nojo509 said:

Well it wasn't typical with Dark Heresy. You could either play Shattered Hope or At the Edge of Darkness by themselves or with the support of the rulebook (like switching the nerfed Plague Bearer in the end of Shattered Hope with a real Plague Bearer if you wanted) and never find yourself in need of stuff that wasn't released untill Inquisitors Handbook or latter supplements.

It's frustrating that they seem to be taking another avenue now.

Although I have to admit that I haven't contacted them over it. I think I'll send an email to one of their departments asking them if they have some stats at hand. Who knows? They might actually agree to send me some preliminary stats for the things I need? I mean, I'll play the adventure this sunday regardless of whether I can get stats from them or not...

Varnias Tybalt said:

You don't really need the GMs kit to run Dark Frontier. The scenario described isn't a really good example of a space battle (as the PCs ship isn't actually involved and couldn't move even if it was). Considering the PCs role in the battle I think you're better off abstracting it, especially as the entire battle is supposed to be a distraction. The battle is background noise, not the main event.

YMMV, of course.