Hi....just got my Rogue trader (today) and is wondering on how I set them off, how do they get the warrant of trade, I doubt they are just given it. I first had an idea of them getting to capture a Thyrr cat for an inquisitor who would enjoy the hunt later in his preserve in exchange for the warrant and a ship (poor quality, a trade ship with a single weapon) but when thinking about it I don't think that's a very good adventure......so how do people get their warrants?

As the game is set up, the Rogue Trader class has a warrent of trade at the start of the game, with most being handed down through the family over many generations. In addition, he/she could be a fairly new trader, only recently given their warrent. I'm sure it could be fun to run a game describing how they obtain their warrents, but the 1st rank rogue trader is set up to be an established rogue trader.

The game is generally set up so that new characters will inherit the warrant. If you read the latter sections of the book, the guys who are actually given a new one are Imperial Admirals and Generals and Inquisitors - and while the starting characters of RT are competent, they're generally not *that* competent. Further, newly-warranted Rogue Traders are usually outfitted with lots of Profit Factor and a cruiser for a ship while characters have either the one or the other.

I'll probably start my campaign with the Rogue Trader in spe getting the news of his father having died a few systems away in combat against orks. Thus, the first task of the group will be to take a little tramp freighter (provided by an allied captain) there, evade the orks still in the system, sneak to the powered-down RT vessel hiding in an asteroid field, evict the orks still fighting the remnants of the crew inside, repair the most egregious damage and set sail towards a port, ideally fighting the ork ships on the way.

Thus, the mission should cover diplomacy (getting the transport ship and becoming the new captain of the RT vessel), exploration (the partially powerless and almost-hulked corridors of the vessel), personal combat (the ork squatters, er skwattaz) and space combat (getting the vessel out of the system).

Cifer said:

As a side note what do you think about this way to customise the ship, don't let the players actually see any rules for the spaceship parts but simply tell them descriptions and what they need and then allow them to vote on what to get with the following votes given (Rogue Trader (the boss)4, Void Master (Cares much for the ship) 3, "Normal" crew (Astropath and unknown) 2, Freeboota Kaptin (simple mercenary but I don't want to leave him out) 1

Absolutely no need for them to build the ship themselves and the voting is a good idea but I would strongly suggest against weighting it; the players are equal even if their characters are not, also their characters are not nearly so inequal as some people think. Don't forget that inheriting a warrant has possible benefits, too - reputations in already existence (could work the other way, of course), archaic wording granting more powers, and so on.

I let my players start with a newly acquired warrant of trade, the Rogue Trader being a subsector War-hero that had become a nuisence to the local politics. Fearing her growing power, they petitioned for a writ of trade, gave her a ship and a few resources(represented in lots of SP but low Profit factor), and pushed her out the door, so to speak.

I let them build the ship together, while one -character- is the Rogue Trader, I dislike one -player- being completly in charge. Besides, my group has no charismatic enough fellow that people will listen to completly anyway, so they make their decisions together.

The rogue trader might be in charge, but he should listen to the other player(character)s, since they represent his trusted couselors. They are no simple underlings. Navigators for example are no underligs at all. They might work for the trader, but their loyalty belongs to THEIR house and linage.

Btw, I don't think that any sector-command would "give away" any kind of warship to anyone, not even to some 'local' war-hero for what reason ever. He/she would need to allready own that ship, especially when it's a more powerfull one.

Nadomir - I agree with your first part but as for giving away warship, who said it was him that did? The Administratum listens to its people and not every 'problem' can be solved by a call to the assassins...

Of course there are other means of aquisition of a starship. But the original post read to me like the folks in charge of the sector were giving away a pretty powerfull starship 'only' to get rid of the new trader in spe. As you said, gaidheal, an assassin would have done the same job... and much cheaper.

PS: sorry, gaidheal. I missread your post.

I really think that getting rid of some unwanted warhero could be far easier arranged then by offering him a free lunar-cruiser. Shuttles with such unwanted personal on board are head to have very instable drives... for example.

But another argument jumps to my mind: Gaining control over a cruiser by wich ever mean is one thing. Keeping it up... well, that's another part. Of course this can be a quite thrilling theme for the first few adventures for the new trader, to gain enough influence to be able to keep such a big ship in good shape and not running out of fuel.

As I said, not every problem can be solved by an assassin and don't forget these people are genuinely pious as well as ruthless - a loyal, dedicated Imperial servant shouldn't and probably wouldn't be killed for nothing more than convenience because that attitude quickly leads to an uncontrollable mess. Even further, player characters are exactly the kind of people they want to lift from obscurity and put into even greater service of mankind; if they mess up and disappear, oh well, the Emperor clearly willed it but if they succeed, well that only be good for the Imperium.

Those with no real grasp of psychology and sociology often imagine that in a system where you have a free hand to kill inconvenient people you can simply kill everyone who causes you any grief but the truth is, in such an atmosphere, if you thought that way someone else would have killed you off long ago, and someone them and so on. It quickly becomes clear that the whole system would have torn itself apart, which is the very opposite of the point of the Great Crusade. No, assassins are used in the Imperium, for sure but not to kill people who are embarassing and inconvenient; they are used to kill people suspected of heresy or corruption that you cannot prove adequately or where disclosure would be extremely damaging or inconvenient to other operations and plans. Do those with power sometimes abuse the assassins? Undoubtedly, but I remember a story from long ago where an assassin returned to the person who sent them out, confirmed that the hit had taken place (it having been made clear that the hit was self-serving) and then informs him that she has additional orders from an Inquisitor, regrettably, to kill him, which she does.

Of couse, what you write is true. But someone 'inconvenient' enough to give him a complete cruiser or something equal just to get rif og him and with no guarantee that inconvenient hero will not use it against those he is inconvenient to? It simply doesn't sound right to me.

And don't forget, the best heroes (in sense of the views of sector authorities) are dead heroes... they are shining examples for the common people and they don't interfere with politcal affairs anymore. Certainly not every death is suitable for such a hero...

But well, we could discuss the philosophy of being a ruthless (or honorable) politician and using or abusing the ordo assassinatum, it's a fact that a starting RT-party is allowed to start out with enough shippoints to outfit their own cruiser. So actually it's not really that important why kind of backgroundstory you weave around it. Every group of players (GM included) should find a story they like, no matter what stupid tattreheads like me might think about it. ;-)

The 40k-Universe is big enough for all of us and as long as every has fun, it's ok.

Spot on mate, we are clearly of one mind on this even if we can argue the different sides of the debate. I've learnt to embrace "cos it's fun" and "Rule of Cool" with 40K in a way that I wouldn't with just about any other setting. :¬)