So, as the holiday rolls in, or, if you are like my family, is here, I had a weird little 40K idea, and it brought me another one of those "how does this work?" scenarios. In any of your games, have you ever had to tear down a relative, to get your Warrant, or had some other family member attempt to lay claim to yours? I was sitting around, wondering what would happen if a crew found a woman, and assumed she was "just another minor Rogue Trader", but then, as they get closer to her, she lets them in on a big secret; Calligos Winterscale IS a pretender, and that Warrant should have been hers, but he was killing people, and her people hid her away. She later married a lesser RT, who flew under Winterscale's flag, and inherited his powers upon his death. So, now you are sitting there with Anastasia Ducrae (Winterscale), and find out that she is secretly trying to form alliances, scrounge up resources, and perhaps, eventually, try to topple Calligos. You realize that, blunt man that he is, Winterscale will possibly just bulldoze you over, if he finds out, and any claim she makes will probably just get get her killed, along with anyone who was helping her. Okay, your opinions may vary.

What could you do to make this work? How do you react? Could you tangle with WINTERSCALE, and how might she make a claim without simply being murdered? To whom, as Rogue Traders are sort of only answerable to the Emperor, and the Inquisition, when they can force it, and there's no legit gov't in the Expanse. Winterscale might be a bit too big to be a good example, being on par with Lord Sector Hax, and such, so I ask if something like this has ever happened in your game, especially if it might endanger your spot atop the worm pile? How did it pan out?

Beyond this silliness, I also wish to wish you all a merry Christmas, a happy holiday, and a fine New Year. Please have a good one.

I've had my players consider this, and these are the rules that I've laid out.

1) It depends on the Warrant - some Warrants say "Whoever has the Warrant, has the Power". Others might require the closest genetic similarity to the original Warrant holder which means succession and you'd require a lot of proof for it. A big step would be being able to identify to the Administratum what the Ownership conditions of the Warrant actually are.

2) A challenge, assuming it's somehow viewed as legitimate has to be answered... eventually. Warrant Holders have to periodically reaffirm that their Warrant is indeed valid, which is the ideal time to make the challenge. The Adeptus Terra could just say "Great, make this claim in 36.152 standard Terran years when the next Ritual of Affirmation is made"

3) Every other Rogue Trader should hate you for doing this. Rogue Trading is a game that relies on confidence and the illusion that your piece of paper affords you special status. Calling into question one of them calls into question all of them, and no one is going to be pleased that you're calling out that the High Lord has no clothes on. Even if you're right, and you can prove it, and it was unjust, all of your peers should shun you and try to drive you out of the game, because if you've ruined it for Winterscale, you could ruin it for anyone.

4) It's not just Winterscale, but all the Merchant Guilds and people that have stakes in his Profit Factor and his worlds that all of a sudden felt their foundations wobble, so there are going to be LOTS of assassins coming for you. Best case scenario, they get in each others' way.