Here’s a (very much) WIP series of modifications to the Rogue Trader Core Ruleset. I’m interested in what you other players and GM might have to add or comment. Hope you find it interesting!
ROGUE TRADER – THE SECOND EDITION MOD
The following rules are intended to alter and modify the basic Rogue Trader Core Rulebook to provide a more controlled and realistic game experience. Many of the changes made are done so in order to alter player progression and create a more evenly distributed power level.
Character Creation
Xenos characters may use human career paths to represent their xenos counterparts. Each Race has a certain number of Human Career Paths they may utilize, with the following titles:
Ork: Kaptin (Rogue Trader), Nob (Arch-Militant), Tradeboy (Seneschal, requires Blood Axes or Bad Moons Klan), Pilot (Void Master)
Kroot:
Warsphere Pilot (Void Master)
Dark Eldar:
Archon (Rogue Trader), Courtesan (Seneschal), Reaver (Void Master)
Tau: Water Caste Diplomat (Seneschal), Air Caste Pilot (Void Master)
Spending Experience
Characteristics
At character creation, each character chooses three Characteristics to be Favored, three Characteristics to be Neutral, and three Characteristics to be Opposed. The choices made by the player ought to reflect the character’s natural strengths and weaknesses.
If the character gained a bonus or a penalty to a stat from their homeworld selection or race, one of their Favored Stats must be the one enhanced by their homeworld or race, and one of their Opposed Stats must be the one penalized by their homeworld or race.
One of the character’s Favored Characteristics must be chosen from their Career Path’s Rank Advance Scheme (these Stats have 100 XP as their base cost for the first advance).
One of the character’s Opposed Stats must be chosen from their Career Path’s Rank Advance Scheme (these Stats have 500 XP as their base cost for the first advance).
Advancing a Favored Characteristic uses the following progression scheme for each +5 points: 100/250/500/750.
Advancing a Neutral Characteristic uses the following progression scheme for each +5 points: 250/500/750/1000.
Advancing an Opposed Characteristic uses the following progression scheme for each +5 points: 500/750/1000/1250.
Skills
Skills that utilize a True Characteristic for their Skill Test cost the following: Trained=100/+10=200/+20=300.
Skills that utilize a Neutral Characteristic for their Skill Test cost the following: Trained=200/+10=300/+20=500.
Skills that utilize an Opposed Characteristic for their Skill Test cost the following: Trained=300/+10=500/+20=1000.
Talents
Talents are divided into two Tiers – Primary Talents, and Secondary Talents. A Primary Talent may have Skill or Characteristic requirements, but does not have another Talent as a Prerequisite. A Secondary Talent is any Talent that has another Talent as its prerequisite. For example, Swift Attack, which grants two melee attacks, would be a Primary Talent, while its successor, Lightning Attack, which grants three melee attacks, would be a Secondary Talent because it requires the character to have first purchased Swift Attack. The costs of a Talent are based on what Characteristic or Skill Prerequisite the Talent has – in the case of a Talent without a Characteristic Prerequisite, the GM should use their sound judgment.
True Talents cost 200 for Primary Talents and 250 for Secondary Talents.
Neutral Talents cost 250 for Primary Talents and 500 for Secondary Talents.
Opposed Talents cost 500 for Primary Talents and 1000 for Secondary Talents.
Profit Factor
Acquiring Gear using Profit Factor is no longer a test-against mechanic. Instead, it is a point-buy system. When determining how many points of Profit Factor an item costs, calculate its acquisition modifier. If the item has a positive acquisition modifier, its price is considered negligible and as such is free for the characters to purchase. If its price has a negative modifier, then for every -10 penalty to the Acquisition Test, the item costs 1 point of profit factor. When calculating an item’s price, do not utilize the quantity modifiers. Items must always be purchased individually.
For example, say a Rogue Trader wishes to acquire a Best-craftsmanship power sword. A Power Sword is Very Rare (-20), and the modifier for Best Craftsmanship is -30. As such, the item would have a total acquisition modifier of -50. Instead of making an Acquisition Test, however, the players instead spend 5 points of profit factor from their pool to acquire the sword.
Profit Factor, for the purposes of Rogue Trader, is measured on a scale of 1 to 100. A certain reserve of profit factor is always required to help maintain the dynasty’s off-world holdings, provide food for the ship’s crew, perform regular maintenance on the character’s gear, and the like. As such, a character can only purchase an item of a certain rarity if the group possesses a high enough profit factor threshold. The thresholds are listed below.
30PF: Scarce
40PF: Rare
50PF: Very Rare
60PF: Extremely Rare
70 PF: Near Unique
80 PF: Unique
For example, if this Rogue Trader wished to purchase his Power Sword for 5 profit factor, he would need at least 50 profit factor due to the Rarity of the item. Selling an item only redeems ½ of its profit factor value.
A starship hull costs a number of Profit Factor equal to the hull’s ship points. Any star ship component that costs ship points costs that many point of profit factor. However, selling a starship only redeems 1/10 of this amount.
Crafting Items
Alternatively, if a player wished, they can acquire the components to craft an item themselves for one point cheaper than it would cost to purchase the item. The item takes one week to craft for every point of profit factor that it would have cost had the components not been purchased separately. At the end of each week, have the crafting character make a relevant skill test. A successful skill tests indicates that the week’s effort improves the time, whereas a failed test adds another week to the total crafting time.
Corruption and Insanity
Corruption Points:
Accumulated Corruption draws the soul of the character further and further away from the grace of the Emperor, opening their spirit to the invitations of malefic daemons. As the character falls further into debasement, the Emperor will turn away his patronage from the character until the character can no longer call upon his blessing.
In addition to the usual rules for Corruption Points, namely Mutations and Malignancies, whenever a player wishes to spend or burn a Fate Point, the character rolls against their current number of Corruption Points (trying to roll ABOVE the number of corruption points they currently possess). If they pass the test, the effect of the spent or burnt fate point occurs as normal – if they fail, the effect of the fate point does not occur, but the fate point itself is still lost, either temporarily or permanently.
Additionally, when making a Willpower Test to resist the influences of a creature with the Daemonic Trait (such as seduction by a Slaaneshi Daemon or possession by an Unclean Spirit), the character suffers a penalty equal to his current Corruption Point total.
Insanity Points: Insanity Points drive the character further and further from his grasp on sanity. All Intelligence, Perception, Willpower and Felloswhip Tests suffer a -10 Penalty for every Degree of Madness a character possesses past the first, in addition to any other penalties from Mental Traumas and Disorders.
Edited by Crystal Geyser