Players aid

By Fritzel Von Dungeon, in Rogue Trader Gamemasters

I GM for a group of guys that are best described as "Highly Pragmatic." If it moves, shoot it, if it keeps moving, shoot it again. If, in its' death throws it offers information or tries to sell somthing useful, then they'll role play. Their ususaly reponse is "if the wrench didn't fix it, no amount of talking to it is going to help." In response I try to keep our games fairly firepower heavy, and keep roleplaying humorous or supenseful.

Then I remembered, there was a webcomic, just like this. And even better it had a guide for just such occasions. So I present to you:

Schlock Mercenary's 7 Habits of Highly Effective Pirates

1. Pillage, then burn.
2. A Sergeant in motion outranks a Lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on.
3. An ordnance technician at a dead run outranks everybody.
4. Close air support covereth a multitude of sins.
6. If violence wasn’t your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it.
8. Mockery and derision have their place. Usually, it's on the far side of the airlock.
9. Never turn your back on an enemy.
10. Sometimes the only way out is through.
11. Everything is air-droppable at least once.
12. A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head.
13. Do unto others.
16. Your name is in the mouth of others: be sure it has teeth.
21. Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Take his fish away and tell him he's lucky just to be alive, and he'll figure out how to catch another one for you to take tomorrow.
27. Don't be afraid to be the first to resort to violence.
29. The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. No more. No less.
30. A little trust goes a long way. The less you use, the further you'll go.
31. Only cheaters prosper.
34. If you’re leaving scorch-marks, you need a bigger gun.
35. That which does not kill you has made a tactical error.
36. When the going gets tough, the tough call for close air support.
37. There is no 'overkill.' There is only 'open fire' and 'I need to reload.
38. Just because it's easy for you doesn't mean it can't be hard on your clients.

Yes, I realize there's more than 7 and that there is no #7, 14, 15, ect. Ther author may still be making them.

It's not part of the "7 Habits" list so it's not surprising it was missed off, but I just have to add my own favorite Schlock Mercenary quote simply because it's so applicable to the Warhammer 40,000 setting.

"When someone tells you that a problem can't be solved by violence, what they usually mean is that they aren't comfortable with the level of violence solving it that way would require."