In the GM kit's adventure says that when the Rogue Trader crew meet the Naval captain, you should make it obvious the difference between the attitude of naval personel and those of the rogue trader ship. This got me thinking. I had assumed that Rogue trader ships kind of had the same hierarchical structure of the imperial ships anyway (warrant officers, ratings first mates, mechanicum magos, navigator cupola tower's etc...) and the same attitude. Or is just a theme issue: are Rogue Trader crews just a bit more...slack? are they more loyal to the rogue trader than they are to the imperium? I know that rogue traders can be of any background from the Adeptus Terra, and the ship does not have to reflect the rogue trades background, but is there a common theme here? In dark Heresy a void born character who hails from a rogue trader vessel has the description:

"you were born on a eccentric craft that knew no authority other than the charismatic rogue trader at the helm. You grew up in a chaotic whirl of exploration, battle, flight and negortiation with all manner of aliens, nations and forces. You are likely to be rebellious by nature , with a dislike of routine and discipleme."

Does this mean that all rogue trader crew are by nature a bit rebellious and dislike routine and discipline? If this is so could you expect the crew to cause problems on a regular basis?

arhhh I meant to write 'navy drones '

Depends on the ranks, I'd say. The menials are going to be about as oppressed as in the navy, but just a little higher up, most RTs will value talent, improvisation and innovation because that's what keeps a ship alive out in the black where a supply chain is at best the chain you whip people with until they supply you with the stuff you need.

I'd say the character of the crew depends strongly on their lord-captain. Those with a background in the military might enforce more dicipline and a more military tone, others might strike a more civic tone. Basically it's totally up to you how you want your crew to be. Just remember that more skilled crews would tend to show more discipline, while a more unskilled bunch might be more slacky. You also should have a look at the morale of the crew.

nadomir said:

Definitely! I'd say a lot of the crew flavour would come down to the way they are governed. In our game, for example, the RT is attempting to win the hearts and minds of the crew by ensuring, as far as possible, there is justice and fairness in the way they are handled. Some of the senior staff feel this approach will make him appear weak and lead to more problems in the longrun...

Either way, his crew will undoubtedly be very different to that of a more bombastic and thrusting RT who sees underlings as utterly beneath his notice and allows things to progress as they will, providing their duties are fulfilled. As in any organisation, the character of those at the head tends to filter down through the ranks and colour everyone's way of working. So, on the slacker vs. drone question, it's my opinion that they could go either way, or be a combination of both.

Ever seen Deadliest Catch? Those to me are the types of people in the Rogue Trader's fleet. Add to that some of the crew being pressed into service, others being ex military and really I think that the ship even runs at all is mainly due to everyone's want for survival and profit more than anything else.

Likewise, it'd probably depend a fair bit on the captain of the navy vessel in question (and to a lesser degree, his officers). Some would run a very tight ship, with a disciplined and enthusiastic crew, some might be strutting martinets with insubordinate and resentful subordinates.

One thing that is certain, pretty much everyone from Petty Officer/Lead Armsman up is going to be disdainful of anyone not a member of the IN, and specifically, not from their own ship. There will undoubtedly be exceptions, but those are most likely to be a result of personal friendships, and imminent desertions.
Conversely, everyone thinks the IN are slightly full of themselves, although attitudes will differ as to whether that's a reflection of the discipline needed to protect the Imperium, or if they simply have a rod up their arse. Odds are, unless the Rogue Trader and/or a significant number of his officers are ex-Navy, they'd be among those who think the latter, and look down on them for being hide-bound by "silly" traditions to boot.

So, that makes two groups of people looking down their noses at each other...

Alasseo said:

Sounds about right, in the novel Legacy a Rogue Trader fleet gets shirty with the Imperial Navy on the approach to Hydraphur, and in return they get boarded and given a good seeing to, by the navy.

"The Navy's goodwill toward the Phrax flotilla tarnished quickly. Despite an invitation, then a request, then a demand that it halt one hundred and fifty kilometres out from Coronet Triatic MRA-47 to await escort, the flotilla grudgingly dropped its velocity to a little under cruising speed and set a course that would take them between Hydraphur's two ecliptics, around the star and toward the planet itself. Offended by the flotilla's rudeness and unimpressed by the repeated and unsubtle references in its communiques to the privileges the charter granted it, Traze took the opportunity to give his squadron a little live close-manoeuvring drill.
So the observers on the flotilla decks were startled to see the high, crenellated prows of half a dozen Battlefleet Pacificus warships bearing down on them, fast enough for some of the more nervous flotilla commanders to issue orders to brace for collision. The Navy formation speared into the side of the Phrax flotilla and then, in a beautiful display of piloting and discipline, the powerful warships wheeled around onto the flotilla's course, effort¬lessly matching speeds. The flotilla crews, used to looking out of their viewports to the comforting sight of other
flotilla ships blazing with light, now looked out at the pitted grey hulls of the battlefleet vessels, their arched gunports and the venomous, hulking shapes of lance tur¬rets.
This time there was no invitation, request or demand, but an order. Navy pilots would come aboard with data-plaques and vox-links to guide the flotilla through the maze of minefields, sentry gates, gravitic tides and patrol squadrons that would, it was made very clear, wipe out every one of the Phrax ships if they tried to fly into Hydraphur on their own. Flag-Captain Traze boarded the Bassaan himself, and the first thing he did was walk onto the bridge and up to the captain, and send the man sprawling on the deck beside his own command pulpit, his lips split and bleeding from the swipe of Traze's pis¬tol barrel.
The Navy, as a rule, did not like rogue traders much." CHAPTER 8 LEGACY MATTHEW FARRER

I imagine then that then rogue trader crews and imperial navy crews are similar in that they both hold themselves higher in the pecking order than other lowly vessels, just that the navy rely on iron determination and drill and the rogue traders crews rely on graft and improvisation, perhaps a bit like the difference between a military duellist and a pirate. Both are swordsmen of sorts but one relys on his training and the other on his bravado...

I've always thought that the Rouge Trader crews are better treated on the whole and have more rights. Which could mean better morale and discipline when the **** hits the fan. The crew in fact might be less inclined to rebel as they know how good they have it. Which is not to say the Rogue Trader might not deal with much more grief from his crew in general, but not when it counts.

Of course this like everything is going to vary from ship to ship.

Based on my experience and study of history, I'd liken the difference to be similar to that between the Royal Navy and the East India Company (18th century), or the NAvy and the great shipping lines of the late 19th century (Cunnard, White Star).

The crew of the Navy are mostly volunteers, although a significant number are impressed. Discipline is high, officers are professional, things are by the book, pay is low (but likely better than the PDF, and you can see the galaxy and learn a trade!), crew are bored.

On a Rogue Trader the crew are better paid, almost entirely volunteer, and better experienced since they mostly hail from the navy or chartist vessels(they're the ones that quite the navy not to settle down, but to keep adventuring with better pay). The chance of booty and fame is there, even for the lowliest rating. Similar ot the explorers/privateers of the late 16th/early 17th cent. Highly motivated and professional, but lacking in discipline, like swashbucklers.

Crews on Chartist vessels would be smaller than naval crews and pirate crews, to keep costs low. The Navy needs large crews to man guns and board ships, same with pirates. RT crews would be somewhere in between, probably closer to pirates/navy.