Hi, I have some questions :)

By Feuerphoenix, in Rogue Trader

Hey guys,

some time ago, friends of my introduced me to rogue trader, and I love the game :)

Still some time ago, I came up with some questions with myself, as I am the missionary of the ship, and somehow the GM does not have that many cluesm how to give some spin to this aspect of the game.

1. What is a Missionary? For me it is the most faithful person on board. He is a mixture of a priest, a psychologist and effective fighter against anything connected with warp. But according to my GM, my char (he is lv 4), doesn’t know anything about demons, which seems odd, as he is trained to go abroad, but no one showed him eg. the sign of chaos and said „if you see this sign it means trouble“.

2. Can a missionary perform the Cleric services from BotM? And or should a missionary know, how to make an exorcism?

3. The gastral implant from ItS is very appealing to me. But actually I don‘t see the advantage of best craftsmenship. As it is written, common does almost the same job. Did I overlook something?

4. Are bionic respiratory systems replacement body parts, and thus add +2 to my toughness Bonus? And if I hold my breath (because for example I am under water) can this implant keep me oxygenated?

5. In FaC is an item called „Medicus Ministorum“. Why does it exist, when in the end it does exactly the same as a Medikit?

6. How hard is it for an RT Char, to get his hands on a liber heresius?

7. Is an ammunition backpack part of a weapon (so for example do Suspensors also reduce the backpack weight too?)

Thanks for your answers in advance :)

3 hours ago, Feuerphoenix said:

1. What is a Missionary?

Short answer: a: priest specialized in conversion; b: character class in RT.

Long answer: Rogue Traders are supposed to work on the edges of the Imperium, as such they are likely to meet some non-Imperial humans. Thus members of Ecclesiarchy on board will have as their duty to convert these, prepare for actual missionaries (whose job is to convert while living among the natives, not on fly-by), or at very least see to it that they and the rest of the crew don't create more problems for the latter (see also: Aquila Magnificus). As such, it's reasonable to assume the full priests on RT ship should be at least superficially trained by, and affiliated with, Missionaria Galactica - with possible exception of those busy up to their eyebrows as confessors (ship's chaplains cadre). More so if there's a proper temple, especially "auto temple" made specifically for working as a mission - which is mechanically reflected in greater bonus to Creed objectives.

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He is a mixture of a priest, a psychologist

Uh, it's the other way around. ?

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and effective fighter against anything connected with warp.

That's what priests in general are prepared to do, but since the ones whose job involves Warp travel and/or working on the edges of Emperor's light are obviously most likely to have such encounters, they are more likely to be prepared.

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But according to my GM, my char (he is lv 4), doesn’t know anything about demons, which seems odd, as he is trained to go abroad, but no one showed him eg. the sign of chaos and said „if you see this sign it means trouble“.

Generally yes, Ecclesiarchy doesn't give the beginner priests an encyclopedia, they just know very vague basics about Ruinous Powers and "unclean spirits", and may learn more when preparing to deal with specific problems (reflected in Talents). Purge the Unclean is accessible on 3rd Rank, so at this point they should know basics, but not enough to count as Lore skill, even untrained. Forbidden Lore (Daemonology) +0 at 5th Rank, which is ability to tell things apart and actually know more than just "Don't listen to the unclean thing, pray louder" and "This thing looks unclean. Its guts are unclean! Scourge and purge!" (which often is enough).

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2. Can a missionary perform the Cleric services from BotM?

IMO confession should be always available, but services beyond such basics require proper setup and paraphernalia.

Which all must be available if the ship has some sort of Temple component, since that's a lot of space. Possibly covered by maintenance test. Yet another benefit of having a proper temple.

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should a missionary know, how to make an exorcism?

Presumably not everyone, but Purge the Unclean talent should be enough («…speak the rites of exorcism and force out a possessing warp entity from its host»).

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3. The gastral implant from ItS is very appealing to me. But actually I don‘t see the advantage of best craftsmenship. As it is written, common does almost the same job. Did I overlook something?

Of course, normally RT retinue has better things to eat than yesteryear's leaves or sawdust. But emergencies happen, especially to the "ground team".

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4. Are bionic respiratory systems replacement body parts, and thus add +2 to my toughness Bonus? And if I hold my breath (because for example I am under water) can this implant keep me oxygenated?

Those are artificial lungs or lung segments, so yes (this represents reinforced ribcage). They are not scrubbers, just have filters, as they give bonus vs. inhaled poisons, not immunity. They are also immune to things like breath paralysis from poisons, but vulnerable to EMP. IMHO Good/Best may have extras, much like with bionic eyes, and in this case a few hours worth of oxygen is reasonable.

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5. In FaC is an item called „Medicus Ministorum“. Why does it exist, when in the end it does exactly the same as a Medikit?

It's a specific (very good and possibly somewhat restricted) model of Medikit.

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6. How hard is it for an RT Char, to get his hands on a liber heresius?

Probably depends on how connected the character is. That is, either

  • a particularly trusted Throne Agent for Ordo Hereticus (which implies heavy plot baggage - as in, RT works against heretics on the fringes, but the agent also has to sniffs them out on the ship),
  • an advanced heretic (Secessionist? Hereteks could treat it as yet another illegal data file, but their interests lie elsewhere), or
  • someone who happened to pry it from the dead hands of the previous owner, then ignore warnings on its armored cover and succeed at cracking the gene-lock (Heretek?).
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7. Is an ammunition backpack part of a weapon (so for example do Suspensors also reduce the backpack weight too?)

A backpack is worn, not attached to the weapon, so no.

Edited by TBeholder

Hey thanks for the answers :)

To 1: as on the one side your point of view makes sense, it is somehow odd. On the one side from the way the missionary is written, on the other side it makes a character very likely to leave their group, because they are going for a life time mission. Especially this makes the class feeling dull, as its "purpose" is only achievable by going beyond the borders and leave the group. This needs a certain type of rogue trader in the first place (one which is not only trading or is doing military deeds). Feels like a missplaced class then.

To 3: the common implant can handle most poisons and bio-motes, digests almost all organic and even non organic material (provided it has nutrition (aka energy)). So this what the basic implant can do by description, best craftsmanship expands this towards all organic (probably what is or is not eatable depends on the GM), would you agree?

To 4: so they don't let me dive for 20 mins?

to 5: why caring about this item in the first place? Outside of some house rules or RP reasons, there is no way, someone would ever use it. In fact it is worse than a stands medikit, as a medikit actually may change a failure to success.

Edit: New question: how does intimidation work? Charm e.g. has to roll again WP to test for success, is it the same with intimidation?

Edited by Feuerphoenix