A bit of advice sought.

I have been GMing a group of friends through the Dark Heresy published adevnture since January 2001. We try to meet up once a month for a big day session. So far we have completed Edge of Darkness, Illumination, Purge the Unclean Trilogy, House of Dust and Ash, Anchor Point (my own adventure) and Tattered Fates. Damned cities shall take up our next couple of sessions and then Dead Stars after that.

This will leave them at roughly rank 6.

All my players and me are really excited about Ascension and look forward to taking the characters to that level. Plus Ascension now has the only published adventure that they haven't done.

Now I don't have time to complete my own adventures, I tend to adapt the published ones at best and I have now bought Lure of the Expanse for Rogue Trader. The Rogue Trader core rulebook was originally bought more as a source book for Dark Heresy as given our limited play time we realised that it was doubtful we would create new characters and start a semi new roleplaying game, fundamentally we also love the more investigative nature of Dark Heresy/Inquisition.

However, as they will soon conclude the Haarlock Trilogy and therefore have a couple of ranks to fill before returning for the unbounded goodies of Ascension I was thinking perhaps transitioning their current DH characters into a Rogue Trader campaign. Dependant upon the climax of Dead Stars this could work quite well as the Acolytes believe their Inquisitor to be dead. After finding what they think was his body one of the players has already started saying 'thank God for that, I am a free agent now'.

The group is made up of myself and 5 players, however it is rare for full attendance so it is usually 4 players. So do you think that the current published adventures for Rogue Trader (main rulebook, GM toolkit, Lure of the Expanse) are suitable for DH characters at rank 6 through to 8? Do you foresee any major headaches in that none of the characters are RT characters, they are:

Assassin

Scum

Sanctioned Psyker

Cleric

Tech Priest

I foresee that it could be a problem that none of these characters have access to skills and talents unique to RT and especially to do with operating a starship. I guess elite advances might be the best way around this?

The obvious other major hurdle is the lack of a Rogue Trader. I thought that he either he could be played as a group character, played by me as an NPC or as a distant master ala DH modus operandi with the Inquisitor. Perhaps he is crippled like Ravenor and stays on the ship at all times. Alternatively I could see one of the existing characters suddenly becoming a fledgling RT. Scum wins a warrant in a card game etc. The cleric is of the Haarlock bloodline but I would be concerned about letting them loose with such an ancient and powerful warrant.

Once the character reach the end of rank 8 the insidious pull of the Inquisition will pull them back to commence their Ascension.

Anyway do you think this all sounds workable. Comments very much welcomed.

I fully agree with the Scrum player winning the Write of Trade in a card game. Its so awesome it really makes your players think..."Wow that's cool". Its best if the players don't expect it to happen or to even to switch over to RT? However, if you already ruined that. Well what can you do... In the the least make sure you role-play that all out. Maybe the game will have some excitement and the Scum will horribly fail on his gamble test and your players will end up killing everyone and stealing the Write of Trade.

On the fact all your players are from DH and not RT. To be totally serious it doesn't matter in the least. Any player worth his salt will find ways to get past it. AKA purchase someone to do a job they cant. However, somethings a player might want to do so feel free to allow Advance Skills to be purchased as you said.

Most of the important classes of RT can be NPCs and have reasons why they would they wouldn't follow the PCs around. Most importantly they feel more at home on the ship and rather not put their lives in unneeded danger.

RT can be full of blood shed, investigation, and adventure just like DH. Its just normally on many more planets and in the darkness of the void.

Yep, I agree. fill out a lot of the roles with NPC's and use some elite advances. There are some weird cross over skills too such as Scrutiny etc. Also if they don't have the pilot skill... well just let a player give the orders to the helmsman and let them roll on the Helmsmans skill. Lets face it your going to want some ship on ship action.

One problem maybe the issue of buying stuff, I would suggest start them on 20 and also give them low ship points, this way it gives them a real burning need to get out there and make money.

I think one problem you may run into is when they get back and their inquisitor wants them working again, however they are powerful people and would become an inquiitorial group with transport and their own resources. Not sure where you will go from there, also what happens with their RT wealth? It maybe worth means testing them at that level and through the levels running up to acension give them the profit factor that would allow them to buy equipment at accension level, if that makes sense. Also with their experience of the expanse they would be perfect jump off to becoming inquisitors in the Ordo Xenos.

You could allow them to shimmy into the Rogue trader careers by converting their xp into the relevnat rank in RT. This would allow them purchase skills retrospectively, its how I manged my groups tranisition (although now they're clamouring for ascension careers, ungrateful brats.)

You could also let them befriend a rogue trader and run him as an NPC where the players have "control". They could fly around on adventure and use the profit factor etc, but they never "own" the charter, and as such are dependent on keeping the NPC alive and well.

from france

i have a question in "ascension" some classe can trade their influence for for a domains. for example a 15 points influence coul d represente a ship or a fief in quadis.

because i am myself for now more interesting in playing dh in rt i was wondering if a interrogator or inquisitor trade is influence points for a ship as permanent base what kind of ship can he expect?

a side question. in rt starshipbase has the hydroponics facilities (sorry can't reùenber the name and i dont have the book with me) but i didn't se it in ship components. is it possibible to have one or it atke too much place?

I haven't played RT yet, but initial readings show that the games are completely compatible.

With your current plotline that thePlayers believe they are free agents, but there is nothing to stop one final mission left for them by the Inquisitor.

Perhaps an RT contacts the players as requested by their old Inquisitor. He may not even know the Inquisitor is dead, and gives them a brief of a mission he was given to accompolish.

At this point offer one of the players the option to Play the Rogue Trader as a swap, if none accept have as an NPC - no harm for him to be an NPC I suppose as his orders are to give the Players the mission and follow their parameters.

The characters should mostly be able to fulfill the roles of the classes available in RT.

My players have already expressed an interest to combine DH and RT. An opportunity to travel to worlds not visited for 100s of years, and ensure compliance is in tact, and that their are no signs of heresy.

In fact it makes a great counterpoint in many ways with the RT keen for profit and keepint everyone happy, and the Inquisitors sneaking around seeking corruption, and potentially scuppering any chances of profit for the RT.