Hello Rogue Traders,

This week I'm pleased to announce a new upcoming supplement for Rogue Trader: Into the Storm! Stay tuned for more news about this exciting book in the coming weeks!

I'd love some information on the Vehicle Rules. Are they the same as in Apochrapha?

And xenos careers? What xenos races might be sailing on a Rogue Trader? I'm guessing Kroot mercenary for one...

Tell me it has an index, please? I'm thinking of the Inquisitor's Handbook as a painful example of why you want one.

Awesome, glad to see this announced finally I've been dying for more info to come out about it so I can talk about it

I won't be able to comment more on what xenos stuff is covered, not until FFG say more, but I liked it. The book helps with a lot of the problems some people had with the careers being "bland", in my opinion, and can't wait for it to actually be released!

MILLANDSON said:

Oh, and can you at least comment on expanded Origin Path and alternate career ranks? Names of new things at least

Nice, if I have one complaint is that the name doesn't really tell you much about the book.

I was considering posting on the forums today to ask for news of the next supliment so good timing.

From the description it seems this focuses on things that characters rather than startships. Would that be a fairly accurate discription?

I assume that a starship book will follow this one. Im curious about the xenos career paths although whether I use them or not will depend heavily on the species.

Kaihlik

I read it the same way as you Kaihlik - this seems to be a 'character scale' focused book, which does make me think that Starships are coming up seperately after it. I quiver with anticipation in both cases.

To start blatent and inevitable speculation - I wouldn't be supprised if Kroot are one of the two playable Xenos. Off all the ones in the expanse, they're probibly among the most known to work with rogue traders, and their psychology, while strange, isn't so far off human norm to be unplayable. Orks would be entertaining, I'm willing to admit I considered a Freebooter campain myself, but while they might do Rogue Trader like stuff, they don't exactly work well alongside humans. Might be one of FFG's created ones instead.

I try and avoid Kroot in my games not because I don't like them but becuase for me the numbers just dont add up. The Kroot homeworld Pech is roughly 70,000 light years away and from that planet the Kroot can go in any direction but ultimately pass through Imperial space. The chances of a single Kroot ending up in the 200 cubic light years that is the Calixis sector or the Kronos Expanse are so tiny that I feel that putting them in breaks the suspension of disbelief for me, especially mentioning them more than once.

I try and keep things that should be rare, rare in my games because it means that when they do turn up they are that much more special. Its why my PCs in Dark Heresy wont be meeting a Space Marine or an Imperial assassin during the game, its also why they will be unlikely to meet an untouchable human or deal with an Eldar.

Some people may find this restrictive but to me it more accurately represents the universe they are playing in.

/meaningless ramble

Kaihlik

Well I'm sold on this, even if the book will be half as good as the Inquisitors Handbook. I really would love to see the rest of the eldar armory stated out.

Kaihlik said:

1) The Kroot are already in the Expanse. They've had centuries to migrate to various parts of the galaxy and they are a tough, adaptable species that can breed rapidly and survive under conditions that would kill off other races. It just takes a few to get a toehold for their to be a lot of Kroot a century later.

2) The Expanse is closer to 2,000,000 cubic light years in size than 200. The Imperium of Man doesn't control the interveining space. It has a measely million plus worlds in a galaxy of over a hundred billions stars. The IoM is scattered over the galaxy with dead systems, uninhabited space, alien empires, independent civilizations and whatnot in the gaps.

3) There are at least two bands of Eldar privateers active in the Expanse. A Rogue Trader actually has a reasonable chance of meeting them . . . . he just won't like the meeting.

I wonder if it will be two specific xenos that these careers reflect, or will they be generic and usuable with more then one xenos each.

For example, will it be Kroot Merceenary and Eldar Corsair, or will it be Xenos Explorer and Xenos Mercenary and then you will have an eldar origin, a kroot origin, etc etc.

Either way it is a start.

Arm yourself for adventure? More like 'arm yourself for awesome' - this book sounds amazing.

Please make it arrive faster than Ascension. The wait for that was brutal.

BYE

H.B.M.C. said:

I imagine this must be fairly close to release: FFG seem to be following a Forge World/GW-alike policy of only announcing books when they're some way along. Given that the latest Forge World book was trailed about 4-5 weeks ago on the GW website, and that my copy arrived last night, I reckon we're looking at a similar timescale for this, giving UK readers a roughtly mid-June release date. Excellent!

This book sounds a bit like an Inquisitor's Handbook for RT, which is what I've been looking forward to since the core book was first released. Can't wait!

Finally! Something!

@ Cynical Cat - I realise that Rogue Traders have a fairly good chance of meeting eldar which is why I was very specific about mentioning my PC's in Dark Heresy.

I don't see how the Kroot got to the expanse. Its just too improbable for me that they would make the effort to get all the way to the expanse when there are so many other things in the way, there would be little need to go all the way to the Expanse. The fact that this very small region alone is 8,000,000 cubic light years (I was thinking of a cube with sides of 200 light years) to me demonstrates the sheer unliklieness of finding Kroot in somewhere like the expanse.

Im just stating my view that the statistical likelyhood of Kroot making it to the expanse is increadibly low considering the sheer volume of space they would have to cover to get there and the Kroot species reasoning for expanding outwards which is to consume new species which they would have untold numbers of in the intervening space leaving little reason to come this far out.

I know that it has already been stated that they are in the expanse but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Kaihlik

Kaihlik said:

Hi "K"

I think that they ended up in the expanse because a huge group of them is pointing to the imperium after they learned of it (perhaps through their Tau masters). Why should they? They are gene-absorbing merecenaries. Since they are after more and more different genes, they are after more and more different developed cultures AND after -WAR- to fight in. If one assumes that huge patches of space are simply empty and that the humans are the most war-like race in 40K (after the orks and those damned nids!) it makes sense that Kroot Klans try to reach the imperium. Especially since they are not like the Tau (who integrate everything they can) but more into "kill ém all!"

Go my son, join the Imperium! Travell around the world, battle athousand different enemies.. and eat them!

@The book
I actually hope that 70% of it is non-RT-characteroption-stuff. If it is 70% vehicles, skill uses, xeno articles, gears etc it will be very worthwhile reading for an non-RT but DH-Gamer like me.

This looks like alot of fun! I look forward to it.

Seems RT is following exactly the publication order initiated by DH : MRB, GM screen, mini-campaign, player's handbook,... Wonder what the RT equivalent of DotDG will be...

Kyorou said:

The really interesting thing for me is how the Ascension equivalent will look like.

There is, in Deathwatch's Jericho Reach, a Warp Gate to "...the other side of the galaxy..." This is how the Kroot showed up in Rogue Trader's setting. The Jericho Reach is also mentioned in Ascension. All the games are linked... and I love it.

The two careers, I'm guessing, are Mercenary and Shaper, both for Kroot.

Morangias said:

Broken?

Jephkay said:

That an being a continuously evolving species, if some adventurous rogue trader had some kroot onboard his vessel and travelled all the way across the galaxy (by choice, or warp accident) and then ust ditched the birdmen when he was done with them, the would adapt, overcome and re-establish their species however they can.

Jephkay said:

I am hoping Kroot Mercenary (pretty much a guarantee in my mind) and some Eldar. Hoping against hope against the Ork Freebooter, which will only result in the big rubber stamp "GMs Eyes ONLY" being used.

TorogTarkdacil said:

Until FFG say otherwise, I'm not allowed to divulge any details of the contents of the book not already announced.

Lightbringer said:

I would say, probably, closer to mid-July. FFG usually announces books when they've been sent off to the printers, and then it takes a while for them to be shipped off everywhere. Still, should be good!

I would note that the Vehicle rules are likely to be pure excellence. Both Stewart and Watson were really not happy with the Apocrypha when they discussed vehicles so I imagine Stewart went to town on them. But... Sam, you could at least answer my past question:

"Will I be able to mount a Heavy Bolter onto ANYTHING with wheels?"

I sure hope so, It seems every Imperial vehicle worth it's salt has a Heavy Bolter bolted on somewhere. Even the moble ICBM has a Heavy Bolter strapped to it for good mesure.

As a side note on the Kroot, they were both spacefaring and mercentaries well before intigration into the Tau Empire. Also, as pointed out, they activly seek new alien species to find and eat. So being in the expanse, where there are several alian empires that were contained entirely within these pocket empires, actualy makes more sense then finding them, say, in the cadian sector. Jerico Reach helps to.