I gave my players an very, very old light cruiser, saved from a space hulk and being dated back almost as far as to the crusades, named "The End of Sublety"

The name was heavenly inspired from Ian M. Banks Culture novels (a merge of the "So much for subtlety" and the "End of Invention") since I both like the novels and the names used by the Cultures ship.

While most are to strage to fit into W40k setting, some work quite well while having a wink at you. I know that the Imperium takes it wars quite seriously - but Rogue Traders are so far at the side of normal Imperial society that they should retain some humor.

Sincerely,

Eochaid ... Arr!

My daring dynasty have, since my last post, captured 2 frigates and a raider during the Lure of the Expanse adventure.

The frigates, The Frozen heart and The Pale Horse have been renamed The Renyard and The Tenacious Fennic , while the raider, The Ravage has been renamed The Vixen .

My players have really taken the fox theme of their heraldry to heart it seems. I just wonder what they are going to go for if their fleet expands anymore. There surely cant be that many fox related names suitably for starships.

We named our The Fallen Eidolon. Eidolon essentially means twin from another universe. We ended up with the 20 profit factor 70 ship point one so we pretty much have our frigate pimped out with the biggest baddest stuff we could manage. And they managed to agree that they shouldn't destroy every ship they come across so they captured a Bandit Raider which they named the Eidolon Raider

Heyo, long-time lurker, first time poster here. Nice to meet y'all.

I'm currently part of a game as Lord-Captain Alexei Zhukov, a Rogue Trader and captain of a Lunar-class cruiser called the Angel of Vengeance . It earned it's name after Alexei, on his maiden voyage, blew the ever-loving hell out of a flotilla of heretics that were bombarding one of House Zhukov's colonies. It's an old warhorse of a ship, Resolute in it's duties, but also kinda sneaky, almost a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing .

Heh. The players are fond of it after one battle where a lucky roll (depending on your perspective) had a lance-shot burn clear through a heretic Munitorium. Followed by a max on the Critical Damage sheet. Followed by two other ships getting hit by debris. And one of the two ALSO going critical.

In the immortal words of our Arch-Militant: "Fireworks!"

Lord-Captain Alexie Zhukov?

Lord-Captain Alexei Zhukov. Quietly ruthless, enjoys drinking peppermint tea while watching the results of a timed explosive going off on an opponent's Gellar Field generator as they make the jump to Warp, fine dining, and various insundri other things. A gentleman and a scholar.

From Krieg, too. Not Vostroya, despite my GM's best efforts (the Death Korps of Krieg look more badass than the Vostroyan Firstborn, and we use miniatures to play out large-scale battles with the ship's armsmen vs....well, whatever the GM throws at us)

Oh god, I have a huge list of ship names that I just cross out one by one as my players encounter them, there's at least 400 names on that list (thanks 4chan!), I'll post some of it when I get home. Some of the more memorable ones (some I made up, others I stole) off the top of my head are:

Barrage Invictus - the party's raider ship, a glass cannon. Its motto is: "The Last Argument of Captains"

The Static Age - the dynasty's grand cruiser flagship

21 Virtues of Hate - a rival Rogue Trader

Unholy Geometry - Chaos raider

Blessed Angles - another Chaos raider

Stygian Blade - yet another Chaos raider

The Visible Hand - an Administratum tithe ship

The Wandering Gallows - an Inquisitorial vessel. They take the 'Gallows' part very literally on that ship...

Orphan Grinder - an Imperial Guard troop vessel, think about it...

Fist of Mars - AdMech Explorator vessel

Gravitas Maximus - thank you Ian M. Banks...

Solus Magnum - Imperial Navy cruiser

Benediction of Change - tzeentchian themed Chaos raider

Transliteration of Saint Praskovia

Emperor's Right Pauldron

My players have managed currently to get their hands on 4 ships :

- they began on the Isolde Light Cruiser Vectigalis Mortifer ( Taxes Are killing Me ),
They managed to capture/ recycle/repair three other ships :
- A very old Dominator Cruiser from the 63rd Crusade Expeditionnary Fleet, named Lupercal's Wrath . He was renammed I ndumentum Subduco (Steal Underwear)
- A Charon class Light Cruiser ( a Specialised Lathes Class light Cruiser to repair and tow wrecked ships) named Quaenam Nexxius (Intterogation Point, aka ???)
- A gold platted Consistency Light Cruiser named Manubia Grandifer ( PROFIT!)

They wanted at first to christened their ship " It Is One Of Us Sir " but alas, the name was already recorded...

Originally my groups Rogue Trader inherited a space hulk which his family was able to repair and outfit for him. The ships original name the family was able to find out was The Pride of Man. However after a few battles and major ship damages, they renaimed the ship Shattered Pride .

My guys have named the long lasting flag ship of their Dynasty (based on the pre made frigate from the core book) The Void Raven.

lol now why did he pick the name of my villains!

My party used the name Götterdämmerung .

Our ship is the Leviathan , inspired by the Alestorm song.

" Mortis Celeris " - The players took a frigate and pumped as much speed into it as possible, loaded it with murder servitors and a teleporatrium, and an Empyrian mantle. So far, they've managed to do a whopping 13 hull damage on one strike when lead by their Lord-Captain...

Machinus Nihilus (The Mean Machine) - a torn up ancient Cruiser with two Mars Pattern Macrocannon Broadsides on each side. ...until you get close and discover the two additional Broardsides and a Titanforge Lance Battery Wolf in Sheep's Clothing is awesome.

Our first ship purchase was a Vagabond-class Transport, aptly named Machinus Lucrum (Profit Machine), again with Wolf in Sheep's Clothing hiding two Sunfire Laser Batteries and a complement of Marines.

'The Logic of Pure Thought' An Adeptus Mechanicus cruiser is used in a game of mine, sent to investigate a distress call from a long-lost colony. Outfitted with a forge and manufactorium capable of producing of material up to the equivalent of a battle tanks.

My RT (Corcerin) captains the Light Cruiser "Semper Fidelis " (Always Faithful). He (before his uncle died, passing the warrant down to him) captained the same light cruiser for the imperial navy. In honor of his distinguished service record, and a huge favor, was allowed to "keep" the ship (as his dynasties previous ship was destroyed with all hands - thus his uncles death).

Our group's RT - a lesser scion among her Dynasty - has been granted the Outside Chance , a Sword-class frigate. The vessel was the same one that the Dynasty's patriarch originally used to built his fortune, so the RT has every intention of taking bold action to prove herself a worthy successor.

The Tenax Dynasty's flag ship is a sword class frigate with a fell reputation called the Goldrake which was impounded for 400 years by the inquisition. The Dynasty has just reaquired an armed Vagabond transport called the Diligence which is partly owned by a powerful merchant family. The two ships are meant to reflect thematically the different type of campaigns that we might engage in, both trading and conquest. We have drawn up seperate characters on the Diligence that we can take if any get tired of using the main characters from the Goldrake. Overall it works especially if some of the players are more keen on dramatisation and variation than maximising the PC's power.

Rob the Heretic Gouge the Mutant Cheat the Unclean or "Roguch" - Created by players in a RT game I took over

"An End to Superstition" - Name of the lead ship for a pre-heresy campaign

"Miss Fortune" - with sultry pirate lass painted on the side of the hull, for a RT crew of bumblers.

Pawn Sacrifice - Orion-Class Star-Clipper, Captured Raider ship, Re-Named by the RT in my game.

Hopefully the forum will let me post the whole thing, but here's a handy 40k ship name generator:

roll 2d100

1st list

1: Prophet of / Prophetic
2: Incorruptible
3: Sanctified
4: Glorious
5: Twilight (of)
6: Halo (of)
7: Joyous
8: Particular
9: Bloodied
10: Sending (of)
11: Commandment (of)
12: Angelic
13: Fire (of/and)
14: Absolution (of)
15: Dawn (of)
16: Seeking / Seeker of
17: Pillar (of)
18: Bastion (of)
19: Unwavering
20: Devoted
21: Holy
22: Heavenly
23: Majestic
24: Uplift(ed/ing)
25: Messenger (of)
26: Sermon of
27: Blessed
28: Venerated
29: Untainted
30: Unflinching
31: Chaste (for)
32: Writ (of)
33: Vanguard (of)
34: Intercessor (of/for)
35: Bearer (of)
36: Unyielding
37: Celestial
38: Pious
39: House of/for
40: Vision (of)
41: Shepherd (of)
42: Sacred
43: Absolute
44: Overarching
45: Preservation (of)
46: Blissful
47: Consecrated
48: Crusade (of/for)
49: Apostle (of)
50: Order (of)
51: Teaching (of)
52: Teacher (of)
53: Priest(ly) (of)
54: Conviction (in/of)
55: Hymn of
56: Chant (of)
57: Song (of)
58: Blameless
59: Invincible
60: Noble
61: Archangel (of)
62: Auspicious
63: Angel (of)
64: Unquestionable
65: Axiom (of)
66: Proverb (of)
67: Judicious
68: Unswerving
69: Intransigent
70: Steadfast
71: Amandant
72: Abudan(t/ce of)
73: Genesis (of)
74: Extolment (of)
75: Perfect
76: Perfection (through)
77: Boon (of)
78: Patron (of)
79: Gift (of)
80: Burden (of)
81: Prayor (of)
82: Rabble
83: Radical
84: Radiant
85: Far-reaching
86: Far-seeing
87: Limitless
88: Unchained
89: Unbound
90: Unfettered
91: Unstoppable
92: Inexorable
93: Unquenchable
94: Symbol (of)
95: Sigil (of)
96: Banner (of / for)
97: Unleashed (by)
98: Released (by)
99: Psalm (of)

2nd list

1: Justice
2: Transcendence
3: Thunder
4: Glory
5: Reveren(t/ce)
6: Exaltation
7: Spirit
8: Wrath
9: (of the) Priesthood
10: Repentence
11: Heaven
12: (of the) Infinit(e/y)
13: Righteousness / the Righteous
14: (the) Almighty
15: Judgement
16: Destiny
17: Servant
18: Faithful / of the Faith
19: Truth
20: Ecstasy
21: Rapture
22: Martyr(s)
23: Inspiration
24: Guidance
25: Incitement
26: Virtue
27: Purity
28: (the) Sword
29: (the) Confessor
30: (of the) Lord
31: Retribution
32: (the) Word
33: (True) Faith
34: Worship
35: Splendor
36: (the) Promised Land
37: Triumph
38: Grandeur
39: Humility
40: Mercy
41: Salvation
42: (of) Paradise
43: Certainty
44: Communion
45: Sacrifice
46: Lamentation
47: (of the) Pure
48: (the) Tenacious
49: Persistance
50: Apotheosis
51: Homage
52: Praise
53: of God/Of the Gods
54: Approbation
55: Condemnation
56: Revealed
57: (the) Revelation
58: Benediction
59: Saint / of the Saints
60: Divine Favor
61: (of) Thanksgiving
62: (of) Dedication
63: Indulgence
64: Generosity
65: (of) Benevolence
66: Now & Forever
67: For (His/Her/Their) Sake
68: Until Flesh Fails
69: Unto All
70: In (His/Her/Their) Name
71: Hallelujah
72: (for/of/to) All Men
73: Conviction
74: (by / of) (his/her/their) Will
75: (the) Follower(s)
76: Allegiance
77: Determination
78: (the) Creed
79: (the) Ritual
80: (the) Acolyte
81: Confirmation
82: Liturgy
83: Litany
84: Sanctus
85: Grace
86: Sanctuary
87: Baptism
88: Exorcism
89: (the) Avatar
90: Herald
91: Guardian
92: (the) Missal
93: Missive
94: (of the) Deacon
95: (of the) Bishop
96: (of the) Pope
97: Given to Us
98: (of the) Kingdom
99: (of) Supplication
100: (of) Wisdom

www.sg.tacticalwargames.net/forum/index.php

Various fleets-names from BFG players. Might be an inspiration.

Cool d100 list by the way.

The first list is fine,apart from maybe Psalm (not sure if it fits for 40k) and number 100 (missing).

But the second list has a few that don't fit 40k:

9: (of the) Priesthood - Should be Ecclesiarchy
11: Heaven - I'm not aware of any heaven in 40k.
14: (the) Almighty - Not a common name for the Emperor or chaos gods.
30: (of the) Lord - Not a common name for the Emperor or chaos gods
53: of God/Of the Gods - The ship names are usually specific about which gods.
61: (of) Thanksgiving - Not a tradition in 40k.
68: Until Flesh Fails - Ships last far longer than any flesh does.

96: (of the) Pope - No popes in 40k.

Thanks for pointing those out Bilateralrope. I didn't compile the list myself, but I'll fix those entries for next time.

As an aside, Psalms are totally fine within 40k as there are several novels that reference Ecclesiastic Psalms being sung. Specifically in the second Eisenhorn novel, one of the Sisters of Battle novels (I forget which one though and don't have it on me).

In the meantime, here are some more ship names.

My own:

Binom of Magos Newton (AdMech vessel)
Excruciation of Martyrs
No One Expects the Inquisition
Speakers of Black Tontine (Chaos vessel)
Exultation of Apostate Velemir (Chaos vessel)
Black Star of Illyth'dar (Eldar warship and a nod to Babylon 5)
Dralathi (Eldar warship and another nod to Babylon 5)
Agamemnon's Fury
Two Hundred Barrels of Death (siege barque of Imperial Navy or perhaps an SM chapter siege cruiser)
Liberate ex Mortis (Imperial Navy or Inquisitorial vessel)
Plentiful Bounty of the Warp
Postulates of Saint Drusus
The Awful Sting (Rogue Trader vessel)
Wanderings of Eratosphenes (AdMech vessel)
Oikoumene Imperialis (A vessel charted by Galaxia Missionaris)
Apotropaioi of Omnissiah (AdMech vessel)
Propituation of the Dark Gods
The Crimson Permanent Assurance (wink wink, nudge nudge)
Encheiridion of Mithras (most likely a Chaos vessel)
Lextalionis

Others I found in similar threads elsewhere:

The Incalescent (could be a Chaos vessel)
Xenocide
Gravitas of Law (a nod to Culture series)
The Tsarine Calumnity
Logic's Coup (AdMech vessel)
Last Argument of Lord Solar Macharius
The Right Bastard
The Shadow Line
Sulaco
Nostromo
Hound of Tindalos (Chaos vessel. Duh! )

Here's two:

The Filthy Lucre, a Dauntless Light Cruiser.

The Lying Bastard , a q-ship.