Ahoy!

Here's the abridged version of the introductory scenario for the campaign I am doing. Any feedback is welcomed.

The crew (Rogue Trader, Arch Militant, Seneschal) are but a group of smugglers in Calixis sector upon recieving information about a death of the Rogue Trader's uncle - a captain of a frigate class ship. Our Rogue Trader is next in the line of inheritence. As the trader dynasty to which he belongs has seen better days, they are reduced to resorting to people with questionable reputation. The PCs make haste to Port Wander, where their ship - Astrum Fidelis - awaits.

Upon arriving to Port Wander they recieve a massage from an old sevant of the Dynasty, a spy, who menaged to intercept information about Imperial Fleet's discovery of a capsule near the enterance to the Maw, bearing the crest of Rogue Trader's dynasty. It is said that there was one live passanger inside.

After introducing themselves with their new ship and crew the PCs go to the Fleet headquarters and demand seeing the capsule since it is the property of their dynasty. The commander agrees to give the PCs access to the capsule but declines them to see the passanger. When pressed the commander claims it is due to the quarantine, but the PCs get the impression that he is hiding something. Information from the capsule seems contradictory. The computer shows a general path from deep within the Koronus Expanse but it often cuts out. The dates shown by the computer seem to make no sense either as they jump back and forth.

Being suspicious of the commander's behaviour the PCs decide to investigate. They find out that the passenger was placed in the Research Block of the Fleet base. They menage to purchase blueprints on the black market and plot an extraction mission.

PCs sneak into the Reseach Block through maintanance tunnels. They succesfully bypass the security and knock out guards. Upon entering the room with the passenger they discover that he is in fact a humanoid xeno of an unknown kind. The alien is locked in a chamber filled with some kind of fluid. There are some strange scribblings on a table nearby. Some of the scribblings look like a depicion of some star system. When they enter the alien regains consciousness. With the use of strong telepathy he asks the PCs to free him and promises he means them no harm. When they decline he takes over one of the PCs and frees himself. The PCs take the notes and run. They immediately board their ship and leave Port Wander.

The notes they took from research block and the capsule point them in the direction of Heathen Stars. Their reasoning is that they might find a lost ship belonging to their dynasty. Plus the mystery draws them as well.

Naturally, I have plans for future scenarios but I am curious as to what would you do with such a beginning.

I might add that there is another Rogue Trader interested in their endavour. Their actions in Port Wander also drew the attention of Ordo Xenos. Both of the above are unkown to the players thus far.

Hmm. One thing I'm worried about is that you're planning for the PCs' actions far too much. If you were experienced with the group and roughly knew their decision-making process then I could understand it, but as a new GM, the first thing you'll learn is that PCs are crazy . For each step of your overall plan (which sounds good by the way), I'd suggest you add in another two or three possibly routes they might take, and figure out how they all lead in the same direction.

Remember; it's not railroading if the players think they're in control

Sounds like a good start to me. They are going on a risky run with minimal information, making a couple of dangerous enemies along the way. What does a GM want more?

Thanks for the input.

I agree that this is too much planning, but disagree about the decision to secretly railroad. You're job as GM is not to come up with cool stories, just cool situations.

Set up the scenario the way you planned: They recieve a message about an opportunity. Have the base. Have the reward set up, and some key descriptions. And that is it.

Deciding to go through tunnels should be the players decision. Have the tunnels there and some ways they can figure it out (researching in records, bribing an official, and talking to a disgruntled employee, for instance). Have some other interesting things too: An AI, a scheduled shipment, and a raid. They can find out about all of these things, and do with them what they please.

Again, you're primary job is to come up with interesting obstacles to overcome and interesting choices to make, then let them figure out how to do it. If you do it this way you don't even need to tailor things to the players, which helps with the emmersion. Instead of "appropriate combat encounters", there are just encounters, and it is up to the players to either start combat, flee, or avoid. If you describe things well and immerse them well they should know in advance what they can, and can't, handle, and react accordingly, thus providing them with a greater sense of immersion and accomplishment.

You are not a novelist, or a screenwriter, you are a GM. You provide an interesting, compelling world, and let them choose how to react to it.

Another benefit to this is you are never discouraged and flummoxed when you prepare a complicated and intricate encounter and they lance blast it from space, or do something else you didn't anticipate. You just provided the obstacles, and don't have to worry how they solve them.

You will be suprised how naturally cinematic and exciting things turn out without your planning and direct intervention.

Oftem my players are in situations where

We might have a small misunderstanding. In my first post I didn't present my plans for an upcoming session but the outcome of a session that has already happened. Many of the things in that description are an outcome of player's invention. I have GMed for about ten years (mostly WFRP). Thanks for the advice on the role of the Game Master but i think i have it more or less covered ;-)

In the storyline department on the other hand I could always use some fresh outlook. Especially as RT isn't my specialty.

I think the most important thing to remember when running rogue trader is that there is very little that can stop the players from doing something.

In the last three sessions I ran the PC's

Caused a 45 minute derail based off ONE ROLL on the warp encounters table. Then later sped up a mining operation with repeated salvos from the main battery. Both of these worked out fine. But the point of this is that the players wield much more power then in most games.

I think it would be cool if the other Interested party was an old enemy of the players dynasty. It would be interesting to write the little backstory as to why his dynasty is at odds, an ancient betrayal maybe. Do you actually intend to at some point bring the players dynasties lost ship into the story? if so there are some fun things you could do as to the state of the ship, and its story (maybe its a hulk, or infested with something...).

Well, I think you're off to a really great start. Sounds like all the makings of a great campaign with the players very much making their own futures at odds with the Imperial norm (both dangerous and profitable...).

Without knowing too much about your plans, I only have a few suggestions:

-The aquatic alien is actually one of the Adranti. The Adranti were an advanced human empire that was declared heretical and all but annihilated by the crusade that established the nearby Calixis Sector. In my campaign, the Adranti were condemned because they used genetic engineering to adapt themselves to their planets, which of course is at odds with the Imperial Creed. So this "alien" might be one of these Adranti who have escaped from Calixis and established themselves in the deep seas of a Koronus aquatic world.

Who knows what technologies and secrets they might possess? Who knows what factions, philosophies or even religions rule their day-to-day lives? Perhaps the players realize that despite appearances, the Adranti are still very human...or perhaps they just see a source of high-tech to be exploited...

Perhaps the Adranti are slowly expanding within their star cluster...establishing new colonoies on all sorts of worlds and adapting themselves once again...leading to a wide variety of sub-races. What will the players do with such information? Ally with the heretical? Lead another crusade against the gene-freaks? Or just attempt to profit from the situation as best they can?

Perhaps the Adranti are engaged in a war with another race, or the minions of Chaos. Perhaps this is why the "alien" came through the maw, seeking the descendants of a friendly Rogue Trade dynasty to aid them against the Arch-Enemy. The Adranti are perhaps limited from their forbears. Supremely adapted to their worlds, but having lost the technology to truly wage war among the stars, and stopping the invaders. Where would the players stand in such a situation?

-Perhaps the group needs to stop in Footfall (with all the attendant problems that could entail) to resupply, or to fully identify the star charts they recovered.

-The Heathen stars are distant and little known. Having a Navis Prima (even if of mysterious and dangerous origins) might mark them out as targets or rivals to other RTs. After all, finding worlds worth plundering is only part of the battle...the real test will be to recover any treasures and establishing profitable ventures...without other traders infringing on their sources.

-The Capsule is too small to be warp capable...so, how did the alien manage to move the pod through the Expanse to the Maw? What was the Alien's goal? Perhaps one of the stopover locations in the Maw has some special purpose or meaning to the Alien. Perhaps the RT ship that provided the pod was merely a convenient tool for the alien civilization to provide a means for the alien's "pilgrimage". The players might discover their missing dynasty ship and learn the awful truth, forcing them to turn right around and race back to the Maw to stop the alien from enacting his nefarious plan and closing the Maw once more. Fortunately the Alien has been hunted through Port Wander by the Ordo Xenos and has been delayed, but its only a matter of time before the powerful psychic creature makes its way off station. And after all, the PC's did free the thing...leading to a final showdown on the hidden alien temple control base hidden in the Maw.