No one in our group has played Rogue Trader or even has any knowledge of the Warhammer 40K world. I got interested in the setting by reading a post by someone running a RT campaign on another message board. I was drawn to the differences he cited when comparing RT to a typical fantasy campaign. I have almost finished the Eisenhorn book that I picked up on the recommendation by some of the people on these boards to give me some 40K background info. That is the extent of my 40K knowledge right now.

I want to run a one shot soon for some people and wanted to know what everyone thought would be a good choice for a group totally unfamiliar with RT. I have about a month or so to prepare and I have read thru about 1/2 of the core rulebook so far. I also have the following books for RT-

Into the Storm

Edge of the Abyss

Lure of the Expanse

Game Masters Kit

I have also downloaded most of the material on the RT support page on this website. I am looking for something that will really show off the best aspects of the RT game. The group I am running for is a pretty experienced group so as long as I have the rules down they'll be fine. I plan to use pre generated PCs but I'm thinking of making them myself just to get more familiar with the rules. I should easily have an evening to run the session, probably about 8 hours or so, more if needed. I also need to decide how many players to have and would appreciate any thoughts on that subject. We are having a mini con of sorts at my home so we'll have 4 days of gaming to fill up for about 12-15 people.

Any suggestions as far as an adventure to use would be welcome. I'd really like something that displays the larger scope of the RT game, and I'd also like to have some ship combat as well. I use a movie projector to display my battlemat so any digital maps would be helpful too!

I'm really looking forward to running this game, I hope I can do the setting justice.

theronin said:

12-15 people ? I think using Lure of the Expanse is the best in this case.

If your players likes "competitive" playing,create two teas with two ships, working against each other in competition with other Rogue Traders for the Dread Pearl. Or create a small flottilla of the same Dynasty going together in this treasure hunting. If need be, it can be shorten to enter your 8 hour session schedule (reduce the number of beacons required to complete the star chart,and you are fine).

I think "Lure of the expanse" is one of the best 40k adventure ever published, use it ! youhave everything : politics, foul xenos, witchcraft, exploration, space and ground combat, powerful potential allies & ennemys, and many many way to make HUGE profits.

Do you know already what kind of characters your players will play ? what kind of ship -or ships- they want to use ? or will you create pre-generated characters and ship ?

I should have mentioned this but I don't intend to run the game for 12-15 people. There will be that many here but we'll have mulitple games happening each day. I was looking for an ideal size for the game is all. As far as characters go, I plan to create characters for them so they can be whatever people think would be best, along with whatever background info would provide the best experience. I will probably create the ship as well. I'd like for the group to do it because it sounds like it would be fun but it seems like it would take too long for the time we'll have available.

I am assuming here but it doesn't look like the Lure of the Expanse can be completed in one session. Since that's the case what parts do I want to include in the session and which ones do I narrate through? I plan to run a full campaign in the future and may use the LotE then so I don't want to spoil too much of it! I just want to get the game in front of the players to get them interested in campaign I want to run for them in the future. The game has such a different focus and I want to expose them to it.

hum....well, in that case, the adventure in the GM scren might be better, with more politics included perhaps, with the Crystal council on Svard. I'd remove the Envoy recovery aspect, but add a rival Rogue Trader dynasty trying to get the benefits from the system for himself.

The best part of the Lure of the Expanse is that it has several mini adventures that would do nice for a one of. The best part is that it shows an interesting background.

Alternatively, you could play the second part of the introduction adventure. Where the PC's find themselves trapped in a starssystem where there is no escape. It has a 'grand' feel to it. If you have more time, you could play the normal introduction adventure first as it basically is a two parter.

Sister Callidia said:

When you say the second part of the introduction adventure, are you referring to the Lure of the Expanse? I am sorry for asking but I haven't read any of the adventure yet. Right now I am reading thru the adventure in the GM's kit, and I've only read a few pages!

I am getting close to the end of the Eisenhorn book and it's getting hard to read anything else right now!

No, I am meaning these two introduction adventures: Forsaken Bounty and Dark Frontier. They even come with prefab characters. I think that they will do nicely for a few sessions.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=78&esem=4

I decided to go with the adventure contained in the GM's kit. I am hoping to get thru it in one evening but I could have more time if needed. Do you think using the pregen characters in Forsaken Bounty would work? I planned to use them and the 2 additional characters posted on the resource page which will give me 5 characters. I think I'll have 6 players though so I need a 6th pregen. Are there any posted somewhere that I can use that would compliment the 5 from Forsaken Bounty?

I am also in need of a ship for the party. I did not see one in the adventure other than the Hand of Redemption with is an NPC ran vessel. What sort of ship would everyone suggest? I like the idea of a big space battle at the end while simultaneously trying to infiltrate Installation 23. It gives the players a few options and they can choose to stay in an area where their strengths are. I am a little concerned about running a space battle as I have never tried anything like this before, plus I haven't read the rules yet!

If anyone has ran the adventure and has any tips/pointers I'd sure like to hear them. I have about a week and a half to prepare and I have read the adventure thru once already. I'll plan on focusing on the rules for the next week or so to get familiar with them. I will print the short version of the rules in Forsaken Bounty for the players to have as a reference during the session.

I am also open to any general advice anyone has concerning running a RT game. I want to make it so the players are wanting to play another session right away because it was so much fun and totally different than what they are used to! Wish me luck!

Don't know the adventure yet, but the Core Book has the complete stats for the Sabre (a firestorm frigate) and into the storm has the Souvereign Venture (a tyrant cruiser), best you check compare them to the stats of the enemy vessel(s) and look which one is appropriate.

If you want to run a space battle according to the complete rules you'll need a battlemat or something similar.

The adventure certainly has a few problems.

At first a Navy cruiser i supposed to bully them into working for them. Hardly a threat if you have a tricked out RT vessel at Light cruiser level or above.

In the final fight they have to fight this construct, with the possibility of being attacked by said cruiser just to make the end fight more fun. I never understood how that was supposed to work out.

Beyond that, it was mostly ok.

As a 6th character, you can certainly throw in a Navigator or an Astropath. Both would lend the certain "magic" 40k psionic powers, and neither is part of the starting group.

Most RT adventures are written with the Sabre starting frigate in the Basic rulebook in mind.

Voronesh said:

Does one class suit the adventure better than the other?

How does the Sabre compare to the Hand of Redemption?

You could use one of the NPC ships from Lure of the Expanse, change the name and nobody will know. Theres a nice selection in the back of the book, with spread from a trader to a cruiser, so loads of choice.