... might come to mind, if the players find former colony worlds, settled with resisting natives, who deny the right of the Imperium to rule all mankind.

What do you think would be necessary for a wealthy rogue trader to truly invade a planet? Is it even possible for a rogue trader to make it happen?

Forst off, it`s only a weird idea, cluttering about in my head but not planned to be included in my RT campaign.

I`d expect at least a few regiments of trained soldiers with armoured and air support would be neccesary.

If that planet has no planetary defense, a few lance-strikes out of orbit could be enough to convince the planet's inhabitants that it is better to serve the Empire (and the Rogue Trader who acts in the name of the Empire).

In order to really invade a planet, I think your Rogue Trader will need lots, lots, lots of troups.

This came up recently in my campaign. The Explorers found a lush garden world that had been settled by two collapsed Dynasties. The Rogue Trader decided he wanted to claim the world and it's locals for his own.

First, my Explorers needed an army. They could have hired a mercenary army or gone to their dynasty for a levy of bonded troops from the family guard. However, my Explorers decided to work with some of the natives.

There were two main population blocs one the planet. One bloc had most of the tech from the initial colonization effort, the other had three times the population but had degenerated into barbaric feudalism. The Explorers worked with a disgruntled Lieutenant in the high-tech faction, backed his coupe, then armed his faction so they could invade and conquer the feudal society. The Lieutenant is now dictator of the planet, ruling in the name of the Rogue Trader who backed the revolution, and sends the Dynasty regular tribute. In return the Dynasty supplies the dictator with the arms and training needed to maintain order.

Depends on many factors,

What tech level is the planet?

How many people are on it?

Any unique geography that might help or hinder an invasion force?

Also diplomacy,

Is there a single ruler or multiple kingdoms?

Can a faction be turned to the imperium and thus fight the war with assistance from the RT?

Can the RT instigate a war on the planet and let them deplete their military might before he moves in to mop up?

Any unique resources that the populace must have that can be controlled or threatened by the RT (the only source of water on a desert planet, etc)?

You have asked a very complex question need more input.

As to can a RT conquer a planet.. in theory yes though if it is a straight up invasion he will likely need help/allies unless he has a LOT of troops. Even if the inhabitants are stone age and there is no doubt about winning even when heavily outnumbered he would still need a large number of men just to hold territory.

There's info on this in Frozen Reaches, and there will be in Battlefleet Koronus

Graf said:

Orbital strikes don't work that well if the population is low-tech, as news about the strike won't travel far beyond the borders of whichever nation/tribe you attacked.

As for the troops you'll need, that will be in the millions.

The best way I can see is to identify a larger tribe that would be willing to accept your rule in exchange for much better weapons than they could make themselves (Keep it close to what they do use, otherwise you will need to worry about training them to use it). Keep them supplied, let them conquer the world for you. If there is an ocean that hinders their conquest, teach them how to build sailing vessels to cross it.

Leave a few satellites in orbit so that your Missionaries have access to orbital surveillance. No sane general will turn down the intel it provides, unless the planet is advanced enough to build the satellites themselves, so your Missionaries now have access to all the important people in charge of their military because they have control over something that can't be stolen.

Come back every once in a while to resupply their weapons, use your ship to smite anyone giving your ally trouble. After a few decades, the planet is yours and the population is converted to the Imperial Creed.

This method would be difficult if they have enough tech to build their own satellites. But that would mean they have radio, so news of orbital bombardment can travel world wide, meaning that their radio only makes your conquest quicker.

Bilateralrope said:

There are countless Imperial worlds, many of which have fewer than a million inhabitants. Not every world is going to be teeming with aggressive opposition, in fact some may be peaceful and loving.

Feudal world rulers by definition control vast numbers of masses; it is not necessary to defeat every citizen if you can control the leadership mechanism. Get the Feudal lord to see the light of the Emperor, or hold him hostage, or kill him. Remember the conquistadores! This is a situation custom built for RT's. No RT travels the expanse with millions of troops, and yet many are the worlds they have come to dominate through various means of suasion, including Planetary Invasions. If millions of troops really were needed, I suppose it would be time to call the Imperial Navy, or better yet, some space marines as that really is kind of their job.

An RT with enough lighters and troops could invade a planet as long as the opposition was not too tech advanced. Start by observing the planet from hiding and pinpointing the most vulnerable targets. Listen in on all transmissions and do some tests jamming. Launch sudden simultaneous attacks on ground-bound leadership while running high level jamming. Demonstrate an ability to strike with overwhelming force any planet-bound target at will. Open negotiations while turning up the heat with nukes, melta torpedoes, or lance strikes from space.

This is how RT's earn their thrones, because now you offer very liberal terms of peace including tech and knowledge handouts. Offer proof of the vastness of Imperial control and point out that there are a thousand other scoundrels who now know the coordinates of their ball of dirt. The only way for them to gain protection is to sign a simple contract giving the RT control of the planet's resources in order to open greater markets and bring eventual prosperity to the the world's citizens. Light of the Emperor and all that .

Now if this fails to motivate them, take the gloves off. Hit them with the freaky stuff, psykers and biological agents, some random Death World creatures from the hold, aliens and mutants. Turn the Penal Legions loose for a week or two, evaporate the lakes and melt the icecaps, turn the deserts to glass and burn down the forests. Show them that the Emperor does not suffer fools. Then, show them that the Emperor is also merciful, and will forgive their transgressions if they agree to the pact.

Even if you end up owning a jacked-up planet, you won, and it is yours.

Keep in mind that adding new worlds to the Imperium is the primary reason why a Rogue Trader's Warrant exempts him from so may of the Imperium's laws and strictures. Back in Ye Olde WH40K 1st Edition dayes, Rogue Traders were depicted as conquistadors, with companies of troops permanently stationed aboard their ships. Exploration and conquest were their primary focus, trade a distant second. I would say that the "modern" equivelant of that would be establishing a process by which Rogue Traders can formally petition the Adeptus for troops to conquer newly-discovered worlds, for the good of the Imperium (and if he happens to turn a tidy profit from the conquest, well, such are the rewards for loyal service to the Emperor...).

The new DW rites of battle book covers a few things about orbital strikes such as damage etc which confirm how powerful these things are.

Believe me if you start lance stiking villages or cities and the people are lower tech they will be throwing down their arms in droves and welcoming their new leader with open arms.

How many lance strikes can a ship get off in one day i would say quite a few as long as it takes the ship to orbit there

A low tech or lower tech planet should be a cake walk )

Adeptus-B said:

I'd say Rogue Traders can borrow troops from the Imperium, they just have to have a very specific reason like "I want to conquer X world, here are the initial scout reports, and the projected usefulness of the planet to the Imperium.", not "I want troops just in case." If the latter, you better start raising some mercenaries. Of course, even if you can loan/requisition troops and war material, you have to be the one paying for their upkeep and replacement should they be lost. My group actually has something like this in our formal writ, which lets us requisition troops and even conditional loan/assistance vessels from Battlefleet if required.

V. And if it should be necessary for the establishment, security and defence of this trade, to take any troops with them, we will, according to the dicatates of the Ministorum of this Imperium, and the situation of affairs furnish the said Trader with such troops, provided they be paid and supported by the Trader.

VI . Which troops, besides the oath already taken to us and to His Imperial Majesty, shall swear to obey the commands of the said Trader, and to endeavour to promote their interest to the utmost of their ability.

****

XXII . And if by a violent and continued interruption of the aforesaid navigation and traffic, the business within the limits of this Warrant shall be brought to an open war, we will, if the situation of this country will in any wise admit of it, give them for their assistance up to sixteen ships of war; with four good well patrol yachts, which shall be properly mounted and provided in all respects, both with lance and other cannon, and a proper quantity of ammunition, together with double suits of running and standing drives, fields, cables, anchors, and other things thereto belonging, such as are proper to be provided and used in all great expeditions; upon condition, that they shall be manned, victualled, and supported at the expense of the Trader, and that the Trader shall be obliged to add thereto matching ships of war, and four yachts, mounted and provided as above, to be used in like manner for the defence of trade and all exploits of war: Provided that all the ships of war and merchant-men (that shall be with those provided and manned as aforesaid) shall be under an admiral appointed by us according to the previous advise of the aforesaid Rogue Trader, and shall obey our commands, together with the resolutions of the Trader, if it shall be necessary, in the same manner as in time of war; so notwithstanding that the merchantmen shall not unnecessarily hazard their lading.

would you mind sharing the entire warrant of trade? I'm devising my own and i could use the inspiration

Sure. I don't want to derail Gregor's thread too much, so I shall post it in a new thread.

Very low tech worlds with hunter gatherer populations might be easy to conquer, but the natives might not know they've been conquered.

I was visiting the Alaska Native Heritage Center, in Anchorage, and one of the guides told me "You know, when the Russians sold us to the Americans, my people had never met a Russian." The Russians had only contacted a thin sliver of natives on the coasts, so the inlanders were surprised to find out that A: They were now Americans and B: they used to be Russians.

Just as the Russians only cared about the coastal fur trade, a Rogue Trader may only care about a particular resource. They may claim a planet without having to bother controlling an entire world.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Deathwatch campaign setting shows that worlds can be very hard to take. Population, tech level, resources, and education all come into play. Worlds with access to support from Chaos powers or xenos can be very hard to claim.

A rival Rogue Trader could support an opposition to the player's control.

A quagmire world would be an interesting trick for the GM to play on the players. The world seems easy to conquer at first. Then the PC's functionaries are targeted by high tech assassins. Anyone who cooperates with the PCs gets a melta-bomb under their cart. Will the PCs stick it our and find out the real forces behind the opposition? Or cut their losses and find an easier world to deal with?

P.329 of the core rulebook

" Other significant assets gifted to a Rogue Trader may
include ground troops. Entire Imperial Guard regiments
may be seconded to them, along with all the auxiliary units
needed to maintain them and advisors to aide in their use
and deployment. Though such gifts are considered temporary
attachments, in reality it is likely to prove permanent. Rogue
Traders are expected to meet any threat that waits in the dark,
and the Imperial Guard is often at the sharp end of such conflicts
and so unlikely to be returned to serve elsewhere even if the
soldiers survive such service. Some Rogue Traders issue such
troops uniforms of their own design, and it is not uncommon
for attached Imperial Guard units to wear a tabard or sash over
their regular uniforms, bearing the colours and heraldry of
their new lord and master.
In addition to military forces, a Rogue Trader may be
provided with a vast army of bureaucrats, administrators, clerks,
artisans, and advisors. These are intended to serve the needs
of administrating any worlds conquered in the course of the
fleet’s travels. Plenty of Rogue Trader fleets are furthermore
accompanied by entire populations of colonists , volunteers or
otherwise, who will settle newly discovered worlds so that the
Imperium’s borders are expanded from one generation to the
next. In some cases the Rogue Trader will install relatives or
trusted followers as a new ruling class, ensuring the new colony
owes fealty to him, as well as to the Imperium."

Its is entirely possible that your rogue trader may have already be gifted these assets as part of their Warrant of Trade. My Group has a regiment that comes with the warrant (the 200th Beorman frontier rifles), though initially we house ruled that it could take a couple of adventures before the regiment as mustered. However an entire regiment is 40k terms is roughly about 5000 men (6 companys), though they can be larger.

5 thousand men and a macrocannon bombardment may be enough to cow savages and possibly a medieval world. Anything else is going to require some negotiations with the administratum and the munitorium or ministorum for more men and resources. For the sake of conquering a new planet theses arms of the imperium might be more than willing to part with assets, but theres going yo be strings attached, which may come back to bite the dynasty.

I think though that a word of warning is probably needed. RT is not meant to be a resource management game. Its probably best to roleplay a meeting with a administratum high fuctionary who on a successfull roll will "send the necessary ships men and resources for the job", as long as the RT does the initial dirty work...

Yes once gain your intrepid RT and his friends, with the best men of the regiment are going to have to storm the presidents palace/stronghold and symbolically plant the imperial eagle to let the heatherns know who is the daddy.

I suggest for the GM the best and quickest is determine the real strategic places of influence on the planet and calculate how many men it would take to take and hold each place, and work out the endevor prerequisites from then on.

My group have accumulated about 20,000 men under arms, including a SKitarii legion of heavy infantry (really heavy in fact). They also have a tank regiment of about 300 armoured vehicles, mostly Leman Russ tanks. This is serious firepower, but when you think about numbers and lack of air power, they would struggle with even a non-warp civilization of decent means. What they can do is surprise attacks from orbit, supported by orbital bombardment. Using this they could easily take a lightly defended city of an advanced species, level it, loot it and enslave the enemy, then be off before the enemy can fuly respond. Then you simply broadcast an offer to let the enemy surrender or you'll do it again, elsewhere.

Throwing this arm against something like an imperial Hive world though would see it annihilated in short order. You have to pick your fights.

How are you carrying those extra 20k people and additional equipment? I assume you have another ship carrying them for you?

They currently have two ships with barrack components. I've rulled a Barracks can hold a regiment and all its equipment, so about 5000 men, less if they are mechanised or armour. So currently my players dynasty can't actually transport all their own troops. They have many more on the space station (wayfarer type) and another bunch planetside on an allied imperial world where they train. They are currently in the process of trying to acquire a transport they could refit to carry large numbers of troops (i.e. multiple barracks components) but haven't got it yet.

Their flagship tends to carry the 5,000 Skitarii as they are, by a long shot, the best troops their dynasty has.