Hey Guys, for those of you who haven't seen my previous posts, I am just getting back into the 40K universe after a 7 year hiatus and I am currently trying to not only get myself up to speed to run a Rogue Trader game, but looking for any details I can use to help my players understand the Imperium since most of them have never played anything involving the 40K universe. What I am now looking for is any information online that goes into the workings of the Imperium as well as other "Fluff" as I have noticed others call it. The extra detail would really help my players understand why the 41st millenium is the way it is. I am looking for any online resources that could prove worthwhile in developing the setting for people that do not know the 40K universe. I know this is a very broad spectrum of information I am looking for however; I feel it is better to have too much and pick and choose what to use than to have minimal and not get the full feel of the 41st millenium for my players.

Also as a side note, I am curious about those of you who are veteran storytellers for Rogue Trader, do you prefer to have very set story lines, or do you prefer to give various plot hooks, and see where the players take the game? I personally prefer to give my players the option to follow what leads they want to pursue as opposed to railroading them through a story line but I am always interested to hear what other storytellers prefer.

Since English is not my first language, I dont know the correct terminology to be quoted; "we're in the same boat" ? "we're in the same shoes" ? But the point is, I'm also a newbie in 40k, and the whole gaming group started with zero experience in 40k; most of us never heard about it.

My favorite links for the fluff is, after done some googling, the lexicanum (wh40k.lexicanum.com). Another site is warhammer40k.wikia.com. Or of course, we can always starts from the wikipedia itself.

Most of us familiarize the setting only using the Rogue Trader Core Rulebook first. After each of us read it, we feel like we know a bit on the 40k settings. Then, the explorator focused on researching about Adeptus Mechanicus and Omnissiah, the Navigator done a very in-depth research on Navis Nobilite and Warp, the miissionary focusing on heretics and imperial creed, each of us find extra explanations from both lexicanum and wikia.

--Edit--

Regarding the second question, I often throw at them several 'hooks', and create an illusion of choices. Sometimes, I create conflicting groups with conflicting agendas and different personalities, then throw the situation at the Rogue Traders to exploit; I only gives each conflicting groups 'reacts' according to PC's actions

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Warhammer_40k_Wiki

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page

If you have a bit of time up your sleeve, I'd highly recommend purchasing and reading the Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett. There are few sources that give quite the same level of 'life in the Imperium' as they do.

You definitively need a mix of both type of adventure.

RT is a sandbox system, so yeah lots of hooks and lots more plus a few more pressing matters and the once in a while in your face kinda endeavor.

From random system exploration leed by the RT to fast respons to a call for help. Simple trade too total out guerilla wars where the players ahve to conduct hit and run on a dangerous enemy to total war with a enemy fleet...

I always have a few session of "horientations" where the players are pushed in a direction, the two free quest are a good start, they are trying to salvage a ship (I made it a very battle damaged light cruiser) then they had to decide weather to use thier initial frigate to jump back home or the damage cruiser.

They chose the cruiser, lol loads of fun as the Worm took that ship instead and nearly destroyed it with the forced warp jump over half the sector (See forsaken Bounty).

For the random explorations mission it may sound dounting but most of the rock out there are life less balls of gas. I usually get a few ideas of from Star Trek. StarGate, etc. get a few you want to work with and those are random exploration encounters or Endeavors.

As said again and again in the book, the players should be abel to invent and try all kinds of things, depending on succeess of rolls and the initialtial secret difficulty they then loose or gain PF, etc.

Dark Reign is a very very good source for RT/DH and DW. darkreign40k.com/drjoomla/

Also RT happens over long spans of time.

Your players may decide to survey all the planets in each system they go in, this is usually a 3 to 6 months jobs with the Warp in point being most of the time 3 day to 1 week or even 2 weeks out of the solar system.

Your Mechnicus Explorer can use that time to fabricate stuff, build new battle servitors, etc.

This gives them time to work their crew, also gives you opprotunity to create crew moral issue, they are getting board, etc.

If they sepnd too much time and you don't want to flesh out every thing, just say itakes you X months you find X possiblities.

I'd have to second both Lexicanum (for general 40k fluff) and Dark Reign (for specific DH/RT/DW stuff). Those should help a lot.