Blood Pact said:

Well it's an interesting idea, how else are the Rogue Traders going to be policed? But I agree, that task can easily be done by the Inquisition. But... The Inquisition didn't exist when the Emperor was signing off on Rogue Trader Warrants.... So someone had to do it.

HeavensThunderHammer said:

Letters of Marque (i.e. a Privateer), undersigned by a High Lord of Terra, especially the Inquisition High Lord (deceased some millenia ago, naturally); an adamantine coated, stasis-encapsulated licensce to do whatever you want and (theoretically) get away with it.

Funnier still if it has conditions & requirements that are totally past the times or insane, like "bring the Calyx Expanse to Order!" or "Persecute the Arch-Heretic Drusus!" "Unite the Thirteen Clans of Sulphadan VII !(??)"

HeavensThunderHammer said:

How else are Rogue Traders going to be policed? By entities that aren't Rogue Traders, first of all. The Inquisition and the Adepta could all attempt to bring claims against a Rogue Trader. Charges of heresy from the Ecclisiarchy, treachery from the Inquisition, and fraud from the Administratum all would have significant weight.

All have reason to worry about the strength of a Rogue Trader. And making one Rogue Trader powerful in an attempt to police others is absurd. Best case scenario, the Rogue Trader dynasty is hated by all others. The more likely scenario is that the dynasty with that power will use it to their advantage like all other Rogue Traders when given power. What happens then?

Blood Pact said:

Actually in the vasteness of the Imperium yes just yes... but go and inforce this Warrant. Sorry but I felt as if your comment was very limited to FANBOY. I never said this warrant should be for PLAYERS anyway this shoudl be a NPC warrant and especially to block /stop the exescive players!

numb3rc said:

Sorry, I should have been more clear in what I meant: When the Emperor wrote Warrants of Trade, before a lot of the gone-wrongness of the Imperium existed, who policed the Rogue Traders?

Remember that they only have complete freedom outside the bounds of Imperial space, inside it they're still bound by the laws of the various Adepta (and the Emperor himself).

So it's not like there really needs to be anyone special out there to police them. They're just an exceptionally powerful individual, as far as Imperial politics go, like a Sub-Sector Governor, or Lord Militant.

The only really noteworthy priveledge they have is the right to travel anywhere inside the Imperium, as well as outside its boundries, and maintain their personal fleets and armies. This is quite thing, but Imperial Governors effectively control their own armies as well. They probably have some other minor exemptions, like an easier time dealing with ye-olde galactic customs agents, not having to pay trade tariffs, and other such stuff that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but probably noy much more.

That a special body might be needed to keep them in line is really giving them too much credit. While they'd be a more dangerous traitor than most, they're not something that's beyond the means of the Imperial Navy, or any other body, to deal with.

So as for who polices them... whoever needs to? Once evidence is found that proves the Rogue Trader is complicit in a crime worthy of bringing him down.

Some more ideas for "bling" warrants of trade:-

1. A warrant linked to ownership'custodianship of a particular ancient Imperial artefact, such as the Emperor's sword, Malcador's sigil, or a great Imperial secret (the whereabouts of a lost Primarch, the true history of the two missing Astartes legions) etc etc

2. A warrant held by a vastly powerful dynasty that owns whole sectors in the Segmentum Solar. Dynasties in Koronus may think they're Imperial nobility, but compared to some of the players who clusters around Sol, they're just regional explorers. Some of these dynasties will go back tens of thousands of years, have millions of members and own hundreds of worlds. The payers will be minor members of these great houses, holding one of dozens of family warrants, but just the mention of their name will have those who know their Imperial politics shaking in their boots.

3. The players are secret agents for a space marine chapter who their dynasty owes massive debts to. Their role is to scour the expanse on behalf of their superhuman masters for...something. Perhaps legends of their ancient Primarch. Perhaps foes for the marines to crush. Perhaps an artefect of the chapter. The players muct not reveal their true allegiance, as the Inquisition is loath to allow the Astartes to accrue the kind of power offered by a warrant of trade, even indirectly...

4. The players' dynasty once saved an entire Xenos Empire from certain doom, and now the empire are sworn to your service. You cannot safely utilise this great asset within the Imperium (lest there be war between humanity and your xenos vassals) but beyond the Imperium you control a vast fleet of powerful alien ships.

5. You hold the exclusive rights to harvest psykers on behalf of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica within the Koronus Expanse. Your dynasty has ancient ties with that august and secretive Imperial organisation, and they trust you enough to let you (unofficially) scout for those with psychic potential among the teeming billions of the Heathen Stars. Your ship is equipped with witchlocks and psyk-barred oubliettes, enabling you to chain even the most puissant psykers. This is a hard calling, but you are rewarded beyond the dreams of avarice by your Terran masters for your work.

6. er....

7. That's all I can think of right now.