Something has been bothering me. When someone is addressing a rogue trader, or talking about them, what do they call them?

It feels like the name is a throwback to the original RT minis game, when a RT had more of a reputation of not working within the rules at all. However, Rogue Traders are Imperial agents, they are just extremely powerful and often "flaunt" the rules (or ignore them outside of the Imperium).

I'm just trying to imagine the ceremony where a Warrant of Trade is issued.

"And, for service to the Imperium, Pharvus Jaxx shall henceforth be known as...a Rogue Trader".

Seems strange to me. How do others think about/handle this? Are there places in the fiction that cover this? To me, it seems more like they'd be addressed as "Trader", or "Your Eminence", or something.

Yes. They can have any number of titles but that is their job description as well as a title.

Lord Captain, Bearer of the Writh, Wielder of the Warrant, ...

I find the name fitting for the job. From Dictionary.com:

Rogue (adjective): No longer obedient, belonging, or accepted and hence not controllable or answerable; deviating, renegade: a rogue cop; a rogue union local.

Rogue Traders are not part of the warfleets, the merchant fleets or the civil fleets, which are the three groups ships are lumped into. They act outside the law by definition, and since their ironically less free counterparts, the Free Traders, have an adjective in front of the "Trader" part of their title, it's only natural for the Rogue Trader to do the same thing in a way that truly separates them. "Rogue" in this case is not a derogatory name, but a definition of their rights and the expectations people have from them.

That's my opinion about the matter, at least. WH40k is anything but consistent.

HI I am GM at RT and for my part NPC tend to call RT "my Lord", or "Admiral", sometimes "General" when in military operation.

But as TiLT said Rogue Trader is not a shamefull call, it is indeed the mark of their rank in Imperial society. Not inside.

I like what has been said so far. In my game I often use the term 'Lord Trader' as it seems more appropriate in some settings than Rogue Trader.

I haven't really thought about it, but it seems I've steered the NPCs in my campaign (I'm the GM) towards using "Lord-Captain" if they're part of the crew or if they're being submissive, and "Rogue Trader" if they're being formal or in a position of power. So a planetary governor would most likely use "Rogue Trader" when referring to the player, while his ship's first officer will use "Lord-Captain".

My NPCs may also use "Rogue Trader" to refer to other characters in the party, which means they really see the ship and its crew as one big entity (not literally, of course).

As Rogue-trader does not translate well in my native language (Libre marchand? Marchand renegat/voleur? Marchand corsaire?) I tend to use Lord-captain with the NPC crew and simply Captain with equal or superior rank NPC. Though I am still searching for a more baroque/pompous title to add more flavor to my games.

I suppose that there should be a clear difference between category, title and terms of address.

As a category, its Rogue Trader, kind of a cross between Nobility and Free Trader, with very limited authority within the Imperium but unlimited authority without.

Sector lords might for instance be concerned with Rogue Traders operating on the fringes.

Titles can apply to rogue traders too. A rogue trader warrant is itself an entitlement, effectively making the rogue trader a peer of the nobility (though they might not consider it so). But Rogue Traders will almost certainly pick up other titles. A favoured world or anchorage where the RT has significant local investment might grant the RT a title in recognition of his local power. A barony maybe. Some rogue traders will purchase or win by violence titles, conquering a world or rival and taking the titles and deeds for himself. Other rogue traders might have titles before getting their warrant. Certainly the older rogue trader families will have dozens of titles floating around. Other rogue traders might have been Admirals, Bishops or so on before getting the warrant.

Finally terms of address. This might get tricky as any two Rogue Traders might differ in how they choose to be addressed. At a minimum a rogue trader should be addressed as Lord or Lady. When on their ship, Lord-Captain might be appropriate for some, but might offend others who own a whole fleet or who held higher military rank. i.e. Lord-Admiral Bastille might be offended to be called Lord Captain by others. Other rogue traders might prefer the terms of address linked to their other titles. A RT who was a bishop or Cardinal before getting the warrant might prefer to go by His/Her Grace or His/Her Eminence and might prefer to maintain the trappings of their previous ecclesiarchy position.

In formal situations, such as introductions at a planetary governors ball, a powerful Rogue Trader from an ancient dynasty could have a vast string of titles.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Lord Anton Helsen Parol, Bearer of the Parol Warrant of Trade, Baron of the Five Cities, Lord Admiral of the Solent Drifts, Grand Warlord of the Free People of Thrun, Duke of the Everfields, Dictator Primaris of Far Reach."

In fact, given the Rogue Traders ability to Travel outside the Imperium and batter the snot out of more primitive (and less armed) peoples, he could amass a huge bunch of titles, most of which would not be understood in the Imperium and he might not use for fear of being mocked (e.g. Headman of the small village round the back of the hill).

renoh said:

Actually Marchand corsaire works quite well. In English it would be Merchant Privateer, which is pretty much what a Rogue Trader is (except instead of a Letter of Marque he has a Warrant of Trade).

Of course 'Privateer' is not a title, in the same way as physician is not a title, its just a job description. So a title like Lord Captain, Lord Captain of the Marches, Lord Warden of the Void might be more appropriate.

See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Warden_of_the_Marches

I think it calls for a bit of a shift in your thinking but I've always viewed it as such;

Freedom = privilige.

So when the merchants called themselves 'Free' traders, the bearers of more powerful warrants probably upped it too to show their more powerful status. Therefor -> Rogue.

I think "in universe," the term "Rogue Trader" is a bit like the term "politician." Both terms describe a specific type of role with a defined meaning, but very few politicians or rogue traders would choose to define themselves in these terms; though they'd grudgingly have to admit that this is what they are.

"I'm Barack Obama, President of the United States of America."

"So you're a politican?"

[grits teeth] "Well yes, I guess I am."

and in the same way,

"I'm Jabez Caul, Lord Captain of the Scramasax , bearer of a Warrant of Trade bearing the seal of the High Lords of Terra and Lord Commander of His Imperial Majesty's tithed colony world Brimstone ."

"So you're a Rogue Trader?"

[grits teeth] " Well yes, I guess I am."

Both titles (rogue trader and politician) have pejorative connotations, so no doubt the bearers prefer other terms. But on the whole, I'd say that yes, they are, by and large, called Rogue Traders behind their backs...by non-Rogue Traders, anyway. That's certainly the case in the Matt Farrer and Danm Abnett books, anyway.

Lightbringer said:

Good One Ligh, Good One