Well looking over the Character Creation rules and the Renegade and Psyker archetypes, I was able to build a "Rogue Trader" and a "Navigator", and it looks like the capability is there to build the rest of the bridge crew for a raider warpship. The question is, how to aquire that ship? Looking at Table 9-12 it is possible for a starting character to have enough starting Infamy to be a commander of a cruiser-class vessel, but how would he start with one. Is there someting I'm missing about a warband being able to pool Infamy? I have the Rogue Trader rulebook as well as Battlefleet Koronus, and I want to start this warband off as either a raider crew or a group of mutineers that have taken over a voidship.

Any direction you can give me would be appreciated.

As a ship would be mostly a plot device, I'd imagine that if you as a GM want the players to start with one, you'd just tell them how many SP they get and what goodies from the RT line they're allowed to use.

If you get the RT Core book, Its (Into the Storm) and BFK (Battlefleet Koronus) being bonus and not really needed but great add ons, ships don't have to be just a plot device. They can become an incredibly vibrant part of the game. What better way to star ta game than by stealing an Imperial Navy ship right form the drydock or spacedock or wherever? It would be incredibly difficult and fun.

Can you share how you setup the Navigator and Rogue Trader archetypes?

thanks.

I my self would incorporate the ship into the long term plot of the campaign.

When I DM my self, I never like to plan to far ahead. I just created the NPC's and relationships of the setting, and allow my PC's to solve the problems they meet. I try to reward creativity and Role-playing in this way.

So the way I would go about it, it to say the PC's got the ship from a more powerful Chaos Lord. Then this lord could drop in and get them involved in conflicts that the PC's might other wise try to advoid.

Best cause senario they try to betray him and take the ship for them selves! Now you have a new long term antagonist for your PC's to face off against!

nethru said:

With the Navigator, I started with the Psyker archetype, and with the 500 points for psychic powers I bought from the divination power list. With the last 1000 points I bought Navigation(Stellar and Warp), Operate (Aeronautics and Voidship) and Trade (Astrographer). It seems Chaos can create navigators without needing the gene.

For the Rogue Trader, I don't know if it is better to start with the Renegade or the Apostate archetypes, as both give starting access to Command. Apostate gives the character the possibility of starting out at +10 Command, but the flavor of the archetype discription doesn't seem right, though that is my interpretation of the archetype.

With a little work I think it is possible to get close to many of the Rogue Trader careers.

I was thinking for a Navigator give it all the starting talents/skills as psyker but remove psy rating and psyker powers and just use renegade house from Rogue Trader book and all the navigator powers from the RT book as well. Make them cost Teir2 Unaligned 500x per rank in each power.

I would go for the apostate, in RT the rogue trader is supposed to be a a master commander, and the apostate with the bonuses (the peer talent) seems more to the task than a combat character would.

I'd go for Renegade - they can socialize as well, but they seem like a more hands-on character type, while the Apostate is more of a sly infiltrator and schemer. The generic Rogue Trader seems a little more balls-out than that. He doesn't get cheap WS advances for nothing.

bobh said:

While that would be awesome, considering these ships come with crews in the 20+ thousand range a successful theft might be nigh impossible. Now if you were stealing a penal barge and managed to get it out of port by disguising yourselves as crewmembers, then finding a way to release the prisoners and overthrow the thing, that could work. (and would make for some very awesome rp as your players attempted to put themselves in charge of the newly acquired ship - what with plenty of other criminals just as interested in being in charge. Crew mutinies and machinations would be a constant concern; power blocks of supporters would be integral to maintaining control ... as would keeping those supporters happy and on your side; politics and power plays would be a theme that just kept on giving - rp wise at least. Hell, this idea is cool enough that I might have to use it down the road.)

great idea. this scenario has everything, social encounters, fights, guerilla warfare, chaos, demons etc.

I went with the Apostate, as the +10 Command start and rolling up a high Fellowship just made it more feasible for this Rogue Trader scion, second-in-command, to want to take over the ship and the warrant. I was thinking that one of the catalysts that made the mutiny possible was the discovery of the Psyker navigator. The rest of the characters would be co-conspirators.

I'm still creating a Heretek and I can fill out the warband with BC versions of the RT classes. I also created a CSM Forsaken that was able to start with Legionaire Terminator armor (poor quality, though) due to the Ancient Warrior trait. Still trying to figure out how to bring him into the scenario. There had been dicussions in another forum about using Breaking Chains, and just changing the state of the ship to be more intact.