Elite Advancement Packages

By Fgdsfg, in Rogue Trader

Posted at

While rummaging through my 40kRP books, considering finally starting to work on that unified homebrew of mine, I skimmed through Into the Storm, and I came across (as I have done many times before) the Elite Advancement Packages.

All 4 of them. Only 1 of which is really illustrated (Sanctioned Xenos).

Why so few? I mean, I understand that it was not in the Core Rulebook, since they were introduced in Into the Storm, but it just feels like that kind of thing that could be thrown into just about any book here and there; most notably the recent Hostile Acquisitions.

Right now it feels very much like a bit of a forgotten mechanic, hardly worth mention. A parenthesis.

Posted at

Fgdsfg said:

While rummaging through my 40kRP books, considering finally starting to work on that unified homebrew of mine, I skimmed through Into the Storm, and I came across (as I have done many times before) the Elite Advancement Packages.

All 4 of them. Only 1 of which is really illustrated (Sanctioned Xenos).

Why so few? I mean, I understand that it was not in the Core Rulebook, since they were introduced in Into the Storm, but it just feels like that kind of thing that could be thrown into just about any book here and there; most notably the recent Hostile Acquisitions.

Right now it feels very much like a bit of a forgotten mechanic, hardly worth mention. A parenthesis.

I viewed those as more of a GM development tool, something designed for GM's to flesh out for their specific needs based on the examples shown.

Then again, it could be that they decided the mechanic wasn't worth revisiting.

Posted at

ItsUncertainWho said:

Fgdsfg said:

While rummaging through my 40kRP books, considering finally starting to work on that unified homebrew of mine, I skimmed through Into the Storm, and I came across (as I have done many times before) the Elite Advancement Packages.

All 4 of them. Only 1 of which is really illustrated (Sanctioned Xenos).

Why so few? I mean, I understand that it was not in the Core Rulebook, since they were introduced in Into the Storm, but it just feels like that kind of thing that could be thrown into just about any book here and there; most notably the recent Hostile Acquisitions.

Right now it feels very much like a bit of a forgotten mechanic, hardly worth mention. A parenthesis.

I viewed those as more of a GM development tool, something designed for GM's to flesh out for their specific needs based on the examples shown.

Then again, it could be that they decided the mechanic wasn't worth revisiting.

But if they were more of a "GM development tool"; the same can be said about anything. The book also makes it clear that you shouldn't be afraid of making your own Careers or Alternate Career Ranks, but nobody would ever think of those as "baselines for self-development" only. The fact that the Elite Advancement Packages mechanic feels like it is, is only a testament to how underused and underdeveloped it is.

I'm not complaining, by the way, I'm just finding it fairly odd and felt like discussing it, thinking I might've missed something somewhere.

If nothing else, I think that I'm going to end up adding to it as I start converting Dark Heresy into Rogue Trader.

Posted at

Fgdsfg said:

But if they were more of a "GM development tool"; the same can be said about anything. The book also makes it clear that you shouldn't be afraid of making your own Careers or Alternate Career Ranks, but nobody would ever think of those as "baselines for self-development" only. The fact that the Elite Advancement Packages mechanic feels like it is, is only a testament to how underused and underdeveloped it is.

I'm not complaining, by the way, I'm just finding it fairly odd and felt like discussing it, thinking I might've missed something somewhere.

If nothing else, I think that I'm going to end up adding to it as I start converting Dark Heresy into Rogue Trader.

To be honest, I had forgotten about this mechanic myself.

I see it as a weird, really open, yet really specific thing that may have thrown the developers for a loop. I wonder if this type of package would get too specific to a particular group or campaign to be viable for other groups?

I'd be interested to see what you come up with.

Posted at

ItsUncertainWho said:

Fgdsfg said:

But if they were more of a "GM development tool"; the same can be said about anything. The book also makes it clear that you shouldn't be afraid of making your own Careers or Alternate Career Ranks, but nobody would ever think of those as "baselines for self-development" only. The fact that the Elite Advancement Packages mechanic feels like it is, is only a testament to how underused and underdeveloped it is.

I'm not complaining, by the way, I'm just finding it fairly odd and felt like discussing it, thinking I might've missed something somewhere.

If nothing else, I think that I'm going to end up adding to it as I start converting Dark Heresy into Rogue Trader.

To be honest, I had forgotten about this mechanic myself.

I see it as a weird, really open, yet really specific thing that may have thrown the developers for a loop. I wonder if this type of package would get too specific to a particular group or campaign to be viable for other groups?

I'd be interested to see what you come up with.

Well, yeah, I agree. But on the other hand, "too specific" to a particular group or campaign is exactly what they're good for, after all. The examples given are very organization-centric or situational. This is why I would've totally expect to have seen some thrown into the various books that isn't otherwise centred around character creation.

Like including some Imperial Navy packages in Battlefleet Koronus.
Or including some Snow Trooper or Ork-Killa packages in Frozen Reaches.
Or a Breakyard Rogue or Cortelax Confederate in Edge of the Abyss.

It's the perfect thing to just sorta "throw in there".