Hi all,

Has anyone come across an instance in their games where two Rogue Traders (each currently holding their own respective warrants) marry? Be it for political motives, profit, or even love ( )? This could be a possibility for my group in the near future.

Suppose you all happened upon this potential narrative. How would you handle:

1. The management of two Warrants? (Division of resources eg: ships, holdings, men, etc, Division of Titles etc)

2. Succession of the two Warrants? (I know there are historically accurate models of succession that could easily be used)

3. The merger of the two Dynasties? (If this would even happen) (Heraldry, obligations, political power, etc)

4. The creation of allies/enemies of the know joined Dynasties (Tall poppy syndrome? IN-LAWS!??!! )

5. The jump forward in narrative time? (How many generations would you go with? Players obtaining new family PC's once others die/grow too old etc?)

6. Actively roleplaying the family? (Do the partner Rogue Trader/ born children become PC's?, making the family an emotional and narrative powerhouse?)

I personally think that the amount of intrigue and epic story campaigns that can be written centered on the marriage of two Rogue Traders and their subsequent family are endless!

Ah, the troubles of mixing profit and family………

RogueSquire Out

Flaminpiglet said:

Is the wrong username

i've married a npc RT in a game. lure of the expanse. wasn't exactly love though. my character wanted access to more warrants so all his children would have one. after taking Madam charlabelle's ship he offered her the choice of a long walk through an open airlock or marrage until she bore him a child then she would transfer her warrant to the child. the agreement came with the understanding she would be my character's "guest" until the child reached majority and would be transfered no less than 50 PF and a frigate class ship or larger.

the character also had a child with ingraine aremngarde after transporting her to her mother from scantilla (he let her raise the child and had no contact but she did eventually become the warrant holder of that warrant). a noblewoman, can't remember what planet she was from. the child received a special warrent obtained from the Grace endevior. the scum RT had a warrent that had a clause that anyone that could obtain it was the warrant holder. if you lost it, it got destroied, or if it was stolen you lost all rights and titles, and became an outlaw or went back to being a nobody, maybe a rich nobody but still a nobody. whoever stole the warrent became the new warrant holder. he had another child with the female RT in the grace endevior. had a son with a concibine that got his warrant. think that was all of them. might have been one more.

Must of been some Sim game! J/k.

You could always ask this guy .

Flaminpiglet said:

I'm not sure how marriage works in 40k, but I assume that they would stay separate. Our world is comparatively blessed, and we still have a divorce rate of over 50%. With all the drama, corruption, and in RT's case, money and power, such a marriage would probably not last. Love can happen, but I think a prenup will, too, and the two Dynasties will remain separate, thus maintaining their stability, in the event the romance cools. They could each have the other as Peer and Good Rep, and have a resource-backed friend to ask for help. If they have a child, they can each decide if they want that child to receive their Warrant, at some future date, or go through the regular path of transference to someone else.

It would certainly be an interesting game/story to witness. On good days, they could be a solidified power to be feared, and on a bad day, they could launch shadow wars against each other, or just become Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Trader Austin said:

Wow that's a mess, and cool. While I'm not sure I could play a character who would so easily do all those things, it would have been very interesting to witness. On the plus side, unlike so many rulers, his children won't have to carve up his empire; they each have their own, and won't kill each other, well, anymore than any two RT's might.

I've often looked at LotE, and contemplated longer-term relations with those characters, it's the book I have for RT with the best given-to-me characters, and Lady Ash (main book) might be hard to get to stay. Of the RT's, I can knock all of the men out of romantic-based ones, as I don't play female characters well, and of Charlabelle and Sun Lee, I prefer the prior's personality more, as well as the blonde hair. She also seems a bit more approachable, while Sun Lee would always feel like she's just using you, and doesn't really need you. Granted, power katanas could be nice, but that Harlequin's Kiss is an awesome example of xenotech.

I assume that Political Mariages are the most common form for RT Dynasties.It binds Dynasties together by family bonds. Political Marriagess are also a lot more stable then Romantic Mariages since you don't have to like each other to profit from them and there are always illicit affairs for the romantic part if needed.

I used one, where a promissing young captain was maying into a Dynasty to get his warrant of trade and he holds it as long as he remains married or the succession of the Dynasty is assured by enough legit offspring.

Howerver, I doubt that the heads of Dynasties will mary each other, depending very much on the stipulation of the Warrant I suppose it could mean that a warrant is anulled in such cases. If not, then a mariage would probably not offer much to both parties escept additional vessels and resources. After all, if you have a warrant to operate in the Koronos Expanse already with as many ships as you can afford, what need do you have to have two of those warrants? Except for getting competitors out of the way.

I think even a romantic marriage should slightly increase the profit factor of both parties - after all, once word gets around, people will assume at least some resources are shared between parties, and thus believe both Traders to be wealthier, which is as good as actually being wealthier as far as profit factor is concerned.

Likewise, no matter how precise and convoluted the prenuptial agreement is to shield you from losing your precious fortune, a breakup should incur a minor loss of PF, because people understand that the wealth of one dynasty is less than the wealth of two dynasties combined, and treat you accordingly.

Older Rogue Traders would certainly be interested in marrying off their descendants - or at least those not in the direct line of inheritance - to other Rogue Traders. I've an NPC in my campaign who takes just such a long view. Setting up a romance between one of his great-grandchildren and an up-and-coming Rogue Trader would be a good way to ensure that the other Warrant eventually comes under your more direct influence, another generation on.