We're just starting a new game and I got lucky with good rolls and carrier path for a Rogue Trader career. It appears I can stack a lot of Fellowship - I can start with a value of 60. Naturally this comes at the cost of some other lower skills.

Now my question to more experienced people is - is Fellowship worth it? How often do you roll it ingame? How important are those rolls? Is getting 60 preferable to say getting three other skills +5 each?

It's absolutely crucial, depending on your character. If you're the rogue trader himself, you must have high fellowship. It's also very useful for missionaries and void masters, and potentially useful for just about everyone else.

Here's a quick rundown of the skills that use fellowship: Barter, Blather, Charm, Command, Commerce, Deceive, Disguise, Inquiry, and Performer (any).

Fellowship is always useful, but it's probably most useful in Rogue Trader since you are, essentially, a business. You need to be able to talk to people, and you need to be able to command your crew. A lot of tests to run the ship are command based. Want a kick ass bomber or fighter squad? Better have high fellowship.

I think every characteristic is useful, as well as every skill, it all depends on who you're playing. The only time fellowship isn't good to have is if you're intentionally playing a moody bounty hunter, or an emotionless explorator or something to that effect. It's hard to convince people you're not charming if you're rolling charm at a 60!

I love my former PC. Slaanesh worshiping RT. Everybody loved him and he had best gear he could get thanks to commerce

Agreed - Intelligence and Fellowship are probably the two most important stats for most characters; they are the skills for organising other people .

Combat skills can be dealt with by deploying several dozen - or even several hundred - House Armsmen. Assassination attempts aside, you'll rarely have to fight in person if you don't want to.

A lot of critical skills are about using Fellowship. Mass combats? You use Command. Dealing with authorities and dignitaries? All Fellowship based skills. Having a chance to make that Aqyuisition roll? Fellowship helps a lot.

It is absolutely critical for RT, Seneshall and Missionary. Though admitedly an 80 is overdoing it. Don't forget that you can add bonusses from all sorts of other sources, such as the peer talent and having a high skill.