I am soon to start a Rogue Trader game on Roll20 I am torn on what ship they shall start with. I want them to be able to defend themselves well and still be able to fulfill their task since the Dynasty is well known for its trading empire that it is trying to rebuild.

Meritect Cruiser

Carrack Transport

Ambition Cruser

TheHeavenlyLily said:

The game seems to heavily favor smaller Frigate or raider class vessels early out. You could Hold the Cruiser as a reserve or "inheritence" for when the players are ready for it.

I've found that you can have a rather nice Turbulent-class Heavy Frigate fully outfitted for around 60SP. If the Ambition-class Cruiser is an option (57 SP empty), then you'll certainly have enough for the Turbulent.

Hi, depends on the ship points you have but I would agree Frigates are a good start point and go for Sunsear Laser Battery so you can hit at range and then something else to pummel them at closer distances.

Liam

Liam Kelly said:

Don't sell the Raiders short either! I had a group do very well in my game with a Cobra class destroyer! Between a 4 tube torpedo launcher and a 10 speed they were definately a glass cannon! But, their Captain was a clever SOB and what they couldn't cripple in their first pass certainly had a hell of a time catching them!

Radwraith said:

Depending on how often the GM allows Acquisition Tests, you could find that just keeping torpedo tubes loaded prevents you from getting other things you might want. There's a reason most RTs strip torpedo tubes off their ships.

You could set up an endouvor to create a contract with a forge world to keep you supplied with torpedos.

Cryhavok said:

Of course, but that supply line can always run afoul of a Misfortune too (or be derailed by the Endeavour of a rival). To everything there is a counterpoint, but I'm mainly trying to point out that torpedoes take effort just to keep in operation (unlike macrobatteries and lances) which is why most RTs don't use them.

Light Cruisers offer the best mix of size, speed and firepower. The Dauntless-class light cruiser is such a common ship that it makes sense as something that could find its way into the hands of a Rogue Trader dynasty. Frigates are nice because they are cheap alternatives to the LC with decent firepower, near-equal defensibility and they come in cheaper as far as SP cost.

Don't sell the Raiders short either! I had a group do very well in my game with a Cobra class destroyer! Between a 4 tube torpedo launcher and a 10 speed they were definately a glass cannon! But, their Captain was a clever SOB and what they couldn't cripple in their first pass certainly had a hell of a time catching them!

A question then: what is your opinion on raiders that do not use torpedoes? Are they still effective?

Don't sell the Raiders short either! I had a group do very well in my game with a Cobra class destroyer! Between a 4 tube torpedo launcher and a 10 speed they were definately a glass cannon! But, their Captain was a clever SOB and what they couldn't cripple in their first pass certainly had a hell of a time catching them!

A question then: what is your opinion on raiders that do not use torpedoes? Are they still effective?

Yes. The Meritech-Shrike is a beastly little bird that can bring the pain.

Don't sell the Raiders short either! I had a group do very well in my game with a Cobra class destroyer! Between a 4 tube torpedo launcher and a 10 speed they were definately a glass cannon! But, their Captain was a clever SOB and what they couldn't cripple in their first pass certainly had a hell of a time catching them!

A question then: what is your opinion on raiders that do not use torpedoes? Are they still effective?

Hypothetically yes but, you would have to be very careful playing them. Pure raiders (Like the Hazeroth) are VERY much glass cannons and cannot afford to get into a slugging match with well, anything! Your advantages are speed and possibly stealth. Outfit your ship with something long range (Such as a sunsear Laser) and you give yourself a little bit of standoff capability. But if your first attack doesn't produce significant results, RUN! The typical prey for a Raider is either a Transport or an outlying colony so their captain's tend to be somewhat pirate-like (Just sayin! ). The advantages of a non torpedo bearing raider are in it's greater endurance over it's counterpart. Another possibility is the option to acquire more of them later to use in "wolfpacks". When ganging up on a singular vessel raiders can very quickly overload it's shields and put a serious hurt on. This is the typical methodology of Chaos raiders and Orc ramships and works pretty well for them. That being said, If you're looking for a more balanced ship I would stick with the frigate. The Light cruiser (The Dauntless) is, as stated earlier, an Ideal ship for an Explorer but they are tremendously expensive to start with! On the bright side; If you start out with a Dauntless you won't be needing anything else for a long time! (Possibly ever!) The downside is you won't have enough SP in all likelyhood to outfit her with any really interesting toys until you bump up the old profit factor a bit.

I prefer raiders. Fast and flexible regardless what you are doing.

I prefer raiders. Fast and flexible regardless what you are doing.

Fast yes, without a doubt! Flexible...Not so much. Raiders are high speed attack boats that must get in and get out very quickly or very quietly in order to survive. As befits this, they are small, and thus do not have enough space to fit as much utilitarian type gear as an explorer might like. Further, A Raider is pretty impressive if engaging on it's own terms. If caught outside it's comfort zone (Say, in low orbit with a larger ship overhead.) the raider is in trouble! It takes a special type of Captain to excel with a raider and while it certainly is possible, It's not easy!

I really enjoyed using the Turbulent Class Heavy Frigate. I can't remember how many SP I started with, but it was a short lived game and the GM gave me Reaver because of how piratical I was when the mood took me.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bctjlceslab0riq/Weeping%20Angel.pdf

It's good at running, hiding, hit and run and pretty much anything else that involves causing a lot of hurt on others.

I find raiders tend to be good at either hit and runs or shooting, but rarely both. depending on starting ship points and what expansions you have it is possible to truly crank out some good specialist ships. assuming that everyone and there brother pays the points for "planet bound for a millennia" it is more than possible to start off with 3 arciotech items.( I did this with random rolls on the warrant path)

so for my hit and run cobra I have the modified drive, teleportarium, bridge of antiquity and murder servitors. if my math is correct I get a + 50 to do hit and runs. this also happens to be the ship we put torpedoes on, more for that initial long range punch before closing in. the dorsal mars macrocannons are more place holders at this point until they can be refitted. all for around 48 SP

on the other hand our long range meritech shrike ends up with a +20 to BS score due to the ship(=5)martial hubris(=5)auto stabilized auguar array(+5) and auto-targeting matrix(+5)

it is equipped with a sunhammer lance and good turbo shard cannon. we also got planet bound for this one. 51 SP starting.

used in a pair they are quite deadly.

For a more militaristic RT I was thinking of a
Secutor-class Light Cruiser ("light"), with 2 Jovian Pattern Escort bays (Port-Starboard), Prow and Dorsal Hecutor Pattern Plasma Macro-batteries (long range)
with Pilot chambers, Small craft repair docks, etc...

For an explorator minded RT, a Meritech Shrike is perfect. You can fit it with a Lab, Sensorium, Teleportatium, nice Auger arrays, etc...

on the other hand our long range meritech shrike ends up with a +20 to BS score due to the ship(=5)martial hubris(=5)auto stabilized auguar array(+5) and auto-targeting matrix(+5)

it is equipped with a sunhammer lance and good turbo shard cannon. we also got planet bound for this one. 51 SP starting.

used in a pair they are quite deadly.

You forgot the Turbo-Weapon Battery upgrade ( Into the Storm ):

• (Normal) Ignore range penalties for firing at double its normal range
• (Good) Increase the range of the weapon component by 1
• (Best) Adds +5 to BS to fire that weapon component

With Sunsear Laser Batteries, the ship can become a gigantic long-las.

well the turbo upgrade went on the shard cannon lol. could not quite get the best quality ones .

You forgot the Turbo-Weapon Battery upgrade ( Into the Storm ):

on the other hand our long range meritech shrike ends up with a +20 to BS score due to the ship(=5)martial hubris(=5)auto stabilized auguar array(+5) and auto-targeting matrix(+5)

it is equipped with a sunhammer lance and good turbo shard cannon. we also got planet bound for this one. 51 SP starting.

used in a pair they are quite deadly.

• (Normal) Ignore range penalties for firing at double its normal range
• (Good) Increase the range of the weapon component by 1
• (Best) Adds +5 to BS to fire that weapon component

With Sunsear Laser Batteries, the ship can become a gigantic long-las.

Judging from the description, I'd say that the Turbo-Weapons Battery upgrade is meant for conventional weapon batteries, and not Laser or Plasma Batteries, since it mentions propellants and recoil, which both are things Laser macrobatteries do not have.

Also, htsmithium, how the hell do you manage to install ANYTHING on a Component known to violently explode when you look at it funny?

Malicious compliance to rules as written...lol. We justified it as that the weapon was a bit better than the standard ones when acquired.

Judging from the description, I'd say that the Turbo-Weapons Battery upgrade is meant for conventional weapon batteries, and not Laser or Plasma Batteries, since it mentions propellants and recoil, which both are things Laser macrobatteries do not have.

I'm simply going by rules as written, SirFrog. It's only restriction is that it can only be attached to a macrocannon and not a lance. It's up to the GM whether or not to allow this cheesy min-maxing.

Personally, I'd allow it.

Also, htsmithium, how the hell do you manage to install ANYTHING on a Component known to violently explode when you look at it funny?

Carefully. Very, very carefully.