My Rogue Trader character just came into possession of a suit of power armour that was once worn by an adeptus astarte who got killed fighting Eldar.

Obviously, the smart thing to do is return the relic to the space marine chapter it belongs to and parlay that into a favourable relationship with the chapter. But until that happens, what should I do with the armour?

The first thing that occured to me was station the suit to the side of my throne on the bridge so that when I communicate with ships I'm trying to convince to surrender, they can see it standing there. "Surrender peacefully. You don't want me to have to send this space marine and his battle brothers over to your bridge to ask a second time, would you?"

Stevetassie said:

That is an amazing idea, but it could get awkward if someone starts to call your bluff. You can only say "You're only worth my lowest class troops" so many times before people want the living demi-god next to you to do something. Plus it would be hard to keep the secret from your crew which means eventually word will get out, and if that word gets back to the Astartes Chapter in question they are likely to frown at you.

Oh, I know it's not a trick I can keep up indefinitely, but I'm looking forward to pulling it once or twice before I have to give the armour back.

The question is: what other uses for such a treasure are there?

Ten ideas off the top of my head.

1) Attempt to sell it to the forces of Chaos as part of an elaborate plan to destroy a Space Marine chapter. A Chaos Marine will wear the power armour and you will report them as a "survivor" lost in the Koronus Expanse (or your particular region of space). Once the chapter arrives to reclaim their lost brother, everything goes horribly wrong.

2) Fill it with explosives and present it as a gift to an enemy of your Dynasty as a "Peace Offering" between your two houses. Do not deliver it in person.

3) Hide it in the holdings of one of your enemies and alert the Space Marine chapter that it belongs to that your enemy has captured and killed one of their Space Marines, and you have managed to recover this information for them.

4) Depending on the chapter sell it to the Adeptus Mechanicus for study of this ancient suit of Power Armour, or to the Inquisition so that they make inspect it for heresy or gain a bargaining chip over the Chapter in question.

5) Take a series of pictures of you with your new Space Marine best friend. Pose the armour into a number of amusing positions and then hand them out to people to prove your piousness.

6) Throw the armour into a star. This probably won't accomplish anything, but it will cement your reputation as a man of unpredictable character.

7) Release propoganda videos starring this Space Marine chapter extolling future trading partners of the importance of a rare and obscure mineral that they have never heard of before. Show up in the system selling this mineral.

8) Fake your own death at the hands of the Space Marine armour in order to convince Chaos Raiders/Dark Eldar that you are a man not to be trusted inside the Imperium. For good measure slaughter a couple thousand of your own crew to add to the verisimilitude of this deception.

9) Hide your Warrant of Trade in it. Reveal to the Ecclesiarchy that your Warrant of Trade is in fact encased in a suit of Space Marine Power Armour. Look totally pious.

10) Undergo Heretek surgery to implant yourself with gene seed grown organs that were probably not tainted and corrupt so that you yourself can wear the armour. Have everything go well forever from this action.

I'd suggest that last option be performed on whomever your favorite hated minion is. Your… Starscream, as may be the case.

The whole transformation is neither safe nor easy, and is generally done on people that aren't like, fifty years old and already probably wired to the gills [also, cyber-gills]. Plus, the chapter you get that stuff from will hunt you to the ends of space. As might the inquisition, if for no other reason than wanting to 'extract' the stuff for its own purposes.

Personally, I'd suggest granting it to your Explorator, under the condition that it remains part of the 'crew' as the housing for one hell of a combat servitor.

What to do with it after that, well, that'll just be right back to the lists of fun now won't it?

My group recently recovered a dead Deathwatch (Ultramarines, 3rd company, Battle Brother) Marine from an Ork Hulk they were cleansing. Since they were actually using the Ork Hulk as a ballistic weapon against a Chaos structure they simply grabed the Marine and his equipment. The Marine died due to an Ork Nob's Axe through the hearts. The body also shows signs of being cut up by a chainweapon in the lower chest (removal of the geneseed by an Apocathary). They presently have the body lying in stasis while they decide what course of action to take.

Their house troops are part of an Imperial Death Cult that worships the Sons of the Emperor by seeking to emulate them. Recovering the body was a big morale boost, but they are a little more limited in what they can do with it. The fact that both the Rogue Trader and the Explorator are Herteks (who believe in innovation and the empowerment of Mankind through technology) means that they are going to quietly study and scan the armor to try and recover its secrets. Remeber that even if you choose to return it, you are going to have it for quite some time. Placing it in sight on your bridge as a sign of respect and piety sounds like an acceptable way to ensure it is honored properly. The fact that it is set up so that it appears to be standing behind your shoulder is just giving it a place of honor. You won't have to make actual threats, seeing an Angel of Death standing behind you will probably be more intimidation than you need. Astartes are revered and feared across the Imperium, even rogue traders might go their entire lives without meeting one. I would also recomend taking it to Scintilla to the Inquisition/Deathwatch. There are no known Chapters in the Calaxis sector (the Storm Wardens are a secret), so Deathwatch is probably the best agency to get it back to the home chapter. As a GM, this would put you in both Deathwatch and the Ultramarine's good graces. That is a very good thing. Rewards will depend on how you act/your GM. In my game, with players that are likely to return the remains intact (although carefully studied), I would likely reward with the oportunity to grant Peer (Inquisition) or (Adeptus Astartes) depending on who you talked to. Selling it is probably a good way to get purged and purified, as it is too rare and taboo an object to go unnoticed. The Astartes aren't likely to arrest you, just send a squad to 'show you their displeasure'…

Give it to the Blood Ravens. They could always use a few "gifts".

Keep it.

Then, if, somehow, you run into a Space Marine Chapter, especially the specific Space Marine chapter, kindly and graciously offer it as a gift to that chapter in full reverence to the fallen battle brother.

Do not mess with the Space Marines.

Return it to the chapter and gain a favor. Take the time to plan something big where you can request the assistance of the Chapter in question. Let them do some heavy lifting for you. Profit.

A Space Marine's gene-seed is the most important thing to them. Beyond that, their equipment and capacity to induct more Marines come next. A Chapter who can't outfit its troops is of little use, no matter how badass the Space Marines think they are. When a group of them get wiped, the Apothecary will endeavor to recover gene-seed, but stripping the armor, in whatever condition the Space Marine's metho of death left it in, is not often nearly as easy or quick. This means that any suits they can get back are critical. While I don't see the return of one suit as such a huge thing to the Chapter in question, it is still something, and if you went out of your way to get it back to them (for the most part, there are no Space Marines in the Calixis Sector/Koronus Expanse), they will see it positively. It might not get you a lot, but Space Marines don't have to do a lot to be a big help. Say you found the armor of a Marines Errant Marine. This fleet-bound Chapter will eventually, or has already, depending on you, lost much of their gear, as well as gene-seed, as their fortress world was hit. Any assistance to this possibly doomed Chapter will be seen as a blessing, and in return, you might get some access to their travel logs. Who knows what worlds they have passed, what they've seen, or such. While they might not go with you, or fight for you, even directing you to a potential lucrative opportunity more than makes up for a suit of power armor, and you've possibly made a friend. Their Navigators could know lots of unique destinations, and they might have intel on any defenses, populations, etc.

Heya,

I would use it as a bargain chip or favor chip to gain access to known locations that are good for potentially being turned into profit turn arounds (ie, planets, moons, asteroids with resources and without hostile populations, or at least, not so hostile that you cannot manage). More profit, means, you can buy/find more of anything you need. Eventually is worth way more than the suit of armor to you ultimately, since really, you can't benefit from it yourself personally by wearing it and being a space god for a few hundred years without being a heretic and trying to have some gene-seed implanted somehow (thus shortening your career).

Getting that profit factor up is what it's all about for your players!

Very best,