I'm -really- sorry fellow forum dwellers. I attempted to check the forums to see if my answers were already set on stone somewhere else, but the search function wasn't, well, functioning. So here it goes:

Melee combat: So, unless a weapon has a bayonet -or- it's a pistol, a gun can't be used at all in melee? And the point blank range would be at least one meter of distance then, right? Since a character who is standing adjacent to an enemy is automatically in melee with it unless said enemy is surprised/helpless/etc.

Achievement points… are they really necessary? I know they I mean, it's another thing to keep in mind (xp points, upkeeps, etc) and what if the players fail one of the points of the endeavour? They compensate with other parts? Again, I'm rather inexperienced in being a Game Master in Rogue Trader, just seeking to understand the system and it's nuances. They -seem- to be simply replaceable by a good story-telling and a good administration of the story points.

Acquisition points: They -never- go down unless the players are victims of misfortunes? I mean, aren't they spent? Losing one or two points of acquisition would be indeed weird if one tried to buy a simple gun, but what if the player is trying to buy a ship, or a wealthy villa in a paradise planet? Shouldn't their Acquisition points go down a bit?
(Again, I need to stress this, I'm not saying how the game should be played, or what should be right! I just wanna know how or why it works.)

Also, still on the subject of Acquisitions. How should they be roleplayed? For example, Explorer X (cool name) Is talking with a mechanicus arms dealer Y (Not so cool name) about the purchase of a twin-linked heavy bolter with LAZORS-sight. As part of the social dance, X starts by attempting a commerce skill roll to improve his Acquisition rating, so he starts talking about other vendors, other places to sell cheaper, etc.

Then he rolls his Acquisition test annnd. Fails.

What happened? Did Y suddenly realised he doesn't have the said weapon? He doesn't want to sell it no matter how many rivers of money are tossed into his direction? The emperor frowned onto their transaction and vaporized the very weapon before the duo with his awesome fury-vision?

Melee Combat: This is correct, Basic and Heavy weapons are too cumbersome to be used in the swirling close-range melee combat.

Achievement Points are useful if you want to give your players a concrete measure of how well they're doing and if they've earned any extra profit factor, as well as being "spent" to restore Morale after some heavy crew damage. If players fail part of the Endeavour they can continue to try and make it up, or they "fail" and you can decide if they get a portion of the Profit Factor or have to spend what they gained to recoup their losses. For things that are less laid out as true Endeavours you can just make a decision as to what your players earn.

Acquisition Tests are weird for the reason you've mentioned. Even low profit-factor RTs are said to be incredibly rich, but you can fail to buy a simple Laspistol as a result. I believe the idea is that your Profit Factor is meant to represent holdings rather than a giant Scrooge McDuck style money bin in your ship. Failure to make an Acquisition Roll is meant to represent that you were unable to leverage the appropriate holdings to get what you want. Failure even in the most basic of cases can result in a merchant saying "Oh sure, you'll pay me out of your holdings in the Sinophia Mining Guild five months down the line in exchange for a laspistol. I wasn't born yesterday."

I made a homebrewed version of Acquisition Tests here that fixes a few of the problems, but it's not 100%.

Starship Components use their own Scale that imposes an additional penalty towards acquisitions. You can find it on Page 274 of the Core Rulebook.

Acquisition Tests are pretty straight forward once you get the basics of it. Here’s an example:

I want to buy X-Item, my PF is a 40, I roll % dice and get a 42, I failed my Acquisition Test, I failed to get the item. There are other rules that allow you to boost your Test found on page 274 and the Acquisition Test is modified on page 111 by Population and Rarity of the item.

Buying starships: Here’s a doozy! I forget where it’s printed in the Core Book, but the basis is this:

You find the ship you want (this should be an adventure all its own IMHO) and you look at the Ship Points of the ship. Say you want a Hazeroth Raider they come base with no components at SP 35, you want to add a Cargo Hold & Lighter Bay +1 SP and 2 Macrocannons +1 SP for each Cannon, a total of 38 SP.

Now make an UNMODIFIED Profit Factor check with a negative equal to the SP Cost, remember your PF of 40 from earlier? 40-38 = 2, you need to roll a 2 or lower (1) to buy the ship. Starships are disgustingly expensive and it’s not something bought lightly. It might be faster to look for a pirate gang and take over one of their ships and then press gang a new crew as soon as you get to Port Wanderer.

Acquisition Tests:

In Into the storm there are Rules for permanently using Profit Factor Points to get some item, so You can "burn" 1Profit Factor for +10 on your Acquisition Roll: It represents throwing money at the problem, spending more to ensure you get the goods.

Well, I had read the rules, I was just unsure on how to roleplay them, but thanks people! Thanks for the help.

Buuuut, I have another doubt here.

My usual players were… an anarchic bunch. Well, speaking plainly and direct. Is there need for one of the players to -be- a captain? THE Captain of the dynasty? Can it's role be set to an NPC? The 'Rogue Trader' path -has- to be the captain? Or is it just another path? Can other paths be the captain, for example an explorer captain? Annnnd, can there be a ship without a specific Captain?

Oh, and by the way… Once a character has a power sword… why would he seek a fractal sword or a ghost sword? Or other?

Style.

No, really.

Unless he finds a straight-up better weapon that's also stylish as hell *cougheldarpowerswordcough*

Boaventura said:

Boaventura said:

Any other path could be the captain. The Rogue Trader brings a Warrant of Trade to the table, which allows people to operate outside of the Imperium in ways that ordinary citizens could not dream of. There's all sorts of reasons why this character may not be the captain of a vessel though.

1) The Explorers are merely employees of a Rogue Trader who has several ships, and though they are trusted to act in the best interests of the Trader's Dynasty, the Rogue Trader only acknowledges them in passing or ensures they pay their annual "Protection fee"

2) S/he signs on with a crew who subsequently mutiny, and they are locked in a cryo vault and only let out to confirm the Warrant to Holy Terra. The crew then says they are "Acting in the name of the Lord Captain" and proceed from there.

3) The Rogue Trader was killed in an unfortunate skirmish, and a random crew member underwent plastic surgery to look like the Rogue Trader and is now being propped up by the crew.

4) There never was a Rogue Trader, and the players are pulling off an elaborate and far-reaching con in the Koronus Expanse but will be in trouble if they ever go back into Imperial Space.

5) The Rogue Trader's Dynasty is absolutely bankrupt, and they have the Trader on board just ot add legitimacy to their trading ventures, but the true leader is the Void Master.

6) The "captain" of the ship is another character -possibly even the Seneschal- so that the Rogue Trader does not draw attention to him/herself and can operate with an extra layer of secrecy.

Begone double post.

If you want to operate without an acctualy Rogue Trader, then issue the players a Commerica Warrant, that will give them the almost same rights as a Rogue Trader, will give them the ability to captain a ship, engage in trader, barter and whatnot. Issue the player whos the captain a Captains Seal and they should be good to go.