So I just got Stars of Inequity just in time to start a campaign for a new group. So far I've found it to be the most useful supplement I've purchased! I've so far created a three star cluster for the explorers to colonize, which is going to have a young unknown civilisation on the verge of extinction from an ork invasion. Now I've got a few questions regarding the orks.

Now my first thought was the unknowns habited 2 of the 3 (just barely colonizing first, and well into second. no idea of xenos so no defenses) with the orks completely controlling the third. Question being how strongly should the orks control be without being too much for lvl 1-2 explorers to handle? I was thinking a full waaagghh moving to town, to just becoming voidfaring enough to make it to next star, or even just a rok or two making it to the unknowns 3rd star colony, thus destroyed quickly, giving the orks new supplies and tech to help take out the second.

Secondly, if an explorer ever decided to try socializing with orks, obviously not a whole waaagggh, how would or could this ever happen? its possible because its happened, but what ork ever doesnt just attack right away? especially orks that dont speak gothic. Since there are orks that do speak it they must habve learned it and it seems even less likely an ork would communicate with someone it cant speak with. any ideas here?

Thirdly, something I might just save for a different xenos race, I've always had the idea of an aquatic voidfaring race, with ships full of water, fishbowl Esq colonies, what have you. Has anyone tried such a thing? how did you do it and how did it work out?

oh and resource creation. if you roll 2 industrial metals, do you tend to add them or have them be 2 separate types of resources? any other elaborating would be welcome. I havent even got to colonization part of the book and thats the part I'm most excited for.

any other questions regarding the campaign, systems etc let me know

1) I'm a little unclear as to the layout of your system. You mean there is Unknown Race X who have a homeworld on Planet 1, and have begun colonising Planet 2. There are also Orks on Planet 3, and who are making moves on Planet 2? In that case I think your Rok invasion plan is probably the best, and have a Rogue Trader fight to intercept a Rok and its escorts. Note that the escorts are important, because Roks are notoriously easy to destroy. Get behind one and almost any weapon will end up out-ranging it.

For that true Rogue Trader feel though, have an NPC on your ship (or ideally one of your players) point out that if you allow the Orks to invade Planet 2 and then swoop in to defend Race X's homeworld, that would put you in a very strong bargaining position at practically no cost except for Xenos lives!

2) My players ended up doing this. The easiest way is to find the Warboss, kill the Warboss, then have your Rogue Trader promise to take the Orks on a Waaaagghhhh truly worth talking about. Ideally they would combine this with Point 1, where they kill the Warboss after the invasion of Planet 2, talk Race X of Planet 1 into requiring defense from the Orks, and talk the Orks into swearing fealty to them in order to invade Race X. Then kill whomever doesn't go for the plan. If they both do, lie and say that the homeworld of Race X is somewhere else.

3) I have sketched out such a race, though my players haven't designed them. I based all of their ships off of seashells, and they were generally comparable to Imperial vessels except with weaker prow armour and better maneuverability, as well as a bonus to piloting checks because they are so naturally used to thinking in 3-dimensions.

1. actually I had the idea that race x inhabited all or most of system 1, and started colonizing system 2 with orks in 3 that have either already wiped out system 2 and moved on, or or just moving in to system 1 and have only reached a few planets so far.

I felt the same about the rok escorts but also wanted to get the feel that the orks (and race x) are new to space travel. Idea being race X has basically one big ship with no defenses and the orks had a hodge podge fleet just big enough to destroy and/or capture the ship which will eventually turn into the orks flagship, once properly orked up.

2. seems really the only way to convince orks to do anything is weapons and waaggh! but what I really didnt understand is how to get the orks to even begin communications when they dont speak gothic and we dont speak ork?

3. I like your race ideas. I may in fact use them fairly soon, thank you

Dealings with orks are quite possible. For starters, orks can indeed learn to speak low gothic and many do, either as slave masters over humans or when fighting humans to better insult them. Unless these orks have never been in contact with humans, some of them will certainly be able to speak gothic. And if they are feral orks, they won't be going off planet any time soon....

The RT setting offers the ork freebooter as an ork who has learnt to curb his violent ways sufficiently to seek employment and riches amongst humans. Ork Kommandos also typically speak gothic to eavesdrop on humans and are known to pick their fights. Which means they also consciously let combat opportunities pass them by....

Thus you could always have the ork leader be an ex-freebooter who returned rich and powerful and took over the tribe.

More importantly, orks are simple beings. They like a good fight, food & drink, bigger & louder weapons and most of all: a simple ork wants to be a nob. A nob wants to be a warboss. And the warboss wants to be the most powerful warboss (e.g. warlord) around. Usually, that means fighting every enemy and every challenger around.

But what if a human offers an ork the means of besting his opponents....? Not every ork will be able to rein in his violent tendencies to consider such a deal but a smarter ork may well do so. At least until he sees no immediate benefits anymore to the deal. In that way, they are much like children. A bribe will work until their attention wanders or something else catches their attention.