I apologize in advance for terrible English i've been up for 27 hours now so Bear with me.

Now i'm from a DH background were if i wanted to give the player's exposition, mission info, gear ect.

i could just say "lord inquisitor Iannise has just wired you funds" or " lord inquisitor Iannise senses Hersey on plant x go there and look for witch's" but in Rogue Trader no such job exists so what should i do?

I was think about Seneschal because i love book keeping but, sense the DM make the rule's and the Seneschal cherries to exploit the rule's to make money, this wouldn't work any idea what to do?

You could make a Seneschal who only exploits the rules to make money for his Rogue Trader. You know, a loyal one. That's the kind of unbelievable backstory that only a GM PC will have.

In general I either use my Seneschal to impart information to my players, or else just have them make Knowledge checks and dump as much exposition as I want on them.

You could make a Seneschal who only exploits the rules to make money for his Rogue Trader. You know, a loyal one. That's the kind of unbelievable backstory that only a GM PC will have.

[...]

You'd be surprised, but almost all of my characters are actually quite loyal servants to both the Rogue Trader and the Imperium.

I have slowly learned that this is apparently very weird.

You'd be surprised, but almost all of my characters are actually quite loyal servants to both the Rogue Trader and the Imperium.

I have slowly learned that this is apparently very weird.

Yes, much like Explorators who aren't Genetors, Astropaths who aren't Transubstantial Initiates, and Arch-Militants who aren't Gland Warriors. All rare and elusive creatures... at least in the meta.

You'd be surprised, but almost all of my characters are actually quite loyal servants to both the Rogue Trader and the Imperium.

I have slowly learned that this is apparently very weird.

Yes, much like Explorators who aren't Genetors, Astropaths who aren't Transubstantial Initiates, and Arch-Militants who aren't Gland Warriors. All rare and elusive creatures... at least in the meta.

While, fair enough, I've never thought much about the fact that Explorators always seem to want to grab Genetor at some point, I've never actually run into anyone that wanted to be a Transubstantial Initiate or Gland-Warrior - well, except for myself for the Transubstantial Initiate, but that's still just very recently.

I had an Arch-Militant in a group once and I had to talk her into taking the Gland Warrior, which is understandable, because unless you're melee, it's not very good, and the Arch-Militant clearly isn't geared that well towards melee (comparatively speaking). And I only did that so that my Officio Medicae Explorator/Genetor would be able to give her a bunch of implants and xenos bits without her knowledge as I turned her into a Gland Warrior.

I had an Arch-Militant in a group once and I had to talk her into taking the Gland Warrior, which is understandable, because unless you're melee, it's not very good, and the Arch-Militant clearly isn't geared that well towards melee (comparatively speaking). And I only did that so that my Officio Medicae Explorator/Genetor would be able to give her a bunch of implants and xenos bits without her knowledge as I turned her into a Gland Warrior.

Now as for the original question, I personally favour an Astropath, specializing in Divination.

"My Lord! I foresee a great opportunity for wealth at Damaris!"

"My Lord! I believe your enemies are plotting against You! ... at Footfall if I read the Tarot correctly."

"My Lord! I have a bad feeling about this!"

You could make a Seneschal who only exploits the rules to make money for his Rogue Trader. You know, a loyal one. That's the kind of unbelievable backstory that only a GM PC will have.

In general I either use my Seneschal to impart information to my players, or else just have them make Knowledge checks and dump as much exposition as I want on them.

no no no i mean i'll be a loyal Seneschal that makes money for the players just to much because i'm also the GM and have a habit of optimising every thing i do in P&P RPGs

I play the Seneschal in our campaign as well, and in general I treat him as being able to do his job competently and honestly for the Dynasty. However I do not have him go out of his way to do anything beyond what the players expect. He does not find the better deals or realise the plot twist I'm thinking of that would get him a better deal. He will handle all the money and make his players profit, but unless the players come up with a plan for me that explains why he's going around making some very pointed deals, he's not going to generate them any extra revenue just for existing.

They're the ones playing in the campaign, so they have to come up with the plans.

I play the Seneschal in our campaign as well, and in general I treat him as being able to do his job competently and honestly for the Dynasty. However I do not have him go out of his way to do anything beyond what the players expect. He does not find the better deals or realise the plot twist I'm thinking of that would get him a better deal. He will handle all the money and make his players profit, but unless the players come up with a plan for me that explains why he's going around making some very pointed deals, he's not going to generate them any extra revenue just for existing.

They're the ones playing in the campaign, so they have to come up with the plans.

i see what your saying but i believe a good Seneschal actively seeks out profit for the team independently of his rogue trader.

Now i should probably tell you the party layout 1 rogue trader, 1 Arch-Militant, 1 Missionary, 1 Astropath Transcendent, and 1 guy playing both a Navigator and a Void-master. So i'm thinking about an Explorator so i can give the crew missions to go gather wacky arch/xeno/chaos tech to reversingener into weapons of DOOM!!!

You could make a Seneschal who only exploits the rules to make money for his Rogue Trader. You know, a loyal one. That's the kind of unbelievable backstory that only a GM PC will have.

[...]

You'd be surprised, but almost all of my characters are actually quite loyal servants to both the Rogue Trader and the Imperium.

I have slowly learned that this is apparently very weird.

Less weird than one-dimensional. Without player conflict, RT gets a little stale.

Really any background could work depending on what type of adventures you want to run. You could even have a wealthy backer, such as with the ship background of not being fully owned by the dynasty. This allows him to set the agendas and broad goals of the group.

Of course it all depends on just how much hand holding your troupe needs, one of the things that sets Rogue Trader apart from other 40K lines (with the possible exception of BC) is the ability for characters to follow their own paths and destinies without simply following orders.

It may be worth giving information to the group through contacts and letting them decide what they want to pursue and how they want to go about it if they can handle that level of freedom......

Your RT could be a Lieutenant to an older, more established Rogue Trader, if it helped. Perhaps your father/uncle/whatever is the RT in standing, and you are the heir-apparent. His vast networks of spies and listeners would get the intel, and he'd decide what to send you to do, with you doing it, both for profit, and to show you are worthy of inheriting the Warrant, once he passes. Honestly, if you aren't the origin of a new Warrant of Trade (so any Warrant that is established), this is how you would've been trained to do it. For a while, they can "hold your hand", giving the players a chance to get established, and all, and then something might happen to the old man, and it all becomes yours. You might then throw a party, swear revenge, or whatever seems appropriate. It can be a nice way to help steer players used to the minion-feeling DH and DW give, where you are told to do stuff, and can't just say 'nah", blowing the GM's plans to bits.

Your Seneshal could then ferret the goodies out of the intel, look for improvements, and your group could have some directions. I know most people don't favor this, with the idea being you are finally the master of your own destiny, but it can be a legit way to start, at least. I don't imagine various agencies just handing out Warrants and whole ships as much as the system might imply, what with so many new Dynasties just "starting up." Being given a ship by your relative, and told to go prove your worth, however, could be easily done, and there's still room for you to become the big man, either by accident, intent, or you own hand.

You could make a Seneschal who only exploits the rules to make money for his Rogue Trader. You know, a loyal one. That's the kind of unbelievable backstory that only a GM PC will have.

[...]

You'd be surprised, but almost all of my characters are actually quite loyal servants to both the Rogue Trader and the Imperium.

I have slowly learned that this is apparently very weird.

Less weird than one-dimensional. Without player conflict, RT gets a little stale.

One-dimensional because they are loyal servants to the Rogue Trader and the Imperium?

What?

You could make a Seneschal who only exploits the rules to make money for his Rogue Trader. You know, a loyal one. That's the kind of unbelievable backstory that only a GM PC will have.

[...]

You'd be surprised, but almost all of my characters are actually quite loyal servants to both the Rogue Trader and the Imperium.

I have slowly learned that this is apparently very weird.

Less weird than one-dimensional. Without player conflict, RT gets a little stale.

One-dimensional because they are loyal servants to the Rogue Trader and the Imperium?

What?

Because all of them are... yes.

You could make a Seneschal who only exploits the rules to make money for his Rogue Trader. You know, a loyal one. That's the kind of unbelievable backstory that only a GM PC will have.

[...]

You'd be surprised, but almost all of my characters are actually quite loyal servants to both the Rogue Trader and the Imperium.

I have slowly learned that this is apparently very weird.

Less weird than one-dimensional. Without player conflict, RT gets a little stale.

One-dimensional because they are loyal servants to the Rogue Trader and the Imperium?

What?

Because all of them are... yes.

There's still plenty of room for role-playing and character depth with loyal characters, one doesn't have to be back-stabbing scum to be more than "one-dimensional". In fact I'd find it more challenging to play a character trying to keep to the Imperium's backwards mentality than I would one who readily exploits the freedom's on offer from being able to flout many of the rules allowed by the warrant of trade.

Also loyalty doesn't prevent character interaction and differences of opinion, it just means they respect each other and understand they are working towards the same goals even when their thoughts on how to get their differ. There is still a wide scope for role-play and character development for a skilled role-player.

That's my 2 cents anyway, I won't go on about it though since this is completely off topic for the question.

Your RT could be a Lieutenant to an older, more established Rogue Trader, if it helped. Perhaps your father/uncle/whatever is the RT in standing, and you are the heir-apparent. His vast networks of spies and listeners would get the intel, and he'd decide what to send you to do, with you doing it, both for profit, and to show you are worthy of inheriting the Warrant, once he passes. Honestly, if you aren't the origin of a new Warrant of Trade (so any Warrant that is established), this is how you would've been trained to do it. For a while, they can "hold your hand", giving the players a chance to get established, and all, and then something might happen to the old man, and it all becomes yours. You might then throw a party, swear revenge, or whatever seems appropriate. It can be a nice way to help steer players used to the minion-feeling DH and DW give, where you are told to do stuff, and can't just say 'nah", blowing the GM's plans to bits.

Your Seneshal could then ferret the goodies out of the intel, look for improvements, and your group could have some directions. I know most people don't favor this, with the idea being you are finally the master of your own destiny, but it can be a legit way to start, at least. I don't imagine various agencies just handing out Warrants and whole ships as much as the system might imply, what with so many new Dynasties just "starting up." Being given a ship by your relative, and told to go prove your worth, however, could be easily done, and there's still room for you to become the big man, either by accident, intent, or you own hand.

thought about that but are Rogue Trader got his Warrant by as a gift for going above and beyond the call of duty. Its a long story

You could make a Seneschal who only exploits the rules to make money for his Rogue Trader. You know, a loyal one. That's the kind of unbelievable backstory that only a GM PC will have.

[...]

You'd be surprised, but almost all of my characters are actually quite loyal servants to both the Rogue Trader and the Imperium.

I have slowly learned that this is apparently very weird.

Less weird than one-dimensional. Without player conflict, RT gets a little stale.

One-dimensional because they are loyal servants to the Rogue Trader and the Imperium?

What?

Because all of them are... yes.

There's still plenty of room for role-playing and character depth with loyal characters, one doesn't have to be back-stabbing scum to be more than "one-dimensional". In fact I'd find it more challenging to play a character trying to keep to the Imperium's backwards mentality than I would one who readily exploits the freedom's on offer from being able to flout many of the rules allowed by the warrant of trade.

Also loyalty doesn't prevent character interaction and differences of opinion, it just means they respect each other and understand they are working towards the same goals even when their thoughts on how to get their differ. There is still a wide scope for role-play and character development for a skilled role-player.

That's my 2 cents anyway, I won't go on about it though since this is completely off topic for the question.

Because back-stabbing scum is the only alternative to loyal servant? We play that character in every other 40K RPG here - other than Black Crusade. There's little that makes just another former Imperial Guard Arch-Militant or Imperial Navy Void-Master interesting. We've seen that dude... in almost every game of RT ever.

If people want to play it, cool. But I think having a crew full of that guy misses a lot of what RT offers, that other systems don't.

For once in players' lives... embrace the villain. In fact... just come play Black Crusade first. I assure you, your next RT characters will be far more interesting than "that guy."

You could make a Seneschal who only exploits the rules to make money for his Rogue Trader. You know, a loyal one. That's the kind of unbelievable backstory that only a GM PC will have.

[...]

You'd be surprised, but almost all of my characters are actually quite loyal servants to both the Rogue Trader and the Imperium.

I have slowly learned that this is apparently very weird.

Less weird than one-dimensional. Without player conflict, RT gets a little stale.

One-dimensional because they are loyal servants to the Rogue Trader and the Imperium?

What?

Because all of them are... yes.

Because.. I don't even know what to say to this.

It's just..

Seriously, even suggesting such a thing is just ******* dumb.

That's.. just..

Goddammit, I have nothing. Nothing that wouldn't break the rules of this forum.

I pity your group and any group you've ever been part of.

Because back-stabbing scum is the only alternative to loyal servant? We play that character in every other 40K RPG here - other than Black Crusade. There's little that makes just another former Imperial Guard Arch-Militant or Imperial Navy Void-Master interesting. We've seen that dude... in almost every game of RT ever.

If people want to play it, cool. But I think having a crew full of that guy misses a lot of what RT offers, that other systems don't.

For once in players' lives... embrace the villain. In fact... just come play Black Crusade first. I assure you, your next RT characters will be far more interesting than "that guy."

After a long 3 day session of dungeon fights where most of the party is critically wounded, a friend of the GM wanted to join at the end, and is allowed. Upon gathering the treasure and dividing it up, he takes the magical sword the fighter in the group wanted. After arguing for about 15 mins on why the fighter is a p****, he challenges him to a fair duel. Fair duel to him is using the magical sword to kill the fighter. That same session, my character is flying over head of the group to scout for trouble. New guy takes out a bow, and shoots my PC in the wing, causing him to plummet and fall to his death. When asked why he did this, he replied that he was bored. Last two party members then killed the guy in his sleep, which almost turned into a physical fight real world because he became angry due to them killing his new PC. New guy showed up at next weeks session, and everyone left. And so began my illustrious career as a GM there on after. No more pcs with wings for me.

I'm not even sure what you are trying to say Traejun I love playing Black Crusade and love playing the villian.

My point still stands though, there is plenty of scope for character development and role-playing playing a loyalist character too. Being "one dimensional" would be more a flaw of the players and their creativity than that of a loyal character......

After a long 3 day session of dungeon fights where most of the party is critically wounded, a friend of the GM wanted to join at the end, and is allowed. Upon gathering the treasure and dividing it up, he takes the magical sword the fighter in the group wanted. After arguing for about 15 mins on why the fighter is a p****, he challenges him to a fair duel. Fair duel to him is using the magical sword to kill the fighter. That same session, my character is flying over head of the group to scout for trouble. New guy takes out a bow, and shoots my PC in the wing, causing him to plummet and fall to his death. When asked why he did this, he replied that he was bored. Last two party members then killed the guy in his sleep, which almost turned into a physical fight real world because he became angry due to them killing his new PC. New guy showed up at next weeks session, and everyone left. And so began my illustrious career as a GM there on after. No more pcs with wings for me.

I'm not even sure what you are trying to say Traejun I love playing Black Crusade and love playing the villian.

My point still stands though, there is plenty of scope for character development and role-playing playing a loyalist character too. Being "one dimensional" would be more a flaw of the players and their creativity than that of a loyal character......

With the universe of Warhammer 40K being what it is, the default option for PCs trends towards taking the villainous option. The system encourages you to go to foreign planets, steal all their stuff, uproot their culture, kill anyone that resists you, and be lauded as a hero for doing so. Anything you come across that isn't still inhabited is automatically assumed to be yours, and anything you come across that is inhabited can become yours with really the minimum of effort.

There's excellent character development in wondering why you would try to remain a good person when the system seems set up to reward people who don't.

I don't even know how to respond to this. Are you saying that all loyalist characters are automatically shallow?

Because.. I don't even know what to say to this.

It's just..

Seriously, even suggesting such a thing is just ******* dumb.

That's.. just..

Goddammit, I have nothing. Nothing that wouldn't break the rules of this forum.

I pity your group and any group you've ever been part of.

No, putz... the character itself is boring to me. But what's most dull is that there's a whole crew of them.

A boat full of the same character...

I don't see how a group of loyalist PCs* is all the same character.

* That's like, say... the main characters of any Star Trek series.