Julgolax Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I've been looking at the lore of Rogue Traders on Lexicanum and I'm surprised there aren't more details on what kind of forces these epic individuals command. With such freedom of exploration, exploitation, and discovery in this hostile galaxy, I would imagine any Rogue Trader worth his salt would have a "small" army at his or her command. If I'm missing something, please enlighten me! If not, I've been thinking of possibly an "unbound" force (with roughly the same framework as a standard FOC) taking advantage of characterful models to represent an exploration force commanded by a Rogue Trader. HQ Rogue Trader (Lord Commissar) w/ Command Squad with Regimental Advisers (Optional) Stormlord Super Heavy Tank or Chimera Bodyguard 0-3 Bullgryn Squads (full size) (Optional) 3 Taurox Elite Agents 0-3 Storm Trooper Squads (full size) (Optional) 3 Valkyries Troopers 6 Guardsmen Squads with Commissars (Optional) 6 Chimeras Scouts 0-3 Sentinel Squadrons Heavy Support 0-2 Leman Russ Squadrons 0-1 Freeblade Imperial Knight Basically, the Bullgryns, Taurox, and Stormlord are for larger games where their size is warranted. The idea I had is a force that would accompany a Rogue Trader into battle against whatever foe they face, be they Exodites, pirates of all kinds, new xenos enemies, or even in a supporting action with imperial armies. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainStabby Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Looks pretty good to me. I have been kicking around a similar idea myself, mostly looking towards the Inquisition list just because of the wider array of "character" type folks you get to choose from in an Acolyte squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julgolax Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 So a Rogue Trader would actually have a real force behind him rather than ship-board security teams? I was afraid Rogue Traders were all bark and no bite. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SyNidus Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I really like it! Personally, it's something i'd consider doing using the Militarum Tempestus codex and perhaps even the Inquisition codex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julgolax Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 I really like it! Personally, it's something i'd consider doing using the Militarum Tempestus codex and perhaps even the Inquisition codex. I thought of using the Inquisitors as a proxy initially but Inquisitors are too "out there" for something like a Rogue Trader. Besides that, I like to model character into my army while keeping it somewhat grounded in the rules, that way I don't break things intended to work a certain way. I mean, if I wanted to represent a Rogue Trader with tons of outlandish weaponry and gadgets, I'd use an Eldar Autarch for that. I was thinking of how cool it would be for an especially wealthy and/or elderly Rogue Trader to ride into battle on a dreadnought throne like Karamazov, decked out in alien fetishes and imperial doodads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Mehman Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Your idea certainly is great but what has me concerned is your army list and the fluffiness of it. There's nothing wrong with it as depleted regiments can be given to Rogue Traders with no stain on the conscience. Here's some questions you could ask yourself and see if your list changes: Why are the commissars still with the guardsmen squads? The Departmento Munitorum would certainly like their finest officers back so that they could be mustered into regiments that haven't been written-off as "fodder". How did your Rogue Trader get hold of so many abhumans? Again, these guys are a precious commodity and would be detached to regiments fighting in an active war-zone. The basic question to ask yourself is always "why". After you figure out the "why", justify everything with a "because" (this was taught to me in college and it holds true for backstory as well as anything). To be completely honest, I'm very excited about what you've got going here. After you get the backstory fleshed out, why not post it in a Work in Progress thread here? Rogue Traders have been, for a lot of people, very exciting and somewhat mysterious individuals. Oh, you'll also need a priest and maybe a few missionaries (same as a priest but they just look cooler!) to travel with the caravan of the Emperor's light ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stercus Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Getting hold of abhumans shouldn't be too difficult for a rogue trader. So long as he's operating in areas where the right type of planets abound, he can simply press gang them. A warrant of trade could easily take a trader to the galactic core, or even beyond the rim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Mehman Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 They might be able to get hold of some but good luck training them without the Departmento Munitorum's help. You'd have to take a census to find out which ones would be viable candidates for service due to lack of intelligence, train them on the use of their automatic shotguns (ripper guns? No book to hand), find out which one has the "smarts" to be a leader and then perform brain and psycho surgery on him that is unique to Ogryns to increase his aptitude, and then persuade them all to get on a ship. Just because a Rogue Trader has a Warrant of Trade doesn't give him carte blanche to do as he pleases. He's not an Inquisitor. Some Warrants allow the Rogue Traders to "borrow" troops for a limited amount of time but, as there is only war in the 41st millennium, enough planets would just give him a depleted regiment and raise a new one. Depending on the Rogue Trader's ties and who owes him favours, he could obtain the troops and naval elements he needs to start, jump into, or end a war. Then he could have Bullgryns and Ogryns at his control but the idea of him "pressganging" some indigenous abhumans from a high gravity world is a stretch. All that said, could it be done? Sure. It's your own hobby and background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stercus Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Well, while the warrant doesn't necessarily grant carte blanche, the imperium has millions of planets and almost certainly a good proportion of those have human populations with, shall we say non-standard, genomes? In an empire of a million worlds who is going to miss a few dozen ogryns once in a while? Hell, there are entire regiments of imperial guard and even space marine chapters that vanish without trace or whose current whereabouts are not known. Isn't it also the case that there are rogue trader houses that predate the imperium? As such there may well be some that have methods, equipment and knowledge for acquiring and training even the most recalcitrant abhumans. It's a big Galaxy, and what's important is telling a good story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Mehman Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 It's a big Galaxy, and what's important is telling a good story. Well that's the whole point of the above exercise and it's the only thing that matters ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noctem Cultor Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 From what ive read it varies from Rogue Trader to Rogue trader to what they have at their disposal. Personally I see them best represented with an Inquisition Force backed up by a veteran guard unit to count as security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheesh Mode Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 So a Rogue Trader would actually have a real force behind him rather than ship-board security teams? I was afraid Rogue Traders were all bark and no bite. If that is what you think, then you have not played the Rogue Trader RPG. They much more dangerous than they appear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkangilos Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 I'd recommend getting the FFG Rogue Trader RPG for more background on them. To answer the questions from Mehman, it is as simple as them hiring the aid the need. There are not only tons of mercenaries available, but I'm willing to bet that there were handlers of the abhumans available that, for the right price, would more than willingly train the abhumans. I agree with the commissar thing, though. Most people that would follow a Rogue Trader would be like conquistadors, and in it for the money. They would likely not do anything for you if you executed them when they turned around. That's a quick way to get your men to mutiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noctem Cultor Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Ive started my small Assassin Force being represented as a Inquisitor Lord and his Retinue but thought the look of the Retinue might fit the idea of a Rogue Trader team that is well equipped. Id personally use some of the Solar Auxilia model bits mixed in to give them a better feel for RT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Mehman Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I'm digging those converted Scions, Noctem! Also, fully agreed on the Solar Auxillia bitz! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainStabby Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Rogue Traders are a "peer of the Imperium" Technically on par with Inquisitors, High Lords etc... now, in practice what they can/cant do, acquire etc kinda depends on whether or not they are actually within the Imperium, they really aren't meant to be operating there, that's kinda counter to the mandate of any Warrant of Trade, they're supposed to be "out there", doing swash buckley things and preparing the frontier for the inevitable encroachment of Mankind. Usually in the form of a crusade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Mehman Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Rogue Traders operate solely by their Warrant of Trade. Sometimes that lets them go outside the grip of the Imperium but usually it just gives them access to shipping lanes. The majority, let's say 99%, have very mundane Warrants and are effectively merchants. They're the king of merchants and get regular tribute that allows them to build shipping empires, but, they're still effectively doing an everyday job. The 1% of Rogue Traders that get to go outside the bounds (and bonds) of Mankind are various. Some are the dashing ne'er-do-well that most of us love but oftentimes they're ex-Bureaucrats or other high officials that were vying for a position with the High Lords of Terra and they managed to get this "honour" instead. How they execute their new found position is up to them but is still strictly enforced by their Warrant of Trade. Some stoop to deal with xenos scum, this is true. Others will study new species of xenos and tell their Imperial masters how best to exploit them or if they should be eradicated. To say these individuals are on par with Inquisitors is true and false, as you say. They have some autonomy within the Imperium (and without) but they can't do a lot of the things an Inquisitor can. Such as: commandeer troops to use for a forced "crusade", subjugate Space Marines to purity tests and the like, destroy whole planets by Exterminatus, rule over land disputes on a planet as they do not run as circuit judges, etc. Still, I should hope there is a failed Ecclesiarch somewhere out there doing the Emperor's justice, eviscerator in hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter h Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 If you consider the Commissar are actually master of arm 's since you are.talking about a trade ship. The availability of abhuman's would also be easy to explain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Mehman Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I'm not sure I follow, Walter. Commissars are political officers of the Departmento Munitorum operating under the auspices of the Officio Prefectus. They are trained at Schola Progenia scattered throughout the galaxy and are then attached to either the Imperial Guard, Imperial Navy, or Militarum Tempestus. They have nothing to do with Rogue Traders other than an ex-Commissar may be granted a Warrant of Trade making him one of the few that can ply the stars. A Master-of-Arms is a naval vessel's version of a police captain. He has been selected, through whatever means- usually a cruel but semi-honest volunteer from the dregs of the ship's servants to being an actual paid member of the ship's retinue- to wrest order from malcontents during riots and to lead anti-boarding actions against enemies of the Imperium during a ship-to-ship attack. He also doles out any punishments given to the ship's crew from a superior officer. These two individuals are about as far apart as a finely cooked steak is to an orange. If you're talking about how to represent them on the table, it's up to you. Master-of-Arms are more like Sergeants but, again, it's up to you. As far as the abhumans go, it's not easy to explain why you have some but it can be explained, as others have done above, and that's what makes good backstory . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter h Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I was in the navy. No harm my suggestion was to put forward a possible answer, and the MOS, could be used.I do believe. The trader concept has been on my mind so I might find myself with a WIP, thread shortly. I am a fan of your current work in progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Mehman Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Now I get it. Well, I think you should start a WiP soon, Walter. It'll give us all something to talk about ! Sorry if I sounded a bit snarky in the above post- that was definitely not intended. The clarification was for anyone who needs it either now or in the future. We'll all be waiting on your Rogue Trader force so get to it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter h Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I'm almost ready to get it started. I just hope to make as good a showing as you all. I still am waiting on my laptop to be repaired to begin the work in progress. I have the fluff ready to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castellan Snaeper Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 It's a shame that Conscripts can't be taken outside of an Imperial Guard Platoon. As others have said, I like the idea of proxying an Inquisitor and his Henchmen for a Rogue Trader and his immediate guard, then getting some Veteran's to represent hired guns. But Conscripts would make even more sense, as I could see the Imperium going "what? You need troops for something? Hmm.... here's a few thousand of these warm bodies, go knock yourself out." Maybe throw in some Skitarii to represent the AdMech putting it's tendrils wherever it can to collect any and all information it's able to, especially from the foreign worlds a Rogue Trader would be visiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuclear Fridge Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Maybe throw in some Skitarii to represent the AdMech putting it's tendrils wherever it can to collect any and all information it's able to, especially from the foreign worlds a Rogue Trader would be visiting. Which would make sense if you have a couple of light "vehicles" present - like Sentinels - in a tabletop context. In a fluff context, the AdMech would be keeping an (augmented) eye on any possible signs of xenos tech or techno-heresy. All depends on where your Rogue Trader will be travelling... and what he'll be fighting, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TacoMareen Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I love this idea! Personally if i went rogue trader i would get models that look rogue tradery and use grey knight rules cause i picture rogue trader forces as small. Not sure how all dem pyskers would fit in though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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