I honestly don't think sitting around on a ship day in and day out traveling uncharted territory would be boring twiddling your thumbs studying dust clouds and looking for inhabitable worlds all day. I mean, that's the overall premiss behind star trek and look how much they get up to in every episode!? And it's not ALL internal drama and relationship crap every episode (the exceptions being TNG and DS9... yes I did it, I don't care). can always think of something exciting happening.
...AND extrapolate this with about every system on the ship and you will see that 60k in crew is a man power shortage when 1000's die each day from the cruel toil.
Yeah, it's a grim and dark future. I personally lead the boarding parties because 2000 men are just my meat sheild till I can get to the boss and gank him. There are rules for mass combat with many vs many...FYI
To answer the 60k question of crew, most of this crew are useful idiots of the God-Emperor. Also, in the 40K universe, the newer something is the less advanced it is. Mankind is awaking from a "dark age". So loading a torpedo, which is the size of a Saturn IV rocket (with no guidence system btw...) will require 5000 morons with ropes and pully's to lift it into place while, 2000 more to push it into the breech. All the while 1000 choir sing praises to the God Emperor to bless it on its journey.
@Elround4 There are no rules for it so in the broadest sense, no. But a crafty Gm might be able to make it work. I think the reason they dont try too hard is that in the 40K universe the eldar are so alien in their mindset it would be tough to play one right.
I love 40k, and Dark Heresy, but one problem I have with Rogue Trader which tends to cut it loose as a game for me is the fact that the PCs are in charge of a huge ship with many thousand crew members on board. Though that's cool, at the same time it's tough to rationalize NOT pulling a Zapp Brannigan for most situations, sending wave after wave of crew members against enemies to solve your problems. I like the concept, but it just needs more fleshing out, IMO.
1)The crew is needed to run that ship. Want to send in the crew, fine...but then you say "due to the crew not being at their stations such and such happens"
2) You make sure you give them next to no profit points- After all Rogue Traders run their ship primarily on charisma, unlike the navy which runs it with the lash. Also whose going to want to get in a risky venture with a Trader which is risk aversive...oooops.. there goes that mercantile contract.
@muresug Well, when you have a ship with like 60,000 crewmembers on it, and you come across a derelict or some other ship out there, and you decide to take it by force of arms, how do you still get PCs to take command of any force that goes over there? And if they do go over, chances are they'll go over with many thousand troops to overwhelm the enemy with attrition. How do you resolve that?
Don't get me wrong, I love the concept, but I think I need more to go on before I run it.
Er you let them do it, and then spring on them that the ship has a deadly ancient tenebro maze and they lose 50000 troops as they all get assualted and ambushed (bit like when the Emperor assaulted the Horus Battlebarge), or its airless and you dont have enough void suits and they do, whatever. You just spring the equivalent of a red-shirt implosable death scenario UNTIL they LEARN that sometime like Cpt Kirk you have to do the job yourself.
@muresug Or throw them into a whole hive of Genestealers. :P Man, that would suck.
I guess what I'm more interested in knowing is how do you create adventures where the PCs have this huge resource to draw upon, but you have them rely more on themselves? In Dark Heresy, that's relatively easy. Rogue Trader seems to me a bit more "strategic" in scale than a direct tactical game. I guess I'd like to see more published adventures for it to get an idea of what to do with it.
I've actually done that with the genestealers! They tried to intimidate a merchant by sending a platoon of men to rough him up. So I set the merchant up to be part of a 'stealer brood- it provided them with a hectic if chastising side quest. I think it require a change of mentality. Not " i've got 60,000 men, I lie back and send in the grunts" but "Ive ONLY GOT 60000 men 4/5 are needed to keep this ship going, and the rest are servitors"
@muresug Hopefully, they produce material explaining just why they need 60,000 people. What are they all doing? I realize the ship is big, and you got lots of guns and engines and whatnot, but what are all those people doing?
I have my own ideas of what they're all doing, which is partly why I'm keenly interested in this game. I envision something to where the PCs could have a ship like the Miserchord (out of Dark Heresy), which a caste structure and society unto itself.
Just got around to play a first game of Rogue Trader the other week. One part I found a bit tricky to grasp (as a player) was how do I approach the fact that I am a part of the commanding crew of thousands of crew members? When in side of the ship and out in space it's all obvious but what happens when you do leave the ship, how do the game intend that I handle these thousands of nameless people under me? Do I have bodyguards? What can my scores of mechanics do for me outside the ship? So on..
Okay...not what I was looking for. I'm rather curious to know how the original WH40k rules compare to the current edition but good review anyway.
BluTrilobite 1 week ago
fail be not new
TheWarhammerfreak 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I did a review to, not as good but still if you could check that out that would new cool.
TheWarhammerfreak 4 months ago
I honestly don't think sitting around on a ship day in and day out traveling uncharted territory would be boring twiddling your thumbs studying dust clouds and looking for inhabitable worlds all day. I mean, that's the overall premiss behind star trek and look how much they get up to in every episode!? And it's not ALL internal drama and relationship crap every episode (the exceptions being TNG and DS9... yes I did it, I don't care). can always think of something exciting happening.
MrSplademan 9 months ago
So it's Jack Sparrow vs Abaddon the Despoiler?
I like the sound of that. I'm getting kind of tired of video games; i'm sick of my eyes burning up.
icefiredarksector748 1 year ago
...AND extrapolate this with about every system on the ship and you will see that 60k in crew is a man power shortage when 1000's die each day from the cruel toil.
Yeah, it's a grim and dark future. I personally lead the boarding parties because 2000 men are just my meat sheild till I can get to the boss and gank him. There are rules for mass combat with many vs many...FYI
luangu 1 year ago
To answer the 60k question of crew, most of this crew are useful idiots of the God-Emperor. Also, in the 40K universe, the newer something is the less advanced it is. Mankind is awaking from a "dark age". So loading a torpedo, which is the size of a Saturn IV rocket (with no guidence system btw...) will require 5000 morons with ropes and pully's to lift it into place while, 2000 more to push it into the breech. All the while 1000 choir sing praises to the God Emperor to bless it on its journey.
luangu 1 year ago 3
@luangu And that's why it's so awesome! :P
YuriPRIME 11 months ago
So can you like board ships and almost have a space hulk type of thing?
sargentnoob 1 year ago
Well balanced review- thanks. Still waiting on the starship book.
hydra66 1 year ago
Can you play Eldar?
Elround4 1 year ago
@Elround4 There are no rules for it so in the broadest sense, no. But a crafty Gm might be able to make it work. I think the reason they dont try too hard is that in the 40K universe the eldar are so alien in their mindset it would be tough to play one right.
cptmachine 1 year ago
I love 40k, and Dark Heresy, but one problem I have with Rogue Trader which tends to cut it loose as a game for me is the fact that the PCs are in charge of a huge ship with many thousand crew members on board. Though that's cool, at the same time it's tough to rationalize NOT pulling a Zapp Brannigan for most situations, sending wave after wave of crew members against enemies to solve your problems. I like the concept, but it just needs more fleshing out, IMO.
ThePenWolf 2 years ago
It requires the GM to be strict:
1)The crew is needed to run that ship. Want to send in the crew, fine...but then you say "due to the crew not being at their stations such and such happens"
2) You make sure you give them next to no profit points- After all Rogue Traders run their ship primarily on charisma, unlike the navy which runs it with the lash. Also whose going to want to get in a risky venture with a Trader which is risk aversive...oooops.. there goes that mercantile contract.
muresug 1 year ago
@muresug Well, when you have a ship with like 60,000 crewmembers on it, and you come across a derelict or some other ship out there, and you decide to take it by force of arms, how do you still get PCs to take command of any force that goes over there? And if they do go over, chances are they'll go over with many thousand troops to overwhelm the enemy with attrition. How do you resolve that?
Don't get me wrong, I love the concept, but I think I need more to go on before I run it.
ThePenWolf 1 year ago
Er you let them do it, and then spring on them that the ship has a deadly ancient tenebro maze and they lose 50000 troops as they all get assualted and ambushed (bit like when the Emperor assaulted the Horus Battlebarge), or its airless and you dont have enough void suits and they do, whatever. You just spring the equivalent of a red-shirt implosable death scenario UNTIL they LEARN that sometime like Cpt Kirk you have to do the job yourself.
muresug 1 year ago
@muresug Or throw them into a whole hive of Genestealers. :P Man, that would suck.
I guess what I'm more interested in knowing is how do you create adventures where the PCs have this huge resource to draw upon, but you have them rely more on themselves? In Dark Heresy, that's relatively easy. Rogue Trader seems to me a bit more "strategic" in scale than a direct tactical game. I guess I'd like to see more published adventures for it to get an idea of what to do with it.
ThePenWolf 1 year ago
I've actually done that with the genestealers! They tried to intimidate a merchant by sending a platoon of men to rough him up. So I set the merchant up to be part of a 'stealer brood- it provided them with a hectic if chastising side quest. I think it require a change of mentality. Not " i've got 60,000 men, I lie back and send in the grunts" but "Ive ONLY GOT 60000 men 4/5 are needed to keep this ship going, and the rest are servitors"
muresug 1 year ago
@muresug Hopefully, they produce material explaining just why they need 60,000 people. What are they all doing? I realize the ship is big, and you got lots of guns and engines and whatnot, but what are all those people doing?
I have my own ideas of what they're all doing, which is partly why I'm keenly interested in this game. I envision something to where the PCs could have a ship like the Miserchord (out of Dark Heresy), which a caste structure and society unto itself.
ThePenWolf 1 year ago
Great review!
DeTzardis 2 years ago
Lure of the Expanse is the next RT book, much in the style of Purge the Unclean for DH. :)
Dre2Dee2 2 years ago
i think im in love with dark heresy but roge trader dose sound interesting
Number1GamerAsh 2 years ago
Also, did you notice that FFG just put up information about the third game (DH, RT..) Deathwatch?
F4R207 2 years ago
Just got around to play a first game of Rogue Trader the other week. One part I found a bit tricky to grasp (as a player) was how do I approach the fact that I am a part of the commanding crew of thousands of crew members? When in side of the ship and out in space it's all obvious but what happens when you do leave the ship, how do the game intend that I handle these thousands of nameless people under me? Do I have bodyguards? What can my scores of mechanics do for me outside the ship? So on..
F4R207 2 years ago
It is a great game and yes a book for ships wood be cool ...
zorlak21 2 years ago