Think nobility. A Rogue Trader would have 2 considerations... 1. Eugenics - genetically advantaged offspring such that they are better suited to "taking" wealth, power and title. 2. Power/Gain - marrying for money, property, title, connections, etc... so your children inherit not only your wealth, but their other parent's as well. That is all.

I am a GM looking for players to join and help create a campaign. The player must fit the following: 1. Be VERY well versed in 40K fluff. You don't need to be a walking Codex, but you should know background and, most importantly, how various character archetypes would conduct themselves. 2. Be prepared to ROLEplay. The focus of this (and all my) campaign(s) is RP. Be prepared to do so in-character and via voice comm. 3. Have a mic and use it. 4. Be flexible in terms of session times. As this will be an adult-focused campaign, I expect real life to get in the way of RPing on a semi-regular basis. Understanding and flexibility is required. If you fit the above, keep reading... The campaign I have in mind is sort of a mix of DW and BC. The characters are members of a Space Marine chapter that has been declared excommunicate traitoris and is now considered renegade. The players are now thrust into uncertainty, both for the future of the chapter and themselves. This world of uncertainty is the one in which the players will seek to survive, right wrongs and, perhaps, return the chapter to its former glory While each player has their own opinion of what should be done and how they should go about it, there is a shared origin, natural brotherhood and dogged loyalty to Emperor (if not Imperium) that keeps them together. Their story is one of brotherhood and survival, even in the face of insurmountable odds. Note the following: More detail on the campaign will be given to those that express interest. The players are NOT disciples of chaos, nor are they likely to become so. This is not Black Crusade. The characters are renegades in name only. Renegades that were thrust into that role through no action of their own. The chapter will be made by the players using the DW chapter creation rules. The selected player will be a member of this chapter. This is not negotiable. To that end, the character will be a space marine. Note that specialists (such as Chaplain, Apothecary and Librarian) are meant to be rare and, as such, any that desires to play one will need to make a compelling sell. There is likely to be a "leader" amongst the players. This is negotiable and will be discussed by the players during chapter creation. With these details in mind, I am seeking 3 players (I already have 1) to start the campaign. Anyone expressing interest should have a strong personality and be willing to integrate themselves quickly into the flow of the campaign and the group dynamic. If you are interested, reply to this thread stating your interest. That should be followed by a PM to me expressing your interest and with any questions you might have.

I don't think we realy need an RT 2e, but it couldn't hurt. I don't like the changes that were made with DH2e - it was made too bare bones in terms of skills/talents at jump. Your numbers are solid, but you don't do much well. Bringing RT in line with BC/OW - in terms of the more free form method (no rank structure) - would be perfect. If RT PCs are supposed to be the best of the best in terms of mortals, limiting what they can do seems silly. Similarly, in practice, RT PCs tend to have a tendency to be and feel like special snowflakes with these deep backgrounds and history. As such, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility for an AM to have some technical savy or a Seneschal have learned how to pilot strike craft. These sorts of things are generally not possible because you're limited to the what's in your ranks. Oddities can be reached by gaming the origins, but that feels forced. In sum, RT 2e... yes, please. DH 2e... stay away from my RT.

Is it just me or does the whole warp encounter mechanic feel stupid? I have removed the miloslav from my campaigns altogether, and i've similarly made warp encounters quite rare.

This. All of this. @Greystroke: I predict that within 2 sessions, you're waving around your Battlecruiser and registering epic plot derailments on the Henderson scale. Players don't get powerful ships, items, etc... and not use them. In fact, any time a player has asked for something powerful, or taken advantage of rules to acquire them, it has been purely for their own benefit... not for story purposes. They may honestly be interested in RP and story, but with powerful stuff comes the simple solution to problems. Give back the ship. Play the game and work towards things like that.

Obviously, the -1 power for BC was a fitting concern. Given that the ship is 40/40 power, It's over-fitted. And for all 69 SP with BC components and archeotech, I could still wax this thing with a stock Dauntless or Endeavor... for less SP. Hell, with some decent rolls and solid tactics, I could 1-shot this in a Cobra.

That's a solid Raider... it better be for the cost of a Cruiser.

This. And I'll go out on a limb and say that a purely military-themed campaign is missing the point of rogue trader.

I sometimes have a hard time separating military theory from the game. You'd never deploy a carrier without escorts, so that's sort of how I feel about RT carriers - especially the LC sized one. That said, I've only ever seen my players take a carrier as a starter ship once, and it ended very badly for them. When they got pointed by a small, fast ship and the squadrons failed to cripple it in the first round, they got blagged... Hard. Without a screen to keep the smaller, faster ship away and buy time for the attack craft to hurt it, the carrier was a sitting duck.

LC's are larger, pack more firepower (perhaps marginally, so) and are generally fast/maneuverable enough to out-dance capital ships. They are the perfect 'tweener for a fresh RT. The advantages are simple... 1. Size: I mean this literally - i.e. space/power. Once essential components and guns are on a frigate, it's got very little room for anything else. Certainly no "special" components - which is what an RT wants/should have. With a Light Cruiser, I can arm it and still have a good chunk of space for a barracks, laboratorium, temple-shrine and others. Mechanically, this gives me APs towards endeavor objectives. RP-wise, it gives me a temple or observation dome to entertain guests... or a lab to research/engineer some sexy piece of archeotech I found on a planet. This is RT, not BFG. It is not meant to be a void warfare simulator. 2. Firepower: Broadsides. That is all. If you can put those in the port/starboard slots, you are near doubling the damage potential of a standard macrobattery. Also, launch bays - though you should not take a carrier as your initial RT ship. Carriers need escorts.. or they die. 3. Survivability: Takes more punishment to kill, by a good margin at that. Yet, still has the speed and maneuverability to GTFO, if need be. 4. 'Tweener this touches on 1 and 2, to be honest. It's the combo of firepower and utility that an RT with a single voidship is looking for. At the start of the campaign, your life is your single vessel. It needs to be able to do almost everything you could potentially need to do until you enjoy enough success to become a Lord-Admiral, with a fleet of vessels at your disposal. Until that day comes, your one boat has to do it all. Frigates do not allow for that. LC's do - of course, not perfectly, but certainly a far sight better than an escort would. Cruisers would be even better, but you should not be starting an RT campaign with a Cruiser.

There's a background package in DH1 called Denounced and Condemned (or something like that) where it is discovered that the sister has "witch sight." They are generally tossed out of their order or killed. That's an excellent place to start.

From a realism standpoint, the idea of machine spirits is equally frustrating to me. It was one of the things that was hardest to swallow when I first started getting deeper into the fluff of 40k. I do like your idea about shite programming almost mimicking a personality. That said, my understanding is that many believe the Omnissiah and Emperor are essentially one being. Given that the Emperor is God and, thus, everywhere... wouldn't it be plausible, with the confines of the fluff, to believe that a little bit of Emprah is in my coffee maker?

Well, son... I was hoping you'd be a little older when we had this talk, but I suppose it can no longer wait... Sometimes, when a girl and boy love really like don't loathe each other...

Sex is different. When you're a Rogue Trader in all your gauche fabulousness, ****** and champagne rain down from the heavens upon you. In addition, as part of your duties under the warrant, you are obligated to bed all attractive women you come upon. The only rolling you'd have to do is the Willpower (-50) to resist banging the governor's daughter.

Well played, Errant Knight. I've got my remix... [Character to Archon] "Hey Mr. Archon, I want your "Turns-All-Opponents-Into-Dust Sword. Give it to me." [Me to Player] "Hahaha" [Player to Me] "I have Charm 80, and another 40 points of bonuses, for a total of 120." [Archon to Character] "Hahahaha no" [Player to Me] "Stop laughing at me." [Me to Player] "That wasn't me, it was the Archon" [Player to Me] "So you're not going to let me have it?" [Me to Player] "Roll" [Player to Me] "Against my Charm, right?" [Me to Player] "No. Against a new character. A rock fell on your old one."