RT2

RT2 is a feeble attempt at bringing Rogue Trader up to date with the rest of FFG Warhammer PnP lineup mechanically. It is also meant to include a cleaned up equipment list, a homebrewed skill system, a Retinue mechanic inspired by the Comrades system as seen in Only War, and campaign-level mechanics.

Basic mechanics

Dice used, types of tests, degrees of success, etc.

Character creation

Character Roles

Archetype vs role played, the need for well-rounded characters that can shine both in exploration, ship-based and land-based adventure. Hierarchy as it applies to characters (with a link to Rogue Traders chapter).

Any Imperial vessel, no matter its traditions and order, has a complement of superiour officers, the ones in control of the most important of the vessel's functions. The vessel that the Player Characters find themselves upon is no different. However, by no means should Player Characters be limited to the roles dictated by the officer ranks and professions; indeed, a Player Character need not necessarily be an officer at all, nor every officer (including the ship's Captain) a Player Character.

For examples of Player Characters traveling by ship who are not seniour officers consider Jacques Paganel, Squire Trelawney, or any of the main characters of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea other than Captain Nemo himself.

RT2 offers a relatively freeform character creation system, much less narrowly focused or dictated by the archetype than the original Rogue Trader, so it is important for the player to consider the character's utility for the party and the parts of adventure when they will be shining. A ship-based campaign usually includes several parts that can roughly be described as follows: space exploration, where routes are chartered, alliances made or broken, and much of the planning takes place; space combat, where void ships trade blows and spacefaring skills are most useful; and land-based exploration and combat. Precise balance between these parts of adventure, naturally, differs from table to table, but a well-rounded character should ideally be able to get limelight in each one. That said, this ability is not solely dictated by the character build, but by the player's willingness to step forward and roleplay, as well: even the most anti-social Arch-Militant might have worthy advice to offer on the further course, and the other way round, even the least combat-capable Scum can become the highlight of campaign by pulling on his contacts or letting his past catch up to him.

Ship Officers

An average Imperium-produced vessel will have most if not all of the officers listed below, although of course their particular titles and precise areas of responsibility might vary greatly, or overlap to a greater or smaller extent than suggested below.

Captain

Captain is the Master of the ship, the highest ranking officer and usually its owner and the holder of the Warrant of Trade. It is the captain's responsibility to ensure every department of the ship performs to the requirements, and his word is law to every crewmember. However, this simple arrangement is not the only norms the vastness of the Imperium allows: on some ships, the Captain reigns but does not rule, as his orders have to be approved by a council of officers supposedly subordinate to him; on others, the title of the Acting Captain is rotated between several scions of the Rogue Trader dynasty on board, or even between the heads of the vessel's most powerful cliques, with the rituals for passing command ranging from simple to incredibly pompous.

A ship needs a Captain, but they needn't be a Player Character; neither need only a single Player Character in your campaign be the Captain. You can read on suggested ways to accommodate different modes of play in Into the Storm on page 44, and in Rogue Trader Core Book on page 291.

Captain's Mates

Helmsman

Navigator

Chief Astropath

Chief Enginseer

(or simply Chief); Second responsible for engines, Third for fuel

Gunnery Officer

Quartermaster

Purser

Chaplain

Chief Surgeon

Chief Cook

Archetypes

And their skill aptitudes

Ships

What's on a typical ship, as far as equipment is concerned? Ship crews: demographics, sociology, hierarchy, qualities for different social stratas depending on recruitment areas and established order on the ship. Crews as sources of Retinue. Spacefaring. Ship designer. Space-based combat.

Ship Size

The Imperium produces and employs a vast array of ships of all shapes, sizes, and purposes. For the purposes of RT2, they can all be divided into four categories by size:

Ship sizes

Size	Ship classes
1	Corvettes, Raiders, Frigates, Fast Transports, Blockade Runners
2	Destroyers, Light Cruisers, Transports
3	Cruisers, Battle Cruisers, Heavy Transports
4	Grand Cruisers, Battleships, Battle Barges, Bulk Transports, Space Factories

There are space-capable vessels both larger and smaller than listed in this table: attack craft and aerospace-capable aircraft are smaller than Size 1, while space stations are easily larger than Size 4. Many Space requirements for ship Components (see below) scale with ship Size.

Ship Components

Ships in RT2 are built out of components. Each component represents a particular set of machinery, not necessarily placed in a single place of a ship, but perhaps dispersed through its entirety, that performs a particular function, takes up valuable space under the thin skin protecting the insides of the vessel against the void, and consumes energy produced by the ship's generators. Essential components provide vital functions that no Imperial ship can go without; while supplemental components are not required for one to function.

Essential Components

Crew Quarters

While most Components help vessels navigate the Void and the Warp, fight back threats or generate profits, Crew Quarters provide the people manning these ships with the physical and mental comforts needed.

Poor Quarters: the interior of the ship is incredibly cramped. Ratings don't have any sort of personal spaces and sleep at their stations, either on the floor or at best in hammocks hanging in the corridors of their assigned sector of the ship. Petty officers have to share bunks with each other (three men per bunk is the usual norm, but four is not unthinkable, either), and even senior officers have to share a common room where their bunks are located. The Captain might be the only person on the vessel with a personal room. Food is consumed at the stations, same as medical attention, which is at best provided by a buddy system. With no designated places for prayer the crew has to make do with pectoral icons or Imperial and Cult Mechanicus symbols applied to the machines they service to serve as their focus for devotions.

Decent Quarters: the standard for Imperial Navy ships, decent crew quarters still include a hot bunking system for ratings, but even petty officers have their own bunks in designated cabins, while a senior officer might count on a small if tiny room (with perhaps a bed and a table) all to themselves, as well as a personal place at the wardroom. The rest of the crew gets to share designated eating areas, first aid stations, and small shrines in the rooms of whatever sector of the ship they're assigned to.

Rich Quarters: most commonly seen on Rogue Trader ships and Imperial Navy flagships, rich quarters dedicate a noticeable part of the ship to crew comforts. Ratings get personal bunks in common rooms, while even petty officers sleep in personal cabins. A senior officer's quarters are large enough to walk around in, or perform morning exercise without getting extremities caught in a fan or some other machine, and often even include a personal bathroom. The Captain's quarters are large enough to include several rooms and present a splendidly opulent sight. Common spaces for the crew usually include small dedicated mess halls, decently adorned chapels to Emperor and Omnissiah, dedicated sick rooms, and perhaps even a promenade deck.

Luxury Quarters: representing the height of opulence, luxury quarters are only seen in the fleets of the more extravagant Rogue Traders, on diplomatic vessels and personal vessels of the Peers of the Imperium. Even the lowly ratings have personal cabins, while each petty officer enjoys a personal quarters large enough to pace in. Senior officers have opulent quarters of perhaps several rooms, while the Captain might have a whole deck all to themselves, decorated to the most exacting standards. The crew dines in a grand mess hall, or in several smaller ones located across the ship. Its spiritual needs are provided for in richly decorated rooms large enough to be churches in their own right, or perhaps in a single grand room fit to be a small cathedral. Meanwhile, their physical well-being is ensured in well-equipped sick bays, where any crewman ill or wounded can be delivered in short order. The luxury of common spaces might include a winter garden, an observation deck with panoramic views of the void around (shuttered safely during warp jumps), or even more ostentatious displays like swimming pools or exotic aquariums running the length of the ship.

Still, even with Luxury Quarters, the shipboard hospitals included in these are large enough to address every ailment of the crew, but not those of even a small human planetary colony. Similarly, the praying spaces provided by this component are enough to ensure the spiritual well-being of the crew members, but not nearly magnificent or grandiose enough to impress a visiting heathen governor and ensure conversion to mainstream Ecclesiarchy doctrine.

Generally, the amenities provided by the Living Quarters component are enough to serve the vessel's crew, but will struggle to satisfy the needs of significantly larger numbers of people, so they cannot replace a dedicated component where one would be called for.

RT2 Campaigns

Profit Factor mechanic (and Thrones as its less abstract representation, awarded monthly, spent on ship, crew and Retinue upkeep).

The Galaxy in the 41st Millenium

Types of Planets

As backgrounds, as trading destinations, and as sources of plot hooks

Organizations

Imperial agencies (including Adeptus Administratum, Arbites, Ministorum (and Sisters of Battle), Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Imperial Fleet, Mechanicus, Inquisition, Adeptus Astra Telepathica, the Navigator Houses, with mentions of Senate and Officio Assassinorum), sector-level powers (sector governors, trading cartels, noble houses (including Knight households), large criminal and smuggling cartels), planet-level powers (governors, PDF, enforcers, local cults and gangs, including psykers and xenos)

Altogether focused in their potential role in a RT2 campaign, with plot hooks, if at all possible.

Rogue Traders

The role of Rogue Traders. Types of Warrants (with game-related effects). Dynasties, sources of income, and petty empires. Power dynamics in a dynasty, in a fleet, on a particular ship: absolute authority vs collective decision-making.