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So I've been doing these off and on for a while now and somehow I've never gotten around to doing the big one, the one that started it all, Rogue Trader.
Let's fix that now.
The year was 1987, when D&D still ruled the card tables in basements across this great land of ours, when these ads started popping up in Dragon Magazine (RIP).







The ads were filled with these hunch-backed beetle-armored warriors fighting Space Elfs and Space Orks and it seemed fun and full of action. The only problem, the rule book cost $50.
So I passed on it.

It wouldn't be till '93 when a friend showed me the Realms of Chaos books and another showed up with his collection of all 6 Epic armies that I started getting into GW. I finally picked up Rogue Trader at a discount just as 2nd edition was coming out and I've treasured my copy ever since.

I should point out this is not REALLY the beginning for 40k, apprently there were Citadel Journal and WD articles before 40k appeared, and it drew on some earlier games like GW's Judge Dredd RPG and Laserburn, unfortunatly I don't have access to any of those so if a friendly Dakkite could contribute a Retro Review of some of those materials I think we'd all be grateful.

Anyway on with the show.

Let's start with the cover, and what a cover it is.



Covered in action and details and with the apparent heroes (those hunch-backed beetle-armored fellows from the Dragon Magazine ads) being cut down by enemy fire. It was a daring departure from the look and feel of any other science fiction game out there. Not only was it set far beyond any 'future' I'd ever seen before but it combined elements of medieval fantasy, 'dirty futures' like in Aliens and Lovecraftian horror. Best of all there was not a single bit of spandex to be seen.

And that's just the cover!

Wait till you see page 1!



From the first page 40k sets a tone of despair and darkness no other science fiction game had. This introduction is still used in most books but with an added paragraph about how cool Space Marines are omitting those final words 'But the universe is a big place and, whatever happens, you will not be missed…" I miss them. I was annoyed when, towards the end of 1st Edition and then from 2nd Edition on GW added the idea of 'special characters' who survive every battle and bestride the galaxy like giants. Yeah sure I understand the idea of reoccurring heroes and villains from a marketing perspective but it makes 40k a lot like other games, we've lost that feeling of 'you will not be missed' and I think it hurts the game.

The design also deserves some praise. At a time when the market leader TSR did not put any color inside the books and art was something separate from the text, GW really set a new standard with Rogue Trader. There's color pages throughout with art and minis. Even the charts are done in universe fashion with nihalistic thoughts for the day like "Death is the only answer' and the art is integrated with the text rather than peppered in randomly. The 1-2 paragraph fluff pieces are also there to set the tone even when the book is covering dry topics like turning radiuses for tanks. This is just a handsome book.



The next few pages establish the basic rules. The initial vision of 40k is muddled to say the least. It's meant to be played with a Game Master or Referee who sets up a scenario and then 2 or more players who bring forces to fight it. Point values are almost an afterthought, instead things are balanced D&D style by random charts (lots of random charts). Rather than try to create balanced forces GW instead gave everyone an even chance figuring things would equal out over time.

But even with that vastly different idea on how to play, even almost 25 years later some mechanics are remarkably the same as now.



Sure some things have been simplified, all models now have the same move, the psychological stats Intelligence, Cool and Will Power have all been combined into Leadership and, as 40k became more of a war game Saves were added as a stat but all in all a player today can recognize the stat line.



Turns have been simplified, we've lost things like the psychic phase (no great loss) but the basic "I go you go' mechanics are still there for better or for worse.



The rules are a lot more complicated than anything that has come before or since, a holdover from the days of realistic wargames (because nothing says realism like Space Marines fighting Orks in the Methane Swamps of Rynn's World) and chart-heavy games of the 70s and 80s.



Of course it's even funnier since many of the complex rules are not realistic, they ignore things like the fact a tank can wheel in place by moving its treads in different directions.



The vehicle damage chart is more complex than the one we have now but better than the 2nd edition (and late 1st edition) days when every vehicle had its own chart.



There's also not much restraint here. In one section they want to cover everything from tanks to bikes, to aircraft to robots.



Psychic powers are the next section. In keeping with 40k RPG roots they come in 4 levels and required spending (and tracking) each model's psi points. But again, GW's superior graphic design shines through with Munch-esque images next to each one.



Another 40k staple is mutants, even though GW cut them from 40k after3rd edition they're still very much a part of the game. As usual the art is both evocative and funny. Making this book must have been a hoot.





In this version (again keeping with the RPG-influenced design) mutations are determined by a random table, some are good, some are bad, others don't do much. Later this table would become a d1000 table in the Realms of Chaos books.



And just to clear something up, black skin was named as a mutation but as the text makes clear they mean ink-black skin, not African.



Finally the rules end with a point system. While points are central to modern 40k they were almost an after-thought in Rogue Trader. And the formula is just bizarre. You modify the stats and come up with a cost, then multiply it by a different number depending on how high it is.



Then add points for weapons and equipment.



That's about it for the rules. Although we can see the basics of the game engine here the simple fact is these rules really didn't work and didn't last too long. By the time the first supplement book (Chapter Approved) came out GW was already throwing out these point rules and moving to army lists. Within a few years they would replace the close assault and vehicle rules as well. And Space Marines would get a few extra rules because, y'know, Space Marines.



But hey, who plays 40k for the well-written rules anyway?
Join us again for Part II when we look at the early fluff of the 40k universe!

Great work! Thanks!!

wow you just made me all misty-eyed...I loved the RT days and still have those old orks to prove it

It just had STYLE! and a bit of a exotic, almost forbidden flavor to it compared with D & D and all of the others of the day.

Also those Marines were bad boys, with slogans like Kill Kill Kill on powerfists, and these were ultras

The thing about the TRR was that it reflected how fast you're going - a tank barrelling along at full speed can't turn on the spot, surely?

Nice Job! I've never used the RT Rules, but I still bring out my copy of RT and the Compendium and Compilation for a good read now and then. The advert that you show is particularly interesting.

"You won't need hundreds of models... just a dozen will do.."

Can't imagine those words coming out of GW now!

When folks talk about the clunkyness of the rules, I think they forget that it's really more of a Skirmish game with RPG roots/elements than a large scale wargame. The Random unit generation, Game master, and other RPG elements had really taken a back seat by the time the various suplements were released and it had taken on more of a wargame charachter with more organized army lists, point values and less need for a GM. It's a very interesting transitional product for GW.

One other issue, I believe that RT was the begining of 40k From GW as we know it. There are alot of similiarites and a shared designer for Laserburn, but it was by a different company. Judge Dredd and other GW games explored sci-fi, but as derritvative as 40k is, RT really put the elements together into something new.

This book is what brought me to the game, ironically after 2nd edition was out for a while.

It still has my favourite representation of Space Marines there.

They reworked the vehicle damage into something ludicrously complicated, where you had a picture of the vehicle and a grid to overlay, then you rolled dice and worked out which area you hit. There could be well over a dozen locations each with individual damage tables.

The current system is far too crude though, they should have found a middle ground.

Glad to see people like this, part II is coming but will have to wait a day or two till I have time.

Eilif wrote:

One other issue, I believe that RT was the begining of 40k From GW as we know it. There are alot of similiarites and a shared designer for Laserburn, but it was by a different company. Judge Dredd and other GW games explored sci-fi, but as derritvative as 40k is, RT really put the elements together into something new.

I've heard a lot about some of 40k's antecents like Laserburn, the Judge Dredd RPG (some of the supplements were also branded for 40k) and apparently there were some Citadel Journal or WD articles but I don't have any of them.

So if any kind souls would like to write up a review I'd be very happy.

A great review and I enjoyed reading it, so thanks!

Personally I loved the perception of marines back then (think 'Sardakur' for anyone who has read Dune), and more so than the current 'knights in space'. Like you say, even though 40k is still grimdark, it isn't anything like what it once was. The pictures of marines being blown to pieces, melted, electrocuted (practically every other picture!) I think were wonderful and characterful, a move away from the iconic and heroic individuals of many other rpg's both before and since.

Interesting about the 'you will only need a handful of models', an example of a company trying to find its way and establish a foothold in the market with this franchise. It's something you still read with a variety of other systems, it will be interesting to see if GW ever moves back in that direction if customers continue to get cold feet!

Pacific wrote:A great review and I enjoyed reading it, so thanks!

Personally I loved the perception of marines back then (think 'Sardakur' for anyone who has read Dune), and more so than the current 'knights in space'. Like you say, even though 40k is still grimdark, it isn't anything like what it once was. The pictures of marines being blown to pieces, melted, electrocuted (practically every other picture!) I think were wonderful and characterful, a move away from the iconic and heroic individuals of many other rpg's both before and since.

Agree so much. I loved the representation of Marines there; they actually seem much more heroic in that incarnation than they do now.

Interesting about the 'you will only need a handful of models', an example of a company trying to find its way and establish a foothold in the market with this franchise. It's something you still read with a variety of other systems, it will be interesting to see if GW ever moves back in that direction if customers continue to get cold feet!

The sooner the better

I remember not catching a rather unfortunate missprint in the Land Raider stats for the first few months that we played RT (around '89, I think?). During all that time, we believed that LRs had a toughness of 14 (yes, vehicles had a toughness value back then), and considering anybody could field them, everybody did.

Oh, and KIL RATIO!

I don't think GW can afford to move back towards a small model count game.

They are like a man running up the down escalator. It takes nearly all their effort just to stay in place.

The danger of releasing a real skirmish game is that people might abandon 40K.

5th edition clearly signalled the intention to expand model sals further. Troops were made more important, new codexes have cheaper points per unit, and game sizes have been pushed upwards.

Kilkrazy wrote:

The danger of releasing a real skirmish game is that people might abandon 40K.

IF they can do it in a way to keep players and create more players, then this is a move they more or less cannot afford not to do.

If they don't, someone else will make one and slowly but surely eat up the player base.

Cannibalising their own is better for them than a competitor eating it for them. They need to co-opt the disruption (which always starts small, so 'big' business often miss it); they will be eaten by 'crappy products for crappy customers'.

Classic. I remember when I first bought this book, I couldn't make sense of it at all. Didn't stop me devouring every word though.

In many ways, Rogue Trader is a brain storming session that managed to get published. It is far too incoherent to form an actual game. It wasn't until 2nd edition that there was a semblance of sanity (until then army lists were scattered throughout supplements and back issues of White Dwarf).

KK, can you scan the double page spread of the Space Marine chapters? Be interesting to see which ones survived (Rainbow Warrors RIP).

I love the confrontation between Orks and Humans:

" .. when Ork and Man first met upon some airless world over twenty-thousand years ago, each took a long hard look at the creature it had discovered, drew pistols, and simultaneously shot the other dead."

Awesome. I look forward to more. I didn't get exposed to 40K until prior to the release of Tau, iirc. The old bone-yard of games always intrigues me; its interesting to see how far they've fallen or how far they've come.

You know... looking over this thing, all I can say is, "No way."
It'll never catch on and, beyond a few small localized groups, people just aren't going to play it. It is too weird and too difficult to bother with.
Also, what the heck is a Jokaero? Try sticking with some kind of recognizable reality here, people.
Pfft. Please!


Eric

I still play RT with a group of friends, and its ability to be mixed with Necromunda plus the varius compendiums and such make for great GM'd and regular play games. It does rely on co-operative play rather than competative styles though.

Soo'Vah'Cha wrote:wow you just made me all misty-eyed...I loved the RT days and still have those old orks to prove it

It just had STYLE! and a bit of a exotic, almost forbidden flavor to it compared with D & D and all of the others of the day.

Also those Marines were bad boys, with slogans like Kill Kill Kill on powerfists, and these were ultras

I had a bunch of old GW books and remember minis with things like kill kill painted on them. As a 13 year old i used to mimic this all the time. I remember the older symbol used for the chainfist on terminators i just need to find a pic of the symbols to paint on mine.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:I've heard a lot about some of 40k's antecents like Laserburn, the Judge Dredd RPG (some of the supplements were also branded for 40k) and apparently there were some Citadel Journal or WD articles but I don't have any of them.

So if any kind souls would like to write up a review I'd be very happy.

There were several Judge Dredd RPG articles in White Dwarf, and they did a basic set of 40K stats for Judge Dredd figures in one of the early Citadel Journals, would you be interested in these?

I would be interested in seeing that article Howard, missed that completely back in the day. I do have the JD Bloodbowl team rules though!

If I remember correctly the only actual release that included both RT and JDRPG was the Citi-block floor plans which had a set of rules for JD block creation and a seperate section for RT Hive gang creation, basically a set of random tables ala the main book.

misfit wrote:

I had a bunch of old GW books and remember minis with things like kill kill painted on them. As a 13 year old i used to mimic this all the time. I remember the older symbol used for the chainfist on terminators i just need to find a pic of the symbols to paint on mine.

Misfit, I think you will find that was actually 'kil' 'kil'

See also, 'deth'

In the days when marines didn't get schooling beyond that experienced by an elementary school pupil, contrast with the marines in the Ultramarines movie who all sound like they received extra elocution lessons after class at Eton (except for Sean Pertwee of course!)

Pacific wrote:

misfit wrote:

I had a bunch of old GW books and remember minis with things like kill kill painted on them. As a 13 year old i used to mimic this all the time. I remember the older symbol used for the chainfist on terminators i just need to find a pic of the symbols to paint on mine.

Misfit, I think you will find that was actually 'kil' 'kil'

See also, 'deth'

In the days when marines didn't get schooling beyond that experienced by an elementary school pupil, contrast with the marines in the Ultramarines movie who all sound like they received extra elocution lessons after class at Eton (except for Sean Pertwee of course!)

You're right about that actually now i remember. I need to get my hands on some of those pics. I was checking out some old RT images last night on google and saw the shot with the chaplains led by a commisar and the one chaplain had a banner that said "be just and fear not" i used to paint that on my first marines back in the day. Think i'm gonna back to that with my current chapter.

Absolutely loved this... man it brings back memories...

Yay, a KK retro review and of RT no less!

I'll try to stay patient as I wait for part II...

Dang, wish I hadn't sold mine now, I'd be half tempted to break it out and have a go.

Still got a Compedium sitting in a box somewhere though.

I love the part where it says you only need "a dozen or so" models to play

Pacific wrote:

misfit wrote:

I had a bunch of old GW books and remember minis with things like kill kill painted on them. As a 13 year old i used to mimic this all the time. I remember the older symbol used for the chainfist on terminators i just need to find a pic of the symbols to paint on mine.

Misfit, I think you will find that was actually 'kil' 'kil'

See also, 'deth'

You're not the only one who remembers. We also have a certain Moderator named after one of these slogans...

I got hooked in through these old ads in Dragon magazine too. That, and seeing a few games in progress at gaming conventions when I was a kid. I was pretty awestruck, though my attention was more on Warhammer than on RT.

Flashman wrote:Classic. I remember when I first bought this book, I couldn't make sense of it at all. Didn't stop me devouring every word though.

In many ways, Rogue Trader is a brain storming session that managed to get published. It is far too incoherent to form an actual game. It wasn't until 2nd edition that there was a semblance of sanity (until then army lists were scattered throughout supplements and back issues of White Dwarf).

KK, can you scan the double page spread of the Space Marine chapters? Be interesting to see which ones survived (Rainbow Warrors RIP).

QFT
yeah, the rules for blast weapons were well weird - the bigger the blast the bigger the scatter that was very complicated and counter intuitive. playing a game was an argument fest (especially of you were only 12!)

as for the chapters that were in RT - I have a rainbow warriors army the other chapters were blood angels, space wolves, ultramarines (natch) blood drinkers, flesh eaters, flesh tearers, crimson fists, dark angels, iron hands, white scars and silver skulls (who?). I'll scan in the pics when i've got a mo.

love the retro review I'd love to see the rogue traders army list - mentioned in the WH40k compendium but i've ever seen it

This is some good gak dude.

"Kil! Kil! Kil!"

"Highest kil count: warzonz 9 and 21"

And of course the squat with the skyboard that has the crazy alien with "Slam Sector"

40k had such flavor. Now it's a muddy, gothic, grimdark, kiddy mess as opposed to a confusing, black-humor laden grimdark mess.

Looking forward to your take on the RT fluff, which will always be the best.

I still hang my head in shame for ever getting rid of my copy.