Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

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!

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.

Part 2
And we're back with part 2 of the award-seeking retro review series.
With the rules (such as they are) covered we can now jump into the action with the first-EVER! 40k scenario – Battle for the Farm!

Some of you may not recall it since Battle for the Farm was later renamed Battle for the BLOOD Farm of SKULLS!

It starts innocently enough, the Crimson Fists (yes, once upon a time not EVERYTHING was about the Ultramarines) are chilling in their Fortress Monestary when all of the sudden! Out of nowhere! A whole Ork fleet attacks!

So the quickly launch an ICBM at it.

But they roll a 'hit' and a 'misfire' and the ICBM explodes over the Fortress Monestary killing most of the Fists and leveling the joint. Now Pedro Kantor (yes the same one around today and the same on the cover using an Ork head as an improvised weapon) must march to New Rynn City to meet up with the few Fists who were not caught in explosion. They bed down in an abandoned farm not knowing that a group of Orks led by Thrugg Bullneck have stashed some jewels there and are headed back to claim them. A fight ensues.



This is an incredible amount of background for what boils down to Marines meet Orks, they fight. But it's the first real taste of 40k fluff (other than the grimdark opening) and it works. It's got some black humor (marines blowing up their own fortress), despair (marine chapter reduced to a handful of men) and cruelty (the Orks had already slaughtered the humans in the farm and burned it to the ground). And surprisingly GW has kept all of this the official 40k fluff even after many RT elements like Squats, the Ultramarines being a 3rd founding chapter and Custodus being normal humans were dropped.



The book even came with counters so you could play this scenario right away.



Last year GW scaled it up to a 500 page novel which, to be frank, was pants. It didn't even include the Battle for the Farm (though it did have a battle for a farm)! It kept the basic backdrop but the marine were just as wooden and cookie cutter as in other novels, their tactics made no sense and the book ends with Pedro and the Ork Warboss (Snagrod the Arch-Arsonist) in a fist fight. Because that's how all interstellar wars should be settled, with a fist fight.


But hey, it's still a 500 page novel, not bad for a 4 page into scenario huh?



Now there's always one part of an RPG book that I find will make or break it, that will determine whether or not the game will last and whether or not it's worth playing. I refer of course to the weapons and equipment.

Cause let's face it, unless I'm doing something illegal, immoral and impossible, why am I bothering to play this game?

And here Rogue Trader delivers the goods!

We get 28 pages of the finest deathware the 41st millennium has – from flintlocks to plasma cannons - all lavishly illustrated with fluff for each one.



Each picture has a little 'thought for the day' on the bottom like 'Death is its own reward', 'No reward, no remorse, just kill' and of course 'Fear is the mind killer'. Heh, 'fear is the mind killer', that's awesome, where do they get their ideas?



And those are just snuck in! Other quotes get more of a spot light.



Exist for the Emperor! Highest Kil ratio: Warzonz 6 & 12! Defile the Mutant! Death!
Why can't modern armory pages look like this?



Oh did I mention how half the art in the book is Space Marines dying painfully? Well it is! Even then the real measure of any weapon was how well it killed Marines.



Here's a marine being gutshot by an ork!



But here is a marine making all of his 4+ (yes 4+) saves against 3 orks.



Despite the 'mere' 4+ save (which you could raise to 3+ by wearing flak armor over it) power armor was still the best in the game since it not only offered the best save (terminator armor wouldn't appear for a while longer) it also included life support for all the nasty gas and virus weapons in the game. There's toxic, radiation, virus and vortex grenades, all of which can be scaled up to off-board artillery.


The 40k battle ground is a nasty, nasty place with many, many ways to die.



And it's a place of dark despair and madness!



The whole book has full page illustrations scattered throughout just showing off the style and look of 40k. Even at this early date they have a lot of the retro future elements we still see, note all the hoses, the dial on the chair, even the spacesuit is torn at the left arm, if he loses pressure this guy is in real trouble even with his oversized collar and helmet.



Get ahead with the Imperial Guard! Ahead… a head… well darn it it's funny to me!



And right here the Space Marines won my heart! Gawd I love this picture!



So cool! I hope the make like, A MILLION books just about Space Marines!



And here we meet the legendary Scotti the Enginseer which, besides setting the tone for how technology works in the 41st Millennium, also manages to include two of the worst puns in GW history.

Enginseer! How did that get past the editors? I bet they won't be using that pun 25 years later!



Weapons are followed by vehicles and as you can see from well what the heck that is, the 40k look was already being established. WWI, WWII designs, rivets and comically oversized guns.



It would be a little while before the first vehicle kits appeared (Rhino, Land Raider and Ork Battlewagon) so there are a few scratch builds thrown in like this SM ornithopter.





There's also an early Land Raider scratch build.



And an early Imperial Guard Land Speeder. I've heard the Land Speeder is actually from GW's old Judge Dredd RPG, can anyone confirm?

That about wraps up this section, again the rules look gastlly but the art and design is a cut above anything that was out at the time and even holds up today.

Next time we'll finally hit the fluff sections beginning with the Age of the Imperium. Be there! Whenever I get around to it...

Daba wrote:

Balance wrote:The old Land Raider really is a goofy looking design... It's like someone tried to combine a list of mistakes in armored vehicle design!

It was a converted WW1 tank.

It's inspired by a WWI tank but I don't think it's converted from one. All the real MkI tanks I've seen had treads that went back much farther.



As for it being a bad design, like I said a lot of that was on purpose, GW went for (and still goes for) a WWI, erly WWII look which at the time was a sharp contrast with other high tech games.

Anyway I hope to have the next section done this week, I'm glad people like it.

chromedog wrote:

skrulnik wrote:
Dos anyone know GW's reasons? Were they produced out of house?

They were.

The company that produced the plastic inserts for Lesney's "Matchbox" (tm) cars did the initial plastics work for them (RTB001 and Rhino/land raiders) - they might also have done the imperial guard and space ork plastics.
GW didn't have its own plastics manufacturing capability back then and went to a nearby local who could.

AFAIK, the dies for the land raider were destroyed, same for the battlewagon. I don't know the reasons why.
It's quite hard to 'break' a steel-trap injection die. You pretty much have to scrap them.

The RT rhinos came out the same time and stayed in production which is another oddity to the puzzle. And of course during 2nd edition GW produced tons of new IG and Eldar plastic vehicles so they certainly could have made new land raiders and battlewagons if they wanted to.

Maybe they wanted to support non-marine armies?

Nah, never happen.

And we're back! Sorry for the long delay but real life has been busy lately and these posts take a lot more time and energy than the normal internet snark. So this time we're going to enter the AGE OF THE IMPERIUM!

A time of Grim Darkness™ where there is only war.

And skull codpeices of course. But that only comes naturally from war. So anyway…



Wow that is a lot of Space Marines. It looks like… there's like a THOUSAND of them! And look at that cool fortress/tower/skull thing. I'd love for someone to make that as a diorama.

This chapter starts off with background, lots of background. Far, far more than this game could possibly need. After all we have Space Marines, Space Orks, Space Elfs and other concepts that really need no introduction. But GW really works to create a coherent universe with its own physics, history and politics.

3 pages are spent explaining what the warp is, how interstellar travel works and the role of Navigators. This has nothing to do with the game being published. Nothing. It sort of, kind of, came up in Space Fleet a few years later, Battlefleet Gothic 11 years later or the Rogue Trader RPG TWENTY YEARS LATER!

And that's awesome.

I remember reading that at one point 40k was going to be a space combat game but evolved in the course of the writing into a sci-fi version of Warhammer Fantasy, so they might have had this fluff lying around already. And yeah, it's largely stolen from Frank Herbert's monumental Dune series (seriously if you've not read it at least read the first book, it's like playing Fantasy without having read Lord of the Rings). But hey it's this attention to detail and imagination ( imaginative swiping at least) that creates an engaging universe that keeps us coming back.

No matter how bad the rules may be.

GW lavishes attention on the Imperium early on establishing the immortal Emperor and the bureaucracy under him.



Bureaucracy? They seriously give us a couple of pages on the bureaucracy?
Yep. Cause it's the MOST AWESOME BUREAUCRACY EVAH!



Seriously if I could wear that to the office I'd… Well do I really want to see my coworkers with no shirt and tight leather pants? But it would be kind of cool, I dunno, for a week or so.

And hey, I'd get this guy as a boss!



Rogue Trader was the first and perhaps last time we had rules for Adeptus Administratum clerks. They have a 50% chance of having a gun!

We also get a breakdown of what the two-headed eagle represents and what color everyone's robes should be.



Again, all this background for a game where Space Marines shoot at Space Dwarfs in Space.

Damn.

As you might expect the combat-relevant guys like the Adeptus Custodes (then just normal humans whose pike as actually CONCEALED LASGUNS! FEAR THE LASGUN!), Mechanicus, Arbites, Astropaths all get attention. But it goes even farther and stops to talk about the Administratum, planetary governors, the High Lords and all the other bits and pieces needed to make a coherent fictional empire.

One group that gets a lot of focus in this book (and throughout later editions and even 2 games of their own) is of course the Inquisition!



In fact the big =I= gets one of the first named characters – the mighty Obiwan Sherlock Clousseau, a tireless exposer of psychic misdeeds and genetic deviance. While Pedro went on to a long career with his own rules and model and a novel poor Obiwan has languished in obscurity since 1987. Almost makes you want to write some fanfic for him.

Almost.



If anyone cares to make a model for him here's his stats and fluff, and the first appearance of the iconic big =I=.

There's another fun bit of art that in one little illustration shows how Grimdark the Imperium is with a guardsman lead by a chain on his neck begging before some sort of guy in impractical power armor.



There's a story there, a good one, much more interesting than a bunch of angry bald men shooting stuff.

The Adeptus Mech gets one of my favorite bits of art from this book, one that GW still uses on the cover of the Big Black Book!



And another one that just sums up the insanity of how technology works in 40k, a bunch of guys in lab coats swinging censors of incense around.



It also talks about a great concept, technomats. Rather than waste years teaching someone how to drive a rhino, or operate a Space VCR, the Adeptus Mechanicus just burns the information into your brain. It drives you mad over time, but hey, there's more where you came from.

Astropaths get some attention, in case you're wondering there's a 90% chance they carry d6 doses of web solvent.



Again, great art. Not as polished as we get now but lots of atmosphere.
I mean look at this puppy!



It's a Grimdark Janitor for the Adeptus Terra and the Grimdark forklift with the guy wired into it is loading a coffin with a screaming psyker in it!

Awesome!

GW please, please, please, next time you commission art for a book, ask the artist to come up with another Grimdark janitor, or bus, or market. We know what angry bald men shooting stuff looks like, stretch that imagination a bit!

Speaking of Angry Bald Man, join us next time when we look at the Marines of Space and some other minor races that really never went anywhere significant.

Thanks all, I'll try not to take another month for the next installment!