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So I'm well aware of the origins of our great game but I have to admit I never knew the fluff behind the Rogue Traders themselves. Well recently I have read that fluff and have to say I really like what I've read and am thinking about making my own Rogue Trader character and I'm thinking about making a model to go with it.

What I would like from you all is ideas for the model? Maybe pictures and so on of Rogue Traders that others have made or artwork. So if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears

Space pimp

Space Chimp

Ok anything serious and helpfull

A Serious space pimp?
In all seriousness, Make him like Zapp Branagain, with no care for the lives of his men

You could use this as Inspiration

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/rogue-trader/wallpaper/Rogue-Trader3-1920x1440.jpg

@Battle Brother Lucifer: Who is Zapp Branagain?

@RayvanQ: Thank you for the picture that is helpfull, I probably won't make mine as....regal as that but it gives me some ideas

From Futurama
I think I spelled it right...

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:@Battle Brother Lucifer: Who is Zapp Branagain?

The master of champagn
The master of love
The master of kiff
The master of stupidity
The master of failure
The master of LOLS

Ah well I don't watch Futurama.

I'm kind of thinking of taking the character and his crew along the same lines as the characters from the Firefly series in the whole Space Western aspect of it (and no that dosen't mean cowboy hats). The fluff says that some can be very wealthy with fleets of ships and others can be not so wealthy, I'm thinking of having mine be on a mid point between the 2.

I'm also thinking about either having it so he was a IG soldier who was assigned as a bodyguard to a Rogue Trader, the Trader was an older man who wasen't overly successfull and had no family. But he took a liking to my character and left his paper (I forget the name, it's the more powerfull of the 2 documents) and ship to my character.

OR

At one point he was a young Inquisitor (or acolyte) in the Ordos Xenos who was supposed to be an orphan but then one day he's contacted by an old man claiming to be his grandfather. He offers him the chance to become a Rogue Trader because he is dieing from something and my character is his only successor.

I kind of like the 1st one better.

Well in seriousness how bout a Pirate since hes in it for both kinds o booty

Ok so after some of the suggestions I got I've decided to do the character type myself.

I've edited the OP to reflect just the modeling aspects.

battle Brother Lucifer wrote:A Serious space pimp?
In all seriousness, Make him like Zapp Branagain, with no care for the lives of his men

Not a bad inspiration for a Rogue Trader!!!

They are ship's captains, and as such they view themselves as a type of nobility. They are wealthy, free from being tied to a planet, and generally a bit eccentric. You can get a very very good picture of a flashy ship's master if you read the Eisenhorn Omnibus by Dan Abbnet.

There are also some fantastic ship's master villain's in the Ravenor Omnibus, also by Abbnet.

Rogue Traders specifically do things like travel outside the Imperium, deal with xenos, run drugs, smuggle, etc. Think Han Solo in 40k.

Well I know the fluff for Rogue Traders and not all of them a wealthy. And Han Solo (and alot of Star Wars) was inspired by the Space Western theme I mentioned earlier.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
But thank you for the book referances I'll look into them.

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:
Automatically Appended Next Post:
But thank you for the book referances I'll look into them.

NP man, Abbnet is a fantastic author and his books really give you a feel for the Imperium outside of the Imperial Gaurd and the various chapters.

I have one or two of his books though I haven't read any of the Inquisitor books. I agree he's a good author.

Does anyone have any idea what a Rogue Trader would have in his main crew? I was thinking of just basing them off of Inquisitorial retinues and IG HQ choices. I know a ship would need a Navigator for Warp travel and probably an Astropath if it wanted to communicate. I don't think I'll have my Rogue Trader be a wealthy one with a huge ship and a couple thousand strong crew. It'l probably just be him and his main crew.

So with the Navigator and Astropath I was thinking of an alien warrior (probably kroot), a ships engineer/mechanic whose goal is to find A STC so he can become a real tech priest, a religious soldier who'll be a friend from my Rogues IG days and a strong man who is a demolitions expert/hired muscle.

The career paths in the Rogue Trader RPG are: Astropath, Rogue Trader, Navigator, Arch-militant, Explorator, Seneschal, Void-Master and Missionary.

What is a seneschal and a void-master?

For a retinue just look up the kind of crew lists you'd have found on an 1850's tramp steamer. Captain (RT), Navigatior, Chief Engineer, Purser, a raft of crew dogs, maybe a couple of toughs to keep an eye on his investments. For a 40k era trader you can probably add a gunnery officer and a few suitably trained operators.

Well this is also going to be an =][=munda gang.

I have read the Ravenor Omnibus and it in some areas delved deep into the Rogue Traders. To me they seem more dignified and organized as opposed to freelooters (with some exceptions). More Al Capone than gangsta. I think Imperial Guard models would provide some good modeling material. A commisar would be a good start for the trader him/herself. I imagine a crew/retinue would be somewhat adhoc but still elite. Maybe some Catachan models could be used. Just some ideas I had.

ChocolateGork wrote:

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:@Battle Brother Lucifer: Who is Zapp Branagain?

The master of champagn
The master of love
The master of kiff
The master of stupidity
The master of failure
The master of LOLS

You forgot master of Vellure and Master of Girdles.
A rogue trader basically is like an inquisitor but usually with alien gear.

Ok. Not to sound rude here but I know what a Rogue Trader is

No one has to say what they are anymore because I ALREADY KNOW .

And just for the heck of it I don't see how they're just like an Inquisitor with xenos gear? Inquisitors hunt the evils that would destroy the Imperium (the xenos, the heretic and the daemon) and so are pretty much like super powered spy masters in 40k. Rogue Traders travel the worlds beyond Imperial controle and either explore, trade or claim/destroy worlds pretty much like a privateer who has the freedom to do what he wants as long as it's done in the interest of the Imperium.

Although the fluff says that some Rogue Traders actually where Inquisitors at one point the only thing they have in common is they're both human and they both have an enourmous power base (depending on the type of trade document that the Trader holds).

I have thought about doing the same thing. How about these for base models.

http://www.freebooterminiatures.de/en/catalog/176

http://www.freebooterminiatures.de/en/catalog/87

I like those models especially the first one but I think I'll stay within the GW range.

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:What is a seneschal and a void-master?

Seneschals are scholarly science types - think Spock or Bones from Star Trek. A void master is a gunner.

Ah gotcha

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:I have one or two of his books though I haven't read any of the Inquisitor books. I agree he's a good author.

As someone who is further disappointed with nearly every dip into the crapstream that is Black Library writing, I can honestly say Eisenhorn was a great book.

You can basically design your rogue trader to look however you want. There's no real set of rules for them, and they come from many different cultural backgrounds.

I'm aware of this. But I'm looking for ideas for inspiration