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I recently seen a thread on here about independent human empires and or republics outside of the imperium. This got me thinking about rogue traders.

I have already read over the wiki about the warant of trade and it did mention that some traders have set up their own little empires. As with most things lore wise with 40k its a vastly grey area with little definitive answers to the question.

What would the likely hood of a rogue trader setting up their own colonies and ruling it mainly independent of the adeptus terra, rasing it's own military and fleets while not being utterly destroyed by the greater imperium?

Just wondering what other people thought about it while I finish up my own theory on the ambiguity of the subject. I'd also like to gather as much information too as if it's feasible I would like to form my own imperial guard army based on this

Inside the imperium 0%

Outside the imperium they are the law.* Setting up an private empire just outside the imperiums border isnt that unusual most of them will have a signed document that allows them to do so and the military might to enforce it.
The trick is not to upset too much big players inside the imperium while doing so. Get yourself a rogue trader core rule book and you will be amazed by the options that are available to them.




*As long as nobody challenges it ; )

Maybe on very furthest of borders where imperial control is less represented and things looser. Small, and quiet on the very edges where very few dare travel.
Ie out in the farthest and most unkown regions skirting into the unknown void and beyond. Where a patrol may be decades apart or longer.

Just a heads up Rogue trader options include but are not limited to.

- Multiple colonies, space stations, moons and refineries
- A fleet including (light) cruisers
- Xenos and Archeotech wargear, weapons, ship parts and artifacts,
- Bonds with criminals, Xenos mercenaries or other pirates
- Forbidden technology such as AI's
- 100% Servitor or Slave crews
- Their own chapels with (Tech) priests
- Xenos habitats or Forests inside a ship
- Air filtration systems with build in automated Illegal drug dispensers
- Orbital bombarding planets with Virus bombs
- Automated planitary wide VOX override systems.
- Stasis cell stored murder servitors.
- Mutated crew members.
- Death cults
- Almost unlimited resources in the form of men and arms.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
To give you an idea of scale. One of the lower lv adventures in the game is about you checking up on a star-system (outside the borders of the imperium) with multiple planets that is owned by the rogue trader house and does seem to have some issues generating the expected amount of profit.

I will have to try and get my hands on the core book for rogue trader and look through a more comprehensive version of the lore behind rogue traders. I think they are probably one of the best and most mysterious fluff points in the greater imperium and the ambiguity of it all must make for some brilliant characters in the lore.

I like all the political manoeuvring and pandering that must have to take place in the greater imperium. So as long as you keep your head down and don't rub too many powerful people up the wrong way you could effectively do almost anything you like?

The idea I had in my head was the rogue trader dynasty is ancient and has been colonising a small cluster of planets for generations. Maintain their own fleets, land forces, colonies and military operations independent of the imperium all the while working partially in conjunction with the greater imperium. Sort of like ultimar but with less of the ultra modified superhuman giants running around and less pandering to the Lords of terra

Would they also be able to shake off their tithe obligations if they could justify that they would be supporting their efforts decreed upon them by the warrant of trade which is basically untouchable as it comes direct from the emperor in essance?

It's diffuclt to get what I'm thinking of in my head onto paper while keeping it all fluffy and lore accurate but I guess as long as they could justify it under their duties as a rogue trader regardless of the ambiguity and the spirit of what is written then they can most likely do so?

cmurphy96 wrote:


I like all the political manoeuvring and pandering that must have to take place in the greater imperium. So as long as you keep your head down and don't rub too many powerful people up the wrong way you could effectively do almost anything you like?

.....until the Inquisitor shows up.

The idea I had in my head was the rogue trader dynasty is ancient and has been colonising a small cluster of planets for generations. Maintain their own fleets, land forces, colonies and military operations independent of the imperium all the while working partially in conjunction with the greater imperium. Sort of like ultimar but with less of the ultra modified superhuman giants running around and less pandering to the Lords of terra

This would probably work in a place like the Koronus Expanse a la the Rogue Trader RPG... Or really any fringe location that isn't being ravaged by Orks, doesn't have a Necron Tomb World, or isn't in the path of Hive Fleet Cthulhu.....

There is a reason why Ultramar can operate independently...... those Superhuman Giants can ward off all the baddies.

Would they also be able to shake off their tithe obligations if they could justify that they would be supporting their efforts decreed upon them by the warrant of trade which is basically untouchable as it comes direct from the emperor in essance?

But the Emperor is.....shall we say of indisposed of at the moment. Which means Interpreting His Will is left in the hands of the High Lords of Terra and the Inquisition....

Translation: Pay Your Tithe.

Beyond "Don't Worship Chaos," its probably the only other Iron-clad rule in the Imperium.

No one expects the inquisition! Hahaha

That is very true I guess over all it would be pretty difficult to a make it mostly independent without creating a very very convenient plot armour like having a space marine recruiting world next door and just a couple hops down the solar system there lies a great big forge world too.

Alas the mere courage and stout hearts of men may not be enough to secure this traders empire and fill the coffers to the brim with riches and other exotic things, thou greed knoweth no bounds and I'm sure it hasnt stopped men from trying in the past.

I guess a couple penal legions every couple years would suffice and would stop a very large and menacing battlegroup from knocking on the perverbial door innocently enquiring into what I'm doing with the emperors precious resource?

Ill have to apologise as I'm using this on my phone and not 100% on how to work the quoting feature ect

cmurphy96 wrote:


Alas the mere courage and stout hearts of men may not be enough to secure this traders empire and fill the coffers to the brim with riches and other exotic things, thou greed knoweth no bounds and I'm sure it hasnt stopped men from trying in the past.

I guess a couple penal legions every couple years would suffice and would stop a very large and menacing battlegroup from knocking on the perverbial door innocently enquiring into what I'm doing with the emperors precious resource?

Well.... it is possible... you just need to have staked out a region of the Cosmos that isn't in the pathway of some Giant Looming Threat.

So - Segmentum Ultima is definitely out of the Question.

You see all of this was probably easier back in the 30K Days. The Calixis Sector from the Dark Heresy RPG for instance kind of fits the bill what you are talking about in the glory days of the Haarlock Trade Dynasty.

But -eventually- the Imperium will show up, slowly but surely. And once the Imperial Navy has set up shop in full force - civilization is upon you.

This is what makes the Koronus Expanse the type of place your thinking about. It is "beyond the Light of the Emperor." and rather difficult to get to due to the isues with the Passage.

Does Battlefleet Calixis pop into the Expanse from time to time.. yes. But other than that, the Rogue traders with the proper firepower are the Law.... cause Civilization hasn't quite shown up yet...

The Downside to all this Freedom - is that you are kind of on your own when dealing with all the other Wacky Xenos/Chaos/etc factions roaming the expanse.

The inquisition will probably already have spies on the ship from the beginning. The trick is that Rogue traders are really powerful individuals. An inquisitor can't just stop and arrest a roguetrader for some minor crimes outside the imperium they are like kings there. It is way more subtle then that you can't just arrest a rogue trader with a signed contract of the high lords or even the emperor himself to to basicly whatever he wants to do out there and the political and military power to crush multiple star-systems. These are the kind of guys who like to show of their xenos weapons and mercenaries just as a display of power.

When they do visit the imperium things change a lot.

As long as you pay your taxes in money, people or some other equatable resource/technology, and don't worship the Ruinous Powers, you can do whatever you want outside of Imperial controlled space. Terra only cares that it gets its cut.

So the general concensus is, so long as they're outside of imperial space they can do pretty much as they please, if they set up shop on a planet then yall better pay yo taxes, don't be worshiping no crazy warp entities other than the God emperor and if so you better hope the first captain of your ship doesn't turn out to be a spy and have you dragged off to inevitably never be seen again?

cmurphy96 wrote:
So the general concensus is, so long as they're outside of imperial space they can do pretty much as they please, if they set up shop on a planet then yall better pay yo taxes, don't be worshiping no crazy warp entities other than the God emperor and if so you better hope the first captain of your ship doesn't turn out to be a spy and have you dragged off to inevitably never be seen again?

But let's play around with your idea - especially since many of the threads i've put up feed into your desire for a Rogue Trader dynasty.

Some random things that have popped into my head.

1.) Its all about stalling the Imperial Navy until you've made your money/claimed your territory.

Like in real life with the British Empire and the Caribbean - once the Navy is able to establish a Port/Stronghold/Base with a fully operational dockyard, the Clock on your time as adventurous freebooter will start to wind down. More and more people are going to start coming, Worlds are going to start getting apportioned out by the High Lords of Terra, oh and the Adeputs Administratum will probably get around to doing those tax assessments.

Before any of that occurs, you'll budding dynasty will have to follow the tried and true tradition of all successful Rogue Traders - Claim a Planet (and get Terra to recognize that claim), followed by setting up as many business ventures that suck as much natural resources out of a territory/planet other than the one you claimed.

I've never seen a whole Sector given over to a Trade Dynasty, and all those other planets will get apportioned out......eventually.... but that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the resources there until the time comes.

The Flipside of This: The Imperial Navy should be far enough for them not to keep tabs on you constantly, but close enough in case you need to pull the panic button.

'Cause you know..... Ork Waaagggh!s, or Necron Dead Worlds that your employees accidentally stumble over and turn on, or Random Warp Storm that opens pathway to the Warp....

2.) Do Not Build in the reaches of Ultima Segmentum....

You avoid the constant Hive Fleet incursions, you also avoid the Tau.

3.) Crushing Chaos isn't just good for the Soul, its good Business Sense.

Let's put aside your own personal survival for a second. Even if you are Spotless in the Eyes of the Emperor and his noble servants, a charge of Chaos corruption and a verdict of Exterminatus can force you to kiss all your hardwork goodbye.

4.) Hiring Xenos - see thread below about Xenos Mercenaries..

Kroot, Ork Freebooterz, and Eldar Corsairs are your most likely choices. And the Kroot are the least likely to betray.

GrapeApe wrote:
3.) Crushing Chaos isn't just good for the Soul, its good Business Sense.

Let's put aside your own personal survival for a second. Even if you are Spotless in the Eyes of the Emperor and his noble servants, a charge of Chaos corruption and a verdict of Exterminatus can force you to kiss all your hardwork goodbye.

The solution to this is a double-edged sword. You can call on the Missionarus Galaxia, the missionary branch of the Adeptus Ministorum. Odds are they're already close by, looking to spread faith in the God-Emperor on every new world that they can establish themselves. True belief is a pretty powerful tool in 40k for holding chaos at bay and getting them on your side by opening up your colonies to their proselytizers can be a great way to stop more occult religions from establishing a foothold. However, this means you're giving a portion of control over to them, and you may find a portion of those precious resources you're after being tithed to the church. Not to mention that a change in the local religious doctrine may see millions of your hardworking natives joining up with a Frateris Militia and being sent off on a holy war rather than making you profit.

Another complication that I actually haven't thought a way around.

5.) What happens when an Mechancius Explorator fleet shows up?

If somewhere in your patch of space you've claimed for yourself, exists a world rife with either Dark Age of Tech artifacts or alien technology....... word will eventually get back to the Mechancius.

The Fleet itself isn't an issue... but if they decide to set up a Forge World in your sector..... the Imperial Navy won't be far behind them...

You already have explorators on board of your ship to report on new findings. This greatly reduces the need for a fleet. Also lets not forget that they have that " Do not interfere" protocol.

The RTs authority, like the Inquisition. Comes directly from the Emp. The RT mandate would be probably be older than the Inquisition itself. Unless you have visibly growing horns and are sacrificing people. Theres not much anyone can do to you really. Whether your RT charter would protect you if you controlled a system, maybe. With the amount of eyes that would be watching, its probably not worth it.

I remember a really old BL novel. The RT lived somewhere around the Eye, I think. Had maybe a dozen ships, assorted frontier, outposts. Was still considered small fry compared to the nobs.
Though he did get a soul stone punched into his head and possessed by a Eldar. So... well.. yeah.

 oldzoggy wrote:
You already have explorators on board of your ship to report on new findings. This greatly reduces the need for a fleet. Also lets not forget that they have that " Do not interfere" protocol.

So... you really think the Cult Mechanicus wouldn't try to stake out a claim on a world that happens to have oodles of either Alien Tech or Dark Age of Humanity Tech?

I don't know. about that.....


As i said though, it isn't really the Fleet that's the problem - even if they said an Explorator Fleet.

It becomes problematic if they decide to set up a Forge World to capitalize on their Tech findings.

An active Forge World in your region of space will eventually spur on Colonization.

The fact that the Mechanicum have separate legal rights from the rest of the Imperium further complicates matters.

Does the mechanicum not have their own exploratory fleets for the sole purpose of finding stcs, archeotech etc?

If the rogue trader has already made a claim to the planet or technology found do they not have legal rights over their claims as one of their roles is to find technology xeno or otherwise? I do recall reading that some traders will quite often display these weapons and hire xeno merc's as a show of power?

I guess as long as its not a stc fragment or an actual working stc machine they'd be quite alright to keep hold of it as long as they show an intention to bringing it back to the imperium at somepoint?

Also alot of rogue traders are often from prestigious ancient families or have been high up in the imperium and quite often have lots of contacts and favours they can call on. If for example they had conceptions to a magos of a forgeworld or someone else within the macanicums higherarchie would they be able to equip their troops with fairly good equipment by militarum standards, or even alow a forgeworld or exploratory fleet to operate within their borders if they could maintain theit quasi independence?

They could even go as far as to have a representative from the forgeworld on their war council or in their government anyways as way of compensation?

It's not entirely clear what you mean by independence. Your independent empire doesn't sound much different than his most planets are actually run. They all have their own militaries and their own autochthonous rulers. The Imperial Guard is essentially an agreement to send military aid to foreign conflicts in exchange for receiving military aid.

As far as tithes or taxes, rogue traders themselves, at least from Rogue Trader, are often used by the Imperium as tax collectors. The Imperium will give the trader a contract to extract the tithe from a planet and use it to conquer a new one. They simultaneously keep the planet in line without wasting actual military, extract an efficient, market driven tithe, and make a real estate investment with a proven manager.

I mean what they are is independent project managers for the Imperium. It's not some non-imperial thing.


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Also as for forge world, those are things with ancient mechanicus cultures from before the Great Crusade that ran their own mini empires until they were united with Mars, the culture they originated from. I do not believe new ones are set up any old time.

I do apologise if my idea doesn't seem very clear at the moment. I'm trying to develop the lore behind my guard army in essance but I want to have it so it's technically not apart of the greater imperial guard and have a greater degree of autonomy from the imperium itself without breaking pre established lore.

I know the imperium itself isn't a preset border and is more like scattered islands which overall the high lords don't have a great say in the day to day operations of each sector etc.

In essance I vision the system I'm trying to create as a separate political entity from that of the imperium while intrensically linked with it sort of like the mechanicum. In reality they'd maintain there own fleets, military and deploy them accordingly without tithing.

While it seems as if its just another subsctor at the moment and may very well turn out to be, once I've got it all onto paper and have a chance to refine the finer points and develop a character and such I'll repost it in dakka fiction for constructive criticism etc.

I feel the basis of a rogue trader will give me a greater degree of flexibility.I have an interesting story of sorts in my head which will hopefully keep it suitably gridmark for the 40k universe but also have a flair and taste different from the imperium. I hope that makes sense and clears up why I am researching this point in general.

the ancient wrote:
The RTs authority, like the Inquisition. Comes directly from the Emp. The RT mandate would be probably be older than the Inquisition itself. Unless you have visibly growing horns and are sacrificing people. Theres not much anyone can do to you really. Whether your RT charter would protect you if you controlled a system, maybe. With the amount of eyes that would be watching, its probably not worth it.

I remember a really old BL novel. The RT lived somewhere around the Eye, I think. Had maybe a dozen ships, assorted frontier, outposts. Was still considered small fry compared to the nobs.
Though he did get a soul stone punched into his head and possessed by a Eldar. So... well.. yeah.

Only if the Warrant of Trade is signed by the Emperor does the RT's authority go that far. 99.99999% of the current Warrants are not so ancient, and are held by a number of Imperial bodies, such as the Ecclesiarchy. Even if one does possess a warrant signed by the Emperor, what the Warrant actually says is of the utmost importance. They are not "do whatever you want" blank cards, they tend to grant certain rights and privileges in exchange for certain tasks and responsibilities rendered unto the Imperium (finding and colonizing new worlds, exploring Wild Space, returning recovered technologies to the AdMech, etc.)

cmurphy96 wrote:

In essance I vision the system I'm trying to create as a separate political entity from that of the imperium while intrensically linked with it sort of like the mechanicum. In reality they'd maintain there own fleets, military and deploy them accordingly without tithing.

Like I said... sounds more like a 30K Operation than a 40K one.

The more I think about it, the more it sounds like you'd fit better in as one of the human allies of the Tau rather than being part of the Imperium of Man.

The major problem with what you are talking about is that it runs up against the vision outlined by the Emperor himself.

Whenever he or one of his Children encountered a human civilization unattached to the Imperium of Man, the decision was pretty simple; join or die.

That pretty much sets the tone for the Imperium. In fact, since the Emperor is....indisposed of at the moment, its the only model of behavior the Imperium has - Crush any Political Entity outside of the Imperium and incorporate it. Unless its a Xenos civilization - then its back to Exterminatus.


Even the Mechanicum, despite its separate religious and societal structure, is integrated into the Imperium at the Highest level of decisionmaking since the Fabricator-General of Mar IS a High Lord of Terra........ Their....specialized..status exists simply because The Emperor wanted it that way.

The issue witha Rogue Trader's domain is that while all these writs were handed out from the time of the Emperor onward - ultimately the legitiamcy for the Domain comes from the fact that either the Emperor himself or one of his Proxies (ie: one of the institutions of the Imperium) granted it.

And all Rogue Trader's domains eventually become incorporated into the Imperium Proper, with the Rogue Trader Dynasty settling into becoming the Planetary Governor....OR... pushing further into the unchartered reaches of the galaxy as Civilization creeps up from behind.

Or to take a real life example: You are the East India Company. Don't Forget who gave your organization your Charter. And remember to PAY YOUR TAXES TO THE CROWN.


But if you wanted a separate stable political entity that was treated somewhat fairly...... well.. as i said... the Tau are always looking for allies.



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Psienesis wrote:


Only if the Warrant of Trade is signed by the Emperor does the RT's authority go that far. 99.99999% of the current Warrants are not so ancient, and are held by a number of Imperial bodies, such as the Ecclesiarchy. Even if one does possess a warrant signed by the Emperor, what the Warrant actually says is of the utmost importance. They are not "do whatever you want" blank cards, they tend to grant certain rights and privileges in exchange for certain tasks and responsibilities rendered unto the Imperium (finding and colonizing new worlds, exploring Wild Space, returning recovered technologies to the AdMech, etc.)

And Psienesis hits on the key point - as usual.


I put emphasis on the last part - "rendered unto the Imperium."

The Warrants of Trade don't exist to allow a person to set up their own semi-independent political states - why would the Emperor have allow such a thing?

They exist for you to do services for the Imperium.....on behalf of the Imperium...because ultimately all RT dynasties are still part of the Imperium.

Now don't get me wrong, just like any Planetary Governor, you can run your section of the Cosmos like your own little wonderland.......

so long as you

1.) Pay Your Taxes
2.) Don't worship Chaos.

I like the anolgy to the East India company and will try and use that in the basis of the lore behind the forces I currently have.
If it turns out once I've got it all on paper it still doesn't really fit with the imperium I'll look at ways of how to make it more compatable with a tau ally.

As I said earlier I like the idea of the army forming from the basis of a rogue trader so I can make a considererbly flashy leader(s) for the force who can sort of get away with having certain freedoms in their back story.

If anyone has any further points to make on developing this idea further any help would be much appreciated

cmurphy96 wrote:
I like the anolgy to the East India company and will try and use that in the basis of the lore behind the forces I currently have.
If it turns out once I've got it all on paper it still doesn't really fit with the imperium I'll look at ways of how to make it more compatable with a tau ally.

As I said earlier I like the idea of the army forming from the basis of a rogue trader so I can make a considererbly flashy leader(s) for the force who can sort of get away with having certain freedoms in their back story.

If anyone has any further points to make on developing this idea further any help would be much appreciated

How about an example of an RT empire going wrong?

Modren’s Realm (or Modrennia)
Founder: renegade Rogue Trader Vir Modren
Sector: Calixis
Planets: Victus
Modren Prime
Scathe
Elysiar
The Cingula Asteroid Belt
Pax
Gruss
Pylar

Located on the outskirts of the Calixis Sector Modren's Realm was started by Vir Modren as the foundation of his renegade empire that denies the Imperium, Adeptus Administratum and the Emperor himself. The system was ruled by a strict feudal system of vassals, serfs, labourers and slaves. The military of Modren's Realm consists mainly of mercenaries, reavers and bandits that obey Vir Modren through a complex system of fear, reverence and greed

Conclusion: RT Relam crushed by the Inquisition in Cooperation with a Loyal RT Dynasty.

Source: Rogue Trader: Twilight Crusade

cmurphy96 wrote:
I do apologise if my idea doesn't seem very clear at the moment. I'm trying to develop the lore behind my guard army in essance but I want to have it so it's technically not apart of the greater imperial guard and have a greater degree of autonomy from the imperium itself without breaking pre established lore.

I know the imperium itself isn't a preset border and is more like scattered islands which overall the high lords don't have a great say in the day to day operations of each sector etc.

In essance I vision the system I'm trying to create as a separate political entity from that of the imperium while intrensically linked with it sort of like the mechanicum. In reality they'd maintain there own fleets, military and deploy them accordingly without tithing.

While it seems as if its just another subsctor at the moment and may very well turn out to be, once I've got it all onto paper and have a chance to refine the finer points and develop a character and such I'll repost it in dakka fiction for constructive criticism etc.

I feel the basis of a rogue trader will give me a greater degree of flexibility.I have an interesting story of sorts in my head which will hopefully keep it suitably gridmark for the 40k universe but also have a flair and taste different from the imperium. I hope that makes sense and clears up why I am researching this point in general.

You are wanting too much here I am afriad. You want to be part of it and independant from it at the same time. You cant. Mars is the very big exception to it but their existance and fucntion was established 10,000 years ago by the Emperor and even then there are some pretty big clauses in their contract!

A Rogue Trader is given more powers and less overwatch so that he can operate outside the normal structures of Imperial rule but only for the benefit of Imperial rule (yes he is allowed to profit on the side :-)).

He could maybe do what you are aiming at for a bit but only effectively in secret, the Imperium is not going to allow you to have your own little empire independant of the imperial rule, its just not going to happen. Once they find out you either comply or die.

pelicaniforce wrote:
It's not entirely clear what you mean by independence. Your independent empire doesn't sound much different than his most planets are actually run. They all have their own militaries and their own autochthonous rulers. The Imperial Guard is essentially an agreement to send military aid to foreign conflicts in exchange for receiving military aid.

As far as tithes or taxes, rogue traders themselves, at least from Rogue Trader, are often used by the Imperium as tax collectors. The Imperium will give the trader a contract to extract the tithe from a planet and use it to conquer a new one. They simultaneously keep the planet in line without wasting actual military, extract an efficient, market driven tithe, and make a real estate investment with a proven manager.
I mean what they are is independent project managers for the Imperium. It's not some non-imperial thing.

Exactly this. What you'd have is a mining colony or whatever, reporting to the RT - who would be passing on some goods to the Administratum.
Eventually this would blow into a full fledged industrial world and then a hive, but the RT would still be reaping the main benefits. At some point, the RT will crunch the numbers and find that an Administratum issued tithe would actually be lower than whatever he is currently providing.
The planet will bleed off excess human population into the household troops and the Guard and the Chief adminstrator will become a Planetary lord.

pelicaniforce wrote:


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also as for forge world, those are things with ancient mechanicus cultures from before the Great Crusade that ran their own mini empires until they were united with Mars, the culture they originated from. I do not believe new ones are set up any old time.

That's what we are told, but we also know that the Mechanicus has their own explorator fleets. You'd reckon that if the Admech happen on a technologically advanced world or the remains of one of those worlds seeded by Mars they will claim it for Mars and set up shop.
Imagine an undiscovered Forge Word, set up before old night and which has held back the predations of aliens for 15,000 years.

If the RT gets there first, they get to make contact, exploit the goodies and become fabulously wealthy before red-robed party poopers swoop in and deploy the 'no fun allowed' servitors.

GrapeApe wrote:
Another complication that I actually haven't thought a way around.

5.) What happens when an Mechancius Explorator fleet shows up?

If somewhere in your patch of space you've claimed for yourself, exists a world rife with either Dark Age of Tech artifacts or alien technology....... word will eventually get back to the Mechancius.

The Fleet itself isn't an issue... but if they decide to set up a Forge World in your sector..... the Imperial Navy won't be far behind them...

If the AdMech shows up, playtime is over. The AdMech takes over everything it wants and the Adeptus Terra probably won't be far behind and gets whatever is left. Opposing the AdMech is virtually impossible, they are the most powerful guys around in the Imperium.
Rogue Traders are the guys who pave the way for Imperial expansion. Until the Imperium shows up in force, they can do pretty much whatever they like as long as they pay their tithes and don't do anything heretical (and heresy can be a lot more than just worshipping Chaos) or otherwise upset the Inquisition/AdMech/Ecclessiarchy/Adeptus Terra. This includes running their own planets and having their own private armies and fleets outside of normal Imperial structures. They are semi-independent until the Imperium shows up and the Rogue Traders will move on or settle down. A Rogue Trader who would attempt to maintain the independence of his holdings would be a traitor and a heretic.

 Iron_Captain wrote:

GrapeApe wrote:

The Fleet itself isn't an issue... but if they decide to set up a Forge World in your sector..... the Imperial Navy won't be far behind them...

If the AdMech shows up, playtime is over. Opposing the AdMech is virtually impossible, they are the most powerful guys around in the Imperium.

Most powerful or not, the ships the AdMech outfit for exploring duties are incredibly tough. A Rogue Trader isn't likely to have anything capable of outgunning an AdMech Explorator ship(*) so he's reduced to bargaining. After all, if it's lost technology it's the province of the AdMech and you're a heretic and traitor if you sell it off elsewhere. Explaining your costs and expenses for recovering something interesting is ofc a part of bargaining so you could probably make a pretty penny anyway and maybe wring some technology access out of the AdMech.

(*) At least based on the one seen in the Enforcer trilogy. The action is set at a great Imperial Navy headquarters world (massive orbital battlestations, defense and patrol fleets and so on) and the Rogue Trader fleet that through certain unfortunate decision started trouble there was quickly subdued - except for the AdMech ship attached to it. The Navy shooting at it didn't seem to do much of anything but the crew probably calculated they wouldn't have time to escape the system so they surrendered after a couple hours of tanking everything the scrambled patrols could throw at them. Not a scratch, and they didn't shoot back IIRC...

There is a lot more to this than has been described which most reiterates the common stuff.

1. Pay off the Adeptus Terra
2. Don't worship anything but the God Emperor/Omnissiah
3. Be a quiet obedient Imperial servant when within the known bounds of the Imperium.

Beyond that maraud around and do as you please.

Ok. Whats missing.

1. Read the Document - The pedigree of the warrant

Check your warrant carefully. A Rogue Traders warrant is like an Inquisitors seal, its the one actual item in their possession that separates them from the average joe. Everything else is secondary to this.
Now some warrants are local script won in games of chance in outworld bars, or found on the previous bearers corpse.
Others are well providenced and historical documents dating from the Great Crusade and some might even bear the Emperors own signature. these arfe numbered and always hereditary or passed down securely through a family of a trade guild.
The average Rogue Trader warrant will be anything between the two extremes, the more important the warrant the more respect and resources you get when you ask for support. a A warrant might be only able to entitle to a secnd hand shuttle the mandate to hire local mercs and a gun permit, Alternately the flashier warrants might gain the service of a reserve company of Adeptus Astartes and an Imperial Navy battlegroup, and thats just to guard your trade fleet.

Pedigree also helps in other ways. A warrant with high pedigree means that if the Inquisition wants a bite at you they have to provide proof, and in thr most important cases do an internal investigation. Likewise a pauper warrant barely gives you the name Rogue Trader, and you can be removed on a hunch, if your warrant is cheap enough it could even be confiscated to aid your own subsequent removal.

2. Read the Small Print - the terms of the warrant.

Next after the pedigree of the warrant, you need to look at its actual terms. now if Empy signed the warrant ten millenia ago it doesn't really matter what it says. The Imperium will read that as the minimum obligations to support you. Otherwise you only get what the warrant allows, and often not even that, or that but reluctantly.

The first thing to observe is what general class of warrant it is. There are two main kinds. The Letter of Marque and Warrant of Trade.

Warrant of Trade are exactly that, they allow you to trade outside the confines of the Imperial bureaucracy. they might not depending on the wording even permit travel outside the Imperium. Nor need they. There is power and profit enough in having the authority to buy Leman Russ on one planet and sell them to a governor of another, and there are advantages in trading without having to go through the monolithic Adeptus Terra that keeps everyone happy.

Most Warrants of Trade allow you to buy from (almost) anywhere, and that can include the Xenos. Evern so there is always a limit on who you can sell to within the Imperium.
it doesnt matter how flash a Rogue Trader you are and if you can legally buy pulse rifles from the Tau. You cant go around selling them to hive gangers, and even selling them to a PDF is going to be suspect. By and large a Warrant of Trade means trade of approved Imperial goods anywhere you want, and the trade of other goods to either Xenos or slect officials within the Imperium.
Next a Warrant of Trade will have strict geogrpahical boundries, both within and without the Imperium. normally a sector is about right, and local space beyond the Imperium within a certain range of the sector (if any). Even internal sectors have reason to have Rogue Trader warrants. the Imperium has a lot of dead zones and internal borders, and even internal trade.
Finally a Warrant of Trade will allow you to go well armed, and you can amass a sizable arsenal. but any formal support will be limited to escorts and personal guards. You are there to trade after all.

What you really want is a Letter of Marque. Now lets be straight here, pedigree matters most. So an ancient hereditary Warrant of Trade will be wirtyh more than any modern letter of Marque. though the older warrants tend to be Imperium wide or have loose terms that resemble or can be interpreted as Letters of Marque, or have secondary documentation attached that offer the operater those powers.
However for the average small fry Rogue Trader who got a sector wide temporary or renewable warrant from the smoking corpse of the previous holder that full terms are important.
In effect a Letter of Marque has the benefits of a warrant of trade only with select ports within the Imperium. Sometimes even just one. However they allow open access for profit and expansion beyond the Imperium. Pretty much as people have envisaged.
Even so there may be limitations. There may be range limitations of external map sector borders where a particular Letter of Marque is valid.
Most importantly and going back to the originas of a Letter of Marque it might limit exploitation only of certain races. So coming back with a hold full of Tau tech when your Letter of Marque only allows contact with Eldar is a short way to have your warrant revoked, or even arrested for heresy.

Please note that most but not all Letters of Marque will allow trade with humans in allowed areas beyond the Imperium. Sometimes a Letter of Marque will restrict even that either because of strange beliefs and praxctices the Imperium doesn't want its serrvants exposed to or more commonly because they are in the franchise zone of another Rogue Trader.

So before you have even thought about getting into your ship and headed into the black to trade and maraud beyond the Imperium you have to look at your documention as all the whys whens who's and whats are included or delimited. Everything depends on that document, its pedigree its validity and its terms. A valid Rogue Traders warrant might be an ancient relic worth entire sectors GDP transferable only within certain bloodlines, or might be a cheap renewable document with very limited terms which you might presumably find as collateral in a gambling stake in a lowtown bar.