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I was just browsing (used to play years ago) the new magic the gathering card set: Ravinca Alligience. I loved the art for the crazy circus Rakdos cult. Gave me an idea to use my Harlequins and Necromunda Cawdor gangers for a crazy circus kill team. Just to spice our skirmish games up a bit.

I imagine a Rogue Trader pleasure barge dealing in entertainment, fine foods and exotic weaponry. Putting on exquisite shows for high paying guests.

I then thought a vampire theme (also fits 40k Gothic theme) would work with a mad Circus (what better place to hide all your mutants?) but I can't really believe there aren't any vampire factions for 40k apart from blood angels. I'm imagining a rogue trader plying the depths of the outer fringes has developed a vampiric curse - how does this sound? I intend to use the Yvraine model for my vampire.

I see there is a lexicanum entry for 40k vampires, but I don't want an alien but an alien curse.

The other alternatives are some unsaintly curse. I've found this but of fluff:
Saints are the most prominent example: even when they die they can influence lives of mortals - dead Saint Sabbat was guiding at least one pilgrim to her resting place in "Honour Guard". And then she got bitter and inhabited (possessed?) the bodies of at least two girls.
- maybe rogue trader could be possessed by a fallen Saint that was perhaps just a bit decadent?

I've also considered Slaanesh influence. Would fit the pleasure barge idea. I'm playing against my young nephew so don't want to plonk tentacled boob monsters down on the table! Can Slaanesh ever be subtle? Could it gift just a slight sense of wanting perfection and excitement? Just mildly corrupted without all the crew devolving into monsters?

What do you think? Which theme fits a decadent pleasure barge?

As far as more subtle Slaanesh worshipers goes, I just finished reading the two Fabius Bile books, and while he himself does not worship any Gods, there are a few minor characters that do to varying degrees. Some are full on Noise cult, some are half demonic, but some are just arrogant snobs.

 Nightlord1987 wrote:
As far as more subtle Slaanesh worshipers goes, I just finished reading the two Fabius Bile books, and while he himself does not worship any Gods, there are a few minor characters that do to varying degrees. Some are full on Noise cult, some are half demonic, but some are just arrogant snobs.

This.

Have a read of the first book to get a good snippet of what a Slaaneshi ship is like and some of the people that dwell within. The Radiant King is a great example of Slaaneshi influence without "the boobez" (though he does have a harem of Daemonettes, but I digress...). He is all about the experience. For example, during the attack on Lugganath he wants to wait for the most opportune moment for he and his retinue to make an entrance, not at the most tactically sound time, but the most grandiose. He gets incredibly annoyed when Bile refers to him by his previous name. Look to WWE wrestler Velveteen Dream (especially this video) to see what the Radiant King is like.

We have little snippets like a still-living stage made from stitched together humans, they can feel every power armoured boot dig into their flesh and slice their skin. Slaanesh is all about sensation.

In the second book we have a character whose name escapes me right now (!) doing the ultimate expression of art-where he kills one of his mutant retainers and is later sketching the aforementioned mutant's portrait on its skin with char made from its burnt bones.

Thanks Grimtuff and Nightlord, lots of good ideas.

It almost makes me think of Oscar Wilde's book: The Picture of Dorian Gray. You could have the decadent Rogue Trader looking posh and extravagant then a separate model similar to a demonhost that represents the portrait from the aforementioned book; something that gathers the ill effects of a Slaaneshi lifestyle in proxy to the Rogue Trader.

Might be interesting to look to the book and/or the movie Queen of the Damned as well for inspiration. Lestat is the vampire rock star that a decadent Rogue Trader wishes he could be.

t I can't really believe there aren't any vampire factions for 40k apart from blood angels

I always pictured genestealer cults as a bit analogous to vampire clans.

There are also warp entities that are not linked to one of the big four gods that could be influencing your "rogue trader". Rogue Traders are given quite a lot of freedom in their operations, so it could be quite easy for them to be exposed to some strange things and given all the emotions in the universe, and the numbers of people feeling them it is no inconceivable that a separate entity would form from them.

Avarice, or greed, could manifest an entity that is not aligned to a god. In the Horus Heresy there are daemons who are not described as belonging to a certain god... or at least not clearly.

- Could he be a Fury which got a little bit more than normal power?
- Blood-drinking sounds a bit like it could be Khorne or Slaanesh.
- Being in power and manipulating those who are in power could be Tzeentch
- The whole disease/cult think makes me think of Nurgle... maybe a new vampire plague? Some devolve into Nosferatu type monsters, whilst others remain more civilized and charismatic.
- Could it be a "rogue" genestealer cult? All of that pleasure would be a great way of getting genestealers around the universe and infilitrate high society rather than the workers.
- This also could be like an enslaver plague or something similar? Where a warp creature latches onto people and then they suck the lifeforce out of it's victims or even maybe the "soul" of a xenos species that has found a new host?

Sounds fun!

Carnivorous circus? If they’re into drinking blood, they might as well have a food pairing to accompany it.
http://i.imgur.com/JK8qP.jpg
Due to the touch of chaos, the rogue trader and her guests have acquired a taste for the nuanced pain and suffering of free range sapient meat. Aided by a band of handpicked performers and pit fighters, matches involve her hunting a suitable ‘catch of the day’ to serve during the evening’s entertainment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikizukuri
The tentacled boob monsters take place after the show, and so aren’t featured in game.

Chaos can definitely be subtle. If it couldn’t, there’d be no need for the Inquisition; the Arbites and local cops would be able to spot every cult before it became a threat. Even Khorne’s influence can be concealed in something like a slight increase in planetwide gang violence or murder rate.