Rogue Traders (Hektor Heresy)
This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.
The first Rogue Traders were commissioned in the earliest days of the Emperor's Great Crusade. Rulers of human realms conquered by Imperial forces were offered the choice of a Warrant of Trade and the task of scouting ahead of the mighty Expedition Fleets - or death. Forbidden a return to Terra and granted little resources beyond those that their own ingenuity could garner, the early Rogue Traders Militant were far more likely to perish in the void between the stars than to prosper. But there are always exceptions.
Notable Rogue Traders Militant
Countless unscrupulous and enterprising individuals were dispatched to scout the reaches of the Galaxy. These are but of few of the lucky ones who struck fame, riches, or both in their adventures.
Captain Visant Le Gall
Visant Le Gall, b. c820.M30 (Llysfam Annuwiol), d. 918 (deep space), hailed from the Al-Sherar Sector, beginning life as a slave to the Amatteir race which had dominated that region of space. Even as a child he impressed his owners with his prodigy, and was given preferential treatment and some degree of education to make him useful as an officer's assistant. Le Gall also learnt the arts of corruption and vice while serving the Amatteir, but loyalty was a lesson that always eluded him. During the Al-Sherar Sector War, he organised a last-hour revolt among his peers, thereby winning some small goodwill with the conquering Fifth Legion and avoiding a sentence of hard labour for collaborating with the Xenos. Instead, his punishment was a Warrant of Trade and exile from human space. Le Gall took the matter lightly, as he had no real history with human-ruled worlds.
At the helm of the Cruiser The Weatherman, Le Gall and his crew scouted ahead of the Great Crusade. He soon became notorious for defrauding credulous primitive peoples. A favourite routine was for Le Gall to impersonate a servant of "the Sky Gods" and take a tribute in return for assuring locals that their deities would soon arrive to usher in a new age. The unscrupulous Captain brushed aside any suggestion that such acts were criminal with the rejoinder that he only told people the truths that they could understand. There is perhaps some truth to this, as he was also responsible for bringing the Hive World Fischetti into compliance through diplomacy - and if there were fraudulent dealings involved there, the savvy Fischettians would have given as good as they got. Le Gall was better remembered for his reports on advanced human and alien cultures. He played a critical role in the Curis-4 Compliance and sounded the alarm when WAAAGH! Rok'Ed began to move towards Imperial space.
Like many of his forgotten peers, this famous Rogue Trader Militant died in space. However, Le Gall passed away peacefully in his bed aboard The Weatherman, leaving his ship and Warrant of Trade to his beloved granddaughter Helori.
Lesser Notables
- Antoine d'Orléans, b. 842.M30 (Ciban IV) was the grandson of the famous Marshal Jean-Davide d'Orléans, the first commander of the Ciban Chasseurs. Antoine had an unusual character for a Rogue Trader. He was largely uninterested in wealth and, with his family's name already well-established, had little interest in fame. Instead, he longed to explore unknown places and saw a Warrant of Trade as the best means for indulging his passion. Fiercely loyal to his homeworld and with a great admiration for Gaspard Lumey, Antoine often undertook missions directly at the behest of the Fifth Legion's victualary.
- Claude Louis Rigau, another Rogue Trader associated with the Vth legion, known for his discovery of Sturmundrang and Thomas Gaudin.
- Helga Olafsdottir is known for discovering the Haeltoth Stations.
Rules
Odysseus-class Galleass of War (220 points)
The Odysseus class Galleass of War is a combination of macro transporter and warship. These ships are highly prized by rogue traders for long distance expeditions far beyond Imperial Space.
| TYPE/HITS | SPEED | TURNS | SHIELDS | ARMOUR | TURRETS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Cruiser/10 | 20cm | 45° | 3 | 5+ | 3 |
| ARMAMENT | RANGE | FIREPOWER/STRENGTH | FIRE ARC | ||
| Port Weapons Batteries | 30cm | 6 | Left | ||
| Starboard Weapons Batteries | 30cm | 6 | Right | ||
| Port Lances | 30cm | 4 | Left | ||
| Starboard Lances | 30cm | 4 | Right | ||
| Prow Torpedoes | Speed:20cm | 6 | Front | ||
Rogue Trader Expeditionary Fleet
FLEET COMMANDER
1 Rogue Trader Militant
You must include one Rogue Trader Militant to lead the fleet. The ship to which he is assigned has Leadership 10. If your fleet includes any Odysseus Class Ships, he must be assigned to that ship in preference to a cruiser.
Rogue Trader Militant 50 points
You may buy Fleet Commander re-rolls for the Rogue Trader Militant.
One re-roll 25 points Two re-rolls 50 points Three re-rolls 75 points
0-2 Veteran Rogue Traders
A Veteran Rogue Trader may be present for every two Rogue Trader cruisers in a fleet. If a fleet has more than one Rogue Trader cruiser or also includes more than one squadron of transports, a Veteran Rogue Trader must be assigned to a Rogue Trader cruiser.
Veteran Rogue Trader 50 points
A Veteran Rogue Trader gets one re-roll, which may be used for his vessel or an accompanying Rogue Trader escort squadron.
CAPITAL SHIPS
Grand cruisers
You may include one grand cruiser in your fleet for every two cruisers.
Odysseus Class 230 points Charibdys Class 280 points Vengeance Class 240 points
0-12 Cruisers
Rogue Trader Cruiser 195 points Crusade Class 195 points Hades Class 210 points Lunar Class 190 points 0-1 Olympia Class (1) 145 points
Notes: At least half the Rogue Trader cruisers in an Exploration fleet must be of the basic variant, but Rogue Trader cruisers in an Exploration fleet may also be of the following ship classes: Lunar, Hades, Crusade for their normal point cost, +15 points if the ship is equipped with lances or 60cm weapons due to the additional expense maintaining such weapons, as reflected in the fleet list. No special variants in the notes of these ship’s profiles can be used. For example, the Lunar can’t take a Nova Cannon, etc.
1. Use the Strike Cruiser rules from the Space Marine Fleet. An Olympia may only be taken if there are no Xenos Vessels in the fleet.
Light Cruisers
You may include any number of light cruisers in your fleet.
Dauntless Class 120 points Siluria Class 100 points
ESCORTS
A single squadron of 2-6 Rogue Trader escorts and auxiliary vessels may accompany each Rogue Trader capital ship in a fleet, in any mix desired. Separately, it may also be accompanied by any number of cargo ships of any type (whether or not the scenario requires transports), organized in squadrons of 2-6 ships, but these squadrons can only contain cargo ships and always count against their full cost against the total points in the fleet. Xenos vessels cannot be used in fleets that include Space Marine ships.
Xenos Vessel 50 points Recommissioned Escort 30 points Nova Class Frigate 45 points Spectre Class Warp Runner 25 points Sword Class Frigate 35 points 0-3 Thunderbolt Class Heavy Frigate 60 points 0-3 Vigil Class Siege Frigate 40 points Escort Carrier 60 points
TRANSPORTS
A Rogue Trader fleet must include at least one squadron of escort-sized cargo ships of any type (whether or not the scenario requires transports), in a squadron of 2 to 6 ships. Any number of cargo ships beyond this ships. Any number of cargo ships beyond this number may be taken, organized in squadrons that only contain cargo ships. These count their full cost against the total points in the fleet, and regular transports are not free. Heavy transports may also be taken but not in squadrons with other transport types. No more than 1/3 of the fleet’s total transport value can be made up of heavy transports.
Q-ship 60 points Rogue Trader Cargo Vessel 20 points Heavy Transport 40 points Armed Freighter 20 points Cargo Transport 10 points
ORDINANCE AND UPGRADES
"The Best Money Can Buy"
Rogue Trader capital ships and escorts commonly bear refits of uncertain origin. Even the vessel’s crew are unlikely to be anything as straightforward as regular spacers, since Rogue Traders have a knack for acquiring crowds of followers and hangers-on, and tend to be rather indiscriminate in who they take on to crew their vessels. Their command crews however tend to be deeply seasoned after many years in space, and successful Rogue Traders tend to be as experienced as the most veteran Naval captains. To represent this each Rogue Trader cruiser and escort squadron may roll one random crew skill on p.157 in the Rulebook for free. In addition, each Rogue Trader vessel may also roll randomly against the Xenotech System table below for +15 points per cruiser or +5 points per escort. For an additional +5 points per ship, the player can select the desired technology instead of rolling randomly for it. Auxiliary vessels in a Rogue Trader escort squadron can only use these refits if they are in a squadron that includes at least three Rogue Trader escorts.
XENOTECH SYSTEMS
1. Long Range Sensors: The vessel adds +1 to its base leadership (max of Ld10).
2. Targeting Matrix: The vessel counts all targets as closing when using the gunnery table within 30cm and ignores right-shift modifiers for shooting greater than 30cm.
3. Advanced Shielding: The vessel increases the strength of its shields by +1.
4. Ship Defense Grid: The vessel increases the strength of its turrets by +1.
5. Advanced Drive Technology: The vessel adds +5cm to its speed as well as +1D6 when undergoing All Ahead Full special orders.
6. Gravitic Thrusters: The vessel can double the maximum rate of its normal turn.
ATTACK RATING
A Rogue Trader fleet has an attack rating of 3.