Reading Rogue Trader, Part Sixteen

Support Weapons fall outside the category of Heavy Weapons because most have their own unique rules. There are lots of HUGE missiles and bombs available in any of the grenade types (from the last post) that are designated as x2, x3, x4, etc. with the number meaning a multiple of standard template diameter. These would be referred to as 'x5 Scare Missile' or x3 Toxin Missile. SUch weapons are launched from off the table, deviate on a 2+ on a d6, and scatter d20".

Beyond that there are several interesting entries...

Bio-wire Bomb - Missiles are used to deliver this strange weapon. Each bomb contains special seeds, growth medium and nutrients for a plant known as bio-wire. It grows almost instantly, is extremely tough, regenerates quickly, and it's sharp thorns will penetrate most armour. It is deployed as above and covers a 4" diameter target zone. The area is treated as very difficult terrain, reducing movement to a quarter. In addition any model moving receives an automatic Strength 5 hit, though armour saves do seem to apply.

Further more, roll a d6 each turn... if the result is a 6, the Bio-wire expands, increasing the radius by a furhter 1/2". Most weapons will not affect it, though a chainsword or power weapon may be used to cut a path allowing movement at half rate and fire based or anti-plant weapons will clear an area equal to their area of effect.

Disruptor Beacon - These devices emit a constant signal that makes radio communication impossible while the beacon is intact.

Homing Beacon - May eliminate the deviation roll for Support Weapons.

Mine Missile - Used to scatter an area with a 12" radius with thousands of tiny, coin-sized mines!

Nightlight - These missiles fully illuminate the table for 2d3 turns.

Next week - Vehicles!

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Fifteen

The next section of the equipment chapter is dedicated to grenades and missiles. Grenades are treated as ranged weapons in Rogue Trader and each has short and long ranges listed for thrown weapons (normally 4 and 8"). Grenade Throwers and Missiles are ranged per the launcher but there is a quirky fourth option - the sling. This primitive weapon may be used to lob grenades, but the rules are unclear. Under the sling it says the range listed is for normal stones, but in grenades it says ranges for weapon launched grenades under the appropriate weapon. Maybe there is another entry somewhere, but I didn't see it...

There are twenty-one different types of grenades that fall into three basic types:

Blast - Just what it sounds like - they explode.
Gas - Poison and chemical agents - the reason there is gear like respirators and the like, though some gases may be absorbed through the skin unless the target is in a fully sealed suit.
Field Effect - Energy field that causes localized disruption of various kinds.

Gas Clouds and Field Effect Weapons require a d6 roll each turn:
1 - Disperses - remove
2-5 - Remains
6 - Drifts D6" in direction of wind, determined by GM

Grenades are also all Slow weapons, meaning they are move or fire. May as well hit all of the grenades, though I'm not going to cover all of the stats. All of these are also available as missiles.

Anti-plant - How cool is that? The GM is instructed to remove appropriate scenery within the effected area, though this is only a 3" diameter. Depending on how your scenery is based, this may be hard to implement on the table. However, if you have a unit with these weapons you could probably remove a standard-sized terrain piece. Anyway, it would be interesting in some scenarios.
Blind - Pretty much an improved smoke grenade that blocks line of sight and psyker abilities.
Choke Gas - Lethal cloud that causes damage and may be ignored by models with respirators.
Crack - Devastating to armoured targets, but with half the range of most other grenades.
Frag - The humble anti-personnel grenade you know and love, though you may not expect to have a 3" radius template.
Hallucinogen Gas - Oh, this is fun. The targets suffer effects from a d10 chart. Example: You're sure you felt something drop onto your head! What is that tickling you neck? It feels like a spider... spiders... hundreds of 'em! Tear off all your clothing, discard all equipment and scratch. The model is totally immobilized and inactive until the next turn, and must then be rolled for again if it remains within the gas.
Haywire - These cause damage against living creatures (albeit with a STR2) but can be devastating to gear and vehicles. Roll a d10 - All technical equipment with a tech level higher than the number rolled is rendered inoperative. Vehicles get a save equal to it's basic armor.
Knock-out Gas - Nite, nite! When the gas dissipates models may recover on a 5+ on a d6.
Melta-Bomb - Pretty much what you'd expect, melting most targets into goo.
Photon - A brilliant flash that renders targets blind and destroys light sensitive equipment such as targeters and infra-red vision devices. Blinded creatures may recover their sight within d6 DAYS! Models affected are considered unconscious and may be removed from play at the GM's discretion. This is the reason many models have protective visors as standard equipment!
Plasma - Yet another death dealing heat weapon, this time in the form of a boiling cloud. It begins at 3" diameter and shrink 1" per turn, possibly drifting across the field.
Psyk-out - Basically causes d6 psi-point damage and the permanent loss of one psychic level to psykers. In addition, any psychic powers employed in the area are immediately cancelled.
Rad - Creates a radiation hot-spot that remains in place for the rest of the game. Roll (d6
+d4)/2 to establish the radius of the zone. Models passing through this area take an automatic hit with a Strength equal to the radiation level.
Scare Gas - Gas cloud that causes targets to test for fear.
Smoke - The humble version of line of sight blocking grenades. Troops may not fire through smoke unless they have infra-vision gear.
Stasis - Disrupts TIME, creating a field that weapons may not fire through and freezing models in the field. The effect lasts until the field disperses.
Stumm Gas - Causes Confusion.
Tanglefoot - Gravitoic distruption that causes half movement and a -1 to hit for troops firing into or out of the field.
Toxin Gas - No save, target is dead. One of the gas weapons that defeats respirators as contact with the skin is just as deadly.
Virus - Again targets hit are killed, but the virus may spread - roll to hit to other models within d6". This continues indefinitely until there are no targets within range or no hits on the follow up! The last sentence is fun - Although the effects of the virus are assumed to only last one turn, in fact there is a 1% chance of all uses it will break out again at random moment within the next 10 years.
Vortex - Basically a mini-black hole that destroys everything it touches. It is much harder to accurately aim, harder to dissipate (it may even split into two!), and seems to be frightening for both sides.

Whew! Finally, any of these weapons might also be found as mines. These devices are 'mico-mines', usually laid in clusters or scattered groups. Finding them is almost impossible - except by accident or use of any energy scanner, though with the latter, there is still a chance of being hit on a 6 on a d6 as the range is quite short. The GM is responsible for knowing where the mines are planted as they are not normally marked on the table unless they are to act as deterrents by those who place them (barbed wire, signs marking the minefields, etc).

I don't know that I would use some of these, but my games tend toward basic and close combat weapons. I would consider including a few of the stranger on a limited basis or to fit with a scenario.

Next time we're going to look at one more type of destructive equipment - Support Weapons - it may not be what you think...

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Fourteen

A bit more on weapons...

There are four weapon 'types'
C - Close Combat - Yes, you can use these in hand to hand. Examples: Auto-pistol, Chainsword.
H - Heavy - The weapon imposes a movement penalty listed in it's profile. Examples: Heavy Bolter (1" penalty), Las-cannon (2" penalty).
S - Slow - These are the familiar 'move or fire' weapons. Slow weapons may however be fired from a moving vehicle as long as the crew is stationary within the vehicle. Examples: Melta-Gun, Missile Launcher.
F - Following Fire - If you cause a wound with this weapon (even if it is saved) you get to roll to hit again, either against the same target or against another target within 4". Examples: Plasma Gun, Shuriken Catapult.

A few random notes...
- Auto-guns and Lasguns have the same stats, except that Auto-guns have a range of up to 32" compared to the pedestrian 24" range of the Lasgun.
- Bows could be equipped with explosive arrows that made them the equivalent of Bolt Guns...
- Graviton Gun... yep, this is where it was before every Space Marine in the new edition started carrying one. However, it didn't cause damage. Instead it gave the target a D6" penalty to movement FOR THE REST OF THE GAME. If the target's movement is reduced to zero, the target is pinned to the ground and can take no physical action. Note there is no save of any kind allowed!
- From the entry on the Musket: A primitive weapon, still used on some feral and backward planets, of which Birmingham is the most well known (Birmingham - aka The Black Planet - receives almost no visible light and as a result no-one wants to go there. Its inhabitants have become linguistically and culturally isolated). Have I mentioned how much I love this book?
- Shotgun has Scatter, Solid, and Gas round options.
- Shuriken Catapults have a 0-12"/12-24" range, +1 to hit at close range, S4, a -2 Armour Save mod, and Following Fire. Scary!
- Pistol ranges tend to run up to 16" and most have a +2 to hit at close range, making them much more useful than the modern versions.
- Plasma weapons do not suffer from the Gets Hot! rule, but must recharge between shots and can only fire every other turn.
- Power Swords are S5 (most close combat weapons use the strength of the wielder) and -1 armour save.
- Power Gloves are S8, -5 armour save, and do NOT strike last!

Next time we're going to look at grenades and missiles of which there were a far greater variety (and some great entertainment value) than today.

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Thirteen

Seems to be difficult to keep these regular, but I'm on a bit of a RT kick so hopefully I can manage to be more consistent.

Following the intro to equipment from Part Twelve, let's start looking at weapons! Again, I'm not covering every blade and barrel, but there are some things I want to highlight. There is a surprising bit of fluff tucked away at the beginning of this chapter that wonderfully illustrates the character of the Rogue Trader setting.

We've already mentioned in the introduction that ranges and effects have been deliberately kept low to make the game playable. Some people find this very hard to accept. Try to remember that the universe of the future is very different than that of today, brute force and fear are the most potent of all weapons. The hand to hand fighting reputation of a unit may be in itself sufficient to put down a rebellion! Technology and sophisticated weapon systems have no place in this universe. Equipment must work and, where possible, be easy to manufacture on worlds where the only building materials are wood, stone, and metal ores. Try to remember too that a weapon's combat effectiveness is measured in terms of durability and ease of production as much as its theoretical performance - hence the relatively low powered laser is the most common weapon.

There are optional rules included to extend ranges up to ten times for those who desire more 'realistic' weapon ranges. Firing at these ranges first requires the roll of a '6', followed by a normal roll to hit and weapons strengths are reduced by one. Again, probably a bit of complexity not needed in a wargame...

Many of the weapons presented have similar stats to the ones that followed in later editions. For example, the Bolt Gun has a short range of up to 12", long range of up to 24", and a Strength of 4. In addition, it has a +1 to hit at short range. Many ranged weapons have modifiers to define their accuracy at short and long ranges. Weapons also have an armour save modifier that was independent of the weapon's strength, similar to AP of the modern version of the game. They are divided into mostly familiar categories - Basic Weapons, Close Combat Weapons, Heavy Weapons, etc. - though there is one category of Very Heavy Weapons that probably equates to the D-Weapons or Apocalypse level armament of the modern game.

Something else that hearkens back to RPGs of the day and completely absent from most modern wargames are random generation weapon tables. While it is more likely that any random weapons I include in a game will have to do with the models I have on hand (if I don't have a model with a plasma cannon, there won't be on the table), I find these tables interesting because they are weighted to the availability of the weapons. For example, looking at Basic Weapons, Auto-guns make up 25% of available rifle-style weapons, making them much more common than they would be in later editions. Lasguns come in at 18% with Bolt Guns, Plasma Guns, and Shuriken Catapults (they were not just for shiny Eldar in Rogue Trader) both at 10 %. The rest of the Basic Weapons are rated 5% each. The chart also includes bows, crossbows, and muskets, but rather than assign percentages, they have marked them with my favorite "GM Decides" tag.

More on weapons in a few days...

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Twelve

It's been a very long time since I managed to post one of these, but I thought it was time to dive back into one of my favorite wargame books of all time.

So where was I? Ah, yes... Book 2, Equipment. I am not going to cover every weapon, type of armour, or piece of tech. This is more of an overview and I will point of some of the surprises and highlight things that seem very 'Rogue Trader' to me. This chapter will run several weeks, starting with an overview of equipment in general.

The first thing I want to cover is Tech Level. It is interesting to note that unlike some RPG's (Traveller) Tech Level does not refer to the manufacture of of equipment, but rather it's level of difficulty to properly use the item. I covered this briefly way back in part two when I mentioned all models in the game had an Intelligence stat. The main use for this stat was to limit access to advanced equipment. In Rogue Trader all weapons and gear had a tech level and a creature required an Intelligence equal to or greater than the tech level of an item to be able to use it properly. First of all, let's look at some of the Intelligence scores for standard creatures (heroes may be higher)...

Ogryn 4

Ork 6

Imperial Guard 7

Space Marine 8

Eldar 9

Jokaero 10

Looking at weapons, there are very few beyond the grasp of an Ork. For example, under Basic Weapons, only Needlers and Shuriken Catapults are Tech Level 7. There are a couple of weapons beyond the lowly Guardsman which include the D-Cannon and Haywire Grenades at Tech Level 8. Moving beyond weapons, there is very little presented above Tech Level 6. A typical Dreadnought suit is Tech Level 8, though random suits may generated as low as Tech Level 7. Under miscellaneous equipment, many scanners are Tech Level 7, as are Bombots, Medi-packs, Phase and Power Field Generators, Targeters, and Teleporters (more on the last in a later post). Few pieces of gear are Tech Level 8 or higher and most have little use on the game table.

There is even an optional rule to learn to use unfamiliar equipment, though the character's Intelligence must still be equal to or higher than the tech level. The book doesn't suggest what 'unfamiliar equipment' might be. Gear that isn't standard to the model's unit? Alien tech? Anyway, a GM could easily define this for their own table, but the rule as written seems unpractical for the game table. The reason is it takes one full turn of uninterrupted study PER TECH LEVEL of an item, at the end of which time the character may test vs Intelligence with 2d6. A successful test means the character can now use the item proficiently and even teach others to use it in one turn with a +1 bonus to their Intelligence test. A failed test simply means trying again the next turn, though if the character is interrupted (moving, shooting, etc) the time is reset to zero! That's neat, but considering a crossbow is Tech Level 5 and other weapons range as high as Tech Level 8 it seems like many games would be over before the rule could be applied in any useful fashion. I could maybe see designing a scenario around a single piece gear that means success of a mission (figure out how to use a transporter to evacuate a facility under siege, for example), but for general use the rule seems of little use - maybe that's why it's optional.

I guess to conclude this post, I love the concept of these rules, but the end result seems to be very little is beyond the use of most armies as even Ork Major Heroes can rise to an Intelligence stat of 8. I can see why Tech Levels disappeared from later versions of the game as it was easier to use army lists to set limits on equipment available.

Over the next few posts, I'll look at few pieces of gear in more detail...

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Eleven

The Battle at the Farm is among the most famous scenarios in Warhammer 40k lore. A quick Google Search will reveal numerous online battle reports. The game is set on Rynns World and finds the remnants of a small Crimson Fist detachment hunkered down in a burned out farm as a force of Orks makes it's way through the valley, apparently searching for something.

By all accounts (somehow I have never gotten around to running this scenario despite having modern versions of both Crimson Fists and Orks in my collection), the game is heavily weighted on the side of the Space Marines (in the neighborhood of 440 points to 210!). It should be noted that the Orks are trying to recover a hidden treasure in the farm house and it is not necessary for them to kill all of the Marines to win. The Marines may also be placed under some pressure not to sit around in the farm once the shooting starts (see below).

Putting that aside, this chapter again serves to highlight a HUGE difference between Rogue Trader and the modern game of Warhammer 40k. It is assumed that the scenario is central to the experience, not something simply tacked on to set the stage for two 'bring and bash' forces.

Player Briefs
Before every game the gamemaster should prepare a written brief for each player and one for himself too. Each player's brief contains all the information the player would know if he were the commander on the spot - so all the GM needs to do is present the players with their own brief and allow the to read it. A brief contains a description of the background to the scenario, a run down of the situation represented by the battle,profiles for the player's own troops, details of weapons, equipment, and objectives for the game. Having a written brief allows the player to keep and accurate check of his forces, and makes it unnecessary for the GM to keep explaining important details. The brief also makes it easy for each player to keep his own details and objectives confidential, for this reason it is important that players see only their own brief.

There is no reason why a player's brief can't contain deliberately misleading or wrong information!

Relationships between humanity and Orks
have always been somewhat strained (actual caption from the book)

Forces and Disposition
The Space Marines are led by Commander Pedro Cantor. He has fifteen Space Marine Brothers under his command, one of whom is armed with a Missile Launcher. They begin the game hidden in the farm, with no models on the table - their positions are marked on the map and are revealed when they move or fire.

The Orks are led by Thrugg Bullneck. He has twenty Orks, including a champion squad leader called Hrug. They enter the board from anywhere on the eastern edge.

Victory Conditions
The Space Marines must slay all of their opponents to prevent them from informing other Orks to their presence. Thrugg and Hruk are only interested in their treasure (hidden among the ruins during a previous patrol). To recover this they must spend 1 entire game turn alone in the main building - stuffing the jewels into their pockets and packs. Alternately, one of them can recover the loot in 2 turns. To win the game the Ork player must recover the jewels and either Hruk or Thrugg must survive. If the Ork player elects to communicate the Marines' whereabouts and succeeds (Thrugg has a communicator and must roll 6+ to contact his Boss) he will be ordered to stand back and await reinforcements. Once he has done this, the Marines have 4+D6 turns (presumably they intercept the transmission) in which to leave the table by the eastern edge. Any troops failing to do this are caught by an overwhelmingly superior force of Orks and slain automatically. Once the time limit is up Thrugg has blown his chance of recovering the jewels - the Ork in charge of the relief force decides to build a parking lot on the site!

Victory points are presented as an optional rule, though the text mentions 'They make no difference to the game'. They are offered as a way to determine victory if the game can only run for a set length of time and players are unable to finish.

Marine: Each surviving Marine trooper 1, Commander Cantor survives 5, All Orks slain 5, All Orks either slain or routed 3
Orks: Each surviving Ork trooper 1/2, Hruk Survives 2, Thrugg Survives 3, Treasure recovered 5, Marines all slain or routed 3, Situation communicated to base 2

I'm going to have to put this on my list. I'll probably use Ultramarines since I already have ten of them painted and I have plenty of unpainted Rogue Trader era Orks. I have a couple of friends I'm pretty sure are unfamiliar with the details of this scenario now and that is really the best way to run this game. The Orks might have a chance with the fog of war, even at a 2:1 point disadvantage.

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Ten

Point Values
There were no army lists when Rogue Trader was initially published. In a normal game it was largely up to the Game Master to balance the forces in a given scenario. The point values system was designed to allow two players to build balanced forces without the need for a GM.

The human profile formed the basis for all point values and was given a base value of 5 points:

To work out base costs for other characters and creatures, the following modifiers (per point of difference to the above profile) were applied.

These could be applied as penalties as well so models with lower than average stats had their basic point cost reduced.

Values worked out from the formula given above tend to undervalue larger creatures. To compensate for this a modifier is applied to any creature whose point value works out to greater than 10. This done before adding weapons and equipment!

11-15 multiply by 1.5
16-20 multiply by 2
21-30 multiply by 3
31-40 multiply by 4
and so on...

Flying creatures are subject to an additional +5 points or +10% which ever is greater.

Creatures with innate armour saves cost +1/2 point per 'pip', before the multiplier is applied.

Every piece of gear in the game is given a point cost. Power gamers would have a field day here. For instance, such a player would always choose autoguns over lasguns because they cost the same, but autoguns have a longer range. There are other things on the lists that don't make sense. A Jokaero Digital weapon costs 50 points for what is essentially a +1 attack (valued at 4 points above) with a pistol of some sort. You can also have something else in the same hand as a Jokaero weapon, so that's something, but not 50 points worth.

There are also methods for working out dreadnoughts, vehicles, robots, and psykers. Finally there is a chart showing the basic cost for each race (basic, minor hero, and major hero) and creature in the Rogue Trader book to save you a little time calculating common troops.

That concludes the Combat chapter of the Rogue Trader book (whew), but there are still over 200 pages to go! Some of these I will gloss over quickly as they are merely extensions of some of what I've already covered, but there are some really characterful chapters ahead and I'm looking forward to presenting them, especially since some of seem to have never played the 1st edition of Warhammer 40k!

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Nine

Psionics

The use of psychic powers is encompassed by the term psionics. Individual creatures capable of employing such powers are described as psychic or psykers. There are, of course, countless other names applied to these creatures (some rather derisory). Within human society they might be called witches, warlocks, telepaths or any one of countless other names.

Psionics are very simple in Rogue Trader. Each psyker has a psionic level (Mastery 1-4) and a number of psychic points or psi-points related to that level (10 points per level or 3D6 per level if you prefer random generation). To employ an ability, a psyker simply pays the appropriate number of psychic points. Low level abilities may only cost 1 or 2 points while level four powers might coast as many as 12 points to cast. Psykers have a limited number of powers they can choose from, typically 3 or 1D6 per level of mastery.

As long as a psyker has 12 or more psi-points the power may be used without testing for success. If the psyker has less than 12 points, he must test to see if his powers work. Roll 2D6... if the result is less than or equal to the psyker's remaining psi-points, the power is cast. If the roll fails, so does the power. Note that the psi-points used to attempt the use of the power are lost whether it works or not.

The target of the attack may attempt to make a saving throw. Each model affected rolls 2D6 - if the roll is equal to or less than the target's Willpower, the power has no effect. A psyker may use additional psi-points to force a penalty on this save (-1 per additional psi-point spent), but must declare the intention to do so before the saving throw is rolled. A psyker may also expend psi-points to augment his own save against psionic attack in the same manner.

There are 40 psychic powers available in the game (10 of each level). I'm not going to list them all, but it's worth noting there are abilities besides attack spells that allow psykers to employ telepathy, teleport, affect psychology, or improve their defenses.

Mutants

There are more than five pages in Rogue Trader dedicated to mutations, suggesting it was initially intended to be a larger part in the game than we see today - and this was before Chaos was a recognized antagonist in the game. Even families with no past history of mutation might expect to run a 5% risk of mutated offspring, while the chance among mutant parents is 90%.

The position of Mutants within the Imperium varies from world to world. On the majority of primitive and medieval worlds they are slain as soon as they are born. On the majority of technically advanced worlds they are permitted to live, but rarely enjoy the boon of full citizenship. On many worlds they are segregated from the normal population, outlawed, or forbidden to live in certain areas. Generally speaking, they form a huge downtrodden portion of the population of the Imperium. Their dissatisfaction occasionally erupts as rebellion. Such revolts occasionally allow mutants to take control of planets or even groups of planets for a short period. Usually, however, retaliation is swift and effective.

A mutant may be created by staring with any basic profile and adding D3 mutations. There are almost a hundred mutations provided (as well as a fun random table), ranging from purely cosmetic to abilities that improve ability characteristics, provide unusual attacks or means of movement, or even hinder the mutant in some manner. In general, these abilities seem less powerful than the ones presented in the Realm of Chaos books that follow.

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Eight

Next up is a couple of pages on Personalities, a section of the book I don't think I ever took notice of before, but since reading it I've been eager to post it. The minutia of rules and weapons changes is not what draws me Rogue Trader. Indeed, I found some of the old rules quite cumbersome. These two pages are simply oozing with character (both literally and figuratively)...

There are a couple of paragraphs on character models joining units, psychology effects (characters gain the psychological traits of a unit they join AND impart their own to the troops!), and the standard modifiers to basic profiles for Champions, Minor Heroes, and Major Heroes.

Using this as a quick guide you can easily upgrade any standard profile.

Maximum Characteristics
No characteristic, apart from wounds and attacks, can ever increase to more than 10. No creature can ever have a fighting characteristic score greater than indicated for a major hero of it's race. Personal characteristics may be increased to 10, but a character must have psychic powers to increase beyond the levels indicated for a major hero.

What came after was something I have never, ever, used...

Variable Heroes
Included here are several variable systems (again, the GM decides) for advancing the stat profiles in a manner different from the standard. Each character level is assigned a set number (or a random number) of stat increases and the player may place these where he likes, up to the maximum for the race.

Champion - 4 points or 1D6 points
Minor Hero - 14 points or 4D6 points
Major Hero - 23 points or 7D6 points

Another system assigns a pool of points that may be divided across as many characters as the player wishes (or the GM allows). The book suggests that the GM place a maximum on the number of characters allowed "otherwise the player may feel tempted to create a mass of weak, but rather annoying, personalities." (sounds like real life game experience).

Rather than simply allow players to place points where they like, there is also a way to generate profiles with the aid of a d20. Models start with the basic profile and gain a number of increases as above. Roll on the following chart to assign the increases:

Generating Characters for Campaigns
Finally there are a few paragraphs on setting up RPG style table top games, more on the scale of Necromunda, designed to 'represent the players as idealistic, young, inexperienced adventurers.' Again it is envisioned that a Game Master will be present and the players will all be on one side. The players may also control additional models as henchmen, employees, troops under their command, etc. The character is generated by choosing a basic profile and adding 1D6-2 characteristic increases, distributed at random as above. A player who rolls a 1 or 2 simply begins with the basic profile.

In a campaign, the Player Character may increase one of his characteristics after each game (presumably, of course, if he survives). At the end of each game, the player may receive one point to add to any characteristic he desires, up to the maximum for the race. A character who is unworthy of the advance in the eyes of GM may not gain any experience, although there is no advice on what this constitutes... possibly cowering at the back for the whole game?

To me this seems a very simple, but almost elegant method of handling such things. I can see potential of abuse among power gamers, but I wouldn't attempt such a thing with those types of players anyway. It was among the surprise gems I've found since starting to read the book cover to cover. I'm sure I was aware of these rules at one time, but I know I've never used them.

Next week we'll look at psionics and mutations...

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Seven

Still in the Combat chapter (told you it was long)!

Buildings
This section is pretty basic and includes lots of 'the GM shall decide' type of language. There are rules for destroying buildings, hacking through walls, and breaking down doors.

Vehicles
"There are no specific model vehicles available for the Warhammer 40,000 game at the time of writing."

Yep. That monster below was scratch built! The next paragraph is about taking other kits available on the market and converting them for use in your games. Man is that different from the game today!

This section covers moving, boarding and leaving vehicles, and combat. Vehicles are basically treated as any other model when targeted by shooting with Toughness, Wounds (called Damage for vehicles), and Armour Saves. In addition, when a vehicle suffers damage, roll a d6 - on the result of a '6' you roll a d10 on the special damage chart that may result in reduced speed, loss of weapons, loss of control, or outright destruction. Each point of damage adds +1 to the roll, increasing the likelihood of more serious results.

The section also includes Dreadnought Suits and Robots which are treated in a similar manner. Dreads and Robots have all of the characteristics of a normal model, including WS, BS, Attacks, etc. Dreads have the personal characteristics of their pilot and are subject to all normal leadership and cool tests. Robots have additional rules to govern their behavior. Depending on the tech level and intelligence of the robot, players may need to write down their orders for several turns in advance. There is also the chance that a robot might shoot a friendly if they are in their fire arc and nearer than an enemy target (robot must pass a 2d6 Intelligence check or shoot the friend) so you need to be very careful deploying them!

There is another interesting optional rule (the GM may decide) that paints robots (and 40k technology in general) as quirky and unreliable and that is the Robotic Malfunction rule. This is a chance (1 in whatever-sided die the GM decides - seriously) that the robot suffers special damage just as if it had taken damage in combat. It might loose functionality, go berserk, or simply explode! I KNOW many players would hate this, this I just love as much chaos in my game as possible.

Finally there is some of the humor that I love from this book tucked away in the Dreadnought special damage chart...

10. Control Loss - The suit goes berserk, moving out of control, firing and moving in an amusing manner randomly determined by the GM.

Profiles for general types of vehicles, dreadnoughts, and robots are included in the equipment chapter, as well as rules to randomly generate profiles for each!

Aerial Movement and Combat
Finally there are fairly extensive rules for aerial movement and combat. I've never used these (or really the modern rules for flyers in 40k) so I don't really have an opinion on them beyond loving the fact that there are rules for dropping things which may include 'stones, bricks, and other improvised items as well as grenades'. I keep picturing the movie Road Warrior and dropping a sack with a rattlesnake in it...

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Six

Still in the Combat chapter...

Rout and Pursuit

A unit must make a rout test in the following situations.

1. The unit just lost a round of hand to hand combat.

2. The unit suffers casualties of 1/3 or more of its current numerical strength to shooting and/or psychic attack during a single turn.

3. As indicated elsewhere in the rules. For example, while breaking away from hand to hand combat.

4. Anytime at the GM's discretion.

That last bit is why I went through them all. Again, Rogue Trader assumes that having a Game Master adjudicating the game is the default. Of course Leadership is the characteristic used for Rout Tests, but there is an interesting note. The test is made on leader of the unit's characteristic - even if it is lower than the unit! It's hard to see when this would apply, but I could see designing a scenario where a unit is burdened by a less than heroic officer.

A unit failing its Leadership Test is immediately moved 4" (apparently regardless of the movement characteristic of the unit) away from the fight. In subsequent turns, routers are moved at double their normal rate during the movement phase. The victors will pursue to remain in contact unless the pass a Leadership Test not to do so. If their movement is sufficient to keep up with the routers, they will attack again in the hand to hand phase, and the routers are treated as WS1! If pursuers follow routers off the table, they may return on the roll of a 4+ in the same spot on subsequent turns.

Reserves

As mentioned in an earlier post, models which have not fired and are not with 4" of an enemy model may make a reserve move. Again, I think it is probably better to simply allow a double move in the Movement phase under these same conditions. However, it is interesting to note that Routing troops within 4" of allies also prevent them making reserve moves.

Psychology

Rogue Trader has four psychological conditions that affect troops - Confusion, Frenzy, Fear, and Hatred. All tests against these conditions are made using the Cool characteristic. These effects may be built into profiles of races or creatures and some weapons and equipment may trigger these as well. The results of a failed test can create quite a list of effects. For instance, units suffering from confusion have a -1 to hit with shooting and hand to hand, may not use psychic powers, move at half rate, may not be split, AND ignores further psychology tests.

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Five

Close Combat
Again, for the most part close combat is similar to the other editions - roll to hit, roll to wound, roll to save. The declaration of the charge occurs in the movement phase and allows a double move, but it is interesting to note that the actually fighting comes after the shooting phase. A model being charged may Stand and Fire with a -1 to hit or Run Away at double their move speed. Targets with Slow weapons may not Stand and Fire.

What is really strange and makes this section a complete mess is the fact that models are treated as individuals rather than units! If a charge is declared, not all of the models in the unit need to charge. If they can maintain unit coherency (stay with 2" of at least one model in their unit), they can move at a normal pace and fire during the shooting phase. The target of the charge may elect to have some models run away while others stand and fire! If a charger's target flees, he may continue to move and attempt to reach another model. Units defeated in close combat are pushed back 2" and winners will follow up unless they pass a leadership test not to do so. Interestingly, models involved in that combat who kill their target, do NOT follow up and stay where they were. There is a relatively long section on resolving the fate and position of these scattered models. Again, not awful for a skirmish game with 10-20 models per side, but I must say I do prefer the close combat rules of 7th edition to 1st. When I get around to playing some games, I will probably need to house rule how some of these things are handled.

Combat is resolved in order of initiative. As with Shooting there are more modifiers than newer versions: +1 to hit if charging, +1 to hit if uphill (higher ground, stairs, rampart), -1 to hit crossing a defended obstacle, etc.

A specific pair of modifiers deserves a closer look. There is a -1 to hit if using more than one weapon and an additional -1 to hit for the weapon in the off hand. However, models with two weapons DOUBLE their number of attacks so a character with 2 attacks actually rolls four dice (-1 on the primary weapon and -2 on the secondary). Normally the more dice you roll the better, but it may be more advantageous to settle on a single weapon, especially considering the last little nugget...

... and I think is huge... even Weapon Skill requires a 5+ to hit rather than a 4+ as later editions. You are only 50/50 if your WS is one higher than your target. In general, it is harder to hit in close combat and again it may mean a higher rate of survivability and more models on the table during the later rounds of a game.

Next week we'll look at the morale rules.

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Four

Continuing with the Combat chapter, let's look at... errr... combat or more specifically, shooting!

Shooting
As I mentioned covering movement last week, the facing of your models matters. In Rogue Trader, you have a 90-degree fire arc to the front of your model and cannot choose targets outside of that arc. Targets behind you are safe. Choosing the center of this arc can be problematic with some models and once again the book mentions that if there is doubt, the GM must decide if a target may be fired upon. As a simple rule of thumb, I make the center of the arc the direction a weapon is pointing. For models without firearms or weapons at ease, use the direction they are looking in. Line of sight is similar for the most part to the modern game which is basically the model's eye view, though woods block line of sight unless the target or shooter is within 2" of the edge, regardless of whether or not you can actually see models between the trees (remember these areas are representative and assume more trees and undergrowth than we can actually cram onto the base).

Something else missing from modern versions of the game is the ability to hide... not just go to ground for a cover save, but completely remove models from the danger of being fired upon (except by dropping templates on the area they are hiding in). The model must have some sort of cover - a wall, a building, a crater, etc. - and may not fire a weapon during it's turn or it will give away it's position. A hiding model may also not make a reserve move during it's turn.

Beyond these things, the familiar triad of roll to hit, roll to wound, and armour saves are pretty much the same with a few exceptions. There are more modifiers to hit (+1 to hit large targets over 3m high, -1 to hit small creatures under 30cm, -1 firing from a moving surface, -1 to hit target per 10" of movement last turn, etc.), including specific weapon mods for range...

Las Pistol +2 short range, -1 long range
Bolt Pistol +2 short range, no mod long range
Bolt Gun +1 short range, no mod long range

Another mod that stands is a -1 to hit if wounded, so multi-wound character models will find their effectiveness reduced after taking their first wound. There is also a -1 to hit when throwing 'stones, bricks, pottery and other impromtu missiles'. I don't know what I like more - the vision of an Inquisitor lobbing a potted plant at a foe or the use of 'impromtu'.

Also targets in cover are -1 to be hit in soft cover and -2 to be hit in hard cover rather than the modern cover save.

I think the modifiers may increase survivabilty of models, at least long range, which might be different from the modern game where armies seem decimated by turn three and the end of the game sees a dozen figures left per side. The number of modifiers doesn't seem prohibitive even for larger games.

Tales From the Maelstrom
As an aside, Andy Hoare from Tales of the Maelstrom has a great interview with Rick Priestly that touches on many points regarding the presence of a GM in games of Warhammer 40k. If you haven't read it you should go do it now (Quick! Run!). Besides being a great read, it may put some of my rambling into perspective for those who aren't as familiar with what I'm on about. Besides the interview, there are lots of posts on the site very much within the spirit of what I'm doing with my own collection and it's well worth some of your web time!

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Three

Moving on with the Combat chapter of my review of Rogue Trader...

Movement
These rules are a bit fiddly for my tastes, with 1/2" movement penalties, encumbrance, and facing considerations. These rules would not be bad with a dozen models on the table (perfectly acceptable in Rogue Trader), but will bog down the game with 30-40 models per side.

I am not against the encumbrance idea, but most armies had access to Suspensors, mini anti-grav generators that removed these penalties. Armour could cause encumbrance penalties as well, but these were some of the 1/2" penalties mentioned above that could make measuring a bit of a pain.


Turning
Facing of individual models was also an issue. Models could be turned up to 90 degrees before, after, or during their move. Any additional turns cost 1/2" of movement. The Example is tortured...

Example: A Space Marine is being pursued by his foes. He is facing them, and must make a 180 degree turn to face in the opposite direction ( a 1/2" penalty - the first 90 degree turn is free). The player moves the model a further 2 1/2" and turns 180 degrees to face his enemies once more (a 1" penalty). Total 1/2 + 2 1/2 + 1 = a move of 4 inches.

Arrgh! First of all why bother to get a whole 2 1/2" farther away when your enemies can probably advance 4" toward you without turning? Second, The game will run a lot slower, both because of the additional calculations and slower effective movement rates. Third, even though Space Marines lack the 'And They Shall Know No Fear' rule in Rogue Trader, MY Space Marines don't retreat voluntarily.

There is one rule I miss from this chapter and will certainly use when I get some games on the table...

Splitting Units
If a player wishes, part of a unit may be split off into one or more smaller units of as few as one model. These sub-units must be given specific tasks such as 'hold the ravine and give cover' or 'scout to the ridge and report enemy activity'. The new unit must obey the instructions AS INTERPRETED BY THE GM (see part one of this series if you missed it). The only action the sub unit could take beyond their orders was to move to rejoin it's parent unit (and would automatically do so if forced from their task). I could see ordering the guy with the Slow weapon (move or fire) to take a static position and cover the advance of the rest of the unit.

The inability to change a sub-unit's orders after they are deployed gives me the impression that the average soldier's personal comms weren't very advanced. I think that fits in perfectly with my vision of the Rogue Trader universe. This one of those forgotten rules that added a lot of character without being overly complicated (like the turning rules above). I'm sure there are goofy ways to take unfair advantage with this, but I don't play that way (yeah, I lose a lot).

Reserve Moves
Basically the same as the modern game in the fact that models that do not shoot may move double their normal speed. In Rogue Trader it was just split into two phases. Again, not a problem for small games and I like the tactical aspect of it, but moving 100 orks twice per turn could be a pain! The second round of movement takes place after the Close Combat phase.

Next time, Shooting!

Reading Rogue Trader, Part Two

The first and maybe longest part of the Rogue Trader book is called Combat and contains most of the rules. Ironically, it is also probably the weakest part of 1st edition. Don't get me wrong, the core of the rules presented is strong and largely the same as the game today - roll to hit, armour save, roll to wound, test morale. Dead simple and maybe even elegant. It is when you start delving into the details, maybe again with an eye toward the modern game, that you find the mess that NEEDS a GM (see part one of this series). I'm not going to point out every flaw (remember, I LIKE this version of the game) and I'm not going to cover every section, but I will go through a few problems as well highlight some of the elements I like that are missing from the modern game. As the chapter is so long I will spread this look at the first chapter across several posts.

Personal Characteristics
Models in 1st edition had all of the normal stats still present (Move, Weapon Skill, etc) but they also had four 'Personal Characteristics' - Leadership, Intelligence, Cool, and Willpower. There was a lot of role playing influences in Rogue Trader and these characteristics lent more... err... character to the models. Later versions of the game dispensed with these and rolled them all into Leadership.

Leadership - This was a model's ability to command and follow commands. This stat was used for morale tests in combat.

Intelligence - The main use for this stat was to limit access to advanced equipment. In Rogue Trader all weapons and gear had a tech level and a creature required an Intelligence equal to or greater than the tech level of an item to be able to use it properly.

Cool - This stat was used to measure a model's ability to handle psychological conditions - fear, frenzy, etc.

Willpower - This stat was used to make or defend against psionics.

Now in skimming the book, most creatures had the same rank in Leadership, Cool, and Willpower, with some exceptions (for instance a genestealer had a Leadership and Cool of 10, but a Willpower of only 8). There are rules later in the chapter for generating random characters and you could get some asymmetric stat lines that way. Again, these were gone by 2nd edition (as were tech levels) so it's not hard to see why later versions of the game combined all of these into Leadership.

Models for the Game
This small section contains the obligatory "Citadel Miniatures manufactures a large and comprehensive range of Warhammer 40,0000 metal models". However, the majority of the two paragraphs in this section go on to encourage you design your own content, ending with "If you want to invent your own races, or create your own flora and fauna - then do it!"

You can certainly do this in friendly games in the modern versions of 40k, but it's not encouraged in the rules. The best you can usually get away with set in stone army lists is 'Counts As' armies and some venues won't allow even those. To be fair though, the ability to field 'unbound' lists in 7th edition (choose anything you want) can lead to some more creative armies.


Bases
Another oddity from Rogue Trader - the size and shape of the base was not considered critical and players were allowed to use any method they chose as long as it didn't look 'ridiculous'. Most of the combat examples in the book use hex bases, though almost all of the infantry models that appear in photographs are on round bases and large models (like dreadnoughts) are on square bases.

More next time...

Reading Rogue Trader, Part One

I've been playing Warhammer 40k since it was first released and I've played games in every edition. I've long felt that the 1st edition was my favorite, but recently someone asked me why. I'm sure a big part of the answer is simply nostalgia. I have very fond memories of simply throwing whatever models were in my collection on the table and forging a narrative around them. Points didn't really matter (the point system wasn't great anyway - more on that in future posts). They didn't even have to be painted (horror)! A simple fact of the matter was I didn't have tons of models. The nearest store to really stock a comprehensive selection was an hour and a half away and in the dark days before the internet and online shopping it wasn't easy to simply choose optimal builds. After that drive I usually just bought whatever looked the coolest!

My 'good guys' were a mix of Space Marines, Imperial Guards, Adventurers, and Eldar (including Harlequins) and these fought against the 'bad guys' of Orks, Chaos Renegades, Adventurers (sometimes the same characters who were notorious for switching sides), and Genestealer Cult forces. The games were usually small with 20-30 models per side (sometimes unpainted, did I mention that before? Shudder!) with limited vehicles - I had a rhino, a landspeeder, an Eldar Warwalker, several Ork buggies, an Ork dreadnought, a Chaos dreadnought, and a couple of robots.

But I digress. To answer the question why 1st edition was my favorite (and to get ready to play some more games with this edition), I decided to read the book cover to cover, which is something I haven't done in decades. This is the first in a series of articles on my observations. I know from skimming through there are some surprising things I'd forgotten that are much different than the game 40k has become. I'm going to take these articles one chapter at a time and I'll highlight things as I go.

On the first page of the book (well, page 6, but the first page of text) I might have found the answer to why the 1st edition was my favorite...

GAMEMASTER

    To fight a Warhammer 40,000 game you will need an extra person called the gamemaster, usually referred to simply as the GM. He will act as the umpire or referee, and it is his task to enforce the rules of the game; interpreting them where necessary. The GM should make sure that the players have sufficent dice, pencils, paper and any other items needed during play.

    It is possible to fight a game without a GM, so long as players are willing to cooperate a little, adopt a reasonable attitude and are honest in their record keeping. It is also possible to fight games where all of the players are on the same side against a side controlled directly by the GM. Of course, this does rely on the GM to make the game as fair as possible. One-sided games against the GM should be conducted with the aim of finding how well the players preform, rather than by aiming to defeat them.

How different is this than modern 40k (or Warmachine or Bolt Action or... etc.)!? Throughout the original Rogue Trader book, many of the rules are presented with the idea that there will be a GM to adjudicate situations and interpret the rules as a neutral observer (and I love that one of the GM's duties was to make sure every one had pencils and paper). The book often seems like more of an RPG than a wargame. Now, I played plenty of games without a GM, but the narrative seemed far more important back then than seeking advantages in the Rules As Written, fielding the optimum model to point ratio, or even winning the game.

This aspect of the game was missing from the 2nd edition forward. Certainly you could play with a GM, but that element was not written as part of the game. Again, I'll get into specifics as I sort through the chapters, but as far as what made it my favorite, I can probably stop now!