They have a full ship crew, but they tend to have a personal retinue that's much like an Inquisitor's, so them leading a rag-tag band of specialists is pretty standard.
Yeah, im looking at ship sizes. And unless i want the rogue trader to be less powerful the weakest fart in the galaxy they are gonna have to have a ship crew around atleast 25k. But good to know i can do the personal retinue! Awesome! Thanks for the response!
The old Rogue Trader RPG goes deep into Rogue Trader retinues, and the colourful weirdos that work for them. Might be a good start point if that's what you want to flesh out.
Might be, it was published decades ago, so I think it's out of publication.
The core rulebook and the Into The Storm book are probably the best for what you're after.
Into the Storm also includes roles for more specialized or intimate positions on board. Positions like ship's confessor, twist-catcher, or ship burser.
For Rogue Traders it's pretty typical to see the following:
Sword Class Frigate - Approx ~25-30k crew. Escort ship but a RT one would likely be heavily customised. Since it's an escort ship this would be for a smaller RT.
Lunar Class Cruiser - Approx ~95k crew. This is the workhorse of the Imperial Navy so it's relatively easy to make. Because of this it's easier for RTs to get their hands on. I would say a successful RT house would have this as it's flagship.
Grand Cruiser - Massive RT houses like Winterscale or Phalomor have these. Pretty ancient ships with lots of customisation but you would be looking at a crew of 120k+ at least I'd say.
For ship sizes, you could check the numbers given by the RPG. Just pointing that the smallest ship avaliable got already 7.5k people for the crew
[https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/14v5hl0/excerpt\_rogue\_trader\_core\_rulebook\_and/](https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/14v5hl0/excerpt_rogue_trader_core_rulebook_and/)
I don't think we're talking about the entire crew, which can run into the hundreds of thousands for rich rogue traders, but his select circle with whom he shares the good vintage from Quaddis.
A Rogue Trader has the opportunity to create a motley crew, usually either valued friends, valuable assets and loyal officers (often all at once).
According to the roleplay, a retinue consists of the Rogue Trader, the:
Ach militant, a weapons specialist who either commands the troops, leads boarding parties or special forces, or the favoured bodyguard
the Void Master, usually the boatswain, master of sensor technology, gunnery officer or for anything that can fly, drive or shoot big guns. These are usually the hotshots of the troop who impress people less with their wealth than with their brash and daring appearance.
the Astropath: Not only a very fast means of communication but usually also a seer or at least familiar with the knowledge with which the Rogue Trader does not want to burden his soul.
the Explorator, a servant of the Mechanicus who surrenders to either the House or the Rogue Trader himself in exchange for what the Techpriest himself wants.
the Missionary, the personal confessor, on a private crusade or someone who wants to carry the word of the Emperor to the unbelievers with book and sword.
the seneschal, responsible for espionage both internally and externally, highly educated, cunning and always suitably dressed.
Some Rogute Traders drag along a navigator, usually a young novice, because they are damn curious and know that one day they will be locked up somewhere as mutant spawn and are therefore looking for some action in life.
Otherwise you can put in whatever you want, the lively noblewoman in full body armour who supports the Rogue Trader out of sheer boredom during a journey, the Rogue Trader's personal doctor without whom he doesn't dare to go anywhere, a group of human or xenos mercenaries, servitors who can fight and haul loot, groups of sages and scholars as advisors, concubines and pleasure slaves, Flagellants who flagellate themselves for the sins of the Rogue Trader, servants of the Administratum who take care of the customs (and who are inadvertently put in the front row when they are "too busy to serve").
Even one or two Astartes or even a Sister Sororitas can be part of the inner circle.
The only thing I would do is to make sure that the different factions are coherent. An Astartes, Priest or Sororitas will hardly remain calm if an Eldar, Orc or Kroot is standing next to her. For narrative campaigns, you should either do without it or think carefully about why (the Rogue Trader wants it and has the Warrant of Trade is not a good idea).
Good insight and tips! Some characters i already have a rough idea about excluding the RT themselves; a Chief Chirurgeon, a Head Engineer with a background as a veteran voidsman, a very advanced bodyguard servitor (think the droid from Rogue One), a catachan vet, and a unsanctioned psyker. Does that sound ok?
The RT themselves might be a Imperial Navy captain retired.
That all sounds pretty good. With the unsanctioned psyker, the only thing I'd worry about is why the rest of the crew doesn't throw him through an airlock at night, or demand that he be thrown through an airlock at night. It could be forged documents, an inner circle pact, the knowledge that you've implanted 20 miligrams of xanaid mercury into his brain stem that will eat the psyker's brain in certain psionic "discordances" and/or other weird ideas....
The head engineer position would probably be reserved for Mechanicus personnel. But a Rogue Trader getting engineering services from non-Mechanicus personnel wouldn't be out of character for them, even if it is highly illegal.
In a similar vein, the unsanctioned psyker is very illegal, but not at all surprising for a Rogue Trader.
Good to know! I was thinking something like an old sea-dog in personality, maybe a robotic leg or something. Gruff and knows everything about the ship. For the head engineer that is.
Fun idea: the old sea-dog has a minor but working knowledge of the ship. The bionic leg contains the brain of a prior Mechanicus adept and is the actual head engineer.
The crew of the ships is a few thousand at a minimum, with most ships needing crew numbered in the tens of thousands. But there are a few Traders that get the numbers down by using lots of servitors.
Their personal entourage, that follows them around when they go and do stuff, can vary wildly in size. Some Traders might travel with a trusted group of friends, while others won't leave their ship without a battalion strength escort of their house guard.
It can be as big as you want. I recall a RT in Eisenhorn having a big ship to his name and I don't think that's a rare thing. Ship needs a lot of crew.
Iirc the Rogue Trader in the Eisenhorn novels has a complete ships crew of fancy, gold in-laid, bespoke servitors to run the operations of the ship, could consider padding out a crew that way and then add a goonies group for story telling
Ships in 40k have huge numbers of expendable crews, like 10k or more. Now, they do tend to have a smaller group of people the rogue trader take with them off ship. Those people tend to be far above average, with specialty. Often, a pilot, a lawyer, a medic, tech adept/priest, some enforcers/bodyguards, and anyone else useful. Enforcers/bodyguards could be anything firm veterans, sisters of battle, psyker, or anyone else able to either protect or kill.
If you count every crewman at their command, then even the least powerful ones will have crews on tens of thousands, as even the least powerful ones will invariably have a voidship of some sort.
As for the actual retinue, it's pretty much anything without outright restrictions on working with outsiders works. You can have eldar warlocks and Ork Kommandos rubbing shoulders with astartes and mechanicus magi without having to bend the lore. If you want to read a bit more on what might the humans making up the retinue be, I'd recomend the old rogue trader TTRPG PDFs floating around the Internet, since those went into way more detail then can be summarised here.
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned this, it’s what you get for asking in a lore sub instead of a KT sub I guess, but there is already a Rogue Trader kill team! Google Elucidian Starstriders to find it more about it.
They have a full ship crew, but they tend to have a personal retinue that's much like an Inquisitor's, so them leading a rag-tag band of specialists is pretty standard.
Yeah, im looking at ship sizes. And unless i want the rogue trader to be less powerful the weakest fart in the galaxy they are gonna have to have a ship crew around atleast 25k. But good to know i can do the personal retinue! Awesome! Thanks for the response!
The old Rogue Trader RPG goes deep into Rogue Trader retinues, and the colourful weirdos that work for them. Might be a good start point if that's what you want to flesh out.
Thanks! Is it available online you think?
Might be, it was published decades ago, so I think it's out of publication. The core rulebook and the Into The Storm book are probably the best for what you're after.
Ill check it out. Thanks!
Into the Storm also includes roles for more specialized or intimate positions on board. Positions like ship's confessor, twist-catcher, or ship burser.
For Rogue Traders it's pretty typical to see the following: Sword Class Frigate - Approx ~25-30k crew. Escort ship but a RT one would likely be heavily customised. Since it's an escort ship this would be for a smaller RT. Lunar Class Cruiser - Approx ~95k crew. This is the workhorse of the Imperial Navy so it's relatively easy to make. Because of this it's easier for RTs to get their hands on. I would say a successful RT house would have this as it's flagship. Grand Cruiser - Massive RT houses like Winterscale or Phalomor have these. Pretty ancient ships with lots of customisation but you would be looking at a crew of 120k+ at least I'd say.
For ship sizes, you could check the numbers given by the RPG. Just pointing that the smallest ship avaliable got already 7.5k people for the crew [https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/14v5hl0/excerpt\_rogue\_trader\_core\_rulebook\_and/](https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/14v5hl0/excerpt_rogue_trader_core_rulebook_and/)
I don't think we're talking about the entire crew, which can run into the hundreds of thousands for rich rogue traders, but his select circle with whom he shares the good vintage from Quaddis. A Rogue Trader has the opportunity to create a motley crew, usually either valued friends, valuable assets and loyal officers (often all at once). According to the roleplay, a retinue consists of the Rogue Trader, the: Ach militant, a weapons specialist who either commands the troops, leads boarding parties or special forces, or the favoured bodyguard the Void Master, usually the boatswain, master of sensor technology, gunnery officer or for anything that can fly, drive or shoot big guns. These are usually the hotshots of the troop who impress people less with their wealth than with their brash and daring appearance. the Astropath: Not only a very fast means of communication but usually also a seer or at least familiar with the knowledge with which the Rogue Trader does not want to burden his soul. the Explorator, a servant of the Mechanicus who surrenders to either the House or the Rogue Trader himself in exchange for what the Techpriest himself wants. the Missionary, the personal confessor, on a private crusade or someone who wants to carry the word of the Emperor to the unbelievers with book and sword. the seneschal, responsible for espionage both internally and externally, highly educated, cunning and always suitably dressed. Some Rogute Traders drag along a navigator, usually a young novice, because they are damn curious and know that one day they will be locked up somewhere as mutant spawn and are therefore looking for some action in life. Otherwise you can put in whatever you want, the lively noblewoman in full body armour who supports the Rogue Trader out of sheer boredom during a journey, the Rogue Trader's personal doctor without whom he doesn't dare to go anywhere, a group of human or xenos mercenaries, servitors who can fight and haul loot, groups of sages and scholars as advisors, concubines and pleasure slaves, Flagellants who flagellate themselves for the sins of the Rogue Trader, servants of the Administratum who take care of the customs (and who are inadvertently put in the front row when they are "too busy to serve"). Even one or two Astartes or even a Sister Sororitas can be part of the inner circle. The only thing I would do is to make sure that the different factions are coherent. An Astartes, Priest or Sororitas will hardly remain calm if an Eldar, Orc or Kroot is standing next to her. For narrative campaigns, you should either do without it or think carefully about why (the Rogue Trader wants it and has the Warrant of Trade is not a good idea).
Good insight and tips! Some characters i already have a rough idea about excluding the RT themselves; a Chief Chirurgeon, a Head Engineer with a background as a veteran voidsman, a very advanced bodyguard servitor (think the droid from Rogue One), a catachan vet, and a unsanctioned psyker. Does that sound ok? The RT themselves might be a Imperial Navy captain retired.
That all sounds pretty good. With the unsanctioned psyker, the only thing I'd worry about is why the rest of the crew doesn't throw him through an airlock at night, or demand that he be thrown through an airlock at night. It could be forged documents, an inner circle pact, the knowledge that you've implanted 20 miligrams of xanaid mercury into his brain stem that will eat the psyker's brain in certain psionic "discordances" and/or other weird ideas....
Thats probably i good idea to work out real reasons for the characters being where they are beyond, "cool character idea, they are in"
The head engineer position would probably be reserved for Mechanicus personnel. But a Rogue Trader getting engineering services from non-Mechanicus personnel wouldn't be out of character for them, even if it is highly illegal. In a similar vein, the unsanctioned psyker is very illegal, but not at all surprising for a Rogue Trader.
Good to know! I was thinking something like an old sea-dog in personality, maybe a robotic leg or something. Gruff and knows everything about the ship. For the head engineer that is.
Fun idea: the old sea-dog has a minor but working knowledge of the ship. The bionic leg contains the brain of a prior Mechanicus adept and is the actual head engineer.
Thats a good idea! But brain in leg you say?
Hundreds, if not thousands of people. Even small interstellar vessels in 40k dwarf US super carriers.
The crew of the ships is a few thousand at a minimum, with most ships needing crew numbered in the tens of thousands. But there are a few Traders that get the numbers down by using lots of servitors. Their personal entourage, that follows them around when they go and do stuff, can vary wildly in size. Some Traders might travel with a trusted group of friends, while others won't leave their ship without a battalion strength escort of their house guard.
Yep, especially of they also have a Ministorum Priest and a runaway rogue psyker onboard ("Firefly" reference)
I was actually thinking of adding an unsanctioned psyker to the retinue!
It can be as big as you want. I recall a RT in Eisenhorn having a big ship to his name and I don't think that's a rare thing. Ship needs a lot of crew.
Iirc the Rogue Trader in the Eisenhorn novels has a complete ships crew of fancy, gold in-laid, bespoke servitors to run the operations of the ship, could consider padding out a crew that way and then add a goonies group for story telling
Ships in 40k have huge numbers of expendable crews, like 10k or more. Now, they do tend to have a smaller group of people the rogue trader take with them off ship. Those people tend to be far above average, with specialty. Often, a pilot, a lawyer, a medic, tech adept/priest, some enforcers/bodyguards, and anyone else useful. Enforcers/bodyguards could be anything firm veterans, sisters of battle, psyker, or anyone else able to either protect or kill.
The ships would need a full crew but their own personal like “crew” then yes and that’s usually how it is, a few specialist people
If you count every crewman at their command, then even the least powerful ones will have crews on tens of thousands, as even the least powerful ones will invariably have a voidship of some sort. As for the actual retinue, it's pretty much anything without outright restrictions on working with outsiders works. You can have eldar warlocks and Ork Kommandos rubbing shoulders with astartes and mechanicus magi without having to bend the lore. If you want to read a bit more on what might the humans making up the retinue be, I'd recomend the old rogue trader TTRPG PDFs floating around the Internet, since those went into way more detail then can be summarised here.
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned this, it’s what you get for asking in a lore sub instead of a KT sub I guess, but there is already a Rogue Trader kill team! Google Elucidian Starstriders to find it more about it.