~Ambition Knows No Bounds~
[/color][/i][/b][/size]
I received quite the amusing response when I brought this up after the CE game earlier today, so I thought I may as well make an attempt to gauge the general interest around here.
This is my rather feeble attempt to see whom out there would be interested in playing in a Rogue Trader game run by me.
For those unfamiliar, Rogue Trader is a game set in the Warhammer 40K universe, the specifics of which are best detailed here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000). Specifically, a Rogue Trader is a human captain of a space-faring vessel who, generally, has free reign over where, when, and how they wish to do business in the universe, oftentimes proceeding beyond the control of the Imperium, and thus both its laws and protection. They may be great Crusaders, their guns singing freedom from the Xenos and blessed enlightenment to the unbelievers; they may be merchants of great renown, or corsairs and pirates of villainous deed. The game is mostly about the players setting goals for themselves, and the GM providing them the means to achieve that end, rather than the GM serving a great epic narrative for them to pursue-- though that is hardly out of the question. The ships themselves are often characters in their own right, and everything from Light Raiders to Battle-cruisers are open to the players. On top of this, the PCs are often remarkable individuals among a crew of countless thousands (~15,000 on a Destroyer right on up to ~90,000 on Cruisers), responsible for any number of duties both on-board and while planet or station-side. Consider yourselves "The Away Team" in most regards. Also, this form of play also makes solo or small sessions very, very easy.
As far as the details and logistics of running the game, I have not decided on the specifics yet. Mostly, I am curious to see how many people wish to play before I go through the effort of planning out the matters, since that could possibly change things greatly. I do already have some small things in mind already.
Particularly, I would prefer a PC be the Rogue Trader, that way it is easier for me to simply let the party choose where to go and what to do. I am not partial to space combat online, given the heavy reliance on maps and tactical positioning, so I will most likely attempt to avoid it, barring specific situations. Should there a great desire for Space Combat, then I may resort to MapTools, unless someone is knowledgeable about another online utility that allows the same functionality. Or I devise some ingenious method to handle grid-based combat without a grid.
The above are the only real considerations I have in mind-- based on the Rogue Trader comment, I intend to take the route of the indirect GM. This isn't about me providing you with a story to follow, but about me giving you the means to secure your own legacy, so you will generally have the freedom to do what you wish (assuming the Captain is fine with it :P ).
If there is at least some interest, I can begin to work on a starting frame-work for the game, as well as the horrid, horrid logistics of trying to plan what is most likely to be wildly divergent timezones.
Oh, and please note, I do not require any familiarity for the game, system, or setting for anyone who wants to play. I can help out with any questions or concerns, and the system is quite simple once you get out of Character Generation, which has numerous steps to it, so is only difficult without the book in front of you.
I might be interested in this. However, I already play in 3 IRC games, so I'll have to think about it.
I'm guessing this would be an IRC game? If it were in a time frame I could do, I could possibly be interested. I do like the setting. If you're suggesting play by post, you bet your sweet #$=!*& I'd be interested. (I work when most people sleep and sleep when most people work.
As the source of aforesaid amusing response, I'd definitely be up for this, either as Rogue Trader or some other individual.
I also have a currently non-member friend that might even consider it.
I don't think I have the time for this even though the 40k RPGs have always intrigued me. But I need to know what that amusing response was! Do tell.
Something along the lines of "HELL YES I'D PLAY IN ROGUE TRADER!"
What Crow said. I love the 40k universe and it would be cool but don't want to over-commit to games - CE and Ninja D's GURPS PbP should keep me busy enough. Would be cool if you posted logs, though, like Steerpike does with CE, so I can enjoy vicariously :P
Well, this seems to be a pretty good amount of interest in only 12 hours...
@Everyone: My original intention was for this to be an IRC game. I doubt I would be able to keep up consistently with a PbP game. I play in a number of different games elsewhere, and they eat up enough time daily that I am not eager in adding another to the list. However, having a set time to have prepared for on IRC is something that I have the time to do and to get things done effectively.
@NinjaD: I'm an insomniac. I've started games in the early AM (EST) before, so it may not be as hard as you think-- though I guess I ought to ask just what timezone you are in before I make claims like that, huh? Oh, and your friend would be more than welcome to join in.
@CC: Yeah, it was pretty much Steerpike Caps-spamming an affirmative answer. May not be as amusing to you guys, but I found it quite the entertaining response at the time.
@Kind: Yeah, I noticed a lot of other games starting up within the past few months, so I was a little concerned that people may already be full up on games, hence one of the reasons I decided to check with this post first. And yes, if it does get run on IRC, I may try to do the same kinds of logs as we have with CE.
In general, as long as there are, oh, at least two people wanting to play and capable of being on at the same time, I have no qualms about running the game-- especially if others may want to join in at a later date. Smaller groups means less work for me, so it's easier to run. ^^
The setting seems cool, but I'd like to see the schedule before. I've got some free time.
So, I could play as a sort of Ian Solo?
Quote from: Magnus PymThe setting seems cool, but I'd like to see the schedule before. I've got some free time.
So, I could play as a sort of Ian Solo?
Wow. Is Han Solo really named Ian in French?
That's so lame.
@Pym. Yup, pretty much. It's not hard to manage, though you are going to be surrounded by countless NPC crew, but if you want to be a good smuggler, you could definitely do it well in this system.
@TMG. I won't lie, until you pointed out that bit about the French name for Han, I was just a bit confused.
Schedule. This is mostly to figure out how to manage things, since, from what I can tell, a lot of people are not on the US Eastern coast. (So yes, I am EST.)
Right now, my weekdays are a bit cluttered. Mondays are most likely right out, since that's when I play in Steer's CE game. Tuesday nights, up until 9:30PM I am busy with martial arts classes.
Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays are pretty universally open in the evenings after ~7:00PM (This is me getting time to get in, become presentable, and get some food in me). Wednesdays are more likely earlier, where I can start around 5:30PM. Probably earlier, since I can most likely schedule those lessons earlier in the day.
Weekends? Those are open. Completely.
I expect every game to run a few hours, hopefully between 2-3 hours to start with, though it can be longer depending on player input.
Now, extreme time differences, like Europe/Asia/Otherside-of-the-planet I may have trouble with, if only because I'm more active at night instead of the morning, but if you can give me times that you are willing to play, I can see if I can shift my schedule around to accommodate for that. I'm nothing if not adaptable, especially when good gaming is at stake!
I'm in the US central time zone and I work 10pm to 6am, five days out of a seven day period. I don't have regular days, though, and that means I sometimes work 10 in a row. It also leaves me open for early morning or early evening gaming any day of the week, though Monday and Thursday are kind of spoken for already.
Hey, Ninja, would sometime in the afternoon on Wednesdays work for you?
I figure maybe something starting ~3-4 EST, which, if my math is right, should also be reasonable for anyone across the pond, too.
Is that time-frame right out for anyone (US or otherwise)?
That would probably be really early for me. For some reason I have trouble sleeping in more that hour to hour-and-a-half spurts much before that. I could try it for a week or two, maybe, if a group starts then. It probably wouldn't last, though.
Which is fine. If it isn't a good time for me, I don't need to play.
Also, it seems that it's now Monday and Tuesday that are spoken for, instead of Monday and Thursday. Eventually at least one day for my band is going to have to be worked back in, too.
Bah!
Due to a lot of shenanigans, and a now Bizarro-Schedule for May, I think I am going to relent and consider working out how to run RT as a PbP.
More info will be forthcoming when I figure out what I am capable of.
I have lots of experience as a PbP player, but much, much less as a DM, so it may take me some time to figure out how to make this all work in a nice, easy way.
If you've played in good games, it shouldn't be much trouble. Woot!
Alright, here's the deal, folks.
I will be going through with Rogue Trader as a Play-by-Post. Preferably as soon as possible. Which is to say, once I have enough people. On PbP, I can probably handle 4 well enough. Also, by request, I would not be adverse to occasionally doing small scenes in IRC for solo/pair side-quests.
So, here's the important bits for everyone:
Game System: Rogue Trader
GM: Me (CoyoteCamouflage), if someone wants to join me in this as a co-DM, let me know.
Posting Rate: I will be posting once every two days for story advancement with or without you, in order to keep things moving. Combat or NPC interaction is likely to be quicker.
Number of Players: 4 (1 of which will need to be the Rogue Trader in charge of the ship).
Type of Campaign: Sandbox (left open to the command of the RT)-- because of this, it can focus heavily on anything between mercantile trade and open warfare. I will provide some trails leading to numerous possible adventures, but most of the decisions on where to go and what to do will be left up to the PCs.
Space Combat? We will have it, whether you go looking for it or not. :P In such cases, I'll simply find a suitable map to put up on the thread to make it easier to handle.
Player Experience: I'm still pretty new to this game, so I don't even feel the need to ask for any previous experience with the system. Knowing the 40K universe is helpful and appreciated, but also not required.
Legal Material: I have the Core rules and Into the Storm. Unless I get the other books, nothing beyond them is going to be considered legal. For those without the books, fear not! I am more than willing to help out with making characters-- the whole system is a D10 system similar to Call of Cthulhu, so it is pretty intuitive past character generation. I can either give you some write-up briefs on the material, or hop into the IRC for it, so don't be worried if you don't have access to the book.
Character Creation: By the book. Except for Kroot and Orks. They are right out. Oh, and feel free to ignore the restrictions on the chart for homeworlds/careers/etc. I think it is silly and limiting for creative players who know the universe. If you are unfamiliar with the setting, its a good way to keep things from being overwhelming. Otherwise, feel free to ignore it.
Stats will be rolled (I trust ya'll, so feel free to roll them how and wherever). Characteristic rolls are 2d10, rolled 10 times, drop the lowest. If your highest roll is under 20, then bump it up to a 20. Assign to taste. If you really tank your rolls, feel free to re-roll. Generally, any rolls for fluff, you can freely choose. Any rolls that affect mechanics, roll it. I believe in the honor system, dammit!
The Ship: The Ship is as much a character as any of the PCs, and can be handled in a number of manners. 1. I roll the fun, random bits, and the Rogue Trader builds the ship to taste. 2. The RT works with me on making the ship. I make rolls and create the ship based on the input of the RT player. 3. The ship is made completely by me, complete with surprises (yes, even the good kind).
Player Selection: Umm. First come, first serve? I don't feel like applications or anything are needed, but some people definitely mentioned interest first, so...
TMG, Steerpike, Ninja, Magnus more or less popped up first with the interest (and I have no idea if Kind wanted in or not :P), so I'll technically wait on them, first. If there is definite demand, I may work in 5 players.
So long as someone wants RT, I'm good no matter how many others want in. :D
For the time being, assume this thread is a mix of Application/Question/Banter. I'll probably have another thread put up for major character information, then a game thread. I miss having nice, organized sub-folders. D:
...Which reminds me. Does this forum have Secret tags? Or will I need to resort to PMs for the really awesome secret stuff?
Use the spoiler tags. Brackets and spoiler inside them. They are also an option on the Post Reply quickbars.
I would absolutely be interested. The setting is very entertaining. I'll have to read up on it, maybe I will even pick up the book for fun. Since I'm new to the system, I'm not looking to jump on the role of the leader as long as someone else is willing to. If no one is, I guess I'd rather take on more responsibility than see the game not happen.