Rogue Traders draft rules for BFG

[horizon]

The Stryxis where never in BFG a mentioned race afaik. And I do not know if Nate (or other HA member) knows that the Stryxis are a mentioned/described race in the Rogue Trader RPG corebook.

[BaronIveagh]

In Edge of the Abysss thier ships are rather in detail described.  Though how a weapon that kills crew without damaging the ship would translate...  Ld penalties?

[horizon]

Ah, I don't have all the RT supplemental books. So, see, the regular BFG'er won't know. And we don't know how much the HA know from them.

So what could we suspect: that GW sends the draft back and says the Stryxis should be changed.

Per abstraction Andy Chambers referred to hitpoints as crew size as well. So, would it ignore shields then? But Ld penalty will do a nice harassment...

[lastspartacus]

Thats a pretty original weapon idea.  How exactly do they kill the crew?

Brings to mind mysterious ghost ships, all crew dead, at active power, found cruising along through space, with weapons and shields powered up.

[BaronIveagh]

It doesn't exactly explain.  RT handles crew and the ship as separate stats.  The existent rules state that it works as a regular macrobattery, but on hitting a ship without shields, even if armor prevented it from actually damaging the ship, the ship looses one point of crew.  If shields are up, it hits as normal for a MB.  

Thier melee weapons are the same.  They kill you and keep your stuff undamaged.  Sort of fits in with them being shifty traders and pirates.  

However, using the description in the book, thier ships almost sound like ork roks or mini space hulks linked together like nicassar dhows.  They're basically described as being able to cram an engine into just about anything remotely spaceworthy and then upgrade it with their own, or better, someone else's, technology and then tie it all together into huge space going caravans.  From what they're saying here, a entirely Stryxis fleet would include things like roks and space hulks.

One interesting thing is that they seem to have twice as many shields as is usual for a given class of ship.  Though it would make sense, given that it's the only surefire protection from their weapons...

[flybywire-E2C]

I'm curious why the Fra'al cap ships have lost their well... everything.  I mean, seriously, this isn't a Fra'al ship, it's a Neutered Retribution Class Battleship.  I mean, weapon batteries?  On a Fra'al?  What next, Holofields on a Necron Tombship?  (wow, would people scream about that...)

All their racial weapons and rules have been removed.  ALL of them.  Where's the Ether Cannons that their entire fluff of being feared revolved around?  I don't mined changing ship profiles or rule alterations, but let's not go around retconning races, shall we?

The Fra'al battlecruiser from Planet Killer Magazine was completely made up to add something of interest to the game. In that form it was too skewered to be of any use to anything that would be made official. To say "Fra'al don't get weapon batteries" is pointless because the entire concept was based on a single caption listed in the two-page spread of the Divine Right in the rulebook.

To add the Fra'al to the game as something that would mesh with present rules, here's what we did:

1.   It can't exceed current Imperial tech in any excessive way
2.   It will NOT use any new weapon mechanic
3.   It will be based on a current ship as a template (we elected the Repulsive)

This gives the pirates something cool and slightly tougher to add to their fleet without creating something that would exceed 250 points, which were the constraints we set so it could be plugged into scenarios and against fleets as a whole. That doesn’t mean you can’t use house rules for some alien super-battleship or some cool new weapon system. In one-off games you can use (or not use) any rules you want as long as your opponent agrees, but we won’t be adding something like that into official rules.

-   Nate

[BaronIveagh]

I'm curious why the Fra'al cap ships have lost their well... everything.  I mean, seriously, this isn't a Fra'al ship, it's a Neutered Retribution Class Battleship.  I mean, weapon batteries?  On a Fra'al?  What next, Holofields on a Necron Tombship?  (wow, would people scream about that...)

All their racial weapons and rules have been removed.  ALL of them.  Where's the Ether Cannons that their entire fluff of being feared revolved around?  I don't mined changing ship profiles or rule alterations, but let's not go around retconning races, shall we?

The Fra'al battlecruiser from Planet Killer Magazine was completely made up to add something of interest to the game. In that form it was too skewered to be of any use to anything that would be made official. To say "Fra'al don't get weapon batteries" is pointless because the entire concept was based on a single caption listed in the two-page spread of the Divine Right in the rulebook.

To add the Fra'al to the game as something that would mesh with present rules, here's what we did:

1.   It can't exceed current Imperial tech in any excessive way
2.   It will NOT use any new weapon mechanic
3.   It will be based on a current ship as a template (we elected the Repulsive)

This gives the pirates something cool and slightly tougher to add to their fleet without creating something that would exceed 250 points, which were the constraints we set so it could be plugged into scenarios and against fleets as a whole. That doesn’t mean you can’t use house rules for some alien super-battleship or some cool new weapon system. In one-off games you can use (or not use) any rules you want as long as your opponent agrees, but we won’t be adding something like that into official rules.

-   Nate

LOL they also make nice glass knives that can split ceramite.  FFG has been expanding on some BFG fluff, though the Fra'al ships haven't made a big entrance yet, they've been hinted about quite a lot and will probably be in next year's Battlefleet Koronus. 

As far as balance in the pirate list, that's understandable.   And as far as the pirate wolfpack list goes, 1) is understandable.  2) and 3) however make me scratch my head and wonder why not?

[Plaxor]

So under the RT cruiser you say that you may take a dauntless instead... shouldn't this be under the RT light cruiser? Also you say more than half of the ships must be of the standard type, does this include the LC? IE do you have to include 2 RT cruisers to have an LC? Or can you take 2 RTLC to get a 'Murder RTCR'?

[flybywire-E2C]

Hi everyone!! There’s a big set of updates today!  If you want to get to it, click the link below.

http://tinyurl.com/23nul8q*


Rogue Trader 3.0: Corrected some small fluff and formatting errors. Only two big changes:

#1- We clarified how rogue trader cruisers are taken in the process making the Dauntless a more available option.

#2- I have been accused of fanboyism and abusing my role as HA to foist on the community unwanted changes. I promise that none of that was ever my intention in all the documents we have produced in this process. However, for once I admit raw, unrestrained fanboyism in adding an Easter egg to the Rogue Traders document. When incorporating the Stryxis, there is a LOT of rich background potential I intentionally left out only because I thought it would clutter the document and unduly encumber it for no real benefit. However, I had two small play-test battles in the meantime, and when making the corrections in preparation for sealing the document shut,  I couldn’t help myself. I’ll let you all find the Easter egg, and those who know the background will quickly say it is fluff-true and balanced. However, I foisted this without going to the HA’s, and if there is a lot of grief about it, I’ll take it out before stamping it Final.

- Nate

[BaronIveagh]

... but in fluff, the regular rok movement rules wouldn't work: Strixis ships are strung together and pulled by a single ship.  (technically, the whole thing would be a single ship, made out of towed hulked ships/etc, but I digress)

[horizon]

My NDA forbids further talking about this...Stryxis.

Havoc Class Raider = no torpedo. I like to chim in to replace the torpedo with a str2 battery firing front only or lfr. This is what the Rogue Trader RPG corebook says about them.

A single torp should be an upgrade option.

The Exploration fleet list / RT list / Cruiser restriction.

I do NOT agree that half of the list should be the profile given. In the Rogue Trader RPG corebook the token ships are the Dauntless and the Lunar.

[BaronIveagh]

My NDA forbids further talking about this...Stryxis.

Havoc Class Raider = no torpedo. I like to chim in to replace the torpedo with a str2 battery firing front only or lfr. This is what the Rogue Trader RPG corebook says about them.

A single torp should be an upgrade option.

The Exploration fleet list / RT list / Cruiser restriction.

I do NOT agree that half of the list should be the profile given. In the Rogue Trader RPG corebook the token ships are the Dauntless and the Lunar.

Not quite sure I follow on the token buisness, as Tyrant, Murder, and some others show up as the books add on.  I'm expecting the big one to be BFK early next year.

[Plaxor]

You forgot the sword and the onslaught from the original book. Aren't there eldar ones in the expansions?

[BaronIveagh]

You forgot the sword and the onslaught from the original book. Aren't there eldar ones in the expansions?

2 so far. Solaris and Aconite.  Firestorm also appears in the basic book, but is only given as an example without stats.  Stats for it appear in later books.  Murder also appears.

[horizon]

Yes , Battlefleet Koronus will be the next cool supplement for Rogue Trader.