| The Rogue Trader early years: | | | | no sign of Chaos, well not like there exists today - |
| The rule book written by Rick Priestley for the | | | | sure Preistley hints about the forces of the warp |
| Warhammer 40000 game, Rogue Trader was | | | | (Chaos) but it wasn't until some expansions came out |
| published in 1987, this first issue is massively different | | | | that we saw the full might of the Chaos forces |
| to any of the future issues. It is mainly a cross | | | | come through. |
| between RPG's and classic Table Top Games, rather | | | | The pride of my collection was a complete Imperial |
| than a pure Table Top Battle Game. Rogue Trader | | | | Space Marine army, lovingly built and painted over a |
| had more in depth information and background on | | | | number of years. Then again I also had a fantastic |
| the wider reaches of the 40K universe, its races and | | | | collection of Zoats, Space Slann, Imperial Guard, ah |
| their technologies, unlike later editions of the game, | | | | the list is endless really! |
| for me this is why it is considered a prized collectors' | | | | After a few years I had moved in with my wife to |
| piece and holds a special place in my collection. | | | | be and had our first son, the gaming all of a sudden |
| This Rulebook is considered much less rigid in the | | | | became less and less of a thing, working and paying |
| rules of 40K than later editions, as it employed a | | | | the bills seemed to take up every moment of my life |
| much broader set of views within the narration than | | | | (even when I was going through Uni I had managed |
| was common in future versions and readily | | | | to balance gaming with real life but having children |
| encouraged mixed faction forces. | | | | really is a whole different ball game:) |
| Jokero, Slann, Squats, Zoats are examples of races | | | | So over the next decade my beloved collections got |
| that were not included in the first edition of RT. | | | | lost or broken as we bought our homes and moved |
| Rogue Trader had six sections: | | | | around due to careers, and sadly I eventually |
| - Rules of combat, | | | | stopped gaming! |
| - Scenario for Crimson Fist Space Marines fighting | | | | Then skip forward to 2001 and a football injury saw |
| Orks on Rynn's World, | | | | me house ridden for 6 months and low and behold I |
| - An Equipment section. | | | | started to buy 40K models from the local GW shop. |
| - Background Section | | | | In the years following that I began to really |
| - Special rules for advanced gamers, | | | | appreciate the workmanship of the Rouge Trader |
| - A summary including all of the charts in the book. | | | | models (Today's models are definitely more |
| A few elements of the setting (bolters, Dreadnought | | | | sculptured/ornate and are really nice on the eye) I |
| armour) can be seen in a set of wargaming rules | | | | missed the simplicity of those early models - maybe |
| called Laserburn written by Bryan Ansell and | | | | in was with rosy eyes and bags of nostalgia that I |
| produced by Tabletop Games in 1980. The influence | | | | remembered them but all of a sudden I wanted to |
| of these can also be seen in the prototype | | | | regain my lost collections! |
| Necromunda game mechanics | | | | Boy!!! Was that easier said than done, since Games |
| My Interest in Rogue Trader | | | | Workshop put all the RT stuff out of production and |
| When I got onto Games Workshop products back in | | | | broke most of the molds I was finding it hard to find |
| the late eighties it was the Rogue Trader miniatures | | | | them BUT thankfully the web was really starting to |
| that grabbed my attention. Rick Priestley really done | | | | hit it's potential and I could start finding clubs and |
| a number on my life! When I first started modeling I | | | | websites where I could speak to other like minded |
| used to build and paint my own lead models, typically | | | | people and of course EBAY:)) Now I know it has it's |
| British Red Coats, Prussians, and Napoleonic forces | | | | knockers and it's downsides but it was the number 1 |
| etc. | | | | stop for me to finding a lot of my lost minis BUT it |
| Then one day I bought a pack of Ral Partha fantasy | | | | was a nightmare of shill bidding, sniping, buyers pulling |
| figures and started veering down the Fantasy route | | | | out of sales as the auction didn't hit what they |
| but it wasn't until 1987 with the coming of Rogue | | | | wanted, figures being lost or broken in the post etc. |
| Trader that I found something that would take up a | | | | Alas there is now a multitude of places to find your |
| lot of my time, effort and of course money and that | | | | old miniatures:) |
| was the good old Imperium of Man - (Rick Priestley | | | | The full Games Workshop Rogue Trader armies list |
| wrote Rogue Traders as being freelance explorers | | | | and codes: |
| employed by the Imperium to search for planets | | | | The codes where changed in the 1991 edition but I |
| outside of the established borders) and all the ghastly | | | | have listed the codes for the first releases. |
| creatures you had to fight. Though at first there was | | | | |