Imperial Rogue Trader, the Void Dragon
Although we are still knee deep in our Dark Heresy campaign, the new Rogue Trader release was too good to pass up. One "free" game night, Andy brought his copy, and he, Chri3, and I all rolled up characters, and of course, the ship itself.
We rolled 60 ship points, but this means our wealth is conversely low. Basically we have lots of ship, but not lots of money, I have a feeling I know what our first few goals will be. We could've gone with a bigger ship, but not had much of anything else, instead we opted for a smaller ship, but that would allow us lots of customization options.
The Void Dragon is a Sword class frigate, drawing its thrust from a Jovian Pattern class 2 drive. A Stelov 1 Warp Engine powers it through the immaterium. An upgrade of Augmented Retro-thrusters gives the large craft better finesse and maneuverability. For protection is has a Single Void Shield Array and a R-50 Auspex Multi-band array finishes up its sensor complement. It also sports a forward Command Bridge.
The Void Dragon has added a Compartmentalized Cargo Hold, and its houses better quality internal environmental system with a Vitae Pattern Life Sustainer. Voidsmen Crew Quarters offer much more spaciousness than standard cramped quarters, and a second Barracks provides proper quarters for the standing ship's marines.
For offense capabilities, the Void Dragon utilizes a pair of Mars Pattern Macrocannons and a complement of Murder-Servitors for boarding actions.
It's the little extras that the Captain and crew of a ship implement that make large differences to those who serve on the ship. On top of the enhanced environmental controls and spacious quarters the Void Dragon also has a central Shrine to the God-Emperor on board. An expansive Trophy Room safeguards the rare items and treasure procured by the crew, and an Observation Dome gives a spectacular view of the stars beyond.
Captain Onyx Jack's personal symbol, the Ace of Spades
Rounding out the final specifications of the Void Dragon is the very curious Warpsbane Hull augmentation. This is certainly not a standard Imperial upgrade, and it is suggested that it is partially (or wholly) xeno in nature. Regardless of its origin, it makes warp travel with the Void Dragon much safer than most other Imperial ships.
About the model itself, it is a GW model believe it or not, from a very obscure game called Space Fleet that came out in 1991 as a predecessor to Battlefleet Gothic. It was a funky little game, but fun at the time, most of the components I had are long gone, except one of the Imperial ships. Considering what the newer ships look like, this lighter, sleeker version will work wonderfully as a smaller, frigate-classed ship. I couldn't think of a name, and frankly the "Void Dragon" hasn't been run by the group as of this writing, but I used a Salamanders decal on the prow, so I thought the name fit pretty well. Some roman numerals help make the ship look 'official' and on the side sponsons there are some kill markings and more ship numbers. Underneath I used a Cadian spade decal for personality.
I recognised this (and the unique type of base they released with the game) immediately. Blast from the past indeed!
ReplyDeleteGood stuff, I was tempted by the Rogue Trader book at the weekend myself (but resisted due to hefty price tag)
Looking forward to seeing this in action.
Thanks! We've had two character creation sessions so far, one was coupled with building the above ship, the other was last night to get in a couple more stragglers.
ReplyDeleteI may re-base the ship, just 'cause that base is a little too wide for our grid map, plus, I dug out two more large ships from the game, and they're not based, so I'd like them all to match.
Apparently the name is Eldar in origin, I didn't know that, but the fluff we worked up was that we liberated from Eldar raiders who had stolen it from the Imperium in the first place...so it makes sense after all.
I've got a good feeling about RT, so yeah, you'll see a lot more to come!
aw, you had me going for a while there that Rogue Trader would have minis! I am into BFG (didn't know about Space Fleet), so I immediately thought it was GW but not a BFG model. Curses!
ReplyDeleteLove what you've done with it, btw. It looks very unique. About how large is it compared to the BFG Sword Frigates? Same size? Little larger?
Love it :) How's Rogue Trader then?
ReplyDeleteShe's a fine vessel she is.
ReplyDelete@Master Darksol: Thanks! I don't have any BFG, so I'm not sure on the size comparison, but I've got to guess it's at least as long (if not longer) as a BFG capital ship. It's obviously less bulky though. Chrispy, a member of our group has BFG, and he's bringing ships next time so I'll let you know!
ReplyDelete@Chris: We have yet to actually play a session, but so far with just character creation and browsing the book, I love it!