We are just a bunch of old timer fans who have put together an easy quick start guide to playing the awesome Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader game from Games Workshop. This document is a fan project, in no way endorsed or approved by Games Workshop. All names and intellectual property are used without permission. These documents are released under a Creative Commons Attribution Lisence.
Welcome to the Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader soft start pack. This is a set of documents for new players, or veterans returning to the 1987 Games Workshop game. If you want to learn about 40k RT this is the place to start. The pack is a set of documents that summarise RT and makes suggestions to help the flow of the game and fix the worst bugs. Below are Google Drive links to download all the files in this project.
RT SOFT START txt
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aPMa4DUgw1jLvoPftsYKRlYBHEXduaRV/view?usp=sharing
RT HOUSE RULES pdf
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17wlH01J0J2llXGlD-NFP6wPQ-QbANGqJ/view?usp=sharing
JOHN'S WEAPONS SHEET.pdf
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SkigkdUhifhhnaZmwAQYzJyPlQZEGBjp/view?usp=sharing
RT POCKET EDITION pdf
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HTC-mX4DXcvSMpIvKdHljFXHNzdQqh--/view?usp=sharing
All of the above (including the weapon sheet as a spreadsheet) ZIP file
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2vglPDG5iX92GVedK-dY7VPGjJT2iDe/view?usp=sharing
The articles in this pack were written by three long time 40k RT players. We love the game, whether played as a narrative driven RPG adventure game or as a points pickup match. The core game is very robust and adaptable. However, it does have one or two clunky sections. Some parts are a bit broken, others are confusingly laid out and there are some simple balancing issues. We feel that the documents provided here help players organise games and play them using all the resources available. These include the main rulebook, 'Ere we go, the Compendium, the Compilation, White Dwarf magazines, Realm of Chaos, Chapter Approved and Warhammer Seige. The Soft Start package is a place to jump in and get help from long time players about this great game. Please feel free to ignore our advice and cherry pick what you like.
In the pack we have a document from Mr. Papafakis, called RT-Pocket-Edition. This is a transcript of the rule book, edited into a handy flow. It summarises all the rules. In some cases Mr.P has altered slightly the way a rule works to fix inconsistencies or aid the game flow. The booklet is intended as document to have at the table to replace the large rule book during a game.
My contribution is the House Rules document. This is a collection of minor amendments to the game. They are suggestions for bug fixes, balances and things that players should be aware of when playing 40k RT.
The final item is John's Weapons Table. This is a big list of all the weapons in game, collated and tinkered with. We suggest using this table as a replacement for those printed in the offical rule books and suppliments. Please note that the rule altering Following Fire to Rate of Fire is explained in the House Rules.
We hope this pack helps some new and old players have a good time with the awesome grandaddy of the 40k universe.