Ship Roles
"On this ship, the Captain is your Master and I am her voice!"
Some roles are weighty and traditional to all Imperial vessels, while others only emerge out of necessity. Each brings with it the benefits and obligations of rank, the obligation of protection aboard a ship, and a pledge of fealty and recognition of the ship's ultimate owner, be it a Rogue Trader's dynasty or otherwise. Experience in command is important for all such roles, each being near the top of the hierarchy of a void-ship's crew. Those who hold such positions become accustomed to delegating tasks, mastering the internal politics of a ship's crew, and cultivating talented subordinates. Such subordinates might include emissaries of the great Imperial powers - some of which might wield influence even beyond the vessel, and must be handled carefully.[1]
Such positions are not hard military ranks, such as that found in Imperial Navy Hierarchy but are useful on a ship to delineate hierarchy. They organized according to numbered rank in he following manner:[1]
Contents
Rank One
Lord Captain
The first rank has only one entry: the Lord-Captain who is master of the ship. They are the ultimate decision-maker on matters of strategy, void-law, and negotiation. They are responsible for the lives and souls of all who pledge under their banner, and the fate of thousands of voidcrew hangs upon their decisions. If a ship could be thought of as a fortress, then its Captain would be the Fuedal Lord who accepts the pledges of allegiance from advisors, the commoner crew, and their elected spokesmen. An effective lord captain utilizes experience with command to impose their will during ship maneuvers and boarding actions, or to shame and break a mutinous crew - the arts of charm and charisma to restore flagging moral during long voyages - intimidation to compel the loyalty of perfidious servants - and an innate understanding of the Tacitca Imperialis.[1]
Rank Two
Rank Two consists of the immediate seconds of the Lord Captain and the seniormost positions on the crew.[1]
First Officer
As a Lord-Captain cannot be everywhere at once, and has limited time, the First Officer acts as their second in command, speaking with the same weight of authority as the Rogue Trader themselves, even prepared to assume the mantle should the Lord Captain be indisposed.[1]
Enginseer Prime
In the eyes of the Cult Mechanicus an Imperial ship is a living shrine, full of Tech-Adepts and Servitors, various machine sections constantly rebuilt or repaired, and laden with shrines of faith and prayer-works. The ship's Machine Spirit and the will of the Omnissiah must be appeased with constant labour, being vital to preparation against the disorder of battle damage and the needs of repairworks. The Enginseer Prime directs this task, being responsible for the maintenance of the ship itself, as well as its tech-secrets. In a Rogue Trader's crew this position is typically filled by an Explorator, however it is not unheard of for Missionaries or Void-master's to also take this role.[1]
High Factotum
The High Factotum is a master of trade, negotiations, compacts, endless records, bribes, threats, and the filling and emptying of the ship's holds. They oversee the ships quartermasters, negotiators, lessor factors, and the officers of the ship's hold crew. They maintain the crew at strength, whether through press-gangs or "recruitment" of convicts from Imperial prisons and obtain needed supplies for continued operation. They tread the line between corruption and honour, utilizing Thrones to their private ends. The High Factotum ensures that profit is brought to the Lord-Captain's venture, whatever the cost or the means, keeping both dock-scum and haughty merchants in line. Most often this role is filled in a Rogue Tradery's dynasty by a Seneschal, but on occasion is also filled by a Missionary. Knowledge of bartering, commerce, and evaluation are vital skills for a High Factotum, seeing through the lies and deception of other traders.[1]
Rank Three
Those of the "third rank" are still command staff, often those given specialist duties with necessary skill-sets.[1]
Master-at-Arms
An Imperial void-ship can muster small armies: security companies, boarding parties, and the common crew armed with rusty blades and stub-guns. They may also include entire regiments of mercenaries, Astra Militarum, or other troops stationed in the ships barracks. The Master-at-Arms is responsible for them and their commanders, his duty to ensure the loyalty of such void-ship forces, guarding the ship's security, and maintaining the armouries, ensuring victory against boarders and overseeing attacks on enemy vessels and hostile worlds. Typically this role is undertaken by an Arch-militant, but a Void-master may also oversee this role.[1]
Master Helmsman
The Master Helmsman is responsible for the safe piloting of the vessel through the void of space. A helmsman who has risen to be master of the profession must have a sixth-sense for the dangers which can confound auspexes and lead void-ships to ruin, and have an intimate familiarity with the helm crew and the vessels character.[1] Indeed, the Machine Spirit of a ship may have its own unique "personality" or behavioral oddity, depending on its history and provenance.[2] The Master Helmsman must pilot more than just the void, but also the competing fiefdoms of the enginarium, auspex, and bridge crew to ensure that every ship manoeuvre is accomplished to the Lord-Captain's standards. The role is most associated with that of a Void-master, but can also be filled by an Explorator or an Arch-Militant aboard a ship.[1]
Master of Ordnance
The Master of Ordnance ensures the void-ship's weapons and fighting crew are in their best condition, directing them to destroy the Lord-Captain's foes. They are responsible for the quality of gun-deck crews, the workings of armoured munitions vaults deep within the vessel, and the operations of weapons in void-battle. The vessels torpedoes, fighter squadrons, and other more exotic ordnance also fall under their purview. They oversee the officers of each gun-deck, lance battery, and small-craft squadrons. The role is typically undertaken by an Arch-Militant or a Void-master[1]
Master of Etherics
The Master of Etherics is responsible for a ships auspex and vox systems, without such a ship is deaf and mute. Often at the Lord-Captain's right hand, such is their value. The distant corners of the Imperium are often cloaked with darkness and interference, and it is the Master of Etheric's job to overcome these hostile voids and light the path. The role is typically undertaken by a Void-master, but also by an Arch-militant or an Explorator. They oversee the auspex vault officers, vox system crews, and the appointed Techpriest of Etherics.[1]
Chief Chiurgeon
The Chief Chirurgeon is master of the vessels medicae wards and their staff: doctors of physiks, medicae, alchemists, and a host of apprentices. The common voidfarer is afflicted by a thousand varieties of accidents and maladies, and a crew unattended will soon lapse into illness, putting the safety of the vessel at risk. The Chief Chirurgeon utilizes their talents to maintain the crews willingness to toil, and make use of his wards and supplies to scourge diseases, injuries, and also sicknesses of the mind. The role is often undertaken by a Missionary, but also an Explorator or Seneschal aboard a ship. They oversee Tech-adepts of the Magos Biologis as well as appointed Savant-Medicaes of the ships Librarium.[1]
Master of Whispers
The Master of Whispers deals with secrets, deceit, disloyalty and subterfuge that men and women are given to. Seeking and purging crooked elements among a ships crew, or hunting for such among the Lord Captain's rivals to gain advantage for the captain and ship. The spies of the Master of Whispers might range far beyond the ship itself, depending on the Lord Captain's mission. Such a role is typically associated with a Seneschal but is also sometimes undertaken by a Missionary. Inquiry, deception, interrogation, and scrutiny are all important skills for a ship's Master of Whispers.[1]
Choir-Master Telepathica
The etheric voices of Astropaths resound throughout the Immaterium. When united by a single will, they combine into a psychic harmony able to touch minds half a galaxy away. The Choir-Master directs this harmony and the Astropathic Choir as a whole, overseeing both lesser astropaths and rite-masters of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. Only an Astropath may undertake this role.[1]
Warp Guide
Also known as the Navigator Primaris, the Warp Guide is responsible for steering the vessel through the warp, both within the relatively safer routes inside Imperial borders, and the terrible dark voids beyond. They are all that stand between thousands of souls and the damnation of the warp. A single mistake could see daemons consume the vessel and all aboard it, and the eternal torment that follows. The role can only be undertaken by a Navigator, and their subordinates may be other lesser navigators, as well as the trusted bodyguards, emissaries, and assassins of the Navigator House elders.[1]
Rank Four
The fourth rank consists of ship's officers who have the most day to day contact with the crew, and are often intimately familiar with the workings of the ship.[1]
Ship's Confessor
The Ship's Confessor is the uppermost hiearch of shrines and Clerics aboard the vessel, responsible for scriptural purity and the spiritual well-being of all abord. The God-Emperor protects the righteous who abide by the holy laws of the Adeptus Ministorum and Imperium - only by His will is the warp kept at bay, and weapons strike true against foul xenos. Their task is to make the void-ship a true cathedral of the Imperial Creed, ensuring holy prayers and the blessings of the God-Emperor. The role is typically taken by a Missionary but if needed an Explorator or a Seneschal are known to fill this role. They oversee the lesser clerics, confessors of the vessel's shrines, emissaries of major Ministorum cults, and any unruly mobs of zealots, penitents, and pilgrims.[1]
Drivesmaster
A voidship's enginarium is a sprawling complex filling many decks, filled with countless ranks of enginseers working the rites to appease the machine spirits of the vessels roaring heart. Some among them are especially schooled in special rituals to drive the ship to greater efforts. The Drivesmaster is in charge of monitoring and maintaining the roaring plasma drive's that form the heart of the ship. Ultimately subordinate to the Enginseer Prime, the Drivesmaster often maintains the plasma drives as his own fiefdom, where none but the Mechanicus and their servants are welcome. This role is only ever filled by Explorators, and they oversee the Enginseers of the Drive Temple, the enginaerium's servitors, and the crewmembers who maintain the primary plasma conduits.[1]
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Sources
- 1: Rogue Trader: Into the Storm pg.224-232
- 2: Rogue Trader Core Rulebook pg.197-198
