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{{otheruses|USE=Space explorers|OTHERUSE=other uses|OTHERPAGE=Rogue Trader (disambiguation)}}
[[File: Rogue Trader RPG Cover.jpg|thumb|right|225px|A Rogue Trader and his retinue]]
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|quote = ''"You might see a sky full of stars; I see money to be made."''
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{{ambig|subject=space explorers|disambiguation=Rogue Trader}}
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[[Image:RogueTraderSymbol.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Symbol of the Rogue Traders{{Fn|19}}]]
A '''Rogue Trader''' is a combination of freelance explorer, conquistador and merchant. They are Imperial servants, given a ship, a crew, a contingent of marines or [[Imperial Guard|Guardsmen]] and ''carte blanche'' to roam the worlds beyond Imperial control.{{Fn|1b}}
==Rogue Traders==
[[File:Rogue Trader RPG Cover.jpg|thumb|right|225px|A Rogue Trader and his retinue]]
Dating back to the very birth of the Imperium during the time of the [[Great Crusade]],{{Fn|39}} Rogue Traders are highly exceptional individuals who are driven to success even though these exceptional people often have extreme character quirks themselves; some destroy entire worlds for the slightest reason, or include alien warriors and [[mutant]]s among their entourage.{{Fn|1c}} Some are highly pious while others are no more than legitimised pirates. One infamous Rogue Trader was [[Jan van Yastobaal]], who became little more than a desperado plundering whatever world he came upon.{{Fn|2}}
===The Warrant of Trade===
[[Image:RTCruiser.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A [[Rogue Trader Cruiser]]{{Fn|36}}]]
It should be noted that although Rogue Traders are shipmasters who travel the vastness of space, their authority to do so comes not from a [[Merchant Charter]], but rather a letter of appointment that elevates them to the authority equalling [[Space Marine]] [[Chapter Master]]s, [[Inquisitor]]s and [[Planetary Governor]]s{{Fn|1a}} Some of the more ancient ones are dated from the very beginnings of the Imperium, and some were even signed by the [[Emperor]] himself.{{Fn|5b5a}} Others were signed by [[Primarch]]s or other leaders of the [[Great Crusade]].{{Fn|5c5b}} These charters are very valuable and give its owner great leeway. They are tailor-made and unique. They cannot be re-appealed as according to Imperial law and Imperial religious dogma no one is empowered to overrule these persons.{{Fn|5a}}
Certain powerful lords of the [[Adeptus Terra]] offer warrants of trade as a bribe to their rivals, especially if those rivals have ambitions for higher stations. Being too powerful to come into direct conflict it can be arranged for the individual to receive a warrant of trade, the honour of which cannot be refused. The rival then must simply walk away into a life of adventure and wealth and no longer causes trouble for their former opponents.{{Fn|1c}}
'''Letters of Marque''' are similar documents issued more recently. The Letters of Marque are rather restricted in some aspects and controlled more effectively by Imperial authorities. This may be of geographical nature (e.g.: restrict the Rogue Trader into a single sector) or something similar. The more recent letters of marque are not hereditary at all; hopeful heirs must return and reapply for a new charter.{{Cite This}} Some Letters of Marque are only valid to those they are given to and these Rogue Traders are regularly contacted by the [[Administratum]]. These Marques are officially no longer valid once the Rogue Trader dies and will be revoked, when the Administratum learns of their deaths. However until that occurs, the Marques can illegally be used by someone pretending to be the deceased Rogue Trader they were issued to.{{Fn|35}}
Though a '''Warrant of Trade''' or a '''Letter of Marque''' grants extraordinary freedoms within the [[Imperium]], they also invariably contain particular conditions; sometimes Rogue Traders will be required to make regular visits to certain troublesome Imperial worlds, or sent to enact military action on world which do not require the force of the segmentum battlefleets. Often however, Rogue Traders will be required to travel outside the established territories of the Imperium in the name of settlement or exploration.{{Fn|1e}}
==Frequently Used Ships==
**[[Enginseer]]{{Fn|24}}
**[[Genetor]]s
**[[Lectro-Maester]]s
**[[Acolyte of Abraxas|Acolytes of Abraxas]]
**[[Technoarcheologist]]s
*[[Missionary|Missionaries]]
**[[Torchbearer (Missionary)|Torchbearers]]
*[[Navigator]]s
**[[Navis Scion]]s
*[[Colchite Servo-Master]]s
*[[Cold Trade|Cold Trade Brokers]]
*[[Combat Servitor]]s*[[Crusader]]s*[[Death Cult Assassin]]s*[[Defender of the Fourth Cipher|Defenders of the Fourth Cipher]]
*[[Drusian Adherent]]s
*[[Heretek]]s
*[[House Operative]]s
*[[Order of the Hammer Initiate]]s
*[[PiratesPirate]]s*[[Primaris Psyker]]s
*[[Psylakis Warder]]s
*[[Red Consecrator]]s
***[[Shas'ui]]
==Known Rogue Traders Trader Houses==
*[[Almansis Dynasty]]{{Fn|24b}}
*[[House Arcadius]]{{Fn|14a}}
==Sources==
*{{Endn|1}}: [[Rogue Trader Rulebook]],:
**{{Endn|1a}}: pg. 322
**{{Endn|1b}}: pgs. 322–324
**{{Endn|1k}}: pg. 333
*{{Endn|2}}: [[Warhammer 40,000 4th Edition Rulebook]], pg. 94
*{{Endn|3}}: [[Rogue Trader: Battlefleet Koronus]]:
**{{Endn|3a}}: pg. 20
**{{Endn|3b}}: pg. 28
**{{Endn|3e}}: pg. 98
*{{Endn|4}}: [[Farseer (Novel)]],{{Cite this}} pg. 209
*{{Endn|5}}: [[Legacy (Novel)]], :**{{Endn|5a}}: ''Chapter Two'', pg. 37**{{Endn|5b}}: ''Chapter Two''**{{Endn|5c}}: ''Chapter Six''
*{{Endn|6}}: [http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=261&enmi=Warhammer%2040,000:%20Conquest Warhammer 40,000: Conquest] - [http://www.cardgamedb.com/index.php/wh40kconquest/conquest.html/_/core/rogue-trader-r182 Rogue Trader], card description
*{{Endn|7}}: [[Warhammer 40,000 Collectible Card Game (game system)]]: '''Siege of Malogrim Hive''' — [http://i.imgur.com/6ieXcxB.jpg Captain Karl Mateus], card description
*{{Endn|8}}: [[Codex: Chaos Daemons (6th Edition)]], pgs. 33–34
*{{Endn|9}}: [[Imperial Armour Volume Twelve]], pg. 16
*10: [[Farseer (Novel)]]:
**{{Endn|10a}}: Chapter 1
**{{Endn|10b}}: Chapter 18
*{{Endn|11}}: [[Space Hulk (Board Game)]], 3rd Edition
*12: [[Rogue Trader: Edge of the Abyss]],:
**{{Endn|12a}}: pgs. 101–102
**{{Endn|12b}}: pg. 113
*{{Endn|13}}: [[Inquisitor Rulebook]], pg. 107
*14: [[Warhammer 40,000 Chapter Approved - The Book of the Astronomican]]:
**{{Endn|14a}}: pg. 47
**{{Endn|14b}}: pg. 77
**{{Endn|24d}}: ''Commodore's Vestures'' - Shock Maul (Faustus Battlegarb)
**{{Endn|24e}}: Sefoni dialogue in the Psykhanium
*{{Endn|25}}: [[Codex: Elucidian Starstriders]], pg.10 - ''Elucia Vhane''
*{{Endn|26}}: [[Only War Core Rulebook]], pg. 376 - ''Chapter XII''
*{{Endn|27}}: [[Deathwatch: Know No Fear]], pg. 8 - ''The Year of Dreaming Depths''
*{{Endn|28}}: [[Battlefleet Gothic Magazine Issue 19]], pg. 5
*{{Endn|29}}: [[Rogue Trader: Into the Storm]]:
**{{Endn|29a}}: pg. 151
**{{Endn|29b}}: pg. 183
*{{Endn|30}}: [[Battlefleet Gothic Armada]], pg. 160
*{{Endn|31}}: [[Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum]], pg. 270 - ''The Powers of Dao Teyras''*{{Endn|32}}: [[Imperial Armour Volume Nine - The Badab War - Part One]], pg.76
*{{Endn|33}}: [[The Martyr's Tomb (Novel)]], Chapter Thirteen
*{{Endn|34}}: [[War Zone Octarius - Book 2: Critical Mass]], pg. 30
*{{Endn|35}}: [[Eye of Terror (Novel)]], Chapter 3
*{{Endn|36}}: [[Battlefleet Gothic Compendium 2010]], pg.83
*{{Endn|37}}: [https://web.archive.org/web/20240731021452/https://roguetrader.owlcat.games/news/en/8 Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Promotional Art] (last accessed 30/7/2024) https://roguetrader.owlcat.games/news/en/8
*{{Endn|38}}: [[Dark Heresy: The Radical's Handbook]], pg. 17
*{{Endn|39}}: [[Tallarn: Ironclad (Novella)]] - , Chapter 6
*{{Endn|40}}: [[Dark Heresy Core Rulebook]], pg. 124
