Rogue Trader: The Unknown Dark (Started, 1 spot left)
A newly minted Rogue Trader dynasty, tasked with exploring a long-lost system, finds unimaginable horror waiting for them in the unknown dark.
TYPE
SYSTEM
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$38.00
/ Session
Details
Bi-weekly / Sunday - 12:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
5 / 6 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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Schedule
Meet your party members
5/6
About the adventure
This is the TTRPG equivalent of a 4x game, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. As the crew of a newly established Rogue Trader dynasty, you have almost unparalleled power to explore beyond the borders of the Imperium, expand the holdings of your dynasty, exploit what you find for your own game, and exterminate any who would oppose your will as the appointed ambassadors of the God Emperor of Mankind. This is a game about colony building. It is a game about madness and religious extremism, about darkness, horror, and the cruelty of war. As agents of a Rogue Trader dynasty, your decisions will seal the fates of billions and take a damning cost on your soul. Play this game if you want to... LEAD AN EXPEDITION THROUGH UNKNOWN SPACE As a Rogue Trader crew, it is your responsibility to chart the unknown and identify what is valuable, what is dangerous, and what is to be avoided at all costs. CREATE YOUR OWN SPACEBORN EMPIRE You have unlimited authority to conquer and colonize in the Emperor's name. Will you create utopic paradises where learning and reason are enshrined, or hell worlds where factory smoke chokes out the skies? INTERPRET THE EMPEROR'S WILL Will you destroy every alien you meet, or work with them? Will you spread the Imperial Creed as written, or fall into heresy and darkness?
Game style
Hexcrawl / Exploration
Realm Building
Roleplay Heavy
Sandbox / Open World
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
4.9
(13)
1 year on StartPlaying
114 games hosted
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Storytelling, Creativity
Average response time: 8 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Hi! My name is Zara Bamford and I live in Chicago, IL, with my partner and our adorable little monster of a cat. I’m passionate about history, comic books, medieval fantasy, science-fiction, and cooking. I’ve been DM’ing professionally for over four years on the convention circuit and have run D&D 5th Edition, Arkham Horror, and Star Wars: Edge of the Empire at major conventions like Gencon, Gamehole Con, and Pax Unplugged. I got my start in tabletop gaming with Warhammer 40,000, and spent countless hours hunched over kitchen tables and patios in my youth waging epic battles with plastic and metal figurines, but I always craved something more than just tactical combat - I wanted narrative, an epic adventure to accompany awesome battles. I wouldn't start truly DM'ing till college however, where I started a Rogue Trader campaign for my friends which continues to this day!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Character creation will happen in our free session 0. We will roll for stats, homeworld, and background, and i will offer extra experience to players who accept the randomly generated results of these rolls.
The party so far is a Rogue Trader, Arch Militant, Navigator, Gue'vesa Fire Warrior, and a Celestial Lions Space Marine. Each individual has been given an offer from the Inquisition which they could not possibly afford to pass up.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
For this campaign all you need is a discord account to join our voice server. We will be using the VTT TaleSpire for come combat and exploration scenes, but you do not need to purchase it, you only need to download the guest version from Steam.
What Zara brings to the table
My personal GM style is to balance tactically demanding and combat with impactful roleplaying and tense exploration sequences. I have an immersive narrative style I’ve honed over a decade of theater experience and half a decade on the professional DM circuit, so you can expect dramatic third person narrations of place and scene and a range of voices for the people your characters encounter. I'll also work with you to create a custom Heroforge miniature of your character, which we'll import into TaleSpire.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Zara creates a safe table
We will do a check in after every session to account for bleed, and we will collectively establish our lines and veils during session 0. In addition, we will use red, yellow, and green cards to ensure everyone is having fun and feeling safe during the game.
Content warnings
Safety tools used