Let’s dig in!
First, a quick recap on what a “Rogue Trader” is.
“The Imperium is a very strict and tyrannical society,” Mishulin went on.
These latter choices have both minor mechanical impacts and larger narrative consequences.
Imperalis represents devotion to the Imperium, hatred of xenos and a love of order generally.
Hereticus is for evil Chaos-worshipping, alien-loving hipsters.
Mishulin showed me a party of his own creation, representing the fruits of about 80 hours of play.
We’re right behind you, champ!
She’s an unsanctioned psyker, aka illegal magic user, and an old friend of Teodora.
Idira’s key skill is divination, which allows her to buff allies in combat by predicting good futures.
Pasqal is the group’s machine-worshipping tech-priest.
He’s a versatile fighter, capable of melee and ranged damage, and something of a strategist.
And then there’s Marazhai, a blade-dancing Dark Eldar.
The Dark Eldar are among the least friendly of Warhammer 40K’s seldom-friendly races.
They like to torture people from ‘lesser species’ and feed on the resulting psychic energy.
“They don’t work with humans,” Mishulin commented.
“They consider humans animals.
But in this particular case, it was either Marazhai dying or joining the retinue.”
But it’s worth the trouble, because Marazhai is an absolute lawnmower in the fray.
There are lots of smaller variables and gambits to get your head around.
Burst attacks have a chance of hitting allies and explodable objects, for example.
The bigger, bipedal ones can resurrect after a turn, and order other Necrons to focus fire.
Grander locations include the Dark Eldar city Commorragh, which has never been glimpsed in a video game before.
“There’s pretty tight cooperation between us.”
Befitting its title, Rogue Trader takes a more elaborate approach to inventory management.
“It’s also turn-based but the mechanics are completely different,” Mishulin said.
“It’s closer to naval combat, moving into position, attacking enemies with broadsides.
It’s vast, bristling with things to customise, and powerfully grim.
