So are Rogue Traders just de facto royalty

[Walt von Keisel-Walther]

The game seems to portray them more in the case of being royalty with heavy merchant monarchy vibes.

[plutone00]

They are colonist viceroys with major degree of autonomy since their domains are located at distant frotier systems which makes de facto royalty, yes.

[Balekai]

Originally posted by plutone00:

They are colonist viceroys with major degree of autonomy since their domains are located at distant frotier systems which makes de facto royalty, yes.

Yep, but that major degree of autonomy and power is almost absolute regardless of where they are. However, their job description as given to them by the Emperor himself, places most Rogue Traders on the edge of Imperial space and beyond. :) :)

Edit: Then there's those reality checks too about for far their power actually goes practically in relation to other powerful people/groups like the Inquisition. :p

[Aegmar]

The Imperium in 40k is semi-feudal. There is no instant lag-free communication (well, there is but its dependent on astrotelephathy through the warp and may be unreliable) and interstellar travel is unreliable. Ships, Stations and Planets may be isolated or poorly connected for months, years or even decades.

Large and important worlds would be better connected with Terra, having more regulear shipping, more astrotelepaths (for communication) and military importance, but there are more than a million settled worlds. Planetary Governors or Magistrates are often hereditary titles, although some worlds might be more oligarchic or even have some semblance of limited democracy (as an exception).

Feudal rule is the norm tho, a Rogue Trader is basically a nobel line with a specific mandate and can excercise practically abolute power within the confines of that mandate, although they may face mutiny if they divert too much from imperial laws and customs, after all noone can rule by himself.

[Enola Gay]

Think of them more as the world nobles from one piece. only 1 power that's above them, and that's the hand of Imu that graced their families with that status to begin with.

[Ishan451]

Originally posted by Walt von Keisel:

So are Rogue Traders just de facto royalty

The very first Rogue Traders were Rulers on Terra, who got Big E to sign them a Warrant of Trade and sent into space with the Promise that while they lost their seat of power on Terra they could create a new dynasty among the Stars.

So yes, Rogue Trader are Nobility, but not Royalty.

[I Denizen I]

Originally posted by Ishan451:

Originally posted by Walt von Keisel:

So are Rogue Traders just de facto royalty

The very first Rogue Traders were Rulers on Terra, who got Big E to sign them a Warrant of Trade and sent into space with the Promise that while they lost their seat of power on Terra they could create a new dynasty among the Stars.

So yes, Rogue Trader are Nobility, but not Royalty.

To be royalty means the rank, status, or power of a king or queen, kings or queens rule countries, or empires of multiple countries.

They have way way more power & wealth than any royalty we have ever seen here on earth to date.

Rogue Traders rule planets and sectors of space containing anything from tens, to hundreds of worlds, and have fleets of Starships.

They are part of the ruling elite of the WH40k universe, powerful enough that as an individual they can make pacts and treaties with the power blocks that run the Empire of mankind, be that the Mechanicus, the Imp Guard, the Imp Navy, Adeptus Astartes chapters, the Ecclesiarchy and even the Inquisition.

They are so far beyond what we know as royalty it's not funny.

[Ghul]

Yes and no. It is all down to perspective, as with the Imperium on a galactic scale the way they seen will change.

To your average citizen the planetary governor is the king/queen of the planet, with the position passing to their heir when/if they die. To them Rogue traders are mythical figures, appointed directly by their god.

To the planetary governors and other planetary nobles they are their king/queen/ruler or even mythical figure. It depends on how often they come across their or even a rogue trader. Those that face rogue traders often will treat them as a king/queen(with all the backstabbing/kiss___ing/resent that goes with it.) Those that don't see them as figures from stories.

For those that travel the galaxy, rogue traders are ruling elite answering only to the high lords of terra. While inquisitors can call them to heel(and in cases remove them by unsanctioned means), to sanction one requires a tribunal not just a single inquisitor(even lord).

So basically they are the closest thing the Imperium has to royal.

The biggest problem is that, because of the limited numbers some think every free trading vessel is a rogue trader. So those that deal with ship, they can see them as less than they are. Another example of this is a commissar. While almost every active guard regiment has one, for the local defence(not in an active war zone) there will only one for the entire star system.

[Metanoia]

Originally posted by Balekai:

Originally posted by plutone00:

Edit: Then there's those reality checks too about for far their power actually goes practically in relation to other powerful people/groups like the Inquisition. :p

There's reality checks for the Inquisition, too. An Inquisitorial Rosette won't stop a bolt or a power sword if the Inquisitor in question doesn't take appropriate steps to back it up with soft and hard power.

[Walt von Keisel-Walther]

Originally posted by Metanoia:

Originally posted by Balekai:

There's reality checks for the Inquisition, too. An Inquisitorial Rosette won't stop a bolt or a power sword if the Inquisitor in question doesn't take appropriate steps to back it up with soft and hard power.

Arbites have the legal right to actually kill Inquisitors if they suspect them of breaking the Law, thats apparently a real thing.

[Corridian]

Rogue Traders, as long as they are on the fringe of but not completely inside of the Imperium, are in effect, the absolute rulers over their domains.
They are considered to be the right hand of the Emperor, and are empowered with a Warrant that grants them more authority than any, save for the Lords of Terra, the Emperor of course, and that is all, as long as they are fringe or frontier.

No Inquisitor has authority over them when they are within their demesne or out in the frontier exploring. A Rogue Trader can pretty well do what they want, UNTIL:
They come back within the borders of the Imperium, they could be punished for naughty deeds by any of the ranking authorities.

That is it. If the Rogue Trader stays within the writ of the Warrant, then even within the Empire, the MC of an event would have difficulty in sorting which if any nobles would outrank the RT. Even within the Empire they are a force....

So are they Royalty? Within the confines of their Writ and their Lands, as long as outside the empire, then yes.
If their lands become a part of a sector, then they are accorded the honor beyond any planetary nobles, and are ranked just below the Governor of said sector.

Peace

[meatmaaan]

besides the immense power of the warrant, in this specific scenario the Lord Inquisitor (basically the head honcho in the Koronus Expanse) gives you a lot of leeway as long as he gets to order you around.

[Corridian]

Originally posted by meatmaaan:

besides the immense power of the warrant, in this specific scenario the Lord Inquisitor (basically the head honcho in the Koronus Expanse) gives you a lot of leeway as long as he gets to order you around.

The Lord Inquisitor only has what authority the Rogue Trader allows him to have. (as the game demonstrates) Unless the setting changes into the Empire proper, in which case, it will be hard for the RT to fight off the jihad level of punishment that the Lord Inquisitor could call on.

[Walt von Keisel-Walther]

I feel the game does over exaggerate the power of the Warrant of Trade juuuuuuuuust a little much, especially when it comes to Inquisitors, unless it actually is like that in lore.

[Corridian]

Originally posted by Walt von Keisel:

I feel the game does over exaggerate the power of the Warrant of Trade juuuuuuuuust a little much, especially when it comes to Inquisitors, unless it actually is like that in lore.

It is actually even more so in Lore
Inquisition ONLY has power when it is able to call upon the endless hordes of followers within the Empire.

You can and do kill the Lord Inquisitor in certain paths of the game..

In Lore, never bet against the Rogue Trader, unless it is something like a Lord of Terra directly. Yes, they are that powerful in Lore.

[Diomedes]

They are kind of like Privateers mixed with what ever Columbus was to the Spanish Empire. It is kind of weird given the context of the game, in which you only command a single ship, yet for some reason apparently have complete control over at least three major worlds... Where early on, you can easily get over run by superior fleets that are operating in your sector freely.. Yet some how you still haven't lost control of said worlds, where said fleets are flying all over the place.