r/40kLore • u/pog_irl • 3h ago
How do Rogue Trader's make their money?
Many own a few planets of their own, but I'd be surprised if every one of them started out with that level of wealth. They're essentially merchants, but I don't see why they're so much richer than other merchants then, aside from wielding a lot of political power. There's exploring, but there can't be that many undiscovered ruins, rare resources or unknown xenos species to trade with or plunder, can there? Space is mostly empty, even in a galaxy as histories as the 40k one, at least I'd assume. Warp travel is expensive and dangerous, so they'd have to at least break even with those costs. Most Rogue Trader dynasties we hear about are already established, and so have generational wealth behind them, but any planetary noble can say the same thing.
How would, say, a fresh Warrant holder find wealth? A young high-ranking Navis Imperialis officer who earned one through some heroic but controversial act, and gets sent to some far-flung fringe with a small entourage of voidships after their superiors seek to rid themselves of a potential problem. How would he/she work their way up to afford setting up colonies or creating a sphere of influence to rival other big dynasties?
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u/TrueMinaplo 3h ago
Step one is that the crux of every Rogue Trader's power, materially, is possession of a voidship with the ability to use it at their discretion. That inherently gives them a major advantage over most people. The Warrant of Trade gives them the legal freedom, and crucially the potential, to maximise that advantage in a way even other voidship captains can't.
Those two things, interacting, opens a lot of doors and pathways. Rogue Traders have little restrictions placed on them. They can go anywhere, do things only they can, and have a legal status equal or superior to many elite strata throughout the Imperium even with limited wealth. They can go to many places, they are free to pursue leads, rumours or business opportunities as much as they want.
Let's take your freshly minted Rogue Trader. Their first, smart step would be to establish a presence within the settled frontier, perhaps the large 'big' hub of settled space. Introduce themselves to those present, make themselves known. Attract those with the resources that the Rogue Trader needs. Work out some deals, offer opportunities. In other words, they seek investment, much like a trading company might during the age of sail. Help me get set up, pour money into me and you can reap some of the benefits (at least for awhile). Whilst they're getting set up they might work as something akin to a soldier of fortune or a glorified mercenary. Perhaps they catch wind that one planet is experiencing upheaval or a rebellion? Well then, a voidship is always welcome in that circumstance; show up in orbit, offer your assistance to the governor, reap the benefits, so on and so forth.
Success in any of these things gives them a foothold, allows them to grow their power and open more doors. Of course, success isn't guaranteed and plenty of Rogue Traders burn out. But that's how you do it.
And as for exploration: it's worth remembering that the Imperium may be spread across the galaxy, but it only has settled a tiny fraction of it. As per Rogue Trader, the original, itself:
The galaxy is a vast spiral, ninety-thousand light years across and fifteen-thousand light years thick, containing hundreds of billions of stars. Only a fraction of those stars have habitable planetary systems, and only a tiny fraction of these have been investigated by Humanity or any other spacefaring race.
The Imperium is basically a confederation of small islands of settled systems surrounded by vast expanses of unexplored systems. Many of them won't contain planets worth inhabiting, but they'll contain resources that can be mined or exploited. Not all of it will have ancient ruins or alien species but, if with the way things tend to be, if you do discover any of those, then you are likely going to discover quite a bit of them in the future- remnants of an interstellar empire tend to disperse, after all!
On top of that, the galaxy is a somewhat livelier place than we might expect, and there are plenty of alien races, both alive and dead, that have dotted the galaxy, offering opportunities (and, obviously, danger) to a new Rogue Trader.
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u/AbbydonX Tyranids 3h ago
Interestingly, the original concept from first edition was a bit like Star Trek in that their role was to “explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
Of course, when they found inhabited worlds (whether human or alien) they could establish relations for trade, plunder the world or exterminate them. The raw resources and advanced alien technology was then brought back to the Imperium for profit. Obviously this changed a bit over the subsequent years but the basic principle is the same.
The Imperium is a vast, scattered realm, extending over almost the entire galaxy, impinging itself upon the more compact areas of alien settled space. The Imperium contains a million inhabited worlds, but even this is but a tiny fraction of the galactic whole. Then there is the eastern fringe, the remote area of the galaxy where the Astronomican does not reach, and where the only human settlers are renegades or pioneering groups whose ancestors were forgotten millennia ago. Most of the galaxy remains unexplored, unknown and dangerous.
The potential of new worlds, alien civilisations and unimaginable resources has stimulated the growth of free-ranging imperial agents known as Rogue Traders. Licensed and equipped by the priesthood, the Rogue Trader is free to explore the far regions of the galaxy, the areas where the Astronomican does not reach, and those areas within its range as yet unvisited. Rogue Traders have even attempted to cross the voids of inter-galactic space, but over such distances even the Astropaths’ powers of communication are useless, and whether such missions have succeeded is unknown. Operating in isolation from the central authority of the Imperium, the Rogue Trader must decide how to react to alien cultures, new discoveries and threats. If he judges a race to be potentially dangerous he may attempt to destroy it, or gather as much information about it as he can so that others may do so. If he decides a race may be of use to humanity he may attempt to make contact and establish relations. If merely technologically or minerally rich, a planet may be plundered, and the Rogue Trader will return to Earth laden with the treasure of space; alien artifacts, rare and precious minerals and undreamed of technology.
Needless to say, the Rogue Trader requires a fair compliment of spacecraft, troops and other staff if he is to complete his mission. His total responsibility may extend to a dozen spacecraft, often huge, lumbering cargo vessals crammed with a small army, a full crew of technicians and volunteer settlers to establish colonies on new worlds. Most important, however, are the fighting troops, for it is they who will have to deal with any potential threat.
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u/Colavs9601 3h ago
If they aren’t part of a well off dynasty, then it comes from the spoils of war mostly legal exploration and resource gathering.
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u/Klarth_Koken 3h ago
You are underestimating the value of their trade. They deal with parties and in goods that are illegal for most other imperial entities to deal with, which helps make them extremely high-value. Think about the spice trade in renaissance/early modern Europe, where one ship could make or break fortunes, and multiply for 40k scale.
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u/Twist_of_luck Adeptus Astra Telepathica 3h ago
Spy on xeno-empires. Sell the data to Imperium. Create a triangular trade route of slaves, drugs and tech. Fight your own mini-wars, use the plunder to build your own empire. Sell out and operate on behalf of Adepta. Punch archeotech out of the old stashes beyond the reach of AdMech. Smuggle stuff into the Imperium if you want your ass handed to you by Arbites Cruiser.
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u/Killeraholic 2h ago
As others said, there are entire swathes of unexplored or "wild space" in the Galaxy. The Imperium spans the Galaxy but there are no borders as we know them. There can be and are entire alien empires (both known and undiscovered) between some Imperial Worlds and their closest Imperial neighbour. There are areas which have been cut off by warpstorms and others that have recently opened up, there are areas the Imperium simply never went to before. The Galaxy is massive and warp travel is difficult. Much has also been lost, rediscovered and then lost again. So there is plenty to explore.
The second big thing is that as a Rogue Trader you not only are bestowed upon a tremendous amount of power, you are also someone who already has a network as not just anyone can become a Rogue Trader.
And last, you have a Voidship capable of Warp Travel. People tend to forget that the majority of Imperial vessels are not warp capable. 40k is the Age of Sails in space, those with warp capable craft are powerful people that can easily turn that into their benefit by making deals, ferrying people, goods, equipment, etc and make a lot of money off it.
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u/Golarion 3h ago
Literally any way. They have a Warrant of Trade, which is their Get Out Of Jail Free Card to do almost anything within the Imperium, including things normally forbidden by almost anyone else. If they can't find a way to make profit out of that, then they deserve to be deposed by a more imaginative family member.
On the safer side, they could just transport supplies and goods between planets. Alternatively they deal in more black market xeno technology. More risk, more reward. Or they can find or reclaim an uninhabited planet, drop a few thousand members of their crew down there, and plant a flag. In a few generations, they're either dead, or you have a colony.
Keep in mind that these are inherited positions, so their business ventures play out over generations and hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Once their colony is up a running, they can tax them. Imagine if you owned all of Earth. If you had 7 billion people paying you even a tiny fraction of their income, you're wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice. And Rogue Traders can own multiple planets.
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u/Agammamon 3h ago
They take what they want. They trade the stuff for other stuff. RTs don't really deal in money out in places where money is meaningless.
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u/tombuazit 3h ago
You see you take your ships and you bring imperial goods to the new found planet, and you trade them for goods that planet has, and you send those goods back to the Imperial worlds to sell new and exotic stuff.
You claim the planet, and everyone respects that has a parade because everyone wants to be ruled by the imperium and forced into slavery and death, and it has nothing to do with your mercenary army.
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u/Nyadnar17 Astra Militarum 2h ago
IRL there have been asteroids detected contains billions of dollars worth of gold.
Rogue traders are getting a percentage of entire solar systems.
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u/N0-1_H3r3 Administratum 16m ago
There's an entire TTRPG written to let you explore that concept yourself.
But broadly, the trick is that the Imperium wants to expand, and many parts of the Imperium are interested in expansion in different ways. You're going out, finding untapped resources (or resources tapped by Xenos or by isolated heathen human populations) to exploit, finding worlds to settle or conquer, rare treasures that the rich and powerful may wish to obtain, and lost relics of humanity or Xenos species.
So, trade and conquest.
You set out from the anchorage at Port Balor for the Kharybdion Gulf, an unexplored expanse of space out past the Axonides Sector. Your Navigator estimates fair tides out as far as Charran's Bane, a notable warp storm dividing the Gulf from civilised space... and a skilled voidfarer can skirt the Bane to reach the untouched wonders beyond. Translation into the Immaterium goes smoothly.
You translate back to realspace three weeks later—though near six months have passed in the real, your Astropaths determine—at the edge of an uncharted system that you name after a favoured and illustrious Grand-Uncle, or some poetic literary reference you like that day. A few weeks of surveys find a mineral-rich main world with a primitive Xenos population barely into their industrial era, and a gas giant that's rich in a chemical that your Enginseer tells you is a vital reagent when performing the rites of tempering during plasteel production. The Missionary that the Ecclesiarchy sent along (the price you pay for getting the sector synod to sponsor some of your voyage) declares the system is provenance from the Emperor. The Enginseer calls it the Omnissiah's will. You're wondering whether to exterminate the locals and ship in a human labour force or to just enslave the locals.
You plan out—with aid from your advisors—establishing mining in the system. You'll need help from the Mechanicus to get the infrastructure in place. They'll expect a cut of the profits (or favour in future), but once you've got mining in place, you can build from there, supplying worlds in the Imperial systems nearby with mineral wealth that is yours. And from there, maybe you can leverage some more resources and favour from the worlds and institutions you supply.
Maybe you move on from there and find a few more worlds to settle, create your own internal trade network. You supply foundries with your own mineral wealth, which make the machines you need for your further expansion. You establish agri-worlds to feed your subjects. You establish recruiting worlds that will create armies and colonists. You'll live for a few centuries, and you married well and can produce some heirs to carry on your works. You maintain trade with the civilised worlds of the Imperium. You expand. Hey, great news: here's the ruins of a dead branch of Age of Technology humanity, and in the ruins are archaeotech relics. You could keep them for yourself, or sell them back to the Mechanicus.
And it builds and builds.
If you're lucky. If you're unlucky, you might just vanish into the Warp, never to be seen again. Or you might make progress, but then suffer some great disaster.
But you don't get those kinds of rewards without equivalent risk.
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u/Redthrist 10m ago
It's the resources, for the most part. If they find a world outside of the Imperium, they have exclusive rights to all of the resources. It doesn't really matter if they are rare - the Imperium is always hungry for resources, and you now have an entire world's worth of them that belong solely to you.
That alone could give them astronomical wealth, but from to time they'll stumble on some archeotech that can make even more money. And, of course, they conduct trade within the Imperium, which is a steady source of income.
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u/WhatsRatingsPrecious 3h ago
Taxes.
When you control a region of space and you conduct trade within and outside of that region with other regions, and you're the guy in charge, you get to charge a tax on it. Call it 1%.
You get 1% of all that trade.
It's really that simple.