Bound for GenCon

Apparently there’s a bit of liveblogging going on from GenCon. Will I do this? Not if it means missing out on cool demos or shopping or meeting designers. So, most likely no.

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Big news has already trickled out about one of my favorite game companies. Fantasy Flight Games, which secured the license to publish material for Warhammer 40k Roleplay and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay earlier this year, announced the first substantive release for the 40k RPG product line: Rogue Trader, set to debut at GenCon 2009.

Like Dark Heresy, which digs into the furtive schemings of the Imperial Inquisition, Rogue Trader promises to be an in-depth look at another fan-favorite part of the 40k universe: the raffish captains who pilot ancient starships deep into unexplored space. These rogue traders, as they’re known in the game’s lore, operate at the very fringes of civilization, often encountering never-before-seen cultures and creatures. If Dark Heresy was the 40k conspiracy game, Rogue Trader promises to be the 40k exploration game (though as always, count on a hefty dose of gothic, Cthulhu-inspired horror).

From a purely nostalgic point of view, Rogue Trader is the spiritual successor to 1987's Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, the seminal work that laid the groundwork for the rich, detail-drenched 40k universe we know today.

I’m hoping to chat up the FFG developers either today or tomorrow about their plans for the 40k RPG line.