Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is the first edition rule/source book for the Warhammer 40,000 miniature wargame by Games Workshop. The subtitle "Rogue Trader" was dropped in subsequent editions.
Rule book
The existence of a science fiction table top game in development by Games Workshop was made known through Citadel Journal in 1986 and Rogue Trader was officially released at Games Workshop's annual Games Day event in October 1987. Created by Rick Priestley, The game was titled Warhammer 40,000 in order to clearly differentiate it from 2000 AD's Rogue Trooper comic series. The game featured rules that were closely modelled on those of its older fantasy counterpart, Warhammer Fantasy Battle. The majority of the book was written by Rick Priestley who was also responsible for WFB.
The gameplay of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader differs from its main modern-day descendant, in that it was heavily role-play-oriented, with great detail placed on weaponry and vehicles and the inclusion of a third player (the Game Master) in battles, a role similar to the Dungeon Master in Dungeons & Dragons. Rogue Trader introduced some races that were later removed from the setting, such as the Space Slann (a humanoid frog-like race also found in Warhammer Fantasy at the time).
Models which were released for Rogue Trader are no longer produced. Limited sales have taken place through the Games Workshop online store.
Like many later incarnations, the Rogue Trader rulebook mostly contained lore about the Warhammer 40,000 universe, including the historical background of the Imperium of Mankind and xenos (alien) races. Information on the Warp was limited and the forces of Chaos were nowhere in the text. They were, however, referred to by game designer Rick Priestley in the pre-release announcement, and did show up shortly after in expansion rule books which provided not just greater background for the various races and armies, but also the first proper army lists.
The inside covers of the book were decorated with caricatures of members of Games Workshop staff. The physical rule book itself was notorious for poor construction, as the pages almost invariably fell out of the binding.
Lore Expansions
Supplemental material was continually published in White Dwarf magazine, which provided rules for new units and models. These articles were from time to time released in expansion books along with new rules, background materials and illustrations. Ten books were released for the original edition of Warhammer 40,000:
Chapter Approved - Book of the Astronomican, the Warhammer 40,000 Compendium and the Warhammer 40,000 Compilation compiled articles previously printed in White Dwarf.
Waaargh - Orks, 'Ere We Go - Orks in Warhammer 40,000 and Freebooterz introduced background material for Ork culture and physiology, and army lists for the major Ork clans, pirates, and mercenaries.
The Realm of Chaos books, Slaves to Darkness and The Lost and the Damned, included background and rules for Chaos in all of GW's main systems of the era - Rogue Trader, Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd edition, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.
The Battle Manual consolidated rules for the many weapons of the 41st millennium, and introduced new rules replacing the shooting and hand-to-hand combat phases of the game, while the Vehicle Manual contained a new system for vehicle management, including a target location system which used acetate crosshairs to simulate weapon hits on a silhouette of the vehicle.
Together, these manuals practically form an intermediate edition of the Warhammer 40,000 rules, between Rogue Trader and 2nd edition.
Character class
The rule book for this role-playing game originally described Rogue Traders as being freelance explorers employed by the Imperium to search for planets outside of the established borders. A Rogue Trader is portrayed as a trusted Imperial servant, and therefore given a ship, a crew, a contingent of marines and the right to go wherever they so desire. They generally survey uninhabited worlds near to the fringes of Imperial space and on the Eastern Fringes where the Astronomican does not reach.