Cold Trade

“Of all the vices you Imp’ral possess, I find the one you call ‘greed’ most fascinating. That you would sell your secrets, betray your kin’blood, and even enslave your own race to us, and for what? Mere trinkets and toys---for the least of our crafts. Most amusing...”
—Master Vray, Fra’al Satrap
Contact with xenos races is strictly forbidden to
the Imperial citizen, and the alien is abhorred
and condemned from the Imperial pulpit with the
same vociferous hatred as the witch, mutant, or daemon.
For the Imperium, the alien exists only to be destroyed for
the fundamental crime of contesting mankind’s dominance
of the cosmos. After millennia of constant warfare and
xenocides, most of the alien races that have survived contact
with humanity have come to hate and fear the Imperium in
turn or, like the Ork, have come to delight in the endless
conflict. This is a somewhat simplistic picture, however. For
within these broad generalizations hide numerous localized
exceptions, dark dealings, and subtler realities, particularly in
those regions at the very edge of the Imperium’s control---such as the Calixis Sector.
There are always those who through opportunism, avarice,
or simple desperation will deal with the alien either for profit
or survival’s sake. There is also a market for xenos artefacts,
curiosities, lore, science, and even for dangerous xenocreatures
amongst the Imperium’s powerful elite. The “Cold Trade,” as it is known in the Calixis Sector, deals with items
and commodities such as these, and is mired in a grey area
of Imperial law. Although there are numerous objects and
artefacts that are outright illegal, there are a great many that are
not, in part because the breadth and scale of the galaxy makes
it simply impossible to categorize and ban every item, device,
or object that may or may not have been made by nonhuman
hands.
The waters of legality and control are further muddied
by the fact that certain individuals and agencies have had
their right to exploit xenos races, conduct commerce outside
Imperial space, or profit from alien plunder enshrined in law
since the Imperium’s founding. Foremost among these are
the Rogue Traders, be they of great and ancient dynasties or
the holders of lesser charters. In some cases, they have spent
millennia questing beyond the borders of the Imperium. But
they are not alone. The explorators of the Adeptus Mechanicus,
the Imperial Crusades, and innumerable lesser merchants,
renegades, and frontier worlds all have had the potential for
contact with the alien and are avenues by which alien plunder
and alien devices can make their way onto the worlds and
markets of the Imperium’s heartland.
The problem of unregulated trade in xeno-artefacts is
particularly prevalent in the Calixis Sector, standing as it does
on the edge of Imperial space. Before the sector’s founding,
many of its inhabited worlds were once were home to alien
occupation---a legacy which has left many secrets buried. Local
laws vary widely on just what is and is not illegal to transport,
import, and own, and a number of independent commercial
vessels that ply the sector dabble in the Cold Trade to some
degree, usually as an adjunct to their more regular activities.
The Cold Trade is further catered to by numerous merchants
on wealthy worlds such as Scintilla and Malfi, serving the tastes
of collectors among the nobility and mercantile elite. All of
these traders claim legal provenance for their goods (the risk
of doing otherwise is just too great, no matter how influential
their clientele might be). In practice, it is only the extremely
rich and powerful who can afford to own such items, and
because of their status they are able to avoid being denounced
as “xenophiles” and subjected to the suspicion and wrath of
the masses indoctrinated to hate and fear the alien. Of course,
it is in part the thrill of the forbidden and the excitement of
risk that make such collections appealing to jaded guilders and
dissolute nobles in the first place. This, however, is a dangerous
game, and quite apart from the potential risk to body and soul
inherent in the things they crave, even the most highborn noble
walks a tightrope collecting xeno-artefacts. The closer to the
forbidden their tastes err, the more they risk censure, criminal
investigation, or, worse still, the attention of the Holy Ordos
or even the Redemptionists’ flames should their activities draw
notice.
==Sample Xeno-artefacts in the Calixis Sector==
Within the Calixis Sector, reaction to xeno-artefacts will vary
from location to location. An old piece of unearthed statuary
that might go unremarked upon and used as a doorstop on
a frontier world like Ganf Magna would be enough to have
the possessor dragged to the pyre as a xenophile deviant
on Maccabeus Quintus. As a result, those who trade in such
items and those who wish to purchase them must be both
circumspect and cautious. Quite apart from this grey market
there exists a true black market in items classified as completely
forbidden by Imperial law. Such illegal items often command
vast sums, but the danger involved is equally high, carrying
the death penalty for all involved and attracting the wrath of
Imperial authorities.
The following is a sampling of such xeno-artefacts that
form part of the Cold Trade, ranging from the merely exotic
to the outright banned.
Xeno Art and Other Curiosities
Works of art and antiquities---statuary, trinkets, mosaic
shards, graven tablets, broken devices, strange jewelry, and
the like purporting to be of nonhuman origin---are perhaps
the most common (and easily faked) staple of the Cold
Trade. Most are simply sold under the banner of “made by
unknown hands,” which is vague enough to pique interest but
non-specific enough to not require proof. Others come with
convoluted stories or dubious provenances to increase their
potential value. However, the “real thing”---fragments of Eldar
wraithbone, Moliochin Fire Hearts, or the disturbing chthonic
idols unearthed from dead worlds in the Hazeroth Abyss---can
fetch enormously high prices and carry dangers of their own.
Dubious Object: Cost 100+, Scarce
Provenanced Curio: Cost 1,000+, Rare
Unique Antiquity: Cost 5,000+, Very Rare
Crimson Bestiaries
Xenos bestiaries, books purporting to detail and catalogue a
variety of alien creatures, are commonplace in the libraries of
the wealthy. Most contain little more than lurid illustrations
and superficial descriptions of the more notable enemies of
mankind and whatever local fauna is deemed appropriate.
They range from the opinionated and often widely inaccurate
works illuminated by Ecclesiarchy scribes to rarer works
more grounded in reality and culled from scholastic learning,
perhaps even from first-hand accounts. Of this latter kind,
the Crimson Bestiaries (so called for their distinctive serpent
skin bindings) produced by the Great Library of Fenksworld
are highly regarded. The volumes skirt dangerously close to
the edge of knowledge that Ordo Xenos will allow in the
public domain.
A Crimson Bestiary requires a successful Challenging
(+0) Literacy Test to successfully reference (See Table
7-4: Investigation Benchmarks on page 186 of Dark
Heresy). If this test is passed, a character using the tome
to learn something relating to the Calixis Sector and the
surrounding stars gains a +5 bonus to his next Forbidden
Lore (Xenos) Test.
Cost 275, Rare
Deluvial Tincture (Drug)
One of a number of supposedly alien elixirs promising
everything from practical immortality to superhuman virility
and sold by unscrupulous traders and hereteks, the so-called
delulvial tincture is more dangerous than most. It contains
proscribed ingredients including xenos retroviral suspensions
believed by some Magos Biologis to be distilled from Eldar
blood. The source of the drug is thought to lie somewhere in
the Hazeroth Abyss, and it is rapidly gaining ground among
those that can afford its dubious benefits.
Once imbibed, the tincture immediately produces a
feeling of euphoria and impairs the user’s judgment, while
improving his focus and reaction time. Users gain a bonus
of +10 to their Agility and Perception, although they suffer
a –5 to their Willpower and Intelligence for the duration of
the drug’s effects, which last for 1d5 Hours. Once the drug
wears off, the user gains a level of Fatigue until rested. The
substance is dangerous in large doses---if taken more than
once in a 24 hour period, he must pass a Challenging (+0)
Toughness Test or suffer 1d10 permanent Agility and 1d5
permanent Intelligence Damage.
Dose: Cost 300, Rare
Nightweave Silk
This silk is an opulent fabric woven from a crystalline material
that shimmers with a spectrum of soft inner light when worn
in twilight or darkness, producing almost hypnotic fascination
in onlookers. Nightweave silk is valued for its effect, great
beauty, and rarity by the high lords and ladies of the sector,
and is sold only by traders who operate on the Halo Stars’
margins (who remain tight-lipped about its origins). Despite
its favor in numerous courts, it is considered ill-omened by
many void born, and some psykers claim to detect the faintest
echo of suffering and something inhuman in the silk, likewise
shunning it.
Gown: Cost 1,000+, Rare
Merchant’s Bolt: Cost 5,000, Very Rare
The Zamarkand Rose
Named after the legendary Rogue Trader bloodline of
Zamarkand who brought this poisonous gift back to the
Calixis Sector centuries ago, the rose is a fast growing tree
that forms huge and intricate skeletal shapes as it matures. An
exquisitely beautiful yet sinister thing, the Zamarkand rose
blooms a deep crimson and midnight hue, and produces a
gorgeous melancholic scent. Its biology is as much animal as
vegetable, and it grows strongest when its roots are fed with
blood and decay. Indeed, the merest scratch of its poisonous
thorns is enough to kill an adult human. The rose is a
forbidden xeno-species by direct order of the Lord Sector’s
decree and has been so for 300 years, and with good reason;
the crushed petals of the rose form a powerful hallucinogen
capable of wreaking dreadful genetic damage to its imbiber.
The Zamarkand rose remains a forbidden thing of dark legend
to the Calixis elite, and upon occasion a particularly sadistic
weapon of courtly intrigue.
Zamarkand rose petals are highly addictive, plunging those
that drink them into a soporific fever dream of extraordinary
and twisted visions that will last for hours. Each time the
substance is taken, the victim gains 1d5 Insanity Points and
1d5 permanent Toughness Damage. Resisting the addiction
is a Hard (–20) Willpower Test that must be passed once
every 12 hours for 1d5 days in order to break the addiction
fully. Should the addict be reduced to “0” Toughness, instead
of dying there is a 50% chance he will be horrifically changed.
If this occurs, he regains his Toughness score, is rendered
irrevocably and homicidally insane, and gains the From
Beyond trait. His eyes become bloody orbs, and his blood
vessels pulse visibly through his now almost transparent skin,
granting him the Fear (1) Disturbing trait.
Zamarkand Rose: Cost 15,000+, Very Rare
Distilled Petals (dose): Cost 500, Very Rare
==Xeno Weapons, Armor and Gear==
“Come closer, my friend. This weapon burns hotter than any of your Imperial laspistols, yes, and is much more durable as well. It is yours for only a small fee...”
–Kinser, merchant of the Cold Trade
Of all the artefacts of alien origin, few are more sought after
than xeno-weaponry, and in nearly all cases their possession
is highly illegal. Some such weapons are highly desired for
their unique destructive qualities, but often people want them
simply for the pleasure of the forbidden. Some more radical
of the Ordo Xenos agents also favor such strange and lethal
devices to aid their work (turning the weapons of the alien
against them), while on the dark frontier of the sector’s edge
some desperate or corrupt humans will happily trade with
xenos renegades for their potent weaponry regardless of its
often heavy and macabre price.
Eldar Shuriken Weapons
Members of the ancient Eldar race have little to do with the
Calixis Sector as they are believed to consider it accursed, and
save for the occasional privations of corsairs and a handful
of wandering outcasts, they and their potent technology
remain little more than a myth for most. Eldar artefacts as
a consequence are rare and hugely valuable when traded
on the sector’s black market. Eldar weapons are particularly
prized, fetching huge sums from private collectors. Shuriken
weaponry is one such type---these guns are graceful dealers
of death that use sophisticated gravity accelerators to hurl
volleys of miniature razor disks to literally slice their victims
apart in seconds.
Shuriken weapons use solid core ammunition which
Imperial technology cannot replicate. As a result their
ammunition is classed as Very Rare with a base price of 500
Thrones per clip.
Shuriken Pistol: Pistol, 20m, S/3/5, 1d10+2, R, PEN 4, Clip 40, RLD 2Full, Reliable, WT 1.2kg
Shuriken Catapult: Basic, 60m, S/3/10, 1d10+4, R, PEN 6, Clip 100, RLD 2Full, Reliable, WT 2.5kg
Hrud Fusil
Little is known of the reclusive and dangerous race known
as the Hrud other than that they dwell only in darkness and
possess strange, warp-based technology which, it is said,
allows them to walk between worlds and even corrupt the
flow of time with their baleful presence. The fusil is one of
a scant few Hrud artefacts that occasionally come up for sale
and is always in high demand. It is a form of “plasma musket”
that uses an unfathomable mechanism to phase a plasma
bolt between realspace and the warp, bypassing its target’s
defenses. Though somewhat unpredictable, the weapon’s
unique qualities make it useful for assassins and Inquisitorial
agents alike.
Fusils traded on the black market have been crudely
modified to accept Imperial plasma cells. However, if a fusil’s
mechanism becomes badly damaged it cannot be repaired by
human hands.
Basic, 100m, S/–/–, 2d10, E, PEN 5, Clip 3, RLD 3Full, Inaccurate, Overheats, Warp Weapon, WT 4kg
Fra’al Glass Knife
The glass knife is a vicious hand weapon of xenos origin that
has long been a staple of black market trade on the Halo Stars
frontier. Glass knifes are jagged, dagger-like blades, seemingly
crafted from a single piece of smoky crystal. Renowned for their
strength, they are sharp enough to split ceremite. Glass knives
maintain their sharpness by continually fracturing tiny shards
from their cutting edges, and these splinters are infamous for
working their way into wounds, causing agonizing injuries.
Smugglers’ lore among those that operate on the border
of the Halo Stars attribute the blades to the legendary Fra’al,
although many insist this is merely speculation. Accurate
knowledge of the nomadic Fra’al is strictly prohibited by the
Ordo Xenos, and aside from a few scattered stories, mankind
remains blissfully ignorant of this merciless, highly psychic
race.
Melee, 1d5+2(+SB), R, PEN 4, Toxic (1d10), WT 1.5kg
Morgauth Burn Caster
This compact, brutish looking, multi-barreled gun is popular
with human renegades and pirates operating out past the
Fydae Great Cloud. The caster is valued for boarding actions
and for use against dangerous xenoforms such as Orks and
void lurkers for its sheer stopping power. It uses a hybrid of
debased Imperial and alien technology attributed to a minor
Xenos race known as the Morgauth. The scavenging reptilid
Morgauth are not a species known for their subtlety and this
weapon is no exception, nor is the effect its rapid firing selfpropelled
thermic shells have on the target.
The burn caster’s ammunition has Scarce availability
where the weapon is found with a base price of 10 Thrones
per round.
Basic, 20m, S/3/–, 1d10+4, E, PEN 9, Clip 12, RLD 3Full, Unstable, WT 4kg, Cost 2,750, Scarce†
†On the worlds of the Calixis sector’s Trailing border, Very Rare elsewhere
Xenarch Death-Arc
Of the Xenarch of the Northern Rim, little is known, the
Imperium having made little attempt to contact them. What
technology of theirs has been examined by the Imperium
centers around electrical weaponry that utilizes capacitors
and cells far beyond the technology of the Adeptus
Mechanicus. The Xenarch death-arc is a potent, rifle-sized
weapon that unleashes a series of arcing bolts of lightning
towards its victim. If any of these bolts---deadly in their own
right---strike their target, the death-arc channels a far-more
powerful arc of electricity along their path, blasting the target
into pieces.
Any additional shots that strike the same target are
combined into a single damage roll, therefore only taking
into consideration the effects of Toughness and armor once,
rather than once per shot.
Basic, 100m, S/3/6, 1d10+3, E, PEN 0, Clip 100, RLD Full, Inaccurate, Shocking, WT 10kg, Cost 2,750, Very Rare
Aether Lance
To those enamored with xenos craftsmanship, the Aether
Lance is a hauntingly beautiful---and highly sought-after---work of art. The two meter-long haft seems to have been
grown---not crafted---from exotic blue-gray alloys, and a
smoky, flickering mist-blade perpetually dances from the tip.
Despite its obviously alien origins, the weapon is at once
both mysterious and alluring to all but the most Puritan of
individuals. However, others desire it not for its beauty, but
for its strange ability to pass through any material like smoke,
and kill without leaving a wound.
A few scholars of xenos lore attribute this weapon to the
Eldar, but others claim that the Eldar consider this device
and its ilk anathema, its existence not to be tolerated. Under
interrogation, some agents of the Cold Trade have confessed
to purchasing these weapons from a race of void-nomads
known as the Stryxis. However, official Ordo Xenos records
claim there is no such race within the Calixis Sector.
The blade of the Aether Lance is completely insubstantial,
and will pass through almost any material---including flesh---without leaving a mark. This makes it very difficult to parry
the attack of an Aether Lance, and those who attempt to do
so suffer a –10 penalty. The weapon also ignores Armor,
Toughness, and psychic defenses, and the user cannot add his
Strength Bonus to the weapon’s damage. Aether Lances seem
to wound an individual’s very essence.
However, the blade does not damage non-living items,
machines, or any creature with the Daemonic Trait or the
Machine Trait (5+). In addition, if the Aether Lance’s blade
comes in contact with hexagrammic wards, an untouchable,
or a similar psychic blank (such as other wards including a
starship’s Gellar field), the blade flickers and dies. The weapon
remains inactive for 1d10 days.
Melee, 2d5, E, PEN 0, Unwieldy, WT 3.5kg, Cost 50,000, Very Rare
Draethri Pain Gauntlet
The pain gauntlet is a device popular amongst the dark
alien race known as the Draethri, for the amount of agony it
inflicts is far out of proportion to the lethality of the weapon.
Often taking the form of a whip or spiked glove, the pain
gauntlet can also be found in much more curious forms, such
as small glass boxes into which the victim’s hand is placed, or
needle-like probes inserted into the spine or skull of a victim.
Regardless of the form, all pain gauntlets work in the same
way. Upon contact with a victim, the pain gauntlet connects to
his nervous system, taking control of it and turning it against
the victim’s own body, overloading it with varying amounts
of pain. At its crudest, the gauntlet can be used as a simple yet
effective weapon, quickly immobilizing opponents in melee.
Such a crude use is sniffed at by the Draethri, however, who
prefer to use the device to torture captured prisoners. Such a
use has made it popular amongst those Radical Inquisitors for
whom expediency in information acquisition takes precedence
over the condition of the prisoner after the interrogation.
The pain gauntlet can be used as a weapon with the profile
provided, or it can be used as part of an interrogation. Using
the pain gauntlet as part of an interrogation requires a Hard
(–20) Forbidden Lore (Xenos) Test. For every Degree of
Success, the subject suffers a point of Damage each Round.
This Damage is not reduced for Armor or Toughness. For
every point of Damage inflicted in a single Round, any
Interrogation Tests against the victim gain a +10 bonus.
Melee, 1d10+2, R, PEN 0, Shocking, WT 3kg, Cost 1,500, Very Rare
Scythian Fury Talon
A cruel-looking blade, the Fury Talon resembles the sharp claw
of some beast fashioned into a dagger. In combat, the blade is
coated with a thin sheen of acid or venom drawn from a tank
built into the hilt. The Scythians use the Fury Talon as part of
their sacrificial rituals, cutting deeply into a target while the
venoms laced into the blade ensure that the victim remains in
a state of heightened bliss... or excruciating pain.
The talon can store up to five doses of any poison or drug.
In addition to normal Damage inflicted by the blade, a victim
wounded will also be affected by a dose of the stored poison
or drug as though it had been injected into his body.
Melee, 1d5+3, R, PEN 3, Toxic, WT 1kg, Cost 1,000, Very Rare
Mecronid Armour
Discovered in the ruins of Mosul, this unique set of armor has
sparked much debate amongst the Ordo Xenos as to whether
this device is truly an alien in its own right, a parasite of sort,
or simply a device employed by its alien creators. Resembling
naught so much as a pool of liquid metal, the device responds
to external stimulation, although is resistant to auspex scans.
When the metal comes into contact with human skin, it begins
to coalesce, slithering over the skin to form a protective sheath
much like armor. The metal is cool to the touch and responds
to attacks by becoming momentarily super-dense, deflecting
impacts or energy blasts across its surface. Using Mecronid
armor does have its downsides, however. So long as the
wearer remains conscious, the armor remains protective.
As soon as the wearer loses consciousness, however, the
parasitical armor attempts to slither inside the wearer, either
consuming or taking control of him from within long enough
to find a new host. Either way, it is often fatal for the wearer.
If the wearer of the armor loses consciousness, he must
make an immediate Willpower Test. Failure indicates that the
armor is trying to crawl within him, suffocating him at a rate
of 1d10 Damage per round, ignoring armor or Toughness
Bonus. Death indicates that the armor has taken control
of the victim, crudely manipulating his body into doing its
bidding---normally, hunting down another unwitting target.
All, AP 7, WT 2kg, Cost 15,000, Very Rare
Q’Orl Mind Grub
The Q’Orl are a particularly insidious insectoid race that
infest several worlds on the rim of the Calixis Sector and
beyond. Their true motivations are unknown, but they have
been known to raid Imperial settlements for captives. It is
speculated that the Q’Orl use captured psykers to pilot their
vessels through the Warp, making up for their race’s own lack
of psychically-active individuals. Whatever the reason, this
Xenos race has a rather unpleasant way of controlling their
captives---the Q’Orl Mind Grub. The Mind Grub resembles a
fat larvae about the size of a little finger, but with a pulsating
mass of writhing probes and antennae in place of a head.
The grub wriggles into the head of its unwitting victim,
burrowing into the base of the cranium from where it inserts
its probes upwards into the brain. The grub makes a psyker
easy to control, opening them up to suggestion, whether by
pheromones or by vocal commands.
Some Inquisitors attempt to make use of Mind Grubs
to control otherwise dangerous psykers, either ensuring
their loyalty through the threat of infestation, or actually
dominating the psyker by allowing the Mind Grub to crawl
inside the psyker’s brain. A Mind Grub is difficult to control,
however, although crude replicated pheromones gifts a limited
amount of control over the parasite and its host. Instead, the
controller takes advantage of the heightened susceptibility
and docility exhibited by an infested psyker, giving them
instructions that they are powerless to resist.
Sometimes deliberate infestation backfires on an Inquisitor,
especially when the Inquisitor and his psychic ‘pet’ come into
unwitting contact with the Q’Orl themselves. In such a case
the Mind Grub and its host fall under the sway of the Q’Orl
colony, often resulting in the infestation of the Inquisitor.
A psyker infested with a Mind Grub has his Willpower
halved for the purposes of resisting psychic powers or other
commands. At the behest of the Mind Grub’s controller,
the psyker can be placed under the effects of the Dominate
psychic power for 1D10 rounds, attempting to resist as
normal (in this case, the controller of the Mind Grub uses
his Willpower to contest against the victim). Failure indicates
that they are dominated, and are therefore entirely under the
Mind Grub’s control.
Infestation by a Mind Grub incurs 1D10 insanity points
per day that the Mind Grub remains implanted within the
victim’s brain.
WT 1kg, Cost Special, Availability Special
Synapse Disruptor
The Terlain Cluster, found trailing from the Hazeroth Abyss,
has long been a hub of the Cold Trade. It is home to many
unscrupulous weapon smugglers and Rogue Traders visiting
who seek out exotic items to fill the vaults and armories
of jaded Calixian nobles. While of limited battlefield use,
Synapse Disruptors are carried by the reptilian-looking Vault-Keepers of the cluster. The weapon has found popularity
with flesh merchants, pit-fighters, and those who simply
delight in the unusual for their methods of inflicting pain and
discomfort. Insidiously, the weapon is often manufactured to
look like a standard Imperium lasgun and only by taking it
apart or seeing it in operation can one discern its true nature.
For that reason, Ordo Malleus agents make use of the weapon
when seeking to capture or disrupt cult activities without
overt force.
Synapse Disruptors fire a near-invisible beam at their
target, the initial effect of which is a dull-ache beginning
in the extremities. If the beam is maintained for more than
three rounds (requiring a successful Ballistic Skill Test each
round to keep it “locked” on the victim if the target moves
more than 5m. If the beam is maintained then the target must
make a Challenging (+0) Willpower Test. The first failure
causes a delusional state, requiring the target to roll on the
Hallucinogen Effects Table. If the Synapse Disruptor is kept trained
on the target for a further three rounds (and they fail a second
Challenging (+0) Willpower Test), then the effects escalate
and the target suffers a –20 penalty to any Test requiring
concentration for 1d5 minutes after exposure.
Synapse Disruptors often appear as normal lasguns but
require special power cells that cost 200 thrones each, but can
be recharged in the same manner as a normal power cell.
Basic, 40m, S/–/–, Special, PEN 0, Clip 10, RLD 2Full, WT 5kg, Cost 3500, Very Rare
==Background Package==
Career: Adept, Assassin, Cleric, Scum, Tech-Priest
Cost: 200 XP
Requirements: Void Born Homeworld
Criminal merchants have lives that are filled with danger and
threat. Despite the many Enforcers they have bribed—or
thugs they have standing guard, the Emperor’s Law is always
vigilant. To work for the Cold Trade is much worse, as to deal
in xenos artefacts can easily draw attention from members
of the Calixian Ordo Xenos. It also requires knowledge of
a variety of areas forbidden by the Imperium of Mankind. A
dealer in illegal weapons might only need to be familiar with
the workings of bolt shells or plasma venting. A Cold Trader,
however, is dealing in alien weapons and needs intimate
details on strange toxins, bizarre ammunition, and even xenos
physiology. Some clever traders specialise in forging their
own xenos artefacts, for there are very few who could tell
the difference.
Cold Traders sometimes enter the lifestyle by accident,
often unknowingly acquiring a xenos device and deciding
to look for more once they count the enormous profits made
on the deal. Other merchants might be pressured into it from
powerful nobles demanding they find such products or else
face their official wrath. A very few deal in such hazardous
materials to better spread them across their sector, perhaps
unknowingly doing the bidding of long-dead alien race. It is
very rare indeed that contact with such works, even something
as seemingly innocuous as a swath of glistening fabric or a
lumpen idol, will result in the betterment of mankind. Behind
every xenos device lies a possible threat to the Imperium.
Notably, Inquisitor Artanyan has begun an aggressive sweep
of cold trade vessels near the Koronus Expanse. Combining
efforts with a dedicated Kill-team and the conscription of the
Rogue Trader vessel Purity of Wrath, thousands of crewmen
from cold trade vessels have been detained. The sheer volume
of xenos artefacts confiscated and destroyed is staggering,
suggesting a concentrated effort by Stryxis agents to move
all manner of alien technology into the Calixis Sector. Ever
the pragmatist, Inquisitor Artanyan has chosen to make use of
some of the more "redeemable" ship hands, and has begun to
provide a small number of these poor souls to other Calixian
Inquisitors who believe their cells may come into contact
with xenos technological perversions.
Effects: Apply all of the following to your character:
Skills: The character treats Forbidden Lore (Xenos) and
Tech-Use as Basic skills.
Talents: The character gains one the following:
*Exotic Weapon Training (Needle Rifle) and a Needle Rifle with 2 additional reloads.
*Exotic Weapon Training (Web Pistol) and a Web Pistol with 2 additional Reloads.
*Speak Language (Pick One Xenos) and a suit of Xeno Mesh armor.