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One of our players (Bob) is in turmoil over what should be done with the dead Deathguard with intact Gene-seed we found. The options we see are to

  1. Pawn the corpse, sell it, throw it in a dumpster. Just get it off this damn ship. Trouble is, whoever comes across it next, might be willing to trade it in, and dob us in, ending in Exterminatus. (The majority veto this plan)
  2. Give the corpse back ourselves. Many kudos fall upon us... Maybe even earn a favour from the Inquisition. However, in finding out where it came from, could possibly end in Exterminatus. (Bob resents this idea)

Normally I would just say "ok, we're making this decision without you", but unfortunately Bob's character is the Ship's Captain, and our Rogue Trader, so it's more his-decision-is-our-decision rather than the other way around. Bob is convinced that we're going to end up dead either way and he, and by extension his character, is refusing to decide. So without his input, the game has come to a grinding halt.

How can we get the game moving again? I would prefer to get Bob's cooperation first, rather than finding a way around his decision.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Just to point it out, there is a third option here. Destroy the corpse. Dump it into a star, feed it to a black hole, drop it behind your primary thrusters...there are a LOT of ways in space to obliterate a corpse. I would advise against dumping it in hard vacuum and leaving it alone, because even though space is really, really big, if this is an important plot point to your GM, the corpse is going to be found. So if you absolutely want to avoid being responsible for Exterminatus...destroy the evidence. (May draw ire from Inquisition if they find out, in which case, sucks to be you.) \$\endgroup\$
    – guildsbounty
    Commented Oct 7, 2014 at 15:29

2 Answers 2

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Time waits for no Bob.

While he's agonizing over the decision, the world goes on. If the authorities are looking for the body, they continue to get closer to their goal. If the ship is headed somewhere, it continues to get closer to its goal.

Bob can only wait until matters come to a head. Once the authorities get there / another trader finds them / they run out of fuel, he's going to have to make a choice lest a choice be made for him.

And if you're not the GM, pass this advice on to them.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Valid point. I don't know if there is any other time constraints on getting rid of the 2-tonne-time-bomb-of-a-corpse, but it would certainly help push a decision. Fortunately though we have recently obtained a cryo-storage bay, so at least now we won't need to deal with the smell... \$\endgroup\$
    – Ben
    Commented Oct 7, 2014 at 1:01
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    \$\begingroup\$ There's no time constraint on getting rid of something the Inquisition would blow up the ship and kill everyone on board without a second thought to destroy? Um... Okay. \$\endgroup\$
    – mxyzplk
    Commented Oct 7, 2014 at 3:20
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    \$\begingroup\$ Just imagine if your game were a movie, and you just heard one of the characters say "It's ok, no one knows we have it.". \$\endgroup\$
    – Joe
    Commented Oct 7, 2014 at 6:14
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    \$\begingroup\$ Yeah, I hope you can trust everyone on the entire spaceship to be more loyal to you than to the Emperor. Sounds like a great idea. \$\endgroup\$
    – mxyzplk
    Commented Oct 7, 2014 at 11:52
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    \$\begingroup\$ If he's a Rogue Trader isn't there a big NPC crew? \$\endgroup\$
    – mxyzplk
    Commented Oct 9, 2014 at 3:18
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While every player, especially the Rogue Trader, should have a say; and no one wants hurt feelings it is important that a decision come to a head. Perhaps roll a die, or have a duel to decide who makes the decision. There are plenty of narrative options that the GM can choose to push him in the right direction. If he absolutely refuses to cooperate then point out to him your frustration and tell him that he needs to stop worsening the game for everyone else involved.

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