The Von Ulm Rogue Trader Dynasty, heirs to an ancient Warrant of Trade, maintains one of the most visible and varied void-fleets in the Drusus Marches sub-sector. Their prestige centers upon the venerable flagship Ignis Aeternus, yet the dynasty’s wealth and reach is expressed in the layers of auxiliary vessels, transports, and relic craft that accompany or serve the line.
The Reliquary ship
- Light Cruiser Ignis Aeternus
- An ancient and hallowed vessel, bearing archaic plasma drives and sanctified adamantine plating.
- Functions as dynastic court, trophy ship, and visible symbol of von Ulm authority.
- Entire decks are given over to ceremonial guard, ancestral relic shrines, and the sprawling quarters of retainers and household troops.
Mercantile Arm — The Mass Conveyors
- A cadre of vast mass conveyors is stationed in the Drusus Marches, operating out of secure harbors under Administratum sanction.
- These leviathans transport raw ore, promethium, and tithed materiel to Imperial depots while carrying dynasty goods and luxuries outward.
- Guarded by a flotilla of cruiser and two frigates permanently attached for escort duty.
Transport Fleets
- Two independent transport fleets operate across the wider Calixis Sector, ensuring that von Ulm agents maintain footholds on distant worlds.
- Protected by a shifting wing of frigates.
The Strike Fleet
- The dynasty’s main combat arm, intended to answer threats beyond the capacity of escorts.
- Consists of two line cruisers and a shifting wing of frigates and smaller escorts.
- Often deployed aggressively into frontier zones or as deterrent patrols near rivals.
Ancestral Relics
- The von Ulm line retains several antiquated voidships once captained by earlier Rogue Traders of the dynasty.
- Some are mothballed within orbital vaults, others pressed into merchant service or gifted to cadet branches.
- These vessels carry scars of past crusades and long-forgotten voyages, their machine-spirits temperamental yet venerable.
The Mechanicus Frigate Regurgitator
- A Martian-pattern frigate once bonded to the dynasty through covenant with the Adeptus Mechanicus.
- Commanded in later centuries by Karfa von Ulm, who vanished under mysterious circumstances during an expedition beyond Imperial charts.
- The Regurgitator has not been seen since Karfa’s disappearance, its fate unknown — whispered lost to the warp, or perhaps claimed by the Cult Mechanicus for its own inscrutable purposes.
Dynastic Character
The von Ulm fleet is less a singular battle-group than a constellation of fleets: mercantile behemoths, scattered transports, the household flagship, and strike forces woven together by blood-ties and oath. This patchwork structure reflects the dynasty’s nature — pragmatic, opportunistic, and steeped in ancestral pride.
Ignis Aeternus WH 40K campaign notes 