Let me tell you about my evil elf boyfriend in the 40K CRPG Rogue Trader

If an RPG has a big cast of characters, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be able to romance a few of them. There are few developers that go as hard at their in-game romances as Owlcat Games, and I think we should all take the time to recognize one love interest in particular. Marazhai Aezyrraesh from Rogue Trader is wickedly horny, incredibly sadistic, and one of the most interesting romances in all of gaming. Let me tell you all about this evil elf and the erotic whip he uses to blast rope.

Romance in RPGs can vary wildly, from long and involved quest lines diving into your fictional partner’s past, to systems where you basically get to put an NPC in your house and have them chill out while you go on adventures. I’m no stranger to navigating these systems; I fell in love with the chicken-lizard alien Garrus in Mass Effect, did my best to fix Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, and pursued River in Cyberpunk 2077. I spent over 130 hours in my first playthrough of Dragon Age: Origins, and my mom only walked in at the one time I was consummating my love with the shy prince Alistair. 

I’ve been around the block, is my point, and I was still shocked at Marazhai’s scenes. This elf is a sadist who drinks souls, kills serfs, and is happy to cuck any previous love interest you may have courted.

Romance in the grimdark future

Rogue Trader takes place in the grimdark future of Warhammer 40,000, a galaxy of only war. I play as a newly appointed Rogue Trader, a powerful privateer tasked with exploring the far reaches of space. Unlike the rest of the Imperium of Man, I don’t need to follow the strange and esoteric rules that have calcified over 10,000 years of a xenophobic and fascist theocracy. A common citizen might be accused of heresy and executed for even the smallest perceived offense. I, on the other hand, answer to the God-Emperor, and I can do whatever I like. I can consort with xenos, use forbidden tech, and unilaterally decide the fate of entire worlds.

My party includes misfits like a mutated Navigator with long limbs and three eyes who can guide us through dangerous space travel, a member of the Imperium’s secret police known as the Inquisition, a space elf sniper who hails from a massively sophisticated ship known as a Craftworld, and a Mechanicus priest who has replaced his weak organic flesh with metal bionics and draped a red cloak over his new form. 

I need to stress, before I go into the details of Marazhai in particular, that Rogue Trader is chock full of extreme, wild, and unpleasant choices. During one of the first conversations I have with my Navigator, she casually suggests I sever the tongues of hundreds of ship crewmen so that I don’t have to listen to their chatter. I can decide that’s a great idea and do so immediately. At any time, I can turn in half of my party to the Inquisition member on board, disappearing them for their perceived crimes.