Rogue Trader Romance Guide: Every Option and How to Pursue Them
Seven companions in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader can be romanced. Two of those romances are locked to your Rogue Trader's gender; the rest open to anyone. You can flirt with several at once early on, but the game forces a single commitment once the quest The Lord Inquisitor and The Lord Captain lands, so plan the long game before you start sending birds to a entity:navigator Navigator's room.
Here is who you can romance, what locks each option, and how every relationship begins.
Who you can romance
Five of the seven are gender-open: entity:jae Jae Heydari, entity:yrliet Yrliet Lanaevyss, entity:marazhai Marazhai Aezyrraesh, entity:kibellah Kibellah, and entity:solomorne Solomorne Anthar will all reciprocate regardless of how you built your Rogue Trader. Two are gated:
- Cassia Orsellio is available to a male Rogue Trader only.
- Heinrix van Calox is available to a female Rogue Trader only.
If you want the cold, formal entity:cassia Navigator or the conflicted Inquisitorial agent, you have to commit to that gender at character creation. There is no in-game workaround. Everyone else is open, and Marazhai is the only male companion a male Rogue Trader can pursue.
None of the seven romances has a hard conviction gate. entity:heinrix Heinrix favors Dogmatic answers when he is present, and Kibellah's alignment shifts based on the choices you make around her, but you do not need a minimum Iconoclast, Dogmatic, or Heretic rank to start any of these relationships.
How romances open
Most romances start the same way: recruit the companion, then talk to them on the void ship's bridge once they have settled in. The flirtation options surface naturally in those bridge conversations and in the automatic scenes that play as you travel between systems. entity:cassia Cassia, entity:jae Jae, entity:heinrix Heinrix, and the others all follow that bridge-conversation rhythm. A few break the pattern. entity:kibellah Kibellah's romance threads through the Void Shadows DLC errands rather than the bridge, and entity:solomorne Solomorne's flirt options recur across the Lex Imperialis DLC quests from the moment you board the Heartless with him.
The earliest romances open in Chapter 1 (Cassia and Heinrix). Jae and entity:yrliet Yrliet become available in Chapter 2. entity:marazhai Marazhai recruits in Chapter 3 and resolves much later. The two DLC companions tie to their respective DLC storylines.
The one rule that decides everything: you must choose
You can pursue more than one companion's romance at the same time, but only up to a fixed point. After the quest The Lord Inquisitor and The Lord Captain, the game makes you pick one love interest and drops the rest. Early-game flirting across two or three companions costs you nothing. Treat that quest as the deadline. Whoever you are still committed to when it resolves is the one you keep.
Some romances punish wandering attention well before that deadline. entity:cassia Cassia breaks things off if you make multiple failed intimate attempts or joke twice about ending the relationship. entity:marazhai Marazhai walks away if you refuse danger too often. entity:kibellah Kibellah will confront you over philandering after the Chapter 4 events. The pursue-everyone approach works, but only if you read each companion's temperament.
The companions at a glance
Cassia Orsellio is the slow, formal one. She rejects intimacy early and wants to be treated as a person rather than as a Navigator or a tool. The romance opens in Chapter 1 on the bridge after you recruit her, and it asks for patience over passion. Full walkthrough in the Cassia romance guide.
Heinrix van Calox seeks marriage as political strategy and values a partner who sees through the facade he maintains. His romance begins in Chapter 1 right after you defeat Aurora, in a quarters scene. He leaves the party at the start of Chapter 2 and rejoins later, so the relationship pauses with him. Details in the Heinrix romance guide.
Jae Heydari is the easy, flirty one. Her romance starts in Chapter 2 once you recruit her at Footfall, the flirt options are obvious, and she rewards a committed Rogue Trader with bonus quests in Chapters 2 and 3. The most forgiving romance in the game. See the Jae romance guide.
Yrliet Lanaevyss is the hardest. This is a slow-burn Aeldari romance where any early flirting or physical-touch option ends the whole thing before it starts. You earn her trust through restraint and shared understanding across four acts. Full step list in the Yrliet romance guide.
Marazhai Aezyrraesh is the dangerous one, the only same-gender option for a male Rogue Trader. He likes a partner who agrees with him and embraces cruelty, and the romance resolves with an epilogue scene in Act 5. Completing it grants the Taint of the Heart talent. Read the Marazhai romance guide.
Kibellah arrives with the Void Shadows DLC. Her romance runs through the errand Ritual of Binding and her companion quest, and the throughline is teaching a Death Cult killer to value herself as a person. Easy to start, hard to keep. See the Kibellah romance guide.
Solomorne Anthar comes with the Lex Imperialis DLC. The Arbites officer meets every advance with stoic resistance and outright refusal at first, then relents, and romancing him unlocks an otherwise hidden quest. Persistence is the whole game here. Walkthrough in the Solomorne romance guide.
Before you commit
Romance in Rogue Trader rewards reading the companion, not spamming flirt buttons. Cassia and Yrliet punish forwardness; Jae and Marazhai reward boldness. Pick the relationship that fits how you want to play, keep an eye on the The Lord Inquisitor and The Lord Captain deadline, and lock in your choice before the game makes it for you. For the full roster, recruitment triggers, and combat rankings, see the companions guide.