My apologies if I have missed a posted list, but I did not see Assets in the preview pdf. I checked out the Dishonored RPG to see how it handles the stats on knives, swords, and guns, so I am somewhat assuming they work like this in Dune. Is this info in the preview and I just missed it? If not, where do you get info for weapons and armor for your team in Dune?
Thanks
Dune massively abstracts this out.
There isnât a list of weapons and armour because there isnât a need for one.
Assets have potency rated 0-3, each point adds to the damage/success of what you are trying to achieve.
So a sword with potency 1 will do an extra point of damage against an enemy. A knife with potency 3 will do 3 points of extra damage (and probably be an ancestral ducal heirloom at that level).
Certain tasks require an asset to allow them to be undertaken, ie you canât fly an ornithopter unless you have the asset âOrnithopterâ, even if it is at potency 0.
Weâve not really heard about armour I donât think, presumably it would reduce damage by itâs potency.
Very rough estimates
Potency 0: Very common, easy to get hold of anywhere.
Potency 1: Common, standard issue to a ducal armsman maybe.
Potency 2: Rare, Nobles in good standing or Elite forces like Sarduakar/Fedaykin.
Potency 3: Almost unique, master crafted items that are probably recognisable as signifying a specific Noble lineage.
Though assets can be anything from a club to a battalion to some evidence of bribery.
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Thanks. This was exactly what I needed to know. What page is this in the pdf?
Also, do you supposed that using two assets offensively such as two knife fighting stacks or does it just add an additional 1 to the other weapon? Such as an asset 3 knife pair would be 3 plus 1.
Looking at the Desertfall pre-order the cleanest references are pg 32 which describes Assets & pg 34 which talks about taking actions.
It looks like Potency was changed to Quality in the new rules, but means the same thing.
There arenât any rules that I can see for combining assets. Given how coarse the rules are I would assume as a GM that you take the highest Quality and the others donât count. Though an opponent would need to disarm you of both of them to remove the bonus. Might need a Dev clarification.
Also found the armour rules on pg 42. Shields increase the difficulty to hit by +1/+2 (Melee/Ranged) while Armour increases difficulty by +X but also increase the complication range for the wearer for movement and manoeuvring by +X as well.
Quality is rated 0-4, so my estimates above are slightly off, but you get the idea.
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Good info. Thanks!
It will be interesting to see what different grades and exposures to melange have on stats.
The thing to remember with assets is that they are basically just another form of trait.
So they function in just the same way.
Some things like shields as defensive assets have a few extra tweaks.
But if you can do it with a trait, you can do it with an asset.
We did indeed change the name of Quality from potency. A lot of people were getting hung up on the idea that certain things should be more potent than others. Quality makes it clearer that its only a comparison with the same type of asset.
I am hoping the full rules have lists of assets? I can understand that these things are abstracted, but players are going to want to know how much a baliset from Chusuk is, or how much a spice-infused wine is, or the price on valuable custom weapons are or even first-class passage across the stars on a Highliner. Or do you abstract these items that are Sci-fi and might not be common to new players just because they are abstract in how they function? Lets not forget that not every new player is going to have read Dune or ever will, and so things need to be made tangible to them. Just saying âThis is a plus 2 asset. Enjoy using it!â Is poor GMing. Saying to a player âThis is an heirloom kindjal, very deadly in the right handsâ makes the imaginary, real. It will be a POOR experience if all we are doing is slopping down asset numbers hoping that a new player âgets it.â
I must admit, the more I read about the abstract nature of this iteration of the 2d20 system, the more I experience buyerâs remorse. At this point, I feel I am unlikely to want to play this game, unfortunately. Hopefully, the finished core rule book will change my mind.
At the moment we are working with the bare bones of the system.
Dune is more abstract than the other 2d20 systems that we have seen, but the main book may have more details that the 45ish pages of rules in the preview just doesnât have space for.
Pre-orders are always a risk. But if nothing else the book promises to look gorgeous.
There is a whole chapter on assets so you will have a lot more help in the corebook.
As your characters are connected to a noble House, money isnât much of an issue to them day to day. So your assets are not a full equipment list but your special items.
There is a lot of narrative aspects to Dune. But we have got a firm rules base under it so you arenât left wondering what to abstract next. 
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Sorry its not lighting your candle, but you will find more help in the book.
Also, if you are already familiar with 2d20 it would be very easy to shift to using the Star Trek version instead if you preferred (for instance).
My apologies if I have discouraged you: the pdf preview proves to be as good as many complete products: layout is awesome, content is awesome, art is fantastic. The system is playable. It is certainly not a Monty Hall RPG. I for one have always loved âgun â â â â â and extensive equipment lists in a Sci-fi game, but I get that Dune would be different. My only concern has now been proven unfounded by the developers, and I can see that its going to be a great game. My advice is to get that finished book or pdf in hand and see the difference the asset chapter will make before you let your expectations sway you. Modiphius has yet to disappoint me with any of its lines, and I have been gaming since 1980. Give it a chance!