Quick conversation starter and curiosity question - to quote Babylon 5 - Who do you serve?
Are you all generally looking forward to the idea of serving the Atreides or Harkonnen, or is the idea of creating your own house more exciting?
If so, what is the minor or major house you want to create?
I used to run a game of the previous Dune rpg where my players were part of House Molay, a minor house of House Ezharian. They were a military house, but one that focused on intelligence rather than weapons or soldiers. They also officially acted as a commerce centre and encouraged trade with very lax customs and taxes. This turned their planet into something of a trading post for criminals. But this was intentional as these people had all the best gossip.
It was also helpful for them to fence their own stolen goods thought their own planet, as they also dabbled in a bit of piracy.
The ability to create your own house is definitely a major attraction point.
When I ran for my group they were a minor house of House Wallach. It gave us the option of striking out in our own direction and not being constrained by the Atreides/Harkonnen feud.
Their house minor was also military focused, but more along the lines of specialised forces than intelligence. One of the characters was the sword master so they had access to military power for narrative purposes.
They only had control of one continent on the planet and I ran the sysselraad like a mini landsraad complete with internecine fighting amongst the house minors. (Keeps their edge sharp)
Most of their gameplay came from actions against other houses on the planet (when their pyrrhic success rolls weren’t causing havoc that is - One thing I won’t miss from the LUG dune game.)
I am very excited to create my own House. I would be interested to see what differentiates a minor house versus a major house in gaming terms within this Dune rpg. As I would be very interested to create one of each type of House.
In terms of creating a House, be it major or minor.
My interest would be in the full aspects of running a Household of the Landsraad.
Meaning running the
Armed forces.
Intelligence forces.
Economics.
Politics.
Personal relationships within (family, friends, rivals etc).
Relationships from without the House (House Corrino, Imperial Bureaucracy, other major & minor Houses, spacing guild, Bene gesserit, Choam & other important political entities).
Technology.
Population governance.
House assets.
Managing my House over time (overseeing the family line).
Are some of my first thoughts.
To weave intricate fun filled tales in the Imperum of the Padishah Emperor.
Relationships was something that was largely missing from the previous Dune rpg house creator. You had a section on how your parent house viewed you but nothing about rivals and allies.
That would be good to have included at a mechanical level. Not that stopped me building my campaign around house rivalry.
I’m particularly excited about creating a new, perhaps smaller, house. Nobody in my ttrpg circle is very familiar with the Dune universe, so I’d be interested in providing a smaller scale experience so that they don’t have to get all swallowed up in the complex politics of the Landsraad before they’re all good and ready.
It was fun creating the House Minor in the previous version.
Maybe in one of the supplements Modiphius will put some rules out for that (or we just homebrew them) for the times we want a smaller sandbox or the story of a Houses epic rise to great status. (Pretty sure the Dune Encyclopedia mentions houses rising and falling).
Ooh, that gives me an idea for Dune as a Pendragon style of game across generations . Excuse me I have notes to scribble…
I would think creating a House would be essential to the game. It’s a fun and creative way of bringing all the characters together. As soon as I heard this game was coming, I thought of how difficult it would be to have a credible reason for the players to be together if they are free to make characters from all different Houses.
I very much want to collaboratively create a new house with my players. I don’t like the idea of being within an established house at all - prefer to create something new that is tangential to but not directly within the established timeline and canon (eg, I don’t want my players trying to prevent Duke Leto’s inevitable assassination, etc).
I love having my players work for Atreides house. I do not know that much the others houses excerpt from the Harkonnen one. There was the house Ordos from the PC game Dune 2.
I always wanted to find out what would happen— as a Sardukar— after the Padishah Emporer Shaddam IV’s fall from power. Perhaps the Bene Gesserit put pressure on House Corrino because of their other holdings in the Landsraad?
I agree being able to establish new houses would be awesome, especially to explore the Sisterhood’s extensive reach on the universe. Spice may be the life blood of the universe, but ideas travel further and faster than a shipment of spice.
… at least this is what I find to be true— especially after Paul Muadd’ib’s ascendancy.
I plan for the players to be with House Atreides. Presumably the main setting material will be for Arrakis and the time of the original novel, but if I don’t want over-powerful NPCs around every corner, I’ll either need to pick a different planet, or have a totally different timeline (maybe Paul is killed?). I have wondered about the Atreides troops left behind on Caladan. I’m trying hard not to pre-judge it, but generally avoid settings where the GM has to constantly invent reasons why the heroes from the novel don’t handle the problems instead of the PCs.
I always played Ordos myself, or Harkonnen if I was feeling especially foul that day. I am super stoked about the possibility of creating our own houses though!
Mick, from what’s in the novel, Leto, Thufir, Duncan, Paul, and Jessica know how to delegate. Gurney isn’t so hot at it… but knows his place is at Leto’s, Jessica’s, or Paul’s side.
Heck, Vlad Harkonnen, Rabban, and Piter do as well.
Shaddam also delegates. A lot.
Only Feyd Rautha is not a delegator. He can’t see fit to wait. And it ends him.
I served both House Yasu and House Bajazet. If anyone is old enough to remember DuneMUSH II and DuneMUSH III.
When I ran LUG Dune my players served House Atreides. But the focus was mostly inter-House Minor politicking and courting the favor of the Duke (for the power and prestige that he could bestow upon their house).
. Excuse me I have notes to scribble…