When I saw that Modiphius was producing a Dune RPG I was initially pretty stoked. I love Star Trek Adventures, and adding another 2d20 game set in a sci-fi series I love sounds like a sure thing.
But then, reading the announcement, I got to this line, “Take your characters on a journey through the worlds of the seminal Dune sci-fi book series from Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson,” and my heart sank a bit. I know that there are probably fans of Dune who enjoy Brian Herbert and KJA’s work, and more power to them, but I personally can’t imagine paying for a game where their influence is particularly noticeable.
From what we have seen all the initial stuff is focused around the original book, expansions will cover the later books but avoiding them should be easy enough unless you are a completionist.
While I agree that the Herbert Jr and Anderson books aren’t at par with the original books they do have their moments.
The description of Ginaz swordmaster training in the original House trilogy I still recommend for anyone playing a swordmaster.
The main issue with not including aspects of the later books in the overall RPG line is that Modiphius has to work around the Dune licence from the Herbert Estate.
It is like how they have to include aspects from Voyager in STA even if some people don’t like it (I prefer DS9, but Voyager has grown on me over the years since it came out).
They can focus on the original book, which is what everyone will want, but they can’t ignore the rest of the universe.
We’ll be drawing the source material mainly from Frank Herbert’s books.
But we will be making use of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson’s work as well.
We basically have access to all the canon sources and will be weaving them together in the books by era.
While it is a great book, we won’t be using the Dune Encyclopedia I’m afraid as it isn’t considered part of our licence.
It wasn’t considered canon even when it was written, Frank Herbert’s foreword explicitly states he holds his own counsel when it comes to issues he will explore.
A pity, but I understand why it isn’t part of the license.
Though the way it was written was genius in itself as it can be non-canon in universe as it was compiled 2,000 years after the death of Leto II. This way than can say it is the result of investigations into the past which may not be accurate. There are three entries of Paul Atreides for instance (Paul per the books, a Fremen who took the name of the dead Heir for political reasons and a myth like King Arthur)
While I acknowledge the reservations some people have concerning Brian and Kevin’s contributions to the Dune lore, I have to say I fall firmly in the camp that enjoys and appreciates their work. This is the type of conversation that has the potential (if my experience in other Dune threads/platforms has taught me anything) for very energetic and emotional assertions. I appreciate that everyone involved has remained to amiable and professional concerning the matter. It’s quite refreshing.