What is this game?
What is 'Dune'?
What distinguishes 'Dune' from other sci-fi settings?
Do I have to know a lot about the 'Dune' setting to have fun playing?
What is the premise of the game?
What is the expected profile of a PC for this game?
Can I play a member of a special faction of the Imperium?
Can I play an Arrakis native?
Can I play a canon character?
Can I be from the same house as another PC?
Can I play a member of a renegade house?
How should I build my character in terms of mechanics?
How is the game scheduled and how will it be paced?
What are the general goals of PCs during the game?
How is the game going to be structured?
What is the game's timeslot organisation?
How to submit my character?
Is there a template for my character sheet?

It is a play by post role-playing game experience using Dune RPG: Adventures in the Imperium recently released by Modiphius. It is already available in the PDF format for purchase.

It's a sci-fi setting of humanity having gone into the stars, colonising thousands of systems, sustaining their galactic civilisation thanks to prescient powers of a drug melange called 'spice' that, coupled with fold-space technology, allows interstellar travel. It can be acquired from only one planet in the universe - Arrakis, known as Dune. For humanity to function at this scale, the spice must flow.

Admittedly, you can trace similarities to 'Dune' in many other sci-fi settings, including Star Wars, but this is because they have heavily drawn upon the original Dune series by Herbert for inspiration.

One important feature is it is a purposefully low-technology setting, as humanity learned the lesson of unbridled development of AI the hard way, and having finally defeated the Thinking Machines in a wasting conflict called the Butlerian Jihad thousands of years ago they have since committed to building a galactic society around the precept: Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind. What resulted is a society that prioritises human development and has found many ways to nurture human beings to perform extraordinary tasks, beyond what today's humans are capable of. Magic has no direct endorsement in the setting, though some of human faculties so developed may be considered wondrous. Oddly then, what is 'scientific' about the setting is mostly life sciences and social sciences, but ecology as a science of interactions between life and its environment is a key contribution to it. The harsh conditions of Arrakis, the desert planet roamed by gigantic worms, is where much of the action is. This game is going to be happening there as well.

Humanity is organised in the form of 10k-year-old Imperium that has adopted neo-feudal structures with planets as fiefs, including caste system and servitude as well as corresponding ritualism, and so PCs are mostly members or retainers of noble houses. However, the structure of the Imperium also hinges on powerful corporate entities and other powerful organisations, often with secretive agendas, whose members are also mostly playable. The rivalries between those poles of power are the foundation of conflict in the game. They are often cynical and brutal, if regulated by legal and social conventions. Mature themes are prevalent, and boundaries between good and evil, heroes and villains, are often blurred. Actually, Herbert's novels serve as a warning against heroes, superhumans, saviours, prophets, messiahs and the like gaining power, even well-intentioned ones.

Another purported case of advanced technologies being detrimental is the pseudo-nuclear effect of lasers meeting force fields. This has led to limited use of projectiles - being either ineffective are causing unacceptable and extremely illegal collateral damage - and wide re-adoption of blade weaponry, unarmed fighting and tools of assassination like poison in combat.

The setting draws upon all kinds of cultural influences from all across human history, without Western bias. However, there are no intelligent alien species in the setting... except for those humans themselves might have made, or been making. In Duniverse, we are alone among the stars.

No. There are a few reasons. First, it's our humanity in the future, so the basic resource for cultural background, even if transformed, is recognisable. As are the names of planetary systems, which are stars in our skies. Second, knowledge is power in Duniverse, it is sometimes also illegal or morally abhorrent, so it is usually closely guarded among highly specialised secretive groups and not widely accessible. It's perfectly fine to be ignorant about the inner workings of other factions and base opinions on simple stereotypes. Especially if you play one of those specialists. Third, the source material's last 10k years is rather vague and spotty, a lot is in the realm of legend (even though Herbert Junior and Anderson have been rather prolific in fleshing out details). Even the Old Earth is lost to humanity. Fourth, the setting is open to creation of new noble houses among those hundreds of thousands of colonised worlds, which you can make your own to define as long as they fit the bigger picture. Fifth, technology is rudimentary or mysterious so it's not difficult to get a grasp of it without being lost in technical detail.

There are many options, but the general profile is a junior representative of a noble house, major or minor, being sent to Arrakis by their lord and/or supervisor to take part in a Landsraad-sponsored, CHOAM-led audit of spice operations.

House leaders and their heirs apparent of any house are not a playable option, as no house would be stupid enough to endanger their future on this uncertain mission. However, noble children further down the line, cousins of the ruling families or any of the bastards born to concubines is fair game.

Houses of players can be made, selected from this list, or both (i.e. making a House Minor for an established House Major). The list represents houses that are either foundational in the Imperium and particularly powerful in the Landsraad, or relevant to this particular plotline (by their CHOAM connections), or both.

However, members of House Corrino, House Harkonnen and House Atreides will be discouraged, with the following caveats.

For House Corrino, it is possible to be a retainer of a cadet branch of the Imperial House, representing one of many Corrino worlds. Since they are poorly defined in canon, it is a good avenue for player's own house-making, though their domain shouldn't exceed a single lesser-known planet, a moon, or a continent on a world i.e. nothing beyond a House Minor would have, and nothing that would merit more than a single vote in the Landsraad that always backs the Corrino.

It is also possible to play a Sardaukar, in either of two capacities: as a member of the security detail for the CHOAM mission, or an undercover agent with a good cover story that fits other playable options. The latter is made easier by the fact that by far not all Sardaukar are native to Salusa Secundus but are recruited from the survivors of the Emperor's prison planet or levied from other harsh worlds, and so can come from various backgrounds. And by the fact that Count Fenring is responsible for the insertion of the operative.

For House Harkonnen, only the most carefully inserted infiltrators may be part of the mission as it is effectively House Harkonnen that is being audited. The cover story must be airtight to pass the scrutiny of Count Fenring who is the supervisor of the initiative. If it comes out... well, Fenring suffers being fooled poorly. However, if one wants to represent Harkonnen interests in the mission, taking up a representative of one of their allies might be a good way forward.

For House Atreides, only the most carefully inserted infiltrators may be part of the mission as this is a world controlled by their mortal enemies and the Harkonnen would do their utmost to kill them as soon as possible, Imperial oversight or not. The mission is supposed to ingrain some impartiality (hah hah), and Atreides inclusion would break that alibi right out of the gate, something Count Fenring wishes against, so the cover story must be equally airtight. As above, if one wants to represent Atreides interests in the mission, taking up a representative of one of their allies might be a good way forward.

You can play a CHOAM or a Spacing Guild official without restrictions. Mentats can be directly aligned to either.

You can play members of the following factions as long as they hold a dual allegiance i.e. are also retainers of one of the noble houses.

• Mentat
• Swordmaster of Ginaz
• Bene Gesserit Sister
• Suk Doctor

Playing Tleilaxu is generally banned for the game. There are multiple reasons not to open this can of worms, given how they are antagonistic toward everyone and are generally considered despicable and reviled, follow a very selifsh agenda, engage in practices that test the boundaries of OOC tolerance for cruel and degrading treatment of women in storytelling, have Face Dancers, and in this particular timeline are packed with secret plots that are best left in the hands of the GM.

The only exceptions I'd allow is to play a Tleilaxu product, i.e. a ghola or a twisted mentat (but not a Face Dancer). These characters may or may not be an unwitting tool in Tleilaxu plots so it's a gamble.

In general, you can. It is quite plausible a story for an offworld power to have hired a local agent to act as a guide, an informer or a middleman. This can be a way to pair up with another PC without being a member of their faction.

Those types of character usually can come in the following variation:

• Pyons
• Spice Miners
• Smugglers
• Fremen

Pyons, or the folk of Graben, Sink and Pan, the habitable spaces of the Northern Polar Region, are simple commoners or some local business people. They have no deep knowledge about either the deep desert or the details of spice operations, though they may be good guides for the cities and villages they come from. With the exception of those serving House Fenring in Arrakeen, they are all under Harkonnen authority, so playing them runs the risk of being commandeered and dealt with the Harkonnen way if the Harkonnen don't approve of their involvement, and Count Fenring wouldn't lower himself to care for their fate. This is still one of the ways to introduce undercover characters.

Spice Miners are mining professionals, often of offworld origin, on contract on Arrakis long enough to have gone a bit native. Whether the Harkonnen would lay any claim to them depends on their prior circumstances, but generally they are treated only minimally better than the pyons, even if they are usually distinct from the Arrakan commoners, keeping to themselves in mining bases. Yet another way to introduce undercover characters.

Smugglers are a significant improvement over both prior categories as they are not under effective Harkonnen control, enjoying relative impunity in their secret bases. Even though they need some kind of cover story to be on the CHOAM mission, Count Fenring has a clandestine arrangement with the Tuek and the Bewt families which run smuggling and water selling operations on Arrakis, and he would turn a blind eye on their inclusion as long as they duly report to him. Many of them are offworlders with a native touch, so this is yet another path to introduce an undercover character as long as they can bribe Esmar Tuek and/or Lingar Bewt enough to provide them this cover story.

Fremen cannot be played officially as Fremen, but they often infiltrate all of the above groups and do not need any special story to do it well as they can always go south if things go metaphorically south. This is mostly because they're in open war with the Harkonnens, and so are subject to reprisals whenever they openly identify themselves by who they are. Their only real loyalty is to their Abu Naib Liet and to the tribe, the rest is a routine ruse. One convenient way to introduce a Fremen into the mission is for one to be sent there with the blessing of the Imperial Planetologist Dr Kynes (secretly, Liet, the Abu Naib of the Fremen) as his representative, something Count Fenring wouldn't dispute, though this option is first come, first serve to someone who's ready to keep Fremen secrets safe.

In general, no. Most of them are on a power level that does not correspond with what is envisaged for this game, and their agendas and whereabouts are rather densely covered by the canon material. If some Dune aficionado digs out a name the inclusion of which as a PC wouldn't go against the above, I'll consider it (this could probably be easiest for some Fremen).

In principle, yes. However, to ensure diversity, coordinating for being from the same house must pass 1 per 5 players in the game ratio, so you can be second of that house if you're at least 6th registered player, third if you're 11th, and so on. This doesn't apply to the first hired native PC as they do provide diversity and operate under a different set of constraints, but does apply to the next ones being aligned to the same house.

This doesn't apply to the same special faction members like Mentats, Suk Doctors or Swordmasters, but does apply to the Bene Gesserit and Fremen.

This is meant to provide a semblance of balance to a game that does ingrain competition between factions, and also reflects the justifiable selection process for the CHOAM mission.

Yes, as long as you know what you're signing up for.

Every member of a house that has gone renegade, or who has the audacity to make any claims about their heritage after their house has been wiped out in a War of Assassins or disbanded, is a fair spoil for bounty hunters who explicitly know or implicitly assume they can claim some reward for hunting someone like that down. In addition, the Sardaukar are often the pursuers and executors, as nobles become former nobles mostly once the Padishah Emperor becomes very displeased with them and makes them outlaws. Successful comebacks are very rare. Asylum is sometimes granted by another house, and former retainers can find new jobs on other planets. The Guild can find you a place where you're probably safe pending an exorbitant bribe, or you can take up smuggler or mercenary life and pray for not being recognised, but that's it. Once out of the Faufreluches, you're most likely doomed.

A similar fate is shared by bastards whose half-siblings are rightful heirs, it's just not the whole of Imperium after you, but the power of one house whose ascendant leader wants you dead. Less law, more politics.

The likeliest redemption arc is that you ended up not dead on being cornered, but a prisoner on Salusa Secundus, who then demonstrated to the Sardaukar recruiters you have what it takes. That means that you've left your past loyalties behind and now serve the Emperor unswervingly. Or do you?

All in all, if you want to play an avenger from a fallen house or a wronged heir, you need a rock-solid second identity, otherwise it may be a rather short run.

Which houses fell recently?

• House Moritani, 3 years ago, wiped out as a result of its brutal War of Assassins against Ecaz that engulfed third parties
• House Vernius, 35 years ago, had fallen to Tleilaxu invasion and had gone renegade, but got restored 14 years ago
• House Kolona, more than 40 years ago, wiped out by an Atreides intervention on Corrino orders

Please use corebook guidelines for the Planned Character Creation. Then apply extra 15 Advancement Points according to the rules outlined in the corebook. Be mindful you don't have to spend it all before the game start if you want to save some for expenditures during the game, like for making Assets permanent.

• Official character submissions open on August 12th*
• Pregame (Day 0) starts on August 16th
• Game proper starts on August 19th and ends on September 19th (Days 1-9)
• Postgame (Day 10) ends on September 23rd

The game will be paced 2 IC days per 1 OOC week, effectively at IC to OOC 1:3.5 ratio.

*unofficial consultations may be started at any point

A motion sponsored by the Corrino and passed in the Landsraad has obliged CHOAM to perform an audit of spice production on Arrakis. Such audits are routine, but this one is unique in several ways:

• It has been given political gravity by the Corrino by both awarding it a Landsraad sanction and nominating representatives of the Houses of the Landsraad to take full part in its proceedings instead of making it a purely bureaucratic affair
• The Spacing Guild is not a co-sponsor of the audit as it used to be in the past
• It has followed increased fiscal demands put on spice trade by the Throne that has made the substance more expensive and fall less available and affordable for its many users in the Imperium
• It has happened amid new allegations of irregularities on the part of current siridar-governors, the Harkonnen, and coincides with their sub-fief tenure nearing the century-long term, what may indicate an indirect no-confidence vote by the Throne and preparation for another House Major to take over soon

Hence, the likeliest goals that may guide the actions of House envoys, in addition to performing the audit itself, could be:

• To earn the Emperor's favour (Fenring's firsthand) and perhaps make one's House more likely to be picked as next stewards of Arrakis, to thwart the potential forerunners for the post, or to improve standing with and/or receive other boons from the Corrinos
• To increase one's House standing in the CHOAM, either by maintaining or gaining a CHOAM directorship during the next seat reshuffle
• To aid, hurt or gain leverage over House Harkonnen, depending on the House's current alliances and interests
• To secure an independent foothold on Arrakis, either in order to open an alternate (and very illegal) channel of spice procurement, or to ensure cooperation with local stakeholders for other general or specific purpose

Your base of operations is a CHOAM frigate which arrives on a Guild heighliner and lands on the Arrakeen Spaceport. It shall serve as your quarters, encrypted communications site, and a meeting space throughout the game... unless anything happens to it.

By design, you will be able to travel on it to other, smaller landing fields across the Northern Polar Region of Arrakis in the pursuit of your auditory mandate over Harkonnen spice operations. However, travelling beyond the initial area of Arrakeen and Imperial Basin requires prior Harkonnen security clearance obtainable by Count Fenring via CHOAM.

You will collectively choose where you travel next; on each IC day beyond Day 1, a poll will be opened, lasting until 24hrs before the next IC day, giving you an option to stay for another day on the current site, or to move on to one of the other locations. Each PC who is a representative of a Great House, or is a CHOAM or a Guild official, will exercise one vote, which is reflective of their current position on the audit team, either derived from their own House's CHOAM position, or from the Emperor's support to their participation. That means commoners unable to speak for one of the powerful factions of the Imperium don't have an initial vote. The option that wins the greatest support is honoured. Fenring breaks any ties, following his own judgement. The vote is public, and each PC owns their decision. Not voting by the time deadline hits is considered an IC abstention.

However, the number of votes and thus the narrative control over what is investigated and where may change throughout the game. For successful discoveries, PCs will be awarded with Legitimate Suspicion (worth 0.5 vote) or Conclusive Evidence (worth 1 vote) which reflect temporary influence within CHOAM allotted to them by Fenring as the reflection of the Emperor's share - as long as they effectively report those findings to him. There may or may not be other ways to secure additional votes, depending on the ingenuity, daring, and/or conniving of the PCs.

At any given landing, only locations within its geographical and/or administrative radius are going to be accessible. Locations in the game will have the following traits:

• Known or Hidden - All visible locations are considered Known unless marked Hidden. If they are marked Hidden, it means someone has unlocked them in the course of the game, and only those PCs know of their existence.
• Safe or Dangerous - In Safe locations you shouldn't be expecting lethal encounters, though don't neglect your poison snooper or other routine precautions. In Dangerous locations whoever wants you dead or merely thwarted is likely to make an attempt, or you may be embroiled in a random risky situation. Hence, Dangerous locations are treated as scenes by the RAW, which means each thread made in such a location needs a GM post after initial posts by the PCs that sets up the traits of the scene. If you don't want a GM to meddle in your thread, make it in a Safe location.
• Thopter, Groundcar, or Walk - This is how you get in or out of the location without losing additional timeslots... and water.
• Off-Limits - Those are locations the Harkonnen haven't presently cleared for your audit. Go there at your own peril, as this is where no-one will be held accountable for you demise and someone's attempt to make you vanish without trace is almost certain, either in situ or en route. It may be a plot against you, the Harkonnen unhappy with what you're looking into, or just Fremen troop going after your water. By design, all locations except those considered the radius of your current landing site are considered having Off-Limits and Thopter traits.

The initially available landing sites of choice are:

• Arrakeen
• Carthag
• Northern Polar Sink
• Shield Wall Bases

Others may be unlocked in the course of the game.

Basically, it is adjusted to what planet Arrakis is.

Arrakis has an eccentric orbit and its cosmic environment (Canopus II and IV are way larger) impacts on the rotation time depending on what the alignment is, but for the purpose of the game let's assume that the most typical 22.5 standard hours apply. Seasonal effects are also very slight given that axis is almost perpendicular to the orbit (though Fremen can tell apart seasons by minuscule environmental changes). That means that day-night time distribution is quite stable, and almost equal, even in the polar regions.

Because of high diurnal temperatures the timeslot distribution comes with a twist - time around noon is usually the resting time, and daily activity starts in Late Afternoon.

This leads to the following 10 time slots:

Late Afternoon [LA] - Opening Hours, Moderate Heat
Early Evening [EE] - Moderate Heat
Late Evening [LE] - Sunset
First Moon Rise [FMR]
Second Mon Rise [SMR]
First Moon Set [FMS]
Second Moon Set [SMS] - Hour of Assassins
Early Morning [EM] - Sunrise, Closing Hours, Moderate Heat
Late Morning [LM] - Rest (Zaha), Extreme Heat
Early Afternoon [EA] - Rest (Zaha), Extreme Heat

Each lasting roughly 135 standard minutes.

Going without sleep for several days is possible without major health or performance repercussions as long as one uses regular wakeshots. Those, however, need to be administered by a trusted medical specialist and adjusted to the individual biometrics; injected without care they may do more harm than good, and even build up an addiction.

Heatstroke and dehydration are much more serious threats on Arrakis than insomnia, and they are the primary reason why most of its inhabitants avoid exertions during the day.

Best to register with whatever login and send me it via PM. Your PF will be created shortly after that and this is where any issues related with the submission will be resolved.

Please use the following:

Name: Foldic
Allegiance: Spacing Guild
Archetype: Envoy
Faction: Guild Agent
Trait: Lobbyist
Ambition: Extort large spice bribes directly from the Fremen

Advancement: 15 - 10 (Communicate 7->8) - 2 (Blackmail Asset Quality 0->1) = 3

Drives:
Duty 8
"The Guild must function seamlessly"
Faith 4
Justice 7
"The Guild guards balance in the Imperium"
Power 6
"The spice must flow to us."
Truth 5

Skills:
Battle: 4
Communicate: 8 (+2)
- Diplomacy, Persuasion
Discipline: 5 (+1)
Move: 6 (+1)
- Cargo
Understand: 6 (+2)
- Heighliners

Talents:
Binding Promise
Cautious (Communicate)
Guildsman

Assets:
Ornithopter
Ixian Damper
Blackmail (Quality 1)

Description:
Foldic was once an Ixian whose youth passed under Tleilaxu occupation. Their cruelties rendered him a thoroughly cynical being, especially that he eventually collaborated with them, betraying his kin. With Vernius restoration, he feared lynch for his transgressions and fled offworld, where he did odd jobs alongside the Wayku on the heighliner, which he knew like the back of his hand as his father was their constructor. The Guild recognised his expertise and allowed him to take the navigator test, but he failed it miserably even as the spice gas had already managed to disfigure him. He ended up working for the Guild in a similar capacity like he had worked for the Tleilaxu - being sent to persuade various people to get in line with Guild interests. He is grateful for the refuge and position the Guild has granted him and serves it with full dedication. In the face of the recent spice surtax, he is committed to widening the channel for spice bribes the Fremen pay to the Guild. Back to the extortion days!