Dune Rpg Chronicles Of The Imperium Pdf File

Character archetype and prepare to fold-space. The myriad homeworlds of the Dune Imperium are yours to tame and conquer! Roleplaying Games? The Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium. Roleplaying Game plays a little differently than the games you're probably used to. The game includes no board, no playing.

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Chronicles of the Imperium Credits Designers: Owen Seyler with Christian Moore and Matthew Colville Creative Consultants: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson ICON System™: Christian Moore, Steve Long with Kenneth Hite, Ross Isaacs DUNE: Chronicles of the Imperium' Line Developer: Owen Seyler Contributing Authors: Steve Bishop, Matthew Colville, Richard Dakan, Jack Emmert, Matthew Grau, Steve Long, Christian Moore, Owen Seyler Editing: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson Additional Design and Contributions: Steve Bishop, Matthew Grau, Ross Isaacs Graphic Design: Charles Ryan Art Direction: Matthew Colville Cover Illustration: Mark Zug Interior Illustration: Eric Anderson, Doug Beekman, Doug Chaffee, John Bridges, Thomas Gianni, Anthony Hightower, Matt Innis, Doug Keith, Mark Maxwell, Val Mayerik, Studio Parente, Zac Plucinski, Alan Pollack, Walter Velez, Matt Wilson and Mark Zug Playtesting: Steve Berge, Matt Colville, Tim Cooper, Scott Davis, Darren Gagne, Daniel S. Haasenritter, Greg Harper, Ross Isaacs, Steven Long, Kenneth Hite, Shane Koestner, Russell D. McKown, Albert McKracken-Barber, Matt McVey, Michael McVey, Christian Moore, Ryan Moore, Douglas Penney, Bobby Perkins, Derek Slowikowski, Darryl Veigel, and Sandra Veigel Special Thanks: Greg Orman, Bernard R. Cahill II, Mary Alice Kier, Holly Hildebrandt, Charles Ryan, George Vasilakos, Inman Young, Jay Longino, Sheila Ralston, Janice Sellers, Paul Timm, Nathan Regener, Steve Fritz and Susie Cahill Disclaimer: The DUNE RPG is based on the DUNE Universe created by Frank Herbert and is presented with the approval of the Herbert Limited Partnership.

Additional game materials do not necessarily represent official DUNE canon. Last Unicorn Games, Inc. 12240Venice Blvd., Suite 15 LosAngeles, CA 90066 Please visit us online at: www.lastunicorngames.com Limited Collector's Edition Printing- August 2000 This limited collector's edition of the DUNE RPG features Last Unicorn Games' ICON System' and includes everything needed to play countless adventures in Frank Herbert's Dune universe. Future editions of the DUNE RPGwill employ the d20 System, and conversion notes will be available online at www.wizards.com. DUNpM and © 1999 Herbert Limited Partnership. Last Unicorn Games authorized user. © 2000 Herbert Limited Partnership and Last Unicorn Games, Inc.

Contents 4 Int rod uct io n Book One: Imperium Familia 10 I. The History of the Imperium II. Houses of the Landsraad III.

Character Creation IV. Characteristics V. English Intonation An Introduction Jc Wells Pdf Files. Rules of the Game...................................... Book Two: DU N E Oracle VI. Voice from the Outer World VII. Pillars of the Universe VIII. Shortening of the Way IX.

Chusuk, the 'Music Planet' X. Instrument of Kanly Book Three: Imperial Archives XI. The Culture of the Imperium ' XII. The Technology of the Imperium XIII. The SpacingIndustry XlV. Impenal Planetology XV. Imperial Personages 12 24 48 74 110 140 142 152 170 182 192 208 210 222 242 254 272 Index 281 Character Record 285 Introduction: Welcome Foreword by Bri8n Herbert What Are Roleplaying Games?

The DUNE: Chronicles of the Imperium Roleplaying Game plays a little differently than the games you're probabl y used to. The game includes,. No board, no playing pieces, no computer or video.. But the game is as rich and engaging as you care to make it; after all, everything you 'see' and • experience while playing comes from your own imagination, and the imaginations of your friends.

All you need is an open mind, a handful of six~ sided dice, and the desire to contribute to an inter active story. Roleplaying games resemble novels and drama s in many ways.

In the DUNE RPG, each player ere- ing games differ from novels because they are. In a good RPG adventure, the story is not lincharacters are not 'locked' into a specific plot.; the choices you make help to shape the story and c an,ge it. Stories in the DUNE RPG are organic and Anterilctive; their eventual outcomes depend almost exclusively on the actions of your characters and the decisions you make as a player.

A few simple rules help you determine the consequences of your actions; does your slow pellet stunner penetrate your rival's activated body shield? Do you evade the hunter-seeker controlled by the assassin lurking in the Wings? Does the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood agree to your request for sanctuary? The answers to these questions, and countless others like them, result from the rules which tell you when to roll dice and how to interpret their results. If you are using only this volume, most player characters will serve one of the nob le families of the Imperium. Future books and supplements will show players how to create all manners of characters, including Smugglers, Truthsayers, Spice Miners, Water Merchants, Imperial Planetologists, Spies and even Sandriders.

Players Who are the players in the DUNE RPG? Unless you've decided to take on the role of Narrator, you are! Using the simple guidelines presented in the Character Creation chapter, you and your friends can create any household agents you want, from Atreides nobles to Moritani assassins. When you're finished, you' ll be ready to embark on your first exciting adventure in the DUNE universe. When playing the DUNE RPG, all of the characters are collectively known as the House Entourage or Entourage for short.

In some roleplaying games, it can be difficult to bring characters together at the beginning of a new chronicle or adventure. In the DUNE RPG, the Introduction: Welcome to DUNE 6 House makes this easy. Normally, each character will be a member of a noble House Minor, assigned various roles and duties according to his vocational condition ing. As you and your group become more experienced, House Entourages prosper, bringing power and wealth to their patron House who aspires to rising among the ranks of the Great Houses of the Landsraad.

This is your chance to explore the wonders of the DUNE universe on your own, in your own way. Although it can occasionally be fun to re-create favorite chapters or characters from the novels, true entertainment results from creating your own adventures, going beyond what you 've read in the series of DUNE novels. Think of the DUNE universe as a grand stage, with you and your friends as the actors. You're playing original characters, having adventures of your own. And you can tell the story you want. Narrator So you 've assembled an Entourage and you're ready to play your first game of DUNE. First, you'll need to choose one player to be the Narrator.

Think of the Narrator as the author of the games your group will play. It's his job to describe and pace the action in an chapter, recounting the story to the players as events unfold. In a sense, the Narrator 'becomes' the universe, telling the players what their characters see, hear and feel. It's also the Narrator's job to interpret the rules and use them wisely.

Players don 't want to spend all night rolling dice or arguing over rules. They want to have fun! Using the rules properly is a balancing act; while the game hinges on adventure and storytelling, interpreting the rules too loosely can lead to abuse. You need to retain some structure in order to maintain drama.

Games where the characters are invincible lack any sort of tension or danger. Finally, it's the Narrator's job to create engaging stories and adventures, and to 'play' the roles of any supporting cast characters with whom the players interact. While challenging at times, it can be a lot of fun to play a roguish Swordmaster one minute and an Imperial Suk doctor the next. So practice those knaveries and rehearse your philosophies; you've got some dramatic acting ahead of you! In many ways, the Narrator has the most demanding job in the game.

He needs to be able to wear several hats at once, and keep each element of an chapter-story, supporting cast, rules, descriptions-in constant motion. It's a big job, but once you get the hang of it, it can also be the most rewarding role in the game. We give Narrators plenty of advice in Chapters 6, 7 and 8 in addition to a sample setting, cast and adventure in Chapter's 9 and 10. So there 's nothing to worry about.

In no time at all you' ll be narrating your own tales as if you were an Imperial historian. The Rules There are no winners or losers in a roleplaying game. Although the DUNE RPG may be unusual compared to the games you're used to (like chess or backgammon, for example), it does have something in common with these decidedly more traditional past-times: it has rules that govern what you can and cannot do. But unlike traditional games that are often shaped entirely by their rules, the DUNE RPG is shaped by the stories players tell.

The rules exist to enhance a chapter or chronicle and allow it to flow more smoothly. And hopefully, rules will prevent any misunderstandings that might crop up among players during the game.

The DUNE RPG uses the Icon System, a basic rules system that attempts to explain and account for the random occurrences your characters will face during the course of a narrative. The Icon System was designed to be simple, elegant and easy-to-use. It was also designed to be open-ended and flexible; we know players enjoy tailoring systems to their own tastes and the tastes of their group, and the DUNE RPG encourages such customization. The guidelines presented here are yours to use or modify as you see fit.

If you don't like something, change it. If you think we forgot something, make it up. This is your game now and the story, never the rules, should always remain your primary focus. How to Use this Game This game is divided into three distinct sectionsImperium Familia, DUNE Oracle and Imperial Archives. Playersshould familiarize themselves with the chapters found in the 'Imperium Familia' section of the game.

These chapters show you how to create and play characters; they also describe Imperial civilization and introduce the rules of the game. While you don't need to familiarize yourselfwith all of the material in the 'DUNE Oracle' and 'Imperial Archives' sections of the game, you may find some of these chapters highlyinformative, especially if you're new to the DUNE milieu. Feel free to read it at your leisure, but be warned that 'Chapter 10' contains a sample adventure your Narrator may want to lead you through. Reading this chapter before you play will spoil the surprises and much of the fun you'll experience if you skip this chapter for the time being.

Narrators need to become familiar with all three sections of the game. The chapters found in the 'DUNE Oracle' sectionare of particular interest to the Narrator, since these deal with the intricacies of telling good DUNE RPG stories.

The 'DUNE Oracle' section contains information about creating and narrating DUNE chapters and chronicles, Entourage interactions and House evolution. In short, the heart of any good DUNE story probably originates in one of the 'DUNE Oracle' chapters.

If the chapters presented by the 'DUNE Oracle' give you the pages foryour own DUNEchronicles, the 'Imperial Archives' provide the narrative details that give it life. Chapters in the 'Imperial Archives' detail many of the wonders and anomalies found throughout the DUNE universe, from the formal dueling rituals of Kanly to the marvels of fold-space navigation.

If you need new homeworlds or supporting characters foryour existing game, be sure to review the 'Imperial Planetology' and 'Imperial Personages' chapters. Imperial Technology occupies its own chapter, as do space travel and Imperial customs. Tools of the Trade In addition to pencil and paper, you'll need some sixsided dice to play the DUNE Roleplaying Game. You can find dice in any good book or hobby store, or you can simplyborrowa few from a couple of those dusty old board games lost in the back of your closet. But make sure that one die is a different color or size than the others, that's an important aspect of the dice rolling system. It's a Vast Imperium.

If you like what you see in this game, guess what? There's plenty more on the way! Although this volume contains everything you need to play and enjoy the DUNE RPG foryears to come, Last Unicorn also produces many other DUNE RPG products. These include adventures, source books, miniatures and boxed supplements.

While none of these products are required to play the game, each of them is designed to expand and enhance your DUNE gaming experience. Look for them at a book, game or comic store near you.

The Icon Link The graphic you see floating behind this text is Last Unicorn Games' proprietary Icon Link. Keyed to particular topics, the icon means ou can find bonus material at the Last Unicorn Game www.Iastunicorngames.com). The related material has been instituted as an or our readers.

Examples of additiona erials might include supplemental archetypes,.anced histories, sidebar commentaries, further examples, untested materials or experimental rules variants. See you on the web!

GLOSSARY The following game terms appear throughout the DUNE RPG. Each of the terms is described more com- pletely in the appropriate section of the game; they are collected here for ease of reference.

Advantage: Traitbenefits; conferring advantages that a character possesses. Examples include having a Ally in a Great House, possessing Machine Logic, or having Imperial Conditioning.

Advantages cost a number of Development Points equal to their value; for example, a +2 Advantage costs 2 Development Points. Allegiance: an oath of fealty sworn to a House Minor or Great House by a subject or vassal; Allegiance imparts familiarity with household customs and protocol. Allegiance Template: A character creation tool representingthe character's fealty to their patron House, such as Atreides or Harkonnen. Each Template includes the basic attributes and other abilities common to an average member of the household. Attribute: A character's innate capabilities, such as his agility or intelligence. There are five attributes: Physique, Coordination, Intellect, Charisma and Prescience. Attributes range in value from I to 5 (and, rarely, reach level 6 through special advantages).

Attribute Test: A Test (q.v.) made using only an attribute (no skill is involved). Combined Test: A Test made by several characters working together.

The best Test Result acts as a base, and each additional successful result adds +1 to it; failures may subtract from the total or delay completion of the task. 7 Introduction: Welcome to DUNE 8 Conditioning Overlay: A character creation tool representing the character's vocational Conditioning and house profession, such as Noble, Mentat or Swordmaster.

Each Overlay includes the basic Skills and other abilities needed to perform the profession. D6: A six-sided die. Six-sided dice are used to make all Tests in the DUNE RPG. Development Poi nts: Points characters use to buy attributes, edges and advantageous Traits.

Characters receive a certain number of Development Points at each stage of their Background History, and receive additional Development points for selectingdisadvantageous Traits. Difficulty: How easy or hard it is to accomplish a task. Each task is given a Difficulty (or Difficulty Number) indicating how hard it i&--the higher the number, the harder the task. Difficulty Numbers are organized into categories (from lowest to highest, Routine [3-5], Moderate [6-8], Challenging [9-11], Difficult [12-14], and Nearly Impossible [15+]). When trying to accomplish a task, a character rolls a Test (q.v.); if his Test Result equals or exceeds the Difficulty, he succeeds.

Disadvantage: Trait limitations: hindrances or other problems which afflict a character. Examples include having a Sworn Enemy, being Physically Impaired (for example, blind) or hiding one's emotions.

Drama Die: When a player rolls a Test, one of the dice he rolls is a different color or size. This die is called the Drama Die. If the Drama Die rolls a 6, it indicates a great degree of success; if it rolls a I, it may indicate a great failure. Dramatic Failure: A failed Test measuring six or more below the Difficulty Number (forexample, a Test Result of 5 when the Difficulty is 12) or any Failure resulting from a 1 on the Drama Die. This indicates a grievous failure which may have terrible consequences for the character. Dramatic Success: A successful Test measuring six or more above the Difficulty Number (forexample, a Test Result of 12 when the Difficulty is 5) or any Success resulting from a 6 on the Drama Die.

This indicates an amazing success that may have especially beneficial results for the character. Edge: Aspects of attributes representing a character's particular level of talent (or lack of talent) with some functions of an attribute. For example, the edges associated with Intellect are Perception and Logic. Edges range in value from +2 to -2, and act as modifiers to related Tests.

Extended Test: A Test that requires an extensive amount of time, or which is broken up into segments so that the Narrator can gauge the character's progress by requiring multiple Skill Tests. House Minor: A lesser House or subfamily of a Great House, governing planetary subfiefs and holding titles of minor nobility.

Great House: One of the rulingclans of the Imperium distlnguished by their governance of an entire planetary fief (siridar fief) and membership in the Federated Houses of the Landsraad. Household: any noble family Initiative: Determines whogoes first in combat or similar situations.

If surprised, characters must make Initiative Test, rolling the Drama Die (rule of 6 applies) and adding the result to their current initiative. Karama Points: Karama represents a character's divine luck and cosmic destiny, resulting from miraculous intervention of the spirit world. Characters use Karama points to improve rolls and increase Test Results. A character's overall Karama Point total is sometimes referred to as his Karma Pool. Level: A character's level of ability in a skill or attribute. For example, a character who buys a skill has a level of 1 in that skill; as his ability improves, the level increases to 2, 3, 4 and so on.

Narrative: A segment or body of a story, ranging from individual scenes to episodic chronicles. Opposed Test: A Test (q.v.) which is opposed or resisted by another character; for example, a character who uses his Stealth skill to sneak past a guard will engage in an Opposed Test with the guard, who uses his Observation (search) skill in an attempt to locate the character. The character who rolls the highest Test Result in an Opposed Test wins the Test. Option: Almost anything a character does can be described by options. Making an attack, dodging a blow and using a skill are all options, divided into actions and reactions.

Depending on your character's Coordination you can perform a number of options each round, with each subsequent action and reaction costing slightly more Option Points to simulate the extra time needed to shift from offensive to defensive posturing. Renown: Renown measures how well-known a character is.

Renown has four aspects (Valor, Learning, Justice and Prayer). All characters start the game with at least 1 point of Renown in one aspect (according to Conditioning Overlay). Resistance: A character's ability to withstand damage. Resistance equals a character's (Fitness + Vitality).

If the character wears armor or other protection, it will add to his Resistance. Result: Test Result. Round: A measure of time in combat, equal to five seconds.

Skill: A character's learned abilities, aptitudes and knowledge. Examples include the ability to administrate holdings, make Mentat computations or fight with blade weapons. Skills range in value from 1 to 5 (and, rarely, higher). Most skills have specializations (q.v.).

Skill Test: A Test (q.v.) in which a character rolls a number of dice equal to the attribute upon which a skill is based, and adds the highest result on any die to his skill level. If the total equals or exceeds the Difficulty Number for the task, the character succeeds. Specialization: Areas of particular expertise and ability within a skill. Many skills require a character to specialize, since they are so broad that few characters will ever learn all aspects of the skill in-depth. Test: Tests are dice rolls used to determine whether a character succeeds with a particular action. Most Tests are based on a skill + attribute, but there are also Tests based solely on an attribute. Typically, the highest die rolled in a Test is added to the relevant skill level; if that total, or Test Result, equals or exceeds the Difficulty of a task, the character succeeds.

Test Modifier: Circumstances that modify a Test. These include edges, poor visibility, using the off hand, being wounded or trying to perform tasks in zero gravity. Wound Level: An indication of a character's current injury status. There are seven Wound Levels: Healthy, Stunned, Injured, Wounded, Incapacitated, Near Death and Killed.

A character can withstand a number of points of damage equal to his Physique attribute + Constitution edge per Wound Level; when he takes more damage than that, he drops to the next level. 9 Ch2pter I: The History of the • mperlum. Its legacy was born of suffering, dependence on ologyand disregard for the morality of its applicaew era of human understanding and enlightend, one that has expanded the frontiers of.

I into realms hitherto undreamed. Things possesses a kind of truth, informer that the current state of the unimeously come into being. Instead, the eals a legacy of untold hardship, of f fantastic human evolution and of ces precipitated by such events. R it is a difficult one to forget. Understand the modern Imperium, ouses within it, or the basis for the em without first understanding the Imperium. To truly grasp the import Clays, one must recognize the motivareat Revolt-the Butlerian Jihad, as it is ffects of this period on the social and ment of the Imperium.

E old Imperium had endured for thousands ts legacy-indeed, its destiny-had been enturies before the first revolt on Nitzevine. Ar-flung worlds existed in relative harmony, their rnments and rulers linked by a complex system eudal loyaltiesand alliances. It was a time of peace, of technological marvels, and of complacency. A once magnificent galactic community- united by a common vision of expansion, discovery, and unityhad reached the apex of its stagnation. Havinggrown increasingly dependent on the technological wonders they had once controlled, the Great Houses grew lethargic, losingthemselves in the decadence and debaucheries that often accompany such decay. Their horizons exhausted, their goals eclipsed by the demands of the flesh, the planets and Houses.

Of the old Imperium did nothing to stem the growing. Tides of dissent and dissatisfaction among their subjects. Instead, they retreated even further behind technological barriers of their own devising. In other regions of the galaxy, technology became less an escape and more a living instrument of terror. Manipulation of artificial intelligence and sentient weapons allowed upstart regimes and makeshift 'Houses' to seize entire worlds.

It gave them the power to utterly dominate and oppress entire populations and planets. Coupled with the decadence thriving on so many of the ancient worlds, these new abuses served as the fi nal affront to the ideals of the old Imperium. Revolution was imminent, and once begun it spread like a holy flame throughout the Known Universe.

Revolts and uprisings erupted on many worlds, and spread throughout the old Imperium. Worlds were overthrown, rulers expelled, and a wholesale destruction of technology initiated. Entire noble bloodlines-many of which had existed for thousands of years-simply ended, extinguished by the riots sweeping across a seemingly endless string of worlds throughout the Imperial core.

Although a handful of planets survived more or less intact (including such modern technocracies as Ix, Richese, and Tleilax), destruction and chaos reigned throughout much of the Known Universe. In addition to the rulers and their machines, billions of innocents perished in the widespread destruction spawned by the Jihad. The Great Revolt changed the fabric of the universe, plungingthe Imperium into a new dark age from which it would not soon recover. The Butleri8n Proscriptions The Butlerian Jihad left an indelible mark on Imperial history, written in the blood of the period's countless victims. The Revolt also left a lasting mark on Imperial civilization, one that would not soon be forgotten.

The aftermath of the Jihad gave birth to an entire collection of new social mandates, the chief commandment of which survives in the Orange Catholic Bible as 'Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.' These mandates-commonly known as the Butlerian Proscriptions-remain perhaps the most lasting contribution of this dark time. Ten thousand years later, the humanist philosophy embodied by these directives continues to guide the course of social development within the Imperium. Their spirit captures the essence of this tenuous period in galactic history perhaps better than anything else. The Butlerian Proscriptions forbid any sort of reliance on automated machinery or artificial intelligence. Such changes caused a radical reassessment of human expec- Chapter I: The History of the Imperium 14 tations and capabilities, and led to a number of critical social and cultural adaptations.

The most direct result of the proscriptions took the form of a new reliance on human methods. Over time, this reliance would lead to the formation of the Great Schools-the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, the Spacing Guild, the Mentat School, and the Swordmaster's School of Ginaz. Science, medicine, academia-all such disciplines were initially viewed with suspicion in the wake of the revolution, and their practice was cause for actual punishment on some worlds.

While these attitudes wouldchange considerably after the establishment of the Great Schools, these disciplines still carry stigmas with them today. Emerging technologies that did not require a human operator, or direct human control of some kind, were abandoned.

True automation had ceased to exist. While the surviving technocracies of Ix, Richese, and Tleilax began to develop new technologies following the letter of the Proscriptions, such advances would not become widely known, or indeed widely available, for several thousand years. In the early years following the Jihad, such development remained carefully secret. All spacecraft depending on artificial intelligence for navigation or propulsion were either destroyed or abandoned.

Worlds severed contact with each other and with all previously centralized authority, leading to Widespread breakdowns in both commerce and communication. As a consequence of this self-imposed isolation on many worlds, the government of the old Imperium finally collapsed. In the wake of its expiration, each planet struggled in its own way to survive; not only were they forced to provide for their own populations, but they were also forced to defend themselves against Imperial remnants and internal threats without any hope of assistance. Many planets enjoyed no outside contact for centuries, further exacerbating a paranoia that had already spun out of control.

The true dark age arrived with a whisper. An Imperial Dark Age The Jihad and its fallout ruined many of the ancient Houses and noble families, seriouslyweakening many others. Planetary governments fell and new regimes emergedto take their places. While many of these old bloodlines did not survive the ensuing turmoil, others adapted. Although most pre-Jihad histories were destroyed with the computers during the Great Revolt, the survivors preserved the 'Oral histories.' The importance of these ancient records would become apparent as a new feudal system began to take shape amid the ashes of the old.

In time, many of the surviving planetary governors and noble Houses of the old Imperium re-emerged. The savviest of these groups had spent the years following the Jihad and its aftermath consolidating their remaining power; in many cases, astute Houses were able to increase their holdings during this chaotic period.

As contact among worlds began again in earnest, these groups began to enter into formal alliances. Blood united some, while common ideologies, territories, or commerce brought others together. In time, these new Houses would form the bedrock of a new Imperial order. After generations of military and political maneuvering, a new feudal system began to coalesce. Most of the newly formed Houses chose to unite under the leadership and guidance of powerful, individual Houses, which were in turn granted dominion over individual planets. In accordance with the ancient traditions, these powerful new Houses claimed legitimacy on the basis of noble ancestry or ancient bloodlines, thus creatinga connection between the old Imperium and the emerging territories that would soon form the new Imperium.

Military and economicconcerns were for a time relegated to second place. These so-called Great Houses began the long process of re-establishing links among the far-flung insular regions of the now-shatteredgalactic community. Upon recognizing a Great House as the rightful ruler of a planet, the lesser Houses of the world became known as Houses Minor. These lesser Houses customarily enjoyed an array of rights and privileges; these Stipulations, as they became known, were traditionally worked into the treaty documents that led to the nomination of a Great House on a particular world. Since Stipulations often differed from one world to the next, a panoply of multi-hued rights and responsibilities evolved, with those of one system being markedly different from those in another.

As the Great Houses began to reach out to one another over the ensuing centuries, these differences would become the cause of much conflict. Before a true Imperial reunification could occur, a universal resolution would become necessary. While such a resolution remained the stated goal of most of the Houses, the road to unification was destined to be long and bloody. Reunification: Visions of Empire Once the consolidation process was underway, the need for increased resources and commerce became quickly apparent.

The Great Houses began looking to their neighbors for the additional wealth and materials needed to continue the long recovery process and ensure their future prosperity. The Widely varying differences in the substance and style of the planetarygovernments would prove the greatest obstacle to lasting cooperation. Many Great Houses began to take what they needed through the use of military force, warring with each other for the resources and territory they required to provide fortheir own welfare. Lineage and heritage became the paramount standards in the ensuing conflicts, with numerous Great Houses claiming Imperial legitimacy by right of blood or noble ancestry. Modern Imperial scholars rememberthe early period of reunification as the era of the crusade, with one Great House after another manipulating the fanaticism of its subjects in an attempt to reunify the old Imperium under their own House banner. These kin wars quickly escalated throughout the Known Universe. While not as bloodyor all-encompassing as the time of the Jihad, still hundreds of millions lost their lives.

Many of the rivalries established duringthis periodcontinue into the modern day, with current Great Houses fanning the flames of vendettas nearingten thousand years of age. The specter of the Great Revolt was an ever-present shadow looming over these conflicts, and many of the House leaders realized that some form of final resolution would be necessaryto prevent the conflict from erupting into another galaxy-spanning holocaust. Level heads eventually prevailed, and after a series of failed attempts the leaders of the Great Houses successfully reached a truce. The negotiations that followed led swiftly to the formation of the Landsraad League.

Styled after the Landsraad Coalition of the old Imperium and created expresslyto avert further conflict and unnecessary bloodshed, the League was a loose confederation of mutual support and arbitration. United under this tenuous association, the new League set forth a collection of basic rights and privtleges.

These benefits would be accorded to all member Houses so long as they remained in good standing with the League, and the membership agreed to be bound by this set of informal codes and conventions. As a result of the still-disparate natures of many Great Houses, problems arose immediately.

Because the Landsraad League possessed no enforcing agency or universal accountability, the attempt to create a universal set of preceptsand governing laws provedpremature. The members ignored or circumvented the body's resolutions, and its arbitration efforts proved largely ineffective. Many of the more powerful Great Houses continued their military campaigns, and in many cases the formation of the League actually served to heighten the tensions and suspicions among its powerful members. The Battle of Corrin and the Founding of the Imperium Lofty ambitions and noble intentions could not save the floundering Landsraad League.

Its members quickly realized that it was ineffective as a governing body, and woefully inadequate as an arbitrating force. These realizations served to re-ignite the old House conflicts with renewed ferocity. Great Houses rose and fell, and the universe once again descended dangerously close to wholesale war. As the conflict wore on, new alliances took shape and greater powers formed. Centuries of war and political maneuveringfinally came to a head at the Battle of Corrin, where the remnants of the allied Landsraad League faced a seemingly unstoppable force under the direction of the vastly powerful House Sarda.

House Sarda, supported by its fanatical Sardaukar legions, had been makingconsiderable inroads throughout the Imperial core for decades, and its rivals knew that their only hope of victory lay in a final alliance and a final stand against the powerful House and its suicide troops. But such a victory was not to be. The Battle of Corrin established the preeminence of the deadly Sardaukar on the battlefield, and the remaining Landsraad allies were decimated. The Battle also saw the germination of one of the most notable rivalries in the history of the Imperium. During the battle, Bashar Abulurd Harkonnen abandoned his station in a grave act of cowardice that would later dictate the exile of House Harkonnen.

Leadinghis lancers to fill the Bashar's now-open rearguard position at the flank of the forward Sardaukar legion, Demetrios Atreides saved the Sarda forces from the final Landsraad offensive, thus earning House Atreides lasting accolades for the valorous conduct of its scion. After the Battleof Corrin, the remaining Landsraad forces were decisively crippled. Few Houses could refuse the subsequent summons to Salusa Secundus, where the surviving Great Houses gathered to pay tribute and bear witness to the coronation of Sheseut Sarda as the first Emperor of the Golden Lion Throne. Immediately following his coronation, the new Emperor addressed the assembled nobles, formally claiming the Corrino name for the Imperial House so that none would ever forget the 15 Chapter I: The History of the Imperium 16 genesis of the reborn Imperium.

Sheseut's coronation commenced the line of Padishah Emperors that would rule the Known Universe for the next ten thousand years. Thus ended the opening convocation of the reunited Landsraad, now securely within the grasp of the new Imperial providence. Following the coronation ceremonies, the representatives of the Landsraad assembled to negotiate terms for a lasting Pax Imperium. It was during this fi rst convention that EmperorSheseut banished Abulurd Harkonnen for ignominious cowardice in the face of the enemy. It was also during these meetings that Sheseut bestowedgreat honor upon House Atreides, for valor in the same conflict.

And so the ancient enmity between the Houses Atreides and Harkonnen began, on the floor of the Landsraad before their fellow peers of the realm. Over the course of the three-week conclave, the new Emperorgranted certain concessions to the defeated Houses in order to buy their fealty and ongoing loyalty. Thus was the Order of the Faufreluches born, alongwith a basic set of governmental edicts distilled from the original precepts set forth by the old Landsraad League. In time, these original edicts would form the basis for the Great Convention. With the aid of the reunited Houses of the Landsraad, House Corrino embarked on a policyof outright Imperialism, gradually bringing the whole of the Known Universe under its standard.

Most citizens rememberthis period of expansion and conquest as a golden age, a time of colonization and discovery. The manifest destiny of the Imperial House seemed ordained by some higher power, as the Imperium itselfgrew to contain not hundreds or thousands of worlds, but tens of thousands of inhabited planets. The old empire had been reborn, and its splendor and gloryoutshone anything the universe had ever known. By the advent of the Spacing Guild monopoly in the year 0 BG, the Imperium had expanded many times beyond its ancient borders.

The combined Greater and Lesser Houses of the Landsraad now numbered in the thousands, an amazing fact considering how little time had passed since the coronation of Sheseut. The unending spread of this new Imperialism spawned vast migrations, with millions of refugees fleeing the relentless approach of the conquerors and their now-legendary Sardaukar legions.

Most notable among these movements, the Zensunni Migrations continued forgenerations, jumping from world to world, and system to system. As Imperial troops advanced to conquer their most recent 'homeworld,' the Zensunni would flee to the next system. At some point during the course of their wanderings, the Zensunni stopped for a time on a seemingly barren world of endless deserts and fierce storms. Although they did not realize it at the time, their habitation of this savage planet may have been the most momentous event in the history of the Known Universe. In later times, it became apparent to Bene Gesserit missionaries assignedto the world that its mysterious desert tribes-known as the Fremen-were descendants of ancient Zensunni forbears. And the planet that served briefly as their home, a planet that would one day become the true center of the universe, was called Arrakis.

An Imperial Renaissance Arrakis and the Discovery of the Spice Modern scholars suspect that the spice, melange, was first discovered on Arrakis during the Zensunni migrations, and that its secrets were carriedoff-planet when the refugees once again took flight. It is also believed that this knowledge made its way into the closely guarded halls of the foundling Spacing Guild near the same time. Of course with the Fremen and Spacing Guild beingso notoriously reluctant to give details to outsiders, much of the history of melange and Arrakis proves highly speculative. The founders of the Guild, along with several of its most trusted scientists and Navigators, conducted an extended series of deep experiments into the mind-altering and consciousness-raising propertiesof the spicedrug.

The success of these early experiments eventually led to the development of an advanced program of human conditioning, ultimately resulting in the discovery of the foldspace metaphysics and prescience-driven navigational techniques employed by the Guild today. With the discovery of the spice-drug also came knowledge of its unique geriatric properties, its ability to prolong life at the considerable cost of irreversib e physiological addiction.

Some scholars believe that it was those Zensunni who had become addicted to the spice that elected to remain when most of the Zensunni left Arrakis. Presumably, these stragglers took refuge in the planet's deserts to escape the Imperial scouring of the world; and after centuries of such existence, they adapted completely to their new home, evolving into the Ichwan Bedwine, the brotherhood of all Fremen on Arrakis.

It may also be worth noting that the geriatric properties of the spice may be partly responsible for the strong Zensunni influence remaining in modern Fremen tradition. Certainly, longer life spans would contribute to the proliferation of cultural myth and folklore among the Zensunni remnants in their new home. Because of the circumstances of the migration, the wanderers would have had limited technological resources at their disposal. This, in conjunction with the harsh demands of a planet like Arrakis, probably explains the rich oral histories that developed on the world. It could also explain the strong Zensunni cultural grounding that remains apparent in Fremen tradition today. Although its geriatric properties are well known, the spice-drug is perhaps most famous for the strange metaphysical properties it possessesand the connections these properties provide to the two Great Schools-the Spacing Guild and Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. When the scientific forefathers of the Spacing Guilddiscovered the metaphysical properties of the spice, the subsequent revelation was reminiscent of Prometheus delivering the proto-fire on the mountain.

With the time awareness and limited prescience provided by large doses of the spice-drug, complex folds pace metaphysics became possible in the absence of navigational computers or sophisticated machines. The spice provided new hope for replacing the computers and sensors that had once gulded starships through the uncertainties of foldspace. Using the powers imbued by the drug, Guild Navigators would become human navigational computers, more sophisticatedand far-reach ing than any machine had ever been. Their heightened awareness could see roads that normal humans had no hope of comprehending, and this ability would pave the way for a renewed age of space travel and exploration. It would also create a monopoly the likesof which had never before existed in the Known Universe. The spice also played a pivotal role in the founding and early development of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. Thought to be the fabled Truthsayer Drug, it remains uncertain whether the prescient properties of the spice were known to the Sisterhood prior to the advent of the first Reverend Mothers and Truthsayers.

What is known is that the spice has played a prominent role in the Sisterhood's quest to understand the limits of human potential and ability. Its awareness-enhancing properties have certainly affected the direction of the Sisterhood's varied programs and experiments into the deepest reaches of human experience, and these properties have also had lastingeffects on deeper rituals upon which the Sisterhood was founded. Although the Sisterhood guards its secrets tightly, it is known that the Bene Gesserit use an array of awareness spectrum narcotics to enter the Truthtrance. Whether these substances were derived or developed as substitutes for melange, or whether the spice itself proved to be the most effective of a pre-existing selection, remains a carefully guarded mystery.

Foundation of the Great Schools While the Great Houses of the Landsraad strove to reshape an empire and realize their political agendas, the emerging academic and scientific communities struggled in the wake of the Jihad. Severely hampered by the proscriptions against technology, these reemergingdisciplines were forced to turn inward for continued development. Their leaders recognized the need to open new avenues of human understanding, to institute programs designed to explore the possibly limitless vistas of human potential.

Such programs would eventually succeed in replacing machines with competent and enlightened human counterparts. Their success would open the way for the evolving humanist attitudes that would eventually prevail in the new Imperium. Although numerous movements began during this period, several Great Schools fi nally emerged, having assimilated or integrated various lesser schools to consolidate their efforts toward a common goal. The most infl uential of these Schools were the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood and the Spacing Guild, with the Mentat School, the Swordmaster's School of Ginaz and the Imperial Suk School emerging as prominent institutions that would endure to shape the modern Imperium.

The Bene Gesserit Sisterhood Seeing how the Great Houses were faltering in their political endeavors, the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood recognized the need to develop a new school for human training and development. On its surface, the Sisterhood embraced the caste system of the faufreluche s. The feudal system's emphasis on pure bloodlines and ancient genealogy played perfectly into the Sisterhood's long-term breeding plans, furthering both their ambitions and their secret programs. The foundation of the Sisterhood was based on three guiding principles. The first principle taught adepts that non-enlightened civilization requires tangible and recog- 17 Chapter I: The History of the Imperium 18 nizable threads of continuity in human affairs. Since political leaders and governments represent those elements of society most able to support or hinder this security, the Sisterhood targeted politics as its key focus and made its practice the means of realizing its grand schemes.

To this day, the Sisterhood remains a key player behind the Imperial scene, manipulating entire worlds from the shadows of relative anonymity. The second principle taught the importance of genetic evolution and human supremacy. The Bene Gesserit breeding program resulted from the belief that without separating true humans from animals, genetic de-evolution would threaten the fate of the human race. Clearly only those possessing ideal genetic qualities were fit to rule in the new humanist order, thus ensuring both the progressive evolution of human civilization and the preservation of social and cultural continuity. The third principle was one of preparation against adversity or times of crisis; it taught the importance of cultural manipulation and preparation. The Missionaria Protectiva consisted of teams of Sisterhood myth makers, adepts dispatched throughout the Known Universe to seed primitive cultures with legends and superstitions designed to aid adepts who mightvisit the cultures at a later time.

Any adept could manipulate the resulting myths to assist in their own survival, should one become lost or stranded on one of the visited worlds. Unofficially, such manipulation facilitated the Sisterhood's other ambitionsby imbuing adepts with increasedstatus within these societies. Such manipulation also allowed adepts to infiltrate a societyto search for candidates to add to their breeding matrices. In the later Imperium, many worlds seeded longago were actually forgotten. Arrakis was just such a planet. The Spacing Guild The fou ndation of the Spacing Guild was predicated on the discovery of the spice-drug melange on the planet Arrakis.

The enhanced awareness and limited prescience the drugafforded Guild Navigators allowed them once again to perform the delicate calculations necessary for successful foldspace navigation, this time without the benefit of sophisticated technology. The formation of the Guild served as one of the first real benchmarks in the newconcentration on human potential and capability. Though the science of foldspace astrophysics was not lost during the Jihad, the act of navigating foldspace was far too complex for humans to assay without relying on the advanced navigational computers and sensors abandoned in the aftermath of the Great Revolt. The discovery of the time-awareness state imbued by spice overdose offered a solution to this problem. When heavily saturated with the spice-drug, a properlytrained human mind could awaken to the complexabstractions of the space-time continuum, allowing the practitioner to see multiple lines of movement and spatial relationships in the ways simulated by the great thinking machines of old. It allowed a trained Navigator to see many possible paths, and gave him the enhanced insight to choose the proper way.

In many ways, this direct experience allows a Navigator to tap into the unused portions of the brain to 'instinctively' interpolate the pattern of time-space, using the conscious mind to then select a course from point A to point B through the N-dimension of foldspace. In other words, Navigation Trance is like a combination of Mentat capacity and true prescience, except that the computational part occurs unconsciously as an instinctive manipulation of data not previously available to the human experience. The trance guides the Navigator down the correct path. Using this knowledge and these abilities as a foundation, a small group of visionary scientists and theoreticians founded the Spacing Guild. Little did these early pioneers understand the impact their researches would have on the long-term development of the Imperium. Because their knowledge remained a closely guarded secret, the Guild developed and began practicing their enlightened version of foldspace navigation in the absence of any real competition.

The result became a galaxy-spanning monopoly on interstellar travel that had become nearly all-powerful only a few decades after the founders' initial experiments. An Imperial Golden Age Scholars remember the years following the reunification of the Landsraad and the formation of the Great Schools as a kind of golden age for the Imperium. Most of the larger worlds formed planetary Sysselraads to govern planetary affairs. Modeled after the Landsraad, these individual Sysselraads were overseen by a Great House and counted all of a world's Houses Minor as members. On enlightened worlds, a Sysselraad served to protect the political and legal rights of these lesser Houses, giving their nobles a voice in the larger affairs of their Great House sponsors.

On less-enlightened planets, a Sysselraad might serve as simple window dressing to satisfy Imperial overseers. This period also saw significant advancements in space travel and interstellar communication, this time under the direction and auspices of the newly formed Spacing Guild. The construction of the first massive Guild Heighliners meant that Houses could nowtravel from world to world, complete with extensive retinues and materiel. A new era of House movement and occupation had begun. Connected to these movements was the establishment of Junction as the Guild horneworld, and the planet or planets of Tupile as the political haven for renegade Houses. Although the Emperor initially tried to keep the Guild under his wing, these efforts ultimately proved fru itless. By the end of this period of growth, the legendary neutrality and independent political power of the Guild had become an established fact.

The continued pursuit of human experience and its resulting advances also reached its apex duringthis time. The Bene Gesserit breeding programs had their tendrils in almost everypolitical structure in the Imperium, their massive genealogies reaching longingly for the 'perfect human.' The myth engineering of the Sisterhood's Missionaria Protectiva wing also continued apace, seeding countlessworlds against the coming of another dark age. The Commission of Ecumenical Translators rc.E. T.) convenedon Old Earth, meeting 'in the common belief that there exists a Divine Essence in the universe.' Their stated purpose was a harmonic marriage of religion, a universal religious unification that would remove, once and for all, 'any claim to the one and only revelation.'

The resultof these meetings, which stretched several years past their intended duration, was the Orange Catholic Bible. The unveiling of this new ecumenism, while greeted with initial praise and fanfare, did not become quite the new standard its creators had hoped. Instead, the members of the Commission were gradually vilified, due in no small part to new'spiritual' movements they had failed to addressand the' hubris of reason' evidenced in theirwork.

Nonetheless, ninety generations laterthe Orange Catholic Bible and accompanying c.E. Commentaries saturated the Imperium and captured the hearts of the religious majority. The concentration on human potential began to reach into other disciplines during this era as well. The establishment of the legendary Mentat School legitimized the role of these 'human computers,' and carriedhuman-centric logic accomplishments to new heights. Every Great House soon had Mentats attached to its retinue, and no House head would think of entering into complex negotiations or political machinations without the benefit of Mentat analysis. Other disciplines also began to solidify as coherent areas of study and training.

Dueling academies and war colleges were founded on many worlds to compete with the eminent Swordmaster's School of Ginaz, and trained Swordmasters, Warmasters and Weapons Masters became valuable additions to House forces across the Imperium. The Imperial Suk College was founded on Salusa Secundus (although the First School was later relocated to Kaitain along with the Imperial seat); and for exorbitant fees, Suk doctors bearing the diamond tattoo of the Imperial Conditioning were dispatched to care for the wealthiest of the Imperial Houses. New centers of scholastic learning, assassin guilds and training centers, artistic schools of every proclivity-a human renaissance was sweeping across the Imperium, bearing standards of art, culture, and deep human understanding before it. The legacy of the Jihad, while predictable in many ways, was perhaps also unlocked-for, While the age of computers and machines now seemed a distant memory, had the Imperium not embarked on a new age of thinking machines? Did flesh and blood dampen the potential of these new examples of enlightened human potential? Human development had far outstripped anything ever thought possible in the days of the old Imperium, had indeed outreached anything heretofore imagined. The reunited Imperium would assume its lofty place in history as the Age of the Human.

Consolidation and Expansion The centuries following the Great Revolt saw not only an aggressive expansion of the Imperium itself, but also a sweeping consolidation within the Imperial frontiers. Many Great Houses entrenchedthemselves on distant homeworlds, concentrating on internal resource and materiel development. Newalliances were born, and old ties severed. During this tumultuous period, several Great Houses rose to positions of leadership and preeminence among their Landsraad peers.

The actions of these Houses, as well as those of the Great Schools duringthe period, largely shaped the evolution of the modern Imperium. House Corrino House Corrino remains the most powerful of the Great House in the Imperium, having used its leverage as the House Imperial to manipulate its most ambitious rivals and consolidate its considerable gains for millennia. In the wake of an atomic disaster-resulting from an attempt to obliterate the Imperial family-House Corrino moved the seat of Imperialgovernment from Salusa Secundus to the more removed and secure, planet Kaitain. After the nuclear winter had ended, the Padishah Emperors converted Salusa Secundus into an Imperial prison planet, a fitting use for the ruined, inhospitable world. Today, Salusa Secundus secretly functions as a planet-wide breeding and training preserve for the dreaded Imperial terror troops, the Sardaukar. Long known for its internal power struggles and intrigues, an ancient saying goes that Corrino heirs meet assassins before they meet their own mothers. While this is obviouslyan exaggeration, early and untimelydeaths do seem to visit the House with alarming regularity.

Short-lived Emperors aside, House Corrino rules the Imperium with a steady hand. The House motto-'Law is the ultimate science'-speaks volumes about the measured surety with which the House approaches both problems and threats. Although its actions remain careful, measured, and deliberate, its legions of Sardaukar ensure that none challenge its authority lightly. House Atreides Held in high esteem since the earliest days of the new Imperium, House Atreides has produced a long lineof honorable scions.

Universally beloved by its subjects, the House has ruled its ancestral slrldar-fief, the Duchy of Caladan, for some 26 generations. Not known for being one of the wealthier Houses, House Atreides has long been esteemed for its honorable conduct, and has held the respect of its Landsraad peers since the Battle of Corrin long ago. 19 Chapter I: The History of the Imperium 20 House Wallach Recognized for their fairness, morality, and unflagging sense of justice, other members of the Landsraadoften turn to the Atreides for leadership in times of crisis. The House is currently beginning to feel the burden such leadership brings. Widely admired among the more placid Houses for taking a firm stand during the Ginaz Incident (as the Atreides call the Ginaz-Moritani War of Assassins), the political repercussions among the more powerful Houses remain uncertain. While open action on the part of its enemies remains doubtful, covert movement and intrigue are another matter. As Menelaus Atreides himself once said during an early Council session: 'Calling the Landsraadan 'august body'-now that's duplicity.'

House Harkonnen Readmitted to the Landsraad after a long exile brought on by the actions of Abulurd Harkonnen during the Battle of Corrin, House Harkonnen quickly rose to prominence through a fortuitous series of economic successes. The House's monopoly on the whale-fur and other luxury markets allowed it to build a vast commercial infrastructure, eventually making the House an unrivaled industrial power. Of course, its enemies are quick to point out that House Harkonnen has achieved this power through ruthless exploitation of its homeworlds and debasement of its human subjects. Although the House's ancestral fief remains the slridarbarony of Giedi Prime, its growing economic powerand Imperial associations earned it governance over the quasi-fief of Arrakis, which it has now governed for some fifty-odd years. Since replacing House Richese as siridargovernors of Arrakis, control of the spice and the resulting power this accorded solidified House Harkonnen's place as one of the most powerful Houses in the Imperium. Its managementof Arrakis will dictate the House's long-term rospects, which seem bright indeed. The siridar-fief of Wallach VII was granted to Burseg-General Maximillian Banarc during the sixth millennium, some 20 years after leading Imperial legions to victory during the massacre at Poritrin.

House Banarc adopted the Wallach surname after being given the title of Siridar-Baron von Wallach VII in recognition of his loyal service to the Emperor. Rallying beneath a standard bearing the ancient motto, 'God, Imperium, House,' House Wallach was renowned in past centuries for its considerable military prowess and resourcefulness. Although its heirs are still sent to Salusa Secundus for military training and education, in recent centuries the House has preferred to concentrate on diplomatic pursuits and statecraft. Its ambassadors and arbitrators have risen to prominence in many conflicts, serving both the Landsraad and the Emperor with honor.

House Wallach also enjoys unusual political influence because of its uncertain association with the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. Accepting an invitation from thenBaron Hurdan von Wallach, the Sisterhood moved their Mother School to the House-governed principality of Wallach IX, taking control of the planet by way of some inscrutable agreement. The arrangement seems to have benefited both parties, since relations between the House and the Sisterhood remain deeply intertwined to the present day. House Moritani Descended from an ancient order of assassins, House Moritani has worked for generations to shake its black reputation. The House is perhaps best known for its wholesale destruction of the Ginaz, Atreides allies and age-old rivals of the Moritani, during a lightning-quick war of assassins on the planet Grumman in 10,166. Officially sanctioned by the current Emperor, Shaddam IV, the events which transpired reminded the Landsraad membership that the old forms were far from dead.

As the undisputed rulers of Grumman, House Moritani then retreated into relative obscurity once more, its ancient honor having been satisfied. Rumors persist that the House has initiated a Widespread military and materiel buildup on the world, perhaps in an effort to restore social order, or perhaps to rebuild the Moritani forces sacrificed during the war.

Other rumorswhisper that the Moritani have revived one of the ancient Bhotani assassins schools; but so far, the rumors remain unconfirmed. House Tseida Caught up in the fervor of the Butlerian Jihad, the religious populace of Sikun produced some of the most ardent supporters of the reactionary movement.

Legal virtuosos enlisted with religious fanatics to lead the Sunnivean Inquisition that oppressed the planet for innumerable generations. Though the resulting theocratic regime lost its hold early in the second millennium, it was during those formative centuries that the great legal tradition of Sikun was born.

Specializing at first in Butlerian strictures and Imperial Law, the Sunnivas Academy spawned many sister schools in later generations. With the Inquisition in full force, the legal profession flourished on Sikun; and many of the schools began to earn reputations throughout the Imperium. But it wasn't until the theocratic regime had perished that newly risen House Tseida-promoted by the Spacing Guild-began to peddle its highly specialized legal services to a broad base of Imperial clients. As House Sunnivas (and its advocates) declined in both influence and popularity, the 'separatist movement' led by House Tseida now moved with increasing audacity. Volunteering advocates to represent other Great Houses in Landsraad and CHOAM litigation, House Tseida staunchly supported all of its legal schools, earning them varying degrees of fame and wealth as their victories began to accrue.

The Great Schools The centuries of consolidation were not limited to the Great Houses alone. The pioneers in the ongoingquest for human potential-Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, the Spacing Guild and other so-called Great Schoolsevolved during this period into the modern Imperial powers they have become. Of these, the Sisterhood and Guild reveal the most dynamic of changes. For the Sisterhood, this meant significant advancement along several fronts. After centuries of manipulation, their breeding program had become sophisticated and far-reaching enough to warrant a sub-school of its own.

Ten millennia of selective breeding and genetic guidance had created many successes, many within the highest circles of the Sisterhood felt they were growing close to the culmination of their efforts-the so-called Kwisatz Haderach. As an enhancement and aid to the Sisterhood's breeding and political programs, the tradition of educating female members of both the Great and Minor Houses began during this time, as well. While the Sisterhood may have seemed a logical teacher for young noblewomen, the shadowy purpose behind these efforts was never far from the surface.

As the Sisterhood gained more and more control over the young women most important to their breeding experiments, they were able to accelerate the steps needed to attain their ultimate goal-the creation and control of the Kwisatz Haderach, the male enlightened superbeing capable of being 'many places at once.' The early centuries after the founding of the Guild also saw the acceleration of the so-called Shari-A proj- ects of the Missionaria Protectiva. Sowing the Panoplia Propheticus across a thousand primitive worlds, the Sisterhood was paving the way for its agents and representatives centuries before such interaction might occur. Always looking to the future, the Sisterhood had prepared thousands of bases and subject worlds at their disposal by the end of the tenth millennium. Their melding of politics, myth, and ritual had proved powerful indeed. During this period, the Spacing Guild kept apace of the BG Sisterhood and other Great Schools.

With the establishment of the Guild Bank, the order's virtual monopoly over commercial transport and banking was complete. Using spice as a valuation tool, branches of the Guild Bank were established throughout the Imperium, becoming the centers around which all monetary exchange revolved. Control over the movement of House monies and commerce made the Guild the primary agent of CHOAM, and the dual nature of Imperial commerce and trade that exists today began in earnest. Byvirtue of its monopoly over space travel, the Guild was able to enforce the Guild Peace through a combination of fees, sanctions, and unprecedented economic controls. Its agents had to approve all new CHOAM-sanctioned trade routes and commercial schedules, thus giving it extensive knowledge and power over all inter-House trade.

The practice known as the Guild Security began with the adoption of the new Shipping Contract, whereby none except Guild representatives would know the nature of a given transport's cargo or personnel manifests. A Great House could be engaged in open vendetta with a rival, and frigates from each House could be placed next to one another in the vast hold of a Guild Heighliner without either House fearing attack. While the Guild Security remained a necessary control in the new era of monitored commercialism, its secretive nature only served to make the already enigmatic Guild that much more mysterious in the eyes of the Houses. Into the Present The current political climate in the Imperium can best be described as a hidden stand-off. With the rising popularity of the Atreides Duke, Leto the Just, in the Landsraad, other Houses have begun to establish secret allegiances behind the scenes. The Harkonnens do little to hide their open contempt for the Atreides, as do the Moritani.

Houses Wallach and Tseida, with their mysterious connections to the Great Schools, have retreated to positions of distant observation. House Corrino has become the greatest unknown in an increasingly tense political atmosphere; it is common knowledge that Shaddam IV, the current Emperor, considers the Atreides leadership among the Landsraad Houses a threat. Whether the Imperial House will eventually act on these concerns remains uncertain. 21 Chapter I: The History of the Imperium 22 Institutions of the Imperium One of the seminal documents in the long history of the Imperium, the Great Convention sets forth the guiding principles of law for the member Houses of the Landsraad.

Considered a 'universal truce' establishedduring the early meetings of the Great Houses in the wake of the Jihad, the Convention is maintained by the tripartite powers of the Emperor, the Great Houses of the Landsraad, and the Spacing Guild. The Convention also details the structure and formation of the Imperial CHOAM Company, the chief development and economic instrument of both the Emperor and the Great Houses. It is no wonder, then, that most modern Imperial scholars look to this document as a kind of blueprint for the reunited Imperium.

In its pages can be found the social and cultural mores that would guide an empire for ten thousand years. The Great Convention Founded in the years following the Great Revolt, the Convention defines House rights and obligations, and sets forth the intricate hierarchies and relationships that perpetuate the Order of the Fau freluches. It also serves to formally establish the organization of the Imperium, laying out the structure of the Landsraad High Council, the Rightsof Succession, and the Articles of Kanly. The rules of the Convention were primarily designed to minimize human casualties during periods of vendetta or open House warfare. Mandated in part to prevent wholesale slaughters such as those which occurred during the Jihad, each commandment of the Convention begins, 'The forms must be obeyed.' The Convention's primary directive remains the most important: thatno atomics shall be directed against human targets.

The consequences of Convention violation differ according to the severity of the offense; such punishment can range from the sanctioned destruction of the House by the combined Landsraad membership, to loss of title, holdings, or caste. The Articles of Kanly are those portions of the Great Convention dealing specifically with vendettas among individual nobles and their families. The Articles support three different forms for the legal settlement of such disputes-Kanly Negotiation, Formal Duels, and the War of Assassins.

Kanly Negotiation remains the preferred method of settlement; including such options as marriage, ransom, political hostages, and financial or legal remuneration, such negotiations result in a peaceful resolution to a dispute. Formal duels and Wars of Assassins, while rare in the modern Imperium, still receive Imperial sanction from time to time. Such 'open' forms of vendetta are largely self-explanatory.

A formal duel involves personal combat between two House members; such combat normally ends in the death of one of the participants. Wars of Assassins entail concerted efforts over time to extinguish all members of a particular House through the formalized codes and conventions. Nearly anything short of atomics is permitted according to the Articles of Kanly. The Landsraad Council The Landsraad High Council remains the principal governing body of the Imperium.

The Council consists of members and delegates from every Great House, all of whom remain formally bound to obey the edicts and laws set forth by the Great Convention. With the Padishah Emperorat its head, the Council enacts resolutions, disperses aid and other funding, initiates Imperial programs and projects, and hears grievances from its members.

While the Emperor is not required to abide by the decisions of the Council, the awesome power of the Landsraad in the modern Imperium means that he will usually act in accordance with the body's wishes. Landsraad memberships carry numerous rewards.

Members Houses gain voting participation on Imperial referendums, a direct voice in Imperial affairs, and ongoing support in the form of diplomatic, legal, military, or economic aid. In return, member Houses must abide by the decisions of the Landsraad and its representatives, keeping their affairs and their retinues in obeisance of the Great Convention, the Guild Peace and Rights of Kanly. They must also provide both financial and personnel support to the Emperor. In addition to the legal and political intricacies at work beneath the surface of the Landsraad structure, the Guild Peace places additional economic restrictionson warfare among Houses. Since all military transport is arranged through the Guild, the Guild can effectively stop a campaign before it begins.

The Guild Peace also sanctions the Spacing Guild to use financial deterrents to quell upstart Houses; such deterrents include prohibitive transport rates, broad commercial embargoes, and material confiscation or extortion. The Great Convention prevents any House from taking direct retributive action against the Guild; Tupile itself is protected by the Guild Peace. Although its location remains a carefully guarded secret, no House would dare move against the Guild homeworld. It sanctity is inviolate.

While the Guild rarely involves itself directly in such matters, its ultimate agenda remains a mystery to the Houses, and a Guild interdiction can ruin a House more surely than enemy troops ever could. The CHOAM Company Established by the Great Convention as the Imperial financial reserve, the CHOAM (an acronym for Combine Honette OberAdvancer Mercantiles) company also serves as the principal development corporation within the Imperium. With offices and representatives on nearly everyworld and outpost, CHOAM and its countless subsidiaries reach into the daily livesof every Imperial citizen.

Since it is controlled by the Emperor and the Great Houses themselves (With the Guild and Bene Gesserit as silent partners), CHOAM's interests extend into every conceivable area of production, research, and development. From the gas mines of Avara to the wilderness preserves on Ecaz, from petrochemicals on Giedi Prime to vat-grown biologicals on Tleilax, the CHOAM banner is an ever-present symbol of the all-encompassing nature of Imperial power. CHOAM control and influence permeates Imperial commerce and production. CHOAM representatives can be found on homeworlds throughout the Known Universe, overseeing the means of production and manufacturing on thousands of worlds. These representatives are responsible for enforcing and setting production quotas, collecting tithes, debts and company fees, maintaining the balance of trade in assigned regions, and supporting or instituting official sanctions, bans or embargoes.

Since they derive their powerdirectly from the company's Board, such agentsare considered untouchable by outside interests. Most of the Great Houses control small interests in the CHOAM Corporation, with the Emperor and a small handful of powerful Houses retaining the controlling interest.

The CHOAM Board of Directors hold the economic fate of the universe in their hands, and Board decisions reverberate throughout the Known Universe, dictating the fates of worlds. The Great Houses, including the House Imperial, control approximately 60% of CHOAJ J!, with an additional 6% held by various Houses Minor, and a final 34% controlled by a number of silent partners (including the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood and the Spacing Guild). CHOAM Directors enjoy enormous power, and seats on the CHOAM board remain one of the most coveted Imperial appointments for any Great House. These seats are allocated according to CHOAM ownership, and at any time the Board represents a significant portion of the company's overall House-controlled assets. With the company'svirtual monopoly over the spice-drug melange, among other things, its power serves as a significant counterbalance to the tremendous influence exerted by the Spacing Guild and the Guild Bank.The complex relationship between these two Imperial economic powersdemands cooperation where there mightotherwise exist only conflict. Commerce in the Imperium In the modern Imperium, interplanetary and interstellar trade have both once again become commonplace.

The controlled economy of the Imperium makes the wholesale exchange of goods and services a simple, if not particularly exciting, matter. Most Great Houses have become extensive participants in the commercial and mercantile life of the Imperium. The Great Convention and the CHOAJ J! Company charter set forth the general parameters for such commerce, regulating certain types of trade goods (weapons, technology, narcotics, etc.), establishing the standard transport rates found in the Guild Shipping Contract, and generally monitoring the Widespread exchange of goods and services within the Imperium. Individual Houses bear responsibility for regulating their own planetary marketplaces-i-certaln goods deemed acceptable by the Guild or CHOAJ J!

May be banned by a House or planetary Sysselraad in the common planetary or interstellar marketplace. Similarly, on some worlds goods produced domestically may be banned by CHOAM but still deemed legal in the domestic or system-wide marketplace. Obviously, such goods cannot be legally transported out-system by the Guild.

A growing smuggler trade has become a prominent feature in many systems in the latter-day Imperium. Such black market enterprises generally concentrate on planetary or system-Wide commerce, preferring to avoid the added attention and difficulties of involving the Spacing Guild. These organizations bow to no law, and most openly defy both the CHOAM Company charter and any local or domestic legal enforcement. It is rumored that some of the boldest of these smugglers do traffic with the Guild, but such rumors cannot be confirmed. The sanctioned unit of exchangewithin the Imperium remains the sotari, or sol. Once based on a convoluted precious metals standard, since the establishment of the Guild Bank safaris have been valued according to the current price of the spice-drug, melange, on the Imperial CHOAM Exchange. This sets up a rather unique system of checks and balances, with the Guild controlling actual currency valuation and the Great Houses and the Emperor controlling the price of the spice.

If the preeminence of Arrakis was ever in doubt following the discovery of the spice, that changed when the world became the de facto center of Imperial currency valuation. On the floor of the CHOAM Exchange and within the currency pools of the Guild Bank, stocks, notes and vouchers change hands daily, representing billions of solaris in fiscal trade. In out-freyn societies and Imperial backwaters, hard currency remains the tender of choice. On certain worlds, Houses and merchants still maintain the barter system, trading goods and services according to an accepted Sol Face (or solariface value, as it is known). While trade and commerce have become prevalent in this age of Guildtransport and communication, the stranglehold enjoyed by CHOAM and the Guildover the spice ensures that modern enterprise is anything but free.

Most routes and deals are scrutinized by CHOAM or Guild representatives, and enterprising merchants or Houses must satisfy their tribute to these powers above anything else. 23 Chapter II • • uses of the L8nd The chronicle of the Imperium-its history, laws and customs-emerges as a collection of tales about each of its ruling Houses. Lording over the myriad worlds of the Imperium. The Federated Houses of the Landsraad rule the Known Universe according to a feudalistic hierarchy headed by the Padishah Emperor and the Imperial household-House Corrino. Serving as the Emperor's vassals, the federated Houses assume their feudal stations as planetary governors.

Each ruling a homeworld in siridar fief, and participating in the govern ing assembly called the Landsraad Council. Though the member Great Houses share in the Emperor 's noble heritage and political authority, not one of them rivals the power of the lmperial House. Only in their combined strength do the Federated Houses of the Landsraad counter-balance the Emperor's immense political, economic and military might. Role of the Great Houses First among the Emperor's sub jects, the noble families who rule the Great Houses each bear the responsibility of ruling one or more planets under the aegis of the Golden Lion Throne. In return for their noble titles and planetary hold ings, the Great Houses owe fealty to the Emperor and homage to the throne, paid in the currency of monetary tithes and military conscripts. As due compensation.

The Great Houses enjoy political representation in the Landsraad Council, and share in the profits of the universal development corporation known as the CHOAM Company. Controlled by the Emperor and the member Great Houses, these time-honored institutions form the heart of Imperial civilization, establishing the forms and traditions that regulate all political and economic interchange.

- l.andsraad Membership -e r! Linder the leadership of the Emperor, the Landsraad Council admin isters the body of Imperial laws dubbed the Great Convention.

In accordance with the ancient traditions fixed some 10,000 yea rs ago, the Houses of the Landsraad are charged with upholding its forms and enforcing its conventions.

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• • • (Video Games) • • • • • • • • • • • • / • • (VG RPGs) • • (digital tools) • • • • • (WHFB & 40k) • Sidebar not working? Click The above is licensed under 2.0. Burning Wheel has a supplement (Burning Sands: Jihad) that is Dune in all but name. There's a game called Metabarons, based on a graphic novel based on Dune. There is also an official RPG I believe, but I know nothing about it.

All that said, depending on exactly what you want to do with your campaign - and how well you know the Dune setting, I could see Cortex Plus (either Heroic or Action) being really good for it too. Heroic for PCs with extraordinary capabilities like the Voice, the Wyrding Way, Mentat Computing abilities, Force Shields and Ixian shifters and stuff.

And Action for something more like a group of Fremen soldiers embedded undercover on a Harkonnen strong-hold world. Chronicles of the Imperium was the official game. It was actually pretty good, but due to some corporate shenanigans the company that made it went out of business right after the core book was published, so there is no support.

I think PDFs are obtainable, and the physical books are rare enough that you would want to go that way. I have read it and know more if those details would be helpful. Dreams of Rain was a fan creation that used d20 to make a Dune RPG. It's pretty much what you would expect: Dune and d20, so that idea either attracts you or it doesn't. BTW, what kind of experience are you looking for with DUNE? A drama where each player controls a member of a warring family? (like an HBO drama) An actiony game where the PCs are Fremen and high-ranking Atreides warriors taking down the Harkonnen and other threats?

A drama focusing on one particular conspiracy, with each member of a major guild represented? (BG, Spacing Guild, CHOAM, Emperor, etc) (kind of like a 'The Wire' but for DUNE) Knowing that might help too. My love of DUNE is in itself a Gom Jabbar, and I'll help anyone with this path (not Golden Path, mind) towards Dune Gaming.:-) • • • •.