Quote from: Tod13;943924Or it means the advent of disposable las-gun drones.

Burn Him!  Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.

Quote from: Xanther;943935Burn Him!  Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.

Nope. Drone as in remote-controlled, like the assassin device or, you know, drones. Perfectly kosher.

I think with Dune you need to set it just before Paul or after Children of Dune.  PCs could really bring the setting alive, there is so much going on that is below the level of the narrative of the books.  Similar to Rogue One and Star Wars.  Such much story behind the simple line "You don't know what it took to get these plans."  You could be an operative for any of the many factions and you could have some pretty cool class progression.

For example, how did the Emperor know Duke Atriedes was building his own elite forces?  Why not be a spice smuggler.  There are many machines on Ix, why?  Are they in violation?  And what of the old machine intelligences are they truly gone?  There is so much mentioned or hinted at in the books and encyclopedia that there is endless room for play.  I think this is much more Firefly, working in the backwaters or on the fringe of the systems or in the hustle and bustle of fully exploited star systems.  The Guild is just a no questions asked transport service.  The Noble Houses are doing there political BS while the trillions just make a living anyway they can; ignored by the powers that be.  Small unit mercenary actions are rife.  There is also Kanly, what an employment opportunity.

Quote from: Tod13;943936Nope. Drone as in remote-controlled, like the assassin device or, you know, drones. Perfectly kosher.

I'll check my OCB and get back to you

This is pretty much what I said a bit upthread.

I'll echo what others have said about playing the edgerunner characters of the Dune universe. This would allow the game to be set around the time frame of the first book, and give the characters the ability to be linked to the Dune tropes without being tied down by them. There are probably lots of low-level Bene Gesserit doing the grunt work for the sisterhood of contacting smugglers, doing deals, moving information, there are mercenaries and smugglers straight-up referenced in the books. Just need to flesh that stuff out and run with it.

I don't know, a lot of that sounds like trying to squeeze a Star Wars Edge of Empire style game out of Dune. In which case why bother placing it in that setting?

I think if you attempt to use the Dune setting as a means for running 'edge runner' campaigns you will simply end up missing a lot of the political intrigue, and character types thereof, that are iconic themes in the books. I couldn't imagine many Mentats going on missing such as these, for example.

It would be the equivalent of playing frontier spacemen scientists in a Cyberpunk campaign. You could do it, but it wouldn't really be celebrating the themes of the setting.

Quote from: TrippyHippy;944007I think if you attempt to use the Dune setting as a means for running 'edge runner' campaigns you will simply end up missing a lot of the political intrigue, and character types thereof, that are iconic themes in the books. I couldn't imagine many Mentats going on missing such as these, for example.

It would be the equivalent of playing frontier spacemen scientists in a Cyberpunk campaign. You could do it, but it wouldn't really be celebrating the themes of the setting.

I think it's simply a matter of generating adventure scenarios that don't impact the story from the books. Similar to how many Star Wars RPG campaigns are set up.
I bet I could GM a Dune campaign centered around edgerunners, and still keep the themes intact.

I think that if I was to run a DUNE game I would focus on the years before Paul. I'm not a Kevin J Anderson fan, but I found the one "House" prequel trilogy to be decent enough although somewhat long winded. I suppose I would be more inclined to use that era as my starting point, so that the events of the original novel could be a decade or more in the future.

I would focus on the intrigue of the Houses as a major theme. Perhaps center the action on a different noble House and a different planet. Perhaps a water planet or a forest planet. I think you could still have some parallels between this new planet and Arrakis -- maybe a local tribe similar to the Fremen, some sort of creatures roughly equivalent to worms, or other things to make a DUNE-like feel.

I agree that the RPG system used might not matter that much. Traveller could work, or I like the idea of using Amber since DUNE is so intrigue and character based.

Eh, take a Cyberpunk game, Shadowrun or Cyberpunk 2020.  Some Runners get involved heavy in the shadow war between Corps and Govts and know exactly how their missions are affecting the Politics, Reputation, Economics of the different factions.  That might be why they are taking those missions.  No reason that couldn't occur with Dune Noble Houses.

Someone from inside the Cyberpunk/Shadowrun Corp/Gov't power structure frequently finds themselves off the grid or hiding in the shadows as a runner, no reason a Mentat or any other House servant couldn't find themselves similarly out on their own.  In fact, that's exactly what happens to Gurney Halleck, who winds up a spice smuggler after the fall of House Atreides.  

Bene Gesserit - that's kind of no different from a Jedi or Mage/Physical Adept.  If the group is the crew of the Firefly, then they need the Bene Gesserit version of Ahsoka or one of the younglings, not a Yoda or Harlequin power level.

I've spent way too much (and yet not enough!) thought on this subject, up to and including just this past week.

Given that Game of Thrones is fantasy Dune, for a long time I've ponder using Green Ronin's RPG for Dune: house creation and warfare rules, intrigue rules that can compel PC actions, etc.  I've read the house management rules fall apart pretty quickly in actual play, but I can't confirm that.

The other option I've considered is Savage Worlds. Lighter rules for house creation and warfare, but that might be better for my group anyway. I've made Mentat, Bene Gesserit and Swordmaster characters, just playing around to see if they "felt right".

My default setting concept would be any time in the previous 1000 years or so before Muad'dib. The lid can be off on inter-house warfare if you want, and pretty much anything goes with such a blank slate.

But yeah, you really need players who are on board with Dune and really get it. Probably helps to have them whisper their inner monologues, too, just for fun.

Quote from: CRKrueger;943776But the small scale Free Trader role is harder to place in the setting, which is kind of player's go-to mindset for Sci-Fi.

Good players know they can create characters other than free traders for a Dune setting.

Quote from: darthfozzywig;944143But yeah, you really need players who are on board with Dune and really get it. Probably helps to have them whisper their inner monologues, too, just for fun.

Great idea, the melodrama of the setting is too often downplayed but is a big part of the appeal for me.

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;944146Good players know they can create characters other than free traders for a Dune setting.

Oooh. If I can get one of my friends to GM, I want to play a PH (professional hunter) guiding a client out for sandworm!