The Dune RPG Has A Cover!

Following the recent art preview, Modiphius has shared the cover of their upcoming Dune roleplaying game! This cover art is by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme.

They've also posted the first developer diary - "What is Dune?"

"And now, in Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, you and your friends can explore the planet of Dune as well as the many planets of the Imperium, exploring it through the context of a roleplaying game. The rules contained within this book cover character creation, skills and abilities, personality traits such as drives, equipment, and resolution of conflict, whether interpersonal, hand-to-hand combat, skirmishes, or even political House-based strife. Background information addresses the Imperium, the Landsraad, CHOAM, the Bene Gesserit, the Spacing Guild, and smaller groups such as the Swordmasters of Ginaz, the Suk School, and the human computers known as Mentats.

As members of your own House of the Landsraad, you can be deadly Swordmasters, Bene Gesserit acolytes, incorruptible Suk-school physicians, brilliant and devious Mentats, enigmatic agents of CHOAM or the Spacing Guild, hardy Fremen, resourceful smugglers, or even nobles with immense political power held in check by duty and responsibility."

 

[Istbor]

I loved the newer Dune movies from 2000ish...

...I'll show myself out.

You are not alone. While there are some cool elements and design choices in the 1984 film I like the 2000's vision better as a whole.

 

[TheBanjoNerd]

90% of all ttrpg sales.

looks at the shelves of stuff I've bought and will never play

I feel personally called out by your post...

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

You are not alone. While there are some cool elements and design choices in the 1984 film I like the 2000's vision better as a whole.

The Sci-Fi miniseries were vastly more faithful to the novels. I liked the movie but I don't think Lynch really got Dune at all, though he did have better costumes than the later series for the most part.

 

[imagineGod]

looks at the shelves of stuff I've bought and will never play

I feel personally called out by your post...

In Japanese, the practice of collecting books but not reading the is called "tsundoku".

Not sure if we calls RPG books in that category too.

Also, in another thread, I questioned the game rules chosen by the publisher, Modiphus for Dune, not saying they must be D&D 5th, but it seems 2d20 is not a fan favorite here.

 

[Istbor]

Honestly, I am not sure I am at all familiar with the 2d20 system. To be frank, it makes me feel the way Sylvester Stallone's character in Demolition Man felt about the three shells in the bathroom.

 

[The White Sorcerer]

I love that the headline seems a bit like it's a huge scoop that the rulebook will, in fact, have a cover.

 

[Bacon Bits]

I see this sentiment all the time here. Modiphius has a ton of licensed properties that I love but finding positive actual play testimonies seem hard to come by. Do people actually play these games or are they primarily collectors items?

I enjoyed my time with Conan 2d20. It definitely evokes the feel of Howards books. I can't say about the comics because I never read those. My biggest complaint is that the rulebook feels both incomplete and poorly organized, but the game itself is pretty fun. The concepts of momentum and doom are interesting and potent, and character generation is also interesting in that it's semi-random (though you should be willing to try out and discard a couple characters if you're really unhappy with what you get). It's certainly not for everyone, though, and it's definitely got faults. Higher DCs require the whole party to invest in to succeed at, which is both good and bad. Like the game rewards you for testing low difficulty, low value things over and over to build enough momentum to do something really, really powerful. It's fun if you're into it, but it also feels like you could really game it if the GM wasn't there. Magic is incredibly potent, but the rules in the books for casting spells are just wrong. There's a FAQ available online from the system author that describes how it should actually work. It's not a usable system in the books; spells are too expensive to ever cast. You are not buying a game system with super tight math or with rules that have been heavily playtested and polished. If that's what you need, look elsewhere.

I know that's making it sound kind of bad, but in reality those are pretty minor issues with the right group. You probably don't even want a character in your game that can use magic. If you've got a DM who is good with improvisation, who makes set piece type encounters, who likes creative solutions, who knows the lore, who focuses on story, etc. it's pretty good. The system is a bit wonky and cumbersome in the way that the less commonly played RPGs almost always are, but if you play a lot of games you know how to deal with that.

 

[Bacon Bits]

I've run and played the 2d20 system for Conan, Star Trek, and Mutant Chronicles and it's one of my favorite rpg systems. My first 2d20 experience was as GenCon with Conan and it was the best rpg fun I've ever had at a convention. The GM knew the rules like the back of his hand and that helped tremendously.

In my time running and GMing it the fun has only grown for my group. In my opinion, it does require a certain shared-story attitude and trust between the GM and players to get maximum enjoyment out of it. Eventually, the rules fade into the background and the system is all about character and story development.

I think it will be perfect for Dune - I can't wait to get my hands on it!

I think if any system would work that 2d20 will. Maybe Savage Worlds could do it, too, especially if it were tuned with Dune paraphernalia. But 2d20 better models things that are dangerous to even attempt. Maybe Fate, but... I don't really enjoy Fate in general.

I... don't know that I would want to play in or run a Dune RPG, though? I love the Lynch movie (for all it's flaws) and I love the first book. But the books become fairly heavy and convoluted and... weird. I just don't even know what I'd do with that universe. Like it would be like making a Moby Dick RPG. There's all this dense symbolism that is essential to the world that you're setting aside.

 

[Mortus]

If you've got a DM who is good with improvisation, who makes set piece type encounters, who likes creative solutions, who knows the lore, who focuses on story, etc. it's pretty good.

LOL - this is totally me GMing - I guess that’s why it works so well for me.

 

[Paragon Lost]

I've run and played the 2d20 system for Conan, Star Trek, and Mutant Chronicles and it's one of my favorite rpg systems. My first 2d20 experience was as GenCon with Conan and it was the best rpg fun I've ever had at a convention. The GM knew the rules like the back of his hand and that helped tremendously.

In my time running and GMing it the fun has only grown for my group. In my opinion, it does require a certain shared-story attitude and trust between the GM and players to get maximum enjoyment out of it. Eventually, the rules fade into the background and the system is all about character and story development.

I think it will be perfect for Dune - I can't wait to get my hands on it!

I really like the mechanics. My issue is with book layout, they're really badly laid out. They need a better editor who has a better clue on how to layout a book and its rules.