@Keydan
Thanks! If you do a homebrew, let me know how it turns out!
@Davick
Going to look over the doc in a bit.
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Tldr
Just wanted to mention a une RPG had been written and released in miniscule numbers as a preview, then the company went out of business before a final release. Don't know if legal PDFs exist, would love to get one myself but doubt legal do exist. It was called chronicles of the imperium.
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Good stuff.
As a fan of the genre I humbly submit that there is something undefinable missing. Herbert's character's all had "something" going on that can't really be captured in a PF stat, class or feat block. Kinda like Game of Thrones characters, there was always an element of weakness and tragedy mingled with their strengths and motivations.
Jessica obsessed over her loved ones, particularly Paul. Leto was blinded by his honor and self-superiority. Gurney was furious when people shirked their duty. Doctor Yueh would do anything for his wife. Duncan had a bard like quality. The Baron blindly hated the Atreides. These qualities drove the characters and were integral to the plot and mood of the setting. This could be addressed with something as complex (and rich) as a merit and flaws system or something as simple as character sheet fields for primary, secondary and tertiary motivations derived from a quintessentially Dune flavored list of "drivers" that come from the character's history, personality, faction, profession, religion, etc.
Just a thought. Thanks for your fabulous contribution.
@Raymond Lambert
I was actually able to get my hands on copy of it. They had like 3,000 printed as a "preview" version at a con. A few people have shared them. To be honest, it was good design work but not in a format that I would be interested in playing.
@Storyengine
True. However, the d20 system lays out a framework to conduct a particular kind of story. Maybe the d20 system isn't the best system to run it in (Savage worlds Dune would be a lot of fun). However, when I wrote for the Necropunk Campaign Setting, we really focused on the social aspect of characters (going as far as to add a "(Soc):" tag to abilities and a whole social combat system).
If I was GMing a Dune game I'd require people to include flaws and the like. Then again- not every fantasy game is Game of Throne and in the same regard not every Dune game would be about high intrigue.
I could see a game being run on a very "low" roleplaying setting if you wanted to leave the machinations in the background and do a "Hunt and kill the bad thing" kind of game. It would likely involve people of lower status (house guards, low level soldiers, etc) who have little place in politics. Would I like to run that sort of game? Probably not. As you pointed out- politics is one of the more amusing aspects of Herbert's work.
I'd suggest each character have access to Bluff, Sense Motive, Diplomacy, and Intimidate perhaps. Might want to do some house ruling on stuff too (Diplomacy doesn't work, but makes what you say "sound better"). An attribute/detriment system isn't a bad thing (I love them!) but a lot of times I think that it is used to stimulate people who otherwise wouldn't make creative characters. It's got a kind of Pavlovian effect. People don't pick attributes and detriment for roleplaying sake (well... at least not EVERYONE) but for the sake of getting something else.
A Dune game would require a very specific kind of GM and a very specific group of players. The "kill it with fire" approach wouldn't really sit AS WELL as a "Oooo, lets explore THAT part of the plot" group.
That being said, we are trying to get a Dune play-by-post going so that we can bring a Herbet level of detail to scenes and not force players to "rush".
Here is a LINK to it if you'd like to get involved. Open invite at the moment.
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Two notions.
First, from the old game Ars Magica, there comes an idea of playing 3 character groups at once: your powerhouse or political mage, his specialized companion (bard, torturer, etc), and servants (guards, acolytes, initiates, etc.). You play one or more at a time as befits the storyline, but being all three (virtually) ensures that your characters are acting within a framework of believable motivations to the top guy (or his organization), and it affords the GM a chance to do intrigue, mission or combat centered games that always fit (because the player has one or more characters of different slants to use). Thus you could play, say a Paul, a Duncan or a Fremen, and pick one as fits the scenario de jour. Again just pontificating aloud a mechanism to keep the play style flexible BUT ensure the Herbert flavor is consistently represented.
Second, back to the "motivations" topic. A clarification, I said primary, secondary and tertiary motivations because this seemed to be in the books. Jessica, say, had a primary motive to Leto, a secondary to the Bene, and a tertiary to Paul (ma ybe, not sure about that order). Perhaps, to your point, in the vein of all the factions in that universe, a case could be made that traits and defects are enough but "loyalty", particularly the conflicting variety, has no mechanic in PF (not saying it should, only that the novels thrived on it).
I appreciate the invite. Perhaps I would play a guild navigator. I have always wanted to fold space...
I'd love to do something like Ars Magica with the party, but I am doing a lite system conversion rather than a system overhaul. I think motivations have to come from the players themselves. It might be a good exercise to have your players write down all their motivations (primary, secondary, tertiary, etc) and debate it with them. I don't think it needs to be a mechanic.
What makes me saddest regarding the current trend in the d20 system is that people forget roleplaying is at the core of the game. For example: Rather than make an skill/feat/class feature/etc that forces an opponent to attack you- roleplay it up ("Oh, that's a cute sword. Does it come in pink?"). I am hesitant to add any mechanics that influence roleplaying (I know there are, but I'd rather keep it as light as possible).
If loyalty becomes a stat on a piece of paper I personally feel it cheapens it. What is more impactful? "I helped him out, do I get my +2 to my loyalty score? I am SOOO close to qualifying for this prestige class." or "Don't worry Bill. Duncan would never betray his Duke. He closes the door behind you and draws his sword. It flicks in and out amongst the Sardaukar and that is the last you see of him".