Assaying Arrakis

Arrakis is the most important planet in the Known Universe. From it flows the Spice Melange, and thus the power to control the Imperium. Spacing Guild navigators consume it in vast quantities to be able to fold space and thus ensure the interstellar travel and trade that underpins the Landsraad, the alliance of Houses Great and Minor, and CHOAM—or Combine Honnette Ober Advancer Mercantiles—which controls all trade and contracts across the Imperium, including that of Spice. The Bene Gesserit uses give their Sisters the gift of foresight and so pursue its own program even as it is advises Houses Major and Minor. To those that can afford it, Spice is a means to prolong life and delay aging, and for the noble houses, which means being able to plan and bring to fruition plots that take generations to bring about. The Emperor holds the key to extracting Spice, for it is within his gift to grant Arrakis and the right to extract Spice to the House of his choosing. It is both a gift and a curse, for although it will make the House occupying Arrakis rich, the House must ensure the Spice continues to flow even as rival Houses plot to undermine their efforts, smugglers shift Spice from under its nose, and very environment of Arrakis—endless dessert, high temperatures, and sandworms hundreds of meters long which can swallow a spice harvester whole—threaten to disrupt and undermine their operations. Then there are the Fremen, the mysterious inhabitants of the deep desert, secretive and insular, who have their plans for their world, ones which do not involve the Emperor or the governing House, and for which they only await the right sign.

Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook is, as the title suggests the sourcebook for the world known as Dune for Dune – Adventures in the Imperium: The Roleplaying Game, the roleplaying game based on both the recent films and the fictional universe and novels originally created by Frank Herbert. The supplement provides an overview and details of the world of Arrakis, its history and geography; the Fremen and their history and culture, as well as new character Archetypes and Talents; the ecology of the Sandworm and how to ride them; and the secrets of Spice, how it is harvested, and its effect upon the Known Universe, plus Spice-related Talents. This is all supported by new campaign ideas and frameworks and a scenario.

Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook starts with the planet itself and its history, which given the secrecy of the Fremen is little known and consequently there are few details here and the supplement is more about Arrakis as is, rather than as was. That said, there are suggestions for using Arrakis as a setting in the different Eras of Play for Dune – Adventures in the Imperium, though again, these are only briefly touched upon. More detail is given to the various locations in the cities of Carthag and Arrakeen and the roles they play in the setting. For example, the Conservatory Garden at the Residency in Arrakeen is initially presented as a gift to Lady Jessica, even though it is a sacrilegious waste of water, but it actually becomes a blueprint for the greening of Arrakis. All of the various locations are accorded plot hooks, rumours, and a suggested encounter or hazard for the Game Master to develop. Primarily intended for The Imperium, The Ascension of Muad’dib, and Era of the God Emperor Eras of Play, these locations are neatly done whilst leaving plenty of space in both cities for the Game Master to add her own content. The nature of the desert and how it changes as Muad’dib’s reign and that of his heirs progress, and beyond, is explored in detail. This broadens the options for the earlier discussion of the different Eras of Play.

Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook is not just a sourcebook for the planet of Dune. It is also the sourcebook for Fremen, revealing further details of their history, culture, and outlook after that given in Dune – Adventures in the Imperium. This covers their oral history, their attitudes to live and death, plus of course, the importance they attach to water. Interesting here is the inclusion of the Jacurutu, a tribe massacred for stealing water and reviled ever since, such that their sietch is a taboo place. Descendants of the Jacurutu are included as an option for Player Character Fremen, which would have to be kept secret otherwise they would be an outcast. This inclusion adds a wrinkle in the otherwise uniform nature of the Fremen and perhaps the supplement could done with more of this to add a little more variety here and there. Fremen technology is examined in detail, noting the high degree of its craftsmanship and including Fremen Stillsuits, the feared Crysknife, and the Deathstill which is used to extract the water from the dead, as well as the Distrans Bat, domesticated bats used to record and send messages over long distances. Rules also cover worm riding, whilst the section on ‘Fremen and Outsiders’ covers their attitudes and dealings with various factions on and off world. This is useful whether the Player Characters are Fremen themselves or outsiders to make contact or deal with the Fremen, so helpful for the Game Master and her players. The section on playing through the period of the reign of Muad’dib, more tightly focuses on The Ascension of Muad’dib Era of Play and the changes that the Fremen undergo, both culturally and spiritually.

For Fremen Player Characters and NPCs, Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook adds a table of life Events, new Foci—such as Desert Navigation, Fremen Culture, Pottery, and Stillness, new Fremen Templates including Naib, Fedaykin, Sayadina, and Ecologist. Bolstered with new Talents, many of which are Fremen specific, ranging from Chosen of Shai-Hulud (skilled worm rider), Crysknife Master, and Desert Walker to Tooth Crafter (craftsmen who make the crysknives), Water Wisdom, and Ways of Ichwan Bedwine (Fremen oral history), this is where there is some variation between Fremen. A set of tables allow the creation of sietch, including size, influence, and reputation. There is advice here on the roles they can have in a campaign.

Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook is not just a sourcebook for the planet of Dune and Fremen. It is also the sourcebook for the Spice itself and this even includes Spice-related Talents like Spice Refinement, Enhanced Lifespan, Shortening the Way, and Voice of the Inner dark. Many of these require the consumption of Spice. The focus though, is on the physical nature of Spice and effects, where it comes from and how it is extracted, and the ramifications of all of this. In particular the need to balance the time spent extracting Spice and the inevitable arrival of a sandworm which threatens the loss of equipment and workers and extracting and smuggling Spice without attracting the attention of the planet’s governing House or any Imperial oversight. It should be noted that all of the factions on Arrakis, and not just the actual Smugglers, smuggle Spice, for there are always willing purchasers. Suggested roles are given for a harvesting crew which lends itself to what would literally be a very dirty campaign, the Player Characters having to deal with the stress of harvesting as well as the difficulties and intrigues of rival harvesters, criminal and smuggling gangs, and the all too ready to take a bribe authorities.

Campaign support covers the culture life and communities of Arrakis, including artists, mercenaries, and engineering, as well as locations where they might be found, and numerous NPCs. These include Bounty Hunter, Craftsperson, Fremen Craftsperson, Fremen Sayyadina, Market Seller, Mystic, Ornithopter Pilot, Spice Manager, Spice Worker, and others, plus factions such as Bankers, Courtesans, Criminals, Importers, and Manufacturers. Campaigns specific to Arrakis include Spice Smugglers, Imperial Agents, Fremen, Bene Gesserit, Guerrillas and Revolutionaries, and Explorers of the Old Empire. Each of these is supports the Game Master in their own way. The NPCs include named examples that the Game Master can bring to her campaign and a scenario hook; each faction includes a campaign inspiration; and each of the more detailed campaign frameworks on Arrakis includes suitability for the different Eras of Play, suitable Archetypes, and notable Assets, Factions, and Antagonists. In the case of the campaign inspirations and the frameworks, the Game Master will need to develop these further, but she is given two far more detailed campaign outlines as well. ‘Shadows on the Sand’ sees a group of smugglers, descendants of House Richese, the former governors of Arrakis which had all but bankrupted itself in extracting Spice before the fiefdom was taken away from them and given to the Harkonnens, attempting to survive and smuggle spice whilst keeping its true identity a secret. There are some interesting ideas here that the players and characters to see the story of Dune from a different viewpoint. ‘The House of Heslin’ is about a House Minor attempting to establish and run a merchant operation in Carthag and so establish itself on Arrakis. This will probably involve more intrigue and interaction within the city than the other campaign set-up. It would have been interesting to add a similarly developed third campaign idea here, one focusing on the Fremen rather than outsiders as the other two do.

Rounding out Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook is the scenario, ‘The Water Must Flow’. Set during the governorship of House Harkonnen, a drought triggers riots and leaves the Player Characters’ House with insufficient water to pay the Water Tax to the Harkonnens. As rioters swirl around the city, they are forced to attend a feast hosted by another House Minor, this one allied to House Harkonnen. There, they may be able to find a way of negotiating a solution to their own House’s situation. What they do find is a friendly face—although how far that can be trusted is another matter—which suggests investigating the recent hijacking of a carryall with a delivery of water. The trail will lead into deadly plot in in Carthag’s many shadows and then out into the nearby desert. It is a solid scenario that can easily be run as a sequel to ‘Harvesters of Dune’, the scenario from the Dune – Adventures in the Imperium: The Roleplaying Game core rulebook.

Physically, Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook is a nice-looking supplement. It is well written, and it includes some decent artwork, although sadly, not every Archetype is illustrated. One issue with Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook is that there are no maps. So, no maps of Carthag and Arrakeen, the only cities on the planet, and even no maps of the planet itself. All would have been useful, although there are no maps of either city upon which the writers can draw upon within the canon itself. The lack of a map of Arrakis is even odder, since they do exist and this is a world sourcebook.

Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook is not lacking in content, but it does leave the reader wanting more in places. Primarily this is in the history and future history of Arrakis and its importance in the Known Universe, their descriptions underwritten in comparison to the default period of Dune – Adventures in the Imperium—the decades before the accession of House Atreides to the fiefdom. Here is where Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook comes alive and gets interesting, providing support and ideas for campaigns involving Spice harvesting and smuggling in particular, and the Fremen to a lesser extent. The background and details, as well as the Player Character and NPC options, for the Fremen, are good support for player and Game Master alike. Sand and Dust – The Arrakis Sourcebook is solid support for Dune – Adventures in the Imperium for it opens up and develops options for campaigns set on Arrakis.