All conflicts have similarities. At their core, conflicts arise when two or more opposing parties have goals which are at odds with one another, and the conflict itself occurs as a means to resolve that tension. Each side in a conflict has a collection of tools and resources—collectively referred to as assets—which they can employ. It isn’t enough to merely a have a tool, however: one must be able to wield it effectively, maneuvering their own assets to harm their opponents or protect themselves from their opponents’ actions.

This section describes the ways that conflicts in Dune are similar. Later sections describe the specifics of how these common elements differ (often in just a narrative sense) in different types of conflict.

Assets

Conflict revolves around the use of assets. An asset is anything which a character possesses or controls which they can use to protect themselves, overcome others, or otherwise achieve their goals. Each asset is useful in different circumstances, and can be used in a variety of ways: a company of House troops can be used during warfare to attack or defend, but they can also be used as guards to prevent infiltration during espionage, or in a parade to honor or awe a guest during negotiations or intrigue.

Assets are, by themselves, a form of trait, though specific assets may have additional rules associated with them in some contexts, such as to describe the destructive interaction between a lasgun and a shield. Each asset also notes the type or types of conflict they are most suited for. This is not a restriction, so much as a prompt: using an asset in an unconventional way in a type of conflict it isn’t normally used for might be a winning strategy, but that sort of creativity is left to the gamemaster to resolve.

Assets broadly come in two forms: tangible and intangible.

A tangible asset is one that has a physical presence, and which has a degree of permanence to it: a weapon is a tangible asset, as is a unit of troops, a surveillance system, or a quantity of material goods. Tangible assets are normally owned by individual characters or by the House. They’re difficult to remove from play, and they are normally only removed temporarily.

An intangible asset is one that has no physical presence: a bribed guard, the leverage from having other potential trading partners, the mistaken drive of a foe fed false information, or newly obtained knowledge about a rival’s weaknesses. Intangible assets are created by individual characters during play… but they’re also easier to remove from play than tangible assets.

Assets also have a Quality, normally rated from 0 to 4. Most assets have a Quality of 0, with only special or elite versions offering a bonus. The higher an asset’s Quality, the more effective or impactful it is compared to other assets of a similar kind. A Fremen crysknife is more potent than a simple footpad’s knife, elite professional soldiers are superior to an equivalent number of ill-trained conscripts, etc. Quality gives a guide to the quality of an asset among its peers, not compared to other assets. Quality is used in a few ways, described later in this chapter.

Example: Kara Molay has three personal assets: a concealable knife, her personal ornithopter, and some as-of-yet undetermined blackmail evidence. The knife and ornithopter are tangible assets, and the blackmail evidence is intangible. They are all Quality 0 but any of them might be upgraded with more study, honing, or skill. These are just her most useful possessions, though. She has access to all manner of other specialized equipment her House can provide, and as for normal items, no one in the Imperium is ever very far away from a knife.

Zones of Conflict

When a conflict begins, the gamemaster defines the area within which the conflict takes place. This may be a physical area or an abstract representation of the conflict, but in either case, it is divided into distinct zones, within which characters can move and use their assets. Zones can be any size or shape. A contest between two merchants might use two zones, each being a whole planet. A fight between some assassins in an alley might be a single zone, or even six different zones denoting different parts of the alley.

How these zones relate to one another (including how they’re connected and how characters and assets move around them) is determined by the gamemaster as well. (More guidance accompanies each different style of conflict. Where possible, conflict involving dueling, skirmishes, warfare, and espionage should have clear links between zones, while negotiations and intrigue should have most/all zones ‘free-floating’ where they all count as adjacent to everything else.)

Some zones may have special effects (usually traits) which apply to assets or characters within them, or which are regarded as more or less important than others; a skirmish may have a zone which is full of hindering obstacles that make it harder to move, while a warfare conflict may denote particular zones as objectives which each side is eager to secure.

Sometimes a conflict might only occur in one zone. This might be because the area is small, or all the participants are forced into a more rigidly defined area. If your group finds zones confusing, it is perfectly permissible to place the conflict in a single zone until everyone is more comfortable with the rules of conflict.

Action Order

During a conflict, characters perform actions in a specific order. Each character takes a turn, during which they may take an action. Once each character in the conflict has taken a turn, a single round is completed, and a new round begins. This repeats until the conflict is concluded.

At the start of the first round, the gamemaster selects which character takes the first turn. This is normally a player character, unless there is a compelling narrative reason for a non-player character to take the first turn, or the gamemaster spends 2 points of Threat.

Once a character has finished their turn, they may do one of the following: either allow an opposing side to choose someone to act next, or spend 2 points of Momentum (or add 2 to Threat) to Keep the Initiative (enemy non-player characters may spend 2 points of Threat to do this). If they Keep the Initiative, then that character may take an extra action immediately, adding +1 Difficulty to any test they attempt, or allow an allied character to take a turn before handing over to an opposing side. Once a side has chosen to Keep the Initiative, they may not do so again until at least one enemy character has taken a turn of their own.

Each time a new character is chosen to act, the character chosen must be someone who has not yet taken a turn during the current round. If there are no characters left on a side who haven’t yet taken a turn, that side must pass and immediately nominate another opposing side. If only one side has characters remaining to act, then they each take a turn in sequence until all characters have taken a turn.

Once all characters have taken a turn, the round ends. The character who acted last must either nominate an opposing side to take the first turn in the next round, or spend 2 points of Momentum/add 2 to Threat (non-player characters spend 2 Threat) to allow their side to take the first turn next round.

Example: Kara and her friend Nasir are set upon by two assassins. As it is an ambush, the assassins start with the initiative. One of them makes an attack, and then the initiative passes to Kara and Nasir. The players decide Kara should be the one to act, and after she attacks, the initiative passes to the assassins. One assassin has already acted, so the other one must be the one to take a turn this time. However, before passing the initiative over, Kara and Nasir spend Momentum to Keep the Initiative. This allows Nasir to take an attack. But if they cannot fell the assassins, the remaining one can still take a turn before the round ends.