01-18-2020, 07:59 AM | #11 | |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: GURPS Dune
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(The more travel, the more they make, after all. And the existence of the Heighliners that carry all House Atreides' frigates and transports tucked into a little corner implies that there's a very great volume of traffic, justifying the existence of those giant ships. The Guild monopoly is turned into political power, so they might simply extort a subsidy from the Imperium -- govenrments have to maintain the transport infrastructure, right? -- or CHOAM, rather than rely on extortionate individual ticket prices.) Unless the PC group includes a rogue Guild Steersman, they don't get to fly off in their own ship on a whim. They're dependent on scheduled commercial service. But then, that problem never stopped James Bond from visiting exotic locations at need. The PCs might simply buy tickets. (I've even played a Traveller game that did without a PC ship, which was at least a novel take on the setting.) |
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01-18-2020, 08:13 AM | #12 | |
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Thomaston, GA
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Re: GURPS Dune
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I was looking for opinions on how it might be done in GURPS 4th ed, not in being told it why it can't be done, when I know it can. |
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01-18-2020, 10:02 AM | #13 | |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
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Re: GURPS Dune
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They could be scouts for the Spacer Guild, exploring lost reaches or blazing new trails, marking paths safe for the Navigators to travel. The Guild does rather put it's boot firmly on the neck of the Nobles, for instance interstellar war is impossible if the Guild does not allow for it. |
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01-18-2020, 07:23 PM | #14 | ||||
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Frederick, MD
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Re: GURPS Dune
My road block was my weak imagination. I felt I needed some fleshed out scenerios to get me started.
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It did seem to me that a rouge army (which would be hard to arrange, of course) could kidnap a ship and force the crew to do their bidding under threat of torture. Or would the Guild Steersman be fanatical enough to fly into a sun? Quote:
Last edited by beetle496; 01-18-2020 at 07:43 PM. Reason: added reply to @pestigor |
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01-18-2020, 07:46 PM | #15 | |
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Thomaston, GA
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Re: GURPS Dune
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Since lasgun-shield explosions look nuclear, they may/will be accused of of contravening the Great Convention. They are also unpredictable: the explosion might only be enough to kill the gunner and the target, but they might also destroy the whole city. Not very good for precise assassinations. Duncan Idaho did set up a lasgun to remotely fire at a shield in the first book. Duncan took a big risk; also he knew the Atreides had lost, and seemed to me a desperation mover. |
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01-18-2020, 10:25 PM | #16 | ||
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Re: GURPS Dune
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The fall of House Atredies was atypical, because of Yueh's treachery and the speed of the military campaign with Saudarkar and the (normally obsolete) explosive artillery. Normally what happens is the enemy Great House invades, and when it is clear that the invader has won, they cut a deal so that the noble and his household get to retire to Tupile, and in return they don't press the Big Red Button. But on Arrakis, the Harkonnens were able to get into the Ducal Palace and take out the Duke by surprise, and presumably also seized or destroyed the control system for the offplanet atomics.
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01-19-2020, 06:30 AM | #17 |
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Frederick, MD
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Re: GURPS Dune
Thanks for the reminders about how atomics work in Dune. That makes the interplay between lasguns and shields more plausible. I had totally forgotten Duncan’s use of a remote lasgun. It has been a while since I read the books.
Now, how does the spacers guild protect themselves from rouge nation states? I don’t see how the Great Houses could control all the air space around every planet all the time. Last edited by beetle496; 01-19-2020 at 06:38 AM. Reason: added clarifying sentence |
01-19-2020, 07:01 AM | #18 |
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Thomaston, GA
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Re: GURPS Dune
A rogue nation state would find itself cut off from guild services. No guild services, no commerce. No commerce, impoverishment. Also, the emperor would get involved, along with other houses to put that "rogue nation state" down. No one wants anyone ****ing with the guild.
Remember, this isn't star wars. The only way you can travel from star to star is via a Space Guild ship. No one else has the capability; including "space pirates". If a great house had a space pirate problem, it would be on them to put them down immediately; the spacing guild would simply stop services until they did. I guarantee the "space pirates" would not last long.. Again, no one messes with the Spacing Guild. I don't think a guild navigator would go rogue; they are extremely addicted to spice, and they will need a reliable source just to keep from dying. No one else has foldspace capable ships, and those are the hieghliners. Too big to steal with their crew in the thousands. So even if a navigator became disgruntled, he/she/it would simply have to be disgruntled. No one else even knows how to build their own foldpsace ships, and if they tried, it would be hard if not impossible to keep secret, and again, no one ****s with the guild and survives. The Great Houses most certainly controlled their air space; If they can't, they are not a Great House anymore, and the empire will step in and take over. This is a feudal society; if a minor house on a planet went rogue, it would be up to the great house( the minor house's liege lord) that controls the planet to bring that minor house to heel. Otherwise, the empire and guild will assume this minor house is acting up with the great house's consent; with the appropriate consequences. Last edited by AllenOwen; 01-19-2020 at 07:18 AM. |
01-19-2020, 07:03 AM | #19 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: The Great White North
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Re: GURPS Dune
The guild itself maintains weather/spy satellites around planets. That's what the Fremen (via the smugglers) were doing: bribing the guild not to put satellites around Dune.
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01-19-2020, 09:38 AM | #20 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: GURPS Dune
There are some issues with the Dune setting for gaming, primarily that everyone has access to WBDs (not just noble houses, everyone). Forget the ancient atomics, anyone with a laser pistol and a belt force screen possesses a WMD. A janitor could steal the required components in a couple of hours.
Let us examine how a PC would exploit the laser-force field issue. They would a) attach a mechanical timer to a laser pistol, b) attach a mechanical timer to a force screen, c) put the items in a box, d) set the timers for the required time, e) place the box near the target, and f) run away. Even if the explosion is just 0.01 kilotons, it is just too cheap and easy for most PCs to avoid using and, realisticly, every revolutionary should feel the same way. There should be no Empire, no Great Houses, no Noble Houses, because they should all be radioactive dust. One change that would be required to make the setting useful for gaming would be to make that phenomena different. Perhaps lasers reflect off force screens, making them as useless on the battlefield as atomics because their effects are too random and too indiscriminate? With beam weapons reflecting randomly and kinetic energy weapons being stopped by force shields, battles would be fought by primitive weapons. |
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discworld, dune |
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