DUNE RULBUK

War Of Assassins
Introduction
This is a conversion of d20 Modern, allowing play in the universe of Frank Herberts Dune.
This RULBUK details tumultuous years before the ascendance of Paul Muaddib, in the last flowering of the neo-feudal
Imperium. It chronicles the dramatic end to the Imperiums most ancient Kanly; betwixt the Ginaz and the Moritani. The
player characters, henceforth the entourage, form the core members of House Minor Charteriis, initially loyal to the Moritani,
and heirs to a stunning legacy of the Butlerian Jihad.
The campaign is entitled War of Assassins.
Version 1.03 31st May 2006
BACKGROUND ONLY
Thanks to Frank Herbert for countless hours in another world.
Adapted from D20 Modern by Dagmar Scott Fraser (artaxerxes)
Inspired by Last Unicorn Games DUNE and the visualization of David Lynch.
Thanks to the DUNE Mush; http://www.dune3.net/
Thanks also to my players, for bringing a dream of the Imperium to life;
Alexandre, Annaric, Bellios, Nexiis, Raphaen, Viktor & Vrashenko, of House Charteriis.
This material is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.

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The Great Convention

"An absolute monarchy is one in which the sovereign does as he pleases so long as he pleases the assassins."
-Ambrose Bierce
Following the Battle of Corrin and their ascension to the status of Imperial House, the head of House Corrino now the
Padishah Emperor convened a vast council with representatives from every remaining power in the Known Universe. The
councils goal was to put an end to the cyclical rise and fall of civilisations that had plagued mankind for twenty thousand
years and create a social system that would endure.
It took them thirty years to put together and ten times that long to hammer out the details, but in 337AG the single largest,
most comprehensive and most influential piece of legislation in the history of humanity was completed. The final version had
317 sections, each of which began with The Forms Must Be Obeyed, a phrase that became linked inseparably with both the
Convention and the society it describes.
The key to its success was that its laws were shaped to include and control even undesirable behaviour rather than futilely
trying to eliminate it. Instead of trying to ban warfare and assassination, the Convention assumed these things would occur
regardless of their legality and laid down rules that minimised the disruption they would cause. Penalties for improper
procedure were harsh (see Warfare).
Besides describing the enduring society, the Convention also set up powerful blocks against change. Recognising that shifts
in social structure usually follow from shifts in power between social groups, it first fixed the ratio of power-holders to
population with a caste system (see faufreluches below) then set up a brilliant set of checks, balances, and blocks to prevent
power mobility.
Where possible, Houses were organised into groups of near-equal size, the Landsraad for the Great Houses and numerous
Syslraads for the Houses Minor. This provided opportunities to organise for collective defence (Minor Houses against Great,
Great Houses against the Imperial) and also ensured that every House was always so heavily outnumbered by its closest allies
/ potential victims that independent aggression became unfeasible. Additionally, most Houses Minor owed fealty to a Great
House and could expect protection in return, as long as the political situation allowed it.
A Judge of the Change a neutral observer nominated by the Emperor and approved by the Landsraad - oversaw every
transfer that involved House resources, from marriage and inheritance to the handover of fiefs and the awarding of titles, to
make sure the Forms were obeyed.
Unsurprisingly, expansion in such locked-in circumstances was rare, although the fall of a Minor or Great house from
conflicting obligations was relatively common.
Several aspects of the Great Convention deserve further elaboration: including The Treaty Of Corrine, the Faufreluches caste
system, the Forms of Warfare (especially the Wars of Assassins), Proscribed Technologies and the O.C Bible.

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The Treaty of Corrin

Control the coinage and the courts. Let the rabble have the rest.
- Unnamed Padishah Emperor on ruling.
The Treaty of Corrin, in which the assembled (surviving) Great Houses surrendered to the Sardaukar, is reprinted in the Great
Convention. It sets out the legal supremacy of the Corrinos and their right to enact binding legislation and tax absolutely
anybody.
The Padishah Emperors are the source of ultimate legal authority, House law may not contradict Imperial practice, and are
also the court of last appeal. However, layers of judges and truthsayers try to resolve issues before they require precious royal
time.
Taxes are paid by the Houses on their fief income in Solaris (the galactic currency) and levies of soldiers for the Imperial
forces. Any discrepancy between the accounts a House presents (on demand) to the Emperor and the one the I.F.A. (Imperial
Fiscal Intelligence) provide is grounds for a merciless and thorough investigation.
Every planet in the Known Universe is technically Imperial property, but they are held and worked by the Houses on behalf
of the Lion Throne, which only retains direct control of the Imperial homeworld Kaitain and the prison planet Salusa
Secondus. The colossal administrative burden of government (which the advent of Mentats merely eased) passes to the Great
Houses, and in turn the Houses Minor, as the price of quasi-independence. However, the Emperor seldom misses an
opportunity to remind the Houses that power legally belongs to him and is loaned to them.
The Faufreluches Caste System
"A place for every man, and every man in his place"
- Summary of the faufreluches.
When the Butlerian Jihad ended the Second Golden Age, all forms of government that required sophisticated mechanics
ended. Into the vacuum emerged a system based on personal and family ties: neo-feudalism. Some of these proto-Houses
claimed lineages back to the Great Diaspora, some were fragments of the old governments, but most were simply warlords
who had seized control of local economic facilities.
Whatever their origin, by the time of the signing of the Great Convention the House was the dominant political unit of the
universe. The social order that they supported (and that supported them) had become so widespread that the codification of
the Faufreluches caste system in the Great Convention was merely a formality the classes of people it described already
existed.
The greatest division was between the two largest castes: the lowborn, apolitical masses called pyons and the Households
(defined as the ruling family plus the Bondsmen in their employ), but a small third class of freeborn citizens acted as a buffer
and transitional zone between them, for those on the way up or down.
An individuals status is derived firstly from birth, then by profession, then by accomplishment. As a general rule, marriage
pulls a lower-caste partner up to the caste of the higher and any children belong to the caste of their parents, unless they are
unmarried in which case they have the same status as the lowest born parent.
Slaves are not used by all the Houses, but Imperial law permits them so few questioned the practice. One can become a slave
either though sale by your legal guardian or capture in battle. Legally a slave is property, nothing more.
Pyons (or Commoners). More than 90% of humanity live recognisably the same way: in small but close-knit communities,
bartering with neighbours, working in the same rural or industrial jobs as previous generations, earning just enough to
support them with perhaps a little left over for modest annual festivals or religious donations.
Noted for the strength of their traditional values, including fundamentalism, superstition and violent technophobia, pyons are
legally Wards of the Planet and forbidden to travel or own property above basic lodging, clothing and utensils. Traditionally,
House bondsmen (see below) are appointed to protect them against banditry and maintain law and order.
Bondsmen have sworn service, and been accepted, to a House for whom they perform essential functions that uneducated
pyons cant be trusted with. Overseers at factories, mines or important farm complexes are usually bondsmen, as are the
House servants, bureaucrats, and any trained professionals or academics that the House can afford to financially support.
Bondsmen may own any non-restricted property that they can afford and may travel far and wide on House business.
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What separates a Household from everyone else is their official classification as political entities. Once you join a House
youre a part of every grudge, feud and victory in its history and a legal target for anyone with unfinished business. This
doesnt stop ambitious pyons volunteering for military service, which automatically promotes them to the status of
bondsmen with a slim chance of climbing higher.
Freeborn citizens, or their ancestors, were bondsmen who were rewarded for exemplary service to their House with a small
personal estate, usually on retirement. They are not bound to the planet like pyons and while it is generally expected that they
will follow in their familys footsteps and serve their House (becoming slightly higher-status bondsmen), some do not.
Freedom to travel grants freedom to trade, so independent traders and entrepreneurs are almost exclusively freeborn.
Without the political immunity of a pyon, or the protection that a bondsman enjoys, life as an independent operator can be
hazardous. However, most Houses can see that a willing source of deniable operatives is essential to their intelligence
gathering and treats their contractors fairly (or 'disappears' them discretely).
Nobles are the political instigators of the neo-feudal system. They serve as visible embodiments of their house culture and
exemplars for their followers. The privilege and responsibility of leadership is theirs, though some take this burden more
seriously than others, and non-essential family members can serve their House as ambassadors, fief governors, or even
(rarely) Mentats should they show the potential.
Noble rank can theoretically be earned through excellence in politics, business, or the military. A new House Minor must be
sponsored by a Great House and recognised by a majority vote in the Landsraad. The Emperor can veto the appointment, but
usually prefers to cripple objectionable candidates indirectly (and untraceably) to avoid appearing petty.
While rank can be earned, noble blood cannot and must be acquired through many generations of carefully managed
marriages. Those who are recognised as royal cousines form an elite within an elite, which can arouse jealousy.
Many of these ranks are sub-divided (generally the higher the caste, the more divided) according to complex formulae
specified in the Convention, but this summary covers all the universal castes. If disputes arise use the following guidelines to
determine who looks down on whom, but note that prestige and authority to command can be very different:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

A freeborn accredited master-craftsman is roughly equal to a decorated soldier bondsman of a Minor House.
The ruling family of a House Minor is roughly equal to a trusted advisor of a Great House or a decorated
Sardaukar regular.
The ruling family of a Great House is roughly equal to a trusted advisor of the Imperial House or a decorated
Sardaukar officer.
Proximity to either the royal bloodline or the Imperial court counts for a lot.
Rank gained in the service of the Padishah Emperor is superior to rank gained serving anyone else.
Political influence outranks military strength, although this is more of a safety precaution than a rule of
etiquette.
Old money/property/titles outranks new money/property/titles.
If individuals are tied, compare the accomplishments/breeding of the nearest kin (wives, sons, and parents) to
determine standing.

Professional Ranking
Obviously there are far too many professions to rank them individually, but status is usually granted according to a)
usefulness to the ruling House, b) the rarity of practitioners, and c) the degree of skill necessary for mastery.
The Mentat Academy, the Spacing Guild, the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, and a few others perform functions that are
recognised as so beneficial to the Imperium that belonging to them confers a status at least equal to a bondsmen of a House
Minor or even a Great House if sufficiently accomplished.

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The Forms Of Warfare

The Great Convention be damned, you cant let anyone pauperise you!

- Duke Leto Atreides

The Convention accepts mass violence as a legitimate tool of territorial disputes, but is critical of personal grudges being
settled the same way as overly disruptive. The alternative is a War of Assassins. After declaration, the involved Houses
send an agreed number of killers against each other, re-convening if all were slain. The first House to be annihilated or
surrender (forfeiting all assets and accepting exile) was declared the loser. A list of permitted weapons was also agreed.
In the millennia that followed, wars of assassins became so popular they were even seen as impersonal and gentlemanly ways
of expanding ones territory. Kanly, a more personal form of the war of assassins, required a peace gesture and a meeting of
the Heads of Houses, but permitted almost unlimited military and covert actions against each other. A Judge of the Change
was always appointed to oversee such wars, and should the forms not be obeyed a transgressor could expect total destruction
by outraged neighbours and peers, including Sardaukar.
When mass battles did occur, it was considered an extension of the spirit of the rules to fight openly at a mutually convenient
battlefield. In practice, the invitation to battle was issued after one side had launched a crippling strike against the
infrastructure, supply centres and tactical facilities of the other. There is nothing in the rules that stops generals forcing the
enemy to fight at a disadvantage.
Crucial sections protected non-involved parties pyons were not legal targets in any kind of war. Weapons of Mass
Destruction (those that killed indiscriminately and in volume, including the nuclear shield-lasgun reaction) could never be
used against humans unless their House had broken this law. Each Great House was permitted to retain Atomics against the
possibility of alien attack, but ironclad rules prevented smaller Houses using them to overcome larger (and more noble)
Houses.
War of Assassins
A term used to describe a large-scale use of professional assassins in a feud between two great houses of the Landsraad.
Atomic weapons are outlawed by the Great Convention and shields nullify projectile weapons and non-nuclear explosives.
Hence Great Houses are obliged to resort to treachery and professional assassination in order to carry on their perennial
vendettas.
All Great Houses customarily utilise a master assassin - often one with Mentat training in logic and the traditional Mentat
distrust of emotion - to oversee the defences of the family household, supervise the house's corps of assassins, and in some
cases to command units of troops or mercenaries. Their function is therefore both offensive and defensive. Consequently a
"war of assassins" between two great houses often take on the appearance of a Cheops game between two grand masters.
However, some great Barons or Dukes, although relying on the advice of their chief assassin, may be said to have managed or mismanaged - their own campaigns.
The first recorded instance of a war of assassins is the conflict between House Pardee and House Harkonnen in 3367-3375, a
conflict that virtually obliterated House Pardee. This war involved an extensive use of poison, but it was climaxed by the
famous Lasgun Massacre, when Harkonnen mercenaries ambushed Duke Ira Pardee and his family at their hunting lodge on
the planet of New Salem. Various stories attribute this victory to the defection of the steward of their rural estate, a jealous
functionary who was easily bribed. Undermining the loyalty of the retainers of another house was a specialty at which House
Harkonnen excels, according to the reputation of the house among others in the Imperium.
An outright war of assassins always requires, under the Great Convention, a formal declaration of intent to be filed with the
Imperial Court, the offices of the Guild, and the Secretary of the Landsraad. Imperial judges are appointed to monitor the
conflict and particularly to observe any instances where innocent bystanders might be harmed. Such actions do not always
ensure the safety of non-combatants, nor a fair treatment of the two houses involved, for the Emperor is seldom completely
disinterested in the conflict. This observation makes the feuding houses wary of harming or even involving outsiders.
Numerous, famous wars of assassins have occurred in Imperial history, often altering the balance of power among the Great
Houses of the Landsraad. For instance, House Galloway was powerful in the third millennium, but was nearly destroyed in its
war of assassins with House Albonite. Some other well-known wars of assassins were the Steinhauser-Boudreau feud
(8193-8195) and the Choi-Dwyer-Ferguson war (8787-8843), a three-cornered bloodbath from which each house emerged
weakened. This latter conflict was unusually bitter, and ended only when the emperor himself interceded with the families in
conflict
The longest standing formal Kanly exists between the Ginaz and the Moritani. In the year 4796 A.G., for reasons still
debated by historians, Kanly was opened with House Moritani. It seems likely that the diametrically opposed political
philosophies of the two houses contributed to this conflict, although it is also true that the Ginaz had a small fief established
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on Grumman, the Moritani homeworld. This fief had been established long before the Moritani were granted control over
Grumman, and had been a source of conflict for years before finally boiling over into open warfare.
Some interesting effects of wars of assassins entered the folklore of the Imperium. It was customary, for instance, to speak of
someone who was notorious for his rationality as being "logical as an assassin." And the hour before dawn when human biocycles are customarily at a low ebb was often called the "hour of assassins" because of the tendency of professional assassins
to use it for their attacks. There is also the infamous Assassins Handbook.
Originally a third-millennium compilation of information on poisons to aid professional assassins, The Assassins Handbook
was expanded in the fifth millennium (5345 - 5348) by a committee appointed by Emperor Kelal Djordjevich to discuss the
theory and practice of legalized murder under the rules of the Great Convention and the conditions defined by the Guild
Peace. The expanded Handbook resulting from the committee's deliberations is held in high regard by mercenaries and
master assassins employed by the Emperor and the Great Houses.
The authorship of the original version of the handbook is a matter for controversy, but a consensus seems to assign it to
Keshas Khorzh, a third millennium assassin employed by House Moritani. Zhorzh was suspected of several murders of
prominent aristocrats, especially members of House Ginaz, House Atreides and House Herzog. Oddly, Zhorzh himself
succumbed to chaumurky, probably administered by an Imperial servant, in 3756. On Zhorzh's life, see The Practice of Death
by Zautii Kuuraveer.
The expanded version of The Assassins Handbook is attributed by most authorities to the committee of nine appointed by the
Protector Kelal Djordjevich; it was later ratified by the Landsraad (5359), by which time several of the authors, themselves
Mentats and master assassins employed by the Great Houses, had become victims of the vicissitudes of their profession. One
of the committee, however, deserves special note: the Imperial representative, Count Otho Fenring, himself known to have
been an able assassin - indeed, some have argued, one of the supreme artists of his profession. Count Fenring's influence on
the final draft of The Assassins Handbook appears to have been considerable, especially when the text is compared to his
monograph on The Fine Art of Professional Homicide, the passages concerning methods of circumventing the rules of Kanly
without detection. In the early millennia after the Butlerian Jihad, assassination flourished, but assassination in general was
often crude and impulsive, lacking in the finer artistry and subtlety that the master assassins of the later Imperium attained.
The accomplishments of these highly skilled professionals must be in large part attributed not only to years of careful
refinement of their art, but also to the tutelage of such repositories of cunning as The Assassins Handbook.
The handbook is divided into four major parts, the first dealing with poisons - a legacy from the first version - the second
with other weapons and their uses, and the third section with a discussion of strategies and odds, as well as methods of
circumventing the Great Convention, and the rules of Kanly. The fourth section of the Handbook describes certain
professional standards and rules of prudence.
In the section devoted to poisons, the various possibilities of chaumurky, chaumas and basilia receive the greatest attention.
Chaumurky is the general term for any poison administered in drink and chaumas for that concealed in food; both logical
agents for murder for a political world heavily dependent on festivals and ceremony. Basilia is a poison which acts swiftly
when injected into the bloodstream and which is therefore often placed on the tip of a knife or sword. Since basilia is also
nearly invisible to the naked eye, it is a favourite with many professional assassins throughout the Imperium, though its use
depended usually on some context where the rules of hand-to-hand combat would apply.
A poison of particular interest because of its painful side effects is given a brief but special eminence in the Handbook. Most
of the poisons in the book are valued because of their swift action, and their ability to be disguised. But one seldom-used
poison, zenobia, or the "throat of hell," is highly respected because of the excruciating pain it imposes on the victim when
ingested in food or drink. Zenobia is recommended for those special occasions when the prospective victim is completely at
the assassin's mercy, and the killer wants to impose a remarkably horrifying demise on his - and often her - enemy. Generally,
the professional assassin is advised to eschew personal feeling and to approach his work with a suitable objectivity and
craftsmanship beyond mere vulgar expressions of personality; but the Handbook acknowledges that there are some occasions
when even the professional using the logical approach stressed by Mentat training might well find it pleasurable to allow
himself some of the enjoyment of personal revenge.

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The second section of the Handbook devotes itself to the discussion of conventional weapons, primarily swords and lasguns,
and their functional advantages and disadvantages for the assassin. As with the poisons, subtlety is recommended, for as the
Handbook comments, "Any mindless mercenary can commit indiscriminate homicide which will probably rebound upon
himself." (In passing, it might be noted that the manual is written in a style that was often trenchant and sometimes
characterized by a rich sense of irony.) Assassins are instructed to acquire swordmaster training as a matter of course, and, if
at all possible, to develop considerable competence in marksmanship, although the Handbook implies that the master assassin
should, whenever possible, leave slaughter with lasguns to ordinary journeymen.
Section three of the Handbook provided a detailed analysis of the odds for success in given situations where the assassin
might be expected to perform his work. The best strategies, for instance, for murdering guests at a formal dinner are
evaluated, as well as the methods of avoiding swift reprisal. Much space is given to the problems of infiltrating a ducal palace
or launching attacks at public events and ceremonies, especially sporting events.
The fourth part of the Handbook's commentary presented the rules of the Great Convention and the code of Kanly and
provided numerous suggestions of how these might be circumvented or turned to the advantage of the assassin. A favourite
method involved bribing the judges or Imperial representatives at various transactions between the Great Houses. The use of
poisoned swords at single combat was brought up again here, although much had already been said of this tactic in earlier
sections. Various means of infiltrating the defences of ducal castles, despite the use of shields and other protections, are also
considered at length here.
This section also presents the conventions and ritual formulas involved in a War of Assassins, from the formal declaration of
intent with the Imperial Registrar and the Landsraad Secretariat to the final moment when victory is declared for one side or
the other. The Handbook, however, seems to imply that even such formal wars were best carried out on a small scale and
waged with subtlety by experts, rather than becoming engagements involving large groups of soldiers. A frequent metaphor in
the Handbook is that of the Cheops master, and the authors seemed to regard the art of assassination as a profession rather
like that of the grand master of Cheops.
A final note at the end of the Handbook concerns the assassin's need for self-protection. He is enjoined to learn much of his
employer's private crimes, and to store the information in places beyond the employer's reach, with provisions that would
allow it to become public in the event of his own death. The assassin is also warned to make himself as valuable as possible
to his master, yet never to believe himself irreplaceable. Most important, the Handbook advises the assassin to respect his
profession and to avoid the temptations of political ambition or personal involvement in his work. Although many famous
assassins find the first easy enough, evidence suggest that most are unable to avoid the second pitfall.
Proscribed Technologies
"Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a mans mind."
- Orange Catholic Bible
This section of the Great Convention was mostly a formal declaration of illegality against the machines that enslaved
humanity (or permitted humanity to enslave itself) in the past. However, none of the Houses wished to deny themselves
access to technology that could give them the edge over their rivals so many clauses were deliberately left vague and none
specifically mention Ix, Richese, or Bene Tleilax.
The Orange Catholic Bible
Any comparison of the religious beliefs dominant in the Imperium must start with the major forces which shaped those
beliefs:

1. The followers of the Fourteen Sages, whose Book was the Orange Catholic Bible, and whose views are expressed in the
Commentaries and other literature produced by the Commission of Ecumenical Translators (C.E.T.);

2. The Bene Gesserit, who privately deny they are a religious order, but who operate behind an almost impenetrable screen of
ritual mysticism, and whose training, whose symbolism, organization, and internal teaching methods are almost wholly
religious;

3. The agnostic ruling class (including the Guild) for whom religion is a kind of puppet show to amuse the populace and keep
it docile, and who believe essentially that all phenomena--even religious phenomena--can be reduced to mechanical
explanations;

4. The so-called Ancient Teachings--including those preserved by the Zensunni Wanderers from the first, second, and third
Islamic movements; the Navachristianity of Chusuk, the Buddislamic Variants of the types dominant at Lankiveil and Sikun,
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the Blend Books of the Mahayana Lankavatara, the Zen Hekiganshu of III Delta Pavonis, the Tawrah and Talmudic Zabur
surviving on Salusa Secundus, the pervasive Obeah Ritual, the Muaddib Quran with its pure Ilm and Fiqh preserved among
the pundi rice farmers of Caladan, the Hindu outcroppings found all through the universe in little pockets of insulated pylons,
and finally, the Butlerian Jihad.

There is a fifth force that shaped religious belief, but its effect is so universal and profound that it deserves to stand alone.

This is, of course, space travel--and in any discussion of religion, it deserves to be written thus:

SPACE TRAVEL!
Mankind's movement through deep space placed a unique stamp on religion during the one hundred and ten centuries that
preceded the Butlerian Jihad. To begin with, early space travel, although widespread, was largely unregulated, slow, and
uncertain, and, before the Guild monopoly, was accomplished by a hodgepodge of methods. The first space experiences,
poorly communicated and subject to extreme distortion, were a wild inducement to mystical speculation.

Immediately, space gave a different flavour and sense to ideas of Creation. That difference is seen even in the highest
religious achievements of the period. All through religion, the feeling of the sacred was touched by anarchy from the outer
dark.

It was as though Jupiter in all his descendant forms retreated into the maternal darkness to be superseded by a female
immanence filled with ambiguity and with a face of many terrors.

The ancient formulae intertwined, tangled together as they were fitted to the needs of new conquests and new heraldic
symbols. It was a time of struggle between beast-demons on the one side and old prayers and invocations on the other.

There was never a clear decision.

During this period, it was said that Genesis was reinterpreted permitting God to say:

"Increase and multiply, and fill the universe, and subdue it, and rule over all manner of strange beasts and living creatures in
the infinite airs, on the infinite earths and beneath them."

It was a time of sorceresses whose powers were real. The measure of them is seen in the fact they never boasted how they
grasped the firebrand.

Then came the Butlerian Jihad--two generations of chaos. The god of machine-logic was overthrown among the masses and a
new concept was raised:

"Man may not be replaced."

Those two generations of violence were a thalamic pause of all humankind. Men looked at their gods and their rituals and
saw that both were filled with that most terrible of all equations: fear over ambition.

Hesitantly, the leaders of religions whose followers had spilled the blood of millions began meeting to exchange views. It was
a move encouraged by the Spacing Guild, which was beginning to build its monopoly over all interstellar travel, and by the
Bene Gesserit who were banding the sorceresses.

Out of those first ecumenical meetings came two major developments:

1. The realization that all religions had at least one common commandment: "Thou shalt not disfigure the soul."

2. The Commission of Ecumenical Translators.

C.E.T. convened on a neutral island of Old Earth, spawning ground of the mother religions. They met "in the common belief
that there exists a Divine Essence in the universe." Every faith with more than a million followers was represented, and they
reached a surprising immediate agreement on the statement of their common goal:

"We are here to remove a primary weapon from the hands of disputant religions. That weapon--the claim to possession of the
one and only revelation."

Jubilation at this "sign of profound accord" proved premature. For more than a standard year, that statement was the only
announcement from the C.E.T. Men spoke bitterly of the delay. Troubadours composed witty, biting songs about the one
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hundred and twenty-one "Old Cranks" as the C.E.T. delegates came to be called. (The name arose from a ribald joke that
played on the C.E.T. initials and called the delegates "Cranks--Effing--Turners.") One of the songs, "Brown Repose," has
undergone periodic revival and is popular even today:

"Consider leis.
Brown repose--and
The tragedy
In all of those Cranks!
All those Cranks!
So laze--so laze
Through all your days.
Time has toll'd
for M'Lord Sandwich!"

Occasional rumours leaked out of the C.E.T. sessions. It was said they were comparing texts and, irresponsibly, the texts were
named. Such rumours inevitably provoked anti-ecumenism riots and, of course, inspired new witticisms.

Two years passed...three years.

The Commissioners, nine of their original number having died and been replaced, paused to observe formal installation of the
replacements and announced they were labouring to produce one book, weeding out "all the pathological symptoms" of the
religious past.

"We are producing an instrument of Love to be played in all ways," they said.

Many consider it odd that this statement provoked the worst outbreaks of violence against ecumenism. Twenty delegates were
recalled by their congregations. One committed suicide by stealing a space frigate and diving it into the sun.

Historians estimate the riots took eighty million lives. That works out to be about six thousand for each world then in the
Landsraad League. Considering the unrest of the time, this may not be an excessive estimate, although any pretence to real
accuracy in the figure must be just that--pretence. Communication between worlds was at one of its lowest ebbs.

The troubadours, quite naturally, had a field day. A popular musical comedy of the period had one of the C.E.T. delegates
sitting on a white sand beach beneath a palm tree singing:

"For God, woman and the splendour of love

We dally here sans fears or cares.
Troubadour! Troubadour, sing another melody
For God, woman and the splendour of love!"

Riots and comedy are but symptoms of the times, profoundly revealing. They betray the psychological tone, the deep
uncertainties...and the striving for something better, plus the fear that nothing would come of it all.

The major dams against anarchy in these times were the embryo Guild, the Bene Gesserit and the Landsraad, which
continued its 2,000-year record of meeting in spite of the severest obstacles. The Guild's part appears clear: they gave free
transport for all Landsraad and C.E.T. business. The Bene Gesserit role is more obscure. Certainly, this is the time in which
they consolidated their hold upon the sorceresses, explored the subtle narcotics, developed prana-bindu training and
conceived the Missionaria Protectiva, that black arm of superstition. But it is also the period that saw the composing of the
Litany against Fear and the assembly of the Azhar Book, that bibliographic marvel that preserves the great secrets of the most
ancient faiths.

Ingsley's comment is perhaps the only one possible:

"Those were times of deep paradox."

For almost seven years, then, C.E.T. laboured. And as their seventh anniversary approached, they prepared the human
universe for a momentous announcement. On that seventh anniversary, they unveiled the Orange Catholic Bible.

"Here is a work with dignity and meaning, they said. "Here is a way to make humanity aware of itself as a total creation of
God."

The men of C.E.T. were likened to archaeologists of ideas, inspired by God in the grandeur of rediscovery. It was said they
had brought to light "the vitality of great ideals overlaid by the deposits of centuries, that they had sharpened the moral
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imperatives that come out of a religious conscience."

With the O.C. Bible, C.E.T. presented the Liturgical Manual and the Commentaries--in many respects a more remarkable
work, not only because of its brevity (less than half the size of the O.C. Bible), but also because of its candour and blend of
self-pity and self-righteousness.

The beginning is an obvious appeal to the agnostic rulers.

"Men, finding no answers to the sunnan [the ten thousand religious questions from the Shari-ah] now apply their own
reasoning. All men seek to be enlighten d. Religion is but the most ancient and honourable way in which men have striven to
make sense out of God's universe. Scientists seek the lawfulness of events. It is the task of Religion to fit man into this
lawfulness."

In their conclusion, though, the Commentaries set a harsh tone that very likely foretold their fate.

"Much that was called religion has carried an unconscious attitude of hostility toward life. True religion must teach that life is
filled with joys pleasing to the eye of God, that knowledge without action is empty. All men must see that the teaching of
religion by rules and rote is largely a hoax. The proper teaching is recognized with ease. You can know it without fail because
it awakens within you that sensation which tells you this is something you've always known."

There was an odd sense of calm as the presses and shigawire imprinters rolled and the O.C. Bible spread out through the
worlds. Some interpreted this as a sign from God, an omen of unity.

But even the C.E.T. delegates betrayed the fiction of that calm as they returned to their respective congregations. Eighteen of
them were lynched within two months. Fifty-three recanted within the year.

The O.C. Bible was denounced as a work produced by "the hubris of reason." It was said that its pages were filled with a
seductive interest in logic. Revisions that catered to popular bigotry began appearing. These revisions leaned on accepted
symbolisms (Cross, Crescent, Feather Rattle, the Twelve Saints, the thin Buddha, and the like) and it soon became apparent
that the ancient superstitions and beliefs had not been absorbed by the new ecumenism.

Halloway's label for C.E.T.'s seven-year effort--"Galactophasic Determinism"--was snapped up by eager billions who
interpreted the initials G.D. as "God-Damned."

C.E.T. Chairman Toure Bomoko, a Ulema of the Zensunnis and one of the fourteen delegates who never recanted ("The
Fourteen Sages " of popular history), appeared to admit finally the C.E.T. had erred.

"We shouldn't have tried to create new symbols, he said. We should've realized we weren't supposed to introduce
uncertainties into accepted belief, that we weren't supposed to stir up curiosity about God. We are daily confronted by the
terrifying instability of all things human, yet we permit our religions to grow more rigid and controlled, more conforming and
oppressive. What is this shadow across the highway of Divine Command? It is a warning that institutions endure, that
symbols endure when their meaning is lost, that there is no summa of all attainable knowledge."

The bitter double edge in this "admission" did not escape Bomoko's critics and he was forced soon afterward to flee into
exile, his life dependent upon the Guild's pledge of secrecy. He reportedly died on Tupile, honoured and beloved, his last
words: "Religion must remain an outlet for people who say to themselves, 'I am not the kind of person I want to be.' It must
never sink into an assemblage of the self-satisfied."

It is pleasant to think that Bomoko understood the prophecy in his words: "Institutions endure." Ninety generations later, the
O.C. Bible and the Commentaries permeated the religious universe.

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The Moritani
Great House of the Landsraad
For I have sworn thee fair and thought thee bright...
Who art as black as hell, dark as night.
1 HISTORY
1.1

SUMMARY

House Moritani became as a recognized political entity at the time of the Battle of Corrin (88 BG), when, after they
threw their entire support and resources behind Shesuet Corrino, the Landsraad forces were defeated and Shesuet ascended to
the Lion Throne as the first Padishah Emperor. Shesuet recognized the Moritani contribution and granted the family the
planetary fief of Grumman (Xi Draconis: Grumium, meaning "jaw of the dragon") and the baronial title, which went along
with it. Since that time, House Moritani has continued to prosper through its service to the Imperium, and is noted as one of
the staunchest advocates of Pro-Imperial actions.
Presently, the House is just completing a time of transition as yet another new figure within the family prepares to
receive the mantle of leadership. The turbulence began with the assassination of Galeazzo V and continued with the civil
strife caused by the wrestling of his son Cesare with the contender Vittorio, then abdication of the former, and finally the
untimely death of the na-Count Agon Moritani.
1.2

TIMELINE

Before Guild (BG)

88

Battle of Corrin brought the Corrinos to primacy over the other houses of the Landsraad and brought about the
emergence of the Padishah Imperium. House Moritani and their feared Bhotani bloody assassins support the
Corrinos wholeheartedly, at an enormous cost to resources and lives, and was rewarded by the
Governorship of Grumman to Lorenzo XXV, making Moritani a House Minor.

Spacing Guild and CHOAM combine with the Lion Throne to form the societal basis for the next ten thousand
years. House Moritani is instrumental in the formation of the Spacing Guild, by selling off most of its spaceship
research and development to the Guild and being allowed to continue to manufacture parts for the Guild
Heighliners and developments in personal frigates. House Moritani also helps in the formation of CHOAM, and
Bernabo III was the architect behind the idea for CHOAM Directorships, with the Imperium duly represented, and
thus endeared the Moritani to the Imperium further as well as gained them one of the first Directorships.

After Guild (AG)

283

Duke Senshisai Ginaz succeeded in forming a minor fief on the southern continents of Grumman. As a result,
relations between then Houses Minor Moritani and Ginaz deteriorated.

337

The Great Convention is ratified. One of the delegates was Mateo I, who worked to give the Emperor more power
over the Houses. He was greatly derided by his fellow delegates, and was soon afterwards assassinated. His son,
Valentinian, was granted to have the hand of the Emperors daughter, Victoriae. Moreover, the Moritanis fief was
elevated to the status of a County. This not only helped to introduce the Moritani into the Imperial bloodline; it also
paved the way for the Moritani finally being accepted as a House Major.

477

House Minor Moritani elevated to House Major status, largely due to the support of Emperor Saluso III.

4796

The first Kanly was recorded between House Ginaz and House Moritani. The Ginaz fief on Grumman incites the
conflict, which lasts to the present day.

9434

House Moritani forms an alliance with House Harkonnen for its Kanly against House Ophelion. The alliance persists
even after the Harkonnens best the Ophelions.

10,102 Galeazzo V Moritani was born to Count Francesco VII.

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10,103 Agon Moritani was born to Count Francesco VII.

10,105 Ermengildo Moritani was born to Count Francesco VII.
10,123 Francesco VII, Patriarch of the Moritani, died of food poisoning. His wife, Lady Valeria, is suspected but
nothing is proven. Young Galeazzo ascended to the patriarchy of House Moritani.
10,124 Galeazzo V Moritani married Anastasia Kenrick.
10,129 Melchiorre Moritani was born to the Lord Ermengildo.
10,131 Ophelia Gabryela Moritani born to Nikkolai (youngest brother of Galeazzo V) and his wife, Guglielmina. She is the
eldest of their daughters.
10,134 Cesare Moritani is born to Count Galeazzo V and Lady Anastasia. Due to complications in labour, he became a lone
child.
10,135 Lord Agon married Lady Isabel of House Clavell.
10,136 Valentina was born to Lord Ermengildo as a bastard child.
10,137 Rinaldo Moritani was born to Lord Agon.
10,157 Lady Isabel died due to heart failure. The family Suk determined the failure to be of natural causes; a rarity in House
Moritani.
10,159 Rinaldo Moritani married the Lady Germina Venhei.
10,161 Galeazzo V was brutally murdered. The Ginaz were suspected since all evidence pointed in their direction. Cesare
ascended to the patriarchy of House Moritani, and gained the title of Siridar-Count.
10,163 Civil insurrection occurred on Grumman as Vittorio, the bastard son of Galezzo V, challenged the leadership of
Cesare, with the help of Valentina, but they failed. In the same year, Lord Melchiorre was found murdered. The
Ginaz were once more suspected of the deed.
10,164 The Lady Anastasia was found brutally murdered, early in the year. Although no evidence was found, the Ginaz
were blamed for the deed as well. Cesare steps down as the head of the Household at the age of thirty and
nominates his uncle, Agon as the heir to the House.
10,165 The na-Count Agon Moritani is killed when his shuttle unexpectedly depressurizes. Lady Ophelia Gabryela Moritani
arrives from Grumman, to see to the business of the House while awaiting the family to choose a successor.
1.3

Recent History

The recent history of House Moritani has been turbulent indeed. Francesco VII was killed by food poisoning. His
wife, the Lady Valeria, was suspected but nothing ever came of the investigations. She followed her husband to the grave not
a month afterwards with an end as dubious as his. Her luxury vehicle exploded when the fuel ignited and nothing save some
charred bones were ever found.
Galeazzo V, whose reign seemed promising after his extremely expedient marriage to Lady Anastasia Kenrick, fell
to an assassin as his father did. His son, Cesare, offered a stunning political performance, but then suffered the insurrection
of his illegitimate brother. Even though the legal Count proved to be the victor, the signs of instability were the writing on the
wall. A year later, Cesare chose to abdicate in favour of his uncle, Agon. Tragedy again struck House Moritani when naCount Agons shuttle unexpectedly depressurized during ascent from Grumman. However Lady Ophelia Gabryela Moritani
seems set to take the leadership of the demoralized house, to pick up the pieces and set things aright.
One can assume that, despite the turbulent times, the tradition of service to the Imperium will be continued with a
new Moritani Matriarch.

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2 Characteristics and Culture

2.1

Summary

Some words to describe the Moritani might be enterprising, cunning, calculating, and sometimes devious. However,
whatever else can be said about them, they are fiercely loyal to the Padishah Emperor, and have served the Imperium well,
ever since the Battle of Corrin. The Moritani seek profit and increasing wealth and power. They gain it through honourable
means if they can, but have been known on a few occasions to use less-than-legal means to gain what they want, but this
rarely ever extends to anything major. There could be a bit of bribery or blackmail on the side, but the Moritani only resort to
such means when the economic stability and the survival of the House is at stake. The House strives for a new path to gain
prestige, but there is always one thing, which supersedes all its desires; loyalty to the Imperium and the Royal personae as
well as to its allies. The Moritani, though enterprising, recognize the need for allies for its success, hence the deeply rooted
tradition of loyalty. The very visible and unconditional servitude to the Imperium has at times caused quite a bit of enmity
between them and the pro-Landsraad factions and Houses, but the Moritani stand stolidly by their beliefs.
2.2

Views on Religion

The Moritani have been, ever since the recorded history of the house, staunch and faithful Orange Catholics. They at
one time spurned the Bene Gesserit as pagan, heathen, and under the influence and direction of Satan himself. However,
in recent times, this intense hatred has lessened, to a degree, especially among the younger, more tolerant members of the
House. In desperate, recent times, they have even been known to seek the aide of the mysterious sisterhood.
There are two major deviations in their piety, however. The Moritani have, characteristically, very violent tempers.
They show no mercy to those who would incite their anger, and can be completely ruthless when their tempers are aroused.
The other major deviation in the piety of the Moritani is the fact that they recognize human weakness, especially
their own. This explains the notorious list of internal murders, infidelities and other carnal sins. In any case, the Moritani
reconcile themselves to this by a belief that they are ordained by God to serve the Emperor and that anyone or anything that
would hinder their devotion has to be from the devil.
2.3 Views on Non-Landsraad Factions
Bene Gesserit The Moritani were generally wary of the Bene Gesserit, though this feeling has subsided over the
years. The House had an unspoken policy to never employ the help of the BG, even if it meant death. However, this began to
change during the reign of Count Cesare, when at one time he was engaged to a Bene Gesserit.
Bene Tleilaxu House Moritani is very wary of the Bene Tleilax. They have had little personal contact with them,
and are quite suspicious that they might be pawns whose aims are to overthrow the Imperial House. They do not, however,
have an official policy as of yet, since there has been no need for one. At present the Moritani hold the Tleilaxu in suspicion
and quandary.
Guild House Moritani holds the Guild in utmost regard. They do so not only out of necessity, for transportation and
commercial reasons, but also because the Guild has helped to make House Moritani what it is today. The Moritani
have a great portion of their wealth put in the production of personal frigates as well as some sundry parts for Guild
Heighliners, and have exclusive rights to some of them. They would not jeopardize their relationship with the
Guild for anyone save the Emperor.
Ix The Moritani maintain the popular belief that mankind should hold dominion over machines and not the other
way around. They view Ix as a necessary evil, and when the opportunity arises will purchase technology for the everexpanding industry of the planet Grumman, but nothing that even suggests at computational power.
Smugglers House Moritani views smugglers as some of the lowest of the low. In general the Moritani banking
blood causes them to hold in revulsion anything that would help anyone (save of course themselves and the Imperium) to
bypass commercial protocol and cause a loss in profits for the Guild. The House is continuing its crusade for a crackdown on
smuggling.

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2.4

Citizenry

It was the intention of Agon to implement several changes spreading across House protocol, the most noticeable of
which was to deal with subordinates in a manner quite the opposite of that of Count Cesare. While Count Cesare never dealt
personally with anyone lower than a member or representative of a House Minor or other member of the wealthy gentry,
Agon had intended to even act as a Judge to the peasantry and bourgeoisie at least once a year. His untimely death prevented
even that from coming to fruition. This change in dogma might have been a harbinger for a slightly more humane doctrine
towards the simple folk. However, it also earned Agon the reputation among those more inclined to cling tightly to the old
ways of being soft, lackadaisical, and even weak. Agon viewed himself and his nobles as both servants to the Emperor and
to their people for the greatness of the name of House Moritani. This is not to say that na-Count Agon was mellow and
showed less force, on the contrary when the need arose he would discipline his people as the situation warranted for their
own good. It was his firm belief that a Nobles right to rule is derived by the greater good of the people, as is portrayed in the
following passage:
Therefore a wise prince will seek means by which his subjects will always and in every possible condition of things
have need of his government, and then they will always be faithful to him.
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

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