I love Dune and I'll disagree with a number of people on the nature of it. First off Duncan Idaho isn't the protagonist or the kizwitch hadarech though the Teliexu eventually make one of his ghola clones into something even more bizarre and pivotal.
I do feel that Dune isn't anymore Science Fiction than Starwars is. It's fantasy with futuristic trappings. The primary theme of the first two books is the paradox of prophecy and free will. Paul, a decent kid for a kid in a society where slavery, torture, and murder are all used by the 'good' guys desperately tries to avoid the future he sees. The thing is that Dune is this triumphant ride to glory and Dune Messiah is how Paul throws it all away trying to avoid what he has seen. People get hooked on the adventure story of the first book and disappointed by the politics of the second but the second is strongly forshadowed in the first.
I've actually been playing with the idea just recently. There's some rules stuff in with it but I'm thinking of going full on T5 as there are genetics rules and so forth.
Dune
Character Creation
Throw 2d6 for each of the following attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, and Social Standing.
Career Experiences
Select a career and throw under the listed characteristic for Admission, Success, Survival, and Continue on 2d6. Admission is only rolled for the first term. If the Admission roll is successful the character obtains one level in the appropriate skill for their career and continues rolling for Success, Survival, and Continuing. If the character fails to enter their chosen career, the player may either have them submit to the draft, attend school, or live as a citizen. Remedial Education and Advanced Education are treated as careers but provide no mustering out benefits as tuition and living expenses consume all available resources.
Each 4 year term allows one skill to be improved by one level. Making a Success roll provides a promotion, an additional skill, and an additional Mustering Out Benefit roll. A failed survival roll requires a roll on the Hazard Table resulting in permanent loss of attribute points. If an attribute falls below 0 the character dies. The skills obtained, must be rolled for on the Personal Development, Career, or Advanced Education tables as chosen by the player.
Aging
Characters begin their careers at 18, fresh out of primary school and by 34 they are starting to slow down. Each term, after the third, the player must roll over Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance on two dice minus the number of terms served or lose one point from the characteristic being rolled against. As always, falling below 0 indicates that the character has died. The geriatric spice can be taken to avoid this but doing so costs the character one mustering out benefit.
A successful Continue roll allows the character to remain in their career for another four years. A failed roll means they must attempt to enter a new career or muster out immediately. If the second career roll fails they must muster out immediately.
Hazard Table (roll on failed survival)
1 -2 Strength
2 -2 Dexterity
3 -2 Endurance
4 -1 Strength and Dexterity
5 -1 Strength and Endurance
6 -1 Dexterity and Endurance
Mustering Out Table
1 1000 Credits
2 Blade
3 10000 Credits
4 Worker or Fighter Ally
5 100000 Credits
6 Doctor or Scientist Ally
7 Skill Appropriate Vehicle
8 Mystic or Merchant Ally
9 1000000 Credits
10 Noble or Assassin Ally
+0 Mystic, Outlander
+1 Fighter, Worker
+2 Doctor, Scientist
+3 Noble, Merchant
+1 Rank 5 or 6
Skills
Automatic
Blade - 0
Wheeled Vehicle - 0
Personal Development
1 +1 Strength
2 +1 Dexterity
3 +1 Endurance
4 +1 Intelligence
5 +1 Education
6 Brawling
Remedial Education
Admission Education 7- & Social Standing 7+
Success: Intelligence
Survival: Automatic
Continue: Education 7-)
+1 Education
Advanced Education
Admission: Education 8+
Success: Intelligence
Survival: Automatic
Continue: Education
1 Medicine
2 Computation
3 Biology
4 Chemistry
5 Physics
6 Sociology
Administrator
The vast resources of noble houses require incredible numbers of administrators.
Admission: Education
Success: Education
Survival: Education +2
Continue: Intelligence
Career Skill: Administration
1 Computation
2 Administration
3 Bribery
4 Streetwise
5 Steward
6 Wheeled Driver
Assassin
Assassination is a popular and acceptable legal tool in the empire. Professional assassins are considered a valuable resource by even the most upright houses.
Admission: Dexterity
Success: Intelligence
Survival: Intelligence - 2
Continue: Dexterity
Career Skill: Stealth
1 Blade
2 Remote Operator
3 Poison
4 Streetwise
5 Bribery
6 Stealth
Fighter
With shields rendering projectile weapons irrelevant on the battlefield, professional swordsmen are the military of the age.
Admission: Strength
Success: Dexterity
Survival: Endurance
Continue: Endurance
Career Skill: Blade
1 Blade
2 Sword
3 Crawler Driver
4 Ornithopter Pilot
5 Leadership
6 Tactics
Mystic
A mystic might be a witch, navigator, shape changer or even belong to some other esoteric order. In order to play a mystic an additional characteristic, “Talent” must be rolled, this characteristic is actually specific to the arts taught by the character’s specific school. The canonical schools are witches, navigators, and imitators.
Admission: Talent 2d6 8+
Success: Talent -2
Survival: Endurance
Continue: Intelligence
Career Skill: Talent
1 Administration
2 Brawling
3 Talent
4 Streetwise
5 Leadership
6 Steward
Merchant
Admission: Intelligence
Success: Intelligence
Survival: Education
Continue: Education
Career Skill: Merchant
1 Merchant
2 Administration
3 Wheeled Driver
4 Lighter Pilot
5 Bribery
6 Streetwise
Noble
The scions of noble houses form the elite and governing body of the empire. Nobles must be brilliant strategists, master manipulators, and students of the complex laws of inter-house warfare just to stay alive.
Admission: Social Standing
Success: Intelligence
Survival: Intelligence
Continue: Intelligence
Career Skill: Leadership
1 Sword
2 Blade
3 Administration
4 Tactics
5 Leadership
6 Ornithopter Pilot
Outsider
There are many fringe, wilderness areas where those who prefer freedom to the rigid caste structure dwell. These people are not particularly primitive but their societies do tend to be very self sufficient.
Admission: Social Standing +
Success: Endurance
Survival: Intelligence
Continue: Endurance
Career Skill: Survival
1 Survival
2 Blade
3 Projectile Weapon
4 Stealth
5 Mechanic
6 Leadership
Scientist
While technological development has been stagnant for millennia, there are always new things to research and study. The noble houses often sponsor the work of scientists as they seek any possible advantage over their rivals.
Admission: Intelligence - 2
Success: Education
Survival: Education + 2
Continue: Intelligence
Career Skill:
1 Biology
2 Chemistry
3 Physics
4 Administration
5 Sensors
6 Computation
Worker
In the stratified society of the empire, in the absence of automation, the work is still done by workers. A skilled worker is valued by their superiors.
Admission: Strength
Success: Education
Survival: Endurance
Continue: Endurance
Career Skill: Mechanic
1 Mechanic
2 Electronics
3 Wheeled Driver
4 Crawler Driver
5 Streetwise
6 Steward
“Talent”
This broad catchall covers the various special abilities learned in mystical schools. Each school has its specialities which are learned therein.
Immitators
The mystic can contort their body and face to imitate others with startling accuracy.
Navigator
Navigators scan the strands of the future for danger in order to guide starships through hyperspace. This ability affords them a monopoly on interstellar travel.
Witch
Witches study the smallest twitches and inflections to nearly read minds.
Success Rolls
Actions are resolved by rolling 2d6 and adding any skill level and the appropriate attribute. If the character does not have the necessary skill only half the attribute is added. If the total exceeds 15 the action succeeds.
Anyhow, I'm noodling around with rules for great and minor houses at the moment.