Moomin? Wow. That's an interesting combination. I'd love to see it (even the Swedish version - I could go with the google translate)!

Haven't the book with me right now, but as far as I remember...

@ 2: Sure they can. In one session, my players divided their crew among two ships, the captured one still disguised as belonging to crown, and surprised their next prize (basically, a coastal town) with sudden attack. Lots of fun. Think like: they can do anything. It could just happen that some of the stuff they're doing does not trigger the elaborate subsystem of rules - if it is the case, ask yourself "so, is it attacking helpless? or enduring duress? or..." and "does it allow me to bring the Cruel Fortune to the table" - and if so, do this, if not, that's fine, good for them.

@ 3: I'd say: "oh no! if you get the second, say bye bye to good ol' Dagger.". But can't recall if it isn't only Ben Lehman's proposal.

@ 6 (from the first post): yes, I've been running this that way. The Poison'd is intented to work with fiction first, and fictious events triggering rules - so I'd say it's RAW.

Yeah, I know, there is the old game from 2k, I guess, and of course Burning Wheel's Jihad. But BW is not really my cup of tea (I prefer more rules-lite games), and 2k games are, well, 2k games, OK?

And Dune is an amazing universe.

So, I'm thinkin', maybe AW? (been thinking about working on Game of Thrones, too, but then I've seen two first episodes of the TV series and lost interest. maybe go back to that after 5th volume. meanwhile: Dune!)

Ever heard of the Alejandro Jodorovsky approach to movie? 14-hour long script, with Salvadore Dali as the Emperor, Giedi Prime created by H. R. Giger (the Alien guy) and music by Pink Floyd and Stockhausen? If not, read this: http://www.duneinfo.com/unseen/jodorowsky.asp . Sample:

In film, the Duke Leto (father of Paul) would be a man castrated in a ritual combat in the arenas during a bullfight (emblem of the Atreides house being a crowned bull...) Jessica - nun of the Bene Gesserit -, sent as concubine at the Duke to create a girl which would be the mother of a Messiah, becomes so in love with Leto that she decides to jump a chain link and to create a son, Kwisatz Haderach, the saviour. By using her capacities of Bene Gesserit - once that the Duke, insanely in love with her, entrusts her with his sad secret - Jessica is inseminated by a drop of blood of this sterile man... The camera followed (in script) the red drop through the ovaries of the woman and sees its meeting with the ovule where, by a miraculous explosion, it fertilises it. Paul had been born from a virgin; and not of the sperm of his father but of his blood...

I'm going for something like this. Tons of symbolic fuckery, El Topo, retro sf decorations and French comics.

So, I'm reskinning AW to play Dune, and the other way around. I'd like to have 5 playbooks:
Noble (covering Harkonnens, Atreides, Emperor's family, and so on)
Bene Gesserit
Freemen
Mentat + Sook Academy
The Techie Guy (The Spacing Guild and Bene Tleilax)
, but maybe I'll split Mentat from Sook, and Guild from Tleilax.

Stats as usual: hot, hard, cool, sharp, and spice (instead of weird). Highlight Hx as if it would be a normal stat.

Some random moves from the things I'm working on:

Bene Tleilax: When you die, roll +spice. On 10+, they have your ghola in the axlotl tank, this whole dyin' just a minor inconvenience (lose just a tiny part of your memories - reset your Hx with a character of MC's choice to 0). On 7-9, something went wrong, but no technology ain't perfect (lose your memories - reset your Hx with each other to 0; moreover, your genome is fucked up - substract 1 from any stat, your choice). Still, better than death, isn't it? On a miss you may decide whether you die or not, but if you decide to survive, lose your memories, something is wrong with your genome, and in addition to that, you're preconditioned by other Tleilaxians (they have 2 hold over you, which they can spend 1 for 1 to force you to enter hypnotic state). And MC gets to make his/her move as usual.

Ibad Eyes: +1 spice

Jihadist: whenever you inflict harm, inflict +1 harm.

[replaces opening brain to the psychic maelstrom]
When you open yourself to the possible histories, roll +spice. On a hit, you may ask question concerning any past or future issue, your choice. On 10+, MC tells you something new, interesting and highly probable about that issue. On 7-9 MC gives you an impression or a good detail. If you already know all there is to know, the MC will tell you that.

Sandrider: When you summon Shei-Hulud, roll +hard. On a hit, it arrives and you can ride it to travel or to fight against your enemies, your choice. On 10+, you have +2 ongoing (it's really fuckin' huge).

Influential: Your help gives +2, your interference gives -3.


More to follow. Comments are welcome, of course.

Good stuff! My thoughts (hope you don't mind me sharing them):

Two stats called Inside and Outside. (of course, they're stolen from Ice and Light in Polaris)
Use Inside when you:
- engage in relations, overcome your weakness, ask questions
Use Outside when you:
- go into danger, reach through the stars, explore remnants of the human civilizations

Basic Travel Move Attempt 3 is good. I'd add two details:
the roll clause: when you are traumatized, roll -2
the 7-9 clause: you arrive to late

So, is there anything going on behind the curtains? Or maybe the project is dead? And even if it is, are there any chances for revival?

About music, Job Karma is listed as a source of inspiration in the book, but maybe adding it here wouldn't be a bad idea. Ambient/industrial, mostly, and lots of nice visualisations (esp. if one looks inspirations to that whole daydreaming apocalypse thing).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFVjnK6QIP4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1yve3Xl1fw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKtcrZ6SaLA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkUV1VFrRsI&feature=related

I've been reading Brian Aldiss "Non stop" recently, and it's a ready-made AW setting (same in case of Glukhovsky's "Metro 2033" - meaning the book, haven't played the video game).

I'm not sure about the whole Jain thing, but my last game had helluva lot of lasers inside, including 3 m height battle mech, seizing Golden Gate-sized bridge by force, dodging nukes, and basilion of nanobots transfoming British Isles. Not to mention fighting fastfood chains, Al Donaldi and KFC Sheikh. So, being a modal realist myself, I'd say: as written, Maybe Lasers.

Anyway: some time ago, I explained AW as "postapocalyptic and way more brutal Neuromancer". Worked fine.

I can't think of the name right now, but there's a really good Philip K. Dick story where people are struggling to live (after a nuclear war? I think so) and there are these huge automated factories that just keep pumping out supplies, but the people have lost the ability to tell them what to do or access the factories, so they're getting tons of stuff they don't really need, stuff intended for a rich, industrialized country. Might be a cool schtick to throw into AW.

The title is "Autofac", I think.