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This bit of information comes from a post made by Padishahlapdog on
his Dune
Roleplaying Club. It has been announced that according to a press
release, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) is eliminating approximately
100 jobs as well as replacing their CEO. The club also reports that the
employees of Last Unicorn Games were given the option to relocate to Washington
where WotC is located. With the downsizing of jobs, some projects go on
the chopping block as well and it is rumored that the D20 version of Dune
that is set to be released in May 2001, may be on that cancellation list.
Wizards of the Coast who recently purchased Last Unicorn Games, creator of the Dune CCG and Dune RPG ICON System, has announced their newest Dune product using their trademarked D20 rules system that other RPGs such as DnD is based on. The core book seems to have taken its title after the already released
Icon version, Dune:
Chronicles of the Imperium and has a release date set for May 2001.
There is an announcement of a followup adventure book as well, Dune:
Voice from the Outer World which has a release date of June 2001.
Thanks
goes to mardukpath and padishahlapdog for finding this announcement information.
For you Dune fans, the Sci-Fi channel's long awaited production of its six hour Dune miniseries will air its first installment Sunday night, December 3, 8CT/9ET. For those of you that may be unfamiliar with the three-part production, check out the official Sci-Fi Dune website. Set your VCRs. For those of you unfortunate enough to miss it, padishahlapdog has noticed that Amazon.com is taking preorders of the miniseries already and will be able to ship them by late January. PBEM10 Reports Published in Sietch Community The GM of the more recent play by email to start, boycat_oh (Pip) has posted creative updates of the progress of his game to the Sietch Community message board. The narrarator of the updates is one Lord Benedict as he moves from planet to planet commentating the actions in the Assembly. Here is a sample
entry. You do not have to be a memeber of the Sietch Community
to read the posts, but if you want to reply to anything or use some of
the other features of the club, go ahead and sign
up. Everything is free and only takes a few seconds of your time to
join.
Emperor: Battle for Dune is the latest software project for the people at Westwood who created one of the first real time strategy (RTS) software title and kicked off the RTS industry with Dune many many years ago. The most recent Dune-based game they released was Dune 2000 a few years back which practically mirrored their mega-hit Command and Conquer. Now they've decided to make another Dune sequel, this time it will be developed as a 3d RTS. For more information on the game, read the dailyradar
interview with the game's producer, Chris Longpre.
Intergalactic Trading Co. has setup shop on Amazon.com and one of their
premiere items up for grabs are four Eye
of the Storm booster retail boxes. A booster box contains 36 booster
packs and a booster pack contains 15 cards. 540 cards going for $54.00.
Just a reminder, no Imperial cards were stocked in EOTS booster packs.
So if you're hoping to pick up Jessica in this bundle, you won't find her
here.
Eye of the Storm
(PBEM 10) gets started by boycat_oh who tries his hand at a CCG pbem
for the first time. Six players are involved and from what I understand,
there are many distrans being passed between the houses.
Seren Frog kicks off the 9th Play by Email sponsored by our community.
The player slots are filled, decks are submitted and website
is up. Good luck Frog.
High Demand for Dune RPG In response to the news that the Dune Roleplaying Game system developed by Last Unicorn Games was released at GenCon 2000, players have been anxious to get their hands on a copy of the limited edition release. If you didn't go to GenCon this year or knew someone who did, you probably did not get a copy. Currently, the title is not for sale anywhere else so players have to turn to ebay where they have been selling really well, despite the marked up price tag.
Stuart Finlay, a Dune CCG fanatic from down under, asked Owen Seyler,
employed now by Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) about the Second Moon Rising
expansion that was fully produced but never saw the light of day.
Collectible Gandalf How can I go two months without an update and then have two updates in two days? Decipher Inc., the very same company
that snatched the Trek gaming license from Wizards of the Last Unicorn,
have announced the development of a collectible card game (CCG) based on
the Lord of the Rings, a popular series of books written by J.R.R.
Tolkien. The license actually comes from New Line Cinema, a company currently
producing a set of trilogy movies based on the books. The first movie,
Lord
of the Rings is set to be released in theaters December 2001. No release
date has been announced for the CCG.
Well it's only been over two months for an update. Players are busy in their pbems or their usual get together to really see/cause anything in the CCG world. Something that might be noteworthy, the Sietch Community just turned two this week. It's an interactive site for players to post, chat, exchange ideas about Dune. It has 129 members and 987 posts. Not bad for a "dead" game. Roleplay This Unrelated to CCG's but related to Dune, Last Unicorn finally released the RPG version of Dune in Limited Edition at GenCon 2000. What that means is that they aren't making any more versions or supplements nor are they providing any support for the ICON version. Since the acquisition by Wizards of the Coast (WOTC), the decision has been made to redesign Trek and Dune to d20 format (although they may not get a chance with Trek, but that's a different story). Since GenCon is over and many of you who did not get the chance to pick up a copy do not have a time machine, there has been talk of offering whatever was left over from the convention and selling it on WOTC's ecommerce website. No date given on that though. See the DuneRPG club for any announcements.
David Allen becomes the third person from the original Play By Email to GM his own pbem as an indication as to how fun it is to run one of these things. Internal Struggle, PBEM CCG#8 is underway with four new players. No
website for this game has been announced yet.
Pauli (aka Hannibal) has made his debut to the Deck Library with his City of Water Sellers deck. Thanks Pauli. There is plenty of room for more deck listings. Get your favorite ones
submitted.
With the latest addition to the Dune gaming collection from Last Unicorn Games on its way, Padishahlapdog (Keane Peterson) and I have put up a website for the soon-to-be-released Dune RPG. For those of you interested in what looks like will be an impressive
roleplaying game, stop by The
Landsraad Report and catch the latest.
Three play by emails have completed with only two unique victors. Merric Blackman claims the first and fifth games with congratulations in order. Why can't you finish these games in order of how they start? See the Play By
Email section for more information. Thanks to
Paul
Nomikos for GMing the 5th one using his Mentat Format rules. I think
all the players enjoyed the unique spin on the game.
The Deck Library receives yet another list of elements outlining how the Smuggler faction can gain Imperial admission. Phillip Edwards authors this one which he titles, Fist
Under Hand using a very alternative look on how to achieve victory
conditions.
Eric Poolman of House Azegao shows how the Water Sellers can gain admission to the Imperial Assembly without too many holdings. Sounds like they sold more than just their water. The Water Sellers
Holdingless Deck gets a listing in the Deck
Library.
The Play by Emails for the Dune CCG have been very successful. Thanks to everyone contributing to its longevity. Merric has announced that his seven player PBeM has begun and has even posted the first update to the Sietch Community. In turn, Phillip Edwards has begun to accept new applications to his play by email. Here's the info on PBEM #7: I need 6 people for a Dune pbem. The following rules will be used. 1) Only homeworlds
that are Dune fiefs will be available.
Please reply to this list with the homeworld you choose. First come first serve basis, no duplicate homeworlds. Also, send me an email with your deck contents. Phil Edwards
Many retailers are having no trouble selling their TAT Dune cards which makes them harder to come by for consumers who want them. David Bloomberg helps out with the TAT crisis and sends along this info. Many thanks. Hi Sherlock,
[email protected] (Jim
Legere)
TAT starters are $3 Canadian and booster are $1 Canadian and he has all three chapters.
There's been an addition to the Archives under the Strategy heading, Gameplay Loops, a collection of irregular loops found in the card game. The first entry is from Eric Poolman that shows a nasty trick with a Physcian, a Baliset and a Privateer going to work on Fief with a Decree. If you have any additions you'd like to make to this column, email them to me. More Dune ebay Sightings Lap "Diggety" Dog has discovered an auction on ebay that is selling Dune CCG cards in sheet form (uncut). The last day to bid on this item is March 24. If you'd like to view other ongoing auctions that have Dune cards for
sale, go to the ebay link at the bottom of the Links
page.
From MAAG_mail Hi, Just to say the next Rainham, Kent Tourney will be on Sunday 26th March, 11 am start. Mail me or visit http://gamersguild.freeservers.com for more details. House rules: 60 card deck min includes 15 card Sideboard. Players choose their 1st 3 Assembly cards. The tournaments have been scheduled on the Sietch Community's events calendar. Play be Email #6, Player Bash Maniac Merric announced openings for the 6th Dune CCG PBeM and the minimum number of required players is 6. Apparently, there's no maximum. See Sietch Community posts for more details or email the "Mad Hatter" himself. Note: You don't have to be a member of the Sietch Community to read the posts.
Smuggler's Trade, the corner of this site that provides an open forum to trade your Dune cards with other members has seen an increase in activity advertising not only card singles, but even sets. If you're interested in making an exchange, be sure to check it out.
According to the Sister's Ancestral Memories, tomorrow is what ancient Terrans referred to as a "leap day" and they are making the whole school participate in the celebration by hopping around. Ancient traditions never made any sense to me. I came across a communication in the Sietch Community from House Irhaln who has been conducting research on the origins of the Museum Fremen. Their researchers have traced their origins back to an ancient Terra civilization. The indigenous peoples of North Africa -- collectively referred to as "Berbers", of whom the Tuareg are one branch, are the inspiration for Herbert's Fremen. To whit:
2. Berbers live in an area famed for the production of an extraordinarily expensive red-brown "spice" -- saffron (the spice itself is the same color as melange, though when cooked it becomes yellow). 3. Well known for their ferocity in battle (same word root as "Barbarians"), Berbers holed up in remote regions of North Africa and resisted all attempts at colonial domination until this century. 4. Their word for themselves, Imazighen, in their native language, Tamazight, means "Free men". The men with blue-stained skin, by the way, are referred to as "Izegzaon"; the singular is "Azegzao". And the only "Water of Life" (El-Ma Haya) I've had is homemade fig liquor. Eric Poolman
The Dune CCG club (aka Sietch
Community) sits at 99 very active members. Who wants
Stop by and view the latest topics.
Things were a little hectic yesterday here on Wallach IX. Almost all of the Sister's Ancestral Memories inserted themselves into their psyches and demanded that they all remember an ancient Terra holiday referred to as Valentine's Day. All day long I watched Bene Gesserit women shed their aba robes, running around the planet naked and mating with their breeding partners (more than usual). Must be something air. Anyway, back to business. Eric Poolman
of House Irhaln writes a document on the Economics
of Dune and Control Arrakis Decks, which has been added to the Archive
link. The document first appeared in the Sietch
Community Dune CCG Club.
A couple of new additions to the message board, Smuggler's Trade dedicated to providing a resource for all of your Dune card trading needs. Please check it out.
Eric Poolman makes his
contribution to the Deck Library by adding
one mighty force of a deck. With about a billion Corrino personas, you
know your domain is going to have quite a bit of muscle power. Stop in
and read up on Eric's Stifle the Insurgency
Corrino deck.
Ever wonder what players talk about behind your back during a game? The email transcripts of the communication between all of the players in the first play by email is now available online for public viewing. You get to see all of the scheming, treachery and backstabbing (all the great things) that went on in the first Dune CCG PBeM. Emails such as this gem that got misdirected to the wrong House: I am House Tuek. I have already taken my turn. I suspect your distrans is directed at your rivals, House Delphin. Thank you for the knowledge of the plans you are about to inact against House Tuek. As we see it, House Delphin poses more of a threat and showing their Act of Cowardice would be a more appropriate plan. If you choose to reveal my Acts of Cowardice instead, I fear you will be ultimately losing to House Delphin. Ah, technology's effect on how we live and making it easier to mistake identities. This and other pbem related information can be found in the Play by Email section.
If you've ever done ebay, check it out this week. Massive dune singles for sale. Thanks to Padishah Lapdog, the ebay junkie.
The second edition of Top Deck came out last month and in it contained Russell Keenan's Water Seller's play deck. Russell was nice enough to email me a copy of it for the Chapterhouse Times' Deck Library. The Water Sellers Budget deck is now on display.
For those looking for a place to make your Dune Trades, I have set up a forum that is somewhat accomodating to your needs. I'm hoping Yahoo can add some features in the near future to make things a little more organized, but until then, use the Smuggler's Trade link, listed as a part of the Main Menu now, to post all of your card needs. Changes to the Menu I moved the DuneCCG Club link into the Main Menu and retitled it Sietch Community. The Rules link moved up and is now Collected Rulings, Errata was moved with it. PBEM was moved and is spelled out, Play By Email and finally the Card Store link was moved as well and is now called Card Sellers Union. Water Sellers Represented in Deck Library Come out of your bunkers. Power grids didn't shutdown. Nuclear facilities didn't meltdown. Commercial airlines didn't fall down. You're ok. The Padishah Lapdog (Keane R. Peterson) has added a Water Sellers deck to the Deck Library to compliment the Water Sellers Strategy Guide he wrote. If you have any decks you'd like to publish, send them to me to be posted in the Deck Library for all to see. The Strategy Guides can be found in the Archive section. |