By Andrew Peregrine
Assets are a vital part of Dune: Adventures in the Imperium. They are more than just equipment, and can even be intangible advantages like secret files, blackmail information and connections. For the most part, how an asset applies is left up to the gamemaster, depending on how well the player can sell their case for using one. There are a staggering array of possible assets, with some even created on the fly. So we decided it would be useful to have something physical on hand for players to keep track of their possessions and advantages.
This led us to creating what may be the first of a series of Asset Card Decks. They are designed to help you make the most of assets in your game, whether you are a player or a gamemaster. There are two decks, the Agent Deck and the Architect Deck, which divide the array of assets from the Corebook and supplements into more focused groups to match your play style.
In the Agents’ Asset Deck you will find things you carry and use when you are working as a direct agent of your House. If you want more detail on the weapons of an assassin, the vital importance of a Stillsuit or the utility of a Ridulian Crystal, we’ve got you covered. If you can carry it or use it, the Agents’ Deck is the place to go, with an array of personal equipment. But it is not all just ‘stuff’. The Agents’ deck has its share of more abstract assets, with items like ‘Water’ or ‘Wealth’. But if you really want to up the ante there are also plenty of poisons to choose from.
The Architects’ Deck allows you to strike from a distance. In this deck we’ve put more of the less tangible assets. You’ll find blackmail information, contracts, and even hostages and old friends as contacts and leverage. But an Architect need not always be subtle. So you’ll also find all manner of weapons of war, from tanks to facility shields and frigates that will empower any Warmaster. There are also a wealth of contact options in the Architects’ Deck, offering all manner of shady characters you might be owed a favor by. Just be careful who you trust.
Each card in the decks details what it is and how you can use it in the game. It puts into your hand all the keywords and background you need to make the best use of your assets. The most obvious use is to pull what you currently own from the deck and have it to hand next to your character sheet. But flicking through the deck itself will also give you hints and ideas about what you might like to get hold of to develop your next plot.
If you have a copy of ‘Agents of Dune’ these cards will look rather familiar. We included a selection of common assets among the array of cards in the set, which proved very successful. But the Agents and Architect Decks go further than the asset cards offered in our Campaign Boxed Set, with a far wider array of items and assets, all divided into handy categories to help you manage them (although all of them are stand alone products).
The Agent and Architect Decks put all your assets at your fingertips (with a couple of new ones you’ll not have seen before too). Each deck offers you a different option to strike out at your enemies, and the truly elite know that mastery of every approach is the key to victory in any plot.
Pick up a copy of the decks at the following: