Dune: War for Arrakis
Dune: War for Arrakis Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
The Harkonnens start controlling the main populated areas of Arrakis and must launch seek-and-destroy missions against the Fremen Sietches while harvesting spice (which determines relations with the Imperium powers — Spacing Guild, Landsraad, and CHOAM). The Emperor (House Corrino) secretly supports the Harkonnens.
- To win, the Harkonnen player must accumulate 10 Supremacy Points (SP) — gained by destroying the Fremen Sietches.
The Atreides fight the Harkonnens with guerrilla warfare in alliance with the Fremen, completing missions and using the natural forces of Arrakis to fulfill ancient prophecies.
- To win, the Atreides player must reach or exceed a specific score on each of the three types of Prescience Points (PP), indicated by a Secret Objective card drawn at the start.
In a 2-player game, each player leads one faction (Atreides = House Atreides + Fremen Ally; Harkonnens = House Harkonnen + Corrino Ally). In 3–4 player games, players form two teams controlling one or two of the four powers.
Game Board
The board shows the northern hemisphere of Arrakis, divided by dotted lines into eight Sectors. Air Zones (circular boxes used only by the Harkonnen player for flying vehicles) sit on the border between 2 Sectors and connect to all Areas within both. Sectors are divided into Areas (Mountain, Plateau, Minor Erg, Desert). Desert Areas adjacent to the board edges are Deep Desert.
- North Pole: a Mountain Area considered part of all four central Sectors (all four central Air zones connect to it).
- Impassable borders (thick red/white lines): Areas so separated are not adjacent for ground movement.
- Free Areas: An area is free for a player when it doesn't contain enemy Settlements, enemy Units, or Sandworms. (An area with only an Ecological Station or a Harvester is free for both players.)
Supremacy Track: records Harkonnen SP (reaching the end wins; also indicates when Feyd-Rautha may enter play). Prescience Track: tracks the Atreides player's 3 Prescience markers (reaching the Secret Objective scores wins; positions also indicate when Paul-Muad'dib, Reverend Mother Jessica, Chani, and Alia may enter play).
Ecological Testing Stations: 6 tokens placed facedown; capturing one gains the Atreides 1 Prescience point of the type on its hidden side. Settlements: populated locations with a numerical Combat rank; Harkonnen Settlements are 4 Pyon Villages, Carthag, and Arrakeen; Atreides Settlements are 8 hidden Sietches.
Playing Pieces
- Units (ground forces): Regular (round bases), Elite (hexagonal bases), and Special Elite (large hexagonal — Fedaykin for Atreides, Sardaukar for Harkonnen).
- Leaders: not Units; placed only in Areas with friendly Units (eliminated if left alone). Generic (Bashar, Naib) or Named. Units and Leaders in the same Area are collectively a Legion.
- Atreides Deployment Tokens (Garrison and standard): placed facedown but inspectable by the Atreides player. Each shows a combination of Regular/Elite/Fedaykin units. Regardless of Units represented, a facedown token counts as 1 Unit for movement and stacking. Revealed forcibly if their Area is involved in combat; once revealed, removed from the game.
- Vehicles (Harkonnen only, never move): Ornithopters and Carryalls (Air Zones), Harvesters (Desert Areas). Not Units.
- Sandworms: placed mainly from spice harvesting; the Atreides player uses them to attack, hinder movement, or move Atreides Legions faster. Not Units.
Units Stacking Limit: Each Area can contain a maximum of 6 Units (excess removed immediately). Leaders don't count. A Deployment token counts as 1 Unit.
Setup
- Arrange the two map sections. 2. Shuffle 8 Sietch tokens facedown on indicated Areas (only Atreides inspects). 3. Shuffle Atreides Garrison Deployment tokens; place 1 token and 1 Naib Leader in each Sietch Area. 4. Shuffle standard Atreides Deployment tokens facedown by the Atreides player. 5. Place the 6 Harkonnen Settlements on indicated Areas (ratings public). 6. Shuffle the two Harkonnen Garrison Deployment token sets; place 1 of each type in each Harkonnen Settlement Area, then flip and replace with the corresponding figures. 7. Shuffle 6 Ecological Testing Stations facedown on indicated Areas (revealed only if an Atreides Legion enters). 8. Place 3 Prescience markers on 0 and the Supremacy marker on 0. 9. Shuffle all Prescience cards into a facedown deck. 10. Shuffle 16 Wormsign tokens into a facedown pool. 11. Take faction dashboards; place named Leader cards marked 'in play at start' on their Action boxes. 12. The Harkonnen player places the Spice Must Flow board and lines up the 3 Imperium markers on 'start here'. 13. Shuffle the 4 Planning card decks by back. 14. The Atreides player draws 1 of the 6 Secret Objective cards (kept hidden). 15. Keep figures, dice, and reference cards within reach.
Game Round
Start of the Round: Both players draw 1 Planning card from each of their decks (2 total each). Draw 3 cards from the Prescience deck faceup in view of all.
Step 1. Vehicle Placement (Harkonnen only)
Check the position of the lowest Imperium marker on the Spice Must Flow board (the active row is where the lowest marker is). First, set aside the number of Action dice indicated in the first column of the active row (kept unused this round). Then take the number of vehicles indicated in the 3 vehicle columns. Place: Harvesters in free Desert Areas (1 per Area); Ornithopters and Carryalls in Air Zones (1 per Zone). (If an Air Zone is occupied and you want to place a different vehicle there, the current one is removed.)
Step 2. Action Resolution
Both players roll their Action dice (Atreides always rolls 4; Harkonnen's number is affected by the Spice Must Flow board) and place them on their dashboards in the matching Action boxes.
- Freak Results: A player getting the same result on 4+ dice keeps 1 and rerolls the matching dice (only once each round).
Starting with the Atreides, players alternate taking 1 Action each. Options per turn:
- Spend 1 Action Die to execute 1 of its corresponding Actions.
- Spend any 1 Action Die to play a Planning card.
- (Atreides only) Take a Desert Power Action.
Action effects are never mandatory (fully, partially, or not at all). Spent dice go to Used Action Dice slots.
Action Dice Results:
- Strategy: Move 2 different Legions, OR attack with 1 Legion.
- Leadership: Move 2 different Legions with a Leader, OR make a surprise attack with a Legion with a Leader. (Requires at least 1 Leader in the affected Legions.)
- Deployment (Atreides): Deploy 1 Deployment token and 1 Leader (Naib or Named) on the same Sietch token.
- Deployment (Harkonnen): Deploy 3 Regular Units and 1 Leader (Bashar or Named) across 1 or more of your Settlement tokens.
- Mentat: Draw 2 Planning cards (2 from the same deck or 1 from each; choose before drawing).
- House (Atreides): Use this result as any Action die result of your choice.
- House (Harkonnen): Replace 2 Regular Units with 2 Elite Units, OR place 1 Ornithopter, 1 Harvester, and 1 Carryall on the board.
- Desert Power (Atreides only): Requires no Action die but can only be chosen if the Atreides has fewer unused Action dice than the Harkonnen. Place 2 Wormsign tokens in Desert Areas not already containing a Wormsign, Sandworm, or Sietch (1 per Area), OR activate 2 different Sandworms already on the board.
Named Leader Special Actions: Each Named Leader card sits on the Action box matching its Action symbol. Unless on the Regeneration Tank, Leaders let you choose additional/enhanced options when spending a matching die. Special Actions are alternatives to the standard Action. If you use a Leader's special Action, its card is pulled and flipped ('spent') until the next round.
Free Actions (no die/turn needed):
- Guerrilla Training (Atreides): Reveal any number of Deployment tokens at any time during your Action turn (replaced with Units, then removed from play).
- Scouting (Harkonnen): Remove an Ornithopter at any time to reveal a Sietch in a connected Sector.
Playing Planning Cards: Drawn at start of round and via Mentat; played during Action Resolution by spending any one Action die (then discarded). Cards can also be discarded during a battle to add Combat dice. Exhausted decks are not reshuffled. The 4 decks: House Harkonnen (Leaders, reinforcements, spice, Thufir Hawat), Corrino Ally (movement/attacks, especially Sardaukar; 3 Bene Gesserit cards), House Atreides (attack enhancements, Prescience manipulation, Fedaykin, Gurney Halleck; 3 Bene Gesserit cards), Fremen Ally (desert movement, Sandworms/Coriolis Storms, the Wild Maker).
Step 3. Desert Hazards (Atreides only)
Place and Resolve Wormsigns: Draw random Wormsign tokens facedown (without looking) — 1 in each Desert Area containing a Harkonnen Legion or Harvester and not already having a Wormsign or Sandworm. Then flip all Wormsign tokens on the board and resolve in any order (tokens in an Area with an Atreides legion or Sandworm have no effect). Effects: Sand (no effect); Sandworm (a Sandworm attacks or is placed); Burrowing Sandworm (only in a Deep Desert Area does a Sandworm attack/place; otherwise no effect).
Sandworm Attacks: In an Area with only a Harvester — remove the Harvester (no Sandworm placed). In an Area with a Harkonnen Legion — resolve a Sandworm attack (Combat dice by terrain); if the Legion is destroyed and a Harvester is present, remove it (no Sandworm placed). In an empty Area — place 1 Sandworm figure. After resolving, shuffle Wormsign tokens back into the pool. (If no Sandworm figures are available, take one from anywhere else, excluding newly placed ones.)
Carryalls To The Rescue: If revealing a Wormsign in Step 3 would remove a Harvester, the Harkonnen player can remove a Carryall from a connected Air Zone instead; the Harvester stays and a Sandworm is also placed (the Harvester is removed the following step anyway).
Resolve Coriolis Storms: All Plateau, Minor Erg, and Desert Areas without a Harkonnen Settlement are subject to storms. For each Harkonnen Legion in such an Area (Atreides unaffected), the Atreides rolls Combat dice by terrain (Deep Desert 3, Desert 2, Minor Erg/Plateau 1), inflicting 1 hit per Hit/Special result. Remove casualties immediately.
Step 4. Spice Harvesting (Harkonnen only)
Remove surviving Harvesters to collect spice (Desert 1, Deep Desert 2). Immediately spend spice on the Imperium markers: 2 points to keep a marker in place, 3 to raise it one step (max one step per Spice Harvesting). Markers not kept or raised move down 1 step. (Markers can't move above the top or below the bottom step.)
Spice Reserve: May save a maximum of 1 spice point (place the Spice Reserve token) to add 1 point to a future Spice Harvesting.
Imperium Bans: If at the beginning of a round one or more Imperium markers are at the lowest step, immediately apply their Imperium Bans (per reference cards). A Ban is in effect only while its marker is at the bottom.
End of the Round
Remove all Ornithopters and Carryalls (Ornithopters' Scouting may be used now). If they have named Leaders on the board, starting with the Harkonnen, both players may replace any named Leader with a generic one. Place all 'spent' Named Leader cards back on their Action boxes. Both players discard down to 6 Planning cards. The Atreides player chooses to remove or reshuffle any revealed but unclaimed Prescience cards. A new round begins.
General Rules — Movement
A moving Legion moves from its Area to an adjacent free Area (not across impassable borders). You need not move all figures — you can split the Legion (a Leadership move requires at least 1 Leader to accompany the moving Units). Leaders cannot move alone.
Moving Multiple Legions: Strategy and Leadership Actions (and some cards) allow moving 2 different Legions in one turn; consider all movements simultaneous (don't move the same figure twice).
Moving a Legion Across Multiple Areas (Sandriding, Troop-transport, or card effects): the Legion cannot pick up or drop figures during movement; stacking is checked only after the full movement.
Sandriding (Atreides only): A moving Atreides Legion in or adjacent to a Wormsign/Sandworm can move across any number of adjacent Areas containing Wormsigns/Sandworms, ending in or adjacent to one. Cannot move across Areas with enemy Legions (Harvesters don't block). Can be used to attack.
Troop-transport (Harkonnen only): When moving a Legion, remove an Ornithopter in a connected Air zone to move the Legion up to 2 Areas away, across impassable borders, enemy Legions, and Sandworms (jumping over the intervening Area). Can be used to attack.
Battles
A Legion attacks an enemy Legion in an adjacent Area (or reachable by Sandriding/Troop-transport) by performing a Leadership or Strategy Action (or a card). The attacking Legion remains in its Area for the battle. You need not involve all figures (a Leadership attack requires at least 1 Leader).
Battle Rounds Sequence: At the start, flip any unrevealed Sietch token in the defender's Area and flip any Deployment tokens involved. Each combat round:
- Starting with the attacker, both players may discard Planning cards to add 1 Combat die each (max 6 total). (Surprise Attack: only the attacker may discard cards in the first round.)
- Both players roll Combat dice equal to the number of Units in their Legion (max 6). A defender in an Area with a Settlement rolls additional dice equal to the Settlement's rank each round (still max 6).
- Resolve the Combat roll; both remove casualties.
- If both Legions have Units left, the attacker may cease the attack; if not, the defender may retreat. Either ends the battle; otherwise a new battle round starts.
Combat Roll: Each die has 3 results — Hit (1 hit), Shield (cancels 1 opponent's Hit), and Special (generates variable Hits/Shields only if Leaders are involved). Sardaukar and Fedaykin: each Special Elite Unit immediately cancels 1 Shield on the opponent's roll. Leader Combat Abilities: each Generic Leader considers 1 Special as 1 Hit; each Named Leader considers 1 Special as a specific number of Hits/Shields per its card. A player with more Leaders than rolled Specials chooses which to apply (attacker chooses first if both sides).
Remove Casualties: For each Hit suffered, choose: remove 1 Regular Unit; replace 1 Elite Unit (Special or not) with 1 Regular Unit; or remove 1 Leader. If all Units are eliminated, also remove surviving Leaders. Removed Units and Generic Leaders return to the supply; Named Leaders go to the Regeneration Tank.
Cease the Attack / Retreat: At the end of each combat round, the attacker may cease (surviving figures stay). If the attacker continues, the defender may retreat (the attacker moves the defending Legion to an adjacent free Area; if none, cannot retreat).
End of the Battle: A battle ends if the attacker ceases, the defender retreats, or a Legion is destroyed. Victory for the attacker if the defender retreats or is eliminated (and the attacker survives); for the defender if the attacker ceases or is eliminated. If a Legion advances into an Area with a Settlement, the Settlement is destroyed and the attacker wins (even if undefended).
Advancing After a Battle: After a victory, the attacking Legion may move into the attacked Area. From an adjacent Area, move any number of figures (even none). From a non-adjacent attack (Sandriding/Troop-transport), the entire attacking Legion must move in.
Destroying Settlements: Attack with a Legion, win, and move at least 1 Unit into the Area. Sandworms, Coriolis Storms, and cards cannot destroy Settlements. An undefended Settlement is won automatically (no roll). When a Sietch is destroyed, the Harkonnen immediately gains Supremacy points equal to its rank (token removed; no more Deployment there). When a Harkonnen Settlement is destroyed, the Atreides advances each Prescience marker by the Settlement's rank (token removed).
The Regeneration Tank
When Named Leaders are removed as casualties, their figures go to the leftmost slot of the Regeneration Tank. Each time the controlling player ends an Action turn, all figures move one step right. A Leader moved off the rightmost slot is back in play. Named Leaders in the Tank are inactive/spent. (If the leftmost slot is occupied when a new figure arrives, bump the current figure one step right, which may bump another.)
Prescience
The Atreides player aims to reach precise scores with each of the 3 Prescience markers (Secret Objective) before the Harkonnen reaches 10 Supremacy. The 3 markers: Kwisatz Haderach (green), Sand Dwellers (orange), Jihad (red).
Markers advance when: the Atreides claims a Prescience card (advance as indicated); an Atreides Legion captures an Ecological Station (advance 1 marker whose symbol is shown, or choose if all 3); a Harkonnen Settlement is destroyed (all markers advance by its rank — 3 Arrakeen, 2 Carthag, 1 Village); for every 2 Harvesters removed during Action Resolution (advance the Jihad marker 1 step).
Prescience Cards: 3 revealed each round. There are 16 in total; the Atreides can claim a card as soon as its requirements are met (max 2 per round). Some require conditions, others a specific Action (forfeiting its normal effect). At end of round, the Atreides may permanently discard unclaimed cards; remaining ones are reshuffled.
Other Effects of Prescience:
- Step 3 of the track: Jihad → Chani enters; Kwisatz Haderach → Paul Muad'dib enters; Sand Dwellers → Reverend Mother Jessica enters.
- Step 6: any marker → Alia enters.
- Step 8: any marker → the Atreides Family Atomics detonate.
The Family Atomics: The Atreides chooses one of three Family Atomics tokens and places it over the board (matching Area borders). If the Area contains a Legion, the opposing player moves all figures to an adjacent free Area. Effects: Splintered Rock (Hagga Basin Area becomes Desert — Harkonnen legions there exposed to storms/Sandworms); Hole in the Rock (Imperial Basin becomes Desert); Rimwall (Imperial Basin and Arrakeen exposed).
Wormsigns and Sandworms
If a Harkonnen Legion enters an Area with a Wormsign token, it's immediately revealed and resolved (not if a Wormsign is placed directly into an Area already with a Harkonnen Legion/Harvester). Atreides Legions never reveal a Wormsign.
Sandworms appear during Desert Hazards and are activated by a Desert Power Action. Each Sandworm can be activated to move or attack.
- Movement: Move up to 2 Desert Areas; the destination must contain no figures; if moving 2, the traversed Area can contain anything.
- Attack: Remove the Sandworm figure and target an Area up to 2 Areas away (if distance 2, the first Area must be Desert). Target: an enemy Legion and/or Harvester in a Desert Area, or a Legion in a Plateau/Minor Erg within range (not Mountain). Attacking a Harvester-only Area removes both (no roll). Attacking a Legion: roll Combat dice by terrain (Deep Desert 5, Desert 4, Minor Erg/Plateau 3), 1 Hit per Hit/Special; remove casualties. (Discarding a Carryall to save a Harvester applies only in Desert Hazards, not during Action Resolution attacks.)
Neither faction's Legions can enter or attack Areas with a Sandworm, but may traverse via Sandriding/Troop-transport.
Named Leaders
When Named Leaders enter play, their card goes on the matching Action box; the figure is set aside for later Deployment. Once in play, Named Leaders remain until the end of the game.
- Reverend Mother Jessica / Paul-Muad'dib: Their figure and card replace those of Lady Jessica / Paul Atreides (in the same position/status); replaced cards and figures are removed. (Cards referring to "Paul" apply to both Pauls; "Jessica" to both Jessicas.)
- Gurney Halleck: deployed directly on the board (via House Atreides cards); no special abilities off the board.
- Wild Maker: a giant Sandworm entering via a Fremen Ally card; its Leader card sits on the Desert Power box. Not deployed in Legions; a special type of Sandworm deployed via its card's ability. Moves/attacks like other Sandworms (more lethal). At any End of Round, it can stay or be replaced with a standard Sandworm.
Harvesters
Once placed, Harvesters cannot move and don't affect battles or movement. Beyond Sandworm attacks, they are removed when: an Atreides Legion ends its movement in an Area containing only a Harvester (removed; not an attack); or an Atreides Legion attacks an Area with both a Harkonnen Legion and Harvester and wins and advances. (Moving a Deployment token to remove a Harvester does not reveal the token.)
Bene Gesserit Cards
At any time during your Action turn, discard a Bene Gesserit card to change one of your Action die results into any other result you choose. This is not an action; carry out your turn normally.
Ecological Testing Stations
There are 6. When an Atreides Legion moves into an Area with a Station, remove it, reveal the symbol, and advance 1 Prescience marker 1 step (if all 3 symbols, choose which marker).
Rules for 3–4 Players
Played as a struggle between 2 factions; all 2-player rules apply unless specified. In a 3-player game, 1 player plays a faction solo and 2 players share the opposing faction (recommended: share the Harkonnen). In a 4-player game, both factions are shared. Sharing Harkonnen: one player controls House Harkonnen, the other Corrino Ally. Sharing Atreides: House Atreides and Fremen Ally. Players sharing a faction play cooperatively and win together.
Setup exceptions: Replace the shared faction's 2-player dashboard with the two 3–4 player subfaction dashboards (fewer Action boxes each). Take 3 Cone of Silence tokens for the shared faction. Sharing Harkonnen: add Emperor Shaddam IV (in play at start) and Gaius Helen Mohiam (enters when Supremacy reaches step 4).
Shared Faction Gameplay: Players cooperate as one; all Units and Leaders can be used by both. Cone of Silence: players sharing a faction communicate openly and cannot show Planning cards to each other; to share secret info, discard 1 of 3 Cone of Silence tokens (lasts ~3 minutes if a duration is needed).
Planning Cards: Each player draws 1 from their subfaction deck at start; they play only their own deck. Max hand size 3 per player (discard excess at round end). Both may discard cards to add Combat dice in battle.
Action Resolution: One player rolls all the faction's dice, then results are divided: each player takes dice showing results only on their dashboard; dice on both dashboards are split as evenly as possible; if all dice go to one player, keep 1 and reroll the rest. (Harkonnen: a leftover die that could go to either goes to House Harkonnen.) Players alternate Action turns by faction (Atreides first); a shared faction chooses who takes each turn.
Named Leaders Special Actions: any player may use Leaders on the board, but only the player controlling the subfaction the Named Leader belongs to can use its Special Action. House Atreides Die: if the House player chooses an Action only on the Fremen Ally dashboard, the other player performs it. Regeneration Tanks: figures move right whenever either shared player takes an Action. Desert Power: compare total unused dice of each faction (not individual players). Imperium Bans (shared Harkonnen): applied to both players (Landsraad Ban: hand limit drops to 2 each).