Spice World

Spice World is a roleplaying game intended to take place in a fictional universe inspired by Frank Herbert’s six Dune books. It’s built on the original Traveller RPG by Marc Miller, et al, and Apocalypse World by Meguey Baker and Vincent Baker. However, you don’t need either of those games to play this one. (Further information provided in the Inspirational Reading section at the end of this book.)

Here are four key concepts for play in Spice World.

It’s the future, but it’s the past. Noble houses rule the galaxy, swords are more reliable than guns, and people travel from planet to planet in great ships. Spice World has more in common with the Napoleonic Wars than it does with Star Trek.

People navigate systems. Ritual and bureaucracy dominate the lives of the people in Spice World. Everyone is aware of the place they’re expected to occupy, and while some buck against those expectations, most people find comfort in knowing how they’re expected to act.

Slow investigation is punctuated by physical, emotional, and social violence. Characters in Spice World will spend most of their time gathering information and finding the connections between systems. They do this under threat of destruction, but if they succeed, it is their enemies who will be destroyed.

Wealth is important; currency isn’t. Intricate webs of debt and honor tie characters together, meaning that the question is never, “Can I afford something?” Instead, ask, “Who will I owe in the future to possess this thing now?”