DUNE: CHRONICLES OF THE IMPERIUM is a role-playing game based on Frank Herbert’s legendary series of DUNE.

DUNE: CHRONICLES OF THE IMPERIUM is a role-playing game based on Frank Herbert’s legendary series of DUNE. Last Unicorn Games developed this game shortly before WOTC took over the company. While WOTC was in the middle of releasing DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Third Edition, and had just adopted d20 as a house system, they didn’t want to support a game line, which used LUG’s Icon system. In order not to waste the work done on the game, WOTC three thousand copies of the finished core book, most of which were sold at GenCon.

WOTC hoped to release a d20 version of DUNE, as is indicated in the book’s title page. In the meantime, the license expired and WOTC decided not to take the trouble of renewing it, possibly because of trouble with the Herbert Estate, or the license became more expensive due to the commercial success of the miniseries and the pending prequel novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

News that there would not be a d20 DUNE contributed to the notoriety and collectability of the ICON version, making it the only DUNE RPG in existence. Ironically, this may be the one tangible product to come out of WOTC’s acquisition of Last Unicorn.

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson edited the game and they are listed on the credits page along with the designers and the developers of the ICON system.