In these SF books by Frank Herbert the house of Duke Atreides (goodies) has been granted the Desert planet Arrakis (or Dune) supplanting the House of Baron Harkonnen (baddies). The planet also has indigenous heroic desert warriors (Fremen) and gigantic "sandworms", we are talking 100s of metres long (The worms not the desert nomads). The worms are also the only source of a vital drug "spice" which used to enhance longevity and precognition (essential for interstellar navigators). This spice is mined by huge machines with dozens of crew which crawl over the planets surface filtering sand and occasionally getting swallowed by sandworms. There is also a quasi-religious organisation of females running a selective breeding program to create "homo superior". These have the power to manipulate individuals emotions using vocal control.

The original book spawned sequels which became progressively more "meaningful" or possibly pretentious. I gave up halfway through the fourth. Atreides move to Dune, Harkonnen's plot to regain power backed by other power blocs. Atreides struggle bravely against impossible odds. Paul, the young son and his mother Jessica, a renegade priestess, escape to the natives when father and loyal followers slaughtered. Son proclaimed leader by desert nomads. Son raises army, defeats enemies, reclaims birthright. Later books have son "dies", returns having achieved enlightment, becomes emperor, god etc.

The offworlders use a form of personal electromagnetic shield which blocks any fast moving objects, like projectiles and triggers a nuclear reaction if they are touched by a laser beam. This means individual combat is basically down to daggers and the like. Shields antagonise worms in so Fremen don't use them, they just user daggers because its suitably heroic. Fremen also lure the sandworms to the surface and can ride them into battle, a sort of biological APC. A few of the characters have psionic type abilities, basically clairvoyant type things, mainly drug enhanced. There are various loyal lieutentants to the Atreides, Duncan, righteous master swordsman. Gurney the heroic veteran Warrior; Thufir master strategist and assassin and so on. The Harkonnen have some equivalent types, but not as able as the Atreides retainers.

Some armies.

6-9 Blades (Incredibly well trained but hopelessly outnumbered) @ 2AP

Plus balance from:

2 Airboats (Ornithopters) @ 3AP
1 Paladin (Duncan) @ 4AP
1 Hero (Gurney or Paul) @ 4AP
1 Cleric (Paul or Jessica) @ 3AP

Optionally up to half the Blades could be Warbands as lesser trained troops

General can be part of any permitted element. This could be Paul, his father, or other named characters

Stronghold: Palace

10-18 Hordes ('nuff said) @ 1AP
1-3 Warbands (Bodyguards and household troops) @ 2AP

Plus balance from:

Up to 2 Airboats (Ornithopters) @ 3AP
1 x Sneakers (Assassins) @ 3AP
1 x Artillery (Cowardly way of flushing heroes out of caves) @ 3AP
1 x Hero (The Baron's nephew played by Sting in the rather suspect Dune movie) @ 4AP

Optionally a single Warband could be converted to Blades

Stronghold: Palace

6-10 Warbands (Fremen warriors: can't count them as Blades as they have no shields but they have got to be better than Hordes) @ 2AP

Balance from:

0-2 Behemoths (Fremen riding Sandworms: stuck on the surface while riding but could be summoned as tunnellers, and I can't see classifying them as only riders or knights) @ 4AP
0-4 Lurkers (Into the trackless desert wastes like phantoms) @ 1AP
1 Cleric (Wise woman/Shaman type, but can't be a general) @ 3AP
1 Hero (Stilgar or similar) @ 3AP

Stronghold: Fortress Cave complex deep in the desert wastes.

Paul's Fremen.

Once adopted by the Fremen Paul began to introduce Atreides training techniques

2-4 Blades (including bodyguard with suicide pact ) @ 2AP
4-6 Warbands @ 2AP

Plus balance from:

0-2 Behemoths (Fremen riding Sandworms) @ 4AP
1 Hero (Gurney, Paul etc. ) @ 4AP
1 Cleric (Paul, Jessica etc.) @ 3AP
1 Sneaker (Assassins, could be Paul's young sister) @ 3AP
0-2 Lurkers @ 1AP
1 God @ 4AP

The God is to represent the elemental desert forces that seem to assist Paul at critical moments, like the mother of all desert storms that occurs just in time to mask his forces approach for the critical battle and disrupted the enemies. Many of his followers believed he summoned the storm. It ties in quite well with the clerical element and the capricious but powerful effect.

A large part of the terrain ought to be desert and rocky outcrops, certainly not good going by ordinary reckoning. Probably no open water, rivers, marshes etc. I am not sure how you can represent the Fremen superior desert movement, - just don't count deserts as bad going perhaps? Sandworms could treat rock outcrops and water based features (if allowed) as impassable.I realise that my troop lists don't match the HOTT definition exactly (e.g. my blades don't have armour, long bladed weapons etc). What I have tried to do reflect their relative roles in the book as well as I can remember.And before anyone asks the similarity between my name and that of the desert nomads is purely accidental.

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