Dune is my absolute favorite book, so I had to get the RPG. Now despite what Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson think, setting new stories in the universe of Dune isn't easy. So much of the fantastic setting is tied up in the events surrounding Paul Atreides' version of the hero's journey, and the horrific legacy of his jihad and then Leto II's prescience on humanity. Odds are your group is not going to improv a stunning combination of politics, ecology, religion, and self-transformation at the table over some dice. But with that caveat, this is a perfectly reasonable system.

Modiphius 2d20 system is a skill+stat target number, than roll some number of dice (starting at 2, you can buy more), and anything equal to or under that target number is a success. Both stats and skills range from 4-8, there are five of each, and you often need multiple successes. Talents and skill focuses allow characters to shine in their area of expertise. Skills are fairly broad: Battle, Communicate, Discipline, Move, and Understand. But the stats are psychological drives, why your character is acting, and it matters whether it's Duty, Faith, Justice, Power, or Truth. Drive statements provide a way to narrow down exactly what your character believes, with mechanical effects when you act in accordance with them, or test your principles against the world. In an appreciated touch, major characters from the books are written up, and while they have several advances (Paul has 7 focuses and 5 talents, you'll start with 3 of each), they follow the rules of the game.

Several varieties of metacurrencies tilt the odds. Players generate Momentum by rolling well, which they use to buy extra dice and increase results. If you're out of Momentum, players can take Threat as well, which the GM uses much like Momentum. And rare points of Determination allow you to declare a critical on a roll or take an extra action.

Drives are inspired, but I'm less sure about the rest of the system. 2d20 is definitely more trad than narrative, and while this system is on the lighter side, there's a fairly complex conflict system for representing major battles that I'm not sure how to use properly. Similarly, the changes in the fiction are supposed to represented by adding Assets to play, a common RPG move which I've found rarely works in practice. The basic gameplay takes an almost cyberpunk approach to the setting, where you are the key retainers of a Noble House/family business, engaged in intrigue and Dune style War of Assassins with key rivals, which is definitely a workable hook. If I were to run a Dune game, I might wait to see how Court of Blades handles this playstyle, but I'm a BitD stan.

On a stylistic note, this book looks great, with top-notch artwork and design. Chapters begin with epigrams drawn from the books, which as a fan I enjoyed. Sadly, the canon follows BH and KJA, and not the far superior Dune Encyclopedia, though I can understand why they made this choice (lawyers, it was lawyers.)