Set 10 years before the events of Dune in the year 10,181 AG we meet the protagonists of House Obscura. This Minor House is located on Ektasi, a pleasure planet – the cultural and aesthetic centre of Imperium life. House Obscura’s reputation for Artistic integrity and discretion is unimpeachable. Led by their new ruler, the Contessa Dua, they House services the needs of the Imperium for artistic events, with impeccable lighting and sound installations. Beneath this, however, lies the secondary agenda of espionage, headed by their Spymaster/Art Director Veritas. The PC’s are: Mentat Analyst Tiran Corrado, Infiltrator William Turosh, Envoy Blake Smurk and Sargeant Brava Marlo. We meet these key players as they learn from their House Ambassador Irulan that the Imperial Court has instructed House Obscura to host a magnificent exhibition of Arrakeen art on Ektasi. The Eyes of the Universe turn to this Minor House which is suddenly under enormous pressure to live up to its own credo “The Art of Discreet Illumination”.
In Episode 1, “The Eyes of the Universe” we introduced the world of Ektasi, equidistant between the homeworld of the Emperor Shaddam IV and Arrakis. It is the home of Major House Abstensia, Minor House Barragan and Minor House Obscura. Here’s the character sheet, as it currently stands, for House Obscura.
MINOR HOUSE OBSCURA – HOUSE SHEET
HOUSE OBSCURA – MAJOR NPC’s.
In Episode 1 “The Eyes of the Universe” we are introduced to a number of the Major NPC’s of House Obscura. First up the Contessa Dua Tamalane-Obscura. All we know at this point is that she has “recently” taken up the position of the House Ruler, that she is a Sister of the Bene Gesserit with some presumed standing within the order and that she has started taking the House in a new direction.
We also meet the recurring character of the House Spymaster, Veritas, who has an office calculated to put people at their ease with comfortable seating as he perches on his desk applying his Mentat skills and encyclopedic knowledge of everyone in the House.
The Heir of House Obscura is the Foppish Prince Augustus Betrude Dua. A fame-hungry social media obsessed teenager with unruly hair and a chip on his shoulder you could carve a statue out of. Weave this little devil into your campaign and you can create a host of trouble for your players! He’s been mentioned a few times in our campaign thus far, but we’ve yet to see him in action!
Arno Corvus, the Swordmaster of House Obscura is one of the longest-serving members of the House. He is still adjusting to the paradigm shift of the Contessa’s stewardship and wears his heart on his sleeve in several of our episodes thus far. Particularly when Sargeant Marlo’s duel with Ana Vesarian’s bodyguard is broadcast on Ektasi’s public network.
HOUSE OBSCURA – WALK WITHOUT RHYTHM: PLAYER CHARACTERS
In the Walk Without Rhythm campaign the first set of House Obscura player characters we meet are Sargeant Brava Marlo – a military officer in the House who works under Swordmaster Corvus and typically takes the lead in security matters. He is a counterpart to William Turosh, house infiltrator who serves at the pleasure of Spymaster Veritas and typically takes on covert roles as a technical assistant or pilot for Obscura. Working alongside Brava and William, the Mentat Analyst Tiran Corrado is the man in the chair providing data analysis and tactical assessments of risks and areas of potential espionage fruit. Finally we have Envoy Blake Smurk, part of Ambassador Irulan’s team who provides front of house communications and leads diplomatic relations for the House.
A key figure in the lives of the House is Ambassador Irulan. A Bene Gesserit and head of Obscura’s Ambassadorial wing she is the Noble that Blake Smurk serves under. In our Walk Without Rhythm campaign we see that her relationship with Veritas and the Shadout Mapes is at best problematic and it becomes apparent that her motivations, and those of the House under the guidance of the Contessa do not strictly align. She undermines Smurk in Episode 4 “Friends Like These” when she denies him the satisfaction of having his Binding Promise with Ana Vesarian from being known to the Contessa – which begs the question of why she seeks to hide this knowledge from the Ruler of House Obscura.
In Episode 3, “A Tale of Two Conflicts”, we see Sargeant Marlo square off with Darian Lungdren (affectionately known as Dolph in our game) in a thrilling duel to secure a Binding Promise from Ana Vesarian that she will not attend the upcoming Imperial Art Exhibition that House Obscura is tasked with hosting. Here’s the map used, created by our GM Steve, for that encounter. Ana’s private island, Haven, is where her elegant home rests upon the high-ground, and was the location for Brava’s first test of loyalty to the House Obscura that we see in the series.
Darian “Dolph” Lundgren walked into the rich tropical forest of the Island of Haven, having been roundly defeated in his duel with Brava. His Duty statement: “I never desert my mistress” having been in conflict it may be some time before we see his return in the campaign. When we do, he certainly promises to be a changed man having left House Vesarian and the employ of his Mistress.
In Episode 6, “The Art of Arrakis” House Obscura was tasked with hosting the Emperor’s Exclusive Imperial Exhibition of the Imperial Artist Talia’s collection of Arrakeen Art to the great and the good of the Lansraad. During the Art Exhibition Scene this was the zoning for the social and duel conflicts we ran:
This conflict took place in the main Art Exhibition space and in the Preparation Room in the Art Exhibition Gallery on Ektasi. Here’s Steve the Shadout Mapes’s original map of the encounter so you can re-create the event or something of your own devising in your Dune Campaign! Host an event on Ektasi with your players and maybe you could have Envoy Smurk do the introductions in his characteristically flamboyant style, hire Sargeant Marlo to run security for you or even have William and Tiran take care of the catering for you in very different ways!
For your own campaign here are some VTT assets for the “A-Team” of House Obscura. First up are William Turosh, Tiran Corrado and Blake Smurk. You also have a selection of the notable NPC’s – Prince Bertrude, Archivist Barata, Spymaster Veritas and Victor Rund.
We switched characters into the B-Team in Episode 9: “B-Team Blues” and we have built a set of Roll20 assets for the B-Team that you’ll see in forthcoming episodes and in the overlays for the AP. You can now use these for your own VTT set up! So dig into these art assets, again available using the Creative Commons SA-BY 4.0 license. First up Ryla Keftair and Sister Margot.
And you can grab Logan Ward, Miles Butler and Jula Macoy for your VTT!
Here’s the base template for our VTT landing page so you can bring it to your Roll20 game or other platform.
Here’s a more built up version with assets pre-loaded if that floats your boat – with our custom images baked in. The separate assets in this page are almost ready for uploading and are coming soon – so check back for more!
Here are those Assets separately so you can custom build your landing page as you wish.
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