Date: Wed, 26 Apr 1995 08:21:20 -0400
From: karl mamer <kamamer@io.org>
Subject: Bene  Gesserit
To: jae+sw-rpg@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU
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Here's a sneak preview of a treatment I am giving the
Bene Gesserit from Herbert's D U N E into the SW:RPG.

I've only begun. I've got to work out several force
like skills (although they are not force users)
such as The Voice.

I see a lot of potential for the Bene Gesserit as
being a sort of grey area between the light and
dark side of the force. They are against ALL
force users. If anyone has any comments so
far, let me know. For example, is my Sister
template too powerful or not powerful enough?
A sister should be *at least* as nasty as an
Imperial Guard (the red armored dudes).

Sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit
===============================

Bene Gesserit is an ancient order, once of great influence a long, 
long time ago. Today, the Sisterhood is, as far as anyone can 
tell, a secretive, occult order that operates on the fringes of 
society. As the name implies, the Sisterhood is open only to 
women, although they sometimes employ male agents to do their 
bidding. They surround themselves with the trappings and 
appearance of a religious order, but they are quite amoral. The 
Bene Gesserit care little except for the acquisition of power and 
influence through knowledge, learning, and mastery of the senses. 
They view use of the force as not only a cheat and a shortcut to 
knowledge but they view the force, the lightside *and* the 
darkside, and anyone seeking to master it as their enemy. To this 
end, the Bene Gesserit long ago embarked on a centuries long 
program to breed a human being that is immune and invisible to the 
force. From one or possibly more secret Chapter Houses, the Bene 
Gesserit study the genetic lines of numerous families. Agents work 
behind the scenes on a thousand different worlds to ensure certain 
genetic lines cross, employing any means necessary to accomplish 
their ends.

Their disdain for advanced technology, especially computers and 
droids, is almost on par with their disdain for force users. 
Again computers and droidsare  seen as  another cheat
to acquiring skill, prowess, power, and knowledge. 
The Sisterhood reluctantly uses much technology for they recognize 
advanced technology at times gives their enemies certain 
advantages. Where they can, they use third parties to use the 
advanced technology. As far as anyone knows, the Sisterhood, 
although suspected of controlling vast wealth, owns no starships. 
They do employ many private liner companies for transportation. 
They will not, in any circumstance, employ or own droids. Their 
revulsion of droids sometimes results in any droids nearby a 
sister getting taunted or possible blown apart if particularly 
irksome.

In combat, the Bene Gesserit prefer hand-to-hand combat, 
blade weapons, and the occasional use of poisons. In only the most 
dire circumstances will a Sister use a blaster. A sister's prized 
weapon is the Crysknife. The Crysknife is made from the teeth of 
dead spaceslugs. The crysknife is harder than diamond, able to 
withstand more heat than dura-steel and able to resists shock. It 
is ultimately valued by the Bene Gesserit because it is the only 
physical weapon known that can resist the fiery blade of a 
lightsabres. No lightsabre known has been able to cut through the 
blade of a Crysknife. Unfortunately, it is only the inner most 
part of the spaceslug tooth that is formed into the Crysknife so few 
teeth provide blades longer than 14 inches.

Crysknife
Scale: Character
Skill: Melee combat: Knife
Difficulty: Very Easy
Damage: Str+2D (Maximum 8D)

                         ******

The sisterhood has a simplified hierarchy:

Mother Superior
Reverend Mother
Sister
Initiate

There is only one Mother Superior. Her name and whereabouts is 
unknown. To the best of anyone's knowledge there is four or five 
Reverend Mothers. Three are known. By best estimates, there are 
probably between 500 and 2000 Sisters. The number of Initiates 
undergoing training numbers in the few hundred.

Sister

Dex 4D+2
   Dodge 7D
   Melee Combat 6D
   Melee Parry 6D
   Blaster 4D+2
   Thrown Weapon 5D
   Bows 5D
   Running 5D+1

Knowledge 4D
   Alien Species 7D
   Bureaucracy 6D+1
   Intimidation 5D
   Cultures 7D
   Languages 6D (+1 5D specilization in 2 languages)
   Planetary Systems 5D
   Streetwise 5D
   Survival 7D
   Willpower 8D
   
Perception 4D
   Command 6D
   Hide 6D
   Persuasion 6D
   Search 7D
   Sneak 7D
   Investigation 5D+1

Strength 2D+2
   Stamina 6D
   Brawling 5D+1
   Climbing Jumping 6D
   Lifting 3D+1
   Swimming 4D

Mechanical 1D+1
   Beast Riding 4D

Technical 1D+1
   First Aid 4D
   Security 4D

 
-- 
"Youth is wasted on the young? Money, power, and
 knowledge are wasted on the old."