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Dune: Desert Power

Dune: Desert Power is a total conversion mod for Stellaris set in the universe of Frank Herbert's Dune. Unlike other sci-fi universes, space warfare takes a back seat in Dune's narrative. The focus instead falls on humanity, politics, diplomacy, commerce, and the factions that grapple for power.Dune: Desert Power recreates in Stellaris the very dynamics that draw Herbert's fans to his work through unique mechanics and narrative-driven gameplay.

Every faction has its own unique origin story designed as a narrative campaign. However, the main focus is the Fremen origin: Desert Power. This campaign follows the Fremen rebellion through the battle for Arrakis, Paul Atreides' rise to power via the holy Jihad, and the political machinations that define Dune.

This campaign is built upon these premises: What if the Emperor had never made planetfall on Arrakis? What if Paul's victory had not been so decisive? In this alternate timeline, no single power secures dominance over the Imperium. The Fremen revolt continues, the Great Houses realign, and the economic foundations of CHOAM and the Guild face unprecedented strain. You will fight the Emperor's Sardaukar and Great House legions for every planet through martial expertise, and battle the Guild, CHOAM, and the Sisterhood on the political and financial landscape.






We are releasing the mod as ALPHA because we need feedback on content, pacing, mechanics, and modifiers. Your experience and input will guide the final stages of development from alpha through beta to 1.0. Please expect a somewhat unbalanced game, some bugs and typos. You can report any bugs or feedback on our Discord channel[discord.gg]





Dune: Desert Power is an overhaul mod that enhances Stellaris with unique mechanics and content set in the Dune universe. The mod integrates into the base game rather than replacing it entirely, offering a distinctive experience centered on the Fremen origin Desert Power.

• 9 playable factions: Fremen/Atreides, House Corrino, House Harkonnen, House Ecaz, House Richese, Ixian Confederacy, Spacing Guild, CHOAM, and Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. Each has a unique origin. The Fremen origin features a fully developed campaign.
  
• 120+ unique events for the Desert Power campaign
  
• Custom characters, traits, and species from the Dune universe
  
• Dune-themed atmosphere: Custom loading screens and music
  
• Universe elements: Faction flags, buildings, district specializations, armies, planet and country modifications, custom start date, jobs, and war mechanics
  
• Guild Heighliner ships
  
• New mechanics

To capture Dune's distinct focus on ground warfare, political maneuvering, and factional intrigue rather than space battles, we've built mechanics that fundamentally reshape how Stellaris is played. Ground combat becomes decisive. Space travel is controlled by external powers. Technology advances through contracts, not research labs. Spice and politics determine survival as much as military strength.

Unique zro production, consumption, and hoarding. Your Fremen consume melange. Run out, and the Spice Withdrawal situation begins.

Religious unity holds your empire together. Keep your pops spiritualist or watch your jihad crumble from within.

cA double-edged sword. Grant the priesthood power through policies and watch them rise. But feed them too much, and you may lose control entirely.

Navigate unique situations with the three most powerful institutions in the Known Universe. Each has its own power meter. Push them too far, and they push back.

Shape your nation through lore-grounded decisions you can enact from your capital, interact with the main factions through their event-driven delegations, hiring their representatives to gain their favor or dismissing them to watch their influence collapse, and wield 10+ unique policies that grant or strip power from the Qizarate and the Triune.

The Spacing Guild holds absolute monopoly over space travel. No space battles during the early game, not until you break their stranglehold. Hurry. You don't know what's lurking in the galaxy.

Planetary defense HQs, defensive grids, anti-air artillery, new traits, and battle orders. This is a ground war.

Recruiting an army costs population. When defending armies die, pops die. Every legion you raise is lives you're spending.

Command Fremen Legions and Fedaykin death commandos against Imperial Sardaukar, Harkonnen shock troops, and more.

Unique Imperial counter-offensive mechanics during the Jihad. Unique planetary invasion systems.

Anchored to tradition, the Fremen lack technological drive. Don't expect breakthroughs on your own, but Ix and Richese can help. Unique research contracts and funding mechanics.

Terraforming and bioengineering mechanics. Not yet implemented.



DDP's visual direction draws primarily from Denis Villeneuve's film adaptations. We understand that different interpretations of Herbert's work resonate differently with fans, and the films make choices that diverge from the source material in places. Having acknowledged that, we believe their craft and extensive worldbuilding work done through Dune and Dune 2 greatly expanded the visual language of the universe, brought it to millions of new audiences, and provided a concrete foundation for translating Herbert's dense work into interactive form. Without that work, this mod would not exist.



Despite being an overhaul mod, we don't aim to replace Stellaris entirely. We've avoided modifying vanilla files where possible, so compatibility should be reasonable. However, mods that modify these files will likely cause conflicts:

• 00_phys_tech.txt (tech_hyper_drive_1)
  
• scripted_triggers (is_low_tech_start)
  
• 00_utilities_drives.txt (utility_component_template EMPTY_DRIVE)
  
• 01_assault_armies
  
• 00_federation_types
  
• 00_strategic_resources

We have not tested compatibility with other mods and will not work toward compatibility patches during alpha development.

Recommended: Planetary Diversity. We use this mod for Arrakis’ visuals. Currently only Arrakis has its custom planet type; other worlds will get proper Planetary Diversity types in future updates.

Required DLCs:
- Federations: Imperium is represented as a Federation.
- Megacorp & First Contact: Guild and CHOAM factions.
- Galactic Paragons: Fremen faction.

[discord.gg]

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Dune: Desert Power is a fan production based on the works of Frank Herbert.
All rights belong to their respective owners. This project is non-commercial and created purely for entertainment purposes.

Game Version: Phoenix v4.1.* compatible
Last update: 11/10/25
Mod Version: 0.8.0