Casus Belli at Mount Kellen

A fan-made scenario
Contact degrooved@gmail.com

The mining concession on planet Lemnos is uneasily split between House Kira and House Safr
according to an old CHOAM sanctioned treaty. However, the recent discovery of a vein of
Rheingold on Mount Kellen has reignited the feud between the two Houses, with both houses
laying claim over their rights to extract this metal, highly sought after by the Tleilaxu for their
cloning technology. Both houses have already moved troops around the disputed area and filed
formal complaints to the Emperor. Tension is rising to untenable levels and House Neleus,
known for its talents in diplomacy and mediation, is asked by the Emperor himself to find a
peaceful resolution of this conflict.

Houses Kira and Safr are meeting at an old compound in the Kellen Mountain, in a round of
negotiations organized by House Neleus. The houses have reluctantly agreed to a 24-hour
window to come to a settlement. The action takes place over one evening of formalities,
possibly one night of warfare, and one day of negotiations.

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Table of contents

General setting 3

Factions and objectives 3

General sequencing 4

Suggested characters within House Neleus 4

Overview of houses and key characters 6

Overview of House Neleus 6

Overview of House Kira 6

Overview of House Safr 8

Other factions 9

Staff of Castle Kellen 9

Act 0 – Arrival at Lemnos 10

Act 1 – An enchanted evening 11

Act 2 – Night warfare 13

Scene 2A – Kira vs. Safr 13

Scene 2B – Kira vs. Kira 14

Act 3 – At the negotiation table 15

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General setting

Factions and objectives

An initial series of events sets up tension that may lead to a declaration of war, if not defused.

● If war is started, House Neleus only has a short window to wind it down, and the path
towards peace will be riskier than ever.

● House Kira posturing.

○ Their claim relies over an obscure map in an addendum of the treaty.

○ Has already started deploying propaganda in the nearby population to have them
rise against an unlawful annexation by House Safr.

● House Safr posturing.

○ Their claim relies on a poorly written clause in the treaty.

○ Has already deployed their mountain-trained shock infantry in nearby strategic

positions.

The primary objective of House Neleus should be to achieve some kind of resolution accepted
by both parties in that timeframe.

● House Safr. They prefer an arrangement that favors them, but could be satisfied with a
casus belli that prompts a war they are sure to win. They will never accept an
arrangement that favors their rivals.

● House Kira. They prefer an arrangement that favors them, but can accept an
arrangement that favors House Safr. House Kira is divided by internal politics, and
seeks to gain time. They want to avoid an immediate open war with House Safr, which
they would lose, but count on their ability to raise the population against their enemies
over time, as they resolve their succession issues. The Kira delegation can only take so
much offense before having to declare war for the honor of the house, and internal
agents may even try to prompt a war to undermine its own delegation.

● The Emperor. He prefers a status quo, with no mining rights granted to anyone, in order
to preserve his options around the trade of Rheingold later on. His goal is to make the
negotiations fizzle.

● The Spacing Guild. They have a strong preference for any outcome that grants
immediate mining rights to one side, so that they benefit from the trading of the metal
quickly.

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 ● Bene Tleilax. An optional intrigue may be set, with a Bene Tleilax face dancer to take an
active part in steering an outcome by which House Safr would be granted the mining
rights. Their goal is to secure access to the Rheingold quickly, and they can support
House Safr in an open conflict against House Kira if it becomes necessary.

● House Vitti interference. Enemy to House Neleus, the Vittis may try to plant an agent to
foil the negotiation and bring shame to their adversary.

General sequencing
The general sequencing of events is as follows.

● Act 0. In preparation for the arrival of the two houses, House Neleus gets a handle on
castle Kellen, the staff, and the surroundings.

● Act 1. In an enchanted evening of formal pleasantries, House Neleus has to defuse the
many events that would increase the tension between the two houses until they manage
to broker an accord and before war is declared. Their best chance towards a successful
outcome is to use this evening to address every situation, build a relationship with each
side along the way, and uncover the hidden agenda of all parties.

● Act 2. Overnight, House Neleus has to take command of a military situation – either to
manage a declaration of hostilities between the two houses, or to counter an attempt at
a coup by one of House Kira’s family members.

● Act 3. In the final day of negotiations, the only viable successful arrangement is one that
is tilted towards House Safr, but acceptable to House Kira. Any outcome favoring House
Kira leads to a withdrawal of House Safr, or worse a formal declaration of Kanly.

Suggested characters within House Neleus

Players should bring a set of characters with a range of skills. In particular, we can think of the
following archetypes.

● Negotiator / diplomat / mediator. Character in charge of the negotiations themselves.

● Archivist / historian / student. Deputy to the former, well versed in the history of the
houses.

● Strategist / political analyst / mentat / master of the spies. Character keen on

understanding the motives of the various parties.

● Captain of the peace keeper. Military type, able to command the Neleus troops in case
of warfare action, and single combat proficient.

● Scoundrel / bodyguard. Roguish character, jack-of-all-trades, filling the gap, acting

tactically and opportunistically.

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● Bene Gesserit apprentice. It is possible for a Bene Gesserit character to be part of the
group – but in that case the GM should figure out how that ties to the sub-intrigue of
Sister Katya, without creating unpleasant PvP dynamics, and avoiding a situation where
the Bene Gesserit PC starts siding with Katya against the other PCs. A possible
suggestion would be that House Neleus, given their neutrality, does not accept formal
Bene Gesserit in their midst, but has found someone who was trained as a Bene
Gesserit, but found a way to leave the sisterhood without obligations.

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Overview of houses and key characters

Overview of House Neleus

● House Minor.

● House motto. ”Power in the balance of forces.”

● House banner and arms. The emblem of House Neleus is a simple balance. Their
colors are white and blue.

● House traits.

○ Fair. House Neleus’s sense of fairness is their bond in all affairs. A common
saying goes to say of an outcome that it is “as just as a Neleus mediation.”

○ Political. Through keen observation and millennia of practice in mediation,

House Neleus has developed a unique understanding of politics amongst the
Landsraad.

● Production.

○ Mediators (political, workers) – Primary. The house’s main asset is the

diplomatic corps of mediators, dispatched for high fees to manage conflicts
across the known universe.

○ Peacekeepers (military, workers) – Secondary. Without teeth, no path to

mediation… House Neleus has trained a military force of peacekeepers focused
on defusing conflicts, but able to ruthlessly preserve the integrity of a mediation.

● Ruler. Lord-Minister Nestor Neleus (diplomat, patient and wise). Nestor has been ruling
House Neleus for over 50 years and in that time has built relationships with the heads of
most houses in the Landsraad. He advises directly the Emperor himself on certain
delicate matters.

● Enemy. House Vetti – House Minor, Loathing, Slight. The most public failure of House
Neleus occurred in a trade negotiation involving House Vetti under the rule of Nestor’s
father. Since then, the old Viscount Mansueto has gone to great length to undermine
House Neleus’s reputation and deploy agents to foil some of the House Neleus’s
mediations.

Overview of House Kira

● House Minor.

● House motto. ”Communication shapes reality.”

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● House banner and arms. The emblem of House Kira is a closed fist. Their colors are
red and white.

● House traits.

○ Devious. Oblique are the contorted agendas of the house and of its members.
Plans within plans within plans…

○ Espionage. Lies, intelligence, deceit, propaganda. These are the foundations

upon which the house is built.

● Production.

○ Ore (industrial, produce) – Primary. The house extracts ore from their side of the
planet through a careful propaganda program by which they enlist the population
in this difficult work.

○ Political propagandists (espionage, workers) – Secondary. House Kira produces

some of the finest communication experts one can find, adept in the art of
propaganda for mass control.

● Enemies. House Safr – House Minor, Loathing, Competition. The rivalry between
Houses Kira and Safr is ancient, and has turned into loathing over the decades of cold
war on Lemnos.

● Lady Uliana Kira (Bene Gesserit, ruler in waiting, devilishly bright). Trained by the Bene
Gesserit, Uliana can be measured, and yet as devious as her mother, Countess Mariya.
The old matriarch is dying and has anointed Uliana as her successor. However, Uliana’s
claim to the throne may be challenged by her oldest sister, particularly if she fails to
achieve a satisfactory outcome in the dispute with House Safr. “There are levels of
compromise we are willing to accept; you don’t need to understand our long-term vision
here.”

● Captain Ohm (swordmaster, quietly loyal). The swordmaster is entirely devoted to Lady
Uliana and would lay his life to protect her interests. “I am not sure I have anything to
add.”

● Lieutenant Leonid Kira (soldier, unreliable). The lieutenant of the personal guard of
House Kira is generally incompetent and remains in his role solely on account of being a
distant cousin to Uliana.

● Lady Zoya Kira (noblewoman, brutally cunning). The elder daughter also shares the
devious nature of her mother, but her appetite for sheer violence is equal to that of
House Safr. She has privately vowed to undermine her sister and take over as ruling
countess of House Kira, at any cost. “I’m sure we can find a compromise; I’m equally
certain a few hours in a pain amplifier could soften your negotiating stance.”

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Overview of House Safr
● House Minor.

● House motto. ”At the summit lies our victory.”

● House banner and arms. The emblem of House Safr is a mountain. Their colors are
black and green.

● House traits.

○ Brutal. Slavery, unforgiving troop training, repression of local population… No

method is too brutal for the house.

○ Military. The mountain military code is engrained in all the functions of the house
and any household member of significance has served in the mountain infantry at
one point.

● Production.

○ Ore (industrial, produce) – Primary. Like their rivals, House Safr focuses on ore
extraction and refinement across the planet. They have chosen, however, a very
different model of exploitation of the local population based on slavery and
brutality.

○ Mountain infantry (military, workers) – Secondary. House Safr has trained some
of the best mountain infantry in the universe. They don’t measure to the
Emperor’s Sardaukars, but in a cold and mountainous environment they are a
force to be reckoned with.

● Enemies. House Kira – House Minor, Loathing, Competition. The rivalry between
Houses Kira and Safr is ancient, and has turned into loathing over the decades of cold
war on Lemnos.

● Landgrave Kahn Safr (military commander, sharply focused). The young lord is as brutal
as his forefathers, and some suspect him of having had his father killed in his sleep. The
Landgrave is a lethal duelist and many have been fooled by his seemingly round and
slow physical build. “Perhaps these negotiations will advance once I have surrounded
the complex with a few units of my mountain infantry.”

● Master Nobu (mentat, master of assassins, coldly analytical). The twisted mentat was
acquired by Kahn at a high price, and a debt to the Tleilaxu. “It would be truly
unfortunate that something happens to House Kira and you were to believe that House
Safr is at fault.”

● Oberst Nitzan (soldier, mindless). The lieutenant of the personal guard of House Safr is
a mindless and brutal drone who follows all orders blindly and unsheathes first.

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Other factions
● Sister Katia (Bene Gesserit, envoy, ambiguously veiled). As the Emperor’s envoy, Katia
is officially tasked with monitoring the situation, but also pushes subtly the Emperor’s
preference towards a status quo in the negotiations. “There are many possible
outcomes to a complex problem; some are more desirable than others.”

● Agent Breen (Spacing Guild, diplomat, charming). The seemingly austere Spacing Guild
representative is unexpectedly extrovert. His mission is to lay the ground for friendly
relationships with all parties in view of future trade arrangements. “My friends, please
think of me as a resource to you in conducting these negotiations to a successful
resolution.”

● Olumide (Bene Tleilax, face dancer, lethal). A face dancer may have infiltrated the Safr
delegation and could remove and replace any non-playing character to ensure that
House Safr gets mining rights.

● Andre (spy, cunning). A spy of House Vetti is hiding in Kellensburg and waiting for an
opportunity to undermine the negotiations, perhaps by leveraging one of the locals.

Staff of Castle Kellen

● Sven (commoner, consumed by hatred). Sven’s family was enslaved and worked to
death in the Safr mines. He has vowed to kill the Landgrave if he could. “I will lay my
life to destroy the Landgrave…”

● Mr. Werner (commoner, servile). The head butler is an old and slender man in charge of
all the logistic details during the event. He passed a scrupulous security review
conducted by House Neleus, has been approved by both houses, and is beyond any
suspicion. “It would be my pleasure.”

● Febe (commoner, housemaid). The head housemaid may have a role to play in passing
information or be suspected of treachery. She is observant, quiet, and discreet. Her
only wish is to survive these few days. “I apologize. I didn’t realize someone was here.”

● Gijs (commoner, chef). This jovial, simple minded and overweight local is a renowned
chef on Lemnos. He does not meddle with politics, and yet be an unfortunate suspect in
the event of any assassination attempt involving poison in the food. “I’m working on a
deconstruction of traditional Lemnite dishes. But I won’t say more. You shall be the
judge.”

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Act 0 – Arrival at Lemnos
Your travel to Lemnos were uneventful. The Spacing Guild deboarded you at Kellenburg, a
small village at the base of Mount Kellen; from there, a chopper took your delegation to Castle
Kellen. As you approach Mount Kellen, you discover an old and majestic building of obsidian
stone set against the mountain. On the landing pad, the local staff is standing at attention,
under the watchful eye of Mr. Werner, the local head butler, who has been approved by both
houses to host the event. It is early in the afternoon. You have time to get familiar with the
premises, the staff, and the mediation details. The representatives of both houses will arrive in
a few hours for a formal dinner; the official negotiations will take place tomorrow morning; both
sides are coming here reluctantly, and will depart at about this time tomorrow – with or without
an agreement.

In this act, the players can have have chance to do some set up, get to know the staff and the
surroundings, or simply cut to action and wait for the two factions to arrive.

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Act 1 – An enchanted evening
At the pace set by the GM, a number of events can occur through the three days of
negotiations, with tension rising towards a declaration of war. The GM will set a new trait “On
the Brink of War” at a level that increases with each unmanaged conflict. This trait will add
difficulty to any rolls that entails defusing a war declaration by either party.

● Welcoming the guests. Houses Kira and Safr arrive at the same time, which presents a
diplomatic challenge.

○ The knowledge of Lemnite customs and culture is key here. Both houses would
expect to be welcome last, as they are technically “at home” on this territory. The
standoff in the lobby of Castle Kellen is uneasy, and each side will wait patiently.

○ The trait “On the brink of War” increases by 1 if either side is welcome first
without any successful attempt at mitigating the insult that this represents to
them.

● Insulting toasts. Landgrave Kahn makes a despicable toast “to a successful resolution
of our differences, with the hope that House Neleus will not prove to be as creative and
dishonest in proposing a resolution as House Kira was in claiming a smudge on an old
map could support their rights to Mount Kellen”. House Kira responds in kind “hoping
that House Safr will find enough inner strength to sit through an entire discussion and
read a few documents without calling in an airstrike out of boredom”.

○ The toasts can escalate and unless they are addressed quickly by House Neleus,
each full exchange of insults will increase the “On the Brink of War” trait by 1.

○ House Neleus can try to make a more consensual toast that compliments both
houses’ strengths and values.

● Offer of a duel. Captain Ohm challenges House Safr’s military aptitude and proposes a
duel to the first blood to Landgrave Kahn to assert the claim.

○ If the duel takes place, a victory by either House will increase the “On the
Brink of War” trait by 1.

○ House Neleus can try and take up the challenge, and lose subtly enough for their
opponent to save face.

At this stage, the players may have a bias towards either House Kira or House Safr. One of
following two scenes can be chosen (probably not both) to set up the tension to a high point of
climax.

● Assassination attempt on Lady Uliana. At some point, there will be an assassination

attempt on Lady Uliana. It will be executed by agents of her sister’s, and not House

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 Safr’s, but for political reasons Lady Uliana will not admit this unless she is facing
incontrovertible evidence. House Kira will instead point finger towards House Safr.

○ Potential ideas include: a hunter seeker device operated by an agent hidden in

the compound, Uliana’s personal poison snooper has been sabotaged, a sniper
shot from a ridge in the mountain as Uliana is on the balcony.

○ The trait “On the Brink of War” increases by 1 if House Kira is in a position to
accuse House Safr and there is no proof against any other culprit, and by an
additional 1 if Uliana is severely hurt.

○ House Neleus can try and protect Uliana from harm, then prove that her sister is
behind it.

● Assassination attempt against Landgrave Kahn. Most of the staff is composed of locals.
They have been vetted by House Neleus intelligence before the event, but a local whose
family was killed by House Safr in their territory has made his way amongst the staff and
intends to try and kill (clumsily) Kahn. During dinner, while serving Khan, Sven pulls a
knife and holds the Landgrave at the tip of his blade until he is dispatched forcefully or
negotiated with.

○ House Safr refuses to take responsibility for this, and blames the propaganda
conducted by House Kira with the locals. If not addressed, the trait “On the Brink
of War” increases by 1.

○ House Neleus can neutralize and interrogate Sven to establish his motives and
get House Safr not to make a big deal of this incident unless they want to get into
the details of the management style on Lemnos.

At the end of the evening, the parties have to decide whether there is enough cause for a casus
belli. The GM can decide which house (if not both) will be making a case for ending the
negotiations in a Communicate roll (D1, as affected by the “On the Brink of War” trait).

● In the event of a failure, one of the parties declares war. Both parties will honor their
commitment not to fight on the premises, but will send orders for their troops to take over
Kellenburg and secure the mining facility. (See Act 2 - scene 2A.)

● In the event of success, the parties agree to reconvene to the next day. However, Lady
Zoya subdues the military unit deployed by House Kira towards the compound, with the
objective of extracting and executing Lady Uliana. (See Act 2 - scene 2B.)

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Act 2 – Night warfare
The battle takes place across the following zones.

ompound. The compound where the

negotiations are being held. Includes a
military defense. Starting point of the
Neleus troops.

● Kira territory. Starting point of the

Kira troops (except the freedom
fighters).

● Safr territory. Starting point of the

Safr troops.

● The village of Kellenburg. Starting

point of the freedom fighters.

● The mining facility.

● Some peripheral mountain zones

The act can be played using the warfare rules. Each faction should take a turn (starting with the
attacking faction.) The players should take turns to command the troops during the Neleus turn;
alternatively, the characters may split – some remaining in command of the military moves, and
some going about the palace to try and negotiate some cease fire. If some players want to
wander about the compound, the GM may activate some of the NPCs with a political agenda
(the face dancer or the Vitti spy, in particular).

Scene 2A – Kira vs. Safr

House Safr has advantage in firepower, but House Kira benefits from guerilla support from the
local population. Infiltrators can be used in a number of different ways: changing orders for the
units, changing allegiance of the freedom fighters, imposing penalty traits at the command
center, etc.

● House Kira. Commands 1 unit of shield infantry (shielded, melee, Q1), 1 unit of freedom
fighters (guerilla tactics, fanatic, Q0, starting zone is Kellenburg) and 1 infiltrator (stealth,
propaganda, Q1).

● House Safr resources. Commands 2 units of mountain infantry (shielded, melee,

mountain, Q2).

● House Neleus. Commands one unit of Neleus peacekeepers (shielded, peacekeeping,

Q1), 1 infiltrator (stealth, intelligence, Q0), and 1 engineering (engineering technology,
Q0.

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A few things can happen, but generally this should result in some form of status quo, with
House Neleus trying to achieve some kind of stalemate in the conflict that brings the parties
back to the table. Any party may try and control the mining facility and threaten to blow it up.
Any party can surround the compound. House Safr may decide to hold the population in the
village hostage and play that against House Kira.

Scene 2B – Kira vs. Kira

Lady Zoya has taken control of House Kira’s military units and plans to launch them against the
forces of House Safr. House Safr does not plan to engage into combat unless provoked and is
willing to give some time to House Neleus to restore order within House Kira.

● House Kira (Zoya). Commands 1 unit of soldiers (Q0) and 1 infiltrator (Q0).

● House Neleus. Commands one unit of Neleus peacekeepers (Q0), and 2 infiltrators
(Q0).

● Unclaimed. 1 unit of freedom fighters (Q0, starting zone is Kellenburg), which may be
commandeered by either side.

A few things can happen, but generally the idea is for House Neleus to take down the rogue
forces of House Kira before they seize control of the mining facility, surround the compound, or
force House Safr to respond in kind.

Once the situation is stabilized, the parties agree to reconvene in the morning.

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Act 3 – At the negotiation table
The negotiation takes place in a large conference room, with two break rooms, assigned to each
of House Safr and House Kira for confidential discussions. The discussions take place in a
couple of “rounds” of negotiations to achieve an objective, followed by a break. During each
break, political events may transpire, changing the outcome of the negotiations.

The players’ objective is to find an interesting way to solve the “puzzle” of the negotiation. For
example: a 5-year alternating concession, starting with House Safr; a joint venture managed by
a third-party with a secret side agreement to the benefit of House Safr; an indefinite moratorium
with a one-time payment by House Kira to House Safr, etc.

However, the additional complexity will be to defuse the attempt by Sister Katia to thwart the
negotiation, as ordered to her by the emperor. She is the real “villain” of this scenario, and it
should be revealed very slowly and very deliberately, so that the players understand her agenda
very late in the game.

● Sister Katia is keen on destroying any chance at an agreement, as long as it doesn’t

implicate the Emperor. She will wait for the negotiations to be advanced – after all, no
need to interfere if things are going poorly on their own – but in the event House Neleus
is brokering an agreement, she will make a move.
● Sister Katia offers to attend the negotiations and it’s very difficult, given her position, to
ask her to sit it out without questioning the emperor’s authority. If she manages to, she
makes subtle innuendos to raise tension in the room. If for some reason she doesn’t
make it into the room, she will find a way to corner one of the two parties during a break,
and instill a lack of confidence in the upholding of any agreement.

If necessary, agent Breen is keen on reaching an agreement at any costs. His ability to steer
either House to a deal is limited due to an imperious necessity of remaining a neutral party.
However, he does step in to give critical information to House Neleus if they end up being in
trouble, or to plainly counter the efforts of Sister Katia. He has the ability to set terms of the
ensuing trade agreements, but will negotiate any concessions against another gain.

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