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War of Assassins
A War of Assassins was a clandestine form of warfare permitted under the Great Convention and Guild Peace during the Imperial reign of House Corrino.
Since atomics were outlawed by the Convention and Holtzman shields nullified projectile weaponry and conventional explosives, noble families of the Landsraad were obliged to utilize treachery and professional assassination for satisfying their perennial vendettas.
Procedures[]
As stipulated in the Assassins' Handbook to protect innocent bystanders from collateral damage, such feuds required formal declarations of intent and permitted only specific weaponry and practices.
War of Assassins - Dune: Spice Wars
The Great Houses customarily employed a Master of Assassins - typically a Mentat - to oversee household defenses, supervise the House's corps of assassins, and occasionally command House mercenaries and military units. Their function was therefore both offensive and defensive.
Examples[]
Assassin Cohort
- "GRUMMAN: second planet of Niushe, noted chiefly for the feud of its ruling House (Moritani) with House Ginaz."
- ―Terminology of the Imperium[src]
- House Harkonnen v. House Atreides: Conducted by Mentat-Assassins Piter de Vries and Thufir Hawat, respectively, this longstanding conflict culminated in the Siege of Arrakeen in 10191 AG. Illegally supported by the Emperor's Sardaukar army, House Harkonnen had also suborned Suk doctor Wellington Yueh into disabling Duke Leto's defenses from inside his governor's mansion. This invasion ultimately claimed the lives of Leto Atreides, Dr. Yueh, Piter de Vries, Duncan Idaho and Liet-Kynes. Captured by the Sardaukar, Thufir Hawat ended up replacing de Vries as the Baron's new Mentat-Assassin - a tenuous alliance built on their shared hostility toward the corrupt Emperor.