# 40k ripping off Frank Herbert's Dune



## Justcause12345# (Mar 9, 2018)

The Emperor is a carbon copy of Leto Atreides II, 40k Navigators are rip offs of Dune navigators, and so on. Am I missing anything else? What else? 

You folks don't know what you are messing out on if any of you have not read Dune. 

The Emperor is clearly a mirror copy of Leto Atreides II. If the title of the book below, "God Emperor of Dune" is not a give away, I don't know what is. Leto Atreides II sacrificed his humanity to put the human race on the Golden Path, basically oppress humanity so much and make humanity evolve so that humanity will spread out and not be oppressed again. He sacrificed everything. His life, his legacy, everything. He knew humanity would hate him, but he thought it was worth it. 



40k started out as a rip off parody of various fictional franchises, including Dune, Star Ship Troopers, and so on when Rick Priestley first created it (the Stan Lee of 40k). Hell, 40k was just a parody when it first started back in 1st Edition Rogue Trader. 1st Edition Rogue Trader was hysterical. It had Inquisitor Obiwan Sherlock Clousseau. 

Rick Priestley is the Stan Lee of 40k, and is the reason 40k is what it is today.

https://www.amazon.com/God-Emperor-Dune-Chronicles-Book/dp/0441294677

The link above is not Games Workshop material, (Frank Herbert's family) and so is not against the rules.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

Is there a question in there, or are you just making another sweeping statement about 40k lore that doesn't require a response?


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## Justcause12345# (Mar 9, 2018)

There is a question. What franchises did I miss? What else? Ones 40k ripped off.


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

I'd have to disagree with you there. 40k is definitely heavily influenced by multiple sources from Tolkein and George Orwell, to the bible, but to say it is a blatent rip off of Herberts Dune novels is a bit of a stretch. A God emperor in a a dystopian society who wanted to lead the people to greatness is nothing new in science fiction or in fact human history, just look at some of the nutters who were Egyptian pharaohs or some of the emperors in the delightfully pro social roman empire. 

40k definitely covers similar themes to Herbert, such as power, religion, politics and human potential, and totalitarianism and sacrifice, but these themes are found in fictional works everywhere,


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## Justcause12345# (Mar 9, 2018)

I think Frank Herbert's Dune is better than 40k in many ways.


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

Herbert's Dune universe is incredibly expansive, and was planned that way, the 40k universe really only came into being as a response to the popularity of the game and the questions the fans wanted answers to.


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## Corporal Chaos (Nov 27, 2007)

That the 40k of the Rogue Trader was a fun and weird place to play and had a touch of every sci-fi blockbuster of the time made it what the generation wanted. All the innuendo and barrowing of .... everything is what hooked me. The Alien and Dune and Star Wars bend. Fair game. The WH40K of today is NOT the RT era 40K it started out as. It has matured and taken a hard right hand turn. No more soft edges and blurred lines of enjoyment only war. Funny orks , dangerous space elves and biker dwarfs in space. All gone. LOL the pseudo role play of RT and experience points..... Space Mariens with shuriken rifles.... web guns..... on and on... Mad Max references......


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## chromedog (Oct 31, 2007)

Dune, Foundation (Hive cities/worlds. Trantor, the capital of the empire is one city that encompasses a planet), Starship Troopers, Judge Dredd, Nemesis the warlock (both 2000AD - GW had a licence to do games based on their properties back in the mid/late 80s), Harry Harrison's "Deathworld" trilogy and more than a few others.

This was much more of an obvious thing back in the RT days, though. When it wore its influences on its sleeves and didn't pretend to be as po-faced as it does now.


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## David Palmer (Mar 30, 2019)

Justcause12345# said:


> I think Frank Herbert's Dune is better than 40k in many ways.



I think Franks Dune is a masterwork. That said, the Black Library is producing some of the worlds greatest fiction, written by some of the worlds best Authors. If you don't agree, then you should probably start reading.


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