Duke Leto Atreides is the head of House Atreides - a noble, principled leader respected throughout the Imperium for his honour and military prowess. When the Emperor grants him stewardship of Arrakis, Leto knows it is a trap designed by his enemies, the Harkonnens, to destroy his house. He accepts anyway, hoping that the wealth of the spice and an alliance with the Fremen will give him the power to resist. Leto is a tragic figure - a good man navigating an arena where goodness is a vulnerability. His love for Jessica and Paul, his loyalty to his retainers, and his determination to do right by the people of Arrakis define him.

Lady Jessica is a Bene Gesserit sister and the bound concubine of Duke Leto Atreides. Trained in the sisterhood's powers of observation, persuasion, and physical control, Jessica defied the Bene Gesserit's breeding programme by bearing Leto a son - Paul - instead of the daughter they had commanded, disrupting a genetic plan thousands of years in the making. This act of love over duty is the catalyst for everything that follows in the Dune saga. On Arrakis, Jessica undergoes the Water of Life ceremony and becomes a Fremen Reverend Mother, gaining access to ancestral memories stretching back generations. She is one of the most capable and complex characters in the series - fiercely intelligent, politically astute, and torn between her loyalty to the Bene Gesserit and her love for her family.

Leto II is the son of Paul Atreides and Chani, twin brother of Ghanima. Like his father, Leto possesses prescient vision. His role in the Dune saga is one of the most extraordinary in science fiction.

Duncan Idaho is a loyal Atreides swordmaster, one of the finest fighters in the Imperium and deeply devoted to Duke Leto and his family. Trained by the Ginaz Swordmasters, Duncan combines exceptional combat ability with a charismatic personality and genuine warmth. He serves as weapons instructor to Paul Atreides and acts as the Duke's ambassador to the Fremen.

Mentat and Master of Assassins for House Atreides, serving the family for three generations. Hawat is a human computer - trained to perform the cognitive functions once reserved for thinking machines - and one of the most formidable strategic minds in the Imperium. His loyalty to the Atreides is absolute.

Warrior, troubadour, and weapons master of House Atreides. Gurney is equally comfortable with a baliset and a sword, a man of fierce loyalty and surprising tenderness who bears the scars - physical and emotional - of years in Harkonnen captivity.

Twin sister of Leto II, daughter of Paul Muad'Dib and Chani. Like her brother, Ghanima possesses the ancestral memories of all her forebears - a gift that makes her both preternaturally wise and terrifyingly vulnerable to possession by past personalities.

A descendant of the Atreides line and leader of a rebel movement against the God Emperor. Siona possesses a genetic trait that makes her invisible to prescience - exactly the quality Leto II has spent three thousand years breeding for, even as she fights to destroy him.

Majordomo to the God Emperor Leto II and father of Siona. A descendant of the Atreides line who has served the Worm for decades, Moneo is loyal, competent, and terrified - a man who understands enough of his master's vision to obey but not enough to find peace.