August 2024 – Edgelord Briefing
August 2024 Missions
Every major Infinity faction has lore- and player-driven objectives that advance the narrative of the campaign. To reflect the myriad objectives and the various alliances, grudges, and machinations between various factions, simply find your faction and your opponent’s faction in the table below to see what mission you are playing.
If you can’t find the matchup by looking at the row first, try looking for the column first, or vice versa. For example, if you’re Playing PanO and your opponent is playing Nomads, you’ll have to look at the PanO column first then go down to the Nomad row, and you’ll see you’re playing The Brawl. Similarly, if you’re playing Tohaa and your opponent is playing Yu Jing, you’ll have to go to the Tohaa row and all the way to the Yu Jing column to see that you’re playing Dead or Alive.
It’s worth pointing out that these missions have some mechanics that are perhaps unfamiliar to you especially if you’ve been playing predominantly ITS missions only. Here’s a few things to keep a look out for to make sure you’re playing the mission as intended:
- End of Turn Scoring – Instead of scoring at the end the game round, i.e. after both players have had a turn, we score at the end of every player turn. This gives us the ability to help balance first/second player turn advantages/disadvantages. This mechanic has been explored by many mission designers, and we use it here!
- Long Skill Objective Interactions – Instead of short skill + WIP, many objective interactions have been changed to require base contact (as before) but now are a long skill without a WIP roll. This prevents the non-interaction where a specialist just dies on the objective to make an unopposed WIP roll and also addresses the “well I would have won that game but my WIP 15 specialist rolled 17, 18, 18, 19, 17 on the objective over five orders” problem. This mechanic comes from BlessedBe and the IGL team. Huge thank you to them!
- Specialist Bonus is now Short Skill + WIP – In the missions where the objective interaction is a long skill, typically we’ve changed the specialist bonus from +3 WIP and +1 Burst to being able to do the objective interaction skill as a short skill, with the return of the WIP check. For example, this would represent a Hacker being able to “cut corners” when hacking an objective but maybe failing under pressure. In contrast, an Engineer will follow the full procedure and have a guaranteed success, but it will inherently take longer. Thanks to TheDiceAbide for this idea.
- Dominate and Subjugate – Dominate is more points in a zone, Subjugate is be the only one with models (not markers) in a zone. Subjugate is a Corvus Belli invention and comes from Resilience Ops, we just borrowed the mechanic.
Eagle-eyed players will note that mirror matches are not allowed. This is intentional, as we really want to advance a faction narrative. If you have a really fun narrative idea and you’d like to explore a mirror match, then we recommend you play one of the Resilience Ops variations we have:
If you do this though, we kindly ask you write a really awesome battle report! If you’d like to try and guess what the bonus point mission is, have a look at John’s story and if you like what you see, buy his book!
August 2024 Faction Lore and Objectives
First transition month, so we’re still collecting faction objectives. We’ll post them here as well as lore updates as we get to them.
ALEPH
The Averroes campus is a great boon to all in the area. We must ensure its safety and the continuity of access to care for all. This includes local Combined Army forces, who are deploying Med-Tech Obsidian Mechanoids to a secure wing of the facility to treat any Ur Hegemony forces. We thank the Averroes staff for being so accommodating.
As a reminder to all forces in the area, the Eye of Hipparchus is a scientific facility benefiting all. We must insist that attacks on the Eye stop immediately and are moving to secure a cordon around it to ensure the safety of the scientists and their research. We are proud of the research that is being done there–a number of planets have been discovered in spite of the increased hostilities! One may even be habitable! Think of how much more could be discovered without this needless squabbling in system!
Ariadna
With the increased pressure on supply lines, Whole Protein and subsidiaries of the Bhargavi Ocean Exploration Interspace Navigation Group are passing that pressure on directly to the water and ammonia miners in the system. The Ariadnan Workers Union must insist that workers be paid overtime and be given their mandatory safety breaks.
The Monosodium Glutamate must flow, but it must flow safely and with the appropriate amount of compensation for all those who work tirelessly to ensure all peoples of the Sphere get their favorite snacks.
Combined Army
The Ur Hegemony is delighted to have our aid requested by esteemed members of the governing bodies of the Human Sphere. We will continue to work with ALEPH and its enforcement arm, O-12, to ensure the tenuous peace is kept. As our two great societies learn from one another, we feel we must issue a statement regarding “VoodooTech,” and the constant requests to share it.
It is our policy to not share these things for precisely the reason our presence in the Homeric Belt has been required. Many sentient species have destroyed themselves when given unfettered access to these tools. If any nations or even individuals would like to start the process of assimilation we will submit an internal requisition request for EI comlogs to be shipped to our depot on Dewey. Individuals will be required to undergo a one month assessment before the implant procedure can proceed and will gain access to the EI network. Initial restrictions will be slowly lifted as assimilation proceeds. Current models suggest the new EI client species will enjoy the access of all other current species within three to five generations.
Lesser Aspect Emberosia
Haqqislam
The Averroes Hospital was meant to serve all in the Human Edge by providing quality medical care to any who needed it. With the recent Chaos on Concilium Prima disrupting supply chains, now the hospital is being raided by the very people are meant to serve to secure medical supplies. All of these… irregularities have forced the hand of Haqqislam command, and Yara Haddad herself has been dispatched from Bourak to bring order to chaos. Local Haqqislamite commanders are busily collecting and compiling evidence what is sure to be an investigation for the textbooks.
Nomads
Humanity is just trading the AI for the EI. Combined forces are already in system claiming to be working under the mandate of O-12. That’s not a ceasefire, that’s an alliance. O-12 unilaterally signed an armistice to address the Quantum Anomaly Zones. We disagreed, but we understood. We worked side by side with the other CRASHER teams to secure the zones, sending Evaders and Clockmakers into the fray. Now the old enemy is policing our ships with a claimed O-12 mandate and claiming its in our best interest in a system as far on the periphery as the Human Edge? Wake up, hop on your local Arachne node and learn the truth. You are trading one overlord for another. We must arrest the progress of this infiltration, we must ensure that O-12 leadership is not just all shasvastii infiltrators. It may already be too late.
O-12
With the arrival of the Antochi, we now have enough of a presence in system to begin enforcing compliance to the ceasefire. We have also noted a distinct uptick in parking violations in system, and have issued much of our staff with multispectral visors to address alleged thermoptic camouflage-equipped violators. Humanity must understand! We have a chance to grow this ceasefire into a full alliance, we just need to keep the hostilities to a minimum while we address the repercussions of the recent Shattergrounds crisis! Do not mistake our desire for peace as weakness, however. All parties must obey the ceasefire and ensure civilians are safe. Remember, si vis pacem, para bellum.
PanOceania
The -0.67% miss on quarterly sales targets for Snackrah Chips has increased to -0.70%. This is clearly indicative of a coordinated attack on Whole Protein’s financials and cannot be explained away as poor performance by the Whole Protein as suggested by the pundits on MayaNet. We call on the leadership of the Ariadnan Workers Union to see reason–any damage to the sales of any Whole Protein product line, not just our wildly popular Snackrah lines (now with new flavors!) will directly affect Ariadnan workers and their families! The effects of the trickle down economy simply means that any losses faced by the company hurts Whole Protein’s ability to take care of our workers.
We encourage AWU leadership and members to make themselves known to their local Whole Protein human resources representative. We are organizing a teambuilding retreat to address concerns. We would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the executives of the Bhargavi Ocean Exploration Interspace Navigation Group for offering to provide transit for the treat for all AWU representatives.
Tohaa
With the arrival of Haaren Gaar at the Human Edge, Tohaa renews their interest in these planetoids and their desire to see that Tohaa interests are protected within the inhospitable system of the Human Edge.
I am pleased to share our strategic initiatives in the Human Edge. We are deepening our alliances with key human factions, providing advanced biotechnology and military support to strengthen mutual defenses. Our presence is being fortified through the establishment of collaborative research outposts, where Tohaa and human scientists work side by side. These efforts not only enhance our collective security but also foster a deeper cultural understanding and trust between our peoples. Together, we are building a resilient front against any threats that may arise.
Haaren Gaar
Yu Jing
The Imperial Service continues to hone in on the shadowy mercenary empire housed within the 1777 Du-ε planetoid. A marked rise in activity from Dahshat, Ikari, and JSA mercenaries has forced our hand into a surge of Yujingyu forces into the system. We will find the perpetrators of the attacks on the State Empire during the Shattergrounds crisis.
I assure you that we will root out all JSA infiltrators in the Human Edge with unwavering precision. We have deployed our elite agents to conduct thorough surveillance and gather intelligence on suspected infiltrators. By coordinating closely with local security forces and leveraging our extensive counterinsurgency experience, we will ensure that the integrity and security of the State Empire are maintained. No infiltrator will escape our grasp. Your duck is cooked.
Hsien YueFei
Non-Aligned Armies
Each NA-2 sectorial has their own secret objectives. If your sectorial is not listed here, join the NA-2 discord and demand one! Until it’s listed here, assume you do not have a secret objective for your game.
Dahshat Company
Japanese Secessionist Army
Starco, Free Company of the Star
NA-2 Employment Permits
If you’re playing a Non-Aligned Army (NA-2), you can play a game as any of the major factions above, assuming you have an authorized permit (green check mark). Some NA-2 factions simply won’t work for particular major factions or major factions won’t hire particular mercenary companies, so it’s not a free-for-all of playing whatever you like for whatever faction you like. There have to be some rules.
The Japanese Secessionist Army (JSA) is a little different in that it’s technically not a mercenary faction, but it’s still subject to influence and coercion by some major factions to align military goals. We model this as “working with/for” those factions here.
There are also mercenary contracts available at the Ducktail Pub to give you the opportunity to earn some BitCred, so if you’re interested in that, have a look here!
