Hmmm now that i think of it, the Janissary corp sounds like Indentured Servitude, "we save you from slavery and give you food, shelter, education, pay, you just gotta be a janissary for like 5 years then you're a free Haqqislamite citizen".
@theGricks Point of reference. Druze don't originate from Haqqislam or Borak. They originate and still are situated on Earth. Lebanon and Southern Syria to Asia minor. They do own their own Caravansary at the 2nd Borak wormhole construction site. That's about as close as they get to having establishments inside Haqqislamite space.
I think personally that being the "Basic Source Code" of Infinity an R.P.G. Campaign of "Cyberpunk 2020" (done more than 10-15 Years ago by Corvus Belli founders) where "EVERYTHING is in Shades of Gray" they purposefully wrote some parts of the Fluff Background of ANY Faction to be easily constructed by any interested Players as various different subtleties. . . There are "Unrepentant Villains", "Misguided Anti-Heroes", "Duped True Believers", "Cynics with an Heart-Of-Gold" and so on, staying generally away from the typical "Bland Movie Plot" Generalization of "Darkest Evil Vs. Shiniest Good". . . Even the most Humanistic Progressive Faction (and in the case of this very Thread) such as Haqqislam (and it is VERY difficult to find a BETTER place to live than Bourak, if You are an Hard-Working, True Believer Faithful that wants JUST to strive for a successful, steady and honourable Life !!) have its "Skeletons-In-The-Closet" and need some "Dark Knights" to defend their manner of Life doing what the %majority of populace Could Not / Would Not do. . .!! It could be said that the Tohaa are the really NASTIER EVIL of the Factions, as they stranded the Ariadna Colony Ship on Dawn by artificially closing the Wormhole (and causing also a lot of strife on Earth with the failure of the Colony Project, effectively collapsing U.S.A., Russian Federation and Old Europe), slaughtered the WHOLE second colony ship crew on Paradiso when their badly ripped "Artilect Ancient Xeno Probe" somehow misfired (by also causing the sudden arrest of the "Evolution" of the Helots of Varuna, now blocked between Semi-Sentience and Full Sentience) and covered the Tracks, then gladly duped the Combined Army to come to Paradiso and start a war against the Human Sphere JUST to subtract E.I. Forces from other Tohaa-Only fronts. . . And, all the whole, they are playing the "We Are Your Only Allies" trump card hiding behind fake smiles the Idea that, at worst, the whole Human Sphere will be devastated by the Combined Army relieving Tohaa Frontlines elsewhere and, at best, the suriviving Humans will be "Assimilated" in the Tohaa Collective as another "Warrior Servant Race" much like their Chaksa Auxiliary. . . . . . . . But this "Evilness" is part of a INNER Conspiracy INSIDE the Tohaa, that is really a sort of "Illuminati / Mason / Templar" Elite Oligarchy that is not shy to sacrifice many TOHAA Lives to shield the privileges of fews; this is well explained in the Sygmaa Fluff, and they were "Frontier Colonists" that were let to die and gladly wasted to halt the advance of the E.I. in the "Tohaa-Sphere". . . I believe that the "baseline streetperson" of the Tohaa Race is unbeknowing of this evil "Inner Core" much like a typical citizen of the First Nation of our "Real World" is unaware that some nasty Terrorist Attacks on its very sovereign territory are rather JUST a step in a "Shadow War" between Hidden Secret Agencies that really NEVER stopped, but just changed "Operational Theatres", after the Cold War ended. . . Is as the typical Action Flick Movie where the Soldier / Federal Agent / Police Enforcer protagonist believe to have fought for its Moral High Ground and Patriotic Duty, when in reality where Corrupted Superiors to have employed Him / Her to their nefarious ends. . . . . . . . And I stop there because too evident "R.W. Political Comparisons" are a thing that Forum Moderators never really like. . . But to return to the Topic germane at the Thread, for Haqqislam there are similar issue. . . The typical "Garrison Soldier" hailing from Bourak could be a Son / Daughter of a Farmer Family that would have gladly spent all of its life tending the Terraforming Hydroponic Garden of its Desert Borders native village. . . But for some reason decided to enlist to defend its Home Planet and Faith (not only "Religious Beliefs" in the Holy Quran, but also the Humanistic Values of Khadivar), abandon the Farm-Plants and start to train with the "Hi-Tech Kalashnikov" because maybe "Cousin Ahmed" was killed by nasty foreigners in a razed / pillage Caravanserary and our hypothetical Rustic Haqqislamite feel the need to avenged Kine's Blood. . . Let's imagine He / She rise quite high in the ranks, because hardened by Frontier Life, shielded and inured to Pain by a Faithful Soul and also a Mix of Luck & Innate Skill, and soon will be seconded to the typical "Patchwork Special Forces Team" that is the typical Faction Deployement of an Infinity Tabletop Wargame. . . There will be sure some Comrades-In-Arms that will reinforce its beliefs: a trusty Khawarji Lieutenant that spout Prophetical Citations in the middle of the firefight, dour but honourable Hunzakut Snipers from a not so different cultural Homeland and a wide-eyed Ghazi Muttawiah that gladly will sacrifice its own Life to save squadmates to atone for a "Sinful Life". . .!! And then there will be mysterious, detached Hashashins of all stripes, that would hard-heartedly sacrifice squadmates to just accomplish their OWN objectives (that could be TOTALLY different from the rest of the Squad, such as the Elimination of a given foe in an Enemy Squad, precipitating serious armed conflict in what would have been otherwise a Stealth Recon Patrol). . . And then there are other even worse, some Kapu Qalki Specialists that proudly claim to be "Marauding Space Pirates", an Odalisque that does not hide the fact that She was a Common Streetwalker before gaining enough money to underwent Combat Biografts and a noisy, boisterous Kum Warband of Bikers that love Booze, Babes and Ultraviolence and not give a Desert Rat Ass to the "Path Of Human Enlightement". . . And then arrives some Druze Support Mercs, with their "nice" T.A.G. of Support that is piloted by a Berserker on Combat Drugs and then "Scorched Earth + Secondary Casualities" become not an Option, but rather the desired outcome. . . It really depends on the Idea of the specific Player Fluff for its specific "Warband". . . Its Janissaries could be victims like some kind of "Indentured Warrior Slaves" that will never pay the debt and will hope for an honourable death in the field for a darkest twist. . . Or instead a proud Janissary could be the only child of poor, destitute Non-Muslim Vagrant Displaced Refugees (maybe Middle-Eastern Christian / Jews from the Fallen Haqqislamite Territories of Paradiso. . .) and its willingly chosen "Service" is the only mean for a good life for its parents. . . It is all in the "Eye Of The Beholder" really. . . . .!!!
This is an excellent disertation, and yeah you just hit the nail in the head. It's all in the Eye of the Beholder (or is it eyes? Those things have like 20! /badD&Djoke) Most of the Haqqislam players will defend Haqqislam's reputation precisely because they identify with the Humanist aspect of the faction. Fun anecdotal fact: When I joined the Operation: Flamestrike Campaign, my character Sireen Barakat, was supposed to be a Space Pirate trying to make a profit in the armed conflict. That soon went off the window when I got to interact with the wonderful, altruistic, honorable and adult players I now know and love. I just couldn't find a reason for my character not to be swayed by their infectious Humanism; and she ended up part of the High Council, giving her best for Haqqislam and Humanity. When Campaign: Wotan started, we had 4 or 5 "Young Hawks" in the same position and with the same attitude I initially had, and they soon became valued members of the Swords of the Prophet; as honorable and commited to Haqqislam's ideals as everyone else. I know it's subjective, but most of what make Haqqislam "The Good Guys" is its People, both the fictional and RL counterparts.
Yup, I've seen that many times - it was visible in the old forum's tone as well. Somehow, Haqq players do not moan and complain. They do deliberate, they do acknowledge that something is better or worse, but they tend to see it as an elemnt of reality nothing can be really done about...
All right, now I really am lost as to what you're talking about, guys... How does it work - campaigns, characters..?
Heheh, sorry about that. In 2016, Beasts of War created a Platform called "The Warconsole" to keep track of Online Campaigns for different Wargames. Corvus Belli was offered the opportunity to do a Worldwide Campaign, which they called Operation: Flamestrike. Players from around the world got to play with their frends, and upload the results of their battles to the Warconsole as Battle Reports. Most of the Battle Reports were straightforward Play by Play, but some of us really let loose and wrote them as stories starting either our Commander Names or other Original Characters represented by our miniatures. In the Warconsole, there were Faction Forums for the players to interact, and it wasn't long before the place became a huge Role Playing Game. This year there's going to be a third Campaign (in April, I think). And those of us who like to write stories are really looking forward to the Event.
The best part of this thread so far, for me, is that absolute conviction that every third person is a Fiday.
I did enjoy being called the "Parents of Wotan - Looking on at the other factions and just shaking our head"
I don't think it'd work at all if every slave bought and freed by Haqq was forced to be in the Janissary corps. It's an elite fighting force, extremely well equipped and relied upon for extremely sensitive and high intensity operations. It'd be like saying that the US government bought a bunch of orphans from abroad and forced them all to be US Army Rangers. Even amongst highly fit and motivated people who want to be US Army Rangers, lots of people don't get past selection for whatever reason. It seems impossible to me that there'd only be one path for these people. What about the kids who are psychologically and physically unsuited for being in the military at all, never mind an elite force? You don't want to force them to be it, as forcibly conscripted troops are generally considered to be very poor, at best they avoid being a liability, at worse they actively are a liability! Like if you're a Janissary, you don't want the guy next to you to really, really not want to be there. Destroys unit cohesion, creates big morale problems... and never mind that the guy who doesn't want to be there is probably going to suck at his job. No, I imagine that probably the orphans raised in these state institutions are given a pretty thorough mental and physical education, and the Janissary corps is an option available to them, an option that many, even a majority, don't take up. Other ones go into civil, law enforcement, education and so on jobs. Some might just leave the schools and drift, just like some people from any schools.
Oh, absolutely. I had one assigned to "advice" me while making statements about the Old Man on the Mountain, and the Hassassins in general, on FaceBook.
Working as intended :P That seems to be the case: "Some of these kids are sent to high-performance training centers around Funduq, where they are educated in the Haqqislamite creed and the military life." Although it appears that for those who manage to enter the service as Janissary, this is a great social lift. Same piece of fluff mentions possibility "...to join advanced courses of Tebb al Nabi, the Prophet’s Medicine" rather specifically as an option for those already in corps. I imagine there are good reasons for people to think it's worth it trying to get into this kind of service, especially since you don't have any baggage to speak of you could rely on in your life at the time. I think it's worth adding that those nefarious ends in turn could be a necessity that has to be done even though nobody really likes to be associated with it. In a lot of aspects it's a competitive world, and philosophy of "kick him while he's down, otherwise he'll stab you in the back while you walk away" applies pretty often. That would be a Watsonian reasoning for painting different factions all shades of gray. A Doylist one would be, it's good for competitive game with an RPG backup: everyone is free to paint themselves and partners/opponents as heroes/villains while leaving narrative in harmony with what other members of the group come up with: in the end, everyone has a point. That said, sometimes I feel we are the faction closest to status of Mary Sues of Infinity :P
@Barrogh. . . I totally concur with Your ideas about "Necessary Unpleasant Infinite Shades of Black" in the Background of Infinity. . . In the "Outrage" Infinity Official Manga, one of the most important Characters, Emily Handelmann the Pan-Oceanian Hexa Operative, is openly explaining to Her riff-raff "Dirty Dozen / Suicide Squad" that the Hexas typical modus operandi is to illegally fund the next operation with stolen "Loot" from the previous, so as to render even more untraceable the acquiring of "Deniable Assetts". . . Also while She was dumped by the very same Hexa Superiors when the Comic Operation went SNAFU this was done as the clusterfuck was even worse than an usual "Botched Black-Ops Wetwork" as Her immediate Overseer plainly said: "Should this Work go bad We could dare to risk extracting ONLY You, even if they are valuable, well-realiable External Assets. . .!!". . . She was doing evil, questionable things so that Her Pan-Oceanian Compatriots could remain blissfully unaware of the dark "Multifront Cold War" going on. . . And this is very well explained in the Opening Scenes of the Manga, when She is reaching towards the Exahedron Building and on the Hypervelocity Maglev Train there are a lot of "Comlog Couch Potatoes" lost surfing in Mayasphere Zapping and Emily shows a smirk that seems to say: "If You Only Knew What I Had To Do To Shelter Your Ivory Tower Life. . .!!" And another Character, the main protagonist, the Sniper called Knauf openly said: "I'm a monster and a merciless killer! If I continued to do the Undercover Life and start to ramp-up Combat Biotech then I will become even WORSE. . .!!" but anyway still strive to do "The Right Thing". . . . . . . . . . Even in Haqqislam one Player could decide that its "Pirate Scum Crew" (Kum Bikers, Bashi-Bazouks, Hunzakut Desert Raiders, Unrepentant Mercs) is made of "Questionable Bourakites" but that could do what is honourable and proper (just to add awesomeness to the amusing Characters created by @Danger Rose !!). . . On the other hand one could instead portray the "Shiniest Edge of Allah's Blade" (such as Khawarjis, Odalsques, Elite Sekban and Djanzaban, and OBVIOUSLY all "Flavours" of the Hashashins) to be so determined and calloused by too many battles to do a lethal dispensation of "True Death" (Cube-Wrecking or, just little better, Cube-Snatching to prevent Resurrecton of Wealthy Targets) that will made balk even the sickest specimens of other Factions. . . This believable "All Shades Of Grey" (or Black! or even Red! . . . . based on someone's eventual predilection for banal "Softcore Hollywood Pseudo-Porn" !!!) is, for Me at least, one of the best strongpoints that make the "Infinity-Verse" a so marvelous Background for an awesome Miniature Wargame, an excellent Cyberpunk R.P.G. and all manner of secondary related Media Products !!!
The Hassassins seem to be pretty shady. Well, no more shady than anyone else, and less than many, but still pretty shady. They are the Haqqislamite intelligence agency, so they do all the work of the intelligence groups of other powers and are theoretically accountable to the Haqq government, but they also maintain their own small special operations army that works with other Haqqislamite military units, and they are a religious group which has very secretive rites, practises and beliefs. They aren't really Haqqislamites in the sense of following the teachings of Khadivar, they acknowledge the superiority of that, but breach it's tenets regularly. So their job is regular intelligence and secret ops stuff... but also a kind of nebulous, self-defined ideal of protecting the Search for Knowledge. Who counts as a threat to the Search for Knowledge? Well they detail that themselves, and I feel like in service of that task, they are prepared to do some pretty heinous shit. They are sacred killers, who cut evil out of the world so that other, better people can flourish, and that definitely sounds like "yeah we bomb civilians and make it look like other people do it, and we feel bad about that, but it's necessary." Honestly, I love Haqq background overall, but I do wish we got 1-2 more Hassassin troops, if only because I would like a bit more background and maybe some options that give them a harder edge, like the Locust CAT did for NCA, and Bandits did for Corregidor, though I'm not sure what they'd mechanically do, as Hassassins have pretty much all the tactical bases covered really... And as far as Flamestrike goes, I think that the whole thing where Haqq players try to be virtuous and upstanding is really cool. That said, I'm certainly contemplating using Haqq in the next global campaign, and if I take Hassassins, I think I'd deliberately play along with that while also doing some reports which insinuate my guys are doing rather nasty things and not telling all of these good guys about it!
This is the faction that publically acknowledges the Bahram and thus endorses the use of terrorism. Not sure how we're supposed to be lilly white. ;)
I would say that within the setting, the Hassassin sect's public existence probably goes along these lines; 1) People who are interested in inter-planetary politics and such, your person on the street who reads the news etc, probably knows they exist. Their existence is not hidden, like the CIA or whatever. In fact, Haqq likes their existence to be known, as a sort of implicit threat of capability. There are rumours. Rumours that aren't stamped out, for they provide a particular purpose... 2) Officially, the Hassassins are an intelligence agency who do intelligence agency stuff, and definitely don't do terrorism or assassination or whatever. That would be wrong, and the Hachib firmly denies this whenever it comes up. Like the CIA, again. The Asawira's existence and role with the Bahram is probably well known, to reassure people that high command has secure control over what is going on. It's probably more described as an overwatch department than "we take part in missions and are all for it, but if we think grounds have been overstepped, we'll liquidate you." 3) Amongst people who are more in the know, scholars, analysts etc who are working in the public sphere and publish their findings, the Hassassins are probably suspected to have a rather hard edge, with a history of relatively extreme tactics at times. And this is like the CIA as well, it's suspected and "known" that they have done some pretty nasty shit over the years, but there's that and there's proof, two different things. Further to this, it's probably known amongst these types that the Hassassins are a religious sect with some strange, secretive beliefs. 4) People who have access to classified intel outside the Bahram, like members of the Hexahedron, the ISS, Black Hand etc probably know what the Bahram get up to and that from a certain angle you could argue it's terrorism, but then that's true of what they do as well, so eh whatever. If we can prove it we'll release the info through an "unconnected" angle so we can feign shock and horror and use it wrangle advantages at the next O-12 meeting. 6) People with access to Haqq classified intel. Know quite a lot. Either think they're great or look side-eyed at them... 7) The Bahram itself, and the office of the Hachib (he presumably has some sort of staff and advisors who review individual missions etc, he's too busy to do that all himself. He takes their advice, occasionally has meetings on it, signs off or doesn't sign off as and when he needs to).
