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Sources of fluff?

Discussion in 'Access Guide to the Human Sphere' started by Varsovian, Mar 2, 2018.

  1. Varsovian

    Varsovian Well-Known Member

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    I've been wondering: are there any other sources of Infinity fluff aside from the two books (N3 and HSN3)? I ask, because I see people discussing fluff here all the time and I'm not sure where all this stuff comes from... For example, is there any place where the background of the Dire Foes characters (Leila Sharif, Lupe Balboa...) has been revealed?

    Is there any fluff in the Campaign: Paradiso book? Also, is there any fluff to follow on the Infinity website or any other place?

    BTW. Speaking of Campaign: Paradiso, is this book worth of picking up? What's inside, aside from some missions?
     
  2. Cervantes3773

    Cervantes3773 Rogue AI
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    Currently available sources of Infinity lore:
    First or second edition rulebook (story is the same, rules got updated. Some of the fluff got updated/retconned going into N3).
    Human Sphere second edition: As above.
    Campaign Paradiso: Good lore for both the battle for Paradiso and the Tohaa. The rules are all superseded, but worth if you're not paying too much (I'm winging it here, but I'd think $30 or less would be reasonable). You can still play the campaign missions in it, with a bit of fudging.

    Dire Foes 1 to 5. Each came with a download code for the lore related to the mission/characters in the pack. Some google searching will find you the PDFs. DF 6 and 7 did not come with download codes, their missions are online. They do not have stories in those missions.

    N3: New ground zero for the lore.
    HSN3: All new lore.

    Outrage: Manga... so, you know. By definition, it's Infinity lore. :)

    Artbook - not a whole lot of concrete lore, but it's got images and some text.

    New release articles: When CB releases new minis - whether its new sculpts or completely new profiles, they publish articles on their website. Sometimes these are just excerpts from the books. Sometimes they're brand new lore. I'm not sure if anyone has collected them, but you can still find some of them on CB's site.

    Aristeia! the Game: the rules and how to play guide for this game include a few pages of in world lore/story. It's Aristeia! focused, though.

    www.human-sphere.com (shout out to @Phlyk !) is your unofficial resource for... everything else Infinity.

    Lastly, Uprising is the title of the next book. I believe the teaser said "184 pages". I'm sure it has some goodies. :)
     
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  3. Varsovian

    Varsovian Well-Known Member

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    Thanks!

    If I understand correctly, C:P is not compatible with the N3 edition? If I may ask: what about the Spec-Ops characters, then? I thought that rules for them were only in C:P... So, are Spec-Ops used in N3 at all?

    As for Dire Foes - yeah, I got the DP2 pack and it came with a download code. But, turns out, there's no place on the Infinity website to use it anymore...

    Another question - what about the ITS Seasons, events like Wotan etc.? Did they come with any important fluff? Can it be accessed anywhere?

    Finally - and I hope that it's not an inappropriate place to ask - what about the Infinity RPG? Has the fluff in there cleared by CB? Or could it contain mistakes, ideas not in the official lore etc.?
     
  4. Abrilete

    Abrilete Well-Known Member

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    The RPG was personally checked by Gutier, the mastermind behind all the Infinity fluff. But it'll probably contain mistakes anyway, several backers have already pointed some weird things.
     
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  5. Cervantes3773

    Cervantes3773 Rogue AI
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    Campaign Paradiso is tricky.
    The equipment, skills, trooper profiles, and other rules have all been superseded.
    The missions are designed for N2, but with a bit of flexibility or creativity... or stubbornness, they work.
    The campaign system is relatively rules-agnostic, so it works, or can be made to work for a campaign of your own creation.
    The Spec-Ops rules are still valid and still used. They're an optional add-on for events, or you can your opponent can use them by mutual agreement. Truth be told, they could use some updating, but...

    Also, you don't really need Campaign Paradiso to understand Spec Ops. When you're in Army 6, you can add them by clicking the Spec Ops button.

    Spec Ops 01.PNG

    Then, you choose the base profile you want to use (A) and the skills and equipment you want to give it (B). You have to spend the agreed upon amount of XP or less (C).

    Spec Ops 02.PNG

    In sectorials, Spec Ops can join fireteams in the same way as their base profile. If your Spec Ops uses a Grunt base, it can join those teams.

    Thanks for asking about ITS seasons. The TAGline event had some youtube videos and written story as well. You can find the videos on CB's youtube channel.

    The main tagline stuff: https://assets.infinitythegame.net/downloads/its-event/tagline/en/v1.0.1/tagline.pdf
    The wrap up scenario 6: https://assets.infinitythegame.net/downloads/its-events/tagline-ch-6/en/v1.0/tagline-ch-6.pdf

    The videos start here:

    NOTE: the videos and the pdfs kind of weave in and out and I forget the "correct" order to consume them all.... something like video 1, the pdfs, then the rest of the videos... but I might be wrong.

    Flamestrike and Wotan had some fluff... I do not recall where it all is. There wasn't a lot.

    The RPG has already been covered. It's a good resource, but if you find that it contradicts the "main" stuff in anyway, personally, I'd say the stuff written by CB takes precedence. That said, I don't expect a tremendous number of deviations or anything.
     
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  6. Durandal

    Durandal Well-Known Member

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    The RPG is generally fine, Gutier was the only person in the approval pipeline for it and they had to rewrite several chapters half a dozen times as he gave them new info. Like almost any product not directly written by the sole background source for the game, there will be errors (although, I'll be honest, I haven't much noticed any so far), but nothing really onerous (and the expanded scope goes well beyond the specific focus one gets in a war game, which is invaluable for contextualizing a lot of setting tidbits).

    In general Modiphius are pretty exacting in their background writing standards and the three RPGs of theirs that I own (Mutant Chronicles, Infinity, and Conan) are all treasure troves as far as world building goes for the various settings. If you're looking for more than just jingoistic unit descriptions and a few snippets of the wider setting, then I can recommend the core without hesitation. If nothing else, the plot seeds actually make really good fodder for coming up with scenarios in the war game.

    I'd probably recommend against grabbing Campaign Paradiso in either case. While it does contain background, it is probably the single worst translated and edited product CB have ever dropped (despite being on the late side of things due to scope creep, it felt like it was rushed out the door) and is likely to get a reprint in the coming year(s?).
     
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  7. Varsovian

    Varsovian Well-Known Member

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    Again, thanks for all the info!

    Regarding Spec-Ops: where do XP come from? Also, am I correct that the Spec-Ops troops can gain XPs and be upgraded?

    Regarding Outrage - is it worth purchasing? I love comic books, but is it a good comic book?
     
  8. Cervantes3773

    Cervantes3773 Rogue AI
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    When an event allows Spec Ops, or you and a friend agree to use them, the TO will state an XP value, or you and your friend will agree on one. Common values are 10, 12, 15, 20, and 25. Honestly, anything over 15 gets.... redonkulous. Oh, and I forgot to mention that you can also increase your Spec Ops stats.

    In Campaign Mode, they start off at 0 XP and you earn more over the event. That's detailed in Campaign Paradiso.

    On Outrage, I quite enjoyed it. I think you can get it for ~$15. I'd say that's fair.
     
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  9. Wolf

    Wolf https://youtube.com/@StudioWatchwolf

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    Paging @Pride of Rodina for further comment
     
  10. stevenart74

    stevenart74 Well-Known Member

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    Personally I think that the R.P.G. is an AWESOME Fluff Background Treasure trove. . .

    It was premised to go in Pdf Kickstarter in the Late 2015 / Early 2016 and, instead, went on availability for the Backers just at the start of the Summer of 2017. . .

    While both Modiphius and Corvus Belli could devote not the entirety of their time, the care and proofread of the exactness of the Manual is EXTREMELY well done; it was NOT tardy laziness to have the late release, but care and love for a very well done sourcebook. . .

    Personally I did not found many glaring errors in the Background Parts, that comprises MORE than 2 / 3 of the 528 pages of the Basic Manual (!!!) but is because I don't care anymore for precision in the Army List Description. . .

    . . . . .If "Unit X" will always "Steer Right" when entering "Territory Y", especially if they are facing "Foe Unit Z", but ONLY will employ "Tactic Alpha" when doing wetwork only during the "Omega Period" (and in that case they are ALWAYS "Steering Left"). . . . .I COULD NOT CARE LESS !!!

    The description of the Wargame Units are from an "In Universe" perspective and so I found usually variations of the usual "They are the best of the Best of the BEST, and ANY foes trembles at their approach". . .

    Especially the Yujing Units's Description seems to be taken directly from Official Party Lines of the State Empire

    Just rarely there are some "Snippets of Authenticity" like in the Old Fluff of the Haqqislamite "Halqa Mechanized Infantry" that describes them suffering heavy losses during the First Paradiso Offensive, but anyway retreating fighting fiercely and innovatively, (employing their "Luzige A.P.C." as mobile shields in a difficult dense urban battlefield) while protecting Civilians from the depredations of the rampaging onslaught of the Alien Combined Army. . .

    The R.P.G. Sourcebook is a source of all manner of precious information about the Daily Life of all manner of Character outside of the battle-lines of the Human Sphere, and even hardened veterans have shore leaves or relatives far away from the typical "Black Ops Wetwork" of the typical Infinity Tabletop Game. . .

    Honestly is more than 30 Years that I peruse ALL manner of Roleplaying Game Books, and recently would be very hard pressed to find a better made stuff. . . . .!!!

    . . . . .

    The Outrage Manga is also very useful, and concentrate on the typical "Special Op Gone Bad" kind of realistic, believable scenario of a typical game of Infinity. . .

    If one have the Manga and read it, and then play the Manga-Inspired Scenario (freely available on the web) with the Character Profiles and Suggestions, will have a robust understanding even for a totally uninitiated novice. . . !!!
     
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  11. AdmiralJCJF

    AdmiralJCJF Heart of the Hyperpower

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    I'm not sure if you specifically wanted @Pride of Rodina the user, but you've gotten one of the contributors anyway.

    ;-)

    I've got the RPG and am getting all the future materials in PDF, so am getting to see things coming down the pipeline.

    As far as I've seen so far the RPG is an amazing source of background and setting material (GOD DAMN but I hate the dismissive term "fluff") which expands on what snippets and glimpses we've seen in the wargame. I'm yet to see anything which contradicts what we originally learned in 1st through 3rd edition Infinity (and have yet to see anyone who claims to have done so produce anything meaningful).

    The RPG is available in PDF and hardcopy now, and I'd highly recommend it as a source if you are keen on more information on the Infinity world. The Ariadna faction supplement book has been passed by Gutier and is currently being put together (final editing, pictures, layout etc.) and PanOceania is on Gutier's desk (he is still passing [or in many cases failing, and sending back for re-write with extensive notes] individual chapters) and I'm hoping those of us who backed the Kickstarter will get to see that soon.

    If you want to have a play with the game one fun thing to look at is the online character generator here:
    https://infinity.modiphiusapps.hostinguk.org/

    I'd also highly recommend Outrage, it conveys more about the setting in a few short pages (gotta love images for that) of worldbuilding than whole chapters ever could.
     
  12. colbrook

    colbrook Grenade Delivery Specialist

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    "Fluff" isn't really a dismissive term, it's been used in RPG circles for eons as the opposite to "crunch" (rules), and a good RPG needs both fluff and crunch to work.
     
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  13. AdmiralJCJF

    AdmiralJCJF Heart of the Hyperpower

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    It's been used in mostly D&D circles, dismissively, for a long time yes.

    That doesn't make is anything less than a dismissive and minimising term which only serves to mock the aspect of games which many find the most important.

    "Crunch" is irrelevant (I can run any setting with any system) but setting and background are what literally make games.

    So, no.

    You may not find it to be so, but that doesn't change my opinion on the matter.
     
  14. chromedog

    chromedog Less than significant minion

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    When it comes to the dire foes pdfs that are available on the CB downloads, be advised that they are missing most of the fluff for the characters.

    They originally had more pages per file, but those pages were omitted when they were put back up for download.
     
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