I've thumbled upon this topic multiple times. I even found a previous thread that seems inactive at the moment in which everyone had a final understanding of these, but I still have a thing in my mind that can't let me rest. So I thought I would ask here about my doubts / uncertainties. (Sorry for my ISS only examples, but I mainly play with them.) I've read the common requirements and read the fireteam core rules. Here is the special fireteam line a Imperail Agent Crane Rank has: Special Fireteam: Core, up to 3 Imperial Agent Crane Rank + Celestial Guards When I first read the rules and thought special fireteams were restrictions. Restrictions to maintain fluff, to maintan game balance. So my logic was something like: "Ahh so some guys can make core teams, but crane agents only group up in special cases, and only if they are supported buy some Celestial Guards. And Celestial Guards have the Fireteam Core rule, so they can make a group anyway. It's just like I have a Celestial Guard group and some crane joins in." I think everyone could see where my thoughts led: I thought that the Cranes must have at least one Celestial Guard in the team to function. The rules of the Core team does not require a member with the basic Fireteam Core rule though so as we discussed in a facebook group (at least one warcor was present) that the group is still valid with only Crane Agents in it. Examples: 3 Crane, or 2 Crane, or 3 Crane + 1 Celestial Guard. So my first blob of doubts: Is it possbile to form a Core from only Cranes? Why is the special fireteam worded this way? Let's say Special Fireteam: Core, up to 3 Imperial Agent Crane Rank + up to 4 Celestial Guards, would be worse? We know that a core is up to five members from the base rules. Omitting the quantifier from the Celestial Guard part indicates (for me at least), that they are required. Shouldn't we indicate which part of such a rule is required somehow? And with this we arrived to the other question: How does we know about the required parts? In the ISS we have another interesting fireteam bit the bao troop. Besides they having a sepcial fireteam option to join Haris teams they have the following rule: Special Fireteam: Core, up to 4 Báo Troops + 1 Imperial Agent Pheasant Rank Well, to be frank I think this means that 1 pheasant is required. It is written there explicitly: 1 Pheasant. Not to mention the Báo Troops fluff: they need supervision from an imperial agent to prevent "extremious behaviour". But the community is divided in this question as well, clearly there are people with other ways of interpreting these lines (like in this thread), and seriously I can't blame them. So can we form a group like: 2 Báo Troops, or 4 Báo Troops, as a Core team? If we can why? If we can't, why? Thanks in advance.
http://infinitythewiki.com/en/List_of_Fireteams#Imperial_Service Bao: this clearly states that a pheasant is required to link Bao. It is impossible to read it any other way. Bao are not allowed a regular Core at all. Crane: this is less clear, but since both Crane and Celestial Guard are simply "up to", you don't have a minimum number of either of them so 3 Cranes is a viable Core.
I'm not sure now ( need to reread the rules), but as i remember in link rules is clear you need at least some units with the special rule fireteam to form a link ( haris, core etc). Crane for itself don't have core rule, only the option to do a special one, but in this link is the celestial guard who provide the rule fireteam core. You could do 3 crane + one CG but if during the game you break the link and the CG is dead in theory you won't be able to remake it. Something similar happens on Onix with Umbra + Xeodrones haris. Umbras have special haris eith the tags but didn't have haris by himself ( then you can't go 3 umbra sanaritans).
Fireteam: Core is not a skill, it's a function of the Sectorial. Army does put it under skills/equipment for reference, which I find unfortunate.
