The Firmament (& T̸h̷e̸ ̴O̶b̷s̸i̷d̴i̵a̵n̸) Faction Guide | Twilight Imperium 4

Game: Twilight Imperium 4 — Firmament & (via coup) Obsidian faction guide

Storyline (lore framing)

• Firmament are presented as a faction built around peace/equality ideals, with the theme of rulers, plots, and influence through “conspiracies.”
• A major narrative beat is Firmament’s ability to remove/flip into Obsidian, described in the video as the faction “undergoing changes,” revealing a darker, more vengeful mode of operation through control, coercion, and targeted disruption.
• The video points viewers to a separate “Storytime” / “Cardboard Crash Course” lore track for deeper Firmament backstory (and Obsidian’s related reveal).

Gameplay overview: what Firmament / Obsidian do

Core identity: conspiracies and “intrigues within intrigues”

• Firmament revolves around secret goals and the ability to perform other players’ secret goals.
• They use special conspiracy cards (“intrigue cards”) and plot-control tokens to manage objectives and set up future plays.

Why the faction is not for beginners

• The guide emphasizes that Firmament is mechanically complex and highly table-dependent.
• It requires:
  • reading other players’ plans,
  • negotiating,
  • and timing when to flip to Obsidian.

Firmament mechanics (front side)

1) Secret-goal theft (“Intrigues within intrigues”)

• You may complete another player’s secret goals.
• When you do, you gain victory points from their completion.
• You place an “intrigues of the Gorilis”–style card in your play area with a control token on the involved player (exact naming is unclear from auto-subtitles, but the mechanic is clear).

2) Plot / Conspiracy interaction: “Blade’s puppets”

• Requires your play area to have at least one plot with another player’s control token.
• As an action, you:
  • Remove/return Firmament components (leaders, planet maps, promissory note) to transition.
  • Receive Obsidian components (noted as a separate faction you must ultimately become).

3) Starting position and economy needs

• The start is described as weak, particularly because Firmament needs planets/capacity to function.
• Practical issue: you often begin with insufficient ship capacity, so you must correct it early (typically via strategy cards and/or additional spaceport production).

Firmament starting techs and units (highlights)

Starting technologies (green/yellow choice)

• Neural motivator: take two action cards instead of one during the status/action structure described.
• Psychoarchaeology: use specialization techs without exhausting planets, and enable trade goods generation from planets with those techs.
• Drone Network scanning (yellow): activate a system to explore planets containing units/tools and reduce production costs (some details were garbled, but cost reduction via scanning/exploration is described).

Starting units (described)

• Air carrier, cruiser, destroyer, fighters, infantry, and a space dock.
• The guide stresses this is an intentionally lower-power start—the payoff is later mechanics and the flip to Obsidian.

Firmament leaders (agents / commander / hero) — key effects

Agent: Hungry Shadow (Miru Vos)

• When a player moves ships: exhaust a map/card to prevent those ships from using a certain weapon option (described as a “cosmic cannon” restriction).
• Also allows ships (while not transporting troops) to pass through other ships without being shot.

Commander: Black Flag (Captain Aos)

• Unlocks after completing “intrigues within intrigues” (performing other players’ secret goals).
• Lets you treat planets/systems/ships as if you control them for secret objective execution.

Hero: Winding Emptiness (Charu / Chararsus)

• Unlocks when you achieve three goals.
• Lets you place a conspiracy card into play on a target control token, and move control onto one of your active conspiracy cards—described as a way to “circumvent” normal pacing to reach Obsidian faster.

Flip to Obsidian: what changes immediately

Transition rules

• Firmament → Obsidian is a required, structured coup-like flip.
• Obsidian cannot be chosen at setup; you must become it.
• When you enter Obsidian:
  • Turn home system and key story/board components.
  • Prepare Kronos Hollow and Talon Hollow if you control them.

Obsidian abilities (core)

• Nocturn: clarification that you can’t start as Obsidian.
• Marionette: plot cards create “puppet players.”
  • When opened, certain plots become Obsidian plots tied to specific Firmament players already seen by Obsidian.
  • Effects differ depending on which plot is revealed.

Obsidian plot types (the five “Marionette” plot effects)

• Sail: +1 to combat rolls and abilities against units of the controlled player.
• Weakness: perform secondary strategic abilities for free (without spending order tokens); can replace primary ability in some cases.
• Extraction: gain a non-partisan technology from the controlled player; spend resources to purchase it again (or obtain an equivalent).
• The Gap: destroy units on a non-home planet controlled by the controlled player; includes early-damage/infantry clause in status timing.
• Siphon: when the controlled player gains goods, you gain the same amount of trade goods.

Obsidian technologies (after coup)

• Neuroparasite (after coup): shifts to a repeated, start-of-turn infantry destruction effect (instead of earlier Firmament-style use).
• Plane splitter (after coup): changes rift/token/entry effects, emphasizing logistics-token movement.
• These lose investigating/exploring restrictions because you must acquire the prerequisite while still Firmament.

Obsidian leaders (renamed “Hollow” forms)

• Miru Vos → Vos Hollow: when a ship of a player is destroyed, you can exhaust to force an opponent to destroy a ship of the same type (active-system condition).
• Captain Aos → Aeros Hollow: unlocks if you have units in the fault; boosts combat rolls with those fault units.
• Charu / Chararsus → Chararsus Hollow: unlocks by completing three goals; reveals/prepares planets then deletes the map.

Obsidian units / mechs / flagship — key points

Viper EX23 → Viper Hollow

• Gains stronger control over a planet during flip, including forcing coexistence to resolve into actual control.

Flagship commentary (“Eye of Heaven” → “Heaven’s Hollow”)

• The guide is skeptical about the flagship’s value:
  • Notes it loses a key ability when becoming Obsidian (per the video’s interpretation).
  • Claims “Heaven’s Hollow” is often less efficient than cheaper/standard alternatives late game (e.g., dreadnought comparisons).

Strategic gameplay highlights & key tips (from the “strategic part”)

Early goal: fix the weak start (capacity + planets)

• Firmament needs planets and needs capacity, or its mechanics bog down.
• Recommended solution:
  • Use construction (strategic map) to create an extra spaceport/aircraft carrier to address early capacity problems.

Early economy: get value fast

• The start is cash-tight; recommendations include:
  • Use a cruiser early to facilitate the Black Operations promissory note trade.
  • Black Operations: gives a neighbor two order tokens + two trade goods and lets you “make their conspiracy.”
• Negotiation is emphasized: trade goods can be used to secure cooperation or alignment.

Starting tech choices (guide’s opinion)

• Avoid or de-prioritize:
  • Neural motivator (not enough value).
  • Drone Network scanning (requires spending action/order tokens to reactivate).
• Prefer:
  • Sarween Tools (cost reduction on production; helpful for doubling docks/industrial production tempo).
  • Psychoarchaeology for mid-game insurance (more conditional depending on specialization-tech density around you).

Strategic map picks (four main ones discussed)

• Construction (primary recommendation)
  • Build extra carrier via spaceport + production to stabilize early board presence.
• Trade
  • Provides early goods and helps you place breakthrough goods quickly.
  • Timing caution: rushing breakthrough placement can be optimal only if you haven’t already spent/locked setup actions.
• Military (as backup)
  • Useful if others don’t take construction; otherwise “spare construction.”
  • Also lets you move via cruiser to apply Black Ops-type plans from safer angles.
• Imperial
  • Described as your “chance” to exploit secret objectives if other players leave the table with more secrets already on their hands.

When to flip to Obsidian

• The video frames “when to coup” as highly debated.
• Guide’s recommendation:
  • Don’t necessarily rush Obsidian as early as possible.
  • Play for a longer scoring window (e.g., aiming for a 14-point mindset), then flip in a 2nd/3rd round timeframe.
  • Avoid last-round flips because you want Obsidian’s strongest late-game value (multiple conspiracies/plot use).

“Tricks within tricks” meta-warning (table behavior)

• Firmament’s strength depends on other players being willing/naïve enough to be “substituted” out through stolen/injected objectives.
• The guide notes:
  • In casual games or newer groups, this can shine.
  • In aggressive/tournament settings, strong players can “strangle” Firmament by denying targets and cooperation windows.

Gamer/sources featured

• Armand (featured in a suggested “Galactic Report episode” where he plays Firmament)
• Cardboard Crash Course (channel + “professors”)
  • Listed professors/sponsors: Big L Cappuccino, Father James, Chris Z, Christian N, That Rat, Iron Fist, Jordan, Stanford, Pretzel Pone, Alan the Questseeker, Shawn, Jose Morales, Sith Soul, Furvy, Guys Night Medium
• Cardboard Crash Course Discord channel
  • Referenced for rules/lore/help and for “stories”/lore content