Return to Hell - Solium Infernum Game Diary, Epilogue
By MARK WILSON
Solium Infernum Overview & Review
Part I – Part II – Part III – Part IV – Epilogue
Dramatis Personae
Celesto (Me)
Flatline
Generic Landlord
Rhasgaz Goreforged
Richard (Host)
Shinx
Contributors: Me, Rhasgaz and Richard
Final Thoughts (Rhasgaz)
I had a blast. I was mainly left alone from rituals or vendettas targeting me, which let me try and fail at some things early in the game, and not leave me completely screwed. Out of the game, I was told that you want order slots and charisma concurrently, since a high charisma is sometimes wasted without more order slots. I think I took that to heart around turn 20, and felt sufficiently powerful by turn 30. The charisma machine really broke me down though since I had a much slower start than I should have. On top of this, the other fiends powered up extremely quickly due to great tribute rolls which led to quick new order slots, or in Richard’s case, the Palace on the Lake and the Pit.
I especially enjoyed seeing the excommunication strategy. This was my first time seeing it ever, and the first time I myself was excommunicated. Watching Flatline grab a huge number of legions and still dying was interesting. Listening to everyone gripe about forgetting just one or two things, which led to their deaths, solidifies how nuanced the game is, and how every little thing matters. Keeping notes is a must, not just because of the little details, but due to the length. I believe my time in this game was just over a month in real life, playing about a turn a day, and having to keep track of things, especially stuff that happened toward the beginning, is crucial.
This game reminds me of a boardgame I have, where everyone is a secret (to the other players) spy for a country in Europe, maneuvering and messing with the other spies to gain points for their country. No one knows who anyone else is playing for, but everyone is trying to screw up the others gameplay while trying not to tip their own hand. It’s hard to find a game where you can back stab, lie, cheat, steal, and be mean to your friends or one-time allies, that doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth. Solium Inferum brings that kind of crazy magic to life, allowing all sorts of horrid acts to happen, while dripping in atmosphere and really sucking players into its theme. I’ve since started a few more games with most of the same cast to try different strategies, or just not lose so badly. I wish the community was larger, and I really wish people would give it a chance. The slow burn puts off a lot of people, but it is so worth sinking your teeth into it. I’m hooked and hope to play for as long as there are others willing!
The End (Richard)
I was able to get into a good position early through canny use of the Beast, which really paid off. Still, I needed some canny defense against no less than four heretics, two of which came close to taking me out of the game. My perk that granted extra powerful combat cards really helped there. Once I’d survived all of that, I was able to accrue an enormous amount of Prestige.
With half the Places of Power on the map under my control and their Prestige generation doubled by my Forbidden Lore ritual, I rocketed up in Prestige, ending with a staggering total of 2029. Of that, 270 was from secret objectives, which were anything from owning specific Places of Power at the end of the game, to having certain attributes at maximum, to constructing specific Machines or performing certain Rites. In fact, I actually ran out of secret objectives to draw by the end of the game, having completed 14 of them.
This is by far the most Prestige I’ve ever earned in a game of Solium Infernum, and I feel a bit bad for Generic Landlord, who had to go up against me by himself in the later stages. But it was fun to build this absurdly powerful, absolutely evil archfiend and dominate Hell. And I’m sure that in the next game, these other fiends will be eager to take their revenge…
Post Mortem (Celesto/Mark)
Outside of my failed stronghold defense, I don’t think I did much wrong. By about Turn 32, I had all 6 Orders (the maximum possible), I was piecing together manuscripts for a variety of purposes, and had a bunch of resources and access to high-level Rituals. My Machine had knocked down everyone’s Charisma, meaning they couldn’t gather resources as efficiently.
In other words: My plan worked. I just didn’t execute it well at the end.
If I had been more paranoid about survival, it would have slowed me down but ultimately kept me alive. Instead, I focused on my plans to unleash the perfect attack…then never got the chance to make that attack.
Ah well. I’ll return. Heck, as I write this, I’m even winning over in the other game that I’m playing concurrently with this one. There are a hundred different ways I could mess that one up too, but the climb to the throne beckons…
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Hope you enjoyed our group game report! If you’re interested enough to check the game out for yourself, SI has a small but currently-active Discord server. If you join and stick around long enough, you should be able to get in a game.
Richard’s (Waltorious) other SI Writing
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