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More Options Scenario

The princes of Hell are vying for the infernal throne, and the first to claim and hold it shall certainly rule the Nine Circles with an iron fist. Even the demonic rage and fury of these demon princes, however, cannot long withstand the blistering hellfire they must cross to claim this power. Once they have passed this hurdle, they must assault the very gates of hell to pass into the antechamber. However, the throne itself stands guarded by vicious abominations cloaked in shadow and wreathed in flame. Only the prince strong enough to battle past these monsters will find the way clear to lay claim to the Throne of Hell and crush their competitors.

Gameplay

Open Start Scenario (Read this)

In the open start scenario, players choose simultaneously their start positions and where to place their starting units from amongst the 32 non-capital Dukedom territories and 16 Barony territories. The bases start out neutral in this version, but are still capitals if captured by a player. The same goes for the central capital of each dukedom. This scenario also supports up to 8 players.

Strategy Note: Turn order is very important during the initial setup phases and the first turn. Especially if you are toward the end of the lineup, take care to protect yourself from the possibility of a first-turn elimination. For example, you might split up your units among multiple dukedoms and baronies. To partially compensate for the turn order imbalance, each player after the first is awarded additional starting units equal to one minus their start position (e.g. the fifth player will get 4 bonus units to start). Lastly, remember that abandon is on, so if you don't place at least one unit on a territory you have been awarded during selection, it will revert to neutral as soon as the game starts.

Throne of Hell

The Throne of Hell is the inner area (bordered in bright red) of the board, and the players' final goal. These tiles are capitals, barren, and any stack on one of these tiles grows by +3 per turn. In addition, the center-most tile may attack any of the four bases or dukedoms directly. Any player who holds all 9 throne tiles gets a +666 normal bonus.

Bases

Each player begins at his or her base in one of the four corners. The four tiles that comprise the base are capitals and each grant +1 unit per turn, placed automatically as a factory bonus on those tiles. Bases defend with 7-sided dice against the surrounding Hell Rock (see below). In addition, holding an entire base grants +5 normal bonus units per turn.

Hell Rock

Hell rock tiles (textured, gray border) are barren, meaning that units cannot be placed directly there. Every hell rock tile in a player's possession reduces the normal bonus by 1 per turn. In addition, any stack of units left on such a tile will automatically decrease by 2 per turn.

Dukedoms

There are four 3x3 Dukedoms of Hell on the edges of the board, each comprised of 9 tiles bordered in white, the middle one of which is a capital. Each player stack on a Dukedom tile will increase by 1 unit per turn. Holding an entire Dukedom will grant an additional +5 normal bonus units per turn.

Baronies

There are four 2x2 Baronies of Hell in the next-to-outermost corners of the board, comprised of 4 tiles (bordered in white). Holding an entire Barony will grant an additional +3 normal bonus units per turn.

Antechamber

The Antechamber is the outer ring of tiles (bordered in dark red) players must pass through to reach the Throne of Hell. These tiles are barren, but any player stack on such a tile will increase automatically by 1 per turn.

Fortify Waypoints

One-way fortify-only borders allow players to transfer units directly from their base to the baronies, from the baronies to special waypoints (see icon legend) in the antechamber, and from those to further waypoints in the Throne. Fortification is toward the center only, and not allowed in the opposite direction.

Rules

Cards

No limit; 6,6,6...

Abandon

On, revert to neutral at end of turn

Fortifies

6 per turn, return to attack from fortify on

Placement

Many of the tiles on the board, including all hell rock tiles, are barren -- no units may be placed there. However, return to placement from attack is on and players are allowed to keep 13 units in reserve

Capitals

Unit assimilation set to 66%. This means that if you eliminate another player, you will acquire 2/3 of their units and territories; the rest revert to neutral.

Special thanks to Ozyman for developing the Advanced Map Editor: http://prestopnik.com/wargear/MapEditor/