Guide: Yet Another Hinnom Guide

[P3D]

The higher income and luck scale won't allow significantly larger armies that you won't be able to afford. Also, the Rephaite are much stronger with Bless than without.

With the Sphynx build above, one can get P1Mf1 or P2Mf2 with Dom6, if you want more Rephaites in the capital.

Be careful with zero population provinces and no supplies, however. The Melqarts and Ba'als might start eating troops then other commanders. In that case you have to make Cauldrons to keep them in supply.

[chrispedersen]

P3D is exactly right in a lot of his comments.
As prep for fighting him in Betelgeuse, I gamed a lot of scenarios.

IMO, Hinnom requires a fast transition to thug/sc. Neifle can use a Jarl+4popsicles to expand - hinnom doesn't quite have that option - but it can *almost* pull it off.

Its a question of resources/design points. Your gluttony / high upkeep are challenging.

I have to confess I never considered a melqart for blood hunting - so possibly I over looked something. But in my analysis, unless one uses an FoB, or finds independendent blood hunters I think hinnom should ignore blood. Which is too bad,
as its so thematic.

Let me put it this way: Blood hunters diminish your income +/or your population. And they are expensive. Ignore them and kit out thugs.

Theoretically wolven winter et.al would be killer against hinnom, but I never had the requirement to actually try it.

I think that you underused their fire resistance however.

[P3D]

I agree that Hinnom is not a full Blood nation, however, Hinnom has very good access to some applications, validating to hunt a few provinces.
For example, cheap thug equipment. I realized that a Kohen can be truned useful without much equipment. Give a E or S Kohen one (two) Flesh Eaters and a Ring of the Warrior (+5 attack for 3/5 slaves) and an additional item or two depending on the opposition and budget (bracers, AMA, shield, immunity/water breathing items, skullcap+coin to teleport, Pendant of Luck). They have the Prot 2 robes which is affected by the E9 bless.
Cast Bless, Body Ethereal+Luck/Ironskin, Reinvigoration with a slave.

Send (Lesser) Horror.
Call Lesser Horror is unfortunately cannot be exploited by Hinnom. Initially the expansion should be handled by Melqarts and the starting army, one should not waste the capital to buy Kohens which has 1:3 chance to get Astral.

And the Se'irim are still relatively easily massable demon troops if that's needed, 8 for 33 slaves.

About using Fire resistance: not immunity, thus would require an immunity item. Not that a big problem though, your thugs can get either Fire Brand or Dragon Helmet.
I realized that I could have done so, but my research speed was abysmal and was not preparing by forging F boosters.
I won't bother with Falling Fires though, Hinnom cannot afford to mass F2-3 combat magi. Even F1+2 boosters+phoenix Power +crystal shield can cast Fire Storm.

[P3D]

I started correcting a few mistakes in the OP, and then ended up rewriting the guide - it should worth a BUMP.