I didn’t think it was fate-locked, sorry if I spoiled something I shouldn’t have! I swear I looked it up on the wiki before posting anything, but the page isn’t there now, so maybe I dreamed it? The only fate stories I’ve accessed were the Soul Trade and the Secret Framed in Gold stories. I guess it might be related to the Soul Trade? But I hadn’t seen any other options to sell my soul until I raised my connected:Hell quality and the only requirement on that option is PoSI if I recall correctly.
I’m not statcapped, but I figure the time between when I reaquire my soul and get the card again will allow me to grind stats, and I am still flipping cards of course.
Yep, the card requires involvement in the Soul Trade and Connected: Hell 5.
Connected:Hell can also be reliably increased via Soul Conversion with the Infernal Sommelier. I bought all of the Bottled Souls needed to make 1250 Brilliant Souls from the Bazaar, and then converted up, taking me from Connected 18 to Connected 55.
Soulless people also get different options in The University storylines, which may bear some investigation.
While we are on the topic of souls, what is the best way to grind for Surprise packages with enough of a number to get one, keeping in mind I lack access to The Student Body due to completing the University?
One’s Public is available anywhere, and is a good option to get. Surprise Packages come from either someone sending you one or from “an unsigned message”, and while the odds are very low there’s no harm in opening them up. If you draw cards in Wolfstack Docks you can deal with the Ragman’s Barge (Wolfstack in the Fog: Crying his wares), which has 2 potential sources. You can either sell him some Black Felt Garments for bundles up to 500, or extort him for bundles up to 400. The latter will lower your Docks connection by 10 CP.
While you’re out at Zee you can hoist the black flag when you see a ship in danger, but you’ll want to watch out for Suspicion.
As it is card dependent I would say flipping in Wolfstack might help - you might get it back from either of the location specific cards - Wolfstack in the Fog (3 of the 4 Ragman choices) or Bonfire of the Decencies (grab whatever) and you can also get One’s Public as well. Apart from that if you are POSI get enough Notability to guarantee getting A Gift and find someone to send you surprise packages. Good Luck.
Oh, right. Selling Fourth City Rags gets you bundles of up to 300. Technically it’s the option most likely to give you your soul back, but the Nightmares you get from picking up another set of rags probably negates that.