I was thinking the other day about advanced authorities, and don't get me wrong, I love them. I love how they are reflecting how your society changes radically after completing an ascension path, but I feel that they could be better realized if they were "advanced civics" instead of advanced authorities. I mean:
- At one advanced civic per ethoi & authority type, you would get more options to choose from (at least 3 advanced civics VS just two advanced authorities, 4 if your empire has 3 ethics)
- Better way of making them more thematically appropriate for your empire (no more turning your egalitarian worker cooperative into an evil organ-harvesting multinational)
- Possibly offering clearer outcomes from the ascension path situation choices
- Turning authorities into civics would be a good opportunity for fine-tuning them and rebalancing them, too
- They can reuse all the cool authority-type toys (unique edicts, buildings, and the like), plus add unique councilor positions of their own as well
And since I have barely any time for playing, some ideas as to what advanced psionic civics would look like (note as well that many advanced cybernetic, bio, and synth authorities could be remade into civics as well):
So what do you guys think? It would be better if they were civics, or do authorities feel like a more convincing fiction for you?
- At one advanced civic per ethoi & authority type, you would get more options to choose from (at least 3 advanced civics VS just two advanced authorities, 4 if your empire has 3 ethics)
- Better way of making them more thematically appropriate for your empire (no more turning your egalitarian worker cooperative into an evil organ-harvesting multinational)
- Possibly offering clearer outcomes from the ascension path situation choices
- Turning authorities into civics would be a good opportunity for fine-tuning them and rebalancing them, too
- They can reuse all the cool authority-type toys (unique edicts, buildings, and the like), plus add unique councilor positions of their own as well
And since I have barely any time for playing, some ideas as to what advanced psionic civics would look like (note as well that many advanced cybernetic, bio, and synth authorities could be remade into civics as well):
> Democracy -> Telepathic referendums
Whenever a new ruler is elected after a regular election, it starts a goverment agenda of your chosing that might run in paralel next to other agenda. Its gains a +5% speed and +5% duration per new empire ruler LV
Unique government agendas: "Heightened empathy" (big diplomatic bonuses), Willing annexation (annex a system without firing a single shot. It gives its target a cassus belli against you, so better use it against those empires already in war with you,) and Synchronized workforce (increased specialist output)
+1% psionic pop output per council legitimacy above 85%
-25% agenda reuse cooldown
Conduit of the masses: +2% agenda speed and +2% resources from factions per LV
+10% edict activation & upkeep costs
"Gestaltic telepathic consensus has made possible the most direct form of democracy that there is, by allowing citizens to vote with their own minds on a whim, communing with the populace's communal feelings."
> Oligarchy -> Ministry of Shroud affairs
+1 position in council
You do not get penalties for eliminating the basic counselor positions
+1 psionic leader starting levels
+1 effective psionic leader skill level
+1 effective psionic leader skill level to members of your council
Unlocks "Imperial seer" (+5% rare tech chance, +3% research speed per LV), "Chief astropath" (+5% sub FTL speed, +2.5% fire range, +1% trade per LV), and "Shroudspeaker" (+10% telepath output, +50 telepaths in capital per LV) council positions
Leaders that do not belong to your empire's factions have +10% maintenance costs, and an additional +10% to their maintenance costs if they seat at your council as well
"This empire has devoted an entire government branch in order to carefully managing the psi phenomena in the best way possible for its strategic interests."
> Imperial -> God-emperor
+1 monthly influence
Your empire ruler becomes immortal
Your empire ruler might gain levels beyond LV 10, will gain a unique "God-emperor trait" whenever he levels up beyond LV 10, and upon the adoption of this civic
Your empire ruler might take field roles (say, command a fleet or rule a planet) as well as rule your empire
Godspeaker: +1 empire ruler passive monthly XP gain and +2% yearly chances of removing a negative empire ruler trait per LV
-10% XP gain to leaders other than your empire ruler
"By channeling their devotion and psionic energy towards its monarch, citizens of this empire have the privilege of being ruled by one of the most powerful psikers that ever existed."
> Dictatorship -> Mind-control
Pops can't have happiness below 50%
There are no other factions, except for the ones of your government, which now belongs to the all-encompassing "loyalist" faction
Opposite ethics factions get grouped under the "deviants" faction
That means that there are actually 3 types of citizens: loyalists, deviants, and "unaligned" citizens
+10% pop output to psionic loyalist pops
-20% pop output to deviant pops
Unlocks "mind control" bombardment instance
+100% pops gained from "abduct pops" espionage operation
Can have one active edict or ambition at no cost (mind control policy). Two of them might be run at the same time, thus increasing their effifiency (Ex: Mineral subsidies as a "mind control policy" and as an edict as well)
Minister of compliance: +1% loyalist pop output and +2.5% ethics attraction per LV
-25 opinion from individualist empires, -50 opinion from democracies
"Why should irrelevant individuals waste their free will on mundane pursuits? Our supreme leader will manage their consciousness for the good of us all."
> Megacorp -> Spicer guild
+100% efficiency to Zro-based edicts
Merchants generate +3 naval cap
Unlocks unique Megacorp holdings & empire-unique Spicer's vault building (grants a Zro deposit whenever you place it)
+5% trade and +10% sublight speed per Zro deposit under your control (Spicer's vault counts as one)
+150 telepath jobs on planets with Zro deposits
Master spicer: +5% merchant output, +0.2 monthly Zro per LV
+10% sprawl from systems
"This megacorporation has focused in the control of vital Zro supplies, for they know that those who control the Zro, control the galaxy".
> Pacifist -> Purveyors of harmony
Crime does not exist in this empire. This civic shuts down Enforcer buildings upon adoption. Telepaths and educators give pop happiness bonuses instead
Unlocks unique "ascetic" (a far cheaper social welfare that reduces amenity consumption as well), "blessed" (like Utopian Abundance but paid by unity, it also eliminates invasion shock penalties), and "naturebound" (great for Gaia and planets with blockers, costs extra food) living standards
Pops can go over 100% happiness. Pop happiness might go beyond 100%, It gets turned into additional job efficiency at a rate of 2% above 100% happiness = +1% pop efficiency
Empath guider: +2% psionic pop output when at peace per LV
+10% war exhaustion gain when fighting regular, non-genocidal empires
"Poverty and interpersonal conflict are unheard of in this society thanks to the telepathic bond shared by all its members. Nobody can feel alone when everyone is on everybody's minds."
> Militarist -> Psi-forged ships
Unlocks unique psionic ships? It may be too much work. More viable alternative -> Regular ships have 33% of its alloy costs turned into energy (plus a simple, albeit distinct "glowy aura" visual effect to them)
+50% efficiency to psionic components & weapons (think Archeotech AP)
+30% shield HP
-10% ship HP
Soulforger: +4% ship building speed and +5% ship shield HP per LV
"This empire has mastered a unique type of shipbuilding that employs their psionic energies in order to imbue their spacecraft with lethal, unnatural capabilities."
> Xenophile -> Empath diplomacy
+25% efficiency to your envoys
+50% to your Federation's bonuses
Unlocks unique diplomatic instances: "patronizing" (+1 max vassals, +5% diplomatic weight per vassal, -100 opinion from other patronizing empires and leaders of Hegemonies), "mind altering" (-75% espionage operation costs, +100% diplomatic weight from favors, +1 stealth, can go over the maximum cap, -25 trust cap) and "Irenic" (+10% diplomatic weight from pops, tech and economy, -20% diplomatic weight from fleet power, +10% job output when at peace)
Foreign emotional state manager: +4% diplomatic weight and +5 opinion from regular empires per LV
Can't have total war cassus belli
"Diplomats of this empire are renowned for their negotiation prowess, honed thanks to their psionic talent."
> Xenophobe -> The chosen ones
Only your main species might be psionic inside your empire (can't turn xenos into psionic species)
Would you happen to have any xeno with the psionic trait in your empire, they could only work as a "psionic receptacle" job, generating a meager amount of unity and amenities, or be psionically purged (this is a policy option unlocked at the species rights tab, on the category of "psionic xenos")
+10% pop output to psionic pops from your main species
+10% job output to elite jobs (it might stack with the previous one)
+1% main species output per 150 psionic receptacles present in the colony, up to +10%
Unlocks "soul harvesting" purge, allowing you to obtain energy, unity, and science from filthy xenos
Protector of the gifts: +2% to the psionic receptacle bonus ceiling and +5% purge output
-10% pop output from xeno pops
"This empire considers psionic energies to be the property of a select chosen few and acts accordingly. Xenos have, after all, no real soul of their own"
> Spiritualists -> Psionic knights
Unlocks Psionic monastery building, generating +50 warrior monk jobs, and allowing you to produce psionic knight troops (warrior monks are considered to be telepaths, they generate amenities, naval cap, armies, and unity)
Leaders might gain the "Psionic knight" veteran class, applicable to all leader types. You might turn one leader into a Knight upon the adoption of this civic
Maester Templar: +5% damage from fighters, +5% energy weapon range and +10 psionic knight troop strenght per LV
Can't retreat from combat, can't use indiscriminate bombardment (unless exterminator)
"An order of honorable knights has pledged fealty to the ideals of this empire, devoting their lives and souls to the perfection of the psionic arts that would allow them to prevail at combat."
> Materialist -> Inmortality merchants
Council members do not age and cannot die while at their post (their age number becomes "frozen", they will keep aging as usual if removed from their post)
You might sign immortality pacts with other empires, granting them immortal leaders and pop growth in exchange for a share of their resources
Merchants get swapped by "reincarnators", generate +1 pop assembly and +1 trade each, as well as consuming 3 energy and 1 unity each
CEO of rejuvenational affairs: +1% pop growth per reincarnator per LV
-33% trust growth, -25 max trust cap, doubles if the other empire has a covenant
"This empire has mastered their unnatural gifts, and they are willing to bestwo immortality for those who desire it... for a price."
> Authoritarian -> Precognitive surveillance state
Enforcers generate science
Immune to all types of espionage operations
Unlocks "divinate future" (+1 tech options, +10% tech research speed, warns from incoming war declarations), "omniscience" (temporal observation array, -25% crime), and "precognition combat" (greatly increases evasion and accuracy from ships), unique edicts
Supreme Panopticon: -1% edict cost, +0.5 codebreaking, and +2% enforcer output per LV
-15% happiness to pops belonging to non-government factions
"An early prevention of illegal thoughts is always better than dealing with the social diseases of crime and subversion. The predictive capabilities of our security forces now make it possible."
> Egalitarian -> Psiker Schools
+25% psionic leader XP gain
+50% living standards effects on psionic pops
Unlocks psionic education policies:
Universal education (+5% civilian output per 25 telepaths, +100% speed to psionic assimilation, +1 leader pool size), elite training (+1 psionic leader trait options, +4% science per 25 telepaths), licensed psikers (+3% stability per 25 telepaths, telepaths generate resources according to mandates or agendas), private academies (+5% trade output per 25 telepaths, psionic leaders cost trade to mantain and recruit instead of unity)
Principal of psionic development: +10 telepath jobs from psi corps buildings per LV
+10% consumer goods and amenity consumption from psionic pops"
"A comprehensive, structured training system open to all the population with psychic capabilities has made it possible for this empire to truly harness the hidden potential of all its individuals"
Whenever a new ruler is elected after a regular election, it starts a goverment agenda of your chosing that might run in paralel next to other agenda. Its gains a +5% speed and +5% duration per new empire ruler LV
Unique government agendas: "Heightened empathy" (big diplomatic bonuses), Willing annexation (annex a system without firing a single shot. It gives its target a cassus belli against you, so better use it against those empires already in war with you,) and Synchronized workforce (increased specialist output)
+1% psionic pop output per council legitimacy above 85%
-25% agenda reuse cooldown
Conduit of the masses: +2% agenda speed and +2% resources from factions per LV
+10% edict activation & upkeep costs
"Gestaltic telepathic consensus has made possible the most direct form of democracy that there is, by allowing citizens to vote with their own minds on a whim, communing with the populace's communal feelings."
> Oligarchy -> Ministry of Shroud affairs
+1 position in council
You do not get penalties for eliminating the basic counselor positions
+1 psionic leader starting levels
+1 effective psionic leader skill level
+1 effective psionic leader skill level to members of your council
Unlocks "Imperial seer" (+5% rare tech chance, +3% research speed per LV), "Chief astropath" (+5% sub FTL speed, +2.5% fire range, +1% trade per LV), and "Shroudspeaker" (+10% telepath output, +50 telepaths in capital per LV) council positions
Leaders that do not belong to your empire's factions have +10% maintenance costs, and an additional +10% to their maintenance costs if they seat at your council as well
"This empire has devoted an entire government branch in order to carefully managing the psi phenomena in the best way possible for its strategic interests."
> Imperial -> God-emperor
+1 monthly influence
Your empire ruler becomes immortal
Your empire ruler might gain levels beyond LV 10, will gain a unique "God-emperor trait" whenever he levels up beyond LV 10, and upon the adoption of this civic
Your empire ruler might take field roles (say, command a fleet or rule a planet) as well as rule your empire
Godspeaker: +1 empire ruler passive monthly XP gain and +2% yearly chances of removing a negative empire ruler trait per LV
-10% XP gain to leaders other than your empire ruler
"By channeling their devotion and psionic energy towards its monarch, citizens of this empire have the privilege of being ruled by one of the most powerful psikers that ever existed."
> Dictatorship -> Mind-control
Pops can't have happiness below 50%
There are no other factions, except for the ones of your government, which now belongs to the all-encompassing "loyalist" faction
Opposite ethics factions get grouped under the "deviants" faction
That means that there are actually 3 types of citizens: loyalists, deviants, and "unaligned" citizens
+10% pop output to psionic loyalist pops
-20% pop output to deviant pops
Unlocks "mind control" bombardment instance
+100% pops gained from "abduct pops" espionage operation
Can have one active edict or ambition at no cost (mind control policy). Two of them might be run at the same time, thus increasing their effifiency (Ex: Mineral subsidies as a "mind control policy" and as an edict as well)
Minister of compliance: +1% loyalist pop output and +2.5% ethics attraction per LV
-25 opinion from individualist empires, -50 opinion from democracies
"Why should irrelevant individuals waste their free will on mundane pursuits? Our supreme leader will manage their consciousness for the good of us all."
> Megacorp -> Spicer guild
+100% efficiency to Zro-based edicts
Merchants generate +3 naval cap
Unlocks unique Megacorp holdings & empire-unique Spicer's vault building (grants a Zro deposit whenever you place it)
+5% trade and +10% sublight speed per Zro deposit under your control (Spicer's vault counts as one)
+150 telepath jobs on planets with Zro deposits
Master spicer: +5% merchant output, +0.2 monthly Zro per LV
+10% sprawl from systems
"This megacorporation has focused in the control of vital Zro supplies, for they know that those who control the Zro, control the galaxy".
> Pacifist -> Purveyors of harmony
Crime does not exist in this empire. This civic shuts down Enforcer buildings upon adoption. Telepaths and educators give pop happiness bonuses instead
Unlocks unique "ascetic" (a far cheaper social welfare that reduces amenity consumption as well), "blessed" (like Utopian Abundance but paid by unity, it also eliminates invasion shock penalties), and "naturebound" (great for Gaia and planets with blockers, costs extra food) living standards
Pops can go over 100% happiness. Pop happiness might go beyond 100%, It gets turned into additional job efficiency at a rate of 2% above 100% happiness = +1% pop efficiency
Empath guider: +2% psionic pop output when at peace per LV
+10% war exhaustion gain when fighting regular, non-genocidal empires
"Poverty and interpersonal conflict are unheard of in this society thanks to the telepathic bond shared by all its members. Nobody can feel alone when everyone is on everybody's minds."
> Militarist -> Psi-forged ships
Unlocks unique psionic ships? It may be too much work. More viable alternative -> Regular ships have 33% of its alloy costs turned into energy (plus a simple, albeit distinct "glowy aura" visual effect to them)
+50% efficiency to psionic components & weapons (think Archeotech AP)
+30% shield HP
-10% ship HP
Soulforger: +4% ship building speed and +5% ship shield HP per LV
"This empire has mastered a unique type of shipbuilding that employs their psionic energies in order to imbue their spacecraft with lethal, unnatural capabilities."
> Xenophile -> Empath diplomacy
+25% efficiency to your envoys
+50% to your Federation's bonuses
Unlocks unique diplomatic instances: "patronizing" (+1 max vassals, +5% diplomatic weight per vassal, -100 opinion from other patronizing empires and leaders of Hegemonies), "mind altering" (-75% espionage operation costs, +100% diplomatic weight from favors, +1 stealth, can go over the maximum cap, -25 trust cap) and "Irenic" (+10% diplomatic weight from pops, tech and economy, -20% diplomatic weight from fleet power, +10% job output when at peace)
Foreign emotional state manager: +4% diplomatic weight and +5 opinion from regular empires per LV
Can't have total war cassus belli
"Diplomats of this empire are renowned for their negotiation prowess, honed thanks to their psionic talent."
> Xenophobe -> The chosen ones
Only your main species might be psionic inside your empire (can't turn xenos into psionic species)
Would you happen to have any xeno with the psionic trait in your empire, they could only work as a "psionic receptacle" job, generating a meager amount of unity and amenities, or be psionically purged (this is a policy option unlocked at the species rights tab, on the category of "psionic xenos")
+10% pop output to psionic pops from your main species
+10% job output to elite jobs (it might stack with the previous one)
+1% main species output per 150 psionic receptacles present in the colony, up to +10%
Unlocks "soul harvesting" purge, allowing you to obtain energy, unity, and science from filthy xenos
Protector of the gifts: +2% to the psionic receptacle bonus ceiling and +5% purge output
-10% pop output from xeno pops
"This empire considers psionic energies to be the property of a select chosen few and acts accordingly. Xenos have, after all, no real soul of their own"
> Spiritualists -> Psionic knights
Unlocks Psionic monastery building, generating +50 warrior monk jobs, and allowing you to produce psionic knight troops (warrior monks are considered to be telepaths, they generate amenities, naval cap, armies, and unity)
Leaders might gain the "Psionic knight" veteran class, applicable to all leader types. You might turn one leader into a Knight upon the adoption of this civic
Maester Templar: +5% damage from fighters, +5% energy weapon range and +10 psionic knight troop strenght per LV
Can't retreat from combat, can't use indiscriminate bombardment (unless exterminator)
"An order of honorable knights has pledged fealty to the ideals of this empire, devoting their lives and souls to the perfection of the psionic arts that would allow them to prevail at combat."
> Materialist -> Inmortality merchants
Council members do not age and cannot die while at their post (their age number becomes "frozen", they will keep aging as usual if removed from their post)
You might sign immortality pacts with other empires, granting them immortal leaders and pop growth in exchange for a share of their resources
Merchants get swapped by "reincarnators", generate +1 pop assembly and +1 trade each, as well as consuming 3 energy and 1 unity each
CEO of rejuvenational affairs: +1% pop growth per reincarnator per LV
-33% trust growth, -25 max trust cap, doubles if the other empire has a covenant
"This empire has mastered their unnatural gifts, and they are willing to bestwo immortality for those who desire it... for a price."
> Authoritarian -> Precognitive surveillance state
Enforcers generate science
Immune to all types of espionage operations
Unlocks "divinate future" (+1 tech options, +10% tech research speed, warns from incoming war declarations), "omniscience" (temporal observation array, -25% crime), and "precognition combat" (greatly increases evasion and accuracy from ships), unique edicts
Supreme Panopticon: -1% edict cost, +0.5 codebreaking, and +2% enforcer output per LV
-15% happiness to pops belonging to non-government factions
"An early prevention of illegal thoughts is always better than dealing with the social diseases of crime and subversion. The predictive capabilities of our security forces now make it possible."
> Egalitarian -> Psiker Schools
+25% psionic leader XP gain
+50% living standards effects on psionic pops
Unlocks psionic education policies:
Universal education (+5% civilian output per 25 telepaths, +100% speed to psionic assimilation, +1 leader pool size), elite training (+1 psionic leader trait options, +4% science per 25 telepaths), licensed psikers (+3% stability per 25 telepaths, telepaths generate resources according to mandates or agendas), private academies (+5% trade output per 25 telepaths, psionic leaders cost trade to mantain and recruit instead of unity)
Principal of psionic development: +10 telepath jobs from psi corps buildings per LV
+10% consumer goods and amenity consumption from psionic pops"
"A comprehensive, structured training system open to all the population with psychic capabilities has made it possible for this empire to truly harness the hidden potential of all its individuals"
So what do you guys think? It would be better if they were civics, or do authorities feel like a more convincing fiction for you?
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