So a while back the redking put out a video asking if stellaris should have religion. (
) He didn't really discuss or talk about whether it should but did state all the things that currently in game count as a religion even if it has no real interaction, which got me thinking about a few things regarding something like that:
1) Feel like it cannot be spiritualist exclusive, that would be restricting far too many ethics from a feature. Spiritualists probably should very good at it but they shouldn't be the only ones able to play with it. (It would put into question if the holy cyborg origin would remain an origin though if anyone can start up a cyber cult).
2) Make a clear distinction between ideology and religion, what i mean by that is i feel like ideology is more societal and is what people start out with. It would be hard to spread that way of thinking outside your borders unless you really put effort into it (like mass migration enough that they get a hold) or that the other empire is already similar to you (but still requires active influence). Religion would be the "step up" easier to spread and could "unify" empires (not perfectly but can help things out but like in CK3 there should be the option for infighting) but would put restrictions/dangers on those practicing it. (Like breaking one of the "commandements" would put a large strain on your relation with the other followers.)
3) Ideologies and religions could be similar to the current factions but instead of all having the exact same demands its something you "build up". Basically you would need unity to put in a new "rule" with the cost increasing based on how many you already have and how widespread the religion is. Of course the rules you have access to would be limited by your civics and ethics (not just having the ethic but also whether or not its fanatic). I mean even in 2 militaristic empires despite both having the militaristic ethics one might see war as all about honor and warrior code while the other would just see it as a pure combat situation no honor or such just winning.
4) Of course there would need to be a "head" for religions or some means of controlling who adds what to the religion. Or else its gonna be a complete mess, although it could be a good source of "breakaways" where variations of the religion pop up if done right. I feel like also religions should be their own "entity" like a federation kind of way. Not just a "status" you slap on pop. (So is it the "state religion" accepted by the empire or is it just a minority etc.
5) There needs to be active and passive means of propagation and defense. An empire that is smaller, mono species, no migration pacts and such should be very hard to influence than a huge empire with many various species of different ethics. Also would need the option to actively crackdown on it if you want to oppose its spread in your turf.
6) It definitely should be able to be used as a indirect means of war or infiltration. What i mean by that is lets say for example one religion has taken a big enough hold in my empire, they might start demanding i put that as the state religion and ignoring that or making them unhappy in general could cause them to break away into a new empire on their own with that religion as the center piece. Could be a good way for pacifists to try to "make" friends without having to constantly declare wars of ideology and have the attacked empire simply switch back to its old ethics.
7) I feel like it there could be some "leveling up" to unlock more "slots" for more commandments etc. (Maybe grand religious projects) But unlike a fed i feel like the levels should be locked behind having a certain size following. Would make little sense to me for a religion to get "grander" without actually spreading.
8) Religious wars and fanatics. I know war of ideology is basically a holy war but def needs more and what i mean by fanatics is basically something like this: A follower in good standing of the religion gets attack by an outsider other follower empires might have civilians from their empire want to come to the defense of the other empire and have the option to let them go o the defender has a couple of fleets of hastily assembled ships (imagine the marauder ships) to help them out etc.
9) Definitely some kind of frevor like in CK 3 but there would need to be means of influencing it rather than just wait for it to go back up like in ck 3. Maybe some special temples or such.
Know we are unlikely to get this kind of stuff anytime soon but the video got me thinking about it.
1) Feel like it cannot be spiritualist exclusive, that would be restricting far too many ethics from a feature. Spiritualists probably should very good at it but they shouldn't be the only ones able to play with it. (It would put into question if the holy cyborg origin would remain an origin though if anyone can start up a cyber cult).
2) Make a clear distinction between ideology and religion, what i mean by that is i feel like ideology is more societal and is what people start out with. It would be hard to spread that way of thinking outside your borders unless you really put effort into it (like mass migration enough that they get a hold) or that the other empire is already similar to you (but still requires active influence). Religion would be the "step up" easier to spread and could "unify" empires (not perfectly but can help things out but like in CK3 there should be the option for infighting) but would put restrictions/dangers on those practicing it. (Like breaking one of the "commandements" would put a large strain on your relation with the other followers.)
3) Ideologies and religions could be similar to the current factions but instead of all having the exact same demands its something you "build up". Basically you would need unity to put in a new "rule" with the cost increasing based on how many you already have and how widespread the religion is. Of course the rules you have access to would be limited by your civics and ethics (not just having the ethic but also whether or not its fanatic). I mean even in 2 militaristic empires despite both having the militaristic ethics one might see war as all about honor and warrior code while the other would just see it as a pure combat situation no honor or such just winning.
4) Of course there would need to be a "head" for religions or some means of controlling who adds what to the religion. Or else its gonna be a complete mess, although it could be a good source of "breakaways" where variations of the religion pop up if done right. I feel like also religions should be their own "entity" like a federation kind of way. Not just a "status" you slap on pop. (So is it the "state religion" accepted by the empire or is it just a minority etc.
5) There needs to be active and passive means of propagation and defense. An empire that is smaller, mono species, no migration pacts and such should be very hard to influence than a huge empire with many various species of different ethics. Also would need the option to actively crackdown on it if you want to oppose its spread in your turf.
6) It definitely should be able to be used as a indirect means of war or infiltration. What i mean by that is lets say for example one religion has taken a big enough hold in my empire, they might start demanding i put that as the state religion and ignoring that or making them unhappy in general could cause them to break away into a new empire on their own with that religion as the center piece. Could be a good way for pacifists to try to "make" friends without having to constantly declare wars of ideology and have the attacked empire simply switch back to its old ethics.
7) I feel like it there could be some "leveling up" to unlock more "slots" for more commandments etc. (Maybe grand religious projects) But unlike a fed i feel like the levels should be locked behind having a certain size following. Would make little sense to me for a religion to get "grander" without actually spreading.
8) Religious wars and fanatics. I know war of ideology is basically a holy war but def needs more and what i mean by fanatics is basically something like this: A follower in good standing of the religion gets attack by an outsider other follower empires might have civilians from their empire want to come to the defense of the other empire and have the option to let them go o the defender has a couple of fleets of hastily assembled ships (imagine the marauder ships) to help them out etc.
9) Definitely some kind of frevor like in CK 3 but there would need to be means of influencing it rather than just wait for it to go back up like in ck 3. Maybe some special temples or such.
Know we are unlikely to get this kind of stuff anytime soon but the video got me thinking about it.
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