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I do think they should have 3 paths for it, just for feature parity with the 2 other ascension paths, and because if they don't it'll bother me to no end, but that's a personal issue.

Could be something as simple as with gods path, against gods path and become gods path or something. I just feel like they should have the initial variety as the rest of the paths have.

To me that kind of sounds pointless as a design goal. Like great if they have a good idea for it but I don't think "make three traditions" is inherently feature parity. I find it more of an interesting prospect that a single tradition could end up playing very differently depending on the choices that you go down, which is where the features seem to lie in the psionic path.

But we'll see, still a long way out.
 
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To me that kind of sounds pointless as a design goal. Like great if they have a good idea for it but I don't think "make three traditions" is inherently feature parity. I find it more of an interesting prospect that a single tradition could end up playing very differently depending on the choices that you go down, which is where the features seem to lie in the psionic path.

But we'll see, still a long way out.

Yeah but it'd be a much needed variety for it. It could just take shape as the policy your empire has with communing with the shroud and have the patronages and so be a similar situation deal as mechanical age added and biogenesis is seeming to add. Also a way to easily add new advanced authorities that both biogen and machine age add/added. It would also add a nice bit of symmetry to the paths that they've sort of had since day one (even if cyborgs kinda came and threw a wrench in that).

But yea, we shall see.
 
I guess my next question is going to be, will the shadows of the shroud be a similar level of psionic rework as machine/synths and bio paths are getting, or is that left for the next "major DLC". The info about shadows of the shroud is still a bit vague and doesn't mention if psionics are getting the base ascension path split into 3 paths treatment the other 2 paths received.
I figure the equivalent of 'paths' for psionic will be your chosen patron.
 
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I figure the equivalent of 'paths' for psionic will be your chosen patron.
Hopefully also the ability to not take a patron. IMO the Chosen one should be a rejection of a patron to focus power on an individual in your species, and a more egalitarian version would be creating a shared pool of energy.

Will be interesting to see but more than anything I hope we don't have to get a patron. It's really not versatile with roleplay.
 
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Hopefully also the ability to not take a patron. IMO the Chosen one should be a rejection of a patron to focus power on an individual in your species, and a more egalitarian version would be creating a shared pool of energy.

Will be interesting to see but more than anything I hope we don't have to get a patron. It's really not versatile with roleplay.
Not just reject, but outright turn the tables and dominate/enslave them/it.

The Shroud entities aren't exactly gods, they're Shroud manifestations of the collective feelings of the Zroni. The end of the cycle was a weapon made to be used in the Zroni civil war, to destroy the physical realm. Never saw any use though, because the Zroni ended the civil war by total annihilation of both sides.

The main thing is that the Zroni found the Shroud empty at first, and the lore refers to that as the proto-Shroud. They subsequently entered and formed it. It stands to reason then that we, if we get enough psionic pops together, should be able to approach the Shroud in a similar manner to the Zroni: as a playgrounds to our own benefit, not a chaotic uncontrollable slot machine spitting out whatever it wants.

While I agree that becoming omnipotent Shroud gods would be too much, I have to say that always being helpless and at the whims of the Shroud is equally as wrong. It feels terrible to be so powerless, to have to rely on those arrogant prick entities that are nothing more than a mere byproduct of a race that, just like us, was living in our physical universe and started out normally.
 
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While I agree that becoming omnipotent Shroud gods would be too much, I have to say that always being helpless and at the whims of the Shroud is equally as wrong. It feels terrible to be so powerless, to have to rely on those arrogant prick entities that are nothing more than a mere byproduct of a race that, just like us, was living in our physical universe and started out normally.

Would make for a dope crisis path tho.
 
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Not just reject, but outright turn the tables and dominate/enslave them/it.

The Shroud entities aren't exactly gods, they're Shroud manifestations of the collective feelings of the Zroni. The end of the cycle was a weapon made to be used in the Zroni civil war, to destroy the physical realm. Never saw any use though, because the Zroni ended the civil war by total annihilation of both sides.

The main thing is that the Zroni found the Shroud empty at first, and the lore refers to that as the proto-Shroud. They subsequently entered and formed it. It stands to reason then that we, if we get enough psionic pops together, should be able to approach the Shroud in a similar manner to the Zroni: as a playgrounds to our own benefit, not a chaotic uncontrollable slot machine spitting out whatever it wants.

While I agree that becoming omnipotent Shroud gods would be too much, I have to say that always being helpless and at the whims of the Shroud is equally as wrong. It feels terrible to be so powerless, to have to rely on those arrogant prick entities that are nothing more than a mere byproduct of a race that, just like us, was living in our physical universe and started out normally.

Could be an interesting option, though I still don't want the options to be "sign a patron or enslave a patron". The Zroni are clearly inspired by the Void Trilogy which featured an ancient powerful race, the first in the galaxy, that migrated to an artificial universe they made within the black hole at the centre of the galaxy. Their actions also led to the expansion of that void to threaten the galaxy. I don't think there's too much more to draw from that series to inspire how stellaris should go, because then warhammer 40k is bolted on top. Which has it's own myths that the warp was once calm until it began to reflect the chaos of the galaxy.

In either case the idea of changing the shroud rather than just becoming a part of what is already there would be great.

Would make for a dope crisis path tho.

I know in another thread I defended crises paths but I really don't think all interesting ideas should immediately jump to a railroad quest.
 
I know in another thread I defended crises paths but I really don't think all interesting ideas should immediately jump to a railroad quest.

Fair, but also aspiring to become a god does in my opinion warrant a crisis level instance.

This is also just a kind of throwaway joke, dunno if it actually should be added and it does somewhat overlap with BTC.
 
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My thinking is that there's 2 mutually compatible options for allowing Patron-free psionics.

1. The "No Patron Patron". Functionally this would work just well as any Patron, but with the consequences being that by trying to tap into the Shroud's powers directly, you've just annoyed some very powerful beings and therefore have to fend off attacks by the Shroud. This would be a high risk/high reward path, albeit not to the degree of the End of the Cylcle.

2. Embrace or Challenge. At the conclusion of the Psionic path there would be one final choice beyond the current end. Do you completely embrace your Patron, or do you Challenge them to attain their power without further payment. Some patrons may actually be rather chill about being challenged on the whole, but they would all make succeeding as difficult as possible.
 
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