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DISCLAIMER:

I'll post here some ideas of factions I got, if you're interested in them, have in mind I got no modding nor artistic skills, so feel free to use any of my ideas, as long as you give credit.

Also feel free to comment anything you want.

I'll always start with a summary post and develop it further, so if you like better wait, because I'll expand the ideas in further posts but won't be fast.

I'll do some updates in its originals posts, so I'll try to keep, at least, an update date in each post. As EA progress and game is changed after release, I also will try to update according its pace. Like before, I'll take may long time, and won't be fast.

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Summary

I made this as a proposal for faction creation contest. I thought of them as pacifists, but not in naive sense, but in a passive-aggressive one. As they don't want war, they won't hesitate in attacking its neighbors by any other means.

If you want a look at the original idea, here's the link: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/forum/105-closed-major-faction-creation-contest-game-design/thread/20077-the-kathonians-addicts-to-politics?page=0#post-207140. I also posted a comment just after first GDD regarding senate was released.

Time to recognize, there's more people interested in the concept of manipulating other's senate, if not as faction affinity, by other means, look at this idea: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/ideas/14-destabilize-the-senate-of-other-factions-with-lobbyists-spies-emissaries-heroes

In that time I did it quickly, but now I want to slowly go further into developing them, so I'll be slowly updating this.

Brief description:

They were a peaceful faction, living in a very comfortable planet, only worried about politics, arts and theoretical scientific development. but all of this was broken when a foreign race invades and slaved them.

As they were weak in their physical they were used as domestic servants, giving a subtle access to their slavers leaders. As they previously had a very deep knowledge of all manipulation and political subterfuges, slowly manipulate their new masters, until brought them to its own destruction.

Now they are scattered through the galaxy, but the ones remaining in their homeworld start navigating the galaxy in search of their comrades, and with one other objective: do all what is necessary to avoid being enslaved again.

Gameplay:

I want them to be able to slowly manipulate other factions senate political composition as their main affinity.

To complement this, they'll have traits that enhance their scientific, economic and political (influence) abilities, and in the other side some penalties to all that implies manual work, as they despise it both for its intellectual origins and the memories of being slaves.

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From this I'll try to rework it and fit better with ES2 as game progress.

Affinity, faction traits and techs

Main affinity: Manipulators.

The Kathonians will be able to performa series of actions to mingle with other factions senate, and slowly manipulating it. They will be unlocked as they progress through the Empire & Development tech tree, as I see their lore more linked to it, and also want to make diplomacy and techs related to it very important for them.

This actions will be:

• Stage I: "Hidden informators": Tehy can look into any known faction senate screen and see al data in it. Can even look into pop management screen.
• Stage II: "Subrepticious propaganda": They can slowly turn a faction towards a concrete ploitical ideology. This will have a cost related to this faction total pop in influence, and a cost in dust related to the turns remaining for this faction next election, so most people to manipulate will cost more infle¡uence, and the fewer the turns remaining to next elections, higher the cost on dust. The idea is that thi manipulation should be made slowly and subreptitiously.
• Stage III: "Scandal": All senator abilities from a selected hero loses their effects until next elections. this will require the previous use of subreptitcious propaganda to lower this hero political party below a threshold. There's also a high influence cost related to hero lvl.
• Stage IV: "Bribe senators": Allow cancelling a law, and making the objective faction unable to enact it until next election. Has a high cost on dust. As previous it requires previous use of Subrepticious propaganda to lower this law political party support below a threshold.
• Stage V: "Coup d'etat": Victim faction goes into anarchy until next elections. This requires previous use of subrepticious propaganda to at least change the leading political party. Also there's high cost in dust and influence.

As you noticed, the stages III, IV and V actions requires the previous use of "Subrepticious propaganda" to change the influence of each party in targeted senate. The purposo of this is also to make this faction plan in long term, not to just say oh a craver next to my neighbour, lets turn them into pacifists in one turn. No, it will require slowly infiltration of other faction senates to make anything.

Faction trait: Political addicts.

Gamplay effects: This trait gives a bonus and a penalty to this faction related to the leading political party, being this:

• Pacifists: +5% Dust, -2.5% Manpower.
• Scientists: +5% Science, -2.5% Influence.
• Ecologists: +5% Food, -2.5% Industry.
• Militarists: +5% Manpower, -2.5% Dust.
• Religious: +5% Influence, -2.5% Science.
• Industrialists: +5% Industry, -2.5% Food.

Lore: My idea of this faction is that all their lives revolve around politics, so who's leading on senate will influence all their society.

Note: Yes, I know this is not balanced, just wanted to create a role-playing faction around specific lore.

Faction trait: Public relations

Gameplay effects: when contacting a faction you get vision radius over its capital.

Lore: As I see this faction a pragmatic and ignobel form of EL Drakkens, I wanted somethig close to theyr trait that allows you starting with vision of all other factions capital, and having all them contacted, but not exactly the same. Think this makes sense, having to contact a faction, cause you're not the "Paladin of Auriga", having no previous info of who's in the galaxy, but once you contact you gain a little extra bonus (the vision radius).

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Faction tech:

WIP

Population

Bonus from population:

+1 influence per pop and political leader on senate.

To clarify, if you have one senator, you get +1 inf per pop, if you have 2 then +2 inf per pop. Having no senators means having no bonus.

Population collection bonus:

WIP

Political traits:

WIP

Ideology:

Pacifists.

Starting government:

Republic

Lore: as you may think they¡ll fit better with democracy, my idea here is that firstly they like the politics at all levels, specially at a local one, and the way one can progress into its society is almost throug politics, giving this too a lot of power to senators and representatives, which fits with actual game republic description. I also wanted the republic bonus to laws, as IMO this faction will have a greater impact from enacted laws that any other.

Background:

WIP

Homeworld

WIP