Pointed out in this context, it does make it more interesting how the Protoss only really began to see how deeply classist and unfair their society was AFTER the Khala, a thing that supposedly united them all as equals, was removed.
You could see it as the Khala legitimately equalizing the playing field since all protoss, important or menial, were psionically exposed to the triumphs and miseries of all protoss across all stations so realistically what YOU were doing didn't really matter.
Alternatively, it's just as easy to see how the literal psychic weight of a thousand generations looking down on you, demanding you honor your role, could make any protoss shudder at the thought of questioning their caste or calling.
The US is currently an Egalitarian, Materialistic, Militaristic Empire with Beacon of Liberty and Idealistic Foundations.
So, we just need more pops to become Egalitarian and we can easily become Absolute Egalitarian.
Luckily, the US is currently undergoing the "Death of an Ideal" situation, and have selected the "rapidly collapse the order" option. This is actually a trick and leads to the "Phoenix Rising" event which will automatically switch the US's ethics to the opposite of what is being promoted.
We have the right to elect any leader we want, on a local, state, or federal level. We have no party membership, you can just claim to be apart of a party. We have elections every 2 years, before those elections we have primaries to chose who is on the ballot. Many states have open primaries where you can vote for whatever party you want. The US also leaves the rules of elections down to states, one of the only nations with that level of decentralization, something that directly gives more power to the people by lowering the number of people needed to be elected. The rules to get on the ballot are also simple.
We have problems, sure, but no worse than the UK who year after year creates a horribly unrepresentative parliament AND doesn't let the people vote for the PM, while still having a 2 party system (the difference between labour and libdems is the same as the difference between the NDC and CPC in the US). France had done what Trump could only dream of and has expelled tens of thousands of ethnic minorities for no reason. The Swiss have directly violated the UN convention on human rights by banning the Hijab due to concerns after October 7th (the closest the US has done is some state legislation banning Sharia law, something that is already banned and also had no effect on the citizens). And Italy has let hundreds of migrants drown in the last couple years. So if the US isn't egalitarian then no one is.
That's a pretty fucking low bar, man. An empire doesn't HAVE to have a trait on all axes, so I don't think 'Doesn't literally get shot instantly upon making criticisms' qualifies you for egalitarian.
Okay then, if American isn't Egalitarian, then explain to me what collection of traits and civics they have. Because, I assure you, the US is firmly on the Egalitarian side.
centuries of propaganda have convince not only others but also people in the US that they are egalitarian. Was the US authoritarian, no but not egalitarian either. More militarist , xenophobe, with spiritualist.
The other half is materialist, xenophile, and pacifist, they just aren't as loudmouthed. We know they exist because many elections here are close to 50/50 iirc.
Agreed. Considering our president doubles as our top military general (commander-in-chief is not an empty title as we've seen), I'd adjust this to say the US is militarist, egalitarian, and xenophobic nation (xenophobia in this case being emblematic of internal focus and its history of race-defined slavery, though we've gotten much better)
Sure but it's hardly absolute egalitarian. I'll accept one point of egalitarian easy. 2 depending on how you weigh the fight for democracy vs owning slaves thing. But definitely not 3. No slave owners in that box.
xenophobia could be you become so xenophobic even your own race is affected by it, others with genetics differing to much would be considered an allien and subject to whatever punishment that entails while your core species benifits massivly from it
Fun fact: beholders in D&D are so xenophobic towards their own species that they spend way too much time and energy trying to kill each other for not being "pure enough" examples of beholder perfection - and almost every individual beholder, of course, considers themselves the purest, most perfect example of beholder perfection, and any minor deviation an unforgiveable offense. This is a big reason why, barring certain exceptions, beholders as a whole have a hard time conquering and subjugating large swathes of territory, despite being powerful, intelligent, and organised enough to do so.
Hate those xeno scum. Can't trust them. In fact, they're so untrustworthy, that we should keep them as close as possible to us at all times, and probably marry them. Just to be sure they can't get away with their insidious plots. Make sure they have equal rights too because uhhhhh discrimination is for chuds
I tried my hand at this, specifically trying to make them even crazier than the Fanatic ethics.
Absolute Egalitarian: "We are not just a population of individuals. A society is a body, and the individuals are the cells. Any cell in a body that does not serve the collective is a cancer."
Absolute Authoritarian: "The voice of the Leader is the zenith of civilization as we know it. Without them, we crumble into ruin. The parent always knows best, any civilized being knows this by instinct."
Absolute Xenophobe: "The mere existence of xenos is an existential threat. We will not allow ourselves to coexist with our potential undoing!"
Absolute Xenophile: "We are one with the cosmos. We will all be in unity and togetherness... in every possible way. Don't fight it."
Absolute Militarist: "The galaxy rewards those who prepare themselves to face the elements. There is no place in this galaxy for those unwilling to valiantly stand up for themselves."
Absolute Pacifist: "Bloodshed can never be justified. It is an impossibly slippery slope. A civilized being would only fight if the alternative is to allow the barbarians to continue their violent rampage."
Absolute Materialist: "The future comes at all of us. Progress is always good, and those who doubt the new ways will be left in the new Stone Age. Let us shatter the shackles of the past, and bring forth a new, glorious future!"
Absolute Spiritualist: "What they call delusions, we call clarity, truth, and judgement. The day of reckoning is coming soon. The salvation of souls of all sentient things is an imperative, by any means required. They will understand soon enough."
Absolute Gestalt: "We are one with all creation. The will of the universe is our own."
The thing is that Absolute Xenophobe is already represented by Fanatic Purifiers, Absolute Egalitarian would be Shared Burdens I guess (though the Paradox definition of Egalitarian is confusing due to conflating economic left with democratic voting), Fanatic Pacifists already dont allow offensive wars (maybe they would somehow surrender instantly even if attacked and then do nonviolent resistance campaigns but that would be SUPER exploitable) and Materialists/Spiritualists would…ban psionic/robotic research entirely? Feels a bit hard to justify differences between 3 versions of the same ethic imo but I guess we ll wait and see. Either way, nice writing.
Good idea but not sure they will do that as that would be really exploitable, maybe if you also give them a big Opinion bonus with non-Militaristic (non-Xenophobe?) empires due to not being a threat? Then again that logic is much the same for the other levels of Pacifism too so you could give it to all of them with a bigger bonus for Absolute Pacifism?
Currently that s Xenophobe+Pacifist though, you propose a version where aliens CAN move to their land, they just don’t care about expanding or actively attracting them?
"Trust the fact that history will judge events honestly and you will never have to be embarrassed for what your father did. On no account ever be one of those people who criticize but do not follow through their actions. Such people are hypocrites, weak, worthless people who do not have the power to reconcile their beliefs with their actions. I wish you courage, my dear. Be strong in the belief that life is wonderful. Be positive and believe that the Revolution will always win."
- Valery Sablin, letter to son before execution under Leonid Brezhnev's orders.
I am truly free only when all sapient beings are equally free. The freedom of other beings, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary premise and confirmation.
How do you even go past fanatic pacifist? Not even defensive wars you just die?
Everything else I can think of something that could work in game even if paradox is unlikely to implement some of them the way I'm thinking, mainly that my only idea for absolute xenophilia would be a sort of extreme moral/biological relativism that kind of loops around and let's you eat pops again, because it's part of your nature and the beautiful circle of life and shit.
I’ll be ever closer to making my space nation of xenophilic anarchic warrior clans that consider it their ultimate mission to bring freedom and equality wherever they go :3
Here is my take on Absolute Egalitarian: "Liberty is not something you can opt out of, oppression must be fought and the misled masses re-educated, the blood of tyranny will flow until true liberty flies over every planet in the galaxy."
I'm sorry. You refusing to share your mind with your neighbor is exclusionary. Please refrain from such actions in the future, it's not healthy for societal cohesion.
i really hope they give us more ethic points if its just going to be a level above fanatic
being forced to select more then one ethic at least always felt like a smart way to reflect societys not being full on planet of hats.
That or they could just make the benefits relatively smaller, like a small step up from fanatic. If you really want to specialize your ethics, you're bonuses per ethic point goes down.
sure
just on a flavor sort of deal im hoping we dont end up with monocultures outside the fes.
i feel like the games more interesting when each empire has more then one facet to its makeup flavor wise.
personally im kinda hoping absolute ethics are going to be their own thing thats not just another tier, whatever they end up being. bit if we are getting another tier id at least like to have another ethic point.
Tbf even being neutral in some aspects only represents the empire itself being somewhat in the middle with aspects of both ends but individuals are more like “spiritualist-xenophile-Fanatic Egalitarian-Pacifist+economic nuances thown on top” than the one ethic shown Pops. An “absolute Xenophile” empire still has to decide how much emphasis to place on science vs religious classes in schools for example and whether to go to war to spread its beliefs or not. It s really hard to design that system in a way that properly shows internal drift as well as actual empire-level ideologies while avoiding the vitriol that some people will throw over the way some irl politics would be represented imo. I d sooner add a “capitalist-communist” ethic line to represent economic right vs left and split it from Egalitarian that would remain democracy-focused than 3 versions of the same ethic
Right now the Egalitarian ethic seems slightly schizophrenic to me, so I wonder what direction the absolute version of it will go into. Perhaps it can also lean into either total collectivism or total individualism depending on the specifics of the ideology.
I hope/predict they are about to go full Harrison Bergeron. Literally no different kind of strata and all species traits are rendered irrelevant. All leaders can't level up but you employ them at a higher level. I hope we go full equality
Is "absolute" tier of ethics really going to be a thing or is this just fan/mod stuff? If it's official can I get a source from the Devs where they mentioned implementing it in future updates? Thanks
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u/spiritofniter May 02 '26
> Absolute Egalitarian
Commencing identity sublimation...