with Megacorp becoming its own Authority and gameplay type in the economy focused DLC of the same name to replace the "Corporate Domination" Civic, I would like to suggest that once an Espionage system is added to the game that some sort of "Conspiracy" Authority to replace, and expand upon the "Shadow Council" Civic.
I've always found the Shadow Council to be a lack luster Civic; the thing it's supposed to represent, an Illuminati style conspiracy controlling the seemingly democratic society from behind the scenes, is represented by a mere reduction in influence cost to picking election winners... and the Civic is clearly visible in the diplomacy screen, sort of defeating the alleged "secrecy" of the shadow council.
instead here's some ideas on how a wider Conspericy Authority could work:
the saying "have your cake, and eat it too" should be the primary draw of playing a Conspiracy; you may look like a Egalitarian Democracy from the outside, and even the inside as well, but in reality are an Authoritarian Dictatorship. Civics for Conspiracies might even give them other opposing benefits along the other Ethos axes held by their citizens, or even an Orwellian Nightmare/Space North Korea option that doesn't hide the truth from outsiders, just their citizens, being something like the Conspiratorial version of Inward Perfection.
However the big downside of a Conspiracy to counter the massive boon of the previous point is that they would need to invest a lot in counter intelligence to help preserve the conspiracy, sense if it is exposed in can result in civil war(where the façade is dropped and you become whatever kind of "normal" empire fits your conspiracy's true nature, and the uprising of citizens either inherit a legit version of the façade, or just make their own government that better fits their Ethos), allies turning against you, enemies taking advantage of those previous two points, and so on.
some ideas for Civics:
"Ignorance Is Bliss": requires Fanatical Spiritualist; the conspiracy is technocratic in nature, it leads and protects the spiritual people of the empire from the depressing truth that the universe is cold and uncaring.
Gives standard Materialist boost to research speed/production, on top of the normal Spiritualist unity buffs and Church buildings.
"Cult of [relevant Shroud entity name here]": no required Ethos; the conspiracy is centered around service to [Shroud entity name here, I'm not familiar enough with Shroud lore to know which one fits best, or if there would need to be a new one created specifically for this Civic], primarily through their blessed Chosen One.
Conspiracy leader gains the Psi and Chosen One traits, and unique events and Shroud interactions(and special alternate Psi Ascension perks to gain excess to Shroud?)
"False Flag Operations": Requires some degree of Pacifist;
enables you to "declare" otherwise impossible wars via Espionage actions that make your target look like the aggressor.
"Artificial Guidance": no requirement; a complex but still rather primitive AI network was developed by the Conspiracy to better manage the ever growing complexity of its web of influence.
Conspiracy leader is replaced by a Machine, Technologies in the Robotics and AI categories also give boosts to Admin Cap. if the conspiracy is discovered its 'loyal' systems will be converted into either a Rouge Servitor, or Driven Assimilator, based upon it's previous Ethos and civics
"Reluctant Tyranny": Requires some degree of Egalitarian; it is true that democratic systems of government make the people happier then any other, but democracy is flawed to the point of uselessness, therefore it sadly falls to the conspiracy to preserve the illusion of democracy for the benefit of the people, while also providing them with a government that actually works.
gives +5% happiness, and Ethos(meaning Egalitarian and whatever else you picked, not what the conspiracy hypothetically actually is) attraction.
"Orwellian Ministry": Requires Fanatic Authoritarian; can not be voluntarily changed to or from after game start
-??% cost for Espionage actions, special "Ministry of Truth" themed building that boosts a planet's stability or greatly reduces crime(or both?)
"Purity Through Subversion": requires not being any degree of Xenophobe; while eliminating threats to our species is an important task for the empire, the common citizen's moral objections often get in the way, so doing so in ways that do not look like "genocide" is vary important.
enables planetary edicts that will trigger events to vary slowly purge Xenos POPs without the normal opinion malice, as well as Species rights/statuses that will greatly diminish POP growth rates in proportion to what it would normally be.
"(I've got no clue what to name this one)": requires some degree of Xenophobe; while the common citizen fears the alien, we know they can, and will, be valuable members of our communities. we will do what we must to protect these citizens from our unsavory lessers, at least until we can make them see the error of their ways.
+25 opinion, Xenophobe faction has slightly different demands in order to make keeping Xeno POPs in your empire without triggering a civil war/tanking the economy due to low happiness easier.
thoughts and criticisms for this Idea?
I've always found the Shadow Council to be a lack luster Civic; the thing it's supposed to represent, an Illuminati style conspiracy controlling the seemingly democratic society from behind the scenes, is represented by a mere reduction in influence cost to picking election winners... and the Civic is clearly visible in the diplomacy screen, sort of defeating the alleged "secrecy" of the shadow council.
instead here's some ideas on how a wider Conspericy Authority could work:
the saying "have your cake, and eat it too" should be the primary draw of playing a Conspiracy; you may look like a Egalitarian Democracy from the outside, and even the inside as well, but in reality are an Authoritarian Dictatorship. Civics for Conspiracies might even give them other opposing benefits along the other Ethos axes held by their citizens, or even an Orwellian Nightmare/Space North Korea option that doesn't hide the truth from outsiders, just their citizens, being something like the Conspiratorial version of Inward Perfection.
However the big downside of a Conspiracy to counter the massive boon of the previous point is that they would need to invest a lot in counter intelligence to help preserve the conspiracy, sense if it is exposed in can result in civil war(where the façade is dropped and you become whatever kind of "normal" empire fits your conspiracy's true nature, and the uprising of citizens either inherit a legit version of the façade, or just make their own government that better fits their Ethos), allies turning against you, enemies taking advantage of those previous two points, and so on.
some ideas for Civics:
"Ignorance Is Bliss": requires Fanatical Spiritualist; the conspiracy is technocratic in nature, it leads and protects the spiritual people of the empire from the depressing truth that the universe is cold and uncaring.
Gives standard Materialist boost to research speed/production, on top of the normal Spiritualist unity buffs and Church buildings.
"Cult of [relevant Shroud entity name here]": no required Ethos; the conspiracy is centered around service to [Shroud entity name here, I'm not familiar enough with Shroud lore to know which one fits best, or if there would need to be a new one created specifically for this Civic], primarily through their blessed Chosen One.
Conspiracy leader gains the Psi and Chosen One traits, and unique events and Shroud interactions(and special alternate Psi Ascension perks to gain excess to Shroud?)
"False Flag Operations": Requires some degree of Pacifist;
enables you to "declare" otherwise impossible wars via Espionage actions that make your target look like the aggressor.
"Artificial Guidance": no requirement; a complex but still rather primitive AI network was developed by the Conspiracy to better manage the ever growing complexity of its web of influence.
Conspiracy leader is replaced by a Machine, Technologies in the Robotics and AI categories also give boosts to Admin Cap. if the conspiracy is discovered its 'loyal' systems will be converted into either a Rouge Servitor, or Driven Assimilator, based upon it's previous Ethos and civics
"Reluctant Tyranny": Requires some degree of Egalitarian; it is true that democratic systems of government make the people happier then any other, but democracy is flawed to the point of uselessness, therefore it sadly falls to the conspiracy to preserve the illusion of democracy for the benefit of the people, while also providing them with a government that actually works.
gives +5% happiness, and Ethos(meaning Egalitarian and whatever else you picked, not what the conspiracy hypothetically actually is) attraction.
"Orwellian Ministry": Requires Fanatic Authoritarian; can not be voluntarily changed to or from after game start
-??% cost for Espionage actions, special "Ministry of Truth" themed building that boosts a planet's stability or greatly reduces crime(or both?)
"Purity Through Subversion": requires not being any degree of Xenophobe; while eliminating threats to our species is an important task for the empire, the common citizen's moral objections often get in the way, so doing so in ways that do not look like "genocide" is vary important.
enables planetary edicts that will trigger events to vary slowly purge Xenos POPs without the normal opinion malice, as well as Species rights/statuses that will greatly diminish POP growth rates in proportion to what it would normally be.
"(I've got no clue what to name this one)": requires some degree of Xenophobe; while the common citizen fears the alien, we know they can, and will, be valuable members of our communities. we will do what we must to protect these citizens from our unsavory lessers, at least until we can make them see the error of their ways.
+25 opinion, Xenophobe faction has slightly different demands in order to make keeping Xeno POPs in your empire without triggering a civil war/tanking the economy due to low happiness easier.
thoughts and criticisms for this Idea?