Stellaris: Nemesis lets you safeguard the entire galaxy against crises by taking on the role of a Custodian. But once you’ve cleared out any universe-ending threats, you have the option of holding onto your powers and playing out some players’ ultimate authoritarian fantasy by establishing the Galactic Imperium.
Naturally, if you’re the one who lead the charge against whichever crises threatened everything, you also get to sit on a hopefully cozy throne and order everyone around, at least to some extent. Proclaiming the Galactic Imperium sees all existing federations in the Galactic Community disbanded and its member being absorbed into the Imperium itself.
As the Galactic Emperor in Stellaris: Nemesis, you have access to both familiar and new resolutions. You get to keep your powers as a Custodian but also gain an Intel bonus against members and additional Diplomatic Weight.
“Your Ethics will shift towards Fanatic Authoritarian, shift your Authority to Imperial, and you will get a new government form. Your Civics that are incompatible with your new position will be removed and you will gain a new unique Civic,” reads a recent developer diary.
Hive Minds, Machine Intelligences, and Megacorps bring their own twists when forming the Galactic Imperium, the latter having access to both regular and corporate civics. Existing units forming the Galactic Defense Force also get converted into the Imperial Armada, which sounds considerably more ominous.
The strength of your rule is determined by your amount of Imperial Authority. Members can choose to strengthen it, keeping you on your throne, or undermine it in an attempt to become free. As the Emperor, you can use the Target Seditionists operation to prevent members from undermining your authority for a set amount of time.
Should Imperial Authority ever fall under 50, the possibility of a rebellion arises. In this case, the rebels break away from the Imperium, forming their own federation and waging war against the Emperor and any remaining loyalists.
“If the Rebels win the war, the Imperium is dismantled and reverts back into the Galactic Community. All Rebels will rejoin the Community, Council members lose their seats, and all Loyalists get a temporary debuff to their diplomatic weight for a few years, meaning their influence in the reborn Galactic Community will be limited to begin with. The former Emperor will get even greater diplomatic weight penalties which will also last longer.”
Should the Loyalists prove victorious, the Rebels return to the Galactic Imperium and gain a temporary debuff lowering their diplomatic weight for “a few years”. In the case of a Status Quo/White Peace, the Rebels simply secede, getting to keep their established federation.
Stellaris: Nemesis doesn’t yet have a release date but you can wishlist it on Steam.
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