Anywho, might as well explain the reasoning behind my plan based on what I know of the mechanics.
[ ] Plan Terran Federation:
-[ ] Military Republic
-[ ] Vindictive (-1)
-[ ] Psionically Fertile (3) Mutually exclusive with Psionically Barren
-[ ] Curious (1)
-[ ] Traders (1)
-[ ] Paranoid (1)
-[ ] Ugly (-1)
-[ ] Manifest Destiny (1)
The reason I chose Military Republic for the government type was because of the fact that it first and foremost offers a bonus to our planetary and naval warfare stats even at the expense of any strife generated. Speaking out of character for a moment, seeing as how the quest by Kaelor already dealt with some of the potential internal issues concerned with such a government type, I believe that the players would be much more able to construct suitable solutions to any internal problems that crop up due to some of them having already been solved.
When it comes to choosing Vindictive as a trait, I felt that the benefit of gaining an additional trait option was worth the potential diplomatic malus that it would incur. Sure, being vindictive would probably hamper our diplomatic efforts somewhat in that our agenda would partially be based around settling our debts and grudges, however if we make sure that we have the military and economic might to back up our threats and grudges, we should be able to avoid some of the potential downsides of things. Due to how the trait was worded and phrased, it makes sense to me that vindictive would make it so that we would incur strife penalties for any slights or grudges left unanswered. Problematic in that it might constrain our relations with other polities, but also something that we can work with. So long as we make an example out of any faction that earns our ire, we should be able to use that example as a warning to others, something that they will hopefully take into account when it comes to our interactions with them. Also, seeing as we will already be dealing with the militant trait due to the government type chosen, being vindictive on top of that doesn't really change much as diplomacy will likely the dump stat in this build. Again, while this malus may be somewhat constrictive when it comes to our options, I believe that so long as we can back up our threats, and be predictable to other factions, we should be able to deal with this trait since we are cognizant of it.
Psionically Fertile was chosen because I felt that the benefits of it were worth the high cost. While one of the downsides of it is that its effects won't be available until Psionic Theory is researched, I feel that we have either a good chance to get the tech outright at the beginning of the game, or at the very least have a bonus to researching it due to how the increased availability of the trait in the population would allow for easier research and access. As for the benefits it offers, having more psionics is always a benefit. When it comes to the military applications, its potential use as a force modifier for both naval and planetary warfare are obvious, whether military psionics are using their abilities to improve force cohesiveness or simply using it to blow stuff up. When it comes to the other aspects of psionics, unlike with biotics in Mass Effect, psionic powers do seem to have utility off the battlefield as well. Espionage for example becomes much more easy when you can use psionic agents to potentially read or control minds, while counter espionge is easier when you have psionics who can detect potential enemy spies. Economics will probably benefit from it as well seeing as psionics are common enough that some psionics are spared from military service enough to pursue a career in the private sector, where their numerous abilities no doubt allow them to gain an edge on the competition. Diplomatically of course, psionics would probably be very helpful. While we don't know exactly how psionic powers work in this setting, I don't think it would be a stretch to assume that a psionic can use their powers to understand others better, whether it be mind reading or simple empathic perception, both would be helpful when it comes to dealing with the envoys of other factions. All in all, while being psionically fertile may have a great cost, I believe that in the end said cost is worth it.
When it comes to the Curious trait, it's benefits are obvious. Curious is something that will no doubt enhance our technological research speeds, something that I am sure our AI companions will no doubt help with. Being able to out-tech our potential rivals and opponents is something that will always be useful, plus I feel that it fits somewhat thematically with the origin we have chosen. It makes sense that a polity like humanity to be curious, for that curiosity likely influenced humanity to create the AIs, as well as indulging that curiosity enough to follow through with the idea that the AI synthetics we created were not just servants but companions and sentients that deserved the same rights as us.
The benefit that come from the Trader trait are fairly obvious as well. This trait will likely give us an increase to our Economics stat as well as Territory. We will need to have a strong economy to support any of our endeavors, after all, researchers need to be paid, and colonies needed to be funded, and traders will give us a boost to our economic power by allowing us to be natural merchants.
When it came to Paranoid, it was honestly a toss up for me, in that I was juggling whether Paranoid would fit this build better or whether Adaptive would. At the moment I have chosen Paranoid, firstly because I wasn't sure if Adaptive was available at the time of creation, and secondly because I believed it fit the build plan I had in mind already. Paranoid from the text given to us is clearly a trait that will increase our military related stats though likely at the cost of our Territory or Economics stat. Seeing how I am still open to changing this out with Adaptive, I may as well speak about that as well. Seeing as I am the author of said trait, I believe that this trait has a lot of potential benefits. First and foremost adaptive will probably give us a bonus to our territory stat, due to humans being much more adept at surviving hostile planetary conditions. Secondly adaptive will also likely benefit our military due to how adept our soldiers are. For those who have an interest for my plan, feel free to chime in on whether I should switch Paranoid out for Adaptive.
The reason I chose ugly is not because I want our species to be reviled across the galaxy, but because it fit in with all of the other choices made so far. If it hasn't become clear yet, this build will likely have our diplomacy stat be our dump stat. With that being the case, I see no reason to try to make us more attractive to other potential species since we will likely suck at talking to them in the first place early on. Rather than trying to improve a stat that isn't likely to be a priority of ours, I thought it would be more useful to use the point garnered for taking this trait so as to use it gain another beneficial trait that will hopefully help us enough in the early game.
Finally the last trait I chose was Manifest Destiny. One of the reasons this trait appealed to me was because it felt like something that would fit us thematically. With the New Eden origin chosen it makes sense to me that the humanity from the other universe would want to expand, having already lost one homeworld and galaxy, they would probably wish to make sure to avoid such a fate again by spreading outwards and claiming the stars for themselves. Going from a galaxy spanning faction to a single world would no doubt be jarring for many of them, and it would make sense to me if some of them still felt like it was their birth right or mission to claim the galaxy for themselves. After all, they are the survivors of the ones who discovered how the universe will end. That fact alone would probably motivate them to believe that it is their duty to stop the end from occurring again, and to do that many will likely see that to do that they will need the resources of a galaxy. In terms of mechanics I believe that this trait will give us a bonus when it comes to our territory stat, since we are ever expanding, as well as our economics stat because with a boost to territory at the beginning of the game, that likely will also include a boost to developed territories and industry giving way to a powerful economy with many markets.
Altogether, I feel that my plan is one that will allow us to have a strong start at the beginning of the game. Considering how many of the points in the timeline seemed to have conflicts or potential conflicts raging, I felt it was necessary to choose a build that would give us a fighting chance of surviving it by both giving us an edge in research, as well as in pure military power through the many traits chosen. With our creation and coexistence with AI's I believed we would probably have a penalty when it came to diplomacy due to the many stigmas associated with AIs in science fiction, which is why I had diplomacy be our dump stat. When it came to the strife mechanic, due to how the initial rating was determined (PW + SW + Ec), I made a build to optimize our faction so as to have both strong scores in PW and SW, but also Ec as well. While our Economics score will likely not be too high initially, the territory focus will likely help with that in the long run due to how much industry and infrastructure we will have available to build on that. All in all, I feel like this build is something that will give us a strong start.
