Hermetic Order (Civ6)

The Hermetic Order is one of four Secret Societies in Civilization VI, exclusive to the Secret Societies game mode, introduced in the Ethiopia Pack. They are comprised of unorthodox scientists and alchemists. Their work focuses on , , and resources.
== Introduction ==
A wandering mystic appears at your palace. His body is covered in writing of a kind that you have never seen before; the symbols even seem to shine of their own accord. He begins to lecture your courtiers about the hidden alchemical properties of matter: about how mercury can be induced to flow towards the sound of birdsong, how elemental sulfur can be rendered out of sacred texts, and about the hidden resonance of certain stones in moonlight. He asks you, "do you, too, seek to know the true nature of things?"
=== After Joining ===
Much that was hidden to you is now revealed. Matter is vibrant: metal and stone thrum with secret influences, starlight can be focused to illuminate essential fluids, and the earth itself pulses with energy and light. An entire wing of the palace is a bustle of alchemical activity, and you have learned to live with the occasional explosion.
== Overview ==
Similar to the other Secret Societies, Hermetic Order membership lasts the entire game. Once joined, players will unlock a new Governor with four unique titles. This Governor operates on a national scale, thus granting bonuses to the entire empire without being assigned to a city.
Hermetic Order membership reveals s, a new map resource. They give major adjacency bonuses to and grant bonus yields whenever a is earned. Members can also build the Alchemical Society, a University replacement that has all of the base University effects, plus extra points, points, increased , and .
The Hermetic Order's base chance of sending an invitation after you discover a Natural Wonder is 100%. However, as with other societies, this chance will get slightly smaller with every other civilization that joins this society (meaning "popular" societies will be less likely to send you an invitation).
== Titles ==
Promotion Title	Unlocked by 	Effect
Neophyte 	Discover a Natural Wonder (100% chance).	Reveals the resource on the map. 
s give a major adjacency bonus to all specialty districts.
Adept 	Reach the Medieval Era. 	Allows you to construct the Alchemical Society, a powerful replacement of the University.
Magus 	Reach the Industrial Era. 	For every earned, s receive +1 yield equal to that 's district type. s and s earn +1 .
Aiwass 	Reach the Atomic Era 	Unlocks Occult Research, a city project that provides while active. When completed, it grants points, and for every in the city.
== Strategy ==
The Hermetic Order is by far the least reliable of the four Secret Societies, despite being substantially improved by the buffs to s and changes to their spawn locations. Their bonuses kick in and peak much later into the game compared to the other three societies, and they revolve heavily around s, a new resource that only their members can see. The glaring issue with s is that you have no idea where they are or how many of them are available near your location until after you accept the invitation to join. In a single-player game, you can reload a save game if the spawn is unfavorable to you, but in a multiplayer game, there's no going back. Furthermore, for four eras straight, s are little more than dead tiles that take up space in your empire, have no yields, and cannot be improved. They do provide a major adjacency bonus to every district built nearby, but that hardly justifies picking the Hermetic Order when you consider what the Initiation bonuses for the other three societies are. Come the Industrial Era, s can grant a lot of yields based on how many you've earned, but if you've earned so many that each is overflowing with yields, you're most likely winning the game by such a large margin that the number of s in your territory is irrelevant. It's a classic case of a "win-more" factor: if you're winning, it helps you win faster, but it's definitely not impactful enough to turn a losing game around. And again, that doesn't take into account how many s you own, which is entirely dependent on map generation!
The Hermetic Order's Alchemical Society is also less impactful than the Voidsingers' Old God Obelisk and the Owls of Minerva's Gilded Vault. It has two main selling points over the University it replaces: it grants based on the adjacency bonus of its Campus, and it grants 1 point and 1 point. Compared to the Gilded Vault's bonus, the bonus is quite a bit worse. Ignoring the fact that generally 1 is worth more than 1 , even if you play as Korea and can easily build a Seowon with a +4 adjacency bonus, that extra 4 is only enough to pay the maintenance cost of the district, the Library, and the Alchemical Society itself. Most other civilizations have a much harder time building Campuses with a +4 adjacency bonus, so the only thing the Alchemical Society consistently has going for it is an extra point and point - which, while helpful, still pale in comparison to all the bonuses other societies reward their members with the Ritual title.
=== Recommended civilizations ===
Without , s are dead tiles that you want to avoid more than use as leverage for your empire. Any civilizations/leaders which have the ability to generate a lot of , or a unique district which they want to build in every city to earn points, can work decently well with the Hermetic Order. The most notable ones are Sweden, Brazil, Scotland, Russia, and Greece, and Gran Colombia's guaranteed Comandante Generales give them an edge in getting more from s. Colonialist and naval civilizations such as England and Phoenicia (and to a lesser extent, Australia, Indonesia, and Spain) can also work well with the Hermetic Order, since they have a lot of cities (which translates into a lot of ) and they can seek out s far from their core territories to found cities without fear of Loyalty pressure. As mentioned above, however, the Hermetic Order's unreliable bonuses and clear inferiority to other societies mean that almost all of these leaders/civilizations can work at least as well with another society: for example, England under Eleanor of Aquitaine should definitely pick the Voidsingers, Victoria and Philip II can go for the Sanguine Pact for a domination game, diplomatic Kristina can choose the Owls of Minerva, and Indonesia can choose the Voidsingers to bolster their religious strength.
One civilization that may benefit more than others from the Hermetic Order is Vietnam. They can build districts only on tiles with Woods, Rainforests, or Marshes, all of which prevent s from spawning. Finding s and surrounding them with districts will enable the Vietnamese to earn much higher adjacency bonuses than they would easily be able to otherwise.
== Civilopedia entry ==
== Related achievements ==
Category:Secret Societies (Civ6)