The Shroud

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This article is for the PC version of Stellaris only.

Society Management

Traditions

Ascension perks

**The Shroud**

The Shroud is a realm of pure psionic energy from where psionic species and individuals draw their power, and a place where those who awakened their psionic potential could see in their dreams. The realm is inhabited by powerful beings of pure psionic energy that can be communed with through great effort.

Using the Shroud requires the  Breach the Shroud tradition, which will unlock a special project called *Breaching the Shroud* that requires 500+ (100 per pop)  Society Research. Upon completion, the Shroud will be added to the Contacts menu from where it can be entered.

Entering the Shroud requires 1000  Energy and adds the *Mustering Psionic Strength* empire modifier for 5 years, which makes the Shroud unavailable. The  Psionic Archive relic reduces the duration to 2.5 years, allowing the Shroud to be entered twice as often.

## Covenants

There are 5 incomprehensibly powerful beings from the Shroud that may take notice of an empire entering the shroud and offer to form a Covenant. Only one Covenant can be formed by each empire. There are 3 ways to gain a patron's attention:

1. The first time an empire enters the shroud it will have the option to accept a special project called *Commune with the Ineffable*. The special project requires 500+ (200 per pop)  Society Research. The patron is chosen based on its preferences.
2. When attempting to enter the shroud the empire will be given the option to pay 2000  Energy and 500  Zro. The patron can be chosen, except for End of the Cycle.
3. The option to form a Covenant may randomly appear as part of Shroud visions. The patron is chosen based on its preferences.

One year after both a Covenant was formed and the  Psionics tradition tree is finished, the empire will be asked to confirm or renounce the covenant. Confirming will allow the Covenant to grant new effects once enough favor has been obtained. Favor is obtained at a rate of 0.03 each month, affected by patron preferences.

Each patron has certain preferences in terms of ethics, civics, finished traditions, and ascension perks. These preferences determine that chance of encountering a certain patron and how fast favor is obtained.

Covenants have drawbacks beyond their direct effects. Roughly every 15 years empires that formed a Covenant will suffer a negative effect:

* Composer of Strands
	+ 60% chance a species with the  Psionic trait gains and/or loses a random trait
	+ 25% chance 8 Pops with the  Psionic trait become pre-sapient and gain a pre-sapient trait
	+ 15% chance a Leader with the  Psychic trait dies
* Eater of Worlds
	+ 30% chance a planet loses three Pops and gets  **−40%** Happiness for 10 years
	+ 30% chance a planet gains the  Shrouded Crater planetary feature
	+ 15% chance a highest level Leader dies
	+ 15% chance a planet loses one Pop and gets  **−20%** Happiness for 10 years
	+ 10% chance an uninhabited planet becomes a  Shrouded World and loses all deposits
* Instrument of Desire
	+ Psionic pops require advanced or strategic resource upkeep for 2 years, it's always a resource owned
* Whisperers in the Void
	+ 45% chance a Leader with the  Psychic trait gains the  Substance Abuser trait
	+ 25% chance a Leader with the  Psychic trait dies
	+ 20% chance a planet with at least one Pop with the  Psionic trait loses a Pop and empire gains **−200%**  Governing Ethics Attraction, **+100%**  Ethics Shift Chance and **−10**  Stability for 10 years
	+ 10% chance a planet with at least five Pops with the  Psionic trait loses a Pop and empire gains **−200%**  Governing Ethics Attraction, **+100%**  Ethics Shift Chance and **−20%**  Monthly Unity for 10 years

### End of the Cycle

When a covenant is offered there is a 2% chance that a far more powerful patron called the End of the Cycle will appear. The chance is increased 5 times if another empire is a Level 5 crisis empire or if the End of the Cycle was encountered during the Quest for the Toxic God situation. Only one empire can make a Covenant with the End of the Cycle. Forming the Covenant will give each owned planet the  Shroud-Marked modifier. The Covenant lasts 50 years and brings the following effects:

* **+100%** Resources from Jobs
* **+100%** Resources from Orbital Stations
* **+100%** Naval capacity
* **+5** Monthly influence
* **+10** Starbase capacity

#### The Reckoning

Once 50 years have passed since forming the End of the Cycle Covenant, the Reckoning will take place. All planets will be depopulated and turned into  Shrouded Worlds. All leaders, fleets and ships will be instantly destroyed and all resources from that empire's store will be drained almost completely. The covenant empire will survive only in the form of a newly colonized planet of survivors, which will be named Exile. The game will pick any planet with 40% habitability or more, even if it is located within another empire's borders. If there is no colonizable planet, the game is instantly lost.

Every regular empire will gain a  **−1000** opinion modifier with the remnant of the Shroud-Marked empire for "bringing the end", with a decay rate of 5 each year. All subjects of the Shroud-Marked empire will become independent.

Every previous colony will spawn a shroud manifestation. Finally, an immensely powerful Shroud entity known as "The Reckoning" will appear over the empire's former capital, and proceed to seek out the remaining life in the galaxy. It will leave Exile for last, although new colonies may be attacked at any point.

In this state, one might benefit from the Reckoning, depending on the circumstances. You may be able to conquer the Galaxy and achieve the end year victory if you time it correctly.

As the Reckoning randomly targets worlds to destroy, its power will increase as it consumes more pops (up to 5000 pops). It gains bonuses to hull, shield, fire-rate, damage, and shield regeneration as follows:

The Reckoning has relatively low tracking, but its range, firepower, fire rate, health, shields and shield regeneration are massive. Despite all its might, there are still two courses of action that come into a chance of defeating it. One is to wait for it to target an Awakened- or Fallen Empire, another crisis or any strong empire with tough fleets to weaken or even destroy it. The other option is to keep building up for the eventual encounter alone, since The Reckoning will usually leave the exiles for last. It's also possible to trade one-time resources and/or diplomatic favors with the AI empires for monthly resources, just before the Reckoning to occur, since trade deals can't be canceled despite the empires' now **−1000** Opinion towards you.

One strategy to defeat the Reckoning in battle is to dodge its attacks using swarms of corvettes and use weapons that can pierce/ignore shields, like  Missiles and  Strike Craft. The Reckoning targets random planets in its destructive spree, so the player will have several chances to retreat, rebuild, and come back. The Reckoning will tend to target small ships first and only engage larger ships when all smaller classes are defeated. A combination of two to three dozen carrier battleships with strike crafts – whose weapons bypass shields – and a large swarm of several hundred frigates with regular torpedoes - who likewise ignore shields - with about 5 repeatable technologies that boost damage output of both systems have a good chance of greatly weakening or even defeating the Reckoning in a single battle.

## Shroud visions

Aside from the first time, upon entering the Shroud the empire will receive a random vision. The outcome of each vision choice is randomized. Each vision also has the option to exit the Shroud if the risk is deemed too great.

### Boons and curses

Boons and curses are temporary empire modifiers that can be obtained by trying to get a boon via the Shroud. Being successful will grant a boon but being unsuccessful will grant a curse. Boons will also please the Traditionalist Faction while curses will displease it while the modifiers last. Boons and curses can grant any of the following:

* **+0.5%** Daily Hull and Armor Regen
* **+30%** Empire Influence Gain
* **+30%** Evasion
* **+20%** Fire Rate
* **+50%** Governing Ethics Attraction
* **+25%** Happiness
* **+30%** Monthly Unity
* **+20%** Research Speed
* **+2** Sensor Range
* **+50%** Shield Hit Points
* **−30%** Ship Upkeep
* **+40%** Sublight Speed
* **+20%** Weapons Damage
* **+40** Leader lifespan (non-stacking)
* **−20%** Empire Influence Gain
* **−50%** Governing Ethics Attraction
* **−20%** Happiness
* **−20%** Monthly Unity
* **−30%** Pop Growth Speed
* **−20%** Research Speed
* **−2** Sensor Range
* **−20%** Ship Armor
* **−20%** Sublight Speed

## Divine Sovereign

If a leader gains the  Chosen of the Composer,  Chosen of the Eater,  Chosen of the Instrument,  Chosen of the Whisperers or  Chosen One trait, within approximately 10 years an event triggers with the option to reform the empire. The event cannot trigger for empires that have  Corporate authority and if the empire has  Imperial authority the leader must be either the current ruler or its heir. Accepting reforms the empire with the following effects:

* Ethics shift **towards**  Fanatic Authoritarian and  Spiritualist
* Authority changes to  Imperial
* Empire gains the  Divine Sovereign civic
* Invalid civics are removed
* The leader with the trait becomes the new ruler if not already, old ruler exiled