I'm currently going through my third Secret Societies game, this time as Owls Japan. I am not nearly as dominant as I was in the previous two games, but that is probably due to some weak playing on my part, it's been a while since I played as Japan. The bonuses from the secret society are really nice, though. An extra Economic slot early on is obviously really good, and the unique Bank brings back two trade routes per city, which is much appreciated. I don't personally care too much about the Spy bonuses, but the extra Wildcard slot is great. A slight drawback is that I didn't get the Economic slot right away, it only becomes available after Code of Laws is researched.
One thing I really appreciate about the Secret Societies mode is that it actually has an impact on Diplomacy, by creating some natural teams. This reminds me of Ideologies in Civ 5 and Alignment in Fall from Heaven, and I find it spices up the game.
There has been some talk of boosting the Hermetic Order, which might be a good idea. They don't really get much in the early game, and Ley Lines suffer a bit from Cliffs of Dover-syndrome, in that they are dead tiles, too weak to work and not possible to improve. There are a number of possibilities for buffing these, just to mention some:
- Give Ley Lines a yield boost
- Give Ley Lines a yield boost tied to natural wonders, for example +1 faith for each natural wonder tile in your empire
- Make it possible to build districts on Ley Lines. Give a major adjacency to any district directly on a Ley Line. Give the tile yield to the owning city passively.
Another idea, which will not help with the Ley Lines, but might work as a boost for HO in the early game:
- In addition to revealing Ley Lines, Initiation gives you increased yields from natural wonders
Just a side note, it looks like "Void
singers" is trying to compete with "Deity" to become the most frequently misspelled word on these forums.
