So Fungoids have beat out the other racial types in the poll and it's looking as though we're going to be running an Empire as well. Any thoughts as to Ethics and general outlook? Are we benevolent fungal overlords concerned with our citizen's happiness? Are we iron-fisted tyrants? Are we some kind of parasitic fungus that can only eat other living creatures?
We could even fold in Rubberduck's idea, playing the race as a loose collection of powerful merchant families and trading guilds led by a single powerful figure. Something like the houses of the Dune series who bow to the Emperor but enjoy some autonomy within their own domain.
In case you're not aware, ethics operates on several different axes:
Authoritarian/Egalitarian - This axis represents the general concern with the needs of the state vs the needs of the individual. An authoritarian regime can institute slavery or caste systems and believe in hierarchial rule while egalitarian ideals promote individual rights and equality.
Xenophile/Xenophobe - This axis represents how alien beings are treated and perceived. A xenophobe culture promoted distrust and hatred of aliens, to include possible enslavement, purging, or consumption. After all, if you don't consider them people then why not eat them? Xenophiles instead embrace the differently-origined and attempt to get along with their fellow alien.
Militarist/Pacifist - Represents the population's tendency towards peace or violence as a solution to life's problems.
Materialist/Spiritualist - This axis represents the overall belief or disbelief in the supernatural, unexplained, or mythological. Spiritualist empires tend to be happier and can access psionics while materialists take the world as it appears to be and usually enjoy some research bonuses. This axis affects the outcome of many random events and encounters.
In Stellaris you can choose 3 points worth of ethics, and each axis has 4 choices, from Fanatic (x) to (x) to (y) to Fanatic (y). So you might, for example, be a Fanatic Authoritarian, Militarist empire or a Materialist, Pacifist, Xenophile. The choice is yours. These ethics will affect what ethics your population express and which political factions will show up. They can also change over time, depending on the emperor and the actions of the empire and neighboring governments. Constant attacks from alien species will make more of your population xenophobic, for example.