Lithoid, Hive-Minded, Cave Dweller?

[ZoSo]

What are some interesting builds for a lithoid, hive-minded, cave dweller (subterranean) race? Thanks in advance

[Big mean bunny]

Well you would have massively slowed growth but able to colonise almost any planet.

I have not done a playthrough with this race theme when I looked at it when the origin came out. Although lithiods and cave dwellers is a great synergy the growth penalty would be to big to overcome. However since then some new content for racial traits and civics has come out.

I would pick radiotropic to complete the habitable planets list and disperse your pop requirements away from minerals. A focus would be to boost pop growth by adding another race by either genetic or cyber assimilation. The toxiods expansion would work well with this origin allowing extra civic and race boosts.
The race would get capped invasion resistance with little effort and cordiceptic drones would make them an interesting perfect defence option but food would need to be taken into consideration as organic fleets are very hungry.
As for roleplay I would go for a Living lava race or a "lurks below" body snatchers theme.

I still think the race would be a very hard play through even with the rapid expansion you could do. you would need to find counters to sprawl for number of planets and housing for pops maybe through the unity tree.

[CaveDweller]

At first, I thought you were directly asking me a question lol

[ScreamCon]

If you have the toxoid dlc combine noxious trait with sub terranean. This will give you a habitability minimum of 80% and habitability maximum of 80%.

Then run materialist and use the relentless industrialist civic. When the world tombs it will have no effect on habitability and temporary loss of stability from doing nothing on the mission regarding the destabilisation.

Reason you take the stability loss is you don't lose habitability anyway since both the cap and bottom is 80%. Allowing you to not have to pay unity for the industrial district boost.

If you combine this with also running lithoids you will grow so utterly slow it will be glorious as you run with fanatic militarist and national zeal civic. Simply take and colonise everything. With lithoids you don't need food, only a small buffer for some pops you might gets as you vassalise all the empires for food tribute.

It gets even easier if you run imperial government form as you can expel the excess pops you don't want and just keep expanding. Just be sure to pick up extra envoys from ascensions and traditions when you can. That way no one but those with a few claims will have a grudge as you boost them all.

Every planet can be converted into industrial. Where you can use your diplomatic power to threaten those on galactic council who made resolutions to have to buy your favors. Just for you to side with them after milking them for strategic resource. Then, you can even use these extra goods or alloys so you can run negative as you swap all the industrial worlds between alloys or goods, to make more of the other :D.

Its so great its like feeding off the whole community ! Like one... giant... eyesore. The best game I have played yet. I regret nothing.