Hi all. Sorry if this has been asked and answered numerous times. I tried skimming thread titles and running a search but came up snake eyes. I have two questions that have been nagging at me and maybe I just missed the info somewhere in the books.
1. What is the relationship between Ambassador Nor and the Corpse Fleet? The reason for the corpse fleet agent's presence on the Acreon seems have to have been left intentionally vague in book 1 and I haven't managed to find an explanation for it elsewhere.
2. In Book 5, why can't the PCs just destroy the gate, leaving the stellar degenerator in its pocket dimension? I'm sure my players first thought is going to be, "Wait... if the cultists can't get to it without repairing the gate, why are we repairing the gate?"
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(1) The relationship is not expressly spelled out. Given that Nor is accepting a Corpse Fleet double agent (as identified in Book 5), that the Corpse Fleet tries to kill this double agent at the end of Book 1, and that Nor assists the party in contacting the anti-corpse fleet agency in Book 3, I am portraying him as a staunch loyalist to the Pact Worlds. If you want to do it a different way you can.
(2) Destroying the gate is probably beyond the power of the PCs. Not sure if this is "Starfinder Canon," but in most Pathfinder games if a pocket dimension is destroyed whatever is in it is ejected back into the "main dimension." So destroying the gate could free the Degenerator.
The PCs could leave the gate in the care of the AI, but the arrival of the Corpse Fleet as set out in Book 6 would hopefully hammer home that if they do not deal with the Degenerator itself, the Corpse Fleet will find a way to activate the gate.
Thanks, Brother Willi. That makes as much sense as anything. When they get to that point in Book 5, if they start asking I'll allow a knowledge check and offer an explanation to that effect.
1) Nor is described as being a good guy. If you are ok his side in book 3 he provides details on the corpse fleet to help the PC’s which suggests he isn’t on their side. I’m only annoyed you never find the fate of the double agent, or run into her again. Would have been nice if she was aboard a ship in book 6, and realising the situation breaks cover to offer support.
Not really an issue for me as my party oddly left the sarcophagus closed in book 1, so never met her.
2) destroying the gate would require incredible fire power as you would have to destroy 12 moons. While the ultranaught might be able to pull it off, I see your time on the bridge as limited. There are thousands of soldiers and likely other officers on board. They would storm the bridge eventually in numbers the party simply couldn’t handle realistically.
If the players want to ram a planet instead of the stellar, you could allow it and produce similar results to ramming the degenerator if they want to roll with destroying the gate specifically