This is a spoiler-filled reference thread for GMs running Book 3 of The Devastation Ark Adventure Path, "Dominion's End."
All GM threads in this series:
1 - Waking the Worldseed
2 - The Starstone Blockade
3 - Dominion's End
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My player really wants a Starfinder game that goes to high level, so I am prepping Devastation Ark.
I am struggling with the brainwashing scenario for two reasons:
(1) The module starts with a sivv weapon taking out 100% of the PCs, no save, so that they can be brainwashed. My player is not going to like that--if the sivv have an unstoppable on-ship weapon, why can the PCs later beat them? Why don't they use it again, and this time kill the helpless PCs? (The same problem arises in Threefold Conspiracy, which I'm supposed to run as the lead-in to this.)
I would much prefer if the PCs made the *choice* to expose themselves to sivv brainwashing because it was the only way to accomplish something--the logical choice would be that it's the only way to get at the AI. But I'm not really seeing how to make this work.
(2) The brainwashing sequences don't make narrative sense. The PCs are turned into sivv so that they can become good slaves; they are supposed to notice that the sivv treat their slaves badly. But why would being turned into a sivv make you happy to be a slave? Wouldn't it make you want to be a sivv, and hate being a slave instead?
I guess the intended premise is that you're led to identify with the Sivv Empire even to the point of self-sacrifice. I think I could make that work, if the scenes seemed to be directed towards that. The fight against the piggies might work, and the capture by the kishalee (though it is odd that this was apparently conceived as a torture scene, but the torture has been left out). But the last scene is "The Sivv Empire Screws Up Horribly" which is not exactly a loyalty generator! And the three family scenes are just strange. You throw a rather political baby-shower party; you wait fretfully at a hospital for your spouse to bear your offspring; you talk to a teacher about your offspring's success. I can maybe see the last one--look how enormously superior sivv are, even a child is a superbeing. But what is the brainwashing goal of the other two?
I don't think I can sell this to my player. I suspect that a couple of scenes in, he'll just shake his head and say "This doesn't make any sense to me and I don't know what the characters do." At which point one could technically continue play (the scenario is so railroaded it does not matter what the PCs do) but it's all kind of pointless.
While this is not a problem in the same way, it's sad that the rest of the module never refers back to the brainwashing. It would be super cool if you could exploit those memories to be able to read Sivv, but only at the risk of letting the brainwashing regain control of you.
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I presume your party skipped two previous parts? Or you are just commenting on each one in advance?
I think its kinda pointless for author to write "Oh make Players make DC 50 saves. If they somehow succeed, skip entire chapter 1", but if it really bothers you(or if your players are nitpicky types whose immersion is instantly ruined by something small, in my experience players don't really that much care about small details), you could explain to them that being able to resist simulation also allows you to resist the green light sub sonic hum combo. (if they require explanation for technobabble in scifi fantasy setting, then sorry but you are going to have this problem regardless of whether campaign is AP or homebrew :p I've seen players making jokes about "Ya know if the bad guys just had designed this trap to be impossible to pass, they'd won" because in theory you could do it in so many ways that players can't do anything about it)
Anyhoo, the way I understood it the simulation is supposed to make you identify with Sivvs and be like "Wow, Sivv society sure is great, I wish they would impose their awesome culture upon us". The point of party is that moments like expecting a child and seeing them grow up are pretty much universally "human" moments in life so its designed to provoke empathy from sivv's servants "Ah they are just like us, but better!" I mean whenever you manage to diplomacy one of Sivvs in simulation to mention slaves, you get lucidity points to realize something is wrong, the simulation won't mention that part without effort on part of PCs.
(though note that AI in the ship isn't 100% sane anyway, so that might also explain decisions to include the final memory in the simulation. I mean it could presumably be there to show that "AI was right all along with Ark Prime plan" or maybe from Sivv perspective its "Clearly showing us as victims of Kishalee unrightfully stealing our super weapon, what a tragedy!")
But yeah, if that isn't helpful to you, it might be good idea to switch simulation perspective from Sivv to some sort of Sivv servitor race who was in higher position to other servant races.
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Oki so making more observation on the VR Magitech Propaganda Simulation part now that I'm preparing to run this.
First observation is that as there isn't really mechanic for "failing it", it does come across as more ineffective than its presumably supposed to be. That said, final book does kinda not mention Vheiransch's data corruption, but assuming that thread from first book holds true, it does explain some of the VR shenanigans.
First Simulation seems to be one that "sticks to the script" most accurately: It depicts sivv fighting "fearsome enemy" and puts players in position of "heroic soldiers" and getting enough lucidity points reveals gruesome truth of what happened in the simulation.
After this though, most of simulations seem bit "off" since it seems they are mostly Vheiransch's memories with some changes. First simulation could be one of his memories as well, but its the one that also works as "generic simulation" the most.
"Socially Acceptable Party" simulation seems to assume that indoctrinated should just focus on making small talk and making party go well and it breaks down because PCs manage to get more information out of it that reveals true nature of Sivv society. This one I can mostly see making sense as normal part of simulation, but it does raise questions on AI Vheiransch's corruption since to be honest most of the important guests seem like people he wasn't in good relationship with.
Education one is pretty clearly just Vheiransch being really hands on and forceful with brute forcing brainwashing.
Sivv Medical miracles one is the I think shows most there is something wrong with AI's program, because besides there being element of "The doctor presumably said situation is much worse than what simulation says"(raising question of whether Vheiransch's spawn did survive or not), simulation seems to expect you just wait almost whole day of harrowing hours until doctor tells results. Like that seems almost like this is just memory of what happened to Vheiransch rather than actually part of the brainwashing (since if it was supposed to show glory of sivv medicine, clearly they would have solved problem much faster)
Kishalee Torments one is one I could go both ways to, it doesn't show kish really torturing sivvs(just saying they will be executed later) but there is no context for "why are we here in first place" and while the line about "let's execute them and leave one to go to spread terror" line involves implication on "we will pay back for what they did to us", we don't actually know if writer intention is "Sivvs are overreacting" or "Both sides did dark stuff in war, but sivvs were worse with it"
Stellar Degenerator simulation showing up last is clearly example of "because PCs managed to break through the brainwashing, they see the memory of AI that most explains why they are doing this"
But yeah, I do think now that scene IS confusing since its hard to tell what is part of "simulation derailing" and "this is intended part of simulation"
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I agree with Yamato that the first part of this AP is poorly placed and sucks all of the momentum out of the finale like an oxygen-starved fire.
First, it's a railroad. All it takes is one savvy player saying "Through the airlock? No, that's what they're expecting" and blowing a hole in the hull instead and you're suddenly answering questions if you pull this trick on them.
The unblockable "Sorry you all fall unconscious, are taken prisoner, and put in VR" thing also will rub players the wrong way.
Finally it's asking a lot of the players to pretend to be brainwashed Sivv who don't know who they are after 2 AP's worth of participation - this is the kind of mystery you create at the beginning of an AP arc (like Threefold Conspiracy), not at the end. I barely felt motivated to even PRETEND like they were all Sivv other than changing their icons.
The vexatious part of all of this is that we already have a blueprint for how to board a super-colossal dreadnought class ship -- all the way back in Dead Suns 6!
In my opinion the whole thing should either be done as a series of narrative beats, no dice rolls, just roleplaying vignettes -- or skipped entirely.
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so... the most dangerous thing in the Star Trek universe is the HOLODECK.
Would a way to foreshadow this in Book 3 be the discovery in Book 1 of a holodeck? The PCs can fight all those fun holographic enemies in weird scenarios? Then when they get to Book 3 they have some idea about what's going on?
Haven't read book 3 yet - but we'll be starting this AP at the end of this month so I'm trying to get my head wrapped around it.