TEXT: OWEN K.C. STEPHENS
  EMPIRE  
  OF BONES
  
  Supercolossal ultranought*
  Speed 4; Maneuverability clumsy (turn 4); Drift 1
  AC 28; TL 28
  HP 1,050; DT 20; CT 210
  Shields heavy 280 (forward 70, port 70, starboard 70, aft 70)
  Attack (Forward) mass driver (2d6×10), ultra plasma cannon* (9d6×10)
  Attack (Port) mass driver (2d6×10), negative-energy cannon** (5d8), quantum missile launcher (2d8×10)
  Attack (Starboard) mass driver (2d6×10), negative-energy cannon** (5d8), quantum missile launcher (2d8×10)
  Attack (Turret) gravity cannon (2d6×10), negative-energy cannon** (5d8), negative-energy cannon** (5d8)
  Power Core Heavy Titan* (950 PCU); Drift Engine Signal Basic; Systems basic long-range sensors, crew quarters 
  (common), mk 6 armor, mk 7 defenses, mk 10 mononode computer, mk 10 network nodes* (3), slime-patch 
  systemAA; Expansion Bays cargo holds (35), hangar bays (24 Medium ships), arcane laboratory, arcane 
  mortuary**, escape pods, general science lab, sealed environment chamber, tech workshop
  Modifiers +10 to any 4 checks per round, +2 Computers, –1 Piloting; Complement 3,000 (minimum 250, maximum 5,000)
  CREW 
  Captain Diplomacy +34 (20 ranks), Engineering +30 (20 ranks), gunnery +26, Intimidate +34 (20 ranks), Piloting 
  +30 (20 ranks)
  Engineer (5 officers, 150 crew each) Engineering +34 (20 ranks)
  Gunners (10 officers, 150 crew each) gunnery +31
  Pilot (1 officer, 150 crew) Piloting +34 (20 ranks)
  Science Officer (4 officers, 150 crew each) Computers +34 (20 ranks)
  * For more information, see “Ships of the Line” on pages 44–47.
  ** For more information, see “Ships of the Corpse Fleet” on pages 48–53.
  Only a few Blackwind Annihilators exist, and their origins are lost in the Gap. These mighty ultranoughts were already in 
  orbit around Eox, fully armed and operational, when the first bone sages realized they had no memories of their previous 
  centuries. The Cruel Perdition participated in the Magefire Assault; the damage it sustained from Absalom Station’s defenders 
  took several decades to repair, but it is now back online. Heart’s Decay was lost during one of the major early battles in 
  the war between the Pact Worlds and the Veskarium. Shortly after Eox signed the Absalom Pact, the then-captain of the 
  Empire of Bones mutinied against his admiral, taking the vessel and most of its support ships to form the rebellious Corpse 
  Fleet. In the years since then, Blackwind Engineering began construction on a new Annihilator, but has since left the vessel 
  unfinished in its shipyards due to a lack of potential buyers. 
  A Blackwind Annihilator is often used as a flagship for its navy and is always assigned at least a small flotilla of other 
  capital ships and smaller support craft. The ultranought is rarely risked in battles with large enemy armadas, instead 
  being used as a blunt instrument to crush smaller fleets. When not employed as a weapon, it is often kept in reserve to 
  protect major outposts and shipyards or to act as a mobile headquarters for task forces undertaking special missions.
  BLACKWIND ANNIHILATOR
  TIER 20
  
  On the Cover
  Paizo Inc.
  7120 185th Ave NE, Ste 120
  Redmond, WA 98052-0577
  paizo.com
  EMPIRE OF BONES
  PART 6 OF 6
  Empire of Bones 
  2
  by Owen K.C. Stephens
  Continuing the Campaign 
  38
  by John Compton
  Ships of the Line 
  44
  by Owen K.C. Stephens
  Ships of the Corpse Fleet 
  48
  by Jason Keeley
  Alien Archives 
  54
  by Owen K.C. Stephens and Larry Wilhelm
  Codex of Worlds: Shimrinsara 
  62
  by Larry Wilhelm
  Starship: Blackwind Annihilator 
  Inside Covers
  by Owen K.C. Stephens
  This book refers to several other Starfinder products, yet these additional supplements are not 
  required to make use of this book. Readers interested in references to Starfinder hardcovers can find 
  the complete rules of these books available online for free at paizo.com/sfrd.
  This product is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with Starfinder or the Pathfinder 
  Roleplaying Game.
  Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, 
  Section 1(e), and are not Open Game Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper nouns (characters, deities, locations, etc., 
  as well as all adjectives, names, titles, and descriptive terms derived from proper nouns), artworks, characters, dialogue, locations, 
  plots, storylines, trade dress, the historical period called the Gap, the terms kishalee, sivv, and skyfire, and the Drift (the official 
  Open Game Content term for which is “hyperspace”). (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content, or 
  are exclusively derived from previous Open Game Content, or that are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)
  Open Game Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this Paizo game 
  product are Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(d). No portion of this work other 
  than the material designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission.
  Starfinder Adventure Path #5: The Thirteenth Gate © 2018, Paizo Inc. All Rights Reserved. Paizo, Paizo Inc., the Paizo golem 
  logo, Pathfinder, the Pathfinder logo, Pathfinder Society, Starfinder, and the Starfinder logo are registered trademarks of Paizo 
  Inc.; Dead Suns, Pathfinder Accessories, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Adventures, 
  Pathfinder Battles, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, Pathfinder Cards, Pathfinder Combat Pad, Pathfinder Flip-Mat, Pathfinder 
  Legends, Pathfinder Map Pack, Pathfinder Module, Pathfinder Pawns, Pathfinder Player Companion, Pathfinder Roleplaying 
  Game, Pathfinder Tales, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Combat Pad, Starfinder Flip-Mat, Starfinder Pawns, and Starfinder 
  Society are trademarks of Paizo Inc.
  Printed in China.
  Leading the Corpse Fleet armada that’s attempting 
  to take control of the Stellar Degenerator, Admiral 
  Serovox is a powerful, terrifying necrovite illustrated 
  by artist David Alvarez.
  Development Leads • Jason Keeley and Chris Sims
  Authors • Owen K.C. Stephens, with John Compton, Jason 
  Keeley, and Larry Wilhelm
  Cover Artist • David Alvarez
  Interior Artists • Oh Wang Jing, Mark Molnar, 
   
  Mirco Paganssi, Mary Jane Pajaron, Matias Tapia, and 
  Ben Wootten
  Cartographer • Damien Mammoliti
  Creative Directors • James Jacobs, Robert G. McCreary, 
  and Sarah E. Robinson
  Director of Game Design • Jason Bulmahn
  Managing Developer • Adam Daigle
  Development Coordinator • Amanda Hamon Kunz
  Organized Play Lead Developer • John Compton
  Developers • Eleanor Ferron, Crystal Frasier, Jason Keeley, 
  Luis Loza, Ron Lundeen, Joe Pasini, Michael Sayre, 
  Chris Sims, and Linda Zayas-Palmer
  Starfinder Design Lead • Owen K.C. Stephens
  Starfinder Society Developer • Thurston Hillman
  Senior Designer • Stephen Radney-MacFarland 
  Designers • Logan Bonner and Mark Seifter
  Managing Editor • Judy Bauer
  Senior Editor • Christopher Carey
  Editors • James Case, Leo Glass, Lyz Liddell, Adrian Ng, 
  Lacy Pellazar, and Jason Tondro
  Art Director • Sonja Morris
  Senior Graphic Designers • Emily Crowell and Adam Vick
  Franchise Manager • Mark Moreland
  Project Manager • Gabriel Waluconis
  Publisher • Erik Mona
  Paizo CEO • Lisa Stevens
  Chief Operations Officer • Jeffrey Alvarez
  Chief Financial Officer • John Parrish
  Chief Technical Officer • Vic Wertz
  Director of Sales • Pierce Watters
  Sales Associate • Cosmo Eisele
  Vice President of Marketing & Licensing • Jim Butler
  Marketing Manager • Dan Tharp
  Licensing Manager • Glenn Elliott
  Public Relations Manager • Aaron Shanks
  Organized Play Manager • Tonya Woldridge
  Accountant • Christopher Caldwell
  Data Entry Clerk • B. Scott Keim
  Director of Technology • Dean Ludwig
  Web Production Manager • Chris Lambertz
  Senior Software Developer • Gary Teter
  Webstore Coordinator • Rick Kunz 
  Customer Service Team • Sharaya Copas, Katina Davis, 
  Sara Marie, and Diego Valdez
  Warehouse Team • Laura Wilkes Carey, Will Chase, 
  Mika Hawkins, Heather Payne, Jeff Strand, and 
  Kevin Underwood
  Website Team • Brian Bauman, Robert Brandenburg, 
  Whitney Chatterjee, Lissa Guillet, Erik Keith, and 
  Andrew White
  
  2
  EMPIRE OF BONES
  PART 1: CLOSE TO THE BONE  
  3
  As the Stellar Degenerator is revealed, a massive Corpse Fleet armada arrives! 
  The heroes must sneak onto the fleet’s flagship, the Empire of Bones, to enact an 
  audacious plan to destroy both the ultranought and the superweapon.
  PART 2: MASS GRAVES  
  7
  Once on board the Empire of Bones, the heroes can discover a map of the 
  ultranought and a way to elude the ship’s security. 
  PART 3: IN THE MARROW 
   
  20
  To reach the bridge, the PCs race through the massive of the Empire of Bones in a 
  grav-train while hunted by undead.
  PART 4: DEAD TO RIGHTS 
   
  28
  The heroes face off against the admiral of the entire armada in an effort to take 
  command of the ultranought and pilot it onto a collision course with the Stellar 
  Degenerator—hopefully escaping the ensuing destruction!
  ADVANCEMENT TRACK
   
  The PCs begin this adventure at 
  11th level.
    
  The PCs should be 12th 
  level before they reach the 
  command section.
   
  The PCs should be 13th level by 
  the end of the adventure.
  “Empire of Bones” is designed  
  for four characters.
  11
  12
  13
  
  3
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  The Corpse Fleet was formed when a large portion of the 
  Eoxian navy went rogue after the signing of the Absalom 
  Pact several centuries ago. Since then, those undead have 
  gathered their strength and searched for a way to both 
  destroy all living things within the Pact Worlds system and 
  reclaim what they consider their home world. Fate dropped 
  such an opportunity into their laps when a derelict mining 
  ship called the Acreon appeared outside of Absalom Station, 
  towing a strange rock found in the Drift. The Corpse Fleet was 
  already interested in the Acreon, as it secretly carried a double 
  agent attempting to return to Eox (see Starfinder Adventure 
  Path #1: Incident at Absalom Station), so the undead navy’s 
  officers were quite interested when a group of Starfinders—
  the PCs—became famous for broadcasting their exploration 
  of the asteroid. Undying Admiral Shathrava placed one of his 
  best necrovites, Admiral Serovox, in charge of keeping an eye 
  on these developments in case they yielded fruit.
  Serovox was curious to see the Starfinders travel to 
  Castrovel and clash with the Cult of the Devourer (see 
  Starfinder Adventure Path #2: Temple of the Twelve), whose 
  agents were following scraps of truth in an ancient doomsday 
  prophecy. As the cultists transmitted the information they 
  discovered to their comrades, Serovox saw a chance to 
  outmaneuver the PCs. The admiral sent a force to the cultists’ 
  Diaspora base, but it arrived too late to stop the followers 
  of the Star-Eater from disappearing into the Vast. However, 
  the undead agents were able to discover where the cultists 
  went and why: they had traveled to a distant uncharted star 
  system called Nejeor on the trail of an ancient superweapon 
  called the Stellar Degenerator.
  This was more than the Corpse Fleet could have hoped for. 
  As Serovox contacted their superior, the agents—under the 
  command of jiang-shi vampire Captain Zeera Vesh—retreated 
  to their secret hiding place on Eox. Unfortunately, the group 
  of Starfinders tracked down Captain Vesh and her agents, 
  wiped them out, and obtained the Cult of the Devourer’s 
  information for themselves (see Starfinder Adventure Path 
  #3: Splintered Worlds). As is standard procedure for hidden 
  Corpse Fleet enclaves on Eox, the captain’s files held no 
  mention of Admiral Serovox or their ultimate plans. The 
  admiral chose not to retaliate against the Starfinders, instead 
  directing other agents to place a tracking device on the PCs’ 
  starship before it left Eox. Serovox also sent a single, speedy 
  Corpse Fleet craft to do the same to the Cult of the Devourer 
  vessel as it reached the Nejeor system. Although the Corpse 
  Fleet craft and its pilot were destroyed in the process, it 
  was successful in its mission. Serovox decided to remain 
  in the shadows and let the two groups uncover the Stellar 
  Degenerator and weaken each other in the process—which 
  they appear to have done admirably.
  Admiral Serovox’s plan is about to come to fruition. If the 
  admiral can gain control of the ancient superweapon, it will 
  mean a terrible death for all living creatures of the Pact Worlds.
  PART 1:  
  CLOSE TO THE BONE
  By the end of the previous adventure, “The Thirteenth 
  Gate,” the PCs have defeated the sect of the Cult of the 
  Devourer known as the Desperate Hunger, placing the Stellar 
  Degenerator out of the cult’s reach—but they haven’t won 
  yet. No sooner did they open the demiplane containing the 
  superweapon than a Corpse Fleet armada appeared to lay 
  claim to the Gate of Twelve Suns. 
  The arrival of the armada headed by the Empire of Bones has 
  brought the ancient kishalee defenses of the Nejeor system 
  back to life. While smaller ships such as the PCs’ vessel lack 
  sufficiently powerful energy signatures for the megastructure 
  to register them as threats, the Corpse Fleet flagship and its 
  accompanying escorts aren’t so lucky. Previously undetected 
  capital weapons have emerged from beneath the surface of 
  the Gate of Twelve Suns’ controller moons, and the system 
  is now filled with laser fire and destructive pulses of gravity 
  from the cosmic strings at the center of each. The Corpse 
  Fleet armada is currently occupied with trying to destroy 
  those defenses without otherwise damaging the controller 
  moons, so it can safely enter the demiplane to claim the 
  Stellar Degenerator.
  A DARING PLAN
  From their position within the control center on Gate 1’s 
  controller moon, the PCs can get an idea of the chaos that 
  awaits them outside. The many displays around them flash 
  with multiple warnings, detailing a massive contingent 
  of hostile ships that emit unusual energy signatures. A 
  PC who succeeds at a DC 20 Computers or Culture check 
  recognizes that these vessels are Eoxian in design—strange 
  amalgamations of magic and technology that appear to be 
  made out of bone and are open to the void of space. There are 
  dozens of them in various shapes and sizes, but all are built 
  for war, indicating that they are from the rogue navy known 
  as the Corpse Fleet. In addition, they are accompanied by a 
  flagship that is at least 6 miles long, possibly larger than any 
  starship the PCs have ever seen! Additional information about 
  this type of ship, a Supercolossal ultranought, can be found in 
  Ships of the Line starting on page 45.
  It should be obvious to the heroes that they are heavily 
  outgunned (though a PC can deduce as much with a 
  ADVENTURE 
  BACKGROUND
  
  4
  successful DC 10 Wisdom check if necessary). However, the 
  nearby computers also indicate the activation of a number 
  of automated defenses placed all around the Nejeor system, 
  which are keeping the Corpse Fleet at bay for the time being. 
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 20 Computers check or DC 15 
  Profession (soldier) check realizes that the Corpse Fleet might 
  be distracted enough by this barrage that the PCs aren’t 
  completely doomed.
  While it is possible to stealthily escape the fray long 
  enough to enter the Drift and escape, that would leave the 
  Stellar Degenerator in the hands of the Corpse Fleet, who 
  would have no compunctions against using the superweapon 
  on the Pact Worlds’ sun and beyond. Hopefully, the PCs 
  remember the promise to destroy the Stellar Degenerator that 
  they made to the artificial intelligence Osteth in the previous 
  adventure and won’t try to flee. 
  However, there is a way for the PCs to kill two birds with 
  one stone. By infiltrating and seizing control of the flagship, 
  the Empire of Bones, they can steer it into the portal to collide 
  with the Stellar Degenerator and destroy both. If the PCs 
  don’t come up with this plan on their own, a PC who succeeds 
  at a DC 24 Computers check or DC 18 Profession (soldier) 
  check while studying the displays realizes this opportunity.
  Even if the PCs’ immediate reaction is to hide, seek a better 
  tactical position, or try to come up with another plan, they will 
  have to go back to their starship sooner or later if they are 
  ever going to leave the controller moon. Corpse Fleet troops 
  are waiting for them there, and they may even assault the 
  controller moon’s control center (see Event 1 below).
  THE STELLAR DEGENERATOR
  Now that the superweapon’s demiplane is opened, the PCs 
  might want to get a look at the thing they have been chasing 
  after all this time. They can’t see it by stepping outside and 
  looking up at the sky, but they can pull up a digital display of 
  the superweapon on the control center’s computers. 
  Over a dozen miles long, the Stellar Degenerator is an 
  enormous conical vessel with a series of ridges running along 
  its circumference in a continuous spiral. Though it appears 
  to have been carved from a single titanic block of stone, 
  various antennae, capital weapons, and control structures 
  jut from its exterior. A dish-like device—an energy collector—
  protrudes from the vessel’s tip. Its engines and weapons are 
  dormant, but the Stellar Degenerator nevertheless emanates 
  a powerful energy signature. Even though it is still on the 
  other side of a planar portal, the superweapon practically 
  hums with destructive potential.
  The PCs may want to search for the location on the Stellar 
  Degenerator from which the Drift Rock was removed. A PC can 
  find the damaged spot with a successful DC 30 Computers or 
  Perception check while using the control center’s computers: 
  a chunk about 300 feet wide has been neatly carved from one 
  of the aftward ridges, amid a handful of hatches that look like 
  docking bays.
  EVENT 1: DEATH COMES CALLING (CR 13)
  Thanks to the tracking device placed aboard the PCs’ 
  starship, Serovox is aware of where they have landed. 
  While the rest of the armada is dispersing around the Gate 
  of Twelve Suns to deal with its defense, the admiral sent 
  a Blackwind Sepulcher (Starfinder Core Rulebook 307) and 
  a squad of undead marines to the controller moon. These 
  troops have orders to find the PCs, kill them, and return their 
  bodies to the Empire of Bones. 
  If the PCs have discovered and destroyed the tracking 
  device, routine scans still inform the Corpse Fleet armada 
  that a starship landed on the controller moon. In this case, 
  the marines’ orders are still to track down the vessel’s 
  owners, destroy them, and bring their corpses back for 
  undead fodder.
  Most likely, the PCs left their starship on the landing pad 
  half a mile from the control center (see Gate 1 on page 11 
  of Starfinder Adventure Path #5: The Thirteenth Gate). The 
  Sepulcher has cleared a separate landing spot in the jungle 
  a few hundred feet away using laser fire, and the marines 
  have disembarked. 
  This event can take place anywhere you see fit. If the PCs 
  take a long time scanning the skies from within the control 
  center, the marines eventually find the control center and 
  storm in. The PCs might spot the ship landing as they traverse 
  the jungle and decide to ambush the Corpse Fleet troops. The 
  marines could attempt to create an ambush of their own just 
  at the edges of the clearing that contain the landing pad. Alter 
  the staging details as you require to suit your campaign and 
  the temperament of your players.
  Creatures: The eight corpsefolk who arrived on the 
  Sepulcher aren’t concerned with exploring the entirety of the 
  controller moon, only carrying out their orders, which are to 
  kill any living creatures they come across. 
  CORPSEFOLK MARINES (8) 
  CR 7
  XP 3,200 each
  Corpsefolk soldier (see page 56)
  NE Medium undead
  Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14
  DEFENSE 
  HP 126 EACH
  EAC 19; KAC 22
  Fort +9; Ref +7; Will +8
  DR 5/magic; Immunities undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee LFD pulse gauntlet +14 (2d6+9 B & So; critical 
  knockdown)
  Ranged dual acid dart rifle +17 (2d8+8 A & P; critical 
  corrode 2d4) or
  flash grenade II +14 (explode [10 ft., blinded 1d4 rounds, 
  DC 15])
  Offensive Abilities fighting styles (sharpshoot), focus fire, 
  sniper’s aim
  
  5
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  TACTICS
  During Combat These marines are experienced 
  combatants who take cover if possible, use flash 
  grenades early on to blind foes, and focus their attacks 
  on any foe who seems particularly vulnerable or more 
  effective than the others.
  Morale These marines are dedicated to the cause of the 
  Corpse Fleet and fight until they are destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +2; Dex +5; Con —; Int +0; Wis +4; Cha +0
  Skills Athletics +19, Intimidate +14, Piloting +14
  Other Abilities unliving
  Languages Common, Eoxian
  Gear elite defiance series, dual acid dart rifle with 48 darts, 
  LFD pulse gauntlet with 2 batteries (20 charges each), 
  flash grenades II (2)
  Development: Serovox is expecting to hear back from 
  the corpsefolk marines every few hours and sends 
  down reinforcements if they don’t report 
  in. Once the PCs defeat the corpsefolk 
  marines, they have only a short period of 
  time before more Blackwind Sepulchers 
  (each filled with increasing numbers of 
  Corpse Fleet marines) begin landing on the 
  controller moon. 
  If the PCs didn’t spot it while landing, they can 
  find the marines’ Sepulcher by scouring the nearby 
  jungle for 30 minutes, or in half that time if a PC 
  succeeds at a DC 32 Perception check. There is one 
  cybernetic zombie (Starfinder Alien Archive 114) on board 
  the Blackwind Sepulcher, wired into the controls. Thanks to a 
  mechanism known as a command bolt, the zombie can’t take 
  actions unless it receives orders with the proper command 
  code from the Empire of Bones. The other crew members must 
  contact their commander to receive permission to lift off. The 
  zombie makes no effort to defend itself (and the PCs shouldn’t 
  receive XP for defeating it if they destroy it).
  The PCs may want to take the Blackwind Sepulcher for 
  themselves after dealing with the corpsefolk marines and the 
  controlled cybernetic zombie. The vessel’s computer system 
  is secured, but it can be hacked with a series of checks. A 
  PC must succeed at a DC 29 Computers check to unlock 
  each crew role; if the vessel is subsequently powered down, 
  those roles become inaccessible until the PCs succeed at 
  additional checks to unlock them again. With a successful DC 
  49 Computers check, the character gains root access to the 
  Blackwind Sepulcher’s computers, allowing the PCs to use all 
  crew roles without restriction. If the cybernetic zombie is still 
  intact, a successful casting of control undead or a similar spell 
  can force it to turn over control to the PCs, which has the 
  same effect as gaining root access.
  While in space on board the Sepulcher, the PCs must use 
  the environmental protections provided by their armor, as the 
  Corpse Fleet vessel has no pressurized atmosphere, unlike 
  starships built for living crews.
  EVENT 2: NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD (CR 13) 
  As soon as the PCs use a starship to lift off from the controller 
  moon, the conflict between the Corpse Fleet armada and the 
  automated defenses of the Gate of Twelve Suns becomes 
  obvious. Read or paraphrase the following.
  The surrounding space is constantly illuminated by flaring 
  beams of energy that lash out from the system’s controller 
  moons, and gouts of incandescent flame pulled from the 
  suns by gravitational pulses. The ancient weapons are wildly 
  inaccurate and fire haphazardly, often fading out before 
  reaching their targets or detonating in apparently empty 
  space, but even so, the Corpse Fleet armada is beginning to 
  CORPSEFOLK
  MARINE
  
  6
  show signs of extensive damage. The largest of the Corpse 
  Fleet vessels is enormous—bigger than many space stations. 
  It is surrounded by explosions and debris, both from its 
  own hull and from the escort ships that were destroyed 
  protecting it, forming a cloud that blocks most efforts to get 
  a clear image of its exact shape. However, blasts from the 
  massive ship’s powerful weapons clearly mark it as the most 
  effective member of the armada. 
  In order to deal with the threat of the ancient kishalee 
  weapons spread around the Gate of Twelve Suns, Serovox 
  has dispatched the armada’s ships across the entire 
  megastructure. With so many smaller vessels and the 
  drifting debris interfering with the Empire of Bones’s 
  sensor ranges, the PCs can attempt to quickly scan it 
  with a Computers check using their shipboard sensors 
  without drawing direct attention; the result of this check 
  determines how much of the following information 
  about the Empire of Bones the PCs learn. Only one PC 
  can attempt a single check before the starship combat 
  starts (see below), after which they have to deal with the 
  ultranought’s countermeasures, using the normal rules for 
  the scan science officer action.
  Result Information
  20+  This massive vessel is the Empire of Bones, and it is 
  bigger than even a Colossal starship. It is practically 
  bristling with capital weapons. Like most Corpse 
  Fleet starships, it doesn’t contain any atmosphere.
  25+  The many explosions of the ongoing battle are 
  partially clouding the Empire of Bones’s sensors, 
  and many of its weapons are trained on the ancient 
  kishalee defenses. It might be possible to slip in 
  closer to the vessel and board it without those on 
  board noticing. A Medium or smaller starship that 
  landed on the Empire of Bones’s hull could remain 
  undetected for an extended period of time.
  30+  The Empire of Bones has several hangar bays along 
  its length, one of which is currently launching a 
  small squadron of fighters. This leaves a wide-open 
  entryway protected by a minor force field that keeps 
  out small space debris. A Small or smaller starship 
  can be landed in that bay. Alternatively, a person 
  could slip into the bay via a space walk along the 
  flagship’s exterior.
  Starship Combat: Once they have launched from the 
  controller moon, the PCs are 30 hexes from the Empire of 
  Bones (you can use Starfinder Flip-Mat: Basic Starfield to track 
  this distance). The only other ships currently near the Empire 
  of Bones are four Crypt Wardens spaced roughly evenly in 
  the space between the PCs and the Empire of Bones (with 
  one directly between the PCs’ ship and the ultranought). It’s 
  important to note the PCs don’t have to destroy all the Crypt 
  Wardens, just get past them intact enough to either land on 
  the Empire of Bones’s outer hull (then take a space walk to 
  enter the ship through its open hangar bay) or fly their vessel 
  into the hangar directly.
  If the PCs are using their own starship, this is a 
  straightforward starship battle. The Empire of Bones neither 
  participates in the combat nor moves from its initial hex 
  (though its stat block appears on the inside front cover if 
  needed), as Serovox is totally unconcerned about the risk the 
  PCs pose to the flagship and the ultranought is busy dealing 
  with the system’s ancient defenses. However, the four Crypt 
  Wardens try their best to obliterate the PCs. 
  If the PCs instead commandeered the Blackwind 
  Sepulcher and piloted it off the controller moon, they should 
  ideally be relying on subterfuge rather than firepower, as 
  that vessel is of a much lower tier than their own starship. 
  There is a high chance that the four Crypt Wardens could 
  easily destroy the Sepulcher if they all attacked at once. 
  Without the proper codes and countersigns to communicate 
  with other Corpse Fleet ships, the PCs must use the new 
  crew actions presented below (applicable only in this single, 
  unique circumstance) to convince the ships between them 
  and the Empire of Bones to allow them to pass rather than 
  attack. Flying a Sepulcher at its speed across the 30 hexes 
  takes 4 turns. As the PCs do this, the four Crypt Wardens 
  patrol the intervening space, moving at their normal speeds. 
  At the end of each helm phase, the PCs must answer a 
  “challenge” communication from a different Crypt Warden. 
  The character in the captain role can take the garbled 
  communication action to respond without arousing suspicion 
  (or the player in the pilot role can attempt a similar action, 
  though at a significant disadvantage), while the players in 
  other roles can take special actions to assist. 
  Regardless of which ship they use or whether the PCs 
  trigger starship combat, if they manage to fly to a hex adjacent 
  to the Empire of Bones and no other vessels are within 3 hexes 
  at the end of the helm phase, the armada assumes the PCs’ 
  starship was destroyed, since the idea of invading the Empire 
  of Bones is too unorthodox and bold for any of the undead to 
  have considered it as a possibility. The PCs can then either 
  land on the hull exterior or enter the hangar as described in 
  the beginning of Part 2.
  Captain aCtion: Garbled CommuniCation
  You can transmit an intentionally garbled communication that 
  appears to be a legitimate Corpse Fleet identification. With a 
  successful DC 25 Bluff check, you convincingly answer the 
  Crypt Warden who has just issued a challenge to you. If you fail 
  this check, the Crypt Warden moves within 10 hexes of your 
  ship and attempts to scan it during the next helm phase; if the 
  Crypt Warden succeeds, your science officer must successfully 
  dampen the life signs aboard your ship during this helm phase 
  (see below) or the Crypt Warden attacks. If you fail this Bluff 
  check by 5 or more, the Crypt Warden attacks.
  
  7
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  enGineer aCtion: Fake GlitCh
  You can fake a glitch in one of your systems, such as 
  communications or sensors, to prevent the nearby Corpse Fleet 
  ships from insisting on direct communication. If you succeed at 
  a DC 20 Engineering check, you grant a +2 circumstance bonus 
  to the Bluff check attempted for the garbled communication 
  action until the next engineering phase.
  Gunner aCtion: Cover Fire
  You can use the Blackwind Sepulcher’s weapons to provide 
  cover fire for other Corpse Fleet ships, appearing to attempt 
  to protect them from the Gate of Twelve Suns’ defenses. If 
  you succeed at a gunnery check against AC 25, your captain 
  can roll the Bluff check of her next garbled communication 
  action twice and use the better result. Alternatively, if a 
  Crypt Warden is attacking you, with a successful check 
  you convince that ship to cease hostilities and issue a new 
  challenge. In this case, the captain must succeed at a garbled 
  communication action with a –5 penalty to the Bluff check 
  before the next gunnery phase or the Crypt Warden renews 
  its hostilities. The Crypt Wardens can be tricked into ceasing 
  their hostilities only once. The benefits of multiple gunners 
  taking this action don’t stack, but one gunner can grant the 
  captain a reroll while another gunner can trick the Crypt 
  Wardens into ceasing hostilities. 
  pilot aCtion: Fly Casual
  You emulate the flight pattern of the armada’s ships, neither 
  exposing your ship to too much scrutiny nor showing any sign 
  of attempting to avoid it. If you succeed at a DC 24 Piloting 
  check, you grant a +4 circumstance bonus to the Bluff check 
  for the garbled communication action until the start of the 
  next helm phase. Alternatively, you can attempt a DC 30 
  Piloting check in place of the garbled communication captain’s 
  action, with the same possible results.
  sCienCe oFFiCer aCtion: dampen liFe siGns
  If you succeed at a DC 24 Computers check, you can dampen 
  the life signs of yourself and any other living creatures aboard 
  your ship. This prevents successful scans from Corpse Fleet 
  ships from detecting life signs on a ship that should either 
  have an all-undead crew or should have called in with a 
  prisoner count. If a Corpse Fleet ship successfully scans your 
  ship and detects life signs, it immediately attacks. 
  CRYPT WARDENS (4) 
  TIER 7
  Starfinder Adventure Path #3: Splintered Worlds 51
  HP 170 each
  Development: Assuming the PCs reach the Empire of Bones 
  quietly, hid their approach using the surrounding battle, or 
  destroyed the Crypt Wardens, they can enter area A1 (see the 
  map on page 10) with no resistance. If their ship is reduced to 0 
  Hull Points, the Corpse Fleet assumes the PCs have been killed, 
  and a Barrow Dirgesinger (see page 50) is sent out to recover 
  their corpses and bring them aboard the Empire of Bones to 
  be turned into loyal undead. In such a case, the PCs have a 
  chance to ambush the crew of the Dirgesinger (eight corpsefolk 
  marines; see page 4), hijack the recovery freighter, land it in 
  area A1 with no further trouble, and continue their mission.
  Story Award: If the PCs reach the Empire of Bones, either 
  through straightforward starship combat or by tricking and 
  eluding the Crypt Wardens, award them 25,600 XP.
  PART 2:  
  MASS GRAVES
  Whether they land a ship directly in the open fighter 
  bay or, more likely, attach a ship to the hull and use the 
  environmental protections of their armor to reach the bay 
  on foot, the PCs enter the Empire of Bones in an area known 
  as “hangar country.” This is part of the primary launch and 
  recovery decks (see the map on the inside back cover), one 
  of the regions of the ship that primarily serves to launch, 
  recover, repair, and store smaller starships.
  If the PCs are going to take control of the Empire of Bones, 
  they must find information about the layout of the ship and 
  how to get to its bridge. For security reasons, the only place 
  in hangar country where such information is available is the 
  local security post (area A8). The maps of hangar country 
  the PCs can access from most computers in the area don’t 
  detail every room; some rooms (areas A5, A6, A7, and A8) 
  are marked simply as “secure sites” with a note that access 
  to such sites requires approval from the section security 
  officer, Commander Malakar. See page 17 for more details 
  about the area’s chief of security.
  STARSHIP COMBAT  
  AGAINST THE FLAGSHIP
  It’s possible the players may decide they want to engage 
  in direct combat with the Empire of Bones or try to take 
  over another ship (such as an Omenbringer, though 
  none are currently nearby) and use it to directly attack 
  the ultranought. Any such plan is likely to fail given the 
  massive firepower of the Empire of Bones, which would 
  be immediately turned on the PCs if they attacked it 
  directly. Efforts to solve the threat of the Corpse Fleet 
  armada through means other than boarding the Empire 
  of Bones and taking control of it are beyond the scope 
  of this adventure.
  
  8
  By checking these secure sites (areas A5, A6, A7, and 
  A8), the PCs can eventually find the security post, but the 
  computers there contain countermeasures that are likely too 
  powerful for the PCs to hack without some kind of advantage. 
  Each of the secure sites includes an emergency security key 
  (see the sidebar on page 15) that aids in attempts to access 
  the computer at the security post. With enough emergency 
  security keys, as well as the body of the officer in charge of 
  hangar country’s security, the PCs should be able to access 
  a map of the starship’s interior and plot a path from their 
  location to the command section.
  Additionally, the PCs might be able to take advantage of 
  Malakar’s own plans for advancement, which are entirely 
  unrelated to the Corpse Fleet’s effort to acquire the Stellar 
  Degenerator or the PCs’ desire to stop them. Malakar hates 
  the captain of the Empire of Bones, a vesk mohrg (see page 
  59) named Ghurd Nashal. Nashal fought for the Veskarium 
  during its clashes with the Pact Worlds and in the Silent 
  War that followed, and he was responsible for destroying 
  thousands of the undead defending Eox. Though Nashal’s 
  transformation into a mohrg has made him a loyal member 
  of the Corpse Fleet, Malakar still considers him an enemy of 
  Eox and is jealous of his rapid rise through the ranks. She 
  has been slowly formulating a plan to overthrow Captain 
  Nashal and offer herself to Admiral Serovox as a more 
  reliable replacement. Her plans result in her not reporting 
  the PCs when she first becomes aware of their presence, and 
  her existing breaches into the ship’s security systems may 
  prove useful to the PCs (see What is Project Tombstone? on 
  page 19). 
  FEATURES OF THE EMPIRE OF BONES
  Unless otherwise stated, all of the locations within the Empire 
  of Bones have the following traits.
  Atmosphere and Gravity: The entirety of the ship is 
  devoid of atmosphere. Members of the undead crew don’t 
  need to breathe and therefore see no point in wasting time 
  or resources keeping the ship filled with oxygen. The comm 
  units used by the crew transmit broadcasts that directly 
  vibrate their flesh or bone, and the environmental protections 
  of their armor keep them from being damaged by the cold or 
  lack of pressure. However, the Empire of Bones has normal 
  gravity, maintained by technomagical devices in the ship’s 
  engineering decks. The grav-trains that run the length and 
  breadth of the ultranought sometimes defy this gravity, 
  thanks to fields produced by their tracks.
  Lighting: Dull red illumination strips run along the ceilings 
  and floors of most corridors and chambers of the ship, 
  resulting in dim light throughout all areas. 
  Security: A concealed security camera (Perception DC 35 
  to notice, Engineering DC 25 to disable) is located in every 
  corner of every room and hallway across most of the Empire 
  of Bones. The general description of each area features a 
  description of who monitors these security feeds, as well 
  as their responses to intruders and any other security 
  precautions in place.
  EVENT 3: SECURITY PATROL (CR 11)
  In addition to the undead crew, the Empire of Bones has 
  several patrols of sentry-class security robots that can be 
  directed from local security stations or given commands from 
  the cybercontrol room (area C2) in the command section of the 
  ship. When the PCs first arrive on the ship, there is a single 
  patrol of four sentry-class robots in hangar country. You can 
  have the party encounter the patrol anytime the PCs stay too 
  long in an area after making a lot of noise (such as a fight), 
  or you can use the robots to encourage the PCs into action if 
  the pace of the game slows too much. If the original patrol is 
  destroyed, a new patrol arrives within an hour; it first checks 
  the location of the previous patrol’s last report and then 
  (unless it receives other orders) moves methodically through 
  the remainder of hangar country, seeking out intruders.
  Creatures: These sentry-class security robots are based 
  on models of other security robots employed throughout the 
  Pact Worlds, but with macabre Corpse Fleet modifications. 
  Each robot’s head looks like a metallic humanoid skull, and its 
  plastic exterior has been shaped to appear skeletal.
  SENTRY-CLASS SECURITY ROBOTS (4) 
  CR 7
  XP 3,200 each
  N Medium construct (technological)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +19
  DEFENSE 
  HP 105 EACH
  EAC 19; KAC 21
  Fort +7; Ref +7; Will +4
  Defensive Abilities integrated weapons; Immunities 
  construct immunities
  Weaknesses vulnerable to critical hits, vulnerable 
  to electricity
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee slam +15 (2d6+11 B; critical knockdown)
  Ranged integrated static arc rifle +18 (1d12+7 E; critical 
  arc 1d6) 
  TACTICS
  During Combat Sentry-class robots are programmed to 
  avoid melee combat if they can. Instead, they normally 
  take cover and spread their attacks among as many foes 
  as they can target. If melee combat is unavoidable, a 
  single robot attempts to be the primary melee target and 
  fights defensively in hopes of lasting long enough for its 
  allies to take out one or more ranged attackers.
  Morale Sentry-class robots fight until destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +4; Dex +5; Con —; Int +2; Wis +1; Cha +0
  Skills Acrobatics +14, Athletics +14
  Languages Eoxian
  
  9
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  Other Abilities unliving
  Gear static arc rifle with 2 high-capacity batteries (40 charges 
  each), personal comm unit
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Integrated Weapons (Ex) A security robot’s ranged weapon 
  is integrated into its frame and can’t be disarmed.
  Overload Attack (Ex) Once per day as a swift action, a 
  sentry-class security robot can overcharge its integrated 
  static arc rifle. This gives the robot’s next ranged 
  attack with the rifle a +2 circumstance bonus to the 
  attack roll and a bonus to damage equal to its CR (7 
  for most sentry-class security robots). On a critical hit, 
  the overcharged attack’s arc critical hit effect deals an 
  additional 1d6 electricity damage.
  A. HANGAR COUNTRY
  When the PCs arrive, hangar country is mostly devoid of 
  crew, as all the fighters normally kept in the hangar bay are 
  out on long-range patrol to protect the Corpse Fleet armada. 
  The highest-ranking officer in the area is the section security 
  chief, Commander Malakar, but the commander has little to do 
  with the area’s day-to-day affairs. Those are mostly handled 
  by cybernetic zombies, which receive orders directly from 
  cybercontrol (area C2) in the ship’s command section.
  Attempts to scan the Empire of Bones using the sensors 
  of a starship in the hangar bay or to pick up internal 
  communications using a comm unit or similar device fail, 
  though either effort does detect weak signals from a distress 
  beacon broadcasting within the ultranought; this signal isn’t 
  strong enough to be received from the outside of the Empire 
  of Bones. With a successful DC 18 Computers check, a PC can 
  use a comm unit to track the distress beacon to area A6.
  Use the Hangar Country map on page 10 for this area. 
  Unless otherwise stated, all of the locations within hangar 
  country have the following traits. 
  Ceilings, Doors, and Walls: The ceilings are 20 feet high, and 
  the doors are thick steel doors (hardness 30, HP 125, break DC 
  35). The walls are standard starship interior walls (hardness 30, 
  HP 1,440 per 10-foot-by-10-foot section, break DC 45).
  Security: Malakar monitors hangar country’s security 
  cameras from area A8; she uses her Computers skill to oppose 
  any Stealth checks the PCs might attempt to avoid being 
  noticed anywhere within line of sight of a camera. However, 
  she doesn’t trigger any alarms if she notices the PCs, instead 
  observing them and trusting in her own ability to deal with 
  them if necessary. In addition, security robots patrol the area 
  (see Event 3).
  a1. hanGar bay (Cr 11)
  Dull red lights illuminate this massive chamber. A heavy 
  crane arm dangles from tracks on the ceiling, and empty 
  racks for small fighter ships line the fore and aft walls. A 
  nearly invisible force field covers the gaping hole in the 
  starboard end of the room, while two large doors exit to the 
  port. In addition, there is a large window to the port looking 
  into an enclosed room. The floor holds a dozen iris hatches, 
  each fifteen feet in diameter. Most of the hatches are closed, 
  but one toward the fore end of the bay is open.
  This is one of the Empire of Bones’s hangar bays, though all 
  the Barrow Boneshard starships normally housed on the wall-
  mounted racks here are out fighting the battle against the Gate 
  of Twelve Suns’ defenses. The bay also houses 12 threnody-
  class assault aircraft within the iris hatches on the floor. These 
  airborne vehicles can launch from or return to the hangar bay 
  when the Empire of Bones skirts the upper atmosphere of a 
  planet. The aircraft are normally used to support ground troops 
  from other Corpse Fleet vessels on planetary raids. 
  The crane is used to lift starships from the wall racks to 
  prepare them for launch and to return them after missions. 
  It is controlled from area A2, and it can be used as a large 
  makeshift weapon (see page 11).
  The room marked A1a is a ready room containing a row 
  of narrow chairs running its length. Each chair is only 2 feet 
  wide, and they are crammed tightly together, as the undead 
  neither twitch nor adjust themselves while waiting, and they 
  never tire. Cybernetic zombie pilots and corpsefolk marines 
  typically sit here prior to being deployed in aircraft and 
  fighters. Cables dangle from the ceiling above each chair, with 
  a few small lights and a computer display next to each cable, 
  intended to be hooked up to each soldier to relay messages 
  and orders to their comm units prior to departure; this is a one-
  way communication only. The display above each seat shows 
  the status of the undead creature hooked up to it, and since 
  the room is currently unused (nearly all the pilots but marines 
  have recently been deployed), the readouts are all blank. 
  Creature: When the PCs first enter the hangar bay, a 
  platform within the one open hatch in the floor bears a 
  threnody-class assault aircraft piloted by a corpsefolk 
  marine assigned to perform routine maintenance on the 
  vehicles. The marine is startled by the PCs’ appearance and 
  immediately attacks. While the marine can’t use the aircraft’s 
  maneuverability or speed to good effect within the hangar 
  bay, the vehicle is still heavily armed and armored. Despite 
  being designed for use in an atmosphere, the aircraft can 
  function in the vacuum of the hangar bay.
  CORPSEFOLK MARINE 
  CR 7
  XP 3,200 
  HP 126 (see page 4) 
  TACTICS
  During Combat The marine focuses the aircraft’s strafing 
  guns on any character who seems to be attempting a 
  retreat. If the aircraft is destroyed, the marine continues 
  to fight using his acid dart rifle, keeping behind the cover 
  of the wreck if possible.
  Morale The marine fights until destroyed. 
  
  10
  A. HANGAR COUNTRY
  A1
  A1A
  A2
  A3
  A7
  A8
  A5
  A4
  A6
  1 square = 5 feet
  Fore
  
  11
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  THRENODY-CLASS ASSAULT FIGHTER 
  LEVEL 1
  PRICE 62,000 
  Large air vehicle (5 ft. wide, 10 ft. long, 6 ft. high)
  Speed 60 ft., full 1,100 ft., 130 mph (hover)
  EAC 24; KAC 26; Cover total cover
  HP 150 (75); Hardness 10
  Attack (Collision) 10d10 B (DC 18)
  Attack heavy reaction cannon (3d10 P) 
  Modifiers +2 Piloting, –2 attack (–4 at full speed)
  Systems autocontrol, planetary comm unit 
  Development: Since the command crew of the Empire of 
  Bones are currently too busy trying to destroy the ancient 
  defenses of the Gate of Twelve Suns, no one immediately 
  reacts to any warnings or alarms set off by the PCs fighting 
  the assault aircraft and its pilot. However, Malakar is fully 
  aware of the PCs’ presence, and 10 to 15 minutes after the 
  fight, she directs the patrol of security robots (see Event 3) 
  to investigate the disturbance in the hangar bay. Malakar is 
  less interested in capturing or killing the PCs than she is in 
  assessing their capabilities.
  Story Award: If the PCs survive the attacks of the threnody-
  class assault aircraft (either by destroying it or killing its 
  pilot), grant them an additional 9,600 XP.
  a2. FliGht Control room (Cr 12) 
  This long, narrow room is crowded with controls, monitors, 
  and readouts that cover the walls and even the ceiling. 
  Colored lights blink and flash adjacent to numerous switches 
  and keypads. The starboard wall has a single, long window 
  that looks out onto the hangar bay, and doors exit to the 
  fore and aft.
  This is the flight control room associated with the nearby 
  hangar bay. There are eight stations here, usually overseen 
  by cybernetic zombies that are wired directly to the 
  command center, but it is not fully staffed at the moment (see 
  Creatures below). 
  The many controls in this room function as a single tier 
  4 computer with a security I upgrade module. This system 
  is used to track vehicles that have been launched from 
  this hangar bay, send them information from the Empire 
  of Bones’s sensors or orders from its command staff, store 
  maintenance records, and so on. A quick glance at the 
  displays shows that the eight Barrow Boneshards that 
  launched from this bay are currently skirmishing their way 
  across the Gate of Twelve Suns.
  A PC can access the controls with a successful DC 30 
  Computers check to hack the system, but the consoles here 
  are designed to track the fighters stored in this bay, and 
  they don’t have access to local security or provide maps 
  of the interior of the Empire of Bones. Once the PCs access 
  the computer’s basic functions, however, the PCs can see a 
  message has been logged regarding their intrusion into the 
  hangar bay, but as of yet, there’s no ship-wide alert to their 
  presence. The PCs can also download a local map of hangar 
  country to their own datapads, but much of the map (areas 
  A5, A6, A7, and A8) shows no information beyond describing 
  these areas as “secure sites.” Any effort to learn what the 
  secure sites are, get a broader map of the interior of the 
  Empire of Bones, or learn about any personnel other than 
  the undead pilots currently out on patrol results in an error 
  message that such information is not available on this system, 
  and that such requests must be presented to the section 
  security officer at the section security post.
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 15 Culture check or appropriate 
  Profession check (such as Profession [mercenary]) can 
  determine that the section security post is most likely to be 
  one of the secure sites listed on the map, and that the other 
  secure sites are likely areas with valuable or fragile equipment 
  or personnel but aren’t directly necessary for the cybernetic 
  zombies to perform their fighter-monitoring duties. Such a 
  check also reveals that not having a full map of the Empire 
  of Bones on minor computer systems is a security precaution. 
  This arrangement is fairly common in strict military groups 
  and paranoid mercenary organizations. Since the rank-and-file 
  crew members don’t need the full details of every section of 
  the ship, such information is available only on a need-to-know 
  basis. Any senior officer or security officer at a security post is 
  likely to have access to more complete ship records.
  The crane in the hangar bay (area A1) is controlled from 
  this area, and the windows give a good view of the bay. The 
  controls for the crane are unsecured, meaning anyone can 
  use it without first having to hack the computers here. As a 
  full action, a character can use the crane to make an attack 
  against a single target within the hangar bay. Though the 
  crane physically smashes its target, the fact that it is being 
  controlled remotely necessitates a ranged attack roll to 
  use properly. Characters using the crane to attack must be 
  proficient with either advanced melee weapons or powered 
  armor to avoid taking a –4 penalty to the attack roll. The 
  crane deals 8d6 bludgeoning damage on a successful attack, 
  though Weapon Specialization doesn’t apply to this damage. 
  In addition, the crane has the knockdown critical hit effect 
  and grants a +4 circumstance bonus when used to attempt a 
  grapple combat maneuver.
  Creatures: Two cybernetic zombies (Starfinder Alien 
  Archive 114) are physically wired into the control panels here. 
  They normally operate the crane and handle communications 
  to arrange for starships and vehicles to enter and leave the 
  hangar bay, but their actions are controlled by orders from 
  cybercontrol (area C2). As the Empire of Bones’s senior 
  officers are currently busy, the zombies take no actions on 
  their own, even if attacked, unless they are disconnected from 
  their control panels. This occurs automatically if a zombie is 
  moved more than 5 feet from its original position, and there 
  
  12
  is a 25% chance that a kinetic attack that damages a zombie 
  disconnects it. A disconnected cybernetic zombie attacks any 
  non-undead in the room.
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 28 Medicine or Physical 
  Science check determines that the cybernetic zombies are 
  wired to receive commands through the cables from the 
  consoles in the control panels (and are incapable of any 
  actions without receiving a properly coded command). A PC 
  who then succeeds at a DC 28 Computers, Engineering, or 
  Mysticism check can determine that the process of issuing 
  such commands is as much magical as it is technological, and, 
  as no commands are currently being given, there’s no way to 
  hack or emulate the signals without either more examples of 
  the system (see area A7) or several days spent tearing apart 
  the panels and analyzing their components. 
  Trap: The doors into the flight control room have sensors 
  built into the frames that check for the presence of life energy. 
  One round after the sensors detect a living creature passing 
  through one of the doors, a death-ray projector bathes 
  everything within the areas marked on the map with lethal 
  necromantic rays. Of course, since the entirety of the Empire 
  of Bones’s crew consists of undead, the trap doesn’t deal any 
  damage to them even if they set it off accidentally.
  DEATH RAY TRAP 
  CR 12
  XP 19,200
  Type hybrid; Perception DC 38; Disable Engineering DC 33 
  (disconnect ray projector) or Mysticism DC 33 (remove 
  necromantic focus)
  Trigger location; Reset 5 minutes
  Effect death ray (9d8 negative energy [death effect], 
  affects only living creatures); Fortitude DC 21 half; 
  multiple targets (all targets in marked areas) 
  Story Award: The pair of cybernetic zombies is not a 
  significant threat to the PCs, even if they are unhooked from 
  their control panels. Barring unusual circumstances, the PCs 
  should receive no experience for defeating them.
  a3. Gravel pit (Cr 11)
  The double door leading into this room has an electronic lock. 
  A PC can disable the lock with a successful DC 30 Engineering 
  check, or fool the lock into thinking an authorized user 
  has given it a command to open with a successful DC 35 
  Computers check. If the PCs fail these checks three times 
  or a character fails one check by 5 or more, a silent alarm 
  triggers in the security post (area A8). Malakar takes note of 
  the alarm, but she still doesn’t notify her superiors.
  The floor of this chamber is covered in gravel, which 
  stretches from wall to wall and is heaped in small hills and 
  shallow hollows. The walls are scored and covered in small 
  dents, and large sections are slightly discolored in what 
  appear to be spray patterns, but they seem structurally 
  sound. The area is thick with dust. To the left of the entrance 
  is a metal cabinet with a large handle.
  As the flagship of a major Corpse Fleet armada, the 
  Empire of Bones sometimes has to mine planetoids and 
  uninhabited worlds for the raw materials to make spare 
  parts and munitions for itself and other ships in the armada, 
  allowing it to perform long-range missions without needing to 
  regularly return to a base to resupply. For this purpose, the 
  crew maintains several of these gravel pits throughout the 
  primary launch and recovery decks as holding pens for large, 
  wormlike burrowing creatures called surnochs that function 
  as living drills and can be loaded onto secure shuttles and 
  transported to where they are needed. In addition, a surnoch’s 
  digestive system turns most types of rock into shimmering 
  alloys that the officers use to decorate their quarters.
  The apparent floor here is pulverized rock and is difficult 
  terrain. The gravel is 30 feet deep, going down to the 
  chamber’s actual sunken metal floor.
  Creatures: The two surnochs kept in this pit aren’t well 
  fed or cared for. Each has been fitted with a neural implant 
  that helps the crew keep the creatures docile when they are 
  being moved. This implant allows a crew member with an 
  associated program in her comm unit to control a surnoch 
  to a limited degree, similar to the effect of a command spell; 
  this function is used primarily when forcing the creatures 
  into shuttles to be transported to a planetoid’s surface or 
  returning after mining operations are complete. There are no 
  crew members with this program currently in hangar country. 
  Though the surnochs don’t need to breathe, they are fitted 
  with collars that provide them protection from the vacuum’s 
  lack of pressure (see Treasure below). The surnochs attack the 
  PCs as soon as they enter the room. 
  SURNOCHS (2) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each 
  HP 145 each (Starfinder Alien Archive 108)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The surnochs are maddened by their long 
  captivity and constant hunger. They attack immediately 
  when a PC steps into the room, bursting up from the gravel. 
  The surnochs follow the PCs into the corridor if possible, 
  attacking any foe within reach of their bite attacks.
  Morale The surnochs fight until killed. 
  Treasure: Since the surnochs are considered too valuable 
  to kill unless absolutely necessary, the cabinet near the 
  double door contains a merciful venomous paragon semi-
  auto pistol (with 16 small arm rounds), 3 doses of tier 3 
  sedatives (used to sedate a surnoch if it becomes unruly), 
  and 3 doses of sprayflesh (in case a surnoch is injured in 
  an accident). Each surnoch’s atmosphere collar provides 
  protection similar to the environmental protections of a 
  suit of armor, lasting for 15 days when fully charged. A PC 
  
  13
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  can alter an atmosphere collar with a successful DC 32 
  Engineering check so that it functions as a gray force field 
  armor upgrade (and can be sold as such).
  a4. slime Cell (Cr 11)
  The door leading into this room has an electronic lock. A PC can 
  disable the lock with a successful DC 30 Engineering check, 
  or fool the lock into thinking an authorized user has given it a 
  command to open with a successful DC 35 Computers check. 
  If the PCs fail these checks three times or a character fails 
  one check by 5 or more, a silent alarm triggers in the security 
  post (area A8). Malakar takes note of the alarm, but she still 
  doesn’t notify her superiors.
  The ceiling, walls, and floor of this room are covered in heavy 
  armored plates that show scratches and signs of scoring. 
  Many of the plates seem newer and appear to have been 
  bolted directly over damaged plates without removing the 
  old coverings. Twisted, wrecked pieces of junk are piled up 
  in the corners and where the walls meet the floor. Several 
  pipes run through the room near the ceiling, with numerous 
  valves along their lengths. 
  This cell is part of the Empire of Bones’s slime-patch 
  system (Starfinder Alien Archive 101), an automated repair 
  system designed to use material gathered from scavenger 
  slimes to patch sections of the ship damaged in combat. The 
  pipes and valves are used both to suck pieces of scavenger 
  slime up to where the reservoir of slime patch material is 
  kept and to dump useless junk into the room to “feed” the 
  scavenger slimes.
  Creatures: Two scavenger slimes are kept here. Over 
  the years, they have cobbled together enough pieces of 
  the broken technology dumped into this chamber to form 
  workable weapons. Under normal operations, the door is 
  kept secure, leaving the slimes to serve purely as a source of 
  material for the ultranought’s slime patch system. Once the 
  door is opened, the scavenger slimes attack—not out of anger, 
  but purely out of an instinctive desire to absorb and alter any 
  technology the PCs might be wearing.
  SCAVENGER SLIMES (2) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each 
  HP 145 each (Starfinder Alien Archive 100) 
  DEFENSE
  Resistances cold 10
  OFFENSE
  Ranged LFD screamer +21 (2d10+9 So; critical deafen 
  [DC 18]) or
  hailstorm-class zero rifle +21 (2d8+9 C; critical staggered 
  [DC 16]) or
  snub scattergun +21 (1d12+9 B)
  TACTICS
  During Combat A scavenger slime attempts to target 
  multiple foes in the blast from its LFD screamer or its 
  snub scattergun if possible. Otherwise it attacks the 
  nearest target that doesn’t have cover with its hailstorm-
  class zero rifle. The scavenger slimes do not consider 
  each other targets when making these decisions, but 
  neither do they make any effort to avoid catching one 
  another in the area of their weapons if multiple other 
  targets are in that area.
  Morale The scavenger slimes fight until killed.
   Treasure: The LFD screamer, hailstorm-class zero rifle, and 
  snub scattergun from each scavenger slime can be removed 
  and used normally with a successful DC 25 Engineering check 
  for each weapon.
  a5. suFFoCation Chamber (Cr 10)
  The door leading into this room has an electronic lock. A PC can 
  disable the lock with a successful DC 30 Engineering check, 
  or fool the lock into thinking an authorized user has given it a 
  command to open with a successful DC 35 Computers check. 
  If the PCs fail these checks three times or a character fails 
  one check by 5 or more, a silent alarm triggers in the security 
  post (area A8). Malakar takes note of the alarm, but she still 
  doesn’t notify her superiors.
  A metal podium with numerous controls on it stands 
  in the center of this room. Padded, vertical beds with 
  numerous straps and restraints fill the room, most with 
  numerous stains and small tears in their padding. Each 
  bed sits beneath a bright spotlight from the ceiling, which 
  illuminates the room brightly. Four large vents are visible 
  in the ceiling.
  Unlike most of the rest of the Empire of Bones, this chamber 
  is specifically designed to sustain an atmosphere when the 
  door is closed. The podium in the center of the room controls 
  the vents and tanks in the room’s ceiling, which can create, 
  maintain, and summarily remove nearly any atmosphere. The 
  podium also allows for minute adjustments to the composition 
  and density of an atmosphere once it’s established. As a 
  standard action, a character at the podium can begin the 
  process of creating nearly any form of atmosphere (normal, 
  thick, thin, or even toxic; Core Rulebook 395), return the 
  room to a state of vacuum, or alter the gravity in the chamber 
  (anywhere from zero gravity to strong gravity; Starfinder 
  Core Rulebook 401). When atmosphere begins pumping into 
  the room, the door automatically closes and locks. It takes 
  1d4 minutes for atmospheric conditions to be established, 
  removed, or substantially changed. 
  The room’s emergency security key (see the sidebar on 
  page 15) is kept in a compartment within the control podium.
  If the room contains a normal or thick atmosphere and 
  the door is forced or hacked open (see above), the air within 
  the chamber rushes out into the corridor. Characters in the 
  
  14
  corridor within 10 feet of the door must succeed at a DC 20 
  Reflex save or be knocked prone by this rush of air.
  The room is generally used as an interrogation chamber for 
  living captives, but it can also be used as part of a ritual to 
  suffocate living prisoners and turn them into common nihilis.
  Creature: Lieutenant Kreth, a powerful nihili who was once 
  a drow, is an information-extraction expert and this chamber’s 
  primary user. He is skilled at using its ability to pump out air 
  out of the chamber slowly both as a form of torture and as a 
  way to create more nihilis loyal to the Corpse Fleet to bolster 
  the crew’s numbers. 
  KRETH 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600
  Male drow nihili (Starfinder Alien Archive 42, 82)
  NE Medium undead
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +19
  Aura gravity well (5 ft., DC 19)
  DEFENSE 
  HP 165
  EAC 23; KAC 24
  Fort +12; Ref +12; Will +11
  Immunities undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
  Melee comet hammer +22 (4d6+18 B)
  Ranged elite semi-auto pistol +19 
  (3d6+13 P)
  Offensive Abilities decompression 
  gaze (15 ft., DC 19, 2d8+8 B)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat If the PCs set 
  off the alarm as they try to 
  enter the room, Kreth readies 
  an action to activate the room’s 
  atmosphere controls to pump a 
  toxic atmosphere (this functions as 
  ungol dust poison; Starfinder 
  Core Rulebook 419) into the 
  chamber as soon as one or 
  more characters enter. 
  During Combat Kreth does his best 
  to remain within 15 feet of as many foes as possible 
  in order to expose them to his decompression gaze. 
  He resorts to using his pistol only if necessary, in 
  which case he seeks to fire from cover (especially 
  if doing so forces foes to move within 
  range of his gaze in order to strike 
  back at him).
  Morale Kreth seeks to escape if reduced 
  to 55 or fewer Hit Points, moving 
  to area A8 to inform Commander Malakar of 
  the boarders and work with her to eliminate 
  them. If escape seems impossible, Kreth fights 
  until destroyed. 
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +5; Con —; Int +3; Wis +0; Cha +1
  Skills Athletics +24 (+32 to climb), Computers +19, 
  Intimidate +19
  Other Abilities unliving
  Languages Common, Eoxian
  Gear freebooter armor III, comet hammer with 2 batteries 
  (20 charges each), elite semi-auto pistol with 16 small 
  arm rounds, personal comm unit
  Development: A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 Engineering 
  check while examining the podium finds that it can be used 
  as an environmental recharging station for armor 
  (Starfinder Core Rulebook 198).
  a6. briG (Cr 12) 
  The double door leading into this 
  room has an electronic lock. A PC 
  can disable the lock with a successful 
  DC 30 Engineering check, or fool the 
  lock into thinking an authorized user 
  has given it a command to open with a 
  successful DC 35 Computers check. If 
  the PCs fail these checks three times 
  or a character fails one check by 5 
  or more, a silent alarm triggers in the 
  security post (area A8). Malakar takes 
  note of the alarm, but she still doesn’t 
  notify her superiors.
  This room is brighter than most 
  of the ship, with crisp 
  white light flooding down 
  from the entire ceiling. A 
  series of four barred 
  cells runs the length of 
  the aft wall, each with 
  a barred door with a 
  keypad lock. A metal cabinet 
  hangs on the fore wall, behind a 
  small metal desk with a computer terminal 
  and a metal chair built into it.
  This is hangar country’s brig, one of a few found 
  throughout the Empire of Bones. They rarely see much 
  use, as Corpse Fleet discipline runs toward 
  execution more than imprisonment, but 
  sometimes crew members are put in lockdown 
  if a disagreement escalates to the level of a 
  brawl or if a more serious offense requires 
  investigation before a sentence is passed. 
  The four cells appear to just be barred cages, but invisible, 
  airtight force fields extend between all of the bars, giving 
  each cell door hardness 35 and 60 Hit Points. Each cell can 
  KRETH
  
  15
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  be opened from the computer built into the desk (see below) 
  or unlocked with a successful DC 32 Engineering check. 
  The cabinet behind the desk is currently unlocked. This is 
  where the room’s emergency security key is stored, but the 
  small slot where it is normally kept is empty, as the marooned 
  ones who have escaped from their cells (see Creatures below) 
  have confiscated the key. If the PCs already have another 
  security key in their possession, they can immediately 
  tell that the empty slot is the exactly the size of a key. The 
  cabinet also contains a makeshift distress beacon (which is 
  emitting the signal the PCs might have picked up when they 
  boarded the Empire of Bones; see page 9), as well as some 
  other equipment (see Treasure below).
  The secured tier 4 computer in this room is used exclusively 
  to control the cell doors and maintain a list of prisoners (who 
  they are, when they began their incarceration, and when they 
  were removed). A PC who hacks the computer (Computers 
  DC 29) not only can open and close the cell doors but also 
  learns that the cells are supposed to contain “four dwarf-
  form corporeal undead: names unknown, loyalties unknown” 
  who were imprisoned 6 months ago. There’s no note of these 
  prisoners ever being released, even though the cells appear 
  to be empty.
  Creatures: Four marooned ones have set up an ambush 
  in this room. They were dwarven crew members of a mining 
  vessel that was surveying asteroids for valuable materials 
  in a system in Near Space. When they found a particularly 
  large vein of adamantine in a large asteroid, their captain 
  stole the metal they mined and then abandoned them to die 
  rather than share the profits for finding such a rich deposit. 
  The Empire of Bones later captured and killed the mining ship 
  captain and went to retrieve the adamantine, only to discover 
  the abandoned crew had risen as undead.
  However, the marooned ones weren’t yet ready to join 
  the Corpse Fleet, and thus were locked in this brig. With 
  their natural knack for engineering, they took advantage of 
  the chaos of the battle and successfully escaped their cells, 
  but they have yet to explore outside of the brig. Instead, 
  acting largely on undead instinct, they fashioned a kind of 
  distress beacon. After hiding it in the cabinet, they filched the 
  security key and pried up some of the floor plates to conceal 
  themselves. They assume their beacon will bring more victims, 
  perhaps even some with access to a ship that will allow the 
  undead to escape the Empire of Bones. When the PCs enter 
  the room and discover the beacon, the marooned ones spring 
  out to attack 1 round later. They can automatically detect the 
  PCs’ footfalls unless the PCs are attempting Stealth checks, 
  in which case the marooned ones gain a +5 circumstance 
  bonus to their opposed Perception checks to notice them. A 
  PC who succeeds at a DC 31 Perception check can act during 
  the surprise round.
  Malakar is aware of this partial escape, but she is content 
  to allow the PCs to handle this problem or let the marooned 
  ones handle the problem of the PCs. Either way, she knows 
  she can sweep in with a contingent of marines to finish off 
  any survivors, if necessary.
  MAROONED ONES (4) 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800 each 
  HP 115 each (Starfinder Alien Archive 76) 
  TACTICS
  During Combat Each marooned one remains prone and 
  either begins firing (benefiting from cover due to being 
  in the floor) or attempts to grab an adjacent target. 
  The marooned ones each make only a single attempt to 
  grapple a foe, and if that fails, they then use their knives 
  to stab adjacent foes or shoot their semi-auto pistols at 
  those who are farther away.
  Morale The marooned ones fight until destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Languages Common, Dwarf
  Treasure: The gear the marooned ones had on them when 
  the Empire of Bones found them was taken and stored in the 
  cabinet behind the desk, but other than retrieving their pistols 
  and knives and grabbing the security key when they planted 
  the phony distress beacon, the marooned ones have ignored 
  it. The cabinet contains a serum of enhancement (commando), 
  a grappler, 100 feet of adamantine cable, an advanced medkit, 
  and a pouch of nine plasma sapphires (magic jewels worth 
  1,500 credits each, which all shine with the light equal to 
  a beacon without using any power source). A tenth jewel 
  appears to be a slightly brighter plasma sapphire, but it is 
  actually a naturally occurring standard photon crystal.
  EMERGENCY SECURITY KEYS
  Hangar country’s emergency security keys are digital 
  storage devices the same size and general appearance 
  of humanoid finger bones. Each key has, at one end, a 
  micro plug that can be inserted into any of the computers 
  onboard the Empire of Bones, datajack augmentations, 
  or handheld computers such as datapads. While an 
  emergency security key is essentially a tier 0 computer, 
  it can’t be directly hacked unless it is plugged in. When 
  plugged in, a key attempts a handshake protocol with 
  the device, looking for the receiving program that 
  exists only in the Empire of Bones’s security terminals. 
  If it connects, the key transmits encoded information to 
  that receiving program, helping the user gain access to 
  sensitive information on the terminal. The information 
  can’t be copied or altered, and any attempt to do so 
  initiates a countermeasure that erases that information 
  unless the user succeeds at a DC 32 Computers check.
  
  16
  a7. sensor suite (Cr —)
  This room is dark. Only a few lit buttons and displays pierce 
  the blackness, illuminating no more than the rough shape of 
  the area. Panels of computer screens, bundled data cables, 
  and digital readout displays line the walls, with more than a 
  dozen chairs arrayed in front of them. The constant chatter 
  of beeps and clicks accompanies the data streaming across 
  every readout.
  This area contains the terminals and readouts of one of 
  the Empire of Bones’s sensor suites, which are overseen by 
  cybernetic zombies wired directly to the command center (see 
  Creatures below). The monitors show the information about 
  the space around the ship, including the details gathered 
  by the ship’s sensors about other vessels. All the terminals 
  here are connected to a tier 7 computer with a security III 
  upgrade module. It is possible to hack a terminal (so long as 
  it is not occupied by a cybernetic zombie) with a successful 
  DC 44 Computers check. This is likely too difficult for the 
  PCs, but they gain the same access and information as if they 
  took control of one of the cybernetic zombies (see Creatures 
  below) if they manage to succeed.
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 30 Perception check discovers 
  a small hatch in the floor in the center of the chamber, which 
  contains this room’s emergency security key.
  Creatures: In each of the 16 chairs sits a cybernetic zombie 
  (Starfinder Alien Archive 114). They are wired into the control 
  panels in a similar way as the cybernetic zombies in area A2, 
  but unlike those undead, these zombies are active—constantly 
  receiving commands through the cables from the consoles in 
  the control panels, tapping on their displays, and sending 
  information gained from the sensor array back through the 
  same links. However, they don’t attack the PCs or make 
  any effort to defend themselves if attacked unless they are 
  disconnected from their control panels. A zombie disconnects 
  automatically if moved more than 5 feet from its original 
  position, and there is a 25% chance that a kinetic attack 
  damaging a zombie disconnects it. A disconnected cybernetic 
  zombie attacks any non-undead in the room.
  The PCs can hack into the flow of information between a 
  single cybernetic zombie and the source of its commands with 
  one successful DC 33 check in each of Computers, Engineering, 
  and Mysticism (they can be attempted by a single character 
  or by multiple characters working in tandem). If successful, 
  the PCs learn that the cybernetic zombies are managed from 
  cybercontrol (area C2) in the ship’s command section, though 
  this doesn’t reveal the specific location of cybercontrol on the 
  ship. Combined with access to the records in area A8, this 
  information should be enough to deduce that cybernetic 
  zombies function as interfaces for many of the ship’s systems. 
  Once the PCs have taken over a cybernetic zombie, they 
  can examine the specific orders it receives and the information 
  it returns. This allows a PC trained in Computers to observe 
  the space around the Empire of Bones with its sensors (the 
  armada is still engaged in destroying defense systems on 
  the Gate of Twelve Suns controller moons) and analyze how 
  the ship’s officers are using the cybernetic zombies. Even 
  a cursory analysis is enough to understand the mindless 
  cybernetic zombies are controlled by a command link used by 
  someone in the ship’s science officer role. This officer remotely 
  controls the dozens of cybernetic zombies all across the ship 
  in order to perform science officer actions in starship combat. 
  In addition, successfully hacking a cybernetic zombie 
  reveals much about the way the computers aboard the 
  Empire of Bones are organized, granting a +2 circumstance 
  bonus to future Computer checks to hack the ultranought’s 
  computer systems.
  Hacking into a single cybernetic zombie doesn’t have 
  much impact on the Empire of Bones, however. While it’s 
  possible to feed false information into the sensor control 
  system, doing so creates a single outlier in the stream of 
  reports from other cybernetic zombies here and those in 
  other sensor suites in other sections of the ship. The system 
  is designed to survive a failure of dozens of cybernetic 
  zombies without creating a problem by comparing the 
  majority of reports and weeding out those that don’t match 
  the majority. Even if this entire sensor suite was taken 
  over (requiring a combination of successful Computers, 
  Engineering, and Mysticism checks for each cybernetic 
  zombie), the Empire of Bones’s crew are canny enough to 
  simply write off the one set of clashing reports.
  Development: A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 Engineering 
  check realizes that one of the many power cables attached 
  to each cybernetic zombies can also be used to recharge 
  batteries and power cells, much in the same way as a 
  recharging station (Starfinder Core Rulebook 234). The power 
  cable must first be disconnected from the cybernetic zombie 
  to be used in such a way; doing so disconnects the zombie 
  from its control panel.
  Story Award: If the PCs successfully hack an empty 
  terminal or a cybernetic zombie and learn about the existence 
  of cybercontrol (area C2) and the command link that controls 
  the ship’s cybernetic zombie crew, grant them 12,800 
  XP. However, the cybernetic zombies themselves aren’t a 
  significant threat to the PCs, even if they are unhooked from 
  their control panels, so barring unusual circumstances, the 
  PCs should receive no experience for defeating them. If you 
  choose to award XP for defeating all the cybernetic zombies, 
  omit the above story award.
  a8. seCurity post (Cr 11) 
  The door leading into this room has an electronic lock. A PC 
  can disable the lock with a successful DC 30 Engineering 
  check, or fool the lock into thinking an authorized user 
  has given it a command to open with a successful DC 35 
  Computers check. If a PC fails the Engineering check by 5 or 
  more or the Computers check by any amount, a silent alarm 
  
  17
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  triggers within the room. Commander Malakar then prepares 
  as noted in her tactics (see Creature below).
  This room has only a single door in the aft wall. A small dais 
  in the center of the room is raised up a few feet, and pillars 
  line the walls. Each pillar supports a display, all of which 
  show collections of video streams of hallways, hangar bays, 
  rooms, and other locations within this section of the Empire 
  of Bones.
  This is the security post for hangar country, designed to be 
  a place from which the entire area can be monitored. It also 
  serves as a remote backup for many of the functions of the 
  brig (see area A6). It is staffed by the local section security 
  officer (see Creature below), who is usually the highest-
  ranking Corpse Fleet officer assigned to the area. Unless the 
  PCs come directly to this room from the hangar bay or have 
  some way to avoid hangar country’s security cameras, many 
  of the monitors are replaying previous encounters they had 
  in the area.
  The central dais holds the main security console, from which 
  all cameras and alarms in hangar country can be monitored 
  and controlled. See Hacking the Security Console on page 18 
  for information on how the PCs can gain information from 
  this terminal.
  Creature: Commander Malakar is a truly ancient undead; 
  her history stretches back to a time long before the Gap, 
  when bullet-firing pistols were the cutting edge of military 
  technology and Eox had no intention of allying itself with any 
  other planet in what is now the Pact Worlds. She considers 
  the current ruling bone sages of Eox to have betrayed their 
  undead citizens and sees the Corpse Fleet as the true keepers 
  of the destiny of the unliving. Yet while Eox’s signing of the 
  Absalom Pact angered her, she sees it as a temporary political 
  aberration and still values the planet as the home world of the 
  greatest undead in the galaxy. As a result, she mistrusts any 
  creature that has ever been an enemy of Eox, including the 
  captain of the Empire of Bones, Ghurd Nashal, who in life was 
  a vesk warrior who fought against the Pact Worlds before 
  and during the Silent War. By contrast, Malakar is loyal to 
  Admiral Serovox (or at least sees the necrovite as a great and 
  rising power who will lead the undead under their command 
  to glory). Malakar has been working for some time to arrange 
  for Nashal to be either destroyed or disgraced in a spectacular 
  fashion that would cause Serovox to demote (and possibly 
  execute) the captain.
  Malakar has created two viruses and has laboriously 
  inserted them into the ship’s security systems (see Hacking 
  the Security Console on page 18), but she has been waiting 
  for the perfect opportunity to fully activate them. She sees 
  the PCs’ intrusion into hangar country as that opportunity 
  and therefore has yet to alert her superiors to the party’s 
  presence. She hopes to either capture them alive and release 
  them onto the section of the ship that would do the most 
  
  MALAKAR
  18
  damage to Nashal’s reputation, or kill them and turn them 
  into undead loyal to her and Lieutenant Kreth (see page 14), 
  who shares her disdain for Nashal, if not her drive to destroy 
  the mohrg captain.
  During the first few rounds of direct combat, Malakar 
  quickly realizes that the PCs are the most worthy opponents 
  she has faced in decades. In addition to her tactics presented 
  below, she openly discusses the PCs’ strengths and 
  weaknesses as she sees them (especially if she has already 
  observed them in combat via the security cameras). As she 
  does her best to kill them, Malakar promises the PCs that 
  she will hold places of honor for them aboard what she calls 
  “her ship” as a reward for giving her quite a workout. A PC 
  who succeeds at a DC 30 Perception check or a DC 22 check 
  of an appropriate Profession skill (such as mercenary 
  or soldier) can tell that the insignia of her uniform 
  definitely aren’t grand enough for her to be the 
  captain of the Empire of Bones. If confronted about 
  this, Malakar doesn’t elaborate on her statements, 
  noting only that “she has plans in motion” and that 
  the PCs are a big part of them. However, Malakar 
  isn’t foolish enough to believe any claim by the 
  PCs that they might be willing to work with 
  her before she has a chance to finish them off.
  MALAKAR 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800 
  Female human pale stranger (see 
  page 60)
  HP 170
  STATISTICS
  Skills Acrobatics +25, Athletics +25, 
  Computers +20, Engineering +20, 
  Stealth +24
  Gear elite semi-auto pistols (4), frag 
  grenade IV, stickybomb grenade III, 
  ultrathin longsword, detonators (2), 
  emergency security key, system-wide 
  comm unit 
  TACTICS
  Before Combat Unless the PCs arrive 
  at the security post directly after 
  infiltrating the hangar, Malakar 
  has been aware of their presence 
  for some time. She sets up both 
  her grenades to detonate in 
  the area just inside the door 
  to the security post. If the 
  PCs attempt to sneak up 
  to the door, Malakar can 
  spot them through her cameras with a 
  successful Perception check opposed 
  by their Stealth check. If she knows 
  exactly when they are coming (such as if the 
  silent alarm is triggered by their attempt to breach the 
  security post’s door), Malakar takes cover behind the 
  security console. 
  During Combat If Malakar has set up her explosives, she 
  triggers the stickybomb grenade by pushing the button on 
  her remote detonator (no action) as soon as at least two 
  targets are in the area or if a foe wielding a melee weapon 
  moves towards her; she hopes to block the doorway 
  with entangled foes. She triggers the frag grenade in the 
  same way as soon as she can catch at least two PCs in 
  the area. If a PC notices any explosives Malakar has not 
  yet triggered, Malakar detonates them rather than allow 
  anyone to attempt to disarm them. Otherwise, she fires 
  at foes who seem to give their allies tactical advice or 
  support, including envoys. If a foe gets adjacent to her, 
  she takes a guarded step to move away and makes 
  a stranger’s shot as a standard action.
  Morale Malakar knows if she loses the hangar 
  country security post to living invaders, Serovox 
  will have her destroyed. She fights to the end.
  Treasure: The central pillar contains a sealed 
  locker, which requires a successful DC 28 
  Engineering check to unlock. A PC who succeeds 
  at a DC 22 Computers or Engineering check 
  while examining the locker notices a touch-
  sensitive biometric sensor that is probably 
  keyed to Malakar. Touching her hand to the 
  sensor, even after she’s become an inanimate 
  corpse, opens the locker. The locker 
  includes two batteries, two high-capacity 
  batteries, two super-capacity batteries, 
  one ultra-capacity battery, 90 small 
  arm rounds, 100 longarm and sniper 
  rounds, 60 heavy rounds, and 25 
  scattergun shells.
  HACKING THE SECURITY 
  CONSOLE
  The security console is not a stand-alone 
  computer, but is rather a keyboard and 
  terminal designed to access the heavily 
  secured tier 10 computer running the 
  Empire of Bones’s security systems. A 
  successful DC 53 Computers check is 
  required to hack into it for any information. 
  However, on the first failed check, a 
  message on the display asks if this is a 
  security emergency and prompts the 
  user to insert an emergency security 
  key (see the sidebar on page  15). 
  Malakar has one emergency security key on 
  her person (see the Gear entry of her stat block 
  above), and there are additional emergency security 
  
  19
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  keys in areas A5, A6, and A7. A PC who succeeds at a DC 22 
  Computers or Engineering check realizes these emergency 
  security keys can all be used simultaneously, with each one 
  granting a +4 circumstance bonus to Computers checks to 
  hack the security console (these bonuses stack with each 
  other). Additionally, any PC examining the terminal notices 
  a touch-sensitive sensor on it. A PC who then succeeds at 
  another DC 22 Computers or Engineering check determines 
  that this is a biometric lock that must be keyed to Malakar. 
  Placing her hand on the sensor, even after she has become an 
  inanimate corpse, grants an additional +5 circumstance bonus 
  to the Computers check to hack the security terminal. 
  So long as the PCs are using at least one emergency 
  security key, a single successful Computers check grants 
  access to all the information available from this terminal, 
  and even a failed Computers check provides access to the 
  terminal’s basic functions with no negative consequences. 
  However, if the PCs fail more than one Computers check 
  without using at least one emergency security key, two 
  countermeasures trigger. The first is a rank 4 shock grid, 
  which requires each creature within 10 feet of the terminal to 
  succeed at a DC 27 Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round. 
  The second time this countermeasure is triggered, it deals 
  14d6 electricity damage (Reflex DC 27 half) to each creature 
  within 10 feet of the terminal. The second set of defenses is 
  a feedback countermeasure, which triggers if a PC fails the 
  Computers check by 5 or more, infecting every device used 
  in the attempt with a virus that imposes a –5 penalty to all 
  subsequent skill checks using that device. This virus can be 
  removed from a device with a successful DC 30 Computers 
  check. Both countermeasures are described on page 217 of 
  the Starfinder Core Rulebook.
  Once the PCs access to the security console, they can gain 
  a great deal of information including basic information about 
  the layout of the ship and Malakar’s own plans. Answers to 
  questions the PCs likely have are listed below. Activating 
  any ship-wide security protocols requires an additional 
  successful DC 53 Computers check to bypass the firewall 
  protecting those protocols; neither the emergency security 
  keys nor the biometric sensor grant their bonuses to this 
  check. Any major changes (such as introducing a new virus 
  into the system) made on this terminal don’t affect the ship 
  as a whole for a while, as it takes weeks for such changes 
  to propagate through the ship’s numerous computer 
  systems. Malakar spent over a year subtly introducing her 
  viruses to the system, and her efforts affect only the ship’s 
  security systems. 
  What can we learn about this ship? The Empire of Bones 
  is a unique ultranought: a massive warship larger than 
  battleships, carriers, and even dreadnoughts. It is one of the 
  flagships of the Corpse Fleet and leads its own armada of 
  vessels. You can show the players the ship’s stat block (see 
  the inside front cover), though they can’t access any of the 
  ship’s systems from this terminal.
  How can we take control of the Empire of Bones? Though 
  crews throughout the ship are required for the vessel to 
  function, all orders come from the command and control decks 
  (see the Empire of Bones map on the inside back cover). While 
  it might be possible to remotely hack some of those stations 
  to control a single thruster or one sensor array, operating the 
  entire ship requires taking control of the bridge (area C4) and 
  cybercontrol (area C2) in the command section. 
  If the PCs haven’t already learned how the cybernetic 
  zombies in area A7 are controlled, they can do so here. 
  Additional information from the security terminal indicates 
  that the command link from cybercontrol governs both 
  the sensors and the engineering crews (functioning as the 
  engineer and science officer roles). A different, related system 
  on the bridge governs the gunnery and navigational crews 
  (functioning as the pilot and gunnery roles). Controlling both 
  the command link and the bridge systems allows an individual 
  to act in the captain role.
  How do we reach the command section? On a ship the size 
  of the Empire of Bones, there are hundreds of ways to get 
  from one section of the ship to another. However, the fastest 
  and safest route from the primary launch and recovery decks 
  to the command and control decks is travel via grav-train. 
  There are grav-train stations near both hangar country and 
  the command section. See Part 3 on page 20.
  Who is in command of the ship? Admiral Serovox (see 
  page 33) commands the entire armada for which the Empire of 
  Bones is the flagship, and while they have the power to issue 
  commands to any crew on board, they rarely get involved in 
  the ship’s day-to-day operations. Captain Ghurd Nashal (see 
  page 31) is captain of the ship and Commander Malakar’s 
  direct superior. The records about both senior officers are 
  limited but provide enough details to empower the PCs to 
  attempt the appropriate skill checks to identify what kind 
  of undead they are. In addition, Nashal’s record includes a 
  footnote mentioning something called Project Tombstone that 
  appears to have been added by Malakar and is only on this 
  particular security terminal.
  What did Commander Malakar do with those security 
  camera images of us? Searching through the logs of security 
  video available on the terminal, it is clear that at some point, 
  Malakar realized there were intruders in hangar country 
  and periodically spotted them on hidden cameras in the 
  ship’s hallways. The log also notes that Malakar chose not 
  to activate any alarms and didn’t report the invasion to her 
  superiors in the command section as part of something called 
  Project Tombstone.
  What is Project Tombstone? Nothing about Project 
  Tombstone can be found in the main security logs, but if the 
  PCs check Malakar’s personal folders (a PC who succeeds at 
  a DC 25 Computers check has this idea, if necessary), they 
  find more information. A quick glance through the files 
  reveals that the commander was working toward some kind 
  of mutiny, and there are extensive notes on how a minor 
  
  20
  threat to the Empire of Bones could potentially be used to 
  eliminate, or at least embarrass, “inappropriate members of 
  the command staff.” The PCs can easily discover the members 
  of the ship’s command staff include Admiral Serovox, Captain 
  Ghurd Nashal, and several other commanders on the same 
  level as Commander Malakar.
  Also in the Project Tombstone files are notes on a pair of 
  computer viruses Command Malakar has introduced to the 
  security computers across the entire Empire of Bones. One 
  virus is named Wraith 2.0, and prevents the security cameras 
  and security robots on the ship from seeing or recording any 
  creature that is entered into the virus’s memory. Malakar 
  planned to use this to aid in her escape from the vessel in case 
  her plans went south. With a successful DC 30 Computers 
  check, the PCs can add their own images into Wraith 2.0’s 
  memory, causing the ship’s security to ignore them. This 
  doesn’t allow them to access secure areas; it only causes the 
  robots and cameras to not react to them. 
  The other virus is named TombRobber. This program is 
  capable of creating false security alerts anywhere on the 
  ship, and can include in these alerts false security footage 
  of anything in Wraith 2.0’s memory. With a successful 
  DC 25 Computers check, the PCs can take control of 
  TombRobber, allowing them to activate it from anywhere 
  on the Empire of Bones (using any comm unit, datapad, or 
  similar device). If the PCs need to get a night’s sleep, using 
  TombRobber draws enough attention away from their true 
  location to allow them to confidently hole up in an unused 
  room (such as a security closet or maintenance tunnel) 
  long enough to do so, as long as they don’t make a great 
  deal of noise or otherwise draw attention to themselves. 
  Each use of TombRobber requires a different emergency 
  security key, giving the PCs a finite number of times they 
  can take one of these breaks.
  PART 3:  
  IN THE MARROW
  Given the size of the Empire of Bones, the main transport 
  system to move from one deck to another (and sometimes 
  from one section to another) involves grav-trains, small 
  multiple-car trams that run throughout the ship on tracks that 
  produce their own gravity. Massive shafts with grav-trains 
  on every wall (each with its own local gravity field) traverse 
  the central spine of the ship, while smaller routes branch off 
  from the major corridors, sometimes even running along the 
  ceilings of large foot-traffic thoroughfares. Grav-trains can 
  change routes at switching points every few hundred feet on 
  most tracks, and grav-train stations are scattered periodically 
  through the ship to allow loading and unloading of cargo and 
  passengers, as well as adding or removing cars for routine 
  maintenance. The grav-trains usually operate on autopilot 
  along regular preset routes, but an override allows security 
  personnel to take command of a grav-train and determine its 
  route and speed when necessary.
  It’s a short trip of a few hundred feet from hangar country 
  to the nearest grav-train station. With a map of the interior 
  of the Empire of Bones, the PCs should have no difficulty 
  reaching that area, and they can even reasonably find an 
  unused cargo area or maintenance corridor if they need to 
  take a quick break. 
  B. GRAV-TRAIN STATION
  At the fore end of this massive chamber, two shallow 
  channels run from port to starboard, disappearing at 
  both ends into open tunnels. Glowing tracks run along the 
  channels, and a four-car tram sits on the aft set of tracks. A 
  hefty cargo crane can be seen on the fore side of the tracks 
  near the port tunnels, with a pile of crates not far from it. 
  Low walls demarcate a 25-foot-square area in the middle 
  of the room, and five computerized workstations line the 
  interior of the aft wall. A large column descends from the 
  ceiling above the square, reaching to within 10 feet of the 
  floor; it’s covered in displays showing arrival and departure 
  times along various routes within the ship. Three rows of 
  hard benches line an area to the starboard of the walled-
  off area. Two large cargo doors, each 30 feet wide and 30 
  feet tall, occupy the port and starboard walls. A large metal 
  trapdoor sits in the floor between the walled area and the 
  portside cargo door. An observation post 50 feet from 
  the floor and accessed by a metal ladder is in the port aft 
  corner of the room. Three sets of 20-foot-wide bulkhead 
  doors are evenly spaced along the aft wall; three large Xs 
  have been painted on the floor in front of these doors. 
  A series of interconnected routes passes through major 
  and minor transit corridors running the length and breadth 
  of the Empire of Bones. Generally such corridors are used 
  for priority transit between grav-train stations—usually for 
  cargo, groups of troops, or repair crews—and officers often 
  use them to move about more quickly than going by foot 
  or wheeled cart. The grav-trains generally run on set routes 
  and schedules, but officers and security personnel can 
  override that system to specify a different path. 
  The crane in the corner operates in the same way as the 
  crane in area A1, except it is controlled from a seat on the 
  crane (which is too exposed to offer cover), and can attack 
  only targets within 60 feet of its base. The trapdoor is a 
  secured hatch that leads to a shaft that runs down 60 feet 
  to a storage area (which is sealed off by another metal hatch) 
  that contains currently unused flatbed grav-train cars and 
  maintenance materials. The trapdoor is controlled by a tier 
  2 computer (Computers DC 21 to hack) built into the floor 
  
  21
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  adjacent to it. The door is simple enough that opening and 
  closing it is a basic function of the computer, and it takes 2 
  rounds to fully open. The observation post is 50 feet up, is 
  accessed by a ladder, and gives creatures in it improved cover 
  against attacks from anything at ground level. 
  The following are standard traits of the grav-train stations 
  and all major grav-train transit corridors. Use the Grav-Train 
  Station map above for the encounters in areas B1 and B2, 
  since the design of such stations within the Empire of Bones 
  is standardized. 
  Ceilings, Doors, and Walls: The ceilings are 60 feet high in 
  the stations and most of the transit corridors, and the doors 
  are thick steel doors (hardness 30, HP 125, break DC 35). 
  The walls are standard starship interior walls (hardness 30, 
  HP 1,440 per 10-foot-by-10-foot section, break DC 45).
  Security: The Empire of Bones’s concealed security cameras 
  are located every 100 feet along each transit corridor and 
  inside every grav-train car. The grav-train stations are outside 
  of Malakar’s assigned area, so different section security 
  officers monitor these feeds. Unless the party is being 
  stealthy or using the Wraith 2.0 virus (see below), a section 
  security officer immediately notices the PCs when they enter 
  a station; use the statistics for Malakar on page 18 if you need 
  that security officer’s Perception skill bonus. Unlike Malakar, 
  this security officer is completely loyal to the captain and 
  triggers an alarm that blares throughout the entire Empire of 
  Bones. This manifests as a strobing white light in all rooms 
  and corridors and a ship-wide warning broadcast to all crew 
  comm units to be on alert for intruders. The PCs can listen in 
  on this alert if they have taken a comm unit from a defeated 
  crew member and understand Eoxian.
  If the PCs have activated Wraith 2.0, no alarm is triggered 
  until they steal a grav-train. When the security forces 
  notice a grav-train making an unexpected departure, they 
  suspect something is amiss and send a patrol to investigate 
  the hangar country station. Unless the PCs took care to 
  hide the bodies of the undead they encountered there, the 
  patrol reports the apparent attack to their superiors, who 
  eventually get back to the ship’s mohrg captain. Nashal 
  assumes the worst—a boarding party—and activates a ship-
  wide alarm as described above about 20 minutes after the 
  PCs steal the grav-train. However, his broadcast to the crew 
  (which the PCs can listen in on as described above) is given 
  with more passion and contains more details. He explains 
  that the intruders have destroyed valuable personnel, 
  including the long-serving Commander Malakar (which is 
  discovered during a quick sweep of the sections near the 
  hangar country station), and should be considered hostile 
  and extremely dangerous. Nashal gives the order to kill the 
  PCs on sight, and he is able to describe them unless the 
  PCs took steps to erase the footage of themselves found in 
  area A8. He also warns all sections of the ship to be on high 
  alert, noting the boarders have been spotted in a grav-train 
  station and their ultimate destination is unknown. He orders 
  extra security forces to all security posts, data centers, 
  engineering decks, armories, and munitions decks. While he 
  B. GRAV-TRAIN STATION
  1 square = 5 feet
  Fore
  
  22
  also takes some steps to increase security in the command 
  section (see page 28), he doesn’t announce those measures 
  over the comm units.
  b1. hanGar Country station (Cr 13)
  With the map of the ship they acquired in area A8, the PCs can 
  make their way to this major grav-train station from hangar 
  country without incident, entering through any of the doors 
  in the aft wall. Trying to enter this room through the cargo 
  doors or grav-train tunnels requires going much further afield 
  on this deck, a process likely to involve multiple encounters 
  with security robots and corpsefolk marines.
  The grav-train in the station is currently held in place 
  by a set of eight mooring clamps (one on each side of each 
  car), which a PC can notice before entering the train with a 
  successful DC 20 Perception check. If the PCs try to move 
  the grav-train before removing the mooring clamps, the grav-
  train’s computer issues an error message noting that the grav-
  train can’t proceed until station control retracts the mooring 
  clamps attached to it. Without the aid of this message, a PC 
  who succeeds at a DC 20 Culture check identifies the station 
  control area as the point where such mooring clamps would 
  be controlled; releasing the clamps requires a successful 
  DC 25 Computers check to hack the terminal in the station 
  control area. Failing this, the clamps can be removed from one 
  side of one grav-train car as a full action with a successful DC 
  30 Strength check, or they can be destroyed. Each clamp has 
  hardness 20 and 45 HP, but any area attack or attack against 
  the clamps that misses hits the grav-train car. The PCs must 
  remove or destroy all eight sets of clamps to free the entire 
  grav-train, or they can remove or destroy the clamps from 
  one of the two end cars and then decouple that car from the 
  others with a successful DC 32 Engineering check; doing so 
  means the grav-train they are using in Event 4 has only one-
  quarter its total Hit Points.
  Once the mooring clamps have been removed or destroyed, 
  the PCs can hack into the grav-train’s tier 2 computer with a 
  successful DC 21 Computers check. 
  Creatures: Normally each grav-train station is staffed 
  with two bone trooper commandos—one in the security post 
  and one wandering the area—and two cybernetic zombies 
  operating the station control terminals. However, the captain 
  prefers to have more security troops on duty when the 
  Empire of Bones is engaged in major military operations, so he 
  assigned an additional detachment of two baykoks and two 
  more bone trooper commandos to the station and recalled 
  the cybernetic zombies. One baykok stands on the raised 
  observation post, while the other lounges across one of the 
  benches. The four bone trooper commandos mingle with each 
  other within the station control area.
  The crew are on alert due to the battle with the Gate of 
  Twelve Suns’ defenses raging outside, and the staff here 
  immediately attack anything that isn’t clearly undead. Even if 
  the PCs somehow manage to disguise themselves as undead, 
  the commandos demand an explanation for their presence 
  without a scheduled transfer while the ship’s crew should be 
  at combat stations. They open fire 1 round later unless the 
  PCs somehow convince the undead they have legitimate 
  business. As soon as any of the crew attack, one of bone 
  trooper commandos rushes to one of the workstations and 
  activates an alarm (a move action) that alerts the section 
  security officer (see Development on page 23). 
  BAYKOKS (2) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each 
  HP 144 each (see page 55)
  TACTICS
  During Combat One baykok is in the raised observation 
  post when the PCs arrive, and it stays there to take 
  advantage of the improved cover the position offers 
  for as long as it can attack PCs from the position. This 
  baykok focuses on shooting foes who are hanging 
  back from the front line if possible, using its infused 
  ammunition attacks in the hopes of paralyzing such 
  targets. The other baykok moves to the station control 
  area as soon as combat breaks out. It initially stays with 
  the bone trooper commandos, but it moves to other 
  locations if doing so allows it to hit multiple targets with 
  its dread howl or gives it a chance to devour a soul.
  Morale The baykok in the observation post is willing to 
  allow the PCs to escape if leaving the post would be 
  clearly suicidal, assuming (correctly) the captain would 
  want a first-hand report of what the PCs are like and 
  what they are capable of. The second baykok does 
  everything in its power to stop the PCs and fights until 
  it’s destroyed.
  BONE TROOPER COMMANDOS (4) 
  CR 7
  XP 3,200 each
  NE Medium undead
  Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14
  DEFENSE 
  HP 126 EACH
  EAC 19; KAC 21
  Fort +9; Ref +9; Will +11
  DR 5/—; Immunities cold, undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee standard taclash +17 (1d4+12 S)
  Ranged tactical seeker rifle +16 (2d8+9 P) or
  flash grenade II +17 (explode [10 ft., blinded 1d4 rounds, 
  DC 15])
  TACTICS
  During Combat These commandos are experienced 
  combatants who take cover if possible, use flash 
  grenades early in combat to blind foes, and use their 
  taclashes to disarm foes who are using particularly 
  effective weapons. They immediately take cover in the 
  station control area, using its short wall to protect them 
  
  BONE TROOPER 
  COMMANDO
  23
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  from enemy fire. If that position is overrun by PCs, they 
  fall back to take cover behind the individual grav-train 
  cars (shooting through the gaps between the cars). After 
  that, they take cover behind the crates if necessary.
  Morale These commandos fight until destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +5; Dex +4; Con —; Int +0; Wis +0; Cha +2
  Skills Acrobatics +14, Athletics +19, Stealth +14
  Other Abilities unliving
  Languages Common, Eoxian
  Gear vesk overplate I, tactical seeker rifle with 32 longarm 
  rounds, standard taclash, flash grenades II (2), personal 
  comm unit
  Development: If one of the bone troopers manages to 
  alert the section security officer, a grav-train with four more 
  baykoks arrives to investigate 10 minutes after the fight ends.
  EVENT 4: RACE AGAINST DEATH (CR 12) 
  Once the PCs have control of a grav-train and leave the hangar 
  country station, they need to get to the grav-train station 
  closest to the command section. With Wraith 2.0 active, the 
  PCs are invisible to security cameras, but the grav-train they 
  are in isn’t. Eventually, their presence aboard the Empire of 
  Bones will be detected because of this, but they have enough 
  time to take a 10-minute rest to regain Stamina Points first if 
  they wish. Soon after, though, a corpsefolk marine and two 
  baykoks in a security tram spot them. A chase ensues! This 
  event uses the vehicle chase rules beginning on page 282 of 
  the Starfinder Core Rulebook.
  Creatures: One corpsefolk marine pilots the security train, 
  focusing his full attention on keeping pace and, if possible, 
  attacking the PCs’ grav-train. The baykok security troops fire 
  their combat rifles at the PCs whenever possible.
  CORPSEFOLK MARINE 
  CR 7
  XP 3,200
  HP 126 each (see page 4) 
  TACTICS
  Morale If the baykoks are destroyed and the 
  security train becomes broken, the corpsefolk 
  marine gives up pursuit to go report to his superiors. 
  BAYKOKS (2) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each 
  HP 144 each (see page 55)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The baykoks target those PCs making the 
  most effective ranged attacks, or the PC piloting the 
  grav-train if no PCs are successfully shooting at them. 
  If the chase lasts more than 10 turns, the baykoks stop 
  firing at the PCs and instead fire on the grav-train itself, 
  seeking to disable it.
  Morale The baykoks pursue the PCs as long as possible. 
  If their corpsefolk marine pilot is destroyed, one baykok 
  activates the security train’s autopilot as a swift action. 
  After that, if their security train becomes broken, the 
  baykoks try to board the PCs’ grav-train. If that fails, the 
  baykoks fly to the nearest grav-train station to report to 
  their superiors.
  Vehicle Chase: While the grav-trains can run only on the 
  tracks, these tracks pass through nearly every section of 
  the ship—there are miles of transit corridors dedicated to 
  their use, with numerous corridors, intersections, junctions, 
  and switchbacks, making it possible to race against another 
  grav-train and eventually lose it in the maze of transit 
  corridors. The PCs have just left the primary launch and 
  
  24
  recovery decks (where hangar country is located) and 
  should be attempting to reach the command and control 
  decks (where the command section is located). The quickest 
  route is to take the vertical major transit corridor in the 
  aft section of the ship, but if they do so, they will need to 
  fight the ellicoths they find at the command section station 
  (area B2), as well as the two baykoks and corpsefolk marine 
  chasing them (see Creatures on page 23), which is likely an 
  overwhelming encounter for them.
  However, the PCs can try to escape from the pursuing 
  security train by driving through the smaller tunnels that 
  pass through other sections (see the map on the inside 
  back cover). Each section represents an area of the ship 
  containing dozens of decks that provide for all the various 
  functions of a starship the size of a small city. Each section 
  is essentially adjacent to a few other sections, as well as to 
  the major transit corridor, which offers an express route from 
  any one section to another (except for the areas above the 
  command and control decks, which have only limited grav-
  train access for security reasons). The sections are big enough 
  that the PCs can stay within a single section for as many 
  zones as they wish (essentially taking tracks in a huge loop 
  within the section). They can move to any adjacent section 
  whenever they advance a zone; if they do, the pilot gains a +2 
  circumstance bonus to her next Piloting check.
  The grav-train the PCs have commandeered is a standard 
  model used to carry small cargo and personnel throughout 
  the Empire of Bones. It is durable (it was built for a ship of 
  war, after all) but neither particularly fast nor designed for 
  direct combat. The unarmored windows are large enough 
  that characters within the train gain only partial cover. 
  The security train is designed to maintain security in the 
  transit corridors in case of a boarding action and to find and 
  immobilize runaway grav-trains. It is smaller, faster, and more 
  heavily armored than a typical grav-train, with protected gun 
  ports to allow fire from within its cover, but it isn’t able to 
  switch tracks as rapidly. While both vehicles list a collision 
  attack, they can normally collide only with things on the same 
  track or on an intersecting track.
  The areas detailed in Chase Environmental Zones on pages 
  26–27 include examples of active hazards, altered attacks, 
  altered movement, new tricks, or split routes you can present 
  during the chase. You can also use them to create your own 
  chase environmental zones if your PCs want to travel to a 
  section on the map that isn’t listed on pages 26–27. You may 
  find it helpful to give this information to your players so they 
  have a sense of what new options they’ll have in each section.
  The chase begins in the major transit corridor. The security 
  train begins in the same zone as the PCs’ grav-train and does 
  everything it can to remain in the same zone. If the PCs 
  manage to escape, they lose their pursuers and can move with 
  relative safety around the Empire of Bones. See area B2 for 
  more information on what happens when the PCs arrive at the 
  command section station on the command and control decks. 
  If the PCs fail to escape and their train is destroyed or 
  stopped in some manner, they have to confront the baykoks 
  and the corpsefolk marine on foot, likely in one of the grav-
  train corridors, and then either commandeer the security 
  train or travel by foot until they can obtain a new grav-train 
  at another station.
  GRAV-TRAIN 
   
  LEVEL 10
  PRICE 38,000 
  Colossal land vehicle (15 ft. wide, 10 ft. tall, 100 ft. long)
  Speed 60 ft., full 1,100 ft., 130 mph
  EAC 23; KAC 24; Cover partial cover
  HP 150 (75); Hardness 15
  Attack (Collision) 12d10 B (DC 11)
  Modifiers +2 Piloting, –2 attacks (–4 at full speed)
  Systems autocontrol; Passengers 48
  SECURITY TRAIN 
  LEVEL 8
  PRICE 20,000 
  Huge land vehicle (15 ft. wide, 10 ft. tall, 20 ft. long)
  Speed 60 ft., full 1,200 ft., 140 mph
  EAC 25; KAC 25; Cover cover
  HP 130 (65); Hardness 20
  Attack (Collision) 8d10 (DC 14)
  Attack grappler (see below)
  Modifiers +2 Piloting (for keep pace pilot action only), 
  –2 attacks (–4 at full speed)
  Systems autocontrol, autopilot (Piloting +12)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Grappler (Ex) The security train’s grappler gun can be used 
  only against vehicles the security train is engaged with 
  during a vehicle chase. The grappler targets KAC, but the 
  user doesn’t take the security train’s normal penalties to 
  attacks. The pilot of a vehicle hit with the grappler takes 
  a –5 penalty when using the break free action.
  Story Award: If the PCs successfully evade the security 
  train, award them 3,200 XP, in addition to the experience 
  they gained from defeating the two baykoks and the 
  corpsefolk marine.
  b2. Command seCtion station (Cr 12)
  For security reasons, the grav-train system has only a single 
  transfer point into the command and control decks, where 
  the command section is located. Nearly every route to the 
  nerve center of the ship requires invaders to move through 
  this grav-train station, creating a defensible choke point in the 
  event the Empire of Bones is boarded. This also allows security 
  forces from anywhere in the ship to use grav-trains to rapidly 
  redeploy to protect the command and control decks. As the 
  stations all have a standardized design, use the Grav-Train 
  Station map on page 21 for this encounter.
  The PCs can arrive by the grav-train they commandeered 
  or exit the grav-train prior to reaching the station and enter 
  
  25
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  from either the port or starboard tunnel. The three aft doors 
  lead to the command and control decks. Since the area is 
  currently on lockdown following Nashal’s order to increase 
  ship security (see Security on page 21), all the doors and 
  hatches in or out are sealed and locked (Engineering DC 35 to 
  bypass the security seals).
  Creatures: By the time the PCs arrive in this grav-train 
  station, Nashal is certainly aware enemy troops are on board 
  his ship, even though he may not know the details about 
  them (depending on the outcome of their earlier encounters). 
  The captain feels he needs extra security for the command 
  and control decks but doesn’t want to redirect troops that 
  he can have scouring the rest of the ship for the intruders. 
  Luckily for the captain, he keeps three ellicoths—massive 
  creatures native to Eox—in a special menagerie on the officer 
  and VIP quarters deck. He believes owning these creatures 
  proves his loyalty to his undead masters and his desire to 
  conquer Eox in the name of the Corpse Fleet. The ellicoths 
  hate Nashal, as he doesn’t feed them very often. Nashal has 
  ordered the normal personnel of this station evacuated and 
  has placed his ellicoths here. He (correctly) assumes the 
  ellicoths will attack any living or undead creatures 
  they encounter, making it difficult for the PCs to 
  move through this choke point. While rounding up 
  the ellicoths later will prove troublesome, the captain 
  is willing to handle that inconvenience when the time 
  comes, after the Stellar Degenerator has been secured 
  by the Corpse Fleet. Similar to the surnochs in area A3, 
  the ellicoths are fitted with electronic atmosphere collars.
  If the PCs manage to subdue, incapacitate, or somehow 
  befriend the ellicoths, they can hack the computer in the 
  station control area (see area B1) and redirect a cargo grav-
  train to this station. Only special cargo grav-trains can 
  transport the ellicoths, and only along the widest transit 
  corridors; none of those regularly serve the command 
  and control decks. The ellicoths have to squeeze to fit 
  on a train (which they aren’t too happy about). The PCs 
  can send the ellicoths to the Empire of Bones’s largest 
  shuttle bay on the cargo area deck, which has a dedicated 
  grav-train station. How the PCs proceed from there to get 
  the ellicoths off the ultranought is beyond the scope of 
  this adventure. In any case, the ellicoths can’t be cajoled or 
  coerced into the ship’s normal corridors in order to reach the 
  command section or any other location.
  ELLICOTHS (3) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each 
  HP 145 each (Starfinder Alien Archive 48)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The ellicoths are rarely fed and are 
  currently starving. Each one tries to use its soul drain 
  ability on a different PC. Once they have fed, each 
  ellicoth focuses on a different PC and tries to impale that 
  PC with its gore attacks. An ellicoth that is reduced to 
  fewer than half its Hit Points attempts to use its soul 
  drain ability on any nearby target.
  Morale The ellicoths are maddened by their long captivity, 
  but not entirely senseless. If an ellicoth is reduced to 30 
  or fewer Hit Points, it attempts to retreat to a corner of 
  the grav-train station. However, if it is damaged again 
  after doing so (even via collateral damage, such as from a 
  grenade), it becomes enraged and fights to the death.
  Development: If the PCs stay in this grav-train station for 
  more than a few minutes after the fight is over, a grav-train 
  arrives with one baykok (see page 55) and five bone trooper 
  commandos (see page 22). These defenders call for backup 
  when they see the PCs, and another such train arrives a few 
  minutes after that fight ends. This cycle repeats endlessly, 
  ELLICOTH
  
  26
  The following chase environmental zones can be found 
  throughout the Empire of Bones and are used in the Event 4 
  vehicle chase.
  BATTERIES AND RESERVE POWER 
  CORE
  Power Drain (Altered Movement): Corpse Fleet policy is to 
  keep the ship’s backup batteries and reserve power core fully 
  charged at all times. This draws power from the grav-train 
  tracks on this deck, imposing a –2 penalty to Piloting checks 
  to speed up. 
  CARGO AREA
  Dislodge Cargo (New Trick, Piloting DC 27): The pilot clips a 
  pile of cargo in a way that causes it to fall on a train behind 
  hers, imposing a –2 penalty on attack rolls and skill checks 
  made by the creatures in the struck train for 1 round. A 
  character can also perform this trick during the combat phase 
  by succeeding at a ranged attack against AC 22 that deals at 
  least 15 damage to the contents of the cargo area.
  CREW QUARTERS
  Security Troops (Active Hazard): Each round the PCs move 
  through this section, a corpsefolk marine (either standing on 
  a platform as the grav-train hurtles through a station or at a 
  security post within the transit corridors) takes a shot (dual 
  acid dart rifle +17 [2d8+9 A & P; critical corrode 2d4]) at a 
  randomly determined PC.
  DRIFT ENGINES
  Warped Space-Time (Altered Attacks): Though the Empire 
  of Bones’s Drift engines aren’t currently active, there is still 
  enough reality-warping power coming off of them to make 
  physical ranged attacks more difficult, as bullets and grenades 
  don’t travel in their normal trajectories. All ranged attack rolls 
  against KAC take a –2 penalty.
  ENGINEERING CONTROL
  Fire Control Foam (Active Hazard): Each round the PCs move 
  through this section, a bone trooper engineer (using fire control 
  systems designed to ensure none of the passages through 
  engineering control carry fires from elsewhere in the ship into 
  this crucial area) attempts to cover the PCs’ grav-train with fire-
  retardant foam (ranged attack +12; on a successful attack, for 
  1d4 rounds all characters within the grav-train treat everything 
  outside the train as having concealment).
  MAIN COMPUTER CORE
  Fog (Altered Attacks): The massive amount of coolant used to 
  keep the miles of computer banks operational causes fog to 
  build up in the transit corridors through the main computer 
  core, granting concealment to everyone. Since the grav-trains 
  are on rails and are normally automated, this minor design 
  flaw is not considered a serious issue.
  MAIN ENGINES
  Drive Through Fire (New Trick, Piloting DC 27): As the 
  Empire of Bones takes damage from the Gate of Twelve Suns’ 
  defenses, minor fires have broken out in the ship’s massive 
  engines. While the grav-trains are being automatically 
  detoured around the fires, a pilot can force her grav-
  train onto a rail that goes through a burning section. All 
  passengers gain concealment for 1 round, but the grav-train 
  takes 10d10 fire damage. Each creature on board the train 
  takes half that damage but can attempt a DC 21 Reflex 
  saving throw to halve the damage again. Any train behind 
  the grav-train performing this trick must also succeed at this 
  trick (and face the same consequences) or allow the chased 
  grav-train to escape. 
  MAIN POWER CORE
  High-Energy Field (Altered Attacks): The high-energy fields 
  that reach out from the main power core cause all attacks 
  against EAC to take a –2 penalty, but such attacks deal an 
  additional 2d10 damage (of the same energy type).
  MAINTENANCE BAYS
  Dodge Between Moving Payloads (New Trick): Within the 
  maintenance bays, large vehicles and chunks of machinery 
  that have been brought in for repair are moved along the 
  tracks, including tracks that cross those the PCs are on. A 
  pilot can override the safety systems and get close enough 
  to a large payload on another track that it might hit a grav-
  train following hers. The pilot chooses the DC of the Piloting 
  check she wants to attempt (representing how close she 
  pilots her grav-train to hitting a payload). If she succeeds, 
  each train behind hers must succeed at a Piloting check 
  with the same DC or be subjected to a single attack (melee 
  attack +21, 10d10 B). If the piloting attempting this trick fails 
  her check by 5 or more, her grav-train is subjected to the 
  attack instead.
  MAJOR TRANSIT CORRIDORS
  Sudden Track Change (New Trick, Piloting DC 24): A pilot 
  can cause her grav-train to suddenly change tracks to one 
  of the dozens of other routes available. This disengages the 
  grav-trains (if they were engaged), and the other grav-train 
  can’t engage the grav-train that switched tracks for 1 round. 
  This otherwise functions as split routes that have no other 
  modifications to them.
  CHASE ENVIRONMENTAL ZONES
  
  27
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  MANEUVERING THRUSTERS
  Constant Detours (Altered Movement): Normally grav-trains 
  don’t move through the banks of maneuvering thrusters 
  when the Empire of Bones is in a combat situation. Because of 
  the danger of superheated gases and exhaust, the grav-tracks 
  through here are constantly being blocked off and the grav-
  trains rerouted. All Piloting checks to do anything but slow 
  down take a –4 penalty.
  PRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND 
  TERTIARY GUN DECKS 
  Jump the Rails (New Trick, Piloting DC 31): While inertial 
  dampeners reduce the recoil of the massive starship weapons 
  currently firing at the Gate of Twelve Suns’ defenses, the recoil 
  is still much stronger on the gun deck than elsewhere on the 
  vessel. By wildly accelerating on a tight turn just as the guns 
  fire, a pilot can derail her grav-train from its tracks. If she 
  succeeds at the Piloting check, the grav-train slides across a 
  deck and reattaches to adjacent tracks, and the pursuing train 
  takes a –4 penalty to Piloting checks for 2 rounds, as it has to 
  seek a junction to follow the new route. If the pilot fails this 
  check, she doesn’t get the timing right and her vehicle stays on 
  its current tracks, but if she fails by 5 or more, her grav-train 
  leaps from the tracks at a spot where there are no other tracks 
  to reattach to. Her vehicle then comes to a full stop and the 
  chase ends, allowing any pursuers to catch up.
  PRIMARY AND SECONDARY LAUNCH 
  AND RECOVERY DECKS 
  Duplicate Tracks (Split Routes): All the decks dedicated to 
  launching or recovering fighters and other starships have 
  duplicate tracks on parallel routes behind different bulkheads, 
  to ensure pilots and munitions can always reach the fighters, 
  even if the area is damaged. One route is shorter, granting a +2 
  bonus to Piloting checks to keep pace or speed up. A second 
  route’s tracks are more twisty, granting a +2 bonus to Piloting 
  checks to evade. A third route’s lights are malfunctioning, and 
  the constant flickering grants a +2 bonus to Piloting checks 
  to perform a trick.
  PRIMARY SENSOR DECKS
  No Targeting Systems (Altered Attacks): Within this area, the 
  feedback created by the Empire of Bones’s technological and 
  magical sensor systems prevents items and augmentations 
  (such as targeting computers or a mechanic’s exocortex) from 
  granting bonuses to attack rolls. 
  SCIENCE AND NECROMANCY LABS
  Negative Energy (Altered Attacks): The years of necromantic 
  research and rituals performed in this section of the ship cause 
  all attacks in these zones that deal bludgeoning, slashing, or 
  piercing damage to deal an additional 1d10 negative energy 
  damage to living targets.
  
  28
  effectively preventing the PCs from resting to regain 
  Stamina Points here.
  Treasure: Each ellicoth’s atmosphere collar provides 
  protection similar to the environmental protections of 
  a suit of armor, lasting for 15 days when fully charged. A 
  PC can alter an atmosphere collar with a successful DC 32 
  Engineering check so that it functions as a gray force field 
  armor upgrade (and can be sold as such).
  EVENT 5: DEAD AIR
  Captain Ghurd Nashal has been monitoring the command 
  section station since he realized that intruders have gained 
  access to his ship. Even if the PCs are hiding themselves 
  from the security cameras using the Wraith 2.0 virus, 
  Nashal can see the violence inflicted on his pet ellicoths. 
  Shortly afterward, the fight in area B2 concludes, Nashal 
  attempts to communicate with the PCs. He sends a request 
  to parley through the Empire of Bones’s specially calibrated 
  comm units. If the PCs have taken any such devices from 
  the undead they have defeated, they can answer easily. If 
  they haven’t, they spot a message across all the displays in 
  the command section grav-train station that explains how 
  the PCs can adjust their own comm units to be able to speak 
  with the captain. The PCs don’t have to stay in one place 
  if they decide to talk to Nashal; they can begin the trek 
  through the ship’s corridors to the command section (area C).
  Nashal is genuinely interested in talking to the warriors 
  bold enough to attack his miles-long starship from within, 
  and he hopes to trick them into revealing their ultimate goal 
  (though he doesn’t expect to succeed). He is also having his 
  science officer, Lieutenant Renzar, attempt to track the PCs 
  if they answer his communication (see below). 
  The captain begins by asking their names, honestly noting 
  that he would rather know more about such interesting 
  opponents before having them destroyed. If the PCs killed 
  one of more of the ellicoths in area B2, Nashal specifically 
  mentions that he would have been willing to allow them to 
  escape with their lives if they simply fled, but now they have 
  angered him by killing his favored pets, as grotesque as they 
  are. This is not true, but Nashal wants to see how they react 
  to the claim.
  He goes on to ask what they hope to accomplish, since it’s 
  impossible for them to defeat the ship’s crew of thousands. 
  He assumes they are attempting sabotage of some kind, but 
  assures them the Empire of Bones is now the greatest power 
  in the galaxy and that even if they manage to destroy one 
  cannon or one engine, it will have no significant impact on 
  the ship’s fighting power.
  During this conversation, Renzar (see page 31) uses the 
  ship’s sensors to attempt to triangulate the PCs’ position. 
  A PC can detect this attempt with a successful DC 30 
  Computers check. Shutting off the comm units they are using 
  isn’t enough to completely deflect this triangulation. Instead, 
  the PCs can throw Renzar off their trail by succeeding a 
  Computers check opposed by Renzar’s Computers check 
  (she has a total Computers skill bonus of +24). Activating the 
  TombRobber virus gives the PCs a +4 circumstance bonus to 
  this check.
  If Renzar successfully locates the PCs (which happens 
  automatically if the PCs don’t detect her triangulation 
  attempt), four baykoks (see page 55) arrive at their location 
  within 5 minutes to deal with them. Ten minutes after that, 
  a squad of two baykoks and eight corpsefolk marines (see 
  page 4) travel to that same location. The PCs might not 
  be aware of the approaching threat, unless one of them 
  succeeds at a DC 30 Perception check to hear the first group 
  of baykoks coming. Successful Stealth checks opposed 
  by the baykoks’ Perception checks allow the PCs to slip 
  away from their location without a fight. Activating the 
  TombRobber virus isn’t enough to avoid this conflict; if the 
  PCs use the program to create a false security report, Nashal 
  sends security forces to both their real location and the false 
  alert, just to be thorough. 
  Story Award: If the PCs have a conversation with Nashal 
  and either avoid having their location discovered or manage 
  to escape the area before security forces arrive, award them 
  19,200 XP.
  PART 4:  
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  From the command section grav-train station (area B2), 
  the PCs have easy access to the command and control 
  decks, which contain most of the central control rooms 
  from which the officers’ orders are sent out to the various 
  areas of the gigantic vessel. The most important of these 
  is the command section, which includes the ship’s primary 
  bridge and cybercontrol (from which commands are issued 
  to the hordes of cybernetic zombies throughout the Empire 
  of Bones). With a map of the interior of the ship, the PCs 
  should have no difficulty reaching the command section, 
  and they can reasonably find an unused cargo area or 
  maintenance corridor if they need to rest (unless they 
  are tracked down by the ghoul Renzar in Event 5). The 
  exact distance from the grav-train station to area C1 of the 
  command section is irrelevant, though it should take the 
  PCs less than 30 minutes to arrive if they hustle through 
  the nondescript and dimly lit corridors. 
  C. COMMAND SECTION
  By the time the PCs reach this area, the Empire of Bones 
  has destroyed all the defenses of the Gate of Twelve Suns 
  able to harm the armada. The small amount of damage 
  dealt to the ultranought has been fixed, and most of the 
  
  29
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  armada’s swifter ships have returned to their carriers 
  for their own repairs. Admiral Serovox is focused on 
  thoroughly scanning the system and the portal to ensure 
  there are no traps or hidden defenses that would pose a 
  major threat before approaching the Stellar Degenerator. 
  While the admiral might be aware of the PCs’ presence 
  on the command and control decks, they trust Captain 
  Nashal and his security forces to deal with the intruders. 
  This gives the PCs the opportunity to strike, but they 
  need to be quick, as Serovox is only a short amount of 
  time away from realizing that nothing else is standing 
  in the way of the Corpse Fleet gaining control over the 
  ancient superweapon.
  The following are standard traits of the command 
  section. 
  Ceilings, Doors, and Walls: The ceilings are 20 feet 
  high unless otherwise noted, and the doors are thick steel 
  doors (hardness 30, HP 125, break DC 35). The walls are 
  standard starship interior walls (hardness 30, HP 1,440 
  per 10-foot-by-10-foot section, break DC 45).
  Security: The security camera feeds are monitored 
  around the clock on monitors in area C2 and can be called 
  up on the display in area C3 with a few simple commands. 
  If the PCs have activated Wraith 2.0, the cameras show 
  only the results of their actions rather than exposing them 
  directly. Otherwise, Captain Ghurd Nashal knows the PCs 
  are in the command section and prepares accordingly.
  C1. trophy hall (Cr 12)
  The double door to this room from the corridor is securely 
  locked (Engineering DC 32 to disable). Any effort to open 
  the door by force (or if a PC fails the Engineering check to 
  disable the lock by 5 or more) sets off a silent alarm in the 
  room, alerting its occupants. 
  This large room has double doors centered in the fore 
  and aft walls. Two large computer consoles flank the fore 
  door. Ten-foot-wide raised platforms with metal railings 
  run along the port and starboard walls, each with an exit 
  out of the room. Four large display cases made of a clear 
  material stand evenly spaced in the center of the room. 
  Each case contains a different item under a harsh white 
  spotlight: a red-and-gold spear, a humanoid skull and spine, 
  a desiccated severed hand with a gem embedded in the 
  palm, and a spacesuit helmet with swirling red mist within 
  it and blood spattered on the inside of the visor.
  This is Serovox’s trophy room, where they keep the most 
  precious mementos of their greatest conquests and most 
  noteworthy vanquished foes. Though Nashal is ostensibly 
  in charge of the Empire of Bones, he acquiesced to this 
  spectacle of Serovox’s victories after the admiral threatened 
  to add the captain’s tongue to the collection. The cases are 
  made of inch-thick transparent aluminum (hardness 10, 
  HP 15), and each case’s door is locked (Engineering DC 30 
  C. COMMAND SECTION
  C4
  C4b
  C4a
  C1
  C3
  C2
  1 square = 5 feet
  Fore
  
  30
  to disable). The cases’ contents are described in 
  Treasure below.
  The double door leading to the 
  bridge is under total lock down on 
  Serovox’s orders. A successful DC 40 
  Engineering check can bypass the 
  lock. Nashal (area C2) holds a key 
  card that also opens this door.
  Creatures: 
  There 
  are 
  three 
  kurobozus guards in this room, all 
  from a monastic order that has worked 
  with the Corpse Fleet for centuries. 
  These kurobozus were once living 
  ascetics who believed that undeath will 
  eventually consume the entire galaxy 
  before spreading to take over all planes 
  of existence. They underwent torturous 
  rituals to gain their current undead 
  existence and are honored to be guardians of powerful 
  undead such as the captain and admiral. Normally, only one 
  or two kurobozus are present in the command section, but 
  Nashal called others from elsewhere on the ship to guard 
  this area when he learned about the PCs’ presence on the 
  Empire of Bones.
  KUROBOZUS (3) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each 
  HP 135 each (see page 58)
  STATISTICS
  Gear spell ampoule of haste, spell ampoule of lesser 
  resistant armor, spell ampoule of see invisibility, personal 
  comm unit
  TACTICS
  Before Combat If the PCs set off the door alarm (see above), 
  one kurobozu uses a spell ampoule of lesser resistant 
  armor (choosing to gain damage reduction), one uses a 
  spell ampoule of haste, and the third uses a spell ampoule 
  of see invisibility before the PCs can enter the room. The 
  kurobozu with the damage reduction positions herself 
  to one side of the aft door and readies her black apoxia 
  ability, while the other two take cover behind trophy 
  cases and wait to attack PCs who move farther into 
  the room.
  During Combat The kurobozus believe spellcasters are 
  the most powerful creatures in the universe, and they 
  first attack any creature they see casting spells. They 
  switch to attacking anyone who moves to one of the port 
  or starboard doors out of the room. If two of them are 
  destroyed, the remaining kurobozu moves to a computer 
  console near the door to the bridge and signals that the 
  intruders are too powerful for them to stop.
  Morale The kurobozus’ entire existence is predicated 
  on serving the Corpse Fleet. They fight until they 
  are destroyed.
  Development: The Corpse Fleet officers in the adjacent 
  rooms ready themselves for battle if they hear fighting 
  in this room or if a kurobozu sets off the alarm (see 
  above). They prefer to let the PCs come to them.
  Treasure: The trophy cases contain objects of 
  significant power that were won by Serovox. The 
  eyes of Rhean float serenely within the space 
  helmet, the skull and spine are wired together 
  with the runeworm, the spear is the spear of fates, 
  and the desiccated hand has the warlord stone 
  embedded in it.
  EYES OF RHEAN 
  LEVEL 13
  HYBRID ITEM 
  PRICE 55,000 
  BULK L
  Serovox pried this pair of pale sapphire 
  gems from the head of an inevitable they 
  destroyed in a duel. When you hold one 
  of the eyes in one hand, you can control 
  the other as a spy drone that can’t be upgraded. You see 
  what the flying eye sees through the eye you hold. However, 
  if you place the gems over your own eyes, they burrow into 
  your skull and replace two of your eyes (destroying the 
  optic nerves of any additional eyes if you have more than 
  two eyes), functioning as a long-range darkvision capacitors 
  augmentation. You can still send out one eye as a spy drone, 
  during which time the eyes do not grant you darkvision. 
  When the eyes aren’t embedded in a skull and aren’t in use, 
  a reddish mist slowly coalesces around them.
  RUNEWORM 
  LEVEL 12
  HYBRID ITEM 
  PRICE 37,000 
  BULK —
  Currently interlaced with the skull and spine of one of 
  Serovox’s defeated foes, this hybrid item appears to be a 
  24-inch-long metallic centipede covered in runes. When 
  it is placed near your ear (or a similar orifice), it animates 
  and enters your body. Once inside you, the runeworm 
  intertwines with your internal anatomy and releases an 
  arcane virus that rewrites and improves some part of your 
  body’s function. It functions as a mk 2 synergizing symbiote, 
  which is able to increase an ability score by 4. However, it is 
  so advanced that it can instead upgrade any mk 2 personal 
  upgrade already in your system to a mk 3 personal upgrade, 
  increasing the ability score bonus from +4 to +6.
  SPEAR OF FATES 
  LEVEL 13
  TECHNOLOGICAL ITEM 
  PRICE 102,300 
  BULK 2
  This unique weapon belonged to a Knight of Golarion who 
  attempted to kill Serovox a few years before the signing of 
  the Absalom Pact and the creation of the Corpse Fleet. It 
  is a golden spear with a ruby blade and functions as both 
  an inferno flame doshko and a white star plasma caster. It 
  holds one ultra-capacity battery, which powers all uses of the 
  weapon. Switching the weapon from melee functionality to 
  ranged functionality (or vice versa) is a swift action. 
  RUNEWORM
  
  31
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  WARLORD STONE 
  LEVEL 14
  MAGIC ITEM 
  PRICE 75,000 
  BULK —
  This stone holds the collected memories, 
  philosophies, and tactics 
  of an ancient alien 
  warlord, 
  and 
  is 
  currently 
  set 
  in 
  the palm of its 
  original owner. This 
  mk 3 ability crystal can 
  increase any one ability 
  score by 6 if you spend 1 hour 
  communing with the item, 
  as fragments of the ancient 
  alien warlord’s psyche flood 
  your mind and body. Its magic is then 
  forever spent.
  C2. CyberControl (Cr 14) 
  Three rows of computer displays take up the center of this 
  room, with additional control panels lining the fore wall. 
  Monitors line the port, starboard, and aft walls, showing 
  various decks and grav-train corridors of the ship’s interior 
  and the Gate of Twelve Suns, as well as the position, direction, 
  and possible firing arcs of dozens of armada ships in the 
  system. Heavy doors are set into the fore and starboard walls.
  This is the control room for the command link system that 
  sends orders directly to the cybernetic zombies that run many 
  of the systems throughout the ship (such as the ones the PCs 
  encountered in area A7). The rows of terminals function as a 
  tier 10 computer. When used in conjunction with experienced 
  officers and the non-cybernetic zombie crew, this command 
  link system allows the crew of the Empire of Bones to operate 
  at an extremely high level of efficiency (represented by the 
  skill checks listed for the starship on the inside front cover). 
  However, even without the assistance of the free-willed 
  crew in key positions, these computers allow a startlingly 
  small number of creatures to operate the ship (as long as the 
  cybernetic zombie crew are still functional).
  An authorized user can command the thousands of 
  cybernetic zombies running the various sections of the 
  ship to perform the engineer and science officer roles of 
  the Empire of Bones, and to use up to two of the four +10 
  bonuses available from the ship’s computer. Hacking the 
  computers here to gain basic access requires a successful DC 
  53 Computers check, and a PC must succeed at an additional 
  DC 53 Computers check each time she wants to perform an 
  engineer or science officer action during starship combat. 
  However, with the cybercontrol command key (a small disc-
  shaped apparatus held by Nashal), the PCs can gain total 
  access to the command link system and perform engineer 
  and science officer actions as they see fit (once 
  they gain control of the bridge, of course). Access 
  to both the command link system and the 
  bridge’s command throne (see area C4) also 
  allows a character to fill the captain role in 
  starship combat.
  The fore door leads to the bridge and is currently 
  under total lockdown. A PC can bypass the lock with 
  a successful DC 40 Engineering check. Nashal holds 
  a key card that also opens this door.
  Creatures: Currently present is Ghurd 
  Nashal, the ship’s captain, who is overseeing 
  the armada’s repairs from here while Serovox 
  is on the bridge working to secure the Stellar 
  Degenerator. In life Nashal was a vesk who 
  killed thousands in the war with the Pact Worlds 
  and embraced undeath as a mohrg rather than 
  peace with his former enemies. Lieutenant 
  Renzar, a ghoul science officer and trusted ally of the captain, 
  is also on duty here. As a security measure, two kurobozus 
  are at the captain’s side.
  KUROBOZUS (2) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each 
  HP 135 each (see page 58)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat If given warning, the kurobozus flank the 
  starboard door, ready to pummel any intruders who enter.
  During Combat The kurobozus try to keep the PCs from 
  entering this room. If possible, they focus their attacks 
  on anyone who shoots past them to harm the captain.
  Morale Loyal to the Corpse Fleet, the kurobozus fight until 
  they are destroyed.
  RENZAR 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600 
  Female elebrian ghoul mechanic (Starfinder Adventure 
  Path #3: Splintered Worlds 54)
  NE Medium undead
  Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +24
  DEFENSE 
  HP 150
  EAC 23; KAC 24
  Fort +11; Ref +11; Will +11
  Immunities undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee buzzblade dueling sword +18 (2d6+10 S) or
  bite +18 (2d8+10 P plus ghoul fever [DC 15] and paralysis 
  [DC 19])
  Ranged yellow star plasma rifle +20 (2d10+10 E & F; critical 
  burn 1d8)
  Offensive Abilities override (DC 19), target tracking
  TACTICS
  Before Combat Lieutenant Renzar positions herself near 
  RENZAR
  
  32
  the fore door to get a possible shot at multiple PCs in a 
  line through the starboard door with her plasma rifle.
  During Combat Renzar stays out of melee combat as best 
  she can, though she isn’t afraid to bite a PC who gets too 
  close to her.
  Morale The lieutenant is both loyal to Nashal and fearful 
  of punishment from Serovox if she were to flee from 
  combat. She continues fighting until destroyed. 
  STATISTICS
  Str +0; Dex +8; Con —; Int +5; Wis +3; Cha +0
  Skills Acrobatics +19, Computers +24, Engineering +24, 
  Stealth +19
  Other Abilities artificial intelligence (exocortex), expert 
  rig (accelerated datajack), mechanic tricks (improved 
  overcharge), miracle worker 1/day, remote hack (DC 19), 
  unliving
  Languages Common, Eoxian
  Gear freebooter armor III, buzzblade dueling sword with 
  1 battery (20 charges), yellow star plasma rifle with 
  2 high-capacity batteries (40 charges each), personal 
  comm unit
  GHURD NASHAL 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800
  Male vesk mohrg (see page 59)
  CE Medium undead
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +20
  DEFENSE 
  HP 180
  EAC 24; KAC 26
  Fort +13; Ref +13; Will +12
  Immunities undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee slam +23 (2d8+19 B) or
  clawed tongue +23 (2d6+19 S plus paralyzing touch 
  [DC 20])
  Multiattack clawed tongue +17 (2d6+19 S plus paralyzing 
  touch [DC 20]), 2 slams +17 (2d8+19 B)
  Ranged tactical autobeam rifle +20 (5d4+11 F; critical burn 
  2d4) or
  shock grenade III +20 (explode [15 ft., 3d12 E, DC 18])
  Offensive Abilities create spawn
  TACTICS
  Before Combat If Nashal is aware the PCs are hacking the 
  door into cybercontrol, he activates his white force field 
  and takes up a position in the aft end of the room.
  During Combat Nashal fires his autobeam rifle at PCs who 
  step through the door. If two or more PCs push past the 
  kurobozus to get into the room, he activates the rifle’s 
  automatic fire, unconcerned about whether he catches 
  his allies in the spray. He then drops the rifle to the 
  ground, throws a shock grenade, and enters melee 
  combat. He tries to paralyze as many foes as 
  possible, moving from one enemy to the next.
  Morale Nashal is a fearless warrior who would 
  never flee or surrender to invaders on board 
  his ship. He fights until he is destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +5; Con —; Int +0; Wis +0; Cha +3
  Skills Athletics +25, Engineering +20, Intimidate +20
  Other Abilities unliving
  Gear advanced iridishell (white force field [15 HP]), 
  shock grenades III (2), tactical autobeam rifle with 
  1 high-capacity battery (40 charges), bridge key card, 
  cybercontrol command key, system-wide comm unit
  C3. ready room 
  This elegant room has smooth, bone-white walls and red-
  stained wooden floors. A large table apparently carved from 
  GHURD NASHAL
  
  33
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  a single enormous slab of stone takes up much of the aft 
  section of the room, with a blank computer display hanging 
  from the ceiling nearby. Smaller stone pillars topped with 
  black glass tabletops, each surrounded by several smaller 
  chairs, are scattered throughout the rest 
  of the room. A countertop that runs along 
  the port wall and around the corner 
  along the fore wall holds delicately 
  formed crystal goblets and what 
  appear to be food dispensers.
  This is the ship’s ready room, a 
  multifunction conference room and lounge for 
  senior officers, and (when desired) a private 
  meditation chamber for the admiral. The chairs 
  are well upholstered and comfortable, and 
  the commissary station is able to produce 
  anything from synthesized blood to foods 
  for the living, in case important guests 
  come on board who enjoy such things. As 
  an area used by different officers and crew 
  shifts, the chamber holds no valuables. 
  The fore door leads to the bridge and is currently under 
  total lockdown. A PC can bypass the lock with a successful 
  DC 40 Engineering check. Nashal also holds a key card that 
  opens this door.
  C4. bridGe (Cr 15)
  A dais in the center of this large room supports an imposing 
  throne-like chair with a computer console just in reach. Five-
  foot-deep recesses are located to the port and starboard 
  of the dais, and walls of holoprojectors that stretch down 
  from the ceiling surround each. The projectors fill the 
  pits with three-dimensional holograms of the local space, 
  including the Gate of Twelve Suns, the ships of the Corpse 
  Fleet armada, and a massive cone-shaped megastructure 
  sitting in a section of nonstandard space beyond the Gate. 
  Three floor-to-ceiling windows show the stretch of space 
  in front the vessel. Rows of chains sit in front of bank of 
  controls adjacent to the windows and most of the port 
  and starboard walls. Curved walls cut off the port and 
  starboard corners of the fore walls; each has a door set in 
  it. Three more doors are spaced along the aft wall. 
  This is the main bridge, used to command the Empire of 
  Bones and communicate with other Corpse Fleet ships in the 
  armada. The control panels across the front of the room are 
  the primary navigational and gunnery controls (all currently 
  manned by cybernetic zombies), and those on the aft and on 
  the port and starboard walls can be configured to transmit 
  orders to or from any section of the ship. 
  The impressive chair on the dais is the Empire of Bones’s 
  command throne, which was designed to be used by the 
  ship’s captain to give orders and receive information. Serovox 
  recently claimed it as their personal post. It is also a console 
  for the tier 10 computer that handles tactical and navigational 
  duties. Hacking this system to gain basic access requires a 
  successful DC 53 Computers check, and 
  a PC must succeed at an additional 
  DC 53 Computers check each time 
  she wants to perform a gunner 
  or pilot action during starship 
  combat. 
  Since 
  the 
  armada 
  reached the Gate of Twelve 
  Suns, Serovox has tightened 
  security so that only they can 
  designate someone as an authorized user 
  (using their own electroencephalon as a 
  command key similar to Nashal’s cybercontrol 
  command key), and such designation must be 
  renewed every 24 hours. Both Nashal and 
  Serovox are permanently authorized users. 
  Gaining access to both the bridge’s command 
  throne and the command link system in area 
  C2 allows a character to fill the captain role 
  in starship combat. Furthermore, once the PCs have gained 
  access to the command throne, an authorized user can direct 
  the cybernetic zombies on the bridge to fill the gunner and 
  pilot roles of the Empire of Bones and use up to two of the 
  four +10 bonuses to computer checks available from the ship’s 
  computer (see the ship’s statistics on the inside front cover).
  Areas C4a and C4b are emergency elevator shafts that 
  lead to escape pods, allowing the bridge crew to quickly flee 
  to the secondary launch decks (see the map on the inside 
  back cover).
  Creatures: Since arriving at the Gate of Twelve Suns, 
  Serovox has spent nearly all their time on the bridge. They 
  communicated with officers elsewhere in the ship as needed 
  and occasionally withdrew to the ready room (area C3) to 
  meditate, but that all ended when it became clear the PCs 
  were aboard. The admiral is in the command throne when 
  the PCs enter the bridge. There are also two kurobozus here, 
  stationed near the emergency evacuation shaft doors, as 
  well as a hulking mass of undead flesh and metal known as 
  a gatecrasher.
  Sixteen cybernetic zombies (Starfinder Alien Archive 114) 
  are spaced evenly at the seats in the computer controls 
  around the outside of the room. They have all been wired into 
  the starship for so many years they are no longer capable of 
  any independent action. Even if detached from the consoles 
  or attacked, the cybernetic zombies take no actions other 
  than to continue to operate the controls to the best of their 
  abilities. They are not a threat to the PCs, and the PCs should 
  gain no experience for destroying them.
  Serovox is impressed the PCs have made it this far and 
  is happy to tell them so, declaring it proof the heroes are 
  “worthy to join the Corpse Fleet” once their mortal forms 
  COMMAND 
  KEY
  
  34
  have been slain. The admiral will gladly banter with the 
  PCs for a bit before a fight begins, and might continue to 
  converse during combat. Serovox is generally very calm and 
  collected, no matter the situation. The following are some 
  questions the PCs might have for Serovox, along with the 
  admiral’s responses.
  Commander Malakar was planning some kind of mutiny! 
  “Oh, I know all about her plot. Honestly, I was looking 
  forward to the struggle between her and Captain Nashal. 
  A senior officer does need to encourage ambition in 
  subordinates, after all. She was making real progress, too. 
  Ironically, I was going to offer her command of her own ship 
  at the completion of this mission. But I suppose you put an 
  end to all that.”
  What is your mission? “To eliminate life, of course. Life is 
  the source of all foibles, all weaknesses, and ultimately all 
  conflict. Only the whispered perfection of undeath can be 
  allowed to exist.” 
  How did you find us? “I had a tracker placed on your ship 
  and on the ship of those Devourer buffoons. Though I imagine 
  we would have found you sooner or later, given that you all 
  make so much noise.”
  Why run the entire ship by direct control from the 
  bridge? Doesn’t it make your ship vulnerable to have 
  everything controlled by these cybernetic zombies instead 
  of real crew members? “Would you trust ordinary ghouls 
  to make crucial military decisions? No, of course not! This 
  is the greatest ship in the entire Corpse Fleet, and I prefer 
  having it as close to being under my direct command as 
  possible. Besides, the only way to control this ship is to 
  destroy me and Captain Nashal, and at that point, what do I 
  care what happens?”
  Why do you talk so much during a fight? “In the end, the 
  brief abnormality of your lives will end, and I’ll see to it that 
  such fine specimens as yourselves are converted into potent 
  agents of the Corpse Fleet. Under my command, of course. 
  I find it useful to have a quick word with the fleeting flicker 
  of life a body hasn’t released yet in order to determine what 
  form of undeath will best suit it in the eons that follow its 
  last breath.”
  We will defeat you! “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose 
  here. Even if you manage to defeat us, the Corpse Fleet has 
  more ships. More armadas. And all the time in the universe. 
  As long as the Stellar Degenerator exists, the Corpse Fleet will 
  seek to control it. Sooner or later, we will succeed. And then, 
  everything dies once and for all.”
  KUROBOZUS (2) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each 
  HP 135 each (see page 58)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat If Serovox seems to be ramping down their 
  discussion with the PCs, the kurobozus move in from 
  their posts in front of the emergency shaft doors.
  During Combat Each kurobozu chooses a different PC 
  to focus its attacks on, moving in to make as many 
  unarmed strikes as possible.
  Morale Loyal to the Corpse Fleet, the kurobozus fight until 
  they are destroyed.
  GATECRASHER 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600 
  HP 198 (see page 57)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat When it seems like Serovox is finished 
  speaking with the PCs or that the PCs are about to 
  attack, the gatecrasher activates its haste circuit. If it 
  doesn’t manage this before combat, it takes the time to 
  activate the upgrade only if it needs to do so to reach a 
  PC in a single move action.
  During Combat The gatecrasher is willing to get between 
  the admiral and the PCs, especially if that gives it a good 
  line of sight to attack multiple foes with its shock caster. 
  The gatecrasher moves without concern for whether it 
  stays behind cover or exposes itself to enemy fire. If a 
  foe is successfully attacking it from beyond its ability to 
  attack back, it uses its forcepack to fly to that foe, even 
  if doing so provokes attacks of opportunity.
  Morale The gatecrasher loves combat above all else. It 
  fights until it is destroyed.
  SEROVOX 
  CR 13
  XP 25,600
  Nonbinary elebrian necrovite (Starfinder Alien Archive 80)
  NE Medium undead
  Init +8; Senses blindsense (life) 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; 
  Perception +23
  Aura fatigue (30 ft., DC 21)
  DEFENSE 
  HP 190 RP 5 
  EAC 29; KAC 30
  Fort +12; Ref +16; Will +14
  Defensive Abilities fast healing 10, rejuvenation (1d8 days); 
  DR 5/—; Immunities cold, electricity, undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (Su, average)
  Melee red star plasma sword +20 (4d8+13 E & F; critical 
  severe wound [DC 21])
  Ranged aurora arc pistol +22 (3d6+13 E; critical arc 2d6)
  Offensive Abilities undead mastery
  Spells Known (CL 13th)
  5th (3/day)—greater dispel magic, wall of force
  4th (4/day)—corrosive haze (DC 23), greater invisibility, 
  resistant armor, rewire flesh (DC 23)
  3rd (at will)—displacement, explosive blast (DC 22)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat If the heroes set off alarms or resort to 
  blasting their way through the doors to the bridge, 
  Serovox casts displacement on themself.
  
  35
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  During Combat Serovox casts greater invisibility on 
  themself as soon as combat begins. They then attempt 
  to cut one foe off from her allies with wall of force, 
  preferably enclosing that foe with another undead to 
  attack her. They try to dispel ongoing enemy spells that 
  prove troublesome. Whenever invisible, they prefer to 
  fly near the ceiling of the bridge, moving after every 
  attack so their position is impossible to pin down. When 
  reduced to 40 or fewer Hit Points, Serovox becomes 
  irked and begins attacking with their plasma sword.
  Morale Serovox is an admiral commanding a whole 
  armada, and the heroes are all that stand between 
  them and a weapon that could mean the end of all life 
  and galaxy-wide ascendancy of all undead. Besides, 
  they hope that the heroes either don’t understand the 
  electroencephalon or will find its ability to command the 
  rank-and-file crew of the Empire of Bones too useful to 
  destroy it, enabling the admiral to rejuvenate in a few 
  days. The admiral fights until destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +0; Dex +8; Con —; Int +6; Wis +0; Cha +4
  Skills Bluff +28, Computers +28, Diplomacy +28, 
  Mysticism +28, Sense Motive +28
  Other Abilities magic hacks (mental mark, tech 
  countermeasures), unliving
  Gear estex suit IV (deflective reinforcement, mk I spell 
  reflector), aurora arc pistol with 1 high-capacity battery 
  (40 charges), red star plasma sword with 1 high-capacity 
  battery (40 charges), electroencephalon command key 
  (see below), system-wide comm unit
  Treasure: The key to Serovox’s undead power is their 
  electroencephalon command key, which also functions as 
  a way for the PCs to take control of the Empire of Bones. 
  Though no other necrovite can use it as an electroencephalon, 
  the PCs can still sell it to the right buyer as an curiosity of 
  powerful necromantic magic or as an example of Corpse 
  Fleet security measures. However, if the item isn’t destroyed, 
  Serovox will rejuvenate 1d8 days after being defeated. The 
  PCs can decide to leave the command key on the bridge to 
  be obliterated when the Empire of Bones crashes into the 
  Stellar Degenerator, or they can take it with them to destroy 
  on their own. The item has the normal amount of hardness 
  and Hit Points as an item of its level, so the PCs can destroy 
  it however they see fit.
  ELECTROENCEPHALON COMMAND KEY 
  LEVEL 14
  HYBRID ITEM 
  PRICE 75,000 
  BULK 1
  This 
  is 
  Serovox’s 
  electroencephalon 
  (Starfinder Alien 
  Archive  81), as well as the command key for the primary 
  computers of the Empire of Bones. It grants the wielder 
  authorized access to any computer on the ship and can grant 
  another creature authorized for 24 hours. Additionally, the 
  electroencephalon is tied directly to the engines, sensors, and 
  weapons of the ship, allowing anyone holding it to feel the ship 
  as an extension of her own body. A creature holding it gains a 
  +10 circumstance bonus to all skill checks attempted as part 
  of starship combat.
  EVENT 6: BAD OMENS (CR 15)
  Once the PCs have defeated Admiral Serovox and taken control 
  of the command section, they have several hours during which 
  they are in control of the ship. This window of opportunity is 
  their best chance to fly the ship through the Thirteenth Gate 
  and into the Stellar Degenerator. With access to the ship’s core 
  computers, the PCs can easily determine that the colossal 
  ultranought will suffer a massive engine failure upon hitting 
  the superweapon, creating an explosion powerful enough 
  to destroy both juggernauts forever (though not powerful 
  enough to destroy the Gate of Twelve Suns itself).
  While it isn’t a long flight to the Thirteenth Gate from 
  the Empire of Bones’s current location, if the PCs leave the 
  ship’s bridge too early, the ultranought might be destroyed 
  or knocked off course before impacting with the Stellar 
  Degenerator. Indeed, the two next-largest ships in the Corpse 
  Fleet armada—a pair of Thaumtech Omenbringers (named 
  the Dusk Blade and Orphanmaker)—move to intercept the 
  Empire of Bones as soon as it begins flying toward the portal 
  to the demiplane holding the ancient weapon. The captains of 
  those ships are aware that Serovox was being cautious about 
  approaching the ancient superweapon, and know the admiral 
  would have contacted them if the situation had changed. No 
  amount of diplomacy or trickery can convince them to take 
  any course of action other than attacking the ultranought 
  once it deviates from the admiral’s plan. In truth, the captains 
  don’t care whether the admiral is still alive or not—if the two 
  Omenbringers destroy the Empire of Bones, their captains can 
  take control of the superweapon themselves, to much acclaim. 
  Starship Combat: The Empire of Bones is a tier 20 starship, 
  and with the electroencephalon command key and access to 
  cybercontrol, the PCs can control it, but they don’t have the 
  skill ranks and bonuses of a typical tier 20 starship crew. At 
  this point, the PCs should be 12th level and have 12 ranks in 
  many of the applicable skills needed for starship combat, but 
  that’s still a far cry from the 20 ranks assumed in the Empire 
  of Bones stat block on the inside front cover. Even with the 
  massive shields and firepower of the ultranought, with the PCs 
  in charge, it’s only as effective as a tier 16 starship. That means 
  the two Omenbringers, each a tier 14 starship, constitute a 
  hard encounter for the PCs. Add to that the lack of familiarity 
  the players have with the Empire of Bones and the lack of time 
  to form tactics or plan ahead, and the encounter becomes an 
  epic one. 
  However, the PCs don’t have to destroy the two 
  Omenbringers, just get the Empire of Bones past them. The 
  Empire of Bones is 36 hexes from the portal to the demiplane 
  containing the Stellar Degenerator (you can use Starfinder 
  Flip-Mat Basic Starfield to track this distance). Once the 
  
  36
  ultranought reaches the portal, it is impossible to prevent the 
  vessel’s impact with the superweapon. The Omenbringers are 
  between the Empire of Bones and the demiplane entrance, 
  with the Dusk Blade 10 hexes from the ultranought and the 
  Orphanmaker 20 hexes away. If either battleship is destroyed, 
  has critical damage to three systems at once, or loses half its 
  Hull Points, the two vessels flee rather than risk destruction at 
  the hands of the mighty Empire of Bones.
  DUSK BLADE AND ORPHANMAKER 
  TIER 14
  Thaumtech Omenbringers (Starfinder Core Rulebook 307)
  HP 400 each
  EMPIRE OF BONES 
  TIER 20
  Blackwind Annihilator (see inside front cover)
  HP 1,050
  EVENT 7: ABANDON SHIP! (CR 12)
  With the Omenbringers destroyed or driven off, there is 
  nothing the remaining ships of the Corpse Fleet armada can do 
  to prevent the Empire of Bones from crashing into the Stellar 
  Degenerator, assuring the destruction of both.
  Chances are the PCs don’t want front row seats to 
  the impact.
  Getting far enough away from the Empire of Bones to survive 
  the coming explosion requires the PCs to exit in a starship, 
  or at least an escape capsule. They could take the emergency 
  escape elevators from the bridge down to escape pods on the 
  secondary launch decks (located in a hangar close enough in 
  design to the one the PCs entered through that you can use 
  the map of area A on page 10 to represent it), or they could 
  rush to take a grav-train back down to the hangar where they 
  left whatever ship they used to get to the Empire of Bones.
  The PCs should feel like they have only a limited amount of 
  time before it becomes impossible for them to escape alive, but 
  unless they do something foolish like take an hours-long rest, 
  they can make it off the Empire of Bones in time. However, the 
  players don’t have to know this! You can heighten the sense of 
  danger by describing events in the background as they rush 
  through the ultranought’s corridors. Some of these elements 
  could include strobing white lights, displays flashing messages 
  in Eoxian warning of an imminent collision, and subtle changes 
  in gravity as the Empire of Bones begins to pass through 
  the portal. Ramp up the intensity of these details as time 
  passes, especially during the few rounds of combat with the 
  security baykoks that try to stop the PCs (see Creatures and 
  Hazard below).
  Creatures: Regardless of what route they choose, the PCs 
  are destined to run into one last line of defenders. While most 
  of the officers and self-willed crew on the ship are too busy 
  looking for their own way off the Empire of Bones, nearly 
  all the baykoks from the security force are so dedicated to 
  hunting the PCs that they are willing to die to have a chance to 
  track down the invaders. Since the PCs are most likely hidden 
  from the security cameras (thanks to the Wraith 2.0 virus), 
  the baykoks have divided up in teams of three to try to cover 
  every likely escape route off the ship. Whether it’s in a hangar 
  (use the map for area A1 on page 10), a grav-train station (use 
  the map for area B on page 21), or a random corridor (use 
  Pathfinder Map Pack: Starship Corridors to represent such 
  areas), the PCs will run into one team of three before they can 
  make it to their escape method of choice.
  BAYKOKS (3) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each 
  HP 144 each (see page 55)
  Hazard: As the Empire of Bones approaches the threshold 
  of the portal to the demiplane containing the Stellar 
  Degenerator, gravitational anomalies begin engulfing the 
  ultranought. These irregularities counteract the artificial 
  gravity in large swaths of the ship, plunging them into zero-
  gravity, increasing the gravity to extreme levels, or even 
  reversing the gravity entirely. At the end of each round of 
  combat with the baykoks, roll 1d20. On a result of 11 or higher, 
  the local gravity is altered drastically; roll on the table below 
  to determine how the gravity changes. This new level of 
  gravity remains until another roll changes it. On a result of 
  10 or higher, add 1 to the next end-of-the-round d20 roll; this 
  increase is cumulative, but resets when gravity next changes.
  d% 
  Gravity
  1–20 
  Extreme Gravity: Each character takes 2d6 
  nonlethal damage at the beginning of its turn. 
  If the character has 0 Hit Points, this is lethal 
  damage. The effects of high gravity also apply.
  21–40 High Gravity: Each character moves at half 
  speed, can jump only half as high or far, and 
  can lift only half as much. The ranges of thrown 
  weapons are halved. A flying creature has its 
  maneuverability worsened by one step (minimum 
  clumsy) and plummets to the ground unless it 
  succeeds at a DC 25 Acrobatics check.
  41–60 Low Gravity: Each character can jump three 
  times as high or far and can life three times as 
  much. The ranges of thrown weapons are tripled.
  61–80 Zero Gravity: Characters and unattached objects 
  begin to float slightly off the ground. See page 
  402 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook for the full 
  rules of zero gravity.
  81–100 Reverse Gravity: The gravity reverts to standard 
  level but its direction reverses. Characters and 
  unattached objects fall toward the ceiling (or 
  back down to the floor if gravity reverses a 
  second time). Each non-flying character takes an 
  amount of damage from the fall that depends on 
  the height of the ceiling in the area (1d6 per 10 
  feet fallen).
  
  37
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  CONCLUDING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  Whether they return to their own ship, steal another Corpse 
  Fleet ship, or trust in escape pods to get them away from 
  the Empire of Bones, the PCs get barely far enough away to 
  avoid being badly damaged when the ultranought impacts the 
  Stellar Degenerator. The armada ignores them as it rushes to 
  try to either stop the Empire of Bones (uselessly, since the two 
  Omenbringers have been destroyed or fled already) or dock 
  with the ultranought in the hopes of regaining command (which 
  might have worked if the undead attempting it had more time).
  When the Empire of Bones collides with the much larger 
  Stellar Degenerator, for a split second, it appears nothing 
  will happen. Then the ultranought deforms in shape, with 
  rays of black and red energy shooting out of it. The Stellar 
  Degenerator cracks at the point of impact, and then explodes 
  in a prismatic fireball of incandescent plasma. The shock wave 
  of the explosion warps the space around the portal, and then 
  the demiplane tears itself apart, destroying its contents. Those 
  Corpse Fleet ships close to the portal are ripped to pieces as 
  ripples in reality emanate from the catastrophe. Those ships 
  from the armada that survive flee into the Drift over the next 
  few minutes.
  How the PCs return to the Pact Worlds depends upon their 
  method of escape. Their own vessel (and most Corpse Fleet 
  starships) have Drift engines, meaning the PCs can get home 
  at their leisure; however, anyone entering Pact Worlds space 
  in a Corpse Fleet ship will have a lot of quick explaining to 
  do to patrolling Steward vessels. If the PCs took an escape 
  pod, they can land it on Gate 1’s controller moon. Luckily, the 
  pod has a Drift-capable distress beacon that the heroes can 
  send back to the Pact Worlds with their current coordinates 
  in order to request a rescue. The Starfinder Society sends a 
  vessel to pick them up, which arrives in 5d6 days. Biding their 
  time on the controller moon, the PCs can easily find enough 
  food and water to sustain them, though for the first few 
  days, pieces of debris from the epic space battle above them 
  occasionally rain down. On the plus side, the fallout from 
  the collapse of the demiplane causes shimmering multihued 
  lights to play across the planet’s night sky.
  Once they make it back to Absalom Station, the PCs are met 
  with praise and relief from anyone who knew the seriousness 
  of their mission. Chiskisk, their contact within Starfinder 
  Society, is particularly interested in hearing the tales of their 
  exploits, and recommends that they write up accounts of their 
  adventures or take their story to the vid-lecture circuit. How 
  much the PCs tell to the galaxy is up to them, but if they are 
  completely forthcoming, they soon find fame as saviors. After 
  all, they put the threat of the Stellar Degenerator to rest once 
  and for all.
  
  38
  CONTINUING THE CAMPAIGN
  “The kishalee ruled over the galaxy millennia ago. Few ruins 
  could survive for so long. our own civilization too shall 
  fall, leaving behind only crumbling remains. Yet, there is 
  one great preserver of history: space. The light we see from 
  distant realms is but an echo of dead suns that has traveled 
  trillions of miles to reach our eyes. Even if a second Gap 
  overtook us and wiped away our collective knowledge, I 
  know that centuries from now, another blazing flash would 
  shine in the night sky, chronicling the deeds of a brave few 
  Starfinders who dared to rediscover our galaxy’s forgotten 
  past and inspired us to look to the future.”
  —Luwazi Elsebo, First SeekeR of the Starfinder Society
  
  T
  he Dead Suns Adventure Path might conclude with the 
  destruction of the Stellar Degenerator and the PCs’ 
  escape from the collapsing demiplane, yet the action need 
  not end there. Not only do the PCs’ discoveries open up 
  countless new avenues for adventure, but the heroes have 
  also made numerous allies and enemies over the course of 
  the campaign who could easily become ongoing patrons—
  or antagonists.
  Ancient Superweapons: In their generations-long conflict 
  with the sivvs, the kishalee built dozens of laboratories 
  and factories to test new weapons hitherto unknown in the 
  Pact Worlds. When they defeated their rivals, the kishalee 
  gradually decommissioned these sites, moved operations 
  to more resource-rich planets, or even lost control of them 
  in conflicts with other species. Although none of these 
  weapons represent the raw destructive power of the Stellar 
  Degenerator, agents who recover any surviving engineering 
  data are only a few steps away from re-creating another 
  devastating superweapon. To the Corpse Fleet or the Cult of 
  the Devourer, recovering such schematics might represent a 
  worthy consolation prize. Seeking revenge against the PCs, 
  or their patrons or allies, might be the first order of business 
  for these villains thereafter.
  In Search of Survivors: As the kishalee civilization 
  declined, far-flung settlements ceased communication with 
  their home system and became physically isolated. The kish 
  of Istamak represent only one of potentially hundreds of 
  surviving lineages, and in partially deteriorated consoles 
  hidden within that floating city, the PCs can piece together 
  the locations of other kishalee colonies. No doubt some of 
  these populations have died out, leaving behind unspoiled 
  caches of kishalee technology that the party might recover. 
  In other places, the kishalee could have adapted to new 
  climates, regressed technologically, or even continued their 
  research to honor the collapsing empire they left behind. 
  Tracking down disparate kishalee sites could keep the PCs 
  busy for decades, particularly if some of these lost societies 
  failed not from attrition but due to the dangerous beings 
  already inhabiting their newfound homes. In addition, as 
  suggested in the Ancient Superweapons section, the PCs 
  might not be the only ones looking for lost kishalee sites. 
  Competitors and enemies might have the same idea.
  The Oatia Exodus: The elves who built the Temple of the 
  Twelve left their city of Loskialua behind millennia ago using 
  a ritual they called the Celestial Voyage. Without the benefits 
  of Drift travel, the elves spent untold centuries in transit 
  before arriving in a system less than a light-year from the 
  sacred Gate of Twelve Stars and still live there to this day. 
  After the Thirteenth Gate opens and is destroyed, the Oatia 
  elves send armed researchers to investigate. Signs of the 
  gate’s desecration might set these fervent Ibra worshipers 
  on the party’s trail. However, if the PCs can appease the 
  militant astronomers, they could work together to explore 
  countless wonders throughout the galaxy.
  Starfinder Heroes: After discovering evidence of the 
  ancient kishalee species, exploring the misunderstood ruins 
  of Ukulam on Castrovel, and averting a cosmic catastrophe 
  threatened by an ancient superweapon, the PCs return to 
  the Pact Worlds as heroes. Their accomplishments gain even 
  greater praise within the Starfinder Society, where Chiskisk 
  helps them to become venture-captains in the organization 
  and to publish their findings. With the Society’s resources, 
  the group can readily recruit teams of archaeologists 
  and xenobiologists to help them with future exploits, 
  particularly when they receive invitations to delve deeper 
  into mysteries such as Aballon’s First Ones, the origins of 
  Orikolai (Starfinder Core Rulebook 466), or the gradual 
  collapse of kishalee society. Alternatively, those who learn 
  of the PCs’ past exploits might try to recruit them to solve 
  other problems throughout the galaxy.
  What If the PCs Lose? Without the party’s intervention, 
  the Corpse Fleet and the Cult of the Devourer inevitably 
  clash for control of the Stellar Degenerator. Whichever group 
  prevails spells potential calamity for the Pact Worlds. The 
  Corpse Fleet’s enmity toward the “traitorous” pact brokers 
  of Eox makes that planet and the Pact Worlds as a whole 
  a likely target, although the complex superweapon likely 
  requires considerable repairs and calibration before it could 
  wither the Pact Worlds’ sun. The Cult of the Devourer, on the 
  other hand, is a reckless foe, and Pact Worlds astronomers 
  might learn of the PCs’ failure when the zealous cultists 
  begin attacking uncharted systems, destroying stars in 
  various systems out of a chaotic desire to spread destruction.
  Failure also likely means the PCs’ deaths, with their 
  bodies at the Corpse Fleet’s mercy. Any second team sent 
  to stop the Stellar Degenerator could find itself clashing 
  with the undead Starfinders now serving Admiral Vurannka 
  (Starfinder Adventure Path #3: Splintered Worlds 46)! Even 
  if many of the original party members survived, if they 
  had to retreat while leaving any comrades behind, the 
  necromancers of the Corpse Fleet reanimate the forsaken 
  as ongoing antagonists who know their former comrades’ 
  every strategy and weakness.
  What If the Stellar Degenerator Survives? Although the 
  campaign assumes the PCs destroy the Stellar Degenerator, 
  they might choose to recover it instead. Such a device 
  quickly attracts the attention of ambitious treasure hunters, 
  doomsday cults, and independent warlords. Even leaders 
  of the Pact Worlds fail to agree on whether to destroy the 
  weapon or keep it as a deterrent against the Swarm or other 
  enemies yet unknown. This indecisiveness sorely tempts the 
  Veskarium’s more hawkish high despots to swoop in and 
  capture the superweapon to forward their own goals. Before 
  long, the PCs might have to face numerous factions vying 
  for the device. Those who want the Stellar Degenerator 
  destroyed for the greater good might take matters into 
  their own hands to prevent the Pact Worlds from tearing 
  themselves apart.
  39
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN
   ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  
  S
  cholars who are familiar with atrocites (Starfinder 
  Adventure Path #4: The Ruined Clouds 56), the Devourer’s 
  destructive apostles, speculate that the creatures were once 
  mortal before performing a devastating act and earning their 
  god’s transformative blessing. If this theory is true, then the 
  much more powerful apocalypse atrocites must arise from 
  mortals who engineer world-shattering cataclysms. Much like 
  other atrocites, the apocalypse atrocite known as Twinned 
  Echo borrows the form of a member of a living species—in its 
  case that of a sarcesian, a species supposedly descended from 
  the inhabitants of Damiar and Iovo, the two planets whose 
  destruction long ago formed the Diaspora. Cultists of the 
  Devourer speak its name in hushed whispers and oral legends 
  passed from cell to cell suggest this atrocite’s blasphemous 
  evangelism founded the Devourer’s worship in what would 
  become the Pact Worlds, though the faith rose to prominence 
  sometime during the Gap.
  Few know that when word of the Acreon and Drift Rock 
  first circulated, it was Twinned Echo who goaded the Cult 
  of the Devourer to investigate further. Soon after hearing of 
  the cult’s initial successes, the apocalypse atrocite departed 
  to incite destruction in other solar systems, expecting that it 
  would sense the cultists’ victory when they at last activated 
  whatever superweapon was hidden within the Gate of Twelve 
  Stars. When the PCs destroyed the Stellar Degenerator, 
  Twinned Echo assumed the destructive ripples indicated 
  the weapon’s activation and use. When the atrocite arrived 
  in the system, using the destructive event as a beacon, it 
  instead found the shattered remains of the Corpse Fleet and 
  the scattered survivors of the Devourer’s disciples. However, 
  where the defeated cult saw a lost opportunity, the atrocite 
  perceived untapped potential. The real weapon wasn’t the 
  Stellar Degenerator—it was the star system.
  Twinned Echo has sent out a call to Devourer cultists across 
  multiple star systems, calling upon them to reconfigure the 
  Gate of Twelve Stars into a new superweapon. The system has 
  numerous destructive possibilities, depending on what best 
  suits your campaign. The stars maintain their configuration 
  only due to powerful gravitational phenomena that the kishalee 
  created—a network of impossibly dense cosmic strings within 
  the stars’ controller moons—and Twinned Echo might harness 
  these to remotely manipulate a distant system’s gravity and 
  cause rampant tidal forces to tear planets to pieces. While the 
  Thirteenth Gate opened onto a demiplane, canny engineers 
  could reconfigure the mechanisms of the system to create 
  wormholes that abduct populous planets and catapult them 
  into hostile space (or into blazing stars). Alternatively, the 
  extradimensional framework might require only modest 
  alteration to simulate Drift engine technology, allowing the 
  entire star system to shift into the Drift and reappear atop other 
  worlds, ravaging entire civilizations with the heat of a dozen 
  suns. As a third possibility, parts of the Stellar Degenerator 
  could be reverse-engineered from the debris of the destroyed 
  superweapon and other instances of kishalee technology found 
  across the galaxy to create a device that causes a sun to quickly 
  go supernova—absorbing its closest planets and obliterating 
  the rest with a combination of heat and radiation. Any of these 
  strategies require time and resources, though carrying out 
  these plans would attract unwelcome attention.
  That attention comes in the form of Gevalarsk Nor, the 
  Eoxian ambassador on Absalom Station. Noticing that the Pact 
  Worlds’ Devourer cultists are rallying rather than retreating 
  and regrouping, he begins investigating the cult’s activities 
  and sends reconnaissance expeditions to the Gate of Twelve 
  Suns. Those few who report back send news of Twinned 
  Echo and its new project. Unfortunately, Nor’s influence is 
  somewhat diminished from the Corpse Fleet’s involvement 
  in recent events, and he has expended considerable political 
  capital distancing himself and Eox from the rogue armada. 
  Unable to mobilize the Knights of Golarion, the Stewards, or 
  any other force, Ambassador Nor looks to the PCs. His exact 
  approach varies based on the PCs’ existing relationship with 
  him; he might approach them directly if he is on good terms 
  with the heroes, or he might lure them into meeting with him 
  under false pretenses if their past is less amicable. As much as 
  the two parties might dislike each other, Nor is ready to cut a 
  deal. After all, Nor’s intelligence identifies Eox as the atrocite’s 
  primary target. However, the incomplete weapon ultimately 
  promises to be utterly indiscriminate, and any attack capable 
  of destroying Eox would likely also devastate some or all of 
  the other Pact Worlds.
  The growing number of cultists convening around the 
  Gate of Twelve Suns makes a direct assault outright suicidal, 
  even at higher levels. Instead, the PCs can intercept the 
  cult’s scavengers as they pick over kishalee ruins in search 
  of the necessary technology to harness the system’s power. 
  Such missions might take them to the three moons of Iktrios, 
  where radioactive pulses from the nearby dying star killed 
  most life but left behind immense vermin, or Rendratt-5, 
  where kishalee scientists designed biotech innovations so 
  sophisticated that these augmentations eventually developed 
  sapience and parasitized their creators. No matter where the 
  PCs go, they can count on Gevalarsk Nor’s support, which 
  might include undead agents or even exclusive access to Eox’s 
  necrograft technology.
  If the PCs can cause enough trouble for Twinned Echo, they 
  might lure it away from the Gate of Twelve Stars to fight on 
  more even terms. Otherwise, the PCs might have to capture 
  40
  Agent Of Apocalypse
  
  a Devourer starship and return to that star system under 
  the guise of cultists carrying the essential technology. Once 
  on the leading controller moon, the PCs can infiltrate the 
  atrocite’s operation, which has attracted cultists of numerous 
  unfamiliar alien species. Before long, though, the PCs must 
  corner Twinned Echo and end its schemes once and for all. 
  If they can’t prevent the atrocite from escaping, the PCs may 
  have to chase the evil outsider across numerous worlds, all 
  while it raises new Devourer armies. 
  TWINNED ECHO 
  CR 17
  XP 102,400
  Unique atrocite (Starfinder Adventure Path #4: The Ruined 
  Clouds 56)
  CE Large outsider (chaotic, evil, native)
  Init +3; Senses blindsense (life) 60 ft., 
  darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +29
  DEFENSE 
  HP 290
  EAC 31; KAC 30
  Fort +17; Ref +15; Will +20
  Immunities poison, vacuum
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (Su, average)
  Melee slam +26 (8d6+25 B)
  Ranged void bolt +28 (4d8+17 
  force; critical severe wound 
  [DC 24])
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 17th; 
  melee +27, ranged +28)
  1/week—interplanetary teleport (self 
  only), plane shift
  1/day—disintegrate (DC 26), gravitational 
  singularity
  3/day—bestow curse (DC 24), greater 
  dispel magic, greater synaptic pulse 
  (DC 25), heat leech (DC 25)
  At will—enervation, mirror image, 
   
  see invisibility
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  Offensive Abilities rending maelstrom, words of 
  disintegration
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +3; Con +3; Int +1; Wis +5; Cha +11
  Skills Intimidate +34, Mysticism +34, Sense Motive +29
  Languages Abyssal, Common; telepathy 100 ft.
  Other Abilities no breath
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Rending Maelstrom (Su) When Twinned Echo strikes the 
  same creature twice in the same turn with its slam or 
  void bolt attack, as a reaction, it can create a cosmic eddy 
  centered on the target creature (Reflex DC 24). Twinned 
  Echo is immune to this effect. Once Twinned Echo has 
  used rending maelstrom, it must wait 1d4 rounds before 
  it can do so again.
  Void Bolt (Su) Twinned Echo can fire bolts of energy from 
  the menacing haze that swirls above it. The bolt has a 
  range increment of 50 feet.
  Words of Devastation (Su) Once per day as a swift action, 
  Twinned Echo’s many mouths can speak words of total 
  devastation. For the next 3 rounds, any chaotic evil 
  worshiper of the Devourer within 120 feet of Twinned 
  Echo adds the severe wound critical hit effect to its 
  attacks, in addition to any existing critical hit effects. 
  If an attack already has the severe wound critical hit 
  effect, increase the save DC of that effect by 2 instead. If 
  Twinned Echo takes damage during this 3-round period, 
  the effects of its words of devastation end.
  TWINNED
  ECHO
  41
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  
  A
  s the PCs race to escape the Stellar Degenerator’s 
  demiplane as the superweapon and the Empire of Bones 
  collide, it seems the heroes are ready to return to the Pact 
  Worlds and the adulation of its citizens, but this might not 
  be the case. The physics of a collapsing demiplane may 
  defy even the Sunrise Maiden’s engines, leaving the PCs in 
  a dangerous maelstrom of debris. As they dodge fragments 
  of the Corpse Fleet’s flagship, they can glimpse holes in the 
  dying demiplane that reveal dozens of other realities. At last, 
  their traumatized starship spins out into an unfamiliar star 
  system with a habitable planet nearby. Thankfully, the PCs 
  find an outpost of the Halfblood Frontier Company, a half-orc 
  colonization firm that specialized in laying the groundwork 
  for future settlements on otherwise uninhabited planets. 
  With the firm’s help, the PCs can perform the essential 
  repairs and blast off toward the Pact Worlds, soon to receive 
  their hero’s welcome—or so they think.
  The demiplane’s destruction tore into several other 
  extraplanar spaces, releasing their contents. Most dangerous 
  of these ejecta was a creature of Stygian spores from 
  Abaddon. Known as Naxikriot, this outsider restlessly 
  travels the cosmos, infecting living creatures with spores 
  that cause the victims to seek out populous areas and infect 
  more hosts, much like a fiendish cordyceps fungus. In small 
  numbers, these deaths are tragic, but Naxikriot can bind the 
  souls from larger groups into the surrounding terrain, using 
  the quintessence to reshape the landscape in Abaddon’s 
  image. When a world is suitably infected to sustain the 
  transformation, Naxikriot stows away on or hijacks a starship 
  that it can crash into a another world ripe for infection and, 
  ultimately, destruction.
  Naxikriot has already brought more than one ancient 
  starfaring society to its knees, but its latest conquest should 
  have been its last. Although the fiend’s spores eventually 
  consumed their civilization, a group of surviving mystics 
  tracked down the fiend, bound it within an extradimensional 
  prison, and used the last of their magic to catapult their 
  infected world into their sun, destroying all of the outsider’s 
  spores—and themselves—in the process.
  Naxikriot had lingered in maddening solitary confinement 
  within its sterile cell for uncounted centuries when the nearby 
  collapsing demiplane shredded its prison. Discorporated, 
  Naxikriot surreptitiously hitched a ride on the Sunrise Maiden 
  to the Halfblood Frontier Company’s outpost. Although it 
  is likely to escape the PCs’ notice at first, the party might 
  eventually notice its accumulating spoor or the symptoms of 
  the fiend’s attempts to infect them one at a time. Realizing 
  they’ve been carrying a lethal contagion on board is only half 
  the problem. The PCs discover they have acted as the vector 
  for Naxikriot, which jumped ship at a promising port before 
  the PCs knew what was happening.
  Reports begin rolling in from population centers the PCs 
  visited after their triumph. The half-orc frontier settlement 
  stops responding, and rescue ventures find only a blasted 
  hellscape of fungal rot in the middle of an otherwise fertile 
  forest. Spores might reach Castrovel, where they take root in 
  the aggressive ksariks (Starfinder Alien Archive 70), which 
  spontaneously evolve to act as unharmed carriers for the 
  fungal contagion. Infectious filaments could blow through 
  the streets of Absalom Station, where a week before the PCs 
  enjoyed a ticker-tape parade. The extent of the devastation 
  depends largely on how widely the PCs traveled and the scale 
  of story you want to tell. Naxikriot could lurk somewhere 
  nearby, or it might have moved on, hitching a ride on some 
  other starfaring vessel.
  The fiend need not be so single-minded, though. Centuries 
  of imprisonment might have addled Naxikriot’s mind, leaving 
  it confused and longing to create something akin to home. 
  Perhaps instead it seeks answers in the vile gardens it 
  creates, finding insights in each one about the Gap and the 
  collective amnesia everyone experienced, almost as though 
  they had drunk from the River Styx. As the PCs chase after 
  the fiend, homing in on increasingly fresh sites of infection, 
  they might obtain similar insights from the growths. Perhaps 
  the fungus-covered hosts speak of forgotten events, and the 
  extraplanar wastelands left behind might resemble familiar 
  ruins leftover from the Gap. Whether these situations 
  capture previously missing truths or are the fiend’s fictitious 
  inventions is up to you.
  Ultimately, the PCs must corner Naxikriot if they are to 
  end its destructive rampage. When fighting against a being 
  that can slip into the smallest vents, though, the PCs have 
  to pick or shape their battleground carefully. Fighting the 
  outsider might be as simple as tricking it into a carefully 
  sealed lab or quarantined warehouse, but it could take 
  more complicated and cunning plans to ultimately force the 
  fiend to stand and fight. Only then can the PCs eliminate 
  the creature once and for all. Alternatively, the PCs can 
  banish Naxikriot to the Great Beyond, which is a simpler but 
  temporary solution.
  NAXIKRIOT 
  CR 16
  XP 76,800
  NE Large outsider (evil, extraplanar, plantlike)
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +28
  DEFENSE  
  HP 268
  EAC 30, KAC 31
  Fort +14; Ref +16; Will +19
  42
  Invasive Species
  
  Defensive Abilities fast healing 10; Immunities acid, 
  disease, poison; Resistances cold 10, electricity 10,  
  fire 10
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
  Melee gore +27 (4d8+23 P) or
  tendril +29 (3d8+23 B plus soul spores)
  Multiattack gore +21 (4d8+23 P), 2 tendrils +23 (3d8+23 B 
  plus soul spores)
  Ranged spit +27 (5d4+16 A plus soul spores)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (20 ft. with tendril)
  Offensive Abilities infestation
  STATISTICS
  Str +7; Dex +2; Con +4; Int +10; Wis +5; Cha +3
  Skills Athletics +28, Bluff +33, Life Science +33, 
  Mysticism +33, Stealth +28
  Languages Abyssal, Common; infected telepathy 300 ft.
  Other Abilities discorporation, 
  plantlike
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Discorporation (Ex) As a standard 
  action, Naxikriot can dissolve 
  into a cloud of spores, functioning as a swarm of 
  Fine creatures. This transformation grants Naxikriot 
  the swarm defense, swarm 
  immunities, distraction (DC 
  24), and swarm attack 
  (3d8+23 A plus soul spores) 
  traits as well as a fly speed 
  of 40 feet (Ex, average). 
  While the transformation 
  lasts, Naxikriot is unable 
  to make other attacks. 
  Naxikriot returns to its 
  natural form if it falls 
  unconscious or dies. It can 
  otherwise return to its natural 
  form as a move action.
  Infected Telepathy (Su) This ability functions 
  as telepathy except that Naxikriot can 
  communicate only with creatures that have the 
  sporulated template graft.
  Spit (Ex) Naxikriot’s spit attack has a range 
  increment of 30 feet.
  SOUL SPORES
  Type disease (contact); Save Fortitude DC 24
  Track mental; Frequency 1/hour for 6 hours
  Effect progression track is Healthy—Weakened—
  Impaired—Befuddled—Controlled; a controlled victim 
  gains the sporulated simple template graft (see below) 
  and follows the instructions of Naxikriot as per charm 
  monster; controlled is the end state.
  Cure 2 consecutive saves
  SPORULATED TEMPLATE GRAFT
  Sporulated creatures are infested with the consciousness-
  altering spores of Naxikriot. Unless otherwise instructed, 
  these creatures seek out populous areas to infect. A PC who 
  gains the sporulated simple template graft typically becomes 
  an NPC under the GM’s control (assume the PC has the array 
  an NPC would need to take the class graft of that PC’s class).
  Traits: Gains the plantlike subtype; infected telepathy (see 
  Special Abilities in Naxikriot’s stat block above).
  Abilities: The creature gains a spit attack that deals acid 
  damage as appropriate for a creature of its array and CR (Alien 
  Archive 129–132). When killed, the creature releases soul 
  spores in a 10-foot-radius burst, with a save DC appropriate 
  for a creature of its array and CR.
  NAXIKRIOT
  43
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  
  SHIPS OF THE LINE
  44
  “The Merciless Blade is as much a city as it is a starship, and 
  you’ve got to understand how both function to keep it flying. 
  Sure, you might be a whiz-bang engineer, able to strip and 
  reassemble a reactor coil blindfolded, but that doesn’t mean 
  squat when It’s time to convince the bursar that you need 
  a couple hundred thousand credits to buy the polycarbon 
  plate necessary to repair a few dings in the hull. You’ll 
  find you need a deft hand at both politics and mechanics, 
  and a well-timed favor or a convincing argument should be 
  found right next to your wrenches and blow torches in your 
  toolboxes. Otherwise, we’re all sucking space.”
  —Engineering Guild chief Mozmuran Grimhelm
  
  45
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  M
  odern shipyards can regularly construct starships of 
  various sizes ranging from Tiny to Colossal. Although 
  a few starships, such as the Idari, are much larger than 
  typical Colossal ships, most are ancient vessels built for 
  extraordinary events and lack the engines necessary for 
  travel through the Drift. However, so-called ships of the 
  line—massive starships equipped with Drift engines—do 
  exist. These rare ships are of such extraordinary dimensions 
  and powers that they form the centers of the fighting lines 
  of the largest and most fearsome navies. Groups that have 
  at least planetary reaches and resources are the only ones 
  capable of funding these vessels, which include the Corpse 
  Fleet flagship Empire of Bones, the Veskarian Conqueror of 
  Worlds and Merciless Blade, and the largest few of the Drift 
  engine–equipped dwarven Star Citadels.
  Most ships of the line act either as mobile bases of 
  operations or as flagships, but some act as both. Base ships 
  perform well for colonization or long-range exploration, and 
  some act as autonomous armadas, carrying myriad smaller 
  vessels inside hangars. Some base ships are independent 
  political entities that function as itinerant city-states in space. 
  Flagships are the most powerful vessels their respective 
  militaries can field, supported by cruisers, escorts, scouts, 
  supply tenders, and other ships. Military dictatorships that 
  can afford to do so keep a Supercolossal flagship as a symbol 
  of the state’s power and a mobile command base for top 
  military leaders. Any navy keeps close watch over its ships of 
  the line, since losing those craft would be a devastating blow.
  Even among factions that have the resources to construct 
  a Supercolossal starship, most prefer to operate and maintain 
  multiple dreadnoughts and carriers for the same cost and crew 
  needs. Rumors claim that some factions have secret ships of 
  the line, or that other Supercolossal vessels exist that serve the 
  interests of long-collapsed empires. Little convincing evidence 
  exists of such secret titans of the stars, but the vastness of 
  space makes it impossible to rule out these possibilities.
  This article introduces ships of the line as starships with a 
  new size category, Supercolossal. Supercolossal vessels are 
  over 6 miles long, weigh more than 2,000 megatons, and take 
  a –8 penalty to AC and TL. Except as detailed in the following 
  sections, these starships use the normal rules presented in 
  Chapter 9 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook.
  BASE FRAME
  Each base frame determines a starship’s size, maneuverability, 
  hull strength, starting weapon mounts, number of expansion 
  bays, and other capacities.
  BASE SHIP
  Size Supercolossal
  Maneuverability clumsy (–2 Piloting, turn 4)
  HP 450 (increment 75); DT 15; CT 90
  Mounts forward arc (4 heavy), port arc (4 heavy), 
  starboard arc (4 heavy), turret (2 capital)
  Expansion Bays unlimited; a base ship with increased width 
  or length can support more expansion bays
  Minimum Crew 150; Maximum Crew 100,000
  Cost 250
  ULTRANOUGHT
  Size Supercolossal
  Maneuverability clumsy (–2 Piloting, turn 4)
  HP 550 (increment 100); DT 20; CT 110
  Mounts forward arc (2 capital, 2 heavy, 1 spinal mount), 
  port arc (2 capital, 3 heavy), starboard arc (2 capital, 
  3 heavy), turret (1 capital, 2 heavy)
  Expansion Bays unlimited; an ultranought with increased 
  width or length can support more expansion bays
  Minimum Crew 250; Maximum Crew 5,000
  Cost 350
  POWER CORE
  Supercolossal ships have massive power needs. They also 
  have enormous space dedicated to power systems, allowing 
  them to use power cores that won’t fit in other vessels. 
  A Supercolossal ship can mount one of the power cores 
  of Supercolossal size shown in the following table. If a 
  Supercolossal starship has a Supercolossal power core, the 
  vessel can have up to four backup cores; those cores must be 
  designed for Huge or Gargantuan starships. If a Supercolossal 
  starship does not have a Supercolossal power core, the 
  vessel can instead mount up to five power cores designed for 
  Colossal ships.
  CORE
  SIZE
  PCU
  COST (IN BP)
  Titan Light
  Sc
  700
  50
  Titan Heavy
  Sc
  950
  60
  Titan Ultra
  Sc
  1,200
  70
  THRUSTERS
  Supercolossal ships depend on enormous thrusters that focus 
  on speed, since the maneuverability of ships of this size is 
  hard to improve.
   
  THRUSTER
   
  SIZE
  SPEED (IN 
  HEXES)
  PILOTING 
  MODIFIER
   
  PCU
  COST 
  (IN BP)
  SC4 thrusters
  Sc
  4
  +1
  300
  16
  SC6 thrusters
  Sc
  6
  +0
  400
  20
  SC8 thrusters
  Sc
  8
  –1
  500
  24
  ARMOR
  A Supercolossal ship has a size multiplier of 8 for determining 
  its armor’s Build Point cost.
  COMPUTERS
  Supercolossal starships use the computer systems normally 
  available to other starships. This main computer system 
  must be mk 4 or higher. Unlike typical starships, however, a 
  
  TACTICAL SENSOR 
  TANK
  46
  Supercolossal ship can have a second computer system of a 
  lower mark than the main system.
  A Supercolossal vessel also has enough space to augment a 
  mk 4 or better mononode computer with subordinate systems 
  called network nodes; these nodes increase the computing 
  power of the augmented mononode computer. A node might 
  be a dedicated technological system, a hardwired cybernetic 
  undead creature, a biotech calculating organism, a magitech 
  information crystal, or one of a myriad of other devices that 
  increase computer processing power and accessibility.
  Regardless of their appearances, network nodes cost 
  significantly fewer Build Points than computers that offer 
  the same bonuses. The cost of a network node is equal to 
  the mark of the mononode computer the network node 
  augments, and the network node provides one bonus as if it 
  were one node of the augmented computer. Network nodes 
  consume a lot of power, so a computer can have a maximum 
  number of connected network nodes no higher than half 
  its mark. The following table summarizes these network 
  node parameters.
   
  NAME
   
  BONUS
  NODE 
  MAXIMUM
   
  PCU
  COST 
  (IN BP)
  Mk 4 network node
  +4
  2
  8
  4
  Mk 5 network node
  +5
  2
  10
  5
  Mk 6 network node
  +6
  3
  11
  6
  Mk 7 network node
  +7
  3
  13
  7
  Mk 8 network node
  +8
  4
  15
  8
  Mk 9 network node
  +9
  4
  17
  9
  Mk 10 network node
  +10
  5
  19
  10
  CREW QUARTERS
  On a Supercolossal ship with common crew quarters, the 
  sheer size of the vessel allows 10% of the crew to have 
  good quarters and 1% to have luxurious quarters at no 
  additional cost. On a Supercolossal ship with good quarters 
  for the majority of the crew, 10% have luxurious quarters at 
  no additional cost.
  DEFENSIVE 
  COUNTERMEASURES
  Supercolossal ships take a –8 penalty to the TL they gain 
  from defensive countermeasures.
  DRIFT ENGINE
  A Supercolossal starship can mount only a Signal Basic 
  Drift engine, at a cost of 16 BP.
  EXPANSION BAYS
  A Supercolossal ship uses the same expansion bays as other 
  starships do. A Supercolossal ship can hold an unlimited 
  number of expansion bays, none of which ever go unused. 
  Any expansion bay in a Supercolossal ship represents 
  numerous chambers grouped together over a wide area 
  or many decks and augmented with reserve systems and 
  retaskable configurations. Therefore, a bay such as an 
  arcane laboratory on a Supercolossal ship indicates not a 
  single lab, but the ship’s facilities that allow the crew to 
  perform tasks requiring an arcane lab. Enough of these 
  spaces exist on a ship of the line to accommodate any 
  number of crew members who might need access the ship’s 
  specific expansion bays.
  MODIFIED EXPANSION BAYS
  The following expansion bays work differently for ships of 
  the line.
  Cargo Holds: Supercolossal ship frames have one cargo 
  hold for every 10 Build Points of the frame’s cost. Additional 
  cargo holds cost 5 BP per cargo hold.
  Hangar Bay: A Supercolossal ship’s hangar bay can 
  accommodate up to eight Medium ships, with two Small 
  ships or four Tiny ships taking the same space as one 
  Medium ship. Expanding an existing hangar bay to 
  accommodate eight more Medium ships adds only 1 BP to 
  the hangar bay’s cost.
  EXCLUSIVE EXPANSION BAYS
  A few expansion bays are available only to 
  Supercolossal ships.
  EXPANSION BAY
  PCU
  COST (IN BP)
  Drift booster
  40
  20
  Recycling system
  2
  1
  Tactical sensor tank
  2
  1
  Drift Booster: A Drift booster is a rail for launching 
  smaller ships into the Drift from within a Supercolossal 
  vessel’s hangar bay. A smaller ship that launches 
  from within the Supercolossal vessel’s hangar bay 
  using the Drift booster can temporarily raise its 
  Drift engine rating by 1. This increase lasts only as 
  long as the smaller ship stays in the Drift and on the same 
  course after launching using the Drift booster. If the boosted 
  
  PICKETS
  When starships move in groups, they sometimes use 
  pickets—escort craft whose crews remain on watch to 
  prevent surprise attacks and spot enemies far enough 
  away to allow time for favorable reactions. Supercolossal 
  ships regularly use such escort vessels to scan for enemy 
  targets. At the beginning of starship combat, if a higher-
  tier ship of any size uses escorts in this way, the highest-
  tier escort is considered to be the highest-tier ship in a 
  flotilla when randomly determining the distance between 
  opposing sides (see Beginning Starship Combat on pages 
  316–317 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook).
  47
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  ship changes course or leaves the Drift, this temporary 
  increase ends.
  Recycling System: A recycling system enables a 
  Supercolossal starship to be nearly self-sustaining, operating 
  independently for decades or even centuries. A combination 
  of smelters, biomass processors, manufacturing, and UPB 
  converters allows the ship to convert almost all its waste into 
  goods and materials.
  Tactical Sensor Tank: A tactical sensor tank (TST) allows 
  a Supercolossal ship to coordinate the sensor readings of 
  multiple escort craft into a unified picture of surrounding 
  space and then share this information with each starship. 
  Science officers can use a TST to link the sensors of any 
  number of allied vessels in range of the TST-equipped ship’s 
  sensors. The sensor range for all linked ships extends as 
  far as the farthest-reaching range among them, since the 
  TST system collects data from linked vessels, correlates 
  possible sensor targets, and sends that information to all 
  linked ships.
  SECURITY, SENSORS, AND 
  SHIELDS
  In many cases, a ship of the line has weaker security, sensors 
  and shields than the most powerful of its escort ships. 
  Supercolossal vessels depend on their massive Hull Point 
  totals to carry them through combat, and they instead focus 
  their BP and PCU on massive weapons few other vessels can 
  compete against.
  SPINAL-MOUNT WEAPONS
  Any Supercolossal ship can mount multiple capital weapons, 
  but the dreaded ultranought can have an even larger 
  weapon, known as a spinal-mount weapon. These immense 
  devices of destruction are built along the vessel’s core spine, 
  and they can channel the power of the ship’s engines and 
  reactors directly into massive, direct-fire attacks that can 
  obliterate most targets. No ship of the line can mount more 
  than one spinal-mount weapon, although spinal-mount 
  weapons have multiple apertures or focusing lenses that are 
  part of a single weapon. A spinal-mount weapon must be 
  mounted in the front arc of a ship. 
  Spinal-mount weapons must be charged. Beginning this 
  process requires the ship’s engineer to take an engineer 
  action during the engineering phase and succeed at an 
  Engineering check (DC = 10 + 1-1/2 × the starship’s tier) to 
  activate the weapon. The weapon then charges during that 
  round of combat and the next.
  On the third round, during the gunnery phase, the spinal-
  mount weapon can be fired with the shoot gunner action. 
  Because aiming the weapon requires moving the ship, the 
  gunner gains a +2 bonus to gunner checks when using her 
  ranks in Piloting instead of her base attack bonus. If the 
  gunner wants to use her base attack bonus, she gains a 
  +1 bonus to her gunner checks if she is trained in Piloting. 
  Additionally, if the gunner fires no other weapons during 
  the same round as the spinal-mount weapon, it deals an 
  additional 1 damage per die. Once a spinal-mount weapon is 
  fired, it cannot be activated again for 2d4 rounds.
  If the gunner doesn’t fire a spinal-mount weapon on the 
  first round that it is fully charged, a member of the crew must 
  take an engineer or gunner action each round (requiring no 
  skill check) to keep it on standby. If no member of the crew 
  takes this action, the weapon functions as if it had been fired 
  and cannot be activated again for 2d4 rounds.
  SPINAL-MOUNT WEAPONS
  SPINAL-MOUNT WEAPONS
  RANGE
  DAMAGE
  PCU
  COST (IN BP)
  SPECIAL PROPERTIES
  Gravity annihilator
  Long
  8d6 × 10
  50
  60
  Tractor beam
  Hypermass cannon
  Long
  6d6 × 10
  40
  30
  Line
  Particle acceleration gun
  Long
  9d4 × 10
  50
  30
  Line
  Nova ram
  Long
  6d10 × 10
  75
  45
  Line
  Ultra plasma cannon
  Medium
  9d6 × 10
  80
  35
  Line
  Ultra X-laser cannon
  Long
  6d8 × 10
  90
  60
  Line
  Ultragraser
  Medium
  6d8 × 10
  75
  70
  Irradiate (high), line
  Ultralaser
  Long
  6d4 × 10
  30
  25
  Line
  Ultramaser
  Long
  6d8 × 10
  60
  40
  Line
  Vortex devourer
  Medium
  6d12 × 10
  80
  80
  Vortex
  
  48
  “Attention crew, this is your captain speaking. I know the 
  last few weeks have been dull for you, picking through the 
  remains of colonies foolish enough to think they’d survive 
  out here in the Vast. I hear your complaints in the corridors. 
  You think us no better than scavengers. You wonder if we’ll 
  see any action. But remember, this is our duty to the Corpse 
  Fleet! We provide bodies to fill our barracks so we can one 
  day erase the living from this galaxy. Now, our sensors are 
  picking up a distress beacon from a Pact Worlds ship with 
  a disabled engine and an unconscious engineer. We shall 
  come to their aid… and make some fresh corpses!”
  —Captain Kovlov Amalan of The Last Breath
  SHIPS OF THE CORPSE FLEET
  
  49
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF
   THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  T
  he scientists and engineers of the exiled undead navy 
  known as the Corpse Fleet regularly invent new and 
  deadly ways to upgrade their starships for the fleet’s unending 
  war. The following systems can be purchased using starship 
  Build Points, but these expansions and weapons are available 
  only on the black market or directly from Corpse Fleet agents.
  EXPANSION BAYS
  The following expansion bays aid the undead of the Corpse 
  Fleet in their battle against the living.
  EXPANSION BAY
  PCU
  COST (IN BP)
  Arcane mortuary
  1
  2
  Corpse recycler
  2
  2
  Ghost drive
  10
  5
  ARCANE MORTUARY
  An arcane mortuary contains equipment that aids spellcasters 
  in creating undead. A spellcaster using this mortuary must 
  still provide any special materials that undead creation 
  requires. The benefit of using the arcane mortuary is that 
  undead created there have 10% more Hit Points than a typical 
  undead creature of the same CR. An arcane mortuary can 
  also store up to five Medium or smaller corpses without them 
  deteriorating due to time. One Large corpse can be stored in 
  place of two Medium ones.
  CORPSE RECYCLER
  A corpse recycler allows a starship crew to render bodies 
  into parts for necrografts (Starfinder Adventure Path 
  #3: Splintered Worlds 42). In a process that takes 1 hour, 
  a carcass fed into the recycler produces a number of 
  necrograft UPBs equal to 10 × the CR of the creature from 
  which the corpse originated. These UPBs can be used only 
  to create necrografts. 
  GHOST DRIVE
  A ghost drive can be installed only on a Large or smaller 
  starship. During the helm phase, as a science officer action, 
  you can attempt a Computers check (DC = 10 + 1-1/2 × the 
  starship’s tier) to activate the ghost drive. If the check is 
  successful, the ghost drive becomes active and the vessel in 
  which it is equipped becomes insubstantial.
  An active ghost drive has several effects in starship combat. 
  The drive pulls power from the thrusters, so the insubstantial 
  starship’s speed is 2 lower, and its distance between turns is 
  1 higher. An insubstantial starship can move through hexes 
  containing enemy starships without allowing those foes 
  to make free attacks. Additionally, if other starships move 
  through the hex containing the insubstantial starship, that 
  does not allow it to make free attacks. 
  WEAPONS
  The following weapon special properties are results of the 
  Corpse Fleet’s ghastly innovations. New weapons using these 
  properties can be found in the table below.
  NUMBING
  A weapon with the numbing special property fires 
  concentrated negative energy. Living creatures on a starship 
  that takes Hull Point damage from a numbing weapon must 
  succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC = 10 + 1-1/2 × the 
  firing starship’s tier) or take a –2 penalty to all starship combat 
  actions for 1d3 rounds.
  VOLATILE
  Only tracking weapons can have the volatile special property. 
  Such a weapon breaks apart when destroyed before its 
  intended impact. When a volatile projectile hits a starship but 
  a gunner succeeds at destroying the projectile with a point 
  weapon, the volatile weapon still deals half its damage.
  STARSHIP WEAPONS 
  LIGHT WEAPONS
  RANGE
  SPEED (IN HEXES)
  DAMAGE
  PCU
  COST (IN BP)
  SPECIAL PROPERTIES
  DIRECT-FIRE WEAPONS
  Negative-energy gun
  Medium
  —
  2d6
  10
  7
  Numbing
  TRACKING WEAPONS
  Light carrion-missile launcher
  Long
  12
  3d8
  10
  5
  Limited fire 5, volatile
   
  HEAVY WEAPONS
  RANGE
  SPEED (IN HEXES)
  DAMAGE
  PCU
  COST (IN BP)
  SPECIAL PROPERTIES
  DIRECT-FIRE WEAPONS
  Negative-energy cannon
  Medium
  —
  5d6
  15
  15
  Numbing
  TRACKING WEAPONS
  Heavy carrion-missile launcher
  Long
  10
  6d10
  15
  15
  Limited fire 5, volatile
   
  CAPITAL WEAPONS
  RANGE
  SPEED (IN HEXES)
  DAMAGE
  PCU
  COST (IN BP)
  SPECIAL PROPERTIES
  DIRECT-FIRE WEAPONS
  Super negative-energy cannon
  Long
  —
  2d10 × 10
  40
  60
  Numbing
  TRACKING WEAPONS
  Mega carrion-missile launcher
  Long
  8
  3d8 × 10
  15
  25
  Limited fire 5, volatile
  
  50
  W
  hen it defected from Eox upon the signing of the 
  Absalom Pact, the Corpse Fleet took with it a great 
  number of Eoxian military starships. These vessels had been 
  outfitted for war against the other worlds of the system in 
  previous centuries, and the Corpse Fleet has taken great 
  pride in maintaining and upgrading them. However, as the 
  years have passed, many Pact Worlds starship manufacturers 
  have made great strides in the field of engineering. In order 
  to keep up with the improvements made by their enemies and 
  to replace the ships they have lost in various skirmishes, the 
  Corpse Fleet has designed many unique vessels.
  In addition to the Eoxian ships on pages 306–307 of the 
  Starfinder Core Rulebook and the Corpse Fleet vanguard 
  described on pages 50–51 of Starfinder Adventure Path 
  #3: Splintered Worlds, the following vessels are mainly 
  manufactured on the roving planetoid named Barrow 
  (Starfinder Adventure Path #3: Splintered Worlds 61).
  BARROW BONESHARD
  The Corpse Fleet launches waves of Barrow Boneshards to 
  harry its foes. Typically, each Barrow Boneshard is piloted by 
  one heavily damaged undead creature, perhaps missing its 
  lower half or most of its limbs. Such pilots are wired directly 
  into the controls and considered to be prime candidates for 
  suicide missions.
  BARROW BONESHARD 
  TIER 1/3
  Tiny racer
  Speed 14; Maneuverability perfect (turn 0)
  AC 16; TL 13
  HP 20; DT –; CT 4
  Shields none
  Attack (Forward) flak thrower (3d4)
  Attack (Aft) flak thrower (3d4)
  Power Core Micron Heavy (70 PCU); Drift Engine none; 
  Systems basic computer, budget short-range sensors, mk 
  3 armor; Expansion Bays none
  Complement 1
  CREW
  Pilot gunnery +4, Piloting +10 (1 rank)
  BARROW DIRGESINGER
  Dirgesingers form the backbone of the Corpse Fleet’s corpse 
  collection efforts. Their crews search the galaxy for derelict 
  vessels, fresh battlefields, and unlucky colonies where 
  corpses can be found. These bodies are either turned into 
  undead creatures or fashioned into necrografts. Every so 
  often, a bloodthirsty Barrow Dirgesinger crew engages in 
  battle to create the cadavers they seek.
  BARROW DIRGESINGER 
  TIER 2
  Small light freighter
  Speed 8; Maneuverability good (turn 1); Drift 1
  AC 16; TL 15
  HP 40; DT –; CT 8
  Shields basic 40 (forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10)
  Attack (Forward) coilgun (4d4), light EMP cannon (special)
  Attack (Port) gyrolaser (1d8)
  Attack (Starboard) gyrolaser (1d8)
  Power Core Pulse Black (120 PCU); Drift Engine Signal 
  Basic; Systems advanced medium-range sensors, basic 
  computer, crew quarters (common), mk 3 armor, mk 2 
  defenses; Expansion Bays cargo bays (2), corpse recycler
  Modifiers +4 Computers, +1 Piloting; Complement 5
  CREW
  Captain gunnery +4, Intimidate +7 (2 ranks), Piloting +8 
  (2 ranks)
  Engineer Engineering +8 (2 ranks)
  Gunner gunnery +5
  Pilot gunnery+5, Piloting +13 (2 ranks)
  Science Officer Computers +11 (2 ranks)
  BARROW RELIQUARY
  The crews of Barrow Reliquaries are among the most diplomatic 
  and educated of all Corpse Fleet soldiers. Although the navy 
  fields only a handful of these vessels, their crews are tasked 
  with exploring the Vast in search of necromantic objects and 
  alien undead creatures whose goals align with those of the 
  Corpse Fleet. Some of these new allies are transported back 
  to Corpse Fleet holdings in order to coordinate plans with the 
  navy’s high-ranking officials.
  BARROW RELIQUARY 
  TIER 5
  Medium explorer
  Speed 8; Maneuverability good (turn 1); Drift 2
  AC 19; TL 18
  HP 65; DT –; CT 13
  Shields light 60 (forward 15, port 15, starboard 15, aft 15)
  Attack (Forward) light plasma torpedo launcher (3d8)
  Attack (Port) light particle beam (3d6)
  Attack (Starboard) light particle beam (3d6)
  Attack (Turret) light plasma cannon (5d10)
  Power Core Pulse Green (150 PCU); Drift Engine Signal 
  Booster; Systems basic medium-range sensors, crew 
  quarters (common), mk 4 armor, mk 3 defenses, mk 2 
  trinode computer; Expansion Bays arcane laboratory, 
  cargo holds (2), guest quarters (good)
  Modifiers +2 to any 3 checks per round, +2 Computers, 
  +1 Piloting; Complement 6
  Corpse Fleet Starships
  
  51
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  CREW
  Captain Computers +13 (5 ranks), Diplomacy +11 (5 ranks), 
  Intimidate +11 (5 ranks)
  Engineer Engineering +11 (5 ranks)
  Gunners (2) gunnery +9
  Pilot gunnery +9, Piloting +12 (5 ranks)
  Science Officer Computers +18 (5 ranks)
  BARROW SPECTRE
  A Barrow Spectre is a silent assassin of space, quickly moving 
  into engagements, tearing through foes, and disappearing 
  into the void. Due to the frequent use of ghost drives by 
  Barrow Spectre crews, those who have survived encounters 
  with these vessels often babble about ethereal starships that 
  can’t be shot. 
  BARROW SPECTRE 
  TIER 7
  Large destroyer
  Speed 8; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Drift 1
  AC 19; TL 20
  HP 170; DT –; CT 34
  Shields light 80 (forward 20, port 20, starboard 20, aft 20)
  Attack (Forward) heavy torpedo launcher (5d8), negative-
  energy cannon (5d8) 
  Attack (Port) coilgun (4d4)
  Attack (Starboard) coilgun (4d4)
  Attack (Aft) coilgun (4d4)
  Attack (Turret) negative-energy gun (2d6)
  Power Core Pulse Orange (250 PCU); Drift Engine Signal 
  Basic; Systems basic medium-range sensors, crew 
  quarters (common), mk 3 armor, mk 4 defenses, mk 2 
  trinode computer; Expansion Bays arcane mortuary, 
  cargo holds (2), ghost drive
  Modifiers +2 any 3 checks per round, +2 Computers; 
  Complement 9
  CREW
  Captain Computers +16 (7 ranks), gunnery +11, Intimidate +14 
  (7 ranks)
  Engineers (2) Engineering +19 (7 ranks)
  Gunners (3) gunnery +11
  BARROW BONESHARD
  BARROW RELIQUARY
  BARROW DIRGESINGER
  BARROW SPECTRE
  
  52
  Pilot gunnery +11, Piloting +14 (7 ranks)
  Science Officers (2) Computers +16 (7 ranks)
  BARROW CATACOMB
  Each Barrow Catacomb can hold two Grave Casket shuttles 
  (Starfinder Adventure Path #3: Splintered Worlds 50) and a 
  couple land vehicles that can survive atmospheric entry to 
  launch planetside assaults on targets Corpse Fleet command 
  wants destroyed.
  BARROW CATACOMB 
  TIER 8
  Huge bulk freighter
  Speed 6; Maneuverability poor (turn 3); Drift 1
  AC 21; TL 20
  HP 200; DT 5; CT 40
  Shields medium 100 (forward 25, port 25, starboard 25, 
  aft 25)
  Attack (Forward) heavy laser cannon (4d8)
  Attack (Aft) heavy laser cannon (4d8)
  Attack (Turret) light carrion-missile launcher (3d6), light 
  EMP cannon (special)
  Power Core Nova Ultra (300 PCU); Drift Engine Signal 
  Basic; Systems basic medium-range sensors, crew 
  quarters (basic), mk 5 armor, mk 5 defenses, mk 2 
  duonode computer; Expansion Bays cargo holds (4), 
  passenger seating (4), shuttle bay
  Modifiers +2 to any 2 checks per round, +2 Computers; 
  Complement 40
  CREW
  Captain (1 officer, 2 crew) Diplomacy +16 (8 ranks), gunnery 
  +12, Intimidate +16 (8 ranks), Piloting +16 (8 ranks)
  Engineers (2 officers, 7 crew each) Engineering +16 
  (8 ranks)
  Gunners (2 officers, 5 crew each) gunnery +12
  Pilot (1 officer, 2 crew) gunnery +12, Piloting +21 (8 ranks)
  Science Officers (2 officers, 2 crew each) Computers +18 
  (8 ranks)
  BARROW REAPER
  Barrow Reapers, while massive, are also surprisingly fast 
  and maneuverable for their size. Barrow Reapers often act as 
  escorts for Corpse Fleet capital ships, but their hardy crews 
  make effective boarding parties or ground troops, as well.
  BARROW REAPER 
  TIER 10
  Huge cruiser
  Speed 8; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Drift 1
  AC 24; TL 23
  HP 230; DT 5; CT 46
  Shields medium 140 (forward 35, port 35, starboard 35, 
  aft 35)
  Attack (Forward) mass driver (2d6×10)
  Attack (Port) light plasma cannon (2d12)
  Attack (Starboard) light plasma cannon (2d12)
  Attack (Turret) negative-energy cannon (5d8)
  Power Core Gateway Light (300 PCU); Drift Engine Signal 
  Basic; Systems basic medium-range sensors, crew 
  quarters (common), mk 6 armor, mk 6 defenses, mk 2 
  duonode computer; Expansion Bays cargo holds (4), 
  synthesis bay, tech workshop
  Modifiers +2 to any 2 checks per round, +2 Computers; 
  Complement 80
  CREW
  Captain (1 officer, 4 crew) Diplomacy +19 (10 ranks), 
  gunnery +12, Intimidate +19 (10 ranks), Piloting +19 
  (10 ranks)
  Engineers (3 officers, 10 crew each) Engineering +19 
  (10 ranks)
  Gunners (3 officers, 6 crew each) gunnery +14
  Pilot (1 officer, 4 crew) gunnery +14, Piloting +24 (10 ranks)
  Science Officers (2 officers, 7 crew each) Computers +21 
  (10 ranks)
  BARROW EULOGY
  A Barrow Eulogy can bring eight Necrofighters (Starfinder 
  Adventure Path #3: Splintered Worlds 50) into battle, but it 
  has enough firepower to defend itself if enemies threaten. Its 
  port and starboard heavy laser arrays keep smaller craft from 
  attacking its flanks while it launches its fighters.
  BARROW EULOGY 
  TIER 12
  Gargantuan carrier
  Speed 4; Maneuverability poor (turn 3); Drift 1
  AC 24; TL 22
  HP 330; DT 10; CT 66
  Shields medium 160 (forward 40, port 40, starboard 40, 
  aft 40)
  Attack (Forward) supermaser (2d8×10)
  Attack (Port) heavy laser array (6d4)
  Attack (Starboard) heavy laser array (6d4)
  Attack (Turret) linked light particle beams (6d6)
  Power Core Gateway Light (300 PCU); Drift Engine Signal 
  Basic; Systems basic medium-range sensors, crew 
  quarters (common), mk 6 armor, mk 5 defenses, mk 1 
  trinode computer; Expansion Bays cargo holds (6), 
  hangar bay
  Modifiers +1 to any 3 checks per round, +2 Computers, 
  +1 Piloting; Complement 144
  CREW
  Captain (1 officer, 5 crew) Diplomacy +22 (12 ranks), 
  gunnery +14, Intimidate +27 (12 ranks), Piloting +23 
  (12 ranks)
  Engineers (2 officers, 30 crew each) Engineering +22 
  (12 ranks)
  Gunners (3 officers, 15 crew each) gunnery +16
  Pilot (1 officer, 5 crew) gunnery +16, Piloting +23 (12 ranks)
  Science Officers (2 officers, 10 crew each) Computers +24 
  (12 ranks)
  
  53
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  BARROW CENOTAPH
  An impressive feat of necro-engineering, the Barrow Cenotaph 
  is a machine of destruction, inside and out. Featuring bays for 
  two sets of other vessels plus room to hold dozens of troops, 
  this dreadnought sports some of the Corpse Fleet’s most 
  devastating weaponry. It is a lumbering vessel, but it can take 
  more punishment than most starships manufactured in the 
  Pact Worlds and beyond.
  BARROW CENOTAPH 
  TIER 16
  Colossal dreadnought
  Speed 4; Maneuverability clumsy (turn 4); Drift 1
  AC 25; TL 24
  HP 600; DT 15; CT 120
  Shields heavy 240 (forward 60, port 60, starboard 60, 
  aft 60)
  Attack (Forward) particle beam (8d6), super negative-
  energy cannon (2d10×10)
  Attack (Port) heavy laser cannon (4d8), super plasma 
  cannon (3d6×10)
  Attack (Starboard) heavy laser cannon (4d8), super plasma 
  cannon (3d6×10)
  Attack (Turret) micromissile battery (2d6), micromissile 
  battery (2d6)
  Power Core Gateway Ultra (500 PCU); Drift Engine Signal 
  Basic; Systems basic computer, advanced long-range 
  sensors, crew quarters (common), mk 7 armor, mk 7 
  defenses; Expansion Bays cargo holds (8), hangar bay, 
  passenger seating (6), shuttle bay
  Modifiers +4 Computers; Complement 260
  CREW
  Captain (1 officer, 9 crew) Diplomacy +28 (16 ranks), 
  gunnery +18, Intimidate +33 (16 ranks), Piloting +28 
  (16 ranks)
  Engineers (3 officers, 35 crew each) Engineering +28 
  (16 ranks)
  Gunners (4 officers, 20 crew each) gunnery +20
  Pilot (1 officer, 9 crew) gunnery +20, Piloting +28 (16 ranks)
  Science Officers (3 officers, 15 crew each) Computers +32 
  (16 ranks)
  BARROW EULOGY
  BARROW CATACOMB
  BARROW CENOTAPH
  BARROW REAPER
  
  54
  ALIEN ARCHIVES
  veteran warrior-caste soldier Parthael finds herself the 
  sole survivor of a storm barge crash miles from the nearest 
  dome during the most violent series of storms shimrinsara 
  has ever seen. Relying only on her wits, her training, and a 
  few pieces of gear she scavenged from the wreckage, our 
  intrepid hero fights for her life to make it back to civilization 
  and her artisan husband. In a series of flashbacks, We get 
  glimpses of her life that hint at the true causes behind her 
  accident. As lightning, fire, and sleet rage all Around her, 
  PaRthael must come to terms with her own mortality and the 
  many choices that have led her to this point.
  —Excerpt from A review of the holovid Survive The Tempest
  
  55
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  NE Medium undead
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +17
  DEFENSE  
  HP 144
  EAC 23; KAC 23
  Fort +11; Ref +11; Will +10
  Immunities undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (Su, perfect)
  Melee claw +18 (2d8+13 S)
  Ranged combat rifle +21 (3d8+9 P)
  Offensive Abilities devour soul, dread howl, infused ammunition
  STATISTICS
  Str +4; Dex +6; Con —; Int +0; Wis +0; Cha +3
  Skills Acrobatics +17, Stealth +22, Survival +17
  Other Abilities unliving
  Gear d-suit III, combat rifle
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any
  Organization solitary, gang (2–5), or flight (6–12)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Devour Soul (Su) A baykok can take a standard action to 
  devour the soul of an adjacent dead or dying creature. A 
  dying creature can resist this attack with a successful 
  DC 18 Fortitude save. If it fails, the target is instantly 
  slain. If the creature is already dead, it can’t attempt 
  the saving throw, although the target can’t have been 
  dead for more than 1 hour. A creature subjected to this 
  attack can’t be brought back to life via mystic cure cast 
  as a 4th-level or higher spell (though 
  raise dead and more powerful effects 
  work normally). When a baykok devours 
  a soul in this way, it recovers a number 
  of Hit Points equal to 2d10 + its CR and 
  becomes hasted for 4 rounds (as if affected 
  by haste). This is a death effect. 
  Dread Howl (Su) Once per day as a standard 
  action, a baykok can let out a howl. Each living creature 
  within a 30-foot-radius burst must succeed at a DC 16 
  Fortitude save or become paralyzed with fear for 1 round. 
  A creature that succeeds at this saving throw is instead 
  shaken for 1 round. This is a sense-dependent fear effect.
  Infused Ammunition (Su) As part of making an attack or 
  full attack with a projectile weapon, a baykok can create 
  a round or rounds of ammunition made from bone and 
  infused with negative energy. This ammunition appears 
  loaded into the projectile weapon the baykok is wielding. 
  The baykok can’t create ammunition quickly enough 
  to use when making an attack in automatic mode. Half 
  the damage from attacks made with this ammunition is 
  negative energy damage, and a creature struck by such 
  an attack must succeed at a DC 16 Fortitude save or 
  be paralyzed for 1d3 rounds. A baykok can fire normal 
  ammunition from its projectile weapon if it wishes, though 
  such ammunition doesn’t gain the extra benefits.
  Those who revel too much in the thrill of chasing and killing 
  living creatures might arise as baykoks after death.
  BAYKOK TEMPLATE GRAFT 
  (CR 4+)
  Baykoks are flying undead devoted to the hunt. 
  Required Creature Type: Undead.
  Suggested Array: Combatant or expert.
  Traits: +1 EAC, –1 KAC.
  Abilities: Devour soul (see above), dread howl (see above), 
  infused ammunition (see above).
  Suggested Ability Score Modifiers: Dexterity, Strength.
  XP 
  6,400
  CR 
  9
  BAYKOK
  
  56
  Elebrian corpsefolk operative
  NE Medium undead
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14
  DEFENSE 
  HP 42
  EAC 14; KAC 15
  Fort +3; Ref +6; Will +7
  Defensive Abilities evasion; DR 5/magic; Immunities 
  undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee survival knife +7 (1d4+4 S)
  Ranged static arc pistol +9 (1d6+3 E; critical arc 2) or
  tactical shirren-eye rifle +9 (1d10+3 P)
  Offensive Abilities trick attack +1d8
  STATISTICS
  Str +1; Dex +4; Con —; Int +1; Wis +2; Cha +0
  Skills Acrobatics +8, Intimidate +9, Sleight of 
  Hand +13, Stealth +13
  Other Abilities operative exploits (uncanny mobility), 
  specialization (thief), unliving
  Languages Common, Eoxian
  Gear graphite carbon skin, static arc pistol with 2 
  batteries (20 charges each), survival 
  knife, tactical shirren-eye rifle with 25 
  sniper rounds
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Eox)
  Organization solitary, pair, or 
  association (3–20)
  Corpsefolk rise from the dead 
  bodies of beings infused 
  with necromantic energies. 
  Though they often have an 
  appearance similar to various 
  forms of zombies, unlike 
  those common undead minions, 
  corpsefolk retain the memories of 
  their previous lives, the skills 
  and abilities gained through 
  living experience, and the 
  will to make decisions on 
  their own. Undead creatures 
  of this type were called “zombie 
  masters” in ancient days, but 
  as a common class of rank-
  and-file citizens of Eox and 
  soldiers in the Corpse Fleet, 
  they have become known 
  as “corpsefolk” to reflect their 
  independent mentalities.
  XP 
  800
  CR 
  3
  CORPSEFOLK
  Corpsefolk can be found in all roles in societies that accept 
  undead citizens, often serving as assistants to powerful 
  spellcasters, guards, marines, menial managers, and technicians. 
  They are able to use any armor, equipment, and weapons they 
  mastered in life and can even gain new skills. Though no less 
  motivated than living creatures, and still able to experience 
  both positive and negative emotions, corpsefolk generally 
  take patient, long-term views of their existences. Even when 
  enduring menial tasks, most corpsefolk assume their current 
  positions are temporary, and as centuries or eons pass, they 
  will come into positions of power and influence, freed as they 
  are from the constraints of age, breath, food, and sleep.
  Initially, a corpsefolk appears much as she did when she 
  was alive, though with paler skin due to a lack of blood 
  pumping through her veins. Some corpsefolk are a bit more 
  sunken and emaciated, depending on how long their bodies 
  were left to rot before rising as undead. 
  However, as a corpsefolk progresses 
  through the years, her body grows 
  increasingly torn and tattered. Some 
  corpsefolk resort to surgery and magic 
  in an effort to maintain more wholesome 
  appearances, but after a few decades, 
  most cease to care what they 
  look like and focus only on 
  what they can do to gain 
  wealth and power.
  CORPSEFOLK 
  TEMPLATE 
  GRAFT (CR 2+)
  The animated corpse of a dead sentient 
  creature, a corpsefolk keeps the abilities, 
  intelligence, and skills it had when it was 
  alive. Most corpsefolk are far more cunning 
  and dangerous foes than are common, mindless 
  undead. They often have ambitions and aspirations to 
  increase their station in whatever society they exist in.
  Required Creature Type: Undead.
  Traits: DR 5/magic; increase Hit Points by 20%. 
  Suggested 
  Ability 
  Modifiers: 
  Combatant—Dexterity, 
  Strength; expert—Dexterity, Intelligence; spellcaster—Wisdom, 
  Dexterity.
  
  FPO
  57
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  XP 
  9,600
  CR 
  10
  GATECRASHER
  LE Large undead
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +19
  DEFENSE 
  HP 198
  EAC 24; KAC 25
  Fort +12; Ref +12; Will +11
  Immunities undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee advanced swoop hammer +22 (3d10+18 B; critical 
  knockdown)
  Ranged aurora shock caster +19 (2d12+10 E, explode [15 ft., 
  DC 19])
  Offensive Abilities juggernaut of destruction
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +5; Con —; Int +0; Wis +3; Cha +1
  Skills Athletics +19, Engineering +19, Intimidate +24
  Other Abilities integral upgrades (forcepack, haste circuit, 
  targeting computer), unliving
  Languages Common, Eoxian
  Gear advanced swoop 
  hammer, aurora shock 
  caster with 3 high-
  capacity batteries 
  (40 charges each)
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, or squad 
  (3–6)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Integral Upgrades (Su) A gatecrasher can install up to 
  three armor upgrades (each with 
  an item level no greater than the 
  gatecrasher’s CR) into its heavily 
  armored frame. It is treated as 
  wearing heavy or powered armor 
  for this purpose. Its armor upgrades 
  cannot be damaged or removed 
  unless the gatecrasher is destroyed and 
  leaves intact physical remains. 
  Juggernaut of Destruction (Ex) A 
  gatecrasher can use a two-handed 
  weapon in one hand without taking 
  a penalty, and, when wielding two 
  such weapons, as a full action can 
  attack with each weapon once 
  (taking a –6 penalty to each attack 
  roll and to the saving throw DCs of 
  any special properties or critical hit 
  effects the weapons have), even if either 
  of the weapons has the unwieldy weapon 
  special property. A gatecrasher can use any 
  weapons designed for creatures within one size category 
  of its size without penalty. 
  Gatecrashers are undead abominations, horrific blends of 
  powered armor and necromancy-infused flesh. These undead 
  monstrosities revel in combat, seeking it out wherever possible. 
  GATECRASHER TEMPLATE 
  GRAFT (CR 5+)
  Any living creature able to use heavy or powered armor in 
  combat may become a gatecrasher after death. 
  Required Creature Type: Undead.
  Required Array: Combatant.
  Traits: +1 EAC.
  Abilities: Internal upgrades (see above), juggernaut of 
  destruction (see above). 
  Suggested Ability Score Modifiers: Strength, Constitution.
  
  58
  XP 
  6,400
  CR 
  9
  KUROBOZU
  Human kurobozu solarian
  CE Medium undead
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +17
  DEFENSE 
  HP 135
  EAC 23; KAC 24
  Fort +8; Ref +10; Will +12
  Defensive Abilities evasion; Immunities undead immunities; 
  Resistances cold or fire 5
  OFFENSE
  Speed 50 ft.
  Melee unarmed strike +19 (1d6+13 B; critical stunned)
  Multiattack 4 unarmed strikes +14 (1d6+13 B; critical stunned)
  Offensive Abilities black apoxia (30-ft. cone, DC 18), 
  flashing strikes, sage’s bane (DC 18), stellar revelations 
  (black hole [30-ft.-radius, pull 20 ft., DC 16], crush 
  [DC 16], gravity surge [+7], starquake [1d8 B, DC 16])
  STATISTICS
  Str +4; Dex +6; Con —; Int +0; Wis +0; Cha +3
  Skills Acrobatics +22, Athletics +22, Mysticism +22, 
  Stealth +17
  Other Abilities solar manifestation (armor), stellar 
  alignment (graviton), unliving
  Languages Common, Eoxian 
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, or guard (3–5)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Black Apoxia (Su) As a standard action, a kurobozu can 
  create a 30-foot cone of breathlessness, making it hard 
  for creatures to breathe properly even if they are wearing 
  environmental protection, such as a sealed suit of armor. 
  Each creature within the area must succeed at a DC 18 
  Fortitude saving throw or be fatigued for 1d4 minutes. 
  Creatures that do not breathe are immune to this effect.
  Sage’s Bane (Su) Once per day, as a reaction when a 
  kurobozu successfully damages a foe with a melee 
  attack, the kurobozu can cloud that foe’s mind. The 
  target must succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude saving throw 
  or gain the flat-footed and off-target conditions, as well 
  as be rendered unable to use any Wisdom-based skills or 
  communicate through any means for 1d4 minutes.
  Kurobozus, also known as black monks, are the vengeful 
  undead remains of members of highly structured groups, 
  such as ascetics, priesthoods, and solarian orders. 
  They have empty, black eye sockets and often 
  seem to be little more than leathery husks of skin, 
  despite their significant physical power. 
  Some kurobozus arise when they violate 
  the tenets of their orders in ways that create 
  great suffering. Others are the result of 
  living creatures following a rigid path designed 
  specifically to lead to this undead state. 
  Their entire lives are spent preparing themselves for a vile 
  ceremony in which they are ritualistically choked to death. 
  KUROBOZU TEMPLATE GRAFT 
  (CR 4+)
  Disciplined and deadly, kurobozus are skilled undead fighters.
  Required Creature Type: Undead.
  Required Array: Expert. 
  Traits: Kurobozus can take the mystic, soldier, or solarian 
  class graft despite using the expert array; swap base Reflex 
  and Will saving throw bonuses before adjustments; +20 ft. 
  land speed; gains unarmed strike attack that deals standard 
  melee damage for CR and has the stunned critical hit effect.
  Abilities: Black apoxia (see above), evasion, multiattack (4 
  attacks at –5 to melee attack bonus), sage’s bane (see above).
  Suggested Ability Score Modifiers: Dexterity, Strength.
  
  59
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  XP 
  4,800
  CR 
  8
  MOHRG
  CE Medium undead
  Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16
  DEFENSE 
  HP 125
  EAC 20; KAC 22
  Fort +10; Ref +10; Will +9
  Immunities undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee clawed tongue +19 (1d6+14 S plus paralyzing touch 
  [DC 19]) or
  slam +19 (1d10+14 B)
  Multiattack 2 slams +13 (1d10+14 B) and clawed tongue +13 
  (1d6+14 S plus paralyzing touch [DC 19])
  Offensive Abilities create spawn, paralyzing 
  touch (DC 18)
  STATISTICS
  Str +6; Dex +4; Con —; Int +0; Wis +0; 
  Cha +2
  Skills Acrobatics +16, Athletics +21, 
  Stealth +16
  Other Abilities unliving 
  Languages Common, 
  Eoxian
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any
  Organization solitary, gang 
  (2–4), or mob (3–5 plus 4–12 
  occult zombies)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Create Spawn (Su) A 
  living humanoid 
  creature slain by a 
  mohrg’s slam attack 
  rises immediately as 
  an occult zombie (Starfinder Alien Archive 115) of 
  a CR equal to the victim’s CR or level. This zombie 
  is permanently under the mohrg’s control. The 
  mohrg recovers 1d8+4 Hit Points from the 
  surge of negative energy created by the 
  spawning process.
  Paralyzing Touch (Su) A mohrg uses its 
  clawed tongue to make its first melee 
  attack each round. If a target is struck 
  and damaged by this attack, it must succeed 
  at a DC 18 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 
  1d4 minutes.
  A mohrg is a horrific undead 
  that appears to be an 
  ambulatory 
  skeleton 
  with a writhing, rotting 
  mass of intestines held within its ribcage (or the creature’s 
  anatomical equivalent). A tendril of these intestines winds 
  up into the mohrg’s mouth, with a clawed tongue at the 
  end. Though mohrgs can wear clothing and armor, they 
  usually don’t (or they wear clothes that expose their torsos), 
  ensuring that their horrific appearances are maintained and 
  their clawed tongues remain free to make attacks.
  Mohrgs are created from the souls of those who revel 
  in killing sentient victims, preferably in ways that bring 
  considerable pain and suffering. In life, most mohrgs were 
  executioners, murderers, torturers, or warmongering 
  soldiers who dedicated themselves to spilling blood and 
  eliciting tortured cries. So strong are these urges that even 
  death can’t stop them, and while the rest of their bodies rot 
  away, a vile core of their bones and guts remains. 
  Early in a mohrg’s existence, its need to kill often 
  overrides its desire for self-preservation, leading many 
  to take extreme risks to reach more victims, which 
  sometimes leads to their own destruction. 
  But as they age and grow more powerful, 
  mohrgs become more cunning about 
  fulfilling their urges. They often become 
  part of larger groups, ranging from packs 
  of undead roaming the dark places 
  near civilization to organized military 
  groups such as the Corpse Fleet, 
  and use their positions within such 
  groups to ensure their bloodlust 
  can be slaked consistently for 
  centuries to come. 
  MOHRG 
  TEMPLATE 
  GRAFT (CR 6+)
  Hideous to behold and 
  extremely deadly, mohrgs 
  exist only to kill.
  Required Creature Type: 
  Undead.
  Required 
  Array: 
  Combatant.
  Abilities: Create spawn 
  (see 
  above), 
  multiattack, 
  paralyzing touch (see above).
  Suggested 
  Ability 
  Score 
  Modifiers: Strength, Dexterity.
  
  60
  XP 
  12,800
  CR 
  11
  PALE STRANGER
  NE Medium undead
  Init +12; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +20
  Aura frightful presence (30 ft., DC 20)
  DEFENSE 
  HP 170
  EAC 24; KAC 25
  Fort +10; Ref +10; Will +16
  Immunities undead immunities; DR 11/magic; SR 21
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee ultrathin longsword +19 (4d8+14 S)
  Ranged elite semi-auto pistol +21 (3d6+10 E or F or P)
  Offensive Abilities stranger’s shot
  STATISTICS
  Str +3; Dex +8; Con —; Int +0; Wis +0; Cha +5
  Skills Acrobatics +25, Athletics +25, Computers +20, 
  Piloting +20, Stealth +25
  Feats Quick Draw
  Other Abilities unliving
  Languages Common, Eoxian
  Gear elite semi-auto pistols (4), ultrathin longsword
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any
  Organization solitary
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Stranger’s Shot (Su) As long as a pale stranger is using a 
  small arm (even a broken or archaic 
  one), he can make ranged attacks 
  without provoking attacks of 
  opportunity and without consuming 
  ammunition. With each attack, the pale 
  strange can choose to fire bullets (dealing 
  piercing damage), electrical bolts (dealing 
  electricity damage) or laser beams (dealing 
  fire damage), regardless of the type of small 
  arm used or the type of damage the weapon 
  normally deals. These attacks never count as 
  attacks from archaic weapons. Such attacks always 
  target a foe’s KAC, even when dealing energy 
  damage. Additionally, if the pale stranger aims as 
  a swift action, the next ranged attack he makes 
  during that round ignores all concealment and cover 
  (even total cover) and deals an additional 1d6 damage.
  Pale strangers are wasted-looking undead that wear dry, dusty 
  garb, usually a uniform or clothing with similar significance. 
  They always carry one or more small arms, with many 
  ancient pale strangers favoring the weapons of bygone eras. 
  A pale stranger arises from the corpse of a small arms 
  expert who was killed through betrayal, was slain by a hated 
  enemy, or died while seeking vengeance for an act committed 
  against him or his family. The first act of an arisen pale stranger 
  is to kill the person or entities responsible for his death. 
  PALE STRANGER TEMPLATE 
  GRAFT (CR 4+)
  Wielding mystical firearms, a pale stranger is an implacable foe. 
  Required Creature Type: Undead.
  Required Array: Combatant or expert.
  Traits: DR equal to CR, bypassed by magic; spell resistance 
  equal to CR + 11. 
  Abilities: Stranger’s shot (see above).
  Feats: Quick Draw.
  Suggested Ability Score Modifiers: Dexterity, Strength.
  
  61
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  XP 
  1,600
  CR 
  5
  SHIMREEN
  Shimreen soldier
  LN Medium humanoid (shimreen)
  Init +7; Perception +11
  DEFENSE 
  HP 84
  EAC 17; KAC 20 
  Fort +7; Ref +5; Will +6 
  Resistances electricity 5
  OFFENSE
  Speed 35 ft.
  Melee crystal lance +14 (1d3+12 P)
  Ranged thunderstrike sonic rifle +11 (1d10+5 So; 
  critical deafen [DC 13]) or
  frag grenade II +11 (explode [15 ft., 2d6 P, DC 13])
  Offensive Abilities amplify (1d4), charge attack, 
  fighting styles (blitz)
  STATISTICS
  Str +5; Dex +3; Con +0; Int +2; Wis +0; Cha +0 
  Skills Acrobatics +11, Athletics +16, 
  Engineering +11
  Languages Shimreeni, Terran
  Other Abilities radiant
  Gear shimreen crystal extracarapace II 
  (functions as lashunta ringwear II), 
  thunderstrike sonic rifle with 1 
  high-capacity batteries (20 
  charge), frag grenades II (2)
  ECOLOGY 
  Environment any 
  (Shimrinsara)
  Organization solitary, pair, 
  or cluster (3–8)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES 
  Amplify (Ex) Whenever 
  a shimreen takes energy 
  damage, she can 
  voluntarily take 
  an additional 
  1d4 damage 
  of the 
  same type 
  by amplifying 
  the energy within her 
  crystalline form. This 
  empowers her next 
  melee attack. The 
  next melee attack 
  the shimreen 
  makes 
  releases 
  this 
  energy, 
  dealing an additional amount of damage equal 
  to the extra damage the shimreen took (and 
  of the same type). The shimreen can’t take 
  additional damage again until she releases the 
  energy she is storing. If unused, this stored 
  energy dissipates after 10 
  minutes. The amount 
  of extra damage the 
  shimreen takes (and 
  deals) increases to 2d4 at 
  CR 8 and 3d4 at CR 16.
  Radiant (Ex) Shimreens constantly emit light 
  (dim, normal, or bright) in a 5-foot radius and 
  are immune to the dazzled condition. 
  Shimreens can adjust their current 
  level of light as a move action, but 
  they can never extinguish it. 
  Shimreens hail from the 
  storm-ravaged planet of 
  Shimrinsara (see page 62), 
  and are humanoids 
  formed of glowing, 
  jagged crystal. 
  RACIAL TRAITS
  Ability Adjustments: +2 Dex, +2 Int, –2 Wis
  Hit Points: 4
  Size and Type: Shimreens are Medium humanoids with 
  the shimreen subtype. 
  Amplify: See the stat block, using level instead of CR.
  Electricity Resistance: Shimreens have electricity 
  resistance 5, thanks to their crystalline structure.
  Radiant: See the stat block. 
  Shift Limb: A shimreen can transform one of her arms 
  into a weapon as a swift action. This crystal lance is a 
  natural weapon that deals 1d3 lethal piercing damage 
  with unarmed strikes; this attack doesn’t count as 
  archaic. A shimreen gain a unique version of the Weapon 
  Specialization feat with her natural weapon at 3rd 
  level, allowing her to add 1-1/2 × her character level to 
  her damage rolls with her natural weapon (instead of 
  just adding her character level, as usual).
  
  CODEX OF WORLDS
  SHIMRINSARA
  Storm-Torn World of Master Artisans
  Diameter: ×1; Mass: ×2
  Gravity: ×2
  Location: The Vast
  Atmosphere: Normal
  Day: 32 hours; Year: 540 days
  Shimrinsara is a storm-battered world whose inhabitants, 
  called shimreens, dwell within dazzling metropolises under 
  the protective confines of sparkling domes. However, rather 
  than fear the planet’s fierce squalls, the shimreens harness 
  the energy produced to power their industries, and have 
  done so for as long as they remember—even before the Gap, 
  according to their surviving records. As elemental tempests 
  (most often electrical, but cold-, fire-, and sonic-based storms 
  are not unheard of) bombard the domes, their crystalline 
  lattices absorb and store this energy within colossal 
  batteries located deep underground. This results in brilliant 
  cascades of pulsating light that dance along the domes’ 
  surfaces in constant kaleidoscopes of shifting hues. The 
  structures also deflect the violent gales that rage outside, 
  keeping the inhabitants inside dry and serene.
  This abundant supply of energy frees the cities’ inhabitants 
  to engage in ways of life that focus on culture 
  rather than the pursuit of resources. 
  However, inhabitants of neighboring 
  systems are aware of these assets, 
  and some have periodically tried 
  to conquer Shimrinsara from. 
  This constant threat has led 
  shimreens to develop a dual-
  caste society. The majority 
  of shimreens belong to 
  the worker caste: artisans, 
  barristers, 
  engineers, 
  entertainers, and scientists. 
  A second caste, the warrior 
  caste, includes those of 
  more militaristic personalities. 
  However, over time, these 
  soldiers’ 
  tactics 
  have 
  become an art form unto 
  themselves, treating battle as 
  an elegant dance. The most famous 
  of shimreen warriors perform spectacles 
  of artful martial displays in staged and 
  broadcasted fights that draw sizable 
  crowds from all across Shimrinsara.
  There are seven domed metropolises on Shimrinsara. These 
  cities, known as the Jewels of Shimreen, are connected via 
  a sophisticated system of energized tethers. Storm barges 
  with giant crystalline sails traverse the blinding squalls along 
  these tethers, bringing trade between the seven Jewels. The 
  brightest of these Jewels is the capital city of Kaniqlu, where 
  a council of seven governs the planet, with each of the cities 
  represented equally by an elected representative.
  Thanks to the constant storms, the environments outside 
  of the domes are hostile to living creatures that lack 
  energy resistance. Numerous types of fauna thrive within 
  this strange weather, however, and many scholars believe 
  that these species must have connections to the Elemental 
  Planes somewhere in their ancestry. Studies to prove these 
  connections are ongoing.
  Shimreens are humanoids with multihued, glowing crystal 
  carapaces that they prune and manicure to delineate between 
  the genders. Female shimreens exaggerate the crystals atop 
  their jagged heads to form stylized crowns. Males, on the 
  other hand, let their carapaces grow wild around their entire 
  heads, calling these clusters their “manes.” Regardless of 
  gender, shimreens are tall and lanky, with full-grown adults 
  cresting 7 feet. More about shimreens can be discovered on 
  page 61. 
  62
  
  THE REACH OF EMPIRE
  By Ron Lundeen
  The Against the Aeon Throne Adventure Path begins! Hired to 
  transport supplies to a new Pact Worlds colony in the Vast, 
  the heroes discover that the sinister Azlanti Star Empire has 
  invaded, occupied the colony with a small military force, and 
  placed the colony’s residents under its iron fist. With the help 
  of a few brave rebels, the heroes can liberate the colony from 
  its merciless oppressors, only to learn that the Azlanti are on 
  this world to investigate a crashed starship from before the 
  Gap. By confronting the Aeon Guard lieutenant within the 
  ruin, the characters can learn that the Azlanti have taken both 
  an experimental starship drive and one of the colonists—an 
  old friend of the heroes—back to the Star Empire!
  NAKONDIS COLONY
  By Ron Lundeen
  Bankrolled by AbadarCorp a little over a year ago, the 
  colony on the misty, forested world of Nakondis might be 
  considered by some to be the perfect place to start a new 
  life. Despite the constant fog, the weather is temperate 
  and the foliage  abundant. The mountains contain a unique 
  type of conductive tin that makes an excellent material for 
  constructing electronics. Though small, the main settlement 
  of Maledon’s Landing is home to a group of good, law-abiding 
  people. Come for a visit and you might just want to stay! 
  SHIPS OF THE IMPERIAL FLEET
  By Lyz Liddell
  The Imperial Fleet has aided the Azlanti Star Empire in 
  conquering a dozen star systems in the past few hundred 
  years. This article presents new systems and weapons for 
  Imperial starships, as well as examples of the types of deadly 
  vessels the Imperial Fleet can bring to bear.
  SUBSCRIBE TO STARFINDER 
  ADVENTURE PATH
  The Against the Aeon Throne Adventure Path begins! 
  Don’t miss out on a single exciting volume—head over to 
  paizo.com/starfinder and subscribe today to have Starfinder 
  Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Adventure Path, and Starfinder 
  Accessories products delivered to your door!
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  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
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  System Reference Document © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors: 
  Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax 
  and Dave Arneson.
  Starfinder Core Rulebook © 2017, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Logan Bonner, Jason 
  Bulmahn, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Jason Keeley, Robert G. McCreary, Stephen 
  Radney-MacFarland, Mark Seifter, Owen K.C. Stephens, and James L. Sutter, 
  with Alexander Augunas, Judy Bauer, John Compton, Adam Daigle, Crystal 
  Frasier, Lissa Guillet, Thurston Hillman, Erik Mona, Mark Moreland, Jessica Price, 
  F. Wesley Schneider, Amber E. Scott, and Josh Vogt.
  Starfinder Adventure Path #6: Empire of Bones © 2018, Paizo Inc.; Authors: 
  Owen K.C. Stephens, with John Compton, Jason Keeley, and Larry Wilhelm.
  NEXT MONTH
  63
  PART 1: 
  CLOSE TO  
  THE BONE
  PART 2: 
  MASS GRAVES
  PART 3: 
  IN THE MARROW
  PART 4: 
  DEAD TO RIGHTS
  CONTINUING THE 
  CAMPAIGN
  SHIPS OF 
  THE LINE
  SHIPS OF THE 
  CORPSE FLEET
  ALIEN 
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  EMPIRE  
  OF  
  BONES
  
  Experience the wonders of the Pact Worlds in this definitive, 216-page hardcover campaign setting 
  for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game! The book contains detailed gazetteers for all worlds of the 
  Absalom Pact, as well as a new character theme for each Pact World. Travel the galaxy with 
  the starships of Aballon, Verces, the Hellknights, the Iomedaeans, or the Xenowardens, or play 
  as a member of one of six new alien races: shapechanging astrazoans, rolling bantrids, undead 
  borais, plantlike khizars, robotic SROs, or winged strix. With tons of new archetypes, feats, spells, 
  equipment, and NPC stat blocks, Starfinder Pact Worlds reveals the secrets and mysteries of the solar 
  system and its inhabitants in all their science fantasy glory!
  Paizo, Paizo Inc., the Paizo golem logo, Starfinder, and the Starfinder logo are registered trademarks of Paizo Inc.;  
  Starfinder Roleplaying Game is a trademark of Paizo Inc. © 2018, Paizo Inc.
  AVAILABLE NOW!
  BRAVE  
  NEW  
  WORLDS!
  PACT WORLDS
  paizo.com
  
  2 Miles
  FORWARD
  MAP KEY
  1. Tertiary Gun Decks
  2. Officer and VIP Quarters
  3. Command and Control Decks
  4. Primary Sensor Decks
  5. Science and Necromancy Labs
  6. Main Engines
  7. Drift Engine
  8. Secondary Launch and Recovery Decks
  9. Secondary Gun Decks
  10. Engineering Control
  11. Main Computer Core
  12. Main Power Core
  13. Major Transit Corridors
  14. Crew Quarters
  15. Maneuvering Thrusters
  16. Cargo Area
  17. Maintenance Bays
  18. Primary Launch and Recovery Decks
  19. Secondary Sensor Decks
  20. Primary Gun Decks
  21. Corpse Storage, Cybernetics, Damage 
  Control, and Robotics
  22. Batteries and Reserve Power Core
  23. Armor, Cold Storage, Munitions, and 
  Secure Cargo
  24. Missile Tubes 
  BLACKWIND ANNIHILATOR
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  14
  15
  16
  17
  13
  18
  1
  16
  19
  20
  21
  14
  23
  24
  22
  
  A NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE
  The undead Corpse Fleet has appeared in orbit above the Gate of 
  Twelve Suns, intent on seizing the ancient alien superweapon called 
  the Stellar Degenerator. The heroes are massively outgunned, and 
  their only hope to defeat the Corpse Fleet is by infiltrating the fleet’s 
  flagship and taking control of the vessel’s bridge. Only then can the 
  heroes pilot the ship on a collision course with the superweapon in 
  a desperate bid to end both threats at once. If successful, the heroes 
  can destroy the Stellar Degenerator, but they’ll need to escape the 
  carnage to live to tell the tale!
  This volume of Starfinder Adventure Path concludes the Dead 
  Suns Adventure Path and includes:
  • “Empire of Bones,” a Starfinder adventure for 11th-level
  characters, by Owen K.C. Stephens.
  • Advice on how you can continue your campaign past the
  final encounter and details on the devastation inflicted on
  the galaxy should the heroes fail, by John Compton.
  • Technological specifications for starships of extraordinary
  size and power, by Owen K.C. Stephens.
  • A collection of starships from the dreaded undead navy
  known as the Corpse Fleet, by Jason Keeley.
  • An archive of new creatures, including a plethora of undead
  monstrosities and a crystalline humanoid that can redirect blasts
  of energy, by Owen K.C. Stephens and Larry Wilhelm.
  • Statistics and deck plans for a massive undead flagship, by Owen
  K.C. Stephens, plus an introduction to a planet constantly wracked 
  by energy storms, by Larry Wilhelm.
  paizo.com/starfinder
  Printed in China. PZO7206
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Starfinder [multi]/Adventure Paths/SF 1-06 Dead Suns/Dead Suns - 6 - Empire of Bones.pdf