What is the Great Serpent in Starfield?

Starfield is a game about making connections regarding its world. Some things are told directly to you, but if you want to find out about other bits of information, you have to go search for it yourself.

One such topic that’s referenced a lot in the Shattered Space DLC is a Great Serpent, though very few people seem to talk about what it is. Here’s what the Great Serpent is in Starfield.

Who is the Great Serpent in Starfield?

The Great Serpent is the deity of House Va’ruun, a rather secretive faction in Starfield that rarely appears due to being in hiding. The group worships the Serpent as a divine being and looks to it for guidance throughout its society. The Serpent was first known to House Va’ruun back in 2190 when a colony ship carrying a crew from New Atlantis was lost. During one of its grav jumps, a passenger known as Jinan Va’ruun was believed to have communicated with this Great Serpent. According to her, it claimed to have created the Milky Way Galaxy before going into hiding to restore its strength. It also claimed it would soon return to reclaim its creations, with only House Va’ruun followers surviving what was to come.

These events led the people of the colony ship to remain in hiding on a new planet, now the House Va’ruun homeworld of Va’ruun’kai, before revealing themselves 40 years later. This led to diplomatic relations, followed by a war known as the Serpent’s Crusade. The end of this war brought peace but later resulted in the complete isolation of House Va’ruun and its people.

While they’re mostly in hiding, remnants of House Va’ruun who did not retreat to Va’ruun’kai continue to carry out what they believe is the Great Serpent’s wish of cleansing those who don’t support the Serpent’s teachings. In the main game, these make up most of any Va’ruun people you meet and are referred to as Zealots. However, a few of the Va’ruun people you meet aren’t Zealots, instead traveling to study the other major factions and stealing supplies they can’t get themselves.

Is the Great Serpent real?

As for whether the Great Serpent is real or just a hallucination blown out of proportion, that’s up for discussion. While House Va’ruun’s people remain devout in their beliefs and truly feel that they’ll be saved from the Great Serpent’s reclaiming (also known as the Shrouding), many believe these to be lies of those who refuse to see the truth. While Va’ruun has a bloodline that claims to still hear the Great Serpent’s voice, the lack of action in the over 100 years since its discovery also leans to it being a lie. This will likely remain a discussion topic instead of being answered officially, but it’s also more fun that way.