Starfield: Shattered Space - Should You Choose House Veth'aal, Dul'kehf, Or Ka'dic?

Starfield: Shattered Space's release finally uncovers more details on the mysterious Va'ruun faction that went into hiding after the Serpent's Crusade. Much of the expansion focuses on completing a series of missions for the three existing houses: House Veth'aal, House Dul'kehf, and House Ka'dic. By the end of Shattered Space, they are an important aspect of the last decision in the Starfield expansion.

[This article contains major spoilers for the story of Starfield: Shattered Space]Upon defeating Anasko Va'ruun, the Va'ruun temple in Dazra crumbles to the ground, and the player is faced with a decision to support House Veth'aal, Dul'kehf, or Ka'dic as the House that will act as Speaker for the Va'ruun people. Choosing a house to lead the people on Va'ruun'kai is the last decision that the player-character will have to make in the main missions for Starfield: Shattered Space. Sadly, from a gameplay perspective, the House the player chooses at the end of Shattered Space has little to no impact and appears not to affect events outside of the DLC.

What Happens When You Choose House Veth'aal

House Veth'aal Are Devout Followers

House Veth'aal, led by the hard-nosed leader Viktor Veth'aal, is arguably the most militaristic House on Va'ruun'kai. Possessing perhaps the most compelling story of the three houses, Viktor sets the player-character on an adventure to hunt down and assassinate his son, Vaeric Veth'aal, in the mission "Conflict of Conviction." Eventually, the player locates Vaeric and can decide to spare him and let him live out his life under a different identity or fulfill Viktor's wishes and kill him. Regardless of the choice taken, House Veth'aal will believe that Vaeric is dead by the end of the mission.

Viktor tasks the player-character to hunt down Vaeric because he publicly denounced the Great Serpent and Va'ruun religion, which marked his son as a heretic — making House Veth'aal arguably the most hardline religious faction.

At the end of Shattered Space, the player must stand before all three houses. Lovek speaks for House Veth'aal, which is the only one of the three houses that are in favor of restarting the Serpent's Crusade. Ultimately, regardless of the decision, the player-character has the last say.

When speaking to certain NPCs in town, the player can receive dialogue regarding the outcome of the militaristic House Veth'aal in charge. From a story perspective, this may be the best choice for those who would like to see a second Serpents Crusade, as Veth'aal would likely be the best suited for such a job.

What Happens When You Choose House Dul'kehf

House Dul'kehf Is The Pragmatic Faction

House Dul'kehf, located in the Halls of Healing and led by Hasmak Dul'kehf, is arguably the most pragmatic of the Va'ruun Houses. While still devout to the Va'ruun religion, the faction is also the most questioning, with more of its ideology based around science and technology. Upon beginning "Exhuming the Past," the player must fix the Ma'leen Dam, where they meet the Void entities, Karija and Vedrasa Ma'leen, to reclaim the Void Interlock, a special piece of technology that's required to finish the main mission.

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Just as with any of the other House choices, choosing Dul'kehf, in the end, has no substantial or noticeable difference in the gameplay. From a story perspective, House Dul'kehf declines to restart the Serpents Crusade, making them the most peaceful of the houses. This would likely result in a rebuilding of Va'ruun'kai with a more traditional societal structure that still takes religion into account but also implements more secular solutions to problems.

Choosing House Ka'dic is perhaps the least definitive choice of the three Houses — as it has no real stances unless it benefits the House itself.

Choosing Dul'kehf will also result in some NPCs having unique dialogues about the strength of the new Va'ruun'kai economy and feeling overworked. There is even one unique line that discusses potentially opening up trade to other factions in the Settled Systems. Dul'kehf should be chosen by those who don't wish to continue the Serpent's Crusade.

What Happens When You Choose House Ka'dic

House Ka'dic Will Do Whatever It Takes

House Ka'dic, run by the Chosen Elder Razma Ka'dic, represents the unscrupulous underbelly of covert government operations. Similar to Ryujin Industries, the House's strength is derived from backdoor dealings and a tenuous alliance with the Va'ruun Zealots, the remnants of what used to be House Ma'leen — followers of Jandar, brother of Jarek Va'ruun. Speaking with Razma results in the start of the mission, "Zealous Overreach," in which the player must locate Sahima to continue the main questline.

Just like many politicians in real life, House Ka'dic abstains from even casting a vote on the Serpents Crusade, taking the middle-of-the-road route that leads to the Diviner deciding the fate of an entire planet after just arriving a few days earlier. When speaking to settlers after the decision, fears of the Zealots, the return of House Ma'leen, and greater acceptance of outsiders are echoed. Choosing House Ka'dic is perhaps the least definitive choice of the three Houses — as it has no real stances unless it benefits the House itself.

Which House Is Best In Starfield: Shattered Space?

The Choice Is Rooted In The Story

Close

From a gameplay perspective, choosing a certain house has no impact whatsoever outside of a few unique lines of dialogue from NPCs in Dazra. However, from a story or narrative perspective, choosing a certain house will make more sense depending on the goals of the player. Ultimately, like much of Starfield: Shattered Space, the decision to pick a House at the very end of the game has little impact on the overall universe.

Players who choose to continue the Serpents Crusade will have Starfield companions, including Sarah Morgan, Barrett, and Sam Coe, who threaten to leave the group, but they can be convinced to stay through dialogue checks.

If the player is a pacifist who believes in pragmatic scientific solutions and who doesn't want to continue the Serpent's Crusade, House Dul'kehf is the best choice. Those who hope that Va'ruun embrace their militant religious past should choose House Veth'aal. Those who prefer political espionage, intrigue, and perhaps the resurgence of Va'ruun Zealots should choose Ka'dic.

There is a possibility in the future that players will find hidden details that relate back to the choice in Starfield: Shattered Space or that Bethesda will add more content or a patch that affects the greater universe more, but for now — the decision is more important from a narrative perspective than a gameplay one. Perhaps the more important decision is choosing to let a House act as a new Speaker more generally, as claiming that no House is worthy will result in the player getting banned from Va'ruun'kai and being attacked on site after their return. In addition, they won't gain access to the Vacant House.