In part 10 of our continuing series, Brian Kindregan, co-lead writer of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and lead writer of Heart of the Swarm, answers more of the community’s most burning lore questions.

Question: Considering that Tassadar and Adun sacrificed their lives in a similar manner, is Adun still out there somewhere like a dead Jedi in Star Wars?

Answer: Adun is not a dead Jedi. However, it’s interesting that you see a connection between Adun and Tassadar.

Question: How is it that Tassadar became immortal and eternal, practically all powerful, and yet forced Zeratul and the Protoss armies to come to him (he made ZERO effort to help the universe or his race, but is oh-so-helpful once they arrive)? It is as if he was unable to do anything to help anybody other than hang out around the Overmind's body.

Answer: Who said he's all-powerful? I think Tassadar's presence in Wings very much implies that he is somehow tied to the Overmind's location. This is a character who has severe limitations.

Question: Is Mengsk an agent of the Dark Voice? Is that why he wanted Kerrigan dead and installed Tychus as a sleeper agent in Raynor's army? Is that why Kerrigan wants him dead and not for the betrayal and abandonment? If Mengsk and Tychus had a comm link open the whole time, why did he let Tychus take the Odin and let the events of Korhal and the prison breakout occur?

Answer: I've answered the final part of this question elsewhere, so I won't repeat myself. But for the first part: Mengsk is a wily leader who will do anything to stay in power. He wanted Kerrigan dead because the Swarm represented the greatest threat to his Dominion, and because he understands human motivations, vindictiveness, and pettiness very well. He could not conceive of the idea that the Queen of Blades might not want revenge. He was sure that she would come after him at some point, and he was determined to prevent that.

Question: Since Wings of Liberty has a "crossroads" storyline that involves characters such as Gabriel Tosh, Nova, and Dr. Hanson, is it possible that any of them will be in future expansions? Because depending on the player's choices in Wings of Liberty, some of them could have been killed.

Answer: I'm happy to tell you that we will track your choices. In Heart of the Swarm, you will see references to the choices you made. Now, I have to be clear: your choices from Wings will not have a huge impact on Heart, as the latter is a story about the Zerg and doesn't get too much into the doings of some Terran rebel. But there are parts of Heart that are different depending on the choices you made in Wings.

The choices with Tosh and the lava tunnels and infested platform on Char are both referenced in Heart. The choice on Haven involving Dr. Hanson is not.

Question: How does the Blizzard team feel when people start debating the lore?

Answer: This is a very good topic! It’s exciting to see people debate and discuss. We all love the passion and intellect people bring to the arguments, and the wide range of viewpoints. The sense that you've moved people and that they are engaged enough to come up with theories, arguments, and counterarguments is enormously rewarding.

It also helps the writing process to know that there are critical people out there who expect us to do good work. It’s always much more helpful when players get into a real critique or constructive discussion rather than a hate-fest, but even then, the passion of the StarCraft community is an amazing thing, and everyone on the team very much appreciates it.

Question: Can we learn a little more about the Protoss during the Wings of Liberty campaign?

Answer: The Protoss are an enigmatic race. They possess so much power, yet are opposed to using it. During the events of Wings, the Aiur Protoss—as I call them for simplicity's sake—are still adjusting to their new situation on Shakuras. They are trying to find their new identity, as so much of their self-image was tied up in Aiur. They are also looking for new planets to colonize, reawakening old technologies and, yes, very much planning their re-emergence onto the scene. They are licking their wounds, but they are not done or out of the picture by any means.

Question: Shortly after DuGalle's defeat, the remainder of the UED fleet was overtaken by Kerrigan's forces and eradicated. No UED vessel ever made it back to Earth to report what had transpired…

Answer: Yes, I know this doesn't look like a question. I've copy and pasted only the most relevant part of what is otherwise a long exchange. One of the contributors of that exchange was upset that the above quote implied that the UED never learned what happened to their fleet, when the presence of the UED in the Koprulu sector clearly indicated that they had monitoring and spying systems.

My only contribution to the discussion is to point out that the game says no vessel made it back to report what happened. That implies that the UED's ability to understand what had transpired was hampered by the total destruction of the fleet. But nothing implies they never learned the truth. Their spy network surely got some facts to them, but it took longer and they were never able to get the full picture. It really sucks to lose your whole fleet! 😉

Question: What lore did we miss in StarCraft: Ghost? It never got released, so that gap is empty.

Answer: Any lore contained in StarCraft: Ghost is not canon. If it hasn't been released, it's not real. So, you haven't missed anything! In the words of Kate Lockwell: “Woo!”

If you’re looking for more lore, here’s part 1 of our StarCraft II Creative Development Q&A, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8 and part 9. We’ll have many more answers to your burning questions in the weeks to come.