Shadows

[robject]

I just re-read Shadows, and I think these sophonts may still be alive and living nearby.

(a) Room #4 has cultivated plants, ripe for harvest, and the implied growth period is in years (not decades, not centuries). Room #8 has immature plants, meaning they were planted more recently. So two rooms are in current cultivation.

(b) Room #20 has a sophont's skeleton. We know that bones do erode in this atmosphere, albeit slowly -- but the erosion period is likely to be years at the latest. Thus this skeleton is most probably recent.

Together with the evidence in rooms 4 and 8, we have support that these sophonts are still alive and living outside, nearby.

(c) According to the "Interior Features" => "Environment" => "Lighting" notes, the lights in Rooms #20 and #23 were deliberately broken to put them out. However, no particular date or motive is suggested.

 

[Spinward Scout]

I thought it was covered on the last page what happened to them. (No Spoilers?)

 

[selunatic2397]

My players noted the implied presence of the reptilaliens...and just left for another adventure...they figured that if the local government didn't know they were there...who were they to rat them out.

 

[Garyius2003]

We never picked up on that. Jacked up the power plant and left before the suits burned through. Everyone lived.

I never played through it as a GM.

 

[Timerover51]

Initially, when reading Shadows, I was thinking that the aliens might be Droyne, then realized that would not work with the atmosphere. As for them still being around, that would seem to be entirely reasonable, based on the hints given in the adventure. As to how you would make contact with the, that might be an interesting problem to pose to the right group.

Say the Yorbund spaceport authority becomes aware of the potential of the Pyramid structure to damage inbound or outbound ships, and wishes the party to conduct a further investigation, possibly using experimental suits designed for extended work in insidious corrosive atmospheres. Their job is to determine if the builders are still extent, and if so, try to arrange for them to turn the energy blasts off or restrict their operation. The unknown factor of the alien builders would make the spaceport authority reluctant to simply blast or shut down the Pyramid.

 

[Supplement Four]

I just re-read Shadows, and I think these sophonts may still be alive and living nearby.

I haven't read Shadows in a long, long time. I'm just speculating here, going by what you've said. (As a side note, Shadows was the first Traveller adventure I'd ever read--it came with Starter Traveller!)

(a) Room #4 has cultivated plants, ripe for harvest, and the implied growth period is in years (not decades, not centuries). Room #8 has immature plants, meaning they were planted more recently. So two rooms are in current cultivation.

What is said to imply the shorter growth period? Are the plants native to the planet? Remember, it's a strange world with a wonky atmosphere. Maybe the plant has had to adapt to extremely long growth periods in order to survive in the acidic atmo.

Again, just thinking out loud, here.

(b) Room #20 has a sophont's skeleton. We know that bones do erode in this atmosphere, albeit slowly -- but the erosion period is likely to be years at the latest. Thus this skeleton is most probably recent.

Or....the damage to the pyramid is recent (earthquake). Before that, the skeleton was comfy in the sealed environment--only exposed to the tainted atmo for a much shorter period of time.


Another idea...if the skeleton is to a native of the world, it could be that it's skeleton is a bit more resistant to the effects of the atmo than normal off-world skeletons.

Together with the evidence in rooms 4 and 8, we have support that these sophonts are still alive and living outside, nearby.

Sounds like a great idea for expanding the adventure, then working out the relationship between these people and those living around the starport.