First Things First
Since Knightfall is a GDW publication, it is canonical, and therefore so is (most of) the text concerning the Primordials, aka "Sparklers"; therefore, their general concept is still valid as a sophont race which predates the Ancients and has moved out of Charted Space, leaving a few (as in five) abandoned sites accessible from Charted Space (presumably, two in the Imperium, and three in the Vargr Extents).
Therefore, let's profile them for Traveller5.
References
You see ... tall, upright creatures with wide, flat bodies, long, flat heads, and tails. [Knightfall, p.70]
Joe Fugate Answers Questions on COTI
Initial Observation
"...a mature primordial is a lizard-like creature that lives in a spiral mollusk-like shell. They usually anchor themselves to the walls of their ship like huge barnacles, and then manipulate things psionically. " (http://eaglestone.pocketempires.com/library-data/Joe_Fugate_On_COTI.html#Question16)
Given that the Primordials themselves do not seem to be represented in Knightfall as "huge barnacles" nor as anything other than flat bipeds (in adult form), I will hypothesize that these spiral mollusc-like shells are house-sized, rather than creature-sized (e.g. not at all proportional, like a turtle's shell or mollusc's shell, but rather something more external while still somehow being "part of" or just "created/owned by" the sophont). In other words, the nature of the shell is not important to the sophont creation process, even though it is important when understanding the sophont as a whole.
Sophont Creation Process
Where data about the Primordials is known, said data is used. The less we know about them, the more random the data selection process becomes. Results follow.
p. 548
A: Probable homestar = F IV
B: Habitable Zone = Orbit 5
C: Mainworld Orbit = Orbit 5.
D: Satellite? No.
E: Homeworld Probable UWP = X8787XX-T (=TL 27). NOTE: "X" here at least means "unknown".
(E1): World density is likely greater than typical (e.g. 1.2).
F: Climate = Temperate.
p. 549
A: Native Terrain = Desert (-4)
B: Locomotion = Walker
C: Ecological Niche = Omnivore Intermittent
p. 550
A: Characteristics = Str Dex Vig Int Edu Cas (SDVIEK)
B: Char values = 234222; Psi = 2.
p. 551
A: Caste Structure = Skilled [Psionics]
B: Caste Table
2 OOB+10
3 The Touch+10
4 Teleport+10
5 Psi-Touch+10
6 Move+10
7 Mentation+10
8 Move+10
9 Teleport+10
10 Eshift+10
11 Psi-Touch+10
12 Psi-Vision+10
C: Caste-based Differences:
Uncasted have vision, smell, hearing, touch, and are non-psionic.
Casted are blind, anosmic, deaf, with STR-5. PSI is generated when first casted (at Adolescence).
D: Caste shift: rotation.
E: Caste Assignment: Assigned at Adolescence.
p. 552
A: Gender Components = Solitaire.
B: Gender-based differences = n/a.
C: Gender assignment = n/a.
D: Genders only shift with Caste.
E: Caste-Gender relation = Independent. (Actually, Caste may be equal to Gender).
p. 553
A: Life Stage Duration = 1/2, 212 323 361
Average lifespan = 94y
High gravity is required to advance to Adolescence.
p. 554
A, B: Senses, Uncasted:
Vis: V-14-BPS
Hear: H-24-6464
Smell: S-14-4
Touch: T-08-4
Aware: unaware
Percep: oblivious
Casted:
Vis: blind
Hear: deaf
Smell: anosmic
Touch: T-16-2
Aware: A-24-3
Percep: oblivious
C: Language Medium = Awareness Language
D: Racial Scent = PR1-Q0E
p. 555
A: Body Structure = HBS+T-LN-LN-T
B: Body Features = Bony Interior, Gore, Leather, Claws (uncasted), Grippers
p. 556
Special Abilities:
Sophont-based = Distractible, Group Think [disability]
Gender-based = n/a
Caste-based:
OOB: Mem-Aware
Teleport: Electronics [trade]
Psi-Touch: Rage
Move: Empath
E-Shift: Stench [disability]
Psi-Vision: Mem-Vision
p. 558 [Uniques]
* High gravity is required for the young to mature. This is a Unique feature of the sophont.
* Highly, nearly fatally distractible and prone to "group think". This is a Unique feature of the sophont.
Simple Metamorphosis. An immature primordial is a low, squat crocodile looking creature. As they mature, the primordial metamorphoses into a lizard-like creature with mollusk-like shell. They anchor themselves to the walls of their ship like huge barnacles, and manipulate things psionically. In their mature mollusk form, they have strong psionic abilities, and must be trained.
In its adult form, the Primordial is practically unaware of non-psionic people.
p. 559 [Size]
Typical Size = 84
Body Form Profile (BFP) = 14.
Height:
Volume = 0.084 cubic meters
Vol x BFP x BFP = 16.464
Height (Length) = Cube root( 16.464 ) = 2.5 meters.
Teleportation ("Sparkling")
A Primordial with excessively high Teleport skill and a maxed-out END can move a small colony ship one AU in a few seconds before experiencing fatigue and requiring a day of rest.
Since Knightfall is a GDW publication, it is canonical, and therefore so is (most of) the text concerning the Primordials, aka "Sparklers"; therefore, their general concept is still valid as a sophont race which predates the Ancients and has moved out of Charted Space, leaving a few (as in five) abandoned sites accessible from Charted Space (presumably, two in the Imperium, and three in the Vargr Extents).
Therefore, let's profile them for Traveller5.
References
You see ... tall, upright creatures with wide, flat bodies, long, flat heads, and tails. [Knightfall, p.70]
Joe Fugate Answers Questions on COTI
Initial Observation
"...a mature primordial is a lizard-like creature that lives in a spiral mollusk-like shell. They usually anchor themselves to the walls of their ship like huge barnacles, and then manipulate things psionically. " (http://eaglestone.pocketempires.com/library-data/Joe_Fugate_On_COTI.html#Question16)
Given that the Primordials themselves do not seem to be represented in Knightfall as "huge barnacles" nor as anything other than flat bipeds (in adult form), I will hypothesize that these spiral mollusc-like shells are house-sized, rather than creature-sized (e.g. not at all proportional, like a turtle's shell or mollusc's shell, but rather something more external while still somehow being "part of" or just "created/owned by" the sophont). In other words, the nature of the shell is not important to the sophont creation process, even though it is important when understanding the sophont as a whole.
Sophont Creation Process
Where data about the Primordials is known, said data is used. The less we know about them, the more random the data selection process becomes. Results follow.
p. 548
A: Probable homestar = F IV
B: Habitable Zone = Orbit 5
C: Mainworld Orbit = Orbit 5.
D: Satellite? No.
E: Homeworld Probable UWP = X8787XX-T (=TL 27). NOTE: "X" here at least means "unknown".
(E1): World density is likely greater than typical (e.g. 1.2).
F: Climate = Temperate.
p. 549
A: Native Terrain = Desert (-4)
B: Locomotion = Walker
C: Ecological Niche = Omnivore Intermittent
p. 550
A: Characteristics = Str Dex Vig Int Edu Cas (SDVIEK)
B: Char values = 234222; Psi = 2.
p. 551
A: Caste Structure = Skilled [Psionics]
B: Caste Table
2 OOB+10
3 The Touch+10
4 Teleport+10
5 Psi-Touch+10
6 Move+10
7 Mentation+10
8 Move+10
9 Teleport+10
10 Eshift+10
11 Psi-Touch+10
12 Psi-Vision+10
C: Caste-based Differences:
Uncasted have vision, smell, hearing, touch, and are non-psionic.
Casted are blind, anosmic, deaf, with STR-5. PSI is generated when first casted (at Adolescence).
D: Caste shift: rotation.
E: Caste Assignment: Assigned at Adolescence.
p. 552
A: Gender Components = Solitaire.
B: Gender-based differences = n/a.
C: Gender assignment = n/a.
D: Genders only shift with Caste.
E: Caste-Gender relation = Independent. (Actually, Caste may be equal to Gender).
p. 553
A: Life Stage Duration = 1/2, 212 323 361
Average lifespan = 94y
High gravity is required to advance to Adolescence.
p. 554
A, B: Senses, Uncasted:
Vis: V-14-BPS
Hear: H-24-6464
Smell: S-14-4
Touch: T-08-4
Aware: unaware
Percep: oblivious
Casted:
Vis: blind
Hear: deaf
Smell: anosmic
Touch: T-16-2
Aware: A-24-3
Percep: oblivious
C: Language Medium = Awareness Language
D: Racial Scent = PR1-Q0E
p. 555
A: Body Structure = HBS+T-LN-LN-T
B: Body Features = Bony Interior, Gore, Leather, Claws (uncasted), Grippers
p. 556
Special Abilities:
Sophont-based = Distractible, Group Think [disability]
Gender-based = n/a
Caste-based:
OOB: Mem-Aware
Teleport: Electronics [trade]
Psi-Touch: Rage
Move: Empath
E-Shift: Stench [disability]
Psi-Vision: Mem-Vision
p. 558 [Uniques]
* High gravity is required for the young to mature. This is a Unique feature of the sophont.
* Highly, nearly fatally distractible and prone to "group think". This is a Unique feature of the sophont.
Simple Metamorphosis. An immature primordial is a low, squat crocodile looking creature. As they mature, the primordial metamorphoses into a lizard-like creature with mollusk-like shell. They anchor themselves to the walls of their ship like huge barnacles, and manipulate things psionically. In their mature mollusk form, they have strong psionic abilities, and must be trained.
In its adult form, the Primordial is practically unaware of non-psionic people.
p. 559 [Size]
Typical Size = 84
Body Form Profile (BFP) = 14.
Height:
Volume = 0.084 cubic meters
Vol x BFP x BFP = 16.464
Height (Length) = Cube root( 16.464 ) = 2.5 meters.
Teleportation ("Sparkling")
A Primordial with excessively high Teleport skill and a maxed-out END can move a small colony ship one AU in a few seconds before experiencing fatigue and requiring a day of rest.
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