Shrieker

Shrieker
Base Information
Classification	Omnivore
Status	Minor Race
Locomotion	Walker
Terrain	Plains
Body Form
Confluence	Non-humanoid
Bio-Identenoid	Quasi-arachnoid
Size	1.8 meters
Weight	200 kg
Culture
Languages	Yiirabarhi
Social Structure	Anarchy
Technological Epoch	TL:0-3
Psionic potential	Standard
Origin World
Homeworld location	567-908 (Spinward Marches 1031)
UWP	E532000-0 Starport E Frontier - no facilities Size 5 Medium (8,000 km, 0.40g - 0.57g) Atmosphere 3 Vacuum (very thin) Hydrographics 2 Dry World 20% Population 0 Barren (1) Government 0 No Government structure Law 0 No Law Tech Level 0 Pre-Industrial (primitive)
Primary Star	K5 III M9 V
Atmosphere	Very Thin
Off-world presence	No
Zoetic individuals	Yes
Source
Reference	Safari Ship 10-12.
Canon	Yes
Also see	Quasi-arachnoid

The Shriekers of 567-908 (Spinward Marches 1031) are a technologically primitive Minor Non-Human Race with a Non-humanoid appearance.

Description (Specifications)

Shriekers are omnivores evolved from plains gatherer/scavengers. Superficially, they resemble gigantic, short-legged tarantulas.

Their Quick NIL Profile is SHR-B-LLLL-SDEITK-423222-216 Shrieker.

Reproduction

Shrieker females produce a sac of 10 to 20 eggs, which in the modern age are individually fertilized by the male -- usually two or three per year. A couple continues fertilizing eggs and raising children until the egg sac is exhausted.

Continual migrations of ancestral Shriekers were the cause of high hormone levels and contributed to the production of viable eggs by the female. Egg sacs were once fertilized by the male all at once, and several egg sacs were produced in the course of the parents' life. When the Shriekers settled down into an agricultural society, a lower fertility level resulted, and to remedy this a tradition of mating pilgrimage appeared. This reproduces the rigors of the nomadic wanderings and raises hormone levels to a level which increases egg viability. The pilgrimage has become a social rite to the extent that young born without a pilgrimage are seen as "weak souled" and relegated to the serf class.

When a female dies, her eggs may still be fertilized by the male; when a male dies, the eggs cannot be fertilized by another male, and they die with him.

Unviable eggs are scattered in certain places with the belief that the souls of the unhatched will migrate to other eggs being fertilized. These unviable eggs are the Denuli Crystals so valued by some collectors.

Language & Letters (Communication)

The Shrieker name derives from their manner of speech, which uses high-frequency sounds which are bellowed (shrieked) through the thin atmosphere of 567-908 by trained speakers. Corporations have produced translator devices to shift the Shrieker vocalizations into the range of human hearing. Shriekers also use a complex set of gestures as part of their language, which is called Yiirabarhi.

History & Background (Dossier)

Darrian explorers visited 567-908 before the Maghiz; any records they made of the world are probably in a lockbox in the basement of one of their more ancient universities.

The first visit by an Imperial citizen was in 480. The scout Mtume Denuli landed there for repairs, and apparently discovered Denuli Crystals. His original reports to the IISS showed no inhabitants, omitting all mention of the Shriekers. The next visit to the world was in 1108, when the Shriekers were discovered by Kafka Thingvellir

By 1201, the world had been re-named to Shvreeyiyi, the name the Shriekers use to refer to their land. By 1248 the name had officially changed to Denuli in honor of Mtume Denuli, and because it was easier to pronounce by Humans. Shriekers still refer to their world as Shvreeyiyi, while others call it Denuli.

Astrography

This race is primarily located in the following areas:

• Spinward Marches Sector
  • District 268 Subsector

Primary Star

Their homeworld, Denuli, is in the habitable zone of the primary star Laragii (known to natives as Khrer). It has a 42-year period.

A 42-year period implies roughly 19 AU, which confirms the K5 III primary within a reasonable variation.

Homeworld

The homeworld of this race is:

• 567-908 (Spinward Marches 1031)

World Listing: 1105

Significant communities of this race are known to dwell within the following systems and worlds:

1 of 1 World articles in Shrieker

567-908  •  

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References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. Safari Ship (Game Designers Workshop, 1984), 10-12.
• Martin Dougherty, Neil Frier. Behind the Claw (Steve Jackson Games, 1998), 73.
• Steve Jackson, Loren Wiseman. Alien Races 4 (Steve Jackson Games, 2001), 107-115.
• Shawn Havranek, Loren Wiseman. Planetary Survey 2: Denuli (Steve Jackson Games, 2001), all.
• Mike West. The Spinward States (Avenger Enterprises, 2008), 110.
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team