Tirril

Starport	B	Good: Spacecraft Construction, Overhaul, Refined fuel
Size	5	Medium (8,000 km, 0.40g - 0.57g)
Atmosphere	6	Standard
Hydrographics	3	Wet World 30%
Population	6	Moderate (3 million)
Government	4	Representative Democracy
Law	5	Moderate Law (no concealable weapons)
Tech Level	A	Early Stellar (jump drive)

Primary Star

F4 V M0 V

Atmosphere

Standard

Off-world presence

No

Zoetic individuals

Yes

Source

Reference

Gvurrdon Sector Campaignbook 46.

Canon

No

Also see

The Tirril of Tirrokoelaegz (Gvurrdon 1821) are a technologically primitive Minor Non-Human Race with a Non-humanoid appearance.

Physiology & Environment[edit]

As an avian race, the Tirrils have a light body-frame. The skeleton is hollow to further decrease body weight. They are about 150 centimeters high and mass about 40 kilograms. They have a 15cm long seagull-like beak.

Tirril feathers are colored from bright red to deep navy blue, while the chest and abdomen are generally white or silver grey. Some may have a brown taint on the chest. The upper back and head, and the front edge of the wings, are usually black, with a shiny blue taint in males. The beak is usually colored a light yellow. The eyes are mounted on the sides of the head, giving near 360 degree vision. Mid-way between the shoulder and the wingtip there are a set of claws, not unlike those of a bat, but these claws give moderately better grip.

Diet[edit]

The Tirrils mainly eat vegetables, fruits or roots, but they may supplement this diet with small rodents and insects. Occasionally they fish, when they can catch some. Their primary food source is the Lummi Root. This root comes from a pest plant that kills other plants for nutrition. The plant is poisonous, but the root is not. Humans and Vargr find this root too sweet for their liking, but it is edible. The root is protected by law, so that the Tirrils can get their necessary nutrition supply. Vargr farmers have tried to fight this law, but in 875 an agreement was reached. The Tirrils would eat any root they found in farmlands to aid the Vargr farmers, so that their harvest would not be destroyed. Lummi root has -- with some luck -- been exported to other systems. Those systems that have Lummi roots grow them in greenhouses that have been carefully sealed off.

History & Background (Dossier)[edit]

They were first contacted in about 600 (Imperial). When the system was first settled, the Tirrils were hunted by Vargr for their fine-colored feathers. However sophontologists proved that the Tirrils were actually an intelligent people. Hunting was prohibited once their sapience was confirmed. Regardless, Tirrils are still on occasion hunted illegally for their feathers by the unscrupulous.

Prior to contact with the Vargr, Tirrils had an effective TL–0. However their integrated clan structure and their limited ability to use tools were among the traits that made Vargr scientists suspicious of their "un-intelligent" behaviour. It was later discovered that the Tirrils had an extremely advanced understanding of mathematical problems. The most skilled of the Tirrils are actually able to calculate jump coordinates precisely for distances up to 1 parsec within 25 minutes, without any help from abacuses or other mathematical tools.

Following contact with the Vargr, Tirrils have enjoyed an increase in technology. However, they do not manufacture anything themselves. The clans are paid in hardware for different services they perform for the Vargr. The equipment they get varies with the job and the value of both the job and the equipment. Tools like specially made knifes and night vision equipment are among the most popular items. Waldos are also available, but the Tirrils usually do not use them where they would inhibit flying. The most popular items of all are small, long-range portable radios. This makes it possible for clans to communicate with each other over long distances. Through relays they might also communicate by satellite to clans on the other side of the planet.

Culture & Society[edit]

The Tirrils are organized into family clans. A clan ranges from 20 to a few hundred individuals. A leader in the clan is an elder; that is, those who are at least 22 years old. There is no distinct clan head, but the elders form some sort of council. The different clans can be distinguished from each other by the clan marking on the throat and upper part of the chest. When two clans merge into one, or a group of Tirrils break out from a clan, the markings change.

There is little fighting between the clans. Some confrontation does occurr when the clans need new territory; however any outright war is extremely rare. After the Vargr arrived, some clans would not forgive the Vargr for hunting fellow Tirrils, thus these clans are mostly outright hostile to Vargr. This has also led to a few messy confrontations between pro- and anti-Vargr Tirril cultures.

The clans usually move from place to place depending on the season and how well the surrounding land can feed them. Their "homes" are everything from a dug-out hole in the ground to a copse of trees that provides good protection. In the cities there are built special clan houses that vary in size. These clan houses are free for use by any clan that visits.

Government & Law[edit]

The Tirrils do not have any genuine rule on Tirrokoelaegz, but they are protected by law against hunting and other acts of destruction. The Vargr population on the planet is rather small (510,000) compared to the Tirrils (2,890,000), but the Vargr are definitely in charge. However, the more influential clans of the Tirrils have the opportunity to voice their opinion on matters of importance.

The ruling body on Tirrokoelaegz is rather small. The interstellar government that encompasses this world is ruled by a tight elite. The Vargr population is divided between Equals and Non-Equals; only a Vargr that has been rated Equal may take a ruling position in the government. This has caused some problems with the Tirrils, so the planetary government has come up with a simple solution. After much bickering, an agreement was reached; only the elders in a clan would be rated Equal, and thus have the opportunity to voice their opinion.

Language & Symbology[edit]

The Tirril language, known informally as Tirrillese, is built upon a complex form of whistling and chirping sing-song. This was the most difficult barrier that the Vargr scientists had to break in order to make contact with the Tirrils. Vargr proved unable to whistle in the same fashion as humans; they do not have the same lip control. However, the Tirrils have been adept at learning to speak Vargr languages quite well. There are a few sounds that the Tirrils can't make. Most human languages have proven easier.

Body stance is also quite important in Tirril communication, though much of it is like the body language of humans; gestures that underline some meaning in a spoken sentence. The genuine body language divorced from speech is performed differently. This has not caused any major problems in cross species communication.

Vargr communicate with Tirrils either with computer or flute. Tirrils themselves prefer that a flute be used as it produces more pleasing sound than a computer. Humans may whistle, but again a flute is preferred. Along with the standard linguistics skill the translator should also be familiar with the artisan skill.

Technology & Trade[edit]

Those Tirrils that are in the employ of various Vargr and a few human patrons receive payment in the form of credit or equipment for these services. The credits are placed into an account that the elders administer for the welfare of the clan. Equipment is usually personal to the recipient until that individual dies; the equipment is then handed over to the elders for reassignment to a new user. The account with credits is usually used for covering repair of broken equipment or for new computer programs. The money is also spent on other things that will help the clan.

A few clans have specialized in trading with other worlds in the Society of Equals and beyond; these worlds normally have Tirril emissaries. The emissary group usually consists of a few elders and clan members to provide for them. Sometimes, Vargr accompany these groups for support.

Astrography[edit]

This race is primarily located in the following areas:
Charted Space:

Gvurrdon Sector
- Ksits Usathu Odzuetarung Subsector

Homeworld[edit]

The homeworld of this race

Tirrokoelaegz (Gvurrdon 1821)

The planet is a size 4 body orbiting a F4 V star. The star has an M4 D companion in orbit 2 which gives the planet somewhat distorted season temperatures at times. The gravity is at 0.47G which makes these rather large avians able to fly. The Tirrils have proven able to fly in dense atmospheres on planets with gravity up to 0.76G. The temperatures is fairly high, averaging 59°C in the summer (at equator) to 45°C at winter at the same place.

World Listing: 1105[edit]

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

1 of 1 World articles in Tirril

Tirrokoelaegz •

startbacknext(1 listed)

References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]

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 Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

Roger Malmstein. "Contact: Tirrils". Alien Realms Volume 2 Issue 4 (HIWG 1992):1-5
Roger Malmstein. "Contact: Tirrils". Alien Realms Volume 3 Issue 2 (HIWG 1992):15-21
Roger Malmstein. "Aliens in Gvurrdon Sector." Kfan Uzangou 5 (1993): 6.
Roger Malmstein. Gvurrdon Sector Campaignbook (Roger Malmstein, 2002), 46.