Hi Everbody,
I need a little help regarding the LC.
When did your crew learn the name “Tilikaal”? I can not find a hint in published sources as to when they are supposed to know the name…Or is it left for me as the GM to decide?
If something is published I would like to go with it, probably. But if not, our Betazeoid security officer and the Vulcan OPs guy will sense the word lingering in their minds during the next mission “Convoy SE-119”.
Thank you for your thoughts.
I’ve just taken a quick flick through The Shackleton Expanse, and the third part of the main “Tilikaal” saga, “The Assessor Gambit”, appears to be when it makes its first appearance. This episode was also in the LC.
At the beginning of the episode, the conference has lots of references to the lost alien civilisation without using a name, which implies it is not known. In Act Three, when the crew activate a subspace transmitter, they get a message from someone identifying themselves as “Ash’Tamalia, of the Tilikaal”.
Given the significance of the scene and the episode itself, I’d say that’s a suitably dramatic point for the first mention. You may even get some players convinced Tilikaal is the name of a ship rather than the people, which may cause some interesting confusion 
Thanks! That helps a lot! So my players will have quite some time to wait for this information.
Unless you choose to do otherwise! It is your game after all…
Personally, I’d go with it as writtent: it would maintain the mystery a lot longer, and as I say, add to the drama when it is discovered. It can be entertaining watching the players try to figure out what is related to what and who the aliens might actually have been.
One other option you could try, if you want, is to slip the name in elsewhere, but make sure it has no obvious connection to the aliens. Maybe there’s a trader vessel bearing the name (Glory of Tilikaal for example), but, if asked, the owner just knows it as a traditional name used by their people. Or Tilikaal could be the name of an alien god, or the local name for a mysterious nebula or other astronomical phenomenon on the far side of the Expanse. Given the heavy presence of Orions in the setting, maybe there’s a connection to the old Orion Empires or their merchant houses.
In any case, the trick would be to make it seem insignificant, just local colour. Then the players will be surprised when it becomes more relevant.
Of course, if your players are anything like mine, none of them will remember it in the first place!
I like to go with what is written, too. If I go with what is written I do not need to remember where I deviated.
Yes, they are! 