Did you ever wonder?? - Unanswered Questions of TRA

[Pecky]

Originally Posted by Ashnod

In both TR1 and TRA, Lara sees a vision on the 3rd piece of the Scion when she combines the first two pieces together. In both visions, WE as an audience only see a brief glimpse of the entrance to the Khamoon area, but the implication is that Lara was given the location by the two combined Scions. Likely as they wanted to be whole again with the third piece.

Ah, yes; you're right. Now I remember.

[LCFan123]

I also have a question:

Richard gave up searching for the Scion right? Cause he didn't find Vilcabamba.
Why didn't he try to get the Egyptscion instead? Maybe he got the vision for Vilcabamba then? :S
And apart from that: Isn't the entrance to the caves in Peru obvious? I mean, look: It's a giant, odd gate, that doesn't fit into it's landscape. o_o

[Ashnod]

Originally Posted by LCFan123

I also have a question:

Richard gave up searching for the Scion right? Cause he didn't find Vilcabamba.
Why didn't he try to get the Egyptscion instead? Maybe he got the vision for Vilcabamba then? :S
And apart from that: Isn't the entrance to the caves in Peru obvious? I mean, look: It's a giant, odd gate, that doesn't fit into it's landscape. o_o

Richard didn't have any visions. He never found a piece of the Scion to receive one. He was working off historical notes, scholarly research, and evidence left by other sites. His evidence pointed to Vilcabamba being the location of Qualopec's tomb, but as you've already pointed out, he couldn't locate it.

As far as the gate to Vilcabamba's entrance, this is typical of most Tomb Raider games. Same thing applies to the cave entrance in TR1, for example. The assumption is that these locations are placed in places that have not been developed, have very little in the way of paths leading up to them if any at all, and obscured enough by the surrounding area that they cannot be seen from above. You have to be looking right at the entrance to see it, which is why they have remained undiscovered.

From our perspective it seems obvious enough, but we have the benefit of being right there from the get go most of the time.

[LCFan123]

Originally Posted by Ashnod

Richard didn't have any visions. He never found a piece of the Scion to receive one. He was working off historical notes, scholarly research, and evidence left by other sites. His evidence pointed to Vilcabamba being the location of Qualopec's tomb, but as you've already pointed out, he couldn't locate it.

As far as the gate to Vilcabamba's entrance, this is typical of most Tomb Raider games. Same thing applies to the cave entrance in TR1, for example. The assumption is that these locations are placed in places that have not been developed, have very little in the way of paths leading up to them if any at all, and obscured enough by the surrounding area that they cannot be seen from above. You have to be looking right at the entrance to see it, which is why they have remained undiscovered.

From our perspective it seems obvious enough, but we have the benefit of being right there from the get go most of the time.

Yeh, you're right.

[Scales]

^ to the questions above about how Pierre disappears constantly: In the commentary you can hear them mention Pierre's "disappearing act" in the original Tomb Raider. They simply revamped it into a more cinematic act in Anniversary.

Anyway my question is, How exactly did those monks build St Francis Folly ontop of a large towering stone pillar? When they did, how did they not know a gigantic Colosseum and palace were under it? Also, how in the hell did Pierre skip every single trap and puzzle thrown at him, yet Lara has to do them anyway. Plus, how was he not amazed, nor surprised as I expect Lara would be in there. This is one of Lara's first adventures and I have to assume she isn't used to Dinosaurs and supernatural centaurs.

Also to the questions about why a Colesseum would be in Greece. It is possible the colosseum was constructed by the Atlantians and simply the Romans copied them...

I mean the Romans are like Microsoft when it comes to copying things. They do it so often you almost don't notice.

[Ashnod]

Originally Posted by Scales

Anyway my question is, How exactly did those monks build St Francis Folly ontop of a large towering stone pillar?

The same way structures like this are built.

When they did, how did they not know a gigantic Colosseum and palace were under it?

The implication is that they did know it was there, hence the massive locking mechanism requiring the four keys of the god rooms to get in. The Folly itself was built as a means to hide what was below, and as a safeguard against anyone actually getting into the Tomb of Tihocan. This is a very common theme in the Tomb Raider mythos: building something to disguise/hide/protect something else.

As to where the Colosseum and Midas' Palace comes into play? It's probably a matter of increasing levels of security around Tihocan's tomb. The original followers of Tihocan after the fall of Atlantis would have built the tomb themselves, the same way Qualopec's Peruvian counterparts did the same thing. Their Greek descendants eventually build Palace Midas and the Cistern that controls the water supply. The Romans, when they conquered Greece, build the Colosseum, and the more recent monks build St. Francis Folly and the god rooms to secure the remainder of it.

You can assign varies levels of reason to each of these decisions: the Greeks build Palace Midas to protect Tihocan's tomb, but the Romans build the Colosseum to draw attention away from Palace Midas. Perhaps they did it out of vanity; they wanted their culture dominant but were unwilling to destroy Palace Midas out of an appreciation for the beauty of it. Perhaps there were Roman descendants of the conquered Greeks who felt the security simply wasn't enough, that more layers of deception were necessary to protect Tihocan and the Scion.

The true explanation of all of this, like the rest of the monomyth, is lost to time.

Also, how in the hell did Pierre skip every single trap and puzzle thrown at him, yet Lara has to do them anyway.

I agree, this makes no sense. The assumption is that he either A) found another way through which means that's he's a VERY VERY good tomb raider or B), did a remarkable job at remaining hidden and simply went through the same doors when Lara was not paying attention.

Either way, it does not reflect well on Lara.

Plus, how was he not amazed, nor surprised as I expect Lara would be in there. This is one of Lara's first adventures and I have to assume she isn't used to Dinosaurs and supernatural centaurs.

Which is why Pierre is understandably shocked when the Centaurs attack. Nothing from St. Francis Folly to the Tomb of Tihocan was out of the ordinary in the same way a T-Rex would have been in Peru. The Centaurs coming to life were the first really unexplainable thing Pierre would have happened upon in this expedition.

Also to the questions about why a Colesseum would be in Greece. It is possible the colosseum was constructed by the Atlantians and simply the Romans copied them...

That seems unlikely, especially given that Greek Palace Midas comes next in the progression towards Tihocan's tomb, making the Greek presence come before the Roman. If the true Atlanteans themselves would have created anything there, and not the remnants of them like in Qualopec's Peru, we should assume these structures would have been far more advanced - along the line of the Pyramid or Helheim.

[Tagia]

How on Earth did Lara fare after her mother was taken to Helheim while in Nepal? Where did she go? How did a girl her age survive without succumbing to the elements or other potential threats such as wild animals and sickness?

[Tagia]

Originally Posted by Ashnod

That seems unlikely, especially given that Greek Palace Midas comes next in the progression towards Tihocan's tomb, making the Greek presence come before the Roman.

To add to that, the Romans were famous for aping other civilizations in order to make themselves greater. The Greeks too were ape-wild because they used the Persian empire as their prime inspiration for becoming a super power.

[Ashnod]

Originally Posted by Tagia

How on Earth did Lara fare after her mother was taken to Helheim while in Nepal? Where did she go? How did a girl her age survive without succumbing to the elements or other potential threats such as wild animals and sickness?

One of the great controversial bits of the plot. You can pick a number of possible explanations ranging from sheer will and determination, or that even at that age Lara's near superhuman physical ability was present enough to give her enough advantage to survive, to the real possibility that she had accompanied her family on a few digs before and knew some basic survival skills as a result.

[almayah]

Here is one i always wanted to know. At the end of santcuary of Scion Lara putts Qualopecs and Tihocans scion to get 3rd scion( i played anniversary since it got out so i don't remember is it to get the scion or escape) But when she got out she had all three scions to recive a vision. Correct me if i'm wrong