Official [V3] Vortigaunt Lore Thread

[Astro]

Introduction

This thread aims to ground Vortigaunts, bringing them closer to Half-Life 2 canon while taking a few liberties to expand on certain aspects of lore alluded to throughout the games. A majority of the content here is meant to act as concrete information that your Vortigaunt should know to varying levels. But it also acts as a baseline for anything custom that you may want to do during your time in the Vortigaunt faction.

We have kept most information as vague as possible, only giving you the essentials that most individuals of the Vortigaunt race would know. Everything else is left to your own interpretation!



Who are the Vortigaunts?​

The Vortigaunts are an alien species originating from another dimension. They, for the briefest of moments, have known freedom. They are the evolution of a long-lost ancestor from their homeworld, one giving rise to creatures such as the controllers, and even the Nihilianth. They were all once disciples of a force of nature colloquially named “The Vortessence” by the Vortigaunts, but now only the Vortigaunts remain as the sole survivors channeling this power.

Once, during a time they knew freedom amongst their tribes, the Nihilianth and his kind came with an armada of savage warriors to pillage their lands. From then on, their history has been a blur, with echoes from unreliable narrators being passed down from generation to generation. The one thing that all of Vortikind can agree upon, however, is that they were used as a tool. Tools against the Combine as they parted the sky and obliterated their planet. Tools to fuel the Combine Regime. And then, tools against humanity.

The Combine. An interdimensional threat, and one that the Vortigaunt are too familiar with. The society of aliens we know of from Half-Life split upon their homeworld’s destruction. A majority fell into the grasp of the Combine, and some ran to Xen as a last-ditch effort for life. The Nihilanth was one of those captured, mutilated, and exploited. The rest of his kind were killed in the great escape. However, it is the Nihilanth’s escape to Xen that permitted the continuation of the Vortigaunt race as they followed it into the borderworld. Nobody knows how the conflict began, where the Combine came from, nor who perpetrated the invasion. It was all lost to time.

One thing was clear, however. In a moment of desperation for the Vortigaunts, they once more found themselves collared and shackled. Dreams of freedom, shattered.

A couple of generations had passed, and the Nihilanth’s reign only grew. Impossible machinations rose from the ground, encompassing his territory and corrupting those within its grasp - including itself. All preparation for the worst-case scenario of the Combine’s return. Their enslavement had never changed one bit. This period of time was extensively recorded through stories and writings, personal or otherwise. Then, there was the arrival of humanity.

It was without choice that they were used to push through the opening torn open by humanity; controlled through the one thing they hold dear, the Vortessence. However, in no time, they were released. A ripple throughout the Vortessence, the demise of the Nihilanth.

But without much time to breathe, the terror of dark space had followed them. The Combine tore through the openings left by humanity and the Nihilanth. Then, seven hours passed, and they found themselves once more with a collar around their neck. Now, the Vortigaunt works to shed their trappings with humanity as an unwilling companion or fight until their extinction.

Information and History to know​

The Vortigaunt race is not widely trusted amongst humanity. For most, their only memory of Vortigaunts is of them killing their neighbor, friend, or family member through their otherworldly abilities. Now, whether they were consciously doing so is openly debated amongst citizens. But what has been a constant is that the Combine has weaponized this distrust throughout its propaganda.

The only well-known meaningful Vortigaunt-human alliance is in City 17, between Eli Vance and the Vortigaunts. This alliance is a goal most Vortigaunts strive for in their own communities throughout the various cities, but whether the human resistances in those cities are receptive is another question entirely.

Vortigaunts, just like humanity, are the last members of their species. Not one is from their homeworld, and not one is from Earth. Every single Vortigaunt is a refugee from Xen.

Vortigaunt Collars​

Collars are a piece of Combine equipment fastened around the base of the neck of Vortigaunts. The collar serves a few purposes. One, a harness can be fastened to the ring attached to it to forcefully move Vortigaunts, especially en masse.

Two, it serves as both an identifier and a tracker. An RFID-like chip resides within, providing Combine personnel the ability to pull up a Vortigaunt’s data without uttering a word to it. When it comes to tracking, an individual has to activate the tracking chip on a specific Vortigaunt remotely.

Finally, it works as a preventative. It radiates a signal that disrupts a Vortigaunt’s ability to manipulate the Vortal energies around it and completely cuts them off from channeling any energy.

Vortigaunt Shackles​

The shackles on a Vortigaunt refer to the metal weights on their pelvis and hands, as well as the metal hooks in their legs. These aim to subdue the agile and strong nature of Vortigaunts, making them exceptionally slow. Push too hard, and like anyone else, it can be quite painful and stressful on the joints.

This does not keep them from running, jumping, or fighting with a cop, but it does make doing so very cumbersome.

The hooks provide no biological inhibition. They are only there to be used in conjunction with the collar when locking up a Vortigaunt.

The Vortessence​

The Vortessence is a mysterious force of nature outside space and time. Not much is known about it, but all creatures are connected to it one way or another. However, to the Vortigaunts, it is one of collective memory and an energy to be harnessed. Throughout their extensive history, the Vortigaunt is uniquely attuned to the vortessence, which has been used for better or for worse. Creatures such as the Alien Controller and even the Nihilanth had only scraped the surface as to what is possible, whilst the Vortigaunt had broken through that surface long ago.

Memories of the Vortessence persist for many years, but they often fade into obscurity. These memories can be attributed to memories in any other creature. You must actively retrieve them for a memory to remain intact, but even then, how long a memory sits in the vortessence can corrupt even the most sought-after memories. These memories are often shared between members of the Vortikind if a Vortigaunt desires to search for them. If they are not readily retrieved, then they act as echoes within a Vortigaunt’s mind at all times. The constant flow of memories throughout Vortikind is what also influences the speech of the Vortigaunts as they no longer view themselves as individuals, but as a collective, despite being capable of individual thought and reason. However, this can change on a vortigaunt-by-vortigaunt basis, though generally most vortigaunts do hold this belief.

The energy of the Vortessence is equally mysterious as the Vortessence itself. What is known is that, while many of the aliens from Half-Life had exploited it, only the Vortigaunt has exploited it to its fullest. Through the raw, primitive blast of green electricity, to powering certain devices to temporarily stabilizing life-threatening injuries. However, beyond this, it is beyond a Vortigaunt’s corporeal form to channel anything more powerful without killing itself. The Combine, however, has been known to bastardize the Vortessence for its own gain. Through raw, unfiltered usage, they use it to power their own machines and even used it once to capture the GMan. Vortal energy in large concentrations and condensed in one spot can begin to split reality and time itself, but so far, this has only been achievable by the Combine.

The One True Freeman. The human who took that faithful leap into Xen and freed them all. The relationship between him and the Vortigaunt is a unique one. In that brief moment between his transport between Earth and Xen, he became one with the vortessence. Even in that brief moment, his entire life was laid out for all of Vortikind, even if vaguely. They all know he was responsible for the Nihilianth’s demise, and they all know that he will bring the Combine’s reckoning. They know of the inexplicable relationship between Freeman, the GMan, and Alyx Vance, but nothing beyond that. However, their information beyond the end of the Combine is sparse at best.

Vortigese​

Vortigese, or officially known as "Flux Shifting", is a language that dates back to the first ancestors of the Vortigaunt species. It is both a written and spoken language. When spoken, there are two components to understanding. There is a verbal aspect to Vortigese, which is actually spoken and heard by a Vortigaunt or other onlookers. This is a language in itself, but each word can have upwards of three to five meanings at once. However, it is through the vortessence that specific meaning can be discerned through context. The Vortessence provides additional context to the meaning of a sentence. The passage of context between Vortigaunts allows individuals to communicate with each other across impossible distances, far greater than what humans can muster. Those who are not uniquely attuned to the Vortessence as a Vortigaunt, while capable of learning the spoken language, cannot adequately understand what is spoken and may as well be largely indecipherable.

However, an important thing to note, names and titles do not follow this rule of context being passed through the vortessence. Anyone can understand what a Vortigaunt means if they refer to an individual thing by a name or title, such as the Shu'ulathoi, universally identifying Combine Advisors.

Vortigese may be spoken whilst drawing energy from the Vortessence for whatever purpose. There is no additional benefit in doing so, but it is commonly done as a focusing technique to ensure that the energy takes the form that the Vortigaunt wants in that moment.

There is a written component of the Vortigaunt language, but this portion of the Vortigaunt language is largely pictographic, like the hieroglyphs of the Ancient Egyptians. This portion of Vortigese can be adequately understood by humans, given time and proper guidance.

Physical Capabilities​

The Vortigaunt species, having isolated themselves from the rest of their Homeworld, developed their physical abilities alongside their understanding of the Vortessence. Instead of developing into endurance hunters like humans, they retained their pack hunting instincts. Their bodies are adapted for strength and speed, having the capacity to wrestle Antlions to the floor. However, given that they are not persistent hunters, their overall endurance is significantly less than that of a human. They operate in short but quick bursts. Retaining their ambush tactics in hunting, Vortigaunts are also excellent climbers, being able to scale walls and other tall objects within seconds, if not minutes.

Age​

Vortigaunts age significantly slower than most creatures due to their unique evolution on their world. All manner of creatures hailing from their homeworld have very long lifespans because of their extremely stable DNA.

A majority of Vortigaunts live for only a couple of hundred years; however, some have lived upwards of two-thousand years. To live even a thousand years requires some secrets of the Vortessence to be unlocked, secrets perhaps lost to time.

Spoiler: Age Ranges

Youngling: (0 - 100)
Matured Youngling: (101 - 350)
Adult: (351 - 500)
Elder: (501 - 2500)

Vortessence-based Abilities​

Through drawing energy from the Vortessence, a Vortigaunt can transform this energy into nearly whatever it may need in that moment. But its corporeal form is its main limit on what it can conjure. This energy is primarily electrical, thus limiting how it can interact with the world. What is listed below are the most common usages of the Vortessence, but the only limit is your imagination. Just be sure to contact the leads before doing anything different from this list!

Using energy from the Vortessence is like flexing a muscle. A Vortigaunt must train themselves to become powerful, like a power lifter training to lift heavy weights.

Vortibolt​

Perhaps the most primitive, but useful practice amongst the Vortigaunt culture. A Vortibolt is simply a concentrated expulsion of the green energy within the Vortessence. These vortibolts are extremely dangerous, especially since it is essentially electricity on steroids. A single bolt can instantly kill most creatures, but given its similar properties to electricity, insulating materials can usually save the life of whoever or whatever is struck by the bolt.

However, Vortibolts are not purely a way to kill things. Vortibolts may also be used to remove blockages that would otherwise be impossible or cumbersome to remove manually. Their destructive power has been seen to destroy concrete rubble and up to metal doors

Energy Transfer​

The energy of the Vortessence is unique in that it can power or energize technology by itself, without needing to be funneled through wires. It is similar to how a Vortibolt is conjured, but instead of being concentrated into a singular deadly bolt, it is instead transferred into an object. Some examples of its usage can be seen throughout Half-Life 2 and Episode 2, where it both energized Freeman’s suit and powered various generators.

Theoretically, this can also be used on humanoid targets like Civil Protection, Combine soldiers, or unruly humans. Either you can kill them instantly, or funnel just enough energy to temporarily incapacitate them. But you will need your hands on them just as you would when powering a generator.

Stabilization​

Stabilizing someone or something is not the same as healing them. A Vortigaunt may manipulate the energy of the Vortessence to keep a creature’s heart beating and even abate bleeding. But, given time, they may eventually pass on without adequate care. They may only prolong life for a short time if their injuries are severe enough.

Shockwave​

By concentrating all of the energy and strength they can muster in that moment, a Vortigaunt possesses the ability to create a shockwave of Vortessence-energy. This is perhaps the most damaging ability in their arsenal, as it is a gigantic shockwave, capable of rupturing the organs of nearby creatures or heavily damaging nearby structures and devices. It comes at no physical expense to the Vortigaunt itself.

At the expense of intense concentration and requiring one to stand still to use such an ability, nearly everything and anything close to the Vortigaunt will die. Anything just outside the immediate death zone will be sent flying backward.

A Vortigaunt can also conduct the same process in a shockwave, but on a smaller scale, which gives them a much more concentrated version of a shockwave that amplifies their physical strikes. These stronger strikes give a Vortigaunt the ability to break bones or decimate antlions in a singular strike.

Vortikinesis​

Vortikinesis requires significantly more skill and practice than any other form of vortal energy usage. Instead of using the Vortigaunt’s body as a sort of conduit, the Vortigaunt has to influence the vortal energies already idly present around a person or object. It is akin to commanding a body of water to push something around within it.

Vort Welding​

Vortigaunt Welding and regular welding are practically one and the same, using electrical arcs to bind materials together. The only difference is that through the Vortessence, the energy involved does not melt objects together but rather fuses them on an atomic level.

Rituals​

A singular Vortigaunt cannot conjure energy on a significant scale to meaningfully impact large swaths of area, or to perform “other-worldly” acts. Even a few may struggle to do so. But the combined efforts of many Vortigaunts can perform abilities that are otherwise considered unnatural.

The extract allows the ritual site to become a site of immense mystical power, allowing them to bend the Vortessence to their will. The written rituals should act as a baseline as to what a ritual is capable of doing, basically character presets. However, you or your group can create your own ritual with its own effects, though typically these need to be run by leads for approval first before being conducted.

Teleportation​

After first imbibing the extract, the Vortigaunts in ritual can effectively create a metaphorical tunnel through the Vortessence. This tunnel allows them, as well as whomever they are physically holding, to “teleport” from point A to point B. They can attempt to then return to their original spot, but doing so is immensely difficult, and more times than not, they will be spat out of the “tunnel” into random spots in the vicinity around the spot they teleported to.

Intertribal Contact​

While typically the Vortessence is primarily used as a bed of information rather than a communication network, the use of the extract can allow a tribe to echo a message across the Vortessence toward a particular point in space. Those with complete vortal connections, such as Vortigaunts, will hear the message as an echo within their minds.

This does not allow for two-way messaging, and it is only one message that can be transmitted.

Life Restoration​

Life restoration does not mean reviving a corpse, even immediately after death or long after. When a group of Vortigaunts “restore life”, they only avert certain death by restoring a body to its “normal” state. After imbibing the extract, a group of Vortigaunts must weave together the vortal chords of the dying and a human close by. This ritual does not reverse the injuries sustained by the individual but instead creates new tissue from seemingly thin air. However, it does not go any further past creating new tissue and retrieving a person’s chord from the brink. Remember, the extract is a one-time use and not a fix-all solution. Issues such as inflammation or potential infection must be treated afterward through conventional methods, or maybe another extract.

Mass Vortikinesis​

A singular Vortigaunt may be able to command a patch of Vortessence energy, able to influence it into pushing, pulling, or moving something away. But many Vortigaunts can command a whole body of Vortessence energy, allowing them in ritual to manipulate many larger objects, or one very large object. But even Vortessence energy has its limits, and some objects that look unmovable likely are completely immovable even against Vortessence energy.

EMP​

While partially a carryover from V2, singular Vortigaunts are not capable of creating an EMP. But, given enough Vortigaunts in a ritual, an EMP can be dispersed from a fixed point. The mechanisms behind this are simple. It is similar to mass vortikinesis in practice, but instead of influencing objects, they can condense a bunch of Vortessence energy into a small, but volatile point. This ball of energy contains enough energy that when dispersed, it can disrupt the electrical signals in unprotected systems, human or Combine.

Radiostatic​

Radio static is also relatively similar to the practices seen in vortikinesis and EMP. But instead of condensing vortal energy or using it to push things around, a group of Vortigaunts may draw together energy to saturate a particular area with more energy than nearby areas. This saturation of energy is capable of disrupting radio signals within its coverage, either human or Combine.