The HL2RP Vortigaunt Guide

This guide will cover all you need to know about vortigaunts to RP as one. Hopefully, this guide will get more people interested in vortigaunt roleplay and maybe introduce people to HL2RP. Enjoy!

Vortigaunt Lore

Vortigaunts are an alien species seen in the Half-Life series. They lived in their homeworld until the Combine invaded it much like Earth was invaded by the combine. The surviving vortigaunts fled to Xen, which is a borderworld between dimensions. In Xen, the vortigaunts were enslaved by the Nihilanth.
When the humans at Black Mesa discovered they could create portals to Xen to cross dimensions they began to research it. However, an accident called the Resonance Cascade occured. This caused the portal between Xen and Earth to open, allowing anything on Xen to come through. The Nihilanth commanded the vortigaunts to attack Earth.
The green shackles seen on the vortigaunts in Half Life were used to control them. But, when Gordon Freeman killed the Nihilanth it fred the vortigaunts and let them roam free on Earth. The portal storms still happened and allowed the Combine to come through Xen to invade Earth. The Combine took over and the vortigaunts agreed to team up with the humans to start a rebellion against the Combine.

The Vortessence

The vortessence is a binding force that connect all vortigaunts and is the fabric of the universe made of vortal cords. The vortigaunts call upon the vortessence in their time of need for things such as using the vorti-blast, using shields, flux shifting (vortigese) and emitting electricity to power electronic machines as seen in Half Life 2 when a vortigaunt was powering a TV and in Half Life Episode 2 when a vortigaunt jump started a generator in the caverns.Flux shifting is when the vortigaunts speak in their native language. The language cannot be understood by others because it is too complex and it uses the vortessence as well as if they were speaking in pitches the human ear cannot hear, except it isn’t.
“I'm assuming everyone remembers the orange anomalous crystal that caused the resonance cascade in Half-Life. I'm also assuming you all remember how it was implied that the Nihilanth brain had a giant anomalous crystal stuck in there, leading some to hypothesize that the crystal was what gave him his power. I postulate that this very same sort of crystal is in fact integrated into the brain of all Vortigaunts.” According to fishdbaz at ValveTime. [www.valvetime.net]

The Vortigaunt Hierarchy

Enslaved Vortigaunt: These vortigaunts were enslaved by the combine and do labor work like cleaning the streets of garbage. They drag their feet around and have a hunched posture for the most part. At the end of Half Life 2 Ep 2 any surviving enslaved vortigaunts had the chance of escape from the city. They have their shackles on them and have a low chance of survival in the outlands with them on unless they found a safe route or were led and protected by someone until they got their shackles taken off.

Youngling: Younglings are young vortigaunts or vortigaunts that just escaped the combine. If a vortigaunt has a very weak connection to the vortessence they are considered a youngling. Younglings are taught the vortessence by an Elder

Novice: Novice vortigaunts are vortigaunts that were taught the basics of the vortessence. They can create a small green light in their hands to illuminate dark areas, they can heal small cuts and minor infections and repair scars.

Apprentice: Apprentice vortigaunts are vortigaunts that are currently being taught major skills to have a greater connection to the vortessence. They can heal minor bullet wounds, power electronic devices for a few minutes and they have better healing skills.

Adept: These vortigaunts have the skills and connection to shoot vorti blasts, use shields that stop bullets going slower than the sound barrier, power electric items for a day, stop diseases, major infections, second degree burns and make other humans regain consciousness.

Elder: Elders are vortigaunts that have mastered all aspects of the vortessence and are now teaching other vortigaunts to call upon the vortessence. They are teachers to all vortigaunts that need it. In Half Life 2, you see purple vortigaunts with blue eyes. Elder vortigaunts are able to reach this state with deep meditation.

Behaviour

Vortigaunts have unique tendencies, as they are their own species. One of them is to avoid conflicts. Vortigaunts live for thousands of years so they have more wisdom and are more in touch with the consequences unlike humans who are romantics. When vortigaunts communicate with each other they talk in flux shifts unless the vortigaunt does not know flux shift yet or another human is around. When meeting another vortigaunt they do a deep bow unless they already know each other. In that case, they bow slightly, kind of like how humans shake hands. Vortigaunts also talk in a different way. Vortigaunts talk in third person, they call other humans by their last name with "the" before it like “Ah, the Freeman.” The reason they address people the way they do is because everything to them is just another thing, another gear in the universe just like they are. They address themselves as "we" because they believe they are one conciousness. Their lifespan being so long, they have lots of time to get in touch with their spirituality and their own conciousness. When people say vortigaunts are a hivemind, it'd be more accurate to say they have diminished ego's, they believe they are a part of everything and vice versa, that they are all one conciousness, poured into and seperated by different containers (their bodies.) They reach this realisation through deep meditation techniques or through antlion larval extract. Although their history of enslavement has torn them apart from each other as a species physically and spiritually, vortigaunts still maintain some great awareness of their own consciousness and can join the "hive-mind" again, given enough time.

[locorex132]

How do people know they live long? is it seen in game?

[SubwayJared]

God no, don't introduce people to HL2RP, let it die.

[꧁☠︎ENDofITSNOTREAL☠꧂]

Nice guide . i wish someday see someone role playing correctly as vortigan.

[Lenni]

@xxibmxx That wasn't a stone, it was the larval extract. Also, this is for HL2RP which has some lore made up for it. And the eyes of the Vorts in EP2 were still red, implying the blue eye is special somehow.

[xxibmxx]

stop with the weeds XD (jk, it is realy great, it is just that i played HL 2 epi 2 (and the other as well) and this is not the reason they became blue and purpil, they took this stone and did this thing with it and this how they became what you call "elder")

[Dr.Balls Strikes again]

Cool, Thanks!

[Moxy]

@Farifafa Thank you! Ill do so

[Farifafa]

Rebels of Oppression, just give credits by linking this page

[Moxy]

Can I use this guide for another RP guide im making?

[Insane Individual]

This is a great guide! If you don't mind I linked this guide on my vort RP group just cuz itsunami so great 😊