Vore

Overview

The Vore is an extra-dimensional abomination first introduced in Quake that makes additional appearances in its later expansions, Scourge of Armagon and Dissolution of Eternity. Its grotesque physiology features a humanoid torso mounted on three spindly, spider-like legs, two arms capped with claws instead of hands, and a horrific eyeless visage characterized by a massive set of exposed teeth framed by an insectoid pair of pincers. Like several other Quake monsters, including the mighty Shambler, its mouth and upper body are stained with blood, suggesting that it consumes its victims upon defeating them. It is also one of many creatures in Quake whose most prominent facial feature is its mouth, which is unusually large. In Qtest, Quake's pre-shareware multiplayer tech demo, a prototype version of the Vore named the Shalrath can be found within the game's files. Other than its head, however, which is quite similar to the final version, the Shalrath bears little resemblance to the Vore, appearing more like a robed human than a true monster.

The Vore is among the most powerful minions in Quake's army, and in fact its health is surpassed only by the Shambler's. It hurls a unique purple firepod which can track players with extreme precision. Once the attack is initiated, a player's only real means to avoid taking damage from the firepod is to obstruct the projectile's path to the player, either by finding cover or guiding it toward another enemy. The latter of these options is a particularly handy way to spark monster infights that distract the Vore long enough for it to be killed. Due to the homing nature of its attack, it is always a good idea to keep one's distance from a Vore, which serves to highlight the monster's primary weakness: it's ponderously slow speed. In situations where the Vore is encountered with other monsters, it is often possible to simply flee and take out faster opponents before the Vore can catch up. Nevertheless, the Vore is almost always the most dangerous foe in a group due to the special properties of its attack, and should not be taken lightly.

Trivia

• Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the Wraiths and Overlords of Dissolution of Eternity bear similarities to both the Vore and its earlier incarnation, the Shalrath. The appearance of both is reminiscent of the robed Shalrath, while their projectiles are essentially repurposed Vore firepods. Perhaps because of these commonalities, it is fairly rare to encounter a Vore in this expansion.
• While the original Shalrath model was abandoned in the finished version of Quake, and thus never officially appeared within the game, it was utilized after release in a number of fan modifications. The single-player add-on Zerstörer, for example, features a robed enemy called the Nemesant, a creature which is clearly derived from Quake's unused Shalrath assets.