(Not saying your a dummy)
So, I have gathered up more experince as a vortigaunt and its not very helpful to just be able to speak like one. It helps to act like one, know what they're made of, where they come from, ect. This guide is for newbie vorts/future vorts.
Vortigaunt Ananotmy
Xenotherium subservilia, or commonly known as Vortigaunt, is roughly humanoid with two legs and two arms, but has an additional arm protruding from its chest. This extra limb is a feature also found in other bipedal, sapient species from Xen, including the Alien Grunt and the Nihilanth. This similarity, along with other shared features such as red eyes and back-jointed legs, is strongly suggestive of a common ancestry with other intelligent Xen life forms. The third arm is used for feeding, as both of Vortigaunts and Alien Grunts are seen bending over slain victims, feeding on them. The average Vortigaunt has one large eye surronded by three smaller eyes, with maroon sclera and a heterochromic red-yellow iris with a yellow pupil. They also have a navel and four nipples, (hey, you clicked this) suggesting not only that Vortigaunts are placental (give live births), but also that they might be a species that is very similar to Earth mammals. It is currently unknown how they mate, however. Another interesting feature of the Vortigaunts is that they have no tongue or teeth on their lower jaw, yet they can speak English fluently, albeit with a strange accent and some sort of speech impediment when using S's and R's. Vortigaunts also bear claws, instead of hands. Each claw has two 'fingers' but they still seem to be able to grasp objects with them. Such as push brooms and Hunter-chopper turrets. Instead of feet, they have have hooves. Which would make a 'Click! Click!' againest concrete.
Intelligence And Culture
Vortigaunts are very intelligent and social creatures. Throughout the Half-Life series, they can be seen in pairs or groups, and are capable of developing intelligent strategies. When faced with a superior enemy, Vortigaunts will often run away, and if possible, group together with other Vortigaunts to form a stronger force. On occasion, vortigaunts hint at their culture before the events of Half-Life 2, ("We have endured these chafing bonds for eons, yet a single moment of further servitude seems intolerable!") being under the rule of the Nihlianth. Enforced servitude appears to have formed the bedrock of Vortigaunt history and culture up to the events of the first Half-Life. Vortigaunts have many traditions, including an apparent oral tradition of passing down poetry and songs from generation to generation.
Communication, Vortigese, and The "Vortessence"
Vortigese, or also known as "Flux Shifting," This method of communication likely involves frequencies which are not discernible to the human ear. According to the Vortigaunts, flux shifting cannot be understood by "those whose Vortal inputs are impaired", which may suggest that other inaudible components are involved, perhaps explaining why it is incomprehensible to humans. One of the most fantastic and enthralling examples of flux shifting is during the aftermath of the first Hunter attack in Half-Life 2: Episode Two, when the Vortigaunt that saves Alyx calls out over an immense distance to communicate with its kin, using two short but apparently highly descriptive calls.
By the beginning of Half-Life 2, Vortigaunts have learned to speak at least one human language, which, in the English language version of the game, is predictably English (in some international versions of Half-Life 2, Vortigaunts speak the appropriate language for the country of the game's release, i.e.: in the French language version of the game, the Vortigaunts speak French). However, the Vortigaunts' use of English is slightly strange, as they use archaic, even Shakespearean, words and grammatical structures which are largely obsolete amongst present-day English speakers. The Vortigaunts encountered in-game also tend to refer to characters by adding "the" before their name, such as "the Freeman" or "the Alyx Vance". This practice of adding definite articles before names is commonplace in some real-world languages, such as German ("Wo ist die Katja?", "Ich bin der Karl!", etc.). Thus, the argument stands that the Vortigaunts may have picked up this habit from learning a language like German and then simply kept the habit when they learned English. Additionally, City 17 and the other areas explored in Half-Life 2 and its episodes are widely speculated to be somewhere in eastern Europe, and German may have been spoken in or near it before the Seven Hour War and the subsequent Combine takeover. If true, this means that the Vortigaunts present in City 17 may have originally learned German, and then transferred the German naming system to their brand of English, making it a feature of their regional accent, and therefore might not be a universal feature of Vortigaunt English.
Vortigaunts believe in a binding life-force which they call the "Vortessence". Due to their use of this force, which remains untapped by humans ("We are a tapestry woven of Vortessence. It is the same for you if only you would see it.", as said by the All-Knowing Vortigaunt), the Vortigaunt species can communicate with one another telepathically. It is unknown whether or not a Vortigaunt can communicate with a human telepathicly, as it is not Flux Shifting (I would guess) but, this remains a mystery. They believe Vortessence is the fabric of the universe, made of "vortal cords", of which everything is woven (and therefore everything is connected). The Vortigaunts are able to read and control this force for their electrical powers, nearly hive-mind telepathy and, likely, their ability to take power from objects. They can use their powers coupled with "the extract" of Antlion larvae to bring the nearly dead back to life (however, it is shown in Episode Two that they cannot do this alone). However, it seems from past experinces that younger vortigaunts can only use the Vortessence for so long before collasping from exhaustion. This includes both the healing part of it and the lethal part of the Vortessence. It is also suggested that death is not permanent for a Vortigaunt, and that they might have the ability to "reincarnate" into a new body after death ("What seems to you a sacrifice is merely, to us, an oscillation. We do not fear the interval of darkness." as said by the All-Knowing Vortigaunt.)
Behavior and Skills
Half-Life and its Expansions
In Half-Life, Vortigaunts are common enemies in both Black Mesa and Xen. While they usually attack aggressively, they often become timid when injured, preferring to run away rather than risk further combat and possible death. There is one area in Xen that houses a small number of peaceful Vortigaunts. However, if one is attacked they will become aggressive. Vortigaunts have two modes of attack: an energy attack in which they fire powerful green lightning-like energy beams that require a vulnerable period of "charging-up" before being unleashed, and when close to opponents, a claw attack. Significantly, in Half-Life all of the Vortigaunts wear green collars and wrist bands. Later events reveal these to be a means by which they are controlled by a remote master, the Nihilanth. Vortigaunts often act as support for Alien Grunts, making the Vortigaunts more likely to be able to use their attack, as the player is usually concentrating on killing the tougher Grunts. Throughout the game, the Vortigaunts can be heard taunting the player with what sounds like the word "die", and shouting a word that could be perceived as "Gordon" when the player approaches.
Half-life 2 and its Episodes.
In Half-Life 2, their electrical attack is far more devastating, as it tends to kill whatever it hits immediately and knocks the target back a considerable distance. Only objects with significant mass can resist being knocked back, such as the Strider (which appears to be fully immune to the beam) and Antlion Guards. These attacks occur twice during the single player game: when Gordon's view is restricted by rubble and when the Vortigaunt extracts Bugbait from the Antlion Guard. It is also suggested that Vortigaunts can siphon an opponent's life-force with their energy beam attack, as they are heard saying phrases like "Give over your essence!" or "Empower us!" during some of their attacks in Half-Life 2. In the Half-Life expansion Decay, the player plays as a Vortigaunt in a bonus mission, and the beam attack does indeed 'steal' life-force from enemies.
The beam attack is revealed fully in Episode Two, where a group of Vortigaunts use it to defend an underground outpost from a massive Antlion attack. It is shown to be powerful enough to kill Antlions and Zombies, and causes a shock wave strong enough to knock over other nearby foes. Freeman's Vortigaunt companion uses this ability to aid him in his attempt to raid an Antlion nest. However, we don't Rp the attacks being very powerful, as there is almost never a need to unless OTA comes rolling around. Even then, our Vortigaunt attacks aren't that powerful for the sake of Role Playing. However, this does not mean when you use the electrical attack from the vortessence that you cannot take the life force of your enemys when you strike them. Because you can (I believe).
Quotes
Incase your having trouble with Vortigaunt speech in game. You can come here to refernce ways a vortigaunt speaks, but you could also just go to the Wiki.
In English.
"All in one and one in all."
? "All we have is yours."
? "Calm yourself!"
? "Comes a man? It is! The Freeman!"
? "Communion of the Vortessence. And that other: a deeper mystery. No deeper than the void itself."
? "Could you but see the eyes inside your own, the minds in your mind, you would see how much we share."
? "Far distant eyes look out through yours."
? "For a brief time you joined with us. You are one. Between the worlds."
? "How many are there in you? Whose hopes and dreams do you encompass?"
? "How often have we slipped our yoke, only to find it choking us again."
? "If you are truly the Freeman, we salute you."
? "Is this the Freeman we see before our eyes?"
? "Let this war end in either total victory or our extinction. No further compromise shall we allow."
? "No pit is complete without a Freeman coming out of it."
? "Node and nexus, feed upon this life!"
? "Our cause seems hopeless."
? "Our life is worthless unless spent on freedom."
? "Our purpose is mutual."
? "Perhaps we will serve you better here."
? "Something secret steers us both. We shall not name it."
? "That sharp spur of hope has not dulled to this day. For once the lesser master lay defeated, we knew the greater must also fall in time."
? "The Combine will pay in kind for their depravity."
? "The way ahead is dark for the moment."
? "There is more to the Freeman than meets the eye."
? "There is no distance between us. No false veil of time or space may intervene."
? "This is more than anyone can bear, but we will persevere."
? "Undeserving of consciousness."
? "Unity of purpose, the shattering of common shackles, a single road we tread."
? "We are a tapestry woven of Vortessence. It is the same for you if only you would see it."
? "We are still here."
? "We are there still, in observance of your final stroke."
? "We are you, Freeman. And you are us."
? "We bear witness to the bright eternity of the Nihilanth's demise. You leap, you fall, we see you flash beyond the barriers."
? "We call you sib, although your mind and meaning are a mystery to us."
? "We cannot forget those whose cords you cut. Forgiveness is not ours to bestow."
? "We cannot read the Freeman's optical buds."
? "We dedicate ourselves to your purpose."
? "We deem this company inviolable."
? "We fear we have failed you."
? "We have dreamed of this moment."
? "We have endured these chafing bonds for eons, yet a single moment of further servitude seems intolerable!"
? "We have lost all dear to us."
? "We have survived darker times."
? "We have survived worse across the ages."
? "We know you."
? "We never dreamed to meet you in corporeal form."
? "We remember the Freeman. We are coterminous."
? "We see you still in Black Mesa. Clearly we see you in the Nihilanth's chamber."
? "We serve the same mystery."
? "We take our stand beside you, here, upon this miserable rock."
? "We will put aside Black Mesa... for now."
? "What seems to you a sacrifice is merely, to us, an oscillation. We do not fear the interval of darkness."
? "While our own lay scattered at your feet, you severed the vortal cord that bound the Nihilanth to life, and to us."
? "With you beside us, a talisman of victory, the day of freedom draws nigh."
? "You have brought us grief and jubilation beyond measure."
? "You humans, always in the qualidity."
? "You must remember us from Black Mesa."
? "Your bright face obscures your darker mask."
? "Your companionship is greatly belabored."
? "Your mind is opaque."
? "Your song we sing and shall sing for eternity. No matter the consequences of this struggle."
In Vortigese
? "Our finest poet describes it thus: Gallum galla gilla ma."
? "We are mindful of the words of our greatest philosopher: companum gannennen vorgenot!"
? "Ah ghurrrr..."
? "Chur lung gong chella gurr...
? "Churr galing chur alla gung..."
? "Ga la lung..."
? "Galanga..."
? "Gong..."
? "Lung gah..."
? "Riiit..."
? "Taaar..."
Sources:
Half-life overwiki
My own experinces
I hope this helps and if I have made any mistakes feel free to post.
Thanks for reading!
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