Pfhor

Pfhor
Admiral Tfear, a member of the Pfhor.
Physical information
Avg. height:	~2 meters
Distinctions:	Hairless light-skinned bipeds, with three red eyes arranged in a triangular pattern.
Sociocultural information
Homeworld:	Pfhor Prime

The Pfhor were an alien species that ruled over a vast interstellar empire, comprised of many subservient client races. Hailing from a world of unknown location or make, the Pfhor terrorized the galaxy, subjugating many species such as the Wasps, Drinniol and S'pht.

They attacked the UESC Marathon on July 25, 2794, when the rampant AI Durandal compromised the location of the human colony of Tau Ceti IV. This initial raid would be successfully repelled, though the colony would not escape the Pfhor Empire's swift retaliation. Nevertheless, this contact with Durandal and humanity at large would begin a series of events that would inevitably crush their Empire.

History

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Culture

Little is revealed about Pfhor culture. They appear to have a rather complex bureaucracy, and according to Durandal their religion is "pathetically boring." The only information that has been gathered about their religion is the presence of Sfiera, a goddess of lightning and passion. The Pfhor have an empire, and specialize in slavery.

Castes

Most of the Pfhor encountered (with the exception of the Enforcer) are of the Aggregate Rank. However, Pfhor of higher castes are mentioned or speak to the player in the terminals. For example, Commander Tfear, who has supreme command of Pfhor Battle Group Seven, is of the Command caste. The Pfhor are divided into at least six "Ranks":

Conditioned

The Conditioned rank is primarily reserved for slave races such as the S'pht, Drinniol and Human Cyborgs.

Aggregate

The most commonly encountered caste in game, consisting of fighters, troppers, and hunters.

Willful

Higher ranking Pfhor who seem to oversee the other Pfhor do their duty, this caste is only encountered in the form of the Enforcer.

Gameplay

The separate types of soldier equipped within the Pfhor garrison are divided up into a caste system, each with its own armor and weapons:

Fighters

Fighters are the first and most common enemies the player will encounter. All fighters wield a shock staff but the types of attacks they can perform are dependent upon their "color".

• Green and purple fighters can only use the staff as a melee weapon. Purple fighters have more health than green ones.
• Orange and blue ones are capable of melee as well as a ranged attack that fires energy bolts. These fighters have additional health. Blue fighters are faster and more aggressive.
• Black fighters are the strongest of all, being faster and more aggressive than the blue fighters, and stronger than the purple. They use both melee and ranged attacks, and are exclusive to Marathon Infinity.

Troopers

Troopers are Pfhor soldiers that wear vacuum-enabled suits and carry a weapon similar to the player's assault rifle, which, unlike the player's weapon, never runs out of ammunition. Troopers come in three versions: Green (minor), Purple (major) and Blue-Gray (Super). *Troopers in green suits are the least aggressive, firing at you with their assault rifles in bursts, and occasionally launching a single grenade.

• Troopers in purple suits are more aggressive than their cousins in green. Firing more often and using their grenades in two round bursts.
• Super Troopers wearing grey armour are the strongest of all, and are exclusive to certain levels of Marathon Infinity.

Hunters

Hunters are heavily armored Pfhor who are able to withstand most projectiles, but possess a vulnerability to energy weapons such as the fusion pistol. They're equipped with a shoulder-mounted plasma cannon and howl when disturbed in Marathon, but do not do so in the sequels. The suits of Hunters can be compromised, which makes them explode. This is most commonly done with grenades or with bolts from the Fusion Pistol in Marathon 2: Durandal and Infinity. Similar to Troopers, Hunter appear as two versions, Brown (minor) Hunters and Green (major) Hunters.

• Brown Hunters fire their shoulder cannons in three round bursts.
• Green Hunters fire their shoulder cannons in five round bursts.

In Marathon 2 and Marathon Infinity there is a third version of the Hunter that is blue (or gray in certain levels of Marathon Infinity) known as the MOAH, or Mother of All Hunters. The MOAH fires more projectiles, has significantly more health, and is physically larger.

Enforcers

Enforcers are tall and thin aliens that fire a unique weapon that the player can pick by any other means other than incineration. In Marathon, this weapon acts like a more accurate version of the assault rifle, but in the sequels is more like a long-range flamethrower that can also fire symmetrically. When such a weapon is picked up, an error message is shown in the weapons panel, ammunition is random and there is no method of reloading. Also, when an Enforcer is killed with this weapon and the Flamethrower, the Enforcer's own weapon is destroyed in the process. The Pfhor Enforcers in Marathon look quite different than the Enforcers in Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity. The Enforcers in Marathon have two eyes and an elongated head. In Marathon 2, they have seven eyes and a differently shaped head. In all of the games they are very skinny, with somewhat bulky armor over the chest and a robe covering their legs. In Marathon 2 and Marathon Infinity, they also wear a cloak. Enforcers will only fire upon aliens unless disturbed by the player. Blue Enforcers are weaker than green ones. Alternately-colored Enforcers (yellow and silver) also appear in Marathon Infinity.

Juggernauts

Juggernauts are essentially large flying tanks that attack the player with guided rockets and alien projectiles. Their proper name being "Utfoo Heavy Assault Craft", Juggernauts are also known as "The Big Floaty Thing What [sic] Kicks Our Asses" by the Nebulons, a race of aliens mentioned in the game. Though a Juggernaut's rockets are not as powerful as human ones, they are the strongest enemy in the series. When a Juggernaut is killed it slowly descends to the ground, accompanied by the sound of a loud alarm. Upon reaching the ground it explodes in a bright white flash which is audible and visible from every part of a level. This explosion does massive damage to anything within its range. In Marathon, Juggernauts are gray, rounded and organic looking, but in Marathon 2 and Marathon Infinity, their have a more mechanical appearance. In Marathon 2 and Marathon Infinity Juggernauts can also appear as an bronze version that has more health and attacks more aggressively.

Notable Pfhor

• Admiral Tfear

Pfhor ships

• Sfiera - Corvette that originally attacked the UESC Marathon but was later taken over by Durandal and renamed Boomer.
• Khfiva - Battleship.
• Hfarl - Refueling ship commandeered by Robert Blake to escape to Earth.
• Sepfh'r -
• 65-f cr'etz'ih - R'chzne, later Tycho's scoutship.