Vadrigar

   

Vadrigar as seen in Quake 3 Revolution.

“	Untold centuries ago, the Vadrigar, the mysterious Arena Masters, constructed the Arena Eternal for their own infernal amusement. Virtually nothing is known of these beings except that they savor the carnage and clamour of battle. As such, they have stocked the arena with the greatest warriors of all time. And you have just joined their ranks. As a gladiator in the Arena Eternal, you must not only survive, but also win each and every battle against ever more powerful opponents. Don't worry overly much about getting "fragged." The Vadrigar won't be cheated of their favorite sport by a little thing like death. Those who fall are instantly restored to life and immediately thrust back into the battle, perhaps a little wiser for their misfortunes. When the dust, blood, and gibs settle, all warriors will have earned the right to battle again, providing further entertainment for the Vadrigar. But only the warrior who has fragged the most foes will be lauded as the winner. The victorious gladiator advances to a more challenging array of arenas, until, at last, he or she faces Xaero, Lord of the Final Arena.	”
—Quake 3 Arena manual

“	No one knows who they are or where they came from. All that is known is that a race of multidimensional creatures called the Vadrigar created the Arena Eternal for their own reasons. The arenas exist to bring together the greatest warriors in the history of the universe. The Vadrigar select only the best fighters and place them in the arenas to fight, to kill, and to die. The battles are endless. The Vadrigar have their reasons for these combats, and for tabulating the results. However, the reasons are not important. What is important is that now you are in the Arena Eternal. You fight, you die, and you rise to fight again. You must kill or be killed, and you will do both as you battle through the arenas.	”
—Quake 3 Arena's Official Prima Guide

The Vadrigar are a class of Elder Gods who rule over domains in the Dreamlands, these domains making up the Arena Eternal. Vadrigar are born from Dreamers, people who came into contact with Elder Gods or other Dreamers. These Dreamers fall into madness, becoming subject to nightmares and visions of the Dreamlands and the Elder Gods wherein. Those who are not consumed by the visions alter the Dreamlands, and either create or become new Vadrigar in turn.

During Quake Champions, Volkerh, Goroth, Ithagnal and Cthalha are ruling Vadrigar over the Dreamlands.

Only in the domains of Vadrigars can creatures respawn endlessly, creating the Arena Eternal. Even Vadrigars cannot die after defeat; they eventually respawn but are weakened, many forced to leave their domains in which they rule, ousted by another Vadrigar who takes over.

Known Vadrigars and domains

Vadrigar	Domain	Dreamer
Chthon	Dimension of the Doomed (before being defeated by Ranger) Dimension of the Machine (after being defeated by Ranger)	Unknown
Cthalha	The Elder World	Emma Johansen
Goroth	Dimension of the Doomed (after Ranger defeated Chthon)	Commander Montell Rice
Ithagnal	The Netherworld	Samantha “Sam” Dyer
Nekelmuset	The Corridors of Time	Unknown
Sar Sarru (wife of Nekelmuset)	The Corridors of Time	Unknown
Shub-Niggurath The Black Goat	Unknown	Dr. Wendell Gilman
The Lurching King	The Realm of Black Magic (before being ousted by Volkerh) The Rift (after being ousted by Volkerh)	Unknown
Unnamed Darkness1	Unknown	Unknown
Volkerh	The Realm of Black Magic (after ousting The Lurching King)	Pastor Paul Phillips

Other known Elder Gods

Not all Elder Gods of the Dreamlands are Vadrigar. Some other Elder Gods, who may or may not be Vadrigar, currently known are:

• Azathoth
• Nodens
• Cthugha
• Y'Rmemae

Other known domains and locations of note

• Sarrunetum, located within the Corridors of Time
• Fortress of the Dead
• Hell's Fortress
• Dominion of Darkness

^{1. Unnamed Darkness is mentioned in Quake Champions' game files but haven't been explored elsewhere.}

Gallery

Concept art of size comparison between Volkerh, Goroth, Ithagnal and Cthalha.

Trivia

• When called the name of iD Software developers in chat, bots will warn player to "not invoke the Arena Masters".
• The lore of the Vadrigar was drastically altered between Quake III Arena / Quake III Revolution and Quake Champions. In Quake 3, they are presented as an ancient and powerful race invested in the combat and actively pulling gladiators; In Quake Champions however, they are presented as Elder Gods who are mostly disinterested in the combat and have their own unrelated goals, while gladiators stumble into the Dreamlands on their own.
• In Quake III Revolution, player will be pitted against the one Vadrigar as the final boss to gain their freedom.
  • The Vadrigar fought in Quake III Revolution has lines implying they are the only Vadrigar and Arena Master, but is replaced by the player on defeat as the new Arena Master.
  • This Vadrigar is the same being as the announcer.
• All Vadrigars are elder gods but not all elders gods or outer gods are Vadrigars. For example Azathoth is not one of them, but in Quake universe Shub-Niggurath is one of them.

External links

• Datamined information from Quake Champions

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