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A Quake 1 Bestiary.

bestiary ( P ) Pronunciation Key (bsch-r, bs-)
n. pl. bes·ti·ar·ies
A medieval collection of stories providing physical and allegorical descriptions of real or imaginary animals along with an interpretation of the moral significance each animal was thought to embody. A number of common misconceptions relating to natural history were preserved in these popular accounts. A modern version of such a collection.
\Bes"ti*a*ry\, n. [LL. bestiarium, fr. L. bestiarius pert. to beasts, fr. bestia beast: cf. F. bestiaire.]
A treatise on beasts; esp., one of the moralizing or allegorical beast tales written in the Middle Ages.
A bestiary . . . in itself one of the numerous medi[ae]val renderings of the fantastic mystical zo["o]logy. --Saintsbury.
n : a medieval book (usually illustrated) with allegorical and amusing descriptions of real and fabled animals.
[Medieval Latin bstirium, from Latin bstia, beast.]

Myths & Legends - Some Background.

Quake 1, the computer game, written by Id software, springs from the same sources as all the classic myths, legends, fantastical worlds and even religions of all human civilizations, albeit on a smaller scale and scope.
It has long been recognized that these myths and legends are, in fact, externalizations of fears, emotions and understandings that would otherwise lie buried *within our consciousness/sub-consciousness*. By exploring these feelings and fear through fiction and myth we can explore/understand them and come to face them, this is what classical horror literature like Edgar-Allen Poe, HP Lovecraft and Stephen King does. It is also what every mythology ever invented, from the ancient greek stories of Homer to Tolkien's "lord of the rings" and "silmarillion" does. Quake 1 provides an interactive playground to face these mythical enemies and to *psychologically* triumph over them.
[Poetrymagic]:Far from being primitive fictions — about the natural world, some supposed ancestor, or tribal practice — myths are reflections of a profound reality. They dramatically represent our deepest instinctive understandings. Unlike Freud's psychiatric concepts, myths are collective and communal, and so bring a sense of wholeness and togetherness to social life. Native peoples, and indeed whole civilizations, have their own mythologies, but there appear to be common images, themes and motives which Jung called "archetypes".
note: If a paragraph has a [source] (italicized) at its start then that text comes form the source indicated, see the bottom of this page for a full list of references & links. Otherwise, the writing is mine.

The Monsters.

Enforcer:
Keywords: AI. Borg-Like. Bad in Gangs.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Blaster
Health: 80
Gibs at: 116
Treasure: 5 cells
Close Attack: Laser Blaster.
Longer/Ranged Attack: Same as close.
Entity name: monster_enforcer
Upgraded version of a grunt, with a bio-mechanical element, they are also "artifically modified".
[Quake 1 official id manual]: Grunt, Mark Two. Grunts who are surlier and beefier than the rest get outfitted in combat armor and built-in blasters.
[Quake Stomping Grounds-Quake Monsters Guide]:Those wimpy grunts must have found a stash of insta-steroids somewhere, as well as armor and a sizzling laser blaster. Not wise to get caught in a room full of these guys without some serious ammo in your backpack.
[Valanar]: An Enforcer doesn't really think, in any sense of the term. A superior orders him to perform an action, he does it...He walks blithely towards an enemy position, firing at anything that presents itself, making no attempt to retreat or take cover. Advance and kill, or fall and deactivate. That is the closest the Enforcer comes to a choice once he's wired in. All of it instinct. Deadly instinct, granted, but instinct.
Cross-references:
Artificial intelligence:
(1) artificial intelligence
n. Abbr. AI
The ability of a computer or other machine to perform those activities that are normally thought to require intelligence.
The branch of computer science concerned with the development of machines having this ability.
(2) (AI) The subfield of computer science concerned with the concepts and methods of symbolic inference by computer and symbolic knowledge representation for use in making inferences. AI can be seen as an attempt to model aspects of human thought on computers. It is also sometimes defined as trying to solve by computer any problem that a human can solve faster.
Notable Modifications & conversions:
Zerstorer: Superb upgrade to the basic enforcer, called a "Mega-Enforcer", has a cool blue shield, takes more damage, other variations in other maps (sm36, pbrsp1) come armed with a rocket launcher.
Operation Urth Majik (OUM): Uses the mega-enforcer from Zerstorer, their weapons are particle cannons.
Soul of Evil: (from Soul of Evil readme) named as "Goblins": "Forest creatures generally hostile to humans. The coming of the Bane and the disorder he brought allowed them much more freedom. Where before they hid in isolated woods and robbed or killed only those foolish enough to stray so far from the human establishments, the Goblins now walk among the ruins of the cities they once feared. Goblins prefer ranged combat and are equipped with bow-type weapons they either construct or steal. There are two varieties of Goblin; the lesser (re-skinned grunt) and the larger (re-skinned enforcer), the lesser being more common."
Nihilore[Kona]:Enforcers are modified so their laser shots spread out in a wider angle, giving them a wider range of shooting, and making the laser bolts harder to avoid.
Lthsp2/3/4: "Supernailgun Enforcer" that The Lieutenant made for several of his levels. LTH's mod of the Enforcer maybe the most exciting to date...why? Superior skin, excellent AI, believable strafing and awesome new weapon implementation.
Abyss of Pandemonium: Lightning Enforcers, who are just like standard Enforcers, except that they are armed with lightning guns.

Fiend:
Keywords: Speed. Fast. Vicious. Claws. Rip Flesh. Fear.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Arms, Leap
Health: 300
Gibs at: 381
Treasure: Nothing
Close Attack: rip flesh with arms/claws.
Longer/Ranged Attack: huge/fast Jumps.
Entity name: monster_demon1
The fastest monster in Quake. Its rumoured they can move faster than the player (human being). They can jump huge distances, epsecially from a higher ledger/moving downhill. Be cautious, and never get trapped in the corner with one. It will rip you apart in seconds.
[Quake 1 official id manual]: In essence, organic buzzsaws, rife with pummeling power!.
[Kell]: From the waist down, the fiends are based on 'ghasts', which are said to "leap on long hind legs" and have "a pair of yellowish red eyes". They also have hooves that clatter. id just stuck spiky bits on the front to make them more dangerous.
Cross-references:
Ghasts:
Repulsive beings that die in the light…and leap on long hind legs…a pair of yellowish red eyes…Ghasts have indeed an excellent sense of smell…something about the size of a small horse hopped out into the grey twilight, and Carter turned sick at the aspect of that scabrous and unwholesome beast, whose face was so curiously human despite the absence of a nose, a forehead, and other particulars…they spoke in coughing gutturals."
—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath."
[Call of Cthulhu D20 page]: Ghasts are a carnivorous, cannibalistic race of degenerate humanoids that live deep in the caverns of the Earth's Dreamlands. They do, occasionally, cross over into the Waking World.
Ghasts are about 8 feet tall, and hop around on long legs. The head of a ghast is somewhat human, although it lacks many of the recognizable features of a human face. They are perpetually stooped over, and their clawed hands hang to their knees. A ghast will eat nearly any organic material it can fit in its mouth, including the bodies of their own kind. It is possible to, more or less, tame a ghast, and many beings use them as bodyguards, soldiers, or even mounts. Ghast speak their own language, which consists of rough barking, coughing sounds.

Grunt:
Keywords: Cannon fodder. but nasty in groups.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Shotgun
Health: 30
Gibs at: 66
Treasure: 5 shells
Close Attack: Shotgun.
Longer/Ranged Attack: Same as close.
Entity name: monster_army
Not simply human soldiers. Oh no.
[Quake 1 official id manual]: Goons with probes inserted into their pleasure centers; wired up so when they kill someone, they get paroxysms of ecstasy. In essence, customized serial killers. Easy to kill, and they tote shotgun shells. It's like a little Christmas each time you kill one!
Cross-references:
Paroxysms:
par·ox·ysm ( P ) Pronunciation Key (prk-szm)
n.
A sudden outburst of emotion or action: a paroxysm of laughter.
A sudden attack, recurrence, or intensification of a disease.
A spasm or fit; a convulsion.
[Middle English paroxism, periodic attack of a disease, from Medieval Latin paroxysmus, from Greek paroxusmos, from paroxnein, to stimulate, irritate : para-, intensive pref.; see para-1 + oxnein, to goad, sharpen (from oxus, sharp. See ak- in Indo-European Roots).]
Notable Modifications & conversions:
Nehahra: Grunts are radically faster in the Nehahra Conversion, they have improved AI and strafe and jump much quicker, some of them also bear rocket launchers, this immediatley elevates them to a much stronger enemy on the same level as a fiend or a Vore.
kona's Maps: [Necrobrood, Nihilore, etc]: "four kinds of Human Grunts - all with new skins" (Nihilore). In kona's maps the grunt is often upgraded to have the faster Nail-Gun Type weapon, which is more difficult to avoid. In Nihilore the grunts have Nail-Guns, and some have Grenade/Rocket-launchers.
Operation Urth Majik (OUM): The Blues: Mysterious and feared, these "elite" troops are only ever seen in the thick of the fiercest battles. Toting nailguns (NailGunner), minirocket launchers (Rocketeer), they are more than a match for almost any foe. Or so you've been told.
Corporal Punishment 1 & 2:Two maps from 1997, by Gyro Gearloose. Both Grunts (and Enforcers?) have had their AI radically upgraded, somewhat similar to Nehahra grunts, they move and strafe much quicker, but they also shoot (armed with Nail-Guns) more accurately and faster. See also Artificial Intelligence(in Enforcers).

Hell Knight
Alternative Names: Death Knight
Keywords: Mean. Medieval Commanders.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Sword, Fireballs
Health: 250
Gibs at: 290
Treasure: Nothing
Close Attack: Sword.
Longer/Ranged Attack: Angled Spread of small fireballs.
Entity name: monster_hell_knight
[Quake 1 official id manual]:This particular canned meat tends to open you up instead.
[Quake Stomping Grounds-Quake Monsters Guide]:You'll see a sword and think, heh I can handle this dude - then he lays out this massive array of laser bursts that throws you back to the wall. It's really great fun to get these dudes angry at other monsters.
Notable Modifications & conversions:
Nehahra: Have much stronger fireball attacks, also linked to faster and more powerful "Barons" enemy in Nehahra.
Coven of Ebony/Soul of Evil: (from Soul of Evil readme) "the hell-knights who know magic, and the hell-lords who command fire, magic and sword with equal power." In both these packs, the "hell lords" have powerful fireball attacks, luckily these cant follow and home in on you like the Vore's bomb. However if one hits you with no armour on, you will probably die immediately, well-implemented and very nasty, the strongest hell-knight (red stripes on his armour) also takes a lot more damage [150% of the original] before he dies.
mexx9:Penumbra of Domination: [Kell] Hellknight: a modified HK appeared in mexx9, utilising some of the unused animations for the vanilla HK, including the 'whirling sword' which I think was used in one of the other map paks, and the 'hold pommel against chest' ranged-attack animation. I don't know to what extent the AI was modified.

Knight:
Keywords: Nimble. Quick.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Sword
Health: 75
Gibs at: 116
Treasure: Nothing
Close Attack: Sword.
Longer/Ranged Attack: [none]
Entity name: monster_knight
Be careful these are quicker than they look, and if they get close enough they will do serious damage (especially 2/3 at once).
[Quake FAQ, Lord Zero]:Quite fast, and have an interesting feature that you will learn to hate in the game. When they attack, the life meter will drop in a very impressive way and the screen will turn red. Most of the time it's light red, but when three of them hit you at the same time, it goes scary and dark red and you will probably jump off your chair. They are very easy to take down since they have to run toward you to hit you. Kill 'em with whatever you have (Interesting Axe-fighting action).

Ogre:
Keywords: Chainsaw. Dirty. Smelly. Vicious. InHuman.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Chainsaw and Grenade Launcher
Health: 200
Gibs at: 281
Treasure: 2 rockets
Close Attack: a vicious, slicing, chainsaw.
Longer/Ranged Attack: Grenades.
Entity name: monster_ogre or monster_ogre_marksman
A wonderfully imaginative and tough enemy from the twisted minds at ID software. Who else would thinking of arming an Ogre with a chainsaw *and* a grenade launcher? In many ways the most fun monster to fight in the whole of Quake 1, in my opinion.
[mythical monsters]:ogre - Culture of Origin: European Folklore.
Description: Ogres are a man-eating monster or giant.
[Quake 1 official id manual]:What's worse than a cannibal monster eight feet tall? One with a chainsaw. And a sackful of grenades.
[khoras]:Ogres are a genetic offshoot of the original human race. A typical ogre appears as very large, muscular human with thick arms and legs. They are typically 7 to 9 feet tall and weigh between 300 and 500 pounds...Ogres are usually dirty and smelly. They often wear garments until they rot off their bodies, covering them up with newer layers of clothing. Ogres favor large, heavy weapons that inflict maximum damage. Ogres are violent, brutal and direct...But when it comes to making war, they are all business. Ogres believe in conformity and military strength. Strength comes from organization, teamwork, courage and practice.
Kell: Ogres: the actual look of the Q1 ogre is largely based, IMHO, on Leather face from 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'...the butchers apron...the gappy, bloody teeth...the chainsaw. This interpretation is backed up by the description of them being 'cannibal monsters' which is exactly what Leather face is.
Notable Modifications & conversions:
kona's Maps: [Necrobrood, Nihilore, "alk" series, etc]: Ogres are modified to carry rocket laucnhers, also "Nail Ogres", which were in Ultramarine, Grizly Manifest. These guys are really hard enemies, due to their very fast nail attack, when you have been on the end of one of their long-range nail attacks, you remember what a powerful weapon the nailgun can be. They can also move faster than regular ogres, which can make for some nasty shocks.
Dissolution of Eternity [Mission Pack 2]:
The ogres now can have mutli-grenade attacks.

RotFish:
Keywords: Annoying. Irritating.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Teeth
Health: 25
Gibs at: n/a
Treasure: Nothing
Close Attack: Bite.
Longer/Ranged Attack: [none]
Entity name: monster_fish
[Quake 1 official id manual]:Disgusting little critters who dish it out, but can't take it.
[Quake Stomping Grounds-Quake Monsters Guide]:This one falls into the category of annoying, like the grunts. Unfortunately they always seem to pop up right when you've been holding your breath under water too long and you're headed for the surface.

Rottweiler:
Keywords: Lots of damage if get close enough in groups.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Teeth
Health: 25
Gibs at: 61
Treasure: Nothing
Close Attack: Bite.
Longer/Ranged Attack: [none]
Entity name: monster_dog
[Quake Stomping Grounds-Quake Monsters Guide]:This is definitely not man's best friend! Have a blast putting these rabies crazed, steroid pumped monster dogs out of their misery.

Scrag:
Keywords: Attack from above. Ambush in groups.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Slime Spit
Health: 80
Gibs at: 121
Treasure: Nothing
Close Attack: spit slime at you in green beams.
Longer/Ranged Attack: same as close.
Entity name: monster_wizard
Watch the skies; good Q1SP players allways look up first when entering a room/cave/area, for these monsters.
"The nethermost caverns', wrote the mad Arab, 'are not for the fathoming of eyes that can see; for their marvels are strange and terrific. Cursed the ground where dead thoughts live new and oddly bodied, and evil the mind that is held by no head. Wisely did Ibn Schacabao say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For it is of old rumour that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; til out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes secretly are digged where earth's pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl."
-H. P. Lovecraft, 'The Festival'
[Kell]: This passage is why the scrags are called monster_wizard in the original Quake code.
Notable Modifications & conversions:
Soul of Evil: (from Soul of Evil readme): named as "Drakes". Aerial beasts whose origin is unknown, Drakes have inhabited the forests as long as anyone can remember. Although not overly dangerous, they are generally quite crabby, and liable to make nuisances of themselves if someone threatens their food supply or ventures into their territory. Simple-minded, some of them have been brought into the Bane's fold for scouting purposes. Some apparently know teleportation, but it is more likely that they are being teleported by wizards into the desired area.

Shambler:
Keywords: Faceless. Scary. Lightning bolt. Huge. Intimidating.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Claws, Lightning Bolt
Health: 600
Gibs at: 661
Treasure: Nothing
Close Attack: Claws (very high damage).
Longer/Ranged Attack: undodgable lightning bolt (does have finite range though).
Entity name: monster_shambler
Undoubtley the most fearsome and powerful monster in the Quake 1 world. Brilliant deisgn and texturing, highlighted by the huge gaping mouth.
"Shuffling towards him in the darkness was the gigantic, blasphemous form of a thing not wholly ape and not wholly insect. Its hide hung loosely upon its frame, and its rugose, dead-eyed rudiment of a head swayed drunkenly from side to side. Its forepaws were extended, with talons spread wide, and its whole body was taut with murderous malignity despite its utter lack of facial description"
-H. P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald, 'The Horror In The Museum'
[Kell]: I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think the Dimensional Shamblers ( Dimensional, presumably because they can 'teleport' between worlds...ahem ) cropped up in another extended mythos stroy in which they were revealed to be inhabiting an area of the Himalayas and were consequently the origin of the Yeti myth. This could explain the furry whiteness of the Quake Shamblers.
[Quake 1 official id manual]:Even other monsters fear him, so expect a clobbering. He shrugs off explosions. Good luck.
[unofficial Quake FAQ, Toby Goldstone]: These are simply amazing. I thought this was a boss when I first saw it. These guys can *really* hurt you, and, much to my dismay, take lots of punishment too. When I first saw one of these I ran. Turn off the lights and play on nightmare skill setting.
Notable Modifications & conversions:
Necros' maps (n3sp03, ne_sp06): "FireShambler" A new skin of red/white, and with a new fireball attack as well.
"BlackShambler"; A re-skinned shambler with a cool greyish/black skin, that is easier to kill as it takes less damge than a normal Shambler.

Spawn:
Alternative Names: TarBaby
Keywords: Very Fast. Explode on Impact. Very Nasty.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Themselves
Health: 80
Gibs at: n/a
Treasure: Nothing
Close Attack: when touch/ram you do damage.
Longer/Ranged Attack: when killed they explode.
Entity name: monster_tarbaby
Be.....very.....careful.
[Kell]: There are two obvious canditates for the inspiration for these: Flying Polyps, and Shoggoths. Shoggoths are more likely; they are large, oily black and polymorphic. 'The Blob' is basically a Shoggoth with a movie contract. John Romero seems to like them, too. It has also been suggested to me that the Formless Spawn of Tsathoggua is a likely basis for this nasty creature, given the name and the accompnying illustration in an early edition of the Call Of Cthulhu roleplaying game. However, investigation of the model animations for the Spawn reveals a flying animation. Also, they're a lot smaller than a Shoggoth, partly for gameplay practicality I guess.
[Quake 1 official id manual]:A merrily bouncing blob as dangerous to kill as to ignore. Blech.
Notable Modifications & conversions:
Contract Revoked:(from the readme): Adhenoriths (albino spawn). In the extensive subterranean cavern networks of Fodrian, many of the Lesser Servitor races have made their homes. These particularly vulgar specimens are an evolutionary variation of the Shoggoths, probably introduced by accident from some neighbouring world.
They seek the moist areas below the surface, often lying completely submerged beneath the water. Dwelling in near total darkness they have lost all pigmentation from their loathsome bodies but are covered instead by scabrous growths of the protein-feeding enzymes native to the planet's underworld. These enzymes form a symbiotic relationship with their host Adhenoriths, helping to digest their prey.Yuk. (reskinned spawn in a good light brown color).

Vore:
Alternative Names: Shalrath
Keywords: Homing Missile Attack. Powerful.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Guided Floating Bombs
Health: 400
Gibs at: 491
Treasure: Nothing
Close Attack: [none].
Longer/Ranged Attack: Fast, Homing Bomb.
Entity name: monster_shalrath
Hideously imaginative and clever enemy, a perfect example of the beauty and ruthlessness of Quake 1 monsters, and what makes them so much better than most other FPS games' enemies.
[Kell]: Not based on an existing Lovecraftian creature AFAIK, but contains the basic elements. Alien, partially humanoid and magically proficient. The triple legs are the most obvious mythos signature; it's a common way to make an alien's biology appear definitively non-terrestrial. Two or four (or any even number of) limbs is too close to the physiology of real animals, so many creature designers opt for three. But Lovecraft did it first.
Notable Modifications & conversions:
Nehahra: Vores have been give a new and horrifyingly powerful extra ability! They can jump straight upwards (very quickly) covering huge vertical distances, and can indeed hang upside down from cave, room ceilings, where they can lurk to catch the careless player completely unaware. This new jumping ability combined with their traditional homing bomb attack makes them a nightmarishly powerful enemy within any Nehahra based map they are found.

Zombie:
Keywords: Undead. Relentless. Moaning. Gibs.
Technical Details:
Weapon: Pieces of themselves
Health: 80 (however, only grenade/rocket launcher will actually kill them).
Gibs at: n/a
Treasure: Nothing
Close Attack: throw their flesh at you.
Longer/Ranged Attack: same as close.
Entity name: monster_zombie
Zombie's have long been a mythical/horror creature, classically they are simply the dead brought back to life. In quake 1, they are one of the best implemented of all the monsters. They have superb sound effects including the "classic" gib noise when they explode; it is possible a more organic, juicy sounding noise has never been produced within any other computer game. Furthermore, in a brilliant twist, their "weapon" is their (very own?) chunks of dead flesh, which they throw at the player with great accuracy, accompanied by lots of dripping blood. The wonderful Zombie moaning noise is one of the most recognisable of all of the Quake 1 sounds.
[mythical monsters]: Zombie. Culture of Origin: Haitian/West African Mythology, Voodoo
Description:
A soulless corpse reanimated by a Voodoo priest, or bocor, through supernatural power. The bocor causes the corpse to be possessed by an elemental spirit. A zombie is in a trancelike state of animation, and does the bidding of the bocor. The term is apparently derived from Nzambi, a West African deity.
[Quake 1 official id manual]:Thou canst not kill that which doth not live. But you can blast it into chunky kibbles.
[Fiendish Field Guide]: Other Names: The Living Dead, the Walking Dead.
Subspecies: None known.
History/Lore: A zombie is a reanimated human corpse. They are among the lower forms of the undead, and often appear in large numbers. No one is certain about the origins of these pathetic and horrible things. There have been legends and tales told about this undead monster for years. Some say that these creatures were the products of evil sorcery long ago. Others argue that the zombie can trace its beginnings back to the stars themselves, as the loathsome by-product of some form of space-virus. There are also those that maintain the zombie was the outcome of some man-made experiment gone awry, or the result of rampant radiation. One ominous proverb (quoted from an unknown source) sums up the reason of their godless genesis quite simply:
"When there is no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth".
Zombies are both intellectually and physically driven only by their all-consuming hunger for fresh human flesh. They are near-mindless, possessing little reasoning power, though many can perform "remembered behaviors" from their mortal existence... When confronted individually, zombies appear rather weak, but the creature's true threat is revealed when they are encountered in huge numbers - as relentless legions of tireless, flesh-eating machines. Another deadly aspect of the zombie is their ability to rapidly spread their undead scourge, increasing their numbers to vast measures.
[unofficial Quake FAQ, Toby Goldstone]:These are weird. They make a kind of groaning, moaning sound. They also look like decomposing corpses (which is what they are supposed to be, so that's ok). These guys are already dead, and have been re-animated by Quake. Conventional weapons don't work on them, only the grenade and rocket launchers do. Although conventional weapons don't actually kill these, they do slow them down, and force them to fall over.... A grenade is a much better idea though.

Boss Monsters

Cthon: [left screenshot]
[Kell]: contrary to popular interpretation, the name Cthon is probably not directly from Cthulhu, but from Brian Lumley's mythos 'Chthonians'. The word cthonic is in original greek kthon or xthonos which literally means 'dweller under the earth'. The depiction in Quake of an infernal-red monster is probably id's own stylisation (quite right too) but if you look closely at Cthon's face, you'll notice he hasn't got one; just a maw of crimson fangs opening vertically. The vertical mouth is taken from one of Lovecraft's creatures, the Gug.
Cross-references:
Gug:
"It was a paw, fully two feet and a half across, and equipped with formidable talons. After it came another paw, and after that a great black-furred arm to which both of the paws were attached by short forearms. Then two pink eyes shone, and the head of the awakened Gug sentry, large as a barrel, wabbled into view. The eyes jutted two inches from each side, shaded by bony protuberances overgrown with coarse hairs. But the head was chiefly terrible because of the mouth. That mouth had great yellow fangs and ran from the top to the bottom of the head, opening vertically instead of horizontally.
But before that unfortunate Gug could emerge from the cave and rise to his full twenty feet, the vindictive ghasts were upon him...The battle which then ensued was truly a frightful one. From all sides the venomous ghasts rushed feverishly at the creeping Gug, nipping and tearing with their muzzles, and mauling murderously with their hard pointed hooves. All the time they coughed excitedly, screaming when the great vertical mouth of the Gug would occasionally bite into one of their number..."
—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath."
(i wonder if this is where the idea of "monster in-fighting" in Quake came from?!)
Shub-Niggurath: [right screenshot]
[Kell]: this is the only overtly female entity in the mythos, but is never encountered in Lovecraft's own stories. Another writer, Robert Bloch (who was Lovecraft's protege when he was a teenager, and went on to write the novel that was cinematised as 'Psycho') added this himself: "Something black in the road, something that wasn't a tree. Something big and black and ropy, just squatting there, waiting, with ropy arms sqirming and reaching..."
- 'Notebook Found In A Deserted House'
It is this passage on which the Shub at the end of Quake we all know and...know...is likely based. However, my personal interpretation ignores other writers, and is based more on the following:
"Ia! Ia! Shub-Niggurath! The Black Goat Of The Woods with a Thousand Young!"
- H. P. Lovecraft, 'The Whisperer In Darkness'
And from Sandy Petersen: "It has been guessed that she is a perverse fertility deity" - Call Of Cthulhu Roleplay
Based on this, and other insights into the mythos, we already know what Shub-Niggurath looks like - The Alien Queen.

And finally...the "Death Messages".

player was blasted by an enforcer.
player was eviscerated by a fiend.
player was shot by a grunt.
player was slain by a Death Knight.
player was slashed by a knight.
player was destroyed by an ogre.
player was fed to the rot fish.
player was mauled by a rotweiler.
player was scragged by a scrag.
player was smashed by a shambler.
player was slimed by a spawn.
player was exploded by a vore.
player joined the zombies.

Other New Monsters: in Mission Packs & Major Mods/Conversions

NOTES : [1] For space and time reasons at the moment i am just going to list the names of the monsters in the Mission Packs & other custom Conversions. This may change at some point in the future and i will add descriptions for each monster, which of course will significantly expand the section.
[2] This list does not include changes to any of the *original* monsters (from the original quake game), for example the "Mega Enforcer" from Zerstorer. These are listed under the relevant "Notable Modifications & conversions:" sections, above.
[3] This list currently only covers partial conversions, it does not cover *Total* Conversions [e.g. Malice, Fantasy Quake etc]. The reason being these human enemies/monsters are so different they are not really "quake" monsters at all, and they don't interest me as much.
Scourge of Armagon [Mission Pack 1]:
Gremlin, Centroid.
Dissolution of Eternity [Mission Pack 2]:
Overlord, Wrath, Mummies, Guardians, Lava Demons, phantom swordsman, electric eel.
other partial conversions [Alphabetical Order]
Abyss of Pandemonium
Juggernauts, Dark Knights, Grenlings, spider robots.
Coven of Ebony/Soul of Evil:
Ebon Footsoldier, Axeman, Apocalypse of Ebony, Ebon Sorcerer, Warlock of Ebony, The Ebon Master.
Nehahra:
Marine, Field Enforcer, Ogre Mutant, Tsemoch, Jagger, Gaunt, ArchGaunt, Baron, Vomitus, Wraith.
Operation Urth Majik:
Sentry Drone.
Zerstorer:
Star Ogre, Nemesant, The Destroyer [Final Boss Monster].

References & Links.

[Call of Cthulhu D20 page]"Call of Cthulhu D20 page"
[Fiendish Field Guide]Zombies
[Kell] "Lovecraft in Quake"
[khoras]Ogres
[mythical monsters]Mythical monsters
[Poetrymagic]Poetic myths essay
[Quake 1 official id manual] (no online link)
[Quake FAQ, Toby Goldstone] (no online link)
[Quake FAQ, Lord Zero]FAQ by Lord Zero
[Quake Stomping Grounds-Quake Monsters Guide]Quake Monsters Guide
[Quake Wiki] Some Technical Details.
[Valanar]Valanar (quake fiction)
HP Lovecraft - various books including: "The Festival", "The Horror In The Museum", "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath."

This page is an on-going, updated reference. If you have extra information, corrections, links, omissions, suggestions etc. Email me.
Last Updated: 02/25/2003.