Slig

Sligs are a sapient species found on Oddworld, serving as security and personal assistants to the Magog Cartel. Even though Sligs generally enjoy what they do, they are essentially still slaves to the Magog Cartel. The Slig queen provides the cartel with her young and any Sligs that do not perform to acceptable standards are sent to face her wrath.

Sligs are one of the main antagonistic forces in all of the Oddworld games with the exception of Stranger's Wrath, and are the most common enemy found in the games that they are in.

Background
Sligs were originally primitive and simple living creatures who preferred swampy regions, living in bodies of water such as bogs and lakes. However, when the Glukkons first encountered them, they turned out to be a sentient species. The Glukkons were able to easily negotiate that if the Sligs would work for them, they could grant them mechanical aids for easy mobility, which they reluctantly accepted. In return for the robotic Slig Pants that grant them the ability to walk, Sligs have pledged their loyalty to the Glukkon Industrialists as henchmen and bodyguards. In truth, much of the Glukkon success has been achieved by the Slig's combat capabilities. Although most sligs serve as security and basic law enforcement, some sligs can aquire more unorthodox jobs such as journalists, newscasters, vallets, and pilots.

Anatomy and physiology
Sligs are small, stocky creatures that posses green skin and five tendrils that cover their rather small mouths. When a slig is born, their appearance is vastly different from that of a mature slig with smooth pale skin, shorter or fewer tendrils, and large glassy eyes. The appearance of their eyes once they reach maturity is unclear as sligs are never seen without masks on, apart from a single concept art piece in The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years, where the eyes are described as "pathetic, small, helpless-looking." Sligs possess a variety of other unusual anatomical features; their middle fingers are reduced, and their heads are disproportionately large when compared to the rest of the body. They are somewhat short in stature since their back legs are vestigial and have fused together into a small tail-like appendage, forcing them to walk on their hands. Since this is the primary means of locomotion in the species, the forelimbs of Sligs are long, powerful, and muscular, much like those of apes. However, it's also implied that the fused structure of their legs is not a natural trait, with young sligs being forced to wear a "leg binding" that reduces the growth and development of legs, likely as a means of enforcing their reliance on pants to walk. Due to the massive size (and possibly weight) of their heads, it's possible that their vestigial back legs are used as counterbalance when utilizing their arms in locomotion.

Sligs are seen consistently wearing masks, mostly because upper management regard Sligs as so ugly they are forced to wear masks, otherwise they would simply refuse to work with them.

Sligs as a whole are lazy, violent, cruel, and dull minded. Sligs are also very social; enjoying sports, gambling, card games, and hunting. They often become envious of one another, as they are easily impressed by higher ranks or better equipment than their own. Sligs tend to live only 20 Oddworld years.

Variants and Purposes
Most sligs fire a type of assault rifle to kill opponents. In most games this assault rifle resembles a pump-action shotgun, but in Munch's Oddysee and Soulstorm, the standard Sligs' guns more heavily resemble an assault rifle.

Crawling
Sligs in their most basic form, aside from the mask. These Sligs move around by crawling on their hands and are completely harmless to anyone until they get a hold of pants or a flying harness.

Flying
These Sligs use a flying harness instead of the usual mechanical pants to patrol facilities in hard to reach places. They come equipped with a grenade launcher on the back.

Slacker
Slacker Sligs are given the most basic of equipment, usually just a pair of mechanical pants and a bat. Because of their overall weakness and their lack of weaponry, they are often easily outnumbered.

Bouncer
Bouncer Sligs are a tougher variation of the slacker. A little tougher to be taken down, but still only armed with a baton which makes them a threat at close range.

Popper
This most commonly seen variant of the Slig carries an automatic firearm and is used as the main security force to guard large facilities owned by the Magog Cartel.

Armored Bouncer
Some bouncers may be equipped with full body armor, making them considerably tougher and harder to take down. In close range, this makes them a significant threat even with support of Tomahawkers.

Armored Popper
In Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, some Slig Poppers are on occasion given full body armor, making them considerably tougher and more dangerous.

Big Bro
When given many doses of steroids, Sligs grow into large beefed-up killing machines. Walking around on custom made four-legged mechanical pants to support their weight and often seen carrying the Blitz Packer automatic firearms.

Armored Big-Bro
The most dangerous and elite of the Slig hierarchy. Only the most accomplished of Big-Bros would sport wearing  full body armor to turn them into an unstoppable force.

Soulstorm
In Soulstorm, walking Sligs and flying Sligs can both be found using the same weaponry.

Shock Rocker
Sligs wielding a more streamlined Shock Rocker Club in the shape of a baton. They are close-combat specialists meant to put down escapees. They are the only walking Slig type to not have a flying varient. They wear collanders in the style of tin-foil hats, which prevents possession and hrugs off Abe's make-shift weapons.

Shotgunner
One of the more common Slig variety, Shotgunner Sligs lug around a pump-action shotgun. This weapon is able to kill all in one hit, granted that all of the individual bullets strike their mark.

Sniper
Slig marksman armed with a laser-sighted sniper rifle. These Sligs stand above the rest as having outstanding aim and accuracy. They can pick Abe off at incredible distances with only a single shot.

Minigunner
Heavy duty Slig Spec-Ops armed to the teeth with awesome firepower on par with Big-Bros. Minigunners lug around a minigun and carry a large ammunition pack to give it impressive suppressive fire.

Flamethrower
Close-quarter Spec-Op Elites. These Sligs are pyromaniacs who love setting things alight, lacking the average Slig's fear of fire. Devastating at close range and hard to lure into a trap, they are formidable adversaries.

Rocket Launcher
The most powerful type of Slig short of a Big-Bro, these Rocket toting Sligs carry a Rocket Launcher for anti-tank purposes.

Slig Masks
Sligs are always encountered wearing variations of masks. The masks are supported by breathing apparatuses as well as areas to provide vision.

Heads Up Display Visor
The Heads Up Display Visor or H.U.D. Visor was a variant that was extremely common during the years that RuptureFarms was active. The H.U.D. Visor has a built-in red visor that functioned as a H.U.D. Display with a scanner that was used in order to identify members, employees, and slaves of the Magog Cartel. The visor eventually became obsolete as it had no depth perception.

Pilot Mask
The Slig Pilot Mask variant features built-in red lens goggles which are used protect a Slig's vision from natural elements and debris. The Pilot Mask is sported by all variations of Slig. However, they are more common among Flying Sligs. The mask earned its name due to its leathery appearance and its slight resemblance to real World War II aviator masks.

Slig Armor Design
Sligs wear armor in order to enhance their lifespan a while longer in the midst of combat. There are currently four types of Slig armor. Standard, Heavy, Big-Bro and Heavy Big-Bro. The standard slig armor consists of the mask only, whilst heavier slig armor covers the entirety of the slig.

Notable Sligs
Unknown to those ignorant, or scared, of asking - Sligs actually have names. They in fact earn them in the crèche, after graduating from Slaughter School. It's also a sign of status, not all sligs have earned the right to publicly be called such. Some sligs have no names and are instead referred to by rank and or purpose that he fulfills in society


 * Newscaster
 * Valet
 * Crig The Slig
 * Wildum
 * Chauffeur
 * Caddicarus News Reader

Trivia



 * Sligs were originally called "Order Guards".
 * The word slig is a portmanteau of "pig" and "slug".
 * The standard issue Slig assault rifle looks more like a Winchester pump-action shotgun than an assault rifle, even though it fires like the latter.
 * In Soulstorm, Sligs with a pump-action shotgun do fire it like a shotgun, with the more standard type of fire being given to a more standard looking assult rifle.
 * In Slig GameSpeak, there are the phrases, "BS" and "S'mo BS" which Sligs represented with buzzing or screeching sounds similar to that of a police siren or horn. The phrases are actual shortened versions of the terms, Bullshit and Some more bullshit. The phrases are completely useless unless they are used by Sligs that are not possessed. When the phrases are spoken they are used to present signs of distrust, dislike, or refusal such as when a Slig is reprimanding or abusing a disliked or rebellious Mudokon. The phrases serve no purpose or significance beyond unlocking Voice Locks in Abe's Exoddus and in Abe's Oddysee.
 * The "BS" and "S'mo BS" sounds the Sligs make in Oddysee and Exoddus are actually distorted flamingo calls.
 * According to the manual for Abe's Oddysee, they have "room temperature IQs".
 * The H.U.D. visor bears a striking resemblance to the visor sported by the science fiction character, RoboCop.
 * With their menacing red eyes and green tentacled faces, the Sligs bear a certain resemblance to Bullsquids, alien predators from the Half-Life series. The resemblance is even more obvious in their pantsless form, since they move in a similar fashion (bipedal, with arm-like legs).

Appearances

 * Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (First Appearance)
 * Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus
 * Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
 * The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994 - 2004
 * Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee HD
 * Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
 * Oddworld: Soulstorm