Marauders
The Marauders are a mysterious people that appear in Red Faction: Guerrilla.
The Marauders inhabit The Badlands, a sector of Tharsis, Mars. They are hostile toward everyone, happily killing members of both the Earth Defense Force and the Red Faction.
The Marauders are the descendants of Ultor scientists from the Red Faction-era. Mutations from nanite injections administered by Dr. Axel Capek caused them to become very violent. The Marauders worship Capek as a god and have built many shrines dedicated to him and the Ultor Corporation.
Behavior and Culture
Aggression
The Marauders simply refuse to interact with other human beings in any other way than attacking them. There are only two Maruader that speaks clearly throughout the game, and the rest do not speak beyond grunting and yelling at Alec Mason or each other. Though it wouldn't quite be true to say they are unintelligent, they are certainly not at the same IQ level as their ancestors from fifty years ago.
Occasionally they can, with no prompting from the player, be found attacking EDF soldiers and property, sometimes inadvertently assisting the player. But it's best not to get in their way when they are carrying out these actions, or they will focus all their efforts into eliminating the player first.
Technology
By nature, they are scavengers, salvaging what they can from the inhabitants of Mars that are foolish enough to stray into the Badlands. There are several audio diaries that indicate that the people recording them met their end at the hands of the Marauders. Marauder weaponry tends to be cobbled together from junk that they find around them, and occasionally from stolen EDF and Red Faction technology. Their vehicles are as wild and feral looking as their creators.
Intellect
The Marauders are generally perceived as mysterious, brutal savages. It is entirely possible, however, that they simply hide their intelligence from the outsiders that they so strongly loathe. At least one Marauder has been shown to be highly intelligent. Marauder technology is also an indicator of their intelligence; while it is largely formed from stolen or scavenged parts, the tech can at times be quite advanced.
Appearance
All the Marauders wear masks or helmets. This is possibly due to being driven out of Capek's labs and living on the surface of Mars before it was properly terraformed, and the masks and helmets are the remains of improvised gas masks and pressure suits. They also serve to enhance the Marauder's intimidating appearance. However, under the masks they look like ordinary humans.
Plot Role
In addition to attacking Alec Mason, at points throughout the story the Red Faction will find itself allied with the Marauders to achieve an objective.
Trivia
The Marauders bear more than a passing resemblance to the Tusken Raiders from Star Wars, both in appearance and concept. Like the Tuskens, the Marauders are a mysterious, violent scavengers making their own living in the sandy wilderness. And if you look at the helmets of some Marauders, you will find the eyeholes on some helmets are remarkably like the goggles worn by the Sand People.