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Subject: (Another) Forerunner Theory
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I've only seen this mentioned once or twice before (I've only recently registered, but have been reading the boards for quite a while), and that's that the Forerunners are not one race, but multiple races. There are two things that made me come to this idea- A. The arbiter, and B. The Master Chief.

Well we all know the clues as to humans being the forerunners (through the chief), with all of the quotes by GS, the ancient symbols that MC recognizes, etc.

But, well, what about the arbiter? Let's take a look for the minute at him. First of all, his armor (at least seems by playing him) as vastly superior to those of the other elites. While his cloaking technology isn't obsolete compared to theirs, his shields/regeneration and general armor seem much stronger. We also know the arbiter's armor is very (very) old, and that there have been dozens, if not hundreds (as seen in the mosoleum in the cutscene in H2) of arbiter's before him.

Well the question here is, if the arbiter's shields are so much stronger, why don't they make more suits? My answer to you is that they can't, because the arbiter's armor is a direct relic from the forerunners, and that its too advanced for the covenant to make more of.

Perhaps to the forerunners cloaking tech. was new by the time they were wiped out (or otherwise dissapeared) and so there was some room for the covenant to improve on it since they already had the basics. But...wait a second. If my theory is right, that means that the forerunners had a suit of armor for an elite?

We also know the Master Chief's armor is very similar to the "reclaimers" armor, which we believe to be a forerunner, and that it is classified by the monitor in H1 as class 2 of 12. In order for this to be done though, it has to be recognized by the monitor, a forerunner construct, as forerunner armor, or at least something very similar to it.

Well, what I'm saying, more or less, is that both humans and the elites were forerunner races, and possibly even more. Going out on a limb, perhaps the entire covenant, plus the humans (and who knows how many other races) were once the forerunners, but over the course of several cataclysmic events (the halo's firing) and thousands of years, it was forgotten.

The answer to why only humans can fire the halo's is that perhaps they were the race put in charge of the halo's, or perhaps something went terribly wrong with the other races (or even the humans) so now only the halo's will respond to them.

Well, that's pretty much my theory. Of course it could be, and probably is, completely wrong, but I'd never seen someone mention the arbiter's armor before, so I figured I may as well. Afterall, it does seem to be equal to that of the MC's armor, and we know from the books and just playing that the covenent's shield armor that the elites wear is inferior to his, suggesting the Arbiter's armor is not covenant made.

[Edited on 7/1/2006]

  • 07.01.2006 8:34 AM PDT
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Well, pretty good theory, but I think The Arbiters armor is the hand-me-down by the other arbiters. I think that same armor was used by all prevoius Arbiter generations, but The Covenant just fixed it everytime.

  • 07.01.2006 8:38 AM PDT
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ooh pretty theory

me like

  • 07.01.2006 8:39 AM PDT
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Posted by: Zyce
The answer to why only humans can fire the halo's is that perhaps they were the race put in charge of the halo's, or perhaps something went terribly wrong with the other races (or even the humans) so now only the halo's will respond to them.


This part of your theory really stuck out to me. This would explain the reaon why Humans were never given the chance to join the Covenant. Possible that they prophets know this, that's why they resent us.

But ALL the armor and equipment the Covenant use are forerunner, so why aren't the coives forerunner?

  • 07.01.2006 8:44 AM PDT
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Posted by: prophate
Posted by: Zyce
The answer to why only humans can fire the halo's is that perhaps they were the race put in charge of the halo's, or perhaps something went terribly wrong with the other races (or even the humans) so now only the halo's will respond to them.


This part of your theory really stuck out to me. This would explain the reaon why Humans were never given the chance to join the Covenant. Possible that they prophets know this, that's why they resent us.

But ALL the armor and equipment the Covenant use are forerunner, so why aren't the coives forerunner?


Because all of the armor and equipment the Covenant use AREN'T FROM the forerunners, they are BASED on forerunner technology. Covenant tech. is a sub-par replica of what they were able to clone from the furerunner tech. that they could find. They aren't as advanced as the forerunner technology they find, they are as advanced as what they are capable of copying, which isn't all of it, and is usually not nearly as good as the original.

The Arbiter's armor in this theory is the relic they found, which the Elite armor is based on. All Covie tech. is based on forerunner tech., so the elite armor they use is based on the Arbiter's armor, a direct Forerunner relic. That also explains why only elites have full armor with shields- because the only Forerunner armor they found was the Arbitor armor, which only fits for elites. I'm not saying that there is no grunt or jackal armor, but if there is, the Covenant hasn't found it, which is why they don't wear any special armor.

Also, to another reply about the hand-me-down armor, that's the point :) The first arbiter's armor was Forerunner made, and they keep handing down that same suit everytime the Arbiter dies after completing his mission. That's why there is only one suit like it, because they can't make another suit that good, which also applies to my above paragraph about how they can copy Forerunner technology but it isn't as good.

[Edited on 7/1/2006]

  • 07.01.2006 8:53 AM PDT

i've been hearing a lot of good theories here and there and this is one of them.

But last night I was thinking of the trailer in my head.

When cortana contacts MC in Halo 3 trailer you hear a deep voice like the gravemind's so I think this is the gravemind talking to MC through Cortana. And at the end he said "I know you, your past, your future" And since the gravemind has seen the forunners and is talking to the MC. He must be talking about the Forrunners and how they are humans.

Just another proof that humans are forrunner.

  • 07.01.2006 9:08 AM PDT
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a cataclysmic event is a natural occuring disaster isnt it?

  • 07.01.2006 9:13 AM PDT
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Posted by: alexander2006
a cataclysmic event is a natural occuring disaster isnt it?


No, it's just any super-disaster that causes masses damage/death/etc. The firing of the Halo's would be one. The wiping out of the dinosaurs on Earth would be another, so it could be anything really.

  • 07.01.2006 9:19 AM PDT
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Good theory, you guys have givin me alot to think about!

  • 07.01.2006 9:20 AM PDT
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Thanks for the support :)

  • 07.01.2006 6:38 PM PDT
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Posted by: Zyce
Posted by: prophate
Posted by: Zyce
The answer to why only humans can fire the halo's is that perhaps they were the race put in charge of the halo's, or perhaps something went terribly wrong with the other races (or even the humans) so now only the halo's will respond to them.


This part of your theory really stuck out to me. This would explain the reaon why Humans were never given the chance to join the Covenant. Possible that they prophets know this, that's why they resent us.

But ALL the armor and equipment the Covenant use are forerunner, so why aren't the coives forerunner?


Because all of the armor and equipment the Covenant use AREN'T FROM the forerunners, they are BASED on forerunner technology. Covenant tech. is a sub-par replica of what they were able to clone from the furerunner tech. that they could find. They aren't as advanced as the forerunner technology they find, they are as advanced as what they are capable of copying, which isn't all of it, and is usually not nearly as good as the original.

The Arbiter's armor in this theory is the relic they found, which the Elite armor is based on. All Covie tech. is based on forerunner tech., so the elite armor they use is based on the Arbiter's armor, a direct Forerunner relic. That also explains why only elites have full armor with shields- because the only Forerunner armor they found was the Arbitor armor, which only fits for elites. I'm not saying that there is no grunt or jackal armor, but if there is, the Covenant hasn't found it, which is why they don't wear any special armor.

Also, to another reply about the hand-me-down armor, that's the point :) The first arbiter's armor was Forerunner made, and they keep handing down that same suit everytime the Arbiter dies after completing his mission. That's why there is only one suit like it, because they can't make another suit that good, which also applies to my above paragraph about how they can copy Forerunner technology but it isn't as good.


The covenant are immitative not inovative. They mimic technology. The Engeneers did a wonder on MC's shield generator, wich is a better copy of a poor copy of an origional copy? So it's not going to be the same. In the books they talk about the engeneers taking apart cars and other human tech.

They stript it, study it, rebuild it, then copy it.

  • 07.01.2006 6:45 PM PDT
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the arbitors shields are so much stronger cause hes one of the main characters, and if you havn't noticed by now, not many main characters die

but they might in halo 3

  • 07.01.2006 6:49 PM PDT
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If you ever play under legendary, the Arbiters armor is not only weaker, but in every aspect worse than the other elites armor. So I don't think that the armor is stronger because its forerunner, I think it's stronger because of the difficulty level your playing under. Just a thought...

  • 07.01.2006 7:12 PM PDT
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Maybe the Forerunners were an elite group of beings from various races who came together to form a society or a council.

  • 07.01.2006 7:15 PM PDT
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I always thought it the other way around. Elites' shield are stronger, but has a slower recharge rate. Arbiter's shield is not as strong, but has a much faster recharge.

It seems plausible if the Forerunner were a collection of different species, since we don't know exactly whose "ancestors" they are. The only thing is...the Monitors dismiss the Covenant as inferior beings, meddlers, and the sort despite their technology(even if it isn't theirs-apparently the Covenant are only capable of level 4 technology while humans are capable of a level 2)and better knowledge of the Forerunner legacy.

  • 07.01.2006 7:21 PM PDT
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If the Forerunner made cloaking technology, couldn't there be an invisable Halo out there?

  • 07.01.2006 7:21 PM PDT
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The Forerunners may have been all races of the Covenant and the humans, like you said, only all the other races were conquered and united in an empire led by the humans. All of the present Covenant could be ignorant of this except Truth and maybe some of the prophets, who do not wish to invite their ancient masters into the new empire (the Covenant) that the prophets have created.

Maybe reclaimer refers to the reclaimers of the old empire

[Edited on 7/1/2006]

  • 07.01.2006 7:35 PM PDT
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this is by far my favorite theory out on these boards because it was actually thought out lol....

i say, good show

i think the Arbiter's armor is in fact forrunner, because of what is said in the Flood book, when the smaller class prophet rebuked the elite that said the armor was better than their own infantry armor. The prophet said "to say that their armor is better than our own armor (covenant) directly from the forrunners borders on heresy" (something like that)

also, when bungie is telling the story, they can overlook the "difficulty" issue and just say that the Arbiter's armor was better than his comrades' (Maybe in the next book or something)

[Edited on 7/1/2006]

  • 07.01.2006 7:46 PM PDT
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i havent read through the whole thread but how did they get a hold of the arbiters armor. specifically imean. how exactly did they get it.

  • 07.01.2006 7:50 PM PDT
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it could have been on one of the covenant's colony worlds, like the stones in the books were on human worlds

of course, that's just a far-fetched theory

[Edited on 7/1/2006]

  • 07.01.2006 7:53 PM PDT
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Posted by: Thing1
i havent read through the whole thread but how did they get a hold of the arbiters armor. specifically imean. how exactly did they get it.


I don't think they've told us. I haven't read all of the books yet- I'm just starting First Strike now, but I don't think we know. All we know is the armor is VERY old and is very special to the Covenant. Only the Arbiter, a special warrior only called at time sof emergency, can wear it, and is expected to die in it.

  • 07.01.2006 7:55 PM PDT
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This is a pretty good theory, I haven't seen it before. Of course, the evidence of it is almost total speculation. But maybe. *thumbs up*

  • 07.01.2006 8:24 PM PDT
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Or the only reason the sheilds are faster on the Arbiters armor is because the game was made that way to make singleplayer more enjoyable. And I thought that the reason that the floating orb of death classified them as reclaimers was because they were able to "reclaim" the key. Not because they are the forerunners. Plz correct me if I am wrong.

  • 07.02.2006 8:43 PM PDT
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Posted by: BoNe saW 11
Well, pretty good theory, but I think The Arbiters armor is the hand-me-down by the other arbiters. I think that same armor was used by all prevoius Arbiter generations, but The Covenant just fixed it everytime.

Good idea but what if an Arbiter was vaporized or lost in space. The suit would be gone for good. The Covies are good at copies tech stuff so they should have no problem making a copy of this old armor.

  • 07.02.2006 8:57 PM PDT
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this has got me thinkin.... i would like to point this in a different but sorta related, in some games *cough*starcraft*cough* some races are the makers of others, now lets count up our races here,

1)Forerunner?(human?)
2)Human
3)Elite
5)Prophet(forerunner?)
6)Brute
7)Drone
8)Jackel
9)Grunt
10)Hunter?(might be bio-enginnered trooper by the covies)
11)Sentinal
12)

now this either means that the forerunner made all the races or there was an interspiecies alliance with out spiecies and that the flood are a weapon of war made by one side of the forerunner(i like to call them atlantians) who just happen to be our great anscestors, and the elites sided on the other and they called us demons cuss there religion states we will bring the end of existance, and the monitors say that the halos have been used 3 times before


note: flood where removed because they where fighting the flood


[Edited on 7/3/2006]

  • 07.03.2006 12:20 AM PDT

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