Needless to say, there’s no shortage of quirky, bizarre, terrifying, and hilarious characters in the Borderlands series. In fact, fans would be hard-pressed to find anyone in the games, main character or humble NPC, who doesn’t have at least a little of all four in them.

In Borderlands 3, Pain & Terror didn’t exactly have the biggest roles, but they certainly made their presence felt in their relatively brief time on the screen. From their origins to their huge formidable death-bot and their hilariously low health, here are some vital details about Pain and Teller that players will need to be clued in on.

10 They’re From The Splinterlands

There’s certainly no shortage of bandits and villains on Pandora. In their desperation, so many residents of the planet turned to less-than-honorable ways of procuring the supplies they otherwise had no access to. Not to mention those who simply enjoyed the hideous violence and mortal danger that defined the less hospitable reaches of the planet.

Two such villains were Pain and Terror, who dwelled in the Splinterlands. Knowing that they’d have more chance of survival if they worked together, they became partners in crime in the most literal of senses.

9 They Joined The Children Of The Vault When The Calypso Twins Arrived On The Scene

As players will know, the dastardly Handsome Jack isn’t the villain of the piece this time around. This honor instead goes to that deadly and enigmatic duo, the Calypso Twins.

When the twins first started making a name for themselves, they encountered Pain and Terror, who were happy to join the Calypso twins’ notorious Children of the Vault. This gave Pain and Terror a fair amount of influence, as well as access to a lot of volatile and ridiculously dangerous weaponry (which is, of course, the most fun kind in this series).

8 They Were Inspired By Penn And Teller

As fans will have surely realized, Pain and Terror are based on another duo: Penn and Teller, world-renowned icons of the magic world. The characters closely resemble the famous pair, with Penn Jilette actually voicing his cel-shaded counterpart Pain!

Meanwhile, Terror doesn’t say a word. This, too, is a reference to the famous real-life duo. Teller is well known for never speaking while performing and this is reflected here. In fact, Terror’s mouth is sewn closed, ensuring that he couldn’t speak even if he wanted to!

7 They Stage A Huge, Awful, Violent Show That Mad Moxxi Would Be Proud Of

The Borderlands franchise has never been afraid of a little excessive violence. Several characters simply live for murderous mayhem, with the likes of Mad Moxxi and Tiny Tina always emphasizing their own grim bloodlust.

Pain and Terror are just another example. In fact, they hold an event every year at their mobile base Carnivora, celebrating all things horrifying and gory. It’s called the Carnivora Festival. There’s a nice little insight into a pair of NPCs who are just par for the course when it comes to Borderlands.

6 They Appear In The Sanctuary III Mission “Blood Drive”

Unsurprisingly, the Vault Hunters are eventually charged with taking down this sadistic pair. To do so, the player must find a way to enter Carnivora, locate the pair, and… well, the usual vicious and theatrical showdown comes next.

All of this takes place in the story mission “Blood Drive,” in which the player(s) must infiltrate the Carnivora Festival and kill the vicious duo before they sacrifice Tannis. It’s quite a lengthy mission, in which the Vault Hunter must rendezvous with Vaughan and find and defeat Big Donny before even beginning the Carnivora showdown.

5 They Fight In The Agonizer 9000

What a showdown it is, too. After defeating the workers on the Carnivora and bringing the great machine to a stop, Vault Hunters are finally able to hop in. On locating Patricia Tannis, the players learn that Pain and Terror aren’t about to give her up without a fight.

Onwards into the arena, then, where the devious duo awaits. As always, they’ve no interest in fighting fair: they’ve brought their gigantic robotic tank, The Agonizer 9000, along for the fight. With this machine, they were set to sacrifice Tannis, but they settle for absolutely ruining the player’s day with it instead.

4 It Can Be A Heck Of A Difficult Boss

Borderlands bosses are always set pieces to remember. They may not be up there with some hideous Dark Souls bosses in terms of difficulty, but they can withstand a heck of a lot of damage and often deliver more than their fair share back.

The Agonizer 9000 is a case in point. With some awkwardly specific weak points, masses of health, and a lot of damage potential with its chainsaw slashes, whirling blades, blasts of fire, and more, this thing is a tricky customer for players who haven’t prepared. This guide to defeating Pain and Terror will give players a fighting chance.

3 They Actually Only Have A Single Point Of Health Each

Once players do manage to topple the formidable Agonizer 9000, they’ll find that Pain and Terror have one last (hilarious) surprise in store. The defeated villains are ejected from the destroyed machine, allowing the player to finally attack them directly. On doing so, Vault Hunters find that this troublesome twosome both only have 1HP and will be immediately killed by any form of damage!

Perhaps this is just to be expected. The kind of cowardly villains who hide behind formidable machines like this are often the sort who aren’t really up to much in a one-on-one battle.

2 They Never Respawn

The key to picking up the best gear in looter shooters, often, is farming bosses. It stands to reason that these unique, powerful enemies would have unique, powerful weapons, after all. As such, players might be a little concerned to hear that Pain and Terror appear just once in the story mission, not respawning again after their defeat.

There’s no need to worry, though: the Agonizer 9000 does return for round 2 (not to mention 3, 4, 5, and so on). While players don’t get to take out these 1HP weaklings multiple times, they do still get the customary avalanche of boss loot, which is dropped by the bot itself instead after subsequent battles.

1 It Has Some Very Nice Loot To Offer (Including One Completely Unique Weapon)

One last question remains, then: what’s on offer in Pain and Terror/Agonizer 9000’s lootsplosion? Well, fans who are accustomed to farming bosses and minibosses for Legendary weapons will be glad to know that this particular battle will make it worth their while.

As the Borderlands Wiki reports, this boss offers an increased chance to grab the Crader’s EM-P5 SMG and the Backburner rocket launcher, on Mayhem 4 and above and Mayhem 6 and above respectively. Most interestingly, though, there’s also a chance for the Agonizer 1500, a very volatile, super fun, and silly rocket launcher that can only be obtained from this boss.

NEXT: Borderlands 3: 10 Hardest To Find Red Crates (& How To Find Them)