[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Introduced in ''Master of Orion'' (1993)]]

!!Alkari
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alkari.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"The blessings of the sky-lord be upon you, earth-bound."]]
A warlike race resembling hawks. Their ships get a natural bonus to defense. In the first game, they get a big bonus to Propulsion research, which allows them to get better engines and fuel cells before their rivals. In the second game, their homeworld has alien artifacts, giving a big boost to research there.
----
* AcePilot: Being descended from birds and still capable of limited flight, the Alkari have an instinctive familiarity with three-dimensional motion, making them superior pilots. In game terms, this grants them a natural bonus to ship defense.
* AnimalJingoism: Like birds and cats, Alkari and Mrrshan do not get along.
* NobleBirdOfPrey: They're giant, warlike bird people, though in the second game their aggressive appearance and demeanor were toned down quite a lot. They also tend towards the "honourable" personality.
* ProudWarriorRace: Proud and honourable warriors, the Alkari are traditional rivals to the ruthless Mrrshan.
* ZergRush: Early in the game, their tactics tend to revolve around overwhelming their enemies with swarms of small, difficult-to-hit ships.

!!Bulrathi
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bulrathi.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Hello, outsider."]]
A [[UrsineAliens bearlike]] race skilled in ground combat and colonial development.
----
* HeavyWorlder: One of their major traits is that they can handle heavier gravity.
* HuskyRusskie: The reboot strongly invokes this: they are big, have unmatched infantry, are bearlike, and have gruff voices with [[UnexplainedAccent strong Russian accents]].
* ProudWarriorRace: Best infantry in the universe, basically being giant bears. Bonuses to ground combat.
* {{Retcon}}: Their appearance was changed in the second game to make them look more like b'''o'''ars rather than b'''e'''ars (though the text still describes them as b'''e'''ar-like). This was fixed in the reboot.

!!Darloks
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/darlock.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Ah... a chance for gossip."]]
A mysterious race most notable for their skill in covert warfare.
----
* DarkIsEvil: In the first game, ''everybody'' except humans has a grudge against them and considers them untrustworthy. The Darloks themselves agree with this assessment.
* FalseFlagOperation: Framing other races for their spying activities is essential to winning as the Darloks. Ideally, the Darloks want to incite or prolong wars between other races, so that they can steal as much technology as possible in the chaos, all the while avoiding prolonged conflicts themselves.
* LizardFolk: In the first game all you can see under their hoods is impenetrable blackness and [[GlowingEyesOfDoom glowing]] [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]], but in the second game you can actually see a seemingly scaly skin inside. However, most depictions have them draped in cloaks, so it's hard to tell.
* SneakySpySpecies: The Darloks are noted for being excellent spies and unparalleled infiltrators, and their spy networks are both cheaper to run and more effective than those of any other race. Them being {{Voluntary Shapeshifter}}s capable of taking the shape of their targets definitely goes a long way.
* TheSpymaster: Their big bonus is to spying. They rely on it to get anything done.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: This racial trait is part of why they're good at espionage. It's also the reason why nobody trusts them.

!!Humans
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/human_51.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Hello, friend. What can I do for you?"]]
A strange and bizarre race which apparently exists in RealLife. Notable as skillful diplomats.
----
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Don't let their diplomatic leanings fool you into thinking they're weaklings. If threatened, they ''will'' use their connections to get half the rest of the galaxy on their side. And their Democratic government gives them research bonuses; if Psilons aren't around, Humans will typically end up gaining technological superiority and keeping it.
* TheFederation: In ''[=MoO2=]'', they start with the Democracy government and will upgrade to the Galatic Federation government. These give bonuses to research, trade, and naturalizing indigenous/conquered populations.
* HumansAreDiplomats: In the first game, they were the only species that didn't start with some pre-existing hatred mucking up their diplomatic situation. In the second game, they get huge diplomatic bonuses, and their Democracy government means they convert conquered aliens into citizens much, much faster than other races.
* ProudMerchantRace: The best off economically before the Gnolam's introduction in ''II''. Their trade treaties start generating profit well before anyone else's. Democracy gives them bonuses to trade treaties in the second game as well.

!!Klackons
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/klackon.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"We greet you."]]
An insectoid race. Incredibly hard workers; they have bonuses to all forms of production and can easily spread across half the galaxy in the early game.
----
* BigCreepyCrawlies: They're insectoids, looking like ants or wasps.
* CreativeSterility: One of their traits in the second game, and a ''major'' drawback. They gain a random application of a scientific advancement instead of being able to pick the one they want. This makes their research very hit-or-miss and they typically have to rely on conquest or spying to keep up.
* HiveMind: Klackons' "Unification" society meant they were basically a giant ant colony; everyone knew their place, worked to benefit the whole, and was satisfied with their place in it. This meant Klackons never suffered any kind of morale penalty.

!!Meklars
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/meklar.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Greetings. What is your query?"]]
Cyborgs known for their factory construction. In the first game, they can operate more factories than other races. In the second game, they eat half minerals, half food, get a production bonus, and can repair ships without specialized equipment.
----
* AmbiguousRobots: The Meklar were originally mollusks who developed PowerArmor shells to protect themselves, but they gradually developed into cyborgs and eventually fully mechanical beings.
* {{Cyborg}}: They are part-organic and part-machine. In game they have a hefty bonus to production, and only require half the food of normal races, but "consume" part of their industrial output to make up for it. Still manages to put them ahead on manufacturing, though.
* MechanicalLifeforms: The third game reveals that most of them eventually discarded their organic bits entirely and became fully machine, except for a small splinter group that became the Cynoids.
* PoweredArmor: Plot-wise, the Meklars actually have a weak physical body, so every of them wear an exoskeleton suit. It also justified their supreme manufacturing, the suit gave them incredible computer interface abilities. However, this led to even further physical deterioration, to the point that their bodies atrophied to tiny, fragile husks.

!!Mrrshan
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrshan.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Well hello there."]]
A matriarchal ([[RetCon in the first game]] and [[ContinuityReboot reboot]]) race of feline warriors. Known for their gunnery skills.
----
* AnimalJingoism: Like birds and cats, Alkari and Mrrshan do not get along.
* CatFolk: The Mrrshan look as though they've evolved from cat-like predators -- because they actually have.
* CatsAreMean: They are the most widely disliked race in the first game, and their leaders default to the "ruthless militarist" personality, which will almost certainly earn them more enemies. However, their leaders also have a 20% chance of having the "pacifistic" personality, subverting this trope, as in that case the other races' prejudices will be unfounded.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: In ''Conquer the Stars'', Mrrshan cities look vaguely Egyptian, which means that the Mrrshans themselves allude to Bastet in their appearance.
* MsFanservice: The race overall is this in the first game. They wore clothing that was either SensualSpandex or had NavelDeepNeckline. This is [[AvertedTrope averted]] in both ''2'' and ''3'' where the main Mrrshans you see are mostly male and all wear voluminous robes. This is brought back in the reboot with the advisor and the queen who both have [[CleavageWindow very prominent cleavage]], the latter also wears a dress that exposes her legs.
* PantheraAwesome: Giant warcats.
* ProudWarriorRace: Rivals to the Alkaris. In fact, where Alkari pilots have bonuses to defense, Mrrshan gunners have bonuses to ''attack''. On top of their gunnery, they have the Warlord trait, making all of their crews and leaders one level of skill higher than other crews of equal experience, and a cap one level higher than them.

!!Psilons
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/psilons.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Welcome back stranger. How may I be of service?"]]
A race of [[TheGreys Grey]]-like humanoids who devote themselves to the pursuit of technology to compensate for their physically weak bodies.
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* BewareTheNiceOnes: Pacifist and peaceful race, who generally prefer to be friends with everyone. However, their ability to learn ''all'' techs makes them formidable enemy from mid-game onwards.
* TheGreys: A particularly benevolent example.
* MagikarpPower: They're low-G people, and as such, they suffer in production on all worlds except low-G worlds (until they research gravity converters for the planet). Early-game, they're struggling to survive. Late-game, nobody can stand up to them once they're established enough.
* MyBrainIsBig: They have conspicuously large, hairless craniums and, fittingly enough, are the best scientists in the galaxy.
* ProudScholarRace: They have the best research bonuses in the game, and their Creative trait means they get ''every'' application of a scientific advancement instead of picking just one.
%%* SpaceElves: High Elf variety, though not snooty. At first.%%How are they examples?

!!Sakkra
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sakkra.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Welcome friend. What have you to say?"]]
LizardFolk known for their swift breeding. Like the Klackons, they can cover half the map in the early game.
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* FeudalFuture: Uses a feudal government, using their vast populations as a labor pool. This means they need military outposts to keep their citizens up to even baseline happiness, and unlike the Elerians, they aren't geared for military conquest.
* LizardFolk: Sakkras are basically space dinosaurs.
* WeHaveReserves: Sakkra traits are in two departments. They make subterranean cities, which lets them cram more people into a planet and gives them bonuses to planetary defense, and they have ridiculous boosts to population growth. Invading their planets is a challenge even for the Bulrathi simply because of sheer numbers you have to slog through, but to the Elerians it just makes them [[MassHypnosis even better targets]].

!!Silicoids
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silicoid.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Be welcome, other one.]]
Silicon based life. Can colonize almost any environment and are immune to pollution, allowing rapid early game expansion. In the first game, they also get penalties in all fields of research except Computers and their population growth rate is halved.

In the second game, they do not eat food and thus have the unique distinction of being able to put every single one of their guys into production or research. Their major disadvantage is that they are "Repulsive" and thus unable to trade with any other races. They can't get all of the technologies by trading; they must instead spy a lot or hope to get lucky in seizing technology during conquest. On the upside, their immunity to pollution and lack of food requirements completely obviates a lot of the research that other races need.
----
* {{Retcon}}: In the first two games, they looked like walking mini-volcanoes. The third game retconned their appearance to [[VideoGame/StarControl Chenjesu]]-like crystal formations that can sprout branches and limbs out of thin air at an incredible speed. The reboot decided to combine both of these designs.
* SiliconBasedLife:
** Their key traits are all based on the fact that they're weird rock aliens. They don't need food because they eat rocks. They don't care about pollution because normal biospheres mean nothing to them. In the second game, they also can't communicate diplomatically beyond declaring war because silicon life minds cannot really understand carbon life minds and vice versa.
** The reboot brings back the diplomatic penalty, but makes it much more lenient. You can now befriend other races, it's just ''really'' hard.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Introduced in ''Master of Orion II'' (1996)]]

!!Antarans
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/antaran.jpg]]
Scary, vicious aliens who periodically attack the galaxy, laying waste to planets with powerful fleets.
----
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: No matter how power-hungry or violent they are, other aliens can at least be reasoned with. The Antarans? They just want want everyone else dead.
* AncientEvil: Genocidal tyrants who resemble a mixture of skeleton and xenomorph, locked out of the galaxy by the Orions eons ago. It's taken this long after the Orions died out to escape, but now their former prison is just as effective as an unassailable fortress.
* BigBad: They're the most megalomaniacal empire around and a danger to all sapient life in the galaxy.
* EvilCounterpart: The AncientEvil to the Orions' BenevolentPrecursors.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: Their pocket dimension isn't keeping them ''in'' so much as it is keeping attackers ''out''.
* OmnicidalManiac: They'll launch fleets to attack a single planet, blow up defense fleets and starbases, then bomb the planet to dust.
* SealedEvilInACan: They, along with the Antares system, were banished to another dimension by the Orion. One of the win conditions is building a dimensional gate and killing them in their can

!!Elerians
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elerian.png]]

A matriarchal race of omniscient elf-like humanoids.
----
* ActionGirl: A whole race of them, thanks to their society being matriarchal.
%%* FeudalFuture: The other feudal society, like the Sakkra.
* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: Some of the other races may have a little of the RubberForeheadAlien thing going on, but Elerians are just funny colored human women.
* MassHypnosis: Telepathy gives them this power. As long as they have at least one cruiser-sized ship in their attacking fleet, they don't even need to invade enemy planets to capture them. They can also use ships captured in battle immediately, instead of having to wait until the battle is over like other races.
* SpaceElves: A much more militant variety, but otherwise a straightforward example of fantasy elves InSpace
* TelepathicSpacemen: The have access to telepathy. They can use mind control during combat to take over enemy ships, and mind-controlling planetary populations is one option they can use to avert costly invasions of conquest.
* TheOmniscient: They're aware of everything happening in the galaxy, because of their telepathy. This removes the need to scout systems.

!!Gnolams
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gnolam.png]]

Dwarf-like people from a low-G home world whose society focuses primarily on monetary gain.
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* BornLucky: The only non-money trait Gnolams possess. Makes bad random events less likely to target them, and Antarans likely to ignore them in favor to blowing up some other poor schmuck.
* OurGnomesAreWeirder: Their stature and appearance are similar to those of gnomes or dwarves.
* ProudMerchantRace: They get major bonuses to basically anything money-related.
%%* SpaceJews: Even one of the Gnolam leaders was named Zog. He was renamed in a later patch.%%How are they examples?

!!Trilarians
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trilarian.png]]

Aquatic lifeforms from an oceanic planet. They suffer none of the usual penalties from living on ocean and swamp worlds.
----
* AdaptationalVillainy: Downplayed. The triliarians were overall pretty nice in their debut, but there were some hints they weren't as benevolent as they let on. The reboot removes some of the ambiguity, portraying them as not ''necessarily evil'' but definitely zealous and domineering.
* AllThereInTheManual: According to the manual for the third game (which introduces several retcons), out of the 20 races who have been playable at one point or another in the series (including those who the Antarans purged prior to the third game), fully ''six'' of them belong to the "Icthytosian" family tree, branching off from the original Trilarians. In ancient times the militaristic religious fanatics known as the Nommo split off from the Trilarians and fled their homeworld, which they consider their promised land and want to retake. Due to genetic tampering the Trilarians also created the Saurian races, specifically the Sakkra, who were later exiled from the Trilarian homeworld as well. The Sakkra in turn conducted their own genetic experiments to make task-oriented sub-species, the Raas (workers) and Grendarl (warriors), who later rebelled and split off on their own. It turns out that the Darloks themselves (a race of shapeshifters) are actually another, abandoned genetic experiment of the Sakkra that was deemed a failure (they just seemed to be amorphous blobs, but later learned to shapeshift).
* {{Cthulhumanoid}}: Subverted. They are an aquatic race, and they do have some tendrils hanging down from their chins, and even implied to be descended from the BigBad race the Antarans, but at the same time their appearance is almost angelic, they tend towards the "pacifistic" personality type, and even their theme music makes it obvious that they are not an evil race. [[BitchInSheepsClothing Maybe]].
* FishPeople: Their big trait is being an aquatic race, and they look it. [=MoO3=] {{retcon}}ned their appearance to eel-like creatures.
* MindOverMatter: Their psychic powers allow them to increase their ships' speed and even allow them to move during a "space flux" - a random event that blocks all access to hyperspace across the entire galaxy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Introduced in ''Master of Orion III'' (2003)]]

!!Evon

A mysterious humanlike species, originally created by a powerful empire in a distant part of the galaxy. Stat wise, they have some bonuses to combat and colonization, among other random skills.
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* HumanoidAlien: They look like humans, and are classified as "humanoids".
* SpaceElves: They generally give off a "mysterious" vibe, and are described as having an "intricate" culture.

!!Meklar and Cynoid

In part 3, the Meklar split into two factions. The current "Meklar" faction transitioned into an entirely robotic species, while the "Cynoid" remain as cyborgs. Both are good at manufacturing, with Cynoids focusing further on raw economy, while Meklar have somewhat more diverse skills, but both are poor diplomatically.
----
* {{Cyborg}}: The Cynoid are basically withered organic husks who are entirely dependent on cybernetic exoskeletons.
* MechanicalLifeforms: The Meklar, on the other hand, have completely discarded the biological part of their bodies and are entirely robotic, and despise most other races as "flesh bags".

!!Ethereans

The Imsaeis and Eoladi live on gas giants, and were originally an experiment by the Antarans to create gas giant industrial workers, but the experiment instead produced a contemplative, largely peaceful species.
----
* LivingGasbag: As inhabitants of gas giants, the Ethereans have a matching biology. The Eoladi are whale-like gas bags, while the Imsaeis are something like gigantic gaseous jellyfish.
* OrganicTechnology: Are said to mainly utilize this, slowly growing to perfection whatever devices they need. While this results in less environmental damage, and well crafted devices, it does not compete well with the mass production industrial techniques of other species in warfare.
* SpaceElves: The species is said to have a great deal of skill at helping others get along.
* StarfishAliens: The Imsaeis look like jellyfish, the Eoladi are baglike floating worms.

!!Nommo

An aquatic species, much more aggressive than the Trilarians. They're said to be an offshoot of Trilarians despite looking very different -- they look like [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus nautili]].
%%----
%%* StarfishAliens:

!!Raas and Grendarl

Offshoots of the Sakkra, the Raas were created as slaves, the Grendarl as warriors. They split from the Sakkra after a Raas rebellion, which the Grendarl were expected to defeat.
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* ProudWarriorRaceGuys: The "proud" part is why the Grendarl split after the Raas revolt.
* SlaveLiberation: How the Raas became a separate faction.

!!Tachidi

A slightly more creative version of the Klackon. (Though still not that great of researchers.)
----
* InsectoidAliens: They are still insectoids, looking more like beetles than ants.

!!Ithkul

A sentient, parasitic species, that takes over other the bodies of other intelligent species. Strong on most stats, but they do not start as member of the senate and have very poor diplomacy. They also gradually replace other alien species if sharing a planet.
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* HardCodedHostility: Downplayed. While no diplomacy options are disabled for the Ithkul, everyone hates them so much that diplomacy with other races is next to impossible.
* MeatPuppet: What the Ithkul use their hosts for.
* PuppeteerParasite: The Ithkul themselves, as well as the other Harvester races in the backstory. The Ithkul are actually the ''least'' dangerous of them all.
* StarfishAliens: Just look like a collection of tentacles when not attached to anything.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Introduced in ''Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars'' (2016)]]
!!Terrans
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terran_kanate.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Welcome to the Hall of Khans, alien."]]
* GoodColorsEvilColors: While their ship designs are [[CosmeticallyDifferentSides identical to that of the Humans]], their color scheme is mark darker and more menacing, reflecting their militant nature. The diplomatic Humans choose [[EverythingIsAnIPodInTheFuture gleaming white]] as [[https://masteroforion.eu/uploads/filer_public/4e/21/4e214a96-0236-470f-af2e-5183bb6473e7/human_ship.jpg their color]] (only occasionally adding some gray), while the Terrans paint their ships [[https://masteroforion.eu/uploads/filer_public/a3/66/a36646ae-e01f-40ee-8981-0d7fcee04725/terran_ship.jpg dark gray and add red lines and symbols]].
* HumansAreBastards: Unlike their Human cousins, the Terrans don't much care for diplomacy. Their goal is galactic domination, nothing less.
* PlanetTerra: Despite their name, their starting planet isn't actually called Terra (or Earth). It's Alpha Ceti.
* TransplantedHumans: They were abducted by [[AbusivePrecursors Antarans]] from Earth long ago to fight against the Orions. They were eventually abandoned on a harsh world and left to die. Through perseverance and harsh measures, they survived.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Khoan, the Khan of the Terrans. See [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/masteroforion/images/7/7b/Terran_preview.png/revision/latest?cb=20150929001006 here]].
[[/folder]]
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