History Characters / MassEffectRaceTropesCitadelAssociate

* TransplantedAliens: The drell race originally came from the arid planet Rakhana, but overpopulation caused it to fall into ruin. Fortunately, the hanar were able to save 375,000 (out of billions) of them and take them to their own planet Kahje. Most drell vountarily serve the hanar in some fashion due to the fact they owe their existence to them. Unfortunately, Kahje is a humid planet and while its perfect for the aquatic hanar, ot is less than suitable for the drell, who evolved to live on their own arid planet. As a result, they are susceptible to serious illnesses, including a fatal bacterial lung disease called "Kepral's Syndrome".

* GutturalGrowler: We meet all of three drell (four including the multiplayer), all male, and they all have raspy voices.

** Their hat is being excessively polite, and they even have trouble holding guns. So you wouldn't think they'd be dangerous combatants, right? Well, according to certified badass Zaeed Massani, they can be deadly if they manage to get those tentacles around your throat: they're both strong and poisonous. Furthermore, they're literally out of their element when dealing with most people since they're an aquatic race. On their homeworld, they're ''predators''.

* LovedByAll: Thanks to their cordial nature and polite attitude, as well as their pacifistic nature, most everyone seems to like the elcor who don't get singled out for [[FantasticRcsism detraction]] like other races. Even a [[NinetiesAntiHero Renegade-aligned]] ''[[NinetiesAntiHero Shepard]]'' can't help but express fondness for them.

* LongLived: Heavily implied throughout the series[[note]]Throughout the series, the elcor have been shown not just to be exceedingly patient, but their economic lore reveals they are more than happy to make centuries-long business investments, implying that they are LongLived[[/note]], officially confirmed in ''Literature/MassEffectAnnihilation'': the elcor are the third longest-living species in the galaxy, being only outranked by the [[SpaceElves asari]] and [[ProudWarriorRace krogan]] respectively. Indeed, the elcor consider being 100 years old young by their species standards', while 300 is considered old. [[JustifiedTrope Justified when you remember]] the elcor are a species of [[HeavyWorlder Heavy Worlders]], so unlike the [[WeAreAsMayflies salarians]], they don't burn metabolism nearly as fast, hence why they live a lot longer than most other species. However, as the diplomat in ''3'' notes, their numbers have never been great, partly because they're restricted to a small part of their planet -- their long lives in combination with their low population means their species has always been on a knife's edge in terms of viability.
* LovedByAll: Their in no shortage of this trope, albeit slightly [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] due to the [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome realistic constraints]] of the trope applying to an entire species; thanks to their cordial nature and polite attitude, as well as their pacifistic nature, most everyone seems to like the elcor. Even a [[NinetiesAntiHero Renegade-aligned]] ''[[NinetiesAntiHero Shepard]]'' can't help but express fondness for them.

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: Their in no shortage of this trope thanks to their cordial nature and polite attitude, most everyone seems to like the elcors. Even a [[NinetiesAntiHero Renegade Shepard]] can't help but express fondness for them.

* SpaceJews: Far from [[StarWars toydarian]] levels though. Their focus on clans also gives them hints of the "Penny-pinching Scotsman" stereotype as well.

* BareYourMidriff: Interestingly, there's an in-universe justification. Many drell suffer from a disease called Kepral's Syndrome late in life, hampering their respiratory systems on humid environments. They keep their chests uncovered to minimize restricting their breathing.

* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: Culturally subverted. Their code of ethics dictates that in times of strife and war, all debts will be forgotten. One volus was enraged that several members of his species instead decided to play the trope straight.

* ProudMerchantRace: They basically ''made'' the Citadel economy. Their engineers and designers created and are responsible for the security and value retention of the Citadel Credit, a universal currency used even outside Citadel member races' territories.
** In their backstory, their society was organized around this even before they reached space. Their clans would even exchange members through 'sale'. Differing from the usual depiction, this focus on mercantile life leads to an aversion of AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: their business ethics ARE their ethics.
* SpaceJews: Far from [[StarWars toydarian]] levels though.
** Their focus on clans also gives them hints of the "Penny-pinching Scotsman" stereotype as well.

* TookALevelInBadass: Prior to their addition to multiplayer, you never even hear of any volus combatants[[note]](Though the in game codex does note that the volus military serves as an auxiliary force to the turian military of which it is nominally a part, though they are usually relegated to support roles as the turians do most of the fighting)[[/note]].

* TheClan: Their entire society descends from this type of culture. Their name for themselves is "Vol-Clan." They also refer to others in this fashion, notably calling the quarians "[[FantasticSlurs Clanless]]," implying that their understanding of Clan is tied to Homeworlds. Friendlier or more considerate volus call them Migrant-Clan or Star-Clan.

* KillEmAll: For the majority of their population if you failed to save Kahje in the Hanar Diplomat side quest in VideoGame/MassEffect3. A news report will inform you that the planet quickly fell to the Reapers and they exterminated its entire population. Made worse when you realize that, due to their UndyingLoyalty to the hanar, the drell living on Kahje most likely remained to fight alongside them, leading to many of the drell being wiped out as well.

* KillEmAll: If Shepard fails to stop the indocrinated hanar in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', the drell on Kahje are most likely among those exterminated when the hanar homeworld Kahje falls to the Reapers. And while some drell will survive on other hanar colony worlds, the vast majority of their population will be lost forever.

* InsaneTrollLogic: Invoked by the the Indoctrinated hanar in the third game, who believe that since the "Enkindlers" now are the Collectors who worship the Reapers, logic demands that they submit to the Reapers as well.

* LongLived: Heavily implied throughout the series[[note]]Throughout the series, the elcor have been shown not just to be exceedingly patient, but their economic lore reveals they are more than happy to make centuries-long business investments, implying that they are LongLived[[/note]], officially confirmed in ''Literature/MassEffectAnnihilation'': the elcor are the third longest-living species in the galaxy, being only outranked by the [[SpaceElves asari]] and [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy krogan]] respectively. Indeed, the elcor consider being 100 years old young by their species standards', while 300 is considered old. [[JustifiedTrope Justified when you remember]] the elcor are a species of [[HeavyWorlder Heavy Worlders]], so unlike the [[WeAreAsMayflies salarians]], they don't burn metabolism nearly as fast, hence why they live a lot longer than most other species. However, as the diplomat in ''3'' notes, their numbers have never been great, partly because they're restricted to a small part of their planet -- their long lives in combination with their low population means their species has always been on a knife's edge in terms of viability.
* MightyGlacier: [[JustifiedTrope Due to growing up on a high-gravity but teeming-with-life planet]], elcor move slowly and react slowly. They more than make up for it by having enough strength to punch holes through bulkheads, and are one of the few species which can shrug off incoming fire with relative ease, owing to their incredibly thick hides and strong muscular structure. Thankfully for everyone involved, however, the elcors are unlike the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy kro]][[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype gans]] or [[AlwaysChaoticEvil yahg]] in the sense that starting fights is [[GentleGiant one of the last things on their minds.]]

* ChildSoldiers: Thane recalls beginning his training as an assassin at age six and getting his first kill when he was twelve.

* GaiasLament: Because the Drell took to industrial expansion early, their already arid homeworld Rakhana suffered serious environmental damage. By the time they realized it, there was nothing they could do; the topsoil was already depleted and oceans acidified beyond the point of sustaining life. Due to the fact that they didn't yet achieve interstellar flight, their massive population was set to crash around 2025 CE. It was only thanks to the Hanar that 375,000 of them escaped the ensuing war for resources. Today, Rakhana is a cemetery world where only a few thousand Drell still live.
* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: The male versions of the species were specifically designed to be the {{Spear Counterpart}}s to the asari. The development team even created the drell by passing around concept sketches of Thane and explicitly asking the heterosexual women in the office which one they found the sexiest. Eventually they settled on a lean, reptilian creature with large soulful eyes, full lips, and a deep, gravely voice. We never see the females in the games (though they are acknowledged to exist, and Thane's wife Irikah does appear in one issue of ''Foundation'' comic).

* IOweYouMyLife: The compact between the drell and hanar was formed after the hanar saved as many drell as possible from their dying homeworld.
* KillEmAll: If Shepard fails to stop the indocrinated hanar in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', the drell on Kahje are most likely among those exterminated when the hanar homeworld Kahje falls to the Reapers. Some drell beyond will survive, however, on other hanar colony worlds, but the majority of their population will be lost forever.

* PhotographicMemory: Evolving on a planet where resources were scarce and the distance between deposits often days or weeks apart, drell developed a powerful version of perfect recall so that they always knew where to find food or water. Drell can experience memories as if they are happening in the present, all details intact. The only downside is that the drell can't always control these flashbacks. When idly recalling memories, drell can become locked into [=PTSD=]-style flashbacks of memories, re-experiencing them as if it were the first time. Drell's memories make them perfect as spies and scholars, and they are passionate lovers due to their ability to vividly recall romantic memories at any time. However, they can also perfectly recall the pain of being shot in the knee, and the loss of loved ones haunts drell for their entire lives. Some drell become so obsessed with their memories that they choose to abandon the present and live in the past -- what Thane refers to as "UsefulNotes/{{Solipsism}}."[[note]][[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism Solipsism]] is the theory that only things that exist in the mind actually exist, and everything else is unknown. Meaning, drell who live in the past are restricting themselves to their own mind, and forsaking everything else outside their body as irrelevant.[[/note]]

* SneakySpySpecies: As part of the Compact, select Drell are often expected to carry out tasks on behalf of the Hanar that their patrons might find personally difficult - including assassination. For good measure, Drell possess surprising physical strength, biotic potential, and PhotographicMemory, traits advantageous in covert operatives; consequently, the first three Drell we meet over the course of the series consist of a master assassin, an information trafficker, and a novice hitman [[spoiler: who later reforms and becomes a priest if you play your cards right.]]

* TransplantedAliens: The Drell race originally came from the arid planet Rakhana, but overpopulation caused it to fall into ruin. Fortunately, the Hanar were able to save 375,000 (out of billions) of them and take them to their own planet Kahje. Most Drell vountarily serve the Hanar in some fashion due to the fact they owe their existence to them. Unfortunately, Kahje is a humid planet and, while perfect for the aquatic Hanar, is less than suitable for the Drell, who evolved to live on their own arid planet. As a result, they are suceptible to serious illness, including a fatal bacterial lung disease called "Kepral's Syndrome".

The elcor are natives of Dekuuna, a world with incredibly high gravity. As a result of living on a world where even falling down can be lethal, the elcor have developed a very patient culture. The elcor speak in monotones, but use scent and subtle facial cues to indicate the tone of what they are saying. Since other species cannot perceive these cues, elcor who frequently interact with other species are trained to prefix their speech with an emotive indicator.

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: In no shortage to their cordial nature and polite attitude, most everyone seems to like the elcor. Even a [[NinetiesAntiHero Renegade Shepard]] can't help but express fondness for them.
* AlienArtsAreAppreciated: As revealed in ''Literature/MassEffectAnnihilation'', the all-elcor performance of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' isn't a one-time joke: as a matter of fact, it's revealed from the book that [[KlingonsLoveShakespeare a sizable amount of elcor are enamored with the play]], to the point the elcor representative of the book - a doctor named Yorrik - deliberately eschewed his real name (Naumm) for his new name. Conversely, the elcor themselves have hot up-and-coming artists, such as Forta, who is basically a darling of the {{Hipster}} crowd.
* BadLiar: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged.]] On the one hand, the elcor's potentially unconscious tendency to state their emotions up-front usually gives non-elcor an exact idea of the emotion they're feeling, like some elcor stating their clear terror in instances where it isn't favorable of them to show fear. On the other hand, however, this seems to be a limitation of the [[UniversalTranslator translators that all species have]], which tends to prefix the elcor's emotions automatically without the elcor actually specifying such. Some elcor even go as far as to hack their translators to get around this issue. That being said, when the automated prefixing is altogether discounted, the elcor are potentially the ''best'' liars in the galaxy, as their emotional tells are inscrutable to pretty much everyone except fellow elcor.

* MightyGlacier: [[JustifiedTrope Due to growing up on a high-gravity but teeming-with-life planet]], elcor move slowly and react slowly. They more than make up for it by having enough strength to punch holes through bulkheads, and are one of the few species in which they can shrug off incoming fire with relative ease, owing to their incredibly thick hides and strong muscular structure. Thankfully for everyone involved, however, the elcor are unlike the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy kro]][[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype gan]] or [[AlwaysChaoticEvil yahg]] in the sense that starting fights is [[GentleGiant one of the last things on their minds.]]
** Taken to incredible levels from what we know of elcor soldiers. On top of their natural resilience and strength, they have [[ShoulderCannon automated heavy weapons on their back]] that they control with [[CallingYourAttacks voice commands.]] Add this to the fact that the elcor likely have full armor on top of their already-durable hides, and it's probably a good thing Shepard doesn't encounter hostile elcor, [[WhyWontYouDie for obvious reasons.]]

* OffScreenMomentOfAwesome: According to the elcor flotilla entry in the War Assets, a soldier elcor might as well be the single-most terrifying thing you'll ever see: their common infantry has [[ShoulderCannon Shoulder Cannons]] as their ''default'' weaponry, made even more effective thanks to complex VI. Sadly, you never see any of these elcor combatants, even if you recruit them to the cause in ''3''.

* PrimalStance: It's not immediately obvious, but the elcor do ''not'' have four legs. Their forelimbs are actually arms and have hands, and they walking on their knuckles. This is probably why they move slowly, since to operate things manually, they actually have to rear back on their hind legs, and on a heavy world, this could be ''fatal''.
* ShoulderCannon: Standard issue for elcor infantry. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that the elcor are knuckle-walking quadrupeds, and while their forelimbs can manipulate objects while stationary, the ergonomics of most species' firearms are very awkward for them to handle, especially while moving. Contrarily, their low heads and stable stance makes their broad shoulders ideal platforms for bearing the weight of weapons which other species would only consider mounting on vehicles. The elcor get around the difficulty controlling and reloading them with Virtual Intelligence controlled servo-harnesses that can be programmed with limited autonomy before combat starts and [[CallingYourAttacks directed by the elcor's voice-control during combat]].
* StealthInsult: Though more accurately a backhanded compliment: the elcor diplomat in ''3'' notes that elcor wielding the aforementioned heavy weaponry are calling "living tanks", and says it's an unflattering comparison -- he admits, however, it's basically true.

* WorldOfHam: Presumably how they view the other races of the galaxy, given they can tell how members of their own races feel just fine.

* BadLiar: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged.]] On the one hand, the elcor's potentially unconscious tendency to state their emotions up-front usually gives non-elcor an exact idea of the emotion they're feeling, like some elcor stating their clear terror in instances where it isn't favorable of them to show fear. On the other hand, however, this seems to be a limitation of the [[UniversalTranslator translators that all species have]], which tends to prefix the elcor's emotions automatically without the elcor actually specifying such. Some elcor even go as so far as to hack their translators to get around this issue. That being said, when the automated prefixing is altogether discounted, the elcor are potentially the ''best'' liars in the galaxy, as their emotional tells are inscrutable to pretty much everyone except fellow elcor.

** The elcor are also the friendliest towards humans, and it seems the feeling is mutual, as even in ''Mass Effect 1'', Shepard can't help but smile and treat the elcor diplomat with genuine fondness.

* IllGirl: A great many of them are affected Kepral's Syndrome, a lung disease that develops in humid environments, like the hanar homeworld of Kahje.

** [[UpToEleven Taken to incredible levels from what we know of elcor soldiers.]] On top of their natural resilience and strength, they have [[ShoulderCannon automated heavy weapons on their back]] that they control with [[CallingYourAttacks voice commands.]] Add this to the fact that the elcor likely have full armor on top of their already-durable hides, and it's probably a good thing Shepard doesn't encounter hostile elcor, [[WhyWontYouDie for obvious reasons.]]

* HonestCorporateExecutive: most of the many, many volus corporate executives are this.

* IHaveManyNames: Well, two at least. There's one name that they assume with most people, and a Soul Name, which they only tell to people close to them. Soul Names are usually poetic and meaningful to them; they also tend to be almost as long as salarian names.

* BadLiar: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged.]] On the one hand, the elcor's potentially unconscious tendency to state their emotions up-front usually gives non-elcor an exact idea of the emotion they're feeling, like some elcor stating their clear terror in instances where it isn't favorable of them to show fear. On the other hand, however, this seems to be a limitation of the [[UniversalTranslator translators that all species have]], which tends to prefix the elcor's emotions automatically without the elcor actually specifying such. Some elcor even go as so far as to hack their translators to get around this issue. That being said, when the automated prefixing is altogether discounted, the elcor are potentially the best liars in the galaxy, as their emotional tells are inscrutable to pretty much everyone except fellow elcor.

* AlienArtsAreAppreciated: As revealed in ''Literature/MassEffectAnnihilation'', the all-elcor performance of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' isn't a one-time joke: as a matter of fact, it's revealed from the book that [[KlingonsLoveShakespeare a sizable amount of elcor are enamored with the play]], to the point the elcor representative of the book - a doctor named Yorrik - deliberately eschewed his real name (Naumm) for his new name.