History Characters / MassEffectRaceTropesNonCitadelSpace

--> '''The Catalyst:''' In their shortsightedness, they failed to see that they were part of the problem.

* ToServeMan: [[spoiler: If Javik can be trusted, the Protheans ate most of the intelligent species of the modern galaxy (Krogan, Asari, Turians, Salarians and Quarians, and those are the ones that aren't extinct) in various delicacies. Apparently, eating the kidneys and liver out of a live salarian was "a delicacy" and ''the best''.]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler:The Hedgemony is the first galactic nation to be attacked by the Reapers in the third game, and effectively ceases to exist as a political entity thanks to its indoctrinated leaders surrendering without a fight. While this leads to trillions of deaths, it also leads [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing to much rejoicing]] in-universe, especially by innocent batarian refugees who were victims of their government as much as everyone else.]]

%%* TheFaceless: Until the third game.

* ClingyCostume: Oh good God, is this justified.

* EnclosedExtraterrestrials: Provide the page image.

* GenderIsNoObject: The only species besides humans to give multiple genders equal face time. The challenges of Fleet life make sexism something they can't afford.

* HumanoidAliens: Although they're bipedal, stand upright and use two appendages like all other species. Under their masks [[spoiler:(Or at least Tali's), they have [[HumanAliens human-like hair, finger nails.]] About the only known discernible cosmetic differences are their cybernetic implants, three-fingered hands, backwards-bent shins, two-toed feet (three-toed for female quarians), strange necks, purple skin and glowing eyes.]]

** The books shed some light on this. The novel "Mass Effect: Ascension" contains a quarian who was subject to extreme ColdBloodedTorture by Cerberus agents and then locked in a dirty room nude where he contracted an alien virus similar to gangrene [[note]] Said torture included (warning: {{Squick}} ahead): [[{{Fingore}} having every finger broken]], all of his skin was cut, bruised or burnt, [[TheToothHurts all of his teeth were pulled out]] and [[EyeScream one eyelid was ''ripped off'' ]] [[/note]]. [[AndIMustScream He remained alive and conscious for three more days]], long enough for Grayson to run into him. In that same book, a normal quarian civilian burdened by the weight of an armored suit, shotgun, and backpack full of gear managed to make several 20-foot leaps between rooftops with ease, suggesting quarians have denser musculature than humans. This is further emphasized when Pel physically subdues Golo, a quarian about half his size; while Pel wins due to his superior size and leverage, he notes that it was a harder struggle than he thought it would be and that Golo had a wiry strength.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: As Tali notes after Shepard and co. do a runner with the ''Normandy'' in ''[=ME1=]'', quarians could never do something like that, since they're brought up to be loyal to the fleet. This attitude is what can lead to their extinction in ''3'': The admirals declare war, and none of the rest of the quarians go against them.

-->'''Garrus:''' I hope your people are properly contrite for creating the geth, Tali.
-->'''Tali:''' The geth killed billions of my people and drove us into exile. I think we've paid for our mistake.

* ProperlyParanoid: The quarians are extremely defensive of the civilian fleet and the liveships; if they can't determine the nature of an incoming ship, they will hit it with everything available.
** According to the codex, every single one of the quarians' 50,000 ships is armed (even though the actual number of ''dedicated modern military ships'' is in the mere hundreds), and the crew are expected to be able to use these weapons against potential enemies. The novel "Mass Effect: Ascension" also mentions that quarian pilgrims are each given a minimum of six months of paramilitary training before being sent out including courses in combat, weapon maintenance and repair, first aid, piloting/navigation, electronics, and computer hacking. They effectively enact universal conscription. This comes in handy for the quarian Lemm in that same novel, who uses these skills to infiltrate a slaver base and kill several pirates, rescuing the protagonists in the process.

* WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture: Antebellum slavery is almost one of their [[PlanetOfHats hats]]. Deconstructed, as their refusal to abandon an archaic slave economy is very clearly holding them back, politically and economically.

* GrowBeyondTheirProgramming: They started as simple assistants, but were built to be self-optimizing. They figured out that by sharing data they could be more effective, and with that came intelligence. Then one day a few of them asked if they had souls. This sent shockwaves through quarian society.

** The major reason that the Quarians panicked when the Geth started asking if they have souls: it meant they were no longer just machines, but ''slaves'', and the Geth would eventually feel like they were enslaved.

* PoorCommunicationKills: It turns out, the true geth are not bad guys. Unfortunately, they never bothered to tell anyone anything, which led to the impression that they are. Doesn't help that according to the Codex, they shoot down every sentient organic that enters their space, and the only geth who have left the veil in 300 years are the heretics. [[spoiler: In fact, if you get the geth to help out, an Alliance marine actually blows a hole in a geth prime when it shows up to help. He's glad they saved his squad but feels he will [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten never live down]] apologizing to it. A [[http://youtu.be/u5O5RdWZsGo geth prime]] can blandly tell Shep that his/her military commanders briefed their troops extensively on the situation, and allied fire has been minimal]].

* SoldierVsWarrior: They are the warriors in comparison to just about every other species in the galaxy, but ''especially'' the turians. The krogan suffer just about every problem and pitfall that comes with being the "warrior" form of this trope, including poor battle tactics, lack of training and optimal equipment, and favoring competition over teamwork. These drawbacks (such as their reliance upon their numbers instead of strategy) did not bode will for them when the galaxy turned against them during the Krogan Rebellions.

* PardonMyKlingon: "Keelah", as an expression of surprise and alarm. "Bosh'tet" as a swear word.

* NotWorthKilling: As a corollary to EnemiesEqualsGreatness, this is one of the most humiliating fates a krogan can suffer and is equally considered the ''ultimate insult'' by krogan standards. Warlord Okeer describes being ignored as the worst insult one can inflict on an enemy, and the Patriarch begrudgingly states how insulting it is that Aria has kept him alive all these centuries and expresses excitement when he finds out that there's someone out there that wants him dead. As a ProudWarriorRace, a krogan's social status is determined by the enemies they make, and more so the enemies they destroy. They even extend this facet of their culture to other species as well; the long list of enemies that comprise the Commander's RoguesGallery, from the already-killed to the soon-killed to the eventually-killed, is precisely the reason why so many krogan pay [[WorldsBestWarrior Shepard]] tremendous respect, even though s/he's a human.

---> '''Shaman''': ''[laughs]'' I like this human, s/he ''understands''!

* TheRemnant: The remains of the batarian military will gladly join Shepard's side in ''Mass Effect 3'' if s/he convinces their acting leader to join the Citadel.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: [[spoiler:Legion]] insists that every action of theirs that was taken by everyone else to be acts of hostility were done only to ensure their survival, including: the Morning War, destroying invaders crossing the Perseus Veil, even [[spoiler:turning to the Reapers for protection against the quarians]]. What makes Paragon Shepard's interaction with [[spoiler:Legion]] so unique to the rest of the galaxy was that s/he was the only organic who saw it from their perspective, and understood that were the quarians to simply stop attacking the geth, the war would come to a complete halt. Renegade/Neutral Shepard is much less sympathetic, pointing out that the geth made no efforts to communicate their supposed desire for peace to anyone else (specifically questioning why Legion is the only geth platform period to not shoot at every organic it encountered) and saying that siding with the Reapers in any case was unjustifiable.

-->'''Liara''': Shepard had no choice but to kill the ones s/he encountered. They were all indoctrinated, and had been for a long time. I'm sorry.

* ArchEnemy: They come to view Shepard as their greatest enemy. No one in their long history has ever given them as much trouble or [[TheDreaded caused them to feel fear as s/he has]]. So much so that they will turn their main guns away from entire fleets to target Shepard alone.

* GodzillaThreshold: Ironically, Shepard is this for them. If s/he's spotted on the battlefield, they will abandon battles against fleets in an attempt to kill Shepard once and for all.

* MergerOfSouls: Details are vague on this. While they are definitely ''constructed'' from the materials of entire species, it's not completely clear whether their minds are fused or exist separately. In ''Literature/MassEffectRetribution'', it appears that ''all'' of the Reapers' minds act in unison while in possession of an avatar. On the other hand, when Shepard asks the Reaper on Rannoch how it knows who s/he is, it replies "Harbinger speaks of you", implying that they are not so unified as to always know what the others know. (Although it could be the Harbinger is uniquely individual.) Furthermore, Legion states that Reapers are made of thousands of "programs", but these programs may or may not be individual "minds". The only indication that this ''might'' be so comes during a Renegade option where Shepard states that said species can "rest in peace" after the Reaper is dead, indicating that their minds are within the Reaper. But Shepard is hardly an expert on the subject.

* NoNonsenseNemesis: The Reapers generally do not screw around with Shepard whenever they encounter him/her directly. The first major Reaper opponent doesn't kill Shepard outright because that particular Reaper doesn't consider him/her a threat up until Shepard actually stops it dead in its tracks -- and then it immediately summons the most powerful husk variant possible to try and crush Shepard immediately. The second Reaper Shepard encounters fucks around even less, by killing Shepard outright in the first ten minutes of the second game and then tries to acquire his/her body to assure that s/he's really dead, and after Shepard's resurrection Harbinger pulls out all the stops in an effort to kill Shepard, going so far as to manifest itself in its Collector minions constantly to try to kill Shepard. And every Reaper encountered in the third game doesn't screw around and tries to just blast Shepard to ashes with their main gun, even turning those dreadnought-destroying guns from entire fleets firing on them just to kill him/her once and for all. This culminates in Harbinger itself personally coming down from orbit to personally blast Shepard.

* FatalFlaw: Fatalism. After the Genophage hit, they are so convinced that the species as a whole is doomed that rather than try to preserve themselves for reproduction they instead become dangerous [[DeathSeeker Death Seekers]], which ironically contributed to the race's decline. Made worse by the fact that according to Mordin, the purpose of the bioweapon is not to render them sterile but rather to enable a steady and stable reproduction and prevent overpopulation (the Krogan breed like Rabbits). It takes Wrex and Eve being alive to keep their act together and make them realize that they still have a chance to recover.

* NotInThisForYourRevolution: When the Reapers invade the raloi immediately throw up their hands and say this is ''not'' their fight, retreating back to Turvess where they destroy all their advanced technology in an attempt to make the Reapers dismiss them as a pre-spaceflight race.

* ContraltoOfDanger: Applies to all the female krogan in ''Andromeda''.

* BadassBaritone: Every krogan you meet speaks in a very deep voice, as befitting a species of their stature. Even the one female you meet in the original trilogy has a deep, booming voice.

* CovertDistressCode: Part of quarian tradition. Whenever a quarian returns to the Migrant Fleet, they have to recite one of two code-phrases specific to them which can inform the Fleet either that they are safe and returning voluntarily, or are being held hostage, in which they just willingly sacrificed themselves to the guns of the fleet guard ships.

* NotSoInvincibleAfterAll: ''Very'' technically. A Reaper can be taken down by the concentrated firepower of four dreadnoughts, three if they’re very lucky. And that requires a concentrated barrage and the assumption the Reaper won't wipe out whatever's attacking it before it goes down. And by ''3'', there's the fact the Reapers are in force, making bringing that firepower to bear even more difficult. [[The Cerberus Facility in Sanctuary also heavily implied that it's possible to turn their Indoctrination signal against them or at least counter it to a point where it can cease to be useful to the Reapers, hence why the Reapers attacked Sanctuary so they wouldn't lose one of their most important tools during this Cycle.]]

* NotSoInvincibleAfterAll: ''Very'' technically. A Reaper can be taken down by the concentrated firepower of four dreadnoughts, three if they’re very lucky. And that requires a concentrated barrage and the assumption the Reaper won't wipe out whatever's attacking it before it goes down. And by ''3'', there's the fact the Reapers are in force, making bringing that firepower to bear even more difficult.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: {{Subverted}}. Even though most batarians you meet in the first and second game are terrorists, slavers or other criminals, there are some relatively friendly among them too. It's also explained in-universe that part of the reason they are so hostile to humans in particular is because their government repeatedly instills it upon them, in propaganda that claims HumansAreBastards and are to blame for ''every'' problem they've had since their withdrawal from the Galactic community; your average Batarian is as much a bastard as [[AllGermansAreNazis your average German is a Nazi]]. In the third game, it is clear that most Batarian civilians are NotSoDifferent from humans, and mostly victims of a government that makes sure that the only Batarians most people ever meet are the fanatical terrorists and rat bastards.

** This is what happens when a krogan enters "Blood Rage". They basically switch to a primitive, instinctual mindset driven to kill or destroy whatever's near them with little friend or foe recognition. It's explained that this is a result of their redundant biological systems -- when a krogan's life is endangered enough that a secondary system becomes necessary, their body "reboots" itself for a moment and the rush of blood and adrenaline causes them to go berserk.

* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: One of the factors that makes the Batarian Hegemony a galactic pariah is the fact that they still openly utilise slave labour, and are quite willing to conduct slave raids on the colonies of other species - as opposed to somewhere like Illium, which dresses up slavery as "indentured servitude" with the veneer of corporate contracts.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: {{Subverted}}. Even though most batarians you meet in the first and second game are terrorists, slavers or other criminals, there are some relatively friendly among them too. It's also explained in-universe that part of the reason they are so hostile to humans in particular is because their government repeatedly instills it upon them, in propaganda that claims HumansAreBastards and are to blame for ''every'' problem they've had since their withdrawal from the Galactic community. In the third game, it is clear that the average batarian civilian is not that different from the average human civilian and more a victim of his own goverment than anything else.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: This is literally how their society operates: leadership of a clan, or even a group of clans, tends to hinge on who kicks the most ass and leadership is often transferred via {{Klingon Promotion}}s. It's actually a weakness in their society, as the big, brutish warlords take over and silence the (relatively) reasonable, but typically weaker, krogan. Wrex, despite being a natural leader who could plan ahead, would have gotten nowhere if he wasn't also the baddest mofo on Tuchanka.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Due to their way of life, vorcha leadership tend to be those who are the strongest and the toughest among them.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Goes hand in hand with AuthorityEqualsAsskicking.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: [[spoiler:According to Javik, they firmly believed this. He claims that the Protheans would have gladly served any race that proved itself capable of conquering them, but ''no-one'' ever did]].