𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙎 ⟡ 𝙀𝙁𝙁𝙀𝘾𝙏 | SEEKING CREW TO TAKE ON THE REAPERS.

[minccino]

Hey there! This is an interest check for a Mass Effect RP that takes place between the events of Mass Effect 2 and 3
as the galaxy recognizes the looming Reaper threat and prepares for an intergalactic war. Instead of enjoying Commander
Shepard's story, the plot will follow the story of our crew. I am hoping that by having everyone in the same crew
that there will be plenty of opportunities for bonding moments and exciting interactions when combat comes into play.
Perhaps our dear Commander is a Renegade? Perhaps the crew is not Council-approved at all and are just a bunch of
space cowboys trying to make the galaxy a better place. We can discuss the details, but we need a crew first.

The RP will consist of original characters only and there will be a set roles that can be taken around the ship. A
Commander for sure, a doctor, a pilot, etc. It's all bare bones for now, but who would be interested in this venture? ​

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

Okay so here's what I've got for my character concept thus far.

Clan Name: Ganar

Personal Name: Kar
Species: Krogan
Gender: Male
Height: 7'1"
Weight: 860lbs
Occupation: Ex-Blood Pack Mercenary
Combat Role: Sentinel
Crew Role: Captain, Fire Team Leader

Quote: "Strategy? You want strategy then talk to a Salarian. You want an unbreakable wall of flesh between you and the enemy, then you've come to the right place. Heh."

Weapons: M-76 Revenant, M-6 Carnifex
Tech Powers: Tech Armor, Overload
Biotic Powers: Warp, Throw

Although he was elsewhere in the galaxy at the time, the aftermath of the conflict with Archangel and Commander Shepard left a power vacuum within the Blood Pack that many krogan were eager to fill. In consolidating the remaining forces Kar focused less on trying to assume command of the operation and more on trying to figure out exactly what had happened and why. Although not the smartest of individuals, Kar is intelligent enough to lean on others for their expertise in areas that he lacks skill and as such he was able to learn what Shepard claimed was coming.

Many doubted the news of the Reapers, even the council, but Kar had to believe that they wouldn't have warred with the mercenaries on Omega without truly believing the validity of their claims. Whether out of noble instinct, the simple logic of wanting to survive, or the innate desire of all Krogan to charge towards the biggest fight, he levied what influence he could within the Blood Pack and departed with a stolen vessel (not that the Blood Pack ever did anything through legal means in the first place) and a skeleton crew of mostly Vorcha and a few krogan willing to follow him. Kar decided that he'd seek to gather other skilled individuals to round out the crew and together they'd try and follow in the footsteps of Shepard to stick it to the Reapers however they could manage.

In combat Kar prefers heavy battle armor with a collapsible helmet, ensuring that depressurization or environmental hazards aren't much of a threat when they arise. Although his primary focus is on his abilities rather than his weapons, he favors the M-76 Revenant for its ability to lay down deadly suppressive fire and carries an M-6 Carnifex heavy pistol as a sidearm. Kar tends to take to the field in the front and center, easily recognizable due to his large stature and the brightly glowing tech armor that he uses to amplify his already impressive durability. With highly potent regeneration, even for his race, Kar's strategy of choice is to simply out-last his enemies while wading through incoming attacks; something that often makes the going far easier for his allies.

His tech skills are limited to Tech Armor and Overload as he's not much of an engineer. His focus, like most krogan, is upon killing his enemies more effectively rather than the more mundane and frankly boring tasks of hacking or maintenance. In regards to his biotic skills he focuses on Warp and Throw, again utilizing them to weaken or defeat enemies at range which would prove otherwise resilient or evasive to his firearms.

 

[TheDecker]

True but a player doesn't have to necessarily make a Hanar combat character. They could do something weird like make a Hanar engineer or diplomat (lol). In any case don't forget that, although slow outside of water, they have a natural poison and a very strong grip. Good for tentacle shenanigans or a grapple-focused character that's otherwise unassuming.

I agree whole heartedly, besides I am far from a power gamer. My last idea for a 5e fighter was a dex based grapple focused fighter that only used whip's as they can be nonlethal weapons perfect for assisted grappling/ranged grappling with it's reach property. He would be a dishonorably discharged soldier who got out of prison to find purpose among a traveling carnival, becoming a Lion Tamer and developing a newfound pacifist philosophy. (Entertainer background) He seeks to entertain others and never to kill again, incapacitating and knocking out any foe, even monster races. He begins adventuring to gain extra coin for his carny family as they are on hard times. Far from a strong combat character indeed if he actively avoids killing and maiming.

 

[TheDecker]

Note; Mind you I understand this is free form (At least I think?) I just like talking about ttrpg's, it's like talking about food, cant help it.

 

[Sync]

Yeah, pretty sure this is a Freeform group, so no system or mechanics needed/required.

Just need a character concept (similar to the DreamCrusher's above - which is great, btw ) to get you rolling...I'm working on mine now.

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

Note; Mind you I understand this is free form (At least I think?) I just like talking about ttrpg's, it's like talking about food, cant help it.

Yep this is freeform but I play a lot of system games too so I fully followed what you were saying. Whip wielders are fun despite the shortcomings specifically because of the ability to deal nonlethal damage, the benefits of reach, and the ability to trip and disarm people with relative ease. I'm playing one in Pathfinder at the moment, a Warpriest.

(similar to the DreamCrusher's above - which is great, btw )

Thank ya, I'm glad my work is enjoyable.

 

[Sync]

...and here's a (basic) concept for my proposed entry into the story:

Name: Alani Liadon (Ah-lahnee Lee-ahdon)
Species: Asari
Gender: nominally Female
Height: 5’7” / 170cm
Weight: 139lbs / 63kgs
Age: 314
Occupation: former Asari Commando operative
Combat Role: Infiltrator
Crew Role: Field Medic, assistant to the Ship's Doctor

QUOTE: "If you ever ask me to help you 'Embrace Eternity', I'll personally help you get closer to it."

Weapons: M-97 Viper sniper rife (primary); M-5 Phalanx heavy pistol
Biotics: Barrier, Throw (single target)
Tech: Tactical Cloak, Incinerate

Alani was born in 1872CE, and raised on the Asari colony world of Lusia – the second-oldest Asari colony world after Sanves. Being Asari with such a long lifespan – even though she’s not quite a third of the way through her natural span – Alani remembers many, many decades of life before Humans arrived on the Galactic Scene. She remembers not doing so well with her biotic schooling, and finding a natural talent for stealth and focus. She was pegged early on for possible Commando training, and took to it eagerly when the opportunity was presented. She felt that being useful for her people was far better than spending a century or two dancing on tables in bars.

When she’d decided serving as a Commando - which included basic biotic training, basic tech training, basic medical training, and comprehensive weapons training - was no longer fulfilling, she turned to Mercenary work, serving with the Eclipse group for a time and working out of the Terminus Systems. She was based on Illium, but worked all over the Terminus, as well as taking assignments in the Attican Traverse and Outer Council Space – although the latter done mainly as stealth missions only.

The arrival of the humans was certainly noteworthy, and something that Alani took note of. The humans were young, short-lived, and pushy – they came with a drive that had not been seen in the Galaxy for some time. They certainly shook things up, especially when their appearance brought a sharp decline in the presence of the batarians…something Alani wasn’t too bothered by or upset over. The humans made their mark in short order…and the rapid ascendancy of this Commander Shepard proved it. When Shepard brought news that seemed to fit with the sudden disappearance of the protheans some fifty thousand years ago, it made Alani curious. After all, you don’t make a lot of noise about something like that if there’s nothing to it; the Council’s willingness to sweep it under the rug just gave more weight to Shepard’s story. It bore watching, if nothing else…and if no-one else bothered to step up, then maybe she’d need to look more closely at it. Extinction Events were to be heeded, after all.

In combat, Alani favours the M-97 Viper sniper rifle. Human-make, sure, but a solid weapon with a good range, good stopping power, and the large clip capacity and semi-auto mode just made it more practical. Add a decent scope to it for smoke and wall penetration, and a mod to improve clip capacity, and she’s become quite accustomed to the weapon. For close-quarters combat, she carries the M-5 Phalanx heavy pistol: it’s a well-balanced weapon for her needs, with a decent clip size, good punch for its size, and light enough that she can keep a hand free for her limited biotics. She favours the Serrice Council line of Armor pieces, and wears a variant of the Kuwashii Visor for sniper missions.

Beyond her weapons skills, she has a few biotic and tech skills she’s trained up. She can keep herself moderately protected with a reasonable Barrier, and has managed to hone her Throw power to good effect. If she needs a quick getaway, the Tactical Cloak skill has saved her backside on more than a few occasions, and the occasional short burst of heat from her OmniTool has also aided an escape or ten. And if things go to crap in a fight, she's got enough medical knowledge and skill to patch you up a lot better than MediGel can.

 

[TheDecker]

Name: Kassius Suldaning (Pronounced= Saul-dah-n-ing)
Species: Turian
Appearance:

NSFW

Gender: Male
Weight: 131 ibs
Height: 6 foot 8
Age: 37
Occupation: Assassin
Combat Role: Infiltrator
Crew Role: Quartermaster ; "I am one hell of a cook. Buuut, I doubt anyone in the crew will trust me around food, given my profession. Now if you excuse me, I must read up on a book I downloaded just before you walked in, 'how to serve man.' Heard you go well with boiled earth grown tom-ah-tos.... That was a joke, since I doubt I can even eat a Tom-ah-to without dying.... That was another joke.... Hmm, I'll just stop now. I'm certain my poor attempts at humor are killing you."

Weapons: Locust SMG, M-77 Paladin, Duel Omni Blade's
Tech: Tactical Cloak, Sabotage
Soldier tools: Sticky Grenade and Stimulant Pack

Despite being born on the Turian home-world of Palaven, Kassius grew up surrounded by crime and all manner of villainy on one of the worst places in the galaxy to call home. If one can ever even call it a real home that is; Omega. His father was nearly caught using his position as a fleet admiral to smuggle copious amounts of Red Sand. Fleeing their home world right before an investigation properly started. With false id's and new names they were free, but at what cost really? Life was hard, money was tight and danger lurked everywhere.. And when Kassius was only 12 his father was captured by Turian authorities staging a sting on Omega. Great...

Homeless for a day and hungry, Kassius decided to put what he knew about using a pistol to good use and joined the Blue Suns as a drug mule. Pay was garbage, but he survived... After doing this for 3 years, things took a turn for the better, or at least he thought they did. When he met an Asari named Turaxia. She needed a little bird to listen and listen he did, for a good couple of credits to! However his luck didn't really change until he took a bullet for the Asari. Seeing the gunmen from afar, he pushed her out of the way, and cuaght the bullet for his effort. Though not before he drew his father's pistol and took a blind shot straight to the would be assassins' forehead. Partly because he saved her life and partly because what she had seen the boy do, Turaxia decided to save his life. And put him to good use.

She brought the fifteen year old into her world, a world of death and payment. Living weapons, tools for their employers discretion. She taught him all there was to know. She was a friend, a mother and eventually a lover.... It's a shame to outlive any of those things, but to outlive someone who was all three to you and an Asari to boot? That's down right tragic. Especially if it was by your own hand.

Turaxia was a by the book women, her code was strict and part of it was to ALWAYS make the kill. However, Kassius drew the line when they discovered their target was just a child. The fight in that luxury apartment was long and brutal. But in the end, bruised, bloodied and beaten... The now 24 year old lurched over his lover, a blade piercing her chest. The good bye was short, sweet and to the point from her; "I understand...."

It's been 13 years since then and Kassius, now 37 is reaching a tender age. He never laid with a women or even tried to find love since Turaxia, engulfing himself in his work. But now he needs to face the facts. Retirement is coming some point soon, if not in the next few years then ten years at most. Death was not a service an older gentlemen should trade in if they desire efficiency, but death was for the most part all he knew. Hopefully he dies before then so he doesn't have to think about it? Maybe there's a cause out there somewhere worth him dying for?

His Tactical Approach: As a hand to hand expert Kassius tends to move deep into combat during a conflict. Using guns as a useful tool, but not his strong suit nor preferred method of killing. For this reason he Utilizes his tech knowledge to disrupt or obfuscate his position. To hopefully coup de grace his targets, with minimal suffering. If not dispatch them with his superior martial prowess.

 

[minccino]

Wow, these character concepts are so good! Had to get caught up a bit with PM replies but I'm definitely on board with everything you guys have on the drawing board right now.

This is a freeform RP so no system mechanics here, though the guides are definitely helpful tools to build a character. Looks like we have a pretty diverse cast as far as races go.

 

[minccino]

If you’re not too full already, this sounds awesome and I’d be very keen to join! The only problem would be settling on just one character idea…

The more the merrier!

 

[Sync]

I could easily have Alani take the additional role of a Field Medic (Paramedic), if that works for folks.

In the same class as Dr Chakwas? Not on your life. But she'll be better than praying MediGel can fix it.

 

[TheDecker]

Truth of the matter is she's in a Asari so she lives a long enough life that within her 300 years she has access to more trades skills , schooling and proficiencies then your average person that can only live between 70 and a 100 years. So it makes sense to me if she's also a medical doctor that can easily treat a fair amount of species in the Milky Way

 

[Sync]

Yeah...but there's also story-balance to consider. With a 1000-year natural lifespan, you can afford to be patient and lazy about learning new things.

If I wanted Alani to be awesome at a lot of things, I could bump her age by a couple of hundred years and say "she's had huge amounts of time to learn..." - but that wouldn't be quite so fun for everyone else.

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

I mean, any properly trained military character would have basic field medic knowledge so that makes sense for Alani. A merc like Kar though? Yeah, nah.

 

[Silverbird]

Very cool characters so far!

I'm struggling a little with my character's background. Here's what I'm thinking so far:

• He was a pilot in the Migrant Fleet, probably on one of the ships in the Patrol Fleet.
• He was exiled.
• After being exiled, he ended up taking odd jobs around the galaxy - and eventually fell in with a crew of bounty hunters.
• With that crew, he came into conflict with the Blood Pack (and Gar specifically) several times - sometimes hunting someone the Pack were also after, sometimes hunting a member of the Pack themselves. Sometimes they came out on top, sometimes they lost badly, in either case they usually only escaped by the skin of their teeth.
• He's been stashing away money to one day buy his own ship.
• The bounty hunting crew recently collapsed after a job went sideways, leaving him stranded and out of work.
• To his surprise, an old enemy reached out looking for a pilot...

What I'm stuck on is the reason for his exile in the first place. I think I want it to have involved a conflict with someone in a position of power - maybe he discovered that his captain was corrupt in some way, but his attempt to prove it was turned back on him. Maybe he disobeyed an order for what he felt was a good reason, but he had some terrible consequences - like he refused to abandon someone, and in doing so put the rest of a mission in danger. I'm not sure yet. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

I'm totally down for weaving our backstories together though, for clarification, the clan name of Ganar is only really used when speaking the krogan's full name. Refering to him personally would almost always utilize "Kar" instead. (Not sure if Gar was a typo and you meant Kar or if it was shorthand for Ganar in your post.)

In regards for your exile it's difficult to suggest things for your character but I'll touch on what you've suggested already:

-Corruption within the Migrant Fleet isn't very rampant considering the tight-knit culture that the Quarian's possess from having to live in such cramped quarters with such limited resources. It's still totally believable that a captain could do bad things, hell Tali's father endangered a good chunk of the fleet in his quest for the greater good, but it sounds to me that if you'd want to ensure the captain was being a sleazeball only to leverage his position and authority to get the charges dropped. Maybe your character lacked evidence to prove what you know to be true and the captain was able to sweep it under the rug and turn it against you?

-If he's focused on piloting then it wouldn't be hard to engineer a mission in which your character was controlling a shuttle down to a planet or such when shit hit the fan. If your character refused to depart without every member of the expedition, but ultimately was unable to save them and got another crewmember killed in the process then that could be a basis for being punished and eventually exiled on account of no captains desiring your character aboard their vessels.

 

[Sync]

@Silverbird - Reason a Quarian might have been recently exiled from the Migrant Fleet...?

Ask Cerberus. Remember they, just prior to the events of ME2, infiltrated the Migrant Fleet (Tali makes reference to it in the game).

If YC was a part of that...

Cerberus

Cerberus is a human-survivalist paramilitary group led by the enigmatic Illusive Man. Cerberus' core belief is that humans deserve a greater role in the galactic community, and that the Systems Alliance is too hamstrung by law and public opinion to stand up effectively to the other Citadel...

masseffect.fandom.com

Read the tiny part under Mass Effect: Ascension (link added for full story of that episode, if you're interested in looking at that option).

 

[Silverbird]

Sorry, yes, that was meant to say Kar. Somehow the G got stuck in my head. (My phone just tried to make it Jar, which is... also not right.)

I agree that blatant corruption is probably less of a thing on the Fleet, given their culture and living conditions, but I think part of what I wanted to get at is the idea that there are still power structures and people in positions of influence, and some of them are going to be abuse that. What does that look like in Quarian society, though, where everyone's living together in a relatively small space? I think part of my goal is to give my character a bit of cynicism towards power and authority, something that his time as a bounty hunter has sharpened. Sometimes he was hunting real scumbags, dangerous, violent criminals and the like, but other times he was really just acting as a tool for the wealthy or powerful. Not every job was legitimate, and not all the people they hunted deserved it.

That said, I quite like the Cerberus angle! This doesn't really touch on all the stuff I was just talking about, but here's what I have: When he was a young pilot, not too long after completing his pilgrimage, he was part of a team sent to search an abandoned colony for usable salvage. There, they were ambushed by a group of humans in white and yellow armour which he didn't recognise. Their team was completely caught off guard; he only managed to escape because one of the others took a hit for him. He made it back to the shuttle, took off, and fled back to the fleet to tell them what happened.

And then they got a Quarian distress signal from the colony. The commander of the mission had survived - but when she was rescued, she had a very different story to tell. They'd be ambushed by local wildlife, not soldiers. He'd panicked and fled; sealing a door behind him, trapping the others in with the animals and leaving them stranded on the planet. She'd barely managed to get out alive; the others were dead, their bodies dragged off for food. He's left them to die and lied to save face.

And sure enough, when they went back to the colony there were no signs of any humans, but several dead animals.

My character knows this was some kind of cover-up, that his commander must have been working with the group that ambushed them, but he had no way to prove it. He doesn't know what they wanted with a bunch of Quarians - but it can't have been good. He tries not to think about it too much. He's never crossed paths with that group again, but he has heard whispers of a group matching their description: Cerberus.

 

[Sync]

Felt the need to edit Alani's profile to include possible role in the Crew, include her Commando training focusses...and a character quote.

 

[TheDecker]

Might even be able to swing some mechanical tentacles in there for @TheDecker to enjoy. xP

Haha, just noticed this joke friendo. lol, thanks I guess. . If I have room for a second character might swing a gal then.

Felt the need to edit Alani's profile to include possible role in the Crew, include her Commando training focusses...and a character quote.

I am liking it.

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

Felt the need to edit Alani's profile to include possible role in the Crew, include her Commando training focusses...and a character quote.

This is a good idea so I shamelessly/shamefully stole it and did the same with Kar.

Though you do realize he's likely to say that to Alani just to rile her up if he ever learns that bothers her.

 

[Sync]

This is a good idea so I shamelessly/shamefully stole it and did the same with Kar.

Though you do realize he's likely to say that to Alani just to rile her up if he ever learns that bothers her.

Hehe...nice quote for Kar. I totally read that in Wrex's voice, just so you know. >.>

But I'll admit that I added the Crew Role in Alani's profile 'cause I saw that Decker had already done it and it just made sense.

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

Well, to be fair, the Krogan are remarkably similar in their depictions and I'm leaning into the stereotype somewhat so it's hard to create a lot of distance between Kar and Wrex lol.

 

[Sync]

Yeah, I get that. You can blame the Turians and Salarians for the Krogan being largely two-dimensional once they hit the Mercenary branch. I think it's even covered in the game, particularly during ME3 - the genophage reduced the Krogan to a bunch of mindless savages, such that most Krogan leave Tuchanka so they can fight for creds because it's about all they can do.

At least the Asari get a bit more depth to them in ME3 when you see them fighting on Thessia.

 

[TheDecker]

Yeah, I get that. You can blame the Turians and Salarians for the Krogan being largely two-dimensional once they hit the Mercenary branch. I think it's even covered in the game, particularly during ME3 - the genophage reduced the Krogan to a bunch of mindless savages, such that most Krogan leave Tuchanka so they can fight for creds because it's about all they can do.

At least the Asari get a bit more depth to them in ME3 when you see them fighting on Thessia.

Glad to see you both like my additions to our little character profile format LOL.

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

I don't remember the genophage being attributed to their mentality. What I remember was that they nuked themselves into oblivion and in the aftermath they basically reverted to a more tribal existence because nobody was left with the capability to pick up the pieces of their civilization.