Races of the Citadel

Races and Pages:

 Asari -2

Batarian - 3

Drell - 4

Hanar - 5

Krogan - 6

Quarian - 7

Salarian - 8

Turian - 9

Vorcha - 10

Racial Feats

"Embrace Eternity"

—Asari about to meld.

History

The asari arose on Thessia, a rich world with abundant quantities of element zero that caused much of life on Thessia to exhibit biotic tendencies.

The asari were the first contemporary race to achieve spaceflight and discover the mass relay network. When they found the Citadel in 580 BCE, the asari also encountered the keepers, whose mute assistance enabled them to quickly settle on the station and learn how to operate its systems. Sixty years later, the salarians made first contact with the asari, and together the two species agreed to found the Citadel Council in 500 BCE, a galactic governing body that would come to unite dozens of races. In later years, the asari continued to explore the galaxy and welcomed several other races to the burgeoning galactic community.

Appearance And Biology

A mono-gender race, the asari are distinctly feminine in appearance and possess maternal instincts. Their unique physiology, expressed in a millennium-long lifespan and the ability to reproduce with a partner of any gender or species, gives them a conservative yet convivial attitude toward other races.

Asari resemble humans in terms of basic skeletal structure with five digits on each hand and feet that are relatively straight. This similarity allows asari to wear human armor. A typical asari has a blue to purple complexion, though a teal complexion is possible albeit seemingly rare. Some asari have facial markings, which are unique colored patterns that vary for every asari. Some of these facial markings resemble the eyebrows that humans have, but the asari do not think of the markings as such themselves. In the place of head hair, asari possess semi-flexible, cartilage-based scalp-crests that grow into shape. These structures are rigid, and do not "flop around" as some believe. Asari have navels as well as breasts that continue to grow with age. Asari also have a robust cellular regenerative system; while they do not heal faster than other species, they are known to reach over 1000 years of age.

Asari can mate and successfully reproduce with any other gender or species through a form of parthenogenesis. An asari provides two copies of her own genes to her offspring, one of which is passed on unaltered. The second set of genes is altered in a unique process called melding, also known as the joining or the union. During melding, the eyes of the asari initiating the meld dilate as she consciously attunes her nervous system to her partner's, sending and receiving electrical impulses directly through the skin, however physical contact is not strictly necessary. This melding can be nonsexual, and a means of sharing complex concepts mind to mind.

Asari Names

Asari have a mix of names, with no clear theme. Most have a first and last name, with the last name prefixed by a single letter and an apostrophe. What this letter signifies is unknown.

Asari Traits

Your Asari character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Intelligence score increases by 1

Age. Asari go through three life stages. Adventurer Asari are typically Maidens, between 100 and 350 years old, though some of any age do still adventure.

Alignment. Asari, being very long lived, tend to have a long view on things, though they have no strong trends towards any particular alignment.

Size. Asari are the same size as humans.

Speed. You have a speed of 30.

Languages. Asari know Common, Asari, and any one other language.

Asari Biotics. All Asari are biotic, though not all choose to develop it. You know the Mage Hand cantrip, and the hand is replaced with a ball of blue to purple energy for you. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Levitate spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.

Embrace Eternity. Using their meld ability, Asari can gain deep insights into other people. This ability functions like the Detect Thoughts spell, but with the following changes: It can only be done to those within 5 feet. If a creature succeeds on a save to resist the effects, they are immune to it until they complete a long rest. A willing creature can choose to fail the save. This ability cannot be used to detect the presence of nearby thinking creatures.

"I ask you, children, who will fight for tomorrow? Who will seek to free our people from the injustice our enemies torment us with every day? Who will stand for your parents, for your friends, and for yourselves against the others who stand against us?"

— Feterk Oko'ka.

History

When the batarians achieved spaceflight, they discovered concealed Prothean ruins on Bira, a moon of Verush, that allowed them to develop FTL travel. It is a batarian point of pride that, since the ruins were damaged by earthquakes, they had less information to go on than other spacefaring races. The Citadel Council granted the batarians an embassy on the Citadel sometime after the volus did, approximately a century after the batarians and Council had made first contact.

Despite being welcomed into the galactic community, batarian aggression provoked several crises in galactic relations over the years. Sometime around 1785 CE, a batarian fleet bombarded the salarian colony world of Mannovai; in 1913, the Batarian Hegemony annexed the independent asari colony of Esan; and in 2115, Citadel forces skirmished with batarian forces on the planet Enael.

In the early 2160s, humans began to colonize the Skyllian Verge, a region the batarians were already actively settling. The batarians asked the Citadel Council to intervene and declare the Verge an area of "batarian interest". When the Council refused, the batarians closed their Citadel embassy and severed diplomatic and economic relations, becoming an inward-looking rogue state.

Appearance And Biology

Batarians are an anthropoidal race like humans. Their faces are covered with short, fine hairs that grow longer and thicker around the mouth. A flat stripe of ridged cartilage runs along the tops of their skulls and down the backs of their necks. They have ears pointy at the upper end, though on occasion along the edges as well. The part of their faces commonly associated with the nose among humans and asari is instead an inverted flat triangle symmetrically ridged vertically. Compared to humans, batarians have a deep, guttural voice. Batarians' mouths are filled with dozens of sharp, needle-like teeth.

Their most distinctive physical feature is their four eyes, an uncommon trait among other races. One pair is set wide in prominent bony sockets protruding from the corners of their face. The second set of eyes is smaller and closer together, set higher on the face, just beneath the middle of the forehead. The eyes are uniformly dark orbs, with no discernible irises or pupils.

Batarian Names

Batarians have a mix of names, with no clear theme. Most have a first and last name.

Batarian Traits

Your Batarian character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age. Batarians tend to live slightly shorter than humans, by up to 20 years less.

Alignment. While it may seem strage to outsiders, Batarians tends towards lawful evil alignments. They are known for being scammers, terrorists, slavers, and raiders. However these are all backed by their governments, and they have a strict caste system based on personal wealth.

Size. Batarians are generally the same size as humans though with taller skulls. You are medium.

Speed. Your speed is 30.

Languages. Batarians know Common (reluctantly) and Batarian.

Capture alive. Sometimes. You gain proficiency with whips and nets, and for you, the throw distance for nets, as well as all throwable adventuring gear like alchemist's fire and oil flasks is doubled.

Everything is a weapon. You can use ranged weapons as melee weapons, dealing bludgeoning damage instead of piercing. They have a range of 5' for this purpose and use their normal damage die. You can also add your ability modifier to damage rolls for offhand attacks, if the offhand weapon is a dagger or club.

Sharp eyes. Batarians have sharper vision with their extra eyes, allowing them to more easily spot the subtle tells of other races. You have proficiency in insight.

"We- we don't have anything to offer, gracious friends. Not that anything can ever come close to repaying what you've done for us. All that we can give is who we are, and what we can be for you."

—Iliere Forodi.

History

The drell ancestors emerged from dry, rocky deserts on the barren world of Rakhana. Eight centuries ago, the already-arid drell homeworld began its swift descent into lifelessness due to disastrous industrial expansion. At the time, the drell lacked interstellar flight capacity, and with their population bursting at eleven billion, they faced certain doom.

It was around the 1980s CE that the hanar made first contact with the drell race. In the following ten years, the hanar would transport a total of 375,000 drell to the hanar homeworld, Kahje. The remaining billions left on Rakhana would perish on their dying planet, warring against each other for diminishing resources. The drell now thrive co-existing with the hanar and have been a part of galactic civilization for roughly two centuries.

Appearance And Biology

Drell are omnivorous reptile-like humanoids with an average lifespan of 85 galactic standard years. Drell appearance is very similar to asari and humans, but their muscle tissue is slightly denser, giving them a wiry strength. They appear to have five fingers on each hand, albeit the ring and middle fingers are fused. Their skin is apparently infused with a venom mild enough to be served in drinks, and may cause mild hallucinations on "oral contact". They also have two sets of eyelids, akin to the nictitating membrane possessed by certain animals such as reptiles. The inner lid is milky-white and closes from the left and right, while the outer lid is black and closes from top and bottom. Much like humans or asari, drell possess the ability to shed tears.

Sexual dimorphism among drell appears to be roughly analogous to humans. Females have breastlike protrusions, and their head "frills" are more pronounced than males'.

The drell possess eidetic memory, an adaptation to a world where they must remember the location of every necessary resource (vegetation, drinkable water and prey migration paths) across vast distances. The memories are so strong that an external stimulus can trigger a powerful memory recall. These recalls are so vivid and detailed that some drell may mistake it for reality.

Drell Names

Drell have a mix of names, with no clear theme. Most have a first and last name.

Drell Traits

Your Drell character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2 and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age. Drell mature slightly faster than humans and typically live about 90 years, though are prone to a fatal respiratory condition if they live in humid climates.

Alignment. Drell believe that the soul is separate from the body and that the body can be directed to take actions that doesn't reflect on their soul. Drell can have any alignment but can also act as a different alignment in their actions.

Size. Drell are generally smaller than humans but not by much. They are medium.

Speed. They have a speed of 35.

Languages. Drell know common. Some can understand Hanar flashes but this is rare.

Eidetic Memory. Drell never forget anything, no matter how hard they would try. They always succeed on checks to recall things they have seen, heard, or otherwise experience and their memories cannot be altered by normal magic or forces. Only extremely powerful effects like wish and divine intervention can alter a Drell's memories.

Hyoid Bone. Drell have a bone in their throat that they use to produce some vocal sounds by inflating their throats. This gives them advantage, or imposes disadvantage on others, on checks and saves involving chocking or suffocating the Drell.

Hallucinogenic touch. Your skin secretes a mild neurotoxin. When you touch a creature with your bare skin, such as by an unarmed attack, you can force them to make a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + your proficinecy bonus + your constitution modifier) or become poisoned for 1 minute. You can use this feature once, regaining the use after a short or long rest.

"It was not the way of the Enkindlers to rely on their weapons, and so it shall not be the way of their children! We fight with that which they have given us: words, and of utmost importance - knowledge."

—Doxysirend.

History

Benevolent and introspective, the Hanar are the only known sapient species in the galaxy to have evolved within a marine environment. Unified since ancient times under a zealous government known as the Illuminated Primacy, the species takes great care to put forth an image of peacefulness and kindness. Demonstrations of this have been seen all across the galaxy, most notably with the Evacuation of Rakhana where the hanar saved hundreds of thousands of Drell people from extinction on their dying world, giving them safe refuge on the hanar's own ocean home of Kahje.

Appearance And Biology

Similar in appearance to the Jellyfish of Earth, the Hanar are completely at home within any marine environment, whether freshwater or saltwater. On the terrestrial surface of any planet, the hanar require contra-gravitic levitation packs utilizing Element Zero that hold them on the ground in a standing position, one that is more comfortable to deal with for most other species.

Hanar are extremely polite, almost to a fault. They never refer to themselves in the first person with someone they know on a face name basis: to do so is considered egotistical. Instead they refer to themselves as "this one," or the impersonal "it." It is only around those who know their soul name that they would ever consider using the first person.

Hanar Names

The hanar have two names, a "face name" and a "soul name." The face name is used as a general label for use by strangers and acquaintances. The soul name is kept for use among close friends and relations, and tends to be poetic.

Hanar Traits

Your Hanar character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your charisma score is increased by 3.

Age. Hanar live up to 150 to 210 years.

Alignment. Hanar are polite and strive to be calm. They tend towards neutral alignments.

Size. Hanar, while between 6 and 8 feet long, are size small.

Speed. You have a speed of 20, and a swim speed of 35.

Languages. Hanar speak only Common but they speak it very well. Their natural language consists of patterns bioluminescence that other species require equipment to understand.

Jellyfish body. Lacking bones, hanar are fairly weak. You count as 'tiny' for the purposes of determining carry capacity. They also cannot wear any armor. They can use shields if they are proficient.

For you, your strength score maximum is 16.

Tentacles. Hanar possess six tentacles, three on each side of their body. They can grip firmly but cannot lift much. Each tentacle can be used to manipulate objects.

For using weapons, 1 tentacle counts as half an arm on other races. A single tentacle will have disadvantage with any weapon that does not have the light property and cannot wield a heavy weapon. Four are required to use a weapon with the heavy property without disadvantage.

If you use the two-weapon fighting option, you decide which of the weapons you're wielding is the main hand weapon and which is the offhand when you attack with them (the same weapon cannot be both on the same turn).

Hanar also only require two open tentacles to perform somatic components of spells.

Natural Toxin. Hanar are able to produce a mild natural toxin. If they make an unarmed strike, it deals 1d4 poison damage on top of its normal damage.

"A scar does not form on the dying. A scar means I survived."

—Urdnot Wrex.

History

The krogan are a species of large reptilian bipeds native to the planet Tuchanka, a world known for its harsh environments, scarce resources, and overabundance of vicious predators. The krogan managed to not only survive on their unforgiving homeworld, but actually thrived in the extreme conditions. Unfortunately, as krogan society became more technologically advanced, so did their weaponry. The end result is that they destroyed their homeworld in a nuclear war that reduced their race into primitive warring tribes.

With the help of the salarians, the krogan were "uplifted" into galactic society, and lent their numbers and military prowess to bring an end to the Rachni Wars. Ironically, after the rachni were eradicated, the rapidly-expanding krogan became a threat to the galaxy in turn, starting the Krogan Rebellions and forcing the turians to unleash the genophage. This genetic "infection" dramatically reduced fertility in krogan females, causing a severe drop in births secondary to prenatal and postnatal death and, ultimately eliminating the krogan's numerical advantage. y are no longer able to rapidly reproduce as before, they're not on the verge of extinction from low numbers either.

Appearance And Biology

Krogan eyes are wide-set giveing the krogan 240-degree vision, giving them greater visual acuity and awareness of approaching predators. Krogan eyes have narrow pupils. Their irises may be red, green, amber, or blue in color.

Their large shoulder humps store fluids and nutrients, enabling them to survive extended periods without food or water. A bigger shoulder hump is seen as a sign of high status, showing how successful an individual krogan is at hunting. Their thick hides are virtually impervious to cuts, scrapes or contusions, and they are highly resistant to environmental hazards, including toxins, radiation, and extreme heat and cold.

Younger krogan have yellow or green markings on their hides. These markings darken to brown or tan over time, showing their age. Younger krogan tend to have looser plates on their head with soft spots in between. When they grow older the plates grow together to form one whole.

The most amazing physiological feature of krogan biology is the multiple instances of major organs. These secondary (and where applicable, tertiary) systems are capable of serving as back-ups in the event of damage to the primary biological structures. Krogan also have a secondary nervous system using a neuroconductive fluid, meaning they are almost impossible to paralyze.

Krogan Names

Krogan names are simple, with their clan name first and their individual name second. All Krogan must complete a rite of passage in order to become full clan members. Individual names tend to come from a drunken father belching out sounds until one sounds good enough to be a name.

Krogan Traits

Your Krogan character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Increase your Strength and Constitution scores both increase by 1.

Age. Sheer physical hardiness means an individual krogan can expect to live for centuries. Krogan can live for well over a thousand years.

Alignment. Due to their history and biology, krogan tend to show little empathy especially to 'weaklings', so they tend to be evil.

Size. Krogan are large and heavy. They typically stand over 7 feet tall not including their hump, and weigh at least 300 to 450 lbs but can be eavyn larger. They are a medium size.

Speed. You have a speed of 25.

Languages. They speak Common and Krogan. Krogan is a language of harsh and short sounds.

Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Menacing You are proficient in the Intimidation skill.

Krogan Durability. Due to their thick hides and redundant organs, Krogan are extremely hard to kill. If you become paralyzed, this lasts either until the end of combat or until half its normal duration would be, whichever is shorter. They also have advantage to resist poisons and weather effects such as heat or cold. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 instead. They can do this once, regaining it after a short rest.

Finally you are able to take the Tough feat as many times as you want and are able to by your class(es).

"Keelah Se'lai"

—Quarian phrase in meaning "By the homeworld I hope to see one day".

History

The quarians are a nomadic species of humanoid aliens known for their skills with technology and synthetic intelligence. Since their homeworld Rannoch was conquered, the quarians live aboard the Migrant Fleet, a huge collection of starships that travel as a single fleet.

Appearance And Biology

Quarians have an endoskeleton, lips, teeth, and two eyes with eyelids and tear ducts. Their ears or ear analogues differ in a noticeable fashion from those of humans, with references made to "what [passes] for the quarian version of an ear". Their eyes can see into the ultraviolet end of the spectrum; their suit HUDs can show information in those wavelengths. Quarian facial structure and hair actually makes them the most similar to humans in physical appearance.

They also have three thick fingers on both hands which include a thumb, an index finger, and a long finger, similar to the middle fingers for humans, as well as three toes on each foot. Their lower legs are bowed backwards significantly, compared to asari or humans. Aside from hands and legs, their general body shape and sexual dimorphism is similar to humans. Male quarians, however, appear to lack a third toe. Like humans, quarian blood is red.

The most distinguishing feature of quarian biology is their weak immune system, compounded by centuries of living in sterile environments. As a result, all quarians by necessity dress in highly sophisticated enviro-suits, to protect them from disease or infection if they are injured.

Quarians are a dextro-protein species. The food of levo-protein races such as humans or asari is at best inedible and at worst poisonous, most likely triggering a dangerous allergic reaction. Quarians who want to taste something (other than the refined edible paste issued to all who leave on their Pilgrimage) can eat specially purified turian cuisine, though the typical quarian diet is vegan, as livestock were found to possess an inefficient resource-to-calorie ratio when stored on the Migrant Fleet.

Quarian Names

Quarian names are composed of four parts, the given name, the clan name separated by an apostrophe, then either 'nar' or 'vas' depending on if they have completed their Pilgrimage or not, and the name of their home vessel. On formal occasions they may add the ship of their birth and their current ship names in succession (Example: Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya)

Quarian Traits

Your Quarian character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your intelligence score increases by 2.

Age. A quarian's lifespan is roughly equal to a human's, but is prone to be less if infection breaks into the suit.

Alignment. Quarians live in a delicate situation in the Migrant Fleet. As they become adults, they must leave their home ship and seek another to join. To do so, they must first go out into the wider galaxy and bring back something of value as a gift. This tends them towards Good alignments.

Size. Quarians are generally shorter and of slighter build than humans. They are medium.

Speed. You have a speed of 30

Languages. Quarians who have completed their pilgrimage know Common, Khelish, and one other language. Kehelish is the only surviving Quarian language with a significant number of speakers.

Weak Immune system. Quarians have lived for so long inside their suits that their immune systems are almost totally useless. Your constitution score cannot go above 18 and you always have disadvantage on saving throws against diseases.

Recycled Tech. Quarians are experienced with making do with old parts and refurbishing them to work like new. You know the Mending cantrip and can cast it without material components. You are able to repair damage of any size, requiring 1 minute per foot of damage to do so. This cannot replace more than 1 cubic foot or 5 lbs (whichever is lower) of missing materials. You also can cast Purify Food and Drink as a ritual.

Sealed Suits. All quarians wear an elaborate and highly advanced environment suit. When you obtain armor, you cannot don or doff it as normal, you instead must spend a long rest incorporating it into your suit or removing it to don or doff the armor.

While you are wearing a sealed suit, you have immunity to air based issues like poisons, diseases, spores, hard vacuum and other similar hazards. You also have resistance to weather based effects, and can survive twice as long as normal without air than your Constitution score would permit.

If, at any point, you have less than half your maximum HP remaining, or take damage while below that threshold, your suit becomes ruptured. While it is ruptured, or if you remove it for any reason, you have vulnerability to all air based issues like those previously listed, and lose all other benefits of having the suit sealed. Every minute the suit is ruptured, you have a 50% chance of becoming poisoned, and a 50% chance every time you are hit by a weapon attack. You also have a 50% chance of contracting a random disease (chosen by your DM). The poison lasts until you finish a long rest inside a sealed suit.

The suit remains ruptured until you fully repair it. Mending will do this, requiring one casting for every 10 HP (rounded up) you are below your maximum to become fully repaired.

"Yes Bedig, the wind pushes the sail, which pushes the boat, which carries the people. But what, child, forces the wind?"

—Neydi Jath, Parables for Ponderance.

History

The second species to join the Citadel, the salarians are warm-blooded amphibians native to the planet Sur'Kesh. They opened diplomatic relations at once and became one of the founding species of the Citadel Council. In a gesture of trust, the salarians opened the records of one of their intelligence services, the League of One, but this quickly created problems when the League's members found themselves in danger as a result. The League slaughtered the entire Union inner cabinet, but were later hunted down, leaving only relics behind.

Appearance And Biology

The salarians are a bipedal race of amphibians, with tall, elongated bodies well-suited for their high metabolism, and skeletons composed of more cartilage than those of other races such as humans. Salarian heads are long and thin, and have a pair of horns protruding from the top of their skulls. Skin varies in color, from bright reds and greens to the more common shades of blue or grey. Their blood is a greenish color. Salarians are androgynous, and exhibit no major facial differences between males and females.

Salarian eyes are large and oval and have thin membranes in place of eyelids. The pupils are a wide slit, oriented horizontally, and the irises can be dark green, purple, red, blue, or brown. Salarians can see ultraviolet at the short-wavelength end of the spectrum. Salarians blink upwards, rather than downwards as humans do. When salarians roll their eyes, it is not a sign of disdain as with humans, but rather a response to situations where the thin protective membranes require extra help in defending against dryness or irritants.

Salarians are noted for their high-speed metabolism, which allows them to function on just one hour of sleep a day. Their minds and bodies work faster than most sapient races, making them seem restless or hyperactive. The drawback of this active metabolism is a short lifespan of around 40 human years.

Salarian Names

Salarian names are quite complex. A full name includes – in order – the name of a salarian's homeworld, nation, city, district, clan name and given name. For example, a salarian named Gorot II Heranon Mal Dinest Got Inoste Ledra would be called either by his clan name, Inoste, or his given name, Ledra.

Salarian Traits

Your Salarian character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your intelligence score is increased by 2.

Age. Their metabolic speed leaves them with a relatively short lifespan; salarians over the age of 40 are a rarity.

Alignment. Salarians come with a wide variety of attitudes though they tend to push the boundaries of just about anything.

Size. Salarians are slightly taller than humans but far thinner and have few bones making them even lighter.

Speed. Being hyperactive, Salarians have a speed of 35 and a swiming speed of 20.

Languages. You know Common, Salarian, and any two other languages.

Amphibious. You are able to breathe air or water.

Live Fast. Salarians high metabolism allows them to function on less rest. Salarians only require 4 hours to complete a long rest, and only one of those hours do they need to sleep.

Know Everything. Salarians are expert information gatherers and researchers. You have proficiency in your choice of History or Investigation as well as any one set of tools of your choice.

In addition, any learning or researching you do, is done twice as fast as it would be for any other race. This includes copying spells into a spellbook (but this does not reduce the cost).

Finally, all Salarians have a photographic memory, giving them advantage on all checks to recall information they have seen.

Cutting Edge. Salarians are always experimenting and trying the latest and greatest technology. During a long rest, you can 'upgrade' one melee weapon or 20 units of ammunition. To do so, you must attune to it, then choose one of the following: acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, poison, or radiant. The weapon or ammunition now does that type of damage instead of its regular type. The damage is not magical. The effect on a weapon lasts until you roll a 1 on an attack roll, upon which the weapon breaks and is totally destroyed. The ammunition is destroyed upon its use, even if it misses but otherwise the effect lasts indefinitely. You can have a total number of weapons or sets of ammunition modified with this feature up to your proficiency bonus. If you try to create another at that limit, the oldest weapon or set of ammunition is destroyed at the same time.

"If I don't care about the safety of the people I protect, then I don't deserve to be the one protecting them."

—Garrus Vakarian.

History

Known for their militaristic and disciplined culture, the turians were the third race to join the Citadel Council. They gained their Council seat after defeating the hostile krogan for the Council during the Krogan Rebellions. The turians then filled the peacekeeping niche left by the once-cooperative krogan, and eventually gained a Council seat in recognition of their efforts.

Originally from the planet Palaven, turians are best known for their military role, particularly their contributions of soldiers and starships to the Citadel Fleet. They are respected for their public service ethic, it was the turians who first proposed creating C-Sec, but are sometimes seen as imperialist or rigid by other races. There is some animosity between turians and humans, largely due to the turian role in the First Contact War. This bitterness is slowly beginning to heal, as shown by the cooperation of the two races on the construction of the SSV Normandy, but many turians still resent humans, and vice versa.

Throughout their lives, turians ascend to the higher tiers and are occasionally "demoted" to lower ones. The stigma associated with demotion lies not on the individual, but on those who promoted them when they weren't ready for additional responsibility. This curbs the tendency to promote individuals into positions beyond their capabilities. Settling into a role and rank is not considered stagnation.

Appearance And Biology

Turians exhibit the characteristics of predators rather than those of prey species. Their forward-facing alert eyes give the impression that they possess outstanding eyesight and their teeth and jaws mimic the structures possessed by apex predators such as crocodiles or ancient, carnivorous dinosaurs. Needless to say, their talons on both their feet and hands seem capable of ripping flesh. As such, their diet is primarily meat-based. Their slender bodies also seem to suggest that they are also capable of moving at high speeds.

The turian homeworld, Palaven, has a metal-poor core, generating a weak magnetic field and allowing more solar radiation into the atmosphere. To deal with this, most forms of life on Palaven evolved some form of metallic "exoskeleton" to protect themselves. Their reflective plate-like carapace makes turians less susceptible to long-term, low-level radiation exposure, but they do not possess any sort of "natural armor". A turian's thick skin does not stop projectiles and directed energy bolts. They can, however, experience the equivalent of a "massage": turians can feel vibrations through the carapace with the use of a hammer.

Turian blood has a dark blue colouration.

Although life on Palaven is carbon-based and oxygen-breathing, it is built on dextro-amino acids. The food of humans, asari, or salarians (who evolved in levo-amino acid-based biospheres), will at best pass through turian systems without providing any nutrition. At worst, it will trigger an allergic reaction that can be fatal if not immediately treated.

Turian Names

Turians have a mix of names with no clear themes. Of note, almost all turians wear elaborate face tattoos, and those without tend to be mocked for it.

Turian Traits

Your Turian character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Turians are trained in a variety of fields, so you may increase any two different ability scores by 1.

Age. Turians age and mature about the same as humans, though they are viewed as old enough for military service at 15 and for deployment at 16.

Alignment. As all turians must complete military training to become full citizens, and they have a strong cultural sense of public service, most turians tend to be lawful good, though some tend to break laws to do what they view as justice.

Size. Turians stand between 6 and 7 feet tall and are slender. They are of medium size.

Speed. You have a speed of 30.

Languages. You know Common and Turian. Turian includes many minor dialects.

Turian Military Training. As part of your service, you were given or chose to take specific training. You gain one Feat of your choice that does not have an ability score increase. This may be influenced by your training variant.

Training Variants. While rare, some Turians are biotics. In most settings, they would be considered mages and spellcasters. They are trained in separate groups as most soldiers distrust them. Choose one of the following training variants.

"YESSSSSS...WE...NO...DIE!"

—Zreep.

History

Though there is some debate among the more xenophobic corners of the galaxy as to whether or not they are truly sapient, the Vorcha are an aggressive and short-lived species native to the molten world of Heshtok. Though not themselves a spacefaring race, the vorcha are often corralled from their homeworld by mercenary guilds and crime syndicates to be utilized as cannon fodder to bolster their forces. Without a formal government, their hellish world is truly capable of only being home to those of their kind.

Appearance And Biology

The vorcha are known for a rather unique biology that differentiates them from other known species and which carries with it a striking set of advantages and disadvantages. They have clusters of non-differentiated cells, similar to those found on the planarian worm of Earth. These cells allow the vorcha limited regenerative abilities, as well as the ability to adapt quickly to its environment, such as developing thicker skin after being burned or increased musculature to survive in high gravity. When a vorcha is injured or in distress, these cells move to the affected area and rapidly (~1 week) mature to specialized forms that will alleviate the issue. This also makes the Vorcha immune to almost all disease.

Vorcha Names

Vorcha have simple one word names of few syllables.

Vorcha Traits

Your Vorcha character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Increase any one ability score by 2.

Age. Vorcha are mature after 3 years and live up to 30 years though most only live to about 20.

Alignment. Their demeanor is heavily dependent on how they are raised but most tend towards chaotic and evil alignments. They also tend to favor the company of their own kind, or solitude over company with other races.

Size. Vorcha are medium.

Speed. Your speed is 30.

Languages. Vorcha speak common (poorly).

Vorcha Biology. Due to their unique biology, Vorcha can regenerated and adapt to almost anything. Any ailment or permanent injury is alleviated after 3d4 months. This includes any ailments healed by lessor restoration, greater restoration, and a lost bodypart.

Vorcha Adaptation. A Vorcha adventurer has already suffered a trauma that has caused a permanent change to their physiology. Choose one of the following options at level 1, and again at level 10. You may not choose an option more than once.