My name is Ashton Wolfe, and I died yesterday. I was a 25 year old human male, that had just gone down to the bank to deposit a paycheck. I liked having to deposit it manually, since it gave me an excuse to not coop myself up and avoid human interaction. However, this time, things didn't go so smoothly. A group of 5 men, wearing black ski-masks barged into the bank, firing shots off into the ceiling.

They came to rob the bank, and proceeded to hold everyone hostage in case the police showed up before they could leave. Looking next to me, there was a little girl who looked scared, and was on the verge of tears. She had her eyes squeezed shut, with her hands covering her mouth to try and stay quiet. Sadly, things escalated out of control...one of the robbers seems to have a few screws loose, as he barely waited 2 minutes before he executed a hostage from boredom.

I did my best to hide the little girl underneath me, so she could avoid being harmed by a stray bullet, or the crazy guy. By the time the police arrived, half of the hostages had been killed and it didn't look like the guy would leave anyone alive. So, I decided to move since I might die anyway, I might as well try to make sure the little girl survived.

I pat the top of her head, and when the guy was distracted, I quickly hid her behind a large potted plant. While she stayed hidden, I waited patiently for the golden opportunity to make my move. As the killer walked around the room, trying to pick who he'll kill next, he stepped in front of me. The moment his feet were in front of me, I curled my right hand into a fist, and stuck out with all the speed and strength I could muster.

The result? My fist struck his relaxed knee, and shattered his kneecap causing him to collapse. He held his shattered knee in pain, and before he could scream out, I stood up and stomped my foot down as hard as I could on his neck. A resounded crunch echoed in the room, and in less than a second the hostages all began running out of the bank.

I picked up the now dead man's gun, and quickly rushed the little girl out of the bank. However, when we reached the door, I heard the click and bang of a gun behind me, followed quickly by a pain in my back. Thinking quickly, I roughly shoved the little girl out the door, as I used the momentum from the shove and gunshot on my back to turn around, I forced my arm up and fired randomly at the shooter. There were a lot of gunshots, and I could feel two more hit my chest before the sound of two bodies falling to the ground were heard. One body belonged to the shooter...the other body was mine as I fell to my back.

I couldn't remember much after that, other than the encroaching darkness, followed by a blinding blue light. The last thought that went through my head, was curiosity on why a little girl was at the bank by herself. What followed the light, shocked me as I was met with the form of the little girl I saved earlier.

"Good day, young Ashton Wolfe." She said to me, as I looked at her with a confused expression on my face. "I'm sure you're confused about what is happening right now, but allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gaia, and I have to say, you have impressed me with your actions today. You saved many lives with what you did to those bank robbers. The sad part is that your life ended short. So, as thanks for your heroics, I've decided to reward you with a second chance at life with a unique power, Have Fun!"

Without giving me a single moment to speak up to her, she flicked her wrist, and all of a sudden I was surrounded by darkness. That is, until I saw some blue screens appear in front of my face with some text on them.

[Welcome to The Game, User!]

[Please continue to 'Character Creation' before starting the Tutorial]

Help: Character Creation

There are many races that inhabit the galaxy. Each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. The player must choose which one of the twelve races they will play as in your quest to aid Commander Shepard. Be warned however once your race is chosen you will be unable to change your decision. Choose wisely.

Asari: The Asari, native to the planet Thessia, are often considered the most influential and respected sentient species in the galaxy, and are known for their elegance, diplomacy, and biotic aptitude. This is partly due to the fact that the Asari were among the earliest races to achieve interstellar flight after the Protheans, and the first to discover and settle the Citadel.

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. Favoring compromise and cooperation over conflict, the Asari were instrumental in proposing and founding the Citadel Council and have been at the heart of galactic society ever since.

-Asari begin the game with a racial bonus to their Biotic Aptitude stat.

-Beginning as an Asari removes your gender choice during character creation.

-Asari begins the game with the Racial Skill: Mind Meld: allows you to merge minds with anyone allowing you to share thoughts and feelings.

Salarian: The second species to join the Citadel, the Salarians are warm-blooded amphibians native to the planet Sur'Kesh. Salarians possess a hyperactive metabolism; they think fast, talk fast, and move fast. To Salarians, other species seem sluggish and dull-witted, especially the Elcor. Unfortunately, their metabolic speed leaves them with a relatively short lifespan; Salarians over the age of 40 are a rarity.

Salarians are known for their observational capability and non-linear thinking. This manifests as an aptitude for research and espionage. They are constantly experimenting and inventing, and it is generally accepted that they always know more than they are letting on.

-Salarians begin the game with the unique skill Heightened Metabolism: allows the player to become fully rested after only one hour of rest greatly increasing play time.

-Salarians have a racial bonus to their Intelligence stat

Turian: 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 deployed a salarian-created biological weapon called the genophage, which virtually sterilized the Krogan and sent them into a decline. 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.

-Turians can begin the game with two Advanced Combat Skills

-All Turians have a racial penalty to their Flexibility stat.

Human: Humans, from the planet Earth, are the newest sentient species of notable size to enter the galactic stage and are the most rapidly expanding and developing. They independently discovered a Prothean data cache on Mars in 2148, and the mass relay networks shortly thereafter.

-Humans begin the game with three additional stat points to spend during Character Creation

Volus: The Volus are an associate race on the Citadel with their own embassy, but are also a client race of the turians. They hail from Irune, which possesses a high-pressure greenhouse atmosphere able to support an ammonia-based biochemistry. As a result, the Volus must wear pressure suits and breathers when dealing with other species.

Because they are not physically adept compared to most species, Volus mostly make their influence felt through trade and commerce, and they have a long history on the Citadel. However, they have never been invited to join the Council, which is a sore point for many Volus individuals.

-Volus begin the game with two Advanced Economical Skills

Drell: The Drell are a reptile-like race that were rescued from their dying homeworld by the Hanar following first contact between the two. Since then, the Drell have remained loyal to the Hanar for their camaraderie and have fit comfortably into galactic civilization.

-Drell begin the game with a racial bonus to their Flexibility Stat

-Drell begin the game with the Racial Skill Eidetic Memory: Increases the rate at which you learn new skills and provides a bonus to their exp for the first 10 lvls.

Hanar: The Hanar are a species resembling Earth's jellyfish and are one of the few non-bipedal Citadel races. Hanar are known for their intense politeness when speaking, and their strong religious beliefs regarding the Protheans, whom they refer to as "the Enkindlers".

-Hanar Begin the game with a racial penalty to all stats except for Charisma

-Hanar begin the game with a racial skill Natural Toxins: Causes short term paralysis on contact

Elcor: The Elcor are a Citadel species native to the high-gravity world Dekuuna. They are massive creatures, standing on four muscular legs for increased stability. Elcor move slowly, an evolved response to an environment where a fall can be lethal. This has colored their psychology, making them deliberate and conservative.

-Elcor begin the game with a racial bonus to their Strength stat

Krogan: 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, population, eliminating the Krogan numerical advantage.

-Krogan begin the game with a racial bonus to their Strength Stat

-Krogan posses the racial skill Healing Factor: Allows the Krogan to regenerate from wounds even while in combat

-All Krogan suffer from the permanent debuff The Genophage: reduces the ability to reproduce with other Krogan by 1000%

Quarian: 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.

Approximately three hundred years before the events of 2183, the Quarians created the Geth, a species of rudimentary artificial intelligences, to serve as an efficient source of manual labor. However, when the Geth gradually became sentient, the Quarians became terrified of possible consequences and tried to destroy their creations. The Geth won the resulting war and forced their creators into exile. Now the Quarians wander the galaxy in a flotilla of salvaged ships, second hand vessels, and recycled technology.

-Quarians begin the game with two Advanced Engineering Skills

-Quarians have the debuff Weakened Immune System: makes the Quarians 100% more susceptible to diseases and infections

Batarian: A race of four-eyed bipeds native to the world of Khar'shan, the Batarians are a disreputable species that chose to isolate itself from the rest of the galaxy. The Terminus Systems are infested with Batarian pirate gangs and slaving rings, fueling the stereotype of the Batarian thug. It should be noted that these criminals do not represent average citizens, who are forbidden to leave Batarian space by their ubiquitous and paranoid government.

Despite several disagreements with the Citadel and simmering hostility toward humans, most Batarians prefer profitable pursuits such as drug running and slave grabs to out-and-out warfare. They have a reputation for being shrewd businessmen and merchants, though in more lawless regions of the galaxy like Omega, negotiations with a Batarian are likely to be conducted at gunpoint.

-Batarians begin the game with one Advanced Combat Skill

-Batarians can begin the game with one Slave Retainer

Vorcha: Known for their unique biology and aggressive behavior, the Vorcha of Heshtok are a primitive race that live among the galaxy's darker and more dangerous locations, such as Omega. Many Vorcha are trained by the Krogan Blood Pack as mercenaries due to their savage nature and adaptability to different environments. The rest of galactic civilization regards them as pests and scavengers, and their presence is generally seen as a blight.

-Vorcha begin the game with a racial penalty to their Intelligence stat

-Vorcha posses the racial skill Healing Factor: Allows the Vorcha to regenerate from wounds even while in combat


Off to the side of the screens that show the different races for me to pick, as well as information on each of the races, were standing figures. Each figure belonging to the races listed out before me, and each one had a male and female version, minus Asari.

I took a few minutes to collect my thoughts about everything that happened, and come to terms with the fact that I died, protecting civilians at least. After my thoughts were collected, I read through each description of the races I had to choose from, and decided it would be better to be a Quarian.

I could have been a Turian, and settled into the role easily with my past military training, but having some Advanced Engineering Skills from the start would be more helpful. So, with that, I selected Quarian, and set about designing my new body.