Mass Dragon Effect Codex

by raw666

After humanity's encounter with dilithium crystals and later the darkspawn, technology drastically change for the Mass Effect Universe. From human space exploration to an alliance that rivals the Council. The shift of power will determine if the Reapers will be defeated, or the cycle will repeat itself. The times of heroes are upon the galaxy, and nothing will remain the same.

7. Codex: Sentient Species

Codex: Sentient Species

A special note about these codexs for the Mass Dragon Effect story is that they were written for two reasons. Firstly, they only exist in this story, so they cannot be found in the two wikis listed below, with a few exceptions found in the timeline. The second reason is that the original had little detail or will be completely different from the wikis below, such as kinetic barriers and thermal clips. I also include all the various races, main Codex, and the enemies the heroes will face more for my benefit to keep track of them. This is not required for Mass Dragon Effect, but for your enjoyment and to see how I built the world's lore. Therefore, I hope you enjoy it.

Codexs websites: wiki/Mass_Effect_Wiki and wiki/Dragon_Age_Wiki

Beta Reader: Albert

Last Update: 03/18/2021

Asari

The asari were the first species to discover the Citadel. When the salarians arrived, it was the asari who proposed the establishment of the Citadel Council to maintain peace throughout the galaxy. Since then, the asari have served as the mediators and centrists of the Council.

An all-female race, the asari reproduce through a form of parthenogenesis. Each asari can attune her nervous system to that of another individual of any gender and of any species to reproduce. This capability has led to unseemly and inaccurate rumors about asari promiscuity. Asari can live for over 1000 years, passing through three stages of life. In the Maiden stage, they wander restlessly, seeking new knowledge and experience. When the Matron stage begins, they 'meld' with interesting partners to produce their offspring. This ends when they reach the Matriarch stage, where they assume the roles of leaders and councilors.

Batarians

In the early 2160s, the Union of Federations began aggressive colonization of worlds in the Skyllian Verge. Much to the dismay of the batarians using the region for pirating and slaving for several decades, if not centuries. In 2171, the batarians petitioned the Council to declare the Verge a "Zone of Batarian Interest." The Citadel Council refused, however, declaring unsettled worlds in the region open to human and krogan colonization.

In protest, the batarians closed their Citadel embassy and severed official diplomatic relations with the Council, effectively becoming a rogue state. They instigated a proxy war by funneling money and weapons to criminal organizations, urging them to strike at Federation colonies and later Citadel colonies as well.

Hostilities peaked with the Skyllian Blitz of 2174, an attack on the human colony world Elysium by batarian-funded pirates and slavers. And an attempted invasion of Noveria in 2176 by the Batarian military. Both of which ended in defeats for the batarians. The Federation and later Council retaliated by striking several pirate outposts and purging pirate accounts. With all hostilities ending in 2178, after the Federation's crushing assault on the moon of Torfan, long used as a staging base by batarian-backed criminals. In the aftermath, the batarians retreated into their own systems and are now rarely seen in Citadel space. Facing economic repression as their government desperately keeps their people from rebelling at every turn.

Demon Relationship with Mages

Initially, the relationship between mages and demons was problematic. Demons started by trying to possess weak-willed mages and anyone in proximity to dilithium crystals while attempting to establish a relationship with strong-willed or powerful ones. Often by offering them enticements of power or help grant mages their greatest desire for partial or even full possession. Despite the limited success, most of the mages avoided or fought the various demons whenever possible because of their fear of possession. That all changed when magical implants were invented. While psychic knights had almost no relationship with demons thanks to their implants, the magicians developed a symbiotic relationship with demons since the demons cannot possess mortals and still want to know what it means to be mortal.

This relationship allowed a boom of information to be available to the galactic community and permitted magicians to learn more about the Fade and even things long been forgotten. It is strange to note that there are few demons older than fifty thousand years old. It is as though something wiped out or hammered away their population fifty thousand years ago, and they are just now recovering.

Drell

Two centuries ago, the hanar helped 375,000 members of the drell race migrate to the hanar homeworld, Kahje, to escape the environmental extermination that had claimed the remaining 11 billion drell.

Nearly all drell demonstrate tremendous loyalty to their famously reclusive saviors. The intimacy of their relationship, expressed in a formal sociopolitical alliance called the Compact, also results in extremely close personal relations in which some drell actually learn hanar Soul names. While most drell reside on Kahje, some assist hanar off-world as envoys, researchers, co-investors, wayfarers, assassins, or otherwise, eager to help their saviors. For a century, galactic wisdom has held that behind any high-ranking hanar hides a resourceful and fanatically devoted drell.

The omnivorous, reptilian drell possesses an average life span of 85 galactic standard years. Having evolved on an arid planet, drell faces serious illness on the hanar homeworld, especially Kepral's Syndrome, a fatal bacterial lung disease.

Elcor

Sponsored and aided by the Asari Republic as a client race, 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 moves slowly, an evolved response to an environment where a fall can be lethal. This has colored their psychology, making them deliberate and conservative.

Elcor speech is ponderous and monotone. Among themselves, scent, slight movements, and subvocalized infrasound convey shades of meaning that make a human smile seem as subtle as a fireworks display. Since their subtlety can lead to misunderstandings with other species, the elcor often go out of their way to clarify when they are being sarcastic, amused, or angry.

Dekuuna's high gravity impedes mountain formation. Most of the world consists of flat, open plains, which prehistoric elcor wandered across in small family bands. Modern elcor still prefers open sky and becomes restless and uncomfortable on long starship journeys.

Geth

The geth are a humanoid race of networked AIs. They were created by the quarians 300 years ago as tools of labor and war. When the geth showed self-evolution signs, the quarians attempted to exterminate them in what was known as the Morning War. The geth won the resulting war and forced the majority of the quarians to leave their homeworld Rannoch. Leading to centuries of the quarians wondering the galaxy and legal, systematic repression of artificial intelligence in galactic society by the Citadel Council. It only recently galactic perception change when the geth peacefully join galactic society after welcoming back the quarians and becoming a member of the Union of Federations. Being considered one of the most peaceful races in the galaxy. Despite all the recent wars in which they were involved.

The geth possess a unique distributed intelligence. An individual has rudimentary animal instincts, but as their numbers and proximity increase, the apparent intelligence of each individual improves as more programs share processing power. In groups, they can reason, analyze situations, and use tactics as well as any organic race. The only exception is expensive platforms like Legion models that can run a large number of programs nearing or above a thousand.

Geth: Geth Forces

Geth Repair Drone: repair drones that can float up and repair Federation technology.

Geth Recon Drone: floating turrets that can shoot and scout out targets.

Geth Trooper Model: grey geth units with weak kinetic barriers, Geth Rifle, and the ability to lay down hex shields

Geth Hopper Model: unshielded blue geth with long arms and legs that can hop wall to wall and have a mini-EMP turret under its head to disable electronics

Geth Shock Trooper Model: white and black geth troopers with military kinetic barriers, Geth Rifle, and the ability to lay down hex shields and use carriage shots

Geth Sniper Model: brown shielded geth with two red eyes with one large and one small eye on the side, a Javelined Snipe Rifle, concussive shots, and the ability to lay down hex shields

Geth Rocket Trooper Model: silver spiked geth with two blue eyes with one large and one small one on the side, and a rocket launcher

Geth Hunter Model: black geth with two red with one large and one small eye on the side, a Geth Shotgun, and have the ability to cloak

Geth Pyro Model: shielded and armored orange geth units, a single large white eye with four red eyes around the white eye, and a flamethrower

Geth Bomber Model: armored and shielded floating platform that has the ability to drop bombs and has a single blue eye

Geth Legion Model: self-functioning geth units that work alone or with the organic units using organic communication; they have a large antenna on their back that comes in various colors and a single eye. Legion models are made up of one thousand and five hundred different programs from a dozen different units and are designated by a unique name or Commander-unit

Geth Prime Model: giant shielded and armored red geth with three eyes, Pulse Cannon, and have the ability to manufacture and launch Geth Recon Drones and combat drones. Geth prime can work alone due to nearly 900 programs working incongruent with the model.

Geth Armature Model: they are white, armored, and shielded four-legged platforms with machine gun turrets and a molten cannon turret, and a single eye

Geth Colossus Model: larger, more heavily armored black versions of the armature that can carry a dozen geth troopers and shock troops

Geth: Population Limits

When it comes to population growth, there is a limit on how much growth a species can achieve, and the geth are no different. However, unlike most species on a galactic scale, the geth had reached their limit within two centuries. A restriction they could not surpass, despite the number of upgrades they have undergone on their own and being a member of the Federation. Limits were brought by two fundamental restrictions: space and resources.

When it comes to space, most organics could handle a sudden flux within the population by either expanding or shrinking the amount of space they could occupy. However, that is not so for the geth as a Geth Server, their equivalent to a city, must have a certain number of programs running at any time. Too many would take up space and damage the server's CPU, overheating and overloading it as they 'fight' each other to run the same functions. Too few and the programs cannot support each other, causing system failure within the server. Thus, each server has a limit of space that is only matched by a restriction in resources required for complex AIs over Vs.

When it comes to training and maintaining a standard soldier through his/her career costs more than building and maintaining a geth trooper, the cheapest unit within a Geth Battalion. However, building and maintaining a battalion of different geth models along with a Geth Server costs three times as much as training and supporting an interspecies battalion. In comparison, it cost two times less to build a battalion of simple VI robots with various models over a trained battalion of organics. Creating a unique relationship where a geth trooper is expendable on most ships, while a battalion is priceless when protecting planets.

Overall, the various facts reinforce the indication that there are just not enough resources to building an army to overwhelm organics across the galaxy. Nor do they want to when trying to keep the peace with organics within and outside Federation Space.

Geth: Legion Model

Created for specialized units within the Geth, the Legion Models are the Geth commanders and Special Forces within the Geth Collective and the Federation's military. Using the best hardware across Federation Space allows them to use multiple programs and act independently of servers simultaneously. Often creating unique units with skills and personalities to compete with highly skilled organics. However, due to each unit's cost equal to that of a military-grade frigate, only a limited number are manufacture at a time. Programs usually included in the Legion Models would consist of a dozen from every type of branch of Geth forces, reason, assault, stealth attacks, and EST. Software with the best record is transferred into such a unit for the best outcome. Usually, the Federation's military would quickly put these Legion Models through Officer School or N Special Forces. Officers are designated as Command Units, and Special Forces are designated as Legion Units.

Hanar

The hanar are a Citadel species known for excessive politeness. They speak with scrupulous precision and take offense at improper language. Hanar that expects to deal with other species takes special courses to help them unlearn their tendency to take offense at improper speech. All hanar have two names. The Face Name is known to the world; the Soul Name is kept for use among close friends and relations. Hanar never refers to themselves in the first person in conversation with someone they know on a Face Name basis. To do so is considered egotistical, so instead, they refer to themselves as "this one," or the impersonal "it."

Their homeworld, Kahje, has 90% ocean cover and orbits an energetic white star, resulting in a permanent blanket of clouds. Due to the presence of Prothean ruins on the world, many hanar worship them, and hanar myths often speak of an elder race that civilized them by teaching them language. Relationships between the Union of Federations and the hanar are generally good due to their aid during the Darkspawn War.

Keepers

When the asari discovered the Citadel, they also discovered the keepers, a docile multi-limbed insect race that seemingly exists only to maintain and repair the great Prothean station. Early attempts to communicate with or study the keepers were failures, and it is now illegal to interfere with or impede keeper activity. Because they are completely non-threatening, keepers have become virtually invisible to everyone else. Similarly, they seem indifferent to other species, except for their tendency to help new arrivals integrate themselves into the Citadel.

No matter how many keepers die due to old age, violence, or accident, they maintain a constant number. No one has discovered the source of new keepers, but some hypothesize they are genetic constructs: biological androids created somewhere deep in the inaccessible core of the Citadel itself.

Krogans

The krogan evolved in a hostile and vicious environment. Until the invention of gunpowder weapons, "eaten by predators" was still the number one cause of krogan fatalities. Afterward, it was "death by gunshot." When the salarians discovered them, the krogan were a brutal, primitive species struggling to survive a self-inflicted nuclear winter. The salarians culturally uplifted them, teaching them to use and build modern technology to serve as soldiers in the Rachni Wars.

Liberated from the harsh conditions of their homeworld, the quick-breeding krogan experienced an unprecedented population explosion. They began to colonize nearby worlds, even though these worlds were already inhabited. They felt they were entitled to take over those worlds because they had no respect for species that sit back and let the krogans fight their wars for them. Eventually, the Council had enough and tried to put restrictions in place. Leading to Krogan Rebellions lasted nearly a century. Only ending when the turians unleashed a genophage, a salarian-developed bioweapon that crushed all krogan resistance. The phage resulted in only 1 in 1,000 pregnancies being viable, and it slowly killed the krogans off while increasing their grudge against all other species, especially the turians.

That all change during the Darkspawn War, when humanity gave them the genofertilization method that blocked the phage's effects to help humanity fight the darksapwn off Earth/Terra. A brutal war that united not only the Krogan Clans but with their new powerful allies, the humans, geth, and quarians. Allowing them to not only save themselves but learn to trust other species. As evident by eventually becoming a member of the Union of Federations as equal partners with species that fight with them instead of just using them. Whether they can truly move past their anger for a more peaceful existence remains to be seen.

Protheans

Fifty thousand years ago, the Protheans were the only spacefaring species in the galaxy. They vanished in a swift 'galactic extinction.' Only the legacy of their empire remains. They are believed to have built the mass relays and the Citadel, which have allowed numerous species to explore and expand throughout the galaxy. Prothean ruins are found on worlds across the galaxy. While surprisingly intact for their age, functioning examples of Prothean paleotechnology are rare. Time and generations of looters have picked their dead cities and derelict stations clean.

Some believe the Protheans meddled in the evolution of younger races. The hanar homeworld of Kahje, for example, shows clear evidence of former Prothean occupation. The presence of a former Prothean observation post on Mars has caused a rebirth of 'Interventionary Evolutionists' among humans. These individuals believe the god-myths of ancient civilizations are misremembered encounters with aliens.

Quarians

Three centuries ago, the quarians were driven from their home system by the geth in what is known as the Morning War. A war that they started under pressure by the Citadel Council. The 17 million lives were then forced to live aboard the Migrant Fleet, a flotilla of 50,000 vessels ranging in size from passenger shuttles to mobile space stations. Wondering from system to system, they desperately looked for a new home as other species turned them away from aid. Stating it was their punishment for creating the geth and later gaining the reputation as scavengers in trying to keep their ships from falling apart.

The quarians were truly down on their luck, but their luck has changed in the last 50 years. From finding allies in the Human System Alliance, to eventually gain a world to colonize, to being allowed back to their homeworld Rannoch without firing a shot. To finally returning to galactic prominence as a superpower and as a Founding Member of the Union of Federations. They now have gained a lot of respect and fear from the galactic community.

Even their weak immune system that was a wreck due to centuries of living in a sterile environment, has returned thanks to the geth helping strengthen it. It is now not uncommon for a quarian to be seen with a face mask since going to a new environment can make them sick. Propetualling the myths and rumors about the quarians, including the belief that underneath their clothes and breathing masks, they are actually cybernetic creatures: a combination of organic and synthetic parts. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, as quarians do remove their masks in new environments that they had adapted to. Not to mention the quarian population has grown to be in hundreds of millions, and it will soon reach a billion.

Quarians: The Lost Ones

Despite what many believed for hundreds of years, there were quarians left on Rannoch after the Migrant Fleet left the system. In fact, over 2 million quarians chose to remain on Rannoch with the Geth, and their machines tried their best to keep them alive. Unfortunately, it would be their doom. Radiation and dust created by the quarians using nuclear weapons to destroy the geth had damaged much of the planet's surface. In turn, it was slowly killing them and making the population sterile. It would be a decade later before the quarians realized it, but it was too late as the population declined at a rate that was not self-sustaining. Even moving to another world would not have saved the Lost Quarians.

The geth suggested the quarians leave the planet and settle on an outer colony to prolong their species' lifespan by another one hundred to two hundred years. However, they declined and spent the time and resources they had left cleaning the planet to be used as a peace offering for the geth. It was a tribute to the Migrant Fleet and to the Lost Ones that left a legacy behind. Something the machines could not understand but appreciate as the geth worked alongside their creators until the last one died a hundred years after the Migrant Fleet left the system. Leaving their legacy in the hands of their creations.

The geth continued cleaning the planet for over two hundred years in honor of those quarians that stayed with them and eventually gave the clean planet to the Migrant Fleet as a peace offering. The geth also built over seventy thousand statues of the lost quarians and their descendants. And every year, the geth repaired the statues so that not even a crack appeared on their surface. The descendants of the Migrant Fleet would later join them as they honored the sacrifice of the Lost Ones during the Day of Mourning.

Quarians: Pilgrimage

Once used by the quarians as a right of adulthood and maintained genetic diversity among the fleet. The Pilgrimage was a rite of passage quarians took. Leaving their birth ship to find a valuable resource to present to another captain, prove their worth, and find a new home. However, since the quarians reclaimed their homeworld and several colonies, the Pilgrimage was repurposed as just a right to adulthood and was given three choices to prove their right to adulthood. The first was to explore the galaxy, trying to find a new advanced technology or resources the quarians and, through extension, the Union of Federations could use. Another was developing new technology or procedures by themselves or working as an intern for one of the various R&Ds companies. However, most chose the third option, join the Union of Federations' military or Quarian Defense Forces, and serve for two to five years.

Rachni

Though now extinct, the rachni once threatened every species in Citadel space. Over 2000 years ago, explorers foolishly opened a mass relay to a previously-unknown system and encountered something never seen before or since, a species of spacefaring insects guided by a hive-mind intelligence. Unfortunately, the rachni were not peaceful, and the galaxy was plunged into a series of conflicts known as the Rachni Wars. Attempts to negotiate were futile, as it was impossible to make contact with the hive queens that guided the race from beneath the surface of their toxic homeworld.

The emergence of the krogan ended the Rachni Wars. Bred to survive the harshest environments, the krogan could strike at the queens in their lairs and reclaim conquered Council worlds. But when krogan fleets pressed them back to their homeworld, the rachni refused to surrender, and the krogan eradicated the main hub from the galaxy. Now, they are thought of as extinct, but there are rumors that they still live on the fringes of space.

(See Codex in Codex Spoilers for the updated version).

Salarians

The second species to join the Citadel, the salarians, are warm-blooded amphibians with a hyperactive metabolism. Salarians think fast, talk fast, and move fast. To salarians, other species seem sluggish and dull-witted. Unfortunately, their metabolic speed leaves them with a relatively short lifespan; salarians over the age of 40 are a rarity.

The salarians were responsible for advancing the development of the primitive krogan species to use as soldiers during the Rachni Wars. They were also behind the creation of the genophage bioweapon the turians used to quell the Krogan Rebellions several centuries later.

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're letting on. Especially their military dedicated to spying, sabotaging, and first strike operations, the Special Tasks Group (STG).

Turians

Roughly 1200 years ago, the turians were invited to join the Citadel Council to fulfill the role of galactic peacekeepers. The turians have the largest fleet in Citadel space, and they make up the single largest portion of the Council's military forces. As their territory and influence have spread, the turians have come to rely on the salarians for military intelligence and the asari for diplomacy. Despite a somewhat colonial attitude towards the rest of the galaxy, the ruling Hierarchy understands they would lose more than gain if the other two races were ever removed.

Turians come from an autocratic society that values discipline and possesses a strong sense of personal and collective honor. There is lingering animosity between turians and humans over the Human Turian War. An animosity that had only increased when the Humans, Geth, Quarians, and Krogans formed the Union of Federations. Having been in conflict with each member at one point or another. Ranging from forcing the quarians off worlds with their large military fleets, patrolling geth space, and releasing the genophage the salarians created on the krogans. To say relationships are tense is an understatement, even though the Turians and Federation are allies and supposed to be enjoying civil, if cool, diplomatic relations.

Volus

The volus are a member species of the Citadel with their own embassy, but they are also a client race of the turians. Centuries ago, they were voluntarily absorbed into the Turian Hierarchy, effectively trading their mercantile prowess for turian military protection. As the Krogan Rebellions prove to the volus, they need military protection to survive.

Irune, their homeworld, lies far beyond the normal life zone of its star. However, the world has a high-pressure greenhouse atmosphere that traps enough heat to support an ammonia-based biochemistry. As a result, the volus must wear pressure suits and breathers when dealing with other species as conventional nitrogen/oxygen air mixtures are poisonous to them, and in the low-pressure atmospheres tolerable to most species, their flesh will actually split open.

Volus culture is tribal, bartering lands and even people to gain status. This culture of exchange inclines them to economic pursuits. It was the volus who authored the Unified Banking Act, and they continue to monitor and balance the Citadel economy. However, despite their help in developing the galactic economy, they have not been allowed a Council seat, much to their dismay as many argued the unfair treatment the volus receive from the Council. Often used as proof by Federation citizens that working with the Citadel Council system does not get you far in their system.

Vorcha

Although they resemble a mammal-reptile cross, the vorcha have no terrestrial analog. They are humanoid in form, but vorcha have "clusters" of non-differentiated neoblast cells, like those of Earth's planarian worms. Damaged vorcha cells mature into specialized structures to alleviate injury or stress. Transformations include thicker skin following injury, lung adaptation for barely-breathable atmospheres, and stronger cardio-skeletal muscle under high gravity. Skull capacity and brain size do not change, and vorcha rarely make more than one somatic overhaul.

Vorcha assaults each other frequently, causing their young to gain strength, intelligence, and resilience. As a result, vorcha see inflicting and receiving pain as normal communication. Few vorcha study professions, in part, because their average life expectancy is only 20 years. Because vorcha can eat and breathe nearly anything, they can live almost anywhere, but racism prevents them from integrating into most societies that dismiss them as vermin. They have few employment options beyond krogan mercenary bands.