CODEXes : Krogan History .
Notable Krogan :
• Wrex.
A famous bounty hunter and mercenary, Wrex is among the last of the Krogan Battle Masters. They are rare individuals who can combine biotic abilities with advanced weaponry and tactics.
Wrex quickly gained fame for his battle powers and became a leader of one of the smaller Urdnot tribes at a very young age. To date, Wrex is the youngest krogan to be granted the honor in 1,000 years.
Following the krogan genophage, Wrex turned his back on his people when his father, a krogan warlord who wanted to resume the war, betrayed and attempted to kill him after a feigned attempt at reconciliation. Wrex escaped, though not before taking his father's life in retaliation.
During the past three centuries, Wrex has served no master except himself, working as a bodyguard, mercenary, soldier of fortune, and bounty hunter.
One operation as a mercenary was with Saren Arterius as his employer, though Wrex immediately sensed something very troubling about the turian and left the contract without even waiting to get paid. His instincts were right: every other mercenary on the ship they were on turned up dead within a week.
Despite his menacing appearance, Wrex rarely loses his temper. Likewise, Wrex does not voice his thoughts very often; but when he does, people are more than willing to listen, as the mere threat of his anger is enough to ensure that
• Grunt :
Grunt is a tank-bred genetically engineered super-krogan that can be recruited as a squad member. Grunt's design is intended to be youthful but also tough, invoking the look of a linebacker with large shoulder pads and exposed muscular arms. Compared to Wrex who is a much older krogan, Grunt's crest is smaller and does not fully cover his entire skull due to his age.
Initially, Jane Shepard is meant to recruit Okeer, a krogan warlord and radical scientist who has been developing a small army of krogan to weather the Genophage. When Shepard arrives to recruit him, Okeer is working for the Blue Suns mercenary group, but was betrayed by the latter.
Though Shepard and crew defeat the Blue Suns leader, it is too late to save Okeer, who leaves Shepard with a tank containing his "legacy", his "perfect krogan".
If and when Shepard decides to awaken him, the krogan recalls Okeer's last words and chooses one of them, "grunt", as his name.
While initially hostile towards Shepard, Grunt may be recruited as a squad mate. He comes to respect Shepard's leadership, partly because Shepard faces great battles and has powerful enemies.
After Grunt completed his rite of passage, on Tuchanka, he declared Shepard his battlemaster.
After some time together, Jane Shepard comes to think of herself as Grunts mother. A title Grunt happily calls her. Loving the strong, ruthless, woman, and recognizing her as his parent.
Appearance .
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.
Biology .
Due to the brutality of their surroundings, natural selection has played a significant role in the evolution of the krogan. Unlike most sentient species, krogan eyes are wide-set - on Earth, this is common among prey animals, and in this case it gives 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.
Prior to the genophage, krogan could reproduce and mature at an astonishing rate. Females are known to produce clutches of up to 1,000 fertilized eggs over the course of a year. In present conditions, according to EDI, the odds of a krogan successfully giving birth to two females stand at 1 in 2,000, though krogan biology is slowly adapting to the virus.
Their large shoulder humps store fluids and nutrients, enabling them to survive extended periods without food or water. In particular they require very little water intake; a 55-gallon tank system can sustain an entire colony of krogan for over 10 years. 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. Consequently their diets can include food and drink which would prove very dangerous to other species—a fact reflected in the krogan liquor of choice, ryncol, which is said to "hit aliens like ground glass".
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.
Krogan typically stand over 7 feet. Heavy creatures, krogan have been known to weigh at least 150 kilos, upwards of nearly 200 kilos for above-average specimens. Some particularly large krogan weigh in at about 800 pounds (~362 kilos), estimated independently by themselves and by non-krogan observers. Biotic individuals are rare, though those who do possess the talent typically have strong abilities.
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. They have, for example, two hearts, four lungs, and four testicles. This reflects in their slang, where they often speak about a "quad" where a human would use the words "balls" or "pair". Krogan also have a secondary nervous system using a neuroconductive fluid, meaning they are almost impossible to paralyze. Krogan bleed a yellow or orange fluid when shot, which may be this fluid or actual blood.
Aside from redundant systems, the legendary krogan "blood rage" adds to the race's reputation for being notoriously difficult to kill or incapacitate in normal combat scenarios. In this state, krogan become totally unresponsive to pain and will fight to the death regardless of injury level, with the side effect of reducing their capacity for logic and self-control.
Sheer physical hardiness means an individual krogan can expect to live for centuries. Krogan can live for well over a thousand years, as evidenced by Warlord Okeer, a veteran of the Krogan Rebellions who died (of decidedly unnatural causes) well over a thousand years after the Rebellions ended. Nakmor Drack is another example of their long life-spans, a 1,400-year-old veteran of the Krogan Rebellions who joined the Andromeda Initiative to voyage to the Heleus Cluster.
Despite their natural propensity for toughness, krogan do have physical weaknesses. According to Zaeed Massani, if one lodges a knife at a certain spot near the frontal plate on a krogan's head, the plate can be ripped off. It is apparently the one thing krogan do fear.
History :
Ancient krogan society was once rich with cultural, architectural, and artistic accomplishments. However, the krogan birth rate exploded despite the natural limits of their predatory homeworld once they achieved industrialization. Technology made life "too easy" for them, so when they looked for new challenges they found those in each other. Wars were fought over dwindling resources as the krogan expanded.
Four thousand years ago, at the dawn of the krogan nuclear age, battles to claim the small pockets of territory capable of sustaining life escalated into full scale global war. Weapons of mass destruction were unleashed, transforming Tuchanka into a radioactive wasteland.
The krogan were reduced to primitive warring clans, struggling to survive a nuclear winter of their own creation, a state that continued until they were discovered by the salarians two thousand years later.
• Rise of the krogan .
The krogan were liberated from their primitive state by the salarians, who "culturally uplifted" the race by giving them advanced technology and relocating them to a planet not cursed with lethal levels of radiation, toxins or deadly predators. The salarians even gave the krogan the means to stabilize Tuchanka's atmosphere by means of the Shroud.
• Rachni Wars .
But the salarian intervention was not without an ulterior motive. At the time the Citadel was engaged in a prolonged galactic war with the rachni, a race of intelligent space-faring insects. The salarians hoped the krogan would join the Citadel forces as soldiers to stand against an otherwise unstoppable foe.
The plan worked to perfection: within two generations the rapidly breeding krogan had the numbers not only to drive back the advancing rachni, but the ability to endure the harsh conditions of the rachni worlds. They were able to pursue them to their home worlds, find the rachni queens, and eradicate the entire species.
For a brief period the krogan were hailed as the saviors of the galaxy and were given not only the conquered rachni worlds but other planets in Citadel space to colonise, in gratitude for their help. The Citadel Council even commissioned a statue for the Presidium—the Krogan Monument—to honor the krogan soldiers who died defending Citadel space.
But without the harsh conditions of Tuchanka to keep their numbers in check, the krogan population swelled to unprecedented numbers. Overcrowded and running out of resources, the krogan spread out to forcibly claim other worlds—worlds already inhabited by races loyal to the Citadel. There was always "just one more world" needed.
The final straw was when the krogan began settling the asari colony of Lusia. When the Council ordered them to leave, Overlord Kredak, the krogan ambassador, stormed out of the Chambers, daring the Citadel races to take their worlds back. War broke out soon afterward.
• Rebellion and decline .
The resultant Krogan Rebellions continued for nearly three centuries. The krogan sustained massive casualties, but their incredible birth rate kept their population steadily increasing.
They also had no compunction about resorting to extreme tactics, such as using redirected asteroids as weapons; consequently, their victory seemed inevitable.
In desperation, the Council turned to the recently discovered Turian Hierarchy for aid. The turians unleashed the genophage on the krogan home worlds: a bio-weapon engineered by the salarians.
The genophage caused near-total infant mortality in the krogan species, with only one birth in every thousand producing live offspring.
No longer able to replenish their numbers, the krogan were forced to accept terms of surrender. For their role in quelling the Krogan Rebellions, the turians were rewarded with a seat on the Citadel Council. The krogan, on the other hand, still suffer from the effects of the genophage.
Over the last millennium krogan numbers have steadily declined, leaving them a scattered and dying people.
Some try bizarre treatments for the genophage, including testicle transplants. But, faced with the certainty of their extinction, as a species, most krogan have become individualistic and completely self-interested.
They typically serve as mercenaries for hire to the highest bidder, though many still resent and despise the Citadel races that condemned them to their tragic fate.
Wrex commented disdainfully that clubs, bars and brothels often try to hire krogan bouncers, reducing his people to some kind of status symbol.
• 2180s .
Despite announcements about failed, krogan-funded research into the genophage by 2183, most krogan have not worked toward a cure as they are more interested in combat than science. Unless one was discovered and used, the extinction of the krogan seemed inevitable.
In 2185, Mordin Solus explained that the krogan are in fact evolving to undo the damage of the genophage. To prevent overpopulation, Mordin's Special Tasks Group team created and applied a modified version of the genophage, which he claims will keep the population down but still allows for a viable population, indicating the krogan race isn't as doomed as they believe.
Mordin states that both the original and new genophage were designed to stabilise the krogan birth rate at pre-industrial levels. One viable birth per thousand.
Given the prodigious krogan birth rate, it would appear that the enormously violent nature of krogan culture is actually responsible for their dwindling numbers.
Ironically, this means that if the krogan were not so convinced that they, as a species, are doomed, and consequently spent less time roaming the galaxy spoiling for a fight, their numbers might increase. They are essentially being killed by their own fatalism.
• The Reaper War .
In 2186, the Reapers invade Earth, forcing the three Human Spectres, to look for allies.
Jane Shepard seeks an alliance with the krogan, As she grew close to Chief Wrex due to their mutual ally, John Spartan-117.
The turian army needs the krogan to help them defend their homeworld of Palaven, and the krogan agreed to do this, and help rescue Earth from the Reapers, in exchange for a cure for the genophage.
ln 2185, Commander Jane Shepard had managed to convince Mordin, to use another Salarian's research, to create a cure. Whom had help with one of the last fertile female krogan, Eve.
Jane, and her team, went to the Shroud to disperse the cure, despite the fact the STG sabotaged it to prevent this from happening. Mordin overrode the sabotage, and release the cure. Which resulted in Mordin's death.
Once the genophage was cured, the krogan pledged their support in the war against the Reapers.
With the cure, the krogan began repopulating, and worked towards Tuchanka's reconstruction.
Dyson Sphere :
After the cure was introduced to the Krogan. The Citadel Council feared the Krogan would repeat their past actions, of conquering worlds for their quickly increasing population. But it was Humanity which aided the Krogan, to prevent this outcome.
Once the Terran Empire settled, their first joint operation, between all space fairing humans, was to build 42, Star Cluster thick, Dyson Spheres. Each powered by a quantum locked star, held in a permanent stasis, just before turning into a black hole.
Combined technologies, of all space fairing humanoids, went into this Sphere.
It was then enchanted by magical humanoids, to create vast numbers of extension charms. Making each residential door, in a hallway of doors less then an inch apart, containing an entire small country inside... but each barely taking up the thickness of a single door-frame, within the physical station itself.
The town is made of one "Mother" and hundreds of "Fathers". Each male in charge of shepherding their thousands of children. Though they have the aid of a small army of house elves, serving under each "Father".
At 8 years old, Krogan females reach their sexual maturity. Which, due to how quickly Krogan mature, is the beginning of their physical Prime. Which they stay in for 700 more years before their bodies begin to, very slowly, decline.
But at 8, breeding females are given their own residence, and allowed to choose their own Mates.
Where as, females that don't want to be used as baby factories, join the temple. Becoming a combination of warriors, priestess, healers, and diplomats. All rolled into one.
At any time, a Priestess can leave the temple to start a family, but no fertile female can leave the role of "Mother" after accepting it. Not until they enter menopause.
Krogan females aren't legally allowed to have any more then 600 males. So they can spend at least one day, out of a Galactic standard year, with each. Not to say the males feel neglected, or that the female doesn't care about them. As the female will personally know, and cherish, each of her males. And the children that come from all of them.
With how long Krogan live, having date night once a year, is more then enough.
In practice, females have around 150 males. And spend most of their days helping them tend the children. Though still gave an average of 1 date night a year, with each individual male.
The Female is the head of the family, but has an "Alpha Male", selected by her, out of all her males. The Alpha keeps the other males in line, and acts as the female's primary protector, confidant, and all around favorite mate.
The Krogan males, not chosen to be a father, which is the vast majority, advance the sciences, culture, or join the military of their Dyson Sphere... with most joining the military.
Although these male Krogan rarely leave their parents residence. Those that do, tend to leave the Dyson Sphere all together. Usually becoming pirates, outlaws, mercenaries, adventurers, or monster wranglers.
However, it is extremely rare to see a Krogan outside their Sphere. As the house elves that maintain it, ensure they live luxurious lives of plenty.
To quench a Krogan's natural need for violence, the spheres compete in various sports and combat tournaments. Even arena style fighting, for survival against dangerous beast, which are sold to the Spheres by monster wranglers.
With Krogan first competing against their clutch. Then the other residences of their age group. Then advancing to their floor. Then Sphere wide competitions. Then finally, matches against the other Dyson Sphere's.
These combinations are organized by age group, and weight class. With hundreds of sports to compete in. So most Krogan are able to join at least one team, which excels into the Sphere tournaments. With them just competing, until they make it in some kind of sport.
The Krogan's Dyson Sphere, are currently located in their own Quadrant of Space, within the Covenant's Galaxy. Having been folded into their Hierarchy.
While the ruler of the household is always a female, the ruler over each Clan's Sphere, is typically a male, though not always. With the strongest Battle Master ruling over their clan.
Every Krogan clan, has their own Dyson Sphere. That feels like a ghost town, despite trillions of Krogan living in each... the Spheres are just that big. Each with a million trillion homes, still vacant.
