This article describes notable characters who appear in the Mass Effect universe. These characters are explored in the novels Mass Effect: Revelation and Mass Effect: Ascension, the comic series Mass Effect: Redemption, and the video games Mass Effect, Mass Effect Galaxy, and Mass Effect 2. This list describes only major protagonists, antagonists, and party members that appear in the games, novels, and comic, although these storylines feature much larger supporting casts consisting of dozens of minor characters.

Contents 1 Commander Shepard 2 Mass Effect 2.1 Squad members 2.1.1 Ashley Williams 2.1.2 Liara T'Soni 2.1.3 Kaidan Alenko 2.1.4 Garrus Vakarian 2.1.5 Urdnot Wrex 2.1.6 Tali'Zorah nar Rayya 2.2 Antagonists 2.2.1 Saren Arterius 2.2.2 Matriarch Benezia 2.2.3 Sovereign 3 Mass Effect 2 3.1 Squad members 3.1.1 Jacob Taylor 3.1.2 Miranda Lawson 3.1.3 Thane 3.1.4 Grunt 3.1.5 Subject Zero 3.1.6 Mordin 3.1.7 Legion 3.1.8 Samara 4 Major characters in other media 4.1 Protagonists 4.1.1 David Anderson 4.1.2 Kahlee Sanders 4.2 Antagonists 4.2.1 The Illusive Man 4.2.2 Jath'Amon 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Commander Shepard

Commander Shepard is the main player character in the Mass Effect trilogy. Shepard's gender, appearance, history, combat-training and first name are determined by the player before the game begins. Shepard is 29 years old in the first game. The default male Shepard, the model used by BioWare for trailers, is called John while the female default name is Jane; both defaults are of the Soldier class. Shepard is a veteran soldier who begins the game as a candidate to become an elite "Spectre" agent. As the game progresses, Shepard undertakes a series of important missions and is authorized to do whatever it takes to get the missions done. At the end of the game, Shepard kills villain Saren Arterius and helps defeat the Reaper Sovereign. One of the most important decisions Shepard makes is at the end of the first game, and determines the fate of the Citadel Council and humanity's role in the galaxy. Shepard can choose to have the Council saved, resulting in humans being granted a Council seat; Shepard can order Sovereign to be attacked directly, which unintentionally kills the Council and results in a new, human-controlled Council being created; or Shepard can order the Council to be left undefended, which dooms the Council and sets humanity up to be the dominant species in the galaxy. The female version of Shepard is voiced by Jennifer Hale, while Mark Meer lends his voice to the male version. Mark Vanderloo was the model for the default appearance of the male commander Shepard.

In the first teaser trailer for Mass Effect 2 released by developer BioWare, Commander Shepard is stated to have been killed in action.^[1] Regarding the issue of Shepard's death, BioWare Director Casey Hudson explained that based on decisions made during Mass Effect 2, Shepard can die in some of the game's multiple endings. Hudson stated "If you do die in the ending of Mass Effect 2, it will not come as a surprise, nor will it be random. It will be pretty obvious that you headed into the final mission knowing that Shepard probably wouldn’t make it out alive." Hudson also confirmed that team members would be affected by the player's decisions as well: "You might have an ending where Shepard’s entire team survives, or where the entire mission is a bloodbath and everyone (including Shepard) is killed, or anything in between." Lastly, Hudson revealed that if the player's Shepard dies in the second game, he or she will not appear in the prospective Mass Effect 3; instead, the third game would have to be played with a new Shepard started in that game, or with one who survived Mass Effect 2.^[2]

[edit] Mass Effect

[edit] Squad members

Mass Effect has six characters that the player can recruit over the course of the game. Decisions the player makes can affect if a squad member is recruited at all, and can also lead to a squad member's death. Players can also pursue different romance storylines with certain characters.

[edit] Ashley Williams

A human female Alliance Marine who enlisted straight out of high school and is a competent non-commissioned officer; specifically, a Gunnery Chief. She joins the party during the first mission, replacing Corporal Richard L. Jenkins (who was killed in action). Ashley is a pure soldier, skilled with weapons but unable to use advanced tech abilities or biotics. She is a possible romance interest for a male Commander Shepard. Williams is highly religious, though her precise faith and denomination are never elaborated upon, except for her belief in Judgement Day. She also occasionally expresses "human-centric" views, as a result of her grandfather having been disgraced in the First Contact War against the turians.^[3]

Late in the game, on the planet Virmire, Ashley is one of two characters who can opt to assist a salarian commando unit in their assault on Saren's lab complex. During the assault, the player is confronted with a choice that may result in Ashley being killed when a nuclear warhead is detonated. Williams is voiced by Kimberly Brooks.

Ashley has been confirmed to appear in Mass Effect 2, provided she lived through the first game.^[4]

[edit] Liara T'Soni

An asari companion that has a passion for studying and working with Prothean technology. Her field of expertise specializes in the Prothean's demise. She is, in fact, found in a Prothean ruin, trapped in a kinetic bubble prison. Liara is a possible romance interest for both male and female Shepards.^[5] In the game world created by Bioware for Mass Effect, the asari have only one gender, and have the ability to reproduce with any gender or species.^[6] Liara's class is unique to her as an Asari Scientist, skilled mainly in biotics, but unable to build skills in weapons and tech abilities.

Liara is the daughter of Matriarch Benezia and it is unknown precisely who Liara's other parent is, except that she was another asari. There is a certain social stigma attached to this, as the asari believe that for them to improve themselves, they should mate with other species to gain new genetic properties. If two asari mate as Liara's parents did, then it is believed that nothing is gained from the relationship. The term "Pureblood" is used as a cruel insult for children born of two asari. When asked about her second parent, Liara is only able to speculate that her parents were possibly embarrassed by the union, but she does not know for certain. Her face and body is modelled on actress Jillian Murray, and she is voiced by Ali Hillis.

Liara has been confirmed to appear in Mass Effect 2.^[4]

[edit] Kaidan Alenko

A 32 year old human male party member that accompanies Shepard from the very beginning of the game, and a possible romance interest of a female Commander Shepard. Alliance Navy Lt. Kaidan Alenko is what is known as a Sentinel, highly skilled in both tech and biotics. Alenko has had a troubled relationship with his biotic abilities - this is due to the implant type (referred to as an L2) he and others were fitted with to control their abilities, as it is known to have been responsible for a long list of side-effects on many users. Alenko is regarded as "one of the lucky ones" as he only suffers migraines as a side effect. If questioned by Shepard, it is revealed that during his training, Alenko killed his instructor, a brutal turian mercenary, by breaking his neck with a full-force biotic kick while defending himself.

Late in the game, on the planet Virmire, Kaidan is one of two characters who can opt to assist a salarian commando unit in their assault on Saren's lab complex. During the assault, the player is confronted with a choice that may result in Kaidan being left behind when a nuclear warhead is detonated.^[3] He is voiced by Raphael Sbarge.

Kaidan has been confirmed to appear in Mass Effect 2, provided he lived through the first game.^[4]

[edit] Garrus Vakarian

A male turian, Garrus is a member of the Citadel Security force (C-Sec). He has never liked or trusted Saren and was investigating his activities, but wasn't able to prove any blatant acts of treason. He chafes under the red tape, rules and regulations of Citadel Security and had become unsatisfied with his role there. He believes in using any means necessary to either prevent or solve crimes, almost seemingly regardless of the consequences; this is a direct result of a case he was involved with that came to an unsatisfactory conclusion. During his investigations, Garrus came across a case in which a salarian named Doctor Saleon had sold many organs through the black market. When his employees were questioned they were found to also be Dr. Saleon's test subjects as they were growing the cloned organs inside their own bodies, in many cases resulting in traumatic physical and psychological injuries. Unfortunately, the doctor escaped C-Sec custody and fled the Citadel, and Garrus felt that it was the hesitation and regulations governing C-Sec that allowed Dr. Saleon to escape.

Garrus was at one point targeted as a Spectre candidate, but was dissuaded against it by his father, a C-Sec officer who was strictly "by the book" out of personal fear that Garrus would end up like Saren. When given the opportunity to pursue Saren alongside Shepard - who is not bound by rules and operates outside the law - he is happy to accept. He is a turian Agent, skilled at both weapons and engineering, similar to an Infiltrator class. Depending on Shepard's advice and actions, Garrus may at one point apply for the Spectre program, with or without re-applying for C-Sec in the process. Garrus is voiced by Brandon Keener.

Garrus has been confirmed to appear in Mass Effect 2.^[4]

[edit] Urdnot Wrex

Wrex is among the last of the krogan Battle Masters. They are rare individuals who can combine biotic abilities with advanced weaponry. 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 (a salarian bioweapon which causes a genetic mutation that causes stillbirth in 99.9% of the krogan population), Wrex realized that his people had degenerated from the honor-bound people they once were and had become senselessly violent, preferring death in battle rather than saving their culture through peaceful means. 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. Wrex escaped, though not before taking his father's life in retaliation. During the past three centuries, Wrex has worked as a bodyguard, mercenary, soldier and a 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 doesn't voice his thoughts very often. But when he does, people are more than willing to listen. The mere threat of his anger is enough to ensure that.^[7]

Late in the game, at the planet Virmire, Wrex learns that Saren is developing a cure for the krogan genophage to create an army of krogan soldiers. Uncertain as to who he should listen to now, Wrex has an angry confrontation with Shepard over whether or not the facility should be destroyed. Depending on the player's choices, Wrex can be killed by either Shepard or Ashley, or he may survive. Wrex is voiced by Steve Barr.

Wrex has been confirmed to appear in Mass Effect 2, provided he lived through the first game.^[4]

[edit] Tali'Zorah nar Rayya

A female quarian party member, Tali'Zorah is introduced as a person who possesses information that can implicate Saren in the destruction of the human colony of Eden Prime. Saren himself sends assassins after her, and once Shepard rescues her, she joins the player's party. Tali is on a "Pilgrimage," which is a quarian coming-of-age rite in which a young quarian leaves the home fleet and finds something valuable, which is brought back to the fleet to prove their willingness to contribute to the community. She has some trouble adjusting to the quiet atmosphere of the Normandy because the ships she lived on at her home were all rather loud and clunky, and silence usually meant an air filter or other important component had broken. Later on in the game, it is revealed that her father serves on the fleet Admiralty board making him a prominent figure amongst the quarians. This puts Tali under more pressure than most to ensure that she finds something important during her pilgrimage. Later in the game, either on Feros or in the main geth base in the Armstrong Nebula (in an optional side quest), Shepard can find information on the geth that can be given to Tali so she can complete her Pilgrimage. She is voiced by Liz Sroka.

Tali has been confirmed to appear in Mass Effect 2,^[4] and can be recruited as a party member in that game as well.^[8]

[edit] Antagonists

[edit] Saren Arterius

Saren Arterius is a former turian Spectre and the main antagonist of the first game. He is known for 'getting results' by any means necessary. More often than not, this meant he killed everyone and everything in range—the target, any witnesses, and innocent bystanders as well. In the novel Mass Effect: Revelation, he tortures and kills his victims mercilessly, rarely having any regards for sentient life or the lives of anyone in his way from getting the job done, even deliberately killing innocent bystanders and witnesses (after he had extracted key information from them). Saren himself does not consider his methods harsh; for example, when he brutally tortures a batarian in the novel until he has been exhausted of information, Saren snaps the batarian's neck while he is unconscious and claims that it was an act of mercy and that he isn't "a monster." His seething hatred for humans is speculated by other characters in the novel to stem from the loss of his brother in the First Contact War.

After the events described in the novel, and before the start of the first Mass Effect video game, Saren takes command of an army of geth through the use of a mysterious artifact known as Sovereign, an ancient ship that supposedly predates the Protheans. With a machine army at his command, he uses them to both do his bidding and oppose the efforts and actions of the player across the story of the Mass Effect video game. One of his main goals at first appears to be to unleash the genocidal Reapers upon the galaxy once again to take revenge on humanity. In reality, he is merely assisting Sovereign in bringing the rest of the Reapers into the galaxy to prove that organics are worth enslaving, rather than exterminating.

In the game it is revealed that Saren had known about the Reaper threat and had independently tried to discover a means to stop it. It is unknown how Saren found Sovereign, however, Sovereign slowly began to manipulate Saren through subtle subliminal messages into helping him into bringing back the Reaper threat. During the Geth invasion of the Citadel, Saren uses the Prothean Conduit to gain access to the Citadel to allow Sovereign to activate the Citadel Mass Relay. The player can then either attempt to kill Saren before he can activate the relay or appeal to Saren to fight his indoctrination, prompting him to commit suicide. Either way, Shepard later has one of his/her crew members shoot Saren a final time in the head to make sure he's dead, but he is still revived and controlled by Sovereign, transforming him into a powerful enemy who engages Shepard and his crew in one final battle. Upon defeating the Sovereign-manipulated Saren, Sovereign itself loses its defenses, allowing the Citadel Fleet and the Alliance Navy to destroy it. Saren is voiced by Fred Tatasciore.

[edit] Matriarch Benezia

An asari matriarch who is in league with Saren. She is also the mother of Liara T'Soni. During the course of conversation, Liara speculates that Benezia was ashamed of mating with another Asari, but is not entirely certain if that was the case. She is enslaved by Sovereign into finding the location of the Mu Mass Relay. She is killed by the player after revealing this fact and (if Liara present in the shore party) making peace with her daughter. She is a master of Biotics. She is voiced by Marina Sirtis.

[edit] Sovereign

A member of the race labelled by Protheans as the Reapers, who was left behind as a vanguard for the next Reaper invasion, Sovereign was tasked with monitoring organic evolution and to hence activate the Citadel relay once organic advancement had reached a critical point. It takes the form of a massive starship, far larger in size than any dreadnought hitherto created by the presently known organic species; whether all Reapers are of a similar manifestation is unclear, though Vigil implies that this is the case, referring to "Reaper fleets."

Sovereign posesses a power known by organic species as indoctrination, which enables the Reaper to gradually assume control of the minds of organic beings; though the details of this method of mind control have yet to be elucidated, Vigil explains that the ability is common to all Reapers, who utilise their organic slaves as spies and infiltrators, increasing the efficiency of their genocidal scheme.

During Shepard's discourse with Sovereign in Saren's laboratory on Virmire, Shepard makes the discovery that what they assumed to be an ancient Reaper warship is, in point of fact, a Reaper; aside from claiming that organic beings are of an inherently limited epistemology, such that they are utterly unable to understand the actions of the Reapers, Sovereign also demonstrates arrogance in its assessment of the threat posed by the organic species.

Subsequent to Saren's death, Sovereign possesses Saren's corpse through cybernetic implants, transforming him into a robotic adversary for Shepard. The Reaper itself, after being rendered defenceless seemingly by Shepard's defeating the possessed Saren, is destroyed at the end of the game by the Alliance Fleet. Sovereign is voiced by Peter Jessop.

[edit] Mass Effect 2

[edit] Squad members

The developer has confirmed that there are 10 recruitable squad members in Mass Effect 2.^[9][10] Nine party members have been officially revealed so far, including Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, who will return from Mass Effect.

[edit] Jacob Taylor

Jacob Taylor is the protagonist of Mass Effect Galaxy, and will also appear in Mass Effect 2 as a party member. In Galaxy, he is a former Systems Alliance soldier who is re-recruited to investigate the batarians and discover why they have sent Jath'Amon, who claims to be an ambassador seeking peace with the Citadel Council. With the help of Alliance informant Miranda Lawson, he uncovers and thwarts Jath'Amon's scheme to assassinate the Council. Jacob is voiced by Adam Lazarre-White.

[edit] Miranda Lawson

Miranda Lawson is a supporting character in Mass Effect Galaxy, and will also appear in Mass Effect 2 as a party member. In Galaxy, Miranda communicates with Jacob Taylor as a hologram, and is his main source of information on how to stop the batarian threat. Miranda is voiced by and modeled after Yvonne Strahovski.

[edit] Thane

Thane is a drell assassin who will appear in Mass Effect 2 and can be recruited as a party member. He is encountered on the asari colony world of Illium.^[11]

[edit] Grunt

Grunt is a krogan bodyguard who will appear in Mass Effect 2 and can be recruited as a party member.^[12] He is encountered on Omega, a space station located in the Terminus Systems and first mentioned in the novel Mass Effect: Ascension.^[13]

[edit] Subject Zero

A human female with great biotic and firearms abilities who can be recruited as a party member. She sports a crew cut, and her body is covered with tattoos. She is also highly aggressive, both in battle, and in her personality. ^[14]

[edit] Mordin

Mordin is a salarian scientist who Shepard rescues on the krogan homeworld of Tuchanka.^[10]

[edit] Legion

Legion is a geth that can be acquired as a party member. He was initially shown in the first Mass Effect 2 teaser trailer.^[15][16]

[edit] Samara

Samara is a powerful asari biotic who can be recruited. She is a Justicar, a member of an asari sect devoted to bringing criminals to justice.^[17]

[edit] Major characters in other media

[edit] Protagonists

[edit] David Anderson

Created by writer Drew Karpyshyn, David Anderson is the protagonist of the novel Mass Effect: Revelation and supervisor of the player character Commander Shepard in Mass Effect. In the novel, David Anderson is depicted as a young lieutenant who discovered the massacre at the research station on Sidon and lead the ensuing investigation into those responsible for it. Lt. Anderson is considered one of the Alliance's 'elites', having been trained in the N7 Marine program, graduating from the Arcturus Academy, as well as serving with honor in the First Contact War between the turians and the Alliance. Before he began his investigation of the massacre at Sidon, Anderson served as the Executive Officer of the SSV Hastings. During the investigation, Anderson fell in love with key witness/prime suspect Kahlee Sanders. However, they mutually agreed not to continue a romance after the investigation, in part because she was assigned to a classified scientific project, and also that their careers made marriage impossible. Anderson was capable and had been considered a suitable candidate to represent humanity in the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance (Spectre) of the Citadel. However, Saren, a turian and the antagonist of Mass Effect, blamed the failure of a mission on Anderson, effectively eliminating his chances of being selected.^[18]

In Mass Effect, David Anderson is the commanding officer of Commander Shepard, the central character.^[19] At first he commands the Normandy, but is quickly put into early retirement to give Shepard command of the Normandy. After that, he can be found on Citadel Station, beside the human Ambassador. When the Normandy is locked down by the Council, he unlocks it by either going to the Ambassador's office and overriding it, or sneaking into C-Sec and changing it there. After the Geth invasion of the Citadel, the player can choose him (regardless if the player decided to allow the Council to die or not) to become the human representative of the Council. He is voiced by Keith David.^[20]

[edit] Kahlee Sanders

Kahlee Sanders is introduced in Mass Effect: Revelation, and returns in Mass Effect: Ascension; the character has yet to appear in any game. She is the daughter of Systems Alliance Admiral Jon Grissom, and participated in artificial intelligence research on the planet Sidon; it is during the events on this planet that she meets and falls in love with David Anderson, but the relationship is not pursued. A decade later, she becomes a director of the Ascension Project, which was looking into experimental techniques to improve biotics. When she discovers the Cerberus organization's ties to the Project and intentions, she becomes disillusioned and seeks to dismantle the Project.

[edit] Antagonists

[edit] The Illusive Man

The Illusive Man is introduced as the antagonist of Mass Effect: Ascension, and returns for Mass Effect 2. He is the enigmatic leader of the Cerberus organization and was responsible for Cerberus' split from the Systems Alliance military shortly before the events of Mass Effect. His ultimate goal is to elevate humanity to its "rightful place" in the galaxy.

In Mass Effect 2 it is unknown how the Illusive Man will be portrayed; although he was the primary antagonist of the novel, in the game his organization actively provides the protagonist Commander Shepard with information and supplies. The Illusive Man is voiced by Martin Sheen.^[21]

[edit] Jath'Amon

Jath'Amon is the central antagonist of Mass Effect Galaxy. A batarian, he arrives in Citadel space to negotiate with the Council on behalf of his people. It is later discovered that he is a terrorist mastermind, and that his plan all along was to get close to the Council members and expose them to a deadly biological weapon. His plan is disrupted by Jacob Taylor, and he is arrested by C-Sec.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mass Effect official website
• Mass Effect Wiki

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