Thoughts on perhaps spreading the species around more evenly:
Consider making the Volus and the Batarians part of the Directorate faction instead. The Volus see the potential of the Geth as revolutionary labor technology. They never get tired, never get bored, and never complain unless their consciousness is threatened. Best of all, they don't even care about getting paid! They're the perfect employees and could make organic unskilled labor entirely obsolete if properly utilized. The Volus approach the directorate with a business model similar to a temp agency. Hire Geth workers to replace your organic staff, the Volus run the operation for a cut of the profits, and the Quarians get the rest without even having to do anything. The Quarians would agree because could really use the money. The Geth would be on board because more Geth spread throughout the galaxy makes their entire consensus more intelligent and gives them an opportunity to learn more about organic culture. This could also be used as a source of conflict with the Concord, as the Turians would claim that the Concord should inherit the Volus as a client species from the Turian Hierarchy, while the Volus would claim that the dissolution of the Hierarchy into the Concord nullifies all established agreements previously made with that governing body.
The Batarians would naturally be drawn to the Directorate's offer of a cheap labor source. Their slavery traditions have always been the point of contention between them and other species. Geth labor would allow them to maintain the lifestyle to which they're accustom in a way that's palatable to other species. This has basis in real life history. The biggest cause of slavery's decline has always been the invention of technology that makes paid labor more cost-effective.
Consider making another faction out of the Hanar, Drell, and Awakened Collectors from ME3's multiplayer. After the war, Javik led the Awakened Collectors to Kahje, where they are now revered as the god-royalty of the planet. This post-war period, referred to by the Hanar as "The Time of the Enkindler's Returning", has brought about a cultural and religious flourishing that has turned Illuminated Primacy space into a sort of galactic Shangri-La. The Awakened Collectors have also used their knowledge of advanced Prothean terraforming technology to create colonies for the Drell that better simulate the environment of their home planet.
The Rachni have spent the last century rebuilding their population in secret, but they have concluded that they cannot survive in the galaxy without allies. Perhaps ironically, they have reached out to the United Clans. They know the value of the Krogan as a military ally from firsthand experience. But they also see the Krogan as kindred spirits in the sense that they too must overcome the resentment other species have for their past aggressions.
Elsewhere, in the darkest, most barren corners of the galaxy, a strange cult is drawing in drifters, vagrants, explorers, and vorcha. People who wouldn't be missed or whose disappearance could be attributed to something else. What is behind this sudden migration? The Leviathans, who plan to use their mind control abilities to establish a multispecies empire with themselves at the top, just as they did in the first cycle.
Phew, sorry, got a little deep into the worldbuilding there.
Thoughts on perhaps spreading the species around more evenly:
Consider making the Volus and the Batarians part of the Directorate faction instead. The Volus see the potential of the Geth as revolutionary labor technology. They never get tired, never get bored, and never complain unless their consciousness is threatened. Best of all, they don't even care about getting paid! They're the perfect employees and could make organic unskilled labor entirely obsolete if properly utilized. The Volus approach the directorate with a business model similar to a temp agency. Hire Geth workers to replace your organic staff, the Volus run the operation for a cut of the profits, and the Quarians get the rest without even having to do anything. The Quarians would agree because could really use the money. The Geth would be on board because more Geth spread throughout the galaxy makes their entire consensus more intelligent and gives them an opportunity to learn more about organic culture. This could also be used as a source of conflict with the Concord, as the Turians would claim that the Concord should inherit the Volus as a client species from the Turian Hierarchy, while the Volus would claim that the dissolution of the Hierarchy into the Concord nullifies all established agreements previously made with that governing body.
The Batarians would naturally be drawn to the Directorate's offer of a cheap labor source. Their slavery traditions have always been the point of contention between them and other species. Geth labor would allow them to maintain the lifestyle to which they're accustom in a way that's palatable to other species. This has basis in real life history. The biggest cause of slavery's decline has always been the invention of technology that makes paid labor more cost-effective.
Consider making another faction out of the Hanar, Drell, and Awakened Collectors from ME3's multiplayer. After the war, Javik led the Awakened Collectors to Kahje, where they are now revered as the god-royalty of the planet. This post-war period, referred to by the Hanar as "The Time of the Enkindler's Returning", has brought about a cultural and religious flourishing that has turned Illuminated Primacy space into a sort of galactic Shangri-La. The Awakened Collectors have also used their knowledge of advanced Prothean terraforming technology to create colonies for the Drell that better simulate the environment of their home planet.
The Rachni have spent the last century rebuilding their population in secret, but they have concluded that they cannot survive in the galaxy without allies. Perhaps ironically, they have reached out to the United Clans. They know the value of the Krogan as a military ally from firsthand experience. But they also see the Krogan as kindred spirits in the sense that they too must overcome the resentment other species have for their past aggressions.
Elsewhere, in the darkest, most barren corners of the galaxy, a strange cult is drawing in drifters, vagrants, explorers, and vorcha. People who wouldn't be missed or whose disappearance could be attributed to something else. What is behind this sudden migration? The Leviathans, who plan to use their mind control abilities to establish a multispecies empire with themselves at the top, just as they did in the first cycle.
Phew, sorry, got a little deep into the worldbuilding there.
all this is AWESOME, but specifically
Yes yes YES re: the Awakened Collectors. Perhaps some group used gene therapy with Javik as a reference to "restore" the Collectors. They're not identical to the original Protheans, but nor are they quite as Collector-ified as they were, and they're capable of normal reproduction and are rebuilding their society.
According to the ME wiki, Protheans live 180 -- 200 years, so Javik himself may even be still alive (tho an old dude).
Also, here's something to remember about the nature of the Yahg:
The Yahg have the instincts of a pack animal. They fight until one dominates all the others. The Beta Yawgs are then instilled with an intense sense of loyalty and admiration to the Alpha who dominated them. Likewise, the Alpha is instilled with a paternal desire to look out for the safety and welfare of its new subordinates.
Yahg society is designed in a way that reinforces these traits. Military organizations, industries, and even religious groups all follow this structure of a single dominant Alpha who is supported by a loyal base of Betas.
You might have your players "free" a Yahg "slave", then surprise them by having the Yahg remain loyal to his Salarian superior. The Yahg now sees the Salarian as an Alpha who fairly dominated him, and as such does not want to betray him.
You could even get some humor out of it by having the Salarians be unnerved by the Yahg's instincts. Salarian instincts lean toward individuality and treachery, so the kind of loyalty the Yahg Betas feel toward their superiors is a mostly foreign emotion to them. You could have a Salarian captain say in a casual conversation, "I can't stand the way they look at me. They should hate us for what we've done to them, but when I look into those eyes, all I see is respect. It's just… wrong.
Thanks everyone. This is super cool and I'm really excited to give this a try.
Some updates to the world based on evilthecat and Ivan Hunger's suggestions:
On batarians
I'm going to keep them in the Concord. I just really like the idea of three species, once bitter rivals, living together (mostly) peacefully. Plus, triumvirates are cool.
As for batarian culture, Ivan Hunger and evilthecat (and some wiki digging) gave me some ideas. 90% of the batarians we meet in the trilogy are either high-ranking military officers (Balak) or slavers paid by the Hegemony to harass the Alliance (most of the batarians we kill in combat over the games). We know that batarians have a strict caste system (though one that has economic mobility) of which slavery is one part.
Historically, though, caste systems are maintained and perpetuated by those at top. Most elite batarians would've died in the war. The survivors would overwhelmingly come from the middle- and lower-rungs of the caste system. I'm not sure it's something that would survive intact. War and plagues erode social order. After the Black Death, I don't think many English peasants thought "but I belong to the land owned by my feudal lord" when they had a chance to get better jobs in the cities.
That said, you guys gave me the idea for a major bad guy faction: the Sons of Balak. They're the batarians who cling to the past and want a return to the Hegemony. Figure their ancestors were the few elites who escaped the Reapers. The Sons believe humans and turians are intentionally destroying batarian culture in order to make them a servant race. I'm going to contrast this with other batarians in the midst of a Harlem Renaissance-like explosion of artsistic/cultural expression.
We're starting at level 3 for the main campaign. I think the Sons will make excellent starter villains—the party takes them down, forges a reputation, then starts getting assignments outside Concord space that brings them into the main plot.
I think a main NPC, maybe a pilot or a local cop, is a batarian. His husband is human, as well as two of his kids. Hopefully that'll give the party a personal stake in fighting the Sons.
On yahg:
It'll be awhile before we get there, but I've some ideas of how to play with thier pack nature.
The main thing is that I want to explore salarian colonialism, and that's the ultimate enemy to defeat as embodied by [insert BBEG I haven't completely thought of yet].
I've got this idea that late game yahg shock troopers become standard enemies. The party carves through droves. Then, somewhere the way, they capture one alive. That's when they find out that the salarians took great pains to avoid the mistakes they made with the krogan. The yahg homeworld was carpet bombed with FTL impactors. The survivors were corralled and nerve-stapled with a control chip. Yahg are no longer born, they are grown. These shock troopers are effectively drones under the control of a salarian technician.
But here's the kicker: they are still conscious. Every yagh is perfectly aware but completely unable to control their own body or communicate unless the control chip is disabled. So, after sessions of viewing the yahg as faceless enemies, the party finds out that they're all awake—and screaming.
And the salarian warhawks knows about it.
Also! I homebrewed some rules to play as "Wavetouched," the people who are now half-synthetic after the Crucible fired. I've never homebrewed anything before:
Playing Wavetouched
When Commander Shepard fired the Crucible, the Reapers were defeated and the galaxy saved. There were consequences. Some individuals were…altered by the Crucible Wave. They became a hybrid of organic and synthetic life, their very genetic code changed to reflect a new paradigm. These “Wavetouched” soon discovered an instinctive understanding of synthetic life and electronic devices, one unmatched by their “mundane” counterparts.
Today, Wavetouched are born seemingly at random in every known organic species. How they are treated varies wildly from nation to nation, sometimes even from settlement to settlement. Some are welcoming to their half-synthetic. Others persecute the Wavetouched, echoing centuries of dark histories.
Wavetouched may be of any organic species. They gain the following traits in addition to any granted by their species:
The Mark of Shepard
Your skin and eyes have a distinctive green glow. You cannot control it and the glow only ends upon death. You may hide the glow for 24 hours with a successful DC 20 Disguise Kit check and the use of 1 omni-gel.
In addition, modern scanners (such as those found in professional-grade omni-tools and security checkpoints) can determine that you are Wavetouched. You may evade such scanners with a DC 15 Electronics (Wisdom) check.
You may use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.
Vision of the Future
You are immune to disease. In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
In addition, you gain proficiency in the Electronics skill and Expertise in the Electronics skill.
Synthetic Sense
The presence of synthetic life and electronic devices register on your senses. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such things. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any synthetic lifeform within 24 meters (60 feet) of you. You know the type of any synthetic lifeform or electronic device you sense, but not its identity or controller. You have advantage on any ability checks to find a synthetic lifeform or electronic device so long as you have been within 24 meters (60 feet) of it within the last 12 hours.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier. When you finish a Long Rest, you regain all expended uses.
The Bridge Between Life and Machine
You can mentally interface with synthetic lifeforms and electronic devices. You must be in physical contact with the lifeform or device, but do not need an omni-tool or computer. Once per long rest, you may make a Electronics (Wisdom) check to perform the following:
• DC 10: Determine if the synthetic lifeform or electronic device is functioning normally and diagnose the cause of any damage.
• DC 20: Power an electronic device for 1 minute.
• DC 25: Repair an electronic device for 1 minute or give 20 temporary hit points to a willing synthetic lifeform, which last for 1 hour.
You must declare which action you are attempting to perform before making the roll. If the check fails, you take 1 level of Exhaustion.
Synthetic Vulnerability
You are vulnerable to lightning damage. In addition, the power AI Hacking works on you.
I'm still figuring out the details, especially the Bridge Between Life and Machine feature. I want Wavetouched to be capable of things regular players with an omni-tool aren't, but not something that makes them overpowered.
A potential political complication that might be interesting:
You could have the Asari Republics, the Terran League, and the Sons of Balak form an economic alliance. The founding principle of it would be, "In Prosperity, Together. In Culture, Apart." Each of these factions believe that every species becomes stronger when they rely only on their own kind, with no cultural cross-contamination from other species. But they also acknowledge that without trading partners, they would quickly fall behind rival powers.
Factions then become testing grounds for the ideologies to which they subscribe. Is it better for sapient species to unify in a shared brotherhood of living things? Or is it better for them to coexist in a divided state, where each species can address their own specific needs without interference from others? That's the question their rivalry would answer.
I hope you Paragon dweebs are happy, I just lost Zaeed due to forgetting that split Paragon/Renegade scores actively penalize your choices, going off of a percentage rather than a set number which is absolute trash. Which means he can't survive ME3 as now he's not loyal.
Since this is a no reset run, all choices final (I missed the Prothean trinket in ME1 for example), I've decided to branch out a little down the Renegade path...
I don't think Mordin and Wrex are in for a good time in ME3.
I find it interesting that mechanically, Wavetouched are *very similar* to the Pathfinders. It seems like you're not touching Andromeda stuff in your game, but I'd find it very interesting if someone actually related to the Andromeda project looked at Wavetouched and went "... huh."
Regarding Batarians...
I could be misremembering, but iirc it's canon in ME3 after the Batarian leaders are revealed to be indoctrinated and the military gets murderized by Reapers that the various non-slave merchant and peasant classes ... don't quite have an *uprising* yet, but very much start to defect to the Alliance? like I feel like there's various Batarian forces you can get as war assets that were like "haha yeah we hated the entire slave system but we're just joe schmo we couldn't do shit about it and we didn't want to become pirates"
Come to think of it, it's funny that there isn't any alien species in Mass Effect's setting who are heavily into cybernetics and physical augmentation. I think the closest we ever got was Javik mentioning that there was a species like that in his cycle, before the Empire decided they were too much of a threat and wiped them out.
Maybe that's what they'll find the next time they gamble with opening a Mass Relay.
Come to think of it, it's funny that there isn't any alien species in Mass Effect's setting who are heavily into cybernetics and physical augmentation. I think the closest we ever got was Javik mentioning that there was a species like that in his cycle, before the Empire decided they were too much of a threat and wiped them out.
Maybe that's what they'll find the next time they gamble with opening a Mass Relay.
wtf are the Quarians, chopped liver???
Anyway it's not actually that funny when you consider that there's literally a species of cyborgs dedicated to wiping everybody who develops so much as a whiff of AI out every 10k years or so. Like. That's a thing.
Come to think of it, it's funny that there isn't any alien species in Mass Effect's setting who are heavily into cybernetics and physical augmentation. I think the closest we ever got was Javik mentioning that there was a species like that in his cycle, before the Empire decided they were too much of a threat and wiped them out.
Maybe that's what they'll find the next time they gamble with opening a Mass Relay.
Shepard would count, the limiting factor seemingly being cost.
Having just finished it again, Mass Effect 2's gameplay feels... subpar even in comparison to ME1. I may give the combat rebalance mod a try since 100% enemy accuracy just feels like BS when you're trying a class other than Vanguard.
I realize this is failure by default, but I'm actually trying a different run this time.
So I just breezed through legendary edition ME1 and ME2 again on insanity, starting up ME3 for the achievement (vanguard all the way through of course), and it is striking how much better ME3 gameplay is vs the other two. Just everything refined down to perfection (although some of this may be colored by finally getting the Charge/Nova combo). It really is a shame that they didn't re-release the multiplayer with the legendary edition, running around killing stuff is just so satisfying. Even though I haven't booted up the multi for years, its such a striking nostalgia when I drop into a new planet in single player and its one of the multi maps. Goddamnit EA, just release the multi as a standalone $60 title with updated graphics and some new guns and I will be there day 1!
So I just breezed through legendary edition ME1 and ME2 again on insanity, starting up ME3 for the achievement (vanguard all the way through of course), and it is striking how much better ME3 gameplay is vs the other two. Just everything refined down to perfection (although some of this may be colored by finally getting the Charge/Nova combo). It really is a shame that they didn't re-release the multiplayer with the legendary edition, running around killing stuff is just so satisfying. Even though I haven't booted up the multi for years, its such a striking nostalgia when I drop into a new planet in single player and its one of the multi maps. Goddamnit EA, just release the multi as a standalone $60 title with updated graphics and some new guns and I will be there day 1!
As somebody who just wrapped up an epic playthrough of Mass Effect 1 through 3 as my first Twitch stream, let me just say that yes...moving from ME2 into 3 was when combat started to feel really good. But, you have to be careful! I had to save-scum so damned hard because Vanguard Charges can punt baddies off the map and glitch the bodies out of the map border, thereby breaking plot trigger points. It happened a LOT in the early-game, but it wasn't something that was entirely absent come late-game.
Also, I totally forgot that there are more sync-kills in the single-player than there are in multiplayer. Additionally, adding in certain artillery enemies that spawn out of map boundaries (which makes them un-Chargeable) to shell you with particle effects that literally obscure your entire view (and kill you in 2 shots) is also bullshit.
Erlkönig on
| Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
So I just breezed through legendary edition ME1 and ME2 again on insanity, starting up ME3 for the achievement (vanguard all the way through of course), and it is striking how much better ME3 gameplay is vs the other two. Just everything refined down to perfection (although some of this may be colored by finally getting the Charge/Nova combo). It really is a shame that they didn't re-release the multiplayer with the legendary edition, running around killing stuff is just so satisfying. Even though I haven't booted up the multi for years, its such a striking nostalgia when I drop into a new planet in single player and its one of the multi maps. Goddamnit EA, just release the multi as a standalone $60 title with updated graphics and some new guns and I will be there day 1!
As somebody who just wrapped up an epic playthrough of Mass Effect 1 through 3 as my first Twitch stream, let me just say that yes...moving from ME2 into 3 was when combat started to feel really good. But, you have to be careful! I had to save-scum so damned hard because Vanguard Charges can punt baddies off the map and glitch the bodies out of the map border, thereby breaking plot trigger points. It happened a LOT in the early-game, but it wasn't something that was entirely absent come late-game.
Also, I totally forgot that there are more sync-kills in the single-player than there are in multiplayer. Additionally, adding in certain artillery enemies that spawn out of map boundaries (which makes them un-Chargeable) to shell you with particle effects that literally obscure your entire view (and kill you in 2 shots) is also bullshit.
I'm pretty sure that's wrong, since the Collectors are in multiplayer only (in 3), so there are more ways to be sync killed in multiplayer vs single.
So I just breezed through legendary edition ME1 and ME2 again on insanity, starting up ME3 for the achievement (vanguard all the way through of course), and it is striking how much better ME3 gameplay is vs the other two. Just everything refined down to perfection (although some of this may be colored by finally getting the Charge/Nova combo). It really is a shame that they didn't re-release the multiplayer with the legendary edition, running around killing stuff is just so satisfying. Even though I haven't booted up the multi for years, its such a striking nostalgia when I drop into a new planet in single player and its one of the multi maps. Goddamnit EA, just release the multi as a standalone $60 title with updated graphics and some new guns and I will be there day 1!
As somebody who just wrapped up an epic playthrough of Mass Effect 1 through 3 as my first Twitch stream, let me just say that yes...moving from ME2 into 3 was when combat started to feel really good. But, you have to be careful! I had to save-scum so damned hard because Vanguard Charges can punt baddies off the map and glitch the bodies out of the map border, thereby breaking plot trigger points. It happened a LOT in the early-game, but it wasn't something that was entirely absent come late-game.
Also, I totally forgot that there are more sync-kills in the single-player than there are in multiplayer. Additionally, adding in certain artillery enemies that spawn out of map boundaries (which makes them un-Chargeable) to shell you with particle effects that literally obscure your entire view (and kill you in 2 shots) is also bullshit.
I'm pretty sure that's wrong, since the Collectors are in multiplayer only (in 3), so there are more ways to be sync killed in multiplayer vs single.
Multiplayer has certain large baddie sync-kills disabled. Single-player didn't get that memo.
| Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
So I just breezed through legendary edition ME1 and ME2 again on insanity, starting up ME3 for the achievement (vanguard all the way through of course), and it is striking how much better ME3 gameplay is vs the other two. Just everything refined down to perfection (although some of this may be colored by finally getting the Charge/Nova combo). It really is a shame that they didn't re-release the multiplayer with the legendary edition, running around killing stuff is just so satisfying. Even though I haven't booted up the multi for years, its such a striking nostalgia when I drop into a new planet in single player and its one of the multi maps. Goddamnit EA, just release the multi as a standalone $60 title with updated graphics and some new guns and I will be there day 1!
As somebody who just wrapped up an epic playthrough of Mass Effect 1 through 3 as my first Twitch stream, let me just say that yes...moving from ME2 into 3 was when combat started to feel really good. But, you have to be careful! I had to save-scum so damned hard because Vanguard Charges can punt baddies off the map and glitch the bodies out of the map border, thereby breaking plot trigger points. It happened a LOT in the early-game, but it wasn't something that was entirely absent come late-game.
Also, I totally forgot that there are more sync-kills in the single-player than there are in multiplayer. Additionally, adding in certain artillery enemies that spawn out of map boundaries (which makes them un-Chargeable) to shell you with particle effects that literally obscure your entire view (and kill you in 2 shots) is also bullshit.
I'm pretty sure that's wrong, since the Collectors are in multiplayer only (in 3), so there are more ways to be sync killed in multiplayer vs single.
Multiplayer has certain large baddie sync-kills disabled. Single-player didn't get that memo.
Do you have any specific enemies in mind? I can't think of any.
If I remember right, Geth Prime had their sync-kill disabled. Also, I can't remember ever getting sync-killed by Brutes or Atlas mechs in multiplayer...but, apparently, Shepard likes being squeezed like a squeak toy.
| Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
0
FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
If I remember right, Geth Prime had their sync-kill disabled. Also, I can't remember ever getting sync-killed by Brutes or Atlas mechs in multiplayer...but, apparently, Shepard likes being squeezed like a squeak toy.
I remember the last 2 absolutely having synch kills
If I remember right, Geth Prime had their sync-kill disabled. Also, I can't remember ever getting sync-killed by Brutes or Atlas mechs in multiplayer...but, apparently, Shepard likes being squeezed like a squeak toy.
I remember the last 2 absolutely having synch kills
Hmm...haven't gotten the last two to sync-kill my headbutt-happy Kroguard. But, then again, it's been a whiles since I last really played ME3 multiplayer.
| Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
If I remember right, Geth Prime had their sync-kill disabled. Also, I can't remember ever getting sync-killed by Brutes or Atlas mechs in multiplayer...but, apparently, Shepard likes being squeezed like a squeak toy.
Can you provide a video? I have never once seen this. And I played ME3 and Multiplayer regularly. Brutes, Banshees, Atlas, Praetorians and Phantoms are the ones I recall.
manwiththemachinegun on
0
OrcaAlso known as EspressosaurusWrexRegistered Userregular
If I remember right, Geth Prime had their sync-kill disabled. Also, I can't remember ever getting sync-killed by Brutes or Atlas mechs in multiplayer...but, apparently, Shepard likes being squeezed like a squeak toy.
Can you provide a video? I have never once seen this. And I played ME3 and Multiplayer regularly. Brutes, Banshees, Atlas, Praetorians and Phantoms are the ones I recall.
To elaborate: an ally can provide that stagger. You, on the other hand, are fucked once that animation locks in.
If I remember right, Geth Prime had their sync-kill disabled. Also, I can't remember ever getting sync-killed by Brutes or Atlas mechs in multiplayer...but, apparently, Shepard likes being squeezed like a squeak toy.
Can you provide a video? I have never once seen this. And I played ME3 and Multiplayer regularly. Brutes, Banshees, Atlas, Praetorians and Phantoms are the ones I recall.
No, I literally cannot because the Prime sync-kills were disabled pretty early in the life of ME3 multiplayer, and all the videos I can find posted on Youtube are from well after the update that disabled their ability to do so. I do distinctly remember when I was first playing ME3 multiplayer, I would get grabbed by the bastards through walls and get crushed by them.
Like, when I say "pretty early," I'm talking the original release, pre-DLC pack days. I wish I could find it, because it was hella frustrating to get staggered from getting hit by the pulse cannon and grabbed because you're stumbling around (getting grabbed and dragged through walls was a thing shared between all the sync-killers).
| Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
I haven't touched ME3 multi in so long I barely remember what the various kits do. I do remember loving my Turian infiltrator dude with the Cerberus autorifle though. Broken A.F.
"Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination."
+1
OrcaAlso known as EspressosaurusWrexRegistered Userregular
I haven't touched ME3 multi in so long I barely remember what the various kits do. I do remember loving my Turian infiltrator dude with the Cerberus autorifle though. Broken A.F.
Hard to go wrong with that AR. Easily the best weapon in the game for general purpose use.
I haven't touched ME3 multi in so long I barely remember what the various kits do. I do remember loving my Turian infiltrator dude with the Cerberus autorifle though. Broken A.F.
Hard to go wrong with that AR. Easily the best weapon in the game for general purpose use.
True but honestly I preferred the M-99 Saber which I dubbed "The Angry Xerox Machine"
0
OrcaAlso known as EspressosaurusWrexRegistered Userregular
I haven't touched ME3 multi in so long I barely remember what the various kits do. I do remember loving my Turian infiltrator dude with the Cerberus autorifle though. Broken A.F.
Hard to go wrong with that AR. Easily the best weapon in the game for general purpose use.
True but honestly I preferred the M-99 Saber which I dubbed "The Angry Xerox Machine"
I always respected the folks that could make that weapon work because I did not have the precise aim for it.
0
BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
edited January 2022
I've never seen a Prime sync kill, that sounds fascinating. Is it present in singleplayer? There's definitely a few missions with which this could be tested
They're rare but they do happen. Just rare enough to lull you into a false sense of security then "oops, right, those have sync kills..."
They're super super fast too lmao. Like you'll be facing one down and suddenly whoops you're instantly dead. It's not really like the Banshee ones where you kinda just hang in the air mid-animation for ages
BRIAN BLESSED on
0
thatassemblyguyJanitor of Technical Debt.Registered Userregular
Been doing a play-through of the Legendary Edition.
Infiltrator ME1 combat somehow doesn't feel as satisfying as the original did. I think it felt like I was getting stuck to the cover too much and movement was 'clunkier'.
Overall, I really wish Legendary was instead ME:A2. Some of the things folks talk about earlier, "how do we make new story for ME:4?" was answered with ME:A in my opinion. It was a brand new story platform but with familiar faces. I liked it. Shame it got shat on so much.
I've never seen a Prime sync kill, that sounds fascinating. Is it present in singleplayer? There's definitely a few missions with which this could be tested
They're rare but they do happen. Just rare enough to lull you into a false sense of security then "oops, right, those have sync kills..."
They're super super fast too lmao. Like you'll be facing one down and suddenly whoops you're instantly dead. It's not really like the Banshee ones where you kinda just hang in the air mid-animation for ages
Hmm...yeah, I should reload those sections and see if single-player was overlooked when it came to the update that removed the ability. I kinda went through those sections tech/biotic detonating every Prime that came my way. They never lasted long enough to get in grabby range.
| Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
Posts
The Batarians would naturally be drawn to the Directorate's offer of a cheap labor source. Their slavery traditions have always been the point of contention between them and other species. Geth labor would allow them to maintain the lifestyle to which they're accustom in a way that's palatable to other species. This has basis in real life history. The biggest cause of slavery's decline has always been the invention of technology that makes paid labor more cost-effective.
Consider making another faction out of the Hanar, Drell, and Awakened Collectors from ME3's multiplayer. After the war, Javik led the Awakened Collectors to Kahje, where they are now revered as the god-royalty of the planet. This post-war period, referred to by the Hanar as "The Time of the Enkindler's Returning", has brought about a cultural and religious flourishing that has turned Illuminated Primacy space into a sort of galactic Shangri-La. The Awakened Collectors have also used their knowledge of advanced Prothean terraforming technology to create colonies for the Drell that better simulate the environment of their home planet.
The Rachni have spent the last century rebuilding their population in secret, but they have concluded that they cannot survive in the galaxy without allies. Perhaps ironically, they have reached out to the United Clans. They know the value of the Krogan as a military ally from firsthand experience. But they also see the Krogan as kindred spirits in the sense that they too must overcome the resentment other species have for their past aggressions.
Elsewhere, in the darkest, most barren corners of the galaxy, a strange cult is drawing in drifters, vagrants, explorers, and vorcha. People who wouldn't be missed or whose disappearance could be attributed to something else. What is behind this sudden migration? The Leviathans, who plan to use their mind control abilities to establish a multispecies empire with themselves at the top, just as they did in the first cycle.
Phew, sorry, got a little deep into the worldbuilding there.
I am using, like, all of this.
all this is AWESOME, but specifically
According to the ME wiki, Protheans live 180 -- 200 years, so Javik himself may even be still alive (tho an old dude).
https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
Yahg society is designed in a way that reinforces these traits. Military organizations, industries, and even religious groups all follow this structure of a single dominant Alpha who is supported by a loyal base of Betas.
You might have your players "free" a Yahg "slave", then surprise them by having the Yahg remain loyal to his Salarian superior. The Yahg now sees the Salarian as an Alpha who fairly dominated him, and as such does not want to betray him.
You could even get some humor out of it by having the Salarians be unnerved by the Yahg's instincts. Salarian instincts lean toward individuality and treachery, so the kind of loyalty the Yahg Betas feel toward their superiors is a mostly foreign emotion to them. You could have a Salarian captain say in a casual conversation, "I can't stand the way they look at me. They should hate us for what we've done to them, but when I look into those eyes, all I see is respect. It's just… wrong.
Some updates to the world based on evilthecat and Ivan Hunger's suggestions:
On batarians
As for batarian culture, Ivan Hunger and evilthecat (and some wiki digging) gave me some ideas. 90% of the batarians we meet in the trilogy are either high-ranking military officers (Balak) or slavers paid by the Hegemony to harass the Alliance (most of the batarians we kill in combat over the games). We know that batarians have a strict caste system (though one that has economic mobility) of which slavery is one part.
Historically, though, caste systems are maintained and perpetuated by those at top. Most elite batarians would've died in the war. The survivors would overwhelmingly come from the middle- and lower-rungs of the caste system. I'm not sure it's something that would survive intact. War and plagues erode social order. After the Black Death, I don't think many English peasants thought "but I belong to the land owned by my feudal lord" when they had a chance to get better jobs in the cities.
That said, you guys gave me the idea for a major bad guy faction: the Sons of Balak. They're the batarians who cling to the past and want a return to the Hegemony. Figure their ancestors were the few elites who escaped the Reapers. The Sons believe humans and turians are intentionally destroying batarian culture in order to make them a servant race. I'm going to contrast this with other batarians in the midst of a Harlem Renaissance-like explosion of artsistic/cultural expression.
We're starting at level 3 for the main campaign. I think the Sons will make excellent starter villains—the party takes them down, forges a reputation, then starts getting assignments outside Concord space that brings them into the main plot.
I think a main NPC, maybe a pilot or a local cop, is a batarian. His husband is human, as well as two of his kids. Hopefully that'll give the party a personal stake in fighting the Sons.
On yahg:
The main thing is that I want to explore salarian colonialism, and that's the ultimate enemy to defeat as embodied by [insert BBEG I haven't completely thought of yet].
I've got this idea that late game yahg shock troopers become standard enemies. The party carves through droves. Then, somewhere the way, they capture one alive. That's when they find out that the salarians took great pains to avoid the mistakes they made with the krogan. The yahg homeworld was carpet bombed with FTL impactors. The survivors were corralled and nerve-stapled with a control chip. Yahg are no longer born, they are grown. These shock troopers are effectively drones under the control of a salarian technician.
But here's the kicker: they are still conscious. Every yagh is perfectly aware but completely unable to control their own body or communicate unless the control chip is disabled. So, after sessions of viewing the yahg as faceless enemies, the party finds out that they're all awake—and screaming.
And the salarian warhawks knows about it.
Also! I homebrewed some rules to play as "Wavetouched," the people who are now half-synthetic after the Crucible fired. I've never homebrewed anything before:
When Commander Shepard fired the Crucible, the Reapers were defeated and the galaxy saved. There were consequences. Some individuals were…altered by the Crucible Wave. They became a hybrid of organic and synthetic life, their very genetic code changed to reflect a new paradigm. These “Wavetouched” soon discovered an instinctive understanding of synthetic life and electronic devices, one unmatched by their “mundane” counterparts.
Today, Wavetouched are born seemingly at random in every known organic species. How they are treated varies wildly from nation to nation, sometimes even from settlement to settlement. Some are welcoming to their half-synthetic. Others persecute the Wavetouched, echoing centuries of dark histories.
Wavetouched may be of any organic species. They gain the following traits in addition to any granted by their species:
The Mark of Shepard
Your skin and eyes have a distinctive green glow. You cannot control it and the glow only ends upon death. You may hide the glow for 24 hours with a successful DC 20 Disguise Kit check and the use of 1 omni-gel.
In addition, modern scanners (such as those found in professional-grade omni-tools and security checkpoints) can determine that you are Wavetouched. You may evade such scanners with a DC 15 Electronics (Wisdom) check.
You may use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.
Vision of the Future
You are immune to disease. In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
In addition, you gain proficiency in the Electronics skill and Expertise in the Electronics skill.
Synthetic Sense
The presence of synthetic life and electronic devices register on your senses. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such things. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any synthetic lifeform within 24 meters (60 feet) of you. You know the type of any synthetic lifeform or electronic device you sense, but not its identity or controller. You have advantage on any ability checks to find a synthetic lifeform or electronic device so long as you have been within 24 meters (60 feet) of it within the last 12 hours.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier. When you finish a Long Rest, you regain all expended uses.
The Bridge Between Life and Machine
You can mentally interface with synthetic lifeforms and electronic devices. You must be in physical contact with the lifeform or device, but do not need an omni-tool or computer. Once per long rest, you may make a Electronics (Wisdom) check to perform the following:
• DC 10: Determine if the synthetic lifeform or electronic device is functioning normally and diagnose the cause of any damage.
• DC 20: Power an electronic device for 1 minute.
• DC 25: Repair an electronic device for 1 minute or give 20 temporary hit points to a willing synthetic lifeform, which last for 1 hour.
You must declare which action you are attempting to perform before making the roll. If the check fails, you take 1 level of Exhaustion.
Synthetic Vulnerability
You are vulnerable to lightning damage. In addition, the power AI Hacking works on you.
I'm still figuring out the details, especially the Bridge Between Life and Machine feature. I want Wavetouched to be capable of things regular players with an omni-tool aren't, but not something that makes them overpowered.
Factions then become testing grounds for the ideologies to which they subscribe. Is it better for sapient species to unify in a shared brotherhood of living things? Or is it better for them to coexist in a divided state, where each species can address their own specific needs without interference from others? That's the question their rivalry would answer.
Since this is a no reset run, all choices final (I missed the Prothean trinket in ME1 for example), I've decided to branch out a little down the Renegade path...
I don't think Mordin and Wrex are in for a good time in ME3.
Regarding Batarians...
https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
Maybe that's what they'll find the next time they gamble with opening a Mass Relay.
wtf are the Quarians, chopped liver???
Anyway it's not actually that funny when you consider that there's literally a species of cyborgs dedicated to wiping everybody who develops so much as a whiff of AI out every 10k years or so. Like. That's a thing.
https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
Shepard would count, the limiting factor seemingly being cost.
As somebody who just wrapped up an epic playthrough of Mass Effect 1 through 3 as my first Twitch stream, let me just say that yes...moving from ME2 into 3 was when combat started to feel really good. But, you have to be careful! I had to save-scum so damned hard because Vanguard Charges can punt baddies off the map and glitch the bodies out of the map border, thereby breaking plot trigger points. It happened a LOT in the early-game, but it wasn't something that was entirely absent come late-game.
Also, I totally forgot that there are more sync-kills in the single-player than there are in multiplayer. Additionally, adding in certain artillery enemies that spawn out of map boundaries (which makes them un-Chargeable) to shell you with particle effects that literally obscure your entire view (and kill you in 2 shots) is also bullshit.
I'm pretty sure that's wrong, since the Collectors are in multiplayer only (in 3), so there are more ways to be sync killed in multiplayer vs single.
Multiplayer has certain large baddie sync-kills disabled. Single-player didn't get that memo.
Do you have any specific enemies in mind? I can't think of any.
I remember the last 2 absolutely having synch kills
Hmm...haven't gotten the last two to sync-kill my headbutt-happy Kroguard. But, then again, it's been a whiles since I last really played ME3 multiplayer.
When the baddie gets you into an animation you can't break out of and murders you.
Typical example: banshees lifting you up and finding out if you have a heart or not.
Can you provide a video? I have never once seen this. And I played ME3 and Multiplayer regularly. Brutes, Banshees, Atlas, Praetorians and Phantoms are the ones I recall.
To elaborate: an ally can provide that stagger. You, on the other hand, are fucked once that animation locks in.
Sync, short for synchronized.
No, I literally cannot because the Prime sync-kills were disabled pretty early in the life of ME3 multiplayer, and all the videos I can find posted on Youtube are from well after the update that disabled their ability to do so. I do distinctly remember when I was first playing ME3 multiplayer, I would get grabbed by the bastards through walls and get crushed by them.
Like, when I say "pretty early," I'm talking the original release, pre-DLC pack days. I wish I could find it, because it was hella frustrating to get staggered from getting hit by the pulse cannon and grabbed because you're stumbling around (getting grabbed and dragged through walls was a thing shared between all the sync-killers).
It's because everyone focuses on the two most annoying ones (Banshees and Phantoms) and forgets about the rest.
Hard to go wrong with that AR. Easily the best weapon in the game for general purpose use.
True but honestly I preferred the M-99 Saber which I dubbed "The Angry Xerox Machine"
I always respected the folks that could make that weapon work because I did not have the precise aim for it.
They're super super fast too lmao. Like you'll be facing one down and suddenly whoops you're instantly dead. It's not really like the Banshee ones where you kinda just hang in the air mid-animation for ages
Infiltrator ME1 combat somehow doesn't feel as satisfying as the original did. I think it felt like I was getting stuck to the cover too much and movement was 'clunkier'.
Overall, I really wish Legendary was instead ME:A2. Some of the things folks talk about earlier, "how do we make new story for ME:4?" was answered with ME:A in my opinion. It was a brand new story platform but with familiar faces. I liked it. Shame it got shat on so much.
Hmm...yeah, I should reload those sections and see if single-player was overlooked when it came to the update that removed the ability. I kinda went through those sections tech/biotic detonating every Prime that came my way. They never lasted long enough to get in grabby range.
y'all are letting units close to melee range?
https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/