I've been thinking about doing these for a while and would like to submit them for critiquing, comments, and suggestions. I also posted them to the ti3wiki but this is an updated version including racial techs and some changes

Asari Republics

• Diplomats: When activating the secondary ability of the Diplomacy strategy card you may activate the primary instead.
• Mind-Meld: Whenever a trading partner acquires a new technology, you may pay 1 CC from your Strategy Allocation to purchase that tech at a cost of 6 resources. You must have all prerequisite technologies and you may not use any tech discounts.
• Eldest of the Council: The influence value of your home system always counts for voting, even if exhausted

Starting Techs: Enviro Compensators, Sarween Tools

Racial Tech: Diplomatic Immunity (5 resources): Once per turn when an enemy activates a system you control, you may spend 1 CC from Strategy Allocation area to force him to instead place the CC into his reinforcements and immediately end his action.

Homeworld: Thessia (3,4)

Trade: 3,3

Starting Units: 1 Dreadnaught, 1 Destroyer, 1 Carrier, 4 Fighters, 4 GF, 1 PDS, 1 SD

Leaders: Diplomat, Diplomat, Agent

Salarian Union

• Pre-emptive Strike: The initiative number on your chosen Strategy Card is always "0" (replacing the normal initiative number of the Strategy Card). The means that you are always first in the order of play
• Special Tasks Group: Once during each Strategy Phase you may look at another player's hand of Action Cards
• Research Focus: Your planetary technology specialities are worth +1 discount.

Starting Techs: Enviro Compensators, Antimass Deflectors, Hyper Metabolism

Racial Tech: Flexibile Logistics (4 resources) - You may choose to skip your turn, but you may not do so twice in a row

Homeworld: Sur'Kesh (3,3) Yellow tech specialty

Trade: 2,2

Starting Units: 1 Cruiser, 1 Carrier, 3 Fighters, 3 GF, 2 PDS, 1 SD

Leaders: Scientist, Agent, Agent

Turian Heirarchy

• Fleet Supremacy: You receive +1 in all Space Battles
• Treaty of Farixen: Your fleets may always contain one more Ship than your number of Command Counters in your Fleet Supply
• Military Flexibility: Once per turn, you may remove one of your command counters from the board as an action

Starting Techs: Hylar V Assault Laser, Automated Defense Turrets

Racial Tech: Dreadnought Invasion Pod (2 resources) - Dreadnoughts may carry one additional Ground Force

Homeworld: Palavan (4,2)

Trade: 2,3

Starting Units: 1 Dreadnaught, 1 Cruiser, 1 Destroyer, 1 Carrier, 4 Fighters, 4 Ground Forces, 1 PDS, 1 Space Dock

Leaders: Admiral, Admiral, Diplomat

Systems Alliance

• Population Growth: As an action, you may spend a Command Counter from your Strategy Allocation area to add two GF to any planet you control. You may not do this twice in a row
• Improved Carriers: Your carriers have a capacity of 8, roll +1 in combat, and have the Sustain Damage ability
• Adaptibility: You start with one extra Command Counter in your Strategy Allocation area

Starting Techs: Antimass Deflectors, XRD Transporters

Racial Tech: Internal Emission Sink (6 resources) - Your ships that have a movement of at least 2 may move through systems containing enemy units as long as they do not exceed their movement allowance. The destination system may include enemy units.

Homeworld: Earth (3,1), Arcturus Station (0,2)

Trade: 2,1

Starting Units: 1 Carrier, 1 Dreadnaught, 1 Cruiser, 6 Fighters, 6 Ground Forces, 1 Space Dock

Leaders: Admiral, General, Scientist

Krogan Clans

• Genophage Warriors: Your Ground Forces cost 1 resource each to produce, but they are treated as Shock Troops: they hit on a 5+ and can capture Space Docks and PDS. Your Shock Troops may exist alone
• Mercenaries: Any player with whom you have an active trade agreement may build Shock Troops at a cost of 1 resource. Only 1 Shock Troop may be purchased during any single production
• Inhospitable Homeworld: Non-Krogan Ground Forces on Tuchenka are at a -1 to all combat. If another player occupies Tuchenka during the status phase, he must roll a die for each Ground Force on the planet and must destroy the unit on a roll of 8-10

Starting Techs: Hylar V Assault Lasers, Enviro Compensators

Racial Tech: Evolved Reproduction (2 resources) - You may now produce Ground Forces normally in addition to producing Shock Troops

Homeworld: Tuchenka (3,1)

Trade: 1,1

Starting Units: 1 Cruiser, 1 Destroyer, 1 Carrier, 3 GF, 4 Fighters, 1 Space Dock

Leaders: General, General, Admiral

Quarian Flotilla

• Migrant Fleet: You do not have a Homeworld. At the start of the game, choose a random planetary system from the box as your starting system. You may choose to redraw this system once. You do not need to control this system to claim objectives
• Mobile Production: Your Space Docks are never placed on planets. They have a production capacity of 4 and a speed of one. You may move and produce units on the same activation. Your Space Docks are destroyed if ever present with an opponent's ship without any of you ships present.
• Strip Mining: Gain 1 TG whenever you acquire a new planet

Starting Techs: Antimass Deflectors, XRD Transporters

Racial Tech: Salvage Operations (4 resources): Gain 2 TG at end of each space combat you participated in. If you won, you may build a ship in this system that was destroyed in combat (you must still pay for it).

Homeworld: (Special)

Trade: 1,2

Starting Units: 1 Cruiser, 1 Destroyer, 1 Carrier, 6 Fighters, 3 GF, 1 Space Dock

Leaders: Admiral, Agent, Scientist

Batarian Hegemony

• Blitzkreig: Before a Space Battle in which you are participating, you may choose to fire with up to two of your Cruisers or Destroyer units. Casualties are taken immediately with no return fire. This ability takes place before any precombat effects
• Slavers: Before an Invasion Combat in which you are the attacker, you may roll 1 die. On a 5+ your opponent loses 1 Ground Force and you gain 1 Ground Force.
• Thuggery: Immediately after the primary and secondary of the Trade Strategy card are complete, you may steal 1 TG from up to two players. Each player must have at least 2 TG at the time

Starting Techs: Enviro Compensators, Hylar V Assault Lasers

Racial Tech: Eezo Accelerators (4 resources) - You have a +1 to all combat rolls

Homeworld: Kharshan (1,2), Camala (3,1)

Trade: 1,3

Starting Units: 2 Cruisers, 1 Carrier, 2 Fighters, 3 GF, 1 SD

Leaders: Admiral, Agent, General

Geth Network

• Ambush Tactics: You gain +1 in the first round of any Space Battle or Invasion Combat in which you are the attacker
• Neural Network: Your Ground Forces gain +1 in combat as long as there are at least 2 of them together
• Husks: After any round of an Invasion in which your opponent lost a Ground Force, you may roll 1 die. On a 5+ you gain 1 Ground Force
• Persues Veil: Your Home System is a Nebula. Your movement is not affected by the normal Nebula rules, but your opponents' movements are.

Starting Techs: Hylar V Assault Laser, Antimass Deflectors, Enviro Compensators, Cybernetics

Racial Tech: Reaver Disciples (5 resources) - Your Dreadnaughts roll one extra die and have +1 movement

Homeworld: Nebula System, Rannoch (1,1), Algenib (2,0)

Trade: 1,1

Starting Units: 1 Dreadnaught, 1 Destroyer, 1 Carrier, 5 Fighters, 6 GF, 1 SD

Leaders: Admiral, General, Agent

This seems like a very interesting idea. Have considered the Elcor, Hanar or the Volus?

TheDarkGeneral said:

They could also be done but I don't find them as interesting as the races posted above. For one thing they are relegated to background roles in the game as either shopkeepers or diplomats and don't do much else. In the Codex and other literature they are described as not a considerable threat to anybody. The Hanar are obsessed with manners and have a small, isolated economy; the Elcor are uninterested in expansion and are very conservative and sedentary; and the Volus are basically Turian suckups and have no military to speak of. I just don't see any of them trying to take over the galaxy.

That said, if they were made, the Hanar could have powers relating to religious fervor (similar to Yin); the Volus would have economic/trade powers (Hacan); and I really don't know about the Elcor. They're strong and slow and according to the wiki use a lot of drones in their military.

I think it'd still be worthwhile statting up the "background" races, too. You can come up with a thousand hypothetical scenarios where they gain military power and decide to take over the galaxy. Staying true to the philosophy of each race is good, making racial powers that match their style is good, but I wouldn't feel any particular compunction to rule out otherwise interesting races just because "they don't do much fighting" in the video games.

I mean, with the notable exception of the Batarians and the Geth all of the races you provided are relatively peaceful with one another. Either members of the Citadel Council or at least on diplomatic terms with the council. So in order for them to be fighting against one another in open warfare, something major has happened to the galaxy's political state. Perhaps whatever that event was also mobilized the Elcor, Hanar and Volus to their own respective war machines.

Edit: The Hanar may be all about polite ettiquette, but that doesn't mean they're incapable of violence. Obviously they're not well equipped for hand-to-hand with other races, but I'm sure they can still punch the "fire" button on a space ship. You could make those assassin guys (I forget the name of the race) their GFs if you really have an issue with the idea of Hanar Infantry. Personally I'd just say they're driving some kind of battlemech, sort of like the Orz in StarCon 2.

Not only this but the volus are very similar to the Hacan in some ways and could be some sort of trade-based race.

Edit: The Hanar may be all about polite ettiquette, but that doesn't mean they're incapable of violence. Obviously they're not well equipped for hand-to-hand with other races, but I'm sure they can still punch the "fire" button on a space ship. You could make those assassin guys (I forget the name of the race) their GFs if you really have an issue with the idea of Hanar Infantry. Personally I'd just say they're driving some kind of battlemech, sort of like the Orz in StarCon 2.

I agree. The drell could actually be quite interesting with the Hanarr. Also the Hanarr could have a bit more technology, as they worship the Protheans so are bound to have some "religous relics" from the past.

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I hope to be playing with these races this weekend with but only a single criticisim. The Turians seem to be WAY over powered due to their "Military Flexibility" Dependeing on the Warfare Strat card they should be able to reach a home system in Turn 1; Turn 2 at the latest without the card. This coupled with their +1 to space combat rolls and a powerful starting fleet it could make someone very mad in turn 1.

That being said thx a ton for your creativity and taking the time to write it up for us. If we get the chance to play them I'll keep you posted.

Steve-O said:

All good points, I will admit. There is no reason if Asari and Salarian are going to beat each other up, why not add the Volus into the fracas? I will probably stat them up eventually. I don't know anything about the drell - I don't remember them from ME1 and I have not played ME2 yet.

BeardoVonPork said:

Wow, what an honor! I have been working on these gradually for the past month or so and I think this new version is much improved: more original powers, better balancing, more variety on home systems, etc. Please take a look and tell me what you think:

Update: Version 1.13

Asari Republics

• Diplomatic Maneuvering: When activating the secondary ability of the Diplomacy Strategy Card you may activate the primary ability instead
• Mind-Meld: Whenever a trading partner acquires a new technology, you may pay 1 CC from your Strategy Allocation area to purchase that tech at a base cost of 6 resources. You must have all prerequisite technologies
• Council Influence: Once per round as an action, you may choose a Political card from your hand or from the top three cards of the deck. Play that card and resolve its agenda
• Racial Tech: Biotic Commandos (5 resources): When an opponent activates a system containing any of your units or planets, you may immediately choose one of his non-home planets. Exhaust that planet and destroy up 2 GF or 1 PDS unit there

Starting Techs: Enviro Compensators, Sarween Tools

Homeworld: Thessia (2,3) Aperanti (1,2)

Trade: 3,3

Starting Units: (12) 1 Dreadnaught, 1 Carrier, 1 Destroyer, 2 Fighters, 4 GF, 1 SD

Leaders: Diplomat, Diplomat, Agent

Salarian Union

• Pre-emptive Strike: At the beginning of each game round, you may spend 1 CC from Strategy to act on initiative count 0 for the rest of that round
• Special Tasks Group: Once during each Strategy Phase you may look at another player's hand of Action Cards
• Research Focus: Your planetary technology specialities are worth +1 discount.
• Racial Tech: Mass Relay Link (5 resources) - Your ships leaving a system containing one of your Space Docks have +1 to their movement

Starting Techs: Enviro Compensators, Antimass Deflectors, Hyper Metabolism

Homeworld: Sur'Kesh (3,3) Yellow tech specialty

Trade: 2,2

Starting Units: (12.5) 1 Cruiser, 1 Destroyer, 1 Carrier, 2 Fighters, 3 GF, 2 PDS, 1 SD

Leaders: Scientist, Agent, Diplomat

Turian Heirarchy

• Fleet Supremacy: Your Dreadnaughts receive +1 during all Space Battles
• Treaty of Farixen: Your fleets may always contain one more Ship than your number of Command Counters in your Fleet Supply
• Peacekeeping: As an action, you may spend one Command Counter from your Strategy Allocation area to force another player to take a Command Counter from their reinforcements and place it in target system. That system must contain no units or planets belonging to that player and at least one unit or planet belonging to any other player
• Racial Tech: Communications Deck (3 Resources) Your Dreadnaughts no longer count towards your Fleet Supply

Starting Techs: Hylar V Assault Laser, Automated Defense Turrets

Homeworld: Palavan (4,2)

Trade: 2,3

Starting Units: (14) 1 Dreadnaught, 1 Cruiser, 1 Carrier, 1 Destroyer, 3 Fighters, 3 Ground Forces, 1 Space Dock

Leaders: Admiral, General, Diplomat

Systems Alliance

• Expansionist: During the Status Phase, if you claimed a planet that round, you may draw 1 additional action card
• Improved Carriers: Your carriers have a capacity of 8, roll +1 in combat, and have the Sustain Damage ability
• Internal Emission Sink: After activating a system during a Tactical Action, you may spend a Command Counter from your Strategy Allocation area to allow your Cruisers and Carriers to move through systems containing enemy ships and continue their movement to the activated system
• Racial Tech: Tantalus Drive Core (5 resources) Your Cruisers, Carriers and Dreadnoughts have +1 movement. This tech replaces Type IV Drive if you have the necessary prerequisites

Starting Techs: Antimass Deflectors, XRD Transporters, Hylar V Assault Lasers

Homeworld: Earth (3,1), Arcturus Station (0,2)

Trade: 2,2

Starting Units: (12) 2 Carriers, 1 Cruiser, 4 Fighters, 4 Ground Forces, 1 Space Dock

Leaders: Admiral, Diplomat, Scientist

Krogan Clans

• Battle Masters: You may produce Shock Troops for 1 resource each. Your Shock Troops may exist alone
• Genophage: You may not produce Ground Forces.
• Mercenaries: Immediately after collecting Trade Goods from the Trade Strategy card, any player with whom you have an active trade agreement may offer to instead give you any number of those Trade Goods. If you accept, for each TG paid, the player may place one Shock Troop on any planet he controls.
• Aggression: During the Status Phase, before players have chosen Strategy Cards, you may choose to
• take the Warfare card, if available
• Racial Tech: Evolved Reproduction (2 resources) - Your cost to build Shock Troops is lowered to 1 resource for 2 Shock Troops

Starting Techs: Hylar V Assault Lasers, Deep Space Cannons

Homeworld: Tuchenka (1,1) Kruban (3,0)

Trade: 1,1

Starting Units: (13) 1 Cruiser, 1 Destroyer, 1 Carrier, 3 ST, 4 Fighters, 1 PDS, 1 Space Dock

Leaders: General, General, Admiral

Quarian Flotilla

• Migrant Fleet: You do not have a Homeworld. At the start of the game, choose a random planetary system from the box as your starting system. Start the game with 3 TG. You may choose to redraw up to three times, but each time you start with one fewer TG.
• Mobile Production: Your Space Docks are never placed on planets. They have a production capacity of 4 and a speed of one. You may move and produce units on the same activation. Your Space Docks are destroyed if ever present with an opponent's ship without any of your ships present.
• Strip Mining: During the Status Phase you may choose one planet to remain exhausted. Receive Trade Goods equal to the resource value of that planet.
• Racial Tech: Hacking (4 resources): Before any Space Battle or Invasion Combat in which you are participating, you may choose one Technology advance held by your opponent. For the duration of this action, your opponent may not use the benefit of that advance

Starting Techs: Antimass Deflectors, XRD Transporters

Homeworld: (Special)

Trade: 1,2

Starting Units: (11.5) 2 Carriers, 1 Destroyer, 6 Fighters, 3 GF, 1 Space Dock

Leaders: Admiral, Agent, Scientist

Batarian Hegemony

• Blitzkreig: Before a Space Battle in which you are participating, you may choose to fire with up to two of your Cruisers or Destroyer units. Casualties are taken immediately with no return fire. This ability takes place before any other precombat effects
• Slaver Rings: When you take control of a planet, you may place 1 free GF on that planet
• Piracy: Whenever you activate a system containing units belonging to another player, you may steal 1 TG from that player
• Racial Tech: Eezo Accelerators (6 resources) - Before any round of a Space Battle or Invasion Combat, or before precombat, you may spend 1 Trade Good to add +1 to your combat rolls for that round or precombat

Starting Techs: Antimass Deflectors, Hylar V Assault Lasers

Homeworld: Kharshan (2,1), Camala (3,1)

Trade: 1,3

Starting Units: (12) 2 Cruisers, 1 Carrier, 3 Fighters, 3 GF, 1 PDS, 1 SD

Leaders: Admiral, Agent, General

Geth Network

• Ambush Tactics: Your opponents combat rolls are at a -1 penalty in the first round of any Space Battle or Invasion Combat in which you are the attacker
• Neural Network: Your Ground Forces gain +1 in combat as long as there are at least 2 of them together.
• Inorganic Physique: You are immune to the X89 Bacterial Weapon
• Behind the Persues Veil: Your movement is not affected by Nebulas.
• Racial Tech: Reaper Disciples (4 resources) - Your Dreadnaughts roll one more die on bombardments and gain an extra sustain damage

Starting Techs: Hylar V Assault Laser, Antimass Deflectors, Stasis Capsules, Cybernetics

Homeworld: Nebula System, Rannoch (1,0), Algenib (3,0)

Trade: 1,1

Starting Units: (12.5) 1 Dreadnaught, 1 Destroyer, 1 Carrier, 4 Fighters, 3 GF, 1 SD

Leaders: Scientist, General, Agent

The Citadel

Mecatol Rex is replaced by The Cidadel. It is still a (1,6) system, but the system is in a Nebula and it has the special quality "Ground forces on The Citadel may ignore the first two hits of enemy bombardment.

I am toying with the idea of having no warsuns, because the only thing more powerful than Dreadnaughts in Mass Effect was Sovereign and he was nobody's tool but his own If you do make that change, then I would suggest giving Dreads two dice in all attacks and bombardments to compensate for the power shift. This is a popular rules tweak anyway for many people

I think I forgot to say thanks for doing this cause I think its a really cool idea. Also I agree with no war suns.

I feel some of the racial techs may be a bit overpowered though. The turians' and the Assari's seem too good.

I know you said you haven't played ME2 but other possible races/orginazations would be

• Cerberus- Pro Human, loved tech and experimenting, I know they were in the first game but only to a minor extent in the side quests.
• Blue Suns or Eclipse- Criminal/ Merc groups

Oh and btw. Stop wasting your time with this and go play ME2 already it is truely awsome.

I also like your revised list better. Geth FTW.

I would keep the War Suns around. Soverign and the Acension were ships unmatched by any other. I know they weren't floating globes but based on thier power they could very well qualify as a War Sun. That being said you could also do the reavers as a race playing off the idea of them being War Suns. Just an idea, keep up the good work and thanks.

I'd probably be playing ME2 if my computer could run it I'll have to upgrade first and that's not in my budget right now.

Racial techs are difficult to balance. On the one hand, they can be enormously expensive to purchase: 6 resources plus the other cost, so anywhere from 7 to 12 resources. You can't often afford them until the mid-game. So they should be worth the cost and the wait. On the other hand they can't be too powerful either or the balance of power shifts too far in one direction. TheDarkGeneral, do you have any suggestions on how to better balance Asari and Turian?

I think Cerberus could possibly work as another faction. The only thing is, they are all humans, and the reason they exist is because they think the Systems Alliance is too buddy-buddy with the aliens. If everybody's at war over the Citadel, does Cerberus still need a reason to exist? Or would they merge their efforts with the Alliance? Also they are supposedly very small, only about 150 operatives plus the funding mechanisms. They would still be utterly dwarfed in scale compared to any of the other full races. They might be better as an action card or political card instead.

The Reapers are definitely the Warsuns of the Mass Effect universe. I can see a Reaper faction similar to Muaat that starts with a Warsun, but I don't think anybody else should be able to build anything to match it. The Reapers are an ancient, inscrutable, nigh-unstoppable power. All the drama would be gone if the Salarians rolled out with their own Sovereign that was just as powerful. It just wouldn't feel right. As far as a Reaper race, it wouldn't be subject to any of the normal TI3 mechanisms: it wouldn't vote, trade, or care about victory points. It would just want to either destroy everyone else, or use the Citadel to summon an unstoppable force and win the game.

In short it would be a completely different game if you wanted to faithfully have Reapers. I think it's better to say that this game would occur after Sovereign was destroyed and say that the events of either ME1 or ME2 caused the galaxy to spiral into chaos.

I think maybe the Assari's should be once per turn, not all the time. Because if it is all the time, someone attacking the Assari will quickly have their planets undefended and exhausted.

The Turians is more diffucult. Perhaps the Turians can have one more dreadnaught than their fleet supply allows. For example, if their fleet supply was 3, they could have three ships and one dreadnought? Well actually 4 ships and a dreadnought, due to their other special ability.

And I agree Cerburus would work better as a few action cards. The reapers could also work like that.