Commander Shepard (Male & Female)
Lieutenant Commander Shepard is the human protagonist of Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3.
Shepard was born on April 11, 2154[1], is a graduate of the Systems Alliance N7 special forces program (service no. 5923-AC-2826), and is initially assigned to the SSV Normandy as Executive Officer. Shepard later becomes the first human to join the Spectres, an elite special task force for the Citadel Council.
Shepard was born on April 11, 2154[1], is a graduate of the Systems Alliance N7 special forces program (service no. 5923-AC-2826), and is initially assigned to the SSV Normandy as Executive Officer. Shepard later becomes the first human to join the Spectres, an elite special task force for the Citadel Council.
Ashley Williams
Ashley Williams is a human soldier who served in the Systems Alliance as a Gunnery Chief in the 2nd Frontier Division on Eden Prime, and was later assigned to Commander Shepard's squad after the geth attack on Eden Prime. She is a potential romance partner for a male Shepard.
Kaiden Alenko
Kaidan Alenko is a human Sentinel and a Systems Alliance Marine. While serving aboard the SSV Normandy, he was a Staff Lieutenant and head of the ship's Marine detail. He also was an initial member of Commander Shepard's squad. Kaidan is a biotic wired with the controversial L2 implants, which are known to cause severe neurological damage to the user. However, he is fortunate enough to only suffer from occasional severe migraines.
Garrus Vakarian
Garrus Vakarian is a turian, formerly with C-Sec's Investigation Division. Like most turians, Garrus had military training at fifteen, but later followed in his father's footsteps to become a C-Sec officer. He was responsible for the investigation of Saren Arterius, the Council's top Spectre, after the Alliance claimed Saren had gone rogue. Though Garrus was told the investigation was over, he decided to defy the Executor's order and pursue another lead on his own. Eventually, Garrus joined Shepard's team, to help the Commander defeat Saren and the geth.
Liara T'soni
Dr. Liara T'soni is an asari researcher who has spent the past fifty years of her life studying Prothean technology and culture, specialising in the Prothean extinction. She was born on Thessia in 2077, making her "only" 106—little more than a child in asari terms—when Mass Effect takes place. She already has a great deal of insight into the Protheans and is a highly trained user of biotics. She is a potential romance interest for either a male or female Shepard.
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya is a quarian and a member of Commander Shepard's squad. She is the daughter of Rael'Zorah, a member of the Admiralty Board. Though young, Tali is a mechanical genius.
During the events of the first game, she is on her Pilgrimage, a rite of passage to prove her worth and bring something of value back to her people aboard the Migrant Fleet. Early in the second game, having completed her Pilgrimage, Tali has been entrusted with leading an important research mission for the Admiralty Board.
During the events of the first game, she is on her Pilgrimage, a rite of passage to prove her worth and bring something of value back to her people aboard the Migrant Fleet. Early in the second game, having completed her Pilgrimage, Tali has been entrusted with leading an important research mission for the Admiralty Board.
Urdnot Wrex
A famed krogan mercenary and bounty hunter, Urdnot Wrex is also one of the last Krogan Battlemasters: rare individuals who combine powerful biotic abilities with the devastating firepower of advanced weaponry. A long-lived krogan who has had many adventures, Wrex has heard of Commander Shepard on his travels, and respects the Commander as a fellow warrior.
Despite his chosen path of violence and killing for credits, Wrex is deeply concerned with the fate of his people after the genophage, and is one of the few planning for a new krogan future.
Despite his chosen path of violence and killing for credits, Wrex is deeply concerned with the fate of his people after the genophage, and is one of the few planning for a new krogan future.
Admiral David Anderson
Captain David Edward Anderson is a human war hero and the original captain of the SSV Normandy. He was born in 2137, in London, but has no discernible English accent. Anderson is one of the Alliance's most decorated special forces operatives, and the first to graduate from the N7 marine program at Arcturus Station, serving with honor in the First Contact War.
Jeff "Joker" Moreau
Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau is the pilot of the SSV Normandy. Joker is an excellent pilot and confident to the point of arrogance, wasting no time in pointing out his prowess to others. He's quick to ensure everyone knows his many accomplishments and commendations were all earned, and not due to charity for his medical problems.
Ambassador Donnel Udina
Ambassador Donnel Udina is a human diplomat stationed at the Citadel. He is humanity's most recent ambassador to the Council races and is determined to advance human interests wherever possible. Udina is shown to be mistrustful or at least apprehensive of Commander Shepard, particularly after the Commander's induction into the Spectres. Udina often requires solid, irrefutable proof of anything before acting, a trait which often conflicts with Shepard's goals. Udina plays the political game, refusing to rock the boat if it might endanger his standing—and therefore humanity's—with the Citadel Council.
Grunt
Grunt is a genetically engineered krogan super soldier. Bred and educated in a tank, he was intended to exemplify the best traits of the krogan, and help reinvigorate his species. In the meantime, he fights alongside Commander Shepard to satisfy his natural desire for violence.
Jack
Jack, also known as Subject Zero, is a notorious criminal whose crimes include piracy, kidnapping, vandalism and murder. She is also a biotic, possibly one of the most powerful human biotics alive, and is considered so dangerous that she was kept in cryogenic stasis after she was caught. She is a potential romance interest for a male Shepard.
Jacob Taylor
Jacob Taylor is a human biotic and was former Alliance Marine under the command of Major Derek Izunami, he resigned after surviving the geth attack on Eden Prime.
Jacob is a highly experienced fighter, and is skilled in the use of assault rifles, biotic abilities, heavy weapons and tech attacks. In Mass Effect 2, he is proficient in the use of shotguns, heavy pistols and biotics. He works professionally alongside Miranda Lawson, who functions as his informant and later as his superior officer. Jacob is also a potential romance option for a female Shepard.
Jacob is a highly experienced fighter, and is skilled in the use of assault rifles, biotic abilities, heavy weapons and tech attacks. In Mass Effect 2, he is proficient in the use of shotguns, heavy pistols and biotics. He works professionally alongside Miranda Lawson, who functions as his informant and later as his superior officer. Jacob is also a potential romance option for a female Shepard.
Kasumi Goto
Kasumi Goto is the galaxy's most enigmatic thief and has enemies everywhere, but only a few could put a name to her face. She is a master of stealth and infiltration.
Kasumi is an expert on sabotage, infiltration, extraction, property acquisition, stealth and agile combat. Cerberus tries to contact her to get her to join Commander Shepard's mission; however, she is alerted and trails Cerberus and contacts them. She agrees to work for Shepard provided the Commander helps her by recovering her partner, Keiji Okuda's graybox from Donovan Hock.
Kasumi is an expert on sabotage, infiltration, extraction, property acquisition, stealth and agile combat. Cerberus tries to contact her to get her to join Commander Shepard's mission; however, she is alerted and trails Cerberus and contacts them. She agrees to work for Shepard provided the Commander helps her by recovering her partner, Keiji Okuda's graybox from Donovan Hock.
Legion
Legion is the name taken by the gestalt consciousness formed by 1,183 geth programs inhabiting a unique geth "mobile platform". Legion is a unique geth mobile platform, designed to operate outside the Perseus Veil and interact with organics.
Miranda Lawson
Miranda Lawson is a human Cerberus Officer. As Jacob Taylor's informant, she gives him guidance and advice during missions, often via hologram. Miranda is very well traveled and has many contacts, extending from Citadel space and the Terminus Systems, to as far as the hostile Nemean Abyss. Her vast network of contacts may be explained by the fact Miranda is a known Cerberus operative, one who still has friends — or at least friends of friends — in the Alliance military.
Mordin Solus
Mordin Solus is a salarian geneticist, professor, and a former operative of the Special Tasks Group, where he performed reconnaissance and participated in the modification of the genophage. In 2185, he was recruited by Commander Shepard to assist in a high-risk mission against the Collectors. Mordin has a moral character best described as consequentialistic, believing the ends justify the means, though he dislikes taking life without good cause. His actions are often guided by an impersonal logic, refusing to let his conscience, personal, and emotional connections cloud his judgment of what he believes is truly best in the big picture. Though he is affable, quick-talking and friendly, Mordin bears physical scars of his time in the STG and is still handling the consequences of his past.
Samara
Samara is a nearly thousand-year-old asari justicar, a member of an ancient monastic order following a strict honor code. Though she is skilled with weapons, Samara usually relies on her powerful biotic abilities. Justicars rarely leave asari space, but Samara's pursuit of justice has brought her to Illium.
Thane Krios
Thane Krios is a drell assassin, rumored to be the most skilled in the galaxy. Unlike most assassins, who prefer to snipe their targets from a distance, Thane prefers to get up close and kill his target personally, utilizing a mixture of stealth, firearms, hand-to-hand combat and biotic abilities.
Despite his profession, Thane is a deeply spiritual man who prays for success in his missions, and asks for forgiveness after each kill, even going as far as to ignore those in his immediate vicinity until he is finished doing so. Thane is a possible romantic interest for a female Shepard.
Despite his profession, Thane is a deeply spiritual man who prays for success in his missions, and asks for forgiveness after each kill, even going as far as to ignore those in his immediate vicinity until he is finished doing so. Thane is a possible romantic interest for a female Shepard.
Zaeed Massani
Zaeed Massani is a feared, respected bounty hunter and mercenary soldier. Cerberus has contracted Zaeed to assist Commander Shepard in the mission to save mankind. In exchange, Zaeed requires help to complete another mission he had accepted beforehand, which is to liberate an Eldfell-Ashland Energy refinery from Blue Suns control.
EDI
The Enhanced Defense Intelligence, or EDI (pronounced 'Eee-Dee' [ˈiː.diː]), is an AI created by Cerberus and installed aboard the Normandy SR-2. She is represented visually by a holographic blue sphere and aurally with a feminine voice at various terminals throughout the ship where she can provide basic information about the Normandy and Cerberus.
Following Shepard's defection from Cerberus, EDI aids the crew in eluding the Illusive Man by blocking his technicians' attempts to track the ship. When the Normandy SR-2 is placed in the possession of the Alliance, EDI pretends to be a simple VI to hide her true nature, out of concerns that Alliance engineers would attempt to remove her. On Mars, Shepard's team recovers a Cerberus synthetic, an android masquerading as "Dr. Eva Coré". EDI assists in extracting vital data from the unit, and in the process, she seizes control of the body. This allows her to serve as a squadmate on missions.
Following Shepard's defection from Cerberus, EDI aids the crew in eluding the Illusive Man by blocking his technicians' attempts to track the ship. When the Normandy SR-2 is placed in the possession of the Alliance, EDI pretends to be a simple VI to hide her true nature, out of concerns that Alliance engineers would attempt to remove her. On Mars, Shepard's team recovers a Cerberus synthetic, an android masquerading as "Dr. Eva Coré". EDI assists in extracting vital data from the unit, and in the process, she seizes control of the body. This allows her to serve as a squadmate on missions.
James Vega
James Vega is a human Systems Alliance soldier. While Vega is an experienced soldier, he is unfamiliar with the seedy underbelly and political workings of the galaxy.
Anderson convinces Shepard to leave Earth until Shepard can gather allies from the other races. Vega, however, is displeased with this decision and does not wish to leave Earth; unfortunately for him, Shepard overrules him since with their current resources they cannot realistically drive the Reapers away from the Earth at the time.
Anderson convinces Shepard to leave Earth until Shepard can gather allies from the other races. Vega, however, is displeased with this decision and does not wish to leave Earth; unfortunately for him, Shepard overrules him since with their current resources they cannot realistically drive the Reapers away from the Earth at the time.
Javik
Javik is the only known survivor of the ancient Prothean race. After being preserved in stasis for over 50,000 years, he is revived and seeks to wreak vengeance on the Reapers for the demise of his people.
In 2186 CE, Javik's pod is uncovered and opened by Commander Shepard and Liara T'Soni, who were investigating Cerberus activity on Eden Prime. Javik reacts with a biotic attack against his rescuers as he stumbled out of the pod. He then looked up with shock at the human settlements, lush fields, and the ruins of the Prothean structures. Shepard then touched him, causing the Commander to experience Javik's recent memories while he in turn was quickly able to understand human language with his sensory ability. He agrees to join Shepard in destroying the Reapers, vowing he will not rest until the last Reaper is dead.
In 2186 CE, Javik's pod is uncovered and opened by Commander Shepard and Liara T'Soni, who were investigating Cerberus activity on Eden Prime. Javik reacts with a biotic attack against his rescuers as he stumbled out of the pod. He then looked up with shock at the human settlements, lush fields, and the ruins of the Prothean structures. Shepard then touched him, causing the Commander to experience Javik's recent memories while he in turn was quickly able to understand human language with his sensory ability. He agrees to join Shepard in destroying the Reapers, vowing he will not rest until the last Reaper is dead.
Diana Allers
Diana Allers is a human Alliance News Network war correspondent and regular on the Alliance News Network's "Battlespace". She is originally from Milgrom, Bekenstein, and considers herself a "colony kid". Diana is a potential romance option for both male and female Commander Shepard.
Steve Cortez
Lieutenant Steve Cortez is an Alliance pilot aboard the Normandy SR-2, where he pilots the UT-47A Kodiak that transports Commander Shepard and squad to mission locations.
Admiral Steven Hackett
Admiral Steven Hackett is a top-ranking official of the Alliance Navy and commanding officer of the Fifth Fleet. He is based at Arcturus Station. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 2156 and participated in the First Contact War the following year.
Samantha Traynor
Specialist Samantha Traynor is the Comm Specialist aboard the Alliance Normandy SR-2, serving in a similar role to that of her predecessor Yeoman Kelly Chambers. She is a potential romance option for a female Shepard.