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[cap and gown]

I am thinking about a new triology playthrough. I have tried out a number of different backgrounds/profiles, but I am having a hard time coming up with a "new" Shepard.

 

So far I have done: (these are the ones I was actually role playing, not just meta-gaming with)

Earthborn/Ruthless (a mean SOB to almost everyone, but loyal to his/her crew).

Colonist/Sole Surivor (Solititous of innocent victims, hates Cerberus, mostly paragon)

Colonist/Ruthless (A terror to slavers and Batarians, champion of Colonists, ready to kill anyone who gets in her way.)

Spacer/War Hero (mostly a mommy's girl, nauseatingly paragon)

 

I was thinking along the lines of a Spacer/Ruthless, but I am having a difficult time picturing how and why she is Ruthless. The Spacer part could be used to say she doesn't form strong attachments, so she is rather stand-offish. And I know I want the Ruthless part just because I am tired of the mamby-pamby paragons.Or maybe she could start out as idealistic and then become jaded. Not sure.

 

I do know that I want Tali to die on the Collector base and Shepard will end up siding with the Geth over the Quarians. I am pretty sure I am going to leave Kaiden to burn on Virmire. Not sure what to do about Wrex or the Genophage yet. I have seen just about every option except sabotaging the cure while Wrex is alive and I don't really want to see that except in a youtube vid.

 

Anyway, what are you thoughts on a Spacer/Ruthless psyche profile? In what ways is she ruthless? How did she get that way? What does it say about the choices she would make?

 

[ParkBom]

Are both of her parents alive in the Spacer playthrough? I'm thinking that her father, due to a mistake on his part, caused his death or the deaths of many when before she joined the military. She wouldn't lose her true values but how she achieves her sense of justice, success, etc would be much more ruthless if she was jaded by that loss.

[Iakus]

I've favored Colonist/War hero:  suffered a terrible tragedy when young and is determined to see it never happens again on his watch.  And playing paragon, upholds teh ideals of teh Alliance who saved him.

[MassivelyEffective0730]

I'm an Earthborn/Sole Survivor, a very practical, 'sociopathic', Machiavellian, amoral, and unfettered guy who simply wants to kill the Reapers because they want to kill him and the galaxy. He's a Cerberus sympathizer, a true neutral guy who hates the alliance for being inept, intolerant, and ignorant self-righteous idiots who can't face being the bad guy for the sake of the greater good. Same with the Council.

 

He's basically an unstoppable force of nature who holds a very pragmatic view of the galaxy, and might be viewed as an extreme anti-hero or even an anti-villain. He does have his beliefs, but he throws away anything that gets in the way between him and his objectives. Basically, by the end of ME3, one of the only people he truly cares about to a point of unwillingness to sacrifice is Miranda. His crew, and even his ship, he's willing to sacrifice if it means achieving his goals. Miranda's survival is a part of his goal, and if he has to let countless innocents die to save her, he'd do it without hesitation, remorse, or regret beyond a superficial apology that the cost was so high economically.

 

He doesn't view people as particularly precious. He views them as resources. He fully agree's with TIM. It's always a matter of resources, and there is absolutely no action that is bad or wrong as long as it advances his goals. He has nothing against Sanctuary, even willing to support it if it was more economical. He understands the logic and genius of Cerberus' actions and will defend them against detractors.

[N0rke]

I don't think Spacer/Ruthless a bad idea. She could be Ruthless because she is trying to live up to her parent's reputation. I've always imagined Ruthless characters to cut corners so they can get the job done as fast and efficient as possible and I imagine that's something a Spacer would do if their parents had high demands of their service record.

 

Some examples how I would play a spacer/Ruthless character would be: Putting all the pressure on Kirrahe to get your part of the mission done faster, letting your companions in 2 do whatever makes them feel good instead of pushing for 'better' endings because it takes more time, and siding with whatever factions you perceive will give you the most support instead of working out peaceful solutions.

[RenegadeXV]

I prefer playing with the Colonist/Ruthless background, but rather than going Renegade I tend to take a more Paragade alignment. I prefer to view Shepard's actions on Torfan as an out of necessity rather than outright malice. It also allowed me to play Shepard as somewhat ashamed of what happened and partially attempting to atone for those actions.

 

However, I also find going down the occasional Renegade path helps keep the story more grounded and such actions are still in-line with my Shepard's background. Personally I also find that this approach helped with ME2's storyline of working alongside Cerberus and the greyer decisions made throughout the trilogy (Especially in ME3).

 

I find pure Paragon too idealistic and tend to deliberately not achieve the 'best' outcomes so as to make for a more entertaining story.

[SwobyJ]

Ruthless, sees higher reaches of technology (first with ships, later with AI) as the path to success. Picks Geth to use them.

 

Motivations are seeing how Saren utilized tech to his ends, only to be stopped by you alone. Sees Council as ineffective, and not doing what they ought to in order to do their jobs properly.

 

She could be ruthless not because she's willing to kill anyone to get the job done, but because she's willing to use any ends (within the Shepard RP constraints) to achieve her goals. Not to save as many as possible, but to win as she sees it.

 

For Wrex, Renegade persuade him to stay, lie to him about the genophage, kill him.

Have no time for Kaidan. Or maybe try to romance him first but leave him behind . Romance.. Jacob (LOL really yes, hate him afterward), Garrus, or Samantha.

 

Pre-ME1 background is simple. She was [insert traumatic event] when she was young, didn't spend much time with her parents, and gained a tough exterior.

It's up to you whether to soften that in ways or to keep it tough.

[themikefest]

Elizabeth Nancy Shepard is a earthborn/ruthless b*t*h who doesn't take crap from anyone. She will run people over if that's what it takes to achieve her goal. She has no use for politicians or the Alliance leadership. She wants nothing to do with her former crew of the SR1 since none make any effort in finding a way to stop the reapers or finding out who or what destroyed the SR1. They even avoid going to the site where the SR1 rests to see if anything can be salvaged and to collect the dogtags to give to the families so they can have closure.

 

She has no problem working with Cerberus in finding what is happening to the colonists. She also agrees about putting humanity first. She has a crew and squadmates she can trust to help her defeat the collectors.

 

She has no problems sabotaging the cure for the genophage if that means more support for the war effort. She sacrifice the Quarians to get the Geth fleets which are more powerful and don't put a strain on resources. She has Samantha Traynor to give her comfort when needed.

 

I have played a paragon a couple of times and found it boring. I'm not into the goody-two-shoe type.

[NeroonWilliams]

If you're looking for something to be sorta failish, might I suggest something like Spacer/War Hero where the War Hero portion was basically the result of a mistake.  The Shepard I ran with this background was a "follows orders" Adept who ONLY did what she was told to do while trying to be as Paragon as possible.  Did the same thing through 2 and 3 as well.  She still managed to have Wrex around for ME3 and Tali too, but allowed Legion to upload and didn't have enough reputation to order peace.  THAT was brutal.

[DoomsdayDevice]

At the moment I'm playing a ruthless colonist Shepard, but he's not your typical 'screw everyone' renegade. He's renegon in ME1/ME3, really. Maybe more paragade in ME2. He will one moment be selfless and friendly to those he likes and trusts, and the next moment he'll administer swift justice in the blink of an eye. He doesn't much care for small time thugs, and doesn't need to kill them if he can just put the fright into them and have them run off. This Shepard is a champion of freedom, and there's only one thing he's extremely intolerant of, which is slavery and mind control in any way shape or form, as he sees slavery and living without freedom as a fate worse than death.

 

As such he'll execute Rhana Thanoptis and the indoctrinated prisoners on Virmire. Both because he thinks it's a fate worse than death and for fear of indoctrination spreading. He'll execute Exogeni staff on sight for involvement in the Thorian experiment. He will kill both perpetrators and victims of mind control, mainly to minimize risks, but also to 'free' them. So, Shiala and the colonists will be executed. He doesn't trust the Rachni, because it's another mind-controlling species, and above all, the Rachni have been exposed to indoctrination, so the queen is a goner.

 

He hates the council because they seem to be protecting the enemy/Saren/the Reapers. He will prioritize Sovereign and not save the Council. Not because he wants them dead, but because the mission comes first.

 

Needless to say, he hates Cerberus for all their dirty practices, (Rachni, Thorian Creepers, Jack experiments, love of Reaper tech, etcetera). He also distrusts the Geth. Not because he's racist or anti-synthetic, no, his concern is of purely practical nature. It is much simpler and quicker for the Reapers to just rewrite a synthetic race than to indoctrinate an organic race. So, the Geth are a weakness and a serious risk. Seeing as the Reapers have already been messing with the Geth before, he will not allow Legion to upload the Reaper code, and sides with the Quarians.

 

He will cure the genophage, as it was another attempt to control an entire race. Needless to say, this Shepard will go for destroy.

[SporkFu]

I've just begun a paragon adept femshep trilogy run. I'm playing an adept for the first time. Biotic combat in ME1 is very different from the other two games, at least for me it is, but I like the effects. Now that Shep has leveled up a bit the biotics are becoming more fun to use. I did as many Citadel side missions as I could before leaving the citadel, and now that I've gotten control of the Normandy, I'm doing as many UNC missions as I can before even progressing the plot. By the time I get to Therum (my first stop), Saren could already be at Ilos, with an army of krogan clones to accompany the geth.

[cap and gown]

Well, I started up a Spacer/Ruthless playthrough. Dianna Shepard. I am still not quite settled on what she is like.

 

Her mother was all about duty and honor. Her personality was hardly ruthless. Dianna's father, however, had seen combat early in his career and lost a lot of comrades. As a result he became hardened to loss and drummed into his daughter the idea that the most important thing for a military person was succeeding at the mission. You simply had to accept that losses would happen and may even be necessary. Dianna didn't want to hear that, and her mother did not reinforce that idea. But then Dianna's father died on a mission scouting an unexplored world as a candidate for colonization. Dianna's mother, as a coping mechanism, began echoing her husband's advise about being hard nosed about succeeding at the mission even if it meant suffering losses. Shepard herself started to take on a hardened exterior to wall off her grief for the loss of her father. Over time the hard shell solidified and she became known for her ruthless, single-minded focus on succeeding at a mission no matter the costs.

 

Having been raised in the bossom of the Alliance, Shepard is very, very pro-Alliance. Getting her to agree to work with Cerberus will be a chore. She wont necessarily have a problem with Cerberus's methods, but the fact that it is on the Alliance sh**-list will trouble her. TIM better be able to convince her the Alliance is not willing to do anything about the Reaper threat! I guess Udina will need to become Councilor. (This also means Arrival will need to be put off until after the SM, even though Hacket seems to indicate it is a high priority. Maybe I should just uninstall Arrival until after the SM. That way I won't get the message until later.)

 

I am thinking that the SM may have to end up pretty bloody. Kelly may need to be turned into goo. And certainly some party members are going to have to die. Tali for sure. Jacob because he is boring. Thane is a good candidate as well. Zaeed. Jack. Five coffins. Ouch! 

 

I think Wrex might have to die in ME1 or maybe I just won't recruit him, and then I will decide whether it is best to have Mordin die on the SM, or whether I should shoot him on Tuchanka. It would make for a very powerful statement of who Shepard is if she is so hard-nosed she shoots an old friend in order to improve the chances of defeating the Reapers. (Javik will approve.)

[themikefest]

Are you trying for many casualties as possible throughout your playthrough?

[cap and gown]

Are you trying for many casualties as possible throughout your playthrough?

 

No. But I feel there needs to be at least a few to give the story a tragic feel and drive home how single-minded and hard-assed Shepard is. Tali is on the list simply because I have never done an ME3 without her. The others are simply disposable; they add nothing to ME3.

[ImaginaryMatter]

No. But I feel there needs to be at least a few to give the story a tragic feel and drive home how single-minded and hard-assed Shepard is. Tali is on the list simply because I have never done an ME3 without her. The others are simply disposable; they add nothing to ME3.

 

In that case you should probably do the Reaper IFF and SM asap (or wait a mission or two to let Kelly and the crew die). That way you either won't have everyone to assign tasks to and people die, or you won't have enough loyalty and people die. That way it'll be random and you don't have to meta-game who lives and who dies (actually you might have to meta-game a little because it is actually very possible to do everything asap and have everyone live).

[NeroonWilliams]

In that case you should probably do the Reaper IFF and SM asap (or wait a mission or two to let Kelly and the crew die). That way you either won't have everyone to assign tasks to and people die, or you won't have enough loyalty and people die. That way it'll be random and you don't have to meta-game who lives and who dies (actually you might have to meta-game a little because it is actually very possible to do everything asap and have everyone live).

I agree with this completely.  It would also fit into the roleplaying by emphasizing just what (and WHO) your Shepard values going into the SM.

[RZIBARA]

I've got an idea for you: Go for a very depressing play through.

 

Mass Effect 1: Kill Rachni, Kill the Council, Ashley/Kaidan choice doesn't matter much, let Kirrahe die. Keep Wrex alive.

Mass Effect 2: Destroy Maelons data, have Jack, Legion and Jacob die. Maybe Garrus as well.

Mass Effect 3: Allow every possible character to die. Sabotage genophage cure, let Samara kill herself, upload the Geth code, let Tali kill herself, shot the VS, let Miranda die, make sure Grunt dies as well. Go for low EMS, take James and Liara on the beam run and watch them die. Then lastly, pick low EMS destroy.

[themikefest]

I've got an idea for you: Go for a very depressing play through.

 

Mass Effect 1: Kill Rachni, Kill the Council, Ashley/Kaidan choice doesn't matter much, let Kirrahe die. Keep Wrex alive.

Mass Effect 2: Destroy Maelons data, have Jack, Legion and Jacob die. Maybe Garrus as well.

Mass Effect 3: Allow every possible character to die. Sabotage genophage cure, let Samara kill herself, upload the Geth code, let Tali kill herself, shot the VS, let Miranda die, make sure Grunt dies as well. Go for low EMS, take James and Liara on the beam run and watch them die. Then lastly, pick low EMS destroy.

If you want to do that why not do this

[Sir DeLoria]

If you're gonna kill the Tali and the Quarians, kill Wrex and the Krogan, kill the Rachni and then destroy the Geth with Destroy.

There you have a ruthless Shepard.

[RZIBARA]

If you want to do that why not do this

 

Close, I'd rather Legion die in ME2, makes conversations with the new one in ME3 better. But yeah, mostly the same

[RZIBARA]

If you're gonna kill the Tali and the Quarians, kill Wrex and the Krogan, kill the Rachni and then destroy the Geth with Destroy.

There you have a ruthless Shepard.

 

Make sure Wrex makes into ME3 though, such a sad scene

[Sir DeLoria]

Make sure Wrex makes into ME3 though, such a sad scene

Yup, exactly.

[RZIBARA]

Yup, exactly.

 

Not as touching as Mordin's though.

[cap and gown]

Having lots of people die is more a testament to Shepard's incompetence than her ruthlessness. Anyone who dies because of not upgrading the ship shows Shepard is a poor captain. Having them die simply because they are not focused is a failure of leadership. Miranda says straight up the mission comes first and that we should wait to go through the relay until specialists are focused. There are, however, decisions you can make that will get people killed even with an all loyal squad.

 

For instance: for the vents, pick Tali as the tech expert, but then pick Zaeed as fire team lead. He fits Miranda's criteria: he has a lot of experience. But picking him would get Tali killed. Pick Miranda or Jacob for Bubble duty. Supposedly any biotic can hold up the bubble. We only find out afterwords that is not the case. Never wake up Grunt. Send Garrus back with what remains of the crew. Have Zaeed as second fire team lead. (Tali's death can be chalked up to her failure, not Zaeed's.) Zaeed dies and, I believe, (I haven't done the calculation yet) two of the HTL team because none of the heavy hitters are there.

 

Anyway, I have no desire to kill Wrex in ME3, so I am just going to not recruit him.

[themikefest]

You never hear about Wrex again if you don't recruit him. His own brother, Wreav, doesn't even mention Wrex's name when you see him(if you choose to) on Tuchanka in ME2.