21 réponses à ce sujet

[Jaekahn]

Let's sit down and take moment to talk about our Shepards on a more roleplay level. Who is he/she? What has he/she done to define them? Why do they make the choices that they do? For those who are familiar with roleplay, this is easy.

I'll get things started. My main shep is actually a Femshep. She was a spacer and has always been involved with the Navy, even as a child. She enlisted at 18 and quickly rose through the ranks. Her superiors considered her promising, yet soft. They noticed that she would rather avoid making sacrifices and suffer some difficulty than to sacrifice and make things easy. Regardless, it was the battle on Elysium that finally got her some recognition. Her unit was heavily outnumbered, yet was able to withstand the onslaught of their enemies until reinforcements arrived.

During her pursuit of Saren, she continued to carry that same reputation she held in her early years. The humans resented the fact that she was played as the Specter's pawns, or at least in their eyes, oppose to using her new rank to benefit humanity. She had several run-ins with Cerberus and has grown to despise everything that they were known for. She shared feelings for Kaiden, yet had to unfortunately sacrifice him on virmire. Her reasoning for choosing Ashley over was solely based off of Kaiden's insistence. After Kaiden's death, she became very close with Garrus and developed a new level of respect for him.

After the she was resurrected, her morals changed dramatically. She still valued innocent lives, yet she didn't maintain the same firm view. She was troubled when Cerberus approached her and insisted that she helped them against the Reapers. Despite how much she loathed them, she knew it was the only chance she had to change anything. Her and Garrus became closer to Garrus than before and the two shared an intimate moment. The Suicide Mission didn't go as smoothly as she had hoped, losing both Jack and Zaeed certainly troubled her. Despite T.I.M's insistence, she chose to destroy the base.

I am working on a short story involving her right now. Depending on how this works out, I may develop a fanfiction series. If you are curious, you can read it here,

[Blackveldt]

The level of detail you put into your character is interesting to say the least. I'm not sure I ever thought that in depth about my character simply because I'm probably not writing a story about her, but like I said: interesting.

In terms of my Shepard, there are some similarities I suppose. When I first played ME1, I had originally chosen Spacer as well, but almost immediately restarted because I realized I didn't want that. At all. Specifically because I'd realized I'd chosen it because it felt the closest to 'me'--I'm an Air Force brat. Hell, I grew up on military time, bases and playing with toy F-15s and F-117s (still my fav.) and I just couldn't create a char. like me. 1) B/c it seemed boring since I'd already lived it and 2) I wanted to just have a completely different char. I specifically also did not choose War Hero because that seemed so cliche and contrived and I preferred my char. to suffer (lol) to at least add some depth. So Ms. Cris Shepard was a Sole Survivor Colonist.

I consider my Shepard to be a goody-goody Paragon. I had her pursue Kaidan and then killed him on Virmire because of three reasons: 1) He's boring as ****, 2) Ashley was the one I'd taken with me to the bomb and it was the most logical to go back to her in order to secure the mission, and 3) I wanted my char. to suffer again LOL. Well, I just wanted to see what would happen if my char. lost yet another person for which she cared, having pursed a kind of relationship with Kaidan. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Whateverrrr.

She was still a goody Paragon in ME2 (though Renegade is sooo much fun!) and is still a loner lol. I'm sorry, but the only reason I pursued a relationship in ME1 was b/c I knew I could kill him off and even then, it was extremely awkward for me because it just feels so unprofessional. I'm their CO for Christ's sakes, so the only one I could even think to romance in ME2 was Samara because 1) she would not remain a part of my crew for long and 2) is like 650 years old, which just demanded respect. Thane was also another option, but anyone actually a part of Cerberus crew working directly under you felt so unprofessional. And Garrus was just...awkward. Cute, but awkward as hell. So in the end, my char. was alone again--as I feel it should be. I'll be sure to read your fanfic in your other thread; seems it could be interesting.

Btw, just noting that my Renegade (I still consider 'Cris' my main shep) was a Ruthless Spacer just because Jennifer Hale makes her seem so ****ing badass lol. I could never choose the option of Earthborn b/c the idea of my Shepard being uneducated is...unpleasant.

Modifié par Blackveldt, 26 février 2010 - 09:56 .

[Ravennus]

It's topics like this that make me question the sense of people who don't consider ME a roleplaying game.



Seriously. I'd like to see similar topics about a Final Fantasy game....



"Tell us about YOUR Cloud Strife!"



*sigh*

[Jaekahn]

Ravennus wrote...

It's topics like this that make me question the sense of people who don't consider ME a roleplaying game.

Seriously. I'd like to see similar topics about a Final Fantasy game....

"Tell us about YOUR Cloud Strife!"

*sigh*

And what would you consider ME? A shooter? Shooter games don't have 5 minutes of dialogue before, during and after the action. Thus, its a roleplay game. I tend to think a lot about the characters I play in roleplay games, specifically ones that you can design. There are two reasons for this.

1. I have a very creative imagination that tends to dominate my mind majority of my life. I have designed several stories, fan fiction, animes, alike and I intend on writing novels once I graduate college.

2. That's what the game is meant for! Do you think Bioware would set up a game that has custom characters for us to just simply ignore the character? It's intended to give us a more personal connection with the character and provides an entirely different experience in games than what you would find on Modern Warfare or Gears of War.

Don't get me wrong, Mass Effect 2 is more suitable for shooter players than the original Mass Effect since they include a lot more action and bettered the overall performance. However, it is still a roleplay game.

Oh and PS, the reason why we're so in touch with Mass Effect 2 over Final Fantasy is because Final Fantasy doesn't include choices that impacts the game or the characters in it. That system tends to involve you in the game a lot more than other RPG's that simply have a story already written for you.

[Jamesmc93]

I think Ravennus was agreeing with you



His comments were slightly facetious in that he believes that with the thought you all have put into your characters, it's hard to imagine how people do not consider ME a roleplaying game. Then again, that's how I interpreted what he said...



At any rate, my first Shepard was actually a male. While I prefer Ms. Hale's voice acting, my first Shep will always remain MY Shep. I'm sure you guys understand that. Anywho, he was a Spacer who had a Ruthless war record. However in both ME and ME2, he grew close to his team and pursued a paragon path. He also refutes the claim that it's Joker's ship; it's HIS ship.



My Femshep (which I just started) is following a much more renegade path. While not purely evil, she keeps her mind on the mission. Anyone who gets in her way is likely to end up either dead or traumatized. She has strong loyalties to her crew and makes moral decisions...as long as they don't get in the way of the mission. I think the fact that I chose Femshep for the Renegade path is self-explanatory.

[Jaekahn]

Jamesmc93 wrote...

I think Ravennus was agreeing with you

His comments were slightly facetious in that he believes that with the thought you all have put into your characters, it's hard to imagine how people do not consider ME a roleplaying game. Then again, that's how I interpreted what he said...

At any rate, my first Shepard was actually a male. While I prefer Ms. Hale's voice acting, my first Shep will always remain MY Shep. I'm sure you guys understand that. Anywho, he was a Spacer who had a Ruthless war record. However in both ME and ME2, he grew close to his team and pursued a paragon path. He also refutes the claim that it's Joker's ship; it's HIS ship.

My Femshep (which I just started) is following a much more renegade path. While not purely evil, she keeps her mind on the mission. Anyone who gets in her way is likely to end up either dead or traumatized. She has strong loyalties to her crew and makes moral decisions...as long as they don't get in the way of the mission. I think the fact that I chose Femshep for the Renegade path is self-explanatory.

OHH... Well I apologize if I came out too harsh. I had a long day at work and my blood's thinner than it should, so I misinterpret what he said.

MY shep, in my opinion, is my femshep though. I don't know why, but it was my first character and it will always be played on my first playthroughs. I prefer Jennifer Hale's voice and since I am a fan of Garrus, it's interesting to see different dialogue from him than you would get as a manshep. Had I made a Male shep in the beginning, he would no doubt be MY Shep.

I am contemplating making a Colonist, Sole Survivor character that is designed to be played through both ME and ME2. My intentions are to play him as more of a roleplay character than Kristen and then perhaps design a story around him. The Colonist / Sole Survivor options had always interest me the most due to all the psychological problems, I simply chose Spacer / War Hero for the paragon boost in the beginning. Never thought I would be so into the character. xD

PS, I really enjoy your ideas. It's always interesting to know what other people think about their Shepards.. (sounded dirty, haha.) It also lets me know that I am not, ENTIRELY insane

Modifié par Jaekahn, 26 février 2010 - 10:01 .

[JediMB]

Medina Shepard was a colonist. After her family was slaughtered by a slaver raid, she swore to do everything within her power to stop the criminals preying upon innocents. Upon joining the Alliance military she became known as a war hero. She was rough, very rough, but her heart was in the right place. She did her best to save the colonists on Feros, although a few had to die for the sake of her team... she was fiercely loyal to her team and always had their best interests in mind.



Medina recognized Helena Blake as more of an idealist than you'd expect from a crime boss, and let her be as she was forced to dismantle her organization. She wouldn't hurt anyone, certainly. Medina's first instinct was to let the Rachni Queen die, because the risk of another war threatening innocents was too big, but in the end she couldn't go through with it, as she realized that the queen was one of those innocent people she's sworn to protect.



In the mission to save Terra Nova, she found herself forced to go after the terrorists and sacrifice the hostages, to prevent Balak from doing such a thing again. Yet more painful, Medina ended up leaving Ashley behind on Virmire, and it would haunt her that leaving a close friend behind was such an easy decision, even though the alternative was leaving the man she loved to the same fate. At the end of the mission, she couldn't risk letting Sovereign survive, and sacrificed the Council and the rest of the people on the Destiny Ascension for what she hoped was the greater good... a decision she would later come to regret.



The Illusive Man wanted Shepard to remain to be resurrected as the same person she was before she died, but he didn't get what he wanted. The healing process was long and painful, and Medina had plenty of time to retread her past within the realm of her dreams. Her temper would remain the same, and Ashley's death only fortified her loyalty to her crew (to the point where she'd even compromise her own sense of right and wrong for their sake), but some of her priorities were changing, and she was more prone to sudden mood-swings. One moment she would calmly talk to a potential hostile, and the next she would send another out a window to meet his maker at the other end of a drop of several hundred feet.



Overall she had softened up, was less willing to make sacrifices for the "greater good", and she helped people wherever she could, although she could be unnecessarily hostile about it. During the mission, she rejected advances from both Jacob and Garrus, but eventually found herself attracted towards Thane... however, her old wounds from Virmire were far from healed, and so she distanced herself from Thane in an attempt to honor both Kaidan and Ashley



She didn't trust Cerberus (especially its military division), and she knew very well the dangers of Reaper technology being put to use by those who didn't fully understand it, and as such the fate of the Collector base was clear. When she heard Miranda's resignation from serving the Illusive Man, she let out a sigh of relief. That, more than anything else, told her that this was her crew now, with loyalty between them all unwavering.



Medina had once said that all you can do when you fail is to learn from your mistake and try not to repeat it, and in that sense she felt like she had finally redeemed herself for the Virmire mission as the whole crew made it safely back to the Normandy and the Collector base was destroyed. Although finally ready to make herself happy again, she had clearly lost her chance with Thane, and instead sought comfort in Yeoman Kelly Chambers' arms, and another chapter in her life came to an end.





...And this was too much, wasn't it?

[Jaekahn]

Not at all. It was interesting to read. You should write up some fanfics for her.

[Ravennus]

Jaekahn wrote...

Jamesmc93 wrote...

I think Ravennus was agreeing with you

His comments were slightly facetious in that he believes that with the thought you all have put into your characters, it's hard to imagine how people do not consider ME a roleplaying game. Then again, that's how I interpreted what he said...

At any rate, my first Shepard was actually a male. While I prefer Ms. Hale's voice acting, my first Shep will always remain MY Shep. I'm sure you guys understand that. Anywho, he was a Spacer who had a Ruthless war record. However in both ME and ME2, he grew close to his team and pursued a paragon path. He also refutes the claim that it's Joker's ship; it's HIS ship.

My Femshep (which I just started) is following a much more renegade path. While not purely evil, she keeps her mind on the mission. Anyone who gets in her way is likely to end up either dead or traumatized. She has strong loyalties to her crew and makes moral decisions...as long as they don't get in the way of the mission. I think the fact that I chose Femshep for the Renegade path is self-explanatory.

OHH... Well I apologize if I came out too harsh. I had a long day at work and my blood's thinner than it should, so I misinterpret what he said.

MY shep, in my opinion, is my femshep though. I don't know why, but it was my first character and it will always be played on my first playthroughs. I prefer Jennifer Hale's voice and since I am a fan of Garrus, it's interesting to see different dialogue from him than you would get as a manshep. Had I made a Male shep in the beginning, he would no doubt be MY Shep.

I am contemplating making a Colonist, Sole Survivor character that is designed to be played through both ME and ME2. My intentions are to play him as more of a roleplay character than Kristen and then perhaps design a story around him. The Colonist / Sole Survivor options had always interest me the most due to all the psychological problems, I simply chose Spacer / War Hero for the paragon boost in the beginning. Never thought I would be so into the character. xD

PS, I really enjoy your ideas. It's always interesting to know what other people think about their Shepards.. (sounded dirty, haha.) It also lets me know that I am not, ENTIRELY insane

Uh yeah... I was agreeing with you.

I love that we have topics like this, and the thought that you folks put into them.  Sorry if my previous statement didn't make that clear.
It just annoys me to no end to read posts by people who don't think that ME is an RPG just because we do have uber amounts of phat loot and a rediculous number of pointless points to spend when leveling up.

So yes.... I VERY VERY VERY much consider ME2 a roleplaying game, of the best variety and for many of the same reasons you mentioned.


My minor nitpick... my main was a Colonist Sole Survivor, and I definitely had a very interesting background in my head regarding him.  Unfortunately ME2 seems to completely hand-waive the Sole Survivor background... in such a way, that I've remade my main in ME1 and am leveling him up to redo Me2 with him.

Finding out that Cerberus was the reason behind your horrific experience on Akuze, then having NO option to EVER mention it.... even when two Cerberus Operatives are sitting opposite you and ASKING you about it... just bugged me to no end.

Still love the game though, and have already beaten it 4 times with 4 different characters imported from ME1.

[Jaekahn]

Ravennus wrote...

Jaekahn wrote...

Jamesmc93 wrote...

I think Ravennus was agreeing with you

His comments were slightly facetious in that he believes that with the thought you all have put into your characters, it's hard to imagine how people do not consider ME a roleplaying game. Then again, that's how I interpreted what he said...

At any rate, my first Shepard was actually a male. While I prefer Ms. Hale's voice acting, my first Shep will always remain MY Shep. I'm sure you guys understand that. Anywho, he was a Spacer who had a Ruthless war record. However in both ME and ME2, he grew close to his team and pursued a paragon path. He also refutes the claim that it's Joker's ship; it's HIS ship.

My Femshep (which I just started) is following a much more renegade path. While not purely evil, she keeps her mind on the mission. Anyone who gets in her way is likely to end up either dead or traumatized. She has strong loyalties to her crew and makes moral decisions...as long as they don't get in the way of the mission. I think the fact that I chose Femshep for the Renegade path is self-explanatory.

OHH... Well I apologize if I came out too harsh. I had a long day at work and my blood's thinner than it should, so I misinterpret what he said.

MY shep, in my opinion, is my femshep though. I don't know why, but it was my first character and it will always be played on my first playthroughs. I prefer Jennifer Hale's voice and since I am a fan of Garrus, it's interesting to see different dialogue from him than you would get as a manshep. Had I made a Male shep in the beginning, he would no doubt be MY Shep.

I am contemplating making a Colonist, Sole Survivor character that is designed to be played through both ME and ME2. My intentions are to play him as more of a roleplay character than Kristen and then perhaps design a story around him. The Colonist / Sole Survivor options had always interest me the most due to all the psychological problems, I simply chose Spacer / War Hero for the paragon boost in the beginning. Never thought I would be so into the character. xD

PS, I really enjoy your ideas. It's always interesting to know what other people think about their Shepards.. (sounded dirty, haha.) It also lets me know that I am not, ENTIRELY insane

Uh yeah... I was agreeing with you.

I love that we have topics like this, and the thought that you folks put into them.  Sorry if my previous statement didn't make that clear.
It just annoys me to no end to read posts by people who don't think that ME is an RPG just because we do have uber amounts of phat loot and a rediculous number of pointless points to spend when leveling up.

So yes.... I VERY VERY VERY much consider ME2 a roleplaying game, of the best variety and for many of the same reasons you mentioned.


My minor nitpick... my main was a Colonist Sole Survivor, and I definitely had a very interesting background in my head regarding him.  Unfortunately ME2 seems to completely hand-waive the Sole Survivor background... in such a way, that I've remade my main in ME1 and am leveling him up to redo Me2 with him.

Finding out that Cerberus was the reason behind your horrific experience on Akuze, then having NO option to EVER mention it.... even when two Cerberus Operatives are sitting opposite you and ASKING you about it... just bugged me to no end.

Still love the game though, and have already beaten it 4 times with 4 different characters imported from ME1.

Yeah, I misread your post, more or less. I'm saddened to hear that Sole Survivor was excluded in ME2.. It's one of my favorite Psychological choices. I have two completed characters on ME1,

Kristen Shepard - Female Paragon Engineer
Aerrow Shepard - Male Renegade Soldier / Infiltrator (curtousy of Garrus' guidance in sniping).

Aerrow is an earthborn with Ruthless psychological choice. Sadly, there wasn't much information regarding that either. The only thing I noticed among all the choices is that Hannah Shepard is mentioned in the news on the Citidel.. I actually don't remember anything from Ruthless

BTW, read my stories and add feedback!

[Riot Inducer]

Interesting reads! Here's a few short summaries of two of my Shepards



Mara Shepard grew up as a spacer kid, joined the Alliance almost by default with both her parents serving. Her infiltrator training saved her life on Akuze, but she couldn't save anyone else, a fact that haunts her still. In spite of her losses on Akuze Mara came out stronger and is now almost fanatically committed to her team and will always put her team before herself, swearing to never allow the mistakes that saw her entire unit killed happen again. On missions she demands a high level of professionalism from her team and those she works with, and hates being led on with false or withheld intel more than anything else. Despite her hard nature in combat she makes it her business to know and befriend her team, as committed to them off he battlefield as on it.

Every member of her team survived what was said to be a "suicide mission" to destroy the Collector threat, a fact she is infinitely proud of, as she feels she's finally beaten Akuze and her demons there.



Jessica Shepard is a tough girl who grew up in the slums of earth, once she joined the Alliance her biotic traits were noticed and she was given full training as an 'adept'. She quickly proved worthy of the title as she was able to surpass other biotics who had been trained in "Brain Camp" since their youth.

Her immense biotic power and rough childhood left her with little patience and a favor for heavy-handed tactics that caused countless deaths on both sides during the battle of Torfan, where she gained her infamous title that would define her career.

Despite her temper and renegade attitude she is not uncultured and is very interested the art and history of the various species populating the galaxy, this often puts her at odds with the numerous xenophobic attitudes of many humans and organizations.

[Jaekahn]

Riot Inducer wrote...

Interesting reads! Here's a few short summaries of two of my Shepards

Mara Shepard grew up as a spacer kid, joined the Alliance almost by default with both her parents serving. Her infiltrator training saved her life on Akuze, but she couldn't save anyone else, a fact that haunts her still. In spite of her losses on Akuze Mara came out stronger and is now almost fanatically committed to her team and will always put her team before herself, swearing to never allow the mistakes that saw her entire unit killed happen again. On missions she demands a high level of professionalism from her team and those she works with, and hates being led on with false or withheld intel more than anything else. Despite her hard nature in combat she makes it her business to know and befriend her team, as committed to them off he battlefield as on it.
Every member of her team survived what was said to be a "suicide mission" to destroy the Collector threat, a fact she is infinitely proud of, as she feels she's finally beaten Akuze and her demons there.

Jessica Shepard is a tough girl who grew up in the slums of earth, once she joined the Alliance her biotic traits were noticed and she was given full training as an 'adept'. She quickly proved worthy of the title as she was able to surpass other biotics who had been trained in "Brain Camp" since their youth.
Her immense biotic power and rough childhood left her with little patience and a favor for heavy-handed tactics that caused countless deaths on both sides during the battle of Torfan, where she gained her infamous title that would define her career.
Despite her temper and renegade attitude she is not uncultured and is very interested the art and history of the various species populating the galaxy, this often puts her at odds with the numerous xenophobic attitudes of many humans and organizations.

Wow, I really like the amount of psychological depth you put into those characters. Great read and would be interesting to read some of her expeditions!

[shadowdragon8190]

Demetri Shepard grew up as a spacer kid. At first he was a solider and was stationed in Torfan. After an outbreak of criminals, mainly Batarians, Shepard knew that it was his job to stop them. He and his men fought valiantly, but the criminals were ruthless. One afternoon he gave the order to go in and wipe any criminals in their base knowing full well that it would mean heavy losses on both sides. His plan worked and made the Citadel a safer place, but at the cost of his entire platoon. As he bent down to pick up his best mate's dog tag, he knew that in order to go forward he had to cast aside his emotions. It was not until Virmire did his emotions catch up to him. Leaving Kaiden behind to keep the bomb armed was necessary. And even though this decision was a difficult one, a much harder decision was upon to fall on his shoulders. Should he save the council and have most of the Alliance ships destroyed, or hold the Alliance ships until the best moment to strike even at the cost of the council. He knew that the galaxy needed the Council and that those three members meant more to the entire galaxy than the Alliance ships. He ordered Joker to send in the cavalry, saving the Council but at the cost of more humans. After the collectors destroyed his ship, Cerberus found Demetri. His face was too damaged to repair so a new one had to be made. Though he was originally a solider (a commando to be more specific), he changed his role to an Infiltrator. Even after being built by Cerberus, the memories of the fallen humans still haunt his memories. His morales have still not changed however. He still believes that the ends should always justify the means and that one person dieing is better than a full world, or even a symbol. However, his past still makes him hesitate on those big decisions. Yet he knows that when he goes to face the Collectors, that his team may all die to save the Citadel space...and that he too may die once more.

[Jaekahn]

Bump

[Kurt M.]

---Kurt Shepard is the epythome of Paragon, righteous soldier, equally loyal to all his crew and totally pro-all alien races. That made him destroy the Collector's base without hesitation. He's, however, deeply mistrustful/vengeaful with the ones who betrays him, and cut with Ashley because he felt that way. He found in Miranda the perfect woman (and gained his complete trust when she fired herself from TIM at the Collector's base).



---Jon Shepard's main rule is that "If it's useful to kill your enemy, use it". He mainly distrusts aliens, completely hates krogan and he's totally pro-human, but over time he has developed a tight friendship with Garrus and Tali. He also sympathizes with quarian people, which kind of remembers him of his harsh life in the streets (he's Earthborn).



That's both my chars in short terms ^^

[ELE08]

I really love reading the backstories for other people's Shepard's (also makes me feel less crazy for investing so much into my own.)  I am sometimes suprised to see other's think the relationships in the game are shallow, or there isn't enough roleplaying flexibility with Shepard.  To me, it's more about Shepard's motivations for what he/she is doing more so than the outcome of his/her actions.  I guess you get out of the game what you put into it (RP wise.)

To Jaekahn, I started reading you short stories and so far I like.  Keep up the good work.

This is some of the background for my main, earthborn warhero vanguard.

Valen Adala Shepard was born in the sprawling Los Angeles area megatropolis. Abandoned as an infant, she fell through the cracks of the social welfare system and at the young age of thirteen was forced to survive on the streets using only her wits and determination. She found a place for herself in the Tenth Street Reds, a fledgling street gang, first as a courier and errand girl. Her natural skill in leadership was apparent even at this early age, an as she grew older, she quickly rose in the ranks.

At the age of eighteen, disillusioned with the direction her life was going and sick of the corruption and violence of gang life, Valen enlisted in the Alliance military. Her inherent biotic ability, up until this time sporadic and uncontrolled, was an asset in the Alliance and she received special training, quickly learning to harness her biotics with deadly force.

This was put to the test when while on shore leave at the human colony of Elysium, a massive coalition of slavers, crime syndicates, and batarian warlords attacked, determined to wipe it out. With only a token garrison stationed on the colony, Valen rallied the available soldiers as well as civilian inhabitants, leading them in the fight to hold off their attackers. When ranks fell, she single handedly sealed the breach until reinforcements arrived, taxing her biotics to their breaking point. She lay in a coma for six weeks. She awoke to find herself an unwitting hero in the Alliance, her face splashed across the vids as she received commendations including the prestigious Star of Terra. In interviews she would insist on calling attention to the brave men and women that fought at her side in the battle, as well as the Alliance personnel who came to their aid.

Growing up alone on the streets, dealing with feelings of parental abandonment as well as confusion and fear about how to deal with her biotics shaped her into an emotionally closed off woman. She survived by keeping others at a distance and not letting herself get emotionally involved with others. Very few people see her for who she is as a person, seeing only the image of a disciplined leader, war hero, and skilled soldier--an image she is happy to perpetuate. Let people see your weakness, and they will exploit it, is a motto she took to heart growing up, and one she is hard pressed to let go of.

[SupidSeep]

A little silly writing :

Born on Mindor, Valerie was a single child, much beloved and spoiled by her parents, who doted and fawned over her as a starship accident had rendered her mother incapable of bearing other children.  Popular with her schoolmates and secretly admired by many young boys, she had never given serious though to anything but her own interest.

All that changed when batarian arrived on the growing colony in 2170.  She was dragged crying by her parents along rubble filled streets and burning habitats in a desperate attempt to flee as slavers hunt down and drag away unfortunate souls.  Cornered by a pair of batarian troopers, her father made a sucidal charge on them to gain a chance for his wife and child to escape, and she bore witness to the batarians turning their weapons on  him to tear his body to shreds.  The shock paralysed her, and in her attempt to pull Valerie to safety, her mother was shotseveral times and collapsed.
 
The batarians prepared to snatch Valerie away from her helpless mother, but an advance party of Alliance marines arrived to kill the slavers.  However,  the Alliance field medic could do nothing to save Valerie's mother. As she lay dying, her mother held a crimson hand to her child's cheek and whispered into her ear: "... be brave ... baby... promise me ... you'll ... be ... brave ..."  Hot tears running down blood-smeared cheeks, Valerie sobbed out: "Yes, Ma ... I'll be brave ... I'll be brave, Ma, I'll ... Ma!" The hand fell away; above the gunfire, explosions and screams, a little girl's wailings rose.

"There's too many!"
"Get those people outta here!"
"Blow that down! Seal it!"
"Take c...aaaaaah!"
Fires everywhere. Smoke blotted out the sky. Human marines manning a perimeter of half-destroyed buildings and vehicles fire desperately at the overwhelming hoards of slavers converging upon the small settlement.
"Ma'am, Charlie's down half-strength, they're making a new push!"
"Pass some of the extra weapons to the men and have them ..."
"Already done!"
"Any news on reinforcements?"
"Some Alliance ships just arrived, they're shooting up the pirate vessals but it'll take some time ..."
Explosions rocked the west wall.  A building cracked open, exposing the hudding civilians within.  Smoke cleared to reveal a gap in the compromised wall.  Batarians and turians poured in.
"Fall back!"
"No! Hold them off!"
"Run!"
"Rargh!"
Panic. People scrambling to get away from the slavers.  Marine squadleaders attempting to rally their men. Slavers spread out from the breach.  A female officer stepped up to the disintegrating line.  Marines rallied.
"Covering fire! Stand ground!"
"Ma'am, there's too many!"
"We have to buy time! Get the people back! Where ... "
Sniper round cracked the officer's helmet.  She staggered, went down on one knee.  Line wavered.
"Medic! Officer down!"
" ... no ... help me .. up ..."
"Fall back, fall back!"
"They're coming!"
Civilians and marines fell here and there.  Many broke and ran. Some surviving squadleaders tried to control the chaos.  A medic tried to carry the protesting officer away; a squadleader covering their retreat.
"Who's got explosives!  Bring that wall down!"
"Bravo has some - runner's on the way!"
"C'mon, ma'am, can't stay here ..."
"... got ... get ... it ... off ..."
"They're swarming over the wall!"
"Suppressive fire on my left!"
"Ma! Ma! Get up!"
The squadleader hunkered down behind makeshift cover, weapon overheating.  A little girl tugged at the blood-stained shirt of her wounded mother, who looked up with despairing eyes and pleaded: "Please take my baby ... take her and go ... please!"
The squadleader looked at her.
"Ma! Get up!"
"Please!"
The squadleader turned away.
"No! Please! Take her!"
"No ... your baby is staying."
The squadleader faced the wall of oncoming slavers and opened fire.

"I'm staying."
The line held.

[Jaekahn]

ELE08 wrote...

I really love reading the backstories for other people's Shepard's (also makes me feel less crazy for investing so much into my own.)  I am sometimes suprised to see other's think the relationships in the game are shallow, or there isn't enough roleplaying flexibility with Shepard.  To me, it's more about Shepard's motivations for what he/she is doing more so than the outcome of his/her actions.  I guess you get out of the game what you put into it (RP wise.)

To Jaekahn, I started reading you short stories and so far I like.  Keep up the good work.

This is some of the background for my main, earthborn warhero vanguard.

Valen Adala Shepard was born in the sprawling Los Angeles area megatropolis. Abandoned as an infant, she fell through the cracks of the social welfare system and at the young age of thirteen was forced to survive on the streets using only her wits and determination. She found a place for herself in the Tenth Street Reds, a fledgling street gang, first as a courier and errand girl. Her natural skill in leadership was apparent even at this early age, an as she grew older, she quickly rose in the ranks.

At the age of eighteen, disillusioned with the direction her life was going and sick of the corruption and violence of gang life, Valen enlisted in the Alliance military. Her inherent biotic ability, up until this time sporadic and uncontrolled, was an asset in the Alliance and she received special training, quickly learning to harness her biotics with deadly force.

This was put to the test when while on shore leave at the human colony of Elysium, a massive coalition of slavers, crime syndicates, and batarian warlords attacked, determined to wipe it out. With only a token garrison stationed on the colony, Valen rallied the available soldiers as well as civilian inhabitants, leading them in the fight to hold off their attackers. When ranks fell, she single handedly sealed the breach until reinforcements arrived, taxing her biotics to their breaking point. She lay in a coma for six weeks. She awoke to find herself an unwitting hero in the Alliance, her face splashed across the vids as she received commendations including the prestigious Star of Terra. In interviews she would insist on calling attention to the brave men and women that fought at her side in the battle, as well as the Alliance personnel who came to their aid.

Growing up alone on the streets, dealing with feelings of parental abandonment as well as confusion and fear about how to deal with her biotics shaped her into an emotionally closed off woman. She survived by keeping others at a distance and not letting herself get emotionally involved with others. Very few people see her for who she is as a person, seeing only the image of a disciplined leader, war hero, and skilled soldier--an image she is happy to perpetuate. Let people see your weakness, and they will exploit it, is a motto she took to heart growing up, and one she is hard pressed to let go of.

Wooow.. sounds a lot like Kristen's battle on Elysium, excluding the biotics and the coma. I was actually going to type up a short story in relation to her and Elysium that could also describe why Kristen is so determined to save Arturius. Kristen and Valen are a lot alike, hah. Would be interesting to see you do a couple short stories yourselves.

Also, thanks for the feedback.

[ELE08]

Jaekahn wrote...

Wooow.. sounds a lot like Kristen's battle on Elysium, excluding the biotics and the coma. I was actually going to type up a short story in relation to her and Elysium that could also describe why Kristen is so determined to save Arturius. Kristen and Valen are a lot alike, hah. Would be interesting to see you do a couple short stories yourselves.

Also, thanks for the feedback.

Nice.  It makes sense there would be some overlap because Bioware provides the basic skeleton for Shepard's history.  It's the little extra details or additional history that makes it personal.  I like to imagine what happened during downtime on the Normandy for example, or specific events from her (or his ...although I always play a woman) past.

Hehe.  I've written some little shorts.  None that I've thought were worth sharing though...Mmmm, Shenko.

[Jaekahn]

ELE08 wrote...

Jaekahn wrote...

Wooow.. sounds a lot like Kristen's battle on Elysium, excluding the biotics and the coma. I was actually going to type up a short story in relation to her and Elysium that could also describe why Kristen is so determined to save Arturius. Kristen and Valen are a lot alike, hah. Would be interesting to see you do a couple short stories yourselves.

Also, thanks for the feedback.

Nice.  It makes sense there would be some overlap because Bioware provides the basic skeleton for Shepard's history.  It's the little extra details or additional history that makes it personal.  I like to imagine what happened during downtime on the Normandy for example, or specific events from her (or his ...although I always play a woman) past.

Hehe.  I've written some little shorts.  None that I've thought were worth sharing though...Mmmm, Shenko.

Aye, I play a femshep more often than a male shep, mainly because I can't stand Meer's lack of emotion. Femshep just makes your character seem less rehearsed and more real. I'm interested in seeing those stories.

[Cypher0020]

Ok guess I'll post



Allyn Shepard was born at 5:30AM to James and Madeline Shepard, one of five children. She happily occupied the middle spot and was pampered by her older brothers until her little sisters came into play.



Older brothers were in the military, and her father was a former scientist in the Alliance before retiring and starting a family in which he deemed a safe haven.



Cue the slave raid. Lost brothers and father when they went to help the milita. Fled with mother and sisters with other refugees to the underground bunkers. Lost mother in the firefight, and sisters due to illness in the bunkers.



From her settlement, only she and about fifty people of about one hundred and fifty survived before the Alliance finally could past batarian defenses and free the starving and tramuatized colonists.



Sank into deep depression, dabbled in drugs and suicide. Went to therapy in the displaced persons camp. Finished high school and didnt' know what to do with her life come 17-18 years old.



While sulking around the base, was taken aside by a friendly Alliance recruit, who happened to be biotic. She knew she had biotic abilites due to testing back on Mindoir, but never really had any thought to expand on them.



After much internal debate signed up the following year on her 18th birthday. Took hte implant surgery, and grew to like her biotic trainer.



When Akzue went off the map, she volunteered to go with some buddies to help out. Figured just a comm tower went off radar or something, no problem.



Nightfall was Mindoir times 10000. She watched, firing her gun at those monsters, as the acid ripped through their Makos, and kinetic barriers, dragging her squadmates to a greusome death.



She loathes herself for surviving at times, and really hates having to explain the disaster at Akzue. Considered resigning but decided against it.



She wants to help people- alien and humans alike. Never wants to live through situations like Mindoir and Akzue. Things were events are out of her control. She needs to be helping someone to feel wanted.

[Sudipa]

Erika Shepard was a colonist. After her family was slaughtered by a slaver raid, she swore to do everything within her power to dont let others suffer the way she and all the one she loved did. She enlisted at 18. On akuze she wittnes her team die around her, and she came through as the only survivor. Erika was broken, her thoughts wandered back to her home Mindoir and back to her failed promise, then she swore once again to never let the same thing happen again, she would rather die.

. On the "Saren/sovereign" mission she grew close to her squadmate Kaidan Alenko, On Virmire she talked sense into the team member Urdnot Wrex, and avoided to take him down. she had to make the choice to leave her one of her team members Ashley Williams, or Kaidan. She saved her beloved Kaidan, ashamed of her choice she witnessed once again a soldier and a friend fall under her command. In the end of the long mission She convinced the former spectre Saren to help her stop the Reaper, Saren was under the control of Sovereign, and shot himself to help Erika. She choosed to save lives on the citadel insted of saving the council and choosed Captain Anderson to lead the new council.

A while later Erikas ship The Normandy was attacked by an unknown enemy, later shown to be the collectors. She got spaced when saving the pilot Joker(Jeff Moroue?)

She was rebuild by the organisation cerberus but was really careful to trust them.

The one she first thought of when brought back to life was Kaidan Alenko.

She started to investigate missing colonies and later fight the collectors. on one Colony she met Kaidan. He was angry at her for working with cerberus. Erika tried to hold on to him, but they parted ways.She was broken. She visited the citadel, got drunk, and tried to forget. Then she met an asassin, Thane Krios. They were both two broken souls and grew close.

Thane told her that he had come to care for her. Erika was conflicted, told him that they were very different and that she could never replace his murdered wife. Thane withdrawed but kept her in his heart. Right before the suicide mission, a lot was going on inside her head, she was thinking about Kaidan, would she ever see him again? she was also thinking about Thane. The mission was a sucess. she got through, with no casuality, and destroyed the entire collector base, she ignored the Cerberus leaders request of saving the dangerus technology stored inside, that could save them from the reapers, she was afraid that the tech would be used in the wrong way and create a bigger threat.



Erika is a Paragon character, a diplomat. she honors her promises and never fires without looking for alternatives. she is designed in looks and personality to be as similar to me as possible.



Im from sweden, so dont judge my english to hard!