Ryder

Ryder, or "Chief" as he prefers, is a Mass Effect OC created and developed by Fera. He is a childhood friend of Natalia Shepard and known for his distrust and racist views about aliens.
While not inherently bad as a person, he is often not trusted for his views and later, his former affiliation with Cerberus.
==Life==
Ryder was born on March 13th, 2154. While not much is known of his early life, it is known he was a spacer child and among the first generation of human biotics. He was a childhood friend of Natalia's until they were forced apart as their biotics began manifesting. Ryder started developing anti-alien views that later strained his friendship with Natalia.
As a young adult he followed Natalia into the Alliance, deciding to put his abilities to use the best way he knew how. Ryder wasn't a favorite among the rest of the Alliance and he often got into trouble for voicing his rather undesired commentary regarding aliens. He didn't manage to raise his rank in his time serving, but he served as a vanguard in the Alliance forces. He was efficient but brutal in combat which often caused concern. It was feared he may cause an incident between species and therefore was kept under constant watch. Otherwise he was a good person with a firm dedication to his job.
In 2183 he heard of Natalia's promotion to Spectre and watched it on the vids. Unlike most who applauded her, Ryder could only watch in disgust that she'd serve the Council. After the Battle of the Citadel, Ryder was deployed to help combat the remaining geth. Ryder stayed with the Alliance even after Natalia's reported death though he grew more and more upset with what he was seeing from the Alliance and the Council. The politics bothered him and he felt that everything happening was an injustice. In anger he quit the Alliance. Not long after leaving the Alliance he went on to join Cerberus. Ryder put his talents to use and grew in strength. He functioned as a shock trooper for Cerberus and was placed wherever he was needed. Ryder was completely unaware of Natalia's revival via the Lazarus Project and was unaware she had been working with Cerberus until after she went rogue.
Come 2186 Ryder defected from Cerberus. He had watched as the Illusive Man's methods became more and more extreme causing him to start questioning his safety. He'd watched as others he knew fell to indoctrination studies, watching them become monsters and having their minds twisted as the Illusive Man saw fit. When he could manage it Ryder fought and gained his freedom, defecting from Cerberus all together. Seeing as how the Reapers began invading and that Reaper tech was responsible for his friends' conditions, Ryder joined the Alliance in their efforts to fight them. His biotics and rage towards the Reapers served him well and Ryder proved to be a valuable asset in the fights. Surprisingly, Ryder had been able to put his feelings aside to fight alongside aliens. While he was mostly stationed on Earth, Ryder was also sent out to known Cerberus bases to fight them as well. His experiences as a former Cerberus member made him valuable when it came to retrieving items and data from their bases.
After the Reapers were destroyed, Ryder headed to Earth and helped the Alliance in rebuilding. His biotics were useful in the beginning stages of rebuilding and he offered everything he had to help even further. The Alliance was wary of him but they needed his help. When it was learned that Natalia survived her injuries, and after she recovered, Ryder tracked her down. They reconnected as friends when they reached a peace between them regarding their personal views and opinions about aliens. Natalia went as far as to help get him reinstated within the Alliance, standing up for him when no one else would. He has begun "correcting his path in life" as he puts it, saying that Cerberus and the potential end of the galaxy had, "opened his eyes".
==Personality==
Ryder is a man that means well, even if it doesn't always show. His racism against aliens brings out a vocal, negative, very rude and sometimes hostile personality. He is unfriendly to aliens and often talks down about them. While this has lessened slightly after the Reaper Invasion, Ryder is still very anti-alien. Otherwise he is a generally easy going man and likes to socialize. Due to being a biotic he faces discrimination and has a bit of a sour spot for people who would talk poorly about him or any other biotic. This can end up in him starting a fight due to how defensive he tends to be. He is a bit full of himself and often tells stories that may not necesarrily be the full truth to make himself look better or more qualified. It has landed him in difficult positions before but he hasn't seemed to learn from it yet if at all.
Otherwise he is a sociable man and holds a strong dedication for his work. He tends to be a very helpful man as well and often offers his help to others. With aliens he is much more reluctant to do much of anything for them.
==Powers==
Ryder's abilities are the same as the Phoenix Vanguard in multiplayer. He fights primarily with his biotics and has no special abilities otherwise.
*Smash: Slam biotic whips into the ground to cause area-of-effect damage and devastating direct damage.
**Ryder's Smash is focused into damage and creates a biotic effect he can detonate afterwards. His training made him highly efficient against armor and barriers, allowing him to take down stronger enemies easily.
*Lash: Latch this biotic field onto enemies to jerk them towards you, doing massive damage in the process.
**This ability is rarely used by Ryder. As such it has basic damage. Ryder uses this to pull weaker enemies off their feet (for any number of reasons) and to stagger heavier targets.
*Biotic Charge: Smash into a target while encased in this biotic barrier, leveling your opponents. Invulnerable while this power is in effect.
**Ryder's most powerful biotic attack. Damage was a main focus in training with this ability and his "cooldowns" are sometimes not triggered, allowing him to reuse the power immediately. This is used in combination with Smash for biotic detonations and used to restore his barriers when they become depleted.
Ryder's heavy melee has him using his biotics to form whips and slam the ground around his feet to drive back targets. His light melees become punches once he no longer has the "taze stick" he stole from Cerberus upon defection. Ryder spends a lot of his time charging enemies and as such carries a shotgun with him. Due to his fighting style bringing him up close, he is able to inflict serious weapon damage upon targets. He is noted to carry shotguns for this reason but has sometimes been seen carrying assault rifles as well. His smaller side arm weapon is usually a SMG.
==Trivia==
*Ryder was spawned from a multiplayer character like most that Fera has created.
*His nickname of "Chief" was originally a joke when Fera kept his armor green. This was a joking reference to Halo's Master Chief.
**In canon the nickname is from his attitude and how he can be full of himself. Others mockingly called him Chief when acknowledging his orders as he asserted himself as leader. He liked the nickname and adopted it, feeling it fit him.
*His armor is only slightly different from the Cerberus Dragoon as multiplayer won't allow the Phoenix Vanguard and Adept to look exactly like a Dragoon.
*As of right now, Ryder's face beneath the helmet is unrevealed. This is due to it currently being concepted.
Category:Mass Effect
Category:Fanbase
Category:Fera