Quarian

### Common Names

Daro, Feda, Golo, Han, Hilo, Kal, Kar, Kenn, Lemm, Lia, Prazza, Rael, Seeto, Shala, Tali, Veetor, Ysin, Zaal.

### Common Family Names

Xen, Gazu, Gerrel, Jaa, Reegar, Danna, Shal, Vael, Zorah, Hodda, Raan, Nara, Mal, Koris

The quarians are a nomadic species of humanoids known for their skills with technology and synthetic life. Since their homeworld of Rannoch was conquered, the quarians live aboard the Migrant Fleet, a huge collection of starships that travel as a single fleet.

### Quarian Racial Traits

* Physical Characteristics: **+2 to Intelligence and Charisma. -2 to Constitution**. Quarians are known for their intellect and gracefulness but their force reliance on their suits make them weaker.

* Size: Medium

* Speed: 30 feet

* Technicians: Gain a +2 bonus to Repair and Electronics. Quarians are master technicians and are experts in dealing with electronics.
* Lack of Biotics: Quarian lack the natural biotic powers and members of their race are never exposed to Element Zero. As such, it is impossible for them to become biotics and use biotic powers, even if feats grant biotic powers are available to them.

* Weakened Immune Systems: Quarians can only get out of their suits in sterile environments. Otherwise they'll contract infections. Any contact with unclain air, dirty surfaces, or even skin from another living being on their own skin is enough to cause a Quarian Infection.

After each battle in which the quarian has taken direct damage to their HP, roll a 1d10. A roll of 1 means the quarian has developed an infection. If the quarian was down in battle, a roll of 2 or lower results in an infection.

If a quarian becomes infected, roll a 1d6 and use the results from the table below. After a long rest, make a Fortitude Save against the infection (DC 15). A successful save clears the infection. If a quarian is still infected after 3 days, a quarian's environmental suit will have adapted to clear out the infection. This comes at a cost to the quarian as she suffers exhaustion (-2 Strength, -2 Dexterity) until the next long rest. Multiple infection can stack although you cannot gain the same type of infection at the same time. In such a case, if you roll the same number twice, reroll the die for a different infection.

An infection can be successfully cured with a successful medicine check of DC 15.

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## Quarian Biology

Quarians are generally shorter and of slighter build than humans. They have an endoskeleton, lips, teeth, and 2 eyes; they also have three thick fingers on each hand which include a thumb and an index finger. Their feet also only have 3 extremities.

The most notable aspect of quarian biology is their weak immune system. As a result, all quarians wear highly sophisticated environmental suits to protect them from disease and infection. Their suits can be compartmentalized in the event of a tear or breach to prevent the spread of contaminants. Their immune system is a direct cause of their extended life aboard the sterile Migrant Fleet. As such, each quarian is given immunizations and vaccinations to help ward off disease if they leave the fleet. Many prefer to stay for the relative safety of life without infection.

If a quarian removes their suit, t hey must take vaccinations, immuno-boosters, herbal supplements, and the like in order to do so safely and even then the risks are not nullified. As a result, physical acts of affection are difficult for quarians, even for the purpose of reproduction. The most intimate act a quarian can do is link their suits; doing so guarantees a quarian gets sick although they will adapt over time.

Like turians, quarians are dextro-protein, meaning they cannot consume levo-protein foods like humans and the asari. If they do consume such foods, it can trigger something as mild as heart ache and indigestion to severe allergic reactions. Quarians who want to taste something other than the food prepared on the fleet usually eat turian cuisine for this reason.

## Quarian History

Hailing from the planet Rannoch, quarians were always a technology gifted species. They created the Geth to be used as labourers and tools of war. Being mindful of Citadel laws against creating artificial intelligence, they kept the Geth programming strictly virtual but because they required the geth to perform more complex tasks they improved the geth by developing a sophisticated neural network. These changes to the geth pushed them into the realm of sentience. This made the quarians feel as though a terrible mistake was made in their creation of a synthetic sentient species and using them for labour, something that would be akin to slavery which was banned by the Council.

Panicked, the quarian government an immediate shutdown of all geth hoping to strike the first blow but they had underestimated their own neural network and how intelligent the geth had become. Their servants defended themselves, resulting in a war that cost billions of quarian lives and drove the quarians from their own homeworld. After being refused aid from the Council, the quarians fled to the Migrant Fleet while the geth took over their systems. The Council stripped the quarians of their embassy on the Citadel for their actions in creating the geth. Ever since, the quarians have spent every skill and resource in preserve live aboard the Migrant Fleet.

Since being expelled from their systems the quarians have been struggling to survive. While most of their efforts have been directed toward surviving and maintaing their species aboard the Migrant Fleet, major thought and effort is spent into strategics on how to return to Rannoch.

## Quarian Culture

One of the factors of life aboard the Fleet is population control. It is illegal for quarian families to have more than one child to maintain a zero population growth so families are small. Combine this with the fact that quarians rely on their communities and neighbors for survival, quarians bond extremely easily compared to other races like the krogan. Loyalty, trust, and cooperation are essential values of their species. Quarians enjoy storytelling and hold dancers in high esteem.

Young quarians go on a rite of passage called a Pilgrimage in which they leave the Migrant Fleet to look for resources, information, or supplies that will be useful for the survival of their species. Their discovery is then presented to the captain of the ship they wish to join as a gift upon the quarian's return. As well as ensuring the future of their species, this promotes genetic diversity by not intermarrying with the crew of their own home ships. It is also seen as an opportunity to explore life outside the fleet.

Aboard ships, quarians are used to dealing with cramped quarters. They place low value on personal space and possessions, evaluating objects by their usefulness, such as items of barter.

Because their suits make it harder to identify individuals, quarians have developed the habit of exchanging names whenever they meet. The suits themselves have gained a significance in quarian society. Quarians do not gain their own suit until adolescence and being fitted with their first suit is considered another rite of passage. After completing their Pilgrimage quarians often change their suit to reflect their newfound maturity.

Their history with the geth and artificial intelligence have created a profound distrust on synthetic creatures, virtual, or artificial intelligence,

## Quarian Economy

The quarians have a very different economic structure to other galactic races. While credits influence what is available in Citadel space, currency is non-existant on the fleet. Quarians value the little space they have above all else so the use for unnecessary items is reduced to a minimum. When a quarian finds an item they do not need, they place it in an open public area for quarian who do need the item in question. Since society is based on honor and loyalty to other quarians, there is rarely any disagreement in this method of trade.

Another method to generate income for the fleet is from strip mining planets and space debris that the quarians pass through with surprising efficacy. Business interests on those planets often will "gift" the quarians ships and supplies in order to usher them away from their resources. Quarians will rarely not accept such gifts as they will use any resources they can to scavenge, repair, and repurpose their own ships.

## Quarian Religion

The quarians used to practice a form of ancestor worship. This involved taking an imprint from the individual and developing it into a VI. The quarians began experimenting with making these imprints more and more sophisticated with the hopes that the wisdom of their ancestors could truly be intelligent or sentient. However, the geth destroyed the quarian's ancestor databanks when they rebelled.

Some quarians see their exile as punishment for their hubris to play god with synthetic life.

## Quarian Language

Each quarian ship is like a new biosphere with evolving language. After a thousands and more years aboard ships, translators were unable to keep up with the ever-evolving vernacular of each quarian dialect. As such, when other races deal with the quarians, specific quarian words will be extracted from the ship dialect to "common quarian" and not directly translated to the listening species.

Common examples are:

* nedas - meaning, nowhere
* tasi - meaning, no one
* vas [ship name] - meaning, crew of [ship name]
* nar [ship name] - meaning, child of [ship name]
* keelah - meaning, common quarian exclamation
* keelah se'lai - meaning, a possible religious used in the same terms as a benediction
* bosh'tet - meaning, a curse/insult, possible in the same meaning as "son-of-a-bitch" or "bastard"

## Quarian Names

Quarian names are composed of four parts

1. The quarian's given name
2. The quarian's clan name
3. "nar" or "vas"
4. the ship they belong to

An example is Hurzi'Follet nar Conquedor

Hurzi being the given name. Follet being the clan name. "nar" being the ship she was born to (and implying she has not completed her pilgrimage). Conquedor being the ship she was born on.

## Quarian Government

There are roughly 17 million quarians on the Migrant Fleet. It is technically under martial law but is now governed by a body known as the Admiralty Board and the democratically-elected Conclave though ship captains and onboard civilian councils tend to address most issues "in-house" before it gets that far.

Although the Conclave establishes civil law much as any planet's democracy would, enforcement and trials are more unique. Policing is maintained by the military who are responsible for taking into custody those accused of crimes. Those accused are detained in military custody before being taken to the ship captain for judgement. While the ship's council may present council to the captain, the judgement ultimately lies on their shoulders alone. Most are lenient, assigning dull or demeaning duties in matters of discipline. Persistant or worse criminals are "accidentally" left on habitable planets.

This practice of leaving their criminals on planets is a point of contention between the quarians and the systems in which they pass through as the systems don't have the enviable position of housing exiles criminals. Offenses that carry exile include murder, treason, sabotage, among others. Quarians do practice capital punishment in extreme cases or in times of mutiny. Offspring of those in exile are welcomed back on the fleet.

## Quarian Galactic Relations

Humans have no formal opinion on the Migrant Fleet as the fleet has not yet passed through any human controlled systems. Other species tend to look down on quarians for several reasons, the foremost being that their race unleashed the Geth upon all the galaxy. Quarians are stereotyped as beggars and thieves. Since they have limited resources on the fleet, quarians strip-mine systems they pass through which puts them at odds with any species currently settled.

Quarians are often hired "on the side" (or under the table) by many entities. Since they are experts at recovering technological data from most electronics, both working and busted, they are valued as maintaining, converting, and recovering technology. Quarians are also the only known species able to recover geth data cores successfully. Others who have tried have had the geth explode, ruining the cores and often the person trying to recover them. Quarians are also able to repair what most would throw away.

## Quarian Military

Many quarian freighters used to be armed and used as privateers. Civilian ships s till show a strong preference for armament, making them unpopular targets for pirates. The warships they do have number in the 100s to protect the tens of thousand civilian ships in the fleet. The quarian military follows strict routines of patrol and take no chances. If approaching ships cannot have their motives ascertained, they will shoot to kill.

Young quarians on their Pilgrimage are given code phrases to repeat upon their return as they often arrive on vessels scavenged or bought unknown to the fleet. One phrase denotes a successful Pilgrimage; another denotes the quarian is returning under duress.