|
Post by Mister Buch on Mar 3, 2011 4:11:29 GMT 1
This is the kind of question most Mass Effect forums would have asked years ago, but not us. We do things in our own way.
Actually I'd like to expand this question - tell me about your Shepards in general! Do you have a 'main' design for the Commander or a favourite, or one feature you always choose?
Male or female? Spacer, Canadian or colonist? Sole Survivor, Rambo or War Criminal? What does he or she look like, and what kind of personality do you like to give them?
What first names have you given him/her?
--
I go for a woman nearly every time, just for Jennifer Hale's performance (although honestly I usually play as a woman in RPGs - I don't know why). I usually pick Earthborn (I find Spacer really dull and uninspiring) and I always find it hard to choose between War Hero and Survivor.
I like my Shep to be unrelentingly preachy and leftist, and yet swear a lot as well. Also in my hands s/he is almost always black. I have no idea. My current model looks vaguely Indian, which I'm happy with. My first Shepard was the classic redhead, so I have a soft spot for her two.
|
|
|
Post by jklinders on Mar 3, 2011 4:31:35 GMT 1
I tend to go with the Colonist Background. For roleplay I think it gives the best motive for an idealist who joined the service to protect others from what Shep went through. Earthborn is an interesting approach as well for a 0 to hero kind of story.
In ME 1 that idealism shines through much the story. In ME 2 My Shep is embittered over how politics got in the way of the need to protect the galaxy best. This shows in a harsher treatment of thugs in the second game though he still does not shoot out of hand. He is still viciously anti-Cerberus but will not brook much more selay from the council or Alliance in doing what needs to be done.
I suck with the character creator so I end up slightly modifying one of the preset characters into some kind of weird combination of my face and my Father's. I tend to create male characters. I have test driven fem-shep a couple of times but I just find myself going back to male characters. I did not have this trouble with KotOR so I think the voiced protagonist has something to do with it.
|
|
|
Post by MarianneClaus on Mar 3, 2011 4:58:35 GMT 1
Ah yes, my beloved Katherine Shepard.
Since Kate's a paragon (playing renegade makes me feel icky inside), she's always an Earth born Sole Survivor (I like the default pre-service history). She's tough but a little broken on the inside; I like to describe her as dancing on broken glass. She's an infiltrator and is very tech-savvy; she sometimes prefers gadgets to people. She's surprisingly not preachy.
I kept her as a redhead; I just made her paler with a slight scar and more delicate facial structure and "Audrey Hepburn" eyes (big). I love Jennifer Hale's preformance myself and think it fits very well with my character.
|
|
|
Post by Clint Johnston on Mar 3, 2011 5:02:01 GMT 1
Being the librarian that I am, my first Shepard was a Earthborn Sole Survivor, My second a Colonial Hero, My third, a Spacer War Criminal
My first Shep was the generic guy, my second a modified generic girl. After the 3rd I got kind of adventurous and messed with the faces a bit. My Renegade guy is a total badass (though I stupidly healed his scars in ME 2) Presently, I'm playing as Abe Lincoln and Megan Fox (using models that someone else came up with and I decided I liked.)
As to faces, I've found that Red Hair is common, and when I create black characters they often have odd features like blue eyes or blonde hair.
Hmm Names. I think the first one was my actual name. then Jane, Then Raoul for my Renegade Male. Then Padme for my renegade female (I screwed up her eyes, and that plus ME2's scars makes her look really freaky) There are two more, but I can't remember what they were.
|
|
|
Post by MarianneClaus on Mar 3, 2011 5:07:41 GMT 1
Hmm Names. I think the first one was my actual name. then Jane, Then Raoul for my Renegade Male. Then Padme for my renegade female (I screwed up her eyes, and that plus ME2's scars makes her look really freaky) There are two more, but I can't remember what they were. Haha. Padme. I grew up on the Star Wars 1-3 films though I've always really loved the originals. I'm a stickler about names. My renegade girl was spacer-ruthless and I named her "Marina", since in Shakespeare's play "Pericles," Marina is the girl born on a storm-tossed ship in the middle of the sea whose mother disappears and then comes back. She wasn't very renegade in the end anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Cali on Mar 3, 2011 7:10:45 GMT 1
Earthborn Sole Survivor for me.
As for Colonist Sole Survivors, that's probably more trauma than one can realistically handle.
|
|
|
Post by Knightfall on Mar 3, 2011 9:08:57 GMT 1
I usually always play the nice guy in ME1; rescuing people when it's feasible, being overly polite to everyone on the ship, letting the Council die because pretty much everything was their fault, and they escaped on the largest ship in the fleet and didn't even try to take civilians with them. Bastards. I'll see them dead fiddy times over.
In ME2, I like to stick close to Cerberus. They suck, but they brought Shepard back to life, and the Alliance continuously writes him off as nothing. Using Spectre status to get discounts in Citadel shops was probably a low point. But he destroys the Collector base because he isn't owned wholesale by Cerberus, and he doesn't like it when his crew says negative things about him after the fact. Bastards. I'll see them dead fiddy times over in ME3.
I usually pick male Shepard, since it's been hard for me to roleplay as a female character lately (even though both my original Revan and Exile were female), and my main Shepard somehow looks like an Asian Ben Affleck. Really not sure how that happened. =S
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Glow on Mar 3, 2011 10:57:01 GMT 1
My main Shepard is a female Ruthless Earthborn type. I like to play these thing neutral, but BioWare make it very hard to play Mass Effect (especially ME2), without being fully Paragon or Renegade, thanks to the Persuade/Intimidate system. I don't like playing Paragon because some of the sappier Paragon choices (like letting that young Eclipse merc on Illium walk away scot free. She'd obviously murdered someone just to get into that gang.) don't really fit with someone who essentially kills people for a living and falls in with terrorists without more than five minutes grousing. And it's impossible to take any Renegade options seriously, because frankly, they are hilarious (pushing that guy out of a window and making a quip that would've made Schwarzenegger groan.)
I tend to accept bribes and convince people to give out bigger rewards. (I'd want all the cash I could get my hands on if I was on a mission like Shepard's)
Killed the council on my first playthrough without much thought. With hindsight, it's easy to know nothing changes no matter what you pick, but the first time round, I thought it was idiotic to literally risk trillions of lives to save three politicans and a few thousand soldiers. Looking back, how is that even the Paragon choice?
|
|
|
Post by Rascarin on Mar 3, 2011 11:26:21 GMT 1
I almost always go for Colonist Survivor. Colonist because I absolutely *LOVE* the mission "I remember me", and survivor because... it seems most badass.
Almost always play as female and soldier, too, but the exact specifics of renegade/paragon change from playthrough to playthrough.
|
|
|
Post by Tillian Panthesis on Mar 3, 2011 12:01:56 GMT 1
I go for Colonist and War Hero. I choose the colonist origin because it seem to be an interesting backstory in a 'misery builds the character' kind of a way. Plus I love the 'I remember me" quest. So heartbreaking and one of the few sides quests are well written. Why we don't have these side quests that brilliantly written in ME2? BioWare better have something up their sleeves in ME3.
For the War Hero well... kinda fits my Shepard in a sense that her main goal in life is to protect the human colonies, as a redemption for not being able to save her loved ones back then.
I tended to keep the paragon side for this Shepard, Only added a few renegade snide remarks to make her like a jerkass on the outside, but ultimately a 'jerkass with a heart of gold' just to make her character more interesting.
And my favourite Shepard is always a 'she'.
|
|
|
Post by Mister Buch on Mar 3, 2011 20:33:03 GMT 1
but the first time round, I thought it was idiotic to literally risk trillions of lives to save three politicans and a few thousand soldiers. Looking back, how is that even the Paragon choice? Good point. This almost spoils the story for me. As it happens, I do save the council, nearly every time - but not because I think the 'sacrifice' is the right thing to do. Just because I cannot abide to end the adventure with Ambassador Udina and the humans running the damned Citadel.
|
|
|
Post by Cali on Mar 3, 2011 20:44:55 GMT 1
For a while, I actually considered a Ruthless Shepard who was deeply remorseful of what he/she did at Torfan, and went on the Paragon path. I wasn't entirely sure if there were dialogue options that toed the line with this, so I scrapped the idea entirely.
|
|
|
Post by Mister Buch on Mar 3, 2011 20:57:02 GMT 1
That's a very interesting idea. I wonder if you can do that, as you say.
|
|
|
Post by Warhammer Gorvar on Jun 21, 2011 0:04:17 GMT 1
I'm a bit late to to the party...but what the hey.
I picked an Paragon Earthborn War Hero Vanguard. I always see my shepard as a leader who leads his squad into battle, starting off from mere punks on Earth and then move up to Alliance Marines to Krogans/Asari/quarians/salarians. He's also fiercely loyal to his own and make sure they are looked after, but if you piss him off you are on your own.
Also it explains why shepard dropped Liara for Tali since he is a bit of a player ;D
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Glow on Jun 21, 2011 0:51:15 GMT 1
He's also fiercely loyal to his own and make sure they are looked after, but if you piss him off you are on your own. Also it explains why shepard dropped Liara for Tali since he is a bit of a player ;D Sure it does. Sure it does...
|
|