C h a r a c t e r C r e at i o n
DESCRIBE YOUR SQUAD. Start by discussing with the group
U L T R A L I G H T
In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an
ancient spacefaring civilization. In the decades that followed,
these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies,
enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible
technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space
and time. They called it the greatest discovery in human history.
The civilizations of the galaxy call it mass effect.
H o w to P l ay
CREATE A CHARACTER. Follow the rules on this page to
define what your character can do and, no less important,
what compels them to seek adventure. Your character will be a
protagonist in a story you tell together with the other players.
PLAY LIKE A CONVERSATION. You will narrate what your
character does. The GM (game master) will say how the
supporting characters and physical world respond to your
actions. Take turns describing who does what. The GM will try
to ensure that every protagonist has time in the spotlight.
ROLL THE DICE. When you take a risk, the GM may tell you
that you need to roll two 6-sided dice (2d6). Add the sum of
the dice to your most relevant ability: Fitness for strength,
speed, and coordination; Insight for awareness, analysis, and
understanding; or Will for discipline, resolve, and coercion
(or +0 if nothing at all seems relevant). Only the players of
protagonists roll, even when supporting characters act.
On a 10 or higher, you succeed without complication.
On a 7–9, you partially succeed, facing complications such as
taking damage, making less progress than hoped, or putting
yourself in a difficult situation.
On a 6 or less, you miss, and something goes wrong. The GM
will describe the fallout.
If you have an advantage—whether through external
circumstances or an edge from your own traits—the GM may
tell you to roll an extra die and keep the best 2 (or, if you have
a disadvantage, roll an extra die and keep the worst 2).
Experience & levels
EXPERIENCE. You start at level 1 and gain levels by earning
what kind of team you’ll be putting together. Spacefaring
troubleshooters in service of the galactic Council? A military or
mercenary unit? Shadow Broker agents? A freelance salvage
and smuggling crew? Researchers exploring beyond the mass
relays? Just make sure you’re all on the same page in terms of
teamwork and tone—dark, comedic, adventurous, etc. Then
coordinate the following choices with the other players to
make sure everyone’s character is unique.
NAME YOUR CLASS. Your class is made up of two parts. The
first is your species, which includes any special features you
recall from the video games. (Asari are naturally biotic and can
join minds; krogan heal quickly and have redundant organs;
salarians and drell have perfect recall; and so on.) The second
part of class is specialization, indicating a focus in one or two
areas: Combat, Biotics, or Tech, which determines which talents
you can learn. Combine these to make a catchy class name, like
Asari Justicar, Krogan Battlemaster, or Turian Renegade.
DESCRIBE YOUR REPUTATION. What are you known for? This
might change during play—you may start as The Butcher of
Torfan, Archangel, or Subject Zero, but they’ll remember you
differently if you achieve a title like The First Human Spectre.
DESCRIBE YOUR PROFILE. If reputation is just what’s on the
outside, profile is what’s beneath the surface. Are you Reckless?
A Natural Diplomat? It’ll make roleplaying easier if you pick a
characteristic that draws you into adventure (or trouble).
ASSIGN ABILITIES. Assign scores to your Fitness, Insight,
and Will. Their combined score must add up to +1, with none
starting above +2 or below –1.
CHOOSE TALENTS. You start with 3 talents from your
specializations, including the Mastery talent for any you
specialize in. (So if you specialize in both Biotics and Tech, for
instance, you get Biotic Mastery, Tech Mastery, and one other
talent from either of those.) You can gain more as you play.
CHOOSE GEAR. Start with 10,000 credits or the standard
loadout: pistol, light armor, an omni-tool with a dose of medi-
gel, and items from your specializations (weapons and armor
from Combat Mastery, a military-grade omni-tool from Tech
Mastery, and/or a standard bio-amp from Biotic Mastery).
FINAL TOUCHES. Choose a unique name and describe a
couple distinctive features (e.g., claw-mark scars, intricate
tattoos, piercing eyes, crisp uniform). There’s also space on the
character sheet for an illustration.
Design by Jason Tocci. Rules from Apocalypse World by D. Vincent Baker and World of Dungeons by John Harper. Mass Effect is © and ™ BioWare and EA, used without permission.
experience points (XP). For each assignment you complete
(generally not more than 1 per session), gain 1 XP. When you
complete a number of assignments equal to your current level,
advance to the next level and reset XP to 0. Major missions
may grant an immediate level without resetting XP.
PROGRESS. When you gain a level, you may choose to gain +1
to Fitness, Insight, or Will, learn a new talent, or upgrade a talent.
Each time you upgrade a talent, you may add or improve a tag
on it (like targeting a cluster of enemies instead of just one, or
a whole area instead of just a cluster), or propose to the GM a
new use for it (like using Barrier to block gunshots with Will).
Damage & Healing
ATTACKING & DAMAGE. When one character successfully
attacks another, the target loses health equal to the damage
indicated by attacker’s weapon or talent. (Unarmed attacks
do 1 damage.) If the target has a shield, deduct damage from
that—even 1 shield is enough to stop an attack. If the target is
wearing armor with resistance, subtract the “resist” value from
damage before applying it to health. At 0 health, you’re down
but not dead, and can be revived with medi-gel. (Enemies at 0
health might not be so lucky if you’re not careful.)
REST & HEALING. Health is fully restored with one night’s
rest. One dose of medi-gel refills half your health, rounded up.
(It’s free from clinics and common in first aid kits, but you can
only hold 1 dose without upgrades.) Shields refill automatically
outside combat. If you use a talents that says “rest before
reuse,” put an “X” beside it on your character sheet and don’t
use it until you have a few moments to catch your breath.
PARAGON & RENEGA D E
EARNING POINTS. When you need to make a tough call, the
GM may offer a choice: take a paragon point to do the noble
thing, a renegade point to do whatever it takes, or take 1 XP
to come up with a third option.
INTERRUPTS. Spend paragon points to help solve problems
through charm and heroism, and renegade points to solve
problems through intimidation and violence. Each point
spent improves the result of a roll by 1 step per point, raising
a miss to a partial success, partial to full, or even full success to
something spectacular. You can hold up to 10 points at once.
 C o m b at Ta l e n t s
n COMBAT MASTERY. You can use medium armor and any 2
from heavy armor, sniper rifle, shotgun, sword, assault rifle.
ARMS MASTER. You can use any weapon or armor.
q ELECTRONICS. Roll at an advantage when repairing or
ADRENALINE RUSH. Add +1d6 to a Fitness or Will roll.
q
Rest before reuse.
MARKSMAN. When you roll a 10+ with a precise gun,
q
instead of choosing a hit location, you can fire again at an
advantage until you roll under a 10. Rest before reuse.
CARNAGE. Rig a gun to blast at a cluster of enemies for
q
+1d6 burning damage. Rest before reuse.
MARTIAL ARTIST. Deal +1 damage unarmed. You can
q
reroll 7–9’s on melee attacks as you block and counter.
ASSASSINATION. +1d6 damage vs. unaware targets.
q
SHOCK TROOPER. Gain +1 damage resistance.
q holographic illusion, up to the size of a person.
COMMANDO. Deal +1 damage with all weapons.
q
B i o t i c Ta l e n t s
n BIOTIC MASTERY. Use your Will to move objects with your
mind, punch at +1 damage, or move with unnatural speed.
THROW. Send targets flying. Enemies take 1+ forceful
q
damage from fall/collision.
T e ch Ta l e n t s Gear
n TECH MASTERY. Use your Insight and your omni-tool to PISTOL (5k). 2 damage, precise.
hack, scan, and remotely activate allies’ medi-gel.
SMG (5k). 2 damage, auto.
q
ASSAULT RIFLE (6k). 3 damage, auto. Requires training.
tinkering hands-on with tech outside of combat.
SNIPER RIFLE (7k). 4 damage, precise, far. Requires training.
DECRYPTION. Roll at an advantage when bypassing
q
security measures outside of combat (e.g., unlocking doors, SHOTGUN (6k). 4 damage. Requires training.
disarming traps, retrieving encoded data).
SWORD (5k). 3 damage, messy. Requires training.
OVERLOAD. Roll Insight to deliver a shock, disabling
q
common electronics or to dealing 1 damage (or 3 damage LIGHT ARMOR (5k). 3 shields. Can pass as street clothes.
vs. shields and synthetics). MEDIUM ARMOR (7k). 4 shields, 1 damage resistance. Looks
SABOTAGE. Roll Insight to momentarily make a
q obviously like armor. Rquires training.
computerized system go haywire. Synethetics may attack HEAVY ARMOR (10k). 5 shields, 2 damage resistance. Looks
indiscriminately and firearms may backfire (2 damage). and feels heavy, limits speed & stealth. Requires training.
DECOY. Roll Insight to create an animated, stationary, silent
q GRENADES (5k). 3 damage, area, messy. Variants include
flashbangs (0 damage, momentarily stun), incendiary grenades
DRONE. You can deploy a single holographic drone capable
q (burning), cryo grenades (chills and weakens), etc.
of engaging enemies (1 damage close-range shock), AMMO MODS (5k). Add a tag (like burn) to a weapon attack.
provide limited recon in nearby range, or be sacrificed to
take a hit for you or an ally within close range of it. WEAPON MODS (2–5k). Add a tag, bonus, or use to a weapon,
like allowing a gun to act like a melee weapon (2 damage), or
MEDIC. Medi-gel you administer refills health completely.
q increasing range with a scope (far).
OPERATIVE. Deal +1 damage with omni-tool attacks.
q COOLDOWN MODULE (10k). Armor/omni-tool/bio-amp
upgrade. Once per scene, reuse a talent that requires rest.
TAGS SHIELD BATTERY (10k). +1 max shield per upgrade, up to 10.

BARRIER. Gain +2 shields. Rest before reuse.

q TECH ARMOR (10k). +1 damage resistance while active. Purge
AP. Ignores 1 or more points of resistance. for 2 damage in a cluster. Rest before reactivating.
PULL. Yank person-sized targets upwards and/or toward
q
you, leaving people floating helplessly for a moment. AREA. Affects everyone within several meters of target. MOTORIZED JOINTS (7k). +1 melee damage.

WARP. Attack by distorting targets on a molecular level for

q AUTO. Spray at clusters or keep damaging after shields break. SHOCK ABSORBERS (5k). Ignore lifting/forceful effects.
2 damage, leaving target weakened to physical attacks. BURN. Deals ongoing damage until fire is out. MEDI-GEL UPGRADE (5k). Increase medi-gel capacity by 1,
STASIS. Roll Will to wrap a target in an immobilizing,
q CHILL. Slows all targets, freezes/weakens unshieded targets. up to a capacity of 5. Note new capacity on character sheet.
3-shield barrier until the barrier wears off or is destroyed. INCINERATE (7k). Roll Insight to attack (2 damage, burning).
CLUSTER. Affects targets within a couple meters of impact.
SHOCKWAVE. Roll Will to unleash a wave of 3 forceful
q Requires Tech specialization.
damage to everyone before you. Rest before reuse. FAR. Can affect targets up to hundreds of meters away.
CRYO-BLAST (7k). Roll Insight to attack (chill, cluster). Requires
SINGULARITY. Roll Will to create a point of gravity that
q FORCEFUL. Pushes, staggers, and/or knock down. Tech specialization.
draws everything in a cluster into it. MESSY. Leaves nasty injuries that can’t be cured by medi-gel. TACTICAL CLOAK (10k). Grant momentary invisibility. Rest to
BASTION. Gain +1 shield to biotically-created barriers.
q recharge before reuse. Requires Tech specialization.
PRECISE. Specify a hit location on a 10+ roll.
NEMESIS. Deal +1 damage with your biotic attacks.
q VI ASSISTANT (5k). Helpful for organization and research.
WEAKEN. Target takes +1 dmg from subsequent hits.
SPACE HAMSTER (1k). Good for morale.
NAME REPUTATION PROFILE

CLASS TALENTS FITNESS

–1 +0 +1 +2 +3

INSIGHT

–1 +0 +1 +2 +3

WILL

–1 +0 +1 +2 +3

GEAR SHIELDS RESIST

HEALTH MEDI-GEL

CREDITS LEVEL XP