Fantasy Mass Effect d20

[Yora]

Fantasy Mass Effect d20


Medieval Salarian by DaveRapoza

Like Star Wars, Mass Effect really works a lot like many fantasy settings with lots of high tech gaedgets thrown in. The technobabble is much more up to date for the 2010s, but it's still about gathering the free people of the galaxy to fight against demon abomination from outer space and the distant past, and their endless hordes of zombies. And I really like the setting.

This isn't intended to be actually used as a campaign, but rather to see what interesting and possibly new things one can find for fantasy worlds, once the layer of high-tech is removed. I like how the setting is designed and I really would like to figure out what things once can take from it to make a fantasy setting with a similar feel. I just found out that the wonderful world of Dark Sun is pretty much a straight adaptation of a 100 year old science-fiction novel with some new things thrown in. So why not see what happens when you do something similar again?

For practical reasons, basically the SRD and the fact that I know the system inside out, this will be d20 based. Mostly D&D 3.5e with a good measure of Pathfinder thrown in.

First, a tally of what things need to be converted:

Races

• Asari
• Batarian
• Drell
• Elcor
• Geth
• Hanar
• Human
• Krogan
• Quarian
• Salarian
• Turian
• Volus
• Vorcha

Classes

• Adept
• Engineer
• Infiltrator
• Sentinel
• Soldier
• Vanguard

Maybe the special classes for the species get some kinds of specialization if it seems worth the extra work.

Monsters

• Abomination (Exploding Husk)
• Ardat-Yakshi
• Banshee (Asari Husk)
• Brute (Krogan Husk)
• Cannibal (Batarian Husk)
• Collector
• Geth Armature
• Geth Colossus
• Geth Destroyer
• Harvester (Flying Husk)
• Husk
• Keeper
• Marauder (Turian Husk)
• Rachni Soldier
• Rachni Worker
• Ravager (Rachni Soldier Husk)
• Scion (Greater Husk)
• Swarmer (Rachni Worker Husk)
• Varren
• And of course the Greater and Lesser Reaper and Thresher Maw, just for the heck of it.

Other Stuff

• Biotics
• Equipment
• Planets

[Yora]

So some first thoughts from me:

I know, that's me. But I think something pre-medieval would work well here. Since we always just get to see a single location on every planet, the planets could indeed be single cities and towns. And I think something like the Greek City states could work really quite well. Also, this would make it easier to have massive stretches of unpopulated land and sea between them and effectively make each location a planet isolated from the others.
And since we're already talking about the Aegean Sea here, space ships can easily be turned into regular ships. Not every location needs to be an island, but with no roads, going down the river, along the coast, and up another river would probably still be much faster than carrying goods on mules through the wilderness.

Asari: I think their strange biology doesn't work in a more mundane fantasy setting. I think it's much better to have them be a normal race with males and females and they are just so androgynous and egalitarian that it doesn't really make a difference. Unless some people demand really loudly that you absolutely can't have Asari that are not able to reproduce with everything that talks.
The natural magic ability is easy.
Salarians: I really would like to avoid steam machines. So instead maybe make the Salarians alchemists? There's a lot of crazy stuff you can do with that.
Geth: I suppose the geth could be some kind of warforged, but personally I'd prefer a race of aberrations based on primitive creatures.
Quarians: The big question is "Alchemy or Magic"? With Asari there's already a naturally magical race, but Salarians might be hogging alchemy equally well. Maybe something completely else, but I would rather keep things simple.
Hanar: I don't have a single clue...

Soldier: Basic fighter, good enough.
Engineer: Just take a rogue.
Infiltrator: Ranger wouldn't be bad, I think.
Adept: I am very much for psion. Biotics is Psionics and there aren't really that many psi-only settings around anyway.
Vanguard: Psychic Warrior of course!
Sentinel: I am not sure. I think I would give Wilder a shot. I never had Kaidan and Jacob for a moment more than I really have to. But Wilders have psionics and some hit points, skills, weapons, and armor. Maybe someone has some cool ideas for an alternative to Wild Surge?

Husks: Come on, guys! Undead!!!
Reapers: Undead Aberration Outsider Constructs. No clue how, but somehow it has to be made to work.

[Yora]

Races
First draft.
Since in D&D humans are generally considered to be by far superior to anything else, having a few races with +2 to two ability scores and -2 to one ability score should be okay, if they don't have any other special features.
Many races still need more features to make them somewhat balanced.

Does anyone know of a good d20 conversion for compairison?

Asari

• +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength, -2 Constitution
• Speed: 30 feet.
• Low-light vision
• Naturally Psionic: Asari gain 2 bonus power points at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.

Batarian

• +2 Strength, -2 Charisma
• Speed: 30 feet.
• Extra Eyes: This feature of its anatomy gives a batarian a +2 racial bonus on Spot checks.
• +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear.

Drell

• +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma
• Speed: 30 feet.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• +2 racial bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks.
• +1 Natural Armor.
• Fire Acclimated: Drell have a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against all fire spells and effects. Drell are accustomed to enduring high temperatures.

Human

• Speed: 30 feet.
• Extra Feat: 1 extra feat at 1st level.
• Extra Skill Points: 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level.

Krogan

• +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence
• Speed: 30 feet.
• +2 Natural Armor.
• Weapon Familiarity: Krogans may treat hand axes, batleaxes, greataxes, short swords, longswords, scrimitars, falchions, and greatswords as simple weapons.
• Powerful Build: The physical stature of krogans lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger.
• Whenever a krogan is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the krogan is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him.
• A krogan is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A krogan can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.
• +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear.

Quarian

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution
• Speed: 30 feet.
• Low-light vision

Salarian

• +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution
• Speed: 30 feet.
• Low-light vision
• Breath underwater: Salarians can breath in water as well as air.

Turian

• Speed: 30 feet.
• +2 Natural Armor.
• Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: All turians are proficients with all simple weapons, light armor, and shields (except tower shields).

Volus

• +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength
• Small: As a Small creature, a volus gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
• Speed: 20 feet. However, volus can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).

[Domriso]

I would actually argue that the Asari should remain unisexed. It was one of the more interesting aspects of the race, and I think it could be imported fairly wholesale to a fantasy setting without issue.

The races as you present them seem pretty good. My only question would be why did you give the Drell a -2 to Charisma?

I've also been attempting to think of interesting things to give to the different races. This is what I've got so far:

Drell
The Drell are special because they have perfect memory. I would give some form of ability that grants bonuses to Knowledge checks, and maybe give a negative ability related to their tendency towards solipsism.

Krogan
One of my favorite parts of the Krogan is their multiple organ system redundancy. Having two nervous systems, two hearts, four testicles, and more makes them very hard to kill. I would give them some form of Fortification ability, since if one organ is damaged there's others to take over. Maybe give them immunity to death from massive damage, or a resistance of some form, since it would be much harder to kill them in that way.

Quarians
The Quarians are natural technicians, so I would try to give them bonuses to the Craft skill, and maybe some form of bonuses to magic items? Haven't thought this one through as much.

As for the rest, nothing comes immediately to mind. However, what about statting up more of the races? The Geth would be a fun one, and the Vorcha are creepily interesting. The Yahg would work perfectly as an orc or ogre stand-in. The elcor are one of my favorite races of all, though they might be weird to stat up. The Hanar are strange as well, but could be interesting as aquatic races. In addition, the Protheans would be a great Elf-stand in, and the Rachni would make a fun non-humanoid race.

I'll try to think of other abilities as well.

[SamBurke]

First, I fully support this idea and this project.

Second... how are you going to have this work in a fantasy setting? Is it all going to be one massive planet? How will the whole storyline of a number of races work? (IE, the Krogan being made by the Salarians, the Genophage, the Omega4, the relays themselves).

I think it could be pretty awesome, though...

[Luzahn]

For Drell, maybe +2 to any knowledge, -2 concentration?

And the Volus never seemed abnormally intelligent, certainty not to Salarian levels. Maybe give them Charisma instead, to reflect their skill as merchants?
An appraise bonus would suit them as well.

[SamBurke]

Also, a further question. ME 1, 2, and 3 had some drastic differences. First, in art style, second, in play locations, and finally, in tone. The first game was dramatic, but in the way that a better-written Star Trek would have been. It was talky and techy, with some moral choices in there and interesting things. TWO, though, kicked it up into a dire level, as you have to maneuver the people on your crew, decide the fate of thousands of sentient beings, and save the galaxy, from the go. Oh, and come back from the dead.

Three... well that's obviously different.

So the question is, which tone are you going for? I prefer 2, as you can't have a constant world of 3 without dumbing down the impact, and One didn't have the moral punchiness. Still, just asking what sort of tone you want the world (planets?) to set.

[Domriso]

Right, so this is the fruits of my research.

Elcor
The Elcor at first seem somewhat opposed to being a playable race, but I think they'd be a fun one. Standing on their balled up fists, the Elcor move slowly compared to other races. Give them Stability, 20 feet speed, a bonus to Strength and Constitution, but a penalty to Dexterity and Charisma (since they can't express normal behaviors), and the Scent ability and you probably have a good race.

Hanar
The best way to use the Hanar, in my opinion, would be to make them an aquatic race. Give them a Swim speed, bonuses to Appraise, a unique language (it's based on bioluminescence), and a natural toxin attack and you're good. In Mass Effect, the Hanar use technology to generate mass effect fields to float, so I would say give them a somewhat advanced magical culture that has allowed them to move outside of the water, but very slowly.

Keepers
This is a weird one, but I would love to see the Keepers (pre-Reaper influence) as a race. Obviously they are tauric creatures, almost like a reversed Thri-keen. Make them insectoid, minorly telepathic, with bonuses to Craft (and maybe some other additions) and a bonus to Will saves, and you've got a unique race.

Krogan
In addition to my previous comments on the Krogan's organ redundancy, another nice feature is their hump, which serves the same purpose as a camel's. Giving some kind of elongated survival ability would fit this well, because they store nutrients in their hump.

Salarians
Right off the bat, these guys are fun. Hyper-metabolism, so much so that they require only 1 hour of sleep a day, should make for a useful trait.

The other fun fact is that they possess photographic memories; not like the Drell's eidetic memory, which experience memories as real life, but simply the ability to memorize information well.

Turians
While the Turians do possess a metallic exoskeleton, they also possess talons on both their feet and hands. I'd add a natural attack to them and call it a day.

Vorcha
I love the Vorcha, because they're creepy, adaptive and dangerous. I mean, look at those teeth! Their natural healing rate is much higher than a normal creatures, though not really fast healing or regeneration level. I'd throw a much higher natural healing rate, immunity to disease, and then a special ability something like this:

Adaptivity: The Vorcha's body has evolved to quickly adapt to external stimuli, in a manner quick enough to allow them to survive in dangerous environments. So long as a Vorcha spends at least one month in a dangerous environment, they gain the ability to survive in that environment. This applies to normal environments and planar environments.

In addition, the Vorcha can artificially use this ability to reinforce themselves. By specifically damaging themselves in strategic ways, a Vorcha can gain one of the following abilities, but can only possess one at any point in time. It takes a week of constant application to change this bonus:

Elemental Resistance (Acid, Cold, Electricity, Fire, Negative Energy, Positive Energy, Sonic)
Damage Reduction 3/ (Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing)
+5 bonus to poisons

----

That's what I've got now. I'm still looking around, so I might add onto this later.

[Luzahn]

Note that the metallic Turian skin doesn't provide natural armor. From a wiki:

"Their reflective plate-like skin makes turians less susceptible to long-term, low-level radiation exposure, but they do not possess any sort of "natural armor"."

You could work something in with the reflectiveness, though. Turian are also notably disciplined, coming from that martial culture; We could give them a bonus to will save.


And for the Hanar, they are the most religious species in Mass Effect, we could give them bonuses to that instead of arcane sources of land survival. Blessings of the gods, and so forth.

[Yora]

Originally Posted by Domriso

Quarians
The Quarians are natural technicians, so I would try to give them bonuses to the Craft skill, and maybe some form of bonuses to magic items? Haven't thought this one through as much.

Making them some kind of smiths and miners like dwarves could be a really cool idea.

In d20, even horses and ogres get a natural armor bonus, so I think giving one to turians is quite justified. This would be swords and arrows, not hypersonic tungsten particles fired by mass accelerators.

Making Krogans exactly as described would probably demand a huge Level Adjustment and I would like to avoid that. Though in their case, racial paragon levels might be neccessary.

[The-Mage-King]

Sentinel is definitely Psy Rogue.



Kroooooooggggggaaaaaaaannnnnnn!

Definitely need a racial paragon class. Somewhere in the 5-6 level range. So that at low levels someone could, in fact, be pure KROOOOOOOOOOOGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNN!

Ahem.


Turians, maybe a small amount of SR, or deflection bonus against rays?


You also would need Protheans.


Because Jamacian accent, mon.

[Luzahn]

Would giving the Krogan an additional -2 to wisdom balance it out, or are we just making it better for min/maxing? I mean, they did nuke their homeworld into oblivion.

Removing the weapon familiarity could also help. The Krogan are violent, but they have never been depicted as particularly skilled with weaponry. They rely on their own physical prowess.

[awa]

personally when i think about the Asari i think about their mono gender it's really their defining feature otherwise their just another magically inclined race. i would make them fae or something and have their reproductive cycle be explicitly magical.

I think many of these races could benefit from some paragon levels or higher la so you could give them more of the racial abilities associated with them.
krogan in particular should have massive str scores and high fortification and possible ferocity or rage.

[The-Mage-King]

Pic related.

Now, more stuff. I think Asari should have a floating ability bonus, if they remain the "Can produce child with anyone" species. That fits the idea fairly well.


Protheans, maybe something like +Dex, +Int, -Cha, and given some weapon profs/other benefits for Proud Warrior Race.

[Yora]

Sorry about not replying as much as I wanted to. I am in the middle of moving and starting at a new university, so I never know how much time and focus I have for certain things.
But for my part, this was started mostly as a kind of brainstorming anyway, so feel free to run with it and make up stats as you like, it wouldn't be interfering with anything I have planned.

[Cyclone231]

I think an important point about this setting is the geography. Are we going with the traditional fantasy continental map, maybe with a mediterranean-type "lake"? Or an archipelago design? The discovery of new peoples who have never been met before is much more appropriate for an archipelago map, but on the other hand, might actually render the exercise fairly pointless. If you just relabel "planet" as "island," then the whole story won't need to change much, but if an actual continent-type map is used, more thought needs to be put into changing the history of the world.

Ideas:
- Krogan as Foederati, hired initially by the Salarians. They become overrelied upon and nearly destroy the Citadel (or whatever we're calling the tripartite alliance of turian/asari/salarian), much like what happened in the very last days of the Roman Empire. Instead, the turians enact some kind of magical curse, originally devised by the salarians.

- Obviously, the turians are not!Romans (highly militarized society with a strong emphasis on meritocracy, law and order, and an egalitarian legal system) and the asari are not!Greeks (republican city-states in loose federations). The salarians seem like fairly strong monarchists with dynastic politics. Perhaps they could be excellent sailors, rather than just intelligencers, so that they have some serious military capability. Krogans are tribal clans, perhaps germanic or pictish in culture and typology.

- Deities. There are some established religions in the main peoples of the game, but they tend to follow the real world policy of having contradictory conceptions of the divine. The asari could have a combined monistic/henotheistic faith where they believe the goddess Athame is sort of their ticket to enlightenment, but other peoples may have other ways; alternatively, the worship of their racial deity (Athame) is contrasted with a new, philosophical religion (siarism). The turians are fairly into ancestor worship/animism, maybe draw on the Nyambe orisha system there. The salarians seem fairly atheistic, so they could just be left that way, perhaps with some minor adjustments to account for a world where the gods are obviously real.

- Afterlife. A big can of worms. Known afterlives, especially afterlives which clearly have a sorting method very strongly encourage behavior in accordance with the rules of sorting (adoption of a particular deity, behaving in a Good way to get the Good afterlife, etc). Reincarnation, de facto nonexistence (e.g. Dolurrh), or simply an unknown afterlife (which gods don't make claims about), works best, I think.

[Arathnos]

I skimmed and didn't see anyone address this, but I'll admit I didn't look nearly close enough. I'm currently on my phone, so I'll check back later, but on the topic of the Mass Relays;

I have been toying with the idea of doing a Fantasy Mass Effect for a while, even got my players to express their interest in it. The way I was going to approach the different planets and relays was to have a very large planet, earthlike in nature, but something closer to the size of Jupiter. The many different planets, at least the important ones like the various homeworlds, would be supercontinents.

The relays themselves would be ancient teleportation circles, like the ones seen here. The citadel would be some ancient, magic powered fortress, perhaps floating if you really want to give it that otherworldly, forgotten feel.

[Domriso]

So, here is the results of my research over the past few days. Most of it is direct facts, some of it is assumptions I've made because of lack of information. Then I have how I would implement the fantasy-versions of the Mass Effect races underneath them.

My take on the Fantasy Mass Effect is that the different races evolved separately on the same world, ya know, basic fantasy genre. I’m assuming there is some form of planar arrangement, but I’m not assuming anything specific about it except that they somehow exist and can be traveled to (and, my personal thought is that the Reapers would make perfect creatures from the Far Realm or a similar locale). So, that is how I am informing my fantasifying of the many races.

As for the actual set up of the world, I do like the archipelago idea, or at least continents that are largely separated. The Relays would work perfectly in this sense as being massive teleportation rings that allow travel between continents (you could go with the idea that it took a certain amount of intellectual progress before they figured out what the teleportation rings did, or how to activate them).

Religion is another interesting topic. I almost always treat religion as an unknowable. Divine beings might exist and appear, but they do not necessarily confirm or deny any religion, mostly because the divine beings that appear are not the deities themselves, but just angels or the like.

Looking at the Mass Effect races and their mythologies (which I detail more below), the interesting part is that most of it seems very vague. Even the most religion, the hanar, mostly preach worship from afar. Look at the batarians; all we know of them is that they have a coded book of religious text. That's like saying that Christians have a bible. Very, very vague.

Spoiler

Asari

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Research

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Habitat: Largely unknown; presumably Earth-like based on Mass Effect 3 and Thessia from orbit
Biology: Very biotic, otherwise much like humans; possess a very unique reproduction cycle; they possess a natural bionic aura that makes all living creatures find the asari rather attractive (though this is by no means a charm-effect); they live for around 1000 years;
Government: Most asari are governed by those who have achieved the Matriarch stage, becoming “wise women” to the other asari. There is very little infighting amongst the asari, because of their ability to share memories. Instead, bartering and the like is a more common form of communication
Religion: A pantheistic belief system, the asari beliefs roughly are “all is one;” everything is connected, the world is a consciousness, and spiritual energy is something that is passed on to others after death
Social Structure: The asari are a very long lived race, and as such, they tend to have a very different view on life than others, an extended one, like their lifespans. They are very communal, choosing to be together over alone. They tend to defer to older judgment, since Matriarchs are usually at least 700 years old. Their ability to transfer memories also allows them to reach understandings somewhat more easily than others.
Military: Asari are not the most physical adept of races, but neither are they the weakest. However, being naturally biotically inclined, asari are some of the best at using their talents at for nearly everything. This includes combat and war. The asari commandos are some of the most dangerous and feared fighters in the world. In a one-on-one fight, the asari often win. But, in war, the asari units are not usually used for front line warfare. Instead, they focus on espionage and special operation missions.

Fantasy Asari

Spoiler

The asari were one of the first races to achieve FTL travel, advanced in biotics, and basically one of the head races. In a fantasy setting, I image they would have roughly the same prominence, especially since the lack of firearms would put them at a major advantage with their biotics. In fact, with the ability to lift very heavy objects and to protect themselves from damage, they really would likely be the preeminent race in terms of their capabilities. Combined with the way they can share memories, their culture is likely much more advanced than others of the same age. Really, these are the arrogant, highfalutin elf-analogues of the setting.

Since the asari appear to live in the same climates as humans do, I assume they would likely be fairly technologically advanced, focused on advancing their empire in as least destructive way as possible.

Batarian

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Research

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Habitat: The batarians live in a rather human-like, temperate environment (as far as I can tell), but their added eyes provide additional ability to spot danger, and possibly see into other spectrums.
Biology: Possessing two sets of eyes, the batarians also sport fine hairs on their faces, though not to the extent of growing beards.
Government: The batarians are a very paranoid lot, being warlike and often hostile. While powerful at one point, they have degraded into some forms of chaos after being attacked by the other races. Though now not as in control as before, the Batarian Hegemony still rules its own people with great control, urging isolation and avoidance of other races.
Religion: The majority of batarians practice a form of civil religion, one informed and disseminated by the Hegemony. The religion is largely unknown to outsiders, but is centered around a primary religious text called the Pillars of Strength, a religious document that details how the batarians are supposed to live and exist.
An interesting aspect of the batarian religion is the belief that the soul exits through the eyes. As such, the treatment of a batarian corpse is considered largely unimportant, unless the eyes are disturbed.
Social Structure: The batarians adhere to a rigid social caste structure, one in which slavery plays an integral role. Attempting to escape ones social caste is considered extremely insulting, and extreme punishment is used to deal with anyone who tries to engineer such a change. Furthermore, subtle body language is extremely important to batarian social interaction.
Military: Very little is known about the batarian military, but what is known is rather brutal. The batarian military is known to have produced quite a bit of useful hardware, but they are such a cloistered people that outside observance is difficult.

Fantasy Batarians

Spoiler

The batarians are weird. There’s some information about them, but not as much as there are about the more standard races. Since the batarians were made to be a sort of angry-gangster sort, that’s exactly where they fit best in any setting. Ugly, aggressive, part of a domineering, paranoid culture, they make a wonderful sort of anti-race. I see them as a kind of half-orc stand in, but a little bit more defined and interesting.
Now, the batarians also live in a rather human-like environment, but they are isolated and closed in, believing that said isolation will keep them safe. Those few batarians who go out are either criminals or attempting to escape their restrictive government.

Drell

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Research

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Habitat: Very arid, incredibly desert conditions; at least, until their island paradise sunk
Biology: Very similar to humans, the drell evolved from reptiles and possess some of their traits, such as two eyelids and scaled skin. However, one of their more interesting aspects of the drell is their eidetic memory, which allows them to remember every memory in perfect detail, almost as if it were happening at that moment.
In addition, it is known that extended skin contact between drell and humans can cause rashes, or even hallucinations if the contact if oral.
Government: Again, after being absorbed by the hanar, the drell grew the hanar society. As such, they exist within the hanar government.
Religion: Many drell are incredibly religious, believing that the body and soul are inherently separate, but intrinsically linked. However, many drell have picked up on the religion of the hanar, choosing to deny the old ways.
Social Structure: The drell are mostly tied to their hanar protectors; after being saved by the hanar, they have integrated themselves into hanar society, with only a few drell moving out to other lands, despite the fact that the humidity of living on the ocean is extremely dangerous to the desert-evolved creatures. Drell who choose to travel are often adventurous and outgoing, and they often adopt the social customs of the races they interact with most.
Military: The drell have no real military to speak of, having been assimilated into the hanar culture. While an individual drell might be highly adept at fighting or warfare, they do not possess the sort of numbers needed to have a real military.

Fantasy Drell

Spoiler

The drell are kind of fun. Being built around the concept of Thane makes them somewhat restrictive, but in combination with the hanar they make a very entertaining race. Uncomfortable (and technically dying) in normal environments, they are especially ill at ease in the hanar lands. Now, I personally like the idea of taking the general ideas of the game and making them fantasy, so I suggest that the drell lived on an arid, isolated island environment. It was desert, explaining how they evolved, and had to be large enough not to be humid, so perhaps more of a sub-continent? In any case, the drell managed to destroy their environment, pulling an Atlantis, sinking it into the sea. The hanar discovered this and offered to help, instigating the hanar-drell relationship. From the comics, we see that on Kajhe the hanar set up the drell in above-water domes with humidity control. I figure there are two choices: either the drell live in special domes above the ocean or they live on islands that the hanar are in control of. I suppose that they could also live underwater, but that just seems excessive. As it is, the island idea seems best to me.
Beyond their hanar homelands, I imagine the drell would likely travel with hanar diplomats, but also as adventurers. Not all of the drell must be okay with just living with the hanar, not when there’s an entire world to explore. Other than that, their personality already kind of fits with their role as wanderers and protectors of the hanar, so it makes sense to have them in that role.

Elcor

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Research

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Habitat: Grasslands, likely more savannah, with a wet and dry season
Biology: Massive and hulking, they move slowly to keep themselves stable. Mostly a four-legged race, the elcor possess the capability to use their front legs as hands but rarely choose to do so.
Government: The elcor refer to the knowledge and decisions made by previous elcor elders, which are all recorded in vast tomes. The elcor are methodical and logical, performing very poorly in high-paced situations. They prefer to refer to older, recorded situations that give a precedent for future decisions.
Religion: Not entirely sure, but it seems like they would practice ancestor worship, based on their tendency to herd and worship of older elcor.
Social Structure: The elcor tend to defer to the judgment of previous elcor, and of elder elcor. Their “herd nature” leads them to usually align in together, and their slow, ponderous nature leads them to be very noting of their elders.
Military: Lacking much of the fighting ability of other races, but being physically strong and hardy, the elcor sometimes take the form of “living tanks,” mounting powerful weapons on their own backs. Otherwise, they often require help to really be able to do much. However, their ponderous natures also make them great strategists, able to methodically pick out many different avenues of war, and their incredibly detailed record keeping has left them with a variety of war knowledge to use as data.

Fantasy Elcor

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I have to admit: I love the elcor. I spent way more time thinking about them than some other races. Even still, I quite like them, and I would totally play one. :)
The elcor evolved on a planet with high gravity in the games, but I don’t know how to simulate that in D&D without there being a planar bleed. Excluding that, I just say that they evolved from herd animals in a wide, grassy plain.
The elcor possess massive hands on their forelegs, which they can use to wield weapons. However, they also walk on four legs, making it difficult for them to actually use tools in motion. But, their slow nature and conservative thinking makes them great tacticians (if they decide fast enough), which I think would appeal to many other races.
So, strong, hardy, but slow grassland creatures who can use tools, but likely didn’t develop many themselves.

Hanar

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Habitat: An aquatic race, the hanar live deep in the oceans (having seen underwater volcanoes with prothean ruins)
Biology: Invertebrates, closely related to jellyfish, the hanar are one of the more unique of races. They are physically very weak, and not capable of moving about land unaided. However, using psionic-powered devices, they are able to move about land, albeit slowly. The hanar possess six tentacles, but none of them are very strong. Even using every tentacle at once, they can lift barely five pounds together. However, their grip is strong, able to strangle a human, and they can further produce a dangerous toxin. Further, the hanar speak through a form of bioluminescence; they do not use sound to speak. This means that it is difficult for them to communicate with other races.
Government: The hanar practice a benign theocracy, preaching their own words to all who listen. While the hanar strongly believe their religion, they are tolerant of other races, so long as they are polite. The hanar government is fairly isolationist, realizing that their particular circumstances are somewhat different from other races.
Religion: The hanar practice a worship of the prothean race, the major apex race in the world before the current races arose. The worship stems from a belief that it was the prothean’s who taught the hanar language, and from language led them to sentience and power. Furthermore, what little research the hanar have done into the prothean relics led them to believe they were intensely technologically advanced, nearly magically so. As such, they worship near-mythical figures of the protheans, not necessarily the real protheans.
Social Structure: The hanar are excessively polite, so much so that they find other races extremely rude (maybe their extreme focus on correct and proper language is also tied to their mythical belief in the prothean’s bringing them language?). Other than that, however, the hanar social strictures seem to be very open-ended. Not much is detailed in game.
Military: The hanar are technologically advanced, but find it difficult to maneuver in a humanoid world. They instead chose to remain cloistered, using the drell as diplomats and in-betweens.

Fantasy Hanar

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Another of my favorite races (okay, so humanoid races bore me a bit), the hanar present a challenge. Even using all six tentacles, they can barely lift five pounds out of water, so those without biotic powers will likely be doing very little physical labor. Also, being such a different physiology from all other races (the only sentient invertebrates that I know of), they have little interest in trade for most things. Besides blatantly useful resources, like magical or psionic items, they probably do not travel much, aside from desiring to explore. I would also expect most hanar who travel in this way to be accompanied by a companion drell, one who would be able to protect them and interact in a more meaningful way.

Krogan

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Habitat: Jungle around salt water, full of predators
Biology: The krogan are unique because of their many predatory traits. Possessing a series of organ redundancy, they are able to survive what many other species would fall to. Their large humps store water and nutrients, allowing them to survive long periods without them. They have wide set eyes, letting them have a wider range of vision (useful for detecting predators). Their skin is incredibly hardy and resistant to contusions and their natural strength and hardiness also applies to their longevity; they have been known to live for well over a thousand years (assuming they aren’t killed first). And, finally, they possess massively powerful immune systems, including a secondary nervous system, which renders them highly resistant to poisons, toxins, diseases and radiation, as well as being basically immune to paralysis (phew, gonna be hard to balance these guys).
Government: The krogan band together in loose tribes, prizing physical might and accomplishments over tactful displays of diplomacy. As such, they tend to form into tribes, with powerful tribes overcoming and ruling over weaker ones. In recent years, the krogan have become difficult to control and have organized into small tribes. Other krogan can hold powerful positions in a tribe, such as shaman or battlemaster.
Religion: The krogan religion, like all things krogan, is based on the strong. The shamans of the religion must go through a dangerous ordeal, made to stay in a cave with no light for seven days… but only enough food for six. And they must dig their way out.
Social Structure: The krogan operate with force, and their social structure operates the same way. They favor the strong and refuse the weak. It… is rather much that simple.
Military: The krogan used to apply vast horde fighting tactics, but their recent lessening via the genophage has made efficiency needed. Those krogan who possess biotics are powerful, but too rare to be a viable fighting force. Still, the krogan are masterful fighters and incredibly hardy, making themselves useful in fighting, even without numbers.

Fantasy Krogan

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Tuchunka was supposedly a wild, untamed jungle surrounded by harsh, salt water seas before the krogan nuked it all to hell. So, I imagine the krogan in a fantasy world evolved in another, similar setting, perhaps one touched by a bit of the feylands, to simulate that untamed nature (I’m getting a familiar, planar vibe from most of these races… hm…)?
In any case, the krogan are badass. Obviously powerful and hardy, they’re also fast and tough. The easiest choice for them is to be fighters, because without severe protections, any other race is screwed. I also imagine that the krogan decimated their natural resources by over-industrialization, possibly because of the salarians uplifting them.
One thing I’m not sure about is the genophage. It’s such an integral aspect of the krogan mythos, but not necessarily needed in a fantasy setting. The salarians being alchemists means that it could be pretty easily represented by a magical or quasi-magical disease (or curse), imparted to them by the salarians because of their overuse of the land and its resources.
I’m also of the opinion that representing the races with interesting, spot-on racial traits is preferable to weakening them just for game balance. If I play a krogan, I want to be able to wade through a troop of enemies fairly unscathed, though I’d expect to be penalized in other ways. But, that’s just my opinion.

Quarians

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Habitat: Arid areas, like wastelands, where water is rare, although now
Biology: The quarians are incredibly human-like, but possess some noticeable differences. For instance, their legs bow back significantly, and their eyes are very different from humans. The biggest difference would probably be their weak immune system, but the actual biggest difference is the fact that they are dextro-chirality, whereas most species are levo-chirality (I have no idea how to make this function in D&D terms, so I’m going to ignore it).
Government: Government is mostly composed of those showing promise and judgment to the quarian condition. Maintaining and promoting the life of the fleet and people is very important, and so those who do so successfully are placed in positions of power. In fact, all quarians go out on their Pilgrimage, a time to gather materials and intelligence (or whatever else is valuable) for the fleet, which often implies later leadership success.
Religion: The quarians preserve their dead as virtual intelligences, keeping them as backups that can be referenced and spoken to. While desiring to create an almost perfect replica of their dead in virtual form, they ended up coming close to creating true artificial life.
Social Structure: Being constantly on the move, the quarians are a close-knit group, relying on family much of the time, but also on friends and support groups. The leaders of the nomadic groups are those who can lead effectively. In addition, there are a collective board of elected officials who make important decisions for the individuals of the flotilla.
Military: Even pre-exile, the quarians were a technological force, and they were quite a sea-faring race. In time, they would have likely reached air-flight.

Fantasy Quarians

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Another interesting race to try and convert to a fantasy setting, I really think the quarians work best as crafters. Not too biotically inclined, but very skilled at mechanics, the quarians would probably be the most advanced race technologically than any others. Since I think the geth can be represented by a magical or psionic experiment gone bad, it makes sense for the geth to have driven the quarians out of their homeland (which I imagine to be a wasteland-like area, based on Rannoch). This means that the quarians fit perfectly as a nomadic sort of race, traveling the lands to eek out as best an existence as they can. They’d be scavengers, trying desperately to not appear like vermin, but always looking out for the “fleet” as best they could.
Now, their physical difficulties are an interesting thing to try and determine. Making them have specialized suits that are truly separated from the outside world would be difficult with fantasy tech without magic involved. That being the case, I submit that perhaps the quarians instead are sickly, but not as deathly sickly as the quarians in the games. Too much exposure to sunlight or cold will hurt them very much, and their weak immune systems cannot take that abuse, so they deck themselves in silks and cloths, trying desperately to avoid contamination, while keeping their range of motion.
One fun possibility for the quarians is that they could literally be a fleet, sailing the seas. If that were the case, they might have more of a connection to the hanar and drell than most other races, simply based on proximity. Another possibility is that the quarians might be so technologically advanced as to have nearly stumbled on the ability to craft airships or the like, offering another aspect to them. In any case, I would expect any sort of crossbows or firearms to mostly be of quarian design, even if they don’t necessarily possess the capability to be the major manufacturers anymore.

Salarian

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Habitat: Jungle-like; humid and hot
Biology: Fast metabolism, sleep on one hour of sleep a day, life expectancy of 40 years, lack of hormonal sexual desires, “imprint” on those present when hatched
Government: Web of matrilineal alliances created through interbreeding, similar to feudal system
Religion: Very much an irreligious race, there is only a minor reference to a worship of a female deity
Social Structure: 90% of them are male, due to social strictures; as such, women mostly hold positions of political power, while men tend to rise to high positions of power in business, academia and military
Military: The salarians are more focused on scientific endeavors and information than on strict military might.

Fantasy Salarians

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Some of the most fun things about the salarians are their social aspects. Lacking a hormonal sex drive means that romance isn’t an issue for them. Their inherent imprinting means that certain individuals will be held in higher regards that others (and the possibility of kin-slayers would be WAY more taboo than in other cultures, especially of the dalatrasses), despite their being little logical reason. Combine this with their information gathering ways and their stealthy tactics, I imagine the salarians to almost be something like ninja gnomes: gnomes because they’re focused on alchemical innovation and information gathering, and ninjas because they prefer stealth and espionage to direct combat. Their short life expectancies mesh well with their hyperactivity, making them a race that works much faster than others, a nice foil to the long lived asari.
The salarians in the games evolved on a massive jungle-like planet, which I think will be perfect for why they uplifted the krogan. They share a similar environment, and the salarians saw a potential race of bodyguards for cheap. But, once they shared the technology and techniques they had learned, they realized their mistake, and were forced to release the genophage (or whatever we call it) to stop the krogan from decimating entire ecosystems. So… pretty much just like the game, but it works surprisingly well.

Turian

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Habitat: Basic forests and grasslands will do fine
Biology: Turians possess a strong physical carapace, though not like the krogan. In addition, they are physically close to dinosaurs and birds of prey, with backwards facing legs and thick talons. Further, they possess a metallic exoskeleton, which protects against radiation. The exoskeleton is not all encompassing, and so does not provide very much protection against physical damage.
Government: Because of the turian social roles, most everyone is a part of the government. With multiple tiers of citizenship (27 of them), turians are expected to perform respectfully in all facets of life. No matter what a turian does in his personal time, so long as his responsibilities are taken care he is accepted. As such, very little is forbidden in turian culture. But, those who let their personal life overwhelm their responsibilities are confronted through an “intervention.” If their actions still do not change, then they are forced to work for their state.
Religion: There are two major religions attributed to the turians, one mostly pre-space travel, and one post-. I think both are interesting as useful, especially considering the nature of a fantasy setting.
Pre-space travel, the turians believed in “titans” that walked the planet and reached for the heavens, with a special temple where they could commune with the titans. Those who tended the temple were clothed in purple robes which obscured their forms, and to join the order of monks a turian would have to prove their worth through a major action.
Post-space travel, the turians embraced a belief system in those of spirits. To the turians, not only are there individual spirits, but there are collective spirits. A city would have a spirit, a military unit would have a spirit, and family would have a spirit. The spirits do not intervene in the world, but act more like guides and counselors to the turians.
Social Structure: The turians are highly structured, being mostly focused on the group over the individual. Their entire social system is incredibly structured, almost military in nature. In fact, the military is the center of the turian social system, with nearly all turians joining into the military (or at least some form of work performed in the state) during their younger years. Personal accountability is one of the prime values of the turians, and this is easily seen in their focus on preserving the group.
Military: The turian military is so ubiquitous that it almost treads on redundancy. Individual turians are expected to serve in the military in some capacity, often for years. With their strong belief in personal conviction and honor, their military is one of the best.

Fantasy Turian

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I got much more solid ideas on the turians when I read more about their social structure and religion. They are a hard, militarized race, very much stuck in responsibility and honor. To be honest, they almost literally have a stick up their ass, what with being part metal and all. Now, the turians developed the metal exoskeleton in the games because of a low-magnetic field protecting their planet; the metal helped dissipate the excess radiation. In a fantasy setting, I think putting them as a mountainous race, higher in the atmosphere, would be a good replacement. Plus, combine that with their avian features and their religion of “titans reaching for the heavens,” the mountains seem the best bet.
The turian really presents itself as a very useful dwarf-replacement. Very law-abiding and focused on the clan rather than the individual, the turians act in defense of the poor and downtrodden, while often putting themselves at risk. And, having them be mountain-dwelling people, but not subterranean, helps keep the feel from being too dwarven.

Volus

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Habitat: Hm… supposed to be a very harsh, special environment… maybe underground, or near an ammonium vent? Or both?
Biology: Very little is actually said about the volus’ biology other than that a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere is toxic to them, and that their flesh splits open when not in a high-pressure environment. Obviouslly they are short, squat, and not the most physically adept, but beyond that…
Government: The volus government is actually a client state of the Turian Hierarchy, with a major focus on business and economics. The volus are not very combat savvy, but they are very skilled in noticing worthy investments and valuable objects. However, before being absorbed into the Turian Hierarchy the volus had organized themselves into tribes, organized along family and clan lines. Interestingly, the volus chose not to combat each other in a physical fashion, focusing instead on resources and equipment. This has carried over into their social structures, in ways such as their language structure and dealings with other races.
Religion: The volus have no mention of religion whatsoever. It’s possible they do not have a generalized religion, but also possible that their religion is expressed in more unusual terms, possibly in the way they conduct finances or the like.
Social Structure: The volus’ unique habitat has informed every aspect of their existence, and this is very noticeable in their social system. The volus are very concerned with ownership and finances, with resource management having been integral to their continued survival. This presents itself in one way in that all volus possess two names, but neither are a family name; the volus view family names as being tantamount to proscribing ownership over an individual.
Military: The volus, being physically inept, are not very useful in combat. But, their tactics and resource management skills are a useful side of military that is not often exposed. In addition, they are capable of using less-physical arms, which can allow ranged combat and supernatural abilities into the mix.

Fantasy Volus

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The volus are a fun race, but not a very interesting one tactically. They are not physically adept, they don’t have many biotic individuals in their race, and they have to sequester themselves to survive in environments outside their own special one. It’s the major reason they took up banking and finance as their occupations; it offers a way to stay useful to the other races. The volus, so used to trade and monetary matters, were instrumental to creating an intragalatic currency in the games, and I see no reason why they couldn’t serve the same purpose in a fantasy setting.
As for their habitat, the volus in the games lived on a high pressure planet, but the planet was also possessed an ammonium based ecology. That’s… difficult to explain in fantasy terms, but it’s possible. I suggest that this is another case of planar bleeds, where high gravity comes through, possibly into an environment that requires the volus to sequester themselves away into special suits. So, the volus are small and sturdy, not built for speed or fighting so much as simply gathering resources and surviving.
The volus are nearly useless in battle, be it one on one or widespread war, and this only becomes more obvious in a medieval-level tech setting. The best they can hope to do is lend support operating long-range weaponry, and even that is hard for them being of a smaller stature than other races (although, I do love the image of a volus with a crossbow riding an elcor). As such, I don’t think the volus will be doing much fighting at all, though they probably have all sorts of interesting political intrigue.

Vorcha

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Habitat: Volcanic areas, and highly inhospitable-for-life areas
Biology: The vorcha possess a unique means of healing, their bodies being made up of non-differentiated cells. These cells allow limited regenerative capabilities, as well as adaptations to individual environments. The vorcha only possess a lifespan of around 20 years, so while they can adapt to many different stimuli they usually don’t have the lifespan to that many. Adaptations are varied and incredible, from growing thicker skin with exposure to fire and cuts, to developing faster reflexes, to actually regrowing limbs (though this takes several months).
Government: The vorcha have no real government. Their natural inclinations are towards violence, combined with their naturally short lifespans, lead to only bloodlines collaborating, and even those rarely last. In most cases, the vorcha are viewed as vermin by other races, because they can alter their physiology to exist nearly anywhere. There are some cases of “uplifting,” where other races train specialized vorcha into roles outside their violent social structure. With their adaptability, the vorcha can grow to fit into nearly any role, which is exactly why they are sought out for those roles.
Religion: The vorcha are so violent, and possess so little beyond their bloodlines, that organized religion is nearly impossible. Almost every individual bloodline has their own beliefs, and sometimes this itself is part of the conflict that eternally erupts amongst the fast-breeding vorcha.
Social Structure: The vorcha amongst their own kind tend to have very little social structure. They survive in almost any environment, but they have a nasty tendency towards violence. Their fast breeding tends to result in a fight for resources, and in these cases violence and quickly deteriorating alliances is all that there is.
However, in other societies the vorcha tend to live in the undesired locations, living off the refuse of society. As such, they are often viewed as pests and vermin, and left to their own devices (so long as they don’t interfere with normal society).
Military: The vorcha have no military of their own, but they are sometimes recruited to other armies. The ability to train custom-made soldiers is something that few militaries will pass up.

Fantasy Vorcha

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With the vorcha, there is an interesting niche to fill. Considered vermin to most other races, they are nonetheless incredibly useful if they are properly trained. They reach maturity quickly, but also die quickly, with an average lifespan of 20 years. So, as a race in a fantasy setting, they almost play the same role as a goblin might. Technically a sentient, possibly intelligent and useful race, they are nonetheless dismissed and ignored, other than when they are causing issues.
Still, there are a place for the vorcha in a fantasy setting. Their healing abilities make them great at testing weapons (however gruesome that sounds), they would make good gladiatorial combatants (or maybe as the beasts?), and anyone who is willing to invest the time could have some incredibly useful servants.
As player characters, the vorcha offer interesting talents in exchange for some rather distasteful associations.

Yahg

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Habitat: The yahg’s environment is not detailed at length, but it can be seen that they operate in the normal conditions of most races perfectly fine.
Biology: The yahg possess what appear to be four pairs of eyes, a set of horns, a jutting bone ridge from their chin, as well as chitinous armor and a powerfully built musculature. Their unique tri-formed mouth structure allows the yahg to easily shred its food. With four pairs of eyes, each which can track different aspects of their prey, they can easily read body language of any species, making it nearly impossible to lie to a yahg.
Government: Yahg’s work around a pack mentality. Until a single leader has been decided upon (either by intimidating the competition or maneuvering itself socially) a group of yahg will not work together. When such a leader is decided upon, the yahg work together effectively, holding no grudges against the leader.
Religion: The yahg religion has not been investigated, if indeed it exists at all. Being a species that is so dependent on dominance, any religion is likely harsh and domineering.
Social Structure: The yahg have little social structure outside of loyalties. Brute force, intimidation, favors and resources are the major form of social connection, with interpersonal relationships not being very advanced in most yahg communities.
Military: The yahg have no organized military, beyond simple roving bands. Since dominance needs to be displayed before any cooperation, there would need to be quite a bit of fighting before they even managed to get into a position to make a military.

Fantasy Yahg

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The yahg, to me, are possibly my favorite race in the Mass Effect universe. Having existed both in the Prothean time and in the modern cycle, they are still ignored by the Reapers in ME3, meaning they are still waiting to be uplifted. I think this works perfectly in a fantasy setting as an ogre-analogue. Huge, brutish, and barely sentient, the yahg have a society, but most of them don’t have any desire to fit into modern society. They are not barbaric in the traditional sense, but more animalistic, travelling in packs, with little to no obvious society. But, individual yahg have the chance into not only interact, but thrive in modern society (hell, in the games the first yahg presented is the Shadow Broker).

[Cyclone231]

I don't think sticking too closely to the biology is advisable. A good deal of the biology is clearly designed with the sci-fi and video game setting in mind (in particular, the hanar and volus, but to some extent all of them) and doesn't readily transfer over to a fantasy setting.

I think it's better to look at the "purpose" and "meaning" of the obviously SF-y stuff and just transfer it over to a fantasy setting. The hanar are like they are to render them basically incapable of being a threat to people outside of water. The volus are like they are to render them basically incapable of being a threat to people outside of their native environment. I'd go with having the hanar as being strongly water-based amphibians, with limited (though not nonexistent) melee abilities on land. The volus would perhaps have some malus that reduces their ability outside of their home island/country based on the absence of something necessary that exists only in their home environment; alternatively, give them light sensitivity. I'm still not quite sure about even this though; in the ME games, those are just interesting flavor bits. In an actual P&P RPG, those mechanics exist pretty much purely to penalize PCs interested in playing a hanar or volus.

As to respective power levels... eh. I'd lower everyone's. Even though some of the races are supposed to be huge military badasses, it's stated somewhere that human soldiers are the products of a huge number of enhancements (if I recall correctly, anyways), which kind-of explains how Shepard can take on a Krogan in melee combat and win. It's entirely possible that other races are like this, though I don't know. In any case, to exactly go with the representation in the ME canon, the asari and krogan would probably wind up with LA (or even hit dice!), which is like acid to playability.

[awa]

thing is maybe krogan should have some hit dice even in setting their almost never basic troops like in the second game the specific krogan mercenary group was mostly those stupid fangy mouth guys who name escapes me or big dogs krogan were always the elite.

Racial hit dice or la are only a problem when they are not balanced with good abilities.

[Domriso]

I disagree on changing the biology very much. I've done a similar thing as this, taking a sci-fi game's species and making them fantasy, but reworking them to not be exact copies, and what happened was that they became their own races. It was no longer the original races in a new locale, it was a bunch of new races in a new locale. Changing the races too much makes them quite a bit divided from the original (which is the same reason I disagreed with making the asari an androgynous race rather than the all-female race they are in the games).

This isn't to say that changing the races a little bit is a bad idea. I did the same thing when I suggested making the quarians sickly, but not nearly as sickly as they are presented in the games (because it would make them basically unplayable). However, the basic concepts remain the same, just shifted a bit. So, while I could see making the hanar a little bit more physically powerful, though probably not making them amphibious, because that alters them just a bit too much for me.

[Cyclone231]

Originally Posted by Domriso

I disagree on changing the biology very much. I've done a similar thing as this, taking a sci-fi game's species and making them fantasy, but reworking them to not be exact copies, and what happened was that they became their own races. It was no longer the original races in a new locale, it was a bunch of new races in a new locale. Changing the races too much makes them quite a bit divided from the original (which is the same reason I disagreed with making the asari an androgynous race rather than the all-female race they are in the games).

I generally agree, but "race (with meaningful involvement in human politics) that can't survive or operate in human environments without mechanical aid" is very much a science fiction concept - indeed, it's probably the most peculiarly SF concept I can think of.

[awa]

nothing wrong with aquatic races that cant function well on land merfolk are seriously hampered on land but can breath air.
aboleth Kapoacinth, locath, water naga, merro, scrag, and dragon turtle all breath water and suffocate on land.
and a kraken can neither breath air or walk on land.

just give them a way to get water breathing and levitate at an early level like a racial class.