Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is likely to delight longtime fans of the franchise, but also introduce a new audience to the beloved series. The games are immersive by nature, having created an expansive intergalactic society that players can jump right into, with many alien species that players can interact with and even romance throughout the Mass Effect games.
One species is the drell, which players will remember being introduced in Mass Effect 2. Thane Krios was a well-loved member of Commander Shepard’s crew and players’ first look at the drell alien race. Though their in-game lore isn’t as expansive as some other aliens, there’s still a lot to learn about the drell race.
The drell alien race is a humanoid hybrid of reptilian traits and human traits. They look similar to the Asari, but instead of having five separate fingers, their middle and ring fingers are fused together. Female drell have more pronounced head “frills” compared to males, though players never get to see female drells in the game. They do, however, make appearances in the companion Mass Effect comics.
Drell skin has a mild venom infused into it, which can sometimes be used in drinks and may have hallucinogenic effects. If female Shepard chooses to romance Thane, salarian scientist Mordin Solus can give advice on the budding human-drell romance. The venom on drell skin can cause a rash after prolonged contact, so Mordin suggests an oil or salve to ease whatever Shepard may end up with.
Thane, like many other drell, suffers from Kepral’s Syndrome—a disease caused by exposure to humid climates over a long period of time. It erodes the lungs of the drell and eventually spreads to other organs in the body. Kepral’s Syndrome is noncommunicable, but there’s also no cure for it either. It’s a heart-breaking situation in the game, but it’s not their defining trait. Drell also have eidetic memory so strong that even the smallest external thing can trigger their memory recall. They have families, they have histories, and their biology is just one step.
The drell originally hail from a desert world named Rakhana, which is why prolonged exposure to humid climates can permanently damage their bodies. Eventually, the drell had to leave their homeworld because of an industrial expansion that damaged their population more than helped it. The hanar stepped in after making contact with the drell, and that’s how so many drell ended up on the hanar’s homeworld of Kahje.
The alliance and gratitude the drell feel toward the hanar is commonly referred to as “the Compact,” and lets the drell repay the hanar by doing things for them that are considered difficult. Sometimes, this includes combat. Drell have the freedom to decline service, but it’s seen as an honor to be chosen, therefore many drell don’t turn down the opportunity. Most of the drell on Kahje are treated as fully integrated citizens into hanar society—some drell and hanar even form bonds so close that the hanar will disclose their “soul name” to their drell companion.
As players know from their encounters with Thane, the drell tend to be deeply religious. One of their primary beliefs is that the soul exists separately from the body, which can also mean that the body can be instructed to do something and that exists separately from the soul. This belief is how Thane is at peace with his assassinations, as the kills were ordered by the hanar and did not come from him personally.
Drell are also polytheistic, meaning they pray to multiple gods depending on the situation. There are at least three gods that players are aware of, and fans will remember Thane’s heartbreaking final prayer to Kalahira in Mass Effect 3. Additionally, the drell have a unique language that there’s little information about. If female Shepard enters a romantic storyline with Thane, he will affectionately call her “siha,” a drell word that references one of the warrior-angels of the goddess Arashu.
Though the drell don’t have as much lore as some of the other alien races, they’re still an interesting addition to the games and the Mass Effect universe wouldn’t be the same without them.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition will be available Spring 2021.
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