| Krogan | |
|---|---|
| Mass Effect race | |
 Concept art of the krogan character Grunt, as presented in the Art of the Mass Effect Universe | |
| First appearance | Mass Effect: Revelation (2007) |
| Created by | BioWare |
| In-universe information | |
| Home world | Tuchanka |
The Krogan are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Mass Effect multimedia franchise developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. A member of the species is first introduced in the 2007 novel Mass Effect: Revelation. The Krogan are typically depicted as large reptilian bipedal humanoids who are physically tenacious, favor mercenary work, and thrive on conflict and violence. The Krogan are native to the planet Tuchanka, which is presented as a post-apocalyptic wasteland as a result of the Krogan's global thermonuclear civil war in the distant past. The Krogan are presented as having a complicated relationship with the rest of the Milky Way galactic civilizations, especially the Salarians; a past conflict led to the other interstellar species unleashing a genetically engineered biological weapon called the Genophage on the Krogan, drastically reducing their population and potentially driving the species to a slow and inevitable extinction.
From a design perspective, Krogan faces are inspired by bats. Their bodies are covered in a thick exoskeleton which is expressive of their battle-hardened nature. Animation limitations meant that Krogan's design had to be tweaked in order to fit into human animation skeletons, which prompted the developers to increase the size of their back area in order to maintain the species' intimidating image. The Krogan have appeared in most Mass Effect games and media, and are available as playable characters in the multiplayer modes for Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect: Andromeda. Major characters include Urdnot Wrex, Urdnot Wreav, Grunt, Urdnot "Eve" Bakara, and Nakmor Drack.
The Krogan are the central figures of the Krogan Genophage storyline, which spans most of the original Mass Effect trilogy and is referenced in Mass Effect: Andromeda. The storyline has received a very positive critical reception and is praised for its moral complexity and nuanced writing, in particular for its effectiveness as a plot device to create friction between alien species as well as a method to develop several characters of the series.