| Turian | |
|---|---|
| Mass Effect race | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:VetraNyxME.png) Vetra Nyx's design, as presented in The Art of Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017) | |
| First appearance | Mass Effect: Revelation (2007) |
| Created by | BioWare |
| In-universe information | |
| Quadrant | Citadel Space |
| Home world | Palaven |
| Capital | Citadel |
| Affiliation | Citadel Council |
| Leader | Primarchs Turian Hierarchy |
| Notable members | Garrus Vakarian, Vetra Nyx |
The turians are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid sapient species in the Mass Effect multimedia franchise developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. Turians are the first alien species to have come into contact with humanity within series lore, which inadvertently sparked a brief but vicious period of conflict which is eventually de-escalated due to the intervention of the Citadel Council, a multispecies supranational intragalactic governing body based on the Citadel space station. The aftermath of the so-called First Contact War as well as the underlying tensions between humanity and the turians form a recurring narrative theme in the Mass Effect series, which began with the franchise's debut work, the 2007 novel Mass Effect: Revelation. Turians are conceived as an avian humanoid species with an exoskeleton, whose biology is radically different from that of humanity and several other species, and are culturally rooted in a stratocratic society. Turian characters have appeared in most Mass Effect games and media with several playing major storyline roles, such as Garrus Vakarian, Saren Arterius, Nyreen Kandros, Vetra Nyx and Tiran Kandros. In addition, the turians are playable characters in the multiplayer modes for Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect: Andromeda.
The turians have been recognized as an important and recognizable aspect in the Mass Effect narrative, and turian characters are popular among series fans as subjects for expressions of fan labor. The relatively late introduction of female turian characters into the main series games has been met with some criticism, as well as commentary on the influence of traditional gender constructs in fiction writing and on gender representation in video games.