From the moment a primitive species adopts a jagged piece of rock or bone, not as a tool,
but as a weapon, a type of countdown begins.
To go from the forging of spears to the splitting of atoms often takes many millennia, but a
time will always arrive when the weapons harnessed by a civilization become powerful enough to
destroy their creators.
It is a test on a society’s mechanisms of self-control, mediation, and restraint and
it is a test the Krogan failed.
Even before their homeworld was bathed in nuclear fire, Tuchanka was a place where life
struggled to survive.
Its intense temperature, alkaline seas, and violently volcanic surface ensured the creatures
that evolved there were as brutal and unforgiving as the planet itself.
The Krogan race emerged as the apex predators on Tuchanka, though it was a position they
had to continually fight to maintain.
Physiologically, the Krogan bore many similarities to the reptiles found on Earth.
They possessed wide set eyes capable of 240-degree vision, armoured plates across their bodies,
and thick hides extremely resilient to environmental hazards or native predators.
Individuals typically stood well over 7 feet tall and could weigh upwards of 150 kilos.
Krogan biology also featured a high amount of redundancy to further strengthen them against
blunt force trauma.
These included two hearts, four lungs, and even separate nervous systems.
The average Krogan could absorb physical punishment far beyond the capacity of most other races
and this intense hardiness meant they could live for many centuries.
The constant struggle for survival meant that Krogan females evolved to produce upwards
of 1000 eggs each year, with few Krogan surviving to adulthood across most of their history.
It was the characteristic shoulder hump of the Krogan that defined their race, however.
These stored extra water and nutrients, allowing individuals to survive on sparse sources of
nourishment much too meager for most other forms of life.
A larger hump symbolised a Krogan’s hunting prowess and therefore their higher status
within Krogan society.
Much of that society was left in ruins, lost to war and nuclear devastation.
Ancient sources depicted a Krogan civilization rich with cultural, architectural, and artistic
achievements, one forever changed after industrialization.
The population spike that accompanied their technological advancement left Tuchanka unable
to support their growing numbers, sparking countless wars over dwindling resources.
The discovery of atomic energy left their homeworld an irradiated wasteland and for
the next two thousand years, warring clans sought control over the meagre resources that
remained.
Even with their prodigious birth rate, the Krogan race struggled to survive.
Respite finally arrived with the alien Salarians, one of the Citadel Council member races upon
which galactic civilization was based.
After discovering Tuchanka, the Salarians relocated the Krogan to more amenable planets,
free of dangerous predators or radiation.
They gifted the Krogan with advanced technology far beyond what they had achieved before and
on Tuchanka, constructed a great environmental stabilizer, meant to one day restore its shattered
biosphere.
Salarian “benevolence” was not without motive.
In exchange for their cultural uplifting, the Citadel Races hoped the Krogans would
eventually serve as soldiers in their prolonged and bloody war against the insectoid and hive-minded
Rachni.
Within two generations, the Krogans had amassed the numbers to turn the tide of the conflict,
travelling to the hostile surfaces of Rachni worlds and destroying the nests of their Queens.
With their victory in the Rachni wars, the Krogan were celebrated as heroes across the
whole of the galaxy.
Even on the Citadel itself, in the heart of the galactic community, statues were erected
in their honor and the Council bestowed on the Krogan further worlds to colonize.
Peace was not agreeable to the Krogan race however.
Their aggressive and territorial nature quickly clashed with the other species of the Citadel
Council.
Without the harsh conditions of Tuchanka to keep their numbers in check, even the new
planets granted to them could not provide enough resources.
The Krogan began to forcibly seize worlds belonging to the other races of the Citadel,
culminating with the Asari world of Lusia.
War broke out soon after, dragging on for three centuries with a Krogan victory seemingly
inevitable.
With neither the physical prowess or military mindset needed to end the Krogan Rebellions,
the Asari and Salarians turned to the recently discovered Turian Hierarchy for aid.
In an ironic repetition of history, the Citadel Council came to rely on the Turians in the
wars against the Krogan where once they had relied on the Krogans in their wars against
the Rachni.
It was the genophage that finally ended the Krogan Rebellions, a bio-weapon developed
by the Salarians and deployed by the Turians.
Following its spread across their race, only one Krogan egg in a thousand could produce
a viable offspring and confronted with extinction, the Krogan Warlords surrendered.
Forced to demilitarize and decommission most of their military equipment, Krogan civilization
could no longer sustain the endless wars and conflicts upon which its people had depended
for unity.
The very concept of a Krogan government was discredited.
Where once a Warlord could command enough power to subjugate and rule entire star systems,
following the genophage, it was rare for a Krogan leader to amass even a few thousand
followers.
The remaining Krogan colonies, and even Tuchanka itself, were divided amongst many nation-states,
vying for legitimacy while barely able to exercise their sovereignty.
Clans became a defacto form of government.
Historically, Clan membership was largely ceremonial, required to own property, or join
the army of the greater Krogan state.
After the fall, they became largely independent, self-governed communities.
Female Krogan, widely accepted as more concerned with the fate of their species compared to
their male counterparts, were often raised to positions of authority.
Faced still with the ravages of the genophage, some formed all-female clans where fertile
members were protected at all costs.
Each Clan had their own independent military, which operated under the command of a Battle
Master.
Formidable warriors unequalled across the galaxy, each was responsible for the training,
equipping, and deployment of all Krogan under their command.
Before the genophage, the military doctrine of most Battle Masters was focussed on overwhelming
the enemy with sheer numbers, combined with decisive and aggressive tactics.
With the Krogan available for military service drastically reduced, Battle Masters were forced
to adopt different tactics, prioritizing acts of terrorism, piracy, and guerrilla warfare
over any war of attrition.
But for every Krogan that remained on Tuchanka in the hopes of revitalizing their dying race,
others drifted across the galaxy, in search of fleeting fame and wealth.
Driven by self-interest, many became muscle for hire.
Krogan were a typical sight within mercenary companies, private armies, or even as bouncers
for high-end night clubs.
With no greater purpose, Krogan rarely planned for the future, changing allegiances without
hesitation whenever a more profitable offer presented itself.
This lack of loyalty was rampant among the remaining Krogan, earning them a reputation
as untrustworthy and treacherous.
This rampant selfishness existed across Krogan culture even before their fall.
Most were unsympathetic and blunt, only respecting strength and self-reliance.
Nowhere in Krogan history would the weak or selfless be expected to live long.
Krogan were largely solitary and driven by a deep sense of fatalism or futility, in part
due to the violent nature of their homeworld, but also due to the profound social effect
the genophage had imparted on their remaining society.
Religion had not been a crucial part of Krogan culture for some time, however the reverence
they showed towards their ancestors was remarkable for such a self-interested people.
The skulls of mighty warriors who had fallen were interred on Tuchanka in “The Hollows”,
a burial site which served as a reminder to all Krogan of where they had come from, and
where they would one day go.
Pieces of their ancient religion were still present in their culture well after the genophage,
with the colony of Vaul named for a Krogan god who stood watch for the enemies of his
pantheon.
Many Krogan also expressed a belief in some form of afterlife, known to them as “the
Void”.
While their formal religion had largely withered, Krogans remained very ritualistic and traditionalist.
Several times throughout a Krogan’s life, they went through a ceremonial process known
as a Rite, such as the Rite of Life when they were born, the Rite of Passage when they became
of age, or the Rite of Authority should they have wished to become a clan leader or shaman.
These Rites varied in the danger of their task, but were generally quite intense and
perilous.
The Rite of Passage, necessary to be considered for breeding, was often fatal, since it requires
the participant to fight a variety of vicious fauna, including the deadly Thresher Maw.
Surviving for a mere five minutes in an arena with a Thresher Maw made any Krogan worthy
of joining the clan of their choice.
Regardless of clan, colony, or profession, to be a Krogan was to endure the knowledge
that their race had failed the test of civilization.
But long ago, a time had come when the galaxy looked to the Krogan not as marauding conquerors,
but as saviors and liberators, and some records say that time might have come again.
A time when the galaxy was once more threatened with destruction, on a scale that dwarfed
even the Rachni Wars.
If such reports can be believed, then the Krogan again fought united for the future
of their race, for every race.
They fought to save the homeworld of a people who had once tried to destroy them and were
rewarded with a cure, one that breathed new life into their race.
Or perhaps not.
Perhaps the last Krogan was crushed beneath the feet of an enemy as old and unforgiving
as the universe itself.
Countless, conflicting stories purport to tell the final fate of the galaxy, but in
all of them, every single one, the Krogan had plenty of things to shoot.
The Templin Institute investigates the factions, nations, and organizations of alternate worlds.
If you’ve enjoyed this video and would like to join The Templin Institute, consider pledging
to our Patreon Page.
Along with increased security access, you’ll be able to vote in polls to determine future
topics, get custom wallpaper every week and receive some other exclusive rewards.