Praetorian

The Praetorian was a large, slow-moving aerial construct created by the Collectors from roughly thirty deformed human husks fused into a single body. Armed with powerful twin particle beams and shielded by both an armored carapace and a regenerating biotic barrier, it was deployed to guard the Collectors' operations and to overwhelm those who interfered with them. Commander Shepard faced Praetorians during the campaign against the Collectors in 2185.

Origin and composition#

The Praetorian was built by the Collectors from the bodies of their victims, the same source that yielded their lesser husks. Roughly thirty deformed husks were fused together to form each one, producing a bulky construct that hovered a short distance above the ground rather than walking. A cluster of human heads sat within its maw, the remnants of the individuals consumed in its making. Concept art recovered afterward referred to specialized Praetorian manufacturing equipment, indicating the constructs were produced deliberately as part of the Collectors' war effort rather than improvised in the field.

Capabilities#

A Praetorian was protected by an exceptionally tough armored carapace. It carried a biotic barrier that returned after each of its heavy attacks, and its size made it resistant to most biotic powers. Two small plates flanked its mouth and shielded the vulnerable cluster of heads behind them until they were destroyed.

Offensively it relied chiefly on its twin particle beams, eye-mounted weapons that swept across a target and dealt continuous, often fatal damage to anyone caught in their path. At close quarters it used a ground strike known as the Death Choir, slamming down to knock back nearby foes before unleashing an area attack that was almost certain to kill, after which its barrier fully recharged. The beams did not track moving targets well, and a Praetorian had to land before it could attack, brief openings that determined and mobile opponents could exploit.

Encounters#

Shepard engaged Praetorians on more than one occasion during the Collector crisis. One appeared at the close of the action on the colony of Horizon, and another during the escape from the Collector Cruiser, while several were involved in an attack on the Normandy SR-2. During the abductions on the colony of Fehl Prime, the Collectors loosed a Praetorian to crush local resistance; that specimen was created in part from a captured marine and was distinguished by green energy in place of the usual blue. It was destroyed after its barrier was disabled.

Examination of Praetorian remains revealed that their bodies did not last. Within hours of death the organic components broke down into a denatured residue and the mechanical parts turned to ash. A specimen autopsied within minutes of its destruction offered a clue to the process, hinting that nanomachines dismantled the construct once it was killed.