Tuchanka
Ruined Homeworld of the Krogan
Tuchanka was the homeworld of the krogan, a harsh and irradiated world scarred by the nuclear wars its people waged upon themselves. Once a fertile world teeming with fierce life, it became a wasteland of craters, ash, and predatory survivors.
Tuchanka was the homeworld of the krogan, a harsh and irradiated world that could barely support life after the nuclear wars its people had waged upon one another. Scarred by bombardment craters, radioactive rubble, and choking ash, it stood as a monument to the violence of its inhabitants, and was the first alien homeworld that Commander Shepard could visit. (Mass Effect 2)
A world undone by its own people#
Thousands of years before the era of the Reaper War, Tuchanka had been a world of fierce and abundant life. Under the light of the F-class star Aralakh, a name that meant Eye of Wrath in the Raik clan tongue, thick jungles of tree-analogues grew with their roots reaching into shallow, silty seas, and life fed upon life in a relentless evolutionary contest. This brutal natural order shaped the krogan into the hardy and aggressive species they became. (Mass Effect; Mass Effect 2)
That world died in nuclear firestorms after the krogan split the atom and turned their weapons upon one another. The bombardment left the surface scarred with craters, radioactive rubble, choking ash, salt flats, and alkaline seas, and a nuclear winter that followed killed off much of the remaining plant life. By the time of Shepard's visits, Tuchanka could barely support life, a wasteland marked everywhere by the violence of its inhabitants. (Mass Effect 2)
A poisoned and dangerous land#
In recent centuries many krogan returned to their homeworld. The reduced reflectivity of the scarred surface caused global temperatures to climb, and to keep the world livable a vast shroud was assembled at a stable point in orbit, maintained by the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission, which operated from orbiting battlestations. The presence of this oversight reflected the galaxy's continued wariness of the krogan and its determination to keep their warlike tendencies in check. (Mass Effect 2)
The world remained perilous to any visitor. Its ecology was deadly, with nearly every native species engaging in some form of predatory behavior, and even the surviving vegetation given to carnivory. Travel beyond guarded areas was strongly discouraged, and the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission warned that those who landed did so at their own risk and could not expect rescue from the clan warfare that still wracked the surface. Despite all of this, Tuchanka endured as the heart of krogan identity through the events of the Reaper War. (Mass Effect 2; Mass Effect 3)
Frequently asked questions
- What is Tuchanka?
- Tuchanka was the homeworld of the krogan, a harsh and irradiated world that could barely support life after the nuclear wars its people had waged upon one another. By the era of the Reaper War it was scarred by bombardment craters, radioactive rubble, and choking ash.
- What happened to Tuchanka?
- Tuchanka died in nuclear firestorms after the krogan split the atom and turned their weapons on one another. The bombardment left the surface covered in craters, radioactive rubble, ash, salt flats, and alkaline seas, and a nuclear winter that followed killed off much of the remaining plant life.
- What was Tuchanka like before the krogan destroyed it?
- Thousands of years before the Reaper War, Tuchanka teemed with fierce life under the F-class star Aralakh, whose name meant Eye of Wrath in the Raik clan tongue. Thick jungles of tree-analogues grew with their roots reaching into shallow, silty seas, and the brutal natural order shaped the krogan into a hardy and aggressive species.
- Why is Tuchanka kept livable by a shroud?
- When many krogan returned to the planet in recent centuries, the reduced reflectivity of its scarred surface caused global temperatures to climb. To keep the world livable, a vast shroud was assembled at a stable point in orbit, maintained by the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission, which operated from orbiting battlestations.
- Why is Tuchanka dangerous to visitors?
- Tuchanka's ecology was deadly, with nearly every native species engaging in predatory behavior and even the surviving vegetation given to carnivory. Travel beyond guarded areas was strongly discouraged, and the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission warned that anyone who landed did so at their own risk and could not expect rescue from the clan warfare still wracking the surface.
Gallery
Images via Mass Effect Wiki
Sources
- GameMass Effect, BioWare, 2007
- GameMass Effect 2, BioWare, 2010
- GameMass Effect 3, BioWare, 2012
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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