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* [[Action Girl]] / [[Dark Action Girl]]: Paragon/Renegade Female Shepard.
* [[Action Survivor]]: The [[Sole Survivor]] background.
* [[Always Save the Girl]] / [[Always Save the Girl|Always Save the Guy]]: Can be subverted, inverted, or played straight based on your Shepard's gender, your chosen [[Love Interest]], and who you choose to save on {{spoiler|Virmire}}. You ''will'' be [[What the Hell, Hero?|called out on this]] [[Deconstructed Trope|if you play it straight]], however.
** Hell, you'll be called on it if you don't. There is no easy way out of that situation.
*** It also constitutes a very interesting and well done situation. It is one of the few game choices that players don't base on gameplay mechanics but instead on their emotional connections to the story.
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*** '''Mass Effect 3''' added the ability to revive squadmates without medigel by touching them; the Infiltrator's cloak makes them the class that's now best suited to be the Medic.
** The Vanguard is ''The DPSer Scrapper''/''Mezzer'' with their shotgun and biotic abilities to ensure they get in close unimpeded. Is also a [[Magic Knight]], being later able to use medium armour with their Tactical Armour talent and the Barrier talent to defend themselves along with their shotguns.
*** In ''Mass Effect 2'', the Vanguard becomes even more of a [[Magic Knight]], as he gets the only melee ability in the whole game - The special ability [[Foe -Tossing Charge|Biotic Charge]]
**** Taken even further in 3 where the Vanguard has ''another'' melee power no one else gets and is given special bonuses to shields when charging to make close range fighting even easier.
** The Sentinel is ''The Mezzer''/''Debuffer'', having [[The Red Mage|both biotic and tech abilities]] to disable their opponent; ''The Healer'', having access to the Medicine and First Aid talent; and a [[Squishy Wizard]] that only has the Barrier talent to keep themself alive, lacking an armour talent (but still able to use light armour) and only being able to improve their pistols through their class talent (which is less then all the other classes are able to do).
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** An Adept Shepard can still fit this trope by equipping the M-622 Avalanche, which freezes its targets. Shepard, regardless of class, is the only one who can use Heavy Weapons.
** [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|Potentially symbolic]] of the fact that Shepard has spent two years, both literally and figuratively, ''on ice''.
* [[Anti -Hero]]: While Paragon actions lead more towards the heroic end and the renegade actions lead more towards the antiheroic end, it is very easy to play as an overall anti-hero due to the fact that you don't have to play to the extremes on either side.
** Placing Shepard on the scale precisely is a tricky problem since the player determines all his/her motives and actions, so Shepard can do plenty of good, seemingly noble thing with a purely selfish motivation depending on how you roleplay. Plus you can be a shining beacon of purity and reason otherwise but still perform actions that would usually lock a character into at least a Type IV. In the sequel Shepard can even show signs of Type I, if you fail as many loyalty missions as possible and get most of your squad killed in the endgame.
** And in ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'', he/she can fall even farther. Killing even their squadmates.
* [[Anything That Moves]]: Shepard can be played this way.
* {{spoiler|[[Ascend to A Higher Plane of Existence]]:}} [[Gainax Ending|...maybe?]]
* [[Asskicking Equals Authority]]: A large part of the reason s/he ended up a Spectre in the first place; in [[Multiple Choice Past|all]] [[One -Man Army|three]] [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|possible]] [[Sole Survivor|reputations]], the baseline message is that Shepard is a ''[[Badass]]''.
* [[The Atoner]]: Implied, if you pick the Ruthless reputation (particularly with the Colonist background, which turns Torfan into Shepard's [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]) and then play Shepard as a [[Neutral Good|Paragon.]]
** Or if you played as Renegade in the first game, and Paragon in the second.
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* [[Back From the Dead]]: S/he's killed at the start of ''Mass Effect 2'' but is revived over the course of the next two years by Cerberus' Lazarus Project.
{{quote| '''Garrus:''' [[Like a Badass Out of Hell|The Collectors killed you once and all they did was piss you off.]]}}
* [[Badass]]: No matter which path you choose, Shepard will tread over the bodies of ''thousands'' of the galaxy's worst criminals and monsters before the end. The tooltips even describe Renegade!Shepard as the ultimate badass (Paragon!Shepard is the ultimate hero [[Good Is Not Soft|though no less badass]]). Capable of immense asskicking, attractive to practically everyone s/he meets, [[First Law of Resurrection|not even death can stop him/her]], [[Magnetic Hero|inspires loyalty among all in the general vicinity]], [[Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?|flips off Cthulhu]] before [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|delivering a KO-ing]] '''SHEPARD PAWNCH''' and flipping off his corpse... and could very easily change his/her name to Commander Awesome. Even the Reapers, ancient [[Nigh Invulnerability|nigh invulnerable]] machines that have committed systematic galactic genocide for millions of years (possibly longer) [[Worthy Opponent|have acknowledged him/her as a true threat.]] Each class also results in a new form of badass for Shepard;
** [[Ambadassador]]: By ''Mass Effect 3'' where s/he's tasked with making peace and creating alliances through species with centuries or millennia old conflicts. S/he never stops kicking ass along the way.
** [[Badass Arm Fold]]: Shepard is fond of doing this; when s/he does, you know things are going to go badly, somehow, for someone.
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** [[Badass in A Nice Suit]]: Kasumi procures a tuxedo for a male Shepard for use in his loyalty mission. It can become a default casual outfit for Shepard after the mission's complete.
** [[Colonel Badass|Commander Badass]]
** [[Cultured Badass]]: Notable when romancing Ashley. Also implied to be familiar with Thomas Hobbes when talking to Thane in the sequel. Renegade Shepard also references [[The Prince|Machiavelli]], saying "[[Beam Me Up, Scotty|It's better to be feared than loved.]]"
** ''"You can fight like a krogan, you can run like a leopard, but [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeY-2ovpF9c you'll never be better than Commander Shepard]!"''
* [[Bad Dreams]]: In the first game, Shepard has unsettling dreams about the visions from the Prothean beacon. Understandable, considering that it A) was information delivered in a format not meant to be understood by human minds, and B) concerned the extermination of entire species. In the third game, Shepard starts having flat-out nightmares [[Survivor Guilt|about the people s/he couldn't save.]]
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'''Shepard:''' Marriage, old age, [[Babies Ever After|lots of little blue children]]. <br />
'''Liara:''' You just say these things! }}
* [[Bond One -Liner]]: Several. Many of them are Renegade options.
{{quote| '''Mercenary:''' I've got nothing more to say to you.<br />
''(Shepard [[Destination Defenestration|pushes the merc out the skyscraper window]])''<br />
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{{quote| '''Colonist Shepard''': They rebuilt [[Doomed Hometown|Mindoir]]. ''It wasn't the same''.}}
* [[Broken Pedestal]]: Is seen as this by quite a few people in ''[[Mass Effect 2 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 2]]'', particularly Ashley/Kaidan, since s/he's forced to work with Cerberus.
** Particularly in Ash's example, when you consider that just seconds earlier she had berated an ungrateful colonist that Shepard had rescued and told him that he was "standing in the presence of a ''GOD''", then immediately [[What the Hell, Hero?|chews you out for working with Cerberus.]]
{{quote| '''James Vega:''' You know the Commander?<br />
'''Ashley/Kaidan:''' [[We Used to Be Friends|I used to.]] }}
** This is even noted in one of the background news reports as being one of the public's reactions to sightings of Shepard.
{{quote| '''Announcer:''' Emotions at Shepard's alleged survival are mixed. While some are overjoyed to see her/him return, [[Hero With Bad Publicity|others believe her/his false death was a betrayal.]]}}
* [[Buffy -Speak]]: Shepard invokes this [[Crowning Moment of Funny|when drunk]], just before ordering a [[Gargle Blaster]] intended specifically for krogan.
{{quote| '''Shepard:''' Hell yeah. Put more of the stuff in the... the thing more stuff goes in.}}
* [[Bullying a Dragon]]: For the [[Eldritch Abomination|Reapers]] and those who work with them, this is acceptable. But then you have [[Too Dumb to Live|the slave traders who try to take Shepard hostage to sell on the black market]], and those mercenaries who think that just because their men have been lining up shots, that means that s/he's done for.
* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Renegade Shepard is somewhat of an example. An (almost) omnicidal maniac with free reign of a state of the art ship and just about do whatever the hell they want. They mouth off the three single most powerful people in the entire Goddamn universe several times, and gets away with it many, many, ''many'' times. Why? Shepard does a good job.
** Even Paragon Shepard can qualify for this trope. S/he will do as ordered...''[[Take Your Time|eventually]]''. Until then, they can and will gladly [[Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right|break every single rule in the book]] to ensure that [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|every single wrong in sight has been righted]] no matter how big a political storm will follow. Why are they tolerated by a strictly traditionalist society? Shepard gets results.
* [[But for Me It Was Tuesday]]: In ''[[Mass Effect 2 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 2]]'', Shepard can meet with Fist, who gets real snippy at the fact that you ruined his life. The Renegade option basically has you say "I forgot about you five minutes after I told you to run".
* [[Came Back Wrong]]: A possibility in the sequel if the player chooses to alter his or her imported character during the [[Character Customization|Lazarus Project]].
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** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx-W3WsQlFg&feature=related Female example here.]
* [[Came Back Strong]]: Due to the Lazarus Project, Shepard now posesses a reinforced skeletal structure, cybernetic implants, immunity to poisons and toxins that would kill a regular human and potentially gained biotic abilities.
* [[Canada, Eh?]]: Listen to Male Shepard say "about". Unmistakable.
** Mind you both voice actors for Shepard are Canadian, Jennifer Hale just hides it better.
** Lampshaded in ''3'' if FemShep romances Samantha Traynor. When talking about having a dinner date post-War, she balks at Shepard's suggestion it be in ''Vancouver'' instead of somewhere romantic like Paris or Tokyo.
{{quote| '''Shepard''': What's wrong with Vancouver?}}
* [[Canon Name]]: John for men, Jane for women. You can change that to whatever you want; [[Hello, Insert Name Here|Shepard stays.]]
* [[The Cape]] / [[The Cowl]]: Paragon and Renegade Shepard respectively.
* [[The Captain]]: Even if Shepard admits they never ''officially'' reached that rank.
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* [[Dare to Be Badass]]: Shepard uses this to motivate an injured krogan in the second game:
{{quote| '''Shepard:''' I said a badass, not some scout whining like a quarian with a tummyache!<br />
'''Tali:''' [[What the Hell, Hero?|I'm standing]] [[Crowning Moment of Funny|right here!]] }}
** Shepard can also pull another one of these on Ashley or Kaidan in ''3'' {{spoiler|when they are standing between you and the traitorous Councilor Udina, who is framing you for the Cerberus coup. It gets them to put their guns down and side with you.}}
{{quote| '''Shepard: You've always stood true to what you believed. I admire that most about you. Listen to your gut.}}
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** {{spoiler|"Goodbye Thane. You won't be alone long.}}
* [[Defiant to The End]]: Picks up this attitude more and more with each game.
* [[Determinator]]: All three of Shepard's possible backgrounds ([[One -Man Army|War Hero]], [[Sole Survivor]], and [[We Have Reserves|Ruthless]]) have shades of this.
** And of course Shepard is this in both of the games to a ridiculous extreme, no matter how bad things get.
** In ''[[Mass Effect 3 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 3]]'', s/he gets {{spoiler|shot by Harbinger. No, not a possessed Collector, ''Harbinger'', the actual ''Reaper'', coming down from space to personally kill Shepard with its main gun.}} And this ''doesn't stop Shepard''.
** Lampshaded by Admiral Hackett in the third game, who notes that Shepard had no reason to think that going against Sovereign would even work, but they ignored orders and risked everything to do it anyway. Then against all odds, Shepard went on a suicide mission to destroy the Collectors and managed to make it out alive. Now Shepard is ''going'' to unite the galaxy to take on the Reapers, simply because its what Shepard ''does''.
* {{spoiler|[[Disney Death]]}}: Played with in the first game, subverted with the second.
* {{spoiler|[[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: As of now, Shepard has personally killed ''three'' Reapers. Two on foot. Granted, one was half-dead already and the other was pretty much an embryo, but still impressive.}}
** {{spoiler|There's still one game left, and an entire Reaper fleet for him/her to bring up that count.}}
*** In the {{spoiler|'Destroy' ending, it turns into [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|Did You Just Punch Out]] ''[[Serial Escalation|Every]]'' [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|Cthulhu]]? Yes. Yes, you did.}}
** {{spoiler|[[Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu]]: In the third game, in every ending; at the very ''least'', all the mass relays are destroyed}}.
** Shepard actually ''did'' break their arm in the first game when they defeated Sovereign.
*** And again in the third game, {{spoiler|leading the [[Zerg Rush|charge across No Man's Land]] in London to the portal leading to the Citadel. Literally and in the sense that his/her entire sizable task force is wiped out in the attempt.}}
* [[Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?]]: {{spoiler|S/He pissed off the Reapers so much that the entire fleet is after them ''personally''. When controlling a Collector, Harbinger at times orders them to focus entirely on Shepard, but not damage Shepard's body, if possible. Only Bioware knows what horrors he wants to inflict upon the Commander.}}
** "Shepard, you have become an annoyance."
*** You can also take the piss out of {{spoiler|Sovereign}} when you first meet him.
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* [[Doomed Hometown]]: Mindoir, if Shepard has the Colonist Background.
* [[Dramatic Space Drifting]]: The death scene at the beginning of the second game.
* [[The Dreaded]]: Even though in game-play all [[Mooks]] display [[Suicidal Overconfidence]], the Commander is referred to like this on two occasions: First, on the [http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/N7:_MSV_Strontium_Mule MSV Strontium Mule assignment], Merc datapads contain [[Oh Crap]] messages on the fact that you're attacking. Second, on the ''Arrival'' [[Downloadable Content]], there is a [[Optional Boss]] fight were you [[Hold the Line]] against waves of [[Artificial Brilliance|scarily intelligent enemies]] and a [[Mini Boss]] all by yourself. If you can win the fight, you'll hear increasingly desperate cries about [[One -Man Army|how unstoppable you are]].
** And once Shepard wakes up from the sedatives, the scientist there gets terrified and soon security is just as terrified.
** Ruthless Shepard is actually called "the Butcher of Torfan" by the Batarians.
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'''Shepard:''' ''I know!''<br />
'''Liara:''' ''Aah!'' }}
* [[Dual -Wielding]]/[[Guns Akimbo]]: Depending on how you interpret omnitools. If you look closely, it turns out that Shepard is actually using ''two'' omnitools. The one on his/her left hand lights up when administering medigel, doing utility tasks, or using an offensive tech attack. When activating a defensive ability like Fortification or Geth Shield Boost, however, an omnitool on his/her right hand will activate.
** If a Sentinel, Shepard's melee attack in ''3'' comprises of dual-wielding a pair of Omni-Blades.
* [[Dude, Where's My Respect?]]: Both used and subverted. Most people are aware of how impressive Shepard is, but that doesn't stop them from asking the Commander to do whatever legal or illegal errands they need run. Nor does it make the Council any more likely to listen to their claims.
* [[Dudley Do -Right Stops to Help]]: What happens when Shepard chooses the paragon choice during Zaeed's loyalty mission.
** Also comes up during many of the [[Sidequest|N7 missions]], especially the [[The Power of the Sun|Endangered Research Station]], [[Colony Drop|Imminent Ship Crash]], and [[Big Damn Heroes|Quarian Crash Site]] assignments.
** Some of the side quests in the third game can come off as... questionable in importance when [[Tagline|Earth is burning]], and a good chunk of them come from ''conversations that Shepard overhears''; s/he's not even ''asked'' to go. Overhear a conversation in a club and then decide to head over to a remote part of the galaxy and barely evade a Reaper assault in order to find a decrepit banner that will boost some turians' morale? Sure, why not!
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* [[Even the Girls Want Her]]: Female Shepard. Even Tali [[Les Yay|gets stuttery and embarrassed around her.]] Played [[Incredibly Lame Pun|straight]] with [[Gay Option|Yeoman Kelly Chambers]] in the second and Traynor in the third. [invoked]
** [[Even the Guys Want Him]]: [[Celibate Hero|Mordin]] states that if he was actually interested in Romance, Shepard would be his first choice. This includes the Male Shepard. Also, after killing the Tresher Maw in Grunt's loyalty mission, Shepard gets breeding requests from Krogan of ''both'' genders. Played straight with Kaidan and Cortez in the third.
* [[EverybodysEverybody's Dead, Dave]]: Both the Colonist and Sole Survivor backgrounds.
* [[Everyone Can See It]]: Depending on Shepard's gender, there will be repeated commentary on his/her rapport with either [[Fan Preferred Couple|Tali or Garrus]].
* [[Exactly What I Aimed At]]: Can be used in the second game to shut up an ''incredibly'' annoying krogan.
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* [[Fluffy Tamer]]: In ''2'', Shepard can pet and feed [[Ugly Cute|Urz]] on Tuchanka, causing the Varren to follow you around [[Fluffy the Terrible|like a puppy.]]
** If Shepard interacts with Mouses's Shepard VI in ''3'', it claims you they like a Varren person.
* [[Foe -Tossing Charge]]: Only Shepard can use the Vanguard's biotic Charge, from ''[[Mass Effect 2 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 2]]''. The impact will knock the foe off their feet, making them an easy target for your shotgun. Unfortunately, if the enemy has armor or shields, they'll only stumble backwards instead of being thrown head over heels. The charge also lets you phase through objects, allowing you to get up next to enemies in cover, blast them down, then find cover yourself before their buddies retaliate.
** How the Charge attacks work may induce a moment of [[Fridge Logic]], especially the 'passing through obstacles' bit, but becomes [[Fridge Brilliance]] if you recall the {{spoiler|Conduit. The Conduit's destination terminus is certainly with an enclosed space, the Presidium, but the mass relay still successfully delivers the Prothean survivors, and later Saren and then the Mako, through successfully.}} So basically, Shepard is using his/her biotics to turn him/herself into a self-projecting, sub-lightspeed mass relay.
* [[Futile Hand Reach]]: In the third game, during his/her recurring nightmare about the little boy s/he watched the Reapers kill.
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* [[Evil Counterpart|Good Counterpart]]: This to no less than three characters: Saren Arterius, {{spoiler|Tela Vasir}}, and Kai Leng.
** Also noticable with {{spoiler|Javik}} who is {{spoiler|the Prothean version of a Shepard who failed to stop the Reapers.}}
* [[Good Is Not Dumb]]: It's truly astonishing how many villains think that they can take on the soldier who's [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|killed mecha-gods]] and [[One -Man Army|wiped out entire armies]] [[Underestimating Badassery|just because s/he's trying to be reasonable.]]
* [[Good Is Not Nice]]: Paragon interrupts in ME2 are frequently just as [[Badass]] as Renegade ones, and several involve punching someone in the face. That said, Paragon Shepard generally ''is'' uncommonly compassionate, patient and caring - especially when it comes to her/his crew - but don't think for a moment that s/he won't come down on you like a ton of bricks if you cross the [[Moral Event Horizon]] or [[Jump Off the Slippery Slope]]. "Nice" doesn't mean "soft", after all.
* [[Good Is Not Soft]]: Paragon Shepard is one of the most notable examples of this trope imaginable. S/he is unquestionably selfless and compassionate, but if pushed, will not hesitate to gun down anyone stupid enough to get in his/her way.
** The ending to the download mission ''Overlord'' defines this. Even a pure renegade Shepard is sickened by what is done to David. The paragon option is to take David away; with a bonus interrupt to [[Pistol Whip]] his brother, and threaten him at gunpoint. As that's the Paragon option. [[Good Is Not Soft]] indeed.
* [[Good Morning, Crono]]: The beginning of the second game. Only instead of waking up to go to work, Shepard wakes up from being, you know, dead.
* [[Good Old Fisticuffs]]: {{spoiler|Shepard's way of dealing with the Shadow Broker.}}
* [[Good Scars, Evil Scars]]: In the sequel, s/he gains some glowing scars after {{spoiler|dying and being resurrected by Cerberus}}. If you play a Paragon, they slowly disappear almost completely. [http://images.wikia.com/masseffect/images/c/c1/Shepard_renegade.jpg If you play a Renegade...]
** The first game's character creation screen features a variety of scars suitable for every alignment.
* [[Go Through Me]]: Invoked in ''Arrival'' that when the Reapers come, Shepard will be there.
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** {{spoiler|You can do this again in ''3'' with the Illusive Man who is likewise indoctrinated}}.
* [[The Heart]]: Paragon Shepard.
* [[Hello, Insert Name Here]]: Averted. [[Last -Name Basis|Everyone refers to him/her purely as Shepard]], even love interests; the player-chosen first name is purely cosmetic.
** Unless you [[Leaning On the Fourth Wall|make your first name "Commander"]].
** Or '[[We Do the Impossible|Loco]]'/'[[Big Sister Mentor|Lola]]', depending on Shepard's gender.
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* [[Immortal Hero]]: Both played straight and subverted. {{spoiler|The Illusive Man brings him/her back from the dead because he knows Shepard is indispensable to the defense of the galaxy, but that doesn't stop Shepard from dying if you were careless at the end of the second game.}}
* [[Implacable Man|Implacable (Wo)Man]]: Especially so in the second game. No matter what Shepard's enemies do, up to and including {{spoiler|[[Back From the Dead|outright killing him/her]]}}, Shepard will '''''not''''' stop coming for them. Some of the missions in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' really [[Lampshade Hanging|highlight this]].
{{quote| '''[[Mook]]:''' [[One -Man Army|Shepard]] ''[[Oh Crap|won't go down]]''!}}
** {{spoiler|1=Near the end of ME3, Shepard gets blasted by a full-sized Reaper. ''And keeps going.'' Commander Shepard ''will. Not. Be. Stopped.''}}
* [[Insane Troll Logic]]: Renegade Shepard seems to take perverse pleasure in finding flimsy excuses for his/her rampages.
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*** Paragon Shepard can also fit this, with the right choices.
** [[Jerkass Has a Point]]: In-Universe example, as well as out-of-universe. This is pretty much the entire point of at least half of the 'intimidate'/lower-left red dialogue options.
* [[Judge, Jury, and Executioner]]: Has this authority as a Spectre.
* [[Karma Houdini]]: A Renegade Shepard never faces any consequences for his/her actions. Everyone else ''around'' him/her though...
** Averted due to the events of The Arrival DLC. {{spoiler|Shepard (Paragon and Renegade) ''will'' be going to trial for wiping out an entire solar system and killing 300,000+ people in the process}}.
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** Only to be shocked when Seryna offers to help him find Thane with no strings attached.
* [[The Ladette]]: Fem!Shep doesn't seem all that feminine: career marine, rarely wears dresses, sits like a man, speaks with a deep voice, and downs shots just as readily as Dude!Shep (even [[Gargle Blaster|ryncol]]). You can even do a Renegade interrupt in one mission when a merc "mistakes" you for a stripper. (If you don't make the interrupt, the Merc is still impressed. "Wow, not even a smile. That hardass, huh?")
* [[Last -Name Basis]]: Everyone, from superior officers to lovers to random people you just met on the street will call you Shepard.
** Lampshaded by Dr Chakwas in ''3''.
{{quote| '''Chakwas''': You know, I just realised you never have called me by my first name.<br />
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* [[Les Yay]]: Since some of the dialogue between Shepard and female characters is standard regardless whether a male or female Shepard is played, some exchanges such as with Miranda come off this way. (In the real world this is in part due to same-sex relationships being removed from the final game, with Kelly and Liara being two notable exceptions.)
* [[Lightning Bruiser]]: The Soldier Class has the fastest storm speed of all the classes.
** Storm speed schmorm speed. [[Foe -Tossing Charge|Vanguard]] thinks Soldier is quaint for having to ''run'' to shotgun his/her foe in the face.
** All classes move much faster in ''[[Mass Effect 3 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 3]]''. Expect Soldiers and Vanguards to take it [[Up to Eleven]].
* [[Like an Old Married Couple]]: Shepard's interaction with Liara has this vibe in ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'', even if she wasn't romanced.
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** Not to mention a Paragon Shepard fufills this role entirely, protecting both the innocent and their flock from encroaching wolves... or Reapers.
** Also, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Shepard Shepard]. Nerd Yay!
** {{spoiler|A post-credits scene has a kid ask for another story about "[[Spell My Name With a "The"|The Shepard]]."}}
** Inverted in ''3''. If Shepard cures the Genophage, Wrex declares their name will come to mean "Hero" in the Krogan language.
* [[Married to The Job]]: When they discuss settling down in ''3'', Jacob admits he feels the Normandy is Shepard's real love and can't picture him / her giving it up. Interestingly, he treats a Shepard who romanced him differently - he tells her that happiness is out there for her when she wants it.
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** Although its mentioned a few times that the level of military discipline enforced onboard lies solely at the discretion of the Captain of the vessel. Paragon Shepard is repeatedly shown in both games to be perfectly fine with waving rank aside and letting the crew speak freely as friends and equals, even stating at one point that they always keep an open door policy.
** Its worth noting that the only people in authority that Shepard is shown to have any respect for, always refers to as "Sir" and actively remembers to stand to attention while speaking to, are Admirals [[Big Good|Hackett]] and [[Reasonable Authority Figure|Anderson.]]
* [[Military Maverick]]: So very, very much. Even if you don't play a [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|Renegade]], you still end up {{spoiler|conspiring to defy the Council and get your ship back to fight Saren}}, and that's just ''one'' occurrence. And in the second game, you can have a ''second'' authority group you can defy. Fairly, [[What the Hell, Hero?|you can get called on this.]]
* [[Moment of Weakness]]: A potential (depending on dialogue) and very brief one at the end of Lair of the Shadow Broker. Shepard, no matter how bad things have gotten, has always nearly always kept his/her suffering secret from the crew. Liara, showing the strength of the relationship between her and Shepard (romance or otherwise), can convince Shepard to lower his/her defenses where Shepard will, for the first time, express real worry about the task ahead or vent as to how [[The Chains of Commanding|s/he has to make the]] [[Sadistic Choice|tough decisions]] [[Hero With Bad Publicity|and be shunned for them.]]
** Several, in ME3. All of Shepard's friends worry about him / her. Shepard goes from giving everyone pep talks, to being the one receiving pep talks.
* [[Morality Chain]]: Paragon Shepard plays this role for Garrus, keeping from becoming the kind of people he fights against. Especially notable if FemShep romances Garrus.
** Paragon Shepard also is one for Liara, the Paragon interrupts in ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' pointing out the sheer collateral damage of her actions and attempting to pull her back from her descent into [[Well -Intentioned Extremist]] territory.
** Paragon Shepard also becomes one for Miranda and Jack (or at least as Jack starts getting better).
* [[Mr. Fanservice]]: Male Shepard's face was based on a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Vanderloo model.]
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** [[Doomed Hometown]]: The basis for Colonist origin. [[Dangerous Sixteenth Birthday|At the age of Sixteen]], Batarian slave raiders paid Shepard's home colony of Mindoir a visit. S/He was the only survivor of his/her family.
** [[Street Urchin]]: Basis for the Earthborn origin. Born an orphan, street urchin, later gang member. Enrolled in the Alliance Navy to get away from that life.
** [[BusmansBusman's Holiday]]: The War Hero service record. Try and get some R&R, and wouldn't you know it, you wind up killing space pirates...
** [[Sole Survivor]]: Explicit name for the second service record. Deployed to a planet called Akuze, and your entire unit, except apparently you, is slaughtered by a [[Sand Worm|Thresher Maw]]. {{spoiler|There is one other survivor, whom you can encounter on a sidequest, but he's unhinged from spending years as a lab experiment for Cerberus.}}
** [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]: The Ruthless service record. In the Alliance's retaliation for the attack that the War Hero background helped defend against, Shepard sends more than a few good men to die to make sure no slavers get out alive, earning Shepard notoriety as [[The Butcher]] [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|of Torfan]].
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* [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot]]: Or more specifically [[Psychic Powers|Psychic]] [[Cyborg]] {{spoiler|Zombie}} [[Space Marine]].
* [[Noble Bigot With a Badge]]: A Renegade Shepard can make many racist assumptions about other species, and is quick to make remarks regarding his/her desire to avoid cooperation with them.
* [[Noble Demon]]: A possible playthrough of Renegade Shepard: a ruthless [[Anti -Hero]] who will do anything to complete his/her mission, and actively embraces the image of a [[One -Man Army]] bestowed upon him/her... but at the same time can help any person who may need it, and would gladly place him/herself in harm's way for or speak on the behalf of any member of his/her crew.
* [[Not Afraid to Die]]: Shepard in the second game and the third, likely cause they've already ''done'' that.
** Aided by the fact that in the third game, s/he becomes a mild version of a [[Death Seeker]]. S/he's not really looking to die and wants to finish the job, [[Hurting Hero|but at this point s/he really doesn't care.]]
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* [[Number Two]]: At the beginning of the first game, Shepard serves as the second of commander under Captain Anderson. After becoming a Spectre, Shepard becomes Admiral Hackett's go-to-guy/gal when it comes to under the table Alliance Affairs. Garrus eventually takes up this role for Shepard.
* [[Oblivious to Love]]: A male Shepard towards Tali in the first game. Given how quickly he jumps at the chance to be with a female Shepard, this might apply to Garrus as well. Dialogue in their romance scene also implies that a male Shepard was this toward Kaidan too.
* [[One -Man Army|One (Wo)Man Army]]: S/he can take a squad of three against three hundred and come out on top, as well as bring his/her entire squad through a guaranteed suicide mission alive.
** Literally a case of this with the War Hero Backstory.
** Accentuated during the ''[[Mass Effect 2 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 2]]: Arrival'' DLC, where Shepard can face down several dozen {{spoiler|indoctrinated Alliance}} soldiers, including combat techs, assault infantry, and a YMIR mech, totally alone, and slaughters them all. [[Memetic Mutation|DIRECT INTERVENTION IS NECESSARY]] from the {{spoiler|Reaper artifact}} to take him/her out of commission. [[Curb Stomp Battle|And when Shepard regains his/her feet, s/he rips through the entire base of elite assault troops in a total Curb Stomp Battle. Totally alone.]]
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** S/he also hears quite a lot of "WTF?! I thought you were dead!" in the second game.
* [[The Pollyanna]]: A full Paragon Shepard comes off as this, especially in the first game. (S)he never fully gives up hope that the Council will do the right thing in the end, (S)he will try to end a conflict by negotiating no matter how big of a bastard the bad guy is, and (S)he has almost infinite patience for the character flaws of others (Udina's attitude is dismissed as him "having a lot on his mind" or "just doing his job". The encounter with Al-jilani is described as "We had differences of opinion, sir. I hope she at least believed my sincerity".) Doesn't make him/her any less of a [[Badass]] though.
* [[Precision F -Strike]]: Occurs twice during the main game:
** Once, during Tali's loyalty mission (If you're a Renegade.):
{{quote| '''Shepard:''' Do whatever you want with your toy ships. But leave my crew out of your political BULLSHIT!}}
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* [[Prophetic Dreams]]
* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]: How every one of Shepard's squads starts out. They're [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|abnormally skilled misfits]], but would still probably kill each other in a heartbeat without Shepard guiding them.
* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: Renegade Shepard enjoys giving these, though Paragon can get in on the action as well, notably giving a memorable one to [[Paparazzi|Al-Jilani]] in the second game.
** Also [[Good Is Not Nice|Paragon Shepard's]] verbal smackdown to the Quarian Admirals in the second game, which literally involves yelling at them for falsely charging Tali with committing treason.
** Paragon Shepard's speech to end the Geth-Quarian war in ''3''.
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* [[The Sadistic Choice]]: [[The Chains of Commanding|Is forced to make a few.]]
* [[Save the Villain]]: Paragon Shepard attempts to do this to Saren in ''1'' and The Illusive Man in ''3'', despite the fact that they have repeatedly tried to kill him/her and {{spoiler|are heavily indoctrinated}}.
* [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules]]: Paragon Shepard in a nutshell, unless s/he's going for...
* [[Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right]]: ''also'' Paragon Shepard in a nutshell, though moreso in ''Mass Effect 2''. With a [[Well -Intentioned Extremist|loose enough definition of "what's right,"]] Renegade Shep also counts, sometimes.
* [[SchrodingersSchrodinger's Player Character]]: Not the character itself, but the stories behind them. No matter what origin and backstory you chose for Shepard, all of those events happened. S/he was just only present for one or two of them.
* [[Second Love]]: If {{spoiler|your first love interest dies on Virmire and you romance someone else in the sequel.}}
* [[Semper Fi]]: Shepard starts out as a Marine. An extremely talented Marine who went through specialized training to become a Special Forces officer, but still a Marine.
* [[She Cleans Up Nicely]]: Female Commander Shepard during Hock's party in Kasumi's loyalty quest. It's the only time in the series to date that Female Shepard has worn anything feminine, a dress and heels. Sadly, the usual male jaw-drop that typically happens during one of these scenes is absent. Kasumi makes an offhand comment, but that's about it.
** Male Shepard gets a suit too, but his is just a re-skinned version of the same suit every male character wears. Female Shepard's is actually unique.
* [[Shell -Shocked Veteran]]: If played right, despite being only the age of 29 in the first game and 31 in the second s/he can come off as being already nearly emotionally crippled by what s/he's seen and experienced.
** Played straight in ''3''. Shepard has recurring nightmares of the boy in the vent they failed to save and everyone they've lost. And by the end, it's quite clear that s/he pretty much emotionally burned out.
* [[Shipper On Deck]]: Shepard may hint a little in regards to EDI and Joker.
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** By ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'', Shepard can become so obsessed with defeating the Reapers [[Alternate Character Interpretation|or simply psychotic]] that s/he will deliberately gun down anyone in his\her way, even allies and squad members.
* {{spoiler|[[Shrouded in Myth]]: One of the endings has Shepard's many deeds being remembered far into the future, although some of the details have been lost to time.}}
* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: Does this ''a lot.'' Moreso in ME2 with the Renegade "interrupt" options.
** Paragon gets his/her piece in too, though more with regular conversation.
* [[Sink or Swim Mentor]]: Shepard often invokes [[Dare to Be Badass]] in their friends and allies in ''2'' and ''3''.
** Could be seen as one to Ashley/Kaidan in the third game when they become a Spectre. If you hold off the renegade interrupt, Shepard's hesitation to shoot {{spoiler|Udina}} could be interpreted as a way of letting Ashley/Kaidan know the responsibility that comes with being a Spectre and of owning ones mistakes, meaning they should be the one to shoot {{spoiler|Udina}}.
* [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]: Paragon/Renegade, natch.
* [[Sorry, I'm Gay]]: If romancing Liara, a female Shepard can use this response to shun Kaidan's attempts at romance.
* [[The Southpaw]]: Shepard is occasionally depicted in promotional materials as being left-handed, even though s/he isn't in-game.
* [[Space Marine]]
* [[Space Police]]
* [[Spell My Name With an "S"]]: It's '''''"Shepard."''''' No second 'h', no second 'p', and spelled with an 'a'. This one [[Modern Warfare|always seems to be a problem]]...
** [[Lampshaded]] in ME2: Upon finishing Jack's recruitment mission, Shepard receives an email from one of the ex-prisoners in Purgatory, calling him/her "Shepherd".
* {{spoiler|1=[[Spell My Name With a "The"]]: One of the endings of ME3 has Shepard actually remembered far into the future as "The Shepard".}}
* [[Stupid Sexy Flanders]]: In-universe, [[Even the Girls Want Her|FemShep appears to incite this in Tali]], for maximum awkwardness.
* [[Super Soldier]]: Becomes one in ''Mass Effect 2''.
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** [[Team Mom]]: ...At the same time, Shepard can be nurturing and act as the mediator and heart of the team. In the same debate above, Shepard can persuade both of them to cooperate and realize that they have more in common than they realize.
* {{spoiler|[[Team Killer]]}}: {{spoiler|In the third game, Renegade Shepard seems to go through allies even faster than the Reapers: you can personally kill Mordin, Wrex (if he survived the first game), Legion, and Ashley/Kaidan. If you count preventable [[Driven to Suicide|suicides]], you can add Tali and Samara to that list, as well (and you can render Samara's suicide [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog|entirely pointless]] by killing the last of her daughters immediately after). Deaths by omission/neglect include Miranda, Jack, and Kelly Chambers. And so on.}}
* [[This Is Unforgivable!]]: {{spoiler|A Paragon Shepard will get ''pissed'' after learning the truth behind Project Overlord.}}
* [[Tired of Running]]: Shepard invokes this throughout the third game.
* [[Tomato in The Mirror]]: In the third game, during the Alliance raid on {{spoiler|Cerberus HQ}}, Shepard finds evidence that s/he may be {{spoiler|a Frankenstein cyborg powered by a VI that ''thinks'' it is Shepard.}} Shepard's friends quickly assure them that this couldn't be the case, but it isn't until the apperance of a recording from the Illusive Man stating that he wants Shepard to remain unaltered in ''any way'' that this trope is defied.
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* [[We Do the Impossible]]: Shepard's effectiveness in completing suicidal missions has attracted the attention of more than one group.
** In ''3'' Anderson notes that entire armies have fallen trying to kill a single Reaper. Shepard has managed to kill about ''four''. With the last two being done ''on foot''.
* [[Well -Intentioned Extremist]]: Many of Renegade Shepard's dialogue options and actions veer into this direction.
** Sometimes even [[Good Is Not Nice|Paragon actions]] can arguably be considered this.
* [[What Measure Is a Non Badass]]: Renegade Shepard often blows off and demeans many people that aren't combat personnel. This can even extend to starship crew.
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: While Shepard can be called out on his/her actions depending on them, s/he is given the opportunity to call out other people himself several times, including Udina, the Council, and {{spoiler|Zaeed in the Paragon ending of his loyalty mission}}.
** {{spoiler|The Virmire Survivor}} calls Shepard out in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' for working with Cerberus. At the beginning of ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'', s/he's also being called out in a ''major'' way for {{spoiler|blowing up a star system and killing over 300,000 batarians}}.
** {{spoiler|Kill Mordin and sabotage the Genophage Cure, and Wrex will call you out on it. By pointing a shotgun at your face.}}
* [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]]: Due to Shepard's cybernetic implants rendering them partially synthetic, as well as their continuously evolving [[Acquired Poison Immunity]], its concievable that Shepard's potential lifespan now far exceeds that the average human.
** It is a matter of [[Wild Mass Guessing|some debate]] amongst the fandom whether or not Shepard could even potentially be ''[[The Ageless|Biologically Immortal]]'' if their organic body parts are supplimented and maintained by their synthetic ones. Its worth noting that dialogue with Dr Chakwas and Miranda heavily imply that they ''do'' play some part in regulating, enhancing and maintaining Shepard's vital body functions.
* [[Wide Eyed Idealist]]: Paragon Shepard. One of the responses to Ashley Williams' asking if they joined the Alliance to uphold some [[Military Brat|family tradition]]:
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