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I saw a thread a while ago that described a scenario where there were several portals opened up connecting the 40k and ME. but the rules of each universe only apply when in the universe it came from (the warp wouldn't be in the ME universe, only in the 40k)
and I'm interested in what everyone would think how the races would interact.
Tau and Turians
Orks and Krogan
etc.

haiharoshin wrote:
I saw a thread a while ago that described a scenario where there were several portals opened up connecting the 40k and ME. but the rules of each universe only apply when in the universe it came from (the warp wouldn't be in the ME universe, only in the 40k)
and I'm interested in what everyone would think how the races would interact.
Tau and Turians
Orks and Krogan
etc.

Mass Effect is my favorite game of all time. I like ME significantly more than I like 40k, and I just have to say, if the two crossed fully, not one or two ships but the whole of the universes, it would be immediate war and the ME universe would die FAST.

Love both settings and stories, but yeah, Mass Effect and 40k are batting in entirely different leagues of power level. It wouldn't even be close.

Yeah. They had trouble working together to destroy the Reapers, who honestly aren't very powerful to most of 40k's stuff it seems.

The Reapers I feel would put up an okay fight, but everyone else in that universe is basically screwed.

The Tau alone could wipe out the ME universe Reapers included. I'm a huge fan of ME, even more so than 40k in fact. Still doesn't stop me from calling it in favor of 40k.

While I'm usually inclined to say that Warhammer would win out in such a situation, I do have to point out that if the Warp did not exist in the ME universe, then it would end up as a stalemate at best unless the Necrons get involved.

The reason is that almost all of the Warhammer factions need the warp to perform long-range travels (even the Tau, since they "skim" the warp to travel) so the moment they enter the ME universe, they're basically restricted to one solar system unless they can crack the mass relay's technology. This would give the ME factions a hell of a long time to outmanouver them. This also does mean that the ME factions would also not be able to wage an effective war on the 40kverse either, as they would be way out of range of the Mass Relays and do not have the massive numbers that the Imperium can throw at the meatgrinder.

Now however, if the Necrons got involved, it would be a completely different conflict. As the Necrons are completely tied to the material universe, they have the Inertialless drive, which allows them to do warp-jump levels of travel without utilizing the warp in any form. This would mean that not only would they be able to match the Citadel AND Reapers in manouverability, but they're also able to hide in places without Mass Relays, as they can effectively jump in and out of those places while the Council races can't. Moreso, they can destroy Mass Relays, as on top of them not requiring it for travel, they will also be more likely to survive the explosion of a Mass Relay than the Council Races. Finally, due to their very nature, Necrons have barely any logistics to speak of. No need for food, water or air and they don't seem to need ammunition for their guns.

One Necron tombship solos the ME universe. ME is one of the most realistic scifi universes out there. 40k... isn't.

I do know that the ME universe wouldn't stand a chance against 40k, I'm rather curious as for each races reasoning behind fighting.
Why would the Imperium want to eradicate the systems alliance? they aren't filthy xenos after all.
And how would orcs stack up against the krogan and salarians?

Baseline Korgan are tougher than baseline orks. Much much tougher, but the larger orks would be problematic since orks can get bigger and bigger to an extent.

The Salarians do have some advanced biological sciences divisions perhaps even past Asari since they developed the genophage. It's possible they could develop something to combat the Orks, but it would take a lot of time and that isn't something they might necessarily have. If they could be kept alive long enough to neutralize ork reproduction then GG orks.

In combat a small ork wagh would crumple the entire Salarian sector of space. They are not front line fighters at all. Tau without the mobility, firepower, advanced army, or even auxiliaries.

haiharoshin wrote:
I do know that the ME universe wouldn't stand a chance against 40k, I'm rather curious as for each races reasoning behind fighting.
Why would the Imperium want to eradicate the systems alliance? they aren't filthy xenos after all.
And how would orcs stack up against the krogan and salarians?

The IoM will try to convert the Alliance, due to the Imperial Creed.
If they refuse, the IoM will brand them as heretics and wipe them out.

IIRC Sovereign, who cut through the turian fleet at the Citadel like they weren't even there, was mentioned as having a main gun with the equivalent of around 500 KT of destructive power. That's a small escort craft at best in 40k. The firepower of a lance battery from a Battleship would vaporize whatever it hit.

I haven't thought up a scenario that properly balances out both sides. Or at the very least one, that did it as effectively as the thread I mentioned before. Which is rather disappointing.
But, in the spirit of discussion, What would the necrons do if they encounter the reapers? considering their goals are somewhat similar. would they engage in friendly relations? or simply attempt to adopt each others tactics/technologies?

The Reapers aren't actually about wiping life out though, are they? I mean, they leave pre-spaceflight civilizations around so that the cycle can continue. The Necrons are in permanent "EXTERMINATE!!!" mode, no?

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:
The Reapers aren't actually about wiping life out though, are they? I mean, they leave pre-spaceflight civilizations around so that the cycle can continue. The Necrons are in permanent "EXTERMINATE!!!" mode, no?

Sort of. Its been a while, but what I remember about the reaper MO is that they are worried that advanced, space faring races would be capable of causing irreparable damage to the universe, so whenever a certain number of race reaches a certain point technologically they begin the culling. It has something to do with AIs going rogue, I think.

They are basically the anti-spirals from Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagaan.

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:
The Reapers aren't actually about wiping life out though, are they? I mean, they leave pre-spaceflight civilizations around so that the cycle can continue. The Necrons are in permanent "EXTERMINATE!!!" mode, no?

Sort of. Its been a while, but what I remember about the reaper MO is that they are worried that advanced, space faring races would be capable of causing irreparable damage to the universe, so whenever a certain number of race reaches a certain point technologically they begin the culling. It has something to do with AIs going rogue, I think.

They are basically the anti-spirals from Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagaan.

IIRC the Reapers were created to make sure that artificial life and biological life didn't end up murdering one another... by murdering space-faring civilizations but keeping records of their culture etc. (there's a reason why the ending of ME3 isn't well-liked ). The Necrons just want everything dead, full stop.

The Reapers were just some stooges to the little bitchy AI who created them to carry out its will.

I hated and still hate the endings so much. I was there 3 years ago, almost 4 now. I remember early reports of the ending. I finished the game in a day and the ending was so bad. I fought to have the ending changed. We made national news we were so pissed off.




We won, but at great cost. So many banned friends. So many people lost to the moderators, admins, and purges.

nah, calling the Reapers 'anti-spirals' actually about nails their role in their universe. One of the problems that I had with the ending of ME was why all the reapers looked alike - why they didn't each look like the supreme life form of each of the cullings ala ME2 (as explained by the Leviathian DLC).

I agree (reluctantly) though. There would be no conflict at each of the breeches as the 40k forces (regardless of which race) would wipe the floor of anything the ME races could throw in their way.

actually, wouldn't that make Nea and her father indoctrinated?

I forgot to mention Korgans lay 1000 eggs in a clutch and grow up to fighting capability shortly after birth. So I think they could give the orks a go for out breeding them and they have a better grasp of technology.

However the orks reproduce from spores so their long term reproduction is far more robust and resilient to being wiped out.

If the Krogan could be armed with weapons that could damage 40k stuff they could be a big threat. Or if the Tau were to absorb them into their Empire and unleash them as shock troops on the Imperium ouch.

40k has Necrons and moreso the C'tan, the most powerful beings there are that cannot even be harmed by any weapon the entire Mass Effect universe has. So...yeah, I'll echo what the others have said: if there was a crossover, the IoM would try to convert the useful races and if they refuse, wipe them out. In the end, more food is more food.

 carldooley wrote:
One of the problems that I had with the ending of ME was why all the reapers looked alike - why they didn't each look like the supreme life form of each of the cullings ala ME2 (as explained by the Leviathian DLC).

They do. More specifically, their cores do. We see a Reaper core half-finished as the end boss in ME2. It is clearly human in resemblance. The main hull is similar in most Reapers, though, made to look like the Leviathans.

 Gamgee wrote:
I forgot to mention Korgans lay 1000 eggs in a clutch and grow up to fighting capability shortly after birth. So I think they could give the orks a go for out breeding them and they have a better grasp of technology.

However the orks reproduce from spores so their long term reproduction is far more robust and resilient to being wiped out.

If the Krogan could be armed with weapons that could damage 40k stuff they could be a big threat. Or if the Tau were to absorb them into their Empire and unleash them as shock troops on the Imperium ouch.

True, but don't orks grow stronger the more fights they're in? Unless the Krogan are able to deal a decisive blow to the orks early on, any prolonged fight will only serve to make any fight more difficult to win.

Much like the ME games themselves, the ME universe would win so hard until it defeats itself in the last 10 minutes of the story

But on a more serious note, comparing the two gets awkward, both have their Fantasy elements, but ME is a much more "hard science" type deal (most of the time, or at least tries to be), while 40k really stops working when almost any sort of reality is injected.

You can't do "this whole universe vs that whole universe" because both sides have forces and entities that are beyond comprehension, and work with physics or universal laws that are different from each other. Like stated earlier; if the Warp exists, the 40k universe wins because they have the Gods of Chaos. Literal gods. Reapers are doomed against an actual God, and it's likely that being incorporeal means that daemons are immune to indoctrination. Reverse this and take out the warp, and the Mass Effect universe probably wins, as so many 40k worlds die to simple starvation from lack of supply-lines, while Necrons probably get out-teched and maybe even assimilated by the Geth AI's.

What you could do, instead, is pit "a force of these dudes vs a force of these dudes".

Reaper Fleet vs Imperial Sector Fleet; I give this one to the Imperium, but it's actually a pretty close fight. Given that the two forces meet without any preparations, Reaper Indoctrination would yet to take hold, and Imperial space combat technology is about equivalent to Reaper tech. Lance batteries are about equal power to the Reaper's beams of molten metal. The Reaper's Mass Effect Fields would give them admirable protection from Imperial missiles and explosives, and allow them to "land" on the Imperial Ships to make fighting them much more difficult, while Imperial Void Shields could handle the Reaper's weapons as well. Ultimately, the major factor is the size of the Imperial Fleet, which would just be too large for most Reaper Fleets to manage. If you say "all the Reapers", then it's also only fair to say "all the Imperial ships in the entire galaxy", which matches up even worse for the Reapers.

Krogan Invasion vs Ork Invasion; Another pretty close fight, but again, giving this to 40k. The Krogan would have a close combat, biotic, and tech advantage, but would lack the sheer numbers to really push back the Orks far enough. The beginnings of the war would seem to show that the Krogan are better, as their victories would have better mortality rates than the Orks. However, as the war pressed on, the Orks would start incorporating mass-effect rifles for their forces, and would start attacking with more and more high-powered weaponry scavenged and jury-rigged. The Krogan would find their own supplies diminishing as Ork forces would seem without number. Within a month, the Krogran would be pushed off the planet. Even with massive breeding in effect from a cured Genophage and presuming the Krogan have a much better start that I predict, the Krogan would be less than thorough with clearing the Ork infestations, resulting in a longer war that probably benefits the Orks.

Daemon Prince vs Commander Shepard; Daemon Prince beats Shepard, but Shepard chooses either the blue, green, or red option and wins

A Krogan can live off its hump for up to two months before needing to eat. They aren't so easy to kill by attrition. If there is no genophage cure yea effed. If they are cured the Krogan would likely win a ground war. They are extremely skilled strategists despite the majority of them being block heads the ones who make leadership are all skilled strategists. They were kicking the Turians asses badly. Not just attrition shock attacks but their generalship as well. Krogan are basically immune to radiation, conventional positions, toxins, and so much more. Not to mention when their primary nervous system is damaged they fly into a berserk rage that would make an ork pause. They also have biotics among themselves and are skilled at incorporating it into their fighting style from both raged and melee. Biotic technology is extremely reliable unlike the warp and the orks random nature. It was a big priority for the specters to take out their leadership during the war at any costs. Orks do get tougher as a campaign goes on, but Krogan hit harder and faster. I think we finally have an alien species that could threaten orks and beat them at their own game assuming they were armed with stolen tech from the 40k universe. Even in melee though they would be extremely hard frighting. They've even been known to use cloning to bolster their numbers even further.

Edit
If Commander Shepard can grab a bolter or something I think that deamon prince is fethed. He'll do some sassy talks, and then I'll choose the renegade option to skip his generic villain speech by perhaps shooting his minion and calling him a boring cliche. Then he picks the ending and we all lose due to how bad it is.

 Gamgee wrote:
A Krogan can live off its hump for up to two months before needing to eat. They aren't so easy to kill by attrition. If there is no genophage cure yea effed. If they are cured the Krogan would likely win a ground war. They are extremely skilled strategists despite the majority of them being block heads the ones who make leadership are all skilled strategists. They were kicking the Turians asses badly. Not just attrition shock attacks but their generalship as well. Krogan are basically immune to radiation, conventional positions, toxins, and so much more. Not to mention when their primary nervous system is damaged they fly into a berserk rage that would make an ork pause. They also have biotics among themselves and are skilled at incorporating it into their fighting style from both raged and melee. Biotic technology is extremely reliable unlike the warp and the orks random nature. It was a big priority for the specters to take out their leadership during the war at any costs. Orks do get tougher as a campaign goes on, but Krogan hit harder and faster. I think we finally have an alien species that could threaten orks and beat them at their own game assuming they were armed with stolen tech from the 40k universe. Even in melee though they would be extremely hard frighting. They've even been known to use cloning to bolster their numbers even further.

Yeah, I wasn't talking about food supplies, I meant fighting supplies - weapons, armour, tech. Remember, most Ork technology falls apart when not used by Orks, meaning there's nothing for the Krogan to scrap from. I also think that the Krogan and Orks are about equivalent in raw strength, durability, and leadership/generalship. Orks can sometimes live after having their head taken off and then reattached - something even the Krogan cannot do. Orks similarly have advanced regeneration and immunities to radiations and poisons (hence why they survive on Hulks), and form their own ecosystem where they go. From what we've seen, a Krogan going into a frenzy is about as strong as a Space Marine. Orks on the charge are just as strong. Most Orks, like most Krogan, are not very intelligent, but the Ork leaders are just as cunning as a Krogan Battlemaster. The two are practically reflections of each other. Krogan edge it out in on-the-field tactics and average Krogan intelligence is higher though, but the Orks have almost no need for supply lines, which in a war is a HUGE deal. Krogan would win more battles at first, but the tide would soon turn against them.

Still, I have to say, this is one of the most even matchups between 40k and "someone else" I've ever seen. 40k stuff when taken as a whole is so poweful, that there's little else that's a fair fight. Either they're pitted against something much weaker, or much more powerful, when doing "this universe's stuff vs that universe's stuff". This is a nice close call match!

I was trying to keep things balanced by keeping the effects of the warp out of the ME universe, giving the ME forces an advantage in maneuverability. at least until the Tau or IoM manage to replicate Mass Relay tech
As for the Krogan vs Ork thing, I suppose the largest determining factor of the victor would be the size of the Waaagh!, and the size of the Warboss leading it. Since if the Krogan manage to kill the warboss, the Waaagh! would stop and the orks would begin infighting until a new leader is chosen.
also, Universe vs. universe fights could work, depending on how much thought is put into the scenario. or at least in my opinion.

haiharoshin wrote:
Tau and Turians
Orks and Krogan
etc.

Turians are really closer to the Imperium than the Tau, and it'd not end well fro the Turians to say the least, Turians are certainly far superior soldiers to the common Imperial Guardsmen, in terms of discipline and accuracy, but even discounting the numbers issue they haven't demonstrated the armour or anti-armour capability necessary to deal with the Imperium's various war vehicles and walkers. As for Orks vs Krogan... if we're talking post-genophage cure, that'd probably be a glorious stalemate. Pre-cure, it'd be an Ork win. Eldar vs Asari wouldn't work too well for for the Asari due to the latter not having a very good military, though the two are fairly well matched otherwise with the Asari Eezo-enhanced agility vs the Eldar's natural agility... but once again, even when the numbers issue is discounted, the Asari have demonstrated one actual fighting vehicle, a gunship that was fairly quickly taken down by Reaper forces. Tau vs Salarians is a bit more even because of the Salarians having drone and mechanized assets to match that of the Tau and indeed even some weapons that I feel are actually superior to what the Tau have, but once the Tau began to bring their anti-titan assets in to play the Salarians would be hard pressed to even manage a stalemate. Regardless of who they fought, the Systems Alliance would win against its opponents if it was commanded by Commander Shepard (because she's a player character, which inherently means plot armor up the wazoo), but otherwise it would either be subsumed in to the Imperium or be destroyed in glorious last stands. Necrons vs Reaper would be an interesting fight, because of how focused it would b e on space battles. But I'd still put money on Necrons.

The cross-species alliance that Paragon Shepard can manage by the end of ME3 would fare much better than any individual faction, but even it would be hard pressed against any single one of the factions of 40k. Without accounting for numbers disparity, it would potentially win against the smaller factions like Eldar or Tau, and put up a stalemate against the other factions-- assuming, again, it was led by Commander Shepard. If it wasn't, it'd be subsumed by the Tau, manipulated by the Eldar, or enslaved/destroyed by the rest (with humans being subsumed by the Imperium).

Notice the common caveat, however-- "not accounting for numbers disparity". 40k's military forces are on a much larger scale in sheer numbers than ME's militaries. Accounting for that, only Krogan post-cure vs Orks is even remotely a good matchup. Keep in mind, pre-genophage Krogans were such a powerful force that they required everyone else to gang up on them AND a vicious, highly complex biological weapon to be unleashed on them in order for them to be stopped, and even then they're still considered a plague on the galaxy by most Galactic governments. Orks wouldn't use biological weaponry. Hell, they'd probably relsih the idea of fighting Krogans.

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:
(there's a reason why the ending of ME3 isn't well-liked )

Yeah, because reading comprehension is not common amongst the denizens of the internet.

Or...you know, they copy pasted another game's ending almost point for point with almost zero context, epilogue or tie up when they changed writing staff...

But on another note, the ME universe is just very different to 40k. 40k is swords and sorcery and napoleonic age of sale...in spaaaaace and dialed up to 11, while ME is generally a more modern day universe...in space. Different scales, different concepts, etc, and they don't really compare well. Something like the Orks just makes no sense in any sort of ME universe comparison , while even the most basic ME weapons make the most advanced Tau weaponry look almost primitive in many respects

 Yarium wrote:

 Gamgee wrote:
A Krogan can live off its hump for up to two months before needing to eat. They aren't so easy to kill by attrition. If there is no genophage cure yea effed. If they are cured the Krogan would likely win a ground war. They are extremely skilled strategists despite the majority of them being block heads the ones who make leadership are all skilled strategists. They were kicking the Turians asses badly. Not just attrition shock attacks but their generalship as well. Krogan are basically immune to radiation, conventional positions, toxins, and so much more. Not to mention when their primary nervous system is damaged they fly into a berserk rage that would make an ork pause. They also have biotics among themselves and are skilled at incorporating it into their fighting style from both raged and melee. Biotic technology is extremely reliable unlike the warp and the orks random nature. It was a big priority for the specters to take out their leadership during the war at any costs. Orks do get tougher as a campaign goes on, but Krogan hit harder and faster. I think we finally have an alien species that could threaten orks and beat them at their own game assuming they were armed with stolen tech from the 40k universe. Even in melee though they would be extremely hard frighting. They've even been known to use cloning to bolster their numbers even further.

Yeah, I wasn't talking about food supplies, I meant fighting supplies - weapons, armour, tech. Remember, most Ork technology falls apart when not used by Orks, meaning there's nothing for the Krogan to scrap from. I also think that the Krogan and Orks are about equivalent in raw strength, durability, and leadership/generalship. Orks can sometimes live after having their head taken off and then reattached - something even the Krogan cannot do. Orks similarly have advanced regeneration and immunities to radiations and poisons (hence why they survive on Hulks), and form their own ecosystem where they go. From what we've seen, a Krogan going into a frenzy is about as strong as a Space Marine. Orks on the charge are just as strong. Most Orks, like most Krogan, are not very intelligent, but the Ork leaders are just as cunning as a Krogan Battlemaster. The two are practically reflections of each other. Krogan edge it out in on-the-field tactics and average Krogan intelligence is higher though, but the Orks have almost no need for supply lines, which in a war is a HUGE deal. Krogan would win more battles at first, but the tide would soon turn against them.

Still, I have to say, this is one of the most even matchups between 40k and "someone else" I've ever seen. 40k stuff when taken as a whole is so poweful, that there's little else that's a fair fight. Either they're pitted against something much weaker, or much more powerful, when doing "this universe's stuff vs that universe's stuff". This is a nice close call match!

Which is why I like it so much. It's a rare day indeed where its a stalemate.

Well this has turned into an interesting discussion.
I suppose its worth mentioning the war between the orks and tyrannids I read about recently (i think it was called the octavian war?)
basicaly, the tyrannids attacked an ork empire, and when they reached the planet of octavian, they were met by an equal amount of orks, losing their advantage in numbers.