Menae In Full - a Mass Effect RPG subsetting

The Mass Effect trilogy is probably the only PC RPG series I've actually managed to complete. Probably because I prefer sci-fi (even space opera) over fantasy. Regardless, it's an interesting universe with some room for tabletop play in an extended universe.

What I came up with for a tabletop ME game was the Menae In Full, a deep-survey vessel decommissioned from the Turian Navy for seeking out deactivated Mass Relays.


Finding and reactivating a "lost Relay" would be a long mission, as the old Cerberus Daily News website references Ashley as stating that a Systems Alliance Cruiser can go about 12 light years in a day. That's 1LY/2hrs. Since our galaxy is 100,000 LY across, there's a lot of stars that aren't so close to a relay and might have useful resources. Finding new deposits of Element Zero would also provide an economic incentive.
For more on this from the game...
First contact (a la Star Trek) would also be a possibility, so such an expedition would include xenologists as well as mineralogists, stellar cartographers, physicists, etc. This is in addition to the normal crew that are required to keep a ship running (officers, engineers, medics, security, janitors, cook, blah blah blah)

Menae In Full seemed like a good name for a ship, referencing one of the moons of the Turian homeworld of Palaven. I also considered Menae Waxing (growing fuller and more magnificent) but whatever works for you.

Anyway, a Cruiser stripped down for long-duration survey would probably have a lot of the bigger weapon systems taken out in favor of features granting better sensors (to find Prothean objects and Eezo deposits) as well as improve vessel endurance in deep space (minifacturing bay, hydroponics greenhouse, larger rec room, more computer databanks for ship intranet, personal cabins instead of hot-bunking).

Such a ship would have 3 duty shifts when traveling FTL: 1 on, 1 off, 1 asleep. When traveling sublight, surveying a planet/asteroid/etc, or discharging, a higher degree of alertness is present in case of pirate raids or unknown aliens.

A cruiser running with a skeleton crew of less than 100 (due to the lesser need for gunners, marines, and other military personnel) provides about a 400 meter-long ship, plenty of room! Every crew member gets a little over 10 cubic meters of space, more than would be available on a normal military vessel. Asari often like to cuddle up, so they get sharing cabins with mobile dividers.

There are 2 time periods I considered setting this game: 2166 or 2186.
The former is when Humans are granted an embassy at the Citadel - everything is new and fresh for humans, and they're new to everyone else. The Menae In Full is the first major interspecies project that includes humans. Batarians are still part of Citadel Space, albeit a restless part of it.
2186 (After the events of ME3) is a more desperate quest, hoping to find another Mass Relay in the wake of [REDACTED LOL]

You can use the crew that will be written up in future entries as crew in your game, or just as NPCs for your random sci-fi campaign.