Thane Krios

"The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone."

Thane Krios is a drell assassin, rumored to be the most skilled in the galaxy. Unlike most assassins, who prefer to snipe their targets from a distance, Thane likes to get up close and kill his target personally, utilizing a mixture of stealth, firearms, hand to hand combat and biotic abilities.

Despite this approach, he is cool and calculated in his work. Though adept at his profession, Thane finds no pleasure in his work and prays for himself after each kill. Firmly believing this act of penance should never be forsaken, Thane will even go as far as to ignore those in his immediate vicinity until he is finished doing so. He is able to cope with feelings of guild through the typical Drell mindset (his body is merely a tool, the blood is on the hands of the ones that steered him). Thane is also one of Mass Effect 2's romantic interests for a female Shepard.

Thane Krios is voiced by Keythe Farley.

Drell Assassin

 * Rank 1
 * Health: +5.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +12.50%


 * Rank 2
 * Health: +10.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +25.00%


 * Rank 3
 * Health: +15.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +37.50%


 * Rank 4 Unlocks choice between Drell Marksman or Drell Veteran
 * Drell Marksman: Thane's anatomical expertise and unerring aim increases his weapon damage beyond its already extraordinary level.
 * Health: +15.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +50.00%
 * Drell Veteran: Thane's experience surviving life-threatening wounds increases his effective health.
 * Health: +20.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +37.50%

Personal History
Thane was born in 2146. At the age of six, his parents gave him to the hanar to be trained as an assassin, as part of the Compact between the two species. He made his first kill at twelve. He met his wife Irikah during an assassination, where she noticed the targeting laser that was trained on Thane's target and stepped in the way of his fire. He fell in love with her and was intrigued that a civilian would put her life on the line to save a complete stranger.

The hanar released him from his compact to let him have a family, but with no other skills, Thane freelanced his services. However, after the birth of their son Kolyat Krios, Irikah was murdered in revenge for a batarian mercenary leader who Thane had killed. The mercenaries hired the Shadow Broker for her location and killed Thane's wife because they were unwilling to face Thane himself. In response, Thane finished the job, killing all involved in his wife's murder. Thane notes that while he has always strived to kill his targets as quickly and cleanly as possible, he took extra time with them.

Recruitment
Commander Shepard first confronts Thane on Illium, where he is on a mission to assassinate Nassana Dantius. As Shepard is talking with Nassana in order to discern the assassin's whereabouts, Thane drops from the ceiling and takes out Nassana's bodyguards before killing her with a pistol shot at point-blank range. He tells Shepard that he hoped this mission would be his last, expecting that he would have been killed by Nassana's guards. He reveals he is slowly dying of a disease which is later revealed to be Kepral's Syndrome. He joins Shepard's suicide mission against the Collectors, perhaps hoping to die in the process, which he feels will redeem him from his past evils.

Spirituality
Thane is unusual among drell in that he follows the old polytheistic religion of his species rather than adopting those of the hanar or asari, and spends much of his time in prayer and meditation, even within his work: to find a target, he prays to Amonkira, the lord of hunters; when defending another, he prays to Arashu, goddess of motherhood and protection; after taking a life, he prays to Kalihira, goddess of oceans and the afterlife.

If Shepard asks how Thane can reconcile his deep spirituality with a violent profession, he explains that the body and soul are seen as separate entities by his faith. Thane sees his body as merely a tool or vessel through which people can choose to commit an act of murder, similar to a gun.

While this philosophy spiritually absolves him of his crimes, that convenience is undermined by the eidetic memory native to his species; the ability to perfectly recall every single act of murder he committed over the years has weighed down on his conscience, so Thane cannot help but feel regret over his actions. This guilt, combined with an impending death, compels Thane to join Shepard's campaign against the Collectors as a gesture of penance.

Loyalty: Sins of the Father
Thane's loyalty quest concerns his son Kolyat. Thane has learned that in spite of his efforts to prevent his son from following in his footsteps, Kolyat is preparing to take part in the assassination of a turian politician, Joram Talid, on the Citadel. Once aboard the Citadel, Thane and Shepard discover the target of the assassination (a turian running for election) and stop it. After Joram Talid is rescued, Thane reconnects with his son and tries to earn his forgiveness. Completing the quest unlocks Thane's Shredder Ammo ability. If you lose the turian in the mission however he will stay un-loyal and the chance for a relationship would be over.

Romance
After successfully completing Thane's loyalty quest, a female Shepard has the option to start a romance. If you pursue, he will affectionately refer to Shepard as "siha" during private conversations. He eventually reveals it as the name of "one of the warrior-angels of the goddess Arashu. Fierce in wrath. A tenacious protector."

On route to the Omega 4 Relay, Thane comes to Shepard's quarters and tells her he is still ashamed of his past deeds, despite having been able to right many wrongs with her help. While he is glad for the chance he has had to redeem himself and to reconnect with his son, he confesses he is not at peace. Although he has long known he would die, he tells Shepard he is now afraid of death (presumably because of their relationship), and is ashamed. Shepard then proceeds to comfort a crying Thane and before they begin a long, passionate kiss she says, "Thane...be alive with me tonight." It is unknown whether or not they sleep together (although it zooms in on the bed after they kiss, and a conversation with Mordin prior to this explains that sexual relations between humans and drell are possible, albeit not without complications).

Trivia

 * Thane may be named for the historical Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon term used to describe either a high-ranking nobleman or a class of retainer, possibly declaring how efficient an assassin he is. His name may also be derived from Thanatos, the Greek god of death as well as the namesake of the "death drive" in post-Freudian thought.
 * Krios (Κριός) is the Greek word for the constellation Aries, as well as the name of one of the Titan gods in Greek mythology. It also means "cold" in modern Greek.
 * According to Thane, there are at least 14 flaws in the security at the C-Sec office on the Citadel, eight of which existed when he was on the Citadel 10 years earlier.
 * The design for Thane was one of the most challenging, as he needed to be not only a sleek-looking assassin, but also an attractive potential love interest. His outfit is a gray, dark overcoat, worn tightly to his body, most likely to make it easy for Thane to move around and to avoid having to program a flowing material.
 * Thane's loyalty achievement is called "Cat's In the Cradle", which is a reference to a song by Harry Chapin of the same name about a father who can't spend time with his son because of work until he himself is the one that wants to spend time with his son, but the son has work to do as he is much older. This seems to be the same situation with Thane and Kolyat, Thane is always on his assassination missions and never spent time with Kolyat, but once he does want to spend time with him before his death, Kolyat is on a mission just like his father always was.
 * It would appear that Thane is one of the squad members who views Shepard as a friend more than as a commanding officer. Indeed, after many conversations with the drell assassin, Thane calls Shepard "the only friend I've made in ten years".
 * Along with Miranda, Thane is a character on the game's title picture and poster.