In Mass Effect, there are times when someone might get killed, for example Wrex on Virmire.
Who are the characters that might/will be killed if not satisfied with something, either their mission was not completed or by actions of Shepard?
Mass-effect – How to minimise the number of people who die
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Virmire is a planet on ME1 where the player must choose to kill off a squad mate: Ashley Williams or Kaidan Alenko. Ashley is a female solider while Kaidan is a male sentinel. Both are potential romance options for a hetro-Shepard.
In ME2, after the Horizon mission, Shepard has the opportunity to speak to the Virmire survivor:
The former squadmate is highly upset about Shepard's alliance with Cerberus. Williams or Alenko question Shepard's loyalty and refuses to join Shepard's mission. From the conversation, you learn about what has happened over the last two years and what Shepard missed while being on an operating table.
PC Gamer and various other sources have confirmed that the Virmire survivor (Ashley or Kaidan) will be a squad member. According to Playstation 3 Magazine, UK Edition, June 2011, Issue 140, the Virmire survivor has become a spectre. Ashley can also be seen at the end of ME3 extended walkthrough from E3.
Here are the ME3 portraits of Ashley and Kaidan:
In each game, there's an option to use a premade default Shepard. This Shepard is a Soldier, Earthborn Sole Survivor. If male, his name is 'John', if female 'Jane'.
Since this didn't change between games, I think we can assume it's as close to canon as anything (and certainly is in the same vein of the didn't-import-a-save options).
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Best Answer
Obviously it goes without saying that the below post is full of spoilers.
Throughout the story multiple NPCs, including squad mates, die. Some of them are unavoidable but many are immune to death.
Mass Effect
Right at the start of the first mission, one of your squad mates Richard L. Jenkins will run off ahead and get shot dead by Geth drones within moments of the mission starting.
Virmire
When you arrive on Virmire, Wrex will throw a tantrum provoked by the breeding of fertile Krogan and slowly build up into a rage over the prospect of destroying the facility. If you don't talk him out of it, he will either be killed by Ashley or through your own actions.
Depending on your choices during the Virmire mission, the Salarian STG squad led by Kirrahe can be ambushed and killed. Choose to provide them backup and pull the enemies towards you rather than sounding the alarms on the far side of the base.
At the end of the Virmire mission, you must choose to sacrifice either Ashley Williams or Kaidan Alenko.
Noveria
During the Noveria mission you will confront Liara's mother, Matriarch Benezia, and be forced to kill her in the ensuing battle. After this encounter, you must choose whether to kill or save (free) the last Rachni queen.
Feros
On Feros as you head out to and back across the Skywalk you will have the opportunity to communicate with a small group of colonists that have escaped from the Exogeni facility. During the conversation that occurs on the return journey you will need to use the correct conversation options to avoid the situation escalating with the leader of this small group, Ethan Jeong, who will be very protective of the Exogeni corporation. If the situation escalates, you'll end up killing him.
Near the end of the mission on Feros you will approach the Zhu's Hope colony and the Thorian will use the colonists to try and stop you. Using the anti-Thorian grenades to knock out the colonists will allow you to re-enter the colony without killing the colonists.
Shortly after moving through the colony you will meet up with Fai Dan again, who will commit suicide under the influence from the Thorian creature.
At the very, very end of the Feros mission, after melding with Shiala, you will have the opportunity to kill her for her crimes (working with Saren) or spare her.
Major Kyle
During the UNC: Major Kyle mission, it is possible to resolve the situation peacefully, saving everybody.
Encounter with Saren
In the council chambers you can talk Saren into committing suicide with enough renegade or paragon points. He still transforms into the big bad reaper Saren, but it saves having him fly around the room for a bit.
Saving the Citadel Council
During the final battle with Sovereign, you can choose to attack Sovereign directly or protect the Citadel council. Choosing not to protect the Citadel council will result in their deaths.
Mass Effect 2
You must complete Mass Effect 2 ensuring that every available squad member and loyalty mission is completed before doing the Horizon mission. Completion of Horizon starts a five mission countdown before the Illusive Man forces you to investigate a collector ship.
This gives you the opportunity to complete every loyalty mission and get to the collector ship before your auxiliary crew (Doctor Chakwas and Kelly) have been digested.
At the start of Mass Effect 2, during the opening cinematic, the Normandy SR-1 is destroyed by a collector ship, killing nearly everyone on board.
Squad Loyalties
Depending on your loyalty status and role assignment during the suicide mission, every member of your squad can die - including you. Obviously if you die it's game over but it's possible to exit the final mission with just you and your core crew (Joker, EDI) alive.
For Samara's loyalty mission, you must seduce her daughter and kill her in order to gain Samara's loyalty. Failing to seduce Morinth will result in Samara and Morinth being alive but Samara not being loyal. It is possible to ally with Morinth and kill Samara at this point.
For Miranda's loyalty mission you must travel to Illium to help rescue Oriana, Miranda's younger sister, from their father. Miranda's "friend" Niket is killed as a result of his betrayal, either by Miranda or Captain Enyala.
For Jacob's loyalty mission you must go to the planet Aeia to look for his long lost father. Upon finding what he has done, you can execute him or let Jacob execute him, leave him alive for the colonists to deal with, or just give him to the authorities and send him to prison.
For Garrus's loyalty mission, you can talk Garrus into not killing Sidonis and still gain his loyalty.
Once you've made it into Jack's cell during her loyalty mission, Aresh appears - Jack wants to kill him but you can talk her out of it and still get gain her loyalty. She still gets to blow up the facility afterwards regardless.
During Mordin's mission, once you've met up with Maelon, you have choices to make for both Maelon's life and his research (which has ramifications for Eve's life in Mass Effect 3). Upon entering Maelon's lab you'll go into a cutscene in which Mordin confronts Maelon and finally ends up charging him with a gun drawn - at this point you can use a paragon interrupt to save him.
It is possible to complete Zaeed's mission and gain his loyalty without killing Vido, while simultaneously saving the facility. The paragon route through this mission requires a high amount of paragon points. Due to this, it's recommended that if you have the Price of Revenge DLC that you get Zaeed's mission out of the way early on in your play through. Taking the renegade route through this mission will result in the deaths of everybody in the facility, and Vido.
During Thane's loyalty mission, you can paragon interrupt his son Kolyat and prevent him from shooting his target. Alternatively you can wound Kolyat to also prevent the kill from occurring.
Suicide mission
To survive the suicide mission with no deaths, there are a number of tasks you must complete throughout the game. Ensure you scan enough planets to have all of the required materials for the ship upgrades, otherwise you'll suffer losses and major damage on your approach to the final mission.
During the suicide mission after passing through the Alpha Relay, you'll need to use the following squad selections:
Project Overlord
In the Overlord DLC, you can save David Archer from the Project Overlord experiment.
Mass Effect 3
During Mass Effect 3, everybody can die, depending on the options you choose and the ending you select. Literally everybody. Your loyalties are imported from Mass Effect 2 and in the case of Grunt and Zaeed directly influence if they die later in the game.
Once you're reinstated as a SPECTRE, you're able to release Engineers Donnelly and Daniels and allow them to join your crew. If you don't, they perish in a future reaper attack.
The bomb on Tuchanka
After rescuing Lieutenant Victus's squad Tuchanka: Turian Bomb, you're able to rally him into completing his original mission (diffusing the Turian bomb on Tuchanka). Doing so results in him sacrificing his life.
If for some reason you do not complete the mission to defuse the bomb, a large chunk of Tuchanka is wiped out, including Eve, the female Krogan, if she had survived curing the genophage.
The Rachni in the Attican Traverse
During the Attican Traverse: Krogan Team mission, you're given the option to kill or save (again) the Rachni queen. Choosing to save the Rachni queen will wipe out the Krogan commandos, including Grunt if he wasn't loyal in Mass Effect 2.
Curing the Genophage
Mordin or Padok Wiks can die on Tuchanka depending on whether Mordin is alive (replaced by Padok Wiks if not) and whether you choose to cure the genophage. If you choose to sabotage the genophage, Wrex will find out (if Wrex is alive) and confront you, resulting in his death.
If you chose to destroy Maelon's research during Mordin's loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2, Eve, the female Krogan, will die from complications during the creation of the genophage cure.
Thane, Kirrahe and the attack on the Citadel
Thane will always die during Mass Effect 3, if he survived the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2. If you've visited him before Priority: Citadel II, he will die saving the life of the Salarian Councillor. If Thane is not alive but Captain Kirrahe survived the events of Virmire in Mass Effect, Kirrahe will die saving the councillor. If neither Thane or Kirrahe are available, the councillor will be killed by Kai Leng.
Killing Udina during the second Citadel mission after he attempts to seize the Citadel. During this moment you can also end up killing the Virmire survivor if you choose the wrong options.
Samara's convictions
After evacuating the Ardat Yakshi monastery and Samara has found her daughter, you must stop Samara from committing suicide with a quick time event.
Uniting Rannoch
After Priority: Rannoch you're given the opportunity to save Admiral Koris of the Quarian Civilian Fleet. Not saving Admiral Koris will result in his death and give you a hard time in preventing the destruction of the Quarian race.
During the Rannoch missions with the Quarians and Geth, if you choose to side with Legion and allow the Geth to wipe out the Quarian fleet, Tali'Zorah will commit suicide. Legion will "die" regardless during this same set of scenes, as he merges into the Geth conscience. It is possible to keep both the Geth and the Quarians alive.
Saving Oriana (again...)
During Priority: Horizon, you will confront Henry Lawson, Miranda and Oriana's father. If Miranda survived Mass Effect 2 she will die if you don't warn her about Kai Leng. During the confrontation with Henry Lawson you will be given the opportunity to shoot him in addition to a variety of conversation options allowing you to talk him down. If Miranda is alive, she will also get an opportunity to shoot him. If Miranda shoots him without you talking him down first, he will get off a killing shot on Miranda before he dies.
The final missions
After making your way through the Cerberus headquarters space station, you are confronted by Kai Leng and finally get to kill him after the mess he made on Thessia. Following this, you travel back to Earth for the final mission. Any squad mate can be killed during the final mission if your overall readiness is too low.
If Morinth survived Mass Effect 2, she will return as a Banshee on the streets of London during the approach to the Citadel beam.
If you didn't get Jack in her Dossier mission, she will be here as a Phantom.
If you also turned over an inactivated Legion, it will show here as a Nemesis
Upon boarding the Citadel in Earth's orbit, you get to kill the Illusive Man. Anderson dies right at the very end. Depending on your choice at the end-o-matic, everybody died, all machines died, everybody became friends, or technology was enslaved.