Dark Eldar
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In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Dark Eldar are a Kindred of the Eldar, an ancient and advanced race of elf-like humanoids. Their armies usually have the advantages of speed, though they are often lacking in resilience. They are the thematic equivalent of the Warhammer Fantasy Dark Elves, and indeed Dark Elves in general. The Dark Eldar revel in piracy, enslavement and torture, and are sadistic in the extreme. Dark Eldar armies make use of various anti-gravity skimmers such as Raiders and Ravagers to launch high speed attacks. They strike with little or no warning, using an interdimensional labyrinth known as the Webway to traverse the galaxy safely and far more quickly than most races are able to with their Warp jumps.
The Dark Eldar are unique amongst the Warhammer 40,000 factions in the sense that they do not occupy many planets, but rather one dark city - Commorragh. They are mainly pirates, though are sometimes used as mercenaries.
Dark Eldar, like most Eldar Kindreds, make use of advanced technology, including anti-gravity devices, splinter weapons, dark matter (in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, something more akin to antimatter) weaponry, nanotechnology and psychic artifacts. While Dark Eldar do make use of psychic devices, they do not use psychic powers themselves but Psykers are treated as playthings in Commorragh, and given the twisted sadistic nature of the Dark Eldar themselves, this necessarily involves pain, torment and everything except sympathy for the psyker.
Games Workshop decided to make the Dark Eldar as a separate army, after it became fairly common to see gamers collect "Dark Eldar" armies, which are total conversions/customizations of Eldar miniatures while still retaining the standard Eldar rules. It was also relatively convenient to add the Dark Eldar to the existing Eldar storyline without any conflict, right at the catastrophe that destroyed the Eldar homeworld.
[edit] History
The origins of the Dark Eldar begins with the fall of the Eldar. The pleasure cults of the Eldar eventually birthed the Chaos God Slaanesh. Slaanesh’s birth cries destroyed all of the Eldar not stationed on the fringes of their empire, as the Eldar on the edges of the empire did not indulge in the pleasure cults. Those Eldar fell into two camps on how to deal with the possible extinction of their race. The first and much more numerous group decided that to survive, they must use spirit stones, resist temptations, and live a life of frugality. The other much less numerous group decided, that to fend off Slaanesh, they would have to wreak havoc across the galaxy so Slaanesh would eventually become bored in the Eldar race and choose another race as playthings. The former group became the Eldar as we know them today, while the latter is now known as the Dark Eldar.
The Dark Eldar, as well as the Eldar, fear Slaanesh; because of the hand they had in his creation any Eldar that die have their souls consumed by the dark god. While the Eldar chose to trap their souls within the Soul Stones to escape this fate the Dark Eldar formed Commoragh, a large dark city within the webway, safe from invaders and, being separated from normal Warp space, protected from Slaanesh. From it, they launch their slave raids in order to capture more prisoners which are tortured and worked to the point of death; their souls are then harvested and fed upon by the Dark Eldar thus increasing their lifespan and keeping their souls from being devoured by Slaanesh.
[edit] Commorragh
Commorragh is the planet belonging to the Dark Eldar race. It is said to be impossible for outsiders to find, and anarchy and terrorism are a well-established way of life for its debased inhabitants. It is widely believed to be hidden deep within an inter-dimensional labyrinth known as the Webway, described by the Eldar as a "dark stain" growing within their holy pathways. It is a city known to have "wandering shadows that tear apart the unwary" and is bathed in a crimson half-light.
During the final weeks of the Eye of Terror campaign, which followed the 13th Black Crusade of Warmaster Abaddon the Despoiler, the Eldar collapsed several Webway portals leading to Commorragh, isolating it from much of the Webway. Given the mutable nature of the Webway however, the Dark Eldar can still use artificial Webway portals to create temporary tunnels, and thus are largely unaffected.
In the short story by Gav Thorpe, The Torturer's Tale, Asdrubael Vect, Lord of the Kabal of the Black Heart, relates to the torture slave, Gideon, how the Dark Eldar arose and how Commorragh came to exist. In this story, Vect makes it clear that Commorragh exists within the Webway:
"It seemed there was but one way of escaping Her and that was to flee their homes and leave the physical world behind forever. We came here, into the realm between worlds that we created to traverse the galaxy safe from harm. Here, the Great Enemy's grip is weakened, yet to our Lord's horror it was not wholly broken. He had bought his people time, a little instant of time but nothing more. Others followed him, each choosing a place for themselves, building new shrines and around them great palaces. Here, where you sit now, is one of the chambers of the original Temple of the Black Heart. You are very privileged, you know. Not many survive to get this far. Most of them break before they even reach the second level."
[edit] Gameplay
In the game, many of the Dark Eldar units bear some similarity to the units used by the Eldar army, but twisted to fit in with the darker nature of the Dark Eldar. The Eldar have a diverse selection of craftworld armies with unique rules and in general, like the Dark Eldar, Eldar armies are relatively fragile compared to forces like that of the Space Marines. However, this is where the similarities end. Unlike the Dark Eldar, Eldar armies have a wider array of heavy weapons and fast attack platforms and have constantly received additions in regards to miniature line development and additional supplemental rules. Also, due to the age of the codex, there are very few decent builds and some units are much weaker than others.
Dark Eldar are lightly armoured and rely more on speed than brute force. In capable hands the Dark Eldar are a more than effective force. However beginners may find Dark Eldar difficult to use, as many of the tactics condusive to a Dark Eldar victory require patience, cunning, and even a little daring. Experience is also important for a Dark Eldar general. A beginner might be tempted to forego subtlety and simply attack the enemy, yet the relatively low troop numbers and light armor of the Dark Eldar will almost always result in a defeat in this scenario. Instead, experienced players use flanking manoeuvres, screening, and the like to achieve victory. If deployed and commanded to take advantage of their strengths - speed, close-combat prowess, and hard-hitting firepower - the Dark Eldar can indeed be a difficult army to defeat.
The Dark Eldar codex suffers from being over a decade old, something which is felt during the duration of a game.
[edit] Notable characters
[edit] Asdrubael Vect, Overlord of the Kabal of the Black Heart
Asdrubael Vect is one of the most powerful Dark Eldar, having founded Commorragh after the Fall of the Eldar. He is the Supreme Lord of the Kabal of the Black Heart, the most powerful Kabal in the Dark City. In the past, many have tried to claim power through his destruction, but all have died in the attempt. Vect rides into battle on the Dais of Destruction, a heavily modified Ravager that carries him and his bodyguard. It is also possible that he is one of the oldest Eldar in existence as he was present during the Great Fall. Asdrubael Vect is featured in the third expansion pack to Dawn of War, Soulstorm, riding into battle upon his Dais of Destruction.
[edit] Kruellagh The Vile, Archon of the Kabal of the Flayed Skull
Kruellagh The Vile is another Dark Eldar Archon, from one of the less respected Dark Eldar Kabals. This is due to their leader's love of killing, and thus they bring in few slaves.[citation needed] Kruellagh uses the unique Soul Flayer, two long spikes protruding from each palm that drain the victim's vital juices, giving her strength. Her name is a pun on Cruella de Vil.
[edit] Lelith Hesperax, Mistress of Death
The leader of the Wych Cult of Strife, Lelith Hesperax is one of the most skilled Wyches known. Lelith is renowned as the most vicious fighter in the arena of Commorragh. In the novel, "Warrior Coven," she was severely wounded in her arena by an Eldar Shining Spear Exarch, yet survived to defeat her.
[edit] Drazhar, the Master Of Blades
Drazhar, the Master Of Blades is an extremely skilled Incubus. Drazhar's signature weapons are the Disemboweler Blades, a pair of long serrated swords wielded in each hand.These give him amazing martial skill which can be utilized on the battlefield in his role as a bodyguard.
[edit] Urien Rakarth
Urien Rakarth is the master Haemonculus in Commorragh. He once had a motive to his work, but now lives only to feed his obsession for pain and suffering. Among his creations are the hideous creatures dubbed 'Uber Grotesques' by their master.
[edit] The Decapitator, Mandrake Champion
The Decapitator is a Mandrake, but one about whom little is known. What is known is that he has four arms and a deep craving for flesh and blood. Supposedly, his lair is made up of a thousand skulls. He is known as the master infiltrator and is named after his weapon, the decapitator. There is currently no model available to represent The Decapitator. To make a decapitator one must convert a mandrake and other parts.
[edit] No'akei, the Daughter of Pain
Former handmaiden and bodyguard of Asdrubael Vect, No'akei has since been cast out of the Kabal of the Black Heart for an unknown reason. Angered by her enforced exile, she led a large force of Dark Eldar to the world of Medusa V, in an attempt to capture enough slaves to bribe Asdrubael's followers and launch a coup. However, when she returned to challenge Vect she was betrayed by her own followers; her current fate is unknown.
[edit] Tahril, Archon of the Kabal of the Black Heart
The Archon force leader who was featured in Dawn of War: Soulstorm alongside Asdrubael Vect himself.
[edit] Haemonculus Grumenael
The Haemonculus who fights alongside Tahril in Dawn of War: Soulstorm.
[edit] The future of Dark Eldar
Since the 3rd edition release of Codex: Dark Eldar in 1998, no new army book has been published. However, the new army codex (for Dark Eldar) is expected to be released in 2009-10, along with a batch of new miniatures. This is backed up by a statement that Rick Priestley made in White Dwarf 343 (US issue 342) saying, "I think it's time that the Dark Eldar, Space Wolves and a few others have their time in the spotlight again..." The Dark Eldar are also included in the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War computer game expansion, Soulstorm. In addition, the 5th edition of the Warhammer 40,000 rule book still includes the Dark Eldar as a major race in the 40,000 universe. This, along with the updated artwork and pictures of Dark Eldar further signify that a new edition will be released in the future.
[edit] References
- Thorpe, Gav. "The Torturer's Tale". Games Workshop. http://uk.games-workshop.com/darkeldar/torturer/. Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
- Johnson, Jervis; and Thorpe, Gav (2003). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Dark Eldar. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-307-1.
[edit] External links
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