Considering using Eldar as a xenos encounter, and I want to use an Exodite world. Trouble is, other than dragon-riding knights and a semi-feudal structure, i know little about them. I've done some checking around online, but found little on what tech they use. I know they are able to use most Eldar tech, but they like to keep it simple. Does this mean less shuriken weapons and more lasguns (do the Eldar still use lasguns?) Also, is Mesh armour still available to them? Do they have Aspect Shrines/Warriors? How about Farseers and Warlocks? Their worlds still have a version of the infinity circuit from what I've read, but what about Wraithguard?

Hi Happy,

since the background is so undefined about them, don´t feel hamstringed by emptiness. It is just one exodite world. And it is your exodite world.

My approach to your questions:

In case of weapons (and gear) I would stick to what is handed to the pathfinders and scout (see rule books). They are the ones who are far away from home, so their equipment might be a)the ones to easiest to reproduce and/or b) the most simple to keepn in working order.

Talking wraithbone and wraithguards , I could imagine a colony to have them. Even if they did not made those themselves, I think they could have taken them with them. They dislike the infinity circuit for what it does to their souls..not the material the circuit is made. Perhpas it is the concept of "all souls thrown together" what they despise, so "one soul in one guardian" would be okay.

Talking dinsaur-o-rama , I think this part of the fluff migth not need to be adapated 1-to-1. The key element is "close link to nature", me guesses. On another world, their might be other creatures (or things) they use. Think of eldar with some psionic control of swarms of bee and hornet like creatures (still small, no riding) or something akin to an elephant (but without the ears and dozens of trunks instead of one...constantly grabbing around and stuffing plant material into one of five opening for food consumption). Perhpas they live in symbiose with some semi-intelligent plant (think either ents or this vine-thing from "the ruins").

Talking about aspect warriors , I think this might not be the case. These are a part of the culture of the crafts world, and for some reason the exodites do not want to be part of it. But on the other hand, it could be. Perhaps some of those eldar are simple farmers and gatheres and living their lives, until a danger arises and they go to this hidden shrine wear the aspect warriors armours and weapons are kept that they brought with them some hundred of years ago...
Otherwise, their defense will be scouts/pathfinder types of warriros, perhaps guerilla or some beast/plant supported fightng groups. Perhaps they use strange wraithbone based weaponary similiar to the sound weapons featured in the good old "Dune" movie?

Where their are eldar, I think that their will be warloks and rune seers. They may or may not have their advance equipment, but I would say they have. It is iconic to the eldar.

Have you already thought about what your exodite world is like? Or more precise, the part the exodites made their colonies in? Grand Canyone style? Good old jungle? Ice and snow? swamps? isle and ocean? a maze of rivers? something different alltogehter?

Um, one of the things I do remember about exodite worlds is that they're largely engineered to have the dinosaur-o-rama. I think one of the books had something like stats for a canosaur in it, so modify that for a large riding beast.

And as Lure of the Expanse so amply proved, yes, they have wraithgaurd. though that may have just been that one world...

Think of "Eldar Exodites" the same way you would "lost human colonists". They are not constrained by most of the Eldar fluff. Originally it was a way for players to be able to create their own fluff, as well as a way to tie in other works of fiction. From the perspective of 40k, most fantasy settings can be sub-groups.

Dark sun savage elves? Exodites.

Middle earth Tolkien elves? More Exodites.

Exodites can come in any shape, size, and flavor imaginable. Many have lost their knowledge of their origins, others know full well and choose to stay planet bound.

Just like the disparate human colonies you can feel free to build up their culture to be anything you want.

riplikash said:

Um... there actually is canon fluff on exodites, however, broadly speaking, they are lower in tech then craftworld eldar. How much lower depends entirely on the attitudes of hte nearest craftworld toward the exodites. Biel-tan, for example, extensively arms and defends exodite worlds. From the Eldar activities in Lure it would not surprise me that Kaelor is following a similar agenda.

riplikash said:

From what I've been able to find, the Exodites are more akin to "Frontier World Eldar" than to "Feral World Eldar" but I'm sure that there are shades of that to some extent. However, most Exodites left the mainstream (Craftworld) Eldar well before the Fall, so they may be socially 'more civilized' than their Craftworld brethren even if their tech is less prominent. I'm guessing that the 'noble savage' aspects should be greatly heightened. Also, much like Frontier World Imperials, perhaps many Exodites are more tolerant of other species (including humans) - the exception to this being those aligned with Biel-Tan.

Yes, Eldar Exodites DO appear in fluff. I think they even had some minis in the past. I wasn't claiming there WASN'T any fluff.

But the name "Exodite" is a catch-all term for any group of planet bound Eldar colonists, so consequently you are free to interpret them in many different ways, similar to the freedom you have in developing human colonies. They don't have to conform to a certain lifestyle or ascthetic. In the beginning of 40k the Warhammer Fantasy Elves were all "Eldar Exodites" as well.

Noble savage dinosaur riders with hidden tech is certainly a viable style of exodite, and GW has certainly portrayed those kinds of Exodites on numerous occations. But so is High Fantasy Elf, Savage Tribal Elf, and Crazy Cultist Elf. And anything else you want to come up with.

Again, Eldar Exodite is just a catch-all term for non-space faring Eldar who choose to bond with a planet, but it is up to the GM what form they take.

riplikash said:

Not quite. A few sources suggest that the Craftworlds have colony planets of their own, normally used for resource-gathering (additional food sources, etc).

Exodites are something slightly more specific - they're the decendants of the first Eldar to flee the homeworlds in the build-up to the Fall, those who foresaw the doom of their kind and chose to forsake the decadence the Eldar empire had come to embody and instead live lives of simple and honest toil. That exodus, which is where the term Exodite comes from, represents a fundamental common element shared by all Exodites.

And this all happened over 10,000 years ago right?

Eldar are old, but even in 10,000 years - they can change. I'm sure some Exodite worlds are lost in warp storms - lost to war - lost because the Craftworld they were associated with (however loosely) was destroyed or hasn't been able to come back.

So - the Imperium lands on an established Exodite world and a hundred year war commences. The Craftworld does not want to get involved for seven million reasons - "I saw a vision!" - being the easiest. Still - the Exodite eldar succeed after developing strange and new technologies - new philosophies - new tactics.

So - after the war you have a strange Eldar world where the Eldar have learned to transfer their souls not into delicate, but powerful, wraithguard - but massive beasts of war more reminiscent to Dreadnoughts. Perhaps they reached into the Warp and learned dangerous new powers - and now they've got a group called "Ghost Dancers" who summon the spirits of the dead out of the warp to inhabit "Gestalt Men" - which are basically "Elementals" to do battle with the Imperium.

Slowly - they've become so different from Craftworld eldar - often thousands (even hundreds) of years of separation - that the Eldar find them offensive, strange, and fear them.

===

Honestly - there are an estimated 200 - 400 BILLION stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

Anyone suggesting that canon material is all there is to 40K does an injustice to the genre. I love it because while there may be over-arching 'canon' - there is always room for variety.

So - run with it!

You want Eldar who learned how to body sculpt and now they look more like Earth "Daeva" - go to town. Make four armed blue or purple Eldar - have them wear their soul stones in their foreheads... and enjoy!

Medhia Nox said:

It is. But ten thousand years isn't as long for the Eldar as it is for humans; comparatively speaking, that isn't many generations, and it isn't like the Exodites are completely isolated from the rest of the galaxy.

I'm not saying there isn't room for variation or something different... but to assume that each Exodite colony is completely and utterly different from any other overlooks their common origins.

So, what equipment would be appropriate for a "typical" Exodite? Are they likely to use lasguns or shuriken weapons, mesh armour or a form of carapace?

HappyDaze said:

While Shuriken weapons are reliable, the Exodites we know about tend not to make use of psychoplastics as a construction material as often as Craftworlders (who use it for most things), meaning that they're likely to be less common, IMO, with laser weaponry being more common due to relative ease of charging (Eldar las-weapons are more efficient than human ones as well), so I'd suggest a Lasblaster (Eldar lasgun equivalent, most famously used by Swooping Hawk aspect warriors. Mesh armour is a fairly safe bet, given that Craftworlders and Dark Eldar alike use it - it seems not to be too difficult to manufacture.

Mounted Exodites are well-known for their use of laser lances to herd the thick-skinned megadons, and if memory serves the War Walker was first created by Exodites and subsequently spread to Craftworlds and Exodite colonies alike. Exodites tend to be aided by wandering Rangers and Pathfinders as well, and some Exodite worlds cultivate alliances with Craftworlds (the Eldar of Saim Hann are well-known for having close ties to many Exodite colonies).

One thing to remember is that while the Exodites may not employ perhaps the full range of technologies available to Craftworlders, the Eldar as a whole don't see a huge difference between nature and technology, and their psychic nature allows them to manipulate their surroundings quite effectively without many of the tools that humans require, allowing them to remain fairly sophisticated in terms of the quality of their lives.

Since Xeno Mesh doesn't protect the head, would the Mesh Cowl be most appropriate or is the rigid (cone)headgear of the Eldar better represented as a Carapace Helm?

Would mono-versions of primitive melee weapons (swords, knives, spears/lances, melee attachments) be best for the majority of the exodites? I don't imagine too many Chainswords or Power weapons among the typical group of Exodites.

Mono weapons are probably the default version - the exodites retain more than enough expertise to make them. For cracking though nuts, force weapons are more likely than power seapons - the Eldars widespread physchic talents make it a safe bet. With most of their gear being crafted through pyschic manipulation, they probably find force weapon simpler to build than human would.

I've always thought it would be cool to have "Mono-Arrows" - there's really zero stopping their actual creation other than "time" to make them.

According to the rules - you can make a "Mono-Shield" - but not "Mono-Arrows". Silly oversight in my opinion, and one I quickly turned upside down.

"Oh look, primitives with arrows!"

laughter

"That's right, shoot me with your little bow you silly native!"

*TWANG*

gurgle, fall, writhe, die

====

And, as stated prior - the Exodites would still largely have their tech - at least for the first few hundred years unless some reason makes them want to abandon it.

Personally - I like the Kroot better for the Noble Savage root. What I know of them they actually gave up mass use of technology because it made a race weak... I say amen to that philosophy.

Medhia Nox said:

Seems funny to me for you to 'say' that by posting to an online forum.

HappyDaze said:

There's a set of Eldar Raider armour in Into the Storm, which gives AP 5 to every location. Remove the spikes and blades from it (a warrior wearing Eldar Raider armour always counts as having at least a mono-knife), and you've got something approximating the full suits of armour worn by Guardians and Rangers (indeed, the text for it says that it's pretty much just basic Eldar armour with blades attached), which would be appropriate for Exodites as well.

That "is" funny isn't it HappyDaze - but hardly on topic.