My group of explorates is on a journy to find a active webway, raceing against Haderek Fel, Traskes lightly less insane Tech priest and a band of chaos raider, and there journy have so far lead them to strange jungle world " Bastion secundus ". There misson is now to locate the webway by fighting there way through the ork infested jungel untill the reach the webway where they got the farseer from the dread pearl soul stone there would be able to open the gate.
But heres my problem, i have so far figured out that my players will open the webway, and there will storm out with eldar. My first idear would be that it was harlekins there should come out and threathen the player that they wouldent get acces to webway and they should give the harlekins the soulstone but in return they would get there Senceshal back there was kidnapped earlier in the adventure.

But then rememberd something about Mandrakes, these ghostly dark eldars or something like that, and i thought that sounded very exiting so i couldent really decied what it should be.

Either way what i choose it should be they going to either trade the soul stone and get the sensechal back or fight them where the sensechal is going to get killed and the Eldars will steal the soulstone and close the gate. If the sensechal suvire he have snapped up some information about from the eldar about another maiden world known as Settelment 28 as i recall, because he understand there tounge ( if its mandrakes he figured out some other way because im not sure that mandrakes even talk ) if he die the rogue traders personal deviner use some kind of power and snapped up a vision there will lead them to Settelment 28.

But what i would like to ask you about is someone got profiles and Information about Mandrakes and what should choose Harlekin or Mandrakes ?

"Harlequins"

witch of the two you would like to use of course depends on what you would find most fun but I would consider the motives. Harleguins are more or less the "good guys" of the eldar. They fight to stop Chaos and that is more or less their only concern, if your players are either working with Chaos (perhaps as unknowing pawns) the Harlequins would likely try to stop them, but if they are working alone without Chaos being invloved in any way they are unlikely interfere in the mission. when Black Crusade lauches it is going to have Harleguins in it if you can wait that long.

Mandrakes are mor or less the polar opposite, dark and evil creatures even amongst dark eldar (and that is really saying something) they are creatures of purest darkness that are not even fully Eldar anymore but something even more sinister. Even the other Dark Eldar fear them, some whisper that they are an unholy union with daemons other that they are have entered a totaly other dimension apart from both ecludean realspace and the empyrean sea of souls and emerged as something even more alien. whatever they are they move through a realm of shadows and darkness and are no longer even fully corporeal. (sorry for the melodrama but I really like Mandrakes) Mandrakes are enigmatic at best and their motives, like themselves are shrouded in shadows they could be there for any number of reasons (including stealing the soulstone) but there should be some dark and evil reason behind their presence. my game have just (last season actually) had Mandrakes and on of the have got the unpleasent, but correct, sensastion that their Nightfiend (mandrake leader) have taken personal interest in him, I have made some houserules for Mandrakes:

Name: Mandrake
Size: Average
WS BS S T Ag Int Per WP Fel
55 55 38 43 57 42 48 47 18
Movement: 5/10/15/30 Wounds: 17
Accursed Presence: In the Mandrake’s presence the air is cold, breath freezes in the air and surfaces are covered in unnaturally cold sheen of frost, and dark shadows seem to move just beyond the edge of sight.
Skills : Acrobatics+10, Awareness+20, Concealment+20, Contortionist, Deceive, Dodge+10, Forbidden Lore (Xenos), Navigation (Webway, Shadow Realm), Shadowing+20, Silent Move+20, Speak Language (Dark Eldar, Eldar, Low Gothic, Mandrake-Tongue), Tracking+20.
Talents: Weapon Training (Exotic, Primitive), Ambidextrous, Assassin’s Strike, Catfall, Dark Soul, Disturbing Voice, Leap Up, Resistance (Psychic), Step Aside, Swift Attack.
Traits: Dark Sight, Fear (2), From Beyond, Improved Natural Weapons, Power from Pain, Unnatural Agility (x2), Unnatural Senses (20), Unnatural Strength (x2).
Specialrules

Leach Life: Whenever a mandrake inflicts wounds on an opponent in close combat it regain a number of wounds equal to the wounds inflicted, or half that (rounding down) of Critical damage. Anyone in combat with a Mandrake gains one level of Fatigue. This is not cumulative if there are more than one Mandrake engaged in the combat, but it is cumulative if they engage in different battles where a Mandrake is present.
Shadow Walker: Mandrakes exists at least partially in an accursed otherworldly realm of shadows and can move through this at will. A mandrake can vanish into or appear out off any shadow large enough to at least partially contain its pitch-black form, doing so is a half action, however if the shadow belongs to a sentient being it is a free action instead, a Mandrake does not self cast a shadow.
Shroud of Ethereal Darkness: Mandrakes are ethereal creatures of shadow and darkness, any roll to-hit against a mandrake suffers a -20 penalty in addition to all other modifiers. If hit for any reason, whether by a range, melee or psychic attack there is a chance that the attack passes strait through the mandrake, this are treated as having a force field with a Protection Rating of 40, that never overloads.
Stealth Incarnate: All attempts to discover or detect a mandrake suffer a -20 penalty. A mandrake may attempt Concealment even if being observed, in addition a mandrake may reroll all Concealment, Shadowing and Silent move rolls if it desires.
"Armour": Shadow and Darkness (Protection Rating: 40)
Weapons: Evil-looking blade or Sickle-sword (1d10+7 R, Pen: 3), Baleblast (40m, S/2/-, Dam: 1d10* E, Pen: 3*, Clip: N/A, Rld: N/A), Teeth and Claws (1d5+6 R, Pen: 1)
*Baleblast increases its damage and penetration by +2 for each sentient being (not unliving or warp creature) the mandrake has killed within its TB in days.
Gear: as needed.

mind if i steal that stat line could be useful not sure where yet but it might be

Harlequins of cause i'm sorry. I really like the houserule you have made for Mandrakes, and i'm deffently going to use them if now not then later.

Well my idear was that after my players had this encounter they would travel to settelment 28 again now when they got the location of the Eldar City, my players have been there before( they have connection in the Inquistion so thats how they got acces to the system), but had no luck finding the city it was also there the Seneshal got kidnapped.

But what i'm abit worried about is that if i include Mandrakes they somhow need to play a bigger part in my Campaigen ( not that i wouldent like that but i'm not sure that i can do that right now because i already got other plans) but offen when i hear about Harlequins they is always randomly showing up and saving the say or creating problems. But still mandrakes sounds so cool and i really like them to be a part of my campaigen but i'm just quite sure how. In my campaigen its more like Rogue trader V.s. Rogue trader, but it sounds like you have included them somhow in you adventures ?
So i was wandering what role do they play ? is they the evil and arch enemy ? is they just another Xeno ( or evil creature from beyond ), maybe they a mystical third part they always come to complicate the plans ?
Because i dont like them to just be another randomly enemy to fight again like an ork (never underestimate the ork btw)

Harlequins of cause i'm sorry. I really like the houserule you have made for Mandrakes, and i'm deffently going to use them if now not then later.

Well my idear was that after my players had this encounter they would travel to settelment 28 again now when they got the location of the Eldar City, my players have been there before( they have connection in the Inquistion so thats how they got acces to the system), but had no luck finding the city it was also there the Seneshal got kidnapped.

But what i'm abit worried about is that if i include Mandrakes they somhow need to play a bigger part in my Campaigen ( not that i wouldent like that but i'm not sure that i can do that right now because i already got other plans) but offen when i hear about Harlequins they is always randomly showing up and saving the say or creating problems. But still mandrakes sounds so cool and i really like them to be a part of my campaigen but i'm just quite sure how. In my campaigen its more like Rogue trader V.s. Rogue trader, but it sounds like you have included them somhow in you adventures ?
So i was wandering what role do they play ? is they the evil and arch enemy ? is they just another Xeno ( or evil creature from beyond ), maybe they a mystical third part they always come to complicate the plans ?
Because i dont like them to just be another randomly enemy to fight again like an ork (never underestimate the ork btw)

redhead222 said:

Sure go ahead, that is why I put them up

Buddy said:

You could always use the Mandrakes for this simple encounter and leave the case unresolved only for it to come back and bite the players in the arse, keepng them in reserve, I do that all the time, I have at least eight large bad guys included in my Rogue Trader campain (on the level of Chaos Warlord, Ork Warboss, Eldar Farseer etc.) most of which the players have not even met yet, and may not for some time, and that is without counting rivals, one-time-villains and minor xenos and pirate warlords. And about twice that for their Dark Heresy Campain... and these come and make serious trouple for the players at alternate times, so when they concentrate on one and forget another they find themselves in trouble with that one or his/her/its minions.

But back to the Mandrakes in my Campain (If any of my players sees this: Do Not Read ):

The players were in a (rather long, about 6 seasons, each lasting nearly 12 hours) mission to recover a mysterious artefact (a lovely classic tale). when they finally find the artefact they are attacked by a group of Dark Eldar working for the Archon that is one of the Big Baddies, amongst the dark eldar were five Mandrakes lead by their Nightfiend. Doing a deadly fight the group's navigator unlocked the artefact which turns out to be young girl (baby at the time, but growing fast) in a large sarcophagus, along with various trinkets. as the perplexed explorers retreat with their prize they are followed by the mandrakes which have been stalking the characters doing the fight but did not join in. the mandrake nighfiend strangely saved the life of one of the players while giving him an evil smile.

Motives: the Dark Eldar were ordered to secure the object that even they did not know what was, except that it was important, but as soon as the mandrakes discovered the girl they instead chose to let the characters flee with her becouse she is important later: the Mandrakes and their Archon serve, or at least is allied to, the dark horrific allies of the mandrakes that dwell deep within their dark shadow realm and the girl (who the Rogue Trader has adopted as his heir) plays a very important role for these dreadful beings at the climax of my overarching campain.

the Mandrakes are going to appear several times doing the following adventures serving as malevolent enigmatic foes and their leader is personally interested in one of the characters, who unfortunately for him is afraid of the dark