Hi everyone,

I just came to realize that since I quit the tabletop the DarkEldar seem to have changed quiet a bit. The Mandrakes stopped looking like they are used to, Grotesques changed from little mutant wretches to big mutated abominations... and then their is this Gorgon-Thing I have heared of (?)

Could somebody please give me a general update about what these changes are all about? I not really like the idea of buying a TT-DE-Codex just get back to "now", thank you!

Hello there my friend. The Dark Eldar have had a fairly big overhaul. As a race the Dark Eldar now perform raids not only for slaves but also for a more sinister purpose. Dark Eldar souls are slowly leeched away by Slaanesh, and as the Eldar found a way to keep She who Thirsts at bay by means of Spirit Stones so do the Dark Eldar, but using very different means. As long as they revelled in the most evil and decadent acts they found that this curse was abated and that the pain and suffering of others nourished and fulfilled them, giving them greater strength and vitality. Emerging from the Webway the Dark Eldar now sow misery and destruction across the galaxy to sustain their bodies.

Mandrakes now living look very different, pulling themselves out of other creatures shadows, and are not fully corporeal. Scourges are now altered dark Eldar. They have given their bodies up to the Haemonculi and paid handsomely for their modifications. The Reavers and Hellions are rival warring cults. There is also a slew of new weapons and so on.

I hightly recommend getting the book, it is an entertaining read and may give you some good ideas for your roleplay sessions using these dark xenos.

Actually the Hellions aren't a cult, but are still(?) wild crews made up of outcastes and other young punks who for whatever reason can't or won't sign up with a Kabal. The above poster is correct that Reavers are a variant of the Wych Cult though.

I think the most horrifying aspect of the Dark Eldar is that it's no longer actually souls that they feed on. Sould are easy to get, and don't necessarily require the infliction of sadistic torture on someone to acquire.

Asrubael Vect (probably) wasn't alive during The Fall anymore either, as his rise to power has only been more recent in the current iteration of the fluff. Orchestrating a very clever coup that brought down the old system of ruling aristocratic families (which involved about 3,000 space marines, causing massive casualties to the Dark Eldar who were crazy enough to do battle with them).

They also add a few potential sources of future great misfortune for the Dark Eldar too, which I won't spoil. But it's nice seeing them lay it out that no particular race in 40K has all the angles covered, and pretty much has it made as long as they can deal with everyone else.

Oh I forgot. The only major change that I don't like is that you can't stick your heroes on a Reaver or Hellion board anymore. It's either buy a transport, or be a footslogger.

Perhaps the revision of the Dark Eldar is the reasaon there has yet to be an Eldar book/game (even) from FFG

Black Crusade has a few Dark Eldar in them (Harlequins also)...

Something else to note: dark eldar are not just rejuvenated by pain, but can be essentially resurrected if a sizable part of their body is retrieved quickly enough (iirc a day or so is sufficient) and given to a haemonculus. They don't do this for just everyone, but most high-ranking kabalites can afford it. aemonculi themselves are all but immortal, and about as easy to kill "for good" as daemons. Any high-ranking Dark Eldar the party might have somehow managed to kill... might not be as killed as they hope.

Oh, one more thing - all DE splinter weapons are poison-based, thus should get the toxic trait (iirc they don't have it in "Purge the Unclean.") Congrats! There are a few other weird weapons that the PCs might account the after-effects of, or if they are really unlucky, be on the receiving end of.

If possible, do take a look at the codex from a friend or just a random 40k player in your area, it has some very nice things.

Yes sorry, I dont know why i said cults, more warring factions.

It's a very entertaining codex and only 40 bucks or so.

I have all the codices except Grey Knights, and I've never even played TT.

That´s what I call a quick response Thank you, guys!

Actually, 40 bucks are 40 bucks. With the new RT-publication about crime & heresy up on the horizone I do not think that I will spend the money on small booklet I will not be able to use as a whole but only parts of it

Anyway, thanks for the information. The help of guys is really appreciated.

*dons hypnotic glasses* BUY THE CODEX! WARGAMING IS FUN! EVEN JUST READING ABOUT WARGAMING IS FUN! WITHOUT THE DARK ANGEL CODEX YOUR LIFE WILL HAVE BEEN A SHALLOW LIE! GIVE TO GW! BUT MANY MANY MINIATURES! BUY THE DARK ENDAR CODEX! GW IS YOUR FRIEND! *doffs hypnotic glasses*

bogi_khaosa said:

Great... now you have hypno-conditioned me into mistaken Dark Eldar for Dark Angles for the rest of my life.. *sigh* ... I cannot work like this...
*rambles off into the night*

Must buy Dark Eldar Codex...

Games Workshop is my friend...

Zakalwe said:

Friend? Euphemism for "pusher"?

Gregorius21778 said:

I know how you feel, G. I'm one of the many Americans left "under employed" by the first two recessions of the 21st Century. That's why I buy most of my books used . I'm lucky enough to live in a city (Portland, Or.) with lots of used book stores, so I only occasionally have to turn to eBay and Amazon...

CorpseGod said:

Bogi's hypnotic words actually, but thinking about it, Isn't everyone's pusher their friend? Even your Inquisitor who treats you like the dirt you are, but makes you fell valuable by every now and then telling you that you did well or by the gift of a small reward!

About GW though, I was always a role player and never really got into wargames so GW never had the power over me. I did have first ed. Rogue Trader (which I still think is cool just to read) and some plastic 'beaky' Space Marines, but I never played the TT. My friends that do though are turning away from it now because of GWs rather heavy price hikes and other market controls. Real die-hard fothing at the mouth space wolf grognards who are turning to the (it would seem) MUCH cheaper alternatives.

I always liked the universe though, imagine how long I needed to think about it when those guys asked if I would like to play Dark Heresy. 40k has transcended GW now though. Even if they revoke all their licenses, and burn all the books, you and I can play 40k rpgs to our hearts' content and there is nothing they can do abou... .....Hey, what's tha....

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

...accccckkkkk.......

Thump!

"Burn the Heretic, Purge the Unclean!"

Zakalwe said:

Poor Zakalwe... he should have known better than to speak out against the GW-Emperor! Seriously though, the prices have gotten out of control! I got the "new" plastic demon prince for Christmas, pulled out the sprues to have a look and said to myself ", This is what $33 gets you??" It's a nice kit, but I would have paid more like $20/25 for it in the not-so-distant past! For the first time in my long years of gaming, I've started to look at other sources for conversion bits.