I know I am! I've been wanting to play an Eldar character ever since Into the Storm introduced playable xenos. I didn't even dream about FFG publishing a playable Dark Eldar though, they seemed too unusual. Now I'm absolutely overjoyed.

So, who's looking forward to playing a sadistic vampire elf in space?

It doesn't excite me much, to be honest. I would've liked a "regular" Eldar more, but while the D. Eldar probably make more sense, I can't get over the fact that, like Orks, I just can't imagine them playing on an Imperial ship; in the DE's case, they happen to be EVIL, and even compared to some heartless, callous, jaded cold traders of the Expanse, the DE's are evil, capricious, sadists, who don't appear, at least to me, to be a great idea for players. While I'm not certain how much of the Dark Eldar's evil now is intent, and how much is obligation (they seem to torment the souls of others in order to keep Slaanesh from taking theirs), but regardless, it is a safe bet that, at any given opportunity, wanton cruelty will be the prescription for the day. As the Rogue Trader, I'm not sure how much I could trust this individual, nor am I certain what the Dark Eldar, still an arrogant Eldar who views all Monkeigh as inferior scum, gets out of it, that they couldn't get on their own/with other Dark Ekdar.

Oh well, it certainly has promise, so I won't keep whining. If they do a good job, it could be a great deal of fun, for the right players, in the right campaigns. Here's hoping…

There's a lot ot like about the DE as a species, the technology is neat, the culture is extreme and they're one of the few critters running around in 40K I'd just quite happily label as being "evil". However… unless there's a fair bit of back-story substance for a DE character, I'm not that interested because they're railroaded into a cycle of behaviour that just makes them a psycho human with strapped on pointy ears, a massive compulsion akin to drug addiction as its direction and some exotic weapon proficiency.

It will be fairly shallow and frankly, even with an unhealthy knowledge of a lot of 'bad things', its going to get boring working out over the top ways of inflicting pain. They'd definately click together with a BC party, RT group- I don't think so.

I view Dark Eldar PCs a bit like I view Ork PCs - better to have the option than not, really, but not something I or anyone I play with would envisage - I see it like the 'Universe Mass Conveyor' ship, or that ship that harvests stars - really interesting to help flesh out NPCs, and potentially fun for one shot type games, but hardly something I could envisage a lengthy campaign around. However, I can see why a lot of people would want to play a Dark Eldar, and I would never want to stop them - it just doesn't appeal to me.

I once played a D&D campaign where we were all evil elves heavily based around Dark Elves from Warhammer Fantasy - I found after the 2nd session all the nastyness, death, and general nihilism got me down quite a lot. I know the 40K universe is grim, but I do want to feel after an adventure that I have made a little tiny corner of it a little bit less awful…

But then perhaps I have a fairly gentle take on the 40K universe - partly because I played the wargame in the 90s, under 2nd edition, which was a lot less 'grimdark' than the universe now, but also because at the moment I generally RPG with my fiancee with assorted friends dropping in and out, and she is a fairly gentle person too - her Rogue Trader has set up her own little colony somewhere, and has basically turned a whole planet into a mixture of a retirement home for her voidsmen, an organic farm, an animal santuary and a national park/wildlife reserve - I really haven't the heart to send ork pirates to attack it.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand, I would much rather be playing 'normal' eldar (whether they be corsairs, craftworld, or even exodites), but that is mainly because I only enjoy 'evil' RPGs for an evening of mayhem, but never for the long haul. I suppose being evil makes interaction with other species so much harder - they presumably know all you want is to enslave them and eat their souls…

But then, that perhaps is only me…

All best,

David.

David B said:

Slaneshee WOLRD!!! She is an HERETIC! ORGANIC FARmS ARGHHHH

Before DE, i would like to have, Squat (officially), Tau (fire warrior are very independent and can see eye to eye with humans), Jokearo, ELDAR!

venkelos said:

venkelos said:

Yeah, it would be a pretty majorly convoluted story to have a Dark Eldar working in some capacity on an actual imperial ship. Rogue Trader is the only line where it's even remotely possible (in my opinion). That said…the Dark Eldar are just as cruel and callous to each other as to anyone else. I could see a PC Dark Eldar who (condescendingly) talks his way into an alliance with a RT so they can kill Dark Eldar togehter (for their own almost certainly mutually exclusive ends…). Naturally they would be playing each other the entire time, but that's just a recipe for a good game!

Capt_Dymock said:

Or a cluster F$%^&… In fighting is funny at a level, beyond that it kills most games. I see this class as a potential game killer. If a players says he want to be a DE, there will be very strong gidelines on how not to derail the game for all the other players.

Eldar are the one leftover from when 40k was Warhammer Fantasy …in Space!!! that I really can't get my head around. I wish FFG would resist the temptation to make every single **** campaign book be about the Space Elves, but they show no sign of stopping yet. They bore the pants off me, and will likely be just a legend in my games.

I hope they have actual rules for Slaanesh draining their souls if they don't create enough pain and suffering, rather than be presented with all of the advantages of being a DE without the major dis advantage…

Frankly, as a Rogue Trader I'd be more concerned about having an Ork Freebooter on board than a Kabalite. Sure, he's malicious, cruel and condescending, and probably looking for the best opportunity to stab you in the back, but at least he won't infest my ship with a thousand Dark Eldar just by being there, and he's much more logical in his methods and motivations.

Adeptus-B said:

Eh, I would much prefer that to be more of a role-playing thing. Or perhaps loose guidelines. Because quite frankly, a dark eldar isn't any more special then craft world eldar. That said, I could see torture being a method of removing corruption points.

Unholy_Ravager said:

I disagree. Their reliance on inflicting pain is crucial and at this point, practically physiological. A Dark Eldar who doesn't cause enough pain through time will literally wither and die, his soul devoured by Slaanesh. By contrast, one who maintains a healthy diet of torture and **** is practically ageless, and inflicting enough pain in short time gives them "superpowers" (the Power from Pain rule in TT gives DE units considerable bonuses for each kill they make in combat).

They may have common ancestors, but in the present day, the Dark Eldar are very much a race of their own, rather than just "space elves like the rest, except these love BDSM a bit too much". I hope both the positive and negative aspects of their peculiar condition find a suitable representation in their career path.

If I had my druthers, I'd make their Corruption track a constantly shifting thing rather than the one-way train it is for other characters. Apart from the usual sources (I figure exposure to Warp and the daemonic is unhealthy when a Chaos God has a late dinner appointment with your very soul), they'd also get Corruption automatically at set intervals. This Corruption would be represented by the Eldar visibly weakening in body, until he reaches 100 points and dies.

On the other hand, they'd be able to bleed off CP by inflicting pain on others. A point for participating in combat, perhaps another one for a particularly painful critical hit or dealing the killing blow. Outside combat, they could torture beings to either reduce their existing CP total or to stave off the mandatory gain. Also, if their CP total was low enough, they'd get bonuses for inflicting pain in excess, either in the form of gaining extra traits or perhaps a pool of extra fate points lasting for one combat encounter.

True, but i don't think that Dark Eldar have some special powers that specifically need drawbacks. At least not compared to already existing Kroot and Ork Pcs(or Navigators with certain mutations).

The differences between Craftworld Eldar and Dark Eldar seem to be cultural.

That said the amount of pain required is probably highly dependent on age. A younger dark eldar(like a PC) probably can get by with brutal hunts for vermin in the lower decks.

I am painfully excited for playable Dark Eldar. They're my favorite army!

There was an old /tg/ thread ages ago (before Deathwatch's release) talking about using Rogue Trader as a base for a Dark Eldar game. The players would be an up-and-coming Kabal, running around Commorragh and realspace, trying to acquire slaves and notoriety to get more famous. The idea struck me as so perfectly whimsical. I love their 5e army list; every option is so fluffy and unique. My only worry is that they won't have enough options for me; Haemonculi and Scourges are a must for me, and it wouldn't feel right without Hellions, Wyches, and Incubi. The option to become a shady Lhamean or Archon is so exciting! A playable Sslyth Mercenary would make my day, too…

Ragh! I'm really excited. Seeing more Dark Eldar ships beyond Torture Cruisers and Fighters/Bombers will be nice. If they include rules for enemy Pain Engines or Grotesques…

One of my favorite book ideas FFG has ever had. Still hoping Craftworld Eldar or Tau Empire is the next game after Only War.

Wow, you are exicted Plushy! That said the dark eldar career path seems to be a Kabalite Warrior. That said there might be some alternate ranks.

Unholy_Ravager said:

I believe one of the writers commented that they had spent some time working out this issue to their satisfaction. As the thirst of Slaanesh is intrinsically tied to Power from Pain.

Can't remember what thread it was. There have been so many about this, all over the forums, that I just can't recall which one it was that I read it in.

I can't imagine it being too restrictive, though.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It feels like a marketing decision to me, meant to cater to folks who want to play "Drizz't in spaaaaaaaaace."

For me personally it falls in the same category as the Reaver? from HA, something I might use as inspiration for an NPC but that noone will ever be playing.

I'd have preferred a Pathfinder or something along those lines if we had to have a Scuzzy Space Elf.

CaptainStabby said:

Drizzt was a good guy. The point behind the Reaver and now these Dark Eldar is not to be nice.

CaptainStabby said:

I don't know about others, but what I want to play is "Unrepentant Sadistic Elf Vampire in Space!". The first person in my group to suggest playing the unique snowflake Dark Eldar who doesn't like inflicting pain gets a boot to the head.

I really don't know why people insist he can't fit in with the group. RT seems to award being a self-centered brute seeking profit without mercy, and I've seen many games played exactly like that. Dark Eldar are quite mercenary by nature, opportunistic blackguards who may join all kinds of temporary alliances if they see ways to profit from that.

Morangias said:

I can see your group going : "Oh well there goes the neighborhood …"

crisaron said:

I'll admit I'm relatively new to RPGs in general, so you may well have a point and I just haven't experienced it that much. But it does seem that RT is better suited to that kind of behavior without it being a game killer than, say, deathwatch, where you're supposed to be a cohesive team. The RT I'm playing now, my first character (who is no longer in the game, but didn't die…long story) was an uber zealous missionary who was constantly at odds with…well, almost the entire crew. The Rogue Trader would bar me from joining certain missions (dealing with xenos), and I would turn around and deliver a fiery sermon to the crew about the dangers of the xenos. The consensus of the group was that he was a great character who enhanced the missions, not hampered them.

I could see a DE being the same and working as a foil that helps create new layers of the story. But then again, being a DE is a much more extreme position than an extremist priest. It's hard to imagine a ship with a missionary and a DE on it…I tend to think the missionary would round up as many zealots as he could and would try to kill the DE. So yeah…DE is definitely a career path that is not suited to all campaigns, only certain ones with the right blend of characters.

That's kinda my point.

Encouraging players to be actively disruptive to the party in what, for all intents and purposes is a cooperative environment…. is just a bad idea. It's the same reason the vast majority of "evil" campaigns in other RPG's fall apart after a couple sessions, people as a general rule arent capable of playing DE or Reavers like they seem to be intended so they fall back on "Chaotic Stupid", or "I'm a unique good snowflake". If someone really can turn their brain to that level of sadism and depravity, well frankly I don't know if I want to be gaming with them tbh.

Of course this is all anecdotal evidence based on what I've seen in my games and in managing a game store for several years.

I really, really like both archetypes as more fleshed out NPC's and I think they provide a lot of value there, but for me personally, never as a PC.

Also I'm now going to stat up a DE with a Cyber-Panther and 2 power Scimitars. So there!!!

I'm excited about it, even though I have no group to play with.

Xenos and Chaos are the most exciting thing about 40k. The worst thing is anything and everything involving the Imperium of Man, so any option allowing me to not be some slave of the Corpse-God is exciting.

Blood Pact said:

Speaking as both the writer of the Dark Eldar Career Path in Soul Reaver, and a fan of the Eldar (as a whole) for the majority of my gaming life, I would honestly be ashamed if I didn't weave the threat of She Who Thirsts into a Dark Eldar character, given that it is one of their primary motivations. And, quite frankly, writing about Dark Eldar is really satisfying and fun.

I imagine that those who choose to play a Kabalite Warrior will end up rejoicing in the dread and agony they inflict. Let suffering be your wine, and terror be your meat; sup upon the torment and woe you inflict as an artist basks upon a completed masterpiece. Craft sculptures of ruined flesh and spilled blood, and compose melodies of the screams and cries of those who stand in your way.

No 1 Here:

I like you.

That is all.