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Okay, I'm going to be starting a DE army soonish, and I have this cool fluff idea:

At first, this may seem like an attempt to un-grimdarkize (wow, did I actually just say that?) the Dark Eldar, but read the whole thing, and you will find that it definitely isn't.

This group is tired of living within the webway, and actually don't like their torturous kin. But after they leave the webway, they find that they age much quicker (that is what happens when dark eldar don't torture things, right?) without inflicting pain than they would even in the webway. So what do they do? They raid other Dark Eldar, and torture them, because after being outside the webway for so long, killing humans/orks/tau/whatever just doesn't cut it anymore. Also, they want revenge on their kind for creating slaanesh(that's one of the reasons the dark eldar exist, right?), so they also capture/kill craftworld Eldar. So I'm thinking of mounting the bodies and stuff of other dark eldar on their vehichles, and generally making them look sorta vengeful. So these guys will still be sick minded space bondage torture elves, only they want revenge on their own kind, and their own kind are the only ones who can feed their bloodlust.

Drizzt syndrome is best left in the Forgotten Realms.

huh?


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BTW, don't eldar and Dark Eldar have more of a warp presence meaning that taking them prisoner and torturing them would give the army suggested more of a "kick"? (Not gameplay wise, fluff wise)


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Oh, and I forgot to mention that these guys would still rip apart/torture imperial guard and the like, only their preferred enemies would be eldar or dark eldar.

The whole "exclusively evil guys not wanting to be evil" thing is called "Drizzt syndrome".

It's called such because of a specific character, "Drizzt Do'Urden"(a Dark Elf) who suddenly decides not to be evil and becomes the goodiest goody two-shoes ever.

And how is my idea in any way like that? Dark eldar who are still dark eldar, still like to mutilate the crap and torture the crap out of others, but simply would prefer to kill their own kind? They still do the same thing to humans or any other race that other Dark eldar would, only they hate their race for creating slaanesh. Meaning they like to kill craftworld eldar too.

Dark Eldar kill each other all the time. Already. So if it's not Drizzt Syndrome, as Kanluwen noted, then it's just . . . DE as they already are . . . just "on the lamb" for some vague reason.

And DE don't exist because of the birth of Slaanesh. Quite the other way around, actually. The new book will have all the details (including heretofore unknown ones, we hope).

GalacticDefender wrote:Also, they want revenge on their kind for creating slaanesh

The Dark Eldar are not like the Drow, where an innocent bystander can survive simply by not giving anyone a reason to kill them. Due to Slaanesh's predations, there are only two kinds of Dark Eldar: those who act the same way that created Slaanesh in the first place, and those that are dead. Unless you're deliberately portraying your kabal as hypocrites, this is a poor idea.

This could work for the Darl Eldar the OP speaks of, but I've never heard of them. Could anyone give me like a Lexicanum Link on the History of these Darl Eldar?



Anyways, Dark Eldar killing Dark Eldar is called Monday in Commorragh. Dark Eldar killing Dark Eldar because they are mad about Slannesh, not very likely. That would be Dark Eldar...Well cared. Yes they off people to feed the souls to Slannesh so they can live longer(or they absorb the souls Mortal Kombat style so they can live forever. I forget which one of those two is the most recent one) but that's just survival(and an active imagination on the Dark Eldar's part).

Yes they kill each other for alot of Reasons: to move up in society, to use the souls for whatever purpose the souls are used in, sexual arousal ( Could happen), they are bored, "it makes a funny noise when I stab it", But probably not revenge. Your Archon's name is not Inigo Montoya(To the best of my knowledge). Vect did not kill his father( Allegedly). There is no reason for Vect to prepare for death( atleast not from this situation).

Manchu wrote:Dark Eldar kill each other all the time. Already. So if it's not Drizzt Syndrome, as Kanluwen noted, then it's just . . . DE as they already are . . . just "on the lamb" for some vague reason.

And DE don't exist because of the birth of Slaanesh. Quite the other way around, actually. The new book will have all the details (including heretofore unknown ones, we hope).

This. Dark Eldar Kabals fight each other constantly. Only the strongest, most proven warriors and fighters get to raid realspace. Plus She who thirsts would be sapping their souls quicker if they never went back to the webway. On the whole wanting revenge for making slaanesh. It says in the new codex that they despise the Eldar gods more for being weak enough to fall to Slaanesh. And still believe their way is the right way. Even though it inadvertently created him/her. The capturing/killing craftworld Eldar would seemS fine though. As they hate them for denying themselves what they see as the benefits of being Dark Eldar. They even use captured psykers as the main ingredient on some of their wargear.

AlexHolker wrote:

GalacticDefender wrote:Also, they want revenge on their kind for creating slaanesh

The Dark Eldar are not like the Drow, where an innocent bystander can survive simply by not giving anyone a reason to kill them. Due to Slaanesh's predations, there are only two kinds of Dark Eldar: those who act the same way that created Slaanesh in the first place, and those that are dead. Unless you're deliberately portraying your kabal as hypocrites, this is a poor idea.

I actually was kind of thinking along the lines of them being hypocrites.

But I never said other Dark Eldar don't kill other Dark Eldar. I'm just saying that the Kabal in my idea would do it with a very specific purpose. And if the Eldar didn't create slaanesh, who did?

So yes, they would claim to be "better than other dark eldar", but in reality they are just hypocrites who simply get pleasure from pain with a focus on their own kind, and just as evil as other Dark Eldar.

They did create slaanesh. That's without a doubt. But it wasn't their intention to create it. A side affect of their galactic empire falling into hedonism and dark arts. So basically what you described are pretty much what Dark Eldar are about. What makes this Kabal any different?

They are not really. They just say they are. They are hypocrite dark eldar. And also they like killing their own kind more than most.

Dark eldar who prefer to hunt other dark eldar is an interesting twist, but not for the justification you started with. If you look at it from the perspective of serial killers who hunted humans because they are the greatest prey, then that works, and works pretty well.

Slaanesh was created by the viciousness and hedonism of the eldar race (before the dark eldar/craftworld eldar split), so I think getting revenge through those same means doesn't really make any sense. It goes beyond hypocrisy into a realm of shortsightedness that I think would take away from your army's respectability.

tl;dr dark eldar who prefer fighting dark eldar is interesting, but doing it because they're mad Slaanesh was born is kind of like trying to support vegetarianism by buying up all the meat in the supermarket so no one will eat it

Erikman wrote:Dark eldar who prefer to hunt other dark eldar is an interesting twist, but not for the justification you started with. If you look at it from the perspective of serial killers who hunted humans because they are the greatest prey, then that works, and works pretty well.

Slaanesh was created by the viciousness and hedonism of the eldar race (before the dark eldar/craftworld eldar split), so I think getting revenge through those same means doesn't really make any sense. It goes beyond hypocrisy into a realm of shortsightedness that I think would take away from your army's respectability.

tl;dr dark eldar who prefer fighting dark eldar is interesting, but doing it because they're mad Slaanesh was born is kind of like trying to support vegetarianism by buying up all the meat in the supermarket so no one will eat it

Err, how does it not make sense? Hypocritical Dark Eldar who really enjoy killing other Eldar (be they Dark Eldar or Craftworld Eldar), because they created slaanesh through their "viciousness and hedonism". They are supposed to be complete hypocrites, that is the idea. They kill other Eldar for creating slaanesh, but while doing this, they are themselves feeding slaanesh, so nothing is really different. They just like to talk about how "they are better than other Eldar because they didn't create/don't help slaanesh", but they are doing this anyway. So in reality they are just as cruel as any other Dark Eldar.

For what it's worth my CSM are based around hypocrisy, so it is doable I suppose.

I kind of like the idea. A few points I would make:

1. Leaving Commorragh (or how ever you spell it) simply on account of a culture difference seems rather unlikely. A more likely explanation would be some sort of spat/rivalry that made it no longer viable for the Archon to stay there, followed by a rejection of dark eldar culture. The former being the main reason they actually left, but the later serving as the public justification for it.

2. I don't know that they could spend all of their time outside of the webway. They should probably spend a lot of time inside it, but away from Commorragh. (Hell, they would need to use it a lot to travel and to get to other eldar anyways.)

3. In fitting with the first theme, I see them as condemning their race for having given birth to Slaanesh, while in reality being motivated more by the rejection of the other eldar than anything else.

4. They would be playing a pretty dangerous game by targeting other eldar, and they would have the wounds to show it. The Archon may have trouble keeping his followers loyal to him, which would feed the necessity of his righteous rhetoric, which would necessitate increasingly dangerous attacks on eldar, leaving them in an interesting spiral of making far too many enemies.

I haven't read the new codex, so my thoughts may not be quite up to date.

1.) Craftworld Eldar fled in contempt the society that caused the birth of Slaanesh. Making them responsible for the society that they fled from doesn't make sense.
2.) DE use the webway for short and precise raids. Fractions without access to the webway have no chance to raid the raiders.
3.) If they fled the webway early, there is no soul leech. Like Harlequins (also surviving and occasionally living in the webway), they don't need to torture anyone then. Without spirit stones, they have an uncomfortable time after death though

I think 99% of all deldar are hypocrites anyway.

The best you might be able to do is have your guys get a certain kick out of eldar souls, because they're nice and juicy. Most DE will have all sorts of dubious ways of justifying this cannibalism so you don't necessarily need to come up with your own; they all think they're superior.

Orkeosaurus wrote:I kind of like the idea. A few points I would make:

1. Leaving Commorragh (or how ever you spell it) simply on account of a culture difference seems rather unlikely. A more likely explanation would be some sort of spat/rivalry that made it no longer viable for the Archon to stay there, followed by a rejection of dark eldar culture. The former being the main reason they actually left, but the later serving as the public justification for it.

2. I don't know that they could spend all of their time outside of the webway. They should probably spend a lot of time inside it, but away from Commorragh. (Hell, they would need to use it a lot to travel and to get to other eldar anyways.)

3. In fitting with the first theme, I see them as condemning their race for having given birth to Slaanesh, while in reality being motivated more by the rejection of the other eldar than anything else.

4. They would be playing a pretty dangerous game by targeting other eldar, and they would have the wounds to show it. The Archon may have trouble keeping his followers loyal to him, which would feed the necessity of his righteous rhetoric, which would necessitate increasingly dangerous attacks on eldar, leaving them in an interesting spiral of making far too many enemies.

I haven't read the new codex, so my thoughts may not be quite up to date.

This. Awesome idea.